ã€ŠThe Righteous Player(s)ã€‹


 Chapter 1: Annan

    <h4>Chapter 1: Annan</h4>

    [52 : 34 : 59 until the closed betamences.]

    A line of glimmering words quietly hovered in front of Annan; each alphabet was aze with bright red mes like candle lights.

    His body seemed to have fallen apart; his spirit was exhausted. He was in a state where a person with severe motion sickness was tied to the seat, and was forced to endure a two hours drive. After vomiting the stuff in his stomach, he was in a daze. Even lying on the beach, he had the illusion of walking on the ground with his feet.

    Annan didn¡¯t want to move, think, or talk. He could only lie quietly on the beach, watching thest few digits dropping as if time was gradually lost¡­

    After he woke up, thirty-two minutes had passed. <i>*After all, he had been counting.*</i> He finally felt a little thirsty.

    Annan clutched the aching back of his head and slowly got up from the ground.

    His profession was a game nner for a popr mobile game. Indeed, it was the profession where the risk factor for himself and his family was quite high.

    Just now, he was too bored and clicked on an app of ¡°Mist Continent Closed Beta¡± that was installed on his phone unbeknownst to him.

    With this name, he thought that this was probably a copycat to the popr mobile games. He opened it with the lens of his profession.

    But the moment he clicked on it, he suddenly felt that someone attacked the back of his head with a brick. He fainted as soon as his eyes went dark.

    ¡°What a novel way of transmigration¡­¡±

    Annan took a deep breath in exhaustion; he couldn¡¯t help but sit on the ground and cough.

    He recovered slightly from his poor state after a while. Right now, he could barely support his weak body as if there was no skeleton. He slowly got up from the beach.

    He lowered his head to look at his slender fingers and the luxurious, but muddy and bloody blouse.

    <i>This looks like the clothes of a nobleman¡­ Did I encounter a shipwreck previously?</i>

    Annan took a deep breath and nced back.

    He clearly saw the endless ck sea behind him, the dpidated sailing ship stranded on the shore, and the dark red sunset hanging high on the seashore with three luxurious golden runes spinning on it.

    Annan was speechless.

    Although he was psychologically prepared for the fact that he was transmigrated into another world, it was the first time he saw this gorgeous sunset that seemed to be a special effect with no cost. He was shocked for a moment.

    His first reaction was a resolute idea:

    <i>¡ª¡ªMiss Game Artist, give us a sunset like this too.</i>

    Then, Annan reacted with hindsight. <i>It appears that I don¡¯t have to work overtime anymore¡­</i><i>After traveling to another world, I have already bid farewell to my game nning career.</i>

    <i>I can only be sad as a young nobleman: eating, drinking and having fun every day. I will be enjoying this decadent and boring life.</i>

    <i>What a tragedy!</i>

    Worse still, Annan did not inherit the memory of this body at all. The first moment he opened his eyes was to see this shipwreck scene.

    He was like a yer who skipped all the beginning CGs without a game guide.

    He was weak, helpless, and confused.

    <i>Who am I? Where am I? What am I going to do?</i>

    Annan sighed and patted his face, making himself a little more sober.

    He felt something vaguely wrong.

    Although he was not the average joe, why was he not nervous after something tragic had happened?

    Neither fear nor panic, Annan had no negative emotions in his heart. He was calm like a social animal living a peaceful life.

    This was still unlike the mental state that a social animal should have, nor should it be the emotion of someone transmigrated to a new world. Needless to say, the sun with this special effect kind of hinted that the world was a chaotic one.

    <i>In this case, I should be nervous and flustered, or that is how it supposedly should be¡­</i>

    ¡°<i>Woo.</i>¡°

    The moment Annan realized this, he suddenly felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of his head. With a moment being at a daze, arge amount of data began to surged from all directions, and finally formed an attribute window:

    Annan. Human. Male.

    Elite Rare (Gold), Challenge Rating 3

    Title: None

    Rank: None

    Health: 55%

    Erosion: 3%

    Attributes: Strength 7, Agility 8, Constitution 6, Perception 11, Will 12

    Shared Experience: 20

    Unique Trait: Heart of Winter [Reverse Inscription]

    Profession Overview-

    Swordsman LV3: [Bodyguard Swordsmanship LV4], [Disarm LV1], [Frost Sword LV1]

    <i>This is the system?</i>

    Annan was instantly delighted.

    With that said, he entered this world through a mobile game. It would not make sense if he did not acquire a game system.

    Except that the Elite Rare (Gold) which looked a bit disturbing.

    After a brief nce, Annan, based on professional intuition, immediately focused his attention on the ¡°unique trait¡± row.

    As expected, the other words disappeared immediately. This line of words was erged to the center of the field of vision. A detailed exnation appeared below.

    Heart of Winter (Gold, Talent)

    Original effect (obsolete): You will not feel all positive emotions; the damage you receive with the ¡°frost¡± element is permanently reduced by 50%; you can only be killed by the damage with the ¡°frost¡± element (this entire line has a strikethrough)

    Special: Equipped [Reverse Inscription] (cannot be removed or destroyed)

    Current Effect: You will not feel all negative emotions; the ¡°frost¡± element damage you receive is permanently amplified by 20%; you will not be killed by the damage with the ¡°frost¡± element.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan went into deep thoughts.

    This talent was probably the reason for his calm andposed manner.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s investigate this ce first.¡±

    Annan took a deep breath and looked at the sailing ship.

    The sun would be going down soon. The time left for him to investigate was probably not much, but at least he could spend the night on the ship.

    His body only had half hp [1] remaining. He still felt an apparent difort. He might catch a cold with how chilly the approaching night would be.

    Besides, if he was a swordsman, there should be at least a sword on this ship, right?

    With a sword equipped, he would feel more confident in his heart.

    <i>I wonder what my body looks like¡­</i>

    He dragged his still tired body and walked slowly to the beach. When he approached the wrecked ship, he bowed his head with a disturb heart and started to look at the reflection from the ck sea:

    He appeared at the age of twelve or thirteen years old; his skin was fair and smooth, approaching the hue of those who were pale and sick. He had the thin shoulders, corbones and slender waist that fitted the characteristic of a teenager. He had a choppy haircut at shoulder-length, ck in color.

    But what attracted Annan¡¯s attention most was the pair of icy blue pupils that were so clear and clean. It seemingly put chills at the onlooker¡¯s heart.

    <i>What a surprise! I¡¯m pretty cute.</i>

    ¡°But no matter how cute I am, I am still a little hungry¡­¡±

    Annan eximed. He stepped on the ropedder with difficulty and climbed onto the ship.

    He looked at the deck carefully.

    It wasn¡¯t a small ship. In terms of the sailing ship configuration, it was somewhat simr to the 15th century¡¯s Carrack [2]. It had multiple masts ¨C the main mast was hung with arge square sail; the fore and middle masts were equipped with several square sails; the rear mast was hung with a triangr sail.

    But, all of its sails were either burnt or tattered. The pattern on them was indiscernible.

    On the wooden deck, there were no scorch marks or bullet marks. The mast wasn¡¯t broken either. Something was not right.

    Suddenly, Annan¡¯s pupils shrunk a little.

    He saw a dead body.

    It was a young man with tan curly hair. He leaned down close to the ropedder, staring straight ahead. He was holding a broken-edged sword tightly in his right hand, two nails were broken and soaked in blood, but he did not let go of this sword until he died.

    His chest was soaked with blood that had dried up and turned dark brown. However, the weapon used to kill him was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°This is unlike a shipwreck.¡±

    Annan sneered.

    In the face of such a dangerous thing, the corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly. Perhaps, it was the trait of this body that he could not feel any panic or fear at all, only a strong sense of excitement gradually filled his heart.

    There was no evidence that the person who killed the crew and burnt the sails had left the ship. But, Annan had nowhere to go.

    <i>I need a weapon.</i>

    <i>Even if it¡¯s just a broken sword.</i>

    The idea in Annan¡¯s mind became clearer.

    He stretched out his hand without hesitation, trying to forcefully break the finger of the crew member. Although the deceased was young, he had firm grasp, but it wasn¡¯t too challenging for Annan.

    But, when Annan touched the sword, he was stunned.

    A line of data flow suddenly appeared before his eyes:

    [Unpurified Nightmare Fragment detected]

    [Connection to Nightmare Fragment is established]

    [Rank requirement(s): Bronze rank and below]

    [Profession requirement(s): swordsman]

    [Special requirement(s): Unable to cast spells]

    [The requirements are met. Falling into a nightmare after ten seconds: 10, 9¡­]

    [1] Health Point.

    [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrack

    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">

    Trantor notes: Since the story is game-like, I will be using game terms here and there.

 Chapter 2: Falling Into A Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 2: Falling Into A Nightmare</h4>

    [Falling into a nightmare. A dungeon instance is being generated¡­]

    [The difficulty of the dungeon instance is easy. You may enter up to three times]

    [Current purification progress is 0/3]

    [The total erosion of the team is 3%, the difficulty of the dungeon instance increases by 3%, and the probability of nightmare mutation increases by 3%]

    [This dungeon has a total of 1 checkpoint. Each death increases erosion by 1%. You will be forced out of the dungeon instance after three deaths.]

    [This dungeon instance provides the plot introduction and has decryption rewards]

    [Dungeon instance clear reward: upation (swordsman) increased by 1 level]

    [Reward for Decrypting: Unknown]

    [Loading Complete]

    The world in front of Annan was pitch ck. Only the data stream was flowing down at a rapid speed. Annan stared at each word carefully, lest he might miss any details.

    Just after the words in the loading screen faded away, a faint and illusory whisper suddenly sounded in his ear:

    ¡°Betrayers must die¡­¡±

    It was a young man¡¯s voice, but it sounded like a cry from a drowned man ¨C out of breath and full of resentment.

    At the next moment, Annan suddenly felt that someone was pushing him.

    ¡°John? John, wake up!¡±

    A harsh male voice sounded in front of him, ¡°Why did you fall asleep!? Where did the young master go?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Hmm¡­¡±

    Annan realized that he was sitting on the ground, asleep while leaning on the two barrels behind him.

    He opened his eyes and saw a man with a beard in his forties squatting in front of him with a straight face.

    The man was stern, appearing angry. But, with the fact that this man did not kick Annan to wake him up, this man¡¯s temper should be quite good.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m a little sleepy¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    Annan answered vaguely.

    After all, he had no idea what this person¡¯s name was and how he was rted to him. This was the only way he could respond.

    But as soon as Annan spoke, he paused.

    Although his internal sound when he spoke was quite different from the recording heard previously, Annan was still keenly aware that it was probably ¡°John¡± who said the sentence filled with grievance.

    Who is the betrayer? What is the status of ¡°Annan¡± on this ship? When Annan replied, he was a little distracted. The middle-aged man¡¯s voice became louder, ¡°If you are sleepy, go and practice on your sword arts. Stopzing around here!¡±

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let you stay in the cabin! You are disappointing the young master¡¯s expectation of you! How are you going to protect Young Master Dong Jun like this? You won¡¯t even know when he is kidnapped!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. Say ¡®Yes, instructor¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Yes, instructor!¡±

    Annan followed ordingly.

    He roughly understood the rtionship between the two.

    ¡°Wait, us¡­¡±

    An immature, somewhat nervous voice sounded behind them.

    The two cast their eyes.

    It was a young man who had juste down from the door about fourteen or five years old.

    The young nobleman named Dong Juan had short ck hair and blue pupils simr to Annan, and the same fair skin. But his appearance was far less refined than Annan; he had freckles on his face, slightly high cheeks, and small eyes.

    From the white and tender skin on his face, he was indeed an aristocrat¡¯s boy. He took care of himself cleanly.

    The boy clutched a bag of sugar cakes tightly. Noticing the gaze of Instructor us, he put the sugar cakes behind him a little nervously andmanded calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t do this to John, us! John didn¡¯t mean it¡­¡±

    His voice was loud at first, but he soon lost his confidence under the eyes of the middle-aged man.

    us just sternly exined to the noble boy politely, ¡°I am your guard captain. The count asked me to look after you. I am responsible for your safety. In the North Sea Territory, the Geraint family¡¯s name is far from usefulpared to the royal capital. Everything can happen here.¡±

    ¡°I have you.¡±

    The count¡¯s young son didn¡¯t care much about it, ¡°And Sir Benjamin too. My father said that he is a Silver Rank wizard. Would there be any danger in a remote ce like the Northern Sea Territory?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t make it difficult for me in the face of the count, Young Master Dong Juan.¡±

    us¡¯s tone appeared more stern, ¡°At least on the bright side, the count sent us here. Although Sir Benjamin and I are secretly protecting you, we can¡¯t help you too much. Also, it¡¯s dinner time soon. No more sweets.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I got it.¡±

    Dong Juan¡¤Geraint¡¯s pouted. He responded a little irritably.

    Seeing that Dong Juan didn¡¯t seem to be convinced, us changed his targetpletely. He ignored John but reprimanded Dong Juan severely. He only stopped talking when Dong Juan lowered his head and be obedient. He opened the door with a light hum.

    ¡°Remember to look after the young master, John. Don¡¯t go to sleep again.¡±

    He warned Annan in the end.

    Annan responded immediately, ¡°Yes, instructor!¡±

    Upon seeing this, us nodded in satisfaction and left.

    Seeing him leaving, Dong Juan finally heaved a sigh of relief, leaned over to John, and whispered, ¡°us talks too much. Should I report to him about what I eat? Really¡­Thanks anyway, John. I already got that thing.¡±

    Dong Juan pointed to his left armpit and said triumphantly, ¡°I sewed it in the middleyer of the clothes.¡±

    ¡°I still think¡­¡±

    Annan muttered ambiguously and didn¡¯t say much, just trying to get some new information out.

    Dong Juan¡¯s face sank immediately, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. I can only rest assured when the item is close to me.¡±

    After that, he sighed.

    ¡°On this ship, except you, none of the guards are mine. They are either sent by my father or my two brothers. I have no one to trust except you, John.¡±

    ¡°I will protect you.¡±

    Annan heard this and immediately made an emotional expression, saying righteously, ¡°You can trust mepletely.¡±

    Although John¡¯s tone felt a bit weird, Dong Juan nodded with confidence, ¡°Then, I will be counting on you. By the way, John, you continue to stay here and pretend to sleep. Remember to take care of my package. Don¡¯t let peoplee near it. I¡¯lle back after dinner.

    ¡°I suspect that someone wants to steal it. If someone wants to approach, chase him away and tell me in private who the person is.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    Annan had an idea and responded softly.

    If anyone wants to get close¡­ Isn¡¯t us one of them? But Dong Juan hadn¡¯t doubted him yet. So, Annan was smart and didn¡¯t say much.

    He just thought for a moment and said casually, ¡°Yes, young master. us just asked me where the other ck-haired and blue-eyed child on this ship is. How should I answer?¡±

    ¡°¡­ck hair and blue eyes?¡±

    Dong Juan was stunned upon hearing those words, ¡°Impossible. This is the characteristic of the people from the North. Only the Chilly Austere Dukedom¡¯s civilians will have ck hair and blue eyes. If it weren¡¯t for my mother¡­ In short, there is no such person on this ship.¡±

    Having said this, he frowned slightly and confirmed, ¡°Are you sure that us asked that?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Annan replied solemnly, ¡°Should I reply to him like this?¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry. If he mentions it again, you will say that there is no such person at all, although there is indeed no one.¡±

    The ck-haired boy was a little uneasy and asked again, ¡°Don¡¯t tell him what I just told you.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    After Annan got the information he wanted, he kept silent to avoid speaking out the wrong words.

    Is there no such person on this ship? In other words, ¡°I¡± was not killed on this ship. En, that¡¯s right, this ship did not go through a shipwreck at all but was looted and killed by traitors. In this case¡­ Annan nced at Dong Juan with an idea in his heart.

    Maybe I can rece his existence. Now, I need to get more information about this world, especially Dong Juan¡¯s secret¡­ Watching Dong Juan go to the door and left, Annan felt the faint feeling of being hit by a brick again. But, this time, Annan was getting used to it.

    He shook his head. Arge stream of data emerged before his eyes.

    [Even Count Geraint can¡¯t protect his youngest son ¨C Don Juan¡¤Geraint. Perhaps, he send Dong Juan to the most remote North Sea Territory, which is thest escape route heid for his son.]

    [The most important city in the Northern Sea Territory is the Chilly Austere Dukedom¡¯s Freezing Water Port. If the Geraint family can survive the next catastrophe, then the youngest son can naturally return to the capital; if the Geraint family suffers a catastrophe, he can at least escape to the neighboring country¡¯s sphere of influence and seek asylum.]

    [But obviously, poor Dong Juan Gerainte failed to reach the Freezing Water Port alive]

    [His most loyal guard, John, suffers the same fate¡ª]

    After these lines faded away, new words appeared before Annan again:

    [Main mission: Complete John¡¯s unattainedst wish]

    Immediately, arge piece of smaller words appeared below this line:

    [Find out the true identity of the betrayer]

    [Live until dinner starts]

    [Stop Dong Juan Geraint from drinking the poisonous wine]

    ¡°¡­Betrayer.¡±

    Annan went into deep thoughts.

    He suddenly remembered the resentful whisper that sounded underwater when he first entered the dungeon instance.

    ¡°Betrayers must die¡­¡±

    For now, Annan believed that the most suspicious one seemed to be the guard captain, us.

    John was instructed to pretend to sleep in the room for the very reason to stay near the room naturally. In this way, if he were bumped into by someone, he wouldn¡¯t alert the person. From this point of view, Young Master Dong Juan was still somewhat witty.

    However, he didn¡¯t seem to believe that the guard captain hired by his father was the one who nned to steal his treasure. On the contrary, the chatter just now raised the young master suspicious of us.

    At least in Dong Juan¡¯s view, us had no motive to take his treasures. us might have bad intentions about his origin.

    ¡°¡­The difficulty of decryption is indeed only at a simple level.¡±

    Taking a look at the three mission details derived from the main mission, Annan sighed.

    Forget it. After all, this game involves my safety. I need to be a little serious. He narrowed his eyes slightly and started nning, ¡°If I were John, what would I do?

    ¡°John is a loyal guard. He may be the only person who is loyal to Dong Juan. Taking this into consideration, he may have never left this ce.¡±

    ¡°So, he probably didn¡¯t know who betrayed Dong Juan until he died. He was killed before dinner started. But, he knew that Dong Juan would be poisoned.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t miss the details.

    John was the only one who died on the deck. There was only one spot stained with blood on the deck ¨C the location under John. Therefore, John left the room in the end. The moment John left the room was the timeline when he was betrayed and died. On the other hand, if I want to fulfill John¡¯sst wish, I shall not stay still at this ce. Otherwise, the story that happened to John will be repeated. I have three chances at most, so I have to get some useful and beneficial information. If I can obtain information about who on the ship are traitors, when and where they n to do it¡­ This information will be useful for the next life. Squatting here would not help me learn anything. I need to leave this ce. ¡ª¡ªBut, Dong Juan shouldn¡¯t find out about it. Annan was more firm with his n.

 Chapter 3: Behold My Righteous Backstab

    <h4>Chapter 3: Behold My Righteous Backstab</h4>

    Annan carefully searched Don Juan¡¯s room and looted some useful items smoothly.

    First of all, he found a short sword fitted to him. The length of the hilt was less than sixty centimeters. It appeared more like a long dagger. Its sheath was luxurious and delicate. When it was sheathed, it looked more like arge fountain pen. After unsheathing it, the sword body had a mysterious blue reflection.

    He also found a silver pocket watch withplicated decorations, but the watch had stopped. The pocket watch case was engraved with a three-eyed bird with sharp feathers as sharp as a dagger. This seemed to be the Gerant family¡¯s emblem. After all, Annan noticed that many other items had this pattern carved on them.

    Also, there was a bag of coins, some letters, a ring with sapphire, a stamp, two handkerchiefs, a bag of sweets, and the snacks that Don Juan just brought.

    The whole room was scrapped as clean as if an adventurer looted the ce.

    The only thing worth noting was that ring.

    When Annan picked it up, a glimmering panel appeared before his eyes:

    [Deep Blue Guardian]

    [Type: Ring (Purple)]

    [Description: Don Juan¡¤Geraint¡¯s mother left him a relic which contains frost magic and curse]

    [Description: It seems to be some way to remove the seal, but it is encrypted. (the ¡°Mysterious Ritual¡± check failed)]

    [Description: You have never heard of this curse (¡°Advanced Curse¡± check failed)]

    Seeing the word ¡°Curse,¡± Annan hesitated a bit.

    But, after giving a few thoughts, he took it.

    Although he didn¡¯t know what it was for, he didn¡¯t want to let the betrayer get it.

    Most importantly, Annan found the sword he saw before entering the dungeon instance. It just hung on the wall closest to Annan.

    The sword was over a meter long, and its outer sheath had almost no decoration. It was polished brightly, appearing to be elegant and reliable.

    After drawing the weapon, Annan noticed that the sword was half of his height. The sword edge was in satisfactory condition; the de was sharp and solid. Not surprisingly, this should be John¡¯s custom made sword.

    Annan suddenly froze at the moment he held the sword.

    A great amount of sword-wielding memories surged into Annan¡¯s mind. He immediately became experienced but yet to be an elite young swordsman.

    ¡ªBut, Annan quickly noticed that it was not John¡¯s memory on learning sword-wielding. It was the memory of the young ¡°Annan¡± practicing sword in the icy and snowy environment.

    The memories flowed in at high speed. Annan only had time to grasp the general feel in sword-wielding. However, the longer the memory was being continually downloaded in his mind, the clearer it became. Until the end, he finally saw a short but rtivelyplete memory.

    He was holding a slender sword, lying on the ground exhausted, breathing continuously like a husky. The sword was not gold in color but white like ivory.

    Standing across from Annan was a man who seemed to be in his thirties. His appearance was 70% simr to Annan, but his face was cold and stern. His eyes were ice blue without emotion. From this angle, he looked towering and terrifying.

    ¡°Stand up and continue.¡±

    The man said in a deep voice. The voice was low and hoarse, and the ice-blue eyes seemed to have magical power.

    Just one nce, Annan¡¯s heart seemed to be frozen. While he breathed calmly, the surrounding air gradually crystallized. Layers of frost continued to condense on the ground and then melted again.

    ¡°Stand up, Annan. You have enough rest.¡±

    ¡°Yes, father¡­¡±

    Annan heard his own voice.

    The timid voice was shriveling as if the soul was frozen.

    He mustered up his courage again and stood up.

    ¡°Annan¡± gritted his teeth and raised the sword. He ced it horizontally in front of his waist and assumed a strange posture.

    As he wielded the sword, white frost exuded from the palm: snow and unceasing cold wind wrapped around the sword¡¯s de [1].

    Ayer of frost immediately formed on the white de. There was an inconspicuous frost trail in the air as the sword edge struck the man¡¯s knee in a straight arc.

    But, the man didn¡¯t move, just staring at the sword trail. After the frost trail approached him, it seemed as if it had been cut off by something invisible. It suddenly shattered and disappeared in the air.

    ¡°Carry on.¡±

    The man repeated.

    The memory fragment stopped abruptly here.

    ¡°Interesting.¡±

    Annan raised his brows.

    It appeared that there were many stories about this child. At least, he should have a great father.

    But.

    He tightened the sword in his hand. There was a burst of enlightenment in his heart.

    The swordsmanship that sends out waves of frost. I seem to be able to use it now. Is this the ¡°Frost Sword¡± on the panel? I only acquired Level 1 Frost Sword, though. How strong is it? It should at least slow down the blood flow, right? Annan roughly cleaned up the items. He restored the messy room to its original state. Then, he went out with two swords. The long sword was held in his hand, and the short sword was carefully hidden in his arms. He also took away the pocket watch ced on the table. It was prepared to serve as an excuse when he identally reencountered Don Juan. Anna could use it to call him aside.

    ¡°Master,e and have a look; your pocket watch has stopped again¡­¡±

    The idea was to step into a conversation.

    But Annan seemed to be too careful.

    He didn¡¯t have to run around looking for clues.

    The clue had approached him directly.

    As soon as Annan left the room, he noticed that three young people dressed like him were leaning on the corner pretending to chat, but their eyes were fixed on Don Juan¡¯s door. They were not far from the door.

    All three were taken aback when they found that Annan had taken the initiative to open the door and came out.

    Then, they quickly discussed; one of them ran away hurriedly.

    When Annan turned his gaze to the person who ran away, the remaining two were a little flustered.

    ¡°John,e here!¡±

    One of them had an idea and greeted Annan loudly, ¡°Fe, where did you go just now?¡±

    ¡°I was a little sleepy just now, so I took a nap in the young master¡¯s room.¡±

    Annan heard their words and walked over with a simple smile, ¡°Why are you guys here? Are you also here to goof off and rest?¡±

    ¡°¡­En, yes.¡±

    Seeing Annan¡¯s uncharacteristic and awkward reaction, the two felt that something was wrong, but they could only respond like this.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan said with concern, ¡°Then if the three of you are standing here while chatting, you must be tired. Do you want to have a rest in the room? He shouldn¡¯t have gone far yet. Should I call for him? It¡¯s warm inside the room. There are some sugar cakes on the table. They are delicious¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t. He¡¯s going¡­ to help the cooking on the deck.¡±

    One of the young guards saw Annan was about to chase over; he quickly stopped Annan. He said with a kind smile, ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to go ashore tomorrow? We will spend thest night on the ship tonight. Then, we can have a feast!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±

    Annan sighed with regret, ¡°I thought he is looking for Instructor us.¡±

    The two were speechless.

    The two of them were shocked in their heart. They almost thought that this foolish guy had realized something. However, the two of them were also newbies. They didn¡¯t know what to say to hold John at this time.

    Just when the atmosphere was a little embarrassing, Annan suddenly said, ¡°I feel a little bit cold. Let¡¯s find a quiet ce to practice our swordsmanship and move our body.¡±

    ¡°I like that idea.¡±

    One of the guards responded quickly, ¡°I know a ce¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go too.¡±

    The other person followed.

    Seeing Annan¡¯s request, the two of them showed apparent joy. The two looked at each other and sneered silently.

    ¡­Hey, do you want to make your malicious intent to hurt me so obvious? It¡¯spletely undisguised. How simple-minded is this John in your heart? Fine, it is in easy difficulty after all. Annan was a little disappointed.

    He just showed an honest and harmless professional smile and said politely, ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Soon, the three of them circled the ce and turned to a rtively empty small room. They began to slowly sort out the surrounding wine barrels, trying to make space.

    At this time, Annan had roughly determined that Don Juan¡¯s room should be in the middle of the ship¡¯s lower deck. There were separate corridors outside the two doors of the room.

    The ship was roughly more than seventy meters long. There was ack of space. The rooms were adjacent to each other ¨C except for Don Juan¡¯s room. It was arger stand-alone room. The other rooms were close to each other, including the guard captain¡¯s room.

    In other words, anyone who wanted to enter Don Juan¡¯s room would need to make a special trip to this side. Even if they were found at the door, they had no excuses to exin because only Don Juan¡¯s room was not adjacent to any room.

    So, the group brought ¡°Annan¡± here. The sole purpose was to hold Anna in this spot while having someone else entering Don Juan¡¯s room.

    If ¡°Annan¡± continued to stay in the room, they might knock on the door after a while and look for an excuse to get him out.

    ¡°Where is Sir Benjamin?¡±

    Annan asked suddenly.

    ¡°He¡¯s still reading in the captain¡¯s room.¡±

    One of the guards replied casually, ¡°Except for Master Don Juan that prideful sir doesn¡¯t want to see anyone.

    ¡°What about the instructor?¡±

    Annan asked, ¡°I am leaving my job without authorization. Won¡¯t the instructor catch me?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, John. The instructor usually stays on the deck.¡±

    Another guard said with certainty, ¡°Only, he has the [Eagle Eye] ability. He needs to keep his vision on the surrounding sea. There is no time to get off the deck and inspect the cabin.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    Annan murmured.

    Annan narrowed her eyes slightly as he watched the two guards slowly stacking the barrels with their backs to him.

    He slowly drew out the sword that belonged to John. The sword edge was shining with a cold light.

    He didn¡¯t want to wait for the enemy to step on his face before he fought back bitterly.

    No yer can resist the temptation of backstabs! He didn¡¯t hesitate and directly thrust the sword at the young guard closest to him. It directly pierced through his back!

    The sharp sword pierced straight in. The crimson tip emerged from the opponent¡¯s chest.

    Then, Annan withdrew his sword horizontally and sshed out trails of scarlet blood on the other person¡¯s face. Annan shed the victim¡¯s right lung in half. Blood gurgled into the lungs.

    ¡°Behold my righteous backstab!¡±

    After the sessful ambush, Annan suddenly shouted.

    His voice was thunderous, shocking the other person. The opponent almost lost grip on the sword.

    At this moment, Annan raised the sword in his hand and shed it straight at the other person¡¯s neck.

    The young guard was shocked.

    He shrank his body and subconsciously wanted to step aside, but he was still a stepte. He could only temporarily raise his left arm to block the oing attack.

    But, Annan didn¡¯t sh the opponent¡¯s forearm vertically. Instead, he sliced it diagonally, immediately peeling off a piece of sh on the arm.

    ¡°Uh-!¡±

    The young guard let out a miserable cry and stumbled back.

    But, he unexpectedly did not lose the ability to fight back due to pain.

    Annan saw that a faint red light burst out of the young guard¡¯s heart. Numerous slender muscles were bursting out of his right arm that wielded the sword. There seemed to be countless red insects swimming in his blood. His right arm holding the sword had a firmer grip.

    The remaining guard tried to counterattack with a sword. Annan stepped forward and parried the sword sideways.

    The opponent¡¯s oing long sword was easily deflected away. The sword edge swept past the opponent¡¯s right shoulder that was holding the sword. Blood was shed again.

    It was just an ordinary sword, yet the young guard¡¯s blood vessels seemed to burst directly. The mutted flesh dropped to the floor seemed toe to life. It wiggled on the floor like a living thing.

    The young guard couldn¡¯t help but let go of the sword. He let out a miserable wail as the hilt hit the floor. The muscles of his face twitched frantically as if something was about to jump out from it.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    Watching this scene, Annan suddenly felt intense anxiety.

    Is this the supernatural strength of this world? Annan¡¯s instinct told him that if the opponent were allowed to continue his transformation, it would be the second stage battle like those in the game.

    With his mind calcting hastily, Annan¡¯s eyes ignited silently with a cold light. The de of the sword was instantly covered with a thinyer of frost.

    Why don¡¯t I try Frost Sword!?

 Chapter 4: Resurrected

    <h4>Chapter 4: Resurrected</h4>

    Annan was wrapped in frost. His next attack was an upswing from the bottom to pierce the opponent¡¯s chin.

    If this blow hits, it should at least slow down the opponent¡¯s transformation¡­ These thoughts shed through his mind quickly.

    But soon, Annan was shocked all of a sudden. His advancing steps came to a halt.

    It was an ordinary upswing.

    Yet, he missed the enemy. The sword edge just brushed over the opponent¡¯s nose tip.

    A faint frost trace swept over from the tip of the de. It thrust right at the young guard¡¯s right eye.

    The frost trace spread on the opponent¡¯s head swiftly. The opponent¡¯s head was covered with ayer of hoarfrost. Even his movement in turning his head and his face muscles¡¯ twitching became stiff; visible frosty mist engulfed the skin.

    The surprise in that person¡¯s eyes was even more intense than Annan:

    ¡°¡­Frost Sword? You¡ª¡±

    Before the young guard had finished speaking, his throat was covered with frost that was still spreading.

    After spreading to the heart, the frost traces magnified and spread directly to the whole body. The young guard fell backward hard with blood drained from his face. His eyshes were covered with frost like a frozen corpse that had been frozen for a long time in the winter.

    Even Annan was shocked by his sword power.

    He had always been cautious. He wanted to retreat just now and then reconsider his options.

    ¡ªWow, I am so strong. ¡°I got to experiment it more to find out what the upper limit of Frost Sword is.¡±

    If I can¡¯tplete the dungeon instance¡¯s main mission in this life, then I should at least find someone to test out my damage points. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to know what are the enemies I can beat outside this ce. They said use Hamon if you could beat the opponent, run away if you couldn¡¯t beat them [TN: Jojo reference; if you get it, pleasement the original line]. Being self-aware would prevent oneself from getting murdered.

    Annan quickly made up his mind and started to clean up the corpses in the room. It didn¡¯t require much effort. He only buried the corpses below the wine barrels.

    Anyway, this was just a dungeon instance. It would be fine as long as no one entered the room and noticed it at first nce.

    After tidying his clothes, Annan walked out of the room calmly and walked back along the original path.

    When he returned to Don Juan¡¯s room again, he slowed down in advance.

    After walking to the door, Annan heard someone fumbling the items inside tantly.

    ¡°Search again carefully!¡±

    us¡¯s deep voice came from the room, ¡°That item is a piece of paper. It can be anywhere. Carefully go through every book too! Check if the item is in bed!

    ¡°Also, look for the ring and the stamp carefully! We will fail our delivery mission if we don¡¯t get those items. If anyone dares to keep the item for themselves, I will throw him into the ck Sea!¡±

    Delivery mission? Annan frowned slightly.

    He nced at the mission panel.

    [Find out the true identity of the betrayer] (Completed). But, thetter two missions were notpleted yet.

    He did not rm these people but slowly backed out. He nned to visit the captain¡¯s room to take a look.

    Before he arrived on the deck, he heard swords nging from the deck.

    Annan focused on his hearing. He could make out that at least three groups of people were fighting based on the sound. He did not know if the wizard was a friend or a foe. If the wizard was his ally, he was at a dead-end already; if it was an enemy, then showing himself was merely digging his own grave.

    But at this moment, there were rapid footsteps behind Annan.

    There are enemies both in front and behind me.

    Anna had nowhere to go.

    ¡°Heh, am I discovered?¡±

    Annanughed, ¡°They doesn¡¯t seem to be too stupid.¡±

    Live until dinner begins? Stop Don Juan Geraint from drinking the poisonous alcohol? Annan did not intend to do these two things at all.

    Annan heard it crystal clear that there was an extra reward for decryption. He would then need to go for the best result ¨C He must make everything clear and get the most benefits.

    He couldn¡¯t be resurrected outside. If he was timid in a dungeon instance permitting his resurrection and failed to do it perfectly, how could he deal with the outside world that was far more dangerous with only one life?

    There was no choice to begin with.

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. He kicked the door of the deck directly and went up.

    As soon as he got on the deck and looked around, he saw the captain¡¯s cabin¡¯s location.

    Without hesitation, he rushed there. When the two parties on the ship saw him suddenly rush out to the captain¡¯s room without hesitation, none of them could confirm which side he was in for a while.

    But soon, someone from the side with more people reacted.

    ¡°Kill John!¡±

    Someone shouted, ¡°Kill him if you want to survive! He can¡¯t be persuaded to surrender!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Annan ran at his limit; he spouted, unwilling to ept defeat. ¡°How do you know if you don¡¯t try!?¡±

    He threw the scabbard far away; he struck the person trying to intercept him with Frost Sword.

    Upon impact on the opponent¡¯s sword, it deflected the opponent¡¯s sh. At the same time, an agony cry could be heard. The long sword in his opponent¡¯s hand dropped to the floor.

    Annan knocked him away with a shoulder tackle. The man didn¡¯t intend to stop Annan anymore. He just screamed while holding with his right hand.

    The person¡¯s right hand emitted cold air, paled with blood wholly drained. It was a stark contrast with the healthy left hand.

    The long sword he threw to the ground quickly frosted and fixed to the deck.

    At this time, Annan finally rushed to the captain¡¯s room.

    As he expected, there were only two people in the captain¡¯s room.

    Or strictly speaking, a half-alive man.

    Don Juan was tied up and hung in the corner, looking at Annan with aplicated expression.

    Benjamin, the ¡°Silver Rank Wizard¡± in a robe, was already lying on the table. The silver ring on his right hand cracked. Countless trembling eyeballs emerged from the gap. On the other hand, his mouth was overflowing with blood; his teeth and tes were stained red. His eyeballs were entirely white, with no distinction between pupils and iris.

    ¡°John, are you the Grand Duke of Chilly Austere?¡±

    Don Juan asked Annan softly with aplicated expression, ¡°Are you the spy that someone else arranged beside me¡­?¡±

    Annan asked with interest, ¡°How are you sure?¡±

    The young master didn¡¯t have any struggles. He was probably mentally prepared for his fate.

    He was silent for a while, then answered Annan¡¯s question in a low voice,

    ¡°I saw it. You activated Frost Sword. You don¡¯t have a Rank nor knowing wizardry, but you can freeze others without directly engaging them. Only Frost Sword from the Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s family could do it. They will never pass this technique to someone else with a different surname. You are indeed from Chilly Austere Dukedom too.¡±

    He paused and then asked Annan, ¡°Are you seeking the Book of Divine Transporter too when you came so far to the royal capital? Is Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke interested in it too?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    Annan answered casually, looking at the old wizard who lost his breath. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Sir Benjamin? Is he poisoned?¡±

    ¡°He vited his curse binding and got jinxed.¡±

    The young master answered quickly.

    ¡°What is the curse? What is the jinx?¡±

    Annan asked.

    Don Juan didn¡¯t struggle, just whispered, ¡°You will know when you enter a rank. The Transcended is not a beautiful thing.¡±

    ¡°Tell me more about it.¡±

    Annan shut the door and urged.

    Don Juan sighed, only assuming that Annan was crazy. He fulfilled Annan¡¯s wish and said all he knew:

    ¡°Poweres with a price. In this world, all supernatural poweres from a curse. Every time you bear a share of power, you have to bear the same curse. For example, every time your soul level rises, you have to bear a new curse. The curse is everyone¡¯s greatest secret. Every time you vite a curse, you will suffer pain. If you vite all the curses, you will be jinxed and temporarily lose all your power.¡±

    ¡°The two curses Sir Benjamin held are ¡®Can¡¯t eat squid¡¯ and ¡®Can¡¯t refuse wine from someone older than him.¡¯ I don¡¯t know where us learned of his curse. He conspired against Sir Benjamin with a poisoned wine mixed with squid juice.¡±

    ¡°How are you sure I have not advanced into a rank?¡±

    Annan frowned slightly.

    If he didn¡¯t figure this out, he didn¡¯t even dare to use Frost Sword.

    This technique was badass, but it would reveal his identity. He could only use it when the opponent will definitely die or when no one notices it.

    ¡ªOf course, it didn¡¯t matter in a dungeon instance.

    When Don Juan heard it, he looked at Annan, baffled.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t thismon sense?¡±

    He was a little confused and seemed to be suspicious of Annan¡¯s identity.

    ¡°Say it quickly. Take it as I¡¯m pleasing myself. You have nowhere to go anyway. We all have to die together¡ª¡±

    Annan spoke quickly.

    Don Juan was taken aback, assessed him, and looked at the bronze ring on his hand.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a bronze essory on you?¡±

    Don Juan himself was a little uncertain, ¡°Where do you put your curse?¡±

    ¡°¡­I see.¡±

    Annan¡¯s heart suddenly brightened when he heard these words.

    He nced at Benjamin¡¯s broken silver ring, then at Don Juan¡¯s bronze ring. He understood immediately.

    The supernatural power of this world seemed to be apanied by a curse. The curse needed a vessel to store it. So, the Bronze Rank was under the Silver Rank.

    I see. That¡¯s why they are called ¡°Bronze Rank¡± or ¡°Silver Rank.¡± Is the one above them the Golden Rank? At this moment, the captain¡¯s room door was knocked open.

    It was us with a gloomy expression standing in the doorway.

    He looked at Annan without saying a word.

    ¡°You may not believe me, but I have an iron crotch.¡±

    Annan said to Don Juan casually. He thenunched a frontal onught on us without hesitation.

    The first move was already the ultimate move. Annan directly used Frost Sword with all his strength to sh the opponent¡¯s head!

    But Don Juan¡¯splexion changed immediately,

    ¡°Don¡¯t hit him from the front!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Annan was taken aback. The frost traces that had spread from his sword had shed on us¡¯s chest.

    us didn¡¯t evade at all; he just looked at Annan coldly without saying a word.

    Annan suddenly felt chills crept upon his chest.

    He lowered his head and found a frost spreading quickly across his body. But, the frost only made his body stiff; there was no damage done.

    ¡°Is your frost only at this caliber? The frost that can¡¯t even freeze an ordinary person to death?¡±

    us said suddenly and sneered, ¡°This will never be Frost Sword.¡±

    He didn¡¯t hesitate anymore, took a step forward, and cut off Annan¡¯s head with a sword.

    ¡ªAt the next moment, the time had flown backward.

    Annan plunged into darkness. All of a sudden, he felt someone pushing him hard.

    ¡°John? John, wake up!¡±

    A harsh male voice sounded in front of him, ¡°Why did you fall asleep! Where did the master go?¡±

 Chapter 5: Changes

    <h4>Chapter 5: Changes</h4>

    The conversation between Annan and Don Juan this time was slightly different from the previous one.

    Annan didn¡¯t ask Don Juan about the ck-haired and blue-eyed boy us asked. When Don Juan left the room, his expression was not so serious.

    This time Annan took the initiative to ask,

    ¡°Young master, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find Sir Benjamin.¡± Don Juan added, ¡°If you need to find me in an emergency, head directly to the captain¡¯s room. Don¡¯t bother with whoever talks to you, and don¡¯t be distracted by going to other ces. Make it a swift trip.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    Annan responded.

    At Don Juan¡¯s age, he was considered quite cautious. He did almost everything he could. Unfortunately, he did not consider the loyalty factor.

    His mistake was putting too much trust in the guard captain. For a vulnerable noble like him, he should not trust anyone. After all, Don Juan possessed a precious item and might probably have offended someone previously.

    That included John too.

    Annan sighed in his heart, watching Don Juan leave. His mind was upied with many thoughts.

    Sure enough¡­ I had altered something subconsciously in the previous life. The main mission was to stop Don Juan from drinking the poisoned alcohol. This showed that in real history, the young master should have been poisoned to death during dinner.

    But not long ago, when Annan found Don Juan, he had been tied up and put away. It appeared Don Juan was going to die on the spot. There was no need for poisoned alcohol, nor could he wait for dinner.

    The only possibility was the words he said to the young master previously had made Don Juan suspect the guard captain. He had probably confronted the guard captain.

    After that, a series of chain reactions arose. It alerted the viins.

    Probably, the old wizard would not die at this time. Just because of Don Juan¡¯s mistake, the n went ahead of time.

    I didn¡¯t say anything extra this time around. Then, the script should develop ording to the original storyline¡­ [Erosion rate increased to 4%]

    Annan frowned slightly.

    In other words, after entering this dungeon instance, if there are multiple opportunities to read the files, is it best to try to replicate the original owner¡¯s choice for the first time? Hmph, not necessarily. The owner has minimal information instead. For example, John doesn¡¯t even know who the betrayer is. I wonder how to reduce the erosion rate. I should try my best not to die just in case¡­ When Annan thought of this in his mind, a blockbuster data stream suddenly appeared before his eyes:

    [Main mission: Complete John¡¯s unfulfilledst wish]

    [Find out the true identity of the betrayer]

    [Live until dinner starts]

    [Don¡¯t let Don Juan¡¤Geraint drink the poisonous alcohol]

    But soon, the following three lines gradually faded and then shattered.

    In their position, a new line of writing emerged:

    [Kill guard captain us]

    [Kill all betrayers]

    Is it possible to inherit the progress of the dungeon instance after death? Annan suddenly came into realization. He thought of many new ideas in his mind.

    Just by looking at these two new mission goals, he couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud. Theughter was disproportionate to John¡¯s honest face, ¡°Things just got simpler¡­¡±

    Once the mission was simplified to ¡°where to go,¡± ¡°what to kill,¡± and ¡°how many to kill,¡± every yer would breathe a sigh of relief.

    Compared with theplex decryption and other troublesome mission goals with no hints to achieve them, such missions were more straightforward and precise. It would make the yer motivated as well.

    Annan didn¡¯t wait for Don Juan to go far because he knew the young master wouldn¡¯t return this time. He began to search the room proficiently.

    In just over a minute, he found Don Juan¡¯s dagger, ring, pocket watch, and John¡¯s sword.

    This time, Annan did not bring the stamp and letters but put them all in the room. He wanted to see if the guard captain got these letters but didn¡¯t get the ring, would he ¡°trigger¡± some new conversations.

    After losing his fear and anger, the world had be more and more like a game for him. Even if Annan logically agreed with its dangers and knew that this was his reality now, he did not have any particr feelings.

    Annan breathed out gently and slowly as he drew the long sword.

    He left the sheath directly in the room.

    The reason was also simple; it was inconvenient to carry around.

    After all, he was not here to practice swordsmanship.

    He intended to hunt and kill.

    Annan did not stay for long. He took the things and went straight out.

    At this time, Don Juan had not gone far. Probably, he had not faced off with the viins yet. The three who received the guard captain¡¯s mission to monitor John hadn¡¯te yet.

    They were probably afraid that Don Juan would return.

    But Annan didn¡¯t have so much fear at all.

    His pupils moved quickly, continually looking at every ce where there might be people. His steps were light, and his breathing was calm. It was to prevent the others from hearing his breathing but not to interfere with his listening.

    When he walked out of the corridor, he heard a string of messy footsteps.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just go in and tie up John?¡±

    ¡°No, although that fool is dumb, he is still quite powerful. Whoever makes a move will probably get hurt. At the very least, I don¡¯t want to get hurt.

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t want to either.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything extra. Just follow the order¡­¡±

    They¡¯reing. Everything was as expected. Hearing the trio¡¯sints and small talk, Annan sneered and silently retreated into the room closest to him.

    Fortunately, this room was not locked, and there was no one inside. This saved him a lot of trouble.

    At least, when he entered the door, he didn¡¯t need to subdue or kill everyone inside.

    That was how Annan used to do it when he yed stealth games in the past.

    He wielded a sword and leaned against the door. His body¡¯s weight was evenly pressed on the door as he listened carefully to the trio¡¯s voices.

    He pressed his weight equally on the door to prevent the squeaking sound of the aging door shaft when he leaned forward. Hence, he left the door open slightly at the very beginning.

    In this case, as long as the door was opened fast enough, there would not be much noise when opening the door.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s just stay here,¡± a somewhatzy voice sounded, ¡°It¡¯s safer to monitor John than to deal with the old man. He¡¯s a real wizard, not a trickster.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s best to stay here.¡±

    The guard who was the first to be killed by Annan previously interjected, ¡°In case the sir¡¯s n fails, we have a reason to exin ourselves. Anyway, we did not participate in sieging Sir Benjamin, so we just said we werezing around here. Punishment is better than a death sentence.

    ¡°If the Sir¡¯s n is sessful, we have also done something. We will not suffer in the end. This is the best oue.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, after all, John can¡¯t beat the three of us¡­¡±

    The guard who Annan had frozen to death previously also agreed with him, ¡°What you said makes sense. So, we are lucky.¡±

    ¡°Of course¡­¡±

    Listening to the three people¡¯s voices getting closer and then gradually moving away, the corner of Annan¡¯s mouth rose silently.

    He opened the room door, walked out of the room without hesitation, and raised his sword.

    Frost trace area of effect [1]-

    Among the trio, one of the senior guards heard a voiceing from behind and nced back subconsciously.

    He had never thought from the beginning that John might leave Don Juan¡¯s room and lie in ambush here, so he hardly had any vignce.

    Therefore, at the moment when he was astonished, a frost trace cut straight to his head!

    The ice-white traces spread rapidly from the cheek as the contact point and instantly covered the entire head, making him unable to make a single movement. The frost trace continued to spread downward¡ª

    When the other two heard the abnormal noise, they stretched out their hands to the weapon around their waists vigntly.

    But before they even turned their heads, they felt a chill at the back of their heads. Then, they lost consciousness.

    ¡°¡ªBehold my righteous backstab, yet again!¡±

    Annan¡¯s warning was three half beats slower.

    Although there are many changes, your fate of eating backstabs will not change! [1] Area of effect (or AoE) is a term used to refer to an effect or an ability that takes ce in an area in whichever shape or form.

 Chapter 6: Broken Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 6: Broken Mirror</h4>

    ¡°Hu¡­¡±

    Noticing that he had stealthily killed three people with three consecutive attacks, Annan rxed and let out a long sigh of relief.

    Annan suddenly had a strong intuition in his heart ¨C if he were to deliver the fourth sh, he might die.

    Although knowing that he would theoretically not die from the frost¡¯s injury, the racing heart made Annan withdraw his thoughts tomit the next sh.

    For the first time, he felt that the breath he exhaled was so cold, like the wind blowing from the freezer. His chest was also chilly; his right hand holding the sword was frozen numb. A stinging chill spread from his wrist to his arm.

    At this time, an icy numbing sensation finally came to the shoulders from the wrists.

    Immediately, there was an intense itch in the chest, mixed with numbness.

    ¡°Cough¡­cough¡­¡±

    Annan¡¯s body stiffened and coughed twice. There was a sharp pain in his chest.

    But this pain was mixed with soreness and itching. It felt as though he did an excessive amount of torturing workouts. Annan couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong sense of joy emerged at the bottom of his heart. The pain that put him unable to move had faded.

    Luckily, his reasoning restrained him, telling him, ¡°You have to take a rest.¡± With that, he resisted his desire to move around and puke blood all over.

    Annan immediately stopped in ce and began to take a deep breath to adjust his state, trying to exhale all the cold air soaked in his lungs. After repeating it six or seven times, he felt a little warmth in his chest with his limbs gradually warmed up.

    He thought this pain was unusual.

    To be on the safe side, he still opened his panel.

    In the dungeon instance, attributes, profession, and the other status seemed to be invisible. Annan could only see his health and erosion rate:

    Health: 70%

    Erosion rate: 4%

    ¡°This Frost Sword hurts a little¡­¡±

    Annan frowned slightly. He took note of it immediately.

    He knew his limit. He was not using Annan¡¯s body, but John¡¯s.

    John hadn¡¯t suffered any injuries previously. After using Frost Sword three times in a row, it deducted 30% of his health immediately.

    When he used Frost Sword previously, he obviously didn¡¯t pay any price.

    He suddenly recalled the memory fragments that belonged to the original ¡°Annan¡±¡ª

    The young Annan only delivered one or two shes at a time, and he looked exhausted. It didn¡¯t seem to be theck of strength due to young age. It was more like his current state now.

    There should be an inherent cool-down period [1] in Frost Sword. It could only be used twice in a row at most. Otherwise, it would burden the body.

    ¡°This sword technique deserves to be the ultimate secret of the Duke family.¡±

    Annan sighed with satisfaction.

    Typically, the more burdensome the skill, the stronger it should be.

    Like in the Naruto universe, Kakashi and the Might Guy had suicidal techniques to kill the opponent while sacrificing their life.

    The identity of ¡°Annan¡± should probably be a direct descendant of the Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke.

    He was the Grand Duke¡¯s son!

    Although he didn¡¯t know how many children the Lord Duke had, he could be regarded as one of the duchy heirs. From now on, he could look forward to the leisurely days of prosperity and wealth while waiting for death.

    Annan exhaled another cold breath. He straightened up his posture before dragging the three corpses into the room one by one.

    It was like the stealthy assassination game he had yed. (TN: I think the Author refers to Hitman: Agent 47)

    After killing someone, you must hide the body. Otherwise, the kill is useless.

    It was a pity that there were convenient things like a trash can or closet that could store many dead bodies.

    Annan gave it a few thoughts and stuffed all three corpses under the quilt. The corpses were ced intimately with each other. He revealed the backs of their heads only.

    He showed the side that was not frozen and looked rtively intact.

    As long as no weirdose in this room, it should be fine. These three dead bodies should stay hidden until the end of the dungeon instance.

    Annan could not help it if he encountered a pervert who dared to enter the house and take a closer look after seeing such a horrible scene. Who in the world would get excited to lift the quilt and take a closer look?

    After all, human psychology was magical.

    Annan waited for a while. He found that even though he no longer exhaled cold air and the pain was relieved, the health value that had dropped did not recover.

    He smashed his lips in disappointment.

    I don¡¯t have a natural recovery¡­My injury had recovered, but my health value did not rise ordingly.¡­Or is it because I¡¯m in a ¡°nightmare,¡± thus the recovery rate for my internal injury is slow?Annan squinted his eyes slightly and said nothing.

    He no longer dyed time. Seeing that his health had not been restored, he walked out directly, nning to carry out the next hunt.

    Annan repeated the same n. He would stealthily approach the enemy before delivering the backstab. His routine allowed him to kill all the patrolling guards and resting guards at the lower deck.

    Including the first three people, there were eleven people in total.

    It sounded like a grand n. However, under the premise that no one had received any warnings and all the guards had not attained a rank, this only dyed Annan for half an hour.

    However, he wasn¡¯t sure everyone he killed was a traitor.

    But after all, it was just a dungeon instance, only an illusory nightmare. It was a story that happened a day ago. In real history, perhaps the betrayers had already sessfully killed their master. They left with the wealth and treasures belonging to Don Juan.

    Since he couldn¡¯t tell who the betrayers were, he might as well kill them all.

    By this time, Annan had realized that something was wrong-

    He noticed a detail that he hadn¡¯t noticed in the previous life.

    Why didn¡¯t he see a servant or even a female worker doing chores on this ship?

    This was unreasonable. Don Juan was only thirteen or fourteen this year. Even if he was sent to a remote city to be a lord, it was impossible not giving him a single servant.

    It would tarnish the noble¡¯s reputation. Moreover, an old wizard was with the ship. Who would take care of his daily life?

    It was nonsense to say that it was impossible to carry so many servants or that the servants were on other ships. Annan saw many empty rooms. Those rooms were servants¡¯ rooms. They appeared like a small space crowded with a few people. There were traces of life, some coats, and even half a cup of freshwater.

    Simrly, there was no one inside.

    Are they all on the deck? Are they all in the captain¡¯s room?This is unlikely.So after wiping out all the patrolling guards, Annan began to search each room carefully.

    Finally, Annan discovered a room with a foul stench that was presumably used to store domestic garbage. He found these people.

    -in the form of dead bodies.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    Annan frowned, a little surprised at his calmness without the slightest nausea or fear.

    He shook his head and assessed the scene carefully.

    The ordinary people dressed like servants were tied up with ropes and hung upside down, bleeding to death. A rough deduction from the traces told Annan that they should have been arrested first and then killed.

    The blood on the floor had turned cold, but it hadn¡¯tpletely dried up. It should have taken ce recently. The smell of blood couldn¡¯t be detected from the outside because fresh dirt was applied to the seam of the door and the door handle outside. It isted the strong smell.

    But in the room, it seemed to have been cleaned beforehand without any dirt.

    There were only half-dry blood stains and footprints deliberately stepped on the blood. Those footprints were densely packed, seeming to circle the middle of the room several times.

    Annan looked carefully, and finally found a clue from the center. Footprints were circling the middle:

    In the middle of the room, there was a tongue in the spot with the thickest bloodstains. Judging from the length and width, it seems, probably, or maybe ¨C an ox tongue.Annan cautiously avoided the bloodstains and walked closer to investigate.

    He dared not touch anything, so he could only look from a distance. After assessing it for a long time, he discovered that a weird symbol was embroidered on that ox tongue with ck thread or something. Under the ox tongue, there was a small mirror.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Suddenly, Annan was startled.

    He recalled what happened when us killed him in the previous life.

    After seeing us, he decisivelyunched an all-out sneak attack on the opponent. us looked at him with a closed mouth. Annan was suddenly hit by his attack.

    It was like the damage had been transferred. It was unlike reflecting. ¡°John¡¯s¡± height and us were not the same. The blow he hit us¡¯s chest should hit his abdomen if it reflected.

    It was more like some sort of mapping.

    At that time, Guard Captain us didn¡¯t know that Annan would not be killed by frost damage. Seeing that Annan didn¡¯t die immediately like the others, he mocked Anna¡¯s half-hearted Frost Sword.

    At that moment, Annan vaguely saw another ck rune in us¡¯s mouth symmetrical to this rune.

    ¡ªIn other words, the same rune supposedly to be in the mirror¡¯s reflection.

    The mirror did not reflect the runes on the ox tongue.

    The rune on the ox tongue was facing upwards, but the mirror was under the ox tongue. This meant that the mirror image of the runes on the ox tongue was hidden on the ¡°other side¡± that was not visible and did not exist in the mirror.

    If the mirror image existed, then the mirror rune should be precisely the same as the rune in us¡¯s mouth!

    Annan was startled.

    He realized where us¡¯s weird ability came from.

    Perhaps, this was the source of us¡¯s ability to divert his attacks back!

    Annan raised his long sword. But, he put the sword back cautiously after a few thoughts.

    He only had one handy weapon.

    He took out the exquisite long dagger belonging to Don Juan from his arms.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t practiced dagger throwing either.¡±

    Annan grumbled, standing still outside the bloodstain.

    He didn¡¯t know how to sabotage this ritual, but it was best not to involve himself in it. He didn¡¯t dare to mess up those footprints. Anyway, either he smashed away the ox tongue, destroyed the mirror, or pierced the ox tongue with the mirror altogether. I should try each option one-by-one.

    If it doesn¡¯t work, I will go out and search the corpses. I can get those betrayers¡¯ weapons and smash the items one by one.At a distance of fewer than three meters, I should be able to hit one of them.Annan held the dagger for a long time before throwing it out.

    Very lucky, or rather, this dagger was determined not to fall short. Annan did not need the extra work. Annan¡¯s first attempt pierced the ox tongue altogether with the mirror.

    While cutting the rune on the ox tongue in half, it also sessfully smashed the weird mirror!

    [1] I will refer to the cool-down period as CD from now on.

    Trantor Notes (TN):1. We willmence Even days <i>(Tues, Thurs, Sat)</i> publishing schedule starting March. Hence, you will be expecting the next chapter on 2nd March.2. Dear readers, reviews & add to reading list on novel update help us to reach out for more viewers. Do support us if you can.

 Chapter 7: Nullifying the Curse

    <h4>Chapter 7: Nullifying the Curse</h4>

    After the mirror shattered, there were no ss shards sshed.

    Many purple-red cracks began to appear on the mirror surface, from which something colorless and intangible overflowed.

    Anan could hear whispers in his ears.

    Annan barely caught a slight fragrance in the air. But, he couldn¡¯t figure out the specific scent it was. After all, he hadn¡¯t studied the spices of this world. He could only barely detect it, which seemed to be the smell of either pepper or burnt wood.

    Of course, Annan was confident to remember it if he were to reencounter it next time.

    Suddenly, a line of blood-red, scribbled characters appeared in front of Annan:

    [You have nullified the curse ¨C The Tongue in the Mirror]

    At the next moment, a purple-red me was ignited on the pinned bull tongue above the broken mirror. At the same time, it also emitted a pungent stench, like the smell of dental que mixed with blood.

    The me rose instantly, burning the entire bull tongue with practically nothing left.

    Then, in the shattered mirror, an intense hurricane suddenly gushed out. The wind even sucked Annan, making him staggered. He almost stepped on the bloodstain in front.

    But these bloodstains did notst long.

    The invisible hurricane swept through, and the blood on the ground was like having been licked clean by a dog. In just a few seconds, it was sucked clean with no trace of blood remaining. Even the air no longer had the blood stench.

    It was like something Annan couldn¡¯t see had wiped the floor clean.

    Soon, the hurricane subsided.

    The blood, dirt, corpses, and ashes of cow tongue in the entire room were all sucked into the mirror.

    Only one mirror remained in the center of the room.

    The mirror was like ice-cracked porcin. It was like a phone with a screen protector that fell to the ground. It looked very miserable when it was broken, but no ss fell out.

    Annan walked over and touched the mirror.

    Sure enough, a light curtain appeared immediately before his eyes:

    [The Mirror without Tongue]

    [Type: Material/Misceneous (Blue)]

    [Description: The destroyed cursed item has lost its original function]

    [Effect: The curse holder will suffer from curse binding ¡°speak no evil¡°]

    [Speak no evil: If the curse holder is attacked when his sentence is not finished, the attack ignores the defense.]

    Looking at the attributes of this mirror, Annan fell into deep confusion.

    ¡°How is this useful?¡±

    Is this served as a warning not to ¡°act arrogant before delivering the killing blow st hit)?¡± Or¡­ I have damaged the function ¡°the attack you get when you are not speaking shall be redirected back?¡± Annan thought for a while but decided to find a ce to hide the mirror first.

    It was a bit scary to carry this thing around.

    Annan then found a ce to put the mirror, carried the sword, and went out.

    As soon as he left the room, he saw Guard Captain us hurriedly approaching. He just passed thest corner.

    When Annan saw us, us also raised his head as if he sensed something.

    He also happened to see Annan, who had juste out of the room.

    When the two saw each other, they stopped their actions immediately.

    Annan was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say, just squeezed the long sword in his hand.

    Strangely, us did not attack directly either.

    When he saw Annaning out of this room, he looked at Annan¡¯s mouth immediately. Seeing Annan¡¯s mouth closed tightly, us¡¯s pupils shrank. He also closed his mouth to remain silent, reaching out and holding the hilt of the sword. Then, he proceeded to stand motionless.

    This detail made Annan¡¯s heart move slightly, but there was no reaction on his face.

    Neither of them moved nor spoke.

    Suddenly, there was an ominous silence in the narrow corridor.

    The frozen air was thick and cold, surging with unconcealed killing intent and malice.

    After a few seconds of silence, Annan¡¯s vague thoughts became clearer:

    Why does us omit from attacking me? Does he not want to? No, Annan could be certain that us really wanted to kill him. The killing intent in his eyes was boiling. The slightly squinted eyes were flowing with a chill like a reptile.

    Just staring into us¡¯s eyes, Annan could hear a soft, unintelligible whisper in his ear.

    In his eyes, us¡¯ figure gradually became distorted and exaggerated. A purplish-red mist was steaming from his body. But Annan looked carefully again as if it was just an illusion.

    Guard Captain us stood still with his mouth closed and said nothing.

    Unless¡­ us wants to attack me, but he doesn¡¯t dare! Annan immediately came into realization.

    Maybe us couldn¡¯t see that the mirror was broken, or he didn¡¯t have much information. He might think that Annan got the same ability as him ¨C the ability to redirect the attack back in silence!

    For example, Annan could have taken out the beef tongue that belonged to us and put the beef tongue he had prepared in advance.

    With a guess in his heart, Annan gained confidence.

    He was not the kind of person whocked courage.

    What¡¯s more? He didn¡¯t feel fear or panic at all now.

    Annan didn¡¯t want to give his life in vain.

    He immediately stretched out his hand, put his index finger in front of his lips, and made a silent gesture. The honest and straightforward face belonging to John gradually showed a bright and proud smile.

    Seeing ¡°John¡± suddenly making such a frantic expression, us¡¯s heart trembled.

    ¡­Could it be? Has John stolen the curse? ¡°Don¡¯te.¡±

    Annan closed the door and slowly retreated to the other side of the corridor.

    He stretched out his left hand to block his mouth. The words he uttered in his mouth were short but could not be challenged, ¡°Get back.¡±

    Of course, the rune was not engraved on his tongue. He had burned the bull tongue and nullified the curse.

    Coincidentally, us chose this fully enclosed windowless room to prevent others from discovering the ritual he arranged in the room. But now, he was trapped by his plot.

    He didn¡¯t even know that there was nothing left in this room.

    As long as Annan blocked his mouth, us didn¡¯t dare to attack Annan at all. He couldn¡¯t see Annan¡¯s mouth, so he couldn¡¯t judge whether Annan was about to speak, so he couldn¡¯t even attack.

    Annan could attack him, but he could not attack Annan. Once he guessed the timing wrong, John would kill him instead.

    Seeing us still hesitating, Annan immediately revealed the card up his sleeve:

    ¡°-The Tongue in the Mirror, right?¡±

    It was a critical hit.

    Hearing these words, us¡¯s expression finally moved.

    His face showed strong unwillingness. He sighed deeply in the end and withdrew the right hand on the long sword around his waist.

    ¡°You won, John. Although I think you probably don¡¯t know what you did yourself¡­¡±

    us sighed and stopped putting up his silent act.

    Seeing Annan remain silent, he shook his head. Sticking out his tongue, showing Annan the curse binding that was nullified.

    There was a deep and bloody wound on his tongue.

    The bloodstain was simr to Don Juan¡¯s dagger. It was as though someone pierced us¡¯s tongue with that dagger. The rune he sewed on his tongue with thread was naturally divided into two by this scar.

    ¡°Are you satisfied?¡±

    us snorted coldly, ¡°Listen well, John. I don¡¯t have to kill you, but you must keep it secret for us. This is also for your own good.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to kill me?¡±

    Annan repeated us¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t helpughing, ¡°Do you have a saying on this?¡±

    Although Annan¡¯s strength might not allow him to beat us, Annan¡¯s advantage was that he was fearless.

    Because of fearlessness- He was acting cool; he seemed extremely confident.

    But looking at Annan¡¯s confident look, the corner of us¡¯s mouth suddenly rose, revealing an undisguised sneer:

    ¡°Whose order do you think we listened to? Why do you think we dared to betray the Three-eyed Crow? Do you think we are all as stupid as you?¡±

    ¡°The Gerant family is not a generous and kind person. Count Crow only has four children in total. He is incredibly affectionate to Don Juan. He was not sent out because he made a mistake but because the count wanted to save him.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the lord¡¯s order, we were not crazy enough to murder the young master¡­¡±

    us¡¯s eyes were full of sympathetic mockery, ¡°We can¡¯t do anything about it. I advise you to stop, silly John. It¡¯s already toote. Did you kill everyone under this deck? Outstanding skills, join us.

    ¡°¡®Tongue in the Mirror¡¯ can only protect you from death on the ship at best. However, if you dare to go ashore, you will be dead. Moreover, even if you stay on the ship and don¡¯t get off, the ship itself can¡¯t stand the cannon.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen what a cannon is, right? I¡¯m just telling you. As long as a shell hits, the whole ship will be broken in half. It¡¯s terrifying.¡±

    ¡°I have killed your men. Can you rest assured?¡±

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t kill them, someone will.¡±

    us sneered, ¡°It¡¯s just a bunch of disposable. They won¡¯t be able to enter the ranks in this life. But, you are different. Since you can steal my ritual, it means you must also have the talent to be Transcended. You pretended to be a fool for so many years. You would not want to be a mere guard, right?¡±

    ¡°So, who made the order?¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Who wants to kill the young master? You have to tell me this. Otherwise, I can¡¯t trust you.¡±

    In terms of this ship¡¯s craftsmanship, there should not be too many ¡°cannons¡± in this world.

    He was nning to borrow Don Juan¡¯s identity, which forced him to find out the enemies who Don Juan would be facing. Otherwise, he might die unknowingly.

    Of course, if it was too difficult to deal with, it did not rule out the possibility of Annan slipping straight away.

    ¡°Since I dared to tell you, I am naturally not afraid of you spreading this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be straightforward. It¡¯s the Third Prince. Not only the young master will die, but Count Crow will be killed sooner orter. Only the Eldest Young Master in the entire Gerant family can live because he is a wise man.¡±

    The corner of the guard captain¡¯s mouth raised, ¡°After all, time is running out now for our esteemed King.¡±

    Trantor Notes (TN): 1. We will publish chapters on Even days <i>(Tues, Thurs, Sat)</i>. 2. Dear readers, reviews & add to reading list on novel update help us to reach out for more viewers. Do support us if you can.

 Chapter 8: Ritual: The Tongue In The Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 8: Ritual: The Tongue In The Mirror</h4>

    ¡­It¡¯s a story about the change of kingship. Annan felt a little stomachache just by hearing this.

    The king had turned old, and the new king had not yet ascended the throne. In other words, this kingdom would inevitably be in chaos during this period.

    After three more days, the closed beta would start. yers woulde to this world. This unknown kingdom would be more chaotic.

    Speaking of which, Annan still didn¡¯t know what the kingdom was called.

    But it would still be fine.

    As long as His Majesty didn¡¯t seek Don Juan¡¯s life from his heart, he could stay low to survive.

    Taking this opportunity, Annan could ask what political position ¡°Don Juan¡± should hold. It would save the trouble of identally exposing himself.

    ¡°Of course, I agree to join in. Speaking of which, where does count stand?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s at Your Majesty¡¯s side. That is, the Grand Duke¡¯s side too.¡±

    The guard captain sighed in relief.

    He thought that probably no one in this world would speak lightly on a prince and the future king, so he rxed. His attitude was much warmer, ¡°The Gerant family has contributed a role in ensuring Your Majesty to ascend the throne. But you know, Count Crow will not support the Third Prince ascending the throne.¡±

    Annan nodded solemnly.

    Nope, I don¡¯t know. He thought a little and asked probingly in John¡¯s usual mannerism, ¡°But, I still don¡¯t understand. Why don¡¯t they direct their effort at the count but at the young master? If something happens to the young master, the count will go crazy. How do we escape?¡±

    ¡°Count won¡¯t know about this.¡±

    The guard captain was a little impatient about this, ¡°This ship will be faked as a shipwreck. We will burn the sail and let it float on the sea for a long time before it dock. By then, we have already fled.¡±

    Annan asked a few more questions. Guard Captain us reluctantly replied with an attitude of ¡°I can¡¯t beat John anyway.¡± ¡°What the Third Prince wants is just the stamp ring from the Geraint family.¡±

    -Forged letters! Annan grasped it immediately.

    us and their purpose were to keep ¡°Don Juan¡± alive and take away the stamp ring! With that, they could forge a letter from someone in the Gerant family; whether it was sent to the count or used as false evidence, it would attain a fantastic oue.

    Annan suddenly felt his stomach hurt even further and wanted to puke.

    Why did I get involved in such a troublesome matter? Moreover, since their purpose was to take the ring, they had probably found it on the ship when he exited the nightmare.

    Suddenly, Annan was startled.

    Wait.

    us lied- Annan saw usmand the traitors to search Don Juan¡¯s room during the previous life.

    He clearly remembered that they were looking for ¡°a piece of paper.¡± Don Juan sewed this piece of paper in the clothes inteyer under the left armpit. The ring and stamp were just something they just happened to encounter.

    Annan¡¯s heart shuddered.

    Suppose us was using a slightly less critical matter to cover up another more important matter¡­

    It showed that this piece of paper¡¯s value was even more important than a prince¡¯s n to seize power!

    But, Annan didn¡¯t alert the viin.

    He just pretended to be concerned and continued to ask, ¡°What about Sir Benjamin? How do we deal with him?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about it. Just listen to mymand.¡±

    Annan¡¯s acting skills managed to fool us. He was a little relieved and briskly replied, ¡°The young master and we are on the same side. We wouldn¡¯t dare to do such a thing without him. This is a task that will bring disaster to us. Young Master has top-secret information on the Gerant family, including Benjamin¡¯s weaknesses.

    ¡°What a great opportunity for us to head up together. If you are present, the young master will be less vignt¡­¡±

    ¡°I have ast request.¡±

    Annan hesitated for a while and asked with the risk of exposing himself, ¡°I want theplete ritual process of The Tongue in the Mirror.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I also need to know who your master is.¡±

    us agreed without hesitation, ¡°The slow-witted John I know is not so smart. You have pretended to be a fool for so long to get close to Don Juan?

    ¡°Who made youe?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, Lord Duke.¡±

    ¡°¡­Duke? Hmm¡­Which Duke?¡±

    Hearing the word ¡°duke,¡± the muscles on us¡¯s face twitched.

    He hesitated but still asked. But his voice was much softer, and his tone was not so aggressive, ¡°Is it convenient to say it?¡±

    ¡°A duke with ck hair and blue eyes¡­ You know.¡±

    Annan answered vaguely.

    He wanted to get around us and ask him some news about the Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke.

    But hearing Annan¡¯s answer, us¡¯ pupils suddenly shrank slightly. He was silent immediately, and cleared his throat a little embarrassingly, not daring to ask further.

    ¡°My ritual is the knowledge from the Upright Deity Church. Don¡¯t pass it on to anyone. I get it unjustly.¡±

    us just warned, ¡°This is the dungeon instance knowledge that I have previously traded with others. The Upright Deity Church produced it. It hurts me very little while the effect is stable, unlike the rituals of false gods that are easy to go wrong. Keep it in your heart. It¡¯s best to understand that once this knowledge is leaked, both you and I will suffer.¡±

    ¡°Upright Deity Church?¡±

    Annan made a reasonably doubtful expression.

    Sure enough, us still couldn¡¯t bear it and exined, ¡°It¡¯s not the Silver Sire Church. Although our Noah Kingdom does wee the Silver Sire¡¯s priest, if you don¡¯t have the money, those penny-pinchers won¡¯t teach you any magic or ritual.¡±

    Annan immediately made a disappointed look.

    At the same time, he took a deep breath and noted down the strange name of ¡°Silver Sire.¡±

    Oh my God, I finally found out the country¡¯s name¡­ us chuckled then replied, ¡°This is the ¡®Mysterious Lady¡¯ ritual. I don¡¯t know how much Grand Duke told you, so I will start from the beginning. Keep your ears clean. I will only say it once. The more I said, the harsher it will be for your spirit to bear.¡±

    As he said, his voice suddenly changed, bing low and hoarse. It was like opening a tape recorder in the throat and ying out a voice that belongs to others:

    ¡°The materials for the ritual are: 1. the soul of the person who remains silent despite knowing in advance on a crime that is going to take ce 2. the blood of male adults who have never killed anyone 3. the tongue of a bull who died of voluntary poisoning 4. shoes that have never get in contact with mud 5. a mirror norger than the size of one¡¯s head 6. a scoop of seawater that has left the sea for no more than a day.

    ¡°The ritual is simple. The specific procedure is to engrave or embroider any of the secret text(s) belonging to the mysteriousdy on the bull tongue as a ¡®lock.¡¯ Then, you engrave or embroider its symmetry body on one¡¯s tongue as a ¡®key¡¯.¡±

    ¡°After that, mix the blood and seawater, put the bull tongue on the mirror with the secret text(s) facing up. Release the sinner¡¯s soul, put on ritual shoes, and walk around the bloody ground clockwise and counterclockwise as you like. But do remember the number ofps. With that, ¡®open the door¡¯ ritual isplete.¡±

    ¡°After that, you can¡¯t leave your ritual area too far. The specific limit is your own 2,600 steps. If you exceed this distance, you are responsible for your consequences.¡±

    ¡°To release yourself from the ritual, wear those shoes again. Then, use the number ofps you set yourself and walk in the reverse direction once. That will be ¡®closing the door.¡¯ But before February 1st, you must release the ritual, regardless of how long the ritual hassted. For the same reason, don¡¯t use this ritual until February has passed. Otherwise, you will be at your own risk.¡±

    At this point, us¡¯s strange state of ¡°retelling¡± was also over.

    He cleared his throat, cast his gaze at Annan. At the same time, his right hand moved closer to the hilt without a trace: ¡°It¡¯s that simple. Hmph, you¡¯re still fine.¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m good.¡±

    Annan made a troubled expression, took a deep breath, and nodded slowly.

    us nodded with concern, but a hint of disappointment shed in his eyes. His right hand returned to the previous position, ¡°It seems that you know a lot about this ritual previously. You still have a bit of knowledge about it and didn¡¯t ask for those taboo knowledge that your spirit cannot bear.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t speak but continued to nod vigorously, making himself appear like struggling.

    But, Annan was at a loss deep inside.

    Annan probably knew what the opposing party was nning.

    In us¡¯s opinion, if he said this knowledge, ¡°John¡± might have lost himself on the ground and bepletely vulnerable. us must be plotting something terrible.

    But, the oue was different from what us thought.

    Annan didn¡¯t have any particr feelings at all.

    It didn¡¯t hurt or itch, nor dizzy. At most, it felt that he had exercised too much just now and a bit hungry since mealtime was approaching.

    That was why Anna could put up such a great act.

    In terms of Annan¡¯s acting skills, it felt like a shame for him to perform at this level.

    But the problem was that Annan didn¡¯t know what to do precisely-

    What could he do? He was in a desperate situation.

    He didn¡¯t even know whether he should have nausea or headache, vomiting or chest pain at this time. He could only make an expression of holding in his shit.

    Anyway, no matter what the ufortable state should be, this expression was universal.

    Seeing Annan ¡°digesting the taboo knowledge quickly,¡± us gritted his teeth and continued casually, ¡°Also, do remember to arrange a guard in front of the ritual area? Otherwise, if someone reces the tongue, your ritual¡¯s control will be taken away. It¡¯s just like what happened to me. The demand for this unpopr ritual itself is low. The Bronze Rank Transcended can use it. Since ites from the Upright Deity Church, there is no random chaotic effect¡­¡±

    When he said this, the corners of his mouth rose ironically, ¡°But, under normal circumstances, this ritual can only be used by the goddess who can engrave inscriptions on the soul. It must be ¡®Reverse Inscription.¡¯ But the only church which has mastered ¡®Reverse Inscription¡¯ belongs to the ¡®Silent Lady,¡¯ the god of veto and darkness, not the ¡®Mysterious Lady¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Thanks to the Third Prince who found a special magic mirror for me, I was able to operate this ritual. It was made by the Mysterious Lady Church, specifically to rece the Reverse Inscription to operate this ritual mirror. Since it is not activated normally, I still need topensate many souls to maintain the ritual barely. When the body decays, the ritual will automatically end, which is beyond my uncontrol.¡±

    Speaking of this, us smiled triumphantly, ¡°Learning this is not useful because you have to find a way to get such a mirror first.¡±

    This is probably the reason why he just agreed forthrightly. Annan smacked his lips, then sighed again. He followed us without saying a word.

    This made us feel much better.

    But us couldn¡¯t see it; Annan looked at him with pitiful eyes.

    This hapless kid¡­ When Annan got this ritual, us was desperate. How long did it take him to get a ¡°curse¡± mirror that could barely be used as a substitute? It was like a stupid kid who had finally bought a 3A game [1] masterpiece and found out that hisputer couldn¡¯t run it at all.

    But we are different. Annan remembered that ¡°Reverse Inscription.¡±

    I seems, probably, maybe¡­ having it. [1] In informal ssification used for video games produced and distributed by a mid-sized or major publisher, typically having higher development and marketing budgets.

 Chapter 9: Whats Your Goal? Bro

    <h4>Chapter 9: What''s Your Goal? Bro</h4>

    us thought he was watching Annan, keeping this uncontroble factor under his nose.

    However, wasn¡¯t Annan watching us closely too?

    The two could stay peacefully now, not because Annan was so strong that us didn¡¯t want to be his enemy, nor was it that us had any kindness towards him.

    It was all because us mistakenly thought that Annan had stolen his ritual ¡°The Tongue in the Mirror¡± and got a temporary ability to reflect damage.

    He didn¡¯t dare to be Annan¡¯s enemy in this state.

    Although he also knew how to resolve this ritual, he did not dare to enter the room in front of Annan, at least for now.

    After all, it would take time to destroy the ritual. When Annan first saw him, the first reaction was to make him retreat. If Annan were pushed to the edge and saw that he wanted to open the door, Annan would stab him directly.

    Worse still, us didn¡¯t dare to fight back. Annan would shut his mouth and open his arms. Kalus would have shed on himself without reservation.

    Annan could attack him, and he couldn¡¯t attack Annan.

    That would be unfair.

    So us thought for a while and let it go.

    This decision came from the heart.

    At least while Annan was staring at him, he had given up all the thoughts of entering the door and ruining the ritual.

    But if the two of them separated, us would go to the room where the ritual was and try to ruin the ritual ¨C us believed that Annan must also know about this.

    As a matter of fact, as soon as us opened the room door, he would immediately realize that he was fooled.

    Annan didn¡¯t steal the ritual and didn¡¯t get the temporary ability to redirect back attacks.

    Previously, he was acting and bluffing.

    It was like a hero who was inferior inne suddenly activated a movement ability,ing over without warning and started to exchange blows. us¡¯s first reaction would not be to retaliate but to be concerned, ¡°Is the opposite junglering? [1]¡±

    So, Kalus made a prompt decision ¨C he did even make a move but turned away directly and fled without hesitation.

    Naturally, Annan couldn¡¯t hide it for long.

    But whether Annan stole the ritual or destroyed the ritual, he would not want us to act separately from him. It was precisely because us knew Annan¡¯s needs and that Annan was a smart person. He didn¡¯t even prompt. He directly put forward the suggestion of ¡°Should we go up together?¡±

    This was a kind signal from the guard captain to Annan.

    After all, his primary mission was not to kill ¡°Guard John¡± but to kill the Old Wizard Benjamin and Don Juan.

    John shouldn¡¯t have been his enemy. Of course, if it was convenient and John got in the way, us didn¡¯t mind killing him.

    Anyway, except for the talents that the Third Prince fancy, everyone on this ship shouldn¡¯t survive. It was more about who would die first orter.

    But even the guard captain put up an act. It was indeed a kind signal. At least, he fully expressed to Annan, ¡°I have no intention of being your enemy for the time being.¡±

    Annan did see it.

    He even noticed more clues.

    It appeared to us that the only way for Annan to survive was to gain excellent credit in the next action to gain the Third Prince¡¯s favor and be a hired thug at his level.

    In this case, us would naturally transform the ¡°goodwill¡± he had previously shown into reality.

    Otherwise, if us could kill Annan with just one sentence, he would naturally retaliate against the man who pierced his tongue through a curse. He would want Annan to endure the sharp pain simr to what he had.

    The guard captain¡¯s subtle thoughts also fell in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Annan¡¯s mouth raised slightly, ¡°Hmph...¡±

    ¡°How do we act in a while?¡±

    Stopped in front of the deck¡¯s stairs, Annan opened his mouth and asked softly, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me I need to pay attention to your eye signal before I act?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± us walking in front, shook his head and exined carefully, ¡°I have already arranged what should be arranged. I don¡¯t have anything against you, but no one should know the details of the n. This is to prevent information leak.¡±

    ¡°The dinner party should have started now. All you have to do is stay with Don Juan, chat with him, and distract him. Or you can make an excuse and take him away. After all, Don Juan also knows the old wizard¡¯s secret. He may be aware that something is wrong.¡±

    us carefully ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t look into the old wizard¡¯s eyes, you got me? The young master doesn¡¯t know which school the wizard came from. We don¡¯t know whether he acquires the ¡°Soul Snatch,¡± ¡°Edict,¡± or ¡°Prophet¡± school of spells. But, he is so old. His age means something¡­¡±

    ¡°For the sake of safety, don¡¯t look at him. It¡¯s best not to have anymunication with him. But, keep up the natural expression. If you can¡¯t do it, don¡¯t go up.¡±

    You can be part of us, but don¡¯t hold us back. But whether you follow us or hold us back, you are at your own risk. us pointed it out tantly at Annan¡¯s face.

    But Annan didn¡¯t have the slightest anger or resentment on his face.

    He just showed a simple and honest smile, ¡°No problem, I am great at acting.¡±

    Upon hearing this, the guard captain recalled how ¡°John¡± acted in the past and nodded in agreement.

    ¡°John¡¯s¡± acting is indeed no problem. Those fallen to the act still didn¡¯t realize that they were cheated. Guard Captain us gave a few more orders before taking Annan to the deck.

    When he went upstairs, his face gradually became serious. He tried his best to suppress the tension and excitement.

    On Annan¡¯s face, there was a slight invisible panic in addition to the honesty. His face immediately oozed subtle sweat, his lips gradually became a little pale, and his Adam¡¯s apple was rolling up and down.

    At least in terms of the two¡¯s appearance, Annan¡¯s acting skills had utterly defeated the guard captain.

    The banquet had already begun. Even the guards on the deck were huddled in the corner, chatting in a low voice while enjoying a luxurious dinner on board.

    The old wizard was eating, drinking, and chatting with Don Juan in the captain¡¯s room. He frowned slightly when he saw the twoing from a distance.

    His gaze swept across Annan, then stopped on us.

    The old wizard¡¯s gaze gradually turned into puzzled and then slowly turned into doubt.

    ¡°That us¡­¡±

    ¡°Young master!¡±

    The moment the old wizard spoke, Annan suddenly said first and interrupted the old wizard¡¯s words, ¡°You have requested me toe in person¡ª¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, John?¡±

    Little Don Juan immediately asked nervously, ¡°What happened?¡±

    What he had agreed with Annan before was, ¡°If something goes wrong,e to him immediately.¡±

    Don Juan naturally believed that ¡°John¡± would not leave his post without authorization, so when he saw ¡°John¡± leaving his room and appearing in front of him, he had a thump in his heart.

    ¡°I, I¡­¡±

    Annan was a little worried with his face pale. Big beads of sweat ooze out of his face, as if panicked and didn¡¯t know what to do¨C

    ¡°Stop staggering with your words. Say it!¡±

    us¡¯s iconic rude voice sounded, ¡°Tell the master again what you just told me!¡±

    However, us could never guess what it was.

    The moment us said this, Don Juan¡¯s brows suddenly frowned, vaguely aware of something.

    Because what Don Juan and John had agreed before was that if something went wrong, he woulde directly to him and don¡¯t talk to anyone.

    Just after us¡¯s words ended, a well-dressed old gentleman walked over and put a barrel of wine in his hand on the table where the old wizard and young Don Juan were seated.

    Judging from his clothes, he was Don Juan¡¯s butler.

    The old housekeeper skillfully opened the lid of the wine barrel and inserted the Coravin into it.

    However,

    At this time.

    Annan raised his head suddenly. He shouted at Don Juan while running wildly toward Benjamin,

    ¡°Quickly knock over the wine barrel!

    ¡°He is going to kill Sir Benjamin!¡±

    Don Juan, who had already felt something amiss for a long time, immediately understood everything after hearing Annan¡¯s words.

    He stretched out his hand immediately and overturned the wine barrel on the table to the ground.

    The bright red wine poured on the floor was like blood. The expression on the old housekeeper¡¯s face suddenly changed drastically, staggering and falling to the ground!

    Guard Captain us¡¯s mind already went nk:

    How did this fellow know my n? No, he also knows what Benjamin¡¯s curse binding is. No way¡­ us couldn¡¯t understand at all why John, a wise man, would choose the stupidest, least profitable decision that would offend many people. In any case, he would die¡ª

    Why would he dare to do this? -What¡¯s your goal?! [1] A Multiyer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) reference. In this case, you¡¯re revealing your weakness and make yourself appear like bait to intimate the enemy.

    Hi guys! The Steambun social media team isunching some new campaigns.

    If our novel reaches 20 members in discord (you need to join the server and react to emoji to say that you¡¯re our reader), we¡¯ll be releasing a new chapter!

    So, do go ahead and join us in discord!

 Chapter 10: The Upright Last Hit

    <h4>Chapter 10: The Upright Last Hit</h4>

    He didn¡¯t wait for the old housekeeper to scramble and escape, nor wait for the guard captain toe and rescue him.

    Benjamin, who realized that someone wanted to murder him, immediately retaliated in anger!

    He raised his right hand and pointed his empty palm at the old housekeeper.

    The ring on his right hand gleamed with pure white light.

    These lights flowed out of the ring like living things, crawling and squirming on his skin, forming an eye-like pattern in his palm.

    There were no light rays or light cannons, but the old housekeeper suddenly let out a miserable scream, and the whole person froze.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ah~¡±

    Amidst the wail, he maintained a distorted and painful posture lying on the ground. The whole person turned into a crystal-like blood-colored ice sculpture.

    The victim was not frozen to death or covered with ice.

    It was more like the person turned into a red icicle.

    But there was no frost trace on the floor in front of the old housekeeper.

    After freezing the old housekeeper alive, Benjamin did not rx.

    He squeezed his right hand. The ice sculpture transformed from the old housekeeper suddenly shattered with its pieces shooting out in all directions!

    The guard captain, who had been cautiously backing with a sword, was alerted after witnessing this attack. He did not dare to underestimate the wizard. He immediately jumped back andnded on the back end of the ship. Then, he quickly grabbed a guard, utilizing the guard as a meat shield in front of him.

    The oing bloody ice needles pierced the guard immediately, turning him into a hedgehog. The guards who were eating on both sides were caught off guard by Benjamin¡¯s ice needles too.

    As soon as these ice needles impacted someone, they immediately melted and sank into his body. Within two or three seconds, dense cobweb-like ck stripes appeared on his skin. The guard captain threw the corpse into the sea without hesitation.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the other guards who the blood ice had injured to freeze with ck-like patterns oozing out of their skin.

    Benjamin coldly opened his tightly gripped right hand.

    The pupils of the guard captain shrank slightly. He jumped high in the air¡ª

    In the next second, the guards whose skin was covered with ck lines exploded in an instant.

    A dark purple me burst out of them, instantly engulfing anyone close enough to them.

    From the body burned to death by this me, dense ck smoke burst out like tiny mosquitoes. The ck smoke gathered in the air, forming a massive hand and attacking the guard captain.

    ¡°¡­The Alteration School.¡±

    Seeing this terrifying attack, the guard captain¡¯s expression rxed.

    Indeed, the alteration school was the wizard school that was least afraid of facing a crowd.

    Whether it was human beings, animals, nts, gems, or cursed objects, the Alteration School would be able to leverage them and alter them. These entities would be continuously transformed into their power. Before they were eroded to the limit by the curse or their transformation was interrupted, the chain reaction had no limits.

    But in the same way, the alteration school was the school with the fewest instant spells.

    Their ce belonged to the battlefield orboratory.

    Indeed, the mysterious power Benjamin used was just an active ability he got from curse binding.

    In front of us, a Silver Rank Melee Fighter, Benjamin had no room to cast spells.

    Because he still had to protect Don Juan.

    On the other hand, us had no scruples.

    us¡¯s previous panic expression had gradually calmed down.

    As us jumped to the highest point he could reach in the air, he had already wielded the long sword in his hand.

    The silver hit of u¡¯s long sword shone brightly; some light streams that were dimmer than Benjamin¡¯s light trace flew out of it and imprinted on the back of his hand, fingers, and sword edge.

    In the next moment, he was like gravity being reversed, changing direction easily in the air. He ran wildly on an invisible slide like a sonic hedgehog with his speed soaring!

    ¡°Windrunner? You¡¯re a Windrunner who transferred his upation into a swordsman.¡±

    When the old man noticed this, he sneered softly, ¡°Ayman Transcended¡­¡±

    He still didn¡¯t cast spells.

    He was just staring at us calmly while turning the ring on his right hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to cast my curse binding-¡±

    He chanted softly. If Annan was not behind him, he could not hear what the old wizard was muttering at all,

    ¡°First, I will never take a step back in this battle!¡±

    The old wizard¡¯s voice fell. An illusory rune appeared before his eyes and then disappeared.

    He continued to chant, ¡°Secondly, I will give up using spells in this battle!¡±

    After he finished speaking, he twisted the ring back again.

    At this time, us was still running freely in the air at a rapid speed!

    The ck smoke cloud chasing behind us almost reached him, but he soon threw the cloud behind him. As us flew, the air around him gradually became blurred.

    After elerating a few moreps, he ran to a high point. Then, he began to dive toward the ship floating on the sea-

    The old wizard squinted at him and bluntly opened his right finger towards us.

    Are you catching up to me?

    But, it¡¯s already toote!

    us was in ecstasy and high spirits.

    He had remembered the old wizard¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°Inferior Crimson Crystal¡± was a must-have ability for wizards in Alteration School. Its typical lock-on time was four seconds. Benjamin elerated it to one and a half seconds. The unrecognized ability behind us needed the Inferior Crimson Crystal as a medium before it could be released in the air.

    Moreover, he could activate it in one-fifth of a second.

    Bang!

    It was like the sound of a leather wallet falling to the ground.

    In front of the old wizard, an illusory barrier suddenly appeared. It collided with the swooping us!

    The barrier was instantly cracked, but us¡¯s forward charge was stopped!

    us was bounced away mercilessly, flying out for a distance.

    In less than a second, the ¡°Inferior Red Crystal¡± had quickly locked on the enemy.

    The curse binding of ¡°Give up using spells in this battle¡± offered Sir Benjamin the temporary ability ¨C [Efficiency Enhancement]!

    It was the ability to speed up the abilities¡¯ efficiency!

    ¡°Uhahahahah~¡±

    Like the old housekeeper, us immediately wailed in pain.

    He fell directly to the ground; blood-dyed crystals appeared on his left arm and right cheek.

    The crystallizing speed on him was much slower than that of the old butler. At least he could resist after falling to the ground-

    As this process continued, Annan, who was hiding behind the old wizard, finally saw the model of this ability:

    In Benjamin¡¯s palm, there was a slender and illusory tube like a blood vessel. One end was connected to us, and the other end was submerged in the ¡°eye¡± pattern in the old wizard¡¯s palm.

    As if noticed that Annan was peeping, the ¡°eye¡± pattern moved a bit!

    Its eyeball that was initially in the center suddenly shifted to the left.

    It was like squinting at Annan!

    But, Annan didn¡¯t have the slightest fear.

    He just stared back.

    What are you looking at?

    Perhaps he noticed John¡¯s gaze, or perhaps the pattern on his palm told him something, the old wizard ¨C Benjamin tilted his head slightly and nodded kindly to Annan.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go there, little John. Be careful.¡±

    Seeing Annan as if going forward, the old wizard stopped him mercilessly, ¡°us is just acting. He hasn¡¯t lost hisbat power.¡±

    ¡°This bit of pain can¡¯tpare to the severe pain during the rank advancement stage. If he could lose his resistance in pain, he would have lost control during the rank advancement stage.¡±

    Hearing this, us, who was crying painfully and lying on the floor, stopped abruptly.

    He raised his head, stared at John, and raised from the floor slowly. His left eye had crystallized, while his right eye was bloodshot with anger.

    ¡°You betrayed Don Juan first, and then you betrayed me! You are a more shameful betrayer than me, John!

    ¡°Do you think you will be better off? You are also a traitor, a spy sent by Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke! If I am dead, you will die too!¡±

    us snarled in a low voice, the muscles on his back twitching and bulging abnormally.

    As if rib cages were growing on his back, a small wing made of bones slowly protruded from his back.

    Upon seeing this, the old wizard¡¯s face suddenly changed.

    He nced at Annan and immediately changed his words, ¡°Don Juan, kill him! Use the frost spell I taught you. I will help you control him!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, his open right hand suddenly clenched. The bright red spar suddenly pierced us¡¯s joints, turned awkwardly in the air, and nailed it to the deck like a crab.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    Annan raised the unsheathed sword and asked curiously.

    The anxious old wizard replied while sweating profusely, ¡°Don¡¯t ask and retreat! Don¡¯t get in contact with him via a weapon!¡±

    After receiving the order, Don Juan immediately opened his right hand. The bronze ring shone with a faint brilliance. He said quickly in an unknownnguage,

    ¡°The freeze element, the structure of the line, the frost is the wheel, the flesh is the path.¡±

    He raised his right hand with his five fingers connected into a circle. An icy blue magic circle appeared at his fingertips. Azure blue lines intertwined each other with an azure blue halo condensed in it.

    Don Juan threw it out with force.

    When the halo flew out, it quickly grew bigger in the air, turning into a massive frost wheel that was as tall as one person.

    The frost wheel was without material existence but a hollow and gorgeous shapeposed of azure blue rays of light. It shone mysteriously.

    Itnded on the deck without any reaction, just rolled forward quickly. But when it hit us, it left a horrible and canine bite-like frost mark.

    But, it couldn¡¯t freeze the guard captain. The situation was getting worse.

    The guard captain only applied a little force, and the thin ice covering him broke apart.

    Is the spell cast at a distance too weak?

    ¡°The freeze element-¡±

    Don Juan¡¯s face turned pale. He ran over with the courage while chanting again.

    But before he finished chanting, he was interrupted by Annan¡¯s tugging.

    ¡°Do we have to use ice?¡±

    ¡°Yes, using the sword is useless!¡±

    Don Juan noticed that his spellcasting was interrupted by Annan. He didn¡¯t bother ming Annan. He just jumped on the spot a little bit in a panic before rushing forward quickly. At the same time, he chanted again, ¡°The freeze element- ¡±

    His chanting stopped again, and his footsteps slowly stopped.

    This time, it wasn¡¯t that he was interrupted by Annan again.

    But he was stunned,

    ¡°John¡± didn¡¯t hesitate to make three sword attacks forward without any fancy move. It was as simple as cupping one¡¯s hands like a New Year greeting.

    However, three frost marks flew out of thin air and were engraved on us.

    Then, a surging cold breath burst out, instantly covering the guard captain¡¯s body. It froze the guard captain directly. Only the aftermath pushed Don Juan back, causing him to stagger and sit on the ground.

    us¡¯s mutation was, therefore, interrupted. He maintained his posture while losing all signs of vitality.

    The old man also raised his eyebrows and looked at ¡°John,¡± baffled.

    It is the legendary Frost Sword-

    Don Juan instantly recognized that it was the enemy duke family¡¯s iconic ability.

    But the old wizard Benjamin knew more than Don Juan.

    This was not the chill capable of freezing the flesh.

    But the harsh winter frost capable of freezing the soul.

    The high-ranking swordsmanship was handed down from the Frost Sword Sanctuary three hundred years ago. This sword ability wasn¡¯t named before the owner¡¯s death. The descendants called it ¡°Frost Sword.¡±

    It contained the already solidified frost elements and a strong curse that only Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s direct bloodline could suppress. It was the Frost Sword passed down from generation to generation.

    Its real meaning was that it was equivalent to the Grand Duke¡¯s inheritance right. Only by seeding Chilly Austere Sword could you get the full version of Frost Sword.

    Why did John use this ability?

    Or¡­Am I in someone¡¯s nightmare now?

    But just when the old wizard was going to ask John in detail, John had disappeared.

    The next moment, the whole world became still.

    Then, the world was suddenly cracked, shattered, and melted silently.

 Chapter 11: Visceral Attack (Magic)

    <h4>Chapter 11: Visceral Attack (Magic)</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with the designated identity. Final evaluation improved.]

    [Ruin the curse: The Tongue in the Mirror. Final evaluation improved.]

    [Kill Guard Captain us. Final evaluation improved.]

    [Ensure Don Juan will survive until the end of the dungeon instance. Final evaluation improved.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation ¨C A]

    [Obtained 32 ??points in Shared Experience; Perception+1.]

    ¡°It¡¯s cleared¡­¡±

    Annan exhaled deeply and raised his head.

    Only then did he wake up from the intense dizziness.

    Fortunately, I came to the rescue in the end,mitting the uprightst hit and snatching the kill urately. I stopped things from changing for the worse.

    It appears that I will have to snatch more kills in the future.

    Before he entered the dungeon instance, it was still at sunset.

    The sky had turned dim, and the morning mist was getting thinner. It was almost dawn.

    The sun had not yet risen. Someplicated runes could be seen slowly rotating at the eastern sea level.

    John¡¯s dead body fell beside the ropedder.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he watched the familiar injury pierced through his chest.

    He already knew how John died.

    From this injury, Annan realized that it was the death caused by us redirecting back the attacks. In other words, it was John¡¯s stab attack that killed him.

    ¡°You can consider that I have avenged you.¡±

    Annan muttered, ¡°Can you give me this sword?¡±

    He took out the guardian sword that belonged to John. Unlike Annan¡¯s quick temperament, John carried the scabbard with him, so Annan took the scabbard away.

    It was a quite handy weapon for John, but it was too big for Annan¡¯s height now.

    Using this sword as a reference, if John¡¯s height was 1.8 meters, Annan was only about 1.5 meters. He won¡¯t befortable using this sword.

    But, Annan merely wanted a weapon.

    [Purified Nightmare Fragments.]

    [The current purification progress is 1/3. You can enter the dungeon instance again after 71:59 minutes.]

    Its status had changed.

    The data stream was still slowly passing in front of Annan:

    [Obtained dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (swordsman) rises by 1 level]

    Swordsman LV4: [Bodyguard Swordsmanship LV4], [Disarm LV1], [Frost Sword LV1], Free skill point 1

    A free skill point?

    Annan did not hesitate to add a point on [Frost Sword LV1].

    Although he didn¡¯t know whether there would be any qualitative change from Bodyguard Swordsmanship to LV5, increasing the Frost Sword level would greatly benefit.

    Annan only worried about whether this Frost Sword would be a skill he acquired before reaching a particr pre-requisite, stopping him from upgrading it. After all, its strength was beyond the level that an unranked profession could get.

    But fortunately, his status temte was unique, or this swordsmanship was not quite taboo. After one skill point, his third skill sessfully became [Frost Sword LV2].

    In terms of the specific rise in effect, he had to find outter.

    ¡°Huh? What is this?¡±

    Annan then saw a prompt popped out:

    [Hidden details cracked: 67%]

    [You may receive the first stage reward (Obtained when thepletion reaches 33%)]

    [You may receive the second stage reward (Obtained when thepletion reaches 66%)]

    ¡°ept all the wards.¡±

    Annan thought for a moment but decided to receive it directly.

    [Obtaining dungeon instance decryption reward: Shared Experience 24 points, Health value restored to 100%]

    [Reward for dungeon instance decryption: Profession (wizard apprentice) increases by 1 level]

    -Wizard?

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. That¡¯s pretty good.

    He still remembered the scene of the old wizard Benjamin incurring a living natural disaster.

    His instinct told him that the old wizard would not be the strongest, but he would not be the weakest.

    Following this prompt, he immediately scrolled left on the dense light panel in front of his eyes:

    [The mana pool has been acquired.]

    [The current order/distortion power ratio is: 12 (depending on Will) / 4 (depending on Erosion)]

    [Since the status temte is at grade Elite Rare (Gold). Your mana pool is expanded to 48/16]

    [Based on your status and mana ratio, you got the Order Magic: Chilling Touch (Instant)]

    [Chilling Touch (Instant): Curse your dominant hand, giving it a temporary ability that can instantly freeze objects in contact. Each second (depending on the total level of wizard profession) consumes the Order power by 1]

    [At sunrise, you can restore all the Order power.]

    [At sunset, you can restore all the Chaotic power.]

    [Warning: When the ratio of the mana pool is reversed [1] (the current Order power is less than or equal to 5 points), you will enter a state of Lost Control (Minor) and gradually worsen over time.]

    So, this is the wizard¡¯s power¡­

    Annan looked thoughtfully at the two numbers, one white and one red, appearing on his attribute panel.

    The wizard power came from bnce. He would need to maintain the bnce of the mana pool. The Order power should not fall less than one-third of the Chaos power. This ratio was the ratio of his current Erosion to the Will attribute too.

    At least for the current Annan, it was not something difficult. Because he now had a low Erosion and high Will attribute. This made his avable Order power rich.

    The only drawback was that he had no spells that consume the Chaos power.

    So, if the Erosion catches up or even equal to the Will attribute, will I lose the ability to use spells? As long as the Order power drops by a few points, it may cause the ratio to be reversed.

    What if the Erosion is greater than the Will attribute?

    Annan decided to experiment with his power to see what it was like to cast spells.

    He gently held the mast next to him with his right hand and ced his left hand half an elbow above his right.

    He used the newly acquired spell ording to the memory that emerged in his mind.

    Chilling Touch-

    His right hand instantly turned blue-ck, like a frozen corpse. Frost traces visible to the naked eye leached on his fingers. Within two or three seconds, he felt the cold in his left hand.

    But the mast was not frozen.

    Annan got an idea and quickly canceled the spell. The dark blue light instantly receded from his right hand.

    ¡°Sorry, brother.¡±

    Annan said casually, then put his right hand on John¡¯s body and used the spell [Chilling Touch] again.

    This time, the effect was more pronounced. After about a second or two, ayer of frost was visibly formed on John¡¯s face while John¡¯s skin became hard.

    Annan opened John¡¯s mouth. He found out that John¡¯s tongue was also frozen.

    He put his hand on John¡¯s belly again and moved away after about a second. He found that the liver was also frozen.

    Annan raised his eyebrows.

    Although it is an apprentice-level spell, the effect is surprisingly good.

    Although the skin¡¯s external changes were not noticeable, it couldn¡¯t directly cause a near-death effect like his Frost Sword. The cold air oozing out of Annan¡¯s right hand could directly damage the internal organs through the skin.

    John¡¯sbat power and physical fitness should be at the top level among the unranked.

    This meant that in the face of the same unranked enemy, as long as Annan could touch the opponent¡¯s chest and abdomen at close range for a second or two, he could directly freeze their internal organs. He could even freeze their joints or something.

    This would be his ultimate move.

    The attack could be released without a weapon, making it easy to camouge.

    Especially Annan had not yet entered a rank. Perhaps this could be an advantage instead.

    He was only twelve or thirteen years old, less than 1.6 meters tall. He appeared like a weak, poor, and helpless child.

    Who would be wary of him when he had no weapons on his body and no weird metal ornaments?

    Then, Annan would show an innocent smile, leaning over, revealing a cold little hand and touching the enemy¡¯s back.

    The opponent¡¯s waist was gone.

    This isn¡¯t ¡°Chilling Touch.¡± It is clearly a ¡°Visceral Attack!¡±

    [1] We know that the initial ratio is 48/16, which equals 3:1. If you go with this ratio of 5/16, it equals 1:3.2. This is what it meant by reverse 3:1 vs 1:3.2.

 Chapter 12: Book Of Divine Transporter

    <h4>Chapter 12: Book Of Divine Transporter</h4>

    For caution¡¯s sake, Annan first used up all the 76 Shared Experience points he had umted.

    These experiences were enough for his swordsman profession to be upgraded to the next level and raise the wizard apprentice level to LV7.

    After all, with Don Juan¡¯s identity in addition to Annan¡¯s age and size, it was difficult for him to carry the sword for a long time. Not to mention, Frost Sword was a life-saving trump card that must never be leaked.

    Under this circumstance, no matter how high his swordsman level was, it would not increase hisbat power as effectively.

    It only made the damage number on the panel damage higher, but it was not useful in actualbat.

    On the contrary, the wizard apprentice profession¡­

    Annan decided not only to upgrade it as soon as possible but also to progress smoothly in a short time.

    After all, Don Juan was not only Benjamin¡¯s student but also a Bronze Rank wizard himself, despite being murdered at a young age.

    Not many people knew about this.

    But before Annan was suspected, he must reach the Bronze Rank.

    At this moment, his attributes and profession panel became like this:

    Annan. Human. Male.

    Elite Rare (Gold), Challenge Rating 8

    Title: None

    Rank: None

    Health: 100%

    Erosion: 4%

    Attributes: Strength 8, Agility 8, Constitution 7, Perception 18, Will 13

    Shared Experience: 0

    Unique Trait: Heart of Winter [Reverse Inscription]

    Profession Overview-

    Swordsman LV5: [Bodyguard Swordsmanship LV5], [Disarm LV1], [Frost Sword LV2]

    Wizard apprentice LV7: [Instant Spells LV2 (Chilling Touch, none)], [Guide Spells LV1 (none)]

    It waspletely different from the ¡°swordsman¡± profession.

    The ¡°wizard apprentice¡± profession was quite apparent with its naming. It was the profession prior to ¡°wizard.¡±

    Upgrading the profession did not give out any spells. Increasing the level from level 1 to level 7 only provided two skills.

    Or rather, two spell slots.

    He had empty slots and no spells. It was quite an embarrassing situation.

    However, Annan¡¯s attribute panel had changed considerably:

    His previous Perception had 11 points, Strength had 7 points, and Constitution had 6 points. This meant that the wizard apprentice profession had provided him with a minor raise in Perception.

    Promoting two levels in the swordsman profession had minor attribute points raised in his Strength and Constitution.

    The increase in Perception made Annan¡¯s brain clearer, dissipating the jumbled thoughts while making his thought process sharper.

    As if the trash bin in aputer had been cleaned up. He could feel that his thinking speed had elerated.

    Annan didn¡¯t have an intuitive feeling about the increase in Perception and Constitution. Only the rise in the Strength attribute allowed him to have an urate measurement standard:

    He attempted to swing John¡¯s sword twice previously. At that time, he could still feel a clear sense of hindrance in his movements.

    Excessive inertia gave him a feeling of throwing himself away. The sword moves were utterly out of shape. He could not utilize the sword moves correctly.

    For now, he could barely use this broken sword. Although it was difficult, Annan¡¯s form would still be in shape when he utilized Bodyguard Swordsmanship. At the very least, he was able to control the inertia due to his current strength.

    However, Annan had not figured out why the two attributes, namely Perception and Will, could be so high when the body¡¯s predecessor was only a level 3 swordsman.

    Annan had no clue about this, so he could only attribute it to his own awesomeness.

    Annan just calcted it roughly.

    ording to the Strength attribute improvement effect, it would take at least 10 points in strength to use this broken sword as smoothly and freely with John¡¯s body. If it was the initial unbroken long sword, perhaps it should require 12 points in Strength to use it.

    Unlike the wizard apprentice, the swordsman profession seemed to distribute their attribute points evenly. This meant that Anna would need to attain Swordsman LV10 for him to use this broken sword smoothly.

    When he reached that level, his wizard apprentice profession might have advanced already.

    In conclusion, this broken sword is entirely useless.

    Annan reached a clear conclusion in his mind.

    If he wanted to defend himself, he had a better choice:

    ¡°What should I do with this sword?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    He still remembered that Young Master Don Juan had a delicate, sharp, and sturdy dagger.

    When he used ¡°John¡¯s¡± body previously, the sword was as short as a longer dagger. But given Annan¡¯s height, it was just right to use it as a one-handed sword.

    ¡°I wonder if the dagger is still there.¡±

    Annan sighed regretfully.

    He did not go directly off the deck but went to the captain¡¯s room.

    In his impression, if Benjamin and Don Juan would die, then they should die here.

    As predicted.

    Wizard Benjamin, who didn¡¯t take half a step back and killed the guard captain easily without using spells, had already lost his life and was lying on the table. His mouth was full of blood; his teeth and tes were stained red. His eyes were pitch ck.

    It was almost like a recurrence of the nightmare.

    The only difference was that the silver ring in Benjamin¡¯s right hand was gone. The robes and jewelry on his body were also looted. He appeared just like an ordinary old man.

    Besides Benjaminy Don Juan, whose mouth had blood dripping out. The old housekeeper, who had a long sword pierced from his back,y near the duo.

    The bronze ring in Don Juan¡¯s hands disappeared in the same manner. However, there was a luxurious silver ring with sapphires. The ring had sharp feather-shaped nicks, which was the relic left by his mother.

    But, Annan knew clearly that this was not Don Juan¡¯s ring at all.

    Unlike Benjamin, Don Juan¡¯s clothes were untouched.

    Why so?

    Annan frowned slightly and searched Don Juan¡¯s body.

    After searching, he discovered that there was something more on Don Juan¡¯s body.

    For example, the silver pocket watch that was broken in the nightmare was still operating normally. Three-eyed Crow was engraved on the pocket watch¡¯s case. Annan found the Gerant family¡¯s badge at first nce.

    Don Juan¡¯s long dagger still hung on the wall in the captain¡¯s room, but Annan clearly remembered that there should be a nautical chart hanging here.

    The most unusual thing was that some letters originally ced in Don Juan¡¯s room were stuffed on Don Juan¡¯s corpse. Annan searched it a little. These letters fell directly to the ground.

    It was like waiting for Annan to find out.

    Annan clearly understood that the day Don Juan died, the ship was about to hold a banquet. Don Juan didn¡¯t need to carry so many heavy and troublesome things with him.

    Taking a step back, he could give them all to John.

    Unless someone wants to have the person discover the body realizes that this boy is Don Juan¡¤Geraint.

    After all, the clothes weren¡¯t for ordinary people. Once someone checks Don Juan¡¯s body, he would get information on Don Juan¡¯s identity.

    After all, the letter had Don Juan¡¯s name. The Gerant family¡¯s emblem was on the pocket watch and ring.

    Is he trying to get people to recover Don Juan¡¯s body?

    But, doesn¡¯t the third prince want to hide the news of Don Juan¡¯s death? If that is the case, the most convenient and thorough method should be to destroy the body. A fire burned the ship and the corpse altogether with all the evidence buried in the sea.

    ¡­Wait?

    Annan was startled.

    He suddenly recalled something:

    In the first life, Don Juan mentioned a treasure sewn in the middleyer of his clothes.

    Although us appeared as someone the Third Prince hired, it seemed that someone else was instructing him at the back based on thest two-stages of body transformation.

    At least from Benjamin¡¯s reaction, he should have never expected us to have this trick.

    Also, the Third Prince wanted Don Juan¡¯s stamp. On the other hand, us searched for ¡°paper-like things¡± in Don Juan¡¯s room and ¡°just so happen¡± looking for stamps.

    In other words¡­

    us may not be an ordinary betrayer.

    He may be a betrayer with double identities.

    He not only betrayed Don Juan on the surface but also crossed the Third Prince in secret!

    us deliberately left some evidence to get the Gerant family to recover Don Juan¡¯s body. His goal should be to get the ¡°secret treasure¡± Dong Juan had hidden!

    Since he didn¡¯t know how to get the secret treasure, he nned to spread the news of Don Juan¡¯s death secretly. Then, he would have the people from the Gerant familye and retrieve the corpse. It would be at least a few months before Don Juan¡¯s body was discovered and the news spread. After the Gerant family¡¯s people learned about it and confirmed it, their trip over there should take several months.

    If Annan didn¡¯t guess wrong, us was probably already in the capital at that time.

    He would find an excuse. For example, he would ask for a leave of absence from the third prince with the reason of stirring trouble for the Gerant family or getting rid of the evidence. Then, he would follow behind quietly. The purpose was to see where the secret treasurey.

    Strange. Didn¡¯t he search Don Juan¡¯s body?

    Annan frowned slightly but decided to take off Don Juan¡¯s clothes first.

    He was still thinking about where the item would be hidden.

    As soon as Annan touched Don Juan¡¯s inner clothes, a glimmering panel suddenly shed in front of him:

    [Discover the Truth Fragment]

    [Condition 1: No conflicting torn Truth pages are currently held.]

    [Condition 2: Hold the status temte above or at Elite Rare (Purple).]

    [The Truth appears-]

    The next moment, a ring white brilliance shone.

    Dazzling white brilliance soared to the sky, and then it waspletely blocked by the captain¡¯s room. Only a little scattered white brilliance escaped from the windows and doors.

    The white brilliancested for half a minute before it gradually dissipated.

    What appeared in front of Annan was a soft white page that looked like paper and had a jade-like tactile sensation. Dark gold lifelike texts were flowing on it. It was simr to those released from Benjamin¡¯s ring, but it was sacred.

    Annan could feel a strong sense of intimacy just by looking at it.

    Then, a glimmering panel appeared on it:

    [Book of Divine Transporter. Title Page.]

    [Type: Truth Fragment (1/6) (Locked)]

    [Remaining fragment holders: 5]

    [Appeared: 1]

    [Description: A freshly-born Truth Fragment. Gather all the fragments to grasp new authority.]

    [Book of Divine Transporter (1/6): Summon or dismiss a specified number of yers from another world (0/100).]

    [This function can be used after 40:33:23.]

    [Current special effects (1/6): yers can be resurrected]

 Chapter 13: Klaus, You Are Inhumane

    <h4>Chapter 13: us, You Are Inhumane</h4>

    Annan quickly understood the meaning of ¡°Book of Divine Transporter.¡±

    Though, he didn¡¯t know Truth Fragment had this function or if this was the unique authority of ¡°Book of Divine Transporter.¡± The ¡°authority¡± Annan got was precisely what he was most desperate for.

    -Having control over the yer. In other words, the right to delete the yer(s) ount.

    To be more detailed, Annan could delete the yer(s) from this world with a single word if he became upset.

    With an Elite Rare (Gold) status temte, Annan had a sense of urgency.

    Based on his professional understanding in previous life, he had an in-depth knowledge of the ¡°yer¡± group:

    Their ultimate trump card in the game was immortality.

    This trait made the yers fearless. They would not abide by almost all the rules and rely on the basic thinking of ¡°Is it fun?¡± in doing everything. As an adventurer, the yers would loot what they see when they slip through the locked door and pick the lock; as superheroes, the yers would take turns in beating up the opponent. They would kill innocent passers-by and even attack chickens in the vige with the weapons in their hands.

    They heed no stance at all. Afterpleting the mission to help Party A fight Party B, they would still take over the mission to help Party B fight Party A. If the NPC that issued the mission could also be attacked, then they might kill both sides; if the merchant who sold or carried valuables had lowbat power (and looks ugly at the same time), the merchant might not survive to the next day when he encountered the yers. As they ride a horse on the street, they wouldn¡¯t bother what was on the road. They were the drivers that never waited for traffic lights.

    In short, yers were a group of terrifying ¡°world saviors¡± who had no sense of justice at all.

    Few yers personally emphasized themselves in the game and had an immersive experience. The vast majority of yers were ruthless utilitarians.

    Against yers, the only advantage¡­

    ¡­would probably be good looks.

    yers would always be tolerant of good-looking NPC or boss; some of the yers would be their enthusiastic fans too. The yers would even let them amend their evil deeds and have a certain headstrong degree.

    But if the NPC didn¡¯t look good, the yers usually didn¡¯t have the desire to learn more about this NPC.

    From this point of view, the yers were quite realistic.

    Annan¡¯s neutral level in appearance might also be the safest.

    Initially, Annan had a pessimistic attitude towards this issue. But after getting the Book of Divine Transporter, his mindset immediately changed.

    Although he had be an NPC in this current real world, he could delete the yers¡¯ ounts.

    Then, he was equivalent to the game master.

    It was even possible for him to be the game nner after collecting all the pages in the Book of Divine Transporter!

    As long as he could hold a little bit of authority in his hand, Annan would have tremendous confidence to moderate the yers.

    What is this? The god of nning?

    But, if that¡¯s the case¡­

    Annan looked at the status attribute [This function can be used after 40:33:23.] and made up his mind.

    One does not give up halfway casually. Annan intended to create his background directly.

    He did not n just to borrow Don Juan¡¯s identity and be a lord!

    He had to work hard to make himself appear like a protagonist! To manifest this sort of background, it was best for the yers to think that Annan was the game protagonist subconsciously. The yers¡¯ lovely, respectable and amiable leader at their side.

    Annan took a deep breath and touched the Book of Divine Transporter page fragment.

    The moment Annan touched it, it immediately melted into a light spot and engraved on Annan¡¯s right palm, forming a strange rune:

    A ck ring with only one point missing on it. At the gap, a vertical line segment was inserted in it.

    Annan didn¡¯t feel anything amiss but thought that it was quite awesome.

    But, after he looked at it for a while, he suddenly realized that this symbol was a bit like aputer¡¯s power button. It looked a bit like a paw at a simple nce.

    He also subconsciously pressed it twice.

    Except for the soft and cold flesh, he didn¡¯t press anything else.

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    He shook his head and did nothing more.

    He exchanged his clothes with Don Juan and looted all the items belonging to Don Juan. Those were daggers, pocket watches, letters, and so on.

    Annan also wore the relic ring belonging to Don Juan¡¯s mother.

    Until this time, Annan found ¡°Annan¡¯s¡± only token in the inner pocket.

    It was a silver badge with a rather exquisite wolf head relief sculpture.

    Only one side of the wolf¡¯s head was shown. The wolf looked to the right with its hair fluttering wildly. The wolf¡¯s eyes were small and light blue gems. It could be ice blue diamonds too, but Annan didn¡¯t have much knowledge to find out about this.

    This was a token belonging to Annan¡¯s body.

    From a safety point of view, he should throw it into the sea without hesitation. Forget the name Annan and live as Don Juan until the timees.

    But, Annan fixedly stared at the badge for a long time and suddenlyughed.

    ¡°What was I hesitating just now¡­?¡±

    Heughed at his timidity and put the Chilly Austere family emblem into his arms.

    If I¡¯m a coward, I can¡¯t achieve anything great.

    Even if I¡¯m afraid of this world¡¯s original dwellers, how do I strategize against the yers?

    Even if my identity is exposed, what¡¯s the big deal if someone ising for me?

    Would everyone be kind to me when my identity is not revealed? Can cowardice solve the problem?

    Annan, who just came out of the nightmare, cheered.

    Annan had just experienced being betrayed by an upright guard. He had a strong distrust of the nobles¡¯ average moral level in this world.

    I will raise a group of yerster on. The others should thank me for not troubling them. Why should I be afraid of getting into trouble?

    That is indisputable.

    If someonees to find fault in me, I will show my power and resolve the matter.

    Should I be afraid of their yers who can resurrect indefinitely?

    ¡°Come on. You can leave this world with peace of mind, young master.¡±

    Putting his original clothes on Don Juan¡¯s body, Annan threw it into the ck sea.

    The corpse sank quickly with no trace to be seen.

    Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly, revealing an elegant smile.

    This smile was 80% simr to Don Juan, which appeared quite so creepy, ¡°As a reward for borrowing your identity¡­

    ¡°Let me avenge you on your murder.¡±

    Don Juan died yesterday or the night before. At that time, they were only at the distance of one night¡¯s journey from Don Juan¡¯s new territory ¨C Freezing Water Port.

    Judging from the time, this ce should not be far from the Freezing Water Port. After the sunrise, Annan could set out to explore.

    Annan searched every room under the deck to be safe and confirmed that the ritual had been terminated. There was no one on the deck, not even a corpse, but just some bloodstains.

    As expected, us took away the mirror and bull tongue used to hold the ritual. He even flushed the room with urine to dissipate the blood stench.

    The most terrible thing Annan found out was that the cash, jewelry, and artworks that Don Juan had brought along were looted.

    ¡ªus, you are inhumane!

    Annan didn¡¯t even leave the toilet,b, quilt, and pillow. The only thing not taken away was the two bast rooms full of wine barrels.

    These wines probably could still sell for some money. But Annan couldn¡¯t carry them alone.

    Annan had a strong desire toin:

    us, you take away all the necessities. You only leave Don Juan¡¯s body with all valuable things looted. Do you treat everyone else as a fool?

    After confirming that us didn¡¯t even save a copper coin and a bite to him, he silently noted this grudge down.

    You dare steal my money! I will remember it.

    Taking out an unopened wine barrel, Annan drank some wine to quench his thirst and boost his courage.

    Annan took odds and ends, turned his back to the rising sun, and set off alone.

 Chapter 14: Tailing

    <h4>Chapter 14: Tailing</h4>

    Annan did not venture too long before he heard the galloping sounding from a distance.

    That noise was rtively far from him.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, stopped slowly, and hid.

    In front of him was a slightly steep slope with sparse pine family on both sides. To return to the beach where Anan first woke up, it would take about a ten-minute journey to the east from this slope.

    Annan deliberately avoided the trail without nts to hid himself in the natural environment.

    He took full advantage of his height and climbed up the slope without making a sound. On the short section of the road closest to the top, the slope seemed quite steep. However, with John¡¯s broken sword acting as a trekking pole, Annan climbed up rtively smoothly.

    He leaned against a crooked tree, fixed his back with it, and looked to the other side of the hill.

    He saw a smooth dirt road not far on the other side. Although it was not wide, it would at least fit up to five horses galloping altogether.

    More than a dozen horses were galloping from south to the north.

    Fortunately, Annan¡¯s location was not a cliff but a hillside. The terrain on the other side was even lower than Annan¡¯s standing spot.

    Probably because they didn¡¯t expect that someone would be at the top of the hillside before the sunrise, none of the horsemen over there noticed Annan¡¯s presence.

    This group of people isn¡¯t any kind soul.

    Annan squinted his icy blue eyes slightly, observed them quietly, and counted their numbers.

    There were a total of fourteen people. One was wearing half-body metal armor, and the rest were wearing tan and shabby leather armor.

    They had long swords slung around their waists and a small wooden shield on their left arm. Three of them in the group had a short bow slung behind their backs. The leader carried a polearm in his right hand. The polearm was simr to a pike but with a hook at the front part.

    For the two people beside him¡­

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    He saw that the two men were carrying gunpowder-based weapons simr to rifled guns on their backs. A few others were carrying strong shields behind their backs.

    They are well-armed. Where are they going?

    Annan saw the nautical chart in the captain¡¯s room once.

    Don Juan and their ship sailed to the north.

    Specifically, from the maind¡¯s southeast coast, they came from the 5 o¡¯clock direction and eventually shifted to the 2 o¡¯clock direction.

    They were initially scheduled to disembark at the main port ¨C Freezing Water Port, which was the position at 2 o¡¯clock on the south side of an incurved ind sea. The location of Chilly Austere Dukedom was on the north side of the inner sea.

    So after recalling the nautical chart, Annan immediately understood Chilly Austere Dukedom and the Noah Kingdom¡¯s situation.

    The ind sea had separated the two countries, with each upying one side. It was fair even to say that both countries had their port facing each other directly.

    It will be weird if they don¡¯t get into a war.

    The continent in front of Annan permitted the travel between the north and the south. This probably meant that the north end of the road was the destination of his trip.

    Young Master Don Juan¡¯s new territory ¨C Freezing Water Port in the North Sea Territory.

    Those six people appear like bandits and robbers.

    Thinking of this, Annan trotted off the slope lightly and slid down.

    He took a close look at the road and quickly spotted a few apparent ruts.

    ¡°A convoy passed by here not long ago.¡±

    Annan made a swift judgment and pieced out his clues.

    The bandits somehow got the news and learned that a convoy was stopping here. They came here in the early morning. Considering the distance, they might have arrived overnight after hearing the news.

    Holding the idea that Don Juan¡¯s things were his possessions, Annan quickly formed a logic chain in his heart:

    Freezing Water Port is my territory, so the resident¡¯s property is my property too.

    Hence, those bandits are robbing my stuff!

    Annan was exasperated.

    Without thinking for too long, Annan decided to tail the group.

    ¡°After getting all my items stolen and exiled from my hometown, you dare to break into my territory. You must have a deathwish!¡±

    Annan nned to observe the robber group first. If he could take them out, he would jump out and confront them.

    He thought for a moment to figure out his speech suitable for this asion. After all, it was his real experience. He didn¡¯t feel unnatural to recite it.

    He made up his mind and stopped strolling.

    He hid the rtively heavy broken sword in a hollow tree hole, marked it, and then proceeded lightly.

    At this time, Annan realized that his stamina was unexpectedly great.

    He dashed for 20 minutes, and he only gasped slightly. He didn¡¯t exhaust his strength. Instead, the power in his body was surging, which improved his physical state.

    It appeared that a twenty-minute journey was just a warm-up exercise for him.

    At his age, it was quite an incredible physical fitness.

    But the point was his Constitution only had 7 points.

    At this moment, an idea came to Annan:

    Isn¡¯t 10 points the average attribute in this game?

    Could it be 5 points instead?

    No, to be on the safe side, let¡¯s consider 10 points as the average.

    Maybe people in this world have excellent physical fitness.

    By this time, Annan had heard the chaosing from afar.

    He saw another group of peoplebatting the bandit group.

    The rooftops of the two nearest houses had already lit up. Five or six wagons were ced against the wall next to one of the houses.

    Three of the six robbers were trying to tie the ropes to their horses. On the other hand, civilians with simple weapons and militias gathered were confronting the remaining three.

    No way, the number of militias is too little.

    Annan nced at the scene and realized the dire circumstances.

    Annan didn¡¯t know whether it was because of poverty or because of the rush. Almost none of the assembled militias were armored. Adding on with the unarmored militia, the number of militias equipped with weapons was still less than the bandits.

    The robbers in the back row fired another round of fire arrows, igniting another two houses.

    Annan didn¡¯t know how the fire arrows were made. The wooden houses didn¡¯t look like ignitable materials, but the arrow shot still lit the houses up in an instant.

    The bandits holding swords and shields stood in an orderly manner, shielding the bandits in the back row while facing the militias. The two robbers holding rifled guns lowered their muzzles at the trio who robbed the wagons and forced the others back.

    Annan watched this scene from a distance and slowed down.

    He squinted his eyes.

    Something is wrong.

    How could these bandits be so orderly?

    They did not swear or hurt people at will. Although the formation was a bit messy, at least there was no obstacle between them. The uracy of the bandit archers was also ridiculously high. With that kind of big bow, those without an excellent physical aptitude could not use it.

    In stark contrast to the disciplined robbers, the people in the town were already in a mess. The militias did not know whether to fight the fire first or stop the bandits.

    After a brief panic, their opinions were quickly unified:

    -Fight the fire first.

    After all, the businessman with the convoy was not from their town. But, those burning houses were their property.

    But at this moment, a rash young man darted out loudly and swung his sword at the robber who robbed the wagons.

    Boom-

    At this moment, the two gunners shot immediately!

    They fired almost at the same time, and their gunshots were virtually continuous. One shot was skewed and hit the wall; the other shot hit the stupefied brave young man.

    He fell to the ground immediately. The militiamen no longer hesitated and surrounded him.

    Shit!

    Annan saw that the situation turned terrible, and he immediately rushed over.

 Chapter 15: Desperate Jon

    <h4>Chapter 15: Desperate Jon</h4>

    Those damn robbers are here again-

    Jon was in despair.

    A spherical lead bullet hit his thigh. The pain caused him to lose his bnce and fell to the ground instantly.

    Seeing the group of militias behind him once again surrounded him, he couldn¡¯t bear to close his eyes.

    He knew that he never had the power to defeat this group of robbers.

    But he couldn¡¯t just watch these robbers get away with the wagon!

    He was the militia captain guarding Freezing Water Port. This was his duty!

    It was also the responsibility of other militias.

    But they were afraid.

    The number of these militias was seven or eight times that of the bandits. But, the militias were afraid of those equipped with bows and guns. None of them dared to step forward!

    Because everyone was afraid of death. No one wanted to die first.

    So Jon realized that he must act. Even if he would be knocked down when he took a move, he needed to act immediately.

    Because if he didn¡¯t, then Freezing Water Port¡¯s militia group would suffer!

    The Freezing Water Port militias didn¡¯t attack at all after encountering the robber. If the news were spread, the whole world would think that these militias raised these robbers themselves. Those business caravans would me them and impensation from them.

    Even if they could negotiate and not pay, it would affect the reputation of Freezing Water Port and even their militia group¡¯s reputation.

    As a matter of fact, the new lord wasing soon!

    If they were entangled with this trouble, it would pose a serious problem!

    Would the lord listen to their exnation? Once he saw the pricepensation bill, the lord would drive the militia team out in anger!

    With that said, it could be the best oue already!

    They might be beheaded too!

    This was by no means groundless worry¡­

    because this did not happen for the first time.

    This group of robbers appeared out of nowhere. They had already robbed Freezing Water Port for the second time.

    At the beginning ofst month, this group of robbers with rifled guns and many horses came to Freezing Water Port to plunder their town once.

    At that time, the militias didn¡¯t know the robbers¡¯ background. They went up and confronted the robber group.

    As a result, they lost five lives. The old captain suffered two shots, one in the abdomen and one in the shoulder. He died three dayster.

    As a border city, Freezing Water Port was home to only the Silver Sire Church.

    But it just so happened that the Silver Sire Church¡¯s pastor was the greediest pastor among the Upright Deity¡¯s pastor.

    These pastors had no other shorings. The pastor here was also gentle towards civilians and never oppressed them. But no matter what he did, he was always asking for money.

    For them, everything in the world must be priced, including human lives. They were not even stingy. In addition to collecting money, the Silver Sire Church also required the priests to spend a lot of money. The church would not allow a long time saving in the pastors¡¯ hands.

    The cost of treating lead bullets was even five times that of treating severed limb injuries and twice as much for gunshot wounds in the abdomen. With two shots in the flesh, the final medical expenses were enough to put people in despair.

    The old captain didn¡¯t pay the money in the end, so he died.

    So, Jon became the new militia captain.

    He felt that the old captain died horribly.

    He shouldn¡¯t die here.

    It was simply humiliation.

    The old captain was a veteran of the October War. He had superb military swordsmanship. He participated twice in the war against Chilly Austere Dukedom and survived.

    The old captain retired and returned to his hometown to serve as the captain to train the new militia. Although he was strict and loved to go crazy after drinking, Jon loved him dearly.

    Because Jon also hoped that he could be a frontline soldier one day.

    He hoped that the old captain could teach him some secret techniques and tell him more about the Second Footman Regiment story.

    But every time the old captain heard his request like this, the expression on his smiling old face changed with incredible difficulty. He scolded Jon immediately.

    At first, Jon thought the old captain was reluctant to share his ¡°secret sword.¡± But then he slowly understood that the captain didn¡¯t want him to join the army.

    Since then, his admiration for the old captain fell to the bottom.

    Jon thought he was scared.

    He was not a victorious veteran but a deserter who feared war.

    This thought continued untilst month.

    Facing the well-equipped robber, the old captain rushed up first.

    He was in his fifties, holding a sword alone, and stopped three robbers. But the robber had horses, after all. He was soon scarred and beaten up.

    At this time, the militias who were shrinking behind dared to rush forward. The militias tried to set up temporary roadblocks the old captain taught to restrict the horses¡¯ movement.

    But the group of robbers immediately began to retreat as the battle continued. They sessfully broke through the encirclement.

    In the end, the battle ended with two nightmarish gunshots entwining Jon¡¯s heart. Whenever he had nightmares, he would think of those two shots.

    The old captain was not a mighty figure with various supernatural abilities in the legend. He did not know any spell or magic.

    No matter how masterful his swordsmanship was, it couldn¡¯t be faster than a bullet.

    He let out a miserable cry they had never heard before, staggered to the ground, and ultimately lost hisbat power.

    They felt cold when they heard the scream.

    But watching the old captain fall in a pool of blood, they were still angry, stimting the young man¡¯s unyielding blood.

    They rushed up.

    Then, they were defeated.

    Losing the sharp knife like the old captain as the frontline, the robbersunched a charge on the spot andpletely broke out from their formation.

    Even before the horse collided, they retreated to the sides and backward on their own.

    They were not without the strength; they were just timid.

    After their anger faded, the residue left was called fear.

    They didn¡¯t dare to step forward until the robbers left. Even archers didn¡¯t dare to shoot arrows. Those two guns were still pointed at them.

    Although it was impossible for the gunners to kill everyone, they could kill the first two people drawing the bow.

    They just watched the robbers loot the things away.

    Those robbers didn¡¯t ughter them.

    They just chuckled twice, then left without saying a word with the caravan.

    It was worth mentioning that he seemed to recognize the robber¡¯s background after the old captain woke up.

    But no matter what Jon asked, he left the world without saying a word and went to Silver Sire¡¯s side.

    In that battle, a total of six militia died.

    Two houses were burned down, and five caravans were lost, causing significant losses.

    Although their city lord had a good temper, he had always been ipetent and weak. After negotiating for a long time, the city lord paid one-third of the goods to the other party and chose to settle the matter.

    The militia group forked out half of thesepensation payments.

    Although theypensated, the incident still spread.

    Since then, there had been no big caravan groups heading to Freezing Water Port for more than a month.

    The aristocrat of the neighboring Roseburg heard the news and imed that they would soon send someone to suppress the bandits. But none hade until now.

    Later, they heard that a noble would visit their Freezing Water Port. His father had a higher rank than the Roseburg Viscount. At this time, caravans came over again, one after another. Their primary purpose was to give a gift to the little earl. After they heard that he hadn¡¯t arrived yet, they bought some items in disappointment and left.

    This incident was a terrible strike on the Freezing Water Port¡¯s economy.

    In recent years, after banning business rtions with Chilly Austere Dukedom, the formerly prosperous Freezing Water Port had gradually be a backwater port. It was utterly dependent on internal transactions.

    They were at the northernmost end of the border, the endpoint of various trade routes. No caravan would pass by them.

    Without the foreign trade rtionship with Chilly Austere Dukedom, Freezing Water Port could be considered self-sufficient. At least they had a big fishing ground.

    Not only was there enough food, but they could also umte some pearls to supply ind. Some of the rarer pearls were consumables for the wizard masters, which could be sold off quickly.

    The pearls were usually umted for some time and then sold to the convoy alongside handmade shellfish products, as well as some rare fish.

    In the caravan that was lootedst time, there was a wagon filled with two boxes of pearls and a box of precious blood-soaked pearls.

    This time, the goods on the wagon were another batch of pearls with the value even higher thanst time!

    Themon point of these two incidents was that neither of them had a reliable caravan escort. Thest time their guards were put to the ground as soon as the battle started. This time, it was even more ridiculous as the guards had not woken up yet.

    Even if Jon was stupid, he realized something was amiss.

    Those caravans that were typically equipped with guards had never been looted head-on in the city! Even if the robbers came, they wouldmence their operation at the road. Why would they rush into the city and demolish the house tomit the robbery? They evenmitted murder.

    Worse still, these robbers came twice in total.

    They were also dedicated to these caravans.

    Jon was anxious. Arge number of suspicious characters shed through his mind for a moment, but he was not sure who was the opposing party.

    He was not quick-witted already. His mind became blurry with the pain surging on him.

    All he knew was that if the militia became a bystander, they would lose money again. They would lose more money this time.

    An amount they could not afford!

    Even if I die-

    At least this could prove that the militia did not stand idly by! Their captain even died in battle.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    At this moment, Jon heard a naive but majestic voice, ¡°Why are you robbing my people!?¡±

 Chapter 16: Life Or Death

    <h4>Chapter 16: Life Or Death</h4>

    Hearing Annan¡¯s voice, the battle soon stopped.

    It was not just the militias of Freezing Water Port who subconsciously stopped and looked over.

    Even the robbers did not take the opportunity to attack but looked back with surprise on their faces.

    In front of them was an aristocratic teenager in the ceremonial outfit.

    He was young, appearing only at twelve or thirteen years old. He had his ck hair reaching his shoulder. He had a slender figure aside from his white and clean skin. There was a sapphire ring on his slender finger.

    He wore a long dark blue coat with many buttons on the front. The coat was decorated with many delicate gold ornaments and crushed gems. There was a circle of ruffles at the waist, and ck patterns were illustrated everywhere. Only visible from the rear, his short cloak was embroidered with a ck Three-eyed Crow.

    The ck patterns on his clothes were sword-like crow feathers.

    The blue-ck velvet top hat was also decorated with a crystal-like ck feather.

    Nevertheless, the ice-blue pupils under the Western-style man¡¯s hat caught the most attention. Anna¡¯s eyes were clear and clean enough to make people feel cold.

    He appeared like a doll with no emotion but also had eyes like God. A simple nce could take away the others¡¯ souls.

    ¡°I will only ask one more time, fes.¡±

    Annan spoke calmly, ¡°Are you looting my residents?¡±

    He spoke the second time; the robbers quickly came back to their senses.

    They discussed in a low volume for a while, and then one of them asked:

    ¡°Are you Lord Don Juan¡¤Geraint?¡±

    ¡°It seems that you know me and knows who reigns thisnd.¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice was arrogant and cold, ¡°So, do you admit it? You are looting my territory and hurting my people-¡°

    ¡°No, we are just passing-by mercenaries.¡±

    Seeing Annan¡¯s unkind expression, another robber immediately opened his mouth and said. ¡°There are some personal grievances between us. It¡¯s all a misunderstanding. The matter is over.¡±

    ¡°Personal grievances. I see.¡±

    Annan repeated slowly.

    He raised his head and nced at the houses where the mes were just put out. Then, he looked at some surviving houses. There was no emotion in his cold voice, ¡°Okay, I will treat you all as just passing-by mercenaries. Then, mercenaries, let¡¯s discuss another matter.

    ¡°How should the Kingdom Law deal with arsonists? You should know deep down your heart, right?¡±

    In any case, I don¡¯t know.

    Annan added in his heart.

    At first nce, since there were manyrge-sized wooden houses, it was quite rational to infer that arson punishment would be hefty. It was highly possible to be the death penalty. With the current wooden material and houseyout, the fire would cause considerable damage if it was not put out in time.

    However, something was beyond Annan¡¯s expectations.

    One of the robbers quickly said, ¡°No, Lord Geraint. I set the fire. They are just covering me with the arrow barrage. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can check my quiver. Only mine are enchanted fire arrows. So, please arrest me.¡±

    What a coward?

    Annan was taken aback and then immediately realized that something was wrong.

    This person responded too quickly.

    This is unnatural.

    If he was dealing with a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, Annan might be fooled.

    In fact, he replied so quickly with not much fear in his words despite the possibility of a death sentence. Is he so sure he will not die or already prepared to shoulder the crime?

    Annan saw it clearly from the dark just now. These robbers shot the fire arrows together. When the robbers saw him appearing, they should be prepared for the incident ¡°Don Juan¡¤Geraint saw everything.¡±

    But since this person dared to say that, there might be no fire arrows in others¡¯ quivers, so they were not afraid of the search.

    This is weird.

    Is anyone targeting Don Juan¡¤Geraint?

    Annan squinted slightly.

    ¡°My lord!¡±

    At this moment, the young man shot to the ground suddenly shouted, ¡°I have something to say!¡±

    It was the first young militia to make a move.

    Annan quickly recognized the person and asked coldly, ¡°First, what¡¯s your name? Soldier.¡±

    Hearing the word soldier, the young man was in a daze. With the assistance of others, he barely got up from the ground, enduring the pain, and said in a low voice, ¡°My name is Jon, Lord. I am the Freezing Water Port¡¯s militia captain!

    ¡°I want to report to you that this group of people are robbers! They looted the Freezing Water Port a month ago and killed several people. City Lord can also testify-¡°

    ¡°Lord Geraint.¡±

    Before Jon finished speaking, the robber holding the polearm suddenly spoke. He interrupted him loudly, ¡°As long as you desire, we aren¡¯t the bandits anymore.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t say a word, just watched the person calmly, waiting for him to continue.

    ¡°You obviously had¡­¡±

    ¡°If I were you, kid. I won¡¯t say a word now.¡±

    The robber interrupted Jon again with no courtesy.

    Seeing his unscrupulous mannerism, the militias gradually realized something. Someone pressed Jon¡¯s shoulder and motioned to him not to say anything further.

    Seeing that the militia was quiet, the man turned his head, smiled, and said to Annan, ¡°We are mercenaries, sir. You can also ask them. We did not intentionally kill any of them. This is just a personal grudge¡­ Yes, personal conflict. It has nothing to do with a great person like you.¡±

    ¡°Dismount from your horse.¡±

    Annan said all of a sudden.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Before he heard Annan¡¯s words, the man was startled.

    Annan said mercilessly, ¡°All of you get off your horses. You dare to speak to the earl¡¯s son while riding a horse, not even making your formal greetings. Are you sure this is the conversation etiquette your master taught you?¡±

    The ¡°robber¡± turned pale when he heard the words. He quickly turned over and got off the horse. The others got off their horses in a hurry too.

    The leading robber who took the lead hurriedly took off his leather cap and saluted Annan respectfully. His manner seemed weaker because of this, ¡°May Silver Sire give you wealth and peace, Lord Geraint.¡±

    Annan just snorted and made no response.

    Annan paced to the horse, reached out his hand to touch its head. He asked without looking back, ¡°What is your name? Where do youe from?¡±

    ¡°Lyon, my lord. Lyon Coleman. We are from Roseburg.¡±

    Seeing that Annan didn¡¯t seem to want to pursue this matter further, Lyon lowered his head and said smilingly, ¡°Lord Viscount said that if you have guessed it, pleasee to Roseburg as a guest.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡°

    Annan didn¡¯t lift his eyelids, ¡°Which viscount?¡±

    ¡°There is only one viscount in Roseburg. Naturally, it is the Barber family lord, Lord Alvin Barber. Your grandfather¡¯s vassal.¡±

    Lyon said smilingly while stuffing a badge into Annan¡¯s hand.

    Annan looked down and assessed it carefully. He discovered that it was a shield emblem with both the eagle design and rose design.

    ¡°Seems pretty good.¡±

    He sighed, ¡°Likewise.¡±

    With that, he pulled his hand away from the horse¡¯s head and patted Lyon on the shoulder.

    ¡°Naturally, we¡­¡±

    Hearing that, Lyon was also relieved. He was about topliment a few more words before he heard an agonizing wail.

    He saw that the horse that Annan stroked let out a wail, fell to the ground and convulsed. The horse was going to die on the spot.

    A thick frostyer surfaced on its head. A frost trace soaked with blood appeared at each eye.

    ¡°Sorry, your horse is dead.¡±

    At this moment, Annan smiled as he loosened Lyon¡¯s shoulders. Then, he strolled towards the militia team.

    Before Lyon knew what was going on, he felt a frigid colding from his shoulder. He screamed uncontrobly, which scared everyone around him.

    Lyon¡¯s shoulders were utterly stiff, unable to move. Terrible bruises surfaced on his left neck and cheeks. His lips turned entirely ck with an awful chill steamed out of his left shoulder.

    ¡ªIt¡¯s a spell!

    Don Juan¡¤Geraint is a wizard!

    ¡°Militias, obey your lord¡¯s orders. It¡¯s time to defend Freezing Water Port!¡±

    Annan walked a few steps towards the militia group. His cold and emotionless eyes stared at each militia, ¡°Pick up your weapon and gather together!¡±

    The militias, which Anan had swept his gaze upon, couldn¡¯t help lowering their heads or turning their eye away, not daring to look at the new lord.

    But, after seeing these robbers revealing themselves, the extinguished anger and hope for revenge also steamed up.

    It had been too long since there was not a strong lord at Freezing Water Port.

    Their hot blood was doused.

    The young lord looked so cold, but he had an upright heart.

    His words were as cold as the Chilly Austere wind but so heart-pounding.

    Annan looked back under the ardent and admiring gaze of the militia group.

    He stared coldly at the group of robbers who were in a panic. He then drew his delicate short sword from his waist.

    He raised his sword and pointed at the group of robbers in front of the crowd, ¡°Capture them, spare no one-

    ¡°Dead or alive!¡±

    Dear readers, we will beunching multiple promotional campaigns by publishing <i>Bonus Chapters</i> as a reward. For our first milestone, we will release <i>Bonus </i>3<i> Chapters</i> once there are <strong>20 unique discord members</strong> joining our TRP server. All in all, the activity is voluntary. We will be posting out quests centers around driving the novel¡¯s growth while our trantor~kun is working hard on this project.

 Chapter 17: Should I Only Spare One?

    <h4>Chapter 17: Should I Only Spare One?</h4>

    The group of ¡°robbers¡± naturally would not sit idle.

    They kept retreating as they retaliated, trying to get on their horses and escape.

    Although they were afraid of Annan, it didn¡¯t mean that they would cower and wait for their demise.

    These mercenaries knew what was going on in their hearts.

    They pretended to be robbers and robbed the port openly because the Roseburg¡¯s Viscount guaranteed their safety.

    Viscount guaranteed that the officials would not hunt them down, nor would the officials dispatch an army to retaliate.

    With that happening, the militia in a small town was nothing to be wary of.

    After the trading with Chilly Austere Dukedom was banned, Freezing Water Port only had an empty shell. It only looked spectacr. There was no army stationed. Besides that, there were no wizards, bishops, schrs, and not even a Transcended to protect the town.

    Many of the Freezing Water Port¡¯s residents had long gone. The young, strong, and ambitious men had already gone to the big cities in the maind via caravans. The number of residents who remained here was less than ? during the peak period.

    These mercenaries would naturally not be afraid to go against the town¡¯s militia. After all, the lead bullet could harm the Bronze Rank Transcended with surprises.

    Each of them also had a horse. Even if they were defeated, it would guarantee their safe escape.

    However, the Viscount would note over to save them if they were caught, let alone going in conflict with Don Juan for their lives.

    Not only would the Viscountn¡¯te to the rescue, but Lord Viscount would also immediately condemn the robbers¡¯ group, trying to cut off all ties with them. Then, he would request the Freezing Water Port to execute them directly or send them to Roseburg for the execution.

    Lord Viscount warned the ¡°robbers¡± about the consequences before they set off.

    Failure was not an option.

    Even so¡­

    They didn¡¯t dare to kill Don Juan.

    They were not actual robbers, after all.

    If they were desperate and became robbers, there would be a fierce and unscrupulous vibe in their actions¡­ but they were not.

    Seeing the ¡°Don Juan¡¤Geraint¡± rushing up, they didn¡¯t have any option.

    Several of the best mercenaries in swordsmanship hurriedly wielded their sabers from their waists, preparing to defend as best they could. Their current best bet was to slow down Don Juan right here.

    The others united against those militias, looking for opportunities to defeat them as soon as possible and escape.

    They were not afraid of the wizard but afraid of Annan¡¯s identity.

    ¡ªA young man with ck hair and blue eyes who knew how to use spells.

    This was the most notable feature of the Crow family¡¯s three young masters. Even without looking at the emblem, one could easily recognize Don Juan¡¯s identity.

    If they killed Don Juan by mistake, it would not be as simple as a viscount threat!

    That was the Crow family!

    They would rather provoke a Marquis at the frontier than the vicious old crow¡­

    ¡°Damn it, that old man fooled us!¡±

    One of them couldn¡¯t help cursing, ¡°Didn¡¯t he say that the Crow family¡¯s kid in the middle of the journey had¡­?¡±

    ¡°Joel!¡±

    The mercenary leader immediately raised a warning.

    But Annan had indeed heard that sentence.

    He opened his eyes slightly. His icy blue pupils shed with emotionless light.

    ¡°¡­Ah, I heard it.¡±

    He whispered, ¡°You seem to know something.¡±

    When the mercenary group saw this, they shut their mouths and stopped talking, but their offense grew more intense.

    Annan made up his mind.

    I need to capture them alive.

    It was not because of anger nor hatred. After all, he was not Don Juan.

    Though, it was an opportunity.

    A chance to fill up the ws in his identity and temporarily be ¡°Don Juan.¡±

    He didn¡¯t need to use this identity to get to the kingdom¡¯s higher-ups. After all, he looked different from Don Juan. Those who knew Don Juan would recognize him for sure.

    He just intended to use Don Juan¡¯s identity to gather intelligence.

    After all, if he had no status and started out as a civilian, many secrets would be inessible. Lord¡¯s position was sufficiently safe and high enough.

    He must investigate why ¡°Annan¡± would appear alone on the beach of an enemy country as soon as possible. He had even lost his weapon and equipment too.

    Worse still, he was at low HP.

    Even Don Juan, the son of an unwee earl, would have treasures on him and some bodyguards.

    After all, Don Juan was the Grand Duke¡¯s son.

    Therefore, Annan must consider a possibility. There might be assassination attempts in the past, forcing him to cross the ind sea and escape to the Freezing Water Port on the opposite shore. If he turned back to Chilly Austere Dukedom, he would most likely die directly.

    Who is the person who wants to kill me? Is it Grand Duke? Is it my brother? Is it the Grand Duke¡¯s enemy? Or some other person?

    Is there anything wrong with Grand Duke? What is the situation inside the Dukedom?

    Annan must at least investigate the situation. He needed to know who his enemy was. Then, he would acquire yers¡¯ protection and beat the opponent to get his original identity back.

    Before that, he could only live in Don Juan¡¯s name.

    Annan and Don Juan were in a bad situation.

    Those who dared to hunt down the earl¡¯s son ¨C the heirs of the duchy must be significantly strong.

    Fortunately, these mercenaries knew something.

    Annan didn¡¯t even have to get any useful information out of their mouths.

    He only needed to convince the people at Freezing Water Port that he was attacked on the way here.

    Having a big shift in temperament? That would be normal. It happened right after being assaulted.

    Losing many possessions. It was also expected. After all, someone assaulted him.

    Poor etiquette? This was also normal. After all, he had just been through a life and death crisis and certainly was in a foul mood.

    In short, as long as they were convinced that ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was attacked and saw the ship, it was understandable no matter what strange behavior Annan made.

    So-

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get serious, my friend.¡±

    Annan saw that the militia was suffering defeat. He turned around and said politely to the three mercenaries who stopped him, ¡°Please don¡¯t spare any efforts.

    ¡°Otherwise, you might die. That¡¯s bad.¡±

    He chuckled softly.

    Annan had roughly figured out their strength.

    Their level was not even the third level of swordsmanship, and their power was lesser than that of a child-like Annan.

    The three people in front of him copsed.

    The opponent did indeed spare no effort, though!

    Isn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint a wizard?

    Why is his swordsmanship so gorgeous and calm? There is no slightest w, just like a royal guard who has been practicing swordsmanship for more than ten years.

    Annan did not give the opponent a chance to readjust themselves.

    He went all out with all his strength.

    The exquisite de shed a cold light.

    Anna picked up his pace.

    Annan mmed his sword calmly on the mercenary¡¯s sword edge from the right with a subtle arc via backhand¡¯s grip, parrying off the attack.

    Then, he shed on the opponent¡¯s wrist as fast as lightning.

    Blood burst out on the scene.

    Annan shed off the opponent¡¯s hand muscle. His entire wrist was cut in half; he screamed agonizingly as he fell to the ground.

    Annan did not continue to attack him but charged at the other two again.

    After one less person besieging him, Annan¡¯sbat prowess immediately doubled. He defended against the two¡¯s offense at the same time and found an opportunity in less than three sword exchanges.

    He took a sudden step, shing out the sword horizontally.

    The sharp blood-stained sword drew a perfect arc in the air, cutting a person¡¯s throat directly.

    At this moment, Annan suddenly froze in the spot.

    Fortunately, he reacted quickly and blocked the opponent¡¯s attack.

    At the moment he cut the man¡¯s neck off, a glimmering panel shed in front of his eyes:

    [Killed unranked enemies in the battle and obtained 15 Shared Experience points]

    Annan was stupefied for a while, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

    His momentum had a significant change; his eyes were cold but enthusiastic, which instilled fear in the others who caught sight of it.

    There was a smile that was dangerous and horrifying.

    Should I let them live?

    Should I only spare one?

 Chapter 18: Are You Happy, Friend?

    <h4>Chapter 18: Are You Happy, Friend?</h4>

    After Annan broke free from the three mens¡¯ besiegement, the first thing he did was to rush to the two mercenaries with rifles.

    At this moment, the battle had just begun. The robber group was still hoping for a fluke of ¡°maybe escaping,¡± so they were wary of Annan¡¯s identity and did not dare to shoot him.

    The two men armed with rifles wielded their swords, trying to force Annan to retreat. After all, it was too easy for a lead bullet to kill a person.

    But, they did not pay attention to the battle on Annan¡¯s side just now, so they didn¡¯t realize the situation¡¯s seriousness at all. They even dared to hold their sword with only one hand.

    Annan did not hesitate. Utilizing the fastest speed and the greatest strength he could muster, he sent the two rifles flying to the sky and quickly beheaded them.

    [Kill an unranked enemy in the battle. Obtain 21 points of Shared Experience]

    [Kill an unranked enemy in the battle. Obtain 14 points of Shared Experience]

    The process of Annan charging to the enemy till the experience prompts took less than 10 seconds.

    What was left was just a massacre.

    After Annan took care of the two mercenaries armed with rifles, the militias were no longer afraid, and their morale rose.

    Only then did the mercenaries realize that something was wrong. They sent out a few veterans with the most sophisticated swordsmanship to attack Annan altogether. They did not dare to hold themselves off.

    However, it was toote.

    Annan was only afraid of those two rifles.

    [Bodyguard Swordsmanship] was swordsmanship that had better performance in small-scale battles. It was effective at closebat.

    Four mercenaries besieged Annan and managed to hold an equal ground temporarily. Before long, Annan darted forward, switched his sword to his left hand, and struck with his palm.

    No matter where this palm struck on the opponent¡¯s body, it revealed an opening to the opponent. A simple attack like this was enough to knock down or kill a person. After knocking down two enemies, Annan simply switched the sword back and forth between his left and right hands as he fended off the besiegement. Simultaneously, it forced the opponent to be more alert to his melee attack, making them vulnerable.

    After a few exchanges of attacks, Annan knocked all of them down.

    Then, Annan breathed a sigh of relief.

    When he turned his head, he found that the militia group had also killed two enemies. This gave Annan a sense of urgency in his heart.

    Don¡¯t steal my kills!

    Annan issued an order immediately.

    The immature and majestic voice sounded, ¡°Prioritize taking over the enemies I have defeated! Capture them all!

    ¡°Take away their horses. Don¡¯t let them flee!¡±

    After receiving Annan¡¯s order, the militia group quickly reacted after being at a loss at first.

    Their first reaction was to send someone to pick up the two rifles.

    After seeing the militias understand his tactical intentions, Annan nodded in satisfaction.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate any more and charged forward.

    ng!

    After a sharp collision, the long sword in the young mercenary¡¯s hand was swung away. He also leaned forward out of bnce.

    Annan broke the opponent¡¯s bnce in just one exchange of attacks. Then, he pierced the opponent¡¯s chest with his sword.

    It appeared as though the opponent was feeding kills [1].

    Annan had knocked every remaining mercenary to the ground. It all happened swiftly in a few exchanges of attacks.

    Anna would leave immediately as long as the opponent was beheaded or temporarily loses the ability to fight. He would let the militias take over. Then, he immediately faced the remaining enemies.

    Soon, only thest young mercenary remained alive.

    Annan fought him while asking casually, ¡°Do you know the details of what Joel said previously?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I know nothing¡­¡±

    The mercenary was sweating profusely. He replied tremblingly as he stepped back, ¡°They just dragged me along in this.¡±

    Before the opponent had finished answering, Annan stepped forward, swung his sword horizontally, andunched the opponent¡¯s weapon away.

    Then, he pierced the young mercenary¡¯s abdomen with one blow.

    ¡°What a pity.¡±

    Annan sighed, ¡°Isn¡¯t it much better for you to confess?¡±

    With that, he drew back the short sword that pierced the young mercenary¡¯s abdomen. The opponent¡¯s body also leaned forward weakly and knelt to Annan.

    As the mercenary knelt to the ground, Annan pierced his eye sockets with a sharp sword.

    A prompt quickly appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [Killed an unranked enemy in the battle. Obtained 7 points for Shared Experience]

    The battle was over.

    Annan exhaled with satisfaction, showing a happy and bright smile. He then slowly drew out the short sword.

    He killed many people in the dungeon instance previously, but he didn¡¯t get any experience. It misled Annan, thinking that he could only get the Shared Experience when he cleared a dungeon instance.

    It turns out that farming monsters outside the dungeon instance provide experience. I should have been told earlier.

    Annan held the short sword that reflected crimson light and approached the survivors with a smile.

    Including Lyon, suffering from Annan¡¯s frostbite, there were only five captives left.

    Seeing Annan getting closer and closer to them, these mercenaries and militias instantly became quiet. They watched Annan with fear and awe.

    ¡°Speak out, my friends.¡±

    Ignoring the militias, Annan spoke softly to them, ¡°Who can tell me the Roseburg Viscount¡¯s secrets?¡±

    The mercenaries just trembled and said nothing.

    So, Annan threw a bitter smile.

    He approached the front-most mercenary,id the sword t on his shoulder, and asked gently as if he was giving recognition to a knight, ¡°Friend, do you know something?¡±

    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t quite¡­¡±

    The man just stared at Annan nkly.

    After their gazes met, Annan quickly became convinced that the captive knew nothing.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate any more and took the opponent¡¯s head with a sword attack.

    The warm blood sprinkled directly on the mercenary next to him. That person¡¯s pupils instantly expanded to the limit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t act like this. You are here to plunder my people. Why do you make it look like I am the viin?¡±

    Annanined softly. Then, he put on a professional smile and asked the second person, ¡°Then, do you know anything, friend?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    There was a short silence spanned for 3 seconds.

    Then, another head fell to the ground.

    As Annan asked one by one, he was regretful to discover that someone knew some clues.

    Lyon, suffering Annan¡¯s frostbite, shivered and shouted, ¡°I know! Alvin Barber sent me here. I know everything!¡±

    He had already urinated his pants, shivering, not even speaking cohesively. He didn¡¯t even have any hopes to survive, but only intense despair in his eyes.

    But Annan stopped.

    His murderous aura, as cold as the harsh winter breeze, suddenly disappeared. It was like snow melted under the radiant sun, disappearing without a trace.

    Annan¡¯s smile was still gentle.

    He just patted Lyon on the shoulder and whispered, ¡°You should call him Viscount Barber. You¡¯re quite rude.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a robber any more. You will die.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    Lyon shivered, especially after Annan¡¯s hand patted his shoulder.

    But, Annan didn¡¯t n to kill him.

    Since you are willing to provide me clues, you are a good NPC, and we are allies.

    Only allies can survive.

    But as for the price to have the atrocity to rob me, to deceive me and threaten me¡­

    ¡°Someone bring me his right thumb.¡±

    Annan raised his voice. He ordered coldly, albeit not showing any emotional fluctuation, ¡°Then, heal his injury, give him a bath to change his clothes, and bring him to see me again.¡±

    Seeing that no one else left to kill, Annan rechecked his panel and smiled in satisfaction.

    This mercenary group provided different experiences due to their varying strength. He would obtain meager experience to kill his enemy after the battle was over. However, they contributed 3 experience points to him at the very least.

    His Shared Experience had returned to 84 points again.

    When he came out of the first dungeon instance, the Shared Experience was only 76 points.

    These experiences should be enough to push the Wizard Apprentice to Level 10, right?

    He turned off the panel and smiled gently at Lyon, ¡°You get to live, my friend.

    ¡°Now, are you happy?¡±

    ¡°Ha¡­ happy¡­¡±

    Lyon shivered, not knowing how to respond. He could only force a smile and replied, shivering.

    He was afraid that Annan would torture him again.

    But, seeing his reply like this, Annan nodded in satisfaction, ¡°Good to be happy.¡±

    Then, Anna left and walked towards the city as the militias awed silently.

    Am I still alive?

    Seeing Annan¡¯s young figure moving further and further away, Lyon felt relieved before he copsed and fainted.

    [1] More of a game terminology; to describe someone intentionally surrendering themselves to the opponent.

 Chapter 19: Silver Sires Priest

    <h4>Chapter 19: Silver Sire''s Priest</h4>

    The first thing Annan did after entering the city was not to approach the Freezing Water Port¡¯s mayor for the transfer of power.

    Instead, he took the wounded to the only church in Freezing Water Port first.

    The injuries of the other militias were not serious. The ones in critical were Lyon and Jon. One suffered frostbite from Annan¡¯s Chilling Touch; a lead bullet hit the other in the thigh, and the bullet remained in the body. Both of them were unconscious.

    The injuries of the two must be dealt with immediately. Otherwise, it would threaten their life.

    It just so happened that Annan also wanted to see how the churches in this world treat wounds.

    ¡°But, lord. We only have the Church of Silver Sire here.¡±

    A senior militia courageously whispered to Annan, ¡°It¡¯s the Silver Sire¡¯s priest. Treatment costs money.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about money.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t turn his head back. He just said inly, ¡°Jon was injured to protect the people of Freezing Water Port and to maintain my dignity as the feudal lord. When I seed as the mayor, I will naturally pay money to heal him.

    ¡°As for Lyon, it will be fine if he can wake up. There is no need to heal his injuriespletely. It won¡¯t cost much, right? Do the calctions.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cheaper to treat that robber,¡± the middle-aged militia heard Annan¡¯s words and counted on the side. ¡°If not thoroughly treated, this kind of injury will only cost about ten shillings. But the gunshot wound¡­ Fortunately, it was on the leg. Four gold pounds.¡±

    Having said this, he nced at Annan cautiously, lest the overly young feudal lord would be angry when he heard the price. After all, it might just be the typical naive words of the young nobles.

    Seeing that Annan¡¯s face remained unchanged, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

    He is worthy of being the child of the earl who is rich and powerful.

    But what the middle-aged militia didn¡¯t know was that Annan just had no idea about the currency and its purchasing power in this world.

    Besides, he did not need to pay for it anyway.

    Annan was confident that the former mayor of Freezing Water Port would fork out for it.

    When he was on the ship, Don Juan¡¯s small wallet contained eight gold coins and dozens of silver coins. This should be just pocket money. Considering Don Juan¡¯s age, all the money he brought should be in the housekeeper¡¯s hands.

    Since the pocket money that Don Juan brought was at least eight gold coins, there was no reason why the mayor could not afford it.

    Just like what Annan said to middle-aged militia previously, Jon was injured in the process of protecting the people of the Freezing Water Port and maintaining his dignity as the feudal lord. Wouldn¡¯t he be embarrassed if he refused to treat Jon?

    Even if he could still live on it, he would not be worthy of being the mayor at all.

    Like the initial settings, Don Juan was going to take over as the North Sea Territory¡¯s feudal lord. Freezing Water Port was just the city with the best infrastructure. It was also the first town he could find after disembarking.

    In other words, the territory that Annan now controlled was not just such a small town. He even had the right to remove the mayor from office.

    If the mayor were smart enough, he would pay the money to avoid the disaster. If he were to be slow-witted, it would be a good reason to remove him from the office.

    Thinking of this, Annan asked again, ¡°What about everyone else¡¯s injuries? How much will it cost if we were to treat them altogether?¡±

    Thisplicated mathematical calction stumped middle-aged militia.

    He looked back and assessed the situation carefully for a while, muttering words in his mouth.

    He muttered embarrassedly, ¡°Probably¡­ no matter what¡­¡±

    ¡°A total of five pounds and eight shillings plus thirteen and a three-quarter of pennies, my lord.¡±

    The one who answered was a man who spoke coherently and dressed well, ¡°With due respect, let¡¯s forget the change. Five pounds plus eight shillings, thank you for your patronage.¡±

    Annan stopped when he heard the words. He looked back at the person who was talking.

    It was a young man with red hair, who looked about twenty-seven years old. His dark red hair was neatlybed to the back; his sturdy figure of at least 1.8 meters made him look quite oppressive.

    He wore a white formal attire simr to a long suit made of outstanding fabric. There was a reasonably big silver pocket watch in the front pocket at his chest that was half exposed. The pattern on the pocket watch was the same as the pattern on the silver coin. The other end of the pocket watch was tied to his neckline.

    But unlike the red-haired man¡¯s businessman tone, militias respect him a lot. It was unlike the respect they had for Annan that was mixed with awe and distance. This was more simr to the sincere respect for doctors or teachers.

    They bowed deeply to the red-haired man. They tapped twice on their heart and neckline.

    ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, Sir Louis.¡±

    The militias said respectfully to the man named Louis.

    Louis just smiled and took out his pocket watch. He snapped it open at the neckline and responded to them, ¡°May you be loved by Silver Sire today.¡±

    Seeing the morning sun¡¯s brilliance reflected by the silver pocket watch, Annan felt that his body seemed to be warmer.

    He knew it was not an illusion nor cebo:

    [You have been blessed by the Trade Deity ¡°Silver Sire.¡±]

    [In the next 24 hours, you are more likely to get windfalls.]

    Synchronously, a system prompt appeared before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    It turns out to be an Upright Deity who is in charge of the money.

    Annan immediately obeyed his inner thoughts and greeted Louis respectfully.

    ¡°Sir Louis, why are you here?¡±

    A young militia with a bloody wound on his arm asked. He didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of the priest of Upright Deity, ¡°Don¡¯t you usually stay in the shrine for the whole day?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you got up toote, Allen.¡±

    Louis chuckled helplessly, ¡°I will go out for morning exercises every morning after the morning prayer is over. Silver Sire grants us teaching to breathe the morning air. Diligence will bring wealth.¡±

    ¡°Right, Sir Louis.¡±

    Annan interrupted their conversation, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at their injuries first. Jon got a gunshot wound, and I think he needs to be treated as soon as possible. Can you put the fee on credit? The mayor will pay you backter. Just tell him I said so.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have a look.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Louis¡¯s face became slightly serious.

    He walked to the unconscious Jon, took a shiny silver coin from his arms, ced it on his forehead, and flicked his finger.

    Then, the silver coin made a long chirp of ¡°Zheng-.¡± Then, half of it turned ck.

    Then, he picked up the silver coin and tossed it in the air. The ck trace faded away.

    He put the silver coin on Lyon¡¯s forehead again and made some calctions. This time, more than two-thirds of the silver coin turned ck.

    ¡°The injuries are indeed critical. I have to take the injured away first, feudal lord.¡±

    With that said, Louis put away the silver coins. He carried the two people directly on his shoulders and confirmed to Annan again, ¡°I only need to resuscitate this person¡¯s lives, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    The young militia on the side was not afraid and shouted, ¡°He is the head of those robbersst time! They are here again today. Our lord defeated and arrested them! Don¡¯t make him feel any better-¡±

    A senior militia hurriedly tugged his arm and motioned him to stop talking so much in front of the lord.

    Annan nced at the two curiously.

    These militias don¡¯t seem to be particrly afraid of me. But, this is not because of the bands, spoiling them into unruly civilians. It¡¯s because young people are not particrly afraid of authority.

    However, the seniors were not like that. As Annan expected, they were still in awe of the ¡°Don Juan¡¯s¡± identity.

    Is it because of the mayor?

    It appears that I should see him face to face.

    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll meet up with the mayor first, so please treat their injuries.¡±

    Annan said to Priest Louis politely.

    Louis was a little surprised to see Annan being so polite to him.

    He immediately nodded with a smile on his face, ¡°Please count on me.

    ¡°In the name of Silver Sire. Since I have received the money, I will do my deed ordingly.¡±

 Chapter 20: Compassionate Father

    <h4>Chapter 20: Compassionate Father</h4>

    ¡°Are you awake?¡±

    This is Priest Louis¡¯s voice!

    When Jon woke up, he heard this voice that he was respectful but fearful of before opening his eyes.

    ¡°I have no money!¡±

    Hearing Louis¡¯s voice, Jon closed his eyes and shouted in reflex, ¡°I¡¯m out of money.¡±

    Louis just pped him on his thigh andughed helplessly, ¡°Calm down, you don¡¯t need to pay for it this time.

    ¡°Your feudal lord has spoken. The injury is inflicted in your service to defend Freezing Water Port. The official ounts will settle the bills. That¡¯s to say; you will be reimbursed.¡±

    Awesome¡­

    Jon breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously.

    Since he was in aa halfway through the battle, he did not know how the battle turned out afterward, whether he suffered other injuries, and how long his injury was dyed. So, he did not know how much money he would need to treat this injury. Hemented his poverty subconsciously.

    Although he was only shot once and in the leg, it was not a big deal to be amputated. With the Silver Sire¡¯s unique skills, amputation would not cost too much money.

    The old captain¡¯s treatment fee had terrified and scarred Jon.

    The old captain was on the verge of death when he was sent to the church due to the battle¡¯s dys. By the time he was taken to the church, the treatment fee had risen to 26 pounds. This was still the price afterining about being hard up. The original price was 28 pounds.

    The price was no exaggeration and called a spade a spade.

    It somehow illustrated the price of human life.

    The old captain could not afford it either.

    But, he used to be a veteran. If he emptied his family¡¯s wealth, he might be able to afford it. Possibly, he would need to sell his beautiful armor. It should be enough to afford the treatment.

    But, he was reluctant. He felt like he could not earn the money back in the remaining half of his life. It was better off to leave more money for the children.

    There was no sry for the militia service. When there was no fighting, they were ordinary townspeople, each with their jobs. Most of them were fishermen. The only benefit was to receive a little bit of meat during the holidays every year.

    When the town was in danger, they would take up their weapons and assemble to buy time for the children and women to take refuge. The militia service only required a weapon to participate, so most of them did not even have leather armor.

    The majority of the militia was proficient at spear stabbing. After all, they were all fishermen. When they were young, they would go spearfishing when they had nothing to do. Sure enough, their speed and uracy were adequate.

    Most importantly, the spear was cheap, at least much more affordable than a stainless steel sword. At least to the extent that every family could afford it.

    Of course, Freezing Water Port had no iron ore. They all replied on import.

    But ordinary fishermen could earn about ten pounds per person a year if they did not catch anything precious. Their ie was little, but somehow much better than farmers in the maind.

    It should be mentioned that the mayor¡¯s clerk earnt more than 30 pounds a year.

    But the problem was that after deducting daily expenses and taxes, there was not much money left.

    It was pretty good for a fisherman to save one or two pounds each year already.

    For his injury to be cured, it would cost at least four or five pounds. He would be capable of forking out the money from the family¡¯s wealth. However, once that happened, his family¡¯s savings werepletely drained.

    Truth to be told, his young brother was getting married soon.

    So, Jon was troubled. He did not even know how to tell his family. For a while, he thought it would be better to die and ask his family to carry his body to the mayor to ask for some marypensation.

    Or he could be like the old captain, spend ten shillings to dig out the bullets and heal the wounds, leaving the rest to fate.

    It depended on whether Silver Sire would take care of him.

    But thinking about it, Silver Sire would not like a stingy person like him.

    After returning to his senses, Jon could not help but sigh, ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡±

    This amount of money might not be as much to these noble lords. It might even be less the nobles¡¯ meal, a bucket of good wine, or even theirb.

    Among other things, the ticket from Freezing Water Port to the Royal Capital cost a minimum of 8 gold pounds.

    But, for civilians like them, it was the savings worth up to 7 years, which will directly affect their family¡¯s life for more than 10 years.

    ¡°Feudal lord is such a good person.¡±

    Jon eximed and tried to sit up from the bed.

    ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t overstrain yourself these few days. Your wounds are not fully healed yet, so save it for not tearing the wound again.¡±

    Louis urged, reaching out to support Jon¡¯s back and helping him up.

    He asked Jon curiously, ¡°Jon, what do you think of your feudal lord?¡±

    ¡°A good Samaritan.¡±

    Jon said decisively.

    ¡°¡­Because he paid you?¡±

    Louis was dumbfounded.

    Jon shook his head and whispered,

    ¡°Because he has such a good background, and yet he still treats us as human beings. I can still remember that people like us don¡¯t have much money at home.¡±

    He nced at ¡°robber¡± Lyon, who was still in aa with his expression bing a littleplicated, ¡°The lord is even willing to heal someone like him.¡±

    ¡°No, I think the feudal lord did not heal him out of kindness. Well, let¡¯s not talk about it.¡±

    Priest Louis shrugged and said with deep interest, ¡°You may not know how much respect the people who came with you have to your feudal lord or how fearful they were.¡±

    ¡°Fear?¡±

    Jon replied without hesitation, ¡°Then, they shall be punished. Why should they fear someone who has just saved them?

    ¡°Unlike our mayor, the mayor himself is a schr from the Freezing Water Port. He grew up with me back then. It is normal for him to get closer to young people like us.

    ¡°But, it is different for our feudal lord. It has nothing to do with him if these goods are lost. He won¡¯t charge us half of the tax because the goods are lost. Whether we live or die, it has nothing to do with him. But he fought those robbers under the pretense of not gaining any benefits. Isn¡¯t this a righteous act?

    ¡°No matter how cruel his means to the enemy, his purpose is to protect us and to protect the Freezing Water Port. The crueler his means, the more respectable he will be because he fights for justice.¡±

    Jon replied confidently.

    Annan¡¯s brief speech to them shed through his mind ¨C the calming and upliftingmand.

    As cold as the chilly frost wind, but also inspiring-

    ¡°The most honorable thing is that, as a feudal lord, he charged forward and was the first to rush towards the robber!

    Jon said thoughtfully, ¡°Sir Louis, do you know they have guns!? These goods are our lives already, but does it bother him?¡±

    Upon hearing this, Louise¡¯s face was slightly serious.

    The tall red-haired priest nodded slowly, ¡°You¡¯re right. Besides, you don¡¯t know, Jon. The feudal lord did not even go to see the mayor before entering the city but directly took the two of you to this ce. Then, he left the church. This is not in ordance with the rules. It just happened that he ran into me on the road, and I hurriedly brought you over.

    ¡°If he is just for acting, there is no need to rush this time. Because for him, it makes no difference whether you are alive or dead. The only difference is that your body will be damaged more severely with the dys. Your only option may turn out to be amputation by then.

    ¡°He is the earl¡¯s son. So, he must also know that our Silver Sire Church is not good at treatment. If youe two hourster, your leg may be gone.¡±

    With that said, Louis patted Jon¡¯s thigh again and said thoughtfully, ¡°You got to thank the feudal lord, but not because he saved you money, nor because he remembered that regr civilians like you have no money.

    ¡°It¡¯s because he cares about your life and health. That¡¯s why he breaks the rules. He thinks that human life and your leg are more important than his reputation.¡±

    The wound on his leg healed perfectly. After being patted twice by Louis, Jon did not even feel the pain.

    But, when he heard Louis¡¯ words, his heart was so warm that it almost turned sour.

    His admiration for Annan rose to a zealotry level.

    Although he was injured, he felt happy. It was like when he just took over as the militia captain, his father quietly took out the money for the coffins and reced him with a used leather breastte.

    No expression was required. No words were needed.

    Just the action itself was enough to warm people¡¯s hearts.

    Although the feudal lord looked cold and scary at a young age, he was not only brave, fair, and proper; he had a warm and human heart.

    Freezing Water Port is so lucky to have such a young feudal lord as thepassionate father¡­

    Although his height is not very fatherly¡­

 Chapter 21: Salvatore Blacktower

    <h4>Chapter 21: Salvatore cktower</h4>

    ¡°You guys seem to get along well with Priest Louis.¡±

    After Louis had left for a while, Annan chuckled and whispered.

    He nned to collect as much information about the world as possible before meeting the mayor.

    In what form do the Upright Deities exist in this world? What is the people¡¯s attitude towards the church? What is the rtionship between man and deities?

    This yed a factor in Annan¡¯s subsequent actions.

    Annan¡¯s expression was unfazed. The militias could not tell whether Annan was happy or displeased.

    They could only cautiously said in a probing manner,

    ¡°After all, they treat us very well.¡±

    ¡°Even if they will ask you for money every day?¡±

    Annan asked.

    A young militia blurted out, ¡°This is the church¡¯s rule. Priest Louis is not a miser. When he hired us to build the church, he paid a handsome price. He invested in the only elementary school in our town!

    Seeing this rash young militia, the old militia next to him immediately came over and exined, ¡°Silver Sire taught us that silver coins are streams. They onlye to life when they flow; if they are stagnant, they will be rotten and corrupt. Priest Louis has taught us so.

    ¡°Although the church wants money for everything, they are not trying to umte money after all. The money they get will always be spent away quickly with the intention to circte the money. Hence, the money they earned only stays in their hands temporarily.¡±

    The old militia sighed, ¡°When we can¡¯t sell off our fish, only Sir Louis is willing to buy the rest of the fish. He can¡¯t eat so much by himself, and he can¡¯t ship it out either. But, what he did is life-saving.

    ¡°Priest Louis is from the capital. When he first arrived at Freezing Water Port, he also mentioned that he wanted to provide us with loans. But, we were worried that we would not be able to pay them back, so no one has ever borrowed it yet¡ªperhaps someone secretly borrowed it, but Priest Louis will not leak the news.¡±

    ¡°Feudal lord.¡± A militia who was only about sixteen or seventeen asked curiously, ¡°I heard that the priests in the royal capital will help people buy things? As long as you¡¯re willing to pay, you can buy specialty products even from afar without the need to leave the house?¡±

    ¡°You already mentioned that you have to pay.¡±

    Annan nced at him and replied ambiguously.

    The militias seemed to have received an acknowledgment, eximing and discussing with each other.

    Annan was surprised.

    This Silver Sire¡­ is a bit modern.

    Provide fee-based services to collect money from the people on arge scale and then find an excuse to pour in the money when the market was terrible. After the transaction, he revitalized the entire Freezing Water Port¡¯s economy without any losses.

    Is it because he didn¡¯t need to give out anything?

    Following this direction, the church in the Royal Capital may even provide banking services. Wait, banking services must have existed.

    After all, Louis had mentioned loans. The banking industry must have been developed.

    Unexpectedly, the Upright Deities in this world are quite grounded¡­

    ¡°What service does Priest Louis provide you?¡±

    Annan asked curiously.

    If Annan was not wrong, what Louis provided should be of the service industry ¨C a business with no capital. He dealt with money in such a way to ensure the prosperity of this border town.

    The answer was not beyond his expectations,

    ¡°The main thing he does is medical treatment. He helped us treat illnesses, heal injuries and also preside over the burial of the elderly. He also provides the children¡¯s baptism service when they are born. If the family is well-off, he will give names to the children. He will also teach the townspeople. He teaches the children to count and read. Besides, he teaches some adults how to build houses better. He even repairs fishing boats and sells some particrly effective fishing baits. The mayor will entrust him to bring him a newspaper of the month every month. Sometimes, he helps the mayor bring some books that are only avable for sale in the capital.¡±

    The old militia sighed with regret, ¡°Of course, all have to be charged¡­

    ¡°But after Priest Louis came, our lives changed for the better.¡±

    Speaking of this, the old militia hesitated and added on in a low volume, ¡°In fact, the change is even greater than that after the mayor came back. It¡¯s just that we can afford to have a lot of savings.¡±

    That makes sense.

    Annan nodded.

    There is quite some temptation to the services.

    ¡°When Louis first came,¡± Annan asked again, ¡°Are any of you unwilling to pay?¡±

    He was a little curious.

    It stood to reason that this kind of thing was inevitable.

    The old militia nodded admiringly, ¡°Wise feudal lord, you have incredible foresight. Although the Silver Sire condemns this behavior. But after all, we have a unique history here. We have never seen Silver Sire¡¯s priest before, so¡­¡±

    ¡°So, at the very beginning, there will be people who are unwilling to pay. They don¡¯t listen to anything.¡±

    A tired voice came from the front, ¡°Right, Nick?¡±

    Hearing that, the young militia who was speaking aloud shrank his neck in shame.

    It was a young man with short brown hair and a handsome look, but with heavy eye bags and a tired face.

    He wore clothes simr to ¡°Don Juan¡¤Geraint.¡± But, he had lesser pockets on the front with no shirring on the waist and noplicated decoration.

    Compared with Annan, his outfit was much simpler.

    ¡°Lord mayor.¡±

    The militias saluted him immediately.

    The young man just waved his hand impatiently, ¡°You should head back.¡±

    ¡°My lord, this is¡­¡±

    ¡°Don Juan Geraint, the third son of Count Geraint, I know.¡±

    The young mayor interrupted the old militia and yawned again, ¡°You all should leave first.¡±

    The militias nced at each other and left with some hesitation.

    The mayor looked at Annan sleepily but assessed carefully,

    ¡°¡­En, you look more¡­ more confident than the rumors, Lord Geraint.¡±

    ¡°Speak up your mind.¡±

    Annan replied coldly, ¡°Skip the pleasantries.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be straightforward, Lord Geraint.¡±

    The young mayor said without hesitation, ¡°Where is your teacher? Benjamin Foster, the wizard from ck Tower in the swamp. You will have him by your side no matter where you are.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps he didn¡¯t tell you. But in fact, he is also my teacher. I have studied in the ck Tower for five years and graduated from the Alteration School. He is my graduate mentor.¡±

    With that said, the young mayor reached out his hand and revealed the bronze ne from his neckline. He then gestured the eye engraved on it to Annan.

    It was the exact engraving as the eye on Benjamin¡¯s ring.

    The mayor asked unceremoniously and fearlessly on ¡°Don Juan Geraint,¡± the son of an earl who had a higher noble rank than him, ¡°Teacher Benjamin wrote to me four days ago, saying that he will arrive at Freezing Water Port soon. If he does not arrive smoothly after a week, he requested that I write to Count Geraint immediately. Where is my teacher?

    ¡°Why are you the only one here?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIf I said that the teacher has died on the journey here, would you believe it?¡±

    Annan was silent for a while and asked the young mayor coldly.

    The mayor answered without hesitation, ¡°Naturally not, even if there are more than five Silver Rank Transcended, they may not be able to stop the teacher.¡±

    That¡¯s brilliant.

    Annan replied, ¡°Then, think that the teacher had died on his journey here. I won¡¯t tell you anything else.¡±

    Hearing this, the young mayor, who was irritable previously, calmed down instead.

    He looked at Annan in suspicion for a while, and his tone suddenly became calmer, ¡°Did someone stop you on your way?¡±

    Annan narrowed her eyes slightly, ¡°It seems you know a lot?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like this, my feudal lord. Although you are the earl¡¯s son, we were both wizard apprentices taught by the same teacher. In the private content, our rtionship should be the rtionship between the senior and the junior.¡±

    Looking at Annan¡¯s face, the mayor said mockingly.

    But, Annan was not irritated.

    He just said inly, ¡°Then you should make a formal self-introduction to your junior, my senior.¡±

    Seeing that Annan was not angry, the young mayor found it unexpected.

    He muttered, ¡°Well, it seems that the rumors are not credible¡­

    ¡°Let me introduce myself¡ªSalvatore cktower, born in Freezing Water Port. I graduated from the Alteration School as the top student in 1498. I¡¯m the ck Tower¡¯s son [1] ¨C a wandering Alteration School wizard. As for my rank, I am about to advance to Silver after stepping down as the Freezing Water Port¡¯s mayor.

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn, my lord.¡±

    [1] ck Tower is the wizard tower in the swamp. In future chapter (72), we know that -tower¡¯s son means the tower¡¯s first sessor. Last name wise, we will go with cktower while I will refer to the location/organization as ck Tower.

 Chapter 22: Energy Falteration School

    <h4>Chapter 22: Energy Falteration School</h4>

    Me?

    Annan sneered.

    You gotta be kidding me.

    You may not believe it. Even I don¡¯t know who I am.

    Of course, Annan knew how to tackle this question appropriately, ¡°I¡¯m Don Juan Geraint, nothing more.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    Salvatore looked at him suspiciously.

    ¡°I¡¯m nothing but myself. Since my father can¡¯t protect my life, then I naturally have no obligation to continue ording to his arrangements.¡±

    Annan nced in the direction where the militias were leaving; he replied gently and calmly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you invite me in for breakfast?¡±

    This was the information he got when he first entered the dungeon instance.

    What he said to Salvatore was naturally the truth.

    But the truth could be misleading to someone else.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Salvatore nced at him unexpectedly.

    His hostility toward Annan had dissipated for the most part.

    ¡°It seems that you have indeed grown up.¡±

    He sighed in a low volume, turned around, and walked toward the manor.

    Annan followed closely behind.

    The young mayor¡¯s manor was not a big one. It was small to medium-sized vi. Most likely, the ground floor area was only about 100 square meters.

    But, the interior decorations were elegant. Annan immediately noticed the ss bottles with colorful liquids in the half-open wooden cab after entering the inner room.

    What surprised Annan most was that the wooden cab emitted white and chilly air.

    It appeared like the wine refrigerated in a wine cab.

    ¡°Are you interested in this?¡±

    Noticing Annan¡¯s gaze, Salvatore¡¯s mouth corner raised slightly. He then snorted proudly, ¡°This is the pre-conversion agent I prepared for the teacher. You can¡¯t make use of it.¡±

    ¡°Pre-conversion agent?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are not the official wizard of the ck Tower located in the swamp. I don¡¯t think the teacher taught you Alteration School knowledge yet. I wonder if the teacher has mentioned to you the reason for it. But, to be fair, it got to do with the pre-conversion agent.¡±

    Salvatore exined, ¡°The fundamental technology of our Alteration School is to alter the curse state, which in return ovee the limitation of the ¡®quantity¡¯ that we can amodate. With that, we will utilize ourselves as the curse vessel to control more curses in our nature.

    ¡°But, the Alteration School¡¯s disadvantage is its nature of being a transformation process. Through this process, we get to borrow more power from the existing limited quantity. It¡¯s precise to call it a form of leverage. Once the loop is interrupted, we have to start all over.¡±

    So, the alteration loop shouldn¡¯t be interrupted.

    Annan nodded, expressing that he got it.

    Alteration School seemed like the game ss where the damage output would be lost once thebo was interrupted.

    Annan did not like it very much.

    ¡°Personally, without assistance, I canplete aplete cycle from any beginning in three hours. The shortest time for the teacher is thirty-five minutes. For the highest level curse, the conversion time is too long, and the total mana consumed will be astonishing. The pre-conversion agent is to allow us to start the cycle from any node.¡±

    The young mayor sighed, ¡°Teacher does not have a pre-conversion agent with him. He can¡¯t use the higher level curses, which is very inconvenient. For example, ¡®wide area hostility detection,¡¯ ¡®group restraint,¡¯ ¡®wide area energy dispel¡¯ or something¡­¡±

    In fact, if the teacher gets to use ¡°wide area hostility detection,¡± maybe he won¡¯t die.

    Annan was silent for a while but did notment further.

    Salvatore asked curiously, ¡°Speaking of which, what school of spells did the teacher teach you? I might have a rted book here, so I can guide you a bit.¡±

    After hearing that, Annan stretched out his right hand. Immediately, his palm turned cyan in an instant and then returned to its usual color.

    ¡°Chilling Touch¡­ Energy Falteration School. You are quite skilled.¡±

    Salvatore sighed, ¡°It seems that the teacher hasn¡¯t taught you much yet. I¡¯m not proficient in Energy Falteration School¡¯s spells. I can only teach you up to Bronze Rank at most.

    ¡°Senior Salvatore, teacher, what kind of spell does the teacher know?¡±

    Annan had a wild idea. He asked sincerely and humbly, ¡°He hasn¡¯t answered me directly on this question.¡±

    Of course, the statement was still an ambiguous truth.

    However, Salvatore also did not realize something was amiss.

    Seeing Annan¡¯s humble attitude, his mood improved a lot, ¡°That¡¯s normal. You¡¯re on the right question. The other students of the teacher may not know as much as I.

    ¡°What the teacher specializes in is Alteration School¡¯s spells. Since he made the forbidden spells oath when he advanced to the Silver Rank, the teacher can¡¯t utilize these spells: teration, Edict, Destruction, and Prophet. The remaining four spells left for him are Soul Snatch, Alteration, Shaping [1], and Idol [2]. Among them, our respected teacher only has the Alteration and Shaping close to the Gold Rank.

    ¡°So, he definitely can¡¯t teach you anything. He can only refer your questions to books.¡±

    After Salvatore finished speaking, he sighed, ¡°This is not because the teacher is indifferent to you, but because he can¡¯t teach you. After all, what kind of talent you have is not something that your personal wishes can distort. To an unranked apprentice like you, you should learn whatever you can.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Annan was taken aback.

    Salvatore¡¯s words revealed some profound facts.

    He must have heard some rumors about ¡°Don Juan,¡± so he was so cold toward ¡°Don Juan¡± at the beginning. He also knew that Don Juan followed Benjamin to learn spells, but he did not know Don Juan¡¯s school.

    But now, it seemed that Salvatore, as a student of Benjamin, did not even know Don Juan was unranked.

    Could it be Don Juan¡¯s status as a wizard is kept secret from the outside world?

    But why did Don Juan wear his ring before attending the banquet?

    If Annan understood correctly, these Transcended would not exert the transcended power if they left their curse bearing item.

    Conversely, since Don Juan Geraint took the initiative to put on the ring, it meant that he intended to use transcended power.

    If no idents happened, to whom was he going to use it against?

    ¡°Do you realize that I am unranked?¡±

    While thinking about it, Annan did not put any reaction on his face but smiled gently, ¡°Did you not see the silver ring on my hand?¡±

    ¡°I was taken aback at first sight. Such a strong curse. What a miracle that your body could bear it!¡±

    Salvatore nced at Annan and said unceremoniously, ¡°But if you want to scare the assassin away, I suggest you buy a new charm and put it on. This is obviously a woman¡¯s ring. Are you taking me as a blind person? Or perhaps, you stole your mother¡¯s ring and put it on.¡±

    ¡°What you said is true. This is indeed a relic.¡±

    The smile on Annan¡¯s face faded slightly.

    Hearing this, Salvatore was also taken aback.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Annan replied sincerely.

    It¡¯s not my mother anyway.

    The atmosphere was a little stiff for a while. Salvatore was silent for a while. To break the deadlock, he suddenly raised his voice and said, ¡°How long have you been learning spells? How about I will guide you to attain a rank?¡±

    ¡°Can you?¡±

    Although Annan did not know the ritual, he still looked cold to maintain the personality of a young man who was cold outside but warm inside. He took the convenience to bypass the topic that could easily expose him calmly.

    ¡°As long as you are sufficiently proficient, I won¡¯t be a problem! I did advance the juniors into a rank previously! It will be fine!¡±

    Salvatore became furious. He went straight into the back room, ¡°Don¡¯t go first. Wait a moment-¡±

    Damn, his words are not reassuring at all.

    Annan was stricken with panic.

    He also realized that it was easy to fool those militias. But once he came into contact with someone with equal status, he immediately found that he could not continue the conversation in any way.

    Anna stillcked in information. I got to look for books as soon as possible.

    At least, it will help me withmon sense.

    He initially nned to borrow Don Juan¡¯s identity to gain ess to more information. The identity of ordinary people would be more challenging to investigate family and political issues in neighboring countries or even enemy countries¡¯ highest level authorities. As he swapped into Don Juan¡¯s identity, at least it would be much easier to find a resourceful book.

    Though, it did not matter if Annan was exposed. Worse scenario, he would flee away.

    Anyway, Don Juan Geraint¡¯s identity was a mask that Annan temporarily borrowed. When the conditions are right, he could be someone else at any time.

    Even being himself was also a role yer.

    He was in a role-ying game, after all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, Don Juan.¡±

    Fortunately, Salvatore did not bring out any mysterious devices.

    He took out a teapot of brewed ck tea and two teacups. Then, he walked over to pour a cup for Annan, ¡°Have you met Priest Louis?¡±

    ¡°Do you know why he, such a powerful priest, has toe to a remote ce like Freezing Water Port?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Annan¡¯s heart raced a little. He asked softly while holding the teacup.

    [1] I dug ahead in future chapters to understand this magic further. It¡¯s exined as the magic to control the state of the matter (liquid, solid, gas, sma)

    [2] From what I read ahead, I have tranted the Author¡¯s exnation: The so-called ¡°idol¡± refers to the mud sculpture. Also termed as ¡°the god that the mortals perceived.¡± In other words, the false item which mortals pray, idolize, and worship.

    Dear readers, we will have daily output (weekdays only) like the other novels in this site starting today.

 Chapter 23: Im Firm & Steady

    <h4>Chapter 23: I''m Firm & Steady</h4>

    ¡°Do you know Nightmare Fragments?¡±

    Salvatore also held a cup of ck tea and sat opposite Annan.

    He seemed to be always sleepy; his eyes had thick eye bags, most likely resulting from always staying upte. Both his eyes opened slightly as he whispered, ¡°They said Freezing Water Port¡¯s foreign trade activities are prohibited. It¡¯s most likely not because of the conflict esction with the Chilly Austere Dukedom in the north.

    ¡°It¡¯s because Freezing Water Port is cursed.¡±

    ¡°¡­To be specific.¡±

    Annan¡¯s heart thumped as he questioned, ¡°What kind of curse? Who caused it?¡±

    If someone said to Anana that a particr ce was cursed, he would naturally not believe it in the past. But now, he had learned that the extraordinary power of this world was made up of curses. He had even witnessed the fate of those suffering a curse.

    It seemed possible for a region to be cursed¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s a false deity,¡± Salvatore also lowered his voice as if worried about disturbing something, ¡°Deity¡­¡±

    ¡°Deity¡­¡±

    Annan repeated the word with his heart palpitated.

    Although Annan did not know the difference between the false deities and upright deities, he was disconcerted to get involved with the end-game boss while he was still unranked.

    Damn my luck, why!

    I¡¯m just settling down in a random port. Why am I getting involved in such big trouble?

    ¡°Specifically, as long as someone chants or silently recites the name of the false deities within the area where Freezing Water Port can be seen, they will be dragged into a nightmare.¡±

    Salvatore said slowly, ¡°I won¡¯t tell you his deityhood for the fear that you will think of this name, which will further lead you to say it out subconsciously.

    ¡°This is a set of mystery locksposed of multiple Nightmare Fragments. Its interlocking characteristic is ¡®reenactment.¡¯ That is to say, if you die from this nightmare, you will lose all the memories of the nightmare and start from the beginning.

    ¡°The shallow nightmare [1] is fine. But if you fall into a deep nightmare subconsciously, your mortality rate will soar. After all, you don¡¯t know how many times you have repeated the same mistake. You will be vulnerable to falling prey to a cycle of infinite death inside the nightmare. Until you arepletely eroded into a monster by the curse as you lose control of yourself.¡±

    The young mayor took a deep breath.

    His expression was serious, ¡°Silver Sire¡¯s church sent their manpower here to purify the nightmare.

    ¡°This nightmare cannot amodate many people. No matter how many people the church sends, there will only have one person in their nightmare. To prevent victims from dying in the nightmare, which then became the nightmare¡¯s nourishment, the church only sent one person over.

    ¡°That person is Priest Louis. Although he is just a typical churchman and not even a legit priest, he is a substitute walker from the Silver Hand and has ample experience in purifying nightmares.

    ¡°He has to perform at least 300 effective purifications in the nightmare to weaken the whole nightmare and stop the interlock. So, his main purpose here is not to encourage trade here or to treat people¡¯s injuries. His duty is to keep entering the shallow nightmare and immediately escape afterpleting the purification. It is hazardous work.¡±

    Salvatore yawned and took a pause. He took a sip of ck tea in his cup and emphasized, ¡°I¡¯m here to prevent this secret from spreading. On the one hand, I¡¯m here to look after civilian lives. On the other hand, it is also to prevent Priest Louis from purifying desperately for a while, only to find that the nightmare here is getting stronger.¡±

    In other words, Priest Louis is sent here to deal with the dungeon instance.

    Salvatore failed to notice Annan¡¯s expression became a little weird.

    He was still worried about this matter previously.

    If the yers came to Freezing Water Port, but there was no dungeon instance for them, would the energetic yers stir up troubles?

    After all, there were very few people here. There was a shortage of monsters for them to y. Annan was not sure whether the NPC would offer missions to the yers.

    If the yers entered the game only to do some farm work, catch fish, build houses, etc., then the name Mist Continent might as well be renamed as ¡°Perfect Life Simtor.¡±

    It seems all will be fine now.

    Annan intended to throw all the energetic yers to challenge high difficulty dungeon instances directly.

    I can try to develop their masochistic tendency too.

    But, Annan was very curious about another thing, even wary of it,

    ¡°Senior, then why did you tell me this?¡±

    ¡°Freezing Water Port doesn¡¯t need two mayors. The main person responsible for purifying the nightmares is Priest Louis. I don¡¯t have the Holy Light, and I can¡¯t use spells in nightmares. What can I do when I go in? To put it bluntly, my duty is to write a letter to the capital to request support after Priest Louis has lost control or death.¡±

    Salvatore said with a smile. It was apparent that he was in a good mood, ¡°In other words, after you take over this job, I will return to ck Tower and advance into Silver Rank.¡±

    Annan shuddered in his heart.

    You¡¯re fucking running away!

    Truth to be told, Annan suddenly began to wonder if Salvatore had discovered some rming dangers, pushing him to look for a chance to run away.

    Seeing Annan seemed a little unhappy, Salvatore said immediately, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving right away. Before I leave, you cane and read my book at any time. If you don¡¯t understand anything, you can consult me at any time. After all, I was the leading graduate back then. Besides, I was also a prefect. It would not be a problem for me to teach you.¡±

    This is fairer.

    Hearing this, Annan¡¯s expression turned better.

    He was not the real Don Juan Geraint anyway. If there were a big problem that could not be solved, he would just run away.

    Compared with the future risks, the benefits that could be obtained immediately were the most tangible.

    The most important thing was that he could finally read some books. I hope that I can quicklycatch up with themon sense of this world from Salvatore.

    Annan found it exhausting to interact with others, purely relying on his acting skills.

    So, Annan quickly responded.

    ¡°Do you have any ns afterward?¡±

    Annan asked another question.

    Looking at Annan¡¯s expectant and earnest gaze, Salvatore coughed slightly and turned his head away unnaturally.

    ¡°I should stay in ck Tower for a long time. I want to work directly in ck Tower as a professor to teach. In my free time, I can do some research. It will be rxing.¡±

    Having said that, he nced at Annan and sighed softly, ¡°Of course, if the situation in the capital city continues to be chaotic, I probably won¡¯t be at ease to stay inside the ck Tower for long.

    ¡°Once the war breaks out¡­¡±

    He did not say anything afterward, but Annan did not ask.

    The royal family¡¯s inheritance rights, the issue with the Chilly Austere Dukedom¡¯s higher-ups, and the false deity having his eye on Freezing Water Port¡­

    With all these things intertwined, the more Annan found out, the weaker he felt.

    ¡°I may have to trouble you with the advancement ritual,ter on, senior.¡±

    Annan stood up and said to Salvatore seriously.

    Salvatore nodded slowly.

    His tired eyes opened slightly, and he warned, ¡°You go to study the book first and adjust your state. Advancement ritual needs to be carried out in a nightmare. I will go to Louis to ask for some information first to provide you the nightmare summary.

    ¡°Remember, don¡¯t do unnecessary things. In case you fall into a deep nightmare, no one can save you. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Annan nodded and replied firmly, ¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt myself like that.¡±

    In my past life, they tend to describe me as a steady person like a defense tower. Presumably, I should be a sensible person.

    Annan¡¯s evaluation of himself had always been proud.

    [1] Take note that nightmare means Dungeon Instance.

 Chapter 24: Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 24: Revenge</h4>

    ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­¡±

    Annan closed the book and whispered to himself.

    Annan closed his eyes slightly, digesting the knowledge he had acquired.

    He had stayed in the mayor¡¯s house for two days.

    Annan had been reading for the past two days. He had fully exerted his ability onst-minute study during the university days-when he was one week away from the final exam.

    He also learned an important piece of information from the studies.

    Transcended could not immigrate to other countries illegally.

    The world was much smaller than he thought. Or in other words, thend area of ??¡±this era¡± was only slightlyrger than that of Europe.

    It did not mean that there was only one continent on this. Instead, it was because the world was full of ¡°mist.¡±

    The gray-white thick mist permeated the.

    Its essence was a materialized curse, so the wind would not dissipate it. If mortals lived in the dense mist, they would soon be sickened and die within four to five years. Animals and nts would also die on arge scale. Those who survived would be distorted monsters.

    But, ordinary people could live within the mist. There would also be transnational caravan trade.

    However, Transcended could not do that.

    The high-ranking Transcended was quite powerful.

    But once theye into contact with the gray mist, the curse in their bodies would be activated rapidly. The curse erosion rate would soar, forcing them into a nightmare every night. As long as you die in the nightmare, your body in reality will die too.

    Basically, Transcended could never leave the country. Once they entered the mist area, they would usually lose control of themselves within three days or die directly before the sun rises.

    The capitals and major cities of various countries had a special kind of barrier. The barrier enclosed up to a particr area that marked the country¡¯s border.

    All Upright Deities¡¯ churches had mastered the barrier technology, which could effectively push the gray fog outside the national border.

    If Transcended wanted to leave the border and enter other countries, they had to resort to the underground passage.

    The Transcended had to raise his rank above gold and obtain the Truth Fragment. After all the curses in the body were transferred to Truth Fragment, they could barely move across the mist.

    ¡°So, even if an assassin was chasing me, the assassin could not leave Chilly Austere Dukedom.¡±

    Annan pondered to himself, ¡°I can cross the ind sea and drift here. It¡¯s because I am not Transcended.¡±

    Is this why no pirates can be seen on the sea, and there are so few ships?

    There were only five countries in this world.

    At least in the current isted range shrouded in gray mist, only thest five civilized countries were left.

    It was mentioned in the book that the world five hundred years ago was much bigger than how it was now.

    At that time, several current existing countries were under the great empire¡¯s rule. There were other races and nations in the southeast, northwest, and northwest. But 300 years ago, the empire suddenly sank.

    The entire ind sank into the sea. The glorious civilization came to an abrupt end.

    After that, the countries became independent soon. The twelve Upright Deities¡¯ churches also fell apart. The Great Barrier also moved with the church and shattered into five barriers of different sizes. Except for one country that amodated two churches at the same time and that one country jointly ruled by the Church of the Seven Deities, the rest were protected by one Upright Deity in each country.

    But, the small barrier was inferior to the old Great Barrier.

    Since then, the gray mist would inch closer every year. In every few decades, the gray mist would consume the border cities. There was also arge empty area between the barriers that were previously immediately next to each other. That ce was termed the ¡°neutral space.¡±

    When the crisis came, some countries gradually moved their civilization underground, while others tried to lift theirnd high into the air. The Noah Kingdom¡¯s king made a heroic decision when he seeded 27 years ago:

    He decided to unify the five nations by force and rebuild the Great Barrier.

    If he seeded, then this could be called a ¡°brilliant and immortal¡± human epic. His ambition and his great deeds were enough to leave a name in history.

    The author in that book predicted so.

    But obviously, he failed.

    Although Transcended could not leave their country, they could at least defend their country. It was a stupid decision to let ordinary soldiers fight against transcended power with flesh and blood. No one knew where he got the confidence to do so.

    Nearly thirty years had passed, the king turned old.

    But his goal still failed toplete.

    His children had lost patience.

    They were no longer interested in the old king¡¯s mission which he had struggled for a lifetime. Each child had his strategy to save the country. The king still had the throne, but his children were already brazenly fighting for inheritance rights.

    Annan could expect that the Noah Kingdom would soon be in chaos.

    But, the king could not leave the Noah Kingdom yet. At least he could not go to Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    That was the territory of Upright Deity ¡°Frost and Tradition Deity.¡± The duchy respected her as the ¡°Old Grandmother.¡± The people of other faiths call it ¡°Cold-Blooded Lady.¡±

    Under the influence of her church person, Chilly Austere Dukedom secluded themselves and was conservative. People all over the country respected the tradition and rejected the revolution. Even foreigners who wanted to enter were strongly rejected, so it was difficult for other countries¡¯ spies to infiltrate.

    Whenever there was a big change in Chilly Austere Dukedom, it was only after the end of the matter that it slowly became known to foreigners. This time was no exception.

    Annan could only learn from Salvatore that something happened to Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    Because not long ago, Chilly Austere Dukedom announced an emergency closure of the port, prohibiting all ships from entering and leaving. Trade orders from several wizard colleges in the Noah Kingdom were even stuck on the other side.

    To be on the safe side, Annan decided to wait until the dust settled before going back to have a look.

    Judging from this situation, it could be someone killing the king and usurping the throne. If Annan returned at this time, he must be walking into the tiger¡¯s den.

    It¡¯s better off for me to ¡®farm [2].¡¯

    After hoarding a group of yers under me, I will then explore my options.

    ¡°I have to prepare to advance my rank.¡±

    Annan whispered, ¡°But, which dungeon instance should I choose to tackle?¡±

    To be safe, how about venturing into the Don Juan dungeon instance again?

    Or should I wait for Salvatore¡¯s information toe and try that higher difficulty dungeon instance?

    The rewards for clearing a difficult dungeon instance must be better. But, in his current farming pace, his demand for power was not quite urgent.

    As if feeling his hesitation, a line of characters burning with bright red mes suddenly appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes.

    [There is still 06:00:00 from the start of the closed beta.]

    This line of words hovered for about three seconds, then disappeared.

    Seeing this line of words, Annan turned silent for a while. He looked at his watch and rechecked the time.

    The time now was six o¡¯clock in the evening.

    So, the closed beta starts after midnight¡­

    This is so cool.

    At this moment, Annan suddenly heard the sound of the key turning.

    Salvatore came back.

    Yesterday, he had already agreed with Priest Louis. Today, he went to fetch the ¡°dungeon instance guide.¡± He went out early this morning and did note back until the sun went down in the evening.

    He raised his head quietly and cast a puzzled look forward to the mayor.

    Salvatore¡¯s eyes appeared sleepy, but his pacing was fast and anxious.

    ¡°Why did you go for so long?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°Forget that,¡± Salvatore frowned. ¡°Don Juan. Is the ship you embarked on parked in the fjord? About sixty meters, the three-masted one?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Annan hesitated, then answered ambiguously.

    He felt a little uneasy.

    It felt like bad news.

    Is there a new risk of identity exposure?

    Or¡­

    ¡°Your ship is on fire.¡±

    Salvatore nced at Annan sympathetically and replied slowly, ¡°Justst night, the ship burst into mes and was burned to ashes. The fire was intense. At least when I went to see it this morning, only the skeleton of the ship remained¡ªnothing left in the ship. I think you won¡¯t get to leave for the time being.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the escorts you left on the ship to have internal strife, then I think¡­¡±

    The young mayor paused, staring at Annan¡¯s face, and replied softly, ¡°This may be provocation¡ªor revenge.¡±

    [1] From here onwards, we shall standardize (Éñ) as deity. My logic is there are too many (Éñ) being. There¡¯s no one True God in this world.

    [2] Farm refers to a gaming tactic where a yer refuses to proceed in the game but stays in a particr area to umte experiences or resources.

 Chapter 25: Thank You

    <h4>Chapter 25: Thank You</h4>

    Revenge?

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly with his heart clear as a mirror.

    He knew it very well that he had not offended anyone since he came to this world.

    If it was for revenge, it could only be from one person.

    Viscount Alvin Barber from Roseburg.

    Although Annan did not know the viscount¡¯s purpose, this person had been tantly hostile to Freezing Water Port ever since the beginning.

    When the viscount first sent those ¡®mercenaries¡¯ to rob this ce, the original Don Juan Geraint had no intention ofing to this ce.

    Hence, the old viscount¡¯s hostility was not directed at Don Juan.

    In theory, Roseburg also belonged to the North Sea Territory. At the same time, this ce was Count Geraint¡¯s fief. The viscount was the vassal of Don Juan¡¯s father.

    Forget about Viscount Alvin Barber¡¯s intention¡­

    ¡°As a vassal, he dares to burn his feudal lord¡¯s ship.¡±

    Annan let out a cold and majestic reprimand with a frosty face, ¡°I¡¯m curious. Where did he get the courage? Who gave him the confidence?¡±

    For such a piece of news, Annan must be-

    ¡­very d to hear it.

    This old man was stupid enough to send people to burn the boat, which was equivalent to destroying all the evidence. The information about how many things were left on the entire ship, how many people had been there, and the battle traces all disappeared.

    The whole ship was burned clean.

    This meant that no one would no longer be able to find evidence that Annan was not Don Juan Geraint at all.

    Of course, Annan must appear infuriated. After all, he needed to show his stance, merely setting a stage y.

    With Annan¡¯s status, no one would request him to rush over to the opponent base directly.

    At this moment, only Don Juan¡¯s dead body would expose Annan. The corpse should still be near the ship. Perhaps the corpse would still be discernible within three or four days.

    As for John¡¯s dead body, Annan left it on board deliberately to mislead the others ¨C a clue intentionally left for certain people.

    After all, he should have died in the ¡°The Tongue in the Mirror¡± ritual, which the guard captain triggered. Annan believed that at least the church should be able to inspect the traces of such a ritual. Otherwise, ritual utilization would inevitably be closely monitored.

    ¡°Is anyone dying near there?¡±

    So, Annan pondered for a while and asked Salvatore, ¡°Or, perhaps are there any bodies on the ship?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t see it.¡±

    Salvatore shook his head, poured himself a ss of water, and drank it all.

    Then, he breathed a sigh of relief and exined, ¡°Because it¡¯s not just the boat that was burned. Even the surrounding water was on fire¡­¡±

    ¡°Water?¡±

    ¡°En, that¡¯s a special kind of fuel. The Alteration wizard of our ck Tower in the swamp used the gas stored in the swamp to make a liquid fuel. It¡¯s a stable product that can be supplied for civilian use. We call it the Green Fire. Most of it is sold as a fuel barrel for city defense. It is adherent. Some called it the ck Fire.¡±

    Salvatore sat down across from Annan and nced at the book Annan was reading. He drank another ss of water before gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I did some sampling. It was so hot. Those idiots will pay the price! After I analyze it, I¡¯ll know which damn idiot sold these things to them.¡±

    ¡°You look furious, senior.¡±

    Annan looked at Salvatore with the corner of his mouth raised slightly, showing a delightful smile.

    He raised his eyebrows, returned to his in expression again, and said coldly, ¡°Have you identally burned yourself?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not weak enough to be burned by this kind of thing.¡±

    Salvatore snarled, ¡°Don Juan, your father may not have told you about these things. ck Fire are strategic resources. It is not allowed to be sold during the non-war period, and even private trades are not authorized. After all, this thing causes a lot of damage. They can only be sold to the marquis at the frontier during the war. The unused ones had to be recovered after the war because ordinary people did not have the environment to store them.

    ¡°At room temperature, as long as the ck Fire encounters a violent impact or encounters a me after it leaks, it will explode. Once the ck Fire is detonated, an extremely hard-to-extinguish fire will ignite within ten meters of it. People will be burned alive. Other strategic materials ced with it will naturally be burned out.

    ¡°So, no matter who was on your boat before or what you put on it, there was nothing left. I put out the ck Fire just recently.¡±

    The young mayor seemed lethargic, with the dark circles under his eyes intensified.

    He mmed the table irritably, ¡°Damn it. They are idiots! There is a forest not far away. Are they trying to cause a forest fire?!¡±

    ¡°Such a fierce fire.¡±

    Annan frowned slightly and then rxed again, ¡°Fortunately, I did not leave anyone on the ship. I have sent out my guards already.¡±

    Thank you, old man.

    Annan thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

    The reason for Annan fabricating guards that had never existed was to give out a legitimate identity for the yers. Since Anna was not sure how the yers would descend into this world, Annan dared not to give Salvatore a firm statement.

    Anyway, I¡¯ll find out in a few hours. I got to be patient.

    ¡°If you have had dinner, you might as well go to bed first.¡±

    Annan looked at Salvatore with scarlet bloodshot eyes. He could not help but persuade, ¡°I think you are about to pass out.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t go to bed so early. If I pass out, it will be over.¡±

    Salvatore sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s not that I want to stay upte. This is my curse binding. I don¡¯t want it. Don¡¯t ask for details.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Annan shrugged and said no more.

    ¡°It¡¯s so annoyingtely¡­¡±

    Salvatore grabbed his unusually soft hair and squatted weakly on the table, ¡°I¡¯m so sleepy¡­

    ¡°Hey, Don Juan. Have you chosen the spell? I might be leaving soon.¡±

    ¡°I have.¡±

    Annan replied calmly, ¡°But I don¡¯t need your guidance anymore. I have learned it. Just waiting for you to help me advance into a rank.¡±

    His current wizard apprentice profession had progressed:

    Wizard Apprentice LV10 (Condition met to advance): [Instant Spells LV2 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye)], [Guide Spells LV2 (Impeding Wall, Frost Nova)]

    His experience was just enough to raise the wizard apprentice profession to Level 10. Before advancement, this was the highest level of wizard apprentice.

    The spell slots on him could hold four spells in total ¨C two Instant Spells, two Guided Spells.

    To put it simply, the difference was manipting the switch at any time¡ªthe need to release the spell through guiding it.

    [Slothful Eye (Instant): Curse your own eyes so that you can get the ability to infect other¡¯s spirit through your sight. Everyone who looks at you will immediately be slothful and weaken. The effect of using it on tired people will increase. Every 2 seconds (depending on the total level of the wizard profession/5) will consume 1 Order Power.]

    ¡¾Impeding Wall (Guided): Passivate the air in the designated area so that any object passing through this area immediately loses its original speed. The effect of using it upon inanimate objects will increase significantly. Therger the area, the greater the consumption of Order Power. The minimum Order Power¡¯s consumption is 1 per second]

    [Frost Nova (Guided): The temperature of the designated medium (air/flowing water/earth) around 30 meters drops exceptionally rapidly. It can instantly transmit the curse equivalent to the instant spell ¡°Chilling Touch.¡± The curse effect on the edge increases. Every two Novas (depending on the total wizard profession level/5), consumes the Order power 8. The spell can be released continuously]

    Since Annan did not know whether he could reset his skill points, he chose the most application spells thatplement each other in Energy Falteration School.

    His fighting power had finally taken shape at this moment.

 Chapter 26: Can I Have A Refund?

    <h4>Chapter 26: Can I Have A Refund?</h4>

    What?

    That¡¯s unbelievable.

    Previously, Salvatore urged Annan to show him the four spells Annan learned. He sat on his seat and stared at Annan nkly.

    How did he do that?

    An unranked wizard apprentice learned four spells in two days without anyone teaching him.

    The teacher said that Don Juan was very talented, but Salvatore did not believe it at that time.

    But at this moment, it was more than just ¡°very¡± talented!

    Teacher, what are you doing? Why didn¡¯t you teach him even a spell?

    Salvatore could see that the spell-casting traces of these four spells were faint. This meant that after the feudal lord learned these four spells, he had never used them.

    The only reason would be Annan learned these four spells just recently.

    With the repeated release of the spells, the corresponding curse gradually coexisted with the body, and the power of the spell grew more and more powerful. Until it became instinctive, these spells could be used without spell casting or mana consumption.

    This was why the older wizard was consistently more potent, most of the time.

    This did not guarantee that the old wizard would be strong. After all, he might have only learned his first spell at the age of forty or fifty. However, the young wizard must not be as strong.

    Damn it.

    Could Don Juan be the Mysterious Lady¡¯s illegitimate child?

    Salvatore suddenly had such a sphemous thought.

    He doubted his life spanned more than 30 years.

    He still remembered that it took a total of three weeks to learn the first spell that year and sessfully take up the upation of wizard apprentice. When he solidified the candle¡¯s me into a red crystal, his tutor at Alteration School praised his talent and introduced him to Benjamin.

    Under Benjamin¡¯s guidance, it took him ten days to learn the second spell ¨C detonate the crystal and turn the fragments into iron pieces. After that, Benjamin kept guiding him. The process was so long until he could turn therge piece of iron into numerous steel needles. Only then, Benjamin allowed him to learn the new spell.

    That was the guided spell, [Maization] ¨C to control the steel needle to fly in the air.

    His next spell was challenging [Thunderstorm Field]. It took him two months to finally acquire this spell.

    He could use a set of two-by-two maized metal to conjure high-voltage lightning that linked two steel needles. Using the crystal prepared in advance as the material, he could summon the steel needle and then conjure many electric currents.

    After possessing apletebatbo cycle, Salvatore was allowed to advance to Bronze and be an Alteration School wizard.

    Every Bronze Rank Transcended must hold a considerable degree ofbat power. This was to prevent them from being easily killed by ordinary people.

    This was the responsibility for one¡¯s own life, but also others.

    It was because Transcended¡¯s body must be disposed of as soon as possible.

    The specific handling method was to hold another Transcended ritual, absorb the former bearer¡¯s curse, and inherit the curse binding of the former bearer. This was one of the fastest ways to get power, and it was usually the evidence ofmitting murder.

    Suppose a Transcended curse was not absorbed for a long time. A nightmare would emerge from it.

    The nightmare that emerged from Bronze Rank Transcended alone was enough to kill ordinary people easily. After all, before bing Transcended, human beings could not maintain a sober self in a dream. If they continue to die in the nightmare, the curse would gradually infest the human, turning the human into a twisted monster. If the human were to be lucky, he merely died.

    Even if you be Transcended, you can barely stay awake and realize that you are in a dream. You may not even be able to recall your original identity.

    Only those who had the gift of magic arts could stay awake in dreams.

    Even for those priests, the malice, despair, pain, and anger held by the nightmare¡¯s masters would invade them all the time. It would interfere with their decisions and make themmit choices ¡°that were initially impossible for them to make.¡±

    Getting Transcended Power did not automatically make someone outperform ordinary people. However, if they could not defeat ordinary people independently, no matter how talented they were, they would not be allowed to advance into a Transcended.

    Every time one were to advance, he or she must share the curse binding with the world under the witness of another Transcended. This person would be the ¡®secret keeper,¡¯ usually their mentor, parent, or senior.

    In other words, if you don¡¯t get the trust and affirmation of at least one Transcended, mortals will never be able to advance to Transcended.

    ¡°Can I advance now?¡±

    Annan asked Salvatore seriously.

    ¡°Sure¡­¡±

    Salvatore found his voice a little hoarse.

    No, no, it must be because of the fire outside.

    He tried to suppress the jealousy and despair in his heart. As Transcended, every negative emotion was a time bomb.

    ¡°Since Don Juan is willing to trust me and choose me instead of the teacher as his secret keeper, I can¡¯t do anything immoral to him.¡±

    Salvatore counseled himself in his heart.

    Because every Transcended needed a trustworthy secret keeper.

    The reason to be trustworthy was that after the secret keeper learned their curse binding, the secret keeper could easily kill them.

    If no one knew its own curse binding, then the curse would not be bound. Every use of transcended power would erode itself. Conversely, the more secret keepers there were, the stronger the Oath Power.

    This curse binding was not only the rope that bound the owner¡¯s behavior but also the armor that protected the owner from being eroded by the curse.

    Oaths and curses were the dualities of this world.

    ¡°So, when can we hold the ritual?¡±

    Annan frowned slightly and asked urgently, ¡°Roseburg¡¯s viscount is trying to harm me. I must get enough power to protect myself as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since I choose to be your secret keeper, I can be regarded as your half mentor. I will settle your troubles before leaving.¡±

    Salvatore promised, ¡°As long as I am alive, you will not suffer.¡±

    With that said, he exined to Annan what a secret keeper was as well as the rtionship and obligations between the secret keeper and the bounded person.

    One of the obligations was that the bounded person had to collect the secret keeper¡¯s dead body. Of course, there were many bonded people under Salvatore¡¯s name. It might not be Annan¡¯s turn yet. But as a tradition, he still had to make it clear.

    Annan nodded after listening.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Annan replied readily, ¡°I can trust you.¡±

    I can¡¯t help it even if you¡¯re not trustable.

    Annan felt helpless too. At least until his identity was revealed, Salvatore must be trustable.

    He had only seen such a Transcended who could be tentatively regarded as an ally. Besides, he had to obtain sufficient power and status before the yers arrived.

    Otherwise, it would be difficult for Annan to manage them.

    When my identity is revealed, I could get another secret keeper.But, let¡¯s forget about this now.

    Annan squinted slightly, thinking for a moment, and still vetoed the idea.

    It was better to be more forthright and choose a curse binding that was harder to vite. The most important thing was not to be self-contradictory. For example, Benjamin¡¯s first curse binding was quite tricky to vite.

    Of course, the most important thing was to see the curse binding option he would get.

    ording to Salvatore¡¯s previous introduction, the permanent curse binding received during the advancement was not a choice of oneself, and others did not mandatorily grant it. Instead, the curse binding would be picked from the several ones based on what the person did in the advancement nightmare.

    The better the nightmare waspleted, the stronger the power brought by curse binding and the broader the curse binding itself. Conversely, if the nightmarepletion were low, the curse binding would be specific, and the power offered would be poor.

    ¡°Since you are in a hurry to advance, then I will stay up all night tonight.¡±

    Salvatore sighed, barely opened his sleepy eyes, and muttered in a low voice,

    ¡°Don Juan, bring me the winter clothes. I¡¯ll go to the basement to analyze the ck Fire samples to see who sold this item to Roseburg¡¯s viscount. This item must be handled with soundproofing and cooling. Otherwise, there is a possibility of explosion.¡±

    ¡°About how long?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite fast ¨C in about seven or eight hours. Anyway, it¡¯s not yet the time for me to go to bed after processing it.¡±

    With two dark circles under his eyes, the young mayor, who looked like Gaara [1], took over the winter clothes, sighed again, and said grumpily, ¡°Don¡¯t bother me! I¡¯m going to work. Please don¡¯t bother me afterward, too. I¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow morning!¡±

    Soon, Salvatore entered the soundproof and insted basement.

    Annan looked at his watch. It wasn¡¯t 7 o¡¯clock yet. So, he ate dinner first, then came back to continue his reading.

    He nned to stay awake for the time being today. He wanted to see what would happen at midnight.

    It was not until 11 o¡¯clock in the might that some prompts shed in front of his eyes.

    [00:59:59 until the closed beta starts.]

    [Activating the yers¡¯ forum.]

    [Activating NPC temte.]

    [Activating the affection rate adjustment function.]

    [ording to the current temte ¡°Elite Rare (Gold),¡± acquiring the corresponding authorities.]

    [Activating the right to release side missions.]

    [Activating the authority to publish individual missions.]

    [Detected Truth Fragment ¨C Book of Divine Transporter.]

    [Current Book of Divine Transporter holder: 1]

    [Obtain temporary authority: Main mission distribution rights, yer forum administrator status, creator¡¯s perspective (map function)]

    [Please write the initial plot.]

    [Please confirm the character creation rules.]

    [Please confirm rules governing the yers¡¯ choice.]

    [Please specify the ce where the yers willnd.]

    [Please confirm the yers¡¯ system permissions.]

    [Please draw the user interface of the yers¡¯ system.]

    Seeing such a long list of prompts, Annan was utterly stunned.

    What the hell?

    I have transmigrated to another world. Yet, I still need to continue my work as a game nner.

    Is being a nner my fate?

    Worse still, I only have one hour left before the servermences. In the end, the scriptwriting hasn¡¯t even started yet? The UI work isn¡¯t done too.

    Which Almighty God made this game?

    Can you be a little more professional?

    Can I have a refund?

 Chapter 27: Im So Happy

    <h4>Chapter 27: I''m So Happy</h4>

    One hour left before the server started, yet Annan had to rush his work to produce a game. If he knew there was such a demand before transmigrating, he would have mmed the keyboard directly on the product manager¡¯s face.

    Fortunately, the system was not too cruel.

    Whether it was drawing UI or writing out the story, Annan justpleted it with a stare. The end result was exactly the same as what he had conceived in his mind.

    But, Annan was still stupefied and tired.

    It was not easy to make a fantastic and gorgeous UI. He could only copy the UI of a game he was working on before. Then, he utilized his existing system as a prototype temte while eliminating the ess permissions to a few functions.

    For example, the yers¡¯ raw system interface would not show Title, Rank, Erosion, Unique Trait, and Profession Overview.

    Only health, attributes, level, and Shared Experience were disyed.

    ¡°It turns out that the default attribute for Level 1 is indeed five points each.¡±

    Annan eximed.

    It was not that he intended to give yers a knock-off version of the system.

    These were functions that yers wouldn¡¯t use for the time being. Annan intended to set up a level-based system that would gradually unlock to form a perfect content exploration loop.

    Upon raising the level or having the main mission progressed to a particr stage, the yers¡¯ system would have functions unlocked for them. This mechanism would motivate the yers to continue ying actively until they discovered all the functions avable for them.

    By that time, it also marked the end of the prologue stage. As long as the game quality was excellent, it would naturally attract the yers to continue the game.

    Having some functions locked would direct the yers¡¯ attention on Annan as well. With that, he would have an easier time managing them. Simultaneously, the system would not be tooplicated to the point of confusing the yers.

    After all, not all yers could be like Annan, studying all the personal attributes meticulously at the beginning of the game.

    Many yers went mad after seeing aplicated system by the moment they just entered the game.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? What¡¯s this? What should I do?¡±

    To prevent the yers from experiencing the above panic, Annan had to put more effort into the yer guiding work.

    Annan naturally understood that too many functions and attributes that were temporarily unusable would distract the yers. yers would unknowingly be busy with ¡°things that are meaningless at the current stage.¡±

    In particr, this world was undoubtedly the ¡°open-world game.¡±

    First of all, to prevent the tourist-like yers from not knowing where to go, Annan erected an invisible barrier around the North Sea Territory.

    Likewise, to prevent yers from soaring into the sky and going underground, Anna had to impose vertical limitations with the invisible barrier. For the time being, the restrictions would be within 500 meters above the ground.

    In addition, there was a need for a system that stops the outside world from finding out about ¡°yer,¡± ¡°games,¡± and gaming terminologies.

    Annan was fortunate to have such a feature.

    Otherwise, it was conceivable that these yers¡¯ unscrupulous remarks would cause a lot of trouble to Annan.

    In the end, Annan wrote the yers¡¯ initial identity as Don Juan Geraint¡¯s personal guard. These guards epted the mission Don Juan instructed. After disembarking, they went to various ces to collect information before gathering at the Freezing Water Port.

    After descending into the world, the yers¡¯ first mission became ¨CReturn to Freezing Water Port and report to Don Juan Geraint.

    Oh ya, there is this.

    Annan pondered for a while and wrote a prompt:

    ¡°During face customization, you can only beautify it. The beautification effect cannot exceed 50%.¡±

    Anna was concerned with yers particrly fond of face customization would turn into mutants or monsters, which attract aggression from anyone they met.

    After all, the yers¡¯ initial identities were all Annan¡¯s guards. If they were too ugly, Annan would feel ashamed.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Annan was caught off guard, ¡°I can tweak the initial attribute panel and level. Their attributes and status can¡¯t be higher than mine. Uhm¡­¡±

    But, I should not set it to ten levels.

    At least, that is not applicable for the majority of yers. Otherwise, the game content is too little.

    ¡°I see. Since I chose them as my guard, they will acquire Swordsman Profession Level 3 at the game¡¯s start. Then, I should provide the yers with a profession panel each. En, I will lower the experience gain for the second profession at 50%, while the experience gain for the third profession should drop to 25%. This will facilitate the profession growth rather than diversification of profession, so as to avoid the situation of too many unranked but profession diversified monsters¡­¡±

    If I encounter an exceptional talent, I will give him the main mission with advantages dedicated to him alone.

    Annan made up his mind.

    The number of yers in this world upied his ¡®Book of Divine Transporter¡¯ slot. In other words, he could only summon a hundred yers at most now.

    If an inexperienced person acquires this ability, he would use up all his slots in one go.

    But Annan, who was from a game nner background, knew that it would be a problem.

    There was a need to draw a level gap among the online game yers. This would slow down their speed in adventuring the game. Besides, it also encouraged yers of all levels to work harder in upgrading their level and y actively.

    To put it bluntly, if all yers started from the same starting line, they would not be satisfied because of ¡°fairness.¡± On the contrary, those inevitable bad yers in the game would recognize that they were terrible due to the fair settings. Thus, those yers would lose the initial enthusiasm for the game and ¡°admit their fate.¡± They would turn into softcore yers.

    Therefore, in a game that was inclined to be entertaining rather thanpetitive, the introduction of the yer ranking system and the bnce on various professions were not necessarily helpful.

    Annan needed to give them an excuse.

    A reason for ¡°why I¡¯m worse than others¡± was to divert their attention, moving their focus to improving their strength, rather than ming the outside world and losing motivation.

    Why are the old yers strong? Because they y early. They have time advantages and have experience gaps. If I y for so much time, I can be so strong too.

    Why are new yers strong? Because they have a lot of time to farm. They have special events. If I had these events back then, I would be better than them.

    ¡ªIn other words, Annan must provide them with a channel for rapid advancement to stop new yers from bing the ¡°bottom¡± ss.

    But, this channel should not allow all new yers to be promoted simultaneously. Otherwise, the old yers would be dissatisfied.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m in charge of creating new events?¡±

    Annan was dumbfounded, ¡°Am I the NPC, GM, artist, admin, data nner, system nner, plot nner, and operation manager?¡±

    Stop, friend. Giving me a break.

    Although I don¡¯t know which Almighty God has transmigrated me here, have you put in any effort to make this game?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this asking me to make a game from scratch? Do I still have to y the role of the protagonist? How about hack the game and make me the Boss Monster?¡±

    Annan felt dejected that he still could not escape the fate of working overtime after transmigrating into another world.

    Fortunately, after the hard worksted for an hour, the server should start at one piece, albeit many details not filled up yet.

    ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡±

    Let¡¯s do the rest slowly after the server starts.

    Worsees to worst, I willunch patch updates or DLC.

    Seeing that the time now had reached 23:53, Annan hurriedly opened up the creator¡¯s perspective.

    His vision was dragged to the sky in an instant with an unobstructed view on the ground below him. After zooming in and out of the map a few times, Annan became proficient in this ability.

    ¡°Let me choose anding spot first. Huh?¡±

    Annan paused and frowned slightly, ¡°What is this?¡±

    He quickly zoomed in on the map to view the area near Freezing Water Port.

    Annan saw a group of masked robbers with weapons lurking far away from the city from the creator¡¯s perspective.

    They did not bring lit torches with them, so the guard tower of Freezing Water Port could not see them at all.

    ¡°They¡¯reing again?¡±

    Annan frowned slightly.

    There was no doubt that the viscount sent these people.

    It was different from the dozens of peoplest time. This time, he dispatched more than a hundred people.

    They dragged some ck wooden barrels wrapped in cotton, cumbersome like heavy tires. They roll them little by little from a distance.

    Are these ck Fire?

    Annan recognized it quickly.

    He squinted his eyes.

    With so much ck Fire, does that guy want to kill me?

    ording to Salvatore¡¯s description, although these amounts were far from enough to burn the entire city, it was more than enough to burn Salvatore¡¯s house and church.

    However, Annan¡¯s heart was calm, even a little joyful.

    Though, he felt that he was supposed to be angry now.

    ¡°Then, I should get angry?¡±

    Annan muttered in a low voice, but the corners of his mouth rose slowly.

    He squinted his eyes and quickly modified the yers¡¯ initial missions. He began to tweak thending locations.

    The location was set to be around those ¡°robbers.¡± The yers would be scattered more than ten meters apart in their descent into the world.

    The first wave of yers entering the world is only allowed to have the swordsman profession. I¡¯m locking their identities as the guards on the ship. Hmm¡­ let¡¯s have 40 yers in total. I¡¯m raising their levels to Level 5. All of them are armed with long swords while wearing leather armor.

    I¡¯m setting their initial main mission to¡­

    Unite with yourpanions, kill all robbers in front of you and destroy the ¡°ck Fire.¡±

    It shall be a limited-time mission.

    ¡°I¡¯m kind to you all, right? You get to have a good fight at the start of the game.¡±

    Annan murmured with the corners of his mouth raised maliciously.

    I wonder what these robbers will think when they see ¡°The Divine Soldiers Fall from Heaven.¡±

    Damn it, I obviously should be angry¡­

    But I¡¯m overwhelmed with happiness!

    Trantor notes:

    [1] Collection of terminologies: (Just in case)

    NPC: Non-yable Character

    GM: Game master

    DLC: Downloadable Content

    [2] I keep mentioning it as the server starts because there¡¯s ack of words. Basically, it meant the time when yers get to descend into the world.

    [3] I¡¯m specting the yers ¡°descend¡± into the world, i.e., drop from the sky to enter the world. Though, it could be figurative speaking in the Chinesenguage.

 Chapter 28: Closed Beta Started

    <h4>Chapter 28: Closed Beta Started</h4>

    ¡°So, I am finally done!¡±

    Lin Yiyi forced herself to focus. She quickly filled in all the other information required for the video upload and scheduled a published date.

    ¡°Uncut process of finishing the Boss [1]. The guide collection of ¡°Single Dogs: Die Twice,¡± the 15th episode! I have finallypleted the ending, marking the game with a ¡®finished¡¯ tag.¡±

    Lin Yiyi exhaled a sigh of relief. She copsed on her chair as if her bones had melted, ¡°What is the next game(bait) I should go for? Snowfield? It will take some time before the game is released. The game isn¡¯t my preference too. I¡¯m fine with streaming it. I should probably dive into Ghost Cry 5.¡±

    In the single-yer genre, she umted some poprity in her full-time career as a content creator.

    She was a well-known female yer with a sharp skill and aggressive ystyle. Themunity acknowledged her confidence, aggressiveness, and quick response.

    Of course, her skillfulness yed an important role. Moreover, she was genuine. She tended to explode inughter and mimic the monsters¡¯ voices. When she was silent, she appeared elegant and ssy.

    With her fine-grained nature, Lin Yiyi attracted quite some peculiar fans.

    Looking at the notification -¡°Current speed 3.7Mb/S, remaining time 47:12,¡± she breathed a sigh of relief.

    This is still fine. It won¡¯t take too long.

    The verification speed is smooth. I should sleep after having my content verified.

    Thinking about this, Lin Yiyi raised her head and nced at the wall clock. She found out the hour and minute hands ovepped.

    It was exactly midnight.

    This meant that after the verification waspleted, the time would not reach 1 a.m. yet.

    She felt exhausted and sleepy when she was editing the video. But after finishing the work, she suddenly regained her energy.

    If I go to bed at this time, I¡¯m admitting defeat!

    Admitting defeat to her young and tough body!

    ¡°It¡¯s still early.¡±

    Lin Yiyi calmly turned on her phone, ¡°It¡¯s better to read the novel updated today¡­

    ¡°Huh, what is this?¡±

    She whispered and noticed that there was an application on the phone home screen.

    Its name was ¡°Mist Continent.¡± The application cover was a cute boy with ck hair and blue eyes in a cold expression.

    ¡°Tsk. Is this the CG of a thief who copycats from the other mobile games?¡±

    Lin Yiyi could not help but roast the application, ¡°Like this kind of direct sexual advertising, I just can¡¯t¡­

    ¡°Hold back.¡±

    She tapped on the app without hesitation.

    Somewhat unexpectedly, the optimization of this game was done well. At least the loading speed was fast. The moment she clicked it, it started to y a real and gorgeous video.

    Lin Yiyi almost thought it was a decent mobile game based on a movie she had not watched yet.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    An aristocratic boy with a cold face, who looked only twelve or thirteen years old, said majestically at the critical moment. Although Lin Yiyi could not understand whichnguage it was, fortunately, the subtitles were provided below.

    ¡­

    ¡°Lyon, my lord. Lyon Coleman. We are from Roseburg.¡±

    The robber, with a sly look, slightly arched his waist and made a sharp voice. There was a look of triumph in his eyes.

    ¡­

    ¡°Spare no mercy. Catch them all-¡±

    In the face of wrongful plunderers, the young feudal lord wielded his delicate short sword with a firm expression. He raised it high without fear.

    In the end, the screen froze on his murderous icy blue eyes and the morning light that shone on the raised short sword.

    He gave the final answer sonorously.

    The voice was young but majestic, enough to give people confidence and power:

    ¡°-life or death!¡±

    At the next moment, the screen paused abruptly.

    The hopeful morning light suddenly began to spread all over the screen.

    Then, Lin Yiyi suddenly felt that her hand pressing on the screen¡­ seemed to prate it.

    Immediately after, she felt her consciousness plunge into a pure white world. As if falling at high speed, like falling down a cliff in a dream, she felt her hair stood up.

    Then, she suddenly woke up.

    She found herself in a world with the time paused.

    She was wearing solid and simple leather armor; she carried a sharp and somewhat heavy iron sword in her hand.

    Have I transmigrated into another world?

    She was shocked in her heart. She barely saw her face by using the de¡¯s reflection to illuminate the faint ember lights around her.

    Her face was exactly the same.

    But as an unathletic otaku, Lin Yiyi was dumbfounded by her strength. She checked again with the weight of this sword. She knew that this kind of sword would not be easy for her to wield.

    A standing mirror apanied with rippling water waves appeared before her eyes.

    There was only one line on the dark mirror:

    [Please name your game character.]

    [Warning: Once confirmed, you won¡¯t get to change the name again!]

    ¡°What kind of superb technology is this?¡±

    Lin Yiyi could not help but cuss, ¡°Are aliens making games?¡±

    The most important thing is that you didn¡¯t give me a keyboard. How do I type?

    She hesitated for a while and replied tentatively, ¡°Yiyi [1]?¡±

    This was hermonly used nickname and her ount in the content creation website(s).

    The glimmering panel in front of her immediately updated the texts:

    ¡°Yiyi, are you sure?¡±

    ¡°The system can even recognize voice as text.¡±

    Lin Yiyi muttered, reaching out and pressing the ¡°confirm¡± button.

    There was another rippling water wave in the mirror. Then, her attribute panel appeared:

    [ID: Yiyi]

    Human. Female. Level 5

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 6, Constitution 6, Perception 5, Will 5

    Free attribute points: 2

    Shared Experience: 0

    Profession Overview-

    Swordsman LV5: [Basic SwordsmanshipLV1], [Parry LV1], [Charge LV1], [All-out Blow LV1], free skillpoint1

    [Please confirm your initial panel.]

    ¡°The degree of freedom is not high.¡±

    She murmured.

    In front of her eyes, although she had two free attribute points, only the three options ¡°Strength,¡± ¡°Agility,¡± and ¡°Constitution¡± had the lit ¡®+¡¯ sign next to them.

    She hesitated for a moment and allocated one point to Strength and Agility each.

    Although she knew that increasing maximum health was always the safest choice in case of trouble, she did not like being passive. Judging from this initial attribute panel, attribute points should be expensive and should not be wasted easily.

    If it weren¡¯t for the worry that her 6 points in Strength would allow her opponent to suppress her, she even wanted to add all the attribute points to Agility.

    ¡°Skill¡­ What to choose?¡±

    Lin Yiyi hesitated.

    Perhaps because of the impact of ¡°Single Dogs: Die Twice,¡± which she had just finished ying, she almost tapped on the ¡°Parry.¡±

    Then, the water wave in front of her disappeared again.

    What emerged again was herself. A naked face with no makeup.

    [Please make some fine adjustments.]

    [Warning: You may only beautify it. The maximum beautification effect shall not exceed 50%.]

    Can I only beautify myself?

    How do you determine what beautification is?

    Although Lin Yiyi had a strong desire to customize her face into the ancient god, she looked at her face in the mirror and finally gave up.

    Forget it, just in case I can¡¯t undo it.

    She thought for a long time. She whitened her skin a little and then erged her breast muscles by two cups. Then, she made some fine adjustments ording to her usual makeup. Unexpectedly, she found out that her beautification effect was below 25%.

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±

    She ended up her face customization somewhat unsatisfactorily.

    Of course, she did it swiftly because she was eager to know what the content of the game would be.

    After tapping confirm again, a paragraph appeared in the mirror.

    This should be the key information introducing the plot.

    Lin Yiyi immediately concentrated and read it carefully.

    [Even Count Geraint cannot save the life of his youngest son, Don Juan Geraint. Perhaps the decision to send Don Juan to the most remote North Sea Territory is thest escape route he nned for his son. ¡¿

    Below this passage was the sketching of Annan¡¯s face.

    [But Don Juan Geraint did not ept his fate. He decided to develop his career in this frosty border.]

    The screen changed ordingly. It changed to thest second of the CG on the phone just now. It was the scene of the young feudal lord raising the sword.

    [You are the loyal guards he trusts and is proud of. When disembarking from the ship, you have received Don Juan¡¯s order to go to the border town to collect information. Unfortunately, you did not find any clues.]

    The picture changed to a sketch of a ring.

    [Now, you n to return to Freezing Water Port and return to Master Don Juan. But less than three kilometers from the town, you found a group of people lying in ambush here. You quickly recognize that these people are Roseburg¡¯s Viscount¡¯s private soldiers. They are carrying the dangerous ¡®ck Fire,¡¯ nning to murder your feudal lord and ughter the people here.]

    There was no next scene below this passage.

    But as Lin Yiyi finished reading this passage, the mirror slowly disappeared.

    The world around her gradually became real, and the frozen time flowed slowly.

    Lin Yiyi quickly noticed a few malicious people equipped with weapons in front of her; theyy in an ambush in a dark area.

    They did not seem to notice me.

    A line of blood-red words appeared before her eyes.

    ¡°Kill them all and spare none.¡±

    [Obtained the main mission: The Tribtion of ck Fire]

    [Mission requirements: Kill all Roseburg¡¯s private troops (0/114). Destroy or seize all ck Fire (0/50) within 30 minutes.]

    [Special requirement 1 (+20 evaluation ratings): Complete the mission without a death (the evaluation ratings will be reduced if the number of deaths exceeds three times) (0/1)]

    [Special requirement 2 (+40 evaluation ratings): No injuries throughout the mission (0/1)]

    [Special requirement 3 (+40 evaluation ratings): Kill at least three enemies by yourself (0/3)]

    After Lin Yiyi read all the mission requirements, all these texts disappeared.

    She suddenly heard the sound with her skin sensing the flow of wind. She even noticed the pungent smell.

    What kind of game is this?

    She repeated this sentence many times in her mind.

    But she did not make anyints.

    Before the first two people she encountered noticed her, she unsheathed her sword silently.

    As if she had been immersed in swordsmanship for more than ten years, she was skilled and calm.

    [1] Rather than her original name, each Yi meant one instead.

 Chapter 29: This Creep Is So Miserable

    <h4>Chapter 29: This Creep Is So Miserable</h4>

    Slow down your breath.

    Adjust your footwork.

    When Lin Yiyi took the first step, she still found it a little jerky and awkward. But when she reached the third step, she had already adapted to the new body.

    She did not have much time to think.

    Is this really a game? Is this the technology of an alien civilization? Why am I selected? What happens if I die? Can the things in this game be taken out from this world?

    These messy questions shed in her mind.

    But, Lin Yiyi quickly halted these jumbled thoughts with her willpower.

    Because in any case, she could not get the answers to these questions for the time being.

    If this is the case, overthinking would only drop my performance. Lin Yiyi had always believed that if she was sure that if she could not get it immediately, she would not think about it further. Meaningless overthinking would only divert her attention, reduce her energy, and make things harder for her.

    I just need to focus on doing one thing.

    Let me settle one thing at a time-

    -For example, kill a person by sneak attack first.

    When she approached about five or six meters away, Lin Yiyi silently stopped.

    If she went further, the opponents would probably notice her.

    Let me try this first¡­

    She focused her attention on [Charge].

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Immediately, she felt her heart palpitated violently. She could hear the sudden amplified heartbeat sound.

    The muscles all over her body seemed to be burning. While the strange soreness surfaced, she felt a rush of heat energies on her legs.

    Without hesitation, she kicked off the ground along with the power surge.

    But the moment she rushed out, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

    Her charge momentum was too strong!

    Lin Yiyi could barely control her strength. She raised her sword, pouring powers into the sword edge.

    She seemed to split the oing wind!

    In the blink of an eye, she breached the distance above 10 meters.

    The two opponents who just heard the sound and tried to look back.

    But, they were rxed and did not even draw their swords. They had never expected that the person, who appeared behind them at this time, was their enemy.

    The next moment, Lin Yiyi¡¯s charge attack arrived.

    The sword tip thrust out suddenly, easily piercing the back of one of them. It was halfway through prating the victim.

    She felt a violent vibration when the sword¡¯s de pierced the opponent¡¯s back. It seemed that because she did not understand the structure of the human body, the sword¡¯s de had stabbed into the rib.

    But fortunately, after that ¡°cracking¡± noise, the sword¡¯s de still smoothly squeezed out of the victim¡¯s chest. The victim¡¯s mouth opened widely. He let out the ¡°Ugh¡± sound, but he could not even scream out.

    ¡°Enemies¡¯ attack-¡±

    The other person was immediately shocked. He did not try to wield his weapon but stared at Lin Yiyi while yelling for help; he quickly retreated. After leaving a distance of more than 20 meters, the man turned around and fled without looking back.

    Initially, Lin Yiyi wanted to chase after him directly.

    The correct way was to kill the opponent directly who had not drawn the weapon yet.

    But she found that her sword seemed to be stuck at the person¡¯s back.

    She attempted to pull the sword out twice, but her efforts went to avail. On the other hand, the saw-like movement made the victim wail miserably. The volume dropped lower as more attempts passed.

    In the end, Lin Yiyi was so annoyed that she kicked the man down. Then, she stepped on the opponent¡¯s waist with her foot, exerted force on her wrist, and then she pulled out the long sword that had been stuck inside the victim.

    At this time, she only realized the pain in her legs.

    That time, the all-out charge made her pant violently as if she had just finished a 50 meters sprint. A steamy white mist breathed out from her throat. There were faint reddish traces on the skin of her arms that outlined lines simr to blood vessels.

    ¡°This [Charge] skill is too strong!¡±

    She could not help cursing it out.

    When Lin Yiyi just stabbed the sword in, she felt her de bend. At that time, she snorted in her heart, worried that her sword would be broken directly in the opponent¡¯s body.

    Fortunately, I managed to pull the sword out¡­

    Lin Yiyi had the habitual thinking that [Charge] was a novice skill that stuns the opponent due to the previous game experience.

    Then, she would cut off the opponent¡¯s head while her victim was stunned.

    In the end, she never expected that [Charge] was a devastating move.

    Fortunately, she had reacted quickly enough to avoid hitting the opponent directly with her arms or shoulders. Otherwise, the opponent could be knocked out or knocked away, but she would be dazed for a while.

    When Lin Yiyi reimed the weapon, she looked at the scratches and tiny dents on the sword¡¯s edge with a headache.

    Compared with the powerful [Charge], the quality of this sword was not trustworthy.

    I hit the bone for once, and it¡¯s a bit broken already.

    Just as she looked at the sword¡¯s de with distress, roars and screams suddenly came from the silent camp. Simultaneously, the sound of rms, screams, and sword fighting shocked the unsuspecting Lin Yiyi.

    At the same time, Lin Yiyi vaguely heard a not-so-loud, even flustered shout not far in front of her, ¡°Is there anyone? Help! I can¡¯t defeat this creep!¡±

    It seems to be a very young girl.

    It should be the yer-

    -And, there are creeps over there!

    Lin Yiyi rushed forward without hesitation, but she also cautiously tried not to make any noise.

    After she darted out for a while, a prompt suddenly appeared before her eyes:

    [Killed an enemy and obtained 13 Shared Experience.]

    ¡°What?¡±

    Lin Yiyi was startled.

    Is the creep only dead now? That guy¡¯s heart¡­ Probably the heart, I have pierced it through. I saw the victim for a long time when I tried to pull out the sword until his wailing finally faded¡­

    ¡°Wait, now I see it. This game is about delivering the final killing blow st hit).¡±

    Lin Yiyi came into a realization immediately.

    As long as she did not see the experience prompt, she would need to deliver a few more blows. If I poke his eyes directly, the creep should die quicker.

    She quickly rushed to the female yer but unexpectedly found that the battle situation was not as miserable as the person shouted:

    The girl had a blue name on her head:

    [Jiu Er]

    She was short, one head shorter than Yiyi. The long sword in her hand matched her height very well. The sword was shorter and thinner than the one in Yiyi¡¯s hand.

    Her face was panicked and terrified. She was trembling all over, but her attacks were fierce.

    Jiu Er did not sustain any injury, except that her face was scratched, and blood dripped from her chin. She held her sword as if holding a kitchen knife, violently attacking the person in front of her. It was not a simple sh, but she just kept smashing her weapon forward.

    The ¡°robber¡± across from Jiu Er was much more miserable than her.

    There were bloodstains on his shoulders, face, chest, and arms. Dark red blood was dripping all over his body. He was so weak that he almost dropped his weapon. Truth to be told, the victim held a good defense.

    Jiu Er did not take a step back but took two steps forward every time she attacked her sword. The continuous attack was wild and ruthless. At the same time, her mouth uttered a scream like a puppy having its tail being stepped on. It was a voice filled with despair:

    ¡°Help! Help! Someone, help me! Is there anyone here!?¡±

    Every time she shouted a word, she would sh out with all her strength.

    Finally, Jiu Er raised her sword high and shed the opponent with a thunderous momentum.

    -It was the [All-out Blow]!

    Lin Yiyi quickly guessed the skill utilized.

    The long sword in the victim¡¯s hand failed the sustain through the mighty attack. He crumbled to the floor under Jiu Er¡¯s heavy onught. The victim dropped his weapon in the end.

    When Jiu Er saw the opponent let go of the weapon, her attack speed suddenly increased. She smashed the weapon on the opponent¡¯s face like preparing minced meat. It could not be described as a sh but a head-on smash attack. She did not utilize the sword¡¯s edge at all.

    After two or three consecutive blows, the victim was already lying motionless. But, Jiu Er still stepped on the victim¡¯s stomach and kept chopping up the flesh for a while.

    This gruesome attack made Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart frightened. She did not dare to jump out to help Jiu Er.

    Suddenly, Jiu Er came to a halt. Probably, a prompt had appeared in front of her.

    ¡°Ah? Ah¡­ He is dead. I finally killed him.¡±

    She breathed a sigh of relief to calm her fear. She retreated a few steps unsteadily, ¡°This creep is so tough¡­¡±

    Lin Yiyi next to her was horrified: I don¡¯t know whether this creep is a challenging foe, but this gentleman is so miserable!

    [1] Creep: A creep is any monster in the game or any non-quest-giving and non-shopkeeper NPCbatant.

 Chapter 30: It Turns Out To Be Acquaintancesâ€¦

    <h4>Chapter 30: It Turns Out To Be Acquaintances¡­</h4>

    ¡°Hello¡­¡±

    After the battle was over, Lin Yiyi saw that Jiu Er seemed to calm down. She walked forward, wanting to say hello to her.

    Although in the beginning, Lin Yiyi came with the idea of rescuing someone.

    But, this petite girl was unlike her appearance. She did not need Lin Yiyi to be a hero to save the damsel in distress.

    On the contrary, there was a pile of minced meat that had just been hammered at her feet. It appeared the victim needed more help.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    As Jiu Er saw Lin Yiyi, she suddenly widened her eyes in surprise, ¡°Sister Hyphen?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a hyphen. It¡¯s Yiyi [1].¡±

    Lin Yiyi retorted subconsciously.

    But she quickly reacted, ¡°Do you know me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Fermented Rice Ball! We met at thest party!¡±

    Jiu Er suddenly became excited.

    It seemed that seeing acquaintances made her happy. While she was talking, she easily held her sword in the air and waved it indiscriminately, making Lin Yiyi retreat in fright.

    But when Jiu Er mentioned this, Lin Yiyi seemed to recall it.

    ¡°Ah, Little Jiu [2] Er.¡±

    She suddenly realized it and remembered.

    After all, with Jiu Er¡¯s height, it was hard for people to forget her.

    Different from Yiyi¡¯s approach in face beautifying, Jiu Er dropped that function. She only slimmed down her face a little and slimmed down her legs again. She made herself look like a harmless and soft dumpling.

    Jiu Er did not focus on dancing or singing. This 16-year-old girl with only 149cm height was a high school content creator. But unlike her seemingly delicate figure, she was a video game streamer.

    Lin Yiyi focused on single-yer games and was good at making strategy guide videos. On the contrary, Jiu Er was best atpetitive games, albeit her status as a new yer. In the steamer circle, Jiu Er was not popr. Last time, her brother, who was a professional e-sports yer, raised her poprity. It was fair to say she had someone backing her up¡­

    Jiu Er was most famous for screaming for help when encountering a gank while swiftly operating her character to kill the opponent.

    In a daze, Lin Yiyi nced at the mutted gentleman at Jiu Er¡¯s feet again. She shuddered upon the sight.

    It turned out that it was not a stage y for the show.

    While the two of them were talking, other yers soon gathered around them. They all greeted Lin Yiyi unexpectedly,

    ¡°Sister Dash? You are here too¡­¡±

    ¡°Hyphen, are you here too?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Yiyi, not a hyphen nor a dash.¡±

    Lin Yiyi retorted subconsciously and walked around the crowd.

    Then, she was amazed to discover almost all of them were her acquaintances!

    Those who were not acquainted were all celebrities!

    There were retired e-sports yers, well-known entertainment streamers, high-rankingpetitive yers, and many video game producers.

    What everyone had inmon was that they had a considerable fan base with good game mechanical skills. Although there were some poorly skilled game streamers, they were still proficient in a certain way.

    However, they were good at different types of games.

    These people were not stupid. They nced around and quickly realized this.

    ¡°We are not chosen by aliens, right? Are we?¡±

    Someone in the group did not feel nervous at all. They said with joy, ¡°Does this mean that our skills are recognized?¡±

    ¡°The chosen child prodigy¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re almost 30 years old. Are you a child?!¡±

    ¡°Why not? I¡¯m a ¡®Wandering Child¡¯!¡±

    The ¡°Wandering Child¡± who deliberately adjusted himself back to his eighteen-year-old appearance said, ¡°I am the chosen child!¡±

    The other party suddenly choked with words.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now,¡± Lin Yiyi interrupted hastily, ¡°Are your missionspleted?¡±

    ¡°No. Twenty-three remaining.¡±

    The self-proimed child nced at the mission list and replied casually.

    ¡°I have notpleted it either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still short of twenty-three eliminations.¡±

    Jiu Er answered obediently. She walked two steps away from the corpse without anyone noticing.

    ¡°But the question is, where did those 23 creeps go?¡±

    ¡°I think they found a ce to hide because of the bad situation. It¡¯s too dark here. We can¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Lin Yiyi frowned and replied, ¡°We can¡¯t see anything¡­¡±

    As she spoke, she suddenly saw the barrels lying scattered.

    These should be the ¡°ck Fire¡± mentioned explicitly in the main mission.

    Her words stopped abruptly.

    Seeing Lin Yiyi looking at these barrels thoughtfully, the others quickly reacted.

    How about we blow up these barrels?

    As soon as the fire ignites, this ce will be bright as day.

    If someone hid on the ground, the group could see them. If they refuse to get up, they would be burned to death when the fire grew bigger.

    It¡¯s also an excellent opportunity to investigate the physics of this game. Are we allowed to set fire freely on a mountain?

    Initially, Lin Yiyi was still a little hesitant.

    After all, no one knew how powerful this barrel was or how long the fuzested before it exploded.

    What if the fuse was lit and the barrel exploded immediately before throwing it out or running away?

    But at this time, Lin Yiyi suddenly caught a glimpse of his mission list.

    [Special requirement 3 (+40 evaluation ratings): Kill at least three enemies by yourself (0/3)]

    Tsk, damn it.

    Lin Yiyi gritted her teeth.

    She was considered a skilled yer. For the starting mission, the higher the score, the better the starting reward, and the smoother the start.

    It was a pity the yers could not farm at the starting part of the game. Otherwise, based on her personality, she would keep restarting until all three special requirements werepleted before submitting the mission.

    She should have been able to single out two enemies.

    Unfortunately, that opponent was a coward. Seeing that the situation turned bad, he ran without turning around. As a result, she had onlypleted one-third of this mission.

    The two opponents did not even draw out their weapons; they had no way to retaliate at all. If she knew that they were so easy to kill, Lin Yiyi would have run over and shed their throats. There was no need to activate [Charge] at all.

    She still felt a bit sore in her legs.

    ¡°We can give it a try.¡±

    A yer named ¡°Phoenix¡± suggested, ¡°I have just died once. After my character creation is done, five people have surrounded me. After my death, I was respawned in three minutes. Though, I was transferred to another ce, which the game allowed me to start normally.

    ¡°It took me two minutes.¡±

    ¡°It took me five minutes to resurrect because my head was chopped off. Will an iplete corpse increase the resurrection time?¡±

    The other yers discussed with each other, and it was quickly settled.

    After confirming that they could respawn, the yers were not afraid anymore. It was nothing more than failing the first and second special requirements after one death.

    But fortunately, almost all of them knew each other. They quickly made arrangements based on the feelings of the past and the respect of everyone else.

    If the test went well, those who had died once would send over the ¡°ck Fire¡± toplete the triple kill mission requirement.

    The yer group strived for a smooth start for everyone. Their goal was to earn extra scores in their starting rounds so that no one would drag the group down because of a bad start. At the same time, several experienced streamers were also responsible for sorting out the four missionpletion scoring rewards: 20/40/60/100. They would research how different scores affect the rewards.

    Annan, who looked at them from afar through the creator¡¯s perspective, was bbergasted.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t these people too professional?¡±

    He was going to fool around while getting the job done. He nned to give out rewards based on the prettiness of the character. Whoever looked pleasing to the eye would earn more experience or something. Anyway, the yers should not share their research among themselves. There should be no trust, let alone the idle time to do so.

    Such an awesome full-virtual game. It was almost like traveling to another world (isekai). Would there still be hardcore yers? The yers should act impulsively to have fun in the game!

    However, the reality told another story. The yers were indeed having fun, but this did not stop them from ying the gamepetitively.

    They all seemed to know each other. Although they were not familiar with each other, they were at least to the extent that they knew who each other was.

    ¡°The yer selection seems too brilliant. Are they all high-ranking yers in their world?¡±

    Annan was deeply annoyed.

    He had to rush his work again. At least, he had topile a set of rules to govern the rewards.

    In the beginning, Annan still thought whether the yers recruited from another world were from his original world. But from their conversations, he quickly understood that these people were all popr streamers, well-known content creators, and even professional yers.

    But Annan did not know any of them.

    This was utterly impossible because he was from the same industry. So, there was only one possibility. They were not from Annan¡¯s world.

    ¡°There will be more yers from the other worlds in the future, right?¡±

    This thought suddenly popped up in Annan¡¯s mind for a moment, but he quickly dispelled it.

    The question before him now was how to fool these proficient yers.

    Wait, in this case, I have to finish up the forum first. I have to put more thoughts into forum announcements as well.

    Annan pulled a long face as he opened up the forum administrator page. He quickly opened up a draft document to write various nning drafts on it.

    I got to douse these yers¡¯ fire down a little bit.

    Annan quickly came up with a solution after recalling that he had just learned [Frost Nova]:

    I should just let them mess with the ck Fire. These yers don¡¯t know how dangerous the ck Fire is, but I do.

    After the yers use the ck Fire to eliminate those people, they will realize that these hard-to-extinguish mes are troublesome. They will undoubtedly get into trouble.

    At this time, I will go over and y an incredible act! While connecting the main mission with the plot, I also get to teach them a lesson!

    Annan cheered up and jumped off the chair.

    That¡¯s the n!

    [1] The raw text of Yiyi (11) is ¡®Ò»Ò»,¡¯ which looks like a hyphen.

    [2] Having her nickname as ¡®Fermented Rice Ball,¡¯ the Jiu in her name meant alcohol.

 Chapter 31: Sea Of ??Fire

    <h4>Chapter 31: Sea Of ??Fire</h4>

    In fact, there were very few yers who could guarantee that they were not injured before they gathered.

    After all, this was not a game of manipting the keyboard, mouse, or controller.

    Even the legendary sword-god yer who hammered Ganon [1] to death with a chicken leg in 22 seconds would panic for a moment when he used a real weapon to fight for his life for the first time.

    They were the ones with fewer people.

    There was a saying hesitation shall lead to defeat.

    Those who did not decide to fight right away and yers who decided to fight but did not have enough skills had suffered injuries in the robbers¡¯ hands at least once or twice. The one with the worst luck has respawned in the creep group in two consecutive respawns. He was in his third life already.

    But that was not to say that yers were noobs.

    Based on the numbers, five yers had already defeated more than ten enemies. After realizing that killing enemies could gain experience, the yers would kill all enemies in their field of vision like mad dogs.

    Just like Lin Yiyi. After the yers defeated their first enemy, they immediately realized that their current Strength and Agility were undoubtedly overwhelming for these robbers.

    What determined how many enemies they defeat depends only on how many enemies they could find.

    Of these three special mission requirements, the most difficult one was not the third, but the second one. How to not sustain any damage?

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a shield or roll skill. It¡¯s challenging to have no injuries.¡±

    A yer who did not want to reveal his real name said so.

    In the end, it turned out that there were only three people who could remain unharmed up to now:

    Firstly, the retired professional yer ¡°Wandering Child¡± who had not encountered an enemy yet.

    Secondly, ¡°Delicious Wind Goose¡± who had killed five enemies with smooth swordsmanship; the card game streamer who was also an enthusiast for armoredbat sport.

    Lastly, the reckless Lin Yiyi who was not bad in mechanical skills.

    Moreover, the three of them put their skillpoints on [Charge], [Basic Swordsmanship], and [Parry], respectively. Amongst them, the character¡¯s attributes¡¯ focus was distinguished into Agility-Constitution, Strength-Constitution, and Strength-Agility. Hence, these three yers took a vital role in exploring andparing the rewards obtained in the end, under the circumstances that the missionpletion reached 100%.

    Since the yer who had sustained no harm had so many values, they would not participate in the dangerous operation.

    Rather, it was fortunate that all of them had such awareness.

    After paying the price of three lives, the yers concluded how to use ck Fire:

    Throw it far away.

    ¡°This fuse is deceiving! Either it has been cut short, or it is impossible to run away in time after having the fuse ignited!¡±

    Several testers who had respawned said with lingering fear, ¡°This thing hurts too much.¡±

    Once ck Fire got in contact with a typical me, it would explode immediately. It directly blew up a massive me with a range of at least five meters. Those who got into contact would be burned to death.

    But if the ck Fire had struck on something, the liquid inside would set aze slowly with the reaction on the surrounding air. Although it was equally dangerous, at least the convict would not be hurt.

    Moreover, enemies burned to death by the ck Fire were counted as individual kills. It would increase the number of kills. Annan set the individual kill condition based on the percentage of damage.

    Of course, that was to prevent yers from franticallying up with any cheat methods to gain experience. For example, enemies who sustained 30% damage from traps would not render any experiences.

    A yer raised a possibility, ¡°Is this a magic fantasy game?¡±

    The yers immediately started discussing in a low volume:

    ¡°It¡¯s possible¡­¡±

    ¡°Although the scene shed by quickly, the yers saw the victim immediately fall to the ground in pain after Don Juan¡¯s simple p.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not draw a conclusion. That person might be someone who scammed someone by faking an injury.¡±

    Just as they were discussing, the three people selected had already started using ck Fire and began the work of ¡°farming the creeps.¡±

    As they threw the ck Fire, the yers saw the number of kills increase. The only pity was that when using this method to kill enemies, they could not get experience.

    Logically speaking, they should hunt the creeps and kill them one by one. Only in this way that the yers would maximize their experience gain. After seeing that more than half of the thirty-minute time limit was depleted, the yers began to feel a little anxious.

    After Lin Yiyi and the three of thempleted the third mission, the other yers also started to bring the ck Fire, throwing them into various corners where the enemies could hide.

    But until they almost ran out of ck Fire and filled all possible hiding areas with mes, there were still short of two kills:

    [Main mission: The Tribtion of ck Fire]

    [Mission requirements: Kill all Roseburg¡¯s private troops (112114). Destroy or seize all ck Fire (0/50) within 30 minutes.]

    ¡°Only at this time, I think having the game too realistic is bad.¡±

    Delicious Wind Gooseined, ¡°I want a minimap. Or maybe something to mark the enemy. This dazzling fire is hurting my eyes.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I still prefer this realistic approach.¡±

    Lin Yiyi murmured, ¡°Such an awesome game. Do you all still have any dissatisfaction with it? For this kind of mission to hunt down thest person, even if you¡¯re provided with a minimap, you may not be able to find it.¡±

    ¡°We are the chosen children.¡±

    Wandering Child on the side repeated what he had said before.

    ¡°Have they fled already?¡±

    Jiu Er asked softly with some worry.

    ¡°Impossible.¡±

    One yer replied, ¡°My starting area is on higher terrain. I can see it clearly that we have driven all these robbers toward the middle. We have respawned around them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s weird¡­¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t they see those two remaining people?¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    He could see it clearly from the creator¡¯s perspective.

    The remaining two people squatted not far from the crowd. He crouched on the spot, daring not to move.

    Listening to dozens of people chatting delightfully while discussing how to eliminate all of them, the two of them looked at each other in horror. Their spirits were close to copsing.

    The two of them were no more than six meters away from the nearest yer.

    But, no yers could see them.

    Is this some kind of invisibility gimmick?

    ¡°It¡¯s just about time for me to appear.¡±

    Annan whispered.

    He led a group of militias on night shifts, riding horses towards the bright fire. The group would be arriving soon.

    Indeed, the fire was raging.

    These yers were still oblivious to that.

    Under the circumstance of allowing environmental destruction, the spread of the fire was difficult to prevent.

    When the yers reacted, it was a bitte,

    ¡°Wait a minute, are we surrounded!?¡±

    Lin Yiyi felt the air getting hotter and hotter. She immediately tensed up.

    She quickly interrupted the conversation, ¡°This fire is getting bigger and bigger!¡±

    ¡°What¡­¡±

    ¡°Get out first! Don¡¯t worry, move out the ck Fire that is under control. This thing should be valuable! I think even if we can¡¯t sell it, it can at least improve the mission evaluation ratings!¡±

    ¡°What if they explode when they get close to the fire!?¡±

    Someone yelled, ¡°This thing will explode when it catches fire!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied forthrightly, ¡°Then, we still have to move them out! We need to bring them out one by one! Don¡¯t go out together! If these fires surround us, these ck Fires will explode sooner orter here!¡±

    After he said so, he lifted two barrels of ck Fire with each hand and took the lead to rush out.

    Then, he did not hesitate and quickly ran towards the unhindered path amidst the sea of fire.

    Other yers also reacted quickly.

    The next one was Lin Yiyi because she lost the scabbard and needed to carry the sword in one hand, so she only brought a barrel of ck Fire.

    The yers quickly moved the ck Fire out in an orderly manner.

    When the seventh person passed, the two barrels of ck Fire on that yer exploded.

    The bursting me engulfed the yer in an instant. He could not even shout before he was burned crisp clean.

    This was the first time that other yers witnessed the scene of the yer¡¯s death.

    It was like the whole person turned into burnt ashes, copsing internally downward. Then, it was blown away in the air currenting from the explosion.

    With his death, the sea of ??mes finally enshrouded the area. There was no way to transport the ck Fire anymore, but there were still small gaps in the sea of fire. The yers still had chances to flee away.

    More than thirty yers in it, including the yer, respawned and fell out of thin air in embarrassment.

    ¡°Huh, you can¡¯t seem to glitch out of this area.¡±

    He was disappointed.

    The others also signaled each other for their evacuation.

    At this time, the yers abandoned the kills for thest two robbers.

    However, the yers in the sea of ??fire suddenly heard the exmation of the yers who had run out,

    ¡°Eh!¡±

    ¡°This person is¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªYoung Master Don Juan!¡±

    The clever Lin Yiyi noticed it firsthand.

    She interrupted the others directly and shouted in the loudest voice.

    Hearing her voice, the yers who had just gotten nervous inside the area were alerted.

    Lin Yiyi did that to warn the yers inside, telling them not to talk nonsense in front of ¡°important NPCs.¡± It was like when the students were fooling in the ssroom, the ssmate watching over by the door greeted the teacher loudly,

    ¡°Young Master, we are back! That viscount is attempting to murder you. This is the ck Fire they brought! There are still people trapped by the fire behind!¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll get them out.¡±

    The people in the sea of ??fire heard Don Juan Geraint¡¯s cold and immature voice, ¡°Yiyi, you take good care of my horse.¡±

    [1] https://zelda.fandom/wiki/Ganon

 Chapter 32: Activate the Forum

    <h4>Chapter 32: Activate the Forum</h4>

    Soon, the people in the sea of ??fire felt a chill.

    It felt as if they had juste out from the sauna. Cold air blew on their faces, sending chills on them as if waking them all up.

    And, it was not an illusion.

    The fire sea¡¯s temperature and altitude on Don Juan¡¯s side dropped at speed visible to the naked eye. After three seconds, the me was extinguished. Only a few mes remained stubbornly, clinging to the ground and trembling.

    The yers trapped in the fire saw their young feudal lord standing outside.

    On both sides of him were massive fire walls close to five or six meters in height, apanied by intense ck smoke billowing up.

    But these ck smoke could not get close to Don Juan Geraint at all.

    White frost exhaled from his mouth and nose. His skin became abnormally pale and bloodless, and his eyes lit up with blue radiance.

    His cuffs and trouser continuously sprayed a violent white chill. These frost-white mists hung tightly on the ground, rippling outward slowly like water waves.

    The ground, which was still burning with mes, quickly cooled down. There were cracks and frost traces on the ground.

    ¡°Feudal Lord¡­¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, Lord Don Juan.¡±

    The yers immediately saluted Annan, albeit it looked messy. They were still a little worried whether their salutes were inappropriate.

    But soon, they realized that Annan was not looking at them at all.

    Annan stared at a corner.

    Those merciless eyes, cold like frigid winter, stared straight at the empty corner.

    Just when the yers were at a loss, they suddenly heard two screams from that corner:

    ¡°Master Geraint, we surrender.¡±

    ¡°Help! Help! It¡¯s cold. I¡¯m going to die.¡±

    Two people slowly appeared out of the shadow over there. They were wrapped in frost traces on their bodies, curled up on the ground, and let out a faint cry, ¡°Mercy! Lord Geraint.¡±

    The yers¡¯ pupils were slightly dted.

    Regardless of whether the yers were in the sea of ??fire or safety, they all immediately cast their sights over here.

    They soon understood why thest two creeps went missing.

    These two creeps can turn invisible and hide!

    Faced with the two begging for mercy, Annan did not waver at all.

    There was no smile on his young and tender face. He just chuckled and breathed out a cluster of frosty white mist as if he was on a cigarette.

    ¡°Surrender? Do you want to surrender?¡±

    The corners of his mouth rose slightly. His dense teeth exuded visible frosty air.

    Under the pulsating firelight, his expression sent chills to the witnesses.

    ¡°Yes! We surrender!¡±

    ¡°We know all the secrets. Please spare us! We can testify for you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, surrender¡ªwhat a gentle word. Even if you just wanted to murder me, I can¡¯t kill the surrendered soldiers ording to the nobles¡¯ rules.

    ¡°You think so too, right?¡±

    Annan showed a bright smile. His slightly curved eyes were filled with a gentle smile, ¡°But I¡¯m sorry, my dear. There¡¯s no surrender between us.

    ¡°It¡¯s you who vites the rules first. This is not revenge, but a tant murder.¡±

    As he spoke, he stretched out his right hand and raised it with the palm facing up.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Forgive me, Silver Sire. Please¡­ lord¡­¡±

    The two of them watched Annan¡¯s movements; they stammered and prayed with horror.

    But Annan showed no mercy.

    He just showed a genuine, gentle, and elegant smile, slowly retracting his fingers one by one.

    Every time he retracted a little finger, the frost traces on the two became heavier. When the five fingers werepletely retracted and clenched into fists, they were already motionless with their eyes widened. Vitalities had escaped from their bodies.

    Their faces were distorted by intense pain and fear. Their eyes were wide open and frosty, like fish in a refrigerator.

    This cold, resolute, and cruel scene made the yers unable to hold their breath for a while.

    At the same time, the ice shattered around Annan also reflected lightsing from the fire. He appeared like a god, shining in the night.

    Annan turned around after the two had died. The frost undting around him gradually disappeared.

    Annan¡¯s smile was faint, distant, and polite; it was far less brilliant than when he faced the two. But, it gave people a strong sense of trust.

    ¡°Wee back from your return in triumph, my loyal guards.¡±

    Annan said slowly, with a cold and pleasant voice, ¡°Forty people, without missing anyone. No one betrayed me, and no friends left me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was supposed to give you a pleasant wee. Because of the previous incident, I have no energy or money to hold a banquet for you. I hope you can forgive me. When our timese, I will make up for today¡¯s banquet. I think it must be a luxurious and lively banquet by then.¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice was soft but serious, ¡°I do what I promise.¡±

    After that, he paused and added, ¡°Wee. You havee back home safely.¡±

    At this time, the mission prompt appeared in front of the yers:

    [Missionpleted: Killing all Roseburg¡¯s private troops (114/114) within 30 minutes. Destroy or seize all ck Fire within 30 minutes (50/50).]

    [Completed the main mission: The Tribtion of ck Fire]

    [Unlocked: Freezing Water Port]

    [Unlocked: yers¡¯ forum]

    [The tutorial mission is over. From now on, your death will be punished. Each death will deduct all the current Shared Experience and randomly reduce 1~2 profession level by one level.]

    [Obtained Shared Experience 40.]

    [Acquired 100 of Don Juan Geraint¡¯s favor.]

    [Currently, the affection status is friendly (0/500)]

    [After hearing the news that you areing back, Don Juan Geraint stayed up all night with excitement. But because of this, Don Juan also found a way out of Roseburg¡¯s Viscount¡¯s murder attempt.]

    [But now, Freezing Water Port is still facing a catastrophe.]

    [You specte that the old viscount is determined to kill him. It must be because his identity is rted to the chaotic situation in the country. Perhaps, there will be other forces behind the old viscount, faintly affecting Freezing Water Port¡­]

    [In any case, this is your home.]

    [You decide not to step back. ¡¿

    [You have received main mission: Go home]

    [Mission requirement: Get your ce of residence in Freezing Water Port, and get offline on your bed (0/1)]

    [Additional evaluation ratings are being issued.]

    ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    Annan turned around suddenly, ¡°Yiyi, Wandering Child, Delicious Wind Goose. Follow me the three of youter on.¡±

    At this moment, Lin Yiyi swept across a glimmering panel suddenly.

    [Your affection rate with Don Juan Geraint has increased.]

    [Currently Trust (0/1500)]

    She looked around and stared at the other two.

    From their eyes, Lin Yiyi got the information she wanted.

    Sure enough, they got the same result¡­

    In 100%pletion, is the additional reward the increase of affection rate by one level?

    What¡¯s the rest?

    If Annan could know what she was thinking, he would be happy to rify her confusion. Of course, the reward of 40%pletion was a 40% increase in the affection rate!

    It was a fair, functional, bnced, and cost-free reward!

    Oh, another hidden reward was that the three of them would live closer to Annan.

    For the yers, it made them ¡°extraordinary.¡±

    However, other yers did not bother discussing the missionpletion.

    After confirming that they could still visit the forum while walking with Annan, almost all yers entered the yers¡¯ forum without exception.

    The yers lowered their heads like zombies and walked lifelessly behind Annan.

    Looking from a distance, it seemed pretty horrifying.

    Only one person did not enter the forum.

    Jiu Er followed Annan curiously, staring at him closely. No one knew what she was thinking. A creepy smile crossed her lips.

    Annan shuddered for some reason.

    It was not malicious, but it made his hair stand up inexplicably.

    Damn it, what is she thinking?

    But, Annan was still delighted in this trip.

    After having yers guarding the Freezing Water Port, I can safely enter the dungeon instance at least.

    At least I don¡¯t need to worry that the entire Freezing Water Port will be set aze aftering out of the dungeon instance.

    And¡­ I got to deal with Roseburg too.

    Annan squinted his eyes slightly.

    He thought that he still got to pretend to be angry at this time.

 Chapter 33: The Cunning Annan

    <h4>Chapter 33: The Cunning Annan</h4>

    The yers opened up the ¡°Forum¡± and saw a logo that slowly popped up.

    [Freezing Water Port Hall]

    After the loading had beenpleted and the cursive writing faded away, the yer was presented with a clean forum page.

    There were only two posts, both of which were posted by the forum¡¯s super administrator ¡°Annan.¡± They were also highlighted as follow:

    ¡°What you need to know about Mist Continent.¡±

    ¡°Freezing Water Port Hall Rules¡±

    i. Post regtions:

    1. The mute punishment is divided into three days, one week, and one month. There is no permanent mute.

    ii. yers cannot actively use the theme lock/delete function. If you want to use it, you need to @Annan

    ¡­

    Let¡¯s first look at the forum rules.

    As soon as the yers read it, they found nothing special to pay extra care to. Although this game looked like ck magic, the forum rules were not much different from other forums. It banned spamming, repeated posting, foulnguage, reposting, advertising, and others that vite localws and regtions.

    The only thing that needed special attention was that there was no permanent ban in the forum, but the corresponding most severe punishment was ¡°severance.¡±

    The so-called severance was to be deleted from the game ¡°Mist Continent¡± and be prohibited from logging in again.

    In other words, in the future, yers could warn neers like this, ¡°Another word and your ount are gone.¡±

    Another thing was for security reasons. yers were not rmended to promote a private social group or organize offline activities through the forum. Once found out, the yer¡¯s ount would be locked or deleted but would not be muted.

    The yers could not wait to open another post.

    Only in this post could they see Annan¡¯s user profile picture.

    It was a profile of Don Juan with his head down and concentrated on reading.

    ¡°It¡¯s Don Juan Geraint.¡±

    Lin Yiyi eximed and attempted to download the picture. Unfortunately, she failed to do so.

    She clicked her tongue before she continued to scroll down.

    i. Try to provide a short name that is easy to pronounce. When addressing and introducing names to each other, they will not be tranted into this world¡¯snguage but will only be addressed in transliteration.

    ii: Please treat this world as a real world. Don¡¯t try to develop or spread bugs of any kind.

    iii: ¡­

    This post was rtively briefpared to the other ones. It was mainly about what yers should and should not do in the game, but basically, there was not much helpful info.

    For example, ¡°This game uses the Unreal Engine with 99% physics rules applied,¡± ¡°There is an invisible barrier in the closed beta version, please do not try to leave the scope of the North Sea Territory,¡± ¡°The future version will be open to the entire world¡± and so on.

    The three points below were more critical.

    Firstly, the yers must be cautious in naming, profession change, and adding points in attributes. There were currently no items for rename or reset skillpoints.

    Lin Yiyi felt that it might be a bitte to mention this sentence here. After all, if yers wanted to see this forum, they must first create a character. That was to say, they already finalized their name and skillpoints attributing.

    Is this here to warn the subsequent yers?

    Lin Yiyi also saw the post mentioning that the forty of them were all first-batch test yers.

    Since this game implemented a dynamic mission distribution mechanism, the second-batch yers would have a different starting mission. By that time, the plot must have developed for a while. The mission strategy did not guarantee to work on theter mission too.

    Completing the mission itself would drastically change the character¡¯s plot and the world¡¯s plot. So, Annan made a dedicated warning to pay attention to the timeliness of the strategy.

    Secondly, the dungeon instance mechanism of this game contained elements of psychological horror. Excessive deaths in dungeon instances might cause irreparable consequences.

    Also, if the yer had heart disease, high blood pressure, epilepsy, neurasthenia, etc¡­

    ¡­It would still be fine.

    The yers could enjoy their hearts¡¯ content without worry.

    By the way, Annan discovered another thing while tinkering with the yers¡¯ attributes:

    He seemed to be able to clear the erosion rate for yers.

    He found the ¡°erosion rate reset¡± function in the administrator¡¯s system¡¯s back-end interface. Although the function was imposed with limitations, Annan could still reset the yer¡¯s erosion rate to zero with one click.

    It was a pity that Annan could not reset his erosion rate, at least temporarily.

    But even if Annan had the essibility to do it, it did not mean that he would do it.

    If the erosion rate clearing function were prepared firsthand, the yers would be more inattentive when tackling the dungeon instance. Clearing erosion rate would be a job without any return, distracting Annan¡¯s attention. If Annan did not deal with the matter in time, it would attract public hate too.

    In contrast, the reverse approach would avoid many problems.

    Annan intended to put the clear erosion rate feature in the prestige store that he had not activated yet. It would be ced on the shelf as a costly special service option. A lot of prestige would be needed to be exchanged for a ¡°purification ritual.¡±

    This would let yers get used to it from the very beginning that dungeon instance had always been a high-risk, high-return, and high-difficulty mechanism. Then, the yer would deem dungeon distance as something hardcore instead. So if someone were dissatisfied, other yers would shut him up.

    It¡¯s a profound knowledge to make yers feel superior without them knowing it.

    After mastering this knowledge, I can please or kill the yer without leaving a trace.

    In this way, if something went wrong when there was a yer whose erosion rate was too high, Annan could even provide him with credit service. He would pre-deduct the future affection rate and clean the erosion rate up first.

    In this way, the purified yer would be grateful to Annan.

    It was still the matter of Annan dealing with yers¡¯ erosion rate. He could purify them at any given time. But, he just took away the feature that was avable to everyone and sold them at a transparent price. As a result, it became an act of ¡°generosity¡± that people would be grateful for.

    The mind maniption technique was so subtle that it could be called a spell.

    In this post, the essential information was the content highlighted red for the yers to be aware of:

    ¡°Please work on your role-y as much as possible. Do what is in line with your identity. Do not try to provoke or attack any of the leaders of your own faction. Every leader of the same faction also has the right to ¡®dismiss¡¯ yers (see Freezing Water Port Chamber General Regtions). However, the leaders may not know that they have this ability.

    ¡°After the death of all ally leaders, this game will be shut down forever.¡±

    The only leader currently was Don Juan Geraint.

    Freezing Water Port was also the only faction that yers could choose.

    This meant that Don Juan Geraint was the yers¡¯ ¡°father,¡± so to speak. yers must do their best to ensure his survival.

    In fact, Annan crafted the ¡°faction leader¡± concept as a backup n.

    Only Annan knew that there was no ¡°faction leader¡± concept in the original system. This was a title he crafted out-

    -as a vest to protect himself.

    The Don Juan Geraint identity might notst long. Once Annan¡¯s identity was exposed, he would have to leave Freezing Water Port. Hence, he got to have some ways to manage the yers.

    He would need tobel the special effecting from the ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± identity.

    It was not that yers were required to obey the ordersing from ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± alone, but they were required to follow and protect these ¡°faction leaders.¡±

    Even if Annan changed his shoe one day, he could still manage the yers. He only needed to give his new identity the title of ¡°faction leader.¡± With that, he could directly inherit the works of ¡°Don Juan Geraint.¡±

    In other words, the yers were responsible for ying the game.

    Annan was responsible for ying these yers.

    This could probably be regarded as an asymmetric multiyer game [1].

    To ensure quietness, yers had posted and chatted in the forum. On the outside, they followed Annan and walked slowly towards the Freezing Water Port.

    Annan only left two or three militias to protect him. He dismissed the rest of the militias and assigned tasks to them.

    The militias had to move the seized ck Fire to the outside of the city ¨C Annan¡¯s ship¡¯s location. They first immersed the ck Fires in water and covered them with some leaves to prevent them from exploding under the sun.

    Then, Anna got someone to put out the fire.

    Although Annan suppressed the fire, his mana was also limited. Ordinary people would fulfill this task. There was no need for Annan to consume his mana to a dangerous value.

    Anyway, the parameter was far away from the woods. Annan had dedicated an area to iste the fire, so there was no need to worry about forest fires. But just in case, it was better to find someone to check it out and put out the mespletely.

    It did not hurt to be cautious.

    Anyway, he would need to contribute to this night shift.

    Simrly, Annan did not tell the militias that he could extinguish the mes. After the militias arrived, they found that the fire did not spread. Instead, they would thank Annan for resolving it before the situation got worse.

    After Annan was forced to finish this work, he felt delighted watching others running around to work overtime in the middle of the night with a panic expression.

    So long overtime works.

    ¡°I have to arrange a ce for you to stay.¡±

    Annan looked at the handsome men and beauties who were following him. He was in a good mood and secretly praised himself for setting up the ¡°beautify feature.¡±

    Seeing that the Freezing Water Port was approaching, Annan happily asked Lin Yiyi, who was closest to him, softly,

    ¡°Do you have special needs? Where do you want to live? I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±

    ¡°May I ask, Young Master Don Juan, do you live alone now?¡±

    Lin Yiyi was silent for a while and asked faintly.

    [1] A multiyer game with different factions having different control and resources. A good example will be ¡°Dead by Daylight,¡± where one side is the killer, and another side is the survivor.

 Chapter 34: Dont Give Up

    <h4>Chapter 34: Don''t Give Up</h4>

    Annan was rendered speechless.

    Annan blinked his eyes, not knowing how to reply for a moment.

    Are people from your world like this straightforward?

    Seeing Annan staring at herself nkly, Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart jumped slightly after staring back at those clear and transparent ice blue eyes.

    She tried her best to suppress the eagerness in her heart and said nonchntly, ¡°I just thought, young master, you might need a few personal guards. It just so happens that I¡¯m good at taking care of people.¡±

    What a lie.

    Lin Yiyi had never taken care of others in her 21 years of living. Among the living creatures she had taken care of, thergest animal was a rabbit.

    Annan, who had never chatted with women until now, was a little moved when he heard her words.

    Although for him at this age, these meager matters were unnecessary. But, it was always good to have someone to take care of his daily life.

    He could indeed recruit one or two yers who were pleasing to the eye and let them take care of his daily life. After all, Annan, as a Gold NPC, was a better prospect for experience points. At least he could grow his maid group not slower than the frontier elite adventure group, or even faster than them.

    If Annan wanted, he could quickly spawn a Level 10 duo-profession yer in a day.

    But, that would be meaningless.

    Annan thought for a moment, but it still felt inappropriate to him.

    It was not that the idea of ??hiring yers to be his own maids was inappropriate. But the fact that the yers could get such a benefit to be his maid without contributing anything was inappropriate.

    Indeed, he did not mean it wrongly.

    The maids should be paying a price instead rather than him.

    Annan was confident in his appearance. He was also well aware of his noble status. In this case, he was undoubtedly in the advantageous position.

    Therefore, he must be reserved.

    To create an image of ¡°being cold outside but warm inside, kind hearted, and must be strong because of pain and frustration,¡± Annan had to reluctantly refuse it.

    Judging from my worth, the maid job could be sold at a good price.

    Annan thought so calmly in his heart.

    He roughly estimated his mission value to see what price he could sell himself off at most while not irritating these yers and made their ¡°sense of gain¡± significantly higher than ¡°sense of giving.¡±

    As a game nner, he fully understood the importance to strike a bnce between the sense of giving and the sense of gaining. Of course, this was the critical issue that distinguished a game with mature and reliable nning with other games.

    If Annan could not think of a solution to this problem, he would either give out lesser benefits to the mission or filter out yers who could significantly bear more frustration than the others to undergo the mission. After all, the abundance of rewards could raise the yers¡¯ expectation and capability overwhelmingly, leading to diminishing happiness when gaining rewards, thereby reducing desire to perform missions.

    Indeed, the reward distribution technique was originally used to cheat the yers to top-up money into the game.

    This game did not provide top-up channels.

    Since there was no mary gain and no way to charge on yers¡¯ time, Annan only needed to think in the direction of ¡°how to improve yability and durability of the game.¡± For him, this had drastically reduced the workload.

    Firstly, he got to invent a stable currency.

    Even though there was no real-life money at stake, Annan could simply create a currency to charge the yers.

    Sure enough, it was the ¡°affection rate¡± he dedicated to the yers.

    As long as this affection rate could be used to buy essential items, unique items, multi-purpose items and cost-effective items, then the affection rate would be the currency token that yers gained through missions. Since the affection rate could not be traded, the currency was binding to each individual yer.

    Since Annan had the currency issue settled, he could proceed.

    In fact, all Annan¡¯s ns for yers were all centered around this ¡°currency.¡±

    Firstly, Anna had to make the yers think that the affection rate to him was useful. They could purchase items from Annan.

    Even Annan himself could be bought.

    Indeed, Annan was even thinking about how much money he shouldbel himself as amodity, and how much benefits could be harvested from these yers.

    En, at the very least, 1,000 affection rates can be exchanged for a maid job opportunity. Just in case, the prerequisite is being a female.

    If you want to be my maid, how can you not pay me?

    Since I am so adorable, of course you gotta pay me.

    Annan thought so confidently as though he was right all along, with a calm heart.

    ¡°I live with Senior Salvatore now.¡±

    Seeing that Jiu Er squeezed her face over with curiosity, Annan had to signal his horse to go slower. He lowered his head to exin to thedies in a low volume, ¡°This is inconvenient¡­¡±

    ¡°Senior?¡±

    Jiu Er made a soft and curious voice, ¡°Where is the senior? Twenty-four years old?¡±

    ¡°No, he should be in his 30s.¡±

    Annan pretended that he did not hear the reference she made [1]. He calmly exined, ¡°He is the previous mayor of Freezing Water Port, a wizard who is more powerful than me.¡±

    ¡°In other words, are those people nning to attack Freezing Water Port in front of Lord Salvatore?¡±

    Lin Yiyi asked instead.

    She shifted the previous topic wisely. It was just like after failing in her confession and found out that she did not have a ce in his heart, she would quickly divert the topic. It was the girls¡¯ general skill.

    She would choose to change the subject at this time, but not because she wanted to take her words back.

    She just noticed that Jiu Er, who was following behind previously, suddenly came over with a curious look.

    Lin Yiyi felt a warning sign, and signalled Annan to brush the topic over.

    Although she was only 21 years old this year, she felt she was the older sister in front of this young feudal lord who was only thirteen years old.

    Whether it was in terms of age or height, there was a gap.

    On the contrary, Jiu Er, who was too petite and even shorter than ¡°Don Juan Geraint,¡± was more like a peer of the same age. They were more likely to have amon topic together.

    Moreover, Jiu Er was not a real ¡°twelve or thirteen-year-old peer.¡±

    Jiu Er¡¯s age approached adulthood; she was also a streamer. Compared with other girls of this age, she was better at talking, chatting, attracting others¡¯ care and understanding.

    Among the forty yers in this first batch, there was littlepetition since there were not a lot ofdies around.

    Lin Yiyi was confident.

    Because she believed that other female yers must havee over for the feudal lord mission.

    Only she was different.

    She came here because of the young face! She was more for the appearance!

    She could even speak out her desires confidently. For her, that was enlightenment.

    Suddenly, Lin Yiyi had a bold idea.

    Speaking of which, is this game for all ages?

    Annan shuddered after sensing her undisguised gaze.

    Damn, are yers over that world so scary?

    He coughed slightly, and pretended to be unaware of it. He replied inly, ¡°Since we found out about ck Fire previously, Senior Salvatore is now doing research in the soundproof basement.

    ¡°He happened to be away in these few hours.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a coincidence.¡±

    Lin Yiyi nodded with a serious face, and echoed.

    In fact, she did not listen much to the conversation at all. Her mind was upied with the ice-blue eyes simr to a cat plushie.

    Annan could only cough lightly again, staring at the front and replied inly, ¡°Yes, so this is not a revenge, but a deliberate murder. They have already nted a conspiracy just to kill me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how I offended them. But since they want toe at me, I will face them.¡±

    Annan said coldly with grievance, but at the same time his expression was firm and his words were full of confidence. ¡°I will never give in here. No matter how dangerous it is, no one can stop me.¡±

    Although Annan had put up a lot of drama, he had never taken this enemy seriously.

    After all, Annan did not see a Transcended during this assassination that vited the noble rules.

    This had undoubtedly shown Annan about his enemy¡¯s inside information and true worth.

    If it weren¡¯t for the yer being present, he would not bother to utter a single word. He would sh the two people hiding to death directly. But after all, the yers were watching. He would need to show them some information about the plot from the dialogue like how a game usually did. So, it was a little troublesome.

    But, Annan was still grateful to the old viscount.

    Thanks to the viscount¡¯s actions, Annan smoothly made a good impression in front of the yers, establishing a positive image of an innocent suffering grievances. No matter what he did next, the yers would empathize with him.

    In theory, it was the same as Annan showing Salvatore that he was attacked. Putting oneself at the victim side would usually earn the sympathy of others. Moreover, Annan had potential, status, capability and most importantly a good look. He immediately gained public affection.

    After Annan returned, he would get prepared for the dungeon instance.

    He was curious whether this old and confused Roseburg¡¯s viscount would continue plotting against him. It was best for the viscount to take advantage of his absence andpletely anger the yers and the leaders in Freezing Water Port.

    In this way, he would lead the yers in his ¡°revenge¡± and fabricate it as a righteous act. He would even establish his prestige and the Freezing Water Port¡¯s leaders¡¯ liking, uniting all the forces at this ce.

    So, please don¡¯t give up, old man!

    Please! Please continue your foolishness!

    I¡¯m easy to kill. Send over another wave of enemies.

    I promise that I will not fight back this time!

    [1] A reference to an incident taking ce in real life where a senior male student rejected a 24 years old junior female student due to her being fat.

 Chapter 35: Can I Catch Up With My Other Plans?

    <h4>Chapter 35: Can I Catch Up With My Other ns?</h4>

    ¡°This is the best cksmith shop in town. If your weapons are damaged, remember toe here to maintain them.¡±

    ¡°You can buy breakfast from here tomorrow. The bakers heree from the royal capital and they are skilled.¡±

    ¡°This is the ce to buy clothes. It¡¯s snowing, and you should prepare winter clothes. If you don¡¯t like this style, there is another one on the street in front.¡±

    ¡°This is Rotten Fish Bar. It sells a bitter beer [1] called ¡®Danifuni.¡¯ It is said to be brewed from burnt wheat. It is a nutritious specialty of Freezing Water Port. You can try it, but don¡¯t drink too much.¡±

    ¡°This ce is¡­¡±

    Annan rode on the horse like a tour guide, introducing the various ¡°special buildings¡± of Freezing Water Port to the yers behind him. He was like an old man who lived in Freezing Water Port for a long time.

    But this was of course impossible. He had only been here in less than three days.

    This was because Annan knew yers wereing, so he asked Senior Salvatore beforehand.

    At this time, no yer dared to look at the forum.

    They concentrated their attention, looking around, trying to remember the route from the gate and the location of each important building.

    Annan also understood it very well. He knew exactly which buildings the yers cared about, so he got the specific details befitted for this situation. His introduction to the yers was always on point.

    yers were particrly concerned about ces to buy consumables, ces to buy and repair weapons and armors, ces to receive missions, where to find clues, and the ces they would stay.

    For the other ces, the yers neither cared nor needed urgently, so Annan did not dig up on it. It was better not to introduce those ces for the time being. It could serve as an easter egg waiting for yers to discover by themselves.

    When Annan set the yer permissions, he also learned the way yers enter this world waspletely different from him. Only their consciousness was sucked into this world. Their real body slept in another world.

    When they went offline, their bodies would lose consciousness and fall asleep.

    It was like a soul, traveling back and forth between two bodies.

    In order to prevent people from falling down suddenly while beating up a creep, and then continue to die infinitely after being respawned, Annan specifically set the permission to go offline only in ¡°safe areas where you can sleep peacefully.¡± To be more specific, the yers got to lie on a bed in a safe area to go offline.

    The material that yers consume when making characters came from Annan¡¯s side. That allowed Annan to adjust the physical pain the yers would receive.

    Considering that the yers lived in a peaceful world, Annan specially adjusted their pain sensation to one-third by default in order to prevent them from being afraid of fighting. Annan also activated ¡°fighting intuition¡± to make the yers¡¯ first fight not to seem too stupid.

    Under the premise that the attributespletely crush the opponent and the yers could not feel too much pain in addition to the fighting intuition of a veteran, plus their own understanding of the game¡­ If the yers failed the starting mission¡­

    Then, Annan would dismiss all of this group of wastrels directly and recruit other yers.

    For Annan, recruiting yers was not without a price. But the price was very low, so low that he had no scruples at all for the time being.

    In his system back-end interface, every time a yer was summoned or resurrected, there would be a value of ¡°consumed material¡± floating upwards. Summoning yers would consume more materials, while resurrection used little material. After all, the yers had not really died in a sense.

    When they died, their bodies would turn to ck ashes, copsing from within and disintegrate. Then, they would float to another safe ce to be reconstructed.

    But the problem was that this ¡°consumed material¡± seemed to have no upper limit.

    In Annan¡¯s system back-end interface, there was no ¡°remaining material¡± pointer at all.

    It seemed to have unlimited credit.

    Just like Cat Mario [2], after the life was reduced to a negative number, it could decrease indefinitely.

    When the yers were summoned, the ¡°consumed material¡± rose to 40. But after the yers entered this world, the bright red value was dropping constantly. It then recovered to 0 again within a few seconds.

    Every time the yer died, it would continuously jump to -1 and then immediately return to 0.

    This was also the reason why Annan immediately put restrictions on yers¡¯ resurrection.

    Although Annan had not figured out the mechanism and what the material it consumed, it was better to treat it cautiously.

    The cost of resurrection was indeed very low for Annan. The deaths of ten people at the same time could not drop even a whole number. But if there were more yers in the future with everyone not cherishing their lives, Annan would probably start to lose bnce by then.

    Considering the future, Annan immediately decided to let the yers develop the habit of cherishing their lives from the very beginning.

    The n came off daringly but cautious:

    Since if you are dead, I will suffer a loss.

    Then I just need to make you lose even more when you die, so that you won¡¯t make me lose.

    Annan¡¯s logic was clear and practical.

    After all, resurrection was a convenient privilege. If yers were afraid of death, it would be like a broken sword with no threat at all.

    yers¡¯ arrogance, persistence, and fearlessness were all based on the premise that they can be resurrected after death. So Annan just added a shackle to them to make them care more about their lives and not die at will without scruples, but did not prohibit this ¡°load game mechanism.¡±

    This will be enough.

    The adaptability of yers was high. In different games, they would have different levels of concentration and adopt different survival orbat strategies.

    If it did not work out, Anna could use the first mission to filter the yers.

    With Annan¡¯s simply thought, a new rule was added:

    In the future, all yers who could notplete the initial mission would be judged as unable to survive in this world and would be kicked out of the game directly.

    After all, the number of yers he could recruit now was limited. Although the yers had a considerable potential for growth, Annan understood his rtionship with the yers well:

    It was the yers begging Annan to let them in, not Annan begging them to y.

    Can I catch up with my other ns?!

    ¡°¡­This is the shrine of Trade Deity Silver Sire. If you have an injury, you cane here for treatment, but remember to bring money. Everyone is equal in front of silver coins.¡±

    Annan introduced to the yers thest building to pay attention to. He was slightly relieved, and said casually, ¡°Next is your residence.¡±

    ¡°Everyone is equal in front of the silver coins. That¡¯s a good saying. I wrote it down.¡±

    A gentle voice suddenly sounded from Annan¡¯s side.

    It was Louis Prince.

    Does this guy walk without a sound?

    Annan reacted quickly and nodded to the young priest who was too tall, and greeted respectfully, ¡°Silver Sire. I wish you well, Priest Louis. I didn¡¯t expect you to get up early.¡±

    Seeing Annan treating him so well, Louis was also a little surprised.

    After all, generally speaking, the church and the feudal lord were in apetitive rtionship restricting each other. Even the immediate Mayor Salvatore wanted to avoid trouble. He lived in the east of the city and the other lived in the west of the city.

    Annan naturally knew about this too. He did not waste his time studying the books.

    In Noah Kingdom, the king dedicated the feudal lord and the church would be in charge of the priest.

    Both parties need to collect taxes from the people. Their orders were authoritative; neither party could interfere with each other¡¯s policies. Both parties also had the power to supervise and report the other party. This made the royals and the churches of Silver Sire almost be enemies.

    The priest had the ability to heal the people, and would provide help with payment. Silver Sire was the one who advocated ¡°putting smile in business¡± the most among all upright deities. Among all the priests of upright deities, their attitude towards civilians could also be ranked in the top three, even possiblypete for the first ce.

    From the perspective of the people at the bottom, the church would undoubtedly be much closer to them. The business people were also close to the Silver Sire Church because the existence of the church would magnify the power of their wealth.

    In a few territories, the feudal lord¡¯s authority was almost emptied by the church. They could not pass down their orders. In some ces, they were embarrassed to the point where they could not even collect taxes. Therefore, many feudal lords regard the church as their primary enemy to fight against.

    Priest Louis quickly realized Annan¡¯s kindness, so he responded tenderly, ¡°Silver Sire, please bless our feudal lord good health.

    ¡°I sensed there was fighting, so I finally got up. It seems that the battle is over now.¡±

    ¡°Yes it is.¡±

    Annan nodded with his expression a little serious, ¡°Fortunately, my guards just rushed back. Otherwise, we will be in trouble.¡±

    ¡°They are indeed great guards.¡±

    Louis nced over. He replied admiringly with ttery.

    He looked at Annan¡¯s face and guessed, ¡°Is it still the one from Roseburg?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    Louis frowned slightly and nced at the guards, ¡°He is too overboard this time. Let¡¯s not dwell on this. I will go to you at dawn, and then we can talk in detail. I notice some among the feudal lord¡¯s guards are having some serious injuries. Do you need me to treat them?¡±

    He looked at Annan and smiled slightly, ¡°For your sake, you can get a 10% discount.¡±

    Annan smiled upon hearing this.

    In fact, it was not Annan who gave kindness to the church, but he had respect for Priest Louis himself.

    He learned from Senior Salvatore that Priest Louis came to such a remote town just to cleanse the curse here. It was undoubtedly dangerous work.

    On the basis ofpleting this job, he also worked hard to revitalize the economy of Freezing Water Port and make people¡¯s lives better.

    Unlike the townspeople¡¯s understanding, this was not something that Priest Louis had to do. Whether it was treating the townspeople or maintaining the economic system here, it was what the ¡°priest¡± wanted to do.

    He, as a substitute walker, was only required to purify the nightmare.

    Even if he did nothing but just stop the nightmare from spreading, the main church would not reprimand him but reward him.

    He would be distracted to do such ¡°superfluous things,¡± undoubtedly because of his own character and ethics.

    He did not even exin to the townsfolk. Instead, he naturally epted these jobs that did not belong to him.

    Just for this character, it was enough for Annan to greet him.

    It was always a good thing to have a kind Samaritan of good character as a colleague.

    Of course, it was convenient to instruct such a person.

    ¡°I have something to trouble you. Of course, I will pay. It will be a credit to Salvatore first.¡±

    Annan smiled and said, ¡°Tonight, I will scatter all the other entourages in your ce. My guards just came to Freezing Water Port; they have no ce to live. I have to rely on your help to arrange it.¡±

    ¡°It seems that I won¡¯t get to sleep tonight.¡±

    Priest Louis sighed, nodded with a chuckle. He then told the yers, ¡°Follow me. You have to be stuck with me for one night. I will definitely find you a ce to live before dinner tomorrow.¡±

    After finally losing this heavy baggage, Annan also breathed a sigh of relief.

    It was 2:00 a.m.. The yers were full of energy, but Annan was a little sleepy already.

    But at this time, Salvatore should have finished analyzing ck Fire, right?

    Annan sighed silently and hurried to Salvatore¡¯s house.

    Annan might not be able to sleep today.

 Chapter 36: Is There Anything You Can Bring Into The Game?

    <h4>Chapter 36: Is There Anything You Can Bring Into The Game?</h4>

    ¡°Woo¡­¡±

    When Lin Yiyi opened her eyes again, she found herself sore all over the ce, curled up in theputer chair.

    Only then did she realize that she seemed to be asleep in a chair. Her phone had already dropped out of her hand and fell to the ground.

    Was it a dream?

    No, that¡¯s not right¡­

    Lin Yiyi raised her head and looked at the time.

    Half past three in the morning-

    It happened to be the time she slept in the game.

    If it was a dream, that dream was too real.

    ¡°Hmm, wait¡­¡±

    Lin Yiyi reacted and turned on the phone.

    She quickly turned to the homepage with ¡°Mist Continent¡± and tapped on the app.

    But she failed to open up the app.

    After tapping the app, only a window popped up:

    The character¡¯s sleep time is less than eight hours. yers are asked to rest before entering the game.

    It isn¡¯t a dream!

    Lin Yiyi felt a burst of ecstasy bursting out of her heart!

    That was not a dream. She was selected and became the first batch of yers of this next-generation game!

    ¡°Why are you still ying Snowfield Ghost Cry 5? Can that be as fun as Mist Continent?¡±

    After the ecstasy, she felt a little gloomy in her heart.

    Damn, after ying Mist Continent, how will I enjoy ying other games?

    She still had to make a video. That was her career.

    If possible, Lin Yiyi certainly wanted to make a live stream on Mist Continent. But the main problem was that the great god who selected them was probably unwilling to reveal the game. It was a realistic problem.

    ording to Lin Yiyi¡¯s understanding, the first test phase of many masterpieces in the game industry was secretive. yers participating in the test had to sign a stringent confidentiality agreement, promising not to disclose the game¡¯s content before it was announced otherwise.

    Although they did not sign a confidentiality contract, the binding force of the alien technology itself was far more powerful than the contract.

    She was terrified of being ¡°exiled.¡±

    Lin Yiyi truly and deeply loved the game, loved the mysterious and magnificent world¡­

    ¡­and the pretty blue-eyed shota [1].

    Moreover, even if the great god who summoned them did not ban live streaming, she could not record with naked eyes.

    This was not a question of how to get the camera.

    Her body did not enter that world at all.

    Lin Yiyi clearly remembered that after using the [Charge] skill on her character, her legs had been sore and painful all the while. It did not get better until shey on the bed and chose to go offline.

    But when she just woke up, she felt that her body was the same as before she fell asleep. The only difference was that curling up in a chair for three hours gave her a minor backache.

    Unless the nner could provide them with a live streaming interface, there was no way to record video, let alone streaming to the audience.

    She slept for eight hours a day. These eight hours could synchronize the game with reality.

    So for the remaining 16 hours, she would be either busy with work or spend her time ying games. Maybe I should go for a game adventure?

    At least for Lin Yiyi, this was not a very difficult choice.

    Given her appearance and voice, it was too easy to be famous. It was precisely because of her love of games from the heart that she chose this line of work.

    Her initial thought was to prevent herself from ying games in the future due to work. That was why she chose the game industry as her career path.

    Now, since the game time conflicted with work time¡­

    ¡­naturally, she would go for games!

    She wanted to at least cool off for a while. After adventuring the unexplored part of the game until she had no regrets, then she would go back to make some game videos. She would slowly release the videos and dy the update schedule. As for live streams, she would turn off those events for now.

    Lin Yiyi was lucky now that she had just finished the ending of a series of games. This way, she could spare a lot of time to dy the schedule further.

    Looking at the ¡°Upload Complete¡± prompt on the screen, Lin Yiyi was lost in thought.

    She decisively changed the time for the regr release from tomorrow to three dayster.

    In terms of weekly schedule changes, she had dyed for ten days.

    ¡°If I can¡¯t produce a video in the end, I will go to Jiu Er for a talk episode.¡±

    Lin Yiyi made up her mind.

    Let¡¯s finish all this.

    ¡°It¡¯s half past three, eight hourster. Well, I still need to sleep for tonight.¡±

    Lin Yiyi said with a bitter face, ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can fall asleep at all¡­¡±

    How about?

    I will sleep during the day after finishing up the games.

    Since when I am here, my character over that world is sleeping. Does it mean that my original body is also sleeping when I am ying the game?

    If this is the case, not only did my time not decrease, but it extended eight hours longer!

    ¡°But, I got to verify it with experimentation.¡±

    After entering the game, she would have to find someone to observe whether her body stayed in ce and fell asleep or her body was sucked into the phone.

    The game is fun, but it¡¯s not good if I die suddenly while ying.

    Lin Yiyi lowered her head and scrolled through the phone. She finally found Jiu Er¡¯s WeChat ount and then started typing her message quickly.

    Before she could send the message, Jiu Er called over on a WeChat call.

    ¡°Really!¡±

    Lin Yiyi was overjoyed.

    Previously, there was nomunication at all between the two.

    This phone call showed that what happened was not a dream!

    She answered immediately, picked up the phone, and said directly, ¡°Jiu Er, are youing here, or do I drive there?¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    On the other end of the phone came Jiu Er¡¯s sharp and vignt voice, ¡°Sister Hyphen, I am a minor.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not hyphen; it¡¯s Yiyi.¡±

    Lin Yiyi habitually retorted and then subconsciously lowered her voice, ¡°We¡¯re going for an experiment about the game. You know. Let¡¯s meet again.

    ¡°Speaking of which, why do you want to call?¡±

    ¡°I want to ask you,¡± Jiu Er thought for a long time before speaking out softly, ¡°Do you think it is useful for us to learn cooking?¡±

    Lin Yiyi became speechless.

    Lin Yiyi was stupefied as she did not understand what Jiu Er meant. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Although she knew this streamer was known for a wonderful thought process, Lin Yiyi had thought that Jiu Er had pretended it for the entertainment of the show, especially she kept juking in the MOBA game while dealing damage.

    But she could not react to Jiu Er¡¯s wonky logic.

    ¡°I mean,¡± Jiu Er exined, ¡°Shall we bring something to the young master?¡±

    ¡°You mean that after you learn how to cook, you will bring your skill into the game topete for the maid position?¡±

    Lin Yiyi was alerted immediately. But, after thinking about it, she felt that this idea was great.

    The only question was: Could the Cooking Crash Course teach her something in two or three days?

    After Lin Yiyi raised this question, Jiu Er also seemed to feel that this n was not reliable.

    ¡°Since cooking is impossible¡­¡±

    Jiu Er muttered in a low and fluttering voice, ¡°Then, we can only prepare fried food.¡±

    Do you n to use fried food topete for the maid position?

    ¡°You go to bed first, Jiu Er. I think you are already sleepy and lost your mind.¡±

    Lin Yiyi replied decisively, ¡°Let¡¯s do this. I will send you the address. Are you on a summer vacation? Can you go out to stay at a friend¡¯s house?¡±

    After all, Jiu Er was not an adult. They said she was a rich youngdy. In Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes, she must be the kind having bodyguards around when traveling at night¡­

    ¡°If I can¡¯t get out, you shoulde to my house.¡±

    Jiu Er leaned close to the microphone and whispered, ¡°My house is massive.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    Lin Yiyi was silent for a while, then nodded, ¡°Then, I will pack up and go to your ce.¡±

    After all, Lin Yiyi was a single girl living alone at home. If she entered Mist Continent during the day and went into aa for one day, it would not be safe. It might be safer to live there with her fellowizen.

    Jiu Er answered, ¡°Then, I will go to Uncle Li and call the hospital.¡±

    ¡°Why call the hospital?¡±

    ¡°Buy some intravenous drips.¡±

    Jiu Er said, ¡°Infusion of saline or nutrient solution will do.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t. Let¡¯s eat normally.¡±

    Lin Yiyi was tortured by Jiu Er¡¯s strange and creepy logic. She replied decisively, ¡°I will supervise you then. Don¡¯t call the hospital. Please send the address. I will drive over when I have finished packing up.

    ¡°Then, I will prepare bath water for you first?¡±

    Jiu Er agreed with ¡°Uhm¡± before she whispered, ¡°But, I still feel like calling the hospital. What if you die suddenly at my house?¡±

    ¡°I beg you not to piss me off to death.¡±

    Lin Yiyi hung up the phone quickly.

    She felt that her blood pressure soared. She could die on the spot if she did not hang up the phone call.

    This person is a mess. The most outrageous thing is that she unts her wealth amidst her stupidity.

    How did Jiu Er¡¯s fans stand this creepy girl? Wouldn¡¯t they be pissed off? How could this girl be so popr?

    -Just because her face looks good?

    ¡°If this is the case, then I have to show my face the next time I record the video. Then, the audience would probably forgive my dy.¡±

    Lin Yiyi mumbled while packing up her clothes and daily necessities.

    On the other side of the world, Annan finally returned home.

    Not surprisingly, Salvatore had already figured out the source of the ck Fire.

 Chapter 37: Getting Prepared to Advance

    <h4>Chapter 37: Getting Prepared to Advance</h4>

    Annan boiled the water skillfully and poured herself a cup of tea.

    Then, he sat at the table and looked at Salvatore, who was slumped in his chair, ¡°What is the result of the analysis? Was it sessful?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I have seeded,¡± Salvatore yawned and repliedzily, ¡°It¡¯s almost dawn. Why haven¡¯t you slept yet?¡±

    ¡°I probably can¡¯t get to sleep today.¡±

    The young feudal lord sighed, ¡°Just when you were analyzing in the basement, we had another major incident.

    ¡°Just now, there were more than one hundred ¡®robbers¡¯ invading from the south of the city. They masked themselves as they brought weapons and brought more than fifty barrels of ck Fire, trying to sneak into the city.¡±

    Annan emphasized the word ¡°robber.¡±

    He believed that Salvatore would understand what he meant.

    ¡°What? More than fifty barrels?¡±

    Hearing this amount, even Salvatore was taken aback.

    He was surprised by the news. He even choked halfway in his yawn.

    Because he knew very well how much destruction this amount of ck Fire would bring.

    For example, to burn Don Juan¡¯s ship, only a total of ten barrels of ck Fire would be enough. Having an arrow wrapped with cotton cloth dip in ck Fire was enough to burn down a house. The impact could ignite the ck Fire easily.

    For the case of these fifty-plus barrels of ck Fire¡­

    The intruders only had to pile them around the house; Annan and Salvatore would be burned to death. Even the surrounding street would be burned down. After all, the relentless ck me could not be extinguished with mere water. It was impossible to iste the air from the fire too.

    Once the two wizards, Salvatore and Annan, died, it would be difficult for ordinary people to handle the dangerous me.

    ¡°Yes, fifty barrels. Fortunately, my guards happened to be returning to Freezing Water Port today and noticed the intruders during their journey. Bless Silver Sire. My luck is not bad.¡±

    Annan put down the teacup and slowly said, ¡°My loyal and brave guards found a way to mingle into the crowd and detonated some ck Fire. They stirred up chaos and burned most of those robbers. I saw the mes rise, so I brought the militias with me. The militias rushed over and killed the remaining robber.

    ¡°Now, there are more than twenty barrels of ck Fire left. I submerged them in ice water ording to the preservation method you mentioned before. I also covered the ck Fire barrels with leaves to prevent light from detonating them.¡±

    The reason Annan did not tell the truth here was also simple.

    Because the credibility of truth might be much lower than that of this lie.

    Could the forty young unranked swordsmen in their early twenties and thirties kill more than one hundred experienced private troops with no casualties? They even fought with the enemies around the ck Fire barrels, and yet none suffered a burn injury.

    If Annan told the truth, Salvatore would think Annan was hiding something.

    ¡°Fifty barrels of ck Fire¡­ They are too cruel.¡±

    Salvatore took a deep breath and clenched his fists in disbelief, ¡°Where does Alvin Barber get the confidence to do so? Is he not afraid that we might survive?¡±

    ¡°I am the ck Tower¡¯s sessor. You are the Old Crow¡¯s¡­ I mean, one of the only three sons of Count Geraint. No matter which of us survives, he will end up in a bad situation!¡±

    Just thinking about the possibility that after he came out of the basement and found himself in the raging mes that he could not escape and could only be burned to death, Salvatore was startled.

    ¡°I also thought about this.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, ¡°Moreover, the conflict between us is far less serious. This is equivalent to an argument at a banquet or a fight after drinking too much. It should not go to the point of going at each other¡¯s throats.

    ¡°So, I can only think of one possibility.¡±

    ¡°You mean, it wasn¡¯t Alvin Barber?¡± Salvatore reacted quickly.

    ¡°At least, he must have taken someone¡¯s orders or was instructed by others.¡±

    Annan replied affirmatively, ¡°The older a person is, the more worries he has, and the more he is afraid of death. If he is forty years younger, he might decide to kill in a fit of anger. It is even more impossible to send out one hundred people of suicide squad for such a trivial matter. It will greatly reduce his control over his private army.¡±

    ¡°Unless this is not a trivial matter.¡±

    Salvatore added to Annan¡¯s words, ¡°He didn¡¯t retaliate against you because of the previous incident. From the very beginning, he had nned to kill you or destroy Freezing Water Port.¡±

    Suddenly, Salvatore came to a realization. He could not help but admire the twelve years old feudal lord.

    At least when Salvatore was at Don Juan¡¯s age, he still innocently caught fish by the river. Nevermind reading other¡¯s minds andyout strategies, Salvatore was illiterate at that age.

    ¡°It seems like you found something in that ck Fire sample.¡±

    Overseeing Salvatore¡¯s expression, Annan raised his mouth and smiled like a sly young fox, ¡°Is it convenient for you to tell me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not something that needs to be kept secret.¡±

    Salvatore gave a slightly awkward cough, ¡°Actually, I am the creator of these ck Fires.¡±

    Looking at Annan¡¯s suspicious gaze, he immediately exined, ¡°I checked and found that they are my finished products at least five or six years ago. Although they are sold under the name of our teacher, I manufactured them during my internship, so the stability is so bad.¡±

    ¡°Well, I understand.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    It waspletely understandable that graduate students were asionally called upon by their teachers to do work.

    However, Salvatore¡¯s teacher¡­

    ¡°You mean, Teacher Benjamin?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Salvatore affirmed.

    His eyes also rose with anger, ¡°They nned to use the teacher¡¯s ck Fire to burn us to death. They used this method to shirk responsibility and put the fault under the teacher¡¯s name. They have not checked the imprints on these ck Fire. Otherwise, they will find out that the teacher did not make this ck Fire.¡±

    ¡°No, not necessarily. After all, if you kill me, the result will be the same.¡±

    Annan squinted his eyes slightly. ¡°However, this is a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Good thing?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, it is a good thing, senior. Since the opposing party nned a risky conspiracy, they also undoubtedly admitted that they do not have the power to go against us directly. Then, we can at least not worry about the Transcended Assassin.¡±

    The boy slowly said, ¡°In this case, it¡¯s about time for us to fight back.¡±

    ¡°How to fight back?¡±

    ¡°An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.¡±

    The corner of his mouth raised slightly. Annan waved his hand and cheered, ¡°I want to return those ck Fires to them. Let¡¯s put them in his territory, or even better in his house. Then, we go Boom!

    ¡°Although the old man did it under the other¡¯s threat, his original intention has nothing to do with me. Everyone knows that we are victims. We¡¯re the righteous authority with the name of revenge in our hands. No matter what we do, the nosy people can only reprimand us.¡±

    Annan said calmly, ¡°Our actions are undoubtedly justice, my friend. Justice means you can do as you please.

    Salvatore noticed that his eyes were as cold as ice without the slightest fluctuation when Annan said this. It was as if Annan did not care about human life at all.

    Although Salvatore also fully supported revenge, he would feel something for saying it out. Gloomy or excitement; at least it would show.

    But, Annan did not have such emotional fluctuations. His tone was so t as if apathy when he said his n.

    Salvatore could not even notice the happiness of revenge or the hatred and anger from suffering the murder attempt.

    Salvatore could not help but shudder.

    He¡¯s like the living manifestation of the frigid winter, an actual Chilly Austerian.

    Only those who believed in the Cold-Blooded Lady would be born with such cold eyes.

    Salvatore¡¯s heart shuddered slightly.

    All the supernatural power in this world came from the curse with no exception.

    Spells were naturally not beyond this category.

    Once the wizards¡¯ mana was out of bnce, they would lose control and suffer the bacsh of the curse that he held.

    For example, part or all of the Alteration wizard¡¯s body might be transformed into stone or gold. Prophet wizard might see arge number of false and chaotic futures. They could not tell whether he was in a dream or reality. Soul Snatch wizard¡¯s soul might be torn apart by the entwined spirit beside him or turned into a half-human and half-spirit twisted monster.

    Even if the mana were not imbnced, if they continue to vite the curse binding of their school, they would still suffer a bacsh.

    The curse of Energy Falteration School was the gradual loss of feelings.

    If the passionate wizard learned and engraved the spells of Energy Falteration School, he might even develop schizophrenia. Every time he cast a spell, he would feel an inevitable part of his feelings frozen.

    The feeling of valuing, despising, resenting, and cold-blooded would make people wonder whether the decisions they had made were based on their hearts. Some might even gradually go crazy because of it.

    On the contrary, indifferent people were most suitable for in-depth study of the spells of Energy Falteration School.

    Chilly Austere Dukedom had a high-ranking advanced wizard profession called ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand,¡± which required Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke to preside over the advancement personally. The conditions and curses were secret. Those advanced were responsible for the internal surveince and interrogation of Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    But Salvatore still knew the ability of Winter¡¯s Hand:

    In the legend, the Falteration wizard hadpletely frozen the inner feelings, bing the unfeeling watcher.

    The pure ck ice condensed from the bottom of their hearts was enough to freeze the enemy¡¯s concept of time. The moment they touched it, it would render someone defenseless. It could ever sever a specific memory of others or a certain feeling in their hearts, essentially turning enemies into allies. They could make other spies forget their mission and concentrate on serving Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    Perhaps Don Juan is not suitable to learn under me.

    The most suitable ce for Don Juan to stay was the Eternal Winter Country in the north. Only there could he realize what the real cold was and what was ruthless in various senses.

    The Noah Kingdom was still too warm.

    No, not only is it too warm, but the central kingdom is turning into a stove recently. The fire is burning towards His Majesty.

    The whole kingdom was hot everywhere. The Noah Kingdom was going to be a mess.

    But that was still alright.

    At least people with feelings were much easier to get along with than monsters without feelings.

    Salvatore sighed and said a little more tenderly, ¡°You should sleep first. I will take those ck Fires to recycle them and store them in the basement. After you get up tomorrow, I will tell you some precautions.

    ¡°Then, you can get prepared to advance.¡±

 Chapter 38: Advancement Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 38: Advancement Ritual</h4>

    Annan had always been very strict with himself.

    He would fall asleep immediately when he needed to; he would not dawdle in bed when it was time to get up; he would not go for the next bite after feeling full. He had a bnced diet every day. They said that ying with the phone on the bed was bad. Thus, Annan would not do so. Of course, he would avoid having meals within the 3 hours before bedtime; this applied simrly to ying games.

    After all, he was not the product manager like his neighbor next door. No matter how serious he treated his work, he would not die of exhaustion.

    He could finish all his tasks before going off work because he never cked during working hours. Hence, there was no need to stay upte to work overtime. It was a good habit he developed when he was still a student.

    Moreover, Annan never epted any extra tasks outside of his scope. All the workload he undertook was just to the extent that he couldplete it when he gave in his 100%.

    He was like a perfect and rational machine. He did his work urately, elegantly, and splendidly. His boss praised him as the top employee, and doctors acknowledged that he was healthy.

    His self-control was why he could maintain his reasoning throughmon sense even after losing half of his feelings.

    After he notified Priest Louis and Salvatore of the critical news, he was already at the limit of what he could do.

    The rest was not something he could influence by doing well. There was no point thinking about it, so he left Louis and Salvatore, who would be staying upte to work overtime. He fell asleep quickly.

    It was the familiar atmosphere of having colleagues staying upte and working overtime while Annan got to sleep in bed early after finishing their work. This gave Annan a sweet dream and refreshed after getting up.

    When he woke up again, the yers had already logged in one after another.

    Obviously, there should be quite a number of yers who did not sleep at all but were stuck online for eight hours.

    Because Annan did not seem to be awake, they did not bother Annan rudely, nor did they rush to find people to talk to and look for clues to the mission. They went to find some breakfast while chatting in the forums. Some formed a group to stroll around the city and enjoyed the scenery of this new world.

    Annan was delighted.

    This showed that this group of yers was quite mature.

    Having an awareness of the importance of mapping out the ce and preparing before any mission, the yers were not some random brats.

    The yers¡¯ actions moved Annan. He set up a new mission for them:

    [The old viscount from Roseburg wants the life of Don Juan Geraint. Simrly, he wants your life too.]

    [Behind him is indeed a force from the royal capital. He also has other forces secretly supporting him, but so what? In any case, you don¡¯t want to give up just yet. Your adventure has just begun.]

    [For this, Don Juan Geraint is ready for war.]

    [As Don Juan said, ¡®this is not revenge, but a murder attempt.¡¯ You have sessfully defeated an evil murder conspiracy, and now, it¡¯s time for your revenge.]

    [There¡¯s no need to hold back and spare no mercy. Give all you got and do whatever it takes.]

    [Just because you¡¯re facing the evil, you are righteous.]

    [Obtained the main mission: The Disaster of Roseburg/Defend Freezing Water Port]

    [Main mission: The Disaster of Roseburg (0/20)]

    [Mission requirements: Infiltrate Roseburg territory by any means and sessfully blend in that ce (0/1), creating chaos at the right time, assisting Don Juan Geraint¡¯s n (0/1)]

    [Special requirement (+10~100 evaluation ratings): Depends on contribution.]

    [Special requirement: Cannot bepleted at the same time as ¡°Guarding Freezing Water Port¡±]

    [Main mission: Defend Freezing Water Port (0/20)]

    [Mission requirement: Before the n is sessful, assist militia to take security measures to ensure that Freezing Water Port is not attacked (0/1). Ensure the survival of ¡°Priest Louis¡±, ¡°Salvatore cktower¡± and ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± 0/3)]

    [Special requirement (+10~100evaluation ratings): Depends on contribution.]

    [Special requirement: Cannot bepleted at the same time as ¡°Roseburg Disaster.¡±]

    After suddenly receiving the main mission, the yers immediately discussed it in the forum.

    They generally understood that Don Juan Geraint should have woken up. After he discussed with the other two essential NPCs, the group was determined to retaliate against Roseburg.

    This is wonderful.

    The yers feel this from the bottom of their hearts.

    After all, the entire Freezing Water Port belonged to a friendly unit.

    After the exciting but not a full-hearted battle, the yers fell into a dilemma where there were no creeps to y with, no dungeon instance to tackle, and only some simple missions that could be done in daily life.

    Although the world itself surprised them enough and was satisfied enough, they felt something was missing.

    At this moment, it did not feel empty anymore.

    The main mission had finally advanced to the point where they could battle with creeps.

    In the yers¡¯ minds, they were eager to visit Roseburg. Not only was it possible to wfully kill creeps¡± there, but they did not have to worry about reducing Don Juan¡¯s affection rate.

    It was even more so because that ce was a new map. Maybe there would be some items that could not be found in the Freezing Water Port and even new missions.

    Annan also knew the yers¡¯ thought processes. What he predicted was a fact too.

    After all, Roseburg was closer to the ind than Freezing Water Port. When the Freezing Water Port belonged to Chilly Austere Dukedom, it used to be the border fortress of Noah Kingdom. The traffic with the maind was much denser than the Freezing Water Port. The area was indeed not asrge as Freezing Water Port, but the number of residents had more than doubled.

    In theory, Don Juan was the feudal lord of the entire North Sea Territory, and Roseburg Viscount was the vassal supposedly guarding him. But after all, Don Juan was only the third son of the Gerant family, having no authority like his father or grandfather.

    As for how the situation developed, Freezing Water Port was still the most crucial city in the North Sea Territory. After all, it was the onlyrge port in the North Sea Territory. But after the ban on cross-border trade with Chilly Austere Dukedom, the most prosperous ce got to be Roseburg.

    But, Annan had already guessed what the yers thought.

    So, he directly set the two missions to the upper limit of twenty people. In other words, only half of the yers could go to Roseburg so that he could prevent the home base from being assaulted.

    A tactician surnamed Sun once said that all tactics revolved around home base [1].

    Annan was worried. After she sent forty spies in, the opposing side had the same idea as him.

    After finishing up the mission setting, the yers quickly found the ten people with the strongest head-onbat power in thest battle through discussion and elections. Then, they picked the ten streamers who had the most experience, most evil ns, and the natural ability to stir up troubles. They were chosen for this difficult lurking mission in addition to buying items on behalf of the yers in this given opportunity.

    The three people whopleted the mission perfectly beforehand joined the infiltration team. On the contrary, Jiu Er chose to defend the home base.

    After the yers assigned the mission among themselves, Annan went to the Silver Sire Church with Salvatore.

    ¡°Just in case.¡±

    In this regard, Salvatore exined, ¡°In advancement ritual, you cannot be interrupted. No one dares to attack the church. After all, the power of Silver Sire Church¡­ In short, you will be safer to stay here.¡±

    ¡°You will handle the assaultsing for me?¡±

    Annan raised an eyebrow and asked back.

    Salvatore put on a serious face, ¡°Because there may be spies or assassinsing in. They should be by my side. Otherwise, they can¡¯t be sure that I was in the basement at that time. After all, if I happened to be free, these ck Fires won¡¯t get to be detonated at all. Before they detonate, they are just spell-casting materials for me.

    ¡°If you are worried about me, finish the advancement as soon as possible ande out. Having one more Transcended will make the Freezing Water Port a much safer ce.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    Annan nodded seriously.

    Afterward, he stood on the magic circle that was drawn in advance for the ritual.

    The magic circle was made up of red gem fragments. It was notpleted yet.

    Under Priest Louis¡¯s gaze, Salvatore chanted Alteration School¡¯s spell for the first time in front of Annan:

    ¡°The partridge in the east, the crane in the west, the sparrowhawk in the south, and the owl in the north. ck represented iron, albino represented fire, yellow represented gems, and red represented blood-¡°

    The gem fragments on the magic circle gradually melted and separated in the magic circle. The flimsy magic circle turned three-dimensional; Three ringsposed of ck, yellow, and white began to rotate slowly and quietly around Annan.

    At this moment, Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Great, this can guarantee your safety. I can wake you up at any time. Now, get ready to enter the nightmare.¡±

    With that, he handed a note to Annan, ¡°Just read the name on it.¡±

    Annan took the note and said softly,

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡­ am listening.¡±

    A low voice suddenly echoed in Annan¡¯s heart.

    At the next moment, a line of data stream suddenly appeared before his eyes:

    [Detected Nightmare Fragments withoutplete purification.]

    [Rank requirement: Below Gold Rank]

    [Profession requirement: None]

    [Special requirement: None]

    [The requirements are met. Falling into a nightmare after ten seconds. Ten, nine¡­]

    [1] A starcraft reference. It¡¯s a strategy to go straight on enemy buildings while ignoring the armies.

 Chapter 39: Nightmare: Gallery

    <h4>Chapter 39: Nightmare: Gallery</h4>

    [Falling in a nightmare. A dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has a special nature: Reenactment]

    [Dungeon instance is being reconstructed.]

    [The difficulty of dungeon instance is distorted. The number of entries is unlimited]

    [The current purification progress is 38/350]

    [The team¡¯s current total erosion rate is 8%. Dungeon instance difficulty increased by 8%. Nightmare mutation probability increased by 8%]

    [This dungeon instance has 6 checkpoints. The erosion rate increases by 2% per death]

    [This dungeon instance does not provide plot introduction, but there are decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance rewards: The first two floors are for Bronze Rank and below (including Bronze Rank). You get to increase a profession by 1 to 2 levels at will; thest four floors are for Silver Rank and below (including Bronze Rank). You get to increase a profession by 1 to 2 levels at will.]

    [Dungeon instance decryption reward: Unknown]

    [Loadingplete.]

    The world in front of Annan was pitch ck, and the data stream flowed down quickly.

    At this moment, he suddenly felt a strong feeling of vomiting in his stomach. This did not seem to be an illusion. For Annan, at least, he rarely felt an illusion.

    After the data flow faded awaypletely, a misty and illusory whisper suddenly sounded in his ear:

    ¡°Do not look back¡­¡±

    It was the voice of an old man, ¡°Never look back¡­¡±

    The voice came from behind Annan, old and weak, but extremely clear.

    It was as if he was tightly behind him, whispering into his ear.

    Annan opened his panel with a thought before opening his eyes.

    In the dungeon instance, Annan could only see health and erosion rate, but this was enough.

    When Annan entered this dungeon, he was a little uneasy when he heard the team¡¯s total erosion rate.

    This is a solo dungeon. Could it be¡­?

    After Annan opened the panel, two rows of numbers were disyed in front of him:

    Health: 56%

    Erosion rate: 8%

    Sure enough, he has died twice unknowingly.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t have any memory of it.¡±

    Annan frowned slightly.

    It¡¯s a bit troublesome. I cannot inherit memory after death. This means that the same mistakes can be reenacted.

    If it were another person, they could be in a panic about this death cycle that they could never escape.

    But, although Annan found it a little troublesome, there was no fear in her heart.

    As of why¡­

    Annan had great self-awareness. To describe it with a strange metaphor. He was like a spectator of himself.

    His perception of himself was like the audience¡¯s perception of a certain character in a drama, movie, or animation. Because he was clear about everything that happened in the past, he could be impartial of it. With that, he could figure out what led to his feelings and what influenced his decision.

    Even if he could not inherit memory. But as long as ¡°Annan¡± was still taking action in the first two lives, then he had the confidence to decipher the message he left for himself.

    Annan opened his eyes.

    What appeared before his eyes was a long gallery with brilliant lights. The corridor was wide enough to amodate ten people walking side by side, without any decoration on either side.

    There was a crystal clear chandelier on the ceiling. The burning candle on the chandelier illuminated the entire corridor. Only at the end of the corridor, the opened door was dim.

    He looked down at himself, unable to determine his identity from the appearance of his clothes. He roughly guessed that this body was a male in his thirties. He had clean hands and no calluses, simple and clean clothes, but the material was quitefortable. He should be at least free of financial pressure.

    ¡°Gallery¡­ Am ¡®I¡¯ a painter?¡±

    Annan spected.

    There was no hint and no plot.

    ¡°Let me think¡­¡±

    He muttered in a low voice.

    Annan noticed that his abdomen was dripping out blood.

    Judging from the pain, he should have been stabbed with a dagger not long ago. Judging from the position, the possibility of internal organ damage was not ruled out.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m hurt. I¡¯m bleeding all over the floor.¡±

    He said calmly and expressionlessly.

    When he looked down and assessed his injuries, he identally discovered by observing his shadow that the fire in this room was unusually stable.

    The candle did not jitter, hinting that there was no airflow. It did not give off a restless feeling, supposedly from an unstable light source.

    Annan squinted his eyes slightly, and walked inside without any rush.

    He recalled the strategy Priest Louis had given him.

    Just in case, Priest Louis wrote a lot of notes. But, Annan could basically summarize them in three sentences:

    First, don¡¯t look at any painting intently, but don¡¯t close your eyes.

    Second, go to the side with painting in the encounter of branching off paths.

    Third, no matter what happens, don¡¯t look back.

    ording to Priest Louis, Annan should be able to leave safely as long as he strictly abode the above strategy.

    Then, here came the problem.

    Why would Annan die here twice?

    ¡°Judging from my habit, in the first life at the dungeon instance¡­¡±

    Annan muttered, ¡°I will definitely follow the strategy.¡±

    He knew in advance that death in this dungeon instance would cause loss of memory, so all his actions during the previous life must be ¡°standard behaviors¡± that would provide reference forter self.

    The question was ¨C what did he do in his second life?

    When did he die both times?

    ¡°This is interesting.¡±

    Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly.

    When the crisis came, he clearly felt the joy and excitement from depth of his heart.

    He did not look at any of the paintings, just walked forward slowly.

    It was not that he did not want to walk faster, but because the wound in his abdomen had been holding him back. When Annan wanted to walk fast, his health would suddenly decline.

    ¡°Is the movement speed limited?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    If he were to design this level¡­

    He would definitely arrange a chase, which would force the yer character to speed up the movement. Suppress the yer by quickly dropping the health points and the crisis behind him.

    He narrowed his eyes slightly and walked to the end of the corridor.

    Annan controlled the range of his steps, using his steps instead of his eyes to measure the distance.

    ¡°Exactly one hundred meters.¡±

    After pushing open the door at the end of the corridor, he found an L-shaped corner in front of him. At the end of the corner, the path led to turning right.

    This short corner was dark with no lighting. It was narrow, with a width of less than three meters and a short distance.

    But, there was a misty light at the end of the corner, as if attracting Annan to pass through here quickly.

    Everything was dim here, Annan could only be certain that there were still many picture frames hanging on both sides. Almost every painting was a portrait.

    He nced around. He was sure that the people on these frames were watching him.

    ¡°This time, it is twenty meters.¡±

    He read in a low voice.

    When Annan walked through the first corner, she still did not find anything special. On the other side of the corner, there was a narrow space less than ten meters. It had a disy cab for collectibles on the left and a hanger on the right.

    But, there was nothing in the disy cab or on the clothes rack. Everything was empty, like being looted by the yer.

    There was a door at the end of this narrow space. The maroon door looked a little shabby, but there was nothing special other than that.

    Annan smiled and opened the door calmly.

    Then, he saw the familiar, long and brightly-lit gallery.

    As if he was back to square one.

    ¡°Ha! Hahahaha!¡°

    After watching this weird and horrifying scene, Annan could not help butugh.

    After he finishedughing, he walked into the gallery with a smile and closed the door behind him.

    ¡°PT. I know this well.¡±

    Annan murmured.

    The corners of his mouth raised strangely.

 Chapter 40: Second Loop

    <h4>Chapter 40: Second Loop</h4>

    Annan felt no fear at all.

    So he did not hesitate and just kept going.

    But this time, when he was just halfway there, the chandelier directly above him suddenly shook violently.

    It was like being blown by the wind.

    The chandelier shook back and forth, squeaking, making a shrill, chilly noise.

    Annan paused slightly before moving on.

    Five steps, six steps¡­seven steps!

    As he took the seventh step, Annan heard a clear sound of the chain breaking.

    Amidst the irritating noise of the chain, the chandelier behind him suddenly fell, falling to the ground and smashing to pieces!

    Annan felt a hurricane hit behind him, like a wire, or something else, hitting his back.

    He suddenly felt an extreme paining from behind. He knew that he must be bleeding without touching it with his hands.

    But he still did not look back.

    He stood in ce, waited for a while without expression. Then, he continued to move forward until he left the gallery.

    If this time Annan looked back or looked around, those portraits staring at him from all directions were no longer the same face as when he first passed the gallery.

    They were men and women of different ages.

    But, they all became identical, expressionless faces.

    ck hair and blue eyes.

    It was not the face of his body.

    It was the face that belonged to Annan outside of the dungeon instance!

    Under the falling chandelier, it squashed a corpse with bruises.

    The corpse was dressed in gorgeous clothes that only nobles had. The back of the head, neck, shoulders, and waist were all pierced by protrusions on the chandelier. Ity silent and twisted under the chandelier.

    It was like being killed by a falling chandelier.

    ¡ªWhile the corpse¡¯s face was Annan!

    Watching Annan walking forward and never looked back, the corpse on the ground suddenly raised its head and looked at Annan with a bit of disappointment.

    Then, he turned silent and turned into a pool of ck water together with the chandelier on his back.

    Annan came to the L-shaped corridor for the second time. The difference between this time and the first time was that it is pretty bright this time. mes were quietly burning on thempstands on both sides. The portraits smiled gently, with all gazing in front.

    ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡±

    Suddenly, Annan heard a soft femaleugh.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    He asked casually and had no intention of getting a response, so he moved on.

    He walked two steps forward. He then faintly heard a faint sound of a hammer hitting on a nail. The further he moved forward, the clearer the voice, the closer it was to him!

    It was like someone leaning behind Annan and hitting a nail with a hammer on his head!

    Suddenly, the wall next to him burst open.

    The huge hammer smashed the wall directly!

    Annan rushed forward without hesitation. While avoiding the blow, he ran forward quickly.

    There was a sharp pain in his abdomen with blood gurgled out. But, Annan did not hesitate because of the sound of hasty footsteps behind him.

    He ran forward quickly with his health dropping at speed visible to the naked eye, but he still did not stop.

    For the first run, he walked through a corridor less than thirty meters long. At this moment, he had run fifty to sixty steps.

    The sound of footsteps behind him stopped abruptly when he turned the corner.

    The light in front of him became stable again.

    In the narrow room, there was almost no difference from the first time, except that a bloody maroon trench coat was hung on the coat rack. In the collection cab on the left, there was one additional¡­ tomato.

    Annan froze for a moment.

    He thought for a moment and wanted to take the tomato. He stretched out his hand, only to find that the disy cab looked like an invisible ss wall. Although he could not see anything, something blocked his outstretched hand.

    Annan did not hesitate and punched it. He first hit the transparent wall, then the disy cab. Annan¡¯s finger hurt throughout the process, but his effort came to no avail.

    The tomato seemed to be mocking him, motionless, without even swaying a bit.

    ¡°[Cannot open]. I see.¡±

    Annan murmured, nced at the bloody trench coat, and put it on calmly.

    His brain was thinking fast-

    Most people were trapped in this nightmare because they could not be sure of their previous decisions. So they would hesitate repeatedly and could not make up their minds.

    But, Annan was different. Before he entered the dungeon instance, he had already set a strategy for himself:

    He knew he would inevitably follow the strategy strictly in the first life. Except for walking forward, he would not investigate anything else and would not talk to anyone; he would not take a look at any superfluous things.

    In this way, when he entered the second life, Annan knew that he would definitely die if he did not investigate anything.

    So, Annan would investigate all the things he encountered under the deductioning from the first life. If he failed, it meant that even if he examined all the items, he could die as well.

    In other words, he used the first two lifes to gather information.

    Annan started again with the third life, this time.

    This meant that whether he made investigations on everything or ignored everything, he would die.

    The purification progress of the dungeon instance also revealed some information.

    38/350¡£

    38/350.

    This meant that Priest Louis had sessfully purified the nightmare thirty-eight times. Although it might not be a perfect clear, he had cleared it at least thirty-eight times. Hence, it should not be too difficult.

    In this nightmare, there would be no memories of failure.

    In other words, those strategies, which Priest Louis had summarized, were the ¡°simrities¡± in his 38 sesses.

    Priest Louis specifically mentioned that every time he tackled a nightmare, the scene he encountered would be slightly different. But, he thought that as long as he followed these simrities and acted ordingly, he would be able to clear the level. So, he handed over these strategies to Annan in confidence.

    So, what do these strategies and taboos have inmon?

    ¡°It¡¯s [Look].¡±

    Whether it was ¡°assessing¡± portraits, looking for corridors with paintings (all portraits), or looking back, all had a direct connection with looking.

    After summarizing the gains from first and second life¡­

    Annan was still fearless in the third life.

    Annan knew that ignoring everything and investigating everything would not help him clear this dungeon instance. This meant that Priest Louis¡¯s strategy was at least not entirely suitable for him.

    Priest Louis must have a specific habit, which was different from Annan. Annan had no idea about it. He did not write down his habit in the strategy.

    Annan had to go on his own.

    Annan touched the material of the trench coat.

    Not surprisingly, an information box appeared in front of it:

    [Blood-stained trench coat.]

    [Type: Material (Normal)]

    [Description: An old blood-stained clothes with a tear in the abdomen.]

    [Description: Observing the bloodstains, you realize that the owner of the clothes had a stab in the abdomen.]

    ¡°Stab in the abdomen?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    He no longer hesitated and put on the clothes.

    He gestured and found that the wound on his abdomen matched.

    ¡°This is indeed ¡®my¡¯ clothes.¡±

    Annan concluded.

    He no longer hesitated and continued to move forward.

    He opened the door again.

    He was back in the gallery again.

    But the difference this time was that the gallery waspletely dark and empty.

    Suddenly, a ray of lightning shed outside the window.

    Annan saw countless ropes hanging in the gallery during that sh of light, crookedly tied to picture frames.

    The next moment, a st of thunder sounded!

    The strong wind blew the window open instantly. The cold and humid air immediately plunged into Annan¡¯s chest. Only then did he hear the sound of heavy rain outside the window.

    Then, another lightning came again.

    Before the sound of thunder¡­

    Annan noticed that there were no picture frames tied under the hanging ropes¡ª

    It was a bunch of corpses hanging from the beams of the house!

    Their heads were drooping; they wore luxurious and blood-soaked clothes. They had leather boots on them with their eyes turbid like rotten fish. Their faces were swollen, and their bodies swayed along with the wind.

    Annan vaguely saw all the corpses had the corners of their mouth raised slightly in unison just before the light disappeared.

    There was no doubt.

    ¡ªThese were all Annan¡¯s corpses!

 Chapter 41: Gallery: Elle Morrison

    <h4>Chapter 41: Gallery: Elle Morrison</h4>

    Seeing about twenty or so of himself hanging on the ceiling, Annan was expressionless.

    He even wanted tough a little.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    Annan was disappointed.

    It was not that he was brave, nor was it that he had no fear.

    From an objective point of view, Annan knew what was scary. In principle, what Annan entered was someone else¡¯s nightmare. In other words, in the dungeon instance, he was ying the man who was suspected of being a painter and stabbed by someone.

    But these hanging corpses had the face of Annan outside the dungeon instance.

    For indigenous NPCs, this trick might send chills down their spines, creating a sense of confusion about whether they were in a nightmare or their real self. But it made no sense to the yer.

    It was even humorous.

    For the yers and Annan, their bodies outside the dungeon instance were not their bodies.

    If the bodies hanging atop were the Annan before the soul crossing or the yers¡¯ original body, they might get scared into cardiac arrest.

    The yers, who had slow reactions and low awareness, could get surprised when they first saw the bodies. However, they might not get why it was supposed to be scary. They would resort to asking the others to help exin after exiting the dungeon instance.

    It was pretty humorous that people needed an exnation to understand where the horror part came from.

    Before Annan could see clearly, another lightning bolt fell outside the window.

    Then, there was a sh of light. Annan saw that the corpses had turned back into portraits in chains as if what he saw previously was just an illusion.

    Annan waited for a while, after which no lightning shed.

    So he asked sincerely and politely, ¡°Anything else?

    ¡°If no, I¡¯m leaving?¡±

    Watched by more than twenty dangling portraits, Annan passed the gallery briskly.

    The L-shaped corridor had reverted to the dim atmosphere, the same as before.

    The only difference was that there was a gap in the wall. It was the ce where a hammer suddenly appeared before smashing the wall open.

    Although the gap was notrge, it was enough to allow one person to pass.

    After Annan walked over, he nced inside.

    What surprised him was that there was a narrow and cramped passage. It only allowed one person to pass. Having two people walking side by side would be too crowded.

    At the end of the narrow passage, there was a wooden door. It was the same as the door he saw in thest room during the previous two loops.

    [Go to the side with painting in the encounter of branching off paths.]

    ¡°Is this the supposed road fork?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    He looked to the left. There was a dim yellow light at the end, almost the same as before.

    The only difference was that there were no strange portraits on both sides of the L-shaped cloister.

    At the end of that narrow passage, there was only one painting. On the left side of the door leading to the next loop, there was still a frame that Annan couldn¡¯t discern for the time being.

    I should probably go this way.

    Annan thought, trying to squeeze in through the gap.

    He heard ¡°himself¡± gasped in pain with his breathing speed up. The wounds in the abdomen seemed to be torn as a result.

    His body seemed to be out of control.

    In other words, it was as if he had entered a cutscene with his body moved on its own.

    Did I clear it?

    Or is this just the beginning?

    Although he was stabbed in her abdomen, Annan had never yelled out because of the pain, let alone made such a humiliating sound. Previously, Annan walked at the fastest speed without worsening the wound.

    Annan operated like a machine, precise and elegant.

    But ¡®his¡¯ pace now was getting slower and slower. There were some meaningless movements due to pain and even staggered a little. This would undoubtedly worsen the wound.

    ¡°Buckel¡­please¡­¡± Annan¡¯s body muttered hoarsely.

    Suddenly, his throat ached. He coughed violently, and the wound in his abdomen was further torn. He staggered to the floor because of that too.

    He felt intense suffocation.

    Finally, he coughed up bloody phlegm from his throat.

    ¡°Ah¡­ah¡­¡±

    He wailed in extreme fear, and there was a gurgling noise in his throat.

    Because he saw it clearly, it was not phlegm.

    It was an eyeball.

    Aplete eyeball with a beautiful emerald green pupil.

    ¡°Please¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡±

    He begged softly again, staggering to get up. However, the corridor was too narrow and slippery. He had nowhere to support himself back on foot. The sharp pain in his abdomen made it more difficult for him to get up.

    So after two failed attempts, he crawled in difficulty on the ground.

    But, Annan heard the footsteps sharply.

    It was light footsteps.

    Annan¡¯s body crawled on the ground, crawling forward like a dog. Where did the footstepse from?

    It¡¯s behind me.

    Annan reacted quickly.

    Someone followed behind me quietly, tiptoed.

    But ¡°his¡± mind seemed to be in chaos, crawling forward with difficulty on the ground. His breathing was in a mess, and he groaned from time to time.

    For just a dozen steps, he crawled for a long while.

    Until he touched the door, he was ecstatic.

    ¡°Ah¡­haha¡­ha¡­¡±

    He raised his upper body, half crying and halfughing, trying to open the door and return to the vast gallery that at least allowed him to stand up and walk.

    But, his smile quickly froze.

    Because the door was locked.

    The door would not budge.

    It could not be opened at all.

    He shook the handle vigorously in panic but realized that he couldn¡¯t open the door at all.

    The door was locked at the other end.

    At this moment, his gaze gathered, and his pupils dted.

    Because he suddenly realized that the shadow cast on the door wasrger than the upper body, he propped up.

    Someone is behind!

    There was a bulge appearing on top of the shadow.

    It was as if a person slowly raised a hammer above his head.

    As soon as he realized this, Annan suddenly took back the control of this body.

    It was luring him to look back out of reflex.

    But, Annan still remembered the precaution.

    -Whether it was the warning from Priest Louis or the old man¡¯s words at the moment he entered the nightmare.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look back.¡±

    Annan ignored the hammer that seemed to be smashed down in the next moment but raised his head decisively and stared at the painting on his left.

    He saw it clearly.

    It was a teenage girl with blond hair and blue eyes. She was sitting on the bed, wearing a white dress withntern sleeves withce edges on her arms. The dress covered half of her thighs, revealing her smooth knees.

    She had a cute smile as she looked out of the portrait.

    Though, her bright smile did not cover the creepy part of the portrait.

    The left eye of the girl¡¯s portrait was burning with a circle of fresh burn marks. It ruined the overall warm beauty of it. At first, it was the size of a cigarette butt, then it gradually spread.

    After meeting her eyes for more than a second, Annan suddenly entered a trance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move, Elle.¡±

    He suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice.

    It seemed to be the painter¡¯s voice.

    From Annan¡¯s mouth, there was a clear and lovely response, ¡°Okay, Dad.¡±

    At this time, the world in front of him gradually became clear.

    He found that his angle of view was slightly lowered. He sat on a soft bed, at least much more delicate than the bed in Salvatore¡¯s room.

    He felt that the cuffs had ace-like touch; he roughly guessed that he might have entered the body of the girl in the painting.

    Opposite him should be the painter with a knife stabbed in his belly.

    The painter was about 30 years old now, with brown hair, blue eyes, and some stubble. But he still looked handsome and graceful, and he was in a good state of mind.

    Wait, brown hair and blue eyes?

    Annan was silent for a moment and looked at the painter with pitying eyes.

    ¡°Smile, Ai Lei.¡±

    The painter raised his voice, somewhat dissatisfied.

    At this time.

    The system prompt finally appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Only then did he finally receive the bted main mission:

    [Entered the Gallery: Elle Morrison (Third floor).]

    [Main mission: y the role of Elle Morrison until tomorrow morning]

    Immediately, packed smaller fonts appeared below this line of words:

    [Complete the portrait.]

    [Explore the secrets of Amos Morrison.]

    [Live.]

    Seeing the main mission prompt, Annan immediately understood everything.

    Oh my God¡­

    Priest Louis had no system. Sure enough, the strategy was not reliable at all.

    ¡ªThe gallery is a ce for you to choose your level! Every time you pass through a door, you enter the next floor. Looking at the portrait is the key to open the deep nightmare!

    He finally knew how he died in thest two lifes.

    Annan had most likely walked to the end of the gallery and entered thest few floors. In theory, it was the highest difficulty dungeon instance that needed [Gold Rank and below] to tackle.

    Priest Louis was probably the typical yer who ¡°still hasn¡¯t figured out what the plot is after the game is cleared.¡±

    Under the increasingly dissatisfied gaze of Amos Morrison, Annan showed a sweet, professional smile before he urged him for the third time.

    ¡°Okay, Dad.¡±

    Annan imitated Elle Morrison¡¯s tone and said the same words that sent chills down his spine.

    It was a pity that Mr. Amos, who was opposite Annan, did not realize anything. He still felt a bit cold on his back, though.

 Chapter 42: Freezing Water Port In The Past

    <h4>Chapter 42: Freezing Water Port In The Past</h4>

    Among other things, Annan was confident in his acting skills and memory.

    After seeing Elle¡¯s portrait, he remembered Elle¡¯s expressions and movements.

    So he reverted the finished product to the real person,pletely reproducing the expressions and movements of ¡°Elle¡± easily. In the end, Amos Morrisonpleted the portrait without suspicion.

    But Annan was not the real Elle Morrison after all.

    It seemed that Annan¡¯s acting was too perfect. He appeared more like Elle than ¡°Elle.¡± He was motionless for more than two hours, but a hesitant expression appeared on Amos¡¯s face.

    Did he get suspicious?

    Or¡­

    Annan was alerted in his heart with murderous intentions crept upon him.

    It was different from the previous scene.

    Annan used the body of the aging painter ¡°Amos¡± previously. Not only was the body weaker, but the abdomen was also pierced with blood flowing out non-stop. His basic movement was already much hindered.

    But, his daughter Elle Morrison was different.

    It was a young and healthy body.

    Even if Amos was in the prime of life at the moment, Annan was at least 70% confident that her (Elle) attack would seed and kill her dad (Amos) directly at this ce.

    As long as you die, I will probably be safe.

    But Annan hesitated and gave up.

    Because he soon discovered that Amos did not doubt his identity.

    But why is there a hint of guilt?

    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Elle. You did a good job, but I can only draw up to this point.¡±

    Amos sighed and murmured, ¡°If I have that thing¡­¡±

    ¡°En?¡±

    Annan tried to use the least amount of information to express doubts.

    The painter sighed again.

    He hammered his thigh a little regretfully and muttered to himself, ¡°Unfortunately, it has been used up. No, no. I¡¯m lucky that it¡¯s used up. Otherwise, if there are still stocks, I may get tempted to use it again given your beauty.¡±

    The man said, slowly put down the paintbrush, and looked at his daughter tiredly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Elle. I lied.

    ¡°Our agreement, from the very beginning, is impossible to bepleted. Because what you didn¡¯t know is that the people I have painted in portraits are actually¡­¡±

    At this point, there was a trace of pain in Amos¡¯s eyes.

    Confessing this to his daughter was tantamount to torturing his soul.

    But when Annan remained motionless and insisted until the portrait was drawn, it seemed to trigger some conditions.

    It was a prior agreement between the two. If Elle could stay still until the end, Amos had to paint her ¡°that kind of¡± portrait.

    Obviously, this promise was impossible to achieve from the beginning.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to tell you about it. I used to think that if you moved around or were impatient, I would pretend to be angry. I thought things would turn out like this. In that case, your father would me you for wasting the precious God-bestowed paint. I will refuse to paint a portrait for you.¡±

    The paint bestowed by the gods?

    Annan quickly realized the key points from Amos¡¯s words.

    ¡°No need to apologize, Dad.¡±

    Through Amos¡¯s tone, Annan slowly figured out Elle¡¯s possible character, staring into Amos¡¯s eyes, and slowly said, ¡°I don¡¯t really want it.¡±

    Seeing the moment of confusion and doubt in Amos¡¯s eyes, Annan suddenly changed the threads of conversation, ¡°At least if I know it¡¯s not good for me, I won¡¯t continue. I believe you. You won¡¯t lie to me, especially from what you said.¡±

    Hearing this, Amos finally breathed a sigh of relief.

    The smile on his face eased, ¡°That¡¯s good, Elle. You have grown up, but remember not to say these words outside. This painting is for you. Happy birthday.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Annan smiled and said, ¡°But I think this gift is not enough.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural.¡±

    Amos added, ¡°I¡¯m going to buy you cakes. Some time ago, a pastry chef from the royal capital came. They said that his skill is great.¡±

    Wait, pastry chef?

    A word suddenly shed in Annan¡¯s mind.

    That was what Senior Salvatore told him when he introduced Freezing Water Port¡¯s ¡°Unique Merchant¡±:

    ¡°The old baker at Freezing Water Port is skilled. It is said that he came from the royal capital decades ago.¡±

    Isn¡¯t this ce the Freezing Water Port decades ago?

    Annan seemed to feel a surge of lightning from his back and asked probingly, ¡°Why does hee from the capital? Our ce is pretty remote.¡±

    The word ¡°remote¡± was used cautiously because it was pretty subjective.

    No matter where you are, you can call your location remote. Even in the royal capital, people who live on the edge of the royal capital can call themselves ¡°living in a remote ce.¡± No one will feel that there is a problem.

    But Amos was not at all wary of Annan, or more urately ¡°Elle.¡±

    ¡°The pastry chef probably saved a lot of money, so he wants to retire. After all, the goods in this ce have lower prices.¡±

    He replied casually, ¡°Although Freezing Water Port is a bit remote, it is somewhat of a port. Elle, you may not know, but many foreign specialties can be bought here and then sold to the capital fourfold the original price.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan nodded suddenly.

    When Amos left the room, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Those pure and clear green eyes belonging to Elle Morrison showed the cunning of a fox at this moment.

    This ce is indeed the past. It was the Freezing Water Port decades ago.

    With that said, the first dungeon instance seems to the past event too.

    But for that dungeon instance, because the time backtrack was too little, Annan didn¡¯t realize how much time backtracking the ¡°nightmare¡± could achieve.

    He was finally convinced as of now.

    Time backtrack could go to the extent of several decades.

    He got the identity of Annan in that dungeon instance and learned many Gerant family¡¯s secrets.

    So, what could he get in this dungeon instance?

    In this nightmare woven from actual events decades ago, what valuable intelligence could he get?

    For example¡­

    The baker.

    Amos¡¯s inference was wrong. After a few decades, Freezing Water Port had be very shabby. It was impossible to buy foreign specialties in that ce. But the baker not only did not leave but settled here. People couldn¡¯t afford cakes and pastries, so he left his craft to bake bread.

    Even the locals of Freezing Water Port were curious about why he did this.

    They said that the baker once won the Royal Capital¡¯s pastry chefpetition. In his capacity, serving as a pastry chef in a nobleman¡¯s house would bring a better life and much more profitable than opening a bakery shop.

    I think I can explore his secrets in this timeline.

    But before that¡­

    Annan decided to take advantage of the time when Elle¡¯s father was not at home.

    He would loot this house clean.

    Whether intelligence, mail, knowledge, secrets, treasures, weapons, equipment, Annan wanted it all!

    He was not a yer that randomly looted stuff. He was focusing on his main mission!

    The main mission requested him to ¡°Explore Amos Morrison¡¯s secrets.¡±

    Since it was a secret, it would not be hidden in a ce where anyone could see it.

    ¡°Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s n emblem is a wolf head. Why am I doing a husky¡¯s work [1]?¡±

    Annan mumbled, dissatisfied. He proceeded to jump on the bed.

    Annan, not Husky¡¤Chilly Austere, began to investigate Elle Morrison¡¯s room skillfully.

    [1] Expression of sniffing out secrets like a dog.

 Chapter 43: Elles Diary

    <h4>Chapter 43: Elle''s Diary</h4>

    Annan was quite skilled in house dismantling.

    In less than five minutes, he finished searching Elle¡¯s room. It was like searching Don Juan¡¯s room back then.

    Because it was different from Don Juan¡¯s room on the ship. It showed that Elle didn¡¯t seem to be in her room often. In Elle¡¯s room, Annan didn¡¯t find many valuable things.

    There were no weapons in the entire room, not even a pair of sharp scissors. The only lethal things might be Elle¡¯sb and quill.

    But in Annan¡¯s view, it appeared a bit abnormal.

    But he did not jump to conclusions hastily but continued to search for things that might bring him some additional information.

    In the cab of her room, apart from skirts and underwear, there was nothing useful. There was nothing hidden in the pillows, under the sheets, or in the cracks of the floor.

    Except, Elle¡¯s diary.

    This was the only hint Annan could get in Elle¡¯s room.

    [Elle Morrison¡¯s Diary]

    [Type: Misceneous (White)]

    [Description: A diary that has been used for about three months, but some pages are missing.]

    ¡°Some pages are missing¡­¡±

    That doesn¡¯t matter.

    Annan murmured and opened Elle¡¯s diary without hesitation.

    Although his main mission was supposed to investigate Amos Morrison¡¯s secrets, Annan still got to find a lead somewhere.

    ¡°March 15th. Amos seems to be in a better mood recently.¡±

    It was the first page revealed to Annan after opening the diary.

    ¡°March 18th. Amos¡¯s mood turns gloomy again today. He drank again and tore another painting. It was the painting he was supposed to give to Mrs. Barber on April 1st.

    ¡°Silver Sire, what should he do if he can¡¯t prepare the gift on April 1st? Amos will tarnish his reputation.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°March 22. I¡¯m really curious. Amos hasn¡¯t drunk in the past two days, but he hasn¡¯t got angry yet. He has been hiding in the study and reading. That seems to be my mother¡¯s relic.

    ¡°I think he probably misses my mother.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°March 25th. It¡¯s almost a week. He hasn¡¯te out of the study. I¡¯m a little worried about him. He hasn¡¯t eaten much recently. Is he sick? I n to go to the bishop tomorrow to find out more.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°March 26! Before I pay a visit to the Bishop, Amos came out of the study! He seemed to be in a good mood. It¡¯s sporadic, Silver Sire. It had been almost half a month since I hadn¡¯t seen him smile.

    ¡°I saw him start painting again!

    ¡°Great. As long as you cheer up, life will always get better and better. I have to make something delicious for him. Amos will go to draw a new portrait of Mrs. Barber tomorrow.¡±

    ¡­

    (One page torn off here)

    ¡­

    ¡°April 1st, today is the Holy Day of the Elegant Elder. I noticed many famous artistse to Freezing Water Port, including Master Norman and Master Harold! I want to go to their concert, but I still have to go to Roseburg with my father first, unfortunately.

    ¡°Mrs. Viscount is satisfied with the strange painting. My father got a lot of rewards. He said that the money would be enough for me to buy a lot of clothes¡­

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want clothes. We don¡¯t need money. As long as Amos can be happy, I¡¯m fine!

    ¡°It feels like that painting is looking at me when we leave. What a weird painting.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°April 20th, Amos cried today.

    ¡°I saw him painting in front of the garden, staring at the garden halfway through the painting, with tears in his eyes. Then, he tore the painting.

    ¡°It¡¯s Amos¡¯s favorite garden. He often paints here, and the paintings are beautiful. But he hasn¡¯t painted here for months. He is too busy. During this time, Amos has been painting portraits for big shots, making a lot of money, and buying me many clothes.

    ¡°But, I don¡¯t want clothes.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°On April 24, Amos got someone to level the garden. I am not happy about it, but Amos is not in a good mood recently, so I didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°But I¡¯m still not very happy about it.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°April 30th, April is finally over. After May, it will be the Asylum Month of Silver Sire. Amos won¡¯t have to attend so many ceremonies.

    ¡°Master Bishop told me that Amos is famous. His skill has improved recently. It is said that the portraits he drew allow people to see the person¡¯s soul through the painting. They said the Elegant Elder had blessed his hand. His skill is the greatest of all time. He will leave his name through the ages. If his talent is showcased in the United Kingdom [1], he might even be a divine-favored honorary viscount on April 1st next year.

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t understand the details, it seems like a good thing. I am delighted about it~¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°On May 2nd, the Silver Sire¡¯s festival was so lively, but I was so tired. I fell asleep when I came back yesterday and didn¡¯t write a diary. I will make up for it today.

    ¡°Yesterday I told Amos that my birthday ising. He said he would give me a great gift. I told him that I don¡¯t want a gift. I just wanted him to draw a portrait of me. Amos¡¯s face suddenly became ugly. Did I make him angry?

    ¡°Footnote: He doesn¡¯t seem to be angry.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°June 10th, my birthday is just two days away!

    ¡°Today, I mentioned that to Amos again. But he was not angry today. He just bet me that I would not be sitting still there waiting for him to finish painting. He said that it would take him a few hours to draw a portrait. I should not move in the middle of his work.

    ¡°It¡¯s just sitting still. How tough is it? It¡¯s not standing.

    ¡°Woo, is it difficult to be unable to go to the toilet for a few hours? Then, I shall not drink water the day after tomorrow.

    ¡°Footnote: In the past two days, Amos started to stay in the study again. I wanted to go in and have a look but was scolded. After a few days, I went to the study to look around when Amos was not home. I wanted to know what he was reading.¡±

    This was thest page of Elle¡¯s diary.

    ¡°Strange painting¡­¡±

    Annan murmured, closing the diary.

    As expected, there was a lot of critical information in this diary.

    Combined with the previous conversation between Amos and him, Annan roughly had some inferences about Amos¡¯ secrets.

    Amos loved his daughter Elle. Their rtionship was very close, and his wife died in the early years.

    He seemed to be stuck in the bottleneck period of his artistic creation path and thus suffered to the extent of closing himself in his heart. But by looking through the books of his deceased wife, he found a special kind of paint that could boast his skills in drawing portraits. The portrait painted by this kind of paint would appear like a living thing with its soul.

    But people who were drawn as portraits might suffer some harmful consequences. Amos himself knew the price.

    Is it some kind of ritual?

    Annan immediately recalled a creepy ritual, ¡°The Tongue in the Mirror,¡± he saw when he was in the ship¡¯s dungeon instance.

    Supernatural ability, but at a strange cost to pay. This description fitted the situation well.

    He suspected that Amos and the false deity called ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± reached some kind of private transaction which got Amos a creepy and evil ritual.

    I have to go to his study.

    Annan thought so, preparing to leave Elle¡¯s room.

    Before leaving the room, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Elle¡¯s portrait.

    ¡°This is-¡°

    He couldn¡¯t help but exim with his eyes widened.

    Even the harsh Annan must admit that Amos¡¯s paintings were indeed delicate. Of course, Elle¡¯s cuteness was a plus point.

    This painting was truly astonishing, but at the same time, it did not lose its beauty, just like an artistic photo. It was so real as if a camera took it. At least, Annan could not discern it was a painting or a taken photo.

    Did Amos call this a failure?

    What is a sessful product like?

    Those in the gallery outside?

    [1] Just a quick note that this isn¡¯t rted to our UK in real life.

 Chapter 44: The Powerful Annan Is Too Cautious

    <h4>Chapter 44: The Powerful Annan Is Too Cautious</h4>

    After reading the diary, Annan quickly returned all the things to how it was in the room and then went to Amos¡¯s study.

    At least when Amos opened the door of his daughter¡¯s room and looked in, everything would be exactly the same as before. As long as he was not an old pervert who would go through his daughter¡¯s room carefully, at least there would not be a problem to hide from him for a day.

    This was a skill that Annan learned from the wit and courage of trying to use theputer when his parents were at work and when his parents were not at home for a vacation.

    For example, his parents always ced the keyboard and the mouse at 90 degrees vertically. The keyboard would form a line from the Enter to the ESC key; the line would be pointed at a slighted extended book on the bookshelf opposite the study. The headphone wire would wrap around the headphone itself three and a half times and ce on the right side of the disy. Moreover, the headphone was put reversely as it hung on the disy screen.

    He summarized and refined these details after careful observation of his parents.

    Even the disy¡¯s temperature and desktop¡¯s temperature as well. Annan, being cautious, would even remember and restore the cement at right angles for the keyboard, mouse, and headphone.

    Annan had always believed that this powerful memory that instantly refined the details presented in the room and restored them when needed was one reason his boss selected him.

    Annan¡¯s boss had a good attitude towards him.

    Annan knew that no matter how capable he was at work and how efficient he was, he got to reject overtime work for the betterment of his health. Any form of overtime work was an unhealthy and pessimistic work attitude.

    Especially when a young product manager in the project team next door died suddenly after working overtime. It made him seem like azy person at work every day [1].

    If it were another boss, the neighbor would have long been summoned to the office for a lecture a long time ago.

    But his boss, who the employees often ridiculed because of his dark skin, did not do so.

    On the contrary, the boss was always kind and talkative to Annan. Not only did he not condemn Annan for his work attitude, but he often took him out to eat and chat alone, praising him for his highly efficient work, ¡°You¡¯re just the talent we need.¡±

    Annan also epted thispliment with peace of mind.

    Because he knew very well that his work efficiency was indeed very high, he was an employee who could devote himself to one thing wholeheartedly.

    Aplete focus on work like the ¡®flow state.¡¯

    As long as there was a need, in addition to the necessary eating, drinking, blood cirction exercises at each forty-five minutes interval, and eye rxing activities, Annan would not chat, rest, goof off, or get distracted. He would work continuously with maximum efficiency.

    Annan¡¯s daily workload was three to five times that of ordinary employees, or even more. Because he would advocate undertaking these tasks during the weekly meeting. At first, colleagues thought he was pretending to be hardworking and licking the boss¡¯s boots, but then the colleaguester found that hepleted the tasks.

    But no matter how the boss requested more tasks to be added to him, Annan would not ept any tasks. In the end, thepany also found out that he was able toplete the final task ten minutes before the weekly work output summary.

    It was simply amazing.

    So Annan had always been a creep in the eyes of colleagues, also known as ¡°the nner without blood and tears.¡±

    Annan knew that he had a different character. It would hinder his promotion and sry increment. That was why he would still do some extra work to shut the boss¡¯s mouth and keep thepany from going bankrupt.

    But he didn¡¯t care about promotion and sry increment. He felt having enough money for survival was enough. He did not covet for many beauties either. Somehow, he did not mind not having children at his age. He had excellent health without the burden of heavy hospital bills. All in all, his life was peaceful.

    What he loves was this unremarkable and regr life. Although there was no great joy, there was nothing to make his mood worse.

    Annan hated everything that would make him feel bad. Typically, they had the same name, called ¡°ident.¡±

    Fortunately, nothing could make him feel bad in the world he was now in because he could no longer feel that emotion.

    In an instant, Annan was liberated from the circr and orderly mechanical life.

    For the first time, he began to take the initiative to explore life ¡°outside the order.¡±

    He felt a strong sense of novelty that made him extremely excited because of this.

    Annan wasn¡¯t in a hurry to visit Amos¡¯s study.

    He ran twops around the house quickly. On the firstp, he noted down theyout of the house. He took a long time for the secondp as he measured the distance from each room to another with footsteps.

    Since the mission required him to survive until tomorrow morning, Annan treated it cautiously. There might be a chase in the evening.

    If there was a chase happening, Annan could walk to the room he wanted to go, even with his eyes closed, or leave the house altogether without having to recognize his way through the lighting.

    A mere day wasn¡¯t enough to make him forget these details.

    After finishing the necessary emergency evacuation preparations, Annan went to the kitchen. With a kitchen knife in his right hand, three kitchen knives on his waist, and a drawing board as a shield tied to his left arm, he cautiously opened the study.

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    To Annan¡¯s disappointment, no creeps emerged in the study.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if the details of the nightmare can be changed after clearing the level.¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°If I were the nner of this game, I would put a creep here.¡±

    The intensity did not need to be too high, but it must be scary enough.

    Think about it, the yers had just gone through a terrifying and shocking infinite gallery loop and finally entered the painting world.

    They spent several hourspleting the portrait painting. At this time, they must be anxious with no knowledge of when Amos would be back. They had to concentrate on finding and deciphering Elle¡¯s diary.

    Immediately afterward, they hurried to the study before Amos¡¯s return.

    Then when they opened the study, they were greeted with an exciting battle amidst their urgency.

    This was a ssic scene that touched people¡¯s hearts and made people cry.

    ¡°But, it¡¯s just pure puzzle-solving.¡±

    Annan sighed regretfully.

    He was ready to yell ¡°Annan go wherever he wants¡± when the creep appeared, and he was ready to chop on the creep¡¯s face.

    This dungeon instance did not give him room for wisdom. Annan was troubled by it.

    How can I increase the evaluation ratings of the dungeon instance without killing something?

    How about setting up a trap at the door and killing Amos at the door when he gets home?

    With all kinds of strange thoughts in his mind, Annan began to observe Amos¡¯s bookshelf.

    He narrowed his eyes slightly to observe the dust traces on the bookshelf.

    Thankfully, Amos, as an older single man, who had not been at home all year round, did not have the habit of wiping dust frequently. At least this bookshelf should not have been wiped for a month or two.

    The amount of dust on it could easily reveal Amos¡¯s reading tendency during the recent period.

    Annan easily discovered that Amos often read only three books in total.

    They were ¡°Ritual Wikipedia,¡± ¡°Dangerous Faith and Deities,¡± and¡­

    ¡°¡­ ¡°The Curse and Seal of Soul¡±?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    He left the first two books alone, but he was a little surprised by the third book.

    After thinking for a while, he pulled out all three books, locked the study, and sat at the desk. He put the kitchen knife on the right-hand side, where he could get it at any time.

    Then, Annan began to read these three books.

    [1] An expression that the neighbor got to work overtime because his work efficiency was poor.

 Chapter 45: Ritual: Communicate The Venerated Skeleton

    <h4>Chapter 45: Ritual: Communicate The Venerated Skeleton</h4>

    Before Annan entered this advanced dungeon instance, he had never thought of the biggest gain of this dungeon instance¡­

    ¡­ were these banned books avable in Amos¡¯s study.

    Due to time constraints, Annan first nced through the ¡°Dangerous Faith and Deities¡± and quickly found the entry about the Venerated Skeleton.

    Then he learned this information:

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton is a new false deity that appeared in the Third Age. A lot of information has been lost due to the change of epochs. But what can be learned from archaeology is that the Venerated Skeleton had a friendly rtionship with the protector of January, the deity of death and earth, upright deity ¡°Bone Burying Grandma; at least to the Fourth Age, which is the previous era.¡±

    ¡°In the Fifth Age, the Venerated Skeleton was somehow alienated from the Bone Burying Church and other upright deities. It was even denounced as an evil deity. In the main church situated in the United Kingdom, Elegant Elder had issued an order to disband the false deity churches, forcing the Venerated Skeleton believers to go underground.

    ¡°ording to the author¡¯s investigation, it may be because the Venerated Skeleton is rted to the copse of the Great Barrier at the beginning of this epoch¡­¡±

    This information was something Annan could not find from his senior.

    Especially the ¡°Third Age¡± and ¡°Fifth Age¡± chronological records, Annan had never encountered them before. The statement about the Great Barrier was also vague.

    Annan read this and couldn¡¯t help but turn to the title page.

    Then, he saw the author¡¯s name.

    A D¨¦j¨¤ vu name¡­

    ¡°Grinznuha¡¤Chilly Austere.¡±

    Annan said the somewhat convoluted name twice and remembered it in his heart.

    This did not seem to be Annan¡¯s father, the name of the current Grand Duke. Was it his uncle or grandfather?

    He didn¡¯t ponder upon it too long and just turned the book back to that page.

    Annan quickly found the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual because it was marked with a wavy line:

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual involves death, mystery, concealment, and art. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid January protected by the Bone Burying Grandma, February protected by Mysterious Lady, and April protected by the Elegant Elder.

    ¡°If it is a long-term ritual, it is rmended to proceed in May and cut off during January. But if it is a short-term loan of power, then March is still fine. April 1st is a suitable ending date. The Elegant Elder protects the artist. The protector can use the Holy Light of the Elegant Elder to cut off the ritual connection with the Venerated Skeleton. This is a technique to break free from the ritual shackles.

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual is deceptive. Every time the ritual is performed, the price will gradually increase. Once dependence is formed, the ritual performer will undoubtedly die.

    ¡°No matter what kind of power you prayed from the Venerated Skeleton, usually the first time is almost free. But, at the second time, he will ask you to pay ¡®half your conscience¡¯ or ¡®friendship from now on.¡¯ This is a trap: You must choose the former because thetter means that the person holding the ritual will be disgusted by everyone for no reason. To eliminate this state, they must perform a third ritual that is useless¡­

    ¡°In the third ritual, the Venerated Skeleton will require the ritual performer to ¡®swallow a certain part of a person¡¯s body¡¯ or ¡®left with half of the lifespan,¡¯ which is still a trap. Because what he needs is not thetter half of the lifespan but the first half. In addition, it is calcted based on the maximum life span, disregarding the disease factor and disaster factor.

    ¡°Because of the previous requirement, both the ¡®person¡¯ and the ¡®part¡¯ are designated by the Venerated Skeleton and are usually fatal. Therefore, it is rmended to sever ties with parents and children permanently, divorce from the current husband or wife, and use the silver ritual knife to wound all friends and lovers, at least with blood on the de. It¡¯s a gesture to break ties and sever any connection.

    ¡°After that, you need to find a suitable victim for a ritual marriage three months before the start of the ritual and be inseparable from the victim within three months. This way, you can deviate from the original sacrifice goal. But the best choice is still not to carry out the second and third rituals. The Venerated Skeleton is a generous false deity. You only gain benefit if you only perform the first ritual.

    ¡°The author suggests: We should be content with what we have.¡±

    The author warned.

    That was the end of information that the book could provide about Venerated Skeleton. Looking at the content and knowledge in it, it was a knowledge hidden from the public¡¯s eye.

    Annan frowned slightly.

    He remembered the part where he coughed out ¡®a particr body part¡¯ when he was in the gallery previously.

    It was an emerald green eyeball.

    Those are Elle¡¯s eyes.

    Didn¡¯t Amos hold a sacrifice transfer ritual? Did he conduct a third ritual with the Venerated Skeleton?

    But from Elle¡¯s diary, it was apparent that his rtionship with Elle was very close. He couldn¡¯t let Elle be selected by ritual.

    With this question, Annan opened ¡°Ritual Wikipedia.¡±

    This book operated like a glossary manner, providing searches for keywords. Annan searched one by one ording to the keywords of ¡°death,¡± ¡°mystery,¡± ¡°concealment,¡± and ¡°art.¡± But all his efforts were to no avail. The entire glossary went foggy. He could only browse a few rituals.

    Annan originally wanted to use his strong memory to note down the ritual in this book forcefully. However, the ritual information operated the same as the one us passed to Annan previously-he could not remember it just by memorizing the words.

    This knowledge carries a weight by itself-

    After Annan tried to understand the first ritual in the realm of death [Killing Curse on Living Thing], he gradually lost consciousness.

    When he woke up again, he suddenly realized that nearly fifteen minutes had passed. When he retrieved and looked through the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s information previously, it didn¡¯t take so much time in total.

    Annan immediately realized that this was a trap. As long as he was upied with other rituals, he did not have time to investigate the truth. As long as his mission failed, these memories would be deleted.

    So, Annan did not hesitate and continued to read the critical part. In the end, he found the ritual belonging to the Venerated Skeleton in the entry on the field of ¡°art¡±:

    He lost consciousness again. This time, when he lost consciousness, the system¡¯s text appeared before his eyes:

    [Establishingmunication with deity ¨C the Venerated Skeleton.]

    [Ritual requirements: ck bull tailbone, ram horns,plete ribs of boar died of natural death, palette/carving knife/string/pen (core sacrifice) that have been used for at least ten years, the artwork fragment which the ritual performer created (destruction shall not exceed three days).]

    [Requirement for the ritual performer: Those engaged in the art profession who are not younger than 30 years old.]

    [Ritual benefit: Blessings rted to profession, generally physical gifts.]

    [Bearing Curse(s): Nightmare and whisper.]

    [Nightmare and whisper (persistent curse): Before the ritual connection is cut off, the ritual person will fall into nightmares from time to time at night and will asionally hear voices from unknown sources during the day.]

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan regained consciousness and realized that more than twenty minutes had passed this time.

    He muttered in a low volume and noted the second ritual he read today.

    ¡°Elle, Elle¡­Hehe¡­¡±

    But just as he was about to open the third book, he suddenly heard a woman¡¯s chuckle or, rather, sneer.

    The light in the study suddenly became dim. Wonderous colorful smoke slowly rose.

    ¡°What the fuck are youughing at?¡±

    Annan gave an ¡®elegant¡¯ reply immediately.

    Without hesitation, he picked up the kitchen knife in his hand and threw it in the direction where theughter came from.

    Theughter instantly turned into a painful scream:

    ¡°Ah!¡°

    The smoke dissipated instantly.

    Annan (Elle) immediately saw that it was a painting. It was a portrait that was initially hung opposite her, motionless and smiling gently at her.

    At this moment, a kitchen knife pierced in the center of the painting, while the woman in the painting looked at Annan angrily.

    The blood flowed down the kitchen knife slowly.

 Chapter 46: Im Just An Ordinary Person

    <h4>Chapter 46: I''m Just An Ordinary Person</h4>

    She bled.

    Indeed, although it sounded inexplicable, the painting bled.

    In other words, it could be actual blood.

    The knife flew out and pierced her chest and abdomen. As if the knife was nailed into the chest and abdomen of a real person, the dark red liquid continuously flowed from the kitchen knife, dripping on the ground in ticking noises.

    ¡°Ah-¡°

    The woman in the painting suddenly let out a painful and hysterical scream.

    When he heard that sound, Annan suddenly felt an immense headache mixed with drowsiness and irritability. For example, it was like being asleep for three hours of sleep and then woken up by the drill noise from the neighbor next door or upstairs.

    It was terrible to the level that you could feel your bed shaking intensely.

    Annan was seeing stars. A fluctuating sense of dizziness assaulted his head.

    But, Annan was not irritated by it, nor was there anger or resentment from the attack.

    Only joy.

    He smiled happily, took out a kitchen knife from his back without hesitation, got up, and approached.

    Holding the kitchen knife in his backhand, he thrust into the face of the woman in the painting.

    Puff¨C

    After the strange and muffled sound came, another bright red droplet gushed from the new wound, slowly dripping down.

    But, before the crimson red traces dripped out of the painting, Annan held the other kitchen knife on the painting and pulled it out forcefully.

    Scarlet traces sshed out and fell on Annan¡¯s face. The white and lovely face belonging to Elle Morrison looked extraordinarily shiny.

    ¡°Can you still scream?¡±

    Annan murmured, the smile at the corner of his mouth became more cheerful, ¡°What about this?¡±

    While talking, he proceeded to pull out the other kitchen knife forcefully and then tried his best to pierce the portrait¡¯s mouth, throat, eyes, forehead, hands, and background.

    To Annan¡¯s disappointment, even if he pierced the portrait¡¯s mouth and cut its throat, he could not stop the portrait from screaming. When he pierced the eyeball, there was no liquid supposedly in the eyes dripping out. It was still the same crimson but slimy liquid. Even Annan pierced the portrait¡¯s empty background, it sort of still ¡°bled.¡±

    But this was not blood. It just looked like blood.

    The color of real blood should be darker than this.

    As Annan held the kitchen knife in both hands and cut the painting repeatedly, the portrait¡¯s screams were getting softer until it reached total silence.

    Annan was a little disappointed, shook away the blood-red drop on his hand, and wiped his face again.

    ¡°Damn it. It makes my clothes dirty.¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°Amos won¡¯t find out about it, right?¡±

    His tone when he said this became more and more simr to Elle. If ¡®her¡¯ father were outside the door at this time, Amos would never doubt his identity.

    After reading Elle¡¯s diary, Annan had a more profound understanding of imitating Elle:

    She usually would not call Amos ¡°father¡± but called him ¡°Amos.¡± Previously, when Elle called Amos, father, she was expressing her dissatisfaction.

    ¡°It¡¯s annoying.¡±

    Annan sighed lightly and stretched out his hand to wipe the blood-like but greasy, oily red liquid on his hand and kitchen knife on the screaming portrait.

    This painting seemed to be alive previously.

    For Elle¡¯s portrait, which Amos painted, it was as real as a photo.

    Then, this screaming painting was like a soul. Previously when Elle tried to look at it from a distance, she couldn¡¯t even determine whether it was a painting or a real person gazing at it behind the transparent window.

    But because of this, it looked a little frightening.

    Because it was too much like a real person. It had exceeded a limit and be scary.

    For now, it had lost its soul and became ordinary. It was just like a normal portrait. At a nce, it didn¡¯t seem to have the illusion of ¡°having an individual hidden in it.¡±

    But at this moment, Annan¡¯s footsteps suddenly stopped.

    He vaguely heard the sound of someone downstairs opening the door with the key.

    Damn it. I¡¯m a bit short of time.

    What happened had dyed about fifteen minutes.

    Annan quickly ran back to the desk, putting the two books he had read back to the original spot.

    He looked at the third book, ¡°The Curse and Seal of Soul,¡± that he had no time to read, and he hesitated for a moment.

    ¡°I should grab it along as well.¡±

    He made up his mind.

    After all, that painting was already ruined. If Amos came back to this room, he would notice something was wrong. It made no difference for having the book missing or not.

    So, Annan stretched out his hand to mess up the row having ¡°The Curse and Seal of Soul,¡± making the gap less conspicuous. Then, he stuffed the book close to the inside of his clothes.

    Fortunately, Elle¡¯s figure was rtively petite. The book did not take up the space of the shirt very much.

    The clothes tolerated a room space for a thick book to be stuffed into it.

    Then, Annan patted ¡®her¡¯ (Elle) chest. After confirming that the book would not fall out easily, he put the smaller kitchen knife back to his waist. He approached the portrait, held the kitchen knife on it, and pulled it out forcefully.

    Annan looked at the painting frame that had be tattered and covered with red paint, which rendered him speechless.

    Then, he turned it over and put it back in ce.

    ¡°Amos shouldn¡¯t notice it at first sight.¡±

    Annan murmured, quickly opened the study door, and ran back to her (Elle) room.

    From the time he heard the sound of the door opening until he ran back to her room, it only took less than ten seconds.

    Then, he took the book out and put it under the pillow. He took out several kitchen knives and put them on the dressing table. Then, he took off his ¡°blood-stained clothes,¡± rolled them into a ball, and stuffed it into the closet.

    After that, he took out another long skirt.

    But, he did not put it on yet.

    Annan pretended that he was going to put on clothes, but he stopped halfway.

    Then, he kept this motion, waiting until Amos opened his room. He deliberately didn¡¯t close the door.

    Sure enough, he soon heard footsteps getting closer.

    Only then did Annan start putting on clothes.

    ¡°Elle, I¡¯m back. Oh, sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°Please go out first, Mr. Amos!¡±

    Annan pretended to be angry, then turned around and shouted, ¡°Go to the restaurant and wait for me. I¡¯lle out soon.¡±

    Watching Amos leave in embarrassment, Annan¡¯s face turned expressionless again.

    Great.

    As long as Annan did this and said so, Amos would neither search Elle¡¯s room immediately nor return to the study in a hurry.

    Annan had simple ways to manipte others. They were talking techniques that even ordinary people could master.

    Indeed, I am just an ordinary person. Therefore, I should be more cautious.

 Chapter 47: God-bestowed Paint

    <h4>Chapter 47: God-bestowed Paint</h4>

    After Amos left Elle¡¯s room, Annan quickly put on his clothes.

    But he did not go out immediately.

    Instead, he turned around and locked the door, then took out the book ¡°The Curse and Seal of Soul¡± from under the pillow and read it calmly.

    There was no doubt that this was the best timing.

    Amos was a wise and gentle person.

    Amos would feel sorry and feel embarrassed for the offense hemitted. Although this wouldn¡¯t push him to do anything that Annan said, at least he won¡¯t break into Elle¡¯s room again.

    So at this time, even if Amos thought Elle had been in the room for too long, he wouldn¡¯t break in again.

    Because he would think that this was Elle¡¯s punishment for him. In his perception, Elle must be angry. Leaving him outside alone for ten minutes was a punishment like a child¡¯s temper. It was also a good time for Elle to calm down.

    Then, Amos would not simply leave. Instead, he would stay quietly in the kitchen, waiting for Annan toe out.

    Otherwise, once she (Elle) went out and didn¡¯t see him, she (Elle) might get angry again. With Annan¡¯s understanding of Elle, she would indeed react in this way.

    Annan reminded Amos that ¡°his daughter had grown up¡± in that event. She (Elle) needed some personal space. With a sense of guilt, Amos would never search Elle¡¯s room again.

    With that, Annan¡¯s bloody kitchen knife hidden in the cab and the book ¡°The Curse and Seal of Soul¡± would not be easily discovered.

    Of course, the premise was that Annan couldn¡¯t stay too long.

    Fortunately, it was easy to investigate this book.

    Because it had a bookmark in it. It happened to have bookmarked on the most crucial page. So Annan didn¡¯t waste any time and was able to ess the core content directly.

    ¡°¡­The seal utilizes painting as a medium. It also requires a ritual capable ofmunicating the Venerated Skeleton, Bone Burying Grandma, and the Dragon in the Mirror. Among them, the Venerated Skeleton ritual was rmended because you would not need to sustain any cost for the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s first ritual.¡±

    Reading this somewhat familiar sentence, Annan came to a realization.

    Perhaps¡­

    He held the page with his right hand and turned to the title page with his left hand.

    ¡°Grinznuha¡¤Chilly Austere.¡±

    Annan slowly pronounced the already familiar name.

    Should it be unsurprising?

    Why is it you again?

    Is Amos¡¯s wife a fan of you?

    Or, is this author with the Chilly Austere bloodline a best-selling author on banned books?

    Do you have an enmity with the Venerated Skeleton? Or are you fighting for business with the Venerated Skeleton? Why does every book of yours urge the reader to take advantage of the Venerated Skeleton?

    Annan curled his mouth and flipped the pages back.

    ¡°If the ritual performer is a painter, the Venerated Skeleton will ask whether the other party wants ¡®paint,¡¯ ¡®brush¡¯ or ¡®paper.¡¯ At this time, the best choice is ¡®paper.¡¯

    ¡°Because if the person holding the ritual chooses the paint, then the Venerated Skeleton will give a special paint, which can silently strip a part of the other party¡¯s spirit and store it in the portrait painting.

    ¡°Its advantage is that the victim will not be aware of anything. This part of the spirit can be trained as a guardian spirit or be used to curse the enemy. The guardian spirit can move freely in all the paints painted by this painter. However, the disadvantage is that these spirits cannot escape from the portrait. The amount of paint obtained in one ritual is limited. It¡¯s usually far from being effective.

    ¡°Moreover, paintings made with this kind of paint will make the portrait painted extraordinarily real. It is far beyond the artist¡¯s average level, so it is easily exposed. Therefore, it is not rmended.

    ¡°Except for the paint that is not rmended, the remaining two options are rtivelymon. Next, I will describe the differences between the two options, how to seal the soul and cast the curse in detail.¡±

    Then, it was the end of the page.

    Annan carefully read the rest of the book before closing the book.

    Sure enough, the following two options were to trick the victims into signing their names with a ¡°pen¡± and to write contracts on the ¡°paper.¡± It had nothing to do with painting.

    At this moment, a prompt appeared in front of his eyes:

    [Exploring Amos Morrison¡¯s secret.] Annan hadpleted this mission.

    ¡°As expected.¡±

    Annan murmured.

    Everything became clear.

    ¡°Our Mr. Amos should be a well-known and talented painter. He has an extraordinary dedication and talent for painting and beauty.

    ¡°But he was in pain because of a particr obsession. Perhaps because he felt the limit of his talents, or for other reasons, he read through the books left by his deceased wife. He identally found a way to sign a contract with the Venerated Skeleton.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t need the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s power to curse others. Instead, he wanted to borrow that ¡°magical paint¡± to enhance his paintings. It allowed him to paint something beyond his ordinary paints and his capability.¡±

    That was the human soul.

    In this case, everything made sense.

    After Mr. Amos tried to paint portraits with this kind of paint, he could no longer get rid of the enchantment of this kind of paint. He couldn¡¯t ept his previous mediocrity.

    He could not ept the ¡°garden¡± he painted, perhaps because he could not use this kind of paint to paint the garden¡¯s soul. He did not dare to use this kind of paint to paint a portrait of his daughter Elle because he was worried that it might affect Elle¡¯s health.

    But he dared to use this kind of paint to paint for other people.

    So, Annan had no pity in his heart for the poor painter which the Venerated Skeleton coveted upon.

    The painter reaped what he sowed.

    Judging from Annan¡¯s discerning eyes, Amos¡¯s paintings were already quite outstanding. He was now in his thirties. How many painters turned famous only when they were old?

    But Amos couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    This might be the first bottleneck period he faced in his life. Because of his outstanding talents, he had been smooth in his previous life and had never encountered setbacks. Even before he got the paint, he was invited to paint a portrait for Mrs. Viscount twice.

    In Amos¡¯s age, this was enough to prove his talent.

    Although there were still many unsolved mysteries¡­

    For example, why did Amos do this, why did he swallow Elle¡¯s eyeballs, why did he seal Elle in the paintings. There were more or less a hundred paintings in the gallery; where did theye from? Was Mrs. Viscount the wife of the old Viscount in Roseburg? Why was the entire Freezing Water Port cursed?

    But those secrets must be hidden in the higher-level dungeon instance.

    He only entered the third level this time. It was normal for him not to get all the information.

    Anyway, Annan could enter the dungeon instance at any time. He could probably fool the yer to help him decrypt it.

    Annan dared to make a bet that the yers would definitely like this.

    At least in the gallery stage, the stimulus was like a person with a dull sense of taste tasted the spicy Sichuan hot pot for the first time.

    Oh, I should set up a live broadcast channel for them. Annan recalled this feature in the backend interface.

    For safety purposes, I shall not announce it to the public first. Though, I could post this feature in the forum. Then, the yers can watch it like a dungeon instance guide. With this, I can test it out to see if those watching it will retain memories when the yer tackling the dungeon instance failed and lost his memory.

    Now, it¡¯s almost time to end this dungeon instance.

    Annan looked at the lonely [Live.] with a gentle and kind smile.

    Then, he took the kitchen knife out of the dressing table.

 Chapter 48: Steady Player Annan

    <h4>Chapter 48: Steady yer Annan</h4>

    It was neither realistic nor safe to go out with a kitchen knife and fight with Amos.

    Annan had never liked such aggressive tactics.

    Although he had lost half of his feelings now, Annan believed that he should be a steady person looking forward to growing.

    The so-called steady was just a tactic not to dive tower for a kill. [1]

    Because there was a possibility of getting killed by the tower instead.

    The correct way was to kill the opponent before they enter the defensive tower.

    As you can imagine, it was a more reasonable and safe option.

    Adhering to this philosophy, Annan did not directly hold the kitchen knife in his hand.

    He picked a thicker coat and put a sweater on it. This kind of clothing would be a little hot, but it was still bearable. Because of this dress, Annan could hang several kitchen knives on the back of the coat, on the chest, and under the arms.

    Annan put the kitchen knife in the sweater first and then covered the sharp edges through the coat to secure it firmly on the body. It functioned like a toothpick holding a bacon roll. These were all spaces that Annan could ess freely at any time.

    But it was a pity that he could only hide these smaller kitchen knives.

    For the biggest kitchen knife, the one that Annan threw out smoothly on the painting, couldn¡¯t be dealt with so easily.

    Annan hid it in Elle¡¯s piano room, near the door.

    Indeed, Elle had her own piano room.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know who invented the piano in this world and when it emerged, he knew very well that the price of this thing was not cheap.

    This was probably why Elle mentioned in her diary that she wanted to go to the concert.

    It was a pity that Annan didn¡¯t know how to y the piano. But fortunately, Amos would not have a thick face to request a song, so this w might not be exposed shortly.

    Annan¡¯s instinct told him that this piano might be rted to the dungeon instance of different difficulty.

    The death gs [2] in the third level were rtively lesser at present. As long as the yer did not roam around and mind the nuisance, there was just enough time to finish reading the three books in the study.

    If Annan was not careful and did not bring a kitchen knife into the study when Amos came home, and the portrait screamed, Annan would fall into aa. It would result in Amos discovering him or get howled to death.

    After all, when Annan threw out the knife, he saw the light and shadow effect in the study had a slight change. That was to say, if he did not react quickly, it might spawn a few creeps here and there.

    After all, the guardian spirit can move freely in all the paintings drawn with this kind of paint.

    In a sense, the first half of this dungeon instance was a disguised time-limited investigation simr to ¡°Oust [3].¡± Hesitation would lead to defeat. It was best not to waste time.

    So what about the second half of the dungeon instance?

    Is the cake poisonous? Will I fall into hallucinations after eating it?

    Or does it mean that if I eat the cake that Amos bought and drink the ck tea he makes, I will fall unconscious?

    Regardless of the storyline, Annan would not explore the oue with his body.

    He decided to¡­

    ¡°Amos,e over quick!¡±

    Annan closed the door of the piano room hard and then let out a panicked scream, ¡°It¡¯s not right. Someone seems to have moved it!¡±

    He didn¡¯t speak out ¡®piano¡¯ directly because he didn¡¯t know the name of this instrument in this world and worried that he would call it wrongly.

    Annan was very cautious.

    Another reason was¡­

    He knew that if he said so, Amos could not remain calm.

    There were shady secrets in his study. Whether it was a thief or an undead who moved the piano, he couldn¡¯t call the police.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Amos was shocked.

    His first reaction was to go to the study. But after Annan¡¯s repeated urging with a slight cry, he hurried over.

    But, Annan was very d that he sessfully called Amos over. He did not need to raise his kitchen knife, which he temporarily named Forstmourne, to approach Elle¡¯s father.

    Because Annan saw that Amos took out a revolver from behind his waist. It didn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary gun. The gun had a line of gleaming silver text written on it that Annan couldn¡¯t understand. Its caliber had a scary diameter.

    At least Annan was certain that this gun was deadly for Elle, who was also an ordinary person.

    ¡°Is there anyone inside?¡±

    Amos asked in a low voice.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see it clearly,¡± Annan lowered his voice that was full of fear, ¡°But I saw the curtain just moved. It seems that someone is there!¡±

    Amos looked at the closed door of the piano room, which was held tightly by Annan. He quickly pushed Annan behind him, raised the muzzle with his right hand, and slightly bent his index finger at the trigger position, ¡°You stand behind me, Elle. No, stay away.¡±

    ¡°You should also be careful, Amos.¡±

    Annan responded softly. The left hand ced on Amos¡¯s back trembled slightly, fully revealing the fear and helplessness of the hand¡¯s owner.

    Amos arched his waist and pushed the door abruptly open.

    He squinted slightly with his left hand tightly pulled the door of the room. He looked around the room for a while. But of course, he did not see anyone else.

    Amos leaned in slowly and looked behind the door first. No one was there.

    So Amos yelled, ¡°Come out, friend!

    ¡°I saw you!¡±

    While saying this, Amos slowly approached the heavy curtain at the end of the room while holding the gun, and at the same time, raised his voice, ¡°Elle, you hide behind the door!¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­¡±

    There was still a hint of fear in Annan¡¯s voice, a little trembling. But it was clear that the arrival of his father gave ¡°Elle¡± a lot of courage.

    At the same time, Annan took out a kitchen knife from his right arm briskly. His left hand slowly took out the kitchen knife from where he had hidden the kitchen knife.

    Then, Annan took aim for a while and quickly threw two kitchen knives at Mr. Amos, one after another!

    The big kitchen knife was heavier and shed on Amos¡¯s right shoulder. He couldn¡¯t help screaming. Under the pain, the gun in his hand fell to the ground.

    The smaller kitchen knife aimed into the back of Amos¡¯s head. But, since Amos moved because of the pain, the sharp kitchen knife only cut into Mr. Amos¡¯s left neck deeply with blood seeping out.

    At this moment, Annan had already pulled out the remaining two kitchen knives from the left and the right and threw them out without hesitation.

    He shed at Amos¡¯s neck, and another knife shed Amos¡¯s right hand that was blocking the knife. Then, he pierced Amos¡¯s eye socket with his backhand.

    Somehow, it could be a coincidence or fate; Annan¡¯s knife hit Amos¡¯s left eye.

    It was the location of the scorch mark on Elle¡¯s portrait!

    Annan pushed Amos down, rode on him, cut his throat, and nailed his eyes, ears, and temples. But, Amos was still struggling, as if he would not die. Bright red paint oozed from him.

    The liquid tainted the floor, soaking it bright red. Then, the liquid came gushing like a copsed dam. The bright red liquid gushed out from Amos¡¯s wound, flooding the entire room in the blink of an eye.

    Annan felt like he was immersed in seawater. He felt a strong sense of suffocation. The whole world was as if there was only this bubbling red ocean left.

    He struggled in this red ocean and gradually lost consciousness.

    When Annan woke up again, he was still floating in the blood. But he no longer felt the strong sense of suffocation but breathing normally. Arge number of system prompts appeared before his eyes.

    Annan only realized with hindsight.

    I seem to have cleared the dungeon.

    [1] MOBA Games (Dota, Lol, Wild Rift, Mobile Legends) reference; taking high risk for high reward.

    [2] Death gs are hints in anime that a character will die soon.

 Chapter 49: Annans Curse Binding

    <h4>Chapter 49: Annan''s Curse Binding</h4>

    [Advancement ritualpleted.]

    [Promoting rank¡ª]

    Multiple streams of data came across Annan¡¯s vision.

    The surrounding crimson ocean started to boil andrge bubbles rose up.

    On the bottomless seabed, ck mud began to gradually leach out. Fragmented whispers and chuckles apanied by melodious and weird music sounded.

    In the end, the mud clumped into a ball and slowly rose. A bright red shimmer slowly shone in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Until it rose to the level of Annan¡¯s line of sight, the brilliance suddenly released. It was like a ne passing by at low altitude. With a buzz, Annan lost his vision and everything became pitch ck.

    In the dark world with the absence of light, three light clusters emerged.

    There was an emerald eyeball, a blood-stained kitchen knife, and an abstract drawing of a backstab.

    At this moment, a new glimmering panel floated in front of Annan:

    [Curse disy.]

    [Lost Eye (Persistent Type): Your left eye will asionally hurt sharply as if someone dug on it with a knife.]

    [Note: After the interval between two pain episodes on the left eye exceeds three days, the duration of pain will gradually increase. The maximum duration of pain will not exceed 12.4 seconds, and the shortest duration will not be less than 2.4 seconds.]

    [Butcher¡¯s Knife (Resolve Type): You must use a kitchen knife to kill one person every month.]

    [Note: You gotta deal at least 10% of the total damage caused. The kitchen knife must have cooked human food normally within the day before the ritual.]

    [Backstab Oath (Taboo Type): You can¡¯t sneak attack from behind and kill people who trust you.]

    [Note: ¡°Trust¡± refers to the moment when you attacked the other party, the victim never thought that you would kill him, and the two of you knew each other¡¯s existence prior to the event.]

    The system disyed the content about the three curse bindings clearly in front of Annan.

    However, contrary to the well-mentioned negative effect, there were no hints on the power obtained after choosing the curse bindings.

    ¡°Three types of curse binding?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    In fact, at least as far as the curse binding of Bronze Rank was concerned, there was nothing too harsh.

    Except that the first curse binding was terrible and might cause hindrance at critical times, the remaining two were alright to be shouldered.

    The second one was simple. It was equivalent to hacking one person to death every month. There was no difficulty to it.

    Annan had a special identity in his hands after all. There was no difficulty in executing a death row prisoner every month. Even if there was no one for Annan to kill, he could issue a mission to the yers, allowing a yer to challenge him. That would contribute one kill count to him.

    Each death would cost the yer for one or two levels. But, it was not a big deal.

    Annan couldpensate experience to the challenger, allowing the challenger to advance by 3 to 4 levels. He could also boast the reward with a 500 affection rate. The challenger would be satisfied for sure.

    At that time, there would be no shortage of yers for Annan to kill. The yers woulde along with the festival celebration like gongs, drums and firecrackers.

    The third curse binding was not difficult to avoid.

    However, it became a tad bit challenging for Annan to not have the option to betray someone. After all, it was easy to vite this rule in Annan¡¯s way of doing things.

    But fortunately, this curse binding was still loose in terms of ¡°backstab,¡± with the condition of ¡°when you attacked the other party, the victim never thought that you would kill him¡­¡± In other words, Annan had to alert his attack before the betrayal. He could avoid killing the victim in the betrayal but subdue to the victim. This would allow him to avoid the curse binding.

    However, Annan thought for a while and chose the second one.

    The reason was none other than¡­

    ¡­to pave the way for the next advancement.

    After all, although the third condition seemed to have little effect now, it might turn worse at the subsequent advancement. Every time you advance, you may get a new curse binding. These curse bindings were likely to hinder each other, further restricting Annan¡¯s backstab.

    The most important thing about curse binding was confidentiality.

    Except for the secret keeper, it was best if no one knew his curse binding or even if the others knew it, they could not crack it.

    Once Annan behaved in restriction, as long as his enemy was smart, the enemy could figure out the curse binding easily after investigating Annan¡¯s behavior patterns.

    For resolution type curse binding, the condition was enforced tightly, it was easy to resolve. It was also the least likely to conflict with other curse binding.

    Then¡­

    Annan made a decision. The blood-stained bubble began to expand rapidly, quickly engulfing the other two bubbles. The contents gradually turned into a turbid red, then slowly ckened, turning into a small ck mud again.

    Then, the mud flew over and stuck to Annan¡¯s right forearm. Then, it began to flow slowly. It appeared as if something engraved on the skin at the arm.

    Corrosive pain came from wherever it flowed. It left a pure ck scar visible to the naked eye.

    The color was like the void without a trace of blood. It was dark and limitless.

    The scar¡¯s shape resembled an abstract broken sword and a tortuous circuit.

    Annan once again skimmed through the new texts:

    [Butcher¡¯s Knife: Effect applies to any ded weapon (the de cannot be longer than 1.5 meters). No activation cost. 30 minutes cooldown after activating it.]

    [When attacking an edible creature (meaning that you will not die after eating it), if an attack does hit and causes damage without getting blocked, parried, or diverted, then the sharpness of the weapon and the hardness are temporary double when the target is repeatedly attacked.]

    [This effect can be stacked infinitely with a built-in cooldown of 2.4 seconds. After stacking twoyers of effects on other enemies, the other blessing effects will be reset to zero.]

    It seems pretty good.

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    This was a practical ability.

    This ability could be simply described as¡­

    ¡­The ck Cleaver [1] specialized in offense to counter any tough and hardy opponent unit.

    For most enemies, as long as Annan¡¯s weapon injured the enemy, the sharpness and hardness of his weapon would increase rapidly. As long as he could bypass the opponent¡¯s weapon or shield and hit the opponent one or two times, he would be stronger by a significant margin.

    His weapon could be strengthened to a point where he could sh off the enemy¡¯s weapon and shield with one sh.

    This meant that even if Annan was holding two kitchen knives, he couldmit a sword onught to shatter the enemy¡¯s weapons and armor after a few exchanges of blows.

    However, this ability did not seem to be suitable for the brutal and head-on swordsmanship.

    It was suitable for the light and flexible aspects of swordsmanship.

    The rapier¡¯s weakness was too fragile. The weapon¡¯s material couldpensate for it. As long as Annan could quickly injure the enemy several times, he could strengthen his weapon to an astonishing degree. It could go to the point of directly prating the shield or armor, allowing him to kill the enemy directly.

    Annan¡¯s first thought was his Frost Sword.

    The trigger condition for this ability was ¡°cause damage,¡± not necessarily ¡°bleed.¡± The sword energy fired by Frost Sword could not be blocked or deflected.

    With that, Annan would initiate the fight with Frost Sword. It was guaranteed to trigger a buff [2].

    The only drawback was that in addition to the infinite stacking on the main target, attacking other people could only stack for oneyer at most.

    It was a pity that Annan did not get to roam freely in battle.

    After being branded by the ck mud, Annan lost consciousness again.

    When he woke up, he had returned to the Freezing Water Port in the real world.

    [1] League of Legends Champion. It has a Carve mechanic that works simrly on reducing enemy¡¯s armor.

    [2] Game terminology. In gaming, a BUFF is an effect ced on a character that enhances their statistics or characteristics.

 Chapter 50: Acquire Profession: Wizard

    <h4>Chapter 50: Acquire Profession: Wizard</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purified the nightmare with designated identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Killed Amos. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Injured Amos¡¯s left eye as Elle. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªB]

    [Obtained 152 points in Shared Experience. Perception+1]

    [The current purification progress is 39/350. You can enter the dungeon instance again after 71:59 minutes.]

    [Obtain dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession of your choice increases by 1 level.]

    ¡°Can I not use it for now?¡±

    Annan closed his eyes and asked in his heart.

    Because of the wrong information from Priest Louis, Annan entered the dungeon instance with the wrong difficulty. His dungeon instance clearance rewards this time were enough to raise the Silver Rank profession by 1 level. Unfortunately, Annan had not even attained the Bronze Rank yet.

    But unfortunately, he had to utilize this reward before he woke up.

    ¡°Then, I will choose the profession: wizard apprentice.¡±

    Annan said in his heart.

    As long as Annan¡¯s wizard profession was raised by one level, he would attain Transcended just like Don Juan. In this way, the possibility of his identity being exposed would be significantly reduced.

    After all, both of them had ck hair and blue eyes. They were about the same height and body shape. Soon, Annan would be a Transcended of the same level as Don Juan. Coincidentally, both of them were wizards of Energy Falteration School.

    The possibility of replicating this coincidence was low.

    ording to Salvatore, it was almost impossible to find another person to befit the above characteristic in the entire Noah Kingdom.

    No one would have thought that the young heir of Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke would appear in the Noah Kingdom at this time.

    Indeed, Annan didn¡¯t expect it either.

    After Annan chose this reward, his Profession Overview had be like this.

    Wizard (Energy Falteration School) LV11: [Instant Spells LV3 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, N/A)], [Guided Spells LV2 (Impeding Wall, Frost Nova)], [Chant Spell LV1 (Frost Wheel)]

    Annan¡¯s wizard apprentice had finally advanced to be a wizard.

    Along with the advancement, Annan acquired a new unique spell ¨C Frost Wheel. He suspected that this spell might be a standard feature of Energy Falteration School.

    Unsurprisingly, this should be the spell Don Juan cast in front of Annan previously.

    The spell summoned a wheel made of illusory frost and ran over us with great precision without damaging the ship deck.

    [Frost Wheel (Chant Spell): Requires frost element/frigid element/freezing element as the core. Utilizing chaos power as the curse restraining medium to construct a wheel-shaped light belt, which continuously elerates its pursuit to run over the dedicated target. The wheelsts for up to 11 seconds (depending on the wizard profession level) and dissipates naturally after the chase.]

    [Cast with the frost element: The initial movement speed of the wheels is tripled.]

    [Cast with the frigid element: Cold poison that is difficult to remove will remain on the enemy.]

    [Cast with the freeze element: The wheel attack will immediately freeze the enemy.]

    [Currently mastered: Frost element]

    [Chants: ¡°frost manifest the wheel ¨C forge a path.¡±]

    [Activating an unmastered element temporarily costs 10 Order Power each time. Each chant consumes 1 Chaotic power and at least 10 Order Power. The power (wheel size) depends on the amount of Order Power invested.]

    This was the first time Annan had encountered such a long narrative to describe a spell.

    But this also undoubtedly showed Annan that he had truly mastered the transcended ability that belonged to the wizard.

    Annan was no longer limited to instant spells for emergencies. He had Guided Spells that required teammates to cooperate.

    But in the true sense, Annan finally had the wizard¡¯s long-rangebat capability.

    At least Annan could pull out a cinematic effect on magic casting!

    As of Annan¡¯s current status temte, he had a lot of mana, and he had mastered the frost element.

    This meant that he could easily summon a massive Frost Wheel that moved at an amazing speed. Alternatively, he could summon multiple smaller wheels to pursue the distant enemies.

    After Annan read the newly obtained spell, the decryption rewards of the dungeon instance also popped up:

    [Hidden details decrypted: 60%]

    [You may receive the first stage reward (Obtained whenpletion reaches 33%).]

    Unexpectedly, although Annan only tackled the low-end dungeon instance of the third floor once, he decrypted half of the content.

    As a matter of fact, this dungeon instance had a total of six floors.

    This showed that Annan¡¯s spection on the plot was going well. At least, he had a correct framework.

    ¡°Get me the rewards.¡±

    Annan epted the reward without hesitation.

    He secretly looked forward to what reward this dungeon instance could give to him.

    In the previous dungeon instance, at the easy difficulty, the dungeon rewarded Annan a full restoration effect and raised the level of an unranked profession. There should be more reward in this silver rank distorted dungeon instance!

    It should be pretty fruitful.

    [Obtained dungeon instance decryption rewards: Shared Experience 200 points. Cursed ¡°Blood-stained Kitchen Knife.¡±]

    [Blood-stained Kitchen Knife]

    [Type: Weapon/Tool/Misceneous (Blue)]

    [Description: A kitchen knife with its blood impossible to be wiped off. Blood will drip continuously.]

    [Effect: The ¡®Blood-stained Kitchen Knife¡¯ holder will suffer from curse binding ¡°Painting Destroyer,¡± ¡°Extraordinary Throw¡±]

    [Painting Destroyer: If the ¡®Blood-stained Kitchen Knife¡¯ holder sees a portrait of a middle-aged woman while holding a ¡°blood-stained kitchen knife,¡± he must throw the kitchen knife within three seconds. Otherwise, the holder himself will be injured by the kitchen knife.]

    [Extraordinary Throw: When the ¡®Blood-stained Kitchen Knife¡¯ is thrown, it will automatically seek out the enemy in a small area as if the knife is blessed with Edict school¡¯s spell ¡°Homing Throw.¡±]

    ¡°What a good item!¡±

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up. He roughly estimated the weight of the kitchen knife in his hand and couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t praise the kitchen knife too quickly.¡±

    At this moment, Salvatore¡¯s exhausted voice came beside Annan, ¡°Firstly, determine your curse vessel. Will it be a ring? Or a ne? A bracelet? Or something else? It should be closer to your curse binding.¡±

    Annan opened his eyes and found Salvatore not far from him, looking at him tiredly.

    On the table in front of him was a table of bronze essories.

    ¡°Give me a bracelet. This will be my choice.¡±

    Annan thought for a while, then extended his right hand to a bronze bracelet studded with sapphires.

    ¡°You¡¯re good at making your choice.¡±

    Salvatore muttered, ¡°This happens to be the most expensive one.¡±

    Yes, I also think it is the most expensive, so I chose this one.

    Annan added in his heart.

    But seeing that the ritual hadn¡¯t beenpleted yet, Annan didn¡¯t say this out for the time being for fear of angering Salvatore, making the senior quit.

    Noticing Salvatore being so tired, he must be awake all the while. Or, perhaps it was a light sleep, waiting for Annan toe back from the dungeon instance.

    Annan didn¡¯t say anything but felt warmth in his heart.

    ¡°Sorry to trouble you, senior.¡±

    He said softly.

    The bronze bracelet, which was put on Annan¡¯s slender wrist, was slightlyrger. But after it was put on, the ck mud on Annan¡¯s right forearm seemed to be drawn out, slowly flowing towards the bracelet and infiltrating into the bracelet little by little.

    As the ck mud prated, the bracelet began to shrink gradually. Its weight began to decrease miraculously. Until Annan felt that its thickness and weight were hindering him, the adjustment waspleted.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s that simple. It¡¯s not challenging at all.¡±

    Salvatore was lying on the table, squinting his eyes like a dead fish andining, ¡°What annoys me is why didn¡¯t you wake up earlier?

    ¡°It¡¯s not noon yet. Ah¡­ I need to stay up for another day before I get to sleep.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was touched.

    He opened his mouth to Salvatore and asked, ¡°Senior, how long has time passed since I entered the nightmare?¡±

    ¡°Two days. To be more precise, there is still half an hour to fifty hours.¡±

    Salvatore sighed and closed his eyes to rest.

    The corners of his mouth were slightly raised; his voice was soft andzy,

    ¡°To be honest, your talent is incredible. It¡¯s quite reassuring.

    ¡°I can leave this ce without worry.¡±

    Sorry for the missing Chapter 47. We have some server issue and here¡¯s the quick link to go there.

 Chapter 51: Secret Keeper

    <h4>Chapter 51: Secret Keeper</h4>

    ¡­Two days?

    Annan was a little surprised, ¡°Did it take so long?¡±

    In Annan¡¯s subjective view on time, he spent about three hours in the dungeon instance.

    Did the first two lifes take too long? Or¡­

    ¡°Because the time flows differently.¡±

    Salvatore yawned andy down on the table with his eyes closed andzily exined, ¡°Time flies like when you are asleep. The time spent in a nightmare doesn¡¯t correspond to the actual time passed. A nightmare may take several days. You may stay inside for three days, but only days have passed in reality. You may only stay inside for half a day, but it¡¯s only a few hours in the outside world.

    ¡°But generally speaking, ordinary people can¡¯t sustain themselves in a nightmare. They can¡¯t handle the fear and despair, allowing the curse in the nightmare to draw their vitality and growing itself to be stronger slowly.

    ¡°In an orderly zone without gray mist, the early morning is usually when Order Power is strongest. The light of the rising sun can temporarily dispel the nightmare. The citizen will wake up from the nightmare. But because the nightmare still entangles them and is not purified, so they will enter the same dream at night. Over time, they will be weak.

    ¡°When our research on Transcendental theory is not adequate, our ancestors address this kind of memory fragments as nightmares. These nightmares have the properties of being eroded and distorted by the curse as well as capable of attracting souls into it.¡±

    As Salvatore spoke, his voice became softer, seemingly about to fall asleep.

    ¡°Hey, wake up!¡±

    Annan immediately patted Salvatore on the shoulder and shook him up vigorously, ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep! Wake up!¡±

    He was aware of Salvatore¡¯s curse binding that seemed to be rted to sleep.

    ¡°¡­Um? Did I almost fall asleep just now?¡±

    After Salvatore jolted up, he straightened up vigntly and stood up from the stool, ¡°Well, thanks, Don Juan. You just saved my life.¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t because you were waiting for me, you wouldn¡¯t have stayed up.¡±

    Annan sighed, ¡°Do you think I will wake up yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we never thought that you could stay in a nightmare for so long.¡±

    Salvatore nodded without disguising his views.

    He held the desk with both hands. Then, he kicked his legs and trotted to stay alert, ¡°That¡¯s why we let you enter a nightmare in the morning so that you can have the most rxed time to explore the nightmare.

    ¡°But yesterday morning, you didn¡¯t wake up yet. I knew you had the talent of a priest, but we don¡¯t know how long it will take for you to wake up. The priest doesn¡¯t know either. So we can only watch on you all the time. After all, you are in the advancement ritual. It¡¯s not the same as a typical nightmare. If you forget to bring a curse vessel, the curse power you brought out of the nightmare will easily dissipate. A new nightmare may form in the town.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±

    Annan thanked Salvatore gratefully.

    Whether it was helping him or helping Freezing Water Port, Salvatore wouldn¡¯t get any benefits in any sense. He was about to leave Freezing Water Port and return to ck Tower for his advancement. Even if Freezing Water Port had a new nightmare, it had nothing to do with him.

    He was the same as Priest Louis; he took actions based on kindness and a sense of responsibility that he preserved in his heart.

    ¡°You have to thank Priest Louis, too.¡±

    Salvatore gave a light cough and added, ¡°You are still growing. It¡¯s terrible for your body to fall asleep for two days and not eat. Priest Louis helps out in your supplement for the missing nutrition for two days. Of course, you got to thank me too because I paid for the treatment in your stake.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior. I will also thank Priest Louis in the future.¡±

    Annan did not hesitate to thank Salvatore solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m grateful for your help to my citizens and me.¡±

    Annan was never reluctant to say thanks.

    As long as it was something he should do, Annan had always done it well, including thanking or apologizing at the right time.

    But Salvatore was a little bit embarrassed to see Annan thanking him so straightforwardly and solemnly.

    He coughed lightly again, leaned against the table, and pretended to grab a sip. He took a sip of the teacup indiscriminately.

    Then, Salvatore looked out the window, and the corners of his mouth raised, ¡°For me, this is what I should do. But not many of the nobles are willing to thank someone sincerely.

    ¡°We, Transcended, have stolen power from the curse. Thus, we have to take corresponding measures. At least we must not let the curse overflow and harm innocent people. If we can help stop anything disaster, we will do it. If we can help anyone in any way, we will not hesitate.

    ¡°Although I personally think that my moral level is average, I can¡¯tpare to those living saints, who have extraordinary power, to help the weak and uphold justice. Sometimes, I have selfish thoughts and asionally use my power to get some benefits. But, we are all Transcended from a legitimate background, after all. We still have to abide by the rules.

    ¡°This is for everyone, but also myself. The ¡°Transcended Manifesto¡± said so¡­¡±

    The man with a tired face and thin body chuckled softly, chanting in a low volume solemnly:

    ¡°¡®From now on, I will bear my curse, keep others¡¯ secrets, keep my vows, and follow themon rules. We will stay true to our words today, and it will be the same in the future.¡¯You shouldn¡¯t forget it, Don Juan.

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    Annan nodded slowly. The rxed expression on his face gradually turned serious.

    He put his right hand lightly on his chest; his icy blue eyes slightly widened as he looked at Salvatore.

    He responded solemnly and earnestly, ¡°I will remember that.¡±

    Hearing Salvatore¡¯s words, Annan¡¯s heart was vaguely moved.

    In his transmigration journey, he had note into contact with much Transcended.

    It wasn¡¯t until he heard Salvatore¡¯s words that Annan had a vague idea of ??the Transcended society of this world.

    A gloomy and bleak, but not a dreary world.

    There was a group of secret keepers bound by the curses, abide by oaths, abide by the rules, and walk-in silence on their respective journeys.

    A group of loners not in solitary.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Salvatore said briskly, ¡°It¡¯s time to tell me your curse binding. I¡¯ll be your secret keeper.¡±

    ¡°Just say it directly?¡±

    ¡°En, at least for you, there is nothing particr about it yet.¡±

    Salvatore smiled and said, ¡°Of course, remember not to be the secret keeper of Gold Rank Transcended easily. If possible, it is better to stay away from them. Don¡¯t ask about them. Don¡¯t let them know your name, let alone hold rituals simultaneously with them, or say their names out in a nightmare.

    ¡°After all, Transcended at that level is not a human being.¡±

    Not a human¡­ What do you mean?

    Doubt and confusion rose in Annan¡¯s heart.

    But he just kept an eye on it and noted down the question secretly. He didn¡¯t n to ask about it at this time.

    He thought about his curse binding and summarized it to Salvatore, ¡°My curse binding is [Use a kitchen knife to kill one person every month].¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a new prompt in front of him:

    [Establishment of the Secret Oath.]

    [Currently Established Oath: 1]

    Did I establish the oath just like that?

    Annan was startled slightly.

    An idea suddenly popped up in his heart.

    If I tell all yers about my oath, will I get a bunch of secret keepers right away? Anyway, the yers must protect the ¡°faction leader¡± from their standpoint. I don¡¯t have to worry about them targeting me.

    This is equivalent to getting a bunch of secret keepers for free!

    So, what if yers bring this news back to their world and spread it through the Inte?

 Chapter 52: Old News Forty-five Years Ago

    <h4>Chapter 52: Old News Forty-five Years Ago</h4>

    Annan still didn¡¯t know exactly what the oath number was for.

    So his inclination to do so was not too strong.

    But if Annan found that this thing was handyter, he would explore this idea.

    ¡°It¡¯s a simple curse binding.¡±

    On the other side, Salvatore, who heardAnnan¡¯s curse binding, choked, ¡°Is there no additional requirement?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Annan exined, ¡°The kitchen knife must be the one that is in use. It only counts if the kitchen knife chopped on the vegetables a day ago.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still too simple. Your curse binding has no chance of being exploited. It¡¯s much better than mine.¡±

    Salvatore smacked his lips, looking envious.

    Annan was startled slightly and realized something.

    He tentatively asked, ¡°Can you tell me how you choose back in your time, senior?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to tell you directly. Anyway, you almost guessed it.¡±

    Salvatore sighed, ¡°The curse binding I chose at the time was [I must go to bed after three in the morning and get up before nine in the morning]. But I don¡¯t want this curse binding.

    ¡°I saw the shape of a person who seemed to be sleeping. I thought the content of this curse binding was to make me sleep more every day, but I didn¡¯t expect it to make me sleep lesser than before. Worse still, I am a person who likes to sleep very much.¡±

    He sighed again with a sad face, ¡°I¡¯m so annoyed. It¡¯s irritating. My days are too bitter. Life is meaningless.¡±

    ¡°I can understand.¡±

    Annan nodded sympathetically.

    His colleagues continued to work overtime when he got home from work early. When his colleagues looked at him to pack his things and go home, they should be in a simr mood.

    But Salvatore was miserable.

    He was forced to work overtime.

    But¡­

    It turned out that other people couldn¡¯t see the specific content of curse binding under normal circumstances.

    In this case, there was an exnation as to why Wizard Benjamin chose the conflicting curse binding.

    Because he could only see the approximate type of curse binding via the bubble. He could roughly infer what type of curse binding it was, its aspect, and what it was rted to through the bubbles.

    But he did not know the specific content of curse binding.

    Annan suddenly realized that this might be his advantage. Although it might not necessarily bring any benefits, it guaranteed that he would not be scammed.

    For example, if he could not see the content of curse binding, then Annan would probably choose that eyeball to be on the safe side, among the eyeball, a kitchen knife, and a backstab. The eyeball looked the least bloody, after all.

    But that eyeball was the biggest problem.

    The eye¡¯s curse binding might happen at any time. Once the enemy learned about it, there would be assassins camping in shifts, waiting for Annan¡¯s curse on the eye to trigger. Or probably when Annan was doing something serious, the curse might trigger and interrupt him.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯m considered lucky.¡±

    Annan chuckled and said, ¡± Even if others learn about my curse binding content, they can¡¯t deal with me.

    ¡°If they can siege control on me and prevent me from getting a kitchen knife or touching a person in thirty days, then they could have killed me a long time ago. It¡¯s simply unnecessary.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡±

    Salvatore nodded in agreement.

    He thought for a while, then asked, ¡°Speaking of which, Don Juan¡­ have you heard of the saints?¡±

    Annan shook his head calmly.

    Once you ask, I gotta reply I don¡¯t know.

    Anyway, since you asked me in this tone, it means that this knowledge is notmon. With Annan¡¯s behavior, even if he knew, he would pretend not to know.

    This was Annan¡¯s unique chat technique. He would say you¡¯re right, yes, indeed, awesome. Then, with an expression of admiration and seriousness, it was easy for the other party to brag about it. They couldn¡¯t help but reveal some information. Something that shouldn¡¯t have been said.

    When one¡¯s social status was higher than that of the other party, the effectiveness of this technique would increase exponentially. If you have a gorgeous face, you can double the effectiveness again.

    Under Annan¡¯s bluffing and coaxing onught, Salvatore quickly poured out this knowledge in a daze.

    Sure enough, this was a valuable hidden knowledge.

    In this world, there was a special kind of Transcended called Saints.

    They were the truly noble Transcended that Salvatore said before, ¡°They have a true heart of justice. Their motivation for obtaining extraordinary power is to help others¡±.

    They would make a public oath to make all their curse bindings public to everyone so that the world could be their secret keeper and be their supervisor to get the most potent oath power. In this way, even if they continue to die from the most distorted nightmares, the erosion rate would hardly increase.

    In this way, they could walk through various nightmares to purify the most terrifying and dangerous nightmares.

    Oaths and curses.

    Order and distortion.

    This was the duality of all transcended power in this world, like the yin and yang.

    It turned out that the meaning of the attribute ¡°Currently Established Oath¡± he just got meant this.

    Annan¡¯s expression became slightly serious.

    Then he had to start preparing for it. Even if he couldn¡¯t be a saint, he must at least find a way to tie the yers to his side.

    ¡°Right,¡± Salvatore reminded, ¡°Do remember to perfect the information from the nightmare, and write down the parts you still remember.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m irritated once you remind me of this.¡±

    Annan was annoyed, ¡°The information you gave me is not right at all!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Hearing this, Salvatore was startled.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Annan exined, ¡°I followed the clues and almost died indefinitely. I changed my mind to purify the nightmare only after realizing that I had died several times.¡±

    ¡°It turns out to be like this.¡±

    Salvatore frowned slightly.

    But he thought for a while before adding on, ¡°But I still think that the priest is not malicious.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°I will also mention this to Priest Louister.¡±

    He could see that Priest Louis didn¡¯t want to hurt him. Because he recorded a lot of dense information on the strategy he gave Annan, and most of them were useless details. This was the memory of his hard work.

    But unfortunately, Priest Louis still couldn¡¯t help Annan much.

    Because Priest Louis wasn¡¯t scamming him, but he was terrible.

    Of course, there might be another possibility.

    Judging from Salvatore¡¯s statement, it seemed that these people entered the nightmare for a limited time.

    This meant that it was likely that Priest Louis had not defeated the dungeon instance many times at all.

    He only dragged to the end of the time during the dungeon selection process, and then he was automatically invited out of the dungeon.

    Can this be considered purification? It shouldn¡¯t be.

    So, is it right to say that Priest Louis has never purified the nightmare?

    ¡°Speaking of it,¡± Annan suddenly remembered something critical, and he asked Salvatore solemnly, ¡°Senior, have you heard the name, Amos? He should be a painter who lived in Freezing Water Port. He was famous decades ago. The full name is Amos Morrison.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m familiar with the name. I saw this name in that old newspaper a few days ago. Wait for me.¡±

    Salvatore suddenly heard the name.

    He flipped the pages for a while. He found the clues in an old newspaper forty-five years ago. It was even hand-copied, and the pages were old and yellow.

    On the front page above, there was a line of bold characters:

    ¡°Famous painter used of consecutive homicides¡±

    It was written as such:

    ¡°Recently, Mr. Amos Morrison, a famous artist and painter of Freezing Water Port, was arrested by the public security guard for consecutive homicides.¡±

 Chapter 53: March 4, 1458

    <h4>Chapter 53: March 4, 1458</h4>

    ¡°Recently, the public security bureau arrested Mr. Amos Morrison, a famous artist and painter of Freezing Water Port, for consecutive homicides.¡±

    ¡°ording to an anonymous letter, there were arge number of dead bodies hidden in His Excellency Amos Morrison¡¯s gallery. Although the sheriff, His Excellency Hiram, thought this might be a prank, our respectable Sergeant Hiram still brought his security team and police with the assistance of several people relevant in the field to inspect Morrison¡¯s galleryst night.¡±

    Eh?

    Gallery?

    Annan saw this and came into deep thought.

    He looked up and saw that this newspaper was called ¡°Recent Events in the North Sea,¡± which seemed to be a monthly newspaper.

    After noting down the name, Annan unfolded the already somewhat easily torn newspaper and read carefully:

    ¡°Earlier, His Excellency Amos Morrison reported to the Freezing Water Port Police Station, iming that his daughter Elle Morrison was missing inexplicably. Because of Mr. Amos¡¯s outstanding artwork, this caused an uproar.

    ¡°Our beloved Viscount Alvin Barber and honorable Count Geraint also inspected this matter for a while. The Freezing Water Port police bureau joined hands with the public security bureau in Roseburg, Whitnd, High Cliff Castle, and other ces to jointly handle the case. They recruited many well-known detectives and those in the same field. Elle Morrison¡¯s whereabouts were not found in the end, albeit with the assistance of relevant personnel in the industry.

    ¡°This incident was once introduced to the capital as a case proving the North Sea Territory¡¯s weak governing power. Count Geraint severely criticized the incident. The former Freezing Water Port Police Chief, Job Boro resigned because of the unfavorable handling of the case.

    ¡°At 2:15 on March 4, Sergeant Hiram¡¯s investigation team was attacked in Morrison¡¯s gallery. Three police officers died, unfortunately. The two police officers also went crazy on the spot because the scene was too cruel, and they suffered a substantial mental shock. They then died of injuries a few dayster.

    ¡°The perpetrator was killed on the spot. The police station recovered the dead bodies. The identity was reported to be a mercenary from the swamp. More details, including the number of perpetrators, were still under confidentiality.

    ¡°ording to the testimony of a drinker who had just left Rotten Fish Bar, he heard a roar at about 2:30 in the morning. After he rushed to Morrison¡¯s gallery, he found that the police officers were talking to a burning person with mes all over his body. He was stunned in shock during the police¡¯s battle with a Giant Ball made of flesh. He shouted, attracting the attention of the Meatball emitting colorful light. Then, he was knocked out from the back.

    ¡°Later, Sergeant Hiram found multiple Elle Morrison¡¯s body pieces in Morrison¡¯s gallery. They were hidden inside the frame with the police dogs sniffing them out. Before that, Morrison¡¯s gallery had always prohibited pets from entering.

    ¡°Elle Morrison was originally named Elle Buckel. When she was seven, her biological father died. Her mother, ra Buckel, remarried Amos Morrison, who was five years younger than her. Elle also changed her surname to Morrison at this time.

    ¡°When she was fourteen years old, her mother ra died of illness for unknown reasons. In Morrison¡¯s gallery basement, a six-month-old stillbirth that had just been made into a specimen was found. The relevant personnel in security confirmed that the mother was Elle Morrison while the father was Amos Morrison. We have reason to suspect that there is an improper and unhealthy rtionship between them.¡±

    Below, there was a ¡°Note: This specimen has been recovered by the relevant department¡± in a line of small letters.

    A six-month stillbirth?

    Annan paused.

    If the year Elle died, and Amos was arrested, it was the second year of the nightmare.

    He roughly calcted it. The month Elle was pregnant. It was almost the month when Amos¡¯s second plotline appeared in the ritual.

    Annan felt a crippling horror crawling on his back.

    But he didn¡¯t realize where this uneasy feeling came from.

    He continued to read:

    ¡°Elle Morrison¡¯s body was confirmed to have died half a month ago by the relevant police and security team. It was exactly ten days after Mr. Amos Morrison reported the case.

    ¡°In addition, in the underground warehouse of Morrison¡¯s gallery, many corpses were also found. Most of them were vagrants, but the famous art critic Absalom gg was there too. He was a critic of Morrison¡¯s paintings in the past. But half a year ago, he became Morrison¡¯s fanatical supporter. Three months ago, he went to Freezing Water Port to participate in Mr. Morrison¡¯s painting exhibition, but he disappeared halfway.

    ¡°We have reason to suspect that Amos killed Absalom gg. His Excellency Amos confessed to this fact.¡±

    ¡°When asked about the other details in the gallery and the so-called Colored Meatball, His Excellency Sheriff Hiram said:

    ¡°¡®Undoubtedly, the mercenaries from the swamp are fighting us. The police officers on the scene can attest to this. The reason for the abstract monster to appear on the scene can only be the effect of alcohol. We have nothing toment on about what happened in the gallery rted to confidentiality regtions. Mr. reporter, I sincerely tell you that it¡¯s a great blessing that you did not show up at the scene. I think anyone with a conscience and sound morals will cry for the tragedy in the basement.¡¯

    ¡°At present, the public security team will lock down Morrison¡¯s gallery. The relevant persons involved are being interrogated one after another. His Excellency Morrison is under strict imprisonment control. It is reported that the feudal lord intends to dismantle Morrison¡¯s gallery shortly.¡±

    Is this the end of Amos?

    Annan wrote down all the other newspaper contents in the same period and then slowly closed the newspaper back.

    Count Geraint.

    Which Geraint forty-five years ago?

    Is it Don Juan¡¯s father or his grandfather?

    Also, is the Roseburg viscount mentioned in the nightmare ¨C Alvin Barber?

    Elle¡¯s previousst name, ¡°Buckel.¡±

    If Annan remembered correctly, in the cutscene cinematic graphics of the nightmare, Amos yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­Buckel¡­¡±

    Who is he talking to?

    Annan vaguely realized that these old news were connected. It was even possible that not just because of the prohibition of trade exports with Chilly Austere Dukedom, other reasons were contributing to the Freezing Water Port being abandoned decades ago.

    So, Don Juaning to thisnd might be more than simply because of ¡°the harms in the capital.¡±

    ¡°Forty-five years ago.¡±

    Annan murmured.

    He silently wrote down this number.

    In any case, something must have happened forty-five years ago.

    ¡°How is it?¡±

    Salvatore on the side looked at Annan, looking solemnly at the newspaper, and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Are there any gains?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Do you still have the newspaper this year?¡±

    Annan replied immediately, ¡°I want the news on the previous year too.¡±

    The current time was December 1503 in the new calendar. The Cold-Blooded Lady and the strict Old Grandmother protected thest month of the year. It would soon be 1504.

    Then, it was 1458 forty-five years ago.

    At this time, something must have happened.

    ¡°Such old newspapers are not easy to find. Their cirction is small.¡±

    Salvatore scratched his head in trouble, ¡°I only brought the newspapers rted to Gerant family and ck Tower this time, mainly for fear of taboos. It may not be possible to find all of them. I will try my best.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    It was better to let Salvatore help with the investigation than to run in like a headless fly.

    Annan urgently needed to deal with another issue personally.

    ¡°My guards, what¡¯s the situation now?¡±

 Chapter 54: Make Money To Support Your Faction, Players!

    <h4>Chapter 54: Make Money To Support Your Faction, yers!</h4>

    Hearing this question, Salvatore seemed to go into deep thought.

    ¡°How should I put it? En, at least your guards are capable.¡±

    Seeing Salvatore hesitating, Annan suddenly felt a little uneasy.

    That group of huskies. Are they tearing down my city?

    When I went out to demolish my enemy¡¯s base, was my base leveled?

    He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What happened? Or did they cause some trouble?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case. They even help others all over the city, and now the entire Freezing Water Port knows that their new feudal lord is here.¡±

    Speaking of this, Salvatore added, ¡°Of course, they are doing things well. They haven¡¯t put aside the job of guarding this ce and even helped patrol the city.

    ¡°Their loyalty to you is high. Even if you asked some to cause destruction at Roseburg previously, this dangerous mission did not make the guards who remained in the city feel dissatisfied with you. They even wanted to help at Roseburg because the mission there is more critical. Yes, that¡¯s what they told me.

    Salvatore recalled the actions of the yers. He immediately became more awake, ¡°I don¡¯t know where you found such good and strange guards. Before you entered the nightmare, many people havee to see you in the past two days.

    ¡°I can see that. They are not just saying a few good things about you, nor are they trying to behave or tter you for the sake of wealth and power. They hope from the bottom of their hearts that you can give them a more dangerous mission. They sincerely hope that you will be safe.¡±

    Yes, I know that.

    Because the yers wanted more fun and exciting mission. They must be concerned about the safety of their current only faction leader.

    Annan was silent, unable to even exin to Salvatore.

    They didn¡¯t love me at all. They want the affection rate I sent them!

    ¡°In that case,¡± Annan was a little confused, ¡°Why did you look so troubled just now?¡±

    ¡°Because some are too diligent. They are quite diligent and friendly to the townspeople.¡±

    When the young wizard with a sleepy face talked about this problem, he became energetic and uttered, ¡°Let me tell you. Some of them even n to go to work! It¡¯s not about guarding someone or teaching swordsmanship. It¡¯s work like pruning flowers, sweeping the floor, and guarding the grave!

    ¡°Some people even went to the militia group to consult on swordsmanship. At the time, the militia group thought they were there to find fault. Everything turned into chaos. Later, I learned that they indeed came to consult on swordsmanship. But your guards are so good at swordsmanship. Obviously, they have practiced military swordsmanship for at least five years. In the end, the militias were defeated miserably.

    ¡°The other townspeople were scared to death at first. They thought you were trying to take their property or their jobs, so you sent guards to ckmail them. Some even wanted to give them money. Some fights almost broke out. I went to mediate the situation and rify the matter to calm them down.

    ¡°I asked your guards why they are doing this. Then they said¡­ They left their homes and came here, and they had to make some money. Until I told them that you would pay them a fixed sry, some gave up the idea of ??finding a job. So, they guarded around the house patiently.¡±

    Salvatore said in a weirdplexion, ¡°They also said they must make more money because there could be ces to spend money at any time. But I have been here for several years. I don¡¯t know what this Freezing Water Port has to offer that can attract them to spend.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan was silent for a moment, then murmured in response.

    Wait, do I still have to pay them a sry?

    You bastard. Don¡¯t remind them, and don¡¯t remind me of this! These yers didn¡¯t realize that they had a sry to receive previously!

    Annan was sad.

    yers are getting used to exploitation. This game is conscientious enough to be free forever without the need to spend money. How would they even think of getting paid with sry?

    I hope they didn¡¯t believe Salvatore.

    Just as Annan thought, Salvatore with messy hair continued,

    ¡°But even if they knew about this, many of them decided to go out and look for work. Some even nned to hunt in the mountains, while some wanted to join the fleet for fishing.

    ¡°They even want me to keep it a secret from you. However, after thinking about it, I can¡¯t keep this secret from you for this kind of matter. After all, they are your guards. How do those townsmen pay them? What if they are tired or injured? What if they do things in your name? What if they deceive people in your name?¡±

    Salvatore had aplicated expression. He looked at Annan in confusion, ¡°It¡¯s true that nothing happened now, but I still have to tell you about it. I look at their appearance. They should have a good background, right. Why are they all¡­?¡±

    So poor?

    Although Salvatore didn¡¯t say anything in the second half, Annan already knew what he wanted to say.

    This was normal. It wasmon for yers to start farming for economic purposes. Especially when the other half of the yers performed dangerous infiltration and assassination missions, the rest of the yers left in the city would naturally take the initiative to help deal with logistical issues.

    For example, to make money.

    But Annan was relieved instead.

    The problem was not significant. As long as the yers did not demolish their homes, it would be a good thing.

    It was usual for the yers to look for missions everywhere. They would naturally test whether they could get life professions [1] and learn new skills. It was even more normal to want to work and earn money. They didn¡¯t steal but searched for work instead. Annan was even very pleased.

    But the sry¡­

    Annan was quite troubled with this.

    Because he had no money now.

    I don¡¯t have money. Just take my life.

    Fortunately, to be on the safe side, heid the groundwork for the yers on the main mission and made him look pitiful.

    Annan was now seriously thinking about whether to have a showdown with the yers.

    He would say that he had no money to pay wages. Then, when the sry was supposed to be paid every month, he would do the payout with affection rates directly.

    Or, I can let the yers make money for themselves. I pay them a small amount of affection rate monthly, at least during the closed beta period. As a noble, if I don¡¯t have a penny on me, there could be a mess.

    But I seem a bit like a dog wagging its tail. Turning in funds regrly to me sounds cruel, but it makes sense when I think about it.

    Anyway, Annan¡¯s affection rate was equivalent to vouchers, sort of like a monthly subscription!

    Haven¡¯t you seen a monthly subscription?!

    Isn¡¯t it normal to pay for a monthly subscription?!

    And you don¡¯t need to pay money, but it just takes you some time. What do you have toin about?

    Annan felt more confident as he thought about it. He quickly convinced himself.

    It was a happy decision; just let the yerse back regrly to pay him instead. Anyway, he had two noble identities. He was connected to Louis Prince and Salvatore, the wizards who seem to be well respected.

    If the yers wanted to buy something, the price, and quality at Annan¡¯s side must be much better than if the yers bought it themselves.

    The difference right there could be an attraction to make the affection rate more valuable.

    En, I shall make adjustments in the backend interface.

    Then, I tell them tantly. I¡¯m so cute. Please give me money¡­

    ¡°Oh yes, one more thing.¡±

    Salvatore suddenly blurted, ¡°Your guards seemed to get new information¡­

    ¡°They said that the person you sent to Roseburg discovered a major event that must be reported directly to you.¡±

    [1] Cooking, fishing, craftsmanship jobs. It¡¯s an RPG game reference.

 Chapter 55: Dangerous Letter Delivery Mission

    <h4>Chapter 55: Dangerous Letter Delivery Mission</h4>

    ¡°13 Rusty Water Street¡­¡±

    Wandering Child looked down at the letter of introduction in his hand and confirmed the location again, ¡°It is indeed here.¡±

    ¡°Gerald Dental Clinic?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose frowned slightly. His face turned a little ugly, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t want to enter this kind of ce too much. It reminds me of some bad memories.¡±

    ¡°Come in, uncle, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Lin Yiyi, on the side, persuaded, ¡°How about I head up with the child while you will stay at the door?¡±

    ¡°That works for me. Anyway, my size can easily alert the others.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said solemnly.

    Looking at the word ¡°dentist,¡± this tall man with brown curly hair and strong muscles felt a little scared in his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay downstairs to keep the lookout.¡±

    This seemingly strong andbat-prone card game streamer quickly added, ¡°After you go in, keep an eye on the forum and open the private post, including the three of us. If I encounter an enemy here and defeat him, I will post 11111. Then, you will be informed; if I encounter an enemy that needs your support, I¡¯ll post 22222. You need to hurry up and support me. If I send 3333, don¡¯t hesitate to jump out of the window or escape into the trail or something, but don¡¯t return home from the same path we got here. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Understood, uncle.¡±

    Lin Yiyi nodded; she responded formally and earnestly.

    Wandering Child also nodded cautiously, ¡°I will protect hyphen. You guys, be careful.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a hyphen. My name is Yiyi.¡±

    The three of the yers¡¯ best fighters reunited in Roseburg.

    The mission Annan gave them at the beginning was to blend in Roseburg smoothly. They had alreadypleted it easily.

    But as a matter of fact, this mission wasn¡¯t simple. For those yers who weren¡¯t strategic, they would easily reveal themselves.

    Unlike Freezing Water Port, Roseburg was a fortified city. Not only were there heavy city walls, but there were also watchtowers and towering but strange arrow towers mounted with ck giant crossbows on the sides of the city walls.

    Moreover, there was even an army stationed here!

    This also smoothly answered the questions yers had in their hearts. Why was there no garrison in the Freezing Water Port despite it being a border city?

    At this stage, they had figured it out.

    It was not that Freezing Water Port had no garrison, but the entire North Sea Territory¡¯s border defense forces were stationed in Roseburg. The Freezing Water Port was utterly exposed; it fell outside the scope of protection.

    In other words, Freezing Water Port was just a ¡°stepson.¡±

    yers also discovered some news in Roseburg. At least a hundred years ago, Freezing Water Port was still thend of Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    Even now, Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke had not issued any documents or officially ceded thend, just pretending the ce to be invisible. In the previous war, the Noah Kingdom, which upied Freezing Water Port, had no reason to return it. In this way, the two countries acquiesced to the wonderful existence of Freezing Water Port.

    The yers also got a piece of information unintelligible to them:

    The war between the two countries subsided, not because they reached a bnce of interests.

    But because Chilly Austere Dukedom had their ¡°border contracted.¡±

    yers had learned that there was a vast and invisible boundary outside the territory of every country in this world. The folks called this materialized curse the ¡°gray mists.¡±

    Long ago, the boundaries of the Noah Kingdom and Chilly Austere Dukedom ovepped with each other. This had caused quite an adverse effect on the boundary of the two countries. The boundary itself was roughly hemispherical, but the central location within the boundary could not be changed. Once the boundary actively contracted, it was equivalent to a loss of arge area ofnd.

    Therefore, neither side of the two countries was willing to give in. Both sides hoped that the other side could give in. The Freezing Water Port was once the bridgehead of Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    The war between the two countries ended forty-eight years ago.

    To be precise, it was 1455.

    The reason for the end of the war was that the boundary of Chilly Austere Dukedom encountered a strange problem. There was a small area of ?it ?copsing. To repair the boundary, Chilly Austere Dukedom was forced to shrink its territory, abandoning the Freezing Water Port in the southeast. Most of the ck Sea and several small cities in the southwest were exposed outside the boundary.

    Freezing Water Port was lucky.

    Because it was under the protection area of the two boundaries. After Chilly Austere Dukedom took the initiative to retreat, it naturally fell into the territory of the Noah Kingdom.

    In other words, another force took over the city.

    Those cities in the southeast were more miserable because the southeastern part of Chilly Austere Dukedom did not get in contact with the border of any other country.

    Of course, the residents were not stupid. They either packed up their belongings, moved north to go back into the boundary, and rebuild their family business. Or they would cross the sea to the United Kingdom located at the south of Chilly Austere Dukedom. The United Kingdom also opened immigration channels for the first time and even sent a few boats to pick up the immigrants.

    After a few months, the cities southeast of Chilly Austere Dukedom were no longer popted, and they became silent dead cities.

    On the other side, the Freezing Water Port had be more prosperous.

    After the Dukedom and the Kingdom no longer had border friction, the rtionship between the two countries improved rapidly.

    The Noah Kingdom directly dispatched garrisons and immigrants to Freezing Water Port, opened several business routes to the ind, and demolished the defense facilities and city walls that Chilly Austere Dukedom built. The kingdom only remained the port functioning. After all, it was a dagger pointing inward rather than outward.

    At the same time, the connection between the Dukedom and Freezing Water Port had not been severed. Chilly Austere Dukedom didn¡¯t seem to care that Freezing Water Port fell into the kingdom¡¯s territory but continued to transport goods continuously and then sold them to the Noah Kingdom through Freezing Water Port as a transit point.

    As a result, the Freezing Water Port hade into a delicate situation. Due to the trade supporting from Chilly Austere Dukedom, its economy took off quickly and developed into a reasonably prosperous port city. But, in the eyes of many people on the kingdom¡¯s side, having the Freezing Water Port fallen into the kingdom¡¯s hand was as disturbing as a girlfriend who came to the door but still kept in touch with her long-distance ex-boyfriend.

    Perhaps as early as that time, there were conflicts between Freezing Water Port and Roseburg. But in any case, this couldn¡¯t happen after ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± came to the North Sea Territory.

    yers must save themselves first, so under their conservative investigation, two days had passed. There was no reason why Viscount might be Don Juan¡¯s enemy. Even the vast majority of Roseburg citizens did not know that their new feudal lord had arrived at Freezing Water Port.

    The big boy referred to by the yers as ¡°child¡± or ¡°little boy¡± might be because of a harmless babyface, or because of his good luck, he identally received a copy of a mission from the slum, which made him vignt.

    Send a letter to a ¡°recluse heathen.¡±

    The child could vaguely see through the sunlight and the ck paper tube that this letter came from Mr. ¡°Justin Kney.¡±

    Through the information the yers had published on the forum, the child discovered that this person was Roseburg¡¯s Viscount¡¯s housekeeper.

 Chapter 56: Dr. Gerald

    <h4>Chapter 56: Dr. Gerald</h4>

    Lin Yiyi now believed that it was the right choice for Delicious Wind Goose not to go upstairs.

    Even if she had no psychological trauma from the dentist, the strange atmosphere of the Gerald Dental Clinic crept her out.

    Objectively speaking, this was a reasonably tidy clinic. Although the walls were still a bit yellowish, Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t see any waste lying on the floor, at least within the visible range of the naked eye.

    It was apparent that the owner here should be a person with a considerable degree of cleanliness.

    But for some reason, after entering this clinic, she felt a little uneasy.

    It was like the feeling when she was told to go to the head teacher¡¯s office when she was a child; it was also like the feeling when she felt unwell and went to the hospital for a physical examination and waited for the examination result.

    Nervous, tense, uneasy, and some inexplicable excitement. She felt a cold crippling on her, turning down the temperature of her body. The two arms felt like they had caught a cold and felt some slight ache crippling her nerves.

    Something is wrong.

    Lin Yiyi touched her arm a little uneasy, feeling a bit cold at this ce unexpectedly. She looked at herpanion, but the child didn¡¯t seem to notice anything. On the contrary, after he felt Lin Yiyi¡¯s gaze, he turned his head and looked at her nkly.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sister Hyphen?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you two patients?¡±

    At this moment, a soothing and gentle male voice sounded.

    The volume was not loud, but it quickly interrupted the conversation between the two.

    It wasn¡¯t until she heard him that Lin Yiyi suddenly realized that the young man with a gentle smile and ordinary appearance had been sitting across the stairs, watching her.

    But before the young man spoke, Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t notice his existence at all.

    She realized something was amiss, but she didn¡¯t feel anything wrong from the bottom of her heart. She just asked in a brisk tone, ¡°Is this Dr. Gerald? We are not patients. We are just here to deliver the letter.¡±

    ¡°Where is the letter?¡±

    Dr. Gerald asked gently.

    ¡°It¡¯s from the slum. I heard it was a letter from the viscount¡¯s housekeeper.¡±

    Lin Yiyi answered without hesitation.

    She immediately turned to look at Wandering Child. After all, herpanion didn¡¯t tell her too many mission details.

    The baby-faced handsome boy continued immediately, ¡°Yes, I received the mission from the local gang. The mission required us to send the letter from Mr. Justin Kney to a ¡®hermit heathen.¡¯ He gave me an address of where you are.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡°

    Doctor Gerald blinked and gave a gentle smile.

    He stood up, picked up a small hammer, walked over calmly, and asked, ¡°Then how do you know this letter was given to me by Mr. Kenny?¡±

    ¡°I face the letter to the sun and roll a ck paper into a tube. The ck paper converged the light so that I can get sunlight through it and see some of the contents of the letter.

    Wandering Child replied without any reservation.

    ¡°I see,¡± Dr. Gerald nodded. ¡°Then what else do you see?¡±

    ¡°No more. Because the letter is folded in half, the name is not very clear. Most of it is my guess.¡±

    Wandering Child replied.

    Dr. Gerald walked behind him. He asked gently and concernedly, ¡°Then are you curious about the content of the letter?¡±

    ¡°Curious¡­¡±

    Wandering Child continued to answer without hesitation.

    Then, Dr. Gerald gently mmed the small hammer in his hand against his skull.

    Once. Twice. Thrice.

    After the three soft knocks, nothing seemed to happen.

    Dr. Gerald then turned to Lin Yiyi, ¡°What about you, lovely girl? Are you curious about it?¡±

    ¡°Not very curious.¡±

    Lin Yiyi answered honestly.

    Dr. Gerald nodded, took out two shillings, and handed them to each of them. He turned around and sat back in his chair.

    Then he said gently, ¡°Then you can go back. You sent the letter to me smoothly, and I epted it. Little boy, you have an incurable disease. Sort out your funeral matters tonight. Funeral. Girl, you also know about this matter. Remember to help him. Please go back, you two.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Doctor Gerald.¡±

    The two replied in unison.

    Afterward, the two of them went straight down the stairs.

    Dr. Gerald looked at their backs with discerning eyes and frowned slightly, ¡°These two children are in good shape.¡±

    But his brows quickly loosened, reached out his hand to tear open the envelope, and murmured briskly, ¡°Forget it, it doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s just two ordinary people.¡±

    On the other side, watching the two people go downstairs so quickly, Delicious Wind Goose found it baffling.

    He quickly leaned in and asked in a low volume, ¡°Have your mission failed?¡±

    ¡°The mission was sessful.¡±

    Lin Yiyi replied naturally, ¡°We have handed the letter to Dr. Gerald. He also gave us four shillings. We are now going to arrange the funeral of Wandering Child.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What? What?¡±

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s words stunned Delicious Wind Goose for three seconds.

    But he quickly reacted with his expression turned solemn. He let go of the hands holding the two¡¯s clothes and let them go away.

    It wasn¡¯t until a few minutester that he pretended not to know the two of them and detoured away from another road.

    Thirty minutester, Delicious Wind Goose stopped them outside Rusty Water Street and dragged them into an alley with no one nearby:

    ¡°Do you remember who you are?!¡±

    He looked a little nervous and shook Lin Yiyi¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Do you remember the forum? Have you checked the forum? Do you remember our original agreement?¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Yiyi suddenly stopped moving.

    There was an evident struggle on her face as if she was fighting with someone on the spot. Then, she shuddered with her pupils suddenly erged to the limit. She was sweating profusely in an instant.

    ¡°Fuck!¡°

    Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but yell out insults, but her face was still a little scared, ¡°I fell into his trap.¡±

    As she spoke, she grabbed Wandering Child without hesitation, pped him on his face, and yelled, ¡°Wake up, child! Hurry up and change back to your original appearance.¡±

    ¡°Stop beating me. You¡¯re making me dizzy!¡±

    After three ps, the child woke up. He hugged his head and shouted, ¡°Even if you yell like that, I won¡¯t be a 2D character!¡±

    ¡°Are you being mentally controlled just now?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t even realize when it was controlled. Fortunately, you didn¡¯te up.¡±

    Lin Yiyi still had a look of fear on her face.

    She grabbed the child, ¡°Look at your panel. He hammered you three times, saying that you have a terminal illness!¡±

    ¡°What are you panicking about? Maybe it¡¯s asking me to look for it in the middle of the night.¡±

    Wandering Child muttered and opened his panel.

    Three debuffs red brightly:

    [Curse binding: Cardioplegia (triggered after 16:22:31, or it can be triggered under the curse binding: Forgotten Secrets)]

    [Curse binding: Speak No Evil (if the curse holder is attacked when he hasn¡¯t finished his words, the attack ignores the defense)]

    [Curse binding: Forgotten Secrets (triggered when you say or write the words ¡®Kney¡¯, ¡®Viscount,¡¯ and ¡®Gerald.¡¯ You will immediately forget what you wanted to say.)

    He immediately covered his mouth. His whole body was in a cold sweat.

    He almost said the word ¡°Gerald¡±¡­

    Suddenly, he reacted.

    He hastily posted 1 crazily on the forum, attracting the attention of the two. Then, he pointed to his mouth, waved his hand, and posted a picture of his three statuses in the post.

    After reading them, the two quickly understood.

    ¡°I think we need to seek an audience with our feudal lord quickly.¡±

    The child finally spoke, ¡°This matter is critical.¡±

    ¡°But, we can¡¯t go back before you die.¡±

    Lin Yiyi hesitated.

    Wandering Child did not hesitate, ¡°Then, post a message for help!

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to die for sure, then save the effort of rescuing me. The mission is important! If we can¡¯t go back, let the yers at Freezing Water Port tell Don Juan about it!

    ¡°This matter must be notified to him personally. We can¡¯t treat this lightly!¡±

 Chapter 57: The Venerated Skeletons Bone Blood Trigger

    <h4>Chapter 57: The Venerated Skeleton''s Bone Blood Trigger</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s basically it.¡±

    Jiu Er finally finished the description of the incident that happened in Roseburg.

    This matter quickly became a hot issue on the forum. yers also realized the importance of this issue and dispatched Jiu Er to notify Annan as soon as possible.

    After all, only Jiu Er was close to Annan for the yers who stayed at Freezing Water Port.

    Fortunately, both Annan and Salvatore didn¡¯t care much about the yers having some kind of remotemunication method. They all trusted the news Jiu Er brought. Otherwise, it would take a lot of effort for the yers to exin the forum¡¯s existence and persuade these two NPCs.

    ¡°An ability that can manipte humans.¡±

    Annan frowned slightly.

    He rested his cheek on his left hand and tapped the five slender white fingers of his right hand subconsciously on the table.

    Annan found the newly appeared enemy to be a little bit tricky to be dealt with.

    Suppose Doctor Gerald could manipte people¡¯s minds as he wished, especially when this ability could be used on multiple people. In that case, Annan could conclude that this level of the enemy was not someone he could deal with now.

    So Annan turned to Salvatore and asked:

    ¡°Senior, what do you think?¡±

    But unexpectedly, Salvatore didn¡¯t seem to be nervous.

    Rather-

    A strong feeling overflowed from him, whichpletely suppressed the current tension.

    Was it anger? Hatred? Passion?

    None had any idea about it.

    But only one thing could be certain.

    In Salvatore¡¯s eyes, an inexplicable me had indeed ignited.

    He pursed his lips in deep thoughts for a while, then asked Jiu Er in a lower volume, ¡°Are you sure that your twopanions are subject to these three curse bindings?

    ¡°Only one of them, and the other has not been subjected to curse binding.¡±

    Jiu Er corrected.

    ¡°Yes. I mean, are there three curse bindings only?¡±

    Jiu Er nodded affirmatively.

    After all, she was looking at the screenshot directly on the forum. It was unlikely that she would be mistaken.

    ¡°Is it rted to your acquaintance?¡±

    Annan asked Salvatore.

    Annan had realized something too.

    Salvatore was familiar with this man¡­or rather, familiar with a hammer.

    Sure enough, the haggard young wizard nodded and responded in a low volume,

    ¡°You can say that.¡±

    Salvatore immediately asked Jiu Er, ¡°Ms. Jiu Er, did yourpanion mention that heathen¡¯s profession? Is he a dentist?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he is.¡±

    Jiu Er looked at Salvatore in surprise.

    At first, she thought that was a nuisance. She didn¡¯t raise it in the first ce to not cause distraction, disturbing the two NPC¡¯s trains of thoughts.

    But she reacted now.

    There seemed to be something hidden in this piece of news. Fortunately, Salvatore had keenly guessed it himself.

    She realized that these two NPCs were smarter than her. So, she dispelled the jumbled thoughts and gave out all information even if it appeared seemingly meaningless to her.

    ¡°Also, after the two of them were brainwashed, they were awakened by theirpanions after the group left the street. He pointed out some questions and woke up one of the victims. The other was woken up after many ps.¡±

    ¡°Luckily, they woke up.¡±

    Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief with his solemn tone slightly rxed.

    While Salvatore was talking, he stopped abruptly. He looked at Jiu Er, then Annan.

    ¡°You can share anything here, Senior Salvatore.¡±

    Annan nodded, ¡°Jiu Er is trustworthy.¡±

    With that, Annan looked at Jiu Er seriously, ¡°What we are talking about next is important. You should note it down.¡±

    ¡ªAlthough I haven¡¯t activated the forum¡¯s live broadcast function yet, do remember to make a post and write it down.

    Annan hinted.

    Jiu Er also nodded seriously and solemnly.

    She did not disappoint Annan as she opened up the forum and began to record the critical information.

    ¡°For your question whether it¡¯s about my acquaintance, my answer to you is yes. But, even if I know him, he may not know me.¡±

    Salvatore replied, ¡°In terms of seniority, he should be considered our senior and even our teacher.

    ¡°He is the ck wizard from the swamp¡¯s ck Tower, David Gerald. He graduated from the Soul Snatch school and briefly taught students for three years before I enrolled. Later, he betrayed the ck Tower and stole an important curse item. It¡¯s that hammer.¡±

    Having said this, Salvatore¡¯s expression became slightly serious, ¡°It looks like a palm-sized hammer. Its full name is [XX Bone Blood Trigger]. I can¡¯t tell its full name in the Freezing Water Port. So I call it [Bone Blood Trigger] for short. I hope that when I say this, you can probably realize what I didn¡¯t say.

    ¡°Is it the one we talked about previously?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡±

    Salvatore replied affirmatively.

    Annan¡¯s heart shuddered.

    There was only one answer.

    The Venerated Skeleton!

    A curse vessel in the name of a deity.

    ¡°What is its ability?¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help asking.

    Not only for the need to be cautious, but Annan was also a little curious about it.

    Salvatore nced at Jiu Er, hesitated for a moment, and replied frankly, ¡°Haih, it¡¯s no longer a secret anymore. The hammer is imbued with six curse bindings.

    ¡°They are [Cardioplegia], [Speak No Evil], [Forgotten Secret], [I¡¯m Not Here], [ustrophobia], [Page Lock]. You have learned about the first three curse effects. Let me tell you about the details of thest three curses.

    ¡°The effect of [I¡¯m Not Here] is equivalent to the Idol school¡¯s spell that shares the same name. When the others don¡¯t know the true face of the victim or his secret, the victim is invisible to them like the ¡°deity¡± in mythology. He shall be invisible, inaudible, and invisible until the others show a divine miracle.

    ¡°The effect of [ustrophobia] is equivalent to the Energy Falteration School¡¯s spell that shares the same name. It triggers when the person bound by this curse is in a confined space within ¡®a certain area¡¯ defined by him. The bound person will have extreme fear and anxiety. After more than three minutes and three seconds, there will be hallucinations and auditory hallucinations dedicated in advance. Three minutes after the hallucinations appear, the bound person will have a strong urge to kill. His body is strengthened at the mutation level. After more than 33 minutes, the curse-bound person shall die on the spot.

    ¡°The effect of [Page Lock] is equivalent to the spell of the same name in the Edict school. It affects the ¡°carriers of knowledge¡± such as books and newspapers within a certain range of the curse-bound person. The texts in the said entities will manifest and bind the victim on the spot. The more secretive the knowledge, the more difficult it is to break the chain. Once the victim breaks free, the pages of the book will be damaged. The maximum time to trap the victim depends on the amount of text imbued in the chains binding the person and the reading speed of the curse-bound person. Generally speaking, the effect ¡®dissipates¡¯ at one-tenth of the time needed to finish reading the books. After the effect is over, the curse-bound person is equivalent to reading all the contents of the books that bound him.

    After speaking, Salvatore looked at Annan, ¡°Do you think this is a powerful curse?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡±

    Annan eximed, ¡°They are all practical curse binding!¡±

    ¡°Then, let me tell you why it is called the ¡®trigger.¡¯ It¡¯s because it can unch¡¯ the curse binding in it.¡±

    Salvatore replied, ¡°Using a person¡¯s bones and blood as bullets, three different curse bindings can be injected into a person¡¯s body for 24 hours. This tool can be used once a day. Any number of curse bindings can be injected into another curse vessel. For one month, the person who touches the curse vessel will be entangled by the curse. As of the second usage of the tool, you may temporarily let the curse binding disappear from the trigger before the curse binding returns to it.

    ¡°Bone and blood need to be loaded from the back of the hammer like bullets. The amount needed is minimal. The only requirement is that this tool needs to be used once a week. The ¡®Bone and Blood¡¯ sacrifices used each time muste from different people. Whether the tool wielder uses repeated sacrifices or fails to use it even once, three kinds of curse binding in it will be randomly infused into the tool wielder for 24 hours.¡±

    While Salvatore was still talking, Annan¡¯s thoughts had drifted away.

    He suddenly remembered something.

    In the first nightmare when he came into this world, Annan saw a mirror.

    [The Mirror without Tongue]

    [Type: Material/misceneous (Blue)]

    [Description: The ruined curse vessel has lost its original function.]

    [Effect: The curse holder will suffer curse binding ¡°Speak No Evil.¡±]

    Annan now understood that the so-called curse vessel was the object that contained the curse binding.

    If it was said that the ¡°ruined curse vessel¡± had lost its original function¡­

    So, why was the effect of curse binding ¡°Speak No Evil¡± not lost?

    Or¡­

    ¡°Speak No Evil¡± was not the attribute of the mirror itself but was infused into it.

 Chapter 58: F2A

    <h4>Chapter 58: F2A</h4>

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Everything was connected.

    If Annan didn¡¯t guess wrong, Dr. Gerald enchanted us¡¯s curse vessel mirror.

    The murderer who killed the real Don Juan Geraint was his guard captain, us.

    In fact, the guard captain was under the Third Prince.

    Gerant family¡¯s eldest son, Don Juan¡¯s eldest brother, was also at the same side with the Third Prince. He must have revealed us¡¯ on old wizard Benjamin¡¯s curse binding.

    To ensure that he could defeat the Silver Rank Wizard Benjamin before docking, even after knowing Benjamin¡¯s curse binding, us still requested the curse vessel mirror. He used the ritual ¡°The Tongue in the Mirror¡± on the ship.

    This ritual needed a curse vessel mirror imbued with a lot of curses. It must be smaller than us¡¯s head too. Such a mirror must be challenging to find.

    But if any curse vessel mirror would do without the strict requirement on curse bindings, the difficulty would be much lower.

    ording to Salvatore, one of the main missions of Transcended and the Church was to recover curse vessels in the world. After all, ordinary people could resolve the nightmare with its enormous poption. There would be lucky people who resolved the simpler nightmare, or some unfortunates.

    If one cleared the nightmare, they would have a chance to get a curse vessel.

    Curse vessels were always magical. That won¡¯t change.

    However, the curse vessel was imbued with curses. To Transcended, these curses were nourishment, but they were no different than poison to ordinary people.

    Coexisting with the curse vessel for a long time would make the owner¡¯s body visibly weak. If the curse vessel was slightly more robust, it might infiltrate a considerable area. Worse still, it might even follow the owner¡¯s obsessions and desires, resulting in simple nightmares, which would draw in the surrounding people and affect them.

    Examples of weak curse vessels would be ¡°brushes that make hair white,¡± ¡°mirrors that don¡¯t reflect people¡¯s faces,¡± and ¡°gloves full of blood after taking off.¡± Transcended had the duty to recover these curse vessels too. These items were useless, so they were all used as stimnts for high-level curse vessels or sacrifices and materials to hold rituals.

    All in all, the person who helped usplete the ¡°The Tongue in the Mirror¡± ritual was Dr. Gerald.

    The perpetrator was in Roseburg and had correspondence with the viscount¡¯s housekeeper.

    The viscount in Roseburg was nning to murder Annan a few days ago.

    ¡°All the events are connected.¡±

    Annan murmured.

    He was silent for a while and then asked, ¡°What is his Rank?¡±

    ¡°Silver. In the year he defected, he was just silver.¡± Salvatore said affirmatively, ¡°It¡¯s only four or five years, he can¡¯t have advanced to gold. The previous news can also prove it.

    ¡°The Gold Rank Soul Snatch Wizard gets the iconic spell [Full Control]. This is a more advanced version of [Mind Maniption]. The controlled creature will be like a puppet. His will be snatched away silently. The spell can still be effective even if the victim is at a long distance away from him.

    ¡°But [Mind Maniption] is different. It is a debuff effect. If certain conditions are met, it will take away the human¡¯s will in his field of vision. It does not affect animals and ghosts.¡±

    Salvatore replied affirmatively, ¡°Your guards can wake up from the opponent¡¯s Soul Snatch spell, which means that Dr. Gerald must not have advanced to gold. In this way, we have a chance of winning.¡±

    ¡°.From what you said, you seem determined to fight him to the death.¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    But Salvatore didn¡¯tugh in reply.

    He came into silence. After a while, he said softly, ¡°Sorry, Don Juan. I may not be able to help you guard the Freezing Water Port anymore.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you nning to go back for advancement?¡±

    Annan frowned.

    You are ahead with a significant advantage, yet you head out to gank the enemy with so little hp. You don¡¯t even return to base to get supplies? [2]

    If you¡¯re in our yer group, you will be med.

    Salvatore just shook his head:

    He is a Soul Snatch Wizard. It¡¯s rare to have a chance to seize him.

    ¡°So it¡¯s not that I intend to go, but I must go. There are some things that I want to settle with him. I have curse bindings on me, so I can¡¯t tell you too much. You need to know that there is only one who can survive between him and me. I have to admit that he has progressed much faster than me.¡±

    Speaking of this, the young wizard, who was always fatigued, slowly opened his eyes that were always squinted.

    This was the first time Annan saw Salvatore¡¯s pupils.

    Those were gorgeous but strange eyes.

    His eyes had noticeable circr marks. The outermost circle was silver-gray; the more central it was, the darker the color tone. The center was pure ck.

    It looked like a downward vortex, or possibly an upward tower.

    Salvatore¡¯s eyes were firm.

    ¡°Once he enters the Gold Rank, I will no longer have the possibility of taking revenge.

    ¡°Soul Snatch Wizard can read minds freely in a wide range, basically impossible to capture them. He seems to have reached some agreement with Roseburg¡¯s viscount. Once he is protected by the nobles or under the control of a viscount, there is no possibility for revenge.

    ¡°Even if I¡¯m in the same rank as gold, I will not be able to defeat Soul Snatch Wizard in a one-on-one battle as an Alteration Wizard. You can rest assured, Annan. I have made a lot of effort in this matter. Those efforts will not be in vain. For example, I know his curse binding. I also know what spells he masters. I know him well in the grasp of my fingers.

    ¡°As long as I kill him, I can return to the Freezing Water Port with peace of mind. There is no need for me to return to ck Tower to advance. After all, this is my hometown.¡±

    Salvatore kept talking.

    But Annan interrupted him suddenly, ¡°Okay, senior. It¡¯s all right.¡±

    He had to interrupt him.

    Salvatore¡¯s lines sound too scary.

    The death gs [2] stood up one after another. After this series of lines, Annan suspected that Salvatore was going to die on the spot.

    ¡°I believe your efforts so far will not be wasted.¡±

    Annan said solemnly, ¡°But you said something wrong.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You have to help me to guard the Freezing Water Port.¡±

    Annan¡¯s facial expression was in. He spoke with a child¡¯s voice, ¡°You will never die here.

    ¡°Because I will apany you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to, Don Juan.¡±

    Salvatore was touched.

    But he still refused Annan, ¡°You are still young. This is not your battle. The hatred lies within is not even rted to you.¡±

    ¡°No, this hatred is indeed rted to me.¡±

    Annan said inly.

    By now, he finally had an idea about the enemies that Don Juan was facing.

    The powerful kingdom¡¯s heir, the Third Prince.

    The Third Prince had somehow taken control of the Roseburg¡¯s viscount, who was heavily armed on the border;

    A Silver Rank Wizard that manipted people¡¯s mind who was armed with a high-level curse vessel named after a false deity;

    The backstab ¨C Don Juan Geraint¡¯s eldest brother who betrayed the Gerant family;

    Some traitors too.

    Dr. Gerald was not only Salvatore¡¯s enemy but also Annan¡¯s enemy. In other words, the enemy this time did not n to kill Salvatore but intended to murder Annan.

    Annan wasn¡¯t helping the senior to fight his enemy. Annan was using Salvatore to defeat a terrifying enemy in advance.

    Of course, these need not be mentioned.

    After all, he was just an innocent, pure-hearted, and righteous young man.

    ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t intend to go with only two of us.¡±

    Annan slowly said, ¡°As you know, my guards are powerful.¡±

    Salvatore was startled, ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    Annan replied affirmatively,

    ¡°Fighting against a powerful enemy naturally requires us to use all our power.¡±

    I shall let the yer go with me. I will give them a short-term infinite resurrection power.

    The authority of the so-called CG cutscene and killing the opponent through plot power.

    Yes.

    Annan nned to send out all his forces [4].

    [1] F2A. It¡¯s a game acronym that stands for clicking all enemies (by pressing F2) and selecting attack (by pressing A). Usually referred to as F2A bot in winning war strategy games.

    [2] Multiyer Online Battle Arena reference. Describing Salvatore going for a reckless move.

    [3] The point where a person¡¯s death bes highly probable or unavoidable due to something that he or she has just said or done. It may also refer to the phrase or action itself.

    [4] Reference to ¡°Sky Rush¡± in Warcraft 3 esports. Utilizing the limited opportunity when the opponent was unprepared to overwhelm the opponent with all current forces.

 Chapter 59: Go To Roseburg

    <h4>Chapter 59: Go To Roseburg</h4>

    ¡°I still think that I should go find that person again. Or do something else.¡±

    Wandering Child couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°I¡¯m only online for 1 hour today. I don¡¯t want to waste a whole day of gaming time here waiting for death.

    ¡°Shush.¡±

    Lin Yiyi stared at the empty space and muttered, ¡°Look at the forum! There seems to be newsing from the Freezing Water Port.¡±

    Wandering Child was taken aback when he heard it and opened the forum himself.

    After regaining their minds, the three of them immediately retreated to their temporary base. It was a beer factory that had been obsolete for many years.

    Its location was on the west side of Roseburg, close to the wheat fields in the outskirts.

    The surrounding area was rtively sparsely popted. The houses were of lower height and minimalistic. They werepletely different from the prosperous city in the south. Even the surrounding patrolling forces were minimal.

    Probably it was because there was nothing to steal around here.

    It was past noon now. There were no yers in the temporary operation base. All yers had already woken up and left, so there was no one in the base. In regards to the safest ce, this ce was undoubtedly the best spot for the infiltrating yers.

    Although it was called a factory, its floor area was the size of a mill. Some traces of machinery could be seen; a couple of exhausted containers used to contain the ¡°Green Fire¡± were lying around. There were five empty wooden barrels more than two meters high.

    Other things that could be moved away from this ce had already been emptied.

    When the yers discovered this ce, these wooden barrels were already in tatters. The interior was covered with dust. There were even dead rats in the barrel.

    There were simply no traces of life. It appeared that even the homeless did not want to live here.

    This ce gave off a creepy feeling to the yer.

    After all, the yers had arrived in this world for the first time. They didn¡¯t know the taboos existed. Luckily, the ce was at least windproof. If the dweller decided to close the door and start a fire in the interior, this ce would be warm.

    The yers who came to Roseburg this time were all men except Lin Yiyi. So, the guys naturally took up the cleaning role. More than a dozen strong men far more powerful than ordinary people work together. This ce was fixed in less than half an hour.

    Since the yers needed a bed to go offline, they took out their weapons and dismantled the wooden barrels after they cleaned up here. With some of the cotton cloth and ropes the yers had brought, they made some wooden beds that were so rudimentary that those who saw it wanted to cry.

    It was not so much of a bed but a canoe.

    But yers didn¡¯t need to sleep on it after all. Whether it wasfortable to lie on had nothing to do with them.

    The yers probably know in their hearts that the vast majority of beds in this era should belong to the ¡°ufortable¡± level, in their opinion.

    They didn¡¯t even need to take off their clothes and shoes. They need a warm, windless, secretive ce where they could go offline safely.

    To fulfill the requirement of ¡°sessful infiltrate¡± in the main missions list, 18 of the 20 yers would choose to stay here so that everyone could be avable to take care of each other. It was a better option than living in the city. Once they get caught, there was nowhere to escape when they reappeared online.

    More than a dozen strong men gathered and squatted together in a small house. They had extraordinary strength and agility whilst armed with sharp weapons and five years of military swordsmanship. The scene appeared like a horror game at first nce.

    Imagine that a police officer, patrol guard, or busybody felt that this ce was not quite right. So, he came ale at night and opened the door with a lock capable only to serve as decoration.

    Then, he found a dozen strong men fully armed, practicingbat and disarm technique silently in the interior under the looming candlelight. A girl with disheveled hair and a sword on herp squatted on the barrel while staring at a daze. Her fingers were gesturing in the air, and weirdughter came from time to time.

    It would bring an insurmountable shock to the witnesses.

    The remaining two yers did not leave because of their ipatibility in mingling with the group. They also lived here on their first night.

    After all, they were streamers with excellent social skills. They were pretty good at bringing up topics and telling lies.

    One of them had somehow mingled into the viscount¡¯s mansion with an unregistered identity and became a guard. He had smoothly infiltrated deep into the enemy¡¯s base.

    The other one was even more spectacr. He hade into contact with one of the Transcended powers of this world in a day.

    Indeed, he joined the church smoothly and became the Silver Sire¡¯s deacon. He was given a warm ce to stay directly in the church. There was free breakfast and dinner. The most overwhelming thing was that he had a sry.

    Therefore, these two yers naturally had other missions during the day. So, they no longer acted along with other yers.

    Of course, they would share the vital information on the forum.

    Since the missions were time-limited and had the possibility of failure, these yers might not be familiar with each other, but they could count on each other. Therefore, after the yers got the information, they would upload it to the forum in time, open a post, and start brainstorming together.

    Such amunication method that spanned time and space was extra helpful to the yers.

    For example, they could inform Don Juan Geraint far away in the Freezing Water Port of Dr. Gerald¡¯s information immediately.

    ¡°They are alling over!?¡±

    After reading Jiu Er¡¯s post, Wandering Child¡¯s pupils shrank. He was quite surprised, ¡°The main mission has changed.¡±

    Indeed.

    Those twenty yers had the main mission ¡°Defend Freezing Water Port¡± at the start. Their missions suddenly became ¡°The Disaster of Roseburg¡± like the others.

    ¡°The information you have uploaded may be more important than you think.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said in a deep voice, ¡°I specte that the NPC you two encountered may not be an enemy we can face at our level. It should rather be a boss [1] who appears after a series of missions.

    ¡°That is to say; you probably had glitched out the missions, Child.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    The Child starred in front nkly.

    He turned silent for a while and suddenly said, ¡°Will I get an achievement title?¡±

    ¡°No. And if nothing else, the mission contributions from the three of us may be high.¡±

    Lin Yiyi analyzed, ¡°The doctor killed the Child indirectly, indicating that he did not want to be exposed. He should have some need to hide his identity. This means that his identity is not suitable to be publicly known.

    ¡°But, the viscount has a secret connection with him, indicating that he should be on the same side with the viscount. Since the viscount is hostile to us, it means that the doctor should be the enemy we will encounterter.

    ¡°He can unknowingly hypnotize others, alter their minds, and even curse others silently. If he keeps hiding in the dark, then this enemy will be troublesome.

    ¡°But, our shrapnels blew out our enemy¡¯s cover.¡±

    Lin Yiyi affirmed, ¡°I think the change we have caused is likely to make things much better.¡±

    ¡°So, it is very likely a good thing that Mr. Gerald was found out.¡±

    On the other side, Annan was also quietly exining to Salvatore.

    His voice was tender and immature but full of wisdom, ¡°Since I will face him sooner orter¡­

    ¡°I would rather confront him directly under the sun in an upright duel.¡±

    The convoy from Freezing Water Port headed towards Roseburg.

    They would arrive in four hours.

 Chapter 60: Killing Intent From Three Parties

    <h4>Chapter 60: Killing Intent From Three Parties</h4>

    In Roseburg¡¯s very center, there was a crimson castle that prated the sky.

    Its name was also Roseburg.

    It looked like a broken sword basking in the vile dragon¡¯s blood, pointed to the sky unyieldingly.

    In the lingua franca, the original meaning of the word ¡°Rose¡± was ¡°broken sword¡± or ¡°extinct heir.¡± In addition, it also meant to describe the eunuch.

    But the irony was that Roseburg¡¯s owner did not have an heir.

    The old viscount sat back on the throne for the third time.

    He was already more than eighty years old, soon approaching his nies.

    Forty-five years ago, he passed his city lord position to his eldest son, who was also his only son. Unfortunately, the eldest son died while having an enjoyable time with thedies seven yearster, so the viscount position went back to the old viscount.

    Fortunately, at that time, he was still young.

    One year after his son¡¯s death, he got a son in middle age and had a new son, Allen Barber. When his son was 24 years old, he passed his title and city lord position to his son.

    Unfortunate events took ce. His second son died after seven years. This time, Allen Barber died in the study. The old viscount didn¡¯t even know who to vent his anger away.

    At this time, Alvin Barber viscount was already 82 years old.

    Even if he utilized spells to strengthen his vigor, he knew for sure he couldn¡¯t produce an heir in the future.

    Amidst the misfortune, his young second son had an heir.

    The year Allen died suddenly, his wife was pregnant. A yearter, she gave birth to a baby boy and then died during childbor.

    Now, Alvin¡¯s grandson would soon be six years old.

    He was born without a father or a mother; his only blood rtive was his grandfather ¨C Old Viscount Alvin. Perhaps because of the premature birth, Old Alvin¡¯s grandson was sickly and often ill in bed.

    Roseburg was about to be an actual ¡°Broken Sword Fort.¡±

    ¡°Don Juan?¡±

    The old man repeated the messenger¡¯s words with his voice murky and weak, ¡°He came to Roseburg. What is he doing?¡±

    The old viscount was a tall and thin elder. He had thin silver-gray hair that was delicatelybed. On his head, there was a circlet iid with fine chipped gems.

    Outside his thin figure, the most eye-catching characteristic about the old man was his eye sockets that were so deep with his muddy eyes embedded in them, sunken down. They were like the moon covered by dark clouds.

    Compared with his skinny figure, thisfortable leather seat looked muchrger. He didn¡¯t seem to sit on it securely but rather ¡®fell¡¯ on it weakly.

    Behind Alvin¡¯s seat stood a tall and sturdy bald man.

    The bald man appeared in his early thirties. There were three bronze rings of different sizes and shapes on the fingers of his right hand. He had a heavy bronze ne hanging around his neck. It appeared not so much a ne as a heavy dog ??chain.

    Although this bald man looked like a personal guard or an underground fighter, he was, in fact, the Barber family¡¯s housekeeper.

    His name was Justin Kney.

    A ¡°curse hunter.¡±

    ¡°I smell Transcended, my lord.¡±

    Justin Kney whispered, ¡°There are two of them, both of which are Bronze Rank. They did not carry a powerful curse vessel.¡±

    Justin¡¯s voice was deep and honest; he sounded like a calm and reliable person.

    ¡°Oh, it seems that our little crow also brought a helper. He¡¯s not an easy person.¡±

    Alvin Barber sneered silently, ¡°Sure enough, exactly like his father.

    ¡°Oh ya, repeat to me again, how many of them are in our territory? How long have they stayed in Roseburg?¡±

    He sat on the seat, tilted his head slightly. He crouched his back and stared at the messenger who was kneeling on the ground and said slowly.

    Alvin always kept his head down. Keeping his head up was a burden on his cervical spine. His neck posed a challenge to lift his head; his legs and arms were as thin as matches.

    Being stared at by the old nobleman who had experienced three generations of being a ruler and soon to be the fourth generation of a ruler, the young messenger couldn¡¯t help but shudder.

    ¡°He¡­ There are 22 of them, sir. He should be entering the city by now.¡±

    The messenger said tremblingly.

    Just being stared at by old Alvin, he felt his back chill.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wee them.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I said¡­ Invite them as a guest. Are you deaf?¡±

    Old Alvin smiled. His voice was hoarse albeit m, ¡°By the way, let¡¯s only invite two people. No, three people are invited. The blue-eyed bird is allowed to bring two guards over. He gets to choose who he wants to bring. Are you clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±

    The young messenger was hesitant to speak but quickly responded.

    However, he was still not clear about this somewhat vague instruction. For example, what should the rest of the people do when they should enter the venue. But the messenger knew that now was not the time to ask these questions.

    He realized that Alvin intended to get him to leave, so he quickly excused himself.

    After he left, Old Alvin turned his head slightly and hissed, ¡°Justin.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Go and inform our guest.¡±

    Old Alvin said word by word softly, ¡°Go and invite him to dinner, saying that we are going to have a good talk about cooperation. It¡¯s time for him to express his stance. By the way, give him another big surprise as a gift. ¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t rmend this, my lord.¡±

    Justin was straightforward and refused the idea, ¡°Once there¡¯s a fight, I may not be able to protect you.

    ¡°The two Transcended just entered the city. One of them has a strong curse. It should be the son of ck Tower. He and Wizard Gerald should have hatred for each other. He is an Alteration Wizard. If there is a conflict, the entire Roseburg may be in danger, let alone you.¡±

    ¡°Why protect me?¡±

    Old Alvin nced at Justin, baffled. He sneered, ¡°I invited them to the banquet, but I didn¡¯t mean that I would attend. Is this their wedding? Do they need an elder like me to give a speech?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°After you notify the guest, you will bring the children up. We are staying at a suburban winery tonight. Remember to leave the guards and servants here. The banquet needs to be happening too. No matter who dies, it is a good thing for us. Best if they both have losses, then you go and kill them all. If one of them is seriously injured, the other is in good condition. We will side with the winner temporarily.

    ¡°As for Roseburg¡­¡±

    When the old man said this, there was a faint disgust in his eyes.

    His rough and crooked fingers tapped the armrest twice and whispered coldly,

    ¡°A pile of rubbles. Don¡¯t worry about them.¡±

    On the other side, at 13 Rusty Water Street, Gerald Dental Clinic.

    The ordinary-looking young man with a gentle smile suddenly raised his head, frowned, and sniffed the air. Hisplexion changed slightly.

    But with constant movements in his hands, he pulled out the patient¡¯s teeth under him and threw them into the small box beside him. He took out a small fragrance packet and stuffed it into the tooth hole.

    ¡°Drink some porridge these three days. Avoid overly hot food.¡±

    He ordered softly, smiled, and said goodbye to the client after receiving the money.

    The young dentist frowned slightly and unconsciously turned the delicate silver ring on his left middle finger.

    ¡°Old Alvin suddenly became hostile to me. Does he want to kill me?¡±

    He murmured, ¡°That¡¯s weird. Why so?

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be exposed.¡±

    Gerald thought for a moment, reached out, and grabbed the silver hammer on the table. He took out the small box with the teeth with the other hand.

    He took out six bloody teeth and inserted them into the side of the hammer one by one.

    It was like inserting bullets. Every time a tooth was inserted, there would be a strange ¡°click¡± inside the small hammer. It did not sound mechanical but rather like a creepy sound when the cervical spine was moved.

    He reached out until all six were inserted, held the small hammer, and turned it upside down.

    It¡¯s still fine.

    It¡¯s just a matter of killing them earlier orter.

    Gerald murmured with a gentle smile on his face, ¡°Let¡¯s settle it tonight.

    He pondered for a while and whispered, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton, obstruct the prophecy for me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    Without warning, a deep, echoing voice rang in Gerald¡¯s ears.

    Gerald nodded in satisfaction.

 Chapter 61: Bishop Daryl

    <h4>Chapter 61: Bishop Daryl</h4>

    After paying the entrance fee for more than 20 people, Annan and his party entered Roseburg smoothly.

    Of course, Salvatore must have paid for it. After Annan stared at Senior Salvatore for a while, the senior surrendered. He was embarrassed to go out with such a small child and had the child pay for it.

    Annan was now seriously considering whether to hurry up and get some money, at least enough for daily expenses.

    He had been treating Salvatore like a dumb rich guy in those movies. Even if the senior didn¡¯t mind, his acting would reveal some ws one day.

    It was worse than stingy.

    How could there be such an impoverished nobleman?

    ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    Suddenly, Annan heard someone outside the carriage raise their voices, ¡°Is Young Master Geraint in the carriage?¡±

    Who is it?

    Annan was alerted, but he did not reply.

    He looked at Salvatore, and the other person understood, ¡°I am Salvatore cktower. Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Dear ck Tower son, I am the Silver Sire¡¯s bishop, Daryl.¡±

    The man outside the car smiled and said, ¡°I think you might have heard of me.¡±

    ¡°I have indeed heard this name. He is the bishop in Roseburg. He is said to be capable.¡±

    Salvatore looked at Annan and asked in a low volume, ¡°Shall we take a look?¡±

    ¡°We could; maybe he¡¯s here to help us.¡±

    Annan said solemnly, ¡°After all, this matter has something to do with that person.¡±

    Salvatore understood.

    Annan nced around, motioning the yers to stick closer to him.

    Salvatore had already agreed with Annan to let Annan make the decision after entering the city.

    Soul Snatch Wizards were experts in manipting people¡¯s minds. Even if they didn¡¯t use their spells, they were usually good at this aspect.

    After all, Salvatore had murderous intent against Gerald. Gerald should also realize it. This meant that he was likely to use Salvatore¡¯s murderous intent to lead Salvatore to make mistakes.

    Annan didn¡¯t know Gerald at all. This meant that the enemy had no way to influence his mind. He could remain calm at all times, especially when the two of them came into a disagreement. Salvatore had to reflect on whether he had been unknowingly affected once quarrels happened.

    This was the countermeasure that Annan and Salvatore discussed on the carriage during their journey to this ce.

    Naturally, Jiu Er also broadcasted the whole process live while she was staying next to Annan.

    On the one hand, the yers were nervous and excited about the enemy¡¯s strength they were about to encounter. They were also convinced of the conjecture that ¡°Don Juan was the protagonist of this game.¡±

    Although the cover of this game was Don Juan, there were always exceptions.

    For example, there were games where the signboard girl [1] had no presence in it.

    Was it possible for ordinary people to be so smart when they were twelve or thirteen years old? When they are twelve or thirteen years old, could they think so calmly and collected?

    Annan¡¯s words of wisdom had convinced the yers to be united and wait for the kill arranged by the plot.

    After all, they had been exposed to the Transcended power of this world many times now. They had also realized that although they could easily defeat the private armies disguised as robbers, theirbat prowess was hardly worth mentioningpared to those Transcended.

    There were only two Transcended in total in their entire team.

    So, I¡¯m just there to trigger the cutscene, doing misceneous work, and clear the creeps, right?

    In the end, it must be a series of CG cutscenes. Young Master Don Juan and Panda Eyes are going to show off their power, right?

    The footmen, which Don Juan brought, thought optimistically.

    Sure enough, Annan¡¯s thought waspletely different from that of the yers.

    He silently and nonchntly said to the short girl beside him, ¡°Protect me, Jiu Er. Use your life to protect me.¡±

    ¡°I will! Uh¡­huh?¡°

    Jiu Er responded briskly.

    But she paused, and suddenly there was a look of surprise in her eyes.

    She did not hesitate, said very firmly and fluently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young master. I will never let any danger approach you.¡±

    Salvatore could notprehend it every time he saw this scene.

    How did Don Juan find such a group of diehard guards?

    But in reality, Annan just sent a temporary mission to Jiu Er.

    [Temporary mission: Personal Guard]

    [Mission requirement: Limited in Roseburg. Protect ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± from any arrows, spells, poison, and daggers that might strike. Before this mission fails, the resurrection does not require any cost and ignores every day¡¯s resurrection count.]

    [Special requirement: The final reward is based on the satisfaction of ¡°Don Juan Geraint.¡±]

    Seeing this mission requirement, Jiu Er understood the gists.

    The support yer flickered over to interrupt the opponent¡¯s onught [2]. She was exceptional at this.

    If it weren¡¯t for fear of troubling the young master, she would cling to Annan physically. After leaving the carriage, she would stretch out her arms and yell,

    ¡°Bram [3] is here!¡±

    Of course, when this mission appeared, she took a screenshot and posted it to the forum immediately.

    She even poked Lin Yiyi a bit on this.

    Taking into ount her impression in Annan¡¯s heart, Jiu Er just smiled reservedly, then opened the carriage door diligently and helped Annan out of the car.

    Seeing this scene, Salvatore got out of the car, unable to understand the situation.

    Especially after seeing that other guards heard thismand and cast jealous eyes on Jiu Er, he felt even more confused.

    These people are weird. All of them don¡¯t make sense to me.

    Are the guards from the royal capital so good-looking, powerful, and reliable?

    Are the rumors false?

    Don Juan Geraint isn¡¯t the least favorite son of Count Geraint, but his primary heir.

    Was his eldest son just a cover? A target to protect Don Juan from assassination.

    Salvatore could only think so.

    After getting out of the carriage, surrounded and protected by the yers, Annan saw the person who stopped the carriage.

    That was a man who looked like Silver Sire¡¯s priest.

    Bishop Daryl had a generous face, kind eyebrows, and big ears, which could be called chubby for the time being. His hair was shaved entirely; he put on his usual warm smile on his face. Although he looked old, his skin was still delicate. Annan could not identify Bishop Daryl¡¯s actual age.

    Bishop Daryl wore a white outfit of the same style as Priest Louis. However, the clothes on the bishop could not endure the hardships to contain the bishop¡¯srge figure. The same white dress that looked extraordinarily slim and handsome on Priest Louis only seemed to prove the fabric¡¯s superiority on Bishop Daryl. The fabric on the belly looked a little taut as if the buttons would be shot out at any time when the bishop bent over.

    In his chest pocket, there was a silver pocket watch simr to Priest Louis. Unlike Priest Louis, his pocket watch was smaller and looked more like a silver coin.

    Butpared with Bishop¡¯s intimidating figure, what was more memorable at a nce was the two rows of golden teeth that he showed when he smiled.

    Indeed, he had a mouthful of gold teeth.

    When Bishop Daryl smiled, it shone exceptionally brilliantly.

    Annan was envious.

    ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, Bishop Daryl.¡±

    Annan and Salvatore respectfully paid tribute to the bishop.

    The yers behind Annan reacted slowly and followed Annan¡¯s actions to pay tribute.

    Bishop Daryl just smiled in response, took out his pocket watch, and opened it with a snap, ¡°May you be loved by Silver Sire today, lovely children.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m young, so you can¡¯t find fault with my question.¡±

    Annan made full use of his advantage and asked without shame, ¡°Since you stopped us, did you have anything to say to me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, little Sir.¡±

    Bishop Daryl said with a smile, ¡°Count Geraint wrote to me in advance and asked me to take care of you.¡±

    ¡°Did my father meet you?¡±

    Annan asked, a little surprised and a little wary in his heart.

    The bishop waved his hand and said with a smile, ¡°In fact, I¡¯m not acquainted with your father, but I¡¯m familiar with your grandfather.

    ¡°I¡¯m your grandfather¡¯s friend, little Sir. You should call me grandpa.¡±

    The fat and bald bishop, who looked at least fifty years old, smiled like a Maitreya Buddha.

    ¡°Then, Grandpa Daryl.¡±

    Although it felt as though this boastful grandpa was taking advantage of him, Annan did not hesitate at all. He went straight back to the previous topic after rifying the address, ¡°What do you need from me?¡±

    ¡°A suggestion. It¡¯s for the sake of my acquaintance.¡±

    The smile on Bishop Daryl¡¯s face subsided slightly. His tone became more formal, ¡°Alvin Barber will invite you to a banquetter. I advise you not to go.

    ¡°This is not your hatred, even on both sides.¡±

    As he stopped speaking, a dazzling electric light fell.

    Annan blinked, and the fat bishop had disappeared.

    Until then, he suddenly felt a cool breeze, and his chest felt cold.

    The sudden thunder in the distance rolled like a tank¡¯s roar. The surrounding passers-by screamed. Their pace hastened up, rushing back home to take shelter from the rain.

    Annan suddenly realized-

    After the strange fat man appeared¡­

    No one passed by on the street, nor did he feel the cool breeze in the heavy rain.

    Annan looked up; he saw that the sky was gloomy and dark clouds were over the city.

    The wind was getting stronger.

    [1] Derived from ¡°kanban (Japanese),¡± refers to the girl portrayed in the cover to attract customers. They could be often found in maid cafes, phone games, shops, etc.

    [2] MOBA reference. Using your body to shield your teammate.

    [3] League of Legends champion.

 Chapter 62: Mr. Planners Analysis

    <h4>Chapter 62: Mr. nner''s Analysis</h4>

    It started to rain.

    It was a sparse but heavy downpour.

    Judging on how the passers-by sheltered from the rain, it seemed that the rains had gone on for a while.

    But Annan and the others didn¡¯t notice it.

    It was as if they had entered another world just now.

    ¡°Is it an illusion?¡±

    Salvatore reached out his hand to support Annan¡¯s shoulder and asked in a low voice, ¡°Is it that person (Trantor¡¯s Note: Dr. Gerald)?¡±

    It seemed Salvatore had grown some trust in Annan¡¯s wisdom.

    ¡°Not really.¡±

    Annan replied slowly.

    The event made no sense.

    If Gerald could easily create a boundary that could iste passers-by without anyone noticing, even the ck Tower leading graduate would not realize it.

    Then, he could easily separate and kill them. With such a stark difference in power, the strategy would be meaningless.

    ¡°How much do you know about this person?¡±

    Annan asked suddenly.

    ¡°You meant Bishop Daryl?¡±

    Salvatore shook his head, ¡°I only heard the name. This name is unlike amon name in the kingdom. There is no such surname either. Plus, I haven¡¯t seen this name in previous newspapers.

    ¡°But the news from the ck Tower confirmed that he was indeed the bishop guarding Roseburg. So, I suspect the name might be a pseudonym.¡±

    ¡°Can bishops use pseudonyms?¡±

    ¡°Very few, but there are.¡±

    Salvatore replied affirmatively, ¡°Because some ¡®names¡¯ are dead already¡­

    ¡°I think you can understand what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan nodded slowly.

    With the ¡°Name¡± dead, the person¡¯s true identity was already dead in most people¡¯s eyes.

    Thus, the usage of pseudonyms¡­

    ¡°You, hello¡­ Dear Sir!¡±

    At this moment, Annan suddenly heard a faint young boy¡¯s voice, ¡°Is this Young Master Don Juan Geraint?¡±

    Annan looked back and found that it was a thin boy with freckles on his face. He looked at most seventeen years old. The moment when the boy met Annan¡¯s ice-blue pupils, his eyes were glimmering in pleasant surprise. But soon, that gaze was overwhelmed by fear and cowardice.

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Annan answered inly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    His voice was childish but calm and melodic. Even if there were many yers between the boy and him, the words could be transmitted clearly to the boy¡¯s ears.

    ¡°It¡¯s your invitation!¡±

    The young boy did not dare to look up at Annan but blushed. The boy said in difficulty, ¡°It¡¯s Master Viscount Barber¡¯s invitation! He prepares dinner for you and invites you toe right away¡­¡±

    As the boy spoke, he handed over the invitation.

    The first yer reached out and epted the invitation. The yer then took a photo and handed it to the next yer.

    The next yer did the same thing as well. After taking a photo with the invitation, the yer passed it onto the next yer.

    Salvatore looked at the group of people, shaking the invitation in their ear and then solemnly handing it over to the next person. He felt a little at a loss.

    What are they doing?

    Is this also some kind of etiquette of the royals?

    He stretched out his hand to ept the invitation. Then he subconsciously copied the yers¡¯ actions, shook the letter in his ear, and then handed it to Annan.

    ¡°Pfft.¡°

    Salvatore vaguely heard suppressedughter.

    He was immediately upset.

    Is my action substandard? Ah, yes, I¡¯m pretty frigid. I don¡¯t dare to raise my hand openly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that.¡±

    Annan looked at Salvatore¡¯s troubled state. He couldn¡¯t help but advise Salvatore. Then, he reached out, took the invitation, and opened it.

    Salvatore nodded without saying much.

    But he couldn¡¯t help criticizing his subconscious timidity in his heart.

    No, it¡¯s simple. I¡¯m just quite frigid. Is it because I came from a rural area, so I¡¯m a little shy about it?

    I need to ovee this.

    The status of these guards was lower than him. Yet, he was a little nervous and a little tense. After meeting the wizard from the royal capital, how could he converse normally?

    Fortunately, Salvatore had made full use of his excellent memory and had carved this etiquette deeply in his brain. He had constantly been refreshing his memory of Annan¡¯s follower¡¯s bizarre actions and silently wrote them down carefully.

    At the same time, he also deeply felt the cultural differences between small ces like Freezing Water Port, the swamp, and the prosperous capital city.

    ¡°Only three people?¡±

    Annan shook the invitation in his hand and asked softly, ¡°Do you understand what it says?¡±

    His ice-blue pupils quietly watched the boy who came to deliver the letter. The boy instinctively bowed his head in fear.

    ¡°Yes. Master Viscount specifically asked me to¡­¡±

    ¡°I think such a big viscount¡¯s mansion shouldn¡¯t be too poor to amodate my guards, right?¡±

    Annan interrupted the boy, ¡°All of us will be there. Just reply like that.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The young boy didn¡¯t dare to say anything. He just bowed to Annan anxiously and left in a hurry.

    Annan looked at the boy¡¯s back. He then summoned Salvatore and Jiu Er back into the carriage again.

    Salvatore couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are we going? Didn¡¯t Bishop Daryl¡­?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s raining heavily.¡± Annan replied while steering offtopic, ¡°We have to find a ce to shelter from the rain. I don¡¯t think viscount¡¯s mansion will have rain leakages.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean¡­¡±

    ¡°Three people.¡±

    Annan interrupted Salvatore again and reminded him.

    Salvatore was slightly startled when he heard the words.

    He realized something.

    He frowned and said in uncertainty, ¡°But, there are only two of us.¡±

    ¡°That is his n.¡±

    Annan replied, ¡°Since we have two Transcended, he is dering his hostility if he directly said that only the two of us are allowed to enter, which meant only transcended is allowed to enter. Such conditions are way too tant.¡±

    The ck-haired and blue-eyed boy looked at Salvatore and asked seriously, ¡°The question now is, senior¡­ how did he know that we have two Transcended?¡±

    ¡°It is easy to detect.¡±

    Salvatore quickly replied, ¡°Those with the profession ¡®Hunter¡¯ can do it.¡±

    ¡°Hunter?¡±

    ¡°Well, curse hunter. A rtively rare profession. They can delineate their ¡®hunting ground,¡¯ monitoring curses¡¯ existence, and locating the opponent¡¯s location. Transcended and nightmare are both curse carriers. The only exception will be those equipped with the ability to hide curses. Otherwise, all the Transcended will be revealed within the hunting ground.¡±

    Salvatore frowned slightly and warned, ¡°There will be Gold Rank hunters at the underground passages¡¯ entry points in various countries. Hunters will also guard many grand rituals. Transcended living in big cities will be summoned from time to time for identity checks.

    ¡°Viscount Barber is a veteran nobleman. It¡¯s expected for him to be able to recruit hunters. But it should be noted that the Transcended hunters can absorb new curses through ritual. They can also get some abilities from it.

    ¡°It¡¯s unlike the typical method to destroy the Transcended curse vessel and acquire the Trascended¡¯s abilities through inheriting the curse. Curse hunters establish a new curse. They alternate the opponent¡¯s curse vessels to be a curse vessel of their own temporarily, bypassing the existing curse to utilize the abilities.

    ¡°Generally speaking, in the new curse established among the hunters, they can¡¯t utilize the same method they used to kill the Transcended in harming others. Therefore, the higher the hunter¡¯s rank, the more limited the fighting style. But it is usually powerful in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°So, are we being targeted by hunters?¡±

    Annanughed instead.

    Annan was more confident with the spection in his mind.

    First of all, this must be a Hongmen Banquet [1].

    They had already faced off against each other. If Viscount and Gerald were in the same group, he didn¡¯t need tomit such an extra move.

    In general of Transcendedmon sense, a hunter and a wizard duo must be far superior to the two young wizards duo. Worse still, one of them was the Alteration wizard with no way to fend for himself at all. This was in the condition where the viscount had not recruited any other Transcended for the battle. He already upied the higher ground.

    After all, as Salvatore said, a wizard¡¯s capabilityrgely depended on age. The older the wizard, the greater the power of the spell.

    The opponent couldn¡¯t know that Annan had four times the mana value of ordinary wizards. In other words, the viscount had underestimated Annan¡¯sbat power.

    With this dedicated invitation for Annan to bring in only two people, Annan would refuse to attend the banquet out of vignce.

    After all, this was tantamount to revealing the truth that a ¡°hunter¡± was likely to help the viscount, revealing the hunter lurking in the dark.

    As a matter of fact, the viscount didn¡¯t even dare to send arge army to intercept Annan on the road. The current way was the surefire way to kill Annan. Even Annan didn¡¯t know how to deal with it, resorting to escape at any time.

    But as soon as Annan entered the city, the viscount made a move. But, the viscount still dared not send an army but tried to assassinate or poison Annan at the banquet.

    In other words, the viscount didn¡¯t take Annan to heart at all. He didn¡¯t regard Annan as an equal enemy to fight against, but an enemy that could be easily killed through conspiracy.

    Annan sneered.

    But this was also reasonable. Annan¡¯s age was the best disguise. Especially for an elder like Master Viscount, he would undoubtedly be more contemptuous of Annan¡¯s young age than ordinary people.

    Because the viscount¡¯s only advantage was ¡°experience.¡± This was the strength he relied on to maintain his dignity and prove his wisdom. Of course, he would not discard this strength.

    Therefore, the viscount would design a conspiracy out of ¡°experienced advantage.¡± He would never overestimate Annan¡¯s wisdom. He might think that Salvatore was the team leader.

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, senior.¡±

    Annan calmly analyzed, ¡°The question is, what would you do if you were the leader? I mean, without encountering Bishop Daryl.¡±

    ¡°I will still attend the banquet.¡±

    Salvatore thought for a while and replied softly, ¡°Because our number is a disadvantage in front of Gerald.

    ¡°He can control many people. The more your guards, the greater our danger. Having the three of us go in, it will be easier to act if a fight breaks out.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡±

    Annan said, ¡°There is no doubt that the viscount must also know this. He knows that our number is a disadvantage in front of Gerald.

    ¡°So, they exposed one thing.¡±

    ¡°The two of them are not on the same side.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s pupils shrank and blurted out.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I asked the messenger to go back and inform Viscount. I will bring my men in.¡± Annan added calmly, ¡°From how the viscount plots his strategy, I¡¯m sure he will back down. A dozen elites who follow Gerald¡¯smand are undoubtedly a threat to him. So no matter if he has left the banquet or not, he will leave after hearing the reply. When we enter the banquet, I am afraid we will never see the hunter nor the viscount.

    ¡°There will only be one person waiting for us¡ªGerald. But this is our chance.¡±

    Annan crossed his fingers and put on his knees. He said humbly, ¡°This is my simple analysis.¡±

    That wasmon sense in nning.

    [1] Banquet set up intending to murder a guest.

 Chapter 63: Fanatics Plan

    <h4>Chapter 63: Fanatic''s n</h4>

    Lin Yiyi shrank in a narrow wine barrel like a cat, staring at the empty air intently.

    Today, she had a legitimate reason toe to the forum.

    She wasn¡¯tzing off work but gathering information. The yers had made an agreement previously. Those who left the team were in charge of uploading the news they collected to the forum in real-time and posting them.

    In this case, those yers who couldn¡¯t find mission targets temporarily and couldn¡¯t identify any investigation clues could support the operation like an advisor. With that, they would bounce around different posts and provide the information that the other yers needed immediately.

    Today¡¯s forum was in hot traffic.

    Purple Hydrangea: ¡°@Jiu Er, have you entered the city? @Yiyi, @Delicious Wind Goose, what do we do!? After the messenger came back, the viscount suddenly asked us to take out the ck Fire from the basement!¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°What?!¡±

    Lin Yiyi was taken aback.

    Purple Hydrangea was the yer who hadn¡¯t been discovered yet when she sessfully blended into the viscount¡¯s mansion as a guard.

    Without waiting for Lin Yiyi to inform herpanions, the startled Delicious Wind Goose received notification from @ tags in the forum and quickly replied.

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°Where is the ck Fire located? Is there a floor n? Hurry up, take a picture and post it!¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°We have just entered the city. Just now, a golden tooth bishop named Daryl came to warn the young master and advised arrogantly about ¡®it¡¯s not your hatred over there¡¯ and let him not go to viscount¡¯s mansion. Then someone from the viscount¡¯s mansion came and invited the young master to be a guest. But in the end, the young master agreed.¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°The young master is so witty.¡± Look at this post @Purple Hydrangea. Our young master interpreted that the viscount intends to let his enemy fight each other while he sits out and waits for the results. The perverted dentist must be in the viscount¡¯s mansion. ¡°

    Sakurajima Muggle: ¡°That person is called Bishop Daryl.¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Yes, a chubby bishop named Daryl.¡±

    Purple Hydrangea: ¡°@Jiu Er @Jiu Er @Jiu Er, don¡¯te! ck Fire is just outside the viscount¡¯s mansion!¡±

    Purple Hydrangea: ¡°A lot of ck Fire is taken out! They have connected into one line. If it explodes, you can¡¯t get in and get out!¡±

    Purple Hydrangea: A hand-drawn map of viscount¡¯s mansion with many circles.jpg

    Purple Hydrangea: ¡°I can only be sure that there must be ck Fire in these ces. I¡¯m not sure about other ces. Viscount has already run away. Our side is about to evacuate. When the ck Fire is ced ordingly, we will follow the viscount to the outskirts. We¡¯re going to leave a few people on the higher grounds in the manor and use fire arrows to set fire after the baits enter!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°@Jiu Er. Stop Don Juan!¡±

    ¡°They are nning to burn down Don Juan and Gerald altogether!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose blurted out.

    ¡°Wait a minute. I have an idea.¡±

    Suddenly, the child said.

    Lin Yiyi covered his mouth immediately with a worried look on her face, ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry. You have to first think about what you are going to say. Say each sentence slowly, one at a time. Don¡¯t just open your mouth and die here.¡±

    Due to the curse, the child¡¯s life would be in danger if idle chatters or forum posting, let alone discussing the issue with the other yers.

    ¡°I¡¯m sick of holding myself in.¡±

    Wandering Child took a deep breath, ¡°and the feeling that I can¡¯t help anything.¡±

    ¡°Your mission contribution should have been pretty good. After all, you seem to lure out Gerald in advance. Wait, shut up. Think carefully before opening your mouth-¡°

    Lin Yiyi pped the child again, and then sheforted him, ¡°You can stay here. You not helping is the best help.

    ¡°In case you had another face-to-face meeting with the doctor, maybe he would realize that you came to test him on purpose. You might cause trouble for Don Juan instead.¡±

    ¡°Know when to stop.¡±

    The child grinned and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to. What I hated the most are ¡®know when to stop,¡¯ ¡®be patient,¡¯ or ¡®let¡¯s wait.¡¯ I can stillmit. Why should I wait for death here?

    ¡°There are many things that could use my help.¡±

    He pointed to himself and smiled brightly, ¡°What silly thing are you talking about? Don¡¯t I still have a life?¡±

    ¡°Stop yourme joke.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butin.

    But he quickly reacted to what the child meant.

    ¡°Do you want to ignite those ck Fires?¡±

    ¡°Not bad, Goose!¡± Wandering Child admired, ¡°Hurry up and inform Jiu Er, let Don Juan wait for a while. I will leave my armor and weapons here. I will not bring anything but just life. After entering, I will set the ck Fire on fire and let the young master harvest the loot.¡±

    Wandering Child stood up at once, his face without fear as if it was shining.

    ¡°This is what you should call it ¨C bringing out thest lingering glimmer in life!¡±

    On the other hand, Annan thought for a while after hearing the action n ryed by Jiu Er. He immediately agreed, ¡°Yes, but let us revise the n.

    ¡°Those hiding in the city for ambush previously can be dispatched. First, we need to catch those hiding in the higher areas and rece them with our men.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s move some of the ck Fire and transport it to a farther ce. We should use the name of Master Viscount in operation. Light those ck Fire up in advance and lead the guards away before the n starts.

    ¡°Of course, we can reserve some ck Fire for them. If there is still some remaining after the operation, send them to Master Viscount.¡±

    Annan pursed his mouth and gave Jiu Er a gentle smile, ¡°Tell him. Sir, you forgot your stuff. Remember to be polite with Master Viscount.¡±

    ¡°Yes, young master.¡±

    Jiu Er¡¯s pupils became brighter and more excited, but her voice became softer, ¡°I will send it to him personally when that happens.¡±

    Annan immediately optimized the yers¡¯ ns as if he had thought of the n in the first ce.

    But, that was indeed the case.

    He thought of this n initially, but he didn¡¯t n to say it out loud.

    In Annan¡¯smon sense, the intelligence he portrayed was only an ordinary young person¡¯s level. It wasn¡¯t too exaggerated nor ostentatious. After all, his colleagues could keep up with this level of thinking and rhythm.

    Then, he would remain at this cognition level.

    Viscount Barber, Dr. Gerald, and the fake Don Juan Geraint. Each of the three parties wanted to eliminate the remaining two. Among them, Annan was at the most disadvantage.

    Viscount had connections, power, money, and time. The entire Roseburg was his territory, but he had no way to go against Gerald at close range. For him, Gerald was a more threatening enemy than Don Juan. The only reason he didn¡¯t assassinate Don Juan must be his n to use these two Transcended to counterbnce or even kill Gerald.

    If viscount realized that his n might have variables, he wouldunch a more radical and practical n to ensure that it would be foolproof.

    With the viscount¡¯s age and experience in the army, Annan was certain that the viscount must know the ws of the dispatching squads one by one [1].

    Whether it was ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± or Gerald, they would be formidable enemies after returning safely. Hence, the viscount would plot something big to ensure that his n would be foolproof.

    So, how could the viscount achieve this?

    ck Fire.

    Viscount Barber, who emerged on the battlefield, must grasp the importance of equivalence inbat power.

    Only the equivalent explosion power was the only reliable backup power.

    Therefore, Annan forcibly brought twenty people in and disrupted the viscount¡¯s original n. He was forcing the viscount to utilize the ck Fire.

    Not to kill ¡°Don Juan Geraint,¡± but to kill Gerald, who got more than twenty powerful servants after defeating Don Juan.

    ording to Salvatore¡¯s intelligence, Gerald, as Soul Snatch Wizard, had no reliable defense capabilities.

    The more shy the champion was, the more susceptible it would be under the indiscriminate bombardment of the full coverage AOE attacks [2].

    As long as Annan took advantage of his strength, he could make viscount¡¯s long-awaited punch hit Gerald¡¯s face, who had just entered the door with a bewildered look.

    But Annan did not exin these ns to Salvatore. Being a little smarter would make others admire, but being too smart would make others jealous.

    Let them exist as idents and as coincidences.

    Annan¡¯s ns seemed rather rough and wild, even a little crazy. But in the end, there would always be a miraculous effect because of coincidences of this kind.

    So the enemies would continue to despise Annan, ¡°Just a lucky fanatic.¡±

    But coincidences would not happen forever. It was not a coincidence that it kept appearing.

    No one knew better than Annan.

    In this world, there had never been a person who was lucky forever.

    The fanatics in the casino only believe in cheating techniques.

    [1] In reference to the Chinese metaphor¡¯s oilmp, it¡¯s a strategy to dispatch squads one by one, with the following squad holding morebat power than the previous squad. It¡¯s just like adding oil into the oilmp. If the oil isn¡¯t enough to light the oilmp, then add more oil instead.

    [2] Speaking of a habit from MOBA games on champion designs.

    MOBA: Multiyer Online Battle Arena

    AOE: Area of Effects

 Chapter 64: There Is Nothing To Be Afraid Of

    <h4>Chapter 64: There Is Nothing To Be Afraid Of</h4>

    Mike took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous and uneasy.

    He paced on the balcony, leaned on the railing to look outside. He stretched out his right thumb to roughly measure the distance and then went back into the room.

    ¡°The rain is getting heavier.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but whisper to hispanions, ¡°What should I do if I can¡¯t light those barrels then?¡±

    ¡°Impossible, this is the arrow dipped with ck Fire. The rain can¡¯t extinguish it.¡±

    Hispanion shook his head, carefully split the four arrows previously inserted in the quiver, and inserted them back in again.

    ck Fire was quite viscous. He needed to regrly split them apart to prevent them from sticking to each other and prevent them from setting ame when taken out.

    Mike sighed and sat on the bed, ¡°I am not worried about the ck Fire being extinguished by the rain. I am worried that when the rain gets heavier, I won¡¯t be able to see where the barrels are.¡±

    ¡°Where is the fourth quiver, brother?¡±

    Hispanion said abruptly, ¡°If you miss even with all the arrows in the quiver, then let me do it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better for you to do it,¡± Mike didn¡¯t care. ¡°You can take my bounty as well. To be honest, I don¡¯t put my eyes on such a small amount of money.¡±

    ¡°What kind of profiteering work are you hiding from us?¡±

    Hispanion was taken aback for a moment and asked in disbelief, ¡°Five pounds! If you don¡¯t want it, I will take it instead.¡±

    ¡°Five pounds¡­¡±

    Mike grinned, showing his buck teeth, ¡°Rather, this is the valuable stuff.¡±

    He said, gesturing to the four quivers of ck fire arrows ced on the table with his chin.

    With a grin, he leaned over and abducted hispanion with his arm, ¡°Hey, man, are you interested? We can report a fake number to our higher-ups. Do you know the price?¡±

    As he said, he stretched out his right hand and made a five, then whispered, ¡°I have five barrels. If you want to join the group, bring me at least one barrel.

    ¡°You hid the ck Fire for yourself?¡±

    Hispanion asked incredulously, ¡°This is a capital crime!¡±

    ¡°Fuck him, is murdering feudal lord, not a capital crime?¡±

    Mike spat on the floor and cursed, ¡°He let our brothers do this kind of work. The old Barber deserves to have no descendant.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    At this moment, they heard a low voice.

    They stood up vigntly, reaching out to take up the weapon beside the bed.

    But at this moment, an arrow burning with ck Fire suddenly shot through the window, igniting the bed.

    The me on this arrow was vile, emitting a pungent stench. The ck smoke puffing out made it difficult for them to open their eyes.

    ¡°Do not move.¡±

    The voice continued to sound from outside the window. It seemed a little unclear under the more intense sound of rain, ¡°You know what this is.¡±

    With that, a strong and tall man wearing brand-new brown leather armor jumped in.

    He held the sword in his right hand and held it up to them. His left hand held a quiver without arrows.

    The next moment, another arrow shot into the house. This time it hit the corner of the wall.

    But the two people in the house became more nervous.

    This meant that at least two people came to attack them!

    ¡°Friend¡­?¡±

    Mike asked cautiously, ¡°We can talk. Would you like to let friends outsidee in to take shelter from the rain?¡±

    ¡°No need, we will leave right away.¡±

    The swordsman, whose hair was disheveled due to the rain, looked at Mike calmly without moving his eyes, ¡°You said you hid five barrels of ck Fire?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Unsure which side this person belonged to, Mike didn¡¯t dare to talk to him for a while.

    But Mike¡¯s attitude was a clear reply.

    The swordsman didn¡¯t hesitate and stepped forward with his sword.

    The muscles squirmed abnormally. Robust power pumped from the heart to the arm.

    [All-out Blow]!

    Mike¡¯spanion was caught off guard. He tried to parry with the dagger in his hand.

    But just as he raised the dagger, a sword struck the dagger away, sending it out to the side in a whirl!

    ¡°En!¡°

    Mike¡¯spanion felt his right hand going directly numb. He even felt his wrist was sprained.

    But, that was all trivial matters.

    Seeing that the second sword attack was approaching, the other perpetrator was full of despair.

    Military Swordsmanship!

    They are legit people from the army.

    The next moment, his head spun out, hit the wall heavily. The headless body fell back weakly.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be enemies with the Feudal Lord.¡±

    The swordsman answered calmly.

    At this moment, an abnormal noise urred outside the window. A young man who was also wet and holding a longbow without armor jumped in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Old Goose. We need to be on time for the next spot.¡±

    The boy urged casually, but his eyes quickly noticed, ¡°Why did you allow a survivor?¡±

    ¡°He hid five barrels of ck Fire.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied solemnly, ¡°Tie him up. We will get our man to interrogate him in shifts. Let¡¯s go to the next ce.¡±

    ¡°No torture, please! No, military officers!¡±

    Mike saw that hispanion went headless so quickly. He shrilled, ¡°I will tell you directly! I have just been recruited for three months. I don¡¯t know anything!¡±

    ¡°If you knew, you wouldn¡¯t be left here to do this kind of thing.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose sneered, ¡°Do you think you can get the money afterward?¡±

    Mike was slightly startled when he heard the words. There was silence.

    ¡°I never nned to, fuck.¡± He spat mockingly, ¡°I should never do this kind of business.

    ¡°Give me a word, military officer. If I get you to the right ce, can you spare my life?¡±

    Mike looked at Delicious Wind Goose pleadingly.

    Delicious Wind Goose replied calmly, ¡°If we can get what we want, we won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    ¡°Three of the five barrels of ck Fire belonged to me. I hid them at theke bottom on the east side. After you see the boulder near the west bank, go along the path. They are scattered under the mud. You can find them after a bit of searching.¡±

    Mike was less tense in his heart and replied immediately.

    But he soon saw the apparent disappointment in the eyes of the two.

    He panicked.

    Why?

    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s too much trouble. I don¡¯t have the time to look for them.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose shook his head and evaluated, ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time.¡±

    ¡°I thought of a game that drew a big circle on the map for you to find someone. In the end, the person is at the corner of the circle.¡±

    The child couldn¡¯t help butin.

    ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time. I thought I would save the time to move the barrels out. You can have the experience points, kid. I will write down this address in the forum. Those who are free can do that. Tsk, this digging work will probably take a long time.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Wandering Child responded happily, took the sword from Delicious Wind Goose, and decapitated the bewildered Mike. The victim was dumbfounded until his death.

    Mike died with a remaining grievance.

    He could not understand why they were not interested in the ck Fire that he had hidden.

    ¡°Oh, Miss Hyphen said you can go. She cleared thest spot alone. Stay in the mansion first. Gerald should being to the mansion soon.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose patted the child on the shoulder, ¡°Get ready to go on your journey, brother.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    The child was in great spirits and eximed excitedly.

    He was in good focus and high morale.

    Probably¡­

    ¡°Try your best to deliver as much damage as possible. Even if you kill the enemy identally, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    The child nced at the countdown to his death. He said in a deep voice as usual, ¡°By now, there is nothing to be afraid of.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in a bad habit. Don¡¯t say those cheeky lines.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°After going offline tonight, let¡¯s go to K11 for a barbecue.¡±

    ¡°Are you nning to suicide with me?¡±

 Chapter 65: Killing Intent Line

    <h4>Chapter 65: Killing Intent Line</h4>

    The sky was dim.

    Dusk was approaching.

    Apanied by the loud downpour, there came the rattling sound of the carriage wheels beating against the water current on the ground, galloping forward.

    In the end, the carriage stopped in front of the viscount¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°Sorry to trouble you.¡±

    A normal-looking young man with a gentle smile on his face opened the carriage door and thanked the coachman softly, ¡°Thanks for bringing me here despite the heavy rain.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sir Gerald.¡±

    The coachmanughed loudly, ¡°Should I wait for you here?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll let the viscount¡¯s coachman take me back.¡±

    Dr. Gerald responded politely, ¡°The rain is getting heavier. You may catch a cold while you wait here. Please go back.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sir Gerald. Even if you don¡¯t pay for such a small matter, I will help. Besides, you have given so much money.¡±

    The coachman didn¡¯t mind it, ¡°You are such a kind neighbor. There are not many of your kind soul in this world.¡±

    Gerald just smiled and got out of the carriage with an umbre.

    He replied slowly and warmly, ¡°Then, I¡¯m leaving. Tribute to the silver coin for the night.¡±

    ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, sir.¡±

    After sending away the coachman neighbor, Doctor Gerald walked to the courtyard with a gentle smile still on his face.

    Four guards were hiding under the eaves, guarding the entrance with their guns on their backs.

    Seeing Dr. Gerald approaching alone, one of the guards hesitated slightly and walked over.

    The other guards also held their guns vigntly in the first moment.

    The guard opened his mouth and asked, ¡°Are you Sir David Gerald?¡±

    When the guard said this, he held up a square and t jade tablet in his hand and pointed it at Dr. Gerald.

    Though, Dr. Gerald was not at all tired of this.

    He replied in a gentle tone, ¡°Yes, I am David Gerald.¡±

    After answering this, the jade tablet shone bright white light.

    The guard nodded slightly, and the other guards also put away their weapons.

    ¡°Come in, sir.¡±

    Another guard walked over and bowed to Dr. Gerald, ¡°I will take you in.¡±

    Gerald followed him, smiling and joking, ¡°I thought it would be Justin to receive me.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sir.¡±

    The guard was silent for a while and replied in a low voice.

    His voice trembled slightly.

    Gerald¡¯s pace paused slightly and then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.

    But there were already transparent ripples spread in his pupils, like the waves in ake that spread out in circles.

    The world in Gerald¡¯s eyes instantly turned ck and white, just like an old TV. Soon after, everyone else exuded brilliance with different color tones.

    [Consciousness Judgment]

    Gerald assessed the guard quietly.

    Such a strong sense of vignce? Fear isn¡¯t overwhelming. Sure enough, they have a n. This subtle killing intent¡­ Hehe, if I have not anticipated this, I may regard it as hostility straight ahead.

    Dr. Gerald was more certain about his previous spections.

    As a fugitive wizard, David Gerald was expelled from ck Tower. He was no longer directly under the official kingdom. Rather, his status was a ¡°soft¡± wanted.

    It was the so-called ¡°ck Wizard¡± mark.

    In the so-called soft wanted, no one was sent to arrest him. His name was on the wanted order, but it was more of a deration. Gerald himself could not cross borders, borrow money, marry and have children. Moreover, he would not enjoy the protection of thew at the same time.

    In other words, whether the curse hunter killed him or robbed him, it was not illegal. But that was all.

    After all, Gerald had only stolen the curse vessel. He had not held an illegal sacrifice, nor had he killed anyone, so he could only be judged as ¡°may cause harm¡± for the time being. Naturally, there was no one specially assigned to arrest him.

    Especially he was a wizard of Soul Snatch school. He was the kind that could escape freely after being overwhelmed by numbers. Wasting precious manpower on him did not make sense.

    But Gerald must beware of those curse hunters.

    As long as the wizards kept using spells while maintaining the bnce of mana, they could continue to increase their strength. For the hunter profession, it wasn¡¯t easy to quickly increase their power in peaceful times.

    Because they were required to hunt down other Transcended to advance.

    There were wanted orders explicitly dedicated to hunters. It was the same as telling them, ¡°You can only kill these people. Killing these people is not counted as a homicide crime, and rewards are given.¡±

    Even Gerald would be afraid of hunters.

    Who knows what kind of weird abilities the hunters could craft?

    The Transcended of this era usually had a good education. Before they advance into a rank, they would try to n a set of skills to form a cycle. After getting the Bronze Rank¡¯s curse, he would start to decide the path he wanted to take.

    With that, Transcended could achieve their best under the limited ¡°curse carrying capacity.¡± That was the limit of the number of skills that came with the advancement.

    But in any case, these skills were traceable.

    If Transcended wanted to get other skills, they had to rely on the temporary curse, curse vessel, or get random extra skills by inheriting others¡¯ curses.

    The situation was different for the hunters.

    As long as the hunter killed Transcended and held a simple ritual, he could plunder part of the opponent¡¯s skills for temporary usage.

    As a result, every hunter¡¯s skills would tend to be messy. Their profession had a fatal w ¨C limitedbat methods.

    But hunters had always used the dark to take down the opponent. After all, the hunters investigated Transcended more often than the other way around.

    In addition to the curse that kept protecting him ¨C ¡°I¡¯m Not Here,¡± Gerald¡¯s solution was to activate a simple spell every hour or so briefly:

    [Consciousness Capture: Killing Intent]

    The ripples under Gerald¡¯s eyes condensed. Crimson brilliance in his pupils flickered for only a short second.

    In this second, he saw a fine line pointed out from the viscount¡¯s mansion, and the other end was attached to him.

    Oh, as expected.

    Gerald pursed his mouth slightly, his eyes cold.

    This was the preliminary Soul Snatch spell.

    ¡°Consciousness Capture: Killing Intent¡± allowed Gerald to discover in the first moment where the person having killing intent on him was located.

    It was like a mind detector.

    Whenever someone tried to aim a gun at Gerald, a line of indication would immediately float in his mind and aim back at the person pointing at him.

    Even if the enemy was outside the spell range of ¡°Consciousness Discement¡± and ¡°Consciousness Loss,¡± he could roughly discern where the enemy came from. As long as the enemy appeared in the field of vision, Gerald could lock on it the first moment.

    The hunters¡¯ primary way of fighting in the Bronze Rank was to capture a particr consciousness that had emerged from the opponent, then either transfer it to another person, reduce it or detonate it.

    Until the hunters attained the Silver Rank, they could have a direct killing move.

    But if Gerald only captured and did not interfere with consciousness limited to killing intent and it was just a swift toggling between on and off, there would be no consumption of order power. It was unlikely to be affected by opposing anti-detection spells or being detected.

    Just after arriving at the viscount¡¯s mansion, he noticed a killing intent in the viscount mansion, which was directed toward him tantly.

    Is the viscount determined to get rid of me?

    Gerald looked in that direction with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

    That person should be Viscount Barber.

    He could feel that there was no curse bound on the enemy. It should be an ordinary person.

    Gerald was confident that he hadn¡¯t offended other ordinary people at all.

    He had been careful in his daily life.

    He had never been hostile to others, alienated from others, and had always maintained kindness, even to the point of humility. Furthermore, he had taken down the ordinary people who had the potential to be his enemies.

    With that, the error of him guessing wrongly was minimized.

    Gerald had never interacted with anyone else in the viscount¡¯s mansion.

    This was the strategy he adopted after arriving in Roseburg. He would only interact with Transcended so that he could be notified clearly when the viscount desired to kill him.

    When there was killing intent, it was the proper time for him to flee.

    Four hours ago, he detected a killing intent from an ordinary person in the direction of the viscount¡¯s mansion. That could onlye from Viscount Barber because no one else had the chance to know him.

    Indeed, everything is expected.

    A bright and confident smile appeared on Gerald¡¯s face.

    ¡°Sorry for keeping Master Viscount waiting.¡±

    He spoke softly with his head lowered down.

    He was ready to use [Mind Maniption] at the moment of opening the door to deprive the viscount of having a willpletely.

    But the guard next to him was startled suddenly.

    Fear and panic suddenly emerged in the guard¡¯s heart. Then, the guard attempted to reply calmly, ¡°Master Viscount is not here for the time being. He will be back soon. Please wait.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Gerald froze for a moment. He stopped on the spot, three or four steps away from the front door.

    He didn¡¯t use spells, but he only needed his professional knowledge to determine the guard¡¯s words were indeed truthful.

    If the viscount is not at home, who is the one behind the door intending to kill me?

    For the first time, Gerald turned his head and whispered the keywords he set to the guards beside him:

    ¡°Look at me¡­ [Patient].¡±

    The moment he said the keyword ¡°Patient,¡± a burst of colorful light blossomed in Gerald¡¯s eyes.

    The guard did not react at all to this.

    ¡°Tell me! What exactly did your Master Viscount n?¡±

    ¡°Master Viscount intends to fool you and feudal lord Geraint here. Then, he will light the ck Fire to burn you all in the mansion.¡±

    The guard replied smoothly, ¡°He and the housekeeper have already gone to the winery in the suburbs.¡±

    ¡°Shoot at that door in five seconds!¡±

    Gerald didn¡¯t hesitate to interrupt the guard, stretched his finger to the other end of the killing intent line, andmanded the guard, ¡°Kill everyone whoes out of the door!¡±

    At the same time, he immediately evacuated and ran away. He nned to go to the door and control a group of armed guards to cover his escape.

    The guard whose consciousness was seized by him did not hesitate to unlock the rifle¡¯s trigger.

 Chapter 66: Overcoming the Declaration

    <h4>Chapter 66: Oveing the Deration</h4>

    ck Fire?

    Hearing this name, Gerald turned his head away and ran without any hesitation.

    Gerald knew how potent they were.

    After all, he sold the ck Fire to Viscount Barber.

    As expected, the door was opened from the inside. A thin young man with a ck Fire bucket in his right hand and an ignited torch in his left hand was stunned. He rushed out desperately.

    He had no idea how Dr. Gerald realized something was amiss.

    Considering Gerald¡¯s mind control ability, Wandering Child made a big circle, avoiding being noticed by anyone else in the viscount¡¯s mansion. He took more than half an hour to circle back to the door carefully.

    But he was still found out!

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t run.¡±

    As soon as the Child opened the door, the possessed guard did not hesitate but shot at the ck Fire bucket in the Child¡¯s hand.

    The high-speed rotating lead bullet hit the bucket filled with ck Fire within less than ten meters!

    Boom!

    Heatwaves spread out.

    The scorching heat roared. A mushroom cloud burst out, engulfing the Child and the shooting guard at the same time!

    But this was only the beginning.

    At the moment the me exploded, the temperature in the surrounding air began to rise abnormally.

    Immediately afterward, the ck Fire barrels buried nearby were also ignited.

    The fire spewed out like a fountain!

    The viscous dark brown me spewed out, scattered in the air into countless small droplets, tainted the building, and intensified the ongoing fire.

    mes steaming with terrifying ck smoke surged into all directions, instantly igniting the viscount¡¯s mansion entirely!

    Immediately after the explosion, the fire permeated the area, condensing into a dense line of fire. If one were to look down directly above, you could see two rapidly spreading fire snakes swimming outward. The entire courtyard was warped in the snake¡¯s wrath.

    ¡°Ah.¡°

    Gerald looked at the ck Fire that ignited in front of his eyes, covering thest escape passage. He stopped with regret.

    I¡¯m still five secondste.

    If that person did not open the door in such a hurry but were shot through the door five secondster, then the timing would be just right.

    Dr. Gerald could escape safely in this tight timing.

    Contrary to the current situation, he would not be trapped in such a narrow space but entered a wide street. Subsequently, he stood a chance to manipte a wide range of people¡¯s minds, setting up a territory he dominated.

    The sidekick that Gerald did not even see the face clearly might seem useless, but the person bought time with his own life.

    ¡°Salvatore, you have plotted against me!¡±

    Standing in the fire, he shouted without fear, ¡°And you¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re a fake imitation! You alle out!¡±

    Only Gerald knew that this batch of ck Fire was defective.

    It was not an Alteration product of the well-known Wizard Benjamin but a counterfeit. The kind that said ¡°Produce by: Benjamin,¡± but it was a defective product his apprentice made.

    However, due to some special reasons, its value was higher than the real one.

    ck Fire was an unstable and dangerous Alteration product. The ck Fire was highly explosive under a high temperature, violent impact, or vibration. It was usually used for siege, city defense, or to prevent the opposing cavalry fromunching a charge.

    Therefore, the sensitivity of ck Fire was important.

    It was best to make the shallowly buried ck Fire explode due to violent vibration when the cavalry corps was passing by.

    But because of its creator, Salvatore¡¯s curse directly caused this batch of ck Fire to be defunct. It would not detonate when the cavalry passed by. Worse still, it might not even explode even if one were to m them with a hammer.

    It was ipetent to be ssified as a dangerous explosive. On the other hand, it was a handy viscousbustion agent.

    Not only Benjamin, but even Salvatore himself didn¡¯t expect these defective and failed products to have any value.

    Through keen evaluation, Gerald identified the value and acquired this batch of ¡°defective products¡± anonymously through internal channels. Then, he found an opportunity to sell them to the viscount.

    Indeed, Gerald¡¯s had an ulterior goal.

    Even Viscount Barber didn¡¯t realize Gerald was using him.

    [Condition: Without participating in the whole process, witnessing the ¡°creator¡± being murdered by their ¡°own work.¡±]

    This was the highest sacrifice ritual among all the rituals rted to the Venerated Skeleton.

    As long as this ritual waspleted, Gerald could officially advance to Gold Rank.

    What a pity.

    ¡°I¡¯m so close.¡±

    Gerald sighed, ¡°I just needed two more days.¡±

    Dr. Gerald didn¡¯t know where the guy posing as Don Juan Geraint came from.

    Without his intervention, or even if the imposter (Anna) only came to Freezing Water Port two dayste, Gerald would now have sessfully advanced.

    He vaguely realized that this imposter might be his biggest enemy in the future.

    ¡°Are you thinking ¡®This imposter may be my worst enemy in the future.¡¯?¡±

    Annan said nonchntly outside the me curtain,

    ¡°Do you still think you will have a future?¡±

    At the next moment, the hot ground quickly cooled down. Frosty white traces slowly condensed and spread.

    The fire wall slowly lowered its height and was suppressed to the ground level.

    Falteration Wizard?

    This characteristic is consistent with Don Juan Geraint.

    Gerald retreated vigntly to the spot where the frosty white traces hadn¡¯t invaded.

    After a few seconds, a small opening revealed on the encircling me curtain.

    Annan and Salvatore walked in through it.

    Annan¡¯s skin became abnormally pale and bloodless. His eyes lit up with eternal blue light. Frosty air exuded his skin all the time, resembling the appearance of transparent ice.

    These white mists quickly settled on the ground, slowly spreading outward.

    Is this Frost Nova?

    Gerald did not hesitate and lowered his head, averting Annan¡¯s eyes and backing away.

    Behind him was steaming mes, while tenacious rice was in front of him.

    The courtyard, which initially looked wide, became so narrow after the fire-made colosseum was formed.

    The yers guarded outside. Each was holding a sharp weapon guarding the only opening, but no one walked in rashly.

    It was Annan¡¯s order.

    Annan looked at Gerald calmly, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you dere your attack?¡±

    As Salvatore said, Gerald had a deadly but powerful curse if it was not ovee.

    Its name was [Deration of Attack]:

    [Beforeunching an attack on others, the curse bearer must warn three to ten seconds before attacking and reveal the attacking target. At the same time, the closer the warning was to ten seconds, the greater the power. If the attack wasunched within three seconds, the attack would be reflected back to oneself; if the attack was on the third second, the power output would be twice the normal value; if the attack wasunched within ten seconds, the maximum power would go for three folds; if an attack wasunched after ten seconds, the attack was deemed undered.]

    Gerald did not warn Annan yet.

    So, Annan was now in a position where he could not attack Gerald!

    Annan raised his right hand and chanted in a low volume:

    ¡°Frost element

    ¡°The frost is the wheel. David Gerald is in the way!¡±

 Chapter 67: [Change Target]

    <h4>Chapter 67: [Change Target]</h4>

    Annan¡¯s pale right hand that seemed to be almost transparent reached out.

    The cold wind blew against the cuffs, pping in the air.

    Five crystal-colored transparent mes ignited at Annan¡¯s fingertips. A light-blue ice magic circle emerged from his palm and then disappeared quickly, leaving only a water ring.

    After Annan threw the ring out, it overgrew in the air and condensed into ice.

    It was a huge, hollowed-out frost wheel.

    A gorgeous wheel of light intertwined with ice-blue light.

    Mysterious light glimmering within the hollow. This light condensed the contacted air into frost; its frost traces continued to expand and spread.

    The light wheel fell on the ground. Ayer of shattered frost traces instantly tainted the ground, making it looked like a field of broken grass carved from white crystals.

    Gerald swiftly gazed at the yers and the gun-wielded guards near the me curtain opening, ¡°[Patient].¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to look at Annan because he was worried that Annan¡¯s [Slothful Eye] might offset his [Mind Maniption].

    My opponent has an Alteration Wizard on his side, but I don¡¯t have an ally!

    But these ordinary people will have no countermeasures against me!

    Being unprepared, the four yers and the remaining three gun-wielded guards had their will dominated by Gerald!

    The three gun-wielded guards aimed at Annan without hesitation and pulled the trigger!

    The four possessed yers also rushed over.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Salvatore eximed, pulling out a thumb-sized medicine bottle from his waist and tossing it into the air.

    The medicine bottle shattered in the air instantly. Bright red crystals expanded, forming a shield, stopping the two lead bullets!

    The shattered red crystal fell on the ground, fell to pieces, and began to melt slowly.

    There were two shots of bullets rather than three. One of the unaffected yers took notice of the three gun-wielded guards being possessed. The yer immediately pounced on one of the guards and mmed him to the ground!

    In the meantime, Annan¡¯s spell casting was unhindered. It had already taken shape.

    Annan gestured and let it spawn next to the yer closest to him.

    The hollow light wheel fell from the air,nded with frost traces, and issued a sharp screech, galloping towards Gerald!

    The ice wheel knocked away the yer attempting to sh at Annan. The yer flew out along the condensed frost traces.

    Numerous cuts appeared on the victim¡¯s skin.

    The outer shell of the Frost Wheel copsed to the ground, but the inner light wheel did not attenuate at all.

    It was like an illusory projection, piercing the guard without any hindrance.

    This wheel darted forward like a speeding car on a highway.

    The yer being run over gained back his will from the severe pain and chill.

    As soon as he heard Annan chant the spell, Gerald used the instant spell he prepared beforehand. It was the only life-saving spell in the early stages of Soul Snatch school.

    [Change Target]

    Almost all curses¡¯ and all rituals¡¯ target lock-on feature required ¡°name¡± to track the target.

    Those in Idol school utilized this situation to gain profit.

    After all, it was too easy to curse and kill any ordinary person in this world, as long as the perpetrator had his target¡¯s name and a surname. For example, Annan learned a ritual to kill someone just after flipping through the book casually in the nightmare. Moreover, the ritual was easy to set up.

    Those Idol Wizards could create ¡°substitutes¡± for monarchs or nobles through victims with the same name and surname. It would change the priority of who would sustain the curse under the condition of the same name and surname or use special rituals to exchange their real names with ¡°substitutes.¡± These wizards could give the monarchs of nobles a ¡°safe temporary name.¡±

    Gerald¡¯s spell had a simr effect:

    Construct a mirror in a short time and swap the consciousness coordinates of the two people. The goal was not to control the other party¡¯s body but to reverse the ¡°identities¡± of the two people in a short period.

    This function would direct the spell away, whether it was a health recovery spell, blessing spell, or homing attack spell.

    The premise was that the opponent could not exempt or counter the spell.

    The only drawback was that maintaining this state would consume mana considerably. Therefore, it could only be used right at the moment when the opponent delivered the homing attack, but the attack had notnded yet.

    Gerald barely reacted.

    The Frost Wheel cast with frost element was the original form of this spell. Its moving speed was splendid. The initial speed was 20 meters per second, and it would continue to elerate when darting in a straight line.

    Despite the intimidating speed, Dr. Gerald activated his instant spell before the wheel hit him.

    The Frost Wheel made a 180¡ã U-turn, drifting silently on the ground. The wheel went to the yer that was previously knocked to the ground.

    The victim, who was still lying on the ground, raised his head and looked nkly at the wheel rushing toward him.

    But this time, he was not lucky enough to escape the wheel¡¯s crush.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ah¡­¡°

    The yer wailed miserably.

    After the wheel ran over him, his body was like the tainted ground that the wheel passed. Countless shattered crystal shards protruded from his body.

    But they were no longer pure white but dark red ice thorns mixed with mutted flesh.

    These icy thorns grew rapidly, protruding out continuously from the wounds.

    At the moment the wheel ran over him, the wheel exploded too. It turned into countless frosty white gas. A miniature storm stirred up, diminishing the surrounding sea of ??fire a little bit.

    The unlucky yer stopped wailing in pain after the wheel exploded.

    At the moment the wheel exploded, his whole body was covered entirely in thin frost. He lost consciousness in a blink of an eye.

    The blood-dyed frost traces on his body overgrew, making a creaking sound on that hardened body.

    Then, the body fell apart. The ice thorns gushed out of his body without leaving a drop of blood. These ice thorns were then scattered into fine red crystal sands.

    Then, the unlucky yer turned into a cloud of ck smoke and flew towards the distance.

    The whole process, having the wheel deflected, took even less than two seconds.

    At this time, Gerald made his deration already:

    ¡°Salvatore, my next blow will [Severely Hurt] you.¡±

    At the moment Gerald finished speaking, there was a strange sound echoing in the air, like the clicking sounds of the stopwatch¡¯s second hand.

    ¡°Stop him!¡±

    The next moment, Geraldmanded loudly again.

    His curse did not restrict him from using spells to control others or lead others to perform an attack. It was just that he couldn¡¯t attack by himself.

    Therefore, when he used the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s bone-blood trigger, his movements were always very gentle. For fear that he would hurt the opponent and be judged as an attack.

    This was another reason why he pretended to be a dentist.

    It was customary for the dentist to strike the teeth with a hammer in this era.

    After all, no one would think that the dentist picked up the hammer to kill them.

    Gerald¡¯s thought process ran quickly.

    Alteration spells could not be stopped once they were activated.

    Salvatore had altered the red crystals into steel pins. He could no longer block the lead bullet with the red crystal grid.

    Unfortunately, time was too short. The possessed gun-wielders had no time to reload bullets.

    Of course, Gerald didn¡¯t think that this kind of mortal¡¯s weapon could pose any threat to the prepared Transcended.

    It was just a prop to buy time, so it had little effect.

    The two guards did not hesitate to swing their valuable muskets at the back of Annan and Salvatore¡¯s heads. The other yers reacted and quickly took out their weapons and beheaded the two controlled guards mercilessly!

    One of the controlled yers suddenly turned around and ran towards Annan, opening his arms to hug Annan tightly!

    Click.

    The first second passed.

    ¡°Hu¡­¡±

    Annan exhaled.

    He exuded frost white gas, which all of it surged toward his back. The new star-shaped frost gas radiating from the ground gradually faded, while the thick white gas condensed into an illusory wall behind him.

    When the two muskets struck the wall, they seemed to be frozen in the air, motionless!

    The yer who attempted to restrain Annan turned into dust and drifted away.

    Annan¡¯s right hand turned blemish!

 Chapter 68: Duped Gerald

    <h4>Chapter 68: Duped Gerald</h4>

    What kind of curse is that?

    Gerald had noticed that these weirdos, not afraid of death, would turn into ck dust and drift away in the wind.

    It wasn¡¯t too surprising if it just happened once.

    But it appeared twice in a row. Even if the weirdos died differently, it would bring the same result.

    Moreover, their weapons and armors were the same. Everyone seemed not afraid of death.

    Gerald¡¯s heart trembled. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little frightened.

    Is this a rare humanoid curse vessel?

    Like the legendary [Three Hundred Heroes of the Red Knight]?

    No, this is different.

    [Three Hundred Heroes of the Red Knight]. It was the top curse vessel because it wasposed of three hundred Silver Rank ¡°knights¡± who could slowly recover their numbers.

    This curse vessel alone was enough to protect a country.

    But this group of people was nothing more than ordinary people without ranks. Even if they could be resurrected, they were nothing remarkable.

    Gerald came with a new n:

    The somewhat familiar imposter should be an experienced Bronze Rank Wizard. But in terms of his age, he had only be Transcended for three or four years at most.

    As far as the information collected so far, the imposter had four spells: Chilling Touch, Impeding Wall, Frost Nova, and Frost Wheel.

    He could have at most two instant spells and one chant spell.

    Chant spell was nothing to be feared.

    Assuming that imposter had the most dangerous [Slothful Eye], the remaining instant spell could counter Gerald¡¯s mind control would only be [Frozen Thoughts].

    But for now, this Falteration Wizard¡¯s fighting style was more biased towards the Noah Kingdom¡¯s fighting style. In other words, it would be simr to Salvatore, who focused on dealing damage while remaining rooted on the spot.

    After all, if the imposter was the most traditional Chilly Austere Dukedom¡¯s Falteration Wizard, then he should be holding an axe or mace now in his hand.

    The wizard in thatbat style would utilize Frost Nova to make opponents slower than him. On the other hand, he used Slothful Eye to make it difficult for enemies at close range to attack and fend for himself. The Impeding Wall helped to prevent visible ballistic attacks in the distance. Then, he would use [Chilling Mind] to strengthen his will and resist mental attacks.

    Supposedly, he would close the distance and attack with an axe.

    If he were such a Falteration Wizard, Gerald would run as far as possible.

    However, given this person¡¯s age and size, it was expected that he was not good at that kind of brutal fighting style.

    Gerald quickly thought about countermeasures, glimpsing through Annan¡¯s equipment from the corner of his eye.

    He saw the saber around Annan¡¯s waist. He could tell at a nce that it was a decorative protective sword.

    There was no threat to it.

    He also saw the waist bag around Annan¡¯s waist.

    The size of Annan¡¯s waist bag obviously couldn¡¯t fit anything. It should be the raw material for Salvatore¡¯s Alteration Magic.

    The situation should be like this¡­

    I need to capture his emotions first and then detonate the fear in this kid¡¯s heart. As a Bronze Rank Transcended, he cannot resist my spells.

    Then, when he is so scared that it is difficult to use spells to counteract, he will raise his head to look at me, giving an opening to use [Mind Maniption]!

    [Mind Maniption] might not allow Gerald to affect the young wizard duo into attacking each other autonomously. But, Dr. Gerald could manually direct their attacks against each other.

    The whole process will happen silently. Salvatore won¡¯t realize that Annan has fallen under my control. He won¡¯t be waking Annan up immediately.

    As the Bronze Rank Transcended, their will should be more rigid. Gerald thought he couldn¡¯t control them for a long time.

    But, he was close with Salvatore.

    Assuming the control time of [Mind Maniption] was the same, Annan used Chilling Touch to attack Salvatore and restrain Salvatore. Even if Annan couldn¡¯t seriously hurt Salvatore, he could interrupt Salvatore¡¯s spells, leaving Salvatore unable to resist his attacks.

    By then, Gerald could send a powerful blow to Salvatore, tearing and stripping off Salvatore¡¯s soul.

    When Salvatore was in a calm mood, this attack could only barely hurt him, even if it was three times as powerful. Thus, Gerald dered an attack previously. Being stabbed at the back suddenly by apanion next to him, this kind of panic and resentment would significantly increase the power of [Soul Tear].

    The two-fold [Soul Tear] was enough to kill Salvatore instantly. Worsee to worst, it should still be a critical injury.

    In this way, the situation would develop into a one-on-one duel.

    If Salvatore didn¡¯t react and woke Annan in time, then Annan couldn¡¯t even wake up from the state of [Mind Maniption].

    In this way, Salvatore only needed to order Annan to use the Frost Wheel to his guards once again. This time, the magic activation would surpass the safety threshold. As a twelve or thirteen-year-old wizard, he had no way to fend for himself any longer.

    Even if Salvatore woke Annan up, Gerald would repeat the process.

    Gerald grew more confident.

    He was an expert in controlling emotions. Even if he did not use spells, he could easily confuse people.

    Click.

    The 2nd second passed.

    Gerald¡¯s thoughts ran wildly. He thought of a countermeasure in the blink of an eye and decided resolutely.

    ¡°Are you immortal?¡±

    Suddenly, Gerald asked.

    He was confident.

    When he asked this question indifferently, the opposing party would have a fear of ¡°My secret has been seen through.¡± Especially when the opponent was fighting with him, the opponent would think about ¡°Has he seen through me at some point?¡±, ¡°Has my n been revealed?¡± and other concerns.

    Even if that fear disappeared in a sh, Gerald was confident to hang tightly on it!

    When Gerald said this sentence, he had already closed his eyes.

    This was to conceal the magic effect in his eyes!

    [Consciousness Capture: Fear]

    The dark red brilliance flickered within his eyes. All fears would turn into bubbles in his eyes, susceptible to burst.

    Click.

    The third second passed peacefully.

    Gerald shivered suddenly.

    This is¡­

    What kind of monster?

    Everyone had fear in their hearts, but they were either intensified, surfaced, or deeply buried.

    He couldn¡¯t immediately determine what the fear of a particr ¡°bubble¡± was. But, he nned to have ¡°the fear that he wanted to detonate¡± surface due to his words and then intensify it.

    But¡­

    This dignified boy¡­

    There is no fear in his heart at all!

    It is clean like a doll.

    Not even a bubble is there.

    Gerald switched his spell usage without hesitation.

    [Consciousness Capture: Anger]

    The answer was the same, still no.

    The bottom of his heart was clean without any emotion.

    But in human history, there had never been a talent who could eliminate emotions.

    Gerald trembled in his heart.

    His pupils dted and trembled as if he had realized something.

    It¡¯s like,

    It¡¯s just like the deity I saw that day, ¡°the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    ¡°What are you?¡±

    What kind of monster?

    He opened his eyes suddenly and looked at Annan desperately.

    Gerald was filled with inexplicable grief and anger.

    He didn¡¯t care about Slothful Eye¡¯s deterrence because even if Slothful Eye affected him, it was better than that possibility in his mind.

    This little ¡°imposter¡± may be a false deity walking in the mortal world¡­ or even a true deity!

    This is meaningless.

    He just wanted to take another look at who the opponent was.

    [Consciousness Judgment]!

    ¡°What?¡±

    Gerald was startled.

    He initially thought he would see the mystical nature, just like when he looked at the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s real body that day. His spirit was washed away. His will and thinking were destroyed and then reshaped.

    It was like having died once and then reborn again.

    But this time, he saw the color that belonged to human beings.

    That was the color of emotion.

    Extremely strong, iparably pure, and iparably worked up emotions.

    Excitement, high spirits, self-confidence, love, hope, joy, pleasure¡­

    Gerald shuddered, realizing something was wrong.

    This is bad!

    I¡¯m duped!

 Chapter 69: Exclusive Excuse to Reap Experience

    <h4>Chapter 69: Exclusive Excuse to Reap Experience</h4>

    The moment Gerald¡¯s eyes met Annan, he realized something was wrong.

    Contrary to what he thought, it was not that the other party had no feelings.

    In the vision of ¡°Consciousness Judgment,¡± he could see clearly¡­

    Annan had not only positive feelings but also neutral feelings.

    Only all the negative feelings were missing.

    At a nce, it looked like the sun in the sky, shining and brilliant.

    It almost blinded Gerald¡¯s eyes.

    What the hell?

    He almost blurted out.

    Since there is no tension or fear in your heart and you never felt this kind of emotion, why do you put such a dignified expression on your face?

    And your timing is quite right¡­

    What¡¯s your acting for?

    At this moment, Gerald had realized his opponent¡¯s true identity.

    If not all feelings are missing, but only negative feelings are missing. Theoretically, it is indeed possible that¡­

    He is Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s direct descendant.The descendants are equipped with an extraordinary talent skill called [Winter Heart]. On the other hand, the Church of Silent Lady, the Deity of Darkness and Veto, will hold aplimentary ritual engraving Reverse Inscription on them.

    With these two skillsbined, the effect of ¡°eliminating negative emotions¡± could be achieved.

    But the possibility was even slimmer than the chance of meeting a deity.

    Deities asionally walked among the mortals. But, there was only one such example in the world.

    Rumors said that the Chilly Austere family¡¯s bloodline curse came directly from Old Grandmother (Deity). In the bloodline continued from true deity, the curse contained in it was difficult to dissolve, making the newborns facing awful odds to live to seven years old. Hence, some children were only granted a name when they were seven.

    There was only one family left, retaining Chilly Austere bloodline. Thest four people with that bloodline were the current Grand Duke and his three children.

    There were probably three people left now.

    Among them, there was only one minor.

    Ivan Chilly Austere¡¯s third child, Annan Chilly Austere!

    Yes¡­

    Gerald finally realized why he found Annan so familiar earlier.

    A few years ago, Gerald was fortunate enough to meet the ¡°Daughter of the Storm.¡± Except for the entirely different temperament, Annan and his sister Maria Chilly Austere looked almost the same when they were young!

    But how could Annan appear here?

    Annan was engraved with the Reverse Inscription. Then, he crossed the gray mists, crossed the ck Sea, and arrived at the enemy country, the Noah Kingdom alone a thousand miles away.

    Then, he disguised as a son of an earl who was about to be wiped out.

    What does he want?

    Why did I encounter him?

    Gerald was filled with despair.

    Fortunately, Gerald failed to kill Annan. Otherwise, once Maria learned about it, she would hunt him down no matter where he fled.

    The more apparent problem was that Gerald found himself unable to defeat Annan.

    His skills as a Soul Snatch Wizard were nullified, resulting in him falling into an uphill battle against the two young Bronze Wizards.

    However, there was still a chance for aeback.

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    Gerald opened his mouth immediately.

    Yes, Gerald intended to surrender to Annan and pledge his loyalty.

    This was the best way for aeback!

    If you can¡¯t beat them, join them.

    As the Soul Snatch Wizard, he could alter the soul and will of others silently. With that, he had proven his usefulness to the opponent party. Whether the opponent party was exiled and intended to seize power in the future or intended to carry out some spying operation in the Noah Kingdom, Gerald was much more useful than the Bronze Wizard, Salvatore!

    As long as Geraldpletes the ritual, he could¡­

    At the next moment, intenseziness filled Gerald¡¯s mind.

    His thinking began to stagnate; his sense of time gradually weakened.

    I¡­want¡­gold¡­rank¡­

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    Annan chuckled. The dim light in his eyes gradually dissipated. Gerald stayed rooted on the spot, motionless.

    What a strange person!

    Annan¡¯s eyes flickered.

    If Annan didn¡¯t guess wrong, this guy wanted to surrender just now.

    Gerald has probably recognized my identity. After all, he¡¯s a Silver Rank wizard. He sure has some pride. My identity as the count¡¯s son doesn¡¯t intimidate him, but being the Grand Duke¡¯s son is different.

    But that won¡¯t do.

    Annan swore that he interrupted Gerald when Gerald tried to surrender, not because of his greed for the experience.

    Annan felt from the bottom of his heart that ending it peacefully was not cool enough.

    Annan even did not find it satisfying enough as he killed Gerald.

    After all, this was the first battle to show the yers on Transcended power officially!

    So, Annan would not ept surrender.

    The possibility of revealing his identity was a trivial matter. The yers would only think that they found more character background and clues to further dig upon. This would further assist the yers in searching for ¡°Annan¡¯s¡± background story in his shoes.

    The most important thing was ¡°character design.¡± He had to preserve the image of being righteous, gracious, kind-hearted, decisive, and wise. He felt terrible for Gerald not being able to voice out the surrender intention.

    If you surrender, but I still kill you, am I still righteous?

    This won¡¯t work. I¡¯m the good guy.

    I got to hurry my pace and kill you.

    Annan thought calmly, and the frost qi exuded from his body again.

    The unmelted frost traces strengthened again as Annan moved forward, gradually infiltrating the ground and spreading to Gerald.

    This time, Annan quickly captured Gerald into the Frost Nova¡¯s range.

    Silver Rank Transcended had a strong physique. In other words, the resistance to curses was splendid.

    Annan¡¯s frost didn¡¯t kill Gerald instantly, so he had to grab Gerald¡¯s throat and seal his eyes with a cold curse. With that, even if Gerald were to wake up from the control of Slothful Eye, Gerald couldn¡¯t say a word and couldn¡¯t open eyes either.

    ¡°No matter what you want to say to me, whether you want to threaten me or tempt me, my answer is the same.¡±

    Annan showed a firm look on his face. He spoke in a cold and sweet voice, ¡°My answer is no.

    ¡°For my followers, my friends, my senior, my citizens, and even more for me. I can¡¯t ept the possibility of coborating with a dangerous and cold-blooded viin like you!

    ¡°You sold these ck Fires to the viscount and even sent the goons to attack me. You are now buried in my ice and your fire. This is what you deserve!¡±

    Annan thered loudly and then put the charges on Gerald.

    By this time, Gerald had already woken up.

    Gerald¡¯s first thought was:

    How did Annan find out?

    After that, his second thought was a strong desire to survive.

    Whether it was to control Annan or to shout out Annan¡¯s secret and make it public to force Annan into facing off with Salvatore¡­

    I need to open my mouth!

    But the ten seconds of frostbite had caused Gerald¡¯s internal organs to fail. His mouth was shut, his eyes could not be opened, and the previously announced attack time had been over.

    He had no chance of fighting back. He could only extend his neck at Annan¡¯s mercy. His body kept making a crackling sound. That was the sound of the gradual bones cracking.

    It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t allow you to mouth off with me.

    Annan looked at Gerald indifferently and bared his fangs ruthlessly. Frost Nova persisted in devastating Gerald¡¯s body as vitality slowly escaped from the opponent while Gerald tried desperately to voice out.

    If it weren¡¯t for Gerald¡¯s mana value far surpassing ordinary people, he would have probably exhausted the mana above the safe threshold. Gerald was on the verge of losing control.

    Annan even sighed in his heart with spare effort.

    Silver Rank¡¯s (Gerald) suppression on Bronze Rank (Annan) is quite robust.

    Unless one could destroy all the opponent¡¯s curses, any ordinary wizard could not defeat this enemy, even exhausting their mana.

    The promotion in wizard rank did not solely upgrade the attributes.

    Wouldn¡¯t it be more challenging to deal with if it was a Silver Rank swordsman?

    Annan was still firing words with his mouth to ¡°fill up the spare time outside the fierce battle¡± so that the cinematic scene and the plot appear richer. It helped to avoid awkward pauses:

    ¡°I didn¡¯t just kill you for truth and justice. I did it for myself, but also my friend ¡ª Salvatore. However, he didn¡¯t tell me why. He only told me that only one gets to live between him and you. Then, I choose to help my friend unconditionally.¡±

    He was implying Salvatore: It¡¯s almost time to tell your story, my friend.

    Salvatore also showed a hesitant look.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill him, Don Juan.¡±

    He thought for a long time, finally made up his mind, and said softly.

    A jolt sent across Annan¡¯s spine as he returned gaze sharply.

    Are you trying to cheat on me and scam for experience?

    ¡°Do you have to kill him yourself?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not necessary.¡±

    ¡°I can kill him, but I don¡¯t get the curse from him, right?¡±

    Salvatore nced at Annan with doubt, ¡°That¡¯s natural. But, since you have no hatred against him, killing him won¡¯t get you any benefit.

    ¡°Because I have to get his curse. I willpensate you for itter.¡±

    ¡°How could it not be beneficial?¡±

    Annan answered without hesitation.

    I want the experience. Isn¡¯t that enough?

    Unfortunately, Annan could not tell Salvatore this reason.

    Fortunately, Annan had anticipated this a long time ago, so he opened the waist bag and took out the ¡°exclusive excuse to reap experience¡± he had carefully prepared before.

    Blood-stained Kitchen Knife.

    Seemingly aware of something, Salvatore became less hesitant.

 Chapter 70: It & Its Last Unbending Will

    <h4>Chapter 70: It & Its Last Unbending Will</h4>

    Chilling frost gushed out from Annan¡¯s body.

    Before Annan managed to take out his kitchen knife, Salvatore swiftly pressed on Annan¡¯s arm and blinked at Annan.

    Even though Salvatore suffered frostbite pain, he gritted through it.

    He watched the yers behind them vigntly andmanded loudly,

    ¡°There is nothing left for you to do here! Time to disperse. Get someone to notify the public security bureau to put out the fire!¡±

    ¡°No, no¡­ it¡¯s fine, Salvatore.¡±

    Annan just gave Salvatore a gentle smile. He gestured to the yers not to leave.

    Hearing two opposing orders, the yers were a little dumbfounded for a while, not knowing whether they should go or stay. Their hesitation resulted in them staying where they were.

    The yers looked at each other for a while and finally decided to obey Annan¡¯s orders.

    Although both were NPC and both were wizards, the faction leader had a higher hierarchy.

    After Annan stopped the yers from leaving, he looked back at Salvatore.

    He took out the kitchen knife drenched with blood from the waist bag he carried with him. He swung the knife, disposing of some excess blood to the ground. He operated like those nurses who emptied the air in the needle and prepared for injection.

    This exaggerated action forced Salvatore to retreat, preventing the blood from tainting him.

    When the yers saw this scene, they came to total silence.

    They watched in horror as Annan took out a Blood-stained Kitchen Knife. The inside of his waist bag was covered with blood as if the knife was something that shouldn¡¯t be carried around.

    They started to regret not following Salvatore¡¯s suggestion to leave.

    Are you going to silence us by putting us to death?!

    The point is don¡¯t deduct the affection rate even if you want to kill us!

    ¡°I remember that you have to use the item beforehand, right?¡±

    Salvatore asked awkwardly and cautiously, ¡°Are you sure you have used it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I cut a slice of ham with the knife and ate it before we went out.¡±

    Annan nodded and replied in a low volume, ¡°I wanted to cut the bread at first. But I found that this was not possible. Because the bread would be soaked with blood. The knife would spurt blood desperately, and the whole bread turned red in the end.

    ¡°On the contrary, if I sliced ??a piece of ham, but there was not much blood on it. I can still eat it after rubbing it a little.¡±

    At first, Annan nned to grab a kitchen knife from the Freezing Water Port City Lord¡¯s kitchen. But, this might leak his curse among the local inhabitants. It was far worse than revealing his info to the yers.

    Moreover, he would be wasting resources.

    After all, no matter how epassing Annan¡¯s heart was, it was impossible to put the used knife back in the kitchen.

    He couldn¡¯t smile at the approaching customer, serve a table full of dishes, and then introduce, ¡°Come and taste this dish I made with the knife that killed Gerald,¡± ¡°You must taste the dishes made with the knife that murdered Viscount,¡± ¡°This is the dish I made with the knife killing Salvatore. It¡¯s good for nutrition.¡± or something.

    If Annan kept ushering the servants to buy new kitchen knives, they were likely to suspect that Annan took these kitchen knives out to do something evil.

    By that time, some terrifying rumors would spread and affect Annan¡¯s image.

    But if someone wronged him for losing the kitchen knife, it would be a pure shame. Even if Annan wouldn¡¯t me the other party, he was still wronged for no reason.

    In the end, Annan could only use the kitchen knife that came with this curse.

    It was better than bothering others.

    Annan unexpectedly discovered that this kitchen knife was not as inconvenient as he thought.

    If he held it in his hand and walked around, the scene would be terrifying. But if he put it in a bag, its blood dripping speed would slow down a lot.

    The curse item¡¯s description was, ¡°A kitchen knife with its blood impossible to be wiped off.¡± Annan ran a simple test on it. If he were to hang the knife upside down, it would drip about one milliliter of blood every minute. But, if he tried to wipe off the blood on its surface, it would immediately leak more blood out in the next second.

    If the other way round, the surface was covered with blood, or it had been immersed in blood, it would stop dripping blood.

    In other words, the reason it kept oozing blood was to maintain the requirement of ¡°having blood on the kitchen knife.¡±

    Probably this was it and itsst unbending will.

    It was quite a pity.

    Annan originally nned to hang it upside down for a continuous supply of sma source or something. If it was human blood, it allowed the production of blood bags. If it was not human blood, it could be made into different cuisines.

    Unfortunately, the rate of it releasing blood was too slow.

    When Annan put the knife back into the bag, there wouldn¡¯t be blood dripping out from the waist bag.

    So Annan carried the knife with him. Every morning or evening, he would use the curse knife to peel fruit, slice ham, or chop meat. Anyway, it could be eaten after rubbing it. Annan did not see a problem with it.

    This also guaranteed that Annan could take the knife out and use it to resolve his curse whenever he encountered an enemy.

    Annan raised the bloody kitchen knife and smiled gently and cheerfully at Salvatore, who avoided him,

    ¡°I n to use him to resolve my curse. Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°I have no objection, but they¡­¡±

    Salvatore looked at the yers hesitantly.

    Annan replied without hesitation, ¡°I believe them. They will keep it a secret for me. This is an agreement that I made with them a long time ago.¡±

    The yers were suddenly at a loss.

    When did we have an agreement?

    But they were all smart people. No one asked about it but took it as their own ¡°character settings.¡± The yers nodded in affirmation.

    ¡°But you should exin to them what curse is. I haven¡¯t told them in detail before. You know the reason.¡±

    Annan skipped this part in a vague tone and then replied with integrity and seriousness, ¡°Because I think they all have the qualifications to be Transcended.¡±

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s your wish.¡±

    Salvatore shrugged and nced at Gerald with ice engulfing him. He was still struggling slowly and constantly making muffled noise. Amidst that, Salvatore approached the yers.

    What an excellent opportunity for me to introduce some world settings to the yers!

    Annan breathed a sigh of relief and approached Gerald with his kitchen knife. He assessed the situation roughly.

    A few shes will do the trick.

    Otherwise, he will freeze to death first.

    ¡°Sorry, friend.¡±

    Annan smiled briskly and said in a low volume, ¡°We have indeed no hatred against each other, but I don¡¯t ept your surrender.

    ¡°You should give up struggling. Let me give you a quick end. Please be kind and bless me for more experience.¡±

    As he said, he swiftly chopped with his kitchen knife.

    The blood on the kitchen knife instantly turned frozen white. It was sent out and nailed into Gerald¡¯s body. Then, the frosty blood on the kitchen knife began to melt again.

    The frost traces silently entered the frozen Gerald body, making cracking sounds that Annan was already familiar with.

    Are you not dead yet?

    Annan was a little surprised. He made another sh and yet another one.

    [Kill a Silver Rank enemy in battle. Obtain 1240 Shared Experience points.]

    In the next moment, when Annan just finished marveling in his heart that ¡°The Silver Rank wizard is fat¡± [1], he suddenly realized¡­

    Hmm, the resistance that I felt when Imitted the Frost Sword for the third time is far less than before.

    Thinking of this, Annan opened the attribute panel immediately.

    [1] In-game terms, fat indicates someone has many resources (item/level).

 Chapter 71: Parallel Comprehension

    <h4>Chapter 71: Parallel Comprehension</h4>

    [Health: 85%]

    The third Frost Sword sh only depletes 15% of my health.

    Annan raised his brows. A wild guess came to his mind.

    If he guessed correctly, this [Frost Sword] was not so much a swordsmanship skill but more of supernatural ability.

    In other words, this was a key to awaken the bloodline power safely.

    Annan had realized previously that if he utilized the Frost Sword consecutively, the damage of each attack would not increase too much, but the injury he suffered would double. This was unreasonable and not practical. Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke would not teach Annan seriously about it and ushered Annan to hone the skill if the skill was awful.

    When Annan utilized [Frost Sword] while activating Frost Nova, he realized some differences. However, the enemy was already dead. Annan wasn¡¯t sure if this was an illusion.

    When he delivered the third sh himself, he felt that the power of Frost Nova seemed to increase a bit.

    Because before Annan¡¯s third sh hit Gerald, Gerald died suddenly.

    As a matter of fact, Annan couldn¡¯t inflict critical damage on Gerald at first.

    Annan¡¯s [Frost Nova] could freeze a robust unranked soldier to death within five seconds. When the yer under mind maniption got in contact with Annan, his health bar emptied instantly.

    On the contrary, Gerald stayed within Annan¡¯s Frost Nova range. Although he was rendered unable to move, he could still struggle at his spot. Aside from dodging the Frost Wheel, the Slothful Eye effect ran off in about three seconds.

    If it weren¡¯t for Annan to supplement another crowd control effect (CC) [1] in time, even under Frost Nova¡¯s support, he would not be able to stop Gerald.

    Therefore, ordinary unranked people had no curse resistance. But when they became Transcended, they would more or less get a little resistance. This curse resistance would mainly allow them to resist the side effects of their abilities.

    At the Silver Rank level, Annan would be like Gerald. Those curses lower than his soul rank would be difficult to stop him.

    Annan even felt that when his mana was exhausted beyond the safety threshold, he might still not be able to freeze Gerald to death through spells alone.

    But when Annan utilized the Frost Sword to deliver the third sh, he felt that Frost Nova became colder and colder.

    Gerald was immediately frozen to death.

    It was just like¡­

    As the number of Frost Sword stacks got higher and higher, Frost Nova¡¯s ¡°spell pration¡± would increase.

    He had verifed it when he activated the Frost Sword twice. The curse did not increase the damage to his body, but the strange thing about it was that its destructive power did not seem to increase.

    With that, Annan got an idea.

    Could the elemental damage of Frost Sword itself be aplimentary gift? What is important is the cold curse spurting out from my body?

    Is it because I¡¯m a newbie and my body can¡¯t handle it?

    Maybe when the Chilly Austere family utilizes the Frost Sword, they don¡¯t use it to deliver the killing blow. Instead, they use it to trigger the buff of magic piercing or ice piercing.

    After all, it¡¯s just like a profession with five swords on the back [2]. It can increase the damage after shing the same person repetitively.

    I don¡¯t know whether this is ¡°damage pration,¡± ¡°spell pration,¡± or ¡°attribute damage pration.¡±

    Annan thought for a while and decided to tap on the Frost Sword.

    Since Frost Sword¡¯s skill level determined the pration effect brought by the buff, then the pration effect should be pronounced when the skill points were filled.

    So Annan first assigned the experience to the swordsman level and then promoted the wizard level by one.

    His attribute panel became like this:

    Annan. Human. Male.

    Elite Rare (Gold), Challenge Rating15

    Title: None

    Rank: Bronze

    Health: 85%

    Erosion: 8%

    Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 9, Constitution 9, Perception 25, Will 14

    Shared Experience: 303

    Unique Trait: Winter Heart [Reverse Inscription]

    Profession Overview-

    Swordsman LV10 (Avable to be advanced): [Chilly Austere Swordsmanship LV5], [Disarm LV1], [Frost Sword LV7], [Parallel Comprehension LV1]

    Wizard (Energy Falteration School) LV12: [Instant spells LV3 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, None)], [Guided spells LV2 (Impeding Wall, Frost Nova)], [Chant spells LV1 (Frost Wheel)]

    Annan found his vision grew clearer, his mind more serene, and his body became sturdier. But fortunately, his muscles didn¡¯t go bulging all of a sudden and his clothes didn¡¯t burst because of the sudden increase in the strength attribute. All in all, Annan¡¯s body did not seem to have undergone any changes in appearance.

    The swordsman profession level increased, raising Annan¡¯s various physical attributes equally. On the tenth level, the previous [Bodyguard Swordsmanship] evolved into [Chilly Austere Swordsmanship]. A new ability [Parallel Comprehension LV1] was granted as well.

    It allowed Annan to utilize Chilly Austere Swordsmanship and Frost Sword with full power when using other weapons close to the ¡°one-handed sword.¡±

    Level 1 was roughly the level at which Annan could use light one-handed hammers, light clubs, and long daggers.

    Fortunately, Annan¡¯s beloved kitchen knife seemed to be ssified as a long dagger type.

    Annan suddenly felt the kitchen knife in his hand be in unity with his arm. He could even do knife tricks like juggling.

    That¡¯s great! Annan did not feel like he wasted the skill points.

    After all, even investing the remaining skill points in Frost Sword wouldn¡¯t allow it to reach the upper limit of level seven. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have the free skill points to increase the level of [Parallel Comprehension].

    But Annan was still a little curious.

    If the [Parallel Comprehension] level increases, what will happen?

    It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t have a yer to test it for him first.

    That still should not be much of a challenge. Anna just had to save up some skill points and flushed all of it into this skill in one go.

    But the problem was that the yers might not obtain this skill when they reached level ten.

    After all, their initial skills were different from Annan.

    Annan could see from the backend interface that the yer temte had only one swordsmanship to choose from, which was [Basic Swordsmanship]. But he could also sense that Basic Swordsmanship had its higher ranking version, but it was grayed out under the fifth level temte called [Military Swordsmanship].

    [Parry], [Charge], and [All-out Blow] all came from Basic Swordsmanship.

    The skill type of Basic Swordsmanship and Military Swordsmanship were in the same branch, except that one skill was missing ¨C [Solid Footwork].

    When the yers¡¯ swordsman level was upgraded to tenth, they probably would have the same changes as Annan.

    Annan wasn¡¯t so sure.

    After all, his temte was different from the yer¡¯s temte.

    His temte was Elite Rare with gold font. The temte for the yers was called ¡°yer,¡± but the font was blue.

    With Annan¡¯s game nner experience, he intuitively sensed that there should be a lot of difference between the two temtes.

    It¡¯s impossible that the gap between the yers and me is only four times the mana value, right?

    Although having four times the mana value is already quite exaggerating.

    But what made Annan feel inexplicable was that he found that level upgrade as a Bronze Rank Wizard required too much experience!

    About a thousand experiences were enough to max out a basic profession. But the Bronze Wizard would consume this amount of experience at the promotion to first level. In other words, the experience required was tenfold the amount it took to increase from the ninth to the tenth level.

    In the end, the experience granted from killing a Silver Rank enemy was only enough to raise a Bronze Rank profession by one level.

    Worse still, a promotion at the wizard level did not lead to an increment in other attributes. Instead, it only added 2 points in Perception attributes for every level up.

    Annan was vaguely disturbed.

    Due to the current experience required, Annan could only resort to farming the dungeon instance experience after Silver Rank.

    After all, the Gold Rank enemies wouldn¡¯t line up for Annan to kill.

    In addition, Annan always felt that there was a problem with the calction of the Challenge Rating.

    What does rating 15 mean? Isn¡¯t it too low?

    Does it mean that a 15 rating Bronze Rank can easily destroy me?

    But Annan felt that he was far from being so weak.

    Perhaps, does it mean that it will take five Bronze Ranks of 15 ratings to defeat me?

    It can¡¯t be twenty-five Bronze Ranks of 15 ratings, right?

    [1] MOBA game terminology. CC stands for crowd control, any abilities or status effects that prevent, impede, or otherwise inhibit a Hero from acting.

    [2] Reference to a China Game: https://dnf.qq

 Chapter 72: A Nightmare Is Born

    <h4>Chapter 72: A Nightmare Is Born</h4>

    The frost lingering in Annan gradually dissipated. His skin returned to its original color.

    Only the frozen courtyard was left, and the viscount mansion was still aze.

    Annan was stunned in ce and expressionless while staring at Gerald¡¯s corpse. The pulsing mes were the only sign of life in this scene. Salvatore couldn¡¯t help but pat Annan on the shoulder.

    ¡°Are you alright, Don Juan?¡±

    Seeing Annan like this, Salvatore started to regret it a bit.

    Although Don Juan Geraint had a strong talent, he was only a child after all. As Bishop Daryl said, he had no part in this hatred.

    Perhaps, I should have done it instead.

    ¡°En?¡±

    Annan raised his head and looked at Salvatore nkly.

    Annan reacted quickly afterward.

    Oh, I forgot to change my expression.

    When thinking about something, CPU usage is too high. The application named ¡°ovey acting¡± has stopped responding.

    Annan shook his head. A slightly solemn but resolute expression appeared on his face naturally, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.

    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about something else. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±

    This was indeed the truth.

    What Annan was thinking just now was about why he was so awesome.

    Probably.

    ¡°Well, alright.¡±

    Although Salvatore still felt something was wrong, he realized that Annan didn¡¯t want him to interfere, so he wisely stopped.

    Don Juan probably wants to take this opportunity to train his mind.

    Salvatore thought so.

    After all, the Gerant family was facing a catastrophe. People who were too weak could not survive.

    Salvatore could see that Annan was kind, rational, selfless, and uphold justice. But for a qualified nobleman, this was not a good character, nor could it save him from the catastrophe.

    But it doesn¡¯t matter.

    Salvatore thought to himself.

    Because he was the selected ck Tower son.

    All power in this worldes from curses. The wizard tower was no exception.

    Every wizard tower was the most advanced curse vessel.

    The towers were the most loyal curse vessels and the most adaptable.

    There was almost no cost to the wizard tower too. As the tower master stayed in the tower, the tower would continuously provide the tower master with eternal life. The age of the tower master would stagnate.

    This was a blessing and a prison.

    But the wizard tower would only obey the strongest wizard.

    This meant that once a more powerful wizard entered the tower, its ownership would change. The previous tower master would be released immediately, and the stronger wizard became the new tower master.

    Some tower masters would exile or even kill talented young wizards to gain illusory eternal life. But more tower masters desperately hoped that someone could save them and give them freedom.

    In thetter case, the ¡°son of the tower¡± emerged. Taking the ck Tower in the swamp as an example, the full name of the son of ck Tower was actually ¡°Swamp¡¯s ck Tower¡¯s first heir.¡±

    The Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was of Alteration School. Salvatore was the most talented one in Alteration School, more talented than the tower master of the year. This meant that he might have the opportunity in the future to be a stronger Alteration Wizard than the tower master. Then, he would follow the contract to take over and release the former ck Tower Master.

    As a recement to the contract, after Salvatore advanced to Silver, he would obtain privileges. The higher his rank, the better the privilege.

    At that time, it would be easy to shelter a count¡¯s son.

    Even the king would never offend the ck Tower Master.

    Alteration School was the wizard best atrge-scale wars. The Noah Kingdom needed to rely on these Alteration wizards to defend against the invasion of enemy countries. Not to mention the security issues they would be facing after offending these bombing experts.

    The alteration wizard was not as straightforward as the destruction wizard. Any conflict would stir up big news.

    Salvatore had made up his mind.

    As the prize for taking the curse vessel and curse, Salvatore would immediately bring a group of elite wizards to Freezing Water Port to protect his innocent and kind friend when he advanced to Silver Rank and officially became the ck Tower¡¯s Son.

    Thinking of this, he felt less guilty for having Don Juan do the killing blow.

    ¡°ording to the agreement, I will absorb his curse.¡±

    Salvatore said softly and stepped forward, ¡°Do remember to help me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Annan responded sinctly.

    Although he didn¡¯t know how to help, he agreed first.

    Salvatore stretched out his right hand and pressed on Gerald¡¯s corpse.

    A blood-red me ignited silently on the edge of his palm, melting Annan¡¯s ice quickly.

    Annan looked around and suddenly realized something was wrong.

    No, it doesn¡¯t seem to be melting.

    Under this strange me, the ice was altered into ck dust, thus disintegrating the ice.

    This ck smoke seemed simr to Benjamin¡¯s Alteration Product at a particr stage, but it skipped part of it.

    While Annan was thinking about it, Salvatore quickly melted the ice, exposing Gerald¡¯s left hand.

    Annan looked over attentively, nning to see how Salvatore absorbed the curse.

    Salvatore reached out his hand to pick out the bronze ne on his neckline. He held the bronze ne with his left hand and pressed his right hand on Gerald¡¯s silver ring, chanting in a low volume,

    ¡°I¡¯m here to establish a curse-

    ¡°I will inherit the vow you made and bear the curse you carried.¡±

    After speaking, Salvatore closed his eyes and mumbled.

    He took extra measures to guard against those yers who had not left yet.

    A strange mist spewed out of the silver ring suddenly.

    The silver-gray mists dissipated in the rain and quickly turned into a ck eel-like beam-shaped object in the air. It drilled into Salvatore¡¯s right hand. The ck lines visible to the naked eye surfaced on his skin. It was like bugs squirming in his left arm.

    Then, they exuded from the skin again, slowly entering the ne in the form of silver-gray mist.

    After that, Salvatore felt an electric shock, suddenly loosening his grip on the silver ring and shaking his right hand nervously in the air.

    Annan noticed that the two fingers of Salvatore¡¯s right hand pressing on the ring had turned blemish. It swelled as if a hammer had hit it, with signs of blood leaking out.

    ¡°Destroy it, Don Juan!¡±

    Salvatore immediately shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it with your hands!¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate, raised his knife, and shed over.

    Within the first sh, Annan cut off the silver ring diagonally, along with Gerald¡¯s fingers.

    The remnants of the silver ring suddenly inted and burst. A strange gray-ck mist appeared on Gerald¡¯s corpse.

    The corpse¡¯s flesh, clothes, and the outer iceyer were quickly eroded, leaving only a white skeleton in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°This is the curse he set up when he advanced to Silver. Neither you nor I can absorb it. This is not something we can resolve.¡±

    Salvatore said in a rxed tone, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just let it turn into a nightmare on its own. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to crack. After all, I assimted half of the curse already.

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what Gerald¡¯s obsession is, I guess it is to defeat Gerald, who is fully prepared. You see how sorry he died. If it were me, I would hold resentment even after death.

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to worry about what happens after the nightmare emerges. There is a senior bishop stationed here, unlike the Freezing Water Port. This iplete curse will soon be purified. The officials won¡¯t let the nightmare spread out. ¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s not in a hurry.¡±

    Annan got a wild idea. He shook his head without saying much and watched the nightmare generated in front of his eyes intently.

    His first reaction was:

    ¡°Hey, my yers have a new dungeon instance to participate in.¡±

    Then, Annan realized that Bishop Daryl would purify this dungeon instance quickly. This dungeon instance was far inferior to that dungeon instance of Freezing Water Port thatsted for a long time.

    Unfortunately, this could only be a limited-time event.

    If the yer could tackle the dungeon instance, it would be naturally best. Annan would have the opportunity to view the yer¡¯s perspective through the administrator¡¯s authority to observe what was happening in the dungeon instance. He was also thinking about whether or not to turn on the live broadcast function. The first beta test on live broadcast could take ce in the forum.

    Even if the yers failed to tackle the dungeon instance, it didn¡¯t matter either.

    Anyway, the yers had to pay with Annan¡¯s currency to deal with the erosion rate. It was directly equivalent to ¡°Annan¡¯s affection rate.¡± If the yers died too much, Annan could also recover the excess affection rate.

    A steady stream of death count could prolong the dungeon instance as well.

    Except that Bishop Daryl might be a little confused, wondering how this nightmare couldn¡¯t be cleansed. But, it was a good thing for Annan.

    After Annan collected enough information from the adventure team, he could participate in the dungeon instance to collect experience!

    Suddenly, Gerald¡¯s bones had a sudden jerk, struggling and shivering to reach Annan.

    Although it was in a fantasy world, this supernatural scene still surprised the yers and frightened Salvatore.

    Annan¡¯s expression was dyed for half a beat. Only then, he also showed a frightened expression.

    Hmph, why did this thing jerk so abruptly?

    My expression camete.

    ¡°Ann¡­nan¡­¡±

    From the white skeleton¡¯s throat, a vague mumble sounded.

    The sound was too vague. Everyone else would think it was a meaningless roar.

    Only Annan realized that the white skull was calling his name,

    ¡°Annan-¡°

    Then, at the moment it stood up, it suddenly disintegrated in pieces from its knees and shattered to the ground in the blink of an eye. The spooky skeleton had returned to dust.

    It was like the skeleton had suffered decay for a long, long time.

    Among the ordinary broken bones that had utterly lost the curse effect, an intact hammer inserted into the ground, nted.

    ¡°This is what it looks like when the nightmare is born.¡±

    Salvatore sighed and was somewhat disappointed.

    He whispered, ¡°Although the conditions of entry are unclear, there is no doubt the nightmare is born.

    ¡°It belongs to Gerald¡¯s nightmare.¡±

 Chapter 73: Viscount Barberâ€™s Response

    <h4>Chapter 73: Viscount Barber¡¯s Response</h4>

    The rain had let up.

    But, the wind grew stronger.

    After Gerald¡¯s corpse became a nightmare, an inexplicable gust of wind blew past, making Annan¡¯s rain-drenched hair a little messy.

    He squinted, reaching out and slowly pressing his hair back down.

    Although Annan felt that it might be cool to transform his hairstyle to a swept-back hairstyle at this moment, he still realized it was not the time for ¡°getting ahead of himself.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    Annan took a sudden pause. He could vaguely hear the noiseing from outside the wall.

    Annan raised his voice and asked, ¡°Where does this raine from?¡±

    At the same time, he patted Salvatore on the shoulder and motioned Salvatore with his gaze.

    Salvatore was not a fool.

    The young wizard with short brown hair and heavy eye bags quickly reacted. He promptly picked up the ordinary-looking hammer and put it in his pocket, unnoticed.

    Loud noises soon came from outside the crowd. It was apanied by chaotic footsteps and bright yellow lights, gathering from all directions.

    ¡°Is Lord Geraint still inside?¡±

    Someone shouted outside, ¡°Is he trapped!¡±

    It was a tall man dressed in leather armor with several medals hanging on his chest. He appeared to be forty years old. His sideburns were white. There were some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but he still appeared in good spirits.

    A pistol in arger size hung to his waist, and a stainless steel long sword was hung on the other side. This strange weaponbination attracted the yers¡¯ eyes.

    Behind him was a row of young people dressed as public security bureaus. They carried strange-shaped oilmps in their hands, which looked like vertical barrel-shapednterns, but the mes in them were green. The light of the mes was refracted through the grease paper and turned into a warm yellow.

    ¡°No, we are¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Hello, here¡­¡±

    The yers had no idea how to respond. Several yers talked at the same time, making the yer group in a mess. However, the majority of the yers were inclined toward not opening the door. Hence, when the new group of people came in, the yer group pushed them back. All of a sudden, the narrow doorway became a mess.

    At this moment, Annan¡¯s voice came from inside. It was clear and immature, but majestic:

    ¡°I am Don Juan Geraint. Who are you?¡±

    Annan added, ¡°Let them in.¡±

    The human wall formed by the yers dispersed to both sides without hesitation. The few yers who spoke to the opposing middle-aged man just now left the man¡¯s side.

    Such orderly manners caused the middle-aged men and the police officers behind him to be taken aback.

    When he saw Annan¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but be shocked for a moment.

    It was because Annan¡¯s eyshes wet by rain, coupled with his icy blue pupils, made him feel closer to inorganic matter. He appeared like a doll with two jeweled eyes. It gave others the illusion of being cold, alienated, and indifferent.

    But this was an illusion.

    The middle-aged man only needed to look at Annan¡¯s subtle expression, gaze, and bodynguage to guess that Annan was a solid and gentle person who followed thew but was not cowardly.

    This deduction came from many years of experience in solving cases.

    He quickly reacted, saluted Annan in a standard manner, and said respectfully,

    ¡°Greetings, dear feudal lord. My name is Ferdinand. I am the Deputy Police Chief of Roseburg.¡±

    ¡°Oh, now you know that I am your feudal lord.¡±

    Annan chuckled, ¡°But when I entered the city, you all didn¡¯t say that.¡±

    When Annan entered Roseburg previously, he showed his aristocratic token to prove a feudal lord¡¯s convoy. But the young guards guarding the city gate only admitted the first half of the premise being an aristocratic token. They respectfully escorted Annan and his group to the street with the standard of entertaining nobles, but they didn¡¯t admit that Annan was their feudal lord.

    As Annan inquired about Roseburg¡¯s internal situation, these guards and police did not answer. They even levied a city fee from Annan ording tomon noble standards.

    When Salvatore scolded the guards and police, the personnel on duty were confused and said affirmatively, ¡°I have never heard of any feudal lording,¡± ¡°No one knows about this,¡± and the like.

    Annan quickly stopped Salvatore, who was fuming with anger and paid for the city entrance fee gently.

    Of course, Annan¡¯s gentle attitude after his identity was denied didn¡¯t conflict with the fact that Salvatore was getting angry.

    After all, the affluent senior paid for the entrance fee.

    Annan was confident that the person on duty didn¡¯t know about it.

    Viscount should be sending out the personnel as bait. If Annan vented his anger at those on duty, he would be falling into the opponent¡¯s trap.

    The Deputy Police Chief Ferdinand was unsurprised with Annan finding fault with him.

    He also came prepared.

    As soon as Annan finished speaking, Deputy Police Chief Ferdinand responded immediately, ¡°I¡¯m deeply sorry, feudal lord. The man guarding the city gate is new.¡±

    For some reason, several yers around couldn¡¯t helpughing as Deputy Chief Ferdinand spoke. This made his heart sink.

    But he quickly adjusted back and added without any changes on his expression,

    ¡°The child¡¯s father was sacrificed in the war previously, so everyone was too amodating to him. He developed a somewhatzy habit. But my lord, I assure you that his heart is kind. He didn¡¯t mean to embarrass you. I brought all the entrance fees you paid. If you want it now, we can pay you back right away.¡±

    Interesting.

    Annan raised his brow slightly.

    If this middle-aged man came up and threw the fault on the young guards, Annan would have the opportunity to get angry and hold them ountable. But, Ferdinand acted pity. He also hinted that Viscount Barber emerged from the battlefield. The unity, stability, and harmony within Roseburg made it a challenge for Annan to start somewhere.

    However, if this was Viscount Barber¡¯s n, then he didn¡¯t look down on Annan. At least Annan was treated as an adult noble who could understand human words. In terms of the viscount¡¯s pride, this was considered to be respectful to Annan.

    Annan was also clever and didn¡¯t trouble the deputy police chief stubbornly.

    He asked with a faint smile, ¡°I think you guys are here to put out the fire?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the firefighting efficiency of the public security bureau in Roseburg to be so timely. You may go in and put out the fire as soon as possible. It would be bad for the fire to spread.¡±

    Annan put his hands behind his back, making a clear and melodious voice.

    Seeing Annan so calm, Ferdinand had a headache.

    They said Salvatore was more troublesome¡­

    This young feudal lord is our trouble. How shrewd that Salvatore is inparison? Is he ck Tower¡¯s Son?

    Ferdinand pondered for a long time but still decided to be safe. He did not want to follow Annan¡¯s rhetoric but to act ording to the script he got at the beginning,

    ¡°You go in and help put out the fire!¡±

    Deputy Police Chief Ferdinand shouted and ordered.

    The police officers behind him responded and rushed in. They started tobat the fire.

    However, was it possible to extinguish ck Fire with water? But when they came here, they couldn¡¯t just do nothing either.

    Even if they pretended to be busy like a backstage character, it was better to act like a street pole and follow Ferdinand.

    After the police officers left, the lights near the door soon dimmed.

    In the darkness, the middle-aged deputy police chief leaned in Annan¡¯s ear and whispered to him, ¡°Lord Viscount wants me to express his thanks.¡±

    ¡°He said¡­Thanks to you, he was free from the mind control of that despicable eerie wizard.¡±

    Ferdinand said, unfazed.

 Chapter 74: Thatâ€™s Exaggerating

    <h4>Chapter 74: That¡¯s Exaggerating</h4>

    ¡°I think you have some bad opinions about our Roseburg, but what I want to say is that those are misunderstandings.¡±

    Ferdinand said with a stern face, ¡°In fact, Master Viscount had been controlled by this dangerous and evil ck wizard a month ago. Until just now, you heroically killed him and freed Lord Viscount.

    ¡°Whether it was recruiting mercenaries to plunder the Freezing Water Port or trying to attack you with ck Fire. There is no doubt that this is what the wanted criminal did!¡±

    The man reprimanded righteously.

    Yes, yes, viscount summoned you directly to the manor in the suburbs after waking up. Then, you brought these police officers back directly with teleportation ability. I know everything. I know¡­

    Annan nodded and gently motioned him to continue his performance,

    ¡°My lord¡­ I¡¯m not saying that the Freezing Water Port is too poor, but Master Viscount controls the entire Roseburg. He doesn¡¯t need to loot the Freezing Water Port. Can we agree on that?¡±

    Ferdinandmented seriously, ¡°As for ck Fire, that¡¯s even more overboard. Who doesn¡¯t know that ck Fire is contraband? Not to mention Master Viscount has fought on the battlefield before.

    ¡°You may not know¡­ Viscount Barber has a great rtionship with your grandfather, Count Gerant. They are close together, killing enemies on the battlefield and even save each other¡¯s lives. He¡¯s like your biological grandfather. He can¡¯t be murdering you.¡±

    What the hell?

    Who is my grandfather [1]?

    The smile on Annan¡¯s face became warmer.

    The yers on the side heard Ferdinand¡¯s exnation. Many yers began to hesitate and confused and couldn¡¯t make up their minds.

    They thought Ferdinand¡¯s statement seemed to have some truth.

    ¡°I know that.¡±

    Annan acted calm and peaceful.

    He just smiled, squinted his eyes, and said gently, ¡°In other words, Master Viscount means that if we are to unite together regardless of the past, we can be good neighbors. With that, I can still be your feudal lord, right?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Although Ferdinand felt that Annan¡¯s words were a bit sharp, he seemed to have heard signs of Annan being submissive. He couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

    It doesn¡¯t matter if you ridicule me.

    As long as I can finish my task well.

    Thank God. Although the feudal lord is young, he still understands the meaning between my lines.

    Viscount Barber¡¯s attitude was evident: I have conveyed my reasoning. I don¡¯t care if you believe it or not, but you ¡°can believe it is true.¡± With that, the many unpleasant things beforehand can be dismissed.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but smile cheerfully, squinting his eyes like a cat.

    He felt a steady stream of joying from the bottom of his heart.

    Human beings are interesting.

    Where did Annan¡¯s confidence that was approaching arrogancee from?

    ¡°It seems that I have only this route to choose, Mr. Ferdinand.¡±

    Annan replied politely. The smile on his face became tender and more friendly, which made one look at the affectionate, ¡°If I don¡¯t ept Lord Viscount¡¯s kindness, I¡¯m too impervious to his kind will.¡±

    ¡°Where. No, Master Viscount is a very kind person.¡±

    Ferdinand just smiled friendly, taking Annan¡¯s words just now as the child¡¯s tantrum.

    In the end, you¡¯re not mature enough.

    Seeing Annan reaching out to him, Ferdinand hurriedly bowed in response and took Annan¡¯s hand. His big tan, cracked, and calloused hand seemed to be able to break Annan¡¯s wrist off in one fell swoop.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Annan¡¯s tone dropped lower.

    Ferdinand didn¡¯t hear it clearly and repeated dazedly, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I happen to be a person impervious to the situation.¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice suddenly became cold.

    Although Annan wasn¡¯t sure if others would be mad if put into the identical shoe, he believed that he got to hold his ground at certain times.

    He opened his eyes at once. There was no friendly sign in the ice-blue pupils,

    ¡°So, I refuse.¡±

    A sense of horrible danger broke out in an instant!

    Ferdinand screamed in shock.

    He tried to pull his hand out of Annan¡¯s hand. Although there was a sense of imbnce in this narration, Annan¡¯s slender and soft hand was like a vise, tightly locked the Deputy Police Chief Ferdinand¡¯s hand!

    In the next moment, the indescribable extreme cold air exuded from Annan¡¯s palm. A thinyer of frost formed on Ferdinand¡¯s arm in the blink of an eye.

    His two arms immediately went numb!

    Annan didn¡¯t feel any guilt for his sneak attack.

    Judging by Ferdinand having a deputy police chief position, Annan did not want to test his marksmanship or ??swordsmanship.

    Even in the face of an unranked person, Annan was cautious and directly attacked.

    At the moment Ferdinand was frozen, Annan¡¯s hand gracefully went into the waist bag and grabbed a glimmering icy knife in his palm.

    Then, Annan stepped forward, and a circle of scarlet sword light appeared in his hand.

    In the blink of an eye, Annen beheaded Deputy Sheriff Ferdinand in one breath!

    ¡°Do it!¡±

    Annan shouted.

    The yers, who were chatting with the Roseburg police officers out of truce symbolically in a friendly manner, were shocked in an instant.

    They quickly realized what happened.

    But they didn¡¯t even bother about Annan¡¯s sudden decision, no bargaining, no doubt at all, and even no hesitation in executing the order.

    As soon as they heard the order, they pulled out their weapons.

    Like the most elite mercenaries and like the unsentimental killers, the yersunched an extremely fierce attack on the public security bureaus, which were still chatting with them previously!

    The public security bureaus, all armed with guns and swords, were caught off guard. yers directly attacked them. Their numbers reduced to half immediately, and the death count kept rising.

    A gunman disguised as a police officer took out his gun without hesitation and aimed at Annan!

    A yer nearby noticed his presence, but he couldn¡¯t stop the gunshot anymore. He could only throw his weapon at the gunman, directly piercing the gunman¡¯s head!

    But the gunman had already pulled the trigger before he died!

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Jiu Er¡¯s shout came.

    The next moment, she rushed from the side with all her strength without hesitation, bumped her head into Annan¡¯s arms, and pushed Annan away vigorously.

    A bud of blood blossom appeared on her back.

    A lead bullet that was highly urate ¨C or rather incidentally shot into her lungs.

    If she hadn¡¯t pushed Annan away, this shot should have hit Annan¡¯s heart.

    Jiu Er coughed up blood. She saw that her health instantly dropped by four-fifths. But before she fell to her knees and fell into a dying state, Annan directly helped her up.

    ¡°Jiu Er! Jiu Er! Are you okay!?¡±

    Annan frowned and shook Jiu Er violently twice with an anxious face. It smoothly shook away the rest of her health.

    Jiu Er coughed out a mouthful of blood and died on the spot. Her condition was refreshed on the spot.

    She opened her eyes again and saw that her health had been restored to 100%. The lead bullet in her lungs had also disappeared.

    But when Jiu Er saw the anger and worry hidden in Annan¡¯s eyes, she thought of something wild. She coughed a little weakly and leaned on Annan, saying, ¡°Master¡­I might¡­I can¡¯t make it. It¡¯s¡­¡±

    Annan subconsciously looked at the full HP bar on her head and turned speechless for a moment.

    Your acting skills¡­

    It is a bit euphemistic to say that it is too exaggerated¡­

    Tsk, if I knew your acting is so exaggerated, I should have reacted a little bit more intensely when hacking the mind-controlled yers to death. Otherwise, if I only care about you and don¡¯t care about them, it feels a bit wrong.

    Forget it, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not a serious logical w. I don¡¯t need to fool the yers, as long as it can fool Salvatore and other witnesses here.

    But I still have to adjust the story settings a bit.

    Annan sighed in his heart.

    At least this girl is not a fool. She knows she got a role to y.

    The expression on Annan¡¯s face changed again and again. It became a pained expression, filled with hatred. He slowly fell to his knees,ying Jiu Er t on the ground.

    Annan suddenly raised his head as if mes were burning within his ice-blue pupils.

    But, he did not scream hysterically, nor did he utter a barbaric growl. He looked like a wounded cub and even made Jiu Er¡¯s heart tremble. She vaguely regretted it. I shouldn¡¯t act like this and take advantage of him.

    However, she was also faintly moved in his heart.

    She was not moved by the game plot, nor was it just because of Annan¡¯s appearance that she fell in love with. She felt her heartstrings tugged.

    Seeing someone anxious for her, having a fear of losing her¡­

    For a while, she forgot to continue wailing but looked at Annan¡¯s expression intently in a daze.

    As Annan breathed heavily, the grayish-white frost gradually rose from the ground again. The environment that had just started to melt began to freeze again, with Annan as the center.

    At this time, Salvatore, who closed his eyes and focused on dealing with the ck Fire through alteration magic, suddenly opened his eyes. He reacted after the incident already took ce.

    Was it a gunshot?

    Then, Salvatore turned his head just in time to see Annan kneeling to the ground with a guard in Annan¡¯s arms.

    Seeing this scene, Salvatore¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly, and his body trembled.

    He subconsciously held the hammer in his pocket with his right hand, not knowing what to do.

    What happened again?

    [1] It¡¯s amon Chinese insult to say one is another¡¯s grandfather.

 Chapter 75: How Can You Sway Yourself Like That?

    <h4>Chapter 75: How Can You Sway Yourself Like That?</h4>

    In the end, what happened?

    Didn¡¯t it look friendly just now?

    Why did it break out into a fight just as I turned my head away?

    Why is that little girl named Jiu Er seriously injured? Did an assassin attack Don Juan? Where is the assassin now? Why are all the policemen lying down? Who did it first?

    I finished one Alteration process, and it only took a few seconds. Howe the whole situation has changed in the blink of an eye?

    Salvatore was in a daze. His right hand gripped ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone Blood Trigger.¡± He was at a loss and didn¡¯t know what to do.

    What¡¯s going on? I can¡¯t handle this anymore.

    Salvatore found his mind in chaos, and he gave up thinking altogether.

    ¡°Don Juan! What¡¯s wrong!?¡±

    He shouted and rushed towards Annan quickly. ¡°Is Miss Jiu Er okay?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Jiu Er fainted out of shock. She¡¯s fine.¡±

    Hearing Salvatore¡¯s call, the frost on Annan¡¯s body gradually converged. His expression slowly returned to that cold and indifferent look,

    ¡°I¡¯m mad because Viscount Barber dares to arrange for someone to assassinate me, not because of Jiu Er¡¯s safety. After all, they are no longer ordinary people. They are not so easy to die. It¡¯s just that Jiu Er has never encountered such a danger before.¡±

    Annan exined his gaffe.

    But to the yers, this forced exnation seems a little nd because Annan paled when he saw Jiu Er fall to the ground. There was panic in his eyes in addition to the fury and fear like a cub. Even Annan¡¯s hands began to tremble. That pitiful look was unforgettable.

    You were scared just now.

    Did you recall that Jiu Er can be resurrected?

    Some yers were aware of it.

    Judging from the feudal lord¡¯s reaction, the yer¡¯s resurrection should not be independent plot settings. But because something happened before, the yers could be resurrected. That was why Young Master Don Juan didn¡¯t react in time.

    Right now, the yers had a clearer understanding of Don Juan.

    Although ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± usually looked cold and meticulous, there was gentleness and kindness in him. There was no doubt that Annan pretended to be like this on purpose to protect himself.

    However, Annan was a bit daunting at this moment.

    This indifference seemed toe from the heart. He should be furious.

    But with his character, was he angry because he was attacked?

    Or was the aristocratic boy panicked like this because he involved others in danger?

    Why did he react so much to this incident?

    Some yers went into deep thought and came up with a series of plots that spanned at least 200,000 words.

    Jiu Er, who closed her eyes and pretended to die, had at least twenty book lengths of stories imagined in her mind.

    Of course, she pretended to be the protagonist in her imagination.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Salvatore was startled when he heard the reply.

    Before Annan could respond, he asked tentatively, ¡°Is it the effect of some kind of curse vessel in your family? As long as you don¡¯t die, they can quickly recover from their injuries or simr effects.

    ¡°Don¡¯t answer first. If it¡¯s close to what I guessed, then don¡¯t tell me the details of the curse vessel. I won¡¯t listen. After all, even if I can keep it a secret for you, I may not be able to protect my memory.¡±

    No way, senior, are you so self-conscious?

    Annan was stunned when Salvatore said this.

    He had thought about the rhetoric before, but he didn¡¯t have time to exin it.

    As a result, Salvatore took the initiative to find an excuse for Annan.

    How can you sway yourself like that?

    Did you allow me to conquer your character like that [1]?

    When the yers heard Salvatore¡¯s words, even they nodded as if they came into a realization suddenly.

    Oh, I see.

    It turns out that our yer¡¯s resurrection mechanism operates like this in this world. No wonder we are stated to protect our feudal lord¡¯s safety.

    Annan was silent for a while, then asked, ¡°Have you seen a simr curse vessel?¡±

    He neither admitted nor denied this. Even if someone searched Salvatore¡¯s memory, it would never be possible to detect that Annan was lying.

    But he answered like this after Salvatore¡¯s words, but it sounded like he had tacitly agreed.

    Salvatore also didn¡¯t realize that Annan was tricking him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the curse vessel because that deity named curse vessel is not so powerful. That is just a toy for those kinds of people.¡±

    Even though they left Freezing Water Port, Salvatore still habitually addressed the Venerated Skeleton as ¡°third person.¡±

    He frowned, looked at the corpses of the public security bureau on the ground, and replied absent-mindedly while feeling sad, ¡°But after all, you haven¡¯t enrolled into the academy. Ah, sorry, I¡¯m referring to the knowledge about Transcended. You are too young, and your father probably didn¡¯t tell you much about it. But you are already Transcended, so it is better to have somemon knowledge in this regard.

    ¡°For the ¡®legendary¡¯ curse vessel, never mind a limited resurrection mechanism, even if it is resurrecting a certain person from distant history; or summoning a certain character from the story, it can be done. If you think about it, the nightmare has the power to make you cross the time barrier and go back to the past. The curse vessel is greater than this power. and there is nothing incredible.¡±

    Salvatore said this with a slightly serious expression, ¡°For the rest, your father should tell you when you reach adulthood.

    ¡°The most powerful or the greatest curse vessels in the world are in various countries¡¯ ruler¡¯s hands. To be more urate, they have mastered these curse vessels that the churchese to them rather than recing them after the Great Barrier is broken.¡±

    What about religious countries?

    Was it because the alliance banded together and defeated the curse vessel?

    This question popped up in Annan¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Wow.¡±

    But Annan didn¡¯t interrupt Salvatore¡¯s thoughts. He replied with an exmation and asked calmly, ¡°Is it much stronger than the deity named curse vessel?¡±

    ¡°The difference isrge. The legendary curse vessel itself is equivalent to ritual. Knowledge at this level already carries a ¡®weight.¡¯ Not everyone can learn about it casually.¡±

    Salvatore was relieved to see that the cold vibe on Annan¡¯s body shrugged off a bit.

    After all, the Falteration Wizard was susceptible to gradually losing feelings due to negative emotions. Salvatore had noticed in time that he said a little too much. But he got to continue the story to help Annan feel better and forget the unpleasantness just now. Anyway, no harm happened to the group,

    ¡°But for the general situation, I still have some info. For example, in our Noah Kingdom, the ability may be rted to time. But I¡¯m not sure, and it¡¯s just a guess. After all, you also know that the king is full of clock towers. It¡¯s so scary. This is not normal.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that,¡± Annan suddenly interrupted Salvatore. ¡°You can wait until I get back to continue the chatter.

    ¡°You stay here to fight the fire. Although there are no residential houses around Viscount Mansion, it¡¯s better to contain the fire.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    Salvatore asked casually.

    But as soon as he asked, he regretted it.

    Because a bad premonition suddenly appeared in his heart.

    Does he still intend to stir up trouble?

    [1] A game depiction where Character A has a growth in affection rate to Character B when Character A has not enough information on Character B, resulting in him guessing the info of Character B and thus deeming Character B fit his standard.

 Chapter 76: The Intricacies in Annanâ€™s Means

    <h4>Chapter 76: The Intricacies in Annan¡¯s Means</h4>

    As predicted.

    Facing Salvatore¡¯s question, Annan replied without hesitation,

    ¡°I¡¯m naturally going for a fight.¡±

    Annan came to Roseburg to kill Viscount Barber.

    The viscount first sent mercenaries to loot the Freezing Water Port and then nned to assassinate Annan and Salvatore. Even if Annan inferred frommon sense, he knew that this grievance could not be resolved.

    He had no resentment, hatred, nor anger in his heart towards Viscount Barber.

    But in another perspective, when Annan thought about ¡°Should I kill Viscount Barber,¡± he felt joy in his heart.

    Then, I probably hate this man.

    ¡°Alvin Barber.¡±

    Annan muttered the name. His tone was erratic.

    Annan was expressionless. He didn¡¯t say anything like ¡°You angered me,¡± ¡°You hurt my men,¡± and so on.

    Only pure joy ignited in his eyes.

    His desire to kill was fuming.

    Just imagining the pleasure of killing Alvin Barber, Annan could feel his face faintly flushed and hot, as if he drank too much alcohol.

    ¡°How about I¡¯ll go with you, Don Juan?¡±

    Salvatore frowned and was not too surprised by the answer, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait for me? I will disperse all the ck Fire here and go with you. Going alone is dangerous.

    ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t need to take risks. You can endure it for a while. After I return to ck Tower, there is a way to solve this problem for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. I know you worry about my safety, but I don¡¯t want to bear with this any longer.¡±

    Annan interrupted Salvatore, ¡°It¡¯s like what you said before. This is something I have to do. It¡¯s not that I hate him personally, nor is it that I want to take back the feudal lord power he stole from me.

    ¡°I just want to kill him.¡±

    His eyes seemed to sparkle; his voice was sonorous.

    Annan¡¯s words were filled with heroic boldness. The strong positive emotions rose as if Annan was entwined with holy light.

    This even gave Salvatore an illusion as if Annan was not going for revenge or killing. He merely wanted to give up his life to save the world.

    ¡°But even if there is only one Transcended next to Master Viscount, that person alone is not easy for you to deal with.¡±

    Salvatore persuaded Annan tactfully, ¡°Give me six hours. I will disperse all these ck Fires and go to him with you. He will not run too far.¡±

    After all, these personal guards around Annan were unranked. They had no resistance to curses. They were susceptible to mind control, frozen, blown to pieces, or directly caged.

    Salvatore became more worried.

    Don Juan can only rely on me.

    These personal guards are too young.

    Even if they can be resurrected from the dead, they should still be afraid of death and pain.

    Even if they are not afraid of death or pain, they seem to be in their twenties only.

    What can these youngsters do?

    Although a young and healthy body was necessary for swordsmen, they needed to have a sharp mind and valor. With theck of social experience,ck of study, and inexpertise on the battlefield, these youngsters were prone to be reckless. When facing a strong enemy, mentality was often the key.

    These ws were fatal.

    But Annan just shook his head indifferently.

    ¡°I believe them, senior.¡±

    In Annan¡¯s words, there was no hesitation, ¡°They are my most loyal and powerful guards. Each of them is an elite.¡±

    Even the yers heard this, they believed that it was by no means hypocritic, but a deep trust came within the heart.

    The yers were also moved.

    They suddenly realized that they had gradually fallen in love with this aristocratic boy who was cold on the surface and refused to admit the kindness in his heart.

    He would be in panic and fear for the injuries of his ¡°mere personal guards;¡± he would abandon powerful reinforcements to prevent the fire from spreading for the better good; he would risk fighting against a powerful wizard whosebat power was far beyond his.

    He wanted to kill Viscount Barber to protect his people.

    Unlike Salvatore, the yers thought so.

    After all, the game rule for the nobles was topromise.

    Salvatore didn¡¯t understand this, but yers from modern society could understand it.

    ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± stood out against the noble rules and fought against the strong enemy with a weak body. It should be for the light in his heart.

    His actions were in the name of righteousness.

    Such a fearless mindset to reject reality could only be found among thirteen-year-old teenagers. After all, they had just begun to understand society¡¯s truth and knew what was right and wrong.

    The yers questioned themselves.

    Because they had gone through this age.

    Even though their current work was rtively in line with their wishes, they had begun to sumb to the rules of reality and understood that not everything would be perfect.

    But also because of this.

    Instead, a determination to ¡°help Don Juan¡± was born in their hearts!

    That was not to do good, let alone so-called loyalty, but it was not for profit.

    It was the sentiment of their youth.

    Of course, Annan was in full grasp of the yers¡¯ psychology.

    The yer would think so because they were under Annan¡¯s lead.

    Before the yers entered the game, they watched the promotional CG carefully selected and produced by Annan. The Annan in the CG had a positive image of fighting against a mighty enemy without sumbing to intimidation and temptation. All for the sake of leading the people and for justice.

    Annan was more like a brave knight than a nobleman. However, the knight fell into a situation of being persecuted by the evil nobles.

    The yers would subconsciously empathize with Annan. This sympathy would shorten the spiritual distance between them.

    After all, the idea of ??¡±empathy¡± would note into Salvatore¡¯s mind. It was impossible for him to sympathize and pity a nobleman.

    But the yers were different.

    The yers subconsciously thought that their status was higher than the ¡°NPC.¡± They probably had reacted to it now that this ce might be a real world.

    But after all, they came in through games. This arrogance would be rooted in their hearts, and it would be difficult to eradicate.

    Annan took advantage of this arrogance. In other words, with the help of this sympathy and scrutiny born from arrogance, the yers could ¡°empathize¡± with Annan even more.

    The so-called empathy was the ability to understand the emotions and thoughts of others, understand others¡¯ stances and feelings, and think and deal with problems from the perspective of others.

    In other words, they sumbed to Annan¡¯s pitiful portrayal subconsciously.

    When Annan led them to defeat Viscount, this empathy would evolve as a blissful shared secret. The yers would have a good memory.

    Therefore, Annan could not let Salvatore participate in this matter.

    This would be a date between ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± and the ¡°yer¡± instead of a party of three.

    This kind of ¡°romance marketing¡± was also one of Annan¡¯s skills. People¡¯s IQ would tend to drop when they fell in love because they subconsciously entrust part of their thinking to another person.

    Having a grasp on others¡¯ decision-making was undoubtedly equivalent to controlling their hearts.

    ¡°I will never let Alvin Barber live to see the sun tomorrow.¡±

    Annan turned his head and said solemnly to the yers, ¡°Everyone, I intend to confront Master Viscount. He is undoubtedly the unrighteous party. I do not intend and do not want to surrender to him.

    ¡°But you have family and friends after all. I may offend some other forces. They may be stronger than the Gerant family and me.

    ¡°So, you don¡¯t have to be involved in this matter. If you want to leave, I will assume that you have nevere to Roseburg today and erase all your footprints. Everything here has nothing to do with you. This is my promise.¡±

    Annan¡¯s hidden line was: If you don¡¯t participate, I will reset your affection rate to zero.

    The yers also understood this meaning¡ªone by one with firm determination and murderous expressions in their eyes.

    Annan looked at the yers and nodded in satisfaction.

    He made a child-like but cold voice, ¡°Those who are willing to go with me, sheath your swords.¡±

    At the next moment, a series of sword sheaths came in a mess.

    Although the scene was not neat, it did not seem weak.

    The yers didn¡¯t even think about it.

    There was no doubt that their concerns about the safety of their rtives and friends were non-existent. It wasn¡¯t a factor to challenge their loyalty to Annan.

    This scene deeply shocked Salvatore.

    Salvatore was silent for a while, walked over, and took out the hammer from his pocket. He carefully handed it to Annan.

    Salvatore whispered with some worry, ¡°You may have it first. Remember toe back alive and give it back to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural. I wille back.¡±

    While talking, Annan opened the waist bag containing the kitchen knife and put the hammer in.

    There was no fear or hesitation on his face,

    ¡°This is a righteous act. Silver Sire will be on my side.¡±

    That overwhelming confidence was as dazzling as the sun.

    Combined with his looks, it was enough to move people¡¯s hearts.

 Chapter 77: Justinâ€™s Curse

    <h4>Chapter 77: Justin¡¯s Curse</h4>

    Justin Kney raised his head suddenly, looking out the window with a solemn expression.

    There was a strange light red glimmer in his pupils. They reflected a pattern simr to a crosshair.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Justin?¡±

    Viscount Barber raised his head and spoke with a low, hoarse voice, ¡°Is the winner decided?¡±

    After a while, Justin recovered and nodded to the old viscount.

    ¡°Yes, my viscount.¡±

    He said in a deep voice, ¡°Gerald is dead, and neither of those two was injured.¡±

    ¡°Oh, unfortunate.¡±

    Viscount Barber nodded nonchntly and hummed, ¡°Then, keep observing them.¡±

    Immediately, the viscount lowered his head; he proceeded to chew the food slowly and indifferently.

    He crouched with bones protruding from the back of his thin body like thorns. His arms and thighs were thin as if he was haggard. It seemed like there was only skin enveloping on the bones. In the sunken eye sockets, his eyes were murky and without emotion.

    He tore off a piece of pigeon meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.

    Although Viscount Barber was old, he had always rejected eating nd food. He would rather put seven or eight false teeth than give up eating meat.

    In front of him, there was a te with roasted pigeon, a foie gras with applepote, lobster stewed with butter, tomatoes, and basil leaves. Lastly, a te of grilled shellfish.

    For Viscount Barber¡¯s age, this was undoubtedly a high-risk diet. But, even if his age were to be deducted by twenty, this meal could be life-threatening.

    But he had maintained this diet for more than 30 years.

    In the past, there were always young priests who had juste to Roseburg and stopped the viscount from doing so after witnessing it. But, Viscount Barberpletely dismissed these so-called healthy eating rmendations and didn¡¯t bother to listen to a word.

    He was only in his fifties that year.

    For now, he was about to be ny years old.

    The priests who had persuaded him to maintain a healthy diet gave up due to his stubbornness.

    Justin was also roughly used to the old man¡¯s weird character.

    If someone refuted his opinion in the face, Viscount Barber would generally not be offended as long as the proposition was reasonable.

    But if viscount didn¡¯t ask while the other party kept babbling, he would be annoyed.

    As long as no one asked, he didn¡¯t bother about it.

    Justin was sitting at the same table with the viscount for dinner, but they were far apart from each other.

    This was not because of the viscount keeping a distance for the sake of maintaining the status quo, etiquette, or anything.

    Just because ¡°there was not enough space for the servings.¡±

    Yes, there was indeed not enough spacing.

    Unlike the exquisite food in front of the viscount, the food in front of Justin looked unrefined. It was just a pot being put directly in front of him.

    But in contrast, the amount of food in front of Justin was exaggerated. There was a te spanned half a meter of diameter filled with sausages, boiled meats, and barbecues piled as high as a hill. The food was topped with a thick sauce. Ordinary people couldn¡¯t eat half of it even if they ate it for three days and three nights.

    There were no vegetables and no rice.

    The only serving that was not meat was the honey syrup treated as a drink.

    On the whole, it was undoubtedly terrifying.

    But for Justin, this was a necessary ¡°ritual.¡±

    Every time he thought he might be about to usher into a battle, he would request viscount for a rich and meaty dinner.

    This was rted to his curse:

    The curse he held was called [Overload Hunger].

    [No matter how much food is stored in the abdomen, you will inevitably fall into a state of extreme hunger after one hour as long as you are injured once. At the same time, if you have not eaten raw vegetables in the past three days, you can get a temporary ritual: Overload Hunger]

    [Overloaded Hunger: You can ¡°overload¡± up to seven days of food intake in advance. No matter how much food you eat, it will not affect your Agility. Each ¡°overload¡± stores a day¡¯s worth of energy. You can get twice the extra speed of physical strength recovery.]

    This was a pretty powerful curse.

    If the overload exceeded the maximum threshold, Justin could get a steady stream of physical strength recovery within an hour of entering the battle. No matter what kind of fierce battle had taken ce, it won¡¯t make him feel tired.

    Therefore, he would use hammers and axes to fight. After being overloaded, he could even run at full speed for an hour or untiringly wield his weapon at full strength for an hour.

    But, it was also a costly ability in terms of money.

    This meant that Justin couldn¡¯t eat vegetables.

    Otherwise, every time he wanted to use the curse, he had to wait three days. If Justin wanted to go all out, he must continue to eat enough food that worthed 160 hours of digestion.

    Among those foods that were not easy to digest, meat was the easiest to swallow. On the other hand, it was still reasonably easy to avoid vegetables.

    But Justin didn¡¯t tell Viscount Barber that he could eat other foods. So far, Viscount only thought that his curse needed to be triggered by eating meat.

    After all, Justin didn¡¯t sell his life to Viscount.

    They were just in a long-term employment rtionship. So naturally, Justin would not tell viscount about the specifics of his curse. Knowing the curse of others was usually tantamount to mastering the life and death of others.

    For the dinner that Justin requested from the viscount, there were also many weird details while the request being hefty. The purpose was to distract the viscount¡¯s attention and misdirect his thinking.

    For a veteran hunter, hiding his true curse content in the daily abnormal behavior could effectively increase the survival chance.

    After all, their profession was rtively hated.

    Justin ate for a while, then suddenly paused.

    He sensed that two Bronze Rank Transcended had separated.

    This information must be reported to the viscount promptly.

    Justin immediately notified, ¡°The two of them are separated. One continues to stay at the city lord mansion, and the other rushes towards this ce.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±

    Alvin Barber narrowed his eyes and murmured, ¡°It seems that you won¡¯t be needed tonight.¡±

    ¡°You look confident.¡±

    ¡°Yes, because I will give him a condition he couldn¡¯t refuse.¡±

    Viscount Barber chuckled, ¡°Actually, I left two people there.

    ¡°If Gerald wins, the tax officer, Mr. Nottdamm, will speak to Gerald. He will tell Gerald directly what price I can offer him. I can¡¯t say that, but Mr. Nottdamm is an ordinary person. He didn¡¯t know Gerald¡¯s identity, so he could voice it out for me.

    ¡°If Don Juan wins in the end, it will be Deputy Police Chief Ferdinand to speak to him. The purpose is to hint to him that Roseburg¡¯s security is under my total control. I admit those attacks are my idea, but he can¡¯t use those words against me. After all, the entire police station is mine.¡±

    Viscount Barber said calmly, ¡°Don Juan Geraint is a rtively weak man, just like his father. With his silly little clever-clever but inexperienced mind, he thought he coulde to Roseburg and find fault in narration, using the evidence of my illegal purchase and hiding of ck Fire to go against me.

    ¡°But he doesn¡¯t know that evidence is only effective when he is in a dominant position. So I have Ferdinand hinted to him that I¡¯m under Gerald¡¯s mind control.¡±

    ¡°But will he believe it?¡±

    Justin asked subconsciously.

    ¡°He has to believe it.¡±

    Viscount Barber sneered, ¡°Because Gerald is dead. The dead can¡¯t speak, but I can. They can¡¯t get evidence.

    ¡°He came to Roseburg to find evidence, but I detonated my house along with all the ck Fires. Of course, I sted it for him to witness, telling him that it is impossible to find evidence of me breaking thew.

    ¡°In the end, all the previous evidence is destroyed. That¡¯s no evidence proving that those are my doing. Don Juan could only endure it bitterly,e to Roseburg and negotiate for peace.¡±

    The old man said slowly, ¡°I asked Ferdinand to hint to him that all the unhappy events we had before can be forgotten. With me reconciling, he has only three choices left:

    ¡°Either, bring Salvatore over, kill you and me, and then push all the faults on Gerald; or admit the bitter loss, leave decisively, and find the next opportunity.

    ¡°Either, he came alone. This means that he took the initiative to disarm his weapon, gave up resistance, and negotiated with me. After all, he can guess that since we can maintain a bnce of power in Gerald¡¯s presence, at least we are not weaker than him. Without Salvatore¡¯s protection, Don Juan himself must be weaker than us. He can¡¯t afford to conflict with us. In other words, he has given up.

    ¡°I naturally wouldn¡¯t make it too ugly for him. After all, we don¡¯t have any deep hatred.¡±

    Old Viscount was unfazed, ¡°I only troubled him and made him exhausted, stopping him from being active around these months.

    ¡°After a few months anyway, the Gerant family will be no more .¡±

 Chapter 78: Alvinâ€™s Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 78: Alvin¡¯s Ritual</h4>

    Annan¡¯s carriage was still some distance away from the manor before the viscount¡¯s men stopped him.

    He was the only one who was invited to enter the viscount mansion. The other three yers on the carriage must wait outside.

    Annan and the yers epted this request calmly.

    It wasn¡¯t that Viscount Barber wanted to trouble Annan with such a minor issue, having Annan walk over to humiliate him.

    It was Viscount Barber being cautious.

    He was already older than eighty years old; his physique was far inferior to youngsters in both brain and brawl. Even if he sat on a stool for a while, he would feel exhausted.

    He could only act on experience through three dynasties, four wars, and countless power struggles in the past.

    Indeed, Viscount Barber imagined him attaining total victory already.

    Don Juan Geraint should have gone to the North Sea Territory¡¯s most prosperous city, ¡°Roseburg,¡± to take up the position as feudal lord. This was Noah Kingdom¡¯s tradition. The feudal lords of various territories usually lived in the most economically prosperous areas.

    Since the economy was booming in this area, there was at least one Silver Sire¡¯s bishop guarding the district. It could effectively avoid the possibility of nightmares and strayed Transcended interfering with the feudal lord¡¯s daily life.

    But, the North Sea Territory was an exception.

    The original central city of the North Sea Territory was the Freezing Water Port. As the feudal lord of Roseburg, Viscount Barber was just Count Geraint¡¯s vassal.

    However, following the incident that happened forty-five years ago, Freezing Water Port was gradually banned. The economy of the entire North Sea Territory declined; the archbishop summoned the local bishop back. Count Geraint no longer sent direct descendants to the distant North Sea Territory.

    After all, Count Geraint was the Intelligence Director trusted by the king. He couldn¡¯t leave the capital as he wished. The king gave the Geraint Family several hunting grounds and manors close to him. It was a clear intention that the king did not want the Crow Family (Geraint Family) to return to the Freezing Water Port.

    Although a sea separated the Freezing Water Port and Chilly Austere Dukedom, it was geographically adjacent to Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    Although the king trusted the Old Crow personally, he still had to be prepared for the Old Crow¡¯s possible betrayal. The most thoughtful way was to deny him the opportunity to betray directly.

    By not allowing the Gerant family, who held too many secrets, to return to Freezing Water Port, it could effectively avoid Chilly Austere Dukedom from sending spies to contact the Gerant Family.

    After all, Count Geraint had a wife, who was from Chilly Austere Dukedom. This precaution was reasonable.

    There was only a count leading the entire North Sea Territory. After the Freezing Water Port¡¯s ie shrank, the king handed the ce over to the count¡¯s most loyal follower, Viscount Barber.

    In exchange, the young king also gave the Gerant family two royal guards.

    Some years had passed since then. The old count had passed away.

    The newly appointed count failed to control Alvin Barber through letters after being separated from a long distance.

    After all, Viscount Barber had never done anything wrong.

    He made Roseburg the new economic center of the North Sea Territory under the premise that the Freezing Water Port was banned, realigning the resources of the entire territory and focusing on the development of internal affairs. At the same time, he deliberately hijacked young talent from the Freezing Water Port to weaken that ce. Viscount Barber¡¯s means in altering the demographic continued to weaken the Freezing Water Port¡¯s economy.

    Finally¡­ Thirty-eight years ago, the proxy bishop of the North Sea Diocese was summoned back. The king sent the first bishop here.

    This meant that the deste and remote North Sea Territory hadpletely restored its perfect trading function. The Silver Sire Church had certified this ce as a diocese once again.

    But this time, the bishop did not go to the Freezing Water Port.

    Instead, the bishop went to Roseburg.

    This meant that the entire North Sea Territory¡¯s transportation, culture, military, and politics must be re-nned with Roseburg as the center. But, the viscount had never dered Roseburg to be the North Sea Territory¡¯s capital city. It was a clever move.

    In this way, although he did not get the title, he had grasped the North Sea Territory belonging to the Gerant family.

    Even the Roseburg citizens thought they didn¡¯t have a feudal lord. They always believed that Viscount Barber was their feudal lord. They had no idea of the count¡¯s presence.

    In the end, Viscount Barber crafted a loophole.

    That North Sea Territory still belonged to the Gerant family.

    That was why he kept troubling Annan even before he got the news of ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± arriving at Freezing Water Port.

    If Viscount Barber managed to kill ¡°Don Juan Geraint,¡± that would be the most desired result. Even if he failed, he just had to make this young noble admit defeat. At the very least, the viscount wanted to silence the little noble, stopping this young noble from going through the formal procedure and reimed his feudal lord mansion at Roseburg.

    After all, Annan had the right to do so.

    That was in fullpliance with the formal procedure and rules!

    Even if Annan¡¯s feudal lord mansion wasn¡¯t built, and the Gerant family had gone. But that also meant that Annan would remind the Roseburg¡¯s citizens:

    The authority and power which Viscount Barber held was stolen and illegitimate.

    It was just that the viscount stole it too early. If he stole it 40 years ago, he would be recognized as a savior. Naturally, he would not be criticized by people. But now, this matter had long been forgotten by the people.

    Once the Roseburg¡¯s civilians began to doubt Viscount Barber¡¯s authority, his n would fall short.

    The reason why Alvin Barber thought he attained victory in contending with ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was that he had already imagined himself suppressing this young noble. This young noble would not dare to go against him.

    His purchase evidence of ck Fire was utterly wiped. The witness and evidence were long gone. Funny enough, it was Annan destroying it himself rather than the viscount sending men to do it.

    After Salvatore killed Gerald, he should return to ck Tower again. He won¡¯t be able to return in a short time.

    Viscount Barber¡¯s grandson was approaching six years old.

    I just need another year.

    The ritual will bepleted.

    It was a long,plex, powerful, and hical evil ritual to span his life.

    First, Alvin Barber would have his son inherit his power for seven years and then murder the son. Then, he would let his son¡¯s offspring inherit the same power for seven years and then murder the victim. After that, he would inherit the same power for seven years. All his grandson¡¯s offspring would be murdered. By that time, no matter how many offspring there were, they could only live to seven years old.

    The first stage of ritual will increase his lifespan by seven years.

    In the second stage, it would increase his lifespan by 14 years.

    But in the third stage of the ritual, he would die directly.

    After that, he could take all his memories and reincarnate into one of the seven-year-old children in the third stage ¨C the great-grandsons he had murdered. Then, he would bear the resentment and curse of the offspring and be a born Transcended. He would start with bronze and live a new wonderful life.

    The only price was that he would be born castrated.

    Because of this ritual, it came from the false deity ¡°Rotten Man.¡± It was an evil deity wanted by Bone Burying Grandma and Old Grandmother for a long time.

    He used to be a eunuch, so his ritual was usually rted to himself or the offspring of others. The price was usually ¡°being the same as him.¡± A considerable part of the ritual that spanned one¡¯s life originated from him.

    The old viscount let his first son and his wife give birth to offspring to conceal his doings from the public¡¯s eye. In this way, nominally, his grandson would be disguised as his second son.

    However, Viscount Barber never expected that the most challenging part had beenpleted.

    But now, his ¡°power¡± was starting to be unstable.

    He must be worried that Annan might hide the ck Fire in the carriage. Worse still, there could be assassins and thieves sneaking in and searching for his unfavorable evidence while they were talking.

    Although Viscount Barber did not know Justin¡¯s curse, Justin didn¡¯t know the old viscount¡¯s end goal.

    Poor Justin just wanted to be in service for another year and one month peacefully.

    However, this goal was unreachable in the first ce.

    ¡°Good evening, Master Viscount.¡±

    Annan walked into the hall, looked at Viscount Barber, who was looking at him in shock. The corner of his mouth gradually rose.

    ¡°It seems that you know Don Juan Geraint. Do you know who I am? Oh ya, you have lived long enough, after all.¡±

    If you do know who I am, that couldn¡¯t be better.

    Trantor Notes: Really appreciate the Community and the Readers in achieving the first Discord Goal (having 20 discord members). Tomemorate this milestone, our team decided to publish <i>3 chapters </i>ahead of schedule. I have been enjoying the story so far, albeit there details being more robust and intricate. How about you guys? Please share your views in thement and even in our discord. Especially, if there is any feedback to help me improve ?

 Chapter 79: He Is Such A Kind Person

    <h4>Chapter 79: He Is Such A Kind Person</h4>

    Seeing the unpredictable expression on Viscount Barber¡¯s face, Annan couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    He felt joy from the heart bottom.

    Alright, I made the right bet.

    From the very beginning, Annan guessed that Viscount Barber would probably know ¡°Don Juan Geraint.¡± After all, this old man had lived too long, let alone Don Juan, even Annan. Viscount Barber might have known him.

    Even with the slightest possibility, the viscount had never seen or knew Don Juan and had never seen Don Juan¡¯s portrait, but the viscount at least met Don Juan¡¯s grandfather.

    Viscount would never expect that when he invited Annan in alone, this n had instead helped Annan.

    This was helping Annan to hide his identity.

    Otherwise, the ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± disguise would be lost today.

    ¡°You¡¯re not Don Juan Geraint at all! You are the one from Chilly Austere¡¯s¡­Annan!?¡±

    Alvin Barber¡¯s lips trembled a little, seemingly a shriek, ¡°Yes, is that you?¡±

    Seeing old Viscount¡¯s face as if seeing a ghost, Annan was a little skeptical. He might have almost scared the old man to death just now.

    There was only a gentle smile on Annan¡¯s face, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.

    ¡°As for where Don Juan is, I think you should be more clear in your heart.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is¡­ That¡¯s how it is. No wonder¡­¡±

    Old Alvin muttered, his body leaning back on the stool. Fear and panic remained in his eyes, but he seemed to have gradually figured out something.

    Annan kept a gentle smile, watching the viscount quickly calm down again.

    Viscount was silent for a while, then asked.

    ¡°Don Juan is indeed fed to the fish¡­¡±

    The old man¡¯s voice was still a little hoarse. This might be because of his emotion being stirred up just now.

    Annan smiled and didn¡¯t reply.

    So quiet and passive. It was also part of the clich¨¦.

    The so-called being snobbish.

    When facing Old Alvin, he couldn¡¯t dupe him like how he tricked Salvatore.

    The viscount was paranoid and experienced, so Annan had to use another set of tricks.

    ¡°Did the third prince look for you? Or did you go to the third prince?¡±

    Viscount thought silently for a while before continuing to ask slowly.

    That¡¯s a good question.

    Annan sneered in his heart.

    No matter how Annan answered, it would inevitably indicate that the viscount had acquiesced to his cooperation with the third prince. If Annan did not cooperate with the third prince, Annan¡¯s answers would reveal ws.

    It seemed to be a multiple-choice question, but it was a word problem in the standard test.

    Annan deliberately hesitated at this moment and did not answer directly. He turned his head to look at the sturdy bald man.

    On such a cold day, there was a third person wearing a thin shirt. The bulging muscles put pressure on his top. He looked like an underground boxer.

    ¡°Who is this?¡±

    Annan changed the subject and asked deliberately, ¡°Is he your housekeeper?¡±

    ¡°My name is Justin Kney, sir.¡±

    Before the old viscount could reply, Justin got up from his chair and saluted Annan respectfully, ¡°Grandma loves all her family.¡±

    ¡°May ¡®Grandma¡¯ love you too, dear brother.¡±

    Annan answered obediently.

    He immediately turned around and greeted the old viscount, ¡°And you, Grandpa Barber.¡±

    This was the greeting etiquettemonly used by Chilly Austere Dukedom, which Annan learned from the book before/

    Like the Noah Kingdom believed in Silver Sire, they would mention Silver Sire or silver coins in greetings.

    In Chilly Austere Dukedom greetings, they would treat others as if they were rtives. For example, ¡°Grandma loves you, dear brother,¡± ¡°May grandma bless you today,¡± and so on.

    But those with low status could only give blessings in a broader sense when they greeted those who were not familiar but with high status. At this time, if you call each other directly as family members, it would appear to be closed and ttery. Of course, if one was thick-skinned, one could do that.

    If the other party responded in a broader sense, it meant alienation. If the other party was willing to address you intimately, it meant that the other party also maintained goodwill.

    The only exception was elderly.

    Chilly Austere Dukedom respected the elderly. The elderly had higher status. Even if they met a feudal lord, they did not need to pay their greetings or salute. Instead, the feudal lord had to greet the elder. If the elderly were old enough, the local feudal lord would provide the elderly with money and food every year.

    Based on this custom, Annan would not be suspected of being overly courteous, even if he was gentle and always answering questions. After Annan¡¯s previous misleading, the old viscount would only think that this was all after taking off the ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± disguise.

    Do you think I am Don Juan? Am I from the Gerant family?

    You are wrong. I am Annan Chilly Austere.

    Do you think I am a Chilly Austerian?

    You are wrong again. In fact, I am a soul traveler.

    Old Viscount nodded slowly, his attitude a little milder.

    ¡°This is my new housekeeper and also my guard captain. He¡¯s not bad.¡±

    He briefly introduced Justin to Annan, then turned to the bald man and said with a serious face, ¡°Go and consult the kitchen if there is still dinner ready.

    ¡°Since you called me grandpa, stay for dinner tonight.¡±

    The real purpose of the old viscount was to lead Justin away temporarily.

    Annan specifically asked Justin to answer this question, asking Viscount Barber if he would let Justin know.

    Old Alvin also made his response.

    No.

    Justin clearly understood what Alvin Barber meant. He didn¡¯t say much. He just nodded and left the room.

    He didn¡¯t think anything would happen to the old viscount.

    Although one was younger than older, they were both people with high social standing. Those people would not face off each other physically.

    There was no conflict of interest between them.

    Old Alvin¡¯s enemy was Don Juan from the crow¡¯s house. But Annan was not Don Juan at all, so they were not enemies. They could be temporaryrades who had the same enemy.

    Annan was the Grand Duke¡¯s son. His social standing was much nobler than the old Alvin. He lurked at the Freezing Water Port. It was naturally impossible for his plot to hunt for the viscount¡¯s life. He also needed the support of the local Alvin, the old man.

    At the same time, Annan came over in Don Juan Geraint¡¯s disguise, who the third prince had killed. It meant that his third prince might have a deal with Chilly Austere Dukedom.

    No matter what Justin thought, he didn¡¯t think it was possible for the two of them to go into a fight.

    On the contrary, if he knew too much, his life might be in danger.

    He was grateful to Annan in his heart.

    Annan had figured out I¡¯m not the viscount¡¯s personal man, so he persuaded me to go away before talking about secrets.

    ¡°He is such a kind person.¡±

    Justin sighed.

    On the other side, the old viscount had slumped in his seat with a look of fatigue.

    Annan let out a soft breath. The dark gray light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

    Afterward, he took out the hammer and kitchen knife from the waist bag.

    Annan was grateful to Justin, who left obediently.

    Faced with such a big secret, this man could resist not staying at the door to eavesdrop.

    ¡°What a smart man.¡±

    Annanmented.

    You¡¯re pretty clever.

    Unfortunately, have you heard of the tactic to lure the tiger from its domain in the mountains?

 Chapter 80: Pressuring Step By Step

    <h4>Chapter 80: Pressuring Step By Step</h4>

    Rock beats scissor, scissor beats paper, paper beats rock.

    Different situations call for different tactics.

    While Annan remained cautious all the time, he had the F2 and A key [1] ready at any time (figuratively). He could initiate a charge on the enemy base (viscount¡¯s mansion) in a timely and decisive manner.

    This put Annan into an unlosable situation.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±

    Old Viscount¡¯s face looked gloomy, sitting on his seat and looking at Annan. He still appeared dispirited.

    Annan¡¯s words woke the Old Viscount up.

    The Old Viscount looked at this young boy who stood in front of him with a smile and confidence. He tacitly didn¡¯t summon Justin.

    Because Alvin was also a smart man.

    He thought about the fact that Annan Chilly Austere dared to knock him out and wake himself up while Justin was still in the parameter.

    This showed that Annan didn¡¯t want to kill me but needed some help from me. Otherwise, he can kill the vulnerable me after I pass out.

    But, it also means that he is not afraid of me calling for help.

    Old Alvin knew that Annan Chilly Austere was only 14 years old this year. Since childhood, Annan was weak, sick, and almost died several times.

    For this reason, Grand Duke Ivan gave the name ¡°Annan.¡± It was a neutral and feminine name. If pronounced in the Chilly Austere ent, it should be pronounced ¡°Anna.¡±

    Its original meaning was ¡°kindness.¡± Hence, in Chilly Austere Dukedom, only such ¡°weak names¡± were given to girls usually.

    But Ivan didn¡¯t want Annan to be a benevolent person in the future.

    He hoped that Old Grandmother could be more kind to this child so that Annan¡¯s fate would not be too bad so that Annan could grow up safely and alive.

    Old Alvin still believed that with Annan¡¯s physical fitness, he wouldn¡¯t dare to fight such a strong hunter in the territory of an enemy country. In this case, he didn¡¯t have the option to flee.

    After all, he was not a direct noble¡¯s heir in this country. Worse still, he was the enemy country¡¯s supreme ruler¡¯s heir.

    Once Annan was caught alive, it guaranteed a considerable sum of money and a great meritorious deed.

    No matter how Alvin thought of the possible oue, Annan wouldn¡¯t kill him. But, Annan should not dare to let him call for help.

    So¡­

    What does he rely on?

    Old Viscount waited vigntly for Annan¡¯s answer without saying a single extra word.

    ¡°You are quite smart.¡±

    Annan chuckled, ¡°But you¡¯d better not try to ask for help and don¡¯t expose my identity to others. It doesn¡¯t work either in words or in writing because you will forget what you want to say before asking for help.

    ¡°At the same time, you will die of Cardioplegia. Old man, idental death is normal for your age.¡±

    ¡°Cardioplegia and Forgotten Secret?¡±

    Old Viscount guessed with a sullen face.

    Annan was surprised.

    He was taken aback; he showed an amiable and gentle smile, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re quite familiar with the Transcend world, unlike the rumor.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s natural.¡±

    Old Viscount didn¡¯t say much but just let out a low snort.

    Annan¡¯s words were indeed truthful.

    But the difference was-

    Annan did not instill [Speak No Evil] on the Old Viscount, but [I¡¯m Not Here] on him.

    In this case, after the yers entered the house, they would not realize the viscount¡¯s existence. They were all genuine ordinary people and had no resistance to curses.

    This also meant that Annan stopped the chances of identity leakage.

    But, he did not kill the Old Viscount directly.

    Because he wanted to try, could he interrogate some secret information from the Old Viscount before the yer entered this ce?

    With Viscount Barber¡¯s status, he should know a lot.

    ¡°But I still can¡¯t figure out why you are attacking me.¡±

    Old Viscount asked Annan probingly in a deep voice, ¡°We can just talk, you know.¡±

    Realizing that he would not die, for the time being, Old Alvin had regained hisposure.

    The two people maintained the previous distance, still sitting in the earlier seats, with the same expressions as before.

    But the atmosphere between them waspletely different.

    Annan just sighed with a sad expression on his face,

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you believe it or not. I¡¯m just here to remind you.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. I have never seen such a kind reminder.¡±

    Old Viscount smirked and retorted, ¡°Perhaps your father taught you simr special techniques?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether you believe it or not. I¡¯m just here to persuade you to be more patient.¡±

    Annan was unfazed but just smiled peacefully.

    He got up from his seat and slowly approached the old man. Such a move made Alvin a little nervous. Alvin subconsciously became vignt.

    Annan only said mildly, ¡°Although I¡¯m young, I know a lot.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you fail because of that rash decision? If you wait patiently then, the situation won¡¯t be that terrible.¡±

    Hearing this, the viscount was taken aback and went in a daze for a while.

    Patience¡­Yes, patience.

    He remembered.

    That reminds me¡­

    ¡°I also know that you have always been an emotional person,¡± said Annan gently. Then, he stopped and nodded slowly, ¡°You are not good at expressing. Or rather, you don¡¯t bother to express them because it will be meaningless.

    ¡°So people will misunderstand you and think you are a cold person. But I know you are not such a person.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you understand me.¡±

    Old Viscount whispered sarcastically, slumped on his chair wearily, mumbling something.

    After a while, he raised his head and looked at Annan again.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    The old man asked in a deep voice, ¡°Tell me. Don¡¯t need to beat around the bush.¡±

    Since you said so.

    But the terrified expression on Alvin¡¯s face became much more rxed.

    All this was in Annan¡¯s expectation.

    Those words were tricks to worm information out from Alvin- cold reading [2].

    What Annan said was equally valid even for others. That was the Barnum effect. When you utilized vague adjectives to describe a person, the person being described would ept these descriptions easily and thought that what the description said was them.

    Annan first knocked the viscount out with Slothful Eye. Then, he let the viscount wake up in a safe ce. In this way, viscount would be suspicious of its current security situation and no longer trust that ¡°he was still in a safe zone.¡±

    On this basis, Annan used the curse to restrain the viscount¡¯s behavior, giving him pressure that death was by the door. Under this circumstance, Annan formed a de facto coercive rtionship with him.

    Annan held the key to his life and death, and he could not resist Annan.

    But Annan did not bully him, nor did he rudely persecute him.

    Instead, he used cold reading in a friendly manner to get closer to him. Under such threat and allurement, the viscount¡¯s vignce towards Annan would dissipate.

    On the one hand, Alvin believed that ¡°I have no resistance in front of him.¡± At the same time, ¡°maybe this child can understand me,¡± and still believed that Annan was a ¡°young man¡± with a sense of psychological superiority over Annan in terms of age.

    At the same time, from the details of the viscount¡¯s response, Annan could also temporarily presume that Old Alvin should be a person unwilling to believe in others, more inclined to believe in his own experience and conclusions. Old Alvin was merely too cautious and paranoid.

    Annan habitually looked into Old Viscount¡¯s eyes and continued to ask gently.

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking casually. Don¡¯t mind it.¡±

    ¡ªTake my words seriously. You should think carefully before answering.

    ¡°Of course, even if I don¡¯t get an answer that satisfies me, I will not persecute you. There are other ces where we can cooperate.¡±

    ¡ªYou are useful to me. But your answer best satisfies me.

    Annan paused, making sure that the Old Viscount had grasped his hints, and then asked in a low voice,

    ¡°If you were to choose between the Third Prince and Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke, who would you choose?

    ¡°And why did you choose this way? Please answer quickly. We may not have much time for talking.¡±

    Annan asked slowly. At the same time, he gently patted the blood-stained kitchen knife on the table, revealing a bright and gentle smile, ¡°You know what I mean.¡±

    There was no doubt that it was an interrogation.

    But it was different from Old Alvin¡¯s understanding.

    Annan didn¡¯t care about the first answer at all. It was just a cover for distraction and lowering Old Alvin¡¯s vignce.

    What he wanted to ask was [Why]!

    He wanted the Old Viscount answer subconsciously without being vignt ¨C a correct answer from the heart.

    Alvin was in a daze, feeling that Annan¡¯s ice-blue pupils were as gentle as water without any malice¡­

    But it felt like a god.

    Annan appeared aloft without any emotions.

    [1] A Starcraft abbreviation. ¡®F2¡¯ key will select all units, and the ¡®A¡¯ key will issue an attack. It means using all the units under him to attack the enemy in full force.

 Chapter 81: Friend, Have You Heard Of Rotten Man?

    <h4>Chapter 81: Friend, Have You Heard Of Rotten Man?</h4>

    ¡°You are wrong.¡±

    Old Alvin took a deep breath and said slowly, ¡°I won¡¯t choose either.¡±

    Huh?

    Oh, you prefer this kind of thing? Want to show an upright and unyielding side?

    Annan was taken aback and suddenly became excited.

    Seeing the weird light shing in Annan¡¯s eyes, Old Alvin quickly exined, ¡°No, don¡¯t get me wrong because I¡¯m not under the Third Prince. I¡¯m just a spy nted on his side.¡±

    He sighed, looked into Annan¡¯s eyes, and said slowly one by one, ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether you have instilled a curse of ¡®Lie and Die.¡¯ But I think you should be able to see it. I¡¯m telling the truth now. We can cooperate because at least we are not enemies now.¡±

    As he said, Old Alvin took a deep breath, and his expression became serious.

    He showed an expression that made Annan a little familiar and said something Annan seemingly heard before,

    ¡°Have you heard of Rotten Man?¡±

    No, but have you heard of a eunuch?

    Annan wanted to ask a question, but he held it back after thinking about it.

    Holding it back was quite ufortable.

    Annan was silent for a while with a thoughtful look on his face, ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    ¡ªActually, Annan knows nothing.

    ¡°You guessed it right.¡±

    Old Alvin took a deep breath, ¡°I¡¯m a believer in Rotten Man. No, don¡¯t worry. Please wait for me to finish. Although the rtionship between the respected Old Grandmother and Rotten Man is bad, we have the same goal.

    ¡°The immortal Rotten Man is the God of Immortality and Heirless. Unlike the respected Old Grandmother, we advocate the eternity of one individual. Since children are the continuation of the parents¡¯ lives, why do we need offspring if the parents themselves can live forever? No matter what you want to do or have any unfinished regrets, instead of handing it over to future generations, why not do it yourself?

    ¡°So, if you ask me whether I support the Third Prince or Chilly Austere, I naturally don¡¯t support either.¡±

    Old Alvin said slowly, ¡°Because I have always been loyal to His Majesty the King.

    ¡°There is no ritual that can please Rotten Man more than the extinction of the royal family.

    ¡°His Majesty the King has nine children ¨C five daughters and four sons. Now there are three alive ¨C Princess Royal, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince.¡±

    The Old Viscount smiled. ¡°And this is naturally our credit.

    ¡°Disease. Curse. ident. Our ultimate goal is simple ¨C to exterminate the royal family.

    ¡°In this way, Henry VIII must pray for the help of Rotten Man or Old Grandmother. So that he can give birth to another son or directly restore his youth and obtain immortality. His Majesty had onceunched a war with Chilly Austere Dukedom. Even if Old Grandmother is willing to bless His Majesty, he has grown to this age. Can he watch his children grow up again?

    ¡°Even if he chooses this¡­ We can kill his children. Being passive and alert for such a long time will eventually lead to negligence that gives us the opportunity.

    ¡°Besides, we are not asking him to kill his children. This is the most troublesome and cruel step. We have already done it for His Majesty.¡±

    Old Alvin slowly said, ¡°When His Majesty realizes the problem, he only needs to make a choice. On the one hand, he will return to his youth and gain eternal life; on the other hand, the dynasty passed down from generation to generation will fall into the hands of outsiders for no reason.¡±

    Annan understood.

    From the very beginning, there was only one choice left to Henry VIII.

    ¡ªEternal life.

    How many people could resist its temptation?

    Even if the price was to keep sacrificing the children¡¯s lives?

    Even if the king had disgust on his face and reluctance on his lips, when he could only choose this way to regain his youth, wouldn¡¯t he be happy because of it?

    When he got old again, could he bear it not to go through the ritual?

    So, to be on the safe side.

    If Henry VIII intended to use Rotten Man¡¯s ritual, he would first make Rotten Man¡¯s Church a legal church in the Noah Kingdom. This was not difficult for him. If all his children died, his scattered power would return to his hands instead.

    What a scheme! A daring scheme.

    Just wait until Henry VIII was too old to have children, and by the death¡¯s door, the Rotten Man¡¯s believers would kill all his children.

    Henry VIII had no other choice.

    It could be an illusion, but Annan always thought that the false deities in this world were quite enthusiastic.

    Whether it was the Venerated Skeleton or Rotten Man, they were like salesmen who stopped the passersby on the roadside, ¡°Come here, this is our new product, please try it.¡± After those allured tasted it and found it sweet, they were troubled to buy it and spent money for it.

    ¡ªFree things are the most expensive.

    Annan agreed with this.

    But obviously, people in this world didn¡¯t seem to understand this rule.

    ¡°The only one at fault is the fact that mortals will grow old after all.¡±

    Old Alvin snorted softly and sighed in a low voice.

    He curled up in his seat like a skeleton; his figure was gaunt.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you said that you are neither on the side of the Third Prince nor on our side, Chilly Austere Dukedom.¡±

    Annan nodded, understanding Old Alvin¡¯s stance.

    There were parts about inheritance, family, heirs, and authority in the Old Grandmother¡¯s priesthood, which contradicted Rotten Man. So Old Alvin couldn¡¯t defect to Chilly Austere Dukedom. Instead of betraying after pretending to be on Annan¡¯s side, it was better to tell Annan directly.

    On the other hand, Old Alvin was using the Third Prince. Though, the Gerant family was indeed his enemy. The reason was simple. The Gerant family picked a stance and supported Princess Royal. The current king was the most optimistic about Princess Royal too.

    What Rotten Man wanted was to kill all the royal heirs before the king died. Whether it was the Third Prince or Princess Royal, the royal heirs were the Rotten Man church¡¯s enemies.

    Since Old Alvin was a spy against the Third Prince, it meant that as long as Old Alvin was kept alive, he would continue to weaken the Noah Kingdom Royalty¡¯s power.

    At least until the kingpleted the Rotten Man ritual, the more the royal family died, the happier Chilly Austere Kingdom would be.

    So, Annan Chilly Austere would not kill Old Alvin at this time.

    At best, Annan would report the incident back, trying to prevent Henry VIII from getting eternal life at the end of the ritual. Or directly assassinate the king. This was the most cost-effective and effortless n.

    It was built on the premise that our MC was the ¡°Annan Chilly Austere.¡±

    ¡ªUnexpectedly, you made the same mistake twice.

    Annan took a deep breath and gave a gentle smile.

    However, I got critical information.

    Fortunately, Annan hadn¡¯t directly hacked Old Alvin to death just now. Otherwise, he would not find out about the existence of the ¡°Rotten Man¡± behind the scenes. He would only think this was a typical war between the royal heirs.

    ¡°Great, you are honest. You deserve praise.¡±

    Annan smiled slightly, took two steps back. He put the kitchen knife and hammer back into the bag, indicating that he was not hostile.

    ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    Annan said casually, ¡°Who don¡¯t you let him take me to your study? Are your letters and documents supposed to be there?¡±

    ¡°Do you really need to confirm it?¡±

    Viscount Barber frowned slightly, but he nodded calmly, ¡°Sure. This is my sincerity in cooperating with you. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Cool, let¡¯s have a happy cooperation. Since you have Rotten Man backing you, when your n is sessful, you will have a chance to relieve your curse. Our cooperation will be terminated at that time.¡±

    Annan smiled slightly, ¡°Would you like to send someone to pick up my entourage? You can discuss the details of the cooperation with them.¡±

    Annan was confident that Viscount Barber would agree.

    With Viscount Barber¡¯s character, he was likely to consider Annan¡¯s enormous advantage in front of him was the blessing brought by the ¡°Transcended¡± power.

    In this way, he would agree to meet Annan¡¯s ¡°followers.¡± The purpose was to get some clues from the followers¡¯ mouths. Since both sides were discussing cooperation, they must show each other some hidden trump cards. Old Viscount didn¡¯t believe that every follower of Annan could be as cunning as Annan.

    Of course, Annan didn¡¯t believe it either.

    However, he did not need the cooperation discussion to take ce.

    Because the curse condition that Annan imposed on Alvin would be triggered when Alvin ¡°intended to expose Annan¡¯s identity to others,¡± making him forget what Alvin was going to say. At the same time, the Old Alvin would suffer cardioplegia.

    But Old Alvin certainly wouldn¡¯t anticipate that.

    Annan¡¯s subordinates were considered the ¡°others.¡±

    After all, these yers didn¡¯t even know Annan¡¯s true identity!

 Chapter 82: Annanâ€™s Art of Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 82: Annan¡¯s Art of Assassination</h4>

    ¡°Study?¡±

    After hearing this order, Justin was slightly taken aback.

    Then he simply agreed, ¡°Okay, sir. Please follow me.¡±

    Justin remembered that in Master Viscount¡¯s study, there should indeed be some things that outsiders should not know.

    Although Justin was not barred from entering the study, he had never sneaked in.

    This was the manifestation of his wisdom.

    ¡ªThe more you know, the faster you die.

    Justin was just working here anyway. His main purpose was to seek food and shelter. He knew in his heart that those who loved to inquire about the employer¡¯s secret would die inexplicably.

    So, Justin never poked around sensitive stuff.

    In this way, his reputation would be better. After leaving Viscount Barber, it would be convenient for him to find his next employee with a letter of rmendation.

    Oh ya.

    He isn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint, but someone under Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke.

    Maybe they are initially in the same team. Or they have reached an agreement.

    Taking a step back, if Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke had ill intent to Master Viscount. Was Justin capable of protecting his Master Viscount?

    Worse still, that old man might sell Justin off.

    Justin was not stupid.

    Alvin Barber was not his ¡®actual¡¯ lord but his employer. Viscount Barber only took care of his sry and food matters. In exchange, he was only tasked to kill or persuade the Transcended who invaded the territory. There was nothing more than that.

    It was wiser for Justin not to offend enemies, not within the scope of Justin¡¯s responsibilities.

    Annan Chilly Austere was ssified as Transcended.

    But his status was much higher than the ordinary Bronze Rank Transcended. Under normal circumstances, Annan showing his face was enough to achieve what Bronze Rank Transcended. However, the reverse of said situation would not hold true.

    This was fate.

    Justin sighed silently.

    They soon came to Alvin¡¯s study.

    ¡°Inside is Master Viscount¡¯s study.¡±

    He respectfully said to Annan, who was at least two heads shorter than him, ¡°Your Excellency Annan, what else do you need?¡±

    ¡°Can youe in with me, Brother Justin?¡±

    Like a 14 years old child, Annan raised his head and said in a soft and immature voice to the burly man who was close to 1.9 meters. ¡°I¡¯m worried that I¡¯m not tall enough for certain files.¡±

    Annanplimented the slightly more estranged address with a more amiable ¡°brother.¡±

    Justin couldn¡¯t be wary of this child with clear eyes.

    Justin didn¡¯t pay much attention previously. But, he simply found this young noble a polite and good boy.

    Although with his status, it was not right to pity a Big Shot like Annan. Worse still, Annan was someone from the enemy¡¯s territory.

    But seeing Annan hustling around alone at a young age, Justin still felt that it must not be easy for this young boy.

    At least if it was Justin himself, he was not as good as Annan at this age.

    But Annan could be so innocent. Presumably, he had never encountered any setbacks.

    Oh, he¡¯s worthy of being a big shot.

    What a nice boy.

    ¡°Brother Justin?¡±

    Annan asked again. His voice was soft, and his eyes were clean. Though, his tone was troubled, ¡°Is it inconvenient?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Justin came back to his senses with an awkward smile on his fierce-looking bald head. He tried his best to say gently, ¡°I¡¯ll just follow you in.

    ¡°Are you still staying for dinner today? I just told the kitchen to make more delicious food.¡±

    ¡°Probably.¡±

    Annan thought about it seriously, showed a bright smile, and replied happily, ¡°I think I should stay for dinner.¡±

    His words seemed serious.

    Anyway, ck Fire wasn¡¯t needed to exterminate the viscount. This manor wouldn¡¯t be detonated as well.

    Since the kitchen would be serving dinner, it was better to stay here for dinner after killing Alvin.

    It would be a shame to waste food.

    Annan followed Justin into the study. It was his n to guard against possible traps.

    Justin also knew Annan¡¯s purpose well. After all, he was a senior hunter. He was aware of this simple and careful thinking.

    ¡°Thank you, Brother Justin.¡±

    After Annan entered the room, he saluted Justin again.

    Seeing such a big shot treated him so respectfully and friendly, Justin couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    For some reason, the dissatisfaction that had just risen in his heart dissipated.

    ¡°I want to read the most recent letter.¡±

    Annan said softly.

    Justin nodded, ¡°Well, it should be here¡­¡±

    Annan had his way of tackling this situation.

    He was not just bluffing or enacting a persona.

    It was a wise tactic to tackle varying people on their weaknesses. Justin was someone amenable to coaxing but not coercion.

    When Annan interacted with Justin, he realized Justin¡¯s needs were different from Alvin¡¯s.

    Annan did not need to seize the right to speak and did not need to establish authority. Instead, Annan wanted to rx Justin¡¯s vignce.

    Annan noticed that Justin was not a sluggish type. On the contrary, he had a keen judgment on human psychology, and his conduct was cautious. He liked to think before acting.

    This often meant that Justin had lost something important.

    Justin stayed alone for a long time outside his home. Judging by his age, he most likely was a parent or wedded.

    When Justin walked, he was always alert to his surroundings and loved to look at the path instead of looking at people. He appeared restless at all times, which meant that he had low self-esteem hidden in his heart. When he first met Annan, he was very enthusiastic to greet Annan with Chilly Austere Dukedom¡¯s etiquettes. This showed that he admired people of high status but less capable.

    This also meant that Justin desired status.

    Every man¡ªor strictly speaking, everyone, had a desire to be a ¡°hero¡± in their heart. This was also the core interest of various teamwork or teampetition games from ancient times to the present.

    Sturdy and robust. Perfectly and gorgeously defeating enemies. That was strength;

    Keen judgment and countering the enemy¡¯s strategy. That was wisdom;

    Leading teammates to defeat the enemy. That was leadership;

    Gentle and pragmatic in protecting teammates. That was the ability to protect the family.

    One of the essences ofpetitive games was guiding people to be ¡°heroes¡± and test their abilities as ¡°heroes.¡±

    In this process, the game would tell the yers who ¡°I¡± was, why ¡°I¡± should be proud and give meaning to ¡°I.¡± All in all, the game was targeted to fulfill the crowd¡¯s desire for self-realization.

    When a person felt that he had be a hero, their self-esteem and self-confidence would be strengthened. They would find more worth in themselves. The world around them would be friendly. At this time, the first person who came into contact with them would share this joy. As a result, the ¡°hero¡¯s¡± view of that particr person would also improve significantly.

    This was one reason why you would feel that your friends had be friendlier and more enjoyable after you won along with your friends. This sense of intimacy would be significantly greater than the sense of trust that came from ¡°getting amon victory.¡±

    Annan¡¯s approach to Justin was to bypass the whole process and tackle Justin¡¯s heart.

    Annan flexibly utilized the noble status of ¡°Annan Chilly Austere¡± to continuously raise the opponent¡¯s ¡°sense of status;¡± he expressed himself weakly to appeal to the opponent¡¯s ¡°sense of power¡± by contrast. Then, he hid his leadership and turned to admire Justin like a child to strengthen Justin¡¯s ¡°self-acknowledgment.¡±

    Annan would give Justin what hecked.

    Whatever Justin wanted, Annan would give him.

    Annan made Justin briefly be his own ¡°hero.¡±

    With that, how could Justin still be vignt to Annan?

    Typically, it was easier to abuse kind people than evil people. But for Annan, evil people were far easier to manipte than kind people. This was Annan¡¯s art of assassination.

    This was because evil people were always more inclined to believe in themselves than kind people. That self-belief and self-interest were often their initial motivation for doing evil deeds too.

    For example, Justin, as a curse hunter, utilized murder as a means of making a living.

    Such people would tend to have an inexplicable sense of superiority towards kind people.

    It was like a wolf watching a sheep.

    But the question was, were those in sheep¡¯s clothing necessarily a sheep (Annan)?

    He was polite to Annan, of course not because Annan looked good.

    It was not because Justin was kind to this young boy.

    It was because Annan could give Justin what he wanted.

    It was because Annan¡¯s status was higher, and yet he looked silly and kind-hearted. So it seemed easy to get close to Annan.

    Just like those hired thugs who were polite to the son of Boss X and the daughter of Boss X.

    ¡°Brother Justin, can you help me grab the photos over there?¡±

    Annan pointed at the height of a particr bookshelf, ¡°I can¡¯t reach.¡±

    ¡°Photo? Hmm¡­ Which one are you talking about? This¡­or¡­¡±

    Justin raised his handboriously, stepped on the stool, and reached out to touch the top of the bookshelf.

    Annan took the hammer out of his pocket silently and hid it in his sleeve. Then, he lightly knocked on Justin¡¯s calf.

 Chapter 83: Speak No Evil

    <h4>Chapter 83: Speak No Evil</h4>

    ¡°En-¡°

    Justin felt a sudden chill that crept out from within.

    As if suffering from a bad cold, his body shivered subconsciously.

    From the left calf, a sharp pain spread to the knee.

    Justin was familiar with this feeling.

    ¡°Curse hunter¡± had such a unique trait.

    Only those who had taken a special potion and smeared a deadly ointment on the skin without disfigurement could acquire this trait¡ªthe prerequisite of curse hunter [Curse Sensitive Skin].

    Just being close by to Transcended, the corresponding body surface would have a faint tingling sensation. When inflicted with an inconspicuous curse or bing a ritual target, the curse hunter could immediately feel pain.

    After a long period of training, the curse hunters would acquire this new sensory sense.

    This new tactile sense could be used to sense the curse, feel the curse, and hunt the curse.

    Therefore, that was how ¡°curse hunter¡± came from.

    As soon as Justin felt the pain, he wanted to fight back.

    He subconsciously kicked out the painful left leg.

    At this time, he just realized-

    That seems to be where Annan was.

    Was Annan attacking me?

    Thinking of Annan¡¯s noble status, Justin subconsciously reserved his strength.

    But the moment Justin reacted, he felt a little regretful in his heart.

    No, holding off 30% of my strength isn¡¯t enough!

    With a halfmitted kick, Justin kicked at an underage wizard in the face from this angle. If this kicknded on Annan¡¯s chin or the back of Annan¡¯s head, it was possible to kick Annan to death.

    Justin was a civilian; he couldn¡¯t bear Chilly Austere¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s anger at all!

    Moreover, he just realized what Annan had imposed on him was not some lethal curse.

    There was pure malice in the curse, which meant that it would only negatively debuff him. But this malice only gave him chills with no sensation of scorching pain.

    This meant that its curse concentration was not high.

    Pa.

    Unexpectedly, Annan did not retreat but reached out to steadily block Justin¡¯s sharp kick. Then, he calmly halted the counterattack Justin thought he failed to control.

    But this made Justin¡¯s heart sink.

    The fourteen-year-old wizard¡­

    Even though he was born in Chilly Austere Dukedom, can he take my blow casually?

    Impossible. I can¡¯t believe it.

    Justin¡¯smitted kick was enough to kick an adult¡¯s head and half of his spine into the air.

    Transcended was said to be Transcended because they had exceeded the level of ordinary people.

    Justin¡¯s kick was enough to kick down a solid tree thicker than the waist of an adult man. Even if the room doors in viscount¡¯s mansion were locked, he could knock them open easily.

    Since Annan could block Justin¡¯s attack without his bones breaking, it meant that he must have hidden a Bronze Rank levelbat profession!

    ¡°Brother Justin, why did you attack me suddenly?¡±

    But, the oue was different from what Justin had imagined.

    After Annan blocked Justin¡¯s counterattack, he backed away with vignce.

    Annan looked at Justin with a puzzled face, with a bit of dissatisfaction in his eyes, ¡°If it¡¯s not me who is standing here, something bad already happened.¡±

    Seeing Annan¡¯s expression, Justin couldn¡¯t help but hesitate.

    Is it a misunderstanding?

    It can¡¯t be. My senses are sharp.

    Everything went ording to Annan¡¯s prediction. With Justin¡¯s personality, he had hesitated with clenched fists when facing Annan Chilly Austere, who was much higher status than him.

    Justin subconsciously wanted to apologize but cautiously turned his head and knelt.

    At this distance, his hand could reach Annan directly. As such, he wouldn¡¯t be too vulnerable to any attacks.

    ¡°Sorry, it may be my fault.¡±

    Justin hadn¡¯t finished speaking this time.

    Annan swung his right arm and punched the knee socket on the inner side of Justin¡¯s leg.

    Only then did Justin finally see the hammer hidden in Annan¡¯s palm.

    It was a small, slender, white hammer that looked a littleical.

    It was like a toy. Hamming a nail would prove too strenuous for it. It was more like a hammer used for tooth extraction, just one size bigger than its kind.

    Can this thing hurt people?

    Such thoughts shed through Justin¡¯s mind.

    However, the indecision of not knowing how to react faded after Justin confirmed that Annan was indeed an enemy.

    After all, Justin had multiplebat experiences in hunting down Transcended.

    Almost instinctively, his left hand tried to intercept Annan¡¯s hammer.

    His right hand reached Annan¡¯s slender neck, with his knees bent and his abdominal muscles tense. Justin was like a leopard with a bowed posture. He lunged to grab Annan¡¯s neck directly to throw Annan to the ground.

    But something Justin had not expected happened.

    Justin wanted to intercept Annan¡¯s left hand, which looked fragile due to the toy hammer.

    The heavy force that the bearer exerted on the hammer was brutal to fend off.

    It quickly overwhelmed Justin¡¯s strength. Creaking fracture noise came from his wrist. His wrist failed even to hinder the hammer attack for one second. In the end, it hammered sessfully into Justin¡¯s leg!

    However, the power attacking the leg socket this time was far worse than the force that directly broke Justin¡¯s wrist.

    It was the strength at the standard of an unranked swordsman¡¯s All-out Blow. Unfortunately, this strength level was still impossible to dislocate Justin¡¯s wrist!

    Justin immediately realized what curse had been imposed on him.

    It was ¡°Speak No Evil!¡±

    The hammer¡¯s properties were subtly different from what Salvatore had discussed with Annan. But it was roughly the same.

    Annan made a provisional n for tonight after going through its attributes.

    [The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone Blood Trigger]

    [Type: Tool/Ritual Prop (Gold)]

    [Description: ¡°Cardioplegia LV34¡±, ¡°Forgotten Secret LV28¡±, ¡°I¡¯m Not Here LV1¡±, ¡°Speak No Evil LV8¡±, ¡°ustrophobia LV1¡±, and ¡°Page Lock LV14¡± can be used once a day. It can only be activated after hitting the desired target¡¯s boned part with the hammer. Everyone can be inflicted with up to three curses every day.]

    [Effect: If the user hits the target¡¯s bone, the curse will entangle the victim. The curse will return and be strengthened after the victim dies. The enhanced curse level is equal to the total in Transcendend level. If the curse does not return within 24 hours, then a new curse will be regained. The previously imposed curse can¡¯t be retrieved.]

    [Effect: If the user fails to hit the bone, it will be registered as a failure. The curse will remain on the struck object for a month. No more curses will be reborn during this period.]

    [Cost: Each time you use it, you need to consume a different human ¡°bone¡± and ¡°blood.¡± The hammer must be used once a week. Otherwise, the holder will be randomly applied with three kinds of curses. The level of the curse applied will be equivalent to the currently stored curse level. Human beings used as materials will have their life span reduced by one year.]

    There was only one difference from what Salvatore mentioned.

    Salvatore did not mention that this weapon could be a ¡°hammer for murder.¡±

    If the cursed target were killed within 24 hours, the difficulty of resisting this curse would continue to increase. The curse level would not revert to zero until a particr curse failed to be retrieved within a day.

    Of course, ording to Annan¡¯s judgment on Salvatore, it shouldn¡¯t be Salvatore deliberately hiding it from Annan. Rather, it was usible that Salvatore himself didn¡¯t know the specifics.

    But when Annan confirmed that ¡°speak no evil¡± could be utilized, the reason why he didn¡¯t use it on Viscount Barber was to have the curse avable for the day. It would prove to be convenient to go against Justin!

    Cardioplegia¡¯s instantaneous ability was not necessarily effective for a Bronze Rank Transcended.

    But Speak No Evil is different.

    This curse should be enough to break Justin¡¯s defense, right?!

 Chapter 84: Fearless Annan

    <h4>Chapter 84: Fearless Annan</h4>

    At the next moment, Annan made a subsequent attack on Justin.

    In other words, the moment when the hammer touched the back of Justin¡¯s hand, all the books in the library trembled suddenly.

    Justin felt a familiar and intense chill again.

    He felt his skin tensed up.

    It was as if he had put on tights.

    That¡¯s a curse rted to control!

    Justin immediately realized the problem in his brain.

    But his body couldn¡¯t react at all.

    An invisible halo centered on Justin suddenly spread.

    While being swept by that halo, it seemed as if all the books, documents, and newspapers hade to life at the same time.

    [Page Lock]

    All the [Carrier of Knowledge] (words) wriggled like dense insects, embedded in the light, and became dense, mosquito-like skeletons.

    Countless light streams formed a dense chain of light, swept from all directions, capturing Justin¡¯s body instantly!

    Justin¡¯s right hand still maintained a forward grasping posture. He stomped on his knees hard with his muscles bulging. His expression was hideous. His feet stood on tiptoe, exerting strength to his kick on the stool. The hunting posture was frozen in the air by chains!

    Those chains wrapped around him a few times and nailed into his body. They were like pulsating electric lights, injecting hundreds of knowledge into Justin¡¯s mind at the same time.

    ¡°Ah-¡°

    Countless light streams converged to the center. Justin let out an extremely painful roar, and his eyes trembled violently.

    Then, his eyes were instantly bloodshot as blood gushed into them. Soon after, blood quickly overflowed from the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Blue veins grew visible on his head, and dark purple traces spurt on the skin surface.

    However, Justin was still unable to break free.

    Crunch-

    Realizing that Justin wanted to break free, the chains began to tighten immediately.

    The intense pain weakened Justin¡¯s body, while the heavy knowledge stunned him.

    Justin was not without the ability to resist.

    He used his trump card immediately.

    Two of the three bronze rings on the fingers of his right hand lit up.

    One of them was a curse he got after hunting down a female wizard.

    [Pain Loss]!

    The curse was simple. After usage, the user would lose the sense of pain and touch. He could be unfazed no matter what kind of torture and torture at all.

    After activating this curse, Justin felt that his numb brain from the severe pain finally awakened a little.

    Then, he activated the second curse to get him out of trouble!

    It came from a ¡°diator¡± Justin once killed with a backstab.

    The diator¡¯sbat power was powerful, even stronger than Justin. Justin could not contend against the diator.

    [Break Free]!

    This was a curse that could only be used when the user was trapped. The price was that the user had to be bound and freed once a week. Otherwise, the bones and muscles would jump directly out of the shackles of the skin.

    The curse would enable the user to multiply his strength several times when the situation forced the user to ¡°Break Free!¡±

    It ignored pain while granting the user to break free of control. It strengthened his muscle. His odds became better under thepliment of the third curse that he had not used for the time being. This curse could be used once a month to restore the injury to one second before death.

    The mentioned instantaneous ability granted him the confidence to fight the wizards.

    This was the ability system Justin arranged and constructed.

    Justin believed that this set of abilities would never fall at a disadvantage to any Transcended of the same tier.

    ¡°It looks like I can¡¯t hold back.¡±

    Justin, who had recovered his sanity, sullen his face and whispered to Annan.

    His seven orifices were still bleeding, but he didn¡¯t feel pain anymore.

    Under Justin¡¯s skin, thick blood vessels wiggling back and forth like worms. The muscles turned dark red at speed visible to the naked eye, and a faint white mist evaporated.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡±

    He roared, slowly mustering his strength.

    The next moment, the binding chain began to tremble.

    The books in the entire room began to burst into cracks.

    The first thing that broke apart was the newspaper.

    Like cracked earth, deep tore surfaced on the newspapers. The cracks began to set ame.

    Although Annan couldn¡¯t see it, the same situation must have appeared inside the book.

    After all, Alvin Barber was just a viscount. This was only his manor, not his viscount mansion.

    The knowledge recorded in the books in this study was naturally impossible to be so secretive. Thus, its binding power was not sufficient, and it could still be broken.

    But Annan had already expected this.

    Before [Page Lock] was broken free by Justin¡¯s brute force, Annan had already stood in front of him and whispered,

    ¡°Go to sleep.¡±

    A dim light shed under Annan¡¯s eyes.

    It was Annan¡¯s instant spell, Slothful Eye!

    Justin, who was directly imparted with a strong zy¡± feeling, stagnated his body for a moment. His ¡°struggle with all his strength¡± was also interrupted.

    Justin was witty. He canceled out the ¡°loss of pain¡± at the moment when his consciousness became slow.

    Under the impact of intense pain, thisziness disintegrated in an instant.

    But, just a moment of controlling Justin was enough.

    Even if Justin immediately regained consciousness in the next moment, those chains of light that had already begun to tremble had already been strengthened the moment Justin¡¯s ability to ¡°struggle with all strength¡± was interrupted.

    ¡°Ughah-¡°

    Justin screamed again and was tied tightly again by the chain.

    This time, Justin had no chance of escaping.

    As Annan¡¯s body exuded frost, the irresistible cold breath prated Justin¡¯s body.

    Annan regained control skillfully. Soon, Justin stopped struggling.

    But, Annan didn¡¯t intend to end Justin¡¯s life with the Frost Wheel, even though it might be cool to use the strongest ability as a finishing move.

    However, Annan was always cautious in his doings.

    The Frost Wheelcked travel distance, resulting in its destructive power beingckluster. There was also the threat that Justin would escape because of the destruction of the bookshelf.

    So Annan opened his waist bag.

    Then, he took out the kitchen knife dripping with blood.

    The curse on his wrist was unsealed. The ck mud burned on his arm again, forming an abstract and winding broken sword pattern.

    Butcher¡¯s Knife was activated.

    ¡°You¡¯re under my mercy.¡±

    Annan smiled and looked at Justin, who was frozen in mid-air while maintaining a pouncing posture.

    Annan¡¯s eyes were still pure and clean; his ice-blue pupils were filled with delight and content.

    In his heart was the excitement and joy of defeating a powerful enemy.

    He didn¡¯t care about Justin¡¯s background story at all. He didn¡¯t care how many innocent people Justin killed, how much hatred Justin carried, who were those Transcended Justin hunted.

    Because Annan was honest.

    He was only happy because he defeated this powerful enemy.

    He knew he didn¡¯t kill Justin because of those people. Of course, if the family of those people showed up in front of Annan first, he might ept the mission of ¡°revenge for them¡± because of pity and sympathy.

    But at least for now, Annan assassinated Justin to kill Viscount and leave this ce smoothly.

    So Annan believed that this killing intent came from his selfish desires.

    Both matters were unrted.

    Indeed, Annan had no hatred for Justin, but he felt no guilt as well.

    Just like a child tearing down the wings of a butterfly, his heart was filled with pleasure.

    What if you hate a monster? What if a monster wants to attack you? What if a monster guards the treasure chest?

    Kill him if you can.

    The yers would answer like this.

    But even those genuine yers who had entered this world couldn¡¯t continue with this pure yer mentality after seeing this realistic world.

    Acting only for fun regardless of difficulties and dangers, ignoring the consequences, and be like a fearless monster. They couldn¡¯t do it anymore.

    Because they started to care about this game, this world.

    But Annan¡­

    ¡ªAnnan is fearless.

    Therefore Annan believed that only he was the real and only yer in this world.

    ¡°I will give you a quick death, Brother Justin.¡±

    Annan politely saluted Justin onest time. He raised the bleeding knife in his hand, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the rest.¡±

 Chapter 85: The Hunterâ€™s Prisoner

    <h4>Chapter 85: The Hunter¡¯s Prisoner</h4>

    [Obtain 650 Shared Experience points after killing a Bronze Rank enemy in the battle.]

    ¡°The experience gained is a little bit less.¡±

    Annan sighed and put the bloody kitchen knife back into the waist bag without rubbing it.

    Brother Hammer, try to fit yourself in here.

    I hope it will not think that the blood of this kitchen knife is part of the sacrifice.

    Otherwise, it may wait for a week with its head up and its mouth open, and it won¡¯t be able to consume a single bone.

    Who knows who owns the blood? Whose bones would match the blood?

    It was just that after Justin died, Annan didn¡¯t want to absorb the many curses he left behind.

    Because their price was too heavy for Annan:

    ¡°Overload Hunger (Persistent Type): No matter how much food is stored in the abdomen, as long as you are injured once, you will inevitably fall into a state of extreme hunger an hourter.

    ¡°Pain Loss (Persistent Type): Pain is reduced by 95%.¡±

    ¡°Break Free Taboo Type: Not losing consciousness while being restrained.¡±

    ¡°Death Is A Dream (Taboo Type): You can¡¯t dream after being seriously injured.¡±

    Except for the ¡°Pain Loss¡± that seemed not to have severe drawbacks, Annan didn¡¯t want to ept the other curses.

    ¡°Break Free¡± was harsh. Worse still, it was possible that it could be triggered in an unintended situation. ¡°Death Is A Dream¡± was suitable for Transcended with self-healing ability or dream-controlling ability.

    The cost of ¡°Overload Hunger¡± was not severe for Annan, but the curse could be brought into a nightmare.

    Its side effects in the nightmare dungeon instance immediately became serious¡ª¡ª

    The curse¡¯s drawback referred to ¡°resupplying (food) must be carried out after one hour of fighting.¡± However, the environment in the nightmare dungeon instance was unique. There might have been no supply after being injured.

    Compared with this price, the positive effect the curse brought to Annan could only be regarded as icing on the cake.

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s you.¡±

    Annan made his decision.

    Annan took off the slenderdy¡¯s ring from Justin¡¯s hand and took off his curse bearer ¨C the bronze bracelet.

    Annan mimicked Salvatore¡¯s procedure, resting his left hand on his bronze bracelet, and his right hand on the ring. Then, he whispered,

    ¡°I¡¯m here to establish a curse.

    ¡°I will inherit the vow you made and bear the curse you carried.¡±

    At this moment, Annan was in a trance.

    He suddenly felt his field of vision stretched a lot higher as if he was contained in another body. It was just like watching a cutscene CG, and he couldn¡¯t move.

    Annan lowered his head slightly, noticing that this appeared to be an adult female body.

    Her left arm seemed to be fractured, but Annan felt no pain at all. She was panting desperately and slowly backed away.

    The one who slowly approached in front of him was Justin.

    He moved his wrist, his face showed an ambiguous smile, but his right hand gradually clenched into a fist.

    ¡°It won¡¯t hurt, Mrs. Netti. I think it will be feel good.¡±

    Justin smiled. His face about a dozen years younger than now was full of cruelty, ¡°Also, if I guess correctly, you can¡¯t feel the pain, right?¡±

    Then, Justin took a sudden step forward and hit ¡°Annan¡± with a punch on the chin.

    Annan felt a numb sensation in his chin, and then darkness overwhelmed his sight. He fell softly and lost consciousness.

    But before he lost consciousness, his right thumb exerted thest bit of strength and broke his right index finger.

    Then, an extraordinarily zing and devastating heat rose from his right arm, covering his surroundingspletely.

    The scene faded into darkness afterward.

    This should be the memory of the female wizard named ¡°Netti¡± when she died.

    Annan made an inference.

    At the next moment, another scene appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes.

    His perspective rose and became a bird¡¯s-eye view simr to that of God.

    A 26 years old female wizard with brown curly hair stood alone in the wilderness.

    Her hair was tied up and draped over her chest from the left; her expression a little nervous.

    In front of her was an altar with three tforms and three boxes on the altar. Annan¡¯s perspective was above the altar.

    She reached out to one of the boxes. On that box, there was an image of a woman with a peaceful and calm face.

    In the next moment, as if she had understood something, she whispered,

    ¡°From now on, I will bear [Pain Loss].¡±

    Annan followed her, chanting simultaneously.

    The next moment, the scene in front of him shattered.

    When Annan recovered his senses, it was just in time to see the ring in his hand cracking. A red radiance rose. After coiling a few times in the air, it flew out to the southwest.

    Annan vaguely heard a grateful voice.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After hearing that voice, Annan was stunned.

    What¡¯s this?

    Soul?

    Seeing this scene, Annan suddenly recalled-

    Previously, after Salvatore absorbed the curse and the remaining curse transformed into a nightmare, changes took ce on Gerald¡¯s dead body.

    So, what happens to the corpse when the curse bearer is taken away from them?

    Doesn¡¯t it mean that those Transcended killed by hunters will never rest in peace? They didn¡¯t die but were imprisoned in the ring. Their souls were used as hunter¡¯s ¡°fingerprint¡± in utilizing the curse.

    This thought suddenly popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    Before his eyes, the bted system prompts gradually appeared.

    But Annan did not get the new curse prompt.

    It was a line of blood-red, scribbled characters:

    [The curse has been severed¡ªThe Hunter¡¯s Prisoner]

    The next moment, the remaining two rings also burst.

    But perhaps it was because the curse hadn¡¯t been sucked up; what was vacated from the ring was not red light but ck smoke simr to Gerald¡¯s.

    They also circled the room and then left.

    Strange hearing invaded Annan¡¯s ears as if they were creepy auditory hallucinations. But they did not thank Annan but seemed to have a particr obsession,

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him, Justin. I¡¯m going to kill him.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Nottdamm, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Then, Annan finally got the new curse prompt:

    [Curse: Pain Loss (Persistent Type). Pain is weakened by 95%.]

    The one-line description was straightforward and clean.

    The cost and function werebined. For Annan, this cost was almost non-existent.

    Ordinary humans needed pain as an alert to danger. For example, they felt pain when they were close to a fire or when a knife cut them. That was to remind the body¡¯s owner to ¡°keep away from danger.¡±

    But Annan was different.

    He had lost negative emotions, but he could still live, fight, and study normally, relying on his mon sense.¡±

    He was more like a machine driven bymon sense and experience.

    There was no need for the pain medium to alert Annan. He believed that his understanding and judgment as a human being were keener and better than that.

    He, of course, still could be regarded as a human being.

 Chapter 86: The Disaster Of Roseburg, Mission Completed!

    <h4>Chapter 86: The Disaster Of Roseburg, Mission Completed!</h4>

    After Annan smashed away Justin¡¯s curse vessel, Justin¡¯s corpse quickly became thinner.

    In the end, it was as skinny as a skeleton. Soon after, it shattered into a pile of waste.

    ¡°Another dungeon instance has emerged.¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°But I don¡¯t know what Justin¡¯s obsession is.¡±

    Fortunately, the remaining two curses had flown away by themselves.

    With only Justin¡¯s curse, the nightmare purification should not be difficult. It should be simr to the nightmare on the ship ¨C in easy difficulty.

    Annan felt that he was a game nner, neither a professional yer nor a streamer. He was but an ordinary person with no game talent. Even at the time, without knowing the background setting of this world, he could easily hit A Score on a nightmare at easy difficulty.

    At the level of this yer group, it shouldn¡¯t be easy to ovee a dungeon instance of this difficulty, right?

    Annan was quite confident in them.

    Annan would want to chop these beloved yers like kitchen ingredients on the spot if the yers failed.

    Annan quickly cleaned up the scene. He also took the viscount¡¯s letters and hid them on him.

    As for the other books here, he didn¡¯t need to be in a hurry.

    He intended to give these books to yers as mission rewards. Then, he would activate a new system function ¨C ¡°activating forum live broadcast.¡± This should be enough to shut their mouths.

    Since it wasn¡¯t Annan¡¯s property, he felt at ease to give these rewards away.

    For the yers, these books would pose great value. They wouldn¡¯t notice anything wrong. After all, the yers were currently in a closed beta. Since they were on the main story questline, giving them these ¡°necessities¡± was like a standard routine, just like the other games.

    Knowledge was a necessity.

    At the same time, yers were likely to organize the information and upload them to the forum after reading these books. Worse came to worst, they would make a private post and then add a password to it.

    After all, they could enter the forum anytime, anywhere. If the book¡¯s content was entered, it was equivalent to establishing a database that could be essed in real-time.

    As the forum administrator, Annan naturally had the highest authority.

    Even for Annan, checking information on forums was far more efficient than checking information offline.

    It was like getting a batch of staff in charge of scanning the pictures and digitizing them without spending any money. Annan was pretty sure that when the yers scanned the images, copied them, sorted them out, and saved them in Annan¡¯s database. The yers would even praise: ¡°the feudal lord is so kind,¡± ¡°the feudal lord is so generous,¡± and ¡°thank you.¡±

    Annan did not return directly to the main hall.

    He had been standing at the door near the hallway, using his silent lurking technique to stick to the door.

    He could hear vaguely through the door. The yers seemed to have entered. They were chatting with old Alvin.

    ¡°Your feudal lord.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡­ck Fire¡­¡±

    ¡°There is no doubt that they are robbers.¡±

    The voice was a little fuzzy. Only some keywords could be heard vaguely.

    This seems abnormal.

    Usually, Annan should have been able to hear the conversation with his Perception status at this distance. What¡¯s more? Neither Old Viscount nor the yers lowered their voices at all. Only a door separated them.

    It seems that the soundproofing of the viscount manor is strengthened quite well.

    Though, this level of sound instion isn¡¯t part of the architectural design.

    This should be the work of a curse vessel.

    Why is there such a need?

    Is it because Old Alvin often meets with his important guests here?

    Or, is it due to someone who will meet him here?

    However, Old Alvin did not hear Justin¡¯s screams when Justin was trapped by [Page Lock] because of this.

    Therefore, Old Alvin also missed thest chance to escape.

    Although Old Alvin couldn¡¯t live on either.

    Because Annan cautiously set one additional condition. Even if Old Alvin didn¡¯t say the dedicated words to the yers and trigger [Forgotten Secret] and [Cardioplegia], [Cardioplegia] would trigger itself after four hours.

    From this perspective, Old Alvin could be considered dead already. It was just that he hadn¡¯t noticed his death yet, and his body was still moving.

    Suddenly, Annan became confused when he heard the noise in the room.

    ¡°Master Viscount?¡±

    ¡°Sir? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    The yers were nervous, and some sharp shrieks sounded. The voice suddenly became loud and noisy.

    It¡¯s about time.

    Annan smiled silently, took a few steps back, and waited for another three or four seconds.

    Then, his expression turned more confused. He strode towards the door and pushed the door open.

    After Annan came back, the yers suddenly became silent for a moment. Then, they immediately turned their eyes on Annan for help.

    ¡°Feudal lord, viscount¡­¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose shouted.

    Annan followed their gazes.

    Old Alvin slumped on his chair, not knowing when he lost his life.

    His eyes widened, and he couldn¡¯t squint.

    ¡°Master Viscount?¡±

    Annan whispered and walked over to feel Old Alvin¡¯s pulse.

    He could still feel some warmth on Old Alvin¡¯s skin, but the viscount was already dead.

    ¡°What happened before?¡±

    Annan made his signature cold voice and asked the yers, ¡°Did he say something before he died?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    Jiu Er nodded in a panic, ¡°We just talked about the royal capital. He said to us, ¡®Just like your feudal lord, hees from.¡¯ Then, he suddenly convulsed and died!¡±

    ¡°I see. Hemitted suicide.¡±

    Annan put on a serious face, giving the Inspector Megure look [1]. [TN: Character From Detective Conan]

    He showed the yers the pale white hammer in his pocket and exined, ¡°For safety, when I worked with him previously, we established a curse with each other. That¡¯s we shall not harm each other or reveal our identity to a third person. But he deliberately tells you all about this.

    ¡°There is no doubt that hemitted suicide.¡±

    ¡°But why did hemit suicide?¡±

    Some yers asked subconsciously.

    Annan was silent for a while and replied in a low volume, ¡°It could be that¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Annan woke up suddenly, shook his head quickly, and put on a stern look, ¡°This is not something you can know. You are too weak.

    ¡°I will take care of it here. I saw that there are many valuable books in Alvin¡¯s study. It would be best if you go through them. You can pick one and take it with you.¡±

    As soon as Annan ended his words, new subtitles appeared in front of the yers,

    [Missionpleted: Infiltrate Roseburg territory by any means and sessfully blend in that ce (1/1), creating chaos at the right time, assisting Don Juan Geraint¡¯s n (1/1)]

    [Completed the main mission: The Disaster of Roseburg]

    [Unlocked: Database]

    [Unlocked: Live Broadcast]

    [Unlocked: Prestige Store]

    [Obtained Shared Experience 100.]

    [Obtained Don Juan Geraint affection rate 100.]

    [You all had united and defeated the ck Wizard Gerald.]

    [But when you finally found Viscount Alvin Barber and were about to seek justice from him, the clue was cut off¡ª]

    [¡ªHemitted suicide.]

    [You notice that Don Juan Geraint seems to have noticed something, but he refused to exin it to you.]

    [This is easy to understand. You are too weak. In this Transcended world, mortals represent powerlessness.]

    [Yes. You finally realized that your feudal lord is protecting you, albeit your status as a personal guard.]

    [This is a shame.]

    [You are deeply aware of your weakness and powerlessness.]

    [Fortunately, in the battle with Gerald, you have discovered a way to improve yourself quickly.]

    [¡ªEnter the ¡°Nightmare¡± and defeat the ¡°Nightmare.¡±]

    [So you make up your mind-]

    [Obtained side mission: First Attempt in Nightmares (normal difficulty)]

    [Mission requirement: Complete a nightmare (normal difficulty and above) (0/1)]

    [Hint: Don Juan Geraint may know ways to enter ¡°nightmare.¡±]

    [The main mission on the next stage requires the ¡°swordsman¡± profession to be promoted to LV10.]

 Chapter 87: Getting Ready To Enter Dungeon Instance!

    <h4>Chapter 87: Getting Ready To Enter Dungeon Instance!</h4>

    The yers realized that their level had reached an upper limit due to the storyline. The yers weren¡¯t disappointed but excited instead after they nced through the side mission¡¯s details.

    They immediately realized that this so-called ¡°rapid strength-enhancing¡± nightmare should be the dungeon instance avable in this world.

    The phrase ¡°Don Juan Geraint may know how to enter nightmares,¡±bined with the prompt ¡°prestige store is opened [a.k.a affection rate store],¡± gave them a bad hunch.

    Do I need to use Don Juan¡¯s affection rate to buy the entry tickets for this dungeon instance?

    This isn¡¯t nice. This is really bad.

    The yers were discussing nervously on the forum.

    Annan, the nner, lurking in the yers¡¯ forum, realized it after seeing the urrence.

    Indeed, I can also put the tickets in the affection rate store!

    Wait, I can forcefully sell the tickets to the yers at the price of 50 affection rate for each ticket.

    Lest theye up with crooked ideas that everyone will take turns exchanging for one ticket.

    Thinking of this, Annan nced around.

    Fortunately, when Annan went to the manor, he had summoned all the yers. Forty yers, including the few who were resurrected after being killed, were all here.

    What a timely excuse for me to deduct the affection rate of everyone present.

    Hence, Annan immediately urged, ¡°Do you have anything else to ask?

    ¡°Remember to go to the study to get your rewards, and then you can go back to the Freezing Water Port. I have to deal with some things here with Salvatore. It should take a few days before I can go back.¡±

    You have aplete showdown, haven¡¯t you? Actually, you don¡¯t need us to protect you.

    The yers couldn¡¯t help butin at the bottom of their hearts.

    It was like receiving a mission to ¡°escort an important NPC to somewhere.¡± After the yers got there, they triggered a cutscene CG and found that the NPC being escorted was much stronger than them.

    ¡°Young Master,¡± The lively Jiu Er approached and asked under the gaze of all the yers, ¡°Do you know what¡¯s a nightmare?¡±

    -So soon!

    You finally came here to trigger the unique plot with me in person!

    Annan secretly apuded.

    Immediately, his expression became serious, ¡°Of course I know.

    ¡°The so-called nightmare is the wreckage left after Transcended death. As I told you before, all the extraordinary power in this worldes from a curse. The nightmare is the manifestation of the curse.

    ¡°It is very dangerous to enter a nightmare rashly. Once you die too many times in a nightmare, your soul will be overwhelmed and get contaminated. Simply put, you will go crazy.¡±

    Annan said in the alert, ¡°Do you want to enter a nightmare?¡±

    ¡°We¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Before Jiu Er tried to plead, Annan interrupted her again, ¡°Forget it. I won¡¯t stop you anymore. I have stopped you many times. I see your desire for power. You have already proved to me that you all have good morals, excellent learning ability, flexible problem-solving skills, self-discipline, and unity.

    ¡°It¡¯s right about time to tell you something that I haven¡¯t told you before.¡±

    Annan said in a deep voice.

    ¡°Have you stopped us before?¡±

    ¡°It should be a setting; it should be a setting¡­¡±

    ¡°Wow, I like his gaze!¡±

    ¡°Control yourself! Give me your serious expressions. Don¡¯tugh when discussing serious matters!¡±

    The yers¡¯ expressions were as heavy as being lectured by the ss teacher, but they misbehaved on the forum.

    Annan put up a stern expression to announce something serious, looking at the yers with a heavy and serious face. It came with a slight sense of sacredness in his eyes.

    But, he was also staring at the yers chattering on the forum.

    ¡°This is your choice, and I respect your will. The nightmare can indeed increase your strength quickly, but the nightmare is also risky. I want to warn you in advance¡ª¡±

    Annan continued to exin the precautions for the yers and supplemented fundamental knowledge, ¡°The reason why nightmares are dangerous is that in nightmares, most Transcended may not be able to use their abilities-such as swordsmanship abilities or spells.

    ¡°Because you will ¡®be another person¡¯ in the nightmare. It means that you will use the body of another person. This body may not support the fighting style you are used to. Even at a high level and rich experience, it is also possible for Transcended to die carelessly in the nightmare. Therefore, you should never take the nightmare lightly.

    ¡°Of course, this is also your advantage because you are not a Transcended. You have the mentality of an ordinary person, so when you y the role of an ordinary person in a nightmare, you will not fall into some traps that people are prone to dismiss easily.¡±

    Annan fulfilled the mission of guiding the NPC with due diligence. He exined to the yers with a serious face.

    yers thenined about Annan¡¯s introduction in real-time.

    Jiu Er: ¡°In short, the dungeon instance is a built-in RPG game.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a TRPG, probably like sh Of ns.¡±

    Lin Yiyi suddenly blurted out: ¡°I suddenly feel a bad feeling. I hope it isn¡¯t a horror game.¡±

    Wandering Child casually said: ¡°Impossible, even if it does, it must be by that time ites to high difficulty in the future. At most, it will bring some decryption elements. If this simple difficulty dungeon instance can scare me, I will do a live broadcast and help you all ¨C helpful like the electric fan in the summer.¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Please be merciful to the electric fan.¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°Please forgive the summer.¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°We will find out after going for one round.¡±

    Fang Leek: ¡°I kind of wants to skip.¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°You can try to press ESC or long-press the circle button.¡±

    Garlic Chives: ¡°Shit, I want to kill you!¡±

    Lin Yiyi almost couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud.

    She quickly raised her head and nced. Annan was still exining the settings seriously, with a heavy and serious expression.

    She quickly took a picture of Annan and added a line of words below.

    I have to find a way to beat these naughty children.jpg

    Then, she posted the freshly uploaded package.

    At this moment, Lin Yiyi noticed another post on the forum immediately.

    It was sent by Jiu Er.

    ¡°[Plot discussion] I always feel that this mission doesn¡¯t need us at all.

    ¡°In the mission [The Disaster of Roseburg], what did we do? En, it is stated our role is to protect the young master. Howe I¡¯m fine after blocking a shot?¡±

    Lin Yiyi quickly posted to take the second slot:

    ¡°You¡¯re right, indeed. You are useless.¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°I think blocking gunshot may be your mission.¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°It¡¯s just that Young Master Don Juan is braver. Otherwise, I think you may have to block several shots. You¡¯re like those funny cartoons who take a shot and go, ¡®Ah, I¡¯m dead!¡¯ Then, you chirp and fall to the ground. As the second shot is fired, your body jumps up and takes another shot. Then, you go, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m dead again¡±~¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Shut up! Think carefully about whose meal you are eating and whose bed you are sleeping in!¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°Huh? Wait, Sister Hyphen, we can borate on this.¡±

    Purple Hydrangea: ¡°Cute brother, if you want to talk about this, I¡¯m not sleepy anymore.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°It¡¯s quite useful. The main reason is that the kid suddenly reveals a mob which resulted in our sess. If he didn¡¯t reveal the Boss Monster in advance, we might have toe to the manor first, deal with the viscount, and find clues. Gerald will have the upper hand by then. It will be a difficult boss battle.¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°Thanks, old goose. You are an honest goose.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°I haven¡¯t finished typing!¡±

    Annan watched the chat and deducted 50 affection rate for each of them.

    [Don Juan Geraint¡¯s affection rate has been revised to friendly (50/500).]

    Why did I drop 50 affection rate suddenly?

    The yers were suddenly surprised.

    There was an influx of ¡°???¡± in the forum. Everyone looked horrified. It was like the face when the headteacher found out that the student was ying with a mobile phone in ss.

    ¡°I will tell you the entrance to a nightmare.¡±

    After deducting the affection rate, Annan took a deep breath and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m still reluctant to tell you this.

    ¡°The way to enter the nightmare is to pronounce the name ¡®the Venerated Skeleton¡¯ within the territory of ¡®Freezing Water Port.¡¯ You can enter the nightmare and wake up before the sun rises the next day.

    ¡°But the difficulty of this nightmare is very great. If you die in the nightmare, you will lose all your memories, and the nightmare will be reset. It is easy to have unlimited deaths.

    ¡°So I suggest that after you rush back to Freezing Water Port tonight, you can lie on your bed and give your first attempt into the nightmare. When the sun rises the next day, you will wake up.¡±

    [Expended 50 affection rate to get information about the nightmare ¡°Gallery.¡±]

    Until then, the yers breathed a sigh of relief.

    It turns out to be like this. I got to use the affection rate to buy entry tickets!

    Since the affection rate was already deducted, the yers weren¡¯t overwhelmed by it. They just thought it was a normal process.

    However, some worries arose in their hearts,

    If we clear this dungeon instance too soon, will it be too boring afterward?

 Chapter 88: Book Of Divine Transporterâ€™s Second Page

    <h4>Chapter 88: Book Of Divine Transporter¡¯s Second Page</h4>

    Annan quickly sent away the yers.

    Of course, it was after watching them taking those books away.

    The great and gentle nner was considerate to prepare daily missions for yers to rx their minds while farming the dungeon instance.

    Annan did not directly publish daily missions. He added a new entry in the ¡°database¡± function that every time a new ¡°valuable book¡± was typed in, the contributor could get reputation rewards from the ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction. It would increase the contributor rank and obtain a small amount of reputation. The contributor could view the information in the database that was lower than their confidentiality level ordingly.

    ¡ªAnnan totally crafted this so-called ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction out of thin air.

    Annan¡¯s purpose was to give yers tasks to grind [1]. Furthermore, Annan set up prestige levels as a privilege system for data ess, removing free ess to everyone entirely.

    With that, some yers would see the importance of the tasks. A preliminary division ofbor would be formed among the yers. There would also be dedicated yers to collect books, knowledge, and intelligence for Annan.

    yers couldn¡¯t easily ess high-level knowledge, but Annan¡¯s authority granted full ess.

    On the basis of this demand, Annan should try his best to make the system look real and avoid revealing ws in this secret.

    That was why he didn¡¯t name it like ¡°Knowledge Guardian,¡± ¡°Mystery Hall,¡± and other names that gave the impression of an old man with a white beard but with ¡°secret¡± as context.

    This made the organization look like some kind of terrifying hidden organization that was isted from the world,pletely neutral, and with its own existence well-concealed.

    If yers attempted to find it¡­

    They would find out that they couldn¡¯t find a living person, let alone a trace of it.

    So at that time yers would be amazed, ¡°It¡¯s the Secret Eye. It¡¯s well hidden.¡±

    To prevent the urrence of having the name coincided, Annan also dedicated a note in the description, ¡°You cannot understand or read this name, but you can use ¡®Secret Eye¡¯ as a substitute nickname.¡±

    It was just a nickname. Hence, wasn¡¯t it normal to have the name coincided?

    Annan thought so forthrightly.

    Despite Annan telling the yers much info and even telling them that they would lose their memories and reset their progress after death¡­

    Annan didn¡¯t tell the yers about the precautions in the ¡°gallery¡± nightmare.

    Instead, he activated the live broadcast function.

    Because Annan was also quite curious.

    If you don¡¯t follow the precautions, how will you die? What kills you?

    Since the memory after death could not be preserved, the live broadcast and video recording functions would make a difference. Annan would get the chance to see how he died previously.

    Anyway, relieving the yers¡¯ erosion rate was cheap. When the yers got into the ¡®Lost Control¡¯ state, Annan could appear grandly and resolve the issue for them. While taking away the prestige umted among the yers, he got to recover the rewarded affection rate to the yers.

    As long as the items that Annan¡¯s affection rate could exchange were under demand, Annan had a million ways to control this group of yers.

    You all should die more¡­

    Presumably, when the yers left the manor in high spirits, they must have never imagined what Annan¡¯s gentle and kind smile meant.

    Soon, the yers looted the manor clean. The only maid and a chef in the manor were the ordinary people who could not fend for themselves; the yers packed and taken the two ordinary people away as witnesses.

    Only Annan was left here, who was responsible for guarding the viscount¡¯s corpse. He stood here awaiting Salvatore toe over after clearing out the ck Fire.

    Fortunately, the chef brought Annan supper before the departure. At least Annan wouldn¡¯t be starving tonight.

    Annan sat peacefully beside the viscount¡¯s corpse, slowly having his dinner that was two hourster than usual.

    Salvatore still didn¡¯te until Annan finished dinner alone.

    ¡°The little panda is so slow.¡±

    Annan sighed.

    Having nothing to do, he walked over to Viscount Barber¡¯s dead body, intending to look through the deceased¡¯s body, clothes, and pockets for any jewels.

    Initially, looting the corpse should be the first thing to do after defeating the boss.

    But obviously, Annan had misled the yers; they didn¡¯t realize that Viscount Barber was a boss monster.

    Annan didn¡¯t intend to deal with the dead body previously. After all, keeping the corpse untouched until Salvatore arrives could he fully portray his innocence.

    But then again, did it make sense to pretend to be innocent in front of Salvatore?

    Annan shrugged, giving up the idea.

    Since I¡¯m pretty free, it is better to check my trophy.

    ¡ªBut just when his hand touched the viscount ring subconsciously.

    Suddenly, a glimmering panel shed before his eyes:

    [Found Truth Fragment]

    [Condition 1: Currently does not hold conflicting torn Truth pages.]

    [Condition 2: Hold Elite Rare (Purple) and above temte]

    [The Truth Appears¡ª]

    Then, a strong white light burst out suddenly!

    ¡°This is!¡±

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank and realized something.

    He immediately turned around and rushed to the door, locking the doorpletely.

    The next moment, the overflowing white light soared into the sky and flooded the entire manor. It took more than half a minute to dissipate gradually.

    Viscount¡¯s ring had shattered in the process.

    What appeared in front of Annan was the white page that he had seen once before. A paper page that gave off the tactile feeling of a jade.

    The dark gold text was swimming on it like water waves.

    A glimmering panel appeared on it:

    [Book of Divine Transporter. Page 4.]

    [Type: Truth Fragment (1/6) (Locked)]

    [Remaining fragment holders: 4]

    [Appeared: 2]

    [Description: A freshly-born Truth Fragment. Gather all the fragments to grasp new authority.]

    ¡°Book of Divine Transporter?¡±

    Annan murmured.

    Annan could feel a strong sense of intimacy just by looking at it.

    He stretched out his hand and gently touched the page that was floating in the air. It shattered directly and entered Annan¡¯s body smoothly.

    Then, a new line appeared in Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [Book of Divine Transporter (2/6): Summon or dismiss a specified number of yers from another world (40/200)]

    [Current special effect (2/6): Allow yers resurrection; dungeon instance experience pool (1%)]

    [Dungeon instance experience pool: You may deposit 1% of the experience value obtained from the dungeon instance by yers whose level is not higher than you into the Shared Experience Pool. The experience deposited in the Shared Experience Pool can be allocated to any ally unit (not limited to only yers).]

    Wait, not limited to only yers?

    Wait a minute?

    Annan was stunned.

    Ally unit¡­

    Am I considered an allied unit?

    On the other hand, Lin Yiyi opened the forum habitually.

    She checked around for a while and finally found a ¡°live broadcast¡± button on the forum homepage.

    After clicking in, she found that there was no created room there for the time being.

    With instinct and experience, she directly guessed how to use this function. Luckily, it was very close to the UIyout of hermonly used live broadcast room.

    She opened up a live broadcast room and named it ¡°Yiyi live broadcast function test.¡±

    Immediately after, Lin Yiyi watched intently at her live broadcast room.

    She saw herself within her live broadcast. The live broadcast had multiple panels ovepping on top of each other.

    Wow, they look just like how it is in real life.

    She quickly minimized the live broadcast room, but instead of disconnecting the live broadcast, she activated the live broadcast recording conveniently.

    She now wanted to try and see how long the live broadcast video she could record.

    Then, she nced around. Great, there¡¯s nog.

    Wait, of course, there should be nog.

    But Lin Yiyi noticed unexpectedly that the yers were advancing like zombies, lowering their heads to browse the forum.

    The two ordinary people who followed them were a little frightened.

    Lin Yiyi sighed.

    Sure enough, everyone disregardsmon sense when Don Juan is not around.

    Soon, she saw a line of words floating in front of her eyes.

    ¡°Can you see it? Hyphen?¡±

    ¡°Fuck! I can have bullet text [2] barraging my vision?!¡±

    Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but blurt out.

    [1] In video games, grinding refers to performing repetitive tasks, usually for a gamey advantage or loot.

 Chapter 89: Am I Really A Kind Person?

    <h4>Chapter 89: Am I Really A Kind Person?</h4>

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just me, right? Don Juan.¡± Salvatore couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Isn¡¯t this ce too quiet?¡±

    He had just walked all the way through the gate, but he didn¡¯t find a living person.

    Not to mention Annan and the yers, not even the servants and housekeepers.

    What was even more exaggerated was that the entire manor was pitch dark with the lights out.

    From the manor entrance to the interior, it was pitch ck. Only the dining hall was lit.

    Indeed, there was only light in the room where Annan and the dead body were.

    Salvatore fumbled his path through the darkness, walked in horror, and then entered the dining hall. He immediately found a fair and quiet young man sitting under the dim light and a fresh corpse.

    Annan still looked at Salvatore without saying a word, with a weird smile on his lips.

    The icy blue pupils instantly chilled Salvatore¡¯s heart.

    He felt like he was almost scared till his erosion rate worsened.

    ¡°You should at least turn on the light. Are you saving fuel for the viscount? The price of Green Fire is not expensive either.¡±

    Salvatore couldn¡¯t help butin.

    Under his remonstrance, Annan reluctantly turned on all the lights that could be turned on in the manor.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want others to know that there is someone in this manor.¡±

    Annan sighed and exined patiently, ¡°I have to stay here and look after the corpse. This is the most important evidence. But I don¡¯t want to just look after the corpse and let the other important things in the manor be stolen.¡±

    For example, things like cash, jewelry, or tokens.

    Of course, Annan didn¡¯t say this out.

    Salvatore was surprised, ¡°What? Did you really kill him?¡±

    It could be seen from this sentence that although Salvatore did not see through Annan¡¯s logic, he had some inexplicable insights into some of Annan¡¯s inner personality and habits.

    Annan calmly patted the seat next to him and motioned to Salvatore to sit next to him.

    Later, he exined in a low volume, ¡°I did kill him, but the problem is.

    ¡°He is a believer in Rotten Man.¡±

    Salvatore was taken aback when he heard Annan¡¯s words.

    He slowly looked at Viscount Barber and arrived at a clearer understanding.

    ¡°That¡¯s the case. I see.¡±

    Salvatore immediately asked Annan, ¡°Did you manage to interrogate anything out of Alvin?¡±

    Salvatore used the address Master Viscount previously, but now he referred to the viscount as Alvin.

    Annan smiled silently and responded, ¡°It seems that you knew something from the beginning. You just didn¡¯t know that he is a Rotten Man¡¯s believer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural. It is not a secret that the Rotten Man Church is preparing to invade the kingdom. After all, His Majesty is so old. When the life of each ruler is approaching, the people of Rotten Man Church will appear like a salesman.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to be among the nobles.¡±

    Salvatore eximed.

    Annan watched Salvatore¡¯s reaction and had a guess in his mind.

    Does ck Tower already know the Rotten Man Church¡¯s n?

    So Annan asked, ¡°Then do you know which ritual they n to use?¡±

    Annan went with a ¡®Boom!¡¯ message.

    ¡ªTurns out, Annan¡¯s bomb was quite urate.

    ¡°You mean ¡®Offsprings Bloodbath¡¯ ritual? I know that too,¡± Salvatore replied with no reservation.

    ¡°This seemingly abnormal heirs war happened too suddenly. At first, we suspected that this might be part of a ritual or an omen. Among the possible rituals, the most probable one is the ¡®Offsprings Bloodbath¡¯ ritual that increases lifespan.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that the kingdom¡¯s intelligence department has been unable to find even one relevant person from the Rotten Man Church, so we can¡¯t be sure. But, His Majesty is smart. I think he should know it in his heart.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was silent for a moment.

    Salvatore! What an honest man! He utilized his action in proving to Annan what was free lunch.

    Annan just asked casually, and the honest man had leaked a lot of information.

    He could now easily decipher a bunch of information through Salvatore¡¯s words.

    Annan sighed, ¡°Yes, I did kill viscount. But don¡¯t disclose this information for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. I understand.¡±

    Salvatore nodded slowly, ¡°You are a wise and kind person, Don Juan.¡±

    ?

    What?

    Wait, what do you find out on your own again?

    Annan was at a loss.

    But, he was unfazed but just looked away in silence, waiting for Salvatore¡¯s further exnation.

    ¡°After all, he is a viscount and also your grandfather¡¯s vassal. So you murdering him meant something. Since you¡¯re the official feudal lord of the North Sea Territory and the direct descendants of the monarch, it means that he is subjected to a felony as serious as a death sentence.

    ¡°As a result, his grandson will immediately be dered a sinner and be executed. Worse still, the grandson knows nothing about it and did nothing wrong. His only sin is being the Alvin Barber¡¯s grandson.¡±

    Speaking of it, it seems that Alvin Barber does have a grandson.

    Is he not burned to death?

    Annan heard it and asked, ¡°Where is his grandson now?¡±

    ¡°The mission school. I have already done my investigation.¡±

    Salvatore replied, ¡°He usually lives in a mission school and will go home on weekends. This also posts another question. Why was he sent to a mission school?

    Annan nodded.

    After some quick thoughts, Annan already knew what Salvatore meant.

    That was not to say that the mission school was not good. At least the security there was excellent. Mission schools were even safer than aristocratic residences. After all, no one would try to attack the upright deities¡¯ churches.

    However, children who graduated from mission schools could directly join the church through internal channels if they performed well. They got to skip the preparatory phase of deacon and start directly as a priest¡ª the official priest who could utilize the magic arts.

    When excellent students joined the church and got a decent and stable job, it was umon for them to venture out alone to find other jobs.

    Therefore, ordinary nobles would take extraordinary measures to prevent their children from joining the church when their children be adults. The nobles would forbid their children to enter the church school for the reason ¡°the children can¡¯t get to know friends who match their status.¡± The nobles would instead invite excellent tutors to give one-on-one tutoring.

    But Viscount Barber was different.

    He was willing to send his grandson to a mission school to study. Many people also praised him for his devotion to Silver Sire.

    The problem was that Annan knew that Alvin Barber was not a believer in Silver Sire at all.

    ¡°Viscount Barber¡¯s grandson should also be the sacrifice to Rotten Man. The same should be true of his two sons previously so that he can live longer. Because of this, he doesn¡¯t need to think about his children¡¯s future at all. Educational issues and making friends at noble status aren¡¯t anything in Old Alvin¡¯s concern.¡±

    Salvatore analyzed.

    Old Alvin only needed to consider ¡°security issues.¡±

    In other words, the offering¡¯s freshness.

    Salvatore looked at Annan somewhatplicatedly, ¡°No matter who you im to kill viscount, there will be no difference in handling the follow-up matters because of my presence.

    ¡°I can help you deliver this critical information to ck Tower and escort your witness and physical evidence. They shall vow for you. ording to the Kingdom Law, you aren¡¯t subjected to be guilty and bear any responsibility in killing nobles and priests.

    ¡°The only difference is the life or death of the Viscount Barber¡¯s grandson-the real innocent person in this incident. If you im that you have killed viscount, then whether the crime of viscount intending to murder the royal heir, the crime of meddling in the throne¡¯s heir, or the ¡°little crime¡± of trying to murder you ¨C the feudal lord and the prince, will result in his grandson being sentenced to death.

    ¡°But if you im that Old Alvin was murdered. Then, not only will his grandson not be convicted, but he will be the only surviving heir and be lucky enough to inherit Roseburg. The irony is that he was originally only a livestock and a sacrifice. Just a mere tool.¡±

    Salvatore sighed and murmured in a low volume, ¡°You must feel the injustice on him.

    ¡°My hunch is right. You are really a kind person.¡±

    Wait, what?

    Annan was a little stunned when he heard Salvatore¡¯s analysis.

    Howe the more you have analyzed, the more it seems to make sense?

    You¡¯re making me think so in my heart.

    ¡ªStop. What was I thinking in the first ce?

    <i></i>Hooray<i>! </i>Patreon is out fellow readers. If you wish to read ahead, don¡¯t hesitate to find the pricing at your tolerance. But, of course, the daily weekday upload will still be avable for free. I¡¯m d that I have achieved the next milestone for this trantion project. Thanks for those who have been reading the story passionately. We hope that you will continue enjoying the trantion. If you have any feedback, feel free to direct them to me on the discord channel.

 Chapter 90: It Is What It Is

    <h4>Chapter 90: It Is What It Is</h4>

    With Salvatore helping to guard Alvin¡¯s corpse, Annan could go and search around without worry.

    Whether it was Alvin¡¯s money, jewelry, or other valuable items, all could be looted away.

    Of course, this manor itself would still be left to Alvin¡¯s grandson. Annan wouldn¡¯t touch the furniture or any sort like that.

    Annan had been guarding right at the dining ce before leaving, just to prevent the corpse from disappearing in the blink of an eye.

    Annan must safely transport the dead body to the city so that the Roseburg officials who obeyed Old Alvin¡¯s orders coulde over and see for themselves. It was to let them be sure that their former master was dead.

    If the Rotten Man Church knew that Old Alvin was dead, they would try to snatch or steal the body.

    After all, it was evidence.

    Of course, it didn¡¯t matter if the corpse was taken away by them after Annan¡¯s purpose was achieved.

    ¡ªBecause the corpse itself was of no particr use to Annan.

    ording to Salvatore¡¯s analysis, it could be used to report the Rotten Man Church so that they might be able to make a good deal of the royal family. Once it became concrete evidence of the ongoing ¡°Offspring Bloodbath¡± ritual, the royal family would be concerned about public opinion and immediately stop fighting each other. Whoever chose not to put aside the hatred immediately would be the first to be ¡°suspect of Rotten Man¡¯s faction¡± or ¡°befriended Rotten Man¡¯s church.¡±

    But Annan knew that it was impossible.

    With Salvatore¡¯s personality and character, he didn¡¯t realize one thing.

    For the king, there was no need for evidence to suspect a person or an event.

    Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was not a subordinate force to the kingdom, but the wizard tower could not be eliminated. Moreover, there was a certain degree in exchange of interests with the kingdom¡¯s high-level leaders. Thus, the two parties maintained cooperation.

    Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, with limited information, could realize that something was not right with this heirs war. It happened too suddenly and looked abnormal. They could suspect that the ¡°Offspring Bloodbath¡± ritual was involved, let alone the king.

    If Henry VIII wanted to seize the ¡°Rotten Man Church,¡± he had thousands of ways to do so.

    Why would the king wait until the ¡°intelligence department found the relevant personnel of Rotten Man Church¡± to be sure?

    Just like what Salvatore said, he felt that His Majesty should know about this. But, could the intelligence department be inferior to Salvatore?

    Didn¡¯t they know how important this matter was?

    So, why was no one there to investigate thoroughly?

    There was only one answer.

    Henry VIII acquiesced to this incident.

    He did not ¡°guess it vaguely¡± but knew theplete picture of the n from the beginning.

    But he was still hesitant and indecisive. He wanted to hold the ritual and hoped someone would stop him. That was why he had such a strange attitude to this incident.

    However, no one would know his attitude toward the people who prevented it. Would it be praise or hatred?

    If ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± stopped this incident and exiled the Rotten Man Church, Annan would be certain that Henry VIII would reward Don Juan; the king¡¯s heirs must also immediately turn friendly to the Gerant family.

    This was because of the special condition of being part of the Gerant family.

    As the intelligence department head, Count Geraint represented the King¡¯s will. If the Gerant family prevented Henry VIII¡¯s eternal life, this meant that they didn¡¯t want to see the birth of an eternal monarch¡­ even if the person was their master.

    This meant that the power in the king¡¯s hand was not as reliable and loyal as he imagined.

    In this way, the ¡°smart¡± king would immediately stop, pretending that it had never happened before to leave a good reputation.

    At this point, whoever dared to harm the Gerant family would be tantly going against the king¡¯s will, no different from attacking the king in person. It showed that the heirs were not innocents who fell prey to the conspiracy, but they wanted to attack their brothers and sisters from the beginning, seeking to seize the throne.

    ¡ªAlbeit these ill thoughts were initially their intention.

    This was the intricacies of politics.

    If everyone knew the truth and knew that everyone else understood it as well, they would form a solid consensus. When no one came to reveal the truth, everyone would pretend not to know it to maintain an equilibrium of power.

    The person who emerged to speak the truth would stir up the whole situation and attract everyone¡¯s attention.

    If Don Juan Geraint did make such a decision, it meant that the Gerant family had received new political capital. They could re-enter the stage and pick a side. For a long time in the future, the king could not attack or oppose the Gerant family.

    That was to say, the Gerant family made aeback.

    Even Princess Royal that the Gerant family previously supported, must give the family some benefits again. Otherwise, the Gerant family, who had returned to a high position of ¡°justice,¡± could defect to other factions.

    All in all, this was equivalent to revitalizing the entire Gerant family.

    But the problem was¡­

    Annan was not the real Don Juan Geraint.

    He never forgot that he was just acting as Don Juan Geraint.

    ¡ªIn other words, he was Annan Austere-Winter who was ¡°acting as Don Juan Geraint.¡±

    Annan Austere-Winter would not do such a thing.

    Even Viscount Barber could recognize him, not to mention the others.

    Once Annan exposed the Rotten Man Church, he would be exposing himself for no reason. After attracting people¡¯s attention, he would be discovered immediately for pretending to be Don Juan Geraint.

    After all, the two of them look different.

    It was just that age, hair color, and pupil color were somewhat simr.

    Moreover, it might lead to other events.

    Namely, if the existence of the Rotten Man Church were exposed to the public eyes, then the heirs¡¯ war would stop immediately, and no one could fall into dispute again.

    In other words, the previous victims died in vain.

    For example¡­

    Don Juan Geraint.

    Annan had not forgotten that he once promised to avenge Don Juan as a ¡°price¡± for pretending to be him.

    There were no witnesses and no guarantor to this transaction.

    This transaction carried no weight. Even the real Don Juan didn¡¯t even know about it. Even if he knew, he couldn¡¯t change anything.

    But to Annan, those were not excuses.

    A promise was a promise. Annan wanted to finish the job.

    That was a habit he had in his past life.

    At the same time, Annan needed a chaotic environment.

    He aimed to take down us, betrayers of the Gerant family, and the Third Prince.

    If the king was involved, kill the king; if the bishops were involved, kill the bishops.

    Annan believed that he could do it.

    The more chaotic the environment, the sharper the conflict, the more doubts, and hatred rose between people. Annan¡¯s innate talent that could prate the hearts of others could be maximized.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little excited.¡±

    The corner of Annan¡¯s mouth raised slightly.

    He felt the joy, excitement, and thrill in his heart.

    Perhaps, he didn¡¯t want to live a peaceful life in his past life.

    Undoubtedly, Annan hated and was afraid of who he was now. But, at the same time, he did find out more about himself. Hence, he was also worried that he might identally be someone different in a negative sense.

    But now, Annan discovered a solution to this problem.

    Intense thinking. Fierce battle. Intense survival will.

    ¡ªAlong with resourcefulness and courage.

    This game is bing exciting.

    What a friendly game to me.

    Annan liked to be more despicable than the despicable, deceiving the liars, hurting those who harm others, killing the murderers, and taking away the robber¡¯s treasure. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. While the simple revenge mentality gave off a sense of happiness, Annan had to bear pressure on morality.

    However, this line of thought would tend to reward happiness. It fitted what every yer thought in their heart when Annan ¡°sought justice.¡±

    But the moral standards in his heart would remain to restrain Annan.

    Annan would also like to treat the wounded, help the weak, punish the evil, and save the world.

    Of course, he also wanted to be a hero and be appreciated by others. It was a child¡¯s dream simr to every other child¡¯s.

    Just like a yer.

    But fortunately, both prities would not ovep, no matter the contradiction of hurting others and helping others and the contradiction of fighting each other and saving the world.

    Then, this doubled the pleasure.

    ¡°The wicked¡­ I like the wicked.¡±

    Annan murmured as he walked in the dark corridor. The dim blue light in his eyes flickered slightly like a young wolf under the moon.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to have more of these kinds of people. The eviler, the better; the more selfish, the better; the crazier, the better; the more distorted, the better¡­¡±

    It was like what Annan told the yers before.

    ¡ªJust because evil is present, everyone and everything else is righteous.

    If I kill all the viins, then I am undoubtedly the incarnation of justice.

 Chapter 91: One is Judge by His Looks

    <h4>Chapter 91: One is Judge by His Looks</h4>

    There were not many things that could be directly looted away in the Old Alvin¡¯s manor.

    Fortunately, there was money for convenient looting.

    Except for a few finely crafted sterling silver jewelry iid with precious stones, Annan found four bags of silver coins ¨C that kind having fifty coins per bag. In addition, there were fifty pieces of paper money worth one pound each.

    No gold coins could be found. Instead, Annan found twelve gold bars hidden in the mezzanine.

    Annan quickly understood why Old Alvin stored his riches in such a way.

    In today¡¯s Noah Kingdom, gold coins were not amon currency in cirction, but paper money called ¡°gold pounds¡± was.

    Silver Sire¡¯s previous pope, Pope Brilliant III, put forward a theory in his research on economicws. If someone had two gold coins in their hands at the same time, one with higher gold content and the other with lower gold content, then the person would tend to spend the coin off lower gold content. On the other hand, they would save up the higher-value coin or simply melt it into jewelry.

    Consequently, the true value of gold coins and silver coins naturally fluctuated.

    Both gold and silver were materials used when making curse vessels in different schools. Gold powder and silver coins were the consumables that Sir Brilliant and Silver Sire¡¯s priests needed to use magic.

    In the Noah Kingdom, the demand for silver was higher than that of gold because of the faith in Silver Sire. As a result, the public would save up valuable silver coins and use more gold coins. In the end, only silver coins with smaller denominations would circte in the market instead.

    This was a phenomenon Silver Sire wanted to amend.

    Brilliant III proposed a simple countermeasure.

    If the church sought to make silver coins into circting currency among the public, they had to find a way to make ordinary people think that gold coins were more valuable than silver coins.

    But, the church could not influence thews within the kingdom and could not directly abolish gold coins, after all.

    So, in the end, the church decided to develop paper money in recent years.

    The public could redeem the paper money with gold and silver.

    The prominent paper money was off one gold pound value. This paper money could be exchanged into silver coins of the same value in any Silver Sire¡¯s church. Of course, such tasks were simple for the priests. It also eliminated the worry of insufficient stock or counterfeit paper money.

    When priests performed divine arts, they would sacrifice silver coins as material to Silver Sire. Priests in other ces only needed to pray to Silver Sire. If the reason was reasonable and could convince Silver Sire, they could obtain a certain amount of silver coins.

    In a crude interpretation, that was a form of reimbursement.

    Gold and silver coins could be exchanged for paper money, but paper money could only be exchanged for silver coins. With this new implementation, the number of gold coins circting on the market gradually decreased. In hefty expenditure, the public would tend to use paper money. After all, paper money was much lighter than gold and much easier to carry around.

    This was why Don Juan brought some gold coins to the Silver Sire¡¯s priest and exchanged them for silver coins at the same worth at the very beginning. The nobles took the initiative to hand in the gold, which greatly pleased Silver Sire.

    The Silver Sire priests were also d to collect the gold coins.

    This would lead to a gradual increase in silver coins on the market.

    So for Old Alvin, there was no difference between storing gold coins and storing gold bars. Anyway, they had to go to church and redeem paper money during an emergency.

    All in all, Silver Sire¡¯s goal was simple and pure.

    It was to let the silver coins circte in the public hands to the greatest extent. The more active the cirction count, therger the amount, the better it would be. Of course, it should be the silver coins.

    Gold coins were not counted in their objective.

    The patterns on the gold coins of different countries were different. Simrly, the gold content was at varying magnitude too.

    On the contrary, the silver content and shape of each silver coin were identical. [Silver Coin Production] was the most basic Silver Sire magic technique, which could be used to easily refine silver-containing ores and other materials into batches of silver coins thatply with the regtions.

    As a result, every silver coin was engraved with the face of Silver Sire.

    It was a young man with a monocle [1]. He had a bright and sunny smile, a long and thin face with curly hair, and appeared less than 30 years old.

    Just like the typical male teenager next door.

    Silver Sire looked no different from ordinary people.

    As a matter of fact, all upright deities were like this. The upright deities looked like ordinary people. Therefore, the public would address the deities with more names such as ¡°Silver Sire,¡± ¡°Mysterious Lady,¡± and ¡°Old Grandmother.¡±

    It was entirely different with false deities.

    When the false deity appeared in the mortal world, his avatar must have at least one non-human feature.

    The closer the false deity to the upright deity, the more human it appeared. Those who appeared non-humans must be a false deity. They look hideous and scary. It was discernible who the evil deity was at first nce.

    In a sense, one was judged by his looks in this world.

    Even among all upright deities, Silver Sire was the easiest to be recognized among mortals.

    For the other upright deities, one could only find out how they look in the paintings featured in a church of at least diocese level.

    On the other hand, one could see Silver Sire every day.

    Commoners won¡¯t necessarily know what the king looked like, but they certainly knew what Silver Sire looked like.

    ¡°Are ¡®those¡¯ the reason why you asked me to carry these things?¡±

    Salvatore was carrying a bag of silver coins in each hand and a corpse on his back. He appeared like those ¡®heroes¡¯ in the deliveries as he gasped for breath and came to the carriage.

    ¡°Yes, I love Silver Sire.¡±

    Annan said forthrightly, ¡°I naturally love these little cuties with Silver Sire engraved on them.¡±

    Annan casually carried two bags of gold coins in one hand and heavy gold bars in the other. He followed Salvatore onto the carriage and muttered in a voice that could only be heard by the senior, ¡°Of course, the corpse is the biggest reward.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ah.¡±

    Salvatore put the silver coins and the corpse in the carriage and exhaled in relief. He rxed his muscles, and he was already drenched in sweat.

    Then, Salvatore red at Annan in annoyance, ¡°I can¡¯t let the kid carry the corpse, right?

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to take the gold bars. But, is there any need to take these silver coins? They¡¯re so heavy. If you are short of money, you can get a gold bar for pocket money, right? If you don¡¯t have any money, you can borrow from me.¡±

    ¡°I take so much money just to avoid borrowing money from you.¡±

    Annan said sternly, ¡°With this, I can pay back what I have borrowed before.¡±

    Annan wasfortable with borrowing money from the senior.

    But, Annan found it ufortable to treat Salvatore like those dumb rich guys in the long run. Worse still, Salvatore didn¡¯t seem to feel that Annan had been asking him for money. When Annan asked for it, Salvatore would give it.

    Annan had been scamming Salvatore till his guilty conscience overwhelmed him.

    Salvatore heard it andmented, ¡°It seems that you borrowed some money from me before? How much was it?¡±

    What? You don¡¯t remember the number.

    Annan didn¡¯t know how much he owed Salvatore as well.

    But, Annan¡¯s self-esteem and morality still urged him to pay Salvatore¡¯s money back quickly. In other views, Annan returned Salvatore¡¯s money with what he robbed from someone else¡¯s house. Hence, he felt at ease with the robbing act.

    Salvatore¡¯s previous analysis is excellent and reasonable. But, all the riches belonged to me now.

    ¡ªYou shallpensate the score about murder attempt on me. I will not make a move on your grandson anymore. I will protect him afterward, knowing that he will inherit your property.

    It¡¯s a fair deal.

    Annan happily set a new mission for himself.

    ¡°Speaking of it,¡± Annan looked at Salvatore curiously, ¡°Who is our coachman?¡±

    Salvatore seemed to have expected to deal with the corpse long ago, so he came here in a carriage.

    But Annan found that the coachman driving the carriage didn¡¯t seem extraordinary, but he was not an ordinary coachman.

    This seemed normal still.

    How could an ordinary coachman with courage carry a corpse at night, let alone it was a fresh and warm corpse from Viscount?

    ¡°He came to you to thank you.¡±

    Salvatore introduced the coachman to Annan.

 Chapter 92: The Art Of Manipulating The Mind

    <h4>Chapter 92: The Art Of Manipting The Mind</h4>

    ¡°Thank me?¡±

    Annan was a little surprised.

    He didn¡¯t recall doing anything that required a special trip to thank him.

    The coachman¡¯s voice happened toe into the carriage at this time,

    ¡°Greetings, feudal lord¡­¡±

    It was the voice of a middle-aged man. The voice sounded strong, but the volume was low, ¡°My name is Rumu Nottdamm, the tax officer in Roseburg.¡±

    ¡°Before we fought Gerald, Alvin prepared three ns,¡± said Salvatore.

    Salvatore exined to Annan, ¡°If we defeat him, then it will be the same as before and let Deputy Sheriff Ferdinand take you away. That is to hint at you that the entire Roseburg police station belongs to him.¡±

    ¡°I can see that.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    Therefore, it gave Annan a reason to kill Ferdinand without hesitation.

    Because of this, Annan needed to bring the viscount¡¯s dead body back to Roseburg.

    Annan did it for these people.

    Salvatore continued, ¡°But he is not a prophet. How can he know who would be the winner? So he prepared two ns¡­

    ¡°If the three of us die together, or the living people have lost consciousness, then he will dispatch an army and directly kill everyone else here. Then, he will disguise some of them as robbers. The ¡®robbers¡¯ will take the me for the two of us who died here.¡±

    ¡°Although no one will believe it, it is still qualified as an excuse to buy time.¡±

    Annanmented, ¡°The old man is indeed a cautious person. What an experienced elder.¡±

    Annan raised his head and asked Salvatore with interest, ¡°So, what about the third n?¡±

    The third n should be the oue of Gerald¡¯s victory. Was the n rted to Mr. Nottdam?

    ¡°If Gerald wins, Mr. Nottdamm will drop by andmunicate good intent to Gerald.¡±

    Salvatore replied.

    The tax officer, also the coachman, went on, ¡°Master Viscount asked me to tell Gerald how much property we own in Roseburg. He also ordered me to put all the properties into a list and asked me to reset the password that only I know, but don¡¯t tell Lord Gerald.¡±

    When Nottdamm said this, he was silent for a while and sighed softly.

    ¡°But Master Viscount doesn¡¯t know that my wife used to be an apprentice of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. I know what Soul Snatch Wizard is, and I also know the existence of Transcended. If Lord Gerald is a Soul Snatch Wizard, whether I tell him or not makes no difference.

    ¡°Transcended is a legend for ordinary people. In terms of evidence, I have gathered the entire Roseburg property, and I put them in a ce that only I know. In the end, they are lost in my hands.

    ¡°I guess Master Viscount wanted me to take this responsibility. I guess Master Viscount would not make up for the loss of such arge amount of property. I am afraid that Gerald¡¯s identity is not clean. He needs to remain hidden in Roseburg.¡±

    ¡ªBut I can¡¯t shoulder the responsibility at all.

    Nottdamm sighed deeply.

    There was no hatred in his tone, only helplessness and loss.

    Nottdamm was just an ordinary person, albeit him being a middle-aged person in the upper ss. While driving the coach, he muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t know what else can I do.

    ¡°I can¡¯t refuse Master Viscount¡¯s order. Please forgive me. Master Viscount is almost like a feudal lord at this ce. If I go against his wishes, there is only one dead end. But I don¡¯t want to and can¡¯t bear such a big responsibility for losing such a hefty amount of property. Even if Master Viscount saved me from the death penalty and changed from ¡®theft of a huge amount of property to a ¡®serious mistake in work,¡¯ I would be sent to mine asbor.

    ¡°My wife is about to give birth. My child may be born this month. I can¡¯t let my child be born without a father, nor can I let my wife raise my child alone. My job is as a tax officer, that is, the errands to collect the tax. You should know that I will easily offend many people in this job, but I offended them for Master Viscount!

    ¡°If I¡¯m not in Roseburg. No, as long as I am no longer a tax officer, my wife and children will be in big trouble.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything wrong. I¡¯m careful in doing things; I have proven my worth in my work capability; I¡¯m the most obedient too. But, why am I¡­?¡±

    Nottdamm muttered in a low volume.

    Annan quietly listened to the middle-aged man who was about to have a son, murmuring outside the carriage, venting her fear and powerlessness, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, sir, winning in the end¡­¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Annan replied softly, ¡°I can understand youpletely.¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice was gentle. His tone was soft and soothing like a child.

    ¡°Mr. Nottdamm, you are indeed not wrong. You are a kind person and a good tax officer. There is a saying that a tax officer who is not hated is not a good tax officer, let alone being honest and judicial.¡±

    The carriage galloped. The wind howled.

    Thete-night breeze was wet and cold.

    But Annan¡¯s words warmed the tax officer, Nottdamm¡¯s heart, ¡°You aren¡¯t in a tough spot, but it¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s Alvin Barber¡¯s order that harms you. Do you act boldly and cheerfully when you interact with your brothers?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡±

    Nottdamm hurriedly responded, ¡°But I don¡¯t usually drink! There¡¯s idle chatter with them, but it is like you said ¨C ¡®bold and cheerful.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Yup, my guess is right.¡±

    Annan put his hands on his chest, inteced his fingertips, and chuckled softly, ¡°Because your voice, sir, sounds pleasant.

    ¡°Are there many children fond of your presence?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    Nottdamm gradually calmed down and became less nervous.

    Annan¡¯s gaze seemed to prate the carriage, see through the human body, and look directly at the inner core of the human soul.

    His tone was soft and tactful.

    A French sociologist once pointed out that effectivemunication between strangers could only ount for about 5% of the total conversation between the two parties. Most of the 5% of effectivemunication came from the first impression of words, character, and appearance.

    In other words, when two people who had never met for the first timemunicate, only words that were gentle enough to warm people¡¯s hearts or harsh enough to make people fearful could enter other¡¯s minds and be remembered.

    The brain automatically filtered out the remaining words.

    That was why Annan had always maintained this gentle and docile attitude.

    Based on his high status and excellent appearance, this was enough to make his words burn marks in the hearts of anyone who interacted with him for the first time.

    ¡°Nottdamm, please keep your chest up because you are not wrong. You have done everything you can do.¡±

    Annan¡¯s gentle voice was like a cure for the soul, ¡°It¡¯s Alvin Barber who is at fault.¡±

    This was enough to heal a scar on the soul.

    Annan could also help others and find out more about the people or things that bothered them.

    As long as Annan resolved this problem, the other party would trust him, be loyal to him, and even fall in love with him.

    ¡°But fortunately, Alvin Barber is dead.¡±

    Annan whispered, ¡°I killed him. Please don¡¯t reveal our secret.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes¡­ I got it. Thank you very much. I won¡¯t say a thing. I can swear to Silver Sire¡ª¡±

    The tax officer said gratefully. He thanked Annan from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡ªThe shared secret between the two was enough to make them a close alliance.

    Of course, the most remarkable thing was that everything Annan said above was the truth.

    This was the art of manipting the mind.

 Chapter 93: Frontier Adventure Group Dispatched!

    <h4>Chapter 93: Frontier Adventure Group Dispatched!</h4>

    The yers returned to the Freezing Water Port. They had escorted the important witness to the church and sessfully woke Priest Louis up. It was already 3.00 a.m.

    Annan mentioned that the dungeon instance count of this game seemed to refresh at 6 a.m. every day.

    So, they would be one cooldown (CD) behind for those who skipped the dungeon instance today.

    Although the yers didn¡¯t know anything about the dungeon instance, including the monster type and the rewards¡¯ feasibility, having one CD cycle short felt like a significant loss.

    So, after the escorts, they hurriedly returned to their residences.

    Priest Louis originally wanted to invite the yers to have tea and chat, but the yers politely declined. They took the excuse that they were sleepy and it was better to discuss the matter after the rest.

    When Lin Yiyi was lying on her bed, it was already three-thirty in the morning.

    The forum was still active.

    Although there were only forty yers in this game, the activity level was scary.

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°Are you ready for adventuring the unexplored part of the game?¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°No, Old Goose. You should go first if you¡¯re in such a hurry.¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°Can we form a team to tackle this dungeon instance?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°No, I mean, you all should remember to activate the live broadcast when you enter the dungeon instance. I will study the mechanism first.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°I know too much about you guys. You don¡¯t think about the mechanism at all when you¡¯re high in adrenaline. I will open a post at that time, take a screenshot of your live broadcast, and tell the rest about the mechanism.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°After entering the dungeon instance, you may not be able to go to the forum. To be on the safe side, a few people wille and send my analysis to the strategy team in the form of a bullet text [1].¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°I¡¯ll send it! I¡¯ll send it!¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°Jiu Er, you should tackle the dungeon instance. You seemed excited.¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°I don¡¯t!¡±

    Jiu Er took a deep breath.

    When Lin Yiyi said, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be a horror game,¡± her heart trembled.

    Intuition told her that this dungeon instance might be a horror game.

    So she naturally didn¡¯t reply but chose to watch Lin Yiyi¡¯s live broadcast first. She decided to sit back and had a banter about it.

    Indeed, she and Delicious Wind Goose thought of the same thing.

    They would rather chat about it. If they didn¡¯t engage in a banther, how could it be called a live broadcast?

    For streaming purposes, you must know the game beforehand. Streamers had to find the key points in the plot that could bring entertainment in the live broadcast and roughly had an idea on how to execute them. In short, the streamers should have a simple script at the back of their head.

    At the same time, the streamer had to maintain high-intensity thinking and be immersed in the game. It was their role to maintain active interaction with the chats. Wow, this seemingly isn¡¯t a job for humans. You either focus on the game and have no time to interact with the chat, or you will prioritize the interaction and miss several lines of crucial information.

    But, Jiu Er had no psychological pressure about it.

    After I mock the game, I should not be scaredter on.

    On the other hand, Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t think so much.

    Her thoughts were simple.

    Do I want to y? Yup.

    Do I dare to y? Yup.

    That¡¯s it. Just y.

    She took a deep breath, turned on the live broadcast and recording, and then murmured,

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡­¡±

    ¡°-I am listening.¡±

    Suddenly, a deep, echoing whisper sounded in her heart.

    Unprepared, Lin Yiyi was startled immediately.

    Why are you scaring me when I¡¯m not in the dungeon yet?!

    Her heart was grabbed by fear, and her back was soaked in a cold sweat.

    At the next moment, a line of data flow suddenly appeared in front of her, roughly dispelling a little bit of her panic:

    [Falling into a nightmare after ten seconds, ten, nine¡­ three, two, one]

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    Lin Yiyi suddenly felt a strong sense of dizziness, apanied by intense drowsiness, which made her unconscious.

    In a daze, she felt that her whole body was falling, and the speed was getting faster. Suddenly, she woke up.

    At this time, she saw a bunch of data streams that were about to fade away:

    [This dungeon instance difficulty is distorted.]

    [This dungeon instance does not provide the plot introduction, but there are decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance loadingpleted.]

    When the data flow was about to fade away, Lin Yiyi saw the brightly lit gallery.

    This ce is well decorated.

    She had such thoughts subconsciously.

    Before Lin Yiyi could think carefully, she heard an illusory whisper behind her:

    ¡°Don¡¯t look back. Never look back.¡±

    It was an old and frail voice. It seemed like something was clinging to her behind. It was like whispering in her ear, making her ears itchy.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s body went numb. Her heart almost stopped beating. Her brain turned nk, and she couldn¡¯t help but scream out loud.

    Although the voice told her not to look back, she still looked back subconsciously.

    But, she found that there was only an ordinary door behind him. Other than that, there was no difference.

    Don¡¯t look back? Why don¡¯t I look back?

    Do I want to listen to that person? Or is it a trap?

    Soon, Lin Yiyi saw a barrage of bullet texts suddenly shed in front of her eyes:

    ¡°DOn¡¯t look back. Why don¡¯t you listen to it!?¡±

    ¡°Now you can look back, don¡¯t look back after entering the next door!¡±

    ¡°Hello! Be mindful, Sister Hyphen! You can¡¯t die in vain yet another time!¡±

    ¡°What? I died once?¡±

    Lin Yiyi found it somewhat inexplicable.

    Then, she suddenly realized something. She asked other yers who were watching the live broadcast: ¡°Wait a minute, brother. Which life is this?¡±

    ¡°The second life?¡±

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t you remember Sister Hyphen?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±

    Lin Yiyi immediately replied, ¡°I just heard that the dungeon instance is loaded and the ¡®don¡¯t look back.¡¯¡±

    At this moment, a barrage of bullet texts suddenly shed in front of her:

    ¡°The strategy summarized so far:

    Don¡¯t look back, at least after entering the second door. You will experience an instant death after turning back.Be mindful of the chandelier on the ceiling. Walk slowly to lure the trap activation.You lose your memory after death.Bullet text, please remember to help the streamer report the life count and how did the streamer die previously.¡±

    After reading the strategy guide popping up in the bullet texts, the fear in Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart dissipated a lotpared to the beginning.

    It was like watching a horror movie with someone.

    It was not that the element of horror had dropped. It was a great relief to pinch the fat waist of the person next to you after experiencing a horror scene.

    ¡°Luckily, I have the Old Goose with me.¡±

    Lin Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief and even had the courage to make a joke, ¡°You live up to being a reliable middle-aged streamer.¡±

    ¡°Crazy Goose is a big shot who ys games with his hair.¡±

    ¡°When he turns bald, he bes stronger. [2]¡±

    As she spoke, she was about to go forward.

    ¡°Hiss-¡°

    But at this time, a sharp pain diluted her thoughts.

    She felt an intense pain in her abdomen. The internal organs seemed to be stirring up. Even if the pain was only one-third of the original intensity, she couldn¡¯t help but squat down.

    ¡°Hey, brothers, did the wound on my stomache from my previous life?¡±

    She asked in a low volume.

    The bullet texts responded immediately:

    ¡°No, you just go forward.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t affect much. There is no battle round in the firstp.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time. There is nothing to investigate around, and there are no elite monsters or bosses. Just go with ease.¡±

    The bullet texts tried to backseat [3] the streamer remotely.

    Why don¡¯t youe and take a walk around this ce?

    My internal organs are injured!

    Lin Yiyi hissed again in pain, couldn¡¯t help but cower again. She gritted her teeth and tore open her clothes.

    She found that the blood had stuck to the clothes.

    This body seemed to be a male.

    Huh, should I touch my body ??

    She hesitated but gave up the idea of ??touching it in full view of other spectators. She exposed the wound to the air, tried her best to avoid rubbing the wound with clothes. She arched her waist slightly and moved forward slowly in a somewhat unsightly posture.

    ¡°You said that there is no key event. Then, can I still advance without worry?¡±

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart was still a little uneasy.

    On the other hand, Delicious Wind Goose was watching the live broadcast of the yer with the fastest story advancement.

    This was the progress of ¡°Wandering Child.¡±

    Of course, his fastest progress was not because he was so courageous, nor was it because he collected information quickly.

    But because he adopted another strategy.

    The Wandering Child decided to buck up and rush forward.

    I don¡¯t see anything. I ignore everything. I¡¯m not checking up on anything. I don¡¯t bother thinking.

    I just need to keep running at full speed.

    The result was unexpectedly effective.

    Wandering Child had already rushed to the third level of the nightmare in the blink of an eye.

    [2] One punch man reference. Also, rather than physical body training to be stronger, Crazy Goose bes stronger via veteran gaming experience.

    [3] ¡°Backseat gaming¡± is when someone watches someone else y a game and keepsmenting on every move the yer is making.

 Chapter 94: Bullet Text Protectionâ€¦Failed!

    <h4>Chapter 94: Bullet Text Protection¡­Failed!</h4>

    As Wandering Child opened the door at the end of the corridor for the second time, he entered the third level of the nightmare.

    The live broadcast screen suddenly started to shake.

    The noise[1] made his figure blurred.

    The strategy group watching the stream outside of nightmare was a little flustered:

    ¡°Is there a static screen on your side?¡±

    ¡°It seems there is signal interference. Stop for a moment! Stop rushing forward.

    ¡°Go, charge for your life!¡±

    ¡°Damn it. Something seemed to sh past my screen just now.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the energy to rush anymore. Hiss.¡°

    Wandering Child took a breath and held the wound in his abdomen.

    It was not that he didn¡¯t feel the pain previously, but that he chose to bear it for a while and rushed to the end.

    It hurt no matter the intensity. It seemed better to run quicker and progress the plot.

    Wandering Child was clear about his position.

    He had learned from the backseat gamers that he would lose memory after death in this dungeon instance, but the audience¡¯s memory would not be reset.

    So, he nned to use his life to investigate the bush [1] and see if there was any death g behind.

    ¡°How many yers are on the third level already?¡±

    Wandering Child rxed for a while. Then, he bucked up and asked the bullet texts.

    ¡°Only you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s look for clues.¡±

    ¡°Go~! Charge~! ¡°

    ¡°Stop with the nuisance chatters. If you make trouble again, I will go to your house and ¡®chat¡¯ with you.¡±

    Apparently, the Crazy Goose sent that bullet text.

    Crazy Goose was not referring to finding the person at Freezing Water Port¡¯s residence but going offline to confront the person in the yers¡¯ real life.

    This 1.9-meter bald man who was an armorerbat sports enthusiast was quite an intimidating image. As soon as Crazy Goose spoke, those who watched in excitement immediately got a straight face and began to discuss the plot, ¡°But I think the child has no more energy to move forward.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you. I¡¯m still young. I can still rush if I want to.¡±

    Wandering Child snorted casually.

    He squinted his eyes and looked ahead.

    In the second level of the nightmare, it should be the chandelier and the hammer that might cause death. But at that time, the Wandering Child judged that the chandelier couldn¡¯t hit him, so he didn¡¯t stop and ran over at full speed. It was the same with the hammer. Since the child didn¡¯t hesitate, he wouldn¡¯t be injured at all.

    He left the ce unscathed.

    But if he stopped because of fear, he would die.

    But the third level was different.

    All the lights in the gallery were all extinguished. The gallery became pitch dark. Only when the thunder came outside the window could the yer vaguely see what was in front.

    Fortunately, the terrain hadn¡¯t changed much.

    ¡°Brothers, there seems to be something hanging over there.¡±

    Wandering Child muttered and moved forward cautiously and vigntly.

    Wandering Child didn¡¯t y horror games often. ording to the standard routine, if there was nothing scary about the first two floors, there should be key events on the third floor.

    But the very purpose here was to adventure the unexplored part of the game. Without any warnings of ¡°potential event ahead,¡± he felt flustered.

    Wandering Child approached the hanging objects, trying to investigate them.

    Suddenly, thunder shed outside the window.

    Wandering Child¡¯s pupils trembled suddenly, alongside his body having a sudden jerk.

    With the glimpse of thunder, he saw the picture frames, tied up by countless ropes, hanging crookedly on the ceiling!

    Every painting looked at him.

    Men and women of different ages.

    But the corners of their mouths had precisely the same exaggerated and weird smiles while staring at him!

    ¡°Hahahahahaha.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­¡°

    Differentughter sounded from all directions at the same time.

    Wandering Child felt chills crept upon him. He subconsciously stopped in ce, afraid to move forward.

    At the next moment, a st of thunder sounded!

    Theughter stopped abruptly.

    The sudden strong wind blew the window open with a bang. The cold and humid air blew over in an instant, making his heart skip a beat.

    The torrential rain rang outside the window.

    Only then did Wandering Child realize that his back was soaked.

    The gust of cold wind blew at him, making his back cold and ufortable.

    The wandering child looked around vigntly, like a thief. He took a step and looked around, slowly approaching the window.

    ¡°Stop watching me y. Give me hints.¡±

    Wandering Child¡¯s voice trembled, along with his hands too.

    He admitted now that he was a little scared.

    Initially, Wandering Child nned to close the window. He was worried that when he approached, he might see a silent ck shadow outside the window.

    But when he walked to the window, he found a letter outside the window.

    That letter should have just been recently ced. Under the heavy rain, it was not wholly drenched yet.

    Wandering Child didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly scooped the letter in.

    ¡°At least, I¡¯m smart with my actions.¡±

    He muttered, vaguely aware that something was wrong, ¡°Hey, can you guys talk? Hello, can you hear me?¡±

    At this moment, a barrage of bullet text invaded:

    ¡°We¡¯ve been talking. Can¡¯t you see the texts?¡±

    ¡°Brother, we have never stopped typing.¡±

    ¡°Is the bullet text minimized? Perhaps, bad signal?¡±

    ¡°Wait, is the signal terrible?¡±

    Wandering Child was annoyed, ¡°When I got to the third level, I lost my bullet texts. Does anyone else have this situation?¡±

    ¡°Not the third floor, Child. It seems that the bullet texts will stop after triggering something.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose suddenly sent a bullet text.

    Upon hearing this, Wandering Child lifted his spirits, ¡°Oh! Then I understand it is the same as background music (BGM). When BGM suddenly stops, it represents a key event!¡±

    The Child suddenly found new courage in his heart.

    Since there was a key event warning, he shouldn¡¯t be scared anymore.

    ¡°Bro, open the letter!¡±

    ¡°What are you doing? Stop dazing around.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. I will open it now.¡±

    Wandering Child reacted and urged again as he opened the letter, ¡°Don¡¯t stop the bullet text. You can send 11111 if you don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m nning to eat while watching your stream. Maybe I can call you the Food King.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop the bullet texts. You¡¯re making meugh.¡±

    Utilizing the bullet texts to suppress his fear, Wandering Child slowly opened the letter.

    At first, he was worried that the letter might be bloody or something scary might appear. But unexpectedly, the letter contained a serious content:

    ¡°On March 27th, I have followed Amos to Roseburg to paint for Mrs. Viscount.

    ¡°Amos is in a bad state today, and I am a little uneasy. I have never seen him paint like this. Although I have never learned to paint, you must first draw bone when painting portraits, right?

    ¡°This painting makes me a little sick. The painting is indeed beautiful, but I always feel¡­

    ¡°It always feels like the corpse outside the ss window.¡±

    The letter ended here.

    It was like a diary with a torn page.

    Suddenly, the Wandering Child froze.

    He suddenly realized something and raised his head cautiously.

    Fortunately, there were no more corpses outside the window.

    But he did not rx but carefully closed the window and hung the lock back carefully.

    Then, he turned around.

    Thunder fell at the same time.

    Wandering Child saw¡­

    It wasn¡¯t portrait tied under the hanging ropes.

    There were a bunch of corpses hanging on the beams!

    There were men and women, young and old.

    Their heads drooped. Their eyes were muddy. The bodies swayed in the wind, but there was a neat, weird smile on the corner of each of their mouths.

    All the corpses looked at Wandering Child.

    All were staring at him.

    Different lowughter surrounded him. Fear made Wandering Child gurgled.

    Suddenly, Wandering Child noticed something.

    ¡°Shadow¡­¡±

    My own shadow seems¡­

    Extraordinarily long?

    The upper part of the shadow gradually bulged.

    It was as if a person, slowly raising the huge hammer above his head.

    He turned his head back abruptly.

    Only to see a pair of empathetic eyes.

    Then, the ss window shattered.

    [1] MOBA game reference. Usually, the enemy will lurk outside the vision (bush). Wandering Child is like the scout in this case.

 Chapter 95: Brother Hammer & The Diary Fragment

    <h4>Chapter 95: Brother Hammer & The Diary Fragment</h4>

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s a terrible death¡­¡±

    Annan smacked his lips with relish.

    He was now in Roseburg, watching the live broadcast while guarding the corpse.

    Salvatore was already asleep. His activity time was limited. He couldn¡¯t stay up to disy the corpse with Annanter and then make up his sleep during the day after affirming Annan¡¯s authority. He already had a severeck of sleep time. After all, he had to fall asleep at 3.a.m.

    Hence, Annan could only stay in the viscount¡¯s mansion at Roseburg for the time being.

    Salvatore went to bed while Annan stayed in the viscount¡¯s mansion to watch the night.

    Annan also took the opportunity to spectate the horror game live broadcast.

    Although the exterior was scorched ck, the viscount house was so big that the interior stayed intact.

    ¡­

    As the hammer struck, the Child became a pile of meat.

    The death was shocking.

    As soon as Wandering Child turned his head, he saw a huge hammer smashing the ss window, apanied by a thunderous whistling sound, and hit his face.

    His vision was instantly blurred and shattered, and his consciousness dissipated directly.

    That shocking from the terrible death had reached the audience through the live broadcast.

    Even the bullet texts paused for a while because the audience was equally stunned.

    After a few seconds of silence, a barrage of bullet texts slowly picked up:

    ¡°Fuck it. This is too staggering!¡±

    ¡°He triggered the death g. I don¡¯t think the Child has time to dodge it.¡±

    ¡°After taking the letter, run straight away! Don¡¯t care about the things behind you. Don¡¯t look back. It should also be a chase here.¡±

    ¡°Ya, that makes sense. Brother Hammer looks like the one on the second floor no matter how you look at it.¡±

    ¡°If you were caught up on the second floor, I think you would be caught in the same animation.¡±

    It was the first staggering kill after turning around in this nightmare.

    Unlike the yers, Annan knew the ¡°don¡¯t look back¡± warning from the beginning.

    This warning did not mean ¡°You will die immediately when you turn back,¡± but ¡°you can¡¯t turn your head back at certain nodes.¡±

    After all, Annan followed Priest Louis¡¯s strategy.

    In this dungeon instance, as long as you failed, all your memories would be lost. Hence, Priest Louis could only n his behavior pattern before entering the dungeon instance. Then, he would summarize themonalities of his behavior pattern after clearing the level.

    Therefore, his strategy was iplete.

    Annan didn¡¯t tell the yers this strategy so as not to restrict their creativity. Otherwise, the yers would inevitably follow Annan¡¯s strategy. They wouldn¡¯t be searching for Easter eggs after clearing the level. This was equivalent to limiting the yers¡¯ thinking.

    Annan had to let them die a few more times to make full use of the yer¡¯s immortality.

    This waspensation for theck of talent through hard work. Anything that couldn¡¯t kill me would only make me stronger. This was where the yer¡¯s advantagey.

    There would be gains with every life paid, as long as it was not expended in vain.

    Let¡¯s take Wandering Child, for example.

    The letter he got from the window was vital.

    Annan did not pick up this letter at the time.

    This was the clue Annan missed.

    If all went well, the Child hadn¡¯t stayed rooted in the ce just now, triggering a chase. Then, Wandering Child would meet Brother Hammer again at the end of the corridor and enter ¡°Nightmare: Elle Morrison.¡±

    When the Child saw Elle¡¯s diary, he could immediately realize that the letter was part of the diary. It was the part Elle tore off. Thus, it would be apparent that Elle¡¯s diary was the critical clue.

    The reason why Annan guessed that Elle had torn that particr page off was that Annan encountered a diary with only one page written (usually both pages of the book would be utilized). It was quite unnatural.

    Generally speaking, when writing a diary, both the left page and right page should be filled. No one would write diaries on one page. Moreover, when Annan read Elle¡¯s diary previously, she indeed wrote two pages in her habit.

    This showed that Elle was dissatisfied with what she wrote in the diary and tore it off.

    So, in whose hands did the page go?

    That diary fragment in the envelope was neatly folded. The person who sent this letter must cherish it a lot.

    Annan also noticed that Brother Hammer¡¯s eyes had the same emerald green as Elle¡¯s eyes.

    Annan rted the urrence to ¡°Buckel¡­ please¡­¡± which Amos had blurted right before entering the dream of ¡°Elle Morrison.¡±

    A wild thought shed in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Elle Morrison should be formerly known as Elle Buckel.

    It was the news Annan read in the newspaper published forty-five years ago. It was a piece of news that yers didn¡¯t know.

    So, that Brother Hammer is Elle¡¯s biological father.

    But isn¡¯t he dead?

    Was he not dead? Or did hee to Amos to settle scores after he was resurrected?

    With that, Annan empathized with Brother Hammer¡¯s revenge.

    After all, Amos vited his wife and daughter. His daughter almost gave birth to a child for Amos. Brother Hammer wanted toe over and smash Amos¡¯ head, which waspletely understandable.

    Elle tore off the diary of that day. The content in it should be paramount.

    Only through getting this letter could Annan understand why ¡°Dad was painting in front of the garden, and he couldn¡¯t paint halfway through the painting. So then, he tore the painting.¡±

    For Amos Morrison, painting needed to start from the bones to have that magical charm. Unfortunately, the paint he got could only be used to paint portraits. So, when he paintedndscape paintings, he could feel ¡°a drastic and intolerable regression.¡±

    It was the diary of this day that could truly reflect Amos¡¯ weird state. Combining the contents of the diary on thest day ¨C ¡°June 10th,¡± Wandering Child should be able to realize that there was vital information in the ¡°Study Room.¡±

    In this way, the information of the entire dungeon instance could be connected to a storyline.

    This puzzle was simr to the standardbination lock [1] puzzle in horror games.

    A set of numbers should be written on a wall or a piece of paper somewhere. This number was the password of abination lock.

    Of course, if there were not many digits in the password, one could force his way over it.

    When Annan tackled the nightmare by himself, he relied on his swiftness to search the entire room. Only then could Annan confirm the clues were in the diary. Then, he went straight to the study just because the word was mentioned in the diary. Annan was decisive as he made up his mind without hesitation.

    The entire process purely relied on Annan¡¯s swiftness in taking action, which put heavy weight on his efficiency in the time limit.

    Annan suddenly realized what was the most critical element in this dungeon instance. Actually, there was a hint at the very beginning.

    -Time.

    In the beginning, the yer yed as Amos, whose internal organs were wounded and bleeding. His liver or kidney was injured, and he could not move for too long. The Brother Hammer¡¯s chase also put further pressure on time.

    In the level ¡°Elle Morrison,¡± the person tackling the dungeon had to finish reading the book in the study before Amos returned home. This challenge directly determined the subsequent plot development. In addition, the mission of ¡°live till dawn¡± emphasized time too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time¡­ Is it?¡±

    This should be the core mechanism of this dungeon instance.

    Annan came to a realization.

    If Annan didn¡¯t guess wrong, the strategy of this nightmare was not ¡°don¡¯t look back¡± but ¡°don¡¯t stop.¡±

    Wandering Child almost got it right.

    As the Child triggered the window¡¯s opening at the door and walked over to take the letter, he should have run after reading it. Brother Hammer should have just broken into the window at this time.

    This was probably why Brother Hammer would appear behind Annan somehow in the cinematic graphics (CG).

    It turned out that ording to the logic of this nightmare, Annan should have read the letter and triggered the chase before escaping into the trail. Only then would he proceed to trigger this ¡°CG.¡±

    Amos already knew that someone was chasing him, so he shouted, ¡°Buckel, don¡¯t kill me.¡± Then, he walked into the dim trail to shake off the pursuer. The purpose was to get the enemy to go to the next floor from the bright ce while hiding. But, in the end, he faced a dead end.

    With this, the events were connected. All the details became logical.

    ¡°Sure enough, letting yers tackle the dungeon instance is a rewarding move.¡±

    Annan muttered, returning to the Wandering Child¡¯s live broadcast.

    If nothing else, he should follow the bullet text instructions and go to the third floor again.

    ¡°What happened to the others?¡±

    Annan was curious.

    What are the other nightmare levels like?

 Chapter 96: Secret Passage

    <h4>Chapter 96: Secret Passage</h4>

    Lin Yiyi took a deep breath.

    The severe pain from time to time in her abdomen made her mind a little fuzzy and a little irritable.

    Her strategy was opposite to Wandering Child.

    After confirming that she was in the second life, she vaguely had some ideas and started to take the initiative to explore different ways from the previous life.

    As Lin Yiyi pushed the first door open, she noticed a narrow, short corridor leading to a sharp turn to the right.

    In sharp contrast with a bright gallery, this short corner was dim. Only a dim light gleamed from the end of the door as if to lure Lin Yiyi toe in quickly.

    ¡°Then, I won¡¯t go there!¡±

    Lin Yiyi said in bravery, ¡°Let me die on the first level!¡±

    With that said, she did not go to the next level but began to look at each painting in detail.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward, Sister Hyphen!¡±

    ¡°Yes, what are you afraid of? You respawn after death! Go to the next level!¡±

    ¡°Go! Sister Hyphen, charge!¡±

    ¡°Stop dying! We will go to others¡¯ streams.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t need to rush. Let me finish investigating these paintings.¡±

    Lin Yiyi spoke casually while carefully looking at the details of each painting. She tried to find out if there was a password or something. She even knocked on each painting and knocked again on the wall between the paintings. Sometimes, she rotated the painting to see if there was any mechanism lying behind.

    This was her experience in ying escape rooms.

    In the pixted style RPG horror game, she was that kind of yer who had to investigate all items in each grid at least twice repeatedly.

    Unlike what the bullet texts thought, Lin Yiyi was not timid and hesitating because of losing her memory. She and Wandering Child were the two yers encountering Gerald and were hypnotized to mind maniption.

    Even Gerald couldn¡¯t make them afraid, let alone this nightmare dungeon instance that would disappear after dawn.

    Moreover, ording to Don Juan, the traits of ¡°all memories will be lost, and nightmares will be reset when you die¡± seemed to be the dungeon instance¡¯s unique trait.

    Although this didn¡¯t feel like a novice dungeon instance, she thought it was normal.

    After all, even this was treated as a game, but it was a real other world. Hence, it seemed normal not to have a ¡°beginner tutorial session.¡± Having a serious challenge right away didn¡¯t seem out of order.

    yers¡¯ view of this other world was simr to ¡°the infinite space that I will never die in.¡± Their attitude wavered between excitement, seriousness, obsession, curiosity, and vignce. It was the perfect bnce between ¡°fearless¡± and ¡°not afraid of death.¡±

    Apart from other things, it was a world the yers could enter conveniently through the mobile app alone. The ¡°Freezing Water Port Forum¡± could be used as usual outside the game. Out of miracle, it only existed in consciousness. This feature proved itself not a technology belonging to the world and era of those yers.

    Some yers were forced to change their phones due to idents, yet the game followed silently to the new phones. They also tried to get their friends to open the app, but there was a new prompt appearing after the opening CG, ¡°Hello, the slots for the beta test are full. Please look forward to the next beta test opening~¡± and kick their friends out.

    Soon, the yers had a clear idea in their hearts.

    Their petty actions couldn¡¯t escape the eyes of the game publisher, no matter if it were the alien game, a variety show broadcast to the people from other world, or ancient gods.

    Anyway, if such big shots wanted to do something terrible to the yers, they had no way to fend for themselves.

    The yers were adults and were considered elites in their respective industries. They had long passed the age of ¡°I decide my destiny.¡±

    Some yers spected in the forum that everyone could enter after the game was fully open. If this were the case, the closed beta test yers would have a huge advantageter on.

    But no matter what, instead of choosing to escape passively, it was better to engage deeper with this other world actively. Those who didn¡¯t grasp the opportunity wouldter regret it.

    There was still a unique urrence too.

    Without signing any non-disclosure agreement, all yers tacitly chose to be silent to the outside world and jointly kept this huge secret.

    They were d that there were no retards,ymen, and idiots among the yers in the first batch. At least they were yers who had brains and couldmunicate.

    Lin Yiyi had a deeper understanding of the world because of her exposure to Soul Snatch spells.

    So instead of griefing [1] the game, she was exploring in her way.

    She roughly had an idea about this dungeon instance.

    This seemed to be a dungeon instance focusing on loops. Every time you advance, you return to the original ce. The surrounding environment would be darker, more sinister, and more dangerous as a result.

    There was a pursuer from the back and traps.

    The advantage was that everyone who entered this nightmare would take control of this seriously injured middle-aged painter. In other words, the challenge wasn¡¯t a brawl but the brain, courage, and luck.

    Hence, it made this dungeon instance a good beginner dungeon instance for yers who were still rtively weak at this point.

    If it was this type of dungeon instance, then the first loop should be the safest in theory. The cost of restarting was also the lowest.

    She walked around in the gallery because of this reason.

    Unlike Delicious Wind Goose, who was ustomed to strategizing and calctions, Lin Yiyi¡¯s memory had been terrible. When tackling games, she took a long time, patience, and life to memorize the strategy.

    Hence, she had to walk several times repeatedly before she could barely remember the cement of all items in the gallery and the area of ??each room. In the following few levels, she could finally have an image of ¡°where am I¡± and ¡°where am I going.¡±

    If a death g was triggered in the first loop that caused the game to restart, she could return to the previous position to continue exploring.

    Without a doubt, Lin Yiyi intended to use death to pave her path.

    She believed that there should be other yers who share the same idea as her.

    Using the bullet text support group left outside the dungeon, everyone exchanged information, explored the dungeon instance separately, and tried to find the trigger of all death gs. As a result, it allowed more space to explore further.

    As for the pursuer, it was up to the dungeon instance challenger¡¯s capabilities.

    ¡°Eh?¡°

    Lin Yiyi was startled.

    She soon found out that the back of one of the paintings was empty.

    Her nket search bore fruit.

    She first tried to remove the painting but found that she couldn¡¯t take it off at all. So then she shook the frame from side to side. This time, she seeded.

    She rotated the frame half a circle clockwise and found a rotary mechanism inside.

    Lin Yiyi exerted much of her strength to rotate the rotary mechanism slowly. She noticed that this smallpartment was covered with dust, but the rotary mechanism seemed to have been used not long ago and was clean.

    As Lin Yiyi rotated the mechanism, a small section of the wall next to it began to bend inward under the sound of the chain. Finally, a narrow and cramped passage was revealed.

    It only allowed one person to pass through. Having two people walking side by side would be crowded.

    At the end of the narrow passage, there was a wooden door.

    It looked the same as the standard wooden door at the corridor end.

    But it was not the door that would follow the standard pattern like the loop.

    Lin Yiyi lifted her spirits and yelled, ¡°Did you see it!? My method is correct!¡±

    ¡°¡ª¡ª66666666¡±

    ¡°Splendid.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, there is a mechanism here!¡±

    ¡°Sister Hyphen is awesome!¡±

    ¡°Why are you stunned here?

    ¡°I understand. Let me tell the other brothers!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside.¡±

    Lin Yiyi casuallymented, ¡°I wonder what¡¯s the death trap inside.¡±

    She did not choose the door leading to the next level but walked to the door revealed through the mechanism.

    This narrow corridor was dim, but fortunately, it was not difficult to walk.

    There was only one portrait hanging here. The painting was of an innocent girl with a smile.

    She wore a white dress, smiled cutely, and looked at Lin Yiyi.

    ¡°Waifu [2]!¡±

    ¡°I dere that she is my new Waifu!¡±

    ¡°The chat above. The punishment will be at least three years imprisonment. Forget it. You should be sentenced to the death penalty.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, I don¡¯t know if I should say that this kid is cute or the painter paints it well.¡±

    Lin Yiyi sighed, ¡°Oh yes, I am a painter now. So then, this should be my painting. So, I am awesome.¡±

    As she spoke, she opened the door.

    Then, Lin Yiyi was stunned.

    What she saw in front of her was a staircase leading downward.

    [2] Fandom ng: A fictional female character from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga, or video game) to whom one is attracted.

 Chapter 97: Basement

    <h4>Chapter 97: Basement</h4>

    The pale, rib cage-like steps went straight down to the basement.

    The steps were densely packed. The width of each step was barely enough to fit one¡¯s feet. One might fall if not careful.

    But, it was dim at the end as if leading to the abyss.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart trembled. Fear had inexplicably crept upon her.

    Although she still hesitated, the bullet text went into excitement:

    ¡°It¡¯s a hidden room!¡±

    ¡°Sister Hyphen, go down and take a look! No one has been here!¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you get amp?¡±

    I don¡¯t see any lights here¡­

    Fine.

    Anyway, I came here to explore. It¡¯s just another death.

    Making up her mind, Lin Yiyi began to explore downward.

    There was no light in the basement, and the stairs were a bit slippery. To avoid slipping down on a misstep, tearing the wound, and worsening the bleeding, Lin Yiyi firmly grasped the handrail of the stairs. Her other hand held her stomach, and she inched slowly.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see my health bar?¡±

    Lin Yiyi grumbled in dissatisfaction.

    At the next moment, the attribute window suddenly appeared before her eyes:

    [Health: 54%]

    [Erosion rate: 2%]

    At least, I still have a health points bar.

    At the moment when he saw the health points bar, Lin Yiyi was delighted in her heart.

    Since there¡¯s a health bar, abat phrase should be approaching. Otherwise, it can be a chase that forces me to move faster. In this case, I can treat my health bar as ¡°maximum stamina value.¡±

    No matter which situation it is, it is still bad news for me.

    Although this body still had half hp, it appeared that the internal organ injury was serious. With a slight movement, the hp bar would slide down slowly.

    With such a defected body, how do I fight? If it¡¯s thetter case, then the chase is approaching.

    Also, what does the erosion rate do?

    ¡°Hmph, listen to me.¡±

    While moving slowly down the stairs, she whispered, ¡°This man was stabbed in the stomach with a knife, right?

    ¡°If this is the case, that moment of being injured will surely deplete health points, right? Judging that I still have half of my health points, it shouldn¡¯t have been too long after the injury or attack. Brothers? Do you agree with my logic?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°The weapon has been stabbed into the internal organs. I think depleting half of the health points aren¡¯t quite serious.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think so too. Then, here¡¯s the problem.¡±

    Lin Yiyi had a slight pause when she said this.

    She was silent for a while before she whispered again, ¡°The one who attacked me¡­

    ¡°Is he hiding down there?¡±

    After Lin Yiyi said these words, the bullet texts suddenly stopped.

    For some reason, no one answered.

    Lin Yiyi was utterly engulfed in the darkness. Suddenly, the stair¡¯s handrail, which she used to support herself, became slippery.

    What is this?

    In the sudden silence, Lin Yiyi panicked.

    Subconsciously, she wanted to turn around and run-up.

    But as soon as she turned her head, the floor became more slippery just after she moved a little. It was not that she stepped on an empty space but that something slippery and greasy appeared on the stairs. She slipped directly to the ground.

    ¡°Ugh, ah~!¡°

    She let out a scream of a middle-aged man.

    The narrow steps were already challenging. Worse still, the steps were now drenched with greasy oil.

    This injured body, like being dragged by some invisible power, slid down quickly. The door with the dim light was getting farther and farther away from her.

    She wanted to scream but found that her body didn¡¯t listen at all. It was like a cutscene CG. The man¡¯s body was shaking with pain, wriggling on the ground like a bug.

    She subconsciously opened the system panel.

    [Health: 12%]

    I¡¯m at myst bit of health!

    Damn, I held the handrail carefully, but why did I still slide down?

    At the next moment, Lin Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank instantly.

    It was because she saw the door that was ajar when she came down was suddenly opened by someone from the outside.

    A huge shadow was projected from above. The towering shadow stretched under the light, approaching Lin Yiyi.

    At that moment, regret overwhelmed her heart.

    This is the end. I shouldn¡¯t be greedy for that little bit of light. I should have locked the door when I first came down.

    Who the hell is chasing me?

    But the person above did not speak.

    He just walked down step by step silently and methodically.

    He carried a long-handled hammer in his hand.

    The head of that hammer had the thickness of a forearm. The wooden handle was as long as an arm.

    This hammer is 80 cm, right?

    Lin Yiyi had no doubts. When this weapon smashed her, she would change her name to Sister Hyphen if she could survive it.

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know who you are¡­¡±

    Lin Yiyi suddenly heard that ¡°self¡± spoke.

    The painter-like man slowly got up from the ground.

    His voice was weak, but he wasn¡¯t overwhelmed by panic anymore, ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t chase me down to this ce.

    ¡°You are seeking a dead end.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Lin Yiyi suddenly regained control of the body.

    A barrage of bullet texts suddenly swept across her eyes:

    ¡°Oh, oh, it¡¯s time to fight!¡±

    ¡°Huh, wasn¡¯t it a chase?¡±

    ¡°Sure enough, the hidden plot is different!¡±

    ¡­

    It wasn¡¯t that no one was posting bullet texts previously.

    But during the cutscenes, the bullet texts were blocked.

    Unlike the excited bullet texts that appeared, Lin Yiyi was stupefied.

    No way, bro?

    After you act cool for a few words, you pass everything to me. Tell me, what am I going to do now?! That boss has quickened his pace out of your threat! Wtf?!

    Should I wait for him toe down and hammer me to death directly?

    Or am I going to loop [1] him around the staircase and walk-in circles?

    Give me something?

    ¡°Quick! Look around to see if there is anything you can use.¡±

    Suddenly, Lin Yiyi saw a line of bullet texts.

    She didn¡¯t know it was Annan¡¯s coaching as he watched the live broadcast.

    Anyway, the bullet text was anonymous. No one knew who sent the bullet text.

    Ya, this should be the limited time setting for me to search for something. Otherwise, there is no need to restore my control of this body.

    Lin Yiyi suddenly reacted.

    She held the wound in her abdomen, coughing violently from the pain, and rummaged in the basement quickly while fumbling in the dark.

    Fortunately, not far from her hand, she felt a rope.

    She pulled it without hesitation.

    As the fire set aze, the entire basement was lit up.

    Then, she froze on the spot.

    These are corpses.

    The basement was full of dead bodies.

    These corpses were not randomly thrown down after being killed, but they were put in various poses and flesh shorn like human specimens.

    Some skeletons were like older people thinking, some were like girls sitting on the bed with knees, and a few children¡¯s skeletons were lying around as if they wereying some sand sculptures. But, there was shorn flesh wriggling.

    Contrary to the bones, the flesh shorn seemed to be alive, gathering on the ground and extending a tentacle from time to time. The tentacles mmed on the wall, the stairs and finally smashed Lin Yiyi into pieces too.

    At the moment of death, everything paused.

    It was a picture scroll of hell.

    Is this what ¡°I¡± did?

    Lin Yiyi was startled.

    She didn¡¯t know whether it was better off to have Brother Hammer kill her.

    That seemed to be a better decision.

    Suddenly, Lin Yiyi¡¯s attention was captured by something.

    That thing came from the only ce not illuminated by light but with only pure darkness.

    She leaned in without thinking.

    Then, her eyes widened.

    [1] Famous gaming term in Dead By Daylight: The act of looping means running around obstacles and walls to try and keep your distance from the killer.

 Chapter 98: Angelo

    <h4>Chapter 98: Angelo</h4>

    It was a ¡°Ball of Flesh¡± stored in a ss bottle filled with wine.

    To be more precise, it was a long-dead embryo.

    What is this?

    Lin Yiyi endured the pain. Her mind was nk.

    Her heart was filled with a strong sense of difort and disgust. The bullet texts disappeared again,

    ¡°It¡¯s this¡­ As long as I still have this¡­¡±

    A panting, frantic voice came from ¡®her¡¯ mouth.

    The ¡°painter¡± coughed and touched the ss bottle.

    The basement, where the flesh was still tumbling, fell into total silence.

    The restless flesh on the ground returned to calm as if they had lost their lives.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    The skeletons¡­

    The skeletons all looked at the painter.

    Lin Yiyi suddenly felt that the skeletons seemed to be smiling.

    But how was that possible?

    ¡°Elle. Elle. Protect me!¡±

    The painter stroked the bottle with the ¡°Ball of Flesh¡± in it and muttered in a low volume, ¡°Let Angelo wake up. Can you hear me? Elle? Elle?!¡±

    ¡°Did you just say¡­¡±

    Finally, the middle-aged man with the hammer spoke.

    He slowly approached the light.

    His right arm melted like a liquid and fell to the ground with ticking noises. The liquid diffused into the flesh. Then, the pool of flesh mixed with his blood calmed down.

    The emerald-green pupils were like a wild wolf that had lost everything.

    His voice was not off old-age but could even be considered young. He had seemingly gone through the vicissitudes of life.

    ¡°Is this Elle¡¯s child? Is his name Angelo? What a good name.¡±

    The man whispered.

    Afterward, he extended his left hand to the painter and held it slightly in the air.

    ¡°[Vomit].¡±

    The man ordered.

    Suddenly, the painter froze.

    The painter (Lin Yiyi) started coughing violently with strength escaping his body.

    With something seemingly surging out from his throat, he could no longer hold the bottle containing ¡°Angelo¡± and dropped it to the ground.

    Since the flesh was flowing on the ground, the bottle didn¡¯t break as if it had fallen into the sea. Instead, it floated towards the man holding the hammer. Babyughter came in the air.

    But the painter gasped in panic suddenly, like asthma. Then, the coughing became more intense.

    In the end, he coughed out something.

    He reached out his hand and dragged out what was clogging his throat.

    Then, he was stunned.

    It was an umbilical cord.

    After the umbilical cord was coughed out, a rainbow color me suddenly ignited. The painter was electrocuted. The umbilical cord shook off from the painter¡¯s grasp, making him fall to the ground.

    The umbilical cord floated toward the man holding the hammer.

    ¡°So that¡¯s it. [Deadborn Reincarnation]. Are you nning to use this ritual to resurrect Elle?¡±

    The man sneered, ¡°Do you think that what you sacrificed can be resurrected by this kind of ritual with a low sess rate?¡±

    The painter ignored the man with a hammer but called out, ¡°Elle? Elle?!¡±

    His voice was terrified, even a little fierce, ¡°Don¡¯t abandon me, Elle! Elle!¡±

    ¡°Elle. Who do you think you are in front of Elle?¡±

    The man with the hammer threw cold stares.

    The painter wailed on the ground like an abandoned dog. ¡°I¡¯m Elle¡¯s father!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The man with green pupils roared, ¡°I¡¯m the real Elle¡¯s father!¡±

    Hearing this, the painter¡¯s trembling body suddenly stopped.

    His pupils dted.

    ¡°You are Buckel.¡±

    The painter said incoherently, ¡°But, aren¡¯t you dead?¡±

    The man holding the hammer just walked down. He gently waved the left hand holding the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord was like a rope, and the other end was tied to the Ball of Flesh in the transparent sphere.

    The other end in the man¡¯s grasp plunged directly into his palm.

    After the umbilical cord connected the Ball of Flesh, it soon began to swell. It gradually became huge and burst the bottle.

    It was like a balloon floating in the air, getting bigger and bigger.

    The man holding the hammer became thinner at speed visible to the naked eye.

    But his eyes were unfazed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dead.¡±

    The man called ¡°Buckel¡± said nonchntly, ¡°You are just my substitute. Where do you think ra¡¯s knowledge and ritual got from? She didn¡¯t dare to attack me, so she found you after the divorce.

    ¡°If I were a weekte, you would have been sacrificed to the ¡®ck Widow¡¯ by her. I saved your life now. I didn¡¯t n to kill you at the time because Elle needed a father¡­ A healthy mortal father not entangled with a curse. So after killing ra, I left Freezing Water Port.

    ¡°I was wrong. I should have taken all the books away. It was my fault, I admit it. I was the one who killed Elle.¡±

    Buckel¡¯s voice was full of intense malice.

    His right cheek also melted into ck mud. His voice fluctuated along, echoing heavily, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t believe in the self-control of mortals. You and ra are just the same kind of people.

    ¡°But it¡¯s fine. I am alone now without any hope, without attachment. In this way, I have nothing to fear.¡±

    He said, raising the hammer.

    This ugly hammer was some kind of powerful curse vessel.

    After Buckel aimed at the painter and raised the hammer, the painter¡¯s body was frozen and unable to avoid.

    But, before the hammer fell, Angelo (the painter and Elle¡¯s son) floating in the air like a balloon suddenly opened his eyes and mouth wide in Buckel¡¯s blindspot.

    A sharp dive.

    Then, it was followed up by a bite.

    It bit Buckel¡¯s head off directly.

    Buckel¡¯s body below his head instantly turned into mud and fell to the ground.

    The painter looked at this scene and was shocked.

    Lin Yiyi was also shocked.

    Even Annan, who was watching this scene outside, was shocked.

    How does it turn out like this?

    The painter also shrank in horror, gasping for breath, with no sense of being saved, ¡°Ha¡­ha¡­ha?

    ¡°Elle? Is that you?!¡±

    The ¡°balloon¡± that swallowed Buckel¡¯s head didn¡¯t reply.

    It began to expand, and a colorful me ignited on the surface. The baby¡¯sughter echoed in the air.

    Then it started to grow bigger and bigger¡­

    It grew endlessly.

    Suddenly, Annan recalled a sentence mentioned in the newspaper:

    ¡°After the drunk man rushed to Morrison¡¯s gallery, he found that the police officers were battling with a burning Colorful Ball of Flesh. [1]¡±

    Could that line refer to this?

    The dead baby named ¡°Angelo¡±?

    Suddenly an idea came to Annan:

    If Elle¡¯s soul has been sacrificed to the Venerated Skeleton, but Morrison¡¯s ¡°resurrection ritual¡± has seeded.

    What is this thing brought back to life by this painter who knows nothing about the Transcended world?

    [1] I have made an error in Chapter 53. This sentence and Chapter 53 are adjusted ordingly.

 Chapter 99: Route To The True Ending

    <h4>Chapter 99: Route To The True Ending</h4>

    ¡°Gegege¡­¡±

    Under Lin Yiyi¡¯s gaze, the ¡°Angelo¡± rising into the air made a crisp, baby-likeugh.

    She had now regained control over her body.

    Lin Yiyi knew she needed to do something now.

    That Ball of Flesh floated in the air, looking at her expectantly as if waiting for something.

    ¡°Angelo?¡±

    Lin Yiyi called out tentatively.

    After no response, she changed her key word and continued calling, ¡°Elle?

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton?¡±

    ¡°Angelo¡± waited for a long time but didn¡¯t respond.

    The baby¡¯s chuckles that kept ringing around became sparse, and the seven-colored mes became more intense. Lin Yiyi started to feel breathless, a little dizzy.

    Lin Yiyi was a little panicked. She kept trying new keywords, ¡°Dear?

    ¡°Baby?

    ¡°Kiss me, baby?¡±

    ¡°Are you filling in the nks here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s over. I think it¡¯s game over for Sister Hyphen.¡±

    ¡°You are dead.¡±

    ¡°You have already done well. Many yers can¡¯t reach your level.¡±

    ¡°Sister Hyphen, you earned this life¡¯s worth. RIP.¡±

    Looking at the bullet text, Lin Yiyi started to panic. The rest of the chats gloated.

    ¡°I must be missing something.¡±

    Seeing the Ball of Flesh gave no response but just getting bigger, Lin Yiyi sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m done for, brothers.

    ¡°Remember to write down all the previous texts! Someone tell the old goose. This route is a dead end. Don¡¯te for now.¡±

    Before she could say anything, she suddenly saw Angelo dive down.

    The Ball of Flesh ate her head in one bite.

    But the field of vision did not fade at the moment of being swallowed.

    Lin Yiyi could see a pair of emerald-green pupils looking at her mockingly in the Ball of Flesh¡¯s belly.

    Then, she lost consciousness.

    ¡°This should be an impassable ending.¡±

    Including Annan, all the yers who witnessed the scene had this thought.

    This storyline should be the ¡°preset ending¡± before moving on to the true ending. It had the same pattern as those ssic mystery decryption games.

    In a sense, the yer had to go through the dead ending once to obtain the critical information. After getting this information, only then could the yer trigger the route to the true ending.

    It was normal to have this phenomenon take ce in the dungeon instance.

    After all, this dungeon instance had many levels. It was impossible to put the ending right on the first level. That would be too ridiculous.

    But it was entirely possible to get somethingter or learn some new information. By that moment, the yers could tackle this segment in the first level and enter the true ending.

    ¡°What a ridiculous difficulty.¡±

    Annan sighed softly, ¡°Yiyi has explored this level in-depth, but she hasn¡¯t triggered the main mission.¡±

    He realized that the scale of this nightmare might be more extensive than he initially expected.

    This nightmare was directly rted to the incident where the Venerated Skeleton cursed the Freezing Water Port forty-five years ago. The reasons why the Freezing Water Port had been abandoned should be hidden here too. It might exin why Don Juan came to thisnd.

    In other words, one might be able to meet with the Venerated Skeleton at the end of this nightmare.

    Annan made up his mind. I have to look for Don Juan again.

    Of course, that would be after he got more newspapers from Salvatore.

    After having free timeter, Annan would re-enter the nightmare on the boat. This time, he would ask Don Juan and the Old Wizard Benjamin why they came to Freezing Water Port.

    Don Juan and Old Wizard Benjamin¡¯s actions arouse suspicion.

    It was much more than seeking asylum.

    It was more urate to say that Don Juan, being a direct descendant, came to find something or someone here.

    ¡°In short, there is a mechanism on the first level of the nightmare, which can lead to Level -1: the basement. After entering the basement, it will trigger a rted story about ¡®Angelo.¡¯ Then, I have to replicate what happened in history or alter that unfortunate ending.¡±

    Annan was in deep thoughts.

    It was now less than an hour before sunrise. There was not much time left for yers.

    Those yers who had not yet tackled the dungeon instance had given up. Instead, they stayed outside and watched the stream with peace of mind.

    They probably realized that this dungeon instance was not so difficult that they could finish it in an hour or two.

    Of course, after the yers explored further, Annan would give them the ¡°simple dungeon instance¡± so as not to dampen their enthusiasm.

    Annan would resort to the nightmare Justin¡¯s death had manifested.

    Justin was Bronze Rank Transcended. His nightmare could only be at easy difficulty.

    The logic went the same with Don Juan¡¯s nightmare.

    Not only was the nightmare wasn¡¯t on ¡®distorted¡¯ nightmare, but the duration was much shorter. There was not much of a challenge in tackling the puzzle. Moreover, thebat was simple with only one Transcended enemy.

    Annan could probably appear as a friendly NPC to assist as well.

    This dungeon instance was the dungeon instance that Annan prepared for yers to level up.

    As for ¡°gallery,¡± Annan wanted the yer to go in and help him scout the path.

    When the yer was grinding for levels, Annan would first take a look at the nightmare manifested through Gerald¡¯s death.

    The main purpose was to see if Gerald would say something that shouldn¡¯t be told in the nightmare (as for the yers). Annan wanted to see how well Gerald knew Annan Austere-Winter. Then, he would decide whether to disclose this nightmare to the yers.

    ¡°Eh?¡°

    Annan eximed. He found that the traffic on the live broadcast interface suddenly changed.

    After a while, Wandering Child had entered a deeper level of the nightmare.

    If it weren¡¯t for the sharp increase in the number of viewers on Wandering Child¡¯s stream, Annan wouldn¡¯t even know that there was a new change.

    Hmph, Wandering Child is tackling the nightmare at high speed.

    ¡°Let me see. What level is this? Oh, it¡¯s the third level.¡±

    Annan was dumbfounded.

    The deeper dream at the third level should be ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison,¡± right?

    So next, is Wandering Child going to y as Elle?

    Annan couldn¡¯t wait to open the live broadcast.

    He saw the bewildered Wandering Child and the bullet texts in joy:

    ¡°Oh! Princess Child is so beautiful!¡±

    ¡°Smile for me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scolding you, but your enemy is really your dad [1].¡±

    ¡°Child is not bad with crossdressing.¡±

    ¡°Wait, if the child is so beautiful in women¡¯s clothing, I don¡¯t think he can get out of bed tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    ¡°That sexual innuendo!¡±

    ¡°You animals¡­¡±

    Wandering Child muttered in a low voice, pressing his skirt a little awkwardly.

    The viewing angle of the audience could be slightly rotated during live broadcast.

    The painter Amos in front of the Wandering Child, became more and more dissatisfied.

    Finally, Amos put down the pen again.

    Wandering Child jumped at the sound of the paintbrush hitting the wooden board. He immediately concentrated and looked at Amos.

    Amos¡¯s eyes were filled with anger, ¡°Elle, what happened to you today?

    ¡°Stop moving around. How can I draw a portrait for you? You are wasting precious paint!¡±

    ¡°Yes, father¡­¡±

    Wandering Child hesitated for a moment and replied hesitantly, ¡°I don¡¯t feel well today.¡±

    With that, the Wandering Child made an ufortable look.

    Wandering Child was not entirely without acting skills.

    This was his exquisite acting skills when he was in school when he took sick leave from the headteacher.

    Wandering Child seemed to have sessfully duped Amos.

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Amos hesitated and suddenly said something strange, ¡°Then do you want to give it a try?

    ¡°Besides looking for a fair deal with Silver Sire¡¯s priest, is there other ways to treat the disease?¡±

    [1] It¡¯s a typical Chinese insult to say you are the father of the other person.

 Chapter 100: What Are You Looking At?

    <h4>Chapter 100: What Are You Looking At?</h4>

    Hey, wait. What do you want to do?

    Wandering Child panicked.

    The main reason was that there was a group of bullet textmentatorsing over from Yiyi¡¯s stream. Under the pretext of ¡°exining the plot for you, thementators exposed the strange rtionship between Elle and Amos.

    They were father and daughter not rted by blood. Worse still, they were lovers that involved a rtionship between the sacrificer and the ritual operator.

    Wandering Childmented in his heart. No matter what kind of rtionship it is, I don¡¯t want to get involved with it!

    Damn, what should I do now?

    ¡®Elle¡¯ saw the bullet texts and hesitated again.

    She hesitated, ¡°I still want to try it. I mean, Silver Sire¡¯s treatment is rtively safe, father.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fast, and it saves money.¡±

    Amos ignored Elle¡¯s intention.

    Perhaps because Elle did not cooperate previously, Amos¡¯s tone became a bit harsh with anger.

    Amos approached, grabbing Elle¡¯s left arm. Thentern sleeve withce edges on her left forearm was caught. Unfortunately, the sleeve became a little deformed under the strong pulling force.

    Elle staggered and was abruptly pulled away.

    The dress that only covered the thighs rose a little under the violent pull. She quickly pulled it down with her other hand.

    Amos¡¯s grip on Elle¡¯s arm was firm. It was probably because Elle¡¯s body was too weak andcked physical training. Wandering Child felt it was akin to an iron tong mped on ¡®his¡¯ arm.

    ¡°No~! It hurts, father.¡±

    Elle almost screamed out loud, but she quickly reacted. She quickly lowered her voice, whispering with an aggrieved expression on her face.

    Only then Amos seemed to realize that his violent pull had put his daughter in pain.

    He quickly released his grip and apologized softly, ¡°Are you fine, Elle? Sorry, I seem to have lost my self-control recently.¡±

    His irritable and agitated emotions suddenly dissipated again.

    Is this man a psycho?!

    Wandering Childined in his heart.

    But, he gave a frail impression, ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. Then we-¡°

    ¡°Come with me in the basement.¡±

    Amos interrupted ¡°Elle¡± strongly.

    Then, Amos seemed to realize that his tone was a bit rough. So, he quickly said gently and humbly, ¡°Oh, be obedient, Elle. You will get better soon.¡±

    You¡¯re not ¡®injecting¡¯ into my body, right?

    (TN: Common Chinese sexual innuendo)

    Horror overwhelmed Wandering Child.

    ording to the bullet text, this girl Elle seemed to be pregnant with a childter. Unfortunately, both Elle and the child would die.

    This man definitely has a mental illness!

    This nightmare is too scary!

    Though, Wandering Child did not mean it was scary in the previous innuendo sense.

    At this dungeon level, do I have to find a way to escape? But my body is too weak. How do I escape?

    If I¡¯m caught, won¡¯t Amos be mad?

    Wander Child nced down.

    Looking at Elle¡¯s left arm, where Amos had previously grasped, the deep red prints with indistinct pain had not faded. On the white skin that was as fair as cow¡¯s milk, the print became conspicuous.

    It will turn blemish in a while, right?

    Is Amos too strong, or am I weak?

    At this moment, a new mission prompt shed in front of Wandering Child¡¯s eyes:

    [Complete the portrait.]

    [Explore Amos Morrison¡¯s secrets.]

    [Live.]

    Among these three lines of mission, the line [Complete the portrait.] had a strikethrough. The font was grayed out. (Failed)was marked behind the sentence.

    At the same time, under the mission of ¡°Exploring Amos Morrison¡¯s secrets,¡± there came a new line:

    [Follow Amos¡¯s order.]

    Wait, this is getting worse.

    Wandering Child shuddered.

    But since the mission demanded him to do so, Wandering Child could only bite the bullet and leave Elle¡¯s bedroom with Amos.

    On the surface, Elle hesitated for a while and obediently left Elle¡¯s bedroom with Amos.

    The yers did not encounter Elle¡¯s diary because of the flow of events too.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The person most curious now was Annan.

    Annan watched the dungeon level he had defeated with interest.

    Are there alternatives to this?

    No, this doesn¡¯t seem right.

    Annan had a sudden new realization.

    ording to the character of ¡°Elle¡± in the diary, she shouldn¡¯t have been able to sit on the spot and keep smiling for a few hours. After all, this was just an excuse for Amos to make things difficult for her and refuse to paint a portrait for her.

    In other words, Elle and ¡°Wandering Child¡± were in the same situation and made the same choice.

    ¡°Is this the main mission¡¯s intention?¡±

    Annan had a vague hunch.

    So far, the main mission received in the nightmares focused on ¡°oveing history.¡±

    For example, Annan was tasked to stop Don Juan from drinking the poisonous alcohol in the first nightmare. It was because Don Juan drank poisonous alcohol in real history.

    In the ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison,¡± the main missions were [Complete the portrait.], [Explore Amos Morrison¡¯s secrets.], and [Live.].

    As a matter of fact, Elle shouldn¡¯t have died here. She should die after six months.

    This point in time should be the time of her pregnancy.

    But she also failed toplete the portrait, nor did she seed in exploring Amos Morrison¡¯s secrets.

    Contrary to John¡¯s nightmare (Don Juan¡¯s personal guard), death was a possibility when Elle contradicted the history.

    This scenario of introducing the possibility of death was the same when Annan yed as Elle and encountered the portrait trying to murder him in the study.

    There was still a problem.

    Amos hadn¡¯t been painting for a few hours continuously, and he wouldn¡¯t feel that Elle had worked hard. Then, he wouldn¡¯t go out to buy cakes for Elle to reward her. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t leave the house. Therefore, Elle won¡¯t have time to sneak into the study and check the forbidden books.

    The condition ofpleting the portrait had failed.

    The second mission had be impossible to bepleted.

    But this mission wasn¡¯t disyed as a failure. Rather, it was updated to [Follow Amos¡¯s order.].

    Does this mean that although Elle did not enter the study, she is now exploring the secrets of Amos in another way?

    ¡°I¡¯m getting excited.¡±

    ¡°Waking up at 4 a.m. The old man has tasted the young¡¯s cherry.¡±

    ¡°Shut up! The original poem isn¡¯t meant to be like this!¡±

    ¡°Wandering Child! Go!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about him. The other dungeon challengers seem more interesting.¡±

    ¡°You guys¡­¡±

    Wandering Child muttered in his heart.

    Luckily, the bullet texts were anonymous. Otherwise, he would have a notebook writing down names by now.

    I won¡¯t forget this!

    You will face the same situation one day!

    Wandering Child didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud this time. No matter how soft it was, it seemed that Amos could hear it.

    Amos¡¯s hearing or ¡®Perception¡¯ stats was no longer at the level of ordinary people.

    ¡°Si¡­¡°

    After entering the basement, ¡°Elle¡± shivered suddenly.

    It was too cold here.

    It could even be said that the cold was a little abnormal.

    ¡°Is it cold?¡±

    Amos asked with some concern. He then took off his tops and put them on Elle.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I forgot that you were a little sick.¡±

    He said apologetically, ¡°You wait for me here for a while. I¡¯ll go back and get you some clothes.¡±

    With that said, Amos hurried out of the basement and closed the basement door.

    After the door was closed, Wandering Child seemed to feel colder.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you let me go up and get the clothes by myself?¡±

    Wandering Child cursed in a low volume.

    But unexpectedly, he found that the voice sounded nice and sweet.

    Wandering Child gave a tut and stoppedining.

    If Amos dared to let him go up and get his clothes, he would change into lightweight clothes convenient for traversing around, go to the kitchen and grab a kitchen knife. Then, he would run directly outside the house.

    As long as Wandering Child got a chance to slip away, he would not hesitate.

    If he failed to slip away, he would fight with all his can.

    This ran ording to yers¡¯ behavior.

    It was just that the Wandering Child preferred ¡°slipping away.¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    Wandering Child suddenly noticed a strange object.

    It looked a bit like a bed.

    But it seemed fragile. None with a sane mind would use it to sleep. It would copse.

    It was because this bed was made of bones.

    It was not a firm structure but bones pieced together into something that resembled a bed.

    Just looking at it, it gave people chills.

    At this moment, Amos had already trotted back.

    He held three pieces of clothing in his arms¡ªto be precise, three skirts.

    To be more precise, it was three cashmere dresses.

    Not to mention Wandering Child, even the bullet text was confused for a moment. A barrage of ¡°???¡± appeared.

    I see. He wants to torture me through the heat.

    Wandering Child sighed inwardly.

    Among the yers watching this scene, only Annan knew why.

    Because in Elle¡¯s wardrobe, there were only skirts and underwear.

    This meant that Elle never went out, at least after winter. In other words, Amos didn¡¯t let Elle go out by herself.

    ¡°Put on them, Elle. Put on all of it, or it will sting a bit.¡±

    Amos smiled and pped Elle¡¯s butt lightly, ¡°Then lie on that. Hurry up. Stupid Elle. It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t seen it before. There¡¯s nothing to be shy about.¡±

    Huh, you even know that getting ¡®sting¡¯ is painful. Wait, my body has seen this before. What?

    Wandering Childined frantically.

    But, when he looked at the second line of the mission list, he could only agree to Amos¡¯s request.

    The mission is important. The mission is important.

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the worst scenario, yet¡­probably.

    At this moment, Amos began to fumble around the basement¡¯s corner.

    When Wandering Child looked back, he vaguely saw bones¡­ lots of bones¡ªsome ribs with flesh.

    This might be why the basement was so cold. This ce served as cold storage.

    ¡°En?¡°

    Suddenly, Wandering Child saw something and made a puzzled voice.

    A row of dense white bones was exposed on Amos¡¯s spine after he took off his coat. He appeared like a scorpion.

    This made Wandering Child stunned. He stopped putting on more clothes.

    Hearing the sound stopped behind him, Amos turned his head back in confusion.

    At the next moment, Wandering Child¡¯s heart almost stopped beating.

    The abrupt fear gripped Wandering Child¡¯s heart tightly.

    It was because of Amos¡¯s face when he turned around.

    There was no flesh, and there was no skin.

    Amos, with the pitch-ck eye sockets, stared directly at his daughter. He scratched his cheekbones without being self-aware.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Elle?¡± Amos¡¯s echoing voice sounded, ¡°Why do you stop?

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

 Chapter 101: Sprouted Bone

    <h4>Chapter 101: Sprouted Bone</h4>

    Wandering Child was stupefied immediately.

    Under the hollow eye sockets¡¯ stare, an indescribable, deep, and chilling fear overwhelmed him.

    He suddenly felt that his back seemed to be itchy.

    It was an itch, like having a wound healed.

    It was like the bones had sprouted and were slowly growing.

    ¡°Elle¡± touched it lightly. She vaguely felt that there were some protrusions on her originally smooth back. Her spine seemed to be squirming and chafing as they sharpened.

    Wandering Child was attentive and gently stroked his spine. He couldn¡¯t stop himself stroking. At the same time, he felt that his elbows and knees were beginning to be a little itchy as if something was about to break out of his body.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Elle?¡±

    At this moment, Amos asked again with some concerns.

    Wandering Child was surprised.

    He returned to reality at once.

    He recovered, only to find that Amos¡¯s face was as usual.

    His face didn¡¯t turn into a skeleton. It was the same as before. No white bones were piercing out from the skin on the back of the neck. The skin was smooth and even without wounds.

    As if everything just now was just an illusion.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Elle responded softly and began to change clothes.

    She put on those three heavy cashmere dresses.

    Amos felt that her gaze was a little creepy, but he didn¡¯t continue to pursue it, just scratched his face again and turned back.

    But that is definitely not an illusion. Wandering Child was confident.

    Not only because he still felt the itch deep in his body.

    The rowdy bullet text that shed in front of him also confirmed this in the first time moment:

    ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m scared to death!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the ghost father.¡±

    ¡°Motherfucker, this terrifies me.¡±

    ¡°Be content. At least the face is clean and free of maggots.¡±

    Just by looking at this chaotic bullet text, Wandering Child could be sure that the horrible scene was not his illusion.

    So what is going on?

    Wandering Child subconsciously opened the attribute panel.

    Then he froze for a moment.

    [Health: 95%]

    [Erosion rate: 5%]

    Wait, 5%?

    Wasn¡¯t it 2% previously?

    Obviously, it will only increase by 2% once I die. But the erosion rate has just increased by 3%.

    Bullet text also saw this line of numbers:

    ¡°Is this sanity drop?¡±

    ¡°No, it should be a supernatural vision.¡±

    ¡°This seems to be more severe than the dying punishment!¡±

    ¡°Wait, will the erosion rate continue to increase? This is just preparation for the ritual, right?¡±

    It turns out that there are ways of increasing the erosion rate directly in the nightmare. Annan frowned slightly.

    Annan checked on himself immediately and confirmed that his erosion rate did not rise after seeing this scene through the live broadcast. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Is that the Venerated Skeleton?¡± Annan muttered.

    But, it doesn¡¯t look like it.

    ording to the books, the Venerated Skeleton was a giant skeleton of two and a half meters tall:

    ¡°He should be wearing a ducal blue and white fur robe. It was said to be unicorn hair. He wore a sacred copper-nickel crown on his head and a golden mask akin to a human face. He had heavy steel boots with dragonhide gloves on each hand. The Venerated Skeleton was covered under clothing entirely. The standing cor of the robe would cover up even the back of the neck.

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton is mainly identified by height, followed by his appearance. There are only bones underneath his clothes, so he must look skinny. The Venerated Skeleton is the ancient giant¡¯s deity. The height of modern giants is generally four meters. Only ancient giants had short statures of less than three meters but more than two meters.

    ¡°Remember, when looking directly at the Venerated Skeleton, do not use any ability that helps in perceiving the essence. The ducal outfit he wears is a kind of protection for others. If one sees any bone of the Venerated Skeleton, they will be continuously eroded by the curse. At the same time, ¡®Ossification¡¯ will ur. Each bone will reject the body¡¯s will. They will actively swallow all flesh and blood around to grow frantically.¡±

    The Ossification recorded in the book was somewhat simr to the situation of Wandering Child just now. The situation of increasing the erosion rate also coincided with it.

    Annan remembered that the bones at the neck of ¡°Elle¡± did start to be a bit sharp and protruding at the moment that illusion appeared.

    But it was not quite right.

    If it was the Venerated Skeleton, then ¡°Elle¡± should not be alive at all.

    It appeared that the brutal nightmare gave more than death threats. Even if you are in a dream, but you see something you shouldn¡¯t see, the erosion rate will still increase.

    It rted to why someone would go crazy after entering the nightmare when only a small amount of erosion rate was increased after the death in the nightmare.

    This should indeed be a silver level nightmare.

    Annan was in doubt why the nightmare was so simple.

    Although it was only a level of ¡°gallery,¡± it was the lowest difficulty of the silver level. But now, as long as the challenger failed toplete the portrait at the beginning, the difficulty would immediately rise to the silver level.

    So, what is the mechanism that triggers this?

    Is it painting? Basement? Ritual? Or Amos¡¯ mood? Annan pondered on it.

    ¡°It¡¯s all ready, Elle.¡±

    Finally, Amos breathed a sigh of relief.

    Elle, on the other hand, had already changed her clothes.

    She wore a threeyer cashmere dress. She now bloated like a zongzi [1]. It was hard to move, let alone fighting. She felt a little breathless.

    But, Wandering Child was relieved a lot.

    Judging from this situation, at least there is no need to be ¡®stung.¡¯

    This is great.

    Amos approached Elle andforted her quietly,

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. It won¡¯t hurt. It¡¯s just a simple ritual. Fortunately, it¡¯s June, so it won¡¯t be too troublesome.¡±

    ¡°Yes, father.¡±

    Elle paused and said softly.

    Seeing that there was no fear or even curiosity on her face, Amos smiled with satisfaction.

    Under Elle¡¯s gaze, Amos respectfully lit three thick candles, ced in the direction of 1 o¡¯clock, 2 o¡¯clock, and 4 o¡¯clock of the bone bed.

    Then, Amos motioned Elle to climb onto the bed from the 3 o¡¯clock direction.

    Amos proceeded to take out a protractor, three ck male sheep horns, three ck male goat horns, and three pairs of cow horns. He put them on both sides of the three candles, forming three inward angles of 120 degrees, engulfing Elle at the same time.

    At the moment when the three angles were formed, the candle trembled at the same time.

    The warm orange glow suddenly turned into ice blue.

    Wandering Child suddenly felt a strange cold fall on him.

    It was as if his whole body was immersed in ice water. His body couldn¡¯t feel the slightest heat, but he wouldn¡¯t be trembling hard.

    Instead, Wandering Child found it quiet and peaceful. He didn¡¯t want to move at all and then slowly closed his eyes.

    At thest moment, he tried to open his eyes.

    But, he saw the flesh on Amos¡¯s face falling one by one. Amos¡¯s body began to decay, and his bones remained.

    Wandering Child vaguely heard that Amos was chanting something in a low volume, but his consciousness was fading. His body seemed to be held down by something, and his limbs went immobile.

    After that, Wandering Child lost consciousness altogether.

    When he woke up again, he found himself still lying on the bone bed. Those three candles had utterly burned out.

    Not only that, but Elle¡¯s weak body suddenly became strong.

    Even more powerful than his body outside the dungeon instance.

    It was as if he could jump to the ceiling without exerting much strength.

    There was only one difference.

    Wandering Child felt some difort in his left eye.

    He reached out and touched it subconsciously.

    But, he only touched something cold as if it had been dead for a long time-the eye socket of the corpse.

 Chapter 102: There Is Always One Truth!

    <h4>Chapter 102: There Is Always One Truth!</h4>

    (TN: The title is a Detective Conan reference.)

    What¡¯s going on?

    Wandering Child was startled.

    He reached out and touched it again, only to find that everything was normal with his left eye. It was still warm.

    This is creepy and really strange!

    It¡¯s just like having the two states switch back and forth from time to time.

    Is this an illusion or something within this world?

    Did Elle¡¯s face also be a skull face simr to that of painter Amos just now?

    ¡°Elle, can you hear me?¡±

    At this moment, Wandering Child heard Amos¡¯s call. He turned around subconsciously.

    A skeleton was sitting on a chair next to Wandering Child, looking at him with concern.

    There was no flesh on its body except for the left eye and back of the neck.

    Its left eye was iid with a green eyeball. There was a piece of skin the size of two palms on the back of the neck. There was even some pale blond hair on it.

    Wandering Child remembered clearly.

    Amos was brown-haired and blue-eyed, while Elle was blond and green-eyed.

    In other words, this was Elle¡¯s eyes and skin!

    ¡°How is your body doing?¡±

    Skeleton slowly asked with a heavy, echoing voice, ¡°Can you see it?¡±

    Can you see it?

    Why do you ask if I can see it?

    Didn¡¯t I tell you at the beginning that I had a headache?

    Wandering Child keenly sensed something was amiss.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    -Can.

    Wandering Child was about to answer like this.

    But when he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a trance.

    When he woke up again, he found that the skeleton had changed back to Amos.

    Those eyes were still blue instead of green.

    Wait, what happened?

    Wandering Child suddenly realized something.

    ¡°I can see. My vision is clear. I¡¯m feeling alright now.¡±

    (TN: Wandering Child altered his reply from I can see it (the skeleton) to this reply.)

    While Wandering Child answered slowly, he touched his eyes and back of his head, using the ingenious bluffing technique he had practiced in the examination room.

    Sure enough, he felt a strange and cold sensation again this time.

    Whether it was the eyeballs or the neck, they had turned cold. Wandering Child even felt his sharp and protruding cervical spine.

    ¡°I understand now. Among the streamer and his dad, one must be a dead person.¡±

    ¡°Is Amos going to dismember Elle into pieces?¡±

    ¡°Wandering Child, how do you feel!? Are you alright!?¡± asked Amos.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling fine, father.¡±

    Elle asked softly, ¡°But, I feel my body bing light and powerful. What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±

    ¡°This is a gift from the Venerated Skeleton, Elle.¡±

    Until then, Amos finally revealed to Elle, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton bestows my ¡®god-bestowed paint.¡¯

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton also bestows your healthy and powerful body. His divine power is stored in your body. Therefore, not only will you live healthily, but you will not get sick or age.¡±

    He chuckled and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a good thing? This is a benefit that the upright deity can¡¯t give.¡±

    ¡°Then, father.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± was silent for a while and asked seriously, ¡°What is the price?¡±

    ¡°There is no price to be paid.¡±

    Amos replied without hesitation, ¡°This is a one-way ritual to pray for blessing. My transaction with the Venerated Skeleton has not officially started. So you don¡¯t need to pay any price. He even promised me that he would give me paints that amounted to ten folds I got in the past. That¡¯s enough for me to use for a long time.¡±

    With no price to be paid? Do you believe it?

    Elle¡¯s face was filled with doubt.

    If you don¡¯t have to pay anything, where are Elle¡¯s left eye and the flesh at the back of the neck?

    Since he asked me if I can see him clearly, that means he knew that my eyes had been stolen.

    But why did Amos think that I didn¡¯t notice this? Did the Venerated Skeleton tell him that?

    Annan stared at this scene, startled. Then, he managed to pick up some clues. ¡°Wait a minute,¡±mented Annan as the audience.

    If Annan wasn¡¯t mistaken, it was possible that Amos didn¡¯t kill Elle.

    Or it could be that Amos didn¡¯t realize he had killed Elle!

    In that newspaper from forty-five years ago, Elle¡¯s body pieces were scattered all over each painting frame in the form of dismembered flesh. More than one hundred paintings were disyed in the first three levels of the nightmare ¡°gallery¡± alone.

    Isn¡¯t it quiteborious to dismember Elle and put the body pieces into each painting?

    Is there such a deep hatred between them?

    Elle¡¯s time of death should be after the gallery construction.

    Would Amos visit the gallery to stuff the dismembered flesh into the picture frame piece by piece when there is no one at night?

    That isn¡¯t logical.

    Annan¡¯s deduction wasn¡¯tid on the faith in the father-daughter rtionship but Amos¡¯s inferiority in agility. It was an impossible feat for Amos to perform theborious task without being noticed.

    Then, only one possibility was left.

    That was the time when Elle¡¯s body pieces entered the painting was earlier than her death.

    Her body was separated into pieces before she died.

    It could seem absurd at first¡­

    ¡°I think the paint bestowed by the Venerated Skeleton was crafted through Elle¡¯s flesh!¡± Annan¡¯s pupils shrank.

    He suddenly felt a chill in his back.

    It was a somewhat bold guess, but it could exin everything.

    There was already a price to be paid at the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s first ritual. Worse still, the price had already been paid in advance!

    In the third sacrifice, if you choose ¡°half the life span,¡± you will sacrifice the first part of your life. Hence, you will instantly be an old man.

    Then, the ¡°half of the conscience¡± and the ¡°friendship from now on¡± sacrificed in the second ritual will not affect the ritual performer. If so, what are themonalities?

    It was the contempt for the lives of others.

    Hence, the negative cycle was unstoppable at the second ritual already. Those who went for the second ritual wouldmit the third ritual because it would no longer cause them a psychological burden no matter which ritual they chose. For example, ¡°eating a certain part of others.¡±

    ording to this logic, the content of the third ritual must have influenced the ritual performer to perform the fourth ritual.

    The ritual that most pleased the Venerated Skeleton was ¡°the creator killed by his work.¡± In light of the ¡°sacrifice recement ritual,¡± you need to cut off ties with your parents, wives, children, and friends.

    Think about it, would a protector who loves arts like this kind of ritual?

    Many pictures suddenly appeared in Annan¡¯s mind:

    There is Elle¡¯s flesh in every painting at the gallery.

    In the basement found on Yiyi¡¯s stream, there is a skeleton where Elle has lost all her flesh, as well as a container with a dead embryo.

    Amos swallowed Elle¡¯s umbilical cord.

    Amos¡¯s body showed the eyes and skin that Elle had lost.

    ¡°I understand itpletely.¡±

    Annan murmured in realization, ¡°Amos just got it wrong.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton was not a shelter for artists and creators at all.

    The reason Venerated Skeleton was hostile to the Elegant Elder was not that theypeted for artists¡¯ resources.

    Instead, the Venerated Skeleton hated all creators.

    Therefore, he was the enemy of the artist¡¯s protector ¨C the Elegant Elder.

    The Venerated Skeleton mocked the artists¡¯ greed, satirized the artists trying to fulfill their work at all means, and made them pay the price for it. Unfortunately, the price was to be a demon.

    From the very beginning, the Venerated Skeleton believed that those who summoned him would hold the ritual to the end.

    So, the Venerated Skeleton had already taken away the price for the final ritual in advance ¨C the life of the artists¡¯ ¡°beloved.¡± He just allowed these sacrifices to go about as usual before the sacrifices realized that they were dead.

    To be precise, the lives lost were these artists¡¯ ¡°beloved¡± before the ritual.

    Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t have to wait after the artists sought fame and lost their conscience, eating the body parts of their loved ones or the recement after cutting off ties.

    It was because the artists no longer valued the beloved¡¯s life in the face of the final ritual.

    What an irony.

    The fourth sacrifice, the most painful price, was paid at the very beginning.

    They had long been unable to look back. At the final ritual, there was no need to look back.

    At that time, the sacrifice was already dead at the very beginning.

    Topletely cut off all contact with the past self, lose all the glory of the original self as if the original body died. Then, they put on the skin of the people they loved and harmed and died slowly in society.

    [The creator was killed by his work.]

    The ritual dramatically entuated this theme.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡±

    Annan frowned slightly.

    In this logic, Amos should have failed the ritual instead.

    Otherwise, he should have be Elle¡¯s state. But in the end, Amos coughed up Elle¡¯s eyes instead.

    Was this nightmare born when Amos coughed up Elle¡¯s eye? Only then, Annan got to enter the nightmare that ¡°takes Elle¡¯s eyes away¡±!

    Annan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.

    He finally figured out all the rules of this nightmare!

 Chapter 103: Dawnâ€™s Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 103: Dawn¡¯s Arrival</h4>

    ¡°Yes, I totally figured it out,¡± murmured Annan.

    It was conclusive that the paint capable of imprisoning souls was made from Elle¡¯s body.

    This meant that Elle might have died after the first ritual. It was just that her body was still operating, and she didn¡¯t realize her death.

    So the question was, how did a corpse get pregnant?

    The umbilical cord could only be avable after the birth or death of the baby. Amos was able to swallow the umbilical cord, indicating that the baby was already dead at that time. Why did Amos soak the baby¡¯s body in wine instead of throwing it away or destroying it?

    Does Amos not want to or dare not?

    The colorful burning ball of flesh exuded a terrifying momentum. Annan was confident that he couldn¡¯t defeat the ball no matter the ball¡¯s gender.

    In the real history, many people died in subduing the flesh ball despite involving multiple ¡°industry insiders¡± and the official Transcended.

    How did a stillborn child, who had been dead for six months and had not yet been born, be so strong?

    There was an exnation for all of this.

    The father was not Amos at all.

    ¡ªBut the Venerated Skeleton.

    The newspaper stated that Elle Morrison¡¯s sudden disappearance was at the end of January 1458.

    The stillbirth was conceived in the abdomen for almost six months.

    The dungeon instance that Wandering Child was currently working on was on 12th June 1457, which was Elle¡¯s birthday.

    The birthday probably had a special meaning in the ritual.

    Even if Wandering Child did not pretend to be sick, Amos should have nned to let ¡°Elle¡± go to the basement to hold this ritual. In the dungeon instance that Annan cleared, maybe he would be taken to the basement after eating the birthday cake.

    In short, Amos would get Elle¡¯s left eye in this ritual.

    Elleid on the bone bed and suddenly lost consciousnesspletely.

    Did she get pregnant with the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s child by this instance?

    The critical problem was that every nightmare was born out of the curse remained after Transcended¡¯s death.

    The main point of view of the nightmare was painter Amos¡¯s perspective. Then, the nightmare¡¯s owner should have a direct rtionship with him.

    The nightmare difficulty was twisted.

    In other words, the highest-level battle in this nightmare required a Gold Rank toplete. It should be born from at least one Gold Rank Transcended, who died full of resentment, and no one collected the dead body.

    So, who was that dead Transcended?

    Is it Amos? Is it Elle?

    Is it the sheriff? Is it a police officer?

    Most likely, none of the above.

    The owner of this nightmare is most likely the baby who Elle had conceived.

    It was the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s child conceived in a dream via a mortal!

    Annan came into a sudden realization, ¡°This helps exin the first sentence after entering the nightmare.¡±

    In the first nightmare that Annan entered, although he yed the role of the guard ¨C John, the nightmare owner was Don Juan Geraint.

    The reason was that John was not Transcended at all. The phrase that Annan heard, ¡°All betrayers must die,¡± might not be John¡¯s wish but Don Juan¡¯s obsession. It was just that Don Juan subconsciously put his obsession to John the guard, hoping that John could save him.

    But in any case, both of them had the same stance.

    In Nightmare: Gallery, the whisper heard when entering the dungeon instance was an old and weak voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look back. Never look back.¡±

    The voice said so.

    But the question was since the nightmare owner was the stillborn child, why was his obsession not to look back?

    If Amos dismembers Elle into pieces or sacrifices her, why does he have the courage to call Elle at Level -1? Why does he think Elle can protect him?

    Why does the Venerated Skeleton curse thisnd?

    There was only one answer.

    Although Annan couldn¡¯t peer into the nightmares on theter floors now, he had a rough idea.

    Amos should realize the whole picture at the end of thest level. Although it didn¡¯t make any sense to look back with Elle dead, and he had taken many lives, he still regretted it.

    At thest moment, Amos hesitated on having Venerated Skeleton¡¯s son(the dead baby) born. He gave up on bing Elle, thus repenting his sin.

    So on the third level, Amos coughed out Elle¡¯s eyes, which corresponded to the memory he regretted eating Elle¡¯s eyes.

    With this inference, he should cough up different parts at each next nightmareyer, each corresponding to the parts that Elle lost.

    The obsession of the dead baby was to let Amos ¡°don¡¯t look back¡± and firmlyplete the final ritual, let Amos die and ¡°rebirth¡± Elle.

    Then, stuff the baby back in and let it rebirth.

    In other words, the strategy that Priest Louis and Annan had was unexpectedly correct: ¡°Don¡¯t look at the painting¡± and ¡°Don¡¯t look back,¡± respectively.

    The dungeon¡¯s will was to continue on firmly.

    Stopping in front of each painting tomemorate was equivalent to the remaining half of the conscience in Amos¡¯s heart, preventing him frompleting the ritual.

    If Amos finished the ritual without regrets and never looked back, then the dead baby would be reborn. Hence, the son of the Venerated Skeleton would be born sessfully.

    As for what would happen next, Annan wouldn¡¯t know.

    Amos seemed hesitant in the end.

    Was it because of his conscience or out of hatred for the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s son that he deliberately ruined the ritual and sealed the false deity¡¯s son? It could also be Amos taunting the Venerated Skeleton through his artwork. Annan didn¡¯t know the reason.

    The reason was most likely hidden in the nightmare on thetter three levels.

    Annan was dumbfounded.

    Louis¡¯s strategy was right.

    Annan knew that Priest Louis had absolutely no idea about the nightmare¡¯s mechanism. But instead, Priest Louis pondered upon the correct way to clear the dungeon instance identally.

    However, this strategy was only limited to the standard ending (SE).

    In this nightmare, the standard ending was a bad end.

    Annan believed that if he went through Level -1 at basement level, the result he got could be even higher.

    But no matter what. One thing could be certain.

    If the challenger doesn¡¯t look at a single painting and walks to the end while enduring the fear, he would directly clear the dungeon.

    However, it must be dangerous.

    Though, the danger was the least important.

    Thinking of this, Annan looked at the time.

    It was almost dawn at 5:53 a.m. Wandering Child should not be able to finish the dungeon.

    Looking at the flooding bullet texts, Wandering Child knew he couldn¡¯t pass the level normally. So it became a better option for him to fight with Amos directly. There could be a surprise reward.

    Annan quietly mingled among the crowd and sent several bullet texts in session:

    ¡°The mechanism of this dungeon instance looks a bitplicated.¡±

    ¡°Wandering Child, why don¡¯t you ask Don Juan? Maybe there is a hint.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you should ask. Since the young master told us that this dungeon instance would make us lose memory, it means that he knows this dungeon instance well.¡±

    ¡°I think this dungeon instance is already involved with the main mission. So it may be meaningless to ask.¡±

    ¡°But Wandering Child has the highest affection rate. Him asking bears the highest possibility to sess.¡±

    Annan posted these bullet texts.

    Thankfully, the bullet text system was anonymous. There was no blocking function either.

    Otherwise, it would be funny if someone blocked the message and the screen became empty.

    ¡°That seems to make sense.¡± Wandering Child nodded thoughtfully after seeing the texts.

    ¡°What makes sense?¡±

    Amos asked curiously.

    Wandering Child squinted at Amos, toozy to bother exining. He didn¡¯t n to continue the act any further.

    He was just waiting for the end of the dungeon instance.

    At the dawn¡¯s arrival, the dazzling golden lighting from nowhere shredded the entire world Wandering Child was in, including himself.

    His consciousness was immersed in the warm sunlight. He felt the coldness in his body, especially in his abdomen, gradually dissipated as if he was asleep.

    When Wandering Child opened his eyes again, he found himself still lying on the bed.

    Outside the window, the sun with three luxurious golden runes orbiting had risen.

 Chapter 104: The Strategy of Retreating to Advance Later

    <h4>Chapter 104: The Strategy of Retreating to Advance Later</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s already six in the morning.¡±

    Annan looked at the sky outside, lost in thought.

    He hadn¡¯t stayed up for a long time, let alone staying up all night without sleep.

    It was a habit that would take an enormous toll on the body.

    Moreover, Annan was made to realize yet another critical problem.

    He didn¡¯t feel tired at all now.

    Although he stayed up all night watching the stream, he was still in good condition. He didn¡¯t feel sleepy, nor did he feel unusually excited after staying upte, as if he was sleeping normally and waking up normally.

    Annan simply found it dangerous because his body no longer showed early warnings to him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Salvatore.¡±

    Annan sighed, put on his clothes, and got up from the bed to do some light exercise, to soothe his stiff body lying on the bed all night.

    Viscount¡¯s bed is indeed quitefortable. But it¡¯s still a little ufortable lying down all night. Annanmented.

    Since it was 6 a.m., Salvatore had only slept for three hours.

    Knowing that this hard-working senior could only sleep for six hours a day, Annan found it inhumane to disturb him again.

    Worse still, this ce was not where he usually lived. It was hard to sleep if he could fall asleep immediately after 3 a.m.

    Annan convinced himself so in his heart. What I¡¯m doing now is to prevent this dumb rich guy from dying out of lethargy at a young age.

    Fortunately, Annan¡¯s ¡°moral sense¡± and mon sense¡± were still functioning normally.

    Otherwise, Anna might do evil things for his pleasure.

    ¡°Hmph, maybe I should get some breakfast first.¡±

    After twenty minutes of light exercises, Annan took a long breath.

    Senior is only waking up at 9 a.m. So I should head out withoutwaiting for him.

    All of a sudden, there came a knock on viscount¡¯s house.

    Who will that be? Annan thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s only half-past six in the morning.¡±

    Annan frowned slightly and opened the door.

    Standing at the door, there was a smiley bald priest. He had a chubby face and big ears.

    The bald priest smiled and revealed two rows of golden teeth in the face of Annan, who opened the door alone. He took out his pocket watch a little exaggeratedly and bowed to Annan, ¡°Good morning, our upright feudal lord, I wish Silver Sire blesses you today.

    ¡°I am so happy to see that it¡¯s you who opened the door.¡±

    It¡¯s Bishop Daround.

    Annan suddenly realized.

    Oops, that¡¯s not right. It¡¯s Bishop Daryl.

    Annan couldn¡¯t forget the ring golden teeth.

    This person appears erratic, as if he knows a lot.

    Especially, the bishop first imed to be familiar with the Gerant family¡¯s elder and the current family master. But he didn¡¯t recognize that Annan was not Don Juan Geraint at all.

    Or it could be that he recognized it but didn¡¯t point it out.

    Because he persuaded Annan, ¡°This is not your hatred. You¡¯re not involved with either side.¡±

    Annan knew what the bald bishop said was right.

    Regardless of whether it was Gerald or Viscount Barber, their target was ¡°Don Juan Geraint,¡± not ¡°Annan Austere-Winter.¡±

    The reality had proved it.

    After Annan revealed his true identity, they both temporarily gave up their hostility.

    ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, Grandpa Daryl.¡±

    Annan hesitated but chose a more familiar address and responded to the bishop.

    ¡°Since you came to me, is there something wrong?¡±

    Annan¡¯s tone was tender and humble. Though, his attitude was direct with no cowardice, ¡°If I can offer any help, please don¡¯t hesitate to voice it out.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, no, no. There¡¯s no need to trouble you, my dear sir.¡±

    Bishop Daryl smiled and said, ¡°I came to you in advance to get an alignment. How do you n to disclose this matter to them today?¡±

    The bald and fat bishop didn¡¯t point out ¡°them.¡±

    But, Annan understood what the bishop meant.

    What he said must be the group of people who were bewitched and controlled by the viscount.

    As the spokesperson of Roseburg¡¯s Silver Sire Church, Bishop Daryl was obliged to align with Annan in advance.

    He and Annan were the supreme rulers of Roseburg and even the entire North Sea Territory. If the two disagreed in public, it was equivalent to publicizing the fact that ¡°Roseburg¡¯s was politically unstable.¡± The underlings might bear ill intention with many clowns emerging.

    Though, Annan felt that Bishop Daryl came for other reasons.

    Annan was silent for a while, then responded, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are talking about.¡±

    He was asking Bishop Daryl in a tactful way ¨C What you n to do on your side?

    Bishop Daryl smiled and said, ¡°Naturally, the matter will be concluded as heathens ambushed and killed our viscount.¡±

    Can this be done?

    Annan was a little surprised.

    No doubt that this narration, which Bishop Daryl picked, was more beneficial to Annan.

    It was like saying the entire Silver Sire Church endorsed Annan¡¯s reign.

    ¡°Do I need to do anything?¡± asked Annan tentatively.

    Upon seeing this, Bishop Daryl couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to talk to smart people.¡±

    He smiled and said, ¡°You are a little like your grandfather.¡±

    Whose grandfather? Can you be clear about it?

    Annan muttered in his heart.

    But Annan couldn¡¯t speak it out bluntly. He could only nod humbly and said in a cold and childish voice, ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡±

    Bishops just smiled meaningfully and didn¡¯t say much.

    ¡°Right, Grandpa Daryl.¡±

    Annan suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know about the¡­ at the beginning of every nightmare?¡±

    As priesthood personnel and the vanguard to purify nightmares, they should have a better understanding of nightmares than ordinary Transcended.

    Sure enough, Bishop Daryl thought for a moment and knew what Annan was referring to, ¡°Are you talking about that whisper?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    Bishop Daryl smiled and said with a smile, ¡°This, we generally call this ¡°dictum.¡± If you want to talk about the principles and exceptions, it besplicated. You only need to know at the application level. In most cases, ¡°dictum¡± will not lie to you.

    ¡°It will always reveal the core rule of every nightmare. But remember not to be misled. After all, the dictum has only one sentence, and it is typically misunderstood.

    ¡°They¡¯re like a prophecy.¡±

    Bishop Daryl sighed softly at the end.

    Annan was keenly aware of it. But there was too little info for him to infer something.

    Bishop Daryl seemed to have thought of something and asked Annan, ¡°Do you mean to ask me what kind of nightmare Gerald has hatched?¡±

    ¡°If you can tell me, that would be great.¡± Annan nodded and said seriously.

    Looking at Annan¡¯s ice-blue pupils, Bishop Daryl felt a little lost.

    Upon seeing this, Annan was seemingly upied with thoughts.

    The bishop was silent for a while before showing the harmless smile again, ¡°No problem, I have already cleansed the nightmare once. Of course, this nightmare is a bit moreplicated, but it¡¯s still something you can handle.

    ¡°Do you want the key?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re fine with giving me that.¡± Annan nodded.

    In the meantime, Annan secretly memorized the term ¡°key.¡±

    Bishop Daryl seemed to be prepared. He took out a hard object wrapped inyers of cloth from his waist.

    Annan reached out to touch it and quickly realized that it seemed to be a broken bone.

    ¡°You can enter the nightmare by touching it for more than thirteen seconds.¡±

    Bishop Daryl was stern in this, ¡°Although it is not difficult for you, it is best to enter after the early morning.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, Grandpa Daryl.¡±

    Annan suddenly said, ¡°If I enter the nightmare now, can you wake me up in three hours?

    ¡°There are not many people whom I can trust here. I am afraid that apart from Salvatore, you are the only one who can be trusted.¡±

    Hearing that, Bishop Daryl was startled. Of course, he knew what this meant.

    After Annan entered the nightmare, the body left in reality would be vulnerable. If Bishop Daryl chose to kidnap him or kill him directly at this time, Annan would be defenseless.

    This was undoubtedly a gamble. Annan was using his life to bet on the trust of others.

    But what is Annan betting on?

    Bishop Daryl hesitated.

    ¡°I don¡¯t rmend this. It would be too dangerous for you.¡±

    Bishop Daryl became stern which was contradictory to his typical nature. He reprimanded Annan, ¡°When you enter a nightmare, you can¡¯t even let outsiders know about it, let alone having others take care of your body, especially those you can¡¯t trust. This is equivalent to making yourself vulnerable.¡±

    ¡°Then can I trust you?¡±

    Annan looked at Bishop Daryl with pure and clear eyes, ¡°Can you wake me up?¡±

    Looking at the icy blue pupils, Bishop Daryl was in a daze again.

    He was silent for a while, and sighed helplessly.

    ¡°Then, you may go to sleep. I will wake you up in three hours.¡±

    Bishop Daryl walked in the door, closed and locked it.

    Hmph, as predicted.

    Annan got the clue he wanted,pletely felt at ease.

    Annan¡¯s action might look like a fanatic at the gaming table.

    But in fact, he had secretly cheated.

    ¡ªAlthough Annan made this request to Bishop Daryl, it did not mean that Annan hadpletely believed the bishop.

    Annan had no power to fight back at all if Bishop Daryl had ill intention.

    But if the bishops¡¯ response seemed off at even a slight, Annan would immediatelyment, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just kidding.¡± This would not hurt his reputation to the bishop too much while he assessed the bishop¡¯s bottom line.

    It might seem like a gamble, but it was a cover-up. The other party was unprepared with the request being incidental. With that, Annan had control of the topic.

    Though, Annan somehow found out a new clue in his attempt. He became more convinced now that Bishop Daryl knew ¡®Annan.¡¯

    (TN: The MC¡¯s real identity still seems fuzzy to me, even though we can be sure that MC isn¡¯t John nor Don Juan. Hence, I will refer him to the ¡°name¡± the author had referred to.)

    Moreover, Bishop Daryl should know someone from Annan¡¯s family and know the person quite well.

    Bishop Daryl added abruptly, ¡°After you enter this nightmare, don¡¯t be too nervous even if you meet an acquaintance. But, don¡¯t hesitate too much too.

    ¡°Always remember, this is just a remnant of history. You can¡¯t change anything, and they are just illusions. Kill if you need to. Don¡¯t trust people you shouldn¡¯t believe.¡±

    Wait, what does this mean? Annan was startled.

    This bald fatty. Are Gerald¡¯s nightmare, deepest obsession, and resentment not rted to the incident in which Salvatore and I killed him?

 Chapter 105: Nightmare: White Tower

    <h4>Chapter 105: Nightmare: White Tower</h4>

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate for too long.

    Annany on the bed, holding Gerald¡¯s broken bones.

    Annan felt a strange chill seeping into his blood. It brought an inexplicablefort for it.

    Four seconds, five seconds¡­Twelve seconds, thirteen seconds.

    Finally, Annan¡¯s gaze began to drift away.

    His surrounding gradually became quiet and dark, and a prompt appeared before his eyes:

    [Detected unpurified Nightmare Fragment.]

    [Rank requirement: Bronze Rank and above]

    [Profession requirement: Wizard]

    [Special requirement: Once killed someone]

    [The requirements are met. You will fall into a nightmare after ten seconds, 10, 9¡­]

    Suddenly, Annan felt his consciousness begin to fall rapidly.

    Annan didn¡¯t know how long he had been falling. Until at a particr moment, he suddenly woke up.

    It was pitch ck before his eyes, and only the data stream shed through quickly:

    [Falling in a nightmare. A dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty is set as hard. You can enter up to ten times.]

    [The current purification progress is 1/10.]

    [The total erosion rate of the team is 8%. The dungeon instance difficulty rises by 8%. The nightmare¡¯s mutation probability increases by 8%.]

    [This dungeon instance has no checkpoint. The erosion rate is increased by 5% for each death. You will be forced to exit the dungeon instance after one death.]

    [This dungeon instance provides a plot and has decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Wizard profession increases by 1 level.]

    [Reward for 50% dungeon instance decryption: Obtain random Soul Snatch school spell (must be equipped)]

    [Loadingplete.]

    After the ¡°loadingpleted¡± texts gradually faded away, Gerald¡¯s sigh sounded in Annan¡¯s ear:

    ¡°Be skeptical on everything.¡±

    Gerald seemed to be standing beside Annan, staring in front, and sighed in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t trust anyone.¡±

    As his voice sounded, the surrounding darkness was torn apart by the cold wind in an instant.

    Annan immediately noticed that he was in the snowy area.

    The sky was lead-grey, and the blizzard wasing.

    Even the unusually dazzling sun had faded a bit at this ce.

    He was wearing heavy anti-skid boots, holding a long stick in his right hand, and wearing a wool hat on his head.

    His boots were sunken in the snow. His face and hands were numb due to the cold. Even though his clothes were thick, Annan couldn¡¯t help but shiver.

    ¡°This is a little cold.¡±

    If I continue to stand here, I may be frozen to death.

    I have to find a ce to shelter from the wind and snow.

    Annan realized this straight away.

    He looked back and found that his footprints came from a distance beyond his sight, and the wind and snow covered the farthest footprints. This showed that his body had just walked over there. This snowfall should havested for a long time.

    There¡¯s no way for me to turn back.

    My only choice is to continue forward.

    Annan made his decision and checked the items on him.

    The result was less unexpected.

    Annan wore Gerald¡¯s silver ring in his left hand, a pair of gold spectacles in his backpack, and a silver pocket watch that could be used as a mirror. There was also the¡­

    A little white hammer?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this-¡°

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s bone blood trigger.

    Annan was startled but not too surprised.

    He remembered Salvatore saying that this curse vessel should have been stolen not long ago, about four or five years ago. At least it was three years after Gerald had advanced to Silver, so it certainly wouldn¡¯t be too long ago.

    Annan checked and found that six teeth were loaded in the bone hammer. He seemed well prepared for battles.

    On the contrary, this body came to such a cold ce without a backpack. There was no change of clothes, no food or water.

    It was as if the original body host knew from the beginning that he wouldn¡¯t stay outside for too long.

    No matter what, I got to first confirm my identity.

    Annan thought so and faced the smooth surface of the pocket watch.

    Reflected from the silver surface was a young man with a gentle smile and an ordinary appearance. His brown curly hair was covered with snow, and his dark blue pupils were unusually calm.

    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s you.¡±

    Annan murmured.

    The body he was using now was the man, David Gerald.

    The wanted ck wizard by the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    At the next moment, the plot introduction of this dungeon instance appeared in front of him:

    [After being expelled by Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, David Gerald is homeless with nowhere to go.]

    [If he is an Alteration Wizard, then he can at least find a job. But it¡¯s a pity no noble would believe him with his background as a wizard of the Soul Snatch school. Hence, no one hired him.]

    [At least until he advances to gold, this situation will not improve.]

    [Not long ago, Mr. Gerald caught wind of something.]

    [Howling White Tower Master, Gold Rank¡¯s Wizard ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡± Michngelo, decided to recruit an heir for Howling White Tower among the Silver Rank Wizards all over the world.]

    [No age limit.]

    [No gender limitation.]

    [Disregard origin and background.]

    [The only requirement is that you have no teacher, no ssmate, and no apprentice.]

    [There are eight schools, namely Soul Snatch, Edict, Prophet, Alteration, Falteration, Destruction, Shaping, Idol. Each school¡¯s applicants, who meet the requirements and prove to be the best, will receive Master Michngelo¡¯s invitation letter. They will be summoned to the Howling Wind White Tower. Finally, there will be a secret ritual to determine the ultimate sessor.]

    [Gerald signed up symbolically. But he never expected that he would be selected.]

    [The moment he opened the invitation letter, he was teleported to the snowy field near the Howling Wind White Tower. Fortunately, he was prepared. He put on heavy clothes with trekking poles prepared in advance. Although it looked a little funny, he was not embarrassed.]

    [But correspondingly, except for the curse vessel ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone and Blood Trigger,¡± he did not carry any other weapons or curse vessels.]

    [You wille here for him toplete this ritual.]

    [To use this curse vessel, tap anyone¡¯s bones with it, and it will allow you to apply ¡°Cardioplegia,¡± ¡°Forgotten Secret,¡± ¡°I¡¯m Not Here,¡± ¡°Speak No Evil,¡± ¡°ustrophobia,¡± ¡°ustrophobia¡± and ¡°Page Lock¡± to your target. Each curse can only be used once in this dungeon instance. If the power difference is toorge, the effect may be exempted.]

    [You need to bear Gerald¡¯s curse ¨C ¡°Break the Deration¡± temporarily.]

    [Beforeunching an attack on others, you must issue a warning three to ten seconds in advance and reveal the target of the attack. The closer to ten seconds, the greater the output. But if the attack is not followed up within ten seconds, the state will be reset.]

    [In this dungeon instance, only Soul Snatch school spells below the Silver Rank can be used. Your mana pool ratio is temporarily regarded as 15/34 (chaotic power is twice the order power).]

    [At sunrise, you can restore all Order Power.]

    [At sunset, you can restore all Chaotic Power.]

    [Warning: After the mana pool ratio is reversed to 2:1 ratio or higher, you will enter the Lost Control (frenzy) state, losing 20% ??of the maximum health per second.]

    After these words dissipated, a line of words appeared in front of Annan again:

    [Main mission: Stay alive.]

    Immediately, small texts appeared under this line:

    [Do not fight with anyone.]

    [Get everyone¡¯s real name.]

    [At least survive till only four people remain.]

 Chapter 106: Claire And Kim

    <h4>Chapter 106: ire And Kim</h4>

    It¡¯s the ritual to pick an heir.

    But why is the main mission ¡°stay alive¡±?

    Annan raised his eyebrows slightly.

    He noticed some hints through this info.

    The other side missions rted to this main mission brought him into deeper thoughts.

    [Do not fight with anyone.]

    [Get everyone¡¯s real name.]

    [At least survive till only four people remain.]

    Side missions were detailed exnations of main missions.

    ¡ªIn other words, I won¡¯t be able to survive if I¡¯m involved in a fight with others and if I don¡¯t get everyone¡¯s real name.

    What¡¯s the deal with Gerald¡¯s whisper not to trust anyone in the beginning?

    ¡°This is bing interesting.¡±

    Annan murmured with more resolution in his eyes.

    He felt a little excitement and a strong pleasure.

    Although Annan did not know Soul Snatch spells at all, and this body wouldn¡¯t allow him to use his original Falteration spells, it didn¡¯t matter.

    It was because Annan had a hunch that this dungeon instance might be his home ground.

    Annan no longer hesitated and put away the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s blood trigger. Instead, he raised his trekking pole and moved forward.

    Before Annan moved forward for long, he paused with his pupils shrank slightly.

    He noticed an inexplicable sense of danger without seeing any warning signs as if he would be killed if he continued to take a step forward.

    After all, Wizards had exceptional perception.

    So, he chose to trust his instincts without any hesitation.

    ¡°Hello there?¡±

    At the same time, Annan showed a gentle smile on Gerald¡¯s face and asked tentatively, ¡°Is there anything I can help?¡±

    ¡°If you are willing to turn around and go back, that would be the best.¡±

    The one who answered had a clear and tactful voice of a girl. She seemed to be about neen years old.

    She had short umber hair and azure blue pupils. She wore a white woolen shawl and a long-sleeved sweater with cuffs covering half of her palm. She appeared gorgeous and tender.

    The snow under her feet entuated her beauty.

    She didn¡¯t wear heavy anti-skid boots like Annan, but little red leather boots like a nobledy. The long, slender khaki [1] trouser spread out like French horns when it came close to the boots.

    Strange fluctuations continued to spread from her ankle.

    The snow under her feet condensed into the gstone walkway.

    Beside her stood a taciturn red-haired youth.

    He had beautiful and smooth red short hair, but a white bandage was thickly wrapped around his eyes. There were traces of stitches on the sides of his mouth.

    He wore a pure white straitjacket usually dedicated to mental health patients. Even his cloth shoes were white. On his forearms, upper arms, chest, thighs, and between his calves, there were densely packed, fixed straps akin to ck belts. But the buttons on the straitjacket were temporarily unbuttoned halfway so that he could at least walk normally.

    The red-haired youth followed the girl. Hot stream fumed around him. The snowkes melted before they got in contact with him.

    Even though Annan had a harmless face and a gentle voice, the girl with short umber hair still looked at Annan vigntly.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think you would want to do that. Are you David Gerald?¡±

    ¡°There is no need to be so nervous, miss.¡±

    Annan sighed, with a calm tone and a soft voice, ¡°Even if there is apetitive rtionship between us, I am just a poor bereaved dog whom everyone detests. I¡¯m nothing but a prop to bring out the greater brilliance of others. You didn¡¯t really think I can seed, right?¡±

    With that, Annanughed mockingly. He showed his embarrassing state with his face showing a pitiful look like a stray dog, ¡°Can I get closer? It¡¯s so cold. I was sent over before I was ready. Miss, your side seems to be warmer.¡±

    Hearing that, the umber-haired girl subconsciously began to assess Annan.

    Although Annan¡¯s clothes were neat, they seemed a bit shabby. Naturally, he had messy hair that portrayed his sorry state. His body was covered with snowkes as he trembled due to the cold.

    He does look pitiful.

    The girl¡¯s gaze grew a little tender.

    Annan acted humbly and said with a silly smile, ¡°I¡¯m Gerald, now I¡¯m just a useless person. No matter which of you wins in the end, I¡¯m happy if you can take me in and provide food for me.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can we introduce ourselves formally?¡±

    With that, Annan bowed to the girl, ¡°Your humble servant is David Gerald. I should be a candidate for the Soul Snatch school.

    ¡°Everyone says that I am not a good person, but I am just an ordinary person who is useless and has no talent.¡±

    With that, Annan smiled wryly.

    Under Annan¡¯s repeated praise, if this umber-haired girl still did not give up her vignce on Annan, then Annan would begin to doubt her identity.

    This was the mostmon chat technique ¨C the seesaw principle.

    Lowering one¡¯s worth and raising the other¡¯s worth would incite the other party¡¯s reciprocity. It was especially suitable for situations where the opponent held vignce, but the fight had not broken out. It could effectively dy the conflict.

    As the saying goes, don¡¯t p those extending a weing hand to you.

    Seeing Annan showing such weakness, she stared at Annan¡¯s pupils and slowly nodded, although she still didn¡¯t let go of her vignce against the Soul Snatch wizard.

    ¡°My name is ire, a candidate from the Shaping school. He is a candidate from the Destruction school. You can call him Kim.¡±

    She introduced the red-haired boy following her to Annan.

    Immediately, she issued a polite invitation to Annan, ¡°If it¡¯s too cold, it¡¯s okay for you to get closer. With Kim, we can keep warm.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Thank you so much!¡±

    Annan looked at her gratefully and then ran over quickly, frightening ire.

    But as soon as she became vignt, she realized that ¡°Gerald¡± really rushed to her side- or Jin¡¯s side. Annan breathed heavily with a happy smile. ire could not help but show a self-deprecating smile.

    Such a funny poor bug. What on earth was I afraid of just now?

    It¡¯s not bad to have a temporary ally.

    Maybe that will give me a better edge.

    She thought of the request of her friend before leaving and sighed silently.

    Even if you say it¡¯s dangerous here, I can¡¯t just change the itinerary that I have prepared for several months for such an absurd prophecy.

    ire and Kim?

    On the other hand, Annan secretly noted down the two names.

    Annan had a hunch that at least one of these two names was a pseudonym, or it could be that both names were pseudonyms.

    The purpose was nothing more than to deviate the spell that homed targets through name.

    But Annan didn¡¯t care less.

    After all, he knew no Soul Snatch spell.

    The only power he had was with his words.

    At least, he had sessfully established regrmunication.

    For Annan, this was no different from knowing the other party¡¯s real name.

    The power of munication¡± became an option.

    Anna could utilizeical ways to reduce the other¡¯s guard. After all, everyone had limited energy. Being vignt in all aspects at the same time would render one much more vulnerable. With moderate clumsiness, it could often make the other party ignore oneself.

    Annan was soon aware that he was the weakest among the contenders.

    Seven of the most outstanding Silver Rank Wizards of all schools. Although they had the limitingbel of ¡°orphan,¡± they were beyond Annan, who couldn¡¯t even use a Soul Snatch spell.

    Annan followed the duo for thirty minutes.

    It didn¡¯t feel so exhausting walking on the floor, which ire manifested.

    Under Annan¡¯s unremitting efforts, the trio became familiar with each other temporarily.

    Annan finally learned from ire that Kim was not by nature taciturn, but because his words, actions, and even his eyes had Destruction power that he could not control. So he could only be assisted and protected by ire in the journey to White Tower.

    Indeed, the two of them knew each other before they came here.

    After walking forward for more than ten minutes, the Howling White Tower appeared in front of them.

    The person waiting in front of the tower caused Annan¡¯s pupils to shrink suddenly.

    It was because the person looked exactly the same as Annan.

 Chapter 107: Maria Austere-winter

    <h4>Chapter 107: Maria Austere-winter</h4>

    No, she is not Annan Austere-Winter.

    Annan realized this immediately.

    She seemed to be almost identical in age, height, and appearance.

    But the length of the hair was different. It wasn¡¯t shoulder-length, but the hair reached the waist. Judging from the figure and skeleton, her gender was barely distinguishable.

    What was more unique about her was her temperament.

    It could be said to be the opposite of Annan.

    There seemed to be no emotion in her icy blue pupils, and the half-open eyes were filled with the indifference of a deity. There was no trace of joy on her face. She crossed her hands and ced them in front of her; her eyes were full of vignce and alienation.

    She was wearing a pure white, heavy robe with a hollow silver crown on her head. The slender and long neck was reminiscent of a swan. Her delicate cor bone was hidden under the robe.

    No doubt that she was Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s sister.

    Unlike Annan, there didn¡¯t seem to be a Reverse Inscription etched on her soul. Those icy blue pupils without emotions reminded Annan, the man in his memory who taught him the Frost Sword.

    Such a powerful and lingering aura could make people temporarily ignore the fact that she was still a youngdy.

    Speaking of which, Annan was theoretically fourteen years old. But his height and appearance were more believable to be at the age of eleven or twelve. So how old is this sister of mine?

    When she saw Annan¡¯s trio, she frowned slightly.

    ¡°David Gerald.¡±

    There was a cold and tender voiceing from her mouth. The ice-blue pupils locked onto Annan immediately, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you toe too.¡±

    Is this Gerald famous?

    Such a thought emerged in Annan¡¯s mind for an instant.

    Annan noticed that when Maria saw the other two, her gazes seemed a little distant. But when her gaze fell on him(Gerald), her gaze immediately became vignt.

    This is probably because notoriety tends to spread further.

    What exactly did Gerald do that made so many big shots know about him?

    ¡°Salute, Your Excellency Austere-Winter.¡±

    Annan saw this and immediately saluted Maria respectfully.

    The two people beside him seemed to know of the Grand Duke¡¯s daughter.

    The trio greeted Maria as per the standard wizard address at the same time. Then, they introduced themselves to her.

    Maria nodded slightly.

    ¡°You can call me Maria,¡± she said directly.

    This should be the real name.

    For such big shots, they didn¡¯t need to use pseudonyms to divert the curse away. Their family would raise someone of the same name; the person¡¯s only function was to block possible ¡°living idols¡± that might curse them through the name.

    So there was no need for her to report a false name to the three of them.

    Annan¡¯s situation was different. Gerald seems to be unexpectedly famous.

    There was no possibility of him giving a false name.

    He vaguely grasped the key. In this dungeon instance, the name seems to be the key to solving the problem.

    Afterward, Maria exined to the trio, ¡°The invitation letter should be dyed. I arrived here first. But obviously, the door hasn¡¯t opened yet.

    ¡°I think Michngelo will only let us in when everyone involvedes.¡±

    Annan whispered in his heart too. I think so too.

    He looked up at the gray-white giant tower. It was not so much a ¡°tower¡± since it was a vast castle. It presented a bizarre, symmetrical structure. There were circles on both sides with a bridge in the middle.

    If one were to look down directly above the sky, it would resemble a colossal dumbbell.

    ¡°This is basically the Twin Tower.¡± ire couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    Annan thought so too.

    Aside from anything else, which door do we get in from?

    Or is any door fine?

    The group did not need to wait long.

    The other four guests came in three groups.

    The first to arrive was an old man with a skinny and haggard face, sunken cheeks, and deep eye sockets. His hair was sparse. Sinceing here, he had been silent and avoided the crowd.

    After that, there came a middle-aged man with ck hair, dark eyes, well-defined features, a kind, and cheerful smile. After he arrived, he approached Annan and the others to introduce himself.

    His name was Ghindaio, a wizard of the Prophet school.

    He was a student of Master Michngelo.

    Master Michngelo himself was best at the spells of the Prophet school, followed by Shaping school and Idol school. Hence, after the enthusiastic middle-aged Gndaio said his school, Annan and the others couldn¡¯t help but assess him more.

    As for the two who arrivedst, they came together at the same time.

    One of them was a handsome youth with a face with slight divinity to it.

    His eyes closed tightly. One side of his hair was shaved, and the remaining white hair was braided into three braids of different lengths. Two braids hung in front of him, and the longest braid was towards his back.

    ire called him ¡°Eugene Melvin.¡± He was the Idol school wizard. It was said that he was also a famous person. This should also be his real name.

    Annan was familiar with that remaining person.

    His beard was gray; his gazes were firm. His skin was slightly wrinkled due to his old age. Yet, there seemed to be colorful brilliance roaming in the muddy pupils.

    ¡°Master Benjamin.¡±

    Annan bowed his head respectfully and greeted him.

    Benjamin cast aplicated gaze on Annan. He opened his mouth but spoke nothing.

    In the end, he silently nodded to Annan as a form of returning a greeting.

    Indeed, thest heir candidate to appear in Gerald¡¯s nightmare was the Alteration School wizard who was cursed on the ship ¨C Benjamin.

    At the moment when all the candidates arrived, everyone¡¯s consciousness disappeared suddenly and briefly.

    When they woke up again, they found themselves in a broad and highly luxurious hall.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    ire¡¯s eyes widened.

    Maria frowned.

    It was just because of what had appeared in front of everyone.

    There were all kinds of statues arranged in a specific pattern like a starry sky.

    Giant statue. Centaur statue. Fairy statue. Old man statue. Child statue. Warrior statue. Maiden statue. Angel statue. Giant snake statue.

    The ce was so magnificent and so spectacr.

    Lifelike was only the standard.

    ¡°As if there is a soul¡± was the statues¡¯ level.

    It was like countless frozen historical fragments, superimposed on each other.

    The most incredible thing was that almost every statue could bebined with one or several neighboring statues to form a picture scroll. It would form a new picture scroll and a new story with differentbinations.

    At the same time, the arrangement of the statues on the ground seemed to contain a certain number of rules.

    ¡°They¡¯re like chess pieces in the deities¡¯ hands,¡± said Maria quietly.

    The mood suddenly cooled down.

    This was not a politement.

    But because it was too urate, everyone didn¡¯t know how to respond to it.

    After all, His Royal Highness Mary was a child, and her status was the noblest here.

    When the child told the truth, people wouldn¡¯t know how to answer them.

    In the end, Benjamin pped his hands and broke the awkward silence, ¡°As expected of Master Michngelo.

    ¡°This is nothing short of a miracle. No, it can almost be called a divine wonder!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just like a miracle, right?¡±

    At this moment, theugh of an old man sounded.

    In front of the eight people, the old man statue suddenly made a noise.

    The strange thing was that it was clearly in the middle of the hall, in the middle of the whole stage, the whole canvas. But until it opened its mouth, everyone only realized its existence.

    Talking stone statue was not strange in Transcended¡¯s world view.

    Especially since it was Master Michngelo¡¯s work. This seemed even more eptable.

    Therefore, everyone was not surprised but continued to look at the old man stone statue.

    The crowd did not point it out.

    But there was still a bit of grudge in their hearts because Master Michngelo didn¡¯t show up personally.

    However, this ill-feeling disappeared instantly when the stone statue¡¯s following sentence was spoken:

    ¡°Then.¡± The old man stone statue said slowly, ¡°I will reveal it to you¡­

    ¡°[Time Stopper Eye] His Excellency Michngelo Buonaro¡¯sst words.¡±

 Chapter 108: Michelangeloâ€™s Last Words

    <h4>Chapter 108: Michngelo¡¯s Last Words</h4>

    ¡°En.¡±

    Annan almost couldn¡¯t control his expression just now.

    He almostughed out loud.

    This is so simr. It¡¯s so alike.

    The plot of this nightmare was like the opening scene of a particr detective novel.

    Judging from the pattern, the murderer should be among the crowd now.

    ¡°The murderer who killed me is among you all.¡±

    A low voice came from the stone statue of the old man sitting in the wheelchair.

    As the voice echoed, the surrounding environment changed.

    In the initially bright and splendid hall, there were faintughter and murmurs everywhere.

    Annan could sense that the stone statues had surrounded the candidates in all directions, as if looking down at them from another world, whispering in a voice they couldn¡¯t hear.

    ¡°Ahem!¡°

    At the next moment, an old man¡¯s strong cough sounded.

    Those whispers all disappeared.

    At the same time, the quietly burning lights in the hall elongated. The me became slender and began to tremble at a higher frequency.

    The color also changed from a warm, bright yellow to a cold white me with a blue outeryer.

    Those white statues seemed to be gloomy under the cold mes.

    The atmosphere in the hall changed instantly.

    The eight people were initially in the light. After the mes elongated, the stone statues¡¯ shadow engulfed everyone, hiding their figures and expression from each other¡¯s sight. The ground between them was also divided by the newly appeared shadows.

    It was as if Master Michngelo had already expected where these eight people would stand after they heard hisst word.

    At the next moment, a somewhat illusory old man¡¯s voice ovepped with the pre-existing voice in the stone statue.

    ¡°From now on, you all are my students. So, you can kill the murderer for me. This is an act of revenge that the world has permitted.

    ¡°If one of you seeds in killing the murderer. Then everyone else can get a part of my legacy, and the one who killed him will inherit the Howling White Tower.

    ¡°But you should also be wary. I only grant you the right to revenge on killing the murderer. If you identally kill someone other than the murderer, there will be no reward or punishment, but you must bear the murdering crime. ¡°

    As the old man spoke, his echoey voice became clearer and louder.

    The recordings in the stone statues were synchronized and gradually faded.

    By now, it was as if the old man was sitting there in a wheelchair, looking at the eight candidates calmly with his head tilted.

    Although only the voice could be heard, Annan seemed to see an old man with a calm and distant gaze, looking at him. At the same time, the old man was also looking behind him.

    This feeling emerged suddenly in Annan¡¯s heart. He believed that other people should feel the same as him.

    But because the shadow was too heavy, he couldn¡¯t see the expressions of other people at all.

    I think other people should not be able to see my expression too. Annan thought to himself.

    But so far, the old man¡¯sst words were understandable.

    But the subsequent words made the eight people a little confused, ¡°However, I was going to die anyway. The child who killed me is also the candidate I am most optimistic about.

    ¡°So, I decided to give him a chance.

    ¡°If the number is halved and the real murderer is still alive, then the murderer will inherit my Howling White Tower.¡±

    ¡°In addition, Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s curse has engulfed the Howling White Tower. Everyone in the White Tower is [only allowed to kill one person]. You will be cursed as long as you murder the second person; this curse is also effective for the murderer who killed me.

    ¡°Grandma once said that the journey of everything is to reach the end. So you don¡¯t need to miss me. I have created too many eternal things in my life. But I haven¡¯t tried to make a ritual dedicated to deities.

    ¡°My curse has entangled the White Tower. You can¡¯t escape, and you can¡¯t get away. The eight people in this tower will be the first batch of executors of this Gold Ritual. Your name will stay with me in history.¡±

    In the end, the old man¡¯s voice became weaker, and the echo became stronger.

    The recording in the stone statue had finally ended.

    ¡°You will know the ritual¡¯s name at the end.

    ¡°My students. Please use your brains and think about this question. If the future is uncertain, does what has happened must exist?

    ¡°My students, witness the miracle with me.¡±

    In the end, the old man¡¯s illusory voice wholly dissipated.

    The blue mes returned to their original ce again.

    The light once again flooded the White Tower¡¯s hall.

    The shadow receded.

    But the original atmosphere among the eight people had changed.

    ¡°The rules aren¡¯t restricting the murderer.¡±

    There was a long silence. Maria Austere-Winter was still the first to speak.

    Her voice was cold and immature. There was a little ridicule hidden in it, ¡°It¡¯s like rewarding the murderer.¡±

    Everyone knew that she was right.

    The Grand Duke¡¯s daughter fancied telling the truth that no one else wanted to admit.

    Michngelo¡¯s curse restrained the murderer from killing.

    But the difficulty of picking out the murderer from eight people. On the other hand, the murderer¡¯s goal to live to the ritual¡¯s end was at an easier level. There would be opportune moments for the murderer.

    If one could kill at will, it would be simple.

    Everyone would have the battle royale directly. Once you kill everyone else with only our surviving, then the murderer is naturally killed.

    But now, as long as half of the people die, the ritual would end. Then the candidates naturally dared not to kill at will, let alone there was the curse of ¡°killing two people will result in death.¡± Hence, no one would dare to use spells of mass destruction.

    This is simply a tactical game [1].

    Annan realized the essence of this ritual in the first moment.

    It was a mechanically imbnced ¡°tactical game!¡± But unlike what Maria Austere-Winter said, Annan was keenly aware that the ¡°murderer¡± was disadvantageous in this game.

    Because of the curse of Master Michngelo, the person who had murdered once could not kill again.

    So in this situation, whoever did not agree to ¡°find out the murderer andmit the kill¡± was the most suspicious person. ¡°A murderer simply can¡¯t kill another person again.¡± This was a strong consensus among the eight people. Everyone knew and knew that everyone else knew.

    ¡ªThis is why the ritual ends when only four people are left to survive.

    Because every time a wrongful elimination was made, it could at least verify that the two were innocent ¨C the murderer and the in, even though the in could no longer speak.

    In other words, if everything went well and everyone sought to prioritize better to be safe than sorry (being satisfied by sharing a quarter of the inheritance), the murderer would be exposed when there were five people left.

    (Tips: Imagine there are 4 duos out of the eight candidates.)

    In the end, the person who was unwilling to kill or the person who was cursed after the killing would be the murderer.

    There was a sure-fire way to win this game.

    However, Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    The mission he received was, ¡°Do not fight with anyone.¡±

    Is he the one who killed Master Michngelo?

    But this is impossible.

    Gerald was still alive after this ritual was over. He didn¡¯t inherit the White Tower. Otherwise, Gerald would not stay in the Silver Rank, let alone be easily killed by Annan in Roseburg.

    So, Gerald must not be the murderer.

    That¡¯s strange.

    The mission given to Annan was almost like deliberately making Annan stir up trouble in the crowd.

    This would attract other people¡¯s attention. The further the ritual progressed, the more people would suspect Annan, who was unwilling to kill.

    So, no matter what the reason was.

    Annan must prevent this ¡°one vs. one¡± idea from being detected by others or implemented.

    But he felt that the difficulty should not be too great. He looked at the other seven people.

    ¡°The detective game¡­¡±

    Annan murmured with a gentle and friendly smile on his lips.

    This will be interesting.

    [1] The author referenced it to Confrontation¡ªa tactical role-ying game.

 Chapter 109: Traitor

    <h4>Chapter 109: Traitor</h4>

    Annan sighed, ¡°It seems that we can¡¯t leave for the time being.¡±

    He looked around and asked, ¡°Should we find a ce first, sit down and talk?¡±

    With that, he looked at Ghindaio along the way.

    His intention was simple.

    This cheerful, dark-haired, dark-eyed uncle should be the only one among them who recognized the path in this ce.

    After all, he was originally a student of Master Michngelo.

    ¡°Wait a minute, everyone. Don¡¯t be in a hurry.¡±

    Upon receiving Annan¡¯s hint, Miss ire was the first to react.

    She looked at Ghindaio suspiciously and pressed her lips together.

    ¡°I was a little skeptical, and I felt embarrassed to voice out before I walked in.

    ¡°Should we candidates be people who have ¡®no teacher, no ssmate, no apprentice¡¯?

    ¡°But when you were outside, you once said that your teacher is Master Michngelo.

    ¡°We all sent the letter here after we got the letter. There is no doubt that your suspicion is the biggest.¡±

    Hearing ire¡¯s words, the others who hadn¡¯t listened to these words previously also reacted one after another.

    They also looked at Ghindaio.

    Ghindaio didn¡¯t panic either.

    He just shrugged and said in a deep voice, ¡°I did know that the teacher is dead. But I didn¡¯t kill the teacher.¡±

    With that said, he took out a letter he was carrying with him and showed it for everyone else to see.

    The letter read: ¡°I will die soon, and I will dismiss all the disciples here.¡±

    Below the letter, there was Michngelo¡¯s signature.

    ¡°This is an Edict letter.¡±

    When Maria saw the letter, she exined to everyone, ¡°This is the Edict spell used by the high-level wizards and the high-level military forces of various countries. The words written in the Edict letter will be preserved after death and regarded as official.¡±

    While speaking, she cautiously pressed her hand on the letter¡¯s signature.

    ¡°Answer: Your name.¡±

    She reprimanded with a cold and tender voice.

    Soon, the embossed head of an old man appeared on the letter, and he answered, ¡°Michngelo Buonaro.¡±

    ¡°Answer: Written time.¡±

    ¡°June 30, 1498.¡±

    The voice was the same as the old man.

    Subsequently, the head was submerged back into the letter again.

    Maria nodded and confirmed, ¡°It¡¯s true. Master Michngelo wrote this. The time of student dismissal was five months ago.

    ¡°This letter is indeed legally valid. Therefore, all his students have been dismissed.¡±

    Annan blinked.

    Wait¡­

    Isn¡¯t Maria Austere-Winter the wizard of Energy Falteration School? Now, she is in Edict school?

    He realized that he might have made a preconceived judgment.

    Fortunately, it was not toote for him to realize.

    But his guidance was still effective.

    At least everyone realizes that Ghindaio is Master Michngelo¡¯s disciple. That¡¯s enough for me.

    So, Annan had a gentle look on his face again.

    He smiled bitterly and persuaded softly from the side, ¡°Okay, okay. It¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t mention it at this time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a ce to sit down and talk?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Maria said suddenly, ¡°You should be the most dangerous among us, right?¡±

    Maria was referring to Annan. Or, more urately, David Gerald.

    As a wizard of the Soul Snatch school, he was almost always invincible in one-on-one battles.

    While no one could wake the controlled person, Gerald even carried a powerful curse vessel stolen from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    To say that among the Silver Rank wizards, who were most likely to kill Master Michngelo approaching the Truth level, it could only be Gerald.

    This guess was naturally also in Annan¡¯s expectation.

    Rather, this was the reason Annan was the first to speak. The purpose was to make others doubt him and address the doubt.

    ¡°I understand what you mean, Your Highness.¡±

    Annan smiled bitterly, his expression gradually bing serious.

    He raised his left hand and turned the ring around.

    In the vignt gaze of everyone, Annan solemnly swore,

    ¡°I¡¯m here to establish a curse.¡±

    He chanted in a low voice, ¡°I will give up using all spells before this incident is over!¡±

    When the voice fell, an illusory rune appeared in front of him and then disappeared.

    Annan felt his heart entangled in something.

    Because of this, his heart pumped faster. Thus, Gerald, the weak wizard physique, could finally be regarded to keep up with Annan¡¯s n.

    After that, Annan smiled apologetically to everyone, ¡°Is this alright? I just want to get a share of the inheritance and live on. I don¡¯t intend to fight with you.

    ¡°I know that being in the same room with a Soul Snatch wizard will make you uneasy. You just can¡¯t think calmly, so I banned my spell usage. That way, you can rest assured, right?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that.¡±

    Maria looked at Annan with aplicated expression.

    She also didn¡¯t expect her probing word to make ¡°Gerald¡± give up his spell directly.

    Soul Snatch wizard was unlike the Destruction wizard and Edict wizard. No spells were required, and the body or words alone was enough to be lethal.

    The Soul Snatch wizards also unlike the Falteration wizard with some perks in the melee profession.

    They were not even as good as the Prophet wizard ¨C not being sharp enough to sense danger.

    Soul Snatch wizard banned his spellcasting ability, which almost meant utterly giving up resistance. He couldn¡¯t check the emotions and thoughts of others. It was hard even to deceive others.

    As a matter of fact, the rules said, ¡°murderers can¡¯t kill.¡± But the Soul Snatch wizard could easily control the situation withoutmitting the murder.

    This curse was an advantage for the four wizards, Gerald, Ghindaio, Maria, and Eugene Melvin, who were not good at attacks, but was proficient in control.

    Even if theymitted a murder in the White Tower, they could still control the next enemy with spells.

    Anyway, the curse only said that no subsequent killing was allowed.

    But it didn¡¯t say not to ¡°attack¡± others.

    Of course, let¡¯s not ignore the fact that Gerald had a powerful curse vessel.

    But, if Gerald had it, won¡¯t the others too?

    In short, ¡°Gerald¡± was equivalent to voluntarily giving up this battle for inheritance rights.

    After Annan set the temporary curse, the other people¡¯s vignce toward him gradually disappeared.

    This was precisely Annan¡¯s n.

    As the Soul Snatch wizard, he must be the one that everyone was most wary of.

    No one would let go of a dangerous person who could control their mind with one sentence. Once someone decided to kill, especially in the beginning with the least meaningful clues, dangerous people like Annan were usually the first to sacrifice.

    There was the mentality where since you don¡¯t know who to kill, let¡¯s rule out the most dangerous one first.

    After all, a person can only kill one person at a time.

    What if he lives to the end?

    This was just better to be safe than sorry.

    A typical train of thoughts would go on like this.

    Annan had roughly guessed Maria¡¯s character.

    She was the kind of person who would say what she thinks and did what she thinks. Annan led the flow of events with words, which would inevitably arouse people¡¯s suspicion. Maria would voice out the doubt.

    At that time, Annan could borrow the opportune moment to inhibit his spell casting in front of everyone.

    Anyway, he had no spellcasting ability.

    In this way, even if someone still suspected that he was the murderer, they would also tend to wait for the ¡°most dangerous person¡± to be killed before they set their target on those who ¡°can be killed anytime.¡±

    After all, Gerald was already the helpless livestock in their eyes. If he was the murderer, then he, who was forbidden to kill and unable to cast spells, couldn¡¯t fend for himself and couldn¡¯t escape at all.

    Gerald could be killed at any time. There was no need to rush.

    This rhythm allowed Annan to be safe from dying on the ¡°first night.¡± [1]

    Annan had everything nned out.

    No matter who the murderer was or whether or not to kill the murderer, Annan needed to drag the ritual into the ¡°only four people¡± situation.

    Then, his tackling method was to mix in the crowd and secretly help the murderer. It was the ¡°traitor [2]¡± in the werewolf game.

    If Annan wanted to clear this dungeon at perfect grade, he would need to back-stab the real murderer when five people were left.

    Because of the need to avoid conflicts.

    So Annan could only use the curse imbued in the hammer to murder the murderer without anyone knowing it.

    Under this circumstance, Annan¡¯s positioning was the ¡°traitor¡± in the Legends of the Three Kingdom [3].

    No matter what, Annan needed to make his ¡°teammate¡± (murderer) first realize his existence.

    [1] Reference to the party game ¡°Werewolf.¡±

    [2] In the Werewolf party game, the traitor role knows who the killer is and needs to assist the killer in winning the game. More info here.

    [3] Another social deduction game like Werewolf. More info here.

 Chapter 110: Two Directions

    <h4>Chapter 110: Two Directions</h4>

    After Annan sealed his spellcasting ability, the mood eased.

    After the mood eased a little, everyone subconsciously chose to agree with Annan¡¯s previous proposition: It¡¯s better to sit down and talk calmly.

    After all, Annan took the initiative to suffer a bitter end in front of everyone.

    Although no one acquired benefits, they would feel guilty at this time.

    However, the level of guilt was not deep. If Annan harmed their interests, they would probably refuse it immediately.

    But Annan just made a proposal that was beneficial for everyone at this moment; at least it wouldn¡¯t bring direct harm to anyone.

    Hence, they would subconsciously follow Annan¡¯s harmless lead.

    Of course, this was an opportunity for Annan.

    If Annan could grasp the initiative in the following conversation, Annan¡¯s words would still weigh in the next n.

    ¡°Gerald¡± had nobat prowess, not high in status, had a poor background and average looks. But people would still subconsciously follow his instructions.

    This was because of human instinctualziness. No one would notice it unless specifically pointed out.

    It was because it took a lot of energy to analyze ¡°whether a new leader was trustworthy.¡± Moreover, standing up against authority would take a lot of energy and risk being isted.

    Especially when the leader did not have too much power to shake their fundamental interests, it became not worth it.

    This model was somewhat simr to the election of ssmittees during school time.

    Adjustments were allowed in principle in the election of most ssmittees. But often, students would not choose the best candidate but continue with the first choice.

    Therefore, before encountering setbacks and temptations and before shaking the authority of the temporary leader, people would tend to obey the temporary leader¡¯s instructions. This applied even if everyone was convinced that this person was not the best choice.

    What Annan had to do was to be this ¡°useless temporary leader¡± and let the crowd sumb to cognitive inertia [1].

    If the crowd grew ustomed to following Annan¡¯s instructions, they would subconsciously think about whether it was beneficial or not instead of questioning feasibility when they heard an instruction that was harmless to them.

    Then, Annan could mix in some private tasks beneficial to him into the public decision. The crowd would not be aware of it.

    Under Uncle Ghindaio¡¯s decision, everyone came to a tea room.

    Although the disciples were dismissed, the tea leaves remained in the tea room. No one looted it away. They had not fallen to that petty level.

    With the help of Benjamin, the alteration wizard, they quickly prepared the ck tea. As per Annan¡¯s suggestion, they sat down and decided to have a peaceful conversation.

    *Slurp!*

    ire took a sip of warm ck tea, and she was relieved.

    Shey on the tablezily, as if melting into a mushy ball.

    Maria¡¯s icy blue pupils were assessing the crowd quickly.

    ¡°Speaking of it.¡± Maria suddenly faced Benjamin and asked, ¡°I remember you are a famous mentor in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.¡±

    ¡°Are you questioning why I can be selected?¡±

    Benjamin easily saw through Maria¡¯s intention and directly confronted her.

    He looked at Gerald with aplex expression and was silent for a while as if he was organizing his words.

    On the side, the Idol wizard, Eugene Melvin, spoke for the first time after entering the White Tower:

    ¡°That¡¯s because all his four students have died.

    ¡°ck Wizard David Gerald killed all of them.¡±

    His voice was far away and ethereal as if divinity contained in it.

    But his words made the crowd assess Annan again.

    Many wizards knew this. But there were still some who had never heard of it.

    Annan also touched his nose, thinking about what expression he should put up at this time.

    In the end, Annan lowered his head with a wry smile and didn¡¯t say much.

    I see.

    Annan muttered in his heart.

    Is this the reason which Salvatore mentioned previously that it is necessary to kill Gerald?

    ording to time, Salvatore should have entered Swamp¡¯s ck Tower by that time, but he had not yet be Benjamin¡¯s disciple. It was because Gerald killed Benjamin¡¯s disciple that the ck Tower put up a wanted notice on Gerald and expelled him.

    But judging on Benjamin¡¯s mannerism, it seemed that there were other stories here.

    Looking at the look, the faces of the other wizards showed a little interest.

    ¡ªSpill some tea for us.

    ¡ªBut, asking directly is too uncourteous.

    ¡°By the way,¡± ire raised her head from the table, looking at the thin old man with sunken cheeks, deep eye sockets, andck of energy. ¡°If Her Royal Highness Mary is an Edict school¡¯s wizard, then why has this one always been silent?¡±

    ¡°His name is Merlin Manning.¡±

    Maria nced at him and introduced softly, ¡°It was our country¡¯s ¡®Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯.¡±

    Winter¡¯s Hand!

    Hearing this title, everyone¡¯s eyes shrank.

    Legend had it that the Falteration Wizard, who froze his inner feelings, was an unsentimental watcher. He was from the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s secret intelligence department ¨C the elite of the spy agency.

    Hearing Mary introducing himself, the old man raised his head and stood up slowly. He got up and bowed deeply to the crowd a little awkwardly.

    He pointed to his mouth and shook his hand.

    Maria added, ¡°Of course, he retired five years ago because of a leg injury. He has no tongue, so he can¡¯t speak.¡±

    Without a tongue, it was equivalent to not leaking secrets easily.

    After all, the elderly Winter¡¯s Hand knew too many secrets.

    Even if the new generation of Winter¡¯s Hand could stay guard on the documents and envelopes passed around, it was impossible to seal off potential verbal leaks.

    Information could be encrypted, forbidden to be written down, and limited to number count on the information could be passed via verbalmunications. However, there were Soul Snatch wizards in this world. With threats that a wizard could gain direct control of another person¡¯s mind at close range, cutting off your tongue would prove to be a simple, convenient, and cheap solution.

    Of course, they could resort not to cut off the tongue, but in this way, the involved personnel could only live in a designated area.

    However, the Old Winter¡¯s Hand cut off the tongue to reduce the work pressure of one¡¯s younger generation. With lesser watchers monitoring him, it made his retirement life brisker.

    But, no one dared to underestimate him even though he was the retired Winter¡¯s Hand.

    This was a wizard that specialized in hunting down wizards.

    Worse still, many spies were Soul Snatch wizards. As a matter of fact, it was not easy to defeat the Soul Snatch wizard in a one-on-one battle. In addition to wizards being extremely resistant to mind control, Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s capability in freezing minds made him proficient in hunting down and killing the formidable Soul Snatch wizards.

    Since Winter Hand¡¯s able to work until retirement without any obvious disability, this evidence was enough to demonstrate the terrifying fighting ability of this mute old man named Merlin.

    ¡°Since everyone knows each other.¡±

    The white-haired youth, Eugene Melvin, with a divine voice, said, ¡°I just had an idea, and I want to share it with you all.

    ¡°I think you may not have noticed it before. There¡¯s a detail in the master¡¯s suicide note about ¡®the murderer cannot kill.¡¯

    ¡°Do you think that the ce of death of Master Michngelo might not be inside the White Tower? If this is the case, then the murderer should be able to kill because he did not trigger the curse.

    ¡°But if Master Michngelo died in the tower, then there are only two possibilities. The first is that the murderer has taken the master¡¯s curse, then he should have advanced gold; the second is¡­¡±

    When he said this, he paused slightly.

    Everyone had understood what he meant.

    After a brief silence, Annan was the first to speak.

    He looked directly at this person with white hair and white eyes having a peculiar divinity, ¡°We are in Master Michngelo¡¯s nightmare¡­¡±

    No one could stay unfazed after Annan spoke.

    ¡°That¡¯s possible,¡± said Miss ire slowly.

    The red-haired youth Kim also nodded silently.

    Maria¡¯s brows frowned in deep thoughts; her hands crossed in front of her chest.

    Ghindaio scratched his hair troublingly.

    Benjamin looked sad and sighed deeply.

    The muted old man ¨C Merlin suddenly raised his head, first looking at Annan, then at Eugene Melvin.

    Melvin¡¯s words gave everyone two directions for thinking.

    As we all know, the dead Transcended would turn into a nightmare if no one collected the body.

    Well, if Master Michngelo had be a nightmare, how do they make sure they were not in a nightmare now?

    If Master Michngelo did not be a nightmare in the tower, then there was a w in the validity of the murderer being innocent.

    If Master Michngelo died outside the tower, the murderer was not entangled in the curse.

    If they were indeed in a nightmare, then dying shouldn¡¯t pose a problem, right?

    Annan frowned slightly.

    These two thinking directions lead to the same result: The candidates had no way to win.

    They were forced to think about who might be the murderer and killed him.

 Chapter 111: First Blood

    <h4>Chapter 111: First Blood</h4>

    ¡°Theoretically, Master Michngelo is the tower owner. Until the white tower chooses a new tower¡¯s son, he can¡¯t leave the wizard tower.¡± Annan pointed out his doubt.

    Idol¡¯s wizard Melvin immediately exined, ¡°This is just a theory.

    ¡°Master Michngelo is also good at Idol spells. So he can create a temporary stand-in for himself and bear the curse.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Michngelo does have the possibility of leaving the wizard tower temporarily.¡± Ms. ire concluded softly.

    As the discussion came until this point, a strange silence entangled the crowd.

    The crowd did not speak much, but everyone had a consensus.

    Compared with the possibility of ¡°Master Michngelo leaving the White Tower,¡± the possibility of ¡°forcibly killing a tower master in the wizard tower¡± could be said to be minimal.

    Melvin offered two directions for thinking, but there was only one possibility ¨C Master Michngelo did not die inside the White Tower.

    But, everyone did not deny the possibility that Master Michngelo was dead, and everyone was now in a nightmare.

    This exnation was the simplest and direct.

    Annan was confident that everyone was secretly ready to kill in their hearts. Those in the crowd could justify the murder with this reason.

    By the end, they would say something like this, ¡°I¡¯m more inclined with the second possibility. We are in a nightmare, and the dead will be kicked out of the nightmare.¡±

    Annan squinted his eyes slightly and looked at Melvin. This person is fishy.

    Melvin had been messing around until now.

    Annan had sealed his spellcasting ability and had proven that he was harmless. Therefore, no normal person would choose to target him.

    But after Annan gained temporary leadership, Melvin jumped out and reminded everyone that ¡°Gerald killed many people.¡±

    After that, Melvin gave everyone an excuse for killing, allowing the crowd to kill with peace of mind.

    While snatching Annan¡¯s speaking rights, Melvin wanted to mess up the situation further and promote ritual development. He was eagerly waiting for someone to die.

    This made him look like a murderer, or at least someone on the murderer¡¯s side.

    But heter told everyone that one-on-one fighting could not solve the problem.

    Yes, Annan knew what he said was right.

    If they fight one-on-one, the candidates would surely win even if the murderer survived.

    ¡ªWhen the crowd realized something was wrong, there were only four people left.

    At that time, the oue would be decided.

    Therefore, Melvin was not the murderer.

    ¡­Unless.

    Annan came to a realization.

    Did Melvin already know who the murderer was?

    Moreover, he believes that no one can defeat the murderer in a one-on-one fight. If many have died, the remaining people may not be able to defeat the murderer?

    That should be the case.

    That¡¯s why he announces that ¡°Michngelo may have died outside the tower.¡± The purpose is to let everyone take down the murderer under a substantial number advantage and the best scenario.

    Annan looked up. He nced around.

    Who is the murderer?

    The one with the strongest one-on-onebat power among them should have been ¡°Gerald¡± when his spellcasting ability was not sealed.

    He should have originally intended to target Gerald.

    But Gerald did live to the end.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±

    A light bulb lit in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Unless-

    ¡°¡­Urgh.¡± Melvin¡¯s face turned ruddy all of a sudden.

    He stood up suddenly, opened his mouth, and widened his eyes.

    But he didn¡¯t say anything.

    He had a rude burp and even spat some saliva.

    Thedies on the table frowned slightly. Miss ire, who was particrly neatly dressed, leaned back in disgust.

    But they soon realized that something was wrong because this burp was loud andsting.

    Suddenly, a transparent red bubble blew out of Melvin¡¯s mouth.

    From the moment the first bubble appeared, many red bubbles gushed out like the ocean.

    Apanied by the sound of ¡°burp,¡± Melvin¡¯s chest copsed suddenly. He was like an inted balloon suddenly bursting. He contracted violently inward, and the blood-colored transparent bubbles rushed out of his mouth, floating into the air.

    Only a piece of skin was left below Melvin¡¯s neck and above his waist in the blink of an eye.

    His head made a squishing sound. It fell on hisp and then fell to the ground.

    His ¡°body¡± was light and fluttery. Before the body fell on the leg, the head fell to the ground first. The pulling force dragged the legs to the floor too. The silver ring worn on his finger also fell directly to the ground with a ng.

    Red bubbles floated in the room and filled the ceiling. The light refracted through the bubbles, turning the entire room red.

    Undoubtedly, Eugene Melvin was dead.

    He was killed under in sight.

    No one used spells.

    No one left the table.

    No one had even left everyone¡¯s sight.

    Eugene Melvin did not even have physical contact with anyone.

    He died inexplicably after he uttered his judgment.

    Even Annan was a little confused. He couldn¡¯t understand how Melvin died.

    ¡°Stop, Kim!¡±

    ire suddenly screamed, attracting everyone¡¯s attention.

    It was the red-haired youth whose eyes were bandaged and whose mouth seemed to be sewn with thread. He came around behind Benjamin, and his right hand was firmly sped on Benjamin¡¯s neck.

    Is it Destruction School mixed with Alteration School?

    Annan was surprised. Melvin¡¯s way of death was indeed the work of the Alteration School.

    Benjamin smiled bitterly, motionless. He slowly raised his hands to signal surrender.

    ¡°It¡¯s not me.¡±

    Benjamin sighed and said helplessly, ¡°Although this does seem to be my technique, it¡¯s really not me.

    ¡°I have no reason to kill him. If you still don¡¯t believe it¡­¡±

    The old wizard¡¯s expression suddenly calmed down, ¡°I can kill another person and show it to you all.¡±

    As soon as Benjamin finished speaking, the red-haired youth Kim suddenly coughed out a mouthful of blood. He seemed to be drained instantly. He knelt on the ground in pain, gasping for breath, but his face quickly turned purple. Vein burst out on his arm and face.

    When Kim¡¯s blood fell on the ground, he began to sneer and burn, igniting the carpet. His cough made the cups and saucers in the room tremble simultaneously. The whole room seemed to be humming.

    At the next moment, the carpet under his feet suddenly moved.

    The carpet moved quickly with Kim atop. They settled in front of ire calmly.

    The chair under the old wizard Benjamin suddenly deformed, pulling out countless twisted and sharp branches, each with sharp branches. The branches fixed Benjamin on the chair. As long as Benjamin made a move, he would be pierced from all directions.

    ire¡¯splexion was serious. She picked up a cup half-filled with ck tea in her hand and sshed the ck tea in the air.

    The red liquid floated in the air, surrounding her like a snake.

    She tipped the teacup in her hand and ordered Benjamin with a sullen face,

    ¡°Relieve the curse to Kim, Benjamin.¡±

    But, Benjamin¡¯s face remained unchanged.

    The white-haired old wizard just smiled tauntingly.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not afraid of me killing people at this time?¡±

    He looked up at the others again, ¡°Everyone else, are you fine just being the spectator? Well¡­ it¡¯s okay.¡±

    As soon as he ended talking, Kim¡¯s cough gradually ceased. His expression was not so terrible. But he was still on his knees and panting violently. Amidst his inhales and exhales, Annan felt the whole room trembling slightly in the rhythm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Uncle Ghindaio of the Prophet school suddenly ran over and whispered in Annan¡¯s ear.

    Annan thought for a moment, then nodded in response.

    He and Ghindaio left soon.

    Maria took a hesitant look at the three people and then at the two who were running away. After thinking about it, she followed Annan and Ghindaio. Merlin also quietly followed up.

    In the blink of an eye, there were only three people left in the room.

    None of the three spoke.

    ire looked down at her teacup with her face gloomy. Kim stood up slowly, reaching out to loosen the eye band.

    Benjamin looked calm and drank the ck tea, seeming unfazed from ire¡¯s and Kim¡¯s gaze.

    There was a long silence, but ire still took Kim away.

    Only Benjamin and Melvin¡¯s body were left in the room.

 Chapter 112: Prediction & Perception

    <h4>Chapter 112: Prediction & Perception</h4>

    Annan and Ghindaio left the tea room first.

    To be more precise, it was to escape the crime scene.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Annan took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

    Beside him, Wizard Ghindaio of the Prophet school patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Nothing bad will happen.¡±

    Wizard Ghindaio, with ck hair and ck eyes, replied affirmatively, ¡°Because they can¡¯t afford to break into a fight.¡±

    Wizard Ghindaio had thick curly hair, his eyes were as deep as burn marks, and his face had defined features.

    ¡°Are you so sure?¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡±

    Ghindaio replied confidently, ¡°For this reason, it is necessary to eradicate variables.¡±

    ¡°Variable?¡±

    ¡°En. You can understand it as the nature, quantity, intensity aspect of the variable in the face of a fixed future.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t understand this word.¡±

    Annan shook his head and asked, ¡°I mean. Do the spells of the prophecy system need to exclude variables?¡±

    ¡°In most cases, yes.¡±

    Ghindaio nodded, somewhat puzzled, ¡°Does Swamp¡¯s ck Tower have no prophecy instructor?¡±

    Before Annan could answer, Ghindaio exined with his tone like a mentor, ¡°In short, the abilities and spells of the prophecy system can be roughly divided into two categories: prediction and perception.

    ¡°The prediction ability is to actively search for event¡¯s information in the ¡®future node.¡¯

    ¡°For example, if you give me 2 numbers, I can know the final result because I can calcte it, and there is only 1 result. So, I can skip the process and predict its oue.

    ¡°Simrly, predicting the trajectory, predicting the answer, predicting the heads and tails of the coin are all simple, even without spell casting. But predicting who I will meet today and predicting where we will go next is much moreplicated. To put it simply, as long as it contains predictions other than myself, the difficulty and consumption will increase. The error rate will increase too.¡±

    ¡°In general, the more fixed and unique the answer, the easier it is to get the result. The more variables in the process, the harder it is to predict.

    ¡°For example, I can predict what you just wanted to say¡­¡±

    Ghindaio stared at Annan, thought for a while, and said, ¡°You want to say, ¡®Isn¡¯t the human mind variable,¡± right? The answer is, ¡®Yes.¡¯

    -Yup.

    Annan nodded.

    But, there were some differences. What Annan wanted to ask was, ¡°Do you exclude the variable ¡®thought.''¡±

    This slight error shoulde from Ghindaio¡¯s misunderstanding of Annan and Gerald.

    ¡°So, you can see the future for a short while?¡±

    Annan asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s more like seeing a glimpse of the near future,¡± the middle-aged man corrected. ¡°What we can find out is the information ¡®we¡¯re capable of knowing.¡¯

    ¡°As long as we know the uncertainty nodes affecting the future, we can see the results in advance. That is, the future in my eyes.¡±

    Ghindaio said, nced at the tea room, and then at Annan with deep thoughts, ¡°As long as we leave, they will not be able to fight. If you and Her Royal Highness Maria stay in it, there¡¯s a probability for a fight to ur.

    ¡°But I just took a casual look. I don¡¯t know what will happen next. But I tend to follow a ¡®certain¡¯ future direction, rather than change the future to an unknown direction.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan nodded slowly.

    A strange thought suddenly appeared in his heart.

    To confirm this idea, he asked Ghindaio, ¡°What about perception?¡±

    ¡°Perception¡­¡±

    Ghindaio sighed for unknown reasons.

    His answer this time was simple, ¡°In short, the teacher perceives he is about to die. That is Perception. You can¡¯t actively seek the answer, and the answer may not be helpful, but what you perceive is a certainty.

    ¡°It¡¯s because several key nodes anchoring this future have already happened, but we didn¡¯t realize it. Simply put, it¡¯s toote. It is impossible to change the future with our power. By wanting to alter from the future seen through perception, it will introduce many variables instead.¡±

    Annan roughly had an idea.

    The prophecy spells basically operated either actively or passively. They obtained some fragmented information from the future self.

    This was indeed a versatile spell.

    The result of ¡°predicting¡± was ¡°probability in the future,¡± so it could be changed at will.

    The result obtained in ¡°perception¡± was ¡°the uing result.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that the future learned through perception could not be changed. But it was difficult to shake the tide of destiny with one¡¯s power alone.

    Annan was silent for a while.

    That being the case.

    Is the ritual used to change the fate of ¡°Michngelo being murdered¡±?

    -Yup.

    So far, there was no definite evidence that ¡°Michngelo is dead.¡±

    They thought so only because the stone statue when they entered the door said to them.

    But what if the stone statue was telling lies?

    No, it didn¡¯t have to be a lie.

    The stone statue never said, ¡°Michngelo is dead¡± from beginning to end.

    Not a word was mentioned.

    The stone statue only announced Michngelo¡¯sst words. Michngelo only dered, ¡°The murderer who killed me is among you.¡±

    But what if he was not referring to the ¡°past.¡±

    ¡ªBut the ¡°future¡±?

    ¡°Hey, David. Did you think of something?¡± Ghindaio whispered.

    Annan looked at Ghindaio and was silent for a while, ¡°What are you referring to?¡±

    ¡°The ritual we are in.¡±

    The middle-aged man stared at Annan and lowered his voice, ¡°Did youe up with something?¡±

    ¡°What are you all chattering about?¡± Maria¡¯s voice came abruptly.

    She frowned slightly and looked at Annan with her arms folded.

    There was unconcealed suspicion on that immature and delicate face akin to the most high-end doll.

    The muted old man Merlin lowered his head and stood listlessly behind her.

    But Annan was able to perceive an inexplicable and strong sense of danger.

    ¡°We are discussing the three people inside.¡±

    Before the middle-aged man spoke, Annan replied first, ¡°As long as we all leave, the three of them shouldn¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°Prophecy?¡±

    Maria Austere-Winter nodded thoughtfully as if thinking of something.

    At this moment, Annan suddenly asked, ¡°Your Royal Highness, do you have any thoughts on our current situation?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    For some reason, Maria always seemed vignt every time she talked with Annan.

    She was silent for a while and replied seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t think Melvin will be the only death.

    ¡°Someone will die next. Everyone should think the same way. Everyone knows that there is only one murderer and we cannot kill two people, so they stick to each other in pairs. Just like you, like us, like ire And Kim.¡±

    ¡°So, are you thinking that Master Benjamin is the murderer?¡± Annan asked.

    This Alteration School master who was infinitely close to the Gold Rank could undoubtedly kill a Gold Rank Wizard. He had not teamed up with anyone now. Hence, his suspicion should be the biggest.

    But the problem was¡­

    Annan knew from the beginning that Benjamin was innocent.

    The reason was the same as Gerald.

    Benjamin did not die here, nor did he seed in advancement. Instead, he returned to ck Tower alive to recruit new students. One of them was Salvatore.

    To some surprise, Maria shook her head firmly.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think he is a murderer.¡± She replied.

    She looked at Annan and replied directly, ¡°I think¡­

    ¡°The murderer is you.¡±

 Chapter 113: The Sure-Fire Way

    <h4>Chapter 113: The Sure-Fire Way</h4>

    ¡°You are honest, Your Royal Highness Mary.¡±

    The reply was different from what Maria imagined.

    Annan heard her words, but there was no look of panic or fear on his face.

    He nodded slowly with a thoughtful look on his face.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    He murmured in a low voice with a focused expression on his face, ¡°That¡¯s how you think.¡±

    With that, Annan looked up.

    He asked Maria seriously, ¡°May I ask, Your Highness¡­ When did youe up with such a thought?¡±

    Maria nced at Annan suspiciously.

    She was silent for a while, thinking about something in her heart.

    Annan spoke slowly, gently, and kindly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too nervous.

    ¡°You know, I have sealed my spellcasting ability. Everyone has witnessed it.¡±

    Annan stood at Maria¡¯s point of view and helped her to think, ¡°Judging from the normal thought process, I will not be suspected at first even if I am the murderer. So, Your Highness¡ª Please think about it carefully. Where does your distrust of mee from?¡±

    Annan¡¯s words carried sincerity to help.

    His objective was to help the other party find out the people or things bothering her and help her solve her worries. With the sincerity Annan showed, Maria could hardly refuse Annan¡¯s kindness.

    From the very beginning, Annan had already found out.

    Perhaps because of the talent ¡°Winter Heart,¡± Maria¡¯s character w was obvious.

    She was prone to be guilty, but at the same time, she would tend to be fearful, angry, and nervous. It was like the opposite of Annan. She was like a puppet, easy to manipte.

    Even with Merlin¡¯s protection, she was restless deep down in her heart in the face of the chaotic situation today.

    At this moment, Maria was not so much analyzing it as it was losing her temper. She wanted to vent the fear in her heart and turn the invisible hunter into a tangible enemy.

    It was normal for her to be wary of Annan. Soul Snatch wizard was effective against Winter Heart. Maybe this was the meaning behind the Winter¡¯s Hand existence ¨C to counter these Soul Snatch wizards.

    Annan had already guessed this from the beginning.

    The problem was that Annan had given up his spellcasting ability. Even in everyone¡¯s opinion, he gave up his spellcasting ability because of Maria¡¯s words.

    Maria Austere-Winter did feel a little guilty towards Annan.

    So-

    ¡°You mean, my thinking may be affected by others?¡±

    Maria immediately realized Annan¡¯s meaning between his sentences.

    She thought for a moment and soon realized the problem, ¡°That¡¯s probable¡­¡±

    Her tone inexplicably softened as if it was because of the guilt in misunderstanding Annan because she knew that what ¡°Gerald¡± said was indeed reasonable.

    It stood to reason that Gerald had sealed his spellcasting ability. Therefore, no matter who killed Master Michngelo or who killed Melvin, it was unlikely that it was Gerald.

    So Maria paused, still whispering the answer in her heart, ¡°Yes, at the very beginning.¡±

    ¡°Very beginning?¡± Annan asked with some confusion.

    He really didn¡¯t expect this answer.

    Although Gerald was not good-looking, he didn¡¯t exude hostility?

    ¡°Because of your eyes, Mr. Gerald.¡±

    Maria replied seriously, ¡°I see the purity of a child in your eyes, the indifference of an elder, and the well-hidden ¨C arrogance.¡±

    ¡°My eyes.¡±

    Annan smashed his lips, feeling wronged.

    So, Maria is into this.

    Judging someone through the eyes is like metaphysics.

    Even in Annan¡¯s shoes, he only judged a person through various aspects such as subtle expressions, words, movements, clothes, and recent actions. What one saw in the eyes was what one perceived they should see.

    Surprisingly, Maria seemed to be quite urate.

    She didn¡¯t seem to see Gerald, but Annan, who was temporarily upying the body.

    ¡°I have a proposal.¡±

    Suddenly, Ghindaio on the side said, ¡°Why don¡¯t the four of us set up a curse here?¡±

    ¡°What curse?¡± Maria asked immediately.

    ¡°[Before this incident is over, the four people present cannot attack each other.] How about using this curse to form a temporary alliance?¡± Ghindaio asked.

    This proposal surprised the other three on the spot.

    This meant even if the murderer was among the four of them, none of them could do anything to the person. They could only help the murderer kill others,plete the inheritance ritual, or watch others attack the murderer coldly.

    Simply put, Ghindaio proposed to bring the situation back to a ¡°one-on-one battle¡± situation.

    After learning that the murderer might not have killed anyone, the situation came into a deadlocked state.

    But after Melvin¡¯s death, this bnced situation was broken again.

    Annan understood what he meant.

    ¡ªThis is the sure-fire way to win.

    Unlike the previous situation, they now had only seven people.

    As long as four people teamed up, the result was the same whether the murderer who killed Michngelo was inside or outside the team. They would win.

    Ghindaio¡¯s intention in this proposal was¡­

    ¡ª¡ªIf anyone here does not agree to form a team, the person will die.

    After all, the group could get others to join hands together.

    As long as they had four people, it would be the ¡°majority.¡± Then, the minority had no power to fight back.

    People in the team might not be able to survive.

    But the outsiders of the team were bound to die.

    ¡°I agree to form a team.¡±

    ¡°I agree.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    The other three on the scene reacted quickly. They immediately agreed and drafted the curse immediately,

    ¡°We hereby set up curse here¡ª¡±

    Ghindaio took the lead in guiding the chanting, ¡°Before this incident is over, the four people present must not attack each other.¡±

    As his voice fell, strange traces shed in the air.

    [Oath]¡¯s power entangled their hearts.

    If this curse was vited, the curse would burst in their body.

    Seeing everyone establish the curse, the four of them all breathed a sigh of relief.

    After a short silence, Maria was the first to speak with a cold and youthful voice, ¡°In fact, I didn¡¯t intend to inherit the position of tower master.

    ¡°The tower owner can¡¯t easily leave the wizard tower. This is troublesome for me. My eldest brother cannot inherit the position of Grand Duke. I must protect my younger brother Annan.¡±

    Annan was surprised.

    He roughly realized something.

    There might be some sort of curse on Maria like ¡°I can only tell the truth¡± or ¡°I say whateveres to mind.¡±

    Her chatty mannerism seemed a bit out of ce.

    Annan was puzzled, pretending to be unaware of this, and asked tentatively, ¡°Speaking of it, what¡¯s the matter with Grand Duke¡¯s eldest son? Um, sorry, if it is inconvenient to talk about it.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem with telling it out. Almost even civilians in the Dukedom know this.¡±

    Maria gave a self-deprecating smile.

    The gloomy cloud on her still lingered.

    She said softly, ¡°It started two years ago¡­

    ¡°Our eldest brother became infertile.¡±

 Chapter 114: The Disappeared Statue

    <h4>Chapter 114: The Disappeared Statue</h4>

    ¡°Rotten Man.¡± Annan probed softly.

    He attempted to get more clues.

    With the alliance agreement just established, Maria wasn¡¯t really on guard against Annan. In addition, Annan was officially wanted by the Noah Kingdom. The other three people present were all Austerian.

    She nodded gloomily and admitted Annan¡¯s spection, ¡°Yes, it is indeed Rotten Man¡¯s curse directed through the name.¡±

    ¡°Have you not prepared any substitute?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    ¡°Of course we have, but the curse managed to pass through for some reason. I¡¯m fine, but the curse attacked my father, eldest brother, and Annan at the same time.

    ¡°The eldest brother can forcibly absorb other¡¯s curses. He immediately shouldered the curse of three people on him alone.¡±

    Maria seemed more evasive in talking about it, ¡°In the end, my eldest brother has permanently lost his fertility, and lost the chance to inherit the Grand Duke¡¯s position. Also, I¡¯m not suitable. So we can only rely on Annan.

    ¡°He has a much better character than mine. Austere-Winter is in need of a Grand Duke who is kind and isn¡¯t hungry for political power.¡±

    ¡°Your Royal Highness.¡±

    Annan coughed slightly and reminded, ¡°You spoke too much.¡±

    If he heard so many secrets outside the dungeon instance, he wondered if he would be silenced through death.

    Even Announ would not die in the nightmare, he still followed the cautious, timid, and calm character of ¡°Gerald¡± in strict details, interrupting Maria¡¯s words.

    Of course, the main reason was that Annan had enough information from the conversation.

    ¡°In short, I can¡¯t die here cause I need to protect my brother¡­¡±

    Annan nodded. He said calmly and slowly, ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Does our family seem naive and weak on the Noah side?¡±

    Maria asked self-deprecatingly, ¡°We¡¯re unlike a noble family at all.¡±

    This was expected. There were too few children who could endure the inborn curse and survive to adulthood in the Austere-Winter family.

    Those heirs who could survive the curse and grow up healthily were tempered with iparable tenacity.

    Annan just shook his head. Then, he said earnestly, ¡°I think this is a good and healthy family rtionship.¡±

    What Annan said was not an act but from the heart¡¯s bottom.

    Maria was silent as if she felt Annan¡¯s sincerity.

    But Annan realized immediately that Maria¡¯s view of him had changed again.

    She is still a child, after all. Annan sighed in his heart.

    Maria, at this point in time, was like thirteen years old. Her mind became firm in advance through the painful tempering. There was a gloomy vibe with her too. Her words were calm, mature, and organized due to her wisdom and education. But, she was still a child after all. She trusted others easily.

    Maria. You believe in strangers who came from wrong and dangerous origins. Annan sighed silently.

    At this moment, the group heard the sound of the tea room opening.

    ire took Kim out of the tea room. They looked at the four people a little wary and distant.

    They didn¡¯te up to talk either but took a long detour and left.

    Obviously, ire and Kim noticed something was amiss.

    ¡ªFrom the very beginning, Ghindaio did not foresee whether the three of them would fight. But the way to survive to the end.

    The answer was simple. The remaining three people had no way to withdraw and form an alliance alone.

    Prophet Wizard was always the most cunning.

    They could see a lot of things.

    But few were willing to share with others.

    Because the more people know the result they predicted, the more ¡°variables¡± would be added to the result, and the more inurate it would be.

    Many people believe that the Prophet Wizard was the most self-serving wizard.

    Their power was the most suitable for helping others. But almost no Prophet Wizards were willing to share prophecies with others.

    Some said they all liked to use their power to look into the future for themselves.

    But this was not entirely correct because only when they predict things rted to them, the uracy could approach 100%. They enjoy having this kind of power to see the future and develop the habit of maintaining the uracy of predictions.

    It was just a habit.

    ¡ª¡ªAfter you develop a habit, it is difficult to change.

    The four of them waited for a while but had not seen Benjamine out of the tea room.

    So, they stopped waiting.

    Instead, the group left through the same path they came.

    Ghindaio imed that he knew the location of another tea room. There was some food and water, but it would take a long way to go there.

    The entire wizard tower took the hall as the center and extended symmetrically to both sides. What¡¯s on the left side was also on the right side.

    But when they returned to the hall. Annan suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly.

    The rest of the group also noticed the problem at the same time:

    ¡°Do you feel like some statues are missing?¡±

    The statues were arranged ording to a particr pattern, like a starry sky. Something was missing.

    Giant statue. Centaur statue.

    Old man statue. Child statue.

    Warrior statue. Maiden statue.

    Giant snake statue. Fairy statue.

    -Yup.

    Angel statue was gone.

    ¡°Does the angel signify Eugene Melvin?¡±

    Annan realized something immediately.

    Melvin was the Idol Wizard.

    The so-called idol originally referred to a human form made of wood or y. The process of people worshiping and enshrining these sculptures was first to give the idol a real meaning, then put belief to it and duplicate the target.

    Idol was named after this principle.

    Idol was proficient in the making of mud puppets and golems, as well as the abilities of ¡°substitute,¡± ¡°projection,¡± and ¡°ritual.¡± But, in general, it was the ability to absorb away, lead, and give others different curses.

    Annan read from the book that the Idol Wizard was called ¡°godlike¡± or ¡°demigod on earth¡± long ago.

    Because they could also listen to the prayers of believers from far away. They could also give someone a curse from a distance. In a sense, the Idol Wizard could deliver damage, defense, healing, or blessing at a very long distance. In the eyes of ordinary people who were not Transcended, the boundary between Idol Wizard and the gods was blurred.

    -Angel.

    This nickname was appropriate to address them.

    Annan frowned slightly, thinking silently.

    If these nine statues are us and the statues would disappear when we die.

    Which statue represents Gerald?

    In other words, which one corresponds to me?

    Suddenly, a light bulb shed in Annan¡¯s mind.

    ¡°If the future is uncertain, does what has happened must exist?¡±

    He recalled Master Michngelo¡¯s final words in his mind.

    It was a question for them.

    ¡ªIf ¡°Michngelo will die¡± is an uncertain future.

    Rtive to this incident, if the future is uncertain, does what has happened must exist?

    [Do not fight with anyone.]

    [Get everyone¡¯s real name.]

    [At least survive till only four people remain.]

    ¡°I seem to understand something,¡± Annan murmured.

    His eyes shone with confidence.

    He would most likely sessfully clear the dungeon within three hours.

    He had fully understood the mechanism of this nightmare. Its principle was notplicated, but the most important person was not easy to find.

    Who on earth is it?

 Chapter 115: Second Death

    <h4>Chapter 115: Second Death</h4>

    ¡°If Eugene Melvin is an angel¡­¡±

    Annan spoke softly and reminded the three of them, ¡°Then what are we all?¡±

    ¡°Us¡­¡± Maria murmured.

    She first looked at the ¡°maiden¡± who was facing the statue of ¡°warrior,¡± but after a pause, she turned her gaze to the child with the bouquet in hand.

    ¡°I think I should be a ¡®child.¡¯ The ¡®girl¡¯ and the ¡®warrior¡¯ who are next to each other correspond to ire and Kim.

    Maria analyzed, ¡°Mr. Ghindaio must correspond to ¡®centaur.¡¯ After all, Centaur is proficient in Prophet spells, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Although Centaur is strong and good at fighting, he likes to run away. It is simr to our situation.¡± Ghindaio continued from Maria¡¯s words and admitted frankly.

    After that, Ghindaio looked at Merlin, ¡°Old Mr. Merlin should be a ¡®giant.''¡±

    ¡°Why a giant?¡± Annan questioned. He had been asking questions in the most timely manner.

    Ghindaio smiled and replied casually, ¡°Because giants are a race of ¡®no vision in youth¡¯ and ¡®mute when old age.¡¯ And this¡­¡±

    There was no doubt that the ¡°giant¡± statue referred to Falteration Wizard Merlin Manning.

    In other words, it was mocking his past identity as ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand.¡±

    As the wizard tower master, Michngelo did not like these ¡°wizard hunting wizards.¡±

    Merlin nodded, grinned somewhat self-deprecatingly, and smiled silently.

    ¡°In this case, Master Benjamin can only be an ¡®old man.¡¯¡±

    Annan nodded and led the topic away from the embarrassing vibe without a trace, ¡°We¡¯re still left with ¡®fairy¡¯ and ¡®giant snake.¡¯ Then I¡­¡±

    ¡°You should be ¡®fairy.¡¯¡± Maria answered in a cold and youthful voice, ¡°Because fairies are good at bewitching people¡¯s hearts, and¡ª¡±

    She nced at Annan and added, ¡°Fairy likes to steal things.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case.¡± Annan looked at the fairy statues and nodded in realization.

    Fairies were ancient creatures that only had the height of human calves. They had a beautiful face and a pair of wings. Among the fairy statues, a fairy secretly held a stolen scabbard that was much higher than them. There was another fairy that secretly hid in a purse near the old man. A fairy was equipped with a poisonous spike, preparing for backstabbing. Another fairy was flying in the air and chatting with ¡°children.¡± Finally, a fairy flew around the girl¡¯s ear, pointing at the warrior and gossiping.

    So, is this a prophetic statue? It looked like something Gerald would do.

    Annan was not angry but was in deep thoughts.

    After all, Master Michngelo mocked Gerald but not Annan. Naturally, Annan would not take that as a personal attack.

    So, who is the giant snake?

    Annan cast his eyes on the giant snake with its head up to the sky in the center of the statue group.

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡­Molting?

    A roar, apanied by a terrible sound wave, came without warning and interrupted Annan.

    The ground under their feet shook suddenly. Like an earthquake, the entire wizard tower was shaking violently. The mes in the hall were stretched again, bing slender and blue.

    Several statues representing the ¡°warriors¡± suddenly became dark and transparent in the eyes of the four of them. Then, they gradually faded and finally disappeared altogether.

    Subsequently, the candlelight returned to its previous color again.

    The hall became bright again.

    ¡°Something has happened to Kim.¡± In the short silence, Annan was the first to speak softly.

    ¡°Should we go and take a look?¡± Uncle Ghindaio asked.

    Annan nced at Maria.

    But she only shook her head slowly.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    She frowned and replied in a low volume, ¡°I think ire should be back soon.

    ¡°For the sake of safety, it¡¯s best not to approach the ce where the destruction wizard died.¡±

    Not waiting for Annan to reply.

    On the path behind them, a man walked out slowly.

    The ring on his right hand was shimmering with a solemn expression.

    The brilliance flowed in the ring like a living thing. They floated on his skin, forming a coquettish ¡°eye.¡±

    It was the alteration wizard, Benjamin.

    Seeing him like this, Merlin immediately stood in front of Maria.

    He opened his mouth slightly and took a deep breath.

    Annan could see clearly that his tongue hadn¡¯t been severed. Instead, the tongue was engraved with many ck runes, giving his tongue a gray and dark color simr to a stone.

    At the tip of the rune, there was a silver tongue ring!

    As Merlin breathed in slowly, the tongue ring also shone brightly. The purple-ck rune crawled out of it and spread all over his mouth.

    Afterward, Merlin let out a sigh of relief.

    It appeared like smoking cigarettes.

    White smoke slowly gushed from his mouth and nose. His eyes and ears also gradually ooze cold air visible to the naked eye.

    The temperature in the air seemed to have dropped a little, and it continued dropping.

    Benjamin saw that Merlin had liberated the curse-bearing item and stopped moving forward.

    The brilliance on his ring became brighter. The half-opened eyes opened further. There were some small runes dotted nearby.

    Just when Benjamin confronted the four of them, the wall copsed suddenly.

    No, it was not so much of a copse but melted.

    The whole wall turned into a liquid, seemingly cement.

    Then, the cement suddenly separated from the middle.

    ire was sullen and walked out slowly across the wall.

    She had some scars caused by high temperatures. Her smooth and silky hair was also a bit messy. It appeared she had just escaped from the fire.

    Her ring shone. The curse formed a windmill-like shape on the back of her hand, slowly spinning.

    The cement followed her forward, flowing on the ground. There was hot sma floating around her. It was like a bright red snake, swimming flexibly in the air.

    That blood¡­

    It should be Kim¡¯s blood.

    Annan guessed.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know much about the destruction wizard, judging from Maria¡¯s statement and the blood that started to burn violently after Kim¡¯s cough tainted the ground, the nature of the destruction wizard seemed to be unstable.

    After ire appeared, she nced at Annan¡¯s group and quickly fixed her gaze on Benjamin.

    ¡°It¡¯s you. Isn¡¯t it?¡± She asked bitterly.

    It went beyond everyone¡¯s expectations.

    Benjamin confessed frankly, ¡°If you are asking about the person who killed ¡®Kim G,¡¯ then it is indeed me.¡±

    The towering old man slowly unbuttoned his trench coat in a calm tone.

    There were several sks and test tubes tied to the inside of the trench coat. Four of the plugs were removed.

    ¡°Is there any problem with killing a vicious pirate who has killed at least 30 people?¡± Benjamin asked calmly.

    While talking, he slowly pulled out the remaining plugs.

    He looked at the short curly umber hair girl, ¡°Ms. ire. Or, should I say Captain Karl Matthew? You don¡¯t need to pretend. Your hair color is rare.

    ¡°It¡¯s you who tame ¡®Kim¡¯ and inject excessive strong curses into him, right?¡± ire became silent for a moment.

    The hatred on her face suddenly disappeared without a trace.

    She smiled and fluffed the short hair near her ear.

    Except that her short hair and pupils had not changed, she copsed like melted. Then, the figure stood up again and turned into another person.

    ¡ªA pale, somewhat short, well-defined young man.

 Chapter 116: Your Name

    <h4>Chapter 116: Your Name</h4>

    ¡°It looks like I have to buy more hair dye.¡±

    The young man called ¡°Karl¡± stroked his hair, put his hand on his head, and showed a wanton smile, ¡°Old man, do you have any good products on sale?¡±

    As he said this, the gray mud around him was surging restlessly and gurgling.

    Afterward, Karl suddenly lifted his right hand that was holding his hair.

    He put his palm forward and waved his hand.

    The mud surged forward like a living thing. It tried to swallow everything in and tear up inside.

    It was different from the attack on the ship.

    This time, Benjamin was prepared with the alteration reagents in advance. He finally demonstrated thebat prowess of the alteration wizard.

    Arge amount of ck smoke was flowing out of him.

    Benjamin was like a generalmanding a soldier. The ck mist constantly gushed out and confronted the mud.

    When these ck mist contacted the mud, vermilion crystals were formed at the contact point. The wall made of ck mist altered the mud into vermilion crystals. Then, these crystals break by themselves. They transformed into red needles, which gathered around Benjamin.

    Benjamin waved his hand forward suddenly.

    The red crystal needles, like torrential rain, barraging Captain Karl!

    Karl was not nervous about it at all.

    The mud and sand in front of him rose on their own as if they had turned alive. The moment it left the ground, it condensed into a solid and thick stone wall. The red needles struck the stone wall and then fell to the ground.

    Under the stone wall, the mud and sand spread in all directions and solidified. A solid ¡°underframe¡± was formed.

    But after the red needles shattered, they sparkled with golden brilliance.

    After a short dy, they were connected.

    ¡ªExploded!

    At this moment, Benjamin suddenly shouted, ¡°David, quickly detain him!

    ¡°I can¡¯t kill another person. Keep altering. I can¡¯t stop!¡±

    David?

    Are you calling me? But, shouldn¡¯t you and I be mortal enemies?

    Annan was taken aback for a moment. He quickly realized something.

    Yes, this assumption is wrong.

    At the moment Annan realized this, all the clues were connected in front of him. Annan understood everything.

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate to push the dazed Maria¡¯s shoulder.

    He no longer put up an act. His voice was loud and clear, ¡°Hurry up, Maria. Quickly separate them!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Maria also vaguely felt that she understood something.

    Although Gerald¡¯s actions were rude, they woke her up from the preupied thoughts immediately.

    Maria¡¯s ring shined brightly.

    She reached out her slender right hand, grasping the empty air, sending out an Edict,

    ¡°[Truce]!¡±

    When her cold voice fell, a transparent wall rose between Benjamin and Karl, cutting the battlefield in half.

    The invisible repulsive force started from the wall and pushed on both sides at the same time.

    Amid the roar, the sand and red needles were pushed away to both sides through a powerful repulsive force. Even Benjamin and Karl were both pushed back away from this wall by the repulsive force.

    At this distance, it was impossible for them to confront each other immediately. No matter whether it was mud or red crystal, they would be stopped. Only powerful spells that required preparation could ovee the repulsive force.

    In other words, the two parties won¡¯t have to worry about being attacked by the other party. Instead, they could sit down and talk calmly.

    Annan sighed at the effect of this spell.

    What a way to stop a fight.

    ¡°Can we talk?¡± Maria turned her head and looked at Annan earnestly, ¡°Why separate them?¡±

    Annan seemed to see his reflection in her pupils. Everyone else looked at Annan.

    Or rather, all looking at Gerald.

    Annan chuckled. He pped his hands and took a step forward.

    On the ordinary and gentle face that belonged to Gerald, there suddenly appeared self-confidence disproportionate to him. The smile was so brilliant and even seemed a little wild.

    ¡°Sir, gentlemen and our esteemed Highness,¡± said Annan. He turned back gracefully to bow and to pay respect to Maria.

    Maria also politely returned a curtsy to him.

    Immediately afterward, Annan said calmly, ¡°In fact, I have found out the truth.¡±

    As Annan said, he looked at his watch, ¡°Although the reasoning will be after dinner, I almost ran out of time. Let this boring farce end here.

    ¡°The reason I want to stop you from fighting is simple. Because if one more person dies, we will only have five people left. What does that mean?

    ¡°If the person who killed Master Michngelo hasn¡¯t killed anyone yet, he can kill one person and end the ritual directly,¡± probed Maria.

    Annan nodded and shook his head again.

    ¡°You can be right, but that¡¯s not the problem.¡±

    He sneered, showing an elegant and reserved smile.

    He raised his voice and replied, ¡°The crux of the problem is that if there are six people alive, the murderer can¡¯t kill anyone no matter how powerful he is. Otherwise, there will be a w in the ritual, or perhaps an endless loop.¡±

    Annan¡¯s attitude today was not at all as humble as he had shown before.

    Every move seemed to be shining, attracting everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Let me put it this way. The way to end all this is simple. It¡¯s just a simple question.¡±

    Annan said straightforwardly, ¡°Since the very beginning, we have ignored this. Why? Everyone present has more or less taken people¡¯s lives before. So, we¡¯re fine with hiding our identity from others.

    ¡°But here is the crux of the problem.¡±

    With that, Annan looked at Maria and asked, ¡°Does the Edict school have a spell that can tell the real name of others?¡±

    Annan had seen something simr at Viscount House before.

    Maria blinked, realizing something.

    She quickly replied, ¡°Yes, there is.¡±

    She immediately took out a t emerald green jade tablet from the small waist bag she carried.

    With a light touch of her right hand, the strange marks were burned on it.

    ¡°Hold it and ask people for their real names. If the answer is correct, it will sh white; if the answer is wrong, it will sh red.¡± Maria handed it to Annan, exining the usage.

    ¡°Okay, Your Highness.¡±

    Annan smiled slightly, looked straight at Ghindaio of the Prophet school, raised his hand, and passed the jade tablet.

    He said gently, ¡°Your Excellency Ghindaio, would you like to test it?¡±

    Ghindaio, who had been silent, looked at Annan and suddenlyughed.

    He walked over without fear and held the jade tablet tightly.

    As everyone watched with different expressions, Ghindaio said calmly,

    ¡°My real name is¨C

    ¡°Michngelo Buonaro.¡±

    ¡ªThe white light came on.

 Chapter 117: Ritual To Become A God

    <h4>Chapter 117: Ritual To Be A God</h4>

    ¡ªMichngelo was not dead at all!

    Hearing this news, only Captain Karl was taken aback and looked over in disbelief.

    Everyone else had a dazed expression.

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask when you have figured it out.¡±

    Ghindaio¡­ or perhaps Michngelo didn¡¯t panic.

    He smiled and looked at Annan with interest, ¡°But why are you sure it was me? I think I haven¡¯t exposed my purpose so far.¡±

    ¡ªWhat a good question.

    Annan took a deep breath.

    He nced at Benjamin and said slowly, ¡°The first time I suspected you was when you proposed a four-people alliance.

    ¡°The four-person alliance is indeed a sure-fire way to victory. It can guarantee that the victor would be your ally. But the question is¡­ Why did you want to give up the fight and just want to survive?

    ¡°This ce is the home ground for you. We don¡¯t know the room or the road ahead. But, you don¡¯t only know where to go, you even know which statues refer to which of us. You seemingly have everything in your grasp. You even take an extremely defensive stance when there are seven candidates left.

    ¡°If you want to form an alliance, the smartest way is to form an alliance with the two teams after one person has died.

    ¡°In other words, there are three teams. Two teams, each with three people. But because you¡¯re singled out without a designated pair, you can win number advantage no matter when a conflict breaks out.¡±

    (TN: Essentially, the teamyout will be 3 vs. 3, with him being the deciding factor for numbers advantage)

    Annan said calmly, ¡°You can¡¯t fail to think of this because the Prophet spell allows you to get the answer from your future self. Of course, this intel is from what you said.

    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you do this? Because you want to hide one thing.

    ¡°You just said that the twin towers are ¡®with the hall as the center and extending symmetrically to both sides.¡¯ So things on the left side can also be found on the right side, and it is symmetrical.

    ¡°It¡¯s like the rtionship for the eight candidates,¡± Annan said and nced at Benjamin.

    Everyone else quickly understood.

    ¡°Captain Karl and Mr. Kim know each other,¡± said Maria slowly. ¡°Merlin and I also know each other. Sir Gerald and Master Benjamin also know each other.¡±

    There was only one set of exceptions.

    That was Ghindaio and Eugene Melvin.

    Annan didn¡¯t notice this at first. After Melvin died, Ghindaio immediately pulled Annan out of the room.

    This gave Annan an illusion: Maybe ¡°Gerald¡± and ¡°Ghindaio¡± are a pair.

    Benjamin singled out independently, seemingly Melvin¡¯s teammate.

    Why would Ghindaio want to cover up this matter?

    ¡°Because Melvin knows so much about Master Michngelo,¡± Annan replied.

    He stared at Michngelo and slowly said, ¡°He can even know that Master Michngelo can leave the wizard tower for a short time.

    ¡°Weirdly, Master Michngelo¡¯s disciples did not bring up this matter. Yet, even five months after receiving the suicide note, would he not doubt it? Moreover, five months after thest words were issued, Master Michngelo knew he was about to die. Under the circumstances, would he take the initiative to leave the tower?

    ¡°If the master were to die outside the tower in the future, why would he mention in hisst words that ¡®this curse is also effective for the murderer killing him¡¯? Is this an attempt to deliberately mislead us?¡±

    ¡°Melvin imed, ¡®We may be in a nightmare.¡¯ He intends to speed up this killing ritual. That is to say, he and Master Michngelo have been on the same side since the beginning.¡±

    Annan asserted, ¡°You came in immediately and pulled me away. It was to separate Benjamin and me. Others didn¡¯t understand us. Even if they realized the ¡°symmetry problem¡± of teaming, they would think of you as my teammate. After all, Benjamin and I arepletely estranged.¡±

    The critical evidence for Annan to determine who Michngelo was when Benjamin suddenly asked Annan for help, letting him take control of Captain Karl.

    Annan then understood. Benjamin and Gerald were not enemies at all.

    ¡ªAt least not from the very beginning.

    So when Annan was in the tea room, Benjamin heard Melvin mentioning the history of ¡°Gerald,¡± and his expression turned strange. There was no slightest anger or hatred, just a wry smile to organize hisnguage.

    ¡°The other evidence is the statue of the ¡®giant snake.''¡±

    Annan said, looking back at the group of statues behind him.

    He whispered, ¡°You said yourself¡­ ¡®If you want to change the predictions you get from perceiving the future, you have to introduce a lot of variables.¡¯

    ¡°Human minds are variables.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes shifted along with Annan¡¯s movement.

    In the middle of all the statues, there was a giant snake with its head up, gazing at the sky.

    ¡°The giant snake means ¡®rebirth.''¡± Unexpectedly, it was Michngelo himself who spoke.

    Michngelo stepped forward. He emerged from Ghindaio like a water wave. The transparent, brilliant golden soul was floating steadily in the air.

    The original ¡°Ghindaio¡± turned into an exquisite statue in an instant.

    Michngelo looked back at the giant snake with aplicated expression. The snake seemed to be gazing intently at what he loved, and it seemed to be looking at the past.

    ¡°But I still don¡¯t quite understand it,¡± Annan suddenly spoke under everyone¡¯s gaze. He asked softly, ¡°Your original n was to kill Melvin first, form a four-person team and cause a conflict on the three remaining people. You will then wait for the second death and third death to appear.

    ¡°By then, you will take the second shot and kill thest person outside the four-person team. Since we have an agreement, we can¡¯t hinder each other at all.

    ¡°In this way, our number will be reduced to half. The murderer has no doubt survive because the murderer has not yet appeared.

    ¡°After that, you kill the second person. Then, you will trigger a curse and die through the predetermined curse. In this way, the murderer who killed Master Michngelo bes yourself. Thus, you meet the two conditions of victory at the same time. Firstly, the murderer survives when there are only four left. Second, the original murderer is dead at the same time.

    ¡°In this way, you havepleted a ritual of ¡®feign death¡¯ like a giant snake who sheds its skin. That¡¯s what I thought from the beginning.¡±

    Annan looked at Michngelo and slowly said, ¡°But I denied this idea after a while.

    ¡°Because if you need an event like ¡®I killed myself.¡¯ Then you could have killed two people at the beginning and ended the ritual. The predetermined curse would have killed you. You still fulfill the condition of you being your own murderer. ¡°

    ¡°Huh, that can¡¯t work because this only satisfies one condition.¡±

    Michngelo turned around and smiled gently, ¡°Because you don¡¯t know one thing.

    ¡°Howling White Tower is a Twin Tower. Everything is the same on both sides of the hall because¡­

    ¡°There are two wizard towers.¡±

    If you only get one tower, you can¡¯t count as a tower master at all.

    ¡°What I am after is not just to extend my life.¡±

    Michngelo sighed, ¡°What I want is to ¡®die once and rebirth twice.¡¯

    ¡°If the ritual seeds, then I will die by my hands and be resurrected by my hands. From then on, I will live in the gap between life and death. Only in this way can I achieve ¡®truth.¡¯

    ¡°In this world, the number of Truth Fragments has been fixed. If you can¡¯t get Truth Fragment, no matter how long you live, you can only get Gold Rank at best, no matter how great your talents are. You can only be imprisoned in these inds surrounded by the thick mist, living in the boundary cracks.

    ¡°What I pursue is not only that. This is not a feign death ritual but a ritual of going beyond the ¡®truth¡¯ level. It¡¯s the dream of mine trying to get rid of the shackles of this world since I have already reached the limit of humanity.

    ¡°Yes. I want to be the new god.¡±

 Chapter 118: Dungeon Nightmare: White Tower Clear!

    <h4>Chapter 118: Dungeon Nightmare: White Tower Clear!</h4>

    The central stone hall turned quiet.

    Bing a god.

    This topic was so distant to them.

    It was so remote that it appeared surreal.

    However, Annan was keenly aware of this somewhat familiar term.

    ¡°Truth Fragment. What is it?¡± He asked Michngelo.

    Annan held two Truth Fragments in his hand. It was the cornerstone he used to summon yers.

    ¡°Truth Fragment is a manifestation of order. Unfortunately, it¡¯s knowledge too advanced for you.¡±

    Michngelo looked at Annan and replied mildly, ¡°You can take the Truth Fragment as a more high-end ¡®bearing item¡¯ than gold.

    ¡°All the extraordinary power in this worldes from curses. What about the gods?

    ¡°Yes, the gods are in a simr situation. It¡¯s just that the divine vessel is no longer a materialized metal but the world¡¯s order. The world¡¯s order is like the tradition of ¡®respect for seniors,¡¯ like ¡®everythinges to an end.¡¯ Upright deities are like this, so are false deities.

    ¡°Bing a god means abandoning all the previous curse and getting an unprecedented immense curse¡ªclergy. As long as the world¡¯s rules remain unchanged, this vessel will never be broken.

    ¡°The name of this vessel is called the ¡®Book of Truth.¡¯ Whenever a new thing or new rule is born in the world, the apanying book of truth will gradually appear in the world.

    ¡°For example, when human society developed the rules of currency andmerce, the book of truth belonging to Silver Sire has just appeared. After the war begins, the book of truth belonging to the Red Knight will be born. Most importantly, the first Book of Truth born is iplete. That is what we call ¡®Truth Fragment.''¡±

    Michngelo sighed, ¡°But it has been more than a hundred years, and no new Truth Fragment has been born. Like me, there are many old beings stuck in the Gold Rank waiting for new things to appear in the world.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t wait any longer.

    ¡°My death prediction is actually correct. Yes, I have foreseen it.¡±

    As Michngelo spoke, he cast an expectant look at Annan, ¡°What about you, David Gerald? Is there any wonderful reasoning you¡¯re having? I keep feeling that you still have something to say.¡±

    Of course. Annan sighed because he cheated.

    Apart from the middle-aged man, the most suspicious one was Benjamin. As for ¡®Ghindaio¡¯ yed by Michngelo, he kept implying to Annan that Benjamin was Michngelo.

    But Annan knew from the beginning¡ªBenjamin must be innocent.

    Benjamin didn¡¯t die here but died in the future.

    But Annan had something else to say.

    He thought a little and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s also quite simple, right?

    ¡°You are the great wizard of Gold Rank, and you have been famous for a long time. Our curse resistance can¡¯t resist your power at all¡ªjust like Melvin, who you have killed.

    ¡°There¡¯s no one capable of killing an ¡®idol wizard¡¯ known for the ability to protect their life without contact, curse, or chanting. After all, all the candidates are in the same rank at Silver Rank. Moreover, he died so swiftly to the point of being unable to say anyst word.

    ¡°Hence, the answer was already pointed out at the very beginning. Only the Gold Rank wizard, Master Michngelo, can do it.

    ¡°Only he can kill the Silver Rank wizard so easily.¡±

    It was just like the repressive power of Gerald at Silver Rank over my men at Bronze Rank back then. Annan muttered.

    Upon hearing this, Michngelo sighed, ¡°You are a genius.¡±

    He murmured, ¡°It would be great if there are talents like you among my students.¡±

    With that said, he asked Annan again, ¡°My level of prediction has already reached the limit of human beings. But your behavior trajectory is not in my prediction. You should be like a statue of ¡®fairy,¡¯ but you did not follow my script.

    ¡°How should I call you?¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was silent for a while.

    He blinked and suddenly realized something.

    The pleasure that had just disappeared rose again.

    Obviously, Benjamin guessed it.

    He might even be the first one to figure it out. At the beginning of the tea room, Benjamin looked at Annan with aplicated expression. He probably realized that this was not the Gerald he was familiar with, but he was just not sure.

    But after seeing Annan¡¯s clear reasoning, the confidence that was so strong that it seemed to be shining, and that grace and calmness, Benjamin grew certain of it.

    It was not Gerald.

    It was a stranger ying him.

    Annan forcibly suppressed the happy smile at the corner of his mouth and asked seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡±

    ¡°The master means¡­¡± Benjamin looked at Annan with aplicated expression and said, ¡°What is your name outside of the nightmare?

    ¡°Also, how did Gerald die? Can you tell me?¡±

    After Benjamin and Michngelo had spoken, the nightmare began to tremble, but the amplitude was notrge. It was like a minor earthquake. From time to time, teacups, seats, and statues cracked.

    -So, it is the case.

    It takes more than the nightmare elements realizing it. It needs me to confirm it.

    But the nightmare will not copse, but weird disintegration will happen.

    Annan confirmed the situation ¡°where the NPC knew that he was in a nightmare¡± and shook his head slightly.

    ¡°I have killed Gerald.¡±

    Annan answered frankly, ¡°It¡¯s because he used ¡®the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone Blood Trigger¡¯ to kill the innocent indiscriminately. I have worked with another disciple of Master Benjamin to defeat him.¡±

    ¡°Same as I guessed,¡± Benjamin murmured.

    Annan asked, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°No, nothing.¡±

    Having said that, Benjamin took a sudden pause. He seemed to understand something and looked at Annan again.

    He asked word by word, ¡°So¡­what about me?

    ¡°I¡­ Benjamin Foster. When did I die?¡±

    Wow, as expected. Annan smiled and replied calmly, ¡°The Gerant family¡¯s guard captain named us killed you through a curse.¡±

    ¡°The Third Prince¡­ I think he shouldn¡¯t be able to offer a price for it.¡± Benjamin snorted.

    ¡°If you would do me a favor¡­¡±

    Benjamin replied without hesitation, ¡°If Don Juan is still alive, help me tell him ¨C his eldest brother believes in Rotten Man in secret. If he is dead, tell the Gerant family¡¯s first heir. Aspensation, I will tell you a password that you can use to win the trust of the ¡®me¡¯ in ¡®My Nightmare.¡¯¡±

    When Benjamin said this, Annan suddenly paused. He suddenly remembered something¡­

    Speaking of which, where did Benjamin¡¯s nightmare go?

    Did us absorb it?

    Does he have such talent?

    But Annan didn¡¯t say anything. He just asked without revealing any ws, ¡°What¡¯s the password?¡±

    ¡°Evelyn Miller. The fox under the table. 15. The eighth soldier.¡±

    Benjamin uttered a string of meaningless words.

    Then, he reminded Annan, ¡°You can also set a password ¨C a password that only you know. You can use it to send messages to the dedicated person after death. That is, to confirm that you are in a nightmare. At the same time, every time your memory is checked, remember to add another keyword.¡±

    ¡°I got it.¡± Annan nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t ept a genius like you as a disciple.¡±

    Michngelo sighed and smiled, ¡°However, I can at least give you another gift.¡±

    He said, patting the statue of ¡°Ghindaio¡± behind him.

    He said in a daze, ¡°This is myst sculpture. I will give you the right to name it.

    ¡°What kind of name do you want to give him?¡±

    Annan watched the statue¡¯s posture.

    In his mind, the work of ¡°Michngelo¡± from another world suddenly appeared.

    He nced at Michngelo floating in the air in the form of a soul.

    He said slowly, ¡°Just call it [David].¡±

    ¡°Is it named after Mr. Gerald as a memorial? That¡¯s fine.¡±

    Michngelo smiled and patted the statue.

    At the next moment, except for him and Annan, the rest of the people¡¯s heads all exploded at the same moment.

    Annan suddenly felt a strong suction strike him from behind.

    He spoke thest sentence.

    ¡°My name is Annan.

    ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡ª¡±

    At the next moment, Annan¡¯s body suddenly turned into a light, circled the statue, and disappeared.

    In the nightmare world that began to copse, Michngelo frowned slightly, thinking silently, ¡°Annan Austere-Winter? Ivan¡¯s child?

    ¡°But, shouldn¡¯t Annan die after five years?¡±

 Chapter 119: Dungeon Instance Scoring

    <h4>Chapter 119: Dungeon Instance Scoring</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with a designated identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Not involved in any battles. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Find out the truth about ritual. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Survived till only two people left. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Completed a powerful purification. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation ¡ª A++]

    [Obtained 170 points in Shared Experience. Perception+1.]

    [Obtained dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (Wizard) rises by 1 level]

    [The current purification progress is 10/10. The nightmare is over]

    [Based on the nightmare¡¯s area, you have obtained the engravings of Silver Sire.]

    [Current total engravings: 9 (Silver Sire)]

    A lot of words flowed quickly before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    The nightmare clearance reward scene was different from the previous two. The tiredness that rose from the heart bottom after exiting the nightmare was non-existent. Annan didn¡¯t have the drowsiness as if he just woke up.

    Annan felt the unprecedented brightness and warmth this time. He was able to realize that his consciousness became lighter and constantly rising.

    He looked at the text on the data panel:

    [Hidden information have been cracked: 100%]

    [You may receive the first stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 50%).]

    [You may receive the second stage reward (obtained when thepletion reaches 100%).]

    Receive all rewards. Annan chanted in his mind.

    Afterward, the two lines of text in front of Annan gradually disappeared.

    New texts emerged:

    [Obtained dungeon instance decryption rewards: Random Soul Snatch school spell (Can be equipped at any condition).]

    [Obtained dungeon instance decryption rewards: Curse ¡°The Last Work: David¡±]

    -David?

    An additional curse reward¡­

    Annan was startled.

    Is this a gift from Master Michngelo?

    Annan was a little surprised. He initially thought it would be a curse vessel.

    But without giving any warning for him to think about it, the texts had already begun to scroll downward:

    [Based on your characteristics and existing profession level, you have acquired Order Magic: Notion Rain (Guided Type)]

    [Notion Rain (Guided Type): Induce the power of the curse with different emotions, and cause rainfall within your proximity. The spell¡¯s effect is determined by the difference between the ¡°Perception¡± attribute of the target and the spell caster. Every 13s (depending on the total level of the wizard profession) consumes 1 Order Power. ¡¿

    [Currently avable: Drizzle, Freezing Rain, Heavy Rain]

    [Drizzle: Utilizes ¡°curiosity¡± to trigger drizzle. You may sense the position and mood of all creatures exposed to the rain. Raindrops can be used as the medium of the Soul Snatch School¡¯s spells.]

    [Freezing Rain: Utilizes ¡°indifference¡± to trigger freezing rain. You may slow down the thinking speed of all creatures exposed to the rain. Raindrops can be used as a medium for Energy Falteration School¡¯s spells.]

    [Heavy Rain: Causes a pouring rain with any strong emotions and transfers your emotions to all creatures exposed to the rain.]

    This spell is unexpectedly good. Annan was a little surprised.

    Unexpectedly, this dungeon instance gave out splendid rewards. Annan initially thought that, at most, he would be given the spell which Gerald had used to check on the opponent¡¯s emotions.

    After all, the spells of each school required a preliminary spell or fundamental spell. In other words, the wizardry spells in this world worked simr to the ¡°skills tree¡± basis. Although one could also learn non-opposing spells from other schools, the spell slots were limited.

    In the absence of preliminary spells, one might not be able to learn useful spells.

    The Notion Rain spell had no value to the average wizard.

    But it meant a lot to Annan.

    Drizzle was equivalent to a minimap that could highlight allies and foe, while icy rain was equivalent to a rtively secretive [Frost Nova].

    After all, the only spell which Annan needed a medium to transfer was the Falteration Wizard¡¯s typical spell, [Chilling Touch].

    Frost Nova¡¯s effect, in essence, was dedicated to delivering Chilling Touch. But its special effects were too conspicuous, and the area of effect (AOE) was rtively small.

    More than a hundred meters away, one could see that the ground in the distance was starting to freeze. It allowed opponents to run away.

    But the freezing rain would be much more hidden. Moreover, the ability to slow down the opponent¡¯s thinking speed meant that the time for the opponent to notice something wrong would also be dyed.

    The opponents must be in the rain to be effective. But as long as it was nned in advance, it could still be effective.

    As for Heavy Rain, this spell favored the traditional Soul Snatch Wizard, which did not fit Annan well.

    Soul Snatch Wizard could control other¡¯s emotions. Naturally, it helped with self-control conveniently. The Soul Snatch Wizard could inflict a powerful debuff on themselves and spread the rainstorm to the enemy, achieving a wide range of crowd control and weakening effects.

    After all, Soul Snatch Wizard had a significant advantage in one-on-one close-rangebat. With one nce and one sentence, they might affect the opponent¡¯s mind.

    What Soul Snatch Wizardcked was a range skill.

    Salvatore told Annan that the Soul Snatch Wizard could not perform mind control in batch until Gold Rank.

    In other words, the Soul Snatch Wizard was roughly equivalent to the Sharingan [1]. It was much better to go against them in teams of two than one-on-one battle.

    The Heavy Rain was designed topensate for this fatal shoring.

    ¡°[Notion Rain] seems pragmatic,¡± Annan muttered in his heart.

    Then, he cast his expectant eyes on the biggest reward of this dungeon instance.

    This was his first dungeon instance in which hepleted 100% decryption. Moreover, it was at Silver difficulty.

    The Soul Snatch school spell Annan obtained should be at Bronze Rank or even the Silver Rank. At leastpared to the unranked spells that Annan had, this newly acquired spell was much more powerful.

    In the usual expectation standard, the reward of 100% decryption should be better than 50%. When the curse had a drawback, its positive effect should be substantially strong.

    Soon, the previous texts disappeared.

    Annan¡¯s rising consciousness slowly began to slow down.

    What appeared in front of him was a cloud of golden light. In the light, it was the statue.

    Annan investigated the special effects of the curse ¨C The Last Work: David.

    [The Last Work: David (Taboo Type): Cannot be used, disclosed, or spread in any way ¡°Taboo Ritual: Ovepping Death and Life.¡±]

    Seeing the curse¡¯s details, Annan turned silent for a moment.

    Old man, I never intend to duplicate your ritual.

    ¡ªI have the Truth Fragments!

    You won¡¯t expect that old man.jpg

    ¡°Did I die five years earlier?¡± Annan sighed.

    But it should be alright.

    If Michngelo were still alive, Annan¡¯s journey to collect the Book of Divine Transporter would not be so simple.

    Annan reached out his hand, touched the light ball, and chose to ept it.

    As a gift, the curse above was not harsh.

    But somehow, itpletely forbade a ritual to be a god. The corresponding power it brought should be strong.

    The light ball touched Annan¡¯s body and disappeared.

    It spread quickly to Annan¡¯s body and then disappeared.

    New words appeared in Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [The Last Work ¡°David¡±: Pose as ¡°David,¡± temporarily change your appearance and name to ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro.¡± The longest time it mayst is one week. After the effect goes off, the cooldown duration is the same as the effect duration.]

    [¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro¡± is regarded as a great wizard opposing the Destruction School (Prophet, Idol) LV 30. He has the alternate profession of Divine Creation (Stone Statue) LV 30. Moreover, he will inherit all your existing spells without providing any additional skills and curses.]

    [¡°Ghindaio¡± is immune to petrification, instant death, and mind control. Disguising as ¡°Ghindaio¡± allows the user to unconditionally deflect ¡°Prophet¡± and ¡°Idol¡± school spells below Gold Rank. When subjected to Alteration, Destruction, Shaping, and other school spells, the body is judged to be ¡®marble¡¯ instead of ¡®flesh and blood.¡¯]

    [When deathes, don¡¯t shrink from it. ¨C Michngelo]

 Chapter 120: Bishop Darylâ€™s Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 120: Bishop Daryl¡¯s Invitation</h4>

    This curse is pretty good. Annan smacked his lips.

    Wow, there is a curse giving a ¡°second identity.¡±

    The ability to switch back and forth between the two identities at will. If the face and name could be changed, even the Edict Wizard should not find out the true form.

    This ability is pretty good.

    If there is something inconvenient for the identity of ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± to do in the future, and ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡± shouldn¡¯t appear, I can utilize David.

    Moreover, ¡°David¡¯s¡±bat power is not weak.

    Besides being unable to use Destruction spells, David had the traditional Silver Rank Wizard Advanced Profession, the ¡°Great Wizard.¡± He specialized in two schools, just like Master Michngelo.

    It was impossible to obtain new passive skills when learning spells across schools.

    Passive abilities were generally obtained in Silver Rank, but they were distinguished in different qualities too. For example, the ¡°prediction¡± and ¡°perception¡± of the Prophet School, as well as the ability of the Shaping School to control the form of matter at will, were obviously much stronger than the Energy Falteration School and the Soul Snatch School.

    This was not magic but passive abilities. Thus, even if one swore to prohibit the use of spells, they could still use the passive abilities normally.

    It was like the ability that Benjamin used when he was on the ship.

    As for Idol¡¯s passive ability, Annan didn¡¯t quite understand.

    But there was no need to panic. He would find out after trying it out.

    At the same time, David specialized in the two schools: ¡°Prophet¡± and ¡°Idol,¡± which meant that he had the passive ability of these two schools. His attributes stayed at the peak level of Silver Rank, 30 levels. With those taken into ount, the second identity was quite substantial.

    Being opposed to the Destruction School had little effect.

    Annan did not know any spells of the Destruction School at all.

    It should be because Michngelo, as a statue master, hated the Destruction Wizard who could cause devastating destruction with just a simple move, even with a breath. Or, it could simply be that the Destruction Wizard had defeated him before.

    Annan could empathize with it because silly kids had ruined his asion before.

    Presumably, the Destruction Wizard should be those annoying children.

    For example: ¡°Kim.¡±

    His blood would burn violently after being separated from the body. His cough alone would make the house shake. The dishes in the house would keep shaking. After being directly poisoned by the alteration wizard, the unconstrained vtile curse in the corpse would cause explosions and earthquakes. His words and his eyes also had a considerable degree of destruction.

    ¡ªHe even had to wear a straitjacket, and someone had to follow him closely.

    From this point of view, the mentality of the destruction wizard was obviously unstable.

    The destruction wizard was too dangerous and uncontroble.

    It was not just Master Michngelo, even Annan didn¡¯t like this hard-to-control violent ability.

    Therefore, Master Michngelo banned Destruction spells to prevent his creation from being used as weapons for destruction. Annan couldn¡¯t agree more with this idea.

    Fortunately, although there were no additional spells included, the Energy Falteration School spells that Annan was proficient at could still be used normally without being opposed. Hence, hisbat power would not be reduced, at the very least.

    After all, ¡°David¡± had no swordsman profession. Annan couldn¡¯t utilize the Frost Sword in David¡¯s state.

    So Annan was short of a killing move, even though this killing move was generally useless.

    But the most significant advantage was that this disguise was different from ¡°Don Juan Geraint.¡± He waspletely separated from Annan Austere-Winter.

    Annan had to pay a little attention to the skills usage and refrain from appearing in the same ce multiple times. Also, he got to separate the circles of the two identities carefully. With all these done, Annan would create a brand new and clean identity.

    Unless someone else was informed in advance.

    Otherwise, who would have thought that Annan was the same person as the sunny middle-aged wizard at Silver Rank with 178 meters in height. After all, the predecessor was a 14-year-old handsome boy with a height of 1.5 meters, a cold-looking, and weak-hearted Bronze Rank Energy Falteration Wizard.

    ¡°Master Michngelo¡¯s gift is awesome.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    In other words, this hush fee was generous.

    He just happened to be missing one disguise right now.

    After all, Annan¡¯s appearance was too easy for people to remember. It was hard for him to keep a low profile.

    I¡¯m almost ready to leave.

    After reorganizing all his abilities, Annan calmed down.

    Then Annan opened his eyes while lying on the bed.

    He found himself covered with a thick quilt.

    Bishop Daryl looked at him with aplicated face.

    The sunny bald bishop with squinting eyes had lost his smile. Instead, he just gazed at Annan on the bed as if he wanted to say something.

    Annan shrank in the quilt and made a cold, sleepy voice, ¡°Excuse me, what time is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s eight twenty, feudal lord. There are still forty minutes before our agreed time.¡±

    Bishop Daryl hesitated for a while, but finally, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°But how did you do it?¡±

    Annan blinked when he heard the questions.

    Annan looked at Bishop Daryl, folded his hands on the quilt, and gave the bishops an elegant and gentle smile, like a real nobleman.

    ¡°Grandpa Daryl.¡±

    He spoke clearly and said in a melodious voice, ¡°I guess you would think at first that it¡¯s all my sister¡¯s effort toplete this nightmare, right?

    ¡°Then you have underestimated me too.¡±

    What Annan meant was to admit that he was ¡°Annan Austere-Winter.¡±

    Annan had no other option.

    He couldn¡¯t hide at all.

    Even Bishop Daryl did not know Annan Austere-Winter; he would immediately know Annan¡¯s true identity as long as he tackled this dungeon instance.

    After all, Annan and Maria look the same.

    Except for thepletely different temperament and different hair lengths, it was even difficult to tell the difference between the two people.

    Aftering out of the dungeon instance, Annan finally knew why Bishop Daryl said at the beginning that ¡°it¡¯s something you can handle¡± and ¡°After you enter this nightmare, don¡¯t be too nervous even if you meet an acquaintance. But, don¡¯t hesitate too much too.¡±

    It was because Maria Austere-Winter was in that nightmare.

    As long as Annan proved his existence to her and told some secrets that only the two of them know, Maria would know that this was a nightmare. She would team up with Annan and help Annan win.

    The two would secretly team up, so the nightmare would not be difficult. Annan could easily win.

    Even in the worst case, as long as Maria and Merlin die together, Annan could clear the nightmare.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t need such clumsy means.¡± Annan smiled gently.

    His eyes were unconcealed and confident that they seemingly burned brightly like a me.

    ¡°I see.¡± Bishop Daryl nodded slowly.

    He had a deeper understanding of Annan Austere-Winter.

    He is a gentle, intelligent, and tough person.

    For the position of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, Annan is indeed the right candidate.

    ¡°Feudal lord. No, Annan.¡±

    The bishop was silent for a while, then said slowly, ¡°When there is no one, can I call you that?

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask why you are here.

    ¡°But more importantly, do you feel the Silver Sire¡¯s engravings?¡±

    ¡°I feel that.¡± Annan nodded and asked with some confusion, ¡°But what are those?¡±

    ¡°It represents the love Silver Sire has for us. The intensity and the counts of divine arts also represent your position in the church.¡±

    Having said that, Bishop Daryl slowed down his talking pace,

    ¡°If you can-

    ¡°Do you have the intention toe to Silver Sire Church to register? You can start directly from the priest, as long as your engravings can exceed 50 before the age of 30¡­

    ¡°I can nominate the main church for you to serve as bishops in this diocese district.¡±

 Chapter 121: Bishopâ€™s Duty

    <h4>Chapter 121: Bishop¡¯s Duty</h4>

    ¡°You want me to be Roseburg¡¯s bishop?¡±

    When Annan heard this, his eyes widened in surprise, ¡°Bishop?¡±

    Although Annan did think about it, Bishop Daryl should give himself some benefits.

    But he didn¡¯t expect that this fat and bald guy would offer his position away.

    Soon, Annan realized something. He slowed down and asked softly, ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I want to return to the capital. I¡¯m not originally from the North Sea. The climate here is too humid and cold for me as an elderly person.¡±

    Daryl shrugged and took out his pocket watch to check the time. Then, he raised his head again, looking at Annan eagerly, ¡°What do you think, feudal lord?

    ¡°I¡¯m just putting my name out there without the need to change my beliefs, right? Silver Sire does not insist on such pleasantries. It matters more for the development of the church. The beliefs of Silver Sire and Cold-Blooded Lady have no conflict.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Annan groaned.

    Annan thought for a moment, stretched a bit, and got up. He put on his clothes and his coat.

    He opened the room¡¯s window, and the cold air rushed into the bedroom. It helped him to be more awake.

    Annan squinted and took a few deep breaths of the cold wind.

    He turned his head and looked back at Bishop Daryl, who was waiting for a reply.

    There was no drowsiness in Annan¡¯s eyes. Instead, he became calm and indifferent again.

    Annan pointed to the stool next to the tea table in the bedroom and motioned for Bishop Daryl to have a seat.

    ¡°Please have a seat, Master Bishop.¡±

    He said respectfully and then walked to the door, ¡°I¡¯ll make you a cup of tea.¡±

    At this time, Annan did not choose a more intimate address but adopted a professional attitude for business affairs.

    After that, Annan temporarily left his bedroom. While he was strolling, he was thinking it through.

    Annan had quite a clear picture.

    The main reasons for this invitation were because he got the Silver Sire¡¯s holy light engravings.

    ¡ªBut in Bishop Daryl¡¯s words, there was indeed a hint of probing.

    His invitation was divided into two parts.

    One was to ¡°put his name in the church of Silver Sire,¡± and the other was to ¡°serve as diocese bishops in the North Sea Territory.¡±

    It was eptable for the first condition.

    But ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± would not ept thetter condition altogether.

    He was the sole heir of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, the future Grand Duke.

    It was not suitable for him to hold such a high office in the church of a neighboring country. Worse still, an enemy country.

    This would make Austerian doubt Annan¡¯s decision. It would also be an excuse for others to attack Annan. Worse still, it could be the motivation for the Austere-Winter Dukedom and the old grandmother¡¯s priests to leave the Grand Duke¡¯s side. Hence, this decision would weaken the Grand Duke¡¯s authority.

    Of course, there were also benefits.

    The most significant advantage was that Annan could get strong support from Silver Sire and the asylum from the entire Silver Sire church.

    No one dared to attack an upright deity¡¯s bishop, let alone a diocese bishop with seniority half a level higher than typical bishops.

    After all, it was different from the nobles.

    If one of the nobles was assassinated, it was possible that other nobles would make up for the victim¡¯s family via the joint release of a wanted notice. But that was it. After all, interests far outweigh responsibilities in the noble¡¯s perspective.

    The church would be different.

    All the priests of upright deities had themon responsibility of purifying nightmares.

    Any priest who died outside the nightmare was a considerable waste of resources.

    After all, not everyone had the talent to be a priest.

    If someone killed a priest, it was equivalent to other priests being notified to work overtime: toplete the work of your dead colleague, and you cannot leave work if you don¡¯t finish it.

    Undoubtedly, every priest¡¯s death would harness the hatred of all priests.

    ¡ªWe are already quite busy. Stop disrupting us.

    Therefore, even if the priests did not know each other and they were not even the priests who believed in the same upright deity, they would do something about it once they heard that someone in their diocese had killed an upright deity¡¯s priest. The bishops would seek a way to find the murderer, kill the criminal directly or transfer the criminal to the diocese of the incident.

    The bishop¡¯s responsibility was even heavier than the priests¡¯.

    Their mission was to regrly clean up nightmares above Silver Rank in their diocese, to prevent ordinary people and innocent Transcended from entering nightmares by mistake.

    In other words, they were all yers ying at a higher difficulty.

    Freezing Water Port was a special case.

    ording to Salvatore, this nightmare was attempted forty-five years ago but failed.

    In the end, the bishop had no choice but to lock the ¡°key.¡± Therefore, only an ordinary priest like Louis was needed to guard it.

    It was a pleasant surprise if Priest Louis could purify the nightmare, but it didn¡¯t matter if he failed. Anyway, there was no expectation for him to resolve it.

    After all, it was a nightmare of distortion difficulty.

    A nightmare of this level was prone to life-threatening. The victim would either be eroded by the curse and be a monster or get afflicted by a harsh curse and be cursed to death.

    All in all, bishops were genuine high-risk professions.

    Naturally, they were respected by people.

    Annan learned from Salvatore that nobles hired assassins to murder a bishop in the Noah Kingdom twelve years ago. The bishop had ruined the king¡¯s n to hoard goods and sell them at a higher price resulting in the king suffering a loss.

    In the end, the assassin was wanted all over the country and was arrested on the fifth dayter. Even the nobles involved in the murder case had theirnds confiscated, deprived of their titles, and exiled from the country.

    Even if the bishop had wed character andmitted a heinous crime, they would usually be arrested after the trial and sent into a nightmare of ¡°distortion¡± level or higher. Then, they had to purify the nightmare non-stop.

    That was to squeeze out the final value of their existence and kill them before they became monsters.

    All in all, it was a serious crime to murder a sensible and mentally sound bishop.

    It was because it would be a ¡°waste.¡±

    Because not all the ¡°keys¡± of nightmares were materialized.

    For the nightmare of distortion level and above, the key was usually something strange.

    For example, ¡°say the word ¡®the Venerated Skeleton,''¡± or ¡°hold a frozen fish that exceeds seven pounds and open the door,¡± or ¡°say twenty different names in a day¡± were the standard of weirdness in the keys.

    The job of bishops was to handle the nightmares.

    If the key to the nightmare were announced, ordinary people would try to be Transcended, break into a difficult nightmare and die tragically; or simply use these nightmare conditions tomit silent and deliberate murder.

    Yes, the nightmare would be dispelled at sunrise.

    But not everyone who entered a nightmare for the first time could survive until sunrise.

    Moreover, ordinary people were almost unaware of nightmares. It was like being in a dream.

    For them, this was just a real ¡°death¡± in a nightmare.

    In the case where ordinary people became Transcended, they would Lose Control, be cursed, or die by ident. Thus, a new nightmare would be born.

    In this way, the number of nightmares would increase!

    Therefore, controlling the number of nightmares and continuing to reduce them became meaningful and long work.

    As Salvatore said.

    If you want to embark on the Transcended path, you must possess the corresponding talent and determination.

    The North Sea Territory was sparsely popted because of the cold weather. Nightmares were not frequent here, so bishops were not too busy.

    Bishop Daryl was enough to suppress all high-level nightmares in the diocese without the assistance of other bishops.

    On the other hand¡­

    If the bishop died suddenly, the entire North Sea Territory might turn into a mess.

    So, as long as Annan bes North Sea Territory diocese bishop.

    Whether it was enemies from the Noah Kingdom or hostility from Austere-Winter Dukedom, it would end here. The premise was that as long as Annan did not step down.

    Then the conclusion was clear.

    If Annan epted this condition, it would be equivalent to revealing that Austere-Winter Dukedom did not send him.

    ¡ªBut Annan was under Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s pursue.

 Chapter 122: Successful Probed For More Clues

    <h4>Chapter 122: Sessful Probed For More Clues</h4>

    Annan Austere-Winter came to the Freezing Water Port.

    Is it because of the arrangements made by Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­

    ¡ªOr because he is hunted down and has nowhere to go?

    This would greatly affect the next negotiation between Bishop Daryl and Annan.

    ¡°This terrible old man is so sly.¡± Annan snorted.

    This fat old man with golden teeth looked like a kind old man with a smiling face. Annan knew such an old man would be difficult to deal with.

    Sure enough, the main reason was that Annan didn¡¯t know what Bishop Daryl wanted.

    Annan preferred to know Bishop Daryl¡¯s true purpose.

    Because now, Bishop Daryl clearly had something he needed from Annan. On the other hand, Annan didn¡¯t know where ¡®Annan¡¯ came from or what ¡®he¡¯ was going to do.

    If Annan could know the opponent¡¯s hand, the position of the two would be reversed instantly.

    ¡°¡­En.¡±

    Annan paused slightly before strolling as usual.

    He had found a way.

    Holding the freshly brewed ck tea and snacks, Annan walked back to the bedroom.

    Bishop Daryl held a silver metal pen, writing something on the notebook.

    Looking back when Annan came in, Bishop Daryl smiled and put the pen back near his pocket watch.

    ¡°Without a servant, it feels inconvenient, right?¡±

    ¡°Haha, not really.¡±

    Annan spoke with a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth, ¡°I¡¯ve long been used to it.¡±

    With that, Annan poured a cup of ck tea for Bishop Daryl and himself. Then, he took out the snacks and put them on the table.

    Annan said casually, ¡°Fortunately, the things that the viscount has at home are quiteplete. Oh, by the way-these snacks are leftover from yesterday, do you mind?¡±

    With that said, Annan took out a delicate cake and put it in his mouth.

    Bishop Daryl quickly smiled and waved his hand, ¡°Even you as the feudal lord don¡¯t mind it, naturally it¡¯s fine for me. How can wemoners be so pampered?¡±

    ¡°Can our esteemed Master Bishop be considered amoner?¡±

    Annan said with a smile and sat across from Daryl, ¡°I thought Master Bishop¡¯s food, clothing, housing, and transportation should be like nobles.¡±

    Annan¡¯s smile was like a child of the same age, pure, innocent, and pleasant.

    Bishop Daryl¡¯s face was solemn, ¡°That¡¯s impossible.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about other churches, but at least in our case, the priest has no personal savings.¡± Having said that, Bishop Daryl paused slightly.

    Bishop Daryl suddenly realized that this was not something that should be said at this time.

    If Annan inherited the Grand Duke¡¯s position, it would have little effect. His wealth was not stored in his own hands.

    But he was different now.

    Annan came to a neighboring country alone. If he joined the church, it meant that all the money he had on hand must be spent.

    For the son of a noble duke, this was undoubtedly an uneptable condition.

    It was like the seller discounted his price by mistake.

    So Bishop Daryl was silent for a while, then added, ¡°But at the same time, we can also use some simple means to bypass this curse.¡±

    As he said, the bald and fat bishop smiled and pointed at his golden teeth, ¡°This can be considered as small pocket money.

    ¡°In addition, since I am using gold teeth, then it¡¯s reasonable for me to keep some spare gold teeth in the church. After all, I am more or less the face of the church. I can¡¯t meet people without my teeth, right?¡±

    Then, you can use these golden teeth for transactions.

    Annan looked at this shameless fat man in surprise.

    This guy¡­

    What a witty fellow.

    Isn¡¯t Silver Sire too tolerant to the priests?

    Hmph, it still doesn¡¯t click though.

    Annan quickly realized the problem.

    ¡°Priests are forbidden to possess wealth.¡± This practice isn¡¯t necessarily to please Silver Sire.

    This is more like a kind of ¡°discipline.¡±

    On the one hand, this practice was used to remind these priests that their deity was watching them; on the other hand, it was a disy for civilians.

    The practice was to let them know, ¡°Even the priest must follow the rules.¡±

    But it seemed right at the same time.

    The deities of this world didn¡¯t need believers to provide faith power or something. The deities just needed the priests to maintain their core rules.

    It was more like a boss-employee rtionship. When thepany was under-employed, the employees¡¯ primary responsibility was toplete their tasks first, and only then would they try to spread the corporate culture.

    So the priests didn¡¯t bother to preach.

    However, it was necessary to maintain the image and influence of the priests so that the public would ¡°cooperate¡± with the upright deities¡¯ rule.

    The image of priests and the importance they attached to the rules directly determine the people¡¯s perception of the deities.

    In turn, it might affect people¡¯s recognition of the national diocese rules.

    In the Noah Kingdom, Silver Sire adopted ¡°Smile Service,¡± taking a more gentle approach. It was like a kind reminder not to ¡°hoard goods for individual benefits.¡±

    Other countries and other churches should havepletely different styles.

    What kind of rules does Old Grandmother adopt? Annan¡¯s thoughts ran quickly in his mind.

    So he sighed slightly with a little sympathy on his face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being blunt. At Silver Sire¡¯s side, there are so many strange rules.¡±

    The statement was ambiguous. It should be quite unexpected for those hearing it for the first time.

    Moreover, it would tend to get secret information to bring out from other¡¯sints.

    Sure enough, the fat bishop smiled awkwardly and subconsciouslyined to Annan, ¡°It¡¯s naturally iparable with yours.

    ¡°Strictly speaking, our side is a bunch of businesspeople, not even armed by the church. How can it bepared to the Austere-Winter? There¡¯s a special service such as Winter¡¯s Hand to help with the inconspicuous work. The Grand Duke also agreed to form defensive armed forces for the church. Let¡¯s not dawdle in such idle chatter.¡±

    ¡­Um?

    Annan keenly extracted key information.

    He then sighed without a trace and changed the subject to prevent Bishop Daryl from reacting, ¡°It¡¯s not always the case.

    ¡°Master Bishop, do you know Austere-Winter Dukedom well?¡± With that, Annan¡¯s expression became serious.

    It was the professional look for business affairs.

    Upon seeing this, the smile on Bishop Daryl¡¯s face also narrowed slightly.

    He pondered for a moment and then slowly nodded, ¡°I know a bit here and there, even before this.¡±

    ¡°Before this¡ª What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a year and a half ago. Thetest news I got was in February this year.¡±

    Bishop Daryl smashed his mouth and sighed, ¡°Feudal lord, your side is so chaotic this year. I dare not cross the border anyway.

    ¡°I remember you are Austerian, right? Then, you should have participated. No. Speaking of which, when did youe to the Freezing Water Port?¡±

    ¡°I have been here for a while.¡±

    Annan¡¯s body leaned back slightly, his expression a little helpless, ¡°I can¡¯t say anything. It¡¯s for your good, Master Bishop.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I understand.¡±

    Bishop shook his head, ¡°The Grand Duke was assassinated, and there are too many things involved. This is not a provocation. But Annan¡ªI call you that way because I don¡¯t want to leak this sentence.¡±

    He no longer called Annan by his honorific.

    His expression also became serious and solemn,

    ¡°There must be something wrong with the higher-ups in the Cold-Blooded Lady Church. I don¡¯t know who or how many, but there must be a problem.

    ¡°You are too young to know. When the upright deity¡¯s blood is assassinated, sick, or suffers an ident, the upright deity¡¯s church will be notified when they die.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t rush to the crime scene immediately, which means that in the process of receiving the notification, passing it to the notification hall, and then passing it to Winter¡¯s Hand ¨C there was at least one traitor.¡±

    Bishop Daryl said thoughtfully, ¡°Seriously, I shouldn¡¯t say this, at least not at this time. I¡¯m telling you this now, and I¡¯m not trying to persuade you to join us. I don¡¯t want your judgment to be wed because of theck of knowledge on this incident.

    ¡°If Austere-Winter Dukedom has a gentle Grand Duke like you, it will be good for us.

    ¡°People of Noah should no longer dwell in a meaningless war.¡±

    ¡­So that¡¯s the case.

    Annan nodded slowly, ¡°I see¡­¡±

    He finally understood.

    After thinking for a moment, Annan changed the topic back, ¡°We can talk about the bishop matter another time.

    ¡°But, the matter of putting my name out as a priest, I am indeed interested.

    ¡°I am quite curious about holy light engravings and the extraordinary ability of our priest. Please exin more to me.¡± Annan¡¯s expression was humble and gentle.

 Chapter 123: This Feels Awesome

    <h4>Chapter 123: This Feels Awesome</h4>

    Hearing that, Bishop Daryl¡¯s expression rxed a lot.

    He leaned back, resting on the back of the seat.

    The bald bishop, with his age indiscernible, reached out his chubby fingers while tasting the warm ck tea. He pointed at the ring on Annan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Holy light engraving is not somethingplicated and bizarre. You can understand it as the priest¡¯s ¡®vessel.¡¯

    ¡°Let¡¯s start from the beginning. We ¡®churchman¡¯¡­or in ancient terms, ¡®priest¡¯ does not require a curse vessel made of metal because we are different from Transcended. We don¡¯t store the curse in our body.¡±

    Having said that, Bishop Daryl¡¯s expression was slightly serious.

    ¡°This is because anyone above the level of ¡®bishop¡¯ will not end well. We will die in a nightmare somewhere.

    ¡°After all, it doesn¡¯t take a good physique to purify the nightmare. It¡¯s better to have fewer curses stored in your body so that your body is weaker. If we be a monster, it won¡¯t hurt the innocent.

    ¡°Just like you Transcended, you can use the means of carrying and granting curse to transfer the invisible and untouchable curse. Of course, the curse can be transferred. Even if you are not the priest, you will quickly strengthen yourself after purifying the nightmare. This is because the curse thatposes the nightmare has been purified and absorbed by you.

    ¡°The obsession that constitutes a nightmare is like a skeleton; these curses that can be absorbed are flesh and blood. No matter which one is missing, the nightmare will copse.

    ¡°As for the remnants, the most turbid curse that humans cannot purify will be handed over to the upright deities in the involved diocese for in-depth purification; if there is no church nearby, it will be passed on to this month¡¯s upright deity to handle.

    ¡°But presumably, you also know¡­ For this world, the curse is power. It is the same for Silver Sire. These curses that we cannot purify, whether for upright deities or false deities, are all great tonic.¡±

    Bishop Daryl observed Annan¡¯s expression.

    He was roughly convinced that Annan understood what he meant and then slowly continued, ¡°The reason why we can avoid storing curses in our bodies and yet capable of utilizing Transcended power is not that the priest has a power system beyond curses, but our curse has always been stored in our respective deities ¨C like deposits in a bank.

    ¡°Engraving is a voucher to borrow Transcended power from different deities temporarily. In essence, they are still our curse. Think of it as a kind of banking business of the Transcended circles.¡±

    I roughly get it. Annan nodded slightly.

    This mechanism is not so much a bank but cloud storage.

    It is inconvenient to store the curse in the body for various reasons, so it is stored in the cloud. When you need it, you can download this data by relying on your credentials or encryption and store it when you don¡¯t use it.

    You¡¯re making it so easy to use, Deity Lords.

    But, in other words, is the curse the ¡°experience¡± the yers get?

    Annan came into deep thought. In this narration, he had a clearer picture.

    Annan and the yers were different from the natives of the world. Perhaps the natives could not transfer the curse by killing each other.

    Annan soon made sense why he gained so little experience after killing a Silver Rank wizard. Most of the experience was used to construct nightmares. The profession level obtained after purifying the nightmare was only the part that was easier to be digested and absorbed.

    ¡°That is to say holy light engraving is the proof obtained after the nightmare ispletely purified?¡± Annan asked.

    Bishop Daryl nodded, ¡°Yes. Our priest is not divided into ranks. The difference in strengthes only from how many engravings we hold.

    ¡°The more distorted the nightmare, the more engravings we can get afterplete purification, for example¡­¡±

    As Bishop Daryl spoke, he stretched out his right hand to Annan, palm down.

    On the back of Daryl¡¯s hand, many finely divided and profound silver runes suddenly appeared. Starting from the back of his hand, the silver runes densely spread out to his sleeves to his neck, chin, and right cheek.

    Theseplicated silver runes gave people a sacred charm. Daryl¡¯s right eye seemed to be mixed with some rune, shining with a mysterious silver light.

    Annan just stared at those runes, and he could feel intense dizziness.

    Annan forcibly looked away and held his forehead with his hand.

    ¡°This is-¡°

    ¡°These are holy light engravings, the medium through which we perform divine arts. Not everyone canmunicate with deities, but you can,¡± said Daryl as he waved his hand.

    Annan vaguely perceived that something seemed to be spreading in the room.

    In other words, it was as if something originally existed in the air, but now it had been cleansed.

    ¡°After you have just thoroughly purified the previous nightmare, I could sense that I gained 1 engraving.¡±

    Daryl pointed to somewhere on his cheek, ¡°I initially predicted that with the intensity of this nightmare, I should have gotten 10 engravings.¡±

    The face that looked simple and amiable at first looked majestic with the silver rune.

    ¡°This should be because I only purified the nightmare once. You have found the key and destroyed the nightmare¡¯s cornerstone. So you should have gotten far more than me.

    ¡°Yes, I got 9 engravings.¡± Annan nodded and admitted.

    ¡ªIt turned out to be like this.

    Annan had a better grasp now.

    Only after a nightmare was wholly purified would the rewards be given out. In this nightmare, the more it was purified, the more engravings would be obtained.

    ¡°Then what if the priest doesn¡¯t clean up the nightmare, but by other Transcended?¡± Annan remembered the existence of the yers, so he asked.

    Daryl shrugged, ¡°Naturally, you can only get part of the nightmare you worked for, as long as you hadn¡¯t left the diocese you belonged to when you purified the nightmare.

    ¡°After all, when we purify nightmares, we won¡¯t get power from the nightmare, like Transcended. The Transcendeds were paid on a daily basis, while we settled on a monthly basis. However, some nightmares were difficult to purify. Or, if the mission were tough, we would also temporarily hire Transcended. We would use the nightmare ¡®key¡¯ as a reward to let them enter the nightmare to assist in the purification. Otherwise, we were equivalent to being trapped in the situation. In short, everyone would get what they deserve. The officials, or at least innocent Transcendeds, help us to purify the nightmare quicker, and we temporarily open the nightmare to them so that they can improve their strength.¡±

    That doesn¡¯t entirely make sense, though. Annan suddenly realized something.

    When Transcended purified the dungeon instance, they could only get the profession level when clearing the dungeon nightmare.

    After the priest thoroughly purified the dungeon instance, they could only get the holy light engravings.

    But Annan, a transcended and also a priest, got both benefits.

    Then was he paid twice for doing the same job from two different bosses?

    Is this a bug or a mechanism?

    For an instant, Annan felt as if he had pilfered the upright deities¡¯ benefits.

    This feels awesome¡­

 Chapter 124: Become A Priest

    <h4>Chapter 124: Be A Priest</h4>

    After showing it to Annan, Bishop Daryl hid the engravings again.

    He picked up the teacup and took a sip of the already warm ck tea.

    Afterward, Bishop Daryl took a silver coin from his arms.

    ¡°The biggest advantage of divine arts lies in its versatility.¡±

    He exined, ¡°In the nightmare, we are sometimes a swordsman, sometimes a wizard. Sometimes, we¡¯re tested on the skill of using a bow. Sometimes the mission is about assassination. Sometimes we be the elderly, sometimes we be the children, and there are even times we be disabled.

    ¡°asionally, we will enter the dreams of giants and centaurs. Anything can happen. The abilities and skills we learned in the real world may not be applicable in nightmares.¡±

    For example, if the person in the dream had not learned swordsmanship, it would be difficult for that body to use advanced swordsmanship; if he were not systematically trained on archery, even if the person entered the body was a veteran archer, it would be difficult to use that body to fight.

    In the same way, factors such as the spell mastery and mana pool held by the nightmare¡¯s body would always limit the Transcended.

    After thest dungeon instance ended, Annan had a general understanding of Silver Rank¡¯s wizardbat power.

    Thebat strength was incredible.

    Many schools of wizards disyed highbat power even without spell casting. For example, Carl could manipte the items within 10 meters of his proximity at will as if the item was his arm, no matter if it was solid rock walls and floors, silver tea sets, liquids, or mes.

    There was also the Soul Snatch wizard, who could control the minds of others in one word, one nce, and one action. Inparison, the destruction wizard could trigger earthquakes after death.

    But corresponding to thebat strength outside the dungeon instance, the wizard¡¯sbat power in the dungeon instance was almost the worst.

    When profession and school did not match, the wizards could hardly use most of their abilities.

    Their incrediblebat power made themck the experience of evenly matched battles and even the psychological preparation of dealing with strong enemies when they were weaker.

    ¡°But, engravings can be used in nightmares just like curses. Both curses and engraving are engraved in the soul and will not be affected even by body change. Simrly, if you are cursed, you can¡¯t escape by simply changing your body.

    Bishop Daryl said in a deep voice, ¡°In other words, as long as you don¡¯t go back to the far past, as long as constetions are belonging to the upright deities in the sky, as long as there is the ¡®essence¡¯ of themunication deities¡­

    ¡°Then, no matter who we be, we can use divine arts as usual. Now that you have engravings, you have the ability to release divine arts. Let me show you¡­¡±

    With that said, Bishop Daryl took out a silver coin, like a magician. He mped the silver coin with the two fingers of his right hand and showed it to Annan.

    Then he moved the silver coin to the side and flicked it with his left hand.

    Apanied by an inaudible ¡°cling,¡± a dim silver light shed.

    A teacup fell apart in an instant.

    ¡°This divine art is called ¡®ng Object.¡¯ Its might was capable of killing an unwary low-rank Transcended. It was one of the simplest divine arts in Silver Sire.¡±

    Bishop Daryl said, but Annan was taken aback.

    Because he suddenly saw two glimmering panels before his eyes:

    [Cardinal Bishop Daryl is imparting you the ¡°priest¡± profession. Would you like to spend five holy light engravings to acquire this profession?]

    [Cardinal Bishop Daryl is teaching you the divine art ¡°nging Object.¡± Would you like to spend a holy light engraving (Silver Sire) to learn it quickly?]

    This guy is a Cardinal Bishop?!

    Compared with the notification to learn a new skill, this information stunned Annan.

    Bishop Daryl shook the silver coin suddenly.

    Like a magic trick, the silver coin suddenly became a slender and sharp dagger. Its width and length were like five mutton skewers tied together.

    ¡°This divine art is called a ¡®Sharp Object.¡¯ It is sharp but fragile, unable to withstand the sh of a sword, but it is enough to cut off the finger easily. It is generally used for stabbing, but it can also be used to cut ropes or a throat cut. If your hands and feet are tied up with a rope, it can help you out.¡±

    As the fat bishop spoke, he demonstrated to Annan the sharpness of this temporary weapon.

    He pressed the weapon tightly on his left arm, then slid it gently, and blood oozed out.

    Annan could tell right away that its sharpness was simr to a razor de, but it was thicker and harder.

    At the same time, a third glimmering panel popped up in front of him again.

    ¡°Thest thing is our signature divine art.¡±

    Bishop Daryl said, putting down the temporary weapon and taking out another silver coin.

    He put the silver coin on his forehead and flicked it lightly.

    The silver coin had a faint edge cked out.

    He passed the silver coin for Annan for take a look.

    ¡°This represents my health. If the color changes, it means that the injury can be treated with divine arts.¡±

    Daryl said, shaking the silver coin vigorously, and then the ck edge was thrown out. It was like using a clinical thermometer.

    ¡°This divine art is called Eternal Youth.¡±

    Daryl pressed the silver coin to his wound and gave a wry smile, ¡°Although that¡¯s supposedly the case¡­¡±

    As Daryl spoke, he gently cut the wound with the silver coin.

    It was like being pulled up by a zipper.

    Wherever the silver coin passed, the wound recovered.

    But after it was used up, the silver coin suddenly turned ck, cracked, and disappeared into the air.

    ¡°See? You have to use at least one silver coin at a time. It depends on the number of your engravings in terms of the ability¡¯s upper limit. But generally speaking, it is quite expensive.¡±

    Bishop Daryl reminded earnestly, ¡°Silver Sire¡¯s divine arts¡¯ medium is ¡®silver coins¡¯ and ¡®silver jewelry of equivalent value.¡¯ Although it is not easy to find in a nightmare, you can usually find it if you look carefully. Several other upright deities¡¯ mediums are much easier to find.

    ¡°The pocket watches we carry with us hide the curse that ¡®makes it more expensive.¡¯ Some pocket watches have signatures of some important people and are iid with some precious gems. This is also the reason.

    ¡°This pocket watch is thest counterattack for us, the Silver Sire¡¯s priests, when we encounter a strong enemy. With the ultra-high value of this pocket watch, we can deliver a formidable counterattack.¡±

    Having said that, the fat bishop paused slightly, emphasized his tone, and reminded seriously, ¡°Of course, if the pocket watch is expended, the church will not easily provide a second one!

    ¡°If you dream of Silver Sire, you can spend three engravings first and ask him to bestow you these three divine arts. If you learn it on your own, it will be better. This shows that you have a good fate with Silver Sire. With how fast your learning speed is, it shows your talent is substantially higher.¡±

    The fat bishop hadn¡¯t finished speaking yet, but he saw Annan silently taking out a silver coin.

    With a simple swipe, Annan summoned a sharp and slender dagger.

    ¡°Is this how you do it?¡±

    Annan spoke in an innocent and ignorant tone, like a cute seal that came ashore to bask under the sun, ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand this divine art. What¡¯s the standard?¡±

    There was a silver gleam in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Watching this scene, Bishop Daryl became silent for a moment.

    Hisplexion changed several times, and he spoke with some difficulty, ¡°Annan, although you are a foreigner, you can¡¯t necessarily be a cardinal bishop.¡±

    ¡°Tell me more about it after you be a cardinal.¡±

    Annan smiled and interrupted Bishop Daryl¡¯s words, ¡°It¡¯s almost nine o¡¯clock. Let¡¯s go to Salvatore. I wille back to ask you for adviceter. Remember to call me Don Juan in front of outsiders, Grandpa Daryl.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Bishop Daryl¡¯splexion changed for a while, but he sighed and responded softly.

    Annan politely bowed to him.

    Annan was still grateful to this Santa us who gave him an identity, important information, profession, and skills.

    ¡ªGrandpa Daryl, pleasee to chat often in the future~

 Chapter 125: Salvatoreâ€™s Curse

    <h4>Chapter 125: Salvatore¡¯s Curse</h4>

    ¡°¡­En.¡± Salvatore opened his bloodshot eyes.

    It was 9:00 p.m..

    He hadn¡¯t slept enough, but he couldn¡¯t sleep anymore.

    The ck spider-web-like fragmentation marks had already crawled out of the bronze ne on his neckline, quietly covering his corbone and throat.

    After Salvatore woke up, they began to shrink at speed visible to the naked eye and gradually returned to the ne.

    ¡°¡­Almost.¡±

    Salvatore murmured, ¡°I have to find someone to knock me out once. After that, my body can¡¯t take it anymore.¡±

    Only if he fainted suddenly, the curse would not be able to react.

    Back in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, Salvatore usually finds a Soul Scratch wizard to knock him out and make him sleep, especially when he is at his limits.

    In that case, Salvatore wasn¡¯t sleeping, hence avoiding the curse.

    Simr to all Transcended, Salvatore¡¯s power gained from the curse was also rted to his curse details.

    ¡°Can¡¯t take it anymore? I smell the cleansing of a nightmare. Salvatore.¡±

    A deep, echoing voice sounded in Salvatore¡¯s heart, ¡°Don Juan is amazing, much better than you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Salvatore was a little surprised, ¡°Did he enter a nightmare?¡±

    He was not surprised by this sound that was always attacking him.

    Many people thought that Salvatore¡¯s curse helped him do something in a dream. For example, learn in a dream or remember something. So most people determined that as the reason why his strength snowballed since he seemed to remember everything.

    But only Salvatore knew; they all guessed wrong.

    Few people know what Salvatore¡¯s real curse was.

    Salvatore¡¯s curse was called ¡°Restless Reflection.¡±

    The entity had the same memory as Salvatore, but its personality was opposite to Salvatore¡¯s. Furthermore, it was far better and more talented than Salvatore because this entity was Salvatore¡¯s reflection.

    The more inferior Salvatore was at something, the better the reflection was.

    It also meant that Salvatore could process parallel thinking at the same time.

    Indeed, the mystery that he mastered a new skill very quickly was that he started learning simultaneously with his reflection.

    Generally speaking, Salvatore learned slower than his ¡®shadow.¡¯

    So only Salvatore knew he was not a genius. On the contrary, he was a fool.

    Otherwise, why was his reflection stronger than him in every way?

    But he was also grateful for his reflection.

    It was under the endless mockery of the reflection that Salvatore¡¯s mental fortitude and emotions could be so stable.

    Through referring to the reflection, Salvatore found out the condition for his sess and what kind of person he should be.

    ¡°You should ask Don Juan for some benefits, Salvatore. You will seed.¡±

    The shadow whispered in Salvatore¡¯s heart, ¡°He owes you too much.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then I understand.¡±

    Salvatore nodded and decided to take the exact opposite action of the shadow¡¯s suggestion as usual, ¡°In other words, I should thank Don Juan.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­ Go, trash.¡± The shadow did not object to Salvatore¡¯s opinion.

    He just whispered mockingly, ¡°Today, you almost couldn¡¯t wake up.

    ¡°You will doze off one day. You can hardly hold it anymore.¡±

    The shadow¡¯s voice was like a hungry wolf, hoarse and echoed, ¡°Then give me the body.¡±

    ¡°You are wrong. I won¡¯t¡­¡±

    Salvatore covered his eyes with his hands, closed his eyes with his emotions unfazed.

    Even in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, only his mentor Benjamin knew about Salvatore¡¯s real curse. This was why Salvatore spected that Benjamin did not die.

    Because his curse did not go out of control.

    This meant that Salvatore should still have a secret keeper.

    ording to Benjamin¡¯s spection, the correct way to use this curse should be to exchange two selves with different thinking and areas of expertise from time to time. With that, Salvatore was technically studying and working at the same time, with two selves taking breaks alternately.

    But the problem Benjamin alerted Salvatore was that because Salvatore had a kind personality, his ¡°shadow¡± was absolutely untrustworthy.

    Therefore, Benjamin set a double seal for this curse.

    At six o¡¯clock in the morning, Mr. Ray sprinkled purification light on the world. With that as an anchor point, its effective period expanded to three hours before and after. In this case, the starting period was 3:00 a.m. and the ending period was 9:00 a.m. In that case, the total hours were expanded threefold.

    ¡ªAnother thing to take note of was that number ¡°3¡± was magical in this world.

    Silent Lady, the Deity of Darkness and Veto, was the protector of the third month. Therefore, all involving rituals must have the number ¡°3.¡± Many wizards believe that in the ritual of the same specification, the more the number rted to the ¡°three,¡± the more power could be borrowed, and the better the ritual effect would be.

    Yes, Salvatore was not limited to sleeping in the period from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m.

    But only during this period, his control over his body would not be robbed away when he slept.

    In other cases, if Salvatore slept, the shadow would crawl out of the ne and gradually spread. When the ck mark spread to the forehead, it meant that another Salvatore hade out.

    The only way for the shadow to return was when the other ¡°Salvatore¡± went to sleep again.

    ¡°Don Juan is here, Salvatore.¡±

    At this moment, the shadow suddenly reminded, ¡°There is another terrifying person following him. I can¡¯t smell him.¡±

    ¡°¡­A terrifying person?¡±

    Salvatore was puzzled and opened his eyes slightly.

    Is the person terrifying for me¡­or my shadow?

    ¡°Senior, did you sleep well?¡±

    Annan knocked on the door very lightly and asked in a low volume, ¡°Are you awake?¡±

    ¡°Come in, Don Juan.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s gentle voice sounded, ¡°I have been awake for a while.¡±

    Annan walked in with a smile while Bishop Daryl followed behind him.

    Seeing Bishop Daryl, Salvatore was visibly startled.

    ¡°Master Bishop?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Bishop Daryl,¡± Annan replied thoughtfully, ¡°With his assistance and guidance, I have almost purified Gerald¡¯s nightmare.¡±

    Bishop Daryl just smiled and nodded.

    The chubby face had a kind smile, seemingly without any ill thoughts.

    ¡°May Silver Sire bless you today, esteemed ck Tower¡¯s Son and our esteemed feudal lord.¡±

    Bishop Daryl said, bowing to Salvatore and Annan, respectively. His fat body made his movements look a little clumsy.

    Salvatore felt his heart tremble when Bishop Daryl spoke.

    ¡°Ask him¡­ Can he see me?¡± The shadow¡¯s low and hoarse voice sounded in Salvatore¡¯s heart with some excitement.

    But Salvatore chose to remain silent to avoid troubles.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re all busy.¡±

    Bishop Daryl smiled and said, ¡°Then this old man will not bother you anymore.

    ¡°Feudal lord, I will first take the viscount¡¯s dead body to the police station and wait for you there. Then, after you have taken care of everything, juste to me.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Master Bishop.¡± Annan nodded seriously.

    Soon, Daryl closed the door and left.

    ¡°Tsk, what a lovely child.¡±

    The shadow smiled at the bottom of Salvatore¡¯s heart, ¡°It¡¯s just that he¡¯s too indulgent into scheming. Having too many schemes does no good.

    ¡°He¡¯s acting, Salvatore. How about you ask him ¨C who are you? I promise you can figure out his identity.¡±

    ¡ªSpeak all you want. I lose if I believe your nonsense.

    As always, Salvatorepletely ignored all of the reflection¡¯s suggestions.

    From this perspective, he was also quite grateful for his shadow.

    The shadow was undoubtedly a mirror of himself. It could be used to alert him to be grateful, remind him to maintain moral standards, and remind him not to doubt others easily.

    This stubbornness that was never willing to change oneself was also the opposite of the reflection. This was Salvatore¡¯s unique characteristic.

 Chapter 126: Innate Talent

    <h4>Chapter 126: Innate Talent</h4>

    ¡°Don Juan.¡±

    Salvatore asked with some uncertainty, ¡°Are you getting stronger again?¡±

    ¡°Your perception is quite sharp, senior.¡±

    Annan smiled and leaned on the door, ¡°Purifying nightmares will help you be stronger.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    Salvatore recalled the nightmare he had entered and nodded with a lingering fear, ¡°But if I can, I still don¡¯t want to enter the nightmare.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate the honesty.¡± Annan shrugged.

    Salvatore had a rare honesty. Though, this train of thought was quite rare.

    On the other hand, Annan liked nightmares mainly because he wanted to experience the lives of others, which would give him a sense of pleasure in peering into the other¡¯s fate.

    ¡°Quickly ask him ¨C What is Gerald¡¯s nightmare?¡±

    The shadow¡¯s deep and hoarse voice sounded from the bottom of Salvatore¡¯s heart, ¡°Maybe you can find the teacher¡¯s information!¡±

    This was not an unreasonable suggestion but merely a ¡°reminder¡± of something Salvatore had forgotten.

    Salvatore still had to think carefully about this suggestion. But he quickly made up his mind.

    ¡ªIt¡¯s better not to ask.

    If Don Juan wants to talk about it, he will definitely say it. If he doesn¡¯t say it, he must have encountered something inconvenient to tell me.

    So Salvatore changed the subject, ¡°Do you have any arrangements for today? Do you need my help?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no,¡± Annan replied.

    There were some arrangements.

    Supposedly, Annan had to visit tax officer Nottdamm. This middle-aged man, who was about to get a son, asked Annan what he could do to repay Annan¡¯s life-saving kindnessst night.

    Yet, Annan responded to Salvatore with a smile.

    ¡°Just treat me to a home-cooked meal.¡± He answered so briskly.

    Annan didn¡¯t need Nottdamm to do anything. On what Nottdamm could do, Annan didn¡¯t need the help.

    In other words, Nottdamm was of no utility value for Annan.

    If the two didn¡¯t know each other at all, Annan wouldn¡¯t notice him because their worlds would not intersect.

    But since the two met because of themon enemy ¨C Old Viscount, Annan would not cut off the connection between the two.

    Because in the process of helping others, Annan, who had a normal worldview, would also feel joy from the heart.

    Just like their conversation when they were on the carriage, Annan would instinctively influence the others to have a favorable impression of him.

    ¡°Let others like him¡± was a natural talent for Annan, like breathing.

    As long as he wanted to, everything woulde naturally.

    Reason? It was simple.

    Animals had the instinct to feel their kins¡¯ attitude vaguely.

    Even if it might not be clear, one would subconsciously choose to be intimate or beware. This was not a problem that could be remedied in conversation skills.

    A person with a malicious heart was, after all, a malicious person.

    Annan was different. He did treat people with sincerity. Those with more sensitive instincts would trust Annan more.

    Annan agreed with themon sense from the bottom of his heart: If you are a friend, then you should find a way to help him be happy and solve his troubles.

    In this process, Annan would naturally win the trust of the other party.

    This trust and favor was just an insignificant by-product for Annan.

    Because Annan chose to do good, not based on material demands or seeking spiritual approval. It was not even the aversion to evil nor the resentment of evil.

    Annan did his kindness unconditionally.

    The only sin worth noting on Annan was his tendency to send wrong signals to other girls while not having a romantic interest.

    Because of all the troubles around him, Annan always knew what was abnormal about him, and he even thought it was some sort of curse.

    He only wanted to pursue a peaceful andfortable life and didn¡¯t make good use of his talent. This was hiszy heart that was afraid of trouble. Annan was still self-aware in some sense.

    Nevertheless, for the former Annan, his side was unknowingly full of friends for both genders.

    They all thought Annan was a creep, but they all wanted to be friends with Annan from the bottom of their hearts.

    Annan could peer into the hearts of others, as well as himself. This also made Annan extremely sensitive to his actions:

    Doing evil will make him feel guilty.

    Doing good will make him happy.

    ¡­It was supposed to be like this.

    But now, Annan lost half of his feelings.

    Laziness and guilt disappear at the same time.

    This made the harmless man dangerous.

    Annan frankly thought this anomaly wasmendable.

    Praise the kindness; praise the sacredness so that you can be happy.

    This is a beautiful trait that can be acknowledged with one¡¯s chest raised.

    Why avoid it?

    Why should I be scared?

    ¡°His wife is about to give birth. I should send my blessings. It is naturally best for you to follow. The identity of the two of us is enough to send away the people he has offended before.¡±

    Annan smiled and said, ¡°Also, didn¡¯t Nottdamm want to thank me? If he keeps our kindness in his heart, it may not be good for him in the long run. If he is an upright person valuingradeship, then the previous matter will upy his thoughts. Undoubtedly, it will affect his work and judgment. If he is petty-minded, the previous matter might incite him to turn against us.

    ¡°No matter what kind of person he is, if I go to see him as soon as possible, he will be happy.¡±

    ¡°Sure, he will think you value him very much.¡±

    Seeing Annan¡¯s iparably clear eyes, Salvatore chuckled, ¡°If it¡¯s okay, can you take me with you?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together. He will be happier.¡±

    Annan nodded, ¡°I will go to the police station when I finish eating. Grandpa Bishop will apany me through moreplicated power transfer procedures. You won¡¯t like it. At that time, you can stay with him ore back and wait here.

    Annan answered naturally, ¡°We will go back to the Freezing Water Port at around three in the afternoon. We should be able to catch up with dinner. I mean your dinner. If you go to bedte, you naturally have to eatter, or you will be hungry after midnight.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Salvatore responded quickly, ¡°Wait for me to wash up.¡±

    In fact, Salvatore was not the kind of person who believed everyone. He had twice the amount of intelligence of ordinary people. It was difficult for anyone to deceive him.

    But it was sofortable to get along with Annan.

    Salvatore believes that Annan was a guy who ¡°would be identified as a good person in any first encounter.¡±

    If Annan were a mature and credible man, this strong personality charm would be a powerful leadership that was as warm as the sun.

    But because of Annan¡¯s current image, the good impression would turn into love and trust.

    But the essence was the same.

    Although Salvatore only knew Annan for a few days, he wanted to be friends with Annan from the bottom of his heart.

 Chapter 127: Old House

    <h4>Chapter 127: Old House</h4>

    It could be because of the heavy rainst night.

    Even at 10 a.m., the Roseburg streets still had a lingering cold.

    The Viscount Mansion¡¯s servants were taken away and dismissed. Annan and Salvatore couldn¡¯t find a carriage for a while.

    Fortunately, the viscount¡¯s house and the tax officer Rumu Nottdamm¡¯s residence were not far away.

    The two didn¡¯t mind the walk either. So, they began strolling to their destination.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to care about your personal guards? They did a great jobst night,¡± said Salvatore casually.

    Annan chuckled, ¡°They must not be awake yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost noon now.¡±

    Salvatore turned his head back in surprise and looked at hispanion beside him, ¡°Are you so lenient with them?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just my guess. They must have had trouble sleeping when they went backst night.¡±

    The little feudal lord with ck hair and blue eyes looked at Salvatore with a smile.

    Annan watched the yers tackle the dungeon instance all night long.

    This morning, Annan watched the yers turn off the broadcast, and they went offline.

    Seeing Annan¡¯s attitude, Salvatore raised his brows slightly, ¡°You look confident about it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, do you want to take a gamble?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as a fool, Don Juan.¡±

    Salvatore sneered, ¡°Since you are so confident, I won¡¯t be fooled.¡±

    Annan looked at Salvatore in surprise.

    Unexpectedly, this guy could be so clear and decisive in his mind in petty matters¡­

    Or¡­

    ¡°¡ª¡ªSo you are not stupid,¡± Annan eximed.

    Salvatore became irritated, ¡°Shit, what are you talking about, little kid?¡±

    Because of course-

    On such trivial matters, Salvatore usually followed the shadow¡¯s advice.

    Breathing the fresh air, Annan took a deep breath and felt a little joy.

    Yesterday was quite a long day.

    This was especially true for Annan.

    He killed Gerald, Justin, and Viscount Barber and then happily watched the body all night. Then, he got up at 6 a.m. and tackled another dungeon.

    He was under work for the whole day, his mind had not stopped, and his body only slept for an hour and a half.

    But, this day was too fulfilling.

    Damn it, do I have to make up for the overtime I owed in my previous life?

    ¡°Achu!¡± Salvatore sneezed.

    It had just rained, and the sea breeze in the North Sea Territory in December made Salvatore¡¯s body tremble slightly.

    ¡°Are you cold?¡±

    Annan asked with some concern, ¡°You can have my clothes.¡±

    Seeing this minor who was more than one head shorter than him asked with such concern, Salvatore was slightly embarrassed. ¡°Thank you, Don Juan, but I¡¯m not so cold anymore-

    ¡°Also, we¡¯re already here!¡±

    Following his gaze, Annan saw a residence typically dedicated to high-ranking officials.

    The residence was about the size of a modern single-family vi. It had two floors, and the blue-ck stone walls were covered with nts simr to ¡°Parthenocissus.¡± The courtyard was small, and some ntations were within the iron fence.

    It seemed that this house was inhabited for at least 30 to 40 years.

    That was quite a few years.

    ¡°Where is their servant?¡± Salvatore had a strange feeling.

    He stepped forward and shouted, ¡°Is anyone home?¡±

    The strange thing was that there was no response inside.

    ¡°Is there no one at home¡­ huh?¡± Salvatore was puzzled and wanted to check the lock.

    The duo discovered that the iron door lock was destroyed from outside, and the door was not locked.

    The two of them looked at each other, keenly aware that something was wrong.

    They opened the iron door directly and walked in.

    If it weren¡¯t for the two of them being noble enough, they might be treated as thieves or robbers.

    But fortunately, the two of them didn¡¯t need to worry about it at this time. They opened the iron door and walked in. Before anything else, Salvatore closed the iron door to prevent anyone from following them in.

    ¡°Nottdamm?¡±

    ¡°Are you here, Rumu!?¡±

    They both shouted.

    The door to the living room was not closed either.

    No one responded even after they entered the living room.

    Even in the whole house, there was no sign of life. The furniture and the floor were covered with a faintyer of ash.

    ¡°Are you sure his house is here?¡±

    Annan frowned slightly and walked quickly ahead, holding the waist bag with his right hand. He had the trustworthy Mr. Boning Knife on stand-by.

    Annan vaguely sensed something was wrong, but he couldn¡¯t tell what it was.

    ¡°Did he go out with his whole family?¡± Salvatore, who was following Annan, frowned slightly and murmured. He habitually closed the living room¡¯s door.

    ¡°Careful!¡± Annan¡¯s pupils shrank instantly. He immediately noticed an iing mysterious danger.

    A chill feeling that prated the heart seeped from his back and neck. Annan felt as if he was immersed in ice water and his body restrained, unable to move.

    Annan and Salvatore looked at each other. He quickly confirmed through Salvatore¡¯s panicked eyes with eye bags and dark circles that this guy didn¡¯t know what was going on as well.

    ¡°I think they wille, Maemi.¡± A somewhat familiar voice came from the next room.

    That was Rumu Nottdamm¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Impossible, Rumu. They are just polite to you. How busy are those two big shots?¡±

    It was the voice of a woman. She sounded firm and a bit aggressive.

    Annan could roughly determine that she was not in a great mood right now, and she was irritable.

    ¡°Listen to me¡­ Hey?¡± At this moment, the woman walked into the living room.

    Seeing Annan and Salvatore appearing here, she was taken aback.

    Annan immediately noticed-

    It was a pregnant woman. Judging from the bulge of the abdomen, she was approachingbor at any time.

    At the moment Annan met her eyes, he showed a pure and gentle smile immediately and greeted the woman, ¡°Madam, good morning. As you can see, I am Don Juan Geraint. This is Salvatore cktower.

    ¡°Mr. Nottdamm invited us toe over as guests, so we came. Sorry for being a little rude. The door was unlocked. So, we came in.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Salvatore also reacted and quickly added, ¡°We shouted twice outside the door previously, but no one opened the door.¡±

    ¡°Idiot, you shouldn¡¯t have said this!¡±

    The shadow¡¯s low and hoarse voice sounded violently in Salvatore¡¯s heart, ¡°You are all exposed, learn from Don Juan on what is acting! If things go south, let me handle it!¡±

    Fuck off. I can¡¯t let you out. Salvatore muttered in his heart.

    Sure enough, as the shadow said, the pregnant woman nced at Salvatore suspiciously. Obviously, they didn¡¯t hear Annan¡¯s call.

    ¡°It¡¯s also possible that our voice is too soft,¡± Annan raised his head and looked at the pregnant woman earnestly, making a crisp and tender voice, ¡°After all, we are all guests. It¡¯s bad to be too noisy.¡±

    Probably because Annan¡¯s words were convincing, or Annan¡¯s face had subconsciously softened her attitude. The pregnant woman looked at Annan¡¯s face and couldn¡¯t help showing a smile, ¡°Please have a seat, feudal lord! This is Lord Mayor, right? I¡¯m going to serve you some tea. Rumu,e out! The lords are here!¡±

    After that, she yelled into the house.

    Soon, Rumu Nottdamm walked over in a panic.

    He barely put on more formal clothes but still did not button all the buttons, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t expect you toe so early.¡±

    Annan and Salvatore looked at each other.

    Indeed, it was the Rumu Nottdamm they sawst night.

    But what happened just now¡­

    The duo was a little wary.

    Annan sat following Nottdamm¡¯s instructions and swept his finger across the table.

    ¡ªThere¡¯s no dust.

    Annan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, ¡°We came so early to invite you out for a meal.¡±

    With that, Annan nced at Salvatore.

    Salvatore quickly understood: ¡°Yes, we also have something to do today. You know. It¡¯s about Master Viscount.¡±

    ¡°En, en¡­ I know. So yes, you¡¯re leaving soon?¡±

    Nottdamm hesitated, then nodded.

    He yelled into the house, ¡°Let¡¯s go out for lunch today, Maemi! No need to prepare. I¡¯ll be back after dinner!¡±

    Nottdamm said to Annan with some embarrassment, ¡°Sorry, my wife is about to give birth and can¡¯t walk away. But if it¡¯s not too far, it¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°En, it¡¯s fine,¡± Annan responded graciously.

    Soon, the three of them left the house together.

    After leaving through the main door, Annan looked back.

    There seemed to be signs of life in the house this time, and the temperature was normal. They could even hear the sound of Maemi walking around in the house.

    It was as if everything became normal.

    This is strange.

    What is going on?

 Chapter 128: Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 128: Mirror</h4>

    Since Annan and Salvatore felt the situation wasn¡¯t right, they didn¡¯t talk for too long.

    It just so happened Nottdamm wanted to take care of his wife and couldn¡¯t stay with the duo for a long time.

    After the meal and sending Nottdamm back, the duo went straight to the police station.

    This was not the same as previously nned.

    Originally, Salvatore didn¡¯t n to get involved with this kind of trouble with Annan.

    But what happened in Nottdamm¡¯s old house previously gave off lingering fear.

    Without being urged by the shadow, Salvatore followed Annan¡¯s pace.

    He also had something to ask Bishop Daryl.

    ¡°¡­Nottdamm? Do you mean that tax officer?¡±

    After listening to Annan and Salvatore¡¯s narration, Bishop Daryl was surprised, ¡°He and his pregnant wife are at home¡­ 44 Clear Water Street? His wife is Maemi, a pregnant woman with a bad temper?¡±

    Annan¡¯s heart trembled as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there something wrong?¡±

    ¡°This is a serious problem.¡±

    After confirmation, Bishop Daryl murmured. He nced at Annan and couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    How can this guy get entangled in so much trouble?

    After dismissing the others in the room, Bishop Daryl slowly spoke.

    The following words from the fat bishop sent chills to Salvatore,

    ¡°Nottdamm should live at 12 Rusty Water Street right now. His new wife hasn¡¯t married him yet, let alone pregnant.¡±

    The fat bishop looked at Annan and Salvatore with a somewhat strange gaze and pointed to the map behind him,

    ¡°But if the wife is pregnant, you should be referring to Maemi. This is a nickname. Her full name is Maemis Nottdamm, but¡­

    ¡°She passed away due to dystocia two or three years ago.¡±

    ¡°¡­En.¡±

    Hearing this, Salvatore couldn¡¯t help but shiver with his face turned a little ugly.

    Annan nced at Salvatore and asked Bishop Daryl, ¡°So, Grandpa Daryl, do you have any clues about this?

    ¡°Or, do you think this might be a false deity¡¯s ritual?¡±

    ¡°As far as I know, it should not be.¡±

    Bishop Daryl quickly shook his head, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man¡¯s abilities are not rted to ¡®time¡¯ and ¡®resurrection.¡¯ Although the Venerated Skeleton can reanimate the corpse, you two shouldn¡¯t fail in discerning the difference between a living corpse and a living person.

    ¡°Judging from your narration, the false deities that can achieve this effect are the ¡°Faceless Poet¡± or ¡°Bell Ringer.¡± But their mortal vessel and church power aren¡¯t in the Noah Kingdom. Rather, they are far away.

    ¡°So, this matter should have nothing to do with the deities. At least, it is certainly not a conspiracy from any church,¡± said Bishop Daryl confidently.

    Otherwise, we can definitely detect it.

    Bishop Daryl stared at Annan, and the two exchanged nces.

    Then, the fat bishop spoke and asked in a low volume, ¡°Do you need me to take a look?¡±

    Although the bishop¡¯s attitude was tactful, the meaning in this sentence was clear.

    Bishop Daryl was skeptical that Nottdamm might have received sacrifices rted to ¡°Faceless Poet¡± or ¡°Bell Ringer.¡±

    This was the only way tomunicate with the false deity without the involvement of the ¡°church.¡±

    Annan was silent for a while and shook his head, ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­¡±

    Salvatore was staring at the map, frowning and thinking for a long time.

    Seeing his troubled look, Annan¡¯s interest piqued, ¡°Do you have any thoughts, senior?¡±

    ¡°I have an idea, Don Juan.¡±

    Salvatore looked cautious, recalling the event, and slowly said, ¡°I seem to have heard the teacher talking about a simr ritual before. But it¡¯s not rted to the two false deities¡­¡±

    Salvatore took a pause. He reached out his hand and pointed silently to the two Nottdamm residences.

    No. 44, Clear Water Street was close to the Western District where the Feudal Lord¡¯s house was situated.

    No. 12, Rusty Water Street protruded from the east¡¯s slum area.

    If they were to regard the centralmercial avenue as a mirror, the two residences were exactly symmetrical under the circr Roseburg territory.

    Immediately, Salvatore asked slowly.

    ¡°Don Juan, have you heard of the name Michngelo?¡±

    Hearing Salvatore¡¯s words, Annan and Bishop Daryl looked at each other and said nothing. The discussion came into a silence.

    On the other hand, Salvatore was still stroking the map, measuring thend with his fingers, confirming something on the map.

    Salvatore whispered, ¡°The teacher once told me that five years ago, a powerful Austere-Winter Dukedom wizard held a taboo ritual. His name is Michngelo Buonaro, and people call him ¡®Time Stopper Eye.¡¯

    ¡°Although he is just a Gold Rank Great Wizard, many big shots who have mastered the Truth within themselves pay respect to Master Michngelo.¡±

    ¡°Since Master Michngelo is particrly good at spells rted to the elements of ¡®mirror¡¯ and ¡®time,¡¯

    ¡°He can turn reality into a mirror surface, stepping into the past world that is symmetrical to the mirror surface of reality. Time is synchronized but passing backward. He can solidify and materialize anyone of the two worlds at any time.

    ¡°After he freezes the time, people in the past can¡¯t see him. The attacks he caused in the past will be all synchronized and mirrored back to reality. For the older wizards knowing Michngelo¡¯s abilities, no one wants to offend Michngelo.¡±

    Having said that, Salvatore took a deep breath.

    He said slowly, ¡°But this master who has mastered the spell of time faced a big problem in the taboo ritual five years ago, and he failed at thest moment. Hence, he unfortunately perished.¡±

    At this moment, Annan blinked his eyes. He vaguely realized something.

    Annan looked at the fat bishop and spoke, ¡°Maemis Nottdamm, when did she die?¡±

    ¡°Two years ago. To be precise, it was two years and six months ago, maybe a couple of days more,¡± replied Bishop Daryl immediately.

    As a clergyman, the bishop¡¯s memory must be excellent. Otherwise, he might die without knowing when or how.

    Salvatore turned around. At that moment, Annan saw a calm, indifferent senior with confident brilliance in the eyes,

    ¡°¡ªThe exact date of Master Michngelo¡¯s death is November 30, 1498.

    ¡°The time now is December 9, 1503 of the Gregorian calendar.

    ¡°If you take the day when Maemis Nottdamm died during childbirth as a mirror¡­

    ¡°It is only a few days away from mirrored time five years ago.¡±

    Salvatore said slowly, ¡°Mr. Nottdamm also said¡­

    ¡°His wife will be ready forbor in a few days.¡±

 Chapter 129: Reflection

    <h4>Chapter 129: Reflection</h4>

    The deceased in ritual five years ago.

    A pregnant woman died of dystocia two and a half years ago.

    Today, the newborn baby¡­

    ¡°If you take the ck Sea as a mirror.¡±

    Bishop Daryl pondered for a moment. His face turned a little serious as he spoke, ¡°The locations of Roseburg and Howling White Tower are almost symmetrical.¡±

    Obviously, Salvatore¡¯s spection persuaded the fat bishops.

    On the other hand, Annan frowned slightly, thinking hard.

    The information he had was more than Daryl.

    Nottdamm¡¯s new house, ¡°Rusty Water Street 12,¡± was next to the Gerald Dental Clinic.

    If Benjamin the Great Wizard wasn¡¯t murdered, he should have arrived at Freezing Water Port. The Freezing Water Port was only a few hours away from Roseburg.

    Plus, Annan looked exactly like Maria Austere-Winter five years ago.

    What does that mean? Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    ording to Salvatore, Michngelo¡¯s ritual went south at the end of the ritual. The news Annan got from the nightmare was that the ritual would end when there were only four people left.

    Then, the final survivors should be ¡°Michngelo,¡± ¡°Maria,¡± ¡°Benjamin,¡± and ¡°Gerald.¡±

    In other words, when Michngelo died five years ago, Maria, Benjamin, and Gerald were all beside him.

    If nothing went wrong¡­

    In the current situation, Annan, Benjamin, and Gerald should all reunite here. The only exception would be Maria.

    Annan¡¯s thoughts ran quickly.

    If he didn¡¯t transmigrate into this world as ¡®Annan¡¯ and Benjamin had not been murdered, what would the situation be like now?

    ¡ªBenjamin and Don Juan would arrive when he was unconscious on the beach. Benjamin, who met Maria, would recognize Annan¡¯s identity immediately and protect him.

    ¡ªKnowing that Benjamin, a well-known great wizard guarding the Freezing Water Port, the viscount would notunch an attack with Salvatore¡¯s ck Fire. But the viscount and Guard Captain us were on the same side, and then they knew Annan¡¯s identity.

    ¡ªTo deter Don Juan from acting rashly and quietlypleting the reincarnation ritual, the viscount would invite Benjamin, Don Juan, and Annan to a banquet in the viscount mansion.

    The Viscount Mansion was adjacent to Nottdamm¡¯s house.

    Just like Nottdamm¡¯s new home and Gerald¡¯s dentist¡¯s office were adjacent¡­

    ¡°Now that I think about it, something is wrong.¡±

    Salvatore looked at Annan with a serious expression, ¡°Nottdamm once told us before if Gerald wins, then Nottdamm will invite Gerald instead to show viscount¡¯s good favor.

    ¡°But we overlooked one thing. Nottdamm is just an ordinary tax officer, not even Transcended. So why did viscount send such a person? Is it to shoulder the me? He mentioned his hard work under viscount and has never offended viscount.¡±

    ¡°He is telling the truth.¡± Annan continued on Salvatore¡¯s words and said thoughtfully, ¡°At least Nottdamm was at a loss when he told those previous words.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even know why viscount wants to target him. But besides that, there is another possibility¡­

    ¡°That is, Nottdamm knows Gerald. But at that time, he didn¡¯t know Gerald¡­¡±

    ¡ªIf there were two tax officer Nottdamm at the same time, everything could be exined.

    Annan remembered that when Nottdamm sent Annan and Salvatore back to the viscount house, he identally mentioned that his wife Maemis Nottdamm was a ck Tower¡¯s apprentice. His wife knew what Soul Snatch wizard was, and she also learned about Transcended.

    Salvatore told Annan that the apprentices in the wizard tower were generally youths. Once they failed to learn the first spell at the age of twenty-four, they were usually dismissed because it meant that theycked the talent to learn spells.

    For ordinary people, learning the first spell was the hardest. It required them to control a part of the curse, sort out and absorb it viaplicated but non-contradictory rules. The process was roughly simr toputer programming with imagination.

    If they had mastered a spell, they were deemed to have obtained the ¡°wizard apprentice¡± profession, abbreviated ¡°apprentice.¡± Therefore, they would be allowed to study until they were thirty-six years old.

    By then, they must have learned enough spells. If twelve years had passed and they failed in advancing to the Bronze Rank, then it meant that they were either in the process of learning, profoundly understanding the misfortune of entering the transcendence or being afraid of bing Transcended. But, in the worst situation, they were too stupid even to purify a nightmare sessfully.

    Only then would they be dissuaded from their Transcendent journey. Before that, if any apprentice decided to abandon the wizard path or no longer wanted to use the wizard path to step into the transcendence, they could leave at any time.

    The only constraint was that once you left, you may note back.

    Maemis Nottdamm was an apprentice from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, which meant she must have mastered one to four spells.

    The magic schools taught by Swamp¡¯s ck Tower only included Alteration, Shaping, and Soul Snatch. Before Salvatore enrolled, Gerald killed all the Alteration School¡¯s apprentices.

    In other words, Maemis Nottdamm had a high probability of knowing Gerald.

    Calcting from her age, she was probably the apprentice taught under Gerald.

    She might even be the chess piece prepared before Gerald left Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t guess wrong,¡± Annan slowly said while looking at Salvatore, ¡°The key lies with the doors.¡±

    Looking back now at the creepy house, all the doors were unlocked, which was bizarre.

    When Annan and the others walked in from outside, they barely touched anything.

    The only thing that was interacted was when Salvatore closed the doors casually because of his habit.

    After all the doors were closed, the ¡°Nottdamm couple two and a half years ago¡± suddenly appeared.

    ¡°I suspect it might be the same on the other side.¡±

    Annan looked at Bishop Daryl and lowered his head slightly, ¡°Please investigate it. First, whether this ritual is rted to the opening and closing of the ¡®door.¡¯ Then we need to check again if our previous spection is correct, whether two different ¡®Nottdamm¡¯ in the timeline can appear at the same time?¡±

    Bishop Daryl¡¯s true identity was the Silver Sire Church Cardinal Bishop.

    There was no doubt Daryl had the highestbat strength, albeit his poor appearance. He should be among the elites.

    It was better to have this ¡°boss¡± scout the path.

    It was not cowardice but being cautious.

    ¡°You can depend on me.¡± Bishop Daryl nodded, not feeling anything wrong about it.

    If Annan were rash with this, Daryl would need to be concerned about holding Annan back and telling Annan not to be suicidal.

    It was worry-free to have good teammates who don¡¯t give ¡®free kills.¡¯

    ¡°However, it sounds like¡­¡±

    The fat bishop looked at Annan curiously, ¡°Do you two have other arrangements?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Annan and Salvatore looked at each other and replied, ¡°We n to go back to Freezing Water Port to make some preparations. In the next few days, please verify if the failedbor is the boundary. Then, what is the actual date of birth? After that, you can send someone to notify us one or two days in advance.¡±

    ¡°Oh, this is not necessary.¡±

    Bishop Daryl smiled, ¡°I did a mental calction, and the final date should be December 14. It will be fine for you two to be back before the evening of the 13th.

    ¡°If you two have other ns, you may go back. I will settle the viscount matter for you too¡­

    ¡°Silver Sire reminded us to put priorities on our matters.¡±

    Fat bishop smiled kindly, ¡°It just so happens that the mortals are motivated by profit. Those entangled with petty power struggles are the most insignificant batch.

    ¡°If they dare to stir up trouble at this time, I will let them pay the price.¡±

 Chapter 130: Salvatoreâ€™s Determination

    <h4>Chapter 130: Salvatore¡¯s Determination</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it, senior.¡±

    Looking at Salvatore, who was sitting on the opposite side of the carriage with frowned brows, Annan didn¡¯t have the slightest fear or anxiety on his face.

    He hugged his knees, leaned back on the carriage, and curled upzily.

    Annan nced at Salvatore and said, ¡°Master Bishop has the right idea. Both of us are young. Those people will inevitably do certain things to fight for power. This will increase the variables.

    ¡°Although Bishop usually looks like a nice guy, it¡¯s scarier when such a nice guy gets angry. Since we¡¯re in this situation, we shouldn¡¯te forward. After all, what we need now isn¡¯t a Roseburg thatpletely obeys mymand. Instead, we want a Roseburg who won¡¯t hold me back at critical times.

    ¡°If it is for this purpose, then it is best for us to leave the ce. It would be better if all parties in Roseburg would mistakenly think that Bishop Daryl stole my power.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not thinking about this issue.¡±

    Salvatore shook his head and added, ¡°The issue isn¡¯t about having Master Bishop scout the dangerous paths. Since Bishop Daryl has this job post, it means that he has at least the strength of Silver Rank Transcended. Moreover, he is old and experienced. Therefore, it is much safer for him to go than us.¡±

    When exploring the unknown ritual, the danger brought by a dumb teammate was impossible to bepensated by the bonus of having one more teammate.

    It would be better to have no one holding back than having no one to help.

    Not to mention, these teammates couldn¡¯t be utilized to attract firepower, but rather distractions one had to put their mind into protecting their life.

    Annan and Salvatore weren¡¯t people not knowing their limits.

    They knew that a formidable enemy was ahead, and they were inferior.

    Since they were inferior, it was better off not giving ¡®free kills.¡¯

    ¡°What I¡¯m thinking about is,¡± Salvatore whispered, ¡°Do we have a reason to prevent Master Michngelo from being resurrected?

    ¡°He is a respectful master. In addition to his reputation and countless disciples in the Transcended world, he is also a distinguished artist in the mortal world.¡±

    It might be due to Salvatore getting used to being attacked by the shadow.

    Salvatore¡¯s timidity made him afraid to express his thoughts.

    Especially when this idea was somewhat ¡°unreasonable.¡±

    After all, in Transcended¡¯s worldview, any unknown, unchecked, and unapproved third-party ritual was not credible. Therefore, these rituals must be treated with vignce.

    No one knew what the victim and material were necessary for this ritual.

    No one could be sure of the side effects this ritual would bring.

    No one had any idea of the perpetrator¡¯s purpose in the ritual.

    No matter which condition went south, it might cost many lives.

    To put it bluntly¡­

    Since the ritual performer operated an unknown ritual that had not been registered, and no one was willing to be the guarantor, it meant that the purpose was shady.

    So, for the public¡¯s safety, it was natural to stop them from running the ritual.

    Therefore, once Transcended saw someone secretly holding an unknown ritual, the first reaction was to interrupt the ritual.

    Salvatore¡¯s idea of ??¡±maybe letting the ritual seed will be better¡± was a naive move that would be ridiculed in the Transcended¡¯s worldview.

    But¡­

    ¡°I support you, senior.¡± Annan¡¯s tone was calm and sincere.

    ¡°I think your inclination is correct on this matter. If this ritual resurrects Master Michngelo, then upholding the habitual thinking for safety and ruining the ritual without thinking will be an overly conservative move.

    ¡°We are all ordinary people, and we are all mortals. All mortals make mistakes. That is to say, the practice of ¡®aversion to all rituals¡¯ will be wrong at some point. So why don¡¯t we let the revolutionary moment be now?¡±

    ¡ªThere was no doubt that Annan¡¯s words had the sophistry of a child in them.

    No adult would take the words of a child seriously. No matter what the child was talking about, it was undeniable it was a form of guessing.

    Taking risks while relying on guesses was by no means a wise move.

    But Salvatore wanted to believe Annan¡¯s words from the bottom of his heart.

    In other words, he had already nned to do this at the start. He justcked an excuse.

    ¡°Thanks, Don Juan.¡±

    Salvatore took a deep breath, ¡°Then, I will stay in the basement when I go back and prepare a batch of pre-conversion agents urgently. When the fifth day is approaching, could you notify me in advance? I will make a batch of useful reagents on the same day. Thank God, I brought enough material with me beforeing to the Freezing Water Port.¡±

    Salvatore looked at Annan and asked in uncertainty, ¡°After five days, will you apany me back to Roseburg?¡±

    Annan looked like he didn¡¯t want to ruin the resurrection ritual.

    But for Salvatore, as long as Annan didn¡¯t intervene, it should be enough. He didn¡¯t expect Annan to apany him on taking risks.

    His shadow told him the same thing. Although the risk of failing his n was not significant, once his spection went wrong, the price was not something he could bear. Losing the title of ck Tower¡¯s Son was a minor issue. It was possible to be expelled or wanted if the loss was heavy.

    ¡ªSalvatore still wanted to give it a try.

    Master Michngelo was undoubtedly a great person in this world. His value was much higher than that of a useless person with no talent. If he guessed wrong in the end, then Salvatore would even off his life, release the shadow, and escort the civilians to escape safely.

    ¡°Don Juan¡¯s¡± wisest choice was not to follow him.

    That was the logic.

    But, Salvatore still hoped that he could hear Don Juan¡¯s opinions when making decisions.

    ¡°Of course I wille. This is not the same as letting Master Bishop go and assess the situation. It is dangerous for you to go there. If I advocate that you take the risk and yet I don¡¯t support you, I¡¯m no different from an insolent wretch.¡±

    Annan went beyond Salvatore¡¯s expectation and just replied leisurely, ¡°Notify me at that time.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a little curious about one thing, senior. I hope you can answer it for me.

    ¡°Do you participate in this troublesome matter just because ¡®It is a good thing to resurrect Michngelo?''¡± Annan asked. His eyes shone with curiosity.

    Annan was already nning to get involved, but he was also curious about Salvatore¡¯s standpoint.

    In Annan¡¯s analysis, Salvatore must be hiding something in his heart.

    Otherwise, based on Salvatore¡¯s character, he should first persuade Annan not to go and then decisively choose to apany Annan on the adventure after Annan refused. Salvatore¡¯s proactive stance seemed inexplicable. Regardless of Annan going or not, he had nned to witness the unknown and great ritual established over several years.

    Annan was curious about the answer.

    Annan¡¯s joys in life included peeping into others¡¯ secrets while keeping his personality hidden.

    Salvatore was silent.

    He was thinking¡­ Or rather, he was also asking himself.

    Finally, Salvatore spoke with a firm tone, ¡°Part of the reason is about Mr. Nottdamm. I am a little worried about him, and I always believe that he is not a viin. My instinct tells me this.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t judge whether a person is good or bad based on my spection alone. I must use my eyes to see for myself, my ears to hear for myself, and my heart to judge.

    ¡°If he isn¡¯t a viin, then he must be distressed now. He needs help, but when you look around, everyone wants him to die. Even if he did nothing wrong¡­¡±

    It was the same as what he said on the carriage.

    When Salvatore said this, he paused slightly.

    He raised his head and stared at the carriage¡¯s roof.

    It was as if looking at someone in his memory.

    Salvatore whispered as though he was in a dream, ¡°How can I turn myself away in the face of someone else suffering?¡±

 Chapter 131: Affection Rate Store

    <h4>Chapter 131: Affection Rate Store</h4>

    When Delicious Wind Goose hurried back home and entered Mist Continent again, it was almost dark.

    He found that Wandering Child and Lin Yiyi stayed in their room, drank tea, ate snacks, and watched the live broadcast.

    Noticing that Delicious Wind Goose woke up, Wandering Child nced over with disgust.

    ¡°You¡¯re slow, Old Goose. You¡¯ve been offline almost the whole day.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not a Wind Goose, but a clumsy penguin.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s more like a delicious fried goose.¡±

    Wandering Child and Lin Yiyi mocked in conjunction.

    Delicious Wind Goose was a little bit ashamed and furious, ¡°Fuck off, you two. I¡¯m going to see Mr. Chen.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Chen?¡±

    Wandering Child was a little surprised, ¡°The one who was demoted from a higher position to a lower position on our tform?¡±

    Everyone had their circles.

    The three of them were more familiar with each other. On the one hand, the three of them did well in games. They would not drag each other down, and they even hadmon topics. Another reason was that the three of them now lived in Shanghai. It was convenient for them to get together offline.

    The two people, Delicious Wind Goose and Wandering Child would often meet before entering a game. Even though one yed card games and the other yed MOBA games, their ages were still close, and they were all popr streamers.

    Eighteen of the forty yers in this first batch of the closed beta were streamers from the Fighting Cat Streaming tform.

    These yers had a few acquaintances who had good gaming skills in their real life.

    But none of them were able to receive the closed beta invitation.

    It was a pity.

    Among the Eighteen Arhats (18 Top Trending Streamers) on this Fighting Cat Streaming tform, the most popr streamer was certainly Delicious Wind Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose was a well-known card game streamer. While ensuring the entertaining vibe of the stream, he could still stably demonstrate his skills. In a particr card game¡¯s ranking, he had consistently ranked within the Top 50. The most notable feature was when Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t y ording to the game¡¯s meta [1], but a loyal ¡°warrior¡± ss deck yer. He even participated in the professional league. His highest achievement was attaining the Top Four.

    He persisted in the warrior ss deck because of his habit of being a warrior when ying MMORPG in the past.

    Moreover, in reality, Delicious Wind Goose was a fan of armorerbat sport. He was at a high level, almost able to participate in thepetition with various countries.

    His anchor was indeed the warrior profession.

    It was fair to say that Delicious Wind Goose was the core streamer of the card game genre in Fighting Cat Streaming tform. His poprity had stably retained at the Top Five.

    Compared with half-dead streamers like Wandering Child (Child God) and Glutinous Rice Balls (Jiu Er), Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s poprity in streaming granted him significant influences.

    The influence was probably enough to affect the tform executives.

    Wandering Child¡¯s expression turned a little serious for a while.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the demotion?¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud. He patted Child God on the shoulder, ¡°Old Chen! It¡¯s Beer Chen, your former esports teammate!¡±

    ¡°Fuck?!¡±

    Child God was shocked, ¡°I know he has a good family, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be so good. No wait, I have to find him to alter my contract!¡±

    Although it sounded like a joke, Delicious Wind Goose nodded in agreement, ¡°You should, Child. I have already told Old Chen that our group of people who had entered the game ¡®Mist Continent.¡¯ Those streamers in the Fighting Cat Streaming tform should alter their contract since they need to reduce the streaming hours every day.

    ¡°I have already altered my contract. My daily required streaming hours have been reduced by half. That game¡­ No, the work of exploring and growing in that world is much more important than our streaming work.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I understand.¡±

    Child God nodded thoughtfully, ¡°Then I will publish a post on the forum and tell them.

    ¡°Thanks, Old Goose.¡±

    ¡°Nothing. You will face this problem sooner orter. We can¡¯t procrastinate on this. Let¡¯s resolve it early.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose sighed, ¡°But just to avoid his sry being lowballed, I told Mr. Chen about Mist Continent.¡±

    ¡°How much did you reveal?¡±

    ¡°About half of it. I used the narration of VR games, and we are alpha testing the games. I kept the rest of it a secret.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose shrugged and said helplessly, ¡°If I tell the truth, people will not believe it.¡±

    ¡°En, that is reasonable.¡± Wandering Child nodded.

    To be honest, if Old Chen was not one of the closed beta yers¡­ If someone told him that clicking on a mobile app could directly project his consciousness to the other world, he would not believe it.

    ¡°However, he promised to keep it confidential for us. From the look of it, he seemed to believe it. At least he showed deference to me or probably you too. He won¡¯t push our sry down too much. The required stream time for every month is reduced to half. The contract fee is temporarily deducted by only a quarter. If the durationes back to normal after one year, the previous contract will be recovered. Otherwise, if our streaming duration remains halved, the sry will be reduced to half.¡±

    It was more like taking an extended vacation.

    Within a year, the sry was only reduced by a quarter while the streaming duration was halved. Old Chen¡¯s attitude seemed sincere.

    Delicious Wind Goose added, ¡°However, the premise is that we have to increase the penalty for job-hopping or signing contracts withpetitors. Moreover, if there is other information about Mist Continentter, we should contact him as soon as the confidentiality period has ended.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡±

    Wandering Child agreed, ¡°If this game can generate an invitation code, I will be the first to give it to Beer Chen.

    ¡°This guy has a much better view of the bigger picture than me. He is witty too.¡±

    ¡°The most important thing is that if we can bring the boss into ¡®that world,¡¯ we can ask for more leave, right?¡±

    Lin Yiyi blinked her eyes and couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    Wandering Child nced at Lin Yiyi with some envy, ¡°Sometimes, I envy you. Your time is free, let alone disappearing for a few days. Even if you go missing for a month or two, no one wille to look for you.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, if I went missing for a month or two, someone wille to look for me.¡± Lin Yiyi retorted.

    ¡°Speaking of it, what about Jiu Er?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose asked curiously, ¡°Why are you both still here? Are there any instructions you need to convey to me?¡±

    ¡°Jiu Er has entered the dungeon instance. Her progress is great. She reveals a new map that we haven¡¯t seen before. I¡¯m guiding her now. Feel free to continue your chatters.¡±

    Lin Yiyi stared at the live broadcast screen in the void and said casually, ¡°We have discussed it and n to have a shift system. We don¡¯t know about the erosion rate yet, but it is better to control it.

    ¡°This dungeon instance is troublesome. We need someone giving instructions outside. Otherwise, it will be too hard to tackle.

    ¡°We challenged the dungeonst night, and you guided us. Then, it¡¯s time for you to enter the dungeon today. Let¡¯s watch the live broadcast and take a rest outside.¡±

    After that, Lin Yiyi pointed to the bread and fruit on the table, ¡°Don¡¯t go out. Hurry up and eat something, drink some water, and lie down.¡±

    ¡°When we are offline, the body here will not umte hunger and toilet needs,¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Otherwise, I think I might have wet the bed now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Old Goose. One more thing.¡±

    Wandering Child suddenly asked, ¡°Don Juan is back. We haven¡¯t messed with that affection rate store just in case. We¡¯re all waiting for you to have a look. Do you have any suggestions?¡±

    ¡°Then I don¡¯t want to enter the dungeon instance. I can¡¯t ess the forum in the dungeon instance.¡±

    Speaking of the main business affairs, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s expression became serious, ¡°You should visit the store. Your affection rate is the highest, right? Then you can see most of the features.

    ¡°No matter what is in the store, don¡¯t be rash. Remember to take a screenshot, post it and let me take a look.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wandering Child nodded in response.

    [1] Most effective tactics avable during that point in time.

 Chapter 132: I Actually Can Buy An Invitation Code!

    <h4>Chapter 132: I Actually Can Buy An Invitation Code!</h4>

    Wandering Child walked directly to Freezing Water Port city lord¡¯s residence.

    The other two yers on guard duty looked at Wandering Child and let him enter directly.

    The two yers did stand straight on guard professionally with their eyes sharp and their expressions solemn.

    But their minds wandered off, watching the live broadcast taking ce in the forum.

    Being able to subconsciously make a solemn expression while the mind wandering elsewhere could be an extraordinary talent in a sense.

    But beforeing, Wandering Child had already published a post announcing his first experience trying out the newly opened affection rate store function. Therefore, the two yers were much more alerted and waited patiently for a long time.

    After entering the city lord¡¯s residence, Wandering Child saw Annan in the living room drinking tea and reading the newspaper, as if he was living an elderly retirement life.

    Somewhat unexpected¡­ It¡¯s almost time for dinner, but the Wizard Salvatore with panda eyes like Gaara isn¡¯t here.

    This is strange.

    At this time, shouldn¡¯t the former mayor also read and hang around this ce?

    Wandering Child vaguely felt something was amiss but didn¡¯t overthink about it.

    The yers didn¡¯t even know what kind of trouble Annan and Salvatore encountered during the eight hours while they were offline.

    Wandering Child approached and greeted Annan respectfully, ¡°Feudal lord.¡±

    Annan raised his head slightly and noticed that it was the Wandering Child. He gave a lighthearted smile, ¡°It¡¯s you. Have a seat. You don¡¯t have to stand up and talk.¡±

    ¡ªThis was naturally from Annan¡¯s acting skills.

    After all, Wandering Child had already achieved the affection rate (1200/1500), so Annan naturally had to make a trusting expression.

    It could be regarded as real-life role-ying, and it sounded pretty high-end.

    By the way, Annan hadn¡¯t decided what the next level of affection rate should be called.

    After friendliness is followed by trust, right? What¡¯s the level should I call after trust?

    In short, I just need to have as many levels as possible.

    Annan liked the way the yers tried their best to increase the affection rate. However, in reality, the yers sumbed to an endless grind [1] to earn the NPCs affection rate.

    I don¡¯t need to worry too much about this.

    After all, Annan would soon take away their affection rate back.

    ¡°Um¡­¡±

    Wandering Child sat aside, tangled.

    He didn¡¯t know what he should say to activate the affection rate store.

    Annan smiled and pretended to be an NPC to see what else this group of silly kids could do.

    In the end, Wandering Child couldn¡¯t help but apply for off-site assistance.

    He nced at the post he posted and read, ording to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s guidance, ¡°Feudal lord, I have already felt it. Our Freezing Water Port is facing some hardships and dangers. I am eager for more power so that I can¡¯t serve you more.

    ¡°Although the nightmare will greatly improve our strength, we are now in some predicament.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What kind of predicament is it?¡±

    Annan¡¯s expression became slightly serious, ¡°Do you want me to offer you advice?¡±

    Wandering Child froze for a moment.

    He nced at the post and quickly replied, ¡°Yes, feudal lord. I think you will know more about gallery nightmares. At least you will know better than us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do have more secret information here.¡± Annan nodded slowly.

    He nced at Wandering Child and muttered in a low volume, ¡°Let me think about what kind of help I can give you.¡±

    As he said, words suddenly appeared before Wandering Child¡¯s eyes.

    Wandering Child quickly activated the video recording:

    [Free medical assistance (consumption of 100 affection rate, limited to friendly and above)]

    [Learning the history of Freezing Water Port 10/10 (consumption of 200 affection rate, limited to friendly and above)]

    [Learning the political rtionship between the Noah Kingdom and Austere-Winter Dukedom 5/5 (consumption of 500 affection rate, limited to friendly and above)]

    [A decent job with stable ie 5/5 (consumption of 500 affection rate, limited to trusted and above)]

    [Important information about Painter Amos 1/1 (consumption of 1000 affection rate, limited to trusted and above)]

    [Taboo! Secret knowledge about the Venerated Skeleton 3/3 (consumption of 1200 affection rate, limited to trusted and above)]

    [Taboo! Advanced knowledge about Transcended profession 5/5 (consumption of 1500 affection rate, limited to trusted and above)]

    [Limited! Freezing Water Port resident identity certificate 40/40 (consumption 2000 affection rate, limited to trusted and above)]

    What the hell is thest option!

    Wandering Child was taken aback.

    The 2000 affection rate¡­ I can only get it after maxing out my affection rate. It will empty out my affection rate and put me at the bottom immediately.

    This is even more expensive than the Transcended profession intelligence¡­

    Earning knowledge with the affection rate store is too expensive! Why are there 3/3 and 5/5? Does it mean that it can be sold multiple times? Or does it mean that everything you say is iplete every time?

    Can the product be out of stock?

    Do I need to wait to get the information I want?

    But soon, Wandering Child reacted.

    The information sold in this affection rate store should assume that the yers wouldmunicate and share information.

    In other words, this information was not bought by one person.

    It was something the yers collectively wanted and bought together.

    Those yers who watched the Wandering Childlive broadcast quickly reacted.

    Delicious Wind Goose immediately said, ¡°Buy the information about the painter! You can only afford this. As long as we can get theplete information, we won¡¯t lose the affection rate!

    ¡°No, Child God. Ask what exactly is the resident identity certificate!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose reacted quickly and corrected it.

    Wandering Child opened his mouth and asked probingly, ¡°Feudal lord, what if I say I want a resident identity certificate?¡±

    Annan raised his head and looked at the Wandering Child in doubt.

    His attitude became a little colder, ¡°Do you want to invite people you know to Freezing Water Port? I have no problem with that. I can even give them a proper identity. But I don¡¯t ept anyone. I need a guarantor.¡±

    As Annan exined, a prompt shed before Wandering Child¡¯s eyes:

    [The current affection rate is not enough to purchase a resident identity certificate (Freezing Water Port).]

    [Please try to purchase the closed beta invitation code after umting more affection rates.]

    After an abrupt silence, the yers¡¯ forum exploded directly.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    ¡°Fuck! Child God! You¡¯re so smart!¡±

    ¡°What! I can buy an invitation code!¡±

    ¡°Can I buy forty slots? Is it limited to one purchase per person?¡±

    ¡°Teach me how to earn affection rate! I want to bring my wife in too!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off to whoever posts thement above me!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Fuck Off!¡±

    Ignoring the chaotic forum, Wandering Child hesitated for a long time. Is it the priority to buy the secret information that guides for progression, or continue to save the affection rate and buy the invitation code directly?

    In the end, Wandering Child finally made a decision.

    If it were ten years ago, Wandering Child might choose to continue to save up the affection rate to buy the invitation code or use it to buy intelligence to gain Transcendence.

    But, he had a brighter idea now.

    Anyway, he didn¡¯t have any friends he wanted to bring into this game.

    It was better to gain early advantages and contribute to everyone.

    ¡°I hope you can tell me important information about Painter Amos.¡±

    Wandering Child asked Annan seriously.

    Annan nodded, ¡°Sure.¡±

    -Damn, if I don¡¯t point it out directly, these dummies don¡¯t know that this was an invitation code.

    As the nner, Game Master, novice guide, and faction leader, Annan cursed in his heart.

 Chapter 133: The Second Dungeon Run

    <h4>Chapter 133: The Second Dungeon Run</h4>

    ¡°Painter Amos¡¯s full name is Amos Morrison. He believes in a false deity whose name cannot be said. I won¡¯t say anything in particr. I think you have an idea in your heart.¡±

    Annan¡¯s expression became slightly serious, and he said softly, ¡°Painter Amos sacrificed his daughter, Elle Morrison, to the false deity.¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, the yers¡¯ attention went elsewhere else,

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton? Why does it sound like a counterfeit of the Lich King¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªLich King (like Mist Continent).¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen, this is not Amos. This is Arthas.¡±

    (TN: Warcraft reference)

    ¡°-But Amos didn¡¯t kill his dad.¡±

    ¡°¡ªElle: My father, from the day I was born, all the Freezing Water Port fish were whispering your name, Arthas.¡±

    These yers like to make up nonsense.

    Annan nced at the bullet text and almostughed.

    To avoidughing, his expression became more serious, ¡°This is a story that happened forty-five years ago. In fact, Elle Morrison was originally called Elle Buckel. When she was seven, her mother, ra, remarried. Elle¡¯s surname changed to Morrison at that time.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t mention the death of Elle¡¯s biological father.

    This was the news Annan saw in the newspaper, but this information wasn¡¯t verified yet. As for now, none could be sure that it was 100% true.

    After all, Annan had already seen the man named Buckel in the hidden ending, which Lin Yiyi revealed.

    Not only was he not dead, but he was also an Edict Wizard.

    Annan could only reveal information he could be certain of and reveal the correct plot to the yers.

    It helped avoid the trouble for the yers stuck in the wrong direction so that Annan didn¡¯t need to send anonymous bullet texts and babysit the yers.

    ¡°But after all, Elle and Amos are not rted. For a youngdy, the tall Amos with a good figure is irresistible, especially because he is also a well-known painter.¡±

    Annan paused slightly when he said this.

    He turned his head, pretending to be a little bit shy and innocent, and said softly, ¡°So it¡¯s reasonable for them to have a child¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªUh-huh.¡±

    ¡°¡ªFuck, wait?!¡±

    ¡°¡ªThings just went south!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat a father!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, they aren¡¯t blood-rted.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAlthough not rted by blood, Elle is still underage, right?!¡±

    ¡°¡ªI suddenly wanted to call the police¡­¡±

    Hearing such a piece of breaking news, the bullet text in front of Wandering Child exploded instantly.

    Thements were threefold just now!

    So Annanmitted the subsequent bomb, ¡°But Elle¡¯s child wasn¡¯t given birth, but miscarried at six months.

    ¡°If you reckon it back, Elle¡­ En, the date of her having a romantic rtionship with Amos should happen during her sixteenth-years-old birthday.¡±

    Wandering Child was startled slightly.

    He immediately remembered the dungeon instance he had tackled early that morning.

    ¡°In the dungeon instance level of ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison,¡± it seems to be the day when Elle celebrates her sixteenth birthday?¡±

    Doesn¡¯t that mean¡­

    Thinking of this, Wandering Child quivered.

    Luckily I ran fast enough.

    ¡°About a month after Elle¡¯s abortion, she suddenly disappeared. After a while, her body pieces were found hiding inside the Morrison Gallery¡¯s frame and mixed in paint too.

    ¡°The fetus corpse was made into a specimen. It was stored in the gallery¡¯s basement.

    ¡°In addition, in the Morrison Gallery¡¯s basement, there are still some corpses of wanderers, including a well-known art critic, Sir Absalom gg.¡±

    Annan exined, ¡°A long time ago, he was a critic of Morrison¡¯s paintings. But more than half a month before Elle¡¯s birthday, he suddenly became an avid supporter of Morrison. Four months after Elle¡¯s birthday, he went to Freezing Water Port to participate in Mr. Morrison¡¯s painting exhibition. That is the time when Morrison¡¯s Gallery was founded.

    ¡°But he did not arrive and disappeared. His body was found in the basement, so there is reason to suspect that Morrison didn¡¯t only kill Elle.

    ¡°Later, when the officials seized Morrison Gallery, they found a very dangerous Ball of Flesh burning with colorful mes. This Ball of Flesh brought huge destruction. Even if Transcended assisted the officials, they suffered heavy casualties.¡±

    The bullet text paused and then ran rampant:

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the level which Sister Hyphen revealed? That hidden level?¡±

    ¡°What! That Ball of Flesh is the fetus?¡±

    ¡°It seems to be called Angelo.¡±

    ¡°Hey, am I the only one who cares about Elle? Such a beautiful girl ended up in this fate! I feel so heartbroken!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off with your heartache. She isn¡¯t fond of you anyway.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all the information that I can tell you.¡± Annan took a deep breath after the long narration.

    Annan looked at Wandering Child with a serious expression, ¡°You can share this information with them. But you can¡¯t tell outsiders. Many of the information can¡¯t be revealed to the public. If I found a leak, then you shall take full responsibility for that. Do you understand?¡±

    After Annan finished speaking, a prompt box appeared in front of Wandering Child¡¯s eyes:

    [This information¡¯s confidentiality level is ¡°secret¡± and is allowed to spread among the yers. In case of an information leak, part of the affection rate will be deducted.]

    Upon hearing this, Wandering Child nodded, ¡°I understand.¡±

    He really understood the repercussions.

    In the morning, there was some confusion in the dungeon instance. After receiving Annan¡¯s information, the Wandering Child was suddenly enlightened.

    However, Wandering Child was still vaguely confused.

    He still remembered that he had a clear feeling of a foreign entity in his body and chills in his abdomen after waking up back in the dungeon.

    Is that a fetus?

    That seems so impossible.

    Elle can¡¯t have the fetus take shape in one day even if cheat is turned on, right?

    Or¡­

    That fetus doesn¡¯t belong to Morrison, but the Venerated Skeleton?

    Wandering Child wanted to ask what exactly was ¡°the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    But unfortunately, his affection rate was used up.

    For the rest, I should have myrades resolve it.

    On the other side, Delicious Wind Goose pondered.

    After a long thought, he nodded thoughtfully.

    ¡°I got it.¡±

    He murmured, ¡°I think that we canplete the level this time.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Uncle Goose.¡±

    Lin Yiyi waved her fist from the side, smiled, and cheered, ¡°If youplete the dungeon, I will treat you to seafood tonight!¡±

    ¡°Do you have money?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was a little surprised.

    Lin Yiyi shrugged, ¡°Jiu Er said it. If she is not the first to clear the dungeon, she will bring us to have seafood barbecue, crab barbecue, beer, and whatnot.¡±

    ¡°She looks confident.¡±

    When Delicious Wind Goose heard Lin Yiyi¡¯s words, heughed, ¡°Well, reserve the table!

    ¡°She dares to enter the dungeon so early. I¡¯ll tell that idiot girl the importance of intelligence!¡±

    After Wind Goosemented that, hey down again, closed his eyes, and said softly, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    ¡°I am listening.¡±

    The low and hoarse voice sounded the moment his sentence ended.

 Chapter 134: Gallery: Feast For The Hungry

    <h4>Chapter 134: Gallery: Feast For The Hungry</h4>

    Soon after Wandering Child left, Annan put away the book in his hand.

    He didn¡¯t n to read it in the first ce.

    He just wanted to appear ¡°I¡¯m busy, don¡¯t bother me¡± so that these yers wouldn¡¯te over and chat or request a mission.

    Why do the yers keep bothering me? I don¡¯t know what to do as well.

    Annan sigh.jpg

    Annan made himself a cup of tea, brought a te of pastries, closed the door, lit themp, and leaned against the bed happily.

    Salvatore stayed up all night in the basement to prepare the reagent. Annan felt uneasy as he watched the live broadcast and ate snacks at the same time.

    It might be due to the thinning conscience deep down in Annan¡¯s heart was struggling desperately.

    But still, Annan opened up the live broadcast happily in the end.

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡°

    Annan realized that Jiu Er seemed to be in a dungeon instance he hadn¡¯t seen before.

    ¡°Ha¡­ha¡­ha¡­¡­¡±

    Jiu Er panted heavily, leaning against the wall and looking back vigntly.

    She wasn¡¯t using Amos¡¯s body this time.

    It was the body of a homeless man who was about fifty years old and had a haggard-looking face.

    Who is this? Where is this? Annan was a little surprised.

    Annan quickly skimmed through the bullet text history, then selected Jiu Er¡¯s live broadcast video. Then, using the bullet text as the timeline reference point, he fast-forwarded the video and watched it for a while. Soon, he realized what happened.

    Annan quickly understood what was going on.

    Jiu Er entered this dungeon through the nightmare¡¯s second level.

    In theory, it was the simplest level in the whole nightmare.

    Its name was [Gallery: Feast For The Hungry].

    The way to enter this level was simple. However, many people couldn¡¯t calm down and think under ¡°Brother Sledgehammer¡¯s¡± pursuit.

    Jiu Er realized that that tomato might be the critical prop [1].

    But it wasn¡¯t within reach. If the dungeon challenger went to the next level, they might not be able toe back.

    In other words, the item critical to grab the tomato must be on this level.

    So after she put on the blood-stained windbreaker, she turned back.

    ¡ªIndeed, she turned back.

    Seeing the crack in the wall smashed by the sledgehammer, Jiu Er walked directly in. It was the entrance to the ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison¡± on the third floor.

    Within that ce, she found a long bloody dagger.

    Then Jiu Er turned back again. She found that with the dagger in hand, the tomatoes could be taken away.

    She originally wanted to go to the third floor like this, but she turned back for the second time due to the peer pressure from the bullet text.

    This time, there seemed to be nothing at the end of the passage.

    With Jiu Er holding a dagger and tomato, when she approached the falling chandelier, the death g here was removed.

    Yesterday, other yers had explored this location.

    But when they turned around and approached the falling chandelier, countless shadows under the chandelier dragged them in, allowing the chandelier to tear them into pieces. It was all due to theck of the critical item: Tomato.

    However, when Jiu Er returned with the tomatoes, the shadow did not appear.

    After that, she moved a little closer and triggered the cinematic graphics (CG).

    In real-time, it just so happened that Jiu Er was put under a chase. Hence, there was nothing else noteworthy.

    ¡°Let me stick through the CG cutscene.¡±

    Annan did not hesitate to y the CG part of the video.

    It was different from experiencing CG by himself previously.

    Annan was now observing painter Amos from a third-person perspective from the shoulder.

    Amos wore a white robe stained with blood, holding a tomato in one hand and a knife in the other. He slowly approached the falling chandelier under the gaze of countless portraits.

    Amos staggered, but he was not as scared as he was in the third level.

    Annan saw Amos staring under the chandelier, breathing heavily.

    It was like looking at something that ordinary people couldn¡¯t see.

    Finally, he sighed in a low volume, ¡°Sorry¡­¡±

    As Amos spoke, with a trembling right hand and a knife, he slowly cut a slit on the tomato in his hand.

    Only then did Annan notice-

    The extra rosy tomato was full of bright red sma.

    It was like a fountain, with a steady stream of blood pouring out. Amos raised it high with his trembling left hand.

    The blood ran down his arm and dripped on the floor. The shadow under the chandelier was like a living thing, sipping the blood on the ground.

    The blood contained in the tomato was dozens of timesrger than its volume. The volume was like the blood of several adults.

    Finally, the tomatoes gradually dried up.

    On the innermost side, thereid a tongue.

    The tongue and the skin of the tomato cut in half seemed to form a mouth, resembling a smile.

    ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡± Annan heard the girl¡¯s deepughter again.

    It was exactly the sameughter he heard when Annan was on the second floor before Brother Sledgehammer attacked him!

    Only this time, theughter was more evident, as if it sounded right behind him.

    The shadow finally sucked up the blood on the ground under the chandelier.

    Wait, it was notpletely sucked up.

    There were still traces of it.

    The leftover blood squirmed on the ground and formed a string of intermittent words,

    ¡°Look¡­your¡­back¡­¡± Amos read it out. Immediately, he breathed in cold air while panic struck. He shivered and looked back subconsciously.

    At the end of the corridor where he had just walked out was radiating a disturbing blood-red re.

    Since the chandelier fell, the wall where the portraits were hung became dim. Somehow, there were some glimmers, at least to the extent that the portrait above him became visible.

    There were portraits of men, women, and children with weird smiles.

    Suddenly, all the portraits became Amos himself!

    All of them became Amos himself, looking up at the dim environment with a panicked face!

    Just like how he was at that moment!

    It was as though there were not portraits but countless mirrors hanging on the wall.

    But unlike the mirror surface, in the countless portraits of him, behind him stood a tall, silent man with a hideous face looking at him.

    ¡­Or, perhaps they are indeed mirrors rather than portraits.

    Amos stayed on the spot, staring nkly at the man holding the hammer within the mirrors, slowly raising the hammer.

    At this time, all the portraits began to burn.

    A circle of scorch marks appeared, burning away the ¡°Amos and Brother Sledgehammer¡± on the surface, revealing another painting underneath.

    It was a homeless man with shabby clothes, a lean face, rough skin, and a skinny body.

    The despair of life could be seen in the homeless man¡¯s eyes.

    White and sacred hand filled with hope and gratitude was reaching into the portrait.

    At that moment, Amos¡¯s eyes met with the homeless man.

    He felt someone pull his hand suddenly.

    He stumbled forward a few steps.

    At this time, the surrounding pictures suddenly changed.

    The main point of view was the homeless man.

    With a decent smile and gentle face, Amos stood in front of ¡°the dungeon challenger¡± and made a polite invitation with his clean and white right hand.

    It was different from ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison.¡±

    Amos had blond hair mixed with his brown curly hair.

    One of his eyes was still deep blue.

    ¡ªThe other eye turned into a beautiful, jewel-like, clear, and charming green.

    ¡°Good morning, sir.¡±

    Amos Morrison was polite and repeated his previous words, ¡°Can I hire you to be my model?¡±

    [1] More details are avable in Chapter 40. Excerpt: There was almost no differencepared to the first visit in the narrow room, except a bloody maroon trench coat hung on the coat rack. In the collection cab on the left, there was one additional¡­ tomato.

 Chapter 135: Hungry Ghost Door

    <h4>Chapter 135: Hungry Ghost Door</h4>

    Huh, this hair and eyes¡­

    Annan keenly noticed Amos¡¯s green and blue pupils that looked like a Persian cat.

    Has Amos obtained part of Elle¡¯s body at this level?

    Annan immediately realized that the timeline of this dungeon instance was chaotic.

    The timeline here should be after June and before November.

    Annan still remembered that there were still many skeletons beside the stillborn submerged in the wine bottle in Amos¡¯s basement. Most of these bones came from the ¡°missing homeless man.¡±

    ¡ªThat should be the character that Jiu Er now yed.

    Unexpectedly, this theoretically simpler and less chaotic second-level nightmare was in the timeline a bitter than the third level.

    But it still made sense.

    The Level -1 nightmare that could be entered from the firstyer was the ending already.

    In terms of the timeline, Level -1 was of ater timeline. Before the dungeon challenger could enter the memory segment, Brother Sledgehammer would have ended the challenger¡¯s life and gave a big GG [1].

    Unfortunately, when Jiu Er entered the nightmare, she did not get this information.

    Otherwise, she would immediately realize which character she was ying as.

    [You have entered Gallery: Feast For The Hungry (Second Level).]

    [Main mission: Act as the homeless man ¡°Amis.¡±]

    Immediately, small texts appeared below this line:

    [Complete the portrait.]

    [Meet the other three homeless men.]

    [At least one person survived until dark.]

    What does it mean?

    Seeing the side mission of ¡°At least one person survived until dark,¡± Jiu Er shivered.

    She looked up subconsciously. Judging from the brilliance of daylight, it was about noon now.

    Because of her identity as a homeless man, Jiu Er couldn¡¯t determine whether the hunger in her resulted from not eating lunch or not eating several meals. Hence, she couldn¡¯t determine the approximate time bucket.

    Painter Amos in front of her, smiled gracefully and calmly. He reached out a hand to her, ¡°If youe to help meplete a portrait, I will get a hot bath and give you clean clothes. I will take care of your diet for three days. How¡¯s that?¡±

    In all fairness, this was indeed a generous condition.

    ¡ªIf Painter Amos didn¡¯t do those things in secret.

    ¡°But¡­ sir¡­¡±

    Jiu Er imitated the homeless man¡¯s tone and said tremblingly, ¡°I can¡¯t paint¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, you don¡¯t need to paint. You need to stand in front of the canvas and wait for me to paint your portrait. It will be quite fast, about two hours.¡±

    Amos took out his pocket watch to check the time and then smiled refreshingly, ¡°Can you don¡¯t move for two hours? It¡¯s half-past one. It will end around half-past three.¡±

    Jiu Er¡¯s heart sank slightly.

    The portrait would bepleted at half-past three.

    There are still two hours before dark.

    In other words, I will probably not be able to catch up with dinner.

    After the portrait painting, I¡¯m going to be put under pursuit for the next two hours.

    Jiu Er¡¯s thoughts ran quickly in her mind. Soon, she promptly responded, lowered her head, and replied solemnly, ¡°Alright, sir¡­¡±

    Amis (Jiu Er) followed Amos and was supported into the gallery not far away by his shoulders.

    This was arge and magnificent art gallery, probably rented or bought by Amos.

    But seeing the interior decoration of this gallery, Jiu Er¡¯s PTSD struck:

    This gallery had the same gallery interior she just walked through!

    The only difference was that there were two spiraling stairs on both sides of the circr gallery. At the end of the gallery, the door where yers enter the next level every time was in the direction of the exit.

    Jiu Er thought of something.

    Could it be Amos wanted to escape from the gallery?

    Fortunately, this ce was unlike the eerie and gloomy gallery in the nightmare.

    Not only was the light bright here, but there were also some elegantly dressed guestsing in and out, stopping in front of some portraits.

    They were not surprised when they saw Amos bringing in a homeless man with a foul stench. They just greeted Amos warmly,

    ¡°Master Amos!¡±

    ¡°Master, good afternoon!¡±

    ¡°May Silver Sire bless you, Sir Morrison.¡±

    Amos just smiled and returned the greetings, ¡°En, hello.¡±

    His figure was tall and straight; his smile was elegant and calm, seemingly exuding dazzling confidence. Once he appeared, he had be the focus of the audience.

    He even seemed a bit¡­ unlike a mortal.

    If he and other painters appear at the same time, the crowd will notice Amos at first sight. Even those who didn¡¯t know Amos could realize immediately that he was an honorable guest at first nce.

    The strong self-confidence aura in him was like a star who was always surrounded by fans.

    In the dream¡¯s third level, Amos, the amiable father who painted Elle, was no longer a human.

    After leaving the crowd, Amos asked Jiu Er gently, ¡°You haven¡¯t been wandering for long, right?¡±

    Jiu Er was shocked, almost shivering.

    She calmed down and tried her best not to panic, ¡°You¡­ How did you know?¡±

    ¡°Because I see hope in your eyes.¡±

    Like a poet, Amos whispered in a melodious tone, ¡°Such a beautiful light¡­ It will not appear in the eyes of people who havepletely lost hope in life.¡±

    Looking at the bewildered Jiu Er, he smiled and exined naturally, ¡°When you see my guests, you will feel curious and want to explore their identities. When you see my paintings on the wall, you will want to understand what¡¯s within.

    ¡°This shows that you still have hope for this world. Truly desperate people don¡¯t care about anything anymore.¡± Amos sighed slightly.

    He raised his head a little mncholy, not knowing where to look.

    His gaze was profound, and his pupils with different colors seemed to show a captivating, magical charm.

    Or, perhaps they were all an illusion.

    Amis and Amos went to the fourth floor. There were no guests at that ce. It seemed that this ce was not open to the public. There was an iron door between the third and fourth floors, which could only be opened with a key.

    This fourth floor should be Amos¡¯s studio. This ce was more like a luxuriously decorated living room than a studio.

    There were luxurious carpets, sofas, and wooden furniture in warm colors. Some toys could be seenid in the corner of the room, but no children were ying with them.

    On the tea table next to the hall, three men in white robes and slightly longer hair sat together with a somewhat formal expression, chatting in a low volume.

    They looked happy when they saw Jiu Er. A younger man waved to Jiu Er.

    ¡°They are friends who came before you to help with my painting.¡±

    Amos followed Jiu Er¡¯s gaze and exined, ¡°This is my grand n¡­ feast for the hungry.¡±

    With that said, Amos walked to the wall and pulled away from the heavy red cloth to both sides.

    Many huge paintings were on the wall.

    In the painting were men with shabby clothes, withered faces, and hungry eyes. They looked out of the painting in different postures. Some were lying on the ground; some curled up in the corner; some bent over, squatted, and stretched their necks to look forward; some squatted on the ground, like a dog.

    It was noticeable at first nce they were all homeless.

    Among them, there were three paintings with the people on that painting look the same as the three white-robed men chatting over there.

    Just seeing these paintings, the three of them shuddered and couldn¡¯t help but turn their heads away. They dared not look at their portrait.

    Jiu Er felt a little short of breath for a while.

    The person in the painting was not beautiful, but it was unforgettable.

    Even the bullet text was silent for a moment.

    These were not paintings at all but souls.

    When Jiu Er first saw it, she even thought it was a huge window. These people were looking at themselves outside the window in a chaotic space. It was as if these people were reduced in size, staring at and assessing giants outside the window.

    Just looking at these paintings was enough to feel intense and iparable fear.

    Jiu Er was even in a daze. She could see these people trembling slightly, wailing silently, drooling, staring at her in hunger.

    These people within the paintings were like living things.

    Like those hungry and evil spirits-

    [Erosion rate: 3%]

    [1] The abbreviation yers tend to say at the end of the game, meaning Good Game.

 Chapter 136: Black Frame

    <h4>Chapter 136: ck Frame</h4>

    Just by staring at the nted and huge portraits on the wall, Jiu Er felt a chill crept upon her spine.

    She felt that her consciousness seemed to be immersed in water, and it became difficult to breathe. The surrounding air turned scorching as if she was stewed.

    Under the intense anxiety, her bones crunched. It was like an iron bar attracted by a ma. Her bones wanted to break out of her body and cast on those oil paintings.

    ¡°¡­Hungry¡­¡±

    ¡°I want¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Absolutely¡­ stop¡­¡±

    ¡°Flee¡­immediately¡­¡±

    In the hot air, Jiu Er heard fine whispers, seemingly many people were whispering to themselves in low voices at the same time. In the end, she couldn¡¯t hear anything.

    ¡°What¡¯s your choice?¡± Amos¡¯s clear voice sounded behind Jiu Er.

    At the moment when Jiu Er heard him, she woke up instantly from the hallucinations.

    Under that short illusion, she noticed that her erosion rate had risen silently by 3%.

    ¡°While you¡¯re enjoying the fine experience, you lost three points of sanity.¡±

    ¡°Wait, does everyone who sees this painting have their erosion rate increase? Isn¡¯t it unavoidable to have the erosion rate rise every round? Isn¡¯t this level too dangerous?!¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo, I think it will only rise the first time we see it¡­or maybe it won¡¯t happen anymore.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAm I the only one who didn¡¯t feel the horror of this painting?¡±

    ¡°¡ªTo be honest, I also¡­¡±

    As Jiu Er¡¯s erosion rate increased when she looked at the picture, the yers watching outside became rowdy, and bullet text was posted continuously.

    ¡­A bunch of bastards.

    You are just bullying me that I can¡¯t interact with you now¡­

    Seeing a group of bullet texts thatughed at her barraging, Jiu Er was annoyed.

    She had made up her mind.

    No matter what, she would scam all these bastards into this nightmare as long as she could get out alive!

    This live broadcast couldn¡¯t convey the fear she had just now.

    I need to make them all take a look at this painting personally!

    Jiu Er believed that if the other yers had their erosion rate increased, they would help bring other yers in.

    She muttered in her heart and replied in a low volume, ¡°Very¡­very shocking.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you still use the word shock¡­¡± Amos was surprised.

    He couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    Obviously, this homeless man wasn¡¯t brown-nosed or pretending to give a sincere evaluation, which delighted him.

    Amos walked up to Jiu Er and asked casually, ¡°What is your name?¡±

    ¡°¡­Amis, my name is Amis.¡±

    Jiu Er endured nausea that had not yet dissipated, recalled the earlier moment, and replied.

    Fortunately, the time was not long.

    Although interrupted, Jiu Er could still remember the ¡°name.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Amis. Stand in front of the frame.¡±

    Amos whispered. His voice was calm and confident, ¡°I will make you famous all over the world.¡±

    After Amos said that, he held the homeless man¡¯s shoulder and pushed him forward.

    Jiu Er vaguely felt that the person in the painting sprayed his hot breath on her face.

    She shivered and looked at that wall. But at this moment, she couldn¡¯t feel the burning sensation again.

    That wall wasposed of at least 17 portraits of different sizes. Its lower right corner had an empty frame.

    No, strictly speaking, it should be called a ¡°ck frame.¡±

    Within the frame, the paper wasn¡¯t painted entirely ck.

    The bottomyer looked like the shadow on a wall corner. It didn¡¯t seem like a painting when ced in the corner of the wall. Rather, it was a dark gate leading to the abyss.

    In other words, it seemed like a picture frame that initially housed a portrait, and the person inside had escaped.

    ¡°Stand here, Amis.¡±

    As Amos spoke, he took out the ck frame behind Jiu Er.

    On the contrary, after pulling out the picture frame, Jiu Er noticed that pitch-cky behind this painted frame. The dark and dull wall was revealed.

    It was like being smoked by charcoal.

    The creepy, uneven, and bottomless pitch ck was creepy.

    Subsequently, Amos put the frame on the shelf not far in front.

    He strode back again, leaning on Jiu Er¡¯s body and crouching slightly, trying to look forward.

    After that, Amos stepped back and looked up and down but still smacked his lips in dissatisfaction.

    He pondered for a while. From the nearby wall, he took out an empty shelf that was used to house those frames.

    ¡°Give me one hand and hold this shelf¡ª Yes. Make the other hand slightly curled up. I want that timid feeling. Slightly raise your head as if looking inside. Imagine that you are supporting yourself on a window and look inside.¡±

    Amos exined carefully to Jiu Er.

    Hearing this, Jiu Er already understood what kind of posture Amos wanted.

    ¡ªIt gave off the feeling of a naughty kid looking into the toy store through the transparent ss window.

    Seeing Jiu Er¡¯s new posture, Amos¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it. Don¡¯t move. Keep your posture¡­ Imagine that you are hungry and inside the window is food just served in someone else¡¯s house.¡±

    With that, Amos quickly began painting.

    But what happened next was different with the portrait painting at the nightmare¡¯s third level shown in Wandering Child¡¯s stream.

    Jiu Er originally thought that this was just a test of endurance. She would pass as long as she stayed motionless.

    But after Amos began to paint¡­

    Jir Er felt a strong difort.

    She wanted to move, but her body was imprisoned and couldn¡¯t move at all.

    Bullet text gradually realized that something was wrong.

    The homeless man, yed by Jiu Er, became more and more real. It was like there really was a hungry homeless man lying by the window and peering inside.

    It wasn¡¯t something that ¡°acting¡± could aplish.

    It didn¡¯t even look like an actual homeless man anymore.

    Because a real homeless man would never have such clear emotions on his face. The mixture of timidity, hunger, greed, and malice was an abstract homeless man image that only existed in painting art.

    For the broadcast viewers, they could see Amos¡¯s hand moving quickly toplete the painting.

    It was almost like a digital printer. Without any hesitation or amendment, Amos continued to paint quickly as if he was not painting ording to an image but embodied the image already formed in his mind into reality.

    The bullet texts were amazed by Amos¡¯s art.

    Annan had witnessed it before when Amos painted a portrait for Elle.

    But these yers hadn¡¯t seen it before.

    At that moment, the homeless man painted by Amos was more exquisite than Elle¡¯s portrait.

    As the portrait gradually took shape, Jiu Er felt that her body was still unable to move, her consciousness steadily blurred, and everything in front of her was elongated.

    At this moment, she heard Amos¡¯s warm and soft whisper sounded in her ears,

    ¡°You¡­

    ¡°Are you hungry now?¡±

    At the next moment, Jiu Er lost consciousness without any warning.

 Chapter 137: Sin

    <h4>Chapter 137: Sin</h4>

    When Jiu Er woke up again, the portrait waspleted.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Amis. Come and take a look at the portrait I drew for you.¡±

    The warm and confident voice of Amos suddenly sounded beside Jiu Er.

    The homeless man was taken aback, raised his head, and looked around.

    The homeless man found out that Amos had appeared behind him, pushing the painting back to its original position.

    The other parts of the painting were covered under a red cloth. Only this small ce was exposed and allowed for Jiu Er to see it in person.

    Jiu Er took a closer look at the exposed part of the painting. She realized that Amos had not drawn the prop shelf into it.

    There was a homeless man with messy hair and shabby clothes. One hand reached forward, and another curled under his ribs. His eyes were mixed with confusion and cruelty; his hunger and malnutrition could be seen from his shriveled ribs and sunken abdomen.

    He stood there crouched, giving the impression of a hungry wolf standing up.

    His eyes were green!

    Jiu Er looked at the homeless man as if he was about to step out of the painting in the next moment. Although the homeless man in the painting was theoretically her, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel crippling fear.

    She even seemed to see the homeless man¡¯s eyes moved slightly in the painting!

    It gave off a feeling like she was walking alone in a dim alley, noticing that a strange man followed her through the shadow which a streetmp projected.

    It wasn¡¯t that Jiu Er was afraid of ghosts.

    ¡ªBut she was more afraid of humans.

    For no reason, Jiu Er was panic-stricken¡ª

    She almost screamed out loud.

    But she managed to muster up her reasoning to force her voice back into the throat.

    Jiu Er just smiled awkwardly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why but I¡¯m a little¡­a little scared¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright, Mr. Amis.¡±

    Amos smiled confidently, ¡°I want this feeling. Your portrait will be ced together with other people¡¯s portraits. This is a set of paintings. I want to use them to express homelessness like you; the hunger and helplessness of the unfortunate people. Presumably, this will also get people to pay more attention to the rights and interests of the homeless. It will be more helpful to your future life.¡±

    Shut up with hunger and helplessness¡­

    This is horror, evil, and untrustworthy!

    Jiu Er almost retorted out loud.

    But she thought about it carefully. Anyway, she was not Amis. So there was no point arguing with Amos.

    ¡°Yes, you are right.¡±

    Jiu Er lowered her head in humiliation and said submissively, ¡°This is indeed an outstanding masterpiece¡­¡±

    It was like those in customer service apologizing despiteining in the heart.

    It felt so low and humble.

    Though, Amos was very satisfied with this answer.

    Painter Amos asked Jiu Er, ¡°Would you like to try¡­ looking at this group of paintings? The paintings you saw before have part of it missing, which cannot fully express the emotion I want to express in this group of paintings. Your painting is thest of these eighteen portraits.¡±

    ¡°¡­No, no, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    This will hurt my health.

    Jiu Er immediately refused.

    Her instinct had been frantically alerting her to avoid it.

    Jiu Er¡¯s keen intuition told her that if she saw theplete set of paintings ¡°Feast for the Hungry,¡± she might die here or go crazy directly.

    Then, she suddenly recalled something.

    She asked respectfully, ¡°Master¡­ Excuse me, what time is it?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡±

    Amos looked up at the clock in the room and gestured with his chin, ¡°5:10 in the afternoon. Are you hungry?

    ¡°Let me prepare food for you?¡±

    He said this to the three homeless men in white clothes as well.

    Then, Amos smiled at Jiu Er and replied, ¡°Would you like to take a shower first? The bathroom is over there. There are clean clothes in it.¡±

    Having said that, he didn¡¯t wait for Jiu Er to reply and left straight away.

    ¡°Tchi¡­¡± Jiu Er smacked her lips in disgust.

    Should I take a bath?

    To clean this dirty and smelly homeless man¡­

    Even the bullet text had expressed their aversion,

    ¡°I should head off now, bye-bye.¡±

    ¡°Brother, remember to notify me when she finishes bathing!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. If the video here can be sent outside, I would like to record the ¡®female streamer Fermented Rice Ball bathing video¡¯ and post it on the Inte. But, when they click on the video, they will find that it is an old homeless man¡¯s movable 4K Ultra HD Video with a 360-degree view.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I have called the police!¡±

    ¡°Who is this pervert? Come forward! Don¡¯t just send bullet text and hide! Go to the forum and publish a post about it!¡±

    Before the bullet texts further upied jiu Er, the three homeless men in white robes rushed to Jiu Er¡¯s side after Amos left.

    ¡°Uncle Amis! Why are you here too!?¡±

    It was the youngest of the three who spoke.

    Of course, he was the youngest, but he was already about the mid-20s.

    ¡°Fuck, you still run into acquaintances in this situation?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s normal. These are all homeless men from the Freezing Water Port. This ce is already small, and it¡¯s normal to know each other.¡±

    Jiu Er was silent for a while and didn¡¯t reply. Of course, she couldn¡¯t reply because she didn¡¯t even know the name of this person. At this time, the eldest man grabbed the shoulder of the homeless man ¡°Amis¡± a little nervously, lowered his voice, and asked, ¡°Did you feel something wrong?

    ¡°Just now, did you feel that your body could not move at all?¡±

    ¡°¡­You¡¯ll felt the same too?¡± Jiu Er was surprised.

    She just thought she was in a CG.

    She didn¡¯t expect others to feel this way simrly.

    ¡°¡­I feel something is wrong.¡±

    The old man sullenly said in a low volume, ¡°Don¡¯t eat¡­ too much tonight. Remember to stay awake and don¡¯t fall asleep.¡±

    He originally wanted to say, ¡°Don¡¯t eat.¡±

    But he hesitated and changed it to ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much.¡±

    Because he also understood Amis¡¯s difficult situation.

    They had not eaten till full for a long time.

    If someone promised to give them three days¡¯ worth of food and then let them die, these homeless men would agree after some hesitation.

    They were all ¡°useless people,¡± after all.

    It was the youngest homeless man who didn¡¯t care at all, ¡°What are you scared of? I¡¯ve been here for three days. It isn¡¯t warm and cozy. I¡¯m about to leave now¡­ Look. Did anything happen to me?

    ¡°You are old and cowardly. If Master Amos wants to harm us, do you think we can escape? Or can the police believe it after we go out?

    ¡°Do you think our lives are more precious or the master¡¯s?¡± The young man was critical of his words.

    But what he said was the truth which the rest couldn¡¯t refute.

    After a brief silence, thest person said, ¡°What the senior said is that we should be more cautious.¡±

    The one who spoke was a homeless man who appeared to be fifty years old and had a haggard face. His ent was weird and sounded like an out-of-towner.

    He was the most normal-looking person among the four people, including Amis. After putting on his white pajamas, he did not look like a homeless man but a tired clerk.

    The young man shook his head disapprovingly.

    ¡°It will be three days in total. Do as you please. Forget it; I¡¯ll go to the bathroom. Uncle Amis, don¡¯t take them too seriously.¡± He said, leaving the room first.

    His intention wasn¡¯t really to go to the toilet, but more like avoiding the chatter with the rest.

    Jiu Er was also a little surprised.

    This young man¡¯s behavior did not look like a homeless man.

    In other words, the four people present were not strictly like homeless men.

    Jiu Er was silent for a while, then asked in a low volume probingly, ¡°Up to now, we can only work together.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it. What are your identities? Don¡¯t lie to me. Everyone should be able to see through it.¡±

    After Jiu Er said this, there was a sudden silence.

    The middle-aged man said slowly, ¡°You¡¯re right. Then, let¡¯s start with me.

    ¡°I¡¯m a murderer.¡±

    The older man was startled when he heard it.

    He looked up at the middle-aged man, then at Jiu Er.

    After a long silence, he also said, ¡°I¡­ was a murderer.¡±

 Chapter 138: Hourglass Corridor

    <h4>Chapter 138: Hourss Corridor</h4>

    ¡ªAre you a murderer?

    ¡ªCoincidentally, you are also a murderer?

    Jiu Er was stunned for a moment in the conversation.

    Is this a coincidence?

    Or is it inevitable?

    At this moment, a scene suddenly shed in her mind.

    ¡°She¡± looked inward through the window and was shooed away.

    ¡°She¡± took a knife and got in through the window.

    The knife was dripping with blood, and the body fell to the ground. ¡°She¡± held a heavy bag of silver coins in her hand and smiled triumphantly.

    She smiled sullenly like a hungry wolf.

    ¡ªThis ¡°self¡± was the homeless man ¡°Amis¡±!

    Worse still, the look of climbing through the window was the same as the posture Painter Amos drew!

    Jiu Er went silent for a while, then replied in a low volume, ¡°Actually, I too¡­¡±

    Hearing Jiu Er¡¯s expected answer, the middle-aged man and the old man came into silence.

    The three of them were rendered speechless for a while.

    They didn¡¯t know whether to trust each other or not.

    But Jiu Er knew that if she didn¡¯t tell the truth at this time, the other two would grow suspicious of her. So, to belong here, she would even say ¡°Me too¡± even if she did not kill someone.

    Jiu Er looked at the rest and recalled the painting that belonged to them both.

    The old man in the painting was not so old yet. He was crawling on the ground and blocking the alley door with vignce like a dog. Behind him was a richly dressed fat man with his throat cut and bleeding.

    The middle-aged man in the painting looked flushed from drinking, holding a stone in his right hand, wanting to smash it forward heavily!

    ¡­Indeed. Jiu Er¡¯s heart sank.

    With no surprises, this should be what they looked like when theymitted murder.

    Did Amos meet them by chance¡­ instead of bringing them here on purpose?

    At this moment, the three of them suddenly heard a miserable wail,

    ¡°¡ªUghah~!¡°

    The sound approached quickly from far to near. But it stopped abruptly in front of the door.

    ¡ªIt was the voice of the young man who just left!

    The three of them looked at each other. Then, Jiu Er and the middle-aged man walked to the door as soon as possible.

    But soon, Jiu Er realized that the old man hadn¡¯t followed, so she looked back.

    The old man¡¯s first reaction was finding the empty wooden shelf that Jiu Er was supporting her. After holding it firmly with his hand, he kicked it hard. Then, after a few more violent pulls, the old man got himself two long wooden sticks with broken short handles.

    He saw Jiu Er approaching and paused slightly.

    The old man looked at Jiu Er with his squinted eyes and silently handed the other weapon over.

    He leaned over to Jiu Er and didn¡¯t look at her but whispered, ¡°You go ahead. I will guard you from the back.¡±

    Jiu Er nodded.

    She naturally knew that this old man was not a kind soul. Having the old man goingst was risky.

    But even if she knew it in her heart, she shouldn¡¯t retort at this time.

    Because after learning from each other that the three were murderers, the trust between them was already shaky.

    Jiu Er¡¯s mission goal was to let at least one person live until dark.

    The difference she had from Wandering Child was¡­

    In her mission, there was no such thing as ¡°survival.¡±

    In other words, as long as one person escapes, it will be her victory.

    ¡ªEven if that person was not her.

    ¡°Death by Daylight¡­¡± Jiu Er murmured.

    She didn¡¯t like ying this game because fear always got her, and then she lost her mind.

    But she never expected that after she entered a horror game, yet she would be able to maintain her sanity. Instead, she started thinking and acting quickly and even reacted faster than her usual self.

    Are human¡¯s potential forced out like this?

    At this moment, Jiu Er heard the door opening sound.

    That middle-aged person should have the best physique among them.

    He tried very hard to open the door, pulling and pushing. The wooden door made a pitiful muffled noise. He even pushed open a small slit several times, and then the door closed again. It was like being hung by a slender and fragile door bolt or someone on the other side wanting to close the door desperately.

    Suddenly, the middle-aged man¡¯s movements stopped.

    Because the three of them all heard the eating sound from outside the door.

    The man munched happily, eating and drinking.

    It even became noisy as well.

    Just listening to these actions made Jiu Er¡¯s stomach even hungry.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    The middle-aged man asked vigntly.

    But the people outside seemed to ignore himpletely, still wolfing down the food.

    Unable to bear the pressure of fear, the middle-aged man couldn¡¯t help but open the door.

    But the moment he pushed the door¡­

    The sound outside the door suddenly disappeared.

    In front of them, it was not the hall. To be more precise, it wasn¡¯t the original hall¡­

    It became a long corridor that was pure red. Small paintings were hung on both sides. There was a wallmp in between the paintings for each section on the wall.

    Jiu Er just was about to go forward, but the old man stopped her.

    She looked down and saw a puddle of blood at the door. In the corridor, there was also a lot of blood ticking on the ground.

    Jiu Er boldly squatted down and touched it.

    She noticed that the blood was warm.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going there!¡±

    The middle-aged man, who looked courageous previously, was frightened up; he screamed and backed away, ¡°If you want to go, you go!¡±

    Jiu Er and the old man persuaded the middle-aged man for a while but to no avail.

    The middle-aged man made up his mind that he won¡¯t leave.

    The two of them looked at each other and decided to go out and have a look.

    They locked the middle-aged man in the house and left him alone in the room, with each wielding a wooden stick.

    ¡°¡­Look at the painting.¡±

    The old man squinted his eyes and whispered to Jiu Er.

    Jiu Er assessed her surroundings.

    Many picture frames were found hanging on both sides of the corridor, depicting the same person.

    ¡ªIt was the young man who just left.

    Every painting had a subtle difference.

    It seemed to be a few seconds apart. Then, the duo noticed the young man was running forward quickly.

    The paintings on both sides were like cameras with timed continuous shooting mode, and the young man¡¯s every move was branded into the painting.

    Blood fell on the floor in the middle of each painting intermittently.

    Jiu Er and the old man walked forward side by side cautiously. One was on the left, and the other was on the right, tacitly avoiding the bloodstains in the middle.

    But they went far away, and nothing happened.

    It was just that the paintings on both sides were getting scarier.

    Blood seeped from the painting¡¯s back, flowing downward.

    The more they went forward, the more blood would be stained. The young man in the painting gradually turned into a running clump of flesh and then gradually turned into a skeleton.

    The duo walked to the end with trepidation.

    But suddenly, the duo discovered that the door at the end was fake.

    It was a painted door on the wall, a fake door!

    This end of the corridor was the midpoint of a T-shape!

    Looking to both sides from the fake door¡¯s location, the duo noticed two different corridors and two half-open doors.

    Just as the two of them were discussing in low volume how to leave, a scream suddenly came from behind them.

    It was the middle-aged man¡¯s voice!

    But when Jiu Er turned around, she was taken aback.

    The paintings on both sides became portraits of ¡°Amis¡± and the old homeless man smiling sinisterly!

    The paintings near the two of them became bloody. Jiu Er could vaguely see that the portraits in the distance seem to be quite normal.

    At the next moment, the lights in the far end of the long corridor suddenly began to go out in pairs.

    The candlelights across the corridor extinguished slowly at first, and then it got faster and faster.

    In the blink of an eye, the duo was engulfed in total darkness.

    Before Jiu Er screamed, the candlelights suddenly lit again.

    At the end of the corridor, it became the fake door of the T-shaped corridor again.

    It was as if they just left the room and hadn¡¯t gone anywhere.

    It was just like¡­

    An hourss that was turned upside down.

    Jiu Er looked to both sides and found that she was back to where she started. There were no passages at all on both sides. Behind her was not a wall with a painted door but a door with door handles and gaps.

    It was as if they moved back to the door of the studio where the middle-aged man screamed just now.

    But at this moment, the door behind them was closed tightly.

    The old man tried vigorously to open the door, but he couldn¡¯t open it at all. It was like someone on the opposite side shutting the door desperately.

    Suddenly, Jiu Er heard the sound of liquid flowing.

    Bright red blood began to overflow from the door¡¯s crack.

    Like saliva¡­

    It was little at first, but then the blood seeped out violently, pouring out from all the door¡¯s crack as if to drown everything.

    ¡°¡ªUghah~!¡°

    The old homeless man was so frightened that he screamed and ran towards the false door at the end without looking back.

    Because he knew-

    Although it was a fake door, there should be this T-shaped corridor end revealing two passages!

    From there, there might be a way to escape!

    Jiu Er originally wanted to run with the old man.

    But she suddenly saw a line of bullet text,

    ¡°Howe the old man ran like that young man?¡±

    Wait, will all this be an illusion?

    Jiu Er was alerted.

    So she didn¡¯t run forward.

    Instead, she ignored the sea of ??blood that reached waist level. Then, she reached out her hand and carefully touched both sides of the wall.

    Although she felt something, she calmed down and was no longer afraid.

    Because it didn¡¯t give off the sensation of the wall.

    It felt like touching the drawing paper.

    And it was hollow too.

    What happened could have been a projected illusion.

    ¡°You fucking know how to mess with us!¡±

    Jiu Er finally couldn¡¯t stand it. She cursed out loud, venting the fear and anger in her heart.

    She no longer hesitated, raised the wooden stick, and poked it hard against the wall!

 Chapter 139: Racing

    <h4>Chapter 139: Racing</h4>

    Jiu Er only attacked twice and easily pierced a hole in the wall.

    At a nce, she noticed that it wasn¡¯t the typical hole on the wall.

    Rather, it showed signs of punctured ¡°paper.¡±

    The moment Jiu Er stared at the hole, she suddenly felt a trance.

    After a brief period of absent-mindedness, only darkness remained in the corridor. However, it wasn¡¯tpletely dark this time. She could vaguely see the sunset lighting in through the paper.

    It appeared like having the TV screen drilled through.

    The sea of ??blood, previously poured out of the door crack and submerged her halfway through, had disappeared at some point.

    ¡°¡­What the hell?¡±

    Jiu Er looked back at the door that was pouring out blood.

    But she was stunned for the next moment.

    Because she finally saw what it was-

    Yes, it was indeed a door painted on the wall.

    The blood that gushed out was also painted on the door!

    But it seemed to be some kind of strange paint. Only when one caught a glimpse of it could realize the proper form. Any long stares would result in the disguise being hidden.

    The picture frames on both sides of the corridor were also drawn; the bloodstains on the ground were also drawn.

    Even the two rows of lights were drawn too.

    This was not a narrow corridor but a space formed by two rows ofrge, standing papers!

    Jiu Er¡¯s first reaction was to look at his fingers. When he first went out, he had touched the blood on the ground to check on the blood temperature.

    At that time, she should have left some bloodstains on her hands. At the very least, there should be some residue in the nails.

    But, there was nothing in the end.

    On the contrary, there were traces of red paint on her pants.

    Undoubtedly, all that had happened was nothing but an illusion.

    After the three homeless men went out, everything they saw was an illusion.

    With merely some graffitis, it put Jiu Er into an extremely real illusion.

    She could even feel the warmth of blood!

    She indeed felt and used the door handle. Moreover, she felt the blood pouring from the door crack and even the textile sensation of the wall.

    It wasn¡¯t until she had doubts in her heart that she touched it again. Only then, she verified that it was but a piece of paper.

    But the problem was if these were all fakes, illusions, and special effects, did everything ceases to exist?

    The humans I meet should be real, right?

    Where did those three people go?

    Jiu Er looked at the way she came and was lost in thought.

    ¡°¡ªMy God! Magic Pen Amos!¡±

    ¡°¡ªMaster Amos, please draw me a girlfriend.¡±

    ¡°¡ªMaster Amos! Quickly draw me a dozen girlfriends (ridiculous high pitch).¡±

    ¡°¡ªMaster, you are the master. I¡¯m deeply impressed. Please do me a few favors.¡±

    ¡°¡ªMaster Amos, do you have any ns to work in thepany?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI gotta say this. All of you are disgusting.¡±

    Finally, when no one was around, Jiu Er couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Are there no admin and moderator?¡±

    Nonsense! How could that be?

    Seeing this, Annan couldn¡¯t help but retort, ¡°I¡¯m the super moderator here!¡±

    It¡¯s just a pity this super moderator is busy¡­

    Annan thought about it, then closed his mouth again.

    In the subsequent footage, there was nothing worthy of Annan¡¯s special attention.

    Jiu Er did not turn back but broke through the ¡°wallpaper¡± and escaped.

    It wasn¡¯t until ten minutester that Amos found that the boundary he had set was broken. He let out an angry shout, wielded a silver revolver, and looked for Jiu Er¡¯s traces.

    In fact, Jiu Er didn¡¯t run away but was nearby.

    Because she realized that since Amos needed to use an illusion to intimidate them, it meant that Amos could not control them all. After she broke through the wallpaper, Amos did not realize it for a long time. This told her that Painter Amos was incapable of monitoring them at all times.

    So Jiu Er turned back after escaping.

    She hid in a nearby cab.

    Fortunately, Amos was rtively blind. After he took out the gun, he hurried to the fourth floor.

    This also made Jiu Er realize that the stairs leading down to the second floor might have disappeared.

    After Amos left, she hurried over.

    As predicted-

    The spaceyout in the hall was all upside-down and chaotic.

    Jiu Er ran around but did not find the stairs leading downstairs. The illusion should have hidden it, but Jiu Er still couldn¡¯t crack it for a while.

    When Amos finally went downstairs, she found a ce to hide again.

    ¡°¡ªThis feels like Dead by Daylight gamey.¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo way, this hunter is too noob, right? But, with such loud footsteps, I think I can deal with it easily.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBrother, this ghost has a gun¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªErm, that¡¯s true too¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s okay. The goal is to stall time. Hiding in the cab is enough to tackle the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s just a peekaboo game.¡±

    After this was the beginning of the footage.

    After Amos went downstairs, Jiu Er quickly ran to the fourth floor.

    She panted hard, leaning against the wall and looking back vigntly, lest Amos woulde back again.

    Annan checked the time.

    It was already 5:35 p.m. Jiu Er was being evasive and kept finding different spots to hide. Finally, Amos started to wonder whether Jiu Er had escaped.

    If without any idents, the search should go on until dark.

    ¡ªSo the winning condition was to wait until the sky went dark?

    ¡°Everything should be alright. It seems that Jiu Er will be able to clear the dungeon tonight.¡±

    Annan whispered approvingly and posted his first bullet text for that day:

    ¡°¡ªYou can do it! Big brother with a prosthetic leg!¡±

    ¡°This is a picture frame, not a prosthetic leg!¡±

    Jiu Er was so annoyed, ¡°Do you still want to see me on prosthetic leg?!¡±

    But by this time, Annan had closed Jiu Er¡¯s live broadcast room.

    He was multitasking, watching the live broadcast while reading the forum.

    Many posts popped up in each refresh; these posts shared Delicious Wind Goose being efficient in tackling the dungeon. There was a high possibility of him passing the level without losing any life too. He should be the first one among the yers to clear the dungeon!

    Did he go onler than Jiu Er but progress faster?

    Is the information I gave you so helpful?

    Annan clicked on Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s live broadcast room with great interest.

    The title of his live broadcast was arrogant and concise:

    ¡°If I don¡¯t clear the dungeon, I won¡¯t go offline.¡±

    ¡°Cool, he has quite the courage¡­¡±

    Annan eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see yers racing against each other in pioneering the game.¡±

    I miss the thrills.

    Annan noticed that Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t choose the recently discovered second-level nightmare with a more straightforward strategy.

    Instead, he walked the old path which Wandering Child headed ¨C the third nightmare.

    ¡°Let me exin how to enter the fourth-level nightmare. I have studied for a day. I can clear this level. If I die on the fourth level, don¡¯t say that Uncle Goose is trash. This is a new map. In my next life, remind me that I have already done the opening once,¡± said Delicious Wind Goose confidently.

 Chapter 140: Dual-Slot Mode. What A Comedy!

    <h4>Chapter 140: Dual-Slot Mode. What A Comedy!</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t have any fear when he saw the hanging frames with weird chuckles.

    While walking slowly, he exined at the same time,

    ¡°I watched your live broadcastst night.

    ¡°I noticed that some of you also want to go to the fourth level nightmare. But why can¡¯t you make it? The reason is simple. While you are moving forward, you will not know where to go when you are halfway down the path. The sledgehammer who appeared suddenly caught up with you like a teleport.

    ¡°There seems to be only one way, which is to enter Elle¡¯s dungeon. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said and walked to the opened window.

    He took the letter outside the window.

    But he didn¡¯t read it right away, nor looked back.

    Instead, he closed the window immediately and put the lock up carefully.

    As he turned his head, the lightning fell at the same time.

    The hanging picture frames had also be corpses hanging from the beams!

    But Delicious Wind Goose did not look up.

    He did not look out the window, nor did he look at the corpse. Instead, just holding the letter and remaining on the spot, he said in a low volume, ¡°I watched all the third level nightmare videos, and now I fully understand the mechanism of this level.

    ¡°This level has a timer mechanism.

    ¡°Brother Sledgehammer is rtively slow. He is not a ghost, and he can¡¯t go through walls.

    ¡°From the time the wind blows and opens the window, Brother Sledgehammer will appear behind you in forty-three seconds. I watched all the videos three times with a stopwatch in my hand. So I won¡¯t be mistaken even for a second.

    ¡°At this time, there is a small chance that you will be able to run through as long as you continue to run at full speed. But this will worsen the injury. You will enter the next floor at minimal health because the corridor on this floor has been lengthened. Forty-three seconds are not enough for you to reach the next level. That¡¯s how you died.¡±

    ¡°Child God was hammered to death by the window because he read the letter on the spot. Worse still, he kept turning back and forth, which wasted too much time.¡±

    As soon as Delicious Wind Goose finished his sentence, his shadow elongated.

    So Delicious Wind Goose stopped hesitating, jumped forward, and started jogging.

    Brother Sledgehammer was behind Delicious Wind Goose and smashed the window with a hammer.

    But since Delicious Wind Goose jumped forward, this hammer could not directly crush his head.

    With the wall as obstacles, Brother Sledgehammer couldn¡¯t catch up with Delicious Wind Goose like he was indoors.

    Brother Sledgehammer could only be silent, hammering the ss and the wall to pieces. But, he struggled to turn over and jump indoors.

    Seeing this, Annan had already understood Brother Sledgehammer¡¯s train of thoughts.

    Since Brother Sledgehammer would always spawn behind him, Delicious Wind Goose targeted a ce where ¡°there was light behind him¡± and ¡°the opponent could attack him even across obstacles¡± while he stuck close to the wall.

    In this way, Brother Sledgehammer would get stuck outside the house.

    Delicious Wind Goose, relying on the abrupt light of the lightning outside the house, dodged away when the hammer fell. Some yers did escape the first hammer strike. But their bodies were injured, and they couldn¡¯t run fast enough. Brother Sledgehammer could easily catch up and deliver another hammer strike.

    But ¡°Brother Sledgehammer¡± couldn¡¯t go through walls.

    He was just an ordinary Edict Wizard without the ability to strengthen physical fitness. He only had a mighty curse vessel sledgehammer.

    This meant that it was difficult for him to get in from the window.

    Whether he walked around from the front door or parkoured in through the window, it would give Delicious Wind Goose time.

    With that, Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t have to bear the pain and run wildly.

    Using the time that Brother Sledgehammer was dyed, he could instead jog forward at a slower speed with a smaller price to pay. At the end, when Delicious Wind Goose entered the next level, his health would inevitably be higherpared to other dungeon challengers running at full speed.

    ¡°This middle-aged yer may be a genius.¡±

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up a little, and he murmured.

    It had almost been a week since the closed beta started.

    The yers had not yet embarked on the Transcended path.

    However, several of the forty yers Annan initially selected had already begun to show their prominence.

    Everything went ording to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s n.

    He ran to the corner smoothly. Brother Sledgehammer was still some distance away from him.

    Just in case, he didn¡¯t investigate anything. Instead, he just jogged forward. After all, he could investigate when he watched his video recordingter.

    The yers and Annan, who were watching the live broadcast, saw what was there.

    There was another diary on the disy cab where the tomato was ced.

    Annan could tell at a nce that it was Elle¡¯s diary in the nightmare!

    So, that¡¯s the case. Annan suddenly realized.

    If Delicious Wind Goose was greedy, he could grab the diary and run.

    In this case, even if he didn¡¯t enter the third-floor nightmare, he could still learn the most critical information from the diary.

    But Delicious Wind Goose still yed safe.

    In other words, he subconsciously chose a more cautious and safe approach to tackle the nightmare.

    This was different from the other three front-line yers who pioneer their path in the nightmare.

    As Delicious Wind Goose opened the door and rushed over, he entered the fourth nightmare.

    He was the first to sessfully entered the fourth level of the nightmare, even after considering Annan.

    At this ce, there was a sudden change.

    ¡°¡ªWait? Isn¡¯t this ce?¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, Uncle Goose, don¡¯t go forward in a hurry!¡±

    ¡°¡ªFuck, is this dual-slot mode [1]?!¡±

    ¡°¡ªDual-slot mode. Such fatality.¡±

    The bullet text had such a big reaction because many of them had watched Jiu Er¡¯s live broadcast.

    After Delicious Wind Goose pushed open the door on the third floor, it was no longer the previous hall that appeared in front of him.

    It was a deep passage.

    ¡ªIt was the T-shaped passage that Jiu Er just smashed!

    Both sides of the passage were dark red, and the ceiling and floor were light browns. But there was still a heavy red carpet on the ground. This ce seemed to have only read at first nce.

    Two lights next to Delicious Wind Goose went lit, illuminating the small area around him.

    Other than that, there was nothing else¡­or rather, nothing could be seen.

    Delicious Wind Goose also realized that something was wrong, ¡°Why did you all overreact?¡±

    ¡°¡ªFermented Rice Ball also entered this map in the nightmare on the second floor!¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis is all fake, an illusion! Mutter ¡®this is fake¡¯ in your heart, and try to see if you can push the wall away?¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo! The illusion should be the second level that happened in history. This is a nightmare. Maybe it¡¯s real¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªOld Goose, you are in a T-shaped corridor. When you get to the innermost side, there are two forks on the road. Once you reach an end, there may be dangers once you turn around. Blood will rush out through the door¡¯s cracks.¡±

    The bullet text frantically advised Delicious Wind Goose.

    The strategies flooded Delicious Wind Goose.

    Annan also sent a bullet text over and maneuvered Goose as if he was the controller for the Goose w Machine:

    ¡°Old Goose, take a look at the content of the letter. Is there any difference from what Child God saw?¡±

    [1] A method ofmunication between a Nintendo DS game card and a Game Boy Advance game cartridge by inserting both into the same Nintendo DS system.

 Chapter 141: The Alive Gallery

    <h4>Chapter 141: The Alive Gallery</h4>

    Seeing the bullet text sent by Annan, Delicious Wind Goose was startled.

    Then he quickly reacted.

    Yes, it is vital.

    ¡°This friend is smart. He is not bound by cognitive inertia [1]. I¡¯m half as witty.¡±

    Old Goose casually praised, ¡°I didn¡¯t read the letter just now. I subconsciously thought it was the same as the letter which Child God had gotten. But it is a new environment. I really should recheck it¡­¡±

    With that, Old Goose opened the envelope.

    The envelope was still a fragment of Elle¡¯s diary.

    Under the usual operation on Dungeon Memorizing [1], Delicious Wind Goose had already realized it.

    The diary mentioned that ¡°Amos¡¯ paintings were hung on the wall and looked like corpses outside the window.¡± It was already a psychological suggestion.

    After Wandering Child read this letter and then looked back at the corpses in the hall, he realized that ¡°the painting turned into a corpse.¡± It was precisely because of the foreshadowing of this letter that the sense of fear became more intense because of the ¡°anticipation.¡±

    This was a technique used in many horror games and horror movies.

    The producer would mix some fragmented information in the main message and give it to the audience, using curiosity and fear to mobilize the audience¡¯s attention.

    For example, the audience who ¡°suddenly see bloodstains¡± would be nervous. ¡°People who see those with their heads down from the back¡± would subconsciously want to investigate it. They would want to know what was within when they saw ¡°a group of people gathered together.¡± After finding the ¡°closed cab¡± and entering the ¡°closed space,¡± you would want to know what was inside.

    This principle had a simple application.

    In the early years, there were some scary pictures or media that became popr on the Inte. Generally speaking, they all had a lengthy suspension. When the camera zoomed in at the end, the ghost would suddenly appear.

    This was because when it was focused, the audience would be subconsciously curious about it. That was why people felt the horror when they saw the jumpscare, rather than being in a daze. There was no doubt that thetter situation would significantly dilute the sense of fear.

    The same principle was true when a ghost suddenly haunts when the victim turned around after reaching the end. The same went for opening a door into a new and unfamiliar space. It was precisely because the sense of curiosity was aroused that a person would be exposed to those terrifying elements in a sensitive state.

    Only those who have read this letter felt the fear of the painting bing a corpse. When the shadow changes, the victim would immediately think ¡°someone was outside the window¡± instead of thinking they saw it wrongly.

    But, there was a problem.

    This letter was on the fourth level. It was supposedly useless.

    It might be the key to take away the diary in the cab, just like on the second level where the knife was the key to take away the tomato.

    If the tomato represented food and blood, and the knife represented cutting and death, then the diary and the diary fragments must also indicate something.

    ¡ªWait, not only that.

    What if the dungeon challenger got a knife in the second level but didn¡¯t enter the nightmare of the second level¡­ but directly entered the third level?

    On the third level, if the dungeon challenger had a weapon in their hands, the situation against the Brother Sledgehammer would turn out better.

    If the dungeon challenger was lucky, they might be able to repel Brother Sledgehammer once.

    Delicious Wind Goose murmured,

    ¡°Yes¡­Yes¡­

    ¡°If you get the clothes on the first level and the knife on the second level, then you can put the knife in your clothes. If you just walked forward without hesitation after taking the diary, you can let Brother Sledgehammer directly appear behind you.

    ¡°¡ªAt this time, the distance between you and Amos allows you to injure this enemy with a knife!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was suddenly enlightened.

    Annan also realized what Old Goose meant.

    ¡°¡­So that¡¯s it, I totally understand now.¡±

    Annan whispered, ¡°The reason there is no nightmare on the first level is that there is nothing in the disy cab on the first level.

    ¡°There is a dress on the coat rack, which implies that there is a ¡°path beyond the nightmare.¡¯ That is the existence of Level -1.

    ¡°The disy cab on the second level is a tomato, and the key is a knife. After the tomato is cut with a knife, a lot of blood will flow out. This implies that the homeless men are tricked into this ce because of the food. Maybe their fate ends up being squeezed into juice like a poor tomato. The tongue in the tomato may refer to Amos¡¯s witty tongue, tricking the homeless men.

    ¡°So, the dark shadows under the chandelier may be the homeless men.¡±

    Annan thought of the blood and ck mud all over the basement in Yiyi¡¯s live broadcast.

    The volume surpassed two people.

    But if all the homeless men who Amos tricked were killed and then thrown into the basement for bloodletting, that blood volume seemed to make sense.

    Annan¡¯s fingers tapped his thigh lightly, seemingly enlightened,

    ¡°The keywords of the third level are diaries and diary fragments. The diary undoubtedly implies the key information at the ¡®study¡¯ pointed out in Elle¡¯s diary. The diary fragments are alluding to ¡®the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual.¡¯ The torn-off pages in the diary undoubtedly heralded the ending of Elle¡¯s eyes and hair being taken away after the ritual was over.¡±

    The core mechanism of this dungeon instance was nothing else but¡­

    The disy cab!

    What was in the disy cab represented the keyword of the nightmare on this level!

    What would be ced in the disy cab?

    Painting!

    After careful thought, Annan recalled the illusion that Jiu Er fell into the second level.

    So those were the reasons why the small dungeon instances were disyed as ¡°Gallery: XXX?¡±

    Because they were actually in the illusion created by Amos¡¯s work¡­

    ¡ªBut, something still didn¡¯t seem right.

    The yers were ying as Amos.

    So this should be Amos entering the illusion he created¡­

    Annan suddenly realized that he, the yers, and the Silver Sire¡¯s priests had overlooked an important point.

    They seemed to subconsciously connect the horror elements seen everywhere in the gallery, a.k.a the dungeon instance, with the sledgehammer who pursued Amos.

    But, what if those terrifying traps were not on the same side as Brother Sledgehammer?

    If the endless gallery was Amos¡¯s means of escape?

    It was a possibility worth considering.

    In the second level, Jiu Er had already shown it to Annan. Amos could control the space in this building at will. He could easily createplex, distorted, and messy architectural structures.

    Amos justcked the means to identify the location of other people.

    Then, an idea suddenly emerged in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Brother Sledgehammer disappeared suddenly when he was on the second level. When he was on a pursuit at the third level, he couldn¡¯t chase into the indoor.

    This might be because thisplicated and terrifying gallery was helping Amos to escape!

    [1] More of a Chinese Terminology in the game. To depict the process of yers meticulously memorizing all the dungeon challenges while dying repeatedly and retrying the same dungeon.

 Chapter 142: â€œDonâ€™t Look Backâ€

    <h4>Chapter 142: ¡°Don¡¯t Look Back¡±</h4>

    Yes, that¡¯s right!

    The more Annan thought about it, the more it was possible.

    Otherwise, why would Amos know the mechanism leading to the basement?

    Why was Amos in the basement without the slightest sense of fear?

    There was only one answer.

    That was, he knew from the beginning that the gallery wouldn¡¯t hurt him!

    It looked dangerous. But Amos just got to keep walking, don¡¯t stop, look back, nor hesitate to move forward.

    Then, Brother Sledgehammer couldn¡¯t catch up to him at all!

    Annan recalled Yiyi¡¯s action.

    He became self-aware that his behavior pattern might be a bit out of the norm.

    After Yiyi noticed that her abdomen was injured, her first reaction was to open her top, making it easier to move.

    Since Amos was injured in the abdomen, the blood-stained coat hung on the hanger had already given some hint.

    In this case, he didn¡¯t leave the gallery but just came in from outside!

    ¡°So, if Amos kept going, what would happen in the end?¡±

    The answer was clear.

    As early as ¡°preset ending¡± to the True Ending, there were already hints.

    Toplete the ritual of the Venerated Skeleton, the condition was to let Amos die and let Elle rebirth.

    In other words, Amos had to alterate (TN: Possibly in rtion to Alteration Magic) Elle, the daughter of Brother Sledgehammer, and sessfully gave birth to the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s heir.

    Also, Brother Sledgehammer shan¡¯t kill the nanny of the deity¡¯s son.

    With that, Amos could survive.

    This was the True Neutral Ending (Normal End). In other words, it was an ordinary ending that had not happened in history and satisfied the wishes of the nightmare owner before his death!

    Every gallery sub-dungeon instance was the kindness retained in Amos¡¯s heart¡­ But, it wasn¡¯t quite urate to depict it as kindness.

    It was more like Amos¡¯s rebellion against the Venerated Skeleton.

    Because the actual nightmare owner was the stillborn child.

    ¡°Angelo¡± had no consciousness and no self-knowledge. His life had not yet begun, and naturally there was no life experience sufficient to construct a nightmare.

    But his parents had.

    In other words, what ¡°Angelo¡± knew should be at least what happened after Elle was pregnant.

    It felt simr to the Nightmare: White Tower, which Annan had experienced.

    People in nightmares were self-conscious¡­

    In the timeline when Brother Sledgehammer hunted down the dungeon challenger, that was the day when the police department joined forces with a particr person to enter the gallery in the original history. Amos, at this time, had already refused to serve the Venerated Skeleton.

    That was why the gallery threatened him, guided him but protected him.

    The power of this gallery came from the Venerated Skeleton.

    Through the prompt of the disy cab, Amos ¡°turned his head back¡± into the illusion he had created, which meant that he had repented.

    Amos entered the gallery as a victim to kill the powerful ¡°Amos¡± assisted by the Venerated Skeleton or ruin Amos¡¯s n. It all indicated Amos¡¯s intention to repent.

    He was Amos.

    He should have a good understanding of hisyout and personality.

    Therefore, he should be able to defeat himself easily.

    Then naturally, a dead baby couldn¡¯t be born.

    The nightmare was interrupted and ended.

    If he failed and was killed by himself, it meant that his repentance wasn¡¯t resolved. His memories would be washed away and start over. The rise in the erosion rate meant that his thinking was getting darker until he finally stopped hesitating and struggling. He would carry out hisst evil deed at thest moment.

    ¡ªThus, the nature of this dungeon instance would be ¡°reenactment.¡±

    This referred to Amos¡¯s constant reenactment of thest day of his life. It was also Amos reenacting his evil deeds over and over.

    ¡ªSo the first reminder of the nightmare was ¡°don¡¯t look back.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t physically turning back.

    It warned Amos not to look back.

    By now, there was no room to repent.

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Annan¡¯s eyes shone lightly as if hitting a realization.

    Just like in the ¡°betrayer¡± nightmare, Annan needed to empathize with John¡¯s mind and know what he was thinking. In the ¡°White Tower¡± nightmare, Annan also needed to put himself into Gerald¡¯s shoes to clear the dungeon sessfully.

    In the ¡°gallery¡± nightmare, Annan had to act as ¡°Amos!¡±

    If Amos¡¯s will were determined and would never look back till the end, the nightmare would bepleted, and the level would be cleared.

    That was the evil ending.

    Simple and convenient.

    As long as the dungeon challenger didn¡¯t look back, didn¡¯t hesitate, and moved forward steadily, there would be no danger.

    But Annan firmly believed that there should be another way.

    A ¡°heroic¡± or perhaps good route!

    Otherwise, the basement ending would be unnecessary!

    But obviously, Yiyi¡¯s performance in the basement ending was not a ¡°good person.¡±

    ¡°¡­I will try to tackle the second nightmare in a while.¡± Annan made up his mind.

    At this moment, Delicious Wind Goose had read the letter.

    The content of the letter was indeed no different from the previous level.

    It was still a fragment of Elle¡¯s diary¡­

    But there was a difference!

    On the back of the diary fragment, there was an extra line of dark red words written in blood:

    ¡°Don¡¯t look back, Amos¡­¡±

    This handwriting was elegant, ¡°They found me¡­¡±

    Annan, who read the diary, could tell at a nce that this was precisely Elle¡¯s handwriting!

    ¡°¡ªNice! There¡¯s a difference in the diary fragment!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAs expected of Uncle Goose. I came to learn the strategy this time!¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe writings are so beautiful. I love it.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen you go and marry the quill. It wrote the words.¡±

    Seeing that the diary had changed, the yers became rowdy.

    There were many intelligent people among the yers.

    Almost all came up with the strategy to ¡°take the props from the previous level and then enter the next level.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose did not discard the letter.

    He just put the paper back into the letter carefully and took it with him.

    ¡°I think there will be new changes with the letter on the next level. Do you believe it or not, friends?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said confidently, ¡°If there aren¡¯t any new changes, I will eat myputer when I return.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAre you the incarnation of the recycle bin?¡±

    ¡°¡ªUncle Goose, you already owe me an Inte cafe.¡±

    ¡°¡ªLet myputer go and eat my files.¡±

    ¡°¡ªGo away and eat the online dwellers!¡±

    ¡°¡ªGo away and eat silly people!¡±

    ¡°¡ªGo away and eat¡­huh? We have a traitor!¡±

    Annan nodded thoughtfully.

    He agreed with Delicious Wind Goose.

    He also believed that this diary might change further after it entered the next level.

    This tone didn¡¯t seem like it was written in the diary previously, but it was revealed instead at that moment.

    It was more like it was written just now.

    Did Elle discover it?

    When did she discover it?

    There was only one answer.

    Someone entered the basement, or the ¡°Elle¡± in the picture frame was found!

    Referring to the news in the newspaper, this should happen at the same time.

    In other words, the people at Freezing Water Port Police Station might have already rushed in.

    Or, they had entered the first floor.

    As for Annan¡¯s consideration, the yers naturally would not know.

    ¡ªUnless the yers pay with their affection rate.

    Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t want to waste time any further. He no longer hesitated but maintained the pace as fast and steady as possible without having his health dropped. Then, he walked slowly forward in this long corridor.

    Heplied with the instructions in the letter and didn¡¯t look back.

    Behind Old Goose, the ground and walls began to decay and ruin at speed visible to the naked eye. The floor cracked in crunching noise, like a fire hound crawling out of hell. It was as if a demon steaming mes crawling out of the floor, slowly approaching behind him.

    Although Delicious Wind Goose did not look back, the loyal and stupid viewers still reported the situation behind him immediately:

    ¡°¡ªRun! A mob spawns behind you, Old Goose!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat is that? A supposedly three-headed hellhound but only has one head?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIs this a nightmare?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYour nightmare has a dog?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHmm, I think this dog is a bit like a police dog.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIn fact, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s pretty cute if you take a closer look?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis mob looks so disgusting! Why is it discharging pus!?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI think this will have an inestimable impact on young viewers.¡±

 Chapter 143: Time Reversal Corridor

    <h4>Chapter 143: Time Reversal Corridor</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose clutched the wound in his abdomen and moved forward slowly.

    The rate of decay of the walls and floor behind him gradually elerated. The cracking on the floor approached him, making his back exposed with the scorching heat. Strange and unpleasant creaking noises sounded in the air.

    But there were no signs of panic on Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s face.

    Because he knew very well¡­ After entering the nightmare dungeon instance, all yers were not using the health of their external body. Instead, it borrowed all the attributes of the nightmare protagonist.

    In other words, everyone¡¯s injuries, health, and movement speed were the same in this ce.

    Delicious Wind Goose was convinced that he had avoided all the pitfalls of health depletion in the previous level. He had not even elerated his pace back then. His current health value was undoubtedly the optimal state when he reached the fourth level under normal circumstances.

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh at me. This is a perfect start for me.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose nced at the bullet text and sneered, ¡°Believe it or not, when you¡¯re here yourself, it¡¯s impossible for you to have more health points than me at this level.

    ¡°In this dungeon instance, it¡¯s an instant death when the enemy hits us. In other words, the essential meaning of ¡®health points¡¯ in this dungeon instance is ¡®distance permitted for you to elerate your pace.¡¯¡±

    Annan, who was watching the live broadcast outside, nodded in agreement.

    What Delicious Wind Goose said was right.

    In fact, this was a problem that Annan realized when he first entered the nightmare gallery.

    Although Amos was injured internally, he seemed to be able to recover his health and physical strength in the gallery continuously. If he stayed still or moved slowly, health would deplete slowly.

    But as long as he moved a bit faster, health points would deplete; the faster he runs, the faster the health depletion rate.

    In other words, the yers could only master one key resource ¨C eleration distance.

    ¡°I divided all traps and chases so far into three categories.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose walked forward with no hurries while still having enough energy to keep chatting with the silly viewers, ¡°The first category is the level that a simple jog can pass just like now.

    ¡°The second category is simr to the situation where the chandelier falls, Brother Sledgehammer breaks through the wall and enters into an intense chase.

    ¡°In this case, you must run at full speed. If you hesitate when the chandelier falls or don¡¯t run at full speed after the sledgehammer breaks into the wall, you will at least be injured, or worse, dying immediately if you don¡¯t pay attention.

    ¡°The third category is the same situation as that of Brother Sledgehammer at the previous level ¨C a forced mechanism to clear the obstacle.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bug, but a necessary mechanism to be dealt with. Having the letter outside the window requires you to read it. If I guess it right, Brother Sledgehammer¡¯s appearance is the time limit for you to get the letter, open the letter and read it.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t read the letter and just run ahead, you will be forced to the second category. But the total health is limited. Once you choose to run at full speed and force yourself through the mechanism, it is equivalent to being stuck. You will be unable to clear the dungeon truly. At best, you will clear one level and enter the next level.¡±

    Annan heard this and nodded.

    Yes, that¡¯s it. Delicious Wind Goose is right.

    During his dungeon clear experience on the third level, he hesitated a little when the chandelier fell.

    He felt that since this dungeon instance would incite amnesia in each respawn, the traps in the first few levels shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. A slight eleration should allow him to pass the level.

    As a result, he was bruised by the chandelier and depleted a little health.

    At the same time, the intensified wound directly affected his movement speed. But after Annan realized the difficulty of the dungeon instance, he did not hesitate to use full speed when Brother Sledgehammer chased him on the second level.

    This directly led to the fact that his health was not enough for him to rush through the corridor at full speed when he was on the third level.

    After Annan regained consciousness, he first measured the first level¡¯s corridor¡¯s length and width with his thumb and then precisely controlled the width of each step. It was because he didn¡¯t know the precise arm length and step length of Amos. The purpose was to measure the length of each corridorter and make sure that his health was enough to elerate through the corridor. Hence, he recorded the data in advance.

    Therefore, Annan chose to take the path with no paintings when he was on the third level.

    It wasn¡¯t just because of the strategy Annan had gotten earlier from other sources.

    But, Annan was convinced at that time that if the same chase were reencountered, the remaining health would not be enough to rush to the next level.

    Somehow, he went into ¡°Gallery: Elle Morris¡± by ident.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s technique was somewhat simr to that of Annan.

    But because yers could record videos and not worry about losing their memories, they tackled the dungeon more boldly.

    For example, Delicious Wind Goose was betting.

    He bet that since his health was full, it was impossible for him to die halfway just because he couldn¡¯t outrun the obstacle.

    ¡ªIf he couldn¡¯t even outrun the demons and hounds behind him, it would be impossible for anyone to run away.

    Unless these demons and hounds included other mechanisms.

    Even if he died in this mechanism, yers could still see the contents of the mechanism. Then he was not at a loss.

    Sure enough, the special mechanism had arrived.

    When Delicious Wind Goose trot down the corridor to the center, the traces of decay and ruin had almost spread to the end of the corridor.

    The floor under his feet creaked and swayed. It seemed that at any time, Old Goose might step on empty air and fall.

    But he still believed in the tips given in Elle¡¯s letter ¡ª don¡¯t look back.

    This might also be regarded as a kind of cognitive inertia.

    One would be more convinced by the clues he had obtained through strenuous efforts.

    But Delicious Wind Goose had no other option.

    After all, he was adventuring the unexplored part of the game.

    It was expected to die under any special mechanism.

    But everything suddenly changed after Delicious Wind Goose ran across the center line-

    Delicious Wind Goose stared nkly at the stain on the floor, no longer moving forward but starting to move backward. The rotten floor under his feet also began to recover as if he was stepping back in time.

    The most important thing was the original unpleasant music in his ears, like musicing from the abyss, suddenly turned into a melodious violin sound.

    Delicious Wind Goose froze for a moment and subconsciously stopped.

    ¡ªBut just after he stopped.

    Delicious Wind Goose suddenly realized that time seemed to have stalled.

    The stain no longer moved forward, nor did it move backward. The rotten floor no longer spread and cracked, nor did it begin to recover. The violin in his ears suddenly disappeared, and the weird whispers and dog barking behind him suddenly subsided.

    Probably because Annan learned music when he was a child, he was the one who reacted immediately.

    To prevent bullet text from interfering Delicious Wind Goose with the weird answers, Annan did not hesitate to send out his strategy in the bullet text:

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s a reverse! Before halfway through the corridor, the sound of the violin, people¡¯s conversation, and dog barking are all reversed!¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose stood motionless and slowly breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°I think I also understand now¡­

    ¡°The puzzle at this level may be the simplest. But it may also be the most difficult.¡±

    Old Goose sighed and raised his head with regret, ¡°Damn it, I shouldn¡¯t run at first. Unfortunately, it seems that I will be stuck at this level too.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI seem to get it too.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis corridor is symmetrical?¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, it seems better to walk slowly.¡±

    Bullet text was guessing the mechanism behind this dungeon obstacle.

    But some smart people realized the answer a little bit slower.

    ¡°¡ªIs it that time will move forward if you go forward, but time will go backward if you go backward?¡±

    ¡°Probably.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose praised, ¡°While I am not dead, I will quickly tell you about the mechanism of this level.

    ¡°This corridor is a mirror image. It starts in the middle and ispletely symmetrical on both sides. In other words, if I go to the end and then look back, which means I am back to the beginning.

    ¡°Take the point where I entered the dungeon as Point A, the midpoint as Point B, and Point C as the symmetrical and opposite of Point A. Then, from Point A to Point B, time will flow backward with my pace. To go from Point B to Point C, time will flow forward along with my pace again.

    ¡°I specte that going from C to B should also be a reverse. However, going from B to A, the time should be progressing forward.

    ¡°This may be a corridor that can¡¯t go out at all by conventional means.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose whispered, ¡°Here, the speed of time has nothing to do with the outside time. It is in sync with my walking pace. The faster I walk, the faster time passes.

    ¡°In other words, I shouldn¡¯t have to run a step at this ce.¡±

    As Wind Goose spoke, he took two steps back without looking back.

    Sure enough, there was a noise in the air, the stains under the feet were also extending forward, and the floor cracking forward.

    Delicious Wind Goose took a few steps forward. He found that the stains were receding, the floor began to recover, and a slow and melodic violin sounded in his ears.

    What happened ideally confirmed his guess.

    So Delicious Wind Goose stood there, lost in thought.

 Chapter 144: Time & Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 144: Time & Mirror</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose moved forward probingly.

    As he walked forward, the demons and hounds that appeared on the opposite side of the corridor also began to retreat synchronously.

    When he was about to reach the end, they all disappeared.

    But at the same time, the door in front of Delicious Wind Goose was also gone after the demons and hounds disappeared.

    It disappeared directly, bing a wall sealed by bricks. It was the same as trying to turn around and go back to the previous dreams.

    Delicious Wind Goose boldly took a look back.

    In front of him was a long and deep corridor.

    The end of the corridor was not a wall but a door.

    It was like an hourss that turned upside down.

    Old Goose quickly reacted,

    Yes, he is back to the starting point.

    ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m stuck.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help but curse, ¡°I don¡¯t know when I will die and how I will die!¡±

    He rallied his spirits again and barely walked forward to the midpoint.

    After that, he sat on the ground, exerted force with both hands, and squirmed forward for a while with his legs crossed.

    After confirming that this mechanism was not triggered by the legs and feet but by the ¡°distance,¡± Old Goose finally sighed and squatted in ce, leaning against the wall. He kicked his legs on the wall on the other side like aining middle-aged man, thinking motionlessly.

    As he had guessed, the demon and hound chasing after him stopped moving as expected.

    Annan went into deep thoughts.

    ¡ªHe had seen this puzzle before.

    This was simr to a level in the puzzle tform game called ¡°Braid.¡± [1] In that level, the space axis and time axis of the yer character werebined into one.

    Even when the yer character moved to the left, time would go backward. When it moved to the right, time would move forward. When standing still or moving in the vertical direction, time would remain still.

    For now, Delicious Wind Goose was in that situation.

    When he talked in ce, time was still no matter how his upper body moved.

    But as long as he moved forward or backward, time would change.

    He could only go forward and enter the door.

    But after he got closer to a certain extent, the door became a wall.

    Annan was thinking too.

    How can I clear this level?

    Suddenly, something that surprised all yers happened.

    ¡°I warned you, Amos! Don¡¯t use this gramophone anymore!¡±

    At this moment, ayer of melodious and dreamlike female voices sounded with many echoes.

    That was Elle¡¯s voice!

    But unlike in the nightmare, her tone was neither a good girl nor polite.

    Her voice sounded from all directions at the same time, ¡°You don¡¯t understand its principle, and you don¡¯t know the cost of using it! The Time Stopper Eye has seen you!¡±

    ¡°But I have no choice, Elle. At least that master is far away in Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°Amos¡± took a deep breath and whispered, ¡°But the police have already found it. We have been found! They are here!

    ¡°I vowed not to use it again, but there are always exceptions.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he paused slightly.

    Amos¡¯s face once again showed the dazzled look that belonged to Delicious Wind Goose.

    ¡°¡ªFuck, how did you get into cinematic graphic (CG)?¡±

    ¡°¡ªElle, where are you!? (tremor)¡±

    ¡°¡ªGramophone? There are gramophones in this era?¡±

    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t move, Old Goose, I want to listen to Miss Elle¡¯s voice! Ah~, I¡¯m charmed to death.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, wasn¡¯t Elle in her teens forty-five years ago? What happens to her now?¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat is the Time Stopper Eye?¡±

    The over-informed CG dialogue caused yers to start discussing one after another.

    It was Annan who was taken aback.

    Time Stopper Eye?

    Isn¡¯t this Master Michngelo¡¯s title?

    Why can I still hear Michngelo¡¯s name in this nightmare?

    Isn¡¯t this the Freezing Water Port from forty-five years ago?

    Annan paused suddenly.

    Yes, time and mirror¡­

    These are indeed Michngelo¡¯s tricks!

    Suddenly, Annan realized a problem he had neglected for a long time¡­or instead, it was a problem he had never thought of.

    Did Master Michngelo choose Roseburg as the rebirth point? Was it on purpose?

    Was he purely based on the symmetry of spatial position¡­or had he nned it long ago?

    Just when Annan¡¯s thoughts drifted outside the dungeon instance, Delicious Wind Goose was in deep thought after listening to Amos and Elle¡¯s conversation.

    ¡°I seem to understand something, my brothers.¡±

    As Old Goose, he walked back slowly without looking back.

    The flow of time around him moved forward as he approached the midpoint; it continued to elerate after he moved away from the end.

    Bullet text ridiculed,

    ¡°¡ªOld Goose, are you nning to leave this by walking backward?¡±

    ¡°¡ªSorry to disturb (Bye)¡±

    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t think about it. The door is already sealed. No one is allowed to leave today!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make a noise. Just watch.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose snorted and retreated to about one-sixth of the entire corridor.

    That was when the decay traces just overgrew the floor under his feet.

    Delicious Wind Goose kept going back and forth several times in this area. The bullet text gradually understood,

    ¡°¡ªAre you looking for a cracked floor?¡±

    Seeing this line of words, other yers instantly understood.

    Delicious Wind Goose was looking for ¡°interactive¡± items.

    There must be something in this area that couldn¡¯t be changed over time. Otherwise, it would evolve into an infinite loop.

    Well, this corridor was empty, and there was nothing here.

    What were the options for Delicious Wind Goose to investigate?

    It turned out that there were at least two things that could be investigated even if the corridor was empty.

    First, it was the wall.

    Second, it was the floor!

    Although the floor was cracked, decayed, and copsing, it did not copse and disappeared out of thin air. Rather, the floor fell to the next level.

    ¡°¡ªAt the right wall, counting to the left, the third one!¡±

    Bullet text confirmed all this with a third-person perspective and issued a piece of advice, ¡°It had a crack at the beginning, but it didn¡¯t fall untilter!¡±

    In other words¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose could give it a try and pull out the nk. He could bring it to the mirror space and see what happens!

    ¡°Thanks, brother!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s eyes lit up. He lowered his head and grabbed the floor nk, and plucked it out.

    Both sides of it had cracked and fell.

    At the very beginning, Delicious Wind Goose treated it as a trap. It was not sturdy, and it had crumbled. If Old Goose were to step on it with one foot, he would fall.

    But here was the problem.

    Since it was not stable enough, it could make you fall like a trap.

    Naturally, it should be possible to pull it out directly!

    At first, its tip was somewhat sturdy.

    Delicious Wind Goose clutched the floor tightly with his right hand and walked a few steps forward.

    The floor nk appeared like ¡°in history,¡± with the tip rotten and falling off.

    But it did not fall off this time.

    It fell into Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s hand!

    ¡°I will try to see if I can smash it.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose whispered.

    He held the board in his right hand and moved slowly forward.

    As he stepped across the centerline, the violin sounded again. Time began to flow backward. The traces of decay and the demons and dogs were starting to regress.

    But when he walked to the symmetrical position where he took the ¡°floor nk in his hand,¡± the nk in his hand suddenly ignited a scorching ck me.

    Before Delicious Wind Goose could react, it dropped out and fell to the ground. Then, it burned a big hole in the ground.

    The fire only burned him lightly and took away his health with only 3% left!

    But Delicious Wind Goose went into deep thoughts.

    He walked forward to the end and looked back.

    Then, he discovered that the only wooden board that could be removed had already regenerated.

    Heughed in the end.

    ¡°This is a javelin game.¡±

    He continued categorically, ¡°If two items of the exact timeline cannot appear at the same time¡­

    ¡°Then, the dungeon wants me to throw this out beforeing here.

    ¡°The dungeon wants me to pierce the monster to death with this?

    ¡°¡ªOr he wants me to open that door by throwing this out?¡±

 Chapter 145: Time Stopper Eyeâ€™s Gramophone

    <h4>Chapter 145: Time Stopper Eye¡¯s Gramophone</h4>

    After confirming how to tackle this level, what remained for Delicious Wind Goose was nothing more than repetitive work.

    Delicious Wind Goose also discovered that the ck mes activated on the ¡°javelin¡± after having a time conflict could easily destroy the ¡°demons¡± and ¡°hellhounds¡± just by a slight contact.

    At first, Delicious Wind Goose threw the weapons like athletes. He would aim andunch the ¡°javelin¡± vertically.

    Later on, he simply threw the floor nks.

    It appeared like a bowling scene¡­ As for how many enemies he hit, it depended on his luck.

    After just repeating it a few times, Delicious Wind Goose killed the enemies one by one.

    The enemies couldn¡¯t even see where Delicious Wind Goose was!

    ¡°¡ªHey, it¡¯s the background music (BGM).¡±

    Facing a bullet text with ¡°???,¡± Annan exined to the others, ¡°Have you noticed that when time is going forward, the BGM is yed in reverse; but when time is going backward, BGM is yed normally.¡±

    If this were just BGM, it would still be fine and dandy.

    But the cinematic graphics (CG) cutscene mentioned that a particr ¡°gramophone¡± yed the music. Most importantly, it was the curse vessel Time Stopper Eye Michngelo made. Amos even used the gramophone¡¯s power to resolve his difficulty regardless of the cost.

    What was his difficulty?

    ¡ªThe Freezing Water Port¡¯s police station sent someone to investigate his gallery¡­

    Annan recalled a sentence mentioned in the news:

    ¡°At 2:15 on March 4, Sergeant Hiram¡¯s investigation team was attacked in Morrison¡¯s gallery. Unfortunately, three police officers died. The two police officers also went crazy on the spot because the scene was too cruel, and they suffered a substantial mental shock. They then died of injuries a few dayster.

    ¡°The perpetrator was killed on the spot. The police station recovered the dead bodies. The identity was reported to be a mercenary from the swamp. More details, including the number of perpetrators, were still under confidentiality.¡±

    Why hide the identity and number of the attackers?

    This was of little importance to this incident. Releasing their information could distract the crowd¡¯s attention.

    Unless the officials and reporters didn¡¯t know who the attacker was.

    Because the attackers and they weren¡¯t on the same timeline!

    There was only one attacker. It was Amos who attacked from the future and went in reverse of time!

    Of course, Amos shouldn¡¯t be using pure tactics like hitting enemies with the floor nk. He might have used a gun or something. Moreover, it happened in a hurry as he failed to kill all of them.

    But, there were fundamental simrities.

    Because the number of ¡°demons¡± Delicious Wind Goose killed was exactly five!

    The police were probably not crazy at all.

    It was because the wound was too abnormal to be treated¡­ or it could be a direct kill.

    As for the hounds¡­

    It should be a police dog.

    Because the newspaper mentioned that ¡°previously, pets were not allowed in the gallery.¡±

    As mentioned above, the police found Elle¡¯s body fragments inside the gallery.

    In other words, this operation was apanied by police dogs.

    Although this was a ¡°distortion¡± level nightmare with the imagery of the things inside distorted by the individual¡¯s will, some original elements were still retained.

    The fourth level nightmare was the second furthest point in the timeline.

    It was ahead of the Level -1 timeline position.

    This story should be about Amos using the gramophone ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡± made with regret. He had utilized means that couldn¡¯t be detected or avoided to kill the policemen and police dogs sent by the Freezing Water Port Police Station from the future.

    ¡°ording to the pattern of the previous levels¡­¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°At the dungeon instance of this level, the dungeon challenger should be ying as a policeman.¡±

    But what the hell¡­

    There¡¯s no way to avoid attacksunched from the future, right?!

    The difficulty outside the gallery didn¡¯t increase too much.

    But the difficulty in the gallery grew more difficult one by one.

    This, on the contrary, made Annan firmer in the obsession of ¡°I just want to clear the whole dungeon.¡±

    After Delicious Wind Goose killed all the ¡°demons¡± and ¡°hounds,¡± he entered the following cinematic graphic (CG).

    In all directions around Amos, Elle¡¯syered voice once again sounded,

    ¡°Turn off the gramophone, Amos!¡±

    In her sharp and high pitch, there was fear and disgust, ¡°He ising soon!¡±

    As Elle¡¯s voice sounded, the surrounding space began to shine with a dark red light like an rm.

    ¡°I will do it, Elle.¡±

    Amos was silent for a while, then turned around.

    He passed through the middle of the corridor as if passing through a bubbleyer.

    This time, he saw the midpoint of the real T-shaped corridor.

    There was a gramophone with a strange shape.

    It had a copper speaker with a dark gold hue and was in the shape of a tulip, which was simr to a gramophone in the previous world.

    But underneath it was not a closed wooden box.

    It was a transparent crystal box.

    There was no disc in it so much so that it was more urate to say that there was nothing in it.

    Inside the crystal box, only two mirrors were facing against each other.

    The crank slowly rotated along with the melodious music. It was connected with three needles: gold, silver, and copper, respectively. The connection seemed to link to the middle of the crystal box.

    As the crank slowly rotated counterclockwise, the three needles also rotated counterclockwise at a synchronized speed.

    If one were to look at it from the front, it looked like an inverted square clock.

    Delicious Wind Goose noticed that a few words were also engraved on it:

    ¡°If you regret it, move the crank. I will give you a second chance, a third chance¡­¡±

    ¡°But you won¡¯t have a fourth chance.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose reached out and touched the gramophone.

    In a trance, the item attributes appeared in front of him:

    [Time Stopper Eye¡¯s Gramophone (12-hour type)]

    [Type: Musical instrument/tool ??(Gold)]

    [Description: Move the crank to shoot the soul projection into the reverse time stream.]

    [Effect: Move the crank to rotate the time turntable clockwise. When the crank is released, it will temporarily render the user entering a ¡°time-reversal walk¡± (temporarily enters the state of the flow of time consistent with the normal time and the time flow in the opposite direction). The effect is the same as Prophet Spell and Idol Spell of the same name. It applies to twelve hours. In this state, any contact with any creature with a weaker soul rank will cause the opponent¡¯s soul to be instantly annihted. In the opposite situation, it will cause your soul to be annihted instantly. You can use any remote means to attack the creature. It will not trigger any annihtion reaction when the attack is regarded as Sneak Attack (absolutely unnoticed).]

    [Cost: At the first use of the curse, you acquire the ¡°Transferred Misfortune.¡± At the second use of the curse, the ¡°Transferred Misfortune¡± receives an add-on effect ¡°Intensify Inscription.¡± Finally, at the third use, the user will have all remaining lifespans deducted.]

    [Note: If this curse vessel is sessfully used to avoid the inevitable death, the user will die immediately.]

 Chapter 146: The Venerated Skeletonâ€™s Piercing Rifling

    <h4>Chapter 146: The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Piercing Rifling</h4>

    I want that time!

    ¡ªI fucking want it!

    The above was the first reaction of Delicious Wind Goose after seeing the attribute window of this item.

    It was also the reaction of the yers who were watching the live broadcast on the forum,

    ¡°¡ªFuck, can high-level equipment actually involve time?¡±

    ¡°¡ªSo fucking cool!¡±

    ¡°¡ªCalm down, everyone. This should be a plot item. It is impossible for us to get this intensely strong item outside the dungeon instance.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait a minute, look at the price!¡±

    ¡°¡ªLet me ask you, would you throw it away because of the high price!?¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo way!¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s too OP!¡±

    After all, the yers had not yet entered the path of transcendence.

    They did not realize the seriousness of the curse.

    Only Annan was clearly aware of the price after reading it.

    ¡ªThis curse vessel was probably a lure.

    The gramophone time reversal, in most cases, did not help people resolve their regrets.

    At most, it could only get rid of the people who made the user regret.

    This might be thest spell Master Michngelo used in ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡± for the abrupt instant kill.

    Then, this gramophone shouldn¡¯t be left for his use.

    Because the item did not amplify his ability but merely a simplified version of its ability. Its purpose is to make others unable to resist the temptation of ¡°second chance¡± and choose to use it.

    Just like those yers.

    Once used, the person would be cursed.

    Judging from the name, it seemingly absorbed luck. The cost of the second time usage wasn¡¯t clear. If it were used for the third time, all the remaining lifespan would be absorbed.

    If Time Stopper Eye made many such a gramophone, then he should notck lifespan at all.

    There was another question ¡ª Elle.

    How did she know all this?

    Annan and the yers knew it was because they could see the attribute panel.

    But Annan had already tested it from Salvatore. The aboriginals of this world couldn¡¯t know all the properties of the curse vessel.

    They could only know the approximate level of power and curse through some strange means. That was why curse vessels became hazardous items and were forbidden to be trafficked and used among civilians. Once discovered, the church orrge organization would seal the curse vessel.

    Elle wasn¡¯t a senior Transcended¡­

    Worse still, she was just a sixteen-year-old civilian, not even a nobleman nor a priest. Her biological parents were indeed Transcended, but she was still very young when she left them.

    It was impossible for her to know the properties of this curse vessel.

    Based on Annan¡¯s judgment of Elle¡¯s character, she couldn¡¯t be so rude to Amos.

    Rather than saying that it was Elle, it was better to say¡­

    ¡­It might be the Venerated Skeleton?

    Thinking of this, Annan shuddered. His whole body stiffened, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

    It was like something perilous eyeing on him¡­

    It was like realizing a snake getting into your quilt for being half asleep and half awake.

    If it weren¡¯t for Annan¡¯s loss of fear emotion, he would be so scared to the point of screaming out loud.

    But soon, the feeling of being stared at gradually dissipated.

    Annan didn¡¯t bother checking his body but immediately tuned back to the live broadcast as soon as possible. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t miss anything.

    With Delicious Wind Goose stopped the ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡¯s Gramophone¡±pletely, the violin ¡°background music¡± in the air finally disappeared.

    But behind Delicious Wind Goose was still a sealed stone path.

    The T-shaped corridor in front of him was divided into two ends, with two exits and two disy cabs that mirrored each other.

    On the disy cab on the left, there was a silver revolver with many runes engraved on it!

    On the right side, there was a police rifle held by the ¡°demon¡± just now.

    Delicious Wind Goose chose the left without hesitation.

    This was a man¡¯s instinct.

    Becausepared with a petty rifle, the revolver was much cooler.

    This time he encountered no obstacles. He took the revolver from the disy cab. It was tightly fitted with his palm as if this was originally Amos¡¯ gun.

    Delicious WInd Goose rubbed the gun on his hand and looked at it with a smile.

    ¡°¡­White Ivory Pistol? Or Casull [1]? Wow, this revolver is so cool.¡±

    Upon seeing the gun, Delicious Wind Goose immediately stopped panicking.

    Although he had only 3% of Health, he was immediately overflowed with confidence.

    ¡°As long as I have a gun, no monsters will be a problem.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s words came to an abrupt end.

    After he revealed the magazine, he found that there was onest bullet inside.

    ¡ªYes, it was thest shot.

    ¡°Is thest bullet left for me?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s face went bitter for an instant, ¡°I¡¯m not lucky, my brothers. Can you send me back out from the dungeon?¡±

    Despite Old Goose saying so, he didn¡¯t even think of putting the revolver back.

    Delicious Wind Goose looked back again.

    He saw that the man with the sledgehammer stood silently in the middle of the corridor.

    ¡°¡ªOmg, he¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThest bullet is dedicated to you.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBrothers, I¡¯m going to Jiu Er¡¯s stream.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWaiting for this streamer to lose his memory.¡±

    (TN: Dungeon challenger loses memory after death)

    The sudden emergence of the monster after turning back shocked all the yers and made themugh.

    No one thought that Old Goose could survive¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose was about to shoot, but he entered the CG cutscene immediately,

    ¡°¡­Buckel.¡±

    Amos murmured in a low volume, raising his pistol to Buckel. His tone was indifferent and no longer overwhelmed by fear like how it was in the third level encounter, ¡°Do you have to pursue me to the end?

    ¡°This gun is engraved with [Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Piercing Rifling]. You should have heard it. There are three turbid blood bullets in it. Whether you are Transcended or not, you will still die when I shoot.¡±

    Hearing this, Buckel¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    He was silent for a while and asked cautiously, ¡°Where did you get it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask.¡±

    Amos sneered, ¡°I sincerely ask you. Can you leave? I don¡¯t want us all to die at this ce.¡±

    Annan raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

    That¡¯s not right.

    Why is Amos¡¯s attitude so different from that in the basement?

    How did he know Buckel at this timeline?

    At this moment, Annan saw a bullet text that no one noticed:

    ¡°¡ªWhy does this Buckel look like our baker?¡±

    Seeing this, Annan was suddenly startled.

    He quickly recalled¡­

    The baker imed to havee from the capital and never left the Freezing Water Port. He seemed to be from the Freezing Water Port 45 years ago¡­

    ¡°We can negotiate first.¡± There was silence for a while. Buckel spread his right hand, ¡°[We must tell the truth here]. I want to know what curse you have added to the turbid blood bullets.¡±

    ¡°This is made by a corpse I bought at a high price. The curse is ¡°Can¡¯t travel far.¡± As long as you get hit once, you will stay in the Freezing Water Port for the rest of your life. Would you like that to happen?¡±

    Amos spoke slowly, frowning, ¡°You should be able to see that I¡¯m telling the truth.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can see that.¡±

    Buckel was silent for a moment, then nodded.

    Immediately, he did not hesitate and took a step forward.

    There came the hammer!

    Amos also fired the bullet immediately. The bullet came and prated Buckel¡¯s heart!

    But Buckel¡¯s hammer managed to hit Amos¡¯s head.

    The inertia alone was enough to knock Amos¡¯ head into the air.

    At that moment, Amos¡¯s head flew out like a golf ball and hit the wall heavily.

    The spectators vaguely saw the ridicule at the corner of Buckel¡¯s mouth and the deep hatred engraved deep within.

 Chapter 147: Be Considerate Of Each Other

    <h4>Chapter 147: Be Considerate Of Each Other</h4>

    As expected, Brother Sledgehammer defeated Delicious Wind Goose.

    Although Jiu Er seemed to be about to clear the level, Annan didn¡¯t n to continue watching it for the time being.

    Because in the final part of the Old Goose¡¯s live broadcast, a big load of information was revealed.

    Elle¡¯s biological father is the baker from Freezing Water Port.

    He stayed in the Freezing Water Port for many years because Amos inflicted the curse ¡°can¡¯t travel far.¡±

    So, what is the final oue for Amos?

    The newspaper said he was arrested. Is that true?

    Or did Buckel kill him?

    Does Buckel know what happened to Elle and Angelo in the end? Since he survived, does he know what happened in the incident forty-five years ago?

    Many questions lingered in Annan¡¯s mind.

    ¡ªI have to meet Buckel.

    A clear thought emerged in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate nor dy his n.

    I still have to think about it rationally. Would there be any danger on this trip?

    Or, will Buckel trouble me because his identity is exposed?

    To be more precise, the question was more about¡ª

    Would Annan need to call Salvatore out of the basement and apany him?

    ¡°Forget that.¡± Annan finally gave up this inhumane idea.

    After all, Salvatore was working hard to prepare for something more dangerous. Any emergency task might disrupt his tight schedule. This was why he got into the basement and locked himself inside in the first ce.

    Salvatore had told Annan in advance that Annan would be fully responsible if anything happened these days and if anyone wanted to look for him.

    ¡°You do as you see fit,¡± Salvatore said previously. ¡°Remember to act ording to the situation.¡±

    Salvatore didn¡¯t even bother to have food delivered to him. Instead, he would settle everything on his own in the basement.

    Annan sort of realized Salvatore was on a big project.

    They said that among the wizards of the eight schools, Idol¡¯s wizard was mainly responsible for applying buffs [1], the Energy Falteration School¡¯s wizard was primarily responsible for controlling the enemy, and the Destruction school¡¯s wizard was mainly responsible for damage output. Finally, the Alteration School¡¯s wizard was mainly responsible for the logistics.

    Indeed, they could temporarily serve as wide-area map artillery on the battlefield. It was the sideline job they had after being hired by any kingdom.

    The Alteration School Wizard¡¯s status was equal to Doraemon¡¯s.

    Still, it gave off the vibe of an unreliable alchemist. After all, the alteration wizard could pull out simply anything.

    Since the alteration wizard had different curses and different spells, the alteration products made by them would also have their unique characteristics.

    Just like the ck Fire made by Salvatore that was not easy to detonate. Their alteration products would inherit part of the characteristics of the owner. This results in the alteration products of each alteration wizard would tend to be distinct. The higher the alteration product¡¯s grade, the more pronounced the distinction.

    Since Salvatore intended to seclude himself for a few days to make some kind of alteration product, this product was most likely iparable to the mass-produced ck Fire.

    Although the alteration wizard might not know the ins and outs of his alteration products entirely, Annan still adhered to the best principle ofyman management ¡ª ¡°no guidance, no urging, no trouble making.¡±

    Based on the understanding of Salvatore, Annan knew Salvatore would put his work on hold and apany Annan for the trip if Annan were to tell Salvatore that there was an urgent matter that needed his help and protection.

    But now, Annan wasn¡¯t a harmless puppy who just came into this world.

    He had a good understanding of several wizard schools.

    Alteration School was not suitable forbat because of the two characteristics of ¡°alteration inertia¡± and ¡°alteration warm-up.¡±

    Alteration inertia allowed the curse power to snowball and grow stronger. If one were to be careless of their limit, it might go out of control. The simplest result was an explosion.

    On the other hand, the alteration warmup could alterate the spells. It would have rtively minimal power in the initial stage. It also took a period of uninterrupted chanting to show the actual effect gradually.

    Salvatore mentioned it when chatting with Annan. The Alteration School¡¯s wizard was once called ¡°alchemist¡± in ancient times before the ¡°Unification War.¡±

    The reason for saying so was because they did learn alchemy.

    The teacher would get every schrly alteration wizard to learn their first chant spell when advancing to Bronze Rank.

    The basic version of this spell required more than three alteration wizards to perform cooperative spell casting by ¡°rotation chanting¡± or ¡°joint chanting¡± spell casting method. Firstly in rotation chanting, each user alternated the chanting continuously for more than three hours. Not even a slight mistake was permitted, or everything else had to start over.

    Its effect was formidable.

    It could alter one kilogram of ¡°lead¡± into ¡°gold.¡±

    ¡ªYes, it would be pure gold.

    The pure gold that could be sacrificed to and epted by ¡°Mr. Ray.¡±

    This was also the reason why ¡°Silver Sire¡± was not ¡°Golden Sire.¡±

    Part of the reason was to preventpetition with Mr. Ray for the gold medium.

    Another part of the reason was that only silver reserves in this world were fixed and non-renewable. Although gold was scarcer than silver and had a stronger curse performance, it was not a non-renewable resource in nature. Hence, the cost to replenish it was too high.

    The purpose of this alchemy in ancient times wasn¡¯t to sell or exchange for wealth.

    It was to refine gold with high enough purity for Gold Rank advancement.

    The reason was that in ancient times, Transcendedcked sufficient and effective means to extract gold in high purity. The method of refining silver was discovered a long time ago.

    That was why the ancient alchemists created this spell. The original purpose was to facilitate advancement.

    For Swamp¡¯s ck Tower¡¯s alteration wizard, one of the Silver Rank promotion assessment requirements was to independently and sessfully release this spell.

    They used this condition to determine the alteration wizard¡¯s capability.

    If the wizard in assessment couldn¡¯t shorten this super long spell while allowing it to work normally, or if the wizard identally made mistakes when chanting for a long time, that would be judged as insufficient proficiency. They wouldn¡¯t be allowed to bear a higher curse.

    In a sense, it was a kind of protection. However, once the Silver Rank spell failed, it was not as simple as starting from scratch.

    After there was a stable and non-Transcended means of gold purification method, this spell could only be used to sell gold for profit. In this era, the wizards were no longer short of money.

    Especially for the alteration wizard, they could easily do business that was more profitable than alchemy.

    The main function of this spell nowadays had be a gauge to test the ability of an alteration wizard.

    Unfortunately, most of the alteration wizards hit their limit in attaining Bronze Rank. Those advanced to the Silver Rank alteration wizard from a formal channel were typically wittier with their words.

    Salvatore once mentioned to Annan that was why graduated Transcended was usually much stronger than the stray Transcended of the same rank.

    Not because they received a moreprehensive and better education.

    But because their advancement was strictly supervised and protected. Hence, the erosion rate was much lower than the ordinary Transcended. Therefore, the Transcended who could pass the exam smoothly and advance would be the elites among their peers afterpleting the advancement.

    ¡­Of course, although Mr. ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was a stray type, his situation was unique.

    All in all, the slightly advanced Alteration School spells require a long chanting time to activate.

    But even if Salvatore wasn¡¯t performing alchemy in the basement, it was likely that he was also under the operation of a long-period Alteration spell that should not be interrupted.

    If Annan bothered him, Salvatore would have to allocate his precious rest time to work.

    Annan didn¡¯t want this to happen.

    It was important to be considerate of each other¡­

    This trip might be dangerous, but Annan still decided to meet this person by himself now even though this person was someone who might have advanced to Silver Rank Wizard forty-five years ago.

    ¡°For me, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Annan took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with calmness.

    [1] Buff is a term used in some video games to describe the amplification effect on game character¡¯s stats.

 Chapter 148: Joseph Buckel

    <h4>Chapter 148: Joseph Buckel</h4>

    Annan found out the store imed to have the ¡°baker from the royal capital¡± for a long time.

    During the chatter with Salvatore back then, Annan wrote down all the ces and characters that might have rted to background stories.

    Otherwise, Annan would not be able to introduce these elements to the yers.

    Annan didn¡¯t realize that the story of this ¡°baker¡± would be so crucial in the past.

    His original n was to arrange for the idle yers to go to Freezing Water Port to search for more clues. After the yers find out more about these secret characters in their investigation, Annan would release missions to exchange the information with rare rewards and ample affection rates.

    He could entice it bybeling the task as a secret mission.

    Annan was confident once the keywords ¡°rare,¡± ¡°hidden,¡± and ¡°restricted¡± were mentioned, yers would go for it even if the rewards were mundane and average, let alone if he boasted the reward by a couple of margins¡­

    ¡­But who would have thought that this baker was merely a monk who swept the floor?!

    (TN: It¡¯s a metaphorical expression saying that the baker appears ordinary like a random cleaner NPC)

    ¡°This is weird¡­¡±

    Annan bared his teeth, a little depressed.

    He wore a somewhat thin coat, sprinting on the deserted streets against the cold December wind. Fortunately, the moonlight of the Freezing Water Port was fairly bright. So even if the path wasn¡¯t illuminated clearly, Annan could still distinguish his path and direction.

    It was already 10:30 p.m. Freezing Water Port was unlike Roseburg. There was no night entertainment, and the fishermen had already fallen asleep.

    Some shops that would open tomorrow morning were still working hard to prepare the things for the business tomorrow morning.

    The fishermen watched Annan run by in surprise.

    After being stunned, they saluted Annan with some trepidation.

    Annan responded to them one by one politely too.

    After half an hour, Annan finally arrived at the bakery not too far from the city lord¡¯s residence.

    ¡ªAuthentic Capital Bakery.

    A concise and powerful signboard name.

    They were authentic buns with meat in it¡­ simple and unpretentious.

    But the bread here was delicious.

    Several yers bought the bread here for Annan as breakfast and snacks. The taste was indeed magnificent.

    The bakery door would be closed at 11 p.m. However, lights were illuminating from within.

    ¡°Is there anyone?¡±

    Annan raised his voice and asked, knocking on the door, ¡°Hello!¡±

    After a while, a confused and impatient voice came from inside, ¡°We have sold out our buns. Don¡¯t you see what time it is already!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Don Juan Geraint.¡±

    After the other party answered, Annan stated his identity clearly, ¡°May I trouble you to open the door.¡±

    Annan did all that just in case.

    If Annan yelled out his name and knocked on the door, Buckel could pretend to be absent or already asleep to avoid him.

    Annan felt it was a wiser choice to wait for Buckel to answer before stating his identity.

    At least Buckel couldn¡¯t use his petty tricks to avoid Annan.

    After about eight seconds, Annan heard the sound of the door lock unlocking.

    The wooden door opened.

    The ¡°Buckel¡± that appeared in front of Annan looked quite simr to Brother Sledgehammer in the dungeon instance. The only difference was that forty-five years ago, Brother Sledgehammer looked like he was in his thirties. Forty-five yearster, he looked like he was in his fifties and almost sixty.

    Although he had some gray hair and many wrinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes, Buckle didn¡¯t lose his steady demeanor. On the contrary, he seemed in great vigor without any hint of drowsiness even at 11 p.m.

    The most significant difference was that Buckel no longer bore the ferocious murderous intent and hostility of forty-five years ago. Instead, he seemed a lot more quiet and peaceful.

    ¡­It seems that there is probably no danger right now.

    Annan breathed a sigh of relief.

    But looking at Buckel¡¯s face, Annan had a question in his mind immediately.

    How old is this person this year?

    Buckel looked forward subconsciously. After a brief pause, he lowered his head to look at Annan.

    His gaze shifted to the bronze bracelet on Annan¡¯s wrist at the first moment, then quickly moved away, looking at the ground.

    ¡°Is there anything wrong, feudal lord?¡±

    His voice sounded respectful.

    ¡°I may have to trouble you for something. But, can I go in first?¡±

    Annan nodded, making a tender and polite voice, ¡°It¡¯s a bit cold outside¡­¡±

    Hearing this, Buckel hesitated slightly.

    Buckel responded quickly, ¡°It¡¯s a bit messy. Please wait for me to clean up. It will be done in just a minute.¡±

    With that, Buckel closed the door again.

    Annan raised his brows slightly,

    ¡ªThis is impolite.

    Generally speaking, shouldn¡¯t he bring guests to the living room first? At the very least, he shouldn¡¯t just let the guests suffer the cold wind outside¡­

    Buckel is from the royal capital, not a countryman. Would he not understand this etiquette?

    Or is there anything he can¡¯t show to me?

    Are you destroying evidence?

    But such thoughts quickly ceased.

    It was because Buckel cleaned up too quickly.

    He closed the door for about five seconds, then opened the door back. Annan didn¡¯t hear any sound, nor did he see any flickering of lights inside. It even felt a little quiet inside.

    ¡°Pleasee in, feudal lord.¡±

    Buckel respectfully weed Annan in.

    He took Annan through the bakery shop and walked to the backyard. They walked through the yard to the back room.

    After guiding Annan to sit down in the living room, he gave Annan a new pot of ck tea.

    Annan looked at the tea box curiously.

    If Annan remembered correctly, the Noah Kingdom¡¯s people had a habit of drinking tea. The tea that Buckel drank was better than the tea Salvatore brought.

    Is bakery such a profitable business?

    After Buckel poured hot tea for Annan, Annan said gently, ¡°I heard some stories. But, before that, let me put this out first. Please don¡¯t mind too much about our conversationter¡­

    ¡°This¡­ Well¡­¡±

    ¡°Joseph Buckel.¡±

    Before Annan could ask anything, Buckel said his full name directly, ¡°You can just call me Joseph, lord.¡±

    ¡°Great. So, Joseph.¡±

    Annan readily followed after Joseph¡¯s words.

    He asked softly, ¡°I want to know at which year you came to Freezing Water Port?¡±

    ¡°About¡­ forty years ago,¡± Joseph replied.

    ¡°Specifically?¡± Annan asked, ¡°Is it forty-five years ago?¡±

    Upon hearing this, Mr. Joseph Buckel was silent.

    He paused, then sighed suddenly.

    Then, he leaned back weakly.

    ¡°Do you want to ask me¡­ Do I know Amos?¡±

    Joseph¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, and he smiled bitterly, ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯re looking for, then yes. I do know him.¡±

    As he said, he took another nce at Annan¡¯s bracelet.

    Seeing that Annan didn¡¯t reply immediately, Joseph asked, ¡°I guess you just came out of a nightmare? Did you enter the nightmare on your own ord?¡±

    ¡°I entered the nightmare under Priest Louis¡¯s protection.¡± Annan nodded and said softly.

    He chose a rtively low-profile narration.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    When Joseph heard this, he rxed slightly. He said with a light smile, ¡°Did I scare you in the nightmare?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°I had entered that nightmare back then. I was scared of myself at the time. But I took a trick and convinced myself directly.¡± Joseph replied as he took a sip of tea.

    Annan noticed the choice of word keenly.

    ¡°Back then?¡± Annan asked probingly.

    He also noticed that Joseph was not wearing a curse vessel.

    There was no bronze nor silver essory¡­ Nothing at all.

    Joseph wore a thin coat at home. The silver bracelet Annan had seen in the nightmare disappeared.

    Joseph didn¡¯t avoid this topic.

    He nodded, ¡°I gave up. Being transcended isn¡¯t my thing.¡±

    Hmph, what a light and easy excuse.

    Annan¡¯s eyelids twitched.

    Transcended. It isn¡¯t something you can leave behind so casually.

    Isn¡¯t a path of no return after you enter the ranks of Transcended?

    ¡°If you are nning to recruit me¡­ I can only say that I will help when I can.¡±

    Joseph smiled bitterly, ¡°But I am a useless person now. I don¡¯t retain much of the spellcasting ability. So what I can do is probably limited.¡±

    As Joseph spoke, he extended his hand, pointing at the kitchen andmanding,

    ¡°[Continue Working].¡±

    In the kitchen not far away, the dough suddenly came alive and began to knead itself. Those fermented doughs lined up one by one into the oven¡ªthe bread baked previously jumped out by themselves.

    There was an order to it as if the bread was taking the subway.

    ¡°Simple ¡®temporary reanimation.¡¯ My curse vessel can¡¯t be used anymore. The spellcasting ability I retain is just enough to prevent me from starving to death. I can¡¯t go back to Silver Rank either.¡±

    Joseph spread his hands, ¡°I just didn¡¯t know your intentions, so I turned around and entered the house to stop them from working¡­ to prevent them from frightening you at night.¡±

    ¡°What exactly happened forty-five years ago?¡±

    Although Joseph had many spell slots, Annan ignored this argument and asked important questions first, ¡°What is the final and true ending?¡±

    Joseph paused.

    He opened his shirt and turned his back to Annan.

    There were dense scars like a spider web at Joseph¡¯s back.

    But they weren¡¯t exactly scar either.

    It was more like a spider-web-like trace left by bullets hitting a bulletproof ss. Those cobwebs were all his veins, leaving blemishes and bumps on his back that were still beating slightly along with the heartbeat.

    At the center of the spider-web-like scar¡­

    That position should be Joseph¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Amos killed me once. Heunched a sneak attack from the future, and he has a powerful curse vessel in his hand. I can¡¯t dodge it and can¡¯t defend myself from it. That cult¡¯s curse vessel, ¡®turbid blood bullet,¡¯ hit the heart. A powerful curse is instilled within me. I fell into a near-death state¡ª¡±

    Joseph put down his clothes. He replied slowly and earnestly to Annan,

    ¡°But after that, he didn¡¯t kill me. The reason is that the curse I bear will leak if I die.

    ¡°¡ªYes, he stole my curse vessel.¡±

 Chapter 149: The Venerated Skeleton! What a Trash!

    <h4>Chapter 149: The Venerated Skeleton! What a Trash!</h4>

    Annan was slightly startled.

    ¡°Why did Amos steal your curse vessel?¡±

    Annan was baffled.

    Even if Amos acquired Joseph¡¯s curse vessel, Amos couldn¡¯t inherit his level and use his spells.

    The greatest value in the curse vessel was to activate Transcended abilities above the Silver Rank.

    If one were to steal someone¡¯s curse vessel, he could temporarily seal the target¡¯s active abilities above Silver Rank. Of course, it was impossible to seal passive abilities.

    Generally speaking, this method was used to transport and detain Transcended prisoners.

    Only the hunter profession could effectively assimte curse vessels and turn the curses into their power.

    But obviously, Amos could not be a hunter.

    He wasn¡¯t even a Transcended.

    In other words, Joseph¡¯s silver bracelet was worthless to Amos. If he wanted to subdue Joseph, the best way was to shoot another bullet.

    ¡°I¡¯m not clear¡­¡±

    Joseph just shook his head.

    His expression was a bit tired, ¡°But he did not kill me, which baffles me.

    ¡°Moreover, I was injured by his turbid blood bullets and afflicted by the curse of ¡®can¡¯t travel far.¡¯ But, this curse is nothing to me. I have a way to get rid of it.¡±

    Joseph exined to Annan, ¡°I¡¯m not a Noah citizen. I¡¯m from Treasure Diamond Ind.

    ¡°Feudal lord, I think you should also know I¡¯m an Edict Wizard. I used to be one of the tutors of the Edict school at the Azure Diamond Tower. There¡¯s a friendly rtion between the Azure Diamond Tower and the Elegant Elder Church. If I can get into contact with the high-ranked priest at the Elegant Elder Church, I canpletely lift the curse.¡±

    The information urred to be an enlightenment to Annan.

    Thinking about it, it seems that the Edict school isn¡¯t taught in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Annan did know where Treasure Diamond Ind was.

    The full name of the United Kingdom was called Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom. The Treasure Diamond Ind was a part of the Fildes Archipgo. The ind group was famous for producing various gems.

    Although the Noahs would call them ¡°United Kingdom people¡±, people who came from the United Kingdom tended to call themselves ¡°from the Denizoya Kingdom¡± or ¡°from XX Ind.¡±

    In the Noah Kingdom, jewelers would im that ¡°100% of the supply came from Treasure Diamond Ind¡± and ¡°hand-polished by the gem masters of Treasure Diamond Ind¡± to raise prices. Of course, that wasn¡¯t true all the time.

    Those emeralds used to test names were unique products from the Azure Diamond Tower.

    Annan was a little surprised that Joseph came from the Azure Diamond Tower. But, Annan was a little concerned about the other piece of information.

    ¡°Can the Elegant Elder¡¯s High Priest lift ¡®that¡¯ curse?¡±

    Annan did not dare to call out the name ¨C Venerated Skeleton.

    He was also afraid that he would pass out just like that.

    After all, he told the two yers who acted as security guards that he needed to visit an acquaintance nearby. He woulde back after acquiring the ¡°stipted items.¡± If Annan identally entered a nightmare and the yers realized that they lost Annan, they would go crazy.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    To Annan¡¯s question, Joseph gave a clear answer, ¡°the Elegant Elder is the deity of nobility and art. Before that false deity became a deity, he was already a Grand Duke. Hence, he was under Elegant Elder¡¯s governance.

    ¡°Hees from the Elegy Dukedom. The Elegy Dukedom used to worship the deity of death and earth ¡®Bone Burying Grandma.¡¯ So, he is also under the Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s governance. These two upright deities can disperse his power.¡±

    Looking at Annan¡¯s confused gaze, Joseph added, ¡°This is a matter of the past. At that time, the Undead War wasn¡¯t over. The Bone Burying Grandma Church was the twelve upright deities¡¯ vanguard in the war against the undead. The Elegy Dukedom was also the front-line among many countries at the time. After all, the dead came from the south. The Elegy Dukedom was the most southern country at that time.

    ¡°Later¡­ The Great Barrier shattered, and the gray mist spread. At that time, to snatch the limited spare ¡®Order Tinder,¡¯ a cruel war was triggered, which is the ¡®Blood War¡¯ in the history books.

    ¡°Actually, it was entirely possible for the Elegy Dukedom to survive the Blood War¡­ if their position is more inward. But they happen to be in the most marginal location. So the gray mist engulfed the Elegy Dukedom within a day.

    ¡°They have no time to escape and even less time to prepare for war and seize territory. But, the Elegy Dukedom citizens have the most open-minded view of life and death. So they decided in the end¡­¡±

    Joseph said slowly, ¡°All Transcended who believe in Bone Burying Grandma, immediately use thest power to kill the Transcended of other faiths in the dukedom, and absorb all the curses on them. Then, they immediately take the lethal poison. With that, they seal themselves within their bones with Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s unique divine art.

    ¡°Transcended is different from ordinary people. Ever since we step on the path of transcendence, our soul has been altered, capable of carrying curse power. So if we die in the gray mist, our soul will be cursed endlessly till we be undead spirits imprisoned in the body. We will roam the gray mist unconsciously¡­ Only when we roam to the border and are killed in the boundary can we be purified.¡±

    Joseph looked at Annan with a wry smile, ¡°I think, feudal lord, you don¡¯t know this.¡±

    ¡°¡­Indeed.¡±

    Annan said honestly, ¡°I always thought that the undead only exists in fairy tales.¡±

    After all, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ¡°ability was to bring the dead to life¡± seemed rather tongue-twisting, unlike a professional term.

    If the undead existed, it would be more fit to say¡±turning into an undead.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the Elegy Dukedom eliminated the undead from the south,¡± Joseph nodded and exined, ¡°They are called the Elegy Dukedom as the funeral song sounded throughout the country for a month.

    ¡°The undead generated after the copse of the Great Barrier have be the consumables for the war. They were all depleted before the end of the Blood War, except for the border areas where there is still a couple of undead.¡±

    Speaking of this, Joseph added, ¡°Except¡­ that one.¡±

    ¡°Is that deity an undead too?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    ¡°The clergy of the Grand Duke is the deity of bones and betrayal.¡±

    Joseph said slowly, ¡°Grand Duke failed to acquire the Truth. The reason he can still be a deity is that he carries all the power of a country.

    ¡°All Transcended murdered andmitted suicide so as not to give birth to the undead. This was his suggestion¡­ or rather, the final order.

    ¡°People thought he hadmitted suicide and purified his corpse. But that was just a stand-in. Instead, he has been hiding underground,manding an army of undead to dig underground passages.

    ¡°Gray mist is poison to ordinary people. It¡¯s just that death is not so quick. Therefore, except for some people in the north, who fled to the Denizoya Kingdom, the others who can¡¯t escape have already taken the poison. All of them went into the designated coffinster on.

    ¡°Until there was no more living person in the gray mist, that personunched arge-scale ritual underground. He is the Edict Wizard and Alteration Wizard at Gold Rank. He used all the corpses of Transcended and ordinary people, whose volume is almost half of the country, as the material to conduct a national level alteration ritual. First, he reversed and confused the cause of their death, attributed all their death to themselves. Then, he dragged the corpses and curses into his body. Finally, using the concept of ¡®the Sole Leader of the Undead Country,¡¯ he forcefully bes a deity.¡±

    ¡ªSo he is the Venerated Skeleton.

    He is still a duke until now. Only when he is the ¡°Duke of the Dead¡± can his deity hood be established.

    Because his citizens have be bones just like him.

    He is a walking Dukedom.

    Annan blinked.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡­

    Why does it sound so trash?

 Chapter 150: Truthful Lies

    <h4>Chapter 150: Truthful Lies</h4>

    ¡°That false deity mainly can change different corpses into various Transcendence materials.¡±

    Joseph Buckel said slowly, ¡°For example, the paint Amos used needs to be ground out from the skin of [loved one]; his curse vessel ¡®Piercing Rifling¡¯ requires the heart¡¯s blood of [enemy]. ¡®Bone blood trigger¡¯ uses [the same person¡¯s bone and blood]. ¡®Turbid blood bullets¡¯ is a consumable made of the Transcended¡¯s liver.¡±

    From the sound of it, it doesn¡¯t seem particrly powerful.

    It feels like a better Alteration Wizard.

    Annan muttered silently in his heart.

    But he did not say this out loud.

    It wasn¡¯t Annan concerned with how Joseph Buckel perceived him.

    He cared more about the Venerated Skeleton hearing hisment.

    Annan didn¡¯t directly say the three words ¡°the Venerated Skeleton,¡± hence he would not be dragged into a nightmare.

    But who knows if the Venerated Skeleton had already set up a field that generates response autonomously at this ce, and he could hear it.

    If he could hear it personally, then Annan might as well refrain from expressing strong opinions for the time being.

    But Annan had some doubts.

    ¡°But I heard that that person seems to have existed since the Third Age¡­¡±

    Annan asked with some doubts, ¡°In my understanding, several countries are currently under the rule of an empire hundreds of years ago.¡±

    Annan learned this knowledge through the book written by the suspected Annan ancestor ¡°Grinznuha Austere-Winter.¡±

    Then, he learned more information from the books that Salvatore brought. In the book he read, the five existing countries were split due to a brutal civil war after the sinking of the capital of an empire.

    ¡ªThat civil war was called the ¡°Blood War.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Joseph Buckel frowned slightly.

    ¡°¡­Feudal lord, have you read the books in Amos¡¯s study?¡±

    ¡°En?¡±

    Annan was startled.

    He suddenly remembered.

    The books in Amos¡¯s study seemed to be from Joseph Buckel.

    Joseph sighed helplessly, ¡°I didn¡¯t take those books away because they were useless¡­

    ¡°Grinznuha Austere-Winter is the believer of the false deity. Many books he wrote recorded that ritual, and he will encourage people to use it.¡±

    ¡°Is he a fraud?!¡±

    Annan raised his voice subconsciously.

    That person was the Austere-Winter family¡¯s member¡ª

    What does he want?

    ¡°He isn¡¯t a member of the Austere-Winter family.¡±

    It was like Joseph knew what Annan was thinking.

    The tall wizard chuckled, ¡°To be more urate, he used to be. But he was expelled, deprived of Austere-Winter¡¯s surname. But he still uses this name without shame. So you can treat the book he wrote as a leisure novel. At least his writing skill is excellent, and it¡¯s interesting to read.

    ¡°As for the empire you just mentioned¡­¡±

    His expression became slightly serious, ¡°I think you are talking about the Yasn Empire.

    ¡°The Yasn Empire is considered ancient. But he isn¡¯t the only ruler in this world. It used to be called the Osser Empire. It came from the desert region by the east and was an empire ruled by centaurs and elves. Until two Epochs, the empire has always been in the eastern desert.

    ¡°Later, there was the Epoch Disaster. Some of the Osserians fled westward andunched a war of aggression. They easily seized Yasn¡¯s territory and established the Yasn Empire. At that time, we were not called humans, but called ¡®Yasn.''¡±

    ¡°Epoch Disaster?¡±

    Annan tilted his head and asked softly.

    ¡°En, this is our Transcended way to distinguish the times.¡±

    Joseph seemed to have noticed Annan was a new Transcended. He started from the beginning, ¡°Upright deities can¡¯t keep dealing with the suppressed curses. The umted curses will give birth to some ¡®idents.¡¯ Disaster-like idents strong enough to change every civilization.

    ¡°For example, the desert went alive and turned into a huge sentient creature. Another example will be one-third of the Yasn Empire suddenly sank, forming the current Yasn Sea.

    ¡°But in fact, mortals are still not clear about something. That is the beginning of the Fifth Age, not symbolized by the sinking of the Yasn Empire. Although the old empire is great, it is not worthy of changing the entire civilization.

    ¡°The real symbol is the destruction of the Great Barrier.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Great Barrier shattered because of the sinking of the Yasn Empire?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Josephughed, ¡°Order Fire has always been under the upright deities¡¯ church¡¯ control. It has nothing to do with the Yasn Empire. After the capital sunk, all the elves living in the empire¡¯s capital and most of the centaurs went extinct. Besides changing the true deity¡¯s appearance to Yasn, does it affect the church?

    ¡°They are still the twelve true deities unique to this world, whether at the world in the west of the desert or the east of the desert. The gray mist can¡¯t iste the deities¡¯ power.¡±

    Ya.

    Indeed so¡­

    Annan remembered.

    In the history books he read, the Great Barrier was broken ¡°because the twelve deities¡¯ church fell apart.¡±

    But that reminds me¡­

    Why did the church suddenly fall apart?

    Joseph exined, ¡°At the end of the fourth epoch, the real symbol is that the barrier is no longer permanent.

    ¡°For the previous barrier, the true deities will extract the power of the gray mist to sustain it. But now, the true deity must consume their own power to maintain it. For example, Silver Sire and Old Grandmother are more powerful and can maintain the barrier independently. But, for Red Knight and Mysterious Lady, they must be united together to maintain the barrier.

    ¡°This will not be announced publicly for fear of its consequence, most likely to avoid causing panic in public. There are other epochs that are not written in the history books. Our five countries today are based on the foundation of the Yasnd Empire in the Fourth Age.

    ¡°The knowledge before the Third Age is utterly unnecessary for ordinary people to learn about it. The poption of elves and centaurs is small. They can only upy a small territory area, and the other parts must be sealed back again. For example, the former Elegy Dukedom has been ruled by them since the Third Age. It¡¯s just that they were still a kingdom at that time.

    ¡°In other words, or at least in our research, we believe that the copse of the Great Barrier may be the result of the discussions between the true deities. Anyway, the Yasnd Empire has sunk. Maintaining the barrier in the area that epasses the Yasn Sea consumes too much power. It is better to divide the barrier with a deity to shelter a piece ofnd separately so that the barrier canst for a longer time.¡±

    After hearing this, Annan came to a realization.

    Why did Grenznuha¡¯s book say that the Venerated Skeleton had a good rtionship with the Bone Burying Grandma in thest era but was relegated to evil deity in this era¡­

    The Venerated Skeleton was an evil deity from the beginning.

    He was a believer in Bone Burying Grandma in thest century. Of course, he had a good rtionship with Bone Burying Grandma.

    The earliest could be traced back to the Third Age. What constituted the Venerated Skeleton was the history and corpses of the entire Elegy Dukedom, and these existed since the Third Age.

    What Grinznuha said was his truth. Therefore, even if a lie detector were utilized, the disy would show ¡°this was the truth.¡±

    But the content inside the book was all bullshit.

    It was all deliberate effort to whitewash the Venerated Skeleton.

    However, learning that the true deity¡¯s power fumed the barrier gave Annan an ufortable D¨¦j¨¤ vu feeling.

    How does it feel so simr to a game filled with suffering?

 Chapter 151: Occult Bond Envoy

    <h4>Chapter 151: ult Bond Envoy</h4>

    In the end, Annan wasn¡¯t clear why Amos wanted to steal Joseph¡¯s curse vessel.

    ¡°But since you survived, it probably means that Amos died in the end?¡±

    Annan appeared curious and ignorant. Finally, he said in an innocent voice, ¡°What happened back then?¡±

    Judging by the look of Joseph he saw on the live broadcast, Joseph Buckel was not as peaceful as now.

    When Joseph was young, he was a fierce hunk who could perfectly y Jason with a mask and roamed Travis County, Texas, with a chainsaw on his back.

    Annan did not doubt that if Amos appeared before Joseph, this brave and righteous Brother Sledgehammer would smash his head with a sledgehammer without mercy.

    No matter how tough Amos¡¯ head was, could it be tougher than a hammer?

    ¡°How Amos died, in the end, is ridiculous.¡±

    Joseph¡¯s expression is moreplicated, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you have read the newspaper of the year. It was mentioned that the police arrested Amos.

    ¡°Have you heard about this? It was quite famous back then.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Annan replied. This was what Salvatore showed him in the newspaper.

    ¡°Then I think you should know that at the time, the police station was ¡®seeking assistance from relevant industry insiders.¡¯¡±

    Joseph chuckled and pointed his finger at himself, ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to say that I¡¯m the relevant person in the industry.¡±

    You¡¯re indeed relevant and indeed in the industry.

    So Annan was convinced and nodded.

    He asked, ¡°So, what happened?¡±

    ¡°The scene in that nightmare was distorted. I went along with the public security bureau. Indeed, we entered from the main entrance.

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where he got the information, he ambushed us.¡±

    Joseph said in a deep voice, ¡°We were in a group of 13 people and five professionally trained police dogs.

    ¡°Besides Sergeant Hiram and me, there are also former police chief Job Boro who was demotedter on because of the Elle disappearance case, five police officers with guns, and five police officers with shields.

    ¡°There are only two Transcended in the team, Sergeant Hiram and me. But we are both Silver Rank Transcended. I¡¯m an Edict Wizard, and he is an ult Bond Envoy. Ourbination is powerful.¡±

    Annan had read about the ¡°ult Bond Envoy¡± profession in Salvatore¡¯s books.

    This was a Silver Rank¡¯s hidden profession.

    Those in this profession would be most likely an officials.

    Because to the average person, the Transcended ability of this profession was meaningless.

    Its value came from ¡°bonds.¡± The ult Bond Envoy could transfer the energy through the bonds as long as the targets were within his field of vision and held the special emblem made by them.

    To put it simply, the ult Bond Envoy could act as a transit point to connect the mana pools of nearby wizards, allowing them to borrow mana from other allies. He could even spread the injuries suffered by a certain friendly unit to nearby allies; Or transfer the injuries of everyone around them to an ally.

    The ult Bond Envoy could aid the front liners charging toward the enemy by borrowing the physical strength of the soldiers in the back. He could concentrate the self-regeneration of arge number of ordinary soldiers to heal a target¡¯s injury quickly and even allow someone to bear the fatigue of everyone. Of course, this applied to curses as well.

    The cost of this ability did not need to be fully paid by ¡°allies.¡±

    The ult Bond Envoy could forcibly tie his emblem on the conscious prisoner of war and used the prisoner either as a battery or a shield.

    It was a rtively rare but powerful profession under some circumstances.

    In a one-to-one fight, the ult Bond Envoy would be pretty weak. Besides their Silver Rank stealth ability, they had no transcended abilities that could be utilized inbat. Moreover, their transcended abilities need to be ¡°in field of vision¡± to use, so they certainly had to sneak at the team¡¯s backline.

    However, the ult Bond Envoy was efficient in teaming up with Edict Wizards, known for itsprehensive capabilities, strong control, and superior team buffing ability. By adding a bunch of cannon fodder police officers, the team could be effective in many situations.

    Indeed, at least half of the ten police officers were positioned as cannon fodder to sustain Joseph¡¯s damage.

    ¡°However, shortly after entering the hall, the chandelier in the middle suddenly smashed down. One person was smashed to death before he could dodge away, and one person was seriously injured. However, after a police dog search, we found something strange about his paintings and the approximate location of the basement.

    ¡°However, although we knew the location, we could not enter the secret passage leading to the basement for the time being. So we sent a police officer and asked him to urgently call some ck Fire and explode the secret passage directly.¡±

    ¡°Later, we saw him between the second and third floors. After our warning shots went to no avail, we continued our pursuit. But considering his identity and reputation at the time, we didn¡¯t dare to shoot him directly. Hence, we decided to catch up and subdue him.¡±

    At this point, regrets flooded Joseph.

    He shook his head and sighed, ¡°If the sheriff were more decisive and shot at that time, things would have gone better.

    ¡°When we chased Amos down to the fourth floor, he activated an unknown curse vessel. Five bullets came from the future. The bullets were fired out of my sight.

    ¡°I was shot together with four other police officers. Among them was the former police chief, Job Boro. Two of them were shot at the lethal spot and died immediately. Although the remaining two were shot in the shoulders and arms, they were also severely cursed. As you may have already known, ordinary people couldn¡¯t bear any curse.¡±

    Unfortunately, three police officers died. The two police officers also went crazy on the spot because the scene was too cruel, and they suffered a substantial mental shock. They then died of injuries a few dayster.

    This news report came to Annan¡¯s mind.

    Two of the three police officers should have been killed by ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡¯s gramophone.¡± The chandelier should kill the remaining one.

    As for the two remaining police officers who ¡°went crazy on the spot,¡± the turbid blood bullets must have hit them.

    ¡°By then, three people among the team are already dead, right? But I remember the report said that there are five casualties.¡±

    Annan asked, ¡°Except for them, did anyone else get injured afterward? What is that ¡®colored flesh ball¡¯? Is it that deity¡¯s son?¡±

    Joseph was silent for a moment, and he nodded.

    His expression was a little gloomy.

    Joseph whispered. His voice became a little low, somewhat ironic, but also a little scared, ¡°Of course, we have the ult Bond Envoy.

    ¡°Since there are two people who will die sooner orter already, how will the ult Bond Envoy let the others further get hurt?¡±

 Chapter 152: Pathetic

    <h4>Chapter 152: Pathetic</h4>

    Why in the face of the Venerated Skeleton, only five people died?

    Why did those two people who ¡°suffered a huge mental shock and went crazy on the spot¡± die because of ¡°fatal injuries¡±ter?

    Did it mean that their brain was too severely damaged? Or they knew too much and were secretly executed?

    These were the questions that puzzled Annan for a long while.

    At this moment, Annan finally had an idea of it.

    It was because the two people who were hit by the turbid blood bullets suffered the injuries in everyone else¡¯s ce.

    ¡°So, you were also¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Joseph nodded, ¡°The bullet suddenly appeared in front of me. It prated my chest and went behind me. Then, as if time-reversed, the bullet was sucked out from my back.

    ¡°At that time, Amos stole my curse vessel. Then, two people who were hit in the shoulder passed out. Then, Amos appeared behind me and took my bracelet directly.

    ¡°But since he stole my bracelet, Hiram, who cameter on, managed to hit his abdomen with a throwing knife. Then I fainted.

    ¡°In terms of the subsequent development, Amos called his ¡®painters¡¯ to cover him, and the police officers were stalled in ce. Fortunately, Amos had no medical knowledge. He plugged out the flying knife before escaping. This resulted in heavy blood loss. He could no longer escape the police dog¡¯s pursuit, although he did not shake off the police¡¯s pursuit in the first ce¡­¡±

    The wizard sighed.

    ¡°I can survive now is all because Hiram arrived in time and saved me. A police officer who was also hit by a bullet in the abdomen was not saved, but he did not die immediately. With the dy in his death, Hiram managed to transfer my injury to him in time.¡±

    I see. Annan came to a realization.

    Turbid blood bullets hit Joseph¡¯s heart, but he was able to survive because of Hiram¡¯s emergency ¡®heal.¡¯

    Without this healing, Joseph must have faced his demise already.

    ¡°What happenedter?¡± Annan asked.

    Hearing that, Joseph¡¯s expression became a little strange.

    ¡°Later¡­¡±

    He was silent for a moment and then replied, ¡°When we get rid of the entanglement of those magical paintings, Amos has run out of sight.

    ¡°But for some reason, he ran up after trapping us. In this way, even if we were trapped for a long time, he would not be able to run away. Moreover, his internal organs were damaged. Worse still, he didn¡¯t have the ability to heal at all.

    ¡°To be on the safe side, we still maintained the formation and carefully searched upwards, floor by floor. However, we had not encountered other traps since then. Until we reached the top floor and went up to the roof¡­¡±

    Having said that, Joseph paused slightly.

    He spoke softly, ¡°We saw Amos¡¯s corpse.¡±

    ¡­Corpse? Annan was also stunned.

    ¡°Because of the bleeding in the internal organ?¡±

    ¡°Surely not.¡±

    Joseph replied positively, ¡°From the time weunched our attack on the fourth floor until we found Amos¡¯s body, it was more than half an hour. But his body had stayed dead for a while.

    ¡°From what we investigated, Amos was already dead when we were still on the fourth floor.¡±

    Buckel said slowly, ¡°The pistol in his hand still had thest bullet. The cause of death was that he was hit in the heart by a turbid blood bullet. But the problem is that the shot came from the back. So, we can only infer that his aplices killed him. My curse vessel disappeared at that time too.

    ¡°After that, we encountered the monster burning with colored mes. It was terrifying. When it did not attack, none of our attacks could hit it. When it attacked, those who got hit would have their consciousness eliminated. During the battle, the victims lost consciousness, lost memory, and could not struggle or resist.

    ¡°Fortunately, we have many people. After a tough battle, we used those twopanions to share any fatal damages to defeat it barely. But we couldn¡¯t kill it. We could only seal it.

    ¡°Fortunately, its desire to attack wasn¡¯t strong. Under our attacks, it was just crying. When it attacked us, it did not specifically attack the vital points. We learned that its name was ¡®Angelo.¡¯

    ¡°We think it should be the unborn baby in Elle¡¯s belly.¡±

    At this point, Joseph¡¯s voice was a little hoarse.

    Joseph choked with emotion. He cleared his throat lightly before he could continue, ¡°We sealed Angelo at Freezing Water Port. As for where¡­ even I don¡¯t know. To prevent this from happening again, we have to stop Soul Snatch Wizard from searching our memory in our soul or revealing it in the nightmare after our death. Hence, the police chief and I were responsible for half of the seal each. I was responsible for shattering its soul and burying it in the ground. The police chief was responsible for hiding its body. ¡°

    ¡°¡­So, the curse of the Freezing Water Port is the nightmare formed after Angelo¡¯s death?¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Yes, Angelo is the curse spreading on thisnd, but it has notpletely died. The process of purifying this nightmare is the process of slowly eliminating it.¡±

    Joseph grinned bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you say I¡¯m weak. Since then, I no longer have the decisiveness of my youth.

    ¡°I know that only by purifying the curse entangling Angelo can this matter be ended entirely, and Elle¡¯s resentment can return to the ground. But I¡­

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m still a little reluctant. After all, it is thest proof that ¡®Elle¡¯ has survived.¡±

    He sighed softly, ¡°I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t care. I know that it¡¯s good for Elle, Angelo, and Freezing Water Port to purify the nightmare. I just¡­ I hope I can take a nce at Elle in the nightmare when I want to drink.¡±

    After listening to Joseph, there was a brief moment of silence in the room.

    Annan stared at the man.

    Feeling Annan¡¯s gaze, Joseph sighed and turned away without a trace.

    On the one hand, Joseph wanted to let Elle rest in peace, killing the ¡°Angelo¡± carrying his blood. He didn¡¯t want Elle to stay in the world like a ghost, full of resentment. He also knows that nightmares are nothing but remnants of past events, not real history, nor another world¡­

    But on the one hand, he still had an obsession with this past and couldn¡¯t forget it.

    Annan once asked Salvatore.

    The police chief had already left Freezing Water Port. It seemed that he was promoted in the second year after the incident ended, but it wasn¡¯t clear where he went.

    At Freezing Water Port, thest survivor who had experienced the events of that year should be Joseph.

    If he wanted to, it must be easy for him to purify this nightmare by himself.

    As for the nonsense that ¡°the vessel wasn¡¯t with him, and couldn¡¯t get power after purifying the nightmare,¡± should be excuses for him to lie to himself.

    The curse of ¡®can¡¯t travel far on him¡¯ and the sealed artifacts he lost were notpletely unsolvable events. With his position as the wizard tower mentor, if Joseph utilized his connections, he wouldn¡¯t be trapped in the Freezing Water Port for forty-five years.

    ¡ªUnless he didn¡¯t want to leave.

    He wanted to watch the nightmare being purified, but he didn¡¯t want to do it himself.

    He didn¡¯t prevent others from purifying nightmares, but he did not take the initiative to help others.

    Because he wanted to end it all while he still couldn¡¯t forget it all.

    Joseph didn¡¯t want to say goodbye to all of this.

    Annan sighed.

    Such a pathetic man.

    Such a poor father.

 Chapter 153: Learning The Lesson To Be Content

    <h4>Chapter 153: Learning The Lesson To Be Content</h4>

    ¡°I still have one thing which I want to confirm your opinion.¡±

    Annan¡¯s tone was tender.

    He asked solemnly and seriously, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t mind us purifying this nightmare, right?¡±

    Indeed, Annan was the absolute leader. To put it simply, Joseph was the ¡°baker,¡± and Annan was the ¡°feudal lord.¡± But, Joseph Buckel was undoubtedly Annan¡¯s senior despite Annan and Joseph both being Transcended wizards.

    If Joseph didn¡¯t like that, then Annan would try his best to respect his opinion¡­ at least leave with him a couple of times to purify the nightmare.

    After all, this meager count wouldn¡¯t be able to nurture many yers. But, for Joseph, it was the ¡°photo album¡± he used to reminisce about the past in hister years.

    Although this album was a bit cruel to him¡­

    Hearing Annan¡¯s questions, Joseph nced over in surprise.

    Then, he smiled gently.

    Annan noticed. This was the first time Joseph smiled from the heart bottom after he entered the house.

    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t mind. On the contrary, I will be grateful to you.¡±

    Joseph just shook his head and waved his hand weakly, ¡°I just can¡¯t lift my spirit¡­ Otherwise, as early as forty years ago, I would have purified it. Then, I will write a letter to Treasure Diamond Ind to relieve the curse on my body and leave this ce.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know exactly what I¡¯ve been busying for these years. I have seen too many partings from life and death. Either it is struggling in an infinite nightmare, or it is just watching the suffering of others in reality.

    ¡°Now, I don¡¯t want to continue anymore. I am a little tired, a little confused, and¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do anymore.¡±

    Joseph said, looking at Annan.

    The dark green pupils were deep and tired.

    ¡°Feudal lord, I don¡¯t want to be a Transcended anymore. So if you find my vessel, please don¡¯t return it to me.

    ¡°Of course, feel free to ask me any questions you have, even if it¡¯s about magic. I will be here all the time, and I like the life of ordinary people quite a bit.

    ¡°And if you want to purify this nightmarepletely¡­ My suggestion for you is to find out the real cause of Amos¡¯s death. The cause of Amos¡¯s death and the whereabouts of my curse vessel are the remaining mysteries at the moment.¡±

    The cause of Amos¡¯s death¡­?

    Annan immediately had an idea after hearing Joseph¡¯s words. He thought of the Time Stopper Eye¡¯s gramophone curse vessel.

    Neither the police nor Joseph knew the effects of the curse vessel, but Annan knew.

    The gramophone allowed the user to enter the past and change what had happened. In addition to being unable to touch creatures, the user could do whatever he wanted.

    Judging from Elle¡¯s words, it should be the second time Amos used the gramophone back on the fourth floor.

    If Amos used the gramophone for the third time, he killed himself on the rooftop with thest bullet¡­ then this wound would be reasonable.

    But why did he want to do this?

    As long as he nullified the impact after returning to the past, he would still die directly with Time Stopper Eyepletely draining his life span.

    His bullet should still be used to kill another person.

    His actions were unreasonable.

    It was like missing a piece in the middle¡­

    Wait?

    Annan¡¯s mind was struck with enlightenment.

    If this is Amos¡¯s true purpose?

    Amos¡¯s model and movement appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    To die on the rooftop, he must have reached the rooftop.

    Then, he returned to the fifth floor or a particr floor where the gramophone was stored. Then, he used the gramophone for the third time and entered the past.

    After that, he went to the basement and released Angelo.

    Later, for some reason, he returned to the rooftop. Then, with a shot from the back, he killed himself, who just arrived at the rooftop ¡°via the time reversal.¡±

    With that, since Amos was dead, he couldn¡¯t leave the rooftop and go down the stairs to activate the gramophone. That was why he died on the rooftop and was shot in the back and killed by turbid blood bullets with only one shot.

    This could exin who released the Angelo sealed in the wine bottle and why turbid blood bullets killed Amos from behind.

    But what is his motive?

    Annan reached out and tapped the table rhythmically.

    He thought for a moment, then slowly asked Joseph, ¡°I have a question. Tell me now¡­

    ¡°What exactly was your advanced curse back then? I want to know the taboo and the effect.¡±

    The curse obtained during the advancement was stored in the vessel.

    Joseph, who had lost his vessel, didn¡¯t need to keep it a secret.

    Joseph didn¡¯t seem to be surprised that Annan asked this question.

    ¡°You¡¯re smart, dear feudal lord.¡±

    He chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s fine for me to reveal my advanced Silver Rank curse. ¡®I can¡¯t kill with a knife,¡¯ and that¡¯s all. The effect is that when I use any blunt weapon, I can ignore 80% of its weight. For those who venture in the wizard path, it¡¯s a pretty useless curse.

    ¡°But the curse of my Bronze Rank is that if someone greets me within ten meters of my radius, I must respond within ten seconds.

    ¡°The effect is if someone says my name within a radius of one kilometer, I can vaguely see his specific location and his general figure.¡±

    Annan¡¯s eyes widened when he heard these words.

    Soon, he realized something.

    Could it be that I was discovered by calling ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± at Freezing Water Port, not because the Venerated Skeleton was almighty, nor because he was in Freezing Water Port?

    But because of theposition of this nightmare, was it rted to Joseph¡¯s lost curse vessel?

    The event forty-five years ago gradually became clear in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Annan nodded slowly, ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Buckel. You have provided crucial information.¡±

    Having said this, Annan suddenly remembered something.

    ¡°Right,¡± he asked anxiously, ¡°What is the two-handed hammer-shaped curse vessel you used back then?¡±

    Annan wanted to know its specific attributes.

    This was useful information, no matter for Annan¡¯s use or sold it to yers.

    Joseph shrugged.

    He had a bright but childish and triumphant smile on his face.

    ¡°It looks scary, right?¡±

    Mr. Joseph Buckel shrugged and stood up, ¡°Wait a moment. I will take it out for you to have a look.¡±

    As Joseph spoke, he walked to the back.

    About ten minutester, he took a sledgehammer tightly wrapped in cotton cloth. It was covered with dust and even had a weird smell like old clothes stored for more than ten years in the wardrobe.

    Joseph handed it to Annan.

    This hammer was whimsically as tall as Annan.

    Sledgehammer Beyond Eyebrow¡¯s Height.jpg

    Annany it on the floor horizontally in silence.

    A list of attributes appeared before Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm]

    [Type: Weapon/Tool ??(Light Blue)]

    [Description: It can exert greater power when facing objects with an ¡°obstacle¡± attribute.]

    [Effect: When attacking ¡°walls,¡± ¡°road barriers,¡± ¡°shields,¡± and other objects, you get a temporary +10 Strength bonus; its shock-resistant property is graded as ¡°superior.¡± The weapon is capable of reducing a certain degree of recoil.]

    [Cost: It can only be held with the right hand. If it is held by the left hand, the user will be more vulnerable to fractures when attacking.]

    The effect was great, and the cost was low.

    The temporary 10 bonus points in Strength equated to twice the strength of an ordinary person.

    Annan¡¯s Strength attribute was 10 points. Therefore, if he held this hammer, it was equivalent to doubling the strength when he struck the wall.

    What is this called?

    80 Sledgehammer? [1]

    ¡°I¡¯m gifting it to you.¡±

    Joseph smiled and said, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m just an ordinary baker now, and it¡¯s useless to keep it with me.¡±

    Annan went silent for a while. Then, he stood up, and bowed to Joseph, sending his gratitude.

    Then he whispered, ¡°Actually, I prefer your book collection.¡±

    ¡°What? Book collection?¡±

    Joseph nodded and got up again, ¡°Yes, of course, I keep them. I won¡¯t throw them away. Feudal lord, just a minute, I¡¯ll get it¡ª¡±

    Annan was dumbfounded.

    Brother! I really didn¡¯t mean it that way!

    [1] Reference to a Chineseedic show. In the show, there¡¯s renovation work about taking down a wall. Hitting the wall with a big hammer costs 80 yuan while hitting the wall with a small hammer costs 40 yuan.

 Chapter 154: Have You Been Listening To It The Whole Time?!

    <h4>Chapter 154: Have You Been Listening To It The Whole Time?!</h4>

    After following Joseph into the basement, Annan finally saw the books that Joseph had kept well.

    The books received different treatment from that sledgehammer.

    These books were ced carefully in metal boxes, and each box contains only one book.

    There were a total of sixteen boxes of different sizes and colors. What they had inmon was that each box was iid with a small blue gem on the top.

    ¡°This gem is used for dust removal. I have made a simple modification to it. It can continuously keep the box dry and clean while eliminating insects and ants.¡±

    Joseph noticed Annan¡¯s gaze, so he exined carefully, ¡°After divorcing ra that year, I didn¡¯t take many items away with me. I just took away these sixteen books.¡±

    As he said, he caressed the boxes lightly.

    His expression seemed a bitplicated.

    Until now, Annan finally saw a trace of loneliness that belonged to the old man on Joseph¡¯s face.

    So, Annan didn¡¯t disturb Joseph reminiscing on his past.

    Annan held the hammer as tall as him with both hands horizontally as he stood silently and obediently at the side.

    After a while, Joseph recovered from his deep thoughts.

    ¡°Sorry, feudal lord. I have embarrassed myself in front of you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Annan smiled gently, ¡°This is probably life.¡±

    Annan turned out to be a little¡­ envious.

    But even Annan himself didn¡¯t know what he was envious of.

    Joseph just smiled and said nothing.

    He opened the boxes one by one. He confirmed the contents in it before closing it and moving on to the next box.

    Finally, he selected six boxes and found a bag to put them together.

    ¡°They are all the only ones in this world, very precious. I can¡¯t let them be destroyed or lost in my hands, so I have been taking care of them all these years.¡±

    Joseph exined carefully, ¡°Feudal lord, after you finish reading those six books, you maye back to me and request for other books. The rest of the books are probably of no use to you until you advance to silver.

    ¡°As we often say, ¡®what¡¯s hidden is poisonous.¡¯ The reason I didn¡¯t leave them to ra¡­ It¡¯s also because ra doesn¡¯t have the talent to be a wizard. If she looked directly at the knowledge, her soul couldn¡¯t bear it.

    ¡°For example, what I told you before, about that person¡¯s story. They are recorded in those six books. The person¡¯s real name is even recorded in them. But this knowledge can only be obtained by reading this book.

    ¡°After all, whether it is a true deity or false deity, as long as the soul is promoted to deity, their names can¡¯t be spoken,¡± Joseph whispered.

    Annan nodded.

    He also learned about this previously.

    Just the name of a deity, it also had a mysterious power. If a mortal spoke it out, he would die immediately; for Transcended, their real name itself was a powerful and uncontroble spell.

    In addition to the deities¡¯ names, there were also some advanced rituals, secrets, etc., which couldn¡¯t be expressed in humannguage.

    Those who got to hear it once would never forget this knowledge. But once the knowledge was used¡ªwhich meant being ¡°read out¡± once, they would realize they couldn¡¯t say it a second time until they refilled the knowledge once more.

    Annan opened his eyes slightly, ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, there is genuine mysterious knowledge in it.¡±

    Joseph nodded.

    He opened six boxes one by one and showed them to Annan:

    ¡°A Comprehensive Study on the New Deity the Venerated Skeleton,¡± ¡°A Comprehensive Study on the New Deity the Rotten Man,¡± ¡°ck Widow¡¯s Spider Ritual (January to March),¡± ¡°Old Grandmother¡¯s Frost Ceremony,¡± ¡°Entry Level Edict Spells,¡± ¡°How to Detect and Resist the Curse of Unknown Origin.¡±

    ¡°In these four books, there is a certain degree of mysterious knowledge hidden, so it can¡¯t be copied. For thetter two books are the first editions of the spellbook and the reference book, which offer great value. Therefore, feudal lord, you should keep the two books in your collection after you finish reading them.¡±

    Joseph introduced the books to Annan.

    Annan nodded repeatedly. What a generous gift.

    Of course, since Joseph took the initiative to give them out, Annan won¡¯t shy away hypocritically.

    Annan had always been disdainful of being vain.

    Annan raised the sledgehammer, spoke in a childish and well-behaved voice, and asked respectfully, kindly, and humbly,

    ¡°Do you have anything else, Teacher Buckel?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Wait a minute-¡°

    Joseph Buckel also nodded readily.

    He opened the drawer under the books.

    It was a wooden tube.

    After opening it, there was a pair of pure white slender gloves seemingly made of rubber.

    Annan got it in his hands, and its attributes emerged in his eyes:

    [Elves¡¯ Hand]

    [Type: Armor (Purple)]

    [Description: Gloves made of elf skin imbued with curse and resentment.]

    [Effect: You can guide two Guided Spells at the same time when your hands are sped together.]

    [Cost: You can¡¯t equip it for more than an hour. Otherwise, the gloves will grow on your hands.]

    [Description: It seems that there are some other effects, but you can¡¯t see it for the time being (Your Advanced Mysticism has failed the assessment).]

    ¡°This is the gift that my instructor gave me when I graduated from the Diamond Tower after advancing into silver.¡±

    Joseph Buckel said nostalgically, ¡°But to me, this item is no longer useful. It isn¡¯t more valuable than a bag of flour to me.¡±

    With that, Joseph looked at Annan.

    ¡°My Transcended journey is over, feudal lord. Silver rank¡­ Many people in this world struggle their entire life but still can¡¯t reach the rank of silver or even bronze. But on the transcendence journey, this attainment is only half the journey.¡±

    There was no mockery in Joseph¡¯s eyes, no expectations, no regrets.

    Only calm and relief.

    Joseph whispered, ¡°The Transcended journey is the path of endurance, the path of curse, the path of oath. The Transcended path is the road to the truth¡­

    ¡°¡ªThe path of transcendence is the path of bing a deity.

    ¡°I gave up. But your path has just begun.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Annan nodded slowly with a stern expression, ¡°I will remember today¡¯s conversation, Teacher Joseph.¡±

    After that, the atmosphere fell into a wonderful silence.

    The two stood in ce. Annan could see that Joseph still had something to say, but he didn¡¯t in the end.

    Annan quickly understood what Joseph intended.

    So Annan thanked Mr. Joseph again. Then, he notified Joseph in advance that some people mighte to him with questionster on. Annan carried a heavy package, a wooden tube around his waist, and a sledgehammer wrapped in cotton in his hands when he left the bakery.

    Annan¡¯s expression was a bitplicated.

    Although he told the yers that he would ¡°go out and get something¡± as an excuse¡­

    He didn¡¯t expect to get so many things in the end.

    Joseph was seemingly pushing these items to Annan.

    This reminded Annan of the time when he was on Earth. When the seniors in online games wanted to be away from the keyboard (AFK), they also enthusiastically gave him pieces of precious and memoryden ¡°legacy.¡±

    Annan had never been willing to consume these items.

    His poprity was great, being friendly with many seniors.

    In the end, Annan¡¯s warehouse would always store a lot of legacy from the predecessors when they retired from the game. He kept these as a collection.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a situation in this world.¡±

    Annan sighed somewhatplicatedly.

    He walked on the deserted streets with many items, like a homeless man who had left his hometown and a child who had run away from home.

    Suddenly, Annan felt a strange chill engulfing him.

    As he passed an alley, the tension he had before resurfaced suddenly.

    Annan was startled, his whole body stiffened, and his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

    At this time, Annan finally saw it.

    He saw what on earth he was being stared at.

    A tall figure stood in the alley.

    He appeared to be approximately three meters tall.

    He wore a duke¡¯s robe, a sacred white crown on his head, a golden mask like a crying human face, heavy white metal boots, and heavy white thick leather gloves on his hands. The being was entirely shrouded in clothing.

    But after Annan looked closely, he realized that being was ¡°too thin.¡±

    It was like there were only bones under the clothes.

 Chapter 155: Understanding The Foreign Language Is Important

    <h4>Chapter 155: Understanding The Foreign Language Is Important</h4>

    Just staring at the being, Annan found himself short of breath.

    Annan felt that his body shuddered. A sense ofziness was injected into his brain through his eyes. There was seemingly a tangible fear that locked his limbs like shackles. A sense of despair permeated the surrounding air.

    ¡ªShudders, fear,ziness, despair.

    But unfortunately¡­

    These things happened to be ineffective to Annan.

    Even so, Annan could sense them throughmon sense.

    This weird man of tall stature should be the Venerated Skeleton that the yers and I talk about every day.

    If it wasn¡¯t Annan who appeared in front of him, but anyone else, the best ending now was to run away in a sorry manner.

    Those with sharper Perception stats might go crazy in an instant.

    That was in the situation of no direct eye contact.

    The golden maskpletely blocked the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s gaze. Annan only roughly saw his existence in reality and was immediately affected by multiple negative auras.

    Annan doubted that his soul could survive direct eye contact with the Venerated Skeleton, albeit his talent to resist negative emotions.

    After a short silence, Annan saluted respectfully.

    ¡°Can I help you, sir?¡±

    What Annan feared most now was to have the Venerated Skeleton replied indifferently, ¡°No, go to hell.¡±

    Then, the being granted him instant death.

    But fortunately, the Venerated Skeleton wasn¡¯t so ruthless¡­

    ¡°You seem to be the [Regret]¡¯s Frostborn.¡±

    A low, reverberating old voice sounded in Annan¡¯s ear, ¡°But are you a descendant she recognized and acknowledged?¡±

    It was the moment Annan heard the name [Regret].

    He suddenly felt that his body could no longer move.

    The creaking sound of freezing sounded in his ears.

    Annan noticed that arge area of surrounding buildings began to freeze.

    Lines of frost traces formed. They were like ice flowers on windows, appearing on the ground and the walls around the alleys.

    ¡°Hu¡­¡±

    Annan slowly exhaled a visible breath and felt his spine start to be rigid, rendering him immobile.

    My breath isn¡¯t hot, but frigid cold¡­

    Annan realized his blood boiling after the name was called. The blood was so active, with a bone-seeping chill running rampant.

    Annan looked down and saw that his skin swelled up. The swelling would move for a distance before sinking into his skin again. Its path left frost traces. It was like countless beetles traveled through the skin at great speed and then melted like ice.

    Although Annan¡¯s pain sensation was duller, he couldn¡¯t shake off the vague and ufortable sensation of cial cold.

    After that, a line of prompt suddenly appeared in front of Annan:

    [Health: 1%]

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank immediately.

    But the strange reaction in him was still intensifying.

    A strong cold air leached on him, and the ground was frozen. Annan¡¯s skin turned paler, approaching transparency. If an intense light struck him at this time, it might even prate him to the other end.

    His body soon showed crystalized frost traces, covering him like scale armor.

    Indeed, it was like scales.

    At this moment, a low, indistinct, cold female voice sounded finely in Annan¡¯s ears.

    ¡°¡­ Annan¡­ Maria¡­ Annan¡­¡±

    She seemed to have said a lot.

    Hearing this sound, the Venerated Skeleton stopped talking.

    The Venerated Skeleton just stood silently and looked at Annan without saying a word.

    But Annan didn¡¯t understand thatnguage at all.

    He could barely discern two names out from the voices¡ª

    Two Annans and one Maria.

    Finally, the voice faded away.

    Once again, data streamers invaded Annan¡¯s vision:

    [Activated: Path of Archaic Bloodline]

    [The talent ¡°Winter Heart¡± is evolving¡ª]

    [After meeting ¡°Old Grandmother ¡ª Regret¡¯s¡± needs, ¡°Winter Heart (Reverse)¡± would evolve to the next stage: Winter¡¯s Harvest (Reverse)]

    [Frosty of Winter (Reverse): You will not feel all negative emotions; the damage of your ¡°frost¡± element will be permanently increased by 50%; you will bepletely immune to all harming from ¡°frost¡± elements below the truth level.]

    [Acquired mysterious knowledge: the real name of Frost and Tradition Deity ¡°Old Grandmother.¡±]

    [This mysterious knowledge can be used as ¡°Deity Summon Ritual: ¡®Old Grandmother,''¡± ¡°Gold Incantation (Energy Falteration School): Blitz Frost,¡± ¡°Legendary Material: Frost Core,¡± ¡°Advanced Influence: Remains of the Frost Deity.¡±]

    [This mysterious knowledge will be forgotten after using ¡°1¡± times, and it can only be obtained again after ¡°hearing ¡®Old Grandmother¡¯s¡¯ voice.¡±]

    ¡ªand many more!

    I have guessed it. The cold voice seems toe from the upright deity ¡°Old Grandmother.¡±

    But what do Old Grandmother needs?!

    Annan was dumbfounded.

    It¡¯s not a dialect or Austere-Winter Dukedomnguage¡­ It¡¯s not a humannguage at all!

    Annan could be 100% certain that human vocal cords could never make such a weird and deep voice.

    Damn it, wait¡­ It looks like something went wrong!

    Although Annan bore the blood of Austere-Winter and became Deity Old Grandmother¡¯s Frostborn, he didn¡¯t acquire thenguage knowledge needed to talk to Old Grandmother.

    Then, Old Grandmother seemed to utter his name at the Venerated Skeleton, using it as a medium to give Annan a mission.

    But the problem was¡­ Annan didn¡¯t understand at all. So what mission did she give Annan?

    This stupid system didn¡¯t disy the mission. Probably it couldn¡¯t decode thenguage either. Anyway, Annan now only knew what the mission rewards were, but he didn¡¯t know what she wanted to do.

    This is hard. Forget it; it¡¯s impossible to understand it anyway.

    It is better to find a way to study some ancient knowledge in the future, mainly in linguistics, but also in Old Grandmother and Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Anna needed emergency tutoring on this foreignnguage to a level whereby he would have a rough understanding of it when he summoned Old Grandmother next time.

    When Annan felt his body with the chill fading, three minutes had passed.

    At this time, Annan was still at 1% of health. Therefore, any injury would result in his death.

    Worse still, he didn¡¯t understand what Old Grandmother said to him.

    ¡ªBut Annan still had the courage in his heart.

    He looked at the Venerated Skeleton again without fear and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, ¡°Excuse me¡­ Is there anything else?¡±

    But the Venerated Skeleton suddenlyughed.

    Indeed¡ª Annan was certain. He heard the Venerated Skeleton chuckle slightly!

    ¡°Alright, Frostborn. Since you chose this path, we will see you again.¡±

    After Annan woke up from the trance, the Venerated Skeleton spoke more.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t as cold and alienated as at first. Instead, he became a little more friendly, ¡°Your name is¡­ Annan, right? Annan Frost Tongue¡­¡±

    What¡¯s with this surname that sounds like a certain lich?

    Annan paused slightly.

    He suddenly realized that the Venerated Skeleton seemed to understand the Old Grandmother¡¯s words.

    No way, this trash skeleton is too realistic¡­

    He came over to trouble me in the first ce.

    But knowing that I have the Old Grandmother¡¯s blood, he changed his mind on the spot¡­

    Annan was a little ufortable with that trash skeleton being so decisive.

    So he decided to probe, ¡°My name is¡­Annan Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°Sooner orter, it will be Frost-Tongue¡­¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton just smiled. Then, a deep, hoarse, echoing voice sounded in Annan¡¯s heart, ¡°If you are not afraid¡­ When you advance to the truth level, you can also try to use my ritual¡­ If you face a problem, you can also hold my ritual¡­ I know that you know the ritual about me¡­¡±

    As the Venerated Skeleton spoke, he reached out his right hand wrapped in steel and pointed at the package behind Annan, ¡°But that book, I took it away¡­¡±

    With that said, the Venerated Skeleton pointed to Annan¡¯s package.

    Annan immediately understood which book the Venerated Skeleton wanted.

    It must be the one that records the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s real name!

    ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡±

    Annan was kind enough to take down the package immediately, nning to take it out to see the guests off.

    ¡°No need¡­¡± The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s deep voice sounded.

    When Annan looked up again, the Venerated Skeleton had disappeared.

    In his package, the book disappeared at some point. The box waspletely gone as well.

    Annan didn¡¯t even feel when did the weight had drop.

    ¡­Perhaps when I was frozen, he had already secretly taken the book?

    Annan hesitated to say something and stopped, ¡°Brother¡­¡±

    You¡¯re pretty frank¡­

 Chapter 156: The Venerated Skeletonâ€™s Strategic Arrangement

    <h4>Chapter 156: The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Strategic Arrangement</h4>

    After the Venerated Skeleton disappeared, Annan noticed an extra item on the ground.

    It was a small piece of pure white bone bit with an irregr shape.

    Although Annan knew it was dangerous, he couldn¡¯t control himself but pick it up.

    Fortunately, it did not seem to be a trap.

    Annan felt a bit of warmth as soon as he grabbed it. The tactile sensation was like a jade pendant that had been worn for many years.

    Somewhat unexpectedly, the item had attributes, although it was strange:

    [The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Temporary Asylum]

    [Type: essory (Gold)]

    [Description: Deity of Bones and Betrayal ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± temporarily has no intention of being your enemy.]

    [Effect: When entering the nightmare left by any ¡°believer of the Venerated Skeleton,¡± the failure of the dungeon will not increase the erosion rate. ¡°Believer of the Venerated Skeleton¡± cannot kill you. ]

    ¡°¡­Hey.¡±

    Did you cower just like that?

    Annan was speechless.

    Although the Venerated Skeleton imed that he only took one book¡­

    Annan was not quite sure whether this sentence was true with how trash the Venerated Skeleton appeared.

    Annan checked the books and the items in his bag again, then brought out the attribute panel and took a look. He then fumbled around his whole body, only to be able to temporarily confirm that the Venerated Skeleton had indeed only taken one book.

    It was the book: ¡°A Comprehensive Study on the New Deity the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    ¡°He¡­ What is he hiding?¡± Annan murmured.

    Could it be that I could discover his secret through this book?

    But if the existence of this book threatened him, wouldn¡¯t he take it away from Joseph earlier?

    Or, perhaps¡­

    Annan¡¯s gaze turned to the ¡°A Comprehensive Study on the New Deity the Rotten Man,¡± which made aplete set when coupled with the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Study.

    ¡°Are you hinting something to me?¡± Annan squinted slightly. Then, he came into deep thoughts.

    If I¡¯m truly the ¡°Annan Austere-Winter,¡± what should I do now?

    After being threatened by the Venerated Skeleton, the study was forcibly taken away from Annan before he even had the chance to read it. As a result, he would be curious about what was recorded in the book that the Venerated Skeleton took away.

    So, where could Annan find out more about it?

    Mysterious knowledge couldn¡¯t bemunicated throughnguage. Joseph had now lost his curse vessel, so he couldn¡¯t teach Annan directly.

    So Annan could only study the book about Rotten Man carefully and find the corresponding ¡°knowledge that he should have acquired¡± from it.

    ¡°Is he suggesting to me to find out more about the Rotten Man immediately?¡± Annan raised his brow slightly.

    Indeed, if the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t approach Annan, Annan might read the book on the Rotten Manter or evenst.

    Obviously, Anna would read the study on the Venerated Skeleton first. Only the Rotten Man study didn¡¯t seem to be useful to Annan for the time being.

    No matter if it were a person or a deity, as long as they were conscious and had a clear goal, their actions would reveal their goal to some extent.

    Everything would leave a trace.

    The same went for the Venerated Skeleton.

    For Annan, the traces the Venerated Skeleton left, and the intelligence exposed were quite apparent.

    Annan deduced it through simple reasoning:

    First of all, the fundamental question would be what was the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s goal.

    Was he trying to kill Annan?

    If so, why didn¡¯t he do it himself? But, instead, he deliberately came over to pronounce the Old Grandmother¡¯s name and made a dedicated trip to provide Annan with the mysterious knowledge.

    As a matter of fact, the Venerated Skeleton knew Annan¡¯s name. Then, he should naturally know that Austere-Winter Dukedom now had only two healthy direct descendants left. Old Grandmother would take him seriously.

    But at the moment of meeting, the Venerated Skeleton directly pronounced Old Grandmother¡¯s name, leaving Annan with only 1% of Health. But after that, he didn¡¯t take thest hit.

    (TN: Last hit is a game terminology which meant dealing the killing blow)

    Yes, this was the reason Winter Heart was triggered.

    Annan did not get killed because of frost damage. But this special effect came from Reverse Inscription. Ordinary Austerian, or ording to the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s words ¡ª Frostborn, wouldn¡¯t have Reverse Inscription. After Annan reached 1% of Health, he should have died.

    After Annan¡¯s health was fixed at 1% of health, the Venerated Skeleton did not rush over to take thest hit but stood by.

    This had revealed that the Venerated Skeleton knew from the beginning that Annan had Reverse Inscription.

    The Venerated Skeleton goal wasn¡¯t to kill Annan. Adding on to that, he even presented an amulet to ensure that Annan wouldn¡¯t turn hostile to him for the time being.

    So, was the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s goal to befriend Annan? Or did hee here to pass Old Grandmother¡¯s message?

    But no matter which possibility, there was no need to reduce Annan to critical health.

    If the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t want Annan to learn about him, he would have taken the Rotten Man book as well. Worse still, he might even kill Joseph, take the book, or destroy it before that event.

    In summary, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s actions should only have one goal.

    He wanted Annan to notice the Rotten Man immediately and gather information about the Rotten Man.

    But why so?

    Is there some kind of conflict between the two?

    ¡°I still have to read this book.¡± Annan sighed.

    This was an overt plot that Annan was forced into.

    If Annan did not see the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s intention, he would first read the book of Rotten Man to confirm ¡°what the Venerated Skeleton tried to hide.¡± But, even if Annan noticed the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s intention, he still had to read the book to validate his inference.

    ¡ªBecause Annan did offend Rotten Man as well.

    There were many reasons. us, the guard captain who killed Don Juan, was the Rotten Man¡¯s man. Viscount Barber, who Annan killed, was also under the Rotten Man. us was looking for Don Juan¡¯s Book of Divine Transporter, while Viscount Barber had an inactive Book of Divine Transporter with him.

    In the end, the two Book of Divine Transporter pages in Annan¡¯s possession were rted to Rotten Man. So it was fair to say that Annan had grabbed food from the tiger¡¯s mouth.

    Does this mean that the Rotten Man Church is looking for the Book of Divine Transporter?

    With that in Annan¡¯s consideration, it became an urgent task for Annan to understand the Rotten Man better.

    Because Annan obviously couldn¡¯t give up this power.

    No one knew the horror of ¡°yers¡± better than him.

    If the Rotten Man¡¯s church wanted the Book of Divine Transporter, then he and Annan would be mortal enemies sooner orter.

    Annan might not be able to escape the Noah Kingdom¡¯s Royalty conspiracy.

    ¡°With this in mind, I kinda feel like I¡¯m duped.¡±

    Annan looked at the starry sky, holding a sledgehammer, and sighed slightly.

    Although he got many valuable items, it gave off the D¨¦j¨¤ vu of him working for money with his life.

    Fortunately, although Annan was somewhat passive in the first confrontation, Annan still had some idea about the situation.

    The matter was already evident. ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡± seemed to be entering the game as a deities¡¯ pawn. Although Annan¡¯s influence was marginal, it was more so because of his shorings in power.

    Annan didn¡¯t dislike this feeling.

    In some cases, having a value in being used by others seemed to be a kind of luck.

    But the problem was¡­

    ¡°Boss, where do Ie from? Who is my teammate? Who am I going to fight now?¡±

    Annan Austere-Winter, who unfortunately lost his memory, was filled with three core questions: ¡°I¡¯m a cute newbie who bought a new ount. Anyone there? Is there anyone in charge? Does anyone care about me?¡±

    Annan held the hammer at a loss.

 Chapter 157: Earning Your Favorability Instead

    <h4>Chapter 157: Earning Your Favorability Instead</h4>

    The two yers acting as guards knew that Annan was ¡°going out to get something.¡±

    But they obviously didn¡¯t expect that Annan had gotten so many items in just a simple trip.

    ¡°Do you want my help to grab those items?¡±

    Seeing Annan slowly moving towards the city lord¡¯s residence like a snail, they rushed over and asked enthusiastically.

    Annan was carrying a heavy and square backpack like a high school student. He had a wooden tube around his waist that reached his knees. Sometimes when Annan walked, he would kick the wooden tube identally. There was a nket in his hand. It was an unknown object wrapped in cotton cloth that was taller than Annan himself and looked like a giant lollipop. At first nce, it was heavy.

    Annan nced at the two yers.

    Are you greedy for my affection rate?

    Mainly, the reaction of these two yers felt like D¨¦j¨¤ vu.

    It was like those seniors who enthusiastically came to carry bags for younger juniors at the beginning of school every year.

    Oh, wait, thinking myself a junior may be too far-fetched.

    Those seniors are weird.

    ¡°Thanks a lot.¡±

    Although Annan had beenining about it, he showed a reserved and implicitly happy smile.

    He nodded gently and quickly agreed, ¡°Thanks for taking the trouble to help me.¡±

    As Annan said, he handed over the wooden tube he used to store Elves¡¯ Hand and the backpack with books to the two of them. The reason for not giving the sledgehammer to them was because Annan didn¡¯t want them to know that this was the curse vessel he had newly acquired.

    Otherwise, Annan would splurge the yers with too much information.

    Moreover, the yers might be able to carry this hammer.

    The sledgehammer was too heavy.

    As a matter of fact, the yers now have their Strength attributes at 6 points. Some of them had 5 points in Strength, and none of them had 7 points in Strength.

    Although Annan appeared weak and short, his Strength attribute was at 10 points.

    Indeed, Annan¡¯s strength was much greater than these noobs.

    But, Annan still did not refuse the yers¡¯ eager request for a mission.

    It wasn¡¯t because Annan was looking for an opportunity to give out the ¡°only designated currency¡± like affection rate to yers.

    Annan deeply knew that the way to farm the affection rate quickly wasn¡¯t to ¡°help others¡± but to ¡°ask for help.¡±

    Asking for appropriate favors would foster closer rtionships.

    The more the other partymitted, the greater your likability to that person. This phenomenon was often addressed as ¡°effort justification [1].¡± In summary, humans consistently tended to find reasons to justify their efforts.

    The greater the cost of achieving a goal, the higher the evaluation ratings of this goal in actors¡¯ minds. Otherwise, it would cause a disorder between behavior, cognition, and attitude.

    To put it simply, when Annan asked the yers for help, the yers would convince themselves that they believed that Annan should be helped and that they liked Annan to justify their behavior.

    In childhood, many skater boys instinctively used this trick to strike up a conversation with their crush. For example, they would ask to borrow their crush¡¯s books, ask for an eraser, ask the other party to share the textbooks, and make the rtionship closer. The efficiency was far greater than ¡°lending the book to the other party,¡± ¡°helping the other party,¡± and so on.

    For example, after the senior helped the junior girl carry the weight, the junior girl wouldn¡¯t necessarily have any favorable impression of the senior.

    However, when the junior girl helped the senior, the senior could easily earn a favorable impression. With that, the junior girl would ask for a favor another time.

    In a sense, this was why simping [2] wouldn¡¯t earn you anything.

    As long as this small request was simple enough and wouldn¡¯t trouble the target nor annoy the target, it would quickly establish trust in the rtionship with more favors asked.

    If Annan could give back a sufficient amount of ¡°benefits¡± in time, this trust would quickly earn him a favorable impression of the yers.

    In RPG games, the feelings of the yer to the NPC that issued the mission, and the yer¡¯s sense of participation in the game world, were developed through this technique. Even yers¡¯ joy and love for some challenging and frustrating hardcore games were built in this way.

    These yers still think that they were farming for Annan¡¯s affection rate.

    But that wasn¡¯t the fact.

    The fact was, Annan had been earning their affection and favorability.

    Moreover, the process was efficient.

    ¡°Thank you both.¡±

    In his room, Annan gestured to the two yers seriously and invited them to sit.

    Then, he sent 100 affection rates to both the yers.

    Even though the yers didn¡¯t help much. Annan had traveled so far with these items on his back. The yers only took the things from the door into the room.

    But in the face of Annan¡¯s gratitude, the two of them just smiled and responded, ¡°It¡¯s fine. They aren¡¯t heavy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too courteous!¡±

    ¡°You two work all night. I have already felt guilty of it.¡±

    Annan nodded, ¡°I will find a way topensate youter.¡±

    Hearing this, the two yers looked a little embarrassed.

    Because they knew in their hearts that they didn¡¯t guard the ce seriously at all.

    Instead, they stood at the door and went AFK to watch the live broadcast forum.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all trivial matters.¡±

    The yer named ¡°Anderson¡± subconsciously nced at hispanion ¡°Leek¡± and coughed lightly, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to guard the door first. If we leave for too long, it won¡¯t be good for someone to break in.¡±

    ¡°Thank you two.¡± Annan nodded and said gratefully.

    Anderson and Leek left quickly.

    When they left Annan¡¯s door, they were happy to see their affection rate increase again.

    ¡°Don Juan is such a good boy.¡±

    Anderson sighed, ¡°He¡¯s so likable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Leek sighed, ¡°In this dark world, he is still so pure and polite. It¡¯s hard for him.¡±

    ¡°Yup, I will be a Don Juan fan for ten years from now.¡±

    Anderson agreed, ¡°No matter what new forces appear in the future, my heart is with the Freezing Water Port. With Don Juan¡¯s amiable manners, it¡¯sfortable to work for him. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just there is no good-looking youngdy for you to simp now.¡±

    Leek saw through Anderson¡¯s thoughts, ¡°If there is a new force, I think you will betray on the spot if the viin leader is good-looking.¡±

    Anderson was irritated, ¡°Shut up, isn¡¯t Don Juan good-looking?! You won¡¯t get a date anyway, is there a difference? Don¡¯t you just think of Don Juan as a beautiful girl?

    ¡°If there is a pretty girl leader, she must be spoiled, or she is independent and vignt. Either way, do you think she will have such a good attitude towards us?

    ¡°It¡¯s like silly friends boasting to each other! If there¡¯s an opposite sex, do you dare to approach and talk to her?¡±

    ¡°¡­You are such a¡­genius.¡±

    Leek swallowed the word ¡°pervert¡± and reced it with ¡°genius.¡±

    Because he suddenly fell into deep thoughts halfway through¡­

    If I think about it carefully, it seems that is indeed the truth?

 Chapter 158: Bread Darylâ€¦ Oops, Respectable Grandpa Daryl

    <h4>Chapter 158: Bread Daryl¡­ Oops, Respectable Grandpa Daryl</h4>

    <i>Trantor Notes: Opps, Sorry for the chapter dy due to the bug. Thanks formenting and letting me know.</i>Annan fell asleep soon after returning.

    He couldn¡¯t feel the exhaustion of staying upte, and his body would be resting during nightmares.

    But Annan¡¯smon sense told him that proper sleep time was necessary.

    He was still a mortal, after all.

    Annan, for some reason, couldn¡¯t wake up from a nightmare at 6 a.m. like the dwellers or yers in this world.

    He had to clear the nightmare before he could wake up.

    So for Annan, there was no need to enter a nightmare in the wee hours.

    With great self-control, Annan woke up on time at 8 a.m.

    After eating breakfast and equipping Don Juan¡¯s sword, Annan proceeded to practice his swordsmanship. Then, Annan checked on his backend interface.

    ¡°Well, 80% of yers went up by 1 levelst night.¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°It seems that either Jiu Er or Old Goose has found a stable way to defeat the dungeon and summarize a strategy about it. Otherwise, with the yers¡¯ uneven capabilities, it is impossible to have most of the yers seed in the dungeon in just a couple of hours.¡±

    While Annanmented on the situation, he realized something.

    ¡°¡­Hey, the four of them are already at Level 9.¡±

    After the yerspleted the main mission ¡ª ¡°The Disaster of Roseburg,¡± all the yers had reached Level 7. Several more active yers, such as Yiyi, Jiu Er, Delicious Wind Goose, and Wandering Child, had a separate mission and contributed a lot more. They had been promoted to Level 8 after killing Gerald. Then, they reached Level 9 after clearing the nightmare at least once.

    The yers who died once when besieging Gerald were at Level 7 as well. Their level dropped from 6 to 5 as a result of their death. However, Annanpensated these yers with experience in the disguise of a mission reward.

    Annan had calcted and nned the amount of experience already.

    The purpose was to unify the yers¡¯ level.

    With that, he would avoid having Level 6 yers while having the majority in Level 7.

    Annan would be concerned if the Level 6 yers would be dissatisfied.

    This dissatisfaction would persist and snowball no matter how Annanpensated them with affection rating.

    It stood out a lot for having their levelgs behind the others. Every time they noticed this, they would harbor some bitter feelings. Eventually, the bitter feelings would umte in the long run and turn into resentment.

    Besides the noticeable ¡°level difference,¡± there would be a couple of problems just because the level threshold to ascend to the next level would have a significant difference.

    Annan implemented a ¡°unified level across yers¡± with ¡°a couple of special individuals having elevated levels¡± tobat disputes between yers. At the same time, it allowed several capable and manageable high-level yers to have more say in the yer group.

    This effect of this technique would be more evident after the four elites had advanced to be Transcendeds.

    Suddenly, Annan was startled.

    ¡°Wait, since the four of them were already Level 9.¡±

    He and Salvatore still had four days left for preparations. Four dayster, they would return to Roseburg to wait in advance for the birth of the baby suspected to be Michngelo¡¯s reincarnation.

    After clearing the nightmare, the cooldown time to enter would be precisely 72 hours. In other words, three days.

    That was to say¡­ For these four yers, if they only utilized ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± to grow, they could only reach swordsman Level 10 (Max) after ten days. They would not be able to advance further. The most critical advancement dungeon was missing.

    But what if they could ascend to the next level? Did they earn their rights to enter the advancement dungeon at that time?

    Annan was lost in thought.

    Should I give them some experience?

    Or give the yers a batch of experience so that they can do what they want after they advance?

    Hmph! That won¡¯t end up well!

    Annan quickly denied this idea.

    If fewer yers joined together as one squad, Annan could control their actions as a captain.

    But once the yers formed an army group, they would be wild dogs escaping from the leash, uncontroble, unpredictable, and unstoppable.

    They were like swarms of pests.

    Annan still wasn¡¯t sure whether Michngelo was an ally or an enemy and what kind of people he would encounter this time. But,pared to robust and uncontroble power, Annan was more inclined only to let elite yerspliment his n.

    Oh ya, elite yers.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to arrange a trial for them.¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°If they can pass the trial, I will find a way to get them into advancement.¡±

    Annan recalled that he had an examination paper in his hand.

    A dungeon instance enough to test their resilience¡ª

    Indeed, it was the nightmare created after the death of the hunter ¡°Justin¡± at Viscount Barber¡¯s side!

    Bread Daryl [1] probably hadn¡¯t purified the nightmare yet. How many entries are left?

    If Annan asked for it, he should be able to get the key.

    By that time, he would have these four yers enter the dungeon instance.

    Annan remembered that the death count of a simple dungeon instance should not be much. As long as the death count reached a threshold, the dungeon challenger would be kicked out, rendering the nightmare dungeon into a cooldown. This would be different from the gallery dungeon instance that could be tackled with many restarts and lives through brute force.

    As a matter of fact, the yers had been grinding ¡°Nightmare: Gallery,¡± which was at ¡°distorted¡± difficulty.

    A difficulty in which Gold Rank professionals might suffer casualties in it.

    In other words, even though the yers were only level five, they had challenged the dungeon instance 30 levels ahead for several days under Annan¡¯s malice.

    On the contrary, the nightmare gave birth after Bronze Rank ¨C Justin¡¯s death must be easy.

    It was like the ¡°find the betrayer¡± nightmare that Annan entered at the beginning of entering this world. As long as he collected the clues, he would ovee the level in one shot.

    With this simple dungeon instance, Annan could test the four elites¡¯ cautiousness, how much they cherished their lives, and their ability to gather information.

    If they could ovee this dungeon instance, Annan would bring them over to the Freezing Water Port. With the dungeon cooldown ended, Annan could let them allplete the bronze advancement dungeon instance immediately.

    By then, Annan would have a group consisting of six Bronze Rank at his disposal.

    With that, Annan¡¯s team lineup would have four fearless frontiers with unlimited respawn. More importantly, Salvatore could efficiently provide logistics and serve as the damage output for the team, while Annan would bring control to the battlefield. It would be a stable lineup that brought Annan a sense of security.

    In the previous battle, there had been no reliable front liners, forcing Annan to participate as well with a kitchen knife. This time, Annan had the Elves¡¯ Hand. This plug-and-y dual-core CPU allowed Annan to guide two spells at the same time. With that, Annan could switch his role into Karthus, the deathsinger. First, he would erect a deceleration wall. Then, he would st frost nova over¡ªwhat an incredible scene.

    But, there was still one problem.

    Annan didn¡¯t know what profession a swordsman could advance into in the Bronze Rank, the advancement conditions, and how to advance.

    After all, his swordsman profession hadn¡¯t advanced yet.

    He couldn¡¯t just reset his attribute points in this world.

    Even if Annan needed the yers¡¯ immediate help now, he didn¡¯t want the yers to adopt professions with a bleak future.

    After all, everything was just at the beginning.

    Annan thought he shouldn¡¯t disturb Salvatore, so he decided to visit Bread Daryl at Roseburg¡­ No, Grandpa Daryl.

    Of course, before that, Annan wanted to speed run the gallery dungeon. Since the cooldown was done for him, he didn¡¯t want to waste the opportunity.

    Isn¡¯t it nice to level up by one consistently every three days?

    If it weren¡¯t for Roseburg¡¯s mess and the Royal Capital¡¯s imminent Rotten Man problem, the safest way was to ignore everything. Then, Annan would have the yers grind in the Freezing Water Port for fifty days and wait for everyone to average at the Level 20 Bronze Rank before embarking on his adventure in this world.

    The yers had to reach the pinnacle of Bronze Rank because yers stillcked the technology to clear the nightmare level above Level 3 stably.

    ¡°This time, I will tackle the second level.¡±

    Annan murmured, ¡°If I guess correctly, it should be able to speed-run through it in half an hour.¡±

    With that, Annan removed his extra clothing, closed the door, andy on the bed.

    Annan whispered, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡­¡±

    At the next moment, something unexpected happened to Annan.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    A low, hoarse, echoing voice sounded in Annan¡¯s heart.

    But Annan didn¡¯t immediately fall into a nightmare.

    He was stunned for a moment but quickly reacted.

    So Annan added, ¡°Let me enter the gallery nightmare.¡±

    For the first time, the Venerated Skeleton finally came up with a second sentence.

    ¡°As you wish¡ª¡±

    At the next moment, rows of data streams began to emerge in front of Annan:

    [Detected unpurified Nightmare Fragment.]

    [Rank requirement: Below Gold Rank]

    [Profession requirement: None]

    [Special requirement: None]

    ¡­

    But suddenly, Annan saw a line that had never appeared before:

    [This dungeon instance has 6 checkpoints and the erosion rate increases by 2% per death.]

    [Checkpoint has been obtained: Elle Morrison (Level 3)]

    [Please select the nightmare entrance¡ª]

    [Level 1]

    [Level 3]

 Chapter 159: The Diary That Appeared On The First Level

    <h4>Chapter 159: The Diary That Appeared On The First Level</h4>

    After clearing ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison,¡± Annan had the option to start directly from the third level.

    This was indeed good news for Annan.

    At least when Annan tackles this dungeon instance in the future, it would save him a lot of time. He wouldn¡¯t have to go by one level after another.

    Annan noticed this save feature when he first entered ¡°Nightmare: Gallery.¡± But he didn¡¯t reveal it to the yers. By just looking at the prompts when the yers entered the dungeon instance, it was evident that Annan limited the system¡¯s functions.

    With this development, Annan could unlock the functions to the yers as if they were rewards.

    As long as the yers didn¡¯t know about this feature at first, they wouldn¡¯t be dissatisfied. On the contrary, they thought that the game nner cared, listened to the yers¡¯ feedback, and sent out patches quickly.

    It was like a particr gamepany that liked to split half of the game content into DLC.

    After noticing the save feature, Annan realized there was a save point even in his very first nightmare, ¡°Nightmare: The Betrayer.¡±

    But before that, Annan had never found ¡°the save point.¡±

    What is the save point for?

    Is it possible to respawn in that position after death?

    Then, why not just call it a respawn point?

    Soon, Annan had an idea.

    Save points could only be revealed after clearing the nightmare dungeon and entering the nightmare for the second time.

    This was undoubtedly good news since there was a special requirement to enter ¡°Nightmare: Betrayer¡± ¨C ¡°Being unable to cast spells.¡±

    Annan was now a Bronze Rank Falteration Wizard.

    Annan¡¯s previous idea was to find something that could temporarily seal his spell casting ability or to have a curse and temporarily restrict his spell casting ability.

    But now, it seemed that he could perhaps load into the save and head to where he cleared the dungeon.

    Or perhaps an earlier location?

    ¡°What is this?¡± Annan was dumbfounded.

    After waking up from the nightmare, I get a toilet break before continuing? Is that it?

    In the end, Annan decided to enter the first level.

    This time, he intended to clear the nightmare on the second level first and reserved the nightmare at the fourth level for the next time.

    Annan wanted to try if he could unlock the secret ending by clearing all the sub-nightmares.

    After all, this nightmare update gave Annan confidence to do so.

    (Author note: Let¡¯s skip the repeated parts.)

    But, when Annan walked into thest corridor of the first level, he saw a diary on the disy cab that should have been empty.

    It was the diary that should have appeared on the third level!

    ¡°¡­I understand it now,¡± Annan murmured.

    The dungeon instance which he had cleared before would leave consequences.

    The ¡°trophy item¡± on that level where he cleared would exist thereafter.

    ¡°¡­Tsk.¡±

    Annan thought of a cheat to clear the dungeon.

    If he cleared the nightmare on the fourth level first, wouldn¡¯t Annan be equipped with a weapon on the first level?

    Though, this wasn¡¯t really a cheat.

    ??Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s thinking direction suddenly appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    The initial strategy was to acquire the coat on the first level, acquire the knife on the second level, and then sessfully kill the Brother Sledgehammer, Joseph, on the third level.

    After reaching the end of the fourth level, Brother Sledgehammer wouldn¡¯t retaliate by the door.

    Whether the door led to the fifth level or not, the dungeon challenger must kill Joseph before the third level.

    Otherwise, the dungeon challenger would be murdered at the fourth level due to the plot.

    At that time, Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t control his body at all.

    In other words¡­

    Starting from the fifth level, the enemy that ¡°Amos¡± faced wasn¡¯t ¡°Brother Sledgehammer¡± anymore.

    Hence, if the yer acquired the gun at the fourth level, they could easily kill Joseph, who broke through the wall on the second level.

    Joseph was incapable of performing the kill immediately with the sledgehammer. He only had robust strength. Of course, him smashing the wall was just a special effect. He was still a physically weak wizard. He had to speak to invoke his edict spells.

    In the end, the yers could shoot Joseph with a gun after he broke through the wall.

    In this way, there was no need to run for the second and third levels.

    There was no need to run on the fourth level either.

    In this way, yers would have the maximum usible health when they reach the fifth level.

    ¡°So on the fifth or sixth level, there shall be a mechanism that detects health points,¡± Annan murmured.

    For example, it would be impossible to clear the level if the health points were below a certain threshold.

    That was why Priest Louis could clear the level so easily.

    Amos had silver coins with him. There was silverware on the chandelier. The following few levels had great essibility to replenish silver.

    After entering the door, Louis might find that he didn¡¯t have enough health points, so he just filled it up with silver. (Trantor¡¯s reminder: Priest Louis is from Silver Sire Church)

    Then, he could run at full speed without worrying about internal damage.

    On the second level, he could escape the chase at full speed.

    In the third level, he ran to the end at full speed. Before Amos appeared, he would go directly to the next floor.

    On the fourth level, he could utilize divine art ¡°Sharp Object¡± to get weapons. With that, he killed the demons, hounds, and Amos directly.

    He had skipped all the challenges imposed at the four levels.

    But ordinary yers were unable to do this.

    If they ran like this, they would have died many times.

    ¡°So he doesn¡¯t understand the mechanism behind the dungeon levels at all. He just brute-forced his way through.¡± Annan was annoyed.

    If it weren¡¯t that Annancked information on how priests tackled the nightmare, he wouldn¡¯t have believed the strategy written by such a guy.

    Upright deity priests were all designed to tackle the nightmare.

    It was like those strategy authors who wrote, ¡°This boss is simple. Remember to dodge away from the uing abilities and not be greedy to deal more damage. Just don¡¯t die, lol.¡±

    The real problem was how!

    However, if Priest Louis didn¡¯t understand the dungeon¡¯s mechanism, it meant that the Silver Sire Church certainly didn¡¯t know the true ending of this dungeon instance.

    In other words, they did not know the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s conspiracy.

    Then, Annan could only rely on himself.

    All the sub-nightmares here must be cleared.

    Then when Annan re-entered the first level, the trophy items from the first level to the sixth level would be in the disy cab here.

    Though, that would include things like tomatoes and diary.

    The good news was that pistols and rifles on the fourth floor would be avable!

    There could be ¡°collectibles¡± on the fifth or sixth level that Annan hadn¡¯t seen yet!

    These collectibles might be the essential items to ovee Level -1!

 Chapter 160: Hungry My Ass

    <h4>Chapter 160: Hungry My Ass</h4>

    Indeed, Annan had realized the stake in ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± was much deeper than he initially thought.

    Annan just learned that the reason why ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± in Freezing Water Port answered ¡°I¡¯m listening¡± was because the Venerated Skeleton was listening!

    Having a deity staying in such a remote ce for decades, it was evident how unusual this nightmare was.

    Rather than fleeing, it was better to confront the enemy head-on now.

    Since Annan had Old Grandmother¡¯s real name at his disposal, the Venerated Skeleton did not dare to kill him for the time being. With that, Annan had to quickly collect the ¡°criminal evidence¡± of the Venerated Skeleton. With that done, he would at least have some chips for negotiation.

    ¡ªLet¡¯s clear the second level first.

    By following Jiu Er¡¯s strategy, Annan bypassed Joseph efficiently. Then, he got a knife and tomato, activating ¡°Gallery: Feast For The Hungry.¡±

    Amos, dressed in a decent manner and with a gentle smile, politely extended a clean and fair right hand to Annan and warmly invited,

    ¡°Hello, sir. Can I hire you to be my model?¡±

    Annan raised his head and met Amos¡¯s gaze for a second.

    At that moment, Amos suddenly felt an inexplicable panic in his heart.

    Annan also temporarily confirmed that this was indeed not the ¡°human Amos¡± encountered on the third level.

    Did he sacrifice his conscience? Annan wondered.

    He immediately expressed the wince, alert, and distrust that belonged to a homeless man. His eyes were dim and hopeless.

    The mission debriefs appeared before his eyes:

    [You have entered Gallery: Feast For The Hungry (Second Level).]

    [Main mission: Act as the homeless man ¡°Amis.¡±]

    Immediately, arge number of texts appeared below this line of words:

    [Complete the portrait.]

    [Meet the other three homeless men.]

    [Having at least one person survive until dark.]

    Let¡¯s start with him painting me first. Annan thought to himself.

    Fortunately, when Amos drew, time was skipped directly. What happened was Annan¡¯s vision turned ck, and the painting was finished straight. The situation waspletely different from the third level.

    Or maybe this was because there were indeedpleted homeless men portraits in the original history, but Elle¡¯s portrait wasn¡¯t done.

    Judging from the Wandering Child¡¯s situation, Elle should have been taken to the basement in real history. The diary should have been obtained at the end of the third level, not in the dungeon instance.

    Looking at Annan, whose eyes were dim and indistinguishable from other homeless men, Amos smiled gracefully and calmly.

    Although Amos was self-aware of his murder intention, he smiled without any psychological pressure and reached out his hand to Annan, ¡°If you help me to finish a portrait, I will get you to a hot bath and clean clothes. Moreover, I will grant you food for three days. How¡¯s that sound?¡±

    Annan¡¯s eyes flickered with hope.

    He hesitated for a while, muttering in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    ¡°Then, what do you want?¡± Amos replied.

    Annan wasn¡¯t the first homeless man to reject Amos.

    Amos just asked patiently, ¡°Money? Food? A job?¡±

    ¡°I want money!¡± Annan said with his hoarse throat, ¡°I want two¡­ no, six silver coins!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Amos pondered.

    Annan looked at Amos cautiously, proving hesitantly. Finally, he reached out his wrinkled fingers, ¡°No, I mean¡­ five will do. Five will do. Yes, we can go with four too.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can¡¯t grant you six silver coins.¡± Amos interrupted him.

    He said with a gentle expression, ¡°Besides, I will treat you to a meal. Do you need a bath?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to take a bath! By the way, I want a deposit!¡±

    Annan reached out his hand eagerly, nced at Amos with some suspicion, and said rudely, ¡°Give me half of the silver coins first, and I will go with you!¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Seeing that Annan was asking for silver coins, Amos hesitated for a moment.

    But he quicklyughed at himself for his suspicion. How could the bossy people in Silver Sire Church end up in dire straits?

    The destion and depression of this homeless man are authentic.

    So, Amos took out his wallet from the painting and gave Annan three silver coins.

    If Annan only wanted a silver coin, Amos might have given him copper at equivalent value. But for three silver coins, he won¡¯t be able to find so much loose change in a while.

    It¡¯s just a homeless man anyway. So Amosforted himself in his heart.

    Annan got a lot of silver coins and became quieter.

    He put the silver coin in his sleeve and hid it tightly.

    He confirmed the divine art he had:

    ¡ªnging Object: A low-consumption divine art triggered with silver coins. It has the same power as a gunshot.

    ¡ªSharp Object: A divine art that can turn silver coins into sharp daggers.

    ¡ªEternal Youth: A divine art that consumes silver coins to heal injuries.

    Annan had three silver coins at his disposal at this moment.

    Looking at Amos¡¯s back, Annan crouched and showed a weird smile.

    He didn¡¯t act as ¡°naive¡± as Jiu Er. Instead, Annan¡¯s way of acting like a homeless man had his personal touch.

    Amos didn¡¯t have that interest in chatting with Annan on the road.

    They walked to the living room on the fourth floor without a single word uttered.

    Annan saw the three homeless men in white robes and pajamas whispering among themselves.

    They looked happy when they saw Annan.

    The younger one and soon-to-be homeless man paste waved to Annan enthusiastically.

    [Meeting the other three homeless menpleted.]

    Seeing the reminder of the side mission¡¯spletion, Annan nced at them with disgust, turning his head away with indifference.

    At this time, Amos was still aside, exining warmly, ¡°They are also friends whoe to assist with my portrait painting. They have lived here for several days. How about you stay as well?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Annan nced at Amos somewhat indifferently, with apparent alertness on his face.

    He replied hurriedly, ¡°Get your painting done quickly. I will leave when the painting is done.¡±

    ¡°En¡­ okay.¡± Amos agreed reluctantly.

    Annan saw a murderous intent on Amos¡¯s face.

    He should be nning to kill me when he finishes the painting and sends me out. Annan sneered in his heart.

    Perhaps because Annan killed his hype, Amos did not show him the ¡°Feast of the Hungry.¡±

    Amos kept a stern expression, opened a corner of the curtain, ordered Annan to stand in front, and began to paint.

    I get it now! Enlightenment rose in Annan¡¯s heart.

    The reason why Jiu Er saw the painting here with his erosion rate increased was that she ¡°was not acting like a homeless man.¡± So, was that a punishment?

    You can¡¯t be elegant ying as a clown.

    You need to act like one!

    Moreover, Amos had a tighter grip on his painting aspared to back then when he painted for Jiu Er. It was like the bold and wild Chinese calligraphy.

    It was also different from the ¡°drowsy¡± feeling Jiu Er mentioned on the forum.

    Annan felt the intense pain.

    It was like being squeezed from all directions by something.

    It felt like being tied up with hands and feet and slowly sinking to the sea bottom.

    Annan¡¯s consciousness gradually blurred. Everything in front of him was stretched.

    At this moment, Annan heard Amos¡¯ voice.

    It was an indifferent, deep interrogation,

    ¡°Think carefully¡­

    ¡°Are you not hungry at all?¡±

    Hungry my ass¡ª

    With an intense hunger in his belly, Annan suddenly lost consciousness.

 Chapter 161: Troubles On Amos Morrison

    <h4>Chapter 161: Troubles On Amos Morrison</h4>

    When Annan woke up, his portrait was already painted.

    ¡°Thank you very much for your cooperation.¡±

    Amos¡¯s voice sounded behind Annan, ¡°Really? Are you sure you don¡¯t want dinner?¡±

    ¡°¡­Wait, let¡¯s get dinner.¡± There was some hesitation in Annan¡¯s tone.

    Amos chuckled lightly, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m very hospitable¡­¡±

    These words did sound very polite.

    But his tone was filled with impatience, and he had no intention of covering it up. He didn¡¯t invite Annan to see the painting but put it away. Not only did he speak fast when he invited Annan, but he also didn¡¯t even look at Annan directly.

    Annan keenly sensed Amos adopting a sense of superiority.

    Amos had a great attitude towards Jiu Er. It should be because Jiu Er still showed ¡°curiosity¡± and ¡°praise¡± for Amos¡¯s paintings when she yed as a homeless man. This fully satisfied Amos¡¯s pride.

    It seemed perfectly reasonable.

    Amos initially held a Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual because he reached the bottleneck of art and didn¡¯t have the patience to attain a breakthrough slowly. After all, the Elegant Elder was also an option for him to improve his art level.

    Unlike the Venerated Skeleton, the Elegant Elder was more inclined to propose an effective ¡°training method¡± or point out the mistakes and improvements in the artistic style. Then, he would have his followers train on it.

    Yes, for his followers, the Elegant Elder was a critic who had sharp eyes and spoke tantly with none dared to offend him at all.

    This was undoubtedly a troublemaker for artists, but it was also a good teacher and helpful friend.

    Amos did not choose the Elegant Elder but the Venerated Skeleton.

    At that time, he had already exposed his inner thoughts.

    He didn¡¯t want to work hard for it anymore.

    Amos only wanted to draw a better painting and be famous immediately. But even he had overlooked theziness and restlessness in his heart.

    In Elle¡¯s memory, Amosmented, ¡°I just want to pursue a higher artistic realm,¡± but everything was lies he painted to himself.

    His level of portrait painting had significantly improved because he got the ¡°Elle special paint.¡± Also, his art level had nothing to do with the customers he chose.

    If he wanted to paint better, why would he choose to paint portraits for big shots?

    The answer was straightforward.

    Amos¡¯s initial sense of morality and respect for thew restrained him. But, he hadmitted the sins a long time ago. Once his doings were discovered, he would use the ¡°soul fragments¡± sealed in the painting of these big shots to threaten and curse them.

    Compared to when Elle was pregnant a few months ago, Amos¡¯s speech and behavior seemed to be just a stereotyped imitation. However, the vile temperament in him had be more and more prominent.

    Not many things could change Amos significantly over a few months.

    The only exception would be killing people with his own hands.

    After he deceived and killed arge number of homeless men, he lost patience with mortals.

    It felt to him just like bing an actual Transcended.

    As a matter of fact, the homeless man yed by Annan didn¡¯t do anything out of the ordinary, from beginning to end. He was like a ¡°real¡± homeless man.

    How could a homeless man with an empty stomach be interested in the artist¡¯s paintings?

    He was hired. Why would he assess the gallery curiously?

    Could he understand it?

    ¡ªOf course not.

    The real homeless man wouldn¡¯t care about these ¡°big shot¡¯s art¡± at all. They just wanted money and food. Besides, they wouldn¡¯t trust anyone since society alienated them.

    The homeless man yed by Annan could not be considered ¡°evil.¡± On the contrary, it was fair to say Annan acted like a homeless man with a good temperament.

    But even he didn¡¯t get on Amos¡¯s good side.

    In other words, Amos had no good attitude towards these homeless men.

    The reason why Amos was confident of keeping the homeless man here was simple.

    Because after the portrait waspleted, Annan felt a strong sense of hunger in his body.

    It was just like in games where you hurt the other yers but sell them potionster on.

    If Annan were a homeless man, then he would naturally not feel ashamed at this time. Although he said he would not stay for dinner, he was famished, and Amos invited him again. At this time, he would naturally choose to stay to save money.

    For the homeless men, there was no freedom of choice from the beginning.

    After Amos set his sights on them, they had only one dead end.

    Just looking at this unceremonious mannerism and Amos¡¯s familiarity with what he was doing, Annan knew many homeless men were killed in this way.

    The portrait hung on this wall wasn¡¯t just a portrait.

    It was the ¡°magic painting¡± that imprisoned the soul of the dead!

    Annan had a sense of it.

    ¡ªWhat the senior said is right.

    Transcended must go through rigorous screening and education.

    Amos wasn¡¯t even Transcended!

    He couldn¡¯t even fend off bullets!

    If Amos didn¡¯t have that curse vessel pistol, he would probably not even be able to beat an ordinary swordsman or wizard apprentice.

    But it was such a mortal whomitted so many murders out of greed and stirred up chaos right after he obtained a meager Transcended power.

    The magical paintings he painted for the big shots would even have a greater impact.

    If the magic painting was burned or physical destruction was carried out, the owner¡¯s soul would be weakened, and life span would be significantly reduced. If the magic painting were stolen, the consequences would be even more severe. This was equivalent to having their soul fragment fall into the hands of those with malicious intent. The soul fragment could be used as part of the ritual, and it was entirely possible to cause a greater conspiracy.

    Worse still, these big shots were hardly Transcended.

    Therefore, the possibility of being made into a magic painting for self-defense¡ªfor example, a ¡°feast for the hungry¡± was small.

    The greater possibility was that they were all stolen or robbed.

    Annan was agitated.

    Amos is a pest.

    He didn¡¯t know how much trouble he would cause.

    For example, forty-five years ago, Viscount Barber¡¯s wife might have died because of this. Worse still, Viscount Barber might have believed in Rotten Man because of his wife¡¯s sudden death under the intervention of the deities¡¯ power.

    That was when Viscount Barber passed the position of city lord to the eldest son forty-five years ago ¡ª the year Amos died.

    From this point of view, Amos¡¯s quality as a problem stirrer was intimidating.

    Annan watched Amos squat on the ground, carefully mounting the new painting with rapt attention. He sighed slightly.

    He took out the deposit that Amos had given him¡ªthe three silver coins silently. Two in the left hand and one in the right.

    Afterward, Annan gently tossed the silver coin in his right hand, giving out a ¡®cling¡¯ sound.

    Then, he spread out his right hand and aimed his palm at Amos.

    Annan¡¯s eyes gradually flickered with a silver shimmer.

    ¡°¡­En?¡± Amos vaguely heard a strange noise and looked back defenselessly.

    At the moment when the silver coin was about to fall into Annan¡¯s palm, it suddenly elerated. A stream of light manifested and quickly struck Amos with the trembling and loud buzzing sound!

    Amos¡¯s emerald green eyeball wriggled.

    His body avoided the attack on its own in a weird posture, but it only safeguarded the vitals.

    The bullet that the silver coin morphed into had rubbed against Amos¡¯s right shoulder¡ªthe wound was deep.

    The projectile wasunched across the shoulder and hit the wall. Arge amount of dust exploded in an instant. The room was filled with sharp and piercing high-frequency noise.

    ¡°Puff!¡°

    Although it was only a scratch, Amos¡¯s body trembled violently. A mouthful of blood spewed from his mouth, and his pupils dted.

    Amos leaned forward feebly.

    But his emerald green eyeball moved strangely again. His falling body suddenly stopped in the air. Like a marite, he was touching the ground with toes, trying to stand up again with jerky movements.

    But Amos had lost his chances already.

    After Annan used the divine art ¡°nging Object,¡± he didn¡¯t n to stay idle by the side.

    He immediately tossed a silver coin from his left palm to his right palm.

    As Annan flicked his hands, two slender silver rapiers manifested.

    The rapier in Annan¡¯s left hand pierced Amos¡¯s heart, while the other slit Amos¡¯ throat.

    Then, Annan moved Amos¡¯ head back with his free left hand skillfully.

    Amos¡¯s azure blue eyeball had lost its vitality.

    But the emerald green pupil belonging to Elle was still trembling.

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate at all and didn¡¯t show any mercy.

    With great precision, he flung his other rapier in the air elegantly and pierced the emerald green eyeball from top to bottom!

 Chapter 162: Swordsman Advancement: Silver Knight

    <h4>Chapter 162: Swordsman Advancement: Silver Knight</h4>

    The process went the same as thest time Annan cleared a dungeon.

    Arge amount of green pigments flowed out of Amos¡¯s eyeball that initially belonged to Elle.

    When the eyeball was cut open, it sshed liquid like a burst water balloon. In the end, Amos¡¯s entire head was stained.

    Those liquids seemed to be endless, with more and more of them gushing out.

    In the end, it was like a copsed dam, roaring out of Amos¡¯s eyes and submerging the entire room in the blink of an eye.

    This world was like being repainted by a lot of paint. The three homeless men stupefied at their spot. The moment they met the river of green paint, they immediately melted and disappeared. The same happened to the furniture, ceiling, and floor in the room.

    In an instant, Annan fell into the emerald green sea.

    He felt intense suffocation assaulted him.

    But Annan looked at all this indifferently. Instead, he looked up calmly at the top of the emerald green sea, breathed in the emerald green liquid calmly, and slowly closed his eyes.

    After all, Annan had already experienced this once.

    Thest time he cleared ¡°Gallery: Elle Morrison,¡± he was also submerged in the sea of ??paint. The difference was that it was redst time, but it went green this time.

    When Annan woke up again, he could breathe normally in the green sea.

    Loads of system prompts swept across Annan¡¯s eyes.

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with a designated identity. Evaluation rating increased.]

    [Complete the portrait. Evaluation rating increased.]

    [All four homeless men survived to the end. Evaluation rating increased significantly.]

    [Kill Amos. Evaluation rating increased.]

    [Injured Amos¡¯s left eye as a homeless man. Evaluation rating increased.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªA]

    [Received Shared Experience 211 points. Perception+1.]

    [The current purification progress is 74/350. Therefore, you may enter the dungeon instance again after 71 hours: 59 minutes.]

    [Obtain dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession of your choice increases by 1 level.]

    Annan realized that he didn¡¯t get dungeon instance decryption rewards this time.

    Is it because my way of clearing the dungeon is wrong?

    Or is it that dungeon instance decryption reward will only be issued once for each level?

    However, Annan was startled after noticing the purification progress.

    He realized that it seemed impossible for him to build an army of proficient swordsmen at Freezing Water Port.

    When he cleared the dungeon instancest time, the purification progress was only 39.

    But under the yers¡¯ efforts, the cooldown had escted to 70 hours.

    This was the situation when the yer hadn¡¯tpletely cleared the dungeon.

    Even if Annan didn¡¯t recruit new yers, it would take these 40 yers seven cooldown cycles to consume all of the 350 tries for dungeon instance, which would take more than half a month.

    Oh my God!

    Annan realized the problem.

    This Freezing Water Port gallery dungeon instance would exist for another month at most.

    After a month, Annan would have to give freedom to the yers, at least providing a way to grow themselves steadily.

    Annan wasn¡¯t sure if the yer could gain experience through training. But it seemed that besides the level promotion gained from clearing the nightmare and the mission experience that Annan rewarded them, the yers had to turn into killing machines to attain growth.

    But, how to find so many people from this world for the yers to kill and farm experience?

    ¡ªIt is necessary to find a ce where the nightmare is stably generated.

    Annan felt a sense of urgency.

    He only had 40 yers for now.

    In less than a month, a terrifying nightmare that had existed for 45 years and even involved the deity power would be thoroughly consumed.

    If Annan obtained theplete Book of Divine Transporter and recruited 600 yers¡­

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it more fitting to be the Book of Disasters?¡±

    Annan sighed.jpg

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    But when Annan was about to promote his wizard profession level, he noticed something different.

    The initially Swordsman LV10beled with (Max) on his attribute panel had a shing plus sign appearing.

    Oh, does this mean I have the option to promote this profession?

    But, the swordsman profession isn¡¯t a Transcended profession at all.

    Annan had tried multiple times in the past. There was no way to promote the swordsman profession level.

    Have I advanced? Annan directed his focus on the plus sign.

    But, it seemed the advancement didn¡¯t take ce yet.

    Instead, a line of words appeared in front of Annan:

    [Please choose your advancement direction¡ª]

    [Swordsman LV10 (Avable to be advanced): Silver Knight (Main Attribute: Perception)]

    [Keywords: Resilient, endurance]

    [Proficient: Environment (nightmare), fighting alone, siege]

    [Advancement requirements: Perception > 12; Will > 8; Constitution > 8. When clearing a nightmare, you have performed a divine art with its activation sessful without errors (Silver Sire)]

    Then, another set of panels appeared in front of Annan again:

    [Swordsman LV10 (Avable to be advanced): Dual Wielded Swordsman (Main attribute: Agility and Strength)]

    [Keywords: Bnce, interference, double attack]

    [Proficient: Tussle and fighting alone]

    [Advanced requirements: Agility > 7; Strength > 7. Having the ability ¡°Dual Wielding Proficiency,¡± ¡°Dexterous Hands,¡± or ¡°Parallel Comprehension.¡± When clearing a nightmare, dual wielding the same weapon type for battle. Moreover, the weapon isn¡¯t disarmed from your hands, and you didn¡¯t injure yourself in the battle.]

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Looking at the two advancement directions that were in contrast, Annan realized.

    ¡ªIt turns out that the Transcended of this world changs profession like this!

    One could advance when his level reached the threshold, passing the nightmare while meeting the needs of the profession in the next stage, and his attributes met the requirement!

    This was why the advancement into Bronze Rank was rtively simple, while the Silver Rank Transcended was rare.

    Because their attributes were not enough for advancement!

    With the typical attributes and abilities of an average ¡°strong swordsman,¡± they couldn¡¯t advance into a Dual Wielded Swordsman or a Silver Knight.

    For example, the yers¡ª

    Even if they were at Level 10, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily acquire the ability ¡°Parallel Comprehension.¡± They had to develop the ability on their own.

    To be a Dual Wielded Swordsman, the attributes might be up to the standard. However, the advancement into a Silver Knight was impossible!

    The demand for Perception wasn¡¯t difficult to meet.

    Because Annan knew how to upgrade the Perception attribute¡ªone would get to improve the Perception attribute by clearing a nightmare.

    But as for how to improve the Will attribute, he had no idea.

    Annan didn¡¯t know why his initial Will attribute was so high.

    But sadly, his Constitution wasn¡¯t up to par even at the wizard¡¯s standard.

    For the Silver Knight pathway, if Annan were amoner, he would need to sharpen his expertise toward the Constitution attribute, clearing nightmares at least seven times and acquiring a tenacious Will. Last but not least, he had to learn divine art.

    Although Annan¡¯s current attributes ultimately overflowed this demand, it was because his initial attributes were high. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t really advanced to Bronze but promoted his second profession to Bronze. Hence, the difficulty was much simpler than the first profession.

    Annan suspected that it might be necessary to have some alternate professions in theter stage.

    Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fulfill the advancement¡¯s attributes requirements.

    Although Annan had learned this information, he still nned to ask Bread Daryl.

    But before that, Annan had to prepare for advancement.

    He couldn¡¯t stall the attribute point upgrades afterpleting the nightmare.

    Combined with the situation of Guard Captain us, there should be no strict ¡°advancement tree¡± for professions in this world. As long as the requirements of attributes and abilities were met, one could jump to other professions and even advance across professions.

    For example, ¡°Windrunner.¡±

    Annan recalled Salvatore mentioning that ¡°Windrunner¡± was a Silver Rank profession for hunters or lurkers. At that time, Annan was still a little confused, wondering what kind of professional us was.

    It now appeared that most professions did not have a fixed leading profession.

    Being able to step on the wind and walk silently was of little use to a fighter, but it was of great significance to a sniper or an assassin.

    But even so, us could still forcefully advance into a Windrunner and attain Silver Rank.

    80% of the advancement conditions of the Falteration Wizard were to master something like ¡°Chilling Touch.¡± It was just that Annan didn¡¯t meet the promotion conditions for two professions at the same time. Hence, the system didn¡¯t give him the opportunity to choose an advancement direction.

    All in all, there was no need to worry that the wrong job selection would ruin your life, albeit there was no ¡®reset¡¯ button.¡¯

    Should I advance into a Silver Knight?

    Or should I add 1 level onto the wizard profession first, then I will wait for the cooldown while considering whether to advance into a Silver Knight?

    ¡°To me¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Annan didn¡¯t hesitate.

    He was more inclined to follow the wizard pathway. The main attribute of the wizard profession was Perception, and the highest attribute of his status panel was also Perception.

    The main attribute for the Silver Knight was also Perception!

    This is perfect!

    In addition to making him more resistant to damages, the swordsman profession was only for activating the Frost Sword. Hence, choosing what fitted him seemed more important than anything else.

    Not to mention, the Silver Knight profession was far rarer than Dual Wielding Swordsman, judging by attribute requirements.

    Rare things can¡¯t be a wrong choice!

    ¡°Then, there is only one answer¡ª¡±

    Annan tapped the plus sign without hesitation.

 Chapter 163: A Spendthrift Knight

    <h4>Chapter 163: A Spendthrift Knight</h4>

    After Annan confirmed the advancement, his Profession Overview became like this:

    Silver Knight LV11: [Austere-Winter Swordsmanship LV5], [Frost Sword LV7], [Parallel Comprehension LV1], [Silver Hand LV1]

    Wizard (Energy Falteration School) LV13: [Instant Spells LV3 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, not yet)], [Guided Spells LV2 (Impeding Wall, Frost Nova, Notion Rain)], [Chant Spell LV1 (Frost Wheel)]

    Priest (Silver Sire, engraving 0): nging Object, Sharp Object, Eternal Youth.

    Annan couldn¡¯t see anything special with Silver Knight for now.

    After all, it did not have the suffix ¡°swordsman,¡± so it was fair not to acquire new swordsmanship. Probably its unique characteristics would only be revealed when it was upgraded with more levels.

    The only difference at present was that Annan¡¯sst unused Silver Sire holy light engraving hadbined with his ¡°Disarm LV1¡± and turned into a new ability [Silver Hand].

    Annan copied how he felt when he added ability points just now and focused his attention on his abilities. A general introduction to the various abilities of the ¡°Silver Knight¡± profession slowly emerged before his eyes:

    [Austere-Winter Swordsmanship LV5: Austere-Winter Dukedom style swordsmanship. Your attack is less likely to be blocked or parried when fighting enemies that are slower than you.]

    [Effect after LV 4: When the opponent¡¯s speed is significantly lower than you, the probability of attack being blocked or parried is slightly reduced.]

    [Frost Sword LV7: This high-ranking swordsmanship is imbued with frost elements, which Frostborns can only utilize. You will extract the frost element from the bloodline and bless yourself with a ¡°Frost Blood¡± state, which can cause a lot of frost elemental damage when attacking in a short time (Rank: Enemies below the truth cannot resist the elemental damage). shing out sword energy after activating it again will immediately end this state.]

    [Effect after LV4: Every time the ¡°Frost Blood¡± state is ended, all frost damage is temporarily increased by 7% (based on the current Frost Sword level), and your frost damage resistance is reduced by 7%. All up to 12 stacks.]

    [Effect after LV7: ¡°Will¡± attribute can further increase the Frost Sword¡¯s damage.]

    [Warning: This swordsmanship requires at least ¡°Rank: Gold¡± before it can be used. Otherwise, it will consume a certain percentage of the maximum life each time upon usage. It will bring immense negative emotions before the ¡°frost blood¡± state ends.]

    [Parallel Comprehension LV1: You are proficient in weapons other than swords. You can use them to cast a sword ability. The weapons under this effect are light one-handed hammers, light clubs, and long daggers.]

    [Silver Hand LV1: Silver Knight¡¯s unique Transcended ability. Sacrifice a certain amount of silver coins to strengthen your weapons or shields temporarily. The more silver coins consumed, the stronger the enhancement.]

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Annan was rendered speechless, almost cursing out loud.

    This ¡°Silver Knight¡± is simply a spendthrift profession!

    Annan had a bad feeling about it.

    Is it possible that the Silver Knight¡¯s abilities after levels promotion are all about premium purchases with silver coins?

    Oh ya, Silver Sire seems to be the Trade Deity.

    The advancement of this ¡°Silver Knight¡± requires at least Divine Art Level 1 in the Silver Sire Church. In other words, this profession is fair to be said as Silver Sire¡¯s Temr or something simr.

    The Temrs of Trade Deity¡¯s Church are all premium users.

    It sounds reasonable.

    ¡ªFuck!

    ¡°No, I have to ask Bread Daryl quickly about that.¡± Annan was annoyed.

    Annan vaguely realized this just now, but he stillcked verification in this idea.

    An all-around profession that could tank, fight, and heal¡ªthis meant that its growth would be bnced.

    Bnced growth meant that it would take several times the funds and effort to catch up with the attribute gaps with other professions specializing in one proficiency.

    As for the premium knight¡¯s upper limit, Annan wasn¡¯t worried.

    After confirming that this might be a costly profession, Annan assessed his profession again. After seeing the keywords ¡°Resilient and Endurance,¡± it became clear that he would never be weak.

    The most crucial point about a costly profession was its sturdiness. It would be meaningless if the user couldn¡¯t sustain critical hit damages.

    Secondly, there should be no apparent shorings. After all, the distribution of the attributes was bnced. As long as it was built upon this foundation, there would be no more shoringspared to professions specializing in one field.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m more or less a faction leader.¡±

    After changing his mind like this, Annan vaguely felt that this profession was not bad.

    If survival was the priority, Silver Knight was indeed a great profession.

    After all, Annan wasn¡¯t short of money.

    He could be a dealer if he didn¡¯t mind. For example, he could utilize Don Juan¡¯s identity or Annan¡¯s identity to buy some high-end items that weren¡¯t avable to the yers. Then, he could sell them to the yers, which would undoubtedly achieve a win-win situation.

    When the yers had all advanced into Transcendence, Annan intended to scatter them in the world.

    After all, the Freezing Water Port couldn¡¯t afford to raise so many Transcended. Having the yers stuck here was too wasteful.

    With the yers¡¯ abilities, coupled with the yers¡¯ integrity, they could easily make a lot of money. If Annan sold the affection rating for money, he would get many silver coins that could be used for emergencies in a short period.

    But that still feels weird¡­

    It feels as if I¡¯m asking for sugar mummies and daddies.

    What is this?

    Am I a publicly avable lover?

    ¡°Haiz, forget it. I often portray myself in thewizard profession anyway.¡±

    Annan hesitated for a moment but chose the astounding profession.

    Annan could have challenged two more nightmares until the day the baby was born.

    They were Justin¡¯s nightmare and the gallery¡¯s nightmare three dayster.

    If Annan could load the save file and challenge ¡°Nightmare: Betrayer,¡± Annan would raise three levels in total. Otherwise, he was guaranteed to upgrade by two levels.

    I should invest the earnt levels in Silver Knight.

    Falteration Wizard has entered a stage of slow development.

    Salvatore didn¡¯t know any Bronze Rank¡¯s Falteration spell. Annan didn¡¯t have time to read the Edict School textbook Joseph sent over. He had to read the Rotten Man book first.

    If Annan couldn¡¯t learn new spells, his wizard level couldn¡¯t be immediately transferred intobat power.

    After all, the level upgrade was to acquire attribute points, and the wizard upgrade was only to receive spell slots.

    Anyway, they would eventually be upgraded to Silver Rank.

    It didn¡¯t matter which order first.

    Since Annan had dealt with advancement concerns, it was now the yers¡¯ turn.

    Fortunately, Annan¡¯s speed of clearing this nightmare was swift. It only took him twenty minutes to speed run through the gallery¡¯s second level.

    He carried the book ¡°Rotten Man¡± and went to the carriage. When he arrived in Roseburg, Bishop Daryl had just finished lunch shortly.

    Obviously, Bishop Daryl was surprised to learn that ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was paying a visit to him. After all, Annan said that he wouldn¡¯t be back in five days.

    Bishop Daryl was taken aback at his first glimpse at Annan,

    ¡°How did you change your profession to Silver Knight?¡±

    Annan was familiar with this reaction.

    When he watched the seniors ying games, he would often be surprised: ¡°How are you Level 15!?¡±

    It felt like looking up to a premium yer.

 Chapter 164: You All Have to Pay!

    <h4>Chapter 164: You All Have to Pay!</h4>

    ¡°Oh, you can see it directly?¡± Annan was a little baffled.

    Annan verified his status panel repeatedly that he didn¡¯t see any markers on him after bing a Silver Knight.

    ¡°Or, are our churches all Silver Knights?¡± Annan asked.

    If Annan learned that the Silver Sire priests would choose this advancement, he would have been much calmer previously.

    But, Bishop Daryl shook his head with a baffled gaze, ¡°No, most people in the church are not even Transcended, such as me.

    ¡°Although Transcending can quickly turn ordinary people into big shots, actual big shots don¡¯t always choose the path of transcendence.¡±

    ¡°¡­En, that¡¯s understandable.¡± Annan nodded.

    After all, the Transcended in this world wouldn¡¯t have a ¡°clean death.¡±

    Not only would the others turn the victim into ashes after death, but also a nightmare would form. All the secrets in the victim¡¯s life would be revealed. Moreover, after someone of mortal nature acquired a certain level of status, he could be more influential than Transcended.

    In every big family, at least one mortal wouldn¡¯t choose the path of transcendence. That was to preserve political sparks.

    In other words, it was to offer the option to flee.

    Once the big shots decide to go to neighboring countries for various reasons, they could smuggle by boat at will. Unless the king wanted their lives, the Transcended assassins would not be able to pass the border. At most, assassins of mortal nature would be dispatched. But, the assassins of mortal nature wouldn¡¯t be able to fight the Transcended of neighboring countries.

    Even Annan sometimes suspected that ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± might be the ordinary person selected to ¡°prepare for emergencies.¡±

    ¡°What about the Transcendeds in the church?¡± Annan asked expectantly.

    Bishop Daryl said relentlessly, ¡°No, and they won¡¯t. Our Transcendeds in Silver Sire Church generally prefer to upgrade their profession to the ¡®Silver Robe Wizard¡¯ or other wizard-type professions. That¡¯s because the church¡¯s main job is to purify nightmares. Purifying nightmares can effectively make us more sensitive to sensing curses. This is the proficiency on high demands for the wizards. Wizards having poor perception tend to face more difficulty to advance.

    ¡°Those who can be Silver Knights are those who are extremely pious, extremely fanatical, and extremely rich.¡±

    Speaking of this, Daryl looked at Annan in bafflement and even hesitated, ¡°But now it seems that there should be exceptions¡­¡±

    Don¡¯t look at me like that!?

    What else can I do?

    I¡¯m put into a desperate spot.

    Annan coughed as usual, ¡°My main profession is actually a wizard.¡±

    ¡°But seriously, Silver Knight is apelling profession.¡±

    Daryl said thoughtfully, ¡°Although it¡¯s costly for the fights, you can utilize it as a profession to protect yourself in critical moments.

    ¡°Better still, if you cannot advance into the Silver Rank, you can utilize Silver Knight as the main lead to advance into silver. The upper limit of this profession isn¡¯t bronze but silver. If it isn¡¯t for its demanding advancement requirements, many Transcended will choose it.¡±

    In other words, its upper limit isn¡¯t Level 20 but Level 30¡­

    Annan said in deep thoughts, ¡°Does this mean I¡¯m guaranteed to attain Silver Rank?¡±

    ¡°Yup. It¡¯s like the wizard apprentice profession that assists in attaining Bronze Rank.¡±

    When Daryl heard this, his expression was a little weird, ¡°But only a pious priest can be transferred to this profession. Your Excellency Annan, if our Silver Sire priest wants to be promoted in the holy order, he has to be a bishop. After being a cardinal bishop, you can no longer possess personal property.¡±

    Now, I probably know why only a pious priest can advance to this profession.

    Annan was silent, thinking to himself.

    It should be because its attribute requirements were rather strange.

    Perception at 12; Will at 8; Constitution at 8.

    Typically speaking, it wasn¡¯t hard for the swordsman profession to reach 8 in Constitution at Level 10. But ording to this demand, they needed to invest 3 additional attribute points in Will. That made it difficult.

    Those qualified had a significant talent gap aspared to the average healthy adult.

    Moreover, the average poption¡¯s Perception attribute was 5, which meant those who weren¡¯t trained as wizard apprentices had to clear the nightmare seven times additionally.

    But those having the wizard apprentice profession would have progressed deeper into the wizard pathway instead. After all, they were more secure in attaining the Bronze Rank profession that way.

    Where would they find the time to slowly temper their bodies and temper their will?

    ¡°I know a senior Silver Knight. Many Gold Rank assassins have failed their attempts in his hands.¡±

    Daryl sat on a chair and reminisced, ¡°He isn¡¯t a bishop, but he is indeed a believer in Silver Sire. He once killed a ¡®Shadow Hunter¡¯ with his own hands, a Gold Rank curse hunter. He can use divine art that is inclined towards offensepared to the other priests. After all, his curse reactivity is at the Transcended level, unlike our ordinary priests who don¡¯t store curses with us.

    ¡°For example, he can use molten silver coins to form a giant hand to grasp the enemy. This will almost guarantee the opponent¡¯s death by turning them into a terrible silver sculpture in the process. He can also shine out dazzling silver light and bring persistent healing effects and buffs to hisrades. The buff effects are beneficial. It can enable the priests whose Strength is at themoner¡¯s level to repel the Bronze Rank Swordsman face-to-face.

    ¡°If you have a chance to go to the capital, I can write you an introduction letter.¡±

    ¡°I just want to ask.¡±

    Annan hesitated for a while, ¡°For that veteran Silver Knight, his roots are¡­?¡±

    ¡°He is the Noah Kingdom¡¯s former Chancellor of the Exchequer.¡±

    Speaking of this, Daryl looked at Annan with a vague pity, ¡°He is now the chairman of Noah First Bank and the board member of Noah Second Bank and Iris Bank. But you can rest assured¡­ After all, your fortune will definitely be more than his when you be an adult!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Annan choked on his saliva for a moment.

    Adulthood¡­? Inheriting Austere-Winter Dukedom?

    Annan looked at the golden-toothed fat man with his mouth slightly raised and decided to change the subject decisively, ¡°I¡¯m here cause I want to ask if my guards want to embark on the Transcended road, what do you rmend?¡±

    ¡°Have they decided? Is it their own decision?¡± Daryl¡¯s look was a little serious.

    Annan nodded and said with certainty, ¡°Yup. They are all under the swordsman profession. They are in good health and have a solid foundation. But they have no specialties. So I hope to get them advancements with slightly a lower entry standard and a better future. ¡°

    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Daryl thought for a long time.

    He said slowly, ¡°Then, I rmend these three professions ¡®Guardian,¡¯ ¡®Berserker,¡¯ and ¡®Swordmaster.¡¯

    ¡°A guardian is a profession who is proficient in defensive warfare, one-to-many and many-to-onebat. Its promotion requirements are to sessfully block more than 10 attacks in a nightmare and have a rtively bnced physical fitness.

    ¡°The Berserker lives up to its name. It is powerful in terms of frontal assault. You umte more bravery as the battle continues. As your injury worsens, your Strength will continue to increase. To advance into the Berserker profession, you need to have enough Strength and a sturdy Constitution. Berserker¡¯s advanced requirement is to kill the enemy in a badly wounded state in the nightmare and die alongside the enemy.

    ¡°Once the Berserker¡¯s advanced requirements are met, at least one self-harm type of curse will inevitably appear. If you select that self-harm type of curse, you can smoothly advance into a Berserker.¡±

    As Daryl recalled, he said, ¡°For swordmaster, it is an advancement that specializes in one-on-onebat. It may be the hardest attainment for a swordsman of their age. They first need to hone the Basic Swordsmanship to a certain level. Then, they need to be agile.

    ¡°They need to use their learned swordsmanship to kill all enemies without taking any damage. This is almost the only way for all aged swordsmen to change their profession. Moreover, they tend to get a lighter and swifter body than themselves in their nightmares, so this is not hard for them.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan nodded.

    It seems the swordmaster advancement isn¡¯t a viable option.

    This was mainly because Annan didn¡¯t dare to reveal ¡°Nightmare: Betrayer¡± to the yers for the time being. In ¡°gallery,¡± Amos didn¡¯t have the swordsman profession and no sword in his hand.

    However, there seemed to be possibilities for the first two options.

    I shall talk to the yers when the time arrives and let them choose.

    But, this information is quite valuable.

    Hahaha, y¡¯all have to pay! (Cracked Voice)

 Chapter 165: Five Man Team!

    <h4>Chapter 165: Five Man Team!</h4>

    The yers were having dinner together at Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s house.

    It wasn¡¯t only because Old Goose¡¯s house was the most spacious. Another reason was that the other yers had the habit of visiting to discuss their thoughts or private matters.

    Over time, everyone treated it as a norm.

    The Old Goose¡¯s home had be andmark building like a temporary headquarters.

    Just this morning, all the yers had cleared ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± using the strategy summarized by Jiu Er and Delicious Wind Goose.

    This was undoubtedly a day worth celebrating!

    Because this meant that yers could finally gain a foothold in this world even though it was just an entry-level novice dungeon instance!

    ¡°The dungeon instance of this game is too difficult!¡± The yersined at first.

    But when they thought deeper about it, the dungeon didn¡¯t seem to be overly difficult.

    Typically speaking, adventuring unexplored parts of the game as front liners usually took more than two days, unlike their amodating circumstances now.

    With that in mind, they felt embarrassed toin that this dungeon instance was too difficult.

    After all, they overcame the dungeon within two days. If they were to acknowledge it to be difficult, they were in a way mocking themselves being inferior already.

    ¡°But don¡¯t be too excited. We are just able to clear it, but we haven¡¯t unveiled the real ending.

    ¡°After the cooldown is over, everyone has to try new routes. After you die twice, you can go through the correct route and get a reward. The purpose is to train ourselves.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose summed it up like this, ¡°I think that we failed miserably on the first day because we were not mentally prepared and couldn¡¯t adapt to the dungeon instance of this world.

    ¡°It now appears that the nightmare dungeon instances in this world are a test of resilience rather than skills and IQ.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget acting.¡± Child God, who yed Miss Elle, added, ¡°Acting skills are also fundamental.¡±

    Lin Yiyi whispered, ¡°Actually, I think it feels like Running Man [1].¡±

    (TN: The yers were physically running in the dungeon instance too)

    She had a wealth of experience in board games, so she is familiar with this situation.

    ¡°Yeah, sanity check too.¡± Jiu Er nodded with lingering fear, ¡°When I saw those paintings, my erosion rate increased a lot. I don¡¯t think I will challenge the nightmare with my life. I will focus on clearing it on the first run because of my situation.

    ¡°So, the increase in erosion rate is equivalent to losing sanity?¡±

    ¡°But the question is, if the erosion rate goes up, how can they go down?¡±

    Anderson asked worriedly, ¡°Would it be once it¡¯s maxed out, we will die on the spot and can¡¯t be resurrected?¡±

    Hearing his terrifying assumption, the yers went a little quiet for a while.

    Indeed, the erosion rate seemed to be increasing slowly.

    But just because it increases gradually, the yers were a little panicked.

    The slower the increase, the more confident the yers felt that erosion was a form of injury that wasn¡¯t easily afflicted but hard to be cured at the same time.

    After each respawn, the erosion was still retained, unlike their health bar that refreshed into the nk te.

    What happens if the erosion rate is full?

    DongDong¡ª

    At this moment, the yers heard someone knocking on the door.

    The yers shivered inexplicably as if they were caught in an illegal party. But soon, they reacted. It appeared like they just got together to eat a meal with nothing shameful about it.

    Garlic Chives, who was closest to the door, reacted and ran over to open the door. Then, the yers realized that it was their feudal lord, Don Juan Geraint, who was knocking on the door.

    ¡°Why are you all here?¡± Annan was also a little surprised.

    Is this a dinner party?

    Does anyone have a birthday?

    In this small room, 40 yers had crowded together.

    There were eight people on the bed, and a group gathered around the table. A few were sitting on the ground. A silly yer had a branch in his mouth, acting cool while leaning against the wall.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but nce at the entric yer and remembered his name.

    ¡ªPurple Hydrangea.

    Hmph, I will send you directly next time there is any dangerous job.

    ¡°Delicious Wind Goose, I need something from you. Come out.¡± Annan called out names one-by-one, ¡°Yiyi, Jiu Er, Wandering Child. You alle out too.¡±

    The four yers, who had their names called out, panicked.

    It was like going back to the school when the headteacher suddenly came in and called your name.

    That tends not to end well.

    The higher possibility was to be utilized as temporarybor.

    But, when the four yers thought of the potential task, they were delighted.

    Is my boss giving out affection ratings?!

    ¡°Feudal lord, please just call me Old Goose.¡±

    The four yers followed Annan out, and Delicious Wind Goose whispered, ¡°That¡¯s what my friends call me.¡±

    He had been called ¡°Old Goose,¡± ¡°Uncle Goose,¡± and ¡°Baldy!¡± for a long time.

    Having people call him by the full name felt ufortable.

    It felt like calling someone via the online nickname across the street when meeting aizen.

    Wandering Child hurriedly said along the side, ¡°Don¡¯t forget about me! Just call me Child¡­¡±

    The added suffix sounded a bit shameful.

    ¡°Alright,¡± replied Annan understandingly.

    The main reason was that he felt tired of acting.

    Jiu Er¡¯s and Yiyi¡¯s names were still fine.

    Except for Hyphen beingical, Annan quite liked the name.

    The yers followed Annan to the city lord¡¯s residence, and Annan offered them to sit.

    ¡°I summoned you out today because you have made rapid progress recently.¡±

    Annan said solemnly, ¡°Five dayster, Senior Salvatore and I will have a secret n. We need some helpers, but this n is important. I need someone more capable.¡±

    When the four yers heard this, they were suddenly startled.

    Isn¡¯t this the legendary hidden mission?

    Without giving a chance for the yers to think about it, Annan said quickly, ¡°Three dayster, you shall clear the nightmare as quickly as possible. Then, follow me to Roseburg. I have made an appointment with Bishop Daryl in Roseburg. He is offering help to reveal an easy nightmare¡ªan easy nightmare dedicated to advancement.

    ¡°ording to my guess, when you clean up the ¡®Nightmare: Gallery¡¯ again, your strength should peak at ordinary people¡¯s level. Then, you¡¯re open to using that nightmare to advance. If you can advance smoothly, I will issue an important mission at that time,¡± said Annan solemnly.

    The yers were surprised deep down in their hearts.

    That¡¯s right! The four of them were the only yers who had reached Level 9.

    Three dayster, they would indeed be promoted to Level 10 ¡ª the peak level ofmoners. The next step was advancement.

    ¡ªAs expected of Lord Don Juan, he has keen eyesight!

    But soon, Lin Yiyi realized a problem.

    ¡°Is it a we?¡± She asked cautiously.

    Annan nodded seriously.

    The beautiful ice-blue pupils shone like the fine gems or a baby Ragdoll¡¯s eyes [2].

    Annan replied solemnly, ¡°Yes, I asked Bishop Daryl about the nightmare. This nightmare is simple. It allows up to five people to enter at the same time and work together. To be precise, in this nightmare, we need to y the role of the famous wizard and the four guards.¡±

    After Annan heard the specific content of the dungeon instance from Bread Daryl, he had to make some minor adjustments to his previous n.

    So, he had the four yers clear Nightmare: Gallery again. Then, take them to Roseburg.

    That nightmare was really suitable for advancement!

 Chapter 166: Nightmare: Witch Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 166: Nightmare: Witch Hunt</h4>

    Justin¡¯s death left a high-quality nightmare for Annan.

    ording to Bread Daryl¡¯s information, the name of this dungeon instance was ¡°Nightmare: Witch Hunt,¡± which was a rtively rare co-op type nightmare.

    Dungeon¡¯s entry requirements: Bronze Rank wizard of any school and four mortal swordsmen. Satisfying any of the conditions would grant entry by recing one member of the lineup.

    For example, Bread Daryl took the swordsman role. Unfortunately, his experience and insight in clearing the dungeon in a mortal swordsman¡¯s shoes were meaningless to Annan. After all, he was a notable priest beyondmoners.

    But he could provide Annan information about the dungeon instance¡¯s sequence.

    ¡ªThese five people would fight against Justin, who was in his heyday.

    Justin held a Mysterious Ritual, which was called a ¡°hunt notice.¡±

    If Justin were to send an official hunting statement letter to the opponent three days in advance, and his opponent opened and read the hunting letter, then he could lock on the opponent¡¯s trace and soul within these three days.

    After three days, if his opponent had not fled the city, the opponent would bebeled as the hunter¡¯s target until the sun sets on the seventh day.

    Before the hunter(Justin)unched an attack on the hunting target, he would appear invisible (psychologically) to the locked on hunting target.

    In a sense, the target would bepletely unaware of the hunter. No matter the scouting and detection mean the target could muster, he would ignore the hunter¡¯s existence. Only the people around the target could see the hunter normally.

    At the same time, the specific location of the target would manifest in the hunter¡¯s mind. Even if the target turns invisible or hides, the hunter would know the location.

    At this time, Justin had sessfully hunted down the two Transcended, having hisbat sequence just established.

    With that, Justin¡¯s ego inted.

    After studying a young Destruction Wizard, he issued a ¡°hunting notice¡± to the wizard. He had the goal to snatch the wizard¡¯s curse.

    If the wizard left, then Justin would let him go. But if he didn¡¯t take Justin to heart, Justin would attempt to hunt him down.

    The Destruction Wizard was the same as his ssmates¡ªhaving an ego and a bad temper.

    Although the wizard was only Bronze Rank, he did not choose to escape.

    After the wizard received the hunting letter from Justin, he immediately hired four elite swordsmen. When the three-day time limit was approaching, the wizard found a rtively open area (because he was a Destruction Wizard), prepared emergency medicine, food, water, and traps. Then, he got his team into a formation, acting as his eyes. It was a firm deration that he would fight Justin to death.

    The wizard portrayed his big-headed characteristic.

    In the end, Justin didn¡¯t stand up to this wizard because there was no share of this wizard in his curse vessel collections.

    Justin might even be punished violently and escape in a sorry state.

    It might be because of this happening that Justin branded the event clearly in his heart.

    ¡°Justin¡± himself was strengthened in this nightmare.

    Not only had Justin¡¯s body be sturdier with his Strength attribute enhanced, but his resistance to burning and explosion was raised. Since Justin had the unique trait [Curse Sensitive Skin], a tingling sensation would arise if a Transcended power targeted him. In that way, Justin was considered immune to sneak attacks.

    At the same time, Justin bore the curse before his death in this nightmare: [Overload Hunger], [Pain Loss], [Break Free], and [Death Is A Dream].

    This dungeon instance required only five people to work together. The wizard was responsible for outputting damage and protecting the mortals. On the other hand, the mortals took charge as his points. With that, the wizard had a chance to kill Justin.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s exnation to ¡°Nightmare: Witch Hunt,¡± the four yers became excited.

    This dungeon instance seems fun!

    Yiyi and Jiu Er were the most excited among the four.

    These two female yers happened to be the types whose brains couldn¡¯t keep up with the reaction. In the previous nightmare dungeon instance, they were either stuck or suffered a sanity drop (rise in erosion rate).

    It was a rare opportunity for them to encounter a dungeon instance which they could charge head-on. Of course, they immediately became excited.

    Immediately, Annan first sent a batch of affection ratings to the yers ording to their dungeon progress. After having the four yers¡¯ consent, Annan withdrew arge amount of affection ratings from them in the cost of delivering them info on the three prerequisites for ¡°profession transfer.¡±

    After listening to these three requirements, the four yers reached enlightenment.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it goes.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the gallery dungeon instance is inconvenient toplete the advancement.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s mainly because you can¡¯t find a weapon.¡±

    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s mainly because no enemy can be found.¡±

    After a quiet discussion, the four suddenly realized something.

    Delicious Wind Goose asked Annan, ¡°How many times has ¡°Nightmare: Witch Hunt¡± been purified?¡±

    ¡°There are about eight times left for purification. That¡¯s enough for us to clear the nightmare for one round only.¡±

    Annan knew very well what the yers were thinking. He appreciated that the four yers thought of sharing this opportunity with the rest.

    Annan happily assigned them some affection rating, which almost recovered their affection ratings to how it previously was before the charges.

    ¡°In these three days, the four of you can first discuss what professions you n to advance to. My personal opinion is to try to have all three professions distributed among your group.¡±

    Annan continued, ¡°In the morning three dayster, you should clear Nightmare: Gallery as quickly as possible. Then we will get in the carriage and head to Roseburg.

    ¡°I will personally host the advancement ritual for you.¡±

    Annan¡¯s inner thoughts: I will carry you in this process. [1] You can even just be away from the keyboard and wait for me to do the job.

    Annan was confident.

    However, the four yers didn¡¯t trust Annan¡¯sbat effectiveness a lot.

    ¡°¡ªWhy does it feel like Dead by Daylight?¡±

    ¡°¡ªObviously not. Dead by Daylight is having one person hunting for four people. This is the case where four of us are looking for the killer.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWorse still, we have to protect Young Master Don Juan.¡±

    ¡°¡ªYes, at least two people must stay with Young Master Don Juan. Otherwise, the opponent may set up an ambush on our losing condition.¡±

    ¡°¡ªNor should we be too scattered. With the game mechanic typically goes, we will definitely not be able to beat that killer.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBut even if you can¡¯t beat the enemy, you have to grind our parry count on enemy attacks.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBut, we will fail in achieving not getting hit while protecting Don Juan, right?¡±

    ¡°¡ªDon Juan will be slow us down. It is unrealistic to sustain no injuries in this dungeon. We have to be extra prepared. On the one hand, we should still make preparations to ovee the challenge to sustain no injuries. At the same time, we must also use the dungeon to grind our parry count.¡±

    The four yers published an encrypted post, discussing silently and intensely among themselves.

    They didn¡¯t trust Annan¡¯sbat experience.

    After all, Annan looked too young. He wasn¡¯t so much the captain but like Athena.

    Indeed, it was the Athena who needed protection in typical game storylines.

    But the four of them obviously didn¡¯t know.

    Their Lord ¡°Athena¡± was now peeking at their post.

    Annan was like a ss teacher who hid near the back window and peered silently into the ssroom like a phantom.

    ¡­Fuck. Since you think I¡¯m Athena, if the boss is too simple, then I will give you trouble myself.

    Annan squinted his eyes, thinking silently in his heart.

    No, no, this wasn¡¯t vindictive.

    This was selfless love.

    In fact, the yers¡¯ performance in this dungeon instance would dictate their curse.

    So Annan had to give chances for the yers to perform~

    In this way, the yers would get a more rare and powerful curse!

    There would be no way to find a teammate like Annan who had excellent acting skills, could carry the game and wasn¡¯t afraid of being beaten up.

    Soon, the three-day-long waiting time was over.

    After the four of them went online, it took an hour and a half to clear ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± and hurried to the carriage.

    Annan was looking at the four yers with a smile, ¡°Well, your efficiency is pretty high. It¡¯s pretty early now. After we get to Roseburg, we can go to Bishop Daryl for lunch. If your progress goes well¡­

    ¡°How about we have a special barbecue in Roseburg tonight?¡±

    [1] ¡°Carrying¡± is a term used in team games where one person wins the match for everyone else.

 Chapter 167: Why Did You Provoke Him?

    <h4>Chapter 167: Why Did You Provoke Him?</h4>

    [Falling in a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty is easy. You can enter up to eight times.]

    [The current purification progress is 2/10]

    [The total erosion rate of the team is 36%. Dungeon instance difficulty increased by 36%. Nightmare mutation probability increased by 36%.]

    [This dungeon instance has no checkpoint. The erosion rate is increased by 1% for each death. You will be forced out of the dungeon instance upon death.]

    [This dungeon instance provides a plot introduction and no decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (wizard) increased by 1 level]

    [Loadingpleted.]

    Annan¡¯s consciousness gradually came back with his strength quickly recovered.

    Just as he was about to open his eyes, Annan heard Justin¡¯s whisper, ¡°Enough. I don¡¯t want to remember it anymore¡­ My failure¡­¡±

    Then, Annan suddenly woke up.

    It was like waking up in a shallow dream.

    Annan noticed that he was in the carriage at the moment, leaning against the carriage¡¯s side door, and fell asleep.

    He yanked ¡°his¡± hair hard and pulled a handful of it.

    ¡°Blond hair¡­¡± Annan murmured and began to check the items with him.

    Soon, the curse items¡¯ details invaded his vision:

    [The Mouth of Degration]

    [Type: Weapon/orb (Dark blue)]

    [Description: Contains a magic orb imbued with explosive power. After activation, it can seek out the enemy and attack by itself. The attack mode can be switched.]

    [Effect: Once a day, ce it at a spot to be a magic eye (ward). The maximum charge of the ward is 60. The ward recovers 1 charge every second. You may consume 6 charges to activate ¡°Scorching Sight,¡± consume 18 charges to activate ¡°Fire Orb,¡± and consume 60 charges to activate ¡°Degration Light.¡±]

    [Cost: When the ward is recovered, the user¡¯s erosion rate will increase by 3%.]

    [Fervor]

    [Description: The armband contains searing power. You will get burned if you hold it.]

    [Type: essory/armband (Purple)]

    [Effect: Permanently increase the damage of all searing elements and me elements you cause by 30%. For its active use, you may trigger an explosion by expending this item.]

    [Cost: All spells rted to the searing and me elements consume an additional 50% mana value.]

    [Venom ¨C Pain Amplification] * 3

    [Type: Weapon/throwable object/dagger (Light blue)]

    [Description: The aquamarine thin-ded dagger is exceptionally fragile.]

    [Effect: The dagger breaks immediately after attacking. The ¡°Pain Amplification¡± effect will be applied to the target every three seconds. The effect is equivalent to the Destruction spell of the same name.]

    [Cost: Using the dagger to parry, deflect, and block attacks will fail for sure.]

    ¡°This wizard is kind of rich.¡± Annan checked on the three curse vessels above blue rarity and sighed in surprise.

    In addition, his robe, gloves, boots, and vest were all curse vessels with minor effects and costs. But these curse vessels were standard equipment. The effect had consistently ¡°provided additional mana value,¡± so there was no point in diving into the details for the time being.

    Even his curse vessel, a bronze ring iid with ruby, had additional attributes!

    The gems iid on it seem to be some kind of high-grade curse vessel. Every day when the sun sets, the essory would apply ¡°heal minor wounds¡± on the wizard once. The effect was equivalent to the Idol spell of the same name.

    Besides that, Annan also found three reagents in his inner pocket. One of them looked like a frozen ck Fire, and the remaining two were utterly unknown to Annan.

    For items that did not contain curses, Annan had no attribute hints provided.

    So even Annan himself didn¡¯t know what the other two reagents in the wizard¡¯s possessions were used for.

    Moreover, in addition to these curse vessels and potions¡­

    Annan also found a money bag on him.

    There was a wad of paper money in it. Annan realized the value was more than 40 pounds with a slight fumble. In the other pocket hanging in the carriage, there were 13 silver coins ¡°loose change.¡±

    What the hell? Is this fellow a noble¡¯s son?

    ¡°Why did you provoke him?¡± Annan had mixed feelings for Justin.

    Probably what Justin hunted down before were stray Transcended or poor Transcended.

    But this wizard is obviously not an average Joe.

    Did you see his equipment and that armband with a terrifying effect?

    Annan couldn¡¯t help being thankful, but fortunately, Justin¡¯s hunt was unsessful.

    But speaking of it, why would Annan y the role of the nightmare owner¡¯s enemy this time?

    Annan came into deep thoughts.

    As he opened the carriage, he saw four big macho men lying on the ground outside the carriage.

    Up to now, two of the four yers had woken up.

    ¡ªIt was Delicious Wind Goose and Yiyi.

    They struggled to stand up. Annan got off the carriage and helped them off the ground one by one.

    After the four yers gradually came to their senses, the plot introduction of this dungeon instance slowly appeared in front of them:

    [Arthur Searing-Fang is Carney Casting¡¯s recent prey.]

    [No wizard irritates more quickly than the Destruction Wizard. The never-ending fierce curse flows through them, and they can¡¯t calm down, nor can they see through the conspiracies of others. Therefore, the Destruction Wizard is the easiest to be hunted among all the wizards.]

    [Carney originally wanted to use the ¡°hunt notice ritual¡± to force the young wizard alone out of the city and then intercept the wizard from outside the city. But his n was self-defeating: Arthur chose to stay, and he hired four guards. This tant move incited fear in Carney. Carney realized that Arthur wanted to hunt him down in return.]

    [In the end, Carney failed the hunt because of timidity and hesitation at the critical moment.]

    [It was precisely because of this failed hunt that interrupted thest part of Carney¡¯s ¡°yer¡± advancement ritual: sessfully killed a wizard, a swordsman, a priest, a hunter, a lurker, a male elderly over eighty years old, and a girl under eight years old within a month.]

    [But Carney had no chance to try again¡ªhe had been wanted by Swamp¡¯s ck Tower and Silver Sire Church.]

    [This failed huntpletely changed the trajectory of Kani¡¯s destiny.]

    [If he had sessfully advanced to silver, someone should be willing to recruit him.]

    [But he finally gave up his n to advance into Silver Rank. Instead, he chose to stay incognito.]

    [The soon-to-be-advanced ¡°yer¡± Carney Casting was dead. But the curse hunter Justin, who Carney killed, ¡°came to live¡± again¡ª]

    [¡°The only failed hunt in my life. But even if I do it again, do I have a chance?¡±]

    After these exnations faded away, new lines of text appeared before Annan again:

    [Main mission: End this hunt.]

    Immediately, two mission requirements emerged below it:

    [End this hunt as soon as possible.]

    [Arthur Searing-Fang must survive.]

 Chapter 168: Do You Think What You Think Is True?

    <h4>Chapter 168: Do You Think What You Think Is True?</h4>

    Eh?

    Is Justin¡¯s real name called Carney Casting?

    Annan was a little surprised.

    That said, Justin¡¯s acting skill was pretty good.

    Although Annan knew Justin wasn¡¯t a good person, he didn¡¯t expect this fellow to be a retired murderer.

    Annan hadn¡¯t noticed that Justin had a murdering intention on him at all.

    Or to say, this is not acting.

    Is he beaten up into fear?

    Annan remembered that nightmare was born based on harbored regrets even until death.

    For Carney Casting¡¯s regret, is he seeking a quick death?

    That way, he could have ended his life of harming others and himself long ago.

    But if Carney kills ¡°me¡± sessfully, we can¡¯t fulfill the mission. Also, Arthur and his four guards have to survive.

    We can¡¯t clear the dungeon by intentionally feeding the enemy.

    Wait, I shouldn¡¯t think so much about it.

    This is just an easy dungeon instance. It doesn¡¯t provide any decryption reward, so it¡¯s useless to overthink it.

    Also, the dungeon instance that does not provide decryption rewards may have different rules than other dungeon instances.

    The scar-faced brawny man with the name [Jiu Er] floating on his head carefully nced at Annan, who was in deep thoughts at the spot, ¡°Feudal lord?¡±

    ¡°Ya, it¡¯s me.¡± Annan recovered his senses quickly.

    Annan asked Jiu Er, ¡°What kind of person do I look like now? Describe my appearance and main characteristics.¡±

    If Arthur Searing-Fang survived, he would be a big shot. Apart from anything else, his personal belongings alone revealed that he was a rich person.

    Annan and other yers would probably meet him in the future.

    Annan was in the live broadcast room. When he asked this question, the yers vaguely realized that they needed to pay attention to Arthur¡¯s intelligence. Thus, when they encounter Arthur in the future, they will notice it as soon as possible.

    ¡°You now look like¡­ a handsome young man but appear fanatical. You¡¯re thin, not tall, and with scary eyes.¡± Jiu Er described it vaguely.

    Annan listened to her description, feeling that he needed some wild inspiration to understand it.

    Delicious Wind Goose on the side couldn¡¯t stand the description either.

    ¡°Let me do it,¡± Old Goosemented before exining to Annan. ¡°This is Jiu Er. She isn¡¯t familiar with this kind of stuff¡­

    ¡°You now look like a noble young man with golden curly hair, wearing a red and white standing cor cloak. You appear conspicuous, about 1.7 meters tall with a long face, fair skin, and special pupils like flowingva. When you breathe, you will breathe out a faint white mist. It smells of sulfur.¡±

    ¡°En, I see.¡± Annan nodded approvingly.

    He nced at the name on Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s head and asked, ¡°Are you Old Goose?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Delicious Wind Goose nodded repeatedly, then introduced Annan, ¡°This is Yiyi, and this is Child.¡±

    Ha, you all are too inexperienced.

    If I¡¯m an NPC, now I should be wary of why you can see others¡¯ real names.

    Annan shook his head silently.

    Annan reminded the yers, ¡°I know you all are familiar with each other and can easily recognize each other. But if you aren¡¯t with me, it is best not to do this in front of strangers. Everyone should introduce themselves.

    ¡°Otherwise, they may suspect that you have a curse vessel capable of finding out real names. Consequently, you may be targeted or killed.¡±

    Hearing this, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s heart shuddered.

    Only then did he realize these settings that yers were used to were so unnatural in the eyes of the NPC.

    If this wasn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint, the person would have be hostile and conspired against the yer group, turning the yers into cannon fodder.

    After all, it was fine to have the guard dead but not the wizard in this dungeon instance.

    So Delicious Wind Goose nodded seriously.

    ¡°I will notify the rest when I go back.¡±

    ¡ªActually, you don¡¯t need to do that.

    yers are now watching their live broadcast.

    They learned this information at the first moment.

    Annan knew about this.

    It was because Annan lurked in the live broadcast room, ready to peek at the screen at any time.

    ¡°We shall spread out first.¡±

    Annanmanded, ¡°Get down the carriage. I¡¯m standing on the side far from the road and close to the woods. At this distance, crossbow¡¯s arrows shot from the woods can¡¯t reach here. Yiyi, your figure is rtively tall. You shall stand on my left. Focus on dealing with ambushing arrows, then stay on high alert in the direction of the woods with me.

    ¡°Jiu Er and Old Goose should hide somewhere. The requirement is that the two of you shall hide farther apart, but take note to have vision of each other and also the rest.

    ¡°Child, you are the shortest and thinnest. You try to see if you can go up the tree. You will be in charge of the carriage¡¯s back. Gain a height advantage and cover my blindspot. Child and Yiyi, you two shall watch out for each other.

    ¡°Listen well, team. Don¡¯t move away from your position at your own ord, lest one of your partners can¡¯t find you or get assassinated.

    ¡°I think you are all equipped with a light crossbow and dye balls. If there is no friendly unit in your shooting direction, shoot with your light crossbow. If there is any friendly unit in your path, shoot with the dye ball and call out your party member¡¯s name. Those who hear their name called immediately dodge away from the spot before reassessing your surroundings.

    ¡°Remember. It¡¯s fine for Child and Yiyi to give warnings. However, Old Goose and Jiu Er try to keep silent unless you are certain that the enemy is by your side.¡±

    Annan went utterly beyond the yers¡¯ initial expectations.

    Annanmanded in an orderly manner, showing the professional qualities of an excellentmander.

    Annan appeared like a twenty-five years old blond youth filled with surging self-confidence and unquestionable leadership aura.

    It wasn¡¯t too surprising if Annan was indeed a twenty-five years old wizard.

    But the problem was that Annan was only twelve years old in the eyes of the yers.

    ¡ªHe was indeed an elementary school student.

    Are all elementary school students in other worlds monsters these days?

    ¡°We have a clear goal. The opponent is capable of instantly killing any of you. He must have long-range attacks such as crossbows or bows. To me, he ispletely invisible.

    ¡°So if we take any one point as the center and look around, we will only be killed by him one by one. So we have to reverse our lineup. We shall look inside from all sides, observe each other¡¯s position, and utilize Child and Yiyi as baits.

    ¡°As long as I can determine the general direction, I will directlyunch an area attack. You are responsible for alerting me whether the enemy survived and correcting the attacking trajectory for me.

    ¡°The goal this time is to defeat the enemy with one casualty or less. Do you understand?¡±

    Annan¡¯s eyes were sharp. He spoke swiftly but loud and clear, ¡°Why are you dumbfounded on the spot? Get in position quickly!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The four guards responded quickly and then dispersed.

    The yers who watched the live broadcast were a little bit stunned.

    ¡°¡ªWhy is Don Juan so professional?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t know. He shouldn¡¯t have learned this kind of survival skill at his age.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis isn¡¯t a survival skill. It¡¯s already proficiency in managing home base and setting up guard posts!¡±

    ¡°¡ªI think the Gerant family may be a military force.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s probable.¡±

    Annan looked at thements and kept silent.

    This was a strategy he had already thought of before the nightmare.

    Although this dungeon instance was here to upgrade the yers quickly, it was also part of the process to showcase his strength and identity.

    Annan had to take off ¡°the Don Juan Geraint¡¯s mask¡± eventually.

    Moreover, ¡°David¡¯s identity¡± was at a rare spot of not intersecting with Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s identity.

    Annan had started his arrangements.

    He had to gradually show the abnormality, revealing his true identity to the yers bit by bit.

    He would have the yers gradually start to doubt his true identity but make them nervous, excited and avoid having them felt deceived.

    It appearedplex, but it could be done easily as long as it was apparent to the yers that their benefits were far more remarkable if Annan changed back to his true identity.

    Also, Annan had to let the yers know that he didn¡¯t deliberately deceive them, that their rtionship had been like this from the beginning. Then, everything would work.

    Simple and straightforward.

    The yers were now in a situation simr to ¡°amnesia,¡± just like Annan.

    They had no idea what their true identity was.

    When others said they were ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± private soldiers, Annan didn¡¯t deny it but didn¡¯t admit it either.

    Annan just said, ¡°These people are my guards.¡±

    ¡ªBut why couldn¡¯t they be Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s guards?

    After all, the real Don Juan escort either escaped or died.

    There were cleaned death, easily traceable.

    At that time, the yers would suddenly realize: Ah, it turns out that I¡¯m Austerian.

    Do you think what you think is true?

    I will give you the information that makes you grow suspicious of me!

    When did you have the illusion that I didn¡¯t use misdirection?

    Sure enough, even Annan didn¡¯t utilize the bullet text to incite momentum. yers had already begun to discuss the status of ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± in the family and the situation that the Gerant family might face now.

    After all, the yers would tend to use some minute details to specte about the plot that was beyond reach.

    ¡°¡ªFeudal lord!¡±

    But at this moment, Annan suddenly heard Yiyi¡¯s nervous voice.

    ¡°¡­That person¡­isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Did you see it?

    That¡¯s fast?

    Annan was a little surprised.

    Then he lowered his head without a trace and nced at the direction Yiyi was pointing with her chin.

    He assessed twice repeatedly, but there was no one there.

    So, Annan immediately shouted, ¡°Attack!¡±

    He opened his clenched right hand.

    A dark gold gemstone burning with mes rose rapidly like the sun. The brilliance was getting brighter and brighter. When it rose to the highest point, it turned into a huge, somewhat illusory eyeball (ward).

    The pupil of the eyeball was like the pupil of a snake!

    At this moment, Jiu Er, Yiyi, and Child all immediately attacked in that direction.

    But, Annan still didn¡¯t see where the enemy was.

    It felt like he was a Starcraft yer who was oblivious to the obvious.

    But Annan quickly realized that the three of them were shooting dye balls!

    This meant that Delicious Wind Goose and Carney Casting were close to each other!

    The distance was so close that friendly fire was usible!

    ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll go over and take a look.¡±

    Annan replied decisively in a low volume.

    Yiyi was frightened by thismand as if her soul escaped her body.

 Chapter 169: Are You From A Gymnastics Team?

    <h4>Chapter 169: Are You From A Gymnastics Team?</h4>

    Yup, it was indeed an easy dungeon.

    But Delicious Wind Goose felt a heavier pressure when facing Carney Casting inparison to Nightmare: Gallery!

    Old Goose thought at first that this ¡°hunter¡± should be the kind of tall and thin man with scars on his face.

    But after encountering ¡°Carney¡± face-to-face, he realized that he might have underestimated this opponent.

    ¡°Carney¡± was a giant shrouded in burning me with a height of about two meters. His face was full of burn marks. His almost broken neck had evident traces of being cut by a de. In addition, there were some fresh scars on his body, as if they were injuries he suffered not long ago.

    But this was impossible.

    One-third of these injuries were enough to kill him.

    Is this all the injuries he suffered during his lifetime?

    Such a thought shed through Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s mind.

    Carney looked like it had been erged 1.5 times. Even the buttons on his coat and the rope on his boots had been erged in proportion.

    That also signified that the searing long sword behind Carney was bigger and heavier!

    Carney¡¯s body slumped slightly. His left hand gently pressed on the ground, and the muscles on his arm were bulging.

    Immediately, he pounced agilely. After spinning for a circle in the air, he mmed a heavy sword at Delicious Wind Goose!

    Delicious Wind Goose felt a great sense of danger.

    His instinct told him that he had no way to block this sh.

    Without hesitation, he jumped out to the side, rolled on the ground afternding. Then, he immediately stood up.

    The next moment, the sky behind him suddenly lit up. Three dye balls scattered around Carney, bursting out three shining clouds of green, red, and pink smoke.

    But Carney reacted before being bombarded by the smoke.

    He altered his shing motion into thrusting at the ground.

    Immediately after, an azure blue halo extended from the sword tip, preventing the sword tip from being directly inserted into the ground and causing damage to the de. With that, the sword supported Carney¡¯s entire weight steadily.

    With that, Carney elevated from the ground, avoiding these dye balls.

    With the sword tip propping him up, Carneyunched himself to the air like a pole vault.

    That gave him the opening to kick at theid-down Delicious Wind while in mid-air!

    Are you from a gymnastics team?!

    How is this hunter proficient in closebat?!

    Delicious Wind Goose almost screamed out loud.

    Old Goose could only kneel on the ground, holding the sword with his left hand to block Carney¡¯s kick.

    With this strength assaulting him, Old Goose staggered back. He could barely stand on his ground.

    But as Carney¡¯s legsnded firmly, he shed his long sword horizontally.

    A scorching wave of fire shed in the air along with the sound of a whirring wind.

    Delicious Wind Goosey down straight back in a sorry state. That put him into a momentary trance as he barely dodged the attack.

    At this moment, Carney retracted the sword.

    He stepped forward, with the sword in his hand directed at Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s neck. Consequently, Delicious Wind Goose was forced to roll backward.

    Carney used the same trick again.

    Then, he pounced again, turned over in the air, and delivered a heavy sh!

    This time, he utilized aplete set of martial arts.

    The scorching sword wind whizzed past!

    Delicious Wind Goose released his weapon, knelt on the ground, and exerted force on his knees to lower his upper body backward. The sword wind swept over his head. He even heard the crackling sound of his hair and the creak of his back caused by the violent movement.

    Old Goose performed the series of block and dodge barely. All in all, no attacksnded on him yet.

    After watching Carney perform the same skill, he breathed deeply in ce. Delicious Wind Goose hurriedly climbed to his feet and didn¡¯t forget to pick up the sword again.

    ¡°Help!!!¡± Delicious Wind Goose burst into anger, shouting.

    Immediately he heard Yiyi¡¯s very panicked shout, ¡°Draw the monster¡¯s aggro [1]! Hold the boss monster at the spot!

    ¡°Don Juan ising over!¡±

    Motherfucker¡ª

    Don¡¯t you see! This fellow could have killed me in one sh¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose looked at Hunter Carney, who seemingly had his cooldown refreshed. He stared back at Delicious Wind Goose with those bloodshot eyes, making Old Goose¡¯s heart trembled.

    Why is this aggro locked on me for no reason?

    I didn¡¯t even hit you once with my sword!

    Suddenly, Delicious Wind Goose had an idea.

    ¡°Let hime! You alle too!¡±

    He shouted, ¡°This boss won¡¯t run at all. Come over and grind your block count on attacks!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming!¡±

    ¡°You hold on!¡±

    Enthusiastic voices came from the other yers immediately.

    Damn it. You don¡¯te when I ask for your help. But, when there¡¯s something to grind, you immediatelye over.

    Are you all barbaric monkeys? You¡¯re no different to them!

    Delicious Wind Goose had the urge to curse out loud.

    But the next moment, he suddenly heard Yiyi¡¯s voice, ¡°Lower your head, Old Goose!¡±

    Old Goose lowered his head subconsciously. An arrow with strong wind shot out from his back, firmly nailed at Carney¡¯s right shoulder, holding the sword!

    The distance between Carney and Yiyi was about forty meters.

    The crossbow¡¯s might at this distance was trustworthy.

    It would be great if it tranted to a headshot kill. Delicious Wind Goose secretly called it a pity.

    With his shoulder hit, Carney¡¯s towering body was shaken back by the impact.

    But the damage seemed to be insufficient to make him drop his weapon.

    The next moment, Carney¡¯s bloodshot eyes moved away from Delicious Wind Goose and turned to stare at Yiyi.

    His left hand slowly reached his waist.

    Delicious Wind Goose saw it. There was a tinypared to Carney¡¯s size) but very delicate silver hand crossbow.

    Old Goose¡¯s pupils shrank.

    He immediately activated [Charge] to interrupt Carney to switch weapons.

    ¡°Which area is he in?¡±

    But at this moment, an urgent but somewhat arrogant tone came from behind him. ¡°Say the color!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose froze for a moment and then realized that this was the wizard Don Juan Geraint yed!

    ¡°The intersection of red and green!¡±

    It was Wandering Child who reported.

    When Child heard Annan¡¯s voice, he immediately added, ¡°Seven steps in front of Old Goose!¡±

    At the moment, the notification sounded on the battlefield, a scorching ray shot above Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s head in the air!

    It was as precise as to how surgeons operated with their scalpel.

    When Annan couldn¡¯t see the enemy, he seemed to have activated wallhacks and hit Hunter Carney!

    The ray shed horizontally, and the affected trees were light on fire in an instant.

    Delicious Wind Goose felt very clearly that a burst of hot air hit his face. His facial skin quickly became dry.

    Even as Carney tried to dodge backward, it only caused the scorch mark to move down from the neck to the chest and abdomen.

    A dark scorch mark appeared between his chest and abdomen, along with the crackling sound and burning smell!

 Chapter 170: Just Die, Thank You!

    <h4>Chapter 170: Just Die, Thank You!</h4>

    After the ray attack, Hunter Carney¡¯s upper body was directly burned out.

    The scorching ray cut through his arms, chest, and abdomen.

    But something unexpected had happened.

    The seemingly fatal damage only cut Carney¡¯s arm to that point of having bones exposed.

    Even if the flesh turned ck, Carney did not faint, and he didn¡¯t die because of it. On the contrary, it was like he couldn¡¯t feel the pain at all.

    Moreover, Carney¡¯s injuries were recovering in haste.

    The incredible recovery speed could be seen with the naked eye!

    Under Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s horrified gaze, he could see the burnt ck scars on Carney¡¯s body had pinkish muscles squirming out like worms. The bizarre flesh waved fanatically in the air. Once the two bundles of flesh could touch each other, they would fuse and intertwine with each other.

    After being hit by Annan¡¯s ray cannon, Carney¡¯s attention shifted to Annanpletely.

    Moreover, for the first time, there was an expression on his face.

    It was an expression of immense resentment.

    The next moment, Delicious Wind Goose suddenly felt that his body was no longer under his control.

    He immediately realized that he seemed to have entered aputer graphic (CG) scene.

    Delicious Wind Goose looked back.

    He saw Arthur¡¯s handsome and unrestrained face with disdainful pity.

    Obviously, he could see Carney.

    When Carney was almost cut in half by a ray, the crossbow around his waist, the reagent in the vest, and the hidden weapon were burned entirely.

    After being hit by ¡°Scorching Sight,¡± Carney¡¯s invisibility was broken.

    Carney seemed to realize it himself.

    After being hurt by it, Carney seemed to give up his intention to remain stealthy.

    At the next moment, Carney spoke.

    From his leaky throat, there was an intermittent voice, like a voiceing from the abyss, ¡°Kill me.¡±

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t kill you. Friend.¡±

    As Arthur said, he flicked his armband lightly and said in a rxed tone, ¡°I stay not because I¡¯m nning to hunt you, nor am I angry. I have lived to this day, and I have long been ustomed to being pursued by assassins. So I will just stay because I don¡¯t like being threatened.¡±

    To Wandering Child, it felt familiar.

    It was like some of his wealthy friends pretending to show off a new watch inadvertently.

    Look, look at me, look at this thing. It¡¯s so valuable~

    It was about such a silent cry.

    Arthur opened his arms and said with a smile, ¡°Because our identities, our lives, and the levels we pursue are different. The peak of your life is the Silver Rank. But I¡¯m different. I want to advance into Gold Rank.

    ¡°You dare to murder because you have nothing. But I¡¯m different. I have to care about my reputation.

    ¡°Just say it, my friend. I didn¡¯t want to hurt you because of how you have nothing to do with me. If you leave today, you will never see me for the second time in your life. I didn¡¯t kill you because I was cowardly stupid. It¡¯s because of the curse you carry; I¡¯m not interested in your curse at all. I have a strict n. Otherwise, how can I advance to gold?

    ¡°But if I leave you alone and don¡¯t absorb your curse, it will be a nightmare and pollute the environment. This is a serious sin.

    ¡°So, if I kill you, you will be a stain on me. Your body will also be dug, made into specimens, and used as evidence. I don¡¯t think you can find big shots and have your dark histories erased by those advanced into Silver Rank. Friend¡­ No secret in this world can be hidden from those ¡®Prophet.¡¯ It¡¯s just that they think there is no need to tell certain matters to others.¡±

    Arthur smiled, with the brilliance ofva flowing in his eyes, and smiled slyly, ¡°In other words, you are not worth the price¡ªbut I am.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to chop up your corpse to feed the animals. I don¡¯t have time to cleanse your nightmare. Whether it¡¯s burying you or throwing you into the sea, they will be able to find your corpse again. For God¡¯s sake, don¡¯t die. If you want to die, go to a quiet ce andmit suicide. Don¡¯t cause trouble for me.¡±

    Arthur sighed and shook his head slowly.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. Since I have opened up so tantly, can you go now?¡±

    Arthur smiled graciously, ¡°If you are angry because your equipment is damaged, I canpensate you 50 pounds. Please take it as your medical expenses for me to increase mybat experience.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t leave, I will dismember your limbs and send you back to the police station in the city,¡± said Arthur softly.

    There was no hatred in Arthur¡¯s eyes.

    Even the angering from the attack had dissipated. For a Destruction Wizard, controlling his rage was undoubtedly hard.

    Unless he wasn¡¯t angry in the first ce.

    Indeed, Arthur had not been provoked from the very beginning.

    He didn¡¯t even ask Carney¡¯s name.

    On Carney¡¯s side, his face became more and more distorted.

    Anger, greed, jealousy, and hatred were mixed. The red me burning on his body gradually turned ck.

    ¡°Kill me, Arthur! Do you think I will be grateful for your forgiveness?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to live in humiliation and an ordinary life!

    ¡°Either you kill me or let me kill you!¡±

    It was a resentful and fanatical roar.

    Carney¡¯s body began to swell. All the wounds in his body began to bleed at the same time.

    The smile on Arthur¡¯s face gradually faded.

    Because at this time, Annan gained back control over the wizard¡¯s body.

    Annan soon came to an understanding after listening to the CG scene.

    Why was this nightmare not ¡°Carney hunting Wizard Arthur¡± but ¡°Wizard Arthur against Carney?¡±

    Because Carney¡¯s resentment wasn¡¯t that he had failed to hunt Arthur.

    But something more pathetic.

    ¡ªHe couldn¡¯t even die.

    He was not beaten to death by Arthur and then escaped in a sorry state.

    Instead, Arthur repeatedly burned Carney and exhausted his regenerative power from the curse ¡°ultra-high-speed regeneration.¡± In the end, Arthur spared him.

    It could be even worse. His limbs were dismembered, and he was thrown back into the city.

    After Carney died, he subconsciously didn¡¯t dare to challenge Arthur again.

    As long as Arthur could kill him, it could be regarded as an end to his resentment.

    He said that he ¡°definitely doesn¡¯t want to live in humiliation and an ordinary life!¡±

    Because he had lived like this once.

    Arthur had beaten him to the point that he had utterly lost his courage.

    He even began to fear failure. Even in the nightmare after death, he no longer dared to challenge Arthur.

    He also stopped hunting afterward. This should be the reason.

    ¡°¡ªBut Arthur and I have different opinions.¡± Annan said nonchntly, ¡°I don¡¯t need to evade responsibility to kill trash like you. So what if I kill you?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what price I paid! You don¡¯t know what I sacrificed.¡± Carney growled, his voice bing more and more inhuman.

    His spine grew slowly, and bat-like wings slowly grew behind him. His figure continued to erge.

    Is this a demon? Yiyi was in panic and wanted to raise her crossbow to shoot.

    But Annan stopped her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move. Wait until he finishes transforming.¡±

    Annan said calmly, ¡°After defeating him like this, the curse you can choose will be stronger.¡±

    Boss, what we worry about is that we can¡¯t beat it! The four yers cried out from the bottom of their hearts.

    But Annan didn¡¯t panic.

    He took out a few silver coins from his arms, yed with them in the palm of his hand, quietly watching the Carney transformation.

    Don¡¯t you know that transformation is a death g?

    Bread Daryl once told me divine art has bonus damage to ¡°demon¡± enemies.

    Moreover, although Arthur was a Destruction Wizard, he did not advance to silver, so he didn¡¯t oppose a specific school of spells.

    Annan¡¯s breathing became slower. The ice-white mist slowly exuded out from his mouth and nose with his breathing. The faint blue brilliance also rose at the bottom of his eyes.

    ¡°Almost done.¡± Annan looked at the four agitated yers and said suddenly, ¡°Stay away and retreat behind the carriage.

    ¡°Since I can see him, you all aren¡¯t needed. You cane back after I mutte him.¡±

    Don¡¯t get in the way.

    Just die, thank you.

    The yers clearly understood Annan¡¯s intentions.

    They looked at the muscr demon, who was nearly three meters high and burned with ck mes. Then, they looked at Annan, who didn¡¯t even have a piece of leather armor.

    It wasn¡¯t that Annan didn¡¯t have enough damage. After all, Annan killed Gerald in front of them.

    But this distance is too close, right?

    For a wizard, being within thirty meters of an enemy of this size doesn¡¯t seem okay.

    If Annan still had the energy to read the bullet texts, he wouldin.

    ¡ªWhat do you know? Dumbo.

    I have to get closer so that my magic can hit.

    And do you think I¡¯m here to deal with his nonsense?

    I¡¯m charging my magic eye (ward)¡­

 Chapter 171: Killing You? No Sweat!

    <h4>Chapter 171: Killing You? No Sweat!</h4>

    Carney¡¯s body was still transforming.

    His body was raised to more than three meters. The color of his skin became dark purple mixed with blue tones. His skin had veins bulged up, and his muscles twitched. All the wounds no longer bleed but leaked out dark and viscous mes.

    His scorched face became even more terrifying. Perhaps, Carney would be terrified when he saw his looks.

    The ¡°organ¡± attached to his back appeared more like ribs connected with thin membranes, not so much wings.

    Carney was gradually turning into a demon.

    And this scene was familiar to Annan.

    In Annan¡¯s first nightmare right after he came into this world, Guard Captain us also attempted to be like this.

    It was just that Annan slew him before he could finish his transformation.

    Judging from Benjamin¡¯s reaction, demons should not only appear in nightmares.

    This could be what happened after the erosion rate reached 100%.

    ¡­Or rather, what one of the transformations could manifest?

    ¡°Almost done.¡± Annan murmured.

    More than a minute passed, Annan had charged up his magic eye.

    To maximize the damage output, Annan should deliver his first round ofbo now.

    Of course, he should add a buff on himself before that.

    Although Arthur didn¡¯t have the swordsman profession, Silver Knight was characterized in adapting to the environment (nightmare). This should allow Annan to use part of Silver Knight¡¯s power even in a nightmare as long as he possessed silver coins.

    After all, his corepetence came from divine art.

    Ding¡ª

    A crisp ¡°clink¡± of silver coin sounded in Annan¡¯s hand.

    Annan finally stopped fidgeting with the coins in his hand.

    Under the yers¡¯ surprised gaze, Annan summoned a dazzling silver rapier as he flicked his hand in the next moment.

    ¡ªIt was a little different from before.

    Annan noticed the thin ray reflecting off the de in his hand.

    The ¡°Sharp Object¡± he summoned before wasn¡¯t imbued with holy light like now.

    Frost traces spread from Annan¡¯s fingertips, soaking the de quickly.

    Annan nced back at the bloodshot Carney, who had utterly lost his mind.

    Annan squinted and activated the magic eye hovering in the air. Then, he released the most expensive Destruction spell stored in the magic eye!

    ¡ªDegration Light!

    The next moment, the sky shone brightly.

    After a short dy, a golden-red beam manifested a sharp de and fell like thunder.

    It bombarded Carney in an instant!

    The attack was like the descent of aet.

    Apanied by a boom, the surrounding earth cracked!

    At the ce where the light beam fell, the ground was surging withva that shot to the sky!

    The hike in temperature ignited all the surrounding trees in an instant. But they weren¡¯t ordinary burning; the trees were burned into charcoal in the blink of an eye. It was like mes burnt from within and exploded out!

    The scorching airwaves dispersed in ripples.

    Some of the trees fell with their leaves turned yellow, with some invaded with dim mes.

    But Annan was fine.

    He still stood on the spot, unfazed by the heatwave, nor was he forced to retreat.

    It was as if he didn¡¯t feel the harsh wind at all.

    A dark-gray square appeared in Annan¡¯s pupils.

    In front of Annan, a gas wall that conformed to the shape of a cube emerged in the air.

    The square wall was four meters high and made up of heat shimmers.

    When the scorching airwaves arrived at the wall, they lost their speed and were intercepted.

    It was Annan¡¯s Guided Spells, [Impeding Wall]!

    After the explosion, the wall disappeared silently.

    But, Carney was still alive even after all that.

    The injuries on his body were terrifying. His upper body was almost burnt to charcoal, but he was still alive. The damage was recovering in haste.

    At this moment, Annan didn¡¯t hesitate as he jumped into the smoke that hadn¡¯tpletely dissipated.

    In the meantime, he threw the bag full of silver coins directly into the air and chanted the Silver Hand incantation:

    ¡°Learn your lesson. This is the hand that seizes power eternally and forever¡ª¡±

    That was a tribute to silver coins.

    That was a warning to believers.

    As Annan chanted, all the silver coins in Arthur¡¯s purse flew out of their own ord and melted into a cold and shimmering silver liquid in the air. The liquid flew at a faster speed than Annan and enshrouded the de.

    Suddenly a strong curse aura erupted from the temporarily enchanted de.

    It was as if the rapier turned into a curse vessel.

    Annan didn¡¯t have time to look at its properties.

    Because he had rushed over to Carney¡¯s side already.

    Carney raised his hand, trying to seize Annan¡¯s head.

    On the other hand, an ice-blue light shed in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Frigid cold air exploded in all directions, with Annan as the center. Carney¡¯s previously scorched skin experienced an extreme drop in temperature, with visible signs of frozen cracks surfaced.

    At the same time, the frosty curse invaded and slowed Carney¡¯s movements.

    With that, Annan¡¯s speed seemed a little faster. He squatted down abruptly, avoiding Carney¡¯s grapple.

    Immediately after, Annan dashed past Carney from the side. At the same time, he raised his rapier and aimed at Carney¡¯s thigh.

    But Annan swapped his attack to a diagonal sh at Carney¡¯s protruding wrist! There was no hindrance to the attack.

    Annan shed through the muscles and the solid bones on Carney¡¯s wrist like cutting an apple in the air.

    In the first exchange, Carney¡¯s right forearm, dripping with oil-like ck and viscous blood, flew high in the air!

    After being shed by the silver sword, a silver-gray web-like pattern began to surface at the injury, gradually spreading to the shoulder.

    At the same time, ayer of frost covered the injury.

    The frostyer sealed the ck blood that should have burned on the ground and the squirming muscles from the swift regeneration.

    The Frost Sword¡¯s mightiness was on full disy!

    Under the pain, Carney subconsciously attempted to withdraw his right hand.

    That gave another opening for Annan to advance his attacks.

    While maintaining Guided Spell ¨C Frost Nova, Annan got in front of Carney faster than Carney retracting his right hand.

    Another attack wasunched.

    Fortunately, Arthur¡¯s body was fairly tall this time.

    Annan¡¯s de prated Carney¡¯s lower abdomen. He just felt a slight obstruction, but the rapier wasn¡¯t stuck inside.

    Hence, after Annan pierced the de halfway in, he immediately shed downward. At the same time, he rolled under Carney¡¯s leg openings and appeared behind Carney.

    This attack quickly tore Carney in half from his belly. For some reason, no blood tainted Annan during the whole process. Only the blood, which was frozen into powders, dropped inrge quantities.

    The initially fragile ¡°Sharp Object¡± was so strong under the Silver Hand¡¯s enchantment.

    Annan exerted his strength and cut Carney¡¯s left ankle directly before he stood up behind Carney!

    Starting from Annan cutting off Carney¡¯s right arm, this whole set of movements only took less than three seconds!

 Chapter 172: You Can Do That?

    <h4>Chapter 172: You Can Do That?</h4>

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Lin Yiyi was dumbfounded.

    In the face of such a terrifying enemy, Annan assaulted the enemy in a shy manner. Under three shes of silver light, one sh was delivered each second, dismembering one arm and one leg.

    The towering figure possessed great power, with me enshrouding him. Yet, he appeared so vulnerable with no sess in retaliating. With one of the legs severed, he lost his bnce and fell forward.

    ¡°¡ª666!¡±

    (TN: 666 is a Chinese abbreviation to describe someone or something impressive.)

    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s way fucking cool!¡±

    ¡°¡ªIs this thebat you see in the movie¡¯sputer graphics¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªAre you a swordsman, or am I a swordsman?¡±

    ¡°¡ªShit, I feel excited now. I want to join the fight.¡±

    yers knew more or less that ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was equipped with the swordsman profession.

    But now he was using Arthur¡¯s body!

    Although Arthur was a sturdy and healthy adult, he was a pure wizard!

    ¡°¡ªHe has the guts to engage in this cloth armor.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, does the armor make any difference in front of a boss of this size?¡±

    ¡°¡ªLight armor is like a thin paper, while heavy armor is like a paper folded in half. Anyway, it doesn¡¯t make a difference. Any hit will be lethal.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThere is a difference. The cloth armor weighs lighter.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHe¡¯s so cool. Oppa, saranghae.¡°

    (TN: It¡¯s in Korean, which means¡ªhandsome, I love you. I guess that¡¯s what fans usually say.)

    ¡°¡ªYou gotta make it clear, are you confessing to Arthur or Don Juan?¡±

    The tedments in the bullet text were in high activity.

    But only the four yers who had experienced Carney¡¯s pressure at close range knew the level ofbat power this young feudal lord had.

    There was even a vague idea in their minds.

    The little feudal lord brought them in the advancement ritual, seemingly intending to ask for help.

    However, if it was an enemy who the four yers felt pressured to face, would their help carry any meaning?

    Annan had already severed all Carney¡¯s limbs while the yers were still watching the stream in awe.

    Annan stabbed the sacred silver rapier in Carney¡¯s heart and nailed him to the ground.

    After doing this, Annan paused and lowered his head to confirm the opponent¡¯s status carefully.

    En, everything¡¯s still fine.

    Despite being in such a state, Carney¡¯s health is still alright.

    Although Carney had utterly lost his sanity, his curse status seemed to have elevated to the next level.

    Could it be that I could only kill with the designated weapons?

    Annan looked at the three poisonous throwing knives in his possessions thoughtfully.

    Annan turned his head and shouted, ¡°You all cane over.¡±

    Except for Delicious Wind Goose, the other three yers ran over from behind the carriage.

    ¡°Have you guys decided?¡± Annan ignored the dismembered towering man who was nailed to the ground and asked the yers, ¡°What profession do you all want to advance?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Do we get to choose?¡± Lin Yiyi was a little surprised.

    Annan raised his eyebrows and showed a sunny smile, ¡°Naturally, that¡¯s why I requested you all to think deeper about which profession advancement is suitable for yourself.¡±

    Wandering Child and Delicious Wind Goose looked at each other.

    Then, Old Goose said, ¡°Kid and I want to be a Swordmaster.¡±

    They instinctively felt that this should be the most orthodox profession upgrade.

    Of course, their reasons for choosing this profession were also different.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s reason was that he was trained in sword fighting techniques.

    Child God¡¯s reason was because of a hero with five swords behind him in a particr game.

    ¡°I want to advance into the Guardian profession.¡±

    Lin Yiyi raised her hand carefully and nced at the demon hesitantly, ¡°Of course, anything else will do.¡±

    ¡°I want to be a Berserker.¡± Jiu Er answered without hesitation.

    Regarding her answer, the others didn¡¯t feel surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy.¡± Annan nodded.

    Then, he reached out his hand to Jiu Er and motioned her to hand her sword to him.

    Jiu Er was stunned for a moment. She took a look at the demon pinned down by the silver sword and then handed her sword over.

    With that, Annan stabbed Jiu Er¡¯s abdomen with the sword.

    Puff. Jiu Er¡¯s eyes widened suddenly.

    Although she had an idea of what Annan nned to do, she had the feeling that she couldn¡¯t parry, block or dodge this attack if she were to try.

    As the de was pulled out mercilessly, she saw that her Health instantly dropped to 22% and continued to diminish slowly.

    Then Annan looked at Lin Yiyi and said slowly, ¡°I will attack slowly. You try to block.¡±

    As soon as Annan ended his sentence, he struck Yiyi with the sword.

    It was the standard Austere-Winter Swordsmanship.

    But Annan disassembled the move and slowed down its movements. The difficulty of blocking it seemed not high.

    Lin Yiyi performed [Parry] instinctively.

    Although Annan had already used all his strength to attack, Arthur¡¯s strength was inadequate. Since Lin Yiyi was already on guard, she could block most of Annan¡¯s attacks, but some of the attacks still injured her.

    Just in case, Annan had been attacking more than thirty times in a row. It wasn¡¯t until Lin Yiyi blocked his attack eleven consecutive times that he slowly stopped.

    What the heck!

    You can do that?!

    The spectating yers were mindfuck.

    But what the spectating yers didn¡¯t know was that even Annan himself didn¡¯t know if this could work.

    However, there was something else Annan was certain of. Judging from the previousbat that took ce on Delicious Wind Goose, the four yers probably didn¡¯t have the chance to achieve the condition of ¡°near death¡± and ¡°block¡± during the second-stage boss fight (after transformation). Annan realized Carney¡¯s Strength was at least 20. For direct confrontation, only Annan wielded with an axe could fight Carney.

    Hence, Annan had to try on this option.

    After all, it didn¡¯t cost money. So, there was no harm in trying.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Annan said, returning the weapon to Jiu Er, signaling the other three to attack the demon, ¡°Kill him.¡±

    As he said, he took out the throwing knife from his arms.

    He threw it casually and hit the demon¡¯s eyes.

    Immediately, the spell on the throwing knife was triggered.

    The demon uttered an unprecedented scream of pain. Many wounds on his body also began to deteriorate rapidly.

    The three yers looked at each other. They were ted to have a powerful NPC (Annan) to carry them.

    ¡ªDon Juan is awesome! (Screech)

    But even if the three of them tried to cut the demon¡¯s head with their sword, they had no way to break through the demon¡¯s defense. The head was tough. Only the ce that suffered the heat fluctuations could cause the sword damage.

    Seeing the demon being dismembered cruelly, manyints surfaced in bullet text:

    ¡°¡ªIs this a simple dungeon instance? Why do I find it harder than the gallery?¡±

    ¡°¡ªObviously, it¡¯s much simpler than a gallery. You face the boss directly. It¡¯s over after the fight.¡±

    ¡°¡ªEasier said than done. But, if it weren¡¯t for Don Juan, how could it be so easy?¡±

    ¡­No, it¡¯s actually quite easy. Annan nced at the bullet texts.

    The difficulty of this dungeon instancey in the cooperation. The team had to cooperate well to find Carney, persuade Wizard Arthur to kill the demon, and ensure they wouldn¡¯t die.

    Arthur could utilize his orb to ovee the invisibility with ¡°Scorching Sight.¡± Its power was enough to put Carney into a near-death state with just one hit. The enchanted ¡°pain-amplification¡± throwing knife would cause critical damage to the demon with wounds all over the body. Arthur had the armband¡¯s blessing. His magical output was far more potent than Annan.

    From the very beginning, Carney had no chance of winning. He even knew it himself.

    Even if Carney was at the peak state in his lifetime. In this nightmare, he held many curse vessels he couldn¡¯t have in his peak state and gained strong me resistance. His mediocre physical fitness andbat skills were elevated too. Moreover, the erosion rate topped, granting him the transformation after his invisibility was broken.

    But even he achieved the transformation, he still couldn¡¯t kill Arthur.

    Although the two were both in the Bronze Rank, the strength gap between them was vast.

    This was the most painful truth that Carney could never deceive himself, and he didn¡¯t want to face it.

    The truth was that he was ¡°trash.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡¯Witch Hunt¡¯, right?¡± Annan murmured.

    But this nightmare, who was hunting?

    This is ironic.

    The yers took apart the demon¡¯s skinyer byyer, took apart its ribs, and smashed its heart. Finally, the nightmare was over.

    At thest moment when the nightmare was over, Jiu Er flipped the sword in her hand over and pierced her abdomen with all her strength swiftly.

    It was because of Berserker¡¯s curse. She was required to die in the final battle.

    This requirement was challenging.

    But if her suicide could be regarded as taking down someone with her own¡¯s demise, it would be simpler.

    Jiu Er seemed fearless. The sword pierced through her abdomen. She even stirred it up a bit.

    Puff¡ª

    Annan felt his eyelids twitch as he watched from the side.

    Why do I feel like this stab is more severe than how I stab?

    What¡¯s wrong with this woman?

    In the next moment, the whole world was centered on the demon and distorted inward.

    The yers witnessed all of this with some trepidation while Annan closed his eyes, waiting for the nightmare to end.

    Soon, intense dizziness struck the yers. The yers lost consciousness.

 Chapter 173: Spectacular!

    <h4>Chapter 173: Spectacr!</h4>

    The world had the demon¡¯s corpse as the center, with everything distorted slowly towards its direction.

    It felt like riding on a merry-go-round. Delicious Wind Goose suffered terrible motion sickness from it. Intense nausea invaded his senses. Soon, he felt arge amount of ck silt soaking every pore of his body. The crackling sound of fire surrounded him. There seemed to be a drooling giant breathing heavily behind him.

    But when he regained his consciousness, all these visions were gone.

    He stood in the void¡ªa demon¡¯s corpse burning with zing mes situated before his eyes.

    Two lines of text emerged:

    [Advancement ritualpleted.]

    [Promoting your rank¡ª]

    As the demon¡¯s corpse was burned to crisp, three clusters of bright red light emerged from the embers.

    When it rose to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s eye-level, the crimson brilliance intensified.

    Its bright red coating faded, leaving only three white clusters of light floating quietly in the air.

    In the light group, there was a gif [1] of a man tumbling on the ground, an abstract picture of a man pointing a long sword shimmering holy light at a demon, and an abstract picture of a person standing in ce with countless arrows passing by him.

    [Curse manifestation¡ª]

    [Lucky Roll (Resolve Type): You must roll at least three times a day. Otherwise, you will temporarily lose 1 point of the Agility attribute the next day. This effect can be stacked once a day and disappear after youpensate for all roll counts.]

    [Demon yer (Resolve Type): You must y a demon every year.]

    [Stray Arrows (Taboo Type): You cannot use crossbows, bows, and other weapons that use mechanical principles to shoot arrows, nor can you consciously train yourself on such proficiencies.]

    Three taboos? Delicious Wind Goose frowned slightly.

    The four yers had already learned about what the curse was from the young feudal lord.

    Power was granted with the curse bound to them.

    But, it now seemed that yers could learn about the specifics of the curse, but its power would remain unknown.

    Old Goose subconsciously asked, ¡°Brothers, which curse do you think is better?¡±

    It seemed that the other yers couldn¡¯t hear Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s questions in this face. But, it didn¡¯t stop these spectating yers from bombarding theirments in bullet texts.

    ¡°¡ªFirst.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe first one, what are you hesitating about?¡±

    ¡°¡ªLucky Roll.¡±

    ¡°¡ªRoll on the floor. Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°¡ªLogically speaking, the first one is indeed the best.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIndeed.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m not kidding. The first one is the best.¡±

    ¡­Ya.

    Seeing that bullet text chose the same answer consistently, Delicious Wind Goose also nodded slowly.

    He thought that the first option was the most flexible too.

    The second option seemed the most straightforward, but Old Goose didn¡¯t know if demons were scarce.

    What if the probability of encountering a demon appearing was the same as that of a shiny Pokemon [2]?

    The third option would restrict Old Goose¡¯s fighting style.

    ording to the young feudal lord, vition of the curse would bring severe aftermaths. Like a pdin whose alignment had shifted, he would lose part of his Transcended power. To regain this power, it was obligatory to clear another ritual.

    Warriors typically held two curses. They would lose half of their power if they were to vite one curse. For example, let¡¯s say a person had a warrior¡¯s curse and a hunter¡¯s curse. After viting the curse rting to hunter¡¯s advancement, all powers rting to the hunter profession would be lost.

    To put it simply, all the profession¡¯s levels obtained after getting this curse and before getting the next curse would be grayed out, losing the profession¡¯s ability and the spells obtained. Worse still, the increased attributes would be invalidated.

    If the person vited all the curses he possessed, he would die directly.

    Because after losing those powers, the human soul couldn¡¯t endure the curse.

    Delicious Wind Goose wasn¡¯t interested in being the test subject and validifying whether this curse would apply simrly to the yers.

    Moreover, the curse should be as simple as possible in perspective to avoid being restricted.

    It was just that the Delicious Wind Goose found the first curse to be embarrassing.

    He felt regretful. I shouldn¡¯t have rolled to dodge the attack just now.

    If I were to dodge it normally, I might get a more decent curse.

    Also, so many yers had seen my curse. Does it mean that I don¡¯t need to find a secret keeper then?

    That¡¯s pretty reliable.

    As long as there are no big mouths among the yers¡­

    ¡­¡­emmmmmm¡£

    ¡­Emm. Delicious Wind Goose was lost in thought.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s still the first one better.¡± He thought for a moment but chose the first option.

    Even if the curse were identally leaked out or forced to be vited, he wouldn¡¯t lose immediately. It was just getting weaker and weaker until the ¡°daily mission¡± that he owed was paid off.

    To kill me with the curse, it will only happen when my Agility is deducted to a negative value, right?

    I just need to roll on the floor three times.

    Omg, let¡¯s just do it!

    The ball of light burst quickly.

    As the other two light groups dissipated, the curse¡¯s detailed exnation was revealed to Delicious Wind Goose:

    [Lucky Roll: It can be activated 3 times a day. Every point in agility is equivalent to 1 second of skill duration; the cooldown time is 10 seconds after activation.]

    [Enter the ¡°Lucky Roll¡± state. Rolling under this state will be blessed by the ¡°Stable Luck¡± effect. This state is equivalent to the divine art rting to the lucky domain of the same name. If you¡¯re already blessed with ¡°Stable Luck,¡± the effect will be temporarily upgraded to ¡°Extraordinary Luck.¡±]

    ¡°Oh, wow.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°This is splendid!¡±

    On the other side, Wandering Child also made a choice.

    ¡°I shall choose this.¡± He reached out to an abstract painting lying in ambush in the grass.

    [Forest Child (Persistent Type): You must fall asleep in trees or lush grass in the evening on the first day of every month.]

    [Forest Child: A state blessed to the user with no maintenance cost.]

    [When entering the environment (Forest), your Strength, Agility, and Constitution will temporarily acquire the addition of 4 attribute points bonuses (Value is determined by 50% of the lowest attribute among the three) and the blessing ¡°Environment Adaptation (Forest).¡± Entering the environment (Grasnd) will grant you 2 attribute points bonuses temporarily for Strength, Agility, Constitution (Value is determined by 25% of the lowest attribute among the three).]

    ¡°So, I have to add my attribute points equally?¡± Wandering Child was dumbfounded.

    Am I forced to tap the yellow Attribute Bonus button [3]?!

    ¡°I choose this.¡±

    Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t hesitate to choose the only curse that didn¡¯t look mboyant.

    [Front Parry (Resolve Type): You must sessfully parry 10 times a day. Otherwise, you will temporarily lose 1 point in Strength and 1 point in Agility the next day. This penalty can be stacked once a day and disappear after youpensate for all the parry counts.]

    [Front Parry: The blessing will be added on any weapon with no maintenance cost. The cooldown after ending the effect will be 1 hour cooldown.]

    [When holding the weapon with both hands, you can see all the attack trajectories that will hit ¡°you¡± in the next 3 seconds. Even if your parry attempt fails, you will not enter an unbnced state or fall.]

    [You cannot move when using this ability; the attacker must be in sight.]

    [3] Attribute Bonus icon in Dota where clicking the button grants attribute bonuses rather than learning a new skill.

 Chapter 174: Swordmaster

    <h4>Chapter 174: Swordmaster</h4>

    As agreed in advance, Jiu Er chose the only curse with the ¡°self-harm¡± type attribute in her pursuit to advance into a Berserker.

    Although she was informed of such a type of curse, the unusualness still caught her off guard.

    After Jiu Er finished the selection, the red bubble flew out and swallowed the other two white bubbles consecutively.

    Then it gradually became smaller and slowly darkened.

    It flew over and stuck to Jiu Er¡¯s lower abdomen.

    Wherever it flowed, there was severe pain like corrosion, leaving a ck scar visible to the naked eye. It looked a bit like an unknown bird with its wings spread. At the same time, the pattern appeared like having blood falling from a height, sshing out when itnded.

    Afterward, new words appeared in front of Jiu Er¡¯s eyes again:

    [Blood Sustenance (Resolve Type): On thest day of each month, you must drink the uncoagted blood of the ¡°enemy you have killed.¡±]

    [Blood Sustenance: Weapons stained with the user¡¯s blood will cause greater damage to the enemy (the lower the user¡¯s health, the greater the increase in damage); when weapons stained with the enemy¡¯s blood attack the user, the user¡¯s health recovery speed will be significantly increased in a short period (The lower the health, the faster the recovery speed).]

    After Jiu Er¡¯s curse was revealed, the spectators in the bullet text became rowdy:

    ¡°¡ªSo, you have be f [1]?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou have be a Berserker!¡±

    ¡°¡ªFuck, this is a bit overpowered.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s normal. Jiu Er¡¯s curse is the most demanding.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, I know how to activate the first effect. You just hurt yourself before the battle. But, how about thetter one?¡±

    ¡°¡ªAre you stupid? The trigger conditions for both are the same. You just have to sh yourself first before shing your enemy and then repeat it over again.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHaha, that seems a bitical.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, where am I now?¡±

    Soon, Jiu Er passed out after reading the bullet texts.

    When she woke up again, she found that her party member had already woken up one after another.

    Until then, the glimmering score panel appeared in front of Jiu Er:

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with a designated identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [¡°Arthur¡± was unharmed throughout the entire process. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Killed Carney. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [All party members survived. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªA]

    [Obtained 30 points in Shared Experience. Perception+1.]

    [Obtained dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (Swordsman) rises by 1 level]

    With that, Jiu Er¡¯s profession description has also be like this:

    Berserker LV11: [Basic Swordsmanship LV1, Parry LV1, Charge LV1, All-out Blow LV7, Death¡¯s Embrace LV1]

    Jiu Er ignored the first three skills for now and prioritized developing thetter three skills.

    [All-out Blow LV7: Use all your power tounch a fierce attack. The Strength check of the next attack gains a 30% bonus and increases the typical stamina consumption by three folds. The cooldown time is 30 seconds.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: Reduce the cooldown time to 18 seconds.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV7: Reduce the cooldown time to 6 seconds.]

    [Death¡¯s Embrace LV1: The closer your state to death, the more resilient you are from dying. For every 10% drop in Health, there will be a temporary +1 attribution bonus on either Strength, Agility, or Constitution. If Health increases, the temporary attribute bonus will be gone. When your Health is lower than 40%, this buff takes effect; when Health is higher than 40%, this buff is calcted normally, but it will not take effect.]

    [After this buff takes effect, when it returns to 100% Health again, the user will fall into a state of ¡°exhaustion¡± thatsts for a day. Skills such as ¡°Charge,¡± ¡°All-out Blow,¡± ¡°Power Attack,¡± and ¡°Final sh¡± cannot be used at this time.]

    Oh, have Ipleted the advancement already? Jiu Er was still in a daze.

    But Annan¡¯s voice had already sounded beside her.

    Annan was also a little confused, ¡°Jiu Er, where is your curse?¡±

    ¡°My abdomen.¡± Jiu Er was silent for a while and replied in a soft but awkward voice.

    Annan was also a little at a loss. What the hell?

    For a moment, Annan remembered the joke he had made with Don Juan:

    ¡ªWhere do you keep your curse?

    ¡ªYou may not believe me, I have an iron crotch.

    (TN: Back in Chapter 4 at Nightmare: Betrayer.)

    Annan hesitated and gave Jiu Er a bronze ne for the time being, ¡°You can use it as a disguise for now. If you want to rece the curse vesselter, let me know.¡±

    However, there was no need for the Bronze Rank¡¯s vessel to be too close to the curse mark.

    Unless it was to absorb the other¡¯s curse.

    In other cases, only when the Transcended power above Silver Rank was used would the curse vessel be necessary to activate the curse.

    ¡°Have you all upgraded your profession?¡±

    Annan watched the four yers equip their respective curse vessels and asked, ¡°Is everything going well? What are your new Transcended abilities?¡±

    ¡°I sessfully took the Swordmaster¡¯s profession, feudal lord.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was the first to speak.

    He closed his eyes as if recollecting the feeling.

    But Annan knew in his heart that Old Goose was staring at his attribute panel and began to think about how to use words that the NPC could understand, ¡°The ¡®Swordmaster¡¯s¡¯ ability can greatly increase my agility.¡±

    En, ya, adding 2 points in Agility for each level upgrade. Annan understood Old Goose¡¯s description and nodded.

    But soon, Delicious Wind Goose began to feel a little troubled, stammering, ¡°Well, it enables me to learn a couple of sword skills. En, it improves my basic swordsmanship too.¡±

    Huh? Annan froze for a moment and couldn¡¯t understand it.

    Immediately Annan opened the Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s panel directly from the backend interface and flipped through Old¡¯s Goose skills.

    ¡­Oh, that seems tough to describe.

    Swordmaster¡¯s newly acquired profession ability was called ¡°Multiple Swordsmanship Mastery.¡±

    Old Goose was granted ¡°Basic Swordsmanship slots.¡± When learning Basic Swordsmanship, its skill level would be upgraded by one level. However, each swordsmanship couldn¡¯t exceed LV6.

    In other words, the Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s previous profession panel looked like this:

    Swordsman LV10 (Max): [Basic Swordsmanship Lv4, Parry LV4, Charge LV1, All-out Blow LV1]

    And it now became:

    Swordmaster LV11: [Basic Swordsmanship LV4 (Parry, Charge, All-out Blow), Multiple Swordsmanship Mastery LV1 (Empty)]

    Every time ¡°Multiple Swordsmanship Mastery¡± was improved, Delicious Wind Goose could learn a new kind of swordsmanship.

    ¡ªFor example, military swordsmanship.

    Or the bodyguard swordsmanship¡­

    As for Frost Sword, the requirement was to master the frost element. Old Goose should not be able to learn it.

    But when Old Goose was promoted to the Silver Rank, he had the option to master ten other swordsmanships and raise its apanying skills to LV1. But this wasn¡¯t quite worthwhile. After all, he would be a jack of all trades but master of none.

    Annan took a rough guess. It would be most effective to master two or threeplementary swordsmanships with different styles and upgrade them to LV4 for the attribute bonus.

    So that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s a profession that relies on skill level.

    Annan nodded, ¡°I see¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Wandering Child, who had repeatedly looked at the panel several times, suddenly raised his voice, ¡°Why isn¡¯t yy profession Swordmaster?¡±

    ¡°En?¡± Annan was startled.

 Chapter 175: Treasure Diamond Island Guard Knight

    <h4>Chapter 175: Treasure Diamond Ind Guard Knight</h4>

    Annan took advantage of the fact that the backend interface was still readily essible and swapped to the Child God panel.

    As a result, he was also bamboozled that Child God advanced to the wrong profession.

    Moreover, it seemed to be an advanced profession. It even altered most of Child God¡¯s skills:

    Forest Walker LV11: [Elven Swordsmanship (Forest) LV4, Precision Block LV2, Geo Strike LV2, Hydro Strike LV2, Vine Strike LV2]

    [Elven Swordsmanship (Jungle) LV4: The power that controls the bnce of everything. You tend to get enlightenment in the jungle. You can control the natural objects around you to a certain extent by nting your curse in them. It takes 3 skill points to improve the skill by 1 level.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: Your remaining skills are increased to LV2.]

    [Precise Block LV2: You have better blocking proficiency than an ordinary swordsman.]

    [Geo Strike LV2: By swinging a sword to the rock, you may cut the rock or make the rock bulge.]

    [Hydro Strike LV2: By swinging a sword to the water surface, you may cut the water surface or freeze the water surface.]

    [Vine Attack LV2: By swinging a sword to the jungle, you may dispel or summon vines.]

    ¡ªAre you Kiana [1]?

    I think the four of you can make up a bnced party for matchmaking.

    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Annan had question marks all over his head.

    He didn¡¯t see what Wandering Child had just done.

    If the condition was lying in the grass, Annan thought that everyone before him should also meet this condition.

    Wandering Child was also at a loss, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ?

    I don¡¯t know either.

    ¡°Well, I think the only exnation is¡­¡± Wandering Child said hesitantly, ¡°I actually saved up some of my strength for the preparation after the advancement.¡±

    Annan asked repeatedly and scrolled through the forum. In the end, he had a rough idea of what was going on and roughly guessed the advancement conditions of this profession.

    Child God was a master in spreading out his attribute points.

    Moreover, this guy was really patient because he had secretly saved some attribute points and didn¡¯t add them.

    The yer¡¯s initial level was LV5 with all attributes as follows: Strength 6, Agility 6, Constitution 6, Perception 5, Will 5, and 2 free attribute points to add as they pleased. Each of the four skills was LV 1 with 1 additional free skill point.

    ¡ªChild had not used these attribute points and skill points but habitually hoarded them. He nned to add it when needed.

    Because when the closed beta started, Child had great luck without encountering anyone. So, he was unhurt.

    But, Child noticed from several other yers that there were additional effects when they pushed the skill levels to LV4 and LV7. He felt regretful.

    So under his obsessivepulsive disorder tendency, when he was in LV7, he pushed ¡°Swordsmanship,¡± ¡°Parry,¡± ¡°Charge,¡± and ¡°All-out Blow¡± to LV2. For the remaining skill points he had, he had saved them up.

    His goal was to contribute these two skills points directly to the advanced profession after the advancement. With that, he could learn advanced abilities as quickly as possible. There were also some other yers doing this.

    Anyway, their main path to grow now was via nightmare. Spending up those points wouldn¡¯t bring a significant advantage.

    It was better to save some points and use them after advancement.

    When Child was promoted to LV10, his attributes were Strength 8, Agility 8, Constitution 7, Perception 7, Will 5. At this time, he spent 1 attribute point in the Constitution to be 8¡ªjust so that it was pleasing to the eyes.

    The child also knew that after clearing the dungeon, the Perception attribute would be increased by 1.

    In the end, it looked much better with four 8s!

    If there were three 8s and one 9, it wouldn¡¯t look so good.

    In other words, after he came out of the dungeon instance, he had four main skills at LV2 and four main attributes of 8 points.

    This pattern in distributing everything equally seemed to have triggered some mechanism that allowed Child to obtain the [Elven Swordsmanship] ability.

    I see.

    Precision Block corresponded to Agility; Geo Strike corresponded to Strength; Hydro Strike corresponded to Perception; Vine Strike corresponded to Constitution.

    ¡°Child, you are really lucky¡­¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help butment.

    You might as well change your name to Lucky Child.

    This guy is simply a mascot.

    In the beginning, although he didn¡¯t invest any attribute points, he did not encounter any enemies andpleted the initial mission with full Health.

    Then, while wandering around to explore Roseburg, he inexplicably discovered Gerald, who was hiding so well.

    If it weren¡¯t for Gerald, who reacted fast enough, Wandering Child would have mmed the ck Fire barrel on him as soon as he opened the door.

    Now, Child identally triggered the conditions for a new profession because of his obsessivepulsive disorder tendency.

    This guy is auspicious.

    With that, the yers learned a new way to advance.

    Although this batch of yers might no longer duplicate it, the next batch of yers still had a chance.

    ¡°¡­En.¡±

    Yiyi raised her hand timidly, ¡°I seem to have advanced wrongly too.

    ¡°But this profession seems to be quite strong?¡± Annan was startled.

    What the hell is wrong with you all?

    Why are there problemsing out one by one?

    Am I the problem?

    Annan rolled his eyes and found that Yiyi¡¯s situation seemed moreplicated than Child¡¯s.

    Because she actually had a profession with a maturebat system:

    Treasure Diamond Ind Guard Knight LV11: [Bodyguard Swordsmanship LV4, Parry LV4, Charge LV1, Disarm LV1, Full Defense LV1, Club Proficiency LV1]

    Indeed, Treasure Diamond Ind.

    It was the Treasure Diamond Ind where Joseph was born.

    Her previous [Basic Attack] became the [Bodyguard Swordsmanship] Annan was very familiar with; her previous [All-out Blow] became the [Disarm] that Annan had but never used.

    The two new skills she got were also quite strange:

    [Full Defense LV1: Treasure Diamond Ind guard knights are good at blocking in light armor. When wearing light armor and lower-level armor, Parry¡¯s efficiency is improved; when holding weapons with both hands, Parry¡¯s efficiency is further improved.]

    [Club Proficiency LV1: You can use existing skills with clubs or double-headed swords.]

    I got it now. Annanpletely understood this time.

    Some advancement conditions depended on the achievementspleted in the nightmare.

    But, the curse obtained in the advancement dungeon instance would also significantly affect the advanced profession they would get!

    Annan recalled something that brought him lingering fear for a while.

    Fortunately, what I advanced was the wizard apprentice profession¡­

    The wizard apprentice has only one type of advancement in the Bronze Rank, ¡°wizard.¡±

    Otherwise, if Annan advanced his swordsman profession, he would advance into a strange profession as he got the curse of ¡°Butcher¡¯s Knife.¡±

    ¡ªWill I really be a butcher?

    That¡¯s terrifying.

    ¡°Two sessful advancements ording to the n. Although two advancements stray away from the n, they became stronger.¡±

    Annan sighed, ¡°This result looks okay.

    ¡°But this is enough to prove that my participation will bring a great impact on your advancement. Hence, I will not participate in your advancements anymore. This nightmare is about to be purified. You may not be able to encounter a coop nightmare like this in a short while.¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, there were bitter cries in the bullet text:

    ¡°¡ªI thought someone would carry me in a dungeon instance!

    ¡°¡ªAh~, I want to be Kiana too!¡±

    ¡°¡ªI want to be a Berserker.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t think bing a Berserker will pose a challenge.¡±

    ¡°¡ªOh, you like to stab yourself too.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen, also leave those marks on the stomach?¡±

    ¡°¡ªStretch marks?¡±

    ¡°¡ªFuck off!¡°

    ¡°¡ªIf he dares to let me advance, I dare to leave a curse mark on my stomach.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen I hope you will give birth to a phoenix. You know, phoenix stands atop all birds.¡±

    (TN: Phoenix is a Chinese expression of fraternal twin.)

    Annan breathed a sigh of relief as thosements in the bullet texts ran off the topic quickly.

    I have finally fed these Four Transcendents up.

    Although their equipment is poor, I manage to get some urgent fighting forces¡­or rather, got some cannon fodder.

    After at least two days, it wouldn¡¯t just be Salvatore and me only.

    Salvatore had one more day to go for this tinkering.

    During this day, Annan was busy with his affairs.

    He nned to challenge the ¡°Betrayer¡± nightmare again.

    Using the code he got from Benjamin, Annan nned to ask Benjamin for information about Don Juan and ask Benjamin what happened to Michngelo in the end.

    Also, Annan wanted to know information about Rotten Man.

    ¡ªIndeed.

    With the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s reminder, Annan flipped through the research report on Rotten Man and got some information.

    For example, Rotten Man¡¯s real name and Rotten Man¡¯s origin.

    ¡ªThere was also the ritual that could ¡°eradicate the reincarnated.¡±

 Chapter 176: Save Point

    <h4>Chapter 176: Save Point</h4>

    (Trantor note: I will highlight Blueon the texts that go too deep into the lore rather than the main event in the hope to improve the reading experience.)

    Annan sent the yers back to Freezing Water Port after they had a sumptuous dinner. He didn¡¯t leave them in Roseburg.

    This was to prevent the yers from stirring up troubles. Annan specifically asked them to stop appearing in the city for these two days, and it was best not to let others know that they were here.

    The yers also realized that there might be a grand plot next. So they obediently agreed.

    But, Annan thought for a while and still wasn¡¯t quite at ease with the yers¡¯ tendency. So he brought the yers back to Freezing Water Port. Then, he would bring them back here tomorrow.

    He took John¡¯s broken sword from the city lord¡¯s residence and entered the nightmare once again.

    But this time, the prompt when entering the nightmare was different.

    It no longer had the requirements in level and profession:

    [Detected a bound nightmare fragment.]

    [Falling into a nightmare after 10, 9, 8¡­]

    Bound? Annan was startled.

    Speaking of it, it seemed that the ¡°Betrayer¡± nightmare was indeed the only nightmare that needed to be bound. After that, whether it was ¡°gallery,¡± ¡°white tower,¡± or ¡°witch hunt,¡± there was no mention of ¡°need to be bound.¡±

    Is it because the vessel of this nightmare is special? Annan reminisced.

    The key to the gallery nightmare was the word ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± and the Freezing Water Port city.

    The key to the White Tower required Gerald¡¯s bones.

    The key to the Witch Hunt was Carney¡¯s ¡°scarred skin fragments.¡±

    Only the ¡°Betrayer¡± nightmare required multiple purifications, but there was only one key.

    It turned out that the upper limit for the number of people who could enter the nightmare depended on how many parts of the ¡°key¡± could be divided.

    ¡ªIn other words, the ¡°key¡± used by others couldn¡¯t be used again.

    As expected, the dungeon instance had a prompt to load the saves:

    [Falling in a nightmare. A dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty is easy. You can enter at most three times.]

    [The current purification progress is 1/3.]

    [The total erosion rate of the team is 8%. The dungeon instance difficulty rises by 8%. The nightmare mutation probability rises by 8%.]

    [This dungeon instance has 1 save point, and the erosion rate is increased by 1% for each death. You will be forced to exit the dungeon instance after three deaths.]

    [This dungeon instance provides an introduction to the plot and has decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (Swordsman) increases by 1 level.]

    [Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Profession (Wizard) increases by 1 level.]

    [Acquired save point: The Tongue in the Mirror]

    [Please choose the nightmare entrance¡ª]

    [Don Juan Geraint¡¯s room]

    [Obsolete misceneous room]

    I shall choose [Obsolete misceneous room]. Annan chose the second option.

    It seemed that because of his choice, the dizziness that invaded Annan wasn¡¯t too intense. In other words, his ¡°loading¡± time was also reduced when he entered the nightmare.

    When Annan opened his eyes again, he smelled a pungent fishy smell.

    His line of sight raised a bit. Apparently, he returned to the silly guard ¡°John¡¯s¡± body.

    At this moment, Annan was in the empty room.

    The room was empty, and the mirror with a broken screen in the center was lying peacefully on the ground.

    Annan walked over and picked up the mirror.

    The glimmering panel that gave him some D¨¦j¨¤ vu appeared in front of him again:

    [The Mirror without Tongue]

    [Type: Material/misceneous (Blue)]

    [Description: A ruined curse vessel that lost its original function.]

    [Effect: The holder will suffer the curse ¡°Speak No Evil.¡±]

    [Speak no evil: If the holder is attacked before finishing his sentence, the attack ignores the defense.]

    ¡°So, the save point is here?¡± Annanmented.

    In that case, if Guard Captain us killed him afterward, he would be resurrected here.

    Annan checked his equipment immediately.

    Lucky.

    Don Juan¡¯s silver pocket watch is with me.

    Annan raised his head and looked at the door.

    The memory of half a month ago quickly emerged in his mind.

    After a while, us, who felt that the ritual was interrupted, would rush here.

    Most importantly, Annan couldn¡¯t have us noticed that he had ruined the ritual in this room. So he had to make us believe that he had redirected the ritual to himself.

    This wasn¡¯t difficult. He just had to change the symbol on the tongue a little and then engrave the corresponding symbol on his tongue. Also, he could rece the cow tongue with his prepared version.

    Arranging the ritual was a technical task.

    Destroying or rewriting rituals was much simpler.

    It was just like although yers didn¡¯t understand the data in the character file of our single-yer games, the yers could still identify and modify the numbers in regards to ¡°money,¡± ¡°attribute,¡± or ¡°number of items.¡±

    Annan threw the mirror away. There was no need to hide it because us couldn¡¯t be allowed into the room in the first ce. Otherwise, as long as he saw that the ritual was ruined instead of being rewritten, he would attack Annan as well.

    If us were to enter, I have to activate¡°nging Object.¡±

    To make up for the loophole, Annan used a knife to cut his tongue, this time. Then, he sucked the blood out a bit, making his tongue as blurred as possible.

    Even if us were skeptical, after seeing the blood on Annan¡¯s tongue, he would dispel the idea that it was a fluke. It also prevented us from seeing Annan¡¯s tongue clearly.

    ¡ªAnyway, this was John¡¯s body, not Don Juan¡¯s.

    If it weren¡¯t for worrying about the inconvenience of talking for a while, Annan would chop off his tongue directly and slice it. He wouldn¡¯t feel any psychological pressure to stir-fry his tongue with spices.

    So Annan walked out of the room, turned around, and closed the door.

    This time, us arrived muchter. Or probably because Annan didn¡¯t need to hide the mirror, Annan came out of the room earlier.

    When us hurried past thest corner, he saw John, the strong and tall guard. John leaned on the door of the ritual room, looking at him maliciously.

    us¡¯s heart trembled.

    He put on a solemn expression and drew his weapon with murderous intent on his face.

    But, John just put his right hand in front of his mouth and made a silent gesture with a smile. The simple and honest face belonging to John gradually showed a bright and proud smile.

    Neither of them moved nor spoke.

    Suddenly, there was a terrible silence in the narrow corridor.

    ¡°Do note over.¡± John smiled and said, ¡°The Tongue in the Mirror, right?¡±

    Hearing this keyword, us¡¯s expression finally moved.

    His face showed strong unwillingness. In the end, he sighed deeply and put down his right hand on the long sword around his waist.

    ¡°You won, John.¡± us sighed and stopped pretending to remain silent.

    Annan nodded and opened his mouth slightly with a smile.

    That allowed us to nce at his blood-stained tongue. Before us could see it clearly, Annan closed it again quickly.

    Seeing this familiar scar, us let go of thest line of defense in his heart.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± us asked in a deep voice.

    Annan just showed a simple expression, ¡°I know you¡¯re under the Third Prince. Who do you think I serve?¡±

    ¡°Do you serve Princess Royal?¡± us asked rhetorically.

    Annan smiled slightly.

    ¡°No, you have guessed wrong.¡± He whispered.

    Annan looked directly at us, who was a little nervous, with a gentle and harmless smile, ¡°I serve¡­

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton.¡±

 Chapter 177: Rotten Manâ€™s Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 177: Rotten Man¡¯s Ritual</h4>

    (Trantor note: I will highlight Blue on the texts that go too deep into the lore rather than the main event in the hope to improve the reading experience.)

    It would be short-sighted to only focus on Benjamin to acquire more information.

    us knew a lot as well.

    The way to clear this dungeon instance was to kill all betrayers.

    Basically, that was to kill everyone except Benjamin, Don Juan Geraint, and John. Although Annan did see a handful of ¡°loyal underlings,¡± their numbers were too few.

    And in the second live, they all died of unknown AOE from Benjamin.

    When they were dead, and us was also dead, the dungeon instance was forced to an end.

    Annan could no longer ask Benjamin those questions.

    Yet, Annan didn¡¯t n to spare us¡¯s life for detailed questioning.

    After all, us was too dangerous.

    After seeing so many Transcended, Annan fully understood how dangerous a Silver Rank Transcended was.

    Carney of the Bronze Rank could be so powerful after bing a demon. Hisbat strength was far beyond the ordinary Bronze Rank Transcended. When Annan cleared this dungeon instancest time, us was desperate. He activated the curse and tried to demonize himself.

    This was probably why Benjamin was so nervous back then and asked Don Juan to freeze us to death.

    Once uspleted demonization, a Silver Rank Wizard (especially the Alteration Wizard) muted from spell casting might not be able to beat him.

    So the most proper choice was to kill us with a backstab as soon as there was an opening for it.

    Until then, some ¡°betrayers¡± should be kept alive and let them take refuge in the cabin ahead of time.

    In this way, Annan got to guarantee that the dungeon instance wouldn¡¯t end even when us was killed.

    So, Annan had to finish his question with us before meeting Benjamin.

    What kind of identity should Annan choose?

    First of all, Annan was certain that us was also a believer of the Rotten Man Church and a subordinate of the Third Prince. Moreover, the Third Prince might not know that us was rted to the Rotten Man Church.

    Hence, taking sides with neither ¡°Princess Royal¡± nor ¡°King¡± would work.

    If Annan intended to betray Don Juan Geraint¡¯s forces, then Annan¡¯s status was lower than us. Everything would be the same as his previous live in this nightmare.

    If Annan imed to be a member of the Rotten Man Church or the Third Prince, then it became inconvenient for Annan to ask for information.

    ¡ªHence, there was only one faction that could work.

    That would be the Venerated Skeleton.

    The Rotten Man¡¯s forces knew from the beginning that the Venerated Skeleton himself had been at Freezing Water Port.

    That was why us and the others didn¡¯t dare to stay. Instead, they ran away after getting off the ship. It was even possible that they had escaped by boat without getting to Freezing Water Port.

    They knew that the rtionship between the Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man was terrible.

    Just as the Venerated Skeleton came over to give Annan a hint over Rotten Man¡¯s intelligence. Rotten Man was reluctant to provoke the Venerated Skeleton, but the Venerated Skeleton was actively looking for Rotten Man¡¯s trouble.

    ¡°I think you might be disembarking soon?¡± Annan smiled slightly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you visit us at the Freezing Water Port?¡±

    Annan could see a horrified expression on Guard Captain us¡¯s face.

    us was taken aback by this answer.

    He blinked his eyes intermittently.

    Then, he stepped back a little hesitantly, looked at Annan with some suspicion, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Why do you ask me if I serve the Third Prince?¡±

    ¡°This is because I want to tell you that our next conversation has nothing to do with those two.¡±

    Annan smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a matter among the mortals. Don¡¯t oveplicate it.¡±

    Of course, Annan was hinting at something.

    Hearing this, cold sweat broke out from behind us.

    He knows that I¡¯m serving the Rotten Man church.

    This is a secret that even the Third Prince doesn¡¯t even know!

    Their Rotten Man church had just evacuated from Austere-Winter Dukedom. They were in the middle of transferring their forces to the Noah Kingdom and infiltrating the royal family.

    Yet, news had already leaked to the Venerated Skeleton side.

    ¡°Does that lord already know about this?¡± asked us respectfully.

    Annan nodded solemnly.

    John¡¯s honest face gradually became a little indifferent, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton knows your goal from the beginning, no matter it is about¡¯s Rotten Man¡¯s intention toplete his Immortality Ritual and what you did in Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    ¡°That¡¯s why he sent me into this man¡¯s body.¡±

    Annan learned about the Rotten Man¡¯s ¡°Immortality Ritual¡± from the book.

    Rotten Man wasn¡¯t aplete deity.

    ording to the book, ¡°He is the same as the Venerated Skeleton.¡± Both were deities who didn¡¯t fully grasp the truth.

    ording to the typical soul promotion pathway, only by obtaining aplete Truth Fragment and forming your book of truth could you organize the ascendancy ritual and be a true deity.

    As for the boundary between false deity and upright deity, it wasn¡¯t so clear. The difference between false deity and upright deity was that upright deity had a ¡°human appearance. ¡± Also, the upright deity had its own asylum month.

    After all, there were no nes such as ¡°star realm¡± or ¡°deity realm¡± in this world. The deity¡¯s body still existed in the world.

    Since the deities were visible and tangible physical entities, naturally, there was a small probability that they would fall and perish.

    For the upright deity in its asylum month, it could radiate its power to the whole world and could be resurrected when the monthes.

    In other words, only the upright deities possessed immortality.

    But the situation of Rotten Man and the Venerated Skeleton was different.

    When they became deities, they did not get the book of truth.

    The Venerated Skeleton probably sacrificed the corpses of the whole nation through ritual and obtained a temporary truth. In other words, all he got was temporary clergy. As long as that ritual was ruined or stagnated for some reason, the truths that he utilized to be a deity would dissipate altogether.

    The situation of Rotten Man was simr to the Venerated Skeleton.

    He was a eunuch before bing a deity.

    At the same time, he was also a powerful ¡°alchemist¡± ¨C the Alteration Wizard.

    His curse allowed him toplete the ¡°Alteration of Life.¡±

    That was to transfer the life span of blood rtives to another person.

    So, he continued to hold taboo rituals for his king and transferred the lifespan of the king¡¯s offspring to the king.

    At the same time, he carried out another ritual.

    He transferred the king¡¯s blood to newborns all over the country in the disguise of ¡°blood testing for newborns.¡±

    With the secret support of the old king, hepleted thispound ritual without the spy agency knowing it.

    However, it wasn¡¯t certain whether Rotten Man betrayed his king in the end.

    These lifespans were still impossible to reverse the aging king¡¯s body.

    So Rotten Man brought destruction upon the Great Barrier, letting the gray fog sweep across the country. The immense curse power immersed in the newborns of the country. Using these pure babies as purifiers and the connections of blood, the power of clean curses flooded into his king¡¯s body along with infinite vitality.

    Indeed, he wanted to initially imitate the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual and make his king a deity with an infinite lifespan. He and other citizens would be reborn again with the power of ¡°Immortality God.¡±

    His n was refined.

    But the king was furious about this.

    He personally executed Rotten Man, who was loyal to him and grew up with him.

    What Rotten Man didn¡¯t expect was.

    The king wasn¡¯t angry that ¡°so many newborns are dying because of this evil n,¡± but at him for ¡°destroying the barrier and destroying thend passed down from generation to generation.¡±

    But because the ritual wasn¡¯tpleted, the king hadn¡¯t yet received the truth. These curses made his lifespan depleted faster, and he died after seven days eventually.

    Through the blood connections, immense curses and vitality poured into Rotten Man¡¯s corpse, resurrecting his decaying corpse.

    He originally nned to form the king¡¯s temporary truth of ¡°eternal life¡± and ¡°heirless.¡±

    In the end, Rotten Man, who had never thought of bing a deity, became a deity.

    Soon, he grew fond of this state.

    So he didn¡¯t n to ??resurrect the king and those innocent newborns.

    He only needed to repeat this ritual six times toplete his ascendancy ritual truly.

    In this way, his temporary truth could be solidified and allow him to be a true deity.

    Compared with the Venerated Skeleton, Rotten Man¡¯s advantage was that he didn¡¯t have a ritual base that could be physically destroyed. However, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual base wasn¡¯t easy to destroy since it was in the depths of the gray mists¡ªthe old kingdom.

    The Rotten Man¡¯s power was also far weaker than the Venerated Skeleton.

    In a stricter sense, only one-seventh of the Rotten man was a deity. That was why he was much more active.

    Of course, this was the information when the book was written hundreds of years ago.

    No one knew how much ascendancy Rotten Man had obtained out of seven at this moment.

 Chapter 178: King Of The Immortal

    <h4>Chapter 178: King Of The Immortal</h4>

    (Trantor¡¯s note: The continuation of Annan¡¯s encounter with us takes ce at next chapter.)

    Rotten Man¡¯s ascendancy ritual named ¡°King of the Immortal.¡±

    In the ritual, there would be seven immortals fighting each other. In the end, the only one who survived could get the truth of ¡°immortality.¡± Thus, granting the winner the opportunity to be the true deity of ¡°immortality.¡±

    But Rotten Man himself had alreadypleted his advancement to be a deity.

    He justcked theplete ¡°immortality¡± truth.

    ¡ªThe first immortal in this world was Rotten Man himself.

    And he was obviously not a fool to let his ritual benefit the others.

    Therefore, Rotten Man directly used the deity¡¯s authority to monopolize the ¡°immortal¡± curse.

    The only way in the world to obtain the ¡°immortal¡± curse was toplete the Rotten Man¡¯s ritual.

    ¡°Immortality¡± at the magnitude of ¡°recovering youth¡± was unfit to get this special curse. To be a true immortal, one mustplete the highest ritual in the Rotten Man domain.

    Of course, no ritual could please Rotten Man more than the extinction of the royal family.

    Examples of such rituals were ¡°Offspring Bloodbath,¡± ¡°Regicide,¡± or ¡°Heirless and Lonely King.¡±

    Indeed, Noah¡¯s Kingdom was plotting an immortality ritual.

    The Offspring Bloodbath ritual was to have the current king survive and let all his direct bloodlines fight and die altogether. After that, the king had to receive Rotten Man¡¯s blessing to be a ¡°eunuch.¡±

    The Regicide ritual was to let a blood-rted heir kill the monarch, all his brothers and sisters, sessfully take the throne and ept the Rotten Man¡¯s blessing.

    The Heirless and Lonely King ritual was to have the previous king kill all blood rtives, have no offspring, and ept Rotten Man¡¯s blessing.

    The ritual condition of the first and the third was rtively close, but the first ritual targeted the current king¡¯s descendants while the third ritual targeted the previous king¡¯s descendants.

    The king could acquire the powerful ¡°immortal¡± curse and directly advance to the Silver Rank, no matter which ritual waspleted.

    After that, Rotten Man should immediately be hostile and kill the ritual user directly.

    On the one hand, that was to cut off any opportunity for this new immortal to develop andpete with him.

    On the other hand, that was also for waste utilization.

    After the Great Barrier shattered and after a long ¡°Sanguinary Battle,¡± only thest five countries were left in the world that mankind could reach.

    The country where Rotten Man held the first ritual was now the ¡°Twin Goddess Republican Federation,¡± also known as the ¡°Underground Federation.¡±

    The guardian deities of this country were Mysterious Lady and Silent Lady. The two deities rarely showed their trace and had been a mystery, unlike Silver Sire and Old Grandmother, who stayed near their own country. This also directly led to their respective churches having weaker power in the Underground Falteration.

    One of the main countries of this federation was the country Rotten Man scoured. The country lost an entire generation of newborns and all royal blood.

    All newborns born in the particr span of seven years had died due to curses. With that, the country had lost half a generation of people and many potential Transcendeds.

    But there were also arge number of ordinary people desperately digging the underground passages. Before any further heavy casualties, they managed to get most young people and a few middle-aged and elderly people to migrate to the underground, absent of gray mists.

    Their royal family waspletely dead.

    Due to their fear of the Rotten Man, who had already be a deity, they dared not elect a new monarch. Of course, it was also possible that some usually authoritative people had found an opportunity and thus propagated this way.

    In short, they established the ¡°Diggers Council¡± and established a ¡°state without a monarch.¡±

    Finally, their guardian, Silent Lady, realized the situation and hurried home.

    She held up the barrier again, but it was toote. There were only bones and ruins in the earthly world.

    Fortunately, she finally found survivors who moved underground.

    But they were reluctant to return to the ground.

    Some survivors believe that after the Great Barrier was broken, establishing the underground world was necessary. With the protection of the deity¡¯s power, they could survive underground.

    Hence, it seemed to have a great outlook to be the first to upy this vastnd that no one had ever realized.

    Silent Lady also agreed with them a lot.

    So she invited Mysterious Lady to help her and carried out arge-scale transformation of the underground world.

    Since then, every child born in the underground world had night vision and could survive in apletely dark environment. They were also granted unique ¡°curse vessels¡± made by Mysterious Lady to help them build cities underground.

    For example, the moss that could illuminate consistently in the dark and could be made into streetmps. In addition, there were crops that could grow underground, some breedable carnivores that could survive in the dark, clean groundwater and water-drawing equipment.

    Soon, several small countries with Mysterious Lady being their guardian also learned the news. After they sought their guardian deity¡¯s approval, they came over quickly. The purpose was to avoid the ¡°Sanguinary Battle.¡±

    Those who failed to seek the deity¡¯s asylum in the Sanguinary Battle also fled after hearing the news. Fortunately, the underground world was vast. Without the invasion of gray mists, it could amodate many people.

    Then, they united together and established the ¡°Twin Goddess Republican Federation.¡±

    They didn¡¯t establish a monarch but were governed by the dual parliamentary model of the ¡°Digger Council¡± and the ¡°Wise Council.¡±

    After all, the underground world was vast. The current Underground Federation could be regarded as the country with thergest number of people.

    In fact, the Underground Federation presided over the construction of the underground passages leading to the other four countries.

    Mysterious Lady was ¡°the deity of secrets and ritual.¡± There were many wise people among her followers, especially with technology. For example, the underground rail train that utilized gray mists as an energy source.

    Of course, if other countries wanted to use underground passages or other underground technologies, they would have to pay hefty service fees to them. Usually, the underground dwellers didn¡¯t want money but fresh fruits and vegetables or meat and fiber products from above the ground.

    Because they were deep underground, there was no need to worry about gray mists. After the Underground Federation began to operate normally, the two deities left again.

    The Underground Federation was also the only country with no upright deity¡¯s protection almost all year round.

    Although the seven upright deities of religious countries wouldn¡¯t often stay in the Sky Tower, they would leave at least one or two housekeepers.

    After all, those who lived in the Underground Federation didn¡¯t need the Great Barrier¡¯s protection. People in the earth world couldn¡¯t adapt to the underground living environment without Mysterious Lady¡¯s transformation. The underground dwellers also felt contempt for the world on the ground, and they had a sense of superiority in the underground world.

    Religious countries dared not to visit because there was no king in the Underground Federation.

    The Rotten Man¡¯s ritual seemed straightforward, but it could only take ce in United Kingdom, Austere-Winter Dukedom, and the Noah Kingdom.

    It had been hundreds of years since Rotten Man became a deity.

    Annan had every reason to suspect that he didn¡¯t progress in his ritual.

    Because when Annan read the history books, he had never heard of a simr situation before in the Noah Kingdom. Moreover, the Elegant Elder, Silver Sire, and Old Grandmother were all intimidating upright deities. Rotten Man might not be able to find any opportunities.

    ¡ªSo, he resorted to looking for the Book of Divine Transporter.

    His ¡°King of the Immortal¡± ritual was stagnant for hundreds of years because of the three upright deities.

    Rotten Man might have given up this ritual.

    He was now just using this ritual to cover his n in secretly collecting the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter.¡±

    At the same time, the yer happened to fulfill the condition of ¡°immortal¡± and ¡°heirless!¡±

    The Book of Divine Transporter¡¯s first fragment granted ¡°respawns¡± to the yers.

    For Rotten Man, this was basically the truth of ¡°summoning and controlling the immortal warriors in other worlds!¡±

    No wonder he would covet after the Book of Divine Transporter.

    But through the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s tone, Annan vaguely noticed that he seemed to know this.

    He might know Rotten Man¡¯s n and even the fact that Annan possessed the Book of Divine Transporter.

 Chapter 179: My Name Is David

    <h4>Chapter 179: My Name Is David</h4>

    (Trantor note: I will highlight Blue on the texts that go too deep into the lore rather than the main event in the hope to improve the reading experience.)

    Are you some evil spirit possessing John?

    us found what Annan said believable.

    Of course, us was familiar with ¡°John.¡±

    It was a euphemism to describe John as a more insensitive and straightforward person.

    John had no sense of pleasantries at all. Moreover, he was easily offended by a more direct approach. Probably, the only good aspect John had would be his firm loyalty to Don Juan. Other than that, his swordsmanship was mediocre. He was dim-witted, irritable, and seemingly didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to embark on the path of transcendence.

    In short, he was the muscle brain that tends to offend many people.

    Others might ept that John could be a spy, but it still didn¡¯t seem quite natural.

    Not to mention, ¡°John¡¯s¡± attitude to us revealed a hint of arrogance. Moreover, he showed obvious signs of quick thinking, quick reaction and even knew how to modify the Trascended¡¯s ritual.

    Hence, the argument that ¡°John¡¯s¡± body was just an empty vessel seemed more probable to us.

    After all, most believers in false deities tend to end up in this fate.

    These believers weren¡¯t evil by nature, nor were they advocating the unholy.

    They were tainted by darkness and continued with the flow.

    Moreover, these believers were active and nomadic. After all, they were subjected to expulsion and surveince wherever they went. Hence, they were much more unscrupulous, unlike upright deities.

    After all, if they were to settle down in one ce, they might be notified to leave the city or even the country within a month or two. With the protection of their deities, they didn¡¯t need to be too conscientious.

    They always do whatever they want,pletely ignoring local customs andws.

    They were known to be med for any Transcended deaths, especially unregistered Transcended to fulfill the material requirement of ritual.

    Of course, there were some exceptions.

    Some upright deities voted the false deities to be neutral and partial, enforcing the monitoring on them. Hence, when the false deities¡¯ believers did evil deeds, it would eventually hurt those deities and the church. With that, they would be attributed to ¡°evil deity.¡±

    Every few years, there would be news of a particr deity¡¯s faction change.

    It was also possible that a particr false deity was attributed as evil in religious countries, while they werebeled as false deities in the Noah Kingdom. Such a situation was alsomon.

    After all, faith wasn¡¯t a requirement for some false deity.

    They only need to collect curses, spread their ideas, andplete rituals.

    In other words, the deities only need employees, not fans.

    False deity itself couldn¡¯t recruit many employees. They often targeted egoistic bunch who preferred to ¡°do whatever they want.¡± If the most capable and outstanding employees did a lot of evil deeds, many false deities would turn a blind eye to it. Only a minimal number of false deities having a high morality tackled these evildoers.

    These false deities, who didn¡¯t want to stir up trouble, would eventually side with upright deities to be subordinate deities. It was just like thepany chose to be acquired. It simply gave up thinking and became a ¡°subsidiary¡± of the other party.

    Some upright deities were rtively stingy and only shared some nightmares with the subordinate deities¡¯ believers. Those who were favored by an upright deity might be granted an ¡°asylum day¡± every year.

    ¡ªThat was the reality of ¡°holidays¡± in this world.

    For example, every January 14th was the ¡°River Protection Day¡± because it was the asylum day Bone Burying Grandma granted to ¡°Springs and Rivers Deity.¡±

    Also, May 4th was ¡°Journey Day.¡± This was the asylum day that Silver Sire entrusted to the ¡°Transport Deity.¡±

    The deity who acquired an asylum day could also be regarded as a half upright deity. At least if they die, they would be resurrected again on the asylum day next year.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s believers would im that the Venerated Skeleton was ¡°Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s¡± subordinate deity. Anyway, Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s beliefs were in far religious countries. Most local peoplecked the intel about it.

    But us knew it.

    The Venerated Skeleton wasn¡¯t subordinated to that upright deity at all.

    ¡°The Elegant Elder¡± had a pigeon as a holy symbol. He disliked the Venerated Skeleton, thought he waszy. Unlike the Rotten Man, he didn¡¯t stir up trouble everywhere.

    Of course, the Rotten Man¡¯s believers were digging their own grave, mainly because of their preference in cutting off male genitals.

    Worse still, they always liked to trouble the king and provoke the king¡¯s authority.

    ¡°I think that that master didn¡¯t have you descend into John¡¯s body just to say hello, right?¡± us chuckled and whispered, ¡°Although you said that this topic has nothing to do with the deities, is that true?¡±

    ¡°What the Venerated Skeleton wants to know is about the Roseburg fellow. Did you guys participate?¡± Annan¡¯s tone was soft and soothing, somewhat ethereal, ¡°The answer to this question will affect our next conversation.¡±

    Hearing this, us¡¯s forehead was sweating slightly.

    He hesitated for a while, then asked, ¡°Who from Roseburg are you talking about?¡±

    Huh, the fish bite the bait. Annan took a deep breath.

    He stared at us solemnly with a majestic demeanor, ¡°Naturally, the one who hasn¡¯t been born yet.¡±

    us frowned, hesitating longer than just now. ¡°Is he connected to that master?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°Just that¡­ Let¡¯s put it this way. The Venerated Skeleton is also preparing to conduct a ritual. So I want to ask if you do, what date will it be?¡±

    Annan looked at us with a threatening expression on his face, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait for the ship to dock and arrive at Freezing Water Port tomorrow? That way, you get to exin it personally to ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± himself.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± us quickly refused.

    He quickly replied, ¡°Our n is set on December 14. The future great prophet ¡®Michel Nottdamm¡¯ will be born on this day. We n to prevent his birth.

    ¡°As for Master Viscount, he has nothing to do with our n.¡±

    What a lie. Annan realized this immediately.

    To be urate, Viscount Barber was rted to this n. But, he had failed the ritual and was unable to attain Transcendence.

    Is it possible that the viscount needed the Book of Divine Transporter I retrieved?

    ¡°Is it the ritual used to eradicate reincarnations?¡± Annan asked calmly.

    Hearing this, us couldn¡¯t hold it anymore.

    He had a murderous intent on Annan immediately, but he quickly realized that Annan was ¡°just a projection.¡±

    Killing John meant nothing to him but just proving Annan¡¯s suspicion was correct.

    Still, his reaction confirmed the matter¡­

    us hesitated for a while and replied vaguely, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±

    Fortunately, ¡°John¡± didn¡¯t ask further.

    ¡°Fine.¡± John nodded with a slight arrogance, ¡°Just in case, before I go up with you, you go to the deck first. You have to find a few people you can trust and let them search Don Juan¡¯s room. Focus on looking for the documents in Don Juan¡¯s suitcase and the cotton wadding inside the quilt. Remember to ask them to close the door and seal the windows to find the items slowly. There will be surprises.¡±

    Of course, there was nothing there.

    Annan intended to trick a few ¡°betrayers¡± and get them to a safe ce.

    Backstabbing us was still too dangerous for Annan.

    After all, us was also a Silver Rank Transcended.

    Once Annan failed, he who couldn¡¯t use spells in this dungeon instance would end terribly.

    So, Annan decided to change his approach.

    He wanted to save ¡®game¡¯ first. That was to ensure he wouldn¡¯t immediately exit the dungeon instance after killing us. The current n was tobine Benjamin¡¯s power to kill us without giving us a chance to transform.

    Seeing John¡¯s serious expression, us nodded delightfully.

    ¡°If all goes well, Master Rotten Man will remember this kindness!¡± He affirmed. ¡°How do I address you?¡±

    Annan was startled slightly, then he spoke gently.

    ¡°David.

    ¡°Just call me David.¡±

 Chapter 180: Benjaminâ€™s Password

    <h4>Chapter 180: Benjamin¡¯s Password</h4>

    Annan didn¡¯t dare to show too much abnormality.

    For now, his behavior was entirely in line with the behavioral characteristics of a ¡°Venerated Skeleton¡¯s priest.¡±

    After all, not many dared to call the Venerated Skeleton by the name near Freezing Water Port, except for the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s believers. Those who were insolent inmitting this act would be dragged into a nightmare. This somewhat reinforced the fact that Annan was like his senior.

    ¡ªIndeed, senior.

    Rotten Man¡¯s ascendancy ritual was modified from the ascendancy ritual the Venerated Skeleton invented.

    As the Venerated Skeleton became a deity by the name of ¡°Grand Duke,¡± he was second-rated in the face of Elegant Elder, the deity of nobility.

    Likewise, Rotten Man, who borrowed the ritual base of the Venerated Skeleton to be a deity, was naturally substandard in front of the Venerated Skeleton.

    Such rationality made sense to indicate that Annan had a higher status than us.

    But if Annan asks too many questions, especially low-ended ones, it would arouse us¡¯ suspicion.

    us certainly didn¡¯t dare to bet whether he was in a nightmare. But he could also give some false information or refuse to answer.

    So Annan could only ask a few brief questions and granted freedom to us in executing the n.

    ¡ªBut, Annan still managed to confirm some information in this encounter.

    The baby who would be born on December 14 was indeed Michngelo. The Rotten Man¡¯s forces even know the baby¡¯s future name ¨C Michele Nottdamm.

    For some reason, the Rotten Man Church also intended to ruin this ritual.

    They had known this piece of news a long time ago and arranged the ritual of ¡°eradicate reincarnations¡± in Roseburg in advance, intending to eradicate Michngelo¡¯s soul before the resurrection. In other words, that was to sever the power and memory of the previous life from the baby.

    Before that, they arranged some forces in Roseburg.

    ¡ª¡ªNot Transcended, just mortals.

    But they were all pious believers of Rotten Man and were adequate to act as the key to start the ritual.

    It seemed the Rotten Man Church didn¡¯t even n to surface.

    In other words, they didn¡¯t dare to approach Roseburg when their intended ritual was activated.

    Annan could figure out this because of another piece of information that was still pending to be verified:

    us and the Rotten Man believers had infiltrated into the kingdom¡¯s higher-ups. They had already been lurking by the Noah Kingdom¡¯s direct heirs.

    ¡ªIn other words, every prince¡¯s ¡°advisors¡± knew each other. The purpose was to ensure that the ritual could proceed smoothly.

    They were putting up a show in cooperation with each other.

    And one of these heirs wasn¡¯t quite obedient.

    That heir would arrive in Roseburg ¡°just in time¡± on the day Michngelo was resurrected.

    Annan wasn¡¯t sure whether the heir woulde or not.

    But, from us¡¯s vague hints, Annan could instead be sure of another thing. On that day, it would be a disaster for those ordinary people. Its destruction would put a royal heir protected by a Transcended to an ¡°idental death.¡±

    If we were to look at Annan¡¯s force, there were only 5 Bronzes aside from Annan himself.

    Unfortunately, this might be the strongest lineup Annan could muster.

    This won¡¯t be easy. Annan thought about it.

    He wished Benjamin could tell him more.

    At this time, Annan¡¯s previous arrangements for us were made. After watching the three followers left, Annan nodded and asked us, ¡°Is the person you arranged reliable?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They don¡¯t know the ultimate goal.¡±

    us replied calmly, ¡°They only thought that I was going to poison Don Juan. With that, the killing intent wouldn¡¯t be directed at Benjamin. So whether Benjamin had the Soul Snatch or Prophet school spells, he won¡¯t be aware of it.¡±

    ¡°He is a wizard from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. So, he must be equipped with the Soul Snatch spells.¡± Annan solemnly told us, ¡°Do remember not to look into Benjamin¡¯s eyes. Also, don¡¯t have any conversations with your men until they havepleted the mission.¡±

    This was what us once said to him in the previous nightmare dungeon attempt.

    Annan altered it, mixed in some false information, and returned the information to us.

    What us wanted to say should be something simr. This would undoubtedly increase his acknowledgment of Annan¡¯s identity.

    When us heard Annan¡¯s words, he shuddered and nodded seriously, ¡°Okay, I understand.¡±

    Then, he took Annan and walked onto the deck.

    The banquet had started for a long time. The guards huddled in the corner and chatted as they assessed their surroundings while eating theirst supper before they went ashore.

    It waspletely different from the previous dungeon attempts.

    Annan, whose Perception attributes had been strengthened several timespared to when he first tackled this dungeon instance, keenly sensed the tension of these guards.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes deliberately avoided Don Juan¡¯s table.

    The atmosphere was stifling. The trio ate quickly.

    Somehow, no one was causing amotion, unlike the usuals.

    So a suspicion immediately emerged in Annan¡¯s mind. It was a problem that he, as a Bronze Rank Wizard, could notice.

    Benjamin, who was already at the Silver Rank¡¯s peak, would he not detect it?

    Annan suddenly remembered something. Don Juan Geraint owned the nightmare he entered. He also found Don Juan¡¯s body on the ship.

    But the problem was¡­

    What about Benjamin¡¯s nightmare?

    The Third Prince had long known the two curses on Benjamin. In this case, would us, who wasn¡¯t loyal to the Third Prince, absorb Benjamin¡¯s curse?

    Immediately, Annan noticed Benjamin¡¯s gaze.

    Unlike what Annan told us, Annan looked straight into Benjamin¡¯s eyes.

    Benjamin watched the two approaching and looked at us and other traitors who dared not look at him. There was a faint sarcasm in his eyes, but he still pretended there was nothing wrong, only revealing a slight suspicion.

    But then, Benjamin looked at Annan with was a trace of confusion.

    At this moment, Annan stepped forward in us¡¯s somewhat surprised gaze.

    Before being seen by us, Annan¡¯s face had a frightened and straightforward look that belonged to ¡°John.¡±

    ¡°Young Master!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, John?¡±

    Don Juan immediately asked nervously, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Annan still remembered that Don Juan had agreed with John before that John woulde to him immediately if something went wrong.

    At this time, Annan had no intention of repeating the scene of thest time.

    He knelt beside Benjamin.

    He lowered his voice and said to Benjamin, ¡°Evelyn Miller, the fox under the table, 15, the eighth soldier¡­¡±

 Chapter 181: The Final Work â€œDavid!â€

    <h4>Chapter 181: The Final Work ¡°David!¡±</h4>

    When Annan said the first password, Benjamin¡¯s pupils shrank slightly and remained calm. When Annan said the second word, Benjamin¡¯s right hand shook slightly.

    Annan felt a transparent barrier covering him.

    us¡¯s hearing wasn¡¯t that bad.

    He naturally heard Annan¡¯s words at such a close distance, but he didn¡¯t quite understand the meaning.

    But the moment he saw Benjamin¡¯s reactions, he also reacted with hindsight.

    ¡ªThis may be the password Benjamin set for himself in the nightmare!

    In other words¡­

    I¡¯m in a nightmare!

    He became furious immediately and realized that he had been deceived.

    But those are information that only the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s believers can know.

    Could it be that the Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man officially went to war?

    us was a little confused.

    But he didn¡¯t hesitate anymore.

    us drew his sword, and the silver hilt of his long sword shone brightly.

    He mustered his energy and then shed at Annan with all his strength.

    A sharp white wave of air whizzed and shed towards Annan. It seemingly would cut Annan in half in the next second!

    It even cut the table in half directly.

    In the blink of an eye, us¡¯ attack reached Annan. At this moment, Annan didn¡¯t even raise his hand or respond.

    Ayer of illusory white shield circted Annan like smoke had already emerged, resolving the attack and blocking it.

    Annan couldn¡¯t even see what school of magic this was.

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± us also seemed to calm down a bit when he saw the results of this attack.

    He seemed to know what spell it was, so he simply gave up his n to continue tounch long-range attacks on Annan. Instead, he turned around and jumped back, stepped directly on the thin air, and began to speed up in the air.

    ¡°Can you stop him?¡± Benjamin asked suddenly.

    Annan nodded in response, ¡°Probably.¡±

    ¡°Then I will make it quicker¡­¡± Benjamin suddenly mumbled.

    What happened in the dungeon nightmare this time waspletely different from the past.

    A pure white light began to shine at the ring on Benjamin¡¯s right hand.

    The old wizard sat on the table calmly, closing his eyes and chanting intently, ¡°The sun is the all-father, the moon is the all-mother. The fertility wind, and the nurturingnd¡ª¡±

    Annan also took Don Juan¡¯s silver pocket watch out of his pocket.

    The pocket watch case was engraved with a three-eyed bird pattern and iid with precious stones. There was no doubt that this item had great mary value.

    Seeing Annan¡¯s actions, us was suddenly stunned.

    ¡°Hahaha, the Silver Hand?!¡± usughed a little hoarsely. Then, he dashed forward against the oing wind, ¡°It seems that my n is still sessful.¡±

    us¡¯ goal was to break the defense.

    He didn¡¯t elerate for too long.

    In the exchange of a couple of words, us galloped in with the wild wind!

    Although Benjamin could easily stop us¡¯s quick attack, Annan immediately activated ¡°nging Object¡± to be on the safe side.

    A white light was shot from the pocket watch. It dashed at the speed of sound and collided with us.

    As arge amount of smoke burst out, sharp and high-frequency noises rang in all directions in the air. The sensation of distortion and shock visible to the naked eye spread violently around the contact surface.

    The tes and bowls on the ship were instantly shattered. Annan felt an intense difort in the body¡¯s heart, like a palpitation.

    The power of this pocket watch was more potent than Annan thought!

    us collided with this blow but retreated in embarrassment. Except for his uglyplexion, he didn¡¯t seem to be injured much.

    When facing us¡¯s charge attack, Annan finally realized how powerful the swordsman who utilized the storm¡¯s power had.

    It wasn¡¯t that us was too weak, but Benjamin was far stronger than him.

    As if realizing something, Don Juan quickly took off his silver jewelry and handed it to Annan along with a few silver coins.

    At the same time, Don Juan also began to recite spells, ¡°Freezing element¡ª¡±

    As he called for the elemental power, his bronze ring shone with a faint brilliance.

    ¡°¡ªThe frost is the wheel, us is the path.¡±

    Don Juan threw out an azure blue halo that rapidly expanded in the air. It turned into a one-person¡¯s height frost wheel that homed toward us.

    us realized that the Frost Wheel was chasing him, so he immediately gave up attacking Annan and the others and dashed in the air.

    Although the Frost Wheel had been elerating, it couldn¡¯t catch up with us moving swiftly in the air. In just two or three seconds, Don Juan¡¯s face began to turn pale.

    At this time, us finally responded.

    He knew what kind of tactic should he use¡ª

    Benjamin is chanting now. He can¡¯t interrupt my actions!

    Realizing that this was a nightmare, us didn¡¯t need to worry about the safety of his subordinates¡­or rather, he didn¡¯t need to worry about the Book of Divine Transporter¡¯s page fragment that Don Juan hid. Instead, he incited a storm on the ship with all his strength.

    Apanied by his extreme speed in the air, the storm blew the ship, making it sway fanatically on the sea.

    He hoped this could interrupt Benjamin¡¯s chanting. The best result would be having Don Juan¡¯s forces fall into the sea.

    Several of the guards who stood by the ship were caught off guard.

    If it hadn¡¯t been for Don Juan grabbing Annan¡¯s hand quickly, he would have been thrown to the sea directly.

    The scene was a storm without rain.

    As the boat swayed wildly, many waves were blown by the hurricane and spread in all directions. Then, higher and higher waves were raised and mmed onto the deck.

    Faced with this intense dizziness powerful enough to incite nausea and vomiting, ¡°John,¡± being an ordinary person, was defenseless against it.

    But Annan didn¡¯t hesitate.

    He just put on a weird posture facing forward sideways.

    ¡ªThat was the pose of the ¡°David¡± statue!

    The next moment, ¡°John¡±¡®s appearance suddenly changed.

    He instantly became a kind middle-aged man with ck hair, ck eyes, and well-defined features!

    That was ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro!¡±

    This was exactly the effect of Annan¡¯s curse, The Last Work ¡°David¡±!

    David was a Great Wizard at the peak of Silver Rank butpletely unable to use Destruction spells. He possesses the spell casting abilities of the Prophet school and Idol school. When using the spells of these two schools, his level was temporarily regarded as Level 30.

    At the same time, he could be regarded as a mighty machine-operated golem with divinity.

    Although Annan still hadn¡¯t obtained the Prophet and Idol spells, it didn¡¯t stop him from transforming into Ghindaio.

    On the one hand, that granted him a heavy weight.

    Yes!

    Ghindaio was a marble statue, close to 1.8 meters; he weighed one-third of a ton!

    He stepped on the ground hard, made a hole in the deck, and reached in with a foot to fix his body firmly. Then he lunged forward, reached out one hand, and pressed that hand on the ground so that he could stay firmly on the ground.

    Since David had no internal organs, there was naturally no seasick issue. Its heavy body allowed Don Juan to grab him while he held Benjamin¡¯s sleeve to prevent them from being thrown out to the sea!

    As Don Juan¡¯s wheels chased to the limit in the air, they copsed.

    us looked at Annan and others again. The storm gradually subsided.

    Annan didn¡¯t continue altering all the silver products Don Juan handed over as cannonballs.

    Instead, he stood up and turned one of the silver ornaments into a rapier. He then used all the remaining silver coins to strengthen it. He held the sword with the hand he had just supported himself on the ground.

    Defending with such a fragile sword was a bit ridiculous in front of the Silver Rank swordsman.

    But for the time being, it was better than nothing.

    ¡°Is this what you look like, David¡­¡± us¡¯s vague voice came along with the storm.

    Like a tornado bending down in midair, heunched another Charge at Annan again!

    Annan only had time to swing his strongest attack at us.

    ¡ªHis Frost Sword!

    But at this time, Benjamin¡¯s spell hadpleted.

    To be more urate. Benjamin had alreadypleted the spell, only to activate it in the most timely manner.

    The nk of the entire ship had seemingly be alive.

    The dense vine-like tentacles sprang up quickly, growing between Annan and us,pletely blocking the hurricane that was blowing at the group.

    Realizing that the situation turned dire, us braked immediately to flee upwards.

    But those tentacles grew upward swiftly along with us.

    In the end, a massive wooden palm nearly fifty meters high protruded from the deck.

    It quickly pinched us as if he was a mosquito.

    At this time, the ship had lost its original appearance.

    It was now a wooden fist floating in the sea.

    Just like the Riot¡¯spany logo [1].

    Annan, Don Juan, and Benjamin all stood on the thumbs that sped inwardly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. None of them died¡­¡±

    Benjamin gave Annan a rare smile and said slowly, ¡°I keep them alive so that we can talk.¡±

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    ¡­Is the power of the Alteration Wizard?

 Chapter 182: The Feigned Death Ploy

    <h4>Chapter 182: The Feigned Death Ploy</h4>

    After a brief silence, Don Juan Geraint spoke softly, ¡°Is this my nightmare?¡±

    After he saw ¡°John¡± using Silver Sire¡¯s divine art, he roughly understood the situation.

    ¡°Yes.¡± It was not Annan who replied, but Benjamin Foster.

    He patted Don Juan on the head and chuckled softly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you expect it a long time ago, Don Juan?¡±

    ¡°Ya, but I¡¯m just worried.¡± Don Juan Geraint shook his head.

    His eyes weren¡¯t gloomy because he knew that he was dead.

    Rather, he frowned and went into deep thoughts.

    His attitude is a bit strange. Annan noted down.

    On the other side, Benjamin smiled slightly at Annan, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, ¡®Ghindaio.¡¯¡±

    ¡°But, I¡¯m not the Ghindaio,¡± Annan confessed in advance.

    Benjamin shook his head, ¡°I naturally know very well what exactly is ¡®Ghindaio.¡®

    ¡°Just when I saw your face, I knew where you got your password and what you¡¯re going to ask me. People who Master Michngelo can recognize naturally have promising character and capability.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess.¡± Annan replied softly, ¡°Have you already figured out that the Third Prince would want to kill you?¡±

    Benjamin smiled slightly.

    He didn¡¯t answer directly but asked a question instead, ¡°How many times have youe to this nightmare?¡±

    ¡°If you count my failed attempts, this is the third time,¡± Annan answered quickly.

    Benjamin chuckled.

    Three chairs with backrests and armrests were slowly growing out of the massive wooden hand.

    Benjamin gestured to Annan and Don Juan to sit down.

    ¡°Since you can get Master Michngelo¡¯s approval and can see him, I guess you have already entered Gerald¡¯s nightmare.¡±

    Benjamin asked slowly, ¡°In other words, Gerald is dead¡­ right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan replied honestly, ¡°Besides, I saw Don Juan being killed. us killed you by viting your curse conditions.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Benjamin grinned and smiled silently.

    Don Juan on the side also looked at Benjamin nkly.

    Don Juan looked at Annan curiously and asked, ¡°What curse vition? You mean, teacher¡¯s curse?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan saw Don Juan¡¯s reaction and asked in reflex, ¡°It¡¯s your housekeeper. He fed Benjamin the poisoned wine mixed with squid juice. Is there something wrong here?¡±

    ¡°This is where the problem lies.¡± Benjamin smiled.

    He knocked on the hand rest and asked Annan back, ¡°You should know my curse, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. ¡®You can¡¯t eat squid¡¯ and ¡®You can¡¯t refuse wine offered by someone older than you.''¡±

    ¡°So, when I drank the poisoned wine, how many curses did I vite?¡± Benjamin asked.

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    He suddenly realized one thing.

    He had been thinking about the issue of ¡°poisoned wine.¡±

    But the real problem was¡­

    If Benjamin drank the ¡°poisonous wine mixed with squid juice¡± and if the poisonous wine itself were enough to poison him to death, there would be no need to mix it with squid juice.

    If the power of the poisoned wine wasn¡¯t lethal for him, then if he drank the poisoned wine, it meant that he had not rejected the poisoned wine. So, in that case, Benjamin didn¡¯t vite thetter curse.

    In other words, the two curses held by Benjamin were mutually exclusive.

    In any case, only one curse vition could be met.

    There was only one possibility that us would adopt this condition as his trump card.

    ¡°Is the information obtained via the Third Prince false?¡± Annan blinked and reacted, ¡°He thought your curse was ¡®You can¡¯t drink the wine from the old man¡¯ and ¡®you can¡¯t eat squid?''¡±

    Don Juan looked at Benjamin nkly.

    But Benjamin nodded calmly, ¡°It¡¯s ¡®you can¡¯t drink wine offered from the elders¡¯ and ¡®you can¡¯t eat roasted green plums.¡¯

    ¡°Great. You figure that out. Good memory. But, your thinking direction is quite narrowed and tunneled.¡±

    Benjamin made some harshments, ¡°Let me ask you again. You should have seen my body, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan nodded.

    He recalled the scene when he came out of the dungeon instance:

    Benjamin was lying prone on the table with his mouth full of blood. His teeth and tes were stained red, and his eyes were pitch ck. Next to himy Don Juan, whose mouth was filled with blood. The old housekeeper had a long sword pierced from his back.

    The only difference was that the silver ring on Benjamin¡¯s right hand was gone. The robes and jewelry on his body were all removed, appearing just like an ordinary old man.

    ¡­Like an ordinary old man? Annan¡¯s pupils shrank.

    Until then, Annan finally understood everything.

    Benjamin was Transcended!

    There wouldn¡¯t be any abnormality to Bronze Rank Transcended after death.

    But the situation would be different from Silver Rank Transcended.

    For example, when Gerald died, his body turned into a skeleton, breaking into pieces.

    How could Benjamin¡¯s dead body be so normal?

    Benjamin¡¯s body only had his curse vessel and robes missing. Otherwise, he was just like an ordinary old man.

    But the problem was that Benjamin wasn¡¯t an ordinary old man at all!

    ¡°That¡¯s a fake corpse,¡± Annan answered quickly.

    Benjamin nodded in approval and said, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s like the body you are using now. It¡¯s an Idol¡¯s basic spell, called the ¡®Puppet y Body.¡¯

    ¡°My original n was to use the ¡®I¡¯m Not Here¡¯ curse to hide my existence after taking poisoned wine and feigning death. Then, I will use Shaping spells to manifest a substitute that looks exactly like me on my seat using the ¡®Puppet y Body.¡¯

    ¡°So if you examine my corpse carefully, you should be able to find that it weighs a lot more than an old man.¡±

    Benjamin habitually had a mentoring tone andmented, ¡°Those people failed to conceal their emotions. us is a mistake in advancement ritual and a countryman who can¡¯t achieve Gold Rank for life. He doesn¡¯t know how great the wizard is. The fear and restlessness in the hearts of those people he brought are so obvious in my eyes.¡±

    I can¡¯t help it. I wasn¡¯t a Transcended at that time. Annan shook his head and was silent.

    Benjamin is indeed capable of using Soul Snatch spells. Annan still remembered what Salvatore told him.

    Benjamin could use the four schools of spells: ¡®Soul Snatch,¡¯ ¡®Alteration,¡¯ ¡®Shaping,¡¯ and ¡®Idol.¡¯ However, only his Alteration and Shaping had levels close to the Gold Rank.

    For Soul Snatch and Idol school, they should at least be at the bottom level of the Silver Rank.

    The answer to this question created more questions in Annan¡¯s mind.

    ¡°So, what happened to us in the end?¡± Annan asked.

    The corner of Benjamin¡¯s mouth rose slightly, ¡°Are you asking me about the future?¡±

    He didn¡¯t reveal too much but just replied, ¡°I should have let him go because we don¡¯t want to alert the enemies.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, am I really dead?¡± Don Juan Geraint asked unbearably.

    Benjamin looked at Don Juan Geraint with a calm gaze, ¡°Then it depends on how you define ¡®death.¡¯

    ¡°This is your father¡¯s request to me. He doesn¡¯t want you to enter the Freezing Water Port because there is a deity there. A deity who can sense who owns the Truth Fragment at a nce. But, his majesty issues your death. You need to die here. This is the only ce where the Rotten Man can¡¯t infiltrate his force in this vast Noah Kingdom, so you can only die here.

    ¡°His Majesty would rather give the Truth Fragment you are about to conceive to the Venerated Skeleton than to Rotten Man.

    ¡°Three-eyed Crow will never betray the crown, so you have no choice.

    ¡°Because you are the one who spawns the Truth. Only when you die can the Truth Fragment be revealed.

    ¡°If you stay in the royal capital, you will only die suddenly one day, making Rotten Man a true deity.

    ¡°So my n with your father is to let you die here directly. Throw out the hot potato on your side, the Truth Fragment. Then, we will try to find a way to find your soul and resurrect you. After all, you are Transcended. Although you¡¯re only bronze, there is at least a slight possibility of resurrection.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you this in advance because your acting skills aren¡¯t adequate. Only a real death can win us¡¯s trust.¡±

    Benjamin said inly, ¡°So, ¡®Don Juan Geraint¡¯ must die, but you may still survive. I brought thentern that imprisoned souls which could save you. Then, I¡¯ll find another baby with Geraint¡¯s direct blood. You may be resurrected.

    ¡°But from now on, you won¡¯t be Don Juan Geraint anymore. You must never think of him as you. You will never be connected with this name anymore. Remember that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t covet the name of the past life.¡±

 Chapter 183: Future Deity

    <h4>Chapter 183: Future Deity</h4>

    Don¡¯t covet the name of the past life? Annan was slightly confused.

    Benjamin nced over and addressed the confusion for both Annan and Don Juan at the same time, ¡°For a curse to be avable for use, having ¡®oath¡¯ power to restrain it is mandatory.

    ¡°And the ¡®name¡¯ is the strongest oath that everyone gets in life¡ªthe oath that apanies a lifetime.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to re-use the name you have already abandoned, it means you have sworn to reim this fate. Then, the curse you have suffered, the fate you have escaped will return in greater intensity. Since it was a choice to evade debt, don¡¯t look back. Otherwise, you will only face a bacsh of more debts.¡±

    All the Transcended power in this world was a curse.

    Then the realm of ¡°fate¡± was naturally a curse.

    After all, ¡°Lady Luck,¡± the luck and ident deity, was also an upright deity.

    So from what has happened, I can utilize Don Juan¡¯s identity while ¡°Don Juan¡± and the Gerant family wouldn¡¯t find trouble with me.

    Besides that, the king wouldn¡¯t be displeased with me.

    After all, the king only wanted ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± not to die in the hands of Rotten Man. Hearing that Don Juan wasn¡¯t dead, the king would be surprised at most andment: ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t expect the Venerated Skeleton to be kind.¡± With that, he wouldn¡¯t heed any attention to this.

    But as long as Annan didn¡¯t escape too far from the Freezing Water Port, the king shouldn¡¯t care where he went.

    The only party sensing something was amiss with it would be the Third Prince.

    But at best, he would think that Annan was just a fake.

    Doesn¡¯t that mean no one can control me? Annan felt a burst of excitement.

    Annan was well-behaved, afraid to cause trouble or attract attention for fear of attracting the eyes of the capital. But, he didn¡¯t expect that Don Juan¡¯s identity would be so safe to use!

    No one cared if he was dead or alive.

    If they wanted Don Juan to die, they only wanted him to die farther away.

    ¡°But, who owns this nightmare?¡±

    Annan asked again, ¡°If Don Juan Geraint is still alive¡­¡±

    ¡°Naturally, it still belongs to Don Juan. Since he will be reincarnated, the curse umted in his body naturally needs to be emptied. Newborn babies can¡¯t be born along with jewelry.¡±

    Benjamin smiled again at Annan and exined patiently, ¡°I think you didn¡¯t enter this nightmare through Don Juan¡¯s curse, right?

    ¡°Wizard ys the role of alteration in the curse. It¡¯s doable if it¡¯s just to transfer the curse from Don Juan¡¯s corpse to another person.

    ¡°Little Don Juan¡¯sst resentment must be to ¡®kill¡¯ or ¡®catch¡¯ those traitors. Otherwise, he wants to know the traitor¡¯s goal.

    ¡°This allows us to impart false information in this nightmare. Those who came to investigateter will think that Don Juan and I are dead.¡±

    Don Juan and Benjamin, who died in this nightmare, didn¡¯t perish. But, just before discovering this, the dungeon challenger would either fail, get kicked out, be promoted, and leave. So they can¡¯t see the plot at the end.

    The only one who died was ¡°John.¡±

    Among them, Benjamin was already dead in the world¡¯s eyes.

    Everyone thought he was dead, and hepletely escaped into the shadows.

    Benjamin had Don Juan¡¯s soul too. So either he would be resurrected or not still retained as a mystery.

    ¡°But why are you telling me this?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°Because I guess you are the sessor to the new torn Truth pages. Now, it¡¯s my turn to ask some questions.¡±

    Benjamin smiled and said, ¡°Otherwise, I can hardly imagine why you would want to return to this nightmare. This is just a Bronze Rank nightmare. It can only provide power for Bronze Rank Transcended.

    ¡°Torn Truth pages isn¡¯t something that everyone can inherit. As long as a curse conflicts with the Truth¡¯s element, the host¡¯s body can¡¯t contain the pages at all. Likewise, if the host¡¯s talent isn¡¯t enough to attain the Gold Rank, the pages will not be manifested in front of the host.

    ¡°In other words, even though you may be weaker now, you are the Truth wielder in the future.

    ¡°The Truth level is the reserve of the deities. The Truth wielder can be a new deity after attaining other torn Truth pages, perfect their book of truth, and store enough curses. It¡¯s just a matter of time.

    ¡°Since the Truth torn page hasn¡¯t manifested before me, it means that I¡¯m notpatible with it. So then, it makes sense for me to answer all questions of a future deity. If you have any questions, ask. I will answer it if I can,¡± said Benjamin frankly.

    Annan had no objection.

    What Benjamin said is true. I want to make good friends with you while you¡¯re weak and even offer you some benefits. I have already expressed my intention directly. It just seems like a natural thing to do.

    With that, Annan behaved obediently.

    The ¡°Book of Truth¡± was equivalent to the Godhead.

    As long as the Gold Rank elite could have a piece of torn Truth pages, he could attain the Truth level. Frankly speaking, the Truth level was the process of searching and hunting each other who possessed the pages of the same Book of Truth.

    As long as one couldplete the Book of Truth and umte enough power or ¡°experience,¡± the person would be a new deity.

    It sounds like it¡¯s not too difficult.

    Annan was only at the Bronze Rank, but he already had two pages.

    At this rate, he wouldn¡¯t even attain Gold Rank even after he had collected all pages.

    But, the Book of Divine Transporter¡­

    What¡¯s the truth in this?

    Many thoughts shed in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Finally, he decided to tell the truth.

    Anyway, in the real world, Benjamin and Don Juan wouldn¡¯t know what they were talking about here. So the worst oue was that the other party refused to cooperate. In that case, Annan wouldmit suicide 3 times to leave the dungeon instance.

    After 3 days, Annan could enter the dungeon instance again and ask again.

    Even if the information was mixed with false news, it didn¡¯t matter much.

    Anyway, Annan would not have believed them all.

    ¡°¡­En.¡± Annan nodded, ¡°And, I need your help.

    ¡°I¡¯m Annan Austere-Winter. I temporarily lost part of my memory, and I was trapped in the Noah Kingdom. Because of the simrity in appearance, I temporarily borrowed the identity of Lord Don Juan to manage his territory. Using torn Truth pages power, I¡¯m going against the Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man at the Freezing Water Port.

    ¡°Now, Master Michngelo is about to be reborn. My friend Salvatore wants to help Master Michngelo toplete the resurrection. Rotten Man Church intends to use ¡®Ritual: Eradicate Reincarnations¡¯ to interrupt the resurrection ritual on that day. I hope you can tell me more details about the habit of ¡®Don Juan.¡¯ Also, Master Benjamin, do you know what Rotten Man¡¯s n is in Roseburg? How should I help Michngelo and how to stop Rotten Man¡¯s church n?¡±

    Annan originally wanted to say, ¡°If things go well, I will return the favor in the future.¡± But when he was about to say this, it felt weird and didn¡¯t make sense.

    That promise simply felt like a scam.

    Benjamin and Don Juan looked at each other.

    Don Juan thought for a long time before nodding slowly.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Don Juan replied seriously, ¡°Then, the future Duke, Your Majesty Deity. I hope you can treat my people kindly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural.¡± Annan breathed a sigh of relief. He managed to achieve his goal in the nightmare this time.

    ¡°But before that, I have one more question. Why would they believe that you would drink that ss of wine?¡± Annan interrupted and addressed his confusion.

    He asked carefully, ¡°In the false information they learned, they would think that your curse is ¡®can¡¯t drink wine given by someone older than you¡¯ and ¡®can¡¯t ingest squid.¡¯ The wine is intended to incur the curse bacsh. Then why would they believe that you would drink the wine from the old housekeeper? As long as you don¡¯t drink it, it would be right, right?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s because Adolphus isn¡¯t older than me.¡±

    Benjamin said leisurely, ¡°Sir Count knows my real curse. He won¡¯t send someone older than me to bring me wine, and I know Adolphus. He has always been Don Juan¡¯s housekeeper. I know everything about him. He has always poured my wine.

    ¡°So, to kill me, they must curse Adolphus. I have sensed the smell of decay. The scent belongs to the Ritual: Aging Curse.

    ¡°¡ªAnd this is a voluntary curse.¡±

    At this point, Benjamin¡¯s expression was a bit stern.

    Don Juan also realized something and was silent.

    Benjamin said softly, ¡°In order not to have my perception detect it, they can only use the excuse of murdering Don Juan to divert the murderous intent. In other words, Adolphus willingly epts the curse of aging and assassinates his master Don Juan rather than believing and asking us for help.

    ¡°Sigh¡­never mind.¡± The old wizard sighed deeply and slowly.

 Chapter 184: Grant Me The Bug For A Significant Advantage!

    <h4>Chapter 184: Grant Me The Bug For A Significant Advantage!</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with a designated identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Sever the Curse: The Tongue in the Mirror. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Ensure Don Juan survives until the end of the dungeon instance. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Learn all the truth. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Completed a powerful purification. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªA++]

    [Obtain 68 points in Shared Experience. Perception+1.]

    [Obtain dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (swordsman) rises by 1 level]

    [Profession not detected (swordsman)]

    [Hidden secrets have been cracked: 100%]

    [The third stage reward is avable (Obtained whenpletion reaches 100%).]

    [Obtain dungeon instance decryption rewards: Random spells avable (choose one out of ¡®Soul Snatch,¡¯ ¡®Alteration,¡¯ ¡®Shaping,¡¯ and ¡®Idol¡¯).]

    [The current purification progress is 3/3¡ªthe nightmare is over.]

    [Based on the area of ??the nightmare, you got the holy light engraving of Silver Sire.]

    [Current total engraving(s): 3 (Silver Sire)]

    It¡¯s finally over. Annan watched the rapid flow of text before him and sighed softly.

    The good news was that he acquired many details on ¡°Don Juan¡± behavior. This would undoubtedly make his acting more real.

    The bad news was that even Benjamin didn¡¯t know the specifics of what Rotten Man Church intended to do or how their ritual would be held.

    Benjamin wasn¡¯t from the future, after all.

    Since Annan, as a ¡°future person,¡± asked about the future enemy¡¯s thoughts, Benjamin naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to answer it.

    ¡°However, I can tell you one thing.¡± Benjamin said to Annan back then, ¡°Rotten Man isn¡¯t aplete deity. It is impossible for him to conceptually ¡®eradicate reincarnations¡¯ because he does not have the concept of ¡®immortality¡¯ at all. This authority does not belong to him yet. ¡°

    ¡°¡­That is to say?¡±

    ¡°That is to say that for this ritual to work, they need to summon some kind of visible and tangible entity.¡±

    Benjamin added, ¡°The false deity ritual youe into contact with may be rtively less. In fact, there are many false deities rituals, which are ssic rituals modified from their truths. Perhaps, some are simply rituals copied from an upright deity¡¯s ritual. After all, the truth held by false deities is basically limited, while the requirement for believers is strict.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, they should summon otherworldly monsters that can attack the soul. It will be on par with a ¡®soul hunter¡¯ at the peak of Silver Rank, who isn¡¯t armed with a curse vessel. The prerequisites are [Hunter] and [Lurker] in the Bronze Rank, and they can advance into this profession via attaining the Silver Rank.

    ¡°The otherworldly monster should have some difference in their abilities. Though, they are often regarded as a race. This is the most direct and cost-effective way to attack the soul without the direct participation of the Gold Rank Transcended.

    ¡°The prototype of this ritual is Silent Lady¡¯s ritual ¡®Summoning the Soul Eater.¡¯ What Rotten Man can use should be its alternate and even a version modified multiple times. But, we can be certain that the monster must belong to the dark realm.¡±

    ¡°So, could this ritual cause natural disasters or identally injure civilians?¡± Annan asked, ¡°I heard that the Rotten Man Church intends to send a disobedient member of the royal family to Roseburg.¡±

    ¡°¡ªImpossible.¡± Benjamin asserted, ¡°The statement you heard should be that they intend to attack Master Michngelo with the summoned monster, and then issued the monster to attack the royal family memberter.

    ¡°Because Rotten Man isn¡¯t aplete deity, and he isn¡¯t a wizard who specializes in Idol school. When the truth is iplete, he cannot transmit power at will. His believers can only attain miraculous effects like bestowing lifespan, rejuvenation, resurrection, recovery, cure, and reducing lifespan through rituals. Unless¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Unless?¡± Annan pondered.

    ¡°Unless Rotten Manes in person.¡± Benjamin shrugged and gave the final exnation, ¡°But in that case, there¡¯s no point to struggle.¡±

    Rotten Man was almost the weakest false deity with nopleted truth. Even if he disposed of his nanny-like authority and dispersed his divine power, he was still a proficient Gold Rank Alteration Wizard in the end.

    [TN: Nanny-like authority should refer to the replenishment of longevity (hence like healing support in the games) since the Rotten Man is the deity of immortality and heirless.]

    After he became a deity, he lived for hundreds of years. He would be at least capable of overpowering five Bronze Rank. Defeating Annan and Bread Daryl would be just a piece of cake.

    But after receiving this information, Annan was somehow relieved.

    Since Rotten Man couldn¡¯t conceptually defeat the soul of the reincarnated Michngelo, Annan was limited to having ¡°find the ritual area¡± and ¡°interrupt the ritual¡± as the only victory conditions.

    Defeating the summoned monster would promise the same result.

    That should be much simpler.

    The monster would be at the Silver Rank¡¯s peak, having dual profession ¡ª the tracking ability and high-speed movement ability of the hunter profession, and the stealth ability and assassination ability of the lurker profession. The monster had no curse as a weakness but no curse vessel to further amplify its power at the same time.

    It¡¯s still a brutal enemy.

    But it still has a health bar.

    ¡°This reminds me of Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac. Back then, Athena could use five Bronze Ranks to defeat the 12 temples. Today, I have five Bronze Rank and one loaf of bread. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem to kill one Silver Rank.¡±

    Annan thought for a while, feeling calmer.

    Since you have an HP bar, and I can break your defense, why can¡¯t I defeat you?

    It was a pity that Annan no longer had a swordsman profession anymore.

    Because of that, Annan didn¡¯t acquire any level upgrade aside from the guaranteed experience after the dungeon instance was cleared.

    Benjamin said before that this was a dungeon instance dedicated to the Bronze Rank Transcended.

    It was because even those inferior to Bronze Rank could acquire the dungeon instance reward.

    The reward was far inferior to its difficulty.

    This should be an adjustment Benjamin made to keep this false information alive.

    But fortunately, after Annanpletely decrypted the dungeon instance, the ¡°gift¡± left by Benjamin was still sufficient.

    ¡°A spell from one of the four schools¡­¡± Annan murmured, frowning slightly.

    Soul Snatch, Alteration, Shaping, idols.

    Soul Snatch was undoubtedly the school that best fit Annan¡¯s character and personal abilities. However, Annan didn¡¯t have a situation in which he needed it in particr.

    Alteration was of no use to Annan. After all, Annan had senior Salvatore. Having the same and repeated ability was of little significance.

    Shaping still seemed pretty okay.

    The spell that Master Benjamin used, which looked like a semi-finished product of Buddha with thousands of hands, was aposite spell of Shaping and Alteration School. In Nightmare: White Tower, Annan also saw the scope of the Shaping spell.

    It was close to the kind of ¡°mage¡± Annan imagined¡ªtransmutation.

    Having a few fireballs that could turn into shooting arrows floating behind him and the flowing water rotated at high speed like a knife would be super cool.

    But, Annan still fixed his attention on Idol school.

    He immediately realized that this was his only choice.

    His other disguise, ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro,¡± was at the peak of Silver Rank, who practiced two schools: Prophet and Idol.

    David could inherit Annan¡¯s spells list and activate them at Level 30. In other words, if Annan had a spell that only could be learned at Silver, he could use it through this functionality.

    But the problem was that Annan didn¡¯t even have a Prophet school and Idol¡¯s spells, let alone having Silver Rank spells.

    ¡°But if I im a spell now¡­¡± Annan quickly made up his mind. He wanted to try to see if he could get a high-level spell.

 Chapter 185: Chaos Spell: Denial of Life

    <h4>Chapter 185: Chaos Spell: Denial of Life</h4>

    How to generate the bug?

    The principle was simple:

    Just like when Annan acquired ¡°Notion Rain,¡± the reward mechanism of giving spells immediately would give Annan a spell that could be ¡°immediately equipped¡± and used.

    Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, Impeding Wall, Frost Nova, Notion Rain, Frost Wheel¡­ Annan had only mastered six spells now. So there was only one vacancy in the ¡°instant spells¡± slots.

    If he received the reward directly, he could only get one instant Idol spell.

    But the power of instant spell obviously couldn¡¯t satisfy Annan.

    Whether it was [Chilling Touch] or [Slothful Eye], they were more of a ¡°normal attack.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t much consumption, but there wasn¡¯t much versatility at the same time. The only advantage was that it was instant and low consumption.

    Moreover, the difficulty of learning instant spells was the lowest.

    Annan¡¯s current mentality was like he originally nned to buy a phone worth about 3,000 yuan to make do with it. But he suddenly received a 50% discount coupon. To make it feel worth it, he resorted to buying a more expensive one.

    ¡ªIf Annan switched to David, the situation would be different.

    As a Level 30 Wizard, David had plenty of spells he could equip.

    With that, Annan would acquire a Silver Rank Guided Spell or even a Chant Spell.

    But I don¡¯t think I can use it while being in Annan mode?

    Though, it won¡¯t be a loss.

    Anyway, David is also a spell caster, and he won¡¯t be just a heavyweight anymore.

    Annan was excited. He didn¡¯t have any hesitation and did what he had nned.

    ¡ªIt turned out that his attempt to utilize the BUG was sessful.

    [Based on your characteristics and the existing profession level, you have acquired the Chaos Spell: Denial of Life (Guided Spell)]

    [Denial of Life (Guided Spell): Summons violent curse power to immerse the user¡¯s body and then triggers a violent negative energy storm, repelling all creatures while causing damage and trembling effects. The effect disregards whether the creature is an ally or hostile. The repelling effect willst for a certain period of time. Any creature that tries to advance toward the user will be repelled back by 30 steps for every 10 steps advanced closer to the user (Wizard profession total level: 40). There will be a probability to incur instant death based on Will attributes.]

    [When this spell is interrupted by others, the spell caster will encounter an instant death probability check based on the Will attribute. Regardless of whether the user is interrupted, the user will suffer substantial negative energy damage based on the Constitution attribute at the end of the spell. The spell damage incurred to the user is proportional to the channeling time. The effective radius of this spell and the negative energy damage is proportional to the total level of the user¡¯s wizard profession total level. This spell costs 3 points of chaos power when activated, and it costs 1 point of power every 10 seconds to maintain it.]

    [Warning: This spell is a Chaos Spell. Each use will increase the erosion rate equal to one-tenth of the user¡¯s ¡°wizard profession level (always round up)¡± and be branded with the ¡°Basic Influence: Remains of the Death Howl¡± mark. If it isn¡¯t removed in time, the host will fall into a random nightmare (difficulty: hard) with the keyword ¡°the dead¡± after three days.]

    What the hell. Annan blinked his eyes.

    Idol¡¯s Silver Rank spell seemed overpowered.

    Or is it because this spell is a chaos spell?

    This was the first chaos spell Annan had ever obtained.

    Chaos spells seemed to havepletely different mechanics from Order Magic.

    Its performance was far more potent than Order Magic of the same rank, and the cost was rtively lower. But once it was used, it would increase the erosion rate. Worse still, if it was interrupted, the user bore the risk of death.

    If it were a chant spell, the user would suffer a bacsh if the spell wasn¡¯t released properly.

    Also, upon usage, the user would be branded with ¡°remnants.¡± Failure of removal would result in being dragged into an unknown nightmare.

    Annan paused suddenly.

    If every time you use a chaos spell, you will be dragged into a random nightmare.

    Can this be a means of getting free dungeons to grind?

    Annan was excited about it.

    The punishment had turned into a reward for Annan.

    Moreover, Annan recalled that he had Old Grandmother¡¯s real name, which could also be used as ¡°Advanced Influence: Remains of the Frost Deity.¡±

    Hence, Annan could use this mysterious knowledge to enter a high-level designated dungeon rted to Old Grandmother.

    If it weren¡¯t for Annan couldn¡¯t find a way to clear his erosion rate, he might have queued up for the dungeon already.

    Also, Annan realized why ¡°David¡± got this spell.

    ording to curse¡¯s description, ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro¡± was immune to petrification, instant death, mind control, and unconditionally deflecting ¡°Prophet¡± and ¡°Idol¡± school spells below the Gold Rank. When David was subjected to ¡°Alteration,¡± ¡°Destruction,¡± ¡°Shaping,¡± and other school spells, the body¡¯s material was judged to be ¡°marble¡± instead of ¡°flesh.¡±

    Marble was immune to negative energy damage.

    David was also immune to the instant death effect when his spell casting was interrupted.

    This chaos spell basically had no punishment for him.

    ¡°This is awesome,¡± Annan eximed.

    Immediately after, Annan swapped back into his own body.

    Then, Annan was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had seeded in abusing the bug.

    His wizard profession became like this:

    Wizard (Energy Falteration School) LV13: [Instant Spells LV3 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, not yet)], [Guided Spells LV3 (Impeding Wall, Frost Nova, Notion Rain, Denial of Life)], [Shant Spell LV1 (Frost Wheel)]

    Guided Spells were still at LV3. Theoretically, only three spells could be equipped. However, Annan still acquired the ¡°Denial of Life,¡± indicating that the spell could still be used normally.

    However, the problem was that although Annan had sessfully incurred the bug, he didn¡¯t dare to use it in Annan¡¯s state.

    If he wanted to use this particr skill, wouldn¡¯t it be better to manifest David and then swap back into Annan mode after using the skill?

    This extra gain would be meaningful only when Annan couldn¡¯t be David and needed to use this spell urgently.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± Annanforted himself.

    At least he now had one more trump card.

    If Annan were unlucky, he would soon use itter during the fight with the monster Rotten Man Church summoned.

    After the ¡°stone statue state¡± was lifted, Annan checked the time.

    It¡¯s 2 a.m.

    ¡°¡­En, I shall continue my sleep.¡±

    Annan grumbled and rolled onto the bed again.

    When he woke up again, it was half an hourter.

    He felt a violent shaking.

    After Annan opened his eyes, he found Salvatore¡¯s highly excited expression.

    Annan had messy hair and a stunned expression on his face for just waking up. He shrank into the quilt and looked at Salvatore, subconsciously tightening the quilt, and shrank inside again.

    ¡°Don Juan!¡±

    With heavy dark circles under his eyes and greasy and messy hair, Salvatore yelled, ¡°I have seeded!¡±

    Okay, I see, you seeded.

    But I can¡¯t sleep anymore!

 Chapter 186: Elixir

    <h4>Chapter 186: Elixir</h4>

    This guy, Salvatore¡­ What did he manage to do?

    It was rare to see this guy so excited. Even Annan was a little curious.

    This guy¡­

    He always lowered his head with his eyebrows frowned; he had a grumpy look due to the long-termck of sleep, just like Gaara [1].

    No matter what Salvatore was doing, he looked unmotivated and impatient.

    But even though he was impatient and tired, he would still carry out his work orderly. Annan was pleased with that.

    The corners of Salvatore¡¯s mouth rose.

    But no matter what Annan asked, Salvatore remained silent about the mystery.

    Salvatore just urged Annan to put on clothes and follow suit into the basement to see for himself. ¡°There¡¯s no need to encumber yourself with clothing. The basement is somewhat warm. You don¡¯t need to wear shoes, or else you have to take them off when you go down. Come on. Hurry!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but put on only two pieces of clothing and got out of bed.

    This was the first time Annan entered Salvatore¡¯s basement.

    ¡°Speaking of which, senior.¡± Annan felt a little cold, tightened his clothes, and asked casually, ¡°As for your basement, is it there since the previous city lord took residence in this ce?¡±

    Salvatore, who walked quickly ahead, replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a temporary shelter connected to a private dungeon and storage room.

    ¡°After I arrived at the Freezing Water Port, I thought I wouldn¡¯t need it anyway, so I connected the path. Well, Don Juan, if you want to use it, I can help you change it back to how it was before I leave.¡±

    ¡°No need, I probably don¡¯t need this ce either¡­¡± Annan shook his head, rejecting Salvatore¡¯s kindness.

    Why does he want a dungeon?

    If Annan had to lock someone into the dungeon, it would be better for Annan to utilize that person to satisfy the curse condition of the month¡ªgetting his kitchen knife out and killing the person.

    The dungeon wasn¡¯t far from the storage room.

    Pushing away the big picture frame, the two followed the steep stairs into the basement.

    Stepping on the stairs barefoot, Annan was stunned.

    The more he walked down, the more pronounced the warmth came from underground. It feltfortable.

    It feels like floor heating¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s down there?¡± Annan asked, a little surprised, ¡°Why is it so warm?¡±

    ¡°Because I set up a heat regtory barrier. That¡¯s why I ask you to put on fewer clothes.¡±

    Salvatore replied, ¡°Freezing Water Port is too cold, and the vegetables outside the house are frozen. At this temperature, many of my reagents will be denatured.

    ¡°The temperature at the door is rtively high, and the inside of the dungeon is colder than outside. It is used to store different types of reagents.¡±

    After reaching the bottom, the two walked in the narrow and dark corridor.

    Annan felt that the temperature here was about 24 degrees. It would get hotter the farther he went, and even the floor under his feet was a little hot.

    He sensed the air movement through his skin and realized that the basement had good venttion, not as airtight as a typical basement.

    ¡°This breeze¡­¡±

    ¡°I made four vents and let them circte the air within. It also helps with discharging harmful and toxic gases.¡±

    Salvatore quickly replied, ¡°Without airflow, it will be dangerous to stay in the basement for a long time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have so many high-quality gems that can cover the entire basement with a heat regtory barrier. So except for the ces where the temperature is the most stable, the remaining barrier spots are ced where air flows in or discharges. With that, aplete airflow cycle is formed.¡±

    With that said, Salvatore took out the key and opened the basement door.

    Annan noticed that it was a strangely shaped, long-handled key.

    The key was perpendicr in shape. Its handle was long, and the tip was thick and geometrically shaped.

    Salvatore inserted the key to about ? of the key in terms of depth and then rotated it ? to the right. Later, he altered the depth of the key inserted as ?, rotating it 360¡ã to the left. Finally, he inserted the key all the way in and rotated to the right for 180¡ã.

    The process felt like opening the door of a safe.

    Annan subconsciously remembered the password to enter.

    Annan was about to move forward, but Salvatore reached out and stopped him.

    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Salvatore instructed.

    With the dull mechanical sound of a click, the door opened inwardly on its own.

    Annan looked up and saw that two copper balls were triggered by the mechanism and slid on the brass track as the door opened.

    As the two copper balls reached the end and overwhelmed the seesaw, two smaller copper balls were shot out. After colliding in the air and changing their trajectory, the two smaller copper balls entered a new course. Until the end, four huge copper balls rolled slowly and pressed onto the four stone bs on top of the four walls simultaneously.

    ¡°¡ªYou may enter.¡± Salvatore exined, ¡°I have set up a trap here.

    ¡°Because there are some things inside that shouldn¡¯t be known by others. I¡¯m worried that someone will open the door via brute force or steal my key. So if you don¡¯t correctly open the door, you will be killed by the mechanism after entering the door.

    ¡°Teacher Benjamin himself designed the core of this mechanism. The trap is capable of killing unwary Silver Rank ¡®diator¡¯ or ¡®Royal Knight.¡¯¡±

    Annan followed Salvatore into the basement. It had arge area, seemingly like a square. The walls on all sides were zing with fire, illuminating the ce.

    All four walls were opened up. Onlyrge tforms and tables were ced after each division. Silver lines were used to demarcate the ce.

    Not far in front of the duo was a barrier made with a red gem as the center. It was emitting a billowing heat wave, surrounded by water tanks made of brass. Those water tanks were like a city wall, with red liquid swirling and flowing inside.

    On the other side, there were many bottles and cans, as well as various measuring cups and iprehensible instruments.

    Annan felt dizzy at a nce.

    Noticing Annan¡¯s gaze, Salvatore quickly exined, ¡°I havebeled the areas in an organized manner. I only need to draw the barrier with silver and lead powder to prevent different curses from interfering with each other. There is no need to build a lead wall. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient even for me to go around this ce.¡±

    ¡°Where are your things?¡± Annan asked obediently, ¡°Can I touch the things here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can stroll around.¡±

    Salvatore raised the corner of his mouth proudly, ¡°Just see what you like and take it away.¡±

    He quickly added, ¡°But be careful not to burn yourself. Don¡¯t touch the gem within the heat regtory barrier. It¡¯s scorching hot.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    He went to the table of bottles and cans first because there seemed to be several finished reagents on it.

    It had a ss outer shell, a silver mesh pattern on the outside, and a bronze base. There was a golden turbid liquid flowing inside.

    ¡ªIt looked a bit like Minute Maid¡¯s Juice [2].

    When Annan picked it up, he was taken aback.

    Because at this moment, a line of information emerged in front of Annan:

    [Elixir (Type III)]

    [Type: Consumables (Blue)]

    [Description: The elixir with an upgraded form can be formted without using golden mistletoe, but the effect will be poorer.]

    [Effect: Restore 100% Health (for those Bronze Rank and below); restore 20% Health (for those above Bronze Rank)]

    Is this the crimson red health potion bottle typically found in-game?

    Annan opened his eyes widely.

    Aftering to this world for so long, he finally saw what a health potion looked like!

 Chapter 187: Sageâ€™s Stone

    <h4>Chapter 187: Sage¡¯s Stone</h4>

    ¡°Did you craft this?¡± Annan turned around and asked.

    It seems I can give these to the yers as mission rewards.

    Isn¡¯t it too op to replenish to full health?

    ¡°This is Elixir. It¡¯s useful but troublesome to make.¡±

    Salvatore took a look and exined casually, ¡°It can be used to treat trauma and internal injuries. It is mainly used to treat injuries of unknown origin. Look over there. There are also medicines to relieve burns, torn wounds, fractures, snake venoms, negative energy, etc. Those are generally prescribed after determining the cause.¡±

    Annan soon understood the value.

    It seemed that elixir should be used to treat injuries like ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, but I lost my health points.¡±

    ¡°Elixir has a short shelf life. I made these a few days ago.¡±

    Salvatore added, ¡°It must be stored statically and cannot be shaken. Once it shakes, or in other words, taken out, it will lose its healing effects after three days. It must be stored in the ¡®early spring¡¯ temperature with appropriate light exposure to maintain its reactivity. At most, the elixir can be stored for a month.

    ¡°Actually, at the very start, I thought to myself. I should prepare more elixirs since I have the materials. As I spent one day only on elixir, I could only produce three brews. Then, I quickly realized the situation.

    ¡°If we encounter a situation that needs a lot of elixirs to resolve, then my effort is of no use.¡±

    Salvatore sighed. He walked over, gently raised a tube of Elixir, slowly ttened it, and aimed it at the burning torch on the four walls.

    ¡°Look, Don Juan. Elixir is still within its validity period. If you point the item to the light, you may see hair-like transparent lines. If the item loses its effect, these transparent lines will be turbid. The more turbid the elixirs, the shorter the validity period.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan nodded, indicating that he had understood it.

    He immediately asked, ¡°But, you have been busy for several days. What have you been working on?¡±

    ¡°This.¡± Salvatore pointed with his chin to the barrier radiating the heat.

    A ruby ??the size of a pigeon egg was tied with a brass chain and floated in the air. The four chains were all stretched tensely. The ce in contact with the tabletop was four crimson jade tes. There were also electric circuits carved on the table.

    Right in the middle were eight brass walls that looked like a mahjong arena. The inner four walls were connected, and the outer four walls were all disconnected. The red liquid didn¡¯t overflow but kept rotating counterclockwise around the center.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Annan asked.

    Salvatore replied, ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone.¡±

    What? Annan was taken aback.

    Upon seeing this, Salvatore quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s a semi-finished product. I can only achieve this level, but luckily the item can already be used normally.¡±

    Annan blinked his eyes. He looked at the red liquid carefully.

    ¡°What is it for?¡± Annan asked.

    Although the name ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone¡± seemed bombastic, Annan wanted to confirm whether this was the same item he had in his mind.

    ¡°Four rotating wheels, the creation, supreme crown, prototype of truth, and perfected element essence. I think the teacher should have told you the five majorponents of the ascendancy ritual. There are things which every Transcended has pursued.¡±

    Salvatore said slowly, ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone, it is the supreme treasure in nature. It can serve as the perfect essence of all elements. Therefore, it can also be said that it is the true deity¡¯s blood, the key to the shortcut of bing a deity.

    ¡°For this reason, Sage¡¯s Stone can turn imperfect things into their perfect form. For example, turning sand into gems, making copper into gold, and ascending people into deities. If you¡¯re not a Transcended, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see it or touch it at all. Even the deities can¡¯t destroy it.

    ¡°In other words, the power of any element can¡¯t destroy it. It will not be burned, frozen, cut, or broken. This is one of the very few substances in the world that canpletely resist the deity¡¯s power.

    ¡°Before the ¡®Wizard War,¡¯ that is before the ¡®Great Unification War,¡¯ the Alteration Wizard is regarded as an alchemist. Our main goal is to create Sage¡¯s Stone artificially. So far, the Alteration Wizards who could forge the Sage¡¯s Stone have be a deity. But strangely, none of them left a clear way of making the Sage¡¯s Stone.¡±

    Looking at the endless stream of red liquid, Salvatore lookedplicated, ¡°I didn¡¯t anticipate myself seeding.¡±

    ¡°Then, what gives you the courage to do it?¡±

    ¡°It was when I was sleeping¡ªI mean, when I was dreaming.¡±

    Salvatore replied subconsciously, but before he could say it, he reacted and changed his words, ¡°I dreamt of a part of the refining method. Although it is iplete, I think it¡¯s worth a try.¡±

    Annan nced at Salvatore in suspicion. He could sense keenly that this wasn¡¯t the truth.

    But Annan was tactful.

    Since Salvatore tried hard to hide the fact, he naturally wouldn¡¯t expose him.

    Annan just changed the subject, ¡°So, how should it be used? What are the specific effects?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple.¡±

    Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief and quickly answered, ¡°What I made is only a semi-finished product of the Sage¡¯s Stone, which can only be effective when it is dissolved in the blood.

    ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone is a living thing, and it will automatically move towards the sun. So I made a powerful heat regtory barrier with this ¡®vermillion blood¡¯ gemstone. The concept of this alteration is the ¡®sun.¡¯ I use gilded brass to rece the concept of ¡°thend that epts sunlight¡± to adhere it in ce. Otherwise, I can¡¯t control it.

    ¡°As for the effect¡­¡± The corners of Salvatore¡¯s mouth rose naturally, revealing a confident and happy look.

    He pretended to be nonchnt, tried his best to suppress happy and contented emotions, and calmly replied, ¡°For us, it can be used as a powerful soul fuel.

    ¡°After reaching the Gold Rank, the soul will burn, developing its elements. While your life span is considerably shortened, it immediately offers all kinds of mysterious methods to approach deity hood.

    ¡°But in our Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, there is a theory. For transcended souls in Gold Rank, their elemental power onlyes from the ¡®burnable ascended soul¡¯ part, rather than having to burn the entire soul into ash to get it. That is to say¡­

    ¡°After using the Sage¡¯s Stone, we can temporarily raise our soul rank to Gold Rank. Therefore, it is possible to awaken aplete elemental power. Though, I¡¯m not 100% sure about this.¡±

    Salvatore looked at the liquefied Sage¡¯s Stone that was constantly flowing on the table and said slowly, ¡°In short, with the strength of our soul, we can only do this three times. Each time is about three minutes.

    ¡°It should be enough.¡±

 Chapter 188: A Hardworking Person But Without Talent

    <h4>Chapter 188: A Hardworking Person But Without Talent</h4>

    This item is disying vigorous reaction.

    ¡°Since it will dissolve in blood, can I touch it?¡±

    Annan asked, ¡°Will I pollute it?¡±

    ¡°How could that be? Just touch it.¡±

    Salvatore couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°If it contaminates so easily, it wouldn¡¯t be called Sage¡¯s Stone. Even if you spill the dust into it, it won¡¯t be contaminated.

    ¡°But be careful. Although it looks like a liquid, it weighs like mercury and is much heavier than it looks. If you¡¯re not careful, you may suffer a bone fracture.¡±

    Watching Annan about to step forward, Salvatore alerted.

    Annan nodded, ¡°Got it.¡±

    As he approached the ritual area, he felt a heatwave sting his face.

    After inching a little closer, the temperature had increased a lot. Annan soon broke into sweats. The sweltering air made his breathing difficult. Worse still, he vaguely felt his eyeballs getting hot.

    It was just like he was in the boiler room. No, it should be hotter than the boiler room.

    Annan suddenly realized why Salvatore reminded him to wear less just now.

    When Annan touched the endless flowing liquid Sage¡¯s Stone, he felt a sharp pain on his finger.

    A glimmering panel immediately appeared before his eyes:

    [Hermetic Sage¡¯s Stone (34% purity)]

    [Type: Consumables/ritual material/sacrifice/wondrous item (Gold)]

    [Description: Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermetic School, unrefined.]

    [Description: You have never heard that it can be used as a ritual material (¡°Advanced Mysterious Ritual¡± check failed).]

    [Description: You have never heard that it can be used as a sacrifice (¡°Advanced Mysticism¡± check failed)]

    ¡¾Effect: After a certain amount of injection, a temporary level is obtained within 180 seconds. Currently, your level can be increased to LV 41.]

    [Price: Severe pain throughout the body within three days.]

    ¡­Level 41? Annan was startled.

    ording to the current rules, the Bronze Rank was LV11 to LV20. For the Silver Rank, it would be LV21 to LV30. For the Gold Rank, it should be LV31 to LV40.

    ording to Salvatore, it was considered lucky that the stone of truth brought about the increment to LV40 after use.

    But, LV41¡­

    This should be the truth level, right?

    Is it because of the Book of Divine Transporter?

    That seems to be a possible exnation.

    But¡­ What¡¯s Hermes?

    Is there a Hermes in this world? Or is there a deity by this name?

    No, it is unlikely.

    Annan quickly rejected this idea.

    If Hermes was a deity¡¯s name, this item should bebeled with a mysterious knowledge tag. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to acquire it.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite heavy, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Salvatore said contentedly behind Annan, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I could sessfully craft this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite a genius.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    Hearing this, Salvatore was silent for a moment, then coughed slightly, ¡°En, thank you. Your words are too kind.¡±

    Salvatore sped his arms tightly and bent his body within. It seemed he had be low-spirited and was silent.

    Looking at Salvatore¡¯s behavior, Annan was in deep thoughts.

    He probably guessed why Salvatore acted so.

    There was always an inexplicable, heavy pressure on Salvatore and a sense of inferiority.

    But this wasn¡¯t unreasonable.

    As ck Tower¡¯s Son, this proved that his talents were better than the tower master.

    It was rare to have such a great young talent not to be arrogant. Inparison to Arthur, Salvatore had the character and psychological quality of a valid Gold Rank.

    (TN: A quick reminder that Arthur is a mage appears in Hunter¡¯s Carney¡¯s Nightmare back at Chapter 170)

    Compared with the confident Arthur, Salvatore was more than low self-esteem, almost like a shut-in.

    It appeared that his extraordinary talents didn¡¯t seem to be consistent at all times. Salvatore was deeply troubled by this.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but shake his head.

    Why let it bother you?

    As an erratic genius like me, is it enough to use the external power to make up for the shorings? You, as my teammate, shall safeguard the lower limit, and I will push the upper limit for you.

    Yes, those in the protagonist¡¯s team typically be strong rapidly and suddenly like the light novels.

    ¡°By the way, senior.¡± Annan asked nonchntly, ¡°Do you have any good items here? The more fun kind.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Hearing Annan¡¯s question, Salvatore thought for a while and then replied, ¡°You should put on some clothes afterward. Here are my winter clothes in the closet over there, although the clothes may appear a little too big. Put on your shoes and walk to the innermost dungeon. There lies a magic mirror.¡±

    ¡°Magic mirror?¡± Annanmented.

    For real?

    Annan put on a baffled expression.

    He was aware that the ck Tower¡¯s Son might have a more solid family backing than he thought.

    The ruby ??the size of a pigeon egg wasn¡¯t something ordinary people could have, let alone the form of Sage¡¯s Stone.

    But, what kind of magic mirror?

    Annan walked in the direction of the closet that Salvatore pointed at and asked casually, ¡°What type of mirror?¡±

    Is it a mirror in which you ask questions? Or the one that can watch videos?

    Or is it just a brown-nosing mirror?

    ¡°It¡¯s a curse vessel.¡± Salvatore put the elixir back in his hand and exined with his back facing Annan, ¡°There is apound spell of the Prophet school and Idol in it, which allows you to see the essence of your soul. Of course, it is a more abstract version.

    ¡°For example, if I put the golden mistletoe in front of the mirror, it will reflect the golden oak tree, dripping blood, beating heart, baby crying, bull horn trumpet. This means it has resurrection capability and mighty healing power. We generally use it to check on unknown items, but in general, you still need to analyze on your own for what the mirror indicates.

    ¡°But in the absence of clues, it is still useful. At least it can reveal a vague research direction. For the time being, it is better than nothing.¡±

    Salvatore turned around and smiled casually, ¡°It¡¯s like the ¡®analysis¡¯ that Soul Snatch Wizard does to you. You don¡¯t need to take it too seriously. It¡¯s also something to pass the time.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go take a look!¡± Annan put on funny cotton-padded shoes and walked towards the dungeon enthusiastically.

    He didn¡¯t really want to see the magic mirror.

    As he had finished assessing the Sage¡¯s Stone, it would seem that he had an ulterior motive if he left immediately. But it would be awkward if he just stayed in that ce.

    In the end, Annan just wanted to give Salvatore a personal space to adjust his mood.

    ¡°Salvatore, Annan have found out about your secret.¡±

    A deep, crazy, reverberating voice sounded in Salvatore¡¯s heart, ¡°Do you know what to do now?¡±

    Salvatore went silent.

    He approached the Sage¡¯s Stone, reaching out and gently touching the rushing red liquid.

    The flowing liquid was only two fingers thick. At the time Salvatore¡¯s finger touched it, it flicked away, just like what would happen if a finger reached out to a high-speed spinning wheel.

    ¡°If I were you, I would kill him.¡± The shadow smiled and said, ¡°He knows too many secrets about us.¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Salvatore said calmly, ¡°At least, for now, I¡¯m in charge of this body.¡±

    As Salvatore spoke, he put his right index finger into Sage¡¯s Stone.

    The moment he connected his finger to the ritual, Sage¡¯s Stone instantly lit up with red light. The speed of rotation gradually slowed down and stopped. Then, the sunken lines on the table lit up. The red gem hung high-up like the sun shone with scorching brilliance.

    A red gleam appeared in Salvatore¡¯s pupils, seemingly like the red gem¡¯s reflection.

    Salvatore went silent for a long time before slowly pulling out his finger. The ritual went out instantly. The Sage¡¯s Stone began to spin again.

    There was white smoke from his index finger, and his rotting injuries healed almost instantaneously.

    ¡°Has the purification failed? As I said, you have no talent. Salvatore, what can you do on your own?¡±

    The shadow mocked, ¡°You are just trash. You will fall asleep sooner orter; you can¡¯t hold it anymore.¡±

    ¡°I may not be able to do anything.¡± Salvatore calmed down instead, ¡°But if you were me, you would have been unable to hold on for a long time and fell asleep.¡±

    ¡°Efforts without talent are meaningless.¡± The shadow repeated, ¡°How many times have you failed?¡±

    But Salvatore didn¡¯t say much.

    He just looked in the direction Annan was leaving, gently and calmly.

 Chapter 189: Magic Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 189: Magic Mirror</h4>

    The deeper Annan moved into the dungeon, the more intense the biting cold.

    Especially since he had just broken into a sweat just now and hadn¡¯tpletely wiped those sweat off, he could feel the coldness overflowing in the air.

    ¡°The environment in the senior¡¯s basement seems quite harsh.¡± Annan smashed his lips.

    At the entrance, the temperature near Sage¡¯s Stone had exceeded 50¡ãC. The temperature in the dungeon was at least below zero temperature, almost like cold storage. Annan could even clearly see the white mist puffing out when he breathed.

    He searched around in the dungeon.

    Annan first discovered the ck Fire Salvatore stored.

    These items were all stored here, next to the wall. The white freezing air was like a veil, covering these ck Firespletely.

    ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Looking at these ck Fires, Annan suddenly remembered something.

    Soon after he came to Freezing Water Port, ck Fire burned the ship Don Juan was on into crisp.

    Annan was still secretly happy at the time.

    When the viscount sent someone to burn the ship, it was tantamount to destroying all the previous evidence. What was left on the ship, how many people had been there, and the traces of battle on it had all disappeared.

    They couldn¡¯t find any evidence that Annan wasn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint.

    At first, both Annan and Salvatore thought this was Viscount Barber¡¯s work. In their interpretation, the viscount lured Salvatore to analyze and study the ck Fire in the basement and then took the opportunity to murder Salvatore in the basement.

    It was precisely because of these ck Fires that Annan prioritized dealing with Viscount Barber and considered the viscount to be fully hostile. Subsequently, they discovered the Rotten Man Church¡¯s conspiracy.

    But now, looking back, it didn¡¯t seem to be necessary for Old Viscount to get his hands dirty at all.

    Because he didn¡¯t need to burn Annan and Salvatore to death.

    He just had to make those ck Fires explode in the Freezing Water Port.

    Many dead and injured civilians would immediately arouse the attention of the church and the kingdom. These ck Fires had Salvatore¡¯s personal signature. In the absence of other suspicious elements, Salvatore would inevitably be imprisoned and await investigation. At the same time, Annan, as the feudal lord of the North Sea Territory and the actual owner of Freezing Water Port, would be interrogated.

    Moreover, the garrison of the North Sea Territory had always been Roseburg.

    In other words, the only area eligible to temporarily detain the two Transcended was in Roseburg.

    By that time, Viscount Barber would demand ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± and Salvatore to go to Roseburg, waiting for the investigation team from the capital and the people from ck Tower to arrive.

    The two would be unarmed in the ??Roseburg¡¯s detainment. Thus, Annan and Salvatore¡¯s life and death were utterly in Viscount Barber¡¯s hands.

    Even if Viscount Barber didn¡¯t have a chance to execute his n, this incident could still be a stain on Don Juan Geraint¡¯s political career. It would then be an excuse for the Gerant family to do many things. After all, the Gerant family didn¡¯t intend to kill Don Juan but to rule the North Sea Territory until the ritual waspleted.

    Having Don Juan back to the capital would bring the same result.

    But if it weren¡¯t for Viscount Barber, who burned the ship?

    ¡°Is it Benjamin?¡± Annan murmured.

    Salvatore made only one batch of this inert ck Fire, and it was made before he and Benjamin left Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Also, it waster found out that the ck Fires were sold to Viscount Barber through Gerald. But, in the bigger picture, Gerald could only acquire it by purchasing from Benjamin.

    Gerald of the Soul Snatch school realized the value of this batch of ¡°inert¡± ck Fires. But, would Benjamin, as the master of Alteration School,pletely ignore its value?

    That was unlikely.

    Benjamin should leave at least a batch of samples with him.

    In other words, this inert ck Fire wasn¡¯t only in the hands of Gerald and Viscount Barber.

    Benjamin also has a batch hidden in his possessions!

    Hence, he had the tools to burn the ship. On the one hand, it helped him destroy the evidence that ¡°Don Juan Geraint was dead.¡± On the other hand, he used this as an alert to Annan and Salvatore.

    It was a warning to them that Viscount Barber would use ck Fire as an excuse to attack them!

    ¡°At least at that time, Benjamin hadn¡¯t left yet.¡± Annan frowned slightly, ¡°Strange¡­¡±

    Benjamin, what are you trying to hint?

    Why does he want to do all these?

    Did he recognize me as a stand-in for Don Juan?

    ¡°He met Maria, so he should know that I¡¯m Annan Austere-Winter.¡±

    Doesn¡¯t he have a suspicion as to why I am here? Annan paused his movements and went into deep thought.

    There was only one possibility to exin the event perfectly.

    ¡ªBenjamin knew from the beginning why Annan would appear here!

    Perhaps even the reason why he would arrive in the Freezing Water Port was directly rted to Benjamin!

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan had a clearer sense of the ordeal.

    The Rotten Man Church feared the Venerated Skeleton. So the guard captain didn¡¯t arrive at Freezing Water Port and left by boat halfway through.

    If the person who burned the ship was Benjamin, then he had at least arrived at Freezing Water Port. Since Annan didn¡¯t see his possessions and wizard robes at the time, it meant that he had already left at that time.

    Judging from the hunger level after Annan Austere-Winter woke up, he had just arrived on the beach not long ago.

    In other words, Benjamin must have met Annan!

    But he knew that Annan was a noble and wouldn¡¯t get into trouble, so he didn¡¯t take Annan away with him.

    This meant that Benjamin had nned to have Annan act as Don Juan!

    That was why he left Don Juan¡¯s token of identification.

    Those letters, rings, pocket watches, Don Juan¡¯s dagger, and¡­

    ¡­Truth Fragment¡¤Book of Divine Transporter?

    Although Annan still felt that this spection wasn¡¯t wless, he found himself closer to the truth.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Annan muttered, frowning.

    He suddenly lost his interest in scrutinizing the dungeons.

    Of course, part of the reason was that he found that many things here couldn¡¯t be stored at room temperature.

    Never mind.

    Anyway, if I want anything, I can ask the senior directly. There¡¯s no need to take it away. It doesn¡¯t matter where I put it.

    I just need to make sure I don¡¯t waste them.

    As Annan strolled around, he quickly found the location of the so-called ¡°magic mirror.¡±

    It was a standing mirror, about three meters high, covered with a heavy red cloth.

    Annan took off a slight bit of the red cloth and draped it behind the mirror. It wasn¡¯t too overwhelming, but 1.6 meters high.

    (TN: A quick reminder that MC is a kid.)

    It wouldn¡¯t be inconvenient for Annan to put the entire red cloth backter.

    Annan still had the decency and alertness to return other¡¯s possession to its original state after borrowing it.

    Annan came to the front of the mirror enthusiastically.

    Hehehe, bless my Gacha rate [1], what is the essence of my soul?

    The ck lines on the mirror surface looked like ice cracks. Apart from these lines, Annan could see another him in the mirror.

    ck hair at shoulder-length, tightly pressed faint lips, glimmering icy blue pupils, and fair skin.

    It doesn¡¯t seem that much of a difference?

    Before Annan sunk deeper in his thoughts, the ck lines on the mirror gradually faded.

    ¡°What?¡± Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    Under Annan¡¯s gaze, the pattern on the mirror suddenly changed!

    He saw on both sides of his head, two other heads slowly appeared. There was a ck bull¡¯s head on the left. The ck horn protruding from the forehead seemed to be made from marble. For the majestic lion on the right, its brilliance ferocious as the sun entwined its fur.

    In the mirror, Annan¡¯s heavy winter clothes gradually faded away.

    Two wings of light wrapped in tender white light spread from his waist. The wings gathered, covering his body below his chest. They appeared like a long skirt at first nce. Behind Annan¡¯s shoulders, there were also two bright golden wings of light slowly spreading out.

    At the moment Annan met his gaze with the middle face, there was a buzz in Annan¡¯s head. He immediately turned unconscious.

 Chapter 190: Kafni Noah

    <h4>Chapter 190: Kafni Noah</h4>

    On December 13th, the sky in Roseburg was overcast.

    A convoy slowly arrived at the main entrance.

    Although the convoy wasn¡¯t grand and the carriage¡¯s decoration wasn¡¯t luxurious, none of the guards at the city gate dared to hinder its path.

    Just because of the golden lion head embossed on the pure ck carriage.

    That was the symbol of Noah¡¯s royal family!

    In the front carriage, there sat a middle-aged man with a serious andposed face.

    He had ck curly hair and dark red eyes. Also, he wore a pair of narrow-rim ck square sses.

    The man opened the curtains and nced outside.

    ¡°It¡¯s about to snow, Kafni.¡± He asked softly with concern, ¡°Are you cold?¡±

    The girl Kafni, who was in the same carriage with him, didn¡¯t respond.

    Kafni ignored her father¡¯s words and just painted intently.

    She looked only fourteen years old. Her ck curly hair had draped to her waist. She wore a beret on her head like a painter.

    She only wore a ckce halter dress. Her barefoot was revealed from the hanging boots. She sat securely on the long and soft bench seat. As she put the drawing board on her knees, she concentrated on smearing her artwork.

    ¡°¡ªKafni?¡± The middle-aged man received no response.

    He reached out and grabbed Kafni¡¯s drawing board and pulled it away.

    The man asked patiently again, ¡°Are you cold? Do you need more clothes?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Kafni just shook her head silently.

    Unlike the man, despite her having red pupils, those eyes were like fine translucent ss.

    Sometimes, the alluring and mystifying eyes would even make people doubt whether she had a normal vision.

    In response to her silence, the man also seemed distressed. It was like themon response parents get when they ask their children or a couple¡¯s banter on ¡°what to eat tonight¡± and receive the answer ¡°whatever.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean when you shake your head? Is it cold, or you don¡¯t want the extra clothes?¡± As the man said, he looked down at Kafni¡¯s painting.

    Then, he was taken aback.

    In Kafni¡¯s painting, it was a lifelike bird with a human face.

    Its posture was weird and twisted; its wings seemed to be broken. Each feather had an eye. It opened its feet and ran on the fire, but its feathers showed no signs of being burnt.

    The moment the man saw this bizarre painting, a well-disguised fear and disgust shed in the man¡¯s eyes.

    He quickly asked softly, ¡°What is this, Kafni?¡±

    ¡°¡­Deity.¡± She whispered, ¡°He wakes me up.¡±

    Her voice was so soft as if it was her muttering during a dream.

    When the man heard this answer, he was shocked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡± He threw away the painting as if in response to being jolted by an electric shock, stood up, and hurriedly reprimanded.

    But, he didn¡¯t dare to teach Kafni a lesson.

    Just staring at the clear and scarlet pupils would enshroud him in fear. A tingling sense of horror rose from behind. The man felt the skin peeling off his body without the slightest pain.

    He tried his best to suppress the boiling fear in his heart, barely showed a gentle smile, adjusted his sses, and said softly, ¡°Kafni, we have arrived.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t far from the Freezing Water Port. Don¡¯t you want to see Amos Morrison¡¯s paintings? Tomorrow I will take you to the ruins of Morrison¡¯s gallery.¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± Kafni shook her head lightly without clearly indicating what she meant.

    As she said, she silently picked up the painting that was thrown aside and went back to her seat.

    She applied ck paint vigorously on the picture, almost cking out the painting entirely.

    Although he knew that he shouldn¡¯t talk to Kafni, who was painting, the man couldn¡¯t help but ask after seeing this strange behavior, ¡°Did you draw something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I made a mistake.¡± Kafni spoke tenderly like a princess and somehow added more description, ¡°He should have four faces and four wings. I can¡¯t see far enough.

    ¡°In front of him is the face of a man, on the right is the face of a lion, on the left is the face of an ox, and behind him is the face of an eagle¡­¡±

    When she said this, she raised her head and took a serious look at the man, ¡°¡®Four¡¯ can represent time in ritual, papa.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand this. I¡¯m not a Transcended, and I don¡¯t understand what it means.¡±

    The man smiled bitterly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin it to me. Just draw as you please.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Kafni also seemed to lose interest in exining.

    She hummed softly and lowered her head again.

    The man just leaned back in the back seat with a pale face. I saw it again.

    Every time the man looked at Kafni, he seemed to see boundless darkness and shadowy tentacles under her skirt.

    He was also a little confused whether this was some kind of illusion.

    Because that might also be the illusion that Kafni¡¯s ckce skirt gave him on the carriage since the skirt was constantly swaying gently.

    Who knows? The man rubbed his temples tiredly.

    It¡¯s time to rest.

    ¡°¡ªWake up, wake up!¡± On the other side, Annan heard Salvatore¡¯s calling him.

    At the moment when his consciousness returned, system texts appeared in front of Annan.

    [You havepleted a ritual. Will attribute +1.]

    [You see a divine item with your own eye. Your erosion rate has returned to zero.]

    [You have acquired the new mark ¡°Advanced Influence: Remnants of the Wheel of Divine Transporter.¡±]

    [If it isn¡¯t removed in time, you will fall into a random nightmare (Difficulty: Chaos) with the keyword ¡°brilliance¡± after seven days.]

    ¡°Don Juan? Are you awake?¡±

    It seemed that Annan¡¯s eyelids were moving. Salvatore¡¯s voice had a hint of pleasant surprise, ¡°Don Juan?¡±

    ¡°¡­En.¡± Annan opened his eyes and found that he was lying on the bed, wrapped in twoyers of quilt.

    For some reason, he felt that his quilt was stuffed with many warm ss bottles.

    Are these warm water bags?

    Weird thoughts shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and drank a few sips of water, andined, ¡°I wanted to leave you some private space, but I didn¡¯t expect you to fall asleep in front of the mirror. Did you take the mirror to see something else? How did you faint?

    ¡°Do you know how cold that ce is? This winter suit itself doesn¡¯t fit you well, and lying on the ground can¡¯t protect you from the cold. The most terrible thing is that you have a peaceful face lying on the ground. When I saw you, it frightened me.¡±

    Annan asked suddenly, ¡°Senior, how long have I fainted?¡±

    ¡°More than an hour. Please don¡¯t interrupt me! I never expected that the elixir I crafted would be used in such a situation.¡±

    Salvatore felt bitter, ¡°What did you see? How could you still pass out? Can this mirror hurt people? Here, drink some hot water. How are you now?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a problem with the mirror. I fainted for other reasons.¡± Annan shook his head, took the cup of hot water, and took a sip.

    What Annan said wasn¡¯t a lie.

    It was true that he fainted not because of a problem with the mirror. It might be a problem with the Book of Divine Transporter.

    ¡°As for how I am feeling right now¡­¡± Annan¡¯s expression was a little weird, ¡°I think I¡¯m in a great state. I think it should be because of the elixir.¡±

    Annan found his mind clear with strong vigor in his body. It feltfortable. After he came into this world, he had never felt so rxed. To describe it, it was like a person who was in the rain for a long time finally put on warm and dry clothes after taking a shower.

    But even Annan didn¡¯t know if it was really because of the elixir.

    Or perhaps it was because of seeing another Annan in the mirror.

 Chapter 191: His Royal Highness Albert

    <h4>Chapter 191: His Royal Highness Albert</h4>

    In the evening, the falling snow started to pile up.

    Perhaps because of the dim daylight, the Roseburg streets became empty.

    Annan¡¯s carriage wasn¡¯t spacious. Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er sat on his left and right because the three of them weren¡¯t big in size. Opposite the trio were Salvatore and Wandering Child.

    As for Delicious Wind Goose, he was the carriage¡¯s coach.

    Indeed, Annan just learned that this man could drive a carriage.

    In the beginning, Annan was still wondering whether or not to split into two carriages¡ªborrowing one carriage from Roseburg in advance.

    But in that case, Annan was worried that he might put the coach of the next carriage in danger when the catastrophe broke out.

    Fortunately, Delicious Wind Goose proposed that he might be able to drive a carriage privately with Annan.

    The two of them secretly tried it once and found that it worked.

    This could not be better.

    Annan immediately revised the previous n.

    After all, letting ordinary people participate in such a dangerous n undoubtedly put their lives in jeopardy.

    If the coach was in danger, Annan had to save him too. If everyone were in trouble together, it would be a distraction that would jeopardize Annan. The coach would get in the way, no matter what.

    For the yers, Annan could just let them be.

    If you die, so be it. I can resurrect youter.

    ording to Annan¡¯s spection, this might be the skill that Delicious Wind Goose had trained diligently in his reality during this period.

    Delicious Wind Goose seems to be a fairly well-known streamer, at least to the extent of being a celebrity. Therefore, he should have friends in the circle of coach riding. Hence, he might have gotten the chance to train on coach riding in a quick course and then utilize the powerful Transcended physique to produce good results.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days, and you have already embarked on the path of transcendence.¡±

    Looking at the few, Salvatore put on aplex expression, seemingly thinking of something, ¡°Do you have any ns for your future?¡±

    ¡°We will continue to serve the feudal lord.¡± The person who answered politely was Lin Yiyi, who was sitting on Annan¡¯s left.

    She quickly replied, ¡°It was the feudal lord who led us on the path of transcendence, and we would want to honor this kindness. If one day we have to leave the city where the feudal lord is located, then it must be the lord¡¯s order.¡±

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s implication was to remind Annan, ¡°remember to bring us along if you want to leave.¡±

    Lest they had to venture a long way to find their husbando¡­no wait, it was their protagonist.

    Jiu Er on the side nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Yup.¡±

    Wandering Child couldn¡¯t sit still after sitting in the carriage for a long time and couldn¡¯t talk. He couldn¡¯t help but lift the curtains and peer out. With that, the snow came in the carriage along with the cold wind.

    Salvatore reached out curiously to catch the snowke.

    He was a little excited about this snow.

    Swamp¡¯s ck Tower must be quite far away from the North Sea Territory.

    ¡°The street feels so quiet today.¡± Wandering Child put the heavy curtain back and sighed.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s face changed suddenly, and she stepped on his foot, ¡°Stop your babbling! Don¡¯t give us bad luck!¡±

    ¡°Speak carefully, Child God,¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butugh as he listened to the movement behind him, ¡°If there is another ck premium car¡­Fuck?! [1]¡±

    Before Delicious Wind Goose finished his words, he suddenly eximed, ¡°There¡¯s really that?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Nothing, feudal lord.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose calmed down, ¡°I saw a row of ck carriages parked in front of the church.¡±

    ¡°ck?¡± Hearing this, Salvatore was startled.

    He asked, ¡°Can you see the embossing?¡±

    ¡°Yes, very clear.¡± Delicious Wind Goose quickly replied, ¡°It¡¯s a golden lion head.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the royal¡¯s carriage,¡± Salvatore replied immediately.

    Annan noticed that several people in the carriage were panicking for a moment.

    But it wasn¡¯t the panic to see the prince, but the panic of ¡°Wait, is this monstering out, already?¡±

    In short, Delicious Wind Goose quickly stopped the carriage.

    He turned around and asked softly, ¡°What shall we do, feudal lord?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get off here.¡± Annan quickly ordered, ¡°It¡¯s only a few steps away from the church. Anyway, there is no snow umting here.

    ¡°In addition, Old Goose, remember to park the carriage on the roadside. Then, lead the horse in through the side door. Remember to tell them it is Don Juan Geraint¡¯s horse.¡±

    Since it was Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s first time as a coach driver, Annan could not help but give his reminder.

    Fortunately, Delicious Wind Goose was quick-witted and trustworthy. If Jiu Er were the coach, Annan wouldn¡¯t be so at ease.

    Several people got off the carriage with Annan.

    Annan saw the chubby bishop bread greeting a pair of father and daughter at the door as he approached the church.

    The middle-aged man was tall, more than 185 centimeters, with broad shoulders. However, his figure seemed to be thin. He wore a pair of thin-rimmed sses, exuding a literary vibe and a sense of calmness of the boss.

    But the most noticeable feature was his always frowning brow and dark red pupils.

    As if there was always something that could make him vignt and worried.

    Which prince is this?

    Annan still remembered that King Henry VIII of Noah Kingdom had only three heirs left.

    Princess Royal, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince.

    Considering that the Third Prince was rted to us, is this the Fourth Prince?

    Noting that Annan came in with a group of people, the two quickly stopped talking and looked at Annan as a form of courtesy.

    At the moment when the middle-aged man saw Annan¡¯s face, he was taken aback for a moment, and then he was shocked, ¡°You are¡ª¡±

    His first reaction was to look back at Bishop Daryl.

    Bishop nodded silently to the middle-aged man. He immediately looked at Annan, bowed slightly, pointed his hand at the middle-aged man, and introduced, ¡°It¡¯s His Royal Highness Albert ¨C the Fourth Prince.

    ¡°About your situation, I haven¡¯t told His Royal Highness yet.¡±

    What he meant was to let Annan make up the excuse for himself. He would follow Annan¡¯s statement and support Annan¡¯s words.

    Lest, his statement was different from Annan¡¯s, creating a conflict.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness.¡± Annan greeted the middle-aged man.

    The man also hurriedly responded to the salutation. He walked forward and asked in a low voice, ¡°You are, Your Royal Highness Annan?

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Lin Yiyi, closest to Annan, was stunned when she heard this somewhat strange but familiar name.

    She wondered if she had misheard it.

    Isn¡¯t their feudal lord called ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡±?

    If this man is the fourth prince, why does he treat the feudal lord so respectfully and address him¡­ Your Royal Highness?

    But if I didn¡¯t mishear it.

    Lin Yiyi finally knew why the super administrator of the yers¡¯ forum named himself ¡°Annan.¡±

    The protagonist of this ¡°game¡± wasn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint at all, but His Royal Highness Annan!

    But which side is ¡°Your Royal Highness¡± from?

    Why does he want to hide his name?

    Undoubtedly, the answer to the first question would leave Lin Yiyi with more questions.

    Annan turned around and motioned for the yers to leave temporarily.

    The yers also nodded and exited the room obediently. They stood along with the guards wearing heavy silver and ck armor.

    Then, Lin Yiyi quickly posted on the forum:

    ¡°Shocking News! The true identity of the feudal lord turns out to be!¡±

    She wanted to share her findings quickly!

    Back in the church¡­

    The little girl following Prince Albert stepped forward before Annan exined his excuses prepared beforehand to the fourth prince. Without warning, she grabbed Annan¡¯s sleeve and looked at Annan with wide eyes.

    Her eyes were full of reverence.

    [1] It¡¯s an inte Chinese meme. There¡¯s an unfortunate ident that happens after a series of conversations. The yers are speaking those lines.

 Chapter 192: Everything Has A Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 192: Everything Has A Weakness</h4>

    Who are you?

    Why do you hold my sleeve?

    Annan frowned slightly and shifted his gaze over.

    She appeared to be 15 years old. Perhaps it was because the girl¡¯s puberty period was rtively early, she was a little bit taller than Annan.

    Annan looked at this girl, who was almost the same height.

    The first thing that caught his eye was the beret strapped diagonally on her head. Then, there was the ck gothic dress.

    But when he noticed the girl¡¯s pupils, Annan was startled for a moment.

    She had translucent eyes, coupled with the fair skin that had seemingly not seen the sun all year round.

    Why does she feel so simr to me?

    ¡°Can you please let go?¡± said Annan politely.

    Hearing what he said, Kafni loosened his sleeves obediently.

    But she didn¡¯t back off or get angry. Instead, she just continued to stare at Annan intently. The bright red crystal-like pupils made Annan feel a little ufortable.

    This was unlike the amazement when one saw attractive opposite sex, nor was it the girl¡¯s admiration at the idol, nor even the worship when the priest looked at the divine statue.

    It was closer to the look in the eyes of a painter when she admired a famous painting.

    But, Annan didn¡¯t have the slightest fear in his heart.

    He looked at this girl who gave him a sense of danger with interest and asked softly, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Kafni. Kafni Noah.¡± It was not Kafni who replied but her father, Albert.

    Salvatore was a little confused on the side.

    Your Highness?

    Why?

    ¡°Wait.¡± Salvatore asked Annan in a low volume, ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand.¡±

    He didn¡¯t call the name ¡°Don Juan¡± directly.

    Because he was worried that if Annan wasn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint, then speaking that name here might make Prince Albert suspect that Annan was a spy infiltrating the kingdom.

    After looking at Annan and seeing Annan nodding lightly, the fat and bald man with brilliant golden teeth spoke for Annan.

    He respectfully introduced to the other three people present, ¡°This is the youngest son of Austere Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡ªAnnan Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°Are you a Grand Duke¡¯s son?¡±

    After a short silence, Salvatore asked suspiciously, ¡°Then why did you visit the Freezing Water Port?¡±

    I also want to know about this. Annan muttered in his heart.

    Annan was also surprised by Salvatore¡¯s calmness, ¡°Senior, why do you seem not surprised?¡±

    Won¡¯t he be angry that I deceived him?

    Salvatore only nced at Annan bafflingly, ¡°The person I¡¯m getting to know is you, not Don Juan Geraint.

    ¡°Furthermore, Don Juan¡¯s reputation is terrible. I have already heard from the teacher that Don Juan, the youngest son of Count Crow, is a cowardly person, unlike the Old Crow¡¯s decisive character.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t like a nobleman or even a schr¡­ but like a child. His only strengths are obedient, well-behaved, and knowledgeable. But apart from that, he is a coward. As long as there is a little probability of failure, he dares not act alone. He doesn¡¯t even dare to quarrel with others and question the decisions of others.¡±

    Having said this, Salvatore nced at Annan with aplicatedplexion, ¡°This matter is universally known in the kingdom¡¯s aristocratic circle. So when you first came to the Freezing Water Port, I put up an ugly face.¡±

    For a nobleman, ¡°obedience¡± wasn¡¯t a strength.

    On the contrary, ck of temper¡± could even be called a shoring. Coupled with the epic prefix of ¡°not independently-minded,¡± unless Benjamin can prepare him a ¡°Chu Shi Biao [1].¡± Otherwise, he will only cause more trouble if hees to the Freezing Water Port.

    ¡°So, did you know from the beginning that I¡¯m not Don Juan Geraint?¡± Annan was a little surprised. He didn¡¯t even notice that Salvatore had doubts about his dered identity.

    Salvatore just shook his head, ¡°Who you are does not make much difference to me?¡±

    He repeated it, ¡°The person I get to know is you, but not Don Juan Geraint. You have protected the people of Freezing Water Port and the reputation of the Gerant family. You also helped me defeat my old enemy and helped me finish my mission. Even if there is the real Don Juan, he can¡¯t do more than you.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m still a little displeased with the fact that you lied to me. But considering that you aren¡¯t a viin, and you don¡¯t want to use my trust to obtain something, then there must be a valid reason behind it.¡±

    Salvatore had a calm tone.

    There was no anger, no surprises. It was a casual talk as if exining the facts.

    Salvatore even looked a little happy, as if he was relieved.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to have you not from the crow family.¡±

    Salvatore said emotionally, ¡°I was still hesitating to use the power of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower to help the crow family. If I help you, I will feel guilty for the teachers I dragged down into the mess. But, if I see you in trouble and I don¡¯t help you, I feel uneasy.

    ¡°Since you belong to the White Wolf family, then this is the best situation.¡±

    The Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke wouldn¡¯t need the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower aid.

    No matter what happened, the ck Tower couldn¡¯t send aid either. Having many Transcended entering the Austere-Winter Dukedom through the underground tunnel would be regarded as the deration of war.

    If Annan borrowed the power of other countries, even if it were only used to suppress the rebellion, it would only usher in a tremendous wave of public displease and mockery.

    Moreover¡­

    Salvatore looked at Annan weirdly.

    He initially regarded Annan as a protagonist-type friend who ¡°brings trouble at all times.¡±

    But he didn¡¯t expect Annan to be a big shot.

    The youngest son of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. Doesn¡¯t that mean that he is most likely the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke?

    The Grand Duke position was much nobler than the ck tower master.

    Annan was also a little confused.

    This Salvatore¡­

    Isn¡¯t he a bit too kind?

    Even if it was Annan himself, and if a good friend deceived him, he wouldin for a few days, guilt-trip the friend to treat him for a few meals, and get some unique gifts.

    He never expected this matter to be over so easily.

    Annan¡¯s original n was to use the ¡°royal heir excuse¡± to tell Salvatore his true identity and eliminate this time bomb. Then, he would utilize themon enemy ¡°the Rotten Man Church¡± to tie Salvatore and him together on the ship, lest Salvatore would leave directly. Finally, he would defeat the enemy with Salvatore and use the identity of ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡± to establish a new friendship with him.

    After all, Annan hadn¡¯t brought harm to him and even helped him defeat Gerald and acquire the hammer.

    But a lie was still a lie in the end.

    Annan knew in his heart that lying was wrong. That was why he tried to make up for the rtionship between the two because Annan realized that Salvatore¡¯s character was great.

    He nned it all well.

    But he just didn¡¯t expect Salvatore to y his cards differently.

    ¡°Are all the wizards so open-minded?¡± Albert on the side roughly sorted out the information in Salvatore¡¯s words, looking at the young wizard with messy hair a little weird.

    Salvatore¡¯s words did sound reasonable.

    Still, it was unusual to have someone be so rationally ¡°reasonable¡± on matters that were so personal.

    Albert paused before asking Annan again, ¡°But, Your Royal Highness, why are you here? If I get news of your entry, my father should send my eldest sister or me to wee you.¡±

    Albert¡¯s words were polite.

    But Annan sensed a touch of vignce and probing between the lines.

    Annan was not surprised but rejoiced. I¡¯m more adapted to this pattern and manner!

    ¡°I brought my guards across the ck Sea to your country because I have a mission,¡± said Annan in a deep voice.

    Facing Albert¡¯s suspicion, he began to make up a story without psychological pressure.

    Annan frowned slightly, showing signs of seriousness.

    He asked softly, ¡°Your Royal Highness Albert¡­

    ¡°Have you heard of the name Rotten Man?¡±

    [1] In summary, it¡¯s a guidebook to a useless heir of a kingdom. The expression is to depict as a quick-fix to those incapable heirs.

 Chapter 193: Depressed Albert

    <h4>Chapter 193: Depressed Albert</h4>

    When Annan heard from Bread Daryl that the man who came to Roseburg this time was the Fourth Prince, he was already relieved in his heart.

    That was no doubt the best situation.

    Annan was now facing two of the most pressing problems, excluding the Venerated Skeleton that was temporarily friendly.

    One of them was Rotten Man Church.

    Both Don Juan and Annan had a beef with the Rotten Man Church already. For retaliation, Annan would ruin their n no matter what they wanted to do.

    Not to mention, Annan had to find a way to help Master Michngelo out in response to Salvatore¡¯s kindness.

    Next, another problem that Annan faced was ¡°Don Juan Geraint.¡±

    He borrowed Don Juan¡¯s identity, and it didn¡¯te without a price.

    Not only Don Juan¡¯s enemies woulde looking for him, but those who were close to Don Juan Geraint might also doubt whether Annan was the culprit.

    Unfortunately, only Benjamin and Count Crow knew of Don Juan¡¯s feigned death.

    Annan couldn¡¯t reveal the secret n to the royal family.

    That would undoubtedly be a backstab to the Geraint family.

    Annan wasn¡¯t an ungrateful person.

    He had borrowed Don Juan Geraint¡¯s identity to settle down, get ess to the world¡¯s secrets, and even be a Transcended. Even though acquiring these benefits didn¡¯te with a cost to the Geraint family, Annan wouldn¡¯t forget the favor.

    He would find a way to repay this kindness; even the Geraint family didn¡¯t think it was their contribution.

    As for the three remaining heirs of the royal family¡­

    The Third Prince, who had the closest rtionship with the Rotten Man Church, was Annan¡¯s nemesis. He wouldn¡¯te to Roseburg at this time.

    As for Princess Royal¡ª

    The Geraint family¡¯s political power was in Princess Royal¡¯s grasp.

    On the surface, the king was the most optimistic of the Princess Royal. But judging from the fact that the king hadn¡¯t made up his mind to expel the Rotten Man Church, his rtionship with Princess Royal wasn¡¯t necessarily close.

    He was just hesitating whether to betray his eldest daughter.

    In other words, the price of betrayal wasn¡¯t worth it for the king yet.

    Although she was addressed as the ¡°Princess Royal,¡± she was already over 50 years old this year.

    Also, she hadn¡¯t yet been married.

    Surprisingly, she had a military background too.

    Such a terrifying old woman with a body of steel, it was unlikely that she would be willing to reason with Annan.

    Even considering that Annan¡¯s identity was as noble as hers, she would only be more suspicious of Annan¡¯s purpose of appearing here.

    After learning that Annan borrowed the identity of Don Juan Geraint to take up the position of North Sea Territory¡¯s feudal lord, Annan would be vacated from the position by someone else sent by Princess Royal by the very least. It was impossible for her to let the neighboring country¡ªor worse still, the future heir of the enemy country to seize power on thend of her own country and allow him to earn the people¡¯s hearts.

    ¡ªEspecially this criticalnd was close to the Austere-Winter Dukedom border.

    But the Fourth Prince was different.

    He wasn¡¯t just a mortal enemy with the Rotten Man Church but also had a bad rtionship with the king. He was alsopeting with the Third Prince and Princess Royal.

    Unlike the Third Prince, who was utterly unfavored and acted freely, his current position was the most embarrassing.

    The Fourth Prince had no military support, and he wasn¡¯t the king¡¯s favorite either.

    Because of the conspiracy rting to the Rotten Man Church, his rtionship with his brothers and sisters was terrible.

    Worse still, he was the abandoned son of Rotten Man Church.

    The most terrible thing was that his rtionship with Silver Sire Church was great, judging from the situation when he came to Old Bread Daryl first after entering the city.

    For the Noah Kingdom, this wasn¡¯t a plus point but a severe shoring.

    In other countries, Silver Sire Church only existed as a ¡°bank¡± and a ¡°currency distributing institution.¡±

    Only in the Noah Kingdom did the Silver Church almost take control of the kingdom¡¯s finances, education, and culture.

    Except that the church had no army at all and had no say on thew and constitutions. However, there might be ambiguities regarding who the civilians thought the country was governed by.

    Due to this circumstance, King Noah suppressed the church to rob away the church¡¯s opportunity to grow further.

    Therefore, it was impossible for the Fourth Prince to inherit the throne.

    Annan was different.

    He was most likely the next generation of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    That was why the Fourth Prince would refer to Annan in honorifics.

    Indeed, both the Fourth Prince and Annan were the direct heirs of the ruler, with the Fourth Prince as the kingdom¡¯s heir and Annan as the duchy¡¯s heir. In addition, the Fourth Prince was much older than Annan. But, the situation with their session made Annan¡¯s status much superior.

    ¡°Yes, I have heard of it.¡± Hearing Annan¡¯s question, the Fourth Prince quickly understood something.

    He adjusted his sses and replied in a deep voice, ¡°Your Royal Highness, as you came over, is it because¡­¡±

    ¡°In fact,¡± Annan said seriously as he put his hand on his chest, ¡°I received the mission granted by Old Grandmother herself.¡±

    Hearing this, Prince Albert¡¯s pupils shrank.

    In this world where deities walk on the earth, no one dared to offend an upright deity, and no one dared to lie in the name of a deity. It was because they could really hear it.

    The deity¡¯s punishment coulde knocking on the door.

    ¡°My eldest brother lost his fertility forever six years ago.¡± Annan said softly, ¡°That¡¯s because of the Rotten Man¡¯s conspiracy.

    ¡°I was an ordinary person at least half a year ago. I didn¡¯t embark on the path of transcendence back then.¡±

    He said to Albert seriously, ¡°That¡¯s why I can travel through the mist on the ck Sea ande here.¡±

    Every sentence Annan said was the truth.

    But once they were connected, it could infer another meaning.

    Salvatore repeatedly nodded as if he understood something.

    ¡°I probably understand it now.¡± Albert¡¯s brows frowned deeply.

    In his deep eye sockets, there was an inexorable dejection.

    Although the Fourth Prince was the king¡¯s son, he was treated like an animal, like those ves who tend toin, ¡°What? I have to work overtime to change ording to my client¡¯s needs.¡±

    ¡°I also doubted whether the Rotten Man Church has reached their hand into Noah.¡±

    The man said depressedly, ¡°This is because a certain advisor I once trusted became a little weird some time ago.

    ¡°He knew that I could not seed to the throne, but he was provoking my rtionship with Elizabeth and Philip. Since then, I have been suspicious of him. My father knew that the internal fighting between us became more and more fierce, but he didn¡¯t stop it from the beginning. So, I¡¯m convinced of it already.

    ¡°The Rotten Man¡¯s power has already infiltrated Noah¡¯s territory,¡± sighed Albert dejectedly.

    He lowered his head and pushed his sses before continuing, ¡°I even think that Elizabeth and Philip probably had already known the Rotten Man Church¡¯s men are around them. They are not stupid people. En, it¡¯s hard to say for Philip, but my sister must have realized it.

    ¡°But, they just followed along with the scheme. I don¡¯t know what Philip is thinking. Does gold rain from the sky? Can he take those benefits unreservedly?¡±

    The man frowned and said in dissatisfaction, ¡°Don¡¯t they already know what happens in the end for those who pursue immortality?¡±

    Compared to Princess Royal Elizabeth, he was even more dissatisfied and distrustful of the talentless Philip who lured the Rotten Man believers to help him seize the throne¡ªthe Third Prince.

    Albert obviously resonated with Annan¡¯s situation, ¡°I was upset, so I agreed to Kafni¡¯s request to travel here to the Freezing Water Port.¡±

    The man breathed out slowly and exined faintly, ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan, I will treat everything that happens here as if I haven¡¯t heard or seen it. If you want toe to the Royal City as a guest, I wee you. But, please be sure to notify me in advance. I will be responsible for your highness¡¯s stay.

    ¡°But other than that, if you have any needs, I can¡¯t do anything. If you have any intentions for cooperation, you can go to Princess Royal to discuss it in detail. Her words carry more weight over here.¡±

    Annan nodded.

    In short, you¡¯re not cooperating nor a hindrance to me.

    Um¡­

    That¡¯s fine too.

    I don¡¯t need your help. I just don¡¯t want any trouble.

    So Annan replied quickly while asking again. ¡°Then, Your Royal Highness, is there anything you want from this visit?¡±

    ¡°Kafni likes painting a lot. In the past, Freezing Water Port had a crazy painter who believed in an evil deity named Morrison. After Painter Morrison¡¯s death, his paintings became much more valuable and rare. Kafni also liked his paintings, but now it¡¯s hard to find the original. We want to try our luck.¡±

    Albert quickly added, ¡°I wonder if the Freezing Water Port still had the collection of paintings in Morrison¡¯s gallery. If not, where can I find them?¡±

    Of course, you can find them from Nightmare: Gallery. Annan thought to himself.

    But he also understood that such an answer would be too ridiculous.

    Kafni, who stared at Annan intently before, suddenly turned her head and whispered before Annan could reply, ¡°No need, Dad.¡±

    Kafni¡¯s voice was youthful but hoarse, with mystical prosody.

    Annan immediately realized that when Albert¡¯s gaze met Kafni, he turned his gaze away.

    It¡¯s as if he is afraid of his daughter. What is going on?

    Kafni stared at Albert and murmured, ¡°It¡¯s not that I want toe here. Grandpa Danton has modified your memory; he is a Rotten Man¡¯s believer.

    ¡°¡­And so does mom.¡±

    Hearing this, all of those on the spot were stunned.

 Chapter 194: New Main Mission

    <h4>Chapter 194: New Main Mission</h4>

    ¡°¡ªWait, ¡®His Royal Highness?''¡±

    ¡°¡ªDid you mishear it?¡±

    Seeing the shocking headline on Lin Yiyi¡¯s post, the yers clicked in one after another, yelling with excitement.

    Although they were deeply suspicious of the post with an eye-catching ¡°headline,¡± their curiosity in this matter still lured them in.

    Faced with the doubts of the other yers, Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t hesitate to upload a short video.

    The video was only about 10 seconds long. However, this video she recorded contained the most critical piece of information.

    ¡°About your situation, I haven¡¯t told His Royal Highness yet.¡± Bread Daryl said to Annan with a serious face.

    Probably it was because of Bread Daryl being too fat, or because of the bald head, or because he wasn¡¯t good-looking, the yers attributed Bread Daryl as a sinister character.

    So Annan greeted Prince Albert, ¡°Your Royal Highness.¡±

    His voice was neither overbearing nor humble. His thin and tall upper body made him look quite headstrong.

    Immediately afterward, the yers saw clearly that Albert was stunned for a moment. Then, there was a trace of surprise shed in his eyes. Finally, he came up and asked in a low voice, ¡°You are, Your Royal Highness Annan? Why are you here?¡±

    The short video ended here.

    ¡°Annan?¡± After watching the video, Delicious Wind Goose murmured thoughtfully, ¡°I remember the super administrator of our forum is called Annan.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I have been trying to say!¡±

    Lin Yiyi pped a thigh and let out a crisp ¡°pa.¡±

    Next to her, Jiu Er was holding her thigh painfully.

    Wandering Child came into deep thought, ¡°That¡¯s right. The game can¡¯t give the super administrator a name unrted to it.¡±

    ¡°In fact, I thought ¡®Annan¡¯ was the name of a great deity at first.¡± Delicious Wind Goose whispered, ¡°Then I thought, maybe there will be a few more administrators in the future. They will all use the names of other deities. After all, I didn¡¯t think about the possibility of ¡®Don Juan is a fake name¡¯ at first.¡±

    ¡°What you said seems to have some truth in it.¡± Wandering Child couldn¡¯t help but nod.

    ¡°Speaking of that, Uncle Goose, which side do you think Don Juan¡­oh wait, ¡°His Royal Highness Annan¡± belongs to?¡± Jiu Er asked curiously.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way to guess that out,¡± Delicious Wind Goose said straightforwardly, ¡°We don¡¯t know much about this world. But first of all, we can confirm that his origin won¡¯t be the Noah Kingdom. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be strangers to each other.

    ¡°But, Albert must have seen Annan not long ago. After all, His Royal Highness Annan is too young. If Albert met him ten years ago, he would be five years old. Albert wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize him now.¡±

    ¡°So I guess Annan should be from the neighboring country or state. Considering that he is now in the Freezing Water Port, I guess blindly for now that he may be the son of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied slowly, ¡°There¡¯s a good possibility of that. I¡¯m just not clear what Annan¡¯s motive is and where did the original Don Juan go.¡±

    The next moment, a glimmering panel shed before the eyes of the four of them.

    [Half a month after passing through the sea of ??gray mists, you gradually recovered some of your lost memories and finally realized the contradictions in your identity.]

    [You have recalled your mission and the true identity of ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± whom you swore allegiance to¡ª]

    [¡ªAnnan¡¤Austere-Winter. Youngest son of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, first heir to Austere-Winter Dukedom.]

    [But, you have a lot of doubts in your heart.]

    [Why are you here? Why are you in the Noah Kingdom? Why are you staying in this remote Freezing Water Port?]

    [Where is the real Don Juan Geraint?]

    [During the time you lost your memory, what happened?]

    [The lord you serve, why did he protect you in silence? And¡­ Do you weak mortal guards have the ability to protect a son of a Grand Duke?]

    [Acquired the main mission: Embarking on the path of transcendence.]

    [Mission requirement: Obtain the Bronze Rank Soul, and advance into a transcended (1/1).]

    After the four of them realized the contradiction with Annan¡¯s identity, arge amount of data flow suddenly shed in front of them. Then, they acquired a new main mission.

    Then, without waiting for them to think further, the stream of texts continued to flow downward after a short pause.

    [You havepleted the main mission: Embarking on the path of transcendence.]

    [Obtained Don Juan Geraint¡¯s affection rating 1000.]

    [Till now, you finally got the bted transcended power.]

    [No matter what burden Annan is carrying or what enemy Annan is fighting against, you are already determined to help him.]

    [You will serve him, protect him, and be loyal to him with an immortal body.]

    [Even in the face of the deities, still unwavering.]

    [Obtained a limited-time main mission: Guardian (Remaining ess time 7:22:03).]

    [Mission requirement: In theing disaster, protect the people you want to protect, and make sure that Annan survives.]

    The four of them were taken aback and looked at each other.

    After that, Lin Yiyi quickly visited the forum.

    Other yers who saw Lin Yiyi¡¯s post also got the main quest line of ¡°embarking on the road to transcendence.¡± One by one, the yers looked dumbfounded. Then, they went to inform those yers who didn¡¯t read the forum to quickly ¡°head to the forum and ept the mission.¡±

    But they didn¡¯t get the limited-time main quest line because of their insufficient level.

    ¡°So close!¡± Lin Yiyi eximed, ¡°If we didn¡¯t realize this, would we miss this limited-time main mission?¡±

    ¡°But, the rest of the yers are aware of this and have already missed this main mission.¡± Delicious Wind Goose said slowly, ¡°That¡¯s because their levels aren¡¯t enough.

    ¡°If you want to receive this main mission, you must get excellent evaluation ratings or above in ¡®the Tribtion of ck Fire¡¯ and ¡®the Disaster of Roseburg.¡¯ Also, you have to clear the first few levels in the nightmares.

    ¡°In other words, those main missions y a screening role from the start. We have fallen prey to the calction of the system from the very beginning.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose carefully analyzed and said, ¡°The system screens out yers who have excellent abilities in both ¡®reality¡¯ and ¡®nightmare¡¯ while eliminating those who are weaker.

    ¡°I specte that we may form a party to challenge the world¡¯s boss monster soon. This may be the starting mission of arge dungeon instance.¡±

    ¡°Just like opening the Gates of Ahn¡¯Qiraj [1]?¡± Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    She didn¡¯t expect that she would be able to participate in this kind ofrge-scale world mission that progressed the main storyline of the world one day.

    Delicious Wind Goose nodded, ¡°Look. We happen to be four people. So it will be a five-person team after counting Annan. In the previous dungeon instance, we have teamed up once, and we have a rough idea of each other¡¯s behavior.

    ¡°From the description of the main mission, I think this may be a protection mission. It is the type of mission that we buy time while Annan ys the main role of the critical moment.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose analyzed it with reason and evidence.

    The other three nodded.

    However, in actual fact, Annan crafted these two main missions early in advance.

    The yers did find out a littlete.

    Annan nned from the beginning that when the yer began to doubt his identity, he would throw the first mission out. In this way, yers would only suddenly realize that this was part of the ¡°game mechanics¡± and ¡°game content.¡±

    But Annan didn¡¯t know whether his acting skill was superb or whether the yers¡¯ brains were too tunneled. Why did none of them put forward this idea previously?

    Fortunately, the Fourth Prince was candid enough to reveal the matter.

    Otherwise, Annan would seriously have to think of ways to forcibly drop his intelligence to reveal a w and feed this information to the yers.

 Chapter 195: Kafniâ€™s Advanced Profession

    <h4>Chapter 195: Kafni¡¯s Advanced Profession</h4>

    Annan hurriedly sent the limited-time main mission to the four yers outside and finally heaved a sigh of relief.

    So, this is roughly resolved.

    With this, I sort of resolved the identity issue with ¡°Don Juan.¡±

    Knowing that Benjamin wasn¡¯t dead, and even Don Juan wasn¡¯t dead, Annan had a couple of preparations to take off this disguise.

    It was better for him to take the mask off himself than to be taken off by others.

    In addition, Annan was still distracted listening to Kafni telling Albert¡¯s sad story.

    ¡°From the very beginning, my mother is a Rotten Man¡¯s believer.¡±

    Kafni said softly, ¡°Dad, are you not surprised why I suddenly became Transcended? It¡¯s because my mother put the medium leading to a particr nightmare on me. It¡¯s a chaos-level nightmare.

    ¡°But I have let her down, and I¡¯m not dead.¡± Hearing what his daughter said, Albert¡¯splexion became ugly.

    He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier?¡±

    ¡°Because Grandpa Danton isn¡¯t a Silver Rank ¡°Great Wizard.¡± but a Gold Rank ¡°Dream Stealer.¡± He can easily rewrite other people¡¯s memories, and my mother is his apprentice. Did you remember that Grandpa Danton introduced my mother? He is my mother¡¯s elder.¡±

    Kafni¡¯s voice faintly sounded, ¡°Grandpa Danton used an illusion to affect your vision. It makes you all think that his curse vessel is silver. If we are still in the capital, he will hear whatever I say. No matter what I tell you, it is meaningless.

    ¡°I have been waiting for the opportunity to leave the royal capital and Grandpa Danton far away for a long time.¡± Albert¡¯s lips moved slightly.

    He looked at Kafni in disbelief. He finally said after a long pause, ¡°That¡¯s why you have been so taciturn? Oh, My Silver Sire, I thought you¡¯re afflicted with disease!¡±

    But soon, Albert realized something again.

    He quickly asked, ¡°What about you, Kafni? Didn¡¯t he modify your memory or control your consciousness?¡±

    ¡°He did try, and he thought he seeded.¡± Kafni¡¯s pupils were still out of focus, looking forward.

    She whispered, ¡°But he didn¡¯t because¡­¡±

    Kafni said and gently reached her left hand forward.

    Her posture was as if inviting a partner to dance.

    Annan quickly noticed the Bronze Bracelet on Kafni¡¯s wrist.

    Immediately afterward, Kafni took off the bracelet.

    The next moment, her skirt fluttered.

    Countless shadows formed like real tentacles, protruding from under the skirt anxiously. The tentacles pped on the ground, then gradually calmed down and fell to the ground tightly.

    The shadows flowed down like a river, stretching longer and longer behind her.

    It was like a long ck dress dragging on the ground.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Bishop Daryl nced at her suspiciously, ¡°Are you disregarding your life?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Albert asked quickly.

    ¡°Your Highness Kafni is more than just a Bronze Rank.¡±

    Bishop Daryl replied affirmatively, ¡°But her vessel is only Bronze Rank. So she didn¡¯t constrain the curse to the new vessel.

    ¡°This means that the curse has highly eroded her. For the curse in this density, Memory Rewriting, Mind Maniption, Touch of Fear, Slothful Eye couldn¡¯t affect her.

    ¡°If she is an ordinary person, she would have already be a monster. But instead, she can retain reasoning, which shows that she has extraordinary willpower.¡±

    Or rather, her curse had many secret keepers.

    Daryl didn¡¯t point out anything about thetter reason.

    But all the people present understood it.

    ¡°But¡­¡± Albert looked at Kafni nkly.

    He realized for the first time that he didn¡¯t seem to understand his daughter at all.

    Kafni replied calmly, ¡°Actually, you know my curse, papa.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Albert blinked and asked with a dry throat.

    Seeing his stupefied look, Kafni just nced at him calmly, ¡°That¡¯s what I often say¡ª

    ¡°I will be the queen of this country.¡±

    ¡°Is this your curse condition?¡±

    Albert felt that his IQ wasn¡¯t as good as his daughter¡¯s, ¡°I thought¡­¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m joking, Dad. Or some kind of ¡°children¡¯s words.¡±¡±

    In Kafni¡¯s clear to almost transparent eyes, there was a crimson red hue that was as in as a deity, ¡°Of course they think so too.

    ¡°I¡¯m not the king¡¯s daughter, but your daughter. I can¡¯t be a queen. At least for a short time, no one will take it seriously.¡± But since they heard it, they unwittingly became Kafni¡¯s secret keeper.

    Annan had soon reacted in time.

    Kafni¡¯s curse was probably something like ¡°bing a queen in X years.¡±

    She used a childlike tone to make others think that she was joking or simply expressing her ideals.

    As the king¡¯s granddaughter, the possibility of contacting high-level Transcended was high. Those adults who heard Kafni¡¯s ¡°childish words¡± unwittingly be her secret keeper.

    Kafni¡¯s current erosion rate was sky-high. But she relied on these secret keepers to survive in a condition without upgrading the curse vessel.

    Although she could maintain her sanity, she was probably simr to the demon us, and the others had transformed into.

    The shadow cast under her skirt could manifest in reality.

    Danton, the ¡°Dream Stealer,¡± couldn¡¯t control Kafni, who was already a monster in nature.

    ¡°My profession is also specialized in resisting mind control.¡± Kafni let out a soft voice, ¡°From the beginning of my path of transcendence, I¡¯m working hard to break free.¡±

    Her pupils were like a holy grail full of blood and like crystals on fire.

    She lifted the skirt slightly and curtsied elegantly to Annan.

    Those shadows like living creatures turned into tentacles and retracted under Kafni¡¯s skirt.

    Annan looked at her weirdly.

    ¡­This little girl.

    I wonder where her perseverance and wisdome from.

    ¡°Is your profession the lurker?¡± Albert couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    The middle-aged literary and artistic prince couldn¡¯t help but begin to doubt his IQ and observation ability. Am I a fool?

    Daryl shook his head.

    He said thoughtfully, ¡°No, if I guessed correctly¡­¡±

    Before he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

    The conversation between the four people in the house temporarily stopped and looked towards the door.

    Kafni took the opportunity to look at Annan again secretly.

    Feeling her focused, scorching, and whole-hearted gaze staring at him, Annan felt a chill crept upon him.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness, someone is seeking an audience with you.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    Albert had a rare opportunity to say in a majestic voice, ¡°Why are they looking for me here? I¡¯m chatting with¡­ His Royal Highness Feudal Lord Geraint.¡±

    He hesitated and didn¡¯t reveal Annan¡¯s true identity.

    The guard quickly replied, ¡°It¡¯s the clerk here! He said he has something to report to Your Royal Highness and the Feudal Lord!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s someone under the viscount.¡± Bishop Daryl reminded quietly behind Albert and Annan.

    Albert pondered for a while but still said, ¡°Let him in.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After a careful body search, the clerk was let in.

    He respectfully bowed to the four of them.

    Counting Kafni, the people here had a higher status than him.

    But Annan noticed that there seemed to be something wrong with the visiting clerk¡¯s expression.

    He wasn¡¯t nervous or furtive.

    On the contrary, he was too calm.

    Meet a count¡¯s son, a prince, a bishop, and a member of the royal family, why is he not nervous?

    Annan was secretly wary.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness, there is something important to report on.¡± The clerk said respectfully and piously to Albert.

    His voice was a little sharp, a little trembling, and a little fanatical, ¡°Rotten Man sends his greeting to you!¡±

    As he said, he untied his belt.

    Just when Annan was surprised by Rotten Man believer¡¯s indecent assassination method and even hesitated in his heart whether it was an assassination or a mockery, he only heard a sneer.

    The shadow under Kafni¡¯s skirt was released at some point.

    Like a snake, it ejected quickly along the ground, and the sharp thornspletely prated several weak points of the clerk¡¯s body in the blink of an eye!

    Then, the shadow tightened immediately, locked his joints, and lifted this person high.

    Then, he was beaten to the ground by Kafni¡¯s tentacles with a damaging impact!

    He lost consciousness in an instant but still retained a little vigor. The enemy passed out into aa on the verge of death.

    At this time, Kafni¡¯s voice sounded faintly behind Annan, ¡°My advanced profession is the Dragon Monk.¡±

    She retracted her tentacles and curtsied gracefully to the three of them.

 Chapter 196: Foundational Power

    <h4>Chapter 196: Foundational Power</h4>

    ¡°¡­Dragon Monk?¡± Annan found this profession ipatible with her image, so he couldn¡¯t help but repeat the profession¡¯s name.

    Wait a minute; there are a lot of inconsistencies. I don¡¯t know where to start dissing it.

    Annan asked Kafni tentatively, ¡°This sounds like the advanced profession of a monk.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± The person who responded to Annan was Bishop Daryl.

    Although Bishop Daryl was surprised for a moment, he was the first to react to the situation.

    Facing Kafni¡¯s astonishing words, the old bishop appeared to attain a new realization.

    ¡°Dragon Monk is an ancient profession.¡± Bishop Daryl exined to Annan, ¡°All ¡®monks¡¯ are ancient professions, at least from the previous era.

    ¡°Monk is a popr term among the people. Its full name is called ¡®Yasn Ascetic.¡¯ They built monasteries throughout the empire and weed people of any faith to join as an ¡®ascetic.¡¯

    ¡°They aren¡¯t the personal armament of some upright deities. But the monks still have their beliefs, which is often referred to as the ¡®foundation oath.¡¯ The foundation can be chosen from anything, such as the doctrine of upright deities or false deities. Other examples would choose the belief based on a particr philosophy and even concepts like loyalty, filial piety, love, hate. The only requirement is that the foundation must be firm and unshakable in the future.

    ¡°Once the foundation of an ascetic is shaken, the Transcended abilities brought by their monk profession will be lost immediately. A ritual baptism must be carried out to rebuild their foundation.¡±

    ¡°So, does that mean the monk has an additional ¡®high-level curse?¡¯¡± Annan asked.

    Kafni replied softly, ¡°Yes.

    ¡°My foundation is the obsession with obtaining and protecting the kingdom.¡± She calmly told her foundation oath to the rest of the people on the spot.

    Annan was stunned.

    Why can Kafni speak out her secrets frankly?

    Why did Kafni choose the kingdom as the foundation?

    Does this mean she has no room to retreat?

    Kafni¡¯s curse could be to seed to the throne.

    The curse might not be a one-off thing, which meant that she might be required to continue her ruling on the kingdom.

    Then, this foundation is sort of her initial ¡°responsibility¡± already. No matter what, she still has to maintain her curse. This foundation seems more incidental in nature.

    However, the foundation is different from the curse. It¡¯s free to choose. But, it¡¯s more effective to determine a more stable and easy to fulfill foundation.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but nce at Kafni.

    Kafni¡¯s unyielding spirit drew his interest in this child further.

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t dedicated, you wouldn¡¯t be able to advance to Dragon Monk.¡± Bishop Daryl eximed, ¡°This profession is quiteplicated.

    ¡°The name ¡®Dragon Monk¡¯ is tranted from anothernguage.

    ¡°I can¡¯t pronounce its true name here. However, in the dragonnguage, it¡¯s often interpreted as the ¡°wrestling human with the dragon.¡±

    ¡°Monks are simr to priests. They have extra bonuses at the Perception attribute. Also, they often have a robust Strength attribute. But this boost in Strength attribute doesn¡¯te from intensive physical training like a swordsman. Instead, it is the projection of spiritual power in the material world.

    ¡°Depending on the monk¡¯s foundation, the blessing power they receive will have a subtle difference. Only the monk whose foundation is ¡®real, stable, and materialistic¡¯ in nature will pour all their spirit on strength to acquire a robust strength capable of even bringing self-harm. Only monks with strength as robust as monsters can advance to Dragon Monk.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Annan listened to Bishop Daryl bbering for a long time and nodded thoughtfully.

    In other words, the feature of a monk is that any addition to [Perception] will proportionally increase [Strength], [Agility], [Constitution]¡­ and even [Will]?

    ording to the oath, the proportion of attributes assigned would be different. Only with an oath like Kafni could the Perception attribute be added as bonuses to the Strength attribute.

    This was a real plus point.

    In the typical growth of the melee profession, when their level increases, every few levels would also increase their Agility and other attributes besides the primary attribute. That was to maintain a bnced growth.

    But Kafni was different.

    Before she advanced, she could probably hurt herself.

    After all, the growth of Perception attributes was much easier than Strength.

    ¡°Once she advances to Dragon Monk, she will acquire the trait [Golden Blood], which willpletely solidify the body. Her bones and muscles will be flexible and tenacious. From then on, no matter what training regime she does, her figure will not change.

    ¡°Since this profession abandons the traditional fighting skills of monks, they can only avoid getting hurt by their immense strength in tripping and grappling the enemy. The price is that they can¡¯t wear any armor and can¡¯t utilize most weapons since then.¡±

    Having said that, theplexion of the old bishop became a bitplex.

    He looked at Kafni and paused before continuing, ¡°Even to ensure the transmission of Strength, it is necessary to maintain close contact with the target. The few Dragon Monks I have seen are all topless and strong men. It¡¯s also the first time I have seen a type of Dragon Monk like Her Highness Kafni.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t wear any armor. This kind of cloth also doesn¡¯t affect me exerting my strength.¡± Kafni stretched out her arms in disy.

    Under the translucent silk sleeves as thin as the veil, there were slender fair arms that weren¡¯t covered by any clothing.

    Under her heavy long skirt, her legs were also wrapped in ck silk clothing.

    She just stood in ce, but she brought about a firm and bnced outlook. Annan did not doubt that he couldn¡¯t push Kafni to the floor even with all his strength. But, if Kafni wanted to, she could instantly lift him and throw him to the ground. It was even possible for Kafni to grapple and subdue him on the ground.

    ¡°Moreover, I use my shadow more often.¡± Kafni stared at Annan closely and said softly, ¡°I can temporarily give Strength to them and let them grapple with multiple enemies on my behalf¡­or protect the others.¡±

    As she said, her right hand gently grasped Annan¡¯s sleeve again.

    With just that, Annan had a feeling that she might throw him out at any time.

    Why do you stare at me?

    Annan felt strongly that Kafni would look at him after saying a couple of words. Her eyes fixed on him like a nail.

    If it were ordinary people, they would have fled timidly under that majestic gaze full of spiritual power.

    Fortunately, the power of Reverse Inscription was immense.

    Only then could Annan stare back, ¡°So¡­?¡±

    ¡°So I will protect you,¡± said Kafni softly.

    She put her left hand on her chest, staring at Annan intently while trying to speak in a masculine manner, ¡°I¡¯m strong. I can protect you.¡±

    Seeing Kafni¡¯s behavior, Albert¡¯s eyes gradually changed.

    He looked at Annan, then at Kafni.

    His expression turned a bitplicated.

 Chapter 197: Old Hatred

    <h4>Chapter 197: Old Hatred</h4>

    After noticing Albert¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t quite right, Annan quickly found an excuse, grabbed Salvatore, and hurriedly left. He handed the interrogation on Rotten Man¡¯s assassin to Albert.

    After all, the informationing from the assassin wouldn¡¯t include ¡°Annan Austere-Winter.¡± Also, Albert had now be a solid ally, which he would tell Annan if there was information of significance.

    After Annan left the church with Salvatore, he immediately assigned new missions to the yers.

    Then, hemenced his next n without hesitation.

    Though, it felt like fleeing to escape from his crime.

    Annan had the yers go to No. 12, Rusty Water Street in the east area.

    It was located next to the Gerald Dental Clinic¡ªNottdamm¡¯s ¡°current¡± residence, where Nottdamm lived with his new wife.

    In actual fact, his ¡°designated¡± wife had not officially married him, let alone getting pregnant.

    At No, 44, Clear Water Street, where the actual Maemis Nottdamm was pregnant, Annan and Salvatore went to check the situation in person.

    Annan had notified the yers not to startle the target but just observe if there were any abnormalities.

    Currently, Annan wanted to experiment with Salvatore.

    He wanted to try if the door at No. 44, Clear Water Street, in the west area, was closed.

    Will the door at No. 12 Rusty Water Street open then?

    In other words, are the two rituals interlocked?

    Annan remembered the first time they went to No, 44 Clear Water Street, the door was open, and there was no one inside. It was after all the doors were closed that the ¡°past,¡± which was four years ago, flipped over from the ¡°mirror¡± into reality.

    If the two sides were interlocked, then Annan wanted to test it out. If the ¡°past¡± consisted of childbirth was inverted, had the ¡°non-existing¡± ritual failed or was it a sess for the ritual to hide?

    If it were the former situation, then Annan would have to set up defenses for both sides simultaneously. However, for thetter case, he only had to ce his defenses on Rusty Water Street.

    But if the rituals on the two sides weren¡¯t interlocked, that would be fun.

    Annan just wanted to know one thing¡ª

    ¡°What will happen if two ¡®Nottdamm¡¯ meet?¡± Annan analyzed with a serious face, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious, senior?¡±

    Even though his identity was exposed, he still habitually called out Senior Salvatore.

    Salvatore was still used to calling him, Don Juan.

    But now, Salvatore looked at Annan with aplex expression.

    ¡°Honestly, Don Juan, do you know His Highness Kafni?¡±

    Salvatore looked curious and lowered his voice to ask, ¡°Just tell me. I promise not to let anyone else know.¡±

    Annan looked helpless, ¡°I really don¡¯t know her.¡±

    ¡°For real?¡± Salvatore doubted.

    Seeing the senior¡¯s persistent questioning, Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    Regardless of whether the past Annan knew her before, the current Annan didn¡¯t know her anyway.

    Annan didn¡¯t dare to ept this kind of unfounded kindness.

    Annan didn¡¯t mind deceiving others, nor did he have an obsessivepulsive disorder issue when his teammates were hurt. Annan would even let the weaker teammates block the bullet as long as his goal could be achieved.

    The purpose was to allow more important teammates to survive first.

    All efforts were for efficiency.

    Just like Salvatore was easy to be fooled, so Annan didn¡¯t want to fool him.

    Kafni imed to protect him, and it was for free. So, Annan didn¡¯t want her to tank any potential damage and lose her health points.

    Also, Annan didn¡¯t need protection. I have tools (yers) that can be resurrected at any time to tank the health damage.

    If there were enemies, Annan¡¯s resurrection authority could be fully utilized. With 4 Bronze yers keeping giving their lives indefinitely, Annan could stop the enemy no matter what. If the four of them couldn¡¯t stop the enemy, adding a Kafni into the equation probably wouldn¡¯t change anything.

    Worse still, she would take away the experience points.

    ¡°But with His Royal Highness Kafni, I don¡¯t think we will need to utilize our prior preparations.¡±

    Salvatore eximed, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a pity or a blessing, but we won¡¯t be using Sage¡¯s Stone anymore.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better not to use it.¡± Annan said without hesitation, ¡°Believe it or not, after we take this item out, we will be troubled indefinitely?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I believe that¡¯s true.¡± Salvatore shrugged, ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone is something that all Alteration Wizards are pursuing. Other than them, it garners huge demand for all the big shots.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, senior.¡±

    Annan feels that the timing was appropriate for him to ask this question so that he wouldn¡¯t appear to have an ulterior motive, ¡°Even if you suddenly dreamed about the refining method of Sage¡¯s Stone, where did the inspiratione from? ¡°

    ¡°I do not know either.¡± Salvatore choked at the question and replied vaguely with a wry smile, ¡°Dream¡­ It¡¯s just a dream.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIdiot. I don¡¯t know how to use Prophet spells, so I don¡¯t know prophecy.¡± At this moment, the shadow made a low and hoarse voice, ¡°It¡¯s Teacher Benjamin¡¯s notes you saw before you left ck Tower. Your memory is getting worse, Salvatore.¡±

    Well, isn¡¯t it because you disturb my sleep? Salvatore almost scolded out.

    But he still endured it.

    ¡°¡ªOh yes, it¡¯s Teacher Benjamin¡¯s notes!¡± Salvatore pretended to remember all of a sudden, with a look of realization on his face, ¡°I saw it before I left ck Tower!¡±

    Annan¡¯s footsteps stopped suddenly, ¡°Benjamin again?¡±

    He turned around and asked with a bit of surprise.

    Watching Annan¡¯s reaction, Salvatore blinked his eyes, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I forgot to tell you some information before, senior.¡± Annan said quietly and quickly, ¡°Your Excellency Benjamin is indeed not dead. He even came to Freezing Water Port 10 days ago;

    ¡°I saw from the nightmare that Gerald manifested. The person who was under your pursuit. He had a great rtionship with Benjamin a few years ago, at least when their rtionship had trust;

    ¡°Gerald and Benjamin are both witnesses of Master Michngelo¡¯s ritual, and they are all together now. So I was thinking¡­¡±

    ¡°You want to say that the matter with me crafting the Sage¡¯s Stone is also part of Benjamin¡¯s teacher¡¯s n?¡± Salvatore quickly understood what Annan meant.

    Salvatore was in a daze and almost thought this was the truth. This was because he knew Benjamin¡¯s behavior. Benjamin also knew he had a shadow. Most likely that the Sage¡¯s Stone was one of Benjamin¡¯s arrangements at this time.

    ¡°Teacher Benjamin is indeed the kind of person who calctes ahead.¡± But Salvatore quickly denied, ¡°But this is impossible. Teacher Benjamin isn¡¯t proficient in Prophet spells.¡±

    ¡°But Master Michngelo did,¡± replied Annan.

    From the moment Annan heard the name Benjamin, he suddenly realized one thing.

    A ritual always needs an executor, right?

    Annan initially thought that the ¡°past Michngelo personally arranged this ritual.¡± But if everything was within Michngelo¡¯s n, while Benjamin and Gerald were both pawns of his chessboard¡­

    Why did Benjamin not feel the slightest anger being exploited when he heard that Michngelo was about to resurrect in the nightmare?

    But, if they are ritual executors, then¡­

    ¡°If Gerald hadn¡¯t died, what would happen?¡± Annan murmured, ¡°He was able to control the situation immediately when he met with the viscount. A Bronze Rank hunter couldn¡¯t resist Gerald¡¯s mind control, especially from the viscount and Rotten Man believers.

    ¡°As the ritual controller, he is undoubtedly the most stable choice. After Gerald¡¯s death, Benjamin is the ritual executor.¡±

    Salvatore asked, ¡°What are you trying to say, Don Juan?¡±

    There was a vague idea in his mind that wasn¡¯t well-formed, but he couldn¡¯t organize it well.

    ¡°¡ªFool.¡± The shadow cursed in a low voice.

    Annan replied, ¡°It¡¯s straightforward.¡±

    At the next moment, Annan and the shadow almost ovepped in voices,

    ¡°¡ªSuppose the contradiction (hatred) between Benjamin (teacher) and Gerald was caused by this matter now?¡±

    That matter referred to the resurrection of Michngelo!

    Because Annan clearly remembered that Gerald killed all Benjamin¡¯s students a few years ago, but their rtionship was pretty good at that time.

    But after that, as a new student of Benjamin, Salvatore didn¡¯t seem to know the rtionship between them. He thought that Gerald and Benjamin were old enemies for many years. ck Tower also issued a wanted order to Gerald, ¡°To get the hammer back.¡±

    But what use was that hammer for Swamp¡¯s ck Tower?

    And Gerald was also trying to use Salvatore to advance into Gold Rank.

    Salvatore was ck Tower¡¯s Son. If Gerald killed him, Gerald wouldn¡¯t end up well.

    But why was he in such a hurry?

    Probably because Benjamin was fighting with Gerald for the right to execute this resurrection ritual!

 Chapter 198: The Roars Beneath The Skin

    <h4>Chapter 198: The Roars Beneath The Skin</h4>

    For Annan¡¯s group, it was great news that Benjamin was involved in the resurrection of Master Michngelo.

    Benjamin wouldn¡¯te forward directly to maintain the facade that he was dead, but he was undoubtedly a reliable ally helping in the dark.

    A valuable friendly unit, indeed.

    In terms of the preparation for the battle tomorrow, Annan had arranged the yers to go to bed early. With that, they woulde back online after breakfast tomorrow.

    At present, the yers only knew that the ritual day was right on December 14, 1503. However, the yers didn¡¯t know the exact timing. If the main event urred during the wee hours, they were just unlucky to miss it.

    But as long as it wasn¡¯t too early in the morning, yers should get a night of good sleep so that they could log in as early as possible tomorrow.

    After persuading the yers to go offline, Annan also went to bed early.

    For security measures, Salvatore stayed in Annan¡¯s bedroom and read till 3 a.m. The reading was to help him doze off in sleep so that he could fall asleep immediately by 3 a.m.

    ¡°Final check.¡±

    Annan closed his eyes and said softly, ¡°Tomorrow, Master Bishop and I will try our best to wake up before the sun rises. We will be responsible for the defense preparation work at 44 Clear Water Street and 12 Rusty Water Street, respectively.¡±

    ¡°After You, Yiyi, and Old Goose woke up, immediately head to my ce to assist in the defense. Her Highness Kafni and the other two shall head to Rusty Water Street to reinforce the defense there.¡±

    ording to previous experiments, Annan confirmed that the ritual involving two symmetric opposite mirrors was indeed interlocked. Once all the doors of one house were opened, all the doors of the other house would be closed immediately.

    Though, there was a unique condition.

    No matter if all the house doors at Clear Water Street were closed or opened, nothing would happen on the current Nottdamm.

    But only when the ¡°present¡± Nottdamm stayed at home could the door of the ¡°past¡± Nottdamm be closed. With that, two of the ¡°past¡± Nottdamm could appear in this world temporarily.

    Otherwise, when thest door at the Nottdamm house on Rusty Water Street was closed, several doors on Clear Water Street would open up at the same time. Two of the ¡°past¡± Nottdamm would immediately disappear.

    It was as if thework cable was unplugged, and the two of them were disconnected altogether.

    This should be a security measure to prevent two Nottdamm from identally meeting each other.

    But this also caused Annan¡¯s group to scatter their defenses on two sides.

    Not only they had to protect the ¡°past¡± Nottdamm and his wife Maemis Nottdamm, who was about to give birth and died a few years ago.

    At the same time, the current Nottdamm must be prevented from leaving his house.

    Otherwise, once the current Nottdamm went out, the two ¡°past¡± Nottdamm would suddenly disappear.

    Hence, Annan¡¯s arrangement went as follows.

    He and Salvatore had Sage¡¯s Stone in their hands. They had the most potent immediate explosive power. They would be assisted by Yiyi, who had the strongest protection capability and the well-rounded Old Goose. The four of them would be in charge of protecting the pregnant woman.

    On the other hand, Kafni had the most robust non-lethal control ability. The Child could control and alter the terrain. Jiu Er wouldunch suicide attacks indefinitely with the help of infinite respawn. Thisposition offered strong viability to offense.

    At the same time, Bishop Daryl and Kafni had a higher status, while Jiu Er and Child God were confident in chatting. That would allow the group to persuade the current Nottdamm to stay inside the house, keeping him from leaving the house for that day. Of course, their main task was still to keep the intruders out.

    Both Annan and Bishop Daryl could attack the spirits, which helped safeguard against the Rotten Man Church¡¯s spirits summoning techniques. In addition, there were yers on both sides, allowing smoothmunication across distances on the forum.

    This arrangement was the best lineup Annan could think of.

    No matter which side had encountered a monster at the peak Silver Rank level, they could still retaliate.

    The Transcended yers had infinite respawns. They had enoughbat strength to fight against the basic enemy units.

    As long as the yers managed to buy time, the other side could send support over in time.

    No matter how I look at it, everything is in ce.

    ¡°But what have I missed¡­¡± Annan frowned slightly.

    The feeling that he had missed something still lingered.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t think of anything, forget it. We shall respond ording to the situation. We have the Sage¡¯s Stone. Like you said, Teacher Benjamin may help us at any time. He wouldn¡¯t want to see the ritual fail.¡±

    Salvatore turned another page in the dim light, nced at Annan with a frown, and said disapprovingly, ¡°You have to go to bed because you have to get up early tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Alright, good night.¡± Annan agreed and retreated inside the quilt.

    With Annan¡¯s strong self-discipline, he emptied his mind and fell asleep in a very short time.

    When Annan woke up in a daze, he nced out the window.

    He soon realized something was wrong.

    With his precise biological clock, he could roughly guess that it should have been 5 a.m. even without looking at the watch.

    But, what is the ¡°that¡± outside the window?

    A crimson red sun hung in the sky.

    It wasn¡¯t the golden sun entwined with the triple hollow as it should have been. Annan already knew that the golden sun was Mr. Ray¡¯s symbol.

    But the ¡°sun¡± outside the window now was like the sunset on Earth.

    Not only was there no rune and no hollows around it, but a thinyer of golden light was shrouded in it.

    The golden light was being shrouded, and beyond it was a circle of thick ck.

    Further out, it was overwhelming and rich blood.

    Not only the sky but the entire street was also shrouded in an abnormal blood hue.

    The next moment, Annan heard a low and looming drum beat.

    The drum beats rumbled like thunder, echoing in all directions.

    After another nine seconds, the strange low humming sounded again.

    Annan focused his mind on locating the source.

    He was a little surprised to find out that the sound came from the heart.

    Or rather.

    These thunderous drum beats seemed to being from the people¡¯s chests of the whole city¡­or at least the entire street!

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    Is this the Rotten Man Church¡¯s ritual?

    Or Michngelo¡¯s ritual?

    Annan¡¯s face was solemn.

    He disregarded the cold air outside the quilt, immediately jumped up from the bed, and got dressed swiftly.

    When he rushed to Salvatore¡¯s room, Annan hesitated for a moment and stopped.

    Should it wake Salvatore up?

    If the ritual has started¡ªno matter where it started, it may be toote to wake Salvatore up.

    But what if this is just a prelude?

    As Annan was thinking, Salvatore opened the door with a tired expression. He hurriedly put on his coat while yawning.

    He saw Annan standing at the door, frowning slightly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ugh.¡± Annan cast aside all the random thoughts and nodded to Salvatore, ¡°It¡¯s fine since you wake up already.

    ¡°What ritual is this?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk as we move.¡± Salvatore took out the suitcase and replied briefly, ¡°Bring all your things!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Clear Water Street first!¡±

 Chapter 199: Ritual: Heart That Roars If Untouched

    <h4>Chapter 199: Ritual: Heart That Roars If Untouched</h4>

    ¡°I know this ritual!¡± Salvatore rushed down the street, shouting, ¡°This is ¡®Ritual: Heart That Roars If Untouched!¡¯

    ¡°The ritual involves the field of blood. It¡¯s under deity of blood and desire, Cup-holding Lady.¡±

    Cup-holding Lady¡ª

    Annan rarely heard this name in the Noah Kingdom.

    Although the Cup-holding Lady was also one of the twelve upright deities, she was generally called ¡°the desire.¡± Philosophers believed that those who went crazy for no reason or those who were overwhelmed by the desire to do some stupid things had heard the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s whispers.

    Those who were more educated and hadmitted the sin out of impulsiveness wouldment, ¡°I have heard the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s whispers,¡± to justify the sins they hadmitted euphemistically.

    In the Noah Kingdom, almost only those immoral entertainment business operators believed in cup-holders. So it was hard to imagine that she could be an upright deity.

    After running to the vicinity of 44 Clear Water Street, Salvatore stopped, panting for breath, and continued, ¡°This is a high-level ritual¡­ Now this ritual isn¡¯tpleted yet!¡±

    ¡°Summarize its content.¡± Annan followed behind Salvatore quickly and asked immediately.

    His current outfit might look a little weird.

    Annan wore white and slender elven leather gloves on both hands. He had a wooden bucket for the gloves, a waist bag for his kitchen knives that was dripping blood, and a brass sk.

    The sk contained the Sage¡¯s Stone in the liquid state.

    Aside from brass material, Sage¡¯s Stone could only be stable in white crystal and pure gold containers.

    Otherwise, the Sage Stone would be consumed on its own, purifying the precious stone into white crystal, or making other metals besides copper into pure gold. The brass container under the sun exposure could significantly suppress this process and extend its lifespan as much as possible.

    Even as the Alteration Wizard, Salvatore couldn¡¯t afford to get three golden kettles out that easily.

    Besides that, Annan¡¯s right hand held ¡°Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm¡± (not including the hammer), and the left hand was armed with a kitchen knife that was dripping blood.

    To put it simply, Annan looked like a maniac.

    Annan also transferred his curse vessel, a bronze bracelet iid with sapphires, to his left wrist in the hope of speeding up the curse being conducted to his kitchen knife.

    If Annan were to put on a mask, he was like the monster from horror movies, albeit his short height and figure.

    On the other hand, Salvatore¡¯s outfit seemed much more normal.

    He wore a thick white robe that looked like a researcher or a doctor. In addition, he had an internal armor reinforced with thickened cloth. The primary reason was to resist the cold. Visually speaking, that armor made the thin Salvatore look generous and tall.

    Of course, Salvatore also carried the brass bottle behind him and exposed it to the light.

    In addition, he put the bullet-loaded ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone and Blood Trigger¡± in the waist bag.

    There was a beefy suitcase in his left hand. This suitcase had an opening for a hand to reach inside. There were different reagents tied to the side. They were all marked with metal pieces of different textures to ensure that Salvatore could get what he wanted even without visual cues.

    Salvatore¡¯s left arm was also tied to a ck arm guard like the one used for blood pressure measurement, and a bottle of pre-conversion agent appeared like a perfume sample on the outer side. His right hand was bare, not equipped with anything. The purpose was to allow swift usage on the pre-conversion agent or other reagents from the left at any time.

    Salvatore moved quickly to take out a bottle of blue reagent from the suitcase, skillfully took out the cork with his thumb with his right hand, raised it, and drank it.

    His mental state improved a lot afterward.

    Then, he took out two sticky, brown-ck copsible tubes and handed one of them to Annan.

    ¡°Take some of this first. It¡¯s an ¡¯emergency nutritional supplement.¡¯ These are typically used to rescue those strayed in the wild. It will forcibly stop hunger while supplementing the necessary nutrients. However, long-term use will bring harmful effects to digestion, but it¡¯s well-fitted for emergencies. Be careful. The smell may be a bit strange.¡±

    Salvatore said, raising his head and squeezing the viscous supplement directly into his throat. A bitter and somewhat distorted expression was revealed on his face.

    Annan followed suit, pushing the reagent out and taking a bite.

    Then, he grew a little disappointed.

    It didn¡¯t taste so terrible.

    Its taste was probably simr to the ginseng jujube drink [1] but with a strong vor. Or probably sour lemon juice mixed with thick ck sesame soup [2].

    (TN: For those interested in what those beverages are, I put my findings into the hyperlink.)

    It¡¯s strange¡­

    But the effect is excellent.

    After Annan ate it for a while, he felt rejuvenated despite just waking up without eating anything.

    Then, Salvatore took out a bottle of red reagent, a bottle of purple reagent, a bottle of strange smoke and handed them to Annan, ¡°Blood Impulse Decoction, Perception Mixture, Frigid Cold Air. Take them right before the battle. Also, be conservative in using the Frigid Cold Air. I only have one bottle.¡±

    After speaking, Salvatore took out a long silver-gray dropper with a plug from the suitcase.

    He handed the dropper to Annan and said, ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient for me to do it because of the suitcase. Draw a line as you encircle the house. Be mindful not to break the line. If a spirit tries to enter, it will light up as a warning.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Annan looked at Salvatore in surprise.

    His previous experience against Gerald made him habitually use Salvatore as a heavy cannon.

    Now Annan suddenly realized that Salvatore was a potion fighter.

    When Annan dealt with the warning line, Salvatore exined, ¡°[Ritual: Heart That Roars If Untouched] doesn¡¯t bring any effect, nor will it summon anything. It is usually used when the user has to forcibly carry out a ritual while the ritual conditions aren¡¯t met. Also, this ritual can be used to empty the venue.

    ¡°The ritual will collect the ¡®heartbeats¡¯ in the ritual area. Every nine seconds, the hearts of all people in the ritual area will hum. At the same time, the awakened people be more powerful, and those who haven¡¯t awakened are stuck in their slumber.

    ¡°Ordinary people who have fallen asleep in this ritual will never wake up before the end of the ritual. Even if they¡¯re punctured or stabbed with a knife, they won¡¯t wake up. But those who be awake will never fall asleep. Thus, they are prevented from falling into a nightmare.¡±

    Salvatore whispered, ¡°Many powerful curse vessel materials are high-level nightmares¡¯ ¡®keys.¡¯ Any physical contact with them may bring the victim into nightmares. If you want to use the keys¡¯ power, you can either purify the nightmare once or use it for the ritual when it enters the ¡°three days ban period for nightmares.¡± Otherwise, you have to use another ritual to seal the keys¡¯ power or bless the ritual executor with a certain kind of power that stops the person from falling into the nightmare. What happened now is an example of that.

    ¡°Since we can break free from this ritual, it means that the ritual performer of this ¡®Ritual: Heart That Roars If Untouched¡¯ has a lower soul rank than ours. The good news is that we¡¯re all the lowest-level Transcended, so¡­¡±

    ¡°So, this ritual was held by an ordinary person?¡± Annan asked incredulously.

    What amotion¡­

    People in the whole city are in a deep sleep, and the sun is reced.

    Is this really something ordinary people can do?

    ¡°A ritual is like that.¡± Salvatore didn¡¯t have any exaggerated reaction, ¡°Knowledge is power. This ritual is tough to be held; at least you can¡¯t just guess your way through.

    ¡°It takes nine people and nine hours toplete. Each person has to sacrifice one thing in the list: a mutted eye, a mutted ear, half a tongue, a piece of skin, half a cup of blood, half a bone, half a foot, half a hand, and half a heart. With these conditions met, it will refract the light that summons the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s ¡°mouth of the cup.¡±

    ¡°Since this is an illegal summoning, they must bypass the Cup-holding Lady. So the sacrifice used must all be fragmented, mutted, or iplete. That will summon an iplete power of the ¡®blood cup.¡¯ But the Cup-holding Lady is an upright deity. Even if it¡¯s summoning part of her power, that is enough to bring out a strange phenomenon.¡±

    With that said, Salvatore pointed to the ¡°dark red sun¡± in the sky.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t the sun. That is the shadow of the ¡®mouth of the cup.''¡±

 Chapter 200: Leer

    <h4>Chapter 200: Leer</h4>

    Annan went into deep thought.

    I see.

    Just as the symbol of Silver Sire is a silver coin, and the symbol of Mr. Ray is the sun.

    The symbol of the Cup-holding Lady is the blood cup¡­ a cup full of blood.

    A cup symbol the represents the endless greed and thirst¡ª

    When the sun in the sky was altered into ¡°Mouth of the Blood Cup,¡± the person¡¯s blood was under its control. Sniffing any of it would render a person unconscious. What overflowed was excitement.

    Is it a ritual that controls the vitality of a wide range of mortals?

    But this could be considered a benefit to Annan¡¯s n.

    He still had ¡°fragments of the Wheel of Divine Transporter¡± left on him. He wasn¡¯t sure when he would suddenly fall into a nightmare this week. If he were to pass out during a fight, that wouldn¡¯t end up well.

    But in the ritual area, Annan couldn¡¯t fall into a nightmare.

    ¡°Since he has used this ritual, does it mean that his real ritual has just begun?¡±

    Annan asked in a low voice, ¡°Probably how long will they take?¡±

    It is too early now.

    If there is no [Mouth of the Blood Cup] in the sky, the sun shouldn¡¯t rise at this time.

    The yers were offline at 10 p.m.st night.

    Although their bodies wouldn¡¯t get sleepy, it would take them eight hours to be online again.

    In other words, even if the yers got online punctually, Annan would have to be on his own for another half an hour.

    ¡°Are you worried that they haven¡¯t woken up yet?¡± Salvatore hesitated slightly when he heard Annan¡¯s words.

    But he quickly shook his head, ¡°At least Master Bishop should be awake.

    ¡°Look at Louis. The senior priests are all well-trained. They will try to get up before the sun rises every day. Even if they don¡¯t sleep for a day or two, it won¡¯t affect their state.¡±

    That training should be dedicated to avoiding those regional nightmares. Annan nodded.

    It was simr to the rules of the Freezing Water Port. There were nightmares in some ces, and the key was the ¡°location itself.¡± If you fall asleep at night, you will fall directly into a nightmare.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually a little worried about you.¡± Annan asked in a low volume, ¡°You only slept for two hours? Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I have taken the Perception Mixture, a brain enhancement medicine. It willst until the night after another supplement in eight hours.¡±

    Salvatore shook his head and said confidently, ¡°Since I have such a curse, I must have been prepared.¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­ You got quite the acting. Are you trying to save your reputation? Or to reassure your friends?¡±

    At somewhere Annan couldn¡¯t hear, the shadow let out a low and hoarse chuckle, ¡°This Perception Mixture can¡¯tst for so long, Salvatore. You are deceiving him.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t hold it, or¡­ if you feel that you are too weak and ipetent, you can close your eyes and faint at any time. I have been full of energy and have been preparing for this a long time.¡±

    Salvatore ignored the shadow¡¯s voice totally.

    While the shadow was speaking, he also whispered to Annan, whereby his voicepletely covered the shadow¡¯s voice, ¡°Be careful, since they want to use this ritual, it means that they have a powerful curse vessel in their hands.

    ¡°Then what they want to summon is probably not the Soul Eater. At least not just the Soul Eater¡­¡± A crippling chill crept upon Salvatore¡¯s back before he could end his sentence.

    At the next moment, the line that Annan had drawn on the ground with the silver-gray potion suddenly lighted up without warning!

    They erupted into a scorching wall of fire, reaching a height of about 1 meter. The air above had be distorted.

    At a distance of about 10 meters away, an illusory translucent spiritual body gradually emerged.

    It was dressed in a long robe, was about 2.5 meters high. It had beautiful dark brown curly hair, and its face was densely packed with more than 20 pairs of eyes. A white halo shone atop her body. The body part below her corbone melted under the swaying hollow robe.

    ¡°It¡¯s the [Leer]!¡±

    Salvatore issued a warning at the first moment, ¡°Don¡¯t look at her eyes. Close your eyes immediately!¡±

    As Salvatore warned, he took out a bottle of white reagent from his arms.

    After a mysterious chanting for a short while, Salvatore threw the reagent bottle high.

    The next moment, an intense brilliance burst out of the reagent bottle.

    The spirit body uttered a sharp scream.

    It wasn¡¯t scared¡­ but irritated.

    It seemed to be resisting something.

    Annan had already closed his eyes when he was alerted. At the same time, he took out a few bottles of reagent Salvatore gave earlier.

    [Blood Impulse Decoction]

    [Type: Consumable (Blue)]

    [Description: A decoction made of blood thorns mixed with the berserker¡¯s blood and mad bull¡¯s blood. The decoction is effective for mammals.]

    [Effect: Strength+4, Agility+2 for 30 seconds. This effect decays to Strength+2, Agility+1 after another 30 seconds, andsts for three minutes (The bonus attribute gained from reagent can¡¯t be stacked. The highest bonus effect will be applied.)]

    [Price: A ¡°mild¡± bloodthirsty desire will be manifested within 30 secs.]

    [Perception Mixture]

    [Type: Consumable (Blue)]

    [Description: Perception Mixture refined with cat¡¯s tears and fledgling¡¯s feather as primary materials, only applicable for Transcended.]

    [Effect: Agility+2, Perception+2 within ten minutes. This effect decays to Agility+2 after another ten minutes, andsts for ten minutes.]

    [Frigid Cold Air]

    [Type: Consumables/material (Purple)]

    [Description: The frigid cold air contains the curse of the dead. Just breathing it is enough to induce frostbite at the trachea of ??ordinary people. Use it with caution. ss III dangerous good.]

    [Effect: After inhtion, the temporary element ¡°northern wind¡± is obtained within one hour. All the abilities with the description of ¡°cold¡± and ¡°airflow¡± will get +1 additional point during elemental skill check.]

    [Effect: Used in ritual, it can temporarily rece the corresponding curse vessel up to the ¡°Silver¡± Rank.]

    Annan hesitated for a moment and didn¡¯t take the [Frigid Cold Air].

    Instead, he drank the other two bottles of medicine in one go.

    The scorching ¡°Blood Impulse Decoction¡± and the sour and cold ¡°Keen Perception Mixture¡± flowed into the throat one after another.

    Annan felt his heart pumping violently.

    A clear sense of new power pulsated within his body.

    He felt that his skin became a lot more sensitive, and he could sense the direction of the air around him. Furthermore, his limbs had also be flexible, as if his bones had be rubber.

    But what was more remarkable was his suddenly hot skin, the muscles that tightened without warning, and the blue blood vessels that burst and throbbed all over the body.

    Annan found it strange that he didn¡¯t feel the ¡°bloodthirsty¡± state in the description.

    There was a burst of intense, irresistible excitement in his heart.

    To put into exnation, it was the eagerness when the ss learned that the winter vacation was approaching.

    When the light faded, Annan opened his eyes.

    Holding the kitchen knife in one hand and the hammer in the other, he rushed towards the tall spirit body!

 Chapter 201: Madam, Times Have Changed

    <h4>Chapter 201: Madam, Times Have Changed</h4>

    Because of Salvatore¡¯s reminder, Annan didn¡¯t look at ¡°Leer.¡±

    He just lowered his head, leaning on his side to watch her rough movement.

    Facing Annan¡¯s frontal charge, ¡°Leer¡± didn¡¯t evade in the slightest.

    Under her constantly swaying robe, where the two empty sleeves were, two transparent white bones the size of half a door wereunched. The bony hands grabbed toward Annan!

    Annan didn¡¯t back down in the face of this obstruction.

    He didn¡¯t even use spells.

    Instead, he flipped a few silver coins, which melted in the air and ted on his sledgehammer.

    Annan suddenly stopped. With the momentum of [Charge], the slightly rotating sledgehammer wasunched horizontally!

    Under the additional bonus effecting from the drugs and curse vessel, Annan¡¯s ¡°Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm¡± mmed into the Leer¡¯s right hand!

    The offense was unstoppable, with the hammer summoning visible airwaves during the smash. The bony hands exploded into dust.

    However, Leer didn¡¯t seem to feel any pain. She didn¡¯t respond at all but reached out her right hand and grabbed toward Annan.

    The sharp finger bones were like five daggers. She seemed capable of beheading Annan with her grasp!

    On the other hand, Annan took advantage of the momentum to throw his right hand out and block right in front of his head.

    Five blood trails were slitted on his right arm. The blood gushed out in an instant and fell to the ground.

    But the moment Leer grabbed Annan¡¯s right arm, Annan did a hand chop with his glittering left hand imbued with curse power.

    In just a moment, he cut off her extended hand directly!

    At that moment, Annan sensed that there seemed to be something emerging in his belly.

    It felt like a thin piece of bone was transported into Annan¡¯s belly.

    Is this the essence of my curse?

    Annan had a better grasp of the better situation.

    So, the curse could only be triggered after ¡°attacking edible creatures.¡±

    Although his right arm was dripping with blood, Leer failed to sever Anna¡¯s tendon in that grasp.

    Annan, who didn¡¯t feel the pain, didn¡¯t back down at all.

    In the blink of an eye, Annan immediately took advantage of the Leer, having herself exposed at the expense of his injury. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t give her another chance to rebuild her defense.

    His blood-soaked right arm exerted strength again and mmed the hammer that was shining with silver brilliance.

    After a dull shattering sounded, as if the skull was crushed, Leer was cracked as it flew out!

    Annan crouched his body lightly at this time, and his left hand reached into the bag.

    While putting the bleeding bone knife back in, Annan took out four silver coins from the bag.

    He put one of the silver coins on his right arm and rubbed it down his hand. The wound seemed to be wiped away by an eraser, and the right arm was immediately intact.

    At the same time, Annan used his right arm as support. His left hand reached out straight forward, and his right arm nted to the left slightly, intertwining into a cross.

    In the next moment, three silver lights shot out from Annan¡¯s palm in the triangle arrangement, hitting Leer¡¯s head, chest, and abdomen, respectively. The attacks directly smashed on Leer, who hadn¡¯t yetnded in the air!

    [You have dispelled the Silver Rank¡¯s summon ¡°Leer¡± in the battle, gaining 500 points of Shared Experience.]

    ¡°¡­Um?¡± Annan¡¯s eyes widened.

    What, howe I get so much experience?

    No way, this rookie monster is actually from Silver Rank?

    ¡°Don Juan!¡± At this moment, Salvatore¡¯s anxious voice sounded from behind, ¡°Behind you!¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate. The moment he heard the sound, he rolled forward.

    He felt a strong wind passing through the back of his head as if some hair had been cut off.

    Annan quickly adjusted his posture on the ground, took out three silver coins from her bag, and sandwiched them between his fingers. They appeared like a brass knuckle for his fist.

    He turned his head, but he was slightly startled with what behold in his sight.

    Behind Annan was a hairless young girl. She didn¡¯t have regr clothes but was covered in yellow bandages, just like a mummy.

    She held a dark green jade long dagger in each hand. After the attack failed, she vanished.

    Salvatore was stopped by a hunk man holding a ck barbed sledgehammer as if he came out of a Disney animation.

    Salvatore took out two reagent bottles from the box in a sorry state and threw them at the hunk.

    Huh, another two more monsters came out?

    That being the case, what happens on the other side.

    Annan finally knew that he and Salvatore had overlooked something.

    In other words, Annan didn¡¯t know how much Rotten Man Church nned to do before seeing ¡°Ritual: Roaring Heart.¡±

    It urred that the Rotten Man Church was determined to prevent Michngelo from resurrecting.

    Then, they wouldn¡¯t just resort to summoning the most powerful ¡°the Soul Eater¡± only!

    There were at least nine of the summoned monsters.

    Of course, since ¡°Ritual: Roaring Heart¡± had been activated, they might only have eight left now.

    In other words, they might be doing eight summoning rituals at the same time!

    ¡°Let me help you!¡± Annan shouted decisively.

    The experience points belong to me. Wait, sorry, I mean this hunk man is too dangerous for you!

    Annan didn¡¯t even hesitate and rushed toward the hunk man.

    Annan¡¯s skin keenly felt the flow of air the next moment.

    He stopped abruptly and raised the sledgehammer with his right hand.

    The ¡°mummy¡± who had just be invisible in front of him didn¡¯t hide.

    Instead, the mummy appeared in front of him dignified and shed on the hammer¡¯s handle!

    In this encounter, Annan realized that she didn¡¯t have much strength.

    So, is the weapon poisonous?

    ¡°You don¡¯t want me to pass?¡± Annan looked at her.

    He was a little surprised by the intelligence of this summoned creature.

    Indeed, Annan wouldn¡¯t have any difficulty dealing with the hunk man.

    But he hadn¡¯t released his Falteration spell yet.

    How did this mummy guess it out?

    Annan sneered and slowly raised the hammer to her. He was charging his attack, ready to go at any second.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the same. Since you want to fight me, I¡ª¡±

    Annan was halfway through talking to her, and a faint blue brilliance appeared in his eyes silently.

    Under his feet, a frost aura burst out without warning!

    The dead girl with bandages warping her up noticed something before Annan used Frost Nova.

    She tried to leap back at a greater height.

    But Annan Frost Nova spread faster than her movement.

    After cold air expanded to its limit, it spread upward like wildfire under her foot.

    In the end, she appeared like jumping into the cold air¡¯s onught!

    At the moment when her movements became stiff, Annan put away the hammer and hit her with his left fist, shooting out all three silver coins sandwiched between his fingers!

    [You have dispelled the Bronze Rank¡¯s summon ¡°Infected Girl¡± in the battle, gaining 20 points of Shared Experience.]

    ¡°Heh¡­Madam, times have changed.¡± Annan sneered and withdrew his left hand.

    Since this ¡°gued girl¡± dared to stop him, Annan immediately judged that she shouldn¡¯t have the ability to predict.

    Otherwise, she should know that working together to besiege Salvatore was the right choice.

    But, she somehow knew Annan wanted to rescue Salvatore.

    So, she should have some kind of fast and remote mind-reading ability.

    But Annan¡¯s advantage was that he moved fast!

    Even Annan didn¡¯t know what he might think the next moment.

    He thought of the AOE spell all of a sudden and triggered it without any dy. Even she noticed it, she couldn¡¯t avoid it!

    (TN: AOE stands for Area of Effect; more of a gaming term)

    ¡°Don, Don Juan! Help, help me¡­Help!¡± Salvatore yelled to Annan in a sorry state.

    He felt very wronged.

    This hunk man had been chasing him non-stop. Not to mention the chance of spell casting, he didn¡¯t even have the opportunity of utilizing the reagents.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I¡¯m here!¡±

    Seeing Salvatore being chased and rushed to his side, Annan raised the hammer excitedly.

    He felt that he could be promoted by at least two levels!

    These summons are nutritious food!

    On the other side at 12 Rusty Water Street¡­

    Kafni rubbed her eyes sleepily and leaned against the wall.

    She was still wearing light clothing that gave the onlookers a gloomy feeling.

    More than ten tentacles were protruding from under her skirt. One of which formed a cushion on the wall while lifting the skirt.

    The remaining tentacles tightly locked the joints of a faceless man dressed as a magician in red. The tentacles raised him up and then pped him to the ground!

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he say to wait for me to wake up?¡±

    She murmured in dissatisfaction.

    The shadow suddenly became thicker as if sensing her feelings. They twisted the man in red directly into a ball.

    Then, he burst directly into pieces with only a piece of red cloth remaining.

    At the next moment, the air around her gradually became hot.

    A knight wearing blood-stained crimson te full body armor rode a tall horse with the same crimson armor. He held a blood pike and galloped from the other end of the street.

    He faced the weak and helpless Kafni, but he treated her as if he was facing a dragon or a demon. Heunched a standard knight charge to her seriously!

    Kafni¡¯s expression changed slightly for a moment, a little more serious.

    ¡°The Red Knight¡¯s Chevaliers?¡± She muttered in a low volume and stood up straight.

    Kafni turned on a tiny portablemp that she carried around her waist and ced it behind her.

    Then, she unbuttoned her coat slightly, expanding the area of ??her shadow.

    Her clothes were unique. The front part was twice as one-fold thick than the back part. At her shoulder des, there was anotheryer of cloth folded inward back. As a result, she had twoyers of buttons inside and outside. Once she unbuttoned the firstyer of buttons, it would spread out like butterfly wings.

    Kafni faced the red chevalier galloping in the distance, and closed her eyes.

    She condensed her mind power, gradually floated in the air, and her clothes fluttered.

    If one were to look from behind, she looked like a ck butterfly with its gorgeous wings spread.

    Under the deep shadow cast in front of her, countless tentacles ran rampant like a deep ocean.

    The knight whounched [Charge] in the face of this dark sea was unfazed.

 Chapter 202: Shadow Locks & Bane

    <h4>Chapter 202: Shadow Locks & Bane</h4>

    Kafni naturally knew what she was facing.

    War deity¡¯s Three Hundred Chevaliers of the Red Knight with bloody armor.

    (TN: I have changed the trantion from Heroes of the Red Knight to Chevaliers of the Red Knight, which isst seen in Chapter 68.)

    The chevalier in blood-covered armor was one of them.

    Every chevalier had fought to the death on the fiercest battlefield. They were sheltered by the war deity and regained their physical bodies after death, bing a walking ¡°war¡± symbol.

    Of course, that was a more euphemized narration.

    Simply put, they had be the war deity¡¯s mercenary.

    ¡°Chevalier¡± was the easiest upright deity¡¯s envoy to be summoned.

    As long as they meet the ritual needs of the Red Knight, the chevalier would be avable to enter the mortal world. The Red Knight¡¯s priests also spread the ritual of summoning ¡°chevalier¡± to spread wars in any peaceful environment.

    ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± Kafni pursed her lips, slightly annoyed.

    I could have reminded Annan to summon a chevalier too.

    There were two rtively rare materials to conduct ¡°Ritual: Chevalier Summoning,¡± which was ¡°an uing Transcended war¡± and ¡°Novice Influence: Breath of War.¡± All the remaining materials were things that could be bought from the ordinary people¡¯s market:

    For example, sword des that were once stained with blood and rust, armor soaked with the air of the battlefield, theplete skull of a horse, and a tube of veteran¡¯s blood.

    Novice influence was something that chaos spells would produce, and the war itself was the ritual area. There was almost no need to spend money on it. Even mortals could use curse vessels with ¡°war¡± elements to rece them for the summoning.

    The only limitation was that you could no longer summon the chevalier if the ¡°opponent side of the war¡± had sessfully summoned it.

    This was the measure that Red Knight utilized to encourage the public to summon his chevalier.

    The side that summoned the chevalier must start a war within one day. If they summoned the chevalier but only relied on it to make the opponent surrender for greater benefits, that would be deemed as a betrayal to the war deity.

    If the summoning side chose to retreat and didn¡¯t initiate a war, then the chevalier would attack them in return. Therefore, the chevalier¡¯s overseeing role gave them another name, ¡°Red Knight¡¯s Governor.¡±

    With that, it made sense for Annan not to summon a chevalier. After all, they were on the defensive side, unable to confirm if the opponents were Transcended.

    ¡°What a pity.¡± Kafni opened her eyes slightly, clenching her hands subconsciously.

    The red aura representing strength and courage flickered violently in her eyes. By harnessing the spiritual power, countless shadow tentacles emerged from the shadow pool projected in front of her.

    Kafni knew the chevalier well. She naturally knew that the safest battle strategy was to restrict the direct charge attacksing from the chevalier.

    A chevalier who couldn¡¯t perform a direct charge attack was tantamount to an ordinary Silver Rank Swordsman without special abilities.

    But for Kafni, utilizing this strategy also restricted her options.

    Kafni¡¯s tentacles could only be summoned from the shadow cast by her.

    It urred that Kafni was utilizing her st resort.¡±

    After she unfolded her clothes, every corner of the shadow projected from the light source manifested the tentacles as she willed, no matter if it was on the air or the ground!

    At this time, the chevalier had already rushed to the middle of the shadow pool.

    His armor screeched ferociously like a living thing.

    Those tentacles seemed incapable of reacting to this attack at first nce.

    The chevalier with bloody armor was like a scarlet torrent, galloping like aet!

    But at the next moment, countless tentacles shot out from the shadows, binding the chevalier in an instant!

    All the tentacles came from behind him, firmly locking his neck, chest, arms, and the head and feet of the heavily armored horse under him!

    There were more than forty tentacles, each of which was at the thickness of a finger.

    The tentacles halted the chevalier¡¯s [Charge] and put him in ce!

    The bloody armored knight was like a giant insect trying to break free from the spider web. It struggled fanatically.

    But as Kafni¡¯s eyes were fully opened, the red shimmers in her eyes grew more rose!

    In addition to the tentacles protruding from the ground behind the chevalier, tentacles also appeared from thin air, attacking in all directions.

    Each of these tentacles had the thickness of an adult man¡¯s forearm. They slowly tightened the sturdy knight, producing squeaks at the armor. His limbs and head were all twisted to a deadlock.

    ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± Even the deity¡¯s envoy, chevalier, couldn¡¯t help but groan in a low voice under the overwhelming force.

    The crimson red light circted fiercely on his body. The tentacles made a crunching sound. For a while, the two were in a stalemate. However, as the tentacle count slowly added up, Kafni gradually gained the upper hand in the brawl.

    Soon enough, the chevalier was dragged off his horse.

    He immediately reached out and grabbed onto the surrounding ground and walls, trying to break away from the tentacles. Unfortunately, the walls were fragile, as if they were tofu. As he held tightly onto the wall, pieces of walls were torn down. It didn¡¯t stop him from being dragged away by the tentacles.

    Up until the knight was dragged to the center of the shadow¡­

    Countless tentacles emerged from thin air in all directions, grabbing every space on the chevalier!

    The tentacles lifted him high off the ground instantly, robbing away his chance to gain a footing on the ground.

    Without support from the ground, the knight became helpless in the air.

    He was about to be slowly torn apart by tentacles in the air.

    Suddenly, there was a gunshot.

    A bullet shattered the waistmp behind Kafni!

    At that moment, the shadow in front of Kafni disappeared instantly.

    The dozens of tentacles tied to the chevalier¡¯s body disappeared like bubbles.

    The chevalier exerted his strength and resisted the dragging forces from the remaining tentacles. In the end, he fell to the ground, albeit in a sorry state. He staggered as he climbed up the ground. Obviously, he had suffered a significant amount of injury.

    Kafni immediately looked in the direction where the gunfire sounded.

    It was a mncholy man with a weird helmet armed with thirteen lenses, which covered his eyes.

    He was carrying a long and gray gun that was shaped like a sniper rifle.

    ¡°Oh, we have Greysmith¡¯s envoy too?¡± Kafni frowned.

    Greysmith was a false deity, also known as the ¡°deity of remembrance and despair.¡± What faced Kafni at that moment was his envoy, Bane.

    Their attacks were ineffective to the living, but they yed the role of intercepting and harassing the opponent best.

    Bane could attack all non-sentient things and could only be defeated by simr things with that property.

    In other words, he would be immune to all close-contact attacks and almost all direct spells. He would be immune to shes and bow attacks but vulnerable to guns and crossbows.

    At this moment, two tentacles popped out of Kafni¡¯s skirt and hurled Kafni away gently.

    With that, Kafni dodged away from the bloody light stream the chevalier sent over.

    ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± Kafni couldn¡¯t help but smack her lips.

    For her, the current situation was a bit troublesome.

    Neither she nor Bane could hurt each other.

    Worse still, Bane had shattered Kafni¡¯smp.

    Without the shadow¡¯s aid, it would be challenging to face two Silver Ranks simultaneously.

    All of a sudden¡­

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Kafni, we¡¯re here!¡± The Child¡¯s uplifting voice sounded.

    ¡ªyers hade online.

 Chapter 203: Iâ€™m Great At Defeating Dummy Target

    <h4>Chapter 203: I¡¯m Great At Defeating Dummy Target</h4>

    Annan¡¯s pupils shed a dim light.

    Signs of Slothful Eye passed away in a sh. The hunk man only paused a while before breaking free from it.

    The hunk man swung the hammer at Annan, but Annan easily avoided it.

    That¡¯s too slow.

    In Annan¡¯s vision¡­ no, even if not in Annan¡¯s vision, his actions were undoubtedly ¡°slow motion.¡±

    His slow movement resembled the monsters appearing in the Ultraman show.

    For the Alteration Wizard like Salvatore, who had to stand still and do his things, this had indeed lowered the threat level.

    In the end, the hunk man couldn¡¯t reach Annan at all. Annan could easily avoid his attack by taking two steps back.

    ¡°What¡¯s the name of this dumb thing?¡± Annan even asked casually, ¡°Is there anything I need to be careful of?¡±

    ¡°No, you can rest assured about this!¡±

    Salvatore replied directly, ¡°This creature is amonly used summon focused on strength attribute. Its nickname is ¡®battering ram.¡¯ We usually call it Big Fat. Although it is a Bronze Rank summon, it works well, albeit being dumb. That¡¯s because of its thick skin, robust muscles, and great endurance.

    ¡°Just make sure not to go head-on with his hammer. Even if his strength isn¡¯t quite overwhelming, the spiky part of the hammer can magnify his strength by seven times! So, every time of his attack is equal to the impact of a battering ram.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I got it.¡± Annan got an understanding of his opponent.

    This monster is a dummy target like those in the practice area or tutorial.

    That¡¯s true. Alteration Wizard outputs excellent damage. At the standard of ordinary people, it isplicated to measure the damage. Anyone or anything will die instantly at that level.

    On the other hand, Big Fat has a great endurance to sustain more damage.

    He isn¡¯t much of a threat when there¡¯s a distraction to draw aggro.

    I guess it¡¯s pretty hard to deal with it alone.

    ¡°Attract his attention!¡± Salvatore was confident, ¡°I got it.¡±

    His words were full of excitement, as if a student realized that he had the same question before during a test.

    Annan had initially nned to utilize [Frost Sword]. However, after seeing Salvatore being so proactive, he changed his role to the main tank and started drawing aggro.

    That¡¯s great. I get to reserve my power.

    At this moment, Salvatore threw a reagent on his shoulder.

    It exploded in the air and turned into a cluster of embers.

    Then, the embers instantly solidified into crystals and shattered after falling to the ground.

    But what exploded out when it hit the ground wasn¡¯t the red crystal fragments but countless dense metal needles.

    The first round of ¡°Alteration¡± waspleted in about three seconds. Then, Salvatore proceeded to have 130 steel needles hovering around him.

    Subsequently, these steel needles flew out in batches and nailed into the Big Fat¡¯s body. This process took about 20 seconds.

    But beyond Big Fat¡¯s robust muscles, there was a thickeryer of fat.

    These steel needles were only halfway in, and they failed to pierce the fatyer. Hence, not even one drop of blood was shed.

    Consequently, Big Fatpletely ignored the steel needles. The steel needles were squeezed out for his body when he was running towards Annan.

    However, some of the steel needles were submerged into the fat body.

    Salvatore began to chant in a low volume, ¡°Walking on iron, flowing on steel. Sparks ssh, storm surges¡ª¡±

    At the beginning of Salvatore¡¯s chanting, a strong maic force burst out between every two steel needles¡ªattracting them closer. Big Fat felt intense pain as he pursued his enemy.

    He intended to control the muscles to get these steel needles out of the body.

    But, after Salvatore finished chanting, a burst of strong electricity ran rampant in his body!

    The harsh electric light ran wildly in Big Fat¡¯s body. Soon, his body was as if shone by X-rays with fierce electric light sshing out continuously.

    The sparks and the lightning shes that spurted out of his body forced Annan to retreat.

    The high temperature ignited Big Fat¡¯s hair. As a result, he was paralyzed and rendered immobile.

    The crackling electric lightsted for 20 seconds before the Big Fat finally burst into a pile of flesh and blood.

    There was a strong burnt smell permeating the air.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    Wow, aren¡¯t his fat and muscle too thick?

    Annan was convinced that if Salvatore set an electric attack on him, he would be put into a shock swiftly.

    He looked around and noticed that there was no new enemy at the moment. He leaned to Salvatore¡¯s side, raised his head, and asked curiously, ¡°Are you familiar with this, senior?¡±

    ¡°Ha, I encountered this in my graduation exam.¡± Salvatore chuckled, ¡°If I can¡¯t defeat Big Fat alone, I can¡¯t embark on the Transcended path. So, I have a deep memory of defeating it.¡±

    ¡°Then, why are you chased all over by him at the start?¡± Annan chuckled.

    ¡°Big Fat was fifty meters away from me when I took the exam! I get to kite him as I fight, giving me maneuverability.¡±

    Salvatore was aggrieved, ¡°When I turned around and noticed the Big Fat, he was already by my side.¡±

    Is it an illusion?

    Why does the senior seem so unreliable?

    Annan hesitated to speak up.

    Next to this battlefield is the residential house. You can just stop the Big Fat with your reagents, then use your magic to open the door lock to enter the house.

    Aren¡¯t those big guys usually weak against doors in games?

    Maybe, senior is more talented in the research field. Annan couldn¡¯t help but fill in an exnation on his own.

    But, Salvatore¡¯s actualbat capability is like an amateur.

    If he can pass the exam at this level, there should be some issue with Swamp¡¯s ck Tower¡¯s graduation exam.

    ¡°Feudal lord!¡± Lin Yiyi¡¯s panicked voice sounded, ¡°Are wete?!¡±

    She and Delicious Wind Goose hurried over from the other side of the street.

    When she just went online, she was shocked when she saw the sky was red.

    She thought the boss battle had already begun, and they werete.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s first reaction was like, ¡°Will an invisible barrier outside the battlefield stop me since I¡¯m not here when the Boss Monster appears?¡±

    She immediately uploaded a post in the forum.

    Fortunately, there were still some frontier yers who stayed up all night to adventure on the unexplored part of the ¡°game.¡± They only go online at night, adventuring until the sun rises at 6 a.m. They were waiting for the next batch of yers to go online and watch the streams before heading to their real-life bed.

    When they saw Lin Yiyi¡¯s post, they quickly assigned someone to go offline and gave Delicious Wind Goose a warning call. At any rate, they forced Delicious Wind Goose, who was chilling and ying cards, go online immediately.

    After all, when they logged into Mist Continent, their bodies in ¡°real life¡± were equivalent to sleeping¡ªThis world could be considered a nightmare in another sense for them. Funny enough, the yers didn¡¯t go offline to sleep but got up from the bed.

    When Delicious Wind Goose went online urgently, he was also taken aback.

    The two immediately rushed to 44 Clear Water Street. Then, they saw the two battle-ready fellows chatting here.

    When the two saw the hammer in Annan¡¯s hand, they shivered habitually.

    The yers had resurrected many times because of this hammer killing them.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, not toote.¡± Annan nced at the yers.

    Hmph, you all go online so timely. So I have defeated those sidekick mobs, and then youe here to fight the boss?

    (TN: It¡¯s aint whereby in RPG games, you need to defeat small monsters before reaching the Boss stage. The yers kind of skip the effort in doing so.)

    Those who know realize that you¡¯re not online. Otherwise, they will think you¡¯re AFK and report your ount.

    But¡­

    Annan¡¯s gaze grew sharper.

    Someone else took thest hit reward on the Big Fat, so I must grab thest hit on the Soul Eater!

    (TN: As literal as it means, thest hit means delivering the final blow that kills the monster, usually associated with gaining rewards.)

    The most elite dual profession summon of the Silver Rank. Just looking at this difficulty, Annan felt that his status would soar to the sky as a reward of being the person killing it.

    Looking at Annan with a resolute expression, the cowardly Salvatore couldn¡¯t help but praise in his heart.

    Don Juan¡­ No, Annan is very reliable.

    Even in the face of the terrifying Soul Eater, he has no fear at all, as if he is unaware why this enemy is terrifying.

    Salvatore suddenly realized that the surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped for some time.

    When he breathed, he vaguely saw his breath.

    But Annan didn¡¯t activate Frost Nova.

    Salvatore was surprised.

    He raised his voice and shouted, ¡°Be careful. The Soul Eater is here!¡±

 Chapter 204: Dumbfounded? I Can Respawn!

    <h4>Chapter 204: Dumbfounded? I Can Respawn!</h4>

    ¡°When you see the breath you exhale all of a sudden, be warned that it¡¯s the Silent Lady¡¯s ritual, ¡®Summoning the Soul Eater.¡¯¡±

    Annan noticed that Lin Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose were streaming, so he yed a perfect role as an NPC in charge of narration.

    With a solemn expression, Annan said solemnly to the camera, ¡°The Soul Eater¡¯s ability is equivalent to a ¡®soul-hunter¡¯ at the peak of Silver Rank without a curse vessel. It also has the ability usually possessed by Silver Rank¡¯s Hunters and Lurkers. In addition, it can freely use many of the Silver Rank Energy Falteration School¡¯s wizard spells.¡±

    ¡°Don Juan!¡± Salvatore was probably concerned that they were wide open on the street, so he shouted out Annan¡¯s pseudonym. ¡°Watch out for your blindspot. The Soul Eater is proficient in sneaking.¡±

    Unfortunately, this warning wasn¡¯t much of a help.

    Before Salvatore finished speaking, the thick white fog permeated the entire street.

    The damp and cold breath made it difficult for movement. Some had ayer of frost on their hair. The overflowing stench in the fog was enough to confuse those with sensitive olfactory functionality.

    Salvatore¡¯s expression grew a little strange.

    This smell¡­

    It¡¯s like the repulsive frozen fish smell that has been stored for a long time.

    After Annanpleted his role as a dungeon instance NPC, he immediately stood still and shut his eyes. With that, he activated the ¡°creator¡¯s perspective.¡±

    That was one of Annan¡¯s backend interface¡¯s abilities.

    Unfortunately, Annan hadn¡¯t faced an opponent proficient in sneaking. He was inexperienced in putting this ability to good use.

    Annan¡¯s vision soared to the sky, giving him a bird¡¯s eye view immediately. His awareness of what happened on the ground was unobstructed.

    Immediately after, Annan noticed that the coverage of this ¡°Ritual: Roaring Heart¡± wasn¡¯t too broad. It only covered the entire Roseburg and plunged the ce into absolute silence.

    That is to say.

    The Rotten Man Church would be concerned with civilians¡¯ casualties and the exposure of the Transcended to the mortal world.

    Annan found this setting a little ridiculous for a moment.

    Did they already treat the Noah Kingdom as their home base?

    The Rotten Man Church is even considerate of the king. Everything is well prepared in advance to eliminate the potential negative influence.

    However, their arrangement had also benefited Annan.

    At least Annan didn¡¯t have to worry about identally hurting civilians spectating the event.

    He couldn¡¯t control the civilians from joining in out of excitement.

    Also, Annan was convinced that if the civilians weren¡¯t held in the dream, there would inevitably be someoneing over to watch.

    As Annan zoomed in on the ¡°creator¡¯s perspective,¡± he finally found a monster moving forward slowly.

    The monster looked a bit like a lizard, about half a human¡¯s height tall, and his body surface was shiny ck that seemed metallic.

    It was just that its head was a sharp triangr head, and the snout was sharp and hard, like a drill. At a nce, one could identify that this monster had a solid armor-piercing capability.

    It also had a long, sharp, t tail shaped like a ded spine. Looking down from directly above, the monster urred to be dragging a powder-coated machete.

    Amidst the white mist, the silent and murderous machete lurked.

    Aren¡¯t you just a duplicate of Zabuza Momochi [1]?

    The monster was wrapped in an intense frost air. It silently and gradually approached Lin Yiyi, who appeared to be the weakest.

    Annan probably knew what rules it used to select its prey.

    The ¡°Soul Eater¡± was quite intelligent who preferred to bully the weak and fear the strong.

    It possessed the peak strength of the Silver Rank.

    Although the four people present were all Bronze Rank Transcended, the gap between Transcended was put into consideration.

    Annan and Salvatore were fully armed, and they looked battle-ready. Delicious Wind Goose wasn¡¯t young with an intimidating bald head, making him appear robust. Furthermore, Old Goose had his weapons out of the sheath and was equipped in his hands.

    Among all the people present, only Yiyi was a female.

    Although she was a youth, booming with vitality. Unfortunately, she left the sword at her waist unsheathed, with only a wooden staff held in her hand.

    In other words, the Soul Eater believed that she was the best choice in his n to reduce the enemy count before starting the battle.

    Of course, that seemed like an undeniable fact to the monster.

    This was why the less tanky party member was usually surrounded by his group members in a game¡¯s adventure or dungeon run.

    The only problem was that Yiyi wasn¡¯t the least tanky one among the group. On the contrary, she was the only tank among the four.

    Annan thought for a moment and decided to stay silent.

    He wanted to test out the yers¡¯ offensive capability.

    Annan could probably guess that if he reminded Yiyi out loud, the Soul Eater would prioritize him next.

    I¡¯m just an innocent NPC who wanders into a dungeon instance. yers, you have to protect me first. Only then can I put my mind into considering how to kill the boss in this part of the plot.

    Annan didn¡¯t want to yell ¡°Why are you running?¡± at the yers and drew the Soul Eater¡¯s aggro.

    He silently sent an immediate mission to the four yers and enabled the permission for them to resurrect.

    [Immediate Mission: Immortal Protector]

    [Mission requirements: Before the end of the ¡°Limited-time Main Mission: Protector,¡± there is no penalty for resurrection, and the daily resurrection count limit is ignored.]

    [Special requirement: The final reward is based on ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯s¡± satisfaction.]

    Having suddenly received the main mission prompt, the four yers were slightly surprised.

    But, as they became excited, Lin Yiyi was distracted after seeing the main mission.

    From the creator¡¯s perspective, Annan saw that in the Soul Eater¡¯s dark gray vertical pupils, oneyer among the triple eyelids closed.

    Then, the monster turned around and bit its tail.

    Like a rotating and flying wheel, it shed past Lin Yiyi and fell back into the gray mists in a sh.

    Lin Yiyi only had time to let out a scream.

    She was cut in half by this unpredictable backstab!

    In her severed corpse, the crimson red flesh quickly turned dark red as if bing a rotting fish. Before the upper half of the flying corpse fell to the ground, all signs of vigor had dissipated.

    Then, she turned into ck dust and respawned.

    The lower half of her body stood up intact.

    Even the clothes were undamaged.

    The Soul Eater: ?

    The ruthless hunter¡ªck matte lizard, obviously had never encountered something like this before.

    It tilted its head nkly, shrinking into the shadows and thinking about the situation in front of it.

    ¡°Are you okay?!¡±

    At this moment, Annan immediately shouted anxiously, ¡°Are you injured?¡±

    Hearing this, the other three yers were taken aback.

    Only Salvatore¡¯s shadow reacted at the first moment, ¡°Idiot Salvatore, he is trying to deceive the Soul Eater to make it think that this resurrection is idental.

    ¡°As you saw before¡­ As long as Annan is not dead, all of his entourage can be resurrected at will.

    ¡°Listen to me, Salvatore. You start preparing the spell first and immediately attack her when you hear her voice!¡±

    The shadow¡¯s deep and hoarse voice rang in Salvatore¡¯s heart.

    ¡°How could I?¡± Salvatore hesitated to speak but stopped.

    How can I attack my ally?!

    He still wasn¡¯t sure whether this resurrection had any price to pay!

    Worse still, he couldn¡¯t control his firepower at all.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± The shadow denounced Salvatore¡¯s hesitation, ¡°This is the most efficient way to fight!

    ¡°What if it turns to attack Annan? He doesn¡¯t have the ability to resurrect himself! Or do you think Annan can stop the Soul Eater¡¯s attack?¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t have the ability to resurrect someone either?¡± Salvatore thought hesitantly.

    ¡°I admit that this is a gamble,¡± the shadow whispered. ¡°But even if you didn¡¯t kill it, Annan can save you.

    ¡°But what if Annan made a move but didn¡¯t kill it? Can you save Annan?

    ¡°This is all because you¡¯re weak, Salvatore! You¡¯re weaker than Annan, so you have to make a move before him!¡±

    What you said makes sense. Salvatore hesitated.

    His hand subconsciously touched the Sage¡¯s Stone behind his shoulder.

    But I can stop being weak!

    Salvatore quickly stopped hesitating, took the brass bottle containing Sage¡¯s Stone, and held it in his hand. He triggered the mechanism to protrude the needle and put it near his chest.

    He didn¡¯t intend to stimte the Soul Eater with the smell of blood and make the monster hide. After all, Salvatore wasn¡¯t sure if he could find the startled Soul Eater within a few minutes after using Sage¡¯s Stone.

    At the moment the Soul Eaterunched its second attack, Salvatore struck Sage¡¯s Stone directly into his heart!

    ¡°Miss Yiyi!¡± Salvatore made up his mind, cooperating with Annan¡¯s strategy, and shouted, ¡°Please be careful! Be sure to hold the enemy, but be careful not to get hurt again!

    ¡°Your curse¡¯s power is limited!¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was taken aback.

    Senior, when did you be smart?

 Chapter 205: The Monster Lost Its Cool

    <h4>Chapter 205: The Monster Lost Its Cool</h4>

    The Soul Eater stared at the fully intact Yiyi and pondered for a long time.

    Strange, what I felt is clearly right.

    Judging from the quality of her flesh, she should be an ordinary Bronze Rank swordsman.

    However, after hearing the shouts of Annan and Salvatore, the intelligent monster immediately realized something:

    Yes, the cursees with a price.

    This is especially true for the youth of Bronze Rank.

    I understand. She may have used some curse with strict conditions to reverse her own time.

    But that¡¯s all futile.

    In the dark gray vertical pupils of the Soul Eater, it closed the innermostyer of its three eyelids again.

    It turned its head, bit its tail again, and straightened the tension.

    I just need to kill you again.

    After all, it¡¯s a piece of cake.

    At the same time, Annan realized that Salvatore was about to use the Sage¡¯s stone whilst the Soul Eater was making another attempt to assault Yiyi while watching through his Creator¡¯s perspective.

    He was a little surprised at Salvatore¡¯s decisiveness.

    In Annan¡¯s memory, Salvatore wasn¡¯t someone who was great at execution.

    Annan¡¯s original prediction was that Salvatore would hesitate for a while. Then, by the time Yiyi died for the second or third time, he should realize that he could attack both the Soul Eater and Yiyi was being focused.

    But, his attack should be ineffective.

    While Salvatore¡¯sbo managed to kill Big Fat in seconds, the needle summoning and spell chanting took nearly half a minute.

    The attacks directed at the Soul Eater could only be effective if it was swift.

    However, Annan was already prepared for this.

    The moment the Soul Eater turns its head to change focus from Lin Yiyi to Salvatore, he would inject the Sage¡¯s Stone andunch [Frost Sword] at it.

    Due to his curse, Annan¡¯s sense of pain was severely weakened. Thus, even after the effects of the Sage¡¯s Stone disappeared, Annan could retain a certain degree ofbat prowess.

    This was the reason that Annan had two copies of the stone with him, but the craftsman ¡ª Salvatore only had one.

    However, if Salvatore is already nning to use the Sage¡¯s Stone now, I have to adjust my n slightly.

    After all, Annan couldn¡¯t just shout to Salvatore, ¡°Hey, pretend to chant a spell. I¡¯ll use my ultimate ability.¡±

    The Soul Eater was a high-ranking summon in the Silent Realm, so it could understand human words.

    As the event unfolded, Annan¡¯s role was to create opportunities for Salvatore!

    I should trust the senior for the time being.

    As long as he uses the Sage¡¯s Stone to gain thebat power of a Gold Rank temporarily and disysbat powerparable to 70% of the Silver Rank Great Wizard Benjamin, it is enough!

    If Salvatore was inting [1], Annan would have to use the Sage¡¯s Stone himself to stand in immediately. He would only have one remaining use of the stone left for anyter unforeseen events, and would also have to protect the incapacitated Salvatore.

    If Salvatore did seed, however, then Annan could hide his true strength. It would be cost-free for him to continue to act as an NPC until the end of the dungeon instance.

    ¡°Yiyi, on your left!¡±

    Immediately before the Soul Eaterunched its attack, Annan shouted, ¡°Protect me, Old Goose!¡±

    Perhaps due to the cooperation during thest dungeon instance, Delicious Wind Goose and Yiyi didn¡¯t hesitate to follow Annan¡¯smand.

    Lin Yiyi immediately turned slightly to the left, and caught a ck, barbed wheel flying towards her.

    She raised her wooden staff subconsciously, gripping it tightly.

    ¡ªHa.

    The Soul Eater was disdainful toward the resistance.

    Are you trying to stop me with that wooden stick?

    I don¡¯t need to attack deliberately. By just passing it, I can shred it into pieces!

    But what the Soul Eater didn¡¯t know was that¡­

    When Lin Yiyi saw it and held the wooden staff with both hands, she activated her curse.

    [When holding the weapon with both hands, you can see all the attack trajectories that will hit ¡°you¡± in the next three seconds. If the parry attempt fails, you will not lose your bnce nor be grounded.]

    [Do not move when using this ability. The attacker must be within sight.]

    The curse [Frontal Parry] granted Lin Yiyi robust strength and the ability to predict the short-term future.

    In Lin Yiyi¡¯s vision, her surroundings seemed to slow down, turning gray and white.

    In front of her, there was a red phantom image.

    Countless ck wheels spiralled towards her from the front in unpredictable trajectories, diagonally slicing through her head and heart, tossing her entire left arm and half her ribs from the body.

    At this moment, the red images were graying out rapidly.

    Lin Yiyi could only make onest decision in this slow world.

    I don¡¯t think I can stop it.

    But I should be able to survive it.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s legs couldn¡¯t move.

    She used all her strength and tried her best to bend her upper body to the right.

    In this bullet time-like state, her actions were extremely difficult and slow.

    But if the whole process was viewed in real time, it was undoubtedly much faster because she had put her body to the limit in dodging this attack!

    Normally it is impossible for a person to dodge instantly and unreservedly in battle!

    As the gray tone that represented real time was about to catch up with the red paths, indicating that it almost hit her, Lin Yiyi felt exhaustion assault her mind and she was ejected out of that strange state.

    Thankfully, her upper body had already deviated enough from the attacking trajectory.

    The attack, which should have split her head and heart into pieces simultaneously, could only shred her wooden staff and the forelimb of her left arm.

    ording to Annan¡¯s settings, the intense pain would disappear instantly after reaching the maximum pain threshold. So after the limb was severed, Lin Yiyi was surprised to realize that she wasn¡¯t dead!

    Indeed, although her left arm flew out, her health was still at 35%!

    Does this mean that if it doesn¡¯t sever my limb, I can survive its attacks with more than half of my health points left.

    Although she would be instantly killed head-on, Lin Yiyi now had a strong feeling of confidence in her heart.

    I can do it!

    I can tank it!

    ¡°I need a sturdier weapon!¡±

    Lin Yiyi dragged her severed arm and backed up quickly, shouting to Annan and Salvatore at the first opportunity.

    Although she didn¡¯t know if it would work, she still wanted to try calling out to them.

    The Soul Eater was taken aback when it noticed Lin Yiyi dodged its supposedly unavoidable attack, and then it was enraged.

    It hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to turn around and kill the most dangerous human who can see through its stealth, or to execute the weakest human who had already lost her arm.

    It finally decided to finish off the human who was arrogantly taunting it even after her limb was severed!

    It no longer used the same wheel attack this time.

    That was an AoE attack specialized in dealing withrge numbers of unarmored units.

    The Soul Eater shut twoyers of eyelids, straightened its body and lifted its sharp triangr head. Like a speeding javelin, it swiftlyunched toward Lin Yiyi!

    The Soul Eater¡¯s [Charge] attack was undetectable, unavoidable and without warning.

    By the time Lin Yiyi heard the sound, her chest and abdomen were already prated.

    She was severed into two halves. Arge spurt of blood burst out into the air behind her out of momentum.

    Fortunately, her back was facing the road and not someone¡¯s house. Even then, the Soul Eater¡¯s attack left a big hole at the T-shaped intersection more than 80 meters behind her!

    Then, Lin Yiyi respawned immediately at the same ce again.

    She called out again, ¡°I need a weapon!¡±

    ¡°Take this!¡±

    Salvatore didn¡¯t hesitate to throw a sturdy alloy steel staff crafted through his alteration techniques toward Lin Yiyi.

    The steel staff made a hissing sound in the air. But fortunately, Salvatore was weak in strength, so Lin Yiyi caught it easily from the air.

    The moment she caught the staff with both hands, her face froze.

    She leaned backwards without hesitation as the Soul Eater darted toward her chest and abdomen again.

    The attack failed, and the monster skidded onto the ground, leaving long marks.

    Then, the monster closed its threeyers of eyelids, and suddenly disappeared, reappearing above Lin Yiyi in an instant.

    Its straightened tail mmed directly at her, who was lying on the ground, trying to cut her in half vertically!

    Seeing this, Annan breathed a sigh of relief instead.

    Yes, the monster finally lost its cool.

    What a great MT (main tank)! She really dyed the monster there!

    ********************************************************************************************************* Dear fans and readers, I would like to thank MindMatrix for editing this chapter. Possibly, we will work together for quite a while. I hope that our best efforts could improve the readability of this novel from this point onwards. Enjoy reading ?

 Chapter 206: Injecting the Sageâ€™s Stone

    <h4>Chapter 206: Injecting the Sage¡¯s Stone</h4>

    Salvatore realized that the time hase.

    After creating a sturdy steel staff for Lin Yiyi as fast as possible, he took out a brass syringe containing the Sage¡¯s Stone from his clothes, put the tip on his shoulder, and pushed the plunger in slowly.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The sharp pain of the needle prating the deltoid muscle made Salvatore¡¯s face go pale instantly, and he couldn¡¯t help but let out a low cry.

    Rather than using a thin medical needle, the container used a t-pointed embalming one instead. In typical standards, such a needle was only needed for powerful healing agents. Otherwise, it was forbidden to use these syringes to inject something into a living body directly.

    The thickness of this needle couldn¡¯t allow for intravenous injection. Instead, it was used for intramuscr injection or intracardiac injection duringbat. Ordinary healthy people would go for the former option. The field physicians would utilize thetter option to inject potent healing potion as first aid for the dying and wounded.

    At first, Salvatore wanted to inject Sage¡¯s Stone directly into the heart. But, his cowardice made him inject the needle into his shoulder instead.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Through Salvatore¡¯s painful grimaces, the scarlet Sage¡¯s Stone instantly poured into his body as if it had been given life. It dissolved and sank into the muscle as soon as it came in touch.

    Salvatore immediately felt that his entire left arm was burning, and it soon became entirely numb.

    This scorching sensation spread to his heart rapidly. His palpitation doubled and his blood vessels bulged with the same fiery heat that assaulted his body, which then pumped throughout his limbs in great speed.

    Then, this fiery hot feeling suddenly disappeared and was reced by a strong, refreshing, and cooling sensation.

    It was like smearing the skin with alcohol and then letting the wind blow past it.

    Salvatore felt his mind be remarkably clear in an instant.

    All of his curses were activated autonomously. ck runes proliferated rapidly, spreading throughout the body in the blink of an eye with mystical patterns

    Salvatore couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes, and when he reopened them, his pupils were different.

    His eyeballs werepletely silver-gray with ck circles spiraling down from the center. It faintly resembled a ck Tower.

    But, Salvatore was a little flustered for a moment.

    Because at the moment he opened his eyes, the shadow that constantly nagged him from the back of his mind became silent.

    It was as if the shadow was dead or hadpletely left him..

    What should I do now?

    ¡°Stop freezing up on the spot, Salvatore.¡±

    Salvatore heard the voice of the shadow in his ear.

    That didn¡¯te from my heart.

    It came from my ears.

    Salvatore suddenly realized something was different.

    He immediately lowered his head and noticed there was no shadow under his feet.

    Instead, a liquid-like shadow seeped out from the back of his shoulders, extending out like a living thing in the air and manifested into a fierce and sharp w.

    It seems to be a left hand.

    The palm was pointed skyward, with a cyan me flickering on top.

    ¡°The lion swallows the eagle, kills itself, and is then reborn¡ª¡± A low and hoarse voice rang in Salvatore¡¯s ears.

    He turned around sharply.

    Only then did he realize that the shadow also had a head ¨C it appeared feminine and closely resembled a demon¡¯s.

    ¡°What are you nking out at, Sal!?¡±

    (TN: From here onwards, the Author tends to refer to Salvatore as Sal and the shadow as Vatore.)

    A stern, hoarse voice rang in Salvatore¡¯s ears.

    The demon¡¯s head turned and shouted into his ears, ¡°Recite with me, you idiot!¡±

    Salvatore then finally understood the situation and what spell the shadow was using.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too much¡­¡± He timidly asked.

    The shadow¡¯s head continued chanting while a smaller head grew out of Salvatore¡¯s other shoulder, roaring at him, ¡°Chant your part!¡±

    Meanwhile the other head was still chanting swiftly, ¡°Sk?ll (the Sun eating wolf) was entwined with the Lily, The Liones from the tundra with a royal crown¡±

    Salvatore pursed his lips, still not saying anything.

    He reached out his right hand with the palm facing down. Another cyan me appeared and the two mes intertwined together.

    He skipped thest three lines and chanted from back to front in the opposite way in which the shadow chanted.

    ¡°Now, all the twelve keys areplete. Its color is like sulfur. Its shape is like grains of salt.¡±

    As the pair¡¯s long sermon ended simultaneously, the mist surrounding them quickly disappeared.

    However, it wasn¡¯t simply dispelled ¨C the mist appeared as if it had evaporated.

    Annan watched this entire process even without the Creator¡¯s perspective.

    Salvatore¡¯s pupils gleamed with a pure white light and his skin became ivory white like a sculpture, yet it was also covered with dense ck runes that emitted ck smoke.

    From his right shoulder extended a demon¡¯s head, dripping a ck, tar-like liquid. Its pupils absorbed all light; disregarding the skin and twisted horns, the visage resembles a headstrong and stubborn young girl..

    A simr twisted, powerful left hand protruded out of his other shoulder too. They held together a cyan pir of fire.

    In the middle of the pir, a golden sphere was emerging, surrounded by a sacred halo.

    At this time, the Soul Eater had just blinked above Lin Yiyi and split her in half with its sharp tail!

    It then noticed that the mist had faded and raised its head.

    It opened its eyelids by twoyers, looked around, and locked onto Salvatore.

    Then, it immediately closed all threeyers of its eyelids.

    It approached Salvatore from behind silently. Then, it raised its ws and shed at him!

    But at this moment, behind Salvatore stretched out the right hand of a demon.

    She pointed her sharp nails to the ground and lifted them upwards. Consequently, a solid steel wall nearly half a meter thick rose instantly from the ground.

    It certainly couldn¡¯t stop the Soul Eater¡¯s cutting.

    In the blink of an eye, the Soul Eater cut open the steel wall. A rough and jagged cut appeared on it. The shape matched the monster¡¯s spiny, saw-like tail!

    However, with the help of the steel wall, the [Red Crystal Shield] that emerged from the demonic right hand was enough to block the remaining power of the attack!

    The red crystal then transformed into steel needles in the blink of an eye and quickly stabbed into the cut steel wall.

    From the wall, multiple spouts ofnce-shaped mes emerged, forcing the Soul Eater back.

    The mes then crystallized in a sh and turned into steel, swiftly following the Soul Eater as it crawled away on the ground at high speeds.

    Good job!

    Salvatore secretly cheered the shadow on.

    Salvatore knew that he was trash. His reaction speed was slow and he wasn¡¯t adaptive enough. Thus, he simply closed his eyes and continued chanting.

    As for my safety, I leave it to you all!

 Chapter 207: Perfect Teamwork!

    <h4>Chapter 207: Perfect Teamwork!</h4>

    What¡¯s going on?

    This human alchemist was weaker than the young Frostborn. How did he suddenly be so strong?

    Realizing that this human with an ominous aura was conjuring something dangerous, the Soul Eater shifted its attention away from the taunting female towards Salvatore.

    It shut all of its eyelids, abandoning its vision in order to enter the Silent Realm. It only needed its perception to focus on its enemies.

    I need to interrupt whatever he is conjuring.

    This is a Taboo Alchemy that only ¡°sages¡± canplete.

    But isn¡¯t he just an ¡°apprentice?¡± Not even at ¡°master¡± level¡­

    The Soul Eater: ??? [Nick Young Meme.jpg]

    It hadn¡¯t been summoned by anyone for hundreds of years, and all of a sudden it realized it no longer understood how the world works¡­

    In the Soul Eaters¡¯ understanding, there was no such behavior as ¡°doping.¡±

    However, it recognized the alchemy technique.

    Taboo Alchemy¡ª[Sun Corona Refinement].

    Use an existing material to exchange for a small part of the Sun¡ªor to send the target straight into the star if failed.

    It didn¡¯t want to receive the devastating attack.

    As a summon, it wouldn¡¯t die. This body was simply an avatar, like a statue.

    But it would still hurt.

    If I¡¯m banished to the Sun¡­

    The Soul Eater shook his drill-like head ufortably. It disappeared instantly, avoiding the steelnces that were flying towards him, and moved farther away¡ªat least out of the mes¡¯ range.

    As a matter of fact, it wanted to flee already; it wasn¡¯t even summoned by Silent Lady¡¯s believers.

    An infidel who stole the spell and imposed multiple strange restrictions upon summoning the Soul Eater¡­ All in all, it was unwilling to be here.

    It would willingly ept it if it were its boss telling it to work overtime.

    But it was more urate to say that it was working for another boss that knew its boss. It was alright with helping out, but it would never work overtime for him.

    Unlike its hunter-like appearance, the Soul Eater was a rtively well-tempered summon. Surprisingly, it was much more cowardly than it looked. When it wasn¡¯t the Silent Lady¡¯s believers summoning it, it might flee in the face of a strong enemy.

    The reason was simple ¨C this creature lived in groups.

    It was the natural enemy of all Transcended that used mana. They fed on the souls that possessed mana pools.

    Soul Eaters could see souls and sense the locations of spellcasters easily, as well as the power and characteristics of any magic being cast nearby. It also had a strong, resistant body that was proficient at charging and thus wasmonly nicknamed as the ¡°Silent Spear¡± in ritual.

    At the same time, it could swap between the Silent Realm and the material world at will, which appeared as if it could teleport.

    As such, among the high-ranking summons, they were quite popr.

    Let¡¯s not forget the fact that an alchemist was a physically weak and slow Transcended. Only those reaching the level of ¡°Sage¡± could intimidate the Soul Eater even a little.

    Still, it had be hesitant.

    It was crawling further and further away from the group. It hid into the mist generated from its body in the blink of an eye. It looked like a marshmallow lizard in action.

    Annan also noticed the Soul Eater¡¯s fear, and quickly realized that the Taboo Alchemy posed a huge deterrence.

    For spells of such level, the user would chant at a high frequency for each chorus of the alteration process and direct it at a specific route. This would enable the user to cast typically impossible spells by borrowing ¡°Truths¡± from other people or ¡°deities¡± and apply it through an unequal exchange contract.

    It¡¯s essentially using loopholes in ¡°Truths¡± to steal the authority of their owners. If the stolen party noticed it, they could confront the user by following the evidence.

    That was why it was called ¡°Taboo Alchemy.¡± Ancient Gold Rank alchemists, also known as the ¡°Sage¡± profession, were nicknamed ¡°The Thieves of Fire¡±.

    (TN: I think ¡°fire thief¡± is rted to Prometheus stealing fire for man in Greek Mythology.)

    However, if the user stole these ¡°Truths¡± without being noticed and attained Gold Rank, they would be able to reliably utilize the power of that ¡°Truth¡± without consequences.

    Although the spellcaster would have to pay a painful price to existing owners afterward if the crime was noticed. It would normally be used only in an emergency.

    The power of those at the ¡°Truth¡± rank was potent. Even if the user only stole a little, it could still overwhelm anyone Gold Rank or below, just like how those below Silver Rank couldn¡¯t nullify elemental power entirely.

    This senior¡¯s got something here.

    Salvatore did exin the concepts of Taboo Alchemy to Annan before.

    But he didn¡¯t tell Annan that he had already mastered at least one of these taboo spells.

    For him, Annan wasn¡¯t a Gold Rank yet, so it was too early for Annan to know about it.

    What the heck is that sticky thing crawling out of the senior¡¯s body?

    How can it cuss at others during spellcasting? It seems to be better than the senior in spell casting too.

    Isn¡¯t that Venom [1]?

    If not, what is that evil creature with a malicious aura?

    In the end, the Soul Eater didn¡¯t retreat. Apparently, it had some doubts about the power Salvatore had mustered.

    Although the Soul Eater didn¡¯t know what drug Salvatore used, it didn¡¯t believe that Salvatore¡¯s power boost couldst forever.

    Otherwise, if the ¡°Sage¡± wanted to eliminate it, there was no need for Taboo Alchemy techniques. ¡°Sages¡± could eliminate it as easily as flicking a finger.

    Aside from that, the Soul Eater was a little hungry as well.

    It wasn¡¯t old, by the Soul Eater standards.

    It smelled that there was indeed a substantial, delicious soul nearby. It couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact location yet, so it decided to stay around to look for it.

    Hmm, that Frostborn¡¯s soul seems so delicious and fragrant. I want to eat it.

    Those two human souls seem dry. I don¡¯t want to eat them.

    That strange alchemist¡¯s soul who suddenly became a ¡°Sage¡± seems to have a foul stench.

    Conflicting smells assaulted its olfactory function.

    In the end, it couldn¡¯t hold its appetite.

    It moved left and right, escaped into the Silent Realm the moment it rounded the corner of a building, and instantly reappeared behind Annan and the rest.

    There was no warning. It struck like a cannonball, attempting to pierce through Salvatore directly!

    At this moment, an invisible wall of air rose behind Salvatore.

    Annan had already anticipated its attack.

    It habitually liked to ambush from behind.

    When the Soul Eater was hesitating, Annan had taken out a bottle of frost air. He ced the hammer next to his feet and sped his hands together like he was praying.

    Then, Annan used Salvatore as bait while being wary of his back. With that, it granted him the opportunity to intercept the most threatening ¡°Silent Spear¡± at the first moment!

    The Soul Eater, who came quickly, had its speed reduced tremendously as soon as it reached the wall. Although the wall was not too effective as the creature was solid, Annan immediately cancelled the spell once the Soul Eater hit it, and raised another wall right after!

    Four consecutive, precise wall spells were activated. That slowed down the Soul Eater¡¯s Charge to a snail¡¯s pace.

    Those walls were all Annan¡¯s guided spells, Impeding Wall!

    While Annan quickly erected and canceled the Impeding Wall, a stream of chilling air spread rapidly on the ground and covered the Soul Eater¡¯s body entirely, freezing it in ce.

    For the first time, the [Elven Skin Gloves] fulfilled its purpose, allowing Annan to use two guided spells simultaneously to hinder the Soul Eater¡¯s actions in time!

    At this moment, dozens of electrified steelnces descended from the sky.

    The shadow had anticipated Annan¡¯s actions and believed that he would hinder the Soul Eater in time. So, it readied many spears in the air tounch at any time.

    The steelnce barraged downwards, pinning the Soul Eater to the ground while severely injuring it. On impact, they released pirs of me, which then also crystallized and hardened into steel.

    With Annan and the shadow¡¯s cooperation, the Soul Eater was sealed inside a sturdy steel column with a radius of about five meters!

 Chapter 208: Abolish The Soul Eater

    <h4>Chapter 208: Abolish The Soul Eater</h4>

    The sky-reaching steel tree rose from the ground.

    The Soul Eater¡¯s body was sealed within the solidified steel. The weight of the heavy steel column had pressed on the Soul Eater at the bottom.

    ¡°It¡¯s over, senior.¡± Annan reached out and held Salvatore¡¯s headless shoulder, motioning him to end the terrifying taboo refinement technique immediately.

    Annan didn¡¯t know what spell it was.

    But just by looking at this special effect after chanting the spell, he understood it was a destructive skill that cost a heavy price.

    After all, they came here to defend, not to demolish the ce.

    But Salvatore still hesitated. He was still chanting the spell in a low volume, not daring to move.

    The demon-like shadow immediately realized what Annan meant.

    ¡°Let whaty atop return to the ground and put its weight beneath the earth.¡±

    She chanted a short cancetion spell, causing the sphere of shining golden brilliance to copse and extinguish quickly.

    After that, she directly retracted the oily arm back into Salvatore¡¯s body.

    Because the ritual was canceled halfway through, there was no need for Salvatore to continue chanting.

    ¡°Wait, why cancel it?¡± Salvatore immediately asked Annan, ¡°I only have three minutes left. After that, I don¡¯t have enough time to do it again!¡±

    ¡°We have won, senior.¡± Annan said softly, looking at the steel tower.

    Salvatore followed his gaze and hesitated, ¡°But the Soul Eater seems to know teleportation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not spatial teleportation, but it dives into the immaterial world, you idiot. Your memory is getting worse.¡± Deep, hoarse, and rumbling echo sounded from the head on Salvatore¡¯s other shoulder, ¡°Think about it, if it¡¯s teleportation, why does it close the third eyelid?¡±

    Salvatore opened his mouth but didn¡¯t speak out anything.

    The head turned around and exined to Annan, ¡°The Soul Eater¡¯s first eyelid is used to adjust the focus. It is used at a close distance so that it won¡¯t lose sight of the enemy. The Soul Eater¡¯s usual hunting method is to use the ¡°Silent Spear¡± to prate the enemy from 800 meters to 1000 meters. This also makes them unable to see the enemy when approaching the target within 30 meters. Therefore, they must rely on the focus adjustment function of the eyelid for closebat.

    ¡°The second eyelid is used to protect itself against wind and pressure. They sprint faster than the sound. A harder eyelid is a must to protect the delicate and important first eyelid.¡±

    ¡°What about the third eyelid?¡± Annan asked curiously.

    ¡°Great that you asked.¡± The shadow¡¯s deep and hoarse voice praised, ¡°You don¡¯t understand the Soul Eater¡¯s abilities, but you can guess its weakness.

    ¡°The existence of the third eyelid is to iste the lightpletely. If you can¡¯t iste the light, it will inevitably produce strong dizziness when you travel through the world. This is called ¡®vertigo.¡¯ This is also one of the reasons why one must be asleep to enter the nightmare world.¡±

    Immediately after, the shadow asked, ¡°How did you guess that my attack could seal it?¡±

    ¡°Because I guessed that the Soul Eater¡¯s teleportation has a trajectory.¡±

    Annan smiled, ¡°I noticed that the Soul Eater tends to attack from the back. But in the previous few instant movements, it didn¡¯t move directly to the back but moved close to the previous position, not far from the blind spot.

    ¡°After I realized this, I observed several unnatural momentary movements andnding points after you put pressure on the monster. Those weren¡¯t the best attack position, let alone its habitual position. It¡¯s more like the ¡®recent safety point.¡¯

    ¡°So I specte that there are only two possibilities. Either the total distance of its teleportation is limited, so it should be used sparingly. Otherwise, this isn¡¯tplete teleportation but a special ability that grants giga-speed mobility and stealth.

    ¡°Finally, I observed that every time the Soul Eater uses this mobility ability, it doesn¡¯t observe the surrounding environment at the point ofnding but immediatelyunches an attack. But what convinced me is that after I stopped it and it saw your attack, it tried to continue walking forward instead of instantaneous movement.¡±

    No matter what the principle was, the Soul Eater¡¯s instant movement must rely on ¡°walking¡± to trigger it.

    ¡°You don¡¯t delve into the principle, but summarize what you saw.¡±

    Shadow smiled and whispered a malicious tone, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s also a way of thinking, but it doesn¡¯t suit me.

    ¡°Let me introduce myself. You can call me ¡°Vatore.¡± Or, you can also call me shadow.¡±

    (TN: From here onwards, the Author tends to refer to Salvatore as Sal.)

    As the shadow spoke, a demon¡¯s hand with oily sticky protruding joints reached out from Salvatore¡¯s abdomen toward Annan, ¡°I have been paying close attention to you for a long time, Annan.¡±

    Salvatore, who was stunned by listening, realized something.

    He couldn¡¯t help but scold, ¡°Go back! Don¡¯t stir up trouble!¡±

    But facing the shadow of his body, he could not resist for some reason and had no control over the other party¡¯s behavior.

    He could only reach out and grab the demon¡¯s forearm protruding from the abdomen, trying to pull it back.

    But his strength was so weakpared to the demon.

    He tried his best to push away the reached-out arm.

    ¡°Ah, wait a minute.¡± Annan didn¡¯t care much.

    He just tore the pair of Elven¡¯s Skin Glove from his hands like peeling off the adhesive tape that had been pasted for a long time. Even Annan¡¯s hands seemed to be much whiter because of this.

    Salvatore vaguely saw that the inneryer of the glove seemed to have ayer of fluffy, pink, and creeping grantion, which gradually retracted inward.

    Annan put his gloves into the bamboo tube around his waist. He then generously shook hands with the shadow.

    ¡°Annan Austere-Winter, hello.¡±

    Feeling the cautious force, Annan couldn¡¯t help but raise his mouth, ¡°We¡¯re not seeing each other for the first time, skip the pleasantries. I have roughly guessed your rtionship, so you don¡¯t need to exin anything to me for the time being.¡±

    This thing would appear after Salvatore bes a Gold Rank.

    It meant that she belonged to Salvatore¡¯s core ability.

    Coupled with Salvatore¡¯s fluctuations in performance, unfounded inferiorityplex, and the way he made Sage¡¯s Stone that he didn¡¯t exin clearly, Annan probably already guessed the truth.

    He had a cheat-like thinking pattern.

    The ¡°entity¡± can probably be regarded as a portable hard drive. That¡¯s why the senior¡¯s memory is poor.

    However, if the shadow¡¯s talent and strength are so overwhelming, why does the senior control the body?

    How did the senior control her?

    What is the senior¡¯s talent?

    Many questions shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    But, of course, he understood the priorities.

    ¡°You are running out of time.¡± Annan replied, ¡°If you have nothing else to say, I will send the Soul Eater back to its world first.¡±

    Otherwise, something terrible might happenter and even allow the Soul Eater to flee.

    Annan had no hatred against the Soul Eater, but he wanted the experience points.

    He walked forward without hesitation, took out the knife, and cast Frost Sword.

    Elemental attacks were considered true damage to enemies with no elemental power below the Gold Rank.

    Frost Sword with frost element naturally followed that rule.

    Facing the immobilized Soul Eater, who was powerless and unable to evade, Annan adopted a rtively gentle attack pattern. He shed the Soul Eater twice and rested for a while to ensure that his health wouldn¡¯t drop too much from over-exerting his ability.

    After he hacked the monster for the eighth time, the system prompt finally appeared in front of him.

    [You have abolished the Silver Rank summon ¡°the Soul Eater¡± in the battle and granted 1500 Shared Experience points.]

    That¡¯s a lot of experience, which is enough to upgrade myself for one level!

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly.

    At that moment, there was an evil thought in his mind.

    Can I summon the Soul Eater myself and kill it myself?

    But he quickly controlled his greed.

    If he did that, he would catch Silent Lady¡¯s attention.

    It¡¯s better to have others do the summoning.

    I have decided. When I encounter false deity believers in the future, I will pressure them to summon entities for me to kill if the situation isn¡¯t urgent.

    Three minutes soon arrived. The shadow retracted into Salvatore¡¯s body again. A ck curse mark appeared on his body and retracted into the vessel again.

    Salvatore curled up on the ground, shaking his knees.

    It seems that a considerable part of this pain is chill?

    ¡°Are you cold?¡± Annan walked over, squatted down, and asked with some concern.

    ¡°I¡¯m still fine.¡± Salvatore insisted and replied, ¡°But afterward, I may not have muchbat power left.¡±

    ¡°But, I think it should be over.¡± Annan looked at Yiyi, who had resurrected five times under three minutes, and Delicious Wind Goose, who hadn¡¯t even lost a single health point next to him. Then, he asked, ¡°How is the situation over there?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re almost done. It¡¯s all going well, my lord.¡± Lin Yiyi died and respawned without any psychological trauma.

    When she stood up from the ground, she held the new solid steel pipe happily, nced at the forum, and replied casually.

    She intended to paint the steel pipe after the mission. With that, it could be considered as a luxury weapon with skins. (TN: Referring to in-game premium skins.)

    Should I apply red paint in the middle and gold paint on both ends?

    At this time, Annan suddenly heard a loud and clear baby cry, resounding from all directions.

    The child was born.

 Chapter 209: Rotten Man

    <h4>Chapter 209: Rotten Man</h4>

    It was the cry of a baby.

    Strangely enough, it didn¡¯te from a particr direction, nor was it a single cry.

    Instead, it echoed from all directions, ovepping in the air.

    It was as if there were thousands of babies hanging in the sky, crying simultaneously. The identical crying could be divided into several parts [1], forming a symphony. Immediately, there was a strange sense of sacredness in the scene.

    The moment Lin Yiyi heard the baby¡¯s cries, she felt an intense buzz in her brain, followed by a cooling sensation that went from her head down to her spine.

    A few prompts suddenly shed before her eyes.

    [You heard the Sacred Voice, resetting the erosion rate to 0.]

    [You got the new mark ¡°Novice Influence: Infinitely Ovepping Echoes.¡±]

    [If the mark isn¡¯t resolved in time, the host will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°mirror¡± (difficulty: hard) after seven days.]

    This prompt shed in front of Annan¡¯s eyes at the same time.

    Even Child and Jiu Er at the other end heard this strange echo that resounded throughout the city. The sacred crying was like an announcement to something.

    All those who heard this strange echo in a waking state were affected.

    ¡°¡ªWhat is this?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis should be a reward granting dungeon. I¡¯m envious of it.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhy do I feel like it¡¯s a punishment?¡±

    ¡°¡ªEven if it¡¯s a dungeon administering punishment, I want to participate too! I have been grinding this gallery nightmare till I feel like vomiting.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen, stop farming the first three levels. Be the frontier group for the 5th level.¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo, no, that hurts my health.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBy the way, I didn¡¯t expect this Salvatore to be quite handsome.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAren¡¯t you trying to say that Venom looks cool? Isn¡¯t Salvatore just standing there throughout the battle?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThere is no need for positioning concerns. Standing still and chanting is the best taunt to the enemy.¡±

    Resetting the erosion rate?

    Unlike the spectating yers actively participating in the live broadcast discussion, Lin Yiyi paid more attention to this prompt.

    She wasn¡¯t concerned about the importance of the erosion rate.

    But what kind of power would it be for her erosion rate to reset by just listening to it?

    Lin Yiyi murmured, ¡°That baby¡­¡±

    Is it something divine?

    It wasn¡¯t until then that she realized the yers didn¡¯t even know the real purpose of this main mission and the boss they were going to encounter.

    Judging from Salvatore¡¯s preparation, he and Annan obviously knew what wasing.

    Oh no, we didn¡¯t purchase any intelligence before this! Lin Yiyi felt a little regretful.

    We shouldn¡¯t be conservative with affection ratings.

    Of course, everything Annan sells is useful.

    At the very least, I have to persuade the other yers to empty the shop together.

    ¡°Did we seed?¡± Salvatore murmured.

    Annan squinted his eyes slightly, ¡°Not really¡­¡±

    For some reason, his heart was throbbing without warning, as if he was short of breath. In response, Annan took a deep breath to keep his head clear.

    Based on his intuition and experience, Annan guessed that the physiological reactions could be the result of intense ¡°fear.¡±

    Annan was confident with his intuition due to his keen Perception attribute.

    But what exactly did Annan sense?

    Obviously, Michngelo had sessfully born.

    The Soul Eater, the most dangerous enemy, was also abolished.

    What else could a group of mortals achieve further?

    ¡°Oh.¡± Suddenly, Annan heard a chuckling voice, ¡°It seems you can detect me. You have grown a lot, Annan.¡±

    It was a gentle voice with the host¡¯s gender indiscernible. The tone was gentle and patient, like a kindergarten teacher coaxing children.

    But Annan sensed immense arrogance from the tone.

    Moreover, his body began to tremble more intensely.

    Suddenly, Annan realized it wasn¡¯t his fear.

    Instead, this body manifested fear on its own.

    Following sudden enlightenment, Annan slowly cast his gaze over.

    In the space where there was no one previously, a silhouette appeared.

    His height wasn¡¯t too tall, only about 1.7 meters.

    He was wearing a pure white robe that looked like funeral attire,plemented with a white ivory crown with five sharp horns on his head. There was a white veil more than one meter long on both sides of the crown, hanging down from the side like ears and fluttering behind him.

    He was bald, with the upper half of his face entirely hidden by the silver mask. The nose and the eyes were hidden with the mask. Under an observant gaze, one could see dark green runes engraved on the mask as if sealing something within.

    The lower half of his face was exposed outside the mask, showing a mysterious smile. His skin was fair and healthy. His feet were bare as he stepped on the ground. There was a strange incense smell exuding from his body.

    Except for this white silk robe, he didn¡¯t seem to have any clothing. He wasn¡¯t stained with dust nor any body hair.

    Moreover, silver-white brilliance reflected from his body, like a moonlight engraved on the ground.

    Annan¡¯s shudder shuddered involuntarily.

    But fortunately, he had felt a more intense pressure from the Venerated Skeleton before. Hence, he didn¡¯t make a fool of himself at this moment.

    However, whether the two yers or Salvatore, they were all forced to bow their heads under intense fear. None of them dared to look directly at this figure, even though this was the first encounter.

    Annan immediately realized his true identity.

    ¡°Your Excellency Rotten Man.¡± Annan was silent for a while but decided to greet him.

    Rotten Man just smiled slightly at the same spot, putting his right hand on the chest to return the greetings.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan.¡± He whispered, ¡°You and I have been separated for many years, but I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here today.

    ¡°Does your father know you are here?¡± The Rotten Man somehow referred to a mortal with the honorific title.

    But Annan didn¡¯t feel the slightest respect in his tone. On the contrary, Annan found the whisper a little creepy.

    He couldn¡¯t see Rotten Man in the eyes, nor could he see Rotten Man¡¯s expression.

    A kind smile was revealed at the corner of his mouth, but it somehow resembled a pulled bow.

    Facing the silent Annan, the friendly smile on Rotten Man¡¯s face remained unchanged.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan.¡± Rotten Man whispered Annan¡¯s name again and slowly approached Annan, ¡°I thought you were already thrown into the sea.

    ¡°But, how did you survive the ck Sea?¡± He moved closer and closer to Annan.

    Annan could only stare at him nkly, unable to reply, unable to act, and unable to think.

    He wanted to retreat, but his body didn¡¯t listen. Later, even the ¡°thinking¡± itself became blurred and slow.

    There was a pungent smell of tulips in Rotten Man¡¯s breath.

    Under that floral fragrance, Annan felt his consciousness gradually dissipate, and the world in front of him became blurred.

    Just like doing aromatherapy when the customer was drowsy, a soothing and rxing warm feeling emerged from the bottom of the heart.

    But the next moment, frost flowed out from the bottom of his heart.

    Annan trembled and woke up instantly.

    He opened his eyes wide.

    His gaze averted Rotten Man and looked behind Rotten Man.

    A giant duke nearly 3 meters tall with a golden crying mask on his head appeared behind the Rotten Man.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time, [Atabanus].¡± An old, low, and reverberant voice sounded.

 Chapter 210: Silver Sire

    <h4>Chapter 210: Silver Sire</h4>

    It was a giant with a white mink cloak with ck spots on it. He wore a tinum crown and heavy tinum boots. Thick white leather gloves covered his hands, and his entire body was shrouded within his clothing.

    The Venerated Skeleton.

    Annan had met him before.

    The aura of despair exuding from the Venerated Skeleton made Lin Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose tremble intensely and almost vomit.

    But for Annan, it was a life-saving chilly wind.

    If it weren¡¯t for the Venerated Skeleton to appear in time, the Rotten Man could have eroded Annan¡¯s consciousnesspletely.

    But before Annan could feel d about the twists and turns of the events, an intense itch crept upon the skin of the four people present who heard the name [Atabanus].

    Annan was still alright, and the two yers were only slightly ufortable.

    But, Salvatore had the most adverse reaction.

    He didn¡¯t seem to feel the sharp pain in his body, and he couldn¡¯t help scratching his skin intensely.

    Annan knew Salvatore had great perseverance.

    If Salvatore couldn¡¯t stand it, it should be an unbearable intense itching.

    But after Salvatore scratched his skin, he didn¡¯t bleed. There was no blood dripping out.

    Under the skin, there was another newyer of skin.

    For the skin that he didn¡¯t scratch yet, it burst open on itself, exposing a new skinyer with no hair underneath it.

    Salvatore was startled when he noticed the dry skin on his hands.

    He grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled it slightly.

    Looking at the hair in the palm of his hand, Salvatore¡¯s pupils trembled violently¡ªapparently taken aback.

    No, don¡¯t panic.

    It¡¯s fine. I just need to craft some hair-growing agents.

    Wait?

    Salvatore was startled yet again.

    He realized that the ever-present and unrelievable pain in his body had disappeared.

    On the other hand, new prompts appeared for Annan, Lin Yiyi, and Delicious Wind Goose.

    [You have acquired mysterious knowledge: Deity of Immortality and Heirless, Rotten Man¡¯s real name.]

    [This mysterious knowledge can be used as ¡°Ritual: Summoning Rotten Man,¡± ¡°Golden Incantation (Idol School): Molting Rebirth,¡± and ¡°High-level Material: Snake Molting.¡±]

    [This mysterious knowledge will be forgotten after using it for ¡°1¡± time. After that, you can¡¯t reacquire this knowledge.]

    This was the first time the yers encountered these entities, even though they had repeatedly heard about the voice owners.

    Lin Yiyi quickly took a photo of the two deities and saved the screenshot.

    Hearing the voice of the Venerated Skeleton behind him, Rotten Man only chuckled.

    He didn¡¯t panic at all, didn¡¯t even turn his head, but just raised his head slightly. He giggled like a little girl, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, senior. I just came to take a look. How did that startle you?

    ¡°I thought you had already taken root in the Freezing Water Port. Is it because of poor sleep after being so old? You can¡¯t help waking up to urinate?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ already knew¡­ you woulde.¡± The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s low, erratic, echoing voice sounded, ¡°I have waited for a long time.¡±

    Rotten Man turned around when he heard the words and took a closer look at the Venerated Skeleton.

    Then, he ovepped his hands gracefully like a courtdy, eximing in a low voice, and gave a long sigh, ¡°Wow.¡±

    Unlike Lin Yiyi, who felt the oppressioning from the two deities, the yers who watched the live broadcast at Freezing Water Portughed aloud at Rotten Man¡¯s mannerism.

    ¡°¡ªWhat a talent. His entric tone is unique.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHe just sounds disgusting.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe title ¡®Rotten Man¡¯ means eunuch. So isn¡¯t it expected that his yin and yang is unbnced, resulting in an entric tone?¡±

    [TN: Yin represents feminine energy, and Yang represents masculine energy. In Yin & Yang¡¯s interpretation, the eunuch¡¯s effeminate nature is due to the imbnce of the energies.]

    ¡°¡ªBy your logic, doesn¡¯t his weird yin and yang indicate that he knows Onmyoji?¡±

    ¡°¡ªMaybe he has the skill [Yin & Yang Eyes].¡±

    [TN: Here, Yin represents death while Yang represents alive. The interpretation here would be the ability to see the ghosts. Those are wordys for the yers to mock on the effeminate nature with Yin and Yang concepts.]

    ¡°¡ªSister Hyphen, do you see it? Learn from him. This is the proper way of roasting. A direct insult doesn¡¯t mean much.¡±

    On the other side, the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t respond at all to Rotten Man¡¯s provocation.

    He just stood silently and looked at Rotten Man motionlessly.

    At this moment, Annan had already taken the opportunity to escape from Rotten Man¡¯s perimeter.

    But he didn¡¯t flee too far. Instead, he stood in front of Gate 44 on Clear Water Street, watching the confrontation between the two false deities from a distance.

    They just stared at each other and did nothing, and the surrounding air became turbid.

    The cold and warm air intertwined fiercely with a trembling whirlwind manifested.

    Annan saw a series of dozens of buffs above the yers¡¯ head icons constantly emerging, disappearing, and canceling each other:

    [Desperate Aura], [Death Air], [Soul-snatching Fragrance], [Bone-burrowing Chills], [Rejuvenation], [Shuddering Air], [Visceral Proliferation], [Chilling Flesh].

    To add on to that, the two false deities didn¡¯t intentionally impose these states on the yers.

    It all happened just because of the turbid air as their hostility against each other shed.

    After a long time, Rotten Man broke the silence, ¡°What do you want?

    ¡°What good is this for you?¡±

    ¡°My gain is to stop you from getting the benefits.¡±

    The low and reverberant hollow sound of the Venerated Skeleton answered.

    Hearing this, Rotten Man stopped speaking.

    At the next moment, Salvatore seemed to realize something. He staggered up from the ground and ran away.

    Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose still didn¡¯t know why.

    But they also subconsciously fled after Salvatore.

    But they were toote in the end.

    Their bodies suddenly became dry and pale, as if their flesh had lost its color. The life within them perished in the blink of an eye.

    At the next moment, the two resurrected directly from a distance.

    Their corpses left in ce became pure white, then copsed like ashes and spread evenly on the ground. Finally, those ashes turned into a milky pool.

    Then, countless people wearing white robes, silver masks, and hairless like Rotten Man walked out of the pool one by one.

    Each of them had a level of oppression close to the Soul Eater.

    But the next moment, ayer of ck ice formed on the white pool. Before the people in white could walk out of the poolpletely, the turbid ck icepletely froze their bodies.

    Then, they shattered into pieces.

    Throughout the process, the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t make any moves.

    It just kept that posture quietly, looking at Rotten Man calmly.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Rotten Man¡¯s voice was a little low, ¡°Are you going to dere war?¡±

    ¡°Be patient. Rotten Man.¡± The Venerated Skeleton said slowly, ¡°I merely stopped you, and I didn¡¯t attack you.¡±

    ¡°I testify that the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t attack you, Rotten Man!¡± At this moment, a cheerful and loud voice sounded.

    It was different from the two false deities who preferred to appear silently.

    As a brilliant and dazzling silver beam of light that could be easily seen from miles awaynded, the crimson halo in the sky and the false ck-red sun were instantly torn apart as if they were fakes.

    In the blink of an eye, the scene in the sky returned to the early morning. Three runes entwined the nascent sun. It appeared that the new sun rose from the sea by the east side.

    From the beam of light, a young man in a short white trench coat walked out quickly.

    He wore a monocle, and his smile was bright and sunny. His face is long and thin, his chin was slightly pointed, and his skin reflected a healthy color. He had moderate brown curly hair, looking like a young business person in his twenties or a schr who had just graduated from school, full of hope and vigor. In those onlookers¡¯ squinted eyes, there was a brilliance of wisdom and little cunning that was just right and not disliked.

    Annan recognized him almost immediately¡ªor rather, his identity.

    His face was the same as the face on the silver coin.

    He was the guardian deity of the Noah Kingdom, Trade Deity!

    Silver Sire!

 Chapter 211: Silver Sire Dismiss The Fight

    <h4>Chapter 211: Silver Sire Dismiss The Fight</h4>

    It waspletely different from the uncontroble and tingling difort when looking at the two false deities.

    When Annan looked at Silver Sire, he didn¡¯t feel any fear, panic, or reverence.

    Even if Annan looked directly at Silver Sire, his thinking wasn¡¯t affected at all. The tingling warning sensation like spider-sense didn¡¯t surface.

    If he didn¡¯t witness Silver Sire walking out of the light beam, Annan would think that he was just an ordinary young man next door. Silver Sire¡¯s appearance was clean and elegant without the slight hint of being inhuman and unnatural like Rotten Man.

    Silver Sire didn¡¯t even have the sense of incongruity with the world that Transcended had¡ªthe kind of anomalous feeling of being out of tune with the world that could always be noticed at a nce. In other words, Silver Sire wasn¡¯t giving a conspicuous vibe that made him stand out even if he blended in the crowd.

    On the contrary, this sense of abnormality was apparent in false deities.

    Annan could feel a chill in his back when he was one block away from the Venerated Skeleton. Inparison to before Rotten Man appeared, his body would give off panic.

    The yers and Salvatore couldn¡¯t even look directly at the two false deities.

    But they could look at Silver Sire naturally as if there was no such pressure at all.

    Seeing Silver Sire appear, the two false deities bow their heads to the cheerful youth wearing a monocle.

    ¡°Wish you good health, Silver Sire.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Silver Sire!¡±

    Rotten Man sent his greeting to Silver Sire a bitter.

    He raised his head and asked respectfully, ¡°I wonder why you are here.¡±

    ¡°When I noticed that a new deity was going to be born, it just had toe.¡±

    Silver Sire smiled. His voice was loud and clear; he naturally gave off a great impression, ¡°But, you two, why are you fighting in my kingdom?¡±

    His voice was like a lecturer, like a parent, like a king.

    It wasn¡¯t impassioned words, but loud and clear. There was no sign of timidity while not being harsh either.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t fighting, Silver Sire.¡± Rotten Man, who took the initiative to attack previously, exined first, ¡°I just responded to my believers¡¯ summoning. I came here as a mirror image.¡±

    ¡°My deal with Old Grandmother made me follow the young dragon to this ce.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton replied directly, ¡°He asked me to protect the descendants of Frostwhisper. You are the witness of all transactions. You will know this is true.¡±

    ¡°En, I know that.¡± Silver Sire nodded, ¡°I heard it the other day.¡±

    Then he looked at Rotten Man and said directly, ¡°You should leave, Rotten Man.

    ¡°I have already made an oath for this country. In thend of trade, the deities are forbidden to fight for their selfish desires.¡±

    As Silver Sire¡¯s voice came, the two false deities seemed to be walloped by something invisible, staggering and stepping back a few steps. Their aura was suppressed to the extent that they couldn¡¯t affect the yers.

    ¡°I have no intention of starting a fight, Silver Sire. I also apologize to Rotten Man for calling him by his name.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t want to linger further and bowed to Silver Sire respectfully, ¡°Since you havee, I shall retreat.¡±

    After all, his body gradually shattered. It turned into countless bones and dissipated in the earth, like snowkes falling on the ground.

    On the other hand, Rotten Man¡¯s body was filled with cracks, but it remained intact. It was like bulletproof ss that sustained a devastating blow.

    His face was a little fuzzy. The fragrance emitting from his body was erased. The soft-spoken voice turned into static noises like electric microphones. ¡°Silver Sire, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Rotten Man, I still suggest you leave here immediately.¡±

    Silver Sire¡¯s voice was clear and loud. He interrupted Rotten Man¡¯s words directly, ¡°I won¡¯t hand you the Book of Divine Transporter. You need to find your own way.¡±

    Annan was slightly surprised when he heard that.

    But Rotten Man remained silent.

    Silver Sire nced at the Rotten Man and said calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t care about Henry¡¯s problem. I didn¡¯t vow you to be a deity, after all. It¡¯s because you only let your believers induce him. Also, I have always stayed away from mortal affairs.

    ¡°If you are capable, let your believers fool Little Henry intopleting the ritual. I will never stop you. Since I agreed to the bet, I can ept my losses. Simrly, there are wins and losses in some trades too. As long as you don¡¯t personally participate, I won¡¯t interfere. That¡¯s ¡®fairness.¡¯

    ¡°If you want Annan¡¯s Book of Divine Transporter, get your believers toe and take it. You can¡¯t intervene in this. If you touch him, you better brace yourself from which I will confront you personally. Hmph! Forget about if you¡¯re breaking the rules or not. You should be informed that Annan is my Silver Knight.

    ¡°Are you trying to kill the Silver Knight that I blessed in front of my face?¡± Silver Sire snorted softly.

    The Rotten Man still looked lifeless, just smiling like a friendly business person who prefers diplomacy rather than confrontation.

    However, it was notable that Rotten Man lowered his gaze, not daring to bat an eye at Annan again.

    ¡°I kindly remind you one more time, Rotten Man. Since you¡¯re willing to pay respect to a small tradesman like me and follow the rules at my ce, consider these words a gift. It¡¯s free-of-charge.¡±

    Silver Sire nced at Rotten Man and said casually, ¡°The situation at Austere-Winter¡¯s house is different from our ¡®king.¡¯ The king is only the spokesperson chosen by us, but over there is the Old Grandmother¡¯s blood-connected heir.

    ¡°Old Grandmother attaches great importance to blood kinship. After all, dragon blood in this era is rare. So you dare to murder her blood-connected heirs while she is sleeping. If I were you, I would never step into thend of ice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t disturb the dragon, my friend. Since your main body is still fleeing, you may have a chance. You can either go to the south and ask if the Elegant Elder will take you in or go underground and go back to your hometown.

    ¡°If you¡¯re hesitant to flee, you won¡¯t be able to run away during this year¡¯s snowfall,¡± said Silver Sire with a smile.

    Looking at Silver Sire standing in front of Annan, Rotten Man was silent.

    Listening to the baby¡¯s cry in the sky grew louder, Rotten Man thought for a long time. In the end, he said softly, ¡°Silver Sire, I never intend to provoke a civil war between the deities. But Michngelo hasn¡¯t fully sublimated yet. He is still a mortal.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t involved in mortal battles, but no rules are forbidding other deities to punish mortals, right? Besides, you don¡¯t know this new deity, and he has never received your engraving.

    ¡°If you need a reason, Michngelo killed my believer more than 20 years ago. So I think this should not vite your rules, right?¡±

    Rotten Man bowed his head respectfully and said, ¡°I will not handle it personally either. Michngelo has an Immortal Gold Soul, and now he has half his feet into eternal life. I only send a silver rank unsullied person to revenge. Isn¡¯t this considered fair?¡±

    The smile on Silver Sire¡¯s face gradually faded, ¡°It does not vite my rules. It is indeed fair.¡±

    His voice became a little colder, but it was still clear, ¡°Have you thought clearly about it?¡±

    ¡°I have thought it through, Sire.¡±

    Rotten Man smiled and bowed to Silver Sire, ¡°Even if you deport all my believers in your territory tomorrow¡ªor even hang them directly, I won¡¯tin even a word about it.¡±

    ¡°Is this the transaction you initiated to me?¡± Silver Sire asked in confirmation.

    Rotten Man replied affirmatively, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Silver Sire nodded slowly. He took a deep look at Rotten Man and reaffirmed, ¡°You use the lives of all the believers stranded in the Noah Kingdom to initiate a transaction in exchange for me to stop interfering with you. On December 14, 1503, this transaction took ce at the Noah Kingdom, North Sea Territory, Roseburg. Your deal is for you to take revenge on the newly reincarnated ¡®Michngelo Buonaro¡¯ ¡ª the newly born ¡®Michel Nottdamm.¡¯ Do you confirm?¡±

    ¡°Confirm.¡±

    Rotten Man replied without hesitation, ¡°Neither you nor the Venerated Skeleton can interfere with me.¡±

    ¡°I can agree with that.¡±

    Silver Sire said slowly, looking at Rotten Man coldly, ¡°But before the transaction is initiated, I also want to point this out to you. Although I will not interfere with this matter, you can no longer attack him if Michngelo bes a deity.¡±

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t find other deities to stop me.¡± Rotten Man replied with a smile.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Silver Sire. I have another question about this transaction.¡± At this moment, Annan spoke suddenly.

    He watched on the side for a long time, and he understood a bit of Silver Sire¡¯s character.

    Silver Sire lowered his head to look at Annan with a cheerful smile on his face again.

    Rotten Man had offended him. Hence, he was dying Rotten Man¡¯s time, hoping that Michngelo could be faster.

    Silver Sire squeezed Annan¡¯s cheek, put a hand on Annan¡¯s shoulder, and asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s your question, my little knight?¡±

    ¡°If I use this bottle of Sage¡¯s Stone¡­¡± Annan asked without hesitation, ¡°Can I stop Rotten Man¡¯s mirror image in a short time?¡±

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know why Rotten Man wanted to interrupt Michngelo¡¯s ritual so much, he would hinder the Rotten Man as much as possible. Of course, the more the enemy wanted it, the more the hindrance he would impose.

    Rotten Man¡¯s ritual had stuck, and he needed the Book of Divine Transporter. Obviously, he wanted Annan¡¯s life as well.

    It was even possible that Rotten Man was behind Annan¡¯s murder and the ship incident.

    It wouldn¡¯t be beneficial if Annan just allowed Rotten Man to get what he wanted.

    Naturally, Annan wouldn¡¯t make it easy for Rotten Man.

    Also, if Annan sessfully stopped Rotten Man this time, the Rotten Man¡¯s believers must be traded to Silver Sire as per the transaction established.

    Because as Silver Sire said before, he only mentioned the item ¡°Silver Sire and the Venerated Skeleton can¡¯t participate nor hinder¡± in the transaction contract.

    Annan found that Silver Sire didn¡¯t seem to see eye-to-eye with Rotten Man.

    So he came up with a bold idea.

    It isn¡¯t Rotten Man¡¯s main body but a mirror image.

    Also, I have the Book of Divine Transporter. So after taking Sage¡¯s Stone, I will enter the Truth rank instead of the Gold rank.

    So, can I dy Rotten Man for another 3 minutes?

    Even without hindering the Rotten Man for 3 minutes, this question alone and waiting for Silver Sire to answer it could dy Rotten Man sometime.

    And if Michngelo needed far more than 3 minutes, Silver Sire would have stopped Annan¡¯s n.

    But in any case, it was a rare opportunity to face off a deity while having a true deity supported by the side.

    My parents are right there while they put up an ugly expression in the meeting with the teacher at school.

    Come fight me? Do you dare to hit me hard?

    (TN: Corporal punishment is still practiced in some Asia schools.)

    Hearing this, Silver Sire was taken aback and looked at Annan again with some surprise.

    Immediately, Silver Sire patted Annan¡¯s shoulder with a smile. His gaze on Annan became warm, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a few years, but you have be a lot braver, Annan. Old Grandmother will be proud of you. The deity of mirror and clock would also owe you a favor if you can seed. You have my guarantee for this matter. He can¡¯t renege on the debt.

    ¡°Go and give it a try. If you are lucky, you do have some chance of winning.

    ¡°Rotten Man, you have to agree on that.¡±

 Chapter 212: Rotten Manâ€™s Intervention On His Investment

    <h4>Chapter 212: Rotten Man¡¯s Intervention On His Investment</h4>

    Rotten Man: ?

    Look at what you said, aren¡¯t you over-courteous?

    Can I not agree to that?

    Do I fucking dare?

    Facing the partial Silver Sire, Rotten Man found the situation difficult for him.

    Once the contract was signed, Silver Sire no longer had the friendly business person¡¯s face. He took the initiative to stir up trouble for the Rotten Man.

    If Rotten Man expressed dissatisfaction with this or rejected the proposal, Silver Sire would drag the conversation longer.

    ¡°Sure,¡± replied Rotten Man. He could only agree and had no other choice.

    Also, he was confident because he knew what Annan¡¯s trump cards were.

    ¡°Book of Divine Transporter, isn¡¯t it?¡± Rotten Man nced at Annan deeply.

    There had been no new Book of Truth spawned in the recent centuries. Faced with such a situation, many people didn¡¯t dare advance into Gold Rank. Those who had attained the Gold Soul Rank could only find other ways for their ascension.

    One sessful example would be the ritual invented by the Venerated Skeleton. Through a massive ritual, it allowed the user to obtain the temporary Truth awarded by the world. If the user managed to keep the ritual going, he could utilize this as an opening to forcefully promote himself to be a deity. Of course, it took more than the ritual but various elements for the ascendancy process.

    Indeed, this was the ¡®hope¡¯ to ascend into deityhood.

    As a sage, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s alchemy level was excellent. His train of thought was foolproof somehow.

    Since this new ritual could be realized without relying on the deity¡¯s power, it meant that the Truth could exist in this world independently. But, the Truth might not have fully formed yet. Perhaps, it hadn¡¯t yet been separated independently. It was also possible that it only appeared in the future or the past.

    Rotten Man also promoted himself to deityhood in the same way the Venerated Skeleton utilized.

    Michngelo approached this challenge the same way too.

    But the difference was that the Venerated Skeleton and Michngelo¡¯s ritual wasplete. Only their ritual area was difficult to destroy.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual area was hidden underground of the Elegy Dukedom.

    Michngelo¡¯s ritual area was hidden in the past.

    But, Rotten Man was different.

    Only his ritual wasn¡¯t fullypleted yet.

    Strictly speaking, the Rotten Man wasn¡¯t even a false deity. He only got the essence and power of a deity, but he didn¡¯t acquire the Truth.

    This was why he wanted the Book of Divine Transporter.

    In Rotten Man¡¯s view, what the Book of Divine Transporter represented was the Truth he ¡°rented.¡± As long as Annan relied on the Book of Divine Transporter to be a deity, Annan would take away Rotten Man¡¯s slot to be a deity.

    A temporary rented Truth was naturally inferior to the genuine one.

    The Venerated Skeleton had gradually stabilized his temporary Truth by practicing the curse he got when he became a deity. After all, for hundreds of years, he had been diligent in practicing his Truth on ¡°bones¡± and ¡°betrayal¡± in different ces. His efforts in guiding others to betray rtives and friends and craft powerful curse vessels based on bones were incessant. As a result, his name had be well-known in many countries.

    But for Rotten Man, he hadn¡¯t yetpleted his ritual.

    If he knew that Annan was the holder of the Book of Divine Transporter, Rotten Man would never make a move so quickly. Instead, he would try to foster a good rtionship with Annan and search the Book of Divine Transporter in Annan¡¯s name.

    After Annan collected at least four pages, the Rotten Man would kill him, snatch the Book of Divine Transporter and run away.

    But he was also self-aware now.

    Old Grandmother had woken up. Silver Sire would be sheltering Annan. The odds of murdering Annan through his believers would be unlikely. Only fools believed that Silver Sire would let Rotten Man believers murder Annan.

    When interests and benefits were involved, a businessman¡¯s promise was the least credible.

    Silver Sire could even sit out. He only needed to inform the royal family and ask them to send some guards to protect Annan. Moreover, he could run a census and find excuses to lock up the suspicious people.

    Instead of killing Annan and taking the Book of Divine Transporter from him now, it was better to give him the space to grow.

    But, Rotten Man could no longer stay in the Noah Kingdom.

    Holders of the title page of Book of Truth were always attracted to other ¡°eggs¡± subconsciously. Aplete Book of Truth must have at least six or seven pages. Even in terms of probability, there would be at least four pages outside of the Noah Kingdom and Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Hmph, I have time towait for it.

    When Annan goes abroad and collects at least four pages of the Book of Truth, I wille to trouble him again.

    For Rotten Man, the utmost priority now was to interrupt Michngelo¡¯s ascendancy ritual quickly.

    It wasn¡¯t because he and Michngelo had a grudge.

    Instead, Michngelo could sessfully reincarnate with the aid of Rotten Man¡¯s power.

    Five years ago, Rotten Man himself was in Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    The five elements of bing a deity were ¡°four rotating wheels,¡± ¡°the creation,¡± ¡°supreme crown,¡± ¡°prototype of truth,¡± and ¡°perfected element essence.¡±

    After all of them were gathered together, the ascendancy ritual could be started.

    Compared with two wheels and three wheels, a four-wheeled chariot was much more stable;pared with the six-wheel and eight-wheel upgraded version, a four-wheeled chariot was the most cost-effective.

    It represented the ¡°minimum cost on smooth operation¡± and also represented the ¡°equilibrium¡± of the deities¡¯ center of gravity. Therefore, they shouldn¡¯t have any apparent weaknesses. In other words, the person had to make up for their ws.

    In other words, this represented a rigid requirement for attributes and levels. The Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man¡¯s ritual had allowed them to get this power.

    But Michngelo didn¡¯t need to do that. The Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man both rushed to be deities without preparation, while Michngelo made ns to be a deity from the beginning.

    He had been stranded in the Gold Rank for a long time, and he had umted enough curses for promotion. ¡°Four rotating wheels¡± was established for him.

    Michngelo seeded in making divine creations such as ¡°living stone statues¡± and had some powerful curse vessels named after him. This fulfilled ¡°the creation¡± requirement.

    As the most potent surviving Prophet wizard in the world, he had the title of ¡°Time Stopper Eye.¡± When his prophecies conflict with others¡¯ prophecies, people would unconditionally choose to believe in him. This was his ¡°supreme crown.¡±

    Michngelo had no truth, but he relied on the taboo ritual he designed to put himself in a paradox state of both life and death. No existing deity could do that, but he had established it. Hence, it became the temporary Truth he rented.

    The problem was that Michngelo had developed his elements of ¡°mirror¡± and ¡°time¡± to the limit.

    There was no perfect Sage¡¯s Stone as a substitute. He would need to improve the elements continuously. This difficult project was supposedly achieved through the Truth power after getting the Book of Truth.

    However, as a mortal, Michngelo couldn¡¯t control ¡°time.¡±

    Michngelo pondered for a long time and had a bold idea.

    He used a Rotten Man believer he killed as a medium. He initiated a seemingly harsh deal with a particr deity who had been stuck on the final step to achieve deityhood for hundreds of years.

    Rotten Man would resurrect Michngelo at the appointed time and ce. After that, if Michngelo seeded and wholly ascended into a deity, then he didn¡¯t need to pay any price. However, if Michngelo seeded in the resurrection but still failed to attain deityhood, all the power Michngelo umted, including his soul, would belong to Rotten Man.

    At that time, Rotten Man thought to himself. Isn¡¯t this a Gold Rank envoy for free?

    Although he had to wait five years and spend his power to reincarnate him, the Rotten Man Church would immediately have an elite at the peak level of Gold Rank. He would acquire the curse power Michngelo umted and Michngelo¡¯s soul in this process.

    Rotten Man had his judgment in the situation.

    Although Michngelo was strong, his elemental power hadn¡¯t exceeded the limit. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t yet obtained the Book of Truth or a temporary Truth. He was still very far away from the road of ascendancy.

    So, the Rotten Man agreed without hesitation.

    Soon after that, Michngelo sent a letter to the 8 Silver Rank Wizards, inviting them to the White Tower.

    Now, Rotten Man hadpleted the first half of the agreement.

    But he realized something was wrong.

    Michngelo¡¯s ritual seemed much moreplete and reliable than the ritual he duplicated. Thestponent of this ritual was the ¡°Michngelo¡¯s Resurrection,¡± or rather the ¡°Michel Nottdamm¡¯s Birth.¡±

    The ovepping crying sounds were the manifestation of the ascendancy in the element of the ¡°mirror.¡±

    Seeing that his investment was about to lose, Rotten Man decided to intervene in person and make some ¡°fine adjustments.¡± All his efforts were to ensure that Michngelo¡¯s promotion would fail in the end.

    After all, Michngelo wasn¡¯t a believer of any upright deity.

    There was no need to worry that his ascendancy ritual would be protected by an upright deity, turning him into a subordinate deity after attaining deityhood.

    What he believed in was only the Elegant Elder¡¯s subordinate deity, the deity of pce and sculpture, ¡°Father Stone.¡± Worse still, he was even disrespectful to Father Stone, thinking that his works in the mortal period ¡°weren¡¯t as good as the people had preached.¡±

    Rotten Man¡¯s initial idea was right.

    As he paid a specific price to reach a deal with Silver Sire, he was confident that he could increase his power and acquire an envoy at the peak of Gold Rank through this transaction. With that, even if he lost all the believers in the Noah Kingdom, he could easily make aeback.

    As his capabilities improved, his church would have more substantial backing. At least in the future, the situation would be better when his believers fight with other deities¡¯ believers, and both parties summon divine envoys. Otherwise, the divine envoys summoned at Rotten Man¡¯s side could only peak at Gold Rank.

    It was originally that way.

    Rotten Man gave Annan a deep look.

    Michngelo doesn¡¯t have much poprity to get someone to help him.

    But my grudges will persuade people to stop me.

    Fine, Annan.

    Since you stood up and provoked me¡­

    If I respect your power and hurt you by ident for not restraining myself, I can¡¯t be med, right?

    It¡¯s just a pity that Annan hasn¡¯t umted four pages of the Book of Divine Transporter yet. After he dies, the title page will disappear again.

    Hmph, I have to look for the next holder of the Book of Divine Transporter.

 Chapter 213: Deityâ€™s Curse

    <h4>Chapter 213: Deity¡¯s Curse</h4>

    On the other side, the yers on the forum were in amotion.

    ¡°¡ªI knew it all along. Annan¡¯s identity isn¡¯t simple!¡±

    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t boost yourself in hindsight. No one has guessed that Annan is a true deity¡¯s descendant.¡±

    ¡°¡ªShh! The fact that Annan is ¡®Annan¡¯ instead of ¡®Don Juan¡¯ was only made publicst night. Stop bullshitting me.¡±

    ¡°¡ªEngh! I want to pinch Annan¡¯s face so hard.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, the Venerated Skeleton mentioned dragon blood? Is Annan a dragon descendant? Will he be a dragon in the future?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen I want to transfer my profession to Dragon Knight!¡±

    ¡°¡ªStop fussing around. Could Annan defeat Rotten Man?¡±

    ¡°¡ªCertainly, because Annan is the protagonist. In the end, the plot will kill the Rotten Man.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, no, I¡¯m more worried about Sister Hyphen and the others. If the fight breaks out, they will get instantly killed. So how do we continue to watch the live broadcast?¡±

    ¡°¡ª@SisterHyphen! Run away! Go and hide in the house. It¡¯s safer there!¡±

    ¡°¡ª@SisterHyphen¡ªQuickly¡ªRun¡ªAway¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªYiyi! Flee!¡±

    Shut up! How can I run away?

    Lin Yiyi was irritated after reading thements on the posts that persuaded her to flee.

    If I run away at this time, wouldn¡¯t Annan¡¯s affection rating on me plummet?

    Even if I die here without stopping and even respawn terribly, I will never flee!

    ¡°Senior, Old Goose, Yiyi, go and hide in the house first.¡± Annan saw the post on the forum and found it reasonable.

    If these two yers kept dying, the scene wouldn¡¯t be of good quality as if an amateur was holding the camera.

    Annan had already made ns to edit the recorded live broadcast into a promotional video.

    Annan injected Sage¡¯s Stone into his deltoid muscle while warmly admonishing Yiyi and the others, ¡°This isn¡¯t a battle you can participate in. Protect yourself and Master Michngelo.¡±

    ¡°Yes, feudal lord.¡± Lin Yiyi immediately responded.

    Since you asked me to flee, then I will do just that.

    She and Delicious Wind Goose dragged Salvatore into the mansion at No.44 Clear Water Street without any hesitation.

    Salvatore still hesitated.

    He wanted to help Annan.

    Although he was surprised that Annan was familiar with Silver Sire, he was also amazed at the arrival of the Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man. He was also awed at his imminent witness on a deityhood ascendancy.

    Aside from the excitement, Salvatore didn¡¯t forget Annan was just a Bronze Rank Transcended.

    Even if Annan administered Sage¡¯s Stone, it only temporarily upgraded his power to Gold Rank.

    But that wasn¡¯t to say that Annan could truly master all the abilities in Gold Rank.

    Salvatore, who had used Sage¡¯s Stone recently, had experienced this fact.

    ¡°Annan¡­¡± Salvatore was dragged into the room, staring at Annan.

    He bit his lip with his eyes filled with regrets.

    In Salvatore¡¯s opinion, Annan would stick out at this time, entirely because of him.

    He once told Annan that he hoped that a master like Michngelo would survive.

    At this moment, the source of Annan¡¯s confidence was the semi-finished Sage¡¯s Stone. Salvatore was the person who made it and handed it over to him.

    If something happens to Annan, that¡¯s undoubtedly my fault.

    Salvatore stood dumbfounded there like a wooden target, silent for a moment.

    He suddenly said in a low volume, ¡°Teacher, are you here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Benjamin¡¯s somewhat old and unperturbed voice sounded, ¡°What a guess.¡±

    Only then did the yers realize that an old wizard was sitting at the table in the living room.

    Salvatore looked at Benjamin with aplicated expression. ¡°Do you know Gerald?¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡± Benjamin nodded calmly, ¡°When he enrolled in ck Tower, I took care of his daily life. We¡¯re pretty good friends.¡±

    ¡°So, the news about Gerald being expelled from ck Tower for stealing curse vessels and killing our students¡­ Is it fake?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no.¡± Benjamin looked at Salvatore, who was trembling slightly, with a somewhat relieved expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a transaction.¡± Benjamin said those cruel words calmly, ¡°I let him kill my students, as a price¡ªI will help him steal the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone Blood Trigger.¡±

    The words shocked Salvatore like thunder. He looked at Benjamin in disbelief and asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s for the materials.¡± Benjamin sighed, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t think that such a powerful Sage¡¯s Stone doesn¡¯t need any expensive or troublesome ingredients?¡±

    Hearing this, Salvatore shivered. ¡°One of the main materials of Sage¡¯s Stone is wizard¡¯s bone marrow extract.¡±

    Benjamin spread his hands out, ¡°But in the age of peace now, where can I find the bone marrow of the wizard? Those with their marrow emptied, can they still live?

    ¡°Gerald looked directly at the Venerated Skeleton in the ritual. His erosion rate is too high, and he can¡¯t be saved. He wants to get his hands on the curse vessel and study to see if there is a possibility of survival. I will naturally help him. But he can¡¯t stay in ck Tower anymore. For my students¡­ Heh! They aren¡¯t the same as you. They are just a group of untalented people trying to learn Alteration spells and want to profit from it. What a bunch of fools.¡±

    The old wizard said inly, ¡°When they jokingly came over and asked me, ¡®Teacher, is there any form that is low cost and can make a lot of money?¡¯ I intended on killing them already.

    ¡°The Way of Alteration isn¡¯t to help these idiots make money!¡± His voice wasn¡¯t loud but resounded in a low voice.

    However, the yers and Salvatore seemed to be blown by an invisible hurricane. Their footings became unsteady and staggered to the floor.

    Salvatore sighed deeply.

    He temporarily set aside all the random questions about Sage¡¯s Stone, his senior sisters, and other matters in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. Instead, he followed his initial thoughts and continued to ask slowly, ¡°After that, Gerald was wanted. Is it because you want to host this ritual?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s our mutual intention too.¡± Benjamin smiled, ¡°I sent 3 waves of hitmen to hunt him down. On the other hand, he attempted assassination on me 4 times by various means. But we all failed.

    ¡°As for what we want, it¡¯s straightforward.¡± When Benjamin said this, his expression became slightly serious, ¡°When our soul rank is promoted, we will get a new curse.

    ¡°Then, naturally, you need a secret keeper to keep the curse¡¯s secret. In this way, we use the oath power to restrain the curse.

    ¡°The new curse that people get after being promoted to deities naturally needs a secret keeper. The secret keeper is generally the ¡°pope¡± of the deities,¡± exined Benjamin slowly.

    At this time, Annan outside the room also felt the strange burning sensation as the blood all over his body began to boil.

    But there was no pain.

    The curse on him became active simrly in Salvatore¡¯s situation. They crept and spread all over his body. But it wasn¡¯t ck, but golden runes shining with dazzling light.

    That seemed to be the function of the Book of Divine Transporter.

    [Detecting level promotion, currently Level 19.]

    [Detecting level promotion, currently at Level 26.]

    [Detecting level promotion, currently Level 31.]

    ¡­

    The prompts shed rapidly and slowly stagnated.

    [Your level has been promoted, currently Level 41.]

    [Extracting elements¡ª]

    [Blood Elements: Frost (100%)]

    [Soul Elements: Brilliance (63%), Wisdom (45%), Understanding (10%), Beauty (3%), Strict (1%)]

    [Element Manifestation: Frost, Brilliance]

    [Truth Is Manifesting¡ª]

    [Book of Divine Transporter 2/6]

    [Avable Truth: the Undying, the Way to Rise and Change]

    After that, a strange cooling sensation suddenly hit.

    All the clothes on Annan¡¯s body were torn to pieces by the surging power.

    Cold air leached on him, and the ground was frozen. Annan¡¯s skin became paler and even approaching transparency.

    Two pairs of wings emerged from Annan¡¯s back; one on the shoulder and one at the waist.

    A pair of wings held up to the sky.

    Another pair of wings drooped downward to cover the lower half of the body, hiding the runes all over the body that was shining with brilliance.

    After the runes on Annan¡¯s body were covered by the wings, they all became slits.

    The golden spheres shining with brilliance glimmered quietly in the slits.

    These golden spheres somehow resembled eyes, and there were 40 of them!

 Chapter 214: Minimalist Loop

    <h4>Chapter 214: Minimalist Loop</h4>

    In the tiny cracks on Annan¡¯s body, dazzling brilliance shot out.

    There were like countless eyes.

    But if one were to look closely, one could see that there was no flesh and blood in the cracks but the endless darkness andplete emptiness.

    However, in this endless darkness, countless points of light could be seen shing like fireflies, piercing their lights out from the endless darkness.

    The sky became gloomy rapidly, blocking the early morning sun.

    Under the dim sky, Annan gradually floated in the air.

    From his cracked body, fragments of light burst out. As Annan¡¯s body moved, these spots of light also swayed ording to the inertia, giving people a strong sense of dizziness.

    It was a glorious, noble, and sacred state.

    But the yers were discussing this from another angle.

    ¡°¡ªThe wings are in the way.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s fine. The wings only cover half of his ass. I¡¯m delighted with the exposure!¡±

    ¡°¡ªHe¡¯s even barefooted! It would be better if Annan has long hair.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan has back muscles?¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, does this count as tanned?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHey, would that look good on a male¡¯s body?¡±

    ¡°¡ªOf course!¡±

    ¡°¡ªTo be honest, this light made me a little dizzy.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe position of the wings feels like a subus.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan¡¯s whole body cracks and shines as if he is going to kill the final boss in the next second.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan: Cracked Version.jpg¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan: I Can¡¯t Close it up.jpg¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis is an Ophanim, right? I remember the Ophanim has many eyes and the Seraph [1] has many wings.¡±

    (TN: I chose the name Ophanim [2] because it¡¯s often referred to as many-eyed ones.)

    ¡°¡ªBut I remember that many-eyed is the characteristic of a Throne Angel?¡±

    ¡°¡ªOphanim isn¡¯t an entity. When it appears, it should have four wings and four faces. Annan has three faces less than that. As for the Throne Angel before the fifth century, the Throne Angel should have countless burning eyeballs. The moving wheels represent the divine transporter.¡±

    ¡°¡ªSo, is the current angel image personified by the painter back then? Just like the current ship, gun, food, and Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    ¡°¡ªShut up, it¡¯s different!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, something weird got in there.¡±

    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t discuss settings outside this world. For example, there are no angels in the mist world, right?¡±

    ¡°¡ªAt present, it seems that there is none yet.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, thements have gone wrong. Aren¡¯t we discussing Annan¡¯s beauty here?¡±

    After this post appeared, everyone took a pause.

    Then, the atmosphere became harmonious again.

    ¡°¡ªUpvote.¡±

    ¡°¡ªUpvote +1¡±

    ¡°¡ªI kind of want to see what Annan looks like when he changes back.¡±

    ¡°¡ªUpvote +1.¡±

    ¡°¡ªUpvote +1 & +1.¡±

    ¡­

    Annan didn¡¯t visit the forum to concentrate on dealing with Rotten Man.

    Otherwise, he might smile graciously and ban those yers frommenting and chatting for a week.

    At this moment, Annan tried to stay calm and indifferent.

    He took out the Elven¡¯s Skin Glove with grantion tissues that hadn¡¯t fully retracted from the wings and put them on his hands.

    As for the hammer and the kitchen knife, Annan¡¯s surge of power previously had knocked them away. It was just that the gloves were lighter, so the wings stopped them.

    Rotten Man watched Annan from a distance and asked quietly, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Facing Annan, who was dying time, he didn¡¯t feel any anxiety.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan looked at Rotten Man and said emotionlessly.

    At the moment, his voice echoed in the air, and his icy blue pupils had already condensed into gems.

    The subtle silver-white vertical pupil was looming in it.

    The thunder followed immediately after Annan¡¯s voice.

    Pouring freezing rain came without warning!

    Before the freezing raindrops hit the ground, the white ice mist had frozen them.

    In the blink of an eye, multiple crystal thorns were condensed out of thin air. They twisted and grew upwards to form an ice flower.

    This was ¡°icy rain¡± that could reduce the speed of thinking.

    It was Annan¡¯s Soul Snatch spell, Notion Rain!

    The icy rain was initially used to conduct the Energy Falteration spells. However, now that Annan¡¯s power skyrocketed, the rainfall was enough for Annan to build a territory.

    Facing the frosty street in the blink of an eye, Rotten Man didn¡¯t panic nor even move at all.

    He stood on the spot with a gentle smile on his face and gently raised his right hand like a prayer.

    With Rotten Man making such strange gestures, the ice on the path between him and Annan shattered!

    Annan felt like he was being torn apart by an inexplicable invisible force, almost tearing himself into two pieces. A strong warning suddenly appeared in his heart.

    What is this?

    With a thought in his mind, he levitated in the air.

    Without the need to use his feet, Annan dashed away at a speed leaving phantom images as his trails.

    As Annan moved, the ice on the ground also shattered into pieces wherever he passed by.

    Annan lifted his right hand slightly.

    A Frost Wheel was formed directly in his hands without chanting.

    The hollow pattern on it was much more gorgeous andplicated than when Annan chanted the spell on his own previously. Its details were more urate, and even traces of wear and tear could be seen. This wasn¡¯t like an illusory light wheel constructed by energy, but more like summoning a lost item to this world again.

    Annan didn¡¯tunch the light wheel.

    Instead, he waved it horizontally, shing towards the air behind him like a hand-held de!

    With the sound of shattering, Annan crushed some fragile, intangible thing.

    Rotten Man did alterate the ice into something invisible.

    But before Annan managed to catch a breather, those transparent crystal fragments suddenly appeared in front of him and froze in the air.

    In the blink of an eye, they sparkled brilliantly.

    A sharp de of light emerged from the crystal shard.

    Then, they grew into a few, a dozen, and then a few dozen.

    The light sword underwent rapid proliferation, and they were covered with ayer of ice in the next second.

    After aiming at Annan, it turned into streamers and galloped. A low buzzing sound apanied the onught at Annan!

    Annan backed away quickly, waving the wheel of light in his hand and smashing the iing ice sword. But the crushed ice sword turned into more embryos of the sword of light. The process repeated with more swords of light proliferated endlessly.

    Salvatore¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    This is a [Minimalist Loop]!

    In Alteration spells, the moreplex the elements on the alteration process chain, the greater the ultimate power, the more uncontroble it would be, and vice versa.

    But there was an exception here.

    When two spells were used as a cycle, the output could be magnified to the limit.

    This was called a [Minimalist Loop], also known as an uncontroble loop.

    Because Alteration¡¯s ¡°raw material¡± was the ¡°product¡± too. In this way, there was no need for any medium. The infinite loop was constructed with itself and a single catalyst.

    Rotten Man initially alterated the ice into the Gold Rank¡¯s Alteration product, [Invisible Pir] ¡ª a semi-activated space crack used to cut off objects or send small targets into designated spaces.

    After that, he utilized the [Light de]. Various weapons made of light withbat awareness could spontaneously attack the enemy or defend the target. They were the guardians of many tombs.

    This loop wasn¡¯t unbreakable. As long as it was melted when it altered back to [Ice] again, or the invisible pir was filled with arge amount of material, the alteration would end.

    But, Rotten Man coated the exterior of the light des with ayer of ice to initiate a Minimalist Loop, and the light des could proliferate infinitely.

    If you want to extinguish the light, you must eliminate all the ice. However, the shattered ice will turn into new lights. If you melt the ice with fire, the nourished light can separate a part of it and turn it into fresh ice to achieve an infinite loop.

    Salvatore stared nkly at the ever-changing light and ice in Rotten Man¡¯s Will.

    So this is the power whom the Gold Rank Alteration Wizard should have?

    Rotten Man only used his power at the Gold Rank.

    This was by no means an authority belonging to the deity.

    He was merely showing the side of a skilled Alteration Wizard. Or, in other words, thebat alchemy only the ¡°great sage¡± could muster!

 Chapter 215: Truth: The Way To Rise And Change

    <h4>Chapter 215: Truth: The Way To Rise And Change</h4>

    The frost-coated [des of Light] doubled in a matter of seconds.

    Annan was keenly aware of the alteration mechanism at this time but couldn¡¯t figure out how to ovee it at the time.

    He could only continue to intercept and smash the ice des assaulting him with the wheel of light in his hands. However, once the number of des counted more than 50, Annan began to feel the pressure. Wounds appeared on his body, and his blood was being frozen before it could even flow out.

    At this moment, the Rotten Man silently pointed his unupied left palm towards Annan.

    Annan was sweeping his arms while retreating at that moment, severing a couple more of the ice-coated des.

    However, the shattered ice fragments did not transform into more light des.

    They all melted in the air, turning into a faint mist that surrounded Annan.

    Suddenly, he smelled a strange fragrance in the air.

    It was like a boiled rose, exuding a warm and mellow fragrance.

    The scent plunged into Annan¡¯s body in the blink of an eye.

    Immediately after, Annan felt his body grow weaker and became unable to muster his full strength. The world in front of him began to be distorted as well. The colors of the world became bright, with dazzling purple, blue and cyan lights assaulting his eyes. On the other hand, the color of red was robbed away from his world.

    Everything in front of Annan blurred and distorted as if he had drunk too much. His vision suddenly zoomed in and out. Even if he closed his eyes, he still felt a strong sense of dizziness.

    Worse still, the fragrance became more intense. Its smell had also be moreplex and more apparent.

    With the slight sourness of a red wine emerging, it overwhelmed the sweet scent of the rose.

    Immediately after, Annan lost his hearing.

    He could no longer hear the wind, only a rustling like the sound of a static screen on a TV. Then, there came endless vague and malicious murmurs.

    ¡°¡­Ugh.¡± Annan bit his lower lip suddenly. He felt a stinging sensation in his abdomen.

    Annan¡¯s sense of distance and hearing was deprived. His color perception was distorted; the dizziness assaulting his head and the sense of powerlessness from his limbs revealed obvious ws in his blocks.

    Several ice des pierced through his belly.

    Fortunately, Annan possessed the [Frost Element], which allowed him to ignore the frost damage of the ice des. Rotten Man himself shouldn¡¯t be proficient at ice alteration. He just took advantage of the territory that Annan made andunched attacks on Annan.

    Annan soon had a gist on the situation.

    He recalled the smell of tulips when he met the Rotten Man. The fragrance made his consciousness blurred and drowsy, rendering him into a lethargic state like a muddle-headed puppet.

    Then, there was the fragrance attack.

    This particr ¡°scent¡± alteration might be the Rotten Man¡¯s unique spell!

    Soon after Annan realized this, the sweet and sour mellow wine and the mysterious sweetness of the boiling rose surrounding him had a new addition, an icy cedar fragrance.

    What Annan was deprived of this time was the sense of touch.

    He felt a strange warm touch from his hands. It was like being held by a pair of warm hands. But, he could see that his left hand was empty, and his right hand was holding the Frost Wheel.

    Immediately afterward, this strange sensation spread upward from both hands.

    First, the sensation came to the back and shoulders. Then, it spread to the abdomen and the thighs. Annan felt countless warm hands of different sizes pressing on his body. This warm touch obscured all of his tactile perceptions.

    He couldn¡¯t feel the touch of the cold wind when moving at high speed or even the ground under his feet, as if he was stepping on cotton. The difort of being pierced by the ice de in his abdomen gradually became unnoticeable as if it was an eraser rubbing it away.

    ¡°Annan! Dodge!¡± Salvatore couldn¡¯t help but shout out loudly.

    But Annan couldn¡¯t hear anything.

    He was like a drunkard, shing the air and smashing away the ice des. But more ice des pierced through the body.

    If Annan were an ordinary person, he would have died long ago. Even though wings helped cover his lower body, his upper body was already riddled with holes.

    After the first few ice des prated his abdomen, an eye somewhere on his body lost its light. It was like a crack to the world of darkness. Then, when Annan¡¯s heart and head were prated, another eye was shut.

    After that, Rotten Man didn¡¯t attack Annan¡¯s body at all but instead focused on the ¡°eyes on his body.¡± In every move, ice des prated several ¡°eyes¡± on Annan. Soon, there weren¡¯t many left on his upper body.

    Annan, what is going on? Salvatore frowned and murmured.

    Salvatore saw how Annan gradually lost his defensive stance.

    His body gradually turned red, and his movements became more sluggish.

    Is that poison? Salvatore soon realized something.

    He looked back at the Rotten Man.

    The Rotten Man¡¯s raised left hand was locked onto Annan. Among the ice des Annan crushed, a few smaller ice pieces melted directly, without hatching into a new light de.

    Damn it!

    What should I do?

    The battle has only been going on for less than half a minute, yet Annan¡¯s sense of touch has already been stripped.

    On the other hand, once Annan noticed that his sense of touch was removed, he had already thought of a way to ovee the situation.

    Truth: The Way to Rise and Change¡ª Annan called for his Truth.

    As Annan activated the Truth Power attached to the Book of Divine Transporter in his heart, a glimmering panel appeared before his eyes.

    [Subject to be improved?]

    Element, Brilliance.

    Annan muttered in his heart.

    The text on the glimmering panel shed across Annan¡¯s mind.

    [Assessing Shared Experience Pool. There¡¯s no Shared Element stored.]

    [Initiating in-depth element extraction.]

    [Warning: The safe extraction limit of the element ¡°Brilliance¡± of the target ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± is only 85%.]

    [Probability of sublimation 0%.]

    [Automatically optimizing the extraction n¡­]

    [Detected high enrichment of Brilliance element.]

    [Route 1: Extract nearby Brilliance elements, which can temporarily increase the safe extraction limit to 100%.]

    [Sublimation probability 3%]

    [Do you confirm?]

    So is this ¡°the Way to Rise and Change¡±?

    Confirm!

    Annan roughly understood the essence of his Truth, ¡°the Way to Rise and Change¡± was.

    To put it simply, this seemed to be a backend authority to alter the data!

    Annan suddenly stopped retreating.

    At the next moment, all of Annan¡¯s eyes closed at the same time.

    He levitated in the air, but no light emitted from him. On the contrary, he resembled a ck hole, absorbing the light around him and making the surroundings dimmer.

    That wasn¡¯t just a metaphor. The glowing des of ice all trembled and stopped in ce. Soon, the light within them extinguished. It was like Annan had taken the soul out from them. As the ice des lost their spiritual aura, they fell to the ground.

    Then, Annan¡¯s eyes opened again.

    His body was once again covered with eyes.

    Simultaneously, the freezing rain in the sky became dense and gentle.

    The difference happened so naturally within the freezing domain, it was hard for others to notice.

    But only Annan knew.

    He had switched the ¡°freezing rain¡± to ¡°drizzle¡± through the power of his emotions!

    Through his closed eyes, the rain was like a radar, marking the location and mood of everyone within this half of the city, including Rotten Man, Silver Sire, and even Annan himself!

    In the ¡°drizzle¡± perception territory, only the mood of the Rotten Man and the Silver Sire couldn¡¯t be perceived, but it was enough to inform Annan of where his enemy is!

    There was no need for sight or hearing.

    Simply through the perception of his heart

    Annan¡¯s wings unfurled majestically behind him. A stream of light emerged as well, pushing him forward swiftly. He closed his eyes and mmed into the Rotten Man at full speed!

    The [des of Light], dozens of times stronger than before, pierced out from every ¡°eye¡± of his!

    Those were near-solid light des.

    With the des protruding out from all over his body, Annan reached out and hugged the unsuspecting opponent!

    The instant the Rotten Man was caught in Annan¡¯s hug, he was pierced all over by the light des.

    Even so, Annan didn¡¯t immediately let go of the Rotten Man. Instead, he hugged his enemy and continued to fly upwards together.

    The light des intertwined the moment Annan raised his altitude. Rotten Man was sliced into pieces in the process.

    However, those pieces didn¡¯t shed even a trace of blood.

    They began to slowly melt in Annan¡¯s arms like ice¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Credits to MindMatrix for editing the chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 216: I Have Seen This Move Before!

    <h4>Chapter 216: I Have Seen This Move Before!</h4>

    How did he turn into ice? Annan¡¯s silver-white vertical pupils shrank slightly.

    Soon, he quickly realized what was happening. Benjamin cast this spell before.

    It¡¯s the Idol spell [Substitute], but why would the Rotten Man know Idol spells?

    During the era when the Rotten Man became a deity, the Wizard War hadn¡¯tmenced yet. Alchemists were purely alchemists. If one desired to learn spells from other schools, it was extremely difficult. Now, spell knowledge was shared publicly for all wizards, enabling the ¡°alteration¡± school¡¯s apprentices to learn spells from other schools.

    Salvatore stared at Annan from across the room confused, ¡°What is this¡­?¡±

    Benjamin nced at Salvatore and replied casually, ¡°This is self-alteration. Annan carried out a Taboo Alchemy spell known for its high-risk factor.

    ¡°Also, stop shouting. Annan can¡¯t hear you. He¡¯s already poisoned.¡±

    The old wizard looked at Annan deeply and said calmly, ¡°The Rotten Man was a famous perfume master before he became a deity. He utilized his personally concocted perfumes to murder the regent queen dowager without leaving any evidence, and imposed the new king into power. The tale was recorded in [Red Rose and White Rose].¡±

    The [des of Light] that popped out of Annan slowly retracted into the ¡°eyes.¡±

    The shattered ice pieces melted quickly; they quickly scattered in Annan¡¯s arms, falling to the ground.

    Suddenly, the ice pieces spewed out arge amount of purple slime. The viscous slime glued Annan from all directions as if he was a butterfly in amber.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± The Rotten Man¡¯s chuckled.

    Then, the ice pieces in the air gathered and manifested into the Rotten Man behind Annan.

    He still wore that same white robe and white mask, and there wasn¡¯t even the slightest wound on his body.

    ¡°This is the end.¡± Looking at the trapped Annan, the Rotten Man smiled and snapped his fingers lightly.

    Click! Following the crisp snap, the purple slime that enveloped Annan exploded!

    The shockwavesing from the explosion copsed the surrounding walls, releasing a wave of scorching hot air and dense smoke. They assaulted Annan from all sides, trapping him in the air.

    Immediately after, an eye behind Annan lost its light.

    The smoke and fireing from the explosion swarmed back to its source as if time had been rewound, re-manifesting back into purple slime.

    This time, before the slime stuck onto Annan, they exploded when they came into contact with the existing me!

    Consecutive explosions took ce around Annan incessantly!

    The supposedly lethal explosion didn¡¯t st Annan away. Instead, the impact force was enough to hold Annan in ce, keeping him in a steady stream of chain explosions!

    It was beyond doubt that Annan had no way out from his imminent demise.

    As long as the power of the curse didn¡¯t run dry, the high-intensity chain of explosions couldst indefinitely. Given the Rotten Man¡¯s abundant mana, this mirror image alone sufficed to extend the st to three minutes.

    ¡°In your pathetic and short life, you have not left any longsting legacy to the world.¡±

    The corners of his mouth rose slightly, ¡°But it is a grand curtain drop to have your life taken by me.¡±

    History will remember this moment, and you willpliment the stage on ¡°The Birth of the Immortal Deity!¡±

    All of a sudden, three light beams emerged from the smoke without warning.

    The beams were so quick that the Rotten Man couldn¡¯t even react when they prated his chest and abdomen!

    Immediately after, the three light des filled with a silver colour, solidified, and stuck within the Rotten Man¡¯s body.

    That was Silver Sire¡¯s Divine Art, [Silver Hand].

    He dragged himself out of the range of the explosions by following the trails of light left by the des, straight towards the Rotten Man.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t open his arms to hug the Rotten Man this time; he justughed and stared at Him with wide open eyes.

    His azure pupils seemed to be shining like a child. The joy and excitement exuding from it were extremely pure!

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that!¡± As Annan flew out of the dense smoke, he sped his hands tightly together as if praying silently.

    This motion resembled Annan trying to hammer the Rotten Man¡¯s head with his bare fists.

    The ongoing attack wasn¡¯t Frost Nova nor Impeding Wall either.

    The sacred golden eyes and runes on Annan¡¯s body turned into silver eyes and ck runes in the blink of an eye.

    An iparably potent and violent mana immersed Annan thoroughly.

    An ominous air enveloped Annan.

    The sharp light des protruding from the ¡°eyes¡± on his body immediately melted and turned into icy, silver gray tentacles.

    At the next moment, a silver-coloured negative energy storm spread into the surroundings from Annan!

    Lin Yiyi felt a sense of horror just by looking directly at the shadowy rays of light.

    She felt chills upon her back and trembled uncontrobly. As the storm came closer, she was swallowed up.

    Before she was knocked into the air by the storm, the room she was staying in was sheltered by a mysterious golden brilliance. The immense fear in her heart faded away slowly.

    She looked at Benjamin puzzledly with lingering fear in her eyes.

    ¡°You can treat this ce more or less like a sanctuary.¡± Sitting on the chair, Benjamin didn¡¯t panic at all, ¡°This level of negative energy storm is enough to make the new deity feel endangered.

    ¡°Though the deity hasn¡¯t beenpletely born yet, with the intelligence of His previous life. He would know to protect Himself from danger.¡±

    The Level 41 Annan was barely able to perfectly exert the full potential of [Chaos Spell: Denial of Life].

    ¡ªAny creature in range would be shoved 30 steps away from Annan and subjected to an instant-death probability check based on their respective Will attribute.

    Salvatore was a little worried, ¡°Spells that powerful would probably be a Chaos Spell, right?¡±

    ¡°Salvatore, you should not abuse Chaos Spells but there is no need to be afraid of them either.¡± Benjamin shook his head slightly and sighed in a low voice.

    On the other side, Annan held onto the three silver swords and flew towards the Rotten Man.

    The negative energy fluctuations that spread out from him drove the Rotten Man backward to the air.

    Annan deliberatelyunched the Rotten Man into the air to avoid hurting innocent people. He soared with the Rotten Man alongside the silver sword stuck in His body. Finally, he utilized the gray tentacles to entangle the Rotten Man¡¯s limbs with him to make sure they wouldn¡¯t fall to the ground.

    The battle scene unfolded was peculiar.

    Annan appeared as if stepping on the thin air and took Him into the sky.

    Someone on Lin Yiyi¡¯s live broadcast blurted out.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯ve seen this move before!¡±

    ¡°¡ªIsn¡¯t this Reverse Lotus [1]?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 217: The Man In The Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 217: The Man In The Mirror</h4>

    It happened simr to the yers¡¯ anticipations, yet different as well¡­

    Annan didn¡¯t grab and spin the Rotten Man upside down whileunching him towards the ground. Delivering the attack in this manner wouldn¡¯t be effective.

    Since the Rotten Man had managed to escape from death in the previous exchange, Annan was fairly certain He could avoid death using the same way.

    Moreover, Annan was skeptical whether this level of physical attack would be effective against a near-deity level being.

    The Rotten Man didn¡¯t feel nervous about receiving this attack either.

    Annan¡¯s surprise attack via negative energy caught Him a little off guard. He hadn¡¯t prepared any corresponding countermeasures. However, the attack dealt negligible damage, and only served to give him a slight ufortable ache. After all, the deity was immune to the move¡¯s instant death effect.

    He might need to put some thought into choosing the right Alteration to escape Annan¡¯s clutches, yet he wasn¡¯t concerned with Annan¡¯s n to continue knocking him up to the air.

    As a matter of fact, the sky of this world wasn¡¯t that high either.

    If Annan continued tounch himself up to the sky along with the Rotten Man, he would soon exceed the barrier height of the Noah Kingdom and would be exposed to the Gray Mists. By then, the Rotten Man would be in an advantageous situation and would choose to instead not let Annan escape.

    When the effect of the Sage¡¯s Stone on Annan was lost, he would lose control of himself and wither away after being exposed to the mists.

    On the other hand, the Rotten Man could survive in the Gray Mists for a long time since he was a demi-deity.

    This would be simr to the Rotten Man forcing Annan out of the Circle [1].

    The Rotten Man would then be able to acquire the torn Truth pages without even killing Annan. After all, it was Annan himself whounched this suicidal attack. Even if the Silver Sire or the Old Grandmother confronted, the Rotten Man would have an excuse for it.

    If the two Upright Deities couldn¡¯t get the evidence, they couldn¡¯t just vent their anger on the Rotten Man and vite the agreement.

    The twelve upright deities didn¡¯t have much additional power in disposal due to their sacred mission in maintaining the barrier and conserving their energy. They were ancient beings, at the very least existed before the First Age. So even though their power was superior to the junior false deities, they didn¡¯t have the freedom to simply do as they wanted.

    After all, false deities had no obligation to support the barrier. Instead, they were like online gamers who were not busy with work and study.

    Thus, in the face of Annan¡¯s sudden attack, the Rotten Man didn¡¯t resist nor break free.

    No matter if Annan pushed the Rotten Man forward and killed innocents in the process, pushed him up until he left the barrier, or stopped the magic, he wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to escape.

    Only if Annan tried to ground him would he consider taking a risk and performing alchemy with himself as the subject.

    At the same time, Annan also guessed what the Rotten Man was thinking.

    When Rotten Man barely resisted, Annan had already realized the Rotten Man¡¯s goal as heunched him continuously to the air at a higher altitude.

    Therefore, Annan had adjusted his n.

    Annan intended to duplicate the binding technique he saw from Kafni.

    He controlled the many silver-gray light tentacles protruding from his body with difficulty and gradually entangled Rotten Man¡¯s body.

    Annan wasn¡¯t proficient in grappling or joint locking [1]. He also wasn¡¯t sure how to restrict the Rotten Man¡¯s limbs, but he intended to ovee this challenge with brute strength.

    Annan sent out 30 tentacles to wrap the Rotten Man without any reservations. His focus was on every joint of the target¡¯s fingers, and most importantly, covering the target¡¯s mouth.

    Of course, this series of actions was more than just restricting the Rotten Man.

    After Annan lost his perception of spatial distance, he could pinpoint the opponent via the subtle movements through the tactile sensation transmitted by the light tentacles wraped on the target.

    Annan stopped maintaining the [Notion Rain] spell.

    Even so, the drizzle in the sky didn¡¯t stop immediately. It was still falling sparsely, but Annan lost his senses via the drizzle as a medium.

    However, it didn¡¯t matter anymore. He had pinpointed the Rotten Man¡¯s location using the tentacles already.

    Immediately after, a silver-gray shimmer shed in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    A thick gas wall emerged silently behind Rotten Man ¨C [Impeding Wall]!

    Rotten Man was deeply trapped inside the Impeding Wall.

    The speed of his upward flight was significantly reduced in an instant.

    Like a pulse, Annan¡¯s bursts of gray light spread outwards, but they were still pushing the Rotten Man upward.

    The two of them were just like that, hanging high in the air in a strange state as if time had stagnated.

    ¡°¡ªOMG, this isn¡¯t a Reverse Lotus [2], but a Stand [3]!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAww.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, you¡¯re seeing it that way too.¡±

    ¡°¡ªMaybe they¡¯re having fun in a world we can¡¯t see¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªHmm, I think the tentacle version of Annan is more handsome than the hedgehog version.¡±

    ¡°¡ªNonsense, obviously the hedgehog version is cooler!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAren¡¯t the light des cool? It¡¯s like a better Jedi.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI think Annan is beginning to summon the [Universe of Endless des]¡­¡±

    I am the bone of my sword

    Steel is my body and fire is my blood

    Annan couldn¡¯tst long.

    The Rotten Man was deeply trapped in the Impeding Wall, while Annan locked His fingers together tightly with tentacles. It took a lot of effort to move and the never-ending negative energy storm gradually tore at his flesh. Soon, he became irritated.

    The Rotten Man simply used the Impeding Wall as a fulcrum behind him to grab Annan¡¯s light tentacles. Then, he turned his wrist slowly but firmly, trying to drag Annan towards him.

    Ha, I finally did damage to Him! Hahaha! Annan was enthralled.

    Before Annan was dragged too close, Annan sensed an assaulting lemon and citrus scenting from the blood oozing out from the Rotten Man¡¯s body.

    This scent made the Rotten Man in Annan¡¯s eyes slow down incredibly.

    Wait, this isn¡¯t a mere illusion.

    The fragrance had indeed greatly increased Annan¡¯s perception. He opened his panel and noticed that his Perception attribute rose at an rming rate every second.

    But, Annan soon noticed something was wrong. The world in front of him became increasingly slow and gradually became static.

    The whole world in front of Annan fell into almostplete stillness in the end. He could feel his existence, but he couldn¡¯t even move a finger. He would need to exert all his focus and energy to do this simple movement coherently. Otherwise, the thought of ¡°lifting a finger¡± in his mind would disappear in a split moment.

    What the hell is this?

    Gold VIP experience or superhuman drug?

    Annan¡¯s thinking became clear and active.

    However, the whole world before his eyes waspletely still.

    Is this Rotten Man¡¯s final trump card?

    Annan finally realized the Rotten Man¡¯s approach inbat.

    He was almost theplete opposite of the Venerated Skeleton.

    He didn¡¯t believe in the deterrence of ¡°fear,¡± ¡°inhibition,¡± and ¡°despair.¡± Instead, he used people¡¯s desires to manipte people.

    He tempted mortals with immortality and rebirth, rather than threatening people with death; He utilized sleepy and rxing aromas to make people tired, not stench to make people dizzy; He used warm, ambiguous touch to obscure people, not pain.

    Even if he could do all these things, the Rotten Man was more willing to use people¡¯s desires.

    Just like now, overdosing on thinking eleration could be poison.

    Even after Annan thought about everything clearly, the outside world remained unchanged.

    He could only rely on hisst willpower through a long and continuous conflict in his mind to cancel his light tentacles, light des, and [Chaos Spell: Denial of Life].

    While maintaining the [Impeding Wall], Annan fell downward exceptionally slowly in the long and endless world.

    Annan just stared at Rotten Man with eyes wide open.

    He sketched the Rotten Man¡¯s features in his heart, engraving it deep in his memory.

    Annan then analyzed all the decisions he made after he came to this world several times in his mind.

    Later¡ª

    Annanpletely immersed his will in his body, feeling the power at the ¡°Truth Level¡± and how the elements burn and burst out of the soul.

    Annan didn¡¯t know how long time had passed, but when he abruptly woke up, it felt as though he¡¯s just experienced a long dream.

    When Annan¡¯s consciousness returned, he heard the Silver Sire¡¯s bright and cheerful voice.

    ¡°You lost, the Rotten Man. The Deity of Mirror and Clock is born. Stop whatever you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Our contract still has to be fulfilled because I didn¡¯t intervene you from fighting just now, so your believers belong to me. You don¡¯t want to go back on your promise, do you?¡±

    ¡°¡­Naturally not.¡± Rotten Man¡¯s low voice sounded.

    Annan opened his eyes and found that his vision, hearing, touch, and sense of time had returned to normal.

    It should be thanks to the Silver Sire¡¯s treatment.

    At this time, the Silver Sire had His arms around Annan from behind ¨C the Rotten Man stood in front of Him.

    The Rotten Man stared at Annan as if to carve him deep into his mind.

    Annan red back without fear.

    I shall remember you too, stupid eunuch.

    Although Annan was incapable of feeling anxiety, loneliness, and fear, he didn¡¯tpletely go crazy in this world¡­ and yet the eternal stagnant world would remain fresh in his memory.

    Since Annan came into this world, the Rotten Man was the first person who actually harmed him.

    Annan grew more modest after this event.

    He learned that just because he was unable to feel negative emotions or experience pain, it didn¡¯t mean he could act without any scruples.

    With thest of the baby¡¯s cries, the Rotten Man¡¯s mirror image froze and disintegrated away.

    And thus, there would no longer exist another who could im the deity slot of ¡°Mirrors¡±.

    The old, dead mortal Michngelo Buonaro had been reborn into a new deity, Michel Nottdamm.

    Even if he wasn¡¯t yet born, he knew what had happened outside.

    So the first thing he did after obtaining the authority was to deprive Rotten Man of the right to use the Mirror authority to maintain the image and kick him away.

    The Silver Sire put Annan down.

    Countless silver threads reached out from his cuffs and quickly wove a silver-white robe for Annan. It also blocked others¡¯ gaze before Annan was fully dressed up.

    ¡°You did a great job, Annan.¡±

    Silver Sire felt a little worried but proudly touched Annan¡¯s head. Then, he bent down and said in a low voice, ¡°I wille to talk to youter.¡±

    With that, the Silver Sire turned around and looked at the mansion.

    ¡°A new fellow deity¡ª¡±

    He dered in a loud and cheerful voice, ¡°Behold the Deity of Mirror and Clock!

    ¡°How shall this world refer to You?¡±

    After a very short pause, a peculiar voice that seemed toe from an old man and a baby at the same time sounded in the room, ¡°The Man in the Mirror.¡± He said, ¡°From now on, I will be ¡®the Man in the Mirror.''¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 218: I Always Keep My Words

    <h4>Chapter 218: I Always Keep My Words</h4>

    ¡­The Man in the Mirror?

    Annan felt that his mind was still a little hazy, as if he had slept for too long.

    He shook his head slightly, then walked over and asked Silver Sire in a low voice, ¡°I remember there was also a deity whose name is ¡®the Dragon in the Mirror.¡¯ But I don¡¯t know his clergy.¡±

    ¡°You read that from the Grinznuha¡¯s book, right?¡± Silver Sire chuckled and exposed Annan¡¯s more euphemistic narration.

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Annan nodded. He was a little confused at this response..

    How could he realize what my source of information was even though I only had mentioned this name?

    ¡°[The Dragon in the Mirror] is a seldomly used alias because it can be misleading. He doesn¡¯t have the authority of a mirror, and He isn¡¯t exactly a dragon. It¡¯s like how the Old Grandmother is sometimes called the [Cold-Blooded Lady] and some people will call me the [White-clothed Businessman].¡± Silver Sire exined.

    Only the name given by the deities in the ascendancy ritual could be their proper name, and you would be heard when you call the name close to them. But even if the name ¡°Cold-Blooded Lady¡± were called in Austere-Winter Dukedom, Old Grandmother would not hear it because it wasn¡¯t a name Old Grandmother granted to herself, but a nickname.

    That would be an alias.

    The way to refer to a deity without being discovered.

    ¡°The reason Grinznuha used this nickname was simple.. It¡¯s because the Elegant Elder is hunting the Venerated Skeleton. ¡°The Dragon in the Mirror¡± hints at the Deity of Painting and Falsehood ¨C the deity ¡°Paper Princess,¡± the subordinate deity of the Elegant Elder.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think you know¡­ She is actually a painting, a painting with life.¡±

    ¡°A painting?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    He had indeed heard the name Paper Princess before. When he was researching about Amos, he saw information about Her as well. She was a kind and silent deity.

    She was the patron saint and idol of many poor painters.

    If their paintings couldn¡¯t be sold, they could be sacrificed to the Paper Princess through ritual. The Paper Princess would give them some silver coins based on the effort they spent in painting, not the value of the painting itself so that they wouldn¡¯t starve to death. However, Annan remembered this name because the Paper Princess didn¡¯t manifest these silver coins with divine power, nor did She ask for them from Silver Sire¡­ but She earned it Herself.

    Indeed, She was also a legendary painter herself, roaming in various countries and streets.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the Paper Princess.¡± Silver Sire nodded.

    ¡°But I think you may not know that The Paper Princess was the first painting the Elegant Elder painted, and it is also one of the Elegant Elder¡¯s best works.

    ¡°The contents of the painting was a silver-white dragon, which was supposedly lifelike. Under the Elegant Elder¡¯s power, it can even move, roar, and dance in the painting. Its power can even affect the real world.¡±

    Having said that, Silver Sire nced at Annan slightly before continuing, ¡°Later, a real dragon acquired this painting.

    ¡°Unfortunately, he fell in love with the dragon in the painting. It can even be said to be obsessed¡­

    ¡°Hepletely disregarded everything in reality to spend more time with it. For hundreds of years, he only chatted with it, got along with it intimately, and watched it dance on the top of the snow-capped mountain obsessively.

    ¡°But it is just a painting after all. There is no intelligence and no soul, just responding to others ording to the Elegant Elder¡¯s pre-sets.

    ¡°In the end, the dragon got the title page of the [Book of Truth], and the book was called ¡°Falsehood and Reality.¡±

    ¡°But he was deeply enraged by the power given to him from that book because the ¡°Truth¡± in ¡°Falsehood and Reality¡± clearly told him that the dragon in the painting cannot be real. Yes, the dragon can use his Truth and turn it into a more surreal falsehood, so real that it is almost indistinguishable, but he was not satisfied with this.

    ¡°The dragon rejected this seemingly beautiful proposal.

    ¡°He would rather believe that the dragon is real and believe a dragon soul is sealed within the painting. He feared and even loathed the Truth he had obtained and finally made a decision. He decided to abandon his Truth.

    ¡°Or, to be more urate, he forcibly proved that there is indeed a dragon¡¯s soul in that painting.

    ¡°He used his knowledge and resources to construct aplete ascendancy ritual, and sacrificed his own soul. It wasn¡¯t him who was at the center of the ritual, but the painting.¡±

    The dragon used his soul, Truth, and everything in exchange for an opportunity to turn falsehood into reality forcibly.

    ¡°So, that¡¯s how the Paper Princess became a deity?¡± Annan blinked.

    What is this?

    Is the otherworld version of a 2Dplex [1]?

    However, considering that the painting can move, speak, and even chat with people like an artificial intelligence, it seems understandable.

    The Silver Sire didn¡¯t know about the subtle thoughts in Annan¡¯s heart.

    Annan asked, ¡°So, did he seed?¡±

    ¡°He should have been sessful. Although the original Deity of Falsehood and Reality has lost his soul, the painting does now possess a real consciousness and soul.¡±

    The Silver Sire just smiled mildly, ¡°As he once imagined, it was a cold, elegant, and kind-hearted little female dragon. That is the current Deity of Painting and Falsehood.¡±

    It was just that he himself couldn¡¯t witness this anymore.

    The Silver Sire didn¡¯t point it out, but Annan understood what He meant.

    Hearing what the Silver Sire said, Annan suddenly recalled the paint given to Amos by the Venerated Skeleton.

    There seemed to be some simrities between the two, but there were some differences.

    In this way, ¡°the Dragon in the Mirror¡± was an insulting nickname for the Paper Princess. However, it also urately metaphorized Her.

    ¡°Why are you telling me so much about it?¡± Annan was keenly aware of something.

    The Silver Sire nodded slowly and exhorted Annan, ¡°The Paper Princess now lives in Noah¡¯s capital, and she wants to see you.¡±

    ¡°See me?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    Why?

    I don¡¯t even know you¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s because that painting is a portrait painted by the Elegant Elder for the Old Grandmother.¡±

    The Silver Sire raised his eyebrows. He wasn¡¯t embarrassed, but just smiled and said, ¡°However, you also know the Old Grandmother¡¯s temper. She doesn¡¯t want to see the Paper Princess and doesn¡¯t think the Paper Princess has anything to do with her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask too much. You will find out when you get there. Just think of it as to satisfy the Paper Princess¡¯s homesickness, Annan. It is good for you to find out more about other deities. If the Paper Princess protects you, you will be safer in the capital. It will be more convenient in many aspects too.¡±

    Safe? Is there anything safer than the Silver Sire¡¯s protection in the Noah Kingdom?

    So, does the Paper Princess want to see me, or do you want me to meet the Paper Princess?

    Annan gradually figured out the meaning behind those lines.

    No, why do you want the Paper Princessto protect me?

    Is the Silver Sire not nning toe forward?

    ¡°Do you want me to see the Paper Princess, or do you want me to go to the royal capital?¡± Annan blinked and realized what the Silver Sire¡¯s hinting at.

    He decided to ask straightforwardly rather than guessing on his own, ¡°If you want me to return to the capital, should I visit in the name of Don Juan or Annan?¡±

    This would be Annan¡¯s age advantage. He would be considered sensible if he abided by the rules. Otherwise, he would only be deemed as frank, and no one would mind it.

    Of course, there might also be an advantage in his good looks.

    ¡°Naturally, you should adopt the identity of ¡®Don Juan Geraint.¡¯ Come when you are free and do me a favor. It¡¯s not a rush. You can wait until the Spring Hunting Season. It will be best though if you can make it before May.¡±

    Silver Sire smiled as he bent down in front of Annan and said in a low voice, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too scared. I will get Little Henry to capture those Rotten Man believers in these few months. In the Noah Kingdom, there shall be no more of them left.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask what favor you are asking for? I have to make preparations in advance so that I won¡¯t be clumsy and add more trouble to you,¡± asked Annan politely.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Silver Sire gently hugged Annan¡¯s waist and whispered with the corners of his mouth raised, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to take the ce of Don Juan to attend Little Henry¡¯s funeral.

    ¡°While doing that, warn those with coveting ideas in the name of the Geraint family. The Noah Kingdom is in chaos. Rotten Man thought his n was secretive, but he didn¡¯t even know why Henry would ignore him.¡±

    Silver Sire grinned and smiled kindly, ¡°I have once promised them that I won¡¯t directly interfere with the internal affairs of the royal family and the nobles.

    ¡°You know, I always keep my words.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 219: The Key Locked In The Safe

    <h4>Chapter 219: The Key Locked In The Safe</h4>

    As the baby¡¯s cry echoing in the sky faded away, the Silver Sire stepped back into the beam of light and left.

    After that, Salvatore took Lin Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose and walked out of the estate at No.44 Clear Water Street.

    He was relieved when he saw that Annan was safe, then immediately asked in a hesitant, low voice, ¡°What happened to you just now?¡±

    ¡°I saw you suddenly stopped moving, and then you fell¡­¡±

    ¡°I almost died.¡± Annan took a deep breath and adjusted his white robe¡¯s cor, ¡°We can talk about it after we head back.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Salvatore nodded, being tactful, and didn¡¯t continue to pry too much.

    Hu¡­ Annan took a deep breath.

    He thought he had enough tricks so that maybe he would have a chance to wound or even defeat the Rotten Man.

    He also fantasized about how much experience he could gain in that way.

    But the reality had proved that Annan could only survive in front of Rotten Man for up to three minutes. That only happened thanks to the Silver Sire¡¯s deterrence to prevent the Rotten Man from using his powerful moves.

    Nevertheless, this adventure had earned Annan quite a few rewards.

    [Silver Sire¡¯s Favor]

    [Type: Equipment/Armour/Clothing (Gold)]

    [Defense: 3 (equivalent to a thick leather armor)]

    [Efficacy (Defense): Cut]

    [Vulnerability (Defense): Stabs, blunt attacks]

    [Description: The silver silk robe that the Silver Sire has woven is light but tenacious, with a divine essence that can¡¯t be ignored. Priests whose rank is in bishop and above can recognize its origin.]

    [Effect: When ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± wears it, he will be immune to conceptual curse below the Silver Rank.]

    [Effect: Wiping your eyes with the clothing would activate the ability [Detect Poison] for 10 minutes. The ability is the same as the one that is essible by the [Hunter] ss. Likewise, wiping your hands with it will activate the ability [Purify Poison] for 10 minutes. The effect is equivalent to the [Idol] ss spell with the same name.]

    [Effect: The clothing can be automatically repaired by consuming silver coins.]

    This was the most useless Gold Rank equipment Annan had ever obtained or even seen.

    Its greatest advantage was that this piece of equipment didn¡¯t have any restriction to use.

    The ability to detect and purify poison could be used at any number of times in a day. Its texture was like a silk nightgown, but it could resist any cut from basic sharp objects and act like thick leather armor. Even if this piece of equipment was damaged, Annan could consume silver coins to repair it again.

    Its effect wasn¡¯t particrly effective in battle, but it was a helpful item in day-to-day life, especially against poison assassinations and to nullify curses.

    The Silver Sire seemed to be suggesting Annan wear this outfit as often as possible.

    Annan became immersed in his thoughts after realizing this.

    This clothing seems to be used in distinguishing a friendly rtionship with the Silver Sire.

    Hmm, it seems like the Silver Sire doesn¡¯t intend to have his church pay extra care in protecting my life after I enter the royal capital.

    Annan quickly realized the Silver Sire¡¯s goal.

    Silver Sire dedicated a ¡°token¡± to me, signaling to his church not to be involved with me on the surface.

    Instead, the Church is expected to appear hostile to me, or rather Don Juan Geraint.

    The senior members of the Silver Sire Church, including the sly senior bishops, would naturally learn from Annan¡¯s clothes that he was actually an ally. The junior rank priests hostile to him wouldn¡¯t recognize the clothing, and if they caused trouble for him it would make this alternate identity or act more real.

    What does the Silver Sire want to do in this y?

    Soon, Annan also picked up another sign when the Silver Sire asked him to seek the Paper Princess just now.

    ¨C No matter what Annan did, the Silver Sire wouldn¡¯t get involved.

    At this moment, the door was pushed open again.

    It was Benjamin who came out of the house.

    He waspletely different from a few minutes ago.

    At that instant, Benjamin exuded an intense and out-of-this-world aura. A peculiar and visible heat shimmer surrounded him, which looked like the air above a barbecue grill.

    There was a brilliant me at the back of his eyes, so bright that none couldn¡¯t look directly at it. His strong presence made him even more eye-catching than deities.

    Benjamin held a mirror in his arms facing outwards, but it didn¡¯t have aplete reflection.

    The background in the mirror was the same as the outside world, with the only difference being that no one was shown in it.

    Indeed, it could even reflect the walls and houses behind Annan and the group, but they were seemingly transparent and not reflected on the mirror.

    At this time, Annan suddenly noticed something.

    Benjamin had a golden lesiastical ring at his left ring finger ¡ª the kind of ring that was big and t and could be used as a stamp.

    His initial silver ring was nowhere to be found.

    So, Benjamin has sessfully advanced to Gold Rank?

    ¡°Annan¡­¡± At this moment, in the mirror that Benjamin was holding in his arms, a strange voice that sounded like both an old man and a baby at the same time came, ¡°Thank you so much. I was able to hear everything you did for me just now.¡±

    No problem, I didn¡¯t put much thought into this.

    Annan hesitated to speak and remained silent.

    He looked curiously at the mirror in Benjamin¡¯s arms.

    So, is this the Deity of Mirror and Clock, the newly born false deity ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±?

    Speaking of which, where is the baby?

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of what I should give you to be worthy of this kindness. After all, you don¡¯t have any particr needs right now.¡±

    The Man in the Mirror continued to speak in that peculiar voice, ¡°Then, I shall give you this mirror first. No matter what you need or if you have any questions, use it to call me.

    ¡°You know my two names. In front of this mirror, you will summon the past me if you call me by my past name, but you can summon the present me if you contact me by my current name.

    ¡°When I feel the debt is paid off, I will leave.¡± Benjamin handed over the mirror after the Man in the Mirror finished speaking.

    A few lines of texts before Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [The Man in the Mirror¡¯s Newborn Mirror]

    [Type: essories/Tools (Gold)]

    [Description: After the Man in the Mirror became a deity, the first mirror he came into contact with has extraordinary remembrance value and a sacred essence that cannot be ignored.]

    [Effect: Calling the real name of the deity in front of the mirror will not consume the corresponding mysterious knowledge and summon the reflection in the mirror (Warning: Please hold the corresponding ritual first to confirm that the other party does allow this special summoning ritual.)]

    [Cost: People who look at this mirror lose one hour of lifespan per second. Each person loses up to 24 hours of maximum lifespan per day.]

    When Annan saw this, his expression immediately changed. He turned the mirror inward, facing his body.

    After seeing everyone leave the house, Benjamin closed the door behind him.

    There was only a *click.* The newborn Michel Nottdamm and the Nottdamm couple from two and a half years ago disappeared.

    Benjamin then raised his hand.

    The house became distorted as if it was absorbed into a ck hole. It flowed quickly toward the center point, with its shape and color distorted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, the subject began to elongate again.

    In the blink of an eye, Benjamin turned the house into a towering giant tree with a lifespan of at least a hundred years at the original location of No. 44 Clear Water Street.

    The bnce achieved by the original ¡°mirror ritual¡± was naturally broken.

    Annan realized something again.

    The ritual has a simr approach to the Rotten Man¡¯s and the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ascendancy.

    Since they don¡¯t have the Truth, they can only obtain the temporary Truth with ritual. But, they cannot afford to have the ritual terminated, and it is easy to destroy if left alone.

    So the Venerated Skeleton put His ritual area in the Gray Mists, under the wreckage of the kingdom. The Man in the Mirror hides the ritual in the ¡°other past¡± that didn¡¯t happen.

    If other people want to reach the ritual area, they have to use time and the power of the mirror and rebuild the mirror ritual to reach the past two and a half years ago.

    Both of these powers are under the Man in the Mirror¡¯s control. Therefore, it is difficult for others to achieve that.

    It¡¯s like keeping the safe key locked in the safe, forming a paradox loop that can¡¯t be ovee.

    I see¡­

    Annan looked at Benjamin. With this, he could now confirm that Benjamin became the new deity¡¯s pope and the secret keeper for this new deity¡¯s curse.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 220: Inscription

    <h4>Chapter 220: Inscription</h4>

    A towering giant tree had fully transformed from the house at No. 44 Clear Water Street.

    Under Benjamin¡¯s alteration magic, the giant tree that morphed from the house became more and more realistic.

    In the beginning, the bark was too clean, thus appearing unusual. Typically, a tree wouldn¡¯t have smooth bark after reaching this size.

    At this moment, the symmetrical giant tree gradually changed and leaned on one side. The bark became lumpy, showing progressive signs of natural weathering.

    In the end, even sparse grass grew around the tree. There were traces of moss near the roots, and specks of dust surfaced on the leaves.

    After sealing the ritual, Benjamin turned his head over and nodded to Annan, ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan.

    ¡°I will leave the rest to you.¡± What he meant was to have Annan exin the ¡°giant tree that appeared suddenly.¡±

    Of course, this wouldn¡¯t be a challenge for Annan.

    There weren¡¯t many residents at Clear Water Street. Additionally, it wasn¡¯t an area dedicated to the wealthy but a temporary residence assigned to officials. Essentially, the Viscount Mansion was located at No. 11 Clear Water Street, while No. 1 to No. 10 were the centralized office area in Roseburg.

    Just like Mr. Nottdamm would choose to buy a house elsewhere, other officials had simr preferences.

    Otherwise, it would be too easy for Roseburg¡¯s viscount to search their house for contraband. Also, it was a challenge to do many things under the viscount¡¯s watch.

    Since the viscount ¡°had died by ident,¡± they were even more afraid to live near Clear Water Street for fear of being mistaken by others that they were involved in this matter or being chosen by Annan to be the martyr.

    In general, there weren¡¯t many families residing in this street. Annan could easily craft an excuse to brush off the matter when the neighbors came to this ce.

    ¡°No problem, Master Benjamin.¡± Annan nodded politely.

    The corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a gentle smile, ¡°Or, should I call you, Pope Benjamin?¡±

    ¡°That will be fine, too.¡± Benjamin nodded.

    As time passed, the transparent me enveloping Benjamin gradually subsided. Although his presence was still dazzling and he would always stand out, the initially glorious aura as he walked out of the house gradually faded.

    Annan thought of something.

    Is this the feeling you get when the soul is ignited and the elements are perfected after attaining the Gold Rank soul?

    Is this what it looks like when the soul burns?

    ¡°Then, I will leave first¡­ Your Royal Highness Annan.¡± Benjamin didn¡¯t look at the others but said respectfully to Annan, ¡°If you have anything, please call out to the Man in the Mirror.

    ¡°If there is anything else that needs my help, He will contact me.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, Sir Benjamin. I have a question¡­¡± Annan grabbed Benjamin¡¯s sleeve and asked in a low voice.

    Benjamin interrupted Annan, ¡°I know what you want to ask.¡±

    ¡°I did see you back then, but I did not know why you were there.¡± Benjamin¡¯s vague reply confused the rest of Annan¡¯s party.

    However, Annan already understood what Benjamin wanted to express.

    When Benjamin left the boat, He did see Annan who was unconscious by the sea, but Benjamin didn¡¯t know where Annan came from.

    Annan asked, ¡°So, do you have any clues?¡±

    ¡°All I can confirm is¡­¡± Benjamin pondered for a while, then slowly said, ¡°At that time, there is the ¡®Leviathan¡¯s air¡¯ lingering around you.¡±

    ¡°¡­Leviathan?¡± Annan was startled.

    A name that I haven¡¯t heard of.

    Is this some kind of ¡°influence¡±?

    Benjamin nodded and confirmed, ¡°Yes, it is one of the three Supreme Monsters of the Mysterious Lady.

    ¡°Considering that you were not a Transcended at that time, I removed the remnants of this influence.¡±

    ¡ªThe Leviathan¡¯s air.

    Annan muttered, remembering the new name he learned.

    I finally have some new clues¡­

    The reason why I didn¡¯t die after getting thrown into the sea could be because I have the Mysterious Lady, or at least the ¡°Leviathan¡¯s¡± protection. He carried me to the vicinity of the Freezing Water Port.

    The ¡°Reverse Inscription¡± on my soul should have been carved at that time.

    Then, Annan asked again, ¡°This will be myst question. Do you know about inscriptions?¡±

    Upon hearing this, Benjamin paused slightly. Then, he nodded and shook his head again. ¡°I can¡¯t describe it as I ¡°know about¡± them, and I can only say that I ¡°heard about¡± them.¡±

    Benjamin said slowly, ¡°Inscriptions are an ancient knowledge lost in the Second Age. You can consider that a type of ult knowledge. More so, it is of the highest level. [TN: ult knowledge, in this context, usually refers to the use of deity names or lostnguages to activate magic. Previously, I have tranted them as mysterious knowledge but we will stick to ult knowledge from now on.]

    ¡°Only those ancient false deities or the twelve upright deities born before the end of the Second Age know how to use inscriptions.

    ¡°The curses in this world all emerge in the form of some ancient rune. As the highest levelnguage, the Inscription¡¯s effect will be taken priority first for any phrase. Hence, the Inscription is also the ¡®power that alters the curse¡¯. Those Transcended with lethal curses can only hope for an Inscription to prevent their demise.

    ¡°Its existence isn¡¯t a secret. The cost of using this extraordinary feature isn¡¯t too high. That¡¯s the reason why many churches use the designated ¡®inscriptions¡¯ as one of the highest-level rewards. Also, it¡¯s because only the pope or deities can engrave them.¡±

    ¡°Different deities have different inscription fragments. The only one who has mastered all inscriptions is the Mysterious Lady, who has the alias of ¡®the Supreme Linguist¡¯.¡±

    Benjamin nced at Annan and added, ¡°If you have needs for inscriptions, you can entrust it to the Man in the Mirror. He can go and learn them from the Mysterious Lady.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have such a need for the time being¡­¡± Annan shook his head slowly and asked, ¡°In other words, can every curse be engraved with an inscription?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but this does not mean that the curse will be stronger; it may be weaker. The power of inscription is reflected in the ¡®knowledge of oneself¡¯. Each curse can be engraved with one inscription at most. Once it is engraved, it can¡¯t be modified. The choice of the inscription will directly change the curse they have established.¡±

    Benjamin gave a slight pause. He probably already guessed why Annan asked this. So he immediately added, ¡°All Transcended power in this worldes from curses. So those ¡®innate special talents¡¯ are a kind of curse.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that these curse runes don¡¯t float on the surface but are engraved in the soul. In other words, they are ¡®born Transcended¡¯. This is because when they are born, they have already received the first curse. The effect is like being afflicted with a curse ¡®that will always be effective until death¡¯.

    ¡°This curse won¡¯t attract the curses deposited in the gray mists but will only elerate their growth. Another advantage of it is that you can engrave an additional inscription.

    ¡°Not on the surface, but in the soul. Beware that this also brings risks while it¡¯s a great opportunity. The inscription engraved in the soul will inevitably change the soul¡¯s essence. This will directly change their talents.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that only the Mysterious Lady can figure out the effect of the inscription and what role it will y in different curses.¡±

    I see. Annan nodded.

    He probably had an idea about how he obtained the Reverse Inscription now.

    Considering the residual influence of the ¡°Leviathan¡¯s air¡±, this was probably the inscription that Mysterious Lady personally engraved for him.

    In other words, from the time when ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡± was thrown into the sea to when Annan herself woke up from the seaside, something must have happened.

    This incident saved Annan and granted him the Reverse Inscription which the Mysterious Lady engraved for him, transforming the original ¡°Winter Heart¡± into a brand new bloodline ability that no one had ever possessed.

    Ha, Benjamin was being so modest when he said that he didn¡¯t know much, but he clearly knew a lot.

    ¡°Thank you very much. I have no other questions.¡± Annan recollected his thoughts and replied respectfully to Benjamin.

    Benjamin added in a low voice, ¡°I heard your conversation with the Silver Sire¡­

    ¡°If you want to go to the capital, remember to summon the Man in the Mirror first. I can temporarily change your appearance. Also, if the Fourth Prince wants to return to the capital¡­

    ¡°Remember to remind him that the Geraint family will only obey the king¡¯s direct orders, no matter what.¡±

    And it doesn¡¯t matter who is sitting on the throne¡­

    Annan understood the second half, which Benjamin didn¡¯t speak out loud.

    He nodded, ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 221: The Demon In The Capital

    <h4>Chapter 221: The Demon In The Capital</h4>

    Without a dy, Kafni, Jiu Er, and the others came to Annan and Salvatore after Benjamin left.

    ¡°Hey, what are you all doing here¡­¡± Annan greeted the approaching people timely.

    In actual fact, he had learned from the forum not long ago that Kafni was rushing over to his side.

    If it weren¡¯t for her not knowing the path, she would have hurried over alone.

    Jiu Er¡¯s party hurriedly stopped Kafni in a panic after seeing her eagerness.

    Annan engaged in a CG battle with a false deity at the Truth level at that point in time.

    Did youe over to add more trouble or intentionally feed the enemy?

    What if therees an AoE attack that suddenly kills you?

    yers can respawn, the main protagonist won¡¯t die for sure, but the problem is you¡¯re just an NPC.

    Luckily, the ¡°game¡± offers quite a high level of freedom. Kafni is still willing to listen to our exnations.

    Jiu Er patiently and euphemistically exined to Kafni on several key points. Only then did she obediently agree.

    1. Annan had administered the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    2. He and Rotten Man were in a gambling fight and couldn¡¯t ept an outsiders¡¯ aid.

    3. The Silver Sire was protecting Annan on the side.

    4. The battle took ce at a level where she couldn¡¯t get involved.

    For some reason, Kafni didn¡¯t ask where Jiu Er got the information but just replied, ¡°I got it.¡± Then, she rushed over with Jiu Er and the rest, watching from a distance two blocks away from the battlefield. She didn¡¯t meddle in the fight on her own ord.

    Of course, even if Annan knew what had happened, he still had to ask politely.

    After all, he shouldn¡¯t know these events in a logical sense.

    Jiu Er once again assumed the role of a diplomat and exined to Annan, ¡°We also encountered a couple of monsters over there, but we didn¡¯t find the Soul Eater.

    ¡°Her Royal Highness Kafni was worried about you, milord. So she asked us to lead the way and rush over to your side immediately.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin.¡±

    Kafni spoke in a tender but slightly hoarse voice. The mystical pupils that were as luminous and transparent as rubies stared at Annan intently, ¡°His Royal Highness Annan naturally knows we areing.¡±

    ¡­What? Annan was startled.

    He knew it because he could look at the forum and see the yers¡¯ chat.

    But how did Kafni find out about it?

    Is this also a manifestation of a monk¡¯s superb perception?

    ¡°It¡¯s your heart, your Highness.¡± Kafni seemed to know what Annan was thinking.

    She continued to stare at Annan while stepping forward. Then, with her hands put above her heart, she whispered, ¡°I can feel your heart.¡±

    ¡°My heart?¡± Annan repeated.

    He was a little at a loss. Are my expressions that obvious?

    Seeing Kafni approaching him slowly, Annan took a step back subconsciously.

    Kafni immediately took two steps forward and grabbed Annan¡¯s hand.

    She immediately showed a relieved and soothing expression.

    Until then, Annan finally realized something when he noticed the relief in Kafni¡¯s eyes.

    He felt something was amiss from the very beginning.

    Why does Kafni feel so close to me? Why do I always feel that something isn¡¯t right?

    Her attitude towards me is unlike ¡°affection¡± or ¡°respect¡±. It is more like ¡°attachment¡± or even ¡°dependence¡±.

    It¡¯s like Kafni is troubled by an illness, but the illness will alleviate or even disappear when she approaches me or even looks at me.

    But do I have an ability that makes it that way?

    Annan was at a loss.

    Wait, this isn¡¯t quite right, either. He reacted.

    He seemingly indeed had the ability that befitted this exnation.

    His soul essence reflected in the mirror could reduce or even clear the erosion rate directly by just looking at it.

    Kafni had never established a Silver Rank curse. The erosion rate troubling her was at an rming state. Although the curse didn¡¯t turn her into a monster, the overloaded erosion would bring her some pain.

    ¡°Can you see my soul essence?¡± Annan leaned forward and whispered in Kafni¡¯s ear.

    Kafni raised her head, hesitated, and nodded slightly.

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly. ¡°What is it?¡±

    He asked, ¡°Do you know what it is?¡±

    Kafni nodded but hesitated and shook her headter without giving a solid reply, ¡°I¡¯m not very sure.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Annan didn¡¯t put pressure on her.

    Maybe my ¡°affection rating¡± on her isn¡¯t enough.

    Anyway, there are still many chances to ask in the future. This is only the first time we have met. I better not screw this up.

    Even though this angelic girl was tolerant of Annan, he also understood he shouldn¡¯t abuse this tolerance and trust.

    Just like Annan wouldn¡¯t want to manipte Salvatore¡¯s trust and amodation to use him at will, kindness should be repaid with kindness instead of exploiting it as a weakness or being ungrateful. This was basic ethics.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to answer my question, then don¡¯t answer it, Kafni.¡± Annan said gently, ¡°No need to force yourself. I¡¯m serious.

    ¡°Also, I¡¯m d you are safe.¡± He added.

    Hearing that, Kafni tightened her grasp on Annan¡¯s hand.

    [TN: Annan is freaking smooth.]

    Annan felt that her hands were cold, so he held her hand back casually, trying to warm her palms. However, her hands were still as cold as a corpse.

    Annan exined earnestly, ¡°The Rotten Man made a bet with me and he lost. So now, the Silver Sire will eliminate all of the Rotten Man¡¯s believers in the Noah Kingdom. This naturally includes the Soul Snatch Wizard controlling the Fourth Prince¡¯s mind and your mother.

    ¡°You are now safe. Even if you return to the capital, you will not encounter any danger.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan¡¯s assurance: There is nothing to be afraid of.¡±

    ¡°¡ªOMG, Annan is great at paving the ¡®g¡¯ for his future.¡±

    [TN: When the yer is presented with choices that affect how the other characters view the yer and potentially change which route the yer goes on, it¡¯s called a g.]

    ¡°¡ªSeriously, it¡¯s the first time I have seen a male protagonist who flirts with a beautiful girl he met for the first time.¡±

    After opening the Freezing Water Port forum, Annan¡¯s expression stiffened slightly when he saw the post mocking him.

    ¡­Haih, it really looks like I set a ¡®g¡¯ for myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back.¡±

    Kafni just looked at Annan and didn¡¯t care about his frankness for holding her hand. On the contrary, she grabbed his wrist harder to the point where he felt some pain. As such, he bent his wrist closer and was forced to move closer to her.

    It felt like Kafni had captured Annan and conquered him on the spot¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back,¡± Kafni repeated seriously, ¡°There are a lot of dangers looming in the royal capital, not just from the Rotten Man.¡±

    Annan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Kafni didn¡¯t n to return to the capital.

    This pretty girl is quite witty. Annan inserted a death g for her, and she pulled herself out of it immediately.

    Afterward, Kafni added, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go either.¡±

    Annan was stunned when he heard that. ¡°Why? What is the danger at the royal capital?¡±

    ¡°Demon,¡± Kafni hesitated for a while before replying, ¡°There is a demon in the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°What demon?¡±

    ¡°The same kind of demon as me.¡± Kafni grabbed Annan¡¯s hand and tightened her grasp again.

    She warned, ¡°They will take you away.¡±

    Annan¡¯s expression grew more subtle.

    A demon like you¡­

    Is there anything scary about that?

    ¡°I think what Kafni mentioned should be those schrs.¡± At this time, His Highness Albert¡¯s slightly gasping voice came from the side.

    Annan turned around. He saw that the Fourth Prince of Noah Kingdom followed Bishop Daryl off the carriage from outside of the street and hurried over.

    Bishop Daryl was slightly startled when he noticed Annan¡¯s clothes.

    He took a step backward and stayed behind the Fourth Prince imperceptibly. After seeing Annan, he stopped moving forward to join the chat but politely waited in the distance.

    He respectfully bowed to Annan behind His Royal Highness Albert.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 222: Hermetic School

    <h4>Chapter 222: Hermetic School</h4>

    ¡°Hermetic School?¡± Annan frowned slightly when he heard this familiar name.

    He remembered the name ¡ª [Hermetic Sage¡¯s Stone].

    This was the full name of Sage¡¯s Stone that Annan injected before.

    So Annan asked nonchntly, ¡°What is that? Are they spreading some taboo knowledge?¡±

    Hearing this, Salvatore also listened intently.

    He remembered that this name was mentioned in the notes left by Benjamin.

    Unlike Kafni, as an ordinary person, Albert couldn¡¯t detect the tension between Annan and Salvatore.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± He just shrugged and said casually, ¡°It¡¯s actually just a wandering wizard and his followers. They formed an organization that¡¯s simr to an archaeological society but also a bit like a philosophical school. However, there aren¡¯t many Transcendeds among them so we didn¡¯t pay them much attention.

    ¡°The problem is that when the wizard met Kafni for the first time, he praised her for her outstanding talents.¡± When His Highness Albert said this, he nced at Kafni.

    Seeing that Kafni was silent and turned her head away slightly without saying anything, Albert touched his nose and smiled awkwardly, ¡°But after he left, Kafni suddenly said that he is a demon.¡±

    ¡°I only said that his soul is like a demon.¡± Kafni corrected.

    ¡°At that time, I didn¡¯t realize Kafni¡¯s talents. So I didn¡¯t care much about Kafni¡¯s words¡­¡± Albert exined, ¡°But I gave the order just in case tolet the guards shadow him and keep him away from her.¡±

    ¡°After that, he didn¡¯t visit again.¡± Kafni said softly, ¡°But I saw him in my dreams. He taught me themon knowledge about the Transcended world in my dreams. He is my mentor.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Albert was startled, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that?¡±

    Kafni nced at Albert and said with certainty, ¡°If there is no evidence, you won¡¯t believe it, Dad.¡±

    Hearing this, Albert scratched his nose in embarrassment.

    He pleaded in a weak tone, ¡°I found out that he was wearing gold ornaments at the time. Just to be on the safe side, I sent someone to ask about it at the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. That wizard wasn¡¯t well-known.

    ¡°The responseing from the ck Tower is quite certain that none of the current Gold Rank wizards uses this name.

    ¡°This shows that he is not a Gold Rank wizard. For a Transcended at the Silver Rank, they are not capable of stirring up any trouble in the capital.¡±

    Albert shrugged and said indifferently, ¡°Several Gold Rank Transcended are lurking in the royal court. After all, it¡¯s the royal capital, not any other city.¡±

    That¡¯s true. Annan nodded in agreement.

    As far as the performance of the Silver Rank Transcended that Annan had seen goes, the gap with the Gold Rank was indeedrge.

    With Gold Ranks guarding the ce, the Silver Rank Transcended could hardly do anything particr.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the name of that wandering wizard?¡± Salvatore asked curiously, ¡°Your Royal Highness, do you still remember?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I remember. Since Kafni said he is like a demon, I kept his name in mind.¡± Albert quickly replied, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, his name should be Nichs mel.¡±

    ¡°Nichs mel?¡± At this moment, the shadow that had been silent for a while suddenly muttered, ¡°Wait, I¡¯ve heard of this name before.¡±

    Salvatore felt astonished when he noticed the shadow knew the name.

    Although he had no impression of this name, Salvatore had confidence in his shadow¡¯s character and memory.

    The name which caught the shadow¡¯s attention wouldn¡¯t be an average Joe.

    ¡°This is not good, Salvatore. You quickly ask this stupid man, does he have long white curly hair and dark green eyes?¡± The shadow quickly said in Salvatore¡¯s heart after a brief pause.

    Realizing that this was urgent, Salvatore didn¡¯t doubt the shadow.

    He asked immediately, ¡°Your Royal Highness, the person you are talking about¡­ Does he have white curly hair and green eyes?¡±

    Hearing this, Albert was taken aback. Kafni also looked at Salvatore carefully, with some confusion in her eyes.

    Seeing their sudden reaction, the Bread Daryl (Bishop), who remained silent and listened intently in the distance, was also looking over with surprise.

    His Royal Highness Albert lowered his voice and asked probingly, ¡°Do you know him?¡±

    Salvatore had already been told the answer to his question.

    His face quickly became a little ugly.

    Salvatore followed the shadow¡¯s reply word by word, ¡°I¡¯ve heard this name before. He is indeed not any Gold Rank wizard ¡®currently¡¯ exists.

    ¡°What I meant is that he should have been dead already.¡± Salvatore¡¯s words shocked everyone.

    Under the silent gaze of several others and even the yers, Salvatore stammered and followed the shadowy voice, filtering out the swear words, and then uttered, ¡°Nichs mel used to be the Alteration School tutor of the ¡®Jade Tower¡¯ belonging to the Denizoya Kingdom. He served as the tower master for a short period.

    ¡°More than a hundred years ago, he ignited his soul and advanced into Gold Rank. At that time, he didn¡¯t seed as the tower master. It was only after more than a yearter that he suddenly became the tower son and seeded to the position of the tower master hastily.

    ¡°After that, he served as the Jade Tower Master for more than 30 years. Soon after, the new tower son was born. Then, Nichs¡¯s identity as the tower master is stripped away.

    ¡°Some tower masters regard this identity as a burden, but some tower masters regard it as the foundation for the continuation of life. The soul of gold is eternal and radiant, just like gold. Therefore, they will not be harmed by ordinary curses. But if they use the power of the elements, they will gradually burn and reduce their soul to nothing, which in return their death.

    ¡°Nichs used his elemental power excessively. So, shortly after he lost his identity as the tower master, he died and was buried almost a hundred years ago.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s face also became ugly, as if he was shocked by his own words.

    He murmured, ¡°At that time, many people attended his funeral. Since he was the person who discovered and improved the ancient Sage¡¯s Stone technology, he was called the ¡®Second Hermes¡¯ and the ¡®Modern Sage¡¯. He is also one of the very few ¡®Sages¡¯ in this era who can truly craft the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    ¡°However, after his death, the Jade Tower had searched hisboratory for his Sage¡¯s Stone but they couldn¡¯t find it. It was suspected that a traitor had taken the Sage¡¯s Stone and escaped at that time. After searching for several years, he was gradually forgotten.

    ¡°If you really saw a man with white hair and green eyes calling himself Nichs mel, I think he might not have died at that time.

    ¡°He used the Sage¡¯s Stone he crafted to escape the fate of death!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 223: Eternal Soul

    <h4>Chapter 223: Eternal Soul</h4>

    Hearing Salvatore¡¯s disclosure or rather rying of information, Annan had a wild idea in his mind.

    It seems probable that Nichs mel isn¡¯t dead yet.

    Annan remembered that there was such a person in his original world, just like Michngelo.

    In that world, Nichs made a living in Paris by selling books, copywriting, and teaching students to draw. Then he suddenly obtained a considerable amount of wealth of unknown origin. With that money, he donated funds to build 14 hospitals in Paris. It was said that this was because he made the philosopher¡¯s stone and used its power to transmute gold.

    In the end, his coffin was found empty. Legend had it that he didn¡¯t die but relied on the power of the stone to acquire immortality.

    In this world, the situation was somewhat simr but different.

    Just like how the old wizard named Michngelo was also a sculpture master, Nichs mel in this world was also an alchemist. Moreover, he had actually crafted the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    But could the Sage¡¯s Stone actually grant him immortality?

    Annan affirmed this idea immediately in his mind. It is highly possible.

    The three curse vessels of the path of the Transcended heralded the essence of each stage.

    Bronze was a metal that represented ¡°corruption¡± and ¡°calcination¡± in the Alteration School. Just like every Transcended who had just stepped onto the path of transcendence, he had to absorb many curses and gradually change his constitution and soul essence.

    Silver signaled ¡°condensation¡± and ¡°purity.¡±

    The Transcended needed to condense their souls and remove excess impurities when they advanced to Silver Rank. Unfortunately, at this stage of the Bronze Rank, some Transcended would fail to cast away their mortal sentiments.

    After arriving at Silver Rank with a pure soul, their willpower would gradually be more vigorous, their minds be wiser, and their bodies grow healthier, approaching immunity to all diseases. Of course, their lifespan would prolong.

    In Annan¡¯s understanding, the ¡°Will¡± attribute would be increased during each level promotion after Silver Rank.

    Annan hadn¡¯t found a way to improve the Will attribute effectively so far. This might be the reason.

    For Gold Rank, it meant ¡°dyeing¡± and ¡°eternity¡±.

    In other words, after the soul attained Gold Rank, it would be the actual qualitative change. If they stopped using the Transcended power, they would acquire eternal life from then on.

    Of course, that would be impossible.

    Annan read a line from Salvatore¡¯s notes: People who do not have a strong desire to ¡°metamorphose¡± cannot acquire the Eternal Soul.

    After advancing to Silver Rank, the Transcended wouldn¡¯t be bothered by desires. In a sense, that exined that they must have a solid faith to pursue in order to reach the Gold Rank.

    How could such a person stop using the Transcended power for the sake of lifespan?

    Only by burning this eternal and pure gold soul could the eternal ¡°element¡± be extracted. In other words, the element itself was another form of expression for a Gold Rank Transcended¡¯s soul.

    In the ascendancy ritual, the Sage¡¯s Stone could be used as a ¡°perfected element essence¡± to rece the consumption of the soul.

    Just like Michngelo¡¯s ascendancy ritual, he would be in deep trouble if he were to be interrupted at thest moment.

    The Sage¡¯s Stone could rece any perfected element. Moreover, only those who had reached the Truth level could extract the element at the ¡°perfected form¡±. For ordinary Gold Rank Transcended, after the element was refined to the limit, they must burn their souls and turn them into residues to extract some ¡°perfect element¡± from it.

    If they seeded, then they would be reborn in the fire.

    In this process, their soul would be totally incinerated if they failed.. In a sense, they didn¡¯t just fail to acquire the deity name. They sumbed to aplete death with no hopes to be resurrected.

    That was the meaning of the Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯s existence.

    In the age when there was no Book of Truth, it could rece the soul factor of those attempting the ascendancy. Even if they failed, there wouldn¡¯t be any repercussions because there was still a second chance.

    In a sense, it protected the person¡¯s life ¡ª the life of a soon-to-be deity and immortal.

    Therefore, theplete Sage¡¯s Stone was undoubtedly one of the most precious materials in this world. Even if one decided to give it to others, he would be highly likely to acquire ¡°friendship¡± with a true deity.

    So, could Sage¡¯s Stone bring immortality?

    Highly possible.

    At least for the Gold Rank Transcended, it would be entirely possible.

    The lifespan of a Gold Rank would be drastically shortened due to the exertion of elemental power, and the Sage¡¯s Stone itself was a perfected element essence that could even be used in ascendancy ritual. So it didn¡¯t make sense that the stone couldn¡¯t be consumed daily.

    Since the Sage¡¯s Stone could rece the soul in extracting the perfected elements, it meant that Nichs mel might have attained immortality already, even without the need to be a deity.

    He would only need to consume Sage¡¯s Stone continuously, and then eternal life and mighty power would be in his grasp.

    Still, there was a problem here.

    Annan and Salvatore looked at each other. Their eyes became solemn.

    Indeed, they all immediately realized the problem.

    Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermetic School required ¡°wizard¡¯s bone marrow¡± as the primary raw material.

    If Nichs had suspended his death a hundred years ago and obtained immortality with Sage¡¯s Stone, then it meant that he would need to hunt and kill wizards continuously to extend his lifespan and increase his power.

    ¡°I think Nichs is a highly dangerous person.¡± Salvatore said with a stern expression to the Fourth Prince, ¡°Your Royal Highness Albert, I strongly rmend that you don¡¯t provoke him, and it¡¯s best to pretend to forget him.

    ¡°If he is the Nichs from a hundred years ago, then that means he has umted his power for a whole century.

    ¡°Master Nichs was also proficient in the three schools of Edict, Prophet, and Shaping in addition to being the strongest Alteration Wizard at the time. If he wants to hide, no one would be able to catch him. If you n to go against him, he would be able to detect it at the first moment. You can¡¯t withstand the revenge of a Gold Rank Alteration Wizard who has umted his power for more than a hundred years.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s words were blunt but truthful.

    The Alteration School believed that ¡°time is the foundation of power¡±. All Alteration spells adhered to the basic principle of ¡°the longer the time, the stronger the effect¡±. The proficiency and optimization only shortened the actual application time.

    In addition, the age of the Alteration Wizard was also the primary measurement of power.

    Salvatore¡¯s ck Fire sold poorly but it was sold easily under the name of Benjamin. People were more willing to trust the older Alteration Wizard, even though Benjamin was only in his fifties.

    ¡°Well, I will take note of that. This seems quite serious.¡± Knowing Salvatore¡¯s identity, Prince Albert said bitterly, ¡°But after listening to you, I can¡¯t forget the name. What if I subconsciously became hostile to him? Do I need a Soul Snatch wizard to help me with this part, in particr wiping off my memory?¡±

    ¡°If you think it is necessary.¡± Annan raised his opinion softly, ¡°But I don¡¯t think it is.

    ¡°If we go against Nichs, the Hermetic school may be in danger.

    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you try to negotiate with him?¡± Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly.

    ¡°Since he appeared in the royal capital, he must have something he needs there. If that¡¯s the case, before such a formidable character bes an enemy, I suggest that you first ask what he wants.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 224: Albertâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 224: Albert¡¯s Decision</h4>

    Annan didn¡¯t know how much Albert understood, but he nodded anyway and indicated that he would seriously consider it.

    But as Albert had said, even if he was willing tomunicate with Nichs, Nichs might not reciprocate the same desire in the Noah Kingdom.

    With the expulsion and imprisonment of the Rotten Man¡¯s clergy, the Third Prince would inevitably suffer heavy losses. The Princess Royal, who the Rotten Man Church suppressed previously, would have a more obvious advantage. In addition, the king¡¯s physical condition was getting worse. More and more officials and nobles would side with her as time went by.

    She was originally designated to be the king¡¯s heir.

    The bnce created between the Princess Royal and the Third Prince would copse instantly.

    If the Third Prince tried to survive in this situation, he had to ally with Albert. Only then would he have a chance to contend against the Princess Royal.

    Of course, Albert would undoubtedly be unwilling to ally with the Third Prince. After all, he just learned that the Third Prince had nned to sacrifice not only the Old King and the Princess Royal but also a humble and low-profile prince like himself.

    However, it would be uncertain whether Princess Royal would believe it or not.

    Her Highness, born in the military, treated both the Silver Sire Church and the Rotten Man Church as threats and political instability to the Noah Kingdom. They were ¡°outsiders¡± who intended to snatch power in the kingdom.

    For her, the Third Prince being close to Rotten Man Church and the Fourth Prince being close to Silver Sire Church were both enemies that needed to be eliminated and suppressed. Moreover, Albert¡¯s presence would be stronger than the Third Prince, who hadpletely lost power.

    Therefore, Albert had actually fallen into a tough spot after the Rotten Man Church lost power. The other two royal heirs who had not paid attention to him at all would now be hostile to him, trying to kill him.

    When the Rotten Man church used him like a marite, he could live safely as a mediator of the situation.

    If it were the past, Albert wouldpletely abandon the connection with Silver Sire Church and surrender to the Princess Royal in a lowly manner to beg for his life. Indeed, he would do such a thing given that he wasn¡¯t fond of political power and he was timid andzy.

    But things have changed now.

    Albert learned that his daughter Kafni¡¯s sole curse was to seed to the throne.

    Even Albert, who didn¡¯t know much about the Transcended world, knew that viting a curse would bring tremendous harm, possibly even death.

    Even so, he still didn¡¯t have the determination to fight for the throne.

    He only nned to ¡°go back to the capital and have a look before making the decision.¡±

    Thus, he didn¡¯tpletely sever the rtionship with Silver Sire Church but put some distance between them at the same time.

    When he learned that Annan needed to go to the royal capital at the end of spring, he made a bold move.

    He wanted to leave Kafni in Roseburg for the time being, so he would go back and see for himself the situation there.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether the expulsion of the Rotten Man Church will result in all of their members being arrested immediately at once under the work of a divine miracle, or if the arrest would take some time.¡±

    Albert sighed and said to Annan with some worries, ¡°If it is thetter case, I have every reason to believe that we can¡¯t capture all Rotten Man believers. We can only give priority to control those who are in high positions.¡±

    For example, his wife.

    Until now, Albert knew why he and his wife had been married for so long, but there was only one child, Kafni. He didn¡¯t even have an illegitimate child.

    He might even be able to guess when his wife began to believe in Rotten Man.

    Four and five years after Kafni was born, his wife was pregnant twice. Unfortunately, she miscarried even under the care of the royal family, and he couldn¡¯t find the reason for it. In hindsight, it seemed that there was only one answer. The root cause was his wife herself.

    After that, his wife never became pregnant again. Due to his guilt and sympathy, he didn¡¯t try to marry another wife again.

    ¡°But I am worried that they will guess that this matter is rted to me. I can almost be certain about it.¡± Albert sighed, ¡°As long as I¡¯m extra careful, I think I can protect myself. In the worst-case scenario, I will stay in the Royal Capital Church and not go out, but the situation will be different for Kafni.

    ¡°Besides the Rotten Man Church who will be keeping a close eye on her, the Hermetic School people will put extra care on figuring out her whereabouts too. I may not have the ability to protect her in the royal capital.¡±

    As Albert spoke, he nced secretly at Bishop Daryl.

    Although Bishop Daryl was being inconspicuous, Albert had already noticed the bishop¡¯s respectful attitude toward Annan. It was just that he was tacit and didn¡¯t point it out directly.

    Leaving Kafni in Roseburg for a few months was hisst resort.

    In actual fact, he didn¡¯t like leaving his beautiful daughter at such a distant ce away from him.

    After all, he only had one daughter.

    If Albert decided to sit out from the fight for the throne, Kafni would be in danger. However, if he decided to go back to fight for the throne, Kafni would also probably end up with a bad fate if they stayed in the capital.

    She had only one way to survive out of this.

    Staying in Roseburg was the safest option.

    Bishop Daryl¡¯s identity was mysterious, but Albert knew that the bishop was familiar with his grandfather ¡ª the previous King Noah.

    This at least told Albert that Bishop Daryl¡¯s actual age was very old, far beyond the lifespan limit of ordinary people. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t a Transcended at all, yet he looked like a middle-aged man in his forties.

    This ¡°middle-aged man¡± could invite the Silver Sire toe in person, yet he held a respectful attitude toward Annan.

    Adding to Annan¡¯s real identity, Albert realized that leaving Kafni here was the safest idea.

    If he could attain the throne, then the friendship that Kafni had forged with Annan at this time would foster the rtionship between the countries to live in peace, especially after Annan inherited the throne as the Grand Duke.

    Unlike the belligerent king and the harsh Princess Royal, Albert, who was closer to the people, could deeply understand that the Noah people hated war and preferred peace.

    More importantly, their lives had improved rapidly in the years after peace returned.

    Hence, if the event unfolded with Albert taking the throne, it would undoubtedly be great for the country¡¯s development.

    His father¡¯s n to unify the five countries and rebuild the Great Barrier was naturally a good idea.

    Unfortunately, there was a problem.

    Their enemies would be the populous, dark Underground Federation, the Austerians who were ustomed to the long and cold frosty winds in the North, the United Kingdoms of pirates who werebat-proficient, and the most technologically advanced Papacy.

    The Noah Kingdom didn¡¯t have much advantage aside from fertilends and rich mineral deposits.

    What would they use to fight the wars?

    It felt more like the Noah Kingdom was a defenseless sheep ready for others to prey upon them.

    Albert knew the situation very well: Don¡¯t get angry easily.

    Once he got angry, he would use his true power. Enemies previously afraid of him would realize that his real power was nothing to be concerned about.

    Likewise, it wasn¡¯t wholly impossible to unify the five countries. This matter was meaningful to the world.

    But the Noah Kingdom shouldn¡¯t start this war.

    Otherwise, they, who had the best geographical advantage, would be surrounded by enemies and get bullied.

    The old king was indeed a nobleman. He just wanted to rebuild the Great Barrier but forgot the greed of other people.

    Currently, only the Austere-Winter Dukedom, the Noah Kingdom, and the United Kingdom needed the Great Barrier¡¯s protection.

    The Underground Federation had adapted to life in the underground world and the Gray Mists couldn¡¯t go below the surface.

    As for the Papacy, they had solved the problem of the Gray Mists once and for all.

    They built countless Sky Towers soaring into the clouds, building their city in the sky.

    They also had barriers, but their barriers were to purify the high-altitude air so that residents could survive in the sky.

    Indeed, the Gray Mists weren¡¯t unlimited. It had its height limit.

    The Underground Falteration chose to flee downward, and the Papacy decided to escape upward. The problem was that they all seeded.

    Even if the Gray Mistspletely bury the world on earth, it had nothing to do with them.

    Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t support the unification of the five countries.

    At present, the Noah Kingdom hadn¡¯t yet been invaded by the Papacy due to their position in the far east of the Yasn continent, while the Noah Kingdom resides on the far west.

    Also, the Papacy didn¡¯t have the spare resources to build another set of floating inds.

    They looked down on the Noah people and even anyone on the ground.

    Albert wasn¡¯t stupid. On the contrary, he was pretty clever.

    But at the same time, he was alsozy and a little timid. He knew that his character wasn¡¯t suitable to be a king.

    However, Kafni was different from him.

    ¡°Will she be Noah¡¯s future queen?¡±

    After Albert left, Annan looked at Kafni, who was holding his sleeve in deep thought.

    It doesn¡¯t feel like that¡­

    Either way, with this mattering to an end, Annan knew what he should do first.

    Yes, he should reward yers who ¡°participated in the main questline¡±.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 225: The New Update

    <h4>Chapter 225: The New Update</h4>

    While others were headed to the church, Annan brought the yers to the viscount mansion at Roseburg first.

    The yers also realized what was going on and followed Annan into his private quarter with excitement.

    ¡°Feel free to sit anywhere.¡± Annan smiled amiably and served ck tea to the yers.

    Afterwards, Annan held a cup of tea in both hands and sat peacefully in front of them.

    [You havepleted the limited-time main mission: Protector]

    At this moment, a line of white text shed in front of Lin Yiyi¡¯s four-yer group suddenly.

    They were taken aback for a moment, and then excitement surfaced on their faces.

    Yes, we¡¯re going to be rewarded!

    When they saw the mission reward, they were even more surprised.

    [Acquired Elixir x 1]

    [Acquired Immediate Respawn Privilege x 1.]

    [Acquired Resident Identity Card x 1.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [Elixir (Type III)]

    [Type: Consumables (Blue)]

    [Effect: Restore 100% Health (only for Bronze Rank usage)]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    [Immediate Respawn Privilege]

    [Type: Low-level Privilege]

    [Effect: After use, you can unconditionally resurrect once in the next 30 minutes, and you can specify a respawn location (only within locations you have been to).]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    [Resident Identity Card]

    [Type: High-level Privilege]

    [Effect: Use this item in the real world to make the specified target qualify as a yer.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Indeed, Annan decided not to issue more affection ratings to the yers this time.

    This was because he nned to give away a batch of affection ratings on arge scale as a reward for the end of a main missionter. If those yers didn¡¯t n to spend the affection rating to buy things but want to stock up, Annan would be in an awkward spot.

    Annan hadn¡¯t decided how many levels of affection would exist after [Trusted].

    Even if Annan¡¯s acting skills were excellent, treating the yers like VIPs with warm smiles every time didn¡¯t feel quite right.

    Annan found it alright if a girl was hoarding up the ¡®affections¡¯.

    What if a man hoarded all those affection ratings?!

    Lin Yiyi could sense a bottle of Minute Maid-like [1] potion with a ss shell and a bronze base, a somewhat illusory golden ball of light, and a contract appeared in a vague space within her consciousness.

    She flipped through the contract immediately.

    The content of the contract was at the top post, ¡°What You Need to Know About the Mist Continent!¡± on the forum. That was to inform the yers that it was ¡°the post that put a special note on naming, changing professions and adding points in the status panel.¡±

    At the end of thest page, there was an additional ¡°I have understood and agreed to all content on this document¡± ¡ª fingerprint reader.

    Although no experience and affection rating was issued this time, the generous mission rewards dumbfounded the four of them.

    It felt like they were walking on the road when suddenly they were hit on the head by a bag filled with hundred-dor bills.

    This identity card alone normally required a [Trusted] level prestige and 2000 affection ratings!

    ¡°It looks like you have received my gifts.¡± Annan looked at the yers brimming with joy and smiled gently, ¡°Do you like them?

    ¡°Previously, the Child asked about the Resident ID, so I guessed this is something you all wanted at that time. It¡¯s troublesome to be the guarantor and forge your ID, but you have already proven your loyalty, sense of responsibility, and capability.¡±

    Annan blinked, looking at the four of them with his crystal clear pupils. He said confidently, ¡°You all are reliable. I believe in your judgment of others.

    ¡°As for the rest of the gifts, I have given them to you along with the contract. This is my new ability. When I want to give you things in the future, I don¡¯t need to be in close proximity with you anymore; if I need your help, I don¡¯t have to look for you personally. This will be quite convenient.¡±

    As Annan finished speaking, new prompts appeared in front of the yers:

    [Main storyline: The prologue ¡°The Wolf Cub from the Foreign Land¡± has ended.]

    [The game version is being updated¡­]

    [Updateplete!]

    [The Mist Continent has been updated to version 1.02. The patch notes are as follows:]

    [1. The beginner mission is modified, with new selections of starting professions being added.]

    [2. The system has significantly increased the prestige rewards of the faction ¡°Secret Eye¡±. yers who have already obtained prestige levels will have their rewards doubled.]

    [3. The faction ¡°Austere-Winter¡± and its rted activities will beunched in the future. Please pay close attention to the faction leader ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡±.]

    [4. The map area ¡°North Sea Territory¡± is avable. You may leave the Freezing Water Port ¡ª Roseburg territory after advancing into a Transcended, and you may freely explore the North Sea Territory.]

    [5. A long-term weekly mission, ¡°Freezing Water Port Construction,¡± is activated. Please consult the faction leader ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± for more information.]

    [6. yers no longer need to ept the main mission face-to-face with NPCs. Once triggered, the mission will be automatically assigned to the designated yers.]

    [7. You¡¯re granted the new function ¡°Mission Reward Storage Space¡±, which can automatically save the mission rewards that have been obtained. All mission rewards obtained through the system will be automatically issued to this storage space.]

    [8. Fixed some known bugs.]

    [Friendly Reminder: The current main mission has ended. Please receive the new faction mission from the faction leader to continue to improve your status, set foot on the path of transcendence as soon as possible, or exchange for the prestige items you desire.]

    [Those who have already embarked on the path of transcendence will have reduced experience gain in Freezing Water Port.]

    [After the next stage of the main mission is activated, all items in the prestige store will be refreshed and reced. If you have set your eyes on any current items, please redeem them as soon as possible.]

    [The main mission for the next phase will be issued after three months. Please return to the Freezing Water Port before starting the main mission for the next phase. Otherwise, the system will automatically regard you as giving up on all the said main missions!]

    [To celebrate the update, the following rewards will be given to all yers:]

    [Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯s affection rating x 1000]

    [Immediate Respawn Privilege x 1]

    After being notified of the rewards, the yers went into amotion.

    ¡°¡ªThank you O great Game Designer!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, is there a game designer for this game?¡±

    ¡°¡ªAll in all, it¡¯s awesome¡­ Super-Duper Cool!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan is awesome!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnnan Upvote + 1!¡±

    Those other yers, who weren¡¯t quite enthusiastic because they didn¡¯t participate in the main mission, were instantly cheered up after receiving this reward.

    While the higher-level yers received benefits from the higher-level game content because of premium currencies, stronger skills and more effort, the nners had to also give ordinary yers something. Only then would these yers be less jealous but instead ¡°be proud of each other¡± and form a sense of collectiveness.

    Hence, the reward mechanism was essential to be instilled in the yers so they wouldn¡¯t feel like they were losing out after seeing other yers in a better state. On the other hand, they would be grateful as these premium yers¡¯ efforts granted them rewards. Then, their jealousy would be gradually converted into a sense of unity.

    While Lin Yiyi was reading the system update log carefully, Delicious Wind Goose had realized something from the log and Annan¡¯s previous words.

    ¡°Do you want us to leave here temporarily, or are you going to leave the Freezing Water Port?¡± Delicious Wind Goose asked, ¡°Otherwise, this ability shouldn¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    If they stayed with Annan, then Annan wouldn¡¯t have to develop a way to ¡°distribute rewards remotely¡±.

    Annan felt helpless and nodded as if he was impressed.

    ¡°As expected of you.¡± Annan, who was lying on the table, took a sip of the ck tea and barely propped himself up. He replied seriously, ¡°I think you¡¯re correct for both guesses.

    ¡°I¡¯m hoping that you can help me collect information about the ¡®Hermetic School¡¯, the ¡®Noah Kingdom¡¯s political situation¡¯, and other secret information about the path of transcendence. However, don¡¯t go too far from our pce. It¡¯s best to stay inside the North Sea Territory.

    ¡°I know that you are both carefree and may be troubled by others. If you are arrested and bullied in the North Sea Territory, just say the name ¡®Geraint¡¯. If that still doesn¡¯t work, you should abuse your immortality and escape back here. I¡¯m here to uphold justice for you.¡±

    Annan reassured the yers majestically, but it was a tad bit amusing due to his small stature.

    Immediately, Annan added, ¡°However, please don¡¯t bring shame and humiliation onto me. Refrain from carrying out evil deeds, follow thew and be kind to others. Always remember that we are righteous people.¡±

    Annan considered and hesitated for a long time about whether he should let the yers go free, but he still decided that it was better to.

    Indeed, yers were very uncontroble.

    They could no longer grind too much on the Gallery Dungeon, so its improvement to the yers was quite limited.

    Instead of asking Annan to find a way to get a dungeon instance for them, it was better to let these yers explore this ¡°open world¡± by themselves and seek out dungeon instances for themselves.

    If Annan wasn¡¯t wrong, there weren¡¯t many attempts left for the Gallery Dungeon for the yers after leaving the Freezing Water Port.

    At that time, Annan couldplete the dungeon instance, lest that the yers would get used to doing speed runs on dungeons, wasting the precious decryption rewards and consuming the attempts too quickly.

    Before that, Annan also had two other dungeon instances to challenge.

    There were two countdown buffs imposed on him, ¡°Remnants of the Wheel of Divine Transporter¡± and ¡°Remains of the Death Howl¡±.

    In three days, he would enter a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°deceased¡±.

    Another three dayster, Annan would fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°brilliance¡± again.

    When Annan came out from them, this group of yers should graduate from the starting vige ¡ª Freezing Water Port. Those who shared the Gallery Dungeon¡¯s experience with Annan were at most the four new yers.

    After finishing the Gallery Dungeon, Annan could have one or two professions approaching Level 20.

    If Annan were lucky, he might even advance to the Silver Rank before heading to the royal capital!

    Michngelo¡­ or ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡± most likely would teach Annan the profession¡¯s advancement.

    Before that, Annan nned to probe ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡± from Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Do you know what happened in the Austere-Winter Dukedom?

    Is the Grand Duke still alive?

    How is Maria now?

    My workload is heavy.

    The Noah Kingdom¡¯s royal capital. The Rotten Man. The Hermetic School. The Austere-Winter Dukedom. The Venerated Skeleton. The Old Grandmother¡­

    What a mess, but I¡¯m involved with all of them.

    Annan Sighed.jpg.

    Noticing that Annan sighed, Lin Yiyi snapped a screenshot and took a photo of Annan.

    Yay! Cute Annan Emoji! Lin Yiyi tightened her fists in excitement.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 226: Beer Chen

    <h4>Chapter 226: Beer Chen</h4>

    The Child was a little nervous.

    ording to Old Goose, it was safest for him, who had once been in a professional gaming team with Beer Chen, to handle the recruitment this time.

    Their situation was rtively unique.

    For now, it wasn¡¯t appropriate to publicly announce the existence of the ¡°Mist Continent¡±.

    Of course, the Child thought part of the reason for this was because Old Goose wanted to bezy.

    As for another reason, Delicious Wind Goose already had candidates he wanted to invite into the game.

    It was a girl.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t his wife or daughter or anything like that. Rather, she could be regarded as his sensei.

    Although Delicious Wind Goose looked old and was already balding, he was actually only 29 years old ¡ª a young man at his prime age.

    Before learning armoredbat, he also studied karate, horse riding, close-quarterbat, andpound bow for some time up to the ¡°novice¡± level before dropping the training.

    The sensei, who taught him thepound bow, streamed outdoor survival live broadcasts in Australia. She was good at hunting bows and survival skills in the wild and had a good mastery of shooting games.

    The yers¡¯ manpower was limited. Thus, it was important to have strict selection criteria for the new yers. It was still fair to choose those who were closer, but priority should be given to those who would be more ¡°useful¡±.

    Of course, Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t force the rest of the yers to choose ording to such criteria ¡ª for example, Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er. After all, he wasn¡¯t particrly familiar with them. So he didn¡¯t find it befitting to influence how those two girls choose whom to bring in.

    But he and Wandering Child had known each other for a long time, so he had pointed this out clearly to the Child.

    If Wandering Child managed to draw Mr. Chen in, their career as streamers would be more stable; if Delicious Wind Goose got his sensei into the [Mist Continent], they would have a reliable person to depend on in the game world.

    All of these ns should be enough. Delicious Wind Goose thought.

    Could those two girls get more powerful foreign aid than us?

    Hmph, that will be impossible.

    So, he sent the Child to Fighting Cat Streaming tform¡¯s headquarters while he would recruit the reliable ¡°carry¡±.

    [TN: ¡°Carry¡± is a term used in team games where one person wins the match for everyone else.]

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t expect that this ¡°invitation¡± would operate in this way.¡± Wandering Child touched his waist bag nervously and found that the contract was still in it, which made him somewhat relieved.

    He walked to the office and knocked on the door.

    ¡°Pleasee in.¡± A calm male voice came from the office room.

    Wandering Child opened the door and found a man with a slicked-back hairstyle and thick sses in the office.

    The man raised his head and looked at the Child in surprise, ¡°Brother Cade!¡±

    [TN: The sound of ¡°Cade¡± and ¡°Kid¡± is very simr in Chinese Phic trantions, thus the in-game name ¡°Wandering Child¡± is a reference to this.]

    ¡°Beer Chen!¡± Wandering Child rushed to hug his old teammate.

    Indeed, Wandering Child¡¯s real name was ¡°Cade¡±. However, since the name wasn¡¯t amiable for the localmunity, he nicknamed his game ID ¡°Child¡±.

    With nostalgia, the man also stood up and embraced the previous captain, who was a lot shorter than him and also soon-to-be bald.

    Immediately, Old Chen showed a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it, Cade! You have finally fallen in my hands!

    ¡°Hurry up and call me Dad! Otherwise, I won¡¯t give you a sry increment! Also, I won¡¯t update your contract!¡±

    [TN: Filial piety and authority by age is very important in Chinese culture, thus it¡¯s disrespectful to make someone call you ¡°Dad¡± or ¡°Grandpa¡±. However, it is alsomonly used jokingly between friends.]

    ¡°Damn you, why!?¡± Wandering Child, or rather Cade put up a sour expression.

    Making the other party call them Dad was an old bet they made when they were in the same team, Team Solo. Before Old Chen retired, he made thest bet with Cade on this ¡°Dad calling thing¡±, and then he lost. At that time, he vowed that he would get revenge sooner orter!

    At that time, the Wandering Child enjoyed it a lot.

    He never expected that Beer Chen would also be so rich despite being a beer drunkard¡­

    ¡°Is this what the legendary Karma is?¡± Wandering Child looked troubled.

    If you were so rich, why did you participate in professional gaming?

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m just kidding.¡± Seeing Cade¡¯s troubled expression, Beer Chenughed and brushed it off for the time being.

    He motioned to Cade to find a ce to sit, took out a disposable cup, and served tea.

    ¡°Neckless called me earlier, telling me that you came here to show me a contract?¡± Old Chen asked curiously, ¡°Is that the project you are working on?

    ¡°Is it an investment? That¡¯s your non-disclosure agreement, right?¡±

    Cade knew that the ¡°Neckless¡± that Old Chen referred to was ¡°Delicious Wind Goose¡±. His other nickname was Neckless Crazy Goose. It meant that he had a crazy, aggressive fighting style.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s real name was Xiang Tiange.

    He appeared to have a short neck not because he was obese, but because he was too muscr¡­ His image was rather intimidating.

    ¡°Not really.¡± Wandering Child shook his head and handed the contract to Mr. Chen from the bag.

    It was a thin three-page document. After seeing the thickness of the contract, Old Chen frowned slightly.

    ¡°1. Please select a short and fluent name. As you address and introduce names to each other, the name will not be tranted into that world¡¯snguage but only transliterated.

    ¡°2. Please treat this world as a real world. Don¡¯t try to develop or spread bugs of any kind.

    ¡°3. ¡­¡±

    Old Chen frowned deeper and deeper as he read the contents, but he still patiently read the entire three-page contract carefully.

    At the end, Old Chen saw that thest page did not allocate any space for a signature, but instead disyed a small QR code box.

    After he finished reading, he wanted to say something but hesitated.

    After slowly putting down the ¡°contract¡±, Old Chen looked at Cade and asked questioningly, ¡°Do you really think there is nothing wrong with this?¡±

    ¡°Forget about that first.¡± Cade avoided this topic and asked directly, ¡°If this is true, would you want to join?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I want to, but¡­¡±

    What¡¯s the nonsense about the ¡°real world¡±? World Creation Engine?

    I¡¯m not stupid.

    How can I believe this to be real?

    ¡°That¡¯s fine then.¡± Cade immediately interrupted Old Chen¡¯s words, took out the third contract, and said to Mr. Chen, ¡°Try to put your finger here.¡±

    ¡°Then what happens? Are you pulling my leg¡­?¡±

    Before the word ¡°leg¡± was properly enunciated, Old Chen felt a sting on his finger that was touching the contract.

    A burning sensation came from the fingertips¡ªlike it was approaching a me.

    Immediately afterward, Old Chen saw the three contracts suddenly fly by himself and burn to ashes in the air.

    A strange scene appeared before his eyes, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    An aristocratic boy with a cold face, who seemed to be only 13 years old, said in a majestic tone. Although Old Chen couldn¡¯t understand whichnguage it was, there were subtitles.

    ¡°Lyon, my lord. Lyon Coleman¡­ We are from Roseburg.¡± The robber, with sly eyes, slightly arched his waist. There was a look of triumph in his eyes.

    ¡°Catch them, and spare none of them¡ª¡±

    In the face of malign plunderers, the young feudal lord wielded his exquisite rapier firmly and raised it high without fear.

    ¡­

    ¡°What?¡± Old Chen saw something suddenly.

    That is Cade!

    To be more precise, it¡¯s Cade when he was young¡­

    He held an oak barrel in his right hand and a torch in his left hand. His figure was thin, and he appeared firm and resolute. A guard, equipped with a gun, aimed at the wooden barrel in the Child¡¯s hand and fired!

    Boom¡ª!

    Immediately afterward, a giant ball of fire burst out,pletely engulfing Cade and the robbers!

    ¡­

    ¡°Hmph, it seems to be Neckless this time?¡±

    Old Chen saw Delicious Wind Goose wearing ted leather armor, holding a long sword. He was the brave and loyal guard beside the ck-haired and blue-eyed youth. Then, an alien-like lizard monster suddenly appeared in the sky and shed a girl in half!

    ¡­

    In the end, Old Chen saw the ck-haired and blue-eyed youth raise his hands solemnly like a God.

    Behind him, a pair of wings protruded from the shoulders and waist each.

    The wings on the shoulders held up to the sky.

    The wings at the waist bent to cover the body.

    There were countless pitch-ck cracks on the body, resembling a cosmic space rich with shining stars.

    The camera then zoomed into his jewelled azure-blue pupil.

    Finally, the pupils shrank slightly and transformed into frightening silver-white vertical pupils!

    Old Chen felt a chill crept upon his back as intense fear enshrouded his heart.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 227: Longjing Tea Choosing His Profession

    <h4>Chapter 227: Longjing Tea Choosing His Profession</h4>

    Old Chen noticed that a bright light radiated from the pair of vertical pupils at the next moment.

    He felt his consciousness plunge into a pure white world, descending rapidly as if he was falling off a cliff in a dream. He was startled and exited from the trance in a panic.

    Then, he found himself in apletely dark world.

    There were five versions of him unfolding before his eyes.

    One had solid and in leather armor and a sharp and heavy iron sword in his hand.

    One lurked in the corner with two daggers and suddenly disappeared when their gazes met.

    One had a hunting bow on his back and spiked gloves on his hands.

    One wore a monocle and held a book in his hand, reading under the moonlight.

    One hand held something that was constantly changing, with an amiable smile.

    So, this is how I choose my profession?

    Old Chen was slightly startled.

    What the hell! Did I crossover to another world?

    Old Chen subconsciously looked at the person dressed as a warrior, and then he found that his perspective had changed and shifted to the warrior-version of him.

    Feeling the weight of the long sword in his hand, he was convinced that this wasn¡¯t his weak body that fell into the category of an inte-addicted youth.

    This game is fantastic! He couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    Old Chen was a little convinced that this might be a ¡°world transmigration game¡± at this point.

    [Do you want to finalize your initial profession as a swordsman?]

    [Warning: Once the initial profession is finalized, it cannot be changed!]

    At this moment, Old Chen saw a line of prompt shing before his eyes.

    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t confirm.¡± He answered quickly.

    He reluctantly suppressed the admiration for this game and concentrated on observing the only five professions avable to him.

    Warrior? Rogue? Hunter? Mage?

    What is thisst profession?

    Random profession?

    There are too few starting professions for this game¡­

    Old Chen didn¡¯t hesitate much and chose the profession that appeared like a mage. It was his typical choice. As long as the mage profession was avable, he would prefer it.

    [Do you confirm finalizing your initial profession as a wizard apprentice?]

    ¡°Yes!¡± Old Chen shouted in excitement.

    Then, everything in front of him disappeared. Ripples unfolded before his eyes, and a standing mirror emerged.

    The mirror was pitch ck and with only one line visible on it.

    [Please name your character.]

    [Warning: Once confirmed, this could no longer be changed!]

    ¡°Longjing tea [1].¡± Old Chen replied.

    His typical Game ID would be ¡°The Longjing Tea Who Drinks Longjing Tea¡±. However, considering the contract¡¯s uses that he had just read, he chose a shorter and less ridiculous one.

    As for retaining the term ¡°Longjing Tea¡±, that was his final stubbornness.

    Another ripple surfaced on the mirror. The initial attribute panel of Longjing Tea had appeared.

    [ID: Longjing Tea]

    Human. Male. Level 5

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 5, Constitution 5, Perception 8, Will 5

    Avable Attribute Points: 2

    Shared Experience: 0

    Profession Overview:

    Wizard Apprentice LV5: [Touch of Healing] (Idol School), [Stone to Mud] (Shaping School), [Movement Prohibition] (Edict School). Please select one spell among the three.

    [Please confirm your initial panel!]

    What is the rule? DnD? Doesn¡¯t seem like it?

    What are the effects of different attributes? Why doesn¡¯t the system say it?

    Longjing Tea hesitated slightly.

    He regretted it a little for not taking Cade¡¯s words to heart. I should have asked for the game strategy. Now that I can¡¯t exit, I¡¯m going in blind¡­

    Firstly, he added 10 points to the Perception attribute.

    His gamer instinct told him not to distribute points in a bnced manner. It might not be the most optimal route to invest all the attribute points on the primary attribute, but it wouldn¡¯t be the worst route.

    As for the three spells, he had read them for a long time.

    Luckily, the spells came with an introduction.

    [Touch of Healing (Instant): Curse your dominant hand, allowing it to obtain the temporary ability to heal minor injuries by touch.]

    [Stone to Mud (Instant): Curse your gaze, and alter the ¡°stone¡± you look at into ¡°mud¡± instantly.]

    [Movement Prohibition (Instant): Chant the edict to inhibit all the targets who heard it from moving. Those who fall within your gaze experience double the effect. Those pointed at by your fingers have the effect inflicted on them doubled too.]

    So, a close-range healing, an unreliable crowd control ability, and a spell to dig traps.

    Longjing Tea¡¯smon sense in games told him that healing was the most necessary. After all, any healing ability would allow a wider window for team errors.

    However, the problem was that the contract stated it was a real world. Therefore, the boss monster wouldn¡¯t be dumb and mechanical. If he knew the importance of a healer in the party, wouldn¡¯t the boss know as well?

    Wouldn¡¯t the boss target the healer first?

    Longjing Tea chose the Edict School spell without debating for too long, simply for its more useful self-defense purposes.

    I don¡¯t know whether the wizards of this world can use weapons other than the staff.

    If so, I want to arm myself with a gun.

    Indeed, when he saw the trailer, he noticed that guns existed in this world. It just so happened that he was trained in firing and assembling guns as well.

    Although the guns that existed here were antiques, they shouldn¡¯t be too unfamiliar.

    Hehehe, I can control an assassin rushing toward me and turn him into a standing target for me to shoot. That sounds so satisfying.

    Moreover, Longjing Tea¡¯s instinct vaguely sensed that the magnitude of these three spells differed.

    The Edict spell is more potent than the healing one, while the [Stone to Mud] seems inferior.

    Is the spell given at random? That doesn¡¯t seem possible though?

    Could it be rted to my talent?

    The ripples in front of Longjing Tea faded without a pause.

    What emerged again was him wearing a clothed robe with a thin book in his left hand.

    He looked down and found that he couldprehend the book title, even though he had never seen this kind of text.

    ¡°Use and Choice of Prohibited Spells¡±

    Immediately afterward, new texts appeared before his eyes.

    [Please make some fine adjustments.]

    [Warning: You can only beautify your appearance. The beautifying effect shall not exceed 50%.]

    Seeing these two lines, Longjing Tea fell into deep thought.

    After customizing his character for 2 hours, he finally lowered the 62% beautifying effect to 48%.

    ¡°It feels like 50% isn¡¯t enough.¡± Longjing Tea smacked his lips, seemingly unsatisfied.

    He originally wanted to put on more muscles but thought that it might affect his attributes. So, he only improved his fitness slightly and drew out his abdominal muscles, yet the beautification effect had increased to 70% directly.

    After he stopped trying to add muscles, the beautifying effect rose much more slowly.

    ¡°Fuck, when it says only limited to beautifying, it really onlyes down to that.¡± Longjing Tea said as he finished adjusting his face.

    Then, two lines appeared before his eyes.

    [Return to the material world.]

    [Enter the Mist Continent.]

    Hmm, I feel like going offline first.

    I have customized my face for two hours already.

    Although he wanted to enter the game, Longjing Tea persuaded himself to go offline immediately with his excellent self-control.

    So, he tapped on the first button.

    When he woke up again, he found himself lying on the table with Cade¡¯s greasy coat on him. Cade was sitting on the sofa with legs crossed, drinking tea, ying with the phone, and eating snacks¡ªpresumably, the secretary brought Cade those.

    The first thing Longjing Tea did was to look at the time.

    Have two and a half hours passed?

    Hmm, that¡¯s the same time I used to customize my face.

    In other words, the real-time to game time ratio is 1:1?

    ¡°How are you feeling, Beer Chen?¡± At this moment, Cade smiled and said, ¡°I gave you my only invitation code. Aren¡¯t I very kind?

    ¡°Come here, call me daddy!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off! Forget it. We¡¯re on an equal score!¡±

    Old Chen shook his hand a little frustratedly, rushed over, and drank a ss of water.

    Then he hesitated and said softly, ¡°But still¡­ Thanks, Captain.¡±

    He was grateful that his old captain granted him entry to a new world.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Cade said solemnly, ¡°Mr. Chen, quickly change our live broadcast contract with a shorter stream time requirement. Of course, you can lower the sry. You remember the streamer system that Old Goose told you about before, right?¡±

    ¡°Sure, we can settle with that.¡± Old Chen hesitated for a moment but still responded, ¡°I will get it done tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow? How about today?¡±

    ¡°We brothers should catch up with a mealter. Then, I need to ask you how to start the game optimally.¡±

    Old Chen smiled, ¡°Then, I will go home and grind on the game.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only 4 p.m., though?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m the director. I¡¯m already very productive even when I only work until 4 p.m.!¡±

    He yelled, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for waiting for you¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh? You mean¡­¡±

    ¡°What? I mean I definitely work hard! You¡¯re the person interrupting my work, which in turn affected the performance of our tform. So quickly call me daddy to repent for your sins,¡± said Old Chen righteously.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 228: The Pale Princess

    <h4>Chapter 228: The Pale Princess</h4>

    ¡°Oh, the neer is actually an Edict Wizard.¡± Annan murmured, somewhat pleased.

    He had never encountered an Edict Wizard so far. The emergence of Longjing Tea was undoubtedly a strong supplement to his lineup.

    Annan didn¡¯t know when it happened. It could be when Annan saw the essence of his soul in the magic mirror, or it could be when he injected Sage¡¯s Stone for the first time.

    ¡ªIt could even be when Annan received general information about these professions.

    In short, when Annan was about to recruit new yers, he realized that his backend interface had been upgraded.

    First of all, he had more varieties of initial professions that could be delegated to the yers.

    In the beginning, he could only offer the yers the basic profession ¡ª [Swordsman]. Moreover, the skills pool avable for the yers was rtively minimal.

    Now, Annan not only had more professions for the yers, but the skill choices for them to choose were also drastically enriched.

    If we were to take the ¡°swordsman¡± profession as an example¡­

    When Old Goose¡¯s group of yers entered the game, they only had four skills: [Basic Swordsmanship], [Parry], [Charge], and [All-out Blow]. Annan couldn¡¯t make more skills avable to them even if he wanted to.

    For now, in addition to these four default skills, the previously grayed [Military Swordsmanship] branch had two new skills avable, [Solid Footwork] and [Backs to the Wall].

    In addition to that, there were new changes to the [Bodyguard Swordsmanship] that was already avable to Annan previously. The skills [Charge] and [All-out Blow] were no longer avable but instead reced by [Disarm] and [Parallel Comprehension].

    Now, the good news was that the yers could even select the wizard apprentice as a starting profession!

    It was a free promotion ticket to guarantee Bronze Rank attainment for the yers because the wizard apprentice¡¯s only promotion route was [Wizard]. Therefore, they could advance into it without meeting any other requirements.

    Moreover, the wizard profession itself was a powerful and reliable profession.

    Annan was even worried for a while if all the neers chose the [Wizard Apprentice] profession.

    It wasn¡¯t that this situation would be terrible. On the contrary, having more yers adopting wizardry or magic could solve many problems moreprehensively at the beginning stage.

    However, Annan needed some yers to be the frontline.

    We are short of Tanks!

    Except for Hyphen (Sister Yiyi), no one could tank at all!

    ¡°Tanks are really a noble profession.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help butin.

    He spent thest two days doing nothing but learning all the spells avable to wizard apprentices in the system. It was just like before Lin Yiyi and the others advanced, Annan didn¡¯t have the skill lists of their professions¡¯ advancements at all in the backend interface. Even now, he could only gain ess to the spells avable in the wizard apprentice phase.

    Presumably, after the yers had advanced to Bronze Rank, Annan would be able to see the Bronze Rank spells as well.

    He also was unsure whether to grant the yers freedom to choose from the eight wizardry schools or to randomly roll a starting spell for them.

    [TN: Roll refers to the DnD mechanic where the yer will roll a dice to see the results they will get.]

    In addition, the current yers could even choose the [Priest] profession.

    But there was a problem. Annan gradually realized that if you chose the [Priest] profession, you couldn¡¯t specify your faith as the ¡°Silver Sire¡±. Instead, you would be granted a faith at random.

    The faith randomization did not include only the upright deities, but also the false deities.

    Annan quickly understood that this mechanism was to take into ount the yer¡¯s rtability to the deities.

    Rather than the faith given in a random manner, the system would analyze the yers¡¯ personalities with a psychological test before dedicating a faith to them.

    Annan took some consideration before settling down with the autonomous talent assessment system in the profession distributing system.

    If the yer had received military training beforehand, when he selected the swordsman profession, he would be acquiring [Military Swordsmanship] by default instead of [Basic Swordsmanship]. Simrly, if the yer knew how to use batons, shields, etc., he would be granted [Bodyguard Swordsmanship] by default.

    If the yers choose the [Wizard] profession, they would be given the top three schools of magicpatible with them. In this case, Annan had specially fine-tuned the rules. If they weren¡¯t proficient with a certain school, he would weaken the spells granted for that particr one; if they were adept to a particr school, they stood a chance to acquire the most difficult spell of that school in the apprenticeship stage.

    Annan decided to guide the yers into choosing a wizardry school based on the magnitude of spells and theirpatibility to that particr school of spells. Even if, logically speaking, the magics shouldn¡¯t be differentiated with its strength butpatibility.

    This also exined why Annan prohibited the yers from choosing an alternate profession at will.

    Sure enough, there must be some professions that work well at certain stages. But after leaving the character creation stage, the yers wouldn¡¯t have a good opportunity to test thepatibility with their professions.

    If they honestly chose the wrong profession, they would simply get a secondary option. If they were really suitable for the alternate profession, Annan could find an opportunity to send them on a difficult mission. Then, he would grant the designated yers a secondary profession without penalty, so that they could focus mainly on the better choice..

    Among this batch of yers whose default starting profession was swordsman, there were yers like Lin Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose who were quitepatible with the said profession. Unfortunately, there were cases that said otherwise.

    Sure enough, it wouldn¡¯t be fair for those yers being forced into the path of no return and had no freedom of choice.

    Although the yers couldn¡¯t getfortable with the swordsman profession might be few, their opinions and feelings were equally important.

    So, Annan devised a new n. He would activate an in-game event as an excuse for the yers who had the need of changing their profession.

    ¡°I should enter a nightmare after falling asleep this time.¡± Annan murmured.

    The ¡°Influence of the Death Howl¡± buff on him should be on its final countdown already.

    Annan had yet to find a way to remove the influence imposed upon him.

    However, he wasn¡¯t scared but excited with this novel element. It was like discovering a limited-time dungeon instance in the game, and he couldn¡¯t wait to y it.

    Annan nced at the backend interface onest time before falling asleep.

    Lin Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose seemed to still be recruiting, but the yers whom Jiu Er and the Child each recruited had already created their characters.

    ¡°Longjing Tea, Edict Wizard¡­ Well, let¡¯s spawn him into the slums.¡± Annan murmured, typing quickly to finish up the newbie plot that belonged to Longjing Tea specifically.

    ¡°And this yer¡­ Hmm, the name is Citalopram? 28 years old. The character seems pretty good-looking. Hmm, thebeautification effect is merely 30%. Not bad! Judging from the character¡¯s age, is Citalopram¡¯s profession in reality a doctor?

    ¡°Huh? Priest¡­¡± Annan was slightly startled when he saw this profession.

    ¡°The faith is¡­ the Pale Princess?¡±

    Annan heard from somewhere that She was a false deity.

    The Pale Princess was the deity of ghosts and spirits. She was a legless ghost wearing a white wedding dress and a princess crown while holding the head of her lover.

    She and the Venerated Skeleton belonged to an organization called the ¡°Necropolis¡± more than two hundred years ago to fight against the burial priests under the Bone Burying Church.

    Unfortunately, Annan¡¯s knowledge of Her was limited to this.

    Salvatore¡¯s book didn¡¯t have much information on the upright deities, let alone on the knowledge of false deities. Annan only had a rough idea but didn¡¯t even get to see a sketch of it.

    Annan was a little curious about this new false deity.

    Does the Venerated Skeleton have more information in regards to the Pale Princess?

    Should I summon Him as a foreign aid?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 229: Half-dead Enchantress

    <h4>Chapter 229: Half-dead Enchantress</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m not bluffing you, right? Sister Xue!¡± Jiu Er called out loudly and leaped forward.

    She plunged straight into Wen Xue¡¯s arms, who was still confused just after waking up, and burrowed into her chest vigorously.

    ¡°En, it¡¯s amazing.¡± Wen Xue nodded, speaking in a hoarse voice, ¡°Thanks, Little Jiu Er.¡±

    Although she said this, she dug out Jiu Er out of herp and threw her aside.

    She was Jiu Er¡¯s cousin ¡ª the recently created character, Citalopram, who had epted Jiu Er¡¯s invitation code.

    Wen Xue got up from the bed with one hand, put on her sses, and untied the long ponytail behind her. She then walked to the vanity mirror, picked up theb, andbed her hair slowly¡­ taking this time to calm herself down.

    What kind of illegal technology is this?

    She shared the same train of thoughts with Longjing Tea.

    When she had the option to quit, she chose to do it immediately. She wasn¡¯t in a rush and felt it was better for her to consult Jiu Er first for more information.

    If you¡¯re of sound mind, how can you trust this contract entirely.jpg

    She didn¡¯t expect that she would pass out directly when she pressed her fingertip on the contract. Luckily, she was at Jiu Er¡¯s house.

    ¡°Did that girl put me to bed?¡± Citalopram asked Jiu Er casually, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have the strength to move me.¡±

    She referred to Lin Yiyi, who stayed at Jiu Er¡¯s house.

    Jiu Er sat on the table with a smile and nodded with satisfaction, ¡°Yup. No need to be polite with her, if you need any physicalbour help then just talk to Sister Hyphen!¡± ¡°

    ¡°She¡¯s called Yiyi, not Hyphen¡­¡± Citalopram couldn¡¯t help but retort, ¡°Call her by her name correctly. You¡¯re being rude. Speaking of her, Hyp¡­ Where is Yiyi now?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s likely gone to the swimming pool downstairs.¡± Jiu Er tilted her head and replied with some uncertainty, ¡°She has been learning how to swim for the past two days. She is still asking if I know any kickboxing coaches¡­¡±

    ¡°En, that¡¯s great for her.¡± Citalopram nodded slowly and added, ¡°You should exercise regrly as well, it would be even better for you to learn archery along with Yiyi.

    ¡°I know a prettydy who is great with a bow. She is also a streamer who is currently residing in Australia. I can introduce her to you next time.¡±

    ¡°¡­Well, is hers big?¡± Jiu Er made an innocent voice and gestured slightly in the air.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Citalopram habitually flicked on Jiu Er¡¯s forehead. She imitated a particr handsome male idol that she saw when she was a child but inadvertently developed a habit out of it.

    Jiu Er kept ying around at her house every day. Citalopram needed to knock some sense into Jiu Er, but she was just too cute to be taught a lesson.

    I should only flick my finger on her forehead 80 times a day. Hmm, I can beat some sense into her by sheer volume.

    ¡°Right,¡± Citalopram asked, ¡°How should I invest my status points as the Pale Princess¡¯s priest?

    ¡°I tend to put all my points into the main attribute, so I guess you should put everything on the Will attribute. That should have no problem, right? As for the future¡­?¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    Jiu Er held her forehead and froze for a moment.

    So, it¡¯s not just the swordsman, but you can even choose the [Priest] profession.

    Also, what¡¯s the Pale Princess?

    ¡°How many professions were avable for you to choose?¡± Jiu Er asked curiously, ¡°We only had [Swordsman] avable at the time.¡±

    ¡°[Swordsman], [Lurker], [Hunter], [Wizard Apprentice], and [Priest]. Five professions in total.¡±

    Citalopram replied, ¡°For me, there isn¡¯t much difference. I seldom y games, and all professions appear the same to me. I thought thest option was random, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be the [Priest] profession.¡±

    ¡°¡­Wow.¡± Jiu Er sighed enviously, ¡°That¡¯s great for you. You have the greatest profession with both wizardry and priesthood ovepped. I want this too.¡±

    Fortunately, Jiu Er wasn¡¯t petty-minded and quickly calmed down.

    Then, she asked, ¡°What are the starting skills for your [Priest] profession? What kind of deity is the Pale Princess?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll write it down for you. I have memorized the panel already anyway.¡± Citalopram sighed and put herb down.

    She picked up the pen and casually chatted with Jiu Er while writing down her attribute panel. ¡°The Pale Princess seems to be the Deity of Death. I have also written down some of the rules and taboos of the Pale Church.¡±

    Jiu Er was behind Citalopram, looking at her panel curiously.

    [ID: Citalopram]

    Half-dead Enchantress. Female. Level 5.

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 5, Constitution ¨C , Perception 8, Will 10

    Shared Experience: 0

    Profession Overview:

    Ghost (Ex): Pale Body LV1

    Priest (Pale Lady, engravings 0): Ghost Touch

    [Pale Body LV1: The Half-dead Enchantress resurrected by the Pale Princess looks the same as an ordinary person in appearance. They also need food, water, and sleep. However, regr exercise will not increase their physical attributes. They cannot recover after injury but it won¡¯t worsen over time either. They are immune to disease and instant death effects, but they bear double the damage from divine arts. You must receive treatment to recover from injuries.]

    [You may activate this ability at night to exit your soul from the body and change into a ghost form. However, you must return to your body within 1 hour. Otherwise, you will die immediately.]

    [Ghost Touch: While you¡¯re in physical form, you will passively absorb the target¡¯s vitality and heal yourself when you¡¯re in contact with any living being. When you¡¯re in ghost form, direct contact allows you to absorb arge amount of vitality and make the opponent shudder or inflict them with fear. The skill duration of ¡°Pale Body¡± can be refreshed when you gain experience in the period of this skill effect.]

    ¡°¡­Eh?!¡± Jiu Er was a little surprised at once.

    Not only did she not encounter this powerful profession before, even the race was different!

    In addition to this, she keenly noticed another thing.

    Regr exercise will not increase their physical attributes..

    That is to say¡­ As humans, we can exercise to increase our attributes.

    Jiu Er felt that the door to a new world had opened before her eyes.

    ¡°The Half-dead Enchantress?¡± Annan repeated.

    In fact, he only attempted to summon the Venerated Skeleton.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t afraid of the gallery anymore. In the worst-case scenario, he could challenge andplete the Gallery dungeon once again before heading off to the Death Howl dungeon.

    Unexpectedly, when Annan called out, the Venerated Skeleton came out directly.

    Annan knew he didn¡¯t have to be polite.

    If I can¡¯t get some information out of him right now, I won¡¯t give up until I do.

    ¡°The people the Pale Princess resurrected are the Half-dead Enchantresses, and her priestesses are all Half-dead Enchantresses.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton echoed an old and low voice in Annan¡¯s mind, ¡°The Pale Princess is the Deity of Ghosts and Spirits. The ghost refers to the soul of the dead, and the spirit refers to the soul of the living.

    ¡°Being half-alive and undead defines a Half-dead Enchantress. She is neither the living nor the dead. Among the living, she is dead; among the dead, she is the living. Therefore, they don¡¯t fall under the rules of any order and won¡¯t fall in love with anyone, including themselves.

    ¡°The Pale Princess, therefore, is also called the Bondless Princess,¡± said the Venerated Skeleton slowly.

    An evil thought entered Annan¡¯s head.

    In other words, they are leftover women [1].

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 230: Nightmare: Reflection

    <h4>Chapter 230: Nightmare: Reflection</h4>

    After sending the Venerated Skeleton away, Annan leaned on the pillow and looked at the moon outside the window, squinting slightly.

    Although the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t refuse his summon and answer his questions, the ¡°secrets¡± He revealed had cleverly avoided the key issues¡ªespecially pieces of information that might implicate Him. Like:

    1. What kind of organization was the Necropolis?

    2. How did He and the Pale Princess know each other?

    3. What did They n to do?

    4. Why had They gone separate paths now?

    For the questions that could involve the Venerated Skeleton Himself, including the questions that could lead to it, He acted ignorant and didn¡¯t mention even a word about it.

    Inparison, when the Venerated Skeleton talked about the Pale Princess and the Half-dead Enchantress, He mentioned them in detail. In particr, when He spoke about ¡°how to identify a Half-dead Enchantress¡± as well as ¡°the Pale Princess¡¯s habits and preferences¡±, He deliberately avoided discussing Himself and the Necropolis, but directed Annan¡¯s attention toward the Pale Princess instead.

    ¡°Whatever¡­¡± Annan shook his head lightly, letting the incident pass.

    Annan was used to His habits.

    If He involved Annan at this time, he would have questioned whether He was scheming something.

    But the Venerated Skeleton did reveal some secrets about the Pale Princess to Annan.

    The head in the Pale Princess¡¯s arms wasn¡¯t the lover in her lifetime, but her followers.

    Although the Pale Princess¡¯s priestesses were all Half-dead Enchantresses, that wasn¡¯t a requirement to be Her believers.

    After all, she was remarkably beautiful and had a soothing singing voice. As a result, many believers obsessively wanted to follow her, regardless of gender.

    What She was looking for was ¡°an interesting soul¡±. It had nothing to do with worth, appearance, age, gender, and even race.

    The highest ritual that the Pale Princess believers could perform was to sacrifice their heads to Her. If the Pale Princess deemed the person fascinating, she would ept it and keep the person¡¯s head with Her ¡ª There was even the possibility of her whispering to the soul day and night, singing to the soul like a lover, and kissing the soul.

    This continued until she met another more interesting soul or got tired of that soul.

    However, she wouldn¡¯t abandon these souls, but bring them along with Her.

    Over time, wherever the Pale Princess had walked, a phenomenon called the ¡°Pale Tide¡± would ur. At night, a cloud of white smoke would traverse the sky while apanied by a strange singing, slowly passing through the air like a violent wind.

    There were some folk legends saying that if you witnessed the tide, you would be seriously ill afterward.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s statement confirmed this legend.

    Those exposed to the ghastly light would have their vitality snatched away slowly. For ordinary people, the stolen lifeforce was enough to cause illness. However, since they would hide immediately after witnessing the tide, it wasn¡¯t that big of a problem. For the Transcended, the stolen vitality wouldn¡¯t pose a considerable loss. Sometimes, the tide would even clear away some erosion rate.

    Those Transcended who were on the verge of turning mad would even take the initiative to find the traces of the Pale Princess and follow the tide.

    Those who overindulged in the pleasure of the soul purification might lose all their strength and pass out on the road. Eventually, they would be corpses left by the Pale Tide, adding fuel to the continuation of this legend.

    Besides that, Annan also got another important piece of information.

    The Pale Princess had another alias ¡ª The Death Howl, or the Singer who Brings Death.

    Indeed, the ¡°Death Howl Influence¡± on Annan came from the Pale Princess.

    ¡°¡­I guess this works out.¡± My questions did end up yielding some results.

    Annan sent away the Venerated Skeleton politely.

    But, as for the Pale Princess¡­ Annan was lost in thought.

    He didn¡¯t even know what kind of nightmare he would enter.

    ¡°Forget it. I should just go to sleep.¡± Annan finally closed his eyes and fell backward.

    As he fell asleep quickly, Annan felt that his body seemed to be a little lighter.

    He seemed to be floating in the clouds with a strange singing voice looming in his ears. After listening to the singing, Annan felt his limbs getting colder and colder.

    It was as if he was immersed in icy water. The chill seeped deep inside his bones, making him unable to wake up.

    When the nightmare entangled him into a light sleep state, Annan suddenly returned to his senses. A few lines of prompts appear in front of his eyes:

    [¡°Basic Influence: Remains of the Death Howl¡± has reverberated.]

    [You are now entering the dream world.]

    [The system can¡¯t detect the key into the dream.]

    [Searching for the nightmare with the keyword, ¡°dead¡±¡­]

    [The system has found the nightmare.]

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty is set to [Hard].]

    [The total erosion rate detected is 2%. Consequently, the dungeon instance difficulty rises by 2%, and the Nightmare mutation probability increases by 2%.]

    [Warning: Rted elements are detected. The nightmare has been distorted¡ª]

    [This dungeon instance has no save point. Your erosion rate is increased by 12% for each death. You will be forced out from the dungeon instance after one death.]

    [This dungeon instance contains a plot and possibly provides decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (Wizard) will be promoted by 3 levels.]

    [Loadingpleted.]

    When Annan woke up again, he noticed that his body was trembling.

    It wasn¡¯t because of fear, but because of the humidity and cold.

    Annan realized that he was huddling in a damp dungeon cell.

    His left hand was locked in shackles, and the other end of the chain was fixed to the wall. Some distinct wounds on the left wrist had shown signs of inmmation. The injury should have been incurred not long ago from the attempts to break away from the chain.

    However, his right hand was intact.

    In this position, he could either sit down or kneel at most. There was no room for him to lie down at all. Probably, that was why the nightmare¡¯s protagonist couldn¡¯t have a good sleep.

    Annan didn¡¯t know how long it had been since this bodyst slept. He felt a strong sense of exhaustion clouding his mind.

    Strangely, there was no trace of torture and interrogation on this body, and even his [Health] was sitting at a whopping 94%.

    Annan figured that this body had no open wounds with the basic necessity of hunger and thirst fully met.

    ¡°¡­En?¡± Annan just noticed that he was in control of a female body after he finished checking up on his physical state.

    Judging from the skin, knuckles, and palms, she should be in her twenties, seemingly quite young. There were no calluses on her palms, and the skin on the back of her right hand was rtively smooth, indicating that she wasn¡¯t a peasant.

    Due to the dim lighting here, Annan lowered his head and checked his clothes by fumbling around with his right hand.

    To his surprise, the nightmare protagonist¡¯s dress was quite neat and not messy at all. She wasn¡¯t in a prisoner¡¯s uniform, but the fabric wasn¡¯t the kind of high-end fabric that nobles would use.

    So, this body should be working in the clerical work or entertainment industry? Or possibly jobless?

    Those who caged her here had kept her from sleeping peacefully but didn¡¯t torture her. What was their goal?

    At this moment, Annan felt the familiar light dizziness. Lines of texts appeared before his eyes again.

    [Evelyn Miller was supposed to be a natural dancer. She was born with a soft and powerful body, possessing extraordinary beauty. She has an artistic and musical soul, loved by the Elegant Elder.]

    [However, when she was fourteen, she lost almost everything because of an unfortunate ident. Her artistic pursuit was thus halted.]

    [From then on, she never danced in front of others.]

    [Until one day, she identally saw the dance performed by the ¡°Dancer under the Moon¡±¡­ The soul-enchanting dance lingered fresh in her memories.]

    [She tried to approach the dancer but suddenly lost consciousness when she spoke.]

    [When she woke up, she found herself in a damp and cold dungeon.]

    [She quickly realized that she was kidnapped.]

    After these texts faded away, new words appeared before Annan again.

    [Main mission: Return Home]

    Immediately after, Annan was quickly supplemented with more details.

    [Keep your body intact.]

    [Don¡¯t talk to anyone.]

    [Return to reality.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 231: Water Stains

    <h4>Chapter 231: Water Stains</h4>

    Return to reality? Annan was taken aback when the final side mission was issued to him.

    What does this refer to?

    Is it referring to me in the nightmare¡­ or Evelyn Miller?

    ¡°But speaking of this name¡­¡±

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Annan heard the name ¡ª Evelyn Miller.

    Benjamin used this name in the password he used to determine whether he was in a nightmare, and that name was in the first phrase.

    Excluding the possibility of there existing another person with the same name, Benjamin was likely to know Evelyn. He probably even had a good memory of this name when he was younger.

    ¡°¡­I could have been in the past a few decades ago.¡± Annan was lost in thought.

    So, in the original history, what happened to Evelyn Miller?

    Annan first reached out to touch his left wrist, then slowly explored around it under the dim light to feel the shape and depth of the wound.

    Annan couldn¡¯t locate the injury through pain due to the [Reverse Inscription] curse¡¯s desensitisation effect. Moreover, the blood trails connecting his left arm to the floor had dried off. He also didn¡¯t have the option to locate the injury merely through vision because of the dim lighting. Luckily, he still managed to feel the approximate location through his sense of touch.

    Soon, Annan noticed something.

    ¡°This wound¡­¡± Annan was pleased with his new findings.

    Firstly, he managed to determine that this injury was not caused by rubbing the hand on the handcuffs during the attempts to break free.

    It became apparent to him that the wound was a cut caused by some kind of sharp tool at the back of the hand.

    Judging from the depth of this wound¡­

    Annan reached out and felt the area around the handcuffs.

    As expected, there was a thin de over the side of the handcuff near the wall. It felt like a shaving de ¡ª thin and soft.

    Hmph, no wonder.

    Annan felt that the size of this pair of handcuffs wasn¡¯t quite right from the beginning. It was a tad bitrger, and couldn¡¯t possibly cuff Evelyn in this area. With her slender wrist, she should be able to pull her hand out of it after struggling for a bit.

    The new discovery exined to Annan why this body was half-kneeling on the ground when he entered the dungeon instance. This was the only way to distance the de from the skin. If he were to stand up now, the de would cut his wrist.

    Annan felt around some more calmly.

    He protected his skin with ayer of his clothes as he pushed the de. Through his attempt, he found out that the de would retract when pressure was applied.

    With that, Annan immediately realized that this de should be part of a certain mechanism.

    ¡°Where is the other end of it?¡±

    Annan pondered for a moment, holding the left handcuff with his right hand. While keeping the de away from the back of his left hand, he slowly stood up from the ground.

    He felt some numbing sensation on his legs, but he chose to ignore it.

    In the end, he followed the chain and fumbled toward the wall.

    When he reached a connecting joint of the chain on the wall, he twisted it and found that it could be moved!

    Annan¡¯s eyes brightened up.

    It¡¯s here!

    He reached out his hand to hold on to that designated joint and rotated it a few times. He immediately noticed that if he rotated the switch counterclockwise, the de would protrude further and vice versa.

    This didn¡¯t feel like a device to imprison someone, but instead like some kind of torture device.

    Annan kept his left palm facing up, using the gravity to put the de underneath the back of his hand. Then, he rotated the switch clockwise.

    When Annan rotated it to the end, the de had retractedpletely.

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate to dislocate his left thumb, and pulled his left hand out of the cuff.

    However, he didn¡¯t leave this ce immediately but rotated the switch in the opposite direction. He realized that the side mission [Keep your body intact.] might be hinting at this.

    As expected, after Annan rotated it counterclockwise for a while, the de protruded out again. After a while, the switch began to be a little unstable. It felt like a loosening screw.

    The de seemed to be attached to a chain. Annan continued to rotate it. When the de was halfway out, the switch fell off along with the chain attached to it.

    The chain connecting the handcuffs to the wall was severed into two.

    The handcuffs on the wrist were still tightly shut. It urred to him that he needed the key to open it, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore.

    I see. Rotating it clockwise will unscrew the chain and the de, while rotating it counterclockwise to tighten the de.

    ¡°In other words, if I don¡¯t force my hand out, I need to make the switch rotate counterclockwise, allowing the de to cut into the skin by my wrist nearly one centimeter. Only then can I take the chain off the wall.¡±

    Annan frowned slightly. This doesn¡¯t seem like a simple dungeon cell¡­

    Just in case of future use, Annan took the heavy chain and de with him.

    Annan used Evelyn¡¯s intact right hand to hold the original connecting joint, while the other end of the chain was a sharp and slender de.

    It could be used as a weapon¡­

    After all, Annan had checked his body. Evelyn had no silverwares on her. She wasn¡¯t a swordsman nor a wizard. Annan had no skills avable to be used.

    However, if the enemy was just an ordinary person, it would be enough to kill one or two people with this heavy chain.

    After receiving the weapon, Annan first reset the dislocated left thumb. The contusion caused by the rough pull rendered him unable to clench his fist temporarily, but that didn¡¯t matter much. After all, there was already a cut hindering him to utilize his full force anyway.

    ¡°Is Evelyn left-handed?¡± This thought came to Annan¡¯s mind, but he quickly dispelled it.

    He dragged the iron chain and wandered around the cell, but he didn¡¯t find anything.

    So, he could only drag the chain closer to the dungeon cell door.

    The dungeon cell door wasn¡¯t the typical solid metal door found in the prison, but an ordinary wooden door.

    Of course, the door was locked, but it didn¡¯t trouble Annan.

    He lifted the chain and mmed it heavily on the door lock!

    First hit, second hit¡­

    When Annan hit the door lock for the sixth time, he finally smashed it open!

    Annan kicked the wooden door unceremoniously and walked out.

    What appeared in front of him was a corridor leading to two paths: left and right.

    It was still quite dim even after escaping the cell. There was no light in the corridor.

    Annan couldn¡¯t even find candles, let alone the Green Firemps that could be typically found on the streets.

    ¡°Eh?¡± There was an exmation.

    Is it a girl?

    Annan immediately turned his head to the direction of the sound, his gaze sharp.

    It was not far from his left¡ªa dark area behind the corner.

    It could be because the girl heard the sound of the chain dragging on the floor, so she stopped abruptly. She didn¡¯t utter a word and fled away from Annan immediately.

    Annan squinted his eyes slightly, looking in that direction silently.

    If Annan followed and caught up with her immediately at this time, he had the chance to knock the girl unconscious with his chain, and then drag her to a safe ce for interrogation.

    At this time, Annan suddenly recalled his second side mission [Don¡¯t talk to anyone].

    Hence, he didn¡¯t catch up to the girl and just let the footsteps grow distant from him.

    ¡°Hmph, she ran quite fast.¡± Annan murmured.

    Since Annan couldn¡¯t talk to anyone, his best bet would be to move in the direction where there were no people.

    So, Annan turned to the right without thinking.

    He didn¡¯t drag the chain on the floor this time, but grabbed the chain from the middle with his left hand that had recovered some strength. He appeared like a cowboy preparing tosso a horse.

    After Annan picked up the chain, he touched the chain and suddenly realized something.

    He paused and squatted down.

    He examined the ground carefully with his right hand.

    There are water stains.

    Annan also had water stains behind him. This was because Evelyn¡¯s trousers and shoes were wet. But strangely, there wasn¡¯t enough water in the dungeon to wet her knees.

    Rather, the water came from in front of him.

    Annan squinted slightly and looked back.

    This should have been left by the person who eximed previously.

    In other words, she came from the same ce as me before?

    Also, she should have walked from the right to the left.

    I shall follow the direction of the water stains to find the next clue!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 232: The Reverse Hymn

    <h4>Chapter 232: The Reverse Hymn</h4>

    Annan kept a steady pace.

    He stayed on alert and looked around as he trod, trying his best to be prepared for whatever monster that might suddenly lunge at him from around the corner.

    He didn¡¯t forget that the keyword for this dungeon instance was ¡°the dead¡±.

    Moreover, the dungeon instance he entered belonged to a necromantic deity.

    Despite all that, Annan was still a little grateful¡ªand also a little disappointed. He reached the end, but he didn¡¯t see any dead bodies popping out and shouting ¡°surprise¡±, making him look a little timid.

    Annan didn¡¯t have much care for the matter anyways.

    He just walked up the steps located at the end of the path¡­ one step at a time.

    After he reached the eighth step, he finally saw a light.

    When Annan raised his head, looking at the light-emitting outlet amidst the dark surroundings, something dark crept out and blocked it off!

    It was as if someone stood at the door, silently watching Annan, who was moving upwards and towards them!

    Finally, it¡¯s time for jumpscare, right?

    Annan reacted somewhat dyed, raising the chain and looking back.

    He was once again surprised when he turned his head back but he didn¡¯t see anything in particr.

    At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside.

    Several people were talking and passing by from a short distance away. However, they were not by the door. Even when they were at their closest point, it was more than ten meters away from the door¡­ Maybe there¡¯s a corridor right outside.

    If Annan had screamed out of fear or tried to negotiate with that person, those people could have heard him.

    This thought shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    However, the man still stood at the door. He didn¡¯t go down, didn¡¯t say anything to him, and didn¡¯t even take any particr action.

    Is it a dummy?

    Annan squinted his eyes and continued to climb up the steps. He deliberately suppressed his footsteps. Fortunately, Evelyn was born as a dancer, and her steps were light enough.

    He finally had a better sight with the help of adequate lighting when he got closer.

    It really wasn¡¯t a living person, but a soldier sculpture,

    A marble soldier sculpture that was facing against him had blocked the door!

    Above the exit, there was a huge painting. A pulley was fixed on the back of it, which made it appear like a vertical sliding door that could raise about one meter upward. Annan wasn¡¯t sure if the culprit didn¡¯t put the portrait back out of carelessness or simply needed more lighting when he was here.

    So, this is the door to the underground secret room?

    Annan attempted to push the marble statue twice, but he realized he couldn¡¯t move it without making a sound. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t squeeze through the door as well.

    There should be someone not far away, though.

    ¡°¡­Ha.¡± Annan smiled slightly. This can¡¯t stop me.

    Hemitted to a pose ¡ª a somewhat strange posture facing forward sideways.

    Immediately after, Evelyn Miller¡¯s somewhat weak body instantly changed its appearance.

    Annan¡¯s body inted like a balloon. In the blink of an eye, she turned into a kind middle-aged man with ck hair, dark eyes, and well-defined features that were shorter than her!

    It was ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro¡±!

    Just like Annan¡¯s other curse, the curse [The Last Work ¡°David¡±] could also be brought into the nightmare!

    If there was anything that demanded physical strength, David was the answer.

    The ¡°David,¡± who was also a marble statue, wasn¡¯t in any way unique except for its robust strength.

    Annan, who had transformed into David, quickly hugged the soldier statue at the door off the ground and moved it aside.

    Annan immediately changed his appearance back and went to pick up the chain.

    This was to avoid [The Last Work ¡°David¡±] entering a cool-down period and to ensure that it could be used again when the situation calls for it.

    Another benefit of shifting back was that Evelyn¡¯s footsteps were much lighter than David¡¯s. Her footsteps were quiet like a cat and hard to detect when being extra careful.

    Annan quietly left the basement door.

    But when he looked back, he was slightly taken aback.

    He knew this painting.

    Indeed, this was thest painting Amos painted in the ¡°Feast of the Hungry¡± on the Gallery Dungeon¡¯s second level!

    The painting illustrated a homeless man with messy hair and shabby clothes; he had a thin and shrivelled body. He reached out one hand to support himself on the window and peeked inside, while the other hand curled slightly under his ribs. His eyebrows gave a hint of confusion and cruelty, and his eyes shed with dark green eyes that portrayed hunger and greed.

    He was standing there crouched, but it gave off the image of a hungry wolf standing up.

    The hungry wolf was watching Evelyn.

    If anyone who entered this dungeon instance hadn¡¯t experienced the ¡°Feast of the Hungry¡±, they might have been shocked here. It was even possible that this scene would increase their erosion rate.

    However, it didn¡¯t affect Annan at all.

    I think I can probably guess the timeline of this dungeon instance.

    Annan slowly slid the painting down until it returned to its original position, blocking the light inside. No matter who was below, it could at least trap the culprit and prevent it froming out easily.

    Although it couldn¡¯t kill him, the dy was enough.

    After Annan finished dealing with the mechanism here, he looked around.

    He realized that he seemed to be in a building resembling a church. Many people were chatting in this ce.

    Which deity¡¯s church is this?

    Up until now, Annan still didn¡¯t know where the water stains came from.

    He heard a faint hymn but couldn¡¯t tell where it came from.

    He thought for a while, threw the chain up, and hung it on the ceiling.

    Then, he capitalized on Evelyn¡¯s extraordinarily light body to climb up the ceiling through the chains. He moved along the beams, bypassed the door, and entered an empty room.

    He searched quickly and found two silver coins.

    With silver coins in hand, Annan was more at ease.

    He opened the window and took a look. Then, he whizzed out of the window like a thief. At the same time, he did not forget to close the windows as he exited.

    What baffled him was that the hymn became louder after he left the church.

    Annan followed the direction of the sound and hurriedly left the church.

    After walking for three minutes, he gradually stopped.

    As Annan approached the source of the hymn, he gradually heard it clearly.

    At first, he thought it was anothernguage or simply a dialect.

    After hearing the hymn clearly and recalling the conversation he had previously, Annan suddenly recalled the sound he heard on the dungeon level with the symmetrical corridor in the gallery.

    The reason thenguage was baffling was that it was in reverse.

    The hymn did note from the windows of the strange church beside Annan.

    It floated out of theke in front of Annan¡­ the reflection of this white church.

    Annan looked down and assessed Evelyn¡¯s body.

    The face was full of scars and hairless. The right side of the body had burns scars all over the ce.

    At this moment, Annan noticed that the corners of ¡°Evelyn¡¯s¡± mouth reflected in theke raised slightly as if smiling with satisfaction.

    He was taken aback.

    As Annan wanted to raise my hand and touch the corner of his mouth to confirm, he found that the ¡°Evelyn¡± in theke did not raise her hand.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 233: The Other World

    <h4>Chapter 233: The Other World</h4>

    What¡¯s happening here?

    Annan was shocked.

    He immediately stopped what he was doing. He manoeuvred his slender and flexible fingers swiftly like a magician and brought a silver coin in between his fingers from his cuffs.

    The ¡°Evelyn¡± in theke was unfazed even after seeing Annan trying to attack.

    She just chuckled as if listening intently to something else.

    It should have been a very gentle smile.

    However, when it appeared on her scar-filled face, it looked a little scary.

    What is going on?

    Just as Annan was bing more confused, he saw the ¡°Evelyn¡± in the reflection turning her head slightly, seemingly talking to someone else.

    Although Annan couldn¡¯t hear what she was talking about, he had an idea after watching this scene.

    To test his hypothesis, Annan leaned forward and touched theke¡¯s surface with his intact right hand.

    At first nce, theke was shallow with the depth of half a cubit. However, he still couldn¡¯t reach theke bottom with his hand. Even when he inserted his whole arm, theke bottom was still very far from reach, seemingly bottomless.

    ¡­As expected!

    Annan had no reason to hesitate further. After taking a deep breath, he dived into theke.

    The icyke water was like gushing into Annan¡¯s mind, with the hymn bing louder and louder.

    Suddenly, Annan became unconscious.

    Soon, he felt someone tapping on his shoulder gently.

    ¡°Evelyn? Evelyn?¡± It was the voice of a panicked youth.

    The hymn reverberating in his ears had long gone.

    Annan opened his eyes, feeling his mind a little dizzy. He tilted his body, retched a few times toward theke, and coughed for a long time before slowly getting over the difort.

    Only then did he realize that he was lying by theke, drenched.

    A panic-stricken youth circled him anxiously, like a puppy whose owner had suddenly passed out.

    Only after seeing ¡°Evelyn¡± wake up was he relieved, ¡°OMG¡­ why did you suddenly fall into theke? You scared me.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t respond immediately because he was worried that it might constitute a dialogue if he responded.

    Annan looked at the youth with light brown hair beside him, having a hunch that he should have seen him from somewhere.

    He had pale skin with callouses on his fingers. Judging from that, he shouldn¡¯t havee from a noble family; at the very least, he¡¯s not the favored child from the first wife. It seemed he was often involved withbor, but his ent seemed standard, unlike the militia of Freezing Water Port influenced by the local dialect. In other words, like Kafni, he spoke with a somewhat standard capital ent.

    He looks like Benjamin Foster!

    Am I close to the capital?

    Annan subconsciously opened the mission panel.

    Immediately, his pupils trembled for a moment.

    His mission had changed!

    [Main mission: Return to the dream.]

    Immediately, brand new side missions appeared under this prompt.

    [Acquire Benjamin¡¯s trust.]

    [Complete the sacrificial ritual.]

    [Do not go home.]

    Annan stood on the spot, dumbfounded. He had never encountered a peculiar main mission that contradicted the side missions.

    Was the previous me in another world?

    The dream world?

    Or, rather, the world in the reflection?

    What¡¯s the actual mission here? I don¡¯t get it.

    Annan hesitated for a while and decided to take a gamble.

    While sitting on the ground, Annan imitated a more helpless tone and said hesitantly, ¡°Benjamin¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    The brown-haired youth, or rather Benjamin Foster, was unsuspecting. He sat next to Evelyn, holding her left hand, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Evelyn?¡±

    ¡°¡­Nothing, I¡¯m fine.¡± Annan shook his head.

    Hmm, I¡¯m safe and sound. It seems I didn¡¯t fail my main mission, and I¡¯m not kicked out of the nightmare.

    Moreover, he was keenly aware that his left hand wasn¡¯t injured, at least in this world. There was no trace of cuts inflicted by a de.

    Is this the correct reality?

    So strange¡­

    The storyline introduction mentioned that I was kidnapped after I woke up¡­

    Annan paused slightly.

    He realized the problem.

    The nightmare introduction didn¡¯t say that the other world was real. It just said, ¡°After waking up, Evelyn realized that she was in the dungeon.¡±

    Is there another possibility? After Evelyn saw the ¡°Dancer Dancing Under the Moon¡±, she passed out and entered another world.

    Annan thought of this and looked back subconsciously.

    He wanted to see if he could follow where he had dived and returned to the church the same way.

    At this moment, his pupils shrank slightly.

    The church behind her wasn¡¯t as brilliant and whole as before, it was without a doubt a tattered ruin!

    Not to mention there were no inhabitants, Annan could even clearly see that there were spider webs attached to the edge of the window. There wasn¡¯t anyone even cleaning the ce.

    ¡°What are you looking at, Evelyn?¡± The Young Benjamin looked at Annan curiously.

    Annan withdrew his gaze inconspicuously and appeared in deep thought, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about¡­ It.¡±

    ¡ªI don¡¯t know what It is, but I¡¯m thinking about It anyway.

    Do you want to guess what It is?

    ¡°Are you still thinking about the Pale Princess?¡± Benjamin¡¯s expression became a bitplicated, ¡°Are you still going to search for Her?¡±

    ¡°How about you?¡± Annan asked back, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to apany you to this ce. That¡¯s already my answer.¡± Benjamin said firmly, ¡°There must be clues in the Pale Princess Church, but going in alone is dangerous.

    ¡°Look at me! I have a weapon!¡± Benjamin said as he patted his waist proudly.

    Annan noticed with some surprise that there was a gun hanging there.

    How should I feel about this?

    I¡¯m telling you, Salvatore. This is spicier than magic wand.jpg

    Annan realized all of a sudden.

    Benjamin was only about thirteen years old at this time. He was still a little innocent, not as sly as a fox like he was in the future. At this time, he probably hadn¡¯t embarked on the path of transcendence yet.

    But¡­

    Would Benjamin still retain his affections for Evelyn when she has a ruined face?

    Annan saw the familiar and unobtrusive youth and affection in the eyes of Young Benjamin.

    What a rare sight.

    People at this age were often impulsive to judge people by their appearance. It was rare to fall in love with an opposite-gender with a ruined face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll guide you in to take a look.¡± Obviously, Benjamin himself was a little afraid too.

    He paused and repeated firmly, ¡°I will take you in!

    ¡°Rx, I have a gun!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 234: The Beginning Wish

    <h4>Chapter 234: The Beginning Wish</h4>

    I¡¯m more worried now because you have a gun.

    When you reach the age when you don¡¯t need a gun, I will be at ease to have you carry me through the dungeon.

    [TN: ¡°Carrying¡± is a term used in team games where one person wins the match for everyone else.]

    Annan stuffed theints down his throat and didn¡¯t voice it out tantly.

    Instead, he nodded slightly and held Benjamin¡¯s sleeves. His reserved and weak act effectively induced Benjamin¡¯s youthful desire to protect.

    He felt Benjamin¡¯s body flinch a little.

    Having Evelyn holding his cuff, the youthful Benjamin didn¡¯t dare to move at all.

    He was likely worried about identally throwing away Evelyn¡¯s hand that was holding his cuff. Hence, his arm was hanging in the air, motionless.

    What a fool. Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

    This is a great opportunity. When a girl gently holds your cuffs or corners of your clothes and seemingly could let go at any second, it¡¯s your opening to hold her hand.

    If she can hold onto you tightly, would she still need you to hold her hand?

    Benjamin didn¡¯t have the guts. Of course, it could also be because he was too innocent and couldn¡¯t read the signals.

    What an innocent child¡­ Annan sighed again.

    However, this also revealed another clue for Annan at the same time.

    ¡°Evelyn¡± should be a person with low self-esteem.

    It was understandable given that she was an outstanding teenage dancer, but her face and skin were ruined. Even though her future was gone, she didn¡¯t give up on her life. In some sense, that wasmendable.

    Annan could also feel it when he was controlling her body. Although she had left the stage, she had not neglected her daily practice.

    Otherwise, her body wouldn¡¯t be so flexible, and her footsteps wouldn¡¯t be so light.

    In this case, if Benjamin shook Evelyn¡¯s hand away by ident, it might be a blow to her self-esteem.

    Benjamin¡¯s left arm was stiff. He didn¡¯t even dare to walk continuously but stopped for every two steps to make sure Annan could keep up.

    That¡¯s too much trouble. Annan took the initiative and held Benjamin¡¯s hand.

    Facing Benjamin¡¯s surprised gaze, Annan showed a soft and firm expression on his face, ¡°I want to take a look.

    ¡°I think She should be here.¡±

    ¡°¡­Alright.¡± Benjamin hesitated as if he couldn¡¯t bear ¡°Evelyn¡¯s¡± troubled state.

    However, he still took out his gun, held Annan¡¯s hand tightly, and marched into the church ruin filled with cobwebs.

    Annan keenly captured Benjamin¡¯s fleeting emotions.

    He quickly realized that Benjamin should have been to this ce before.

    Annan roughly sorted out the clues of the matter.

    ¡ª¡±Evelyn¡± might have lost her memory for a while.

    Judging from Benjamin¡¯s reaction, Evelyn should have met the Dancer Under the Moon. She then wanted to find the Pale Princess and discovered the location of the church ruin.

    She told Benjamin about the incident, hoping that Benjamin woulde with her.

    Not surprisingly, Benjamin should havee to explore it by himself before she came¡ªprobably with his parents and others. So, he should have known in advance that there should be no danger here, but the person or thing that Evelyn was searching for wasn¡¯t here either.

    This should exin where Benjamin got the weapon and how his family could be assured to have a young man like him go out with a gun.

    It was simply because his family had already apanied Benjamin here once, knowing that this was only a ¡°ruin¡±.

    However, was there really nothing here?

    Not really.

    Annan heard the ¡°voice¡± clearly.

    ¡°¡ªDid you go to Her Highness¡¯s ballst night?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYup.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhy not? It¡¯s such a grand ball.¡±

    It was as if one man and two women were chatting among themselves while passing by Annan and Benjamin.

    Annan looked at Benjamin subconsciously and realized that he was inching forward cautiously with his gun, which the safety pin hadn¡¯t yet been unlocked. Strangely enough, he didn¡¯t hear the conversation at all.

    As he noticed Annan¡¯s gaze, he turned his head curiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Annan naturally wouldn¡¯t reply, ¡°nope, nothing.¡±

    If he had done that, those ¡°voices¡± would notice Annan could see them.

    So Annan changed the subject and said casually, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah, ah. It¡¯s okay. I just came to apany you¡­ No, no. I mean, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Benjamin coughed a few times and replied incoherently.

    He also sneaked a nce at Annan, obviously not knowing whether his answer would satisfy the girl.

    Annan ignored himpletely.

    He just nodded, indicating that he heard it. At the same time, he was still listening intently to the ¡°voices¡± around him.

    ¡°¡ªHuh, isn¡¯t that little girl¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªUm. I saw her yesterday.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat a pity¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªShe is a good dancer. Her Highness will be fond of her.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHer Highness cares more about a pure and bright soul.¡±

    ¡°¡ªLet¡¯s not forget she also has a pure heart!¡±

    ¡°¡ªSo what¡­¡±

    In front of Annan, this was a half-copsed ruin.

    Some columnsy on the floor. The ground was covered with dust and gravel. All the decorations were taken away, and there was no light.

    However, many voices could be heard discussing him¡ªor instead,menting on ¡°Evelyn¡±.

    Annan didn¡¯t see anything.

    Benjamin still did not hear these voices.

    Are those voices from the Pale Princess¡¯s ghosts?

    Annan seemed to realize something in his heart.

    He had some spections about the ending of ¡°Evelyn¡±.

    Did she get transformed into a ¡°Half-dead Enchantress¡± in the end?

    When Annan walked near the basement, he subconsciously looked to the left.

    The head of the soldier statue had gone missing. The soldier statue was also pushed to the ground, covered with dust.

    That painting that blocked the entrance into the secret room wasn¡¯t here anymore either.

    ¡ªThe path leading to the secret underground room was also opened up.

    ¡°Do you want to explore the basement?¡± Benjamin spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

    He hesitated for a while, then pulled out a palm-sized metal box from his pocket.

    He opened the metal box and took out a hollow silverntern about two fingers wide. After thentern was unfolded, it was connected to the metal box with an iron chain, which looked like a pocket watch.

    Benjamin vigorously rotated thentern¡¯s head. After turning it for threeplete circles, he finally ignited the me in thentern.

    He carried the hollowntern like a pocket watch. Although a green me was burning inside, only bright yellowish brilliance shone from it.

    Benjamin bragged, ¡°This is the Green Fire, Evelyn!

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same as ck Fire¡­ It can be used as a stable light source.

    ¡°I heard that Swamp¡¯s ck Tower will soon spread the Green Fire Lamp to the public. In that case, we will no longer use candles at night!¡±

    Benjamin¡¯s hoarse voice during the teenage period revealed a trace of longing, ¡°I want to go to ck Tower too, Evelyn!

    ¡°Did you know that the wizards who made the Green Fire were called alchemists in ancient times? They can even turn stones into gold! The ointment is also their work¡­

    ¡°I think¡­ I mean, if we can¡¯t find any clues here, don¡¯t worry too much.¡±

    Benjamin, who was walking down the stairs, said seriously, ¡°If I can enter the ck Tower, I will invent an ointment that can treat your injury!¡±

    When he said this, he held Annan¡¯s hand tightly again.

    Annan looked at Benjamin. His gaze was a little evasive at first, but he quickly became firm and looked back at ¡°Evelyn,¡± who was suddenly silent.

    He was a little nervous, waiting for ¡°Evelyn¡±¡®s response.

    Annan was in a trance, feeling the power of time.

    It turns out that Benjamin¡¯s motivation to be an Alteration Wizard is right here?

    To be a Gold Rank, one must have a strong desire for it. Is this Benjamin¡¯s desire?

    Benjamin, at today¡¯s age, definitely can do so. Not to mention the scars left by the fire, even if the skin is peeled off, he should be able to heal it easily.

    But¡­

    Where is Evelyn now?

    Annan had a bad hunch because he suddenly remembered the keyword of this dungeon instance was ¡°dead¡±.

    ¡ªSo, who is dead?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 235: Me, Myself and I

    <h4>Chapter 235: Me, Myself and I</h4>

    Annan and Benjamin carefully walked down the stairs.

    There was dust all over the stairs and cobwebs all over the ceilings.

    Fortunately, neither the ¡°Evelyn¡± yed by Annan nor the young Benjamin were tall. Otherwise, they would walk into all the webs, destroying the spiders¡¯ homes.

    But even so, they dared not to go too fast.

    The dust on the ground was so thick that it was even a little slippery.

    ¡°It¡¯s way too dirty here.¡± Benjamin couldn¡¯t help butin.

    ¡°This church¡­¡± Annan spoke softly, ¡°Do you know its history, Benjamin? I¡¯m curious.¡±

    ¡°Well, I have a rough understanding of it.¡±

    Although Benjamin knew that no one was here, he still subconsciously lowered his voice as he spoke, ¡°This church should have been built more than a hundred years ago. I think it should be around 120 years, probably 128 years? Or maybe 118 years¡­

    ¡°Forget it, that¡¯s not important. In short, the Pale Princess established this church personally. She built it in the name of the ¡®Deity of Song and Dance¡¯ on the surface. Her goal is to build a frontline fortress for the Necropolis¡ªdo you know what that means?¡±

    Speaking of this, Benjamin¡¯s voice instinctively rose a little, ¡°That is to say, guards were patrolling this ce in the past! If I¡¯m not mistaken, they should have at least 18 bone ballistas and a scout tower. The schrs roughly estimated this number through the harvesting and investigation results from the Royal Expedition Team. There could be other instruments lost in the passage of time of which we no longer have the opportunity to learn their existence¡­.¡±

    When the young Benjamin said this, his voice became softer.

    Benjamin paused slightly, then turned around hesitantly and asked a little timidly, ¡°You don¡¯t like to listen to my babbling, right?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m still listening¡­¡± Annan subconsciously repeated these overused words.

    But then, he quickly realized his mistake and corrected it. He said in a kinder manner that was more eptable to Benjamin, ¡°I¡¯m a little scared, Benjamin.¡±

    Since it was an unmanned corridor, Benjamin could still hear it.

    Annan continued, ¡°Please keep talking. Don¡¯t stop¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Oh, sure.¡± Benjamin was taken aback for a moment. He thought Evelyn must be afraid of the dark.

    Hence, he cleared his throat and showed off his knowledge seriously.

    ¡°Can you imagine, Evelyn? Those 18 bone ballistas are the size of a queen bed each. They are erected on the walls. Enemies from all directions can¡¯t prate the fortress! It only takes four or five seconds to load a bone arrow, but they will chase their target like a wild dog! They won¡¯t miss! That¡¯s so cool! I think it wasn¡¯t just the Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s believers who came to encircle Necropolis at that time. These ballistas should be prepared for ordinary mortals too¡­

    ¡°Oh right! There are evil spirits!¡±

    Benjamin talked about it in excitement, and his voice became louder and cheerful, ¡°Evelyn, the Pale Princess¡¯s priests can leave their body like an evil spirit!

    ¡°Ordinary people can¡¯t see them at all. They can only see the white glow¡­Yes, my teacher told me that the Pale Tide is made up of evil spirits. Isn¡¯t that amazing?¡±

    For some reason, Benjamin¡¯s words rang in Annan¡¯s ear loudly.

    He was even in a trance.

    After a sudden dizziness, Benjamin¡¯s hand previously in Annan¡¯s grasp had disappeared.

    He staggered and slid down the steps several times.

    Fortunately, he was already very close to the end. Thus, it wasn¡¯t a long fall.

    ¡°¡­Um. Benja¡­¡± Annan gritted his teeth and slowly stood up from the ground.

    He was dumbfounded on the spot.

    The light of Green Fire above his head had gone out.

    ¡°Benjamin?¡± Annan called out softly, but there was no reply in the darkness.

    He frowned slightly and subconsciously opened up the mission list.

    Annan stopped moving immediately.

    Mission Details:

    [Main mission: Return home.]

    [Keep your body intact.]

    [Don¡¯t talk to anyone.]

    [Return to reality.]

    ¡°¡­What¡¯s going on?¡± Annan blurted out, baffled.

    Am I back to that ce again?

    These missions are endless!

    This loop never stops.

    Annan hesitated, whether to go back up or continue exploring below.

    He thought about it for a while and decided to continue.

    Evelyn had entered the dream world near the water before. Hence, Annan managed to dispel the dream as he approached the pond. However, Annan couldn¡¯t guarantee that he could return to reality again the same way.

    Without Benjamin¡¯s light, it became more strenuous to walk down the steps.

    So, Annan leaned against the wall and continued forward.

    Annan roughly remembered that there was a straight path leading to his previous cell after entering the basement. After passing by the cell, there was a passage to the right at the end.

    I wonder if the guard on the left passage is still there¡­

    Annan was lucky this time.

    As he stuck closely to the right wall and approached the corridor end, he didn¡¯t hear any footsteps.

    He couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

    Luckily, there isn¡¯t a guard.

    After all, it was too dark here. Evelyn had no night vision at all. Annan could barely see where the wall was and avoided hitting it under the faint light seeping in from the entrance.

    After Annan walked around the long corridor, he finally saw some light.

    Is it a candle?

    Annan was a little curious but also a little wary.

    If there are candles, it means there must be someone there!

    When Annan was halfway through the corner in the silent basement, he suddenly heard two loud noises behind him!

    ¡°Boom! Boom!¡°

    ¡­What¡¯s going on? Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    Annan didn¡¯t feel afraid but stopped at the first moment and squatted down to hide his presence.

    He was a little regretful. I should have returned to the entrance first and taken the ded iron chain.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and approached quietly.

    If someone was going to pass by here, Annan was confident that he could strangle them to death when they passed the corner!

    Before Annan tiptoed slowly to the corner, he suddenly froze on the spot.

    A series of noises came again.

    It struck six times¡­

    After another bang, Annan heard the familiar sounds of the prison door being kicked open.

    After that, there was the sound of iron chains dragging on the ground, ttering.

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Annan let out a soft cry.

    He was panic-stricken on the spot.

    At that moment, Annan seemed to understand something.

    The girl¡¯s panting around the corner¡­

    The water stains on the ground¡­

    The mission [Don¡¯t talk to anyone.]¡­

    What I previously saw when I entered the dungeon instance is my current self!

    Annan ran towards the brighter ce without any more hesitation.

    Under this logic, the person who lit the candle at the end of the corner was probably also ¡°Evelyn¡±!

    ¡ªThe Evelyn from the future!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 236: White Guillotine

    <h4>Chapter 236: White Guillotine</h4>

    This might have been a nightmare loop that would horrify ordinary mortals.

    Instead, it piqued Annan¡¯s interest.

    Firstly, when he just came out of the dungeon cell, the ¡°eh¡± he first heard came from the current him.

    But, how did this nightmare know that I would arrive here at this timing?

    Is this a time loop nightmare?

    It makes sense if this nightmare belongs to the Man in the Mirror, but I¡¯m pretty sure this is the Pale Princess¡¯s nightmare?

    The Pale Princess doesn¡¯t seem to have abilities rted to time and mirror at all.

    Or, is it simply because the nightmare ¡°mutates¡± toward time and mirror images?

    Is it because I have been in touch with the future Benjamin, or is it because I have a mirror given personally by the Man in the Mirror?

    Many possibilities appeared in Annan¡¯s mind at the same time.

    The good news was that those curiosities dispelled his hesitation.

    If the future me lit this candle¡­ Annan dashed to the end of the corridor.

    Then, he halted his footsteps.

    In front of him was still the same long corridor as before. It took more than 10 seconds to sprint to the end.

    There was a table with a letter and many white candles of the same thickness and height in the middle of the corridor this time. The only candle that was lit seemed to be lit not long ago. Only a quarter of it had been burned.

    Seeing this, Annan was a little disappointed.

    In Annan¡¯s opinion, if this were indeed a loop, the future self would hold a candle and wait for him toe over. Then, there could be cooperative yter on.

    After all, only Annan knew himself the best.

    ¡­En? Annan frowned slightly.

    No, I¡¯m mistaken.

    He had a reason for choosing to run toward here, looking for the ¡°third Evelyn¡±. He was worried that he couldn¡¯t convince the ¡°first Evelyn¡± that ¡°I¡¯m you¡± properly.

    He might have turned into a monster-like Evelyn. The first Evelyn, or rather the first Annan, hadn¡¯t seen what Evelyn looked like in theke ¡ª the scars all over her face particrly. If he went over without saying a word, the past self might treat him as a monster and attack.

    Annan was confident with his behavior. Therefore, he chose to find the third self.

    If the third self existed, he should know that the second self could already believe that ¡°this is a nightmare with a loop in it¡±.

    So, the second self was different from the first self; he was trustworthy.

    So, why didn¡¯t the third self show up here?

    Is it because it¡¯s unnecessary, or¡­ he can¡¯t? Annan frowned, walked over to the table, and opened the envelope sitting there.

    There were brief sentences in the letter. Annan was certain that it wasn¡¯t any version of him who wrote this fluent cursive writing,

    ¡°The pursuit of a tragic love,

    ¡°Imprisonment in the shell of a life,

    ¡°The wandering dancer who pursues beauty and freedom¡ª

    ¡°The Pale already knows your purpose,

    ¡°Through this door,

    ¡°Dedicate your soul remnant to the Pale.¡±

    The words in the envelope ended here.

    Does this refer to the mission [Complete the sacrificial ritual.]?

    Annan was in deep thought.

    There was too much information in this letter.

    Wondering dancer, soul remnant¡­

    Could it be that Evelyn was already dead?

    So what¡¯s the situation with Evelyn in reality?

    Annan also suddenly thought of another crucial matter.

    Whose nightmare is this?

    This dungeon instance is on hard difficulty.

    In other words, the nightmare owner should be a Silver Rank Transcended.

    Obviously, the nightmare owner wasn¡¯t Evelyn.

    At least the current Evelynn wasn¡¯t¡­ She hadn¡¯t even fulfilled the apprenticeship pathway. In the purest sense of attribute points, she wasn¡¯t even Level 1.

    However, Annan¡¯s actions in pausing here and thinking weren¡¯t without value.

    He saw that the candle had dropped about ? of its height.

    This candle burns too fast; it¡¯s unnatural. This was Annan¡¯s first thought.

    His second thought then followed.

    He only paused here for half a minute, and ? of the candle was consumed.

    Then, he quickly understood that it should take 4 minutes for this candle to burn out.

    That was to say, another Annan at [Life # ???] had only left this ce 90 seconds ago!

    ¡­But why is he hiding from me?

    Annan took the candle out from the candle holder and fixed it on the table without a second thought.

    Holding the sharp candle holder as a weapon, he rushed to the end of the corridor. Then, he quickly opened the door.

    At the moment the door was opened, Annan was stunned.

    He was within an unnaturally winding room at the end of this long basement.

    Approximately 80 white candles with the same height and thickness were ced all around the room. Each candle was burnt to a different height.

    Candles surrounded the center of the room; it was as brightly lit as day.

    The surprise here was the guillotine.

    It was a gorgeous guillotine built on an altar withyers resembling a wedding cake.

    It had a pure white wooden exterior, engraved with white runes and iid with various gems. A rope supported the diagonal crystal-colored de at the highest point. There were white veils on both sides of the guillotine, like a wedding dress.

    In front of the guillotine, there was a whitece basket with flowers in it, but Annan knew it was used to store heads.

    From a distance, the setup gave off a first impression of a giraffe bride in a wedding dress.

    Annan searched the room carefully but couldn¡¯t find any exits. There was no blood on the guillotine and no heads in the basket.

    This is clearly a dead end.

    There are also no hints in the room.

    Just as Annan was standing in front of the guillotine, pondering whether to cleave off his head.

    Suddenly a somewhat new yet familiar low voice behind him rang out, ¡°Annan, don¡¯t move and don¡¯t look back!¡±

    That was Evelyn¡¯s voice! Or rather, his voice!

    Annan was sure of it. But, where the fuck did the voicee from?

    Since someone had spoken already, Annan could only stand there silently.

    What happened?

    Could it be that the mission is to have the future self murder the present self?

    The other ¡°self¡± behind him continued to make demands, ¡°Hurry up and lie there¡­ Ah, you don¡¯t have to raise your butt. En, I will mention a key phrase to convince you to trust me, yers and nning. Alright? Hurry up, stop wasting time¡­¡±

    Stop wasting time?

    Annan pondered, obeying the voice of the person behind him and lying on the guillotine. He stared at the white flower basket in front of him in a trance.

    You¡¯re not going to ask me to cut the rope myself, are you?

    Just then, Annan heard the unmistakable sound of the rope being cut.

    Then, there came the sound of the guillotine suddenly falling¡ª

    ¡°Ouch¡­¡± Annan heard Benjamin¡¯s screams of pain.

    The next moment, Annan suddenly opened his eyes.

    Only then did he notice that he and Benjamin were both copsed at the bottom of the stairs¡ªthemp had fallen to the side. His hands and clothes were covered with dust. All the dust had turned into mud, making him feel ufortable.

    As Annan thought about his situation, he reached out to help Benjamin up.

    He subconsciously didn¡¯t touch Benjamin with his muddy hands.

    However, Benjamin grabbed Evelyn¡¯s hand anyways and staggered up from the ground.

    ¡°Ouch¡­this¡­¡± Heined about his pain and then gentlyforted, ¡°It¡¯s fine, nothing is broken¡­¡±

    Judging from what you said, did I slip and push you down here?

    Annan quickly recognized what the young Benjamin meant.

    Otherwise, he would haveined about how slippery was this ce. But, since he didn¡¯t dare toin at Evelyn, heforted her as soon as possible; probably she was the one causing all these to happen.

    Did I lose control of my body when my consciousness blurred?

    Annan subconsciously opened the mission panel.

    Sure enough, the mission changed back again.

    [Main mission: Return to the dream.]

    [Acquire Benjamin¡¯s trust.]

    [Complete the sacrificial ritual.]

    [Do not go home.]

    Annan grimaced subconsciously, not because of the pain in his body but because of exasperation.

    What a loop!

    How do I end this nightmare?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 237: Whose Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 237: Whose Nightmare</h4>

    After Annan helped Benjamin up, he keenly noticed that Benjamin was a lot quieter.

    Or probably he had be calmer?

    After picking up themp, Benjamin held Annan¡¯s hand and moved forward. He didn¡¯t move on to another topic and just concentrated on finding a way.

    Did Benjamin realize something?

    In the beginning, he never stopped talking to Evelyn.

    In Annan¡¯s view, Benjamin was awkward in picking up a topic to chat. He was too excited to talk about the Necropolis fortress with Evelyn. It felt like he was talking about new military equipment for an afternoon with his girlfriend, who was an artist.

    I wonder how the real Evelyn will respond to him.

    Would she just keep smiling and listen quietly?

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Benjamin said, puzzled, ¡°Why is this door open?¡±

    Thest time he came here it should have been closed¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan¡¯s heart tightened slightly and asked softly, ¡°Where is this ce?¡±

    He had noticed that his original ¡°spawn point¡± was in front of them, which was the ¡°cell¡±.

    ¡°I remember this¡­ My teacher has mentioned it.¡±

    Benjamin frowned slightly, trying to recall, ¡°This seems to be the ce where the corpses are stored.¡±

    ¡°¡­Corpses?¡± Annan was startled.

    Isn¡¯t this the dungeon cells?

    Benjamin asked worriedly, ¡°Are you afraid? We don¡¯t have to look at this if you¡¯re scared.¡±

    ¡°Will there still be bodies in there?¡± Annan replied.

    ¡°Definitely not.¡± Benjamin replied, ¡°The Silver Sire Church hade to clean this ce already.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ I want to take a look,¡± said Annan softly.

    ¡°ºÃ¡£¡±

    Benjamin was silent for a while, then held Annan¡¯s hand a little tighter, ¡°Alright.¡±

    He took Annan to the ¡°dungeon cells¡± and raised the Green Fire Lamp in his hand.

    Only then did Annan finally clearly see the internal environment of the ¡°cells.¡±

    This ce seemed like a public bathhouse. It was muchrger than Annan initially imagined.

    Inside the ¡°»Ø-shaped¡± room, a low, square wall that was filled with Inscriptions stood right in the middle. Apparently, the Inscriptions on it were violently crossed out with sword shes. The low wall was just over a meter high, reaching exactly half the room¡¯s height.

    There were handcuffs installed along the low wall as well; all of them were attached with chains with two meters distance between each other. There were about twenty such ¡°chains and handcuffs¡± devices.

    In the beginning, Annan was at the ¡°position¡± closest to the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Annan asked subconsciously.

    Benjamin somehow knew what it was, ¡°Do you know about the Half-dead Enchantresses?¡±

    Benjamin replied in a low volume, ¡°The Pale Princess¡¯s priestesses aren¡¯t living humans. Therefore, although they are priestesses, they have no ce in the Pale Tide.

    ¡°They are both living and dead; neither living nor dead ¨C the Pale Tide only allows the dead to join. So, if they want to participate in the Pale Tide, they have to fix their bodies here first.¡±

    As Benjamin exined, he subconsciously walked to the shackle closest to the door, which was the shackle that bound Evelyn¡¯s wrist in the dream world.

    While pointing at the shackles, Benjamin exined to Annan ¡ª or ¡°Evelynn¡± carefully but absentmindedly, ¡°They¡¯ll put their necks or wrists in here and then release their souls. My teacher had once said that the Half-dead Enchantresses could detach their souls out from their bodies. But, if they leave their bodies for too long, they can never return. They will no longer be Half-dead Enchantress but stray ghosts.

    ¡°As you see¡­ There¡¯s a tiny de here. If the cuff is under heavy pressure, the de wille out gradually and make them feel more and more pain over time.

    ¡°As the Half-dead Enchantresses feel the pain from their body getting stronger, they will stop lingering in the Pale Tide and immediately return to their body, their souls¡¯ homes.¡±

    ¡°Is it like a clock?¡± Annan asked.

    He knew that there were already clocks that could work as timers in this era.

    Benjamin nodded, ¡°Yes. In fact, it¡¯s like a stopwatch¡­ The one I showed to you previously! It won¡¯t run like an ordinary pocket watch, but it can be urately timed. After activating it, the time disyed will flow in reverse and make a ding sound at 0:00. It is said that the Alteration Wizards have this thing for experiments¡­ Um, sorry.¡±

    Realizing that he was going off-topic again, Benjamin stopped abruptly.

    But Annan had already obtained the crucial information he needed.

    For Half-dead Enchantresses, the body is the home of the soul.

    He immediately remembered his main mission in the dream world.

    Go home¡­

    At that moment, Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    ¡ªIn the dream world, Annan would hear the reversed singing from the reflection in theke.

    ¡ªAfter each death, he would return to reality from the dream.

    ¡ªThe mission required ¡°Evelyn¡± to keep her limbs intact in the dream.

    ¡ªThe sacrificial ritual must bepleted in reality.

    Also, the Pale Princess was known as the Bondless Princess. Her priestesses couldn¡¯t fall in love with anyone, including themselves.

    ¡­Of course, Benjamin was no exception.

    Annan nced at Benjamin subconsciously.

    He probably understood the situation.

    ¡°Evelyn¡± might have already been dead for a while, and that so-called dream¡­ should be at the church that her soul saw after leaving her body.

    Ordinary people would get seriously ill simply from a glimpse at the Pale Tide, even if they immediately ran back and hid in the house. Let¡¯s not forget that Evelyn was obsessed with watching the Pale Princess¡¯s entire dance up close.

    She was probably dead by then.

    But obviously, the Pale Princess was interested in her pure soul.

    Just as the Venerated Skeleton kept the dead ¡°Elle¡± alive for a while¡­ ¡°Evelyn¡± could be the Pale Princess¡¯s ¡°Elle¡±. Currently, Evelyn was already a Half-dead Enchantress. That was why she could hear the ghost¡¯s voice faintly from time to time and enter the dream world.

    For Evelyn, this was a ¡°prophesying dream¡±.

    Instead of seeing the future, she entered the ¡°real Pale Church¡± in a soul state!

    Therefore, when she smashed open the ¡°cell door¡± in the soul world, the door in reality was also opened.

    The fallen soldier statue at the door might also be because the ¡°David¡± in the dream violently moved it away.

    Evelyn suddenly asked Benjamin to apany her to the Pale Church, probably because the ritual of transforming her into a Half-dead Enchantress required Benjamin toplete the final step.

    ¡°Evelyn¡± fell into the water and fell down the stairs again, perhaps because she instinctively refused this matter ¨C she hoped that Benjamin could get out of here.

    However, if Benjamin left this ce, she couldn¡¯t be reborn as Half-dead Enchantress ¨C as the ¡°Dancer under the Moon¡± would abandon her. Instead, she would diepletely when she returned home.

    That was why the mission Annan received in reality was ¡°Don¡¯t go home¡±!

    If she gave up the sacrificial ritual, she would lose the Pale Princess¡¯s favor and turn into a corpse.

    This might have been Evelyn¡¯s original ending.

    If she loved Benjamin, she wouldn¡¯t be willing to let Benjamin cut off her head, given that she had such a pure heart that even the Pale Princess was impressed.

    Therefore, the main mission that Annan actually got would guide him to the ¡°next main mission¡±.

    He would have to go through the ¡°dream world¡± a few more times before he could acquire the ¡°real¡± main mission that finally made him leave the nightmare!

    That being the case, there was only one question left ¡ª Whose nightmare was this?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 238: Mobius Ring

    <h4>Chapter 238: Mobius Ring</h4>

    Annan was feeling quiteplicated.

    It didn¡¯t matter whether Evelyn gave up the ritual orpleted it.

    The only difference was whether her physical body left Benjamin or her heart.

    In actual history, Benjamin would enter the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, be an Alteration Wizard, recruit many apprentices, and sell Alteration products.Was it all because he had attributed Evelyn¡¯s death that year as his fault because he didn¡¯t get an ointment for her?

    Everything seems to be connected.

    ording to Salvatore, many Alteration products for civilian usage had only begun to appear in the Noah Kingdom in thest dozen years.

    The ¡°Flesh Thread¡± that could sew together wounds, the ¡°Sorceress Ointment¡± that could heal burns, and the ¡°Elixir¡± that relieved any injuries. These ointments had be so much cheaper due to the improvement in the product manufacturing process. There were also spectacles, artificial gemstones, high-quality gauze, and sails made with Alteration arts.

    The most famous and iconic product was the ¡°Green Fire¡± that had now reached thousands of households in the Noah Kingdom, almost recing the use of candles.

    On the other hand, Benjamin¡¯s contribution to improving the synthesization process of the Elixir, the Sorceress Ointment, and the Green Fire granted him the honorary title ¡°Master Benjamin¡±.

    The improvement ideas of these Alteration products were simr.

    Rather than amplifying their effects on Transcended, he chose a synthesis method that abstained from using the expensive materials, significantly reducing the price of production. In the end, he improved the Alteration arts catered for civilians that were simple and low cost.

    Evelyn is likely Benjamin¡¯s obsession that will always haunt his mind.

    The main reason for Evelyn¡¯s death was that she watched the Pale Princess¡¯s dance during the Pale Tide.

    As for the reason she was fascinated by the Pale Princess¡¯s dance was because she was obsessed with dancing.

    This obsession came from her disfigured face by a fire.

    She had a disfigured face because she couldn¡¯t afford the ¡°Sorceress Ointment¡± to heal her burns.

    Evelyn wasn¡¯t born poor.

    She wasn¡¯t forced into anybor or farm work. Apparently, she had no calluses on her hands, and she knew Benjamin. So it wasn¡¯t poverty that stopped her from being treated.

    It was because of the arrogance of the wizards.

    Salvatore told Annan that the wizards monopolized the technology in that era.

    Not to mention ordinary people, even other types of Transcended could hardly buy any wizard¡¯s inventions. Money didn¡¯t help in this situation because wizards strictly forbid the sale of Alteration products to anyone outside of the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    You could apply the product for them, but you couldn¡¯t sell those products.

    Their goal was to prevent the Alteration Wizards of other towers from cracking their Alteration ideas and imitating their arts into crafting better Alteration products.

    The situation had changed twenty yearster, probably due to Benjamin¡¯s efforts.

    He improved many civilian versions of ¡°Alteration products¡±, used them to dominate the low-end market, and helped Swamp¡¯s ck Tower earn a huge sum of money. At the same time, it also incurredpetition from wizards in other countries, forcing them to put down their ego and research ¡°Alteration products for ordinary people¡±.

    It had indirectly pressured wizards worldwide to share their technology with ordinary people.

    This was an era that alchemists could never imagine before the wizard¡¯s Unification War.

    Benjamin was an Alteration Wizard who wanted to use Alteration products that only Alteration Wizard could make to benefit and help the public.

    But who would have known that the change of an era was because of a dancer disfigured by fire?

    Annan thought about it silently.

    He was a little worried that Benjamin would be reluctant to host the ritual for her.

    When Annan and Benjamin came out of the ¡°»Ø-shaped room¡±, Annan faintly heard something.

    The sound was faint and distant¡­

    It seemed like¡­ an ethereal singing voice.

    ¡°Did you hear anything?¡± Annan suddenly had a thought in his heart and asked Benjamin in a low volume.

    Benjamin was stunned for a moment. He frowned and listened for quite a while, then slowly shook his head, ¡°No, not at all. Let me listen more carefully¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ Maybe I misheard it.¡± Annanforted tenderly.

    But the singing in his ear became clearer and clearer, ¡°Life is bright and beautiful, but it is a prison;

    ¡°Love is fiery and brilliant, but it is the fire that confuses the eye;

    ¡°The wandering dancer who pursues beauty and freedom¡ª

    ¡°The Pale already knows your purpose,

    ¡°Dedicate your soul remnant and love to the Pale;

    ¡°Dedicate your head and blood to the Pale¡­¡±

    It was a simr poem Annan had read in the letter he found in the dream world.

    That voice ising from right above me.

    The ghosts are in the lobby!

    Annan immediately realized that this was the reversed hymn he heard in the ¡°Reflection of the Church in the Lake¡±!

    The moment he heard the hymn, Annan lost consciousness again.

    He awoke back at the dungeon cell¡¯s entrance again. The same spot where he traversed between reality and the dream world previously.

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Annan was startled.

    Behind him, the cell door was wide open, but no one was inside.

    The chain that he had removed was still intact.

    He twisted the lock and found out that it was still intact.

    Was I spawned at an earlier timeline? Annan walked forward while being upied with his thoughts.

    But this time, Annan didn¡¯t see the candlelight.

    He walked to the middle of the corridor, only to see that the table blocked the path leading to the ¡°guillotine room¡±.

    Annan struck the match and lit the candle, but the candlelight was too dim.

    The light was not enough to illuminate the entire corridor. The faint light hardly reached the middle of the passage.

    Ineed to move this table out of the way.

    ¡°Hmm, I should slow down a little bit.¡± Annan muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s see if the letter is different this time¡­¡±

    After speaking his mind out loud, Annan skillfully opened the letter.

    Then, he was stupefied on the spot.

    The paper strip was much longer than what he first saw!

    ¡°To the person who are loved by the Pale:

    ¡°The pursuit of a tragic love,

    ¡°Imprisonment in the shell of life,

    ¡°The wandering dancer who pursues beauty and freedom¡ª

    ¡°The Pale already knows your purpose,

    ¡°Through this door,

    ¡°Dedicate your soul remnant to the Pale,

    ¡°Send your lover to freedom,

    ¡°Offer your head to the earth,

    ¡°You shall receive a condensed soul, a pure spirit;

    ¡°Or to leave here,

    ¡°Follow the mortal rules and send the soul remnant back to the earth¡ª

    ¡°You will be remembered dearly.

    ¡°The choice is yours,

    ¡°¡ªbut I already know your answer.¡±

    It was a narrow strip of paper, about four fingers wide.

    After reading the note, Annan understood something.

    He had made some incorrect assumptions.

    When ¡°Citalopram¡± created a character, she was only at Level 5¡­ So Annan thought that the profession of Half-dead Enchantress should start at Level 5.

    But it could be because the profession offered to the yer was a more simplified version ¨C or Evelyn really had an extremely pure heart.

    If she was willing to be a Half-dead Enchantress, she could even start at the Silver Rank directly!

    The upper limit of the priesthood was at Silver Rank!

    With that said, Evelyn even had the talent to be a pope.

    In this case, it was beyond doubt that Evelyn, the future Half-dead Enchantress was the owner of the nightmare!

    Since Evelyn hadpleted the ritual and became a half-human and half-undead¡­ why did she die?

    If she really died, shouldn¡¯t she be a wandering spirit following the Pale Princess?

    Could it be that turning into a wandering spirit can also cause nightmares?

    Or¡­

    Another doubt floated in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Benjamin had a desire to advance into Gold Rank.

    He had been stagnant in Silver Rank for more than 20 years. Was it really because he couldn¡¯t find a way to advance into Gold Rank?

    Or was it that his original goal was to be the pope for ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±?

    Annan suddenly remembered something.

    In the ¡°White Tower¡±, he told Benjamin that he and Salvatore joined forces to kill Gerald.

    At that time, Benjamin probably didn¡¯t know that Gerald would survive in the end andpete with him for Michngelo¡¯s resurrection.

    But then Benjamin muttered, ¡°Just as I expected.¡±

    This showed that Benjamin knew from the very beginning that his future self would have murderous intentions towards Gerald sooner orter.

    If that is the case, the answer was clear.

    Benjamin and Michngelo had known each other for a long time.

    For the ¡°matching¡± during that event, Benjamin didn¡¯t partner up with Gerald and Michngelo didn¡¯t team up with Melvin. Michngelo had misled Annan!

    Michngelo¡¯s duo wasn¡¯t Benjamin but Melvin!

    The Melvin he killed was Gerald¡¯s partner!

    Benjamin, who had witnessed everything from the beginning, was toozy to care. Benjamin didn¡¯t interfere with Michngelo¡¯s ritual because he had to preside over Michngelo¡¯s resurrection ritual in the future and help Michngelo achieve divinity!

    As for his reasons¡­

    ¡°¡­Oh, yes.¡± Annan muttered.

    He folded the upper and lower ends of the note in his hand and then slowly tore it open. That was to prevent misleading the past self¡­ and thus achieve the perfect loop.

    Benjamin likely entered this nightmare at some point and learned of Evelyn¡¯s actual whereabouts.

    Evelyn hadn¡¯t be a Half-dead Enchantress, so she hadn¡¯t forgotten about Benjamin.

    However, she didn¡¯t die because the one who killed her was her future self!

    The real Half-dead Enchantress was forever trapped in the cracks of time, where no one could love her.

    She gained the Half-dead Enchantress¡¯s Transcended power but managed to escape the fate of forgetting the one she loved, at the cost of being caught in a loop of ¡°the past¡±.

    From then, Benjamin¡¯s goal had never changed.

    He wanted to be the Man in the Mirror¡¯s pope and acquire the elements of mirror and time.

    That way, he could plunge his consciousness into this infinite loop and rescue Evelyn from the fate of dedicating her soul to the Pale Princess!

    In front of Annan, the actual main mission slowly emerged.

    [Main mission: Create a loop.]

    Below this main mission, three side missions slowly appeared.

    [Witness thepletion of the sacrificial ritual.]

    [Light the candles as a Half-dead Enchantress.]

    [Return to the beginning.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 239: Nightmare: Reflection! Dungeon Cleared!

    <h4>Chapter 239: Nightmare: Reflection! Dungeon Cleared!</h4>

    After acquiring the nightmare¡¯s true main mission, Annan knew what he needed to do.

    He first dragged the table to the middle of the corridor, then put the paper strip back into the letter. Next, he entered the ¡°guillotine room¡± with a lit candle and lit all the candles inside.

    Then, Annan directly lit the candle on the table outside.

    He had originally thought of entering the guillotine room again, chopping off his own head, and returning to reality.

    However, that was no longer necessary..

    After Annan lit the candle on the table, he felt a trance and returned to reality again.

    At this point, the young Benjamin seemed to have realized what was going on.

    He just sat beside the unconscious Evelyn, lowered his head, and drifted off in his thoughts. Annan didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, but he wasn¡¯t in a good mood.

    Wow, you lived up to the honorary title ¡°Master Benjamin¡± in the future!

    That¡¯s quick thinking¡­

    Seeing that Benjamin didn¡¯t want to move forward, Annan spoke softly, ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    He took the initiative to reach out and grab Benjamin¡¯s hand.

    It appeared as if Benjamin didn¡¯t want to break free from Evelyn¡¯s hand¡­

    He froze for a moment but stood up with Annan¡¯s guidance.

    ¡°Evelyn¡­¡±

    After walking along with Annan silently for a while, Benjamin spoke hesitantly and asked in a dejected voice, ¡°Do you¡­

    ¡°¡­want to leave me?¡±

    When Annan heard this question, his footsteps stopped slightly.

    Since this was Evelyn¡¯s nightmare in the future, it meant that Benjamin agreed to help her hold the ritual in the end.

    Then, Annan shouldn¡¯t have revealed too much¡­

    With the attitude of spilling out too much information might stir up troubles, Annan sighed and whispered, ¡°If I leave this ce with you now, I will leave you forever.¡±

    Undeniably, that was the truth.

    As soon as Annan said these words, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by himself. Finally, I speak in honesty inside a nightmare. What a rare experience!

    I¡¯m too kind.

    I will do my best in my act here so that you both will have a happy ending in the future.

    I¡¯m a kind single person.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart.

    Benjamin, you silly boy. You¡¯re forcing someone who loves you to put up an act.

    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± After staring at Annan for a while, Benjamin could only mutter under the persuasion of Evelyn¡¯s sincere eyes.

    After that, he remained silent, watching Annan walk to the final room and open the door.

    Seeing the decayed and deless guillotine, he looked as though he had lost his soul.

    Annan couldn¡¯t bear to see Benjamin in this state.

    He added in a low volume, ¡°It¡¯s fine, Benjamin.

    ¡°The future you¡­ will find me.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Benjamin¡¯s pupils lit up slightly.

    Annan nodded solemnly.

    Indeed, he came from the future.

    Benjamin became a pope, and his primary goal was to travel back in time and cut off Evelyn¡¯s loop.

    The time when he learned about this should have been not long before he went to the White Tower.

    Benjamin should have obtained the key to the nightmare and learned the truth at that time.

    Annan hesitated for a moment but replied in a low volume, ¡°Yes, because¡­ I came back from the future.

    ¡°This ce is a nightmare.¡±

    Immediately, Annan briefly exined the mechanism of this nightmare and what Benjamin would do in the future.

    Since it was just a nightmare anyway, so it didn¡¯t hurt to tell him.

    Looking at the child¡¯s despairing expression, Annan couldn¡¯t bear it. He didn¡¯t even know how Evelyn could bear it that time and asked Benjamin toplete this ritual.

    ¡°I would like to believe you.¡± After Benjamin listened to Annan¡¯s narration, he pondered for a long time before slowly nodding. Finally, he said solemnly, ¡°But it¡¯s not because you told me this¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re Evelyn.¡±

    But I have told you that I¡¯m not the real Evelyn¡ª

    Annan was about to refute with this reason, but he suddenly understood what he meant.

    At this time, Benjamin hadn¡¯t yet entered the circles of Transcended. Nightmares, loops, the future¡­ these elements were too distant for him.

    From his point of view, Evelyn might have made it up to deceive him.

    What Benjamin meant was ¡ª Even if it was Evelyn who made these all up to deceive him, he was willing to believe in such a bizarre thing.

    Annan was silent for a while, and the corners of his mouth raised.

    He handed the rope to the young Benjamin with a sincere smile, and hey down in front of the rotten guillotine.

    The next moment, Annan fell into a trance and entered the dream world again.

    At this time, he saw another ¡°Evelyn¡± standing uneasily in front of him, appearing as if she would turn around at any second.

    So, Annan stopped her immediately, ¡°Annan, don¡¯t move and don¡¯t look back!¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, ¡°Evelyn¡± stopped immediately and stood silently in ce.

    Annan paused, upied in thoughts.

    So, I have returned to that time¡­

    He quickly calmed down and continued, ¡°Hurry up and lie there¡­ Ah, you don¡¯t have to raise your butt. En, I will mention a key phrase to convince you to trust me, yers and nning. Alright? Hurry up, stop wasting time¡­¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t even have to search for it from his memory because he could easily say something like that.

    Seeing the ¡°Evelyn on Life x 2¡± lying obediently in front of the guillotine, Annan looked at the rope connected to the guillotine beside the guillotine with some hesitation.

    Do you want me to cut it off?

    The idea promptly rose in his mind, but he didn¡¯t even have the time to follow suit when the rope suddenly started burning by itself..

    It¡¯s Benjamin in reality!

    The guillotine fell, cutting off Evelyn¡¯s head. The head simply fell off andnded in the white flower basket.

    Strangely, Evelyn didn¡¯t bleed much after her decapitation.

    In other words, her blood had coagted for a long time.

    Seeing her hairless, scar-filled head fall into the flower basket, Annan was frozen in ce for a while.

    ¡­Evelyn, she has been dead for a long time.

    Annan thought. He observed the corpse on the guillotine and the skin in the dream world, which gradually became transparent.

    The corpse also began to shine, gradually turning into particles of light and disappearing.

    His body absorbed those light particles.

    His soul seemed to grow more robust, and the transparent feeling dissipated.

    Countless Transcended knowledge emerged in Annan¡¯s mind. It was the gift of the Pale Princess.

    Annan already had knowledge of most of this information¡­ but for Evelyn, this was an introduction to a whole new world.

    At that moment, Annan seemed to realize something.

    When Evelyn was at Life x 1, did shee up with this solution to enter the crack between life and death?

    She figured out that she could store her soul in a nightmare¡­

    While Annan was in his thoughts, the power of unfamiliar elements flowed in Evelyn¡¯s body. It gave off a simr feeling when he activated the [Frost Sword].

    Is this the power that belongs to a Silver Rank?

    What element is this?

    Annan¡¯s mind raced. His hand gently brushed the rope, and it repaired itself quickly. He caressed the flower basket, and the pure white flower basket became brand new. Annan pulled the guillotine to the highest point again and tied it back in ce.

    Annan then went back to the ground and picked up the chain at the door.

    He finally saw it¡­

    Countless transparent men, women, and children all smiled and apuded him as if he had just given a perfect speech.

    Annan looked down at his body that seemed real and finally bowed to them politely.

    Then, those people dispersed again and returned to their previous positions.

    Annan moved the statue back to its original position, holding the chain back to the ¡°prison¡± in the basement.

    He reached out and touched the door lock, which returned to its initial state.

    He closed the door and fastened the chain. He put his hand into the handcuffs and then carefully tightened it. In the process, Annan inevitably scraped his left wrist¡­ It was as if he had struggled hard, leaving some bruises.

    Fresh blood rather than dried blood was pouring out of Evelyn¡¯s wrist.

    [Health: 80%]

    Annan stared at the fresh blood slowly oozing out from his wrist.

    To convert dried blood back into fresh blood¡­Is this also the power of this element?

    Reversing the broken, giving new life to the old¡­

    Evelyn¡¯s power isn¡¯t about time and mirror images, but some ability rted to new life.

    ¡­I see. Annan understood.

    Evelyn didn¡¯t travel through time at all.

    The real Evelyn had already be a Half-dead Enchantress.

    However, as she was about to die, she forced herself to believe that this was reality.

    That was why Annan woke up here in the first ce.

    Evelyn was just a Silver Rank Transcended.

    Her power was far from being able to reverse the boundary between reality and the dream world.

    But if all this was her dream, then it all made sense.

    She constructed such a nightmare to contain her soul. She didn¡¯t die nor did she dedicate her soul to the Pale Princess; the price was that she would keep repeating this never-ending cycle of nightmares.

    The only way out was to wait for the future Benjamin to decipher the nightmare messages, cut off the curse, and forcibly intercept her soul.

    What an impressive task.

    What an incredible level of trust.

    [Health: 30%]

    Annan suddenly felt a wave of sudden drowsiness, and he subconsciously opened his mission panel.

    [Main mission: Create a loop. (Completed)]

    [Witness thepletion of the sacrificial ritual. (Completed)]

    [Light the candles as a Half-dead Enchantress. (Completed)]

    [Return to the beginning. (Completed)]

    [Health: 5%]

    ¡­I did everything I could.

    When Evelyn woke up again, she would forget all of this.

    It was just a forgotten dream for ¡°Evelyn by the Lake¡±. ¡°Benjamin¡± in the nightmare would also be reset.

    When she came to theke, she would still see Evelyn smiling and chatting¡­ until she plunged into theke, returned to another world, and activated a new loop.

    As for how to save your childhood sweetheart, it would be up to you, Pope Benjamin.

    Thinking of this, Annan drifted off to sleep.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 240: The Pale Princessâ€™s Attention

    <h4>Chapter 240: The Pale Princess¡¯s Attention</h4>

    [The nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purified the nightmare with a designated identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Constructed a perfect loop. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Received approval from the Pale Princess. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation ¡ª A]

    [Obtained 150 points of Shared Experience. Perception+1.]

    [Obtained dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (Wizard) increases by 3 levels.]

    [Hidden plotline has been decrypted: 75%]

    [You may receive the second stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 66%).]

    ¡°¡­Receive.¡± Annan took a deep breath and adjusted his body on the bed so that he could liefortably on the pillow.

    I just happened to reveal ? of the plot¡­

    It didn¡¯t go beyond Annan¡¯s expectations.

    After all, Annan only figured out the mechanism behind this dungeon instance, but he couldn¡¯t break off the loop. It was something Benjamin had to do by himself. Moreover, he would have to prepare the items or learn abilities to intercept and store the soul in advance so that when Evelyn¡¯s soul escaped the infinite loop, he could capture it as soon as possible.

    Judging from the fact that Annan was able to get the second stage dungeon instance reward, Benjamin¡¯s progress in decrypting this nightmare shouldn¡¯t be as far as Annan imagined.

    What Benjamin faced was his ¡°old self¡± in his nightmare.

    It seemed like Benjamin didn¡¯t even fully understand the situation at the time, but he had already made up his mind to save Evelyn.

    ¡°What a romantic Benjamin is¡­¡± Annan muttered.

    [Acquired dungeon instance decryption reward: Curse Vessel ¡ª ¡°White Guillotine¡±]

    [White Guillotine]

    [Type: Weapon/Tool/Misceneous (Dark Purple)]

    [Description: A guillotine that has severed countless heads remains as white as jade. Users approved by the Pale Princess can hold it without a hilt.£Ý

    [Effect: The owner will suffer the curse ¡°God-sent Beheader¡± and ¡°Divine Cut¡±]

    [God-sent Beheader: You must behead at least one other person within 24 hours after this weapon sees blood, else your own head will be decapitated. Once you have inflicted a ¡°decapitation¡± injury, the beheaded¡¯s soul will be sent to the Pale Princess, which will cause the decapitated to die instantly.]

    [Divine Cut: When the weapon inflicts ¡°cut¡± damage to a living enemy, the damage done can ignore the enemy¡¯s armor and inflictplete damage. When it inflicts ¡°cut¡± damage to ghosts and spirit-type enemies, the damage is considered divine art damage.]

    ¡°¡­What a strange weapon.¡± Watching the guillotine gradually took shape from the void andy peacefully on his quilt, Annan turned silent.

    For ordinary human enemies, beheading already meant ¡°immediate death¡±. The instant death effect wasn¡¯t quite helpful. Necks unprotected by armor were so vulnerable that Annan could sever them with his existing kitchen knife. Hence, the armor-piercing property wasn¡¯t that useful either.

    The good news was that it was a dark purple weapon.

    After ignoring the conditions to activate its effects, it was still quite a powerful weapon in terms of stats alone.

    A weapon that ignored natural armor types such as scales, muscles, and bones. Moreover, it gave Annan the option to attack spirits without activating the [Silver Hand]. Also, he could defeat the enemy that could regenerate infinitely in one hit.

    This was undoubtedly a weapon that specialized in ¡°fighting undead monsters¡±, as long as they had a neck.

    It¡¯s actually the Mortal de.

    [TN: A Sekiro Die Twice weapon.]

    Annan was speechless.

    From another point of view, the conditions of the weapon were too harsh, and the cost of using it wasn¡¯t too serious.

    Once it was unsheathed (Figuratively speaking, there was no sheath.), the user was required to decapitate someone within twenty-four hours. That was to say, if Annan intended to use this weapon, it meant he had to kill at least one person.

    Let¡¯s archive this weapon for the time being.

    I should unseal this when I encounter a formidable opponent¡­

    Annan imagined himself holding a bloody kitchen knife in one hand, a guillotine de like another giant kitchen knife in the other hand; or a sledgehammer in one hand and a giant sword in the other¡­

    He shuddered a little.

    This style doesn¡¯t feel quite right.

    It doesn¡¯t feel like the image of a magician!

    I think I would look much cooler holding a kitchen knife in one hand and a hammer in the other.

    Annan tried to wield the [White Guillotine]. He smiled with satisfaction once he confirmed that [Parallel Comprehension] ability was triggered normally.

    I should keep it.

    Annan thought for a moment, got out of the quilt, and put on a coat casually.

    Then, he went to find a roll of bandages and wrapped the [White Guillotine].

    Its de wasn¡¯t too sharp; it probably could be considered blunt.

    However, its curse was enough to sever anyone¡¯s head easily.

    Annan was suddenly curious. If I wrap it with a bandage, will the curse itself still work?

    If that works, should I put it in a scabbard? Would the weapon still function normally?

    Beheading an enemy directly with the scabbard¡­

    ¡°If that can work too, it would be interesting.¡± Annan sighed.

    It¡¯s a pity that my character design seems to be getting weirder.

    However, now that I have personally experienced the information of the Half-dead Enchantress¡­

    Annan pondered a little and tweaked Citalopram¡¯s spawn location.

    Then, he began to write a customized starting plotline for her.

    Since she was a Half-dead Enchantress, she had to y this role well.

    Just looking at the item ¡°recognized by the Pale Princess¡± in the mission score, Annan was startled.

    Annan knew that this dungeon instance belonged to the Pale Princess.

    Benjamin put the [Chaos Spell: Denial of Life] as the core reward of the nightmare, which meant that he must have reached some kind of agreement with the Pale Princess.

    The side effect of this spell was to fall into this nightmare that was under the Pale Church¡¯s control.

    This chaos spell wasn¡¯t the divine art used by the priest but a spell that borrowed the deity¡¯s power as a ¡°non-believer¡±.

    The price they paid was to be engraved with the traces of the divine power ¡ª ¡°influence¡±.

    Their souls were teleported across regions and entered a nightmare even without a key when the chaos spell¡¯s effect wore off.

    Sure enough, someone must have realized that nightmares could be entered this way, but they might not necessarily have cleared the nightmare. It was likely that the deity¡¯s believers discovered it.

    Not all deities had as many priests as an upright deity. Moreover, the priests didn¡¯t have to do anything. As long as they cleansed the nightmares, they wouldn¡¯t starve to death.

    For false deities, their believers were only required to ¡°discover¡± the nightmare.

    So, this group of people was also known as ¡°traveling priests¡±.

    They looked as though they were preaching their faith, but they were actually searching for nightmares. As long as they find a nightmare simr or consistent with their deity¡¯s domain, they could borrow the Divine Art¡¯s power to anchor it.

    ¡ªIn other words, when they encountered dungeons they couldn¡¯t defeat or didn¡¯t have the spare time to challenge, they would share those dungeons with other Transcended. In return, the Transcended would have to work and pay off their debts.

    When an anchored dungeon instance was purified, it would produce a holy light engraving belonging to the corresponding false deity. Usually, these Transcended would utilize these engravings to purify their erosion rate or purchase new chaos spells.

    This was how those Transcended who walked the path of chaos would improve themselves.

    They were the PvE yers who wouldn¡¯t participate in the main storyline when they farm the dungeons.

    [TN: PvE stands for yers vs. environment.]

    The speed at which they improved their strength was much faster than the Transcended at the same level.

    After all, even if ordinary Transcended found a nightmare, it took a long time to explore it. The advantage was that the Transcended in his category could dig deeper into the secrets of these nightmares.

    On the other hand, Transcended who have borrowed a false deity¡¯s power had the opportunity to improve their might via this one-time nightmare quickly. The good news was that they would know what was the nightmare¡¯s central theme before going in.

    Although the night could only be entered once, the probability of one passing would be higher. The price was that once you failed, your erosion rate would skyrocket.

    Evelyn¡¯s nightmare was clearly in the hands of the Pale Princess. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be assigned to Annan.

    The traveling priests didn¡¯t find this nightmare and ¡°share¡± it out.

    From the very beginning, the Pale Princess kept this nightmare.

    It appeared that the Pale Princess granted Annan entry into this dungeon instance because he knew Benjamin.

    It was only the first try on the nightmare, and yet Annan attracted the Pale Princess¡¯s attention.

    If Annan acquired the influence of the ¡°Death Howl¡± a few more times, enter a different dungeon instance belonging to the Pale Princess or evenpletely purify a dungeon instance and obtain the Pale Princess¡¯s holy light engravings¡­

    He instinctively felt that the Pale Princess woulde over with her iconic scissors and take his head off one day.

    It was like the naughty kids stealing the fruits from the fruit trees by the streets.

    Since Annan couldn¡¯t be a Half-dead Enchantress, then he could only run away with his head in his arms.

    ¡°Hey, has Yiyi also brought in a neer?¡± Annan suddenly sensed that a new yer had entered the world.

    He opened his eyes curiously and opened the backend interface.

    Forget it. I¡¯m not sleeping tonight!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 241: Lin Erer & Dove

    <h4>Chapter 241: Lin Erer & Dove</h4>

    ¡°Stop wasting my time. Quickly sign this for me!¡±

    Lin Yiyi red and mmed the table, ¡°Quickly press your finger on it!¡±

    The spectacled youth in front of Lin Yiyi had a bitter look on his face. He pleaded with pitiful eyes, ¡°Sister! I¡¯m your blood-rted brother!¡±

    You can¡¯t scam your brother like that. Lin Erer murmured in his heart.

    Just by looking at their names, it was apparent that their father waszy in naming.

    Lin Erer received a call today. His sister gave the order, asking him to get a half-day leave from a school counselor. Then, he must arrive at the Mountain She Vi Area before dinner.

    In the end, Lin Erer skipped ss helplessly out of pressure. He requested three days¡¯ leave from the counselor with the excuse of ¡°my sister is getting married¡±.

    Seeing that he had to put down his studies for a few days temporarily, the youth put up a sad expression.

    Lin Erer didn¡¯t expect his elder sister to get familiar with a sugar mommy one day.

    Jiu Er was a streamer. Lin Erer heard of her before ¡ª she was a well-known rich woman in the streamer circle.

    ¡­or rather, Rich Loli.

    [TN: Young girls whose appearance is childlike.]

    Although Lin Erer was only a sophomore this year, he was also a streamer registered in the Fighting Cat Streaming tform.

    In the beginning, he existed as a ¡°tool¡± in Lin Yiyi¡¯s videos, often featured in cooperative gamey videos. The alias he often went with was ¡°Suuankou Tanki ¡°. [1]

    Since Lin Yiyi had the alias of ¡°Sister Hyphen¡±, Lin Erer was soon dubbed ¡°Brother Koutsu¡± [2] by the viewers.

    His skills and reflex weren¡¯t as good as his sister¡¯s, but he had greatedic effect for the audience. Also, he was quick-witted, enabling him to build a bond quickly with his audience and attain some poprity.

    After the college entrance examination, he registered a streaming ount when he had nothing to do and streamed ssic puzzle games like ¡°Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors¡°, ¡°Ace Attorney¡°, ¡°The Witch¡¯s House¡°, and so on.

    Unexpectedly, he became famous.

    In just over a year, he had be a well-known game streamer focusing on non-mainstream games. He had made a lot of money by ying new horror games, puzzle games, mahjong, and auto chess.

    When Lin Erer heard that Lin Yiyi had moved to Jiu Er¡¯s house some time ago, he was a little surprised.

    Yay!

    My elder sister has be the rich loli¡¯s sugar baby.

    I¡¯m so jealous¡­ Wait, no, it¡¯s disgusting!

    After a phone call with his sister, he thought he would be visiting for a free meal.

    But he didn¡¯t expect that¡­

    As soon as he got there, Lin Yiyi took him inside a room and asked him to sign a strange contract.

    What¡¯s the nonsense with this being an actual world, and there¡¯s a world creation engine?

    Lin Yiyi wasn¡¯t as smart as him, but her IQ wasn¡¯t terrible at all. After all, she graduated from a prestigious university.

    How did she get yed like a fiddle?

    ¡°Stop hesitating. Just sign it!¡± Lin Yiyi pped Lin Erer on the head, annoyed, ¡°Have you finished reading the contract? Have you remembered what¡¯s written on it? Hurry up and press your fingerprint on it. You don¡¯t need to put your hand on the ink pad¡­ I¡¯ll treat you to a dinner when you¡¯re done!¡±

    She was also quite helpless.

    Although she had the privilege to invite someone into that world, Lin Yiyi¡¯s social circle was limited. Due to her age and gender, her video manager wasn¡¯t quite close to her. Worse still, the manager wasn¡¯t great at games.

    Finally, after thinking a while, she realized she could only rely on her young brother.

    This naughty disciple hasn¡¯t helped me with videos for a long time. However, I have been helping out in his streams when he returns home during school breaks.

    Of course, Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t show her face.

    Instead, she only utilized her assets to catch viewers.

    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t have much to reveal.

    ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± Lin Erer helplessly pressed his fingerprint on the contract.

    Haih, I¡¯m just coaxing my elder sisterto make her happy.

    It¡¯s all for dinner¡¯s sake.

    Lin Yiyi suddenly remembered something. She stopped him nervously, ¡°By the way, don¡¯t choose the swordsman profession. Remember to look carefully. Different professions have different advantages. Read them in detail, and you will find out what¡¯s the right profession for you.¡±

    She had already asked for more details from Child God and Jiu Er.

    It appeared that everyone had different professions avable to them. There wasn¡¯t much strategy that Lin Yiyi could offer to her brother because of the randomization.

    Also, the difference in the professions¡¯ initial strength would assist the yers in finding the most suitable profession for them. If two professions had a simr power level, it was fine to choose either one. If only one profession stood out, it meant that the profession was the most suitable one.

    ¡°I got it, sis!¡± Lin Erer said impatiently, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a game? You have to trust my game talent.¡±

    When he pressed his fingerprint on the contract, Lin Erer felt something was wrong.

    He felt that it didn¡¯t feel like pressing on a paper.

    He subconsciously exerted a little more force, but his hand was knocked back by the feeling of static electricity.

    A tingling sensation ran from his fingertips to his elbows.

    Immediately after, Lin Erer saw that the three contract pages flew up by themselves and burned to ashes in the air¡ª

    Then, the thin youth with sses suddenly passed out.

    Seeing Lin Erer falling toward her, Lin Yiyi subconsciously retreated and dodged away from his fall perfectly. Only then did she realize that he shouldn¡¯t have avoided it.

    ¡°This is PTSD, and I¡¯m a veteran.¡± She helped Lin Erer up in guilt. She tried to drag him off the carpet and put him onto the bed but gave up after a few tries.

    So, Lin Yiyi decided to do the opposite, taking the pillow and quilt off for her brother and putting them on the carpet.

    ¡°Jiu Er¡¯s carpet is quite soft. It doesn¡¯t feel too cool. You can just lie down here and sleep.¡± Lin Yiyi mumbled, feeling a little thirsty.

    I should go to Jiu Er for a drink~

    After all, she had fooled her clever younger brother into the game, so Lin Yiyi walked out of the room happily.

    On the other side¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s ¡°invitation code¡± was also handed to thest yer of this batch.

    Without much hesitation, she chose the profession with a hunting bow and pets by her side.

    She had great confidence in her archery skills.

    Furthermore, this ¡°game¡± seemed to amplify her strength.

    After she invested all of her attribute points, she tried to clench her fist and found that her strength was slightly stronger than in reality, but her stamina seemed weaker. As for her flex and the uracy of movements, it was significantly better. She also found it easier to fix the arrow on the box and pull the string.

    [ID: Dove]

    Human. Female. Level 5.

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 10, Constitution 5, Perception 5, Will 5

    Avable Attribute Points: 0

    Shared Experience: 0

    Profession Overview:-

    Hunter LV5: [Curse Snatch LV1], [Shared Perception LV2], [Precision LV1]

    Animal Companions: Feline (Medium size) [Nightvision], [Silent Steps], [Stealth Proficiency]

    Temporary curse: Empty slot

    [Please confirm your initial panel.]

    ¡°Confirm,¡± Dove replied.

    She invested all her attribute points into the [Agility] attribute and increased [Shared Perception] by one level.

    This was because she didn¡¯t know much about the skill [Curse Snatch]¡­ and the description of [Precision] was that it greatly increased the uracy against static enemies within 50 meters.

    ¡­She didn¡¯t need this kind of buff.

    A fixed target within 50 meters was like challenging the ninth or tenth ring in target archery [3]. If she promoted this skill into Level 2, the skill would apply to ¡°low-speed dynamic targets¡± rather than static targets only.

    For a significant improvement, she would have to increase the skill to Level 4.

    Luckily, her archery was excellent due to her natural talent, and she could save a lot of skill points for other options.

    Dove realized that she fit extremely well in this profession.

    Her strength in this profession was much higher than all other professions. Moreover, she could choose [Bear] or [Big Cat] as her initial animalpanion!

    An armored bear could defeat 3 swordsmen of the same level.

    Despite that, she hesitated. In consideration of thete game, she chose the medium-sized cat.

    [TN: Late game refers to the final stage of the game/esports.]

    If Dove promoted [Shared Perception] into Level 2, she could exchange her vision with her animalpanion after a short dy.

    With that, she could be a scout roaming around the battlefield.

    She specially selected her animalpanions as felines to further enhance this functionality. Arge animal would struggle to stay stealthy while being too small in size would be too weak for fights. A medium-sized animal was optimal. Also, Dove chose her animalpanion¡¯s starting talent.

    As for the exterior¡­

    Dove had her obsessions and personal preferences. In the end, the pet was granted a Serval skin.

    Looking at the cat that appeared like a small cheetah in front of her, she was delighted.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 242: Lurker

    <h4>Chapter 242: Lurker</h4>

    Lin Erer was troubled and annoyed.

    His sister just said that different initial professions had varying power levels, but she didn¡¯t tell him how to check their power levels.

    Are you really my sister¡­

    ¡°In that case, I can only rely on my intuition.¡±

    Lin Erer concluded, ¡°She basically told me nothing.¡±

    Luckily, after he tried the professions one by one, he could still feel the subtle difference in his physical body.

    It seemed that after swapping around his profession several times, Lin Erer vaguely realized that the two most suitable professions seemed to be [Lurker] and [Wizard].

    ¡°Then, I shall pick the lurker ss.¡± Lin Erer pondered for a long time and made up his mind.

    Although wizard would never be the worst choice under any circumstances, he disliked fighting in the backline.

    He also didn¡¯t like assaulting the enemy in the frontline.

    The professions he preferred were the type that allowed him to strike the enemies while they couldn¡¯t. For example, mages focusing on crowd control or rogues proficient in stealth. These were hismon professions in MMORPGs.

    [Do you want to finalize your initial profession as a [Lurker]?]

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Erer answered affirmatively.

    Immediately, everything in front of him disappeared, and a pure ck standing mirror emerged.

    A line appeared above:

    [Please name your game character.]

    [Warning: Once confirmed, this could no longer be changed!]

    ¡°Suuankou.¡± Lin Erer replied.

    He thought the contract was just a prank at the start, so he only skimmed through it a little. Luckily, he roughly remembered the contents of the contract.

    Lin Erer simplified it because his typically used Game ID was too long to remember.

    Only the essential elements of the name ¡°Brother Koutsu¡± were kept.

    [TN: The Author refers to the Mahjong element in this part: Koutsu & Suuanko]

    It was unexpectedly simr to Longjing Tea¡¯s approach ??in picking a name.

    Another water ripple surfaced in the mirror, and then Suuankou¡¯s initial attributes emerged.

    [ID: Suuankou]

    Human. Male. Level 5.

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 7, Constitution 5, Perception 5, Will 5

    Avable Attribute Points: 3

    Shared Experience: 0

    Profession Overview:

    Lurker LV5: [Sneak LV1], [Skillful Hands LV1], [Backstab LV1]

    Avable Skill Points: 7

    Since he was in the thief ss category, he invested all his attribute points to Agility without a second thought.

    ¡ªSoon, another thought emerged.

    Considering that he might also need to shoulder the responsibility of detecting traps, he added 1 point into the Perception attribute. After discovering that he could revert his decision, he tried investing in all the attributes one by one.

    ¡°En, I can upgrade all my attributes except [Will] and [Constitution]?¡±

    Suuankou murmured, ¡°That means, Agility is the primary attribute for Lurkers. Strength and Perception are secondary attributes¡­¡±

    He hesitated for a moment but still evenly distributed the 3 avable attribute points on the usible options.

    Suuankou knew that if the distributed points couldn¡¯t be reset, the strategy of even distribution might not be the most optimal approach. Still, it was better than investing everything in one basket and messing up entirely.

    As for the following three skills¡ª

    Suuankou knew at a nce that the skills indicated the three major pathways of this profession.

    Should I focus on stealth, tools, or assassination?

    ¡°¡­Huh, this is a difficult decision.¡± Suuankou frowned in thought.

    He had 7 skill points avable to him, indicating that his decision in distributing them wouldrgely affect his profession¡¯s pathway. But he couldn¡¯t quit now and ask his sister how to choose. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t check the strategy online either.

    ¡°I can only rely on my wisdom!¡± He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, reading the 4 skills description.

    [Sneak LV1: Blend into the environment, making yourself harder to be noticed. At the current level, if you move, it will disrupt the stealth effect applied.]

    [Skillful Hands LV1: Lurkers have a pair of skillful hands, which can be used to create and useplex tools. Also, you¡¯re armed with the skill to install or dismantle traps. At the current level, you can dismantle simple locks nimbly.]

    [Backstab LV1: When attacking a target from behind, you may subconsciously hit the weak spot. At the current level, you need to observe the enemy for 5 seconds before you can activate the skill.]

    After that, Suuankou added 1 skill point each for each skill and observed the changes in the description.

    [Sneak LV2: Blend into the environment, making yourself harder to be noticed. At the current level, if you move, there is a high possibility that it will disrupt the stealth effect applied.]

    [Skillful Hands LV2: Lurkers have a pair of skillful hands, which can be used to create and useplex tools. Also, you¡¯re armed with the skill to install or dismantle traps. At the current level, you can dismantle simple locks nimbly. At the same time, you have a high possibility of thievery on a target human whose Perception is < 5="" (-="" 3="" from="" your="">

    [Backstab LV2: When attacking a target from the blind spot, you may hit the weak spot with higher precision. At the current level, you need to observe the enemy for 4 seconds before you can activate the skill.]

    Suuankou¡¯s pupils lit up slightly.

    He soon understood his situation.

    Although he didn¡¯t know what would be the correct approach in investing those skill points, he knew that the ¡°skill points efficacy¡± of different skills would be different.

    ording to the skills description, he could only move freely in stealth when the skill reached Level 4.

    Backstab required LV6 to allow immediate activation without any dy of observing the target.

    Until then, it didn¡¯t make much difference whether to observe the target for 5 seconds or 4.

    Unfortunately, Lurkers couldn¡¯t invest their attribute points into [Constitution]. Hence, it was quite a physically weak profession. If he couldn¡¯t escape, he could only resort to dealing a devastating blow before anything else.

    In this case, it wasn¡¯t quite necessary to invest skill points into [Backstab].

    Judging from how the profession was exined, he was like the yer approaching the enemy and pressing F for an aerial assassination. If the enemy wasn¡¯t deaf or blind, he must sneak over.

    Hence, [Sneak] was the essential requirement for movement. While he was approaching the target, the condition to activate [Backstab] was already fulfilled.

    To be cautious, Suuankou still added skill points one level at one time.

    When he promoted [Sneak] to LV4, its description suddenly changed.

    [Sneak LV4: Blend into the environment, making yourself harder to be noticed. At the current level, slow movements won¡¯t disrupt the stealth effect applied.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: After the enemy loses vision of you for 3 seconds, you may try to sneak again.]

    This is what I was looking for! Suuankou¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Sure enough, unique properties were introduced after the skill was upgraded to a certain level.

    Based on the usual standard, the next unique property would eithere at Lv6 or LV7.

    He had a total of 7 skill points. After consuming 5 of them, he only had 2 left.

    Hence, even if he invested everything in [Sneak], he wouldn¡¯t be able to trigger the next unique property.

    In this case, there was no doubt that he should go for [Skillful Hands]!

    After disregarding the necessity of the skill [Sneak], the skill that experienced exponential growth for each level of upgrade would be [Skillful Hands].

    It was given that he should learn how to install and dismantle traps.

    For the 2 remaining skill points, he should also be able to increase this skill to Level 4 and acquire its unique properties.

    Soon, Suuankou promoted [Skillful Hands] to Level 4.

    [Skillful Hands LV4: Lurkers have a pair of skillful hands, which can be used to create and useplex tools. Also, you¡¯re armed with the skill to install or dismantle traps. At the current level, you can dismantleplex locks nimbly. At the same time, you have a high possibility of thievery on a target human whose Perception is < 6="" (-="" 2="" from="" your="" perception);="" you="" may="" install="" and="" dismantle="" easy="">

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: Equivalent to having ¡°Dagger Proficiency LV1¡±, ¡°Throwing Proficiency Lv1¡±, and ¡°Firearms Proficiency LV1¡±]

    ¡°Great, perfect!¡± Suuankou apuded himself.

    As expected, the [Backstab] skill wasn¡¯t quite needed in the early stage. [Sneak] alone was enough for the time being. Also, he didn¡¯t expect to be able to run in stealth, so the cost-effectiveness was rtively low.

    The [Skillful Hands] skill was the skill with the best utility!

    ¡°It¡¯s only me who realizes this¡­¡± Suuankou smiled with satisfaction.

    He didn¡¯t put much effort into character customization.

    He only removed his short-sightedness which filled the beautification effect up to the limit. He took into ount that a rogue obviously couldn¡¯t afford to be shortsighted. Also, there were no spectacles in this era.

    It would be funny if he killed the wrong person because of short-sightedness.

    Though, it¡¯s a pleasant surprise that the game could eliminate my short-sightedness¡­

    Then, two lines of words appeared in front of him.

    [Returning to the material world.]

    [Entering the Mist Continent.]

    ¡°Wow, I can finally start ying the game!¡± Suuankou cheered loudly.

    He chose the second option without hesitation.

    ¡­But, it feels like I¡¯ve forgotten something.

    Hmm, it shouldn¡¯t be a big deal. The game is more important.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 243: I Shall Punish You All.jpg

    <h4>Chapter 243: I Shall Punish You All.jpg</h4>

    ¡°Is this the [Lurker] profession¡¯s unique characteristic?¡±

    Looking through Suuankou¡¯s character attributes from the backend interface, Annan murmured.

    The [Swordsman] profession¡¯s unique characteristic was the system of skills that could be changed at any time with different types of ¡°swordsmanship¡± as the core of the skill system. As long as you switch your swordsmanship, you can rece all swordsmanship skills with other skills.

    For example, ¡°Bodyguard Swordsmanship¡± and ¡°Military swordsmanship¡±. The system acted like a pseudo skill reset, or rather the opportunity to ¡°switch their talent¡±.

    The [Hunter] profession¡¯s uniqueness came from their ability to snatch others¡¯ curses and store them, giving them the option to pick the curse they needed at any time, like changing equipment.

    As for the unique feature of the [Lurker] profession, it was double the skill points.

    For [Swordsman] and [Hunter], each level only provided 1 skill point. On the other hand, [Lurker] would acquire 2 skill points for every level up.

    This ensured that those with the [Lurker] profession could easily reach the critical level at Level 4 or Level 7.

    From the backend interface, Annan could see it more clearly.

    The [Lurker] profession had an abundance of skills.

    Based on quantity alone, the number of skills avable to the [Lurker] profession was second only to the wizard¡¯s spell list. It had more skills than a swordsman too.

    The system assessed Lin Erer¡¯spatibility with the [Lurker] profession and assigned the three primary skill trees of ¡°Sneak¡±, ¡°Tools¡±, and ¡°Assassination¡± to him during character creation. Even so, the skills included in those groups were less than two-thirds of the [Lurker] profession.

    Apparently, the [Lurker] profession offered diverse advancement paths.

    For the skills disyed on Annan¡¯s control panel, there were a few more of them suitable for Lin Erer.

    ¡°The way he invested his skill points is quite smart,¡± Annan concluded.

    This yer seems like he is experienced in ying games.

    For inexperienced rogue yers, they will definitely invest everything on [Backstab], which is their damage output.

    He seems to have some experience in dungeon raids since he prioritizes [Sneak] and [Skillful Hands], understanding that his primary role is to disarm traps and scout the path ahead. Currently, he isn¡¯t required to assassinate anyone.

    Also, not everyone has the chance of acquiring [Skillful Hands].

    In fact, the only essential skill for [Lurker] was [Sneak].

    For any additional skills, it depended on your luck¡­or, in other words, your talent.

    Suuankou seemed to have struck the best approach in distributing his points in his attribute panel. The only room for improvement would be that particr 1 skill point wasted in promoting [Backstab] to Level 2. A better approach was to invest it into [Skillful Hands].

    If Skillful Hands reached Level 5, Suuanko could craft simple traps. Take note, it was crafting, but not just ¡°installing¡± a trap.

    This improvement was at least much better than the [Backstab] skill.

    But what Suuankou didn¡¯t know was¡­ Backstab¡¯s special effect after attaining Level 4 was quite valuable.

    [Backstab LV4: When attacking a target from the blind spot, you may hit the weak spot with higher precision. At the current level, you need to observe the enemy for 1 second before you can activate the skill.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: You may roughly sense the enemy¡¯s location whose weaknesses have been identified within 3 seconds of them leaving your field of vision.]

    In other words, the reason why Suuankou would want to have the [Backstab] skill wasn¡¯t exactly for the ¡°assassinate¡±ponent, but to ¡°track¡± the target.

    In general, his talent was still inclined toying traps.

    ¡°¡­He was probably a Teemo or Shaco yer.¡±

    Annan thought for a while and arranged 2 stronger skills for Suuankou, which he could get at Level 7 and Level 10, respectively.

    They were [Rapid ??Poison] and [Hidden Trap].

    The former allowed Suuankou to gain a simple ability to touch venoms with his hands and make it all stick to a specific surface. This would allow Suuankou to poison weapons, throwing knives or traps swiftly.

    If Suuankou maxed out thetter skill, he could have his traps also inherit his [Sneak] skill.

    Since you want to be a Trap Rogue, I shall build a deck of skills ordingly for you.

    What about the other side¡­

    Dove¡¯s situation troubled Annan a little.

    He didn¡¯t even know this fellow¡¯s background.

    The initial attribute of all human yers was 30 attribute points. It was just that Annan assigned 5 points to all attributes by default so that their attribute distribution wouldn¡¯t be too one-sided. Having 10 points invested in Agility was the most extreme case Annan faced for the beginning stage.

    What baffled him the most was that her ¡°Constitution¡± attribute was more than 5 points¡­

    The energy consumed when creating a body for her was also lower than usual. That was why Annan slightly increased her pet¡¯s attributes aspensation.

    But ma¡¯am, you have an excellent talent for archery and hunting, so why do you want to be a Beastmaster?

    Annan even hesitated.

    He wasn¡¯t quite sure whether Dove wanted to follow the path of animalpanion¡­or was she simply disdainful of the archery skills given at the beginning.

    ording to Dove¡¯s talent, she would acquire [Vitality] at Level 7 and [Heart of the Wild] at Level 10.

    For [Vitality], adding simply one level in would double her stamina recovery and speed. On the other hand, [Heart of the Wild] allowed her to intuitively lock on the target in the wild ¨C a moderately practical skill.

    It urred to Annan that giving these skills to her would be a waste.

    Annan thought for a moment, and then he gave her an elite skill.

    He first reced the unique skill given at Level 7 with [Hunter].

    It was an upgraded version of [Heart of the Wild]. She could see the target¡¯s track for those that she had injured.

    The four yers in this batch were all of high quality.

    Except for the priest, whom Annan had no idea what kind of skills to give her, Annan had manipted the data covertly and provided them with high-quality skills.

    Indeed, it just so happened that these yers were all in ¡°new professions¡±.

    Annan intended to turn these yers into idols, making them the ¡°leader¡± of future yers in their profession choices.

    As long as their overall character profile wasn¡¯t skewed, the rest of the yers could duplicate the same strategy.

    It should be fine. I don¡¯t think it will go wrong easily.

    Unfortunately, Annan wasn¡¯t quite confident with it.

    ¡°So be it.¡± Annan sighed and focused on the game-nning in the backend interface.

    The remaining three yers were more well-behaved ¡ª or rather, more cautious.

    After character creation, they all chose to quit the game first and asked their ¡°seniors¡± for strategies and information.

    Of course, none of the info would be helpful.

    Annan had already positioned them as ¡°elite yers¡±. It just so happened that there would be a long wait before the next dungeon instance spawn.

    Annan simply gave each of them a customized set of beginner missions.

    Unfortunately, that Suuankou is given me trouble.

    Why does he head into the game directly?

    Why are you so reckless like Yiyi?

    I haven¡¯t started crafting your beginner mission yet!

    Annan pondered for a moment with his thoughts dashing in his mind. Finally, he dragged over the starting mission prepared for the Half-dead Enchantress previously and then edited it before delivering it to Suuankou.

    ¡°En, you shall spawn in the slums.

    ¡°You woke up from a¡­ Well, since you¡¯re a man, so no bed for you. Then, you shall wake up from the haystack and find that you¡¯re in excruciating pain. Your equipment was stolen, but they spared your life. Then, first of all, you have to follow the clues to retrieve your equipment¡­¡±

    As for the underground gang members that ¡°robbed stray travelers,¡± they existed in Roseburg.

    Since they robbed so many people, they probably wouldn¡¯t remember if they had robbed Suuankou or not.

    Huh, what an excellent opportunity to get these new yers to eliminate the gang members in Roseburg.

    Many of them were rted to Roseburg¡¯s viscount. They should be rted to the Rotten Man Church too. I shall use them to craft a character plot for the yers.

    Annan had hidden five sets of equipment in different ces in advance.

    They were a couple of equipment sets to satisfy the yers¡¯ needs:

    1. Short bow and dagger

    2. Rifle

    3. Dagger and poison

    4. Mace

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll give you No. 4 equipment set. Dagger and poison¡­ Tsk, I should have left a trap device there. Forget it. I¡¯ll give it to Suuankou at his next mission.¡±

    Annan murmured and re-nned the storyline mission for him, ¡°Please don¡¯t die, young man.

    ¡°ording to the setting of the story, I can only give you the power to respawn after meeting me.¡±

    Although it could be a little difficult for Suuankou, who is a rogue proficient in traps, it isn¡¯t my problem!

    This is the punishment for a youth addicted to online games!

    You should have gone for your dinner¡­ How dare you make me wake up in the middle of the night and work overtime!

    As for the robbers¡­

    Someone wille to take revenge anyway, and this is also the punishment for your past evil deeds!

    What? You don¡¯t know him? It¡¯s fine. He doesn¡¯t know you either¡­

    I Shall Punish You All.jpg

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 244: Taking Appropriate Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 244: Taking Appropriate Revenge</h4>

    ¡°¡­Ugh.¡± Suuankou woke up feeling excruciating pain all over his body.

    It was a pain that was familiar to him.

    That kind of pain you feel when you wake up the following day after being captured inside a sack and getting beaten up in it.

    ¡°Fuck, why does it have to feel so realistic?¡± Suuankou grimaced and got up from the ground.

    He realized that he seemed to be in some dark alley and that he was lying in the corner of it.

    The thin sweater he was wearing had signs of being torn. It seemed he was wet, soaked with dirty water. He was messy and unarmed¡­ he didn¡¯t even have anything and was robbed clean.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact Suuankou had rough clothes, he could have even assumed that he was thrown out of the house by his sister because he didn¡¯t log out from the game for too long.

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t have starting equipment¡­¡± Suuankou murmured and stumbled as he struggled to stand up. He gradually realized his situation, ¡°I should have been¡­ beaten badly, right? My health has depleted?¡±

    When he stood up, a line of words appeared in front of him: [Health: 85%]

    So, I have lost 15% of my health.

    I¡¯m beaten up badly to the point where there is pain all over my body, yet I only lost 15% of my health. Is it because there¡¯s the element of self-recovery?

    Suuankou leaned against the wall, took a breath, and was dazed.

    This ¡°game¡± is so realistic.

    But¡­

    Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?

    Just after he took a step forward, a bunch of texts surged in front of Suuankou.

    ¡°You¡¯re Suuankou, a [Lurker] from the Austere-Winter Dukedom and also a ck market artisan.

    ¡°You have received a letter from your friend ¡ª The future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, Annan Austere-Winter. He has encountered some hurdles. Since he has now infiltrated the Noah Kingdom and be a feudal lord, he needs capable and loyal people to serve him. Most importantly, they need to be trustworthy.

    ¡°This is the perfect opportunity for you.

    ¡°Suuankou, with your background, your profession¡­ it¡¯s hard for you to walk on the path of transcendence alone. However, if you serve the future Grand Duke, there will be no problem at all. I have vouched for you with my reputation. Find your way to the Freezing Water Port. Remember, don¡¯t give away any information rted to His Highness Annan. Your friend¡¯s letter said so.

    ¡°But you seem lost.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the Freezing Water Port, but the adjacent Roseburg. The gangs here don¡¯t seem to wee you very much. You have identally strayed into their trap and were beaten up due to their overwhelming numbers. Unfortunately, they also took all your possessions, and the most important item: [Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯s Token].

    ¡°You can¡¯t afford to be in such a humiliating state before meeting the future Grand Duke. So, you have made up your mind to give the gang members the revenge they deserved, taking back your possessions and teaching them a harsh lesson.

    ¡°But before that, you¡¯d better get your weapon back.¡±

    Suuankou read his starting plot carefully.

    Then, the specific details of the mission appeared in front of him:

    [You have obtained main mission: Taking appropriate revenge]

    [Mission requirement: Retrieve Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯s token (0/1); Silence all gang robbers who have seen the token (0/3); Take revenge as you please (0/1).]

    [Special requirement 1 (+40 evaluation ratings): Seek a gift for the future Grand Duke (0/1)]

    [Special requirement 2 (+60evaluation ratings): Spread your name in Roseburg (0/1)]

    [Intelligence Acquired: You know that the person who took your weapon lives at 23 Rusty Water Street; you have learned that the ce where the gang members gather should be at 35 Rusty Water Street, and the token should be there.]

    [Warning: You will not be able to respawn after you die before handing over the token to Annan¡¤Austere-Winter! Please mind your actions carefully!]

    ¡°I have to clear this in 1 life¡­¡± Suuankou murmured, lost in thought.

    Logically speaking, the starting mission shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.

    No matter what, I should be cautious.

    No matter how my sister found this ¡°game¡±, and how she got the invitation code for me, this opportunity should be hard toe by.

    There is no way this world is a ¡°game¡±. It really is an ¡°Isekai¡± situation!

    He didn¡¯t want to lose the opportunity in front of him due to negligence.

    However, the limitation of ¡°couldn¡¯t respawn temporarily¡± didn¡¯t surprise him.

    Suuankou had already prepared for the worst where there was no ¡°revive mechanism¡± at all. Unexpectedly, the respawn function was only temporarily locked, which was quite satisfactory for him.

    ¡°Could it be that the first mission intends to test my qualification to y the game?¡± Suuankou muttered.

    He didn¡¯t think much of it.

    After regaining some physical strength and being able to stand firm.

    He followed the alley path and exchanged some scones with his messy but still functional sweater. Although he was wearing only a singleyer of cloth in winter, it didn¡¯t look too strange. He gobbled up the food and filled his stomach.

    I need to be ready for the battleter. First, I got to fill my stomach and replenish my physical strength.

    As for clothes, it¡¯s easy to find.

    While eating, Suuankou analyzed the mission.

    First and foremost, he couldn¡¯t afford to dy any further.

    Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s identity had to be kept strictly confidential.

    Judging from the mission description, it was necessary to silence everyone who had seen the token. This showed that the token itself was a ¡°sensitive item¡±. In other games, it was the item branded red in the backpack. Once the guard checked the yer¡¯s inventory, he had to flee immediately.

    Therefore, Suuankou must eradicate them as soon as possible to reduce the potential number of people encountering this token.

    There were only three gang members at the moment.

    But what if some noble, some magistrate, or some prominent businessman saw it?

    Even if he could silence them, it would inevitably lower his evaluation ratings in Annan¡¯s heart. It wouldn¡¯t bring many adverse effects for killing these gang members. However, if the kill count reached a higher number, something terrible could happen.

    That was why there was a text entry for ¡°taking appropriate revenge¡± in this mission.

    Annan might think he was too weak and looked down on him if he didn¡¯t take revenge. If he retaliated too hard, it could bring Annan trouble.

    I should retrievemy weapon first.

    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t far from 23 Rusty Water Street, but just one street away.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t go there directly.

    Instead, he detoured and visited another street next to it.

    He skillfully utilized his social skills to ask the passersby if there was an unupied house, and finally, he settled on 13 Rusty Water Street.

    After questioning three people, Suuankou got the same information. This was an abandoned dental clinic, and Dr. Gerald hadn¡¯te to work for a long time.

    This is a good chance.

    Suuankou walked around in the crowd, crouched in a blind spot, and activated [Sneak]. He snuck into the dental clinic unnoticed and remained crouched, slowly ascending to the second floor. Finally, he avoided the gazes of passersby and stood up.

    ¡°[Sneak] is quite handy.¡± After testing it out, Suuankou muttered with satisfaction.

    He intended to first observe from here to see if there was anyone in No. 23 across the street. Then, probably, he could borrow some money and proper clothes. If possible, he would borrow a dagger for self-defense, bandage, food, etc¡­

    The moment his gazended on the door lock, lockpicking knowledge emerged in his mind¡­ But unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have a lockpick in his hand, not even a piece of iron.

    Despite that, it didn¡¯t stop him.

    Suuankou kicked the door hard three times and directly kicked the door open.

    He closed the door calmly and walked into the Gerald Dental Clinic.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 245: The Storyline Doesnâ€™t Typically Go Like This!

    <h4>Chapter 245: The Storyline Doesn¡¯t Typically Go Like This!</h4>

    Suuankou soon noticed that the dentist named ¡°Gerald¡± seemed to have left this ce in a hurry, as he had left many things in this ce.

    Hmph, it doesn¡¯t seem like he was being hunted down though¡­

    Suuankou deduced this because he found a lot of money in the drawer.

    When someone decided to run for his life, he would need to bring his money along, while everything else didn¡¯t matter as much.

    Not only for the travel expenses but to bribe his way through during his getaway.

    In the drawer, Suuankou found more than 20 pieces of banknotes, a dozen of silver coins, and a small bag of copper coins. Since he had juste to this world, he didn¡¯t know the purchasing power of this money was. Still, he guessed that dentists must be wealthy based on his experience alone.

    ¡ªWhen you have a toothache, it is really terrible.

    The copper and silver coins would affect mobility, making noises. So, Suuankou temporarily put them back and only took the banknotes.

    Suuankou also found decent clothes. He even boiled water in the dental office for a good bath, thenbed his hair neatly before changing into this delicate, heavy, warm outfit.

    After this, Suuankou also found something that would be helpfulter.

    His [Skillful Hands] skill seemed to be active all the time.

    Items that could be used to craft a trap would sometimes emit a bright white light. The white glow would be more apparent when they were near other things that could assemble a trap. The white light would turn blue when the trap could be built.

    But this white light also interrupted Suuankou¡¯s thoughts sometimes because there were some ¡°traps¡± that couldn¡¯t be moved.

    For example, the bathtub emitted a bright white light. After thinking for a long time, Suuankou realized that what could interact with the bathtub was a bottle of brown-yellow ointment in the medicine cab.

    That seemed to be an ointment for paralysis.

    ¡°¡­I understand now. It¡¯s basically Hitman.¡± Suuankou understood.

    It seemed he had yed Hitman before and was quite good at it.

    After realizing how to utilize [Skillful Hands], Suuankou continued searching for other items in the dental clinic.

    He found an ointment, a soft iron piece that could be bent into a lock-picking tool, and a sharp knife typically used for dentistry. In addition, there were some misceneous tools such as hemp rope and thin thread.

    Suuankou also found a painting.

    It was wrapped in an oilcloth that was rolled within a thick ck cloth. The painting was hidden in apartment under the bed, and it seemed to be valuable. He put it back in ce and noted down its location.

    Suuankou walked to the window when everything was set and revealed a small gap by slightly opening the curtain.

    There was only one street separating No. 13 and No. 23 of Rusty Water Street.

    The back of No. 13 was facing the front of No. 23.

    As mentioned by the mission, he seemed to be beaten up by a group of people at No. 23 Rusty Water Street. To stop himself from being noticed and hunted down by the same group of people before he could get close, he decided to go to a room at a higher elevation where he could observe the surroundings and road conditions of 23 Rusty Water Street.

    He stood behind the curtain and watched silently for nearly 10 minutes, confirming that there seemed to be no one in No. 23.

    Then, he left Gerald¡¯s Dental Clinic and re-activated [Sneak] as he went downstairs. Then, he deactivated [Sneak] at a corner without anyone watching.

    He calmly walked to the alley near No. 23.

    At the moment he entered the darkness, he crouched down and waited for [Sneak] to activate.

    Soon, his figure gradually disappeared. While staying stealthed, he took out the simple grappling hook he assembled. The hemp rope was found in the dental office, while the hook was made from the iron he tore from the fence.

    Then, he threw the hook urately and hung it on the balcony on the second floor.

    Suuankou silently climbed his way up to the balcony. Luckily, no one was there to catch him.

    He carefully observed the number of daily necessities and confirmed that there should be three people living here. Next, he found a delicate dagger handle from the cab on the second floor. Then, there was the de about the length of his forearm and at the thickness of two fingers. He had also found 6 small bottles of dark green liquid. It was evident at first nce that they were poisonous.

    Each bottle was only the size of the essential oil typically found in the night market. They fitted well on the side of the belt. The dagger could be hung on the other side.

    These should be my weapons.

    After Suuankou came in, he breathed a sigh of relief.

    Luckily, there¡¯s no one here.

    It seems even if I juste in directly, I shouldn¡¯t be caught¡­ But it¡¯s fine to be more cautious.

    After giving it some thought, he took out the paralysis ointment and smeared it on the dagger. Then, he poured one bottle of poison into the kettle.

    Then, he assembled a simple trap. If he hid behind the curtain and pulled the rope, that would make a noise under the curtain on the other side of the room.

    This was his first time assembling such a trap, so he was struggling even under the guidance of [Skillful Hands].

    When Suuankou finished setting up the first trap, he heard chattering from the door.

    His expression tightened; he squatted down and entered the [Sneak] state.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we hurry up and flee?¡± An elderly man¡¯s worried voice came from the door.

    Then, there came the sound of a key unlocking the door.

    A thin old man who looked about 60 years old walked in. Behind him, there was another macho man who looked only in his 30s and was in his prime.

    Two people!

    Suuankou was a little nervous and felt his heart beating more and more intensely¡­ just like the feeling when he cheated in the exam room for the first time.

    His palms were sweating, and he didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too loudly.

    Luckily, the [Sneak] skill was quite effective. When Suuankou squatted still, neither of those two had noticed him.

    The younger man retorted, ¡°Flee? Where can we go? When we go to other ces, aren¡¯t we going to live the same life again?¡±

    ¡°We should at least stay away from the false deity¡¯s believers.¡± Then, the old man muttered casually, ¡°If we stay here, we¡¯ll be killed at some point.¡±

    ¡°Ha, that¡¯s true.¡± The strong man grimaced and cursed in a low volume.

    He punched the bed and muttered, ¡°This new feudal lord dares to kill even a viscount. What else can¡¯t he do?¡±

    ¡°They can fight all they want between nobles, but if we dare to attack him then we¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡±

    The old man smiled and said coldly, ¡°That kid dares to kill a viscount directly, and he just made an excuse saying that the Rotten Man cultists did it. Will the Rotten Man cultists actually kill him?

    ¡°The young feudal lord is very decisive. He is definitely not someone to be easily provoked; he is just too ruthless. What did the eunuch who came here before tell us? The third young master of the crow family is a weakling¡­ He may have a grudge against the feudal lord and want us to help him test him.¡±

    ¡°Luckily, I¡¯m smart. I didn¡¯t do anything but just collect the money,¡± the young man said slowly with some delight. ¡°Otherwise, if the feudal lord is angered, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to escape.¡±

    ¡°I have mentioned this to Bobby.¡±

    The old man said, poured himself a ss of water, and muttered, ¡°Why don¡¯t we sell the information for a price to that young feudal lord. He will take care of his Clear Water Street from now on, and we will take care of our Rusty Water Street. Since we don¡¯t hinder each other, it is the best solution. Anyway, this is the slums for poor people¡­¡±

    As he spoke, his voice suddenly became hoarse as he froze in ce.

    The old man¡¯s mouth twitched. Finally, he reached out his hand to hold his throat, trying to force himself to vomit.

    He only spat out a bit before he fell forward weakly into his vomit. His face was purple, and he was gasping for breath.

    The younger partner was panic-stricken.

    He didn¡¯t care about the old man¡¯s state at all. He quickly stopped himself from picking up the water cup and wielded the scimitar hanging at his waist.

    ¡°It¡¯s poison. Has anyone been here?¡± He whispered, looking around, ¡°A lurker?¡±

    The man walked to the middle of the room while remaining vignt, trying to turn on the light in the middle of the room.

    At this moment, he heard a noise from under the curtain. If he hadn¡¯t kept quiet, he might not have heard it.

    He was all too familiar with that voice.

    It was the sound of multiple silver coins bumping into each other in a pocket.

    He immediately moved his gaze over, squinted his eyes, and looked at the curtains intently.

    He stared for a while but gave up.

    The man slowly stepped back towards the door with his eyes looking upstairs.

    But the moment he passed the curtain, he immediately turned around and shed at the curtain with his scimitar!

    The sound of ripping came.

    Under that curtain, there was only a purse hanging on a rope!

    Worse still, it was his purse!

    The man¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly.

    He realized something was wrong, but it was toote.

    He felt a chill on his lower back. The precise strike avoided the most sturdy position of the bones and muscles and struck his kidney.

    A burst of heat came along with the pain. Then, it was followed by an intense numbness that flowed through the body, obscuring the pain from his back.

    His legs immediately became numb, just like the feeling after squatting for a long time. The numbness and coldness made him cry out loud.

    ¡°¡ªPlease spare me! Friend!¡± The young bandit immediately threw the scimitar on the ground without hesitation, raised his hands, and shouted, ¡°I surrender!¡±

    The loud voice shocked Suuankou, who had inflicted a [Backstab]. He was about to knock the man unconscious.

    He was at a loss for a while.

    ¡­How could you surrender?

    What? The storyline doesn¡¯t usually go like this, right?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 246: Are You Asking to be Beaten Up?

    <h4>Chapter 246: Are You Asking to be Beaten Up?</h4>

    Even if the man didn¡¯t surrender, Suuankou didn¡¯t intend to kill him.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t forget that his main mission was to ¡°retrieve Annan¡¯s token¡±.

    What he intended to do now was to get back his weapons and acquire more information to n his next step.

    After all, Suuankou was utterly unfamiliar with this environment, whereby he didn¡¯t even know the taboos surrounding the people in this ce. Of course, he didn¡¯t know the distribution of political power in this city and its poption either. Instead, he only knew two things:

    1. His equipment was at 23 Rusty Water Street.

    2. His mission objective was located at 35 Rusty Water Street.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t want to kick the door open and barge in, only to see more than 20 people inside looking at him with bewildered expressions.

    He previously thought that someone must be stationed here on 23 Rusty Water Street.

    In fact, Suuankou didn¡¯t guess wrong at all.

    If he came a littleter, the two bandits should have returned; if he came to the ce earlier and wasn¡¯t vignt enough, he might have been discovered by the two bandits from a distance after he appeared on the street.

    He carefully chose to use the house across the street to scout this mission area to avoid facing this situation.

    When Suuankou inquired about Gerald¡¯s news, he was also cautious. First, he found a passerby and asked, ¡°Is the dentist named Gerald in this clinic?¡±

    After he got the message ¡°Dr. Gerald seems to be missing some days¡±, Suuankou reappeared at the door and asked the second passerby, ¡°Did Dr. Geralde recently?¡±

    After repeatedly asking three times, he could finally rest assured.

    Suuankou¡¯s cautious approach in his questions could only confirm the whereabouts of a dentist. Hence, no one should be wary of this. It was an expected question for those who traveled from afar to seek medical attention.

    That was why he chose this approach.

    If Suuankou foolishly asked the passersby, ¡°how many people were there in the gang on No. 35,¡± he wouldn¡¯t be able to get an answer. Those who knew the answer wouldn¡¯t dare to let him know either.

    If passersby noticed Suuankou might be inquiring about their information, they might leave immediately and inform Suuankou¡¯s enemy.

    In the end, Suuankou had decided to keep one of the enemies alive.

    Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t risk attacking the enemy with an untested paralyzing ointment. Instead, he would have taken the enemy down with lethal poison.

    In Suuankou¡¯s original n, he should have injured this person to thest breath. Then, he would cripple the enemy¡¯s ability to move and incite the opponent¡¯s desire to live so that he could interrogate him for information.

    Then, depending on the situation, he would decide whether to kill the person or leave.

    Of course, this decision mainly depended on the appearance of the surviving bandit, his attitude towards Suuankou, and the power of the bandit force.

    But now¡­

    Aren¡¯t you giving up too quickly?

    Before I made a move, you had already surrendered.

    This made Suuankou hesitate.

    Previously, he thought it would be the safest to cripple the hostages until they lose their ability to move to prevent them from bringing in reinforcement after he left.

    If Suuankou kept beating up the bandit, the bandit might hold grudges and deliberately tell him false information.

    Suuankou¡¯s mind raced quickly, but he didn¡¯t let this person wait too long.

    He spoke solemnly, ¡°I can¡¯t let you go directly. Even if I let you go, it would be hard for me to exin to my higher-ups when you leave in one piece.¡±

    ¡°¡­What are you trying to do?¡± The man was silent for a while, then asked cautiously, ¡°Do you serve the feudal lord?¡±

    ¡°I serve no one.¡± Suuankou was a little surprised but said in a deep voice, ¡°I can spare your life, but you better stop poking your nose around.¡±

    This unfortunate bandit was right. He had figured out that Suuankou belonged to the feudal lord¡¯s faction, but just that they hadn¡¯t met each other yet.

    Suuankou was alerted and made up his mind.

    Even if I don¡¯t kill this man, I have to blind him at least.

    To cut off any potential retaliation ¡ª He wouldn¡¯t be able to identify me after losing his eyes. It would be far less dangerous. If I¡¯m still concerned, I should cut off his tongue.

    That was why Suuankou didn¡¯t ask about the ambush that happened to him before he spawned.

    Asking this question was equivalent to directly telling the enemy who he was. He probably won¡¯t let the unfortunate bandit live if he leaked such obvious information. Instead, he wouldn¡¯t mention it. That situation would be detrimental to Suuankou¡¯s goal to get more intelligence.

    Suuankou pondered for a while, then slowly said, ¡°Where are your gangs¡¯ gathering ces? How many of you are there? How is your equipment?¡±

    He mixed a couple of questions with the question he truly wanted to know to reduce the possibility of the victim bluffing.

    After all, Suuankou didn¡¯t know anything. Only in this way could he attempt to judge whether the hostage was speaking the truth or lying.

    ¡ªEven if the hostage mentioned No. 35, it didn¡¯t mean that what he said was the truth; but if he didn¡¯t say the 35th, it was most likely a lie.

    ¡°¡­I now believe that you¡¯re not serving the Feudal Lord.¡±

    The man was silent for a while and then replied, ¡°No. 35, No. 37, No. 39 Rusty Water Street, No. 13, No. 17 Crimson Water Street, No. 23, No. 25 Green Water Street. These are our gathering ces¡­¡±

    Hearing so many numbers, Suuankou was a little shocked.

    ¡°And~?¡± he asked.

    The man was silent for a while before replying in a low voice, ¡°Our exact numbers¡­ I don¡¯t know. After all, it changes all the time. Someone may die every night, and someone new may join at any time.¡±

    ¡°Tell me the exact number youst knew and the date you got it!¡±

    Suuankou answered without hesitation, kicked the man, who faced him with his back, onto the ground and warned sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t look back! Don¡¯t reach for the weapon. Just talk!¡±

    ¡°Wait, give me time to think¡­¡±

    After the man finished speaking, he paused before speaking up, ¡°The exact number¡­ It should have been five days ago¡­ No, six days ago. We had 170 members at that time, and there were 11 guns. However, if the situation allows, we can have 51 guns at most.¡±

    ¡°If the situation allows it?¡± Suuankou asked nervously.

    11 guns ¡ª That number was too much pressure on him.

    Even a few guns at 35 Rusty Water Street would be a massive threat to him.

    These yers were more cautious of firearms than the bandits of this era.

    He was unsure on how to even invade this organization.

    Do I need to take off this person¡¯s clothes and blend in?

    It¡¯s still possible. I¡¯m not ying Hitman. They just beat me upst night, right? I think they would still remember me?

    The man said slowly, ¡°When I say if the situation allows, it means¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªyou¡¯d better stay still.¡±

    At this moment, a cold voice came from behind Suuankou.

    He felt a sharp and pointed metal object pressing against his neck. The danger caused goosebumps on his neck. The skin contact even made him feel a slight tingling in his neck. He might have begun to bleed already.

    It¡¯s the enemy¡¯s lurker! Suuankou¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly.

    When?

    At the moment when confusion arose, Suuankou instantly realized what went wrong.

    The loud surrender previously wasn¡¯t for him.

    It was intended for aplices who might have been outside just now!

    That person didn¡¯t open the door just like me, but sneaked in from the second floor!

    He might have taken the same route!

    Damn it, next time, I should leave some traps on my way to infiltrate a ce.

    If I have a second chance¡­

    The young robber, who was kicked to the ground by Suuankou, picked up the scimitar he threw out previously in a hurry and stood up. Then, he turned around and mercilessly confiscated Suuankou¡¯s weapon.

    He also confiscated everything from Suuankou ¡ª including the stack of banknotes.

    ¡°This kid is quite rich.¡± The man was amazed.

    The man behind Suuankou said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a deposit¡ªa deposit to trouble us.¡±

    After he said that, he suddenly retrieved the dagger and hit Suuankou¡¯s temple hard with the hilt.

    He lost his visions as he fell forward weakly to the ground.

    While he almost passed out, he noticed a tall and thin man behind him.

    The young robber came over and kicked himself in the face hard, knocking away 50% of his health. However, the pain brought his consciousness back.

    ¡°Tie him up!¡± The man ordered, ¡°Ask him if he has the antidote.¡±

    Fuck your antidote.

    I don¡¯t even know what the hell the poison is called!

    Suuankou cursed in his heart.

    But at this moment, the door was suddenly kicked away.

    The door that flew out just happened to knock the tall, thin man to the ground!

    A petite figure with a giant axe darted in like a sh of lightning. She mmed into the young bandit quickly,unching him into the air!

    The moment his body was knocked into the air, the axe directly cut him into two pieces!

    Another figure walked directly to the tall, thin man and knocked him out with an iron staff.

    ¡°Huh¡­you haven¡¯t eaten yet. Did you juste to this world to get beaten up?¡± Suuankou heard a familiar mockery.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 247: Iâ€™m A Doctor

    <h4>Chapter 247: I¡¯m A Doctor</h4>

    Hearing this voice, Suuankou immediately hugged his head subconsciously.

    Then he seemed to realize something, slowly took his hand away, and asked tentatively, ¡°¡­Sis?¡±

    The person who appeared in front of him had different clothes and hairstyles, but Suuankou knew it was his sister at first nce.

    Aside from the apparent difference in the ¡°chest muscles¡±¡­

    A blue name was hovering on top of her head, identifying her as a yer.

    [Yiyi]

    ¡°Poor child, are you beaten up into a fool?¡± Lin Yiyi looked at Suuankou pitifully and touched his head.

    Suuankou immediately smiled awkwardly, ¡°No, sister¡­ But, why are you here?¡±

    He said, looking at another person in the room, and asked uncertainly, ¡°Is she Fermented Rice Ball?¡±

    The disyed name on top of her head was ¡°Jiu Er¡±.

    His sister and Jiu Er were now probably living together. She must have brought Jiu Er online, which was what Suuankou expected.

    But he remembered that Jiu Er was a quiet little girl.

    She spoke softly in a delicate voice. Rumors had it that she was timid and would keep calling for help when she was caught. Apparently, she had apletely different character from his sister.

    ¡°Hello, Brother Koutsu.¡± Jiu Er was polite and bowed slightly to greet Suuankou.

    However, Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but shiver after looking at the bloody Jiu Er, who was holding an axe taller than her.

    What¡¯s with this situation¡­

    ¡°You have to thank Child.¡±

    Lin Yiyi said in annoyance, ¡°I thought you would be stuck in character customization¡­ But, once I logged into the forum, I saw Child mentioning that some had sneaked into Gerald Dental Clinic and asked me if it was you. So, I tapped on the screenshot and confirmed that it was indeed you.¡±

    ¡°Forum? There are forums in this world?¡± Suuankou quickly noticed a clue, ¡°Wait¡­ I¡¯m not supposed to enter that dental clinic?¡±

    Lin Yiyi knew what he was thinking, so she pointed it out tantly, ¡°The forum function should be activated after youplete your first mission.

    ¡°As for that dental clinic, that¡¯s the bait wey.¡±

    She looked at Suuankou with aplicated expression, ¡°However, I think the fish is startled, and we won¡¯t be getting any harvest.¡±

    ¡°So, Gerald isn¡¯t a dentist?¡±

    ¡°He is a Boss Mob, and quite powerful too. In the end, he died because of the plot armor. He doesn¡¯t have anything to do with us.¡±

    Lin Yiyi sighed, ¡°For now, if you¡¯re at the same level with Jiu Er and me, you can trounce him even if there are 25 of him¡­¡±

    ¡°So, you haven¡¯t touched anything inside?¡± Suuankou understood something.

    Lin Yiyi shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve never entered. Annan mentioned to us that some magics could reverse time. If we search the ce up and put things back in ce, then we have inevitably revealed ourselves.¡±

    ¡°So we have to allocate some manpower here to keep this ce under surveince.¡± Jiu Er added, ¡°But it¡¯s not a big deal.

    ¡°Salvatore applied a reagent on the floor by the door. If someone walked by, they would leave invisible footprints that can only be seen with the dedicated spells.¡±

    ¡°¡­I thought I had outwitted the game.¡± Suuankou¡¯s face became bitter.

    Unexpectedly, he ate the cheese in the mousetrap.

    ¡°Now, do you get it?¡± Lin Yiyi flicked heavily on Suuankou¡¯s forehead, ¡°Stop acting smart in front of your sister. You are just my little brother!¡±

    Ya, I¡¯m really your little brother¡­

    [TN: It¡¯s Inte ng from the Chinesemunity to mock others for being inferior or inexperienced by calling them a junior like a younger brother, a younger sister, etc.]

    Suuankou muttered in his heart and didn¡¯t dare to refute.

    Suddenly, his eyes were gleaming with hope, ¡°Sis, since you are here, why don¡¯t you carry me? I can¡¯t die on this mission. I¡¯m afraid your younger brother will be gone after death.¡±

    ¡°So, you don¡¯t get to respawn in your mission?¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er¡¯s expressions turned solemn, and they asked.

    Suuankou was stunned for a moment and then answered affirmatively, ¡°Yes, the mission said that the respawn feature will only be unlocked after I meet Annan Austere-Winter.¡±

    Jiu Er whispered, ¡°Oh, he is in the same situation as Sister Wen Xue.¡±

    Lin Yiyi analyzed their circumstances, ¡°Then, this situation isn¡¯t about Wen Xue having a special race and profession, but the yers from the second batch can¡¯t respawn at the beginning.

    ¡°This is a critical piece of information. I will call Uncle Goose and the Child in a moment to be wary of it.¡±

    ¡°Sis, what do you mean¡­¡± Suuankou was a little dazed.

    So, are you helping me or not¡­

    Lin Yiyi red at her younger brother and said in annoyance, ¡°Can I not help you? Your sister always gives the best to you¡ªwhat a silly kid.

    ¡°Tell me first what your main mission is. Then, I¡¯ll see if I can create a party and solve it together.¡±

    Make a party? What do you mean?

    Suuankou didn¡¯t hesitate but just replied immediately, ¡°My mission objective is at No. 35 Rusty Water Street. I need to get back Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s token. But there may be a lot of people there, with a few of them equipped with guns.¡±

    ¡°¡­Maybe.¡± Jiu Er replied in a low voice.

    She looked at Suuankou and exined softly, ¡°Sister Wen Xue is also a new yer like you. She is also at my house now¡­¡±

    ¡°When we decided to go online to save you, we knew we wouldn¡¯t get to eat for tonight. Since everyone hase online, let¡¯s help you do the mission.¡±

    Lin Yiyi sighed and added, ¡°I shall call Wen Xue and ask her to fill her stomach before going online quickly.

    ¡°No matter what, we still need to do the work in helping our fellow beginners. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll go to the Freezing Water Port. Then, I¡¯ll go back to Jiu Er¡¯s ce for the day after tomorrow. That means I¡¯m free today so that I can carry you through your starting mission.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ what about Wen Xue?¡± Suuankou asked.

    He didn¡¯t know this person, but he knew he would get to know her soon.

    The scale of this game probably wasn¡¯t that big.

    Coupled with the Isekai experience, it felt more like they were transmigrators from the same world than yers ying the same game. Also, they were pretty close to each other too. After all, there was no conflict between them, but well-built cooperation.

    It seemed pretty important to foster good rtionships with other yers.

    ¡°I¡¯m just outside.¡± A cold and hoarse voice sounded.

    Citalopram pushed open the door, took off her top hat, and gave Suuankou an elegant greeting.

    She was wearing a pure white tulle skirt and a white top hat with a gray bow ribbon.

    Her pure ck hair flowed down like a waterfall.

    Under her purely monochrome outfit, doll-like features gave off a gloomy and distant feeling.

    Her deep-set eyes silently assessed Suuankou, who was about the same height as her.

    It was too calm to the point of being disturbing.

    A blue name floated on her head:

    [Citalopram]

    ¡°My main mission is either to assassinate or drive my targets at 37 Rusty Water Street insane for revenge.¡±

    Citalopram said calmly, ¡°My special ability will be handy at night. So, our missions do not conflict.

    ¡°We should gather our strength. Let¡¯s do your mission first, then mine.¡±

    ¡ªI will help you.

    Suuankou turned silent for a while, with a confident smile on his face.

    It would be even more persuasive if it weren¡¯t for the bruise caused by being kicked in the face.

    ¡°Haha, we won¡¯t know for sure who¡¯s the one needing help.¡±

    He reached out his hand to Citalopram and introduced himself, ¡°Suuankou, known as Brother Koutsu, a sophomore. You can call me Kout or Koutsu.¡±

    ¡°Citalopram, my real name is Wen Xue.¡±

    Citalopram took Suuankou¡¯s hand and replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m a doctor¡­ an intern.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Suuankou praised, ¡°If I get sick in the future, I will go to Sister Wen for treatment!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± Lin Yiyi interjected.

    ¡°Why!?¡± Suuankou retorted with dissatisfaction, ¡°Sis, why are you butting into everything? I¡¯m talking to Sister Wen!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I work at the Shanghai Mental Health Center.¡±

    The corners of Citalopram¡¯s eyes were slightly curved, and the corners of her mouth raised, revealing a faint smile, ¡°I don¡¯t think you would want toe.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 248: I Love This NPC

    <h4>Chapter 248: I Love This NPC</h4>

    They found a ce to enjoy dinner in Roseburg before the sky turned dark.

    With the assistance of the two Transcended, the thugs weren¡¯t much of a problem.

    Even the lowest-level Bronze Rank Transcended had an overwhelming advantage over ordinary people in certain aspects.

    Also, Suuankou learned the terminology ¡°Transcended¡±, and he did not doubt this exnation at all.

    An obvious example would be Jiu Er. Despite her petite figure, she could easily knock out a macho man in his thirties and sh him in half with a giant axe taller than her. She alone had unleashed Musou to the opponent.

    [TN: Musou are powerful moves in Dynasty Warrior.]

    As a matter of fact, Jiu Er was less than 150 centimeters in height.

    His sister wielding a dual-colored iron rod seemed to be battle-ready at any time. Even if herbat prowess wasn¡¯t better than Jiu Er, she should be on par with Jiu Er.

    ¡ªAt the very least, Suuankou was confident with her sister¡¯s reaction speed alone.

    After inquiring about the information, she left the kill on the Level 7 Lurker to Suuankou and Citalopram.

    ¡°Try to kill them. We won¡¯t obtain any experience from killing ordinary people like him anymore. But if you kill him now, you can get half a level¡¯s worth of experience.¡±

    Lin Yiyi said at the time, ¡°The most important thing is to adjust your mentality. If you subconsciously give mercy and dare not kill the enemies, you may suffer an unfortunate fate at a critical time.¡±

    Suuankou understood this view well.

    Although he could use traps to ambush and poison the enemies, he found it challenging to be resolute in a close-range battle with the intention to kill.

    After he acquired the ability to respawn, he would probably be a little calmer.

    But for now, he obviously still felt the panic lingering in his heart.

    I really need to be exposed to blood firsthand. Suuankou was aware of this.

    With a polite attitude¡­ or a gentleman¡¯s attitude ofdies-first, he wanted to give this kill to Citalopram.

    After all, he saw that Citalopram¡¯s starting equipment was a sword and a shield.

    This most likely meant that she might need to face the enemy head-on.

    Moreover, Suuankou was just a Thief ss.

    Disassembling traps, installing traps, and interrupting the enemies at the critical moment before slipping away. He was like the scout observing at the edge of the battlefield.

    However, Citalopram politely rejected his proposal in the end.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need that extra dose of bravery.¡± She said to Suuankou, ¡°The way I fight doesn¡¯t make me see blood.¡±

    Suuankou didn¡¯t quite understand what she meant.

    So Citalopram took out the dagger and cut her own palm.

    Then, she reached out her other hand and took Suuankou¡¯s arm.

    Almost at the moment of contact, the scar on her palm began to recover at speed visible to the naked eye.

    After about five seconds, the injury had fully recovered.

    She asked Suuankou, ¡°Go and check on your status.¡±

    Suuankou opened his panel confusedly.

    Then, he was surprised to find that his health value had dropped by 5% inexplicably, approaching a dangerous health percentage of 43%. However, he didn¡¯t feel anything at all.

    As long as she touched the enemy, she would absorb the opponent¡¯s life force, unnoticed.

    In addition to that, Citalopram could synchronously recover her health points along with her target.

    Thus, she didn¡¯t need that extra boost of bravery.

    ¡°Sister Wen, your profession is so strong.¡± Suuankou praised, ¡°I think you¡¯re well-fitted for close quarterbat¡­¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. We still have to check her status during the night.¡± Lin Yiyi shook her head.

    Her status at night? Suuankou didn¡¯t quite understand, but he didn¡¯t ask too much. He would soon find out in a moment.

    Just as they had just finished their meal and were about to leave, there came an unexpected reinforcement, ¡°¡­My Lord?¡±

    Jiu Er stood up in surprise and greeted Annan, ¡°Good evening, My Lord!¡±

    ¡°Good evening, My Lord.¡± Lin Yiyi also got up immediately. Suuankou and Citalopram also reacted and greeted the person who came.

    The youngster was wearing a dark brown trench coat with his ck hair at shoulder-length. He had a fair and delicate face. His ice-blue pupils were crystal clear to the point of bringing chills to the others¡¯ hearts.

    He appeared around 13 years old, like a heroic girl and also a feeble youth.

    ¡­Ciel?

    No, he didn¡¯t have an eye patch.

    Such a thought popped into Suuankou¡¯s mind at the first moment.

    Both had the same temperament.

    He was also like the young master in ¡°Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice¡±.

    I have fallen in love with this character.

    Annan nodded to the group, signaling them toe out first.

    As they came to a ce with no one else, Annan spoke and made a cold voice, ¡°Is this the people you¡¯re going to introduce to me?¡±

    He carefully examined Suuankou and Citalopram, nodded, and said with admiration, ¡°He seems pretty solid. I heard that a Half-dead Enchantress ising this time, so I got curious.¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Lin Yiyi was the first to respond.

    With a puzzled look on her face, she asked Annan, ¡°My lord, do you know about Half-dead Enchantresses?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Annan nodded, not exposing Lin Yiyi¡¯s somewhat inferior acting skills. Instead, he cooperated with her and exined, ¡°Those who the Pale Princess resurrected are the Half-dead Enchantresses, and the Half-dead Enchantresses are the Pale Princess¡¯ priestesses. They are the living among the dead, and the dead among the living¡­ the so-called Half-undead in the gap between life and death. They don¡¯t fall in love with anyone, they don¡¯t follow the worldly rules, and they do what they want¡­¡±

    This was the information he got from the Venerated Skeleton just yesterday.

    It was an excellent opportunity to utilize this knowledge to appear profound in front of the yers.

    ¡°I heard that someone has troubled you¡­ They are an underground gang in Roseburg, so I will not stop you from taking revenge on them, instead I would also like to thank you for removing the pests of the society.¡±

    Annan¡¯s face became slightly serious. Then, he lowered his voice a bit, ¡°But that group of people may be rted to the Rotten Man so the situation has be troublesome. At the same time, I have to supervise the two of you so as not to hurt the innocent. Make sure not to get caught. Roseburg isn¡¯t our true territory after all.¡±

    Having said that, Annan nced at the two of the neers and said slowly, ¡°A well-known trap expert¡­ and a Pale Princess¡¯s priestess. It is inconvenient for the public to know your identities.

    ¡°I will sneak in with you. You can treat this as supervision and protection. However, I will only watch from the sidelines. Unless I can confirm the evidence, I won¡¯t intervene and alert them. Of course, if you¡¯re really in deep trouble, I will also help.¡±

    ¡ªHowever, my evaluation for you will drop.

    Annan didn¡¯t say it out, but Suuankou and Citalopram realized that.

    They felt their shoulders stiffen a little.

    How hard is this mission?

    It takes a friendly leader to escort us¡­

    However, Annan didn¡¯t think that far.

    He just wanted to take a closer look at how Suuankou and Citalopram fought.

    Although Annan could use the ¡°creator¡¯s perspective¡± function to watch (birds-eye view), it wasn¡¯t as exciting to watch it directly in person.

    What Annan said previously was true.

    ording to his investigation, the gang called ¡°White Snake¡± did have some connection with the Rotten Man.

    Aside from the guns they got from the garrison unit, they might have tools and elements rted to the Transcendent Path.

    After all, the previous ¡°Ritual: Roaring Heart¡± was held inside Roseburg.

    If they weren¡¯t behind the ritual, who else could it be?

    Since they knew this ritual, wouldn¡¯t they have other tricks up their sleeves?

    Annan wasn¡¯t worried that Yiyi and Jiu Er, plus the two newbies, couldn¡¯t kill these thugs.

    His main concern was if Suuankou and Citalopram died of some unknown AoE attacking from a ritual.

    [TN: AoE stands for Area of Effect.]

    In that case, should he respawn them or not?

    ording to the settings he told the yers previously, the two of them shouldn¡¯t be able to respawn currently. However, Annan couldn¡¯t let them die so inexplicably.

    Hence, Annan intended to follow the group.

    Annan could immediately pull out an emergency n if they did identally die.

    On the way of doing that, Anna could harvest the yers¡¯ affection rating.

    Do you think you are conquering me, the NPC?

    In actual fact, I¡¯m conquering you instead!

    ¡°Your name is¡­ Citalopram, right?¡±

    Thinking of this, Annan made a cold voice and asked casually, ¡°Can I see your [Pale Body]?¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Citalopram answered equally coldly.

    Her voice was hoarse and distant.

    However, the others might not know.

    The cold-looking yer was panicking in her heart.

    ¡ªWait, what should a [Pale Body] look like? He won¡¯t ask me how it is activated, right?

    ¡ªWait, what is the use of the [Pale Body]? He won¡¯t suspect that I¡¯m not a legitimate Half-dead Enchantress, will he?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 249: Pale Body

    <h4>Chapter 249: Pale Body</h4>

    Annan and Citalopram were already near their objective when the sky turnedpletely dark.

    They didn¡¯te with the others.

    It was because when Citalopram showed the [Pale Body] to Annan previously, Lin Yiyi suddenly realized a great possibility brought by this ability.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here.¡± Annan whispered, ¡°It¡¯s not a good idea to get too close. Their scouts might recognize me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Citalopram took a deep breath, nodded slowly, andy down on the wooden bed.

    Even though Citalopram appeared to be calm, she was nervous.

    They were now at 46 Rusty Water Street.

    It was a small inn with little traffic, and it also served the role of a restaurant. Of course, as a restaurant opened in a slum area, the dishes weren¡¯t outstanding.

    The first floor of this inn was the house of the owner¡¯s family. The guests lived on the second and third floors. So it felt more like a homestay than an inn.

    Annan utilized his superior appearance and managed to rent a room on the first floor. Then, he temporarily had the boss¡¯s family hide in the basement and closed the inn¡¯s door. All these efforts were to prevent alerting the ¡°White Snake¡± gang to flee after seeing the panicked look of the owner¡¯s family from the window on the second floor.

    Another reason was to seal the exit.

    Citalopram was able to ignore the restriction from the terrain and buildingyout when she was under the [Pale Body] effect.

    Citalopramy on the bed, and her face suddenly turned ashen. It was as if she had lost all her vitality and became a ragdoll.

    At this moment, a transparent spiritual body with a pale white glow slowly sat up from the bed. This brightness was roughly at the level when a phone was on standby for a long time, and the screen was about to go dim on its own.

    This was the discovery of Annan¡¯s previous experiments.

    Only Transcended could vaguely see Citalopram¡¯s spirit body. Even Annan could only see a hazy white glimmer if he was far away.

    It would take someone to attain Silver Rank in order to see her existence clearly.

    On the other hand, ordinary people could not perceive her existence and would only feel that the surrounding air became colder.

    Citalopram couldn¡¯t pass through the solid earth because the earth was the domain of the Bone Burying Grandma. Likewise, she couldn¡¯t pass through silver objects, walls covered with gold powder, a bloody wall, or a wall made with g before it had cooled to room temperature.

    In the Noah Kingdom¡¯s folklore, ¡°male animal blood¡± and ¡°scorching g¡± were protective items to repel evil spirits. But at the same time, they also believed that painting the walls with silver powder could also y a role in warding evil spirits.

    Unfortunately, the silver powder didn¡¯t work well, even though it should have worked in principle.

    Gold dust was the signature of Mr. Ray.

    Unfortunately, the ¡°silver powder¡± used in construction wasn¡¯t silver but aluminum.

    With the exception of a few materials, she could pass through almost everything she wanted. Of course, she could also choose not to phase through them. Since she was pretty vulnerable in soul form, she needed the protection in this unique state ¡ª and of course, she could pass through other humans.

    Those whom Citalopram¡¯s spirit had passed through would suffer an immediate loss of body temperature as if they were immersed in ake of ice. The victim would tremble and their muscles would stiffen and twitch, making them struggle to move.

    Citalopram would then harvest ample vitality, making her body shine brighter. Whenever she passes through other lifeforms, she could continue to plunder their vitality and make her brilliance shine brighter. When she returned to her body, she could bring these life forces back to the body.

    The transparent Citalopram sat up from the bed, gestured at Annan, and the corners of her mouth moved silently.

    ¡°I¡­ shall go ahead¡­¡± Annan heard a faint and ethereal dreamlike voice in his ears.

    He nodded, ¡°Okay, I will watch over your body here.

    ¡°I shall repeat. After 20 minutes, I¡¯ll poke a needle at your stomach; after 40 minutes, I¡¯ll poke a needle at your chest; after 55 minutes, I¡¯ll poke a needle on your forehead.

    ¡°Please remember closely that you have to be back in 55 minutes¡­ Understood?¡± Citalopram nodded and phased through the wall.

    That was another downside of the Pale Body ¡ª but it could also be viewed as a feature.

    But when the soul left the body, her body couldn¡¯t move at all, and she was unaware of her body¡¯s surroundings.

    When the soul left the body, her body would weaken. The farther she was from her body, the faster her body weakened.

    In their tests, the weakening speed within 10 meters was negligible. However, if the distance extended to 300 meters, she must return within an hour.

    After leaving the body, the body would still give immediate feedback on all feelings and injuries ¡ª just like the spiked handcuffs in the previous nightmare. Hence, Annan mentioned time reminders of poking needles at her.

    If this ability was capitalized properly, it was indeed a powerful ability.

    Unfortunately, there were too many restrictions.

    That was Annan¡¯s opinion for this profession ¡ª or rather, this race.

    Half-dead Enchantresses were strong whether for an assault or a defensive battle. They could put on heavy armor and fight in the frontline. After sustaining a severe injury, they could retreat to the backline and utilize this ability to kill off the enemies who were more vulnerable for their own self-recovery.

    ¡ªThe legendary self-healing tank.

    Unfortunately, the Half-dead Enchantresses were of little help in a situation without a fixed base. Her real body needed protection, and protection would tend to be moreplicated than destruction.

    There weren¡¯t many weapons that could attack the soul body.

    Mr. Ray¡¯s special token wasn¡¯t ¡°gold¡± but ¡°gold powder¡±. Therefore, gold weapons couldn¡¯t damage the soul¡­ Aside from the divine art damage, only pure silver weapons could damage the soul.

    Unfortunately, pure silver weapons weren¡¯t feasible in actual meleebat.

    Only those possessing a steel sword and a silver sword, like witchers, had the opportunity to hurt Citalopram.

    The yers¡¯ assault n was also simple.

    First, they would let Citalopram sneak in first and kill off key targets. The main goal was to stir up chaos.

    Suuankou would set up traps at the entrances when the enemies were distracted. Once he was done, he would send signals and retreat. If the enemy had a Transcended or someone who could see the soul, Citalopram would withdraw from the doorway and lure them into the traps.

    If there were no Transcended among the enemies with no capabilities to retaliate, then after Citalopram had paralyzed the key targets, she would let Suuankou sneak in from the second floor and assassinate all the targets.

    Indeed, the yer group didn¡¯t intend to post on the forum to ask for help.

    In this regard, Lin Yiyi thought that Suuankou and Citalopram needed the experience points to keep up with the rest of the yers.

    In other words, it was a trip to boost the newbies.

    The veterans didn¡¯t intend to spoon-feed the equipment directly to the newbie and bring them to graduation in that manner. After all, it had no educational value to the newbies if the veterans just sped up on their progress.

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime¡­ It was better off guiding the newbies on how to tackle their challenges.

    ¡°Hmm, let me see how it goes¡­¡± Annan murmured with interest.

    Let me see how well this group of yers can perform.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 250: Ritualist

    <h4>Chapter 250: Ritualist</h4>

    This was a novel experience that Citalopram never had before.

    She didn¡¯t maneuver with her legs but relied on mind power to levitate off the ground.

    Citalopram realized that she could still pretend to walk with her legs.

    She could even stand still and yet keep moving forward. Likewise, she could move forward even if her posture was sitting or lying down. Anyway, her movement speed was constant. It was just that she didn¡¯t find it natural and her field of vision was limited.

    ¡­Is this what being a ghost feels like?

    For some reason, this thought popped into Citalopram¡¯s mind.

    She silently phased through the wall and entered the interior of No. 35 Rusty Water Street.

    After that, she did not act rashly but avoided the people around her at the first moment as she carefully observed the internal environment of the objective area.

    ¡ªIndeed, No, 35 Rusty Water Street isn¡¯t a residence either.

    Rather, it is a rtively big warehouse.

    The interior space spanned around 400 meters in radius. One-third of the ce starting from the entrance was filled with huge wooden boxes; each at the height of about one meter. Some were stacked together with severalyers up to three. The threeyer stacked boxes were all covered with a thick cloth, while the twoyer ones were not.

    There was no doubt that these boxes were all a facade.

    The blockade made with several boxes stacked on top of each other had perfectly blocked the line of sight from the entrance. After traveling halfway through the warehouse, the ce further down was empty.

    There was no back door but a few peepholes blocked by iron rods.

    Citalopram¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly.

    She saw a couple of peculiar things in the open space in the back half of the warehouse!

    The most conspicuous structure was an altar simr to a threeyered Tower of Hanoi. The topyer was engraved with blood grooves as wide as a finger. In addition, there were dark residues that were thick and sticky, like sediments.

    She also saw a few runes carved on the ground with noticeable dragging marks.

    Around these runes, there was a square area with no traces of dust. Obviously, they removed the boxes that were put on the rune previously and piled them up elsewhere.

    In addition to this, there were many strange parts that Citalopram didn¡¯t know what they were used for.

    Luckily, her knowledge from graduating from a medical university allowed her to roughly figure out what they were:

    1. A bull¡¯s skull with all its flesh removed. The horns were kept aside.

    2. The spine and the ribs were separated. Also, there were three rows ofrge canine skeletons hanging on the wall.

    3. The hearts of rats, bats, frogs, and birds soaked in several containers filled with embalming liquid.

    4. Fermented feces in copper containers.

    In addition to these items of animal origin, there were pulverized crystals, rubies, sapphires, lead, and silver. Citalopram figured out those items because there werebels on each container. Moreover, she seemed capable ofprehending those texts.

    After all, these containers were opaque. Therefore, it was impossible to tell what was inside without abel.

    In addition to this, there were some strange and apparently hand-made ¡°tools¡±.

    For example, a triangr frame made of ss or crystal; male and female dolls with their chest and abdomen cut open to reveal the cotton inside; a strange scaleposed of two weights of different weights and two ropes of different lengths¡­

    What¡¯s happening here?

    After seeing these items, Citalopram became warier.

    She huddled in the corner and counted the number of people here quietly.

    There¡¯s a total of 17 people.

    Luckily, Suuankou didn¡¯t charge into this ce directly.

    ¡ª He was right.

    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s time.¡± The skinny old man standing in the middle of the crowd said in a low voice. He put the pocket watch back into his sleeves, ¡°It seems that Bobby won¡¯t being.¡±

    ¡°Then, shall we retreat immediately?¡±

    A bald man about two meters tall, with firm muscles and a mustache, asked in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Bobby¡¯s group have either betrayed us or been caught. The Crows may have noticed us.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, they probably fled.¡±

    The brown-skinned woman with a scary scar on her face and dark green tattoos on her shoulders sneered, ¡°The Bobby brothers are cowards. They looked reluctant at the start as if we were going to force them to die.¡±

    ¡°Shush, I understand why you would say Old Mike and Joseph have betrayed us and fled, but Bobby isn¡¯t that kind of person. He¡¯s Joseph¡¯s cousin, but not like him.¡± The bald man retorted in a deep voice, ¡°Bobby is ambitious. He has the talent to embark on the path of transcendence, unlike us. He wouldn¡¯t have fled.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± The womanughed derisively, ¡°The path to transcendence¡­ It¡¯s not just us who can provide it. Maybe he will take our information and go serve the Crow.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThere are indeed Transcendental paths avable everywhere.¡±

    The skinny old man spoke slowly, interrupting their conversation, ¡°But besides us, who would lead the son of a felon on the path of transcendence?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡± The strong man nodded respectfully to the old man and said nothing more.

    ¡°Father, you have the final say.¡± The rebellious brown-skinned woman also chose to give in to the old man.

    The skinny old man known as ¡°Dad¡± said slowly, ¡°Also, I want to correct your mistakes. It isn¡¯t that you all are unqualified to embark on the path of transcendence¡­ but it is just unnecessary.

    ¡°Transcended power isn¡¯t only limited to Transcended and priests. In fact, some Transcended could barely get a hold on Transcended power until they died.

    ¡°Since they can only utilize it a few times anyway, then taking the path of the ritual is the same.¡±

    As he spoke, he strolled to the cab and took down 2 ceramic bottles.

    Citalopram noted that the bottles were marked ¡°Silver¡± and ¡°Pearls.¡±

    It made her a little uneasy.

    Then, the old man poured some powder from the bottles onto the altar.

    The strong man was quite tacit. He dragged a short, thin, snarky-eyed short man beside him to the altar ¡ª his hand grabbed the poor soul¡¯s neck directly.

    Then, like killing a chicken, he used the short man¡¯s dagger to sh the short man¡¯s wrist.

    Citalopram suddenly realized something.

    She stepped back without hesitation and got out of the warehouse through the wall.

    With the blood gushing out, the silver powder and pearl powder were soaked in the blink of an eye.

    The old man put his hand in front of one of the runes and chanted in a low volume, ¡°Silver opens my eyes¡­¡±

    At the next moment, a silver me erupted on the altar.

    The fire had a strange metallic luster, dancing like mercury.

    The fire only lit up for three seconds, then went out again.

    Nothing came up. The old man frowned deeply.

    ¡°Was it an illusion?¡± He murmured.

    The old man was silent for a while, then walked to the bottles that contained the metal powders andmanded in a low voice, ¡°Get me a mouse¡¯s heart, a cat¡¯s heel, and a frog¡¯s heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to summon something.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 251: I Shall Intervene Personally

    <h4>Chapter 251: I Shall Intervene Personally</h4>

    ¡°¡­Ritualist?¡± Annan frowned slightly, his expression turning serious.

    He didn¡¯t doubt Citalopram with questions like ¡°did you really hear that name¡± or ¡°are you sure¡±. If a veteran ritualist was actually there, she had already done a fantastic job ofing back alive.

    The path of ritual¡­ That¡¯s another way to attain extraordinary power in this world.

    There was no doubt that ritualists could be far more dangerous than Transcendeds.

    There was only one end goal to the transcendent path¡ªthat was, mastering the Truth and attaining ascendancy into immortality.

    Instead of seeking immortality, Truth, and authority, some Transcendeds overindulge with the mortal elements in this world. They were addicted to the extravagant life of the mortal world and the benefits that were visible to the naked eye and within reach.

    For them, transcended power was just a handy tool for getting rich and prosperous.

    Since it was a tool, they would naturally think of the efficacy and efficiency.

    The foundational rule of this world was that if one desired power, they had to bear the corresponding curse.

    However, since the power was only rented briefly, that would reduce the cost significantly.

    Indeed, the ritualist was unlike the Transcended¡¯s approach of sublimating one¡¯s own soul and improving one¡¯s lifeform level. They wouldn¡¯t even embark on the path to transcendence at all so the Gray Mists couldn¡¯t hinder their movement.

    They just applied ult knowledge to satisfy their endless desires.

    In this case, the ritualists borrowed Trascended power using taboos, the real names of the deities, the rituals, and the rtionship with the deities.

    During the whole process, the curse wouldn¡¯t flow into their bodies. The residues of the ritual could be used as the raw material for other rituals.

    Therefore, their lifespan was unaffected. They wouldn¡¯t fall into nightmares and they wouldn¡¯t mutate. They might even know how to use the Deities¡¯ Influence to eradicate the corruption on their soul¡­ and even corrupt others¡¯ minds to drive targets into insanity while being unnoticed.

    They were still mortals, but they had great power in their hands ¡ª a power that was beyond their control.

    Transcended was well aware of the price that must be paid to obtain power. In their perception, those unworthy couldn¡¯t get their hands on the taboo knowledge or a more potent curse.

    For the soul ascendancy process, the Transcended often had a probability of failing in their respective ritual. But, that wasn¡¯t the case for ritualists.

    As they held powers beyond their levels, they became fearless.

    To them, the difference between different levels of rituals was like ¡°an explosion that could destroy a building¡± versus ¡°an explosion that could destroy a city.¡±

    If there were a mishap, they would be dead anyway. It wouldn¡¯t make any difference.

    The only difference was how much trouble it would bring to others after their death.

    Those who had taken the path of ritual would never have cared about this in the first ce.

    If one desired to be a ritualist, they must first have the awareness to pay any price and take advantage of anyone. There was often the possibility of offending the upright deities.

    The ritualist had no reverence for power at all.

    Therefore, all ritualists were wanted criminals.

    Even if they did notmit any crime previously, they were constantly monitored, arrested, and even assassinated. Everyone knew that once the ritualist had a mishap, they couldn¡¯t stop nor suppress the ritual, unlike the ranked Transcended.

    No one knew how profound the ult knowledge stored in ritualists¡¯ minds was. Simrly, no one knew how the ritualists became who they were and when they collected those ult knowledge.

    Perhaps when they were young, they read the forbidden books collected by their parents;

    Perhaps when they were young, they obtained a secret book that recorded a certain ritual from the belongings of the deceased teacher;

    Perhaps even in middle age and old age, they were lucky enough to be involved with the ult circle.

    Those with no attachments had nothing to hold them back. In the case of a false deity¡¯s church, they didn¡¯t have a fixed base and wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the dangering from the ritualist, contrary to the officials¡¯ attitude.

    Hence, they would often hire ritualists to help them hold the ritual.

    Unlike the transcendent and ritual paths, the path of faith was the fairest path.

    There wasn¡¯t any special requirement on talent, capability, and morality. Of course, their nature wasn¡¯t as dangerous. As long as they contributed, they would attain gains. Those who worked would be rewarded.

    However, it came at a price ¡ª loyalty.

    It wasn¡¯t like the loyalty to the lords in the mortal world. They weren¡¯t as easy as mere promises, but the condition to be aligned with the deity.

    For example, the Silver Sire¡¯s priests made the oath when joining the church.

    ¡°I swear to do my best to continue the Silver Sire¡¯s symbol ¨C silver coins;¡±

    ¡°I swear to do my best to follow the way of trade, the way the Silver Sire has walked;¡±

    ¡°I swear never to betray and not toe close to other Eternals.¡±

    The first two oaths required the priests to put in their ¡°best efforts¡±, only the third condition was mandatory. They could utilize their own created ritual and the rituals which the upright deity and subordinate deities they put their faith in, but they shan¡¯t utilize rituals of other deities.

    As for the reason, Annan hadn¡¯t figured it out yet.

    It wasn¡¯t a harsh condition. Also, it wasn¡¯t a condition set for ¡°believers¡±, but an oath that the ¡°priests¡± had to follow.

    It felt like a ¡°Non-Disclosure and Non-Competition Agreement¡±.

    Annan¡¯s previous ns would need to drastically change if there was a ritualist in Roseburg.

    This meant that there might be no Rotten Man¡¯s believers in Roseburg. The summoner of the ¡°Ritual: Roaring Heart¡± and the creatures could be the same person.

    He was just employed by the Rotten Man.

    Then, the Rotten Man forces in Roseburg weren¡¯t as robust as Annan imagined ¡ª they might have evacuated already.

    ¡°Things are starting to getplicated¡­¡±

    It isn¡¯t just a beginner testfor Suuankou and Citalopram anymore.

    We might have gotten involved with the safety of the entire Roseburg, the Geraint family¡¯s continuation in the capital, and even the throne of the Noah Kingdom.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to run an errand¡­ Quickly summon Jiu Er over, and get Suuankou to install the traps. After the instation ispleted, retreat directly and use the trap to dy their departure time.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°I¡¯m going back to get some items. You all shall wait for me here¡­ I will try to be back within 40 minutes. You and Suuankou will tail the ritualist and ignore the rest if they leave.

    ¡°Your test hase to an end for the time being. I will assess it another time. But, to give you the bravery to tail the ritualist and tail him effectively, I will first grant you the ability tomunicate with each other and respawn.¡±

    Following Annan¡¯s words, two hints floated before Citalopram: Respawn and forum are unlocked.

    Annan nned to intervene personally¡ªhe wanted to seize them alive.

    At the same time, he would gather the online yers, issue a time-limited mission, and grant temporary unlimited respawn privileges.

    At the very least, these yers would thin out the enemies¡¯ assault.

    These two new yers capable of assassination were a pleasant surprise for Annan.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 252: Consecutive Summons

    <h4>Chapter 252: Consecutive Summons</h4>

    ¡°Note this down. 9 rat hearts dipped with daffodil pollen can be used to rece the required baby¡¯s heart in the ritual.¡±

    The ¡°Father¡± taught slowly, ¡°9 symbolizes the number of blood and desire. The daffodil pollen put on each rat heart shall not exceed ? of the heart size. Otherwise, the Silent Lady will ¡®reject¡¯ the ritual.¡±

    The five witnesses had their eyes wide open, watching the Father demonstrate the miracle.

    As for the rest, they took the hearing inhibition reagent ¡ª inexpensive alteration products that would temporarily take away their hearing, and they would recover quickly after smelling poop.

    Every time before the ritual, the ¡°White Snake¡± executives who weren¡¯t qualified to learn the ritual, but had the hope of bing a core member, would ingest the reagent.

    They also understood that doing so was to protect their life.

    They have encountered many examples of tragic deaths due to ritual failures in the past few years.

    Without an orthodox heritage, they would never easily use the ritual that they heard.

    ¡­But that being said, it was worth watching the process.

    Those who could attend this meeting were higher-ups and even core members. For example, the tall and thin lurker, Bobby, was eligible to participate in this meeting.

    Ordinary members had no idea who they were serving at all. On the other hand, the core members wouldn¡¯t leak the ¡°Father¡¯s¡± secret who used the ¡°Rotten Man Church¡± as a facade.

    The reason was also simple.

    They were all confident that they could be the ¡°Father¡¯s¡± apprentices.

    Most of these core members weren¡¯t Roseburg¡¯s natives. Instead, they were all disciples who had followed the ¡°Father¡± to several cities.

    They came here because the Rotten Man Church offered them a great price. Also, Roseburg¡¯s viscount had long known of their existence and let them grow further. This was also the fundamental reason why the ¡°White Snake¡± could control the entire underground forces of Roseburg while being unnoticed.

    The ¡°White Snake¡± was just theirir.

    After all, a lot of rare materials were required for the ritual. If they bought all the materials at the same time, the Silver Sire Church, which possessed Transcended knowledge, would sense something was wrong.

    So they secretly assassinated the ¡°White Snake¡¯s¡± original leader and utilized the underground gang forces as a facade to secretly collect ritual material under the disguise of logistics.

    The ¡°Father¡± seemed to do all of this to make money and for treasures.

    His followers were here for ¡°learning¡± ¡ª learning the taboo knowledge.

    ¡°But in this ritual, we¡¯re using rat¡¯s heart instead of a baby¡¯s heart. That¡¯s because the rat¡¯s heart and the cat¡¯s heel make an easybination, which substitutes the ¡®hunter¡¯s heel¡¯ and ¡®pieces of the prey caught by it¡¯. Remember to cut it with a rusted ritual knife to reveal the element of the killing.¡±

    The Father said slowly and cut the cat¡¯s heel into three pieces, forming a triangle.

    ¡°This represents the ¡®lurker¡¯s stride¡¯ and the ¡®death of the hunted¡¯. Then, we will have a resurrected frog¡¯s heart. First, soak it in Elixir and let it resume beating after an electric shock. The moment the heart stops again is when the ritual starts. This represents the moment when life sumbs to death.¡±

    The ¡°Father¡± exined without any pause to his work.

    His exnation was detailed, but the only thing he didn¡¯t mention was the ¡°portion and ratio¡±.

    This was the experience every ritualist relied on for their livelihood.

    It was also the means to control their apprentice so that the apprentices wouldn¡¯t have any maligned thoughts to seek their life and knowledge.

    This allowed the apprentices to work for him for many years as ¡°assistants¡± as they grew up. Furthermore, once the apprentice learned enough rituals and umted enough experience, they would be driven away in time or even killed.

    ¡°Is that all you need, Father?¡± The brown-skinned tattooed woman asked with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t hide your secrets.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, Greenscale.¡± The Father nced at her and replied nonchntly.

    Like the alias ¡°Father¡±, the brown-skinned woman had a pseudonym ¡ª ¡°Greenscale¡±.

    The reason for not using their real names was because they understood the danger of cursing someone via names. At the same time, they didn¡¯t have the money or prestige to ask the idol wizard to create a stand-in for themselves in redirecting the curses that target them away. On the other hand, having an alias will safeguard their lives against their teacher, students, and colleagues.

    The ¡°Father¡± added casually with a hoarse voice, ¡°What we will be summoning this time is the Skeleton Crow of the Funeral Deity Faceless Poet. It can detect and harm the dead. So when you are about to steal corpses, you can summon one of them to keep watch for you.

    ¡°This ritual is a simplified version. If you want to summon the Skeleton Crow, you have to use the ¡®Remains of the Silent Funeral¡¯ as a guide. Otherwise, you may attract the ¡®Invisible Hunter¡¯ or the ¡®Mist Lady¡¯. You may summon the two surprises sessfully or fail because of insufficient power. The worst price can make your heart stop for 30 seconds if you fail.

    ¡°So, when you see a funeral with this atmosphere, you can go around and collect the influence. After all, the influence is easy to remove. Crying before the curse bes active can purify the influence.¡±

    Of course, the ¡°Father¡± had hidden something from them.

    After ¡°Green Scale¡± pointed this out, he honestly and carefully exined the details to them.

    As the frog¡¯s heart stops beating, the ¡°Father¡± put on a solemn expression while the rest became quiet in an instant.

    He quickly lifted a human leg bone and ced it horizontally above the ritual area.

    After that, a gray hue instantly plunged into his pupils.

    After a short dy, the ¡°Father¡± dripped with cold sweat on his forehead.

    In front of everyone, the 9 hearts burned simultaneously, releasing dim gray mes. After they were all burnt out, the mes still didn¡¯t disappear. Instead, three ck mes clustered began to burn the cat¡¯s heels slowly.

    At this moment, the sound of ttering sounded.

    It was like putting a lot of Lego building blocks in a bag and shaking it hard.

    But the apprentices soon realized that it was the sound of bones crashing against each other.

    In front of the ¡°Father¡±, the broken bones of birds emerged from thin air. They collided to form a crow about half a meter high.

    It had only bones all over its body and gray mes burning in its skull. However, it could still fly.

    The Skeleton Crow flew for a circle in the air. When its eyes nced over somewhere, it shrieked and flew over immediately.

    ¡ªIf Citalopram witnessed this scene, she would immediately realize that this was the position where she had been staying for the longest time!

    Then, a bloodstain appeared under the Skeleton Crow.

    It lurched on the ground, avoiding everyone, and stopped in front of the shelves.

    That was the trajectory of Citalopram¡¯s actions!

    ¡°Sure enough, a ghost visited us.¡±

    The ¡°Father¡± sneered and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°It isn¡¯t necessarily someone from the Crow¡¯s Family. I suspect the Venerated Skeleton may be involved. Of course, there¡¯s the chance of being a stray undead.

    ¡°We need to summon something more to make sure that we can protect ourselves.

    ¡°Take a good look. Then, you can make consecutive summons while you are in ¡®fear¡¯.

    ¡°I have taught youst time on the necessary elements to summon ¡®Bane¡¯. The conditions include any strong emotions of fear, sadness, pain, or regret from the summoner, a burned old photo album, a kidney of a desperate male sharpshooter, and unused poison over ten years old. We have all of them in stock¡­ So go and get it.¡±

    The ¡°Father¡±manded slowly.

    His narrow eyes were full of fear, but this fear didn¡¯t affect his words and thinking.

    He learned the religions of many churches. Of course, he knew that it wasn¡¯t the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s doings.

    This is the trace of a¡±Half-dead Enchantress¡±.

    The only possibility is that Don Juan Geraint has discovered our existence, so he hired a Half-dead Enchantress to scout on us.

    Luckily, my apprentices couldn¡¯t decipher these traces.

    On the one hand, the ¡°Father¡± needed them to do the grunt work for him, getting all the items required for the ritual.

    On the other hand¡­

    ¡°The Betrayed Apprentice¡± could also be used as the material of the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual¡­ and be a powerful Skeleton Guardian.

    Unfortunately, the Skeleton Guardian couldn¡¯t do grunt work, and it would be thest time these apprentices would be helpful to him.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 253: Eighty! Eighty!

    <h4>Chapter 253: Eighty! Eighty!</h4>

    Since this was a ¡°time-limited event¡± without any prior notices, few yers could participate in time.

    yers were more inclined to reside in Roseburg than the rural Freezing Water Port. After all, the city was rtively more developed. It was much more convenient for food, clothing, housing, and transportation. In addition, there were opportunities for odd jobs to earn some money and upgrade their equipment.

    After all, even their feudal lord already resided in Roseburg, so they didn¡¯t even have the task of bodyguarding their lord there.

    However, some yers would visit Freezing Water Port once every three days to farm the dungeon instances.

    Fortunately, there were about 30 yers in Roseburg, and the strongest 4 yers were all in Roseburg right now.

    Only Salvatore was still living in the Freezing Water Port.

    Hisboratory was just below the city lord¡¯s residence. It would be troublesome to move the ce, and he would be leaving soon anyway.

    In fact, after he had gotten the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Bone Blood Trigger, he could already return to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    The reason why Salvatore didn¡¯t leave immediately was to not leave the mess to Annan.

    Salvatore admitted that he owed Annan, involving Annan in a fight that had nothing to do with him. This guilt even deepened after learning of Annan¡¯s true identity.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t think so. He never felt that Salvatore owed him anything, and he even thought that he had used Salvatore so many times that he felt uneasy for his conscience.

    Somehow, Salvatore was quite firm in his view.

    He had already made up his mind that when Annan went to the capital, he would follow along as well before he returned to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Of course, Annan thought that Salvatore must be feeling lonely on his journey.

    Although Annan couldn¡¯t get Salvatore¡¯s help in this operation, he had summoned another helper, Kafni Noah, on his way in getting his equipment.

    Kafni, who was left alone in Roseburg by the Fourth Prince Albert, was now Annan¡¯s chief bodyguard.

    She lived in the room next to Annan.

    After advancing into Silver Rank, the most significant difference was the ¡°Perception¡± and ¡°Will¡± attributes.

    A Dragon Monk¡¯s extraordinary perception allowed Kafni to detect every movement in Annan¡¯s room, even through walls. Whether there were thieves or assassins, she could directly sense their location as if she had seen them with her own eyes.

    At this moment, Annan brought Kafni to the side of the warehouse. She was sensing the curses in the warehouse over a distance, with her eyes closed.

    ¡°I can feel it¡­¡± Kafni closed her eyes slightly and whispered, ¡°There are remnants of rituals over there. It¡¯s fresh¡­ and there are many varieties.¡±

    ¡°Can you detect what types of ritual there are?¡± Annan asked eagerly.

    Kafni shook her head, ¡°I can¡¯t sense the ritual¡¯s oue. It must be the doing of a veteran. He must have added the wall with ayer of lead. If I haven¡¯t advanced into Silver Rank, I can¡¯t sense any trace of ritual even if I¡¯m a Dragon Monk.¡±

    ¡°Can you give me a rough number of the rituals?¡±

    Annan urged in a low volume, ¡°If you aren¡¯t sure with the type, count what¡¯s in there. You don¡¯t need to be urate with the numbers, but tell me what you sense.¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s instructions, Kafni closed her eyes again and poured her perceptions into the warehouse.

    ¡°I felt the essence of ¡®Bone¡¯, ¡®Dead¡¯, ¡®Fear¡¯, ¡®Betrayal¡¯, ¡®Shadow¡¯, and ¡®Blood¡¯. I don¡¯t know how many summoned creatures are there or which of these smells are material, influences, or a summon. But to be on the safe side, we must be prepared to face up to 7 Transcended enemies.¡±

    Kafni said seriously, ¡°If there are more than two Silver Rank enemies, I may not be able to protect you.¡±

    As she spoke, she nced back at the yers who were gathering up. Then, she whispered into Annan¡¯s ear, ¡°If the battle situation is unfavorable, can we let them upy the enemies as we retreat? In that case, I¡¯m confident that I can buy you time.¡±

    ¡­That should be fine. Annan thought.

    In actual fact, Annan summoned the yers with the same intention.

    From this point of view, Kafni and Annan shared the same thoughts.

    But in front of the yers, Annan naturally couldn¡¯t admit it so readily.

    ¡°Annan¡± was an NPC on the yer¡¯s side. Moreover, he was a future Grand Duke who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside like a prickly pear. Also, he had to disy himself in being resolute, responsible, and wise. So how could he be timid before the fight?

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Annan patted Kafni¡¯s head lightly, feeling the warmth of Kafni¡¯s head, and whisperedfortably in her ear, ¡°I have another ¡®that¡¯ to use ¡ª it won¡¯t be dangerous.

    ¡°If the situation is unfavorable, I will activate it.¡±

    Although Annan wasn¡¯t well-prepared equipment-wisepared to the battle with the Rotten Man, he still had the iplete Sage¡¯s Stone with him.

    In addition, Annan also brought along [Elven Skin Glove], [Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm], and [White Guillotine]. Then, he put the [Blood-stained Kitchen Knife] in a carry-on bag.

    The main reason for not taking out the kitchen knife directly was because the curse [Painting Destroyer] might put Annan in a difficult situation.

    [Painting Destroyer: If the holder sees a portrait of a middle-aged woman while wielding the [Blood-stained Kitchen Knife], he must throw the kitchen knife out within 3 seconds. Otherwise, the holder will be injured by the kitchen knife.]

    They were about to assault a warehouse, with the owner of that warehouse being a ritualist.

    Certainly, rituals often required something bizarre and lessmon. Annan dared not say that there were absolutely no ¡°portraits of middle-aged women¡± in that warehouse.

    If he saw the painting when he entered the warehouse with a kitchen knife, he would have to disarm his weapon immediately in front of the enemy.

    It was better to hide it from sight and use it as a one-time throwing weapon at critical moments. After all, the kitchen knife had a handy curse [Extraordinary Throw].

    [Extraordinary Throw: When this item was thrown, it would automatically search for enemies in a small area as if the Edict school spell of the same name was applied.]

    In the previous battle with the Rotten Man, this skill didn¡¯te in handy because it was just an ordinary kitchen knife, and it couldn¡¯t harm the Rotten Man.

    Sending it over was like an act of giving a gift.

    Worse still, the Rotten Man might catch the knife and throw it back.

    After all, curse vessels wouldn¡¯t recognize their masters.

    Annan was confident that a kitchen knife thrown by Rotten Man would be fatal.

    At present, however, the current enemies were feeble mortals.

    They weren¡¯t even Transcended yet.

    Hence, the kitchen knife had a purpose in this battle.

    At present, Annan wielded a hammer with his right hand and a guillotine de in his left, giving off a ferocious air ¡ª if you ignore his body size and young face.

    Even though Annan had a sullen face and made a look of ¡°I¡¯m super fierce now¡±, the yers just whispered among themselves and pointed at him secretly.

    ¡°¡ªTo be honest, he¡¯s kind of cute.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe cute style of being angry.¡±

    ¡°¡ªCome on. Annan can break your head with a hammer.¡±

    ¡°¡ªEven if he does, I wouldn¡¯t stop him. It¡¯s because of my love for him!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAlright, stop now. You¡¯re making us embarrassed.¡±

    Looking at the lively forum, Suuankou and Citalopram felt a touch of ¡°What, I¡¯m actually ying a game¡±.

    After the yers were all gathered, Annanmanded in a deep voice, ¡°The only door on the front has a trap, which Suuankou had set up. Then, we¡¯ll take a different path. Let¡¯s go in from the ce where there is no door! I¡¯ll break the wall first, and then you all shall charge in¡ªeveryone pairs up in twos for the first assault. After getting close to the enemy, Kafni, Yiyi, and I will enter from the side of the battlefield.

    ¡°Remember to attack the summons first while giving priority to your safety. You don¡¯t need to kill them, and your goal is to hold them back. The front exit of the warehouse is installed with traps, and you can also force the enemy there. Kafni and I will focus on defeating the ritualist first.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s all get ready¡­¡± As Annan spoke, he raised the hammer in his hand.

    If this hammer wasn¡¯t a hammer but only a staff, it resembled the infamous Shaolin weapon ¡ª Qi Mei Staff. After counting the hammer in, it would appear that Annan¡¯s height was rtively inadequate.

    Annan waved the [Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm] at the next moment.

    It gained an extra boost of 10 Strength when attacking a ¡°wall¡±.

    As Annan mmed the hammer with all his might, the earth trembled.

    On the next hit, that side wall of the warehouse was full of cracks.

    On the third hit, a hole about one person in height and five meters wide was broken into the wall. Many bricks and debris sshed inward with the dust flying up in the air.

    As the warehouse wall copsed inward, the yers charged in with killing intent!

    Indeed, the yers had heard the instructions. There were many ¡°summoned creatures¡± and killed anyone you see.

    Since our goal is to hold them back, defeating them directly wouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?

    The yers had watched the live stream on summoned creatures before and learned that these creatures would give a lot of experience.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 254: Donâ€™t Come Near Me

    <h4>Chapter 254: Don¡¯t Come Near Me</h4>

    The ritualist had already realized that an ambush was set up at the warehouse¡¯s entrance.

    He likely learned this information through a ritual or a summoned creature.

    Hence, none of the enemies had gotten out of the warehouse even when Annan and the rest had returned.

    However, they didn¡¯t expect that Annan wouldn¡¯t need to go through the entrance at all.

    He was able to break through the sidewall in just 5 seconds!

    The yers immediately swarmed into the warehouse when the wall copsed.

    To Annan¡¯s surprise, the situation in the warehouse was different from the intelligence he had gotten previously.

    There were only two ordinary people inside.

    Or¡­ 1.5 humans instead.

    The room was scattered with [Skeleton Soldiers], which looked like standard mobs in other games.

    What stood out differently was the size of these skeletons. They were more than two meters tall, and their skulls were peculiarly more enormous, giving off an oppressive air.

    Although they weren¡¯t equipped with armor, their outlook signified that they weren¡¯t just fodders that wielded ¡°bone sabers¡±.

    They either held a il or a mace in their right hands, but each had a thick iron shield more than two meters high in their left hand that could be easily stationed on the ground.

    Annan recognized the enemies immediately.

    They are Skeleton Guardians!

    The once-loyal guardians of the Venerated Skeleton¡­ Each of the Skeleton Guardians was equivalent to a Level 10 Giant Guard proficient in Bodyguard Swordsmanship.

    The Bodyguard Swordsmanship was dedicated to twobat scenarios: ¡°fighting the enemies with a number advantage¡± or ¡°fighting a group alone¡±!

    The Skeleton Guardian, which had lost its vulnerable parts such as its heart, neck, and head, was invulnerable to conventional methods of killing. Since they were skeletons, they had excellent resistance to stabbing and arrows. The tall, heavy shields in their hands could be used to defend against any bludgeoning damageing from heavy weapons. As the Skeleton Guardians grouped up, they could also form a shield wall as a temporary cover. The ils or maces in their hands could effectively damage those d in heavy armor.

    They were the fearless defenders, invulnerable to stabs, shes, bleeding, poisons, and shield bashes. Moreover, they could form a shield wall to provide covers at any time, making them the perfect fit as defenders.

    In small-scale battles, Skeleton Guardians couldpletely change the tide of a fight.

    The only downside was that the ritual summoning them was pretty harsh.

    As the guardians of the Betrayal Deity, they would only follow the leadership of the ¡°betrayer¡±. Also, the betrayal must bemitted by the one in charge towards their underlings. Only then could Skeleton Guardians be summoned from the flesh of the betrayed.

    Under the protection of the Skeleton Guardians group, the yers could barely notice the thin, hunched old man standing by the altar in the warehouse.

    He looked so old as if he could die at any given moment. An iparably dense death aura shrouded his deeply sunken ugly facial features, but his mobility remained unhindered despite so.

    Beside him, a macho man was slowly melting, turning into a monster like a fat Candle Dog that burned brightly. The candle oil dripping out formed its lower body.

    ¡°¡ªFuck, Matou Zouken?¡± Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes widened up, and she couldn¡¯t help but blurt.

    As the Tank for the team and to protect Annan, she chose to charge directly at the ¡°Matou Zouken¡± and the ¡°Candle Dog¡±.

    But at this moment, the Skeleton Crow in the air suddenly opened his mouth, and its jaws made clicking sounds.

    When it chirped, all yers didn¡¯t feel any difort. However, Citalopram, who rushed over after Yiyi, heard a shrieking noise in her ears.

    It was a harsh, high-pitched chirping.

    Her mind went nk at the moment she heard this voice. Soon, she lost the ability to control her bodypletely.

    Other yers saw that Citalopram¡¯s blurred body became clearer and manifested like a shimmer of light. In addition, there were lots of fluctuations in her ethereal body.

    But, in the next moment, a sharp stone came flying at high speed, forcing the Skeleton Crow to stop chirping and dodge away.

    The yer who threw the rock was the Wandering Child!

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± He asked urgently, without looking back at Citalopram.

    Then, he drew an S-shape on the ground with a rapier.

    A curved, rocky ravine suddenly emerged on the ground following the sh. Immediately, they swelled up from the ground and separated the battlefield diagonally into three areas.

    Four Skeleton Guardians were at the outer area, whereas the middle area had six Skeleton Guardians, the ¡°Candle Dog¡±, the Skeleton Crow, and the old man. Finally, thest area had 5 Skeleton Guardians caged in the triangr wall.

    After achieving this feat, the Child¡¯s forehead was dripping with sweat, making it seem like it wasn¡¯t an easy task.

    Immediately afterward, he pointed his rapier to the ground.

    Three tile-sized, tooth-shaped sharp stones were summoned on the ground. Then, as the Wandering Child pointed his de at the Skeleton Crow again, these sharp stones rose from the ground and flew towards the Skeleton Crow!

    All of a sudden, the yers heard a gunshot.

    A person stood above the temporary earthen wall, which was previously empty. The man wore a strange helmet installed with thirteen lenses on his head that only covered his eyes. At the corner of his mouth, there was a hint of mncholy.

    He wielded a sniper rifle about 1.5 meters long, and his first shot deflected two of the stone pieces. Unfortunately, thest stone piece couldn¡¯t hit the Skeleton Crow in its trajectory.

    The Child profused with cold sweat after noticing the sniper with an exaggerated outfit.

    I¡¯m done for. This fucker has a hand cannon¡­

    Why is the thickness of the barrel sorge it can fit a quail egg!?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, that¡¯s [Bane]!¡±

    Annan soothed them from the backline, ¡°It can only be attacked by long-range weapons such as crossbow arrows and firearms, but it can¡¯t attack living creatures, only ballistic interception!¡±

    Hearing this, the Child felt a little relieved.

    But at this moment, a petite figure suddenly jumped out from over his head.

    That was Jiu Er!

    She wielded a refined battle axe ¡ª a new weapon she bought via Annan¡¯s affection ratings. It didn¡¯t have any particr advantages or strength boost, nor was it a curse vessel¡­ but it had two features: sharp and heavy.

    It was added with some adamantium, which made it heavier than a stainless steel battleaxe of the same weight. Since it was an alloy, it was also sharper. It even had a beautiful sheen of dark gold on its axe de.

    When Jiu Er asked Annan to give her a good and durable weapon previously, Annan thought of the axe at the first moment.

    This was the axe in the hands of the decorative knight statue in the living room of the Viscount Mansion.

    It was 1.8 meters in height. When Jiu Er held it in her hand, it was equally amusing, like Annan wielding the Qi Mei Staff (i.e: the sledgehammer without a hammer¡¯s head).

    Annan knew that Jiu Er had robust strength, especially after changing her profession into a Berserker.

    Moreover, she had promoted [All-out Blow] to Level 7. Ordinary long swords were simply unable to sustain her enormous strength.

    But this axe would do just fine.

    Since the axe was used as a disy in the Viscount¡¯s house, it was without a doubt that it was a refined weapon of excellent quality. With great maintenance, the de of the axe was shining. Giving it out would make the gifter quite prestigious since the weapon was seemingly brand new.

    Of course, none had used this axe before. After it was forged, it was immediately sent to the auctions for the collectors to buy it.

    After Jiu Er acquired it, a dim crimson light appeared on it. It was the special effect produced by the long-term contact of the adamantium with blood. ¡°Gold¡± symbolized ¡°dye¡± in Alteration School. As a result, the adamantium was quite susceptible to being dyed with the color of the objects that it was frequently in contact with.

    However, it was noteworthy to mention that the blood-red hue on this axe wasn¡¯t from the enemy¡¯s blood. ?

    Jiu Er lunged andnded behind the Skeleton Guardians in the middle area.

    She raised the axe, turned it upside down, and screamed, ¡°Don¡¯te near me¡­ Ah~¡°

    Before the Skeleton Guardians¡¯ weapons struck her, Jiu Er shed the axe into her own abdomen vertically first!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 255: Behold The Fourth Calamity!

    <h4>Chapter 255: Behold The Fourth Cmity!</h4>

    Jiu Er¡¯s battle resolution stunned even the Skeleton Guardians for a moment.

    Besides having wrappings covering her chest, she only put on an overcoat on top. After she cut her abdomen, blood spurted out of her body.

    Her Health dropped to 50% instantly, and it continued to deplete.

    When Jiu Er was injured, her abdomen lit up with mystical dark red runes.

    It was a crimson curse mark that was as fiery hot as charcoal fire.

    The runes that were split in half by the cut summoned upon a greater power. Heat waves that were visible to the naked eye were steaming out from her abdomen. One could see how the heat agitated the air around her.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Jiu Er took a deep breath.

    A puff of white steam shot out from the depths of her throat like an arrow. She swung the axe in her hand, and the scorching blood was sshed onto the ground in an arc.

    At the next moment, she leaped high into the air again.

    Due to the intense movement, the spilt blood had depleted her Health to less than 40%.

    While Jiu Er was still in the air, her sclera turned ck and her pupils scarlet.

    Massive strength surged from the runes on her abdomen as if she had acquired a second and much stronger heart, pumping limitless power into her limbs.

    This was Berserker¡¯s skill, [Death¡¯s Embrace]!

    [Death¡¯s Embrace LV1: The closer your state is to death, the more resilient you are from dying. For every 10% drop in Health, there will be a temporary +1 attribution bonus on either Strength, Agility, or Constitution. If Health increases, the temporary attribute bonus will be lost. When your Health is lower than 40%, this buff takes effect; when Health is higher than 40%, this buff is calcted normally, but it will not take effect.]

    When Health dropped to 40%, Jiu Er acquired 6 temporary attributes.

    The system had randomized 3 points in Strength, 2 points in Agility, and 1 point in Constitution!

    A loyal Skeleton Guardian immediately intercepted when Jiu Er was about to leap towards the old man. The skeleton raised its heavy shield high and tried to bash at Jiu Er, who was up in the sky and getting ready to swing at her like a tennis smash.

    Immediately after, Jiu Er¡¯s biceps bulged and the blood vessels under her skin ruptured, causing a dark web-likework to surface on her arms.

    The blood-dyed axe came straight down, and it easily struck through the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s shield!

    ¡ªBoom!

    There was a loud crash, apanied by dust spreading in all directions.

    The giant shield in the hands of the Skeleton Guardian was dented with an opening splitting to the sides.

    The enormous force struck the skeleton off bnce, who staggered two steps back and fell to the ground.

    The surrounding yers had already retreated to both sides.

    In fact, Jiu Er wasn¡¯t shouting the phrase ¡°Don¡¯te near me¡± to the monsters but the yers.

    Jiu Er knew she couldn¡¯t keep fighting for long, especially if the enemy wouldn¡¯t spare her time to recover her Health.

    So at the moment when she justunched the attack, she had already activated all the buffs.

    [All-out Blow LV7: Exerting all your strength tounch 1 devastating attack. The Strength for the next attack gains a 30% bonus and consumes triple the stamina.]

    [Blood Sustenance: Weapons stained with the user¡¯s blood will cause greater damage to the enemy (the lower the user¡¯s health, the greater the increase in damage); when weapons stained with the enemy¡¯s blood attack the user, the user¡¯s health recovery speed will be significantly increased in a short period (the lower the health, the faster the recovery speed).]

    When Jiu Ernded, she kicked her legs and darted forward!

    The wound on her abdomen was still bleeding, which stained her clothes red.

    A bright red shadow dashed forward and sent the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s head out with an axe¡¯s sh!

    Despite losing its head, the skeleton still struggled to get up from the ground. ¡°

    ¡°The head isn¡¯t its weakness¡ª¡± Lin Yiyi, who had sessfully inched closer to the enemy, shouted.

    With the iron pipe in her hand, she easily deflected the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s attack away to another Skeleton Guardian¡¯s knee. The attacking from the skeleton with its knee struck was deflected to the neck of the first skeleton.

    Afterward, she swung her iron pipe at the damaged spots on the two Skeleton Guardians.

    Under a clear crisp sound, she punctured a crack on her opponents.

    She could easily crack the bones by repeating the attacks on the same spots.

    ¡°Got it!¡± Jiu Er didn¡¯t pause for a second.

    She first chopped off the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s left and right arms in two shes. Immediately after, she stepped back and chopped the skeleton¡¯s knees open with consecutive axe shes.

    Then, she activated [All-out Blow] again, splitting the flying skull vertically into two pieces.

    Her work was as skilled as the chefs chopping ribs when handling ingredients.

    Just as she was processing the ¡°ingredient¡±, another Skeleton Guardian had rushed up, trying tounch a sneak attack on her. But, it was still only an attempt.

    They made loud noises as they moved, so staying stealthy in their objectives was impossible.

    Jiu Er, who acquired a temporary bonus on attribute points, didn¡¯t bother to look back to parry the uing attack.

    She wasn¡¯t even in a defensive stance at all.

    She simply squatted down, held the axe in both hands, and performed a 360¡ã spinning sh!

    Since her sh was kind of low, the Skeleton Guardian behind her failed to block her attack with its shield.

    Its shin was shattered in an instant. Only then did Jiu Er start dodging the attack.

    The direction of her dodge wasn¡¯t just a retreat but a frontal assault to another enemy across a distance!

    The red figure darted over.

    All of a sudden, three scorching balls of wax oil were spat at her!

    The amount of wax oil was enough to fill a bathtub.

    Since Jiu Er activated [Charge], she couldn¡¯t stop anymore.

    In the end, her scarlet eyes were gleaming with viscous air. She didn¡¯t evade but elerated instead!

    If you¡¯re going to take me down, I shall at least bring one down with me!

    The Child had already noticed that the Candle-Dog-looking monster was unbound by the ritual.

    He too hadpleted his summoning as well!

    A rock wall rose from the ground, blocking the wax oil spraying at Jiu Er.

    The viscous mes quickly spread onto the rock wall.

    Meanwhile, Jiu Er had already rushed to a ce enabling her to attack.

    Unlike when she rescued Suuankou previously, whereby she utilized her elbow tounch the first attack to unbnce the enemy, she raised her axe as she came closer to the attack position.

    Under the [Charge]¡¯s momentum, she shed her axe diagonally.

    The Skeleton Guardian, with her back facing her, had its tibia shattered.

    The rock wall spread, rising from the ground and surrounding Jiu Er. In the end, the wall became more than two meters high and a palm¡¯s length thick, sessfully shielding her from the wax oil that was still spraying continuously!

    The Child had his right arm trembling uncontrobly due to the rock summoning at this scale.

    He couldn¡¯t help but ask for help, ¡°Milord! We can¡¯t hold on!¡±

    ¡°I heard you.¡± Annan replied calmly.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 256: Spell Evolution

    <h4>Chapter 256: Spell Evolution</h4>

    As Annan spoke, the ¡°Candle Dog¡± seemed to have suddenly realized something and stopped attacking the yers. Instead, the dog retreated a few steps back and then began to devour himself frantically.

    Its body looked like a fat Shar-Pei [1] about one meter tall, but it had no nose nor eyes. Its head looked more like a tube with several rings of sharp teeth.

    There was no skin on its body, but onlyyers of white fat burning with mes. When it moved, these fats trembled slightly¡­ After the mes had burned out, traces of wax were left on its path.

    The previous attack came from this monster.

    Its slender and soft neck had bent, nibbling on itself, and then spat out incendiary bombs.

    The white wax oil it spat could burn continuously on the rock wall for more than ten seconds. Undoubtedly, once the yers got hit by it, they would no longer be able to fight anymore.

    ¡°This is the apostle of the Deity of Lamps and Candles, the Light Chasing Beast. It will attack all creatures without a light source¡­ If you leave it alone, it will wolf itself swiftly.¡±

    Kafni¡¯s voice sounded beside Annan, ¡°But the wax oil on it is a precious material, called ¡®White Liquid Fire¡¯. So please freeze it alive, Your Highness. I want that material to repair myntern.¡±

    Kafni¡¯s voice was filled with resentment as herntern was destroyed previously.

    Annan nodded, ¡°Sure, it¡¯s a piece of cake.¡±

    As soon as his sentence ended, ayer of frost appeared on the ground silently. Frigid cold air encircled the battlefield. The yers even found it difficult to breathe, and their feet became freezing.

    It was like stepping on ice with thin shoes.

    Though, the spell was unlike before.

    The yers didn¡¯t see any signs at all¡­ Previously, there used to be veil-like white curse ripples that spread out from Annan¡¯s feet like water waves.

    But this time, the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped without warning.

    Kafni opened her eyes slightly.

    The ruby-clear pupils were full of curiosity and wonder.

    ¡­He actually became stronger again.

    Should I say¡­ as expected of Annan?

    Kafni¡¯s perception was urate.

    After Annan cleared ¡°Nightmare: Reflection¡±, he found that the [Shared Experience Pool] in reserve was just enough to increase his wizard profession by 1 level.

    As a result, his profession panel had grown into:

    Wizard (Energy Falteration School) LV18: [Instant Spell LV4 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, N/A, N/A)], [Guided Spell LV4 (Impeding Wall, Frost Field, Notion Rain, Denial of Life)], [Chant Spell LV2 (Frost Wheel, N/A)], [Ritual Spell LV1 (N/A)]

    On the other hand, Annan¡¯s [Perception] attribute had just exceeded 40.

    ¡ªWhen Annan met Kafni for the first time, his [Perception] attribute was only 31. However, it had only been less than a week, and Annan¡¯s main attribute had increased by one-third.

    It could be Annan had respawned quite a bit, or possibly because he had an outstanding perception¡­ But the most likely reason was that Annan had his frost element 100% awakened.

    His mostmonly used guided spell [Frost Nova] finally ushered in the first evolution.

    [Frost Field (Guided): Render the temperature of the specified object (air/water/earth/living creature, etc.) drop rapidly in the spherical space within a radius of 40 meters (depending on the Perception attribute), and makes its surface brittle. In the Frost Field, every time the enemy runs/attacks/dodges/get attacked, there will be a mandatory Constitution check [2]. If the check fails, the enemy shall suffer a ¡°Chilling Touch¡± spell. For every 3.6s (depending on the total level of wizard profession ¨C 5), 5 Order Power will be consumed to sustain the effect.]

    Annan¡¯s spell had be much more potent.

    In the past, the [Frost Nova] consumed additional mana to activate ¡°Chilling Touch¡± to freeze the targets. The attacks were like tides, rushing out wave after wave along with Annan¡¯s heartbeat. It was a rhythmic attack and was easy to be dodged and evade. Worse still, it could be hindered easily with a wall.

    But that has be different now.

    After the spell evolved, Annan could freeze people through walls.

    Moreover, the frozen enemies were more vulnerable now. Annan¡¯s spell had amplified the yers¡¯ attack power in a sense.

    Every time the enemymitted a slightly more significant movement, their movement would be interrupted by the cold air that suddenly prated their body. It had be a practical and supportive spell that controlled the enemies. At least at its first appearance, it quickly interrupted the enemy¡¯s momentum.

    The first to notice the effect wasn¡¯t Jiu Er but Lin Yiyi.

    She suddenly noticed that the movements of the two Skeleton Guardians beside her were sluggish for a moment.

    After taking a careful look, she noticed that their joints were covered with thin ice at some point. The weight of these ices wasn¡¯t devastating, but they had hindered their movement greatly as if turning these skeletons into rusty machine dolls.

    Lin Yiyi took advantage of the situation.

    After mming her iron pipe heavily twice, she broke two Skeleton Guardians¡¯ knees. The points of shatter had erupted frosty white mists.

    Before the skeletons fell on the floor, Lin Yiyi swung the metal pipe in her hand horizontally, knocking their skeleton heads away like golf balls.

    Oh, they have weakened¡­ Lin Yiyi realized it firsthand.

    As for Jiu Er, her Level 7 [All-out Blow] only forced her into a 6 seconds cooldown period before activating the next.

    Her next [All-out Blow] directly shattered the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s spine in front of her. Although she felt that the enemy had weakened, it wasn¡¯t a big change for her.

    Anyway, she could instantly kill the enemies no matter what. The difference was negligible.

    The Light Chasing Beast had seemingly realized the situation. It cowered in fear and stopped devouring himself.

    It didn¡¯t dare to spray those viscous white wax oil on Annan.

    The Light Chasing Beast just kept retreating. At the same time, it spat out the pure white wax oil on the ground as if it was vomiting. It made a grunting sound like packet milk that was almost emptied, probably whimpering and begging for mercy.

    However, just as the beast stepped back, Annan had already inserted the white guillotine in his left hand on the ground. He raised his left hand and chanted,

    ¡°The frost is the wheel¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe bones are its path!¡±

    Annan didn¡¯tunch his attack on the Light Chasing Beast immediately.

    As the Light Chasing Beast continued to retreat, its body surface had started to be frozen.

    As Annan¡¯s chant ended, five crystal-colored mes ignited at Annan¡¯s fingertips. A faint ice-blue magic circle emerged and then quickly dispersed.

    After Annan flicked his left hand forward slightly, a hollowed-out and gorgeous frost wheel flew out of his palm with ice-blue light rays intertwined at its core!

    The Frost Wheel rolled on the ground like a darting tire.

    Ayer of pale white frost marks instantly appeared on the warehouse floor.

    The Frost Wheel rammed directly into one of the attacking Skeleton Guardians, closest to Annan!

    The Skeleton Guardian held its iron shield to brace for the wheel attack.

    Bang¡ª just like the sound of ss breaking.

    The shield in the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s hand was useless against the Frost Wheel. The wheel went straight through the protection, sucking the skeleton into it!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 257: The Fatherâ€™s Mission

    <h4>Chapter 257: The Father¡¯s Mission</h4>

    Indeed, the skeleton was sucked into the [Frost Wheel]!

    The Skeleton Guardian¡¯s body didn¡¯t immediately shatter from the first collision. Instead, the bones became pale and extremely brittle, and a thickyer of frost covered its body.

    If the target was a living creature, the frigid cold air inside the [Frost Wheel] could instantly kill him even if there was only a little bit of elemental power.

    But the situation was otherwise for this skeleton as it survived the first impact¡­

    After the [Frost Wheel] broke apart and traveled a distance, it recovered its shape a little and locked the skeleton within it!

    As the hollowed-out [Frost Wheel] continued to break apart due to the high-speed movement, the Skeleton Guardian¡¯s limbs also shattered along with it. The broken bones were thrown out from the wheel¡¯s gaps.

    It seemed this was the best way to utilize the Frost Wheel!

    The seemingly gorgeous, useless, and fragile attack was actually extremely torturous.

    Any enemy that could survive the first impact wouldn¡¯t be able to move due to the frigid cold air. They would be wrapped in ice and sealed in the hollowed-out wheels. At this time, the hollowed-out wheels were like thin, sharp, constantly regenerating knives.

    In the end, the [Frost Wheel] didn¡¯t stop.

    It rolled forward in an arc, taking a path that could crush many Skeleton Guardians at once!

    Seven out of the eleven remaining Skeleton Guardians were engulfed by the Frost Wheel that passed by quickly. The Skeleton Crow in the air was also sucked into the wheel.

    It finally reached its limits and wholly broke apart when the wheel struck the eighth Skeleton Guardian. By then, it could no longer regenerate anymore.

    At this time, many broken bones exploded outwards like rain as the Frost Wheel shattered.

    [Abolished Bronze Rank summoned creature ¡°the Skeleton Crow¡± in battle. You have acquired 120 Shared Experience points.]

    [Abolished Bronze Rank summoned creature ¡°the Skeleton Guardian¡± in battle. You have acquired 34 Shared Experience points.]

    [Abolished Bronze Rank summoned creature ¡°the Skeleton Guardian¡± in battle. You have acquired 30 Shared Experience points.]

    ¡­

    Eight prompts appeared in a split second.

    Annan¡¯s vision was overwhelmed with many experience gains.

    That eighth Skeleton Guardian had lost all its strength when the Frost Wheel hit it. A vertical line of frost marks was left on it as ity on the ground.

    Delicious Wind Goose, who was closest to the skeleton, rushed over at the first moment.

    He rushed over, activating [All-out Blow] to put an end to this enemy.

    After having the wheel rampaging in the arena, Annan had cleared off many enemies in the warehouse.

    Only then did the yers realize how powerful their faction leader was.

    To them, the Skeleton Guardians were undoubtedly ¡°elite monsters¡±, except for Jiu Er, who had adequate damage output. At best, the rest could only contain the enemies like Lin Yiyi and Delicious Wind Goose, unable to inflict lethal damage.

    But to Annan, the Skeleton Guardians were nothing but mobs that could be wiped out with a single spell.

    At this time, the Light Chasing Beast was utterly frozen.

    When the mes on its body were extinguished, it seemed to have lost its life. The snow-white and smooth substances on its body were condensed into pastes.

    It had utterly lost its previous appearance and appeared like a frozen lump of oil paste.

    The mes that had sshed onto the rock wall had long since been extinguished. Layers of white paste congealed and softened on the wall. Some had fallen on the ground and became non condensable waste.

    As for that Bane, Annan couldn¡¯t do anything with it. Since it couldn¡¯t attack his group anyway, he just pretended it wasn¡¯t there.

    So far, all the enemies in the warehouse were eliminated except for the few Skeleton Guardians.

    But the old ritualist didn¡¯t conduct any summon nor curse ritual again.

    His trousers and the clothes on his shoulders were covered with ayer of hoarfrost. At this level of low temperature, his feet should have been frozen. But the ritualist called the ¡°Father¡± didn¡¯t even utter a word.

    He didn¡¯t attack Annan even once but just raised his hands in surrender and looked at Annan calmly without any resistance or provocations.

    ¡°Are you going to kill him, Your Highness?¡± Kafni whispered, ¡°I can do it for you.¡±

    She lifted her skirt slightly as if to perform a curtsy, but Annan could sense that some shadowy tentacles were slowly invading out of it.

    ¡°Wait, not yet.¡± Annan shook his head.

    He¡¯s just a ritualist¡­ not a Transcended. We can kill him whenever we want. There¡¯s no need to be in a hurry.

    He bears no curse on his body. He is safe since his forces don¡¯t have any hidden ability for aeback.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re under arrest.¡± Annan said politely, ¡°But you don¡¯t seem to be panicking.¡±

    ¡°My sin is too heavy. There¡¯s no use in panic¡­ You might as well kill me.¡±

    The ¡°Father¡± just smiled. He said respectfully and humbly, ¡°Of course, if you think I¡¯m worthy, you can keep me alive. I can provide you with a contract that can restrain people¡¯s souls. If you have a ready-made ritual like this, I can also sign any contract unconditionally.¡±

    epting a contract at any condition¡ª Annan couldn¡¯t help but frown.

    Basically, he intended to give up everything to stay alive.

    He didn¡¯t intend to bargain with Annan, and he didn¡¯t ask for more. From this point of view, this old man was wise¡­ He only left two choices for Annan.

    Either kill him outright or leave him alive¡ªand he was willing to give everything.

    ¡°You seem to have a lot of life experience.¡± The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly, ¡°Tell me¡­ since you have sacrificed them all, what are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°That is to ensure that my loyalty to you is of value.¡±

    The old man said humbly and respectfully, ¡°To tell you the truth, milord. My apprentices are too ambitious and don¡¯t know their limits. If they serve you along with me and obey you, sooner orter, they will betray you.¡±

    ¡°But you have just betrayed them,¡± said Annan slowly.

    Having summoned the Skeleton Guardian, this showed that those people didn¡¯t realize that they had been betrayed until the end.

    The Light Chasing Beast¡¯s summoning conditions were even harsher. After disregarding those bits and pieces, the rarest material needed was ¡°the whole body fat of a good person who had killed at least ten people¡±.

    But the Light Chasing Beast just seemed too weak.

    This old man must have seen or known about Annan and the yers, including their previous fight with his summons before. That was why he summoned Bane to fight Kafni¡¯snterns, the Child¡¯s [Geo Strike], and the traps. Then, he summoned the undead Skeleton Guardian to fight Jiu Er, who had lifesteal capabilities. Their shield-holding characteristics would hinder the yers. Last but not least, the Skeleton Crow forced Citalopram out of the warehouse.

    All these summoned creatures had yed their role in countering the enemies.

    But what about the Light Chasing Beast?

    Its only value in existence was to make Kafni¡¯s shadow grow more extensive, which allowed her to summon more shadowy tentacles.

    But after Annan heard Kafni¡¯s words, he understood.

    The Light Chasing Beast wasn¡¯t an ¡°enemy¡±, but his ¡°gift¡± to Kafni.

    These summons of him were to disy his capability to Annan. On the other hand, it also prevented him from being assassinated before Annan talked.

    Annan was curious.

    When did this old ritualist start preparing to surrender?

    ¡°If you can¡¯t trust me, you can kill me.¡±

    Facing Annan¡¯s question, the old man just bowed humbly and replied, ¡°The people from the Rotten Man Church didn¡¯t tell me the ¡®Don Juan Geraint¡¯ they asked me to deal with was a leader who couldmand Noah¡¯s family.¡±

    ¡°Anything else you want to say?¡± Annan said calmly, ¡°Your reason hasn¡¯t been convincing yet.¡±

    ¡°Another reason is that the Skeleton Crow¡¯s eyes allow me to see your face. You are not from the Geraint family, so my previous arrangement is voided. I have prepared enough ck Fire here to st me and you to oblivion. They¡¯re right inside the second row of boxes in the door. I have eight boxes of it. Also, there¡¯s a ring of rubble tied around each ck Fire barrel. If I want to harm you, I can just let these Skeleton Guardians hold the torches and¡­¡±

    The old man said humbly, ¡°Of course, if you really can¡¯t trust me, you can kill me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still not enough.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°You still have something hiding from me.¡±

    In fact, Annan couldn¡¯t see what else the old man would try to hide.

    He felt that what the old man said was indeed the truth, but its logic confused Annan a little.

    It was just Annan¡¯s habit of tricking the enemy. If his trick didn¡¯t dig any more clues, he might ept this rare talent under him. Of course, he still had to be vignt and impose restraints.

    After all, he who betrayed all his apprentices without hesitation could betray the master.

    However, after hearing Annan¡¯s words, the ¡°Father¡± suddenly raised his head and looked at Annan, seemingly pondering on something.

    This surprised Annan a little.

    Did I¡­ did my trickeries get me more info?

    But then, the ¡°Father¡¯s¡± change of tone stunned Annan.

    ¡°Looks like you really want to know.¡±

    The ¡°Father¡± sighed. His humble expression had gradually be calm and a little indifferent, ¡°Since you have put it out so tantly, then I shall spit it out. Well¡­ for the sake of Her Royal Highness Kafni having already addressed Your Highness directly to you, and for the sake of you seemingly want to spare my life¡­

    ¡°I was sent to Noah by ¡®the Daughter of the Storm¡¯. I was in Noah a long time ago. I took themission from the Rotten Man Church to observe the ¡®Time Stopper Eye¡¯s¡¯ matter of resurrection and ascendancy into a deity. This is the first mission given to me by the Daughter of the Storm. Now that the mission has beenpleted and I have sent the letter, my life haspleted its worth. But my students don¡¯t know this matter.

    ¡°Do you understand what I mean when I say it like this, Your Highness?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 258: Itâ€™s So Easy to Please the Players

    <h4>Chapter 258: It¡¯s So Easy to Please the yers</h4>

    The yers quickly eliminated the rest of the Skeleton Guardians.

    As for the materials left after the skeletons died, they had all dissipated in the air as there was no way of preserving it.

    The only harvest would be the frozen Light Chasing Beast, which Kafni had taken.

    Themp oil in herntern was made from the Light Chasing Beast¡¯s oil paste plus several alchemy stabilizers. Only this oil paste could maintain a stable and bright light in any environment. It also ensured that its light wouldn¡¯t be too ring, nor would thentern overheat and catch fire.

    Since it was already a curse material, it didn¡¯t take much of an effort to produce a curse vessel with it.

    ¡°I can extract about five barrels of ¡®white liquid fire¡¯ with what we have.¡±

    Kafni said to Annan seriously at the time, ¡°I brought the tools, so please leave the refinery work to me. After I¡¯m done, I will keep a barrel for myself and give the rest to you.¡±

    I don¡¯t mind. Take it all if you need it. That was what Annan intended to say at first.

    However, he learned from Kafni that a ¡°barrel¡± of white liquid fire, which was the size of a jar of tea leaves, could sell for about 40 to 60 pounds.

    ¡­That would be 200 gold coins.

    Hearing this price, Annan silently swallowed back his words.

    His entire wealth didn¡¯t even amount to this number yet.

    But then Annan thought through it again.

    Since it was a valuable curse material, Salvatore might need it.

    Anyway, since he wanted to sell it, he might as well sell it to the senior. It would be a win-win situation.

    Speaking of which, how much did I owe him again?

    Salvatore had never mentioned the money Annan owed, so he couldn¡¯t recall the number right now.

    Before capturing the ritualist whose alias was ¡°the Father¡±, Annan didn¡¯t forget to give out the reward of the time-limited mission.

    All the participated yers were awarded 200 experience points and 200 affection ratings. This number was enough to entertain those yers who came over to ¡°challenge a special game event¡±.

    Suuankou and Citalopram¡¯s main missions were marked aspleted. The total experience points earned from the two missions allowed them to reach Level 7 directly.

    They likely had to stay in their teachers¡¯ ce tonight.

    As for their housing issues, they had to wait until the daytime. Only then could Annan go through the official procedure at the city hall and assign them houses from Crimson Water Street. Yup! Annan had distributed the yers¡¯ houses in Roseburg for free without any costs on affection ratings.

    All the yers had a 200 m2 house with three bedrooms!

    Of course, the internal decorations weren¡¯t provided.

    This would probably be due to the rare conscience of the game designer. .

    After all, he was a transmigrator too.

    He knew well what these yers wanted.

    There were a lot of empty houses in Roseburg anyway.

    After repelling the Rotten Man a few days ago, Annan finally had his time to deal with the garrisons in Roseburg, who stayed quiet as if they were deaf and blind.

    He had risked his identity being exposed and went to the Green Water Street area in the south part of the city to speak with themander of the local garrisons.

    Themander was polite and didn¡¯t trouble Annan. That showed that he didn¡¯t know Don Juan Geraint at all.

    He exined clearly that they weren¡¯t subordinates to Count Geraint but under General Edwin¡¯s directmand.

    As the Head of the Intelligence Department, Count Geraint was the head of the national spy department, so they weren¡¯t allowed to have any form of military power¡­ So, they had direct orders from General Edwin to refrain from following Annan¡¯s orders.

    The general was only responsible for two matters. First, if the Austere-Winter Dukedom was being invaded, then they would defend Roseburg and ask for reinforcement from the capital as soon as possible.

    At the same time, they would intercept any Austere-Winter Dukedom spiesing from the Freezing Water Port and stop the spies from going further south.

    When Annan first heard it, he put on a baffled expression.

    But you¡¯re not stopping me in any way¡­

    I seem to be the spy.

    But since then, Annan had learned at least one thing. The general didn¡¯t intend to trouble him, nor was he interested in being affiliated with the viscount. So, he wasn¡¯t harboring any ill thoughts towards him.

    They were just intimidated by the Geraint family¡­ or rather, they didn¡¯t want to have any unnecessary contact with the Geraint family to avoid suspicion.

    Thus, things were simple.

    Roseburg, which was rebuilt after the war, was like an asymmetrical four-petaled flower.

    The Rusty Water Street on the east side was a mix of slum and ??industrial areas. Crimson Water Street, thergest area on the north side, was a dense residential zone. The smallest zone with the best environment was on the west side, Clear Water Street. It was the municipal area. Green Water Street on the south side was amercial and entertainment zone with the city square in the middle.

    Roseburg used to be a frontier fortress.

    Crimson Water Street, in the north of the city, was divided into a military zone for storing garrison supplies and amodating the garrisoned units during the war. But after the war and the withdrawal of the garrisons, these ces were empty. After all, Roseburg was a border city. If there were too many garrisons, it would cause tremendous pressure on the goods transportation and the neighboring country.

    The Freezing Water Port was the outpost and a buffer zone for invasions. Basically, there wasn¡¯t a need to garrison military units there. In fact, the garrisons stationed in Roseburg only amounted to 2,000 elite soldiers.

    After all, Roseburg had underground passages built.

    The specific location was at No. 1 Clear Water Street. There was a steam machine simr to a subway in the underground passage, connecting Roseburg to the capital.

    Noah Kingdom¡¯s most elite Transcended troops could reach any major city in Noah Kingdom within half a day once the order was delivered. In the face of infiltration by small enemy forces, well-trained Transcended were more helpful than soldiers.

    Transcended could only be smuggled through underground passages. Therefore, those who had infiltrated must be ordinary people. Let¡¯s not forget that Transcended had an overwhelming advantage against ordinary people. Moreover, the Transcended units weren¡¯t mobilized inrge numbers, but they entered the city through underground passages that ordinary people couldn¡¯t use. This made their arrival unnoticed.

    Roseburg was much emptier after the garrisons were gradually withdrawn from Roseburg to the ind.

    Roseburg¡¯s viscount, who was still young at the time, made a wise decision. After obtaining permission from Count Geraint, he recruited construction teams from the ind area with high sries to convert the military base on the north side into residential houses. At the same time, they focused on constructingmercial districts and selling expensive and high-quality goods and services to these highly paid workers.

    The viscount hardly lost anything in the transactions. Some construction teams even stayed in Roseburg for a long time. After all, there were long-term urban reconstruction projects here.

    This attracted arge number of residents.

    To make room for the soldiers, Roseburg¡¯s viscount also provided them with an area of vis in the center of the business district at a low price. His goal was simple ¡ª to turn the garrisons into theirmercial zone¡¯s security guards for free.

    Although neither the Barber family nor the Geraint family had direct order over these units, these soldiers were human beings after all. After living in that ce for a long time, it would naturally foster a sense of belonging.

    The viscount had a smart n too, or rather a forceful approach. He disbanded the original city guards in themercial zones and forced the garrisons to provide security. Later, Viscount Barber tried to please them with an extra sry from the municipality, but this request was rejected. Even though Viscount Barber was warned at the time, the matter ended with only a warning.

    With the benefits provided already, they could hardly turn him down. After all, this luxury housing wasn¡¯t given away for nothing.

    Hence, Roseburg had be the most prosperous city in the North Sea Territory with good public security and intensivemercial activities. Many small businesses from out of town woulde to the Green Water Street area to purchase a house.

    After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to find a ce that upheldw and order in this era.

    Although Roseburg had a steady stream of residentsing in from the ind, the construction speed went ahead of the poption growth rate.

    Annan immediately used his power to assign all the residential areas under Viscount Barber to the yers. The assignment went through in the forms of title deed and house deed that was typically used to repay the feudal lord after a construction team went bankrupt. Although Viscount Barber wasn¡¯t the feudal lord, he lived in Roseburg like a feudal lord, so these documents were also handed over to him.

    Also, these houses were treated as a batch of ¡°foreclosures¡±.

    This munity¡± had more than 40 well-maintained vis. Each vi was more than 200 m2 and the three-story luxury specification wasn¡¯t affordable to ordinary people. It seemed highly probable that the construction team had an ill strategy. The houses weren¡¯t sold even though there were a couple of wealthy people who lived in Green Water Street in the south already.

    So Annan dismantled the single-family vis into three sections. With that, he could house three yers for each vi.

    This distribution system couldst for a while.

    The yers were grateful for it too.

    Annan didn¡¯t pay them a sryst month, so much so that the yers even forgot that they had sries. However, they were pleased with the gifted properties.

    Especially, after experiencing the narrow housing of 30 m2 at Freezing Water Port, they were in ecstasy with the new houses that Annan gifted them.

    Annan also smiled in satisfaction.

    It¡¯s so easy to be in good favor of the yers¡­

    After earning their ce to live, I think they will identify themselves further as a part of this world and have a sense of belonging.

    As for now¡­

    After the yers returned to their respective homes, Annan took the ritualist to the viscount house.

    He got some unexpected information from ¡°the Father¡±.

    Annan wondered if Kafni knew the name, but it wasn¡¯t appropriate to let the yers know these secrets for sure.

    ¡°The Father¡± said to Annan earlier that he came to the Noah Kingdom on orders from the Daughter of the Storm. His objective was to take note of the resurrection of Michngelo.

    Annan once heard the alias ¡°the Daughter of the Storm¡± from Old Bread.

    It wasn¡¯t a deity¡¯s name, but a title like ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡±.

    It was a title that only those with Gold Rank could have!

    And, The owner of the title ¡°the Daughter of the Storm¡± was Maria Austere-Winter ¡ª Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s sister.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 259: Vasily Manning

    <h4>Chapter 259: Vasily Manning</h4>

    Annan still put iron gloves on ¡°the Father¡± as a security measure.

    This was a unique method of restraining a ritualist.

    No one knew what bizarre rituals they had mastered¡­ and they mightunch a sudden attack with some odd items.

    There was a solution to this problem.

    The tool targeted specifically in restraining the ritualist was the ¡°iron gloves¡±.

    It worked simrly to handcuffs but with an additional iron that fixed the joints in its ce. The knuckles of the iron glove were slightly bent, neither touching norpletely facing each other. In the end, the prisoner couldn¡¯t stretch out his fingers.

    This posture contradicted what a ritual required. Since the handcuffs locked their wrists, their fingers couldn¡¯t move freely.

    Only a restraint like this could halt any ns a ritualist secretly harbored.

    Of course, the easier and safer way was to chop off their hands and cut their tongues.

    But Annan wasn¡¯t going to do that.

    He had some use for the ritualist.

    Annan sat opposite the ritualist.

    ¡°The Father¡± had his hands restrained, sitting at the dining table with Annan.

    The chef had already prepared dinner for Annan.

    Annan politely poured a ss of wine for the two of them, but the ritualist didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of enjoying the food and drinks.

    The Father acted naturally and sat quietly opposite Annan in the face of a kind treatment.

    ¡°I think you probably know who I am.¡± Annan took a bite of the roast and stared at the old ritualist, ¡°You know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural, Your Highness Annan.¡± The Father lowered his head and replied softly, ¡°I saw you a few times when you were young.¡±

    ¡°How young was I?¡± Annan asked rhetorically. He narrowed his eyes slightly as if a little displeased. But in reality, he was probing the ritualist.

    The old ritualist didn¡¯t look up at Annan but continued to answer, ¡°I think it¡¯s about when you were 6 years old¡­ and when you were 8 years old, we met again once. Not long after that, I came to Noah. After that, I¡¯m only in correspondence with ¡®the Daughter of the Storm¡¯ by mail.¡±

    Annan was silent and made a quick calction in his mind.

    This body of Annan Austere-Winter was 14 years old this year. Maria participated in Michngelo¡¯s ritual five years ago.

    It¡¯s probably after that event¡­

    Oh, that¡¯s great.

    It¡¯s better that he doesn¡¯t know much about me.

    ¡°Maria¡­¡± Annan¡¯s expression was a littleplicated, but he hesitated to speak.

    He looked at the old ritualist and said slowly, ¡°How do you view me?¡±

    ¡°You will be our future Grand Duke, the King of Wolves¡­¡± The Father paused for a while and then said gently, ¡°The only heir to the Dragon Throne.¡±

    Sure enough, he knows a lot. Annan came into deep thought, but he didn¡¯t show it on his face.

    He frowned slightly and looked at the old ritualist seriously, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­ You know what I¡¯m trying to say.¡±

    As for what it is?

    Oh, I don¡¯t know myself.

    Annan muttered to himself silently.

    But hearing Annan¡¯s words, the old ritualist was startled.

    He raised his head as if it was his first time seeing the future Grand Duke and scrutinized Annan.

    Annan looked straight into the old ritualist¡¯s eyes without fear.

    After a while, the old ritualist gradually withdrew his gaze and lowered his gaze again.

    ¡°I thought you had given up already.¡± The old ritualist muttered softly.

    But Annan didn¡¯t respond to it.

    Seeing that there was no reply, the old ritualist sighed and continued, ¡°It seems that you have seeded.

    ¡°It is indeed Reverse Inscription. I can sense that you have resolved the curse of Winter Heart. Your Highness is on the right way.¡±

    ¡°The right way¡­¡± Annan murmured and repeated, shaking his head slightly as if silently denying something.

    His gazes seemedplex; he sighed slowly and heavily.

    The old ritualist who just raised his head saw this scene.

    He could onlyfort, ¡°You are indeed right. During the year you went to find the Silent Lady, didn¡¯t you avoid that catastrophe? It¡¯s all destined.¡±

    ¡°¡­Tell me in detail.¡± Annan was silent for a while before replying in a low volume.

    The old ritualist also submitted and persuaded softly, ¡°I think you should have heard more or less about it¡­ In the past year, there have been many disasters in Austere-Winter. I don¡¯t know if you know¡­ Two months ago, the Rotten Man came again. He came to seek you again.

    ¡°At that time, the Old Grandmother was still in her Wyrmrest. Her Highness Maria was still cultivating at Storm Cliff, and His Highness Dmitri was studying in the Howling White Tower. So the only one in the Throne Room was your father¡­¡±

    ¡°Father¡­¡± Annan¡¯s voice trembled slightly.

    The old ritualist was silent for a while. He then replied, ¡°Grand Duke¡¯s current state isn¡¯t quite optimistic. If you have a chance, I still hope you can go back and visit him¡­ I apologize, Your Highness. I shouldn¡¯t have said that given my duty, but I just¡ª¡±

    ¡°I can understand.¡± Annan nodded slightly and replied softly.

    ording to the information he learned, Ivan Austere-Winter was a great monarch, although he was a strict father. He was known for his justice and frugality. Although he was the Grand Duke, he lived and ate with the people. In Austere-Winter Dukedom, where food was scarce, he never wasted food.

    Among the people, Ivan¡¯s reputation was outstanding.

    Hence, it became normal for the old ritualist to have such thoughts.

    ¡°And after that?¡± Annan pressed on.

    The old man paused before continuing, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened after that. Soon after, Austere-Winter has wholly blocked off any newsing from it. But as far as I know, the Rotten Man took a 14 years old child away at the time and forced him to jump off into the ck Sea.

    ¡°I think that should be your stand-in¡­ After all, you left Austere-Winter a year ago. Very few people know about this.¡±

    What? Did I leave Austere-Winter a year ago?

    Annan frowned slightly and soon rxed.

    It turned out that the Silent Lady engraved the Reverse Inscription on Annan in person.

    Judging from these words, it should be that the Young Annan ran away from home and nned to find Silent Lady by himself, asking for Reverse Inscription to resolve the curse from Winter Heart.

    But the position he was lying at when he woke up did seem to be floating from the other side of the ck Sea. A few days ago, when Rotten Man met Annan, he did admit that he pushed Annan into the ck Sea. But, he wouldn¡¯t have mistaken the wrong person.

    Could it be that at that time when Annan quietly returned to the Austere-Winter Capital, the Rotten Man who trailed him noticed him and threw him into the sea?

    Annan realized some details of the story.

    If even ¡°the Father¡± didn¡¯t know that he had returned to Austere-Winter Dukedom, it meant that most people probably didn¡¯t know about his return. Therefore, this matter should have been kept secret.

    But Rotten Man knew about this very early.

    What happened?

    ¡°I want to know more about Maria.¡± Annan asked in a low volume, ¡°And, what should I call you? So do I just call you ¡®the Father¡¯?¡±

    ¡°No, no¡­ If Her Royal Highness Maria found out about it, she would have me skinned alive.¡±

    The old ritualist smiled wryly and shook his head again and again, ¡°You can just call me by my name. I¡¯m Vasily Manning. You should just call me Vasily or Old Vasily.¡±

    ¡°¡­Manning?¡± Annan repeated slowly.

    He had a vague memory of this surname.

    Vasily nodded, ¡°You must know my brother.

    ¡°He¡¯s Merlin Manning, who used to be the Index Finger of the Right Hand. He¡¯s my brother.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 260: Daughter Of The Storm, Maria

    <h4>Chapter 260: Daughter Of The Storm, Maria</h4>

    Austere-Winter Dukedom, Province of St. Alexis, Pir of Poison Fern.

    Bended on all fours and sprinted on the ground.

    She wasn¡¯t a human but a werewolf.

    Her spine wasn¡¯t in the shape of a human but in the form of a wolf. Her limbs were deformed into animal ws at the elbow and knee joints. She had gray-white fur on her four feet.

    She also had short gray-white hair, making her hard to spot with her white leather armor due to the snow.

    She sprinted like a thunderbolt even in the snow, reaching a whopping 80 kilometers per hour. The protruding stones on the ground, the steep cliffs, and the broken stone pirs covered with dark green ferns could not hinder her in any way.

    However, her dark golden pupils were filled with fear.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only one left, defector.¡± An indifferent and hollow voice sounded in the air, with heavy echoes.

    Be¡¯s hairs stood up immediately.

    She changed her direction without hesitation, and she jumped up to a steep rock pir 9 meters high.

    Her silver cor shone brightly at the same time.

    Countless ck runes flowed out from the silver cor, forming hideous battle paints on her face and corbone.

    As the curse marks emerged, her figure suddenly became lighter.

    Be leaped from the top of the rock pir covered with poisonous ferns without hesitation. Her feet stepped on the air, and ripples appeared. Consequently, her speed had doubled.

    The wind visible to the naked eye formed a cloak behind her¡ªsupporting her body, allowing her to move freely and silently in the air.

    Only ¡°Windrunners¡± could achieve such a feat.

    But at this moment, the sky went dark quickly.

    ck clouds appeared; its speed in obscuring the sun was much faster than Be¡¯s speed in the air.

    The howling wind came fanning on her face. Then, with the snow on the ground levitated due to the wind, a blizzard wall was formed, confining her in the core of the wind cyclone.

    Be looked up in horror.

    Under the dark clouds, a short white-robed girl levitated in the air.

    There was no emotion in her icy blue pupils. Instead, her half-open eyes were filled with deity-like indifference.

    The long, supple, waist-length hair was no longer the harmless ck color it had been when she was a child. Instead, there was a blue hue on her silvery-white hair because of her bloodline power.

    She wore a white, tulle skirt-like robe with a hollowed-out silver crown on her head. On her slender and bare ankles, fine silver scales surfaced on her skin.

    Of course, Be knew who this formidabledy was ¡ª Princess Maria Austere-Winter. She was the Grand Duke of Austere-Winter¡¯s only daughter.

    She was also the current supreme leader of the Transcended institution ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    A monster who had attained Gold Rank at the age of 17.

    There was no escape.

    In desperation, Be let out a long wolf howl.

    Her body erged rapidly and soon turned into a 2 meter tall, standing giant wolf.

    She showed no signs of timidity and bared her fangs at ¡°the Daughter of the Storm¡±.

    But the next thing she did was to pull off her own tongue.

    Facing a Gold Rank Edict Wizard, she didn¡¯t have the confidence to control her body.

    In the face of Be¡¯s futile resistance, Maria had no expression on her face.

    She acted like she saw nothing happen at all..

    It was not arrogance or contempt, but sheer indifference.

    ¡°You¡¯re not spilling it out¡­ Fine.¡± Maria whispered, ¡°Then, you shall mit suicide].¡±

    There was magic in her cold voice.

    Be¡¯s right hand reached out at lightning speed without warning, plunging into her own heart, and took it out.

    Maria raised her head slightly in silence, watching the vigor escaping from Be¡¯s pupils. The victim gradually fell from the air.

    At the next moment, Maria disintegrated in countless snowkes, merging into the whistling snowstorm around her.

    The snowstorm drowned Be¡¯s corpse, making it plunge into the ground swiftly through the falling snow. Then, as the storm gradually subsided, she was deeply buried beneath the surface.

    In the Austere-Winter Dukedom, there might be Transcended corpses buried in every patch of thick snow.

    Another violent wind came, and Maria¡¯s body emerged from the pir that Be was standing on previously.

    She pulled out a pure white jade card from her pocket ¡ª the initially empty card was suddenly filled with writing.

    She looked at the letter from Vasily Manning carefully. Her long fluttering hair behind her gradually calmed down.

    The Man in the Mirror?

    As Maria silently recited the name of the new deity, there was no emotional fluctuation.

    So, Michngelo has seeded.

    That means¡­ one can still ascend into a deity without the Book of Truth.

    As long as I became a deity¡­

    She threw her gaze into the distance.

    At the end of where she was looking, it was the extreme north of the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­ That was a ce termed to be the end of human civilization.

    The materialized nightmare, the infinity of the Gray Mists, and the undead thaty within.

    ¡ªAs long as I be a deity, I can freely step into the Gray Mists.

    ¡°Annan¡­¡± She closed her eyes and murmured in a low volume.

    A rare moment of tranquility urred in her mind that pushed away the countless negative emotions that previously filled her heart.

    ¡°Good news.¡± After digesting the message, Maria replied indifferently, ¡°Get ready to return home, Vasily.

    ¡°A ship with a blue canvas will arrive at Freezing Water Port in 10 days. You shall leave by that ship.¡±

    Then, she sent the message out.

    But soon, a new reply appeared on it.

    It wasn¡¯t the usual ¡°Understood¡± reply she was familiar with.

    It was intelligence on her younger brother, who had been missing for more than a year.

    ¡°So, Annan is on the Noah continent?¡±

    What great news.

    Annan isn¡¯t missing, nor did the Rotten Man manage to take his life¡­

    But soon, her heart was filled with intense restlessness, anxiety, and paranoia.

    So, Annan has also be a Transcended.

    But, how does he return home?

    If the Noah Kingdom learned that Annan was trapped in their country, would he be forced to do something? Would he be imprisoned? Would he be tortured? Would Annan be detained in exchange for benefits from the Austere-Winter Dukedom? Would he be tortured in exchange for information? Would the Rotten Man go for his life? Could the Old Grandmother find Annan?

    Her calm mood was instantly disrupted, and many possibilities that made her tremble and made her uneasy kept emerging in her heart.

    ¡°Annan¡­AnnanAnnanAnnanAnnanAnnanAnnan¡­¡± She repeated in murmurs.

    Finally, Maria broke free from the restlessness that kept rising in her heart.

    I shall tell my father about this no matter what.

    ¡­Do I need to return home?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 261: Stay Put, Donâ€™t Wander

    <h4>Chapter 261: Stay Put, Don¡¯t Wander</h4>

    Annan watched Vasily, whose hands had regained freedom as he wrote letters to Maria. He emphasized, ¡°Remember to show it to me once you¡¯re done writing.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Old Vasily answered obediently without raising his head.

    Annan nodded, signaling that he heard it.

    He leaned back slightly against his seat to think.

    Annan had just learned of Maria Austere-Winter¡¯s order to Vasily, ¡°Get ready to return home, Vasily. A ship with a blue canvas will arrive at Freezing Water Port in 10 days. You shall leave by that ship.¡±

    After that, Vasily immediately asked Annan if he could reveal the information he had learned to Maria.

    Annan agreed to it with the condition of knowing what was written.

    Vasily Manning readily agreed to this request.

    Annan pondered in deep thoughts silently as he waited for Vasily toplete the reply.

    ¡­Hmm, Vasily Manning. Annan had indeed heard of this name.

    He had also met his older brother, Merlin Manning.

    But that was because Annan had met him in [Nightmare: White Tower].

    Merlin had participated in the first half of Michngelo¡¯s ritual. Thus, even if he was not the best Energy Falteration School wizard, getting an invitation from Michngelo was already an adequate recognition of his abilities.

    Before he retired, Merlin was a core member of Winter¡¯s Hand ¡ª Maria even trusted him.

    Annan remembered him¡­ He was skinny and tall, a taciturn old man.

    Merlin¡¯s curse vessel was a silver tongue ring, and the curse mark was located in his mouth. When the wizards got into a conflict during the nightmare, his first reaction was to stand in front of Maria.

    ¡­But Annan also knew.

    Among the people who survived the White Tower Ritual¡­ Merlin wasn¡¯t one of them.

    In other words, the Old Merlin should have been dead five years ago.

    Let me make some more inferrences¡­The time Maria dispatched Vasily into the Noah Kingdom was basically when the White Tower Ritual ended. His primary duty was to observe the resurrection of Michngelo¡­

    Yes. Indeed, Vasily¡¯s mission at the very beginning was to ¡°observe¡±.

    Although the Rotten Man¡¯s church hired him, he was also the person who released many summoned creatures to ruin the ritual. This level of intervention had gone far beyond ¡°observation¡±.

    It was fair to say that his actions were somewhat contrary to Maria¡¯s orders.

    Maria only sent him alone without any aid. Her goal must then be only for observation and not ¡°to ruin the ritual¡±.

    The purpose of sending Vasily was because he had sufficient ult knowledge to understand the ritual.

    At first, Annan didn¡¯t quite understand the inconsistency.

    But after learning that Merlin was Vasily¡¯s biological brother, Annan understood everything.

    ¡­I see.

    Did he put the me of his brother¡¯s death on Michngelo¡¯s shoulders?

    Although Vasily received Maria¡¯s mission and knew that it was a deity¡¯s ascendancy ritual, he still wanted to give it a shot to see if he could ruin this ritual.

    Hence, Vasily had nned to die with ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± at the very beginning. If the direct descendants of the Geraint family were to die here, it would cause havoc within the Noah Kingdom.

    That would have been his final piece of influence imposed on the entire ordeal.

    It seemed that he had immediately realized something after meeting Annan and Kafni. Only then did he give up the idea of ??¡±using Big Explosion¡°.

    No wonder¡­ Annan felt that something was off from the very beginning.

    You must know that the Transcended power of the ritualists came entirely from ult knowledge.

    What determined the strength of a ritualist was their skills in logical analysis, adaptability, memory, experience, rationality, courage¡­ and most importantly, wealth.

    This was the crux of the matter.

    The price of ult knowledge wasn¡¯t cheap.

    Some ritual knowledge could directly give birth to a ritualist; hence, it was forbidden in most countries. As for the knowledge about deities, those were taboos that could not be shared¡ª mortals were unable to retain any of this information in their brains..

    Even if you had heard it or seen it, you could only use it once at most.

    Those secret books recording ult knowledge were even less likely to be easily obtained by people who weren¡¯t wealthy.

    Initially, Annan thought that the knowledge was from the Rotten Man¡¯s Church because many summoned creatures were involved. Moreover, it was unlikely for an ordinary human to master so much knowledge.

    However, that actually was the case.

    This could only mean one thing.

    Those foolish apprentices of Vasily didn¡¯t even realize that their teacher was not some unemployed and penniless ritualist but a government official of a country.

    The ¡°secret book¡± that had recorded forbidden knowledge about deities wouldn¡¯t disappear upon reading; it only required the user to reread the book after usage of the knowledge. As for any information about rituals, they were confiscated and stored in the library of forbidden books.

    Whether it was King Noah or Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, one would try to produce ritualists as long as he was not stupid.

    Why was Vasily able to learn so many kinds of forbidden knowledge?

    Why could Maria trust him to sneak into another country alone for as long as five years to carry out a mission rted to the deities?

    The answer was simple.

    He and his brother were of the same profession!

    His brother Merlin was a senior executive of Winter¡¯s Hand, mainly responsible for the domestic eradication of dissident spy affairs; Vasily was under Maria¡¯smand to execute a cross-border mission thatsted for several years¡­ So it could only mean that Vasily was also an elite in espionage.

    After all, Transcendeds were required to have their custom clearance documents, and their identity strictly verified whenever they go through the underground passage. This made it impossible for them to carry out espionage missions¡­ but the ordinary people were too weak to fight against Transcendeds. On the other hand, priests with stable Transcended power couldn¡¯t be mobilized directly by various royal families.

    Therefore, the only ones who could get through the Gray Mists were ritualists.

    Hence, Annan finally figured it out.

    Why must ritualists be seized whenever they¡¯re discovered?

    Because every ritualist, no matter their capability, could be a spy from another country.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± said Vasily softly.

    Then, he put the pen on the table and handed the letter over to Annan.

    It was written as follow:

    ¡°Honor to the Storm and Wolves:

    ¡°New intelligence: I have met His Highness Annan, who was thought to be long-lost. He is currently in the Noah Kingdom, living under the pseudonym of Don Juan Geraint. He has realized his conjecture from the past, obtained the Reverse Inscription, and regained his emotions. However, His Highness has be a Transcended and thus cannot return to Austere-Winter by ship through the Gray Mists.

    ¡°Additionally: His Royal Highness Annan is now on good terms with Her Highness ¡®the Shadow Demon¡¯ Kafni and has advanced to the rank of Silver Knight. His identity may have also been exposed;

    ¡°May I ask, do I still follow the original n to return to the Austere-Winter Dukedom in 10 days?¡±

    Watching Annan read the reply carefully, Vasily took the initiative and asked Annan in a soft voice, ¡°Your Highness, should I remove the second paragraph?¡±

    ¡°¡­No need.¡± Annan decisively objected, ¡°Just send it like this.¡±

    He believed that Maria needed more urate intelligence to prevent deviation from her original n. The information must be conveyed urately enough.

    Plus, there was nothing worth hiding.

    Soon enough, Annan watched Vasily conduct a simple sacrifice ritual and ¡°burned¡± the information over to Maria.

    Not long after, Vasily raised his head.

    ¡°I have received a reply, Your Highness.¡± Vasily said respectfully, ¡°The return n has been canceled.

    ¡°The ¡®Daughter of the Storm¡¯ has ordered me to stay in Noah to assist you. She will find a way to bring you back and has told me to send you a message. She urges you not to try crossing the underground border yourself and wait quietly at Noah. Don¡¯t wander around, and don¡¯t make any more contact with strangers.¡±

    ¡­But I have my reasons. Annan sighed deeply.

    I have to visit the capital in three months. The Silver Sire had issued this mission to me personally.

    Annan reiterated his mission reluctantly for Vasily to pass it on to Maria.

    It urred to him that Maria was treating him like a child, asking him to stay put, stop wandering, and stop talking to strangers¡­ It felt like she was talking to a lost child through the phone.

    Wait a minute. Judging from Annan¡¯s biological age, he was indeed a child¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 262: Creating A Regular Team

    <h4>Chapter 262: Creating A Regr Team</h4>

    When Suuankou and Citalopram went offlinest night, it was already 2 a.m.

    It was time to go to bed, but they felt refreshed instead.

    It was as if they had taken a nap already.

    They hadn¡¯t been online in the game for that long ¡ª except for Suuankou. The rest only came online at dinner time.

    Eight hours had passed since they logged onto the game.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to sleep anymore because your body is well-rested. If you attempt to sleep again, you will have a headache.¡±

    Lin Yiyi repliedzily, ¡°The [Mist Continent] canpletely rece sleep.¡±

    She stretched, then slumped back on the bed without caring about her image.

    She opened her arms and legs, looked at the ceiling, and muttered, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m a little hungry¡­I want to have some meat¡­¡±

    ¡°Eat as much as you want. Is two pounds enough?¡± Jiu Er replied, ¡°I can get you more if you want!¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be chubby!¡± Lin Yiyi jumped up from the bed in annoyance, ran over, and hugged Jiu Er, who failed to escape. She reached her hands beneath Jiu Er¡¯s clothes and tickled Jiu Er, ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m going to torture you with my tickles¡­¡±

    Seeing his sister and the rich loliughing while ying together, Suuankou calmly adjusted his sses and turned his eyes away politely.

    Citalopram walked over to him and said with a chuckle, ¡°You didn¡¯t change much with the character customization.¡±

    Citalopram, whose real name was Wen Xue, had a distinctly different outfit from Jiu Er. Jiu Er was well-dressed even at home. She was the youngest among the three girls, but she only applied light makeup.

    She had a beige slim-fit turtleneck sweater with sleeves that reached her palms, leaving only her bare fingers exposed. The white-toned clothes were supposed to make her skin look a little yellowish, but they made her glow instead.

    Citalopram, on the other hand, was only wearing a simple white blouse. It appeared that her clothes were a little tight by the chest. She had an ordinary pair of ck cks for her lower body, and her feet on the plush carpet were warm even without wearing socks.

    Citalopram¡¯s model-level figure was absolutely overwhelming amongst the threedies in the house.

    Suuankou even felt that she wasn¡¯t much shorter than him¡­

    She should be about 1.7 meters tall, right?

    Citalopram habitually picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table, tapped one out from the pack with her finger, and put it in her mouth.

    She took the cigarette pack and gave it to Suuankou, ¡°The Kimling Twelve Hairpins, mint-vored¡­ Want one?¡±

    ¡°No no, it¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t smoke¡­¡± Suuankou quickly declined.

    Citalopram nodded approvingly, ¡°You¡¯re right, smoking is a bad habit.¡±

    She was about to light the cigarette, but she thought of something.

    So she put down the lighter, took the cigarette off from her lips, and kept it between her fingers.

    ¡°Are you Lin Yiyi¡¯s biological younger brother?¡± She asked curiously, ¡°Both of you are streamers?¡±

    Citalopram¡¯s voice was slightly hoarse but had a unique charm to it.

    Suuankou hurriedly exined, ¡°No, my sister makes videos. She doesn¡¯t do live broadcasts, so she technically isn¡¯t a streamer.¡±

    ¡°But, it¡¯s almost the same.¡± Citalopram nodded, ¡°Anyway, you two are the professionals. I¡¯m not very proficient at games, so I shall follow your guidance most of the time.¡±

    She said with a slight smile and extended her right hand that was without a cigarette towards Suuankou, ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡±

    Unlike her feministic, attractive aura, Citalopram¡¯s hands were unexpectedly strong and steady. There were even calluses on her hands. Suuankou was a little suspicious if she was actually a physician rather than a psychiatrist.

    ¡°No problem¡­¡± Suuankou smiled happily.

    After learning that the game could rece sleep, Suuankou¡¯s first reaction was there was no need to worry about insomnia from now on.

    I just press the Enter key, and I fall asleep immediately.

    Hmm, the quality of my sleep is superb as well.

    The problem is that maybe merely 8 hours of sleep isn¡¯t enough¡­

    ¡°Since this game can rece sleep¡­ Then basically, we can¡¯t even quit. Then, I suggest that we should unify our game log-in schedule.¡±

    Suuankou calcted carefully, ¡°I currently end the livestream every day at about 10:30 p.m. Also, I have lectures in the morning, so I have to get up at 7:00 a.m. Hmm, I can move forward my streaming schedule by half an hour. Then, when I end my stream, I can log straight into the game and not y with my phone.

    ¡°That¡¯s almost 9 hours in the game for weekdays and an additional daytime on weekends.¡±

    ¡°In my case, my schedule is a bit busier. However, if I try to adjust it, I should be able to get 9 hours of log-in time a day too.¡± Citalopram smiled, ¡°I might be able to stay in the game a little longer than you. I don¡¯t have night shifts, but you have the streaming job at night.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only a few hours difference,¡± Suuankou¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Also, whether it¡¯s a lurker or a Half-dead Enchantress, our professions are more advantageous at night aspared to the daytime.¡±

    Citalopram was interested, ¡°So, we¡¯re teammates, right?¡±

    As if sensing something, Lin Yiyi put down Jiu Er, who had been tickled for a long time. She then approached with interest, ¡°Are you two going to form a regr team? Are you sure that¡¯s enough people?¡±

    ¡°Well, we both have things to do during the day. We¡¯re not as free as you, and our timing isn¡¯t as flexible either.¡± Suuankou said helplessly, ¡°Even if we want to have more people in our regr team, we need to match our schedules. Otherwise, what¡¯s the point of having a team if we can¡¯t go online at the same time together?¡±

    ¡°Anyways, you can still stream for today. It isn¡¯t toote since it¡¯s only 2a.m.¡±

    Lin Yiyi said casually, ¡°It just so happens that you haven¡¯t streamed tonight yet. Have something to eat. When you¡¯re done, you can stream all you want while I have to catch up on my video production? Then, let¡¯s y the [Mist Continent] 8 hourster. By the way, I forgot to mention that your ¡®game character¡¯ also has to sleep for 8 hours every day. This limitation is seemingly imposed to prevent addiction. During these 8 hours, you can do your work or fulfill your daily needs.¡±

    ¡°What if I want to get some time during the day to y for 1 hour or two?¡± Suuankou asked, ¡°For example, when I take a nap at noon in real life, can I take that time to enter the game and earn some money?¡±

    ¡°Theoretically, it is possible. At first, we thought that as long as we were offline, we would have to wait for 8 hours before the next log-in. But, that¡¯s not necessarily the case.¡±

    Lin Yiyi exined to her brother thoroughly, ¡°However, if you log out at 7 a.m., then the 8 hours gap isn¡¯t fulfilled by noon. Of course, if that 8 hours limitation was already fulfilled, you can log off once your in-game time has spanned 12 hours from yourst waking time.

    ¡°For example, if you leave the game at 7 a.m., you can be online again at 3 p.m. If you exit the game before 3 a.m., you canunch the game at any time.¡±

    In fact, Annan realized that the ¡°8 hours offline¡± rule wasn¡¯t quite flexible. Therefore, an additional ¡°reconnection mechanism¡± was added.

    As for why it was 12 hours instead of 16, Annan thought everyone would wake up at different times; some could bete, and some could be early.

    ¡°Speaking of which,¡± Lin Yiyi said casually, ¡°Do you have anything to work on tomorrow? If you¡¯re not busy, go online earlier.

    ¡°I shall bring you both to the city hall. You can get a free house there, each with three bedrooms.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Suuankou was shocked, ¡°The house that my character slept in today is distributed for each yer? Wow, the benefits provided are great.¡±

    When he noticed the house had three bedrooms, he thought it was for three people.

    It appeared that he had underestimated the conscience of the game nner.

    ¡°Our game nner is awesome!¡± Suuankou eximed loudly.

    ¡°You should praise Annan instead.¡± Lin Yiyi corrected, ¡°It¡¯s Annan who gave you the house!¡±

    Hearing this, Suuankou was baffled. Citalopram seemed to realize something, ¡°Sister, you¡¯re not trying to be a cradle robber, are you?¡±

    ¡°Fuck off!¡± Lin Yiyi was instantly infuriated and kicked the silent Suuankou to the floor.

    That¡¯s not robbing the cradle.

    I just have a young girl¡¯s heart!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 263: The Key Into the Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 263: The Key Into the Nightmare</h4>

    Suuankou and Citalopram didn¡¯t let Annan wait too long.

    By 10 a.m., the two of them had arrived at the City Hall.

    To their surprise, Annan arrived even earlier than them.

    Although Annan sleptte, he still got up at 6 a.m.

    After washing up and having breakfast, he walked to the City Hall, which only took five minutes for the journey.

    It was also unclear if it was because his Constitution attribute was much higher than Salvatore¡­ or his bloodline was moreplicated.

    All in all, even though Annan only slept less than four hours, he was much more energetic than Salvatore sleeping six hours a day.

    Of course, it might also be because Annan could make up for sleep at other times.

    ¡°Sign this for me.¡± Annan pointed to another set of contracts and said habitually, ¡°Sign it here¡­ Just sign Suuankou and Citalopram with anynguage you preferred. As long as it is written in your name, the contract is valid.¡±

    The significance of these contracts was that after they were signed, even if Annan¡¯s identity was exposed and he was no longer the feudal lord of the North Sea Territory and Roseburg¡¯s city lord, the yers would still own these houses.

    Even those who cameter in the office couldn¡¯t determine the seller of the yers bought the house through the procedures. Annan utilized the private seal of Roseburg Viscount, and the date on the contract was extrapted eight or nine years ago.

    I¡¯m such a nice guy and think about the legality of housing for the yers¡­ Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart.

    ¡°After signing, take your keys.¡± Annan handed the two sets of keys to Suuankou and Citalopram, respectively.

    He showed them each key. ¡°Suuankou, you shall live upstairs of Yiyi. Citalopram, you¡¯ll live upstairs of Jiu Er. Both of you¡¯re living with your guarantor. Is that fine?

    ¡°The biggest key is the main entrance¡¯s key.¡± Annan pointed to a key about the size of an adult man¡¯s palm and patiently exined, ¡°After going in through the main gate, it¡¯s your yard. There is nothing nted in the yard as of now, and the pond isn¡¯t dug out yet. After you leave Roseburg, you may bring back any rare nts you see here, as long as it doesn¡¯t disturb your neighbors.

    ¡°After going in from the yard, you need this key to unlock the inner door. The first floor is your guarantor¡¯s residence. After going up the stairs from the entrance hall is your residence. There is a small cubicle in the yard with weeding equipment and so forth. Also, feel free to convert it into a pet kennel if you wish. This key and the gate key are shared between the three of you.¡±

    Annan added, ¡°I won¡¯t give you the room on the third floor to anyone until you all agree. But if you perform well in your mission, I can offer you the key to that floor. You may treat it as a room extension, storeroom, or whatnot. It¡¯s up to you to decide.

    ¡°As for the furniture for the two of you, I already bought it for youst night. Someone will deliver it to you tonight, so remember to get someone avable at home. As for the daily necessities, it involves privacy and security issues, so you have to buy them yourself.¡±

    Annan instructed seriously.

    Although he was sitting on a chair with his height not even reaching Suuankou¡¯s chest, he had a convincing image that seemed mature.

    ¡­As expected of the son of the Grand Duke. Citalopramplimented secretly.

    Suuankou was ttered.

    You can¡¯t do that! Lord Annan¡­ No, Your Highness Annan!

    You gave me a mansion as soon as we met and even furniture for free. How¡­ how¡­ how¡­ can I ept it!?

    Despite so, Suuankou had another thought surfaced in his mind.

    He was worried that because of cultural differences, if hemented ¡°that¡¯s overpolite¡±, then Annan might not understand that it was pleasantries and replied, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine, I¡¯m sorry,¡± and took the house back.

    Then, he would regret it seriously.

    After the two of them thanked Annan earnestly again, he sent them back.

    He didn¡¯t stay long at City Hall.

    Before lunch, Annan packed up and went home.

    At Annan¡¯s request, Vasily exined Annan¡¯s situation to Maria.

    She learned that Annan had received a direct mission from the Silver Sire, and he had to go to the capital. But, with the protection of the Silver Sire and the Paper Princess, Maria reluctantly agreed.

    But she still stressed to Annan repeatedly to not stir up trouble, not wander around, and stay on a low profile. She also asked Vasily to stay with him, write a report every week, record where he went and what he did, and report his safety every three days.

    After confirming that Vasily was trustworthy, Annan made a request to Vasily.

    Vasily frowned slightly, ¡°I¡¯m proficient at removing ¡°influences¡±¡­ But the process of eliminating the influences is nothing more than ¡®cancetion¡¯ and ¡®consumption¡¯. Unfortunately, I have never heard of [the Remains of the Wheel of Divine Transporter], or nightmares about [Brilliance].¡±

    The old ritualist had never heard of this influence, so he had no way to eliminate it.

    As for [Brilliance]¡­

    Vasily had seen nightmares with ¡°darkness¡± as the keyword in books. ¡°Brilliance¡± was unheard of. The name just didn¡¯t seem rted to ¡°nightmare¡±.

    So, Annan could only mention to Vaily about the torn Truth pages.

    However, Annan was a little surprised that Old Vasily wasn¡¯t surprised by this.

    Although he didn¡¯t know Annan¡¯s identity and he didn¡¯t know how Annan and Rotten Man fought, he could tell that Annan had used Sage¡¯s Stone before.

    If Annan didn¡¯t grasp the Truth, he couldn¡¯t defeat the Rotten Man even after using the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    ¡°I did hear some news, and it seems that a new Book of Truth has been born recently.¡±

    Old Vasily replied, ¡°About half a month ago, someone from the Papal Kingdom has gotten the title page of the Book of Truth ¡ª ¡®Machine¡¯. Your footprints have already crossed several countries, and you have the bloodline of a true deity. I never doubted whether you and Her Royal Highness Maria could get a new Truth Fragment.

    ¡°In 60 years of life, Your Highness ¡ª you are the best young talent I have ever met. If anyone in this world may be recognized by the Book of Truth, there your name must be in it.¡±

    Even though Vasily had been praising and bootlicking, he really had no clue about the Book of Divine Transporter.

    But, this also answered another puzzle for Annan. Vasily knew very well that Annan Austere-Winter didn¡¯t have those guards with weird names, strange ways of doing things, and constantly respawning.

    However, it all made logical sense to say that they came from the influence of Truth Fragment.

    Vasily simply found it reasonable that the Truth Fragment could summon and control immortal and strange humanoids, even more, so that he thought these summonses were underwhelming. He suggested to Annan that the Truth Fragment might not be utilized to its limits yet.

    Of course, that was the truth. Annan didn¡¯t recruit yers to the limits at all.

    After all, he was still in an enemy country to recruit elite units¡ªthe lesser the number, the stronger the emphasis on individual strength.

    However, Vasily couldn¡¯t help Annan eliminate ¡°the Remains of the Wheel of Divine Transporter¡±.

    But he could do something else¡­

    Tonight was the day Annan would fall into a new nightmare.

    Even Priest Louis could tweak the ritual so that Annan¡¯s death in a nightmare wouldn¡¯t affect him in reality.

    Inparison, Vasily was a professional ritualist.

    The knowledge he possessed could give Annan various buffs ording to the nightmare. For example, if Nightmare had the keyword ¡°Frost¡±, he could add frost resistance on Annan; if Nightmare had the keyword ¡°Desert¡±, he would provide Annan with wind-resistant and the ability to create water.

    However, the keyword ¡°Brilliance¡± was unheard of.

    But no matter what, it shouldn¡¯t be a big problem after strengthening Annan in all aspects.

    The only distorted nightmare Annan had ever challenged was the Gallery.

    Seeing that it would be another distorted nightmare, Annan¡¯s primary goal was to survive¡­ If he lived till he woke up, he would consider that a win already.

    But, Annan had the intention to clear the distorted nightmare in one go after having Vasily¡¯s buffs.

    Annan stayed at home quietly for most of the day, waiting for the ritual to be set. Vasily used cinnabar to paint Annan¡¯s body with weird red runes all over his body. This purpose was to make the ritual held in reality have its effect applied in the nightmare.

    At sunset, Vasily activated the prepared ritual.

    He lit eight candles of varying lengths one after another. August was the month of Mr. Ray, the deity of light and purification. In nightmares, He offered the strongest protection.

    Soon, Annan, lying in the middle of the ritual, fell asleep.

    Unlike the icy drowning experience of entering [Nightmare: Reflection], this time, Annan found it warm and soothing. It was like lying on a bed with a heater underneath and covered with a quilt that was freshly retrieved from a sunbath. At the same time, there was still a small sun in the house.

    ¡­Fuck, it¡¯s kinda hot.

    This was Annan¡¯s only thought before he went fully asleep.

    Words began to appear in front of his eyes.

    [¡°Advanced Influence: Remains of the Wheel of Divine Transporter¡± has reverberated.]

    [You are now entering the dream world.]

    [Detected the dream key: Kafni Noah.]

    [Searching for the nightmare with the keyword ¡°Brilliance¡±¡­]

    [The system has found the nightmare.]

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has a special property: Reminiscence]

    [This dungeon instance wouldn¡¯t mutate.]

    [The dungeon instance difficulty is set to [Distorted].]

    [This dungeon instance has no save point. Your erosion rate is increased by 25% for each death. You will be forced out from the dungeon instance after 1 death.]

    [This dungeon instance contains a plot and possibly provides decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Any profession will be promoted by 3 levels.]

    [Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Element (Brilliance) awakening level increases by 10%]

    [Loadingpleted.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 264: Nightmare: The Great Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 264: Nightmare: The Great Hunt</h4>

    Watching the countless streams of data flowing through quickly, Annan felt the familiar sense of weightless falling gradually returning.

    It was as if the stagnant air around him was gradually melting.

    Annan, who was suspended in the void, also began to gradually fall.

    ¡°¡­Honey, I want you to know that some cursed people don¡¯t deserve this, but some people deserve it.¡± Annan heard a somewhat familiar voice ringing in his ear.

    He was a little surprised because of that voice¡­

    It seems to be the fourth prince, Albert¡¯s voice?

    At the next moment, Annan¡¯s consciousnesspletely plunged into darkness.

    ¡°¡­Your Highness? Your Highness Annan?¡± He heard a cautious voice ringing in his ear.

    At that moment, Annan even thought that he hadn¡¯t entered the nightmare smoothly.

    But soon he reacted.

    He noticed that he seemed to be sitting on a chair, and the world in front of him had be muchrger.

    Wait, not really so.

    He¡¯s getting smaller.

    ¡°Sorry, I just fell asleep.¡± Annan subconsciously showed a tired expression and spoke in a childish voice.

    He noticed that he seemed to be staying in a luxurious pce.

    He wore a coat akin to the mink¡¯s fur; the exotic fur was pure white with intricate silver embroidery.

    But what baffled him was that even though it was heavy, Annan didn¡¯t feel hot wearing it.

    Annan could clearly feel that the room temperature was about 28¡ã. Seeing the thin clothes of the maids walking around in the pce, Annan could immediately tell that it should be summer now.

    The maids who were chatting look over as though they had noticed Annan¡¯s movement.

    One of them was a woman with long ck hair and dark red pupils. Annan couldn¡¯t tell the exact age, but it was fair that she was already in her adulthood. She wore a dark yellow gauze with ck spots reminiscent of the wings of a moth. She had a calm expression, bright eyes, and a natural demeanor.

    The one chatting with her was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.

    He was approaching 180 meters tall with deep blue pupils, a thin and well-proportioned figure, and a straight back. His pure ck long hair draped to the waist. They were well-taken care of, smooth and supple.

    The youth¡¯s skin was as cold and bloodless as jade. He wore the same clothes as Annan¡¯s. However, unlike Annan, he didn¡¯t even have the typical wolf fur on his neckline. His body was clean, and there wasn¡¯t even a single bit of dirt between his fingernails.

    But what didn¡¯t fit with his wless appearance was that he kept frowning and looked serious. Perhaps because of the frequent frowning, there were faint wrinkles on the forehead.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Annan?¡± He frowned, walked over, and asked inly, ¡°Are you tired?¡±

    Thoseforting words in a concerning tone didn¡¯t carry any emotions. Instead, it was calm to the level of indifference.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Dmitri.¡± The servant behind Annan leaned forward slightly, put his hand on his chest, and respectfully saluted the young man in front of Annan.

    Is it Dmitri Austere-Winter?

    So what he is using now is the body of Annan Austere-Winter when he was a child?

    Annan immediately realized the backstory of this dungeon instance.

    Taking my height as an estimate, this body is currently about 9 or 10 years old.

    Then, the timeline should be 4 or 5 years ago.

    Could it be this nightmare is about what happened when Prince Albert and Kafni met Annan back then?

    Then, this person¡­

    Annan¡¯s eyes moved to thedy who gave the impression of calm and dependable.

    She should be the Princess Royal of Noah Kingdom, Elizabeth Noah.

    It¡¯s really hard to notice that she is in her fifties.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a little tired.¡± But when Annan¡¯s thoughts were racing, he j stood up and lowered his head apologetically, ¡°Sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°Just go to rest if you are tired,¡± replied Dmitri calmly.

    There was no emotion in his pupils and words as if he was made of ice.

    He turned his head and asked Elizabeth inly, ¡°Your Highness, Princess Royal, is there anywhere I can give Annan to have a rest? There are too many people here, and Annan¡¯s health has never been well.¡±

    ¡°We do have a ce.¡± Princess Royal chuckled and nodded gently to Annan.

    Her voice was calm and generous, giving a strong sense offort in sharp contrast to Dmitri¡¯s, ¡°Let¡¯s have Annan to the garden located at the side hall to have a rest. There is a flower field that was blessed by the Silver Sire¡¯s pope. It nourishes the body and mind quite effectively.¡±

    After she finished speaking, she turned to look at a young maid in a white short-sleeved maid uniform with her hands sped in front of her chest.

    ¡°Marie, lead the way,¡± she said softly.

    The maid bowed solemnly and replied, ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    At this moment, an old man not far away stood up silently.

    He had a thin, skinny build with sunken cheeks and deep eye sockets. He had little hair, wore a pure ck outfit like mourning clothes, without the slightest color.

    He stood silently behind Annan, bowed respectfully and politely to Princess Royal.

    Annan recognized him immediately.

    He¡¯s Merlin Manning I¡¯m talking aboutst night.

    The maid nced at the silent old man with some fear, walked to Annan, and couldn¡¯t help smiling at his tender face.

    She bowed and reached out her hand to Annan, coaxing softly, ¡°Pleasee with me, okay? Your Highness Annan¡­¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t hesitate and passed his hand to the maid. He followed her to the side hall where the crowd was sparse, and the old man followed quietly.

    At this moment, Annan finally saw the introduction mission of this dungeon instance.

    ¡°1498, August 8th.

    ¡°As Annan Austere-Winter ¡ª the youngest son of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, you follow your brother, Dmitri to attend the 80th birthday of the Noah Kingdom¡¯s old king in the ce of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, Ivan¡¤Austere-Winter.

    ¡°This is the first friendly diplomatic interaction between the two countries since the Austere-Winter Dukedom and the Noah Kingdom were at peace. It marks the rejuvenation of business and trade between Austere-Winter and the Noah Kingdom¡­

    ¡°¡ªif everything goes well.

    ¡°Very unfortunate, and rightfully so ¡ª someone wants to ruin the hard-won peace.

    ¡°And it¡¯s very simple.

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s Annan, Dmitri, Elizabeth¡­or anyone else, as long as one person dies, this birthday party will turn into a grand funeral.

    ¡°And, the fuse for the next war.

    ¡°What¡¯s more? They didn¡¯t want to kill just one person.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be the Great Hunt ritual¡ª

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s too hard for you, who is only 9 years old, to stop this. But only you can do it because only you can act freely at this birthday party since you are young.

    ¡°Stay alive. Interrupt the conspiracy. Keep more people alive¡ª¡±

    [In this nightmare, you are blessed by ¡°Mr. Ray¡±. You will continue to recover health and mana after leaving the battle.]

    [In this nightmare, you are blessed by the ¡°Silver Sire¡±, and all ¡°Silver Sire¡¯s¡± [Divine Art] ability checks + 1.]

    [In this nightmare, you are blessed by the ¡°Mysterious Lady¡±, which nullifies all the effects of ritual on you.]

    [In this nightmare, you are blessed by the ¡°Old Grandmother¡± and acquire your body¡¯s original Falteration Wizard level.]

    [Main Mission: The Man of Brilliance]

    Immediately after, three side missions appeared.

    [Guarantee the survival of ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡±, ¡°Dmitri¡¤Austere-Winter¡±, ¡°Elizabeth¡¤Noah¡±, ¡°Kafni Noah¡±.]

    [Find and interrupt the key ritual.]

    [Do not reveal your identity.]

 Chapter 265: Young Kafni

    <h4>Chapter 265: Young Kafni</h4>

    Annan¡¯s first reaction was¡­ Luckily, I have Vasily on my side.

    There were four buffs imposed on Annan, all of which were from decisions concluded during the previous discussion with Vasily; they were confident these buffs would work in the nightmare.

    Mr. Ray was the nemesis of all nightmares. As long as there was power to fuel the battle against nightmares, He could interfere with almost all rituals.

    In fact, the morning light that forced all nightmares to end at 6 a.m. every day came from Mr. Ray¡¯s power. He would interrupt the nightmares for everyone at the same time every day, no matter if the person was His believer or not.

    The only exception would be when the target was the priest of other deities. The reason was to avoid interfering with the priests from their work in purifying nightmares.

    Silver Sire and Old Grandmother were both upright deities to whom Annan was confident that he could borrow their power from. As for Mysterious Lady, She should be willing to ept the ritual as long as it was aplex and grand ritual with the details appropriately met.

    Mysterious Lady cared for all those proficient in rituals, just like how teachers loved their intelligent students.

    Without these four buffs, the difficulty of this nightmare would undoubtedly be even more demanding.

    In actual history, Annan, Dmitri, Princess Royal Elizabeth, and Kafni all survived. Even the Old Merlin, who was by Annan¡¯s side, lived on for a few more months. Aside from the fact that the trade agreement was still not reached, there was no war between the two countries.

    Annan remembered clearly that the exact time of the death of Master Michngelo was November 30, 1498.

    The date on which the nightmare existed was August 8, 1498.

    That means that this nightmare was three months before the ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡± timeline. Even the attendant next to Annan wasn¡¯t dead because Merlin Manning died three monthster in the White Tower Ritual.

    What the hell?

    In the original history, who resolved this incident?

    It can¡¯t be the nine-year-old Annan, can it?

    This is not right because I¡¯m just a kid.jpg

    While Annan was distracted with his thoughts, a maid led him through the side hall and brought him to the pce¡¯s garden. As the Winter Heart¡¯s ¡®Right Index Finger¡¯ predecessor, Merlin Manning was like a ghost, silently following behind Annan and protecting his safety.

    Under the protection of Old Merlin, the watchful eye of the best Silver Rank Falteration Wizard in the world, Annan didn¡¯t even know when he was ¡°free to move around¡±.

    Do I have to fool Merlin away first?

    But that doesn¡¯t work either.

    Because Annan remembers it well¡­

    Prince Albert¡¯s wife and her cousin Denton were the Rotten Man believers, and her cousin was a powerful ¡°Dream Stealer¡±.

    A Gold Rank Soul Snatch Wizard who could directly modify other people¡¯s memories, feelings, and preferences in dreams!

    He was now disguised as Silver Rank, lurking beside Prince Albert.

    If Annan left Merlin¡¯s sight, he could be abducted.

    Although Merlin was only at Silver Rank, he was a ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡±. After experiencing the personal blessing administered by the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, his feelings and speech functions were sealed by the ritual. This might be another use from the [Winter Heart] talent.

    The Winter¡¯s Hand, whose feelings were sealed, could perfectly restrain the Soul Snatch wizards. Even if the opponent were at Gold Rank, he would never dare to appear in front of Merlin.

    Thinking of this, Annan noticed another thing.

    Annan, in this period, shouldn¡¯t have reversed the [Winter Heart] yet. In other words, he should now be in a state of ¡°not being able to feel positive emotions¡±.

    Annan needed to adjust his acting skills a bit.

    I have to appear a little sad in front of acquaintances, so at least I won¡¯t reveal any ws.

    Annan¡¯s side mission required him to ¡°not reveal his identity¡±.

    Unfortunately, this condition seemed quite vague. Annan wasn¡¯t sure whether it was about ¡°avoiding being discovered to be the person ruining the ritual¡± or ¡°he can¡¯t reveal that what¡¯s happening is just someone¡¯s nightmare¡±.

    In short, as long as he was cautious, things shouldn¡¯t go wrong.

    The top priority was the ¡°Great Hunt Ritual¡±.

    Annan didn¡¯t even know what this ritual was, where it was located, let alone how to interrupt it. This was the primary issue he needed to tackle.

    Even though the main mission didn¡¯t mention any details, Annan instinctively knew that there was a time limit in his heart.

    After all, Annan and Dmitri couldn¡¯t stay here forever. They had to return to Austere-Winter. It was just that Annan didn¡¯t know anything about this ritual at the moment and didn¡¯t even know how much time was left for him.

    Based on the typicality of the previous nightmare, Annan guessed that this ritual might be on the verge of starting.

    There was not much time left for Annan!

    After the maid led Annan through the side hall, he was stunned for a moment by the miracle in front of him.

    It was a gorgeous sea of ??silver and purple flowers.

    The flowers were unique. They had the appearance of roses, but their petals were translucent pure white. Their branches and leaves were in the color of violet. The sea of ??white and purple swayed under the wind, reflecting the splendor of summer noon.

    In the garden, there were cobblestone paths. The paths in the garden extended in all directions, leading to three pavilions of varying sizes.

    ¡°This is the ce, Your Highness Annan. This is the garden blessed by the Silver Sire, where your spirit will slowly recover at this ce.¡±

    The maid spoke softly, ¡°Please head further in. I have prepared iced juice for you in the pavilion. If you need anything else, please let me know. I will prepare it for you.¡±

    Annan would have paid attention to the ice-cold juice ¡ª his first reaction should be trying it out first after seeing something delicious.

    But his attention was captured by something else.

    Amidst the sea of ??flowers, a girl wearing a ck dress made of the same material as Princess Royal Elizabeth¡¯s was sitting quietly in the flower field. Her ck curly hair draped to her shoulders, and her features were delicate and lovely.

    She took off her ck high-heeled shoes and ced them neatly beside the path; she was stepping on the ground with her bare feet.

    There was a small drawing board on her knees and crayons in her hands. She looked up at the sky, seemingly preupied with her thoughts.

    Her crimson pupils shone with a colored ze in the summer sun.

    Her appearance resembled a lifeless puppet.

    Isn¡¯t that Kafni? Annan quickly recognized the girl who was quite close to her.

    A thought suddenly popped into his mind.

    Could it be that Annan and Kafni got acquainted at this time?

    The maid noticed that Annan halted his footsteps, and she followed Annan¡¯s gaze.

    She was immediately surprised.

    Why is Her Royal Highness Kafni here?

    ¡°Who is she?¡± Annan asked in a cold voice.

    Noticing that Annan was curious, Old Merlin, who followed Annan, raised his head and looked at the maid silently.

    What he meant was simple: Speak up.

    The maid¡¯s smile froze slightly, and then she exined to Annan with a soft expression, ¡°This is Her Royal Highness Kafni¡­ the daughter of His Highness Albert.¡±

    ¡°Can I y with her?¡± Annan asked politely.

    The maid gave a bitter smile, ¡°Of course, you can, Your Highness Annan. It¡¯s just Her Highness Kafni is a little shy.¡±

    Out of courtesy, she swallowed ¡°entric¡± down her throat.

    Annan gently broke free from the maid¡¯s hand. Apparently, the maid allowed him to do so. Then, he walked over to Kafni, who was sitting in the flower field while looking up at the sun.

    ¡°Looking directly at the sun is bad for your eyesight.¡± Annan walked over and adjusted his tone slightly.

    In the end, he said sternly like how a mature child would speak, ¡°It will hurt the eyes.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡± Kafni¡¯s tone was dreamy. She spoke softly, ¡°Mr. Ray has a good temper¡­¡±

    At this moment, Annan noticed the drawing board in her hand.

    It seemed to be the sea of ??silver-purple flowers in front of them.

    But unlike what Annan saw¡­

    The crayon Kafni used was in red.

    The painting was like blood and fire, a color like the setting sun.

    Could the clue lie here in Kafni?

    It suddenly urred to Annan that Kafni seemed to have some kind of gift in supernatural vision¡­ a glimpse into fate.

    He asked softly, ¡°Are you painting?¡±

    At this time, Kafni turned her attention to Annan. She was silent for a while, then asked coldly, ¡°Who are you?

    ¡°You have winter colors on you, but it¡¯s summer right now.¡±

    ¡°My heart is like the ice,¡± said Annan seriously. It was the maxim of the Austere-Winter family, and it wasn¡¯t surprising that Annan knew that.

    He reached out to Kafni and said in a friendly manner, ¡°My name is Annan Austere-Winter. Myst name emphasizes the winter. What about you? What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Kafni looked suspiciously at Annan, who had a calm face.

    She always suspected that Annan would suddenly pull her hand back and p her with a giggle after putting her hand on his. Her siblings would y this kind of boring game.

    But, she looked at Annan¡¯s outstretched hand. Then, she looked at the smiling maid in front of the pavilion and the somewhat terrifying thin old man staring at her from a distance, vaguely aware of something.

    It didn¡¯t take long before she tentatively reached out her hand and put it suspiciously in Annan¡¯s palm.

    It wasn¡¯t the ¡°warm palms¡± mentioned in the story. Annan didn¡¯t have any ¡°warm smiles¡± either. Instead, his fingertips gave off a shivering low temperature.

    She didn¡¯t know why, but she vaguely felt some inexplicable peace of mind.

    ¡°Kafni.¡± She whispered, ¡°Kafni Noah¡­ Kafni means running fingers through hair.

    ¡°May I call you Anna?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Annan.¡± Annan corrected Kafni and took her hand.

    He said solemnly, ¡°Then we¡¯ve be friends, Kafni.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 266: The Number Six

    <h4>Chapter 266: The Number Six</h4>

    Kafni was stunned when Annan held her hand. After that, her body became a little stiff.

    Kafni¡¯s eyes widened slightly. Her pupils were clear as red gems, filled with confusion and dismay.

    Have Kafni¡¯s hands always been this soft? This was the first thought that popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    Kafni held his hand many times. The only thought he had was that her grips were firm, contrasting her appearance.

    Although she didn¡¯t have any calluses and her skin was unusually fair, Annan couldn¡¯t break free whenever she held his hand.

    Yet today, Kafni¡¯s palms were so soft and tender.

    Is Kafni not a Transcended yet? Annan was dumbfounded.

    This would mean that¡­

    Kafni advanced from an ordinary person to Transcended at Silver Rank in just four or five years?

    She didn¡¯t even have a basic profession right now¡­

    Isn¡¯t her leveling speed a little too scary?

    But Annan suddenly noticed something.

    There were apparent calluses on young Annan¡¯s palm¡ª these must be the traces of sword practices.

    That¡¯s right.

    The young Annan who was using the Frost Sword for the first time appeared in his mind; he was indeed about this age.

    Has Annan already started practicing Frost Sword now?

    ¡°Now that we have held hands, we are friends.¡± Then, Annan said in a childish but serious voice, ¡°If someone bullies you, I will help you beat him up.¡±

    Annan had reconsidered his tone several times before speaking. It wasn¡¯t easy to decide how he should say it.

    This should be what a nine-year-old boy should say¡­ right?

    Annan suddenly felt that he should change his name.

    He should not be called Annan in his current situation, but Edogawa Conan [1] instead.

    Annan was clear about it in his heart.

    The clue was with Kafni¡­ To save time, he needed to conquer Kafni with the highest efficiency. Of course, he could not expect Kafni to ¡°join his team¡± right away, but he had to persuade Kafni willing to ¡°provide information¡± at least.

    He suddenly grabbed Kafni¡¯s hand even tighter.

    But he adjusted his grip well so it wasn¡¯t hurting her¡ªThis way, it wouldn¡¯t raise her attention.

    At this time, if Kafni threw away Annan¡¯s hand or pushed Annan away because of nervousness or whatever, the atmosphere between them would immediately be cold and distant.

    If Annan tried to grab Kafni¡¯s hand again, she would firmly reject him.

    This was because the Young Kafni could not decide if she wanted to keep her distance or maintain the current state now that she also felt some positive emotions from Annan.

    If she tried to push Annan away or escape his hand but failed, she would subconsciously think that she indeed longed for a friend like him¡­ But if she seeded in rejecting Annan just once, she would immediately regain rity and remain calm and vignt.

    But Annan didn¡¯t want to grab Kafni with brute force¡ª

    After all, Kafni¡¯s identity was a noble like him. As a guest, he shouldn¡¯t be too crude¡­ The maids were watching.

    However, in Annan¡¯s experience, he didn¡¯t need to apply brute force at all.

    He just squatted down while still holding her hand, changing the subject naturally, ¡°What are you painting?

    ¡°Is it a flower field?¡± Again, Annan intentionally took the lead in the conversation.

    The Kafni at this age was much easier to fool than the Kafni five yearster.

    Annan quickly diverted her attention.

    It could also be because she had not been able to find anyone who could appreciate her paintingstely. Kafni replied softly with some nervousness and uneasiness, ¡°Yes¡­ these are the flowers.¡±

    She was worried if this slightly shorter boy would tease her paintings for being ¡°weird and scary¡±.

    It was rare for her to encounter someone willing to chat with her instead of being afraid of her.

    Kafni was born with the ability to read people¡¯s intentions and discern the truth and lies.

    She knew¡­ This adorable blue-eyed boy wanted to be friends with her from the bottom of his heart!

    Kafni didn¡¯t want to lose such a rare true friend.

    Fortunately, Annan indeed didn¡¯tugh at her. Instead, he just nodded seriously, ¡°It¡¯s well-drawn.

    ¡°You might be a great painter in the future, Kafni.¡±

    ¡ªThis was not Annan¡¯s ttery.

    Annan indeed knew that Kafni¡¯s painting skills would be superb in the future. She could already replicate Amos¡¯s paintings at the tender age of 14. She could also create bizarre ¡°inspirational paintings¡± with a mystical sense of beauty.

    As for the blood-red sea of flowers at the tip of her pen now¡­ Although this crayon drawing was still rough to the touch, it already had some of that vibe.

    Kafni also looked back at Annan in amazement.

    She saw that Annan was sincere with hispliment!

    But even Kafni felt that her paintings were not that great.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan backtracked in confusion.

    Did I say something wrong?

    Why does she suddenly seem so shocked and confused?

    Annan didn¡¯t realize yet that Kafni¡¯s supernatural vision could see through lies and people¡¯s intentions.

    This was 14 years old Kafni, and she had not opened up about her abilities to Annan.

    ¡°¡­No, nothing.¡± Kafni suddenly felt her cheeks getting hot.

    She turned her gaze away to look at the painting.

    She initiated an exnation with her signature, soft, drawling voice, ¡°Because I saw¡­ the sky turned red. It was a color like fire¡­ there were red vines that crawled from the ground to the sky, turning the entire sky red.¡±

    Kafni gasped for a breath after making such a lengthy statement in one breath.

    Annan frowned slightly and thought about this.

    ¡­Red vines¡­ crawled to the sky¡­?

    What¡¯s this¡­

    Kafni was too young to provide a clear description. But she had a supernatural vision¡­ she must have seen something we could not.

    While Annan was staring at the painting in deep thought, Kafni was spying on him.

    Anna¡­ seems to like my paintings? Kafni felt a little touched.

    [TN: Continuation from the previous chapter, Kafni referred to Annan as Anna. It isn¡¯t a spelling error.]

    She still had not realized that her left hand and Annan¡¯s right hand had been held together all this while, but her dad witnessed it.

    His Royal Highness Albert had juste out of the side hall hurriedly and was looking in this direction. He was probably looking for Kafni.

    But he saw the maid that followed alongside his royal sister pressing a finger on her lips as she smiled, signaling for him to be quiet.

    It was only then that Albert understood.

    Looking from a distance, he did not see Annan at first nce. After all, Annan was wearing an elegant pure white robe that was almost camouged within this silvery purple sea of flowers.

    But after he located Annan and Kafni, his gaze became a little conflicted.

    As far as he knew, Annan went to the garden just a few minutes ago.

    He realized that his daughter, Kafni, was still in the garden. She was notoriously entric, cold, distant, and inarticte. There was a possibility she might bump into Annan.

    That was why Albert rushed over hurriedly, intending to resolve any conflict.

    Annan had only departed 5 minutes ahead of Albert. Plus, he definitely couldn¡¯t walk as fast as Albert because of his young age. So, Annan had probably been here for less than 3 minutes.

    But how were they able to get so intimate with one another in such a short period?

    They were even holding hands¡­

    It has not even been 3 minutes!

    Looking at the rare excitement on Kafni¡¯s face and her eyes that seemed to be shining brightly, Albert even felt a little jealous. But, on the other hand, he also couldn¡¯t bear to interrupt Kafni¡¯s rare happiness.

    On the contrary, Annan didn¡¯t notice that Kafni was staring at him.

    He was simply thinking deeply about Kafni¡¯s words.

    Red vines¡­

    Red sky¡­

    Suddenly, Annan vaguely grasped some clues.

    He leaned his head over and whispered into Kafni¡¯s ear¡ª It didn¡¯t seem like something Annan could ask, hence he had to be as quiet as possible, ¡°How many vines did you see, and where? Did they form some sort of pattern?¡±

    Kafni blushed a little when Annan leaned in so closely.

    She leaned back slightly to create some distance in a panic.

    She quickly calmed down afterward and also leaned over to whisper in Annan¡¯s ear, ¡°There were six¡­ One here, and the other five¡­ Do you want to see it? I¡¯ll take you there.¡±

    As expected. Annan squinted slightly.

    Is it¡­ a hexagram?

    The number six symbolized ??the ¡°War¡± number, and the month under the protection of the war deity Red Knight was the month of June. Therefore, if the purpose of this ritual was to cause war, it made sense that ¡°six¡± was used as the core structure of the ritual.

    From the ground to the sky¡­

    Does this mean that the entire pce is a ritual ground?

    Is it underground?

    Annan put aside his inner spections temporarily and nodded thoughtfully to Kafni, ¡°Okay, take me there.¡±

    Kafni had zero hesitation.

    She simply put on her boots, brought along her drawing board, and was about to leave with Annan. Only then did she realize that they had been holding hands for so long.

    She pursed her lips and actively reached her hand out to Annan.

    ¡°Come on, Anna.¡± She said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡±

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s Annan.¡± Annan corrected exasperatedly.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 267: Wyrmrest And the Frost Beasts

    <h4>Chapter 267: Wyrmrest And the Frost Beasts</h4>

    ¡°¡­Yes, Your Royal Highness. But about the Freezing Water Port¡¯s trading of goods¡­¡± Dmitri stopped abruptly halfway through speaking.

    The young man with a straight back and a stern expression frowned slightly, looking towards the forlorn old man with a thin body.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Annan?¡± Dmitri asked nonchntly as he saw Old Merlin returning alone.

    His deep ice-blue pupils were like the frozen sea, seemingly without emotion.

    Elizabeth knew that this was the Austere-Winter lineage¡¯s talent¡­ the Winter Heart.

    This was proof that the Cold-Blooded Lady¡¯s blood was flowing within them.

    The Austere-Winter Dukedom was a country in which the climate alternated between winter and harvest years. Just like the Underground Federation, its surrounding ecology would transform automatically on arge scale with just the existence of the Old Grandmother.

    Old Grandmother was an upright deity with two forms.

    When She was awake, She was a three-meter-tall beauty with frosty skin and blue eyes. The Old Grandmother in this form was the deity of tradition¡ªRegardless if it was giving birth to Austere-Winter blood, establishing the Austere-Winter Dukedom, educating her young grandchildren, helping the current Grand Duke handle government affairs, hosting domestic ceremonies, events, or even rituals for descendants¡¯ marriage, birth, funeral, and burial, it would all be done when She was in this form.

    She was just like an immortal grandmother¡­ She had an absolute voice in the family and was active in many affairs. When the Old Grandmother was awake, everyone would have great respect for the Austere-Winter family because they had an upright deity ancestor who was protective, strong, and capable behind them.

    This was why She was affectionately called ¡°Old Grandmother¡±. The habit of loving and caring for children and grandchildren was not limited to Her own bloodline¡­ She also often gave gifts to obedient and lovely children, and enjoyed mediating other people¡¯s familial conflicts. The Austerians called this period the ¡°harvest year¡±.

    However, because of Old Grandmother¡¯s characteristics before bing a deity, She had a habit of randomly falling into a ¡°Wyrmrest¡± for an unknown period of time.

    At that time, She would turn into a giant dragon with a height of 100 meters when She was lying down.

    That was more than thirty stories high.

    At this time, She was the deity of frost.

    The breath She exhaled would stir up a never-ending blizzard. This blizzard could act as a barrier to protect Austere-Winter Dukedom from the Gray Mists and a shield against foreign invaders when Old Grandmother had fallen into Wyrmrest.

    But this blizzard would also make the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s already cold temperatures plummet even lower. Some newborns and old people would freeze to death in this period, wild crops and weak ordinary beasts would not survive. Even trees would fall into ¡°hibernation¡± that couldst for more than ten years.

    Even those Transcended who died in this blizzard would not create nightmares¡ª because even the curse would be frozen and be part of the blizzard. Austerians called this part of the cycle the ¡°winter year.¡±

    Insiderge cities, there could be temperature-regting barriers arranged by wizards, greenhouse crops facilities, and also crops imported from other countries through underground passages. In the viges, only the powerful hunters and warriors could go out against the blizzard. Simrly, only the Frost Beasts could survive within the blizzard and go hunting along with vigers in forests, snowfields, and the sea.

    These Frost Beasts were monsters that had experienced physical transformations after extended periods of being immersed in a blizzard full of curses. They relied on curses to eat, so when humans were trapped in their towns during the blizzard, they could instead multiply¡ªonce the numbers reached a certain level, they would attack human settlements.

    But those of the Austere-Winter blood could tame and train these Frost Beasts during winter. This was also the fundamental reason why the Austere-Winter family could not be reced.

    Sure enough, they were also believers of Old Grandmother, and also Her descendants.

    After all, the beasts were created when Old Grandmother was in dragon form during Wyrmrest.

    This was also why the Austere-Winter family, known as the ¡°Wolf King¡±, used the white wolf as the family emblem. The Frost Beast type greatest in number was the gregarious species that had the appearance of a wolf.

    The point to be made was that Frost Beasts did not attack humans because they craved food¡­ They were a special species simr to elementals and did not need to eat meat.

    They simply craved ¡°love¡±.

    But it wasn¡¯t just love.

    Hope, sympathy, loyalty, joy¡­ Frost Beasts had the ability to devour positive emotions, as they themselves did not possess any emotion, nor much wisdom.

    So they would follow their instincts, track humans¡¯ scents, attack humans, and devour their emotions¡ª they would not show mercy to humans that provided them food.

    Yet, after encountering an attack, the humans often did not have many positive emotions¡­ This would further irritate the frost beast, and they would search for the next human settlement.

    Only other Frost Beasts, the ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± who did not possess any positive emotions, and humans with the talent of Winter Heart would not be attacked by the frost beasts. Based on the Frost Beasts¡¯ understanding, humans of the Austere-Winter family were the human form of a simr species and were ranked above them. Therefore, they would instead devote loyalty to these ¡°simrs¡± they see.

    They would then be caught and taken into the army. The domesticated Frost Beasts could form a symbioticrade-in-arms rtionship with the warriors¡ª they were taught to reserve their bite and would not directly chew their partners to death.

    The Winter Heart was not just a talent used to tame frost beasts.

    It allowed the possessor to have a sense of immortality.

    Once the damage they received exceeded a certain limit, the damage would be transmitted to the Old Grandmother to bear it on their behalf; if She was awake, She coulde over immediately. As for when She was sleeping, She would be able to gradually wake up once She had borne enough.

    Only the frost element could be used to kill the Austere-Winter family. This was the ¡°familyw¡± that Old Grandmother reserved for Herself¡ª after all, She was the deity of tradition.

    As everyone knew, all Gold Rank Transcended that had awakened frost elements were born from Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Therefore, it was almost impossible to kill the people of the Austere-Winter family.

    The only way was to tie up their limbs and throw them into the sea or into the basement, and wait for them to kill themselves when they could no longer bear it.

    Besides that, the Winter Heart could also enable the possessor to have a cold and indifferent heart.

    From birth, the Austere-Winter family had to endure the ¡°eternal training¡± to never be happy. This was to keep them from indulging in the desire for power, to always remain clear-headed, and to always act for the people.

    Regardless of what they did, they would not obtain happiness. So for them, only the ¡°rules¡± and ¡°traditions¡± that they learned from childhood were worth noting¡­ They were the king of cold-blooded who had only acted for others since birth.

    This was unquestionably cruel.

    But for the Austere-Winter Dukedom that would randomly fall into winter year, only a king who was strict, self-disciplined, impartial, and able to endure people¡¯s resentment, cursing, and misunderstandings could stably maintain the crumbling public order.

    Old Grandmother¡¯s thought process was simple.

    If people needed such sacrifices¡ª then the sacrifices should be made by Her own children.

    This might be unfair to Her own children¡­ but this was a ¡°tradition¡±.

    While the Old Grandmother was extremely protective, She also had extremely high expectations towards Her own children. Each generation of the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡­ even the heirs of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, were the best rulers of all nations under such training.

    They would not getzy from the pursuit of lighthearted pleasure, nor would they get arrogant because of the pleasure of superiority. They would not be swayed by thepliments of their ministers or envoys, and they would not suffer the temptation of beauty. For them, reproduction was just ¡°duty¡± rather than ¡°happiness¡±.

    Such rulers¡­ Why would anyone go to war with such a terrifying and deste country?

    Elizabeth¡¯s thought process was simple and pure.

    The reason she tried her best to defuse the aftermath of the war brought by her father was that she was afraid.

    She didn¡¯t want to go head-to-head with such an enemy.

    This was also the main reason why Princess Royal was willing to humble herself and initiated to wee Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s eldest son in person.

    She didn¡¯t want her stupid siblings to screw things up.

    They simply didn¡¯t understand the horrors of the Austere-Winter family.

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Dmitri was stunned for a while after exchanging whispers with Old Merlin.

    He shook his head and murmured in a low voice, ¡°Annan actually¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Your Highness?¡± Elizabeth asked casually as her heart tightened.

    Dmitri turned around.

    She seemed to have vaguely seen a little confusion in Dmitri¡¯s emotionless ice-blue pupils.

    ¡°Annan seems to be having a good time with a youngdy named Kafni.¡± Dmitri shook his head and replied calmly, ¡°Your Royal Highness, I apologize for my brother. He has overstepped.¡±

    Hearing this, Elizabeth had a wild idea. ¡°¡­No, it¡¯s fine, Your Highness Dmitri.¡±

    She let out a sweet smile and said gently, ¡°How about, let¡¯s talk about¡­ His Highness Annan. What do you think?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 268: This Is What Iâ€™m Here For

    <h4>Chapter 268: This Is What I¡¯m Here For</h4>

    On the other side, Annan and Kafni had already circled the pce once.

    Only Elizabeth¡¯s personal maid was following behind them. Old Merlin had already rushed back when they were near the main hall to notify Dmitri of the big news quickly.

    That¡¯s right. For them, this was indeed big news.

    Annan¡¯s character was considered the most shy and timid among this generation¡¯s Austere-Winter n¡­ He could also be described as the most reclusive.

    Old Merlin had never seen Annan take the initiative to strike up a conversation with others, let alone whisking the royalty¡¯s daughter away right under their eyes at the first meeting.

    Old Merlin could also see that Kafni was not an ordinary person ¡ª she had the talent to be a wizard or a priest.

    That sharp perception of a Transcended could perceive the essence of deities within mortal beings. For Transcendeds, it was indeed a great gift. She could always be at the forefront of the path of Transcended.

    This was because of her ability to easily identify the key and essence within rituals and even curses.

    But, for a child who had yet to set foot on the path of Transcended¡­ That sort of endless hallucination would only bring trouble to her life.

    Could it be that such an odd child could ironically findmon ground with His Highness Annan?

    Old Merlin knew very well.

    Whatever the cause or ultimate response, they were not within his power to deal with.

    He had to tell His Royal Highness Dmitri to have him decide.

    Luckily, Her Royal Highness Maria was studying abroad and did note along¡­ Old Merlin sighed silently.

    He nced at the door.

    Annan and Kafni were there, whispering to one another in an empty corner.

    But both of them were highly conspicuous.

    They would be the center of attention even while staying there.

    However, those qualified to attend the king¡¯s birthday party in person were not simple-minded individuals.

    Even if they saw Annan and Kafni together, they would pretend not to see it.

    Although they had never met Annan, his clothes were iconic. It was made from the finest Frost Beast fur that could remain dry and cool even in the hot summer. However, if an ordinary person were to wear it, they would fall sick from hypothermia.

    That temperature was like having ice cubes stuffed in the inteyer of a down jacket. Only members of the Austere-Winter family could withstand it.

    On the other hand, Kafni¡¯s entric reputation had long circted within the Noah Kingdom¡¯s upper-ss society.

    This crazy little girl was deemed to walk the path of Transcended sooner orter. Hence, parents had warned children of her age to stay away from her and maintain sufficient distance and respect.

    The reason was also straightforward.

    If Kafni were to dieter, all of what she had been through would possibly manifest into a nightmare. If someone were to enter that nightmare with ill intentions, they could learn the secrets of those close to her from it.

    Those who had greater secrets would want to keep their distance further away from whoever might embark on the path to Transcended.

    Nobles and officials expressed their delight in seeing the good rtionship between Kafni and Annan.

    Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke was too strict in their operations.

    If Kafni could marry into the Austere-Winters and befriend them¡­ That would be the best case. Austerians were known for their loyalty,petence, and unity. Many well-known mercenaries and guilds were formed or organized by Austerians.

    For them, Austere-Winter¡¯s young workforce was even more so an excellent one.

    Some young people would head to neighboring countries to escape the winter years, but they would still return when it was the harvest years.

    In other words, they were strong and hard-working. Long-term consumption of the flesh of Frost Beasts made the strength and constitution of Austerian young adults much greater than those of other countries. An Austere-Winter boatman could carry three times as many goods in a daypared to a Noah boatman of the same age. Such a level ofbor could not even make them fall sick from fatigue.

    After all, they didn¡¯t have to withstand the never-ending blizzard while working. They were, in fact, overzealous in their work. This could also make them highly active, excited, even aggressive.

    The flesh, blood, and fur of the Frost Beasts were also Austere-Winter specialties. The blood of the Frost Beasts was even a highly demanded material for Alteration Wizards, primarily as one of the mainponents to create a reliable adhesive.

    This powerful adhesive was necessary for building tall stone buildings, bridges, and city walls. However, it could also be altered into a weak glue that could be used to build roads after it was diluted.

    Plus, it was not limited to the Noah Kingdom¡¯s own needs in building bridges, roads, and houses. There was an even greater demand for these two adhesives in the Papal Kingdom. These adhesives were also one of Noah Kingdom¡¯s main exports.

    A trade partnership with Austere-Winter Dukedom represented a lot of profits to be made.

    In fact, not many people were willing to go to war at all.

    This was also why the war between the two countries has neverpletely subsided, but constantly waged in continuous cycles instead.

    The current king wanted to unify the five kingdoms and rebuild the Great Barrier. This was the slogan he had propagated since a young age. Many nobles supported him as they urgently needed a protracted war to get more benefits.

    But when people realized that His Majesty the King was serious ¡ª he genuinely wanted to unify the five countries. He was not making empty promises, and people became reluctant to continue supporting him.

    The five countries were originally one. Aside from the Underground Federation¡¯s rtive independence, no other country was separable from one another. All countries were also inseparable from the Underground Federation, mainly from the subways they built and managed.

    It was the resistance from the Noah Kingdom internally that had been preventing the war from developing.

    After the Noah Kingdom¡¯s upper nobility realized that Kafni had managed tond His Highness Annan, they began to figure out ways to sell Kafni over to Austere-Winter reasonably.

    ¡ªKafni had no friends anyway.

    Her mother was also simrly ¡°traded¡± to her father, Albert.

    Kafni¡¯s father, His Royal Highness Prince Albert, would probably be the only one who would express concern for this matter.

    But everyone knew that Albert was least likely to inherit the throne.

    He doesn¡¯t fight for the throne, he doesn¡¯t offend anyone, nor does he want any power¡ª he was simply passing through his days.

    While it ensured his safety, it also didn¡¯t give him much authority.

    But what they didn¡¯t know was that Annan and Kafni were discussing some terrifying topics.

    ¡°It is indeed a hexagram¡­¡± Annan drew the route in his mind.

    To prevent alerting the enemy, he only walked around the pce with Kafni following the position she described and determined the position by simply looking around. This was to prevent them from being watched.

    Kafni also confirmed this possibility with Annan, ¡°Anna, someone was staring at us when we were near the kitchen earlier¡­ The red-haired man, right at the door.¡±

    She leaned into Annan¡¯s ear and whispered in her signature fluttering, dreamy voice, ¡°They want to kill us.

    ¡°They want to kill both of us¡­ I can read their minds.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t bother to correct Kafni¡¯s increasingly entric way of addressing himself.

    His heart simply wavered. He also leaned in and whispered into Kafni¡¯s ear, ¡°How many of them are there? How can they see us?¡±

    The situation seemed to be getting serious.

    Annan could no longer bother to continue with his child act.

    Fortunately, Kafni was also not an ordinary person¡ª she didn¡¯t mind Annan¡¯s somewhat strange inquiry.

    She said indistinctly, ¡°We all have a flesh scent that wolves can smell. Everyone has it¡­ but you don¡¯t.

    ¡°So, they can¡¯t see you.¡± Kafni stared at Annan with her clear, almost transparent pupils.

    She let out a childish voice and asked intently, ¡°Can you¡­ can you save me?¡±

    ¡­It is a blessing from the Mysterious Lady. Annan realized quickly.

    It seemed that a strange ritual had unknowingly locked onto the people in this building, but the function was not urate. Otherwise, they would have noticed something was off with Annan when they saw Annan and Kafni together.

    Does that mean I would have to act alone after this?

    But how could I get away from the maid and Merlin¡¯s watch?

    ¡°Of course, I can. You may not believe it, but I¡¯m very strong¡­ I can protect everyone.¡± Annan paused abruptly. The corners of his mouth pursed slightly as he quickly suppressed his habitual confident smile.

    Annan stared at Kafni. He gradually got rid of his disguise and replied without much thought, ¡°Plus, this is what I¡¯m here for.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 269: Annanâ€™s Plan

    <h4>Chapter 269: Annan¡¯s n</h4>

    Old Merlin appeared out of nowhere as Annan and Kafni were whispering in the corner of the main hall.

    ¡°Your Highness Annan.¡± Old Merlin whispered to Annan without looking at Kafni, ¡°Your Royal Highness Dmitri is looking for you.¡±

    His scraggy face showed no emotion.

    His silent and indifferent aura were very simr to Dmitri¡¯s.

    Although they were simrly expressionless, there was a massive difference in their appearance and dressing. Dmitri gave off a formidable and majestic aura, whereas Merlin¡¯s deeply sunken cheeks only made him seem like a horrifying beast.

    In the Noah Kingdom, only a ¡°soft warrant¡± would generally be imposed against Transcendeds who had broken thew.

    It was to put the Transcendeds¡¯ name on the wanted list and notify the officials but never to pursue them in brute force. However, the wanted person would be just like any other wanted criminal. They were not allowed to cross borders, borrow money, form their own families, nor enjoy the protection of thew.

    They restricted these Transcendeds¡¯ scope of activities by depriving those who had broken thew of their legal rights, providing a better-than-nothing form of punishment. Transcended troops would be dispatched for the hunt only when they hadmitted a serious crime.

    In fact, this was a kind ofpromise and tacit understanding¡ª as long as you had the self-awareness of an undesirable, kept a low profile, and didn¡¯t mess around, the kingdom would take it as if you and your crimes did not exist.

    After all, the threat that woulde from having a Transcended fight out of desperation was too significant. Plus, killing them would only leave a new Nightmare.

    But it was different at Austere-Winter, especially during the winter years and the turbulent political environment ¡ª when the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke was most anxious.

    Also, the blizzard would have kept the detrimental effects of Transcendeds¡¯ deaths to its minimum. Moreover, the poption density of Austere-Winter Dukedom during the winter years was much smaller than that of Noah Kingdom.

    So they wouldn¡¯t make anypromises.

    The special operations unit responsible for chasing down Transcendeds was the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    Even if the Transcendeds kidnapped ordinary people as hostages, the Winter¡¯s Hand would neverpromise in any way. Even if the Transcendeds kidnapped nobles or even people of the Austere-Winter family, they wouldpletely ignore the safety of the hostages and kill the Transcendeds mercilessly.

    The organization had relied on this ruthless and stringent mode of conduct of absolutely no exceptions nor negotiations to preserve the stability of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    ording to Annan¡¯s knowledge, the current Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡­ Annan¡¯s father, Ivan Austere-Winter, had been kidnapped once when he was only a teenager.

    It was a Transcended group of seven. There were four Silver, one Gold, one Bronze, and even a ritualist.

    They kidnapped Ivan and his younger brother¡ª of course, they couldn¡¯t be asking for money.

    Their purpose was to force Urie Austere-Winter, then Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, to release a political prisoner.

    The information delivered by Salvatore was vague; hence Annan was unable to find out the specific history and name of that political prisoner. It was only known that he was also an Austerian, even a nobleman who waster locked up as a political prisoner.

    But even with his two sons kidnapped¡­ Grand Duke Urie didn¡¯tpromise with the kidnappers.

    Grand Duke Urie sent troops to surround the target and negotiated for two days and three nights. When the kidnapper¡¯s patience was finally about to run out¡­ The Winter¡¯s Hand troop broke in and attacked at lightning speed, killing six and taking one prisoner.

    In this not-quite-sessful rescue, Ivan¡¯s younger brother unfortunately died.

    ¡ª¡ªAnd the person in charge of this operation was Merlin.

    But not only was he not held ountable for his failure to rescue the hostage, but he was instead credited for his decisive actions, sessfully capturing one of the kidnappers and uncovering their conspiracy through interrogation.

    ording to Annan¡¯s understanding in the Nightmare: White Tower, Merlin should have retired with a leg injury five years ago. In the beginning, Annan thought that Merlin was mute. Only until the end of White Tower did Annan see that Merlin had a tongue.

    A regr Winter¡¯s Hand would have their tongues cut off when they retire. The intelligence they knew was simr to ult knowledge, encrypted, and couldn¡¯t be written down. They could only be passed on verbally for a limited number of times.

    The best way to deal with it was by cutting tongues off.

    But by the looks of it, Merlin must have gotten some special privilege and retained his ability to speak.

    He had even gained the trust of Grand Duke Ivan to protect Annan and Dmitri on their trip to the Noah Kingdom.

    Did Grand Duke Ivan have no feelings for his brother?

    Regarding Dmitri¡¯s case, this was unlikely.

    Annan spected that this was because Grand Duke Ivan trusted Merlin greatly.

    Why exactly would a Silver Rank Falteration Wizard be so trusted by the Grand Duke?

    It wasn¡¯t that the Austere-Winter Dukedom did not have any Gold Rank talent, they had several.

    But Merlin was the highest-ranking Transcended in this escort team that followed Dmitri¡¯s group to Noah by train.

    It was a pity that Annan didn¡¯t see Merlin¡¯s full strength in the White Tower.

    He decrypted the dungeon too quickly.

    Annan still didn¡¯t even know what Merlin¡¯s curses were.

    Presumably, Dmitri and the original Annan should know something.

    Annan vaguely realized that if he could not sessfully conquer this nightmare with his power alone, he would have to find some way to borrow Merlin¡¯s strength.

    But how could he get Merlin¡¯s assistance without having to reveal his identity? And how much strength did Merlin roughly have?

    Many thoughts shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    He quickly figured out a solution.

    He stood up and nodded silently.

    Annan gave Kafni a look, signaling her to stay here.

    Kafni looked at Annan seriously and signaled that she understood.

    She knew what Annan was going to do this time¡ª

    Three minutes ago, Annan said to Kafni, ¡°I need to go to those six ces. But I can¡¯t escape Merlin¡¯s tailgating¡­ I need your help.¡±

    ¡°¡­?¡± Kafni tilted her head silently.

    She didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of help Annan needed.

    Thus, Annan exined his n to Kafni.

    He needed Kafni to take him into a private room with a secret passage. Annan would then leave from the other side through the secret passage. During this time, Kafni had to pretend that Annan was still in the room until Annan came back.

    It was easy to find a private room like that.

    Kafni was ultimately a princess.

    Her own room met all of the above requirements.

    Annan was a little worried if Kafni, as a child, would understand his ns.

    Another concern was¡­ as a stranger of the opposite sex she had just met¡ª would Kafni be willing to bring Annan into her room?

    But Kafni finally agreed after hesitating for a while.

    Then the rest of the question was left for Annan.

    Annan got up, tidied his clothes, and followed Old Merlin to Dmitri.

    He wanted to request a leave of absence from his brother, Dmitri.

    To let him know¡­ he was going to a more private ce with Kafni; and to convince him that he did not need Merlin¡¯s apaniment.

    ¡­Things are gettingplicated.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 270: Information Obtained From the Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 270: Information Obtained From the Nightmare</h4>

    ¡°¡­you want to go y with Kafni?¡± Dmitri stared at Annan and repeated slowly.

    He frowned his eyebrows even more.

    He subconsciously pressed his right index and middle finger against his chin as he was in deep thought.

    But there were still no hints of emotion in those pupils that had always been calm and indifferent.

    Although Annan only had shoulder-length hair, he could easily be mistaken for an elegant maiden; Dmitri had long hair up till his waistline, yet he would never be mistaken for a woman.

    It wasn¡¯t just because of his deep voice.

    It was more so his aura that seemed to carry a heavy weight.

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Annan grimaced in embarrassment and replied softly.

    For some reason, the Dmitri before him seemed to ovep with the Ivan Austere-Winter in Annan¡¯s memory, who trained him in the Frost Sword techniques.

    ¡­Is it because the eldest brothers are like fathers?

    To be stared at by Dmitri¡¯s domineering gaze, even Annan himself worried that he would not be granted his leave at that moment.

    Even so, Dmitri calmly replied after a few seconds, ¡°Okay.¡±

    For some reason, he readily agreed to Annan¡¯s request.

    Dmitri then turned to Princess Elizabeth beside him and said politely in a soft voice, ¡°My brother has caused you trouble.¡±

    ¡°No such thing¡­ Little Kafni is usually a withdrawn child. She rarely has a friend, and I am very happy for her.¡± Princess Elizabeth smiled beautifully.

    Her face seemed to be shining. It was hard to tell her specific age. But in her slightly squinted eyes, there was a sense of cunning that wasn¡¯t displeasing.

    She smiled at Annan and said, ¡°You have a good brother, Your Highness Annan.¡±

    ¡°¡­Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Annan¡¯s reaction was a little awkward. Finally, he bowed at Princess Elizabeth and let out a soft, polite voice.

    The aura of his voice was a little weak, but it was as clear as a me in the cold wind.

    Seeing his demeanor, Dmitri suddenly said something out of the blue, ¡°Annan, remember why you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡­I, why am I here? This made Annan a little confused.

    But luckily, he quickly understood it.

    At this time, Dmitri had already lost his fertility. In other words, the reason it was Annan instead of Maria who followed Dmitri to Noah was probably that Annan was the actual envoy that posed as the ¡°Heir of the Dukedom¡±.

    In other words, it was not ¡°Annan who followed Dmitri¡±, but ¡°Dimitri who followed Annan¡± here instead.

    However, Annan was too young.

    That was why Dmitri was asked to assist Annan in conducting a series of negotiations.

    If so, what was Annan¡¯s primary purpose foring here?

    ¡ªThe answer was clear as the skies.

    He was here to get more experience.

    It could also be that Annan was here to build confidence.

    As the eldest brother, Dmitri acted solidly and appropriately. This was probably the main reason why Annan¡¯s character was rtively weak. Hence, although Annan made a somewhat outrageous request, Dmitri decided not to disapprove Annan.

    Because what he had to do was to build confidence in Annan¡ª not destroy it.

    Annan¡¯s thoughts dashed, and he organized them in the blink of an eye.

    A firm expression quickly appeared on his tender and delicate face, ¡°Of course, I remember, my eldest brother.

    ¡°Thank you for your care, Your Royal Highness.¡± There was still a slight trembling in Annan¡¯s voice, but his voice had gotten louder and clearer ¡ª just like his voice outside of the nightmare.

    At this time, Annan noticed that Dmitri¡¯s constant frown had rxed a little.

    Does this mean he is pleased? That¡¯s the right call.

    Annan let out a sigh of relief secretly.

    There was still no expression on Dmitri¡¯s face, but he said indifferently, ¡°Remember toe back before dinner.¡±

    ¡°You can also ask your new friend to show you around.¡± Princess Elizabeth added.

    It seemed that she had noticed something ¡ª this woman who was known to be iron-fisted in the army seemed to be soft and gentle after changing into a dress.

    She let out a gentle smile towards Annan and took his hand gently, ¡°Not many people are willing to y with Kafni, but I know she¡¯s a good girl¡­ Keep herpany, okay?¡±

    Are you setting us up for marriage?

    Having the intelligence of an adult, Annan immediately caught on to Elizabeth¡¯s intentions.

    This woman was brilliant. She was not ¡°allowing¡± Annan to bond with Kafni but ¡°requesting¡± for him to look after Kafni ¡ª A clever gesture, no doubt.

    Why?

    Did she realize that I¡¯m the actual dukedom heir?

    No, it¡¯s not possible. Dmitri¡¯s loss of fertility was a secret at this time. Otherwise, she would probably be more explicit in her gestures.

    Plus, it was impossible that she would let Kafni and Annan get together right away if she did know of this matter.

    After all, Kafni¡¯s father was the fourth prince. If the ¡°future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡± could be the husband of his only daughter, Annan would then be his powerful political bargaining chip.

    If Elizabeth realized that Annan was the actual future Grand Duke¡­ she would have formed a de facto alliance with Albert before letting Albert freely expand his power.

    ¡ªBecause she was a smart person.

    So, there was only one possibility.

    Has the nobles¡¯ political situation in the Noah Kingdom gotten to the point of needing a marriage partnership to relieve its tension? To the point of needing an ¡°outsider¡± to disrupt the situation and reshuffle the forces of all parties¡­

    Princess Elizabeth, who wasn¡¯t wary of Annan, had inadvertently revealed major political information to Annan.

    Annan, on the other hand, actedpletely normal.

    He replied softly, ¡°Alright, Your Royal Highness.¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice had steadied, vaguely carrying Maria¡¯s shadows.

    This made Dmitri somewhat satisfied.

    Annan then excused himself from the two.

    Kafni took Annan to her bedroom.

    She didn¡¯t ask Annan how he got permission from the two supposed ¡°heirs to the kingdom¡±.

    It seemed as if she expected this already.

    It could also be that Kafni didn¡¯t care about these things.

    ¡°¡­This is the secret passage.¡± Kafni took Annan¡¯s hand and walked him to her wardrobe, ¡°After you exit, you will arrive straight to a corner of the garden. I often sneak out from here¡­¡±

    Her voice was soft, and her face was a little flustered.

    There was a stark difference from the Kafni a few yearster who could hold Annan¡¯s hand at ease even in the first meeting¡ª the Kafni now would still get shy.

    She seemed to be very concerned about the somewhat intimate rtionship between the two of them at this time.

    Annan instead thought exasperatedly. Hey, you¡¯re only nine years old.

    Although I know that girls may mature a little earlier, is it normal for you to know so much at such a young age?

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    Annan opened the cleat at the back of the closet and whispered to Kafni before going in, ¡°Without my voice, they might realize that something is wrong.¡±

    Kafni replied without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ll draw you a picture.¡±

    ¡°¡­But I¡¯m not here.¡±

    ¡°You were here.¡±

    Kafni replied softly, ¡°I can remember.¡±

    Her seemingly non-human vitreous red eyes seemed to project another world which Annan couldn¡¯t understand.

    She replied in a low voice, ¡°I can see¡­ your phantom.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 271: Frost Eye

    <h4>Chapter 271: Frost Eye</h4>

    ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Although Annan was somewhat curious about what she meant by ¡°phantom¡±, he nodded without further questions.

    He knew that Kafni had superb perception. Her ability to see worlds that ordinary people couldn¡¯t was expected.

    Speaking of it, he still didn¡¯t know much about Kafni.

    But at this moment, an idea shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    He asked, ¡°Kafni¡­ is there anything you want or like?¡±

    Annan¡¯s inquiry about Kafni¡¯s interests had nothing to do with his ns.

    Annan intended to seek out information that would be helpful outside of the nightmare now that Kafni was still young and wasn¡¯t guarded towards him. After all, this was only a nightmare. Kafni would not remember anything that happened here by the time the nightmare was over.

    That way, even if he had failed in challenging the nightmare, it wouldn¡¯t be too big of a loss if Annan had gotten crucial information.

    Hearing this, Kafni was startled.

    She was silent for a while, then replied in a soft voice, ¡°I want¡­ a gift.¡±

    ¡°¡­What gift?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°A birthday gift.¡± She answered softly.

    Those clear, zed pupils always made her seem like an emotionless puppet. Yet only at this time, Kafni seemed to have more ¡°humanness¡±.

    Kafni turned her head away slightly. There was an intenselyplicated look on that doll-like delicate and tender face. ¡°Today is August 8th¡­ It¡¯s His Majesty¡¯s birthday, and it¡¯s also my birthday. So his Majesty and I share the same birthday.

    ¡°But no one remembers my birthday. They would only remember His Majesty¡¯s birthday¡­

    ¡°I think, maybe only by bing a king¡­ would birthdays be worthy of remembering.¡±

    Without waiting for Kafni to finish, Annan began to feel around his body.

    Seeing his behavior, Kafni was a little stunned.

    Is he going to give me a gift?

    But then, a sense of urgency and anticipation bloomed in her heart.

    Her father had been busy with His Majesty¡¯s birthday ever since he woke up in the morning.

    He hadn¡¯t even wished Kafni a happy birthday.

    Kafni¡¯s mother, on the other hand, didn¡¯t care about her birthday.

    Simrly, her mother had disappeared before Kafni woke up as if she had evaporated from the world.

    It was precisely because Kafni was feeling lonely on her birthday that she had snuck through the secret passage to paint in the garden despite the presence of guests.

    ¡°I do have a present for you¡­¡± Annan answered affirmatively.

    He had checked before. Annan didn¡¯t have self-defense weapons on him, but he did have an azure blue ring, a badge, and a marble.

    After this badge was activated, it could immediately call upon all Winter¡¯s Hands within the nearby area; the ring was a curse vessel made using the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s craftsmanship. The effect was that it could detect hostility and even freeze all of the nearby hostile units for a while if it was used actively¡ª it contained the frost element, which had to be recharged after each use.

    Obviously, both these items couldn¡¯t be given to Kafni.

    But that gem marble could.

    [Frost Eye]

    [Type: Material/orb/gem (blue)]

    [Description: Austere-Winter Dukedom specialty, an orb that stays cold even in boiling water.]

    [Effect: Active use to attempt dispelling/abolishing mind control and hallucinations.]

    [Effect: When equipped, keep the mind clear at all times to stabilize the holder¡¯s mental state.]

    [Price: Every time an active effect is used, the body temperature of the holder would drop by one degree for one day. This cost is stackable.]

    The blue-grade items were not considered valuable. Annan¡¯s curse vessels and materials would generally start with dark blue grade and then be mixed with hints of purple and gold. For example, the ring and badge were all purple qualities curse vessels.

    It would not seem too strange to give such a gift.

    Moreover, it was beautiful; it looked as pretty as an ice blue ss marble, just right for a girl.

    It was usually in Annan¡¯s inner pocket, and Dmitri wouldn¡¯t ask where it went any time soon. After all, Annan could leave right after he was done with the nightmare.

    And ording to Annan¡¯s memory¡­

    After a year or two, Kafni would be a Transcended and realize the existence of ¡°Dream Stealer¡± Danton.

    At that time, Kafni overloaded the curses on herself and became highly eroded by them. Only then did she resist Dream Stealer¡¯s Mind Maniption ability.

    If Kafni had such a treasure in the actual history, there would probably be no need for her to go through such a dangerous ordeal.

    ¡°It¡¯s for you.¡± With this thought in mind, Annan handed the marble in his arms over to Kafni.

    He exined in a soft voice, ¡°This marble can nullify mind control spells. If you carry it, you can also refresh your mind and help you remain clear-headed. It¡¯s not very useful to me, but it¡¯s an excellent item for you.

    ¡°Remember not to use it too much. Otherwise, you may catch a cold and get sick. It is best if you generally have it kept in a treasure box and use it once a day at a fixed time.¡±

    ¡°Is it a curse vessel?¡± Kafni, who was only tentatively asking for a gift, widened her eyes in astonishment.

    She initially just wanted to ask for Annan¡¯s gloves or whatever essories he had as a souvenir.

    After all, Kafni knew what her status was and sorrowfully acknowledged that she and Annan would probably never see each other again after he returned to his country.

    Annan was the first person of her age who didn¡¯t think she was a monster nor feared or hated her ever since she was born. He was also the only person, evenpared to her parents, who sincerely thought her paintings were beautiful.

    He was Kafni¡¯s only friend.

    Yet it was unexpected that Annan simply gave her something that was not so ordinary.

    The coolness she felt just by touching the ¡°marble¡± was enough to tell her that it was nothing short of extraordinary.

    Although Annan could wield multiple curse vessels, it was simply because there was a limited Austere-Winter family bloodline. But at this time, the Noah royal family had not died to the point where only three heirs were left¡­ Instead, they had arge number of heirs. Plus, almost every heir had many sons of their own because of the old king¡¯s livelihood.

    The only exceptions were Princess Royal Elizabeth, who was still single, and the fourth prince, who had only one daughter.

    This was indeed a precious gift for Kafni, who had not yet be Transcended and had a low status in the royal family.

    It was so precious that she didn¡¯t even dare to ept it.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he realized Kafni¡¯s troubled state and vague inferiorityplex.

    You are a princess¡­ is it normal for you to be like this?

    ¡°ept it,¡± Annan replied sternly, ¡°If it matters that much to you, you can give me a gift of equal value when you see me again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not waste time. I¡¯ll go now¡ª you must remember to draw, and your voice can be slightly clearer.¡±

    ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Kafni agreed softly.

    She clenched the marble in her hand, feeling a little touched in her heart.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.

 Chapter 272: The Basics Of Playing Hitman

    <h4>Chapter 272: The Basics Of ying Hitman</h4>

    Annan had activated his curse before exiting the secret passage¡ª ¡°The Last Work: David¡±.

    [TN: Title is a reference to stealth assassin game, Hitman.]

    The one who entered the secret passage was a nine-year-old child, but the one who exited the secret passage was a kind middle-aged man with ck hair, ck eyes, and well-defined features.

    ¡°¡­This height difference is too extreme.¡±

    Annan felt somewhat dizzy when he had transformed into ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro¡± from Annan¡¯s young body. He finally got used to it after taking two more steps in the secret passage.

    Basically, Annan had to take some time to get used to this height level every time he used this curse before he could re-establish an urate spatial and distal sense.

    Annan came out from the garden corner and followed the path to the kitchen.

    It wasn¡¯t because he was hungry but because someone had blown his cover when Annan and Kafni passed by earlier.

    It was a young man with red curly hair and freckles.

    When he saw Annan and Kafni passing by, he unreasonably revealed a killing intent towards them.

    Annan and Kafni walked past as if nothing had happened at the time as if they didn¡¯t notice at all. Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t have alerted him.

    Never mind Kafni, even with Annan¡¯s Perception attribute, such killing intent would be as clear as a high beam from the headlights in the night within such distance.

    An important piece of information was that Kafni did not know him. This meant that he wasn¡¯t part of the Noah Kingdom¡¯s high-ranking officials, yet he could freely move around the kitchen.

    The possibility that that person was from Austere-Winter Dukedom, on the other hand, was much smaller than this. Therefore, it could almost be said as none.

    So from these details, Annan could conclude that there was a severe problem with the pce¡¯s security system.

    Right now was clearly a critical moment. Not only was it the old king¡¯s birthday, but it was also the day the dukedom heir came to visit. Yet someone whom Kafni had never seen before was able to mingle in.

    Annan had roamed openly using the facade of ¡°David¡± as a kind of test.

    He wanted to see if someone would stop him.

    He couldn¡¯t be mistaken as part of Noah¡¯s higher-ups.

    At this point in time, no one knows who ¡°David¡± was, except for Michngelo.

    Yet he somehow walked over here unobstructedly.

    Those patrolling guards noticed Annan, but they just watched Annan with some vignce. They didn¡¯t question Annan¡¯s whereabouts but instead stopped talking and stood there, watching Annan leave without saying anything.

    This security system was ridiculously loose.

    Annan instead let out a sigh of relief.

    This just proved another thing.

    These royal bodyguards were not the direct power under the Rotten Man Church. However, they seemed to be instructed by someone not to intercept or question any strangers during a specific period.

    Who is it then? A suspect quickly appeared in Annan¡¯s mind ¡ª the Third Prince, Philip Noah.

    It was the man who tried to murder Don Juan Geraint and Captain us¡¯s boss.

    Does he have the authority tomand the guards?

    There were many spections in Annan¡¯s mind, and most of them were quickly disapproved.

    At this time, Annan had arrived at the kitchen.

    Following Kafni¡¯s instructions, Annan spected that the core of the ritual here should be in the kitchen¡¯s basement.

    He once again saw the sneaky red-haired man.

    He was already standing at the kitchen door with his arms crossed, anxiously waiting for something.

    Unexpectedly, this man who revealed a killing intent when he previously saw Annan and Kafni had instead seemed relieved when he saw David.

    There was no hostility whatsoever.

    Annan realized this and walked over to him calmly.

    At this proximity, Annan could paralyze his movements with ¡°Slothful Eye¡± at any time.

    After Annan came to a halt, the man whispered, ¡°Why are you sote?

    ¡°Two children passed by earlier. Can¡¯t talk, I¡¯m going off¡­ I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    ¡°Two children passed by¡­ Are you sure everything here is okay?¡± Annan wavered and asked somewhat dissatisfyingly, following the man¡¯s words.

    He inquired on what the man himself had just mentioned. This couldrgely lower the other person¡¯s guard. For example, if Annan had suddenly said, ¡°Oh right, by the way¡­¡± and changed the topic during their first meeting, the other person might suddenly be suspicious of Annan.

    And with Annan¡¯s outstanding acting and probing skills, the person only said impatiently, ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as they both didn¡¯t go in anyway¡­ Go quickly. My mission here is done. I¡¯m leaving. If I don¡¯t leave now, I won¡¯t be able to leave.¡±

    Annan nced at him and walked into the kitchen without saying anything.

    Yet he had secretlye to a great realization.

    At that moment, the many clues and fragments had connected with one another in Annan¡¯s mind.

    That¡¯s right. The peculiarity that someone had instructed the bodyguards, Kafni¡¯s mother who had gone missing, this suspicious man¡¯s audacity to stand so openly in front of the kitchen¡­

    This could only mean one thing.

    These Rotten Man believers¡ª Assuming that they were Rotten Man believers, their progress in infiltrating the Noah Kingdom¡¯s upper ss still wasn¡¯t considered too deep at this time.

    To prevent the likelihood of the n failing and being captured or betrayed, everyone only knew the content of their mission. Additionally, they didn¡¯t know each other nor each other¡¯s mission. They only handed over missions through the pre-agreed signals or other means.

    There were many people in this kitchen, but they were all very busy inside¡ª there were many fish barrels at the door.

    Annan nced around.

    He found that no one was looking in his direction, and no one even saw that he had entered the kitchen.

    The kitchen¡¯s basement was in front of him.

    But he couldn¡¯t go in at this time.

    The ¡°NPC¡± whopleted the shift wouldn¡¯t suddenly disappear. If Annan had reced someone¡¯s identity andpleted the mission handover with this man, then Annan wouldn¡¯t be able to do much in the basement even if he was a few minutes earlier than that someone.

    After all, time was limited.

    These two people would most likely meet on the way.

    Annan turned his head slightly and looked at the red-haired man who hadn¡¯t gone far.

    In ¡°David¡±¡®s pupils, a fierce light appeared in a sh.

    Without waiting for the red-haired man to leave, Annan followed behind him silently.

    When he approached the man, Annan suddenly reached out and pressed on the man¡¯s mouth¡ª his other hand was pressed against the back of the man, and his palm instantly turned blue-ck.

    [Chilling Touch]!

    The man passed out before he had time to struggle or even make a sound. It seemed that he probably would never know who attacked him in the first ce.

    Annan simply threw him on his shoulders with ease and walked back in big steps. He opened a fish barrel and carelessly shoved the man into it. To prevent him from waking up halfway, Annan even punched the back of the man¡¯s head heavily with his marble-like fist.

    This way, he probably wouldn¡¯t be waking up so quickly.

 Chapter 273: Ferdinand Geraint

    <h4>Chapter 273: Ferdinand Geraint</h4>

    Annan only began scavenging the man¡¯s belongings after stuffing him into the wooden barrel filled with fish.

    All he had in the victim¡¯s pocket was a dagger, a lock pick, and two silver coins. At first nce, he wasn¡¯t a decent man.

    Aside from that, there was a piece of paper folded twice in the inner pocket of his clothes.

    There were twomands written on the front and back pages.

    [Take the Maic Stone to the kitchen at 10:00 in the morning. Enter the kitchen basement under the guidance of a ¡°tall,¡± ¡°ck-haired and red-eyed¡± fat man. Give the Maic Stone to the person inside and leave the basement at 3:00 in the afternoon. Stand ¡°impatiently¡± in front of the kitchen door with ¡°crossed arms¡± and prevent any target from entering the kitchen basement.]

    [There will be someone to rece you between 4:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon. He wille ¡°alone¡± with ¡°ck hair and ck eyes,¡± and you don¡¯t know this person. If no one entered the basement during this time, just leave; if someone entered the basement, don¡¯t let him go in and ask him to leave directly. You then leave after twenty minutes.]

    The handwriting on the note was scribbled, and there were traces of repeated folding and opening of the paper. There were also double underlines to emphasize some of the words.

    If not mistaken, this should be the so-called ¡°feature¡±.

    Fortunately, there was no need to remove his clothes.

    Annan immediately stood in the position where the red-haired man stood before. He crossed his arms and looked impatiently at the passersbying and going at the door.

    In less than two minutes, Annan saw a man hurried over.

    As the note said, ck hair, ck eyes, and alone¡­ The only difference was that he seemed vaguely familiar to Annan. Yet it was hard to tell why he seemed so familiar.

    The man saw Annan standing at the kitchen door impatiently and walked over quickly.

    Annan frowned slightly and whispered, ¡°Why are you sote? Her Royal Highness Kafni passed by earlier¡­ We¡¯re lucky she didn¡¯t go in. Otherwise, what would I do?¡±

    He revised the speech slightly and put himself out.

    The man just chuckled, ¡°As long as a stranger like you is standing here, Her Royal Highness Kafni will not enter.

    ¡°Okay, leave the rest to me.¡±

    The man took out a pocket watch from his arm as he spoke and looked at the time, ¡°It¡¯s almost five¡­ you should leave quickly, from the back door. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to leave in a while.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Annan nodded calmly and walked past the man.

    His pupils contracted slightly.

    Because at this moment, Annan had recognized the man¡¯s identity!

    Annan recognized that pocket watch.

    It was an intricately decorated silver pocket watch with three-eyed birds with dagger-sharp feathers engraved on the case.

    It was a silver pocket watch of the same style as Don Juan.

    This was the Geraint family badge!

    This young man seemed to be in his early twenties.

    I¡¯m afraid this man is Don Juan¡¯s eldest brother!

    After walking past him, Annan stopped silently and turned back quickly. He reached out his left hand towards the young man¡¯s mouth like lightning.

    But at this time, the young man seemed to have eyes at the back of his head.

    He bent down and rolled forward quickly, at the same time taking out a delicate silverdy pistol from his top. He turned around and pointed it at Annan.

    ¡°Stay still, my friend. Just stand there.¡± The young man of the Geraint family asked in a calm and soft voice, ¡°Tell me, why did you want to attack me?¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to make a scene.

    Annan understood his subtext immediately.

    This meant that these people might not have as many infiltrated guards as Annan imagined.

    In the face of the young man¡¯s usation, Annan pressed his left hand down slightly, revealed the silver ring between his fingers, and countered with a vignt expression, ¡°Because you are a member of the Geraint family.

    ¡°And that¡¯s not in line with what I¡¯ve been asked to do.¡±

    Seeing the silver ring that Annan deliberately revealed, the young man¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    He was silent for a while. Finally, he pointed the muzzle slightly downwards and tried his best to calm the situation with his tone, ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡ª what is your mission description?¡±

    ¡°The mission says I don¡¯t know you¡­ but that¡¯s not the case.¡±

    Annan said slowly, ¡°Because you are the eldest son of the Geraint family¡ª I recognize you. You are then not the one I am waiting for.¡±

    He wanted to see if he could manipte him for some information.

    It unexpectedly turned out to be sessful¡­

    The young man frowned slightly without denying, ¡°I think there is a misunderstanding in this, my friend. I am indeed Ferdinand Geraint, but I have never met you. Like you, I¡¯m a Rotten Man believer¡­ Otherwise, I would have called the guards by now.

    ¡°Can you show me your list? Then, in good faith, I¡¯ll show you mine too.¡±

    As a sign of sincerity, Ferdinand put the pistol back on his waist.

    He then took out the ¡°mission list¡± from his arms.

    Annan showed a hesitant look on his face and slowly took out a list that had been folded many times from his arms. The two exchanged it tacitly.

    There were also twomands written on it:

    [Go to the kitchen at 4:00 in the afternoon and meet a man standing ¡°impatiently¡± at the door with his ¡°arms crossed¡±. If the other party reports no one entered the basement, enter the kitchen basement; otherwise, stop the conversation and leave immediately to ensure safety.]

    [Hide the linked Maic Stone on yourself and attend the banquet. Then, sit in the southeast corner of Table 3, and destroy the Maic Stone immediately after the explosion.]

    Explosion? Annan was slightly startled.

    He undoubtedly knew what a Maic Stone was. It was a standardponent for more extensive rituals and functioned simrly as a remote control.

    Its purpose was to enable the host of the ritual to control rituals that would be more dangerous once activated at a further, safer location.

    In other words, Rotten Man wants to¡­ cause a massive explosion? Annan jolted suddenly.

    He seemed to realize something.

    At the very beginning, Don Juan was sent to the border seemingly because he had provoked a certain someone. Yet, in fact, this was Don Juan¡¯s father¡¯s way of protecting him from political persecution encountered by the Geraint family.

    At first, Annan thought the Geraint family was innocent.

    The reason for persecution was that the Geraint family supported Princess Royal. That was why they were suppressed and persecuted by the Third Prince.

    But ording to Annan¡¯s knowledge of Princess Royal from just now, she wasn¡¯t the type to be weak and retreat. It was impossible that she would let Third Prince Philip attack her forces at will and be silent about it.

    Unless¡­

    She doubted the Geraint family¡¯s loyalty hence keeping silent when the Geraint family was faced with discrimination.

    What was the most likely reason when the Geraint family was being suspected? If the Geraint family was truly disloyal, would they only have encountered discrimination?

    Annan previously did not understand the reason behind this.

    But Annan probably knew it now.

    If Princess Royal was in doubt of the Geraint family¡¯s loyalty, then sending Don Juan away for protection and him then assassinated by Third Prince¡¯s people on the way, and even the consecutive idental deaths of other members of the royal family in these past few years¡­ were all nned?

    Annan had always wondered if this was part of a bigger conspiracy, a bigger game n.

    And now, it all seemed so simple.

    Ferdinand said it himself just now.

    He was a Rotten Man believer.

    If so, what did the Rotten Man believers desire most? Where had the Rotten Man previously failed? How did the Rotten Man believers please their deities?

    Annan looked up toward Ferdinand.

    The answer was now self-evident.

    Ferdinand was Third Prince¡¯s follower from the very beginning. He had always been trying to kill his other siblings to gain immortality from this.

    He was trying to kill other royal heirs to gain immortality for the Third Prince.

    Immortality¡¯s ultimate servant¡­ This seemed to be Rotten Man¡¯s biggest regret. If it could be achieved, they would obtain great power.

    Looking back now, the Crow family¡¯s position in Noah¡¯s Kingdom was roughly equivalent to Winter¡¯s Hand.

    If there were frequent ¡°idental deaths¡± that had ¡°zero evidence¡± in which investigations had always yielded no results¡­

    The Princess Royal¡¯s intuitive suspicion was indeed correct.

    Ferdinand Geraint was a traitor!

    It was just that the betrayer was not the entire Geraint family, but just one of them!

    But this also seemed to be an opportunity now¡­

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s mentioned above¡­¡± Ferdinand frowned after reading Annan¡¯s mission list, then looked up and tried to exin to Annan.

    But at that time, he suddenly noticed that Annan¡¯s pupils had unknowingly turned dull grey.

    As soon as he felt vignt, an iparably immense and irresistible feeling of lethargy injected his spirit. Since he wasn¡¯t Transcended, he lost his defenses almost instantly.

    In between Ferdinand¡¯s half-awake state, he saw the middle-aged man with ck hair and ck eyes approach him, revealing a dangerous smile towards him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have some questions for youter.¡± Annan added softly, ¡°Before that, please sleep with the salted fish for a bit¡­¡±

    He immediately raised his mighty marble fist and punched Ferdinand¡¯s temple!

    Ferdinand cked out immediately.

    <i>Fellow readers, thanks for editor MindMatrix in helping me out on improving the readability and overall my trantion skillsets. Unfortunately, he has othermitment in life he needs to attend to, thus you have been seeing him missing for a couple of chapters. I will continue doing my best to uphold the trantion quality ?. Good news is that I have managed to amp up the chapter buffers and thusunching new Tiers in the Patreon up to 25 chapters ahead of the website¡¯s publishing schedule.</i> <i>If you would like to support us, please feel free to check the chapters out, and we will still continue the ongoing weekday publishing schedule. Thanks for the support! </i><i>Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 274: Crowâ€™s Conspiracy

    <h4>Chapter 274: Crow¡¯s Conspiracy</h4>

    Ding~

    A crisp sound came suddenly from the door, and the servants in the kitchen all looked in the direction of the sound.

    A middle-aged man with a kind smile, neat clothing, ck hair, and ck eyes walked in calmly. His unhurried, majestic aura made the servants uncontrobly begin to guess his identity.

    He ced a silver coin in between his right fingers.

    At this moment, that silver coin was rolling rapidly between his fingers.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± The middle-aged man suddenly stopped a passing servant and asked softly, ¡°How do I get to the basement?¡±

    Part of the silver pocket watch slipped out silently from his wide cuff as he spoke.

    Seeing the familiar Three-eyed Crow logo, the servant¡¯s pupils suddenly shrank and seemed to have a sense of fear as she looked at the middle-aged man. He didn¡¯t dare look him directly in the eye.

    ¡°Go, go straight ahead from here¡­ then turn left, and you¡¯ll see it.¡± With that, the servant quickly bowed and excused himself from the ck-haired middle-aged man.

    ¡°David form¡± Annan looked at his back thoughtfully.

    I see.

    Do the Noah people see the Crow family this way?

    These servants only felt fear and dread toward these ¡°Crow-rted men¡±¡­ But if it were those nobles, officials, and Transcendeds, it would probably not be so simple.

    But this was also normal.

    Looking back at the makeup of Noah¡¯s royal family, Henry VIII had a total of nine children¡­ five daughters and four sons.

    But after five years, only three remained.

    Princess Royal, who was active in political courtrooms, had enthusiastic participation in politics, and was ready to be crowned at any time; the betrayer who intended to kill his father and all his siblings probably just to gain the power of eternal stupidity by drawing that sword; azy sloth who did nothing nor cared about anything aside fromzing around¡­ and six poor souls that had already kicked the bucket.

    In this situation where the percentage of problem children was close to 100%, it seemed expected that the servants working for the royal family would be disloyal and unruly.

    No, that¡¯s not quite right.

    This seems like the work of the Crow family, doesn¡¯t it?

    As the Intelligence Director, Count Geraint controlled the Special Intelligence Agency ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡±. Aside from collecting information for the king from all over the kingdom, his main task was to monitor, investigate, and arrest suspicious capital nobles.

    Annan was suddenly lost in thought.

    Is the Geraint family overly loyal¡­ or too ipetent?

    With their power, all they had to do was to pull out a portion of their men to be able to collect evil deeds, gather evidence, and even fabricate evidence to frame and attack their political enemies.

    But they didn¡¯t.

    Why is this¡­

    Simply judging from the servant¡¯s unconcealed fear, it seemed unlikely that it was thetter.

    There was a slight halt in Annan¡¯s footsteps as he then continued to walk towards the basement while maintainingposure.

    He suddenly understood¡ª¡ªThis was probably Count Geraint¡¯s arrangements.

    Although the Geraint family currently had challenges all over the capital, as if every heir would want to make Crow their enemy, they would immediately turn around and befriend Count Geraint as long as they persevered till one of them had a clear win.

    Even the betrayer who deliberately wanted tomit patricide, the Third Prince, tried to contact Ferdinand. His intention to promise him benefits directly through Rotten Man was simply to win over a Crow family member.

    It was because it was a must for new kings who had just ascended the throne to have intelligence support from the Crow family.

    If so, Count Geraint¡¯s repeated emphasis that he was unbiased and only loyal to the king was probably not out of loyalty.

    The Crow¡¯s n was simple ¡ª nurture the enemy for self-gain.

    The Crow Family ced their betting chips across all factions.

    Henry VIII was soon going to be dying of old age, and they must find the next ruler. But Count Geraint of this generation wasn¡¯t aggressive enough or somewhat overly cautious.

    He did not interfere with or hasten in any way the birth of the new king.

    Judging from Benjamin¡¯s early awareness of the Third Prince¡¯s rebellion and even knowledge of his assassination n, Benjamin must be a ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡± member.

    They knew everything but did nothing.

    In this infighting of the royal family, all the heirs could sense what would happen if they were short of the Geraint family¡¯s strength. Losing the source of local intelligence was like being outright blind. They would be unable to protect themselves in the face of assassins, especially Transcended assassins; they would be easily deceived and fall into conspiracies as they wouldn¡¯t know the true intentions of others; others might control even their minds.

    These were all things the One-Eyed Crow could see, prevent, or even block outright.

    They could, but it was not necessary.

    They had a good reason ¡ª to maintain neutrality.

    After going through a period without the protection of the One-Eyed Crow¡­ Regardless of who was the ultimate winner, they must try to make good connections with the Geraint family after inheritance.

    It was impossible that they would betray Count Geraint at this time and abolish his position as Intelligence Director. On the contrary, they would want to increase the count¡¯s authority to get their support.

    Only with this could they sit firmly on the throne.

    In other words, regardless of who the new king was¡ª they would instead be kidnapped after taking the throne.

    They had to pay Count Geraint to his satisfaction.

    Otherwise, Count Geraint could simply turn to the losers for a higher price.

    What is this?

    Imperial Guards Session Law?

    Annan suddenly felt a little wary of Count Geraint.

    He was now beginning to doubt the information he was given in the first ce. Count Geraint sent Don Juan out to be away from the center of the fight.

    The purpose of all this was to make Third Prince think that he had killed Don Juan. But as for the reason behind this, Annan was unable to figure it out at the moment.

    Count Geraint only had three children in total!

    To lure Third Prince, he even risked his youngest son¡¯s safety.

    Plus, Count Geraint must have known that his eldest son was already serving Third Prince.

    ¡°So, is the count looking over these three matters concurrently?¡±

    Annan squinched his eyes slightly, ¡°To heighten Ferdinand¡¯s status by faking the death of Don Juan¡¯s status¡­¡±

    If Third Prince was the one who finally seeded, the Geraint family could also proceed.

    Could he have made the heirs go at each other until there were only three so that he could achieve this goal?

    ¡ªNo, that¡¯s not right.

    He was even betting on all four factions.

    To this day, the Geraint family was still loyal to the king. If the king finally epted Rotten Man¡¯s request andpleted the immortality ritual, their status still wouldn¡¯t change.

    Annan thought quickly in his mind.

    This information might save lives when he arrives at the capital a few monthster.

    Now there was only one unclear piece.

    Count Geraint had three sons. If they corresponded to the three royal heirs, the count himself corresponded to the king¡­

    Then, Don Juan Geraint, who was his assistant?

    Annan froze suddenly.

    Images of himself, Prince Albert, Kafni, Roseburg, Rotten Man, Silver Sire shed through his mind suddenly¡­

    Did he count me in the n?

    Benjamin knew too much.

    If he were a member of One-Eyed Crow, Count Geraint would have long known that he was impersonating Don Juan.

    Unless his purpose is to let Don Juan get away with the feigned death¡­

    And then let me be the one to help Prince Albert to the throne in Don Juan¡¯s ce?

    If so, what is Don Juan doing?

    <i>The Author is revealing more and more info about the real Don Juan. But, where is he and what is he actually doing? If you wish to read ahead of the current publishing schedule, check out out Patreons along with the recentlyunched Tiers.</i>

 Chapter 275: Quiet

    <h4>Chapter 275: Quiet</h4>

    Great, everything is going well.

    I¡¯ve gotten some new information¡­

    Annan, in the form of David, squinted slightly. Then, he walked around the corner nonchntly and entered the kitchen basement.

    Ferdinand¡¯s pocket was empty, aside from the note and the silver pocket watch. There wasn¡¯t even a single silver coin.

    But Annan got a surprise.

    Surprisingly, that pistol was a curse vessel.

    Because when Annan picked it up, its attribute panel was revealed.

    [Miss Quiet]

    [Type: Weapon (Purple)]

    [Description: A silent gun. Its built-in 9mm bullet is as silent as it gets.]

    [Effect: From pulling the trigger to the firing of the bullet, there will be no sound throughout the whole process; the person who is hit by the bullet of this weapon will not make any sound within ten seconds; the weapon will automatically fill in one bullet for every hour the holder is silent with the upper limit as four.]

    [Price: The holder will suffer the curse ¡°Speak No Evil¡±, ¡°Whispers of the Arrogant¡±.]

    [Speak No Evil: If the wielder is attacked before he is done speaking, this attack ignores all defense.]

    [Whispers of the Arrogant: If the holder is engaging in four continuous rounds of dialogue with the attacked and announces that he is about to attack prior to shooting while the weapon is in possession, this attack will be a sure-fire and ignores all defense.]

    This seemed to be in a simr ability domain of the [Tongue in the Mirror].

    After reading the [Whisper of the Arrogant], Annan finally knew why [Speak No Evil] gave him a strange feeling.

    [Speak No Evil] was the prefix of a specific series of curses. The purpose was to restrain such curses themselves.

    For example, the [Tongue in the Mirror], or the [Whisper of the Arrogant].

    And Annan suddenly felt a slight chill.

    He figured it out.

    After Ferdinand took out this gun, he had only four rounds of dialogue with him!

    It was just that when Ferdinand said the fourth round of dialogue, Annan concentrated on reading the note and did not reply¡­ So when he made a second attempt to have the fourth round of dialogue, Annan had already used [Slothful Eye] to hypnotize him.

    If Annan wasn¡¯t so decisive and was just a little bit slower, responding only after the sentence that went, ¡°Look, it¡¯s mentioned here¡­¡±

    Ferdinand was bound to shoot immediately because this gun could make a sure hit without aiming at the enemy. There was also no need to worry that the sound of gunfire would attract other people.

    Once Annan was hit by his sure-fire attack that ignored all defenses, Ferdinand would be able to fire three more shots in a row and kill Annan on the spot!

    Although the physical features of the red-haired brother were not described on Ferdinand¡¯s note, he still had doubts about Annan and had murderous intentions!

    And Ferdinand hid it very well¡­ Even until the end, Annan¡¯s perception didn¡¯t warn him.

    Was it that time?

    Annan recalled that when Ferdinand saw the silver ring in ¡°David¡±¡®s hand, his gaze suddenly stopped.

    Does he think I¡¯m a Silver Rank wizard?

    With such vignt thoughts in mind, Annan deliberately put in more effort¡ª he wrapped Ferdinand¡¯s head like a giant dumpling with Ferdinand¡¯s clothes.

    After that, Annan stuffed him into the fish barrel.

    That heavy punch was enough to knock Ferdinand into a state of moderate concussion; the slightly confined space in the fish barrel coupled with the clothes on his head could further prolong his wakefulness. Of course, it also wouldn¡¯t matter if he were identally killed.

    But to be on the safe side, Annan had to be out within 20 minutes¡ª

    Annan thought a concussion of this level usually meant being unconscious for twenty minutes to half an hour. He couldn¡¯t just bet that Ferdinand would get retrograde amnesia, so he had to take the victim away before it was toote. He would interrogate and then execute the victim.

    Annan would then strangle the redhead, who was also unconscious while he was at it.

    Although Annan had previously felt that he had identally cracked the skull of his red-haired friend, it was just for precaution.

    It would be bad if he woke up and started yelling, leading people to find Ferdinand in an unconscious state.

    Let¡¯s get it over with.

    Upon entering the basement, Annan put the silver coin between his right fingers again. He then put the gun named [Miss Quiet] into David¡¯s overly loose left cuff.

    In the kitchen basement, white cold air visible to the naked eye enshrouded its surroundings.

    It was more of a freezer than a basement.

    The temperature was at least negative.

    The cold air was enough to make ordinary people start shivering shortly after entering but were pointless to Annan¡¯s marble torso.

    Annan looked around and saw lots of fresh meat and vegetables set on different shelves. He also saw something bulging in the bags piled up in the corner of the room, probably food or something.

    The kitchen basement was spacious, about the size of the warehouse where Vasily lived. The difference was its twists and turns. Each room was only ten to twenty square meters, and Annan had walked through five or six of them.

    Suddenly, Annan stopped because he saw another person.

    A grey-haired old man in a rough linen gown sat cross-legged on the altar with his back facing towards Annan.

    It was a strange sitting posture.

    His spine seemed to have been prated by nails from top to bottom¡ªextremely straight. A red gem was ced at the top of his head, just so it happened to connect with his spine.

    At this moment, Annan looked from behind. He could see that a red line spread from the ruby that emerged from the old man¡¯s back and entered the altar.

    Through aplex Alteration, the altar dispersed thisser-like red line into aplex 120¡ã that had six intersecting circles, with two lines extending from the circles.

    Found it.

    This should be one of the corners of the hexagon.

    ¡°Crow, take it away.¡± The old man spoke in a feeble voice, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t step on the red line¡­¡±

    He seemed to be running out of energy, needing great strength to keep his eyes open.

    He didn¡¯t see that it was not Ferdinand who walked in but Annan instead.

    But Annan didn¡¯t walk over.

    He just looked at the old man and silently took out [Miss Quiet].

    The pistol was aimed at the old man¡¯s back.

    The red line on his back led to the gem.

    ¡°If you want to do it¡­ Crow, I advise you to take the Maic Stone first.¡±

    The old man said slowly with a hoarse voice, ¡°My spine is the root leading to the earth. If the root is broken, the tree will die. If the tree dies, the fruit will also fall. Maic Stones are very fragile.¡±

    A ritualist.

    How much does he have to do with this ritual?

    Annan¡¯s heart wavered as he heard these words and shifted the muzzle slightly.

    Not towards the heart but the thighs.

    Then, Annan pulled the trigger.

    He pulled the trigger silently, the bullet flew out silently, and it hit the target silently. The whole process was asical as a silent film, and there was no sense of reality.

    But when the old man opened his eyes due to sudden severe pain and his body trembling¡ª he opened his mouth up wide yet didn¡¯t make a sound.

    He just fell forward and then silently to the side. His body silently crashed to the ground as he wailed silently. The ruby ??fell from the top of his head onto the ground with a crisp sound.

    Then, the ruby shattered like an overly plentiful red fruit that fell to the ground and turned into a pool of mud. Yet the red gem that smashed onto the ground turned into a pool of soft red mud as if it was red crystal mud that was smashed to the ground.

    The red light beam shattered instantly, but the six red rings on the ground simply disappeared.

    Annan stepped forward without hesitation and dragged the old man off the altar.

    Meanwhile, Annan tore off the old man¡¯s robe and threw it away, put the old man¡¯s hands together, and held them firmly with his left hand. Then, with the help of a temporary height advantage, he lifted the old man off the ground, keeping his tailbone away from the ground.

    ¡°You have been captured by me, old man.¡±

    David¡¯s voice came out of Annan¡¯s mouth, ¡°I ask, you answer.¡±

    Annan put his right hand in front of the old man as he spoke to let the trembling old man see that a silver coin was sticking out of his fingers.

    ¡°If your answers are satisfactory, I¡¯ll heal you. I¡¯ll heal all of your wounds.¡±

    Annan said gently, ¡°But if the answer is unsatisfactory¡­¡±

    Annan raised his right hand towards the right as he spoke.

    A silver de pierced out silently from Annan¡¯s fingers.

    ¡°Do you understand?¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°Remember¡­ be quiet.¡±

    At this time, the effect of silence had ended.

    The old man nodded shakily. Then, he said softly as his body trembled to endure the pain, ¡°I¡­ I will be quiet.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Annan asked calmly, ¡°First question, who are you.¡±

 Chapter 276: Feast of the Great Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 276: Feast of the Great Hunt</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m Ken Carter.¡± The old man¡¯s voice was low and even trembling, ¡°I¡¯m a ritualist from the Natta County.¡±

    Natta County¡­ Annan frowned slightly.

    He had indeed heard of this location, and it wasn¡¯t a good ce.

    Natta County was at a viscountnd close to the western border of the Noah Kingdom. The terrain itself was simr to Roseburg, but the difference was that it was barren further west.

    Indeed, the westernmost side was the edge of the Noah Kingdom.

    In the past few decades, the Natta County had its ins by the west of the city eroded by the Gray Mists, and a third of the urban area consumed in it. However, the erosion rate was halved after five years.

    At this distance, the barrier couldn¡¯t block off the pration of the Gray Mistspletely.

    The curse was like dust, visible to the naked eye, tainting the air in the city. The entire town was painted grey during the day, and the sky turned blood red as night approached.

    Ordinary people who lived in such ces were prone to developing chronic diseases within a few years. After all, the water source was quite likely to be polluted by the curse. Long-term living, polluted air, and water sources would greatly weaken the regr civilians.

    Those food exposed to the air would even grow mold within a couple of days. The rate of decay for fresh meat, vegetables, and fruits was tripled than that of the maind. If one were to eat food contaminated by the curse, the victim would most possibly die in a short time due to an acute infection.

    Natta County¡¯s feudal lord had evacuated ind and abandoned the city because of the situation. The city guards and the polices quickly evacuated in the absence of wages. Withoutw and order, many vicious robberies and murders soon urred. Consequently, many trading caravans no longer went to Natta County, and the Silver Sire Church had also evacuated because of that.

    Soon, warning signs were installed, warning the passersby not to enter and persuading people in the city to leave as quickly as possible.

    But obviously, the warning sign couldn¡¯t stop those Transcended criminals who craved power, ordinary people who were in a fanatical pursuit to be Transcended, and wanted criminals whomitted serious crimes. Even the sign itself was stolen in the first month after it was erected.

    In the end, Natta County becamewless.

    The indescribable monsters in the Gray Mists would even go directly into the city to hunt. Some Transcended who were eager for power would enter Natta County and live near the Gray Mists while staying inside the protective barrier. With that, their body would absorb the vicious curse in the Gray Mists. This would cause their erosion rate to rise sharply, and their temperament would gradually be violent and dark, but it would foster rapid growth in power, at least until the peak of Bronze Rank.

    These illegal Transcendeds weren¡¯t monitored, so they naturally wouldn¡¯t obey thew and act high profile. As a result, fights happened intensely, leading to many nightmares.

    With the uncontroble mass of nightmares and the erosion of the Gray Mists, demons might be born at any time.

    There were no ¡°ordinary people¡± here at all.

    Even those who gave up their social status and became refugees in an ind city had a far better life than living in Natta County.

    In fact, in some cities within Noah¡¯s ind, ¡°Natta County people¡± were directly referred to as ¡°refugees¡±.

    This was a group of homeless people which the vast majority had a bad impression of them because they grew up in a vile environment. Many of them would be gang members such as thieves, scammers, human traffickers, etc. Those were their specialties.

    But on the contrary, ¡°Transcended¡± abilities, which were generally kept secret elsewhere, were nearly public in Natta County. They subconsciously absorbed many vicious curses, quickly turning them into a wild Transcended in a nightmare. However, Transcended born in this manner bore an erosion rate exceeding 50% at the start of their journey.

    The taboo knowledge in bing a ritualist would also be circted in Natta County to fight against the Transcended.

    The dangers of this technology wouldn¡¯t deter the Natta County¡¯s people.

    Once you stay in a precarious city, the taboos and dangers of ritualist knowledge seem irrelevant. Simrly, creating explosions and utilizing poison was a norm due to the living condition.

    Indeed, explosion¡­

    Annan thought of this and asked, ¡°Are you from Natta County?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been in Natta County for 40 years.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you leave the Natta County?¡±

    ¡°Naturally¡­ to serve my master.¡±

    The old man whispered, ¡°I won¡¯t say his name. He was the one who took my child and me away from Natta County and let my child go to school and have a normal job. I owe my life to him¡­¡±

    So why are you still telling me this much?

    The corner of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly, but he didn¡¯t say much.

    Ken Carter should have realized it.

    There were only two possibilities when Annan could use Silver Sire¡¯s divine art.

    Silver Sire had seen through Rotten Man¡¯s scheme and intended to interfere;

    Or, he was in the middle of someone¡¯s nightmare, and the person in front of him was the Silver Sire Church¡¯s Silver Hand.

    There was no point in him hiding any information, whatever the possibility.

    The Silver Sire¡¯s priest wouldunch an investigation if they already had suspicion on it, and these secrets were impossible to hide from the church.

    As long as Silver Sire checked the ounts Himself, any secrets would be unveiled.

    Silver Sire could see all types of ¡°transactions¡± in this world, trace back to the time of the transaction, the content of the transaction, and the object of the transaction.

    That was exined why even though He had no authority over ¡°truth¡± or ¡°secret¡±, he couldn¡¯t hide anything from Him.

    ¡°So, either way. Your attempt to hide it is meaningless.¡± Annan smiled and said calmly, ¡°Tell me the truth. You don¡¯t have to pretend to be loyal.¡±

    Ken smiled bitterly. He sighed and said in a low voice, ¡°Fine¡­ I will tell you anything.

    ¡°They¡¯re holding a ritual, and this ritual is called the ¡®Feast of the Great Hunt¡¯. It¡¯s the field involving the ¡®Tragedy Writer¡¯, the deity of murder and conspiracy. In the ritual, there shall be six people carrying the Maic Stone each, forming a ¡®stage¡¯ in a banquet, and setting up a designated area in range. Those within the area are considered ¡®actors¡¯, fulfilling the condition of a ¡®grand opening¡¯. Sacrificing one person shall activate arge-scale chaos ritual, cursing the fate of every ¡®actor¡¯.

    ¡°The order of killing ispletely random and hand-picked by the ¡®Tragedy Writer¡¯. Each chosen person, known as the ¡®speaker¡¯, can only temporarily save himself from bad luck by killing the other person and will pass ¡®the speech line¡¯ to the next person; or encounter a misfortune¡­ The misfortune may be fatal.

    ¡°And every time one dies, the misfortune of the next person will be more terrible and even doubled. The cycle continues until the ¡®curtain falls¡¯ and the ¡®Tragic Writer¡¯ is sent away. If the ¡®closing¡¯ can¡¯t bepleted, the ritual is considered a failure. When the final actor dies, all the ¡®curtain weavers¡¯ die painfully.¡±

    That¡¯s us.

    Ken pointed to himself with a wry smile, ¡°Including everyone who participated in this n¡­

    ¡°As for the price of the ritual and the reward after itspletion, I don¡¯t think you will care because the process of the ritual itself is their purpose. They want to start a great fire first and burn one person as the opening. Then, the ritual has fulfilled its purpose.¡±

    ¡°¡­them?¡± Annan keenly caught a keyword.

    Ken nodded slowly and spoke in aplicated tone, ¡°But please don¡¯t ask. I can¡¯t say or write his name. I don¡¯t want to be part of this n either, but I don¡¯t have a choice. I don¡¯t think he will organize us to start a second fire to ¡®give a proper closure to it¡¯. He may want all of us to die to keep this matter a secret.¡±

    ¡°He¡­¡± Annan murmured, ¡°I know who it is.¡±

    It¡¯s highly likely that the Third Prince, Philip, is the culprit.

    Besides him, who would put the Crow¡¯s heir in a risky situation?

    But, what about Ferdinand¡­?

    Did he know that he was being put as a ¡°possible victim¡±?

    Annan finally understood how the heirs died one after another in a short period, but the murderer wasn¡¯t discovered, and how did the murderer do it!

    Their fate had been cursed a few years ago, but they were unaware of it!

    Many people had died before the culprit had sessfully cursed and killed the heirs.

    Annan suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

    In other words, it¡¯s not just stopping the fire and explosions?

    This was the first time Annan hade into contact with the power of ¡°Fate¡±.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t actually twisting the destiny.

    Judging from this false deity¡¯s or evil deity¡¯s authority, He was unlike Lady Luck, who was involved in thew of ¡°ident¡± and ¡°luck¡±.

    The deity of murder and conspiracy focused solely on ¡°manually¡± creating misfortune.

    ¡°Tell me! How do I stop this ritual?¡± Annan spoke out after reorganizing his thoughts.

    <i>Would Annan stop the ritual? It¡¯s still a nightmare of the past. Does it change anything in the future? </i><i>If you wish to read ahead of the current publishing schedule, check out our Patreons along with the recentlyunched Tiers up to 25 chapters ahead.</i>

 Chapter 277: The Three Ways to Clear the Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 277: The Three Ways to Clear the Dungeon</h4>

    After another 10 minutes of interrogation, Annan slowly lowered the de in his hand.

    Ken Carter was cooperative.

    Annan had already dug pretty deep in his questions ¡ª everything directly rted to this nightmare, how should ¡°Ritual: Feast of the Great Hunt¡± be interrupted, the people participating in the ritual, the time, the exact location, and the passwords.

    He had also discovered some helpful periphery information. For example, the dark secrets looming around the royal heirs and the kingdom¡¯s higher nobility. He even found out about the Noah Kingdom¡¯s views, knowledge, and perception of the Austerians and the Austere-Winter family. All in all, he had looked into whatever rabbit holes he could find.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t be sure whether the information itself was correct, whether Ken was telling the truth, and whether what Ken knew was urate.

    But still, Annan didn¡¯t necessarily need so many ¡°truths¡±.

    All he needed was a ¡°general gist¡± and a direction in which he could investigate further. Since it was just a surface understanding, there was naturally the possibility of misremembering and forgetting.

    Those would be the reasons Annan could use to avoid revealing any ws in his character. As for the detailed information, he had tounch a further investigation.

    ¡°So, I can¡¯t stop them even after smashing the Maic Stones¡­¡± Annan frowned slightly.

    The ritual was already established.

    Even if no ¡°Maic Stones¡± yed the catalyst role, the ritual would still be activated. The difference was that the ritual was no longer restricted at the ¡°banquet¡± but spread out.

    For example, Ferdinand¡¯s position was at the southeast corner of the hexagram. The bottom right of the equteral triangle.

    If that particr Maic Stone were broken, the southeast corner of the ritual would be relocated to the kitchen basement once activated.

    Consequently, the ritual would target everyone in the area between the banquet hall and the kitchen.

    No doubt destroying the Maic Stones wouldn¡¯t ¡°save more people¡±. It might even take more lives. The Maic Stones weren¡¯t used to ¡°activate the ritual¡± but to prevent this dangerous ritual from hurting itself.

    Sure enough, putting efforts into the Maic Stones wouldn¡¯t solve anything.

    It was a fine n if the mission issued was to ¡°reduce casualties¡±. After those people realized that the Maic Stones were being destroyed and that the rituals were locked on them, they would hold the ritual differently.

    If the ¡°person selected to speak the lines¡± included their people, they could only choose to ¡°close the curtain¡± and put an end to this ritual. Even to be on the safe side, they might end the ritual as soon as it started.

    Annan knew in his heart that this should be the easiest way to clear this dungeon.

    It was also the most preferred way for others.

    Annan reorganized his n. Typically speaking, the dungeon challengers would enter the garden and meet Kafni at the beginning. Then, they would quickly realize that Kafni was the key NPC at the first moment.

    So far, the flow should be simr.

    What would be different was that others who entered the nightmare would have to struggle to find a way to gain Kafni¡¯s trust first. Then, they had to let her lead the way and find the six key locations of the ritual. This seemed to be the necessary route to clear the dungeon.

    But if the dungeon challenger faced a problem in gaining Kafni¡¯s trust and the time was dyed, the redhead and Ferdinand would havepleted their tasks in meeting up. Ferdinand would also get the Maic Stone and leave.

    If the dungeon challenger couldn¡¯t get rid of Merlin when he came to the kitchen, then he couldn¡¯t directly attack the redhead under Merlin¡¯s surveince and protection.

    In both cases, the best the dungeon challenger could do was to figure out that ¡°Ferdinand¡± was suspicious after observing him leaving or observing the exchange of shifts.

    The time Ferdinand met with his aplice was half an hour before dinner. In this short period, the only way out was to observe Ferdinand¡¯s movements in the banquet hall and find an opportunity to steal or destroy the Maic Stone. Then, the dungeon challenger would realize the key topleting the dungeon.

    Then, he had to look for an opportunity to destroy the Maic Stone in the north, where the king was. With that, the ritual wouldn¡¯t include Henry VIII.

    After all, the Third Prince Philip presided over the conspiracy. His purpose was to reduce the numbers and strengths of his siblings and possibly to please the Rotten Man by dealing critical damage to the Austere-Winter brothers. But he wouldn¡¯t really kill King Noah.

    The reason was simple.

    The current first-in-line heir was not Philip but Elizabeth. After Elizabeth, there was the second prince who was still alive. If the two of them didn¡¯t die first, then he wouldn¡¯t inherit the throne anyway when King Noah died suddenly without leaving a will.

    So at that time, they had to end the ritual.

    This should be the original trajectory of history.

    This incident led to the tragic death of several heirs. Also, the Rotten Man¡¯s forces infiltrated the higher nobility of Noah Kingdom because many nobles and officials who participated in the banquet had also died.

    All in all, the dungeon challenger who followed this process wouldn¡¯t know why their actions could resolve the dungeon unless they knew this ritual already. Hence, the decryption reward should be pretty low.

    If Annan wanted more decryption rewards, he must resolve the root cause of the nightmare dungeon as much as possible and conquer the dungeon entirely.

    Annan could only think of three ways to clear the dungeon.

    First, he would transfer the four people he wanted to protect to a particr corner of the hexagram. Then, he would quietly destroy the remaining five corners of the ritual¡¯s hexagram without alerting the ritual host. Soon, when the culprits realized that something was wrong, it was toote. They had to stop the ritual immediately with no way of fluking the ritual.

    It would be unlikely for this ritual to kill anyone anymore. Even though the ritual operated randomly, the Tragic Writer would handpick the targets into the list. Since He wanted to capture the climax of a drama, He would probably kill the king first.

    However, Annan doubted that resolving this nightmare in this way would offer any decryption rewards. The strategy was a fluke.

    This was probably the reason why Elizabeth should be kept alive. As long as Elizabeth wasn¡¯t included in the king¡¯s ritual, the culprits had to end the ritual immediately. This was the quick fix in conquering the dungeon.

    Secondly, the perfect way to clear the dungeon was to ruin the entire ritual. The ritual was already adequately arranged. Once the Tragic Writer was summoned as the audience and the explosions were triggered to ¡°open the curtain¡±, the ritual would start operating.

    In this case, forcibly terminating the ritual must be in direct conflict with the Tragic Writer. The Tragedy Writer was so angry that he might even summon a few envoys to kill the people ruining the ritual. This must be the most brutal way to clear the dungeon. In this case, Annan wasn¡¯t confident that his identity could be kept secret anymore.

    Annan could only choose the third way.

    First, I have to figure out who is the owner of this nightmare¡­ Who could it be?

    <i>What¡¯s the perfect clear for this nightmare? Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 278: To Fight Ritual with Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 278: To Fight Ritual with Ritual</h4>

    The direction in clearing this nightmare dungeon was clear-cut.

    Annan needed to figure out a way to nullify the ritual, not continue it. Of course, it would then mean that this nightmare did note from Transcendeds of the Philip faction¡­ or rather, the Rotten Man¡¯s faction.

    Other than that, there were only two other factions.

    The official force of the two countries under the lead of Dmitri and Elizabeth, respectively.

    Annan did not have the ritual immunity debuff given by the Old Vasily in the original history. In other words, this ritual was under the circumstance that the ritual was monitoring everyone, but it was still ruined.

    It was also well known that Ferdinand did not die at this moment, nor was he wanted or exiled.

    Then the one, or the few Maic Stones destroyed in the original history, must not have belonged to Ferdinand.

    Who could detect the ritual and ruin it without arousing anyone¡¯s attention?

    He must be an observant man whose whereabouts would not arouse the vignce of others.

    There was only one person who could pull it off.

    That person should be Old Merlin ¡ª Merlin Manning.

    He was a cripple and a mute¡ªat least he was mute in the eyes of outsiders. As the most reliable protector, he would undoubtedly follow Annan¡¯s proceedings because only Merlin would know that Annan¡¯s ¡°value¡± ¡°had already surpassed that of Dmitri¡¯s at this time.

    As a protector, he wouldn¡¯t look suspicious wherever he showed up as long as Annan wasn¡¯t far away.

    His younger brother, Vasily, was a ritualist himself. As an elite in Winter¡¯s Hands group, one of his jobs was to arrest the illegal ritualists. So, how could he not have ritual knowledge?

    If there was a person who was rted to Annan, who could see through the ritual within a short period, whose actions would not arouse the vignce of others, who had the intentions of ruining the ritual¡­ and most importantly, who wanted ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡±, ¡°Dmitri¡¤Austere- Winter¡±, ¡°Elizabeth Noah¡± and ¡°Kafni Noah¡± to survive¡­

    Then the answer was self-evident.

    This nightmare could have only been born from Merlin Manning, who died in Michngelo¡¯s ritual!

    ¡°¡­But he was just a Silver Rank Transcended. Could he give birth to a distortion-level nightmare?¡± Such doubts quickly appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    This was the only thing Annan couldn¡¯t exin.

    Is Merlin that strong?

    Generally speaking, only the death of Gold Rank Transcendeds or higher could give birth to a distortion-level nightmare, right?

    However, the information Annan had gotten was already enough, even if he ignored this part.

    I must get Merlin¡¯s support if I want to use the third way to tackle the nightmare dungeon.

    The second method would arouse the anger and hindrance of the Tragedy Writer. So was there a way to resolve this ritual under a circumstance that satisfied Him?

    ¡ªYes.

    The Tragedy Writer was the deity of murder and conspiracy. However, he was not the protector of murderers and conspirators, but their ¡°aplice¡± and ¡°secret-keeper¡±.

    He was tight-lipped about murders and conspiracies and was fond of ¡°perfect crimes.¡± ¡°Perfect crime in in sight¡± itself was one of the Tragedy Writer¡¯s favorite rituals.

    With that in mind, Annan decided to make a sacrifice to the Tragedy Writer.

    He wanted to murder the criminal who intended to murder others, steal authority, and cause war in in sight ¡ª Third Prince, Philip Noah!

    He would deny sacrifice with another sacrifice, ovee a ritual with another ritual, prevent murder by murdering, and finally cover up an explosion with another explosion.

    Not only would the Tragedy Writer not detest it, but He would also be pleased.

    But if Annan were going to do that, he would have to get Merlin¡¯s cooperation because Annan could not reveal his identity during the whole process.

    He couldn¡¯t arouse suspicion either. He couldn¡¯t let others think the murderer was an Austerian, and he especially couldn¡¯t let Merlin kill anyone.

    ¡°So I have to be fully prepared.¡±

    He would murder Philip Noah just before the ¡°curtains open¡± if everything went well. Otherwise, he would use the first method to get through the dungeon. There must not be the slightest hesitation in such a difficult nightmare.

    It was as if the door had opened, but a teammate was hung on a tree and couldn¡¯t be saved. One must still flee when one could.

    The point was that the killer must be Annan. In other words, it must be Annan in the form of ¡°David¡±.

    Because when Annan entered the ¡°David¡± state, not only would his appearance change, his name would also temporarily be ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro.¡± Consequently, he could unconditionally deflect any ¡°Prophet¡± spells and ¡°Idol¡± spells below Gold Rank.

    This would allow ¡°David¡± to bear this crime. Regardless of what magic was used to investigate this matter, the spell could only find that a person named ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro¡± hadmitted murder.

    But as everyone knew, there was no such person in this world¡ª- this was the name Annan gave to thest statue in Michngelo¡¯s life.

    ¡°I will heal you.¡± Looking at Ken Carter, who was a little uneasy, Annan nodded and said in a deep voice.

    He didn¡¯t retract the gun in his left hand as he spoke. He instead held the rapier in his right hand with his mouth and took out thest silver coin in his pocket.

    He wiped the gunshot wound on Ken¡¯s thigh with the silver coin. The wound was wiped away by Annan as if it had been erased with an eraser.

    Ken¡¯s expression also improved significantly.

    He thanked in a low voice, ¡°Thank you very much, Father.

    ¡°I won¡¯t attack you, and I won¡¯t reveal your identity¡­ If you don¡¯t trust me, you can lock the basement. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°This will be the best.¡± Annan nodded gently and raised the de again.

    There was a sh in the depths of his pupils.

    In his mind, an image suddenly appeared.

    Ken Carter was sitting in the empty basement with a hesitant expression on his face. He was frowning and looking down in thought.

    In the end, he slowly got up from the ground. He found a few pigeons in the kitchen basement and removed their wings.

    The image stopped abruptly.

    ¡ªAs expected¡­

    Annan didn¡¯t need to finish watching it to know Ken wanted to arrange a ritual to tip off the news. This was understandable, and he had also expected it.

    But Annan had never intended to let Ken go, so he wasn¡¯t furious with the betrayal.

    He was just a little surprised.

    Could this be the [Prophet Experience] of Prophet school wizards?

    This is so cool!

    Annan warned casually, ¡°By the way, Ken¡­ you¡¯d better stay here obediently and not think about anything bad. If I could live to know¡­

    ¡°¡ªNo matter how far, I wille back and kill you,¡± said Annan nonchntly.

    Ken smiled and replied in a low voice, ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°That would be best.¡± Annan nodded nonchntly.

    He turned and walked out of the basement, but he was in no hurry to get out.

    He just walked out slowly towards the basement door, silently aiming the muzzle at Ken¡¯s position that was across the shelf behind him.

    Four rounds of dialogue and then followed up by a somewhat vague ¡°death deration¡±.

    Let¡¯s see if this level of death deration could trigger the special effects of ¡°Miss Quiet¡±.

    Annan pulled the trigger silently without looking across the shelf.

    The negligible recoil of the gun shook slightly in his hands, but it did not move David¡¯s marble body in the slightest.

    But no bullets flew out of the muzzle¡ª the shelf was also not prated by bullets.

    But Annan did feel the gun vibrate.

    Could it be ¡°that¡± type of sure-fire? Annan took two steps back without hesitation and circled the shelf.

    He saw that Ken had been shot. He was lying on the wall in pain, struggling silently and violently¡ª blood was flowing out from his heart.

    ¡°¡­As expected.¡± Annan nodded in satisfaction.

    The distance from the ¡°muzzle¡± to the ¡°target¡± was directly erased. This level of sure-fire was indeed valuable. If it was only to the level of automatic tracking, it could bepleted with just a curse.

    The experiment was over.

    Annan immediately stepped forward and utilized the [Sharp Object] in his right hand, intending to give this NPC a clean death.

    With just a sh of light, and the support of David¡¯s robust strength, Annan slit Ken¡¯s throat without any hindrance.

    A head flew out.

    ¡ªOne-shot kill.

    Annan have resolved the NPCs professionally like a Hitman. But, what else can the OP gun do? Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 279: Philip Noah

    <h4>Chapter 279: Philip Noah</h4>

    The nights in August were always pitch-ck.

    Before dusk, the guests attending Henry VIII¡¯s 80th birthday banquet had already begun entering the venue.

    Annan didn¡¯t let Dmitri wait for long.

    Before the guests had fully arrived, Annan and Kafni had already returned together. Kafni had even changed into a more voluminous, formal, and elegant dress.

    Seeing that Kafni could dress up asionally and tidy up her somewhat fluffy hair, Elizabeth nodded with satisfaction and smiled softly at them.

    ¡ªSeeing that Annan was able to keep up with his words to return before mealtime, Dmitri also slightly rxed his brows in satisfaction, showing a less indifferent look.

    Dmitri was always like this. He didn¡¯t like surprises, and he valued ??tradition andmitment. When he was a teenager, he enjoyed mediating other people¡¯s conflicts, reasoning with others, and setting rules. He seemed pretty mature.

    His working manner was also reliable.

    When Dmitri was 14 years old, he was already following his father to handle government affairs. Even his younger brothers and sisters at home were under his care. Grand Duke Ivan was busy, so Dmitri had to bring up both Annan and Maria.

    His constant honest and serious look, his inability to understand the jokes, as well as his brows that were always frowning and rarely rxed. There was no doubt that Maria would always say that he looked like an old man.

    But now, Dmitri¡¯s expression had suddenly be a little different seeing Annan and Kafni huddled in the corner holding hands.

    It was like having constipation.

    Have you only known each other for an afternoon?

    It hasn¡¯t even been an afternoon. How did your rtionship suddenly grow so intimate?

    Is this appropriate?

    However, it wasn¡¯t easy that Annan would be willing to take the initiative tomunicate with others with his timid personality. Although Dmitri found it inappropriate, he did not want to stop the two children from ying together.

    ¡ªAfter all, you won¡¯t be able to see each other once we return to Austere-Winter.

    As for marriage and what not¡­

    We¡¯ll talkter.

    But what Dmitri could never guess was why Annan and Kafni were holding hands.

    At this age, girls were usually taller than boys of the same age. Therefore, Kafni was the more ¡°dominant¡± part between the two.

    She held Annan¡¯s left hand with her right and put it in the side pocket of her skirt. This was undoubtedly a bold move, so much so that Kafni¡¯s face was slightly blushing.

    Both their hands were in the same pocket¡­

    ¡­holding the same gun.

    ¡ªIndeed, Annan gave ¡°Miss Quiet¡± to Kafni.

    Ferdinand was the Third Prince¡¯s follower. Therefore, there was a considerable probability that Prince Philip knew some of the attributes of Ferdinand¡¯s powerful curse vessel.

    Annan had already done his experiment. Aside from himself and other yers who have the system, nobody else would know all the attributes of a particr curse vessel. They would only know the domain of the curse vessel and then rely on experience and knowledge to judge its effect.

    Aside from Prophet school wizards who could use [Curse Vessel Analysis] to get the attributes of curse vessels below Gold Rank, only Silver Rank Transcendeds and above could gradually understand its relevant attributes when holding a curse vessel to sleep.

    Although Prince Philip didn¡¯t necessarily know all the [Miss Quiet] attributes, Annan still wanted to be on the safe side.

    Since chatting awkwardly with Phillip alone might make him wary, then the two of them shall chat with him.

    Conversations between two strangers would often fall into awkwardness and silence because of theck of topics. But if you insert a ¡°middleman¡± who knew both people at the same time, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a pleasant chat, but it at least wouldn¡¯t be so silent.

    ¡°Your Highness Annan, and¡­ Kafni?¡± A somewhat surprised but happy and cheerful voice came about, ¡°Wow, the rtionship between the two of you is progressing rapidly!¡±

    Annan widened his eyes slightly and turned his head.

    The person who initiated the conversation was Prince Philip himself.

    Prince Philip sat on Annan¡¯s right and started chatting with them, ¡°Your Highness, did you know each other before? It couldn¡¯t be that you¡¯ve met in a dream, right?¡±

    Before Annan took the initiative to find Philip, he hade over himself.

    But this was what Annan had expected.

    Because the two of them were sitting on the edge that was two seats away from the ¡°stage¡±, he deliberately lured Philip over.

    Philip¡¯s intention ining over wasn¡¯t to chat with them but to have a reasonable excuse to sit outside the ¡°ritual area¡±.

    All of these were within Annan¡¯s expectations.

    Annan also came to a realization judging from Philip¡¯s attitude ¡ª He indeed has no ill thoughts towards me, at least he didn¡¯t try to fool me into the ritual area¡­

    ¡­or is it that Dmitri was the only enemy of Austere-Winter to him?

    Annan took a careful look at the prince sitting beside him.

    Although Philip Noah was older than his younger brother Albert, he looked much younger than Albert and was also shorter than Albert.

    He was wearing a ck robe with dark gold embroidery, and like the rest of Noah¡¯s family, his buttons had a golden lion pattern. He had his trademark ck hair, red eyes, and round babyface.

    He looked extraordinarily harmless, with an optimist look on his face all the time. When he sat down, he even sneaked a piece of candy into Annan¡¯s hand.

    Philip himself also picked up another piece of candy, took off the candy wrap, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then, he showed a happy and carefree smile, ¡°Why are you not talking, Your Highness? Come and have a taste. This is a delicious toffee!¡±

    ¡°¡­Brother doesn¡¯t let me eat other people¡¯s food,¡± said Annan earnestly with a straight face.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not any other person. I¡¯m Philip¡ª Philip Noah. Don¡¯t judge by my youthful appearance. I¡¯m actually Kafni¡¯s uncle.¡± Philipughed and said in a childlike tone.

    Annan¡¯s eyes widened as he let out a young and tender voice, ¡°¡­Really?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, just ask Kafni!¡±

    Philip had an ambiguous smile on his face when adults would ask children, ¡°who¡¯s your friend in school?¡± He said in a low voice, ¡°Speaking of which, Big Brother Philip also has a lovely daughter,parable to Kafni.¡±

    ¡°¡­Aren¡¯t you Kafni¡¯s uncle?¡± Annan blinked and inquired.

    Philipughed again. He squeezed Annan¡¯s face and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m young, and you¡¯re a big kid. Of course, you would want to call me big brother.¡±

    ¡°I would still want to call you uncle.¡± Annan said earnestly with a straight face, ¡°My brother will be unhappy if I call you brother.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What will His Highness Dmitri do?¡± asked Prince Philip curiously.

    Annan¡¯s face immediately showed a terrifying look, as if he was going to tell a horror story. He threatened, ¡°¡ªkill you!¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha,you are so cute!¡±

    Not sure what tickled Phillip¡¯s funny bone, he suddenly burst intoughter, ¡°Then let hime! If he couldn¡¯t kill me, then you shall be my younger brother!¡±

    ¡°What are you guys talking about that¡¯s so pleasing?¡± It could be that Philip¡¯sugh was too loud that Albert came over.

    He looked like he was a decade older than Philip. He was over 1.85 meters tall, had broad and skinny shoulders, wore thin-rimmed sses, and had a well-groomed mustache.

    Yet Philip wasn¡¯t too polite towards him. He onlyughed and called, ¡°Hey, Albert! This child is much more interesting than you are, hahaha! How about we let him be my brother, and you can go to Austere-Winter? Your Highness Annan, have a candy. I still have a lot of candies!¡±

    Albert frowned when he heard such frivolous words.

    But before he could say anything more, several guards suddenly rushed in, looking flustered.

    Elizabeth¡¯s expression changed. Instead of scolding the soldiers, she immediately reached out and beckoned the panicked guard over.

    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked in a low voice.

    The guard stammered, ¡°The Geraint family¡­ Count Geraint¡¯s eldest son is dead!

    ¡°We found the spell casting trace of [Chilling Touch]¡­ on the corpse!¡±

    Elizabeth was taken aback.

    She immediately turned her gaze to Old Merlin subconsciously¡ª then she immediately shook her head, dispelling her guess.

    ¡°Keep your voice down.¡± She whispered, ¡°Take me there¡­¡±

    Philip noticed something and moved in closer.

    ¡°What happened, my sister?¡± He took out another piece of hard toffee and stuffed it into his mouth. As he chewed, he asked, ¡°Do you need help?¡±

    Seeing him, Elizabeth frowned slightly.

    ¡ªThis was the first time Annan saw a somewhat ¡°unhappy¡± expression on Elizabeth¡¯s face.

    <i>It¡¯s Philip¡¯s first appearance. What will happen next? How will the event unfold? Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support! </i><i>Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 280: Fleeting Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 280: Fleeting Opportunity</h4>

    ¡°Stay put.¡± Elizabeth looked at Philip silently.

    A vague sense of displeasure and caution shed quickly across her eyes. If Annan hadn¡¯t been paying attention to her expressions, he would have missed it.

    Immediately after, Elizabeth quickly showed a gentle smile that was very simr to the one before and said softly, ¡°I can handle it, Philip. Take care of Your Highness Annan.¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± Philip gave an inexplicable smile as he dragged his voice.

    He was chewing the toffee that was beginning to melt with big bites. Apany by the faintly audible chewing sound, the smell of milk came seeping out of his mouth. Droplets from his chewing sshed onto Elizabeth¡¯s clothes.

    With a smile, Philip took out a few candies from his pocket and handed them to Elizabeth, ¡°Then, do you want candy, sister?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s serious business, Philip.¡± Elizabeth had already calmed down. She maintained a gentle and generous smile,pletely ignoring Philip¡¯s rude behavior. She said leisurely, ¡°You can¡¯t participate.¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± Philip nodded in agreement and grinned, ¡°That¡¯s true. After all, I¡¯m an idler.¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem displeased, and that cheerful smile remained. Then, he returned to his seat beside Annan.

    He removed the candy wraps, putting the candies one by one patiently into his mouth. Elizabeth also didn¡¯t exin a word to Philip. Instead, she turned and left with the guards.

    Annan sat quietly at the side, watching the ambiguous atmosphere between them, who had their apparent intentions. Not only was he calm, but he was also instead filled with interest. He somewhat even wanted more tension.

    This feels more right! Yes, it¡¯s supposed to be like this!

    With reference to the harmony between the three brothers in his family, Annan had thought that royal families in this world all had the same image. However, now that he had seen Noah¡¯s royal family, Annan, who enjoyed watching the drama, was immediately exhrated.

    Now, this is the taste of schemes between the royal heirs!

    However, these two weren¡¯t good in their sarcasm.

    They wanted to say something ambiguously sarcastic yet ended up spitting out such cheesy words. In my culture, this standard would not be able to protect our families.

    But then again, the conflict between Philip and Elizabeth did not frighten Annan.

    On the other hand, the way Philip ate candy made Annan feel some physical difort.

    Big brother¡­ Chatting takes up too many sweets for you, don¡¯t you think?

    From the time he sat next to Annan less than three minutes ago, he had eaten almost 20 candies. On average, he would have three candies for each sentence.

    This level of abnormality obviously could not be exined by the simple ¡°love for sweets¡±.

    Annan looked down at the candy in his hand and peeled off the candy wrap with one hand.

    This candy looked simr in size to Wangzai Milk Candy [1]. It had a creamy white color with a yellowish tinge.

    He waited a long time, but the usual item description panel was not triggered.

    It¡¯s not a curse vessel then, and it¡¯s not even medicine.

    What the hell?

    This is actually real candy?

    Annan looked at it in disbelief and then looked at Philip, who was chewing hard on the candy.

    Philip noticed Annan¡¯s gaze and gave him a cheerful smile, ¡°Eat it. It¡¯s delicious!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s made of condensed milk, cream, syrup, honey, and brown sugar. It doesn¡¯t contain any magical ingredients. Anybody can eat it.¡±

    Philipughed happily as he spoke.

    Annan could see the gooey syrup hanging on Philip¡¯s neat set of white teeth. The rich fragrance of milk and honey permeated around him following his heavy breathing.

    Because of Philip and Elizabeth¡¯s earlier scene, the people around had noticed them. Annan couldn¡¯t do anything at this time. He could only continue to hold the gun in Kafni¡¯s skirt pocket with his left hand and chatted with Philip politely, ¡°Do you like sweets, Your Highness Philip?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Philip replied cheerfully, ¡°I like sweets, and I also like meat! My favorite is honey barbecue ¡ª all young people should enjoy sweets and meat!¡±

    He looked at Annan kindly and said again, ¡°You can call me brother or Your Highness. But you can¡¯t call me uncle! Look at me. Do you think I look like an uncle?¡±

    After saying that, Philip patted the delicate skin on his face with great pride.

    In fact, it was true.

    Philip had thick hair, delicate skin, and no wrinkles on his forehead. Unlike his younger brother Albert, Philip¡¯s beard was clean-shaven¡­ he didn¡¯t even wear jewelry.

    If he changed into younger clothes, it would be possible to think he was a teenager, judging from his voice and demeanor.

    Is Philip so concerned about his youth?

    About 10 minutes before the banquet started, Annan intended to continue inquiring about Philip¡¯s secrets and habits.

    ¡°Your Highness, you look 20 years old at the most,¡± said Annan with a tender voice.

    Apliment that was fake in the eyes of the general adult poption would be immensely convincing when it was coupled with Annan¡¯s honest and bright gaze.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Philip couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud without the slightest image of royalty.

    A man who looked nearly 50 years old and had a traditional and steady temperament couldn¡¯t help but reprimand, ¡°Philip, keep your voice down!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes~¡± Philip dragged his voice as he responded indifferently.

    After the man shook his head and left with a frown, Philip leaned closer to Annan¡¯s ear and pointed at the man with his chin, ¡°This is my second brother¡­ doesn¡¯t he look like your brother? They are all one type of people.

    Philip said, pointing to himself, ¡°You and me. We¡¯re another type of people. Happy¡ªwe¡¯re all joyful.¡±

    Annan did not lose his act at all.

    When he heard Philip¡¯s evaluation, he looked over in confusion, ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand.¡±

    Fuck off. Annan couldn¡¯t help but cuss in his heart. Luckily, the Winter¡¯s Heart curse on Annan was reversed, allowing him to ignore his fears. Otherwise, just that sentence itself would make his heart stop.

    Is the Supernatural Vision the Noah family¡¯s unique feature?

    ¡°You will understand, Your Highness Annan.¡±

    Hearing this, Philip just smiled and whispered in a slightly bewitching voice, ¡°Joy¡­ I can see that you have a soul that chases after pleasure and isn¡¯t trapped. So if you feel depressed one day and want to break free from the chains of your destiny, you cane to me.

    ¡°I will grant you the secret to pleasure.¡±

    ¡°¡­Cup-holding Lady?¡± Annan asked in a soft voice.

    Philip smiled, ¡°Naturally. Face the path of blood and desire directly, Your Highness Annan. Human beings are machines driven by desire¡­ What is the difference between a life without desire and a puppet?¡±

    ¡°Then, what is the desire you pursue?¡± Annan probed further.

    Philip was silent for a moment and then said calmly, ¡°What I pursue is [Youth].¡±

    ¡°Youth?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t understand.¡± Philip took a deep breath and shook his head.

    Annan just continued to ask, ¡°Is it youth or immortality?¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s question, Philip fell into a moment of thought.

    But that was just a brief pause thatsted a short breath.

    He was quick to show his trademark bright smile again.

    He took out a few more candies from his arms and stuffed them into his mouth.

    ¡°I¡­ I want it all.¡± Philip smiled slightly and replied in a soft voice, ¡°I don¡¯t want to grow old. By just having to experience once, you will never¡­¡±

    At this moment, a continuous explosion came suddenly from outside and obscured Philip¡¯s voicepletely.

    These weren¡¯t explosives¡ª they were fireworks that lit up one after another at the pce gates.

    The firework show had begun.

    Annan silently clenched the gun in his hand. Then, he turned around to look towards the entrance behind him, pretending to be watching.

    Feeling Annan¡¯s movements, or that the two of them got even closer because of Annan¡¯s movements¡­ Kafni, who had been silent all this while, also tensed her body subconsciously.

    ¡ªThe opportunity is fleeting.

    <i>Is it happening!? Is it happening!? Will Annan pull the trigger? Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! We have revamped our Patreon Tiers andmunity goals in our Patreon! Please check them out! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 281: Nightmare: The Great Hunt, Cleared!

    <h4>Chapter 281: Nightmare: The Great Hunt, Cleared!</h4>

    Dusk was over, and the sky quickly turned dark.

    The fireworks in the sky reced the sunset.

    These fireworks would continue until the end of the dinner.

    This was a sign that the birthday banquet was about to start and that guests were to be seated.

    It was also a universal ritual. Just like how lighting candles at the dining table or brightening one¡¯s house with lights could be regarded as ¡®purifying¡¯ with the usage of ¡®light¡¯; how decorating one¡¯s house with art could be regarded as protecting ¡®nobles¡¯ with ¡®art¡¯.

    A grand firework show could simultaneously satisfy the regions of three upright deities, ¡°light¡±, ¡°art¡± and ¡°fire,¡± to receive blessings from the upright deities: Mr. Ray, the Elegant Elder, and Father Flint.

    This universal custom was quite practical. But in fact, that was exactly what it was for. It was more about seeking peace of mind.

    Fireworks also weren¡¯tplicated alteration products.

    If the patterns and colors were not particrlyplicated, the difficulty for its alteration was even lower than that of the ck Fire. Therefore, the fireworks price could also be considered low¡ª at least in the Alteration school, it could be regarded as cheap.

    Therefore, when carrying out some major events, fireworks were always essential.

    The explosives used to ¡°unveil the curtain¡± were hidden in the fireworks this time.

    The goal of these explosives was not to kill or injure anybody. The main purpose was to start a fire¡­ The purpose of starting a fire was to cause panic.

    If the goal were to cause panic immediately, one would not choose to cause an explosion at the start of the fireworks show.

    Since it was Henry VIII¡¯s 80th birthday, the 80th firework was the only giant firework. After it started, the band would soon begin to perform.

    The moment the fireworks painted the sky¡­

    Everyone turned their attention to the fireworks.

    Annan clenched [Miss Quiet] tightly.

    He suddenly jumped out of the seat.

    Noticing Annan¡¯s actions, Philip turned his head inadvertently.

    ¡ªHe then saw a pair of gray pupils.

    A strong sense of indolence rose in Philip¡¯s heart unreasonably.

    Annan¡¯s body suddenly melted. A tall, ck-haired, and ck-eyed middle-aged man jumped out of Annan¡¯s body!

    Philip Noah had quick reflexes, and he immediately realized something was wrong.

    At that moment, his eyes were full of fear. But Annan was slightly taken aback by the fact that Philip had broken free from the [Slothful Eye] effect in less than two seconds!

    Is he a Transcended? The thought shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    The moment Philip opened his mouth, Annan had already drawn the gun and pulled the trigger simultaneously.

    Annan was unsure if the [Death Deration] he made before was still valid after such a long time. If it was no longer valid, firing it in Kafni¡¯s skirt could likely injure Kafni.

    Thankfully it still worked.

    The bullet had not left its chamber, yet it had pierced Philip¡¯s chest. The excruciating pain caused his body to lose its ability to escape.

    Annan stuck out his right hand to grab Philip¡¯s neck and crushed it!

    He then punched Philip in the chest. Frigid cold air burrowed into his still-beating heart, freezing it. The bullet was also sealed in Philip¡¯s chest.

    The moreplex the n, the more prone to disruptive outliers the n would be.

    Annan¡¯s n was straightforward.

    He first let Ferdinand¡¯s body encountered Chilling Touch be found and then let Elizabeth bring Old Merlin along to identify the body.

    Elizabeth naturally knew that Old Merlin couldn¡¯t be the murderer. If he had killed the man himself, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have left any evidence that was against him.

    But Old Merlin was proficient in the spells of the Energy Falteration School. He could provide the details to Elizabeth about the wizard who murdered Ferdinand had, for example, the murderer¡¯s spell mastery and height.

    If Old Merlin was cooperative and willing to share this information with Elizabeth, there should be suspects surfaced in Elizabeth¡¯s mind.

    After that, there was only one way to rule out Annan¡¯s suspicionspletely.

    The tactics in which he had to sustain injury.

    That was to leave simr injuries on both Philip and him.

    With Kafni¡¯s eyewitness testimony, Elizabeth¡¯s testimony, and Old Merlin¡¯s absence, she would be able to make up a nonexistent¡­ tall, and powerful killer who used the Falteration spell!

    Even if the spells of the Prophet and Edict factions were used to verify, they would at most only obtain information that the murderer was called ¡°Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro¡±!

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± At this moment, the fireworks were in full bloom.

    A huge, lifelike golden lion roared silently in the sky as if it were alive. Eighty stars then flew out from the lion in all directions and exploded twice in the sky, forming a splendid scroll of painting that covered the entire night sky!

    The people couldn¡¯t help but exim at this grand scene. At the same time, they got up and were about to bow down to Henry VIII, who was about to enter the door as the music sounded.

    At this moment, Annan had changed into his physical form and aimed the gun at his stomach.

    He pulled the trigger without hesitation!

    His face quickly turned pale, and his body trembled. Even with a curse that weakened the pain, Annan felt an intense, unbearable pain instantly. It was the pain of having internal organs prated.

    Luckily, Annan had lost the ability to make any sound due to the [Miss Quiet].

    He couldn¡¯t let out a scream!

    Yes, Annan chose to use thest bullet of ¡°Miss Quiet¡± to attack himself so that he could maintain absolute silence in all his actions in the next ten seconds!

    Since he transformed into David very shortlyst time, his cooldown period was rtively short.

    After two seconds, Annan changed into David again.

    He endured the pain, shoved [Miss Quiet] into Philip¡¯s mouth, and then took out Ferdinand¡¯s silver pocket watch. He didn¡¯t use thest silver vessel he had to save himself but aimed it at the pistol in Philip¡¯s mouth. He then fired [nging Object] mercilessly!

    His goal was to destroy the pistol and Philip¡¯s dying expression.

    Yet it was unexpected¡­ The power of [nging Object] disyed by this pocket watch was far beyond Annan¡¯s imagination!

    A silver sonic boom oscited vigorously but didn¡¯t make a sound.

    It silently smashed Philip¡¯s head, all the parts above his shoulders, as well as the curse vessel pistol into pieces!

    Annan instantly reverted into himself and reached out to touch his abdomen. Then, he attacked himself again and froze the wound on his tummy.

    By the time this was done, Annan had only 8% Health left.

    ¡ªThis would be Annan¡¯s only w in his n.

    Because with Old Merlin¡¯s experience, he could naturally see that the spell caster level of [Chilling Touch] on Annan¡¯s abdomen was not the same as that on ¡°Philip¡± and ¡°Ferdinand¡±!

    But Annan was willing to take a gamble, a somewhat pointless challenge to himself.

    Failure would ruin the nightmare that could have been cleared.

    Sess would then provide the perfect decryption reward ¡ª the elemental power.

    But Annan wasn¡¯t craving the elemental power¡­ or rather, he was craving more than the elemental power.

    For some reason, Annan felt a strong desire to win.

    He didn¡¯t want to admit defeat.

    Only in this incident¡­ Only when he used the body of ¡°Annan¡± did he hope to be the ¡°protagonist¡±!

    Maybe Philip was right. Annan¡¯s desires were immense.

    Satisfying the desire itself was more important than any reward!

    He believed that after Old Merlin saw Ferdinand¡¯s body and sensed the remains of the ritual, he could realize what Annan was doing and cover up for his n.

    Would you understand the message I¡¯m leaving¡­ Merlin!?

    ¡°Get ready to cry for help, Kafni¡­ The rest is up to you.¡± Annan whispered, showing a bleak smile as he endured the pain, ¡°Also¡­ Happy birthday.¡±

    ¡°¡­Thank you. I will remember you.¡±

    Kafni hugged Annan¡¯s body, which was getting colder. She murmured in a soft voice, ¡°Even if no one praises¡­ Even if no one knows that you are the hero who saved us all, I will¡­¡±

    Annan lost consciousness in Kafni¡¯s arms before she could finish her words.

    Even without any evidence.

    In the moments before he passed out, Annan also thought that he would seed.

    It was a throbbing sensation that came from the depths of his soul¡­ as well as intuition.

 Chapter 282: Chill of the Winter Sun

    <h4>Chapter 282: Chill of the Winter Sun</h4>

    Annan didn¡¯t know how long he had been in aa, and when did he woke up.

    When he regained consciousness, there was still a line of blood-red, scribbled characters floating in front of him.

    [The curse has been severed ¡ªThe Fated Feast of the Great Hunt.]

    [Youpleted the Ritual: Swift Murder, so you¡¯re granted the Basic Influence: One Step Ahead.]

    [If you don¡¯t remove it in time, you will fall into a random nightmare that has the keyword ¡°Sharp de¡± on either April 4th or June 6th (difficulty: hard).]

    [You havepleted a ritual, Will Attribute +1]

    [The Tragedy Writer is satisfied with your ritual. You have received 1 holy light engraving from the Tragedy Writer.]

    [Current total engravings: 3 (Silver Sire) / 1 (Tragedy Writer)]

    After a brief pause, the official notice of having cleared the dungeon finally appeared before Annan.

    [Guarantee the survival of ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡±, ¡°Dmitri¡¤Austere-Winter¡±, ¡°Elizabeth¡¤Noah¡±, ¡°Kafni Noah¡±.]

    [Find and interrupt the key ritual (Completed).]

    [Do not reveal your identity (Completed).]

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purified the nightmare with the designated character. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Perfectly stopped the ritual. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Stopped the explosion. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Killed Philip Noah. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Received acknowledgment from the Tragedy Writer. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Completed the collection of memoirs. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation ¡ª S]

    [Received 3200 points of Shared Experience, Perception+1.]

    [Reward for clearing dungeon: Increase any desired profession by 3 levels]

    [Hidden plot you have decrypted: 100%]

    [Reward for decrypting the dungeon: Element (Brilliance) awakening progress increased by 10%]

    [Reward for attaining the highest evaluation rating: A Random Falteration Spell]

    ¡­It¡¯s over.

    ¡°I have won.¡± He indeed didn¡¯t let himself down.

    Or rather, it was all within Annan¡¯s expectations.

    Like everyone else knew about Annan, he was just a ¡°lucky madman¡±. He had a little bit of guts and a little bit of luck.

    There was first a burst of ecstasy In Annan¡¯s heart, followed by excitement.

    But after such intense pleasure, Annan felt a little empty.

    Annan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled in an effort to calm his rapidly beating heart.

    He was not betting on whether the Goddess of Luck was on his side.

    This gamble wasn¡¯t about luck but his capability.

    What he was betting on, what he believed was his ability to see and read people.

    It wasn¡¯t a sudden ident that led him with no choice but to trust Old Merlin. Instead, it was his decision to set up the n, handing over the final victory button to Old Merlin, who knew nothing about his n.

    Undoubtedly, this confidence came from Annan¡¯s understanding of Merlin Manning and his trust in his abilities and intuition.

    Annan took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

    The sun outside had been up for a while.

    ¡­It¡¯s already half-past seven. He nced at the clock.

    It seemed that a long time had passed since he passed out in the nightmare.

    But that didn¡¯t matter as long as he won.

    Annan added all three free levels to his wizard profession and put all the remaining experience on Silver Knight.

    As a result, Annan¡¯s panel looked like this:

    Attributes: Strength 11, Agility 10, Constitution 13, Perception 44, Will 15

    Profession Overview:

    Silver Knight LV13: [Austere-Winter Swordsmanship LV5], [Frost Sword LV9], [Parallel Comprehension LV1], [Silver Hand LV1]

    Wizard (Energy Falteration School) LV20 (Advancement avable): [Instant Spell LV4 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, N/A, N/A)], [Guided Spell LV4 (Impeding Wall, Frost Arena, Notion Rain, Denial of Life)], [Chant spell LV3 (Frost Wheel, N/A, N/A)], [Ritual Spell LV1 (N/A)]

    Annan noticed that starting from LV11, Silver Knight would increase 2 points in Constitution by default every time it went up a level and add another 1 point to either one of the three physical attributes: Strength, Constitution, and Agility.

    In other words, this was a profession that could upgrade three attributes per level!

    It was even more powerful than the wizard profession!

    The wizard had only two attribute points bonuses per upgrade!

    This is a premium profession indeed.

    [TN: The idea of imbnce pay-to-win mechanics.]

    Of course, on the other hand¡­ Annan didn¡¯t get any new divine art or abilities from upgrading the [Silver Knight] level. Although he had obtained skill points as per usual, he could only add points to his existing skills.

    Its skills list¡­ or rather the divine art list, seemed to require being purchased directly from Silver Sire using holy light engravings.

    But the upgrading of Constitution attributes alone had brought a massive change to Annan.

    Annan could feel that his body had gotten more vigorous now. For example¡­ where Annan had to have at least three hours of sleep in a day to remain energized, he could now stay up all night!

    But the more significant change was his Perception attribute.

    The sudden increase of three wizard levels and the rewards for clearing the nightmare surged Annan¡¯s Perception attribute by seven levels. He felt dizzy, as if he was seeing the world through a lens that was too clear.

    But Annan could considerably dispel this difort after shaking his head.

    It was all thanks to the poison Rotten Man had once used on Annan.

    If Annan had not experienced the distortion of his perception of the world brought about by even higher levels of Perception, he would not have been able to adapt to this level of Perception attribute.

    It might even increase his erosion rate. ording to Salvatore, some wizards might even have their sanity eroded by a curse if their strength increased too quickly afterpleting a difficult nightmare.

    This was also the case with professions like ¡°Berserker¡± that would have a 2-point increase in Strength per level. The Berserker profession could be used in Silver Rank directly. As for the somewhat robust Silver Rank Berserkers, the muscles throughout their whole body might be highly activated after waking up from a nightmare, flowing around the body like a worm¡­ It might even simply crawl away.

    This phenomenon was called ¡°sublimation¡±.

    If one couldn¡¯t handle these ¡°muscle worms¡±, then without a doubt that their strength would drop quite a bit.

    Basically, this phenomenon would appear in Silver Rank or somewhere close to Silver Rank.

    ording to Annan¡¯s calctions, professions of this level had about 50 points on their main attributes.

    Once the attributes exceed 40 points, it would be ufortable to increase their strength further because the curse absorbed would be close to the limit of what the human body could handle. In addition, there would be an unknown threshold that was different for everyone at the 50 points attribute. If one did not ovee it, they would drop directly back to 40 points.

    This could be said to be a heavy hit.

    Because one of the necessary conditions to advance into Gold was to plete sublimation¡±. In other words, having over 50 points on main attributes was only the first requirement of the Gold Rank.

    Once failed¡­ other professions might not be able to recollect to 50 points even when they had upgraded to the peak of the Silver Rank. Aside from the professions with attributes simr to wizards that were easier to upgrade, they could only make two ¡°advancement¡± attempts.

    That was to obtain a secondary profession and progress smoothly.

    ording to Salvatore, this process seemed somewhat life-threatening, except that Annan wasn¡¯t quite sure what the danger was after sessfully advancing himself. But to be on the safe side, he temporarily locked the yers¡¯ ability on getting secondary professions.

    Only after he had rified what the risk actually was would he release the functions back to the yers again, lest they ruin their own ¡°gaming ounts¡±.

    ¡°Next, it¡¯s time for the lucky draw¡­ ¡± Annan¡¯s expression turned serious.

    He wiped the sweat from his palms onto the quilt and then reached out and clicked on the notification bar for [reward for attaining the highest evaluation rating].

    As the notification gradually faded away, a new notification popped-up.

    [Based on your profile and existing profession levels, you received Order Magic: Chill of the Winter Sun (Ritual).]

    <i>The system has gifted more goodies to Annan this time. What will the new power be? Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 283: Waiting For â€œMemoriesâ€

    <h4>Chapter 283: Waiting For ¡°Memories¡±</h4>

    [Chill of the Winter Sun (Ritual)]

    [Rted discipline: Frost, Light, Death]

    [Ritual environment: You may freeze water naturally during the daytime, outdoors, and in outdoor temperature.]

    [Ritual¡¯s requirement:

    1. Influence: Any ¡°influence¡± in the frost category (mandatory).

    2. Material: 12plete corpses that have lost their temperature (mandatory)

    3. Curse vessel: Light-concealing ice cubes (mandatory), blizzard weather plimentary), hail weather plimentary), heavy rain weather plimentary), Transcended corpse plimentary), ¡°Old Grandmother¡¯s¡± Real Name plimentary), ¡°Mr. Ray¡¯s¡± real name plimentary)]

    [Ritual description: In this ritual, the person who carries influence must be the ritual host; the host ces all the corpses ording to the 12 timings on the clock with their faces facing up and their mouths open. There is no requirement to the corpse¡¯s posture, but it must be as consistent as possible with the other corpses. Next, put a light-concealing ice cube in each corpse¡¯s mouth. The host stands in the middle of all the corpses, breathes naturally, and waits for the ice cube to melt. Additional materials can be added at this time. The ritual is achieved if all the ice cubes melt before sunset.]

    [Ritual effect: The host¡¯s ritual spell ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡± will alter into an aptitude type ability ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡±. This effect willst for 12 days of winters.]

    [Chill of the Winter Sun (Enhanced): Ability to freely alter breathing into ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun.¡± This process will continue to exhaust the order magic.]

    ¡­What else?

    Is that all?

    Annan knew that an ability unlocked via a series ofplex missions or achievements should be superb, but it was baffling for him because he didn¡¯t understand its specifics.

    ¡­Wait, I can ask someone, right? Annan suddenly remembered that he was no longer alone! He had a mirror!

    As Annan recalled the item, he immediately tapped the [The Man in the Mirror¡¯s Newborn Mirror] out from his inventory.

    Since looking into the mirror would shorten lifespan, Annan had covered it up with a cloth. But Annan had almost forgotten about it because it was not in in sight.

    Annan unveiled the cloth covering the mirror and cast his gaze into the mirror.

    It could be because of the increase in his Perception attribute, he could feel that something in his body was permanently lost this time.

    It cost one day of his life.

    ¡°Michngelo Buonaro¡­ are you there?¡± Annan hesitated and chose the ¡°past¡± name of the Man in the Mirror.

    Although he knew both forms of the [Man in the Mirror] shared the same knowledge, he instinctively felt that the older form would be more knowledgeable.

    After a short dy, the mirror¡¯s surface undted like water waves.

    An old man with white hair and a white beard whom Annan had never formally met before appeared in the mirror.

    His face was solemn, but his tone was gentle, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Annan?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask¡­¡± Annan quickly voiced his doubts.

    Michngelo nodded. He indeed knew the answer.

    ¡°You actually know what Chill of the Winter Sun is.¡± Hearing the questions, Michngelo replied with a chuckle.

    Are all you people from the Prophet faction so boisterous? Annan murmured instantly.

    Wait, if I¡¯m supposed to know about this¡­ Annan was stunned as he suddenly realized something.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Old Grandmother¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you have guessed it right.¡± Michngelo replied slowly, ¡°It is the blizzard exhaled by Old Grandmother at Wyrmrest¡­ the blizzard that enveloped the entire Austere-Winter territory and could be used as a barrier to iste and freeze the curse.

    ¡°This is a [Dragon¡¯s Breath] ability with Old Grandmother¡¯s traits. Among all the aptitude abilities, this is a rtively rare type. You have the blood of the Old Grandmother, so your spell output will be higher than others. Of course, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be as strong as having it unleashed by Old Grandmother herself.¡±

    ¡°¡­Ya, I got that.¡± Annan nodded.

    He was self-aware in his heart. Although this ritual itself seemedplex, it wasn¡¯t yet at the extreme level.

    Annan also had a vague impression of this ability.

    He seemed to have used a simr spell in [Nightmare: White Tower] when Merlin realized that Maria was in danger and stood in front of her.

    He took a deep breath in and exhaled the air slowly from his lungs as if he was smoking. White smoke then poured out slowly of his mouth and nose. There was also visible white chill air gushing out of his eyes and ears, and the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly.

    It was Merlin¡¯s nightmare, after all.

    The spell he had acquired should be [Chill of the Winter Sun], where Merlin channeled his energy, getting ready to unleash it.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know what would happen if Merlin exhaled that breath out, it seemed overwhelming while it was still being prepared to be cast.

    Annan¡¯s heart wavered. This ability seems to be quite strong.

    ¡°Since it carries off Old Grandmother¡¯s aptitude, it is then an aptitude ability. The long-term ability obtained through the ritual will roughly be divided into ¡®aptitude type¡¯ and ¡®quirk type¡¯.

    ¡°The aptitude type is a divine mutation within one¡¯s own body. One clear example will be the Shadow Demon of the Noah Kingdom¡¯s royal family, granting her shadow a life. As far as I know, when your [Winter¡¯s Heart] curse can be fully awakened, it will also hatch into an aptitude ability.

    ¡°The quirk ability is to call upon a specific alien creature to merge with oneself and to enhance it with a special blessing. It does not change the organ or the soul. Usually, aptitude-type abilities are based on years, while quirk abilities cannotst for more than a day in the ritual area or after the ritual ends.

    ¡°Themon quirk-type abilities include the deity of fire and creation, the Father Flint¡¯s [Fire Breath], and the deity of light and purification, Mr. Ray¡¯s [Purifying Touch]. The former allows the ritual host the ability to breathe fire. Although its spell effect sounds simr to the [Chill of the Winter Sun], it is different from the special ability of Father Flint¡¯s apostle¡¯s [Spirit Casting]. As he spits fire, the [Casting Spirit] that synchronized with him would spit fire at the target as well. For thetter spell, [Lake Fairy] will be summoned in the ritual area. One could borrow the [Purifying Touch] ability of Lake Fairy as long as one is not far from it.¡±

    Michngelo in the mirror exined patiently to Annan.

    If this is the case¡­ Annan quickly understood ¡ª the first ritual ability he saw, [Tongue in the Mirror], should be a quirk ability.

    But¡­

    ¡°Kafni¡¯s ability came from ritual?¡± Annan asked, ¡°Then do you know whose ritual it is?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Silent Lady¡¯s ritual, [Animate Shadow]. It¡¯s Silent Lady¡¯s aptitude ability. She can freely shape the shadows She touches into different forms like mes, cobwebs, chariots, or castles. She can even turn them into beasts, monsters, or people.¡±

    Michngelo answered, ¡°Judging from what I saw that day, Kafni should have gotten [Animate Shadow ¡ª Tentacle Form]. She is brilliant in choosing a form that isn¡¯t difficult to shape and has great potential. These tentacles connect with her on a spiritual level, thus expanding her Perception range and naturally enhancing her shadow as if they are parts of her body.¡±

    ¡­Silent Lady? Annan was startled.

    He even thought it was a gift from some false deity.

    He didn¡¯t expect it to be from an upright deity.

    Did Kafni actually have contact with Silent Lady?

    ¡°Then, I have onest question.¡± Annan asked as he thought of this, ¡°Do you know the nightmares of the ¡®memory¡¯ type? What is the collection of memories?¡±

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s the basic distortion level nightmare, but also the challenging kind.¡±

    Michngelo paused before answering, ¡°If the nightmare is of a distortion level and the ¡®possessed¡¯ is your past self, the memory feature may be triggered. Under the memory feature, the nightmare will not seem normal. It will not distort the past but instead ispletely consistent with history¡ª unless you fail to y yourself properly and be exposed. Then, enemies called ¡®memory fragments¡¯ will appear. Memory fragments may be any of your past enemies, and the ¡®memory¡¯ feature will gradually copse upon their appearance in the memory¡­

    ¡°When a nightmare has a memory feature, you don¡¯t have to think about anything. Just do what you did ording to the original history, and you canplete it. This is where it¡¯s simple.

    ¡°But what¡¯s hard about it is that you have to reverse your thought process. You have to do things you dared not do and think about possibilities you didn¡¯t dare imagine to decrypt the nightmarepletely. It means you have to ovee your past and think outside your box. You have to change what happened in the past.

    ¡°On the basis of decrypting the nightmare perfectly, you willplete the ¡®collection of memories¡¯ if you y yourself sessfully throughout the nightmare. It symbolizes that you have confronted your own heart ¡ª and the ¡®memories¡¯ itself is also an advancement material for some professions. I also know a ritual that can deepen the extraction of elements by burningrge amounts of memories during the Gold Rank¡¯s advancement process. In short, this is a precious resource.¡±

    Michngelo paused and replied softly, ¡°Also, Benjamin has always been waiting for ¡®memories¡¯ of his own.¡±

    <i>What are those ¡°memories¡±? Is it rted to Benjamin¡¯s first love stuck in the nightmare rted to the Pale? Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 284: Light-concealing Ice Cubes

    <h4>Chapter 284: Light-concealing Ice Cubes</h4>

    ¡°Light-concealing ice cubes¡­¡± Kafni tilted her head and thought for a while, ¡°I know this item.¡±

    Annan let out a sigh of relief.

    He had just ended his conversation with the Man in the Mirror. It would be best if Kafni knew of it.

    Annan adhered to one principle ¡ª you can¡¯t always depend on just one source.

    If he could avoid asking the question from the Man in the Mirror, then he would. Although the Man in the Mirror owed him a favor, this favor would soon be depleted if Annan were to constantly go to him for every question and help he needed.

    If another person could have a sense of gratitude towards me, it would show that they have a conscience. So I should keep the favor there.

    Annan was self-aware to avoid looking for help from the Man in the Mirror all the time. Moreover, he sought the opportunity to help the Man in the Mirror instead. With that, he could pile up more favor, turning the deed into a friendship.

    After all, Annan could still go to Old Vasily, Kafni, Senior Salvatore, and Bread Daryl for help besides the Man in the Mirror.

    He wouldn¡¯t be a good-for-nothing piece of trash without the Man in the Mirror¡¯s help.

    Yet it was unexpected to Annan that the first person he met could already give him the answer.

    ¡ªKafni actually knew about this curse vessel!

    ¡°The light-concealing ice cube is a curse vessel involving the field of frost and light. It¡¯s not considered rare.¡±

    Kafni exined to Annan, ¡°It doesn¡¯t appear naturally. Any one of them you may encounter is artificially made.

    ¡°It looks like an ice cube that¡¯s constantly glowing. It¡¯s about the size of a grape and cooler than the usual ice cubes. If you¡¯re further away, you would be able to feel the warmth of the light; if you touch it, you would feel the coldness of ice instead. If you immerse it in water, it will glow underwater. I know a ritual that requires cing some ¡®light-concealing ice cubes¡¯ into clean seawater and then lying directly in it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the use of the ritual?¡± Annan asked in response.

    This ritual and [Chill of the Winter Sun] required the same curse vessel, and the effect may also be simr¡­

    However, Kafni paused as she heard his question.

    She then replied calmly, ¡°This ritual gives people the ability to have night vision. The side effect is that their skin will be extra white, smooth, and cold. It would even glow slightly in the night.¡±

    Alright, I got it.

    The primary purpose of this ritual is the skin whitening effect, and the side effect is night vision.

    Seeing that Annan was silent for a while, Kafni suddenly said softly and slightly aggrieved, ¡°But I¡¯ve not used this ritual before¡­ My skin is naturally like this¡­¡±

    Of course, I know that yours is natural. After all, your skin was even fairer when you were a child.

    Annan didn¡¯t voice his thought since that might frame him as a hooligan. After all, they were no longer nine-year-old children.

    But Annan found it a little inexplicable. It doesn¡¯t matter even if you have used it. It isn¡¯t a crime for thedies to put on makeup.

    Putting on makeup is merely enhancing the view. You don¡¯t lose any part of your body anyway!

    Although Annan didn¡¯t understand what Kafni was struggling about, he changed the subject tacitly, ¡°Do you know where I can get this curse vessel? I might need itter.¡±

    ¡°¡­When do you want it then, Your Highness?¡± Hearing this, Kafni nced at Annan, baffled.

    She added on quickly, ¡°I can try to make it. I haven¡¯t made it, but I know the recipe. So it should be ready soon.¡±

    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know you were good at making curse vessels.¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    Kafni looked at Annan weirdly as if he had asked her, ¡°so, you can cook?¡±

    But Kafni soon understood as she thought about Annan¡¯s identity.

    After all, Annan had only just be a Transcended recently.

    He also wasn¡¯t trained as a Transcended before this. So it made sense that he didn¡¯t understand themon knowledge of the Transcended circle.

    Kafni then exined to the newbie Annan, ¡°This isn¡¯t difficult to make. It is mainly a matter of materials. Not all curse vessels needed the influence to be produced. Some curse vessels can be made with only raw materials.¡±

    What? You use influence to make curse vessels? Annan was stunned for a moment.

    He had always thought that influence was mainly used to enter the nightmare dungeon and alternatively used to activate rituals the other times.

    Now, it all makes sense.

    If all influences obtained by chaos spells were used to enter nightmare dungeons, Transcendeds of this world would have long kicked the bucket in the endless high difficulty nightmares.

    Kafni continued her exnation, ¡°Light-concealing ice cubes are easy to make. All you need is either ¡®white liquid fire¡¯, ¡®red liquid fire,¡¯ or ¡®ck liquid fire¡¯. Then, add ¡®pure water¡¯ into the mixture. There are still a lot of materials left from the Light Chasing Beastst time. Pure water is an alteration product that can be made by any Alteration Wizard, which is a liquid that contains as little as possible of other substances other than water. Almost all the base materials of alteration reagents are simple and cheap. Your Senior cktower can also produce high-quality pure water¡­¡±

    Annan wasn¡¯t sure if he was delusional, but he had always felt that Kafni¡¯s tone would be a little weird whenever she mentioned Salvatore.

    Yet he still didn¡¯t interrupt and continued listening.

    ¡°The way to make it is to first freeze arge part of the pure water with any ritual in the frost domain or spells of the Energy Falteration School. Then, use a silver or crystal tool to hollow out the middle part and pour the liquid fire amounted to one-third of the existing pure water into it. Cover it with the scraps after hollowing it, and pour the pure water in while sealing it. Its shelf life will be about two months.¡±

    ¡°It sounds simple.¡±

    Annan answered subconsciously.

    It feels a little like making dessert¡­

    Double skin milk [1]?

    Or is it rum centered chocte?

    ¡°It¡¯s indeed not difficult on principle.¡± Although Kafni¡¯s voice was soft, she said it in a somewhat impolite way, ¡°But it depends on your craft, Your Highness Annan.¡±

    She implied her doubts on whether Annan¡¯s hands were skillful enough.

    I do have the hands of more or less 10 points in Agility.

    Annan wanted to argue but suddenly felt that he might get strangled by Kafni¡¯s shadow tentacles if he were to refute. Hence, he gave up the argument obediently.

    That¡¯s strange. Kafni seems to be in a bad mood today, and she is more talkative than before.

    ¡°Did you have a nightmare today?¡± Annan asked with concern, ¡°Or did you have trouble sleeping?¡±

    Kafni froze and then shook her head.

    She poured a cup of tea for herself and Annan in silence and then picked up a cookie and munched on it quickly.

    Annan refrained from digging deeper since it could be pretty impolite. Instead, he drank the hot tea and ate the dessert.

    Those were their breakfast.

    It was gettingte, but both of them got upte today. If they ate a little more, they wouldn¡¯t be able to have lunch.

    It would be better to have some light snacks.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a nightmare.¡± Kafni lowered her head and said faintly, ¡°It was¡­ a good dream.¡±

    ¡°¡­Would it be convenient to share it?¡± Annan asked warmly.

    Kafni was silent for a moment and then nodded.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan¡­ no, Annan.¡± She asked Annan softly, ¡°Do you remember¡­ the first time we met?¡±

    Annan¡¯s heart wavered. He returned the question, ¡°Do you mean five years ago?¡±

    A rough guess appeared in his mind.

    Perhaps¡­

    <i>Finally, we get to hear about the Annan¡¯s background, especially the history involving the original body¡¯s host. What will be unveiled further? Make sure to look into our Patreon to gain early ess up to 25 chapters! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support!</i>

 Chapter 285: Kafniâ€™s Dream

    <h4>Chapter 285: Kafni¡¯s Dream</h4>

    ¡°Yes, it was His Majesty¡¯s birthday¡­ I dreamt of you back then.¡± Kafni averted her gaze, and herplexion turned slightly red as she said this, ¡°You were quite cute at the time¡­¡±

    Are you implying that I¡¯m not cute now? Annan thought to himself.

    She held a biscuit in her right hand but didn¡¯t continue eating. Instead, the fingers on her left hand clenched somewhat ufortably. She then slowly put them back into her sleeves.

    After a moment of silence, she said softly, ¡°I¡¯ve almost forgotten the dream by the time I woke up. But I vaguely recall that you have ended up killing my uncle.¡±

    ¡°¡­Then shall I apologize?¡± Annan chuckled and said, ¡°For my behavior in that dream?¡±

    Deep down, he vaguely understood something.

    No wonder the key to that nightmare was Kafni¡­

    No wonder Kafni could be so calm. She didn¡¯t fall off track at the critical moment, nor did she panic, cry, or make any noise.

    Regardless of how withdrawn she was, she couldn¡¯t be so mature without any experience.

    It seems that 2 yers had entered the nightmare.

    It was just that Kafni did not have the memory of the future as if she was inside a real dream.

    ¡°¡ªNo need to apologize!¡± Kafni replied subconsciously. Her voice was a little louder than usual.

    She immediately realized her impoliteness and lowered her voice, ¡°Sorry, Annan¡­ I just wanted to say¡­ no, it¡¯s fine. Sorry. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on today too¡­ My emotions¡­¡±

    If you had really killed Phillip at the time¡­ that would be great. Kafni¡¯s rationality made her swallow these words back down her throat.

    After all, Annan was the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    Not only was this inappropriate, but it might also make Annan think of her as a cruel and power-hungry person.

    Why are you also such an apologetic oddball? Annan smiled helplessly and said nothing.

    Suddenly, Kafni¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°By the way, I also recalled something!¡±

    Her voice was a little hurried. She quickly stood up and bowed towards Annan, ¡°That¡¯s right. Your Highness Annan¡­ Please wait a moment!¡±

    Annan nodded gently, signaling that he heard her.

    Everything else aside, Kafni seemed a little more human after the nightmare than the previous version of her, who spoke leisurely like a ghostly spirit and seemed as if she didn¡¯t have a care in the world.

    She also became fluent in speaking, and her emotions had be richer.

    It was like a corpse graduallying to life.

    Could it be that the erosion rate had dropped?

    Annan had some vague guesses as he watched Kafni bring over her jewelry box from the dresser.

    As expected¡ª

    After Kafni opened the jewelry box, a blue gemstone was lying quietly inside.

    ¡°Frost Eye¡­¡± Annan eximed.

    ¡°The gift you had given me back then¡­ it¡¯s been of great help.¡± Kafni said with a lingering fear, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for this, I wouldn¡¯t have realized that my memory was modified.

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I apologize. I can¡¯t give it back to you right now. I still need to use it against my enemies¡­ and I¡­ also have nothing of equal value to give you¡­ I didn¡¯t know you were here. Otherwise, I would have brought all my collections with me beforeing here¡­¡±

    Looking at Kafni, who was trying to exin to herself, Annan was in a trance for a while.

    Did the original Annan Austere-Winter also choose to give the [Frost Eye] to Kafni?

    He even said something simr to me.

    Annan was baffled.

    He had no real memory of Annan Austere-Winter himself, and there was no possibility for his subconscious to be affected. It seemed he had given the Frost Eye to Kafni and asked her to return something of equal value to him the next time they met. Those indeed aligned with Annan¡¯s character.

    He knew himself very well.

    But the Annan in history had made a simr choice to himself.

    ¡°Keep it, Kafni. It¡¯s no use to me anyway.¡± Annan said gently, ¡°As for your enemies¡­ you don¡¯t have to be afraid either.

    ¡°When spring arrives, I shall apany you to the capital.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous, Kafni.¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°I¡¯m about to advance into the Silver Rank.¡±

    Kafni¡¯s eyes widened slightly when she heard those words.

    Under the morning sun, her ruby-like clear pupils seemed to be glimmering.

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t it only been a month since you became a Transcended?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a genius,¡± replied Annan with a smile.

    But Kafni stood up somewhat seriously. She walked over and touched Annan¡¯s forehead with her own.

    At this distance, Annan could clearly smell the gardenias and citrus scent from Kafni¡¯s body, as well as feeling her body temperature was lower than average.

    Annan thought this was some sort of a ritual or that she wanted to see if he had a fever.

    But Annan soon saw a line of notification appear before his eyes.

    [Kafni Noah is trying to absorb your erosion rate¡­]

    Annan quickly interrupted her actions.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I want to see if my curse erodes you.¡± Kafni looked up in confusion and assessed Annan.

    She emphasized, ¡°It¡¯s not normal to advance so quickly.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you quick too?¡± Annan asked with a casual smile, ¡°And the result?¡±

    ¡°¡­No. Your soul is clean. So clean that you don¡¯t look like a Transcended.¡± It was even shining with dazzling brilliance.

    It was just like the Annan that Kafni had seen in her dreams.

    She said worriedly, ¡°Do you remember¡­ I told you that there are demons in the capital.¡±

    ¡°I remember.¡± Hearing that it was serious business, Annan became serious, ¡°What actually is that?¡±

    ¡°My mind at the time was clouded, and so perhaps I wasn¡¯t clear¡­¡± Kafni bit her lip and exined softly, ¡°Have you heard of the Fallen path?

    ¡°Actually, the ¡®Transcended path¡¯ that we often mention is the ¡®Ascension path¡¯. Instead, thebination of the Ascension path and the Fallen path is then the Transcended path.

    ¡°If the Ascension path is to continuously purify nightmares and extract curses,ter defeating the curse with strong will and finally reshaping the soul with one¡¯s strong desire to reach the ¡®Dyed¡¯ rank, which is the current ¡®Gold¡¯ rank¡­

    ¡°The Fallen path is then to erode oneself with a curse ultimately.

    ¡°On the two paths, only the Bronze rank oveps. If you choose to purify your soul, you will reach the Silver Rank¡­ If you choose to be overflowed with curses, you will step onto the Fallen path. The Fallen path does not have a Silver Rank¡­ You can go directly to a new ranking simr to ¡®Dyed¡¯. This means that they have all misunderstood. I¡¯m not a Silver Rank without curse vessels¡­ I¡¯m simply on the Fallen path.

    ¡°There is also a need for some kind of intense desire, but the desire is not to reshape the soul, but instead to reshape the body.

    ¡°¡­In other words, it is to be a demon. A demon with self-awareness¡­ just like the people who have lost control.¡±

    Kafni paused as she said this and looked toward Annan, ¡°After bing a demon, we can no longer carry the Truth because our soul is still mortal.

    ¡°There is only one exception. That is, if the demon received blessings from an upright deity who is willing to cleanse the erosion on their bodies¡­ In that case, the demon would be an ¡®apostle¡¯ and gain immortality like a demi-deity. They would just have to respond to summons from rituals¡­ this is the price of taking shortcuts.¡±

    <i>¡ªThe summoned creature in rituals.</i>

    Kafni took a deep breath and looked at Annan.

    ¡°And ever since I met you¡­ my erosion rate has been continuously dropping.¡±

    <i>Oh, a big reveal on the growing journey of a Transcended. Also, would Annan be able to ascend in rank along with Kafni as well? </i><i>Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters with Patreon! Please do check out themunity goal in our Patreon as well! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.</i>

 Chapter 286: A Letter From Swampâ€™s Black Tower

    <h4>Chapter 286: A Letter From Swamp¡¯s ck Tower</h4>

    Freezing Water Port city¡¯s main office.

    ¡°¡­Whose letter?¡± Salvatore looked curiously at the letter that was teleported to his table.

    This was a simple andmon ritual ¡ª three purple pine wood and a piece of amethyst were enough to construct a one-way teleportation portal. Although the portal couldn¡¯t deliver anything and everything, people who mastered this ritual could use a special aluminum foil to send messages to each other.

    Almost every wizard tower had a simr tradition mainly used to notify tutors toe back to ss. The cost of the ritual itself was minimal, but it required a code simr to a ¡°phone number¡± ¡ª this number only had two digits, and each wizard tower had an independent numbering system. Therefore, one would generally get their number when they have reached the Silver Rank.

    Salvatore had also gotten a copy in advance because of his special status.

    It was impossible for the tutors at the wizard toward to stay in the tower all year round when they were Transcendeds guaranteed to attain Silver Rank. They also had their own matters to deal with, family and friends to socialize with, as well as materials, curse vessels, and influences to look for.

    Although there were plenty of materials in the wizard tower for these tutors, the influence was hard toe by. There wouldn¡¯t even be corpses in the wizard tower after a nightmare, let alone a nightmare.

    Take Swamp¡¯s ck Tower as an example. Although the children they recruited were all around the age of fourteen, their teaching model differed from the schools outside.

    ¡ªBecause they didn¡¯t have teaching materials.

    On the one hand, the Great Wizards were toozy to prepare them. On the other hand, the diligent wizards would not necessarily be acknowledged by other wizards.

    Every year, Swamp¡¯s ck Tower would recruit new wizard apprentices. There would usually be about sixty or seventy of them, no more than a hundred at most.

    The tower was said to be a wizard school, but there was only one tower in total in the continent. Although this tower was enormous, it was simultaneously used for learning, research, and lodging. So, they couldn¡¯t recruit too many people.

    In the first two years, a typical wizard apprentice would have to learn and apply the general knowledge of spells,mon knowledge in the Transcended circle, mathematics, Elvishnguage, basic rune, painting and sculpture, and hand-to-handbat, as well as military weapons. These subjects were elective courses offered every three months. There were no textbooks nor holidays. If there was anything they didn¡¯t understand, they would have to either look it up in the library or inquire about it with a close tutor.

    After learning all these and passing the exams, they would be allowed to choose their school specialization and construct a spell. If the apprentice were a little smarter, this would take about two years¡­ If they were a little dumber, some wizard apprentices had yet to pass the exams even after five or six years.

    Then, they would be left on their own once they had chosen a school specialization. There would be one to three sses in a month announced one week in advance, where wizard apprentices and wizards of the same school would attend together. After that, it would be up to the tutors to decide what the content would be about. Of course, attendance was notpulsory as long as one could pass the exams of each school and advance to graduate.

    For example, Alteration Wizards were tested on glibness.

    They would basically be required to look up information on their own in addition to the primary sses. Different wizards had a different level of ess, mainly separated into sses of apprentices who had just been recruited, apprentices who had chosen their specializations, apprentices who had advanced into wizards, wizards who were preparing to advance to Great Wizard. The only limit was ¡ª if they were to leave before bing an advanced wizard, they would not be weed anymore.

    Of course, tutors would advise those who still couldn¡¯t advance into wizards after many years to quit. They could also stay if they indeed didn¡¯t want to quit, so long as they didn¡¯t affect other people.

    After all, aside from these wizard apprentices being talented children rmended by the outside wizards, there was also a special admission program called ¡°Patrons¡±.

    Anyone could try if they wanted to. After all, they wouldn¡¯t starve to death even if they failed to learn the magic.

    There were no tuition fees at the wizard tower. After all, the wizards weren¡¯t short of money¡­ but manpower instead.

    As a price, one would have to serve at the wizard tower for five to fifteen years as a way of giving back if they managed to advance to a wizard or a Great Wizard in the wizard tower.

    Of course, they could also be a tutor if they could pass the tower master¡¯s exam. That way, they would get paid.

    However, these sries didn¡¯t mean much to the Silver Rank wizards. It was easy for them to make money, and they didn¡¯t have much to spend on. The main thing that could tempt these Silver Rank wizards to stay was the library at the inner section of the wizard tower.

    This was the coreponent of the wizard tower. The wizard tower would determine and record the value of every book read by every wizard who graduated from the wizard tower and then upload it to the library. After they die, their curse vessels would also be delivered to the wizard tower¡­ Some old and powerful wizards might even volunteer sacrificing themselves to the wizard tower so that they could move freely in the tower in a spirit state, projected state, or constructed state. Their curse would naturally be consumedpletely by the wizard tower¡­ That was on the premise of getting recognition from the wizard tower.

    The wizard tower itself was a giant, living curse vessel.

    There was no such thing as spell scrolls in this world. Also, the experimental products were on demand to be sold. Alteration wizards could make easy money just by selling some things; Prophet wizards could also make a lot of money simply through fortune-telling, whereas Idol wizards were the masters of using curses to kill and the masters of countering curses that all the influential people respected.

    If one did not wish to continue advancing after attaining Silver Rank, they could live like an ordinary person.

    Spells were just a professional skill¡­ At least in the eyes of most wizards, the spells themselves were not the primary goal of their lives.

    The pursuit of great power, authority, money, societal influence¡­ These were the actual choices of many wizards.

    To look for materials to disy rituals to solidify their aptitude abilities, extend their lives and optimize their bodies, or do whatever they wanted to and only look for jobs when they ran out of money. These were the life trajectories of wizards who graduated from the wizard tower.

    Although the path of transcendence was for ascendancy, not everyone had that desire.

    In other words¡­ Not everyone could let go of the good life they already had in their hands, risk even greater dangers, and continue to climb upward.

    The pathway ascending from the Silver Rank to Gold Rank was called ¡°Dyed¡±.

    The huge risk of breaking through the limits of mortals, the desire to alter one¡¯s own personality, to destroy one¡¯s old soul and remodel it¡­ Every failed attempt may lead to one¡¯s doom in each of these levels.

    Salvatore had once only wanted to advance to silver as well.

    He only wanted to be a noble Great Wizard and be invited to be a consultant at an earl or a marquis¡¯ home. It was either that or to open up a secret shop anywhere in the royal capital to sell the items he made. Then, he would earn some money to buy a few manors, hire seven or eight servants, and then marry a young and beautiful girl and have two or three children. This was his initial life n, simple and unpretentious.

    Yet somehow¡­

    Such a future had gradually be blurred in Salvatore¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Read the letter,¡± The shadow whispered in his ear, ¡°I guess that the tower master is asking for you to go back. You¡¯ve wasted too much time, Salvatore.¡±

    ¡°My guess as well,¡± Salvatore said casually, opening the envelope.

    Salvatore first seemed a little surprised as he read the letter, and then his expression gradually turned serious.

    The letter was sent to him by the tower master, and the content was straightforward. They had already learned that Salvatore had sessfully obtained the hammer, urging him to return quickly and prepare for his advancement to the Silver Rank.

    This was nothing. Salvatore had already expected it.

    But he noticed that the tower owner referred to Annan as ¡°the little duke¡± in the letter. So he didn¡¯t believe that the tower master had made an error.

    So, they already know that it¡¯s Annan and not Don Juan?

    This showed that someone had already checked this fact using the spells of the Prophet school.

    This was also within Salvatore¡¯s expectations.

    After all, Annan couldn¡¯t reflect the iing Prophet spell or disguise the identity error detected through Prophet magic. He also didn¡¯t bring a substitute. High-level Prophet spells could definitely get this information.

    But why did the tower master say that it would be dangerous to be by Annan¡¯s side?

    ¡°It¡¯s probably about Annan¡¯s trip to the capital in a few months¡­¡± Salvatore thought worriedly.

    If the tower master has learned of Annan¡¯s true identity, could there be anyone in the capital who has also known about it?

    Are they going to cause trouble for Annan?

    What will happen to Annan when he goes to the capital this time?

    Will someone try to curse and murder Annan?

    ¡°This can¡¯t do. I have to tell Annan before I go¡­¡± Salvatore murmured. Crystals condensed at his fingertips, and the letter was engulfed in mes.

    He then pulled out a piece of paper and began to write something on it quickly.

    I need toplete the advancement ritual as soon as possible.

    If all goes well, I should be able to advance within a month.

    Swamp¡¯s ck Tower is not too far from the capital.

    ¡°If something happens to you, I¡¯lle help you, Annan¡­¡± Salvatore muttered.

    On the other hand, the shadow, who had always liked bickering, was silent about this.

 Chapter 287: Student Longjing Tea

    <h4>Chapter 287: Student Longjing Tea</h4>

    Luckily, Salvatore didn¡¯t leave immediately after sending the letter.

    He had already written to Annan after receiving the letter from ck Tower. So, he began packing his luggage after the letter had been sent. The things he packed were mainly the materials, reagents, and utensils in the basement.

    As it turned out, Annan had already rushed back to Freezing Water Port before Salvatore had finished packing his things.

    ¡°We¡¯re so close to each other. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier if you just summon me back to talk?¡± Annan said displeasingly, ¡°What did you have to write a letter for¡­¡±

    ¡°I was simply worried that you were busy.¡± Salvatore sneered as he said, ¡°What if you weren¡¯t able to rush back within an hour and a half upon receiving my voice message¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that dy things?¡±

    The truth was that Salvatore had forgotten because he had a tight daily work schedule. He subconsciously thought that Annan would also be busy.

    Yet, for Annan, this meticulous work could be assigned to the yers.

    It could be delegated as a mission to give experience points or affection ratings, and even in the form of payment if Annan were to be more considerate.

    At the same time, it would also allow the yers to experience the joy of managing the city and handling government affairs.

    Isn¡¯t that a win-win situation?

    Roseburg has been operating stably anyway with nothing major happening. Plus, the job posts assigned to the yers are the positions that were once corrupted or assassinated by the Rotten Man believers.

    Since this bunch of viins could do the work, surely the yers can manage it.

    There aren¡¯t much expectations for the yers to perform well. It will be fine as long as the governing system doesn¡¯t copse.

    Even if it were to copse, it would be none of my business.

    It¡¯s not my home anyway!

    Annan narrated it righteously.

    ording to Annan¡¯s observations, these yers were doing really well. They mainly had a great passion for work.

    The yers mainly spent their sleep time in their original world to log into the game.

    They would probably not enjoy having to move bricks and chop trees during their bedtime. But, it was fun for them to just easily upgrade their levels just by drinking some tea in the office, signing some documents, having some snacks, reading some books, and even going out for a walk during their free time. This was already pretty good treatment.

    Annan wouldn¡¯t turn the yers into drudgery who didn¡¯t get paid or the mistreated workers with no rest time. The yers would also clock in and out ording to schedule and have more than enough free time.

    Delicious Wind Goose and the new yer Longjing Tea had good management skills among these yers. Annan observed that these two were probably the oldest and most capable among this batch of yers, judging from theirmunication skills.

    Aside from that, Annan had also slowly picked out some talents who were not exactly strong inbat but had surprisingly good management and organizational skills.

    Two of them seemed to have an ounting background, while the rest were from logistics management. There were also a few yers who appeared to be streamers who focused mainly on simted managerial games in the real world.

    I¡¯ll let them practice with Roseburg first. After they have gained proficiency, I¡¯ll bring them back to Austere-Winter. Annan thought.

    The previous backlog of government affairs in Roseburg had been dealt with. Everything returned to smooth operation. These yers who Annan had summoned urgently for work could now be another batch ofid-off employees.

    Of course, it was not to make them unemployed on the spot.

    Annan had assigned them different tasks based on their behaviors.

    This was called ¡°The one and only hidden mission obtained upon fully demonstrating one¡¯s abilities.¡±

    ¡°¡­You want me to get Longjing Tea to ck Tower?¡± Salvatore rubbed his temples in distress as he looked at the well-behaved, well-mannered Longjing Tea behind Annan. He said, ¡°This indeed isn¡¯t much of a problem. His ability to self-learn Edict spells shows that he definitely has the talent of a wizard. It¡¯s no big problem that no one had rmended him. Although I don¡¯t have a say in rmending someone into the tower yet, I am still part of ck Tower. Such privilege wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°However, if he wants to join ck Tower, he wouldn¡¯t be able to graduate and leave if he failed in bing a Transcended. Even if he graduates and is able to leave, he will still have to serve the ck Tower for five years.¡±

    Salvatore exined the rules of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower to Annan.

    I know, I know. He would need to behave as a normal student.

    Annan nodded and asked, ¡°What type of work is it usually? How is the workload?¡±

    ¡°The workload isn¡¯t heavy at all. They¡¯re wizards, after all. They wouldn¡¯t be assigned to do anybor work too.¡±

    Salvatore shrugged, ¡°The task is usually to help their tutors craft things, or to collect some magical materials, influences, and what not at the ancient ruins, wilderness, those kinds of ces. They might also go out to help buy some things or rmend talented children they find along the way back to ck Tower. In short, it¡¯s to run errands.¡±

    ¡°And what if he doesn¡¯t have a tutor?¡± Annan asked, ¡°If I remember correctly¡­ Swamp¡¯s ck Tower didn¡¯t seem to have a tutor from the Edict School, right? So I just wanted him to study some books and consolidate his foundation.¡±

    ¡ªand give me a copy of the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower collection while he¡¯s at it.

    It didn¡¯t matter if there were no nightmares in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    The ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction that Annan had activated previously could now be utilized.

    One could gain experience steadily just by learning through copied books. They could even be granted the reputation points from the ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction so that yers who chose wizard apprenticeship could advance themselves within their school with that knowledge. With that, Annan wouldn¡¯t have to give out too much of his affection ratings as currencies for the yers.

    What then could the reputation points of the ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction be exchanged for?

    It would depend on what Annan had at the time.

    Naturally, the price would also be discussed then.

    After all, wouldn¡¯t your reputation points be useless if you couldn¡¯t see the NPC of the ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction?

    ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s true.¡± Salvatore mused, ¡°If it¡¯s just to read¡­¡±

    He frowned as he was in deep thought for a moment and then asked Annan softly.

    ¡°How about this, Annan? I¡¯ll bring him to tower first, let him self-learn with those books, and thene for sses to solidify his basics further. After that, I¡¯ll sign up for a tutor qualification after I¡¯ve sessfully passed the exam and advanced in my rank, and then recruit him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    Annan said with a smile, ¡°I believe in your character and capability. Use him as an errand boy as much as you want, and you can also give him any task. I¡¯ll arrange with you if and when I need him. Take the exam as soon as possible then, senior. I might still find you a batch of wizard apprentices in the future. I¡¯ll send them all to be your apprentice then.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to poach the Storm Tower and the Howling White Tower?¡± Salvatore asked worriedly, ¡°Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Annan replied affirmatively, ¡°No need to worry.¡±

    Annan would just have to give Salvatore a mission authority when the time came. That way, the tasks that Salvatore had granted to the wizard apprentices could be used as feeder tasks to be altered into experiences. However, the everyday experience gains would still be extracted from the experience pool with a limit imposed. This was to prevent the wizard apprentices from getting addicted to Salvatore and stopping their learning¡­

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll take him with me.¡± Salvatore agreed.

    He soon instructed worriedly, ¡°When you go to the capital, you must be careful.

    ¡°That Hermetic School always gives me an off feeling. I will go to the tower master and ask for information about Nichs mel when I return. If there is any problem, I will write to Freezing Water Port at any time. Remember to keep someone here to help forward the letter to the capital.¡±

    It¡¯s not that troublesome. You can simply tell Longjing Tea if there¡¯s anything, I¡¯ll be able to hear it¡­

    But Annan still didn¡¯t say it out directly.

    Instead, he hinted, ¡°If the information is extremely crucial, you can give it to Longjing Tea. They all have a way to contact me during an emergency.¡±

    Like posting an SOS message on the forum or something.

    Or he could even just dial the other yers¡¯ number directly offline, making an exaggerated thirteen consecutive calls.

    Isn¡¯t that much faster than writing a letter?

    This is the power of technology.jpg

    Let me tell you, Ron [1]. This is so much better than a magic wand.jpg

 Chapter 288: Itâ€™s Time To Release the Players

    <h4>Chapter 288: It¡¯s Time To Release the yers</h4>

    Salvatore was hesitant after hearing this.

    After thinking for a while, he still said to Annan, ¡°Then can you give me a copy of the magic in contacting you?¡±

    No way, I want to give it to you too.

    But I can¡¯t¡­

    Annan shook his head with a wry smile and exined, ¡°This won¡¯t work. They have a contractual rtionship with me¡­ the one you¡¯ve seen before.¡±

    ¡°The contract that can be used for resurrection?¡±

    Thinking of Yiyi, who suffered terribly that day, Salvatore suddenly said, ¡°Is that still effective when you are so far away?¡±

    ¡°It will work as long as I¡¯m not dead, but that resurrection could consume a lot of curses if they¡¯re too far away from me. Also, that will be put me in a vulnerable state for a while.

    ¡°But if it¡¯s really dangerous, you can ask him to scout the path for you.¡± Annan reminded Salvatore, ¡°They don¡¯t die after all.¡±

    ¡­Or rather, it was a reminder to Salvatore¡¯s shadow.

    Annan was well-aware in his heart that even if he told Salvatore that the yers could be resurrected and could be utilized to tank the damage at a critical moment, Salvatore still wouldn¡¯t do it.

    Annan had a clear understanding of this idiot¡¯s personality.

    Salvatore was an idiot.

    He was different from Annan.

    If Annan did a good deed, it was only because he did it without hesitation or regret based on his morality,mon sense, and judgment. At the same time, the oue was attributed as a form of kindness.

    Salvatore, like Annan, didn¡¯t care about the mundanepass of justice and evil or right and wrong. This might also be the reason why the two of them could quickly be friends.

    But what separated Salvatore from Annan was that he had strongpassion, and he didn¡¯t like to trouble others.

    As long as he noticed others encountering trouble, it would be difficult for him to just leave. He belonged to that kind of people who still donated money to the beggar even if he was aware that shady groups were manipting the beggars in the dark.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t give too much, but just satisfy the quota for the beggars that day. He wouldn¡¯t root out the criminals either because he didn¡¯t know if his actions would screw things up further.

    All of it was mainly because of Salvatore¡¯s inferiorityplex.

    He always thought that hecked talent, so he never fantasized that he could be a hero or that he could save others. Thus, he didn¡¯t meddle or do what he thought he couldn¡¯t. Instead, he would only do what he could and protect those with his limits.

    He didn¡¯t want to see other people suffer because of him.

    As for how those who he had saved would view him and how those who he didn¡¯t save would view him, it didn¡¯t matter much to Salvatore.

    However, the situation was different from the shadow.

    Shadow was the opposite of Salvatore, a selfish personality.

    She wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to hurt others because it was meaningless ¡ª just like what Salvatore had always pursued, ¡°meaningless kindness that treats the symptoms but not the root cause¡±. But this ¡°meaningless¡± became meaningful in front of the shadow.

    Because of this, she could only pursue ¡°meaningful¡± evil.

    Apparently, Salvatore was unaware of his true talents.

    In other words, he hadn¡¯t yet noticed now that the state and character of the shadow would change at any time ording to his state.

    After all, the shadow was his ¡°reflection¡±.

    Based on the restriction that ¡°what you do must have meaning¡±, she could only abuse others to aplish her purpose.

    Efficient, selfish, confident, and without entrusting anyone like a lone wolf ying a high-rating game.

    Annan believed that the shadow would be able to make good use of ¡°Longjing Tea¡±, an immortal yer at a critical moment.

    This was the tacit understanding between Annan and the shadow.

    Even if a person were mediating between the two, even if they weren¡¯t talking directly, they would still be able to exchange information.

    Indeed, Longjing Tea was the ¡°moving eye¡± that Annan infiltrated into Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. He could be regarded as the ¡°spy¡± who stole knowledge from the wizard tower¡¯s library.

    At the same time, Longjing Tea was the danger detector and bodyguard Annan gave to Salvatore to save his life.

    If something happened to Annan, Longjing Tea would find a way to inform Salvatore too.

    However, Salvatore never thought about what if something happened to him.

    At that time, the shadow would need to make the right choice for him.

    Whether it was to let Longjing Tea buy time¡­ or let Longjing Tea ask Annan for help.

    ¡°Then, I shall go, Annan.¡± With the help of Annan and the yers, Salvatore quickly packed up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to bring Sage¡¯s Stone? There is only one left.¡± Annan asked, ¡°You crafted the item yourself. It¡¯s the proof that you made Sage¡¯s Stone while you¡¯re still in Bronze Rank.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only half-finished. It¡¯s not yet a Sage¡¯s Stone¡­¡± Salvatore smiled bitterly, ¡°Even if I take it back, I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t believe it easily.¡±

    ¡°How can they not believe it?¡± Annan raised his eyebrows, ¡°If you do it again in front of them, won¡¯t you be able to prove everything?¡±

    Hearing this, Salvatore shook his head again and again, ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s still meaningless. Also, I don¡¯t have the confidence to duplicate the process again perfectly. I managed to do it that time with external help. It¡¯s all my luck. There¡¯s no need to waste materials.¡±

    When Salvatore mentioned ¡°external help¡±, he just brushed through it.

    But Annan still knew what he meant.

    These three Sage¡¯s Stones were all the Alteration products the shadow produced.

    After all, the material of Sage¡¯s Stone was the wizard¡¯s bone marrow.

    Whether these materials came from the deceased of those wizards from the same tower, or the remains left by the executed ck Wizard, each material represented a human life.

    Salvatore didn¡¯t dare to use these materials without the confidence toplete Sage¡¯s Stone.

    This was also the reason why his previous research was in a deadlock. Although he had done his best in the theory aspect, he still felt that there could be a problem with his form. So he didn¡¯t dare tobine the materials¡­ until he fell asleep.

    The shadow used his body to synthesize Sage¡¯s Stone.

    Once the shadow was summoned again, it was possible to craft Sage¡¯s Stone again.

    Salvatore¡¯s self-esteem, responsibility, or something else stopped him from relying on the shadow¡¯s outstanding achievements to be recognized by others.

    Salvatore was adamant in separating himself from the shadow and was still wary of the shadow¡¯s presence.

    This showed that even though Salvatore had sessfully cooperated with the shadow once after injecting Sage¡¯s Stone, he was still wary of the shadow and still intended to seal his own shadow.

    ¡°You should take this Sage¡¯s Stone.¡± Salvatore instructed Annan, ¡°It¡¯s likely that Nichs mel is in Gold Rank. After living for so long, his strength is expected to surpass the ordinary Gold Rank. If he used Sage¡¯s Stone to live until now¡­ The Sage¡¯s Stone in your hand may save your life in critical moments, no matter you use it against him or to tter him.

    ¡°Besides that, I have an intuition that you will advance again after being a Transcended for a month. I know it sounds baffling¡­ Here is what I have summarized in the past few days, and you may be able to use the stone for advancement.¡±

    Salvatore handed Annan a piece of paper, ¡°Be careful, Annan. Don¡¯t die.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t even look at the paper and put it away solemnly.

    He nodded earnestly to Salvatore, ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll try my best to finish the exam in May, and then I¡¯ll go to the capital to find you. Goodbye, Annan.¡±

    ¡°See you in May then, Salvatore,¡± replied Annan softly.

    Watching Salvatore and Longjing Tea leaving, Annan sighed lightly.

    After some preparation, I should get ready to advance into silver.

    The remaining avability of Nightmare: Gallery was running out. The yers¡¯ adventure group had almost finished exploring the nightmare.

    At that time, Annan had to reserve at least one more entry into the ¡°gallery¡± to advance into the Silver Rank.

    After all, Annan was quite familiar with the dungeon. It was best to use this nightmare to fulfill the requirements of the advancement mission.

    The yers were about to use up the entries into the beginner dungeon instance.

    Then, it¡¯s almost time to let the yers out.

 Chapter 289: Elven Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 289: Elven Ruins</h4>

    ¡°Although I yearn for adventure, I miss grilled fish and steamed chicken at this time¡­¡± The Wandering Child sighed at sunset, ¡°If only I coulde out with food.¡±

    He had embodied the essence of the ¡°Wandering¡± Child.

    Half a month after the end of the prologue, the Gallery Nightmare had finally expired.

    The next stage of the storyline would trigger 3 monthster.

    Wandering Child knew from the beginning that they wouldn¡¯t be doing the same dungeon over and over again. Of course, it was great to increase the level steadily while enjoying the free leisure and free food, but he always felt that something was missing.

    It was until Annan summoned him to the viscount house the day before yesterday that he finally realized what he was missing.

    ¡°¡­Elven ruins?¡± Wandering Child repeated.

    Only then did he learn that there were elves in this world?

    ¡°Yes, a relic from the Yasn Empire¡¯s era. At that time, elves and centaurs are the rulers of thisnd.¡±

    Annan briefly introduced the history and exined, ¡°This is the information I have gotten from the senior¡­ It¡¯s a ruin that the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower has explored with a moderate danger level. Since your professiones from the elves, getting the next promotion requires exploring the elven ruins.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to distribute this mission to four people. You shall lead the team with Dove, Suuankou, and Citalopram, backing you up with their respective profession of [Hunter], [Lurker], and [Half-dead Enchantress]. This ruin is located in the jungle. Even if you know the approximate direction and walk toward there in a straight line, it will take 4 days to reach there. Therefore, you need a [Hunter] to survive in that ce. In addition, there are the possibilities of traps lurking, so you have an [Lurker] in your lineup. Suuankou is a trap master, you should trust his skill. Last but not least, [Half-dead Enchantress] doesn¡¯t need much healing and sleep, so she saves the consumption of supplies and offers great help in guarding the camp through the night. Moreover, she can phase through a wall and thus a valuable asset in exploring the ruin.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the path and password into the ruin. If you¡¯re lucky, Dove and Suuankou may be able to get clues to the rare advancement method in it.¡± So Annan instructed the Wandering Child at the time.

    Exploring the jungle¡¯s depths wasn¡¯t a simple adventure that could be carried out with weapons, bedding, and reagents.

    Without the relevant knowledge and skills, there were the risks of getting lost, sick, hungry, thirsty, and poisoned.

    Luckily, Annan was merciful and allocated Dove to the team.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about food.¡±

    A calm female voice sounded, ¡°You¡¯re lucky. We have ample food in this ce. With my help, you won¡¯t starve to death. With you, we can also get enough freshwater. Is the fire ready?¡±

    Dove dropped a young deer that she carried over.

    There was only one wound on the deer ¡ª at the spine.

    The young deer wasn¡¯tpletely dead yet, and it still struggled from time to time. But under this kind of injury, it couldn¡¯t jump up and escape even if it was good at pretending to be dead.

    ¡°Sure, the fire is almost up and ready.¡± The Wandering Child immediately replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. Suuankou and Citalopram aren¡¯t online yet.¡±

    As the Wandering Child spoke, he raised his head and nced at the majestic huntress, who wasn¡¯t quite tall.

    Dove¡¯s brown hair wasn¡¯t long at all, and it looked neat after being tied into a ponytail. A serval silently followed behind her. The pet seemed a little short.

    Before his departure, the Wandering Child got the military longbow behind him from Annan. As for Dove¡¯s original short bow, it was deposited in the inventory readied to be swapped into after entering the ruins.

    While Dov¡¯s voice was mature and reliable, her face looked a little too youthful. She was also short in height, about the same size as Jiu Er.

    ¡­of course, so does her figure too.

    But ording to Dove, those were adjustments she made in character customization, which was in the opposite approach to Lin Yiyi.

    She shrunk her breasts a lot to avoid them getting in the way when shooting arrows. But, she didn¡¯t quite understand why altering the breast size consumed the limits in beautification effect.

    For the remaining beautification limits, she also didn¡¯t use the function to increase her size and height because she knew that this might lead to her inuracy in the spatial distance.

    However, Dove wasn¡¯t putting those functions to waste either.

    Her habit was to make the best use of everything.

    She first used the remaining beautification quota to optimize her muscles that she couldn¡¯t train up to normally and enhanced her flexibility at the same time. Then, she smoothened her skin which had been exposed to the sun all year-round and made them less rough. She didn¡¯t proceed with the character customization until the beautification effect¡¯s limit was filled up.

    Although this didn¡¯t directly increase her Constitution and Strength, it made her feel that her stamina had increased.

    Dove also found a certain rule from it ¡ª if she tried to use the beautification effect to increase her attribute, then the consumption of the functionality would be rapid. Otherwise, the beautification effect wouldn¡¯t reach the limit so fast.

    With the existing ratio, if she used up her beautification limits to increase her muscle or optimize her eyesight, she should be able to increase one of the attributes close to 1 point.

    ¡°I¡¯ll finish roasting the meat in a while, and I¡¯ll go offline early after I eat it. I have to urge those two kids to exercise¡­ I¡¯ll be back online in eight hours, about 3 a.m. It would be best if you waited for the two of them toe online first and then travel forward for a while in the direction I nned for you. When Ie back, I will take you to the next station.¡±

    Dove said casually, ¡°Before that, I¡¯ll leave my body to you, Cade.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re pretty light anyway.¡± The Child smiled.

    It wasn¡¯t nighttime yet when Dove went offline. The Child carried a sleeping bag with Dove on his back.

    After all, he advanced from the swordsman profession and was the party member with the highest Strength attribute among the group. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t stuck with the only option to fight in melee now. So, carrying another person wouldn¡¯t affect his battle.

    There was also the advantage of having a small size, such as being convenient to be carried around.

    The bodies Annan made for the yers were ordinary human bodies rather than digitally simted puppets ¡ª that was to say, not sleeping for a long time would ruin the body. Taking daily necessities into ount, Annan instilled an anti-addiction system for the yers to be offline for at least 8 hours a day so that yers must log off in their sleep. After that, the yers reached a higher level and better attributes, Annan would gradually rx this rule under the pretext of giving more authority to the yers.

    It was possible to go offline in the tent, but the tent wasn¡¯t a safe area. If a wild beast or a malicious person were attacking them, causing their physical death, their level would drop by one level aftering back online again.

    So before arriving at the ruins, they had to go offline in batches to guard others¡¯ bodies.

    Half-dead Enchantress didn¡¯t need sleep, but Wen Xue had to go offline to eat and work. Suuankou¡¯s ¡°leave because of sister¡¯s marriage¡± was also insufficient. He had already gone back to school.

    Coupled with [Half-dead Enchantress] and [Lurker], the party¡¯s fighting power at night would soar.

    Considering the routines of Citalopram and Suuankou, several of them turned the game time upside down.

    They would advance through the night and sleep in a safe ce during the day.

    When Citalopram and Suuankou went to work and school, and when the Wandering Child stream during the day, Dove would be responsible for guarding their bodies. After all, she was self-employed and had no work pressure. Currently, she lived in Jiu Er¡¯s house as a martial art coach, and she had no jetg.

    Also, she had the time to watch the streams while ying with her cat.

    Anyway, she had adapted to life in the jungle, which was a much morefortable environment for her.

    She wouldn¡¯t die, be stronger, and see animals she had not met before. Most importantly, she had reliable teammates.

    In addition to conjuring freshwater, Dove had little chance to see the Wandering Child¡¯s other abilities. After all, what attacked them were ordinary animals. After having her serval detect the hostile animals, she would take them down with one arrow at a time¡­ and some animals were eliminated directly in Suuankou¡¯s traps.

    This helped her save some effort, and this stream was quite good.

    For example, Longjing Tea would stream ¡°I¡¯m a wizard apprentice in ck Tower¡± for 16 hours every day. The stream title of Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s trip to the capital with a carriage would beter converted to ¡°Infiltration¡±. At the same time, Yiyi would give her updates on time every day in the stream ¡°Little Annan¡¯s Daily¡±.

    Since Lin Yiyi was the only yer specializing in defense who didn¡¯t need to hold a shield, she was also the only yer who stayed by Annan¡¯s side, continued to serve as a bodyguard, and enjoyed her time leisurely whilepleting her weekly missions.

 Chapter 290: Delicious Wind Gooseâ€™s Elite Squad

    <h4>Chapter 290: Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s Elite Squad</h4>

    As far as Dove knows, apart from her group and Longjing Tea¡¯s who was the only wizard among the yers, the other party who received the special mission would be Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s group.

    But their mission wasn¡¯t to collect materials or explore the details of changing one¡¯s profession.

    Instead, they were heading to the capital for adventure.

    Annan wasn¡¯t stupid. Since he had the yers to scout the path, he wouldn¡¯t be doing those risky deeds himself.

    Annan gave a mission to Delicious Wind Goose to sneak into the capital and collect information before he arrived. After that, he would release new tasks at any time ording to the situation. Anyway, after the ¡°update¡±, he could already delegate missions remotely.

    This was the first time Annan used this feature.

    The team was in the setting of an elite squad consisting of four people, but there seemed to be a small issue.

    Besides the Delicious Wind Goose being in charge ofmunication and Jiu Er being proficient inbat, the remaining two yers were ¡°Van Helsing¡± and ¡°Yokai Sensei¡±, who had joined the Silver Sire Church.

    They had only mastered one divine art because they had only acquired one holy light engraving, which was usually provided to the neers upon joining the teaching.

    But the great thing about the two of them was that they both wisely spent their only holy light engraving on buying the divine art [Eternal Youth], the only healing divine art. As a result, they became the rare healing profession with a statusparable to a national treasure.

    Indeed, there were basically no yers in this batch who could heal except the two.

    Van Helsing was a bnced swordsman who prioritized more in the Agility attribute. His next goal was toplete the mission from the church. After getting the next holy light engraving, he would learn [Sharp Object]. Then, the next profession advancement for him would probably be the agile [Fencer] or [Duelist].

    Indeed, Van Helsing was still a Level 10 Swordsman, with his secondary profession being a priest. He failed to meet the advanced requirements in his previous dungeon instance.

    On the other hand, Yokai Sensei had attained advancement and became a Transcended.

    As the healing tank majored in physique and parry, he nned to follow the path of healing.

    His uing profession after advancement would be ¡°a knight specialized in shield¡±. It was also the only profession advancement that allowed the yers to wear te armor or heavy armor and focused on shields.

    If it weren¡¯t for his ability to heal, he was actually the most orthodox tank.

    In terms of defense alone, Yiyi¡¯s stats were worse than him.

    But Yiyi¡¯s advantage was that she was the only tank proficient in agility ¡ª a defender who utilized parry with no armor and no shield.

    On the other hand, Yokai Sensei had to wear his heavy armor and put on a shield on his back. This set of equipment was purchased with the umted affection ratings of both him and Delicious Wind Goose.

    To carry these loads, they needed a horse, which Annan sponsored.

    In the end, Yokai Sensei being the only healer and the stable tank among the yers, was assigned to the Goose¡¯s elite squad.

    Then, the squad wasplemented with the addition of a flexible [Swordmaster] who had learned three sets of swordsmanship (Basic Swordsmanship, Bodyguard Swordsmanship, and Military Swordsmanship) and also a [Berserker] who had the most serious burst damage.

    Annan was quite invested in this squad.

    The rest of the yers couldn¡¯t help butin: Those are pretty extreme cases.

    But as long as they knew about Jiu Er¡¯s fighting style, they would realize that having two healers might not be enough.

    The ¡°spell casting material¡± that Annan prepared for the squad alone was worth 40 silver coins.

    There were travel expenses and also healing potions.

    In the beginning, Delicious Wind Goose felt that the money was quite a lot, and there might be a couple of coins left for them to keep. After all, including eating, drinking, lodging, and renting a carriage along the way, the squad would only spend up to 20 silver coins.

    When they first departed, they discussed about distributing the remaining money after arriving at the capital.

    Unexpectedly, after they encountered a wave of bandits, they found that Jiu Er¡¯s participation in battle took resources worth at least 6 silver coins to recover her lost health. Half of the given silver coins were used already, after including the treatment cost of the rest of the squad members.

    After that, they didn¡¯t dare to let Jiu Er participate in a fight.

    Once Jiu Er entered the battle again, this little money probably wouldn¡¯t allow them to survive until they reached the capital.

    They simply made Jiu Er disguised as ¡°the eldest daughter who ran away from home but found that she didn¡¯t have enough funds and was forced to return home.¡± The remaining three members of the squad were disguised as a housekeeper, a priest, and a guard supporting the eldest daughter in her journey. Then, they had sessfully infiltrated into a caravan.

    It was probably because there were two of them capable of utilizing divine arts for healing, plus the four of them appeared civilized, unlike mercenaries or robbers. Moreover, Jiu Er was indeed the daughter of an affluent family (TN: In her real life), while Delicious Wind Goose was quite persuasive in his words. Under Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s careful negotiation, they had actually gotten a carriage on the condition of providing treatment (fee), and they were able to eat and live for free.

    After the caravan reached its destination, Delicious Wind Goose realized that it was a good idea and soon contacted another caravan.

    In the end, they turned into those ¡°budget¡± content creators for traveling, and they didn¡¯t have to spend a penny.

    Delicious Wind Goose was also particrly good at chatting. As he mingled around, he gradually collected some information and soon filled in the loopholes in the identities they adopted. Even the standard of food had improved to another level. There were a few merchants in the second batch of caravans who insisted on giving them some gifts.

    But in short, it was much faster and safer than the squad journeying forward alone.

    ¡°Goodbye then, everyone.¡± Delicious Wind Goose politely bid farewell to the second caravan.

    They had officially left the North Sea Territory and arrived at Tasque, the Tasque County¡¯s capital.

    There were 16 towns in Tasque County, which was the northernmost part of Count Shelley¡¯s territories, and it was also a rtively small one. After passing through four towns further south of the Tasque, one could see the northern suburbs of the royal capital.

    Delicious Wind Goose had inquired that another name of Count Philip Shelley was the Supreme Court Justice Philip, the highest judge of the Noah Kingdom.

    His younger brother, Sir Stilwell Shelley, was the Noah Kingdom¡¯s Chief of Police.

    Tasque, where Noah Kindom¡¯s primary prison was located, had strict security. Therefore, many caravans would choose to rest here.

    ¡°But how do we get out? That¡¯s another problem. This ce is too close to the capital. Can we still use the previous excuse? The risk is too high.¡±

    Van Helsing asked helplessly on a deserted street corner, ¡°Yokai Sensei and I can go to the local church to stay, and it won¡¯t be a problem for us to enter or leave the city. But what about the two of you?¡±

    ¡°The two of us will find a motel first and get two rooms to stay. Luckily, our previous efforts are not in vain. Our remaining money should be enough for the rest of the journey. We could just walk there in our worst-case scenario since we have covered half the distance to arrive at the royal capital. Anyway,w and order here are better. There is no need to worry about ambushes on our journey.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied confidently, ¡°Let¡¯s stay here for two days first. Then, I¡¯ll go and ask around for more information. If there is a convoy to take us into the capital, that would be great.¡±

    ¡°I hope so¡­¡± For some reason, Van Helsing felt a little uneasy.

 Chapter 291: Frostwisperian

    <h4>Chapter 291: Frostwisperian</h4>

    Annan opened his eyes on the bed again.

    He set a limit on the dungeon entry, shutting down the yers¡¯ ess to this nightmare.

    He could advance to the Silver Rank at any time. At present, ¡°Silver Knight¡± had instead be his secondary profession. Even if he were to continue improving this profession, it only strengthened his vitality and fitness. The upgrades in this profession wouldn¡¯t provide anybat skills like how upgrading the Swordsman¡¯s level would be. There were only attribute bonuses.

    Moreover, its skills came entirely from the divine art purchased via holy light engravings, which was the proof of purifying nightmares.

    Hence, Annan made up his mind. The benefits of upgrading the secondary profession simply didn¡¯t worth it anymore.

    It was better to give the experience here to the yers first and let them adventure at a higher level for their safety.

    Annan¡¯s current top priority was to attain advancement.

    After dispersing the yers, the entry count left in the Gallery Nightmare was running out.

    He hadpleted the dungeon three more times in the past few days, raising the [Silver Knight] level by three levels.

    There were only four entries left to the nightmare remaining.

    Louis was not efficient at purifying this nightmare.

    Annan kept four more entries left, basically guaranteeing that Louis would have to stay here and purifying the nightmare roughly for another month.

    As for Annan himself, he was ready to depart.

    Yes, of course, Annan would not be so kind enough to reveal a treasure map to some yers.

    There were treasures in the elf ruins outside from the item which the Child required to attain advancement.

    Despite the advancement treasure really did exist, Wandering Child was only at Level 15 now. There was still a long way to go before advancing into the Silver Rank.

    Annan had actually nned to reserve those treasures for his advancement.

    Salvatore wrote in detail about the wizard¡¯s advancement pathways to Annan.

    It was a tad bit different from the situation where [Wizard Apprentice] was guaranteed to be a [Wizard]. The need for wizards to advance was actually moreplicated.

    For example, the mostmon advancement ¡ª [Great Wizard] required the wizard to fill up all the existing spell slots and acquire proficiencies in three schools of magic. This was almost a default condition for those wizards who had graduated officially, but it wasn¡¯t an easy task for Annan, a crash course wizard.

    Also, the [Great Wizard] profession could hardly meet Annan¡¯s needs. It felt more like a punishment for the wizards who didn¡¯t learn the magic of the other schools.

    But, Annan didn¡¯t want to change the profession like Winter¡¯s Hand because its side effects were quite heavy.

    Among the remaining advancements, there were not many options for the wizards of Energy Falteration School.

    In the end, Annan chose to advance into an ancient profession¡ªFrostwhisperian.

    At first, Annan recalled the profession because the Venerated Skeleton once mentioned the surname ¡°Frostwhisper¡±.

    But after asking the Man in the Mirror, Annan learned more about it.

    The Energy Falteration School established after the Unification War was actually abination of twopletely different professions.

    Before the Unification War, they were called [Ice Warlocks] and [Silence Warlocks].

    Slothful Eye and Impeding Wall were the signature spells of Silent Warlocks. They excel at resonating with the enemy or space with their indifferent emotions, silentnguage, and weak bodies, forbidding the targets¡¯ speech ability, spellcasting ability, range skills, melee skills, etc. All in all, they were a pure profession in controls.

    The Ice Warlock was rtively easy to understand. In essence, theyplied with the traditional sense of ¡°ice magic¡±.

    In this world, the two Transcended powers of ice and fire originated from ancient dragons. Just like Old Grandmother and Father Flint originated as enormous dragons. At least before the First Age, when humanoids had not been born and recorded in history, Old Grandmother and Father Flint were already ice and fire upright deities, respectively.

    The origin of the Ice Warlock could be traced back to the Third Age.

    During the Third Age, some elves received part of the power from the Old Grandmother and became [Frostwhisperian]. Since the soul of the elves was intimate to nature, the beginning of their entry into the path of transcendence was [Condensation], a curse to summon and manipte the frost territory at Silver Rank. The elves acquired a profession simr to the priest who couldmunicate with the Old Grandmother, a rough equivalent to the magical branch of [Silver Knight].

    Later, some Frostwhisperians thought that such efficiency was too low. There were very few elves who could carry the power of Frostwhisper, which pose a great deal of trouble in the matter of spreading this profession. So, they further diluted this curse and created the third-hand profession, [Ice Warlock].

    In the end, the power that the Ice Warlocks used basically had nothing to do with Old Grandmother.

    In other words, the transcended power was so weak that it could be used without permission from the Lord of Frost.

    But now, it was the Fifth Age.

    In the Third Age, the Ice Warlocks who were evaluated as ¡°weak¡± previously had be one of the most powerful professions. Of course, part of the reason was that they hadpletely changed the way of fighting.

    Ice Warlocks no longer use the robes of ice silk that could be used to increase the frost power, and the scepters iid with blue crystal and silver.

    Instead, they wielded axes and hammers.

    Although this would significantly weaken their frost output, they only needed to slow down the enemy¡¯s movementspared to the previous victory condition of continuous spell casting until the enemies were frozen entirely to death. Once the new condition was met, they could just smash with their hammer. Even the giants were afraid of such a tactic.

    The efficacy was much betterpared to before.

    After the Unification War, Ice Warlock and Silent Warlock merged because of theck of advancement for Ice Warlocks. Another reason was that the two schools were both renegades among the ancient warlocks.

    The Ice Wizards could slow down their enemies¡¯ reactions, so they picked up slow but powerful axes and hammers.

    The Silencers¡¯ specialty was to limit the enemy¡¯s spellcasting, remove the enemy¡¯s protection, and shield themselves from the enemy¡¯s projectile attack.

    So they wielded guns and crossbow arrows and chose to fight the enemy one-to-one.

    Milord, my times have changed, but you haven¡¯t.jpg

    After the ancient warlocks of the two schools merged into the wizard of the Energy Falteration School, they became more and more ustomed to thisbat style of ¡°imposing restrictions¡± and ¡°relying on equipment¡±. After they arrived at the Austere-Winter Dukedom under the Old Grandmother¡¯s lead, they became more pragmatic every year over the next few decades.

    Sure enough, the ancient profession [Frostwhisperian] was still the Energy Falteration School wizards¡¯ first choice in their advancement pathway ¡ª if they could sessfully advance.

    It was mainly because this profession had withstood the test of history and time since it was passed down to the present time.

    Salvatore also wrote clearly on Frostwhisperian¡¯s prerequisite conditions for advancement.

    Erosion must be lower than 50% with at least 3 spell slots filled. In terms of attributes, the requirements were 10 points in Constitution, 10 points or more in Will, 40 points or more in Perception. Additionally, it was mandatory to attain the affinity of one element in the frost category at more than 50%. Lastly, the advancement required Frostwhisperian¡¯s Frozen Blood and Basic Influence: Whispers of Grace.

    Annan satisfied the former six requirements.

    The progress wasn¡¯t much because Annan still had to satisfy many more advancement conditions.

    For the remaining material and influence, Salvatore had also marked the ce to obtain it.

    They were in the ruins where Annan let the Wandering Child go.

    The [Basic Influence: Whispers of Grace] would appear in all Elven Ruins. As long as it was a ruin that left the traces of the elves, there were usually two ¡°Influences¡±, [Whisper of Grace] and [Nature¡¯s Anthem]. They were also a small probability that [Basic Influence: Remains of the Soul of Silver] would appear.

    The signs of it would be the whispers in Elvishnguage on a deserted street or a sudden singing. When that happened, it meant that both ¡°Influences¡± were collected.

    The ¡°remains of the soul¡± was simply a haunted event as if a ghost had been following a host.

    The benefits exined why Swamp¡¯s ck Tower kept the ruins as they were and even set up a barrier to seal the entrance. Then, when they needed the designated ¡°Influences¡± in their ritual, they could just send someone to harvest them.

    Such a ce whereby the wizard tower utilized to guarantee a stable production of ¡°Influences¡± was called ¡°Influence Pool¡±. Each of them was a vital resource shared among the members of the wizard tower.

    Annan sent the Child¡¯s team consisting of 4 members to this ¡°Influence Pool¡±. In fact, he wasn¡¯t worried about meeting tomb robbers, nor was he worried about the monsters in it. But, there could be some neutral ghosts in this ruin. Hence, he dispatched the Half-dead Enchantress, Citalopram, to either deal with the ghosts in a friendly manner or eliminate them.

    His main concern was encountering the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower¡¯s wizard.

    The wizard tower only allowed its wizard to enter the ¡°Influence Pool¡± and harvest the influence with a license.

    If the yers were in danger, Annan just needed to change their spawn point back in the home base.

    When the four of them had thoroughly investigated the route, Annan could swiftly visit the ruins and hurry back to avoid encountering other people on the trip.

    After all, it was still considered stealing. Although Salvatore had a high status and wouldn¡¯t care about it, Annan still didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for him.

    Annan wasn¡¯t worried about being caught on the spot and sent to the ck Tower.

    He was worried that when he retaliated, he might identally kill one of Salvatore¡¯s seniors because he couldn¡¯t restrain himself.

    But for now, Annan had another ¡°eye¡± for himself.

    He could see through Longjing Tea¡¯s vision at any time and tell when someone might be heading to the Elven Ruins in the North Sea Territory.

    The Importance of Vision.jpg

    [TN: Reference to ¡°Wards¡± in MOBA games.]

 Chapter 292: Individualistic Spell Combo

    <h4>Chapter 292: Individualistic Spell Combo</h4>

    ¡°¡­I have finally found it.¡± Longjing Tea took a deep breath and carefully took down a heavy book¡­ ¡°Edict Theory¡± from the shelf.

    It was quite a heavy book because its book cover was neither paper nor cowhide¡­

    Instead, it was a steel cover about 3 millimeters thick.

    Looking at it from the side, the inscribed calligraphy on the book¡¯s spine reminded Longjing Tea of ??the stainless steel soap engraved with a brand.

    Rather than describing it as a book, it felt more urate to say that it was an iron box that could be opened sideways.

    But he was used to it.

    This was his fifth day at Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    When he first came to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower as a transfer student, he didn¡¯t go to ss directly with other students because he had no foundation. Given his age, he didn¡¯t want to sit in the ssroom with fourteen or fifteen-year-old children.

    So after staying in his room for another day, he finally got the library ess card from Salvatore that allowed him to go for self-study.

    The Swamp¡¯s ck Tower had 13 floors of living areas, and the card gave him ess to the library on the 5th and 6th floors. Below the fourth floor was the lodging area, eating area, and fitness area. From the 5th floor and above, each floor had libraries and ssrooms with different ess levels. The higher the floor level, the higher the ess level required.

    With Longjing Tea¡¯s current ess level, he could take the books in the library on the 5th floor back to his dormitory. On the other hand, he could only read the books on the 6th floor and couldn¡¯t bring the books out from that floor.

    At the same time, those were the resources Longjing Tea had been looking for.

    He currently couldn¡¯t enter any dungeon instance, so he could only do the weekly and daily missions of ¡°Secret Eye¡± every day.

    [Transcribe 3 valuable books (1/3) that have not been entered into the archives yet. This mission is limited to three times a week.]

    [Transcribe a spellbook (0/1). This mission is limited to once a day.]

    [Transcribe a book that records ult knowledge (0/1). This mission is limited to once a day.]

    Although they were scheduled to be weekly and daily missions, at Longjing Tea¡¯s current ¡°transcription¡± speed, it basically took him three days to finish transcribing a book.

    The ¡°transcribing¡± process didn¡¯t mean copying through handwriting. Longjing Tea couldn¡¯t write the words of this world at all. He could only understand it under the automatic trantion of the system.

    The characters in this world were somewhat simr in appearance to Latin. With the aid of two-way trantion, Longjing Tea could indeed write it out unless it was a long sentence withplicated grammar. Otherwise, the task was still manageable. The main problem was his handwriting.

    He had no experience in writing this kind of text. Even if he copied it, it would take a long time for someone like Salvatore to understand it.

    From then on, Longjing Tea didn¡¯t really want to write anymore.

    [Transcribe] was actually a general skill under the Secret Eye faction, or rather a life skill.

    When Longjing Tea activated this skill and concentrated on reading, the words he had read and understood would be highlighted green. The words he was reading andprehending would be highlighted in yellow, and the words he had missed out or misunderstood would be highlighted in red.

    When the green part of a book exceeded 95%, the entry would bepleted. The lesser the words were highlighted in red, the higher the reward.

    In the beginning, Longjing Tea just regarded this as a skill for gaining experience, just like typical game keys such as ¡°mining¡± and ¡°sorting¡±.

    But after he activated these skills and read a ¡°worthwhile book¡± under the [Transcribe] skill, Longjing Tea immediately realized the importance of this skill.

    I could utilize this function to aid my learning!

    The [Transcribe] function was like a portable teacher following him around. It could remind him at the first time whether he should proceed to read or go back for revision just in case he had missed something important.

    Even if the function didn¡¯t strengthen Longjing Tea¡¯s memory, he could remember what he learned after reading ¡°Basic Outline to Curse¡±.

    So, Longjing Tea now nned to startpleting his daily mission and transcribe the spellbook.

    The books on the fifth floor were all books such as ¡°Outline¡±, ¡°Introduction¡±, ¡°Summary¡±, and some books with low secrecy in history, mathematics, human physiology, and many other types. Many of the pages included diagrams, mainly for the foundations.

    After reading the book ¡°Basic Outline to Curse¡±, Longjing Tea felt like he had read a set of basics and nothing special.

    Anyway, he still had to read.

    Then, it was better off to try to understand and learn the spells whilepleting the daily mission.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s profession, [Wizard Apprentice], had reached Level 7.

    He had two instant spell slots and one guided spell slot, but only one slot was upied [Movement Prohibition].

    At this moment, he finally figured out that the advanced requirement of [Wizard Apprentice] was to use two instant spells and two guided spells to form a spellbo. Generally speaking, he had to write a thesis on the spellbo, make some adjustment and finally send it to his tutor to check on it. After it was ensured that the spellbo consisting of four spells could be used to fend for himself, only then was he allowed to advance.

    Generally speaking, the stricter, more powerful, and more practical this spellbo was, the higher the evaluation ratings would be.

    Longjing Tea had no mentor at present, and the others did not need a mentor.

    Although he didn¡¯t know much about spells, he had excellent game knowledge.

    He had good self-awareness of his magic pathway and what abilities the yers needed ¡ª control, amplification, and weakening buffs.

    Indeed, this particr system was unlike what typical wizards would adopt.

    From the very beginning, Longjing Tea never nned to go solo.

    He had to consider how to improve his teamwork with other yers.

    For example, this spell was good.

    [Emergency Dodge (Instant): Chant the edict so that the target who was willing to obey themand immediately interrupted the current action and performed emergency dodge. When dodging, the dodge sess rate depended on the spell caster¡¯s ¡°Perception¡± attribute instead.]

    Below the spellbook, there were also detailed exnations and specific uses of this spell.

    To put it simply, Longjing Tea could activate this spell immediately after seeing a surprise arrow attacking one of hisrades who didn¡¯t notice it. It would enable the spell target to evade the attack. Of course, the dodging speed depended on the spell target¡¯s physical fitness but evading the attack¡¯s type relied on Longjing Tea¡¯s observation.

    It was in another world, but it was one of the three magical Pokemon Trainer¡¯s skills, shouting [Dodge], [Hold on], and [Stand Up Now].

    Such a powerful support spell was actually just an instant spell that didn¡¯t consume much magic?

    And the magicians here don¡¯t evaluate the skill highly.

    Longjing Tea was stunned when he noticed this situation.

    He finally realized in the end.

    ¡­I see.

    No wonder these wizards have no teammates.

    Each and every one of them is pretty individualistic!

 Chapter 293: Caravan Master Tate

    <h4>Chapter 293: Caravan Master Tate</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to hire you guys.¡± Tate took a sip of the mead and thought slowly, ¡°But this price¡­¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was sitting calmly in front of him with two swords on his back.

    Recently, he always felt that sooner orter, he would have five swords behind him.

    ¡°The price is negotiable, Your Excellency.¡± Delicious Wind Goose smiled, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not afraid of you lowering the price. After all, we are on the same journey. As long as you can keep it a secret, it¡¯s still profitable for us even if the price is meager. Shelley¡¯s territory is really not dangerous. I¡¯m here for a long-term business, and I won¡¯t take advantage of you.¡±

    ¡°Huh, the way you speak doesn¡¯t make you a good businessman now¡­¡± Caravan Master Tate, who had the same hairstyle as Delicious Wind Goose, smiled when he heard those words. He spoke with a strange dialect, ¡°How can you show your cards at the beginning?¡±

    Delicious Wind Gooseughed, exuding a calm and reliable temperament, ¡°Hahaha! Those mercenaries will try to fool you at this time, like how dangerous is this section of the road with many potential threats ahead. They can¡¯t wait to make it seem like there¡¯s going to be a war here to fool those who don¡¯t know anything.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think you¡¯re someone who will be easily fooled. You know the ropes.¡± Delicious Wind Gooseughed in ttery.

    The two smiled and looked at each other.

    Under the warm light, the two bright heads twinkled.

    After all, the yers¡¯ group followed the caravan into the city.

    That was to say, the caravan they followed must have a checkpoint or a sorting center in the royal capital. So they were definitely not like those caravans running expeditions at the outskirts with no knowledge of the royal capital¡¯s situation at all.

    In this case, trying to fool them with the excuse of ¡°Jiu Er was a runaway miss from the capital¡± would be too risky.

    What if the other party casually asked ¡°Which family was it?¡± How would Delicious Wind Goose answer? Or if a youngdy in the royal capital ran away from home, what if the caravan wanted to send Jiu Er back?

    It was too easy to get into trouble.

    So, Delicious Wind Goose simply changed his approach.

    It was no longer three people escorting the eldestdy home.

    Instead, the background setting was two mercenaries escorting two priests from the north to the capital. Also, it wasmon knowledge that the Silver Sire¡¯s priest had no personal wealth. The mercenaries had acquired the payment after receiving the church¡¯s quest.

    Now, the team nned to make some extra money. While they were escorting the two priests, they nned to escort the caravan into the capital together. With that, they settle the church¡¯s quest as well. Since the priests were also in convoy, they had emergency treatments once they were in danger.

    Of course, since the team had two Transcended and two Silver Sire priests, it wasn¡¯t unfair to charge some fees despite the short trip.

    This n incited the viewers to spam manyments on the bullet text.

    Delicious Wind Goose and the others didn¡¯t realize at the beginning they still paid for the carriage, honestly. After they gradually realized the situation, they started free-riding in their journey. By the end of the day, when they were almost at the capital, they even nned to earn some money.

    The most outrageous thing was that Delicious Wind Goose had seemingly negotiated a deal!

    ¡°Come on, brother. Try this¡­ This is the mead concocted by a wizard. You can¡¯t buy it outside the capital circle.¡± Tate smiled and poured Delicious Wind Goose a ss of golden mead amiably.

    The offered mead wasn¡¯t too much. The amount was just right for one sip.

    Tate said casually, ¡°Delicious Wind Goose, right? That name is a bit hard to pronounce.¡±

    If you know what the name means, it won¡¯t be. Delicious Wind Gooseined in his heart.

    Luckily, when these people pronounced the yers¡¯ names, they were all phic trantions.

    Otherwise, the Child should be the most unlucky among the yers.

    ¡°It¡¯s quiteplicated to say my name. You can call me Goose or Old Goose. That¡¯s what my friends call me.¡± Delicious Wind Goose took a sniff and replied casually.

    Judging from the aroma of the mead, the alcohol concentration should be pretty high.

    Being a yer, Delicious Wind Goose wasn¡¯t afraid of poisoning.

    So, he didn¡¯t have any restraint as he raised the ss and took a sip.

    The taste is surprisingly good. It¡¯s sweet and mellow.

    ¡°What kind of alcohol is this?¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°It¡¯s called [Honeylip], and it¡¯s a mead made by the wizards at ck Tower, so its production is quite limited.¡± Tate said cheerfully, ¡°In addition, it can be used for beauty and aphrodisiac, so it is in great demand. The price is always high, at least five pounds.¡±

    Hearing this, Delicious Wind Goose smacked his tongue.

    Then, did that sip just now cost about a dozen of silver coins?

    Thinking of this, he felt that this mead tasted better.

    After I get offline, I have to buy some of those meads and enjoy myself¡­

    Seeing Delicious Wind Goose still yearning for it, Tate smiled and poured half a ss of the mead to Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°Old Goose, I supposed you¡¯re not from Noah.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Delicious Wind Goose nodded, ¡°But I had lived in the Noah Kingdom for a long time before I became Transcended.¡±

    ¡°Then, where is your hometown?¡± Tate asked curiously.

    Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t answer, just pouted to the east.

    Caravan Master Tate heard those words and guessed, ¡°Austerian? No, you don¡¯t look like them¡­ Are you from the United Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you guess that I¡¯m from the Papal Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°The Papal Kingdom ¡ª Ha!¡± The corners of Tate¡¯s mouth rose when he heard the words, and he almostughed out loud.

    But he pondered a little, ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s still possible. So, refugees from the Papal Kingdom?¡±

    What do you mean by the Papal Kingdom refugees?

    Hearing the novel and unfamiliar words, Delicious Wind Goose jotted it down in his heart.

    But Delicious Wind Goose just smiled mysteriously and said nothing.

    The information that I manage to probe is quite enough.

    Let¡¯s sign the contract first so as not to stir up any trouble.

    Tate was silent at this moment.

    He subconsciously tapped his index finger on the table, sinking into deep thoughts.

    ¡°Hey, Old Goose.¡± He suddenly touched his bald head and sat up.

    The breath of alcohol filled the room with Tate¡¯s long exhtion.

    Caravan Master Tate squinted at Delicious Wind Goose and lowered his voice, ¡°Would you like to make more money?¡±

    ¡­Um?

    Delicious Wind Goose was slightly surprised, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Help me smuggle some goods.¡±

    Tate whispered, ¡°What do you think of this mead?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re great. Mellow and sweet¡­ What¡¯s the matter?¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied subconsciously.

    When Caravan Master Tate heard those words, he squinted his eyes and smiled.

    ¡°Brother¡­¡± He lowered his voice and said in a low voice, ¡°But those are counterfeit products.¡±

    ¡°Counterfeit products?¡± Delicious Wind Goose was startled.

    Bro, why do you tell me this?

    Are you selling fake meads? Is it fine for you to reveal it to me?

    ¡°You should sign the contract first, and then we¡¯ll go into details,¡± said Tate. Then, he brought the contract to Delicious Wind Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose looked at it, and a glimmering panel appeared in his vision.

    The system directly extracted the content in the contract and listed them down for him.

    Seeing the contents of the contract, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    Did I identallynd on a gold mine?

 Chapter 294: Demonâ€™s Blood

    <h4>Chapter 294: Demon¡¯s Blood</h4>

    There was nothing wrong with the contract itself, and it was indeed the official contract the Church of Silver Sire issued.

    Roughly speaking, there were three notable points:

    Number 1, abandoning the mission halfway was not allowed.

    Number 2, the transaction must be kept confidential.

    It seemed pretty abnormal to have these two conditions.

    But what had alerted Delicious Wind Goose was the third condition.

    The reward was a total of 300 pounds ¡ª or rather ¡°ten samples¡±.

    Delicious Wind Goose believed that one could easily make a few thousand pounds simply by selling fake alcohol.

    The taste of this mead was indeed quite good and could be regarded as the top grade among the alcohols he had ever drunk.

    As a knockoff brand of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, there was no need to worry about sales. Although the reward of 300 pounds was a bit outrageous, it did seem reasonable.

    It was the part that said ¡°ten samples¡± that Delicious Wind Goose realized something was wrong.

    What sample? Is it the fake meads?

    Why didn¡¯t they dare put it in the contract?

    Moreover, the value of a sample was at least more than 30 pounds with this pricing. Considering that there was not much sales channel for it, the actual value might have doubled.

    But isn¡¯t this bottle of mead only priced at 5 pounds?

    Before Delicious Wind Goose had the chance to think about it further, he had moved on to thest page and signed his name unhesitantly after quickly ncing through it.

    His overly decisive demeanor made Tate a little surprised, ¡°You¡¯re not going to read the contents of the contract?¡±

    I have actually sneaked a peek at it.

    Although Delicious Wind Goose said this in his heart, he let out a mysterious smile instead.

    ¡°No need, brother. I trust you¡­ I also think it¡¯s safer for me to sign this contract.¡± He shrugged and pointed to the reward column.

    What he hinted at was straightforward.

    Now that I know your secret and sign your contract, we¡¯re a team.

    No matter what the contract was about, it didn¡¯t be safer after signing it.

    Upon seeing this, Tate smiled without saying anything.

    He first opened his wallet, took out a thin piece of jade at the thickness of three chips, and stamped it on Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s name, ¡°Old Goose, tell me your full name¡­¡±

    ¡°Delicious Wind Goose.¡± Delicious Wind Goose had gone through something like this before, so he managed to answer eloquently.

    A green light shed faintly across the jade piece, indicating that the name was correct and the contract was valid.

    Seeing this, Tate finallyughed and filled Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s wine ss.

    ¡°You¡¯re smart.¡± Tate eximed, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve found the right person this time.¡±

    He then said smilingly, ¡°Let me fill you in then¡­ from the beginning.

    ¡°On the surface, we sell alcohol. But everyone knows that we can¡¯t make much money just by selling alcohol even if we have our own manor. There isn¡¯t a need for us toe to the capital to sell it.

    ¡°Although there are a lot of wealthy people in the capital, there is one other thing¡ª when caravans enter the city, they have to pay a security tax worth 5% of the total value of the goods. That so-called security tax is thebor price paid upon the cargo inspection, where goods are carefully and thoroughly inspected to ensure that there are no ws. If I were really selling alcohol, I might as well sell it across the capital¡¯s peripheral area instead of just selling them in the capital.

    ¡°To convince Stilwell Shelley to give us a pass to the city without inspection, I first have to convince him that my merchandise does make money and can generate profit.¡±

    Tate took a sip of the self-produced ¡°fake alcohol¡± as he spoke. He then said smilingly, ¡°This alcohol is an excuse.¡±

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t reallye to the capital to sell these fake alcohols.¡± Delicious Wind Goose realized something.

    Tate nodded slowly, ¡°Correct. Now is the most chaotic time for Noah¡¯s Kingdom and hence the most profitable time. If I sell fake alcohol at this time, I can indeed make a fortune. I will have unlimited money for the rest of my life¡­ but so what?¡±

    Having said this, Tate smiled self-deprecatingly, ¡°I¡¯m still just a caravan master.

    ¡°I can be rich, but what¡¯s the use of simply having money?¡±

    ¡°¡­and?¡± Old Goose probed.

    ¡°And, look at this.¡± Tate said, smiling mysteriously at Delicious Wind Goose.

    He took out a bronze reagent bottle from his sleeves. It looked a bit like a lighter but resembled a military water bottle.

    Delicious Wind Goose vaguely had a sense of the situation.

    When he held the reagent bottle handed by Tate, a window popped up in front of his eyes.

    [Demon¡¯s Blood]

    [Type: Consumables/poison/ritual material/sacrifice (Gold)]

    [Description: A specialty product of Natta County, an elixir that was condensed and refined using a living demon as its material. The roar of the soul can be heard upon opening the bottle cap. After consumption, the concentration level of the curse in the user¡¯s body will be raised to its maximum.]

    [Effect: After drinking, Erosion rate +89%, LV+6 (depending on the current level)]

    [Unique feature: The level increment effect only affects those in Bronze Rank and below.]

    ¡­Erosion rate +89%, LV+6? Delicious Wind Goose was slightly startled. He quickly opened up his own status panel.

    His current Erosion rate was 11%, and his [Swordmaster] profession was at LV 14.

    In other words, he could rise directly to the peak of Bronze Rank after drinking this drug.

    Looking at this description, it should be able to upgrade ordinary people directly to this level upon drinking it ¡ª from Level 1 to Level 20 instantly.

    But the side effect was the erosion rate would also instantly be filled.

    Annan, who had been silently watching the screen, was slightly taken aback after watching this scene unfold.

    The peak of Bronze Rank and 100% erosion rate¡­ What is this thing used for?

    If the erosion rate is filled, wouldn¡¯t you be an irrational demon immediately?

    Or, is this thing used for poisoning your target?

    Annan quickly posted a bullet text and asked anonymously,

    ¡°¡ªAsk him where this druges from?¡±

    ¡°Be careful not to drink it.¡± Tate warned, ¡°This is the [Demon¡¯s Blood]¡­ Have you heard of this?¡±

    ¡°Those living in Natta County?¡± Delicious Wind Goose was silent for a moment and asked tentatively.

    Tate looked at him in surprise, ¡°Not bad¡­ What else do you know?¡±

    ¡°Just that.¡± Delicious Wind Goose answered honestly, ¡°This is all I know.¡±

    ¡°Simply put, you will turn into a demon¡¯s poison once it is consumed. For Transcended, it is an irresistible poison. The best oue of drinking it is going insane.¡±

    Tate smiled, ¡°What we¡¯re selling¡­ is actually this.

    ¡°This thing now costs 80 pounds a bottle in the capital.¡±

    ¡°¡­80 pounds?¡± Delicious Wind Goose was a little surprised.

    ¡°But the purchase price is less than 10 pounds.¡±

    Tate smiled and said maliciously, ¡°If you want, you can try to visit Natta County yourself.¡±

    Annan naturally knew what the caravan master meant.

    But for Delicious Wind Goose, who was not familiar with the geography, he could only remain silent.

    It was fair to say it was a wise choice. You make fewer mistakes by saying less.

    However, even if Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t know anything, he realized from the item introduction that he might have bumped into a storyline quest that had not been activated.

    Who the hell is buying these drugs?

    ¡°What should I do?¡± The words instead turned out this way as they reached his mouth.

    Tate chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Our mead is sold in different boxes to different people.

    ¡°Even if we get the tax exemption, it¡¯s just a guarantee that we¡¯ll be able to enter the city. Of course, we still have to let the security go through the things¡­ But at this time, our goods are recorded as [Honeylip] in Sir Stilwell¡¯s report. You¡¯ll sit in carriage No. 5 then, and I will give you 24 bottles of [Demon¡¯s Blood].

    ¡°Don¡¯t get out of the carriage after the inspector leaves¡­ Just take out the only ck box, which is the third box, pour out a ss of the [Honeylip], and pour a bottle of [Demon¡¯s Blood] into it. Remember, you can freely pour any amount of the alcohol, but only one bottle of [Demon¡¯s Blood] can be poured into a bottle of alcohol.¡±

    Tate smiled and said, ¡°You have signed a contract certified by Silver Sire, and you are our aplice in anyw. It¡¯s best not to do anything weird. After this is done, I will give you 300 pounds or 10 bottles of [Demon¡¯s Blood]. You can make your pick. I¡¯m just warning you ¡ª if you get caught, it¡¯s a death sentence at the very least.¡±

    ¡°Death sentence?¡± Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He then asked, ¡°Why? Just for selling poison?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Tate replied, ¡°It¡¯s for selling poison to the royal family. Or, you might add the charge of attempted murder of the royal family. But this doesn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you deliver it anyway ¡ª the two dozen poisoned alcohol in the third box of the fifth carriage is the Third Prince¡¯s order. I¡¯ve always been his most loyal supplier.¡±

    The bald businessman smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s why I said, now that it¡¯s the most chaotic time for Noah¡¯s Kingdom¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s also the time for us ordinary people who have nothing but money in their pockets to rise in power.¡±

 Chapter 295: The Mead Filled with Life

    <h4>Chapter 295: The Mead Filled with Life</h4>

    Annan instantly knew that Delicious Wind Goose was about to make his contribution when Philip Noah¡¯s name was heard in the conversation.

    Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t know the situation in Natta County, nor what a demon was¡­ He also didn¡¯t know of the existence of the Fallen path.

    He didn¡¯t know the tense situation within Noah Kingdom¡¯s royal family, let alone heard of Prince Philip¡¯s name.

    This was probably why that bald head chose him as his partner.

    Delicious Wind Goose simply didn¡¯t know anything.

    It was impossible to rely on acting skills to deceive these old fritters.

    There were many loopholes in Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s words, but he didn¡¯t notice them because of hisck of general knowledge.

    For example¡­

    The Silver Sire¡¯s priests did not need an escort at all.

    Priests did not have profession levels, but that didn¡¯t mean that they couldn¡¯t protect themselves.

    Even if Priest Louis, a rambo who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, weighed more than 200 pounds and trained his physical strength through push ups and jogging every morning was taken out of the equation¡­

    Other priests couldn¡¯t be short of that one or two bodyguards.

    The essence of holy light engraving was a voucher to purify nightmares and also a ¡°reputation currency¡± given to believers by deities.

    The things it could buy were naturally not limited to divine art.

    They could also buy some permanent or long-term passive abilities. When coupled with the curse asionally obtained when purifying nightmares¡­ They indeed wouldn¡¯t be as powerful as a wizard, but those abilities made sure that they could defend themselves.

    Bread Daryl would be an example.

    When Annan first met him, Bishop Daryl had a technique of suddenly appearing and then suddenly disappearing before Annan. Until today, Annan still didn¡¯t know what its principle was, what divine art it was, and how he could break free from it.

    He remembered that when Bishop Daryl first appeared, it was as if they were pulled directly into the inherent barrier ¡ª whether it was the cool breeze before the heavy rain or the passers-by on the street, nothing could see him.

    Only Annan and the yers could see him.

    If this kind of divine art were used for assassination, any number of guards would be useless.

    Divine art such as [Eternal Youth] and [nging Object] was all ¡°one-dor¡± divine art that could be purchased with only one engraving.

    [TN: One-dor store is the concept of selling all the varieties of goods at one dor.]

    This was not because their output was too weak. On the contrary, these priests had the healing ability that could instantly recover minor injuries and significantly speed up the healing of serious injuries. There was also a divine art for long-range attacks by turning silver coins into bullets; none of them were insignificant.

    In actual fact, those were considered special perks.

    Only three holy light engravings were needed to acquire basic self-protection and working skills.

    It was like a practical skill that could be acquired with ease at the headline of the skills tree, but also efficient at itster stage.

    The three Silver Sire holy light engravings that Annan acquired could be considered his personal savings. The holy light engravings could be activated to increase the effect of Divine Art when left unspent. It was a type of resource that ¡°couldy eggs¡±, hence it wouldn¡¯t be a loss.

    As for the holy light engraving of the Tragedy Writer, Annan had been looking up information recently to see what divine arts he could buy.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t a true believer in the Tragedy Writer.

    If he purified the nightmare again in the future, he wouldn¡¯t be able to continue getting His holy light engraving again. So it was better to simply spend it on a practical ¡°one-dor divine art¡±, and increase hisbat effectiveness in nightmares.

    But the Tragedy Writer¡¯s divine art was too unpopr and fancy. Luckily, some short-term buffs were indeed practical.

    Annan was also hesitating which to buy.

    Now that he saw the information provided by Delicious Wind Goose, he finally made up his mind and chose a temporary blessing that he had eyed a long time ago.

    [Blessing: Prediction of Murder (Minor): The target who will be killed in half an hour will be marked red in your vision (this blessing would be valid for one year)]

    As for those simr to the Silver Sire, Annan also saw blessings such as Constitution+3, [Hardened Skin], and [Permanent Poison Detection].

    Why would he even need a mercenary escort if he was indeed a senior priest?

    Aside from those two shameful rookie priest yers, other senior priests would probably be much more capable than a new Transcended like Delicious Wind Goose.

    ¡ªBut that baldy didn¡¯t expose Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s lie and instead immediately agreed to cooperate with him.

    Generally speaking, would someone still proceed to engage in such dangerous cooperation after realizing the other person had told a lie? Plus, Delicious Wind Goose was not some old friend of his and had only met an hour ago.

    ¡­Unless he didn¡¯t care who Delicious Wind Goose was or what he would do in the capital.

    He just wanted to catch a Transcended who wasn¡¯t sensitive to this information.

    ¡°You¡¯re still not careful enough, Old Goose¡­¡± Annan sighed.

    Is this Gold Rank item so handy?

    Altering a demon into a reagent wasn¡¯t something a standard Alteration Wizard could do.

    Regardless, the demons still came from Transcendeds. They were not some pure substance such as ¡°crystal,¡± ¡°me,¡± or ¡°metal,¡± nor were they some elemental life.

    The ability to refine a Transcended into a reagent¡­ Annan had so far only known of one.

    ¡ª The Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermetic School.

    It was also a Gold Rank item.

    But the perfect quality of Sage¡¯s Stone was an item leading to the divine ascendancy called ¡°perfect element essence¡±.

    If Silver Rank Transcendeds could be mass-produced, it made sense to be a Gold Rank item.

    The reagent for mass-producing demons was obviously not up to par yet.

    Then there was only one possibility left.

    It wasn¡¯t a Gold Rank ¡°consumable¡±.

    It was a Gold Rank ¡°poison¡±, or a Gold Rank ¡°ritual material¡±.

    It could be seen from the fact that [Demon¡¯s Blood] didn¡¯t need special processing to be poured directly into mead without having its qualities be ruined¡­ That baldy was already very good at making this ¡°poisonous mead¡±.

    Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t notice a problem here.

    Tate imed that he had always been a supplier of the demon¡¯s blood.

    So, where did all the [Demon¡¯s Blood] go?

    To be more precise¡ª

    Where is the guy who previously delivered the demon¡¯s blood to Philip?

    Why is a mere passerby handling this matter?

    Annan didn¡¯t ponder on this on his own.

    After he noticed something was wrong, he immediately went to Kafni.

    She was the person most likely to know about this matter among all the people he could contact.

    As expected, Kafni indeed knew about this, ¡°¡­The demon¡¯s blood.¡±

    Kafni¡¯s expression was a littleplicated, ¡°I do have knowledge of it, but how did you hear about this?¡±

    ¡°I got this information from Delicious Wind Goose.¡±

    Annan then briefly summarized what he had seen through the live broadcast to Kafni. After that, he simply changed the live broadcast to be a more understandable exnation ¡ª a contract.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Kafni thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.

    She whispered to Annan, ¡°His Royal Highness Phillip has always been buying that kind of mead that is mixed with the demon¡¯s blood. Except for the few times they were used, the rest was made into ritual material. As for what material it is, you have seen it before.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen¡­ it?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    Was it at the banquet?

    Kafni nodded softly and said affirmatively, ¡°You saw it when you came to the Noah Kingdom.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you still remember it, but Your Royal Highness Philip was constantly eating candy.¡±

 Chapter 296: Donâ€™t Eat The Candy Given By A Stranger

    <h4>Chapter 296: Don¡¯t Eat The Candy Given By A Stranger</h4>

    Phillip was indeed eating candy most of the time.

    Annan had a vivid memory of it.

    He would chew a bunch of toffee after every few sentences.

    He peeled the wrapping quicker than cracking a melon seed.

    Annan could even recall the smell of it when he closed his eyes now.

    Should he say it was lucky he didn¡¯t eat it?

    But, Annan also confirmed at the time that the candy was not a curse vessel.

    ¡°I do recall that.¡± Annan nodded and asked, ¡°What exactly is that candy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the ritual material of His Royal Highness Philip.¡± Even though Kafni knew that Philip was the one who had ns to kill her, she still politely called him ¡°His Royal Highness¡±.

    Kafni was always this polite to everyone.

    She exined softly, ¡°He¡¯s not like us¡­ He doesn¡¯t believe in Silver Sire. Instead, he is a devout believer of the Cup-holding Lady.

    ¡°As for Rotten Man, I think he¡¯s just trying to use Him.¡±

    He¡¯s using a deity¡­

    ¡­Wait, it is indeed possible.

    Annan squinched his eyes, lost in thought.

    Although he and Philip had only met once, Philip didn¡¯t seem like an idiot judging on the interaction at that time.

    His speech was eloquent, his ns were reliable, he was proactive as a person, he had great courage, and he had a youthful appearance. In essence, he gave off a favorable first impression, and he had his own loyal underlings.

    Such a person obviously had an ambition of his own.

    He also wouldn¡¯t be easily fooled.

    Rather than saying he was a ¡°Rotten Man believer¡± or that he ¡°took advantage of the Rotten Man¡±, Annan believed they were working together.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that His Royal Highness Philip is much younger than he looks?¡±

    Before Annan could continue asking questions, Kafni then whispered, ¡°This is a ritual of the Cup-holding Lady, called the ¡®Sacrament of Blood¡¯. This is a ritual that all Cup-holding Lady believers carry out over a long period¡­ Every day, they would consume refined food containing the blood of any creature to make their own blood healthy.

    ¡°And if you used special blood for the ritual, there would be some special effects. For example¡­ rejuvenation.¡±

    Kafni said earnestly, ¡°Hepleted his ritual by making toffee with mead that was mixed with the demon¡¯s blood. As long as he continued to take it, he would stay young forever¡­ However, he would age rapidly as soon as the consumption is discontinued.

    ¡°This toffee is also the antidote for His Royal Highness Philip¡¯s curse.¡±

    ¡°¡­curse?¡± Annan heard a familiar phrase, ¡°Is he a Transcended?¡±

    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t. He hates Transcendeds. He had once fallen into a nightmare as a normal person and acquired a curse. He could since then remain energized at all times even without sleep, but his lifespan would deplete at twice the speed.¡±

    Kafni added, ¡°His Royal Highness Philip is not a Transcended, nor a ritualist. He¡¯s also not a priest. However, although he is just an ordinary person, he could utilize rituals very skillfully to achieve his goals, no matter if it is to restore his youth or to kill someone with a curse¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Did you mention rejuvenation?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kafni nodded heavily, ¡°Philip once signed a contract with a particr deity. He sold half of his life in exchange for a specific ability. But as to which deity and what ability it was¡­ I do not know. He also never told us.

    ¡°I was very young at that time, and I don¡¯t remember very clearly. But I remember that His Royal Highness Philip became very old at that time, and he was getting older with each day. In the end, he seemed to be almost dying of old age.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to grow old. By just having to experience it once, you will never¡­¡± The words Philip said at the time suddenly yed in Annan¡¯s heart.

    ¡­No wonder. Annan was taken aback.

    No wonder Philip would say such a strange thing like ¡°just having to experience it once¡±.

    It¡¯s because he did get older before.

    Annan asked, ¡°Did he tell you about his contract with the deity?¡±

    He still had some doubts.

    For someone like Philip, who habitually lied, Annan was suspicious of every word he said.

    Kafni frowned slightly and tried hard to recall before answering with some doubt, ¡°I don¡¯t quite remember it. I think he was the one who said so. Our situation here is a bit different from your family. If we were particrly enthusiastic about another sibling, everyone ¡ª including the King, would be wary of you. His Majesty always disliked his children forming factions, so the rtionships within our family are rtively shallow. We don¡¯t usually visit one another, nor would anyone show much concern, even if someone was in an unfortunate circumstance. Because His Royal Highness Philip wanted to keep the ability he got from that ritual a secret, it wouldn¡¯t be right for us to ask him.

    ¡°Within less than a year after that, His Royal Highness Philip gradually became younger again. Very few people cared about this matter afterward.¡±

    Is this how the situation is like in the Noah Kingdom¡¯s royal family?

    Should I say that it is indeed a family with a lion as its emblem?

    ¡­I still have to be skeptical about this statement, then.

    Annan nodded and then got lost in thought.

    He gradually became clear about the attitude he should maintain towards Philip.

    This fellow has sold half of his life to get something. There is no doubt that he is a lunatic even if he conducted his own ritual.

    The ¡°life¡± in the ritual always referred to the first half.

    If it was an ordinary person, their blindspots in knowledge itself were enough for them to be deceived.

    But Philip was a prince. He couldn¡¯t possiblyck this knowledge.

    He even handed that weird candy directly to Annan at the time.

    ¡­Um, wait a second? Suddenly, Annan realized something.

    He looked up and asked Kafni, ¡°If someone else ate his candy, what would happen?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much I guess, aside from feeling happy and calm. After all, it is made of blood and milk. But because everyone is disgusted by it, no one would eat it.¡±

    ¡°Blood?¡± Annan was stunned.

    The [Demon¡¯s Blood] made from demons¡­ It¡¯s more proper to call it the Demon Juice, right?

    Annan suddenly realized what was wrong.

    Annan himself had learned the effect and the source of the [Demon¡¯s Blood] through the system panel.

    There were Edict school spells that could seemingly analyze the item.

    But, there was a shoring to the magic.

    From Salvatore¡¯s understanding of that hammer, the item analysis magic had its limitations, unable to investigate the item¡¯s effect. However, it could still find out about the item¡¯s names.

    Annan asked without hesitation, ¡°Kafni, do you know what the [Demon¡¯s Blood] does?¡±

    ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t it used to strengthen the properties of the object itself?¡±

    Kafni was a little frightened by Annan¡¯s suddenly raised voice and was a little stunned.

    As expected.

    Annan was silent for a while, then asked, ¡°Did he tell you that?

    ¡°Have you ever drunk his mead?¡±

    ¡°No, Your Highness. I¡¯ve never drank his mead, nor would I eat his candy.¡±

    The corners of Kafni¡¯s mouth rose as she replied with some contentment, ¡°Rest assured. The children in our family would be continuously faced with kidnapping and assassination attempts before we could remember anything. My earliest memory of assassination happened when I was five. The snacks and ck tea I was having at the time had been poisoned¡­ I am greatly experienced in the ways of identifying poisons.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean.¡±

    Annan said slowly, ¡°The [Demon¡¯s Blood] isn¡¯t really just the demon¡¯s blood. Instead, it is a product that came from alteration arts with the scientific name [Demon¡¯s Blood]. Its main ingredient is the soul of the demon. The person who consumes the [Demon¡¯s Blood] will have their erosion rate raised to its maximum. Even an ordinary person will directly be a Transcended at the peak level of Bronze Rank but will soon be an irrational demon due to the curse¡¯s erosion. Did you know about this?

    ¡°Even if the toffee is extremely diluted¡­ If you eat it inrge amounts, it will probably increase the erosion rate.

    ¡°Your erosion rate is so high¡­ Could it be that you¡¯ve drunk the poisoned mead without you noticing it?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Kafni suddenly fell silent.

    She shook her head slowly.

    Her tone gradually became solemn. Finally, she reached out and took Annan¡¯s hand.

    She rarely called Annan by his first name, as she asked softly and eagerly, ¡°Annan¡­ don¡¯t go to the capital, will you?¡±

    ¡°¡­What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°Indeed, I haven¡¯t eaten anything from His Royal Highness Philip, but I have received some boozy chocte from His Majesty.¡±

    Kafni said word by word, ¡°At that time, I had be a Transcended. Not long after that, I almost lost control because of the high erosion rate. Finally, I set foot on the Fallen path under the guidance of the teacher in my dream.

    ¡°The teacherter sneaked me out to hunt illegal Transcendeds. I only refused to follow his orders when he wanted me to hunt the wizards from ck Tower. Because at that time, I could already resist that person¡¯s mind control without the teacher¡¯s help. But my father¡¯s mind was still being controlled. He didn¡¯t know anything, and he just lived in the dark¡­ I also couldn¡¯t let him know too much because that person would know everything he knew.

    ¡°So he didn¡¯t know that I¡¯m a Fallen, and that I¡¯ve killed people, or that I have a terrifying alias of the ¡®Shadow Demon¡¯.

    ¡°The effect of the [Demon¡¯s Blood] is not just as what Philip said; I don¡¯t believe anything he says when ites to food and magical materials. I specifically asked the teacher for help, but the teacher¡¯s answer and that of His Royal Highness Philip was the same.¡±

    Here, Kafni took a deep breath.

    She calmed down her emotions before saying slowly, ¡°The teacher who led me on the Fallen path, which I have mentioned to you before, is the Nichs mel that you were looking for.

    ¡°The ¡®Great Sage¡¯ of the Hermetic School.¡±

 Chapter 297: Clarence

    <h4>Chapter 297: rence</h4>

    ¡°¡ªHmm, it seems that Uncle Goose is about to suffer.¡±

    ¡°¡ªDoes this count as triggering the main storyline ahead of time?¡±

    ¡°¡ªDelicious Wind Goose: I was terrified at the time.¡±

    ¡°¡ªDoes Uncle Goose need support? We¡¯re also in Tasque County; the soonest we can get there is in one day.¡±

    Forget about it. It isn¡¯t like Old Goose is preparing for a fight. Instead, his mission is to sneak into the royal capital.

    You¡¯re just adding trouble. Don¡¯t get him exposed. Seeing bullet text here, Longjing Tea grinned.

    He replied courteously, ¡°Only go when Old Goose asks for support. Calm yourselves if you just want to join the fun.¡±

    Longjing Tea sighed helplessly and closed the book he was reading.

    It¡¯s getting dark¡­ Let me head downstairs to get another book to study in my own room.

    He had been reading in a library for a whole day.

    After realizing that he had a learning aid plug-in, Longjing Tea opened up the forum and left the streaming channels ying in the background while he transcribed the spellbooks.

    Even if he wasn¡¯t watching, he could still listen to it.

    As a child, he liked to turn on the TV while doing his homework.

    Longjing Tea was the type that would be more efficient if there were a little white noise in his environment.

    ¡°What are you doing? Your name is¡­ Longjing Tea, right?¡± A hearty voice came from behind Longjing Tea, ¡°Are you still reading at such ate hour? So hardworking.¡±

    ¡°Teacher rence.¡± When Longjing Tea heard this voice, he immediately got up and held his hands together in front of his chest. Then, he bowed slightly to the person behind him and gave a student salute.

    This was an etiquette that could also be used by students who had books and materials in their hands.

    The person who appeared behind Longjing Tea was a young man with an amiable air and a thin figure.

    He wore light and thin round-rimmed sses, a heavy cape made from dark red cloth of an unknown texture, and a red robe. Aside from the mismatch of colors, he looked like an oversized version of Harry Potter.

    rence was also a tutor at Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. He was just about to have hisst ss of the month before Longjing Tea started here, so they had met a few days ago.

    Yet it wasn¡¯t expected that he was still here after several days had passed.

    Is this voluntary overtime?

    Unlike his seemingly amiable air, rence was a tutor of the Soul Snatch school.

    After thest tutor of the Soul Snatch school defected, rence, who was previously his student, had recently epted the job of a tutor.

    rence was a little surprised as he saw the spellbook with a steel cover on the table, ¡°I recall this book ¡°Edict Theory¡± to be quite difficult¡­

    ¡°Are you constructing spells?¡± rence said somewhat apologetically, ¡°Did I interrupt you?¡±

    ¡°No, no.¡± Longjing Tea let out a soft voice, a skill he had learned to pretend to be a good boy in school.

    He lowered his head and replied politely, ¡°I was just about to leave¡­ Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have enough authority to take it away, so I¡¯m going downstairs to pick up another book to read in my room.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± rence replied cheerfully, ¡°Give me a piece of paper.¡±

    He reached out to receive the notebook paper from Longjing Tea as he spoke and then put it on the table.

    He reached out his right index and middle fingers with long fingernails and lightly tapped the paper on the table.

    The paper seemed to have melted¡ª It instantly turned into liquid and reassembled into another sheet of paper. The original nk paper was now covered with text.

    Longjing Tea witnessed the entire process clearly.

    It was a ¡°Temporary Book Lending License¡±.

    rence used his right index finger to sign in the lower right corner. It sounded like a gel pen scribbling across the table. A name that seemed to be engraved appeared on the paper like scars.

    rence¡¯s distinctive feature was his well-manicured, four long nails on his right hand aside from his thumb.

    The four nails were over three centimeters long. They didn¡¯t curl, nor were they yellowish, but instead remained white, clean, and firm.

    Longjing Tea heard from Salvatore that rence¡¯s four nails seemed to have been carefully cultivated using potions made from centaur¡¯s hand bones, which could interfere with the Prophet magic and serve as a high-quality spell casting medium.

    To protect these four nails, rence basically couldn¡¯t do any heavy work. Even holding a pen to write was inconvenient¡ª he preferred to use the Shaping spell to reshape the ¡°paper¡± into a saved temte directly. Otherwise, he would use the same magic he disyed right now and engrave the texts onto the paper.

    As he retrieved his long nails that reminded Longjing Tea of ??Freddy [1], rence adjusted his sses and said gently, ¡°You should just take this book with you.

    ¡°Although there aren¡¯t many students who needed ¡°Edict Theory¡± in the tower, you should take precautions as there are also not many books from the Edict school here. If a higher authority wizard wants to borrow it, it¡¯s going to be troublesome for you.¡±

    ¡°¡­Thank you, Teacher rence.¡± Hearing this, Longjing Tea became more solemn and thanked him again.

    rence waved his hand, ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Unfortunately, I can only help you up to this point. Swamp¡¯s ck Tower doesn¡¯t have a tutor from the Edict School that could help you, and you can only rely on self-learning.

    ¡°If you happen to see Tutor Carl, you can ask him how to construct aplete spell cycle. Although he didn¡¯t specialize in Edict school, he is the only Great Wizard here who has mastered Edict spells. If that doesn¡¯t work¡­¡±

    When he said this, he couldn¡¯t help but raise the corners of his mouth, ¡°You should learn [Reveal True Name]. There is nothing wrong with learning this spell, and you¡¯ll have to learn it sooner orter. After you learn this, your exams will be a little easier.¡±

    ¡°[Reveal True Name]¡­¡±

    ¡°Yep, this is amon spell used to verify names, and the usage rate is almostparable to the Alteration spell that uses [Wind-to-water] alteration to make clean drinking water. The jade tablets made with this spell are also necessary regardless if it is for some high-end clubhouse guard or for signing contracts.¡±

    Having said this, rence shrugged, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s better to do a spell cycle. Generally, Edict Wizard wouldn¡¯t have muchbat power even when they have reached Bronze Rank¡­ They would rest in the wizard tower and work until the Silver Rank before heading out.¡±

    Is it possible that this school consists of only medical students?

    The kind of work that required several years of internships and even guaranteed a master¡¯s degree.

    Longjing Teained in his heart.

    But it was hard toe across tutors. Having this rare encounter with Tutor rence, Longjing Tea asked, ¡°Teacher rence, if I don¡¯t pursue abat manner in an individualistic manner, do you have any spell rmendations?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Teacher rence asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, teacher. Before entering the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, I had a few close friends. They were all capable Transcendeds. So I¡¯m learning the Edict spell to help them. It was also then that I had the opportunity to be brought here by Senior Salvatore.¡±

    Longjing Tea recounted the process of being invited to Mist Continent in words that rence could understand.

    The first time he met rence, Salvatore had reminded him ¡ª Do not attempt lying to a Soul Snatch wizard. Not only were they very sensitive to the lies, but lies were also meaningless to Soul Snatch wizards who could see emotion.

    Some experienced Soul Snatch wizards could even switch their mind-reading abilities on and off at any time with small movements such as blinking or flicking their tongues.

    So what Longjing Tea said was also true; it was iplete.

    Hearing his question, rence frowned slightly, ¡°You want to help your friends, huh, let me think¡­¡±

    ¡°I want to learn [Emergency Dodge]. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡± Contrary to Longjing Tea¡¯s expectations, rence nodded and pointed to the book ¡°Edict Theory¡±. ¡°This book is a bit outdated. It would be best to digest the evaluation of some spells in it with a grain of salt. For example, thetest viewpoint ims that [Emergency Dodge] is a good emergency spell.

    ¡°Because when encountering a moreplicated danger, many people do not know whether to dodge to the left or the right. Instead, they will freeze in ce and dy time. As a result, the victim couldn¡¯t escape from the attacks that could have been avoided.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to develop a habit of using [Emergency Dodge] on yourself as soon as you encounter danger. From the traditional viewpoint, you may end up falling into a deadlock after using the spell because you didn¡¯t know the position or state you¡¯ll be in after you dodge. But if you take into ount that the other party¡¯s attacks would mostly be premeditated, the enemy would not know which way you¡¯ll dodge if you yourself don¡¯t. In the end, this is a good spell choice.¡±

    Longjing Tea nodded again and again as he quickly understood.

    To put it simply, it was to simplify the dodging manner such as [Arrow keys + roll] or [Jump] into a [Dodge Key] so that one could dodge by pressing it.

    That¡¯s convenient.

    It would be even better if I could add bullet time when dodging¡­

 Chapter 298: Prolonging Influence and Making Curse Vessels

    <h4>Chapter 298: Prolonging Influence and Making Curse Vessels</h4>

    Longjing Tea didn¡¯t expect rence to give so much information about another school and spells that he had not learned before.

    Could he be that legendary type who enjoys going through strategies¡­ No, going through dissertations?

    Or are there some sort of paper journals or newspapers within the wizard circle?

    After thinking for a while, rence answered, ¡°Since you have a few friends, I would rmend the spell [Truce].¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. There aren¡¯t actually as many as ¡®a few¡¯¡­¡± Longjing Teained.

    Among this batch of yers, only two were good old friends of his ¡ª Delicious Wind Goose and Wandering Child.

    In a strict sense, the others would probably be regarded as his subordinate employees.

    Hearing this, rence couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    He obviously realized that his sense of humor was not quite suitable to be shown in front of students. rence then coughed a little to suppress hisughter and continued to exin solemnly.

    ¡°About this spell¡­ It could forcefully separate the fight into two ends ording to their factions. Your teammates would be pulled to your side, and your enemies would be pushed towards the direction away from you.

    ¡°After the separation, an air wall that can block attacks will form between the two groups. The strength and speed of the force and the flow and thickness of the air wall would differ depending on each person¡¯s strength.

    ¡°But this spell wouldn¡¯t change the arena, nor would it prevent the generation of another arena. So, you could first let your friends set up traps outside the battlefield. Then, you could use this Edict spell as you position yourself at the casting point in the trap or battlefield. That way, you could send all your enemies into the trap. This is quite a goodbination, except that it is a little difficult to be used alone.¡±

    rence chuckled and said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know much about Edict spells, I do know about the current mainstream system. For example, edict wizards produced by the Storm Tower in Austere-Winter Dukedom are particrly good at this kind of strategic warfare.

    ¡°The ability to manipte space like this is the characteristic and advantage of the Edict School. This is because you guys can often master different degrees of space maniption ability from the Bronze Rank to the Silver Rank. That is one or two levels earlier than other schools with space maniption abilities such as Falteration, Idol, Shaping schools.

    ¡°If you¡¯re concerned about the fungibility of this school of magic, you can work in this area.¡± The elegant and easygoing wizard, who was wearing round-rimmed sses, made serious suggestions for improvement.

    ¡°Thank you so much, teacher!¡± Longjing Tea responded quickly and respectfully.

    He didn¡¯t even think that he would actually get some helpful advice.

    It wasn¡¯t that he doubted rence¡¯s professionalism.

    It was mainly that rence¡¯s temperament had always made Longjing Tea a little uneasy.

    rence¡¯s temperament was the type who would immediately be invincible just by a quick reach to stroke his hair, throw his sses, and change his hairstyle without any sense of disharmony.

    Plus, rence¡¯s voice was vaguely simr to that of the hot blue man [1]¡­

    Longjing Tea put aside these disturbing thoughts for now.

    He changed the subject, ¡°But, Teacher rence¡­ Haven¡¯t you already finished your sses for this month?¡±

    ¡°Yep, but I still have something to do here hence tentatively moving next month¡¯s sses over to this month.¡±

    rence nodded with a warm smile, ¡°I have a curse vessel to make, but Ick some materials and influences. I¡¯ve sent out amission to look for them in various influence pools. I¡¯ll only be leaving after they have returned and I¡¯m done making the curse vessel.

    ¡°Until their return, I¡¯lle over to the library every day after ss. If there¡¯s anything you would like to ask me, you can wait here until around this time¡­ I¡¯ll pass by this ce on my way to the eighth floor.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, Teacher rence.¡± Longjing Tea thanked him respectfully again, saluted, and left, ¡°I shall be on my way with this book then.¡±

    ¡°Okay, remember not to go to bed toote.¡± rence nodded with a smile, his voice gentle and dignified.

    After Longjing Tea left, he looked at Longjing Tea¡¯s back with interest.

    ¡­It¡¯s not like you have any ill will towards ck Tower. So what are you nervous about?

    ¡°But, about Elven Ruins¡­¡± rence smacked his lips.

    I hope your friends are alright.

    After all, the people who had gone to collect influences at the ruins this time are some unsophisticated blockheads.

    Longjing Tea, who waspletely unaware of rence¡¯s mind-reading, only felt the cold sweat dripping on his back after he had left the library.

    He didn¡¯t dare to make any movements, show any expressions, nor dared to ask for details.

    He was afraid that rence would detect something wrong and reveal the yers¡¯ whereabouts at Elven Ruins.

    He had just teased those fellows watching the stream being a hindrance. It would be funny if he himself caused unnecessary problems.

    Longjing Tea was the type who didn¡¯t like being held back by others and hated even more to be one who held others back. So even if it were a team online battle game where everyone was defeated, he would be the only one from the crowd getting through each level seriously.

    At the same time, he was always strict with himself, and he was also bluntly strict with others.

    It was just that Longjing Tea had not met Soul Snatch wizard, hence still not having enough vignce and attention in the face of rence.

    In the face of ordinary people who had notpleted Transcended advancements, the Silver Rank Great Wizards could read their thoughts without even having to cast any spell.

    He had been walking all the way calmly towards his dormitory. After shutting the door, he finally opened up the forum and posted an update with great anxiety.

    ¡°¡ªUrgent, urgent, urgent! It seems the team from ck Tower has already set off to the ruins! @Wandering Child @Wandering Child @Wandering Child.¡±

    Quickly, Wandering Child replied, ¡°Is the news confirmed?¡±

    Longjing Tea: ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to ask in detail as he was the big boss of Soul Snatch school. But he had sent more than one team to collect the [Influences]. So there is a high probability that some of them will head over there!¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°I see then, take care of yourself. Watch out for Soul Snatch wizards!¡±

    Longjing Tea: ¡°Understood. I will not be turning off the live streams starting tomorrow, nor will I ask anything deliberately. After I¡¯m done learning the skills, I will read some general geography and history books. Then, I will title the live streams ording to the book titles and upload them directly to my personal space. If you have any information to inquire on, you cane to my space to check.¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°Okay.¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°If possible, remember to help check information about demons¡­ It¡¯s a little urgent.¡±

    Longjing Tea: ¡°No problem, I will try my best.¡±

    After agreeing to the mission of collecting information, Longjing Tea let out a deep sigh. Only then did he gradually calm down.

    His palms had been unknowingly soaked with sweat.

    On the other hand, Annan had visited Old Vasily.

    ¡°¡­Your Highness, you want to make a curse vessel?¡±

    Vasily frowned slightly, ¡°It can be done, yes. But do you have any influence on you?¡±

    ¡°I still have two influences on me.¡±

    Annan nced at it and replied, ¡°They are both low-levels. One is the ¡®Infinitely Ovepping Echoes¡¯ of the Mirror Realm, and the other is the ¡®One Step Ahead¡¯ of the de Realm. The one from the Mirror Realm is about to produce an echo¡­ I don¡¯t know what these can do, so I came to you to ask for your opinion. I¡¯m collecting materials and preparing to advance, so I¡¯ve to suppress my nightmares¡¯ entries recently.¡±

    ¡°Infinitely Ovepping Echoes¡­ Is it the influence of a new deity? I¡¯ve never heard of this, and I¡¯m not sure what it can do. But if it¡¯s just to prolong the influence¡­¡±

    Vasily pondered for a while and quickly replied to Annan, ¡°Let me then tell you about the capabilities of a basic ritualist first. If an influence is about to expire, you can add it to any ritual of deities from the same realm. At the end of the ritual, the influence¡¯s time limit is reset¡­ In other words, the influence would have been depleted, and you will get a brand new influence. That way, you won¡¯t be pulled into a nightmare by the echo.

    ¡°This is how we stack and store influences on the body. Of course, the form on how to use two or more influences to synthesize influences of other realms would be much moreplicated¡­

    ¡°But ¡®One Step Faster¡¯ is a useful neutral influence. The de Realm is a neutral realm that is not controlled by any deity, so deities in realms such as ¡®murder¡¯, ¡®forge¡¯, and ¡®sword¡¯ can also generate ¡®One Step Faster¡¯.

    ¡°¡®One Step Faster¡¯ can be used to make a handy one-off curse vessel ¡ª the de of Retaliation.¡±

    Old Vasilyughed, ¡°I already have the materials here, and I can make it now.

    ¡°Or¡­ Do you want to try it yourself?¡±

 Chapter 299: Snippets From The Future

    <h4>Chapter 299: Snippets From The Future</h4>

    ¡°The principle of making a curse vessel is not hard. The difficulty lies in choosing the right ritual material and form.¡±

    Old Vasily looked at Annan, who had just finished setting up the ritual area. Under the altar, he provided a detailed instruction, ¡°Typically speaking, we add the ¡®base material¡¯, ¡®influence¡¯ and ¡®curse material¡¯ into it and carry out a ritual based on the form.

    ¡°The base material itself can¡¯t participate in the ritual. Otherwise, it will ruin the ritual. The ¡®curse vessel form¡¯ will list the proper material and influences that protect the base material from being consumed.

    ¡°If the base material is chosen correctly, you can get a curse vessel after the ritual.¡±

    Following the form given by Old Vasily, Annan drew a seven-pointed star under one stroke on the ground. Given his strength attribute, his hand was firm, keeping the lines straight.

    But even so, for a heptagram to be qualified, each angle must be greater than 24 degrees. So even if Annan had drawn on scrap paper dozens of times before, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that he would seed this time.

    If I still can¡¯t make it work this time, I have to summon the yers to help me draw it¡­ Annanined in his heart.

    While he was concentrating on drawing the line, Old Vasily was still exining eloquently,

    ¡°The influence determines the properties of the curse vessel. It may be consumed, but not necessarily. It generally ys a catalytic role in the designated realm. The remaining unused curse after the ritual directly determines the power of the curse vessel. ording to this principle, if you want to improve the quality of the curse vessel, you must either use a stronger curse material or use a ritual with the lowest possible consumption.

    ¡°In the process of making a curse vessel in a neutral realm like the de Realm, the mostmonly used ritual is Lady Luck¡¯s ritual series with ¡®seven¡¯ as the key number.

    ¡°The Lady Luck is the deity of luck and ident. All the rituals in the luck realm have a fixed failure rate of 7% every minute. So what we have to do is trigger the ritual sessfully,municate with the deities, and extend the ritual¡¯s time so that it fails and terminates itself.

    ¡°With ¡®Basic Influence: One Step Faster¡¯ as a sacrifice, we need to sacrifice ¡®uncoagted blood that affects Transcended¡¯ as a catalyst and apply the curse materials of ¡®rust extract of rusted bronze swords that has stained with blood¡¯, ¡® seven pieces of air-dried heart valves from any Transcended creatures¡¯, ¡®the bloody saliva of a freshly decapitated pigeon¡¯, and ¡®a piece of nape¡¯s skin from a lynx that has lived for more than ten years.

    ¡°First, fill the area in the center of the altar with your blood, then stack the heart valve on the blood, and use the pigeon¡¯s saliva as the glue between the heart valves. Then, add anotheryer of pigeon saliva on top before adding the nape¡¯s skin of the lynx.

    ¡°After that, drop the rust extract on the top to designate a ritual area. After registering a ritual area, the ritual canst for half an hour. To prevent failure, use any sharp tool to prate it immediately, activating the ritual. The de must be fixed vertically until the ritual is over, so it is better to make the de fixed on soft ground.

    ¡°If all goes well, you can proceed to ¡®Ritual: the Lucky Sanctuary¡¯, a simple sanctuary ritual where you designate the effect to take ce in three consecutive hours in theing week. If you would have been assassinated within those three hours, then coincidences will keep appearing around you for these three hours, avoiding the people who are trying to kill you.

    ¡°But this ritual is only valid for those who ¡®use a weapon¡¯ to assassinate you. If it is an indirect method such as poison, curse, etc., it will not trigger. If someone hires an assassin, Your Highness¡­ this ritual only allows you to know the hired thug instead of being able to detect the real murderer behind the scenes. Though, it¡¯s of great use as a warning beacon ¡ª telling you that there are assassins seeking your life.¡±

    Old Vasily reminded fluently, ¡°I shall repeat it again, Your Highness. The base material that can participate in the ritual without being destroyed is the ¡®blood-stained weapon¡¯, which is added at the final step. As long as the de is soaked with blood before it touches the two other liquids, the ritual won¡¯t destroy it until the blood is dried.

    ¡°Your Highness, after connecting to Lady Luck, remember to keep silent. When the ritual fails automatically, the curse vessel will be finished.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan nodded, carefully covering the seven air-dried heart valves with the nape of the lynx. Old Vasily had provided the Trascended materials, but the pigeon¡¯s saliva must be fresh after death.

    To collect the saliva from the dead pigeons, he had to urgently buy arge number of pigeons from the merchants in Green Water Street, enough to hold a pigeon feast at night to feed everyone in the viscount house.

    As for the blood-stained knife, Annan did have a weapon here that could be used as a base material to ¡°forge¡±.

    That was the curse vessel he got from [Nightmare: Gallery], the Blood-stained Kitchen Knife.

    Following Old Vasily¡¯s instructions, Annan dripped the extract onto the nape.

    Before getting to this step, Annan didn¡¯t see any indications. If it wasn¡¯t for Old Vasily asking him to continue, he even thought he had failed somewhere.

    But after the extract was dripped on the nape, Annan suddenly felt a strange heat.

    There was a burning sensation at the back of his heart, but there was no pain. Instead, it felt more like the warm burning sensation of taking a bath with pepper water.

    After the heat settled quickly, it began to flow upwards to the back of Annan¡¯s neck.

    Strictly speaking, this was Annan¡¯s first ritual.

    ¡°Quick, Your Highness!¡± Old Vasily hinted.

    Without a second thought, Annan nailed the already prepared ¡°Blood-stained Kitchen Knife¡± through eightyers of material and nailed it straight into the ground.

    Boom.

    The steady stream of heat on Annan¡¯s neck suddenly disintegrated. It was like being pierced through the abdomen by a knife¡­ A warm feeling soaked through the back of the neck.

    The heat that poured into his brain put him into a strange hallucination.

    A slideshow of fast-flowing images appeared before his eyes.

    Even though Annan¡¯s Perception attribute had attained the Transcended level, he could barely see a few snippets.

    The ground in front of Wandering Child melted and copsed;

    Delicious Wind Goose squatted in the dungeon, and in front of him was a skinny old man;

    Annan stood in front of Kafni, with his right hand slightly sticking out;

    Philip Noah gulping the candies;

    Then, the final scene stopped with a teenage girl Annan had never seen before.

    She had a square sketching board and held Annan, whose height only reached her chest, with her right hand.

    As if noticing the prying eyes, she frowned slightly and nced back.

    Annan noticed that she had icy blue vertical pupils and long, smooth silver-white hair without any other color or mess. Her face was somewhat simr to Annan¡¯s, but her temperament was rather cold.

    The most striking feature was the two white dragon horns on her forehead that protruded upward like lightning.

 Chapter 300: Annanâ€™s New Kitchen Knife

    <h4>Chapter 300: Annan¡¯s New Kitchen Knife</h4>

    Annan hadn¡¯t seen the details in that snippet yet.

    The picture floating in front of his eyes began to rewind at several times the original speed.

    He felt his consciousness suddenly ¡°fall back¡±.

    It was like when he was standing on the street, he was suddenly bumped by someone and took two steps back, and then he woke up instantly.

    When Annan opened his eyes again, he happened to see the ¡°Blood-stained Kitchen Knife¡± standing on the ground, emitting unpleasant blue smoke. Those cursed materials had all been burned to the ground, and countless shallow knife marks had also broken the blood-soaked seven-pointed star.

    The system notifications appeared btedly, with only three short prompts:

    [You have consumed ¡°Basic Influence: One Step Ahead¡± in the ritual.]

    [You have consumed ¡°Basic Influence: Echoes of Infinite Oveps¡± in the ritual.]

    [Ritual: Prophetic Fragment has failed due to ¡°missing key material¡±.]

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Annan was startled.

    ¡°Vasily, this ritual seems to have be a ritual called the ¡®Prophetic Fragment¡¯.¡± He hurriedly asked, ¡°The influence of the Mirror Realm has also been consumed. Is everything going to be okay?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Vasily was also a little surprised.

    He stepped forward, squatted down, and thoughtfully checked on the ritual area, ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­¡±

    Later, he smiled and said to Annan, ¡°You didn¡¯t suffer any loss. Anyway, your goal is to make a curse vessel, and thebination of two influences will make it stronger.

    ¡°¡®The Prophetic Fragment is aplex ancient ritual that requires advanced influence. It is the age when the ¡®Prophet School¡¯ hasn¡¯t yet been founded in ancient times. The children, who were chosen by the ritual to be divine and responsible for ying the role of ¡®Prophet¡¯, see snippets of the future through this ritual.

    ¡°This ritual even requires the construction of a special building as the ritual area, and the ritual itself willst for more than three days. The material we are preparing now cannot support thepletion of this ritual at all.

    ¡°But looking at it now, the influence of the two realms of ¡®mirror¡¯ and ¡®de¡¯ can be catalyzed by a certainponent of the ¡®Lucky Sanctuary¡¯ ritual, and be ¡®Advanced Influence: A Fleeting Bubble¡¯¡­¡±

    Vasily muttered, taking out a notebook and quickly jotting it down.

    He did not know exactly under what conditions this influence was given birth.

    After all, the mirror image was the realm under the new deity ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±. He had basically never stepped on the mortal ground, and naturally, there wasn¡¯t much of His influence. This influence was perhaps even rarer than the ¡°Fleeting Bubble¡±.

    But anyway, I should also jot it down first.

    Annan also asked Vasily for a piece of paper and quickly wrote down all the future snippets he saw from the hallucination, just in case he had forgotten it all, like waking up from a dream.

    After a short silence, they quickly noted down everything they wanted to record.

    ¡°How long have I been in the ritual?¡± Annan asked casually, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it has even taken five or six seconds.¡±

    ¡°What an exaggeration,¡± Vasily couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°It¡¯s been about three minutes since you passed out.¡±

    ¡­That¡¯s really fast.

    It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t get to hear Lady Luck¡¯s voice at this time.

    If Annan were to hear Lady Luck¡¯s voice, he would probably get another ¡°Luck¡± realm influence. For example, ¡°Lady Luck¡¯s Remains¡±.

    It would be a little troublesome, but Annan was also curious.

    After all, he had only heard the voices of two upright deities so far.

    Aside from the iprehensible dragonnguage of Old Grandmother, Annan at least had a clear idea of the Silver Sire¡¯s situation.

    From the title, ¡°Lady Luck¡± might be a cheerful deity. This familiar name made Annan a little curious about her.

    Seeing that the unpleasant green smoke on the kitchen knife was gradually dissipating, Annan stepped forward and picked up his beloved small kitchen knife.

    Then Annan discovered that its name had changed.

    [Annan¡¯s Boning Knife]

    [Type: Weapon/Tool (Purple)]

    [Description: A sharp boning knife with countless mirror images, which may never be depleted.]

    [Effect: Every time this item is thrown, you can choose to throw it in the form of ¡°mirror image¡± or ¡°main body¡±. When it¡¯s thrown in ¡°mirror image¡± form, it still deals the normal damage to the enemy, but the mirror image disappears afterpleting the attack. It works the same as the Prophet school¡¯s spell [Mirror Image Throw]. After the boning knife¡¯s mirror image shatters, it resurfaces in the wielder¡¯s hand.]

    [Effect: The holder will suffer from curses ¡°Painting Destroyer¡±, ¡°Extraordinary Throw¡±, ¡°Retaliation¡±.]

    [Painting Destroyer: If the holder sees a portrait of a middle-aged woman while wielding the [Annan¡¯s Boning Knife], he must throw the boning knife out within 3 seconds. Otherwise, the holder will be injured by the kitchen knife.]

    [Extraordinary Throw: When this item was thrown, it would automatically search for enemies in a small area as if the Edict school spell of the same name was applied.]

    [Retaliation: When the enemy has locked on the holder and the attack has not yet hit, the holder can throw this item at the attacker. This item will automatically lock on the attacker, and the flight speed will be increased by three folds as if activating the de realm divine art ¡°One Step Ahead¡±.]

    ¡ªThe curse vessel was actually named after Annan!

    ¡°Wait, this strange effect¡­¡± Annan saw that the knife stopped oozing out blood, and the shape had changed slightly. The most important thing was that the de of the boning knife gave a chilly glimmer.

    It¡¯s really strong¡­

    When I¡¯m about to be attacked, I can throw this item out immediately.

    Facing the enemy who dared to attack him, Annan could hit the enemy as long as the throw¡¯s trajectory wasn¡¯t too off, given the effect of [Retaliation] and [Extraordinary Throw].

    So, it works just like a shield counter?

    Also, the curse vessel made with [Infinitely Ovepping Echoes] seemed quite powerful.

    The special effect of the Mirror Realm was actually infinite throws!

    Although Annan could only throw one at a time, the knife would return to his hand like a boomerang.

    Annan suddenly had some evil thoughts in his heart. He wanted to get some benefits from the Man in the Mirror.

    Although this function wasn¡¯t particrly useful, it made things more convenient.

    The weapon was underwhelming at the start. After the enhancement from the curse, it had be a Purple Grade bonding knife. He almost couldn¡¯t hold back and add the ult knowledge of Old Grandmother into the weapon.

    I wonder if this kitchen knife can slow down the opponent with the influence extracted from Old Grandmother¡­

    Annan looked at the powerful weapon he just got with stars in his eyes.

    For some reason, this kitchen knife always gave him the illusion of ¡°Should I make some equipment to strengthen my defense¡±¡­

 Chapter 301: Annanâ€™s Perfect Acting

    <h4>Chapter 301: Annan¡¯s Perfect Acting</h4>

    After Lin Yiyi came online early in the morning, she routinely went to Annan¡¯s house to stream her perspective.

    As Annan¡¯s bodyguard, she stayed at Annan¡¯s house every day out of her duty;

    As Annan¡¯s only guard, she didn¡¯t guard the door but stayed by Annan¡¯s side and stayed on alert to protect him. Hence, it was pretty understandable for her to be in his room.

    For the same reason, she kept a watchful eye on Annan. Sometimes, she would approach Annan and chat for a while, which wasn¡¯t odd in the eyes of others.

    Aside from the silent, deadly stare Kafni often watched from afar, Annan didn¡¯t resist Yiyi¡¯s increasingly intimate gestures. He even gradually handed over some important tasks to her.

    For example,st night, Annan went to the previous warehouse to perform a ritual.

    Lin Yiyi had stayed on guard at the door to eliminate potential external interference to the ritual. However, she was also the person bringing the materials required for the ritual to Annan.

    Although those little things weren¡¯t too heavy, Annan wasn¡¯t too weak to move them.

    However, she didn¡¯t feelfortable watching a cute shota [1] with the height only at her chest level carrying those items while she stayed watching at the side. She didn¡¯t like it when she was just strolling at the back while her boss was working.

    So even if Annan didn¡¯t ask her for help, Lin Yiyi took the initiative to help Annan move all the things he needed in one go ¡ª just like how she did many odd jobs in the viscount house.

    Not only did she clean Annan¡¯s room, but also Kafni¡¯s room beside his.

    ¡ªYes, Lin Yiyi wasn¡¯t just harassing Annan. She was also harassing Kafni.

    She wasn¡¯t a pure shotacon [1].

    She was also a fangirl attracted by handsome and pretty faces.

    She wasn¡¯t only captivated by Annan; she felt the doll-like, introverted Kafni fit her taste. Once Kafni grows older, I can dress her up like a hell girl [2]¡­

    It was just that Lin Yiyi was currently concentrating on producing Annan¡¯s variety show via live streams. Her original purpose was to mock Jiu Er, but the more she got to know Annan, the more she felt that Annan always had a reassuring atmosphere around him. So, the purpose of her live broadcast had be promoting Annan¡¯s fame.

    She also took a casual photo of Kafni when that introverted cutie just happened to walk into the camera.

    The viscount house had already hired new maids to replenish theck of manpower, but this did not interfere Lin Yiyi from having her fun. It felt like she was like raising one lovely younger brother and one lovely younger sister. Lin Yiyi woulde over when she was free as she worked on her weekly missions and protected the two of them.

    No matter it was helping to clean up the room, grabbing the two younger siblings to eat on time, or simple errands, Lin Yiyi enjoyed this ¡°leisure life in another world¡±.

    Of course, her real brother wouldn¡¯t get to enjoy this kind of treatment.

    That¡¯s your blood-rted little brother.jpg

    Suuankou was utterly speechless by it.

    But, Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t take care of Kafni and Annan with the thought that ¡°they might die without me¡±.

    Her main goal was to take advantage of them.

    Annan and Kafni were both mature and sensible characters. Although they were all in the rebellious period around the age of fourteen, they weren¡¯t spoiled children at all. Moreover, they took care of themselves quite well without relying on Lin Yiyi.

    Most importantly, they were all good-looking.

    Annan was self-disciplined with a routine. His daily life epassed practicing swordsmanship, physical training, reading books, drinking tea, and catching up with thetest news; it had the vibe of a retired person who lived a leisurely life. Moreover, he would attend his meal and sleep on time. All in all, he lived a healthy life like Kira Yoshikage [3] with a well-bnced diet and exercise before going to bed.

    Lin Yiyi also found out that Annan was knowledgeable; he could quickly pick up new things.

    So much so that Annan could interact with the yers in the information age easily. Except for some specific nouns that he couldn¡¯t understand in which she needed to exin, he could follow through the conversations smoothly.

    At present, under the ¡°teaching¡± of Lin Yiyi, Annan could already understand themon words used by many yers.

    ¡ª Of course, this was actually Annan¡¯s acting.

    The main goal was to reducemunication barriers so that yers wouldn¡¯t feel that ¡°Annan couldn¡¯t understand anyway¡± and hide something from him. Then, the yers would chat with him more, foster a closer rtionship, getting rid of estrangement and gaps.

    I¡¯m not your grandfather. Is there anything you can¡¯t exin to me?

    Lin Yiyi, a yer who liked toe over to chat with Annan, was a good precedent. After forming the concept of ¡°Annan epted the culture of the earth quickly¡± in other yers¡¯ minds, he wouldn¡¯t be easily exposed if he were to say something out identally.

    yers would only think that ¡°It¡¯s all Sister Hyphen¡¯s fault, being a bad influence to Annan¡±.

    However, the situation wasn¡¯t the same for Kafni.

    Her whereabouts could be said to be erratic. She often had her canvas around and went to different ces to sketch. Annan could easily find her, but it was challenging when Lin Yiyi was getting Kafni to bed or the dining table.

    At first, she thought Kafni was kidnapped, or she left without a word.

    It was onlyter she learned that Kafni had gone to the slums of Rusty Water Street.

    Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t even know how she got there. She was like a cat, squatting quietly on the roof, looking at the noisy crowd below, and the people below didn¡¯t even notice that there was another person above them.

    Probably because Lin Yiyi would also take care of her, Kafni just threw her a deadly stare from time to time.

    Otherwise, Kafni could have made a move because Yiyi was close to Annan.

    Kafni gave off the vibe of a cat and a doll to Lin Yiyi. It was just a pity that she hadn¡¯t yet found the skills to lure Kafni, and she was still in a stage where she could barely live with Kafni. There could be any danger descending upon her at any time.

    But Annan was a little unusual today.

    When Lin Yiyi went there early in the morning, Annan, who was supposed to practice swordsmanship in the yard, sat quietly at the table and stared at the sky.

    Lin Yiyi was worried about disturbing Annan and was a little curious.

    She stood far away and asked in a low voice, ¡°Your Highness, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s side.¡± Annan looked serious, ¡°I feel that he seems to be in some danger. So I n to take a look at the situation on his side through the contract.¡±

    ¡°Can you see our location directly, Your Highness?¡± Lin Yiyi was a little surprised.

    Before that, she didn¡¯t know that Annan had this ability.

    ¡°I can, but I rarely do it because it is a hassle.¡± Annan turned around and said seriously, ¡°Also, I think that all of you deserve to have your own life and privacy. I don¡¯t want to treat you all as my subordinates, but my friends instead.

    ¡°In yesterday¡¯s ritual, I saw that Delicious Wind Goose may be in danger. He is about to drag into a conspiracy. Even if you all cane back to life again, I don¡¯t want you to be framed and be wanted for no reason.

    ¡°So I want to help him. As an outsider, I may be able to see who will be framing him and how to get out of the problem¡­¡±

    Annan¡¯s icy blue pupils were bright and confident. The morning light came through the window and shone on Annan¡¯s face, making his face shrouded in sacredness.

    His clear and sweet voice was under the yers¡¯ watch through Lin Yiyi¡¯s live stream channel, ¡°You have helped me a lot, and I also want to¡­ try to help you.¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou¡¯ve helped us a lot¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s so heart-warming. Annan is so cute!¡±

    ¡°¡ªPerverted Sister Hyphen, stay away from Annan! Don¡¯t rub him with your two lumps of fat! Hey, stop it!¡±

    ¡°¡ªSomeone has died a lot recently. Do you have any clues?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHow do I know¡­¡±

    After a short dy, a swarm of bullet texts surged on the screen for the live stream.

    Of course, that was also part of Annan¡¯s acting.

    Not only did he design the lines in advance, but he even chose the location specifically to ensure the light shone upon him when Lin Yiyi entered the door, he finished saying these words and turned around¡­

    Half of the reason was to increase his favorability among the yers. Another half of the reason was to make the yers forget about the settings where Annan could see the situation on the yer¡¯s side regardless of distance and be epted by the yers.

    I¡¯m confident. I know the yers so well, and I can gain their favorability easily.

    Thinking of this, Annan showed a confident smile and raised his head proudly.

 Chapter 302: Delicious Wind Goose

    <h4>Chapter 302: Delicious Wind Goose</h4>

    When Delicious Wind Goose carried out the n ording to the agreement, he did not bring any teammates in the end.

    Because he had vaguely noticed there was a looming dangerst night.

    Although Caravan Master Tate seemed sincere, told him many details, and signed a Silver Sire-certified contract with him¡­

    Just in case, Delicious Wind Goose chose to temporarily cut off contact with Van Helsing and Yokai Teacher and onlymunicated at a distance through the forum. Just like what he said to Tate, he wanted to show that he wasn¡¯t close to these two priests.

    The best way was to give up the mission to escort the two priests into the royal city in public.

    That was to avoid the case when his username turned red and his teammates were forced into the battle¡­ [TN: A system in MMORPG when the yer¡¯s name turns red, the NPC will be hostile to the yers.]

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s cautious approach came into y.

    After all, this was a ¡°main mission¡± that was triggered in advance and hadn¡¯t yet unfolded. Once exposed or failed, the consequences might be serious. Not only would it affect his three teammates, but Annan and the interests of other yers would also be affected.

    It was only then that Delicious Wind Goose gradually realized that Annan didn¡¯t assign the two priests to his team because Jiu Er¡¯s fighting style was too wild, requiring two healing professions to recover her lost health.

    Instead, it was to make the team flexible in response to possible challenges.

    The priests, who could use the divine art, could freely enter and exit most public ces. Moreover, the priests could also use his reputation as a guarantee and grand entry to one teammate with the excuse of a friend.

    No matter anyone of them left the team, it wouldn¡¯t affect the rest of the team. They could even disband their squad into two teams at any time. If the new team setting was separate into the Transcendeds team and the Priests team, the two Transcended could be dispatched in carrying out illegal affairs. They wouldn¡¯t need to be worried about getting caught and getting the church¡¯s attention. On the other hand, if each of the two teams had a Transcended and a priest, their entry to ces wouldn¡¯t be limited.

    Their mission wasn¡¯t to kill someone or steal something but to investigate.

    In other words, they didn¡¯t need to prioritize thebat effectiveness of the team, but their essibility to areas and the efficiency of investigation. Or rather, their credibility.

    Although they hadn¡¯t entered the capital yet, their hidden mission to ¡°seek important information in the capital¡± was undoubtedly in progress.

    It was just that Delicious Wind Goose seemed to have participated in the mission from the viin¡¯s point of view.

    So the first thing Delicious Wind Goose had to do was to cut off any contact with the rest of the three teammates.

    He did take precautions for his action.

    He didn¡¯t want to implicate his teammates.

    While a priest had a high degree of credibility, his actions were also restricted.

    Before leaving Roseburg, Bread Daryl had asked the two priests not to do anything illegal. Otherwise, the local church woulde to deal with them as soon as possible. Once the church interfered, there was no room to resolve it no matter briberies or hiringwyers.

    After all, the Silver Sire was watching¡­

    In other words, although the two priests had high attack power and life points, they both had the attribute of ¡°incapable of attacking¡±.

    Only Delicious Wind Goose and Jiu Er could coerce, lure, steal, rob, deceive and kill. Once both of them were caught, the investigation mission would basically fail.

    Under the condition of not breaking anyws and regtions, and not attracting the attention and hostility of others, it was a tough but usible job to secretly investigate and dig the prince¡¯s criminal evidence from the prince¡¯s turf.

    Luckily, Delicious Wind Goose was quite a witty yer.

    He noticed this before he entered the city.

    So Delicious Wind Goose immediatelymunicated with Jiu Er on the forum.

    Delicious Wind Goose asked her to take the deposit that he got, as well as all their previous deposits, to hire another convoy and escort ¡°the two priests¡± into the city. The core purpose was to allow Jiu Er to enter the royal city with a clean and innocent identity. That would be the background of ¡°escorting two princes from Roseburg into the royal city¡±.

    After discussing the details on the forum, Delicious Wind Goose was at their residence and had a quarrel with Jiu Er in public.

    Roughly speaking, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s point of view was that ¡°you can pick up other jobs on the way¡±, while Jiu Er insisted that their priority was to escort the priests over to the destination first. Since Delicious Wind Goose was vague in his words, while Jiu Er¡¯s speech was clear and upright, her remarks were supported by many passers-by.

    In the end, after being punched by Jiu Er, Delicious Wind Goose packed up and left the hotel where he was temporarily staying.

    In this quarrel, the two of them sessfully created the image of a firm, fair, honest, and trustworthy female [Berserker].

    In this way, when Jiu Er looked for help, it would be much more convenient.

    Delicious Wind Goose also sessfully lurked in the dark.

    After parting ways with Jiu Er, Goose soon came to Caravan Master Tate¡¯s side.

    It was about 11 p.m.

    Caravan Master Tate, who was also a bald and macho man like Delicious Wind Goose, had not slept yet.

    He didn¡¯t ask why Delicious Wind Goose came over suddenly; he just told Goose in a gentle manner that he could stay by his side directly.

    Then, he immediately assigned a room to Delicious Wind Goose. There was also hot water, adequate lighting, ate-night snack, and a hearty breakfast the next morning.

    Such an attitude made Delicious Wind Goose feel a chill in his heart.

    The n he conveyed on the forum was indeed correct.

    Sure enough, the squad was already being watched.

    Even if they hadn¡¯t entered the capital, there must be eyes on them already at the Tasque County.

    This baldy¡­

    He wouldn¡¯t have ¡°coincidentally¡± recruited Goose because he couldn¡¯t find anyone else.

    Since he already had his eyes in Tasque County, how would they struggle to find a delivery person?

    Old Goose had a hunch that he would be put as the scapegoat with some other conspiracy hiding in the dark.

    But Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t leave and didn¡¯t run away.

    He only had another series of questions.

    Were they targeted from the very beginning? Or did they only get targeted after he had got into contact with Caravan Master Tate?

    In the end, was the situation of him epting Carvan Master Tate¡¯s mission a coincidence or a conspiracy?

    What were his special qualities that lure Tate?

    What the hell was this [Demon¡¯s Blood]?

    Delicious Wind Goose showcased his expertise in controlling his facial expression, hiding his suspicion and vignce well enough. He just thanked the maid who brought the supper and went offline without touching the food.

    For the next morning, Delicious Wind Goose went online safely.

    He quietly checked his room, and there was no obvious sign of being infiltrated. After breakfast, the caravan spent a lot of time packing up.

    By 10 a.m., the winter cold had basically dissipated. Delicious Wind Goose, along with Tate¡¯s caravan, officially set off to the capital.

    The caravan had arge man count, and they were transporting alcohol. Hence, they traveled at a slow pace.

    There were stops along their journey, and Goose predicted their arrival at the capital in three or four days.

    Jiu Er¡¯s group traveled much faster. After hiring a convoy, they hurried at full speed, and they would be able to enter the city in about a day and a half.

    After getting in the carriage, Delicious Wind Goose browsed the forum first.

    He then discovered that there were actually many people tagging him.

    Yiyi: ¡°@Delicious Wind Goose, check out my recording! The one from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. this morning!¡±

    Wandering Child: ¡°@Delicious Wind Goose @Delicious Wind Goose @Delicious Wind Goose, is Old Goose okay?¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°@Delicious Wind Goose, have you departed? Remember to watch Sister Hyphen¡¯s recording first when you have time.¡±

    ¡°¡­What¡¯s going on?¡± Delicious Wind Goose was a little surprised.

    He opened Lin Yiyi¡¯s personal homepage. At the top of the list was today¡¯s live stream video, and her video was voted at the top for the safe for convenience.

    The live stream video started at 8:30 a.m. and the keywords were Delicious Wind Goose, Conspiracy, irvoyance, and Cute Annan.

    What the hell?!

    Delicious Wind Goose was at a loss.

    He quickly opened up the video and studied it carefully.

    Soon after, his pupils shrank slightly.

    ¡°¡­I see.¡± He twitched his lips silently but made no sound.

    It¡¯s indeed a conspiracy¡­

    It turns out that the effect of [Demon¡¯s Blood] is like this¡­

    A cursed town¡­

    And, Prince Philip¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose squinted his eyes slightly. His thoughts were racing, and the worries and fears in his heart had dissipated.

    ¡ªWhat an important and timely piece of information.

    Delicious Wind Goose took a deep breath and didn¡¯t forget to return his gratitude to those who had tagged him on the forum.

    Since I have seen the cards up your sleeves, I have no reason to be afraid of you.

    After all, I know your trump card which enables me to plot against you at your weak points, understand your mind, and specte on your tactics¡­

    On the other hand, you know nothing about me.

 Chapter 303: Neckless of the Past

    <h4>Chapter 303: Neckless of the Past</h4>

    Watching Delicious Wind Goose talking to himself on the forum, Wandering Child couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud.

    I¡¯m sure he was panickingjust now.

    He and Delicious Wind Goose have known each other for so many years. Sure enough, the Child had a rough understanding of the baldy¡¯s character.

    If Delicious Wind Goose weren¡¯t struck with fear, he would have published a post and boosted eloquently on what he saw, heard, and thought about before he made the decision. Then, he would brag about it and tag those who had tagged him first.

    Seeing that Old Goose didn¡¯t even make a post about it and disappeared right after thanking the other yers one by one, the Child was quite confident that Old Goose panicked.

    But after gloating over the misfortune, the Child couldn¡¯t help but get a little worried, ¡°¡­I wonder how¡¯s their situation.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Dove sat beside the Child, petted her lynx, and said casually, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a big problem.

    ¡°If Neckless (Goose¡¯s nickname) manages to respond immediately, he should be able to cut off any loose ends in time. Jiu Er and their identities are still clean, and they can still enter the royal city.

    ¡°With Annan watching from a distance, he should have a buffer time if something does happen. I¡¯ve known Neckless for a long time, but he doesn¡¯t like to use his brain very much. Once he starts thinking, his brain is still quite useful.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, smart heads don¡¯t grow hair¡­¡± The Child nodded in agreement.

    The Child had already reached the ruin¡¯s entrance, so there was no need to hurry.

    He waited for the other two of his team to go online, so they could pack up and prepare to explore the ruins.

    Now that the two of them had nothing to do, they caught another deer, some bugs, and edible mushrooms. They roasted and ate them at the ruin entrance to pass the time.

    At this time, the Child was d that he took tea leaves with him when he left.

    His original idea was to chew tea leaves to refresh himself when he was sleepy. This tea was a special energizing ck tea, the same type that Salvatore drank every morning, so Annan still had some in stock.

    Tea leaves in this world were rtively cheap to the extent that ordinary people could afford them.

    The ships and navigational technology in the Noah Kingdom had only just developed to the level at the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

    However, due to the upright deity ¡ª the Deity of Dposition and Nurture, Motherly Moth, crops such as sugar, tea, cotton, and even cocoa were favored by Her believer hundreds or even thousands of years ago. They were discovered and cultivated, with their nurturing process optimized.

    Some endangered nt species were acquired from the elves, such as elves¡¯ tea leaves, which the Motherly Moth had sessfully passed them down for many generations. The Papal Kingdom was the base of the Motherly Moth believers. Not only did they export nutrient solutions simr to chemical fertilizers, but they even pioneered the soilless cultivation technology.

    It was fair to say the technological development of this world was quite unbnced.

    This was also why countries didn¡¯t have as muchnd as the Noah Kingdom was still striving and didn¡¯t starve to death because of famine.

    The cause of arge number of casualties was primarily due to natural disasters such as undead, severe colds, floods, and sandstorms.

    Of course, this aspect was one of the Noah Kingdom¡¯s advantages.

    This was all thanks to the sharp vision of Silver Sire in choosing their ce. Although their territory wasn¡¯trge, it happened to have no natural disasters, so thend quality was superb.

    The Child opened the lid and put the tea leaves into the boiling water. Then, he fastened the lid.

    It was an item that looked like a rice cooker, but it was not a teapot but a standard cooking pot. The pot was doubleyered with the fuels of the Green Fire stored underneath. Although it wasn¡¯t as powerfulpared to cooking on a gas stove, its temperature could at least boil the water. Also, it prevented diseases potentially caused by drinking raw water, and it could also be used to cook porridge.

    Once the fuel was refilled, it could continue to heat for 3 hours. One set of fuel weighed about 2 kilograms. They each carried a spare set of fuel. Since they used it sparingly, they hadn¡¯t yet used up the first fuel even when they reached the ruin¡¯s entrance.

    They definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to use up these five fuels at this rate when they return.

    Hehe, we¡¯re safe. I can use as much as I want.

    While waiting for the tea to be made, the Child asked Dove curiously, ¡°By the way, when did you and Old Goose get acquainted? I remember hearing him mention about you a few years ago.¡±

    ¡°Ah, it has been a long time.¡± Dove looked up at the sky and thought for a while ying with the cat, ¡°It¡¯s almost 15 years.

    ¡°He was in the first year of high school at that time, and his mother introduced him to me to learnpound bows. But, he stopped after two months of lessons¡­ He had known me since then.¡±

    When Dove said this, she raised the corner of his mouth and said, ¡°At that time, I remember that he wanted to pursue me. So I just told him that you are too fat for me, and then he went to the gym¡­

    ¡°Do you know that the nickname ¡°Neckless¡± came from me?¡±

    ¡°¡­I really don¡¯t know about that.¡±

    The Wandering Child shook his head again and again. He suddenly became interested in the old stories.

    It¡¯s just a little bit confusing to him¡­

    He looked at Dove¡¯s brown ponytail, short stature, and immature face and then fell into contemtion.

    She seems to be a teenager at most, right?

    At most, she is in her early twenties. If she dresses up much younger, the others may even believe that she is just a junior high school student.

    How could she be able to teach Delicious Wind Goose archery 15 years ago? How did she get to know his mother?

    How old is this girl now?

    But Wandering Child was smart enough not to ask that question.

    He felt that he would be attacked if he were to ask that question.

    He concentrated on the gossip to see if he could get something to ckmail Delicious Wind Goose and pressured the Poor Goose to treat him for a crab feast, ¡°¡ªPlease tell me more, boss.¡±

    The Child poured the boiled tea into a cup and respectfully handed it to Dove.

    Dove took over the tea with a smile, not in a hurry to drink it. She reminisced with some nostalgia, ¡°At that time, Neckless still had hair, but he wasn¡¯t as smart as he is now. At that time, he had a bad temper and was rash. It depended on his weight and height for any fights, trying to cool while sneering as if he could punch harder. If he hadn¡¯t been fat enough at that time, he would have been beaten into a fool long ago.¡±

    ¡°Did he have a bad temper at that time?¡± The Child was a little surprised.

    When he met Delicious Wind Goose, the bald muscle card game streamer already gave off a reliable vibe like an elder brother.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty serious. At that time, Xiang Tiange always felt that he was pretty good. He was the best yer in their ss, and he could also y basketball well. Also, he was 185 centimeters tall when he was still a freshman. So I didn¡¯t expect that he didn¡¯t grow bigger but appeared to be shrunk down when he lost his hair.

    ¡°His family is rich. Before he learned archery, he also learned fencing and horseback riding, but they are all at an average level. But he likes to treat his ssmates to dinner, so he still has many friends around him. Although he was a bit foolish, he has a good memory, thus a good academic at the junior high school and high school level. I remember that he even get 5th in the ss.¡±

    Dove took a sip of tea and said in a low voice, ¡°As for when did he change, it didn¡¯t happen after I rejected him. It should be when he was in the college entrance examination.

    ¡°At that time, he only learned half of everything. He would just drop it when he felt that he had learned it. When he was in the first year and the second year of high school, he was always among the best in his ss. But when it came to the third year, he couldn¡¯t perform. So he went to learn guitar, then rock, and then basically anything. But no matter what it was, he still knew how to do it but was not proficient in it.

    ¡°His performance in the mock test was already unsatisfactory. But until the end, he felt that he should be fine after an emergency revision. Still, he couldn¡¯t pass.¡±

    Dove made her signature calm voice, ¡°It was around that time that he became mature. He stopped being boastful, became cautious and reliable, and his temper improved.

    ¡°He shaved his dyed hair and threw away all the casual hobbies. He quit smoking and drinking and went back to study for a year. Then, he was admitted to a prestige university. Then, he picked up his hobby in armoredbat sport there. Then, I went to Australia after he repeated his studies for half a year. I don¡¯t know what happened next.¡±

    She looked at Wandering Child and said seriously, ¡°Xiang Tiange is a good boy. It¡¯s not because he¡¯s smart, but because he admits his mistakes and corrects them.

    ¡°So don¡¯t worry. No matter how dangerous the situation he encountered, he could handle it¡­ I watched him grow up, after all.¡±

    Dove held the teacup in both hands, ¡°I believe him.¡±

 Chapter 304: He Was Filled With Determination

    <h4>Chapter 304: He Was Filled With Determination</h4>

    The Child didn¡¯t know how to respond to Dove¡¯s words.

    How should I put it¡­

    It was like a tinge of lemon sour, yet there was vaguely also a false illusion of sweetness.

    ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± The Child couldn¡¯t help but snort, ¡°You¡­¡±

    He noticed Dove¡¯s gaze change suddenly before he could finish speaking.

    When she furrowed her brows and raised her head, her gaze became wild and sharp ¡ª At that moment, the Child felt a sudden wave of chill in his heart. It was as if he was walking in a dark alley and suddenly noticed an aggressive person looking towards him with a sharp de in hand.

    Before the Child could react, Dove smashed the teacup onto the ground. Then, she stood up in a breeze, grabbed the Child¡¯s hand, and pulled up from sitting.

    ¡°¡ªCareful!¡± A high-pitched warning sound pierced out of Dove¡¯s throat.

    The Child¡¯s brain was ringing from the vibration of that sharp sound. He instantly regained his rity with a shiver.

    ¡­Is there an enemy?

    ¡°Oh, you have a pretty quick reaction time.¡± Just then, a male¡¯s voice came from not far away.

    The voice didn¡¯t exactly sound indifferent, yet there weren¡¯t any fluctuations in it. It just soundedzy. His voice was filled with lethargy, like a burnt-out office worker who had woken up early and had just gotten off a cramped subway.

    Yet at this time, a sense of vignce rose suddenly in Wandering Child¡¯s heart.

    He looked towards the source of the voice.

    Unknowingly, a man with messy hair who was wearing a long ck robe had shown up.

    He was wearing a long cloak covering all the way to his knees that had a thick cape. Yet his clothes were full of wrinkles that made them seem shabby and cheap.

    It was like the clothes you rented for graduation pictures when you graduated from college. To make things even more out of sorts, the man had a bulging cotton shirt and woolen trousers under his robe.

    To put it simply, it was distasteful.

    ¡°I say¡­you do know, right? This is already a restricted area.¡± The man yawned and saidzily, ¡°Leave immediately, or I will take action.¡±

    Wandering Child had alreadye to his senses when he heard the first sentence.

    This should be the wizard from ck Tower whom Longjing Tea had mentioned.

    It turns out we didn¡¯t manage to avoid them entirely.

    Is this a suppression of the Perception attribute?

    Also, are all wizards from ck Tower always so tired?

    ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Wandering Child gritted his teeth and was just about to say something.

    ¡°Hmm, wait¡­¡± The wizard seemed to have smelled something and opened his squinted eyes slightly.

    The wizard discovered Citalopram, who was still not online and was lying in her sleeping bag. He muttered softly, ¡°It¡¯s the smell of the undead¡­ That¡¯s strange; why would an undead be sleeping?

    ¡°¡ªHey, you two. This undead, is she with you?¡± The wizard asked loudly.

    Yet he only paused for a while and waved his hand impatiently without waiting for the Child and Dove to respond.

    ¡°Forget it. This looks¡­ troublesome.

    ¡°It¡¯s the rules, so don¡¯t me me.¡±

    He said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s not good for the undead to be discovered near the elvish ruin.

    ¡°Please first remember my name¡­ Jude Burr. Did you hear? Let me repeat, Jude Burr.¡±

    It was an emotionless voice that sounded like he was merely getting a mission done.

    The moment Jude said these words, the silver ring on the middle finger of his right hand shone slightly.

    The gray shine seemed to have crawled out of his ring like a living thing, branding on the back of his right hand slowly. It left marks that seemed like fish scales, yet also like floating clouds spreading upwards gradually.

    Seeing this scene, the Child immediately became vignt.

    He had experience in fighting a Silver Rank Transcended.

    The Silver Rank Transcendeds had to first release the curse from its vessel to be branded on their bodies before they could harness a more powerful Transcended power. Even if the curse could not strengthen their bodies duringbat, it still had to be released before it could be used.

    The Child immediately patted Dove on the shoulder as he thought of this. Then, he yelled, ¡°Hide!¡±

    ¡°But Suuankou and the others¡ª¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to care so much now!¡±

    Wandering Child yelled immediately, ¡°Run, and I¡¯ll cut him off!¡±

    We could only resurrect them both when they¡¯re online now!

    Dove responded quickly.

    The serval snuggling at her feet received her instructions intuitively and quickly hopped away, disappearing into the jungle; Dove also ran towards the other direction without looking back, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

    Wandering Child then pulled out his rapier without hesitating.

    When Wizard Jude saw this scene, he was surprised, ¡°Elf Rapier¡­¡±

    He indeed didn¡¯t leave to chase after Dove but instead stood firmly at his ground. This gave the Child some peace of mind.

    It¡¯s a win if more of us can run away, and it¡¯s better to have three people drop levels instead of four.

    Jude looked at Wandering Child and asked with curiosity, ¡°Did you volunteer to stay?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of death? Is she your wife or your sister?¡±

    ¡°No, just a friend.¡± Wandering Child answered without hesitation.

    Facing a Silver Rank Wizard who had a killing intent towards him one-on-one, which he didn¡¯t know what school was this wizard belonged to, was like bumping into a wild Boss Monster that overpowered him in the wild.

    He knew perfectly well that he could not defeat his opponent.

    But, since I can¡¯t run away¡­ Wandering Child squinted his eyes.

    The bronze ring on his left middle finger seemed to have also sensed his intentions and ignited a dazzling brilliance.

    I probably won¡¯t be able to fend off against you elsewhere. And, I was also just a cameo in thest battle against a high-leveled opponent.

    But here¡­

    Wandering Child was filled with determination.

    The brilliance of his ring grew brighter as he gathered his attention.

    The dark green curse marks flowed out quickly from his ring like vines, reaching out to his fingers, hand, and wrist like a living thing; they climbed to his forearm.

    ¡°¡ªThis is my home ground!¡±

    [Forest Child: When entering the environment (Forest), your Strength, Agility, and Constitution will temporarily acquire the addition of 4 attribute points bonuses (Value is determined by 50% of the lowest attribute among the three), and the blessing ¡°Environment Adaptation (Forest)¡± will be in y.]

    With the aid of the Forest Child curse, his strength and agility had reached a terrifying 15 points. The Child was the best among all yers in terms of attributes alone.

    Not to mention, his three skills could only fully function in the forest.

    This was where he was at his strongest. Even the frenzied Jiu Er was unlikely to defeat him in a forest environment.

    So, I don¡¯t necessarily¡­ stand no chance to fight!

    He immediately activated the live stream, intending to record the battle.

    Even if I die, I will pass on this precious information of this novel adventure.

    Thinking of this, Wandering Child no longer hesitated.

    He took a step forward.

    A tender green stained his rapier.

    He shed it vertically from top to bottom with a momentum simr to smashing a target with a heavy hammer.

    At the next moment, countless thick and dense vines seemed to have gained life if not received amand, growing wildly from the Child¡¯s feet to Jude. They trapped Jude¡¯s ankles in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°¡­Hmm?¡±

    Seeing this scene, Jude¡¯s gaze changed suddenly, ¡°This is¡­ [Vine Strike]? Are you a [Forest Walker]?¡±

    An additional gleam of greed shed suddenly in his gaze at the Child.

    It was simr to the gaze when Jude looked at Citalopram.

    The Child was vaguely familiar with this gaze.

    ¡­Indeed.

    This was the gaze the Child also had when he saw the GeForce RTX 2080 TI¡­

    [TN: When the Author wrote this story, it¡¯s usible that RTX 2080 TI was the newest GPU in the market. Essentially, it means an intense yearning.]

 Chapter 305: Jude of the Shaping School

    <h4>Chapter 305: Jude of the Shaping School</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind,¡± Jude murmured. ¡°I¡¯m going to capture you¡­¡±

    The vines that were wrapped around him tore away in an instant as if being pulled by a brutal force.

    It was like an invisible mind power was mping these vines.

    These flexible yet tough vines struggled desperately but to no avail. Wandering Child immediately noticed that the weak connection between himself and these vines had been cut off by something within an instant.

    In the next moment, their shape had also changed.

    There was no change in color and texture, but the tips of these vines were bundled into perfectly straight dark green vine spears by an invisible power.

    Jude didn¡¯t even raise his hand.

    He only looked at Wandering Child, and those long spears suspended beside him all shot towards the Child!

    An rming sense of danger instantly rung in the Child¡¯s heart.

    He immediately retreated to the side without hesitation.

    Immediately after, he pointed the slender rapier towards the ground and lifted it upwards.

    Amidst the roaring sounds of the earth, an earth wall about five fingers wide rose from the ground, sending dust flying in the air.

    ¡ª¡ªBoom boom boom boom boom boom boom!

    It was an unbelievably loud noise.

    The earth wall was instantly filled with cracks from being bombarded by the sturdy spears transformed from the vines. In the blink of an eye, it copsed and shattered. On the other hand, the vines that came head to head with the earth wall became a mud puddle.

    However, none of this mattered because Jude had reimed the roots of those vines. So they continued to harden, temper, and be new spearheads.

    Wandering Child felt a chill in his heart.

    ¡­Is this the standard of a Silver Rank Wizard?

    What school is he from exactly?

    Alteration? Or is it¡­ Shaping?

    These rattan spears knocked down the standard earth wall, which the Wandering Child summoned with ease. An earth wall of this thickness would only break open a small opening upon withstanding the [All-out Blow] from Jiu Er¡¯s axe.

    ording to the calctions of previous yers, it was almost equivalent to the damage that could be withstood by a target that had a 10-point Constitution and was wearing leather armor.

    Yet under these soft vines, it couldn¡¯t hold up even for a moment.

    In other words, one would only be left with blood and skin if a vine spear like this one hit them. If two spears were to hit them, they would kick the bucket immediately.

    I¡¯m done for. Am I in the new Souls Like Game [1] series?

    Wandering Child didn¡¯t hesitate.

    He waved the Elf Rapier in his hand continuously.

    He summoned earth walls one after another from the ground like a maze. Innumerable vines reinforced the earth wall and were intertwined with one another.

    After fighting with all his might, Wandering Child only realized his fighting power.

    It seems a frontal charge of cavalry might also rout me easily.

    Although the maze would block the Child¡¯s vision, it would also block Jude¡¯s vision.

    The Child was not a wizard after all.

    Using this swordsmanship would only consume his physical strength.

    If he couldn¡¯t escape after being resurrected, his stamina would still be fully restored.

    He didn¡¯t believe that a wizard unit capable of sieging a city had unlimited mana.

    As long as he consumes mana, I may be able to fight back if I use my physical strength to deplete his mana value!

    He made twelve or thirteen earth walls in a row more than two meters high and connected them in vines. Wandering Child felt his stamina had depleted in an instant.

    A strong sense of emptiness came from his lower back, and he felt his legs go weak as he almost fell to his knees.

    ¡­But there was no hurry.

    In the dense forest environment, his physical recovery was rtively fast.

    These earth walls should be able to hold up a few waves of attack.

    Yet, the ground around him had suddenly begun to shake at this moment.

    It wasn¡¯t quite the rumbling roar of an earthquake¡­ Instead, it was more like an avnche from a cake that had begun to vibrate and melt quietly.

    The Child was caught off guard, and his feet fell directly into the melting mud.

    It wasn¡¯t y¡­ If one was forced to describe it, it was like freshlyid cement.

    It¡¯s just that the cement was too deep with no ground underneath that he couldn¡¯t even exert his strength.

    It was too soft to touch to the point that made the Child feel a little disgusted by it.

    The earth walls that concealed him also began melting like a melted candle when the ground beneath his feet copsed. In the blink of an eye, it had be a pool of mud returning to the ground.

    A dark brilliance spread out along the ground¡¯s surface in the next moment.

    Wandering Child opened his eyes slightly.

    This time, he saw it clearly¡ª

    A pale gray magic circle that was expanding outwardly had appeared on the ground just now!

    It was a circle with a diameter of about twenty meters. It seemed the coverage of the magic circle wasn¡¯t too overwhelming.

    But it was already toote.

    Wandering Child noticed that after the glimmers flowed passed the ground, the ground under his feet had suddenly solidified. The part below his knees had been directly sealed in the earth.

    If he exerted force at this time, even the skin on his legs might be ripped off.

    ¡°¡­Ah, I¡¯ve got you.¡± Jude said softly and emotionlessly, ¡°I would advise you not to move¡­ You can¡¯t hurt me.¡±

    Hearing this, Wandering Child gritted his teeth and gasped.

    ¡ªI have failed.

    The dozen or so earthen walls he had prepared that were entwined with vines were utterly useless. He was confident that he could resist a few rounds of attacks, even if it were the main artillery bombardment of a ship.

    He didn¡¯t expect this wizard to not be reasonable at all¡­ These earth walls didn¡¯t hold up for even a second before they melted.

    It¡¯s like having two or three waves of soldiers dispatched with the intention to push over the opponent¡¯s high ground in one go¡­ yet ended up being wiped out just with an AOE attack from the wizard on the opposite side.

    ¡°¡­Shaping wizard.¡± Annan, who saw this scene through the live stream, muttered, ¡°I see. This is a profession that counters the Child inherently¡­¡±

    What he saw just now was exactly what he saw in the ritual earlier¡ª the moment within the ¡°snippets from the future¡±!

    The Child could use the power from nature to control the earth, rivers, and vines. Yet his attack was almost meaningless for a Shaping Wizard who was good at changing the shape of objects.

    If he had reached Silver Rank, he might at least end up in a stalemate situation with the other party.

    But under the restrictionsing from the rank¡¯s gap, the Child had no way topete with his opponent for the control over each vine and each earth wall.

    As long as Shaping wizard¡¯s spell flowed through, the ¡°natural terrain¡± he created would be part of the opponent¡¯s power.

    He was still alive now because the other party wanted to catch him as a hostage.

    Otherwise, Jude would have instantly killed the Child on the spot by having sharp rock spikes pierce out of these earth walls and the ground underneath Child.

    Jude¡¯s spell that melted the ground wasn¡¯t special either.

    Annan had seen this trick before.

    In Nightmare: White Tower, the pirate captain Karl Mathew, who went by the alias Miss ire, was a Silver Rank Shaping wizard.

    He was able to turn the walls of the wizard tower into heavy mud between breaths. He could also manipte dozens of tons of mud to flow around him and transform them into walls or to garb the enemy; he could draw out the blood of others in the blink of any eye, transforming the blood into flying sharp des. He could even reshape his body in an instant to be a whole different person with regards to height, figure, appearance, and skin. Even his clothing and voice could be changed.

    Inparison to Captain Karl, the man in front of him by the name of Jude had a Shaping Wizardry level that wasckluster.

    An obvious spell casting trace could be seen during his Shaping process. The magic circle did not disappear, and a lot of preparation time was required. He also couldn¡¯t simultaneously control the two Shaping elements. Moreover, he only managed to convert a dozen or so of the vines into sharp spears.

    And most importantly¡ª his spell casting range was too short.

    The Shaping could only be performed on objects within 20 meters of his surroundings.

    Such a pity. Annan smacked his lips.

    If he was there himself, he might be able to retain Jude directly¡­ as long as the other party didn¡¯t use curse vessels or drugs.

    He would first use [Frost Arena] to freeze the ground and vines, making the surface brittle so that the [Frost Wheel] could directly kill the opponent, force the opponent to dodge or intercept it¡­ And each time the opponent would run, attack, dodge, or be attacked, [Frost Arena] would instantly bring damage to him.

    On the other hand, the invisible [Impeding Wall] couldpletely intercept the opponent¡¯s attack. The mirror-boning knife that he would be continuously throwing also wouldn¡¯t be able to be Altered into his opponent¡¯s power. Frost Arena¡¯s freeze would also bypass the opponent¡¯s barricades.

    Although Jude hadpletely restrained Child, he was also entirely restrained by Annan.

    With Jude¡¯s spell casting range, Annan could roughly guess that his Perception attribute may not be as high as his own.

    Is it possible that I¡¯m actually very strong? Annan was lost in thought.

    Seems like it.

    His wizard profession had fully met the standards of Bronze Rank. There wouldn¡¯t be much difference between their profession levels¡­ It was also impossible that he had fought in less nightmare than Jude.

    It would be best if this guy would enter the ruins directly after killing the four of them. Annan could advance or retreat, attack or defend, fight or bypass with this quality. He could basically get around easily.

    It also didn¡¯t matter even if he were to capture the Child and keep the Child by his side. The Child could coincidentally be a mobile surveince. Annan would be able to get everything he wanted just by spying on the two.

    What Annan was most worried about now was if Jude were to directly seal the Child and Citalopram in storage and then bring them back to ck Tower.

    Then it would be troublesome.

    Nobody knew whether wizards had any sealing spells. Annan also didn¡¯t want to write to his senior for help over this kind of thing. It would be embarrassing.

    ¡ª Yet at this moment.

    The sudden change in the situation immediately shocked Annan.

    Just as Jude walked over to the Child, a whistling sound was heard.

    Jude turned his head warily, only to see a serval pounce on him.

    The rattan spears around him shot outward in the blink of an eye, but the serval managed to avoid them all, given its agility.

    Just as a rattan spear was shifted away, a silent arrow that was shot out from the dense forest had arrived. The spear that was initially floating by his side was also previously blocking Jude¡¯s sight; the sound of the spear shooting out had also covered the whistling sound of the arrow.

    It nailed precisely into Jude¡¯s left brain and shot out from his right brain!

    Jude¡¯s head nted to the right with the inertia of the arrow, followed naturally by his body¡¯s copse¡­

    In just an instant, he had lost his life.

 Chapter 306: Iâ€™m Done, A Single Shot Within A Split Second. What Can I Say

    <h4>Chapter 306: I¡¯m Done, A Single Shot Within A Split Second. What Can I Say</h4>

    [You have killed a Silver Rank enemy in battle. As a result, you have acquired 980 Shared Experience points.]

    A notification panel appeared before Dove¡¯s closed eyes, telling her that she had gained tremendous experience.

    ¡°¡­Phew.¡± The corners of her lips twitched a little, and only then did she rx a little.

    That shot was refined archery that she was most proud of. Within a distance of 100 meters, the arrow crossed countless branches and vines. Yet aside from merely brushing some leaves, it was not blocked by any obstacles in the dense forest. In the end, she hit the opponent¡¯s weak spot with devastating power, prating through the target¡¯s head.

    This was an archery skill that could never be replicated on Earth because the enemy wasn¡¯t in her sight at all.

    While the leaves were blocking Jude¡¯s sight, they were also blocking hers.

    The serval was constantly running through the dense forest that provided her the necessary vision to execute it, allowing her to find the one and only ¡°trajectory¡± that could help her avoid all obstacles.

    It was also by relying on the serval¡¯s vision that she could hit the enemy with her eyes closed when shooting from a blind spot.

    She decided to attack only after analyzing Jude¡¯s attack pattern, which allowed her to perceive the possibility of taking down this opponent.

    And, she didn¡¯t even inform the Child that she was going to fight back.

    The purpose was so that the Child¡¯s act would be more realistic for Jude to let down his guard¡ª if she wanted to deceive the enemy, she must first deceive her teammate.

    The speed at which she escaped had already told Jude that she was not a Transcended. The fact that she fled into the jungle with a longbow on her back was not because she didn¡¯t know that the use of bows and spears was extremely limited in this environment.

    Instead, this was a trap that Dove had deliberatelyid down.

    It wasn¡¯t that Jude had no intention of killing Dove. Instead, he simply knew that he couldn¡¯t stop Dove when she escaped into the forest.

    He also couldn¡¯t simply enter the forest¡­ That would be too dangerous.

    The coverage area within his senses was closely rted to his Perception attribute.

    When the Perception attribute was between 10 and 40 points, the Perception attribute could provide non-visual senses for the Transcended. Beginning from approximately a 10-point Perception attribute, one could directly sense the subtle situation taking ce within a hemispherical range with a one-meter diameter without needing vision or hearing.

    In other words, a wizard of Silver Rank would be able to quickly detect the danger within an approximate 10-meter range, regardless if it was an approaching trap or an enemy who was sneaking behind him.

    The firearms and weapons of this world had just been invented not too long ago. Hence, the hit rate towards the torso was within about ten meters during battle. If it were any further, the hit rate would be a gamble if both themselves and the enemy could not stay still.

    As for an arrow, an open ce at the range of more than ten meters allowed him to respond to it in time.

    Thus, there was [Instant Spell] ¡ª a spell that existed for taking action at such a distance.

    But if he was deep in the forest, it was no longer a question of whether he could react in time. Under the circumstance that the space was too narrow, there would be no room for execution.

    Dove knew from the beginning that Jude would note after her, especially with the Child¡¯s attempt to hold him off.

    She had already used her affection ratings to ask Annan for information about the general fighting style of each profession.

    Typically speaking, the mana value of wizards was limited, and not all wizards had an erosion rate as low as Annan¡¯s. In their process to seek advancement, they were put into situations unable to cast any spell in challenging many nightmares.

    Unless they happened to have a fellow wizard in the nightmare, or else their strength would undoubtedly be the most weakened.

    Professions such as swordsman, hunter, and lurker usually fought in dangerous ces. Hence, they would tend to react very quickly when encountering a sudden danger. They had richbat experience knowledge of dealing with emergencies and could even subdue or assassinate enemies with their bare hands.

    Not to mention the priests¡­ Priests did not have profession levels, which meant their strength would not be suppressed by the character¡¯s attribute they got in nightmares.

    ¡ª It was only wizards who sumbed to such a weakness.

    It was even more difficult, especially for the academic wizards, to exert their strength in nightmares. They were overly dependent on their spellbo. This was the intel that Annan had dedicated to Dove in the first ce.

    Therefore, the vast majority of wizards¡¯ erosion rates would not be too low because the number of times they had died in a nightmare would be rtively higher. An increase in erosion rate would also mean a decrease in the safe mana value they could use¡ª They would only be able to regain their safe mana value if they maintained a ¡°passing rate¡± for a while.

    This was also why older wizards were challenging opponents.

    The wizard¡¯s demand for nightmares was second only to the priest in the current mainstream profession. And the wizards who were old and had not lost control were elites who fortunately managed to survive countless nightmares. They were good at dealing with various situations and used their power reasonably.

    Even after exempting the level difference in calcting Transcendeds¡¯ strength, it was not guaranteed that a Bronze Rank wizard with sufficient experience wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat a young Silver Rank wizard.

    Dove also had a clear understanding of this living being called ¡°human¡±.

    Although she had fled far away, she could still vaguely sense Jude¡¯s emotions and personality through the monitoring and surveince of her serval.

    He seemed like a scientific engineering man who had continued engaging in research upon graduating with his doctoral degree. He had obvious arrogance and had not been in a good moodtely. He was slightly anxious with a somewhat twisted brain and possibly still believed in disproved theories¡ª Jude¡¯s attack model was methodical, but it also had some discipline that you could tell he hade from a science background.

    Such an enemy can be defeated.

    Dove was confident about it.

    There was only one chance for her tounch a sneak attack.

    After she escaped into the forest, Jude would let his guard down towards her.

    There was also some distance between him and the forest, which allowed him to observe anyone who would jump out from the woods. This would instead make him ignorant of attacksing from this ¡°direction¡± hebeled to be safe.

    Jude¡¯s spell casting range was about 20 meters in diameter, which was almost the same as his Perception range. The vines around him that he stole were the ¡°fences¡± he created to protect himself.

    When Jude realized that Child¡¯s ability was entirely restrained by him, he would gradually rx his vignce.

    Dove noticed two chances for ambush in which Jude had shot out all those vines, but she didn¡¯t act yet.

    It was because arrows took time to travel, and vines retract faster than that.

    In other words, attacking only when the opponent was found to be vulnerable would already make it a tricky task.

    She also couldn¡¯t use any marking ability from the [Hunter], nor could she use her profession to support her shot.

    With a Silver Rank Wizard¡¯s Perception attribute, the opponent could definitely detect the curse fluctuations of the Transcended ability that was lower than him by two soul levels.

    Dove¡¯s biggest advantage at this moment was that she waspletely ¡°invisible¡±.

    The problem was that her attack power was not enough.

    If her strength and the prating power of the arrow were strong enough, there was no need for her to worry about the trajectory at all. As long as she let out the serval, she could continuously shoot undetectable arrows at Jude from the forest.

    To kill Jude, Dove needed to make Jude go to a designated position, ensure that he would only shoot out his protective rattan spears after Dove had released her arrow, and ensure that his naked eye couldn¡¯t see the arrow.

    She would only be able to kill him in one shot if these conditions were met.

    ¡°¡ªDove is awesome!¡±

    ¡°¡ªHoly crap, how did you do it?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHow did you do it?!¡±

    ¡°¡ªChill. That isn¡¯t a game-breaking hack.¡±

    ¡°¡ªJude: I¡¯m done, a single shot within a split second. What can I say?¡±

    Realizing what Dove had done, the bullet texts flooded the streaming channel even when only a few dozen yers were there.

    It wasn¡¯t just those yers, and even Annan was stunned, ¡°¡­What kind of monster is this woman?¡±

    That¡¯s a longbow, not a sniper rifle¡­

    It was fair to say that Dove had killed the Silver Rank Wizard singled-handedly despite the rank gaps. Even if there was another exnation in which the Shaping School wizardscked defensive measures, this was still too shocking.

    For a moment, Annan didn¡¯t know whether to say that Jude was a noob or if Dove was too OP.

    He hesitated for a while and then sent two bullet texts,

    ¡°¡ªDove is awesome!

    ¡°¡ªSister Chocte is awesome!!¡±

    Soon, other yers followed him and started spamming,

    ¡°¡ªSister Chocte is awesome!!¡±

    ¡°¡ªSister Chocte is awesome!!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Dove, not chocte!¡± Dove was angry, ¡°My real name is Dove!¡±

 Chapter 307: Soon Arriving Eugene Geraint

    <h4>Chapter 307: Soon Arriving Eugene Geraint</h4>

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s about it.¡± Annan briefly described his itinerary for the next few days, ¡°If everything goes well, I should be back within a week.¡±

    Hearing this, Kafni nodded slightly. ¡°Got it.¡±

    She then tilted her head towards the left in confusion as she asked, ¡°But why are you telling me this?¡±

    Lin Yiyi, standing aside, quickly took a picture of Kafni. After cropping out a part of it, she added a line of words under Kafni¡¯s expression, ¡°Small eyes filled with big confusion,¡± and then uploaded it onto the forum.

    The two posts that Lin Yiyi had been updating for an extended period were [Annan¡¯s emojis pack] and [Kafni¡¯s emojis pack]. These two posts had been on the homepage for a week and have yet to drop off from the news feed because of Lin Yiyi¡¯s diligent updates.

    With Lin Yiyi¡¯s increased understanding of the forum mechanics and the rapid spread of Annan¡¯s emojis pack, she had be more excessive in doing this.

    For example, the expression pack she made had transitioned from jpg formats to gif.

    But Annan could only pretend not to know anything.

    Kafni suddenly seemed to be thinking, like she had understood something, ¡°Your Highness, do you want me to go with you?

    ¡°Is it to collect advanced materials? Do you need my protection?¡±

    ¡°If you want, you maye along. But in fact, I can go by myself. The ruins are safe.¡± Annan was silent for a moment, then said earnestly, ¡°I just thought of telling you.

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave without saying goodbye. If I had snuck away and you don¡¯t know where I am, you might be scared.¡±

    ¡°¡­Your Highness thinks that I¡¯m some kind of baby animal?¡± Hearing this, the corners of Kafni¡¯s mouth rose slightly. Then, her soft and ethereal voice was heard, ¡°I won¡¯t be afraid.

    ¡°After all, I grew up alone¡­¡±

    ¡­I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be scared either.

    Forget it. It¡¯s almost time.

    Annan nodded and said politely to Lin Yiyi, who was beside him, ¡°Then while I¡¯m away, Roseburg will be in your care.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Lin Yiyi was a little surprised, ¡°Your Highness, aren¡¯t you taking me?

    ¡°Am I not your bodyguard?¡±

    ¡°It would be too slow to travel with you. It would be faster for me to travel by myself.¡± Annan let out a cold voice and exined solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m going to look for the Child¡­ As I see it, I¡¯ll just have to follow their tracks, and there is no pressure.

    ¡°If I¡¯m in danger, I¡¯ll look for the Child toe to my rescue¡ª they¡¯ll be closer to me.¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Hearing such words, Lin Yiyi subconsciously responded.

    As the Child and the rest were mentioned, she subconsciously thought of Dove¡¯s dazzling archery from just now.

    Are these second-batch yers all monsters? Thinking of this, Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but feel a little ashamed.

    Aside from efficiently and quickly attaining the affection ratings of Annan and Kafni, what else could she do?

    She then gently embraced Annan who was sitting on the stool from behind and held his head in front of her under Jiu Er¡¯s exasperated bullet texts bombardment on the stream. She swayed slightly from side to side as she sniffed the cedar and citrusy aroma on Annan.

    Each time, she would clearly realize the beautification effects she had chosen when creating her character were of great help.

    Annan had gradually gotten used to this level of intimate acts from Lin Yiyi that also happened to Kafni. As long as it didn¡¯t affect him, he generally wouldn¡¯t reprimand Lin Yiyi.

    He also clearly knew that this was already considered a more polite and restrained behavior of the yers.

    This was also why Annan didn¡¯t have much reaction despite Kafni¡¯s staring at Lin Yiyi.

    Of course, if the muscr bald head Delicious Wind Goose were to make such a move, Annan would struggle with all his might.

    After all, there was an obvious difference between the sense given by shampoo and that of a chokehold.

    Annan had always been firm and quick in taking action.

    Like what he had said, he wasn¡¯t here to seek help from Lin Yiyi and Kafni this time. Instead, he came to say goodbye to them with his luggage packed by Lin Yiyi yesterday.

    After saying goodbye to Lin Yiyi and Kafni, Annan immediately left Roseburg.

    However, Kafni got a visitation notice from Don Juan Geraint within two hours after Annan left.

    ¡°¡­Don Juan¡¯s second brother ising to Roseburg the day after tomorrow?¡± Kafni reread the cover of the visitation notice with some confusion.

    She was lost in thought for a moment.

    Kafni could react for a while as to who exactly was Don Juan.

    It seems to be the identity used by His Highness Annan as a disguise¡­

    On the other hand, Lin Yiyi was surprisingly a little flustered.

    After the messenger left, she asked Kafni, ¡°Your Royal Highness, should we urge for His Royal Highness Annan toe back? He should not have gone too far¡­¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± Kafni looked back towards her strangely.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Yiyi was a little dumbfounded, ¡°But doesn¡¯t the feudal lord, no, the brother of ¡®Don Juan Geraint¡¯ want to see him?

    ¡°If he wants to see His Highness, he will definitely see through his disguise, right? So, it¡¯s a good coincidence for Annan to be outside.¡±

    Kafni interrupted Lin Yiyi, ¡°This is good news, Yiyi. We are not lying¡­ ¡®Our feudal lord¡¯ has indeed gone looking for advancement clues. Eugene Geraint is a conservative person, and he will not have any conflict with me.¡±

    It was only then that the cunningness and majesty of a princess were seen in her, ¡°We just have to let Eugene Geraint leave before Annanes back. As long as I¡¯m here, I won¡¯t let him see Annan.¡±

    Unlike her firm tone, Kafni¡¯s voice was always soft, as if she was whispering in the ear of someone who was half awake.

    Ordinary people might not be able to hear what she said¡­ But Lin Yiyi had been in contact with Kafni for so long and had long since gotten used to Kafni¡¯s tone.

    Eugene Geraint. Lin Yiyi murmured, noting down the name.

    Will this be an NPC or an elite monster? With Annan being away for a few days, she so happened could give herself a vacation and watch other yers¡¯ streams leisurely.

    The Child and the others would officially begin their adventure in the Elven Ruins once Suuankou and the others came online tonight.

    Lin Yiyi was now most worried about whether this guy named Eugene would be troublesome, hence affecting her watching the fun.

    And, of course¡­

    The day this nobleman from the royal capital, Eugene Geraint, arrived in Roseburg was also the day Delicious Wind Goose would enter the royal capital.

 Chapter 308: Fear My Name

    <h4>Chapter 308: Fear My Name</h4>

    Suuankou had just finished his work quota for live streaming in his original Earth. After he checked up on Dove¡¯s stream recording and listened to the vivid description from the Child, he was amazed, ¡°¡­Fuck, how are you so brave?¡±

    He was regretful about it. If I had known that an elite yer was just around me, I would have just applied for leave for my work!

    In the end, I didn¡¯t expect that my character just died once for nothing.

    Dove gained experience, and Citalopram and Wandering Child were kept as precious materials because of their potential to be precious materials. Only he was crushed by Jude¡¯s stray AoE attacks¡­

    As soon as he went online, he found himself dropping by one level.

    Dove, who was at the same level as him previously, had already reached Level 10.

    Also¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s a Transcended opponent of Silver Rank¡­¡± Suuankou muttered.

    In addition to yearning for the experience points, he was also excited about ¡°defeating such a powerful enemy¡±.

    In terms of the Suuankou¡¯s knowledge in the Transcended world, his understanding of a Silver Rank Transcended was quite limited. He didn¡¯t have much chance to encounter them.

    A Silver Rank Transcended seemingly could melt and copse the surrounding earth even when they stood still. Moreover, they could turn the average vine into sturdy spears at will, and they were amon attack a Silver Rank Transcended could unleash at will.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t think it was shameful if he were to be defeated against an opponent of this caliber. On the other hand, if he could defeat such an opponent, it would give off an indescribable and intense sense of aplishment for oveing a difficult challenge.

    Indeed, Suuankou was this type of yer.

    He was the type that could clear the Getting Over It [1] and its DLC¡­

    ¡°But what¡¯s more important now is the new curse that Sister Dove got.¡±

    After they packed up and walked towards the ruins, the Child said seriously, ¡°Since Sister Dove is a hunter-type profession, the feature of this profession is that it can extract curses from the killed enemies.

    ¡°And the curse she absorbed is the one Jude used in the video.¡±

    The Child walked at the front of the group with lingering fears, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for luck, we really might not be able to kill that guy¡­¡±

    [Mortals Shall Fear My Name (Resolve Type): You must let the enemy know your real name. In return, your existence will be fear.]

    [When your enemy learns your real name, their attempt in blocking, parrying, defending (spell/divine art), and resisting (divine art ability checks) will face an increase in difficulty by 30%. Your sess rate in inflicting [Fear], [Intimidation], [Sneak Attack], and [Execution] are increased by 25%.]

    [When your enemy does not know your name, the damage you take is increased by an additional 100%.]

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s so ruthless.¡±

    Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°You got to have the balls to equip this curse¡­¡±

    When the enemy learned your real name, you would be an armor-piercing bow.

    The enemy would face more difficulties in blocking and parrying attacks. At the same time, the armor, shield, or the earth wall which the Child summoned would be weakened by 30%.

    Suuankou finally knew why the earth wall summoned by the Child was shattered so easily by the vines. It was because the Child subconsciously remembered Jude¡¯s name.

    Furthermore, the reason why Dove could kill Jude with one arrow was also simple.

    She was thinking about how to escape at the time, so she didn¡¯t hear what Jude said.

    Hence, her attack effectiveness on Jude had doubled.

    That was why the Child said they had defeated Jude out of luck.

    This was undoubtedly a pretty powerful curse.

    But if it was misused, it was also a risky curse.

    This curse¡¯s effect was like a ss cannon [2].

    ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Suuankou took a deep breath, then sighed again.

    To be honest, I¡¯m a bit jealous¡­

    If only I could get this curse.

    Although the curse was quitepatible with his profession as a Trap Rogue, he could immediately be an assassin-type Roge if he had this curse.

    This curse was seeming designed for assassin-type professions or agility warrior-type professions. They made up for the two biggest shorings of ¡°theck of attack power of agility-type professions¡± and ¡°theck of intimidation of ss cannon professions¡±.

    Any profession with quick movements, fast attack speed, and excellent evasion could make full use of this curse. Except for the two attributes of [Fear] and [Intimidation], they could effectively utilize the remaining magical effects.

    Its debuff could be ovee with an ability that provides higher evasion.

    As long as one doesn¡¯t get hit, it didn¡¯t matter how many times the iing damage was doubled.

    ¡°When I advance, I also want to get such a curse,¡± Suuankou muttered with some longing.

    But¡­ He looked at the Wandering Child strangely.

    ¡°Sister Dove¡±, what do you mean?

    Dove appears to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. Considering that she may be rtively young, I guess she is seventeen or eighteen years old¡­

    Child, you¡¯re approaching your 30s, don¡¯t you feel shameful for calling her sister?

    But seeing Dove¡¯s calm expression to this address, Suuankou subconsciously ¡°hiss¡± again.

    I think I have missed a lot of things by not going online¡­

    ¡°Sister Dove, it¡¯s not a loss to get this curse.¡±

    The Child exined, ¡°I heard from His Highness Annan that the specialty of the [Hunter] type profession is that it can absorb a lot of curses from others. Their mainbat approach is to form a skill build by stacking and chaining the curses together. In other words, the most important thing isn¡¯t how good the positive effect is, but how weak the negative effect is. The most important thing is to avoid forming a bad chain reaction with other curses.

    ¡°Dove¡¯s main fighting approach has been bow and arrow. Then, the negative effect of this curse, ¡®increase in damage suffered¡¯ is negligible. Even if she does not deploy the curse, she is only losing out in increasing her damage output.¡±

    ¡°What I really like is that it can increase the prating power of arrows. If the enemy remembers my name, but I am out of sight, I canunch an armor-piercing attack sneakily.¡± Dove added, ¡°I can¡¯t increase my arrow shooting speed while still ensuring adequate range and power. Even if I have the strength to do so, the bow can¡¯t bear the tension.

    ¡°Considering the limited number of arrows, increasing the hit rate is much more important than increasing the frequency of attacks¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªStop.¡± Suddenly, Suuankou raised his hand to signal the party to stop, ¡°There is a trap ahead, or rather a barrier.¡±

    [Skillful Hands] granted Suuankou the vision in highlighting traps which allowed him to see a hazy white light that was not far away.

    As he looked over carefully, he could barely tell that it was a transparent film that looked like a blown foam and glowed like the rainbow lights under the sun.

    ¡°Password¡­¡± Suuankou muttered.

    Citalopram immediately stepped forward and replied calmly, ¡°Those who cannot learn from death are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.¡±

    After her voice fell, the world in front of her suddenly distorted and changed.

    The crooked path emerged from the initial dense forest in front of them.

    At the end of that path, there was a lonely and already opened stone gate in the middle of the road.

    The gate was about three meters high. It was like some kind of radiation, shing a conspicuous faint blue fluorescence at night.

    It was like Doraemon¡¯s Anywhere Door [3]. There was nothing behind the door but only ayer of walls.

    But if one were to gaze into the door from the front, it was clouded with thick white fog.

 Chapter 309: Public Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 309: Public Nightmare</h4>

    ¡°This fog¡­¡± The Child frowned slightly, a little hesitant.

    The Child was aware the world outside the ¡°civilization¡± was submerged in the cursed Gray Mists. These ces were called ¡°restricted areas¡±.

    And, the Gray Mists in the restricted area were filled with materialized curses visible to the mortal¡¯s naked eyes.

    One notable characteristic of the curse was its unique behavior to flow from the ce of high concentration to the ce of low concentration.

    Since the mortal¡¯s souls wouldn¡¯t store any curses, they could barely survive in the Gray Mists.

    However, they were effective toxins to the Transcended. Any Transcended who attained the ¡°Bronze Rank¡± and ¡°corrupted¡± their souls with curses, their souls would have the ability to contain curses.

    As long as they entered the restricted area, an immense amount of curse would surge into their body which went beyond their capabilities to digest them. For example, it was like throwing humans into the deep sea. Under the water pressure, the seawater surged into the victim¡¯s body through all pores and orifices.

    If this door would lead the party into the restricted area, they would just die for nothing.

    Even if they could respawnter, they would not be able to return if the system were to respawn them randomly inside the door.

    That was when the ¡°Wandering Child¡± really wandered.

    ¡°We have to find a way to test this door,¡± the Child murmured.

    ¡°But, I remember, the mist in the restricted area is called the Gray Mists?¡± Suuankou frowned slightly, ¡°Those are white fog¡­¡±

    Excluding the dim environment where the party couldn¡¯t see anything in the fog-filled door, the door seemed to be leading to a fairnd ¡ª the white fog was like dry ice at room temperature, filling the entire world in front of the party with white fog akin to clouds.

    ¡°How can you be certain, Koutsu?¡±

    [TN: Another nickname for Suuankou.]

    Citalopram shook her head slightly and spoke hoarsely, ¡°Who knows how gray the Gray Mists are? What if the Gray Mists¡¯ grayscale is inconsistent under different conditions?¡±

    ¡°¡­Well, what you said makes sense too.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHowever, I really don¡¯t think there will be any danger.¡±

    Citalopram said and walked over with interest, ¡°The reason is simple. Salvatore has given the address and password here to Annan, and we know he means no harm to Annan.

    ¡°Think about Jude too. He should be the man sent from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. He didn¡¯te to this ce just to arrest us but most likely to visit the ruins.

    ¡°If it¡¯s really the Gray Mists out there, wouldn¡¯t it be more effective to have a Soul Snatch wizard kidnapping someone into that ce and controlling the victims to bring items back?¡±

    Citalopram¡¯s analysis was convincing to the rest of the party.

    She was more like the captain than a mascot like the Child.

    The Child did not mind it at all.

    ¡°¡­Looks like we¡¯ll have to rely on you in the future.

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything I can contribute, just mention it. If I can do it, I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    What he hinted was that he was fine to explore the dangerous area with his life.

    Anyway, he was used to this kind of task.

    Sensing that Citalopram was better at observation and analysis than he was, Wandering Child made a quick leadership adjustment. He even handed over themanding power to Citalopram.

    Compared with Jiu Er and the others, the biggest problem with his team was that there was only one veteran yer among the four ¡ª the Child.

    Among these four people, he was the only yer in the first batch.

    Even after considering their status in reality, their seniority in games, their character¡¯s level,bat power, understanding of this world, or even their actual age, the Child was the best candidate for the team.

    As such, the Child had been doing his best in performing his duty.

    He had been online for the most prolonged period and had the most luggage to bear. Aside from the necessary sleep time, his other time and energy were devoted to taking care of the characters left in this world when the rest of the team went offline.

    It was more than being upied by this game for the entire day¡­ Not only did he have to keep his spirits up and be alert to the environment, but he had to go offline when the rest of the party had the most fun.

    The situation was just like when he was ying esports professionally previously;

    It also felt like the times when he had to perform science experiments in groups at school;

    It was also simr to how he yed games in coboration with other streamers.

    The Child was used to ying the 5th position in Dota and the support role in LoL.

    [TN: In general, his role in the team tends to see the situation on a macro-scale for these MOBA games.]

    He knew that he had limited talent, and his only advantage was patience. Therefore, the missions he was on duty for were the most boring and required more sacrifices. However, someone had to do it, and it was necessary.

    It happened not because he ¡°liked¡± to y support but because he thought it was the ¡°right¡± thing to do.

    ¡°I have made up my mind. You all shall wait here while I scout the path ahead.¡± Citalopram¡¯s unique hoarse voice came, seemingly due to her habit as a long-term smoker.

    Although she was only a little older than Suuankou among the four and was still a student, her tone was unexpectedly mature.

    Her tone didn¡¯t have the slightest hesitation, firm and unrelenting, calm and convincing.

    ¡°I¡¯m more or less undead to some extent¡­ I might have something inmon with the undead in the ce. Since it¡¯s night, mybat power and perception are at their peak. I think it¡¯s the most optimum choice for me to scout the path ahead. I shall turn on my stream now so that the rest of you can observe the situation directly from my perspective.¡±

    Citalopram stood in front of the fog-filled door, looking back at the other three.

    Particrly, she put her gaze at Wandering Child ¡ª their captain.

    Would that be the right choice? The Child was startled.

    ¡°You have convinced me. The undead¡¯s supernatural vision might trigger additional missions from the system¡­¡± Then, the Child was silent for a while and said thoughtfully, ¡°But I still n to go in with you.

    ¡°Please allow my stubbornness ¡ª listen to me. The biggest difference between the three of you and me is that I¡¯m a veteran yer in games. Therefore, I have the privilege to respawn after death.

    ¡°You are neers, and you may not know¡­ The streaming function doesn¡¯t always work. Sometimes, the streaming¡¯s signals will be jammed for certain areas in the nightmare, and we will know that those ces are the areas with the most potent curse. For example, look at those White Fog. I¡¯m pretty confident that they will interrupt the signals for the streaming function to work.

    ¡°It¡¯s like the situation at Old Goose. Annan has great wisdom in setting up the team in that way. You are the only yer among us who can be a ghost, and Dove is the most powerful neer. On the other hand, Suuankou is the only yer who can detect barriers and traps.

    ¡°For me, my special trait is to have increasedbat power in the woods. Hence, my role in the team is to escort the three of you in and out of the ruins. But if there is danger inside, I can activate the respawn privilege and revive infinitely in a short while.

    ¡°Your role in the team and Suuankou¡¯s presence focus more on the ruins. On the other hand, Dove and I are responsible for our safety outside the ruins. So, the two of us can afford to die, but the two of you can¡¯t. Go it, Sister Dove?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Dove nodded calmly.

    Seeing this scene, the pressure on Suuankou had significantly increased.

    To protect me?

    Damn it!

    What¡¯s going on? It sounds like I¡¯m a liability to the team¡­

    He gritted his teeth and muttered softly, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Do take note of this¡­¡± The Child pondered for a while and said, ¡°You can see my level through the forum. If the message andment functions are deactivated after entering the ruins, and you can¡¯t contact us via the forum, you all shalle in ten minutester.

    ¡°If it¡¯s dangerous inside, you will see that Citalopram and I have each dropped one level or more. If that happens, don¡¯te in and go offline immediately. We will both find a ce where we can sleep and go offline. Then, we can go offline and ring a call to discuss the matter in detail. If we don¡¯t die in ten minutes, you juste in. If Citalopram is dead and I¡¯m not dead, then it must mean that we are separated, or I think the danger isn¡¯t too serious and fled. It means you cane in.

    ¡°Lastly, if I die within five minutes of entering and only die once, that means I have activated the respawn privilege after dying once and asking you for help. Then, you shalle in immediately¡­ Got it?¡±

    The Child passed his guidelines down calmly.

    Even if the ce worked like a nightmare, deactivating the forum functions¡­ there were still ways to send a warning or a signal for help.

    This was absolutely impossible to achieve if Citalopram went in and died alone.

    After getting the affirmation from the two, the Child held Citalopram¡¯s forearm. He didn¡¯t want to grab Citalopram¡¯s hand directly, given they weren¡¯t so close.

    To his surprise, Citalopram grabbed his hand without hesitation and chuckled, ¡°We¡¯re off.¡±

    This feels like she isughing at me.

    The Child muttered in his heart but did not speak it out.

    What happened after that did not exceed his expectations¡ª

    As he stepped into the fog door, his streaming function was immediately cut off.

    A prompt that he had never seen before suddenly appeared in the endless Gray Mists. The texts came scrolling down the screen line by line hastily:

    [Basic Influence: Whispers of Grace not detected.]

    [Basic Influence: Nature¡¯s Anthem not detected.]

    [Advanced Influence: Gravity of the Stars not detected.]

    [Undetected Advanced Influence: Fable of the Moth.]

    [Awakened element not detected.]

    [Detected the Legacy of Orser: Forest Walker].

    [Additional checks are in progress¡­]

    [Identity Check: Other-worldly being, summon, humanoid, human, male]

    [Authority Check: Apprentice]

    [Specimen stored at Library III-251-11 is opened for a restricted time. The allowed respawn count is set to 1.]

    [Falling into a public nightmare¡­ You have substituted into a new identity.]

    [Loadingpleted.]

 Chapter 310: Citalopramâ€™s Fetish

    <h4>Chapter 310: Citalopram¡¯s Fetish</h4>

    Is this a nightmare?

    Can I just enter a nightmare simply by walking through a door?

    When the Child saw the prompts, he suddenly felt his right hand empty ¡ª Citalopram had disappeared.

    The Child was in a trance.

    When he finally woke up, he found himself standing in front of a giant tree.

    The warm sunset brilliance sprinkled on his face, giving off a heart-warming feeling.

    Only at this time did the Child realize that his body had shrunk.

    To be more precise, his consciousness entered the body of another young elf.

    It waspletely different from any nightmare he had experienced before.

    Not only that he didn¡¯t get any main mission¡­

    Moreover, he still felt the power of nature from the [Forest Walker] profession boiling in his body¡­ His physical attributes were quite simr to his original body too.

    What differed was the weapon in his right hand.

    It was no longer a rapier but a slender and light ive simr to what Maiev Shadowsong [1] owned.

    ¡°Julian? Julian~¡± A pleasant voice sounded behind him.

    He turned around following the voice and saw a teenage-looking elf girl with silver hair. She wore a white dress with only her left shoulder and left arm exposed, which extended to the length of 10 cm about her knees.

    She put her hands behind her back and looked at him curiously, ¡°What are you thinking, Julian?

    ¡°Mom ising back soon? Or¡­ have you mastered Vine Strike?¡± The Child was stunned by the elf girl.

    It wasn¡¯t the ¡°elf¡¯s soul¡± he knew before.

    It was real¡­ a living being like the girl next door!

    He could even smell the fragrance from the girl vividly.

    The ce where he stood wasn¡¯t a ruin.

    Then, his pupils shrank slightly.

    At the ce not far away behind the girl¡­

    There was an enormous building more than 100 meters high,posed of azure blue luminous rocks, shining with iridescent brilliance and making a strange humming sound. It seemed like a windmill and like a snail shell at the same time, constantly extracting something from the ground.

    The part connecting the building with the earth was 100 meters in diameter. The surrounding ground copsed and cracked as if the water had been drained.

    The perimeter of the extraction port was vast and empty until the Child¡¯s location. The trees there were chopped with a big open area remained.

    Not far away from the Child was a prosperous city.

    The giant tree man strolled on the street.

    White stags the Child had never seen before gleamed and trotted on the empty air.

    There was little traffic on the streets, but delicate vines were entwined around every building and bridge. The patterns on the vines were like art too.

    Those ¡°elves¡± were not what the children imagined; they were not slender primitive people who wore leaf clothes or animal skins that covered a small portion of their bodies and held bows and arrows.

    Instead, they dressed pretty modernly¡­ What the Child meant was modern times of his original earth.

    There were signs that elves seemed ahead of his era.

    The elves weren¡¯t wearing the casual clothes he would wear on the street but outfits that gave off the vibe of Paris Fashion Week.

    What surprised the Child even further was the airship floating in the distance. In addition, there were billboards in the cyberpunk fashion hung on the giant buildings in the city.

    What the hell is this?

    #Elf-Punk?

    What is going on in your world?

    How can this high-tech tree grow upside down?

    The Child had manyints stuffed in his throat, which he couldn¡¯t speak out nor swallow down.

    It took a long time for the Child to recover himself from the feeling that ¡°he had entered the wrong game¡±.

    He looked at the girl in white who seemed to have the word ¡°innocence¡± written on her face beside him and decided to fool her first, ¡°Ah, I mean¡­ you.¡±

    He pretended to be a little arrogant, raised his head, and made a crisp youth voice, ¡°When will your mothere back?¡±

    ¡°Boffis!¡± The girl shook her head unhappily and responded earnestly, ¡°My name is Boffis!¡±

    She smacked her hair on the Child¡¯s face, making him feel like someone had whipped him.

    ¡­But they smell nice.

    Fine, at least I have acquired her name for the time being.

    The Child secretly rejoiced in his heart.

    Since the elf girl¡¯s clothes were a little revealing no matter if it was the top or the bottom. The Child, who didn¡¯t interact much with thedy, did not dare to look at her for too long.

    He touched the tip of his nose nervously, thinking about the following topic in silence.

    What should I say¡­?

    ¡°¡­Ah, the weather is nice today.¡± After a long silence, the Child said nonchntly.

    On the other side¡­

    After Citalopram stepped into the fog door, she felt the familiar sense of touching the floor with a slight dizziness.

    She also found out that her stream was still working fine.

    The only problem was¡­

    ¡°¡­I seem to have lost our captain.¡± She epted this reality almost immediately and calmly said to the two waiting outside through the stream, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. As the captain said, I¡¯m your new captain now.

    ¡°Also, I didn¡¯t mean to rob away his leadership. He disappears on his own, and I shall respect his decision.¡± Citalopram casually chatted with the bullet text while looking up.

    Undoubtedly, I¡¯m in a ruin.

    However, it¡¯s still a euphemism to describe it as a ruin.

    The buildings here were even more dpidated than Ishgard [2], destroyed by the dragon.

    [TN: A location in Final Fantasy XIV.]

    Even Citalopram couldn¡¯t understand what the ruin was originally like or what the ce was used for. There were many potholes with smooth surfaces on the ground.

    It didn¡¯t look like it was blown up by something, but it looked like it was dug up by something.

    Soon, she stopped walking.

    Citalopram saw a silver-white, translucent ghost of a young girl wandering on the street not far away¡­ It should be a street.

    The ghost was wearing a white dress with only the left shoulder and left arm exposed, and the dress extended to the length of ten centimeters above the knee.

    The delicate and lovely smiling face attracted Citalopram. First, she was slightly startled, and then she couldn¡¯t help but take a closer look.

    The ghost had slender and straight legs, clean knees, small and delicate white boots, and cute sleeves covering half of the right palm. Her looming figure because of her exposed left shoulder had even enchanted Citalopram.

    Citalopram¡¯s breathing grew a little quicker, and her gaze towards the ghost girl was a little more aggressive.

    I want to take her home¡­

    ¡ªIndeed, Citalopram was someone who would go into a frenzy because of cute and handsome faces.

 Chapter 311: Miss Boffis

    <h4>Chapter 311: Miss Boffis</h4>

    Citalopram was deeply fascinated by the ghost girl¡¯s pure and light figure.

    Her usually indifferent and calm face was dyed with a red hue due to her strong wish to conquer her. She even felt her breathing a little faster, and her eyes grew sharp.

    It was like seeing a cat that she liked very much in a cat cafe. Her mind was in the mood of ¡°I want to pet the cat and bring it back home¡±.

    Seemingly aware of Citalopram¡¯s gaze, the ghost girl who was silently walking down the street threw her gaze over curiously.

    The ghost seemed to have noticed her.

    After the ghost took a step toward Citalopram, she floated over quickly. She circled Citalopram curiously, sniffing the air.

    Like a balloon, she moved agilely and floated like a swimming fish. But it didn¡¯t give off a clumsy vibe ¡ª She swung her skirt and swam in circles to assess Citalopram.

    After circling Citalopram for a couple ofps, shended lightly on the ground.

    It urred that she was shorter than Citalopram by about 20 centimeters. At this moment, she held her skirt, raised her head, and showed a carefree smile to Citalopram as she curtsied, ¡°Hello, the Pale Princess¡¯s follower!

    ¡°The name is Boffis! My full name is Boffis Cecilia, and I don¡¯t have an honorary title yet. I¡¯m a Wind Dancer!¡±

    Miss Boffis was happy and ted to meet Citalopram, ¡°I haven¡¯t met someone who can see me for a long time!¡±

    ¡°My name is Citalopram.¡± Citalopram responded politely, ¡°However, don¡¯t wizardse here often?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not an ordinary spirit, so they can¡¯t see me¡­¡± Boffis pursed her lips with her energy being low-spirited, ¡°Only the Pale Princess¡¯s believers can see me¡­¡±

    Her emotional fluctuations seemed ridiculous.

    In the blink of an eye, she became excited again, reached out to Citalopram, and said expectantly, ¡°Can you touch me? Do you feel it?

    ¡°What do you want here? Just talk to me, and I can help you find it!¡± Boffis was like a puppy that sees its ownering home, jumping around in excitement.

    On the other hand, Citalopram was like the smiling parents.

    She narrowed her eyes slightly and murmured subconsciously, ¡°¡­I really feel like taking her away with me.¡±

    From the live stream window, her words were crystal clear. The spectators became wild in the bullet texts:

    ¡°¡ªFuck, someone here is abducting an innocent ghost girl!¡±

    ¡°¡ªStop, she isn¡¯t a ¡°girl¡± anymore, considering the typical age of the elves and the duration of the ghost¡¯s existence¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªStop the nonsense. She is a girl as long as she is pretty.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI thought you were the most normal among the female yers in our group, but I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªSister Wen, be normal¡­¡±

    [TN: Her real name is Wen Xue.]

    ¡°¡ªI seem to have heard the hungry drooling voice just now. Is it a hallucination?¡±

    Citaloprampletely ignores these impolite bullet texts.

    She just gave a gentle smile and reached out to Boffis¡¯ hand.

    At the next moment, she felt her soul tremble.

    As if she had used the [Pale Body] ability, Boffis had dragged her soul out from her body.

    Citalopram looked back and found her body falling forward, kneeling on the ground with the head lowered and then slowly falling to the side.

    In those half-open eyes, there was no spirit in it. After blinking weakly, her body had its eyes shut. If it weren¡¯t for the faint fluctuations on her chest, she would even think she had already died.

    Should I safe keep my unused body somewhere? This thought popped into Citalopram¡¯s mind for a moment, but she vetoed it quickly.

    Compared with her body, it felt more important for her to apany cute girls.

    After all, no strangers shoulde to this ce.

    Hello, the Child and Dove? Are you watching the stream?

    ¡°¡ªCan you hear me? I¡¯ll leave my body to you¡­¡± Citalopram lowered her voice and said softly.

    Boffis asked curiously, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just talking to myself. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    With a gentle attitude that Jiu Er had never seen before, Citalopram reached out and hugged Boffis directly. She said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m really happy to meet such a lovely ghost like you.¡±

    ¡°¡­Me too.¡± Boffis blushed and whispered.

    She was immediately started after having a stranger hugging her from behind.

    But this faint difort and tension was nothingpared to finally seeing a panion¡± who could respond to her words and touch her.

    The feeling of being hugged again even made her tear up.

    Although the embrace was equally cold, those words were enough to warm her heart.

    ¡°Are you going anywhere? Are you looking for something? Or some ¡°Influence¡± to collect? I can take you there!¡± Boffis looked with those pitiful cat eyes.

    She was much more proficient in moving her ethereal body than Citalopram ¡ª even without wings, she could fly as she pleases. On the other hand, Citalopram couldn¡¯t do that yet.

    But once she just dragged Citalopram along with her, she could fly along with her newly acquainted stranger.

    The scene was like the golden retriever biting the leash, pulling his master, and trying to walk to the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to collect some [Influences].¡± Citalopram said warmly, ¡°Speaking of which¡­ Boffis, what is this ce? I want to understand this ce from the beginning.¡±

    ¡°If you are asking about the original name of thisnd, then it is called the Nuosheng River Valley, at least that was its name in the Third Age.

    ¡°And if you want to ask, what do we call this area¡­ You may call it the ¡®specimen storage¡¯, the ¡®nightmare foundation¡¯, or the ¡®sealed record tape¡¯. I don¡¯t know whatever it is called now¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­specimen storage?¡± Citalopram had a wild idea in her heart and asked curiously, ¡°What does it do specifically?¡±

    ¡°¡­It does what it says literally.¡±

    Hearing Citalopram¡¯s words, Boffis gestured somewhat confused and clumsily, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ the foundation of nightmares.¡±

    Then, Citalopram came to a realization, ¡°You mean¡­ there is a nightmare here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a public nightmare, not just a nightmare.¡± Boffis corrected, ¡°The specimen storage is a technology we used back then¡­ Since it uses curse energy technology, your people may have abandoned it.

    ¡°¡­Well, do you know the nature of nightmares?¡±

    Hearing this, Citalopram shook her head decisively.

    ¡°What about the curse energy?¡±

    Citalopram shook her head again

    ¡°Then, do you know about the dream world?¡±

    Citalopram shook her head again.

    ¡°¡ªWhat a clueless streamer. I¡¯m going to follow your stream.¡±

    ¡°¡ªDid you just reply I don¡¯t know to all her questions¡­?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou don¡¯t know because you know. That¡¯s so philosophical.¡±

    ¡­Assholes, you¡¯re talking like you know the answer. Citalopram couldn¡¯t help but mutter in her heart.

 Chapter 312: The Pale Princess Is An Ally!

    <h4>Chapter 312: The Pale Princess Is An Ally!</h4>

    Realizing that Citalopram didn¡¯t seem to know anything, Boffis frowned in distress and tapped her head, ¡°This is troublesome to exin from the beginning¡­ I can¡¯t seem to remember these things well¡­

    ¡°Well, the world¡¯s history will be stored in the ¡®dream world¡¯. The dream world is a fragment of the world where only information exists and is closely connected to our world. The so-called ¡®nightmare¡¯ is a small piece of history in the dream world. It¡¯s projected with the human soul as the cornerstone with the curse acting as the paint¡­ or rather the filling.

    ¡°Curse energy isn¡¯t a good energy source. It uses curse as a medium to extract and save powering from the depths of the leylines as energy.¡±

    ¡°¡­In that case, won¡¯t Bone Burying Grandma trouble you?¡± Citalopram couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Why does this sound vaguely like a mako [1]¡­?

    Do you want to use the as a spaceship?

    Boffis shook her head, ¡°What we extract is not the earth¡¯s energy, but the ¡°world¡¯s edge¡± further deep. We first collect the ursed dust through the ursed energy windmill. After special treatment, we pumped the collected ursed dust into the depths of the earth¡­¡±

    As Boffis exined, she suddenly stopped talking as if she had realized something.

    Citalopram had a rough idea of ??what she meant.

    In short, it is an unstable and polluted energy source, right?

    ¡°What about specimen storage?¡± Citalopram spoke gently, changing the topic.

    Sure enough, Boffis had replied slowly and earnestly, ¡°The specimen storage is the artificial projection of a historical record¡­ A nightmare that can be preserved for a long time.

    ¡°We Osserians used to utilize those energies in bulk. Like you said, Bone Burying Grandma, Silent Lady, and Mr. Ray came to stop us. But when we finally realized the problem, we had absorbed too many curses. Our civilization can no longer survive.

    ¡°But we n to leave something behind. The books can¡¯tst long enough, and the stone tablet and crystal will deteriorate. In the end, we chose this method instead of literature records to preserve our history in batches.

    ¡°To create a nightmare that can exist forever, we need a lot of [Silver Soul] as a support¡­¡±

    Boffis opened her hands slightly.

    There was sadness in her eyes.

    ¡°¡­I was supposed to be one of the supports.¡±

    She said softly and quietly, ¡°If it all goes well, I won¡¯t be here alone for more than a thousand years. I should have been sacrificed into the seedbed of nightmares and the cornerstone of history¡­

    ¡°But now I¡¯m the only one left¡­¡± Boffis squatted down slowly, hugged her knees, lowered her head, and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m the only one left¡­ being left behind by everyone. I¡¯m lucky and unfortunate.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m the only one left alive.¡± Boffis¡¯ voice was soft.

    The situation was like everyone hadmitted suicide, but she was the only one surviving in the end.

    As she whispered, Citalopram saw some eerie and indescribable spirit bodies rising from the surrounding ruined azure blue rocks.

    Unlike her and Boffis, those spirits had a good-looking soul that closely matched her physical appearance.

    Some were like chunks of blueberry-vored candy or stretched rice cakes.

    The blue spirits were slender and long. It had no hands nor feet, but there were many heads and a very long ¡°neck¡±.

    Some had two heads, some had three heads, some had five heads, some had seven heads, and another with eleven heads. Their heights also varied from three to four meters to more than 20 meters high.

    Those heads and bodies were connected with translucent blue tentacles.

    The taller the ¡°seagrass¡±, the greater the number of heads.

    But the number of heads seemed to be a prime number.

    They were like vertically inverted giraffes with many weird legs standing on their heads.

    An excellent metaphor popped into Citalopram¡¯s mind.

    The heads in each group of ¡°giraffes¡± whispered to the other heads in the same group, speaking anguage that Citalopram didn¡¯t understand.

    At this moment, Citalopram suddenly realized a Basic Influence called [Whispers of Grace] imposed on her inexplicably.

    Although the wizards can¡¯t see it, are these unique spirit monsters everywhere in this ruin?

    These spirits seemed to have floated out from the ground only because of Boffis¡¯ emotions. If she didn¡¯t have the [Pale Body] ability, she could only see blue glimmers on the ground.

    Looking at these strange spirit bodies, Citalopram bit her right thumb nervously.

    ¡­This is bad.

    She didn¡¯t feel any fear from these swaying entities with human heads and seaweed-like spirit bodies. Instead, she found them to be inexplicably cute.

    Maybe it¡¯s the issue of filters and color scheme.

    If it weren¡¯t for this beautiful, fairnd-like blue-green color scheme and a hazy shimmer, even Citalopram would feel a little scared if the surrounding environment and these ¡°human head seaweeds¡± were reced with a ck-and-red color scheme.

    At this moment, she really wanted to touch it to see if the texture of these ¡°human head seaweed¡± was bouncy or soft.

    If she suddenly went over and touched them, the yers wouldbel her as mentally ill.

    I want to take these home too. What should I do?

    But before that¡­

    ¡°Can you leave with me, Boffis?¡± Citalopram coughed lightly, squatted down, and whispered to Boffis, who had be depressed.

    She had forgotten everything about missions, influences, teammates, etc¡­ As long as she could earn rapports from Boffis and even pack Boffis away, she had possibly achieved all of those.

    This is the checkmate move!

    Hearing this, Boffis raised her head.

    She had a smile on her face, putting away the crying expression, ¡°Of course! After all, you are the Pale Princess¡¯s believer!

    ¡°When you get the divine art of [Backup Dancer], you muste back to me! I¡¯m super strong!¡±

    ¡­Will you still cry?

    Oops, why does it feel much cuter¡­?

    ¡°¡­I will definitely be back!¡± Citalopram followed her desires and answered with great determination.

    It turns out that the Pale Princess¡¯s priest could rear ghost-type pets.

    Sure enough, I didn¡¯t choose the wrong faith!

    This person called the Pale Princess is a woman of culture!

    Citalopram had never met the Pale Princess, had never heard the deity¡¯s voice she believed in, and even didn¡¯t know what the Pale Princess looked like. However, she inexplicably found the deity assigned to her at random to be amiable.

    It was like the agreeableness when she discussed her R18+ fetish with herizens.

    I always feel that the Pale Princess is an ally!

 Chapter 313: The Awkward Child

    <h4>Chapter 313: The Awkward Child</h4>

    The more the Child chatted with Miss Boffis, the more embarrassed he felt.

    He had always been the type who wasn¡¯t good at interacting with the girls. The cuter she was, the weaker he became.

    But, he could interact withdies like Sister Hyphen, treating her like a brother.

    When he saw Jiu Er for the first time, he was nervous. But after seeing Jiu Er¡¯s terrifying behavior of smashing the enemy into pieces, his nervousness about facing the opposite sex disappeared immediately.

    The shyness was reced by a strong sense of fear.

    He had a hunch that if he identally triggered this monstrous girl, she woulde at him ferociously with a battleaxe.

    As for Citalopram and Dove¡­ When the Child met them for the first time, he was pretty nervous. However, since Annan appointed him as a captain, he wanted to make himself reliable.

    Fortunately, although Citalopram was young, she was mature and tacit in dealing with people. She was keenly aware of the Child¡¯s nervousness and kept her distance from him.

    Apart from discussing serious matters, the two hardly ever chatted at all. This made the Child breathe a sigh of relief.

    As for Dove¡­

    When the Child realized Dove¡¯s age range, he suddenly became less nervous.

    In the end, the tension came from caring about the other party¡¯s evaluation.

    This tension immediately became more apparent when he was alone with Miss Boffis.

    ¡°Julian, Julian!¡± Boffis said coquettishly to the silver-haired male elf whom the Child acted, ¡°Stop daydreaming. Talk to me!¡±

    The Child stood in front of the massive tree with a ive.

    Boffis put her hands behind her back and circled him and the tree, ¡°How is your [Vine Strike] practice?

    ¡°Show me, Julian!¡±

    She seemed to have inexhaustible energy, her footsteps didn¡¯t stop at all, and her voice didn¡¯t be low-spirited because the Child ignored her. Instead, she kept looking for topics, ¡°Julian, did you fail to learn it? I¡¯m quite strong, ya. Would you like me to guide you?¡±

    ¡°Hiss¡­¡± The Child gasped for breath.

    How should I put this?

    I think I¡¯m enchanted.

    ¡­I¡¯m actually interested to learn about flying.

    But if I fail to learn it, will I be exposed?

    This worry deterred the Child from saying anything too informative before learning more about the situation.

    The only good thing was that this ¡°Julian¡± he enacted seemed to be a taciturn character.

    Therefore, the Child hadn¡¯t revealed any ws yet.

    The Child was silent for a while, then murmured in a low and solemn voice, ¡°Weather¡­¡±

    ¡°Weather?¡±

    ¡°The weather is really nice today¡­¡±

    ¡°What the hell is that!???¡± The Child¡¯s words amused Boffis. Sheughed non-stop and rocked back and forth.

    Her amused reaction even made the Child wonder if everyday daily greetings were a dad joke in the context of elves.

    ¡­Is it that funny?

    However, seeing that the current atmosphere seems to have improved somewhat, the Child coughed lightly and asked cautiously, ¡°Boffis¡­ What did you eat this morning?¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Why do you ask that all of a sudden?¡± Boffis was also a little stunned by the Child¡¯s question.

    She was stunned for a while and then replied probingly, ¡°I had grilled fish, fried bread, and milk.¡±

    ¡°Ah, a hearty breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Ah, do you think I eat too much?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯m just saying¡­ Ah, could it be a little unhealthy? Because it contains too much fat¡­¡± The Child stammered a little when he spoke.

    The conversation was too confusing and awkward. Even the cheerful Boffis, who was happily circling the Child, had stopped. She looked at the Child with a puzzled expression.

    Realizing that the conversation was awkward, the Child was silent for a while, then suddenly changed another topic, ¡°Boffis, what do you like?¡±

    ¡°¡­Huh, eh?¡± Boffis felt even more confused.

    After thinking for a long time, she asked cautiously, ¡°What do I like¡­? Are you going to give me a present, Julian?

    ¡°In that case¡­ just ordinary essories. Sparkling ones, and not too expensive.¡±

    Julian¡¯s way of asking questions that were too confusing made her ponder, ¡°what exactly is Julian talking about?¡± Her hands behind her back unconsciously sped together.

    ¡°Ah, okay¡­¡± The Child was even more nervous at Boffis¡¯ response.

    He was hoping that Boffis would answer something like ¡°I like that giant machine¡± or ¡°I like the deer in the street,¡± and then he could follow along with something like ¡°What is that, tell me more?¡±

    In the end, Boffis said politely to him, ¡°I like it as long as Julian gives it to me.¡±

    ¡­So what should we do?

    How should I continue the conversation?

    It¡¯s hard to talk with people¡­

    Please, someone in the stream? Someone help me out¡­

    Wait, I better don¡¯t.

    It would be better not to activate the live stream function.

    Otherwise, they would probablyugh at me as a virgin who has never been in a rtionship¡­

    The Child hadn¡¯t even confessed to girls since school days. If there were no confession, there would be no lovelorn.

    ¡°Then, Boffis¡­¡± The Child was silent, then suddenly cut to the subject, ¡°Have you heard of Frostwhisperian?¡±

    ¡°¡­Uh?Eh? Wait, I did hear about them¡­ Are you interested in Frostwhisperian?¡± She was a little confused by the topic bumping around.

    Boffis¡¯ face was gradually tainted with fear as she took a step back subconsciously.

    Julian doesn¡¯t like to talk. Is it because he bes so strange when he talks?

    The two looked at each other, silent for a while.

    ¡°Hiss¡­¡± As if infected by the Child, Boffis couldn¡¯t help but gasp for a breath.

    She took some time to manage her emotions and chose to talk about this topic for the time being.

    She didn¡¯t know what other strange topics the Child would bring up.

    ¡°Frostwhisperian¡­ Speaking of which, my mother has a nice collection of paintings.¡± Boffis recalled and said carefully, ¡°The Elegant Elder drew the painting¡­ The painting depicts the Old Grandmother.

    ¡°That painting is amazing! The Old Grandmother can even fly in the painting and make a terrifying roar. Her roar is capable of prating out from the limits of the painting and affecting our world. She had even left frost traces on the rock floor on the street.

    ¡°If you look directly at that painting, you can acquire Advanced Influence like ¡®the Remains of the Frost Deity¡¯. That painting is in my house, but I can¡¯t show you. After all, Julian¡¯s body is still too weak. If your physique is not firm enough, the Old Grandmother in the painting may freeze you to death.¡±

    Boffis no longer suffered any sanity drop from weird topics when the Child listened to her quietly.

    She could not help but be secretly relieved and quickly found the next topic, ¡°Speaking of which, did your mother teach you how to improve your physical fitness? I¡¯m proficient in it too.¡±

    Great, the atmosphere is gradually getting better.

    It seems that I have finally be familiar with her and got some strange information.

    The Child was delighted.

    He was about to ask, ¡°How do you view your mother?¡± and wanted to ask for more information.

    But, he found it too embarrassing to talk about topics suitable after bing friends, and he didn¡¯t know how to be friends with girls.

    This is so difficult.

    The Child couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    ¡°¡­Ah, yes, by the way, Julian! Are you interested in [Wind Dancer]? Let me tell you, my profession¡­¡±

    This is too hard¡­

    Boffis was frightened by the Child¡¯s awkward chatter that she dared not stop. She could only try to find new topics while crying silently in her heart.

 Chapter 314: Boffisâ€™ Mother

    <h4>Chapter 314: Boffis¡¯ Mother</h4>

    After discussing the topic of Wind Dancer, the conversation gradually returned to normal.

    Or¡­ at least on the surface, it didn¡¯t continue to get weird.

    Suddenly, the Child blurted out, ¡°Speaking of which, I envy those who can fly.¡±

    Boffis¡¯ cheeks blushed.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that¡­¡± she whispered.

    As if feeling a little cold, she hugged her slender left arm tightly with her right hand scratching her left shoulder nervously, feeling the coolness of her fingertips.

    Her response was like the city¡¯s architecturalyout, filled with asymmetry. To put it into perspective, the city seemed to be designed in a manner to identify each other¡¯s location.

    Boffis had a strong sense of asymmetry too.

    She did not put on essories at all. He could vaguely see the left shoulder and left arm of the armpit from the side and the right arm that was tightly wrapped, even covering half of the palm. Her skirt was short, which emphasized her figure. Her white dress and heavy metal boots reaching to the knees showed an immense sense of asymmetry.

    The Child had a harshment on her, but he too was simr.

    Only at this time did the Child look at himself.

    The most conspicuous thing was the strange boots that were short on the left and long on the right.

    His trousers and tunic with two color tones appeared as if being cut right in the middle. It was purple on the left and dark blue on the right. The purple side looked like formal attire with some gold floral decorations and sharp-looking shoulder pads. On the dark blue side, it looked like everyday clothes, supple andcking in decoration¡­ and ck squares.

    It gave off a vibe of being ¡°fashionable¡±.

    The hidden meaning would be you don¡¯t usually wear that on outings.

    ¡°¡­Wait, what did you say?¡± The Child raised his head and looked at Boffis in confusion.

    He was thinking about the aesthetic style of elves in this era, and he ignored what Boffis said. In other words, it was because Boffis kept talking that the Child reacted when she was suddenly silent.

    But seeing the Child¡¯s reaction, Boffis just stomped her feet a little embarrassedly and raised her voice a little, ¡°No way, no way!

    ¡°I won¡¯t fly with you again!¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± The Child was a little flustered but then immediately stopped.

    Seeing his reaction, Boffis looked even more annoyed.

    He wasn¡¯t stupid.

    When he blurted out, he realized what Boffis had just said.

    Maybe it was something about her nning to fly with me.

    It¡¯s my fault for saying something so untimely just now. I guess what I said hinted to her like saying, ¡°I want to watch a movie¡± or something.

    The Child could tell that Boffis liked Julian.

    This should be a great chance to get close to her.

    After all, if she were to fly with him, she wouldn¡¯t be holding his neck up or installing a Take-copter [1] on him. Instead, she would hold him in her arms and fly together.

    But that can¡¯t work¡­ It¡¯s not me that Boffis likes. Instead, it¡¯s the elf youth named ¡°Julian¡± who looks like a 14- or 15-year-old human.

    Although no one (yers) will see it, I shouldn¡¯t take advantage of her.

    This is wrong because I¡¯m just a child.

    At this time, the Child was stubborn and innocent.

    Luckily, the awkward pause didn¡¯tst for long. An alluring but somewhat majestic female voice sounded afar, ¡°Julian! Boffis¡ª¡±

    The Child looked up.

    His pupils contracted slightly for a moment.

    What a stunning beauty.

    The figure in the sky had a plump but solid figure. Her waist wasn¡¯t slender, but her chest muscles and thighs were th. Under the sunlight, her exposed neck was fair. She had long silky silver hair tied into a ponytail that she draped on her left chest.

    She wore something resembling a trench coat with a stand-up cor, and her pants looked like modern cks.

    There were asymmetrical holes presented in different weird geometries on the white trench coat, and her ck sweater was exposed under those holes.

    For some reason, the Child felt dizzy just staring at the geometric patterns. Like drinking too much alcohol, the world in front of him was fuzzy.

    The only simrity the woman in front of him shared with Boffis was the heavy metal boots.

    Thedy was like a crane with an elegant coat that appeared like wings as she descended on the ground. Her boots were heavy, but that didn¡¯t bother her, and they didn¡¯t even make any noise as shended.

    ¡°Mom!¡± Boffis eximed happily, opening her arms.

    But the woman just red at Boffis. She nced at the two of them and then asked indifferently, ¡°Did you quarrel?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Boffis grumbled disapprovingly.

    The woman frowned slightly, ¡°That¡¯s a yes to me.

    ¡°¡ªDid you bully Julian again?¡±

    ¡°I just said no¡­¡± Under thedy¡¯s stare, Boffis¡¯ voice grew softer and faded away.

    This is not good.

    She has the air of a female president of the office. Why does she look like this nightmare¡¯s boss monster?

    The Child gritted his teeth and politely greeted her, ¡°Teacher.¡±

    This was the information he just got from Boffis. His teacher was Boffis¡¯ mother.

    Although the Child didn¡¯t know her name, he was aware that she should be at least in the Gold Rank.

    The woman turned her gaze to the Child.

    Only then did the child finally see her pupils clearly.

    ¡­That¡¯s definitely not a human pupil.

    Bright golden pupils were shining brilliantly. But, in those pupils, a faint blue pattern was spinning rapidly.

    Her skin exuded faint blue particles. These particles be more visible and even easier to detect with the naked eye at her eyes and fingertips.

    Are you a Gundam?

    A question arose in the Child¡¯s mind quickly.

    Shit, I almost blurted it out.

    If it weren¡¯t for the sudden tension when the Child saw her eyes.

    He had never experienced this feeling before. The fear and the oppressive feeling made his heart thump violently.

    To put it into words, it was like a pet dog encountering a wild wolf. He felt that he had almost screamed out loud.

    ¡­Or rather, it was like Pichu [2] meeting Raichu [3]?

    But what surprised the Child was that the woman just nodded to the child with satisfaction, ¡°You dare to look into my eyes¡­ Great, it seems you have be braver.

    ¡°How¡¯s [Vine Strike] practice going? Show me.¡±

    Yes¡­ The Child replied quietly in his heart without speaking out.

    He raised the ive, threw it out like a boomerang, and held it firmly when it returned. It was like pen spinning [4] during the school days.

    Then, he pointed it to the big tree not far away.

 Chapter 315: Dove Had Really Turned Into Chocolate

    <h4>Chapter 315: Dove Had Really Turned Into Chocte</h4>

    Even though it was the Child¡¯s first time using such a peculiar weapon, he did not find it unfamiliar.

    After all, the [Elven Swordsmanship] epassed this weapon.

    This ive, in Boffis words, seemed to be called a ¡®ring de¡¯.

    It had the appearance of a ded h hoop, a grip on the back, and an opening on the front. Since it was circr, it could easily block and parry enemy attacks. Those highly skilled could even utilize it to hook the enemy¡¯s weapon and then disarm them.

    The des on the sides were firm for blocking, while the des on the inside were sharper and thinner. While approaching the enemy from behind, there was the option to hook the enemy¡¯s neck in and then exert pressure on the right hand to decapitate the enemy through the sharp de at the front part of the inner ring.

    There was no doubt that this weapon required great mastery and a bnced attribute distribution.

    It was a prerequisite to have enough strength in utilizing its capability to block, disarm and dismember the enemy. Moreover, agility yed a role for the user to maneuver this weapon flexibly and grab the handle while it was spinning. Of course, its unique shape drained stamina quicker than wielding the typical sword.

    The ive was clearly a weapon only suitable for the Transcended with a bnce attribute distribution.

    However, since there was a higher requirement on attributes, it was much stronger than a standard sword, given theparison was under the same amount of strength.

    After all, the weapon had made use of the three primary attributes.

    Also, the weapon was much handier than a rapier.

    The Child had the confidence for meleebat with this weapon.

    After exiting the nightmare, I should ask Annan for help to get a weapon like this. This thought surfaced in the Child¡¯s mind.

    While many thoughts crossed his mind, he didn¡¯t stop what he was doing with his hands.

    He raised the ive and waved it around.

    The ive in his hand spun rapidly in the air.

    The tree in front of him, with a diameter of nearly two meters, was covered with dark green vines in the blink of an eye. In less than two seconds, these vines entangled the treeyer byyer, and even the branches were bound inward by it, making a crunching wooden sound.

    At the same time, the Child felt the mysterious power in his body was draining rapidly. The overall cost efficiency was like he was activating three [Vine Strikes] at the same time.

    How is it so costly?

    Even the Child was startled.

    Soon, he quickly realized the situation. If the ive was Forest Walker¡¯s designated weapon, he should be able toplete the vertical or horizontal ¡°swing¡± required by the skill [Vine Strike] with the ive.

    For each rotation, its cost was simr to swinging the sword two or three times.

    A thought suddenly popped into the Child¡¯s mind.

    If I had a ive in my hand instead of a rapier against Jude, I would be able to hold on for a longer time.

    Of course, my stamina will be exhausted at a faster rate.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine now, Julian.¡± The woman nodded with satisfaction, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re working hard.¡±

    After she finished speaking, she red at Boffis again, ¡°It¡¯s just you beingzy every day!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Boffis retorted in a low volume.

    The Child was quite familiar with this scene.

    ¡­Oh my God.

    One day, I want to be someone¡¯s child too¡­

    The woman reprimanded Boffis for a few words and then said to the Child, ¡°Julian, you have mastered [Geo Strike], [Hydro Strike], and [Vine Strike], right?

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s time to teach you the next stage of swordsmanship. After all, you still have to promote your profession into [Wind Dancer] after attaining soul condensation. Let¡¯s try tomunicate with the power of the atmosphere first.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the swordsmanship I invented, [Aero Strike].¡±

    ¡°¡ªDamn, this Child¡­¡±

    Annan, who was on his journey, was affected by the Child¡¯s awkward chatter. He couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous while watching the stream.

    This fellow is really talented.

    Although the stream posted on the forum was interrupted after the Child entered the nightmare, Annan could still spectate the situation with the system¡¯s backend interface.

    Then, Annan was shocked.

    He was stunned by how the Child chatted with Boffis.

    After dealing with the ¡°how¡¯s the weather¡± deck, the Child asked ¡°Do you have a favorite weather?¡±, then there came the questions ¡°What did you eat this morning¡±, ¡°What¡¯s your favorite thing to do¡±, and suddenly pushed the topic to ¡°Have you heard of Frostwhisperian?¡±

    Annan thought the Child was interrogating her.

    The Child seemed to be using an interrogation technique by asking many questions to distract the target before surprising the target with a critical question.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t just a normal virgin. Does he suffer from social anxiety or phobia of women?¡±

    But why don¡¯t you get nervous when talking to Boffis¡¯ mother?

    So, you¡¯re lusting for Boffis, aren¡¯t you?

    Or do you think her mother is not good-looking?

    Compared to the Child, Miss Boffis was as gentle as an angel.

    Faced with such a strange topic that was provocative, she wasn¡¯t angry but was trying to find a topic so that the Child would not appear too embarrassed.

    This kindness was not for the Child but the ¡°Julian¡± whom the Child enacted. However, she still appeared to be a kind soul.

    ¡°In this case, it is indeed possible to guide Citalopram to learn the divine art of the [Backup Dancer of Death Howl].¡± Annan thought for a moment and nodded.

    Boffis should be able to bring information on ways to acquire the Silver Rank profession [Wind Dancer], which would allow the user to step on thin air and fly freely.

    With this information, the rest of the yers had more options for advancement.

    Is this profession an ancient version of ¡°Windrunner¡±?

    Or is it still the same profession, but the name is different because of different times?

    On the other side, Dove and Suuankou finally entered the fogged door.

    The two of them, like Citalopram, did not enter the nightmare but sessfully reached the ruins.

    But at this time, something strange happened on Dove¡¯s side.

    ¡°¡­Meow?¡± Dove raised her ws and scratched nkly at the empty air.

    She could see a young girl sitting beside her, who came over to smell her and licked her forehead.

    Suuankou, on the side, looked over in confusion, ¡°Dove, what are you doing?¡±

    Before finishing his words, ¡°Dove¡± suddenly stood up from the ground, leaned against his chest, and sniffed.

    The overly intimate action made Suuankou silent for a moment.

    He wanted to push ¡°Dove¡± away gently but was bitten by ¡°Dove¡±.

    Suuankou was speechless.

    ¡°Meow¡ª¡°

    Dove meowed again, jumped over, and grabbed Suuankou. Then, Suuankou was bombarded with notifications in the forum.

    After a while, Suuankou finally realized that someone had tagged him.

    ¡°¡ªHelp, I have switched body with the cat!¡±

    Doveined loudly, ¡°Is this a Bug? This is a Bug, right!? How do I change back!?¡±

    After passing through this fogged door, Dove wondered if some abnormal condition had been triggered.

    After a strong sense of dizziness, she swapped bodies with her animalpanion, the serval she named ¡°Chocte¡± without warning.

 Chapter 316: Chocolate Or Dove?

    <h4>Chapter 316: Chocte Or Dove?</h4>

    ¡°¡ªFuck, she has changed!¡±

    ¡°¡ªCome on, it¡¯s Chocte who has changed!¡±

    ¡°¡ªFuck off. It¡¯s Chocte is using my body!¡±

    Dove screamed in exasperation and fought with the yers watching the mess on the forum.

    She was infuriated because she usually wouldn¡¯t suffer a bitter end like this at all.

    She couldn¡¯t believe it. How is this happening?

    ¡°Sister Dove?¡± Suuankou squatted down cautiously and looked at the panicking serval, ¡°Think of the good news, at least you won¡¯t be too tired¡­ Should I carry you away in my arms? Or you can have Chocte (the pet possessing Dove¡¯s body) to carry you¡­¡±

    Then, the wild cat immediately went for Suuankou¡¯s face with sharp ws.

    ¡°Meow¡ª¡± Dove looked up and growled sharply.

    On the forum, the ¡°meows¡± were tranted at the same time, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! Don¡¯t touch Chocte either!¡±

    Suuankou felt wronged.

    Before that, he had no problem with physical contact with Dove and Chocte. Dove was like an elder sister, and her attitude was gentle to him; Chocte had always been close to him. That was why it leaned over to sniff him.

    Howe no physical touch is allowed after the person and the cat swapped bodies?

    After watching this scene unfold, the forum went crazy.

    No matter whether they were busy or not¡­ except for the Child who was temporarily disconnected from the system, their friends had summoned them online to watch Dove changing into a cat.

    This had further embarrassed Dove, especially when her student ¡ª Delicious Wind Goose, couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°To be honest¡­ I think you¡¯re cuter as a cat.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat the hell!¡± Citalopram, ¡°Don¡¯t you think Chocte is cuter now, Dove?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou wait for me!¡±

    ¡°¡ªCan you take care of my body?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHehehehe, I will take care of it¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright¡­¡­¡±

    Suuankou quickly stopped the crowd, ¡°Let¡¯s not get engrossed with the forum. We should hurry. Citalopram is still lying on the street.

    ¡°I won¡¯t touch you for now. Why don¡¯t you let the Chocte take you? Since you just swapped bodies, maybe you¡¯re not quite used to it? How about you get into the backpack? That way, we can go faster.¡±

    Suuankou said so, but the corner of his mouth raised slightly.

    I can¡¯t help it. It¡¯s a little funny to see Dove in this state.

    But I can¡¯tugh, or else the cat will scratch me.

    Dove was silent for a while and found that she couldn¡¯tmunicate without the forum. So she had to use the trantion, ¡°No, I¡¯ll use this body. Chocte sprints quite fast.

    ¡°I can also direct Chocte to move forward. Don¡¯t bother!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but meow.

    Chocte imitated Dove¡¯s usual movements, squatted down, and touched Dove.

    Dove raised her head in astonishment and looked at Chocte.

    This scene almost made Suuankouugh out loud.

    Suuankou coughed lightly, tried his best to suppress the almost uncontrobleughter, and said with a serious face, ¡°Maybe this will be resolved once we get out of here. Dove, look at the bright side. Maybe it¡¯s your chance to transfer to a rare profession?¡±

    ¡°¡­ A Meow Druid? Or the Serval [1]?¡±

    [TN: Kemono Friends reference.]

    Dove lowered her head pessimistically and sighed, ¡°I¡¯m obviously a beast hunter¡­¡±

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that much different now.

    Dove added all the experience gained from killing Jude to the [Hunter] profession and put all the skill points she obtained onto the [Shared Perception] skill, sessfully raising it to Level 7.

    [Shared Perception LV 7: You canmunicate seamlessly with your animalpanion within 350 meters and exchange visual inputs after a short dy.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: There is no longer a dy in switching visual input, and the function is furtherplemented with the sense of smell and hearing.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV7: You can exchange your sense of touch at the same time when you switch visual perspective with your animalpanion. No stamina is consumed when you activate this skill.]

    After raising the skill to Level 7, Dove could switch between her senses with Chocte at any time.

    Although the skill could be activated without consumption, maintaining the effect would still consume her energy.

    However, if the perspective switching was frequent enough, she had barely switched back to her real body in a sense.

    Simply put, it was multitasking.

    However, the exchange of consciousness required a certain level of authority.

    So, it wasn¡¯t entirely urate to say it was an exchange of consciousness but its projection.

    Chocte couldn¡¯t control her body at will, and it could onlyplete the previous action. On the other hand, Dove could control Chocte¡¯s body and n 1 action before swapping out her consciousness.

    For example, Dove could maintain a specific movement before switching her consciousness back. After she deactivated the skill, Chocte would continue the action with her intelligence and instinct until the purpose of the action waspleted or Dove issued a newmand again.

    If there were no othermands after that, Chocte would move freely.

    Dove initially used this skill to control the Chocte¡¯s cat body, locate the enemy, distract the enemy¡¯s attention, or simplyunch a sneak attack independently.

    She also frequently practiced ¡°controlling¡± Chocte¡¯s body movements in previous training.

    At that time, Dove still found the experience quite new. Therefore, she also dedicated her practice to enhancing the utilization of the serval¡¯s body for sneaking andunching attacks.

    Given Dove¡¯s intelligence and judgment, the attacks she issued while controlling Chocte were far more cunning and unpredictable than the attacks Chocteunched.

    She muttered at that time if only she could be a cat.

    But, she didn¡¯t expect her words were the g that made this event happen.

    Her training on using the cat¡¯s body wasmitted out of sheer fun. However, it was put into good use for her at this stage.

    ¡°Dove¡± was still a beast hunter.

    The only difference was that she changed from a range shooter to a melee hunter.

    Before the two-person and the one cat set off, Dove put a nearby tree as a target and did an experiment.

    What surprised her was that her cooperation and Chocte improved herbat power a little.

    Her shooting skills were instinctive.

    Her senses on the bow and arrow seemed to have been inherited from her previous world.

    Even if Dove didn¡¯t project her consciousness, Chocte could use her body to shoot like a regr archer without aiming.

    It was like Dove¡¯s level when she shot only with her senses and when she didn¡¯t aim.

    Simply put, Chocte just didn¡¯t aim.

    Compared with Chocte, Dove used the serval¡¯s body much more efficiently.

    As an animalpanion, the attributes of Chocte also increased alongside Dove¡¯s level. It was just that it wouldn¡¯t acquire a new skill without special training and ritual.

    ¡ªBut the stupid Chocte didn¡¯t make use of its three abilities, [Nightvision], [Silent Steps], and [Stealth Proficiency].

    After Dove utilized the cat¡¯s body, it was almost equivalent to an additional rogue character added to the team.

    The price was only that the original Dove had changed from a longbow sniper and an excellent short-range archer to a pure and excellent short-range archer.

    All she lost was the ability to shoot at a distance of 100 meters, but the serval¡¯s control did seem better than the typical ¡°AI¡±.

    What¡¯s going on? Why do I suddenly feel like everything is so great? A strange thought popped up in Dove¡¯s mind.

    Speaking of it¡­

    Under the current circumstances, was the trigger Chocte or Dove for the curse that she newly obtained?

 Chapter 317: Doveâ€™s Jealousy Over Chocolateâ€™s Skill

    <h4>Chapter 317: Dove¡¯s Jealousy Over Chocte¡¯s Skill</h4>

    Dove quickly calmed down after surrendering to the feeling of embarrassment initially.

    Sure enough, part of the reason she calmed down was that she realized that she didn¡¯t lose anything.

    Instead, she had gained some benefits.

    So on their way to find Citalopram¡¯s body, Dove concentrated on the hands-on teaching for Chocte through the exchange of consciousness.

    Well, it was really hands-on training. She personally controlled her own body remotely to teach Chocte.

    She had a pessimistic view of it. If she couldn¡¯t swap back to her main body in the future, she would at least have Chocte take good care of her reputation.

    It was still a trivial matter for Chocte to nibble on someone every now and then with the human body. Anyway, the human teeth were t. It wouldn¡¯t inflict an injury on someone so easily, plus having a pretty girl do it was excusable. Instead, the act of nibbling seemed flirty.

    What Dove focused on was to stop Chocte from making a mess on the floor, urinating randomly, and licking acquaintances.

    Even though Chocte was a female cat, she was pretty clever.

    With this hands-on teaching, Chocte quickly corrected some of the habits she used to have as a cat.

    For example, the first habit that Chocte corrected was squatting on the ground. Human bones were not suited for them to maintain such a pose.

    The serval had a habit of sneaking and stalking prey with its head held high in the grass.

    After having her pet possess her body, she corrected its habit and changed it to standing upright and looking into the distance with her feet on tiptoe.

    It still looked weird, but it was better than squatting on the ground or someone else¡¯s shoe.

    After that, Dove quickly corrected the habit of licking her hands and cleaning her face with saliva.

    On the other hand, Dove started to have a vague desire to lick her paws.

    ¡°¡ªSuuankou, I saw it!¡± Dove let out a meow. After attracting Suuankou¡¯s attention, she wrote on the forum, ¡°I see Citalopram¡¯s body. It¡¯s right ahead.¡±

    ¡°Oh, then let¡¯s hurry up¡­¡± Suuankou nodded, his footsteps hurried.

    Without Dove distracted from controlling it, Choct followed Suuankou¡¯s pace obediently.

    Although unwilling, Dove had to admit that Chocte¡¯s body was handy.

    The night vision ability alone made her a little jealous.

    Although [Animal Companion] was structured based on animals, they were notpletely wild animals. Instead, they were ¡°living vessels¡± that gradually integrated their life with the hunter.

    Not only would the living vessels have their lifespan adjusted with the human, but their shorings that were inferior to human attributes would gradually be ovee along with the attribute points increment brought by their human.

    But even so, the average [Hunter] would not nurture their profession in the direction of bing a [Beast Hunter].

    The reason was simple. The animalpanion that was easier to move about would be weaker than humans. Those stronger animals would be bigger in size, like brown bears or big cats, which were inconvenient to bring around. Worse still, they could be poisoned easily because of theirck of intelligence.

    The more practical problem was that the average hunter simply couldn¡¯tmunicate with powerful animals.

    Strong hunters didn¡¯t need animalpanions. All they did was hunt and get more curses; for weaker hunters, they couldn¡¯t even fulfill the ritual for an animalpanion.

    Taming a wild animal required one¡¯s own effort and power, especially when they were unlike pets. In the effort of taming an animalpanion, he couldn¡¯t allow the target to be exposed to another human. On this basis, he had to feed his blood to his animal continuously every day until the blood volume fed was equal to his total blood volume.

    At that time, the soul of this wild animal would be bound by the Oath Power, and the souls of the two would be intertwined with each other.

    Like the curse, the oath was also a part of the power of this world.

    As the animal gradually became stronger, thepatibility between humans and animals would rise progressively.

    But there was a problem.

    Compared with ordinary hunters, the hunters who focused on nurturing their animalpanion could hardly improve themselves. Once their animalpanion was killed, their strength would immediately plummet.

    But these two problems did not apply to Dove.

    In Salvatore¡¯s evaluation, her archery skill was regarded as the top in the world.

    Moreover, Chocte enjoyed the privilege of respawning.

    When Chocte died, there would be no dead body left behind.

    It would turn to ck ashes like the yer and then immediately rematerialize not far away.

    The death of Chocte would also cause Dove to lose experience. But probably it was because the cost of rematerializing Chocte¡¯s body was rtively cheap or because of its small size¡­ Every time Chocte died, it would only cause Dove to drop about ? of her experience points.

    Dove couldn¡¯t help but feel a little happy about it.

    If the animalpanion she chose at the beginning was a brown bear, she lost more than 1 level after it died once.

    No matter from the perspective ofbat power, size, or weight, the experience consumed by a brown bear in one death should be more than her.

    With the improvement of Dove¡¯s level, many problemsing from Chocte¡¯s physique would be alleviated.

    For example, the increment of strength, the relief of short-sightedness, and so on.

    The serval was outstanding in its dynamic vision, and its vision could reach rtively far in the cat family. However, this vision range was still considered closepared to humans, not to mention Dove¡¯s visionary function at the elite level among humans.

    The good news was that the serval still retained a remarkable dynamic vision.

    Coupled with the ¡°Transcended¡± ability that Dove chose initially, she unexpectedly discovered that she could see everything clearly within a radius of about 60 meters.

    Everything was clear, just like during the day.

    As a matter of fact, this ce was dark.

    ¡°Chocte is a stupid cat.¡± Doveined in the forum, ¡°Isn¡¯t this body much better than mine?

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Chocte utilize [Sneak] before. Look here, Brother Koutsu¡ª¡± After losing the ability to speak in humannguage, Dove became a little talkative.

    After Suuankou looked over, he saw that Dove¡¯s cat body was slightly lowered. Under some light distortion, it gradually lost its color and became transparent.

    Even though there were still traces when it moved, it was only visible under Suuankou¡¯s [Eagle Eye] property under his skill called [Skillful Hands].

    It seemed Dove¡¯s [Sneak] would be unchallenged against ordinary Transcended.

    ¡°Chocte seems quite strong.¡± Suuankou praised, ¡°I hardly notice it.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIsn¡¯t that so? It has such a great skill, but this stupid cat didn¡¯t use it.¡±

    Doveined, ¡°It also didn¡¯t leverage on [Silent Steps]. It¡¯s annoying. I should have picked a passive skill that increases movement speed.¡±

    She suddenly didn¡¯t want to change back to herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal. Like when I y games, I rarely use shortcut keys and items in the inventory¡­¡± Suuankou defended the cat.

    Soon, they walked up to Citalopram¡¯s body.

    Looking at Citalopram, who was curled up on the ground as if she had lost her soul, Dove couldn¡¯t help but let out a meow ughter).

    She looks so funny, helpless like a doll¡­ She can¡¯t wake up and has no consciousness. No matter how we y with her, she won¡¯t wake up.

    She walked gracefully to Citalopram, opening her mouth as if to bite her throat.

    Then, she changed consciousness back to her human body and took a screenshot.

    She walked up to Citalopram again and licked her lips with the cat¡¯s body.

    Then, she took another screenshot under the human vision again.

    Just when Dove was ted with her pose, Citalopram sent a reply on the forum: ¡°¡ªDo you think it¡¯s quite erotic? I think so too.¡±

    Dove: ¡°What?¡±

    Citalopram: ¡°I¡¯m talking about myself. Look at my body lying on the ground like this without any consciousness¡­¡±

    Dove: ¡°Huh?¡°

    Dove was a little dumbfounded.

    Is this something that can be posted on the forum?

    I have a shameful photo of you being kissed by a cat. Aren¡¯t you going to be embarrassed?

    Dove tried her best to contain her shame and raised her tail subconsciously.

    Then, she looked back at Suuankou.

    But Suuankou also looked down at her nkly, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Dove was speechless.

    What¡¯s going on with these young people?

    Am I out of date?

    Or¡­ am I being too conservative¡­?

    Dove, a seventeen-year-old and two-month-old girl, finally realized that she didn¡¯t seem to be young and wild anymore.

    At this moment, the time in the zone with the fogged gate reached 9 p.m.

    The yers had spent one hour within the Fogged Gate.

    A mystical but somewhat pleasant hymn came to Dove, Citalopram, and Suuankou¡¯s ears simultaneously without warning.

    In this ruin, the rubble scattered everywhere and constantly emitting the azure blue light had started to change.

    The brilliance on the stone fluctuated as if it was breathing along with the hymn.

 Chapter 318: Annan On His Self-directed Act

    <h4>Chapter 318: Annan On His Self-directed Act</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s breathing like an LED breathing light¡­¡± Looking at the flickering brilliance on the street, Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but mutter.

    The city had long been in ruins. There were no signs of its buildings.

    All he could see were rubble strewn across the street. Even the street itself barely had a distinguishable outline.

    Suuankou narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Thinking of this, he suddenly realized a problem.

    The buildings here seemed to be destroyed too neatly.

    The streets and gravel were scattered on the ground, giving off a hint that this ce was once a city.

    However, all the buildings were no exception, where they were destroyed neatly to the extent that it was impossible to distinguish the building type.

    Although he didn¡¯t know why the city had be what it was now, it was too unnatural.

    If it was a meteorite rain, there should be houses surviving with higher structural integrity; if it was a massive earthquake, there should be rtively strong houses that survived through it. If it were fire, tsunami, or other natural disasters¡­ and even if the sky fell to the Earth, there should be some small houses that were less damaged.

    But here, all buildings were brought to ruins to the same degree.

    The destruction was just enough to destroy all traces of life in each house, but the visitors were still able to realize there were buildings in this ce.

    Seeing that Suuankou¡¯s expression became serious, Dove also walked to Suuankou¡¯s feet and let out a meow. She posted on the forum, ¡°It feels like it was man-made¡­ right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Suuankou nodded, ¡°I watched your recordings and live streams for the past few days and supplemented myself with the knowledge of this world. I thought such an apparent artificial trace seems to be hinting that it isn¡¯t as simple as removing all traces of life.

    ¡°Combining the information obtained by Citalopram, I guess this may be a kind of ritual.¡±

    ¡°Ritual?¡± Dove asked suspiciously.

    Suuankou nodded, ¡°Brother Child should have entered into a nightmare.

    ¡°What I¡¯m thinking is that if the elves make such a ritual area just to preserve the legacy and knowledge of the past, then there must be more than one ¡®nightmare hard disk¡¯.

    ¡°Strange enough, the ck Tower doesn¡¯t seem to know about this. Judging from the information shared by Longjing Tea and Salvatore, ck Tower is only utilizing this ce as an Influence Pool for extracting influence. It means that ck Tower doesn¡¯t know the elves have nightmares that store the knowledge from the past.¡±

    ¡°¡­I agree. That¡¯s a valid deduction.¡± Dove nodded.

    Other yers who were lured into the stream by Dove¡¯s prank also discussed about the matter in bullet texts:

    ¡°¡ªI think there¡¯s probably something sealed in this ce?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIs it possible that Boffis is a boss monster?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t think so. Instead, I think Boffis might be a key.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s also possible that Boffis has been hiding from the ck Tower¡¯s wizards, so the wizards don¡¯t know about her existence.¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo, no, it¡¯s also possible that Boffis is special. Only the Pale Princess¡¯s priestesses can see her¡­¡±

    Seeing the discussion moved to this stage, Annan couldn¡¯t help but post:

    ¡°¡ªIt has nothing to do with Boffis. It¡¯s expected that ck Tower can¡¯t see her because the elves have Silver Rank¡¯s soul. Ordinary wizards can¡¯t detect them at all.¡±

    This was indeed the truth.

    It was like Bronze Rank¡¯s Transcended could see Citalopram, but ordinary people couldn¡¯t.

    Annan thought at first that Transcended should be able to see spirits.

    However, Old Vasily quickly debunked his thoughts.

    Before getting the Book of Truth, he could only see other souls when his soul rank was one rank higher than the target. This had nothing to do with the Perception attribute but the soul rank alone.

    ck Tower might not bepletely unaware of it.

    Because what Salvatore said to Annan at the beginning was that he could acquire ¡°Basic Influence: Remains of the Soul of Silver¡± here.

    The influence of the ¡°Remains of Soul¡± series meant that this wizard hade into contact with the soul of Silver Rank and had been entangled or even possessed by it.

    In other words, ck Tower should have long known that there were many elves here, all existing in the soul state.

    Judging from the security level of this ruin and the fact that Salvatore could directly tell Annan about this relic, it was most likely because the ck Tower¡¯s wizards were convinced that they could not enter this public nightmare.

    In this case, the Child could enter the nightmare probably because of his profession as [Forest Walker], something the elves had left behind.

    The wizard tower itself was a cloud library. Therefore, the knowledge that had existed since the third era must be preserved.

    In this case, those sent to collect influences here were most likely on errands.

    The ck Tower tutors would onlye in person to collect the influence if it was a requirement for them to use their body as the vessel of the influence.

    For example, the Pale Princess was the Deity of Ghosts and Spirits¡­ And only Citalopram could have the privilege of perceiving Boffis.

    Suuankou saw Annan¡¯s bullet text and immediately shouted, ¡°Hey, wait, everyone, stop for a while. There¡¯s a wise man in the bullet text.

    ¡°Ya, this guy. He said that the elves have Silver Rank souls, but the Silver Rank Wizards can¡¯t identify them. I think what you said makes sense. The others, please be quiet first. Can you tell us more?¡±

    What the fuck!?

    What kind of eyes are these? How do you identify me directly from the bombardment of the bullet text?

    Annan was bewildered.

    But he thought about it for a moment and realized it was fine to share more.

    It just so happened to be a good chance for him to influence the yers¡¯ actions.

    ¡°¡ªThink about it. The truth is simple.¡±

    ¡°¡ªSince ck Tower does not send a professional team to conduct testing in this ce, it can only be because no wandering spirits survived in the normal model of ¡®specimen storage¡¯.¡±

    ¡°¡ªOnly when the ck Tower has never sent someone here to analyze will Boffis remain undetected. Even if it is true that only the Pale Princess¡¯s priestess can see the spiritual body, the ck Tower won¡¯t struggle to hire a Half-dead Enchantress at all. Also, Citalopram hasn¡¯t yet acquired a new divine art. Thus, the other priestess can definitely see Boffis when she already can.

    ¡°¡ªSince Boffis is in such a rare situation, there must be something causing it to happen¡­

    ¡°¡ªso I specte that there should be something sealed here, or at least something that would cause Boffis to be in trouble.¡±

    Annan finished a long paragraph of bullet texts in one go.

    He then sent a side mission directly to Suuankou, Citalopram, and Dove.

    [You¡¯re granted a side mission: Search for specimen storage III-251-11]

    [Mission requirement: Collect Frostwhisperian¡¯s frozen blood (0/1), investigate what has happened here (0/1)]

    [Hint: One yer in the team is in an abnormal timeline.]

    Suuankou¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, ¡°Fuck, he is our wise man!¡±

    Annan issued this mission to validate the spection he had just made, thus revealing some unconventional information to the yers. For example, Wandering Child had entered the dungeon instance, but the yers didn¡¯t know it.

    The other reason was that Annan wanted to hold the yers¡¯ group back because he would be there soon.

 Chapter 319: Sacred Bones

    <h4>Chapter 319: Sacred Bones</h4>

    ¡°¡­the special items or events that my n didn¡¯t notice, which might have caused me to be left behind and not involved in the ritual?¡±

    Reluctantly, Boffis repeated Citalopram¡¯s words.

    Thisplicated long sentence was tooplex for a ghost who was only over a thousand years old.

    After all, Citalopram didn¡¯t speak Elvish.

    The two of them managed to interact because Citalopram, as a Half-dead Enchantress, couldmunicate with all ghosts. However, this conversation happened with anguage barrier.

    Citalopram could understand Boffis¡¯ words easily. However, in Boffis¡¯ perspective, what Citalopram said was incoherent, seemingly tranted by artificial intelligence.

    Hence, she had repeated it twice before Boffis finally understood what she meant.

    Boffis tilted her head and came into deep thoughts, ¡°If I were to pick out something within the criteria¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, have you thought of something rted?¡± Seeing Boffis in deep thought, Citalopram asked in a pleasant surprise.

    She asked probingly under Suuankou¡¯s guidance.

    The oue seemed to be giving her some hints.

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Boffis bit her thumb and thought frowningly, ¡°I don¡¯t remember it clearly¡­ Come with me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Boffis.¡± Citalopram decided to follow up with the opportunity, ¡°I¡¯m here to collect a cursed material called [Frostwhisperian¡¯s Frozen Blood]. Do you know where it is?¡±

    ¡°Do you have friends who want to advance into [Frostwhisperian]?¡±

    Boffis was a little surprised, ¡°That person must have the element affinity to the Lord of Frost?¡±

    ¡°Yup, he should be.¡± Citalopram replied in uncertainty, ¡°He is the heir to the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop! Not to mention Austere-Winter Dukedom, I don¡¯t even know what the Austere-Winter Kingdom is¡­¡±

    Boffis said helplessly, ¡°My knowledge of the outside world nowes from the small talk of the wizards who came here¡­¡±

    ¡°Then do you know [Old Grandmother]?¡±

    Boffis replied with some nostalgia, ¡°Certainly, my mother even collected a portrait of the Old Grandmother before. I saw that painting when I was a child. The Old Grandmother in the painting can move, talk and growl. Only the Elegant Elder could draw this kind of moving painting in our day. Can the people in this era do that easily now?¡±

    ¡°¡­No, at least I haven¡¯t seen something like that.¡± Citalopram was silent for a while before replying ¡°no¡± against her will.

    She almost blurted out, ¡°Yes, I see it every day, but we usually call this kind of animate painting a silly meme.gif¡±.

    ¡°Ok¡­¡± Boffis looked at Citalopram suspiciously. She obviously noticed Citalopram¡¯s wavering and hesitation. Still, she wisely brushed it off and continued, ¡°Later, my mother sold the painting to a dragon to store the sacred bone in exchange for 40 pax of dragon blood.¡±

    ¡°What is a sacred bone?¡± Citalopram suddenly heard an unprecedented term that was never seen on the forum.

    With Dove and Suuankou¡¯s prompting, the number of yers watching her live broadcast increased sharply.

    Annan was like the security guard in the CCTV room. He had several windows lined up before him, and he diverted his attention over here.

    He had never heard of this term either.

    This sounds a bit like a holy relic or something.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal that you haven¡¯t heard of it, and I¡¯ve only heard it once or twice,¡± Boffis answered without hesitation.

    She nced at Citalopram, thought for a while, and asked, ¡°Have you heard of the saints in your timeline?¡±

    ¡°No, I have never heard of them at all.¡± Citalopram shook her head.

    Boffis said with a bitter face, ¡°Do I have to start from the beginning? You should know about the principle of curse, right?¡±

    Should I say I know or I don¡¯t know?

    ¡°¡­Ah, I know it roughly.¡± Citalopram paused and replied in a low volume.

    Boffis breathed a sigh of relief and then exined, ¡°Generally speaking, the saints refer to those great sages who have disclosed their curses to everyone. Since they have many secret keepers, their souls will hardly be eroded.

    ¡°But not everyone who exposes their curses to the public can be a saint because many people don¡¯t disclose their curses because they have outstanding willpower and excellent character. They did it more so because they were insignificant, and their curses were hard to exploit.

    ¡°To be a saint, the host must first reach the ¡®Dyed¡¯ rank andplete the ¡®Dyeing¡¯ of the soul. After that, the host will execute the saint¡¯s covenant and integrate the sacred bone into his body.

    ¡°For every tenfold increment in the number of secret keepers, the increase of erosion rate in nightmares or when using forbidden power will be reduced by half. Also, they are protected by the oath power, thus reducing the curse that came from the ritual by half. Moreover, the Transcended born from curses can hardly harm the saint.

    ¡°Under this magic, the sacred bone will provide great power to the saints since it contains the umted power from the previous saint.¡±

    ¡°That sounds pretty strong.¡± Citalopram was a little tempted.

    That¡¯s kind of like a magic engraving?

    Boffis shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s really strong, but the sacred bones are rare. There were only six sacred bones in our time, and these bones don¡¯t acknowledge just anyone randomly.

    ¡°If a saint deviates from the Covenant of Saint, the power obtained from the sacred bone will be lost. If the saint always follows the covenant, they will gradually be feared by people.¡±

    ¡°¡­Why?¡± Citalopram found it a little odd.

    If the saints were the strongest Transcended who made their weaknesses public and walked the ground to purify nightmares, people should love them more than fear them.

    Boffis sighed and exined, ¡°The virtue of a sacred bone will remain no matter what. In order to acquire the recognition of a sacred bone, it is necessary to establish a covenant that can persuade the sacred bone. You can see the sacred bone as an ¡®inheritable¡¯ deity slot.

    ¡°At the start, the sacred bone is what was left after the death of a saint who voluntarily gave up on an ascendancy ritual and disclosed the curse after his truth was perfected. The sacred bone is thenbeled as the crystallization of one¡¯s soul and the Book of Truth. The bone is nothing more than helping out the saints of future generations.

    ¡°For this reason, the concept held by the sacred bone itself cannot be entirely positive. The covenant was created to restrain this highest level curse¡­ the ultimate form of the oath power.

    ¡°The deities will alsomit a covenant at the end of the ascendancy ritual. But He usually only tells His covenant to His pope, and it is passed down from generation to generation of the pope. The saint will make their covenant public. But no matter how beloved the saint is, there will always be opposers.

    ¡°For example, there is a saint in our time whose theme was ¡®Benevolence¡¯. And he was a really good guy, overly benevolent¡­ Even for his enemy, he would forgive and try to save those who want to harm him. He would rather suffer alone and save others from hell. He crossed a desert to the empire to help more people.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a nice guy,¡±mented Citalopram.

    She added in her heart, ¡°I think he has three disciples too.¡±

    [TN: Easter egg to Journey to the West.]

    ¡°But the covenant he swore was to never kill anyone. And he was eventually angered by a wicked viin. The moment he killed someone, the sacred bone abandoned him.¡±

    It sounds like the sacred bone has silly judgment.

    Or is it to me the benevolent saint for being too strict with the covenant?

    Citalopram frowned slightly, not knowing what to say.

    She was silent for a while and then asked, ¡°So, the sacred bone here¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you remember what I just said about the source of the first sacred bone?¡± Miss Boffis asked rhetorically.

    Citalopram was taken aback, ¡°No way¡­¡±

    Boffis nodded and admitted it.

    ¡°What my mother got back then was the first sacred bone in history.

    ¡°¡ªIts attribute is, [Justice].¡±

 Chapter 320: People Of Osser

    <h4>Chapter 320: People Of Osser</h4>

    ¡°The very first sacred bone¡­¡± Citalopram muttered.

    Although she had no idea about the power of the sacred bone, it didn¡¯t affect her understanding of what this concept was.

    She knew that the ¡°Dyeing¡± mentioned in the Third Age was the Gold Rank in their original timeline.

    In a sense, the Gold Rank was a requirement to be eligible for ¡°sacred bone¡±, which was equivalent to the rank signifying the highest level of Transcended power ¡ª divinity. Also, the sacred bone was sacred, impossible to mass-produce, and non-renewable.

    Despite all that, Boffis¡¯ mother had the capability to possess a sacred bone.

    Most importantly, the sacred bone was the oldest and theoretically the most potent ¡°Justice¡± bone!

    Even if it couldn¡¯t be awakened, it had a tremendous value as a collection. This was probably one of the most valuable treasures in this world.

    ¡°Is your mother a big shot?¡± Citalopram asked cautiously.

    Could it be that Boffis was the eldest daughter of an affluent elf family?

    Seeing Citalopram appearing nervous, Boffis couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter.

    When she smiled, she politely covered her mouth with the sleeve of her right arm, showing a vaguely noble temperament.

    ¡°It depends on what you think~¡± The corners of Boffis¡¯ mouth twitched.

    She floated around Citalopram for ap. Her white gauze skirt swayed in the air like a fishtail and lightly patted Citalopram¡¯s face.

    If Boffis is still alive, I must be able to smell her scent¡­

    But because both of them were in a soul state now, Citalopram could only vaguely feel a slight sense of contact. It felt like the hot smoke from a scented candle pressing on the face.

    Citalopram reached out without hesitation, grabbed Boffis¡¯ skirt, and wanted to pull it to her side.

    ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± Boffis let out a cute scream and quickly reached out to hold down her skirt, begging for mercy, ¡°Stop, Miss Citalopram!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nobody else here¡­¡±

    ¡°But the yers are watching too!¡±

    Boffis groaned continuously.

    At this time, Citalopram realized that those yers were looking.

    She couldn¡¯t help but click her tongue and gently let Boffis go.

    Your dress is so lewd. Why are you shy?

    So she licked her lips again.

    Intimidated by the Citalopram¡¯s predatory gaze, Boffis shuddered in the air and retreated two steps back. It wasn¡¯t until she was three people away from Citalopram that she finally blushed and sorted out her clothes because of her attempts in struggling to break free.

    ¡°Mom¡­ Ugh, my mother,¡± Boffis whispered, ¡°She¡¯s the captain of the Storm Legion.¡±

    ¡°Storm Legion?¡± Citalopram asked curiously.

    Boffis exined softly, ¡°It was an air forceposed entirely of Wind Dancer and griffin. Griffin may have gone extinct¡­ They have a great affinity with the wind, with their sharp ws easily tearing through the air and wings hurling gusts. Even when flying above clouds, they can target through the thunder cloud and hurricanes to lock on enemies on the ground.

    ¡°Wind Dancer is a profession that can walk, run, and jump on thin air. Also, they can swim dexterously in the air like a fish¡­ And, I¡¯m a Wind Dancer.

    ¡°Of course¡­ The Wind Dancer definitely can¡¯t fly as high as the griffin. But they could fly a few dozen meters off the ground easily.¡±

    Boffis¡¯ tone was filled with pride, ¡°If only I were alive, I could let you hug me.¡±

    ¡°¡­En?¡°

    ¡°No, no!¡± Boffis quickly realized what was wrong with her words and immediately blushed, ¡°I mean, you can give me a hug and feel how light my body is!¡±

    ¡°How light?¡± Citalopram asked relentlessly.

    ¡°The stronger the Wind Dancer, the lighter the weight will be. I weighed less than 20 pounds!¡±

    ¡°¡­Hey, that¡¯s really light!¡± Citalopram was really surprised and even a little envious, ¡°Then, will you get fat from eating and be¡­ a fluffy ball?¡±

    Her first reaction was actually¡­ If your body was so light, did it mean that it won¡¯t sag?

    But considering that there were still male yers watching the stream, Citalopram did not ask this question directly.

    To be honest, I¡¯m a little envious¡­

    ¡°No way!¡± Boffis responded firmly, ¡°I take good care of my body.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you will still get fat?¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Boffis tilted her head slightly and muttered in a low voice, ¡°For male Wind Dancers, they will deliberately gain weight. That¡¯s because even if the weapon is reduced in weight, it will still have some weight.

    ¡°To bnce up with the weapon¡¯s weight, it is necessary to increase their muscle mass. Simrly, they have to wear metal boots.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy¡­¡± Citalopram eximed, ¡°Is your mother Gold Rank? Ah, no¡­ I mean, Dyed rank?¡±

    ¡°I can understand what Gold Rank is¡­¡± Boffis nodded and said helplessly, ¡°We also used curse vessels. But at our time, we ssify them in better detail for the rankings above Transcended.

    ¡°The path of ascendancy is like the alchemy process¡­ Corruption, calcination, condensation, purification, dissolution, dyeing, and ascendancy. Are they too hard toprehend? This is actually a metaphor for the process of upgrading from bronze into gold. In the first two levels, bronze is used as the vessel. Then, for the next two levels, it¡¯s about dissolution and dyeing, representing the Silver Rank. Finally, the Gold Rank is the ascendancy part, the state after getting the Book of Truth.

    ¡°My mother is not a Dyed rank. Strictly speaking, it can¡¯t really be regarded as a Gold Rank because she has obtained her own Book of Truth.¡±

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Hearing this, Citalopram was startled.

    She had gotten the Book of Truth in the Third Age¡­ Could it be that Boffis¡¯ mother has be a deity?

    ¡°¡­May I ask, which book is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to tell you.¡± Boffis sighed and said with a bit of mncholy, ¡°Mom didn¡¯t activate the ritual back then because she¡¯s not here but in the capital. If mom didn¡¯t die, she should have be a deity¡­

    ¡°But if she really became a deity but never came to me once¡­ I would rather¡­¡± When she said this, her expression became a little gloomy.

    ¡°Hey, since we¡¯re talking about this,¡± Citalopram remembered the situation on the Delicious Wind Goose side, so she interrupted the previous topic, ¡°Do you know the Fallen path?¡±

    ¡°¡­Of course.¡± Boffis nodded slightly and became serious, ¡°But you better not touch it.

    ¡°Demons¡­ We have spent tremendous efforts to exterminate them.¡±

    ¡°¡®Your n¡¯? Or ¡®We¡¯?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s us¡¯.¡± Boffis was surprised, ¡°Isn¡¯t it taught in your history books?

    ¡°We Osserians¡­ During the Second Age, it was because thend we lived in was upied by demons that we fled into the desert.

    ¡°¡ª¡¯Osser¡¯ means ¡®escape and refugee¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 321: Austere-Winter & Frostwhisper

    <h4>Chapter 321: Austere-Winter & Frostwhisper</h4>

    ¡°¡­The Osser Empire was made up of refugees?¡± The news caught Annan by surprise.

    He had never heard of any information rted to this, not even a word.

    His knowledge of the history of the Osserians dated back to the Third Era.

    At the turning point between the Second Age and the Third Age, the Epoch Disaster urred. A desert equivalent to three-quarters of the Yasn Continent came to life. It moved around recklessly, like a child in a restless state.

    So the Osser Empire relocated the entire empire. After paying a considerable price, the defeated soldiers finally escaped from the desert and arrived at a prosperous and peaceful oasis.

    ¡ª¡±Yasn¡± meant ¡°oasis¡± in this case.

    At this time, the technology of the Yasn had just developed to a stage equivalent to the early Middle Ages. They were simply vulnerable to the Osserians. Without even waging a decent war, they were easily defeated and ruled.

    In honor of the Osserians fleeing the desert, they changed the name of their new empire to ¡°Yasn¡±, which meant thend of the oasis.

    There were roughly two types of people ¨C Osserians and Yaselians on the Yasn Continent during that time.

    The Yaselians included the races of humans, dwarves, and werewolves native to the Yasn Continent. On the other hand, the Osserians were referred to as elves and centaurs.

    At this time, there weren¡¯t many Osserians left. Their numbers determined that they could not rule such a vast continent, so they simply conferred thends to different rulers. As a result, many small kingdoms and dukedoms were born one after another during the Third Age.

    At the end of the Third Age, they had nothing to do with the world west of the desert.

    They could only confirm that the Third Age was over through Prophet magic.

    From the end of the Third Age, the number of elves suddenly began to decrease sharply. After two hundred years of unrecorded history, more information surfaced.

    With the increase of the native poption and the increase in the number of Transcended, the technology of the Osserians somehow stagnated and even began to regress on arge scale. Then, the races with dwindling poptions gradually shrunk their territory. The Yaselians finally restored the political status of the Yasn Empire and returned to an equal position.

    In fact, at the end of the Fourth Age¡­ Before the Yasn¡¯s capital sank, the number of elves had been reduced to only three figures. They had basically lost their power. On the other hand, the centaur was timid despite their inherently robust strength, and their race existed as a sub-race of elves.

    But because they were tired of the power struggle in the capital, a considerable number of centaurs left the capital. The elves united in a group attaching a significant priority for political power, and they all stayed in the capital with the most advanced technology.

    Until Yasn¡¯s capital was finally gone, the elves were utterly exterminated. Even if there were survivors, the man count was at a single digit.

    Then, there came the copse of the Great Barrier, the disintegration of the Yasn Empire, and then hundreds of years of chaotic civil wars. In this sanguinary battle to be an upright deity, the number of centaurs was significantly reduced.

    In the end, the centaurs, who were not good atpeting with others and liked to run away when they encountered hardship, ultimately gave up the power struggle. They returned to the wilderness far away from the Yasn civilization and rebuilt their living settlements.

    At present, the centaurs could only be seen on the inds of the United Kingdom.

    Judging from the information on Boffis¡¯ side, everything was rted to a technology called ¡°curse energy¡±, no matter it was the downfall of the Yasn Empire in the Fourth Age, the sharp reduction in the number of elves starting in the Third Age, and the advanced technologies that the Osserians acquired without warning.

    However, did the ¡°Osserians¡± take refuge due to demons?

    Could this be the Epoch Disaster of the first epoch?

    No wonder the Osserians are made up of elves and centaurs¡­

    The characteristic of elves was that they were born with silver souls. Therefore, if they embark on the Ascension Path, they would start with Silver Rank and would not be a Fallen.

    The centaur was exceptionally good at running away. Each centaur was the best Prophet, a robust warrior, and a timid coward.

    They could predict the future and went through physical training to ensure their survival; they were without any strong desires. Therefore, even if their poption wererger than elves, they would be subordinate races of elves.

    The news from Boffis made Annan a little worried.

    Demons...

    Speaking of that, there were quite some Fallens and demons in the capital.

    While Annan was pondering deeper about it, Boffis continued to chat with Citalopram, ¡°Speaking of Mom¡¯s Book of Truth, I only know its name is ¡®the Anthem of the Storm and Heart¡¯. But my mother doesn¡¯t tell me which realm it is, so I have no idea.

    ¡°But I think that since there is the word ¡®heart¡¯, this should be why mom finds a way to get the ¡®Heart of Justice¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Heart of Justice?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­the sacred bone is a part of a saint¡¯s body. The sacred bone left by the righteous saint is his heart.¡±

    Boffis replied seriously, ¡°But my mother felt that the ¡®Heart of Justice¡¯ might not acknowledge her for the time being, so she nned to seal it first.

    ¡°Since the sacred bone will continuously release curse power¡­ If someone signs a covenant, it will be an infinite source of saint power. But if there is no covenant, it will be like a fountain, spraying out curses continuously.

    ¡°It will continue to fluctuate, attracting adaptors. But generally speaking, the sacred bone won¡¯t be satisfied with the Gold Rank Transcended, but ordinary people. The Gold Ranks simply can¡¯t bear the power from the sacred bone. Once they forcibly use the sacred bone, their soul will copse. They won¡¯t survive more than a month.

    ¡°Due to the powering from the sacred bone, they will turn into a massive nightmare after death. So, in addition to being a scarce item, the sacred bone is also aplex problem to resolve.

    ¡°The only way to put the sacred bone to sleep is the Wyrmrest Reagent.¡±

    ¡°¡­Wyrmrest?¡± Citalopram heard a familiar word.

    She vaguely remembered that Old Grandmother seemed to be on Wyrmrest or something, but she wasn¡¯t clear about it.

    Boffis exined it to Citalopram subconsciously, ¡°It¡¯s exactly what you think¡­ It¡¯s the state that Cold-Blooded Lady will enter every once in a while. But the term is more so an adjective¡­

    ¡°This reagent will put the victim into a decade-long Wyrmrest that is difficult to wake up, like the Old Grandmother. Not only through touches and consumption, but even the smell alone is enough to put one in aa.

    ¡°It¡¯s the most powerful narcotic reagent, even strong enough to put dragons to sleep. So it¡¯s also a dragon-hunting reagent, but it isn¡¯t easy to craft. The main reason is that one of its necessary curse materials is ¡®active adult dragon¡¯s blood¡¯.

    ¡°We call it the ¡®active blood¡¯ because they are the blood that is voluntarily drawn from the body after the blood donor holds a ritual. Therefore, it has a small intensity of spirituality in the blood. Once the active blood is drawn from the body, it is difficult to regenerate them. But in the same way, the active blood will also be like fresh blood, equipped with special effects.

    ¡°If you draw blood by killing a dragon or when the dragon is sleeping, or even collecting normal blood, the blood won¡¯t bring out the desired effect. Only soaking the sacred bone in Wyrmrest Reagent can make them sleep.¡±

    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s why your mother¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, my mother sold the painting of Old Grandmother to a dragon to produce Wyrmrest Reagent. But the dragon seemed satisfied. It easily agreed to my mother¡¯s request and sold 40 portions of active blood. That¡¯s about as much as a bathtub¡­¡±

    Boffis said this with some surprise in her tone, ¡°Even though Mr. Dragon¡¯s body size is enormous, it¡¯s a huge loss. But, I can understand Mr. Dragon since it¡¯s Old Grandmother¡¯s painting. Old Grandmother is the idol of the dragon race.

    ¡°Speaking of which, did you say your friend is a descendant of Old Grandmother? What¡¯s hisst name?¡±

    ¡°Hisst name is ¡®Austere-Winter¡¯. That seems to be a sign of the Old Grandmother¡¯s offspring,¡± replied Citalopram.

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Boffis was a little confused.

    ¡°As far as I know, don¡¯t the descendants of the Old Grandmother have thest name Frostwhisper?

    ¡°¡­Or rather, is your friend, not a dragon?¡±

 Chapter 322: Curse Shaft

    <h4>Chapter 322: Curse Shaft</h4>

    ¡°¡­Austere-Winter and Frostwhisper.¡± Annan froze slightly and muttered in a low voice.

    He suddenly recalled that he seemed to have heard the surname ¡°Frostwhisper¡± somewhere before.

    That happened the first time Annan met the Venerated Skeleton when he introduced himself. The Venerated Skeleton once said to Annan, ¡°You will be a ¡®Frostwhisper¡¯ sooner orter¡±.

    Am I going to be a dragon in the future?

    Is that why Old Grandmother talks to me in the dragonnguage?

    So after meeting the Old Grandmother¡¯s request, the [Winter Heart] will evolve into [Winter¡¯s Harvest]. Did I transform myself from Austere-Winter to Frostwhisper?

    ¡°I wonder if Boffis can speak the dragonnguage¡­¡± Annan muttered.

    On the other hand, Citalopram replied with certainty, ¡°Annan must be human.¡±

    That tone even wavered Boffis a little, ¡°Is it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, without a doubt.¡± Citalopram nodded and answered affirmatively.

    It¡¯s because he didn¡¯t trigger my monster boy preference radar.

    Being concerned about her indifferent and elegantdy image, Citalopram did not say this directly.

    She paused for a while and then changed the subject, ¡°Let¡¯s forget about this but focus on our main business first¡­¡±

    ¡°Main business?¡± Boffis tilted her head, ¡°Do you want to see where the sacred bone is?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯d like to see too, but the more important thing is the ¡®Frostwhisper¡¯s Frozen Blood¡¯.¡±

    Citalopram was aware of her priorities. The group came here to get the material Annan required. Even though the group had triggered the side mission at this ce, she would still like to perform her tasks in order.

    As for the sacred bone, it was obviously a key item rted to the main storyline.

    At least until her strength reached a certain level, she would not trigger this mission with all the yers unprepared.

    Under the circumstance that all her actions might have irreversible effects on everyone, she thought she had to exercise extreme caution now.

    ¡°I have to bring back what my friend needs first¡­¡± Citalopram threw a bitter smile and exined further, ¡°Annan is not only my friend but also my boss.

    ¡°For me to pick you up next time, I must at leastplete the mission that the boss entrusted to me.¡±

    ¡°Well, no problem,¡± Boffis answered cheerfully.

    She paused slightly and then added, ¡°But these two items are actually in the same ce.¡±

    ¡°¡­Where is it then?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s right at the Silverstone Curse Shaft.¡± Boffis replied softly, ¡°The only [Curse Shaft] in the city.¡±

    ¡°What is the [Curse Shft]?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the ce we dedicated to storing and converting the curse energy to something useful¡­¡± She looked at the pit outside the city with aplicated expression and said nothing.

    Then, she whispered, ¡°It used to be thergest building here, and now it is the deepest scar in the city.¡±

    At this time, the Child in the public nightmare had also just ended his training.

    He breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously looked at the dazzling giant device.

    Ah, I¡¯m still a little concerned.

    What the hell is that thing?

    It was a massive building, at least 30 or 40 stories high. It could be considered towering even by the modern city¡¯s standards.

    Moreover, it was not a boxy structure like a residential building.

    It looked like an enormous snail¡¯s shell from the outside with the opening upside down on the ground.

    It was getting dark now.

    But the city did not be pitch ck.

    The Child noticed colorful neon lights lit up in sequence in the elvish city from the hillside outskirt.

    As the Child squinted his eyes, he could barely see the end of the ¡°streetmps¡± connected to the ground. They were only as high as the elves¡¯ knees and even thinner than their calves.

    On every of these ¡°sticks¡±, there was a hollow vessel the size capable of putting one person in. The vessel had a ss-like shell; its inside was filled with a single-colored liquid pouring out from the ground, shining brightly.

    These sausages-like ¡°streetmps¡± exuded shimmers of pink, red, blue, or purple, dyeing the passersby into strange colors.

    Although the poption in the city was rtively sparse, the elves did not return home because of the night. On the contrary, the Child even saw that the number of passersby increased gradually.

    Undoubtedly, there was something amiss with this peculiar cyber scene, probably with the snail device that continuously extracted certain substances from the ground.

    What energy is it extracting?

    Just one ¡°power station¡± like this alone has supplied the city¡¯s daily needs.

    ¡°Julian?¡± Noticing the Child¡¯s gaze, Boffis tilted her head and jumped around in front of the Child, ¡°Do you still want to go to the Curse Shaft to take a look?¡±

    Is that the power nt called the Curse Shaft?

    ¡°Ok.¡± The Child didn¡¯t know what the original Julian wanted to do in the Curse Shaft, but he nodded silently.

    ¡°We can probably go in now.¡± Boffis blinked her eyes and said lightly, ¡°The workers in the Curse Shaft should have already left work.

    ¡°How about let¡¯s go on an adventure? You¡¯ve learned [Aero Strike] anyway! As long as we get back here before my momes back, she won¡¯t know we left!¡±

    ¡°But your mother¡­ Teacher, where did she go?¡± The Child asked Boffis, ¡°What if she didn¡¯t go far and came back suddenly?¡±

    ¡°¡­Probably not.¡± When Boffis heard what the Child said, her face became sad. She said uncertainly, ¡°Since she left us all here so suddenly¡­ I think¡­ she shouldn¡¯t be back soon, right?¡±

    No, you¡¯re wrong.

    Just because she left the two of us here and left in a hurry, she must not have left far and would be back soon.

    You are still too young and inexperienced¡­

    The Child muttered silently in his heart.

    But after this period of training, his acting skills had also improved significantly. He wasn¡¯t just someone who relied on sheer luck.

    So he showed a hesitant expression on his face, ¡°So¡­?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± After being silent for a while, the energetic Boffis made up her mind, ¡°If my mother finds out, you can say that I took you there!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Child responded perfectly and nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! It¡¯s time to have fun. Forget about the training!¡± Boffis took his hand and went ahead cheering.

    Such a familiar tone. Her actions stunned the Child a little.

    His childhood friend spoke in the same tone during the holidays. When he was about to start his homework, she would take him to her house to y games.

    This forced him to stay at home for thest two days of each school holiday to rush his homework.

    It took a long time for the Child to realize that every time his childhood friend asked him to y, she had already finished her homework.

    For a while, he felt that he was a little indulged in this public nightmare and didn¡¯t want to wake up.

    Such a wonderful time¡­

    Is this really a nightmare?

 Chapter 323: Annan Had Finally Arrived

    <h4>Chapter 323: Annan Had Finally Arrived</h4>

    Wandering Child was also somewhat of a Bronze Rank Transcended.

    Coupled with the Silver Rank Boffis with flying ability, they entered the curse shaft quickly.

    But the inner structure of the curse shaft surprised the Child and made him vignt at the same time.

    As a Forest Walker, he could sense the surrounding earth, nts, and water sources. After all, he would need to perceive them before manipting and using them.

    Moreover, he invested some experience points to learn [Aero Strike] taught by Boffis¡¯ mother.

    [Aero Strike LV1: Swing the sword into the air to form a wind de.]

    ording to Boffis, mastering the air element seemed to be a prerequisite to attaining the [Wind Dancer] profession. As long as he learned [Aero Strike], he would soon be able to advance into a [Wind Dancer.

    Here was the problem.

    The Child could feel the air and the water.

    However, he didn¡¯t sense any traces of ¡°rock¡± or ¡°earth¡± in this massive building.

    The wall didn¡¯t feel like metal. Instead, it gave off the tactile of an eggshell.

    The water in this building did not flow systematically like the drainage system in a factory. Instead, the pipes were disorderly with different lengths.

    It gave off a sense of blood vessels rather than an organized plumbing system.

    This ce named ¡°Curse Shaft¡± seems to be alive.

    Along with the strange pumping movement, Wandering Child sensed that the liquid in this building was surging rhythmically in the inneryer. The pumping sound in his ear became clearer and clearer. He could even feel his heart pumping uncontrobly in synchrony with that thing. There were also the strange metallic sounds imbued into the heartbeat.

    As the heartbeat grew louder and louder, the humming metal sound that apanied the heartbeat gradually grew louder. At the same time, Boffis¡¯ voice became vague and distant.

    However, he still followed Boffis, going deeper into the ce slowly.

    Suddenly, the heartbeat stopped.

    In other words, the voices of the whole world disappeared.

    The Child, who was gradually getting used to this strange noise, felt a little ufortable when the world returned to silence.

    This made the Child subconsciously stop moving.

    Realizing that he was no longer going forward, Boffis let go of his hand in confusion and nced back.

    She opened her mouth as if to say something.

    But the Child heard nothing.

    He tried his best to open his mouth to say something, but he couldn¡¯t say anything. This even made him sweat profusely as he went nervous.

    The world in front of him suddenly became distorted as if the framerate [1] was too high and the screen was tearing apart.

    Every now and then, there would be ces that suddenly became pitch ck and recoveredter. It seemed that the restored timeline wasn¡¯t the same as the nightmare timeline he had entered, causing a stark color difference with the surrounding area.

    For some reason, the inexplicable sense of fear that arose in the Child¡¯s heart was greatly diminished when he saw this familiar scene of a game crash.

    Arge number of words suddenly appeared in front of his eyes:

    [Detected ¡°Apprentice¡± trying to enter specimen storage III-251-11 ¡°the Silverstone Curse Shaft¡±]

    [You don¡¯t have the relevant authority.]

    [Detected that the new skill [Aero Strike] has been mastered, and the learning goal has been achieved.]

    [The restriction imposed has been withdrawn.]

    The Child vaguely heard a strange and faint ¡°click¡± sound at the next moment. It was like putting a lid on a wooden box.

    The world in front of the Child suddenly turned dark after losing the picture and sound.

    ¡°Is this the curse shaft?¡± Citalopram muttered.

    Dove, Chocte, and Suuankou found Citalopram¡¯s spiritual body through her stream.

    Like what the ¡°wise men¡± in thement section had guessed, Dove and Suuankou could not see Citalopram and Boffis because of the inadequate soul rank.

    On the other side, Boffis was deeply shocked by this magical technology that allowed the team tomunicate even without auditory and visual cues.

    How did you do it.jpg

    Still,municating with Boffis by peeking at Citalopram¡¯s stream was a bitborious.

    So, the team decided to stuff Citalopram¡¯s soul back into her body.

    Considering the possibility of someone entering this ce after them and being concerned with their safety, Suuankou carried Citalopram¡¯s body on his back.

    At first, he had intended to let Chocte carry Citalopram on its back.

    [TN: Chocte is now possessing Dove¡¯s body.]

    After all, he and Citalopram weren¡¯t so close even though they met often.

    Moreover, his sister, who lived with Citalopram, was still watching his stream.

    But when Suuankou tried to get Chocte to carry Citalopram on its back, it became unsettled.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t expect the cat to have a much more serious temper than Dove. When he tried to put Citalopram on Chocte, it turned around and plunged directly at him.

    Since Chocte didn¡¯t have paws¡ªor rather, her fingers didn¡¯t have enough force, she was literally hitting Suuankou¡¯s forearm with finger ps.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t feel the pain, but Chocte was quite hurt for hurling its fingers fanatically.

    The angry Chocte immediately bit Suuankou¡¯s hand.

    Dove, who was beside him, was dumbfounded. She hurriedly took over Chocte to pull it away.

    Then, she punched Suuankou again in embarrassment. It was a real punch that struck Suuankou¡¯s back. He could feel the sound of cracking bones.

    In the end, Suuankou had no choice. After asking Citalopram for consent, he finally carried the soulless Citalopram¡¯s body on his back.

    After her body lost its soul, it was as if she had drunk too much alcohol and was abnormally heavy. Suuankou carried it for a while, and then he had to push her body up again on his back.

    But this was a bit too stimting for Suuankou, who had never been in close contact with the opposite gender.

    He didn¡¯t dare to say a single word when he was nervous. Instead, he walked forward with his head down and stiff. It took a long time to send Citalopram¡¯s body over to her soul. He then apologized to Citalopram several times.

    On the other hand, Citalopram didn¡¯t mind the intimate contact, ¡°Why do you apologize to me for bringing my body here for me?¡±

    Instead, she felt that Suuankou was quite cute for being so nervous.

    Too bad that he is not my type.

    Citalopram¡¯s attention was focused on another thing.

    It turns out that after my soul leaves my body, it doesn¡¯t activate the passive life steal effect.

    Half-dead Enchantress was featured for their ability to suck vigor out of living creatures upon contact. However, it was only now that she realized that this ability was attached to the soul, and it did not activate simultaneously on both the body and the soul.

    So, did it mean that she could put on armor and be a human shield at the front ???

    Her soul drained life whenever it touched an enemy. When she returned to her body, it would heal her body with this power. Then as long as she sprinted fast enough, she could move back and forth between the enemy and her body, and the shield would continue to recover health.

    So, am I a Death Prophet now?

    [TN: Reference to Dota¡¯s Death Prophet [2] Spirit Siphon ability.]

    This sounds a bit weird too.

    While Citalopram¡¯s thoughts ran wildly, the ghost girl led the way. She held a torch, walked at the front of the yer team, and walked towards the bottom of the pit in the curse shaft.

    ¡°Brother Koutsu, did you ever get a girlfriend in college?¡± Then, she asked casually, ¡°Didn¡¯t your sister introduce one to you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have that time¡­¡± Suuankouined with a wry smile, ¡°I had to stream, but now I have to y this game, so I don¡¯t have time to look for one.¡±

    Citalopram clicked, ¡°That¡¯s true.

    ¡°But when there are more female yers in the future, you can try to find one among the yers. With that, you will be dating at this ce. But in that case, you will have topete with others.¡±

    As an older person, she gave valuable advice on Suuankou¡¯s rtionship aspect, ¡°If there is a fairpetition, you have to consider how handsome you are. You have to find a way to increase your fashion value.

    ¡°On an equal level, the more fashionable and handsome one must have a higher attraction from the opposite sex?¡±

    ¡°¡­Bing fashionable?¡± Suuankou murmured and repeated.

    The other unmarried male yers watching the video also nodded thoughtfully.

    What was even scarier was when Jiu Er thoughtfully touched the axe in her hand and nodded slowly.

    ¡°Then I have to be more handsome.¡± Jiu Er muttered to herself.

    Next time, I should try the new trick that I have learned in the past few days¡­

    ¡ªJiu Er¡¯s Guillotine!

    At this moment, Wandering Child slowly opened his eyes.

    He found himself still in the same ce.

    But the bustling city had disappeared, and he was in a ruin with nobody else. The ce was deserted with broken walls everywhere.

    ¡°¡­?¡± Wandering Child was puzzled.

    There was a sudden fluctuation around him, and a strange azure blue brilliance lit up.

    He nervously tried to feel the ive behind him ¡ª only to find his rapier.

    Just then, he saw a familiar figure.

    ¡°Your Highness Annan?¡± Being surprised, the Child almost forgot to address the honorary title.

    Annan, who rushed over at the fastest speed he could, just breathed a sigh of relief and said casually, ¡°It¡¯s better to call me Don Juan in front of outsiders. Just call me Annan when no one is there. After all, we are [friends].¡±

    He liked his attempt in building a stronger rapport with the Child.

 Chapter 324: Curse-filled Sewers

    <h4>Chapter 324: Curse-filled Sewers</h4>

    The traces of the Silverstone Curse Shaft¡¯s existence had beenpletely erased.

    No one would be able to notice that there used to be a ¡°power station¡± that the elves depended on to survive above this massive pit.

    For the other buildings, only the part above the ground was demolished. Except for the curse shaft, not even a single piece of gravel was left, with the part below the groundpletely gone.

    The pit was like a crater, with a diameter of hundreds of meters.

    What was strange was how the ce was handled. Instead of a vertical pit, they dug a hole from the entrance, which extended diagonally after leveling the building on top.

    The deeper it was, the bigger the pit. Finally, it reached its maximum space and depth at more than 20 meters below the ground.

    Whaty further down was the copsed floor shining with azure blue brilliance. Then, there were the dry and dusty sewers upied by rubbles at the bottom of the pit.

    ¡°¡­This ce looks like a subway exit.¡± Dovemented on the forum, ¡°I¡¯m guessing the depth should be at least two floors underground.¡±

    ¡°Maybe more than 2 floors.¡± Delicious Wind Goose, who watched the live stream, blurted affirmatively, ¡°I think the depth of this pit can fit even up to 4 floors underground. When you first went down, I saw a dested floor. If the height of each floor is the same, you should be on the 4th floor now.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how many floors are there,¡± Citalopram looked at the sewer hesitantly. ¡°The question is¡­ are we going down? There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything here.¡±

    ¡°No one has used this ce for hundreds of years. Are you still afraid of getting dirty?¡±

    ¡°No, I mean the sewers are too wide. It feels like you can even drive a car into it.¡±

    Citalopramined silently, ¡°Under this familiar setting, I have a hunch that four muscled turtles with murderous weapons wille out from them.¡±

    Doveforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If four green turtles really came out, we will be having turtle soup for supper tonight.¡±

    [TN: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference. *link*]

    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go in. I feel like there will be mice and cockroaches in there¡­¡± Citalopram grumbled.

    Despite saying so, she could only helplessly hold the torch to keep up after seeing Boffis floating into the sewer. She couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°This ce has been unvisited for so long. Is the air here okay? There won¡¯t be any gas in this sewer that would explode when it meets fire, right?¡±

    ¡°This is not a sealed environment. Also, this ce is connected to the ground. That¡¯s a wrong guess. Quickly go and apologize to your chemistry teacher.¡± Suuankou retorted.

    Unlike the empty basement, which waspletely torn to pieces, the sewers were surprisingly well preserved.

    The sewers built by the elves look like massive blood vessels, connecting in all directions in the underground world.

    The original waterway in the middle was utterly dried up, leaving only a shallowyer of dry sand. There were raised terrains on both sides of the sewer that served as a path for the group to walk on.

    Although the sewers had been dry for a long time, everyone, including the Ghost Boffis, moved along the sides of the waterway subconsciously.

    Dove walked at the end of the group because she didn¡¯t want anyone to step on her feet by ident. Chocte¡¯s body, which she possessed, had night vision anyway. She could move forward normally without Citalopram¡¯s torch.

    She sniffed the air with a strange expression, rubbed the sand in the middle with her paws tentatively, and put it in front of her face to smell it.

    Then, her face was filled with doubt.

    She reached out her ws and dug into the sandyer in the middle like digging a pit. They are really damp soil.

    She took another sample and smelled it. Then, she rubbed her paws on the ground with a thoughtful expression.

    Dove squatted on the spot and thought for a while, then suddenly ran to catch up with the crowd. She hopped forward and grabbed Suuankou in front of her.

    Then, she scrambled her feet, lying on Suuankou¡¯s shoulders like a cat-shaped school bag.

    Suuankou was taken aback.

    Unfortunately, Chocte¡¯s physique wasn¡¯t a small pet cat. The body couldn¡¯t fit on Suuankou¡¯s back.

    Suuankou could only hug the cat awkwardly, burdened by the heavy weight of this spoiled child.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He whispered to the serval in his arms, ¡°Are you afraid of getting dirty?¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo.¡±

    Dove meowed and replied calmly on the forum, ¡°I checked the sand in the waterway. There is no smell of grease, excrement, and rot.

    ¡°This is a sewer, but no stains can be seen on the walls and floors. Isn¡¯t it strange?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because the stain has weathered over time?¡± Suuankou followed Dove¡¯s gaze and looked at the sewer: ¡°After hundreds of years, it is impossible for substances that emit odors to exist.¡±

    ¡°That would at least leave some traces.¡± Dove responded, ¡°At the very least, the soil will be fertile. But, I didn¡¯t see any traces of the soil bing fertile. Instead, I detected the traces of the curse.

    ¡°For the sand on the surface, the curse has almost dissipated. However, the curse is evident in the deeperyer of moist soil. The concentration is close to the curse level when Annan held a ritual in the warehouse.¡±

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s weird.¡± Suuankou thought for a while and nodded in agreement with Dove¡¯s reasoning.

    Citalopram in front also saw the conversation between the human and the cat. She paused and asked Boffis directly, ¡°Boffis, what is this sewer for?¡±

    ¡°How could I possibly know?¡± Boffis turned around, stared at Citalopram in a stunned manner, and asked in disbelief, ¡°Do underage girls on your time need to know this kind of knowledge?¡±

    ¡°Cultural differences.¡± Citalopram said confidently, ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal to learn moremon knowledge? I don¡¯t even know what this tunnel is called.¡±

    ¡°Even if you say that, I still don¡¯t know about this ce.¡± Boffis was bothered, ¡°But if you¡¯re speaking at the level ofmon knowledge, of course, I know this ce is used to treat the waste.¡±

    ¡°What kind of waste? Feces?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHey! How can you say such dirty words!?¡± Boffis was surprisingly not very good at dealing with this type of word.

    She embarrassedly retorted, ¡°How can the feces be discharged into these pipes? The city will stink a lot!¡±

    ¡°Where does the water here lead to?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s leading to the ground surface,¡± Boffis replied confidently.

 Chapter 325: The Worldâ€™s Blood

    <h4>Chapter 325: The World¡¯s Blood</h4>

    Boffis patted her head with some distress, ¡°But even if I tell you the answer, you won¡¯t get it because you haven¡¯t seen it before.¡±

    She thought hard for a while, then reluctantly reached out her hand and gestured, ¡°Here¡¯s how it goes¡­

    ¡°Generally speaking, there will be many dispersers this high on the ground surface. Water will be pumped from underground rivers, imbued with energy, and then poured into the dispersers. Then when the nightes, the dispersers will be turned on.

    ¡°The water infused with curse energy will emit different colors and beautiful lights when activated.¡± Boffis said with a little nostalgia, ¡°But you won¡¯t have the chance to see it.¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because your blood doesn¡¯t have a special reaction to those curse energies.¡± Boffis nced at the group behind Citalopram and replied casually, ¡°As the Pale Priestess, you might have felt it, but I don¡¯t see the curse sensory running in their blood. I think the era of curse energy technology has alreadye to an end.¡±

    ¡°¡­So, what exactly is the curse energy?¡± Citalopram couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Curse energy¡­¡± Boffis muttered.

    She couldn¡¯t help but express a bitter smile, ¡°It seems that you will still be hung up with that topic if I don¡¯t tell you.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m going to tell you what it is, I have to make it clear. You must never use the curse energy again.

    ¡°Curse energy is the technology we rely on to survive in the desert. You can understand it as the ability to pump out clear springs from the desert, achieving what we want under harsh conditions.

    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s an ¡®iplete power of creation¡¯.

    ¡°But your teacher should have also taught you about thews of this world, right? Everything that isn¡¯t meant to existes with a price.¡±

    ¡°¡­Something like that.¡± Citalopram nodded.

    Annan did tell her.

    Although Annan didn¡¯ty it out as such, he conveyed a simr meaning.

    Boffis took a deep breath and murmured in a low voice, ¡°Curse energy is the blood of the world.

    ¡°The contact between this world and the dream world isn¡¯t a gentle fusion. At the ovepping point of the two worlds, the world will be extremely fragile, creating a w in our current world itself.

    ¡°You can see it as the wounds inflicted upon our world, the exposed flesh without the skin¡¯s protection.¡±

    Boffis sighed, ¡°The curse shaft is a hollow wedge nailed into flesh and blood, pumping out the world¡¯s blood. The surrounding of the curse shaft will gradually be deste, and the people near the curse shaft will asionally go missing. In that case, they have fallen into the dream world. Once the physical body enters the dream world, it is basically impossible for them toe back.

    ¡°In addition to the curse shaft¡¯s destruction of the world itself, those who drink the world¡¯s blood will be cursed by the world. Or rather, you can say that they¡¯re directly drinking the world¡¯s curse into their bodies.

    ¡°Those who have used the power of curses will live seven times longer, but they will not stay youthful; they are doomed to be entangled by nightmares even after they are dead. Every time they wake up from a nightmare, new curses will be added. It¡¯s a tragedy. They will be tortured until death¡­ and even death isn¡¯t the end to it.

    ¡°As long as we¡¯re in contact with the curse energy once, we will never be able to get rid of this craving. But there is no room for hesitation when we are in the desert. The curse energy is the poisonous blood that keeps our civilization going. We consume it knowing that we will die sooner orter because of it. However, if we don¡¯t take it, we will die of thirst first.

    ¡°After we arrived in Yasn, which isn¡¯t rich in resources, some folks with wisdom began to encourage the crowd to use the curse energy in moderation.

    ¡°But the vast majority of elves are reluctant to give up on the convenient and magical energy because its side effects can be said to be negligiblepared to its convenience. Having an entire civilization using the curse energy together will further share its burdens and side effects rather than having one person bearing it alone. As for the possibility of the world bing riddled with holes for hundreds of yearster, that¡¯s a future that has nothing to do with us.¡±

    ¡°Can the curse energy be so addictive?¡± Citalopram asked subconsciously.

    She vaguely saw the shadows of the Sunwell teau [1] and Quel¡¯ Ths [2].

    ¡°Not really. The curse energy itself is not addictive, but the convenience itself is a terrible dependence for us. The convenience of the curse energy is enough to make people forget the pain of death. Therefore, the elves born after the third era do not see death as a terrifying thing.

    ¡°For them, the curse energy is not for survival, but enjoyment.¡± Boffis¡¯ answer was even direr.

    ¡°Given the increasing rarity and the magical property of this power, the people of Yasn are eyeing this power. There are traces of curse energy in some of the legends and stories sung by the bards.

    ¡°In your legends, curse energy is granted many aliases like ¡®the Water of Immortality¡¯, ¡®the ¡®Fountain of Youth¡¯, the ¡®Holy Grail¡¯, the ¡®Water of the Underworld¡¯, and so on.

    ¡°In the end, under the persuasion of many prophets, the emperor took control of the situation. In the case of the elders¡¯ house opposing it, apromise was reached. The elves would notpletely stop the use of curse energy but centralized the poption in the capital and ran curse energy there. In the end, they prohibited the use of spell energy among the Centaurs and Yaselians (People of Yasn).

    ¡°¡­But then, weunched a rebellion.

    ¡°Not an uprising, but a rebellion bringing us to self-destruction. For example, the city I live in is a curse-worshiping city at the extreme level. Before the curse shaft was finally demolished as nned, people destroyed their own houses and destroyed the traces of life. Using the curse shaft¡¯sst power, they weaved an eternal public nightmare and stopped the time there.

    ¡°¡ªIt was an endless month, an iparably beautiful ¡®nightmare¡¯. But, it wasn¡¯t to record important knowledge and inheritance, but to escape into it and enjoy life no different from before.¡±

    Miss Boffis turned emotional, but soon the surge of emotions subsided.

    She was silent for a long time before she lowered her head and said in a low voice, ¡°Sorry, I lied before.¡±

    ¡°This is not your fault.¡± Citalopram gently and softlyforted.

    Boffis took a deep breath and calmed down.

    Then she continued, ¡°Mom wanted to take me to the capital. But I ran away halfway because I didn¡¯t want to use the curse energy anymore, which was obviously wrong. Mom taught me so since I was a child.

    ¡°But she herself wants to move to the capital to live¡­¡± When she said this, she choked with emotion.

    Citalopram advised again, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    ¡°I just want to live a normal life. But no one supports me. The best I can do is go back to my hometown and die with everyone, putting this meaningless ¡®knowledge¡¯ as specimen.

    ¡°But, I couldn¡¯t do anything. When I came back, I waste and didn¡¯t get to participate in the ritual. When I wanted to leave, I couldn¡¯t run.¡±

    Boffis smiled wryly, ¡°I¡¯m here alone with no great mission or great things to achieve. So I just lingered in the same ce, not knowing where I should go, and I didn¡¯t get anything done in the end.

    ¡°I lied, Citalopram. I¡¯m not good at all. I don¡¯t have any buddies, and I don¡¯t have any special abilities. So I can¡¯t do anything well.¡±

    She murmured, ¡°I¡¯m just an indecisive dabbler.¡±

    Boffis looked at Citalopram pleadingly, and her voice was soft and ghostly. ¡°Will youe back for me?¡±

 Chapter 326: The Graceful Mutters of the Dreamers

    <h4>Chapter 326: The Graceful Mutters of the Dreamers</h4>

    The sky was pitch dark in the Elven Ruin.

    There were no stars in the sky except for the moon, unlike the outside world. Maybe the aqua blue glow scattered everywhere had contributed to this scenery.

    The glows were simr to a firefly-like light cluster, suspended in the air and rung elegant whispers into Annan¡¯s ear.

    Of course, Annan couldn¡¯t see those long-necked phantoms that looked like potted nts. However, he already knew these fireflies¡¯ disturbing nature when he previously spectated Citalopram¡¯s perspective.

    This ce undoubtedly had a beautiful view for those who didn¡¯t know the truth.

    The ruin was blessed with faint brilliance; it exuded a profound historical air, and there were light clusters floating in the air like bubbles. Under the clear night sky, the moon gleamed silently. Then, the scenery was further entuated by the faint night breeze.

    However, it was a disturbing image that hurt Annan¡¯s sanity because he learned the truth about this ce.

    Those bubble-like light clusters were actually brains.

    Worse still, the back of the heads was attached with a neck as stic as Luffy¡¯s; they floated in the air, weightless with a solemn and serene face.

    In a sense, it was better not to know the truth.

    A strange low groan sounded faintly in Annan¡¯s ear.

    Unsurprisingly, Annan quicklypleted his first goal of this trip.

    [You have acquired the new engraving ¡°Novice Influence: Whispers of Grace¡±.]

    [If you don¡¯t remove it in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°elf¡± after seven days (Difficulty: Hard).]

    Although the seven-day preservation time was short, it was enough for Annan toplete the advancement ritual.

    ¡°So, this is ¡®Whispers of Grace¡¯?¡± Annan had aplicated feeling about it.

    Just as Annan couldn¡¯t understand Old Grandmother¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t understand what the ghosts uttered.

    But he knew what they were rted to.

    Undoubtedly, they were the murmurs of the elf heads floating in Annan¡¯s ears.

    The legendary graceful mutters of the dreamers.

    Those who were proficient in the Elvishnguage might be able to discern the general meaning from the vague and intermittent whispers.

    But if the other party couldn¡¯t see the spirit bodies floating in the air, they might regard it as ¡°a faint prayer left behind by the elves¡±.

    Without a discernible eye that see the truth, everything was beautiful.

    Should I call it the ¡®elegant¡¯ teeth grinding?

    ¡°Speaking of which, how was your nightmare?¡± Annan put his hands behind his back, looked at the Child in front of him, and walked backward.

    He looked at Wandering Child with a sly smile, his eyes innocent but a little yful, ¡°Do you feel like returning to your youth?¡±

    Annan had already found an opportunity to reveal that he could see the exact location of the yers. When the Child¡¯s stream was cut off, Annan could still see the Child¡¯s situation. His intention of inserting an interaction here was to induce the yers to further ignore the possibility that ¡°Annan may also watch the stream¡±.

    Sure enough, Annan was well-versed with what kind of persona he had established in the yers¡¯ perspective.

    What he enacted was a precocious, fourteen-year-old young nobleman.

    His current rapport status with the Child was considered ¡°Trusted¡±. Roughly speaking, it was on the level of ¡°a trusted friend for the time being¡±.

    Then, after seeing the innocent behavior of the Child in the nightmare, it was natural for Annan to joke about it at the first moment.

    The act that Annan decided to put on was mostly natural!

    Annan¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to mock the Child!

    But, surely, he more or less was keen to pull the Child¡¯s leg about it.

    ¡°What did you think of it?¡± Annan made a somewhat exaggerated voice, ¡°Those¡­ kind of topics in your interaction. I felt goosebumps just by knowing it.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you like her? That¡¯s why you used that kind of topic to keep her away from you? Or is it acting?¡±

    ¡°¡­A little bit of acting, but not really.¡± Wandering Child hugged his head and replied helplessly, ¡°I get nervous in front of a beautiful girl I¡¯m unfamiliar with. Ahem, excuse me for being out of ce. But I¡¯m at this age, and I still have a problem with that.¡±

    Although the character he created was about 18 years old, he was already in his 30s.

    Even his real person had be a little bald.

    Every day when he left, he had tob his hair carefully and let the long hair section cover up the bald part.

    ¡°If I really liked her, I wouldn¡¯t talk to her like that. But I don¡¯t hate her. Who would hate such a cute girl?¡±

    Wandering Child sighed softly, ¡°I¡¯m just alienating her in this way to remind myself it¡¯s all fake and don¡¯t indulge it. The person I¡¯m possessing is not me, after all.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t deliberately show that I hated her. Otherwise, with Boffis¡¯ character, I¡¯m afraid she would be pretty sad.

    ¡°So I didn¡¯t cover it up and showed my most real and stupid side. Of course, I don¡¯t usually talk to people like this. Otherwise, I might be beaten up terribly.¡±

    The person whom the Child referred to was Boffis¡¯ crush in the ¡°fake Nightmare¡±.

    Surely, Annan noticed what the Child meant.

    What the Child actually meant was that ¡°the feelings in this world are false.¡± The yers had understood that this was world transmigration with in-game skin and cosmetics.

    From the Child¡¯s perspective, it didn¡¯t matter even if this time-travel mechanism would always exist, allowing him to spend the rest of his life in Annan¡¯s world. All in all, they were still separated into two different worlds.

    So he wasn¡¯t distancing himself from Boffis intentionally.

    But he didn¡¯t want to hate that innocent girl deliberately.

    He unreservedly showed his clumsy side just to cut off his fantasy.

    I seem to have heard this approach before. However, Annan appeared to have another take from it.

    Are you a blind date expert?

    Although Annan was walking backward, he didn¡¯t fall because of it.

    He didn¡¯t need to see, nor did he use his memory or the sense of touch to identify the direction. Instead, he could ¡°see¡± the obstacles behind him under a unique perception radar.

    He was deliberately training his perception.

    Annan was already able to dodge merely with this sixth sense like Jude, given his perception attribute. The range of that unique perception was a bit bigger than Jude too.

    Annan also had the secondary profession as a [Silver Knight].

    His agility attribute was superior to Jude, signifying that he had a better reaction speed.

    At the very least, Annan was confident¡­ If he could temper his perception to the level of Jude¡¯s proficiency, he was 90% confident that he could deal with Dove¡¯s arrow that had instantly killed Jude.

    After all, Dove did not have any transcended abilities rted to archery.

    The [Impeding Wall] could even intercept bullets, not to mention arrows that were much slower and bulkier than bullets.

    The Child had no choice but to open his stream to report safety to his teammates.

    ¡°I¡¯vee out of a nightmare. It talks about a time when the Elven Civilization was still prosperous¡­ This is a new dungeon instance type without the main mission, called a ¡®public nightmare¡¯. I think it may be a kind of open-world setting. Hey, Your Highness Annan! This is too tall¡ª¡±

    The Child watched Annan walk backward to the pit, close his eyes, and jump into it.

    It surprised the Child with hisplexion ashen; he hurried forward to the pit¡¯s edge.

    The live stream he just activated was immediately filled with surprises in thements.

    ¡°¡ªDamn, he streams Annan jumping off in suicide.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWandering Child, you must not understand what¡¯s happening, right?''¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait a minute, what do you think of this, Child?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡±

 Chapter 327: Sacred Bone Wine Concoction

    <h4>Chapter 327: Sacred Bone Wine Concoction</h4>

    Wandering Child witnessed Annan falling and disappearing into the curse shaft.

    The sudden event put him into a panic. He hurried over, ¡°Hey, watch out! What if you hit the back of your head? Even if you don¡¯t hit your head, you may get stuck in a hole instead.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your concern, but something feels off to me.¡± Annan¡¯s young and cold voice came from the front.

    Since they were in a structure, his voice seemed distant and muffled.

    Annan questioned the Child¡¯s concern over him tantly, ¡°Think about it, Boffis is such a cute little girl, and yet you take her to such a dangerous ce. It seems like you don¡¯t care if she is willing. In contrast, I¡¯m a man about toe of age, right? Also, I¡¯m a Transcended with dual professions. Nothing terrible will happen to me.

    ¡°If I were to follow them down, I would have missed this ce,¡± said Annan confidently.

    Only now did the Child realize that Annan did not jump directly to the bottom of the Silverstone Curse Shaft.

    Annan did the opposite instead.

    Relying on his young body, he leaped backward like an Olympic diver. Then, he slipped into the gap and entered the next floor smoothly.

    Previously, Citalopram noticed this particr floor right after the ground floor; it was filled with rubble and was about five meters in height.

    Of course, it was inconvenient for Annan to disclose his findings to the Child.

    When he watched Citalopram¡¯s stream previously, he vaguely saw something here, but Citalopram didn¡¯t notice it. The group surely did not visit this ce either. After all, only people with a small figure and a flexible body like Annan could get into it. Even Dove could not achieve this.

    ¡°You may catch up to them first, or you can wait for me here!¡± Annan yelled, ¡°I think I saw something in there. I¡¯ll be back very soon!¡±

    ¡°¡­Then I¡¯ll wait for you at the entrance first in case you get stuck when youe back.¡±

    The Child said helplessly, ¡°If there is anything wrong, just shout, Your Highness. I can also help!¡±

    He was now brimming with confidence.

    He just learned a fantastic new skill ¡ª [Aero Strike], which sent wind des through his sword. He didn¡¯t have a chance to try it out yet, thus the eagerness. Also, hisprehension of [Geo Strike] was further improved.

    Most notably, his achievement was witnessed by many other yers.

    All the Child wanted was to act cool, so much so that he hoped Annan was endangered so that he could rescue the damsel in distress¡­ Rather, saving the noble child in distress smoothly.

    Sure enough, Annan would probably let him down in his fantasy.

    After Annan got into the crack of the building, he slowly turned around inside the narrow and dark space, crawling forward with his eyes closed, relying on the perception he had been training for half an hour.

    Since his destination wasn¡¯t too far away, it only took him less than three minutes to crawl over and find the thing he saw on Citalopram¡¯s live stream earlier.

    It was a head-sized object covered in bandages and gauze.

    Hundreds of years have passed. The bandages and gauze had be dry and brittle with a dusty surface.

    Then he maintained the lying posture on the ground, raised both of his hands above his head, and carefully removed all the bandages and gauze on it.

    He quickly felt around the bottle to identify its material.

    It kind of resembles the texture of a gem¡­

    Its shape is a bit like a medicine bottle used for infusion and probably thergest model too.

    After Annan removed all the bandages, new information popped up in front of his eyes.

    [Sacred Bone¡¯s Extract (Justice)]

    [Type: Raw Material/Consumable/Ritual item/Mystical item (Gold)]

    [Description: After soaking the sacred bone in the Wyrmrest Reagent, it has absorbed all the avable anesthetic effects. There seems to be some new power but may contain unknown venoms if not purified.]

    [Description: It cannot be exposed to sunlight and must be sealedpletely.]

    [Description: The reagent¡¯s original material contains curse energy, and some of that energy is still left in it.]

    [Description: You have never heard of its usage as a ritual item (the ¡°Advanced Mysticism¡± check has failed).]

    [Effect: There is a 13% probability of unknown mutation after drinking it. Upon consumption, your erosion rate increases by 57%, and you will be granted [Advanced Influence: Remains of the Heart of Justice]. Moreover, temporary levels will be added, pushing the current level to Level 45. The awakening percentage of the element [Brilliance] shall increase randomly after drinking, with the minimum increment being 3%. You will be afflicted with the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood Poison¡± LV43.]

    [Effect: There is a 75% probability of immediate death after injection. When your level is boasted above LV43, there is a 3% probability of an unknown mutation rting to an unknown dragon. The injection will inflict [Curse: Creator¡¯s Death]. It¡¯s guaranteed to acquire ¡°Advanced Influence: Remnants of the Heart of Justice¡± upon injection.]

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Annan was stunned.

    It was the first time he had seen such a long description exining the item¡¯s effect.

    If Annan learned [Advanced Mysticism], there should be paragraphs describing the item¡¯s effect as the ¡°ritual item¡±.

    As a raw material, the rarity was actually Gold Rank before being purified.

    Is this the wine brew to preserve the sacred bone?

    Or rather, is it more urate to see it as a dragon blood wine?

    In general, drinking it would cause great side effects. In addition, the cost of injecting it into the body waspletely uneptable too.

    Annan coughed twice, stirring up the dust into the air. Then, he murmured, ¡°Ah, I miss the senior a little.¡±

    Wait, Senior Brother Sal (Salvatore himself) may not be very good at this.

    But if it¡¯s ¡°Senior Sister Vatore¡± (the Shadow), she might possibly extract the active ingredients from it.

    It had a simr effect to Hermetic¡¯s Sage¡¯s Stone; both were top-tier reagents that granted temporary levels.

    It was just that the effective time of the temporary level was not written on it; there was also the erosion inflicted upon the soul.

    Annan wanted to extract that influence and element in the wine and leave the rest to senior.

    When he took Sage¡¯s Stone before, he found that his [Brilliance] element had awakened 63%. At that time, he used the Book of Divine Transporter¡¯s Truth, [the Way to Rise and Change], and discovered that his [Brilliance] element¡¯s safe extraction limit was capped at 85%.

    This meant that if he didn¡¯t burn his soul to the limit, the element of [Brilliance] could not achieve 100% perfection after reaching Gold Rank in his current state.

    His talent¡­ Or, the talent of ¡°Annan¡¯s¡± soul for the element of [Brilliance] was limited to this extent.

    In other Xianxia [1] Isekais, he could probably resolve this issue with some nourishment, improving his spiritual roots. However, it seemed that the awakening progress could only be enhanced through the rewards issued by nightmares.

    Annan acquired 10% progress for the awakening in the nightmare regarding Kafni¡¯s childhood.

    Then, Annan confirmed that the [Brilliance] element could only be perfected till the maximum percentage of 95% through Vasily. But this was clearly not enough.

    After seeing the properties of this sacred bone extract, Annan had a bold idea.

    It was not entirely about the 5% gap.

    Instead, Annan was well aware that aside from his [Frost] element that was innately perfected, and the [Brilliance] element that was as high as 65% in Bronze Rank, he had other four elements he had to awaken: [Wisdom], [Glory], [Beauty], and [Strict].

    Although thebined awakening progress of thest two elements was below 5%, Annan seemed to have a certain degree of affinity with these two elements to attain the awakening in his current state.

    If Annan could fill up the two elements of [Brilliance] and [Wisdom] in terms of the awakening progress before reaching Gold Rank, he had the option to opt for soul burning to awaken the remaining elements.

    The ascension and attainment might be different if he ascended while having six elements perfected.

    At present, the nightmares created by Advanced Influence seemed capable of improving the awakening progress of elements.

    Annan was thinking seriously about his options.

    Should I go to Silver Sire or the Man in the Mirror after advancing into the Silver Rank and ask for the real names of some deities rted to his elements?

    On the other side, Dove¡¯s group had finally reached their destination through the sewer.

 Chapter 328: Frostwisperâ€™s Eternal Frozen Blood

    <h4>Chapter 328: Frostwisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood</h4>

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Suuankou was suffocated by the brutal scene before him.

    What appeared in front of them was a bizarre and dire strait reminiscent of frozen storage or a snow park.

    Nine humanoid ice sculptures gathered at the round table in an airtight basementpletely covered in ice.

    Some stood up angrily, some calmly stretched their bodies and spread their hands, some whispered with the people around them, some leaned back and seemed to want to stay away from others.

    Their frozen state was like a piece of art. The ice sculptures included nine elves, four male and five female. The nine elves with different movements and expressions were so real as if they were alive.

    They were significantly different from ordinary sculptures.

    The sculptures had exaggerated movement, seemingly to give off an artistic air. If these living statues were put alone, they would be mistaken as those street performers enacting a statute. However, having them gathered added a significant incongruity that could not be found in real people.

    In the eyes of photography, it was the difference between a snapshot [1] and a photoshoot [2].

    What appeared in front of Suuankou and the group was a spontaneous ¡°snapshot¡±.

    He could vividly see a sculpture with his eye squinted, looking like a fool. Also, this particr sculpture had a twisted expression out of anger.

    It was as if time suddenly stood still.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡± He murmured.

    ¡°They¡¯re all Frostwhisper.¡± Citalopram, as the only trantor ¡ª or rather psychic, tranted Miss Boffis¡¯ words to the rest of the yers, ¡°Stay calm. They maintain such actions not because they triggered any trap. On the contrary, they had alle to the underground secret room and sacrificed their life voluntarily.

    ¡°To be more precise, they originally nned to hide in a public nightmare. They were making thest use of their bodies before they escaped.¡±

    ¡°So, is this a ritual?¡± Suuankou responded quickly.

    Citalopram responded immediately, ¡°Yup, you¡¯re right.¡±

    The team was at the lowest avable location in the ¡°sewers¡±.

    They followed the sewer into the city. After many twists and turns spanned more than 20 minutes, they found a building that looked like an enormous well.

    The wellhead extended three meters above the ground, but it wasn¡¯t difficult to climb on top of it. There was a stair leading up to the well, and each step was spacious. The team didn¡¯t need to tread sideways to climb the stairs.

    This showed that the designer had considered the possibility of someoneing to this ce via the sewers from the very beginning.

    After the team climbed to the wellhead, they noticed U-shaped steel pipes like staples being punched on the interior wall. These pipes were arranged on opposite sides of the interior wall, forming adder-like structure from the wellhead.

    Soon, the team started climbing down thedder. After five minutes, they came to this freezing ce. The further down they climbed down, the colder it got. Halfway through their journey, they saw the steel pipes were frozen with ayer of ice on top of them. After progressing down thedder for three-quarters, their surroundings turned into a world of ice and snow.

    Indeed, there were no windows and doors in this ce.

    After going down thedders facing each other, the team saw the wood table at the center of the well.

    They stepped on the table and then jumped off it.

    The ground and the walls were all covered with solid and thick ice. Even after hundreds of thousands of years, the ice here had not melted.

    The frigid cold air was filled with tiny pieces of ice visible to the naked air flying in the air. Dove had shrunk into a ball and stayed in Chocte¡¯s clothes. Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but shiver and march on the ground to keep warm. He could barely keep his voice from shaking.

    Citalopram could feel the chill clearly, but her body showed no sign of trembling.

    ¡°They donated their bodies before they died to hold a ritual. The name of the ritual was [Nine Faces of the Unburned]. Nine Transcended with the same profession had ingested the poison wrapped in honey pills, performed a mystical drama called [Nine Sacrifice], and died during the y to interrupt the ritual.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that they need to rely on this ritual to achieve any purpose. It¡¯s to acquire the by-product of this ritual. In the self-sacrificing type of ritual, the dead Transcendeds¡¯ corpses will not turn into nightmares. Instead, the corpses will be ¡®iplete cursed material¡¯. All curses remain sealed in the soul.

    ¡°After the ritual absorbs their souls, all that¡¯s left is the body overflowing with curses. Since this ritualprises nine Frostwhispers, the overflowed and umted curses around them will be converted into pure frigid air.¡±

    Citalopram tranted everything thoroughly.

    Hearing this, Suuankou was a little confused, ¡°They¡¯ve spent a lot of effort on this. What¡¯s their goal? Just to make a refrigerator?¡±

    ¡°Seems like it.¡± Citalopram paused and replied in a low volume.

    These two sentences were not trantions, but her views, ¡°The technology of the elves seems to be concentrated on the curse energy, at least the elves of the Third Age are like this.

    ¡°They wanted to eliminate their curse by consuming this energy in making a refrigerator. In fact, we all know the refrigerator runs on something, and we can¡¯t keep the cooling process running without any energy consumption.¡±

    ¡°Kelvin closed the coffin board with relief andy back in there.¡± Doveined in the forum, ¡°The world is always unexpectedly scientific in such a strange ce.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s collect the material first.¡± Citalopram instructed, ¡°The light blue liquid under the iceyer is ¡®Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡¯. I don¡¯t know how much Annan wants them. Let¡¯s get half a catty first of them first.¡±

    ¡°That is too much!¡± Suuankouined.

    ¡°What can I do?¡± Citalopram said helplessly, ¡°We didn¡¯t bring a container. Who knew that the ¡®Eternal Frozen Blood¡¯ was actually still in the liquid state.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to cut off an arm and take it away after sealing the opening with ice. I saw that Annan had already arrived. We should quickly go out and hand it over to him. Then, we don¡¯t have to worry about sending it back.¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to contain it with ice, we might as well cut the head off. At least the opening will be smaller.¡± Doveined in the forum.

    ¡°It¡¯s still not right?¡± Suuankou suddenly realized something, ¡°If the elves are trying to create an eternal refrigerated area, what are they trying to preserve?

    ¡°When we first came down, nothing was on this table.¡±

    ¡°Boffis had mentioned it.¡± Citalopram shook her head and exined, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that there was nothing there, but it was taken.

    ¡°It¡¯s indeed a well in a sense. It¡¯s spacious enough to allow something to be craned out of it, even when there¡¯s adder on both sides of the inner wall. Boffis said already that the ce where the sacred bone was once stored was along the way to collect the ¡®Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡¯.

    ¡°I specte that this should be where the elves originally nned to store the sacred bone. This shows that the elves should have given up the idea of ??signing a covenant with the sacred bone at that time, or maybe they could not sign it.

    ¡°From the perspective of the timeline, this ce should have been built sometime before the elves held the great ritual. We can even deduce that the sacred bone is dug out using magic energy or something cheat-like akin to the creative mode [3].

    ¡°At that time, the elves thought that the sacred bone would be kept here. So they made this ritual to suppress the activity of the sacred bone as much as possible and prevent the curse from leaking out.

    ¡°Since the wine can anesthetize the sacred bone, there is no reason why low temperature cannot reduce its activity. Moreover, the reagent will always deteriorate at room temperature. But if it is stored in a low-temperature environment, the storage time will increase somewhat.¡±

    Citalopram had a clear idea about this. In this instance, they did not find the bottle storing the sacred bone here.

    In other words, Boffis¡¯ mother took away the sacred bone stored here sometime after the ritual waspleted.

    Annan¡¯s discovery could further confirm this spection.

    The bottle he picked up over the other side was the bottle left after the [Heart of Justice] was taken away.

    Judging from the fact that it ¡°had lost its efficacy¡±, the bottle appeared in that location because the sacred bone was out-of-control after leaving the cold storage.

    But these were the little details.

    Annan and the Child did not go down the well but waited for them toe back at the only entrance and exit.

    When the item was delivered to Annan, Annan did have a way to keep the ice on the surface from melting, no matter if it was a hand or a head.

    If Annan could not even do this, he had to re-evaluate his path of transcendence.

    The remaining parts that he did not use up could be sold to the yers as pieces of equipment.

    I¡¯m finally advancing in my rank¡­ Annan carried the ¡°sacred bone extract¡± wrapped in his coat and took a deep breath with a bit of nervousness.

    Is it time to settle my score with that painter?

 Chapter 329: Bernardino

    <h4>Chapter 329: Bernardino</h4>

    ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± Longjing Tea smacked his lips.

    Through the conversation between Annan and the Child, he could roughly guess what the Child did in the nightmare.

    Unfortunately, Longjing Tea didn¡¯t see it with his own eyes. He didn¡¯t manage to record the moment and mock him immediately, giving him the feeling of missing out.

    After all, Longjing Tea had witnessed the Child¡¯s awkward chatting.

    Cade (the Child) was not in-looking at first. Instead, he could even be called handsome.

    The only issue was with his receding hairline.

    When the Child hadn¡¯t retired yet, his family sent him on blind dates. At that time, Longjing Tea went to assist as a wingman.

    Even the well-informed Longjing Tea was shocked the first time he saw how Cade functioned in front of an unfamiliar and beautiful girl.

    During the first meetup, the process was rough, ¡°Hey, what zodiac sign are you? I¡¯m a Gemini, and we should get along very well¡±, ¡°What¡¯s your job? It¡¯s amazing¡±, ¡°Do you have any favorite games? Ah, you don¡¯t y any games.¡±

    Then, he ran out of bullets (conversation topics).

    If the Child failed to capture any topic in a short while, he would suddenly blurt out questions like ¡°The weather is good today¡±, ¡°where are you from¡±, and ¡°how do you think about the temperature here¡±.

    He was especially good at forcing a conversation out ¡ª that shocked Longjing Tea.

    Of course, Longjing Tea also learned the truthter.

    This was actually Cade¡¯s approach to indirectly push the date away.

    In Cade¡¯s words, if he tried to run away from the blind date, he would use such a euphemized approach to lower the energy of the date, making his date unable to continue the conversation.

    But Longjing Tea finally got a definite answer after careful close-up (referring to him sitting at the next table) observation several times. All of the above was a lie.

    The real reason was that the dumb Child had inexplicable low self-esteem and timidity.

    Every time he was interested in his date, but he didn¡¯t feel like having a good chance, he would give up on his own and distance himself. Then, he would get a reason ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t chase after her. It¡¯s because she looked down on me.¡±

    That way, Cade wouldn¡¯t feel guilty for not taking the initiative, nor would he regret the oue.

    That put Longjing Tea into questioning how marvelous Cade¡¯s parents were.

    Generally speaking, when they meet during the blind date, they would know what position they had in the matchmaker¡¯s heart.

    Usually, the results were lower than expected. The Child had such aedian-like escape method. It stood to reason that the favorability of him was deducted to nothing long ago with the matchmakers.

    But the surprising mystery was that every time Cade went on a blind date, the quality of the woman he was introduced to was always abnormally high. There were several times even Longjing Tea at the next table was enchanted.

    As a matter of fact, Longjing Tea came from a wealthy family.

    He thought about it and realized that Cade shouldn¡¯t waste his youth like this. What if my best bro couldn¡¯t find such a good partner in the future?

    So Longjing Tea was like Cade¡¯s father, cheering Cade up, talking to him, and giving him counseling talks.

    But he never imagined that after Cade read to himself, ¡°I can¡¯t run away this time,¡± a couple of times, he still escaped immediately after arriving at the scene.

    So Longjing Tea gave uppletely.

    From then on, he decided to use shock therapy. Every time the Child was pushed by his parents for a blind date, he would rush to the scene as soon as possible and mock the Child after the date ended.

    Longjing Tea would continue to do so until he inherited his family business.

    But fortunately, this situation for the Child had stopped.

    The reason was quite simple.

    The Child had gone bald.

    As a result, the quality of the woman he was introduced to dropped significantly. The situation wouldn¡¯t push the Child to the extent of being too nervous, and he could cope perfectly. Later on, as the Child became a popr streamer after retiring, he was exposed to more people. At the very least, the Child wouldn¡¯t be nervous when he met other female streamers on the Fighting Cat Streaming tform.

    What happened today was unexpected. I haven¡¯t seen the Child in this state for a few years, but I see it again here.

    I¡¯m really curious. What does the girl look like?

    What a headache! I¡¯m so curious.

    ¡°I really want to meet her¡­¡± Longjing Tea muttered, sighed, and closed the book.

    I don¡¯t think I can continue reading anymore.

    The live streams nowadays are so interesting.

    There was the event about the Child awkwardly approaching a girl with ¡°how¡¯s the weather?¡±, Citalopram being a tour guide in introducing ¡°my family ruins¡±, Sister Hyphen¡¯s in real life stream (IRL) about Dong Juan arriving in Rosebury, and Xiang Tiange smuggling dangerous goods into the city.

    I really can¡¯t sit still and study.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s state was like watching an entertaining stream on the phone while doing the literature review for the postgraduate entrance examination.

    There was no way for him to focus and learn anything.

    Even when the system only required him to read through the text from the beginning to the end, he realized that his learning process had stopped, given that the text on the 4th and 5th pages remained red. Thus, he gave up the idea of multitasking.

    Maybe I should give myself a break¡­ Longjing Tea thought to himself.

    When Longjing Tea packed up and prepared to go back to his dormitory, he saw Teacher rence at the door, whom he hadn¡¯t seen for about a couple of days.

    rence wore ck-rimmed sses and the same red robe. He was listening intently, fidgeting his fingers on his right hand subconsciously. The noise was audible even at the current distance, so much so that it gave off the impression of cutlery scratching each other.

    In front of rence was a gloomy old man in a wheelchair.

    The old man was wearing a white coat that resembled a hooded gown. He lowered his head, exposing dark yellow bandages covered with dense ck, strange runes.

    At first nce, the old man gave off the impression of a mummy.

    For some reason, the moment Longjing Tea saw the old man, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart. The old man then stopped his whisper at the same time.

    Longjing Tea tried to recall but couldn¡¯t remember what the old man had said previously.

    This isn¡¯t just an illusion.

    Longjing Tea walked over without hesitation and respectfully greeted rence, befitting his status as the apprentice, ¡°Good evening, Teacher rence.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± rence nodded. With a rare stern expression on his face that tended to smile, he said solemnly, ¡°It¡¯s veryte. Head back to rest early.¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡±

    ¡°¡ªOh?¡± The old man let out a low, hoarseugh at this time.

    Theughter gave off the air of death, and it was terrifying.

    ¡°Is that your student, rence? Are you not going to introduce him to me?¡± The old man slowly raised his head with a kind smile.

    His exposed teeth were as yellow as a corpse. It was as if the being under the bandage was not a person but a skeleton.

    rence just nodded respectfully in reply.

    He calmly pointed to Longjing Tea and introduced in a low voice, ¡°Let me introduce him to you. This is Longjing Tea. An apprentice who has not officially embarked on the path of transcendence.¡±

    He did not exin to the old man that Longjing Tea was neither his disciple nor his student.

    But he also hinted at Longjing Tea, ¡°It would be better for you to get to know him a little bit.

    ¡°This is Master Bernardino, Bernardino Telesio. He is the pope of the ¡®Bell Ringer¡¯, a Gold Rank wizard with the ¡®Pure Spiritual Medium¡¯ title. His magic falls in the school of Soul Snatch. He is also the founder of the profession [Telesio Spiritual Monk].

    ¡°At the same time, he is also my teacher and David Gerald¡¯s mentor.¡±

 Chapter 330: The Person Tearing Up Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 330: The Person Tearing Up Destiny</h4>

    ¡°¡­Master Bernardino.¡± Longjing Tea held his urge to throw up and barely suppressed the disgust tumbling in his stomach. After recovering himself, he respectfully greeted the old man.

    As a matter of fact, it wasn¡¯t like he had an ill opinion against Bernardino Telesio, nor was it about Bernardino¡¯s words irritating him.

    Instead, there was an immense sense of fear striking his nerves.

    Those weren¡¯t human eyes.

    Those ck runes flowed like living things under the face covered with withered yellow bandages. The runes were like cockroaches crawling on the ground, making a low, almost inaudible rustling sound.

    Two rare gems were revealed in the gaps of the bandages.

    It wasn¡¯t a metaphor of the pupils as beautiful as jewels like Annan. Of course, there wasn¡¯t any slight resemnce to Kafni¡¯s doll-like eyes.

    Instead, they were genuine gems.

    One of them was a sapphire the size of a quail¡¯s egg with many facets. Yet, no matter from any angle, the pure white, solitary rune remained suspended in the middle of the gem.

    Bernardino¡¯s left eye was a high-quality chrysoberyl [1] cat¡¯s eye the size of an eyeball. There was a straight and bright gold vertical line on top of the jewel, and it seemed to shine steadily.

    Longjing Tea could vaguely see that Bernardino¡¯s eye socket had turned into a golden gem through the bandage.

    Bernardino was covered in bandages as if he had survived a fire scene. So naturally, he wasn¡¯t wearing any ring, ne, or bracelet.

    Perhaps the iid gem or the golden frame fixed to his eye socket was his curse vessel.

    If the old man sat there without speaking, no one would think that he was a living person.

    Just being watched by the old man¡¯s two jewel eyes, Longjing Tea felt his body trembling uncontrobly.

    That feeling was like wearing a sweater and walking against the wind in winter.

    He felt the chill pierced from the chest to his back, seeping deeply into his bones.

    Maybe it¡¯s just an illusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bully my student.¡± Suddenly, rence spoke in a low voice.

    rence raised his right hand and pointed to Longjing Tea.

    Longjing Tea keenly felt that the chills that crept upon his chest faded.

    Longjing Tea could vaguely see that the tips of rence¡¯s slender and sharp fingernails shone with a faint blue brilliance. What is that?

    ¡°It seems that you are quite satisfied with him.¡± Bernardino chuckled softly.

    Hisughter was dry and hoarse, not pleasant at all. It sounded like the smirk of a bad actor.

    ¡°That happens when Master Bernardino¡¯s spirit grasps a hold of your heart.¡±

    rence briefly exined to him, as if he sensed Longjing Tea¡¯s doubts, ¡°Your current soul rank is too low to see them.

    ¡°In addition to being good at manipting emotions, memory, and perception, the Soul Snatch school is also good at controlling the ¡®soul¡¯ itself. Master Bernardino is a [Telesio Spiritual Monk] who specializes in controlling the soul.¡±

    rence stated calmly, ¡°One of the master¡¯s eyes can destroy, absorb, and bind other people¡¯s souls, while the other eye enves hundreds of souls. If your rank is higher, you can see the ghost behind the master pushing the wheelchair.¡±

    So, that¡¯s why he can control the wheelchair while both of his hands are entangled in bandages. Longjing Tea suddenly realized.

    ¡°Heh¡­ manage to see Lafiss¡­ What a great skill.¡± But the old man just let out anotherughter again and said slowly in a low voice, ¡°¡®Fellow Spiritual Monks, can I regard this as your official reply?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my reply.¡± rence replied calmly and earnestly, ¡°You know, I¡¯m not interested in this. I have my own path.¡±

    He said, raising the index finger of his right hand and bending his knuckles slightly, ¡°I won¡¯t tell others that you have been here. But if you don¡¯t leave, I can only report it to the tower master.¡±

    Like writing in the air, the tips of his long fingernails glowed fluorescently, swiping rapidly in the air, leaving behind a dim azure blue light trail. These light trails remained vaguely in Longjing Tea¡¯s vision, forming a somewhatplicated rune.

    ¡°Heh, heh, heh¡­ things don¡¯t have to go like that, rence. I¡¯m not coercing you into anything. It¡¯s just an invitation.¡±

    While still curling up in his wheelchair, Bernardino let out his signature dryugh, ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, just pretend I haven¡¯t been here today.¡±

    As he spoke, the wheelchair under him suddenly turned by itself.

    Longjing Tea felt the familiar coldness creeping on him again. A soft yet solid power pushed him back. The door opened automatically, and all obstacles between the old man and the door were lined up to the sides.

    Even the heavy bookshelves anchored to the ground by Swamp¡¯s ck Tower made way for the old man.

    As Bernardino passed by Longjing Tea, his wheelchair suddenly stopped.

    The old man turned slightly and asked in a low voice, ¡°Book of Divine Transporter?¡±

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Longjing Tea was stunned for a moment.

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know¡­¡± Bernardino sighed regretfully and shook his head, ¡°What a pity¡­¡±

    The old man didn¡¯t stop after that. At the moment he crossed the door, the wheelchair disappeared.

    While Longjing Tea was stunned, rence patted him gently on the shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. He¡¯s here because I¡¯m about to advance in my rank. The master is here to ask me if I want to advance into a Spiritual Monk.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about Gerald, and it¡¯s not about Jude.¡±

    What the hell? Longjing Tea was suddenly shocked.

    I haven¡¯t asked anything yet. How do you know everything? But, he calmed down almost instantly.

    rence spread his hands, ¡°See, this is the advantage of the rank difference. I¡¯m just demonstrating it to you.

    ¡°Soul Rank does not fully representbat power, but it determines how vulnerable you are to the transcended abilities.¡±

    rence smiled helplessly, ¡°If you want to keep a secret, it¡¯s best to embark on the path of transcendence quickly.

    ¡°You have a soul that isn¡¯t corrupted by the curse. Basically, everything you think about is reflected in my mind.¡±

    ¡°So, Master Bernardino also knows everything?¡±

    ¡°Not really. That isn¡¯t necessarily true. The gap from Silver Rank to Gold Rank is unlike Bronze Rank to Silver Rank. It isn¡¯t an improvement of one¡¯s overall qualities.¡±

    rence disagreed, ¡°After entering the Gold Rank, what has changed is your race status. The abilities you had before will experience a significant shift too.

    ¡°After bing a [Spiritual Monk], you will lose the ability to read minds and change emotions at will.

    ¡°If you want to get something, you have to give something. The bridge from the Silver Rank to Gold Rank cannot be filled with a curse.

    ¡°I know who killed my teacher and Jude¡¯s situation. But I won¡¯t avenge my teacher because his death is inevitable. Even without your lord, he will die there as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s all because he went the wrong path, and it has nothing to do with me. That¡¯s his destiny.

    ¡°As for Jude, he died for his reasons, but also because of mymand. Thus, I will avenge him. But I will only kill your friend once because that¡¯s what happened, giving your friend an equal fate.¡±

    rence looked at Longjing Tea and replied softly, ¡°Are you relieved now?¡±

    Longjing Tea swallowed his saliva and smiled reluctantly, ¡°I thought you were from the Prophet school¡­ Talking about fate and all¡­¡±

    ¡°Prophets never tell the future they see to others.¡± rence replied calmly, ¡°They¡¯re just a bunch of cowardly ¡®centaur¡¯.¡±

    He raised his right hand, showing off his long, dagger-sharp fingernails.

    It was made of a centaur¡¯s corpse and could tear apart ¡°destiny¡±.

 Chapter 331: An Advanced Service Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 331: An Advanced Service Attitude</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose sat in the creaking carriage.

    The carriage was a bigger model that offered a lot of space. It was capable of housing eight people while allowing them to sit opposite and face one another.

    Yet, Delicious Wind Goose was now alone in the carriage.

    The sofa seat opposite him was removed, reced by three columns of wooden boxes stacked in twoyers; there was also arge wooden box on his left and right sides each.

    Inside each crate were twenty-four ¡°Honeylip¡± mead imitations ¡ª two dozens.

    The real ¡°Honeylip¡± was a medicinal mead made by the Alteration Wizards of ck Tower. It not only had a mellow taste, sweet but not greasy but also had an aphrodisiac effect and beauty effect.

    So its price kept increasing because of the demand.

    Of course, like all delicious foods that im to have ¡°some kind of curative effect,¡± it wasn¡¯t as effective as it proimed either.

    The reason why the price inted was mainly because of its rarity.

    There was also prestige and status attributed to those capable of getting this mead.

    As for the fake mead Caravan Master made, he definitely didn¡¯t make it with a wizard. Thus, those effects couldn¡¯t be found in the drink.

    But it was still a top-grade mead, and it had been carefully blended. Unless the person got to taste the real and fake mead at the same time, it was hard to tell the difference.

    The counterfeit goods had a lower concentration than the genuine Honeylip, but they were pretty identical in taste, so much so that the counterfeit mead gave a stronger aftertaste.

    As for the reason why the vor was stronger, and the concentration was mild, it all boiled down to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s job.

    Suddenly, someone opened the door.

    ¡°Tate Caravan of the Alfonso Chamber of Commerce?¡± A deep voice came, ¡°You are from Freezing Water Port¡­¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose looked up and found two men standing at the carriage door.

    One was a young city guard with brown curly hair holding a jade que and looked a bit rash; the other was a middle-aged man with a beard in his forties. The middle-aged city guard wore the more formal captain¡¯s leather armor. He opened the carriage door and gave Delicious Wind Goose a subtle nod.

    He is probably the person whom Caravan Master Tate had mentioned. Delicious Wind Goose noticed the hint.

    ¡°Delicious Wind Goose.¡± Old Goose replied politely, ¡°I¡¯m a tourist from Freezing Water Port, and the identification is with the consul.¡±

    As Old Goose pronounced his name, the jade que sent out green glows, proving that Old Goose said his real name.

    ¡°Alright, great. There seems to be no problem here.¡± The middle-aged man nodded and patted the young man in front of him on the shoulder, ¡°Pick a crate.¡±

    ¡°How about this?¡± The young man casually pointed to the crate on the right-hand side of Delicious Wind Goose, which was the closest to them. It was also the only ck crate.

    This crate was for the convenience of Delicious Wind Goose so that he could remain in the carriage without the need to free out more space. Also, he didn¡¯t have to move the crate every time he wanted to leave the carriage so as to not damage the goods inside.

    The middle-aged city guard captain nodded and gave a simple order, ¡°Open it up.¡±

    The young man responded, hugged the wooden crate, and lifted it with a squeak, carefully cing it on the ground.

    Then, he took out a long-handled crowbar and pried open the wooden crate.

    ¡°Hey¡­ it¡¯s really the Honeylip!¡± The young man couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°I heard the Honeylip¡¯s price increased by another pound recently. You¡¯re going to make a fortune.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s inspect the goods first.¡± The middle-aged man ordered impatiently.

    Standing by the side, shaking his legs, he casually asked Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°Who is the mayor of your Freezing Water Port¡­ is it still the Salvatore?¡±

    ¡°The person in the office has shifted for a while. It¡¯s the Geraint family now.¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied cautiously, trying not to reveal any ws. He did his best pretending as a Freezing Water Port dweller.

    But he was keenly aware that when he said the word ¡°Geraint¡±, the middle-aged man shaking his legs suddenly stopped for a moment.

    He noted it down and temporarily gave up his previous n to use the name ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± to increase his persuasiveness.

    Delicious Wind Goose calmly altered his statement, ¡°But I haven¡¯t gone back for a while, and I¡¯m not quite sure. But it¡¯s still Mayor Salvatoremay at least a month ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The middle-aged man replied casually.

    At this time, the young city guard had already taken out all the 24 mead bottles to check whether they were properly sealed up. Then, he verified the ¡°trademark¡± on each bottle, took out a notebook to record the quantity count, and put them back one by one.

    He then closed the crate and brought it back to Delicious Wind Goose.

    To avoid crushing himself, Delicious Wind Goose clung to the wooden crate on the other side.

    ¡°It¡¯s all for the sake of safety. Please forgive me. I humbly apologize if I have offended you.¡± The young city guard quickly spoke to Delicious Wind Goose.

    The middle-aged man behind him patted his shoulder hard and said in annoyance, ¡°Speak it out seriously!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± The young man replied helplessly, stood up, and said honestly, ¡°I checked these items for everyone¡¯s safety. Please forgive me. I¡¯m very sorry if I offended you. The inspection fee will be imposed on the caravan leader at 5% of the total value of the goods. I am Dexter Lowy with 42 days of service experience. This is my supervisor, us Cass. My Inspector ID is E112. If you have anyments on my service, you can go to the Silver Sire Church in the capital toin about me.¡±

    What the fuck? Old Goose was shocked.

    Is your service attitude so advanced?

    Although I have long known that ¡°Silver Sire is the deity with the best attitude towards ordinary people¡±, this is just too¡­ overwhelming.

    If it weren¡¯t for Silver Sire¡¯splete ignorance of which world the yer came from, Old Goose would have thought that the Silver Sire or the Silver Sire¡¯s popes were transmigrators, those kinds with a lot of strange ideas.

    After the two city guards closed the door and left, Delicious Wind Goose let out a subtly relieved expression.

    Thest conversation shocked him for a moment and almost revealed himself.

    But fortunately, those who came to the capital for the first time would be shocked. The guards were used to this scene. They didn¡¯t say much and left politely.

    After that, some time passed.

    Delicious Wind Goose reached out and locked the carriage door.

    Then, he opened the wooden crates that had been pried open. The ones the guards chose were exactly the crates that Delicious Wind Goose was going to poison.

    He reached under his jacket.

    Twenty-four metal pieces the size of lighters were tied to the position close to the underwear, like chainmail. They were in the formation of 3 X 8.

    He took out a metal piece and took out the mead ss that had already been prepared. All twenty-four bottles of Honeylip were removed from the ck crate.

    Then, he opened the cork of the first bottle; the fragrance poured out and filled the carriage.

    He poured himself mead at the height reaching two fingers and twisted the first metal piece open like opening a perfume bottle.

    The moment Delicious Wind Goose uncapped the [Demon Blood], a ¡°chi¡± sound came. He almost thought it was Coca-c in a perfume bottle.

    After opening it up, the liquid inside that looked like Coke sent out a fizzy sound, but there were no obvious white bubbles.

    Delicious Wind Goose carefully poured the liquid into the bottle. Even though the carriage was still shaking, his hand was so steady that nothing leaked out.

    He repeated this twenty-four times, putting back all the ¡°Honeylip¡± that had been prepared and carefully closing the lid.

    I shall get ready to deliver themter. Delicious Wind Goose thought leisurely.

    But at this moment, the voice of Caravan Master Tate came from outside, ¡°Delicious Wind Goose? Can youe down for a while? I have business with you.¡±

    Oh well. Delicious Wind Goose raised an eyebrow.

    Then, he calmly posted on the forum: ¡°I Think I¡¯m Getting Capture Soon, Brothers & Sisters.¡±

    ¡°¡ªCome here, let¡¯s set the table up. Those who think I will be captured post ¡°1¡± in thement. Those who think I will be fine post ¡°2¡±. Let¡¯s set the stake as barbecue meals and skewers. Anyone interested?¡±

 Chapter 332: Silver Sire Churchâ€™s Tipping System

    <h4>Chapter 332: Silver Sire Church¡¯s Tipping System</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose opened the carriage¡¯s window and nced around.

    He soon realized that he was in front of an alley with many passersby. Still, the alley wasn¡¯t congested, and it wasn¡¯t an isted area either.

    At the very least, the civilians here wouldn¡¯t need to worry about being kidnapped in this ce during their idle chatter.

    Delicious Wind Goose was somewhat reassured of his safety.

    At the very least, I wouldn¡¯t be murdered immediately after bringing the goods in.

    In that case, the validity of the contract should still exist.

    After all, it was a contract under the Silver Sire Church. This contract fell under the category of ¡°transaction,¡± which was under the Silver Sire¡¯s surveince.

    So, everything will be smooth until the contract ispleted?

    Delicious Wind Goose got out of the carriage and asked, ¡°Do I bring the goods in?¡±

    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll have youe back here very soon.¡± Caravan Master Tate, who had the same hairstyle as Old Goose (bald), smiled and reached out to support Delicious Wind Goose in getting out of the carriage, lest he identally fell to the ground.

    Then, Caravan Master Tate patted Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s shoulder and said in a low voice, ¡°Keep your voice down and stay low. Our goods are counterfeit, after all. Don¡¯t let anyone know.

    ¡°Remember to state my name when you head there for the delivery. If anyone asks, keep insisting it¡¯s the real mead. Got it, friend?¡±

    The caravan master raised an eyebrow and looked back at Delicious Wind Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose knew what Tate was hinting at.

    They didn¡¯t mention ¡°Demon Blood¡± at all.

    At the moment when their eyes met, Delicious Wind Goose immediately understood.

    So, we¡¯re currently being watched, or possibly under surveince¡­

    It¡¯s fine to let the third party know that it¡¯s a ¡°fake mead¡±, but not the [Demon Blood].

    So is the person watching the scene Stilwell Shelley? Is he the patron of Caravan Master Tate to sell fake alcohol in the capital?

    This shows that the Shelley brothers shouldn¡¯t be involved in the royalties infighting.

    Or, at least they weren¡¯t someone the Third Prince could trust.

    Delicious Wind Goose quickly analyzed Tate¡¯s words and acquired a couple of useful pieces of information.

    He was now secretly grateful that it was him who took on this mission.

    No other yers were suitable to carry out this mission, not even Dove.

    It wasn¡¯t because they weren¡¯t smart enough, but because they were all too young and not sharp enough.

    Delicious Wind Goose thought calmly in his heart, but he followed the instruction without hesitation, pretending to be the caravan master¡¯s follower.

    All of these were an act they put up for those who were spying on them.

    Tate also sensed Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s goal.

    He was neither anxious nor angry, just throwing Old Goose a nce and leading him into the deserted alley.

    The carriage stopped at the entrance of the alley. The carriage itself blocked the entrance while shielding off the line of sight.

    Tetra walked to the innermost part of the alley with Delicious Wind Goose before stopping.

    Afterward, Tate took off his belt and that of Delicious Wind Goose.

    Then, they exchanged their belts.

    Since Caravan Master Tate arranged Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s clothes beforehand, it felt reasonable that they were using simr designs of belts.

    At first, Delicious Wind Goose was a little surprised when Caravan Master Tate took away his belt.

    However, Old Goose soon realized what was happening when Tate handed over his belt.

    Sure enough, Delicious Wind Goose felt that the belt was much heavier than his own as soon as he got his hands on it.

    Delicious Wind Goose reached out and touched the inside of the belt. Then, he felt the familiar metal pieces¡¯ texture.

    They were the metal bottles the size of a lighter that stored the Demon Blood.

    ¡°As promised, we will split the rewards into ten packages.¡± Tate watched Delicious Wind Goose re-buckled his belt at a distance away from him and said in a low voice, ¡°I gave you the things, and you have to help me deliver the goods.¡±

    ¡°No problem. When?¡±

    ¡°Right now.¡± Tate replied briefly, ¡°I¡¯ll drop you two blocks away from the Third Prince¡¯s mansion. ess to the street one block away from the mansion is restricted. You won¡¯t be able to enter until they verify your identity. ¡°

    ¡°How shall I answer them?¡±

    ¡°Tell them your real name. I¡¯ve made an appointment for you. You are now a merchant from the Freezing Water Port, and you want to give the Third Prince a generous gift in exchange for a trading permit. Your ultimate goal is to join my caravan. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Ya, no problem.¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied calmly, ¡°I have noted them down.¡±

    Tate nced at Old Goose carefully, nodded slowly, and patted his shoulder, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll be leaving soon.

    ¡°I won¡¯te forward again. No matter what problem you have, it has nothing to do with me, understand?¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Delicious Wind Goose nodded.

    He followed Tate back to the carriage and climbed up again.

    After closing the door, he slowly felt around the ck box and narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly upied in thoughts.

    After that, Tate put Delicious Wind Goose two blocks away as nned.

    This was Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s first time seeing the scenery of the royal capital.

    The capital of the Noah Kingdom was also called Noah.

    As arge city with a poption of more than four million, Delicious Wind Goose was located in the ¡°St. Charles District¡±, which was the closest to the city gate of the royal capital.

    In the hundreds of years since the establishment of the Noah Kingdom, the capital had been renovated at least four times. The most recent one was thirty years ago when the capital was officially divided into six districts, named after the seven popes of the Silver Sire.

    Delicious Wind Goose noticed that the roads in the capital were at least twice as wide as those in Roseburg, and the streets were paved with marble withnes and sidewalks specially demarcated.

    It wasn¡¯t nighttime yet. The intricately decorated streetmps on both sides remained off. There was a newspaper rack at the crossroad where Delicious Wind Goose stopped.

    Next to the newspaper rack, there was also a donation box.

    The donation box had a line with a prominent font written on it, ¡°This donation box only epts silver coins¡±. The holy symbol of Silver Sire was branded in the middle, and the following were two lines of words in smaller font-size: ¡°All donations from this donation box will be sent to Teacher Emory Mawson of [St. Charles Third Mission School] next month as a subsidy. If you don¡¯t donate, please put the newspaper back after reading the newspaper here.¡±

    There were even additional lines at the bottom: ¡°Mission school does not charge tuition fees. It provides free catering and amodation. All living expenses of teachers, staff, and their families are paid and reimbursed by the Silver Sire Church, and no other fixed sry is paid. If you¡¯re concerned with their ie or think this teacher speaks well, please give them some support!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was taken aback for a moment.

    ¡°¡­Fuck.¡±

    This Silver Sire Church is a talented ce.

    What is this? Tipping system?

 Chapter 333: Getting Caught In The End

    <h4>Chapter 333: Getting Caught In The End</h4>

    ¡°Is this your first time visiting the Noah¡¯s capital city?¡± An old man with a top hat smiled and asked gently behind Delicious Wind Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose raised his eyebrows, put down the wooden crate in his hand, and politely bowed to the old man, ¡°Yes, old man. Is there anything I have done wrong?¡±

    After all, this was the capital.

    He didn¡¯t know if this passerby was some sort of a big shot who came out for a stroll.

    ¡°You¡¯re surprised about this donation box, right?¡± said the old man casually. He took out a silver coin and put it in habitually.

    He picked up a newspaper next to him, flipped through it carefully, and replied casually, ¡°This is Noah¡¯s custom. After all, the Silver Sire is the Trade Deity, and He usually stays in Noah. Therefore, this ce is considered under His watchful eyes.

    ¡°No matter how arrogant these businessmen are, they have to be humble and polite when theye to this ce. No one dares to make a fuss here. Everyone is well-disciplined. After all, Silver Sire will roam around when He is free, going shopping or buying something. Everyone believes that the store that the Silver Sire visited will have good fortune.

    ¡°The Old Noahs have basically met Silver Sire once or twice. So they can recognize Him easily. However, the business people from other ces can¡¯t recognize Him at the first moment. So it is better for them to be respectful to everyone. After all, the Silver Sire stays in this ce, and his subordinate deitiese back asionally.¡±

    So, I see. Delicious Wind Goose nodded.

    So, it¡¯s precisely because they¡¯re running businesses that they have to be wary.

    The bosses might not be religious, but they were more or less superstitious. If they were to pass by and meet deities, they would pay their respect if they weren¡¯t in a hurry.

    As far as Delicious Wind Goose was concerned, Longjing Tea had a Buddha statue and an ancestral hall in his home, and his grandfather would pay tribute frequently.

    Seeing how pious Longjing Tea could be, he could empathize with those businessmen.

    Moreover, Silver Sire was a living deity controlling wealth in this city, who might appear anywhere and anytime. Sure enough, the people in business would follow thew and orders lest they irritate the deity.

    The old man pointed to the newspaper rack and said, ¡°About forty years ago, newspapers were still sold for one silver coin each. The profit was also used to maintain the operation of the mission school. However, the pope of this generation is brilliant.

    ¡°To cater to businessmen who want to tter the church, but it isn¡¯t convenient to take their money tantly, he installed donation boxes in the city.

    ¡°The donation boxes ced in front of the newspapers are donated to mission schools; the donation boxes on the subway are donated to families facing difficulties; the donation boxes at the entrance of concert halls and theaters are used to raise orphans. ¡°

    ¡°The Respectful Pope is a kind man.¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butmentate.

    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± The old man sighed and handed the newspaper to Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°I¡¯ve finished reading. Here, take the newspaper. After reading it, you may put it back or even take it away. I have already paid. The standard price is one silver coin.¡±

    The old man smiled kindly and pulled his top hat, ¡°Wee to Noah, young man.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was stunned for a while, and the old man had already left.

    He hurriedly shouted from behind, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Then, he saw the old man wave his hand and leave swiftly.

    Old Goose was surprised by this encounter.

    This old man¡¯s legs are too quick. Could he be some sort of a big shot?

    He shook his head, flipping through the newspaper while picking up the crate and walking forward.

    ¡°En, the second increase in the food tax within these ten years? Thest time it happened was half a year ago. Is there going to be a war?

    ¡°The wool¡¯s price has risen for the third time. Thetest clothing style of the fashion master¡­ Oh, it¡¯s not ugly, but there¡¯s nothing special. Hey, why don¡¯t I find someone who learns fashion design to join this game?

    ¡°The famous painter Nigel Elliott ims that the Paper Princess has recently arrived at the Noah Kingdom? Huh, the Paper Princess is a deity? Really, can the matter of the deities be written directly in the newspaper?

    ¡°¡ªFuck, the Paper Princess is so pretty! I¡¯m falling in love!¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    The Paper Princess portrait was published in the newspaper, even though it was ck and white. There was also a note below the drawing, ¡°Courtesy to Nigel Elliott¡±.

    The painter¡¯s perspective was cast from the side.

    He seemed to have summoned ¡°the Paper Princess¡±, who frowned slightly and turned around in confusion. The painter even perfectly painted the clothes that were taut when the Paper Princess turned back.

    The Paper Princess put Her right hand in her pocket while Her left hand held a pen inversely like a dagger.

    She had a soft yet indifferent face that gave a sense of distance, light-colored long straight hair draped to the waist, two dragon horns protruding upward like lightning on the forehead, and the slender corbone vaguely covered with dragon scales. Furthermore, She seemed like a 17 years old girl.

    However, Her mature and indifferent temperament and Her voluptuous breasts made Her look like a mature adult woman. She exuded the air of art due to the drawing board behind Her and the 17 pens of different kinds and sizes inserted into Her waist like a sword. At the same time, it made Her stand out.

    Her vibe was different from how he first met Silver Sire.

    Silver Sire looked more like a cheerful young man. Although He was handsome, He didn¡¯t stand out from the crowd. The Paper Princess was the type that could be noticed at a nce no matter how many people there were, and it was difficult to avert the gazeid on Her.

    Her beauty struck the heart. Whoever looking straight at Her would be mesmerized.

    When the Delicious Wind Goose was carefully admiring the Paper Princess¡¯s portrait, he had already walked down a street and arrived at an intersection. Eight people were guarding this ce.

    He could already see the manor that was across the street.

    This should be the Third Prince¡¯s mansion.

    Seeing Delicious Wind Goose passing by, two people walked over immediately, and the remaining six people lowered the muzzle of their rifles slightly.

    ¡°Did you make an appointment?¡± One of them asked politely.

    The two of them each held a jade que. The person who asked the question also had a booklet in his hand.

    ¡°Delicious Wind Goose.¡± The Old Goose paused and replied, ¡°My name is Delicious Wind Goose, from the Freezing Water Port. There should be an appointment.¡±

    But after the jade que shed, the two looked at each other.

    This gave Delicious Wind Goose a bad hunch.

    Four of the six guards came over and pointed guns at him.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t act rashly, sir.¡± The person who asked was still polite.

    But as the only security guard without firearms, he stepped back cautiously and continued, ¡°Our records show that you entered the city illegally and did not register properly when you entered the city.

    ¡°Please go with them and temporarily stay in a safe room for three days. We will also temporarily detain your belongings and ask the professionals to test them. We will provide you with free food and hot water during this period.

    ¡°If we confirm your innocence after checking you with the ¡®One-Eyed Crow¡¯, these items will be returned in full.

    The security guard smiled gently, ¡°Please have faith in His Highness Philip¡¯s credibility. We won¡¯t steal or check your personal belongings.¡±

    So, this is what is going to happen.

    Delicious Wind Goose nced at the guards silently, put down the crate silently, and turned to the right from the intersection under the close supervision of the four guards.

    He noticed something from the guard¡¯s tone.

    Thus, I have made my delivery?

    No wonder they put me down two blocks away.

    They can¡¯t let me enter His Royal Highness Philip¡¯s mansion and tarnish his reputation. So the goods would be handed over in this manner.

    I should be careful.

    But¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose narrowed his eyes slightly.

    They didn¡¯t tell me such an important part but handed me the [Demon Blood], which will cause me trouble if I¡¯m found out.

    I¡¯m still getting caught in the end.

    After that, Delicious Wind Goose was sent into a vi the size of a city lord¡¯s residence.

    But instead of letting him live in this vi, the officials continued to escort him down silently. But after entering the vi, the others were less polite. They confiscated his weapon. After taking off his coat, shoes, and curse vessel, they shoved him into the dungeon cell.

    Shortly after the door was closed, a somewhat familiar person whom he had met not long ago walked in.

    It was the middle-aged city guard captain whom the Old Goose saw at the capital city¡¯s entrance previously.

    There was a long sword with a silver hilt and a scabbard at his waist.

    ¡°We meet again, Delicious Wind Goose.¡± The middle-aged man moved a stool over, sat outside the cell, and spoke slowly.

    This middle-aged man with a beard asked the Old Goose calmly in a thick voice, ¡°You said, you are from Freezing Water Port, right? And your mayor is called Don Juan Geraint?¡±

    As Dexter Lowy said, the man¡¯s name was us Cass. The Silver Rank Transcended, whom the Third Prince Philip sent over to infiltrate the city guard¡¯s forces.

    The real Don Juan Geraint used to be the guard captain.

 Chapter 334: Espionage

    <h4>Chapter 334: Espionage</h4>

    ¡°Captain us?¡± Annan murmured in a low voice, ¡°So, you havee to this ce.¡±

    Through Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s perspective, he saw the familiar face and narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Of course, he knew the man. He had even beaten him to death several times in his nightmares.

    Not only did Annan know us¡¯ profession, but even the man¡¯s fighting habits.

    But he didn¡¯t know us¡¯ full name was ¡°us Cass¡± until now.

    However, he should have offended the Geraint family terribly and lost his chances to be a big shot.

    So, he has ended up bing a city gate guard.

    He was fired from being the guard captain of the count family¡¯s third heir and became the guard captain of the city gate¡¯s garrison squadron ¡ª What a promotion.

    But the promotion was limited. Worse still, under the watchful eyes of the Geraint family, his position was at the city gate, rtively far away from the Third Prince.

    It wasn¡¯t just his own identity as a traitor exposed. Under the surveince of the ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡± on the capital circle, he could be put to death silently at any time when his curse was exposed to the Crows.

    ¡°Ah.¡± Annan suddenly let out a soft cry in surprise.

    He quickly realized that us had submitted his mission in the oue of ¡°mission failure¡±.

    In the beginning, he should have reported ording to the standard of ¡°missionpleted¡±.

    Butter, after the death of Viscount Roseburg, the information that ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was still active had gradually spread to the capital. Everyone from the Geraint family had already arrived in Roseburg. Sure enough, Prince Philip should have received information long ago.

    One of the reasons why Annan returned directly to the Freezing Water Port from the ruins was that Don Juan and his second brother were still in Roseburg.

    Annan had impersonated Don Juan even when the two looked different.

    Even Eugene Geraint had long known that Annan wasn¡¯t the real Don Juan Geraint. Moreover, it seemed a bit overboard to insist others in lying for him, forcibly interacting with him in full view of the public.

    If the real Don Juan was now not on Old Crow¡¯s side, he should be on Benjamin¡¯s side.

    With the birth of the new deity ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±, Benjamin no longer needed to hide his reanimation since he was the pope of this new deity.

    So on Philip¡¯s side, the information he most likely had gotten was: Don Juan is not dead, Benjamin is not dead, and the Book of Divine Transporter has failed to be retrieved.

    Then, us had done nothing toplete the mission.

    Philip was already considered kind-hearted in not killing off us as a punishment.

    Thus, it was clear cut that us had arrested Delicious Wind Goose to ask about ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡±.

    In that case¡­ Annan thought for a moment, sat at the table, and slowly pulled out a piece of paper. He dipped the quill with ck ink and quickly wrote something on the paper.

    He couldn¡¯tmunicate with Delicious Wind Goose, but the other yers could.

    The yers staying at Freezing Water Port with Annan now were Dove¡¯s group consisting of four people and one cat. No matter whether it was Dove or the Child, they could contact the Old Goose offline and through the forum.

    us would never have imagined that Old Goose would still be able to collude with Annan when the Goose¡¯s curse vessel was seized and he was imprisoned in the dungeon cell.

    ¡°Rather, this is a good opportunity.¡± Annan thought with his eyes skimming around.

    While watching the live stream from Delicious Wind Goose, he followed his train of thought and continued to write the information ¡°that could be revealed to us¡±.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s arrest was too sudden.

    Annan knew that Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s spection, which he posted on the forum, was inurate.

    It wasn¡¯t that the transaction required him to be sent into the dungeon. If the smugglers utilized the same method every time, it was as tant as sending the illegal goods directly into Philip¡¯s mansion. It would be better to dere it as a gift to Philip to deceive the public¡¯s eye.

    The best way to hide a grain of sand was to drop it in the desert, not put it in a safe.

    us arrested Delicious Wind Goose because he realized that the Goose knew ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± when he was talking to the Goose at the city gate. He just wanted to get more information from the Goose.

    Indeed, us was trying to make up for his faults.

    Delicious Wind Goose was unaware of us¡¯ purpose because us was being careful in hiding it.

    On the other hand, it was precisely because us was carefully concealing his true purpose that he must be confident with the information he was getting from Goose.

    It was a simple thought process. If us had gotten a piece of information easily, he might wonder if it was deceit.

    But if this information was obtained through hard work, risking his life, and many opportunities and coincidences, he would subconsciously think that the information he acquired was urate even if the information was iplete.

    Even if it were falsified, he would only think it was ¡°some kind of pretense¡±, trying to piece together ¡°what the clue really wanted to express¡±.

    Essentially, this was because us didn¡¯t want his efforts to go to waste.

    Therefore, he would work hard to defend the ¡°results¡± obtained through this effort.

    That was to say, he would trust the intelligence provided by Delicious Wind Goose directly.

    Since he had information that could be used against Delicious Wind Goose and it was a capital crime, it would be easy for him to control the Goose. Additionally, the Goose was a Transcended. Thus, this captive was unlikely to be a sacrificial piece Don Juan sent, and it would open up the possibility of Prince Philip recruiting him again.

    Under coercion and promised benefits, Delicious Wind Goose would carefully consider the uracy of the information he provides.

    Thus, he was even less likely to hurt Delicious Wind Goose to send this vital witness to the Third Prince.

    That being said, Delicious Wind Goose was in a fantastic situation.

    us wanted to interrogate information from the Goose, but he didn¡¯t dare to hurt or even offend this captive. At the same time, he would also trust the information provided to him by the Goose.

    This was undoubtedly a fantastic opportunity.

    This was equivalent to Annan infiltrating a spy directly into the Third Prince¡¯s side, and the spy could be put into use immediately. Not only could Annan send fake information, but he could also steal information from Philip.

    ¡°Let me think about giving what information to Philip.¡± Annan scratched his fluffy hair and murmured in a low voice, ¡°First of all, let¡¯s drop him a bomb and put the Delicious Wind Goose in high value. And I want information that can be verified quickly. It should be important, but it doesn¡¯t affect much.¡±

    Then, let¡¯s tell him¡­

    ¡°¡­Also, grant him the information ¡®I¡¯m Annan Austere-Winter¡¯.¡± Annan wrote so at the end of many pieces of information.

    After that, he picked up Dove, who was lying beside the firece and put her on the table.

    Annan pointed to the note and said to the cat, ¡°Note this down and then try to contact Delicious Wind Goose immediately. Then, send this message to Delicious Wind Goose verbatim. If you understand what I meant, meow once.¡±

    ¡°Meow.¡± Dove let out a cute meow, took a screenshot of the paper, and posted it on the forum tomunicate with Delicious Wind Goose.

    Easy job. She nodded and came over to rub Annan¡¯s arm. She stretched out her paw again, patted the table¡¯s note, then pointed to the air.

    ¡°Did you send it already?¡±

    ¡°Meow.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± Annan nodded in satisfaction, sent out 200 experience points and 100 affection ratings, and took the cat back to the firece.

    She shall be my bodyguard during my advancement process.

    Then, he took off his coat and climbed into his bed.

    Now that I get that settled. I can finally go into a nightmare.

    But this time, he had to make some preparations in advance.

    He had taken out the bronze syringe that Salvatore had left in advance.

    It was the syringe previously used to inject the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    He had to inject at least five drops of ¡°Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡± for the ritual. Then, he would enter the nightmare with the advancement prompt appearing after clearing the nightmare dungeon.

    But what Salvatore did say was as much ¡°Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡± as the body could handle.

    He probably wouldn¡¯t know that Annan would get a whole jar of it.

    Annan used a syringe to siphon ¡°Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡± into the tube about eighty milliliters, which was definitely enough.

    Then, Annan slowly injected it into his body.

    He felt a chill entering his body.

    Then, it was immediately followed up by an immense ache in his body. He couldn¡¯t help but scratch it. It was like the feeling when the room temperature was too low during an infusion.

    However, Annan soon endured it well with his willpower.

    He suddenly felt a tingling pain until about 60% of the injection waspleted.

    Then, Annan stopped immediately.

    He took a deep breath, endured the increasingly cold body temperature, and whispered, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton¡ª¡±

    After a short dy, the familiar low voice rang in his ears, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

 Chapter 335: Last Gallery

    <h4>Chapter 335: Last Gallery</h4>

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has a special property: Reenactment]

    [The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty is set as [Distorted], and there is no entrance limit.]

    [The current purification progress is 348/350.]

    [The current total erosion rate of the team is 2%. The dungeon instance difficulty increases by 2%, and the nightmare¡¯s mutation probability increases by 2%.]

    [Warning: Relevant elements detected. The nightmare has undergone mutation.]

    [This dungeon instance does not provide any plot but offers decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance decryption reward: Unknown]

    [Loadingpleted.]

    Perhaps because of the injection of ¡°Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡±, Annan woke up this time without the familiarly old and frail voice.

    A strange low groan sounded faintly in Annan¡¯s ear.

    It was the graceful whisper that Annan had heard before entering the Elven Ruins.

    But he still didn¡¯t understand what it meant. He could only make out a short sentence and tried toprehend something from it.

    It¡¯s time to learn a foreignnguage. This thought popped into Annan¡¯s mind at the first moment.

    His second thought was: Priest Louis really didn¡¯t clear the dungeon even once.

    Just in case, Annan had kept two more entries into the dungeon avable.

    However, the priest didn¡¯t clear the nightmare even though four days had passed.

    Either this tall muscled priest always cks in his work, or he just relies on luck to clear the nightmare.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Silver Sire could urgently recall and provide abilities that could be used in nightmares, Priest Louis would have died in the nightmares long ago, given that he solved puzzles out of sheer luck.

    When Annan recovered from the dizziness and drowsiness when he entered the nightmare and slowly opened his eyes, he found that the scene had changed.

    In front of Annan was the long gallery with bright lights.

    But the wide corridor,rge enough to amodate ten people walking side by side, waspletely sealed off in ice.

    Only the circr area with Annan¡¯s feet as its center had no traces of ice.

    Then, frost sshed out of the corridor, and ice marks of different heights and thicknesses clung to the surrounding walls.

    It was as if a bag full of water had fallen from the sky, or someone had carried out a brutal massacre and turned the blood here into ice.

    The crystal chandelier on the ceiling still shone brightly, illuminating the entire corridor.

    The ice on the floor and the walls reflected the brilliance of the chandeliers, making the dungeon stage brighter.

    Only the opened door at the end of the corridor was dark.

    Annan walked calmly toward the dark corner without any fear.

    Under the cracking sound of his shoe stepping on the thin ice, Annan walked to the L-shaped corridor and looked at the almost full disy cab.

    The cab had three columns and two rows.

    In ordance with the standard numeric keypad [1] on the keyboard from [Num Key 1] to [Num Key 6], the disyed items were:

    1. Empty

    2. Homeless Man¡¯s Hunger

    3. Elle¡¯s Diary

    4. Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Piercing Rifling

    5. Severed Umbilical Cord (Angelo)

    6. Turbid blood bullet imbued with a curse.

    In the past two weeks, the yers had dedicated all their efforts to clearing the nightmare in which they had dug out detailed information about this nightmare.

    Except for the ¡°true ending¡± at Level -1, which the yers could not reach due to theck of crucial information, Annan had followed Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s strategy and cleared all six levels above ground once each.

    One side note was that the difficulty would gradually increase from the second level to the sixth level.

    Every time one of the nightmare¡¯s levels was cleared, a new item would spawn in the disy cab. Until the item was taken out, the item could be seen in the disy cab no matter which level the dungeon challenger had entered.

    For example, Elle¡¯s diary would appear in the disy cab after clearing Level 3, and the bloody tomato would spawn after clearing Level 2.

    The problem for yers was that they had collected all the collectibles, but they still couldn¡¯t ovee the level.

    Only Annan knew that they were still missing one piece.

    He had already found out about the ¡°Level 1 Collectible Item¡± during the first time he cleared the nightmare.

    Indeed, Level 1 actually had a collectible item.

    The hint came with the message ¡°going through it safely¡± and ¡°not seeing any enemies¡±.

    Level 1 was the middleyer between the level ¡°above¡± and ¡°underground¡±.

    Going up was to explore the story of Amos¡¯s self-redemption deep in his soul.

    The further up he went, the deeper his fear, and the more he resisted.

    In Level 2, his fear was, ¡°what if the homeless man escapes¡±;

    In Level 3, his fear was, ¡°what if I lose Elle¡±;

    In Level 4, his fears were being hunted down by police and hounds, persecuted, and the desperation of ¡°Elle bing the Venerated Skeleton¡±.

    At Level 5, the nightmare was Angelo¡¯s crusade at the back of the timeline, representing the immense fear of ¡°Elle gave birth to a monster¡± and ¡°What if Elle¡¯s child is killed¡±.

    As for the nightmare of the final level (Level 6), it had be the easiest level because of the clues which the yers had decrypted at Level 4.

    Of course, this was undoubtedly the most challenging level for the indigenous people who had no form ofmunication in a nightmare like a forum feature.

    After entering Level 6, ¡°Amos¡± would appear on the rooftop, looking up at the stars. He held the ¡°Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Piercing Rifling¡± in his hand, with only thest bullet left in the gun.

    In terms of the timeline, this was after Amos stopped Time Stopper Eye¡¯s gramophone and walked straight up to the rooftop.

    In just a minute and a half, the police would be on the gallery¡¯s fifth floor and arrive at the rooftop in half a minute.

    After that, the dungeon challenger would fail the nightmare and exit it.

    There were only 2 minutes to react.

    Any ordinary person would be in a state of confusion.

    However, Delicious Wind Goose noticed that the way to clear the Level 6 nightmare was rted to ¡°time¡±.

    He needed to use Time Stopper Eye¡¯s gramophone.

    But the problem was that the police had reached Level 3 at this time.

    No matter how fast he ran, it was impossible to get back to Level 4 before the police reached it.

    In the end, Annan reacted in time to the situation and gave Delicious Wind Goose an anonymous tip in the bullet text.

    ¡°¡ªMaybe the worlds of different dungeon instances are in the same world and may be connected.¡±

    Seeing the hint in bullet text, Delicious Wind Goose immediately reacted.

    Then, he once again cleared the Level 4 nightmare, which was the nightmare that altered the time flow depending on if the dungeon challenger moved forward or backward. Then, he moved the gramophone to Level 5 floor after stopping it.

    Then, the next time he entered the nightmare on Level 6, he would immediately turn around and return to Level 5 after entering the nightmare. Sure enough, he saw the gramophone he brought up there.

    So he immediately started the gramophone and entered the world of the past.

 Chapter 336: The Only Answer

    <h4>Chapter 336: The Only Answer</h4>

    After starting up the gramophone, Delicious Wind Goose first ran to the basement and released Angelo.

    Then, he came to Level 5 and moved the gramophone back to Level 4 because the cops would be there in ten seconds. Before the gramophone was turned off, the cops would hear that the gramophone should be on Level 4; when they got up, they certainly saw a gramophone on that particr level.

    In other words, before the police arrive at Level 5 and see the ¡°second gramophone¡±, the gramophone on Level 4 briefly disappeared for less than a minute. That was the time it took for Amos to carry the gramophone to Level 5 during the Level 4 nightmare.

    After Amos finished these tasks, he returned to the rooftop and waited to turn back time.

    Then, he pulled the trigger from behind and killed himself in one shot.

    At this stage, there were 10 seconds left before the police arrived on Level 4 and confirmed the location of the gramophone.

    Then, it would take two minutes before the police arrived on the rooftop and found Amos dead.

    There were still five minutes left before the massive ¡°Angelo¡± burst out from the ground.

    Then, all the events were connected.

    Amos¡¯ fear on Level 6 also represented the deepest fear in his heart: Self-doubt.

    Would it all have been better without me in the first ce?

    He denied his existence and value, erasing what he sacrificed and persisted in the past.

    This was the sinner Amos¡¯s final ¡°redemption¡±, which was to stop himself from appearing in this world.

    This was actually a hint to the true ending.

    ¡°Piecing everything together¡±. That was the true essence of Level 1.

    At Level 3, Amos once puked out Elle¡¯s eyes.

    Annan thought that maybe Amos vomited different things on each level and finally vomited Elle out. However, he didn¡¯t encounter simr events since Level 2 and Level 4.

    Then, another clue popped into his mind: Amos¡¯ left eye was Elle¡¯s left eye too.

    At this time, Elle was long dead. So, where did her fresh eyeballe from?

    Without hesitation, Annan reached out and dug out his left eye.

    He didn¡¯t feel intense pain but experienced severe dizziness with strange hallucinations appearing before him.

    But when he looked closely, he could see the item in his palm was an emerald green eyeball.

    Then, Annan put it on the disy cab on the first floor.

    ¡°I have found the final answer,¡± Annan whispered.

    He refused to swallow Elle¡¯s eyeballs.

    After Annan put Elle¡¯s eyeballs into the disy cab on Level 1, the cab was firmly locked. However, the rest of the disyer cab on the other five levels opened with a click.

    Annan put on his coat and skillfully took out the silver coin from Amos¡¯s pocket.

    He pressed the coin to his stomach and eye socket. As the light flickered, his wounds quickly healed. But the left eye he had lost remained empty.

    He took out the tomato, full of blood and called ¡°homeless man¡¯s hunger¡±, and put it in his coat pocket. Then, he inserted the turbid blood bullet into the silver revolver and swallowed the umbilical cord.

    Indeed, he had made use of the items which the yers couldn¡¯t help but choose to ignore.

    The essence of Level 1 seemed to be ¡°establishing connection¡±.

    Then, there would be the requirement of ¡°coughing out the eyeball¡±, which happened at Level 2. Simrly, he was required to ¡°cough out the umbilical cord,¡± which urred at Level -1!

    Annan would have to piece all the events correctly!

    Then, he quickly found the empty painting, rotated the frame clockwise to 180¡ã, and slowly turned the mechanism inside.

    Under the ¡°nging¡± metal noise, a small section of the wall beside him began to bend inward, revealing a narrow and dark passage.

    A wooden door was located at the end of the narrow passage.

    It looked the same as the wooden door at the end of the corridor.

    Pushing the door open, Annan was faced with a pale, rib-like staircase.

    The staircase was also filled with wless frost.

    Since the steps here were already narrow, it was even harder to traverse through them now, with the ice filling up the gaps between the steps. Annan would have fallen easily if he had tried.

    Thus, he didn¡¯t go down the stairs at all.

    The wound on his abdomen had been healed, and he no longer had to worry about tearing open his wound back again. Thus, he had the opportunity to exercise highly skilled movements.

    For example, he squatted down and slid down with his body facing sideways!

    The greasy corpse oil was utterly frozen in the basement. Annan slid down the ice slope to the bottom with ease.

    Moreover, Annan couldn¡¯t stop in time and mmed onto a table because the bottomyer was filled with frost. Then, he finally stopped.

    At this time, the basement door was also pulled open from the outside.

    A huge shadow was cast from above, like a twisted monster, like a sharp de; the tip of the shadow reached Annan.

    But the man above didn¡¯t speak.

    He stood at the top in silence and looked down, but he did not go down.

    In his hand was a hammer with a long handle.

    Sure enough, that was the [Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm].

    ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Annan struggled up from the ground.

    Amos¡¯s body wasn¡¯t well trained. The body could hardly adjust itself from the fall.

    Annan just grinned and smiled back, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe down, Mr. Joseph?¡±

    In the previous dungeon instance, ¡°Brother Sledgehammer¡±, Joseph should be walking down step by step while giving out tremendous pressure.

    Supposedly, when Joseph was halfway through, Annan would enter a plot. Although he fell terribly, he still had to get up from the ground, tossing a cheeky line, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee¡± and then Illidan Stormrage¡¯s [1] iconic voice line ¡°You are not prepared.¡±

    It was a pity that the opponent didn¡¯t catch his joke.

    What a waste.

    But it¡¯s different this time.

    The nightmare was distorted because Annan was injected with ¡°Frostwhisper¡¯s Eternal Frozen Blood¡±. The immediate change was that the floor was full of ice.

    Thus, Joseph was unable to walk down to him.

    If Joseph fell down the ice slope more than 20 meters high, he couldn¡¯t sustain the injury even if he was a Silver Rank Wizard.

    This also led to the CG cutscene failing to trigger.

    Annan put both hands in his pockets, a tomato in one hand and a gun in the other. Then, he said leisurely, ¡°I think you can also see that something is wrong, right?

    ¡°I¡¯m not Amos, and Amos can¡¯t make the whole gallery covered in frost. That¡¯s something only the Old Grandmother can do.

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s just a nightmare, Mr. Joseph. I don¡¯t intend for you to die on the spot, but I hope you¡¯ll keep your cool in what will happen next and preferably maintain a decentbat prowess.¡±

    Annan said, holding the ss bottle full of wine.

    Looking at ¡°Angelo¡± in the ss bottle, Annan said calmly, ¡°Because I don¡¯t know what will happen next.¡±

 Chapter 337: Reenactment of Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 337: Reenactment of Betrayal</h4>

    Sure enough, Annan entered the CG cutscene after holding the ss bottle containing ¡°Angelo¡±.

    But the cutscenes this time were quite different from when he entered the basement and met ¡°Angelo¡± previously.

    Previously, Amos would be gasping for breath while stroking his grandson¡¯s ss bottle, murmuring in his mouth and thinking nervously, ¡°It¡¯s this¡­ As long as I still have this¡­¡±

    Then, he would look back and see Brother Sledgehammere to his face. He would have shouted, ¡°Elle save me¡±, and then started to fight with his father-inw. His ipetency sumbed him into the rage, but even his grandson chose the great-grandfather, Joseph.

    Angelo turned into a colored ball of light and bit off Joseph for some reason. Immediately after the CG ended, the yer was powerless with their only option to wait for death.

    Undoubtedly, theck of critical items led to the [Bad Ending].

    But this was undoubtedly a preset ending.

    After arriving at this ending for the first time, only could the dungeon challenger learn the key information about ¡°Brother Sledgehammer¡±, ¡°Amos¡± and ¡°Elle¡± and understand the rtionship between them.

    But after Annan entered CG this time, he encountered a different scene and dialogue that he had never seen before.

    ¡°Are you satisfied?¡± Like an abandoned stray dog, the blood-stained one-eyed painter roared at the stillborn baby in the bottle with a trembling voice, ¡°Is that enough?!

    ¡°¡ªthe Venerated Skeleton!¡±

    As soon as Amos called out the name, the corpses covered in frost let out a burst of lowughter in the frozen basement, ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡°

    In front of Amos, the long-dead ¡°Angelo¡± suddenly opened his eyes!

    Those eyes, which had long lost their vigor, turned around strangely. He then looked at Amos in an instant.

    ¡°Of course¡­¡± The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s low voice resounded in the jar.

    Immediately afterward, Elle¡¯s crisp voice came from behind Amos, ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±

    Amos was startled and turned his head.

    He covered his left eye that had been gouged out and let out a miserable howl.

    Then, his eyes were burning with fire.

    Elle¡¯s image was projected in front of him.

    The projection was vague. It should be a teenage blonde girl who wore a white dress that only reached half of her thighs. She had her arms hidden behind her; she smiled as she looked at her adoptive father, lover, idol, and murderer, Amos.

    However, her left eye had a bloody hole too.

    There was no blood dripping down, but it boiled restlessly at the bottom of his eyes.

    Those weren¡¯t actually blood. Instead, they were likeva or solidified mes.

    So, did Amos manage to see Elle¡¯s spirit after losing Elle¡¯s left? Annan thought quickly.

    Then, he remembered.

    There was a fresh, expanding scorch in Elle¡¯s left eye the first time he saw Elle¡¯s portrait.

    At this moment, Joseph, who was standing in the basement, also took a deep breath.

    Apparently, he saw Elle¡¯s spirit too.

    As a Silver Rank wizard, it was not hard for him to see the spiritual body of ordinary people.

    But after seeing Elle, he grew hesitant, wondering if he shoulde down.

    ¡°Elle¡­¡± Amos murmured in obsession, ¡°My love¡­¡±

    He slowly reached out to Elle.

    Pa! But the hand he reached out was pped away by Elle¡¯s spirit body.

    ¡°¡ªYour love?¡± The smile on the corner of her mouth became more harmless and lovely, but only a sarcastic voice could be heard, ¡°Between your dream and me, which is more important?

    ¡°Haven¡¯t I asked that before, fathers?¡± When Elle said this, Amos and Joseph seemed to shudder and hold their breath at the same time.

    Annan, who was on the sidelines, finally realized something.

    There was something inmon between Amos and Joseph, who were intertwined in this nightmare and fought each other endlessly.

    They were both Elle¡¯s fathers, and they both gave up Elle for their careers.

    Joseph allowed his ex-wife and his apprentice to remarry with his daughter. He knew that his wife was the cannibalistic ck Widow¡¯s believer, but he did not ask for Elle¡¯s custody.

    It was because he had his job and career.

    He knew very well why Elle¡¯s mother gave birth to Elle despite Joseph¡¯s prevention. The reason was that she nned to use this child to ckmail her mentor to get more benefits from Joseph.

    The ¡°ck Widow¡± she believed in was the false deity specializing in it.

    Joseph knew all this, but he chose to refuse.

    He naturally loved Elle, but he loved his own life more.

    So, Joseph gave up Elle for his career and the path to transcendence. But when he came to Elle, he was worried about tarnishing his reputation, worried that Elle would speak ill of him. Thus, he wouldn¡¯t acknowledge Elle as his daughter and dared not reveal her existence.

    Unlike his decision when he divorced, Joseph, who was hesitant to face his daughter, had nothing to do with the tragedy. However, it was an indispensable ¡°prelude¡± to another tragedy.

    He actually had time to stop all the tragedies from happening because he didn¡¯t even hold the first ritual when he came to the Freezing Water Port.

    However, what had happened made him regret it for the rest of his life, but he had no room for repentance.

    Elle¡¯s second father, Amos, who was also the one she loved, victimized Elle as a ¡°sacrifice¡±. He made a deal with the Venerated Skeleton in exchange for his depleted talent for growth.

    Although this ritual would only sacrifice a small part of Elle on the surface, he wasn¡¯t blind to the obvious harm.

    He would agree to this ritual, but he was also afraid of the ritual. It was because he had already thought of the future possibility in his subconscious mind.

    But he still decided to hold the ritual because he had his pursuit.

    Of course, he loved Elle too, even more than himself.

    Unfortunately, his passion for art and his talents mattered more to him.

    ¡°Thus, the essence of this nightmare is ¡®reenactment¡¯.¡± Annan immediately realized.

    That was why this nightmare had drawn the Venerated Skeleton over at Freezing Water Port for decades, reluctant to leave.

    In the end, the betrayal would reenact again and again.

    This nightmare itself was a ritual!

    Every time the nightmare was cleared, it equated to reenacting another betrayal.

    Everyone had no memory of it, but they kept following the same story and repeating the same tragedy. After they entered the nightmare, they subconsciously acted as Amos.

    Thus, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s strength was enhanced each time this nightmare was repeated.

    And to allow all of these to happen¡­ Unbeknownst to Annan, the CG cutscene had ended.

    Annan realized he had regained his control over the body again.

    He looked at Elle¡¯s spirit body with aplicated expression and said in a low voice, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken¡­

    ¡°Miss Elle,¡± Annan deliberately didn¡¯t refer to her by any of herst names, ¡°You should have all the memories of these 300 nightmares?¡±

    ¡°It happened 1834 times.¡± Elle said softly, ¡°I have been watching no matter if you clear or fail the nightmare.¡±

    Behind Annan, ¡°Angelo¡± with the voice of the Venerated Skeleton, alsoughed.

    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s been watching through her left eye. Seeing everything.¡± Angelo in the bottle whispered in a mature and low voice, ¡°I have been listening through this umbilical cord¡­ listen to her cry, her heartbeat, her copse, her whisper, her hatred, her pain, her love, her song.

    ¡°¡ªYes, I¡¯m listening.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve been listening.¡±

 Chapter 338: Sheâ€™s Watching, Iâ€™m Listening

    <h4>Chapter 338: She¡¯s Watching, I¡¯m Listening</h4>

    The next moment, Elle¡¯s spirit body suddenly rushed towards Annan.

    Annan didn¡¯t feel any chills when the spirit body passed through him.

    Immediately after, he felt a foreign body appearing in his abdomen.

    It felt like he was about to be inbor.

    Without hesitation, he pulled out a silver coin from his pocket, mped it between the thumb of his right hand and the second knuckle of his index finger, and flicked it casually.

    The silver coin seemed to spread rapidly along the inertia and unfolded into a slender and sharp de in a snap.

    Immediately afterward, Annan pointed the de at his belly.

    ¡°I knew that everything would connect back to here.¡± Annan sighed and slit his abdomen.

    As a wizard, Joseph used a sledgehammer.

    The police used guns and had hounds with them.

    Even Amos¡¯s weapon was the ¡°Venerated Skeleton¡¯s Piercing Rifling¡±.

    Then, where did the serious abdominal injury Amos suffered in the first cee from? Why was there an injury to the internal organs, but there was no trace of fighting or other simr injuries?

    There was only one answer.

    The incision on his abdomen was cut open by Amos himself.

    But, what was his goal?

    Annan watched calmly. Half of the umbilical cord emerged from his abdomen like a snake, shattering the bottle full of wine and connecting to Angelo¡¯s abdomen.

    The umbilical cord was burning with transparent mes of seven colors, like a rainbow.

    Annan watched his health points dropping rapidly and quickly took out the tomato containing the blood of a dozen people and connected it to the other end of the umbilical cord.

    At this time, Annan¡¯s health points had depleted to half.

    It was pretty much the same level as when he entered the nightmare.

    That ¡°meatball¡± extracted flesh and blood inside the tomato, multiplying, developing its limbs and a face.

    It appeared as if Annan had given birth to the entity. It went from an eight-month-old stillbirth to an eight-pound baby girl in the blink of an eye.

    The baby opened her eyes which had an aquamarine hue.

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose. Resurrection as a stillbirth?That¡¯s absolutely not the case.

    ¡°What shall I call you?¡± Annan asked softly, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton? Angelo? Or¡­

    ¡°Elle?¡±

    ¡°You can call me Elle¡­Annan. It¡¯s a privilege I¡¯ve granted you for the sake of you staying with me till the end and watching me being reborn.¡±

    The baby girl in front of him made a girlish voice, ¡°And my real name is Angelo.

    ¡°Angel of Betrayal ¡ª Daughter of the Venerated Skeleton, Angelo.¡±

    Indeed, she was the unborn son of the Venerated Skeleton, who possessed half of the Truth of ¡°Betrayal¡±.

    She could be considered a demi-deity of ¡°the Betrayal¡±.

    Elle attained the Truth of ¡°Betrayal¡± through a series of tragedies. She was born when her mother was treated as a tool, neglected by her biological father, killed by her adoptive father, and imprisoned by her third father, the Venerated Skeleton. Finally, she was stuck in a nightmare made of her biological father¡¯s curse vessel, reenacting more than a thousand times of betrayal.

    That was the Truth of the ¡°Betrayal¡± that even the Venerated Skeleton himself only got fragments of it.

    The Venerated Skeleton had waited for decades at Freezing Water Port to acquire her andplete His truth.

    Right now, it was the time for the flower to bear fruit and for the harvest.

    The daughter of the Venerated Skeleton would be His most satisfied apostle.

    Treachery bred her life, brought her death, resurrected her, and ascended her.

    Why would Amos blurt out ¡°Help me, Elle¡± to Angelo?

    Why did he not hesitate to use Elle¡¯s body toplete the ritual to resurrect Angelo?

    Why was he so obsessed with this child who was not his and not rted to him by blood?

    It was precisely because he knew for a long time that Angelo might be Elle.

    But because of this, Elle would never forgive his sins.

    ¡°Are you satisfied, Elle?¡± Annan asked in a low voice.

    Angelo (Elle) maintained theposure of a baby, smiled, and put her thumb in her mouth. Then, in a burst of spooky and girlishughter, she spoke, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m.

    ¡°Dream is a poison that blinds the kindness and maddens the wicked in a person. Those who ignore morality for the sake of their dreams, those who offend thew for their dreams, those who betray those they love for their dreams¡­

    ¡°I curse all of you.¡± The dead Elle, or rather the newly born Angelo, dered.

    ¡°Your dreams will betray you. You will be exhausted, restless, and betrayed by your friends and family until you finally betray your dreams.

    ¡°The dream you have betrayed will turn into your greatest curse, your deepest nightmare. It will haunt you for the rest of your life, and you will wake up from the nightmare because of everything you abandoned and regret for life.¡±

    The curse overflowing from Elle¡¯s mouth turned into chains and disappeared into thin air.

    This was a curse that no one knew except Annan.

    ¡°So, am I your secret keeper?¡± Annan whispered.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The baby girl made a soft and sweet voice, ¡°You are the witness of this curse. Would you be willing to?¡±

    Although it was a question, there was no trace of hatred, resentment, and hysteria in her tone.

    There was only iparable peace as calm as the sea. It carried the air of tyranny, particrly in those who tread on a solid path that could not be peeped or challenged.

    Only then could Annan see that ¡°Elle¡± was already dead.

    ¡°Of course, I would like to.¡± Annan also replied thoughtfully, ¡°Although I¡¯mte, I still want to say it¡¯s not your fault.

    ¡°So you can undoubtedly hate them, take revenge on them, and curse them. That¡¯s the right of being betrayed. You don¡¯t have to suppress your emotions like that.

    ¡°Instead, I think your curse is too gentle.¡±

    From birth to death, and even after being resurrected, Elle was used and betrayed by people who ¡°had an ambition¡±.

    Even if she cursed all the ¡°dream chasers¡±, Annan would understand.

    But she didn¡¯t.

    She remained sane only to curse those who disregarded morals,ws and even betrayed friends, rtives, and loved ones for their dreams.

    ¡°You¡¯re much more kind than the Venerated Skeleton.¡± Annan eximed, ¡°If only you were the Betrayal Deity.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s meant to be, Annan.¡± At this moment, the voice of the Venerated Skeleton came from Angelo¡¯s mouth, ¡°She and I hold half of the Truth of ¡®Betrayal¡¯. We will eventually be deities with two sides of the same body. Together with Elle, we will be thepleted Betrayal Deity.

    ¡°She will be the ¡®Betrayed¡¯, witnessing the betrayal; I will be the ¡®Betrayer¡¯, listening to the wailing of the betrayed.

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again. Like I said before, you¡¯ll be a Frostwhisper. I didn¡¯t lie to you. I¡¯m not going to lie to you this time.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll recognize us when we meet again.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll try my best,¡± Annan responded casually.

    The surrounding nightmare, or rather the ¡°gallery¡± itself, began to crumble.

    Standing at the door with a sledgehammer in hand, Joseph turned into a hollow puppet made of soil. He copsed and shattered with the ck mud inside overflowing.

    Angelo didn¡¯t be a ¡°colored ball of light¡± this time but a beautiful, energetic baby girl. They didn¡¯t fight in the end.

    ¡°Am I going to witness the birth of a new deity again? I don¡¯t want to be your pope.¡± Annan sighed, put the gun with thest bullet in his pocket on the table, turned around, and walked towards the stairs.

    Thisst bullet was supposed to be used to give Angelo the curse of ¡°can¡¯t travel afar¡±.

    This was also an ¡°opportunity for betrayal¡± that the Venerated Skeleton deliberately gave to those who conquered the nightmare.

    This was, without a doubt, thest maliceing from the Venerated Skeleton.

    The baby was incapable of evading the attack. As long as Annan shot her, Angelo would be trapped in the Freezing Water Port. On the other hand, Annan would get a higher evaluation rating from the dungeon for killing the Betrayal Angel.

    However, Annan chose to refuse the opportunity.

    Elle was miserable enough. As Elle¡¯s secret keeper, he didn¡¯t want to betray her anymore.

    Annan also has his bottom line.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take all the yers as emotionless and immoral demons,¡± Annan muttered softly.

    The frost covering the ground cracked, which finally allowed Annan to walk over via his feet.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± The baby Annan ced on the table spoke in two ovepping voices, ¡°You havepletely purified the nightmare. You don¡¯t need to go anywhere. Just wait for the nightmare to disappear naturally.¡±

    ¡°Ah, nothing really.¡± Annan said casually, ¡°It¡¯s just to satisfy my minor obsessivepulsive disorder.¡±

    He said and walked to the door of the basement.

    Annan took off his shirt and hung it on the hanger.

    Elle¡¯s left eye had disappeared from the disy cab.

    Annan still had stab wounds that could hurt the internal organs, but he continued to the gallery entrance.

    At this time, the closed gallery door had opened.

    Outside the building were a blue sky and white clouds. The birds were chirping in the fragrant flower garden.

    The entire gallery was copsing.

    As long as Annan walked out of the gallery, Amos¡¯s soul would be freed.

    However¡­

    ¡°Some people are undeserving of redemption,¡± Annan murmured and walked towards the door.

    He exhausted his strength to close the door and returned to the gallery.

    He looked at the brightly lit gallery with his belly soaked in blood and dying.

    Everything was the same as in the beginning.

    In Elle¡¯s relieved chuckle, the gallery¡¯s ceiling copsed.

    The world in front of Annan¡¯s eyes instantly turned to pitch ck.

    Nightmare: Gallery ¡ª Perfect Clear.

 Chapter 339: Angelâ€™s Left Eye

    <h4>Chapter 339: Angel¡¯s Left Eye</h4>

    [You havepleted the ascendancy ritual.]

    [Rank promotion in progress¡­]

    In the pitch-ck world, many data streams appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes. As a result, his body became hotter and hotter at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    *Cough!* He couldn¡¯t help but cough softly.

    Along with his cough, he seemed to hear hammering in his ears.

    A scorching spark shot out of Annan¡¯s throat as he coughed. When the spark hit the ground, it dimly illuminated the surrounding environment, and then it quickly went out.

    The cough seemed to be some kind of prelude.

    After this, Annan started coughing violently and incessantly.

    Every time he coughed, the sound of hammering followed.

    Countless sparks shot out from his throat, along with the impurities. He could vaguely see that what he coughed up was like iron scraps or coal g, with their amount and size gradually increasing. In the end, he saw a thumb-sized cluster of burning coal fall to the ground.

    Soon, the amount of these ¡°impurities¡± increased. The ground was gradually illuminated, and the ¡°coal gs¡± gathered together, creating a tiny ember to emerge in the darkened world around him.

    It wasn¡¯t until Annan coughed up ¡°impurities¡± worthed a third of his size that he finally stopped.

    At this time, the darkness around Annan eased up.

    The soul impurities he threw away formed a small bonfire on the ground, emitting a steady and warm brilliance.

    However, Annan felt an unprecedented sense of exhaustion.

    It felt like he was hollowed out.

    He kept his spirits high and tried to focus.

    At this time, three rainbow-colored light groups gradually formed in the warm brilliance on the ground. The light groups separated from the fire and slowly floated up.

    [New curses have manifested¡­]

    The tired Annan was alerted by the system prompt. He directed his focus onto those light groups.

    In the first light group, he saw an abstract green pupil like an Egyptian fresco.

    [Angel¡¯s Left Eye (Persistent Type): You will lose the vision of your left eye forever, and you cannot restore the vision of your left eye in any way.]

    In the second light group, a general was guarded by friendly forces in all directions.

    [Legion¡¯s Will (Taboo Type): If there is no ally unit willing to obey your orders within your field of vision, you will be extra vulnerable (all attributes -33%).]

    [Note: When an enemy, who is ¡°not detected, blocked or attacked by your subordinates¡±,unches an attack on you, you will receive an additional 50% damage.]

    In the third light group, a little snake was biting its tail; it had a grayish-white double ring on its body and green pupils.

    [Incessant Cycle (Persistent Type): Every time you betray others, you will eventually be betrayed by them.]

    This time, Annan didn¡¯t get the curse of Resolve Type.

    Likest time, the side effects of the three curses were written clearly.

    Simrly, it didn¡¯t mention the power obtained when selecting each curse.

    However, it was easier to choose the cursespared tost time.

    Annan had gradually understood the mechanism of these ¡°curses¡±.

    Transcended, who did not have the [Hunter] profession, wouldn¡¯t need to worry whether the curse would bring them a significant advantage.

    The world was fair, and everything had a price. The more you get, the more you have to pay.

    Unfortunately, it was also very unfair at the same time.

    Sometimes, the more you give, the less you get.

    On the surface, the second curse had the greatest side effects, and it was also the kind of curse that ¡°would jeopardize his life once the enemy found out about it¡±. It was equivalent to imposing a new weakness on Annan, making him weaker in assassin tactics or tactics that sought to take down the leader first.

    A reduction in ? of the attributes might not seem a lot, but it was a significant nerf.

    Attributes worked in a ¡°threshold mechanism¡± [1] in this world.

    It would be either above 10 points, 40 points, or even 50 points and above for the attribute check to activate the ability. Consecutively, there would be a significant leap in the ability performance for different thresholds.

    If Annan triggered this curse, it was very likely that his attributes would be reduced below 40 points. Indeed, this would be a massive drawback in Annan¡¯s utilization of his current two professions.

    Although it was evident at a nce that the curse would supplement an aura ability that would benefit a crowd, Annan didn¡¯t need it.

    He had infinite resurrection authority for the yers, which was the best aura ability for a team.

    Could anyone else in this world do it?

    Annan Throw His Hands Up.jpg

    The third curse seemed to have the lowest cost. As long as Annan did not betray others, it would be negligible.

    However, Annan still didn¡¯t hesitate to rule this curse out from his pick immediately.

    It wasn¡¯t because he wanted to betray someone. Of course, if this action were efficient and had very few side effects, Annan would naturally do it. However, he wouldn¡¯t purposely opt for this kind of tactic.

    What Annan really did not want was to have his behavior pattern bound by a curse.

    He hoped that when he chose to trust others, it was because of his morals,mon sense, and rtionship with others. Instead, he didn¡¯t want the decision of notmitting treachery influenced by this curse, reminding him that ¡°if he were to betray someone, he would suffer retribution¡±.

    Annan thought he would be secretly relieved every time he chose not to betray others because of this curse.

    Sure enough, it was a sound rationale.

    The oue would be the same, where he wouldn¡¯tmit treason.

    However, he believed that this thinking pattern would undoubtedly weaken his will and the purity of his actions.

    Just like Annan used to be anonymous when he donated money to the victims. His goal was the donation instead of the praises or publicity. At the same time, if he were to save someone, it wasn¡¯t for the money. Another example from his original world would be chatting all night withizens who tried tomit suicide and counseling them through their negative emotions. The goal wasn¡¯t to seek something from them but to prevent a life from being lost.

    Those were supposedly unconditional good deeds without ulterior purpose.

    Annan preferred that he made the decision because he wanted to rather than being shackled.

    Thus, he had ruled out two choices without hesitation. Therefore, there was only one curse left for Annan to pick.

    That was to lose his vision in one eye. It could be troublesome, but this wasn¡¯t a dire situation for Annan.

    He still remembered that there were many eyes on his body when he entered his Truth form, and every yer was his eyes.

    At that time, having one left eye short didn¡¯t mean anything.

    He only needed to find a solution during his transition before reaching the Gold Rank¡­ or the Truth rank.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little regretful about it,¡± Annan muttered.

    If Annan chose ¡°Lost Eye¡± during his first advancement, it might negate the negative effect of that particr curse when he selects [Angel¡¯s Left Eye] at this moment.

    Of course, it was also possible that the negative effect of the [Angel¡¯s Left Eye] grew stronger.

    After all, both the curses targeted the eye.

    Both were Elle¡¯s left eye too.

    Annan reached out and tapped on the first curse.

    The remaining two rainbow-colored light bubbles burst immediately, turning into two light streams and merging into the first curse.

    It bobbed up and down in the air, then elerated and rushed into Annan¡¯s left eye.

    After a brief, searing, and excruciating pain, Annan suddenly lost vision in his left eye.

    He couldn¡¯t see what his left eye had be, but Annan saw new words appear in front of him.

    [Angel¡¯s Left Eye: It shall be attached to the left eye with no maintenance cost, and it can¡¯t be removed.]

    [When someone is about to betray you, he will be highlighted immediately in your field of vision. The highlight will be shown through any obstacles (so this effect can be used without opening your left eye).]

    Wow, how should I put it?

    ¡°It¡¯s quite useful¡­¡± Annan murmured with aplicated expression.

    It¡¯s just that the effect¡­ Annan raised his head slightly.

    Is this yourst gift to me, Elle?

 Chapter 340: Advancement to Silver Rank

    <h4>Chapter 340: Advancement to Silver Rank</h4>

    After fully absorbing the curse¡¯s power, Annan had a rainbow-colored illusory light looming in his soul.

    His spiritual body had attained a clear and transparent state.

    Until this shining curse was branded on his soul, his spirit body emitted brilliance.

    It was like shining a shlight at fluorite.

    When Transcended advanced into the Silver Rank, they would condense their soul and remove excess impurities in it. After this, their bodies became much healthier with better longevity.

    But why is this light iridescent? Such a thought shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    Then, his vision went out again, returning to the real world.

    At this time, the long-overdue performance report of the nightmare finally appeared.

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [You have purified the nightmare with the designated character. Evaluation rating increased.]

    [You have witnessed andpleted all cycles. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Elle acknowledged your quality. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Completed a powerful purification. Evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªS]

    [Get 10,000 Shared Experience points. Perception + 1.]

    [Dungeon instance reward: Increase the profession of your choice by 2 levels.]

    [The current purification progress is 350/350. The nightmare has ended.]

    [Based on the region where the nightmare was born, you¡¯re granted Silver Sire¡¯s holy light engravings.]

    [Current total engravings: 308 (Silver Sire)]

    What the hell?! Annan was shocked.

    There¡¯s so much experience that it can even directly promote [Silver Knight] to LV 20.

    What is the situation of these holy light engravings?

    Does money grow on trees now?

    No, no, it¡¯s more like having gold ingots drop from the sky!

    ¡°¡­What¡¯s the rationale for this?¡± Annan murmured in a low voice with a doubtful expression on his face while sitting on the bed.

    Could it be because the yer was considered my summoned creature in the system?

    So Silver Sire had included the holy light engravings umted by the yer when they cleared the dungeon.

    What a pleasant surprise!

    I get to pick those expensive divine art directly!

    If the system works that way¡­

    After the yers left this country and challenged the nightmare on the territory of different deities, Annan would have the engravings of various upright deities and false deities.

    Seeing so many holy light engravings, Annan suddenly thought of Bread Daryl.

    [TN: The Chinese Raw Text for Daryl has the same name as this bread brand [1]. ]

    He still remembered that when Bishop Daryl exined ¡°holy light engravings¡± to him, the bishop had shown him the holy light engraving that spread from the back of his right hand to his right cheek, just like Risei Kotomine [2].

    There were at least two hundred engravings.

    Those were the ¡°deposit¡± that had not been used yet. If the bishop were to use the holy light engravings to buy divine art, the corresponding holy light engravings would be gone.

    Because of this, Annan only had 3 of the Silver Sire¡¯s holy light engravings before he cleared this nightmare.

    He also thought that he would buy a slightly stronger defensive divine art when he slowly saved up to ten engravings.

    Now it seems that I can achieve my goal immediately.

    After counting my merit in, I can basically be considered a bishop, right?

    An image came to Annan¡¯s mind.

    He wore the silver robe bestowed by Silver Sire and summoned the holy light engravings. These engravings crawled from the back of his right hand to his face. He would act cool, just like what the Old Bread had done in which he would hold his palms up in a dignified manner with the palms facing downwards.

    Will the passers-by think I am a genuine bishop but only with a very young face?

    They may even mistake me as a cardinal bishop.

    Wait, I¡¯m thinking too far ahead of myself. Let¡¯s buy some divine art first.

    For this, Annan had to consult Grandpa Daryl about how to purchase divine art. Even if he became rich, he couldn¡¯t simply waste them, not to mention that 300 wasn¡¯t a lot. After all, not all divine art was cheap.

    The slightly stronger divine art already had a higher price.

    In the usual standard, a typical priest would purify one level of a nightmare every three days if the nightmare wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    In other words, Annan had seemingly acquired the fruits of hard work amounted to three years.

    As yers travel around to conquer various nightmares, Annan was allowed to collect benefits while staying idle from it.

    Hmm, I have to adjust the experience multiplier for the yers.

    I should increase the experience they gain a little and then give them more event missions and weekly missions. Otherwise, I will be uneasy for my conscience.

    Don¡¯t You like Weekly Mission A Lot?.jpg

    Then, you have to challenge at least one nightmare every week!

    Before that, Annan used the experience gained to raise the [Silver Knight] profession to Level 20. Although he was told that the path to attain Silver Rank was guaranteed as a Silver Knight, he was not in a hurry to train [Silver Knight] up immediately.

    If Annan discovered other ways of advancement that were much better during a nightmare, he would have the option to switch to another type of melee Silver Rank profession.

    At this state, the [Silver Knight] profession had contributed 14 points of Constitution, 3 points of Strength, and 4 points of Agility.

    Thus, Annan¡¯s Strength and Agility attributes reached 14 points, while the Constitution increased to 25 points. In addition, his Perception was raised to 45 points from the nightmares, while his Will remained at 15 points.

    Immediately afterward, Annan added the levels obtained from those two nightmares to the ¡°Frostwhisper¡± profession, intending to observe how it would increase attribute points.

    So, Annan¡¯s panel ended up like this.

    Annan. Human. Male.

    Elite Rare (Gold), Challenge Rating 34

    Title: Frostwhisper

    Rank: Silver

    Health: 100%

    Erosion Rate: 2%

    Attributes: Strength 14, Agility 14, Constitution 25, Perception 49, Will 19

    Shared Experience: 540

    Unique Trait: Winter Heart (Evolving) [Reverse Inscription]

    Profession Overview:

    Silver Knight LV20: [Austere-Winter Swordsmanship LV10 (Max)], [Frost Sword LV10 (Max)], [Parallel Comprehension LV1], [Silver Hand LV1], Avable Attribute Point 1

    Frostwhisper LV22: [Instant Spell LV4 (Chilling Touch, Slothful Eye, Frost¡¯s Word, N/A)], [Guided Spell LV4 (Impeding Wall, Frost Arena, Notion Rain, Denial of Life)], [Chant Spell LV4 (Frost Wheel, Frost Tower), N/A, N/A)], [Ritual Spell LV1 (N/A)]

    Priest (Silver Sire 308): nging Object, Sharp Object, Eternal Youth.

    It was as expected.

    In the Silver Rank, the ¡°Will¡± attribute would be increased in level-ups.

    Each level of ¡°Frostwhisper¡± would improve about 2 points of Perception and 2 points of Will.

    Although the attributes were easy to upgrade, Annan was still pleased to enjoy the benefits.

    The Will attributes had always been his weakness.

    Annan still remembered the humiliation of being under Rotten Man¡¯s psychic maniptionst time.

    As his Will attribute rose to more than forty, or even more than fifty, he would try to find a way to seek revenge.

    After changing his profession to Frostwhisper, Annan acquired a new instant spell [Frost Lingual].

    [Frost Lingual (Instant): You get a brand newnguage ability. When you speak in thisnguage, you inflict constant, unavoidable frost damage to everything around you. The way to be immune to this damage is to master thisnguage or to have draconic blood. Since this spell has no spellcasting difficulty, it is not regarded as a guided spell. However, you will still be affected by effects such as silence and mute.]

    After [Frostwhisper] level was raised to LV22, Annan was finally given a Chant Spell, which somewhat made up for his shorings.

    [Frost Tower (Chant Spell): This spell requires the ability of ¡°Frost Lingual¡±. Frostwisper shall chant the ancient prayers, using his blood as a medium tomand the frost curse to form a tower-shaped cage. The more mana you put in, the stronger and taller the tower will be. Minimum order mana value of fifty points is required.]

    [The summoned tower is tenacious. It can resist internal or external damage. At the same time, the host doesn¡¯t need to maintain it forcibly with his own mana value. It also causes a continuous freezing effect on the beings trapped inside.]

    [Only one ¡°tower¡± can exist at one time. Using this spell again will immediately dispel the previous tower.]

    [When the tower is actively dispelled, it will consume the same amount of order mana when summoning the tower. After an external force destroys the tower, it is necessary to carry out the relevant ritual to regain this spell.]

    [Chants: ¡°The blood of Frostborn, the tower to the sky¡ª¡±]

 Chapter 341: Jiu Er: Iâ€™m Going Back To Freezing Water Port!

    <h4>Chapter 341: Jiu Er: I¡¯m Going Back To Freezing Water Port!</h4>

    Dove had curled up in a ball, squinting, snuggling on the sofa by the firece to keep warm.

    But when she heard the movement behind her, she immediately raised her head alertly, turned her neck back 180 degrees, put her head on the sofa¡¯s armrest, and looked at Annan on the bed, ¡°Meow?¡±

    Oh, you came out of a nightmare? Dove let out a curious meow and asked silently.

    She craned her neck, trying to see what the curse was on Annan.

    But when her eyes met Annan, who had just woken up, she was shocked.

    ¡°Meow?!¡±

    What the hell?

    Annan¡¯s left eye turned into a pure aquamarine.

    It was like the emerald, seemingly radiating light from within.

    It was not just a metaphor.

    At first nce, it seemed to be an alluring pupil with a color different from the other eye. She realized that Annan¡¯s left eye did not have a disc-shaped pupil upon a closer look.

    Dove could even vaguely see some tiny white runes inside, forming several light bands.

    But the green eye was really enchanting!

    Even if Dove wasn¡¯t having a crush on Annan like Jiu Er and Yiyi, she was still amazed by this spectacr scene.

    Dove couldn¡¯t help but take a screenshot and publish a post on the forum.

    ¡°Guess what treasure I saw?! @Jiu Er @Yiyi.¡±

    The Child seemed to be active on the forum at the same moment. Even when Dove didn¡¯t tag him, he was the first toment: ¡°I guess you saw Annan get up from bed?¡±

    Citalopram: ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s lewd to say that?¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°Did you take a candid photo of Cutie Annan getting up and changing clothes? Send it to me quickly!¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Me too +1.¡±

    ¡°You all have guessed it wrongly!¡± Dove happily sat up Annan from the bed, opened his eyes, and posted a screenshot.

    Yiyi: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Citalopram: ¡°Ok, this is a little interesting (Annan calm down.jpg¡±

    Yiyi: ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Sister Hyphen? Such a loud noise all of a sudden? (alert)¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going back to the Freezing Water Port now!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose: ¡°Calm down! I¡¯m in prison now, so I can¡¯t do the mission. You should do my part too!¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Tsk¡­¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Indifferent eyes (Kafni Limited Edition.jpg)¡±

    Citalopram: ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, be obedient. Annan is also going to the capital. Once you havepleted the mission he gave you, wouldn¡¯t it be nice to earn a lot of affection ratings?¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    She let out a groan and stopped going mad.

    Sure enough, there is a solution to everything. Dove sighed.

    As expected, Citalopram calmed Jiu Er down again.

    This was the fifth time that Citalopram had stopped Jiu Er¡¯s rampage since she entered the game.

    After all, Jiu Er was a real eldestdy of a prominent family, about the same level as Longjing Tea. She was usually well-behaved and cute, easygoing and humorous. The only issue was she would turn crazy for what she wanted.

    For example, Annan.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s role in this context might have just been her inclination to join the fun.

    To put it more urately, she didn¡¯t just like Annan.

    She was just enchanted by the cute and good-looking faces.

    She firmly acknowledged herself as someone who liked a pretty face.

    For example, Lin Yiyi stuck closely to Kafni and Jiu Er in addition to Annan.

    But, that wouldn¡¯t work for Citalopram.

    Although Sister Wen was good-looking and had an elegant aura, she was in adult size. Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t like her that much.

    Of course, Dove wouldn¡¯t fit into Lin Yiyi¡¯s equation too.

    Although Dove¡¯s age wasn¡¯t yet at the level of Yiyi¡¯s mother, she was indeed filled with the majestic aura of Yiyi¡¯s mother. In addition, Dove was a genius. She was an all-rounder in fighting, archery, rock climbing, and swimming. Moreover, she was a senior in the field of live streaming.

    Lin Yiyi felt like she was the game enthusiast Otakus in the house, speaking softly in front of Dove and not daring to have an overly intimate physical contact.

    Jiu Er was different from Lin Yiyi.

    She might be the first yer to fall in love with someone from another world.

    Aside from the Child¡¯s unrequited love for Miss Boffis, her feeling for ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± was one of its kind among the current yers.

    Jiu Er¡¯s unabashed love for Annan also made Dove, the oldest ¡°elder¡± among the yers, worried about her.

    This invitation code mechanism was equivalent to pulling people in from their contact list.

    All yers knew each other.

    For example, Dove¡¯s and Jiu Er¡¯s parents have been close friends for a long time. This friendship could be traced back to the ssmate rtionship between Dove¡¯s father and Jiu Er¡¯s grandfather.

    On the other hand, Dove knew Jiu Er¡¯s parents because they were both in a band when they were young.

    Jiu Er¡¯s father was a vocalist, her mother was a guitarist, and Dove was the drummer.

    Rock and roll were quite popr in their days. Dove still retained her unique and instinctive talent on the drums.

    Of course, Dove didn¡¯t know that Jiu Er¡¯s father was a noble son who could only go back to inherit the family wealth if he couldn¡¯t y music; Jiu Er¡¯s father didn¡¯t know either that Dove only learned archery for half a year, and she could trounce a monster.

    Besides, Jiu Er¡¯s father and Delicious Wind Goose were alumni of the same university.

    Dove had a deep impression of Delicious Wind Goose because the Goose was her young self.

    He could learn anything and master it quickly, allowing him to flourish in any field he was interested in.

    However, there was only one difference.

    Dove was better than Delicious Wind Goose in all aspects.

    She knew very well long ago that she could not maintain her grades while studying and mastering many skills.

    Therefore, she did not take the college entrance examination directly but participated in theputer training ss that was emerging at that time. After quickly mastering this skill, she started taking jobs in cybersecurity.

    At the same time, she started learning drums and met Jiu Er¡¯s father.

    After she mastered the drum, she learnedbat skills and wrestling. Then, the small band disbanded after Jiu Er¡¯s mother took the postgraduate entrance examination. Dove used the money she saved to go abroad to learn Jiu-Jitsu. In the process, she saw the program ¡°The Secret Techniques of Wilderness Survival¡± which would be on air soon, and thus became interested in the survival of the wilderness.

    So she went to teach young people archery and wrestling, saving money while learning swimming, rock climbing, and survival skills in the wild.

    Delicious Wind Goose met her at this time.

    At this time, Jiu Er was just born.

    Her parents gave birth to her too early.

    Her grandfather was in poor health, so his father gradually took over thepany¡¯s affairs. Her mother was a strong and independent woman until she studied for two doctorates simultaneously. But as a result, the two weren¡¯t at home almost all year round.

    In Jiu Er¡¯s childhood, the people apanied were the deceased grandmother and Wen Xue (Citalopram).

    As Jiu Er¡¯s cousin, Wen Xue watched Jiu Er growing up. Her words worked better than Jiu Er¡¯s biological mother¡¯s.

    At the same time, Wen Xue developed Jiu Er into an Otaku who yed games and streamed.

    Wen Xue¡¯s original goal was simple. She wanted to help the active Jiu Er develop some hobbies to make it easier for Jiu Er to make friends.

    However, the oue seemed a little overboard.

    Jiu Er had just grown to adulthood, but she had already be a game addict.

    In contrast to this, she still had not many friends in reality.

    This guilt turned Wen Xue into the most strict supervisor. She always checked on Jiu Er¡¯s academic performance and tutored her when she fell behind.

    Even when the poprity of Jiu Er¡¯s live stream declined, Wen Xue would y a role in nning the next step.

    Inparison, Lin Yiyi had brought in a younger brother, and Xiang Tiange brought an old friend into the game.

    Jiu Er was much more straightforward.

    She grabbed her ¡°mom¡± into the game.

 Chapter 342: My Capability Is Limited

    <h4>Chapter 342: My Capability Is Limited</h4>

    In Dove¡¯s view, Citalopram was still quite reliable up to this point.

    Dove could be regarded as Jiu Er¡¯s elder. Naturally, it would be the same for Citalopram.

    Citalopram¡¯s father was Jiu Er¡¯s father¡¯s brother.

    Dove had seen him several times back then. He was an elegant and calm man. However, he somehow had a daughter who went with thebel of ¡°erotic¡± on the Inte every day.

    Dove was speechless with her encounter with Citalopram giving weird speeches.

    Mainly, she didn¡¯t know whether it was because she was outdated or whether Citalopram had a problem.

    But at least in the case of Jiu Er, Citalopram was still reliable.

    At this moment, Dove suddenly noticed that Citalopram had sent a private message to herself. A mail icon was shing in the upper right corner of her vision.

    When it came to the ¡°private message¡± function, Dove had a lot ofints about it already.

    In this epoch-making, high-tech ¡°game¡± that could traverse the world, the UI design seemed amateur.

    Dove calmly tapped on the mail.

    Citalopram: ¡°Any more pictures? Take a few more. Annan isn¡¯t wary of you while you¡¯re a cat now. Can you get a few pictures of him changing clothes?¡±

    Dove was stupefied.

    Dove: ¡°???¡±

    Dove: ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    Citalopram: ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong! I¡¯m using it to appease Jiu Er. Also, if Jiu Er wants you to send it to her, don¡¯t send it.¡±

    ¡°Even if you say so¡­¡± Dove was still hesitant.

    In the end, Dove agreed to Citalopram¡¯s request.

    ¡°Meow¡­¡± So Dove jumped off the sofa, rubbed against Annan¡¯s bed, and let out a light meow.

    She stood up, paws on the edge of Annan¡¯s bed, and stretched.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan asked softly, ¡°Do you want me to carry you up? Wait a minute, can you help me get my earrings? Wait, get me the ne instead.¡±

    He hesitated for a moment on whether to use earrings or ne as the curse vessel of Silver Rank.

    After Annan advanced to silver, he finally knew why those Silver Rank Wizards unleashed their curse vessel in ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡± during the battle.

    No matter if it was ¡°Frost Tower¡± or ¡°Frost Lingual¡±, Annan could only use it after unleashing the curse.

    Besides that, Annan had not yet sealed his curse into the vessel.

    He could feel his thinking bing clearer and the curse in his body being abnormally reactive. It appeared as if he could utilize any spell and materialize any transcended abilities as he will. Moreover, the consumption of energy seemed significantly reduced as well.

    At the same time, his body was still continuously consuming the curse, replenishing his physical strength and energy.

    Annan had just woken up from a nightmare and coughed up a lot of impurities in his soul. Thus, he was already mentally exhausted. However, he had almost recovered fully at this moment.

    Undoubtedly, Annan was in the Transcended exclusive ¡°battle readied state¡±.

    In the gamer¡¯s eye, it was a superb buff that continuously consumed the ¡°power of the curse¡± to enhance all of his ability checks, increase his speed, and continuously restore vitality and physical strength.

    The most precious thing about it was the quick recovery. Only the Transcended in the [Hunter] profession and the Transcended of other professions, that were unable to consume and use the native power of ¡°curse directly¡±, could not achieve that.

    It was only useful for those professions in improving the ritual sess rate. And, it was pretty effective in the rituals to harm a target or peep into the future.

    Other than that, those professions wouldn¡¯t enjoy many benefits.

    The resistance to transcended abilities came from the [Oath Power] and the [Soul Rank]. It had nothing to do with the power of the curse.

    Only the hunter-type Transcended with many curses could activate more than ten curses in a short period, quickly depleting the curse¡¯s power.

    For the Transcended of other professions, it would take more than two hours of an intense fight to deplete the curse power by activating their respective curse.

    Before that, otherbat resources would have long been exhausted.

    Of course, if the curse¡¯s power were exhausted, it would bring adverse effects.

    Firstly, all the positive abilities brought by the curse would be invalidated, and then the transcended abilities above Silver Rank would be temporarily unavable. However, the normal swordsmanship, archery, divine art, and spells below Silver Rank and special swordsmanship were unaffected.

    Moreover, when Annan looked down at his hand, he could vaguely see a faint rainbow-colored halo prating his skin.

    That was the color of Annan¡¯s soul.

    It had already revealed itself through his skin and was exposed. His palm was seemingly illuminated with a shlight. Transcended of the same rank could vaguely see this brilliance.

    In other words, it was the color brought by the curse [Angel¡¯s Left Eye].

    In Silver Rank, Transcended couldn¡¯t ¡°dye¡± his soul directly.

    That was to say, the Transcended¡¯s souls were transparent at this stage. Only when their Silver Rank curse was activated would their soul light up.

    Of course, it was pretty recognizable.

    ¡°So, the Transcended above Silver Rank see through other¡¯s identity quickly during the battle state.¡± Annan thought.

    This was a very crucial piece of information.

    This meant that he couldn¡¯t go all out if he wanted to retain ¡°anonymity¡± in thebat state. Otherwise, he would easily reveal his identity.

    Thus, Gerald didn¡¯t activate his curse immediately at that time.

    It was possible to pinpoint the Silver Rank Transcended curse based on the shape, color, and where it was attached. When the soul¡¯s color was hidden, the Transcended below Bronze Rank might not be able to see it. However, there was still a chance of the curse location being exposed.

    Annan was lucky.

    His curse was in the eyeball of his left eye.

    If he wore a blindfold and activated the curse as soon as possible before the fight, it would be difficult for others to tell where his curse was.

    So Annan gave up the ¡°ring¡± that was far away from the eyes.

    Considering that he still had to unleash the curse [Butcher¡¯s Knife] from time to time, he had also prepared a couple of possible vessels like earrings and a monocle. However, he chose the ne in the end because the other essories were quite far from his right hand.

    It was a silver ne with a hollow space in the middle, seemingly reserving a ce for gemstone engraving.

    Through the baptism of ritual, gems would gain extraordinary buffs.

    The same goes for other essories like studs, earrings, rings, and belts. For financial reasons, he did not install gems into them yet.

    It would be better to buy and iy the gems after he finalized his pick.

    After all, the size and number of gemstones used in earrings and belts would be different.

    After taking the ne Dove brought over, Annan picked up the cat and ced it on hisp.

    Then, he put the ne on, took off the ring, and put the bronze ring on the ne.

    The ring trembled slightly, and then a tiny crack suddenly appeared.

    ck mud poured out of the ring and slowly infiltrated the ne.

    The rainbow-colored brilliance in Annan¡¯s eyes also flowed out of his eyes. They were like tears and even like slugs; they smeared across Annan¡¯s cheeks without leaving any traces and entered the ne.

    After the ck mud and iridescent and transparent goo submerged into the ne, it began to shrink, and its weight began to decrease. It didn¡¯t stop until Annan felt it was just right.

    Although Annan lost his eyesight, his eye socket didn¡¯t seem empty.

    Annan probingly felt his left eye through his eyelid.

    He found the entityid within to be exceptionally hard.

    So he boldly opened his eyelids and touched it again but only felt the strange textile sensation of gems.

    Annan¡¯s vision wasn¡¯t affected by the touch, nor did he feel any pain.

    Although his Perception attribute had enabled him to attack and dodge with his eyes closed within a few dozen meters, the sudden loss of vision from his left eye still threw him a little out of bnce.

    ¡°I have to train myself a little bit before going to the capital¡­¡± Annan muttered.

    The training was the same just like thest time he trained himself to sense his surroundings by utilizing his Perception attribute.

    Since my capability is limited, it should be two hours of training.

 Chapter 343: Delicious Wind Gooseâ€™s Special Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 343: Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s Special Encounter</h4>

    ¡°Luckily, we still have Citalopram around.¡± Delicious Wind Goose took a deep breath.

    Now that he was locked in the prison, only Jiu Er could execute the n Annanid out previously.

    The remaining two yers on the team (Van Helsing & Yokai Sensei) were Silver Sire¡¯s priests. Just yesterday, they had sessfully entered the church.

    ording to them, the typical procedure for the priest of another diocese to enter the Royal Capital would require at least five years of excellent performance before submitting the application.

    However, when Yokai Sensei and Van Helsing came to report in, there wasn¡¯t any obstacle to changing their diocese to the Noah Capital.

    They were granted 20 silver coins per month even during their probationary period!

    The other yers were jealous about it.

    However, Yokai Sensei and Van Helsing immediately exined it to the yers.

    The [Priest] profession wasn¡¯t that great, but the Silver Sire treated the yers preferentially. The reason seemed to be pointing at Annan.

    Silver Sire had issued the Noah Capital¡¯s cardinals in helping out ¡°the people from the Freezing Water Port and Roseburg¡±.

    This was undoubtedly in Annan¡¯s favor.

    The Silver Sire even gave Annan the silver robe already, and thus He might as well help Annan to get the yers into the royal capital. At the same time, the silver robe represented a certain level of authority which would prove helpful for Annan.

    Silver Sire told Annan it was a piece of cake, but it had saved Annan a lot of trouble.

    Judging from this, the Silver Sire was sincere in befriending Annan. Otherwise, He wouldn¡¯t need to trouble Himself so much at all, given his status as an upright deity.

    However, although Yokai Sensei and Van Helsing had obtained legitimate identities and official jobs, it also meant that they couldn¡¯t traverse the city at will.

    Silver Sire Church had been very busytely.

    After Yokai Sensei and Van Helsing swore an oath to the statue of Silver Sire, they learned this piece of important information.

    Silver Sire suddenly issued an oracle to arrest all Rotten Man believers in the Noah Kingdom more than a month ago, which amounted to 17,648 people.

    Their status could go low as gardeners, grooms, and grave keepers. At the same time, it also epassed people of high status such as queens, princes, counts, generals, and royal guards.

    After receiving the name list, even the pope was shocked, not to mention bishops.

    The pope didn¡¯t even know that the Rotten Man¡¯s Church had infiltrated the Noah Kingdom to such an extent.

    Including the priests belonging to the Silver Sire in the entire Noah Kingdom, it was still far fewer than 20,000 people.

    Their number couldn¡¯t even make up half of the poption.

    Was the Noah Kingdom following the Silver Sire or the Rotten Man?

    The Silver Sire Church had strict recruitment standards, and the Rotten Man did not conduct any assessments at all. The Rotten Man would recruit anyone having faith in Him, thus allowing the widespread of His followers.

    This matter involved too many people.

    Arresting the queen and the general would inflict severe chaos. If the news of the arrest leaked, the rest might flee in a swarm.

    With such a huge list, it was already challenging to lock onto their specific locations.

    Therefore, the Silver Sire Church had nned the arrest process.

    First of all, they would work on those with the highest status on the arrest list through fundraising, open sses, and public welfare activities. Next, their target would be the ¡°non-transcended¡± who had higher status and stayed in Noah¡¯s capital.

    Immediately afterward, the Silver Sire Church would gradually increase its control over the subway.

    As for the Transcended believers in the capital, they would put them on hold for now. As long as the subway entrance was blocked, they would not be able to escape. Driving them out of the capital could also reduce the destruction of the environment during battle.

    At present, those ¡°people with higher status¡± were ¡°invited¡± to the Silver Sire Church by various means.

    Although the Silver Sire Church didn¡¯t know why the Rotten Man didn¡¯t warn his believers, the Silver Sire priests would still do their best to keep their operations a secret.

    Their ultimate goal was to iste the highest and most dangerous Rotten Man believers.

    Specifically, they had five targets in this category:

    1. Prince Albert¡¯s wife, the mother of Princess Kafni.

    2. Prince Philip

    3. The eldest son of the crow family.

    4. General Ryan

    5. Supreme Judge Philip Shelley.

    This operation even involved the direct descendants of the royal family, intelligence agencies, the Imperial Army, and the legal system. The targets would definitely realize if the Silver Sire Church followed the typical procedure.

    Silver Sire Church did not investigate the people around them to avoid alerting them.

    For example, the Silver Sire Church was only certain that the King, Prince Albert, and Philip Shelley¡¯s younger brother, Chief of Police, Stilwell Shelley, were not the Rotten Man¡¯s believers. However, they weren¡¯t sure if these people would leak their operation.

    When the time was right, the Silver Sire Church would arrest its targets by force.

    It would be a sudden raid that would capture all five of them.

    It must be a grand plot.

    yers spected that this plot would be directly connected to the main storyline of Annan¡¯s return to the capital. So Yokai Sensei¡¯s group worked on the prelude mission in dedication. Thus, they didn¡¯t have time or dare to contact Jiu Er.

    In the end, the party was only left with the neurotic eighteen-year-old girl stranded alone in the capital of a foreign country.

    Besides getting Jiu Er to take care of herself, she also had to inquire about the intelligence of local organizations and infiltrate them. It might be a little difficult for her.

    Delicious Wind Goose was also very helpless with the circumstances.

    They wouldn¡¯t have anticipated that the party was only left with one person after the four of them entered the capital.

    ¡°I hope Citalopram can remotely micro-manage Jiu Er.¡± It was best to tell Jiu Er what she should do first, what to do next, how to speak when she met people, and how to answer when others ask questions.

    It was best to direct her as a first-person role-ying game (RPG).

    After all, Delicious Wind Goose had alsounched another mission to get a more detailed intelligence.

    Delicious Wind Goose fooled us Cass for a while before getting the ¡°designated leakable information¡± that Dove sent him.

    Delicious Wind Goose was busy with another matter before the questioning came again.

    He wanted to learn as much information as possible.

    ¡°Do you get that?¡± A low, hoarse voice sounded in front of Delicious Wind Goose.

    A petite old man squatted in front of Delicious Wind Goose. He was being held in the cell opposite Delicious Wind Goose.

    He was struggling to open his eyes as he hunched, seemingly going to pass out anytime soon.

    Delicious Wind Goose only had his coat, equipment, and curse vessel taken away.

    On the other hand, the old man was wearing only a pair of shorts. Besides that, he only had half a tattered bowl in his prison cell.

    At this moment, the old man shattered the tattered bowl.

    He took a piece of soil and drew many patterns on the ground.

    Delicious Wind Goose squatted in front of the cell, trying his best to stare at the ground of the cell opposite in the thin sunlight.

    ¡°¡­I remember it.¡± He observed it in silence for about thirty seconds before replying respectfully.

    The old man didn¡¯t say much.

    He just continued to doodle on the ground, and the squeaking sound of rock scratching against the floor came, ¡°Then, remember this literal. 11 is the number that belongs to fire and creation, such as the eleven-pointed star. In the magic circle, the easiest way to distinguish the element of fire and the element of creation is to use the material to draw the magic circle.

    ¡°If you use a thermal material, such as cinnabar, copper, or ruby ??powder, it can be directly regarded as the magic circle of the fire domain. Likewise, neutral materials such as crystal and silver, plus the symbols of the sun, moon, and stars, can be used as a magic circle for the domain of creation¡­¡±

    These were all taboo knowledge involving the ritualist.

 Chapter 344: Salvatoreâ€™s Determination

    <h4>Chapter 344: Salvatore¡¯s Determination</h4>

    ¡°Bernardino Telesio?¡± Salvatore, in pajamas, frowned slightly, holding the hot water cup in both hands, ¡°Why is he here?¡±

    rence, sitting on the side, shrugged. ¡°He wants me to follow his path.¡±

    ¡°Telesio Spiritual Monk? Heh¡­ forget about it.¡± Salvatore yawned and sneered casually, ¡°I¡¯m not going to lose most of my ability to read minds just to be a ghostly person.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the legendary traditional and conservative school? No way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still a tradition after all.¡± rence pushed his sses and chuckled, ¡°The ¡®Necromancer¡¯ is indeed our predecessor and ancestor. It seems like we¡¯re going retro.¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s called going backward in time.¡± Salvatore said unceremoniously, ¡°Senior rence, don¡¯t believe his nonsense.

    ¡°There must be a reason why the necromancers are eradicated. Today, the eight schools of wizards had undergone the challenge of the times and the test of the blood in the Unification War before they finally took shape. The Soul Snatch School has embarked on the path of manipting the mind instead of manipting the soul. There must be a reason for it. Most probably, its practicality is the defining factor.¡±

    ¡°Oh ya¡­¡± Salvatore took a sip of the hot honey drink and sighed in a low voice, ¡°You must have sentiments attached to it.

    ¡°It¡¯s like me being stubborn to choose [Alchemist] profession despite knowing that fact that [Great Wizard] is the most practical advancement, given it being the most popr choice.¡±

    Salvatore hadpleted the advancement exam with excellent grades.

    After that, he made a selection of his curse type. Then, the tower master handed him the ¡°dream key¡± to enter the designated nightmare, and told him about the avable choices, what would happen, and the potential curse he would acquire.

    This was also the benefit of being a wizard bound to a wizard tower.

    The database of wizard towers would be inherited from generation to generation so that the wizards had a considerable understanding of the nightmares and curses.

    Generally speaking, besides the [Hunter] profession, the rest of the Transcended picked their choices in two approaches.

    The first approach would be choosing the curse with as little adverse effect as possible, like Annan.

    Secondly, the wizards would make their selection based on the special mechanism involving the curses.

    In the process of collecting the data, the wizards had subconsciously discovered the mechanism revolving around the curses.

    Covenant and clergy were the most advanced curses. Sure enough, they were the higher priority of selection than all other curses.

    Below them was the advancement curse obtained during the advancement from the Silver Rank to Gold Rank. The ranking was then followed by the curses of Silver Rank advancement and then Bronze Rank advancement ¡ª the curses granted to those who just embarked on their path of transcendence. Lastly, the curse ranking at the rock bottom was the temporary curse, which was the curse that was stripped away from the others.

    The distinction of the curse ranking was also one of the main reasons the Transcended was divided into Gold Rank, Silver Rank, and Bronze Rank.

    When a higher-priority curse was conflicted with a low-priority curse, only the high-priority curse would be effective, which was the w of curse ranking¡±.

    For example, when the curse of Bronze Rank was ¡°no pain¡± and the curse of Silver Rank was ¡°I will have a headache after dark¡±, then the curse of Silver Rank would be applied instead. Conversely, if the curse of ¡°pain relief¡± were in Silver Rank, the host wouldn¡¯t have a headache after dark.

    The secondw was that when a high-priority curse and a low-priority curse act on one effect at the same time, the most severe negative effect would be selected, while the positive impact would amplify on one another.

    For example, having two curses of fire resistance -30% and fire resistance -50% would not contribute to a total deduction of 80% in fire resistance. Instead, it would be -50% on fire resistance. On the other hand, the positive effect of Strength +5 and doubling the Strength would take effect simultaneously and stack in the order of the curse ranking.

    In other words, if the curses were matched correctly, it was possible to have one ¡°weakness¡± only.

    This path revolved around choosing a simr high-level curse to ovep the low-level curse, preventing the host from having multiple weaknesses and being able to concentrate on protecting their only disadvantage. Some hunters also adopted this principle when collecting curses.

    In addition to these two approaches, the rest made their selection blindly.

    In the end, the stray Transcended who chose their curses blindly would pay their due price sooner orter.

    ¡°Speaking of which, do you want to be my secret keeper, senior?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± rence asked casually, ¡°But why don¡¯t you go to Teacher Benjamin? He seems to be a pope. That¡¯s much safer.

    ¡°Also, the little brother you found outside the wizard tower.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I chose an ovepping curse, and it doesn¡¯t matter if I simply tell it to others.¡± Salvatore embarked on the second approach too.

    Hearing him say that, the red-robed wizard rence was surprised, ¡°So, it¡¯s still possible to nullify that curse?¡±

    ¡°Yes, through a reverse approach. Let me exin to you.¡± He said with pride and helplessness, ¡°My new curse is that ¡®I can¡¯t sleep more than six hours a day¡¯. My apparent age will shrink by one year for every hour of additional sleep, but my lifespan will not increase.¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you can¡¯t sleep more than 6 hours originally, don¡¯t you?¡± rence was silent for a long time and asked in doubt, ¡°This curse is still useful when you are old, right? At least it will keep your body from getting too old.¡±

    ¡°The premise is that I can really live to grow old.¡± Salvatore sighed gloomily, ¡°I always have the hunch that I¡¯m going to die suddenly.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. You¡¯re an alchemist. Sudden death doesn¡¯t exist for you,¡± rence waved his hand to brush it off, ¡°If you think you¡¯re going to die suddenly, you should equip yourself with a ¡®reagent to prevent sudden death¡¯. I remember alchemists can do that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Salvatore nodded.

    The [Alchemist] profession would significantly weaken the host¡¯sbat prowess. But for Salvatore, this wasn¡¯t much of a problem because he was inherently poor inbat already.

    Havingbat power of 2 reduced by 40% would only make it 1. That was all.

    This profession would weaken thebat effectiveness because it made it impossible for him to ¡°perform alchemy without material¡±.

    The [Alchemist] was the ancient version of the profession, [Alteration Wizard], which dramatically increased the efficiency of converting the matter. For example, the original alteration process involved converting the wood into iron, then electricity, andter fire, only to convert fire into the red crystals for the transmutation into diamonds. Instead, he could convert wood into diamonds immediately.

    In the past, he could have used a cane-sized piece of wood to alter it into a diamond wall five or six meters high. However, he could only turn it into a diamond the size of a walking stick.

    The advantage was that now Salvatore could perform ¡°alteration in a reverse manner¡±.

    That would be turning diamonds back into wood or turning gold into brass.

    This ability was useless forbat.

    However, it allowed Salvatore to terminate any alchemy reaction at will, letting the reactants change back directly orpleting the catalysis in an instant rather than a lengthy period.

    If Salvatore managed to harness this trick well, he had seeded in time reversal in a way.

    This was why modern alteration wizards rarely invented new alteration techniques but focused on the optimizations of ancient alteration arts.

    Since the modern alteration wizards considered the issue of ¡°efficiency¡±, they abandoned the production of such small workshops but focused on production lines instead.

    Salvatore didn¡¯t want that.

    Perhaps at first, he also wanted to learn the alteration spell to make money.

    However, after getting to know Annan, he understood his heart more and more.

    It might be a simple passion for the alteration magic.

    Salvatore believed that his friends would help him with fighting and his safety.

    His primary goal at this moment was to study ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermetic School¡±.

    Then, he wanted toplete the recipe without the help of Miss Vatore¡¯s (the shadow) power.

 Chapter 345: Layers of Deceit

    <h4>Chapter 345: Layers of Deceit</h4>

    Annan didn¡¯t immediately return to Roseburg to look for Bishop Daryl.

    After all, when Annan finished advancement, Mr. Eugene Geraint (Don Juan¡¯s second brother) had not yet set off to return to Noah¡¯s Royal Capital.

    Through Lin Yiyi¡¯s vision, Annan could see Eugene¡¯s attitude towards ¡°Don Juan,¡± who was temporarily absent from the fief.

    Eugene was forthright with nothing to hide at all. Thus, Annan easily noticed that he had no intention of figuring out where the real ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± was.

    Still, the yers decided to treat him politely. He stayed in Roseburg without being nervous at all and didn¡¯t put up any defense against the people under Annan, even when Annan did not show up.

    Eugene did not urge Lin Yiyi or ask where Annan went. At the same time, he did not return to Noah¡¯s Capital. Instead, he stayed in Roseburg for three days, left a letter, and returned leisurely.

    Then, Annan immediately realized what Eugene was here for.

    Eugene didn¡¯te to see his brother ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡±.

    He obviously knew where the real Don Juan was.

    Fortunately, Annan was not in Roseburg at this time.

    Otherwise, it would add embarrassment to both parties.

    Eugene came here in person probably to pass on some wrong information to mislead someone in the capital.

    Since he had stayed in Roseburg for three days, it showed his standing was friendly with Roseburg¡¯s forces. If he returned and proimed her had met Annan, the others might believe that Don Juan did arrive in the North Sea Territory safely.

    Annan also noticed a clue based on Eugene¡¯s behavior.

    Benjamin might have settled down with Don Juan¡¯s soul already.

    Old Crow was the person who handled this matter directly. So, he should know the truth.

    If Ferdinand hadn¡¯t been imprisoned, the Old Crow would continue using him as a tool.

    The crow family only obeyed the King, no matter who the King was. They only served the one on the throne.

    So before His Majesty issued amand, the Old Crow would never take action against Prince Philip.

    Instead, the Old Crow would only utilize strategies to disrupt Philip¡¯s ns.

    In retrospect, many things had happened that the Old Crow would not easily forgive. Firstly, Ferdinand Geraint believed in the Rotten Man and murdered his brother. Most importantly, Don Juan was the Old Crow¡¯s favorite son.

    Old Crow had sent Don Juan over to the border for safety.

    Suppose something terrible happened to the Crow Family. In that case, Don Juan could at least escape into the Austere-Winter Dukedom and survive there with his mother¡¯s noble blood of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    However, Ferdinand¡¯s betrayal had almost put all his efforts in vain. Given his status as the Rotten Man¡¯s believer, he might have ns to harm Old Crow himself and the other siblings of the family.

    It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the Old Crow killed him outright. He couldn¡¯t harm Philip directly, but he could do something against the executor who desired his son¡¯s harm.

    However, Annan had never heard information such as ¡°Ferdinand died unexpectedly¡±.

    Apparently, Eugene knew the truth.

    Then again, us Cass was still alive and well.

    Annan had gradually deduced the story and even vaguely outlined the political situation in Noah¡¯s capital.

    It was ssical deceit wrapped in threeyers.

    The firstyer covering the matter was the ¡°news that could be made public¡± in which this matter was euphemized before being known to most people.

    The narration went with, ¡°us sent Don Juan Geraint to Freezing Water Port safely. After the unfortunate death of Roseburg¡¯s viscount, the governing power was officially handed over to the Great Wizard Benjamin, who remained at Freezing Water Port to take care of Don Juan¡±.

    On the secondyer, the understanding of the matter would be ¡°us had assassinated Don Juan and the Great Wizard Benjamin. At this moment, there was an unidentified ck-haired and blue-eyed person impersonating Dong Juan at Freezing Water Port¡±.

    On the thirdyer of deceit that warped up the story, the narration was ¡°Don Juan and Benjamin had inexplicably survived. Benjamin alsopleted the advancement ritual and became the new deity¡¯s pope¡±.

    Of course, all threeyers of narration were lies.

    Very few people could unveil the manner to the thirdyer. For example, Prince Philip. He was probably the person closest to the truth, but he had no proof.

    us himself was on the second narration, and he thought Old Crow had only figured out the matter at the firstyer of lies.

    However, the Old Crow had uncovered the matter clearly.

    He was the only one who knew everything aside from Benjamin.

    Eugene should have ess to the third piece of narration. Ironically, the eldest son of the Crow¡¯s family, Ferdinand Geraint, was still the only person fooled in the firstyer of deceit.

    This way, Annan had figured out what the Old Crow¡¯s goal was.

    He would send Eugene to ¡°take a look¡±. In Ferdinand¡¯s view, it represented his father¡¯s suspicion that ¡°Don Juan was still alive.¡±

    But after Eugene returned to the capital, he said that he saw Don Juan.

    Then, Ferdinand would think that Don Juan was not dead.

    He would then pass this information to his master, Philip (the Third Prince).

    In this way, the three pieces of information Philip got from his three sources ¨C us, Ferdinand, and the connection of the Roseburg¡¯s viscount were utterly contradictory.

    Philip would have thought that us¡¯ mission had failed. At present, he was more willing to trust another person who provided him with information than us.

    However, Philip didn¡¯t punish us either, which meant he wasn¡¯t sure if the secondyer of deceit was the truth, even though it was the closest narration to the fact.

    With this deduction, Annan believed Philip was a doubtful person. He wasn¡¯t an authoritarian leader and acted cautiously.

    Ferdinand, who was the first to defect to him, gave him apletely different third answer.

    After that, Delicious Wind Goose would give us pieces of evidence again. (TN: the dungeon cell part)

    All three pieces of intelligence were credible, but their content was contradictory.

    Philip would be put in chaos.

    He wouldn¡¯t dare to make a move until he found out the truth.

    In other words, the Old Crow¡¯s conspiracy was to buy time.

    If Annan guessed correctly, the Silver Sire Church had alreadymunicated with the Old Crow.

    If the Old Crow agreed to the n proposed by the Silver Sire Church, there could only be one answer.

    ¡°Has the King or Princess Royal been persuaded?¡± Holding up the envelope Eugene had left for him, Annan murmured.

    With the support of the upper echelons, all this should be calmed down soon.

    But why am I a little uneasy?

    What did I miss?

    Annan thought and opened the envelope.

    He skimmed through the letter roughly and found that his spection was urate. In addition to that, Eugene also offered another piece of information.

    ¡°¡­Hermetic School?¡± Annan muttered.

    He narrowed his eyes slightly.

    He recalled what he had neglected.

 Chapter 346: The Secret Of Father Flint

    <h4>Chapter 346: The Secret Of Father Flint</h4>

    ¡°The Hermetic School?¡± Hearing Annan¡¯s question, Bishop Daryl held his bald head in distress, ¡°Annan, you may not know, I left the capital quite early. So I have never heard of what you just said.

    ¡°Or rather¡­ the ¡®Hermetic School¡¯ I know is not necessarily the one you asked about. Maybe it¡¯s just the same name.¡±

    ¡°And what about Nichs mel?¡± Annan pressed on with his questions.

    Hearing the name, Daryl frowned slightly.

    His expression gradually became serious. He propped up his belly, sat up from the sofa in struggle, and took away the leisurely demeanor of a chubby otaku. ¡°Where did you hear the name?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Hermetic School. Their leader is a man who calls himself ¡®Nichs mel¡¯.¡±

    Daryl repeated, ¡°You have said it yourself. It¡¯s a self-proimed name.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But that Nichs has long curly white hair, dark green eyes, and is a Gold Rank Wizard from the Alteration School.¡± Annan said slowly.

    As Annan met Daryl¡¯s gaze, he noticed that Daryl¡¯s face quickly turned ugly after hearing his words.

    ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Daryl frowned suddenly.

    He rubbed his bald head, which was so smooth and reflective, with a sigh.

    The Fatty Bishop stood up from the sofa, touched his stomach, and paced around the room.

    He thought for a long time, frowned tightly, and said to Annan in a low voice, ¡°If it¡¯s really him, you better be prepared.¡±

    ¡°I have to go,¡± Annan shrugged and poured himself a cup of ck tea, ¡°Silver Sire personally ordered me to go. Hmm, your tea is great.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I just told you to be prepared, but I didn¡¯t tell you not to go.¡± Daryl nced at the tea and said casually, ¡°I still have two cans of tea leaves over there. Just grab it when you leave. I rarely drink it myself. No, wait, the point is Nichs ¨C how much do you know about him?¡±

    ¡°Senior Salvatore and I suspect that he may be the Jade Tower Master of Denizoya Kingdom more than a hundred years ago.¡±

    Annan rubbed his brows and said with some distress, ¡°I specte that he may have developed the Hermetic School Sage¡¯s Stone. Then he used Sage¡¯s Stone to counteract soul power consumption, so he got immortality.¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡± Daryl replied without hesitation, ¡°No way.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°He is indeed the founder of ancient Sage¡¯s Stone technology, and he is indeed able to craft the Sage¡¯s Stone by himself. But that is not the final version of Sage¡¯s Stone. Instead, it is a lite version.¡±

    The fat bishop shook his head, ¡°Do you know about Elixir? They¡¯re the same kind of Alteration product. The full version of Elixir requires a rare golden mistletoe fruit, and the cost is too high. That¡¯s why Alteration Wizards work on keeping the costs down and creating a budget version of Elixir.

    ¡°The Sage¡¯s Stone he ¡®improvised¡¯ is the same.¡±

    That is to say, the beggar¡¯s version of Sage¡¯s Stone? Annan immediately understood.

    No wonder Salvatore, a Bronze Rank Alteration Wizard, could also make a usable semi-finished product.

    It turns out that Nichs has lowered the production cost and difficulty in making it.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Thus, he called the Sage¡¯s Stone he improvised as ¡°the Hermetic School Sage¡¯s Stone¡±?¡±

    Daryl nodded, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s because he has always called himself ¡®the Second Hermes¡¯. He hasn¡¯t given any Sage¡¯s Stone to anyone, so no one knows exactly in what way his Sage¡¯s Stone is wed. But what he made is definitely not the real Sage¡¯s Stone.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so sure?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because even the deities cannot artificially create the Sage¡¯s Stone.¡± Daryl answered with confidence in an unquestioning tone.

    ¡°¡­even the Silver Sire?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°Not even the Mysterious Lady. It¡¯s not a question of difficulty, and it¡¯s simply impossible.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Hearing Daryl¡¯s tone being so certain, Annan was a little confused.

    Daryl hesitated for a moment, then stopped. ¡°I can tell you, but you can¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±

    ¡°Is it rted to the Silver Sire?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rted to all upright deities. It might even be about the world.¡± Daryl replied solemnly, ¡°Do you still want to hear it?¡±

    Annan hesitated for a moment. He was well aware that some knowledge was better not known for his safety, but he still followed through with his desire for knowledge, ¡°Yes.¡±

    After all, Senior Salvatore was still researching Sage¡¯s Stone. He wanted to help his senior gather any helpful information he could.

    Sure enough, even the wizard tower would struggle to gather secrets rted to the upright deities.

    But then again¡­ What¡¯s the status for Grandpa Daryl?

    ¡°You have a special status, so I won¡¯t let you swear to keep it secret. Although this secret is important, it is actually very brief.¡±

    Daryl took a deep breath and said slowly, ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone is not a product of this world.¡±.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t from the very beginning. Sage¡¯s Stone can rece any perfected element. Do you think such a thing may exist by nature? The reason Sage¡¯s Stone can¡¯t be replicated is simple. Its main raw material fundamentally doesn¡¯t exist in this world.¡±

    Daryl replied solemnly, ¡°Do you know Father Flint, Your Highness Annan?¡±

    ¡°The Deity of Fire and Creation?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Father Flint¡¯s name came when he ignited the flint before bing a deity. But do you think that merit alone is enough to be an upright deity?¡±

    Just as Daryl said this, Annan vaguely noticed something. ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    ¡°You have guessed it right. What Father Flint ignited was not the world¡¯s first flint, but the world¡¯s first ¡®Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯.¡±

    Daryl said slowly, ¡°From then on, this world has ¡®elemental power¡¯.

    ¡°Can you understand? That is to say, the purpose of trying to copy the Sage¡¯s Stone is not as simple as ¡®getting immortality¡¯ or ¡®resurrection¡¯. What he wants is to create a world unique for himself.

    ¡°In fact, Nichs didn¡¯t die because of ¡®overuse of the elemental power¡¯ but was murdered. This matter was more or less known to the world¡¯s bigwigs at the time. But it was a righteous murder because Nichs did a taboo thing that is absolutely not allowed.¡±

    ¡°Is he trying to create a new human?¡± Annan blurted out.

    He felt that he was bing more and more familiar with the plot.

    Daryl looked at him in surprise, staring for a long time before slowly nodding.

    ¡°Yes. Strictly speaking, it is an ¡®artificial and independent entity without relying on any parental and maternal samples. To be more precise, it is not a copy of anyone nor a child of anyone. Nichs just made a human out of thin air.¡±

    So, it happens without using any human gic samples at all? Annan was stunned for a moment.

    How did he do that?

    ¡°So he ended up failing? Creating a monster?¡±

    ¡°No, he seeded.¡± Daryl paused and replied in a deep voice.

 Chapter 347: Betrayal Of Humanity

    <h4>Chapter 347: Betrayal Of Humanity</h4>

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Annan was shocked.

    The answer surprised him.

    He was deeply lost in confusion.

    How the hell did Nichs do it? A human who doesn¡¯t need a parent.

    ¡°Before answering this question,¡± whispered Bishop Daryl, pulling a book from the shelf, ¡°Have you heard of the [Gift of the Cup] ritual?¡±

    ¡°Sounds like the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s ritual.¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± replied Daryl as he sat back on the sofa.

    Maybe it was because he was old, or perhaps because he had gained weight again; walking a couple of steps like this made him a little tired.

    After the fat and bald bishop sat down, he put the thick book on the table and took a long breath. He gulped down the slightly cold ck tea in his cup.

    Later, he turned the page and exined in a low voice, ¡°The Cup-holding Lady is an upright deity. She proims her domain, desire, is the cornerstone of humanity. But in many ces, the public openly perceives the belief in the Cup-holding Lady to be frivolous and even degrading.

    ¡°However, many noble families still openly disy their faith in the Cup-holding Lady. But this does not necessarily mean that they indulge in sensuality. Instead, they do so to practice the [Gift of the Cup] ritual.

    ¡°To perform this ritual, one must openly believe in the Cup-holding Lady for at least nine years and hold a formal, public worship ritual every September. Then, they have to prepare a pure gold cup. Finally, the ritual¡¯s host has to fill the cup with one portion of uncorrupted blood for each month within the nine months.

    ¡°Then, the ritual practitioner will add a tube of ¡°liquid¡± with his gic information and then close the lid. After each month, the liquid level in the cup will drop by one-ninth, gradually revealing the embryo in the cup; after nine months, a newborn baby will appear in the cup.

    ¡°They¡¯re the so-called ¡®Child in the Cup¡¯.¡± Daryl replied.

    Clones?

    This should be an emergency measure when the bloodline cannot be continued, something like infertility?

    Annan was stunned for a moment, then asked, ¡°Then, is the ¡®Child in the Cup¡¯ the same as the ritual practitioner?

    ¡°Roughly so. On this basis, their bloodline will be optimized, their appearance will be more beautiful, and their intelligence and physical strength will be more outstanding. Although they are not called the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s children, they will also receive a part of Her blessing traits.

    ¡°Therefore, when some families have their bloodlinepletely cut off for some reason.¡± Having said that, Daryl took a deep look at Annan and then slowly replied, ¡°They will hold the ¡®Gift of the Cup¡¯ ritual.

    ¡°The Cup-holding Lady doesn¡¯t ask them to keep their faith in Her. So after the baby is born, they can im to renounce their faith in the Cup-holding Lady. However, as long as this ritual is used, the ritual host will show the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s Traces ¡ª that is, the eyes turn red.

    ¡°The family with red eyes will still get a child if they hold the ¡®Gift of the Cup¡¯, but the bloodline will not continue to be optimized. It will only get a child with a simr talent to the ritual caster.

    ¡°Supposed, some merchant families can afford to buy gold cups or aristocratic families have a rare-toe-by ¡®genius¡¯ being born in the family. They will run this ritual in the hope of continuing the glory of their families. However, this ritual is still a st resort¡¯ used to leave a seed when the bloodline is about to perish in most cases.

    ¡°This is a typical ¡®artificial human that needs a sample of a father or mother¡¯. Although the ritual borrows the power of an upright deity, the Cup-holding Lady doesn¡¯t operate it, nor does She possess this technique as Her divine art.

    ¡°Ritual belongs to the power of man, not deity. This kind of artificial man still belongs to the life of unnatural birth in essence.¡±

    When Bishop Daryl said this, he paused, ¡°I think you¡¯ve guessed it.¡±

    ¡°For example, the royal family of the Noah Kingdom?¡± Annan asked softly.

    Noah¡¯s royal family was the only red-eyed family Annan could think of.

    Bishop Daryl nodded slowly.

    I see. This statement answered one of Annan¡¯s doubts.

    That was why Philip dared to publicly proim his faith in the Cup-holding Lady as a royal heir in a country that widely believed in Silver Sire. His action wouldn¡¯t even be considered bad conduct by others.

    Instead, it had be a tradition.

    Noah¡¯s royal family had their bloodline endangered once. Now it was a bloodline continuation effort.

    When exactly did the bloodline stop?

    Annan pondered deeply and realized that he didn¡¯t seem to have heard of His Majesty¡¯s brother or sister.

    Perhaps the natural bloodline was cut off in Henry VIII¡¯s father¡¯s generation.

    Suddenly, an idea popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    Could it be that Nichs appeared in the Noah Kingdom and nowhere else because Henry VIII was an artificial human?

    ¡°What about Nichs?¡± After understanding that there are artificial humans in this world, Annan immediately noticed the problem, ¡°Is his technology for creating humans better than the ones made by the Cup-holding Lady?¡±

    Hearing what Annan said, Daryl sighed. ¡°You¡¯re really smart, Your Highness Annan. And you¡¯re very sharp.

    ¡°You may have been right previously. What Nichs created is indeed a monster.

    ¡°But it¡¯s not because they¡¯re ugly, and it¡¯s not because they¡¯re not sentient. It¡¯s quite the contrary.

    ¡°The human Nichs made is handsome and beautiful even by the strictest aesthetic standards. You could call them synths ¨C easy to craft in a sk with Hermetic Sage¡¯s Stone and some cheap material.

    ¡°They are strong, healthy, smart, and free from disease. They are in solidarity with each other. Nichs also gives consideration tomon sense and the ease of living, so he started his project by tying their minds together and sharing one soul. Therefore, there will be no conflict between his creations, and the efficiency of work and study is also superb. Instead of calling his creations ¡®them¡¯, it¡¯s more urate to call them ¡®He¡¯.

    ¡°I have to admit that this is indeed a better species than humans. Nichs did create new life, a new race¡­ just like a deity.

    ¡°However, there is a fatal problem with his creation. The person who discovered the problem was the Motherly Moth, in charge of the Truth of ¡®Breeding¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Although these creations can be born only by relying on Sage¡¯s Stone without the need for human flesh and blood, they can reproduce with each other through the normal means of reproduction after being born, as normal as human beings. However, they can¡¯t produce any offspring with human beings.¡± Annan¡¯s pupils dted slightly.

    Annan then realized, ¡°So they became out of control?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Daryl said forthrightly, ¡°If the situation is out of control despite having twelve upright deities overseeing the world, it¡¯s an Epoch Disaster.

    ¡°But it¡¯s actually not too far from the Epoch Disaster. They didn¡¯t run rampant. It wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t, but because we found out in time.

    ¡°The creation is a spiritual consciousness instilled in the human society as a high-ranking substitute for all aspects of human beings which looks the same as humans, but has reproductive istion from humans, and can reproduce as quickly as humans. Undoubtedly, they¡¯re a significant threatpared to the elves and centaurs.

    ¡°That¡¯s how Nichs died and what he¡¯s guilty of.

    ¡°Finally, after his death, all his research and writings were eradicated. All the Hermetic Sage¡¯s Stones were destroyed; all the synths were captured, executed, and burned; their corpses wereid into waste. The Transcended knowing this has their memory cleared. Hence, even if a nightmare is born, there will be no traces of this incident.

    ¡°From the point of view of an alchemist, Nichs is indeed the most extraordinary alchemist in the world, the second Hermes. He truly aplished the great deeds that belonged to the deities as human beings.

    ¡°But he betrayed all mankind for his greatness.¡±

    Daryl said slowly, ¡°That¡¯s why I said if that person is really Nichs, even if he is merely rted¡­

    ¡°Then we¡¯re in big trouble, Your Highness Annan.¡±

 Chapter 348: Stupefied Old Bread Daryl

    <h4>Chapter 348: Stupefied Old Bread Daryl</h4>

    Annanpletely understood what kind of taboo did Nichs mel vite.

    It wasn¡¯t just ethics or moral prudence, nor was it limited to maintaining the authority belonging to the deities or monarchs. Although Nichs challenged his peers, monarchs, and deities simultaneously, the real cause of his death was his betrayal of ¡°humanity¡±.

    If the synths made up their minds to hide, it was almost impossible to seek them out.

    Firstly, there was the ¡°veto¡± power of Silent Lady to abolish the synths¡¯ ability to use Transcended power. Then, the Mysterious Lady¡¯s power of ¡°secret¡± was crucial to cutting off the connection between synths. There was also the element of ¡°luck¡± and ¡°ident¡± in finding out the traces of synths. Deity¡¯s level of ¡°dposition¡± to destroy and ¡°darkness¡± to bury them yed a role in ensuring the total annihtion of ¡°synths¡± so that the false deities wouldn¡¯t find ways to exploit them. Finally, the Bone Burying Grandma would personally validate the synths¡¯ death.

    ¡°Without the help of the deities, we can¡¯t defeat those synths. But in this matter, the deities will help us after all,¡± said Bishop Daryl solemnly.

    None of the twelve upright deities were human or the ¡°Yasns¡± ¡ª the native race of the Oasis.

    The deities didn¡¯t seem to have any reason to act against Nichs in the perspective of maintaining the racial status of the Yasns.

    Instead, it would even be a piece of good news for the upright deities to have a superior race born.

    However, the popes were human beings.

    ¡°At that time, we convened the first ¡®Holy See Council¡¯ of this epoch.¡±

    Bishop Daryl replied, ¡°Twelve popes and thirteen saints were present. The final voting result was 23 to 2.

    ¡°So in the end, the twelve popes and the thirteen saints all appeared.

    ¡°The catastrophe that could bring about the end of the Fifth Age was over in just two days.¡±

    Nichs¡¯s creation offended too many people.

    Anyone with a little sense of reason could realize that human civilization would be reced entirely by the synth as the synthmunity developed further.

    Aside from the false deities, even the upright deities were offended.

    As a creation without a father and mother, they undoubtedly vited ¡°tradition¡±. Their ability for spiritualmunication made them no longer have ¡°secrets¡±, removing the need for ¡°trade¡±, no ¡°war¡±, and no ¡°nobility¡±.

    If synth reced humans, they would offend five upright deities¡¯ interests, especially the Silver Sire and the Red Knight. They were both upright deities with only one realm.

    The demise of the concepts represented the cessation of the Truth. Under normal circumstances, ¡°trade¡± and ¡°war¡± would not die. However, there was an abnormal situation ahead.

    Nichs was not stupid.

    He was the most brilliant alchemist and the synths¡¯ creator. He must have noticed the issue first. He also knew what he was going to face.

    But he still chose to remain silent and even acquiesce to his creations. He just didn¡¯t want to destroy his creations.

    Of course, he did not resist when he was arrested and executed.

    ¡°I see,¡± Annan nodded cautiously, ¡°I fully understand now.

    ¡°You have done nothing wrong. Synth must be eradicated to protect all human beings. This is indeed a disaster that only the upright deities can stop.¡±

    Regardless of the identity of the leader of the Hermetic School in the capital, Annan had to be cautious, no matter if the leader was the real Nichs mel, thest surviving synth, or the sessor of Nichs¡¯ academic and ideological heritage.

    As long as he was not a liar who knew nothing about Nichs¡¯ secrets, then his mere existence was a devastating threat.

    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± Annan was silent for a long time, then spoke to Bishop Daryl, ¡°This is obviously a serious matter, but I can¡¯t go back to the capital just yet.¡±

    Daryl struggled for a moment but sighed, ¡°Neither Nichs nor his partner has seen me. As long as we meet once, he will know that his existence has been exposed.¡±

    ¡°Then, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to Denizoya.¡± Fatty Bishop said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m heading toward Nichs¡¯ cemetery. Not many people know the location of his cemetery. There are few people there, and there will definitely be clues.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a Transcended either. I¡¯m going by boat, and I¡¯ll be there in half a month.

    ¡°Whether he came back to life from the dead or didn¡¯t die at all, or someone moved his body, there must be clues in the cemetery.¡±

    ¡°You are right.¡± Annan nodded slowly.

    This is indeed a solution.

    The capital is dangerous. Grandpa Daryl is mighty, but he isn¡¯t a suitable candidate to be there.

    We have to validate the information at Nichs¡¯ cemetery sooner orter as well.

    At present, Daryl can¡¯t go to the capital. So it¡¯s best to send him over to the cemetery.

    But how do I get Daryl to pass on the information to me as quickly as possible?

    Letter?

    That won¡¯t do. What if the letter is lost?

    Let Silver Sire help spread the word?

    Or get some divine art about it?

    Or else, I shall get a yer to follow Grandpa Daryl and be a moving observer ward?

    Oh ya, divine art¡­

    ¡°Okay, then it¡¯s settled.¡± Annan exhaled, and his tone became more rxed, ¡°I almost forgot what I came here for.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it about what we discussed just now?¡± Daryl was visibly frozen for a moment.

    He looked up in disbelief.

    Annan didn¡¯t know if it was an illusion, but he vaguely saw a trace of fear in Daryl¡¯s eyes shing past.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a troublesome thing this time,¡± Annan exined quickly, ¡°Although it happens to be a troublesome matter every time Ie to you, it¡¯s really not bad news this time.¡±

    ¡°Because the news just now is dire enough.¡± Daryl groaned, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard bad news as dire as this, Your Highness. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be any worse than this, would it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But this time, it¡¯s really good news.¡± Annan finally couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    He reached his right hand forward, palm down.

    Just like when Daryl showed Annan his holy light engraving. The delicate and mystical, shimmering silver rune came from the back of Annan¡¯s hand. It flipped over and emerged into pieces.

    These runes spread upward quickly, covering Annan¡¯s entire right arm, extending to Annan¡¯s right cheek, and even covering the entire right neck.

    In theseplicated silver runes, there was a strange power. It wasn¡¯t much with only one or two runes. However, having so many runes connected, the power turned from water droplets into turbulent tides.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to ask you something. I¡¯ve been lucky recently, and I have just acquired 300 holy light engravings from Silver Sire. Is there any high-end, practical divine art that you can rmend for me to learn?¡±

    Looking at Grandpa Bread, who looked at him motionless as if he had been disconnected from the game, Annan asked modestly and gently.

 Chapter 349: I Go Wherever I Want

    <h4>Chapter 349: I Go Wherever I Want</h4>

    ¡°How did you do this?¡± Daryl looked at Annan in disbelief, ¡°In any case, it is impossible to purify so many nightmares in such a short period!¡±

    ¡°Unless?¡±

    ¡°There is no exception. The mechanism for holy light engravings is strict. Even if you purify the nightmare with the assistance of others, engravings will only be obtained by the person who purifies the nightmare.¡± When Bishop Bread Daryl said this, he suddenly paused.

    He seemed to have realized, ¡°Those are your guards, right?¡±

    ¡°Although I¡¯m not sure if you know, I hold the Book of Truth in my body.¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°One of its abilities is to summon these humanoid creatures from another world. They only exist in the projection mode in this world, and they are immortal. This world is like a game to them, so they call themselves ¡®yers¡¯.

    ¡°Their souls are summoned by the Book of Truth, and their bodies are also made by the Book of Truth¡¯s power. So they are actually part of my Book of Truth ¡ª the nightmares they purify will naturally have the merits counted in me.¡±

    Annan was honest and told all the truth he could tell.

    After all, he was here for advice. It was in his best interest to tell the situation as detailed and truthfully as possible to get reliable and useful advice.

    Given Bishop Daryl¡¯s status, he wouldn¡¯t do anything bad to Annan. After all, Silver Sire was currently on Annan¡¯s side.

    Moreover, Bishop Daryl¡¯s identity was probably not simple.

    It was apparent from the fact that Bishop Daryl knew Annan¡¯s grandfather and Nichs mel. Also, he was at least a hundred years old.

    He even knew of the first Holy See Council of this epoch. Moreover, he knew the entire matter and the location of Nichs¡¯ cemetery without having his memory purged.

    Thus, it was likely that he was a participant of the Holy See Council.

    To be a saint, one not only has to be a Transcended but at least Gold Rank or above.

    However, Bishop Daryl was not a Transcended.

    Then, there was only one answer.

    There was a high probability that Bishop Daryl was once the Silver Sire¡¯s pope or at least the cardinal bishop who had ess to the center of power.

    That was why he could summon Silver Sire.

    But, even if Annan knew that Bishop Daryl¡¯s identity was not simple, he wouldn¡¯t say it out. Since Daryl didn¡¯t tell him directly, then he wouldn¡¯t ask.

    This was the tacit agreement between them.

    ¡°I see.¡± Daryl murmured absentmindedly, ¡°It actually works like that.¡±

    Obviously, the fact that Annan could steadily increase holy light engravings even if he went idle and did nothing was a shock for Daryl.

    Upright deities¡¯ church wasn¡¯t inferior to the false deities. The false deities would grant holy light engravings at will, but the upright deities wouldn¡¯t because they had to consider the fairness of the rules.

    The bishops distributed the rewards of holy light engravings for ¡°doing work for the church¡±.

    As they grew above the ranks of bishop, they didn¡¯t need holy light engravings to strengthen themselves. After all, the Silver Sire¡¯s priest was different from the priest of other deities.

    The clergy of Silver Sire itself ¡°trade¡±, and thus it was given that His priest would spend more silver to buy more potent divine art. This led to the fact that the Silver Sire¡¯s bishop would not need holy light engravings to improve their strength. After all, it was useless to buy divine art without silver coins.

    Conversely, the Silver Sire highly rmended His priests use holy light engravings to ¡°buy¡± services directly from Him.

    In the churches of other upright deities, getting holy light engravings was not so easy. The believers would have to either do a favor to a big shot or do a great deed.

    The hundreds of holy light engravings on Daryl¡¯s body should have been the fruits of him going through dungeon instances one by one.

    For a priest, three to four hundred unused holy light engravings carried the value of a tinum trophy in the games¡¯ achievement system.

    In the face of Annan¡¯s situation, this fat bishop who always smiled no matter what happened lost his smile for the first time.

    Annan gave off an embarrassed and shy smile of the seal meme who only surfaced in chat groups to show off their rare cards in Gacha [1] or loot boxes.

    Daryl sighed helplessly, ¡°You got to tell me what type of divine art you want, Your Highness Annan?¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m good at is mid-to-long range area-of-effect (AoE) controlling ability and mid-to-short range strong single-target control ability. Ick a more effective long-range ability. I prefer a powerful ability that can harm my enemy at such a distance.¡±

    Annan answered clearly, ¡°I n to purchase two divine arts at the top grade. I have about 300 holy light engraving on me. For the rest of the engravings, I want to buy blessings and buffs that take effect forever.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I can buy, so I have to ask your help to get me a list.¡± Before he came to Roseburg to consult Bread Daryl, he had already thought about the purpose of his trip.

    [nging Object] was good divine art, but its power was not enough for now.

    The power of [nging Object] in shooting out a silver coin was roughly equivalent to an ordinary bullet. Moreover, the blow wasn¡¯t piercing, but a shocking attack with its might diffuse on the surface area.

    To put it simply, when a [nging Object] struck a person, it could hardly prate the target but caused bruises and fractures.

    Taking Captain us as an imaginary target, if Annan wanted to damage a Silver Rank Transcended Swordsman, he would need to send out at least 8 to 15 shots.

    It was not that Annan found it to be a loss of money. It was still profitable.

    However, it was inconvenient to carry so many silver coins.

    Silver Sire did not support the service of using gold coins or paper money to unleash divine art instead of silver coins.

    The main problem was that the range of [nging Object] was limited.

    [nging Object]¡¯s range was positively corrted with Annan¡¯s perception. However, even at his current Perception level, he could only hit the target of about fifty meters with this divine art.

    It was too underwhelming.

    Another problem was rted to the Energy Falteration School¡¯s wizardmon issue.

    Annan was short of AoE damage ability.

    The expression of the Old Bread was like that of an African boss who was bitterly thinking about how to assemble the team after finding out a new and cute leopard.

    Old Daryl frowned and thought for a while, then formally suggested to Annan, ¡°Since you¡¯re not short of controlling ability, I will rmend two divine arts, [Silver de] and [Silver ze].

    ¡°[Silver de] is a rtivelymon and practical high-level divine art. It is also the standard divine art of a [Silver Knight]. It requires a silver weapon or a weapon that has been blessed by the [Silver Hand] to utilize it. You will have to sacrifice the weapon and send out the powerful silver sword qi in the next attack or before the blessing effect of the [Silver Hand] is wholly consumed.

    ¡°The most important thing is because this divine art uses your weapon as a medium, then if your swordsmanship is excellent or has special effects, it will also have the same bonuses. The greater your Strength, the greater its power and speed. Your Perception attribute will affect this divine art by enhancing the blessing effect of the [Silver Hand]. You can also consume arge number of silver coins and silver utensils to make a better [Sharp Object] and use it to increase the might of this blow.

    ¡°This art has a devastating might, suitable for a frontal assault too. Its maximum distance is about three times the [nging Object], and it can lock the enemy within its radar. So I think this art is just right.

    ¡°At the same time, this divine art is not expensive for you. You only need 30 engravings to buy it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cheap.¡± Annan was a little tempted.

    It was an ability that could be blessed and buffed in multiple aspects, thus giving it an all-rounded enhancement. Theplementary effect expanded more than a simple addition of 1 +1 = 2.

    Moreover, it was a single-target ability with high enough power that Annan needed.

    ¡°As for [Ritual: Silver ze], it is a divine art that only cardinal bishops could buy because it is so powerful it is almost forbidden. But I think you should have permission to ess it too. Although you are young, I think you are sensible for it.¡±

    Grandpa Daryl¡¯s expression was serious, ¡°This divine art has an overwhelming might, but it¡¯s also costly.

    ¡°At least 500 silver coins are needed to activate it once, and that¡¯s the minimum value. For every 500 coins increment, the power can be increased by one notch, with the limit at five notches of increment.¡±

    ¡°In other words, it takes a maximum of 300 silver coins to activate it once?¡± Annan was a little thrilled to hear it.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Daryl nodded, ¡°If you need to continue maintaining the divine art, you have to continue consuming silver coins.¡±

    ¡°Since you rmend this divine art to me, it must have irreceable advantages,¡± Annanined politely and indirectly.

    But Daryl didn¡¯t seem to hear it and just nodded thoughtfully, ¡°Yes, indeed. Its greatest value lies in its spell casting distance.¡±

    The Old Bread replied calmly, ¡°I strongly rmend you buy it because the original version of this ritual can unleash its might within five kilometers. You can designate an area with a diameter of about 5 meters and a height from 2 meters to 280 meters. Within the cylindrical range, there will be a bombardment of the silver zes that arrived instantly and had an extremely high temperature.

    ¡°This divine art willst for five seconds. The temperature is enough to melt the solid city wall, and it will do extra damage to the living enemy. The metal exposed to the ze set off from the sky will turn into molten silver, instantly destroying the enemy¡¯s armor and weapons. If you keep putting in the same amount of silver, it will maintain that temperature or spread from the sides.¡±

    Daryl continued, ¡°Of course, I rmend you to buy an optimized version of it ¡ª [Daryl¡¯s Silver ze]. After my improvement, it can be safely released within twenty kilometers, and the range has been expanded to a diameter of 13 meters, and positioning is also more urate. It can be released precisely through the [Silver Coin Imprint] and even supports a time counter to cast the spell. Of course, the temperature is also reduced to a certain extent, but the effect of dissolving metal still exists.

    ¡°The original divine art alone costs 200 engravings. As for my improved version, I have a certain authority to give you a discount, and I only charge you 180 engravings. Plus, I will give you the [Silver Coin Imprint] worth 3 engravings for free to you.¡±

    ¡°Wow, there¡¯s a discount?¡± Annan was silent for a long time, then he blurted.

    He always felt that this Bread looked familiar as if he had seen it before soul-crossing to this world. But for a while, he couldn¡¯t remember why it felt familiar.

    Daryl said sternly, ¡°I have already given you a great discount, Little Annan. I think you can also know the meaning of this divine art. Although it requires a lot of silver coins, it ovees the shorings in the difficulties of carrying around so many silver coins because of the increase in spell casting distance.

    ¡°Its power is enough to destroy most enemies. Most importantly, it is almost a sure-fire kill for the Transcended of Gold Rank and Bronze Rank. Although liquid silver can still carry the curse of the Silver Rank Transcended, Gold Rank and Bronze Rank Transcended have to avoid them.

    ¡°Before they find a new vessel, they will keep the curse activated. If the curse¡¯s power is exhausted and a new vessel is not found, their soul will be quickly eroded by the external curse.

    ¡°It¡¯s a simplified ritual that can be activated with 500 silver coins. It can also be used to break the traps of the ancient ruins and forcibly open the metal door. Also, you can use this divine art to transform arge amount of metal into silver, and then you can use it along with the [Silver Hand] art. Isn¡¯t it quite handy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will buy it, I will buy it.¡± The more Annan was told, the more tempted he became, but he still reluctantly responded.

    This was indeed the divine art that Annan needed.

    A divine art for a long-range attack. As a melee magician, what hecked most was the long-range artillery type of spell.

    Although [Daryl¡¯s Silver me Bombing]¡¯s power output had decreased, its versatility had indeed been greatly improved.

    It came with the functionality of time lock and target lock.

    Combined with Annan¡¯s [Frost Arena] spell, he could use it to weaken the enemy¡¯s defense and thus make up for the loss in output power.

    The most valuable part was that this art could also form abo with Annan¡¯s other divine art. If Annan were lucky, he could use the silver produced by this divine art¡¯s metal molting property to replenish the silver coins consumed during spell casting quickly. Although these silvers could only be consumed by the [Silver Hand] art, the ability to utilize the silver coin another time was a profit.

    ¡°As for passive abilities, do you have any ideas on your direction?¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡± Annan answered with great certainty, ¡°I want to be Tanky!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I want to have more resistance to damage! Or, the passive abilities can make me fight more safely, without worrying about sneak attacks, sniping attacks, and the lethal ability that targets me!¡± Annan didn¡¯t want to be an ADC [2] who died suddenly.

    He was a closebat magician. If he became tanky, the enemy would fall into despair.

    Your damage doesn¡¯t hurt me even when it hits. You can¡¯t run away from me when I rush over. If you want to attack my teammate, you can¡¯t get rid of my controlling ability. If you ignore my attack, you will die immediately.

    Annan hoped that he could dere one day that ¡°I, Annan, can go wherever I want¡±.

 Chapter 350: Where Did My Money Go?

    <h4>Chapter 350: Where Did My Money Go?</h4>

    Annan had a fruitful harvest on this trip.

    Besides the three divine arts Daryl rmended, Annan also acquired multiple blessings for himself.

    Under the [Priest] description, it became like this.

    Priest (Silver Sire 0):

    Divine Arts: nging Object, Sharp Object, Eternal Youth, Silver Coin Imprint, Ritual: Daryl¡¯s Silver ze

    Permanent Abilities: Medium Resistance to Fire [remaining validity one year], Silver Muscle [remaining validity six months], Scotopic Vision [Permanent], Cleansing [Permanent]

    Additional Abilities: Robust (Strength+1, Constitution+1), Sturdy Physique (Constitution+3), Flexible Body (Agility+2, Constitution+2)

    As for [Silver de], it was merged into Silver Knight¡¯s profession skill list after consuming Annan¡¯s final avable skill point.

    Annan¡¯s Constitution attribute just soared to 31 points.

    Then, it reached 36 points after counting in [Silver Muscle] bonuses.

    Among the divine arts he purchased, the most expensive was not the ¡°additional abilities¡± that permanently increased his attributes but the diving art [Silver Muscle].

    There were two powerful divine arts that contributed to the Constitution.

    The first option was the [Silver Muscle], and the other was [Clear Body].

    They were allplex and high-level divine arts that only those at the bishop level or above could master.

    ording to the Old Bread, [Silver Muscle] could transform one¡¯s skin into sanctified silver through the ¡®tensing of the muscles¡¯ when suffering piercing or cut, or when the user was attacking.¡±

    On the other hand, the system provided a much more detailed exnation.

    Silver Muscle: Constitution +5 when attacked, Strength +3 when attacking (cannot take ce simultaneously); if ¡°Silver Muscle¡± is activated when attacked, piercing and cutting damage suffered is negated by 30%. You¡¯re immune to lightning damage below Gold Rank.

    Purchasing this divine art alone would cost a whopping 180 engravings.

    Although it was not as expensive as a ritual divine art, renting for half a year would cost 30 engravings.

    Annan thought carefully for a long time.

    During these six months, the yer could earn many holy light engravings.

    It felt like a loss to purchase this ¡°buff¡± type of divine art. He didn¡¯t need to bless the others with this divine art. Also, it would consume a lot of ¡°sanctified silvers¡± ¡ª silver coins that were blessed by those above bishop rank.

    Rather than an outright buyout, it was better to rent it temporarily.

    Since it was a buff, it was utterly rentable.

    Annan alsopared the [Silver Muscle] with the [Clear Body]. Thetter could also increase the Constitution by five points. The advantage would be thorough immunity to negative energy damage below the Gold Rank, and the negative effects imposed would be halved ¡ª such as poisoning, aging, burns, and other effects.

    However, considering that Annan owned the curse [The Last Work: David], the [Clear Body] had a minor benefit on him.

    On the contrary, the [Ritual: Silver ze] could not be rented. It was better off to purchase the divine arts: Silver Muscle, Scotopic Vision, and Cleansing.

    Then, Annan got himself some me damage resistance. After all, neither his body nor marble statue form gave him high heat resistance. Just relying on the cooling of Energy Falteration School alone was difficult to cool down the me spell to an eptable level immediately.

    They said every profession had a specialization. For example, it was difficult for the Silver Sire¡¯s priest to demolish a city wall. But, it was easy for a Destruction Wizard of Silver Rank to bring the entire city into ruin.

    Corrosive Acid, Heat, Explosion, and Earthquake were prominent Destruction spells.

    Annan had to consider the possibility that Nichs could also utilize Destruction spells.

    After the shopping, Annan¡¯sbat power increased by a notch. Even though he was still a new and fresh Silver Rank Transcended, he was confident that to fight against multiple Silver Rank Transcendeds at the same time.

    Annan hadn¡¯t really fought against Gold Rank yet, so he wasn¡¯t too sure.

    If intelligence, physical fitness, lifespan, and talent would all improve by leaps and bounds, like evolution after advancing to Silver Rank¡­

    Gold Rank should have attributes that overwhelm Transcended of a lower ranking.

    For example, the defenses of [Silver Muscle] couldn¡¯t resist the elemental powering from a Gold Rank Transcended.

    Father Flint¡¯s ability system was quite overwhelming for Transcended, who had no elemental power.

    However, with thebo of Silver ze, Silver Hand, Frost Sword, and Silver de, Annan felt that he wasn¡¯t utterly powerless against the Gold Rank now.

    But I¡¯m pretty concerned with my wallet now.

    Needless to say that Old bread was a great salesman, living up to the reputation as the former Silver Sire¡¯s pope. Before Annan could react to what he bought, he had spent all his holy light engravings.

    Moreover, Old Bread also got himself 18 holy light engravings asmissions.

    Such a big sale was a favor. In return, Annan convinced Bishop Daryl to let Lin Yiyi follow him to the Denizoya kingdom for ¡°experience¡±.

    However, the actual goal was to make her a moving observer ward [1]. While she explored the map, she could send intelligence to Annan in time.

    At the same time, Lin Yiyi¡¯s Transcended profession was ¡°Treasure Diamond Ind Guard Knight¡±.

    The full name of the United Kingdom was called Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom. The Treasure Diamond Ind was located in the Fildes Archipgo, not far from Denizoya.

    In other words, there might be clues of Lin Yiyi¡¯s silver rank advancement near Daryl¡¯s destination.

    On Annan¡¯s side, he could take one person with him when he headed to the capital.

    Eugene Geraint left Annan the password in the letter before leaving.

    It was the password to call upon the special intelligence agency ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡±.

    He graned Annan and one of his guards a safe entry to the Noah capital through the special route One-Eyed Crow founded, bypassing the surveince of the city gate directly. However, the group couldn¡¯t be on arge scale, with two people being the best man count.

    Of course, Eugene had never taught of Annaning alone. After all, he was the son of the Grand Duke, the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. Thus, it would be too indecent to travel alone.

    Since Lin Yiyi would be going abroad to expand the map, Annan would choose another yer to apany her from the Child¡¯s party.

    Annan nned to have Dove and Chocte with him.

    Citalopram, Suuankou, and the Child were suited to lurk in the dark. Annan didn¡¯t want to get them involved in the official matters tantly.

    The teambination of Dove and Chocte would be considered 1 slot, and theirbat power wasn¡¯t inferior at all. Dove¡¯s cat body was deceptive, which was convenient to scout for intelligence.

    Annan had contacted One-Eyed Crow to head to Roseburg. He would be departing in about a few days.

    Old Bread won¡¯t be leaving until the day after tomorrow.

    He was going to send someone away with Annan tomorrow.

    It was the first priest that Annan saw after entering this world ¡ª Priest Louis.

    The 1.9-meter tall, muscr young priest with a stunning crimson slicked back hairstyle. He had served the people of Freezing Water Port for many years. After Annan cleaned up [Nightmare: Gallery], his mission at Freezing Water Port finally came to an end.

    Having acquired ample holy light engravings, he was about to return to the capital to be a true ¡°Silver Knight¡±.

    Indeed, Priest Louis was an emissary originating from ¡°the Silver Hand¡±.

    This organization was the ¡°Silver Knight¡± reserve team.

 Chapter 351: Leaving Separately

    <h4>Chapter 351: Leaving Separately</h4>

    ¡°Goodbye then, Your Excellency Don Juan.¡± Priest Louis nodded quietly to Annan.

    He wasn¡¯t particrly excited nor med Annan¡¯s participation which relieved him from an extended duty.

    He just epted the fact calmly and was grateful to Annan.

    ¡°I knew this day woulde,¡± Louis said when Annan came to the door.

    In fact, Louis didn¡¯t expect Annan to clear the nightmare in one go at the very start.

    Annanpleted ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± even without prior experience with it. The only help he had was Louis¡¯s less detailed strategy.

    From that time on, Louis knew that the time he would return to the capital would be much sooner than he anticipated.

    Before Louis came to the Freezing Water Port, he was already prepared to ¡°purify the nightmare at Freezing Water Port until he was 40 years old¡±. Worse still, he expected to die of old age here if he still couldn¡¯t resolve this nightmare by then.

    The church had a ¡°ten rankings¡± to set apart the difficulty of nightmares, and the difficulty came in ascending order from 1 to 10. Moreover, the nightmare¡¯s ranking wasn¡¯t based on the number of avable levels but on ¡°the efficiency and stability of purifying the nightmare with divine arts¡±.

    For a priest, the difficulty of nightmares wouldn¡¯t necessarily match up to his level. Even for priests of different faiths, the difficulty of the same nightmare could vary drastically.

    Bronze Rank¡¯s nightmare could be in the difficulty of the first three levels. Theoretically, Gold Rank¡¯s nightmare would have the difficulty of minimum, Level 7.

    Lewis, for example, once cleaned up a Silver Rank nightmare with a difficulty level of seven.

    He spawned as a Silver Rank Destruction Wizard in prison dedicated to containing Transcended in that nightmare. He wore a straitjacket and a shock-resistant helmet with an eye patch on his head. At the same time, his hands and feet were bound in shackles, his fingernails were stripped and restricted with tight bandages, and his curse vessel was stripped off. Worse still, he even had three batches of guards, each batch on eight-hour shifts, to watch over him.

    The purpose of that nightmare was to kill or subdue at least one guard within eight hours, find and retake his curse vessel, and then escape from the prison.

    This was undoubtedly a nightmare of great difficulty.

    Louis had no idea how to resolve this challenge.

    As he entered that nightmare, he was already chained and tied to a chair by his watcher.

    At the same time, his watcher was ying cards with another watcher and two prisoners.

    All of a sudden, Louis heard the sound of silver coins.

    He immediately used the divine art, [Money Counting]. Even with no vision of the silver coins, he had the coins¡¯ location on the table imprinted in his vision. Then, he received feedback on the specific positions of the four people on the gambling table.

    Then, he immediately activated the [Tax Appraisal], which highlighted the four people. Immediately after, he cast [Tax Levy], and two silver coins on the designated table flew towards him. One of them turned one into a [Sharp Object] and the other into [Silver Light Dust].

    The rest of the battle was over in ten seconds.

    Afterward, Louis held the [Sharp Object] in his right hand and 5 silver coins in his left hand. With enough weapon disposal, he quickly defeated his enemy, reacquired his curse vessel, and fled.

    Although the warden reacted immediately and called upon the ballista, the nightmare was sessfully cleared when Louis rushed out of prison.

    Moreover, it was a solid nightmare purification that cleared off the remaining dungeon entry count in one fell swoop.

    This process took no more than 3 minutes.

    What Lewis was proficient at was this kind of nightmare.

    His greatest strength was that he would always be fearless, calm, and determined.

    In many cases, the priest could not clear the nightmare, not because the nightmare was too hard. After all, the priests had ¡°cheats¡± to assist them. While Transcended power couldn¡¯t be utilized in nightmares, they could borrow the deities¡¯ power directly through holy light engravings.

    It was like getting powerful equipment and a lot of consumables from the advanced yers through mailboxes or face-to-face transactions when a specific function had not yet been released for the new yers.

    In this case, the priest¡¯s failure in clearing the nightmare was most likely not because of the difficulty but simply because of a decision-making error or a simple personal mistake.

    But Louis was different.

    He had always followed his instincts without hesitation, let alone doubt his decision-making.

    When ordinary people saw bulletsing, they would subconsciously think, ¡°do you want to dodge to the left or the right¡± and the oue was that they would stand still in the center. On the other hand, Lewis would dodge in a fixed direction the moment he realized he was being attacked, no matter if it was the optimal choice.

    It was precisely because of this character that Priest Louis would ept this mission.

    Indeed, he wasn¡¯t issued toplete this mission.

    Instead, he took the mission proactively.

    This was a nightmare that had not been purified in 50 years. As long as the dungeon challenger failed, he would lose his memory. Thus, he couldn¡¯t utilize the advantage of a priest to clear the nightmare. As a result, even the Silver Hand¡¯s emissaries hesitated to do this mission.

    Louis was the first and only priest to sign up for it.

    Not because of being hot-blooded, nor because of wanting to be promoted for this merit. When he heard ¡°no one wanted toe¡±, he thought he had the responsibility for it. Thus, he came to Freezing Water Port and then realized that it was a dead end. Still, he didn¡¯t regret his choice. Instead, he stayed in this ce calmly and continued to purify the nightmare while going through his physical training as usual.

    Louis was the true ¡± hero ¡±pared to Annan, who hadpletely lost his ¡°fear¡±.

    That was why he became Salvatore¡¯s friend.

    The senior had a high standard for making friends.

    ¡°Goodbye, Priest Louis. You are a true knight.¡± Annan said softly, ¡°At the next time we meet, I will call you Knight Louis.¡±

    ¡°ording to Silver Knight¡¯s rules, you are now my senior. So just call me Louis.¡± Louis replied earnestly, ¡°I also admire your wisdom and courage. Please be sure to notify me through Silver Sire Church when you arrive in the capital.¡±

    He stood in front of Annan like a massive mountain. Annan could only reach his chest.

    Annan smiled gently and nodded, ¡°I will.¡±

    Louis didn¡¯t look back, turned around, and jogged away with his luggage on his back.

    He still didn¡¯t take the carriage at Freezing Water Port in the end because he was not urgent on time. This happened even much earlier than he had expected. Thus, he decided to start running from the North Sea Territory to exercise and recover his physical fitness and then follow along and help the caravan. He would then slowly take the carriage intermittently to the capital.

    ¡°He¡¯s a good boy.¡± Bishop Daryl appeared silently behind Annan and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that such a character is not popr in the Silver Sire¡¯s Church.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking bad about Silver Sire?¡± Annan chuckled.

    ¡°I¡¯m just seeking truth from the matter. Silver Sire doesn¡¯t care much about His reputation. He only recognizes money and interests. If you are capable, even if you point at His face and scold Him, He would even treat you to a meal provided you have evidence and reasons for it.¡±

    Bishop Daryl continued talking about Silver Sire¡¯s secrets as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal.

    He sighed, ¡°A child like Louis, who is silent and determined, may be more in line with the characters of the Bone Burying Grandma and the Silent Lady.¡±

    ¡°Just like the Venerated Skeleton?¡± Annan replied casually.

    Hearing the name at the Freezing Water Port, Daryl suddenly paused and looked back at Annan.

    Nothing abnormal happened.

    It was only then that he finally reacted that the Gallery Nightmare was purified.

    Old Bread couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s over. I almost forgot.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a problem anymore. When I report this to my superior, no one would be stationed to protect the Freezing Water Port anymore.¡±

    Annan replied casually, ¡°How are you going to leave this ce? I have to let you know in advance that Yiyi is a Transcended. She can¡¯t go abroad directly by boat.¡±

    ¡°Then, I shall go to Treasure Diamond Ind first. We n to take the carriage to the south tomorrow and spend a week to arrive at the South Fort. Then, we will take the subway to the submarine city and then transfer from the submarine city to Treasure Diamond Ind, which will take about a day. After arriving in the United Kingdom, it is much more convenient to travel. We will reach the destination in two or three days. You can alsoplete Miss Yiyi¡¯s advancement on the way.¡± The chubby bishop squinted and replied casually.

    Annan thought about it, ¡°That will be about eleven days?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s round it up to two weeks. I should be able to give you an update by then.¡± Daryl counted the time, ¡°You will be departing within five days. So, when you arrive at the capital, I should still be on the subway or at Treasure Diamond Ind. When you arrive at the capital, settle down safely first and then look for the Paper Princess. After that, I should be able to give you more information in three days.¡±

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s settled.¡± Annan nodded.

 Chapter 352: The Old Man In Prison

    <h4>Chapter 352: The Old Man In Prison</h4>

    ¡°I have taught you everything.¡± The old man sat in the shadows against the wall, and the evening light came in through the fence of the window, illuminating only half of his chin.

    The old man¡¯s hoarse voice sounded much weakerpared to yesterday, ¡°How much do you remember now?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose, who was squatting in the opposite cell, replied respectfully, ¡°I have remembered them all, and I won¡¯t forget them.¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± The old man sneered in a low voice, ¡°I believe you didn¡¯t speak the whole truth.¡±

    His low, hoarse voice was filled with a tant air of death.

    Since the old man¡¯s bowl was broken, Delicious Wind Goose hadn¡¯t seen him say a word in front of the ¡°jailer¡± who delivered the meal.

    On the other hand, after being imprisoned in the dungeon, Delicious Wind Goose was provided with three meals a day. However, the jailer never gave the old man any food or even a single sip of water, making the old man¡¯s voice much weaker.

    It seemed that the old man hade to his limit after surviving for so long.

    Delicious Wind Goose was unable to leave much food for the old man due to being monitored while eating. He could only hide one apple for each meal and throw it over to the old man¡¯s cell after the jailer had left.

    It wasn¡¯t about having more gains.

    Delicious Wind Goose found it unbearable to see another person starving and parched while having his stomach filled, especially the person was his teacher.

    Perhaps this was why the old man taught the Delicious Wind Goose about ritual knowledge.

    The old man obviously despised Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s poor aptitude.

    Still, Delicious Wind Goose also knew in his heart that what the old man said was true.

    Half of his words were indeed false.

    The old man had given him a total of 26 rituals of different scales and a lot of ult knowledge. Except for a few rituals that were rtively simple, the rest were quiteplex.

    If it was a yer with scientific research experience, he might be able to understand them.

    Delicious Wind Goose felt these rituals were like high school¡¯s and college¡¯s physics and chemistry experiments. He had written down the steps, but he couldn¡¯t duplicate them fully if he were to perform them hands-on.

    Worse still, the knowledge he got had no picture as guidance, unlike the textbook.

    The old man would erase and paint a new ritual formation on the ground every 40 minutes on average. No one could have remembered them.

    Fortunately, he had the screenshot function.

    Indeed, Delicious Wind Goose captured all the ritual steps through screenshots.

    When the time came, he just had to follow it step by step.

    Moreover, the systembeled ritual knowledge as ¡°ult knowledge¡±. When Delicious Wind Goose sent this knowledge to the forum, the system would notify him that he hadpleted the weekly mission of [Secret Eye].

    By just submitting this knowledge to the Secret Eye¡¯s database, Old Goose had earned a couple of experiences.

    Delicious Wind Goose then followed through with this tedious task immediately.

    These rituals were divided into different levels ording to difficulty and importance. After the yer raises the prestige level in the [Secret Eye] faction to the corresponding level, they could check up on all the knowledge and information to their level with keywords at any time.

    It was much faster than browsing one picture at a time.

    As for the price, they could not release the pictures and content here through forum channels.

    Of course, the yers could still memorize, copy, and trade the knowledge offline. However, that would require them to spend time and master that knowledge first before teaching others. This rule applied simply because the knowledge could be passed to the others verbatim in Mist Continent, provided the sharer had already attained mastery on it.

    Still, it was impossible to record the knowledge on paper.

    This was one of the core rules of this world.

    Knowledge contains power. ult knowledge couldn¡¯t be recorded by ordinary people, ordinary words, and ordinary paper. If one were to write them down on paper, the paper would burn on its own; if the knowledge were carved on a wooden sign, the wooden sign would rot.

    The reason was that power also meant ¡°curse¡±.

    Mortal objects could not bear this level of curse.

    For example, at the moment when the old man used the fragments of the bowl to draw a magic circle on the ground, the temperature in the cell dropped significantly. There were also magic circles that made the surrounding ground freeze and some magic circles that made the ground seep out blood on the surface.

    Undoubtedly, the old man did not possess any Transcended power. But the mere fact that knowledge itself was pletely fixed in the material world¡± was enough to change reality.

    Delicious Wind Goose was self-aware. He might not be able to remember or understand the knowledge. Taking a step back, he was satisfied as long as the knowledge could be useful.

    Unexpectedly, as the uploader of the knowledge, he gained ample experience and the right to utilize the uploaded knowledge at any time. In another sense, he had already learned it.

    Unfortunately, he wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize the knowledge fully.

    ¡°Fine.¡± The old man sighed deeply after the silence.

    He reluctantly wrote something on the ground with the fragments of a bowl.

    Delicious Wind Goose didn¡¯t quite see what was carved on the ground. However, he was keenly aware that the ground beneath him shook slightly.

    Soon, the ground in front of the old man suddenly wriggled.

    Like a living creature, the ground returned to its original form.

    Not a single scratch, frost traces, nor scorch mark remained.

    There were just a few lines of text.

    It urred that the old man could use his knowledge to escape if he wanted to.

    Not to mention some rituals couldn¡¯t be taught in this circumstance at all, the old man never gave this brief ritual thatmanded the earth to erase traces of Delicious Wind Goose.

    The old man must have hidden some of his true power.

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Since you have the power, why didn¡¯t you escape?¡±

    ¡°Why should I?¡± The old man asked back.

    Delicious Wind Goose was stunned.

    He didn¡¯t know how to answer for a while.

    Seeing this, the old manughed out loud.

    It wasn¡¯t the previous sneer but a kind and gentle chuckle like the old grandfather neighbor, ¡°You are a good boy, but you are too stupid.

    ¡°You just learn what I taught you. Aren¡¯t you afraid that the knowledge I give you is poisonous?¡±

    ¡°Huh, knowledge can be poisonous?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural.¡± The old man replied calmly, ¡°When some knowledge is written on the stone tablet, its power is enough to eradicate a city. Yes, the secret message I wrote on the ground can evenmand the earth. But why do you think that your brain can be harder than a rock, and your body is sturdier than the earth?

    ¡°Forget it. I won¡¯t scare you any further. In the knowledge I gave you, there is indeed no poison in them.¡± The old man said, raising his head slightly.

    The light originally shone on the old man¡¯s chin, but now it had reached Adam¡¯s apple. As he spoke, the sharp Adam¡¯s apple slid up and down, ¡°My life hase to an end.

    ¡°Some grand rituals consume life, and life is the best fuel.¡± The old man replied calmly, ¡°You will meet such a day too.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What the hell put you in this prison?¡±

    ¡°What put me in this prison?¡± The old man sneered nonchntly and replied in a low voice, ¡°Everything.¡±

    He obviously did not intend to continue answering this question.

    Silence temporarily shrouded the small, dimly lit dungeon.

    In the end, it was neither Delicious Wind Goose nor the old man who broke the silence.

    At this moment, the clicking sound of the ck iron key intruded.

    There were three doors to enter this ce; each had to be opened with different keys.

    us Cass held a set of keys in his right hand, and his long sword was in the silver scabbard hung on his waist.

    ¡°Have you thought it through?¡± He stopped at the door and looked at Delicious Wind Goose. Then, he asked, ¡°Did you have a good time in the same room with the dead person for three days and two nights?¡±

    Dead person? Delicious Wind Goose was startled.

    He looked up at the cell opposite him.

    Sitting against the wall was the corpse of an old man that had begun to rot. Next to the broken bowl, five apples with different degrees of rot were built into a small pyramid shape and ced stably in the corner of the wall.

    The brilliance of the setting sun was spreading on his neck, the sharp Adam¡¯s apple protruding upwards, motionless.

    What did I see and hear previously?

 Chapter 353: The Man Of Thousand Faces

    <h4>Chapter 353: The Man Of Thousand Faces</h4>

    ¡°¡­¡± Delicious Wind Goose observed the old man who had been dead for many days.

    The dead body was as thin as a rake, but his abdomen was slightly bulged.

    It was cold and underground, so the Goose didn¡¯t hear the humming of the flies. He could still see grayish-white moths covering the old man¡¯s face.

    Delicious Wind Goose felt like something was clogging up his throat.

    Is that sadness? Or fear?

    Without thinking too much, he turned around as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°Yes, I have made up my mind. I don¡¯t need to waste my time here.¡± He turned his head and replied respectfully and humbly to us, ¡°I will tell you whatever you want to know.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± us nodded slightly in satisfaction.

    There was still vignce in his eyes.

    While standing outside the cell, us asked, ¡°What do you know?¡±

    ¡°Don Juan Geraint at the Freezing Water Port, who is also our feudal lord, is an impersonator.¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied quickly, ¡°This is what the Roseburg¡¯s Viscount said personally.¡±

    ¡°Alvin Barber?¡± us frowned slightly and called the dead man by the name, ¡°What did he say?¡±

    ¡°He addressed ¡®Don Juan¡¯ as ¡®His Royal Highness Annan¡¯.¡± Delicious Wind Goose lowered his voice and replied seriously, ¡°I have investigated¡­ There is only one Annan in my knowledge.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen Don Juan Geraint incarnating the [Frost Sword]. I¡¯m a [Swordmaster] myself, and I certainly recognize that it¡¯s definitely the [Frost Sword] without a doubt. I don¡¯t have any further proof, but I think that¡¯s enough to prove that ¡®Don Juan¡¯ is actually ¡®Annan Austere-Winter¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Annan Austere-Winter.¡± us frowned slightly and murmured in a low voice, ¡°No wonder¡­ Well, that exins a lot.¡±

    He was silent for a while, then raised his head and said seriously, ¡°Are you serious with what you have imed?¡±

    ¡°Look for an Edict Wizard. I can swear upon what I have said.¡± Delicious Wind Goose answered with certainty, ¡°That¡¯s because I have no reason to lie.¡±

    Although he hadn¡¯t seen it, he knew that Viscount Alvin must have called Annan ¡°His Royal Highness¡±, and the viscount knew Annan¡¯s true identity; he also saw Annan using the [Frost Sword] with his own eyes. Even if an Edict Wizard came to verify, he wouldn¡¯t change his statement.

    us frowned slightly after sensing the confidenceing from Delicious Wind Goose. Then, he was also a little hesitant.

    ¡°You are quite forthright. Why didn¡¯t you say that previously?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to say it.¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied calmly, ¡°To tell you the truth, I want to sell this piece of information for a higher price. While you made me wait, isn¡¯t that what I¡¯m doing too? After all, this information has no value for me, but it may influence the decision of His Royal Highness Philip.

    ¡°His Highness Annan isn¡¯t the real ¡®Don Juan Geraint¡¯ after all, and he¡¯s an Austerian. I¡¯m the Noah Kingdom¡¯s Transcended. My loyalty to him has no value. If it isn¡¯t the circumstances, I will not serve him.¡±

    That¡¯s true. us nodded involuntarily.

    He is right.

    If Annan¡¯s identity was exposed, Delicious Wind Goose could not safely leave the Noah Kingdom.

    The only way for Transcended to cross the border was through the Papal Kingdom¡¯s steam airship or underground railway.

    This meant that even if the Old Goose served Annan and dedicated all his loyalty, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for him to move along when Annanpleted his secret mission and evacuated. Worse still, if Annan were exposed, the Old Goose would be wanted.

    A wanted Transcended wouldn¡¯t be able to leave Noah by any means. Even if the authorities did not hunt him down, he had to be on guard against [Hunters] while staying low in the country.

    On the other hand, His Royal Highness Philip was one of the few royal heirs who offered much more perks as the boss. If he bes the new king, the followers would soar in their careers. Taking a step back, even if His Highness Philip failed, the followers would still be recruited by the new king as long as the candidates were in Silver Rank or Gold Rank.

    Once Old Goose surrendered his loyalty, he would receive better treatment than before.

    us couldn¡¯t help but give Delicious Wind Goose a second nce.

    us knew already this prisoner was quick-witted. After this talk, he found the captive simply too bright and possibly thought of the entire narration before being captured.

    Smart people would tend to advance in rank just because they could resolve nightmares more quickly and perfectly.

    In us¡¯ interpretation, smart people liked to y petty tricks and made themselves appear more intelligent than they actually were.

    Delicious Wind Goose made no secret of his ns. He even told us his ns directly.

    He knew the value of his intel and his worth to His Highness Philip as a calm andposed young Transcended. So even if he was left hanging by himself for two days, he didn¡¯t have the slightest fear. Then, he told us the critical information directly, and he didn¡¯t worry that us would kill him.

    Delicious Wind Goose knew that he wouldn¡¯t die here.

    He could guess that us must have already reported this information to His Royal Highness Philip. No matter what he said, us could not kill him or even interrogate him through violent means.

    Otherwise, us would be under suspicion.

    That was why us was standing at the cell door in the first ce, keeping a distance from Delicious Wind Goose.

    He was worried that the Delicious Wind Goose would suddenly attack and subdue him. Never mind the hatred, the injury alone might make His Highness Philip doubt him.

    Of course, the argument above came with the premise that Delicious Wind Goose was a Noah people.

    ¡°I take your word for it.¡± us¡¯s tone softened a lot, ¡°You are brilliant. This is going really well. After you join us, it will surely reduce a lot of troubles for His Royal Highness Philip.¡±

    ¡°Does your Highness Philip not have an advisor?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is, but not everything can be said to advisors. Ordinary people¡¯s brains are not fortified, and they don¡¯t even have the right to know about slightly deeper secrets.¡±

    us approached Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s cell, opened the door, supported the Goose from the ground, and flicked away the dust for the Goose.

    us said earnestly, ¡°You may be our colleague in the future. But for the sake of safety, I can¡¯t return your curse vessel to you for the time being. After all, His Royal Highness Philip still has to verify your intel and capability personally, but I think you will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for your kind words, senior.¡± Delicious Wind Goose responded politely.

    After Old Goose walked out of the cell, he casually nced at the cell next door and asked, ¡°Speaking of which, who is this old man? I don¡¯t think this is an ordinary prison, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Don¡¯t look at the fact that there are only two cells here. There are barriers here. If someone tries to break through the wall to escape, they will be killed by the electric current. The prisoners here are all Transcended¡­ Oh, the old man is not.¡±

    It was no secret, so us replied quickly, ¡°He¡¯s a ritualist.¡±

    ¡°Ritualist? What crime did hemit?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose asked, ¡°Can you tell me? I¡¯m a little curious.¡±

    It was expected to be a little curious after seeing his body for several days.

    us nodded and exined, ¡°Actually, he doesn¡¯t seem to havemitted a crime.¡±

    ¡°No crime?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he was sent here by the patrols. ording to the statute, a ritualist can be arrested withoutmitting a crime because they possess the knowledge of danger. Someone owning a weapon can be disarmed, but what if they possess dangerous knowledge?¡±

    us shrugged, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to have your knowledge cleared up, the only option is to be jailed. Of course, the Soul Snatch wizard also requires money. Usually, when they are locked up, food and drink are adequately served.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll need to recruit a ritualist in prison one day.¡±

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t dispose of the body.¡± Delicious Wind Goose had a thoughtful expression on his face, ¡°Is it to cause psychological pressure on me?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not it.¡±

    us couldn¡¯t help butugh and then replied casually, ¡°I only noticed that he was dead when I interrogated you that day. In my mind, I was going to dispose of his body when I went out, but I have too many things to remember. After I went out, I just forgot. It wasn¡¯t intentional.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think so too.¡± Delicious Wind Goose smiled, ¡°This wouldn¡¯t scare off anyone.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯re all Transcended and not mortals. Who hasn¡¯t killed a few people? Putting a corpse here is nothing but putting people in disgust only.¡± us responded casually.

    Delicious Wind Goose nced at the old man¡¯s body.

    I always feel like something is wrong.

    Did I forget something?

    As a Transcended of Silver Rank, Old Goose had undergone growth. His memory and logical thinking ability were utterly different from the mortal stage.

    Would he easily forget something?

    Or perhaps someone had altered his thinking?

    This old man knew so much about the ritual. Even if he was imprisoned, he shouldn¡¯t be imprisoned here, right? Why wasn¡¯t there any traces of torture?

    Why didn¡¯t us realize something was wrong here even after Old Goose hinted at it?

    Did he not see the five apples? What about the bowl? Why didn¡¯t the delivery man see the old man but didn¡¯t drag the body away?

    It didn¡¯t look natural either way.

    Delicious Wind Goose took a deep look at the old man¡¯s corpse, then turned and left.

    Shortly after he left, the old man who had been dead for a long time and had rotted moved slightly and calmly opened his eyes.

    ¡°¡­Well.¡± He reached out and picked up the top apple that was still fresh, took a bite, and chewed slowly.

    After eating the apple, the old man got up.

    The traces of death disappeared. His face melted silently, turned into another person in the blink of an eye, and changed again. It then shriveled, and the thin body became plump again.

    His face was still changing, and he muttered, ¡°Annan? When did hee to Noah?

    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I notified via letters?¡±

 Chapter 354: Three-eyed Crow

    <h4>Chapter 354: Three-eyed Crow</h4>

    ¡°We have arrived.¡± The low and respectful voice outside the carriage made Annan open his eyes silently from his drowsy mood.

    He was the only one on the carriage, neither Kafni nor the cat was here with him.

    I¡¯m here already.

    Annan never thought that he had journeyed so fast that he arrived one day earlier than he had expected.

    It wasn¡¯t like the horse darted fast, or they took a secret shortcut. The main reason was that they didn¡¯t take a break at all.

    There would be the recement of new horses and new coachmen at every city and station. Only the man who was guarding Annan¡¯s side, wearing a crow mask and staying outside the carriage the entire time, wasn¡¯t swapped away.

    Annan didn¡¯t even leave the carriage because the person in the crow mask took care of his daily needs. Moreover, the person in the ¡°carriage covered with ck cloth¡± was not allowed to leave.

    The soft yet heavy ck cloth had a texture simr to coral fleece.

    The ck cloth had countless ¡°eyeballs¡± patterns printed. Staring at it would invoke a dizzy feeling when the carriage moved. Even when the carriage was still, it felt like the eyes were staring at the surroundings from all directions. It was a mystical cloth indeed.

    Ordinary people couldn¡¯t stare at the carriage covered with this ck cloth. It had high resistance against Prophet spells. No Prophet wizards could easily make out what was covered inside the fabric.

    Other Transcendeds with strong perceptions would immediately avoid such a carriage. Not only would they never attack, but they would not even dare to look at the carriage as well.

    The cloth symbolized that the ¡°Three-eyed Crow was delivering intelligence for His Majesty the King¡±.

    Every open eye on the ck cloth was quite different. Behind the eye pattern embroidered on the ck cloth was connected with the ¡°Three-eyed Crow¡¯s¡± vision.

    Aside from the two eyes embroidered on the cloth, a movable ¡°camera¡±plimented the pattern, making it the ¡°Three-eyed Crow¡±.

    The kingdom¡¯s intelligence agency didn¡¯t need to scatter their forces all over Noah¡¯s territory but still monitor the country quietly and closely.

    These eyes weren¡¯t only found on the ck cloth of the carriage. Some were embroidered on the neckline, cuffs of someone¡¯s clothes, the backs of the hands, foreheads, etc.

    Through a simple ritual, the host could control the opening and closing of the eye pattern. Even though only one eye could be activated at one time, the Three-eyed Crow allowed them to monitor arge area of ??territory by rapidly switching the monitoring vision.

    Attacking and monitoring the carriage covered with ck cloth was the same as trying to steal and rob while there were police a few meters away and watching.

    ¡°The carriage is quite high. Please mind your steps.¡± When Annan got off the carriage, the man in the crow mask said respectfully, reaching out to support Annan.

    The carriage that was more than half a meter high was indeed challenging to get off.

    Still, Annan was not a soft and feeble young noble.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t push the man away. Instead, he leaned his weight toward the man and carefullynded on the ground with the man¡¯s support.

    Then, Annan nodded with a slight smile, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°This is my mission.¡± The young man wearing the crow mask immediately took a half step back, bowed back to Annan, and replied in a deep voice.

    Of course, he was well aware that Annan respected him.

    He had already brought Annan over, and this act was to show kindness to Annan.

    If Annan didn¡¯t ept his kindness, Annan would push away his hand and get off; if Annan were politely keeping a distance, Annan would not borrow his support but only hold his hand as an act.

    Of course, the officials knew that Annan was Transcended and couldn¡¯t possibly fall. At the same time, it was a rude gesture to have an unknown male servant who hid his face to give support to an unfamiliar son of the Grand Duke.

    In fact, this was just a simple test.

    Annan quickly discovered the Crow¡¯s intentions and made a friendly response.

    The hidden line was I need your help.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t speak it out, his eyes said so.

    ¡°Pleasee in with me.¡± The man with the crow mask nodded and replied in a low voice.

    Annan quietly followed behind the young man while looking around at his surroundings.

    After leaving the carriage, he felt a wet, cold wind blowing across his cheeks.

    It was different from the Freezing Water Port.

    Annan sighed silently.

    It was slightly different from what was agreed with Silver Sire before.

    Annan didn¡¯t wait until the spring hunting season to enter the capital. In other words, the Rotten Man believers had not yet been weeded out.

    That said, it was still winter.

    However, the Noah Kingdom in winter was not cold.

    The weather was different from the Freezing Water Port and Roseburg. Although the Noah Kingdom was cloudy all the year-round, the temperature was generally around 6¡æ, even during the Noah Kingdom¡¯s January night and early morning.

    For Annan, it wasn¡¯t cold at all.

    However, the chill made him turn his shoulders and neck with some difort.

    Even if a ¡°bed¡± was provided on the carriage, sitting there for more than a day would make Annan a little sore.

    The Geraint family¡¯s mansion wasn¡¯t too big.

    Perhaps it was because every inch ofnd and money in the capital was limited. The Geraint family¡¯s mansion was simr in size to the viscount¡¯s mansion in Roseburg.

    No matter the design or the decoration, the Geraint family¡¯s mansion was distinct.

    Also, Annan nced at the edge of the courtyard.

    This was the first time he had seen such a heavily guarded noble¡¯s courtyard.

    From the watchtower alone, Annan saw six guard posts. Outside the courtyard, there was a thick, sound-proofed marble wall. The guards were armed with guns. Annan saw more than 300 guards at first nce from his angle.

    These guards exuded a different air from those recruited at Roseburg.

    Even the soldiers on the Roseburg side did not seem as disciplined as the ¡°guards¡± of the Geraint family.

    The forces garrisoned here were expressionless and stern, seemingly a recognition of the Geraint family.

    Annan was currently in the backyard.

    Behind him was a massive fountain apanied by statues three or four meters high on both sides.

    Below each statue was a stele made of ck jade. It was engraved with the name, family, and achievements of the statue¡¯s owner.

    Even though this was Geraint¡¯s backyard, most of these statues were not from the Geraint family.

    The person standing at the door to greet Annan was a young man about 1.78 meters tall, with a shapely body, ck hair, and ck eyes.

    He had an ordinary look but had a straight stature. He didn¡¯t hunch even a slight, giving off a sense of reliability.

    Annan could see that this young man was somewhat simr to Don Juan at first nce.

    When the young man saw Annan¡¯s face, he was slightly startled, especially when he saw Annan¡¯s blue-green pupils; he was even a little lost in thoughts.

    But he reacted quickly and offered Annan his hand politely, ¡°Wee, Your Highness Annan.¡±

    The man spoke in a calm and charismatic voice, ¡°May I introduce myself¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m Eugene Geraint.¡±

 Chapter 355: Nolan Geraint

    <h4>Chapter 355: Nn Geraint</h4>

    Is he Eugene Geraint?

    Don Juan¡¯s second brother?

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but nce at the man one more time.

    But he still couldn¡¯t see what was different about this man.

    He was just in in a scary way.

    In fact, he was so ¡°ordinary¡± that it was almost magical.

    Annan nced over and couldn¡¯t even remember any special features. After Annan looked away, he felt that the face of ¡°Eugene¡± in his memory quickly became blurred.

    ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± Eugene quickly realized something, apologized to Annan, and invited him to the pce behind him.

    It didn¡¯t seem like Eugene did anything but Annan suddenly remembered what Eugene looked like.

    He didn¡¯t say much, just nced back at the courtyard and followed Eugene into the house.

    Although the count¡¯s mansion was not massive, the courtyard was terrifyinglyrge. The promenade with many marble statues spanned hundreds of meters long, and the diameter of the fountain was more than forty meters. It felt almost like an artificialke.

    The internal structure of the count¡¯s mansion surprised Annan even more.

    Pushing open the gate leading to the mansion in the backyard, what entered Annan¡¯s eyes was a long corridor more than 10 meters high, 10 meters wide, and about 70 meters long.

    It wasn¡¯t the tiles that filled up the walls on both sides of this corridor but mirrors.

    Less than 1?10 of the wall was upied by the standard mirror. Otherwise, the mirror would be in different colors, including dark blue, red, purple, and yellow, all of which at different angles. It wasn¡¯t a t surface, but there were some protrusions here and there.

    The size, color, andyout of these ¡°surfaces¡± looked natural. At first nce, Annan found them to resemble the colored stained ss of a church. However, the sses didn¡¯t form any image but merely the refraction of light that sent out multiple colors of light.

    There was a pure gold chandelier just above the gallery of mirrors with lighted white incense candles installed on it.

    The gentle light was refracted by countless ss pieces with different reflectivity and transparency, giving the mirrored corridor a brilliant and dreamy brilliance.

    The rainbow here was like a fog. It was visible and reachable.

    Even Annan couldn¡¯t help but be in awe when he saw this scene.

    ¡°Without a doubt, this is truly an art.¡± Annan eximed, ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡±

    Eugene just shrugged and said indifferently, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s indeed quite shocking at the first encounter. You may feel dizzy after watching it for a long time.

    ¡°Compared to this, I think your beauty shocked me further, Your Highness.¡±

    Eugene respectfully and politely praised, ¡°Although I have heard that Your Highness Annan and Her Excellency ¡®the Daughter of the Storm¡¯ looked the same during childhood. I was still surprised when I first saw you¡ªwhat an outstanding appearance.

    ¡°How on earth do you imitate my younger brother? His appearance is much more ordinary than yours. Except for the same ck hair and blue eyes, you both are two different people.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s easy to reveal my ws.¡± Annanmented jokingly, ¡°Those I want to deceive can see through my disguise; I can only deceive those who ¡®tell another lie and still be deceived¡¯. What can I say? This is the worst disguise ever.¡±

    ¡°Not really. In fact, not many people know Don Juan or have seen you. It¡¯s just a coincidence.¡± Eugene turned around and exined to Annan seriously, ¡°For most people, ck hair and blue eyes are the unique characteristics of Don Juan.

    ¡°After all, this is not the United Kingdom. In ces where the portrait isn¡¯t popted much, hair color and eye color, plus scars and fancy clothes, are all the characteristics to recognize a person. There is no need to be the same as others, as long as you have gone through the important traits. Even if two people have different heights, weights, and appearances, it is not too difficult to disguise as another person.¡±

    ¡°Oh, those aren¡¯t really my expertise, unfortunately.¡± Annan smiled and replied humbly.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t the bald head who could disguise as anyone after swapping clothes. [TN: Hitman reference.]

    It appeared as if Annan¡¯s looks had greatly improved his rapport with Eugene. Eugene had been chatting with Annan leisurely for the rest of the journey. It was a casual chat, so Annan was also cooperative in talking to Eugene.

    Annan¡¯s iparable acting skills and the ttering replies of ¡°Ah, it¡¯s amazing¡± and ¡°Is there such a saying?¡± made his rapport points build up even further with Eugene.

    Then, Annan quickly noticed something.

    Eugene gave Annan a different feeling than the other Geraint brothers.

    Eugene didn¡¯t have the cunning and decisiveness of Ferdinand Geraint nor the academic rigor and timidity of Don Juan Geraint.

    Instead, he gave off the vibe of a ¡°politician¡± to Annan.

    There could be a possibility that Annan wasn¡¯t building a good rapport with Eugene, but Eugene made him think that their rtionship had improved.

    Annan¡¯s acting skills were outstanding, and he had a considerable understanding of the minds of others. Still, he felt that the smile on Eugene¡¯s face was indeed sincere and happy.

    Annan felt that Eugene spoke to him with sincerity and from the bottom of his heart.

    In a short time, Annan became ¡°friends¡± with Eugene.

    As Annan improved his rapport with Eugene, Eugene also made himself appear more trustable to Annan.

    In other words, Eugene seemed to have ways to connect with others easily, gain their trust, and build a good rapport.

    These three sons of Old Crow seemed talented.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but be in awe.

    After walking through the corridor filled with sses, the surroundings became normal. Of course, this normal was more of a rtive interpretation. The luxurious decoration at the caliber of the Pce of Versailles [1] made Annan wonder if the count¡¯s mansion was part of Noah¡¯s pce.

    Even Noah¡¯s pce, which Annan saw in his nightmare, was far less artistic than the count¡¯s mansion.

    The ce was more ornately decorated than the pce.

    What is the situation with your residence?

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Annan asked.

    Eugene answered at once, ¡°To see my father. He is expecting you personally.¡±

    ¡°Master Geraint¡­¡± Annan muttered.

    Annan showed no signs of timidity nor hesitation after being about to meet the wise man who secretly controlled all the secrets of a kingdom.

    ¡°You can also call me ¡®Old Crow¡¯ like them, Your Highness.¡± A gentle voice came from Annan¡¯s side.

    An old man with an ordinary face, figure, and voice said happily, ¡°I actually like this title.¡±

    When did he arrive?! Annan was caught in surprise.

    ¡°Greetings, Lord Geraint.¡± Annan raised his brows and politely greeted the old man, ¡°I¡¯m Annan¡¤Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°Nn Geraint.¡± The old man reached out and shook hands with Annan.

    Annan felt the warm and steady grip from the old man¡¯s palm, realizing that this old man was far more robust and vigorous than he seemed.

    He didn¡¯t even notice when the Old Crow approached him.

    If Nn wanted to assassinate him, he would be dead by now.

    Is this the capability of the kingdom¡¯s top agent?

    But when Annan looked at the old man¡¯s face, he was startled.

    He had seen the old man¡¯s face before.

    It was the ¡°passionate local old man passing by¡± who gave Delicious Wind Goose a newspaper that day!

 Chapter 356: Counter Checkmate

    <h4>Chapter 356: Counter Checkmate</h4>

    I see. Annan nced at the smiling and kind old man thoughtfully.

    Long before Delicious Wind Goose came to the capital city, Nn knew where and who he came from.

    ¡°As expected of the legendary Three-eyed Crow.¡± Annan sincerely praised, ¡°I don¡¯t even know where the ¡®eyes¡¯ are hidden.¡±

    They must have seen Delicious Wind Goose talking to Annan at Freezing Water Port or Roseburg. When Delicious Wind Goose entered the city with the help of the caravan, he was also under the surveince of a Three-eyed Crow.

    Any graffiti with an eye pattern might be a surveince camera set up by the Noah Kingdom¡¯s secret intelligence agency ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡±.

    It was even possible for the Three-eyed Crows to use ordinary paints without curse properties to cover up the graffiti and turn it into another pattern as a disguise.

    The eye pattern would still function if the strokes were not cut off or covered.

    Conversely, the surveince would cease to function once the pattern was severed.

    In other words, the eyes were ¡°a surveince system that failed as soon as it was discovered¡±.

    But even so, Annan still didn¡¯t realize where Delicious Wind Goose was exposed.

    What an advanced approach.

    The ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡± deeply understood the truth. As long as the spy was not in contact with the target from beginning to end, the spy would never be exposed.

    They only need to draw patterns on the hem of the clothes of passers-by, the corners of unnoticed walls, or even the leaves of a certain tree, and they could continuously monitor an area. These tasks could be arranged ¡°before the target had reached the ce¡±.

    This was equivalent to a spy camera with indefinite use.

    The first person to create this kind of intelligence system was truly a genius.

    In the face of Annan¡¯sments, neither Nn nor Eugene rxed.

    They even respected Annan¡¯s tone even more.

    ¡°As a fourteen-year-old Silver Rank Transcended who has never gone through intelligence study, the little crow in charge of installing the ¡®eyes¡¯ has to be punished if you manage to seek those ¡®eyes¡¯ out.¡±The old man replied gently.

    Hearing this, Annan was surprised.

    He finally knew why the Geraint family was so polite to him.

    Although he was the son of the Grand Duke, he was not a Noah civilian after all.

    What the Crows cared about was his rank advancement speed.

    They were probably the only ones who knew that it took Annan only over a month since he ever set foot on the transcendent path to reach Silver Rank; they were also the very few who knew that he held the Book of Divine Transporter.

    For them, Annan wasn¡¯t just ¡°the heir of the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡±, but ¡°the future subordinate deity of the Old Grandmother¡±.

    At the same time¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid part of the reason is because of this outfit.¡± Annan chuckled.

    He raised his sleeves and wiped his eyes.

    When Annan raised his eyes again, there was a silver spider web pattern looming at the bottom of his pupils.

    He was wearing the [Silver Sire¡¯s Favourite].

    The silver robe, like a silk nightgown, was soft in texture.

    The texture of the other clothing in this era was not enough to satisfy Annan.

    However, this robe from Silver Sire wasfortable.

    The robe was befitting of any weather, no matter walking against the cold winter wind or as pajamas with an extrayer of quilt on the bed.

    After Annan acquired the skill of self-cleaning, he never took off the robe.

    The robe was apparently of little use in Roseburg.

    However, any bishop of the deities could recognize the origin of this suit in the royal capital.

    Given by Silver Sire himself, it was the proof of an upright deity¡¯s adoration just like its name, ¡°Silver Sire¡¯s Favourite¡±.

    Unexpectedly, the Crow family recognized this robe.

    ¡°Yup, you¡¯re right.¡± Nn nodded gently, ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m actually a cardinal of a certain deity. I already knew that Silver Sire adores you. It will be smooth sailing on your path to bing a deity.

    ¡°So, there¡¯s no need for you to hide Her Royal Highness Princess Kafni in Roseburg.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Annan was silent for a moment.

    Nn was right.

    Previously, the Geraint family said that ¡°two people would be allowed to enter the capital together¡±. At first, Annan thought that this was a ce reserved for his guard, and he also nned to let Dove and Chocte go with him.

    But Kafni came after him.

    Only then did Annan realize that ¡°the two people¡± in Geraint¡¯s message were referring to himself and Kafni.

    In other words, the two of them were summoned to the capital without any guards.

    Annan subconsciously grew more vignt upon the realization.

    Although this was Eugene¡¯s message to Annan in the letter, he would tell Kafni about it directly if she were to ask.

    It was not a secret after all.

    The Crow was only subordinate to the crow. The new king was not yet on the throne, which meant that anyone could be the new king. They would not be biased toward any party and thus unwilling to offend any party.

    So for Kafni, no matter what she asked Eugene, she would get a reply from him. Even if he couldn¡¯t say it, he would directly tell Kafni that ¡°this matter couldn¡¯t be said¡±.

    Annan was a little wary.

    The Crow family was friendly to him at this moment.

    Don Juan and Benjamin were friends with him too. He was also favored by the Silver Sire, recognized as one of the few direct descendants of the Old Grandmother, helped the Venerated Skeleton further His truth, and did the Man in the Mirror a favor.

    At the same time, the Pale Princess and the Tragedy Writer paid close attention to him.

    However, Annan still retained appropriate caution toward the Crow family.

    After all, he didn¡¯t know the attitude of the crow family.

    He couldn¡¯t let Kafni take risks either.

    He had the Silver Sire¡¯s and the Paper Princess¡¯s protection, but not Kafni.

    Silver Sire didn¡¯t even care about her grandfather¡¯s life, let alone a little girl like her who had no says among the deities.

    At the same time, Annan wasn¡¯t just worried about the safety of Kafni.

    If there were witnesses of Kafni Noah visiting Roseburg and then the Crows¡¯ mansion, it would implicate Kafni and even the political arrangements of the Crow family.

    Hence, Annan asked Kafni not to go to the capital for the time being. Even Dove and Chocte were forced to stay in Roseburg for a while.

    After all, Annan couldn¡¯t refuse Kafni but invited another woman with a body and appearance simr to Kafni with him who had a worse status and strength than she at the same time.

    ¡ªAlthough thatdy¡¯s soul was actually a cat.

    After giving it a quick thought, Annan decided how he should reply, ¡°I can¡¯t bring her here for now.¡±

    Annan said calmly, ¡°I can¡¯t let Kafni take risks. Her mother is the Rotten Man¡¯s believer. A Gold Rank Soul Snatch Wizard specializes in memory reading and modification.

    ¡°I cherish the memory of being with her, so I won¡¯t put her life at risk.

    ¡°I will only invite her over after eliminating the unfavorable factors.¡± It was an upright answer.

    Hearing this, Old Crow narrowed his eyes slightly. ¡°Removing the unfavorable factors? So, do you mean¡­¡±

    ¡°I will wait until Silver Sire¡¯s n to eliminate all Rotten Man believers in the territory ispleted.¡± Annan smiled slightly and asked back, ¡°Don¡¯t you already know about it?¡±

 Chapter 357: The Faceless Poet

    <h4>Chapter 357: The Faceless Poet</h4>

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know what the Old Crow wanted to aplish with ¡°Kafni¡±, her strength and prestige were limited.

    Her value was nothing more than ¡°the only daughter of the Fourth Prince¡±, ¡°Nichs mel¡¯s student¡±, and ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯s friend¡±. It wouldn¡¯t end up well for her if she were involved.

    As Kafni¡¯s friend, Annan wouldn¡¯t allow this.

    Kafni trusted him and relied the problems with her teacher, mother, and her curse on him. As long as something went wrong, she would be in an irreversible troubled state.

    Annan couldn¡¯t allow himself to screw things up.

    Thus, Annan¡¯s reply threw the pressure back on Nn.

    If the Old Crow acknowledged Annan¡¯s words, they had to act and kill Kafni¡¯s mother. Otherwise, it would be a gesture of ¡°the king trying to turn his back on the Silver Sire¡¯smand and act as he pleases¡±.

    However, if the Old Crow imed to have no knowledge of this, it meant the king no longer trusted them. The intelligence-gathering ability and political status of the Crow Family were no longer adequate to intervene in the following matter.

    As a result, they couldn¡¯t continue to ask Annan for the rest of the information on the matter, nor could they ask Annan for help in this regard. Had the Old Crow chosen to remain silent, the oue would have been the same.

    As long as he didn¡¯t admit it, One-Eyed Crow would have to carry out the mission of monitoring, capturing, and even assassinating the prince¡¯s wife. At the same time, Annan had the right to refuse all his demands. It was the mission Silver Sire arranged for Annan. The act of him hindering Annan would be equivalent to offending an upright deity.

    There was only one answer left for the Old Crow to pick.

    The old man smiled wryly, ¡°Why do you have to do that? If she doesn¡¯t want to go back to the capital for the time being, so be it.

    ¡°We¡¯re already arranging our n to assassinate Margaret. After returning to the capital, the Fourth Prince spoke to us and allowed us to carry out this n. After leaving behind the documents and evidence, he agreed to wash away the relevant memory of this process.¡±

    However, there would be implications and aftermaths.

    His memory was deleted. Hence, the Fourth Prince would not be allowed to be in contact or learn about Margaret¡¯s assassination.

    Nn added, ¡°To prevent the ¡®Dream Stealer¡¯ Danton from making a desperate move and threatening Your Majesty or His Highness Albert, we must lure Danton out. At the very least, he has to be drawn away from His Royal Highness Albert.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°You n to use Kafni as the bait.¡±

    The Crow Family seems to know everything.

    They knew what the Fourth Prince didn¡¯t know.

    I¡¯m afraid Danton has already long been exposed.

    However, he is a threat that cannot be easily eliminated, a Gold Rank Transcended, notably a Soul Snatch Wizard.

    Anyone speaking to him would have their memory easily read and modified. Even if the Crow Family could control the Transcended who could get in contact with His Majesty the King, he would leave significant damage to the kingdom out of desperation¡ªfor example, driving a few people crazy and murdering a couple of people.

    Worse still, if Danton wiped the memories of several ministers clean, including those secrets buried in their hearts, the Noah Kingdom would fall into turmoil.

    A Gold Rank Transcended who infiltrated the pce was far more dangerous than a bomb. So even though the Crows had already seen through everything, they didn¡¯t dare to make a move.

    There was only one chance to stop Danton.

    If the Crow Family were to fail, the oue would be devastating.

    During the conversation, Nn had brought Annan into the basement and closed the door.

    ¡°Feel free to get seated. You know there¡¯s only one ¡®Dream Stealer¡¯. No one knows how far is his capability. We only know that he can¡¯t modify the memories of people he hasn¡¯t gotten in touch with.¡±

    Nn sat on the sofa, put his hands on his knees, and said calmly, ¡°The safety of the Fourth Prince, the safety of His Majesty, and the safety of the high-ranking officials of the kingdom are more important than the safety of the Fourth Prince¡¯s daughter.¡±

    Annan sat on the side sofa with Eugene Geraint sitting beside him just as Nn exined their priorities.

    Annan wasn¡¯t angry at all about such indifferent words.

    In Nn¡¯s position, he did precisely the right thing.

    As long as their ns failed, the entire kingdom would be in turmoil at a minimum. If a little girl with no special skills could be used as bait and eliminate the risks, it was doable even though she had the royal blood.

    It was undoubtedly a correct move, but¡­

    ¡°In this world, not everything has to follow the correct way.¡± Annan smiled gently, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s not enough just to be correct. I want it to be perfect.¡±

    Annan spoke calmly, with his face brimming with confidence.

    The aquamarine pupils reflect the ceiling light, giving off a bright outlook.

    ¡°¡­As expected of you.¡± Nn sighed after a moment of silence, ¡°If only a young man like you could be born in Noah.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not impossible¡­¡± At this moment, Eugene blurted out.

    When Nn heard those words, he appeared surprised, and he showed an understanding lookter, ¡°That¡¯s true. By the way, you and Her Royal Highness Kafni seem to¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Annan was speechless for a moment.

    Damn.

    Is this a trap?

    What a mistake.

    As expected of the Old Crow, he has nned his every move.

    Annan didn¡¯t believe it was Eugene¡¯s quick wit. If Nn wouldn¡¯t let him speak, how could an intelligent man like him dare to turn the subject into a strange topic when Annan talked about serious business with his father?

    As long as Annan responded, forcing the Old Crow to be his ally and revealing their n, Nn would blurt that out sooner orter.

    From the standpoint of a ¡°friend¡±, it seemed not enough to exin why Annan would do so much for Kafni.

    It was in the Crow Famil¡¯s interests to use a young girl as bait to abduct the unstable bomb or the Fourth Prince himself. At the same time, using this young girl to ally with the only heir of the Austere-Winter Dukedom and the Old Grandmother¡¯s future subordinate deity was a great bargain.

    His Majesty the King had always dreamed of unifying the five kingdoms and rebuilding the Great Barrier.

    If they managed to establish a royal marriage with the Austere-Winter, the Noah Kingdom would havepleted ? of their goal.

    Austere-Winter was a ¡°traditional ce¡± and had a different culture from other countries. Even for a Grand Duke, it would be strictly monogamous.

    Kafni was indeed cute.

    However, Annan couldn¡¯t agree to it openly before the Old Crow. It was different from Annan¡¯s attitude of being ¡°vulnerable¡±. If he admitted this matter, he had put his weak point in the hands of the Old Crow.

    Annan replied calmly, ¡°This is just a promise I made with her. I thought you knew about it.¡±

    ¡°A promise?¡± Hearing this, Old Crow was stunned for a moment.

    Annan nodded earnestly, ¡°When she calls for help, I will rescue her. This is my promise as a man.¡±

    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Old Crow was silent for a while, then nodded slightly, ¡°I understand.

    ¡°Did it happen when you and His Highness Dmitri visited?¡± the old man asked curiously.

    He didn¡¯t know much about the promise.

    However, that was expected because there was no such promise at all.

    Annan made it out at the spur moment.

    Annan asked rhetorically, ¡°I¡¯m curious. I¡¯ve heard ¡®that Old Crow is some deity¡¯s cardinal bishop¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯ve answered so many of your questions, so can you satisfy my curiosity? I just want to know, which deity will a great man like you serve?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to tell you about it. If you ask Merlin Manning¡¯s brother, he¡¯ll tell you directly.¡± Nn smiled warmly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m the believer of the ¡®Faceless Poet¡¯, the subordinate deity of the Silent Lady and the Deity of Records and Secrecy.¡±

 Chapter 358: The Very First Secret Keeper

    <h4>Chapter 358: The Very First Secret Keeper</h4>

    ¡°¡­the Deity of Records and Secrecy?¡± Annan was surprised when he heard those words, and then he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Faceless Poet the Deity of Funerals and Records?¡±

    ¡°The Skeleton Crow, which Old Vasily summoned previously, was the Faceless Poet¡¯s envoy. The requirement to summon the Skeleton Crow was ¡°the Remains of the Silent Funeral¡±.

    Speaking of which, the Geraint family emblem also seemed to be a crow.

    ¡°That¡¯s a secret, Your Highness Annan.¡± Nn smiled.

    ¡°Actually, there is no ¡®Funeral¡¯ realm in the Faceless Poet¡¯s clergy. There is no such thing as the Funeral Deity.

    ¡°Burial is deemed a ¡®gift to send off the dead¡¯, which is close to the central realm under ??Bone Burying Grandma. Even the Bone Burying Church itself has rituals rted to funerals.

    ¡°Only the subordinate deities of Bone Burying Grandma are allowed to hold the Truth in this aspect. There¡¯s no way to get it. Even the Book of Truth doesn¡¯t make an exception. The ¡®Burial¡¯ custom was established when the first civilization came about. Even though the Faceless Poet is old, He is not ancient enough to get into that.

    ¡°Those in other faiths consider the Faceless Poet the Funeral Deity because He generates ¡®the Remains of the Silent Funeral¡¯. But in fact, His focus is not on the ¡®burial¡¯ itself but on the essence of ¡®being the audience of the burial¡¯ and ¡®keeping silence¡¯.

    ¡°The ¡®silence¡¯ aspect falls under the realm of secrecy. Since the Faceless Poet is the founder of the Transcended tradition of ¡®secret keeper¡¯, He became a deity because of this. Therefore, all his believers will also have to keep this secret for Him.¡±

    I see. Annan got it.

    The truth ¡°Secret¡± itself is a ¡°secret¡± that the believers must keep.

    Sure enough, getting many of his believers to keep the secret will reinforce the Truth.

    Thus, the Faceless Poet is much better than the Venerated Skeleton who made His believers betray others and the Rotten Man who made believers castrate themselves.

    However, Annan quickly realized something was wrong, ¡°Then, why are you telling me about this?¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t adopt the faith toward the Faceless Poet, and he easily got this answer: the secrets the Crows were supposed to keep.

    Facing Annan¡¯s question, Nn replied calmly, ¡°In this respect, it is because ¡®secret keeping¡¯ itself is a contradictory Truth. If you want to ¡®keep secrets¡¯, you must obtain the secrets first. However, obtaining the secrets itself conflicts with ¡®keeping secrets¡¯, which the first-hand secret holders have toply with.

    ¡°Thus, the secrecy is in the act itself, but not in the oue. The more people know the secret and are willing to keep silent about it, the stronger the power of our faith.¡±

    ¡°On the other hand, the Faceless Poet has told me to do my best to protect you.¡± Nn smiled and replied gently, ¡°So don¡¯t worry about it. I had ns previously arranged for Her Royal Highness Kafni, but our Geraint family will try our best to protect you in the royal capital.

    ¡°Of course, if you let us ¡®protect Her Royal Highness Kafni as you did¡¯, we willply with that order.¡±

    The old man promised so.

    What?

    Why does Faceless Poet do that?

    Annan frowned in confusion.

    He didn¡¯t remember having any connection to the Faceless Poet.

    In his memory, the only thing he would be rted to the Faceless Poet was when he led the yers to destroy His Skeleton Crow.

    So are we acquainted just because of that?

    Isn¡¯t that an ill-fated rtionship?

    Annan was lost in thought.

    Just then, Annan heard a loud crow chirping from outside the house.

    The sound even prated the basement wall and reached Annan¡¯s ears.

    At the same time Annan heard the crow¡¯s chirping, he felt a strange vibrationing from the tips of his fingers, quickly spreading to his arms.

    It was like touching a roaring machine with his hand. The soreness was apanied by a warm current that quickly ran through Annan¡¯s body.

    An invisible power flowed through Annan¡¯s body, seemingly going through Annan¡¯s muscr and blood circtory systems.

    When the peculiar power flowed from Annan¡¯s fingertips to the soles of his feet, it turned into afortable and even slightly drowsy warmth. It felt the warmthing from the campfire after curling into a ball next to it when he was drenched because of the rain.

    [You are blessed with the Faceless Poet¡¯s gift. The required exercise time to promote each point in Strength, Agility, and Constitution attributes is deducted by -30%. The effect will be lost once the designated attribute reaches 20 points.]

    [You are granted a mark, ¡°Advanced Influence: Caw of the Faceless Crow¡±.]

    [If you don¡¯t remove the mark in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°record¡± after seven days (Difficulty: Distorted).]

    Annan suddenly saw ck liquids flowing in through the gap of the basement door from the outside.

    A peculiar pressure felt upon Annan.

    Annan was confident with what he was feeling at the moment. It reminded him of when he first met the Venerated Skeleton¡ªthe strange sensation after encountering the false deity¡¯s true body.

    Strangely enough, the upright deity wasn¡¯t too nerve-racking.

    After these liquids flowed into the room, they gathered together again. It became vicious at speed visible to the naked eye and piled up into a human figure.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time.¡± The ck humanoid¡¯s voice was thick and turbid, as if multiple different voices were ringing simultaneously. The figure flickered on and off like a TV image with a poor signal.

    This is so strange.

    Howe it¡¯s a bit like Valtore, the senior¡¯s shadow? A wild thought popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    [TN: A quick reminder that Sal refers to Senior Salvatore himself, while Vatore refers to the shadow.]

    Facing this strange ck human figure, Nn took Eugene to stand up from the sofa. The old man respectfully put one of his hands on his chest and bowed quietly to the ck figure.

    After about two seconds, the ck mud sessfully morphed into a human form.

    She looked short, only about 150 meters. She wasn¡¯t wearing anything, but only Her long satin-like hair draped down like a ck waterfall behind Her. Her hair was seemingly alive, wriggling, and covered Her bodypletely.

    The only essory She had was the ck crow mask on Her face.

    ¡°Long time no see, Annan!¡± Unlike her youthful appearance, the strange and magical young girl spoke in a bright and sharp but not so pleasant voice, ¡°I almost forgot what kind of body I should use to greet you!

    ¡°Why did youe to Noah without notifying me?¡±

    ¡°Faceless Poet?¡± Annan whispered the name.

    Not many people could make Nn feel nervous just by showing up in the heavily guarded basement of Geraint¡¯s mansion.

    Seeing Nn¡¯s respectful expression now, Her identity was quite apparent.

    But the problem was that Annan didn¡¯t know Her at all.

    He had never seen Her before!

    Strangely enough, the Faceless Poet was familiar with him.

    Could it be that the one who became affiliated with this false deity was the past Annan?

 Chapter 359: The Holy Grail Knight

    <h4>Chapter 359: The Holy Grail Knight</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose wore the standard leather armor of a city guard and wandered around the Noah Royal Capital.

    He was now roaming and mapping the city in the name of ¡°patrol duty¡±.

    While mapping out the path, Old Goose was upied with thoughts.

    He had sessfully reported the information given by Annan to Prince Philip.

    The previously forfeited meads were delivered to Prince Philip too.

    With that, he hadpleted the two missions assigned to him.

    Not only did heplete the contract he promised with the consul of the chamber ofmerce, but he also sessfully used the information given by Annan to mislead the Third Prince and influenced the prince to alter the ns.

    At the same time, he had acquired Prince Philip¡¯s trust too.

    Or rather, a certain level of trust.

    But in any case, a mere Bronze Rank Transcended could hardly prove useful to Philip.

    Fortunately, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s profession was [Swordmaster].

    This was a swordsmanship school that could learn the sword skills of other professions and quickly improve themselves.

    After learning about Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s abilities, Prince Philip gave pertinent suggestions for the Old Goose¡¯s future growing direction.

    He had suggested Delicious Wind Goose pick up the faith in the Cup-holding Lady and advance into a Holy Grail Knight.

    It was an advancement mixed in with priesthood, simr to the Silver Knight.

    After learning how to use various weapons, the Goose realized that ¡°the human¡¯s will¡± was the most potent weapon. By restraining his desires, he could obtain the pure power of the grail.

    The ¡°grail power¡± possessed by the Holy Grail knight was mighty even among all upright deities¡¯ knights.

    Simply put, it was an additional ¡°energy deposit mechanism¡±.

    When the Holy Grail knight worshiped the Cup-holding Lady, he could choose one of his ¡°attributes¡± as a ¡°vessel¡±. This vessel could be changed once a day, after which the ¡°Blood in the Cup¡± would be emptied, but it would not disappear overnight until the following blessing.

    The attributes that could be altered included ¡°strength¡±, ¡°energy¡±, ¡°focus¡±, ¡°uracy¡±, ¡°vitality¡± and so on. It would work as long as it was the ability the host¡¯s body readily had.

    Once selected, this blessing imposed on the attribute would be continuously consumed, just like how strength was consumed when raising dumbbells or how the focus was consumed when going through documents.

    The consumed attribute would be stored.

    Depending on the holy light engravings and the user¡¯s self-control, the proportion that could be stored varies. Generally speaking, it was about 70% to 200%.

    In times of emergency, like physical strength was thoroughly exhausted, mental power to focus wascking, or life was at stake, the user could utilize the ¡°blood in the cup¡± to replenish himself.

    The grail power could be used to enhance and reinvigorate the body.

    However, it wasn¡¯t an overpowered ability, nor was the ability limited.

    Instead, it was simple, stable, versatile, and powerful. That was what Delicious Wind Goose preferred.

    The only constraint was that he would inevitably get the additional curse of ¡°maintaining a pure body¡± when advancing.

    However, if this condition was vited, it didn¡¯t clear off the hard-earned levels. Instead, the Goose would be a ¡°Fallen Knight¡±.

    He would lose the ¡°grail power¡± but gain the ¡°blood power¡±. It worked like the vampire: to replenish his physical strength and temporarily enhance his abilities by sucking the blood of others. However, this ability was much inferior to the grail power.

    In other words, the grail power was ¡°virgin¡± in nature.

    Only those who had never been in intimate contact with the opposite gender could harness the grail power.

    Delicious Wind Goose was certainly not a virgin.

    A man like him could definitely get a girlfriend, given his excellent family background, good humor, high education level, and solid physique, coupled with the advantages of high emotional intelligence and good looks.

    Although he was now a bald monk and ¡°neckless¡± because of his fat, he was once a youth with lush hair and well-proportioned muscles.

    However, the body the yers used in the Mist Continent appeared to be ¡°absolutely pure¡±.

    When he epted Edict Wizard¡¯s lie test, Prince Philip asked the Edict Wizard to check on the other qualities of Delicious Wind Goose.

    It appeared that Old Goose had killed less than ten people since birth, had never been in intimate contact with the opposite sex, rarely lied, took on little exercise, had never ingested poison, and had never been cursed.

    After such a result came out, Prince Philip finally regarded him as part of his team.

    The process seemed to be the ¡°political review¡± of this world.

    It recorded everything the reviewee had done, like an invisible list of ¡°achievements¡±. Although Edict Wizard couldn¡¯t see this list directly, he could check on any of them and get a rough idea under Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s permission.

    Delicious Wind Goose got the above evaluation in the end.

    If not for the people he killed, he would still be in a pure state where he had never killed anyone.

    Seeing his qualities, Prince Philip immediately rmended him to take in the faith of the Cup-holding Lady.

    ¡°Cup-holding Lady has mastered the whole realm of ¡®lust¡¯. Abstinence is naturally part of it.¡± Prince Philip introduced enthusiastically, ¡°The Cup-holding Lady likes people who are indulgent, but She is in favor of those who are abstinent.¡±

    Through Prince Philip¡¯s narration, Delicious Wind Goose roughly understood the other notable features of this profession.

    The Holy Grail knight was a profession that focused on the Will attribute.

    In addition to the grail power, they also had the strange ability of ¡°increasing their attributes by one point every time they sessfully resist a negative state from a new source that uses Will as the ability check factor.¡± The attribute increment was capped at 40 points.

    The negative status afflictions included charm, fear, confusion, lethargy, rage, and other mental states. Everyone could add a point to the Holy Grail Knight¡¯s attribute as long as the ability imposed was considered a ¡°negative status¡±.

    Conversely, if the Holy Grail Knight failed to resist the negative status, he would suffer a considerable temporary -2 debuff at the Will attribute. Worse still, this debuff was stackable.

    The weakening effect was like a curse and would not regenerate naturally. The restoration could only ur through a ritual, atonement through Cup-holding Lady¡¯s priest, or simply purifying the curse via Mr. Ray¡¯s priest.

    This ability made many of the Holy Grail Knights powerful but also made them vulnerable to premature death.

    Apparently, the Cup-holding Lady encouraged the Holy Grail Knights not to practice abstinence blindly. Instead, She wanted her knights to proactively resist the outside world¡¯s temptation through willpower.

    In other words, She tempted the knights to challenge themselves.

    Delicious Wind Goose managed to see through the system.

    This growth mechanism was a temptation to ovee ¡°abstinence¡±.

    Those tempted by it had simply fallen into a trap.

    Those who yed with fire would eventually get burned.

    The Holy Grail Knights couldn¡¯t escape the controling from the Blood Grail Church because of the need to atone.

    In turn, the knights ced themselves under the power and control of others.

    What was pure had once been controlled by what he desired. So the Holy Grail was grasped by the blood in it.

    Thus, a conceptual cycle was formed.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling like the Tang Seng [1] right now.¡± Delicious Wind Gooseined.

    If it weren¡¯t for his vignce, he would have simply believed in the Cup-holding Lady.

    After all, She was also an upright deity, and there should be no problem with Her origin.

    It was just that She seemed to have a naughty side.

    ¡°She likes to test the people¡¯s willpower, encourages the people to use will in resisting the temptations, and enjoys people¡¯s sumbing to their desire.¡±

    Isn¡¯t this an evil deity?

    Delicious Wind Goose thought about it for a long time and finally decided.

    ¡°I still want to try it out.¡±

    He wanted to see if his willpower, which he was proud of, could sessfully resist this deitydess¡¯ prank.

    This was also the ¡°desire¡± that was not deeply looked into in his heart.

 Chapter 360: The Paper Princess

    <h4>Chapter 360: The Paper Princess</h4>

    Just when Delicious Wind Goose made up his mind. He felt something abnormal as if he was stuck in a bullet time event [1].

    Delicious Wind Goose noticed his surrounding time and space quickly grew stagnant. However, no one seemed to notice it at all. The passersby didn¡¯t seem to react to the situation.

    It felt just like the flow of time was slowed down until it paused.

    The next instant, after time was utterly stopped, Delicious Wind Goose suddenly regained the ability to move.

    Old Goose used all his strength to break free of restraints previously, but it didn¡¯t work.

    However, after the surrounding world returned to normal, Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t hold back his strength, so he immediately staggered and fell forward.

    But before he fell, he felt someone grabbing onto his shoulders, pulling him back with ease.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, brother.¡± What sounded behind him was a gentle and elegant female voice, ¡°I¡¯ve caused you a little trouble.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose turned around, only to realize that there was another person who stood silently behind him.

    However...

    Is that really a human?

    She had silver-white hair that hung down to the waist. There were silver dragon horns decorated with dark blue spiral patterns, looking like a screw; the horns protruded upward like lightning. Silver dragon scales were faintly visible on the corbone, under the ears, and on the temples.

    Most importantly, Her resemnce to Annan came close to 70% at the very least.

    She appeared to be a seventeen years old art student, but there was a mature air around her. Her breasts were a size or two bigger than Sister Hyphen¡¯s artificially oversized ones through character customization.

    Is she Annan¡¯s sister?

    It seems I have heard of Annan having a sister.

    Such a thought popped into Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s mind at the first moment.

    Delicious Wind Goose felt his mind gradually be stagnant.

    His mind was filled with the breathtaking beauty of the girl in front of him.

    A ¡°beauty¡± at the conceptual level.

    She was so pretty that it was almost illusory.

    She had a face simr to Annan, whose appearance was worthy of praise. However, the beauty became shocking when it came to the girl in front of him.

    Delicious Wind Goose was well-aware that ¡°beauty¡± differed in different eras.

    In some eras, slender and weak girls were beautiful; in another era, people might prefer a more healthy and fit woman.

    Some civilizations regarded beard as beauty, some cultures believed long hair as beauty, and some societies considered bald as beauty. Under different living conditions and social environments, people¡¯s definitions of ¡°beauty¡± would be different.

    In other words, ¡°beauty¡± was the ¡°ssification¡± of the opposite sex or the same sex by the subconscious in human genes that was more conducive to the current living environment.

    In a world where food was generally scarce, people who could gain weight were deemed more beautiful; in a society where people at the bottom would consumerge amounts of high-calorie food, people had begun to pursue a well-proportioned body shape.

    Delicious Wind Goose, immersed in the illusion of ¡°beauty¡±, felt the girl in front of him pretty by all standards.

    A monster that existed only in ¡°fantasy¡±.

    It was precisely because of ¡°She being beautiful¡± that Annan, who was simr to Her, was regarded as nice-looking.

    The girl was by no means a human.

    But I can¡¯t really think.

    Even my thinking has gradually be sluggish.

    The feeling of being stuck in this halted time and space was broken when the girl spoke again.

    Although the girl¡¯s voice was pleasant, it was at the levelmon in this world.

    But the moment She spoke, the ¡°bnce of beauty¡± was broken.

    It was as if Her silent state was Her true perfect form.

    Delicious Wind Goose regained his sanity the moment She spoke.

    The girl smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. Your expression just now was so fascinating. I couldn¡¯t hold back for a while, so I drew a picture for you. Do you want to buy this picture? I can give you a 50% discount.¡±

    Her expression was mixed with vignce and contempt but self-discipline and indulgence simultaneously. She lookedcent and arrogant but modest and prudence at the same time, seemingly striking the unity of contradiction and opposition.

    ¡°I can see from your steps that you¡¯re a self-disciplined knight who is trying to use his own will to resist temptation. Let me guess, are you going to pick up the faith in the Cup-holding Lady?¡± The girl, who was at least 70% simr to Annan, asked with interest.

    Hearing the word ¡°painting¡±, Delicious Wind Goose realized something.

    Only then could he withdraw his gaze from the girl¡¯s face.

    After looking closely, he realized the girl was indeed carrying a drawing board behind Her.

    Although it was only a drawing board, it felt inexplicably like a shield.

    Ten pens of different sizes and models were hung on the belt on Her waist. In addition to the four pens caught between Her right fingers and the three pens caught between Her left fingers, She had a total of seventeen pens, all of which were like sharp swords.

    She seemed to be both a painter and a warrior.

    ¡°Are you the Paper Princess?¡± Delicious Wind Goose remembered the deitydess he had seen in the newspaper a few days ago.

    Although She wasn¡¯t an upright deity, She was the subordinate deity of the Elegant Elder.

    This exined the bullet time and the power of Her appearance to break the Goose¡¯s will.

    Old Goose respectfully looked at the ground and asked.

    It wasn¡¯t ttery.

    It was just that he was afraid of the appearance of the Paper Princess and did not dare to look directly at the ¡°beauty¡± close to the Truth.

    Delicious Wind Goose even doubted his previous decision.

    Is the tenacity of standing up and regaining former glory after a considerable setback such a treasure in this world?

    The Paper Princess noticed that Delicious Wind Goose averted his eyes but was not annoyed.

    ¡°Oops¡­Did you see me in the newspaper?¡± The Deity of Beauty just smiled and put the seven pens back into the pen pocket at Her waist.

    She wore a pure white robe that was unadorned. There were four white belts of different thicknesses and materials on the waist. Those pens of hers all hang on the various belts.

    But that didn¡¯t make her look simple.

    Instead, no touch-ups could ruin the equilibrium of beauty in the Paper Princess.

    Perhaps only the Elegant Elder himself could design the dress for her.

    Facing the words of the Paper Princess, Delicious Wind Goose thought of the Paper Princess¡¯s portrait painted by ¡°the famous painter Nigel Elliott¡±.

    At that time, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°The Paper Princess was so beautiful¡±.

    But now, Delicious Wind Goose has only one thought.

    Did he paint it properly?

 Chapter 361: The Crystallization Of Beauty

    <h4>Chapter 361: The Crystallization Of Beauty</h4>

    ¡°He draws terribly.¡± Delicious Wind Goosemented without hesitation.

    Before seeing the Paper Princess in person, Delicious Wind Goose thought highly of that painter.

    He could even grasp a hint of magic from the portrait. By just admiring the face and figure of the Paper Princess, Delicious Wind Goose could stare at the portrait for a long time.

    Delicious Wind Goose believed that the newspaper¡¯s editor must think so too. That was why it was put on the front page of the newspaper.

    However, Delicious Wind Goose finally realized the truth when he saw the Paper Princess with his own eyes.

    It turned out that copying the Paper Princess¡¯s appearance already made it a top-notch ¡°magic painting¡±. Even Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s willpower was utterly defenseless against the real Her.

    For some unknown reason, the passers-by around them seemed unable to see him and the Paper Princess. They just walked on the road as usual.

    The so-called ¡°famous painter¡± Nigel Elliott painted the Paper Princess¡¯s portrait ¡°like an ordinary person¡±.

    It might be weird to say that.

    Although the drawing struck about 90% simrity to Her appearance, the indescribable beauty and the essence of Her being ¡°the anchor of beauty¡± were not shown at all.

    Not only the Transcended Delicious Wind Goose, but even ordinary people also would never be fascinated by this painting.

    It felt like Her quality was beyond ¡°undermined¡± at this point, like those merchants who sold an inferior product which they would soak the product in water to make it seem bigger in size.

    ¡°He had tried his best.¡± The Paper Princess just gave a gentle chuckle. While feeling Her drawing board with Her backhand from behind, She exined, ¡°He is not a Transcended, and he identally saw my face. When he regained consciousness, I had already left.

    ¡°His image is recreated with a brief ¡®impression¡¯ of me. I have also seen his paintings, and they are quite good. His observation skills are alsomendable. After all, he restored the vague impression of me through a short nce. This skill alone is enough to show that his talent is pretty good.¡±

    The Paper Princess defended the painter quite seriously.

    Although the painter was not here and could not hear this conversation, the Paper Princess didn¡¯t scold or criticize the painter either.

    Delicious Wind Goose suddenly sensed something vaguely.

    That seemed to be ¡°love¡±.

    Of course, it was not directed at the painter but the love of all painters.

    ¡ªThe Paper Princess is fond of painters.

    Is that why She is called the Paper Princess?

    For some reason, Delicious Wind Goose was reluctant to call the deity ¡°She¡±.

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about that. Take a look at your portrait.¡± The Paper Princess took out a painting.

    She smiled and handed the painting to Delicious Wind Goose.

    What¡¯s the worth of my appearance? I¡¯ve seen too much of myself in the mirror. Delicious Wind Gooseined in his heart.

    But he was obedient, took over the painting, and politely unfolded the scrolled artwork.

    After he saw the painting clearly, he was stunned.

    It was indeed his appearance. Delicious Wind Goose recognized it at a nce.

    But other than that, everything else was different.

    He wore a city guard uniform, but the Paper Princess painted it into a worn but clean red monk robe. He stepped on the snow barefoot, with scars on his feet.

    His eyebrows were dyed with white frost marks, and the eyebrows were deeply locked, revealing endless anguish and hesitation. His back was tall and straight; his shoulders were firm and broad. There were subtle scars and abrasions on the top of his head. His expression was silent, and his eyes were determined.

    His left arm hung inside the monk¡¯s robe, and his clenched fist showed his troubled state and wavering in his heart. On his right hand was a handful of dark red blood which he ced in front of his mouth, but he did not drink it.

    He stared at the rippling pool of blood in his hands, lost in memories and contemtion.

    Behind him was the scene of sunset and snow. Shadows hit his profile, framing his chin.

    The scene was illusory.

    Delicious Wind Goose looked at this ¡°self¡± and could even vaguely feel ¡°what he was thinking¡± as if he was the monk of the Cup-holding Lady,

    What kind of art is this? Delicious Wind Goose was greatly shaken.

    His first reaction was to take a screenshot first.

    ¡°How much do I have to pay if I want to buy it?¡± Then, he asked hesitantly, ¡°Are my feelings so intense?¡±

    ¡°In my rulebook, I give as I pleased. But you only get one chance.¡± The Paper Princess said softly, ¡°I won¡¯t tell the buyer how much each painting is worth. I¡¯ll only sell you if you give more than it¡¯s worth. But if you can¡¯t, I¡¯m not going to take your money. Instead, I¡¯ll give you a free souvenir worth the price you paid earlier.

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯ll give you a 50% discount. You can buy it at half its value, and I¡¯ll sell it. Right now, the painting doesn¡¯t have a name. I¡¯ll give you another 50% discount if you can name it with my approval.

    ¡°As for your sentiments here, it¡¯s not exaggerated.

    ¡°This is a proper fiction. I will extract, abstract, and purify this conflict of emotion, desire, and will to better disy the beauty I have seen. Here¡¯s the oue. It is the crystallization of your desire and will. If you look at this painting and meditate daily, your willpower will also be improved by feeling this anguish.¡±

    The Paper Princess showed an elegant smile and said calmly, ¡°The so-called painter is a profession that captures the ubiquitous ¡®beauty¡¯ in life and then refines and manifests it.

    ¡°A work should have a life, at least that¡¯s my opinion.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an amazing painter.¡± Delicious Wind Goose eximed sincerely.

    This was his first face-to-face conversation with the deity of this world.

    The Paper Princess¡¯ airy presence deeply impressed him.

    If it weren¡¯t for hisplete ignorance of painting, he would be devoted to the Paper Princess by now.

    Are the deities of this world such charismatic beings? Delicious Wind Goose thought of the Rotten Man and Silver Sire he had encountered previously.

    Needless to say, the Silver Sire had excellent quality too.

    Even the Rotten Man who was an enemy and a ¡°mob creep¡±, Delicious Wind Goose felt the grace, calmness, and amiableness exuding from Him despite being unable to look directly at Him given the tremendous pressure.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t have any money.¡± Delicious Wind Goose said helplessly, ¡°Can I buy on credit? Or exchange it for an item of equivalent value?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t ept any dyed payment, but barter is allowed. Under the witness of Silver Sire, I will consider the item on its expected value fairly.¡±

    The Paper Princess said with a smile while urging, ¡°Let¡¯s name it first.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of a good name.¡± Delicious Wind Goose was silent for a long time but answered honestly, ¡°All I can give is this¡ª¡±

    He spoke and patted his belt.

    There were ten metal bottles the size of lighters.

    ¡°Ten bottles of Demon Blood¡­¡± The Paper Princess frowned slightly as if She could see through Delicious Wind Goose.

    She thought for a while, then asked again, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try toe up with a name first?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose captured a clue as soon as she said these words.

    The value of ten bottles of Demon Blood should be worth more than 25% of this painting but less than 50%. Of course, it was confusing for Goose to calcte it.

    The purchase price of Demon Blood was less than 10 pounds, but a bottle of Demon Blood could be sold for 80 pounds in the capital; these ten bottles were given to Delicious Wind Goose as a deduction of pay at the value of 300 pounds.

    But in any case, offering a higher price was still a good move.

    At the very least, Old Goose could get a gift of equivalent value if he failed to purchase the painting.

    Rationally speaking, it was a more rational choice to exchange for a gift rather than a painting of no use.

    However, Delicious Wind Goose still wanted to give it a try.

    ¡°[The Monk Before the Cliff]. What do you think about this name?¡± He frowned at the painting, pondered for a long time, and then asked tentatively.

    The Paper Princess tilted Her head and thought for a while.

    ¡°If someone else gave the painting that title, I wouldn¡¯t sell it.¡± She narrowed Her eyes, showing a cute smile that reminded Delicious Wind Goose of Annan, andughed softly, ¡°But since you named, the name itself is another level of contradiction. From this point of view, the value of the painting has been enhanced.

    ¡°In the case of equivalent conversion, I will ept the gift you gave,¡± said the Paper Princess. She reached out to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s belt.

    At the next moment, Delicious Wind Goose felt the bottles inside of his belt suddenly all disappeared.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving, little brother. We may meet again depending on our fate.¡± The Paper Princess¡¯ voice sounded.

    Her figure disappeared as if everything that happened was a dream.

    The moment Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s eyes left the Paper Princess, he noticed that his memory of the Paper Princess¡¯s appearance in his mind quickly faded. Not a single bit of it remained in the blink of an eye.

    This may be the ¡°defense mechanism¡± the brain trying to relieve Goose of the deity¡¯s pressure for self-protection.

    Delicious Wind Goose was silent. Instead, he carefully rolled the painting into a scroll.

    The passers-by around also cast curious nces at Delicious Wind Goose, who was wearing a city guard uniform and holding a painting s.

    croll

    I should stop patrolling first.

    It¡¯s my priority to find Yokai Sensei to get his help in hiding this painting.

 Chapter 362: One-click Factory Reset Annan

    <h4>Chapter 362: One-click Factory Reset Annan</h4>

    The Faceless Poet froze slightly because Annan¡¯s attitude toward Her seemed distant and indifferent.

    Then, She quickly realized something.

    The girl with the crow mask blurted, ¡°Have you lost your memory already?¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Annan raised his eyebrow.

    Pretending to be as casual as possible, Annan asked casually.

    However, he did notice a particr word usage ¡ª [already].

    As if the Faceless Poet wasn¡¯t surprised or sad that he didn¡¯t remember Her, She didn¡¯t expect it to happen at this time.

    If my conjecture is correct¡­

    Then, this is the evidence for ¡°another possibility¡± of me transmigrating into this world.

    Maybe¡­ I didn¡¯t arrive at the beach at Freezing Water Port immediately after transmigration.

    I have three pieces of evidence to prove that for now.

    In ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡±, Maria identally mentioned that her younger brother had a warm personality, but the Austere-Winter family was born with a Winter Heart and could not feel happiness;

    In ¡°Nightmare: The Great Hunt¡±, Annan, who was young in the past, made a simr choice to himself;

    Most importantly, the ¡°Book of Truth¡± only emerged gradually after a new concept was born.

    The Silver Sire would not be born before ¡°trading¡± emerged in civilization. Simrly, the Red Knight would not be born before ¡°wars¡± happened. That was because the Book of Truth, which made them be deities, had not yet appeared at that time.

    The time when the Book of Truth fragments spawned in Don Juan was much earlier than when Annan woke up.

    If Annan came to this world much earlier, and he lost his memory in this world because of something, it would exin many things.

    But then, another problem arose.

    Five years ago, the Man in the Mirror held a taboo ritual and risked putting himself to death and then reborn as a deity because there was no new, nk Book of Truth at that time.

    If the Book of Truth appeared earlier than ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡±, then the Man in the Mirror seemed to have no reason to take the risk.

    In the face of Annan¡¯s probing question, the Faceless Poet thought silently.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡± Contrary to Annan¡¯s expectations, the Faceless Poet finally replied, ¡°It¡¯s your own decision.¡±

    ¡°My own decision?¡± This unexpected answer surprised Annan.

    No, wait¡­ Annan suddenly noticed something.

    He suddenly recalled another event. Thest time he saw Benjamin was when he had learned from Benjamin that ¡°the Leviathan¡¯s air¡± remained around him.

    ¡°Leviathan¡± was one of the three giant monsters raised by the Mysterious Lady.

    Its status should be equivalent to the highest level of ¡°envoy¡±.

    If this name was the same thing as the ¡°Leviathan¡± on Earth that Annan knew, it should be a gigantic undersea female beast that resided on the bottom of the sea. The name ¡°Leviathan¡± itself had the meaning of ¡°crevice¡± and ¡°vortex¡±.

    It might not be sensible to determine the monster¡¯s identity through its name with the possibility ofmitting a facy.

    But considering the terrain where hended, Annan could tentatively believe that the ¡°Leviathan¡± of this world did indeed live in the sea.

    So, what if the previous Annan was prepared for his ¡°amnesia¡±?

    ording to Annan¡¯s typical behavior, him appearing at Freezing Water Port should be a hint. Even if he lost his memory, there was no need toe to the Noah Kingdom and the Freezing Water Port. The Rotten Man had left, and the Old Grandmother was about to wake up. Coupled with Maria¡¯s protection, returning to the Austere-Winter was a more convenient option.

    Since Leviathan could send him to the Freezing Water Port, the Leviathan should also be able to send him back to Austere-Winter.

    Unless the Freezing Water Port carried a special meaning.

    Annan quickly thought of something.

    The unique feature of the Freezing Water Port was the only ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±.

    The unique mechanism of ¡°reenactment¡± in the gallery nightmare rendered the challenger losing his memory once he failed.

    The reason for this mechanism was that the ¡°gallery¡± was not aplete past event.

    The essence of the nightmare was the projection of the dream world into reality with the soul as the cornerstone.

    What was special about the gallery was that the soul that made up this nightmare, Elle, didn¡¯t die under the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s protection.

    Elle could still gain new memories of what happened afterward. What happened after everyone else entered the nightmare was still a ¡°reality in progress¡± to her.

    Unlike other nightmares, it was a ¡°story that happened in the past¡±.

    In other words¡­

    ¡°Is it because of the enemy¡¯s attack?¡± Annan asked tentatively.

    If he suffered amnesia, there was only one possibility for the former self and the current self to not know the truth.

    Annan suddenly had the need to voluntarily discard arge number of memories. At the same time, those were crucial memories that couldn¡¯t be browsed and viewed by the Soul Snatch Wizards, so he could only opt for ¡°factory reset¡±.

    For example, the memory could be contaminated by something; or to achieve a particr purpose and meet a specific condition, he must forget something and return to the nk te.

    Of course, it was also possible that Annan was attacked or severely injured, and amnesia was the only way to survive.

    Facing Annan¡¯s question, the Faceless Poet couldn¡¯t help but let out some sharpughter, ¡°That¡¯s impossible, Annan.

    ¡°You may have forgotten a lot. Let me reveal some information for the time being so that you can rest assured.

    ¡°In the Noah Kingdom, there is the Silver Sire and me. There are also two honorary deitydesses in the Underground Falteration, the Old Grandmother in the Austere-Winter, the Paper Princess in the United Kingdom, the Father Stone, the Duo-Songwriter, and three upright deities in the Papal Kingdom. If the enemy you are talking about is the Rotten Man, he is not quite worthy.

    ¡°He¡¯s too young. He doesn¡¯t even know your value to this world.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the value in me then?¡± Annan asked in confusion.

    Judging from what the Faceless Poet uttered, it seemed like he hadmunicated with many upright deities.

    But after hearing this, the girl wearing the crow mask paused, then shook Her head decisively, ¡°I am the Deity of Secrets.¡±

    ¡°Then, can you just mention when¡­¡±

    ¡°I refuse~no~¡± Before Annan could finish speaking, the Faceless Poet folded Her hands in front of Her and sang an out-of-tune song loudly, overshadowing Annan¡¯s voice and forcibly interrupting Annan¡¯s words.

    She looked at Annan¡¯s distressed look and gave a weird chuckle, ¡°I was wondering why the Paper Princess suddenly came to Noah. She turns out to be looking for you. So when you want to see Her, leave this ce and head to the streets. The Paper Princess can smell you, so you don¡¯t need to go to Her.¡±

    ¡°But even if you say so¡­¡± I still have no memories of the Paper Princess either.

    ¡°Hahahaha, don¡¯t be like this, Annan. Forgetting is not a bad thing. Knowledge has a weight to it, and the more powerful the knowledge, the heavier it is. Unfortunately, you don¡¯t have the awareness or the capability to carry the knowledge forward.¡±

    ¡°Is Silver Rank not enough either?¡±

    ¡°Stop probing me. I won¡¯t say anything. The same is true for the twodies. But if you are lucky enough to meet Miss Lucky, She might reveal a couple more words.¡±

    The petite girl said with a smile. Then, Her body gradually melted into ck mud again, and her voice slowly blurred, ¡°Since it is not the time to catch up, I will head off first.

    ¡°The Noah Kingdom is not a good and safe ce at this time. But since you chose toe here, it should be the Lady¡¯s n.

    ¡°The Lady taught us that secrets lose their magic if they are told. We should let nature take its course.¡±

    The ck mud made a shrill, damp sound,ughing and blending into the ground, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll watch over you nicely, and I will record all of this properly!¡±

 Chapter 363: The Former Annan

    <h4>Chapter 363: The Former Annan</h4>

    It took half a minute for the Faceless Poet to disappearpletely.

    The minor tremor that filled the air and gave off a tingling sensation gradually dissipated.

    Even after the sensation dissipated entirely, Annan still felt a throbbing sensation on his skin.

    It felt like the auditory hallucinations when he entered a quiet room after being exposed to noises for a long time.

    At the same time, it felt like the shudders entering a warm room after exposure to the cold wind. The chill did not retain at skin level but seeped deep into the muscle, blood, and bone.

    Such a sensation was often referred to as [Remains].

    That was the origin and meaning of those [Influence].

    Using arge-scale Trascended power would leave traces in this world and spawn the corresponding Influence. That was also one of the prices of utilizing the Trascended power. Like Annan¡¯s only chaos spell at the moment. He would be granted an Influence just by using it.

    Like a groove carved into the bottom of a river with a stone, although it would gradually dissipate over time, it would continue to affect the surrounding world until it dissipated.

    Simrly, those who hold the [Truth] were manifestations of concepts.

    Their existence would alienate a specific range of the world around them via Their [Truth]. This kind of Influence on the soul level could only be felt by Transcended, who had a keen intuition and specialized in perception.

    The older and more powerful the deities were, the more they could restrain their influence on the outside world; the newer deities and powerful beings who hadn¡¯t grasped the truth would destroy the surrounding.

    This was precisely why the abnormal feeling inflicted upon Annan when the Faceless Poet appeared was weaker than the Venerated Skeleton. If she dedicated her attention, those traces would be hiddenpletely. Simr to the Silver Sire¡¯s presence, no one on the street would be able to perceive the deities.

    Things like ¡°Leviathan¡¯s remains¡± would still exist on the beach long after she was gone.

    Unfortunately, there was a problem here.

    Annan would generate [Influence] as well.

    He remembered it clearly.

    When he saw Salvatore¡¯s magic mirror that could reveal his soul¡¯s essence, he was directly influenced by observing his soul.

    Additionally, it was an Advanced Influence.

    Had Annan¡¯s soul already produced a certain degree of alienation?

    But Annan¡¯s soul did not sublimate yet.

    It was not just a matter of not having a vessel.

    Annan¡¯s level was so low at the beginning. When he advanced to the Silver Rank, he removed many impurities in his body.

    Even if Annan were in his second life, he would not have ¡°reset all his stats and skill points¡±.

    Consider what the Faceless Poet said, ¡°Knowledge has weight¡± and ¡°You don¡¯t have to carry weight yet¡±.

    Could it be that I ventured on the ritualist path in my first life? Such thoughts popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    If that were the case, then it would have exined everything.

    Vasily Manning mentioned to Annan that thirteen-year-old Annan had left Austere-Winter alone a year before the Rotten Man attacked. Very few people knew about this.

    Since Annan was so weak and did not have a bodyguard, how could the Grand Duke rest assured to have Annan leave the Austere-Winter Dukedom alone?

    Unless Annan was not alone at all.

    It was true that there were ¡°no people¡± around him, but there was a deity.

    The power of ritualists came from Transcended knowledge. Annan, as the sessor of the Austere-Winter, was more suitable for learning this kind of knowledge than the Manning brothers. At the same time, Annan was also a transmigrator. He might have matured earlier than others. At thirteen, he gained the ability to protect himself and met many deities through the ritual. This narration was entirely possible.

    That was why Annan could hold the ¡°Ritual: Prophetic Fragment¡± previously, even with the shortage of materials, andpleted a small part without side effects. At that time, he managed to catch a glimpse of the future.

    The reason being Annan was a ritualist who had lost his memory!

    Although he lost his memory about these rituals as if he had forgotten the relevant expertise, his affinity and proficiency with ritual were still there!

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Annan muttered.

    Old Nn smiled and walked to Annan, ¡°Do you have any questions now?¡±

    Seeing his reaction, Annan raised an eyebrow and asked rhetorically, ¡°So, you have long guessed that I lost my memory?¡±

    This ordinary-looking old man did not withdraw his kind and gentle smile.

    ¡°It was just spection. I wasn¡¯t sure of it previously.

    ¡°You said you would marry Kafni when you grow up when you were young. Although I was not there at the time, I heard my eldest son say it.¡±

    For real? Annan hesitated for a while.

    But after thinking about it carefully, it appeared that this was indeed what he would say.

    In the current situation, he role-yed a handsome fourteen-year-old youth who was fanatical about earning yers¡¯ rapport. If he were to role-y a nine-year-old child, Annan would capitalize on his age and identity to get benefits.

    Relying on the innocent standpoint of ¡°children¡¯s words carried no harm¡±, he would capitalize on it to earn more rapport points and get a wife with a good appearance, status, and personality. That was indeed something that Annan would do.

    If that were the case, it would exin Kafni¡¯s attitude towards him.

    It seems I have to adjust my attitude toward Kafni.

    Although I don¡¯t remember it now, this is what I did in the past.

    Now, of course, I need to take responsibility for it.

    Not to mention Kafni is cute.

    But¡­

    Annan threw a side nce at the Old Crow.

    Although he did not hold any opinion on the Geraint family, their attitude in expressing that ¡°I¡¯m going to use youter on¡± still made Annan feel a little awkward.

    Perhaps this was one of the aftermaths of losing the fourteen years of memory as a nobility.

    The former Annan must have adapted to the situation that people would be used anytime and anywhere.

    ¡°Did you invite the Faceless Poet over?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case.¡± The old man immediately defended, ¡°She came here after learning that you hade to Noah¡¯s capital. Before that, I didn¡¯t know that you and the Faceless Poet knew each other.

    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t even know that you are associated with many true deities.¡±

    In the name of Faceless Poet, I will keep this a secret. Nn promised Annan so.

    Eugene Geraint, on the side, also swore an oath to the Faceless Poet.

    ¡°Then, I would like to ask,¡± Annan thought for a long time before asking, ¡°How much do you know about ¡®Nichs mel¡¯?¡±

    ¡°The one from the Denizoya Kingdom?¡± Old Crow replied tly, ¡°His actions have been under our surveince. This includes his traveling route, transactions with everyone, apprentices and assistants, and experiments.

    ¡°He tried to avoid our surveince. But he soon discovered that the Noah Kingdom is filled with our ¡®eyes¡¯, and he couldn¡¯t even do that as a [Great Sage].¡±

    ¡°No, I mean¡­ Do you know anything about what he did?¡± Annan added.

    Nn and Eugene looked at each other.

    Eugene took the conversation over and asked, ¡°Is it because he was the Jade Tower Master?¡±

    ¡°No, he betrayed all humanity, which nearly caused the Epoch Disaster.¡± Annan took a closer look at the expressions of the two and suddenly smiled. ¡°It seems that the Crow isn¡¯t all-knowing.¡±

    No wonder he was able to stay in the capital without any worries.

    His Majesty the King did not know about Nichs¡¯ story.

    Although there was no stone hammer yet, they should still be wary.

    Feeling Annan¡¯s harmless ridicule, Nn smiled helplessly, ¡°We only know what we know.¡±

    As he spoke, Eugene took a bottle of wine from the top of the wine cab.

    The old man got up and poured Annan a ss of wine himself.

    This was a wine that was green as jade. The color made it appear poisonous, but it had no taste.

    ¡°This is the ¡®Gift of Spring¡¯, one of the gifts of the Bone Burying Church. It¡¯s for hospitalization but not the price of intelligence.¡±

    Nn gave a simple exnation and then said seriously, ¡°In addition to selling intelligence, we are also interested in acquiring intelligence.

    ¡°Please exin in detail, Your Highness. The price is negotiable.¡±

 Chapter 364: The Non-existent Dice

    <h4>Chapter 364: The Non-existent Dice</h4>

    ¡°The betrayer of humanity¡­¡± After Eugene sent Annan away, Nn sat alone in the basement seat, poured himself a ss of wine, and murmured while staring at it.

    His expression wasplicated.

    No wonder he didn¡¯t get information about Nichs.

    Unlike the carefree attitude he had shown, Nn was suspicious of Nichs long before Annan mentioned it ¡ª even before Don Juan went to the Freezing Water Port.

    Nichs¡¯s background was a nk te.

    Nn confirmed it through various means.

    The Old Crow didn¡¯t know why Nichs didn¡¯t die, didn¡¯t know why he came here and didn¡¯t know how he crossed the border. He didn¡¯t even know what he possessed and was his strength stronger or weaker than before.

    But the Old Crow was sure about one thing.

    This man was indeed Nichs, who ¡°died¡± more than a hundred years ago.

    Afterparing with the information Annan provided, he had resolved many of the previous confusions:

    Nichs was a Gold Rank wizard, notably a wizard who specialized in the Alteration School. Why were there no clues on his previous inventions, research results, and alteration products?

    Even the Silver Rank Alteration Wizard would leave behind great inventions that would pass down for decades, not to mention Nichs was at Gold Rank.

    Moreover, those without a ¡°strong desire¡± that was determined and firm would not be able to ¡°dye¡± their soul.

    Embarking on the path of transcendence required almost nothing. All that was needed was good wit and adaptability, to sessfully clear at least one nightmare and to have a guide willing to be a secret keeper.

    As for the advancement into the Silver Rank, the challenger had to umte enough power. For the final step of advancement, if the soul erosion by the curse was overboard, the part of ¡°coughing out impurities¡± might even be fatal.

    The benchmark that determined life and death was 65% soul purity.

    If more than ? of the soul were already corrupted by the curse, the remaining power would no longer be enough to support the soul.

    Thus, the soul would copse directly and couldn¡¯t even support the independent nightmare running. It would only merge into the nightmare that the challenger had recently purified.

    As long as the erosion rate was higher than 25%, there would be a period of vulnerability and weakness after the rank advancement. Then, it would take a few days for the recovery period to officially obtain the ¡°pure power¡± of the Silver Rank ¡ª the so-called ¡°third developmental period¡±.

    In this world, the transcendent schrs considered the process from the birth of babies to when they grow up to four or five years old, being able to run, eat, drink, and learn to speak, as the ¡°first developmental period¡±. They called it ¡°the blossoming of the mind¡±.

    The period from twelve to seventeen was considered the ¡°second developmental period¡±, termed as ¡°the blossoming of the physique¡±.

    The third developmental stage was ¡°the blossoming of the soul¡±.

    Just like the mental development of an infant to a young child and the physical maturity of a child to a young teen ¡ª after advancing into the Silver Rank, the soul had just matured. Everything involving the soul¡¯s Transcended power began at this stage.

    If the soul was not pure enough, it was impossible to pass this advancement stage safely.

    For the advancement into the Gold Rank, the soul rank of ¡°dyeing¡±, the mortality rate of advancement ritual was as high as 15%.

    Although it was less than 20%, it was actually a high mortality rate. As a matter of fact, the advancement ritual could only be done once, which the challenger could not afford to fail. Thus, they would be well-prepared with confidence beforemitting to it.

    What stood in the way of this benchmark was ¡°desire¡±, or rather ¡°obsession¡±.

    The source of the ¡°hue¡± of the Dyed Rank was the challenger¡¯s desire. The direction of advancement must be the same as the desire. If the desire were to obtain a perfect body, the challenger would not smoothly advance into the Gold Rank in the path of Alteration Wizard; if he desired true wisdom, he could not utilize the Berserker profession to attain the advancement.

    That was the true essence behind the ¡°profession¡±.

    The desire itself was ambiguous. Even a true warrior, who desired to die in battle and desired battle and glory, had moments of romance entangled in his mind.

    The purpose of ¡°profession¡± was to have an ¡°adobe¡± with a rough idea.

    Transcended had to trante the right desire into it, temper it, and refine it.

    In the process of advancement, the burning fuel was one¡¯s obsession.

    This was the literal process of ¡°forging¡±.

    It was impossible to smelt iron in an ordinary oven. To burn the soul and extract the element, it was necessary to forge a more advanced forge.

    As the Cup-holding Lady said, ¡°Human desire is the foundation that never changes.¡± From ancient times to the present, from the fall of the deities to the fights in the streets, there must be the shadow of ¡°desire¡± in any event.

    Only the furnace of desire could purify one¡¯s soul through burning.

    If the obsession were exhausted before the advancement waspleted, the challenger would be an empty shell that loses its sentience.

    Such an empty shell was a precious and rare Transcended material.

    It was often termed as the ¡°Pupa of Death¡±, or the ¡°Pupa of Human Face¡± ¡ª like a butterfly that didn¡¯t break out of its cocoon in the end.

    The insect that lost its body and identity could not be called a butterfly. It was in an intermediate state between a pupa and aplete metamorphosis.

    The death pupa could rece any living being as a sacrifice in any ritual because of its chaotic nature. It was a good substitute even for the ritual that needed the sacrifice of a Gold Rank Transcended; even a ritual that required a specific name or a specific person could utilize the pupa as a substitute.

    Each ¡°pupa¡± could rece a person.

    Therefore, it was also the best material for offsetting the curse.

    It looked like a vegetative person, but neither the soul nor the flesh was damaged. It even had some power belonging to the Gold Rank, which allowed it to survive without food and water.

    But that was merely basic survival.

    Those who failed to advance into the Gold Rank would not have any desire as if they were alienated from this world.

    They would take no further action, including listening, speaking, sitting, walking, eating and drinking, sleeping and entertainment, and even the instinctive drive of self-protection was gone. Even when someone poked the person¡¯s pupil with a needle, the victim would not give any reaction.

    Although the body and soul still existed objectively in a healthy state, it was no different from being dead.

    Nn knew from the very beginning that Nichs definitely had a strong ¡°desire¡±.

    The Gold Rank Transcended would not simply act at will. Instead, their every move was rted to their obsession.

    Nichs was the only ¡°Great Sage¡± in the world. He who had inherited all the pursuits of ancient alchemists would only aim for the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    He had evenpleted the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    So what more could he desire?

    ¡°I should have thought of it earlier.¡± Nn sighed.

    What would an alchemist who mastered the Sage¡¯s Stone want?

    There was only one answer.

    He wanted to be the Omniscience Creator.

    For a creator, the ¡°old world¡± was no longer needed.

    He had enough power to create a world from scratch¡­ a world that only belonged to him.

    All he needed was time and resources.

    It turned out that was why Nichs¡¯ information was utterly wiped out.

    ¡°That¡¯s the so-called ¡®more perfect form of human beings.¡± A sharp, hoarse voice sounded in the basement.

    Nn¡¯s shadow suddenly turned into substantial ck mud, surging up beside him.

    A hand that formed via the ck mud maliciously lifted Old Nn¡¯s wine ss and poured it into the shadows.

    Then, the head of a young man with a simr appearance to Nn, but only in his twenties, emerged from Old Nn¡¯s ear.

    The wild and malicious smile on His face was unabashed, ¡°What do you think, Nn?¡±

    ¡°Faceless Poet.¡± Nn didn¡¯t get up. He still sat on the sofa, lowered his head, and greeted respectfully, ¡°I knew you didn¡¯t leave.¡±

    Of course, he just lied.

    Or rather, it was his act of keeping secrets.

    After all, he was not the cardinal of Faceless Poet, but the pope of Faceless Poet.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s pitiful.¡± Old Nn sighed, looked at the wine, and said calmly.

    ¡°What kind of experience made him decide to create a so-called ¡®advanced species¡¯ that ¡®will not betray or be betrayed¡¯ and ¡®there is no misunderstanding¡¯? What kind of tangled andplicated thoughts will make them ¡®engage in reproductive istion [1]¡®?

    ¡°The demi-deity who can realize the creation of life. How can everything be decided by throwing dice?¡±

 Chapter 365: I Donâ€™t Think So

    <h4>Chapter 365: I Don¡¯t Think So</h4>

    ¡°Just send me here.¡± Annan followed Eugene to the south entrance and stopped. He nodded politely to the ordinary-looking but inexplicably credible young man, ¡°I¡¯ll stroll around. The Paper Princess should be able to find me.¡±

    ¡°Would that be fine? You¡¯re still holding our payment. It may not be safe for you to be here by yourself. After all, the Paper Princess won¡¯t find you right away.¡±

    Eugene Geraint looked at Annan with some worry, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you haven¡¯t been to the capital, right? There are many secrets and taboos here. Not to mention Austerian, even the overseas Noah people wouldn¡¯t know about them when theye back.

    ¡°For example, our Geraint mansion is so big and so luxuriously decorated because our home is directly connected to the pce.¡±

    ¡°Directly connected?¡± Annan eximed.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The ordinary-looking young man replied.

    ¡°Do you remember that fountain?¡±

    ¡°The one with a lot of statues?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Eugene nodded, ¡°You should have noticed that there are many people who are not from the Geraint family because this is not the back garden of the Geraint family.

    ¡°If you go around the fountain and continue to the north, it will be the pce¡¯s back garden.¡±

    Eugene replied, ¡°Did you notice the guards?

    ¡°Those are not the guards of the count¡¯s house. They¡¯re the defense unitsposed of the Noah¡¯s guards and secret troops.¡±

    No wonder. Annan suddenly realized.

    He was a little baffled at first. Why were there so many people in a mere count¡¯s mansion? The wall was at the caliber of a city wall, with many patrols on the stairs. At the same time, there were watchtowers and patrols on rooftops.

    Even the king¡¯s pce was iparable to that.

    Annan was a little hesitant at the time.

    After seeing the mirror gallery inside the count¡¯s mansion, he even had the feeling that ¡°Sir, are you going to rebel against the king?¡±

    It seemed it was not the Old Crow¡¯s work.

    The gorgeous gallery of mirrors, massive fountain, and those stone corridors of Noah¡¯s great heroes¡­

    It seemed the count¡¯s mansion was originally part of the royal pce.

    From this point of view, the political status of the Crow family might be different from what Annan thought at the beginning.

    They didn¡¯t seem to need Kafni as a bargaining chip to increase their influence.

    Annan nced at Eugene.

    His appearance was not outstanding at all and ordinary by the standards of aristocrats, and he would blend in immediately once he joined the crowd. However, he was pretty smart.

    Annan didn¡¯t say anything, and Eugene immediately realized what Annan was wary of ¡ª they made a deal. He didn¡¯t want the Crow family to use his identity to increase their influence and also increase their prestige in front of the king.

    So Eugene brought Annan for a stroll, hinting that the Geraint family¡¯s political status was unique. They did not need Annan¡¯s influence.

    He was indeed the most trusted son of Old Crow.

    It was highly possible for the Geraint family to pass on the secret intelligence agency ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡± to him in the future.

    Thus, Annan immediately changed the subject and did not continue talking about the previous incident.

    ¡°The back garden of the pce? Is it the one blessed by the Silver Sire¡¯s pope?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Oh, have you heard of that?¡± Eugene was a little surprised.

    Annan smiled and replied ambiguously, ¡°I have some memory of it.¡±

    In actual fact, I have forgotten everything.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know if I remember correctly. The flower is of the rose family. The petals are almost transparent and pure white like jade, and the branches and leaves are the color of violets. They¡¯re so real and beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Ah, you are talking about the Sacred Silver Flower Field. The blessinges from this generation of pope.¡± Eugene answered quickly.

    ¡°This generation?¡± Annan noticed his usage of words.

    Eugene nodded, ¡°Actually, every generation of the pope will bless something in the pce. This is also a tradition. In fact, almost all flower fields have been blessed by the popes. However, since there are different popes, the effects are different. Many flower fields are not ornamental, but used as magical materials.¡±

    ¡°The Sacred Silver Flower Field is not the closest to us but closest to the pce. The closest flower field to here is the Crystal Lake Flower Field. I can take you to see it next time.¡±

    ¡°Next time then.¡± Annan smiled.

    The so-called ¡°next time¡± was a polite way of saying, ¡°if you don¡¯t tell me, I won¡¯t take you there¡±.

    Eugene asked again, ¡°If you are worried, why don¡¯t I take you out of this ce in disguise?

    ¡°It¡¯s rare for you toe to the capital. I have many ces I want to bring you over to. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able toe again when you return home.¡±

    Annan noticed that Eugene was asking him whether he would take the throne as soon as he returned home.

    So he smiled and said, ¡°Not necessarily.

    ¡°But even if I wanted toe, my sister probably wouldn¡¯t let me. She is quite annoyed to have my presence here.¡±

    He was reminding Eugene ¡ª I like the Noah Kingdom, but my sister, Maria, knows I¡¯m here.

    Eugene also sensed Annan¡¯s hidden meaning behind his words.

    He smiled and said nothing more.

    It¡¯sfortable talking to smart people.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for disguise.¡± Annan joked, ¡°You¡¯re not conspicuous already, but you might be conspicuous by putting on a disguise.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m still a child. Please don¡¯t take me to ces that will make my sister angry.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Her Royal Highness Kafni will be angry too?¡± Eugene smiled, ¡°Before the Paper Princess arrives, let me show you around.¡±

    He kept walking, and Annan followed behind him.

    He just brushed off Annan¡¯sment not to follow him, and Annan didn¡¯t say anything about it too.

    They would not tear off others¡¯ faces like that. It was a tacit understanding between intelligent people.

    Eugene¡¯s existence did save Annan a lot of trouble.

    Eugene did not restrain his presence. As long as he followed Annan, no one dared to approach them. There might not be thieves or beggars in the pce, but there would be troublesome people around.

    Annan¡¯s perception was sharp.

    At this distance, Annan could distinguish the danger and hostility of the other party at the moment when he was being targeted.

    But those guys who had ulterior motives on Annan had their eyes overflowed with unavoidable fear and awe when they saw Eugene.

    This also made Annan realize this young man, who was extraordinarily warm and friendly to him, did not seem to be a kind soul.

    ¡°Speaking of which, are you satisfied with the payment?¡± Eugene walked ahead and asked.

    Annan shrugged and was about to answer.

    His vision was overwhelmed with white light. The brilliance had seemingly submerged and destroyed his whole world. There was nothing else but a white re.

    He immediately realized it was an illusion.

    But before Annan could do anything. he felt his left shoulder lightly tapped from behind.

    Annan was surprised.

    At this distance, his perception should have detected the person behind him.

    But even though he was tapped, he still didn¡¯t detect anyone behind him.

    ¡°Excuse me for a moment, okay?¡± It was a surprisingly gentle and slow voice.

    Annan turned around, attempting to observe the identity of the iing person with his naked eye.

    The man appeared 27 years old, much younger than Annan had expected. He was wearing a brown jacket with many pockets and a small pocket watch about 4 centimeters around his neck. The pocket watch was ced in the chest pocket.

    With a gentle and lonely expression on his face, he wore white silk gloves on both hands, and aplex five-color magic circle was drawn on the back of his hands. The ck part seemed to resemble a magic circle. However, thebination of the red and blue lines appeared to be another magic circle. On the other hand, the red and purple lines constructed another magic circle too.

    ¡°Before you asked that, you have disturbed me, sir.¡± Annan responded politely.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The young man had neither malicious nor good intentions. He smiled indifferently like a deity, spread his hands, and a white silk-like light lingered between his fingers, ¡°I¡¯m not asking for your consent either.

    ¡°Pleasee with me, will you?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t think so.¡± Again, a cold female voice sounded in the white world.

 Chapter 366: The Brush Of Imaginary

    <h4>Chapter 366: The Brush Of Imaginary</h4>

    Annan realized that this gentle young man who suddenly pulled himself into the hallucination was the Nichs he mentioned to Nn previously.

    Speaking of the devil¡­

    He appeared gentle and mncholy with a harmless appearance, like a mncholic youth who adopted an artistic style.

    However, He was not so courteous when He spoke. There was a hint of deity-likepassion and arrogance with Him.

    However, the person Nichs was facing at the moment was a true deity.

    Annan felt strange fluctuations in the space when he heard the cold female voice.

    The faint and chaotic yellow traces, like transparent lemon-colored jelly, quickly emerged in the pure white space.

    It was as if the world in front of them was a white canvas, and someone was scribbling in the air with a paintbrush full of dark yellow paint.

    Several arcs imbued with a mystical sense of aesthetic to them had surrounded Nichs. At first nce, it appeared like petals drawn with calligraphy were blooming around Him. However, it was a different painting style than His, making it unique and beautiful.

    A white-haired girl who could only be described as ¡°gorgeous¡± was like being sketched out of thin air by someone with a paintbrush. She quickly acquired a bodyposed of ck and white lines, and then She was painted in color.

    ¡°Are you the Paper Princess?¡± Nichs replied inly, ¡°Long time no see, Lady Paper Princess.¡±

    ¡°Nichs?¡± The Paper Princess frowned slightly and warned, ¡°He¡¯s not Don Juan Geraint, but Annan Austere-Winter. Back away, or I¡¯ll attack you.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I have no hostility toward Your Highness Annan, Lady Princess.¡± The young man smiled warmly.

    Even though He said so, He did not stop what He was working on His hands.

    The pattern on the back of his hand looked like a rose withplex colors.

    Different petals had different colors ¡ª ck, red, blue, purple, and yellow; they were evenly distributed on each petal. All petals and adjacent petals were not in the same color. Immediately after activating patterns of different colors, different magic circuits were formed.

    As the ck, purple, and ck, red, and blue circuits of His hands were lit up, the white silk-like light that lingered on the tips of His fingers previously turned into a constantly expanding translucent light cluster as if it hade alive.

    It resembled a balloon with air blowing into it. The light group quickly expanded into a new form, like a massive copper bell. It wrapped Nichs in it.

    However, when the light group continued to expand, it came into contact with the faint yellow traces imbued with the calligraphy vibe.

    The moment it came into contact with the dim yellow traces lingering in the air, the inside of the light group was fixed on the spot as if time had stopped.

    At this time, the Paper Princess had appeared beside Annan.

    ¡°Back off, Annan.¡± The Paper Princess spoke in a cold voice.

    She turned Her back to Annan and stood in front of Annan. Her left arm hung straight down, and her left hand held a brush about 24 centimeters long as if wielding a long dagger in an inverse grip.

    Annan noticed that the brush was dyed with dim yellow paint.

    Her right hand was raised horizontally,pletely shielding Annan behind her.

    Between the fingers of Her right hand, She held a red pencil and a pen dripping with azure blue ink.

    After the faint yellow trace suspended the light group, the Paper Princess utilized her hand flexibly like a dance.

    Dark blue thunderclouds quickly umted in the sky.

    Under the thundercloud, the crimson hue of the thunder quickly began to umte. Dark red terrifying thunder entwined in the clouds. There was a stench in the air, just like the breeze after heavy rain.

    And after just a few seconds, a crimson lightning bolt fell from the sky. It mmed on the light group, shattering it instantly!

    A huge roar sounded at the same time as the lightning fell!

    There was even a slight tremor evoked on the ground.

    After the scarlet thunderbolt dissipated, crackling red electric sparks fluttered in the air.

    At the same time, the azure blue frost was quickly drawn on the ground. The dark blue ice shackles spread up from the ground, fixing Nichs¡¯s feet to the ground and spreading upward.

    At this time, the second red thunderbolt in the sky had already begun to umte.

    However, the circuit on the back of Nichs¡¯s hand began to flicker rapidly.

    Or, instead, it was switching rapidly.

    The illusory light group shattered by the crimson thunder protruded several sharp white distorted light trails from the wreckage that was about to dissipate. Then a sharp de appeared at the front part of the light trails and darted toward Annan like a hound on its own.

    Like the traces on a circuit board, the distorted light paths spread rapidly in the air, trying to avoid the Paper Princess and stab Annan.

    But the strange thing was Annan didn¡¯t feel the slightest killing intent from them.

    Could it be that Nichs really has no intention of killing me?

    So what is he doing now?

    In the face of Nichs¡¯s actions of disobeying her words, the Paper Princess was unfazed. Her majestic air was unperturbed.

    She raised the paintbrush in her left hand and quickly added a few strokes in the air.

    The dim yellow tracesnded in the air at the same time, stagnating the few light paths delivered. More time was suspended as the murky yellow color spread toward the light trails. There were several light trails before the dim yellow color spread. It continued to split from the end of the light trail and flew towards Annan!

    ¡°What the hell are you thinking?¡± The Paper Princess frowned slightly.

    Another short-handled brush spawned in her right hand.

    As she swung the brush in her hand, dozens of metallic paint dots flew out, turning into steel shields in the air. It fell on the spreading and chaotic paths of light with iparable precision.

    With the sound of one after another squeaking noise of corrosive acids, the steel shield was pierced by the light path in the blink of an eye. But as these shields shattered and disappeared, the sharp light trails that passed through the shields were also turned into white paint and fell to the ground.

    But at this moment, Annan looked over again. Nichs had disappeared into this pure white space. The shackles made of ice on the ground had turned into wet, cracked y.

    However, Nichs¡¯s sudden escape did not seem to surprise the Paper Princess.

    She just put a few pens back around her waist, turned around, and squatted in front of Annan with some concern.

    The moment Annan saw the Paper Princess, he was also stunned by the ¡°beauty¡± that transcended ordinary people¡¯s perception. But he quickly came to his senses, without the hallucinations and new influences Old Goose was afflicted with.

    It was like Annan was used to this ¡°beauty¡±.

    It inexplicably became reasonable at this instance.

    Since Annan was a copy of this beauty, he even possessed the element of ¡°beauty¡± that he had not fully awakened yet.

    What surprised Annan was the first reaction of the Paper Princess. She came over and touched his head and then reached out Her hand to pinch his face.

    ¡°Are you all right, Annan?¡±

    The Paper Princess looked at Annan, caressed Annan¡¯s hair lightly, and asked softly, ¡°Did he hurt you?¡±

 Chapter 367: The Paper Princessâ€™s Leak

    <h4>Chapter 367: The Paper Princess¡¯s Leak</h4>

    ¡°No. You came very timely.¡± Annan smiled and replied briskly.

    He didn¡¯t ask where Nichs had gone or how the Paper Princess got here.

    Annan spoke softly and thanked the Paper Princess politely, ¡°Thank you foring to save me. I don¡¯t know what will happen when He takes me away.¡±

    Hearing this, the Paper Princess showed a gentle smile.

    She rubbed Annan¡¯s cheeks up and down with Her hands and pinched his face again.

    ¡°Yes, finally, you have grown up a little.¡± The Paper Princess showed a satisfied smile and persuaded with a stern face, ¡°But remember to eat more.

    ¡°Although the Noah Kingdom is not as cold as Austere-Winter, it won¡¯t be much different in winter, and your body is weak. If you don¡¯t eat enough, you may catch a cold.

    ¡°Especially, you have to eat more meat. You are still growing, you don¡¯t have to worry about your figure, and exercising is much healthier than dieting. Are you exercising every morning and evening? Since you have advanced to the Silver Rank, how is [Frost Sword] doing? Have you dropped your training?¡±

    Hearing the Paper Princess¡¯ words, Annan showed a baffled expression.

    Why do you sound like you¡¯re close to me?

    I¡¯m not hungry.

    The rtionship between the Paper Princess and me doesn¡¯t seem like the one between ¡°peers¡±.

    It came off as an empathetic feeling from elders, like how Silver Sire previously treated Annan.

    But there were subtle differences.

    When Silver Sire talked to Annan, He was much more cordial and polite than the Paper Princess. It felt like a neighbor or some rtive who always kept a distance. He would only praise but not reprimand Annan.

    However, the Paper Princess¡¯s attitude toward Annan was like a sister, mother, or teacher.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Annan?¡± The Paper Princess touched Annan¡¯s head worriedly because Annan did not speak.

    She put her hands on Annan¡¯s head as if massaging his head. Then, She stroked his smooth hair repeatedly and skillfully. Annan squinted his eyes obediently, standing there without resisting.

    For some reason, Annan felt this scene was a little familiar, like it had happened many times before.

    It appeared as if he was close to the Paper Princess.

    However, that should be unlikely.

    Annan had previously learned from Silver Sire that the Old Grandmother always had mixed feelings about this new deity born from Her own portrait.

    It was not enough to say that the Old Grandmother hated her, but She had clearly shown Her dislike for the Paper Princess.

    Therefore, the Paper Princess did not go to Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    If the Paper Princess and Annan were acquainted, it would only have happened during the year he traveled around. Therefore, the Paper Princess should be among the deities who protected Annan at that time.

    The Paper Princess was a false deity who traveled all over the ce and would not stay in one ce for long.

    She would travel worldwide, walking between reality and the imaginary world. She would sell Her paintings to support the poor painters who believed in themselves.

    But the situation did not seem only like this.

    Although the Old Grandmother was distant from the Paper Princess, the Paper Princess seemed to care about the Old Grandmother.

    Annan did not think much of it.

    He shook his head and asked probingly, ¡°Do you know that I may lose my memory?¡±

    ¡°You told me that.¡± The Paper Princess nodded and was about to say something when suddenly, as if She had remembered something, She said apologetically, ¡°Ah, sorry. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell you the details right now. It might affect your determination.¡±

    ¡°Determination?¡±

    ¡°En, it has something to do with the sacred bone. That¡¯s all that I can say.¡± The Paper Princess not only did not doubt Annan butforted, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. You made the decision after discussing it with everyone. They had to consider it on multiple angels and thought things wouldn¡¯t go wrong.

    ¡°Everything is within our n, and it hasn¡¯t gone off the rails so far. So you don¡¯t have to be too nervous. Even if you lose your memory, you will get more than before.¡±

    ¡°Am I trying to get the approval of a sacred bone?¡± Annan frowned, ¡°Am I not a Transcended in the past? But how do I advance to the Gold Rank if that¡¯s the case?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I have to mention this to you.¡± Hearing this, the Paper Princess suddenly remembered something and added, ¡°You don¡¯t have to rush to advance into the Gold Rank. First, you need to get your sacred bone, and then¡­ You don¡¯t need to sign a covenant. Just getting it is enough. It is vital to promote into the Gold Rank in the case of possessing a Truth and the sacred bone.

    ¡°Since you now have the reversed Winter Heart, you¡¯re qualified to sign a covenant with several sacred bones; at the same time, you have also got a rainbow-colored soul, and the sacred bone that matches you will look for you on its own and reach you sooner orter. You just need to follow your heart.¡±

    Although She said, ¡°That¡¯s all I can say,¡± the Paper Princess couldn¡¯t help but leak a lot of information out when Annan asked.

    You did not seem to keep anything secret.

    You¡¯re leaking too much more than a sieve. Even if I do not ask in detail, I already have a general idea.

    So that¡¯s the situation. Is it for the sacred bone?

    This is indeed quite possible.

    The former Annan was afflicted with the [Winter Heart] for thirteen years. He had undergone tremendous changes in temperament, which was enough to affect his mind, change his character, and make him no longer recognized by the sacred bone.

    This message was likely to be true, but that might not be the entire case.

    ording to his character, he would definitely not tell all the information to the same person.

    In particr, he would not casually tell others the information far beyond their limits.

    Giving someone a treasure map full of traps was a crime of murder, too. It was enough to ruin a person¡¯s life when the goal was beyond the limit of the other party¡¯s capability but desired.

    Although Annan asionally took advantage of others and often plotted against his enemies, he would not hurt his friends.

    So Annan could conclude that what the Paper Princess knew must not be theplete version. She would be worried for him. Thus, what she knew must be ¡°the safe version that She did not need to worry about Annan¡±.

    I still have to ask Silver Sire for the specifics.

    I should help Silver Sire deal with Rotten Man¡¯s problems first.

    With Silver Sire¡¯s character as a businessman who liked to not reveal the entire case in His words, the matter of dealing with the Rotten Man might have something to do with Annan¡¯s previous ns.

    ¡°Paper Princess, do you know the person just now?¡±

    ¡°He is Nichs, the second Hermes, the leader of the Fallen path. Many Fallens were born through his work. I heard that the Shadow Demon is also with you. The Shadow Demon is his student.¡± The Paper Princess shook her head and warned, ¡°You¡¯d better stay away from him. He¡¯s a dangerous and crazy man.¡±

    ¡°But is he important?¡± Annan asked in a deep voice, ¡°Right?¡±

 Chapter 368: Poison Dust

    <h4>Chapter 368: Poison Dust</h4>

    Annan saw what had happened clearly.

    When the Paper Princess fought Nichs previously, She did not focus on eradicating the opponent, which was strange.

    The Paper Princess did not manually equip those pens from the waist but floated into Her hands instead. In the blink of an eye, the pens could paint an image with the color She wanted and quickly outline the desired graphics on the air.

    This meant that the Paper Princess couldunch several attacks at the same time depending on how many pens She harnessed.

    The Paper Princess did not attack Nichs directly. Her purpose was to expel Nichs, not to kill nor punish Him. She did not even deal any serious blow, as if She was afraid of Him getting hurt.

    Nichs and the Paper Princess seemed to know each other, judging from their exchange of words.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s question, the Paper Princess couldn¡¯t help but praise, ¡°As expected of you, Annan¡­

    ¡°Even if you lose those ult knowledge, you can still urately make out all of this.¡± As the Paper Princess spoke, She couldn¡¯t help but pinch Annan¡¯s ears again, shaking his head slightly from side to side. She then rubbed his hair vigorously, leaned in, and took a deep breath of Annan¡¯s scent before finally letting go of Annan.

    The Paper Princess couldn¡¯t help but show a beautiful and rxed smile on Her face as if Annan had healed her.

    She changed Her squatting position to half-kneeling, hugged Annan¡¯s back and pulled him into Her arms, and then casually caressed his hair, ¡°But, you don¡¯t have to be too nervous. He has notified his presence in the Noah Kingdom to the Elegant Elder and has a special mission.

    ¡°As his watcher, Father Stone is also in the Noah Kingdom now. That¡¯s why He pulled you here to avoid Father Stone.¡±

    ¡°Where is this ce?¡±

    ¡°This is a nightmare that hasn¡¯t yet taken shape. It¡¯s located between the real world and the dream world. In fact, it is an alteration product lost in history and now bes Nichs¡¯s unique technique. If you are interested, I will go to himter and ask for it.¡±

    The Paper Princess obviously did not mind Nichs and just said casually, ¡°When He was making the Sage¡¯s Stone¡­ You should remember Sage¡¯s Stone, right? When He collected materials, He also collected some Transcended souls that had not yet turned into nightmares. Then, He cleverly made nk nightmares that could suck in the consciousness of others at any time.

    ¡°It¡¯s like letting others have a seamless nightmare with reality with the target being its protagonist. There¡¯s no storyline and no curses in the nightmare. When Nichs recruits his students, He will go through this nightmare and recruit the qualified candidates of the Fallen path.¡±

    ¡°So, we¡¯re in a nightmare?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    Annan¡¯s system did not trigger a prompt when entering a nightmare for the first time.

    Or was this the reason why there was no ¡°main mission¡± because there was no curse in this nightmare?

    No wonder Annan could not feel the killing intent.

    Killing Annan in a nightmare really wasn¡¯t a big deal, especially this kind of nk nightmare without a curse. Even if Annan died here, it would not corrupt his soul.

    But the problem was¡­

    ¡°Then why did he attack me?¡± Annan was puzzled.

    It made absolutely no sense.

    Or¡­

    ¡°Does what he¡¯s going to do have anything to do with me?¡±

    ¡°No, not at all. You don¡¯t have to worry about him attacking you at all. He can¡¯t do that yet.¡±

    The Paper Princess said with certainty, ¡°The mission he came here is rted to the elves.¡±

    Elves?

    Is it about the curse energy?

    Annan frowned slightly.

    But he soon realized something.

    It should not be.

    The Elegant Elder, as an ancient upright deity, would not allow the curse energy to reappear in the world.

    But besides the curse energy, was there anything special about the elves that the deities had noticed? Weren¡¯t they a civilization that was useless except for their curse energy?

    Judging from the title of ¡°Second Hermes¡±, the Paper Princess knew what Nichs had once done.

    Although this ¡°Hermes¡± was not killed, He was imprisoned. Annan was a little surprised but soon found it understandable.

    After all, Nichs was a true genius.

    It would be a waste of his talent if He were directly eradicated.

    For the crimes that Nichs hadmitted, there was a need for a deity to keep an eye on Him.

    Even though that was the logical exnation, Annan always felt something was not quite right here.

    It felt like he had missed out on something.

    ¡°Can you reveal more information to me?¡± Annan asked eagerly, ¡°I want to know more so I can rest assured.

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask about my past.¡±

    His voice became more tender and soft. Finally, he asked the Paper Princess softly, almost coquettishly, ¡°I just want to know what Nichs came to Noah for, Paper Princess.¡±

    The Paper Princess had revealed more important information previously. If Annan asked for less critical information, there was a high probability that She would reveal it too.

    As long as a person leaked a little information, He would inevitably reveal more clues. This had to do with their nature and had nothing to do with virtue.

    The Paper Princess was a little overwhelmed.

    Compared to the stern Old Grandmother, the Paper Princess was more of a gentle elder who doted on children.

    She said helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s about poison dust. He came here to create poisonous dust.¡±

    ¡°Poison dust?¡±

    Annan heard this for the first time. He immediately asked, ¡°What is poison dust?¡±

    ¡°A special weapon made from the pure-hearted Fallen. To demons and those alien species, those poisons are equivalent to corrosive acid to ordinary people. Just touching it will cause immense damage. At the same time, it does not bring harm to humans.¡±

    Alien species? Annan¡¯s heart tightened.

    Speaking of which, are the yers considered aliens?

    So, what about me?

    ¡°I think he is trying to see if the poison dust is effective or to collect something from you. After all, you are also half an other-worldly being.¡±

    The Paper Princess said thoughtfully, ¡°I will apany you during your stay in the capital. If you feel any difort in the future, remember to tell me as soon as possible and don¡¯t hide it. Promise?¡±

    ¡°En, okay.¡± Annan replied obediently.

    So the Paper Princess stood up and reached for Annan¡¯s hand.

    She opened Her right hand, and the giant pen hanging from Her waist appeared in Her hand. It was a huge long brush like a two-handed sword.

    It looked like one of those big brushes the old man used to write on the ground in the park.

    As the Paper Princess raised it high, the tip of the brush was dyed with pure ink.

    Like a falling sword, the Paper Princess flipped her wrist and shed it straight down!

    At the next moment, the ink fell straight from the sky. The ink that soared to the sky had divided the world into two.

    The nightmare space filled with infinite white brilliance was quickly shattered from the middle by the ink column that reached the sky.

    The space here did not shatter like ss.

    Instead, they were like the clear water soaked in ink. The released ink eroded it in the blink of an eye, spreading further and further. The world filled with light was corroded. It became thin and transparent by the gradually melting ink traces and finally disappeared altogether.

    It was like a white fog covering the night sky. The stars and moon became clear again when the white fog dissipated.

    Then, Annan lost his vision a little before returning to the real world.

    It was as if just a moment had passed.

    Eugene was still in front of Annan, walking forward, muttering, ¡°Actually, I think father¡¯s payment to you is a bit too little. For this information¡­ Eh?¡°

    He seemed to notice something as he spoke and looked behind him vigntly.

    At the moment Eugene saw the Paper Princess, his pupils shrank slightly, and then he bit the tip of his tongue without hesitation ¡ª the pain made him immediately break free from the hallucination.

    Then, he bowed his head respectfully, looked at the ground under his feet, and addressed her honorable in the title, ¡°Paper Princess.¡±

    ¡°You can go back now.¡± The Paper Princess said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll apany Annan.¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Eugene was silent for a moment and replied respectfully.

    He shook his head helplessly and did not dare to retort or even look at Annan. At this moment, the Paper Princess was still holding Annan¡¯s hand and standing beside him.

    Eugene was afraid that the moment he saw Annan, he identally nced at the Paper Princess.

    The Paper Princess held Annan, who had just reached Her chest, with Her right hand. She stood on the street with a casual expression.

    She seemed to notice it and nced behind Her.

    The corners of Her mouth rose slightly as if She saw something.

    Annan looked at this scene and found it quite familiar.

    Ya.

    This was precisely what Annan saw from that ritual in the ¡°fragments of the future¡±!

 Chapter 369: The Worldâ€™s Blood

    <h4>Chapter 369: The World¡¯s Blood</h4>

    Nichs, who was sitting on a chair, slowly opened his eyes.

    There was neither malice nor goodwill in his calmke green eyes but deity-like gentleness andpassion.

    He stretched his neck, slightly soothing the stiff neck from sitting still for a long time.

    Nichs exhaled lightly. He reached out, pulled his long white hair back, and tied it into a ponytail. Then, he pushed the instruments on the table aside, picked up a pinky-thumb-sized bottle containing a sky blue reagent from the reagent rack, and drank it.

    At this moment, a calm and dull middle-aged male voice came from behind Nichs, ¡°Where have you been?¡±

    ¡°I just went out for a while.¡± Nichs reached out, wiped the corner of his mouth, then turned around and replied softly.

    There was no living person behind him.

    There was only one ster statue of human height sitting on the ground. The distressed expression on its face was reminiscent of a philosopher whose eyes were slightly closed, thinking about something.

    But, the statue looked up and nced at Nichs.

    The dull middle-aged voice poured out of its mouth, ¡°You drank the ¡®Soul Healing Potion¡¯. Is your soul hurt?¡±

    ¡°En, I was injured by the ¡®red¡¯ and ¡®yellow¡¯ of the Paper Princess. But, it¡¯s not a big problem. Although She also took out the ¡®blue¡¯ pen, She didn¡¯t use it to attack me.¡±

    Nichs replied calmly, ¡°My soul is orange. So it¡¯s not a big problem to sustain a ¡®red¡¯ attack.¡±

    ¡°How did you irritate the Paper Princess?¡± The stone statue made a dull voice, ¡°She has a good temper.¡±

    ¡°I saw Annan.¡± Nichs smiled slightly, took out another tube of pale yellow oily reagent, drank it, and said softly, ¡°So, I went and greeted him.¡±

    ¡°Annan Austere-Winter?¡± The stone statue paused before continuing, ¡°Has hee to Noah?¡±

    ¡°En, just recently. But unlike what you told me before, Lord Father Stone, his soul is not snow-colored but rainbow-colored.¡±

    ¡°That means his ritual was sessful.¡± Father Stone said calmly, ¡°But it has nothing to do with your work.

    ¡°Work in peace, and don¡¯t get in touch with Annan.¡±

    ¡°But my job is to make poison dust. Annan is the most well-known other-worldly being, right? I¡¯ll need some of his blood and soul fragments to be sure that poison dust is also effective against outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much. Your job is to make poison dust, and that¡¯s all. Regardless of Annan¡¯s special circumstance, even if the poison dust is effective against other-worldly beings, it¡¯s not an excuse for you to attack them. Swordsmiths won¡¯t use people to try their product. You¡¯re close to offending the taboos.¡±

    Father Stone said tly, ¡°Also, even if you got his blood and soul, are you only going to use it for experiments? Don¡¯t forget how your creator died. Don¡¯t forget how the inheritance of Hermes was cut off. Don¡¯t underestimate the memory of the deities.

    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t try to overstep into the taboo.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I get it. I won¡¯t make the mistake that my Father made.¡± Nichs sighed helplessly, ¡°So tell me, Lord Father Stone. So what are you going to use for the poison dust? You asked me to make this thing, constantly changing the form but never telling me your purpose. It¡¯s unnecessarily increasing my workload.

    ¡°I need to know its use and purpose. It¡¯s a very legitimate demand. You don¡¯t know much about Hermetic alchemy, but I do.¡± Hearing this, the statue behind him was silent for a long time.

    Then, the humanoid statue stood up and walked behind Nichs.

    ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s time.¡± Father Stone said in a deep voice, ¡°Do you know how the elves perished?¡±

    ¡°Is it because of the magic power?¡± Nichs replied fluently, ¡°Using the curse as a transmission medium, we want to extract the world¡¯s power as an energy source. It is an iplete power of creation, a limited degree of ¡®the ability to achieve what you want¡¯.

    ¡°What the curse energy can extract is the blood of the world. The curse energy can be recovered naturally, but with the expansion of the elves and the use of curse energy, it gradually weakens the world¡¯s barriers. Consequently, our world gradually oveps with another word, and thus is cursed by the world.¡±

    ¡°So, that¡¯s all you have learned?¡± Father Stone nodded and said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s mostly urate. I want to make some corrections.

    ¡°This world is originally colliding and ovepping with other worlds. Nightmares are not something that only these epochs have. Our world has many [Book of Truths] as the backbone of the world, and Father Flint let us imbue the power of the elements into our flesh. Thus, it is even more difficult for other worlds to oppose us.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s the immaterial world, the dream world, or the other worlds at the end of the dream world. Only after the curse can weaken the barriers of our world will there be asional ¡®world copse¡¯ idents that permanently banish a creature from our world to another world. That means¡ª¡±

    ¡°In other words, without using the curse energy, there will be creatures from other worlds that are exiled to our world?¡± Nichs quickly realized the meaning Father Stone hinted at.

    It was like the collision of two ships.

    If it would inevitably lead to damage to one part, then the mist world would gradually recover after stopping the curse of curse energy. Then, the creatures in the immaterial world or the dream world might be exiled here from the fragmented world. It worked just like the creatures here being exiled to other worlds.

    For the world, this was undoubtedly a victory.

    But for the mortal creatures living in the world,pared to ¡°losing a few strangers forever¡±, ¡°terrifying creatures descended from another world¡± were a terrifying disaster rted to their vital interests.

    ¡°It¡¯s better if you understand.¡± Father Stone nced at Nichs, extended a hand made of stone, and patted his shoulder, ¡°The dream world is still rtively stable. But the immaterial world has gradually begun to break down in recent years. The scale of the current invasion is still rtively small, so the Red Knight and the Silent Lady can still stop it. However, as the immaterial world is broken, more and more immaterial world creatures will fall into the dream world and the real world.

    ¡°But this may also be an opportunity for us. You know, the ¡®real Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯ is the blood of the immaterial world.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you woke me up?¡± Nichs said in a low voice with aplicated expression, ¡°Because I inherited the memory and ability of my father?¡±

    ¡°Because he is the ¡®Second Hermes¡¯ and you are the ¡®Second Nichs¡¯.¡±

    Father Stone replied tly. His tone did not change in the slightest, just like a real stone statue, ¡°Hermes was able to collect the power of elements and artificially create Sage¡¯s Stone. You may also be able to transform the invaders from the immaterial world into Sage¡¯s Stone. What we need is not a Hermes poisonous dust that can effectively kill all other-worldly beings, but a portable device that can ¡®extract the power of the immaterial world through these other-worldly creature corpses¡¯.

    ¡°Since immaterial world creatures will inevitably fall into our world, then what we have to do is not to think about how to reduce the impact, reduce the disaster but whether this matter can be turned into a favorable situation. In the end, the answer we concluded is ¡ª yes.

    ¡°If the remains of immaterial world creatures can be made into something simr to the Sage¡¯s Stone and feedback to our current world through the curse shaft of the elves, the power of the elements flowing in the world can be further enhanced. In the future, not only the Gold Rank Transcended, it¡¯s possible to kick start the element¡¯s power at the Silver Rank.

    ¡°Even, maybe¡­ someday, we¡¯ll be able to dispel these mists and let the sun bathe the earth again.¡±

 Chapter 370: Respective Successor

    <h4>Chapter 370: Respective Sessor</h4>

    ¡°By the way, Salvatore.¡± rence was sitting in front of the experimental table, carefully polishing his long nails, and said casually, ¡°Do you know that your little junior hase to Noah?¡±

    ¡°Noah? Did you mean the capital?¡± Salvatore was at another table and raised his head in surprise, ¡°I know about this, but how did you find out about it?¡±

    ¡°Is it strange for me to know it?¡± rence smiled. ¡°I¡¯m from the Soul Snatch School.¡±

    He smiled, reached out the index and middle fingers of his right hand, gestured to his own eyes, and pointed to Salvatore¡¯s eyes, ¡°I also know what you knew.¡±

    ¡°You learned it from Longjing Tea, right?¡± Salvatore realized immediately and chuckled softly.

    rence shrugged, ¡°Yeah.

    ¡°Although I had warned him not to think wildly in the presence of Soul Snatch Wizard, he dwelled deeper into the thoughts, even more detailed than before I warned him.¡±

    ¡°That requires special training.¡± Salvatore smiled helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re just bullying the children.¡±

    ¡°They deserve it.¡± rence adjusted his sses and put forward the opposite point of view sternly, ¡°It¡¯s better to have me bully him than to have his memory search cleaned by other Soul Snatch Wizards after leaving the academy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Salvatore scratched his shaggy hair. There was a troubled expression on hiszy face, ¡°If you keep scaring them like this, they probably won¡¯t dare to approach you.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t have a channel to gain experience against the Soul Snatch Wizards, how will it turn out after leaving the ck Tower?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to care anymore.¡±

    rence snorted andined in annoyance, ¡°They don¡¯t take the ss seriously, and they don¡¯t have the patience to practice blocking the peeping eyes and fake their thoughts. Even if other Soul Snatch Wizards alter their memories and minds, they ask for it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t put it that way¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not short of the Soul Snatch School in ck Tower. There are so many books about the Alteration School here. They won¡¯t study it once they realize they could not master the arts. Your Alteration School doesn¡¯tck tower masters, but our Soul Snatch School is short of smart people with the capability and self-control. Either they¡¯re ill-hearted, stupid, or a fool with ill intentions. Other schools don¡¯t pay attention to the confrontation with the Soul Snatch School.¡±

    renceined, ¡°But if I change their minds and they sense it, they will assume it¡¯s because I have a higher rank, and they can¡¯t do anything about it; if they don¡¯t sense my magic, they don¡¯t even realize their minds are being altered.

    ¡°How am I supposed to teach them?¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, calm down.¡± Salvatore helplessly patted rence¡¯s shoulder andforted him, ¡°That being said, you have to consider their ability to absorb the learning.

    ¡°If they do not master this ability in the end, then all their efforts will be in vain. As a tutor, besides your knowledge and capability, the ¡®teaching method that allows the students toprehend and learn¡¯ is a test of teaching skills. ¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s easier said than done,¡± rence grunted and flicked his freshly polished nails.

    As the noise of bones shing with each other had sounded, the white jade-colored nails made of centaur¡¯s finger bones drew a pure white shimmer in the air.

    In rence¡¯s eyes, the air his fingernails swept across produced tiny and pure ck cracks.

    Centaur was a race that could peep into the future directly with their own eyes and pluck the strings of destiny with their hands. What was portrayed was their innate ability.

    But it was precisely because of this that the centaurs developed the timid and indifferent character.

    They possessed the ability to see the destined oue from the start. They could peer into the future direction when they attempted to change their future. This robbed away their perseverance to fight against their fate.

    Everything was just ¡°things that have not happened yet¡±.

    Once they got used to ¡°what they saw was bound to happen¡±, it was difficult for them to have the courage to fight for the future.

    Thus, they lost the great joy that came from persevering to the end;

    They lost the tenacity and will that came from adversities;

    They also lost the ¡°transient and meaningless happiness¡± in the unknowns of their life journey.

    For the centaurs, the little surprises and joys in the future were ¡°meaningless¡±pared to the goal at the end. But if everything were to follow through to the ¡°final destination¡±, everything would be meaningless.

    At the same time, when the whole n had the future vision, the individual level of prophecy magic could not generate a greater advantage within the n. The oue was the opposite of the natural gift. The centaur¡¯s eyes were snatched as a tool for prophecy rituals. On the other hand, the centaur¡¯s finger bones could be used as tools to facilitate the changes in fate.

    In a sense, the centaur¡¯s cowardly and indifferent character was caused by their talent.

    ¡°Without power, peeping into the future is useless like the centaurs.¡± rence said in a low tone, ¡°For these students who have no talent and no realization, my advice is not to let them graduate.¡±

    When he said this, he nced at Salvatore with a smile, ¡°Speaking of which, Salvatore, you have now advanced to the Silver Rank. Although you are an alchemist, you should also get yourself some students.

    ¡°When you start having students, you should know how I feel.¡±

    ¡°Not really.¡± Salvatore said confidently, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this day for a long time, and I¡¯m looking forward to it. When Teacher Benjamin taught me, I thought about what I would be like with students in the future.

    ¡°Although it¡¯s impolite to say that, Teacher Benjamin doesn¡¯t care about us.

    ¡°I thought at the time that if I became a teacher in the future, I would not be like him. I have to answer my students¡¯ questions patiently ¡ª in addition to teaching them spells, I also teach them to conduct themselves.¡±

    Salvatore looked at rence and replied seriously, ¡°Seriously, Senior rence. They are only fifteen-year-olds kids. We have to teach them ¡®how to think¡¯, ¡®how to live their lifes¡¯, and ¡®how to learn¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Fifteen years old is not young, and Master Benjamin was¡­¡± rence hesitated.

    The mental state of Master Benjamin at that time was not quite right. If he did not kill you at that time, it showed that you were pretty good.

    But, Salvatore definitely would not understand these words.

    He shook his head and changed the subject, ¡°Okay, Salvatore. How¡¯s Valtore going?¡±

    ¡°What else? ck Tower life is so orderly. How could I let her out?¡± Salvatore was clearly in a good mood, ¡°If my life can always be orderly like now, I¡¯m gratified.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I suggest you see the new batch of students first. When I approached Longjing Tea previously, I encountered a talent with the traces of oveing his fate. Not only is his talent superb, but also his will and perseverance are notable.¡±

    rence suddenly thought of something and said to Salvatore, ¡°It¡¯s the youngest child¡­ the ten-year-old one.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you see highly of him. But why? Is he not suitable for the Soul Snatch School?¡± Salvatore looked at his friend in surprise, who was also a senior he respected.

    rence had been looking for his heir.

    Longjing Tea was one of his favorite students.

    It was a pity he did not choose the Soul Snatch School. Also, Longjing Tea was indeed a better fit for the Edict School.

    Since he pointed out the talent with great potential to me, he must be a genius for the Alteration School.

    Salvatore suddenly became interested, ¡°Then what¡¯s his name?¡±

    ¡°His name is Von Hohenheim.¡± rence replied.

 Chapter 371: Gray Swan Safety Insurance Company

    <h4>Chapter 371: Gray Swan Safety Insurance Company</h4>

    Jiu Er sighed deeply.

    She wiped the blood-stained axe on the corpse severed in two and muttered sadly, ¡°Why did Annan note to see me when he arrived in the capital?

    ¡°Is it that I have not unlocked the relevant plot yet? Do I have to wait until Miss Coffee arrives in the capital?¡±

    ¡°Miss Jiu Er?¡± Behind her, two neatly dressed and burly men bowed carefully and asked, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Jiu Er repliedzily, ¡°I will hack you to death if you ask questions again.¡±

    Hearing this, those two men who were two heads taller than Jiu Er turned silent immediately and dared not to speak.

    She had already gotten herself familiar with the royal capital.

    She had found herself an excellent job in the past two days.

    In the beginning, Jiu Er followed the RPG games approach and went to the tavern. She ordered a ss of milk and attempted to see if she could get some information.

    In the end, she did not discover any new intelligence but got herself pestered.

    A group of people saw Jiu Er alone in the tavern and wanted to ask her if she wanted to work in some shady jobs.

    But after they got close, Jiu Er stood up impatiently with a stainless steel axe a bit taller than herself before they could say a word. Then, they immediately stopped in fear.

    Luckily, the leader of the group was witty.

    In the capital, the existence of transcenders was not as secretive as the circumstances in smaller and rural ces.

    At the very least, the stakeholders and people involved in these shady industries had clues of the transcenders here and there.

    After all, they were in the capital of the Noah Kingdom. It was arge city with a poption of more than four million. The pce alone covered an area of ??more than 100,000 square meters, and the area of ??one district alone exceeded the entire Roseburg territory.

    The number of Gold Rank Transcender alone was already close to double digits. There were countless transcenders of Silver Rank and Bronze Rank. Sometimes, the Silver Sire could be seen strolling on the street.

    For them, if they offended a transcender and were unaware of their situation, tragedy would fall onto them unknowingly. After all, the transcenders¡¯ curse and abilities came in multiple ways. The soul rank might not determine their directbat prowess. There were rituals too. Thus, having a Bronze Rank Transcender defeating a Silver Rank Transcender was not that surprising.

    Moreover, ordinary people who could not fully understand the mechanism of ¡°nightmare¡± and ¡°curse¡± could only stay away from these powers they could not master.

    After all, it was not easy to be a transcender.

    It still depended on talent.

    It was not an easy task just to be proficient in one¡¯s path and fully understand and master the basic profession (reaching Level 10). Furthermore, not everyone could acquire the training for their basic profession too.

    There were multiple dimensions: physical training, practicing swordsmanship, going through the cruel training dedicated to lurkers in acquiring the knowledge and awareness of poisons and traps, searching for a beastpanion and living with them for a long time and intimately, and cultivating spirituality. All of them required talent, resources, and long-term effort.

    By the time they reached the end of the path, they had to make sure they were not too old. At the very least, they had to maintain sharp thinking, adequate spirituality, intelligence, and luck to maintain a clear mind in the dream andplete the decryption and purification of the nightmare.

    In this case, it was a tough challenge.

    The nightmare was just a stricter decryption game for anyone with transcended power.

    However, ordinary people could not stay awake in nightmares. For them, it was real but illogical. Things were up to their talent and luck without the transcended ritual to keep them awake in their dreams.

    When they reached the end of their path, they had to be lucky enough to resolve a nightmare, and it would be enough to embark on the path of transcendence.

    Talents, resources, abilities, connections, and luck were indispensable elements to sess.

    To effectively control the number of transcenders so as to reduce the pollution of the surrounding living environment caused by the nightmares that appeared after the transcender¡¯s death, it was difficult for ordinary people to ess the path of transcendence through the official channels.

    As the wizards said, they must first consider their talents. The candidates had to be at least capable of fending for themselves against ordinary people. Then, temperament and morality were the secondyer essential to be considered. They would not allow their candidates to venture into dishonest practices and crooked ways. Of course, they did not want their candidates to focus solely on personal gains with transcended power.

    Objectively speaking, it was a good idea.

    The conditions were essential to be met to ensure the public¡¯s safety and control the density of nightmares inrge poption cities.

    But on the other hand, this strategy also made ordinary people farther and farther away from the transcended world ¡ª almost blocking their ess to the transcender¡¯s world.

    Ordinary people could not identify the source of curses and nightmares without a deep understanding of the transcended knowledge.

    For them, ¡°killing transcenders¡± or even ¡°approaching transcenders or their corpses¡± could lead to curses and nightmares.

    Even many ordinary people could not tell the difference between the transcender and the ritualist. They even suspect that if they offended a transcender, they would be cursed and killed by the transcender.

    So under the deterrence caused by this monopoly of knowledge, those gangsters realized that Jiu Er was a transcender. They did not even test Jiu Er¡¯s strength yet, but they immediately offered her a high sry and hired her as a thug.

    Of course, even though Jiu Er was a hired thug, her status was high.

    Jiu Er wore a gray turtleneck trench coat and ck boots. She also had her profession namete on her chest, which indicated ¡°Gray Swan Safety Insurance Company Special Technical Consultant Jiu Er¡± with thepany address written as ¡°No 117, Money Bag Street, St. Bernie District, Noah¡±.

    ¡°Gray Swan¡± was responsible for the underground boxing stadiums, casinos, and nightclubs in the entire St. Bernie District. These industries all belong to the Silver Sire¡¯s subordinate deity, who was asionally dubbed the ¡°Deity of Protection Fees¡±. He was the Deity of Extortion and Promise Keeping, falling in the category of ¡°protector¡±.

    In other words, even the pimp, drug dealer, killer, and thief had to pay their taxes obediently in the Noah Royal Capital.

    Indeed, the ie from burry and killers had to be reported and taxed. Otherwise, the Silver Knight of the Silver Sire Church woulde directly to you.

    In Noah, ¡°tax evasion¡± could get you the death penalty.

    It was not run by the kingdom but by the Silver Sire Church.

    But on the other hand, as long as taxes were paid and even donated money for welfare, the shady industries could be legitimatepanies.

    Of course, the question of whether thispany¡¯s business was legal and how many criminals there were in it would not be handled by Silver Sire Church. Instead, the police station and the Attorney General Chamber would deal with them.

    ¡°Special consultants¡± like Jiu Er did not have much work. They were all hired to keep them from turning against thepany.

    They could not afford the price of recruiting a transcender.

    The cost efficiency was pretty low.

    After all, they were a regr and legalpany. If a transcender stirred up trouble, they could directly report it to the Silver Sire Church.

    What Jiu Er was in charge of was ¡°dealing with the people who came to stir up trouble¡±.

    Enemies who were not transcenders and not in groups.

    The most challenging enemy she had ever encountered was a drunkard with a pistol.

    However, she did not even have to use her axe. She punched him in the stomach and pped him in the face before the fight ended.

    The enemy she just hacked to death was a veteran lurker of a rival gang. The man used a trap to kill three of Gray Swan¡¯s men, including a leader. So, they sent Jiu Er for ¡°brutal revenge¡±.

    As for the scapegoat, thepany had arranged for it.

    All Jiu Er was responsible for was ¡°killing enough people to showcase their deterrence¡±.

    Of course, she liked the job.

    Even though it was not much, it offered a lot of experience.

    Hahaha, you have to pay me and give me enemies to kill for experience points. I¡¯m so lucky.

 Chapter 372: Spiritual Monkâ€™s Instant Death Ability

    <h4>Chapter 372: Spiritual Monk¡¯s Instant Death Ability</h4>

    Speaking of which, I should take on this kind of job more.

    Thinking of this, Jiu Er was interested.

    She turned around and told her two underlings, ¡°If there is such a mission in the future, assign it to me first. I am still rtively free in most cases.¡±

    ¡°¡­This kind of mission?¡± The man asked cautiously.

    ¡°As long as I get to kill someone, even a transcender is fine.¡± Jiu Er replied casually.

    Anyway, herpanions wereing soon. If she could not defeat the opponent, she could recruit for reinforcement.

    Thinking of this, sheughed softly.

    Like the yful little girl waving the branches she picked up, she lightly waved the battle axe in her hand. The heavy stainless steel axe whistled in the air, making a sharp shriek.

    The two were so frightened that they subconsciously took two steps back.

    Jiu Er couldn¡¯t help butugh at them, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. I won¡¯t hurt you. I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, Miss.¡± The two of them replied bitterly.

    The two ¡°underlings¡± assigned to Jiu Er were both elite employees of the Grey Swan Company. They were robust and proficient at rifles and hand-to-handbat. At the same time, they were equipped with relevant skills in tracking a target and counteracting stalking. However, they were short of a profession.

    From Jiu Er¡¯s point of view, theirbat power was about Level 7 or Level 8. If they were equipped with a firearm, they might be able to defeat a Level 10 Swordsman.

    As far as street fighting was concerned, the regr army might be unable to defeat them.

    The mission dedicated to them was to monitor Jiu Er¡¯s behavior at all times, ensuring that she would not get in contact with other underground gang forces. At the same time, they had to stop her from doing foolish things that could harm thepany¡¯s interest. Those were the formal duties allocated.

    Given Jiu Er¡¯s size and age, they had additional roles to y ¡ª to deter the ignorant fools so that Jiu Er would not have an excuse to go crazy and start killing people.

    They had witnessed it clearly with their own eyes. When Jiu Ermitted the murders, she showed no psychological pressure. Instead, there were hints of joy on her face.

    However, it was unlike the fanatical smile the bloodthirsty [Berserkers] had when they enjoyed the killing process, nor the joy of getting money after killing. Instead, it was more like the joy of aplishing an important mission or winning a game.

    It was the purest joy for the act of killing itself.

    That was terrifying.

    Even when they were underground forces, they would not behave so.

    She was simply a monster in their eyes!

    When they discovered that there was no bounty or wanted order tagged on this Miss, they were even more afraid of her.

    It showed that she had been well hidden for her madness and crimes!

    Thus, the two acted more carefully in front of her.

    Jiu Er brought them to the bar the day before yesterday, and they ordered her a drink. The reason being Jiu Er looked too young, and the bar owner refused to give her a drink. After Jiu Er drank too much, she became more irritable,ining about things the two could notprehend ¡ª exams, Annan, and many more. Thus, they made up their mind to quickly pay the bills and flee.

    But, Jiu Er might have realized their thoughts. She directly stopped them and got them to hold her weapon.

    After they tried to pick up Jiu Er¡¯s battle axe, that weapon put beside the table fell, almost splitting one of them in half.

    The battle axe was taller than Jiu Er by roughly a head. The steel shaft was wrapped with a long hardwood handle for shock absorption. The face of the battle axe was bigger than Jiu Er¡¯s head.

    What was surprising was that this gigantic weapon had a solid body.

    Annan dedicated extra care to the weapon, increasing its weight and hardening the de via a ritual.

    It would take a burly man over 1.9 meters tall and weighing 200 pounds in the army to wield it. It could split a person in half just by swinging it down.

    Moreover, the macho man had to use both of his hands to be able to wield it.

    However, Jiu Er needed only one hand to lift this battle axe and wield it like a pointer [1] at will. She had no hesitation nor psychological pressure when she sted the enemy¡¯s head with her bare fist or severed a person with her battle axe.

    Thepany executives could not determine what Jiu Er¡¯s profession was. How could she have such overwhelming strength? Why was she so ustomed and joyful to killing people?

    Was she a Fallen Hangman? Or Executioner?

    Could she be a Scarlet Warrior of the Red Knight?

    It was all possible.

    They were not even sure how old Jiu Er was.

    Some people in thepany even spected secretly that Jiu Er might be a transcender who could transfer her soul after killing people. After all, there were indeed transcenders that had this type of ability.

    It also made them more afraid of Jiu Er.

    But in fact, the [Berserker] profession was not rare.

    It could even be said that it was prettymon.

    There were some berserkers in the arena and many more on the battlefield. Austere-Winter Dukedom was a ce that offered the mass production of berserkers.

    Berserker was generally characterized by a bronze belt, a naked upper body with scars, and a lean but muscr body. Those curses that were like dried blood would be branded on their torso. When they were in battle, they would skillfully tear through the curses on their bodies with one hand and go berserk in an instant.

    It happened at the level of tearing the flesh that revealed the internal organs or bones.

    They never imagined that Jiu Er, with delicate skin, a dainty face, and no muscles on her, would be a berserker.

    It seemed more urate to say that her physique was no different from ordinary young girls, but she had the strength threefolds of a berserker. This feature alone made it seem like a unique profession.

    But at this moment, an old voice sounded, ¡°Oh, youngdy¡­ Can I borrow a moment to speak with you now?¡±

    ¡°Hey! Old man, you¡­¡± The two elite employees were alerted. They immediately turned around and reprimanded.

    This was the Miss they dared not provoke.

    But when they saw the person behind them clearly, their voices dropped suddenly.

    It was an old man in a pure ck wheelchair, hunching like a shrimp.

    He lowered his head and wore a white hood slightly yellowed because of long-term use. The bare hands were covered with dark yellow, dry and inflexible bandages; the bandages were covered with dense ck runes that seemed to be squirming.

    The old man was like a mummy, exuding the air of death.

    As the old man smiled, he showed his teeth as yellow as a corpse, trying his best to make an amiable smile.

    He repeated again, ¡°Is it convenient to talk here, Miss?¡±

    ¡°My apology, Your Excellency!¡± The two responded quickly and immediately bowed their heads to apologize to the old man.

    They were clear-headed.

    In the capital, they could not offend the ¡°peculiar folks¡±.

    The old man did not intend to find fault with them.

    To be more urate, the old man did not bother looking at them at all.

    While being stared at by the old man, Jiu Er gradually became serious.

    She cautiously clenched the battle axe in her hand, loosened her coat a little, and unbuttoned a few buttons on her trench coat.

    This pressure¡­

    Those two mortals might not feel it. However, Jiu Er, who was close to Silver Rank, could feel her body shaking.

    Just by hearing the voice, the body was instinctively in fear.

    Her soul was trembling as if a chill wind seeped into her body.

    Jiu Er knew this person.

    She saw him from Longjing Tea¡¯s perspective. ¡°Bernardino Telesio¡±, the pope of a false deity ¡°Bell Ringer¡±.

    A true Gold Rank powerhouse.

    ¡°Spiritual Monk¡± was the only servant of this ss at present.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Jiu Er asked cautiously.

    The old man smiled and asked lowly, ¡°Are you interested in living in another ce?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m living well now, and I don¡¯t need it for the time being.¡±

    That¡¯s a fucking sexual harassment.

    Jiu Er was silent for a while, then answered politely.

    The old man shook his head slightly, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jiu Er was taken aback.

    At the next moment, she suddenly felt an immense and invisible cold wind prate her body. Then, she suddenly lost touch with her physical body.

    She suddenly heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. Jiu Er looked down, only to find that her body held the tomahawk, and suddenly dropped to the ground weakly. Then, her body turned into dust in the blink of an eye.

    She had turned into a translucent state and stood there in a daze.

    Around her, there were dozens and even hundreds of souls.

    Human soul;

    centaur soul;

    elf soul;

    And the soul of the demon.

    But in Jiu Er¡¯s current vision, she saw the old man in another state.

    It was a kind and bald old man who had lost his hands. Instead of saying he was sitting on the wheelchair, he was more like being put on it.

    He looks like Professor X, who has suffered a car ident. Jiu Er had such a thought in his mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking your soul, Miss.¡±

    From the soul¡¯s perspective, the old man¡¯s voice was no longer so hoarse and displeasing but warm and kind, ¡°You are from another world, right? I don¡¯t see your remaining lifespan, so you are an undead.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of the ¡®Book of Divine Transporter¡¯?¡± Pure white mes flickered in the empty eye sockets of the old man.

 Chapter 373: The Paper Princessâ€™s Vouch

    <h4>Chapter 373: The Paper Princess¡¯s Vouch</h4>

    Three days had passed since Annan came to the Noah Capital.

    But even so, Annan still did not scout out the situation in the capital because Noah was too big.

    Even if the Paper Princess could take Annan for short-distance teleportation, three days were only enough for the two to barely finish visiting the St. Victor area where the pce was located.

    Still, they had a bountiful harvest too.

    After all, the capital was worthy of beingbeled the capital. Under the Paper Princess¡¯ guide, Annan found a ce called the ¡°Howl¡¯s Antique Store,¡± selling curse materials at the corner of an alley.

    Cheaper materials included ¡°Pure Water¡± and ¡°Ashes of Moth Darted Into mes¡±. At the same time, materials slightly rarer to find could be found here: ¡°Enver¡¯s Finger¡±, ¡°Antique Sword That Killed People¡±, and ¡°Liar¡¯s Facial Skin¡±. High-end and expensive curse materials, like ¡°Eternally Lit Blue Spark¡± and ¡°Heart Beating Drums¡±, were showcased too.

    There were other curse vessels for sale, but Annan did not like them.

    ording to the Paper Princess, it was a legitimate store.

    Even the official transcender and ritualist serving the kingdom bought their materials here. While ensuring quality and quantity, it could also ensure the freshness of the materials. Anything that could be crafted was avable to be customized. That would guarantee the longest shelf life for the desired materials.

    Since this ce was legitimate, the customer could not purchase a certain level of curse materials without the corresponding identification and purchase license.

    Of course, Annan had no identification proof and permission for the store.

    However, that was why the Paper Princess brought him here.

    The Paper Princess capitalized on Her reputation and granted permission to Annan via the shopkeeper.

    Although the owner did not know Annan¡¯s origin, he recognized the Paper Princess.

    As the Elegant Elder¡¯s subordinate deity, the Paper Princess could be said to be the second in liking travels among all the deities.

    The only one who traveled more diligently than her was the ¡°Bard Deity¡±, who was also the Elegant Elder¡¯s subordinate deity. He was the intersex deity known as the Duo-Songwriter.

    He had two heads, a ¡°skinny woman¡± and a ¡°fat man¡±, so He could voice both male and female voices. With the addition of voice changes, He could cover all types of tones, make all types of sounds, and direct all kinds of songs. He could even sing a duet that required a male and a female.

    He was also a mean, entric, and witty deity.

    The way he administered justice was peculiar and not liked.

    He often liked to infiltrate into forces in the form of an ugly little lurker. For example, joining a mercenary group, participating in an evil n, or sneaking into the home of a person in power.

    When He was scoped out with His identity discovered, or the information He wanted was collected, He would reveal his monster-like true body in the fog. By then, He would improvise what He saw and heard into songs or nursery rhymes and then leave while singing it.

    After being sung by Him, those hidden sins in the dark would undoubtedly be exposed. Many people at the bottom of the society who had been wronged believe in the existence of the Duo-Songwriter as a legend, hoping that He woulde to them one day.

    But those who knew the deities better would see that this was not all about preaching justice.

    The Duo-Songwriter was a doublethink deity. He hated the evil, but He would be the evil too, so He hated Himself.

    He would try to trick others into doing evil deeds, thus fishing the criminals and enforcing thew. Some people would not do evil deeds and even asionally help others. After being tempted in front of the interests, the Duo-Songwriter would turn His deeds into catchy nursery rhymes and sing them out.

    However, He was also fair because the ¡°ugly dwarf¡± or the ¡°disfigured thief¡± He yed would also be written into His poems and songs as He reprimanded Himself at the same time.

    He was a contradictory deity who was entric, suspicious of all good intentions and abhorred evil deeds.

    His contradictory property had escted to the point of having an extra head.

    Some grand events would even bepiled into gorgeous and magnificent operas by the Duo-Songwriter.

    This deity did not know Annan. Of course, He might not care either.

    ording to the Paper Princess, the Duo-Songwriter hid in the capital, searching for ¡°great sin¡± like a hyena.

    This was why the Paper Princess wanted to apany Annan.

    Even if Annan were not attacked or kidnapped, it would be a considerable loss if his reputation was damaged by being deceived by the Duo-Songwriter.

    Only other deities could identify the Duo-Songwriter.

    Even the Gold Rank transcender could not do that.

    That was because the Duo-Songwriter was in charge of the realm of ¡°camouge¡±, ¡°deception¡±, and ¡°fabrication¡±.

    However, the Paper Princess could not follow Annan all the time.

    Although the Paper Princess liked Her ¡°junior¡±, who was not blood-rted, She still had a job.

    The Paper Princess was the protector of all painters.

    She traveled worldwide and sold paintings to earn money to support those painters who had artistic dreams and passion for painting but were impoverished due to the limitations of talents, channels, and funds.

    The aid came with the mysterious ritual that almost all painters knew ¡ª ¡°recycling¡± paintings that they could not sell to the Paper Princess.

    The Paper Princess would provide a base price based on the effort and passion the painters spent creating this painting rather than its artistic and aesthetic value. That was enough to ensure that the painters who painted with their hearts could survive and continue their pursuit of painting.

    She would not dismantle nor destroy the paintings.

    She had banks and warehouses all over the world dedicated to storing the paintings she received that were even considered ¡°failures¡± by their creators. If the painter became famous in the future or missed his old works and wanted to get them back, he only needed to pay the original price. In other words, they could exchange the painting with the money they earnt when they sold the paintings.

    In addition, after the painters died, the Paper Princess would secretly wrap their paintings in the waterproof paper ording to their wills and put them back in their graves or give them to their families lest their artworks only be famous after their death. Otherwise, the paintings would be rightfully the Paper Princess¡¯s possession.

    The Paper Princess did not care how much money they got when the paintings went up in value.

    She would not even ask for the maintenance fee.

    Those painters might think that the Paper Princess could directly turn these paintings into power, and they would sell them with peace of mind. However, the reality was contradictory to it. It was true that the Paper Princess could absorb the painting to strengthen herself for a sufficiently outstanding painting.

    However, most of the paintings that were sacrificed to the Paper Princess were far from being qualified.

    Achieving that would require a lot of money.

    The Silver Sire invited her to protect Annan¡¯s safety not because she had nothing to do but because Silver Sire gave her enough money.

    After all, the Paper Princess could aid more and more young painters who devoted themselves to the painting industry during peaceful times.

    The Paper Princess did not want to get money through illegal channels to avoid people venting their anger on those innocent painters.

    She kept making her paintings as curse vessels and selling them to feed the painters.

    Of course, the benefactors were not blind.

    Society naturally respected such deities.

    For example, the owner of this antique store.

    Although he did not know Annan, Annan directly got the highest ess here with the Paper Princess vouching for him.

    Of course, this matter would also be reported to the pce and be known by the One-Eyed Crows.

    Sure enough, Annan would not care about that.

 Chapter 374: Dragon Language Dictionary

    <h4>Chapter 374: Dragon Language Dictionary</h4>

    ¡°Howl¡¯s Antique Store¡± was an official store selling materials near the pce.

    Besides that, the Paper Princess also took Annan to the St. Bernie District, which was densely popted with underworld trading. They found ¡°Daddy¡¯s General Store¡± and ¡°Alberta Used Bookstore¡±, which were illegitimate but offered reliable quality.

    The owners of these two stores had purchased the Paper Princess paintings, so they were polite to Annan, who held the Paper Princess¡¯s hand. All products were granted 15% off permanently. He could buy whatever he liked.

    When Annan heard the name, he thought it was Vasily who opened a branch in the capital.

    Then, he asked about it, which confirmed his spection. A former apprentice of the ¡°Father¡± opened up this store. Hearing that Annan knew the ¡°Father¡±, the man immediately gave Annan another 10% discount.

    The variety of materials sold here was lesser than that at the ¡°Howl¡¯s Antique Store¡±. However, the store manager swore not to leak the secrets here. If the customer¡¯s secret were leaked, he would be burned to death. No matter what you buy from him, it would not be leaked. Furthermore, the store was equipped with strict anti-surveince measures. It was a safe underworld store.

    No matter what you buy at ¡°Howl¡¯s Antique Store¡±, it would be reported to the higher-ups.

    That was why the Paper Princess brought Annan here.

    The ¡°Alberta Used Bookstore¡± disguised as a bookstore that sold used books, unique copies, and rare books. But in fact, they were secretly selling ult knowledge.

    This was a genuine illegal store.

    Annan bought a copy of ¡°The Eighth Analects On the Sunray¡± and ¡°The Birth and Initial Cirction of Silver Coins¡± from the store, intending to study the ritual in the realms of Mr. Ray and Silver Sire.

    After all, his rtionship with Silver Sire was great.

    Learning the ritual rted to Silver Sire would be useful in both reality and nightmares. Also, Annan was indeed a little curious about Silver Sire¡¯s real name.

    It was good enough even when the name was only used as a method tomunicate with Silver Sire in the future.

    The Silver Sire would sense it as long as Annan spoke out the real name. The name itself could also be added to the ritual as a material.

    This context applied simrly to ¡°Mr. Ray¡±.

    In the ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡± ritual that Annan was nning to perform this winter, the effect of the ritual could be further enhanced if Mr. Ray¡¯s real name was added.

    Mr. Ray held the authority in the realm of purification. He also specialized in purifying the undead and demons. For Annan, who might have to fight the demonster, it was good preparation for what would being.

    Besides that, Annan also got himself a slightly tattered Dragon Language Dictionary.

    Unexpectedly, the dictionary was helpful. Annan realized that the contrastivenguage [1] of the Dragon Language Dictionary was the ¡°Frost Lingual¡±, which Annan had just mastered.

    Then again, the logic connects.

    Frostwisper¡¯s power was rted to Old Grandmother. After Annan mastered the Frost Lingual and still could notprehend Old Grandmother¡¯snguage, he had a rough guess that Old Grandmother should be speaking the dragonnguage.

    He skimmed through the dictionary for a while. Afterward, he focused on Mr. Ray¡¯s book and put the dictionary aside. At the very least, Annan had found out that ¡°Frost Lingual¡± might have evolved directly from the dragonnguage.

    A simr example to exin it would be the connection between French and Latin.

    Dragonnguage wasplex. There was a tone to it, simr to the distinction between feminine and masculine. If pronounced correctly, the words spoken could manipte the corresponding temperature, like increasing or decreasing the temperature.

    This might be why the only two dragons among the upright deities were Old Grandmother and Father Flint.

    The two upright deities represented ice and fire, respectively.

    ¡°En?¡± At this moment, Annan was in deep thoughts as he looked into the distance.

    Beside Annan, the Paper Princess, holding Annan¡¯s hand, detected it keenly.

    She stopped immediately, turned around, and asked concernedly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?

    ¡°Did you see something you wanted to buy? Just say it, I still have some money here.¡±

    ¡°No, of course not.¡± Annan shook his head quickly.

    The Paper Princess herself was short of money, and he was embarrassed to ask the Paper Princess for it.

    After Annan scanned the forum, he noticed Jiu Er asking for help. Then, he immediately switched to Jiu Er¡¯s perspective.

    Then he saw someone he knew¡ªBernardino Telesio.

    It urred that his magic had easily knocked Jiu Er¡¯s soul out of her body. The yer¡¯s body was constructed through the power of the Book of Divine Transporter. Jiu Er¡¯s body lost its vigor the moment the soul left her body, thus adding a death count under her profile.

    Typically speaking, she should get a new body immediately.

    However, under Bernardino¡¯s constraint, Jiu Er was kept in the soul state.

    This was the first time Annan had seen someone who could interrupt the yers¡¯ ¡°respawn¡±.

    A Gold Rank Spiritual Monk¡­

    At the same time, Bernardino utilized dozens of spiritual bodies directly, including the souls of supernatural races like demons and centaurs. This meant that he could manipte a separate existence at will like Kafni; he also shared simr abilities to the Silver Rank¡¯s Prophet Wizard, reading into any time in the future. These were all features that could be achieved with the soul alone.

    Annan even saw a soul dressed as a ritualist. The ritualist should be top-notch since Bernardino had the ritualist in his arsenal. In return, it would allow him to see through and decipher other ¡®s rituals in time or even set up a ritual by following the ritualist¡¯s advice.

    From what happened to Longjing Tea previously, the soul detained by this old man could even directly interfere with the material world.

    It should have been impossible.

    Even the Pale Princess had to leave the soul state to interfere with the real world.

    The souls seemingly could interfere with the real world without manifesting themselves. These ghosts were undetectable Dark Temrs for a transcender with a lower soul rank.

    Coupled with his ability to pull the soul of others out of the body at will and two wards whose abilities are unknown, Bernardino was an enemy Annan could not face.

    From Bernardino¡¯s questions, he seemed to have an apparent hostility toward Annan.

    This was a more dangerous enemy than Nichs.

    Annan was well-aware of his situation.

    Thus, he went straight for another approach.

    ¡°I need to rescue a friend of mine, Paper Princess.¡± Annan immediately asked the Paper Princess for aid, ¡°She¡¯s right here. The exact location is seven blocks ahead and two blocks to the right. The enemy she faces is a Spiritual Monk. An old man who can extract the souls of others. This man asks her if she knows about the Book of Divine Transporter.¡±

    At first, the Paper Princess frowned upon hearing Annan¡¯s words.

    But when she finished hearing the details, she immediately became serious.

    ¡°Spiritual Monk, Bernardino?¡± The Paper Princess whispered, ¡°Why did he ask the Book of Divine Transporter?¡±

    Obviously, for this kind of rare profession, the name of the profession identified the individual directly.

    In particr, Bernardino was a pope too.

    His rtionship with the deities was closer than ordinary people.

    ¡°Do not be afraid.¡± After a brief thought, the Paper Princess replied, ¡°I¡¯ll handle this matter in your stead.¡±

    Then, she grabbed Annan and summoned a piece of chalk in her right palm.

    Immediately after, the Paper Princess and Annan instantly turned into white chalk powder and dissipated in the air.

 Chapter 375: Bait

    <h4>Chapter 375: Bait</h4>

    Book of Divine Transporter? Jiu Er found the name a little familiar.

    She thought she had heard it somewhere and even had an intuitive understanding of it. However, she was certain she had not learned about it in the past.

    Jiu Er was rtively confident in her memory.

    This might be the pride of being a youngster under the age of 20.

    She was unlike thezy Sister Hyphen who lived with her. Thezy Hyphen returned the knowledge she had learned in ss to the teacher.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Jiu Er pondered for a long time and responded seriously, ¡°I think you should be able to see that I really don¡¯t know.¡±

    Indeed, Bernardino Telesio had lost the ability to manipte the mind and read others¡¯ memories. However, he still retained the ability to decipher the target¡¯s emotion through expression and behavior, which he learned during the Soul Snatch Wizard stage.

    Jiu Er believed that Bernardino took her soul out for questioning because it would be harder for her to lie in the soul state, or he would be able to identify lies more readily.

    This deduction exined the situation reasonably.

    Facing Jiu Er¡¯s answer, the old man who lost his limbs and eyes like a ster sculpture in the art ssroom smiled peacefully and said nothing.

    Wait. Jiu Er suddenly thought of the jewel-like eyes that Longjing Tea had seen before and vaguely realized something.

    Instead of saying the old man had lost his eyes and limbs, it was more urate to say he took the initiative to rece this part of his body with a prosthetic body without a soul.

    Therefore, she could not see this part of the body in her soul state. What she saw was the upper half of the body levitating on the wheelchair.

    Bernardino¡¯s eyes were curse vessels made of the finest gemstones. But what about his bandaged limbs? What about his skin?

    Could they also be curse vessels?

    Did Bernardino transform himself into a curse vessel?

    Why so?

    Increasing his power? Or extending his longevity? Or something else¡­

    It urred that Jiu Er¡¯s perception grew sharper in the soul state.

    She sensed an inconspicuously cold and viscous malice from the smiling old man, adhering to her skin like a ck and smooth silt.

    However, that malice was not directed at her.

    Jiu Er felt her consciousness getting blurry.

    She was then pulled into an illusion.

    Behind Bernardino, there seemed to be an indistinct translucent giantposed of countless ck spiritual bodies rising from the ground.

    Like the old man, the giant only had the upper body, but it had silt-like arms and a golden ¡°eye¡± that slowly rotated like a neb.

    Hmm, this doesn¡¯t seem to be an illusion.

    Shortly after the giant appeared, Jiu Er felt the surrounding air quickly be cold and sticky. The ground was covered with strange ck mud.

    What is this?

    Is it Soulbringer or a Stand [1]?

    Such a thought rose in Jiu Er¡¯s mind for a moment.

    When the ck slit approached her, she felt a chill like the overcast wind blowing through her body during rain. It was the same as the ¡°invisible cold wind¡± that the soul felt when she left the body.

    When the ck mud touched Jiu Er, she felt an intense numbness, unable to utter a word.

    However, she was only paralyzed.

    Jiu Er could still see clearly in the soul state.

    Under the giant made of translucent ck mud, the unknown ck entities quickly spread out along the ground. The moment the ck mud touched the two ¡°little underlings¡±, their bodies immediately lost their lives and fell backward.

    To put it into words, it was like the ck mud ¡°stuck¡± to the soul of the victims and pped the body away. The victims died immediately without any resistance.

    But, the victims were unlike Jiu Er, who had already embarked on the path of transcendence and thus had a gaseous soul.

    Those two were just ordinary people.

    Their souls had not formed at all. At the moment when their bodies fell and their souls were forced to leave their bodies, their gray and dull souls were exposed to the air, shattered and disintegrated like tofu. Then, the ck mud absorbed the ¡°powder¡± left after the victims perished.

    Why do you kill them? Jiu Er had such doubts in her heart for a moment.

    It seemed unnecessary.

    When they previously saw Bernardinoing to trouble Jiu Er, they did not try to protect Jiu Er but turned around without hesitation. These poor souls did not dare to look at what happened or speak up.

    Aside from the initial exchange of words, the rest of the inquiries happened in the soul state. The initial encounter did not seem to require confidentiality at all.

    But even so, Bernardino killed the two elite employees of the insurancepany.

    Worse still, their souls were crushed into pieces.

    As easy as it might seem, it should not be simple work. It seemed more than murdering the victims.

    What unfolded put Jiu Er in great fear. She thought she would lose her life without the ability to resist it. It could be an elemental power of a higher grade or something obtained through the Gold Rank. But, Jiu Er was confident that this higher power was only essible in Gold Rank.

    Jiu Er recalled that Annan once told her about the difference between the Gold and Silver Rank. When ites to Gold Rank, some powers are expensive to use. For example, it might require the host to burn their life energy as fuel, or the power might leave some defect in the body.

    Thus, many Gold Rank transcenders would still use the enhanced normal skills to fight instead of using their ultimate move directly.

    However, the power utilized to kill the underlings seemed toe from the Gold Rank.

    If Jiu Er were at Silver Rank, she could detect the danger and have a chance to struggle before dying immediately.

    Since the Gold Rank power was used against a Bronze Rank transcender like her and two mortals, Bernardino wanted to prevent them from revealing any information.

    But, what¡¯s his purpose?

    Those poor souls did not hear anything significant.

    Unless it was mandatory to keep it secretive that they had met him.

    Jiu Er quickly thought through her situation.

    If it was just the pressure of facing death, she might have gone crazy by now. However, she soon regained her senses upon realizing this might happen to other yers.

    She had to do something about it.

    At the very least, I have to get some intel before it¡¯s toote!

    ¡°What¡¯re you trying to do? What do you want?¡± Jiu Er tried her best to ignore the two souls that were crushed and forget about the possibility that she might be obliterated here.

    She maintained her calm demeanor and asked, ¡°Book of Divine Transporter? Are you trying to get into doing something for you?¡±

    ¡°Be quiet, Miss.¡± The old man kept his kind and gentle smile and said softly, ¡°Ah! You just reminded me to make you quiet.¡±

    The old man nced at Jiu Er, and the shadow giant behind him had the neb-like eye staring at Jiu Er.

    It was an immense pressure that could only be felt in the soul state. Immediately after, Jiu Er¡¯s soul lost the ability to speak. She felt a strange, weak suction directed at her soul with its intensity gradually increasing.

    The suction force had seemingly drawn her in, making her situation much more urgent and critical.

    But, it only seemed so. She sensed that she would be fine even if the suction force attached to her hadsted for another day.

    Was it because Bernardino was weak?

    That was obviously not the answer.

    Thus, there was only one answer.

    At the moment of realization, chills crept upon Jiu Er.

    She realized that she was probably just a bait.

    Bernardino wanted to deal with Annan, who arrived in Noah¡¯s capital not long ago!

 Chapter 376: Hey! Look At What Your Bait Had Caught You!

    <h4>Chapter 376: Hey! Look At What Your Bait Had Caught You!</h4>

    Jiu Er had a vague premonition that Bernardino was aware of her ability tomunicate with Annan remotely.

    Although he did not know the specifics, he seemed to have nned it all out. He held Jiu Er¡¯s soul as a hostage and allowed her to ask for help!

    So, is the Book of Divine Transporter Annan¡¯s possession?

    Then, I am afraid that at the moment I was asked about ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡±¡­

    Still, Jiu Er did not know what it was, and she probably could not find it in her memory.

    Thus, something must have happened before this.

    Before he approached me, he knew I was Annan¡¯s associate!

    But, there are so many yers in Noah¡¯s capital. So, why am I getting picked?

    Thinking of this, Jiu Er shuddered.

    A picture suddenly appeared in her mind.

    Back then, in front of the viscount mansion, she blocked an attack for Annan. Then, Annan rushed over, hugged her with great concern and grief, and shook her to death on the spot.

    Although she thought this scene was embarrassing, many other yers loved it.

    However, this might be a touching scene in Salvatore¡¯s view.

    Thus, Bernardino thought Annan liked me? He also knows yers have a way tomunicate remotely, and Annan owns the Book of Divine Transporter.

    But he does not know what a yer is; he does not know what the earth is, let alone our identities and rtionship with Annan.

    Jiu Er soon had a clearer grasp of the situation.

    So, the only channel for Bernardino to acquire this intelligence must be Salvatore!

    Although Bernardino had lost some of his mind-altering abilities, he must still retain some techniques in stealing memories or someone he knew who could steal some of the information from Salvatore!

    Bernardino must have failed to acquire Longjing Tea¡¯s memory!

    At that time, he passed by Longjing Tea.

    Wait, that¡¯s not right. Jiu Er quickly realized.

    At that time, Bernardino went to the library and got into contact with Longjing Tea! But for some reason, he failed to steal the memory.

    Was it because of the red robe wizard who looked like Harry Potter?

    But when did hee into contact with Salvatore?

    ¡°Don¡¯t overthink. You should take a rest.¡± The old man nced at Jiu Er and said casually, ¡°After all, this matter has nothing to do with you, Miss.¡±

    Jiu Er caught another piece of information from this reply. Bernardino could see her train of thoughts but could not see what exactly was on her mind.

    Instead, he could find out thest thing Jiu Er was thinking about.

    Jiu Er felt that her thinking speed was being suppressed by something.

    An intense lethargy struck her, causing her mind to go nk.

    This feeling of drowsiness¡­ What¡¯s going on?

    Jiu Er¡¯s thinking speed slowed, and even her eye movement grew sluggish.

    She could still see and hear everything around her. But it felt like she was exhausted to the limit, which she would refuse to see, listen and think.

    It appeared as if the mind was frozen by something.

    Soon, Jiu Er was frozen even in the concept of time.

    She did not know how long it had been.

    But when she was half-awake, she heard Annan¡¯s smooth and clear child-like voice in her ears, ¡°Your Excellency, what are you going to do to my people?¡±

    Don¡¯te here, Annan!

    This is a trap.

    Jiu Er was half asleep. That was the first thought that came to her mind.

    The next moment, she felt a strange warmthing from her body. It was like being put on a warm suit that improved her blood flow which soon made her wide awake.

    ¡°No need to worry. I¡¯m here.¡± Annan¡¯s reassuring voice sounded softly in front of Jiu Er.

    Wait, I feel my blood flow?

    Should I not be in a soul state?

    Jiu Er opened her eyes, only to see she had escaped from the soul state, resurrected, and regained her physical body.

    She wore Annan¡¯s ck leather jacket. Her size was not much different from Annan¡¯s, so the jacket won¡¯t seem too small for her.

    This was one of many clothes the Paper Princess pressured Annan to buy while shopping with the Paper Princess.

    After all, the weather was getting warmer now.

    It was a little hot for Annan to wear the previous winter clothes. Although Annan did not mind it, the Paper Princess was strict. She even bought a brand imported from the United Kingdom.

    After all, the United Kingdom was the territory belonging to the Elegant Elder. The costume designers on Noah¡¯s side were not as high-level as there. However, they were at the royal capital after all. The Underground Falteration¡¯s transit allowed subways of all countries to be connected. Thus, the products of other countries could also be bought in the royal capital.

    Of course, the price would be several times higher.

    Although the original purpose of building the subways and inventing the steam airships was to transport transcenders across borders, not so many transcenders needed to leave the country during peaceful times. Soon these technologies were used for business and fortune.

    The subways had not been fully utilized for civilian use. That was only because of the high cost, the concern over the guests in high nobility, and the fear of people with ulterior motives sneaking in. Thus, the regtions forbade civilian use strictly.

    The most popr use of the subways was to officially purchase specialties from other countries and then sell them to the public. Due tomercial use, the United Kingdom had begun building an overground railway.

    Indeed, since underground railways were built, the overground railways were developed too.

    The market had the demand, after all.

    ¡°Are you awake?¡± Annan held the jacket at Jiu Er¡¯s neckline to prevent it from sliding down. At the same time, he wore a light gray turtleneck.

    He said softly to Jiu Er, who was still a little confused, ¡°When you¡¯re awake, put on your clothes first so as not to catch a cold.¡±

    ¡°¡­Oh, oh!¡± Jiu Er was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting.

    Although she was sessfully resurrected and freed from Bernardino¡¯s control, she still had a chill within her body, which gave her a faint throbbing pain in the abdomen.

    She hurriedly grabbed the jacket that Annan was putting on her, raised her arm, and put it in the sleeves. During this process, she and Annan¡¯s hands touched, and she was seemingly jolted as she quickly withdrew her hand.

    Annan smiled, put away his hands, and turned to leave.

    It was only then that Jiu Er reacted and felt a little regretful.

    I should have grabbed Annan¡¯s hand just now¡­

    Wait no!

    I need to warn Annan to escape immediately.

    Jiu Er quickly reacted.

    Why isn¡¯t Annan attacked? Bernardino should not be just wanting to see Annan, right?

    She looked in that direction with some doubts.

    Jiu Er¡¯s pupils dted slightly.

    What is this?

    She saw the entire alley covered with densely colored ¡°pen marks¡±.

    It felt like the infrared rays traps in a spy film. The red silk threads were connected between the buildings and spread to the height of several meters.

    The dim yellow ink reflected the sun¡¯s light, hung in the air, and froze all the objects in it like amber. Even the time was frozen too.

    Pure white crayon traces kept appearing in the thin air. They resembled either a long sword, asso, or a cage. Every trace of crayon had souls lit in white mes. Some were bound and imprisoned by the white wooden cage suddenly appearing in the air.

    As for Bernardino, countless tiny, shimmering silver chains wrapped around him.

    The chains were at the thickness of a pinky finger, varying in length and protruding from the air. The end of the chains were shimmering ripples.

    There was a strange resonance between the ripples. They were connected, sealing Bernardino in it.

    A young girl with beautiful long silver hair stood in front of Annan.

    The dragon horns were about 1.75 meters tall, which was a bit too tall for ady¡¯s standard. However, her defined and tall figure would not make her height look strange but exuded an awe-inspiring aura instead.

    Jiu Er could tell just from the back that she looked no more than twenty years old at most. A drawing board was suspended in front of her, and four brushes were tucked between her left fingers. Her right hand was put inside the pocket of her white trench coat.

    Yi?

    Isn¡¯t Bernardino having me as a lure to fish Annan out?

    Who is thisdy?

    Jiu Er was vignt with the newdy.

 Chapter 377: Bell Ringer Oik

    <h4>Chapter 377: Bell Ringer Oik</h4>

    It was different from the previous ¡°battle¡± with Nichs.

    Despite Bernardino being a pope, the Paper Princess showed no sympathy when She attacked him.

    Arge part of the reason for this was that Bell Ringer Oik, the ¡°Deity of Terminal Illness and Fleeting Lifespan¡±, was a false deity without any backer, no thriving church, and no true deity¡¯s backing.

    Although the Bell Ringer Oik and the Paper Princess were false deities that ascended in the same epoch, they were not familiar with each other.

    It was different from the Paper Princess, who epted the invitation of the Elegant Elder and was promoted to a subordinate deity and granted an asylum day. Bell Ringer Oik was invited by the three upright deities: Bone Burying Grandma, Silent Lady, and the Motherly Moth. However, He did not ept the recruitment.

    [TN: Asylum day allows the deity to resurrect on a set day (refer to Chapter 179).]

    Being invited by the three upright deities was not because of His good character or strong capability.

    It was because its realm was critical, and its ssification was vague.

    The Paper Princess remembered that Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s Book of Truth was titled [The Gray Blood]. There were truths involving many fields such as disease, apoptosis, blood, frailty, aging, and fate. It was a mighty Book of Truth.

    When Bell Ringer Oikpleted the sublimation ritual, He chose ¡°the Preset Death¡± as His core concept.

    So He eventually ascended into ¡°the Deity of Terminal Illness and Fleeting Lifespan¡±, the ¡°Bell Ringer Oik,¡± who sounded the death bell marking the deaths of the mortals.

    He was a loner false deity who was entric, lonely, and had few friends. Not only did He not create churches on His initiative, but even those who create churches for Him would not receive any additional benefits and protection. He rarely gave holy light engravings to His believers. Only those who purified nightmares would acquire the corresponding holy light engravings.

    Generally speaking, false deities would issue holy light engravings to the believers they were pleased with. After all, false deities churches did not have so many rules and regtions, and they would not have a fixed territory, thus acting more freely.

    The false deities would issue holy light engravings to their favored believers and even mortals and transcenders who were not their believers. As long as it was pleasing to their eye, there was nothing that could not be done.

    After all, the essence of holy light engravings was the authorization of believers to borrow the deities¡¯ power. Holy light engravings would be given after purifying the nightmare because the deities would get some benefits after the nightmare purifications. They would provide the believers with the corresponding reward.

    It was like buying the original material; the factory dedicated to secondary processing gave the seller of the original material a certain amount of remuneration.

    The holy light engraving was a form of ¡°currency¡±.

    It was not something that could only be obtained through nightmares.

    Even upright deities churches rewarded holy light engravings to thosepleting the church¡¯s missions.

    It was just that upright deities churches had officiated rules, rewards, and punishments. The pope would record every holy light engraving given. Even deities could not give their blessings at will and could only reward the people in the church. Otherwise, it would interfere with the authority and work of the pope.

    In other words, the deities were not involved in the management of the upright deities church. Instead, the administration was entirely entrusted to the pope.

    It was like the celebrity¡¯s rtionship with his fan base.

    And so do subordinate deities.

    Subordinate deities would not just get asylum days.

    Their true deity would also direct some of the people from the main church to help them take care of the believers and the priest. It was like signing a contract with a bigpany. They would not need to be concerned with the follow-up operations.

    This was also the reason why the authority of the upright deities¡¯ pope was much higher than that of the king/

    Pope and Saint of upright deities were the real rulers of this world.

    They were different from the stray false deities.

    The false deities would directly participate in the management of the church.

    Only the pope, as a secret keeper, would not easily betray the false deity. However, the cardinal bishop might defect. There were no rules for them to choose cardinals. Basically, it depended on the pope or false deities¡¯ liking.

    In other words, it would be fine as long as it was pleasing to the eye.

    The examples included the Tragedy Writer or the Pale Princess.

    Given the need to relocate at any time, false deities¡¯ churches were small. Most false deities had their priests count under three digits. From this point of view, the Rotten Man was unique on its own as a false deity.

    At the same time, the Bell Ringer Oik was another outlier inmon sense.

    However, He did not distance Himself from His believers because He abided by the rules.

    It was because of His entric character.

    He did notmunicate with anyone other than necessary socializing and did not count on His believers to assist Him.

    He even did the act of maintaining His realm by Himself.

    There was folklore that when mortals were tortured to death by a terminal illness or were about to die without disease, they would asionally hear three bells ringing from outside the door before going to sleep the night before they died. No others could hear the bell except the dying.

    This was the Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s mercy to the dying.

    He revealed the final death, giving man thest day to write his will.

    This was why it was inconsiderate for those ignorant children to ring the bell in front of the elderly or the sick on Mist Continent.

    This was also the reason the Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s priest was unweed.

    Even so, He also had some fanatic believers who believed that ¡°the end is inevitable¡±. Those believers would craft bronze bells with bronze handles, rely on divine art to determine the dying people, and go to their door to ring the bell.

    Even if they did, the Bell Ringer Oik would not give any reward.

    He believed that the end was inevitable.

    There was no help needed in the process.

    There was no need to announce it.

    No resistance could do anything.

    Therefore, He also did not need any believers.

    He even gave Himself the name ¡°Bell Ringing Oik¡±. In fact, ¡°Oik¡± was a somewhat derogatory term indicative of a ¡°lowly and despicable person¡± in the context of the United Kingdom.

    [TN: The United Kingdom refers to the Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom.]

    At the same time, the Little Oik referred to the poor boys who steal and rob; the Boat Oik referred to those who smuggle goods and kidnap women.

    Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s believers were even less weed than the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s believers. Once someone who held a bronze bell, was bandaged and wore a ck hood said nothing if he entered the vige, it meant that someone was going to die.

    Bell Ringer Oik was not an evil deity and had never done anything illegal.

    However, He was just not likable.

    No deity would befriend Him after He had rejected the invitations of the three upright deities. On the contrary, several deities were irritated by His entric temper.

    Being the pope of the Bell Ringer Oik was not necessarily a great identity.

    Considering this point of view, Annan did not think the Bell Ringer Oik behind Bernardino was looking for the Book of Divine Transporter.

    ¡°So, what is the purpose of you looking for me?¡± Facing Bernardino, whose ghosts were wiped out by the Paper Princess and who was bound by countless silver chains, Annan spoke out all of his interpretations.

    Standing behind the Paper Princess, Annan asked calmly, ¡°The Book of Divine Transporter is with me. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    ¡°I warn you not to have an ill idea on Annan.¡± Before he could answer, the Paper Princess warned, ¡°Not even the Bell Ringer Oik can save you.¡±

    Bernardino, on the other hand, just gave an odd smile.

    Heughed and asked, ¡°If you can¡¯t rest at ease, why don¡¯t you just kill me on the spot?¡±

 Chapter 378: Mr. Rayâ€™s Exorcism Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 378: Mr. Ray¡¯s Exorcism Ritual</h4>

    What does he want? Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    If it weren¡¯t for the Reversed Winter Heart freezing his negative emotions, he would feel the anger of being teased now.

    First, Bernardino came to seek trouble for his subordinates, killing innocent people for no reason. But after arriving here, Bernardino did not wish tomunicate and taunt him directly.

    Is he trying to make me angry?

    Or do you think I won¡¯t hurt you?

    Just then, the Paper Princess warned, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled, Annan.

    ¡°Bernardino has a special curse. Spiritual Monk is a profession who can continuously absorb the souls to strengthen the curse on his body. So the person who kills him will suffer an intense curse, while his soul can be reborn at a ce set beforehand.¡±

    I see.

    Is it a curse simr to ¡°Destiny Bond¡± [1]bined with the self-revival ability of a lich?

    Thus, the Paper Princess tied him up instead of killing him.

    Annan frowned.

    With this piece of critical information, Annan immediately understood Bernardino¡¯s behavior.

    About two-thirds of his body that disappeared in his soul state should have been used to create other ¡°Phctery¡± ¡ª the soul fragments that allowed him to revive.

    This guy is a bit difficult to deal with.

    In other words, the Gold Rank transcenders were not opponents easy to be killed.

    Relying on invisible but threatening spiritual bodies, he could quickly eliminate weaker enemies and force powerful enemies to attack his body directly.

    If Bernardino were killed, the killer would be afflicted with severe curses while he would be resurrected elsewhere. The tactical approach in dealing with this would be sending out a weak summoned creature to do the killing blow and tank through the curses.

    However, the weak summoned creature could not pass through the interception of his spiritual body and cause damage to him under normal circumstances.

    This guy is a porcupine.

    No wonder he doesn¡¯t even have the slightest fear when facing a deity.

    Hisbat tactic revolves around ¡°death¡±.

    However, the Paper Princess still did not give up on killing him.

    She chose another way, usingplex and unique techniques.

    She bound Bernardino and his wheelchair with silver chains and fixed them on it. Immediately afterward, she established a sealing ritual to drain Bernardino¡¯s power.

    The material to build up the seal was those spirits Bernardino enved.

    The Paper Princess utilized her ¡°white¡± to eradicate the more threatening spirits. On the other hand, She utilized her white oak cage to capture the ghost that moved slowly and had weaker power.

    They were like corpses tied to a rock that sunk into the sea.

    The revealed souls wailed without making a noise. The ck threads protruded from the gaps in the cage, connecting them to Bernardino¡¯s fingers and legs, constantly extracting something from him. This had weakened Bernardino quickly.

    Annan had supplemented himself with ult knowledge, including the book that taught about Mr. Ray¡¯s realm and ritual. With that, he quickly identified the essence of this ritual.

    It was a temporary sealing ritualposed of simple exorcism rituals in aplex number [2].

    The Paper Princess crafted it out after realizing Bernardino¡¯s essence.

    This ritual belonged to Mr. Ray¡¯s ¡°purification¡± realm.

    The gold powder, white oak, green pear wood, and golden peach wood were materials that did not contain any curse. At the same time, the spiritual body could not pass through them.

    As long as the spiritual body touched these four materials, it would manifest itself involuntarily. Once the manifestation urred, it would continue to consume their power.

    Under normal circumstances, oak, pear wood, and peach wood did not have such colors. Only the corresponding ritual could grant the materials their sacred properties.

    Jasmine mixed with the Myrrh [3] was irritating to the spiritual body. Roughly speaking, it was like having excrement dozens of times thicker that could be smelled directly on the ¡°skin¡±.

    It was probably the equivalent of being sshed with shit for the ghost.

    If the ghost smelled it, it would run away immediately. But, if it was to expel the ghosts, it was enough to light the incense.

    Of course, this also had the potential to provoke powerful ghosts in an instant.

    The only way for mortals to effectively kill ghosts was to use wood with sacred qualities or smeared with gold powder to make arger cage with five sides sealed. Then, they would drive the soul in and close the gate at the sixth side.

    When the power of the spirit body was exhausted, it would die naturally.

    The Paper Princess did not require incense.

    She created a cage made of white oak out of thin air directly through her canvas, forcing the ghost into it. However, these ghosts had a contractual rtionship with the Spiritual Monk. If they needed power, it would be drawn directly from Bernardino.

    In this way, when these ghosts suck Bernardino directly to death, the result would be ¡°Bernardino killing himself¡±, thus bypassing his curse.

    This allowed Bernardino to be killed safely without getting hurt, even though killing him had no benefits.

    This was obviously because the Paper Princess was worried that bad things might happen to Annan, so She handled everything for him vigntly.

    The Paper Princess did not even let Annan touch Bernardino. As soon as the two of them teleported, She drew a yellow sticky rope with crayons and dragged Annan into the distance. Then, She drew dense red silk threads with a pencil and instantly arranged a barrier ritual of the Cup-holding Lady in the air.

    The effect of this ritual was to make mortals feel dull and painful in their hearts and stay away from this ce subconsciously after approaching. At the same time, the enemies in the barrier continue to feel severe heart pain and cannot move or even directly cause their death.

    Annan resurrected Jiu Er directly. Of course, her clothes were intact. But her soul was stained with ck mud and suffered slight damage.

    The symptom would be a dull pain in the abdomen and the soul erosion rate that had increased by 15 points.

    She had nothing to do with Bernardino trying to seek out Annan.

    Jiu Er had suffered for no reason. Annan did not n to ignore it but nned to give her somepensation.

    Just think of it as ¡°an unknown bug urred¡±, ¡°data error¡±, or something like that.

    Of course, Annan knew Jiu Er favored him.

    Unlike Lin Yiyi, who was simply lusting for his body, Jiu Er was a young girl. She was sick at home all year round because of her poor health. As a result, she was pretty estranged from her ssmates, and the rtionship between her online fans and she was too distant.

    Annan was self-aware.

    Jiu Er was young and rich, with high status, a promising future, calm and active character. She was gentle and kind but not timid, willing to uphold justice, robust and healthy. In addition, he even fought with her, and the cooperation went well.

    Most importantly, she was gorgeous.

    It was not surprising that Jiu Er liked him.

    However, there was an adult soul contained in Annan¡¯s fourteen-year-old body. The two souls were now separated by a world, and it was difficult for Annan to take responsibility for her.

    So Annan deliberately pretended to be young and innocent, acting as if he had no idea about romance.

    However, he also did not want to alienate Jiu Er. As long as Jiu Er was mature and sensible, she should not have such irrational feelings.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s feelings were much more mature.

    She only craved the body, not the person directly.

    So, when Annan took advantage of Lin Yiyi, he did not have the slightest psychological burden.

    Thus, this was the so-called win-win situation.

 Chapter 379: Soul Withering Curse

    <h4>Chapter 379: Soul Withering Curse</h4>

    After confirming that Bernardino was the Paper Princess¡¯s confinement, another question emerged.

    Annan was sure that he had never offended the man.

    Bell Ringer Oik nevermunicated with his priest, so it would not be Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s intention.

    Being the Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s pope, Bernardino could not possibly do anything with the Book of Divine Transporter. The dead air around him would stop him from assimting the ¡°brilliance¡± attribute in the Book of Divine Transporter. He would not be able to perceive, touch, and gain the book.

    There was no point and no benefit for Bernardino to go against him.

    Also, he already knew who the person who held the Book of Truth was. There was no need to utilize Jiu Er as bait. He could find Annan directly through the eyes of passers-by.

    It felt like he was intentionally seeking death from Annan.

    You can¡¯t intentionally feed like this.

    ¡°What is your goal?¡± Ignoring Bernardino¡¯s provocation, Annan raised his voice and asked again, ¡°Although you have harmed my people, I can still trust your words. As long as you can convince me¡­¡±

    ¡°Then, let me go first.¡± Facing his inevitable death, Bernardino was not afraid at all.

    He just let out a lowugh and said calmly, ¡°This is not how chatting should be.¡±

    ¡°This is not a chat. It¡¯s an interrogation.¡± Annan took a few steps forward, stopped at a certain distance, and responded coldly.

    He looked directly at the old man in the wheelchair, as dead as a dry corpse.

    Seeing this, the corner of the old man¡¯s mouth rose slightly. ¡°At this distance, as long as I move my finger, I can hook out your soul.¡±

    Although his body was bound by silver chains and his life was slipping away quickly, the old man squinted at Annan.

    Still, Annan had no fear.

    He nimbly yed with two silver coins on the tip of his right finger.

    The two silver coins fluttered at his fingertips like butterflies, reflecting the sun¡¯s brilliance.

    ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± Annan smiled gently, ¡°But do you really want to do that?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ha.¡± The old man stared into Annan¡¯s eyes without the slightest fear. After a long time, he suddenlyughed, ¡°You are really not afraid.¡±

    He spoke in a hoarse and low voice, ¡°Fools don¡¯t know fear; heroes have nothing to fear. So which type of person are you?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Annan answered without any hesitation, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, is it?¡± Seemingly surprised by this answer, Bernardino was silent for a long time.

    He seemed to be thinking about something.

    As time passed, Bernardino, who was continuously drained of life by the Paper Princess¡¯s ritual, became weaker.

    When Annan could not help thinking about whether to let the Paper Princess stop first, Bernardino finally spoke up.

    He nced at the Paper Princess, then at Annan.

    He opened his mouth and said slowly, ¡°Do you know your lifespan is over?¡±

    ¡°Impudent!¡± The Paper Princess immediately reprimanded.

    Annan was not angry but asked with interest, ¡°You mean I¡¯m going to die now?¡±

    ¡°Not now.¡± Bernardino corrected, ¡°You are already dead.¡±

    That sounds like you¡¯re cursing at someone. Jiu Er, who was watching on the sidelines, had such thoughts in her mind.

    ¡°So, are you seeking justice?¡±

    ¡°No, I just hope tomunicate.¡± The old man¡¯s tone became humble, ¡°There are some things that I can¡¯t seek and certainly can¡¯t possess. At the same time, there are some things your excellency can¡¯t easily get and won¡¯t be able to do.¡±

    Unbeknownst to the crowd, Bernardino changed his address to Annan.

    Annan had already realized what the purpose of Bernardino¡¯s visit was.

    Not many people know that ¡°Annan¡± died once.

    Those who could not see through the past, future, and soul¡¯s fate could not confirm that ¡°Annan¡± had changed.

    Bernardino did not get the information from Bell Ringer Oik but obtained it through his divine art.

    To be more precise, he must have confirmed that Annan was not the ¡°real Annan¡± when he had stolen memories from Salvatore. He was confident that the ¡°previous Annan¡± was dead and Annan was on his ¡°second life¡±.

    Based on the situation, Annan already knew what he wanted.

    What Bernardino was looking for was the ¡°Rebirth Skill¡±.

    That¡¯s so ridiculous. Annan almost burst outughing.

    Bernardino¡¯s way of fighting was to cause trouble for his enemies by teasing and escaping death. As he approached the end of his lifespan, he was not thinking about facing the inevitable death but about how to escape this destiny.

    What an irony.

    Is this Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s pope?

    I suggest you change your faith to the Venerated Skeleton.

    That¡¯s hrious.

    Annan raised the corner of his mouth and looked at the old man.

    ¡°Just say what you want.¡± Annan said calmly in an unquestioning tone, ¡°As long as the price is right, we can negotiate.¡±

    Hearing this, the old man took a deep breath.

    His face covered with bandages stopped the onlookers from making out his expression. However, it seemed like he had rxed and understood something.

    ¡°So that is the case. Did you invent the ritual yourself?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s me.¡± Annan replied calmly, ¡°But I have resurrected and lost my previous memory. If you ask me how to perform the ritual, I won¡¯t be able to answer you.¡±

    It¡¯s better to proim that I did use some kind of ritual for resurrection.

    In the face of Annan¡¯s answer, Bernardino did not give up.

    He just asked, ¡°I heard that resurrection is passed down across generations of Motherly Moth¡¯s pope. They won¡¯t have their previous memory, but they retain the soul.

    ¡°Are you using the ritual in this realm? Can the divine art in the ¡®moth¡¯ realm resuscitate your soul?¡±

    As expected. Hearing Bernardino¡¯s question, Annan confirmed his spection.

    Bernardino must have burned his soul to the end.

    He refined the elements to the extreme and nned to sublimate his soul. However, he did not have a suitable Book of Truth.

    Is he looking for a way to escape death and prolong his lifespan? Is he nning to snatch the Book of Truth so that he can be reborn?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But ording to your description, it should be like this. But what I have forgotten is the corresponding knowledge aside from the relevant memory.¡±

    ¡°This should be the divine art in the ¡®moth¡¯ realm.¡±

    Bernardino breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Thank you very much, Your Excellency Duke.¡±

    Annan pressed on, ¡°Speaking of which, what if I killed you?¡±

    Hearing this, Bernardino hesitated for a moment.

    The face under the bandage was silent for a while, but he still answered, ¡°As a reward, I will answer your question.

    ¡°I have a curse that has been strengthened to the limit and engraved with an inscription. Anyone who has killed me will be afflicted with the ¡®Soul Withering Curse¡¯. When you sleep, your memory and knowledge will flow to me. This is one of the reasons why I¡¯m strong.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Annan raised his eyebrows when he heard those words.

    ¡°Then, may I ask from whom did you learn of my existence?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s another question, Your Excellency.¡± Bernardino smiled. His voice was getting softer, and his head slowly lowered.

    He was finally drained of his life by his ghosts.

 Chapter 380: A Centaurâ€™s Soul

    <h4>Chapter 380: A Centaur¡¯s Soul</h4>

    As those ck threads severed, Bernardino¡¯s life gradually died out.

    Those spirits bound by the Paper Princess would surely perish soon afterward.

    In this case, it was better to utilize their fleeting worth.

    Annan thought for a moment, then raised his right hand and chanted softly.

    ¡°The frost is thy wheel, and the spirit is thy path.¡± After Annan¡¯s chant, five transparent mes of blue crystal hue appeared and extinguished at Annan¡¯s fingertips. A hollowed-out gorgeous frost wheel flew out from his palm like a frisbee and quickly erged in the air.

    As the Frost Wheel hit the ground, its ice broke and regenerated immediately, producing a crackling sound. At the same time, the ground was left with white frost marks akin to tire traces.

    After the wheel was unleashed, it mmed into the spirit bodies trapped in the cage.

    The Paper Princess had burned the rtively powerful spirit bodies to death in the first wave of attacks. For example, they were the spirit bodies of elves, demons, Silver Rank transcenders¡¯ souls, and two extraordinarily rare Golden Rank souls.

    The rest of the bound souls, except for a Silver Rank centaur, were all Bronze Rank Transcenders¡¯ souls.

    Also, this was the first time Annan encountered a centaur.

    Through the soul state, Annan noticed that the centaur soul must be a muscr young man with wheat-colored skin before his death. His upper body was simr to a human male, but his chest was t. Furthermore, his muscles were much more robust than humans. It had glossy skin, like a bodybuilder decorated with oil for modeling.

    Whaty from the waist down was a horse. The skin of the centaur¡¯s lower body was also shiny brown like his upper body, and its fur was unlike an ordinary horse.

    The centaur had a weird outfit. The horse section was draped in what looked like chain mail, a mat, or a rug. After the clothing hung down a certain distance from both sides, there was a row of metallic dark iron thorns like shuriken, probably as decoration or counterweight.

    The centaur had no shoes on, and his hoofs directly tread on the ground. He wore a leather vest for his upper body with a V-shaped opening at the back. At the same time, the frontal clothing draped down and covered the belly of the horse¡¯s body.

    The centaur was an archer, but he did not attack Annan.

    He showedplicated feelings and watched Frost Wheel tear himself apart calmly.

    The reason why the Paper Princess did not kill the centaur was simple. The centaur did not proactively attack. He might not fight back if the offender exins and justify it clearly after the attack.

    The centaur would not misunderstand others. At the moment of being attacked and even before that, they could see the dialogue choice that could resolve the conflict and even turn an enemy into a friend. Sometimes, the enemies were inexplicable to how it happened.

    They would only attack an inevitable enemy. Even so, they would only fight back when they could not escape.

    Inparison to the foreseen future, the conflict that happened contemporary was meaningless. What they lost was something they could afford. When they peered far enough into the future, they did not even care about their existence but what they could contribute and achieve in their lifetime.

    In this sense, centaurs were silent lunatics.

    They saw through their mortal nature, so they went mad.

    This personality remained even after their death.

    This was the ¡°silent¡¯ persona etched in the depths of the soul.

    Even when Annan was killing him, he did not try to resist. It might be because of the Paper Princess, or he probably saw something. Instead, he just stared at Annan silently, smiling. He lowered his left hand holding the bow, and there were no signs of his right hand trying to draw the arrow from his back.

    The Frost Wheel ran over these souls, entangling them in it and mming them into the cage. Unfortunately, none could escape and continued to roll forward inside the wheel. Most of the spirit bodies were frozen by the curse and soon shattered into pieces, sending white ice fragments into the air.

    [You have killed a Bronze Rank enemy in battle. 300 Shared Experience points are given.]

    [You have killed a Bronze Rank enemy in battle. 300 Shared Experience points are given.]

    [You have killed a Bronze Rank enemy in battle. 300 Shared Experience points are given.]

    ¡­

    At the next moment, pleasing experience point prompts were disyed in front of Annan.

    Perhaps because they were in the soul state, these spirits only gave Annan half of the original experience¡¯s worth.

    However, the prompt regarding the defeat of the centaur surprised Annan.

    [You¡¯re given Shared Experience points for killing a Silver Rank enemy in battle.]

    Why is the experience points unusually high?

    Although the centaur was in the soul state, the experience given was higher than all Silver Rank transcenders Annan had killed so far.

    Is it because he is a centaur?

    Is centaur¡¯s experience so much higher than Yasn folks?

    For some reason, Annan felt that there seemed to be a story in the eyes of this centaur looking at him, and it seemed like there was some expectation in his gaze.

    Did he peer into my future?

    But it should not be¡­

    The essence of the Prophet¡¯s spell was to acquire the information sent by the ¡°future self¡±. Since he would be dead, the aftermath pieces of information would not be revealed.

    If the centaur were to die here, it should be impossible to know about the future.

    Could it be that he knew Annan? A new thought popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    What the hell did Annan do in the first life?

    He not only got acquainted with a bunch of true deities and false deities, he even got familiar with the centaur tribes who refuse to contact outsiders or use Prophet magic to avoid strangers.

    How on earth did he do it?

    Have you traveled the world in the first life?

    ¡°Forget about it.¡± Annan looked away.

    After he advanced to the Silver Rank, the required experience points for further upgrades increased significantly again.

    However, these experience points were enough for him to promote himself by one level.

    But at this time, Annan nned to hold on with his level upgrade first.

    He nned to save some experience points first and prioritize his attribute points. Then, he would use the experience points to buy the profession level of [Frostwhisper] and directly push the Perception attribute to more than 50 points.

    As for Bernardino¡¯s experience points, Annan would not even consider getting it.

    Instead, it was luck that Annan did not kill him just now.

    If Bernardino had ess to Annan¡¯s memories and knowledge rted to his original world, Bernardino probably had the chance to bepatible with the Book of Divine Transporter.

    So far, Annan still did not know what the Book of Truth Book of Divine Transporter was about.

    But for now, it had involved two realms: ¡°immortality¡± and ¡°ascension and change¡±. As Annan continued with his collection process, it could generate four more domains. In the end, if Annan wanted to ascend to a deity, he had to choose two of them, or the selection process might happen at random.

    For now, ¡°immortality¡± and ¡°ascension and change¡± were yer-rted realms.

    This might be why Annan, as the game nner, was a good fit for the Book of Divine Transporter.

    Bernardino¡¯s experience points might not satisfy Annan either.

    Since it was only one-third of Bernardino¡¯s soul, the experience points gained after killing him would only be one-third of its original worth at most.

    As a Soul Snatch Wizard, he lived up to the ¡°Necromancer¡± title in ancient times.

    This ascendancy process was simply like a typical lich.

    ¡°He has picked up a wrong faith.¡± Annan¡¯s eyes did not show the slightest irony but a faint trace of pity when looking at Bernardino¡¯s dead body.

    ¡°What?¡± the Paper Princess asked.

    She vaguely felt Annan exuding a saint-like aura.

    ¡°Being the Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s pope, he finds ways to escape death. He¡¯ll be held responsible for it for sure.¡± Annan said calmly, ¡°Of course, we have to watch out for another thing until then.¡±

    ¡°Nichs?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Annan nodded and offered an idea, ¡°Even if Nichs is under Father Stone¡¯s control, what about Bernardino?

    ¡°If he gets the power of Sage¡¯s Stone and acquires unlimited elemental power, it will extend his lifespan. Who can put him in check?

    ¡°Will Nichs grant his request?¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± said Annan solemnly.

 Chapter 381: Jiu Erâ€™s Determination

    <h4>Chapter 381: Jiu Er¡¯s Determination</h4>

    ¡°Since you will be fine here, I will be leaving.¡± Annan looked at Jiu Er, whose body was still trembling slightly, and reached out to support her arm with concern, ¡°Can you go back by yourself?

    ¡°Also, do you need me to help you resolve the problem of those two?¡± said Annan. He looked at the two corpses at the end of the alley who had lost their souls, but their bodies were intact.

    They should be the watchers monitoring Jiu Er.

    If the two of them died here, it might cause some trouble for Jiu Er¡¯s job or her missions. However, Annan could help her deal with the follow-up problems if Jiu Er needed it.

    The way to deal with it was also simple. He would inform the Crow Family and intimidate the relevant party. Count Geraint offered much more deterrence for these Noah¡¯s underground gangs than the police.

    It was a good benefit to have the boss helping her deal with the troubles for free. There was even a slight chance of her entering the higher ranks earlier or simply using the small force as a catalyst to reach higher-level forces.

    From the yer¡¯s standpoint, this was the best option.

    The ultimate goal of all yers¡¯ actions was to obtain benefits.

    Annan was quite aware of the yer¡¯s psychology.

    Even though Jiu Er asked for help, Annan still preparedpensation for her to make up for her lost interests.

    However, Jiu Er did not opt for that.

    A strange and strongpetitive spirit that should not belong to the yer came about in her heart.

    It was an intense feeling that she did not want Annan to look down on her and treat her as a burden, a sidekick, or an immature minor who needed special care.

    ¡°I appreciate that, Lord Annan.¡± Jiu Er nced at Annan, then lowered her head and answered fluently and softly, ¡°But I can handle this myself.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a n? Why don¡¯t you tell me about it and let me offer you some tips?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord. My n is to report the name, Bernardino. No matter if they sent a ritualist or other transcenders, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find out the real cause of death of these two people. Also, if they can identify Bernardino being the killer, they can only choose to believe my words.

    ¡°The possibility of ¡®me having a special ability or connection to escape from Bernardino, or at least make him dare not attack me¡¯ is much higher than the possibility of me conspiring with Bernardino to suppress their forces.

    ¡°As long as they¡¯re smart, they will see more value in me. No matter how I survive the attack, it can show that I¡¯m not an ordinary Bronze Rank transcender who is likely to be associated with that high-level power. Not only do they dare not to attack me, but they will also try to win me over.¡±

    Jiu Er fluently stated the n she had conceived.

    ¡°Not bad. I¡¯m pleased to see you nning so much ahead.¡± Annan agreed with her.

    However, he still offered some tips to optimize the n, ¡°At the same time, you should describe Bernardino¡¯s abilities in detail, but it is best not to say his name out directly.¡±

    ¡°Is it because they will doubt me to some extent? Even if they value me now, they still have doubts about me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We don¡¯t want them to be defensive and suspect you. On the other hand, you should not be explicitly aware of the existence of ¡®Bernardino¡¯ in your current identity.¡± Annan pointed out the loopholes in Jiu Er¡¯s n, ¡°You are a berserker, not a wizard. Although they think you are in a unique profession now, you are still just a berserker after all. They will notice this w sooner orter.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be suspected, don¡¯t say the things you shouldn¡¯t know.¡±

    Annan is brilliant! Jiu Er widened his eyes and looked at Annan in disbelief.

    The idolization was evident in her sparkling, pure eyes.

    Annan noticed Jiu Er¡¯s gaze and couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud, ¡°It¡¯s normal you don¡¯t think of this. After all, you are still young, and you have never gone through such an experience before. Isn¡¯t it?¡±

    But you are obviously much younger than me!

    I reached the legal age not long ago, but I¡¯m just a little tender and short.

    The baby-faced Jiu Erined in her heart.

    But she did not say it out loud.

    Probably it was because of cowardice or some sort of unspoken reserved nature. At the very least, Jiu Er did not n to tell Annan her actual age when Annan treated her as an equal.

    She wanted to utilize the identity of being a ¡°peer¡± first to get closer to Annan.

    Annan sighed softly as if he had finished what he could say.

    ¡°I respect your wishes. Since you don¡¯t want me to meddle in, I won¡¯t mention it anymore.¡± Annan asked gently, ¡°Does your stomach still hurt?¡±

    ¡°It still hurts.¡± Jiu Er hesitated for a moment but replied in a low volume.

    She was embarrassed to voice out the spot where the pain came from. However, the unbearable throbbing pain made her face the problem immediately.

    If I don¡¯t ask while Annan is here, maybe the pain will intensify after Annan leaves.

    At that point, wouldn¡¯t it be more shameful to ask strangers again and possibly expose my weaknesses or wounds?

    Only Annan can be trusted¡­

    However, before Annan could answer, the Paper Princess behind Annan exined, ¡°It¡¯s because your soul was hurt. You¡¯ve been eroded so much by the curse, so your curse vessel can¡¯t take it anymore. The pain you¡¯re feeling now is the spot where the curse is after being unleashed.

    ¡°Remember to change your curse vessel when you return, and you¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s best not to enter a nightmare for two days.

    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing. Even though your soul erosion rate has increased a lot, you will get a little bit of curse power that your body manages to purify after waking up. This will make you stronger.¡±

    Simply put, I get a small amount of experience by signing in daily.

    Jiu Er bit her lips.

    However, she still felt that the sudden increase in erosion rate was not good.

    Annanforted as if reading through her mind, ¡°You were implicated because of me. Afterward, I will find a way to clear off your erosion rate. The previous erosion rate will be removed except for the newly afflicted soul erosion. Just treat it as yourpensation.¡±

    ¡°Sorry to trouble you, Lord Annan.¡± Jiu Er opened her mouth and wanted to say, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡± But, she finally gave in and whispered, ¡°Thank you very much.¡±

    Even if she said no, she still wanted it a little in her heart.

    But after agreeing to it, for some reason, she felt that she owed Annan more and more.

    ¡°If there is any need or you face any trouble in the future, just call out my name.¡± Annan said, ¡°As long as I cane, I wille.¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Jiu Er was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice.

    But after hearing this sentence, she made up her mindpletely.

    As a yer, dying once was no big deal.

    If she encountered an enemy that was difficult for her, she would not want to implicate Annan again.

    So she would never ask for help¡­

 Chapter 382: The Paper Princessâ€™ Real Name

    <h4>Chapter 382: The Paper Princess¡¯ Real Name</h4>

    It was highly possible that Bernardino would look for Nichs after his resurrection.

    However, Annan and the Paper Princess did not n to stop him.

    It seemed unnecessary.

    There was a saying that having the thieves eyeing your possession was much scarier than the thieves themselves. As long as Nichs was alive, Bernardino could go to him anytime.

    However, Annan would not have the Paper Princess by his side all the time. After all, he would not be roaming around the world freely.

    If Bernardino had a grudge and followed Annan, he had no solutions to that.

    However, Annan had another ce to visit.

    In front of Noah First Bank, arge amount of white dust gathers in the air, piling up into the figure of Annan and the Paper Princess.

    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± The Paper Princess replied.

    Naturally, she held Annan¡¯s hand again.

    When Annan took her hand, even Annan¡¯s presence was wiped away by the incantations revolving around her.

    The Paper Princess was a deity with the element of ¡°beauty¡±. She usually would not reveal herself when traveling. Instead, she only showed herself when looking for someone to sell her paintings. Otherwise, the ¡®Influence¡¯ she incurred on the world would harm many ordinary people.

    This was what the Paper Princess did not want to see happen.

    So she used her original ritual, ¡°Shadow in Painting¡±, to remove her sense of presence.

    She also handed this ritual to Annan.

    To put it simply, when the Paper Princess did not make a sound, anyone who saw her with their eyes would not be able to perceive that she was a ¡°three-dimensional¡± existence in this space. It was just like Paper Mario but turned sideways, bing a real ¡°paper man¡±.

    No matter from any angle, she was only that ¡°thin piece¡±.

    Only those with outstanding perceptions could capture the three-dimensional existence of the Paper Princess.

    This ritual might be useful in the future, so Annan noted it down.

    However, the material required was to consume the influence from the Paper Princess. It was pretty limited, and it was not effective against wizards and priests. At the same time, it was only effective until ¡°sound¡± was made.

    On the other hand, this ritual could remain in a state of no consumption and continue forever if no sound were made.

    Thus, it probably coulde in handy during nightmares.

    As a material that could create the required ¡®influence¡¯ at any time, Annan learned the Paper Princess¡¯ real name.

    ¡°My name is [Lisa dini]. This is the name my lover who gave me life, once gave me.¡±

    The Paper Princess said, ¡°If you use up this knowledge, just call my name in the ritual. I will charge the magic back up for you.¡±

    Since the Paper Princess told Annan personally, this had fallen into the category of ult knowledge, imbuing it with remarkable power.

    [You have acquired the ult knowledge: the Deity of Painting and Illusion ¡°the Paper Princess¡± real name.]

    [This ult knowledge can be used as ¡°Ritual: Summoning ¡®the Paper Princess''¡±, ¡°Golden Spell (Idol): Assimtion into the Painting¡±, ¡°Novice Influence: Remains of the Most Beautiful¡±.]

    [This ult knowledge will be forgotten after using ¡°1¡± time. You may recall this knowledge only after ¡°listening to the voice of ¡®the Paper Princess''¡±]

    This was the fourth real name Annan got.

    The real names Annan learned included Old Grandmother¡¯s [Reguetto], Rotten Man¡¯s [Atabanus], and one of the Man in the Mirror¡¯s two real names. However, that could only be utilized after Annan learned the second real name. After that, Annan learned about [Lisa dini] from the Paper Princess.

    Also, it was a name that Annan found somewhat familiar, just like how he was exposed to the names ¡°Michngelo¡± and ¡°Nichs¡± previously.

    Annan happened to have heard this name before.

    Lisa dini.

    The name had another widely known identity.

    That was the prototype of the famous painting ¡°Mona Lisa¡±.

    In every sense, it was a suitable name for her.

    Annan and the Paper Princess infiltrated the Noah First Bank directly after using the ritual to be invisible.

    Of course, they did note here to rob a bank.

    It would be fine if it were another country or city.

    However, the Silver Knights guarded the bank in Noah¡¯s capital.

    It was the bank¡­

    If the Silver Knights were determined to hold the fort, even a Gold Rank transcenders team might be unable to break through it.

    They came in here just because Annan was looking for someone.

    A senior Silver Knight, which Old Bread mentioned to Annan previously.

    He was not a bishop, but he had personally killed a Gold Rank Hunter without a high-level divine art nor divine blessings.

    That transcender¡¯s profession was ¡°Shadow Hunter¡±, which was challenging to deal with. It was a unique profession that could jump and traverse in the shadows at will. He would attack the opponent¡¯s shadow to inflict immobility, curse, poison, and physical damage. They said that this profession specialized in dealing with human targets.

    However, such a remarkable hunter was beheaded by that Silver Knight.

    His name was Alexander Robin.

    Alexander was the chairman of Noah First Bank and the director of Noah Second Bank and Iris Bank. Old Bread had written to him long before Annan set off, informing him of Annan¡¯s visit and the news that he would appear with the Paper Princess. Of course, it included a letter of introduction to Annan.

    Old Bread told Annan that if he faced troubles inconvenient for him to attend to personally, and he did not want to rely on the Crow¡¯s family, he could use this letter to visit Old Robin; if Annan had a conflict with the Crow¡¯s family, he could also seek asylum at Noah First Bank.

    Well, if nothing happened for the time being, Annan could visit Alexander to learn sword arts.

    Alexander¡¯s swordsmanship was remarkable. He had only changed his profession to Silver Knight after acquiring the Silver Rank. Before that, his Bronze Rank profession was called ¡°Champion¡±. Before stepping into the Transcendence path, he had to win the Noah National Swordsmanship Competition before he could get the ¡°Champion Medal¡± and acquire this rare profession.

    The profession was a relic that the ¡°Deity of Sword and Duel¡± Marquis Iris left in the world.

    He was the third generation of false deity, the holder of the world¡¯s most famous Book of Truth, ¡°The Sword of Victory and the Crown of Glory¡±. A rare elven deity, who was now one of the only three subordinate deities of the Red Knight.

    When he was still a mortal, he got the title page of the Book of Truth.

    Afterward, he traveled the country as a mortal and a ¡°future deity¡±. At the same time, he participated in all the swordsmanshippetitions he learned about. He would utilize the Book of Truth to remove the unbnced power, regardless if it came from his opponent of himself. Under the context where both parties had equal attributes, they would have a fair duel only in swordsmanship.

    As he won the championship in allpetitions, the empire made him a marquis.

    After that, he became known as ¡°the strongest of swordsmanship¡±. He quickly advanced to the Gold Rank and entered the desert as an elf, embarking on a lonely journey eastward alone. His goal was to look for the legendary Orser remnants who did not go to the western oasis but stayed in the desert.

    It was the empire that the elves¡¯ ancestors lived in and abandoned.

    No one knew what happened to him in the eastern deserts.

    But when he returned to Yasn again, he had be a deity.

    His four favorite medals were engraved with the swordsmanship of Marquis Iris. Those who won the national swordsmanshippetition and entered the nightmare with this medal could attain the profession ¡°Champion¡±.

    Of course, it was naturally impossible for this curse vessel to be given directly to the winner. Therefore, after the advancement and the power umted from the swordsmanshippetition were exhausted, the medal must be returned to the country.

    But even so, Noah would at most give birth to one ¡°champion¡± every year.

    Old Bread hoped that Annan could learn this swordsmanship from Alexander.

    Annan also happily epted it.

    Although his usual weapons were a bone knife or a hammer, he would not say no to goodies.

 Chapter 383: The Eight Luminaries And Divine Transporter

    <h4>Chapter 383: The Eight Luminaries And Divine Transporter</h4>

    Nichs II had three test tubes prepared on the test tube rack at the corner of his desk.

    He sat at the table, thinking slowly and earnestly before scribbling on the paper. He was in the midst of adjusting the ratio and magic ritual.

    Since it was still in the research and development stage, Nichs II did not concoct it in arge quantity. After all, the ¡°Hermetic Poison Dust¡± was unlike the Sage¡¯s Stone with a guaranteed demand.

    Although the ¡°poison dust¡± could effectively kill other-worldly beings, it was not amonly used alteration product. Not everyone would encounter other-worldly beings.

    Of course, Nichs II was not short of money.

    Instead, the material hecked was not something that could be bought with money.

    ¡°I have to use it sparingly.¡± Nichs II sighed.

    If he had the freedom to go anywhere, he would make something and sell it out so that he would notck materials. However, he was an artificial human reactivated and was under Father Stone¡¯s supervision. Never mind what he was doing, he was limited to being in a certain area only.

    This led to the fact that he did not have many resources at his disposal.

    Instead, it was true to say that he was facing scarcity.

    What hecked the most was the ¡°Demon Blood¡± that would be shipped in at this time.

    He was promised to be given two dozen of them.

    However, what reached his hands was half of the promised quantity.

    When the material was insufficient, Nichs II could only try again after recalcting the dosage.

    If it weren¡¯t for the ¡°poison dust¡±, which could only be produced in the ¡°kingdom¡¯s capital¡±, he would no longer want to stay in the capital. The logistics inspection here was too strict.

    Nichs II also asked Father Stone why he could not contact Silver Sire Church and ship what he needed directly here, but he did not get an answer.

    Father Stone did not answer his question directly.

    This had indeed troubled Nichs II.

    Could it be that you can¡¯t trust me? Then you shouldn¡¯t just send Father Stone, who doesn¡¯t care about anything, and put me in the capital.

    If I really want to, there¡¯s no difficulty for me to poison or blow up millions of people.

    As the strongest Great Sage who inherited all the memory and knowledge of Nichs, the strongest alchemist who should not exist in this world, ¡°Nichs II¡± could indeed do it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try again!¡± After the short break, Nichs II regained his spirit and stood up.

    This was the fourth time Nichs tried to concoct the poisonous dust today.

    He raised his hand casually and tapped his fingertips three times in the air, which summoned dark ripples in the air on each tap.

    Then, red runes lit up on the narrow basement wall, and it soon rotated its color between ck and white. The entire room was illuminated by its brilliance.

    It was the forbidden barrier under the Silent Lady. On the one hand, it could iste possible internal explosions or leakage of the raw materials. On the other hand, the barrier acted as sound instion. It could be used to stop the prying eyes of others and calm down the host¡¯s mind from the disturbing external noises.

    This time, Nichs II chose a brass astrbe [1].

    He tapped his hand in the air. A hexagonal amethyst levitated in the air and stood in the center of the astrbe.

    Immediately after, he tapped twice in the air. The two boxes containing pink pearl powder and red gem powder were opened. A set ratio of it flew out and sprinkled evenly on the two designated positions of the astrbe, outlining a strange shape.

    Afterward, Nichs took out a bottle of holy water and poured it into the air.

    After the pure white liquid left the crystal bottle, it shone with a white shimmer.

    The holy water slowly fell on the astrbe like a feather. After quickly immersing and wetting the two portions of dust, Nichs II took out a ss rod and quickly drew something on the powder.

    Deep redplex lines surfaced on the dust drenched in holy water. But the moment the holy water and the brass astrbe came into contact, the heat surged and quickly dried the dust.

    The dried dust turned into a bizarrepact powder on the astrbe with hollow lines drawn. With that, the patterns were immediately constructed based on the astrbe¡¯s existing outline.

    If he wanted to modify the ritual, he had to do it from scratch. It extended more than disassembling and optimizing the form but writing it directly from scratch.

    He then ced three ss bottles about the size of a perfume sample and a gold bottle the size of a thumb on the circles drawn on the ritual te. The three ss bottles soon began to undergo the alteration process on their own, and the substances inside were under rapid changes.

    He opened another t, curved metal bottle that looked like the lighter¡¯s oil container.

    If Delicious Wind Goose saw it, he would have recognized it immediately. It was the Demon Blood he had seen before.

    As Nichs II opened the Demon Blood container, a ferocious growl came out from the bottle.

    This roar was not loud, but it was audible. Otherwise, the noise could be vague, like the wind¡¯s howling.

    Nichs II ignored the bellows but let them roar slowly.

    He took out a new ss rod and opened a bottle of holy water. He first dipped the ss rod into the holy water exuding white mist, stirring gently and whispering ult knowledge with the element of ¡°purification¡±.

    ¡°The sixth luminary is the light surging inside the sun and constantly splitting and converging; the seventh luminary is seen when the transcender¡¯s soul is sent to the light realm in the Divine Transporter¡¯s hand in the ascendancy ritual. Finally, the eighth luminary is the light in the sky before the earliest sunrise.¡±

    This was a fragment of ult knowledge about the ¡°Secret of the Eight Luminaries of the Sun¡±.

    All the ult knowledge in the Sun Realm was more or less rted to the ¡°Eight Luminaries¡±, which was the core power of Mr. Ray. Even the birth of ¡°Mr. Ray¡± was rted to the Eight Luminaries. Thus, he was blessed with the title ¡°Mr. Ray¡±. His sacred number and the asylum month he belonged to was ¡°8¡±.

    As Nichs II recited, the holy water gradually turned into something like cotton candy, wrapping around the ss rod.

    When he took out the ss rod, the transparent ss rod tip was wrapped in a pure white flulent that shone with stable brilliance. It looked like a giant cotton swab.

    Nichs II threw the cotton swab into the Demon Blood. Soon, the roar in Demon Blood was filled with pain as it weakened.

    However, Nichs II only dipped a small portion of it.

    The pure white ¡°cotton swab¡± that shone with brilliance turned dark red, like a cotton swab soaked in blood.

    Then, he concentrated on moving the cotton swab in the three bottles with a specific frequency and firm movements.

    A violent ¡°chirp¡± sound could be heard whenever a blood-stained ss rod entered a bottle. The ongoing alteration process was interrupted and underwent a mutation. Then, a light flew out from the ritual te connected to the other two ss bottles. At the same time, a light flew out of the third ss bottle, bridging to the small gold bottle.

    Although the process looked troublesome, Nichs II could hand it over to the machine once the synthesis process was arranged in detail.

    After about ten minutes, Nichs II breathed a sigh of relief.

    The substances in those three small bottles were exhausted.

    The golden bottle had be heavy.

    With anticipation, Nichs II poured the hot red powder into a ss test tube after cooling it a little.

    I wonder if it will work this time.

 Chapter 384: A Deal Between The Two

    <h4>Chapter 384: A Deal Between The Two</h4>

    Nichs II cast an Edict spell with great anticipation. However, after checking up on the effect of the reagent, he quickly showed a disappointed expression.

    ¡°This reagent has be a specialized poison against the elemental creatures again.¡± He sat down in annoyance, ¡°It¡¯s way more far-fetched than the previous attempt.¡±

    Forget it. Let¡¯s memorize the recipe first.

    It is rare to have a rtively high productpletion.

    ¡°How should I name it? Well, forget it¡­¡± Nichs II pondered for a while, then pulled out a piece of tape and wrote, ¡°No. 23 Poison Dust¡ªEffective on Elemental Creatures¡ªConcentration 289%¡ªAdhesion Coefficient 64%.¡±

    After he wrote the recipe, he took a small portion of it with a spoon and wrapped it on paper. Then, he wrote ¡°Sample No. 23¡± on the paper and put it into a thick book of obsidian texture that looked a bit like a photo album.

    ¡°But I¡¯m a little tired.¡± Nichs II removed the barrier and sat back in his chair, muttering in a low voice.

    This part of ult knowledge was unlike the deity¡¯s real name, which would be forgotten after using it. However, there would be evident fatigue after using it, even for a Gold Rank soul.

    Those Silver Rank or below would not be able to contain the power of ult knowledge, which would pull them into hallucinations and incur ¡®influence¡¯ into the world. There was even the possibility of being burned by the knowledge.

    After all, ult knowledge had its weight.

    The exhaustion of using ult knowledge on the soul was like carrying heavy objects.

    ¡°You can¡¯t rest yet.¡± Behind him, the stone statue with frowning and closed eyes blurted out, ¡°Meditate for a while before continuing.¡±

    ¡°Seriously, is it impossible to get the Demon Blood?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Father Stone replied calmly, ¡°Now, Noah¡¯s situation is getting tenser, and you can¡¯t go out. Otherwise, you may be entangled in some troublesome events.¡±

    ¡°How troublesome can it be?¡± Nichs II sighed.

    Can it be more troublesome than my current situation?

    I¡¯m locked here every day, drawing on Noah¡¯s leyline¡¯s power to construct a ritual. If I want to go out, I have to meditate and go out with my soul.

    But that was how it would be.

    As an artificial human, that was his mission.

    ¡°Then, can I utilize my soul state?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Just don¡¯t get caught.¡±

    ¡°Even if I go out in person, I won¡¯t be found out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different.¡± Father Stone answered briefly.

    Nichs II knew that he would not get an answer even if he continued to ask questions.

    So he gave up asking questions but quickly sat in front of the chair and began to meditate to recover his energy.

    He rose from his chair with an orange outer shell and a crystalline soul burning with gentle fire.

    ¡°I¡¯m going out for a walk.¡± He nced at Father Stone, bowed politely to him, and left the room.

    To relieve the pressure on the soul, he must let the soul temporarily leave the body. Anyway, the soul of a Gold Rank would not be seen easily. So it did not matter if he went for a walk.

    Nichs II was unclear why Father Stone had not let him go out. However, as an artificial human, he could only survive because ¡°Nichs was dead¡±.

    From the beginning, the original Nichs had no intention of sharing the technology for creating artificial humans. Only his soul could make such an innovation, and those artificial humans had dedicated prohibition installed in them.

    The artificial humans could not manufacture and synthesize the Sage¡¯s Stone, let alone create new artificial humans. Even Nichs II, born as a replica of Nichs, could not break through this limit.

    If artificial humans wanted to expand their poption, they could only reproduce in the same way as other animals.

    Everything was obvious.

    From the beginning, Nichs intended to be the king of all artificial humans¡­ or the Deity of Synths.

    That was why Nichs II was allowed to be kept alive.

    An alone synth could not continue the growth of its race.

    From this point of view, perhaps ¡°Nichs II¡± was a backup when Nichs thought he might die. Thus, it came about an inheritor who had all his talents and would not be executed.

    Considering Nichs¡¯ talent and intelligence, this arrangement was also likely.

    ¡°¡­Um?¡± As soon as Nichs II left the basement, he vaguely felt that his soul was being pulled by something.

    He was curious but not the slightest vignt and fearful about it.

    He immediately flew over at high speed.

    Although he could not refine the Sage¡¯s Stone, he inherited all the power and experience of Nichs, and he was even much younger than the original Nichs. Even for typical Gold Rank transcenders, Nichs II could easily defeat three of them with one hand.

    Nichs II could overwhelm his opponents with his sheer experience and wisdom.

    Nichs II followed the feeling that attracted his soul and flew to arge, luxuriously decorated hotel.

    The floors of this hotel were installed with hand-woven wool carpets. There were famous paintings on the walls and small sculptures ced between rooms. Even the chandeliers were crystal chandeliers studded with gold. The decoration in the room was also far more luxurious than the typical local viscount. A filled bookshelf and premium quality daily necessities were avable in each room.

    This was a top-notch hotel dedicated to nobles and business people from other ces, as well as foreign big shots whoe to Noah through the subway.

    As a hotel, the decorations here were majestic. The quality of their staff was at an equal level too. Thus, the hotel was only feasible in the royal capital.

    Nichs II frowned slightly.

    In his view, this was nothing but mundane mortal stuff.

    It simply spelled out as a waste of time and resources in his eyes.

    Chipped gems were iid on the wall. If he were to ground them into gem powder and use them to craft magic reagents, their price would be twenty-folds of their current value.

    The statues of these historical Great People contained ¡°historical air¡±, which could be used in the ritual to talk to people from the past or modify the location of nightmares based on its influence.

    He could use the crystals and gold on each chandelier to create a holy shield that could withstand a single blow from the Silver Rank Destruction Wizard¡ªeven the furniture made of high-quality wood was a waste, in his opinion.

    These woods were not the best woods for furniture. They were expensive because they could be used for ritual after treatment, not because of their excellent quality as wood.

    It was simply a collection of wasting resources.

    Nichs II was disgusted by it. He could not help but feel a little contempt for the person he could be meeting.

    However, this contempt quickly dissipated when he saw the other party.

    Sitting in the room was a spirit who had lost his head.

    Indeed, the spirit had lost its head.

    He sat securely in the seat, and only his head was empty. The light converged to the head, allowing it to regenerate slowly.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Nichs II asked politely.

    The other party spoke warmly and kindly, ¡°You can call me Bernardino.

    ¡°I know who you are, and I know your father.¡±

    ¡°But, my father doesn¡¯t know you.¡± Nichs II searched his memory silently but responded indifferently and vigntly.

    He did not have memories of the original Nichs knowing the man in front of him.

    The headless old man just let out augh and said nothing.

    Then, he said inly, ¡°Let¡¯s speak straight to the point. I hope to get the form for ¡®Hermes School Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Nichs II immediately rejected, and then he turned to leave.

    However, Bernardino said from Nichs II¡¯s back as he turned around, ¡°Do you know about your father¡¯s story?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°¡ªNichs mel, son of Hermes. The greatest alchemist in the world¡­ A sage who aplished the great deeds at the deity level as a human being,¡± uttered Bernardino.

    He ¡°looked¡± at Nichs II and replied.

    ¡°He did not die back then¡­ Do you know that?¡± Nichs II was silent for a long time, then turned to look at Bernardino silently.

    The headless Bernardinohehe smiled.

    ¡°I can first teach you the recipe for ¡®artificial soul¡¯ as a deposit.¡± The headless old man said slowly, ¡°This is something that Nichs mel invented in recent years. If you go back and study it, you will know that this is Nichs¡¯ style, but it is not in your memory.

    ¡°If you ever want to give me the technology of Sage¡¯s Stone,e and find me here.¡±

    ¡ªI will always be here.

    ¡ªWaiting for you.

    The headless Bernardino ¡°stared¡± nkly at Nichs II.

    Nichs II was silent for a long time, neither agreeing nor rejecting it. Instead, he stood there as if waiting for something.

    Then, Bernardinoughed again and slowly revealed the recipe for ¡°artificial soul¡±.

    He is confident that he won¡¯t be waiting here for too long.

 Chapter 385: Alexander

    <h4>Chapter 385: Alexander</h4>

    As a matter of fact, Annan was taken aback when he met the former [Champion].

    ¡°Alexander Robin¡¯s¡± appearance was far beyond Annan¡¯s expectations.

    He looked to be a middle-aged man in his fifties, height reaching at least 185 cm.

    Alexander had a tan skin tone and reddish-brown hair. He had a well-defined face, deep eye sockets, a firm gaze, and a beard carefully shaved off, leaving neat stubble. There was a diagonal scar on his cheek, nted across his lips, and approached his eyelids.

    If the injury went a little further up, the de would gouge his right eye.

    His golden-orange pupils seemed to glow under the light, making Alexander look even more intimidating.

    He did not look like a world-renowned banker, a legendary investor with sharp eyes, and a phnthropist known for his generosity.

    Instead, he resembled a fierce fighter or stern and reliable mercenary leader. His thick and heavy hand was covered with sword marks and calluses. He would subconsciously clench his hand into fists from time to time; his steady, broad arms as he walked further illustrated this.

    Although he was wearing the Silver Sire¡¯s priest robe, it looked more like a long white suit jacket. However, the muscles in his shoulders propped up the robe and even grew a little wrinkle due to the muscles.

    This middle-aged man seems to be the type who can happily chat with Delicious Wind Goose. This was the first thought that popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    They say that proper fitness attracts the opposite sex, but excessive fitness attracts the same sex.

    He and Delicious Wind Goose are simr in height and size. It¡¯s just that his skin seemed rough and thick, while the Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s skin is quite fair.

    Sure enough, the most noticeable difference was that Alexander had hair¡­ thick hair. On the other hand, Delicious Wind Goose had sacrificed his hair for strength.

    After leading Annan and the Paper Princess to his office, Mr. Alexander invited the Paper Princess and Annan to sit across the table, and then he returned to his seat with a hearty smile, ¡°Hey, did I scare you?¡±

    He spoke charismatically, ¡°Am I a little different from what you have imagined?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan nodded with the corners of his mouth rising. He almostughed aloud, ¡°But it¡¯s not really a shock.

    ¡°After all, I¡¯ve also seen a Silver Sire priest about the same size as you.¡± Annan was talking about Salvatore¡¯s friend, Priest Louis. In a sense, Alexander and Annan could at least be regarded as friends of friends. It was a good connection.

    Of course, Annan would address him as ¡°Knight Louis¡± the next time they met.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Alexander raised his brows and asked, ¡°Is he from the Silver Hand? He is also in the capital, ready to be a Silver Knight.¡±

    ¡°Do you know him?¡± Annan blinked, not particrly surprised.

    After all, the Silver Knights wereposed of the same bunch of people.

    Old Bread had introduced him to meet Alexander to learn swordsmanship, which showed that Alexander was not stingy in hiding his skills.

    Since Alexander was the best Silver Knight in swordsmanship, there would be many young Silver Knights and reserve Silver Knights who wanted to learn from him. So it was not surprising that he knew Louis.

    However, if Annan were to look closely¡­

    Alexander reached out his hand and tapped on the table. Heughed cheerfully and raised his voice a bit, ¡°Is it that kid, Louis?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I met him at the Freezing Water Port.¡±

    ¡°En, he was indeed dispatched to the Freezing Water Port. He¡¯s a good boy. It¡¯s no surprise that he took on a mission so dangerous and life-threatening.¡±

    Alexander¡¯s voice returned calm again, ¡°He is my pride. He¡¯s the same like his father.¡±

    Eh?

    Annan was a little surprised, ¡°He¡¯s your¡­?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my nephew.¡± Alexander said slowly, ¡°His father is my younger brother and a Silver Knight. I¡¯m the captain of the Silver Hand. When he was still in the Silver Hand, I taught him personally.

    ¡°When he was investigating the case of a ck Widow¡¯s believer who poisoned the well and caused the death of the whole vige, his wife was killed in revenge. At that time, Louis was just born, and my wife raised the kid in our house back then.

    ¡°At that time, Louis¡¯ father utilized a hefty ritual, which rendered his state unstable. Later, he died on his progress to purify the nightmare. When he finally became a demon, I executed him myself.

    ¡°I agreed to hisst request and took care of his son for him. When I was young, I made a sterilization oath and abstinence oath for stronger power. So, I also took Louis as my son.¡±

    I see.

    No wonder.

    In that case, Louis and Alexander¡¯s physiques were not much different. In Noah, there were not many men taller than 180 cm. The average height of male adult elves was almost 180 cm tall, but the oasis humans were shorter.

    After looking closely, their hair color was a little red, but it was not the same tone. Their faces were somewhat simr. It was just thatpared to Alexander, who was like a lion and seemed to be angry at any time, his nephew Louis looks much gentler and calmer. His skin was much fairer, and his body had fewer scars.

    But another question came to Annan¡¯s mind.

    Seemingly realizing Annan¡¯s doubts, Alexander said, ¡°Are you trying to ask me why I let Louis go to the Freezing Water Port?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a little curious.¡± Annan nodded and exined, ¡°After all, you should also know that the Freezing Water Port is too dangerous.

    ¡°Having the nightmare sessfully purified has nothing to do with Louis. This is a mission that he can¡¯t handle. Why send him?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I want him to do it, but someone has to do it. It¡¯s been many years since the Freezing Water Port¡¯s nightmare corrupted thest priest. Before he became a demon, he took poison and died before turning into a demon after being summoned to the capital. But, he died with honor as a human being.

    ¡°But after that, we don¡¯t know what happened to the Freezing Water Port. We understand that the Venerated Skeleton has been there for a long time, trying to hold some ritual. Again, Freezing Water Port is a border area, and we need to send a priest and bring the ce under control.

    ¡°This is a difficult nightmare that has not been purified for 50 years, at least one priest needs to be sent to monitor it. There needs to be a messenger reporting to the capital or Roseburg as soon as possible before it¡¯s toote. The Freezing Water Port has to be purified before bad things happen.¡±

    Alexander said calmly, ¡°Actually, we didn¡¯t n to recruit a ¡®purifier¡¯ at first, and we just nned to recruit a ¡®watcher¡¯. There is no need to choose a young and capable Silver Hand with a bright future. We just need to send an old bishop to take over.

    ¡°For other distortion-level nightmares, ¡®monitoring¡¯ is much simpler. He has to enter the nightmare and carefully observe the changes in the nightmare, and then exit in time. But in this nightmare, you will lose your memory if you¡¯re not careful. The more you want to ¡®survey¡¯ the ce, the more you¡¯re lured to ¡®purifying¡¯ it.¡±

    This was a dead end.

    In any case, the dedicated must try to purify the nightmare. However, the more the person got involved, the easier it was for the nightmare to corrupt him with the curse and kill him in the nightmare.

    Annan finally understood.

    That was why Louis could not understand the mechanics of the nightmare, and did not explore the mechanics.

    In the case of purifying his nightmares through luck, he confronted [Nightmare: Gallery] head-on and walked silently forward in the infinite nightmare corridors without turning his head back.

    He was sticking to his mission.

    He did not explore the nightmare further so that he could survive longer.

    That was to prevent others from taking his ce and stop others from being sacrificed.

    Annan finally realized it. The nightmare the yers and he used as a ¡°dungeon instance¡± to upgrade their levels meant something else for the ¡°indigenous people¡±.

    They were actually¡ªnightmares.

 Chapter 386: Upright Deity

    <h4>Chapter 386: Upright Deity</h4>

    Freezing Water Port¡¯s ¡°Gallery¡± had proven that the distorted nightmares could grow and heal if left alone.

    ording to the Silver Sire Church, nightmares could grow to the point where they affect reality directly.

    Worse still, Silver Sire Church could not do anything about the ¡°Gallery¡±.

    The nightmare was not a mechanism that could be solved through ¡°brute force¡±. Although the priests had a significant advantage in the field of nightmarespared to ordinary people, nightmares were still rtively fair to everyone.

    There was no guarantee for any challenger to purify a nightmare sessfully.

    The typical oue would be having some sacrificed. In a sense, it was using human life as disposable and utilizing the erosion of their souls in exchange for more opportunities to see the full picture of the nightmare.

    Then, they would try to purify the nightmare and stop its expansion and growth. That was the second stage of the mission.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°So, no one wants to go in the end?¡±

    ¡°No, many have already prepared to sacrifice themselves.¡±

    Alexander shook his head lightly, denying, ¡°There are many bishops in the capital who have left office. They can no longer supervise a territory alone because they are too old or because their erosion rate is too high.

    ¡°However, they are ready for the final sacrifice at any time. As long as they¡¯re needed, they can go to ces and use their rich experience andst reasoning to peer into the hardest and most dangerous nightmare rules, or purify them directly.¡±

    ¡°It was just because Louis was the first to sign up when he learned that someone needed help and that someone had to put himself in danger.

    ¡°No one else in the Silver Hand signed up except him. But that was beyond reproach because Lord Pope did not intend to choose ¡®victims¡¯ from the Silver Hand. We have a rich ¡®reserve team¡¯, and we even have a respected elder being on standby near the Freezing Water Port.¡±

    Alexander sighed and spoke in aplicated tone, ¡°But Louis¡­ he is an earnest man. He thinks from the bottom of his heart that he needs to use his life to help others. He firmly believes that the youngsters, who have more reasoning to resist erosion, canst longer than the elders. Thus, he went for the mission. I recognize and respect his choice.¡±

    Annan remained silent for a long time after Alexander finished speaking. He felt that something was surging in his heart.

    However, Annan was still able to maintain calm amid the surging emotions because of [Winter Heart].

    ¡°I see.¡± After a long time, Annan slowly exhaled, ¡°I thought that with the Silver Sire here, you wouldn¡¯t have any hardships that can¡¯t be solved. My perception of the Gallery is false. I¡¯m deeply sorry about it.¡±

    Hearing this, Alexanderughed heartily, ¡°What is there to apologize for? You helped Louis defeat this nightmare, and I should thank you for that.

    ¡°You¡¯re still too young, Your Highness Annan. Not everything the deity knows is right¡­¡±

    ¡°Including Silver Sire?¡± Annan hesitated before asking in a low voice.

    After all, they were at the Noah First Bank.

    The highest church in the Silver Sire was above the First Bank¡¯s warehouse. It could be less than 500 meters away from here.

    It wasn¡¯t nice having a Silver Knight speak ill of Silver Sire at this distance.

    However, Alexander had no scruples about it.

    He waved his hand casually, ¡°Of course, don¡¯t be nervous. Even though you¡¯re not wearing that outfit, I know you¡¯re the one Silver Sire favors. Silver Sire doesn¡¯t mind this kind of thing.¡±

    Alexander looked at Annan and teased, ¡°Why? Is it a surprise for me to say such a thing?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, it caught me off guard.¡± Annan nodded honestly.

    Theplex rtionship between the priests and the deity did not match hismon sense.

    Alexander brushed through it with a smile and suddenly asked, ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan, do you think transcenders are the same species as mortals?¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± Annan answered quickly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that clear?¡±

    The middle-aged man who gave people a sense of reliabilityughed, ¡°Transcenders are just mighty and noble mortals, and deities are only stronger and more noble than transcenders.

    ¡°There is no naturally born deity in this world. It¡¯s just that the souls of upright deities rose from the earth a long, long time ago. It¡¯s normal for deities to lie, make mistakes, and get angry. ¡°

    Speaking of which, Alexander nced at the Paper Princess next to Annan.

    The Paper Princess nodded, turned her head to look at Annan, and said, ¡°Annan, don¡¯t be too afraid of deities. We were all mortals once.¡±

    ¡°Even the twelve upright deities?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The difference between upright deities and subordinate deities with ordinary false deities is that we never die. We would expect rebirth on our respective Holy Day every year if we were dead. That¡¯s what ¡®Remembrance Day¡¯ is all about.¡±

    The Paper Princess exined slowly, ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily that all upright deities are stronger than false deities. They are stronger because their domain is essential and survived for long, not because they are stronger upright deities.

    ¡°There is no need to eat, drink, sleep, and no lifespan constraints. We can use the power of elements infinitely and bestow believers power. Other than those, there is no essential difference between deity and the powerful Truth Rank transcender.¡±

    No, I think the difference is already huge. Annan thought so in his heart.

    A question that had troubled Annan for a long time finally arose in his heart at this moment.

    In the presence of a Senior Silver Knight and a subordinate deity, perhaps he could get the answer to his question, ¡°Then, why is an upright deity an upright deity?¡±

    Annan asked the Paper Princess, ¡°What is the essential difference between an upright deity and a false deity? Can this question be answered?¡±

    ¡°Ha, it¡¯s the same question again!¡±

    ¡°Have I also asked this question back then?¡± Annan was stunned.

    ¡°Yes. The first question you ever asked me about the deities was this. This knowledge is not a deep secret, nor is it too burdensome for you. I suppose I can tell you.¡±

    The Paper Princess organized the answer in her heart, silently screened through her words, and then slowly said, ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way, Annan.

    ¡°At least in the first era, there was no difference between ¡®upright deity¡¯ and ¡®false deity¡¯, and there was not even the title of ¡®deity¡¯. Although at that time, twelve upright deities have already be deities.

    ¡°At that time, in thenguage of the elves, they addressed a ¡®deity¡¯ as ¡®feudal lord¡¯. The centaurs called them the ¡®living pirs¡¯, the dragons called them the ¡®kings¡¯, and the giants called them the ¡®elders¡¯. Everything changes at the end of the First Age.

    ¡°The fall of a ¡®deity¡¯ has led to the demise of the realm under his control in the world. In fact, the fall of a deity has happened many times. Each time it has caused some concepts to be wiped entirely from the world, but only that one case was particrly serious.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you exactly what concept was erased. That knowledge is too heavy for your current soul to bear¡­ At least you won¡¯t understand until you reach the Gold Rank andplete the perfect ¡®dyeing¡¯ process.

    ¡°You only need to know that the race ¡®demon¡¯ was born at that time. With theck of a certain concept, the ¡®people¡¯ can be ¡®demons¡¯. This led to the Epoch Disaster of the First Age.

    ¡°To avoid repeating the same mistakes, all the deities joined forces to arrange a grand ritualter at the beginning of the Second Age. They divided the year into twelve parts, called ¡®twelfth months¡¯. We utilize the power of time and history to preserve the twelve most important deities, guaranteeing that they will not die and avoid the disintegration of the realms associated with them that are capable of bringing the demise of the world or civilization.

    ¡°Subordinate deitieseter. With the increase of false deities, the number of important and immortal deities increases. After they are born, there will be upright deities to invite them into their subordinate deities, giving each of them a portion of the power of rebirth, just for safety.

    ¡°Apart from the ability to be reborn as time passes, the subordinate deities are virtually indistinguishable from false deities.¡±

    The Paper Princess concluded, ¡°That is not because upright deities are ¡®powerful¡¯ enough, but because they are ¡®important¡¯ enough.

    ¡°They are the twelve pirs that support the world. As long as they are still there, the world will not be destroyed.¡±

 Chapter 387: The Memory Fragments of Annanâ€™s First Life

    <h4>Chapter 387: The Memory Fragments of Annan¡¯s First Life</h4>

    Are upright deities the pirs of the world?

    When Annan heard this statement, a chill surged up from his neck. A deep buzzing rang in his mind.

    In that instance, many hallucinations afflicted Annan.

    It was like hearing someone whispering words that he could not understand behind him, and the rustling voice in his ears was incessant;

    It was like seeing a stranger looking at him silently in a dusty space, and a chill crept upon his heart;

    Annan felt like he was in a space with all the surrounding folks smoking, filling the air with substantial smoke that he could not even open his eyes. Soon, he struggled to breathe due to his throat being overly dry and thus constantly coughing, ¡°Cough, cough¡ª¡±

    What is this?

    The Paper Princess and Alexander¡¯s figures in Annan¡¯s vision suddenly began to blur.

    As Annan coughed, smoke and dust stirred up a haze. Its density was enough to obstruct the healthy air around him, painting his entire world gray.

    Sure enough, Annan had already realized that he should have triggered a specific condition and then fell into a hallucination somewhere.

    When the surrounding smoke cleared, Annan tried his best to peek into the fog.

    A few fragments of memory shed before his eyes.

    A white-haired woman who looked somewhat simr to the Paper Princess, but was taller with a majestic face and a cold and stern temperament, appeared in front of Annan, ¡°Annan. Anna.¡± **(Raw: ¡°¡ª¡ª°²ÄÏ¡£°²ÄÈ¡£¡±)

    She spoke in the dragonnguage. Her voice was low andplicated, ¡°Is this the name you gave yourself? I shall allow it. I will speak for you to your father.¡±

    Then, the second memory was: ¡°Your luck is not bad.¡±

    The blond little girl, ying with dice, appeared to be around twelve years old. She had smiling eyes like a crescent moon, ¡°At least this year¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­next year? Well¡­ the next year isn¡¯t for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m already at the Eighth Luminary, and you will be the Seventh Luminary.¡±

    The sixteen-year-old boy in a white robe with white hair and fair skin had colorful rainbow lights in his eyes. He said with a gentle smile and a clear voice, ¡°Divine Transporter, don¡¯t make us wait too long.¡±

    ¡°Frostborn.¡± The ck-haired cksmith with burly muscles and a naked upper body was covered with scars. Every scar was shining likeva. At first nce, he seemed to be a man who was not good with words.

    He looked at the blueprint in his hand and frowned, ¡°This is weird. A Frostborn is looking for something new. Can your heart still freeze?

    ¡°Fine. It¡¯s called an internalbustion engine, right? It¡¯s not utilizing the boiling heat but the intense heat of the explosion. I will remember that. That¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯ll give it a try.¡±

    ¡°Nice story. You call it ¡ª Hamlet, don¡¯t you.¡± The prideful old man with an aquiline nose and deep eyes put down the manuscript, tapped the armrest rhythmically with one hand, and looked over with a half-smile, ¡°But, you didn¡¯t craft this. I can feel it. These stories don¡¯t belong to you.

    ¡°Don¡¯t repeat other people¡¯s stories, boy. You might as well tell me about your life in another world. That¡¯s your own story.¡±

    ¡°I can feel it.¡± The beautiful woman with long blood-colored hair on the ground and a thick crimson pope robe showed a gentle smile ofpassion, magic, and motherhood. She held a blood-filled gold cup in both hands and ced it in front of her lower abdomen.

    She knelt behind Annan, with Annan¡¯s head resting between her chest and staring straight at the blood in the Holy Grail in front of her belly. She lowered her eyes softly, touched the top of Annan¡¯s head with her warm chin and neck, and whispered in a dreamy voice, ¡°What you long for is wless light. You long for the fire of justice.

    ¡°You will have light as your blood and fire as your heart ¡ª the Pir of the Divine Transporter.¡± Under the woman, the long hair and robes that touched the ground turned into dark red bloodstains. Behind her dragged a carpet of blood from the other side straight to this ce.

    ¡°Is that your choice, Annan?¡± The youth girl had silver hair, purple eyes, and a gorgeous face. She seemed to be about eighteen years old, looking over at Annan with some anxiety, ¡°The path of justice? You don¡¯t need to listen to the Cup-holding Lady.

    ¡°¡®The Heart of Justice¡¯ is the fussiest sacred bone. With all due respect, it certainly won¡¯t bat an eye on you. Why don¡¯t you try ¡®perseverance¡¯ or ¡®patience¡¯?¡± The girl was sitting in the arms of a ck-haired woman four or five years older than the girl. Notably, the woman¡¯s eyes were wrapped in a strip of ck cloth. Her lips were tightly shut without uttering a word. She had the silver-haired girl sit on herp and wrapped the girl in her arms.

    But, Annan somehow felt that the woman was conveying something silently.

    But just as Annan tried to listen, he suddenly realized that it was just a dream.

    Immediately afterward, Annan vaguely heard something.

    ¡°Annan? Annan?¡± He heard the anxious cries of the Paper Princess.

    He suddenly woke up from his dream.

    At this time, Annan realized that he was resting on the table, and the Paper Princess was concerned and nervous. She hugged Annan¡¯s shoulders from behind and put a hand on Annan¡¯s forehead.

    She felt Annan woke up at the first moment and was relieved, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The Paper Princess helped Annan sit up and asked, ¡°You have triggered a ritual. I saw traces of the Silent Lady, so I didn¡¯t dare to interrupt.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the correct move¡­don¡¯t¡­interrupt¡­it¡­¡± Annan felt his voice bing hoarse.

    The more he spoke, the more he felt like voices refused to leave his mouth. Finally, he opened his mouth but could not say anything.

    At this moment, the Paper Princess suddenly reacted. ¡°Wait, I get it. Annan, calm down. Stop trying to speak.¡±

    Sheforted Annan a little, patted Annan¡¯s back while looking at Alexander, and asked, ¡°Is there a ss container? I need it to be pure ss. Water ss and an ashtray are also fine. It¡¯s better to be bigger.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­wait a minute.¡± Alexander nodded, turned around, and walked to the back.

    With a ferocious face but offering a sense of security, this man quickly took out a fish tank with some water droplets remaining in it from the inner room.

    No one knew where the fish in it went.

    ¡°Does it need to be wiped clean? Is this big enough?¡± He asked the Paper Princess.

    The Paper Princess shook her head and looked at the fish tank with a bit of hesitation, ¡°It¡¯s a little too big, but that¡¯s fine.¡±

    She put the tank on the table and asked Annan to stand up. Then, he put her hands on the tank and put her wrists under the bask of sunlight.

    ¡°Remember not to speak. If I don¡¯t let you speak, so don¡¯t say a word.¡± After warning Annan, the Paper Princess made a light cut on Annan¡¯s slender wrist with her fingernails while whispering, ¡°Silence befalls this urn¡­ Forgetting blood returns to this urn.¡±

    Blood gushed from Annan¡¯s wrist in an instant.

    However, it was not crimson red blood, and it was not dark red either.

    The viscous liquid was like a gray-ck paste as thick as ink. As soon as it appeared, it was like escaping from the sun, flowing quickly over the skin and falling from the fingertips.

    It did not leave the slightest trace on Annan¡¯s skin or even discolor his skin.

    Looking at this thing, Annan instantly thought of the filling of ck sesame dumplings and then thought of the ready-made ck sesame paste.

    ¡°This is the ¡®Silent One¡¯s Ointment¡¯.¡± The Paper Princess exined to the curious Annan, ¡°It is also called ¡®the Forgetting Blood¡¯, and it is a high-level curse material.¡±

 Chapter 388: The Silent Oneâ€™s Ointment & Black Widow

    <h4>Chapter 388: The Silent One¡¯s Ointment & ck Widow</h4>

    Even though Annan still had doubts, he followed the Paper Princess¡¯ instruction to ¡°stay silent¡±. Thus, he did not ask questions immediately.

    Under the sunlight, ¡°the Silent One¡¯s Ointment¡± was slowly drained. As they flowed out of the blood vessels, Annan felt that the strange feeling of having dust stuck in his throat was quickly relieved.

    It was not until about 80 ml of the ¡°ck sesame paste¡± poured out of Annan¡¯s wrist that Finally, the ointment-like blood stopped draining out.

    After the Forgetting Blood was drained, Annan¡¯s blood did not flow out and contaminate the liquid.

    Although the bright red scar was still there with the blood within visible, the blood seemed to stop by a transparent preservative film. It umted on the wound but stopped flowing out.

    Then, an eraser appeared between the Paper Princess¡¯ fingers.

    She took the eraser and rubbed it on Annan¡¯s wrist, wiping away his wound directly.

    At this point, the Forgetting Blood had filled up the fish tank for at least two fingers¡¯ height.

    The liquid in the fish tank could no longer be called blood.

    It was a mass of gray ink that seemed to havee to life.

    To avoid the sun, the mass of gray ink shrank to the shady side of the fish tank, shivering.

    ¡°Okay, now you may talk.¡± The Paper Princess breathed a sigh of relief, indicating that Annan did not need to remain silent any longer, and asked again, ¡°By the way, can you sell the Silent One¡¯s Ointment to me? I can use them to paint a picture for you, which may help bring back some of your memories or get some kind of new influence.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯m just wondering what it¡¯s used for.¡± Annan frowned slightly and asked probingly, ¡°Or what¡¯s its purpose? It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t sell it to you. It¡¯s just to satisfy my curiosity.¡±

    ¡°That,¡± Alexander stood by, folded his arms in thought, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it.

    ¡°The Silent One¡¯s Ointment can be used to make poison. For example, it can make a person mute. Some ck Widow¡¯s church members will use this poison to make themselves mute to win the sympathy of others. Then, they will take the antidote when needed and get their voices back.¡±

    ¡°Not an antidote.¡± The Paper Princess exined, ¡°It¡¯s the ritual I just performed. That¡¯s the only way to get the ointment out. If Annan spoke just now, the remnants of the Silent One¡¯s Ointment in his body would immediately turn into a gaseous state and evaporate quickly.

    ¡°The ointment is not poison, but a gift from the Silent Lady after directly begging the Silent Lady to ¡®make me forget something¡¯. After recalling the memory, there¡¯s a chance to acquire it by cutting the wrist. Unfortunately, the source of this material is limited and scarce.¡±

    Then, the Paper Princess nced at Annan withplicated eyes.

    Annan vaguely realized something.

    Sure enough, the Paper Princess exined, ¡°Since it is the ¡®rejected memory¡¯, the memory you can¡¯t remember has been entirely dissolved by the Silent Lady¡¯s power within you. The more thorough the memory is erased, the greater the amount of ointment.

    ¡°Its realm lies within the ¡®negation of silence¡¯ concept, which can neutralize the toxins umted in the blood. After neutralization, the toxins are excreted from the body over time. From this point of view, it is equivalent to a liver.

    ¡°When the ointment is diluted with the Mysterious Ritual, it can be made into the [Mixture of Lost Things]. The significance of this is that the mixture can still be 1/12 or even 1/10 as potent when diluted a hundredfold. The purpose of diluting it is because the material is too precious.

    ¡°After the injection of the mixture, the victim won¡¯t be able to speak, but at the same time, they won¡¯t get drunk and be immune to truth serum and sleeping pills. This allows the spies to keep calm at all times. Its biggest advantage is the difficulty in resolving the mixture. It doesn¡¯t rely on the toxicity of the new reagent but its dosage. Only when the new reagent surpasses the active ingredient of the ointment will the new reagent take effect.

    ¡°Generally speaking, the lethal poisons that can kill people quickly are quite expensive. Thus, the poisoner won¡¯t simply inject a hundred folds of the lethal dose. At the same time, the active ingredients of the mixture will neutralize with the poison and then simultaneously lose the ¡®mute¡¯ effect.¡±

    ¡°Even if the target is afflicted with a strong curse or injected with a strong poison directly, it will only turn the ointment into a dormant state of detoxification for a long time. Although the efficacy of this part of the ointment is ineffective, losing the ¡®mute¡¯ ability temporarily. However, those poisons won¡¯t be able to hurt the target. In a sense, the mixture is even more advanced than the liver.

    ¡°Thus, the ck Widow¡¯s believers injected the Forgetting Blood not to gain sympathy but to improve their tolerance to poison. This way, they can store some poison in their bodies or keep themselves safe from being poisoned to death.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case?¡± Alexander¡¯s eyes widened slightly, obviously thinking of a lot of things in an instant.

    The Paper Princess exined to Annan what kind of deity ck Widow was.

    The evil deity was not a ss but a name.

    An innocent deity or church in one ce might be an evil deity in another country or even another region. Taking ck Widow for example, she was the deity many lurkers had their faith in, the Deity of Poison and Spider.

    Regarding profession strength alone, choosing the advancement as the ¡°Spider Whisperer¡± and the ¡°Spider Walker¡± were excellent choices.

    No matter it was the spider¡¯s ability to crawl silently on the ceiling or wall, or the spider¡¯s ability to spit out viscous cobwebs and the varieties of poison-making techniques, they were highly practical. Thus, many people would pick the faith in ck Widow, particrly lurkers who sought to master poison skills. There were also wizards and wizard apprentices, who had no hope of advancement, picking up this faith too.

    But She was also the Deity of Poison.

    ck Widow¡¯s body was a massive poisonous spider. She was one of the very few deities who would request a living sacrifice. She would impose a passive curse on Her believers, making them kill one person every month with the designated poison She bestowed.

    After poisoning the person, the believer had to find a way to take a certain part of the victim¡¯s body as proof of the ritual. This area must be poisoned, so it would usually be the liver. Sometimes, a highly effective poison would require only the hair, neck, or nails as evidence.

    When this poison almost killed the murderer, the ck Widow would detoxify him personally and give the believer aplete immunity to this poison. She would also provide a reward ording to Her mood. It could be ritual, divine art, holy light engraving, mutation toward a spider, or a new poison.

    That was the believers¡¯ ¡°mission¡±.

    Therefore, the ck Widow was considered an evil deity in the Noah Kingdom, the United Kingdom, the Austere-Winter Dukedom, and the Papal Kingdom.

    Only in the Underground Federation that ck Widow was not alienated but existed as amon false deity. So, ck Widow¡¯s churches were established underground.

    However, considering everyone who worshiped the Spider Cult had someone around them die every month, their density was limited. Otherwise, they would be easily discovered.

    So even in the excluded Three Kingdoms, there would be many people who worship ck Widow. If other believers find that people of the same faith had strayed into their ¡°web¡±, even they would poison the brothers and sisters in the same faith.

    Worse still, they often target those of the same faith first.

    That was because every Spider Deity worshiper with unknown origins might expose their initially stable life.

    Silver Sire¡¯s priority had always been the mission of uprooting these evil deities, arresting and executing the evil deity believers.

    Hearing this, Annan suddenly thought of a person.

    Joseph Buckel¡­

 Chapter 389: The Entangled Fate

    <h4>Chapter 389: The Entangled Fate</h4>

    Joseph Buckel¡­ Elle¡¯s biological father, the ¡°Brother Hammer¡± in the Gallery nightmare.

    At that time, Elle Morrison¡¯s name was also called Elle Buckel.

    Elle¡¯s mother (ra) was Joseph¡¯s apprentice back then. At that time, Joseph left Elle and divorced ra because she nned to use this child to ckmail Joseph.

    She sought more benefits from Joseph, like bing a real wizard or even a Great Wizard and mentor.

    Actually, Joseph had already given her a lot of things.

    After Annan cleared the Gallery nightmare and spoke to Joseph about the oue, he exined the whole truth to Annan, which was thest piece of the story.

    In fact, ra had no talent at all to be a wizard.

    Joseph had provided many ult knowledge to ire, including the tome written by someone from the Austere-Winter family in regards to the ck Widow, the tome about the Venerated Skeleton, and many books of other deities.

    His intention was clear.

    Joseph knew she did not have the talent to be a wizard, so he gave her the books, hoping she could be a ritualist.

    ire was not the kind of person who was particrly keen on being a wizard anyway. Instead, she learned spells hoping the magic could improve her status and be a great person.

    It was just that Joseph did not imagine ire chose to be ¡°the Spider Whisperer¡± in the end.

    He did not want to be with a ck Widow¡¯s believer for long.

    After all, he could be poisoned to death unknowingly.

    However, Joseph ended up having his family break apart because of his fault.

    ra was elected to the White Tower back then because of his rmendation. At that time, ra had not started to believe in ck Widow, nor had shee into contact with the taste of power and wealth. She was fourteen years old, an innocent and lovely young girl.

    Simply put, Joseph lusted for her, and he changed the trajectory of her life.

    As to what ra looked like, that could be seen from Elle.

    Her family background was ordinary.

    Her father was a dock worker, and her mother was a female textile factory worker. Not to mention that she wasn¡¯t from a noble family and hardly knew any words. Her biggest advantage was her outstanding appearance and willingness to endure hardship.

    That was why Joseph fell in love with her. He even made ra his Silver Rank Secret Keeper. The oath power immediately boosted ra on some Perception attributes, barely allowing her to pass the exam.

    By the way, Annan¡¯s secret keeper was Dove, who guarded him during the advancement process. Then, he told Kafni about itter, just in case.

    There was no additional value in the secrecy anyway.

    It was just that ¡°his left eye could not see anything¡±. Other than that, it was not much.

    After Annan found out that the ¡°curse¡± of Silver Rank could improve his attributes, he nned to set it as a reward for the yers¡¯ main mission of the next phase. That would not only strengthen the yers but also show that he trusted the yers and strengthen the oath power.

    In a way, it was ¡°three birds¡± with one stone.

    However, Joseph did not expect ra¡¯s personality to change quickly after being invited to enter the White Tower. She had already learned of Joseph¡¯s curse and gradually began to ckmail him.

    It might not be at the level of ckmailing, but she did keep asking Joseph for more things.

    Instead, it was precisely because she was used to a hard life andcked a sense of security that she cared more about her future quality of life. Due to Joseph¡¯s desire to be in control, she did not get to know other wizards, so she could only ask Joseph for more stuff.

    In her original life trajectory, she should marry a foreman, a government clerk, or a teacher. If she was lucky, she might marry a young priest.

    Unless this priest suddenly advanced to the bishop level, she would never be able to achieve a rank promotion in her life.

    After she came into contact with the wizard¡¯s world, this became possible.

    As long as she could graduate to be an official wizard, she would be hired by the local nobles, and she would not be worried about her daily necessities for a lifetime. Even the nobles had to respect her. Coupled with her well-cared-for appearance and figure, she could be a nobledy if lucky.

    Even though the status of a Silver Rank Great Wizard was much higher than that of the local nobles.

    ra still wanted Joseph to get a title, preferably a fief, or get more money. But, Joseph knew he did not need that.

    As an Edict Wizard, he was the only transcender with ¡°the ability to detect falsehoods¡±. He could verify the owner of an item, interpret whether the other party was lying, carrying poisons and dangerous items, check the cause of wounds, see people¡¯s real names, and space maniption abilities. For example, pushing someone away or swapping the two people¡¯s locations.

    The Edict school was the most convenient wizard school in real life.

    He would be the best cop, detective, and bodyguard. Any nobleman must befriend at least one Edict Wizard, or else trouble woulde.

    If Edict Wizard had his territory and title, doing things would be much more inconvenient. It was because he was no longer impartial.

    However, ra could not understand it. She even contacted some jobs and asked him to use his spells to do some illegal things. If Joseph refused, ra would mention that Joseph, her mentor, did not allow her to graduate and advance to be a wizard.

    That was actually the direct cause of the intensification of their conflicts.

    Considering the age¡­

    Louis was 30 years old this year, and his father died shortly after his birth. Moreover, he was personally taught by his uncle, Alexander when he was in the Silver Knight. Thus, the time when Alexander executed the mission should be 50 years ago. At the same time, Elle¡¯s mother died forty-six years ago.

    So, Joseph might have even fought against Alexander back then.

    It was because of a major problem with intelligence that Alexander must have spared many people, perhaps including Elle¡¯s mother.

    Annan thought of this, so he immediately asked, ¡°Your Excellency Alexander, do you know a man named Joseph Buckel?¡±

    ¡°Where is he from?¡± Perhaps because the time was too long, Alexander was confused for a while.

    After Annan reminded him that this was about Freezing Water Port 45 years ago, Alexander soon came to a realization.

    ¡°Do you mean the ¡®Hand of Justice¡¯ Buckel? I know him, but I haven¡¯t seen him in a long time. He is probably dead.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen him. I was hunting down his ex-wife, who believed in ck Widow. Even though I failed in arresting her in the end, she broke her limit and concocted a poison capable of killing me as I pushed her to the edge. However, she was inadequate and died because of the bacsh of the ritual¡¯s failure.¡±

    He shook his head regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s a pity because I did not intend to kill her even though she would be subjected to death penalty if arrested. However, Buckel had already talked to me at the time.¡±

    When Alexander talked about it, he paused and added calmly, ¡°I epted his bribe. Of course, it was within the scope of the ¡®transaction¡¯ allowed by the Silver Sire. After all, his ex-wife believed in ck Widow not long ago, which she only had the time to kill one person. She almost killed her second husband, but luckily I came just in time, and the man survived. I remember that the man seemed to be a well-known painter. I don¡¯t know the details, so I don¡¯t have a deep memory about it. Since she didn¡¯tmit multiple murders, her crime can be changed from ¡®living sacrifice practice¡¯ to ¡®murder¡¯. If she pays for the bail fully, her punishment can be shortened to 10 years in prison.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that his ex-wife didn¡¯t trust me¡­ or rather, she didn¡¯t trust Buckel, and she died in the end. I had taken the potion Buckel gave me, and I couldn¡¯t give it back to him. I was deeply sorry about it.

    ¡°So after he returned to the capital, I could onlypensate him with my weapon. Although he did not want to ept it and said it was not my fault, I gave him the hammer in the end.

    ¡°That¡¯s my favorite curse vessel, but not the curse vessel he needs the most. So I need to give up what I treasure most to discipline myself.¡±

    Alexander sighed and said with some regret and nostalgia, ¡°Although I know this is not in line with the value of what he handed me, this is the greatestpensation I can make.¡±

    The Paper Princess asked curiously from the side, ¡°Is it to warn yourself to be serious about making a promise to other people?¡±

    ¡°No, but that¡¯s to stop myself from making random promises, especially things that I may not be able to.¡± Alexander¡¯s eyes were calm, and his gaze was deep.

    Wait, hammer? Annan was surprised.

    No way?

    Annan was amused.

    Fate is the best and worst director.

    Alexander indirectly killed ra, which led to Amos starting to study Ritual Spell, summoning the Venerated Skeleton, betraying Elle, and eventually forming ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±. Amos himself was killed by Buckel, who held the ¡°Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm¡±.

    Meanwhile, without Annan¡¯s intervention, Louis might end up dying at Freezing Water Port, given his stubbornness. Perhaps, the Angel of Betrayal had hatched by that time.

    If Alexander gave that overkill hammer to Buckel, the story was connected.

    This was the karma that existed even outside the nightmare.

    The power of destiny.

    Annan asked probingly, ¡°Can I ask? Do you remember the name of that curse vessel?¡±

    The answer was as expected.

    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Barrier Destroyer¡¯s Right Arm¡¯, and it¡¯s a one-handed hammer. It¡¯s a custom-made curse vessel from the cksmith in my church.¡± Alexander replied with nostalgia.

 Chapter 390: [How many Nicholas are there?]

    <h4>Chapter 390: [How many Nichs are there?]</h4>

    ¡°Your Excellency Nichs, have you made up your mind?¡± Bernardino¡¯s spirit body sat on the wheelchair, tilted his head slightly, and gave Nichs a warm and kind smile.

    Nichs II frowned slightly but said nothing.

    But he still regretted it a little in his heart. When he saw Bernardino¡¯s remaining spirit body, he knew he could not kill this old man directly.

    Rather, it was toote already.

    Bernardino¡¯s limbs and head were restored. Thus, he had regained hisplete form.

    With the astral body fully restored, he could even exert pressure on Nichs II, which surprised this artificial human.

    After all, Nichs II was stuck in the Gold Rank just because hecked the Book of Truth.

    In Nichs¡¯ memory, only five transcenders could fight against him in the entire civilization west of the desert.

    The Man in the Mirror was the strongest among them, who had sessfully ascended into a deity.

    Then, there was the Howling White Tower Master Michngelo, ¡°Time Stopper Eye,¡± recognized as the world¡¯s strongest wizard.

    He could create artificial life forms (his stone statues) and travel through time at will. He could see the future yearster at a nce and enter the timeline of the past to change the world.

    His curse vessel allowed him to go back in time to a certain extent. Subsequently, he could even enter the ¡°past¡± to attack enemies who were unaware and unprepared at the time and remain invincible.

    It could be said that ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡± was the apex of wizardry.

    Only in the case of a prolonged battle would Nichs, at his peak, have the confidence to defeat Michngelo. In that memory, Nichs held Sage¡¯s Stone.

    The reason for the short lifespan of a Gold Rank transcender was that if they wanted to use the elemental power, they had to burn their soul. The more potent the element was used, the deeper its awakening depth would be.

    But obviously, he would not survive after the soul was burnt to crisp.

    Therefore, it was necessary to replenish the soul from nightmares, rituals, and rare curse vessels or increase the awakening depth of their elements.

    Sage¡¯s Stone would not replenish the soul consumed, but it could act as the fuel to substitute for his soul. Moreover, its efficiency as fuel was superb.

    A Sage¡¯s Stone made by a Bronze Rank Wizard could rece about 1/10 of the Gold Rank Wizard¡¯s soul. At Silver Rank, it made up to 50% of the soul. At the same time, a brief battle (3~5 minutes) usually only used about 3% of the soul.

    Of course, the Sage¡¯s Stone meant more than increasing resourcefulness.

    It could quickly increase the awakening depth of all elements to 100%.

    In fact, the four elements that Nichs had awakened were raised to 100%, granting him the capability to overwhelm ordinary Gold Rank transcenders.

    But when Nichs II faced Michngelo, he had no chance of winning.

    Such was the strength of Michngelo.

    It was an old man who could fiddle with time and soul.

    He was even stronger than the Venerated Skeleton and the Rotten Man.

    Among the only three deities who did not rely on the Book of Truth to attain deityhood, the Venerated Skeleton and the Rotten Man were still iplete. The Venerated Skeleton was already considered a deity to some extent, but he was missing half of the truth. Likewise, the Rotten Man could only be regarded as a half-deity.

    The Man in the Mirror Michngelo was the first deity in the true sense who did not rely on the Book of Truth and was a perfect deity.

    Not only was the ritualplete and perfect, but his ritual was also sealed in the distant past. Therefore, those who wanted to ruin the ritual would have to travel to the past.

    At the same time, the Man in the Mirror had the total grasp of the authority to travel back to the past in his hands.

    The only difference between using the Book of Truth and ritual was that the Book of Truth existed in the body and was integrated into the soul. On the other hand, the ritual that existed outside the body was limited to a certain region.

    As long as the ritual was destroyed, the rted false deity would fall.

    For example, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual area was the skeleton buried in the Elegy Dukedom. As long as these skeletons were dug up and reburied, the Venerated Skeleton would lose its power and fall directly.

    In this aspect, the Rotten Man was better off than the Venerated Skeleton.

    His ritual was notpleted yet. Thus, his power was far lesser than that of a typical deity. Even the saint who inherited the sacred bone could confront him.

    However, it was hard to seek him out.

    After the Man in the Mirror had umted a period of newly acquired truth, he might be able to ascend directly to a higher position than the Venerated Skeleton and the Rotten Man.

    However, that was not the case for Bernardino.

    There was no trace of this man in Nichs II¡¯s inherited memory. He had never heard of this person.

    Originally, Nichs II thought that this was because Bernardino was not strong and acted in a low-key manner, so Nichs had no knowledge of him.

    But now, after Bernardino¡¯s spiritual body was restored, Nichs II felt a distinct pressure emitting from him.

    It was an entirely different power levelpared to when Bernardino¡¯s soul was iplete.

    The previous state was probably umting power or performing a seal on himself.

    At this moment, it was definitely a life-threatening level of pressure on Nichs.

    This not only made Nichs II doubt his memory if something went wrong.

    In fact, Nichs traveled the world for more than 100 years.

    How can I have never heard of such a strong Gold Rank transcender?

    Or did Nichs deliberately erase all memory rted to Bernardino?

    Is it because ¡°Father¡± doesn¡¯t want procreation with Bernardino?

    ¡°If you agree, I¡¯ll tell you the secrets about your father and your background.¡± Bernardino had a mysterious, gentle smile on his face.

    He said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s something you don¡¯t know and can¡¯t recall.

    ¡°I swear. If you don¡¯t know about this, you¡¯ll regret it one day.¡±

    ¡°Then, if I know about this, will I still not regret it?¡± Nichs II asked rhetorically. The old man just smiled and said nothing.

    The suave, white-haired youth stared at the old man¡¯s spirit body, thinking quietly and silently.

    Perhaps, this is a trap.

    Maybe Nichs didn¡¯t want me to know this man.

    Maybe, that¡¯s why¡­

    I want to¡­

    ¡°I can agree to that.¡± Nichs II replied, ¡°But one of the ingredients of Hermetic Sage¡¯s Stone is the fresh marrow of a wizard. It is not an easy-to-get material.¡±

    Nichs II was aware that this might stir up a massive turmoil, and even Father Stone might find out about it. Worse still, it could be Father Stone releasing his soul to lure Bernardino into a trap.

    But he had a clear intuition in his heart.

    If I refuse him, I will definitely regret it.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Bernardino said slowly, ¡°While we¡¯re at it, before you tell me the recipe, I will pay you a friendly deposit. You can also use it as a gift.

    ¡°[How many Nichs are there?].¡± The corner of the old man¡¯s mouth rose slightly, ¡°You better think about this matter.

    ¡°Think with your heart, Nichs.¡±

 Chapter 391: Monster Lord

    <h4>Chapter 391: Monster Lord</h4>

    Just yesterday, when Citalopram had nothing to do, she was flipping through books and looking for information.

    Then, she found out the reason for Dove¡¯s incident in [Cat¡¯s Name].

    This immediately caused amotion on the forum.

    Dove was irritated and groaned.

    After she understood the mechanism, she was a little reluctant about whether to swap back to her human body.

    It¡¯s certainly not some bug.

    After being tranted into the yer¡¯snguage, the mechanic was triggered in this manner:

    When the hunter¡¯s [Shared Perception] skill reached LV4 or higher, if he entered the Elf Ruins with his animalpanion at the same time, a soul swap would be triggered.

    This mechanic continued to work until Gold Rank.

    In other words, it was an easy job to change it back. She had to revisit the ruin, and the matter would be done.

    Originally, Dove had always wanted to change her body back. However, she was a little hesitant after learning that it was so simple.

    Dove had gotten used to the serval¡¯s body.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Chocte often used her human body to roam around, Dove would not want to change it back now.

    Under the buff of the hunter¡¯s skill, the minimum value of each attribute of Chocte would gradually grow closer to the human body.

    As a result, even though Chocte¡¯s Strength attribute had reached 6 points and her constitution was simr to the host, she still had the agility of the cat¡¯s body. For some reason, she possessed a color vision of the full spectrum of colors that cats should not have. Additionally, she still had the dynamic vision of cats.

    She even acquired the skill effect of [Stalker] that she learned at Level 7. For enemies she had injured, she could see the movement route left by them.

    As a result, she gradually became a little addicted to it.

    The strength of this ¡°body¡± was superb. At least in the early stage, that was indeed the case before she got any new powerful transcended abilities.

    With the wisdom of a cat, it was difficult to utilize this body perfectly.

    So Dove upied the body after learning the truth.

    It was like when ying RPG games, the yers would take off the NPC teammates¡¯ equipment who joined the team and then put those equipment on themselves.

    A serval had gained strength more muscr than a robust and healthy human adult male and a constitution that could withstand two heavy blows from hammers. Even the agility attribute was more than doubled. What kind of monster would it be?

    The final product was the current Dove.

    When the Child attacked her with all her strength, it was difficult to even touch Dove.

    As a matter of fact, he was not an ordinary swordsman but a [Forest Walker] who could utilize vines, earth, and air to attack.

    At the current state, the Child had mastered Aero Strike. At the same time, he could send out wind des sharp enough to tear through iron armor. Coupled with [Geo Strike]¡¯s transformation on the terrain, Wandering Child alone could fight a small mercenary group.

    For him, the vines, the earth, the water, the ice, and the air condensed into a de could be fired at the same time.

    In words that were easy for yers to understand, the Child was fully equipped with practical skills. None of his skills would not be handy.

    However, even with the Child at this capability, plus Citalopram and Suuankou, the group still found it difficult to fight against Dove and Chocte.

    Indeed, the four yers were rtively free in Roseburg while waiting for news from the Royal Capital.

    They were not Lin Yiyi, after all.

    They did not particrly get close to Kafni when she was cold to them.

    As a result, they started ying with each other during the day and then headed back to the feudal lord¡¯s residence to sleep at night.

    For example, Suuankou used the money he stole from the previous beginner mission to make some traps. Then, he sold the traps and exchanged more money to make better trap devices, and his craftsmanship gradually became more proficient.

    The Child took short-term bodyguard jobs, searched for materials, found a cksmith in the city, and asked him to build a new weapon based on the ring de he used in his dream.

    Thus, he was in the process of getting used to his new weapon and stayed on the training ground during the day. After he got used to the weapon, he would head to the military camp in the south if there were no new updates from the Royal Capital. He nned to build rapport in the military base.

    Citalopram had nothing to do except read books and browse the forums. Sometimes, she would flip through the books that Longjing Tea copied from the wizard tower. Although her authority level was only at Level 1, a few books were avable already.

    In fact, she was a [Half-dead Enchantress]. If ordinary people discovered her, it might cause amotion.

    Only the yers would not dislike a half-undead with a cold body temperature, who needed to eat and drink like ordinary people but did not need sleep and was infertile.

    Even if she only came into contact with others in a physical state, it would slowly absorb the vitality of the other party, making the other party weak and sickly. For ordinary people who were not transcenders, it would only take less than half a month to bring death upon them if they were to get married; even if the frequency of contact was not so high, they might get sick if they were to shake hands.

    For the Noahs, the Half-dead Enchantress was roughly the same as ¡°Wolfman¡± and ¡°Centaur¡±, which only existed in legends. After seeing them, it was best to run away from the ¡°monster¡±.

    At the same thing, Citalopram also found a hidden setting.

    When she was in her peak physical condition, she could slowly increase her experience point when she was in contact with others and absorbed their vitality!

    Since she discovered this, she would fall asleep holding the humanoid Chocte or the cat-shaped Dove every day when she went offline. With that, she gained some experience steadily every day. Even though it was not much, the stability mattered.

    After all, the yers were not afraid of this.

    The temperature had also started to warm up recently. ¡°Chocte¡± was not as heat-resistant in the cat¡¯s body. Sleeping with the cold Citalopram at night was like a soft and temperature regtion pillow.

    Although it hurt the body a bit, she could tolerate this level of damage as a transcender.

    When the four of them were free, they would asionally brawl. Dove and Chocte would make up a team, while the rest of the three would be in another team.

    Dove¡¯s current win rate was 100%.

    Generally speaking, when the hunter¡¯s and pet¡¯s souls were swapped, the hunter would gainbat power because of ¡°the hunting instinct of pets¡±.

    But things were different on Dove¡¯s side.

    Her archery instinct as a human was stronger than the wild instinct of her pet.

    When Chocte used her body, she quickly mastered the [Archery] skill through the remaining instincts left in the human body. As a result, her shots decently reached 60% of Dove¡¯s level.

    The cat mastered the speed of archery, even faster than running and sneaking with a human body.

    Under ¡°Miss Chocte¡± training, the Child finally mastered how to block and avoid flying arrows.

    Also, on this day, Kafni received a letter from the capital.

    It was a letter from her father. The wording was not formal but strict. He mentioned that Don Juan had returned to the capital, and it was impolite for Kafni to stay at Freezing Water Port, and she should return quickly.

    Without a doubt, this was a hint.

    The ¡°Dream Stealer¡± deleted her father¡¯s memory again and noticed that Kafni was out of his control.

    In the current state, the ¡°Dream Stealer¡± was threatening her with her father¡¯s life.

    Realizing this put Kafni in a bad mood.

    After thinking for a long time, she finally made up her mind.

    This time, she did not n to run away.

    She wanted to eradicate this nightmare that had haunted her and her father for more than ten years.

    No matter if it was the Dream Stealer, Teacher Nichs, or even those demons in the capital city¡­

    Kafni¡¯s cherished memory shed through her mind.

    The boy had a serious face and cold eyes in the splendid sea of crystal flowers.

    He reached out to her, who was regarded as a monster.

    She still remembered her fingertips that touched the shivering low temperature and the warmth that came into her heart.

    Your heart is so scary. I have never seen so much snow.

    Naturally, my heart is like ice.

    Are you a monster too?

    Yes, I am a monster. My name is Annan.

    Her ¡°Monster Lord¡± has returned.

    ¡°He said he would protect me,¡± Kafni whispered, closing her eyes slightly.

    Her bright red eyes were still much clearer than when she first came to the Freezing Water Port, not so lost and dispirited.

    No more. She denied her previous self-perception of being weak.

    As a monk, I must have a firm will.

    She threaded the Fallen path, which had no turning back, and her mentality should be even more so.

    If her will was not firm enough, she would not live long.

    Kafni reached out and held her beloved gemstone in her arms, feeling the familiar coldness.

    She took a deep breath and raised the corners of her mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m wrong. I should be the one to protect him instead.¡± Kafni opened her eyes slowly.

    The words were full of calmness and confidence.

    From her tender and petite body, she broke free from a majestic aura that was young but enough to be detected by a keen person.

    ¡°Dove.¡± She summoned the alert cat.

    After just a few seconds, a serval appeared silently at her bedroom door.

    ¡°Meow,¡± Dove replied softly.

    ¡°Notify them to pack up.¡± Kafni said slowly, ¡°We will depart tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 392: The Crescendo

    <h4>Chapter 392: The Crescendo</h4>

    ¡°Her Royal Highness Kafni seems to have made a move. Would that be fine?¡± The speaker was Eugene Geraint.

    He came over early in the morning and asked Annan worriedly, ¡°Did you get her toe over?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Annan answered clearly.

    But it does not matter. Kafni cane over anytime she wants.

    That was Annan¡¯s reply.

    Instead, Annan stopped thinking of ¡°Roseburg¡± as a safe ce when he realized the situation was getting intense.

    Especially when the Old Bread had already left.

    If someone wanted to do something against Kafni, Annan would be unable to make it in time.

    In this case, it would be safer to have Kafni by his side and be protected by the Paper Princess.

    ¡°So, that¡¯s how you see it.¡± Eugene nodded thoughtfully.

    After many thorough investigations from the Paper Princess, She finally determined that this person was harmless to Annan and a good friend who would benefit Annan¡¯s future.

    Only then did She allow Eugene to visit every day.

    Although Annan was grateful for the Paper Princess¡¯s meticulousness, he could not help butugh a little at her strictness.

    This also reminded Annan of the nostalgia and warmth of having parents and rtives looking after him, particrly making friends at school.

    After Annan and Eugene chatted for a long time about the political situation in the capital, he decided to move back to Geraint¡¯s house from a high-end hotel.

    On the one hand, it was to build a good rtionship with the Geraint family. On the other hand, he wanted to obtain important information as quickly as possible while keeping himself safe.

    In fact, part of the reason was that Annan did not want to let the Paper Princess spend any more money.

    The expenses of the King Noah Hotel were too expensive.

    With the Paper Princess and Annan in the same room, the cost of their daily amodation alone, not even including the food and the things she bought for Annan, was 130 pounds.

    That was roughly equivalent to 1500 silver coins a night.

    Annan felt a little heartache when he looked at it.

    Although it was not his money, he did not want to spend the elder¡¯s money indiscriminately.

    Thus, he might as well live at the Geraint Family¡¯s mansion.

    At the very least, his daily necessities were taken care of in addition to much more superb security than King Noah Hotel.

    As a matter of fact, the backyard of the Geraint Family¡¯s Residence was directly connected to the back garden of the pce.

    The security force of the Geraint family was the king¡¯s guard.

    It was still a mix of the royal guards and the secret troops. It was impossible to infiltrate by just blending into the patrol. Coupled with the several surveince the One-Eyed Crow had installed, it was difficult for even a Gold Rank transcender to sneak in.

    From Annan¡¯s point of view, moving to the Geraint family was a good choice in every aspect.

    Seeing that Annan was tricked into the house by Eugene in just one day, the Paper Princess immediately followed with a worried look.

    While this made Annan feel secure, he found it a little subtle.

    It was like when he went to stay at his ssmate¡¯s house, his aunty or elder sister did not feel at ease and came over directly.

    Luckily, Eugene¡¯s diplomacy was reliable.

    The kindness that came from the bottom of his heart expressed to others, his listening skills, and how he took other people¡¯s words seriously were enough to get the Paper Princess¡¯s acknowledgement.

    The Paper Princess had only demanded her presence if Eugene wanted to speak to Annan. She said that when there were no special circumstances, She would not interrupt the conversation between the two.

    Eugene was aware that the Paper Princess was worried about him tricking Annan.

    But how is that possible?

    Paper Princess¡¯s concerns seemed a little extra.

    Eugene sighed secretly.

    He knew very well that Annan was not an innocent child. When he chatted with Annan, the pressure was even greater than chatting with the marquis of the count. He always felt like he might have been tricked by Annan subconsciously.

    Of course, this was also because of their identity difference.

    Annan was the iing Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, a future deity, and possibly even a subordinate deity of an upright deity. The status gap between them was massive.

    This made Eugene Geraint, the future heir of the Crow Family, keep the distance between him and Annan at all times. He only dared to stay in the position of ¡°friend¡±, daring not to be rude for a moment or to move forward in their connection.

    After all, what he wanted to take care of and please was not just ¡°Annan¡±.

    The power in the hands of the Geraint Family would be the power of the future king.

    If he was too close to Annan, the king might have doubts about the Geraint family.

    As the head of the highest intelligence agency, it was concerning to have them establish a good rtionship with the supreme ruler of the neighboring country.

    If they were regr nobles, it would be a good thing for them to build some deterrence to the king.

    It meant that the king would not easily trust their words but would not simply ignore their words. This would push their status in the social circle of the nobles higher and even be the center of social interaction. For example, ¡°the Geraint Family¡¯s circle¡± or something.

    But the Geraint Family¡¯s position did not allow them to get close to the nobles.

    An intelligence agency that did not obey the king, was not trusted by the king, and was distant from the nobles had no value.

    At that time, the ¡°loyalties to the royal family¡± which the Geraint Family had backstabbed upon would take this as their weakness to ask for benefits.

    The same would go for Kafni and the other princes.

    Eugene kept his politeness and his distance.

    This was the way of survival for the Crow Family.

    The Crow could only side with the king¡¯s crown.

    As for his eldest brother, Ferdinand Geraint¡­ Before the king chose the heir, he decisively chose one of the descendants to serve as an advisor and tried to increase the possibility of him being selected as the king. In fact, this was a great taboo.

    Therefore, Ferdinand was utterly unaware that the more he helped His Royal Highness Philip, the less His Majesty would choose His Highness Philip.

    To Eugene¡¯s surprise, Philip did not realize it either.

    Unlike his mature eldest brother, Philip had toffee every day. He often went out to y with his friends and subordinates. He seemed just a refined and excited yer who did not care about anything else.

    However, Eugene had a lot of secret information in hand.

    He could easily see that Philip was a pretty smart man.

    He was much smarter than Princess Royal. Just by looking at the fact that he did not leave any traces, this trait of his was much more apparent. Still, even though he did not leave any traces, it did not stop others from realizing it was him doing it. Even when the others realized Philip was the culprit, they could not guess his intention, what he wanted, and what he would gain after it.

    Eugene even suspected that his eldest brother might be just Philip¡¯s pawn.

    Talking about Philip, he had to mention to Annan that Philip had recently acquired a new capable man.

    Eugene asked Annan, who was in deep thought, ¡°Is that person named Delicious Wind Goose the one you sent?¡±

    His acting skills were so good that even Eugene could not be sure. Did Delicious Wind Goose betray Annan, or was he a spy Annan sent?

    Annan just smiled upon hearing those words.

    He did not give any reply.

 Chapter 393: Philipâ€™s Conspiracy

    <h4>Chapter 393: Philip¡¯s Conspiracy</h4>

    Although Philip was a prince, he would not wear any formal and gorgeous outfit at home.

    He just put on baggy gray pajamas and sat cross-legged on the bed.

    Behind him, a young girl was sleeping with her back to Philip.

    As a Rotten Man believer, he would have no offspring.

    If he had no direct descendants at his age, it would draw suspicion from others.

    On the surface, he was not acting as a ¡°Rotten Man believer¡± but as a ¡°Cup-holding Lady¡¯s follower¡±.

    As the believer of the Cup-holding Lady, it was expected for his private life to be a bit rotten.

    After all, he was not ugly, not old, not fat. His baby face was not only pleasing to the eye, and it was deemed cute. His personality was charismatic to others since he could drawughter and chatters. Naturally, he had many young and beautiful mistresses.

    So he was not without descendants. But, he just had no official wife and many illegitimate children.

    But no one would have imagined that these mistresses of his were selected by Philip using his divine art and ritual. Instead, they were mistresses who ¡°would inevitably cheat¡±.

    In other words, none of Philip¡¯s children were his own.

    Of course, Philip knew about it.

    But, he did not care.

    He had intentionally forged this situation to boost his advantage as a direct descendant of the royal family and to run for the throne.

    Princess Royal lost her advantage because her status might be affected by the status and position of her husband if she got married.

    On the other side of the Fourth Prince, he was known to be secluded from this matter.

    Only one of his children, Kafni, survived. He had only one wife as well. This wife of his was a Rotten Man believer. Due to this, she had killed off all his other children.

    That was to give Philip an advantage.

    Of those children, Kafni was excluded because of Philip¡¯s decision.

    Those close rtives of the royal family and Philip¡¯s illegitimate children would form a circle. Under Philip¡¯s cue, they rejected, hated, and excluded Kafni.

    The reason for keeping Kafni was just for Philip¡¯s ritual, just in case.

    Although he seemed to have many descendants, they did not have Noah¡¯s royal blood.

    Therefore, he must leave a bloodline descendant of Noah to be sacrificed in theter ritual.

    While Kafni was not necessarily required to be a sacrifice, she was kept alive if the situation called for her sacrifice.

    Otherwise, Philip would be stuck for not having thest piece of sacrifice.

    He would prioritize killing Princess Royal and the Fourth Prince in his next n. Only if all the heirs were eradicated would his n not be hindered.

    All enemies who could retaliate had to be paralyzed.

    Because of this, his current n was to lure the secret enemy out.

    The many ws he had revealed seemed possible to harm him. However, all of them were traps. Even if he were attacked in these ces, it would not affect his ns.

    For example, Ferdinand Geraint.

    It was already taboo to establish a secret rtionship with one of the heirs of the Crow Family. If he were to follow the standard session process, this matter would be enough to take away his rights in inheriting the throne. Thus, putting him at the bottom of the rankings.

    But he did not consider the possibility of a standard throne inheritance process from the beginning.

    What he asked for was not the throne at all.

    Of course, Philip knew that Rotten Man was not a deity to be trusted. His power was inferior, His poprity was poor, and His character was foul.

    But so what?

    After He had given the gift of ¡°immortality¡±, it was not so easy to take it back. Philip would be the foundation of the Rotten Man¡¯s ritual.

    The Rotten Man not only did not dare to abolish his power, He even had to protect Philip.

    On the other hand, those deities who were hostile to Rotten Man would not need to target Philip to destroy His ritual. That was because He was so weak that it was unnecessary.

    Thus, Philip would be on the safe side.

    He only hoped toplete the Rotten Man¡¯s ritual of bing a deity, sacrificing all his blood-rted rtives for immortality.

    That was utter immortality.

    He retained the sense of touch and taste, could enjoy himself like an ordinary person, and could still experience the joy of sleeping. His path to bing a transcender was not blocked, and he did not even have the physical decay and slow thinking like an old man.

    Based on Cup-holding Lady¡¯s ritual, he could get immortality in optimal physical condition.

    By then, the throne would not matter.

    In other words, the throne was just a tool for his enjoyment.

    To put it crudely, wasn¡¯t being a king just for pleasure?

    Could there be royal heirs who would sacrifice their lives and all their energy topete for the throne ¡°for the purpose of making the country more prosperous¡±?

    That would be absurd.

    At least Philip never believed in this possibility.

    It was all just for the pleasure of power.

    What would these powers be used for?

    Naturally, that was for sole pleasure.

    To achieve perfect enjoyment, immortality was the most befitting blessing.

    How many emperors pursue immortality? Would the royalties resist such temptation if immortality was put in front of them?

    It just so happened that the blood of Noah¡¯s royal family of the previous generation had been wholly cut off.

    His father, now Henry VIII, was the only ¡°blood in the cup¡±.

    Henry VIII had no siblings at all.

    In other words, Philip only needed to sacrifice a few of his siblings.

    In the three generations of the royal family, aside from his dying father, there were only his siblings he had to take care of.

    At the same time, he had no descendants.

    Every time Philip had sex with his lovers, he would use the Rotten Man¡¯s divine art to prevent birth, and he was confident that he would never leave any children.

    So far, everything had been going well.

    As Eugene gradually inherited the work of the Crow Family, his secret friendship with ¡°Ferdinand Geraint¡± was also exposed.

    In this way, all the people who might be hostile to him have emerged.

    Philip needed to wait patiently until his father died of old age and quickly killed Princess Royal and the Fourth Prince. Then he would be the first in-line sessor of the throne.

    He could quickly kill, imprison or exile his opposers and get his underlings to take the higher-up positions.

    On the surface, Philip seemed to have many heirs. Even from this perspective, Kafni, who was young and had terrible fame due to the suppression of his ¡°illegitimate children¡±, would not be epted by other ministers of a neutral stance.

    In this way, Philip would soon be able to grasp the authority of the kingdom.

    He only needed to sever the royal blood and castrate himself after he ascended the throne, and he couldplete the immortality ritual.

    His castration was only infertility, not incapable of doing the pleasurable things between men and women.

    It was a bright future in Philip¡¯s eyes.

    He recently recruited a powerful subordinate.

    ¡°Missionpleted, Your Highness.¡± Delicious Wind Goose knocked on the door and entered the room, half kneeling on the ground.

    He did not look at the woman behind Philip with a bare back but just lowered his head silently and respectfully to the Third Prince Philip.

    As he spoke, he handed over the box containing the head.

    ¡°I brought the man¡¯s head in yourmand.¡±

    ¡°Very good!¡± Philip¡¯s eyes lit up, and he took the wooden box.

    When he opened it, he saw a head with ck lines all over its face and a vague protruding bone on its forehead.

    That was the head of a Fallen, named the ¡°Blood Fiend¡±.

 Chapter 394: Blood Fiend

    <h4>Chapter 394: Blood Fiend</h4>

    It is actually Blood Fiend. Stroking the gruesome head, Philip was in a trance for a moment.

    He did not expect his new recruit to kill the notorious Blood Fiend.

    These Fallens who followed Nichs mel in the capital under the name of ¡°Hermes Schr¡± always made Philip vignt and uneasy.

    As a prince, Philip was not short of ult knowledge.

    He knew very well that Fallen differed from the transcenders who walked the Ascension Path.

    Silver Rank was an essential and indispensable stage on the path of transcendence.

    For a mortal to have transcended power, he had to corrupt his soul with a curse. Only the soul that had undergone this process could spontaneously absorb the energy of the curse from the outside world.

    No matter if it was strengthening the body to a new stage, soaking the soul to boost the perception, or using the curse to temper one¡¯s will, the requirement was to have the soul absorb the curse.

    Although these curses would strengthen the body and soul, the curses were mixed with many impurities.

    Resentment, pain, desire, grief¡­ Absorbing the curse with a mortal body equated to absorbing the will lingering the curse.

    These were ¡°impurities¡±.

    They would strengthen some of the negative traits of the transcender, such as gluttony, lust, irritability, jealousy¡­ In addition, the transcender had just acquired a new power. Therefore, they, who had not seen much of the world, usually had an arrogant disposition that would expand ordingly.

    That was why the Bronze Rank Transcender was the easiest to sumb to desire.

    However, after attaining Silver Rank, the moment the soul condensed into a dew from a gaseous state, these external impurities would be discharged. Still, this did not automatically turn people into saints. It only purified the negative influences that did not belong to them.

    Fallen did not just suffer from these negative traits.

    They even had to keep increasing their erosion rate to reinforce and manifest this negative trait.

    The Fallen would extract one or more desires to transform oneself to acquire one or more aptitude-type abilities. The stronger the desire, the more new mutations would be added; each time the erosion rate was increased, the aptitude-type ability would also be more robust.

    This meant that every Fallen was a paranoid and lustful lunatic.

    It was just that what they cared about was different.

    For example, Kafni was rtively stable.

    Although Philip did not know what kind of desire her ability came from, it must be rted to the ability she showed.

    The ability to turn shadowed into powerful tentacles might be due to her low self-esteem for her weak and powerless body.

    But in short, the threat level of ¡°the Shadow Demon¡± was not too worrying.

    She had not yet shown ¡°appendages¡± or demonic body parts, indicating her desire was not too strong. She was still considered a normal person.

    But the ¡°Blood Fiend¡± was different.

    Of course, Philip knew the true identity of Blood Fiend.

    On the surface, his identity was the new apprentice of the famous curse material store ¡°Howl¡¯s Antique Store¡±. But in reality, he was a serial killer on the run, dubbed the ¡°ritualist killer¡± by the authorities.

    He often lurked in various material stores, used bookstores with ult books, and tried to see if the owner was a ritualist. If not, he would steal the money from the store and leave quietly.

    However, if the shopkeeper were a ritualist, he would find a way to learn rituals from him, learn the ult knowledge there, and quickly master this knowledge.

    Then, he would use the new ritual he had learned to kill his teacher.

    These teachers of his were only found out after they were killed. However, since the ¡°ritualist killer¡± was the culprit, the officials had no idea which rituals the ritualist killer possessed.

    The investigation would soon enter a dead end.

    No one knew what the ¡°ritualist killer¡± was trying to do.

    However, the officials were certain that he was a transcender. It should be a general profession of a [Hunter]. However, the murderer¡¯s profession details and rank were still unconfirmed. Still, it would either be bronze or silver.

    Three years ago, the ritualist killer disappeared.

    Some people say that he might have been seen through and killed by an experienced ritualist, but others say that he might have been studying under an erudite old ritualist, so he did not act.

    When the police station found the ritualist killer again, they were surprised to discover that he had already embarked on the Fallen path.

    He was one of the Hermes schrs in the capital, a Fallen nicknamed ¡°Blood Fiend¡±.

    He had simr abilities to Kafni.

    His aptitude ability as Fallen was that he could control his blood at will. Not only could he extract the blood out of the body and turn it into a hardened shield or dagger, but he could also speed up the blood flow to increase his strength and agility. Furthermore, the blood could be turned into needles for long-range attacks. He could eveny the blood needles as a trap against his enemies. The needles would flow along the blood vessel and attack the target¡¯s heart or brain.

    The blood of those he killed would bepletely drained.

    This should be the unique ability of his [Hunter] profession.

    Unlike before, Blood Fiend was loyal to Nichs or temporarily loyal.

    He had never killed anyone outside of his target before. However, under Nichs¡¯mand, he roamed and killed many stray wizards and ck wizards. Even when Nichs asked him to kill the wizard from the towers of various countries, he did not hesitate.

    He was also proficient in crossbows, poisons, daggers, meleebat, and traps. At the same time, he mastered various rituals and was fluent in the wizards¡¯bat styles.

    This made his hunt wless without any failed attempts.

    However, Blood Fiend¡¯s tant hunts revealed Nichs was secretly hunting down wizards; only Nichs dared to ept such a person as a follower, which finally aroused the vignce of the higher nobility in the kingdom.

    After that, Philip finally found out the true identity of Nichs.

    ¡°the inventor of Sage¡¯s Stone, eh?¡± Philip narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered in a low voice.

    He had no idea which side Nichs belonged to.

    However, Nichs might have sumbed to misfortune already.

    With the disappearance of Nichs a few months ago, Blood Fiend grew more active and fanatic.

    On the basis of constantly hunting down wizards, he returned to the previous hunting mode again, lurking at the ¡°Howl¡¯s Antique Store¡±.

    However, this ce was the capital after all.

    Unlike the rural area, the Crow Family quickly found out his identity.

    But none of them dared to act rashly.

    When the Blood Fiend hunted, the ritual he used for disguise would no longer work. There would be conspicuous incantations visible to the naked eye on his face, and horns had grown slightly on his forehead.

    This meant that his strength was quite close to Gold Rank, and he could break through his limit anytime.

    When his horns were fully developed, a real, sane ¡°demon¡± would hatch.

    At that point, Blood Fiend¡¯s abilities could affect people other than himself.

    Originally, Philip wanted to wait and see the event¡¯s development.

    At least he would wait until his n waspleted and then mobilize secret troops or elite transcender teams to encircle and suppress the fiend.

    But as Blood Fiend¡¯s hunting frequency increased, hisbat strength soared. It seemed he was about to be a Fallenpletely before the king¡¯s death.

    However, Philip did not intend to send his men to kill the fiend.

    He did not have the kindness to purge the fiend. It was just that he did not think his subordinates could eradicate the Blood Fiend.

    Although Blood Fiend did not make a move on Silver Rank wizard, he would not even get hurt when he killed Bronze Rank transcenders. It was as simple as killing a chicken for him.

    After Delicious Wind Goose heard about Blood Fiend¡¯s ability, he suddenly imed that the ability he possessed restrained the opponent and might be able to kill him.

    Under the insistence of Delicious Wind Goose, Philip reluctantly gave him the mission.

    At that time, Delicious Wind Goose was already dead in Philip¡¯s mind.

    In the end, who would have imagined Delicious Wind Goose sessfully killing Blood Fiend in just three hours?

    More importantly, the Goose was not even seriously injured!

    How did he do it?

 Chapter 395: Let the Villains Fight Amongst Themselves

    <h4>Chapter 395: Let the Viins Fight Amongst Themselves</h4>

    ¡°Not bad¡­¡± Philip breathed a sigh of relief.

    Although he did not know how Delicious Wind Goose achieved it, he did not care.

    He never cared about the secrets and private lives of his subordinates. Even if they had an affair with his mistresses, it did not matter. For him, these people were just tools.

    As long as they could perform in their mission, he would be willing to offer more if they were to ask for it.

    Prince Philip praised, ¡°Killing Blood Fiend is crucial to our n. You did a good job, Delicious Wind Goose. I¡¯m thinking about how to reward you.¡±

    He was indeed delighted.

    If the Blood Fiendpleted the Fallen process, it could stir up much trouble.

    It was entirely another level to control the blood of others aspared to controlling his blood only at the initial stage.

    In the best-case scenario, the range in which his ability would affect the outside world was limited to his field of perception. In other words, those who approached him within 50 meters would die instantly without putting up a fight.

    Once the Blood Fiend extracted the blood, it would be more than utilizing it as a sword or a needle.

    It would be a huge threat when the blood turned into a giant demonoid, a hound, or flying swords.

    If the Blood Fiend made a scene, there was no guarantee that this monster would not kill Philip in the pce.

    What if Princess Royal and his stupid little brother increased their security level or heightened their vignce because of the Blood Fiend?

    Most importantly, what if the Blood Fiend killed the king directly?

    Of course, the king¡¯s death was inevitable, but Prince Philip wanted it to happen after he killed his sister and brother.

    Prince Philip took the toffee made from Demon Blood for a long time and held rituals rted to the Cup-holding Lady and the Rotten Man daily. His might was enhanced to the stage where he could break the iron sword with his bare hands. Moreover, he could even dodge bullets within ten steps of his proximity. Even the Bronze Rank Transcender struggled to achieve this.

    Prince Philip was confident that he could kill them instantly when his sister and brother rxed their vignce.

    As for the evidence of murder?

    Who would bother?

    Silver Sire should be easy to fool.

    He had never cared about the politicalpetition in the world. As long as the taxes were paid on time, the taxes were paid in full, and the business activities in various ces were maintained as usual, Silver Sire would not care about anything.

    Silver Sire had one notable difference from other upright deities.

    He was the only upright deity who epted ¡°bribes¡±.

    In other words, only Silver Sire¡¯s sacrifice could be bought infinitely with money¡ªsilver coins.

    Philip was neither greedy for money nor power.

    His enjoyment was nothing more than eating, drinking, sex, and physical pleasure. How much could he spend at most?

    As long as Silver Sire was willing, Prince Philip would not care even if he had to give all his money to Him. It would not bother Philip even if he were demanded to have his citizens pay tribute to Silver Sire monthly. He would even build more churches and strengthen the authority of the priests. He did not seek Silver Sire¡¯s protection but just hoped that He would not interfere.

    Then, Prince Philip would keep enough money to keep the kingdom going, pay enough taxes to satisfy Silver Sire, give authority to the wise and greedy minister, and provide the fief to the brave general with many sons.

    At that time, the church, ministers, and generals would naturally restrain each other.

    They would fight amongst themselves, while Philip would not do anything and get himself involved. With that, he would not be anyone¡¯s enemy.

    All of these were for eternal enjoyment.

    ¡°I have to think carefully about what I can give you.¡± Philip put the opened box on the table, walked over, and helped Delicious Wind Goose up. He hugged his subordinate warmly, kissed on the cheek, and smiled happily, ¡°You wait here. I¡¯ll go to the vault and look for something you can use.¡±

    ¡°¡­Your Highness, is that fine?¡± Delicious Wind Goose nced awkwardly at the woman who was sleeping or awake on the bed.

    Philip just gave Delicious Wind Goose a deep nce with his ruby-clear pupils and patted his shoulder with a smile, ¡°As long as you want it¡­ You have no idea how much you have helped me. Of course, this is not just a gift to you, but a little appetizer. Don¡¯t worry too much.¡±

    Prince Philip said, leaned into Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s ear, and whispered, ¡°I have a way to make the Child have ck hair and red eyes before birth. So don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Philip liked this reliable recruit.

    Loyal, proactive, hardworking, capable, good-natured, and did not seem to understand the corruption among nobles. Most importantly, Philip held evidence that could sentence the Goose to death.

    If it weren¡¯t for the Goose¡¯s appearance and the hair volume not up to his liking¡­

    After saying that, Philip hummed softly and walked out the door.

    Only Delicious Wind Goose and the young mistress sleeping with her eyes closed with her back to Delicious Wind Goose on the bed were left in the room.

    Delicious Wind Goose thought for a moment.

    He ignored the bullet texts of ¡°Please stream it¡± and ¡°Please don¡¯t turn off the live broadcast¡±, and resolutely turned off the live streaming of his perspective.

    He righteously sent a bullet text, ¡°Don¡¯t do this. I¡¯m a real gentleman.¡±

    Then, he took a deep breath and walked slowly towards Prince Philip¡¯s bed.

    Delicious Wind Goose took a deep look at the wooden box by the bed.

    ncing at Blood Fiend¡¯s head in the wooden box, the head and the Goose seemingly gave each other a faint smile.

    Philip had apparently overlooked one thing.

    Since Blood Fiend could freely control the blood in the body, would severing the head be fatal?

    ¡°Wow, why did this guy turn off the live stream?¡± Annan grumbled. He cast his eyes on the dragonnguage dictionary somewhat unwillingly.

    He hesitated. Given that the Paper Princess was drawing behind him, Annan did not dare to use backend ess to spy on what Delicious Wind Goose was doing.

    Indeed, Annan would not dare at all.

    Annan was the cautious type who would always plug in his headphones during his drama-watching spree, mainly if he was around his rtives and friends.

    After all, he could switch to the recorded perspective after the Paper Princess left.

    However, he was unsure if the Goose would stoop to such a low standard.

    But at this moment, Eugene suddenly broke in from the door.

    ¡°Excuse me, Your Highness Annan!¡± He eximed loudly.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan frowned slightly, closed the dictionary, and spoke in a deep and reliable voice, ¡°It¡¯s not your style to be in such a hurry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, but something happened.¡±

    ¡°Is it about the Blood Fiend?¡± Then, after noticing the flustered look on Eugene Geraint¡¯s face, Annan became a little serious, ¡°I already know that.¡±

    ¡°No, even though Philip¡¯s men killed the Blood Fiend a few hours ago and it can be considered a notable matter.¡±

    But this piece of news obviously is not worthwhile for me to inform you directly.

    Eugene did not say it outright, but that was what he meant.

    ¡°What I¡¯m talking about is something that¡¯s happening!

    ¡°[Purest Spiritual Medium] Bernardino Telesio attacked the pce three minutes ago without warning! His target may be the Fourth Prince, but fortunately, His Royal Highness Albert is not at home. However, his wife, Princess Margaret, has been killed. The battle with the ¡®Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯ now is¡­¡±

    Since Annan knew Margaret¡¯s identity, Eugene¡¯s expression became moreplicated when he spoke, ¡°ck Wizard ¡®Dream Stealer¡¯ Danton, who was on the run, was forced to reveal his identity.¡±

 Chapter 396: The Battle Between The Old And New Soul Snatch School

    <h4>Chapter 396: The Battle Between The Old And New Soul Snatch School</h4>

    The sky had turned dark.

    Dark clouds gathered above the capital, and the cold wind hit the city.

    The icy downpour came without warning.

    Even when it was already the beginning of spring, such a heavy downpour was rare. The rain was mixed with an earthy stench akin to the smell of corpses; there was also the irritating noise of the rain barraging the buildings.

    Even those having something good happen that day would be gloomy and irritated because of the sudden heavy rain, losing their excited mood entirely.

    Sure enough, people must beining about the raining too suddenly.

    That was indeed the reality.

    Any contact with the rain would immediately turn your mood worse¡­ or, in other words, synchronize your mood to the spell caster.

    This was Dream Stealer Danton¡¯s signature spell, [Notion Rain] of the Soul Snatch school.

    ¡°The Purest Spiritual Medium¡­¡± The white-haired old man murmured in a low voice while looking at the heavy rain outside.

    His icy blue pupils were as calm as water. Those who caught a glimpse of those eyes would feel at ease.

    Danton felt around the wall, staring intently at the wall in front of him. It was like he could see the person outside the pce through the wall.

    He was not a hunter and certainly did not have the visionary ability that sees through walls.

    But for Danton, the rain in the city was his eyes.

    Through the soul state, one could see an ice blue brilliance on Danton¡¯s head, which soared straight to the sky.

    The light beam prated the dark cloud. It resembled a cold, emotionless eye calmly looking at the earth.

    Under the dark clouds, thousands of faint silver threads fell along with the raindrops. These lines were connected to the heads of the royal guards.

    Without receiving an order, they directly rushed to the side hall where the Fourth Prince was, holding their weapons and fully armed.

    Then, the slightly more remote transcender units came.

    Then, there were the hidden troops gathered from all directions.

    Those exposed to the rain rushed over at the exact moment in silence.

    At the bottom of their pupils, there was a faint, icy blue halo.

    That was the trace of the Gold Rank¡¯s standard Soul Snatch Spell, [Full Control].

    Whether it was a mortal, a ritualist, or a transcender, those who fell under the spell would lose control over their body if the Will attribute checks seeded. [1]

    Unlike Silver Rank¡¯s [Mind Maniption] aura, [Full Control] did not require the spell caster to look directly into the opponent¡¯s eyes. As long as an object or sound was used as the medium, it would rob away the victim¡¯s will out of thin air.

    As long as the medium was not interrupted, the mind-controlled state would not be dispelled even when the target was far away.

    Danton could also feel the state of these ¡°zombies¡± under his maniption and control of the individual actions precisely.

    He could take those in a poorer state to the backline and send those in the peak state to the frontline; he would have the ordinary mortals resist the ghosts¡¯ attacks and let the transcenders work together to kill those evil spirits in the rear.

    Of course, they could not see where the ghosts were.

    But Danton was able to do it.

    Through the spell [Notion Rain], he shared his vision with his puppets, allowing them to see where the spirits were and focus on attacking.

    Faced with death, people would be timid, angry, and mad.

    Compared with people who could release their full potential in the face of death, most people had no tactics and calmness in the face of the crisis.

    For a Soul Snatch Wizard, that was not a problem at all.

    Those were not his bodies.

    They were not his lives.

    What he manipted, modified, and discarded was nothing but the ¡°others¡±.

    The wizards of the Soul Snatch school had the poorest moral standards.

    For them, ¡°people¡¯s heart¡± was within reach. It was thest thing they did not need to care about or pay attention to.

    They just had to modify it ¡ª others¡¯ will, feelings, and memories.

    In addition to the instant spells used in battle, the Soul Snatch School also had spells that subtly changed the target¡¯s will.

    It was like the yers with a consolemand in their hands.

    Sometimes, the yers would lose control of themselves when their anger was surging, even if they knew from the beginning that their fun would be gone if they pressed that tilde button.

    The ¡°Purest Spiritual Medium¡± in front of him was another direction of the Soul Snatch school. He was from the ¡°traditional school¡± of the Soul Snatch Wizardry known as the ¡°Necromancer¡± in ancient times, manipting the souls of others at will.

    Different transcenders coulde together to form a ¡°school¡± because they had something inmon ¡ª a core idea that their group could agree on.

    Just like the ??Alteration School had a core idea, ¡°to give birth out of nothing¡±.

    The core and essence of the Soul Snatch school were ¡°everyone shall serve me¡±.

    Whether it was manipting the mind and will or manipting the souls of living and dead, it was an act of manipting others as pawns.

    But, they eventually split.

    The reason was that even if the will was robbed, the victim could break free at any time; as long as the victim¡¯s will was strong enough, the controlled person could regain control of his body at any time. At most, it would only end in death.

    However, the necromancer was different.

    Spirits could not resist necromancers.

    They had only two options: to be controlled or evade it. The control was permanent, usually enved to fight or used as a ritual material.

    At the same time, ordinary people could not even see spirits. Most living beings were vulnerable to the attack from the spirit bodies that the necromancer harnessed.

    In the end, the public hated necromancers more than the Soul Snatch Wizard, who altered others¡¯ will silently.

    The fear was based on ¡°having absolutely no way to resist¡±.

    These wizards, who also pursued the core concept of ¡°everyone shall serve me¡±, preferred death over the living.

    Then, external suppression, internal exclusion, and resource plundering came.

    As a result, the necromancer was wiped out.

    The ¡°Purest Spiritual Medium¡±, Bernardino Telesio, was thest Gold Rank necromancer of this era. He was also the only one who knew how to evoke a spirit body from a corpse that had been dead for more than a hundred years, how to summon a spirit body from the immaterial world, how to pull out the spirit body of the living, and how to attach the spirit body to himself and acquire blessings. He had inherited aplete necromancer lineage.

    His death would represent theplete severance of the necromancy lineage.

    Dream Stealer Danton certainly knew about it.

    Not just the ¡°Purest Spiritual Medium¡±, he was also a ck Wizard excluded by the righteous.

    The official Soul Snatch Wizard was usually based on memory maniption. They could make others forget a specific memory or let someone quickly learn a particr skill and spell. At the same time, they would also simte a conscious space that offered infinite death. Plus, the wizards could interfere with others¡¯ nightmares and break into them for rescue.

    The Soul Snatch school was a vital wizard school.

    It was precisely because they could easily alter the minds of others, so they cared so much about their reputation and morality.

    However, Dream Stealer Danton was different.

    He quietly stole others¡¯ skills and privacy under the pretext of helping others with mental illness. He soon became a veritable all-rounder and used the memories he got from the minds of others to go against the original skill owner. With that, he snatched a lot of wealth and gained high status under different false identities.

    So far, his actions had not been discovered.

    Instead, the high-level wizards acquiesced his actions.

    He was wanted while providing psychotherapy to the royal heir of the United Kingdom. After taking away all his memories, he killed and destroyed the body directly.

    He used the ritual he had learned from the minds of others to act as two people at the same time. Then, he disguised the other person as himself, let the ¡°Dream Stealer¡± leave the capital, and used this as an opportunity to rece the heir directly.

    In the end, when he was trying to seize the throne, he was personally caught by the Elegant Elder, who could not stand it. No one had doubted him before that.

    So his act of stealing the country was wanted by the five countries at the same time.

    It could be said that the ¡°Dream Stealer¡± and the ¡°Purest Spiritual Medium¡± were the spokespersons of Soul Snatch Wizard on two paths.

    They were the typical example of two unforgivable sinners who utilized Soul Snatch spells for personal gains.

    Therefore, all the eyes in the capital were focused on them.

    But there was no one stopping the battle between them.

 Chapter 397: Utilizing Dream As A Cage

    <h4>Chapter 397: Utilizing Dream As A Cage</h4>

    The souls of the dead filled up the sky.

    In terms of quantity alone, the Spiritual Monk had a limited amount of spirit bodies he could control concurrently.

    He was a [Spiritual Monk] after all, not the [Lord of the Spirits], and not the [Exorcist].

    Instead, the profession [Spiritual Monk]¡¯s unique trait was to possess a remarkable connection with the spiritual body he enved.

    Boom!

    That was the salvo of spells.

    The wizards whose minds were under maniption sent out a barrage of spells on the giant mass of spirit bodies. These spells took different chant duration, preparation, and projectile speeds. Thus, the wizards had varied positioning and target.

    Under Danton¡¯s control, the movement of the spirit bodies was restrained through words. Immediately after, a maic force originated from the ground. It resembled a fishing, capturing the souls to the ground and then rising again for the next catch. A chill was imbued on the, making its victim much more vulnerable.

    The number of spirits imprisoned by a multitude of spells, divine art, and transcended abilities was only six. At the same time, they were gathered in a small area, and the distance between them was no more than five steps.

    Immediately after, there came a Silver Rank Destruction Wizard¡¯s finishing move. It was an ordinary-looking vermillion fireball that descended slowly like a thrown basketball.

    Those attacks that attempted to intercept the fireball were deflected and teleported away by the Edict Wizards.

    As the fireball slowlynded in the middle of the souls, it began to shrink while twitching. Its color quickly turned white at speed visible to the naked eye.

    Then, the fireball exploded!

    Harsh winds were sent out in multiple directions.

    The shockwaves smashed the surrounding people. However, it only reverberated in a small space within a radius of five meters, as if an invisible barrier contained it. The explosion ran rampant, tearing the ground. The powerful spiritual body inside vanished in the blink of an eye.

    Unimaginable heat seeped from the inside of the sphere, burning the ground intova. The heat waves in the air expanded and roared, silently roasting the people around them into pitch-ck and crisp coke.

    Those a little further away also had scalded blisters on their skin.

    But they were fearless and continued to advance.

    Waving the weapons in their hands that the Idol Wizards or ritualists blessed, they faced those spirits without fear.

    Nearly 20 people die at the hands of the spiritual bodies legion every second.

    The number of people who died at the hands of people was far more than this. Even the most useless and sickly ordinary people were used to block the attacks and resist Bernardino¡¯s spells.

    However, under Danton¡¯s ruthless and precise operation, like a top real-time strategy yer, he ensured that the first to be sacrificed was always those with the lowestbat power.

    Wizard, Ritualist, Hunter, and hidden troops¡­ Those troops that could effectively kill the spiritual body umted in numbers, which boosted the power in Daonton¡¯s hand.

    Soon, there were hundreds of them.

    And then it numbered nearly a thousand.

    When a thousand people were standing together, it was a massive crowd. It was hard for one person to resist them, let alone confront them. Not to mention, they were scattered around with Danton at the center, who hid behind the ghost expelling protection made by the ritualist. Thebat was carried out methodically. The offense wasunched steadily in waves.

    Under the offense, the spirits around Bernardino could hardly even attack.

    They could not even leave Bernardino¡¯s side because the lurkers and hunters hidden in the dark were aiming at Bernardino¡¯s head at all times.

    This is what¡¯s called an unstoppable power;

    The power of the ¡°group¡±;

    The strength of the new generation of Soul Snatch Wizard!

    You old freak!

    Dream Stealer Danton felt great pleasure as he maneuvered his fearless puppet legion and sensed the steady increase in his numbers at the royal capital.

    It did not matter even if his identity was revealed. Margaret was already dead, and there was no point in him being here.

    Instead, he had suppressed his power and hidden his ability for too long.

    It had been too long!

    But at this moment, Bernardino chuckled, ¡°Do you know why I am attacking at this time?¡±

    He spoke in an unpleasant, monstrous hoarse sound.

    Bernardino sat, paralyzed in his wheelchair. His face wrapped in bandages lifted slightly.

    The rune began to change drastically in his right sapphire eye with many facets.

    Afterward, each facet lit up, refracting and enhancing its brightness. Then, his right eye shone with ring rays.

    In each facet, a spirit body emerged.

    ¡°Dusk ising.¡± Under Bernardino¡¯s crow-likeughter, hundreds of powerful spirits filed out from his right eye.

    His left eye, the premium quality chrysoberyl cat¡¯s eye, emitted aquamarine brilliance.

    The bright golden vertical line in the middle of the chrysoberyl cat¡¯s eye floated out gradually, incarnating a brilliant golden beam.

    Then, the beam spread to both sides as if a door was summoned.

    Upon getting struck by the light, the legion fell to the ground with no exception. Their souls were stripped away in the blink of an eye. White chains appeared out of thin air, seizing more than 70 brand-new spirit bodies and dragging them into his right eye.

    At this moment, dusk finally came.

    In Bernardino¡¯s right eye, the recent spiritual bodies roared out.

    Every spiritual body was equivalent to a transcender thatcked physical weakness and could use transcended power infinitely without worrying about turning into a fallen.

    Nearly two hundred spirit bodies joined the battlefield, and more than four hundred enemies had their souls taken, which instantly reversed the situation on the battlefield.

    Danton¡¯s face turned ugly.

    He was tricked.

    He did not dare to read Bernardino¡¯s mind or interfere with Bernardino¡¯s memory because he was worried that Bernardino¡¯s elemental power had something to do with it.

    His element with the highest level of awakening was [Dream], which was not an element that could easily gain an advantage in the battle of the mind.

    If he could not gain the upper hand in the battle of elements, he would not dare to read Bernardino¡¯s mind. The opponent could use the power of elements to set up an ambush in his mind, ignore the physical distance and obliterate his soul.

    But he never imagined that Bernardino was too old to fight properly.

    Bernardino¡¯s elements were awakened to the limit, but the soul was so weak that he did not dare to use the elemental power at will.

    Thus, he would only attack at this time.

    That was because the wizard could instantly restore all Chaos Power at sunset.

    This was a stupid trick that only low-rank wizards would use out of desperation!

    That was to wait and gather the transcenders.

    Then, the wizard would proceed to use two folds of the Chaos Power to make a significant impact on the battlefield!

    Bernardino only used his spirit body to attack, not because he was probing Danton, but because he had lost the ability to fight back with elements!

    However, Danton had been intimidated by this, giving up his greatest advantage.

    ¡°I¡¯m foolish.¡± Danton gritted his teeth and muttered in a low voice.

    His pupils turned into two hollow, dark abyss, and he raised his right hand forward.

    As the world turned pitch ck, the fire of his will traveled through countless light balls like electricity. In the blink of an eye, it darted into Bernardino¡¯s mind, which was burning with ck me.

    Countless memory fragments appeared in Danton¡¯s eyes.

    These memories came into his mind like bullets.

    But he, as a skilled Soul Snatch Wizard,pletely ignored this level of resistance.

    He turned into an incorporeal me, avoiding the impact of the memory flow; he flew up and down skillfully, avoiding many illusory crystal-like walls.

    Then, his icy blue figure, outlined with lines, finally emerged in Bernardino¡¯s memory.

    ¡°The [Dream] element¡ª¡± He chanted in a low voice, raised his right hand, and pressed it forward, just like his actions outside the dream, ¡°Take the dream as a cage, and take me as a mirror¡­

    ¡°You will be my prisoner¡ª¡±

    The icy blue me trembled, spreading out from his skull. In the blink of an eye, his entire right arm was burning with icy blue mes.

    In the firelight, his right hand seemed to push open a heavy door. Under the ethereal creaks, the burning [Dream] element led Danton directly into the deepest part of Bernardino¡¯s memory.

    He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked around.

    This ce appeared to be a fishing vige somewhere in the United Kingdom.

 Chapter 398: Bernardino As A Child

    <h4>Chapter 398: Bernardino As A Child</h4>

    Danton looked around.

    He vaguely remembered this ce.

    The familiar hot and humid sea breeze allowed Danton to recognize this ce instantly. This must be the Fildes Archipgo of the United Kingdom.

    But which ind exactly?

    Fildes Archipgo consisted of seven inds of varying areas. Thergest would be the Gushing Spring Ind was about 12,000 square kilometers, while the smallest among the inds was the Treasure Diamond Ind which spanned only 6,000 square kilometers. Its poption was capped at a few hundred thousand people, far lesser than the number of residents in Noah¡¯s capital.

    Every ind in the Fildes Archipgo was once a kingdom or a principality. As the losers of the Blood War, the Elegant Elder gave them mercy and sent them out to the small inds after they dedicated their wealth to the Denizoya people.

    So thews vary from ind to ind.

    Even each ind had its wizard tower. From this perspective, the United Kingdom might have the highest density of wizard towers.

    Danton¡¯s illusory body outlined by icy blue lines was suddenly painted with ayer of flesh and clothes, turning into a middle-aged man wearing a fisherman¡¯s hat with a slightly red and cracked face.

    The question was simple.

    He would need to locate the iconic buildings on the ind.

    The icy blue circle in Danton¡¯s eyes lit up slightly and then went out. Then, a thickyer of gloomy clouds quickly gathered atop the ind.

    A soft drizzle came from the sky with the wet and cold sea breeze passing by.

    His perception range immediately spread to the entire ind.

    With that, he noticed the huge dark blue lighthouse in the north. At the top of the lighthouse was a huge hemispherical diamond with thousands of facets reflecting iridescent aurora.

    This was a building that was too iconic to be copied.

    ¡°Azure Diamond Tower¡­¡± Danton murmured, ¡°So ¡®the Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯ is from Treasure Diamond Ind.¡±

    This surprised him a little.

    Aren¡¯t the people from Treasure Diamond Ind usually Edict Wizard or Guard Knight?

    How did he venture the path of the traditional Soul Snatch Wizard?

    Danton was actually from the United Kingdom too.

    But he was different from those country folks. He had the pure blood of Denizoya.

    Even though their nationality consisted of both ¡°Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom¡± in name, they would tend to identify themselves as ¡°I¡¯m from the Kingdom of Denizoya¡± or ¡°I am from the such-and-such ind¡±.

    The reason being they were the countries that were forced to unite at the end of the brutal world war ¡ª ¡°Blood War¡±. To the Denizoyas, the Fildes Archipgo was nothing more than many vigers conquered by their ancestors who had lost their country in the Blood War.

    If the Elegant Elder did not provide them with the Fildes Archipgo, they would be pushed to the Great Barrier. Worse still, they would have beenpletely wiped out in the Blood War. They could either go underground or be exposed to the Gray Mists.

    But for the Fildes Archipgo, they never lost their country. It was just that they had no people, no money, and no army.

    So far, they still retain the inheritance of the throne of many kingdoms and principalities, and the royal blood had not beenpletely cut off. It could be said that each ind was a small kingdom, but no one recognized these kingdoms.

    After all, the formtion and implementation ofws depend on what the Parliament and the Prime Minister said.

    The words of the ¡°kings¡± carried no weight in the kingdom of the Elegant Elder.

    The royal family was only a slightly prominent noble in the United Kingdom.

    ¡°He¡¯s born in the Treasure Diamond Ind.¡± Danton frowned slightly.

    Azure Diamond Tower is not known for the Soul Snatch School. Is that why he took a different approach?

    Maybe I can ask him myself.

    He had already located the master of the dream through the drizzle.

    Danton stepped out, and his body instantly turned into a blurred phantom.

    He reappeared beside a little boy with dark skin and a thin body.

    The boy was about nine years old, and his skin was rough. He wore mud-stained slippers, khaki shorts, and a somewhat worn shirt. At this moment, he squatted on the beach with his head lowered, sketching at the ground with a branch.

    No matter how I see it, he is an ordinary fisherman¡¯s child.

    Is this what ¡°the Purest Spiritual Medium¡±, Bernardino Telesio, looked like as a child?

    The very person who drove me to a corner¡­ the very person who is considered a top-level powerhouse in Gold Rank¡­

    Danton was surprised and speechless.

    But there was no dy in his movements.

    Although the passage of time in the dream was slow, he could not waste time arbitrarily.

    With the icy blue mes in Danton¡¯s eyes flickering slightly, his image was utterly reced from his feet up.

    In the blink of an eye, Danton had turned into a stern-faced middle-aged man in a purple robe.

    The purple robe was the characteristic of the Elegant Elder¡¯s priest. It was like Silver Sire¡¯s priests would wear a long white robe.

    Danton did a rough reading of his mind and learned that this was the person that little Bernardino respected the most, a well-known sculptor and priest of the Elegant Elder.

    ¡°Bernard,¡± Danton spoke in amanding voice behind Bernardino.

    Hearing this, Bernardino immediately raised his head, stood up, cleaned away the dirt on his body, and replied. ¡°Yes, Father Ludwig.¡±

    ¡°Have you done your homework today?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I havepleted it.¡±

    Little Bernardino did not raise his head. Instead, he just lowered his head and muttered vaguely, ¡°I came to y after I had finished up the y sculpture.¡±

    ¡°You should work harder, Bernardino.¡±

    Danton skillfully applied the memory he had stolen from Bernardino¡¯s heart, admonishing Bernard dignifiedly, ¡°Have you finished both [Human Anatomy] and [The Beauty of Solidification] I gave you?

    ¡°Practice your skills well. You are talented. Even if you can¡¯t be a well-known sculptor, you won¡¯t live just by selling some dolls like your father.¡±

    The real ¡°Father Ludwig¡± certainly would not have said this, given his gentle character.

    Bernardino¡¯s father was a fisherman.

    When Bernard¡¯s father was fishing at sea, he was buried at the bottom of the sea by a sudden tide. The only remnant of him left in the world was the somewhat worn bucket hat on Bernardino¡¯s head.

    However, Danton¡¯s fundamental purpose was to blow Bernardino¡¯s self-confidence without a trace.

    Bernardino subconsciously thought this was the most important scene in his life. As long as Danton ruined the positive effect of this scene on him and even stirred up the suicidal impulses and suicidal desires, these memories would be overwritten and imnted in Bernardino in mind.

    When Danton left this dream, he could easily detonate the emotion, causing Bernardino tomit suicide on the spot.

    It was not Danton¡¯s first use of this technique to kill someone.

    Even as a Gold Rank transcender, he had used this tactic to kill one person and seriously wound another.

    The only disadvantage was that he existed as a spirit body in the other¡¯s memory. Suppose the opponent was a wizard of Soul Snatch, Idol, or Edict school, or priest with purification ability. In that case, the opponent couldunch a fatal counterattack once he realized something was wrong.

    However, it would be toote for Bernardino to fight back.

    Danton¡¯s skill was overkill. He did not alert Bernardino but deftly avoided the rm.

    This was equivalent to sneaking in without triggering any rms. As long as his modifications were not too bizarre, Bernardino would be unaware.

    Unless Bernardino realized that he was now in the depths of his consciousness, he would not be on guard at all.

    However, facing Danton¡¯s ¡°Father Ludwig¡±, Bernardino suddenly raised his head.

    ¡°But, Father Ludwig, I don¡¯t want to be a sculptor.¡± He whispered.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Father Ludwig frowned slightly, ¡°Are you just tired? Of course, you can rest when tired, but you cannot stop learning it.

    ¡°We are not blood-rted, so I can¡¯t support you for the rest of my life. Bernardino, I also have children of my own. I take care of your daily necessities because you are my apprentice.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t learn sculpting, there is no need for me to support you. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m-¡± Little Bernardino¡¯s voice suddenly rose a little.

    But he looked at the priest, and his words suddenly stopped.

    Looking at the rustic face with no unique features, Danton showed a bit of disgust and annoyance at the right time, ¡°What do you want to say?¡±

    ¡°I want to study natural philosophy, Father.¡± Bernardino said seriously, ¡°I want to read.¡±

    ¡°Who will feed you?¡± Danton asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to feed you.¡± His ruthless and irrational words did not surprise Bernardino.

    Bernardino hung his head and said nothing. After a long time, he replied in a low voice, ¡°Yes, I will study hard.¡±

    At this moment, Danton¡¯s heart tightened.

    The moment Bernardino said this line, he was a little shaken and opened up a w in his psychological defenses. Danton also dug up more and deeper memories from Bernardino¡¯s heart.

    This familiar conversation happened four yearster in Little Bernardino¡¯s memory. At that time, Father Ludwig said that Bernard was old and mature enough, and he could issue a rmendation letter for Bernard to study at the Denizoya Theological Seminary.

    If all went well, he should be the Elegant Elder¡¯s priest, a philosopher, and a natural scientist.

    However, the letter of introduction that Father Ludwig wrote to Bernardino, along with the priest¡¯s token and tuition fees, were lost along the journey.

    Bernardino was disheartened at the time but did not dare to go home. Instead, he wandered in Denizoya and became a scavenger in the art capital, relying on half-baked sculpture craftsmanship.

    It was at that time Bernardino met a Soul Snatch Wizard from the ck Glory Tower. The other party fancied his sculpting skills as if the sculptures had souls and wanted to invite him to be a school worker.

    Maybe I can modify his memory in this ce.

 Chapter 399: Sublime Avatar

    <h4>Chapter 399: Sublime Avatar</h4>

    Danton¡¯s heart moved slightly.

    Ripples appeared around his surroundings. Bernardino grew up into a poor eighteen-year-old man in the blink of an eye. Although he was still in his youth, his stubble and face gave off a vibe that he was 28 years old.

    On the other hand, Danton transformed into a white-haired old man.

    ¡°How is it, Bernard?¡± Danton smiled and spoke kindly, ¡°Do you want to go to ck Glory Tower with me?¡±

    ¡°But, I¡¯m seventeen years old. Is that alright?¡± Bernardino¡¯s eyes reeked of self-doubts.

    Then, Danton saw the familiar, ignited mes of hope in Bernard¡¯s eyes.

    Of course, he was skilled in extinguishing it, ¡°Certainly.¡±

    He lengthened his reply and smiled, ¡°As long as you have money, I can give you a rmendation letter.

    ¡°Five hundred pounds for a chance to change your fate isn¡¯t expensive, right? So, do you have the money?¡±

    Bernardino naturally did not have it.

    Not to mention five hundred pounds, his entire fortune was only three pounds.

    The smile on Bernardino¡¯s face faded, and the mes of hope in his eyes went out again and turned gloomy. Danton patted him on the shoulder and let out a devilish whisper, ¡°But don¡¯t worry. If you don¡¯t have a chance to be an apprentice, you can be recruited as an unofficial apprentice.¡±

    ¡°Unofficial apprentice?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Our ck Glory Tower is a ce where Idol and Soul Snatch schools are the main focus. The practice of many spells requires cooperation. If you want, you can also sit through some lectures. The price you have to pay is to receive spells from other students as a mind-reading subject.¡±

    Danton smiled and said, ¡°Not only it won¡¯t cost you any money, but we will provide daily necessities. How about that?¡±

    In other words, that would be a guinea pig.

    Soul Snatch and Idol spells were spells that could not be used without a target.

    Naturally, these students could not experiment with their magic on the teacher.

    But they also would not allow apprentices to experiment with each other.

    So naturally, some people had to be hired as ¡°the ss subjects¡±.

    In principle, if an ¡°unofficial apprentice¡± could learn any spell while being inflicted with a spell, he could directly be promoted to an ordinary apprentice. Not only would he not be charged with tuition fees, but he would also be given pocket money.

    But Danton¡¯s goal was to ruin Bernardino¡¯s fond memories and nt the seeds of self-destruction in his heart.

    So naturally, Danton would not reveal that.

    If Danton could find out the moment when Bernardino had a desire for suicide, he would be able to detonate it in the future.

    At this moment, this was the ¡°trap setting¡± stage.

    Looking at the decadent ¡°youth¡± struggling and thinking, Danton patted his shoulder lightly and added in a low voice, ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t want to, I don¡¯t force it.

    ¡°I just think that since you¡¯re so young, you should learn something, or you¡¯ll be wasting your youth.¡± Then, Danton pretended to ask inadvertently, ¡°Ah, by the way, do you have ideals? Is there anything you want to do?¡±

    ¡°Ideal.¡± The young Bernardino murmured in a low voice, ¡°Of course I have it.¡±

    ¡°What is it then?¡± Danton said gently, ¡°If it impresses me, maybe I will recruit you?¡±

    Of course, that was a lie.

    The goal was to give hope and further despair.

    But Bernardino did not ask excitedly, ¡°Is that true?¡±

    He remained silent, shook his head, and looked at the sky.

    His eyes reflected the vicissitudes of life in an old man.

    ¡°I used to dream of being a philosopher. I wanted to go to a theological seminary. I wanted to know what the world was like. I used to think I was smart and wanted to discover the world¡¯s truth. I wanted to know how this world, and how this universe is created.¡±

    He murmured in a low voice, ¡°But, I have failed in the end.

    ¡°I did not do anything well, and I deserved this.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Danton asked in a warm, concerned voice, ¡°Can you tell me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m too ipetent.¡±

    Bernardino shook his head and whispered, ¡°This is fate, and I¡¯ve missed it.

    ¡°As written in the [Mysteries On Fate and the Half Dice], [Fate is the Wheel of Divine Transporter]. Once you¡¯ve passed it, you can¡¯t go back.

    ¡°It helps me to let go of what I can¡¯t let go and what I can¡¯t forget, and finally surrender myself.¡± Danton listened, suddenly realizing something was wrong.

    He turned away and ran without hesitation.

    Ice-blue mes rose from the skin like a dreamy thrush [1] made of crystals and took off instantly. The surrounding scene changed rapidly, and he fled backward for a year after pping his wings.

    But at this moment, behind the young and decadent Bernardino, a translucent ck giantposed of countless ck spiritual bodies suddenly appeared. Its only eye darted around rapidly.

    The giant raised his hand, seemingly slowly but quickly crossing the time limit, holding Danton in his hand like catching a real bird.

    ¡°Sorry! I was wrong!¡± Danton apologized without hesitation, ¡°I can sign a contract with you. Any conditions are up to you!¡±

    Stop joking with me¡­

    If Bernardino had revealed himself immediately, Danton would have run away.

    As a veteran Gold Rank transcender, he certainly knew what was happening.

    This was the characteristic of having obtained the [Supreme Crown] and [Perfected Element Essence]!

    The so-called [Sublime Avatar].

    There were among the five requirements for an ascendancy ritual.

    [Four Rotating Wheels]: Removing all the weaknesses and loopholes in the body and soul in addition to having a perpetual machine that could generate power infinitely.

    [Creation]: Complete a great cause that only the host can achieve and change the era with the power of only one person.

    [Supreme Crown]: Achieving ¡°absolute world number one¡± in a particr realm.

    [Prototype of Truth]: Find and collect aplete set of Book of Truth.

    [Perfected Element Essence]: Awaken at least one element to the deepest level.

    The first two were the hardest among the five conditions for bing a deity. The path chosen by each deity was different.

    Thetter three conditions were rtively simple. First, the Book of Truth picked its candidate on its own. No external force could alter the oue. For the other two, it was easily manageable as long as the person had talent.

    Among thetter three conditions, satisfying [Perfected Element Essence] and any one or two of the rest could be called [Sublime Avatar].

    That was, in the true sense, of ¡°demi deity¡±.

    If all three were present, it would be a well-defined giant spirit. However, it would take shape on the truest desire in the heart and soul¡¯s true nature.

    Bernardino did not have a Book of Truth, so his [Sublime Avatar] was muddy and indistinct.

    But even so, this was not an enemy Danton could resist.

    ¡°We have no conflict at all. The Purest Spiritual Medium, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°What I want¡­¡± Bernardino murmured, the corners of his mouth raised, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to give it to me.

    ¡°Because what I want is your spinal cord.¡±

    After he said that, he threw Danton¡¯s soul into the belly of the [Sublime Avatar] behind him.

    When Bernardino opened his eyes again, the crowd that had been attacking him incessantly was already stunned in ce.

    They realized quickly.

    Thousands of people huddled together; they were screaming, shouting, fleeing, or randomly attacking.

    No one could stop Bernardino.

    Soon, an elf spirit body walked out of the pce holding a string of bloody spines.

    Feeling the approach of several powerful auras, Bernardino smiled without panic.

    ¡°So, you like to sit by and watch us fight among ourselves. Fine, I will give this body to you.¡± Bernardino murmured in a low voice.

    He summoned his sublime avatar again and threw his spine into it.

    Then, he sucked all those spirit bodies into his right eye.

    He tilted his head and lost his vigor in the wheelchair.

 Chapter 400: Annanâ€™s Relationship With Salvatore

    <h4>Chapter 400: Annan¡¯s Rtionship With Salvatore</h4>

    ¡°So, is the Dream Stealer Danton dead?¡± Annan¡¯s tone was mixed with surprise.

    But he obviously did not trust this information, ¡°Are you sure that the one who died is really Danton? He might have escaped, you know.

    ¡°Have you sent a professional team to examine the corpse and traces of spell casting?¡±

    With the ability of Gold Rank Soul Snatch Wizard, Danton could use another person as a substitute and modify the memories of all witnesses so that others would think he was dead.

    However, Eugene shook his head and denied the possibility.

    ¡°He really died, and he died very quickly.¡± Eugene frowned. Obviously, he was not in a good mood despite having the enemy he nned to eliminate previously die inexplicably, ¡°His soul may have died in Bernardino¡¯s memory, or may have been lost. It¡¯s even possible that he has escaped through some secret arts.

    ¡°But, his body is dead. Bernardino ripped out his spine. Thus, his soul ispletely dead.¡± From this point of view, it was fair to consider him dead.

    Without his body, Danton¡¯s only way to survive was to seek asylum from the false deities before his soul dissipates. His chance was to find out if any big shot was willing to ept him as an envoy.

    However, he could not survive anymore.

    Even the soul of a transcender could not possess other people¡¯s bodies because the bodies were not in harmony with his soul at all. Even if the soul were only deposited in the body, it would continuously inflict damage to the body as it tried to correct the body into the shape of the soul.

    Obviously, the human body could not be simply altered like sticine.

    The only possibility was for the stranded soul to create apletely identical body or simply put the soul into the unborn fetus. Only in such a way could it be used to amodate the souls that had lost their bodies.

    For example, Don Juan Geraint.

    After Benjamin saved his soul, it was sent back. However, the Geraint family obviously did not have the technology and ability to remake his body for him.

    Therefore, the current ¡°Don Juan¡± had been sent back into his mother¡¯s womb. Of course, it was not his biological mother but a girl with the Geraint bloodline whom the Old Crow found. After all, his biological mother had been dead for many years. When Don Juan was born again, the name ¡°Don Juan¡± could no longer be used.

    Annan straight up called it reincarnation on the spot.

    But obviously, no one would do that for Danton.

    He had already offended everyone.

    No one would try to find and carefully preserve his soul nor search for a suitable fetus for him to be reborn.

    But¡­

    ¡°Spine?¡± Annan asked in a low voice.

    He frowned slightly, thinking of something.

    For example, the Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermetic School.

    When Annan met Bernardino for the first time and when Bernardino asked him about the details of the ¡°resurrection¡± ritual, he learned that Bernardino¡¯s soul was about to be burned out.

    Annan spected that he might look for Sage¡¯s Stone at that time.

    But as Annan learned more about Nichs II, he realized that was unlikely. If Bernardino knew or couldmunicate with Nichs, he should not have asked Annan at the risk of being killed by the Paper Princess.

    As long as he acquired the Sage¡¯s Stone, he would be able to maintain longevity.

    Why the need for an unnecessary ¡°rebirth¡±?

    ¡°Speaking of which,¡± Annan asked again, thinking of Bernardino, ¡°Who killed Bernardino? Or did he escape?¡±

    ¡°Hemitted suicide.¡± Eugene replied, ¡°Bernardino and Danton are troublesome types. Danton could invade Gold Rank Transcenders¡¯ consciousness and modify their memory from a distance of several hundred meters. On the other hand, Bernardino is unkible.

    ¡°So the high-level transcenders in the capital began to wait and see from a safe distance after deploying the rain-proof device or ability at the first moment.¡±

    After all, it was their fight. No one would pity either of their deaths. Instead, it would be good news if they both died together.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that Bernardino is not dead.¡± Eugene sighed, ¡°Spiritual Monk¡¯s resurrection ability is foolproof. He must have soul fragments ced elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Is it possible to investigate where he came back to life?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re certain it must have happened in the capital, but it is impossible to determine the exact location.¡±

    The man with an ordinary face shrugged and said helplessly, ¡°I have no way to investigate that either.

    ¡°No one dares to investigate ¡®the Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯. After all, the curse on him is too troublesome. Hisbat strength is not weak either. A direct hit of his [Soul Departing Ward] can deprive the victim of his soul. Even a Gold Rank transcender dies instantly.¡±

    ¡°So even if it is possible to investigate it, we will still end up with no results.¡± The Paper Princess interjected.

    Eugene spread his hands, ¡°Yes, my lord. That¡¯s the case.¡±

    ¡°What are the fatalities?¡±

    Annan asked concernedly, ¡°A lot of transcenders must have died, right? How do you n to deal with the nightmares that arise?¡±

    Eugene seemed a little surprised that Annan would pay attention to this issue.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Your Highness.¡± Although it was a little troublesome to query the data, the corner of Eugene¡¯s mouth rose slightly with a sincere smile.

    Annan keenly caught the light smile.

    This guy is a kind person.

    It¡¯s a pity that he is born into such a family and to be in this line of work.

    Eugene carefully rummaged through the documents on the table and meticulously looked at the stacks of documents for a while. He wrote and drew on the paper for a long time, then turned around and answered Annan, ¡°For now, the casualties may be more than 700 people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot!¡± Annan was startled.

    ¡°This is the calction of the minimum number. There are some victims who ¡®disappear¡¯ directly. They evenpletely disappeared with their bodies. Transcenders are in a much better position. By calcting the curse in the air and adding the corpse numbers that have been discovered, we can calcte the exact death count, which is 11 Bronze Rank transcenders and 51 Silver Rank transcenders.¡±

    ¡°Howe there is so much more Silver Rank than Bronze Rank?¡± Annan asked with suspicion.

    Eugene read the document and exined slowly, ¡°It is said to be because of the [Soul Departing Ward]. Bernardino unleashed his ward once and killed everyone within the 40 degree field of vision in front of him, including the Silver Wizards formation. Among those who ¡®died with their corpses left¡¯, more than 60% have been hit by this one attack alone.

    ¡°As for the nightmares, the number of nightmares currently spawned is zero.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Annan was stunned.

    ¡°Because there are no transcenders¡¯ souls, Your Highness Annan.¡± Eugene sighed, ¡°Bernardino took away all the souls of the transcenders. It¡¯s starting to get a bit foggy outside. But without the souls as anchors, there would be no nightmare.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let it go on like this. There have been cases of female servants and guards in the pce falling ill. When the curse spreads, I¡¯m afraid the king¡¯s body will not be able to survive even if the king¡¯s room is closed urgently.¡±

    ¡°What shall we do?¡± As soon as Annan asked, he paused slightly.

    He nodded and suddenly realized something, ¡°Have you already made a n? Let¡¯s hear it?¡±

    Eugene nodded slowly and asked earnestly, ¡°Do you remember Don Juan?¡±

    Hearing the name of the person he impersonated and the second brother saying it out, Annan still showed no surprise.

    He understood what Eugene meant.

    Since there were only curses and no nightmares, then create a nightmare.

    This was what Benjamin used to do.

    ¡°Do you want to summon Master Benjamin?¡±

    ¡°No. His Highness Benjamin has a distinguished status.¡± Eugene¡¯s face was bitter, and he shook his head again and again.

    He exined, ¡°But he has left us with the technology. It only needs the Alteration Wizard of Silver Rank toplete it. However, considering that the person responsible for generating nightmares may be able to manipte them, it is necessary to let the people we can rest assured to do it.

    ¡°Your Highness, is there anyone you can trust?¡± Hearing such a cautious question, Annan chuckled softly.

    Will there be a shortage of Silver Rank Alteration Wizard in the capital?

    It¡¯s also possible. But this is more likely to be Eugene¡­ or rather the Geraint Family¡¯s test.

    Although Eugene was a good person, he was used to the indirect manner of speech.

    What he was asking Annan was, ¡°What is your rtionship with ck Tower¡¯s Son?¡±

    Is it a superficial brother? Or a real bro?

    Of course, there was only one answer.

    ¡°Okay, leave this to me.¡± Annan responded calmly, ¡°I will write a letter to ask my ¡®reliable friend¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 401: The Denizoya in the Past

    <h4>Chapter 401: The Denizoya in the Past</h4>

    Salvatore frowned, put the cigar he just lit in his mouth, and flipped through the paper Longjing Tea handed in seriously.

    Previously, he did not have a smoking habit.

    Due to the curse [Never-Sleeping Reflection], Salvatore was forced to stay upte every day and could not fall asleep until 3 am. As a result, he could only sleep for up to six hours a day, living on the verge of sudden death every moment.

    Whether it was cigarettes or alcohol, he did not dare to touch them. Among the stimnts, he only dared to intake those with lower side effects and more capability to nourish and rejuvenate the body.

    After all, he could not make up for the sleep he had missed.

    This was Salvatore¡¯s biggest problem.

    The difference now was that he had sessfully advanced into an alchemist.

    His cigar was a curse vessel he made especially for himself. What was inside was not tobo leaves but an unknown drug refined by him that could be used to repair the body.

    ¡°Alchemist¡± was a Silver Rank ancient profession. However, it had not yet been phased off even in modern times, and there must be reasons behind this.

    The rise of Alteration Wizard was primarily because transcenders in the ¡°Blood War¡± era were easily hunted if theycked self-protection capability.

    In that era, many old rulers and countries had fallen apart. The exceptions were only limited to the Austere-Winter Dukedom, which was established by the Austere-Winter Family when the Old Grandmother was still hibernating. Then, there was also the Papal Kingdom, which gathered a lot of upright deities and quickly erected a small barrier.

    At that time, the Papal Kingdom had not yet established a sky city, and many churches huddled together on the ground. The crusade between the upright deities¡¯ churches was enough to turn the Papal Kingdom into a mess.

    On the flip side, no one would go to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Austere-Winter Dukedom wascking in agriculture, especially during the winter year. The Austerians even had to eat plenty of raw meat from the Frost Beasts for vitamins, not to mention the snowstorm that nketed the country.

    At that time, many Austerians were forced to flee the Austere-Winter Dukedom and became mercenaries of other countries. Arge part of the Austere-Winter Blood that remained in other countries today came from this historical background.

    Transcenders could only head to the territories of the Silver Sire and the Elegant Elder.

    At that time, the Silver Sire lived in the Noah Kingdom¡¯s capital, and the Elegant Elder resided in the capital of what was now known as the Denizoya Kingdom. The remaining transcenders immediately began to kill each other with these two ces as the center.

    But at that time, the Noah Kingdom was not established yet. Denizoya was still a principality. It was not so much a crusade by various countries but a brutal ¡°expulsion war¡± topete for territories.

    Coupled with the fact that there was no Underground Federation at that time, the wise people realized that after arge amount ofnd was lost and the Great Barrier copsed, it would instantly lead to a shortage of resources. Moreover, the limitation of the Gray Mists and the barrier would limit the ability of the people in each barrier tomunicate with each other.

    The resources after that might not be enough to keep everyone alive at that time.

    So they needed a war to ease the poption issue and redraw the tenure of habitablend.

    It was a war that did not require prisoners. It was also the first war in the world that did not focus on resource and poption plunder.

    Even if the warlords on all sides knew that everyone might gradually merge in the end, the fewer the people left on the enemy side, the better their life would be, and the higher their authority.

    ¡°Austere-Winter¡± had irreceable significance because only they could tame the Frost Beasts, and the Frost Beasts were the only food for the winter year.

    The first generation of ¡°Noah¡± had extraordinary political wisdom in the aspects of persuasion, deceit, betrayal, alliance, and so on. Finally, a ruler was established with absolute military superiority under perfect operation.

    The Papal Kingdom eventually established the ¡°House of Purity¡± instead of installing another king. The popes of the seven deities took turns serving as the Supreme Pontiff.

    At that time, the Denizoya¡¯s Grand Duke was the first to establish himself as the king and voluntarily gave up most of the king¡¯s power to establish the Privy Council.

    In the ¡°Denizoya Privy Council¡± system, the Privy Council was divided into three levels: ¡°Advisory Council¡±, ¡°Committee,¡± and ¡°Member Council¡±.

    The Elegant Elder¡¯s contemporary pope would appoint the ¡°Chief Advisor¡±, who had the right to select several people from themittee to serve as advisors each year. As for ¡°Committee¡± and ¡°Member Council¡±, they had the right to propose a new bill or amendment to bills to the senators. After the proposition, it would require the Member Council¡¯s approval before sending it to the Advisory Council. At the same time, the Member Council¡¯s propositions could be sent to the Advisory Council directly.

    The power of the advisors was greatly exalted. Core ministers, including foreign affairs, finance, national defense, culture and education, and the high court of justice were only selected among the advisors. As long as the majority of the advisors agreed, they could veto aw without the king¡¯s intervention. The only power reserved by the king was to ¡°remove advisors¡±. In other cases, the king was only on the same level as other advisors.

    The first-generation advisors were directly selected from the local nobles. The right was purchased at a sky-high price.

    There was no doubt that Denizoya Grand Duke directly sold his existing political power.

    His purpose was that rather than trying to preserve the unsettled power he had as the new king after the war, he might as well use a portion of his power that might be taken awayter as bait to end the war.

    His action was like drinking poison in the hope of quenching one¡¯s thirst. However, the Denizoya Grand Duke instantly gained the support of many great nobles in the principality who were initially opposing him or neutral. He then raised a considerable amount of funds in a short period.

    Then, he used this massive sum of money or the quota privilege of the ¡°Advisory Council¡± to bribe the great nobles of other countries. This allowed him to purchase secret intelligence or ask the nobles to betray his opponent at a critical moment. He also used the quota privilege of the ¡°Committee¡± to recruit arge number of transcenders, outstanding technology, and military talents. At the same time, he used the ¡°Committee¡± to amass veterans, workers, and businessmen.

    The betrayal of many nobles and transcenders and the betrayals that might happen at any time in the future created panic in Denizoya. No enemy was in unity. Those nobles who defected to Denizoya also entered themittee.

    In the end, the Denizoya Kingdom had formed.

    Due to the decisiveness of the Denizoya¡¯s Grand Duke, they were the quickest to end the Blood War and establish a stable country. Because of this, they suffered the most negligible losses in the end and even gathered more talents than the Papal Kingdom.

    As for Fildes Archipgo¡¯s surrender, that was after the Blood War was over.

    The transcenders who were unwilling to join or even simply hostile to the Noah Family and the Denizoya Family had only onest ce to go after the establishment of the Noah Kingdom and the Denizoya Kingdom.

    That was underground.

    In the underground world at that time, it was a forbidden ce with no morals andws.

    The alteration school was established in the early days of the Blood War: to enable them in contributing to the war and be effective inbat when alone. In return, the ¡°Alchemist¡± legacy was utterly outdated.

    However, for Salvatore, it was the ¡°Alteration Wizard¡± being outdated instead, straying away from its original path.

    The core idea of ??Alteration School was to use what was already here to create what was not there.

    Thus, it had been a long time since there were no new inventions from the Alteration Wizards.

    Decades had passed, and almost all of them were improvements on old inventions.

    There gone the days when many new inventions came out every year.

    Although Salvatore did not know how far he could achieve, he did not want to admit defeat before trying.

 Chapter 402: The Pretty Self-conscious Salvatore

    <h4>Chapter 402: The Pretty Self-conscious Salvatore</h4>

    ¡°So, your spellposition is made up of the Instant Spells: [Emergency Dodge], [Movement Prohibition], and the Guided Spells: [Truce] and [Range Attack Prohibition]?¡±

    Salvatore frowned slightly, ¡°It¡¯s allbat-type support skills? Are you not going to learn [Reveal True Name]? And you¡¯re disregarding spells that enable self-protection like [Spell: Paralysis] or [Spell: Eternal Pain]. If you want toplete a set of spells, be patient. Edict Wizard is unlike me, and its ability for self-protection is quite strong. On the contrary, [Revealing True Name] may be more crucial.

    ¡°Or, do you n to learn it after the advancement into a transcender?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Longjing Tea nodded and admitted it directly, ¡°His Royal Highness Annan may need me quite soon. So, I must advance as soon as possible and immediately be a reliablebat power after I advance to help him.¡±

    ¡°What if Annan needs [Reveal True Name]?¡±

    ¡°Anyone can take that role as long as you have the money.¡± Longjing Tea¡¯s thoughts were clear. ¡°But I am the only Edict Wizard who can fight for His Highness Annan. Since I can be resurrected, I will definitely be sent to the frontline.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m not the onlybat power His Highness has at hand. When ites tobat, Jiu Er and Delicious Wind Goose are much more proficient in it than me.

    ¡°Then, the only thing I can do well is assist and coborate with them.

    ¡°[Emergency Dodge] allows my teammates to dodge undetectable sneak attacks from blind spots; [Movement Prohibition] allows my enemies to be hindered at the critical moment of dodging; [Truce] can effectively rescue ourbatants from the melee attacks or force the enemy into a long-range battle; [Range Attack Prohibition] can make all projectiles within a considerable range lose their kic energy and immediately fall to the ground.¡±

    These were all low-difficulty but practical skills in team fights.

    It could be said that if Longjing Tea used his skills as a hero, he should be a powerful support hero.

    ¡°If we put aside your spell choices and only focus on spellpositions, your thinking direction is alright.¡± After pondering for a long time, Salvatore unexpectedly gave a fairly high evaluation rating. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re quite a bright person.¡±

    ¡°Then can I pass?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I can sign it for you here.¡± Salvatore nodded, scratched his shaggy hair, and let out a puff of smoke. Then, he spoke in his trademark voice, slightly irritable yet peaceful, ¡°You can prepare to advance as soon as possible. My suggestion is toplete it within two weeks. Eh?¡°

    At this moment, Salvatore heard a strange and clear echo from the amethyst behind him.

    In the corner of the desk behind him was a triangr wooden frame made of three purple pine wood. The wooden structure was covered with a unique pure ck aluminum foil. Above the aluminum foil was a prismatic amethyst suspended by two copper columns, and it swung like a swing in the yground.

    This was a simple ritual avable to the public that could be used for mailing purposes. It probably worked simrly to a fax machine.

    At this instance, the amethyst rang its rm. This meant that someone was casting a letter to Salvatore.

    He turned his head and saw the amethyst swaying slightly. The bottom sheet of aluminum foil gradually faded, bing a yellowish color and a parchment-like texture. As the color faded, ck words began to emerge.

    ¡°What?¡± Seeing the contents of the letter, Salvatore was a little surprised.

    The wanted Dream Stealer Danton was revealed.

    The ¡®Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯ Bernardino and Dream Stealer Danton had fought?

    Danton was even outright killed.

    Bernardino was suspected of acquiring Hermetic¡¯s Sage¡¯s Stone Recipe.

    After the death of nearly a hundred Silver Rank transcenders and a Gold Rank wizard, no nightmares were born. So, you needed reliable friends to artificially create nightmares?

    Where is this going?

    Salvatore looked confused.

    It¡¯s only been less than a day, hasn¡¯t it? How did so many things happen?

    He was suddenly lost in thought.

    After a long time, he came back to his senses.

    Annan wrote this letter to me. In other words, did he think of me as a ¡°reliable¡± person?

    ¡­Tsk. Salvatore frowned and grinned.

    Honestly, he was not confident enough to end this ordeal alone.

    Annan, are you sure I¡¯m really up to this?

    Or, are you writing this letter to the ¡°other me¡±?

    Thinking of this possibility, Salvatore was irritated.

    Although Annan was his best friend, the fact that Annan and ¡°Vatore¡± also had a good rtionship always worried Salvatore.

    Especially after watching it several times, ¡°Vatore¡± and Annan could reach a tacitmunication withoutnguage or even contact, which made Salvatore even more worried.

    Why does the rtionship between my friend and my other soul seem more tacit than mine?

    So, you both are friends.

    So what am I?

    But having said that, what made Salvatore sad was that when Annan mentioned ¡°reliable friends¡±, even his first thought was ¡°Vatore¡±.

    Have I tacitly agreed that I am unreliable?!

    Although he had already advanced into an alchemist, he was no longer so unreliable.

    Technically speaking, Salvatore hadpletely surpassed who he once was.

    In the past, Sal had a 50% sess rate in crafting the Sage¡¯s Stone. At this moment, Salvatore could reach a 70% sess rate if he had the material.

    However, this sess rate was still far behind the shadow.

    Of course, the shadow had note out after the advancement. So Salvatore did not know how far ¡°Vatore¡± had evolved.

    But at least one thing Salvatore could be sure of.

    If he could not solve the problem himself, ¡°Vatore¡± might help Annan do it.

    At least she has a good rtionship with Annan.

    It is unlike how Vatore treats me. She always wants to snatch away my body every day.

    Well, I can¡¯t screw up on this.

    Salvatore, who was not thinking about sess but the consequence of failing first, put his pride down.

    He turned around and said solemnly to Longjing Tea, ¡°You better step up your pace. It¡¯s best toplete the advancement in two days.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the Noah Kingdom in three days. Annan wrote to me. Maybe he¡¯s in some trouble over there. Don¡¯t you know about it?¡± Halfway through, Salvatore asked in surprise.

    He remembered that Annan and Longjing Tea couldmunicate from a long distance.

    Longjing Tea shook his head in confusion, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of this yet.¡±

    For some reason, Salvatore suddenly felt a little inexplicably happy after hearing this.

    ¡°Then, hurry up and advance. I¡¯ll wait for you for two days. It¡¯s best if youplete the advancement today, then we¡¯ll set off tomorrow.¡± Salvatore smiled, suddenly thought of someone, and added, ¡°Oh, by the way, I may bring another person. If Annan contacts you, you can tell him.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Von Hohenheim. You know that person too.¡± Salvatore smiledcently, ¡°He is now my apprentice. For such a grand event, I have to widen his worldview.¡±

    So, what you¡¯re saying is to show off to Annan about your student.

 Chapter 403: Gather Together In The Capital

    <h4>Chapter 403: Gather Together In The Capital</h4>

    Salvatore arrived at the Noah¡¯s Royal Capital four days after Annan sent the letter.

    Luckily, the situation here in the capital was not urgent.

    The curse did build up a lot in the air on the first day. Even some passersby were carried into the hospital, and the transcenders were afraid to go out.

    However, the King had an expert to repress all the curses that permeated the air into the body of Dream Stealer Danton on the night of the incident, repurifying the air near the pce.

    His Majesty employed a Gold Rank Wizard for this task. He was a man in a white robe and a pure white mask. He had long dark hair and a slender figure, but his age could not be discerned. A creepy smiling face was drawn on the mask with red ink.

    He seemed to have a personal connection with the King, who was said to have acquainted him at a young age.

    The wizard specialized in Idol School, the ¡°Inscriber¡± who was capable of banning the curses of many schools. His main mission was to prevent members of the royal family from being located or cursed by the rituals or to bless the spy with a spell that obscured their whereabouts.

    At the same time, the abundance of the curse prevented the wizard¡¯s lifespan from being reduced because of overusing the power of the elements. This was probably why he was willing to ept the job.

    But even so, Annan did not know the person¡¯s real name. All he knew was that Eugene would call him Mr. Kai.

    It was a monophonic name.

    If nothing else, this should be the first phonic of Kai¡¯s real name.

    He was indeed a true professional.

    Mr. Kai used a spell that Annan did not even know the name of. First, he restored the destroyed building to its original state. Then, he absorbed part of the curse overflowing in the atmosphere,pressed the remaining curse into four spheres, stuffed them inside Danton¡¯s body, and sealed itpletely.

    That operation stupefied Annan.

    However, there were benefits to it too.

    It would be much easier when Salvatore came over to create a nightmare.

    So after a month of separation, Annan and Salvatore met again.

    Although Salvatore was a little upied with the boy¡¯s name, ¡°Von Hohenheim¡±, Annan did not care much.

    Whether he was a Full Metal Alchemist in the future or did he craft a prototype Azoth sword, it had nothing to do with Annan.

    ¡°Von Hohenheim¡±, like Michngelo and Nichs, were people who actually appeared on the earth where Annan lived.

    ¡°Von Hohenheim¡± was born in Zurich, Switzend. He was a famous alchemist and physician during the Renaissance and the founder of ¡°medicinal chemistry¡±. In addition, he put forward the vital concept that ¡°a surgeon should also be a physician and vice versa¡±, which promoted the innovative progress of the medical idea at that time.

    He gave himself a name, ¡°Paracelsus,¡± which meant greater than the famous Roman physician ¡°Celsus¡±. His full name was quite long, so long that it raised the suspicion of just prolonging the novel¡¯s word count.

    If things worked simrly to the trajectory of Nichs and Michngelo¡­

    On the earth where Annan once lived, he was supposedly a Great Person, and he had the potential to be a Gold Rank at minimum.

    But at least for now, the future Mr. Paracelsus was just a wizard apprentice who was curious about the Alteration magic.

    ¡°Who collected the curses?¡± Salvatore was a little surprised, ¡°The technique is quite profound.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Great Person ¡ª Kai. Have you heard of it? A famous Inscriber.¡±

    ¡°A famous Inscriber? That¡¯s a much rarer profession than an alchemist.¡±

    The young and promising alchemist whocked sleep could not help but sigh softly, ¡°I know this profession. He can even forcibly change the fate of others by changing their real names. I didn¡¯t expect such a big shot to be in the Noah Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that.¡± Annan patted Salvatore on the shoulder and smiled softly, ¡°Since you have advanced into an alchemist, you should be stronger than a typical Alteration Wizard, right? How long does it take to create this nightmare?¡±

    ¡°I have to do more research, and I can¡¯t give you a definite answer.¡± Salvatore pondered for a long time, then frowned and replied earnestly, ¡°Give me at least one day. After all, we have no room for failure.¡±

    This was the technique pioneered by his teacher.

    Since the skill was of the same lineage, Salvatore was reasonably fit for this technology tree. However, he had never tried it, and the situation did not allow him to fail.

    ¡°Alright, no problem.¡± After Annan agreed, he went out with the Paper Princess and Eugene.

    Kafni, who had just returned to the capital, waited for him at the door.

    She had already arrived two days before Salvatore arrived in the capital.

    After learning that her mother and Dream Stealer Danton were dead, she had mixed feelings about it.

    To put it into words, it was like the expression on Prince Hamlet¡¯s face when he suddenly heard that udius had died on the spot and spiraled into the sky when he fled back to Denmark.

    Kafni¡¯s expression at the time wasplicated.

    Sorrow, pain, resentment, release, regret, ecstasy, loss, emptiness¡­ Her expression repeatedly changed.

    Annan secretly took a screenshot at the time, and it was even a .gif file [1].

    The two direct murderers who troubled Kafni for many years died unexpectedly before her revenge. Luckily, her real enemy, Prince Philip, was still alive.

    Indeed, there was no word error.

    It was ¡°lucky¡±.

    If Kafni¡¯s enemies were all dead before Kafni returned, Kafni¡¯s determination for revenge, her preparations for revenge, and her appeal to Annan would all be a joke.

    She had to defeat Philip personally.

    This was also the consensus of Annan and Kafni.

    But the big news that the ¡°Purest Spiritual Medium¡± stirred up a few days ago suddenly disrupted the situation in the capital.

    The Silver Sire Church¡¯s original n was to carry out the elimination of the Fourth Prince and Dream Stealer simultaneously while the Silver Hand Knight purged the remaining Rotten Man believers.

    This was to prevent the news from the higher-ups from spreading to the bottom, causing ordinary believers to escape. At the same time, the goal was also to avoid news being leaked from the grunt below, alerting the higher-ups.

    As a result, many Rotten Man¡¯s believers were now on their guard with the death of two rtively high-profile Rotten Man believers.

    ording to Captain Alexander¡¯sint to Annan, at least two dozen Rotten Man believers had managed to escape from their surveince.

    They were now requesting assistance from the covert intelligence agency ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡± to conduct another full search of Rotten Man believers.

    For the sake of these elusive Rotten Man believers and to keep Philip out of trouble, Annan did not give them a chance. Instead, he took Kafni directly with him and put her under the Paper Princess¡¯s protection.

    That was to avoid Philip thinking he had the chance again.

    After all, Annan and Kafni had something else to do.

 Chapter 404: Old Grandmotherâ€™s Words

    <h4>Chapter 404: Old Grandmother¡¯s Words</h4>

    Annan was quietly flipping through the newly purchased dragonnguage dictionary in the guest study room on the third floor of Geraint¡¯s residence.

    He had almost finished this book.

    Annan had vague memories of what the Old Grandmother had spoken to him in the past. He soon recalled and had a rough idea of what was said by relying on those memories.

    If Annan was not mistaken, Old Grandmother said at that time,

    ¡°You have made it, Annan. If you remember this name, I know you have seeded. If you feel like you¡¯re in danger, go straight to Noah¡¯s royal capital and let the Silver Sire help you get home. Now Maria has the ability to fight Rotten Man, and she will protect you well until I wake uppletely. But if you have something you must do in the Noah Kingdom, finish it beforeing back. Annan, you have grown up. Be like a man, and do what you have to do. I support you.¡±

    The short andplex dragonnguage became a long string of words after being tranted into the Frostwhisper¡¯s lingual. Then, it became even longer when tranted into the standard lingua franca.

    In short, She allowed Annan to adventure as he pleased, and he was wee to return if he was bored or faced severe trouble.

    Annan did not expect Old Grandmother to be such a person, which surprised him a little.

    Annan initially thought that Old Grandmother, as the ¡°Deity of Tradition¡±, should be quite strict and conservative. After knowing that the only heir, Annan, was living in another country and might encounter various dangers, Her first reaction should be to order Annan to return to Austere-Winter Dukedom immediately. The goal was to ensure the stability of the lineage.

    Unexpectedly, Old Grandmother specifically asked Annan not to return in a hurry.

    ¡°Be like a man¡±¡­ What does it mean?

    Are you asking me to defeat Rotten Man to get revenge?

    Annan¡¯s expression was a little subtle.

    But I can¡¯t really defeat him? Or is Old Grandmother referring to something else?

    Could it be that She is referring to Kafni?

    ¡°¡­Hiss.¡± Annan took a deep breath.

    Then, he thought about it carefully and gasped, ¡°Tsk¡­¡°

    It¡¯s¡­possible¡­

    Knowing that the Old Grandmother might know Kafni, Annan felt troubled.

    Annan had a favorable impression of Kafni, but there was nothing more than that. He just liked having the opposite-gender friend, who was nice and beautiful, spending time with him. However, it did not reach the level of ¡°romance¡± yet.

    That was why Annan was a little troubled after learning that the ¡°family¡± was aware of Kafni¡¯s existence.

    For some reason, this shyness was not hindered by [Winter Heart].

    ¡°Also, the Old Grandmother mentioned about me remembering this name. What does it mean?¡± Annan frowned slightly in thought.

    Annan went into deep thoughts for a long time, trying to rte to the memory fragments of the past.

    Eventually, Annan realized that he might have transmigrated to this world when he was young or possibly even rebirth in this world if he indeed had his first life already.

    This scenario was highly likely because he had heard from Old Alvin that the Little Annan was frail and sick a long time ago. However, Annan preferred the former exnation.

    Austerian did not have him at birth, but the name was only given when the child could read and write. This was due to the high mortality rate of newborns during the winter year.

    It would be hard to forget the tragedy if the parents blessed the child with a name. Simrly, the parents would not be able to forget how many children of theirs had died. However, the memory would gradually blur if the parents had not given a name to the child yet.

    The Austere-Winter Family had another reason. It was the Winter Heart. Without reversing its effect, it would usually make it difficult for the heirs with insufficient quality to live to adulthood.

    Annan almost died at the time. At age eight, he received the name ¡°Annan¡± and officially began to learn swordsmanship from Ivan.

    It seemed that it was Annan who put forward this idea and let Old Grandmother help to persuade Ivan Austere-Winter to give him the name of ¡°Annan¡±.

    After all, ¡°Annan¡± was a neuter-feminine name meaning ¡°kindness¡±. In Austere-Winter, it was not meant for sons. Masculine kindness would often be associated with weakness, ipetence, burden, and the need for the protection of others.

    When the name was pronounced in the ent of Austere-Winter, the pronunciation was more simr to ¡°Anna¡±.

    How could the son of the Grand Duke have such a name?

    If nothing else, this was probably to match his real name.

    Annan remembered that some rituals needed the ¡°real name¡± to be activated. Maybe Annan was worried that if he used the other names, he might not be able to meet the ¡°real name¡± condition, and he would not be able to activate those rituals.

    To convince the others of that name, Ivan made up the narration, ¡°I hope Old Grandmother can show more kindness to this child so that his fate will not be too bad¡±.

    Looking at Old Grandmother¡¯s attitude towards Annan, how could She have no kindness towards Annan?

    The benevolence was almost overflowing.

    ¡°No wonder after transmigrating this world, I found that this body has the same name as me.¡± Annan sighed in a low voice.

    Just then, he heard someone knocking on the door.

    Annan turned around and found Kafni unexpectedly.

    ¡°¡ªYour Highness Annan.¡± Kafni, holding the tray of tea and snacks in both hands, called Annan softly.

    ¡°Kafni? Hmm¡­¡± Annan turned around and was at a loss for a while.

    Kafni wore a white waist dress, which outlined her slender figure. The beret that she habitually wore on her head was no longer there, thus revealing her long ck curly hair draped to her waist. At the same time, she wore sandals on her feet.

    ¡°Are you feeling very hot?¡± Annan asked subconsciously.

    Kafni nced at Annan immediately, and Annan closed her mouth wisely.

    It was also the first time he saw Kafni wearing pure white clothes, and he was a little surprised for a while.

    Annan remembered that Kafni usually wore a dark skirt, like a delicate doll. She also did not like wearing shoes. At the same time, she always walked around her room barefooted and wore a thin and fluttering skirt.

    Since they were temporarily staying at the Geraint¡¯s house, Kafni put on her shoes obediently.

    Annan took the tray, put it on the table, took a sip of Kafni¡¯s freshly brewed tea, and asked casually, ¡°Are you feeling better?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m fine.¡± Kafni nced at Annan and murmured.

    After having an entire day of regting her mood, Kafni had calmed down.

    Although she still looked a little lost, she had also adjusted her mentality.

    ¡°What do you want to do now?¡± Annan closed the dictionary and turned around from the stool. He looked up at Kafni, who stood in front of him, and said warmly, ¡°Do you need my help?¡±

    ¡°Can you apany me back to the pce?¡± Kafni hesitated for a long time before whispering.

    Annan paused, wanting to agree directly.

    However, he had to ask one more question to be on the safe side, ¡°Who are you going to meet?¡±

    If it was Philip, Annan intended to persuade Kafni toe down. It would be fine if it were the Fourth Prince or the Princess Royal.

    However, the Fourth Prince had now managed to recover some of his memories under treatment, and he was still in chaos and had not fully recovered. Maybe Kafni just wanted to see what happened to her father.

    However, the answer given by Kafnipletely exceeded Annan¡¯s expectations, ¡°I want to seek an audience from the King.¡±

    She said softly, ¡°My grandpa.¡±

 Chapter 405: Silver Sire In The Garden

    <h4>Chapter 405: Silver Sire In The Garden</h4>

    Annan did not know what Kafni wanted to do.

    However, considering that she might not be able to return immediately, Annan dedicated anothermand to Eugene before the departure.

    ¡°Remember to take care of these corpses.¡±

    Eugene asked thoughtfully, ¡°Do I just put them in the cold storage?¡±

    ¡°Ya.¡± Annan smiled and nodded.

    Bernardino¡¯s attack caused a lot of trouble. It even directly disrupted the original arrangement of the Silver Sire Church and Annan.

    However, there were some unexpected gains.

    When One-Eyed Crow investigated the corpses of transcenders who died unexpectedly in this incident, they naturally found quite a number of transcenders whose identities were mysterious.

    For those with rtively innocent identities and traces, the Crows had notified their families to retrieve the dead bodies.

    Even if there were some transcenders whose families were not in the capital, ¡°One-Eyed Crow¡± had already sent letters out.

    After those processes, more than forty corpses remained. They were all stored in Geraint¡¯s freezer, which put these corpses on standby for identity verification. The Crows could get a ritualist to proceed to the next step ¡ª rituals that could acquire some info through the bodies.

    For example, the [Forgotten Eye] that traced a specific piece of memory of the deceased before his death, and the [Sniffing Grudge] that could track the location of the murderer.

    It was also possible to use the corpses for rituals. For example, it was possible to transform the corpse into a treant, use the spine and ribs to hatch a skeleton bird, or turn the dead¡¯s head into an observation ward for peeping.

    Corpses were sought-after non-curse materials. Transcender¡¯s corpses were much more valuable.

    Not because of high demand, but because of low supply.

    There were very few corpses that could be legally purchased.

    But not all transcenders or ritualists dared to kill at will.

    Annan had Eugene leave twelve corpses for him because he still had a ritual in mind.

    That was the Ritual Spell [Chill of the Winter Sun] that he had not yet activated.

    The Lord of Frost¡¯s influence was required for this ritual. Indeed, Annan could find it easily. At the same time, Kafni was capable of crafting the curse vessel, the ¡°light-concealing ice cube¡±.

    There was also the condition of having the ¡°outdoor temperature capable of freezing the water naturally¡±. Of course, Annan could fulfill it easily. The Silver Rank Spell [Frost Tower] Anna had just learned could aplish it.

    The only condition left was the ¡°twelve intact corpses that havepletely lost their temperature¡±.

    Under normal circumstances, this condition was harsh.

    It required plete corpses¡± that were much rarer than normal corpses.

    At the same time, it was impossible to fool the ritual.

    A plete corpse¡± in the ritual referred to a corpse that had not lost any part ¡ª be it fingers, eyeballs, ears, skin, guts, brains, and bones. Everything must remain intact.

    There could be wounds, and thus the cause of death could be excessive bleeding. A blunt force trauma of suitable strength (intracranial hemorrhage) was also an eptable cause of death for the ritual, but not if the brain was shattered. Deathing from frostbite was fine too. However, the frozen skin surface could not exceed the area of a palm. Lastly, corpses with the cause of death being poison or being scared to death in a nightmare could work normally in the ritual.

    Beyond that, it was hard to guarantee that the corpses were intact. Unfortunately, finding these kinds of corpses at the ck market was difficult. Unless it was a plotted murder, it was unlikely that such a dead body would be sold.

    Annan did not have any particr solution to it.

    He nned to return to Austere-Winter, rummage through the snow to see if there were any dead bodies, and retrieve them.

    However, the oue was unexpected.

    Bernardino provided excellent support to Annan directly.

    As long as Kafni crafted that ice cube, Annan could use [Notion Rain] to induce heavy rain weather and [Frost Tower] to foster the ritual environment toplete the Ritual Spell.

    The matter could be settled in two days.

    That ability called [Chill of the Winter Sun] allowed Annan to breathe out frigid air naturally. Basically, it could also be called the Dragon¡¯s Breath.

    Annan did not know if it was an illusion, he felt like he was gradually turning into a young dragon.

    ¡°Pleasee this way, Your Highness Annan.¡± Kafni expertly guided Annan back from the Geraint family¡¯s backyard. For their safety, the Paper Princess still followed behind them.

    For some reason, the Paper Princess had been silent since Kafni appeared.

    She had been sizing and scrutinizing Kafni, frowning slightly. But She did not chat with Kafni. At the same time, Kafni did not say a single word to the Paper Princess or even look at the Paper Princess, except for a necessary and polite greeting.

    In this regard, the Paper Princess was not agitated.

    It was not long before Annan saw the vast fountain that looked like an artificialke.

    This was the first time he saw the fountain made of silver metal when he got off the carriage.

    ¡°I thought Silver Sire would hate others and cast ¡®silver¡¯ into a non-circting luxury.¡± Annan groaned.

    But what surprised Annan was he heard a somewhat familiar cheerful voice that sounded beside the three of them, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not that annoyed by it.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to say that when there are too many silver coins flowing in the market, we have to recycle the coins and craft them into silverware just to keep the silver coin¡¯s value unchanged.¡±

    The one who spoke behind the three was a young man. He had a bright and sunny smile, a long and thin face with curly hair, and appeared less than 30 years old.

    He wore a white trench coat, holding a top hat in his left hand, and greeted the three with a smile.

    ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, Silver Sire.¡±

    ¡°Silver Sire.¡±

    Annan and Kafni immediately turned their heads and bowed their heads to pay respect to Silver Sire. Then, the silver armored guards guarding the fountain saw Silver Sire appear, and they all knelt in silence.

    The Paper Princess had already set her sights on the Silver Sire before He made a sound.

    She also nodded, the corners of her mouth raised slightly, revealing a beautiful smile, ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, Silver Sire.¡±

    ¡°You are beautiful today too, Paper Princess.¡± Silver Sire also smiled, nodding gently to the Paper Princess in response.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Annan asked curiously.

    It was Kafni who answered him, ¡°Silver Sire usually reads here. This fountain is made of holy silver that Silver Sire himself blessed. They are not ordinary sterling silver.¡±

    ¡°I did not make a fountain out of holy silver but simply altered its property into holy silver.¡± Just as Silver Sire exined, He turned around to ask, ¡°Where are you going? To see Little Henry?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kafni nodded slightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ask His Majesty in person. How far should I go before I can inherit the throne?¡± She said thoughtfully, ¡°And I need to know how His Majesty views His Highness Annan.

    ¡°This will determine my course of action from now on.¡±

 Chapter 406: An Immortal Being

    <h4>Chapter 406: An Immortal Being</h4>

    ¡°So, you¡¯re responsible for the whole fuss in the capital?¡±

    Nichs II¡¯s spirit body frowned, ¡°You justmitted mass murder in the capital to get the wizard¡¯s marrow?

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to regret it now.¡±

    ¡°Regret what?¡±

    ¡°I regret giving you the technology of the Sage¡¯s Stone.¡±

    Nichs II gave Bernardino a dissatisfied nce.

    He had no idea that Bernardino would do such an outrageous thing.

    To put it crudely, there are so many ck Wizards in the capital. Can¡¯t you just kill one of them?

    Even if you want a spine of better quality, there is no shortage of Silver Rank Transcenders in the capital.

    The Sage¡¯s Stone, made with a Silver Rank Transcender, can be used seven to eight times. The length of each use reaches the standardbat duration of five minutes. Do you have to resort to an extreme method of entering the pce and directly extracting the spine?

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re going to do with Sage¡¯s Stone.¡±

    The white-haired young spirit body frowned, took a few steps forward, and reprimanded unceremoniously, ¡°Even if you have a grudge against that wizard, don¡¯t you know how to keep it a low profile?

    ¡°Deal with the corpse, man! If it¡¯s inconvenient, can¡¯t you take the whole corpse away? Why do you leave a corpse without a spine?¡±

    This time, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to get into trouble.

    I don¡¯t know if I will be imprisoned or probably have Father Stone executing me.

    After all, strictly speaking, I can even be regarded as ¡°prisonbor¡±.

    When Nichs II came to this ce, he was forbidden to contact anyone.

    After he taught Bernardino how to make ¡°Hermes Sage¡¯s Stone¡±, the old man immediately backstabbed him.

    After taking the opponent¡¯s spine, he did not destroy the dead body!

    Isn¡¯t this intentional to lead the clues to me?

    Bernardino just smiled.

    The old man in the wheelchair said unhurriedly, ¡°I just need to use it to continue my life. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone is the perfect element essence and the greatest thing in the world. Even if we can¡¯t craft it perfectly, it can stillpletely change a person¡¯s destiny.¡±

    Nichs II emphasized, ¡°Don¡¯t just treat it as a tool or a reagent.¡±

    ¡°No, no, Nichs.¡± The old manughed in a low voice and whispered happily and contentedly, ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t just treat it as a tool.

    ¡°It will be my blood, my fuel, my heart, my life, everything I hold dear, and the beginning of my destiny.¡± Bernardino spoke slowly, looking up from the wheelchair.

    Hearing this, Nichs II frowned slightly.

    For some reason, he suddenly had a bad hunch in his heart watching this scene.

    At his level, a ¡°hunch¡± was not just a simple ¡°premonition¡±.

    Fortunately, he had also mastered some Prophet magic.

    A faint yellow halo suddenly shed in the pupil of Nichs II¡¯s spirit body. A hollow, metal clock pattern was imprinted in his pupil.

    This was the Prophet School¡¯s spell, [Limited Foreknowledge], which the Time Stopper Eye taught Nichs previously.

    The spell inventor was ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡± himself. Although it was only a Silver Rank Instant Spell, it could be used to peek into the short future.

    The process only happened in a short moment.

    At the next moment, just as Bernardino raised his head¡­

    ¡°[Truce]!¡± Nichs II suddenly shouted.

    There was an indescribable sense of majesty in his Edict Spell.

    The moment the words were uttered, they turned into substantial power.

    Between Bernardino and Nichs II, a transparent, crystal-like wall suddenly rose. The invisible repulsive force roared and pushed to both sides simultaneously.

    But only Bernardino¡¯s wheelchair was ejected, while Nichs II¡¯s spirit was still floating in the air.

    ¡°¡ªThe lion¡¯s crown.¡± Nichs II¡¯s previously anxious voice instantly calmed down.

    The wooden floor in front of him copsed in an instant. It turned into scorching quicksand surging continuously, shining with golden brilliance.

    In an instant, the room became arid. It was like a desert on a hot summer day and even more cruel than that.

    If ordinary people were here, he would dehydrate after only three seconds; if it were a demon, they would suffer seven times the damage. Contacting the sand would ignite them in the blink of an eye.

    These quicksands refined by Nichs II were actually from the east of the Yasn Continent, the living desert that almost engulfed the elves and centaurs.

    The reason why the demons did note to Yasn was not that they were kind but because the demons could not cross that desert.

    That was the Epoch Disaster.

    Having swallowed and sank by the sea of ??sand with his bandages began to turn yellow and ignite spontaneously, Bernardino did not look flustered at all.

    Seeing this, Nichs II¡¯s expression turned gloomy.

    He raised his right hand again and began to chant quickly.

    ¡°Kubler¡¯s Left Eye. Skip. Lily Wreath. Skip. The wolf that eats the moon should look up¡ª¡± But, his chant had not yet finished.

    Nichs¡¯s spirit suddenly froze under the stare of Bernardino¡¯s brilliance¡¯s right eye.

    How?!

    Even if the Spiritual Monk has absolute suppression power over spirit bodies, it shouldn¡¯t be so effortless.

    ¡°Nichs mel. I have something that I need to exin to you: Sage¡¯s Stone. I¡¯ve seeded.¡±

    Bernardino said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s because of the spirit body I carry. He is your teacher, adoptive father, and the former Jade Tower Master, Isaac mel.¡±

    Hearing this, Nichs II¡¯s expression suddenly froze.

    At the next moment, a ck cyclops rose silently behind Bernardino.

    Then, like dripping oil, countless ck liquid feathers emerged out of thin air from Nichs II¡¯s side. It quickly gathered towards the center, sticking to Nichs II¡¯s spiritual body piece by piece.

    Nichs II suddenly felt immense powerlessness when the first feather touched him.

    He turned into a ck stone sculpture in just three seconds, unable to move.

    When Bernardino was about to be entirely engulfed by the sea of ??sand, the cyclops behind him reached out its hand and lifted him out of it quickly.

    The skin was burned to the point where the bones were visible, but Bernardino did not panic.

    Under Nichs II¡¯s astonished gaze, his skin quickly healed under a whiff of white smoke.

    The exposed skin was soft and smooth, not as old as before, but with dense tattoos on it.

    Nichs II could see at a nce that it was covered with alchemical symbols of the Jade Tower¡¯s lineage.

    ¡°This is the miracle you have created, Nichs.¡± Bernardinoughed out loud.

    He pulled the bandage off his face and stood up from the wheelchair.

    The iparably aged face had recovered to the age of less than 30.

    His tan curls fell to his shoulders, and his deep jeweled eyes sparkled with confidence. It was just that his face, neck, and every part of his skin was engraved with transmutation circles.

    Nichs II instantly realized the truth after seeing the transmutation circle on his face.

    Did he refine himself into a Sage¡¯s Stone?!

    It wasn¡¯t the Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermetic School at all. It was more of a half-finished product.

    It was to inject the liquid Sage¡¯s Stone, whosepletion reached no more than 70%, into the blood vessels. That would contain its power through the rune on the skin and continuously activate it.

    ¡°Immortality, the power of infinite elements, and the ¡®herd¡¯ gather around me. Now, I have reached the limit of mortals!¡±

    Bernardinoughed and looked at Nichs II, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, ¡°Thank you for this, Nichs!¡±

    Nichs II suddenly found himself able to speak again.

    He said solemnly, ¡°So, do you want to take away my spinal cord too?

    ¡°¡ªas a token of appreciation to me?¡±

    ¡°No, I just want you to live a little more clear-headed.¡±

    Bernardino had a mysterious smile, ¡°When you go back, remember to cut your wrists in the sun and read out an ult knowledge about Mr. Ray.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you a secret, Nichs.¡±

    Bernardino interrupted Nichs II.

    He opened his mouth with the majesty of a divine judgment.

    ¡°¡ª[You once killed innocent people indiscriminately in the capital];

    ¡°¡ª[You once founded the Nichs School];

    ¡°¡ª[You once created numerous demons].¡±

    After hearing these three sentences, the Younger Bernardino smiled and waved his hand.

    Nichs II¡¯s spirit body slowly sank into the ck mud.

    But at the next moment, he suddenly woke up.

    When Nichs opened his eyes from the chair, he suddenly felt ticklish in his throat.

    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Father Stone¡¯s voice came from behind him, as always.

    ¡°I¡ª¡± But Nichs opened his mouth but said nothing.

    He had indeed opened his mouth, but no words escaped from his throat.

    In this instant, Nichs realized all the truth.

 Chapter 407: Henry VIII

    <h4>Chapter 407: Henry VIII</h4>

    As Kafni led the way, the two did not encounter anyone stopping them.

    This surprised Annan a little.

    ¡°Why is the pce so quiet?¡± He looked back at Kafni and asked curiously, ¡°Is it the same as usual?¡±

    ¡°Of course not¡­ and there are many more people than usual today,¡± whispered Kafni.

    She looked a little uneasy, seemingly regretting bringing Annan over.

    Typically speaking, having a stranger visiting the pce without prior notice might put the visitor into custody and interrogation. Even if Princess Kafni led the way in such an important ce as the pce, Annan might still be arrested by the guards.

    After all, it was Kafni and not Princess Royal Elizabeth.

    Elizabeth, as the default first heir, was virtuous and prestigious. Even if she brought strangers into the pce, the guards might close their eyes to it. At the same time, many among the guards were her men.

    She came from the army, after all.

    Many guards were recruited from her immediate family. Many among them were promoted to officers and captains.

    But, Kafni was on the opposite spectrum. Even though she vowed to be the queen, no one believed her.

    It actually made sense.

    After all, Kafni¡¯s soul erosion rate was too high before she met Annan, making her mental state chaotic and unstable.

    It was precisely because of this that Dream Stealer Danton failed to grasp Kafni¡¯s heart fully. That was because even he was worried that his soul might be contaminated after stepping into the depths of Kafni¡¯s memory.

    While Kafni was not quite a demon yet, she was a lunatic.

    Even the Fourth Prince asionally felt a strong sense of fear when looking at Kafni.

    Ordinary people would feel chills stinging on them, their muscles twitching, and a strong sense of vomiting because of the fear of looking at her. Those with an inferior will would pee their pants out of fear.

    It felt like being targeted by some monster.

    In this context, it was only natural that people feared, alienated, and even hated Kafni. The Fourth Prince was like the puppet, falling under others¡¯ maniption. He could not help much with Kafni¡¯s situation. Even he was afraid of his daughter.

    After staying with Annan for a long time recently, she gradually regained her sanity.

    At the same time, Philip was still ruining and interfering with Kafni¡¯s social status.

    Everyone they encountered on their journey was stern without disrespectful stares. The guards on both sides had their armor and weapons polished brightly.

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan reacted quickly, took Kafni¡¯s hand gently, andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I have already understood the situation.¡±

    It should be Count Nn who had reported to Henry VIII that Annan would be visiting the pce.

    After all, they had been staying at Count Geraint¡¯s house these days. The most crucial duty of Count Geraint was to pass important information directly to Henry VIII.

    Although Annan said nothing, Kafni immediately believed Annan.

    She breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down, nodding slightly.

    Annan¡¯s expression was a little more serious.

    If Henry VIII already knew who he was, then he was no longer Kafni¡¯s friend to see her grandfather.

    Instead, he would meet King Noah directly as the future heir of Austere-Winter Dukedom and the soon-to-be Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    Annan quickly calmed down, passed through the front hall, and entered the second floor of the main hall from the spiral staircase on the west side.

    The first floor of the main hall was the banquet hall that Annan saw when he came to Noah when he was a child. Looking down from the second-floor handrail, Annan saw the spot where he smashed Philip¡¯s head in the nightmare.

    Of course, in the timeline of reality, Annan did notmit this deed. But that did not stop Annan from suddenly feeling excited and nostalgic when he saw that ce.

    It was the excitement of ¡°Oh, I know this ce.¡±

    It was like the yers of the assassin¡¯s creed game, and it gave off the feeling of ¡°I have been to this ce¡± when the yer went abroad to travel and visit the ce. There was even a strong urge to climb the roof.

    Annan followed Kafni¡¯s lead, walking clockwise down the corridor.

    The second floor of the main hall was a circr passage. It appeared that it could fit seven people to traverse side by side. Many portraits were installed on the left wall, while the railing was installed on the right. The passage extended to eight directions, with a 45 degrees gap each. From a bird¡¯s eye view, this ce resembled a brilliant sun emblem.

    The core concept of the design was to have a fully armed guard standing on duty in every neen steps. The first guard would be stationed on the left, the next on the right, and so forth.

    However, the guards did not block the entrance to the inner passages. Instead, a guard would be standing at the right railing, monitoring the entrance.

    What surprised Annan the most was the salutations. Each guard would raise a fist in front of his heart and lower his head upon seeing Annan.

    This was an Austerian etiquette.

    If they were allowed to speak, it was possible that they would greet with respect, ¡°Old Grandmother loves her child, my brother¡±.

    Just watching this scene made Kafni squeeze Annan¡¯s hand nervously.

    ¡°I have no idea about this.¡± She exined to Annan in a low voice.

    Annan shook his head slightly, signaling her not to panic.

    He understood what Kafni meant. She was saying that she had not notified Annan¡¯s identity in advance.

    But now, the situation had be clear.

    The scale extended further than just Henry VIII realizing Annan¡¯s identity. It was probable that everyone knew Annan¡¯s presence on his first day in the capital.

    Even the guards know about it. Princess Royal and Prince Philip must have known about it.

    Why did Henry VIII reveal his identity?

    If they were going to do something terrible to Annan, then they definitely would not reveal Annan¡¯s identity. It was different in the malicious against Annan without ¡°knowing¡± his identity and after knowing it.

    Of course, what they showed on the surface about being aware of Annan¡¯s identity might not be the fact.

    It was more about the evidence showing whether they ¡°knew¡± it to the outside world.

    The duo bypassed the corridor on the west side. After passing three corridors, they walked toward the northernmost entrance.

    As they treaded to the corridor¡¯s end, they came to the king¡¯s residence. Firstly, they entered the study and then entered the bedroom in the study.

    After Annan and Kafni walked into Henry VIII¡¯s study, they finally saw the king, who was ¡°said to be dying of old age¡±.

    But Annan was shocked after seeing the king.

    Henry VIII had short ck hair and dark red pupils in the hue of dried blood. He looked like a teenage Fourth Prince.

    The two people were quite identical.

    The king appeared too young, much younger than Annan had imagined.

    The king looked like he was only in his early 40¡¯s and 50¡¯s. If the fact that he was the king were not pointed out, Annan would even think he was the Fourth Prince¡¯s older brother.

    Is this the person everyone thought he was going to ¡°die of old age¡±?

 Chapter 408: The King Who Doesnâ€™t Understand Human

    <h4>Chapter 408: The King Who Doesn¡¯t Understand Human</h4>

    Pa. Henry VIII gently closed the heavy book in his hand.

    Annan nced at it and noticed that the cover read ¡°Higher Linguistics ¨C A Study on the Special Meaning of Sybles to Rituals¡± in cursive writing.

    What is this?

    Live and learn even at old age?

    Henry VIII raised his head, looked at Annan with a smile, and gestured for Annan to sit beside him. At the same time, he had not spoken a word yet.

    So Annan was the first one to speak tacitly.

    He did not pay salutations, pleasantries, nor formal greetings to the king.

    He nced at the book on the table and said softly, ¡°Are you reading Higher Linguistics?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I still can¡¯t understand some Dragon linguals. It would be nice of you toe and visit me.¡±

    ¡°I think you expected me not for leisure chatter, right?¡± Realizing that he had fallen into a passive state, Annan decisively interrupted the previous topic.

    Henry VIII was not irritated.

    He nced at Kafni with a smile, then looked back at Annan and asked with interest. ¡°It was you who approached me, right? Isn¡¯t Little Kafni bringing you here to see me?¡±

    When Henry VIII mentioned Kafni, Annan felt Kafni¡¯s hand tremble and lowered her head. Then, she somewhat timidly and quietly let go of Annan¡¯s hand.

    Annan did not look back at Kafni, but he grabbed her hand lightly and held her wrist.

    Kafni was shocked and looked at Annan in surprise.

    However, Annan did not say anything. Instead, he looked at Henry VIII calmly, ¡°You already knew I woulde with Kafni today.

    ¡°Since my current actions are still in your n, you¡¯re expecting my visit first.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly nned.¡± Henry VIII smiled slightly. His tone was calm but emotionally inciting, ¡°I have revealed your identity to show that I have no ill will towards you. No matter whether Philip wants to do something to you or no matter what Elizabeth is nning, you will be safe as long as I reveal your identity personally, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    That¡¯s indeed so.

    After all, Annan was not an average noble or royal family.

    As a direct descendant of the Old Grandmother, Annan was under the patronage of the Old Grandmother. It would be excusable if Annan was injured, persecuted, or disrespected without the culprit knowing his identity. As long as Annan was not dead, it was inappropriate for Old Grandmother to executew enforcement in another country.

    But after Annan¡¯s identity was revealed, anyone hostile to Annan would encounter the Old Grandmother¡¯s revenge during the snowfall in winter.

    Old Grandmother had always been vindictive. At the same time, the dragons had a different concept of time than ordinary people.

    For Old Grandmother, who could sleep for dozens of years, she could stay awake for 40 years in a row.

    After all, Old Grandmother¡¯s asylum month was December. The snowfall every winter was deadly to anyone she wanted to kill.

    The culprit could never go out in December. There would be a blizzard as soon as the culprit left the house. When the culprit contacted the snow, he would be turned into an ice sculpture.

    The Old Grandmother¡¯s revenge was not measured in days or months. It was normal for her to focus on her vengeance for decades. Even after the culprit died of old age, she would attack his descendants if she could not find a chance.

    It was a ¡°tradition¡± for the son to pay the debt in his father¡¯s shoes. At the same time, it was a ¡°tradition¡± to protect one¡¯s kin and a ¡°tradition¡± to take revenge for blood rtives.

    She would never stop taking revenge until Old Grandmother thought the score was settled.

    No one wanted to provoke such a deity except lunatics.

    Old Grandmother was notoriously unreasonable.

    Therefore, Annan¡¯s safety in the Noah Kingdom was guaranteed after his identity was announced.

    Since it was announced by the king himself, those people couldn¡¯t use the excuse of ¡°I don¡¯t know about this¡±.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Annan was silent for a long time but thanked the king in a low voice.

    He immediately asked again, ¡°But¡­?¡±

    Do you know exactly what Philip and Elizabeth are going to do?

    ¡°I stay here all the time, but I know a lot. Much more than what they reveal. The Crow Family is forever loyal to the crown, even if it¡¯s rusted and dull.¡±

    Henry VIII sighed softly and said gently, ¡°I know everything, be it Philip¡¯s rtionship with the Rotten Man Church and the Little Crow, or Elizabeth¡¯s tricks in infiltrating the army, school and my guards, and even the matter of Margaret and Danton.

    ¡°Of course, including Kafni and you.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡± This surprised Annan a little.

    He thought before that Henry VIII should know more or less of what was happening, but he did not expect the king to know it soprehensively and so much.

    But he obviously knew everything, but why didn¡¯t he do anything?

    ¡°Because I¡¯m dying, Your Excellency Annan.¡± Henry VIII narrated calmly.

    ¡°But I can see that you are in good shape.¡±

    ¡°It has nothing to do with that. I¡¯m just a temporary substitute.¡±

    The old king smiled, ¡°No matter whether it¡¯s the territorial war with Austere-Winter, the contract with the Underground Federation, or the diplomacy with the Papal Kingdom, I can¡¯t change a fact no matter how well I handle it.

    ¡°I am not a naturally born human, but a ¡®Child in the Cup¡¯ created by the power of the Cup-holding Lady to continue the royal bloodline. It¡¯s just a tool for the transition and continuation of the bloodline.

    ¡°My father has imposed the setting on me. I can only live until 65 years old and have to give up the throne to my children. Even if I can live till 98 years old, the result is fixed. That is to avoid political turmoil between my child¡¯s generation and the grandchild¡¯s generation as long as I live long enough.¡±

    The corners of Henry VIII¡¯s mouth rose slightly, revealing a smile that was either pitiful or sarcastic, ¡°Yes, my father is afraid of me and fears me. So he imposed a curse on his only child, me, during my birth ¨C just for the continuation of the kingdom.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Annan went silent.

    Facing Henry VIII¡¯s words, he did not know how to respond for a while.

    Should I agree? Disagree? Comfort? Or encourage?

    However, none of these make any sense.

    After a long time, Annan asked slowly, ¡°So, you don¡¯t love your child?¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Henry VIII showed a relieved smile of being understood and nodded lightly, ¡°If what you are referring to is the love between parents and children, then yes.¡±

    He admitted it.

    ¡°Some people have said that the ¡®Child in the Cup¡¯ has no feelings. They may be right. The truth is that the ¡®Child in the Cup¡¯ wakes up too early.

    ¡°Humans have the instinct to love babies. Babies feel kindness and love from all directions, so they think they are the kings of the world, and they dare to extend their consciousness. So they will store this kindness and love as a way to meet and treat others. They are the fuel for the children to get to know others and love others.¡±

    The old king said slowly, ¡°But when the Child in the Cup is still in the cup, he has already be conscious and can understand all the words before he opens his eyes. People aren¡¯t aversive to what they said before the unborn fetus.

    ¡°Yes, maybe it¡¯s the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s little mischief or a gift. The Childs can understand everything when they¡¯re in the cup before birth. However, they lose this ability after they¡¯re born.

    ¡°In other words, they have been soaked in the blood of human desire before they feel ¡®love¡¯. They can feel hypocrisy, desire, disgust, and regret from their ¡®father¡¯ and ¡®mother¡¯. Then, there onlyes the ¡®love¡¯ that is revealed on the surface.

    ¡°The Child in the Cup is not a continuation of life, but a copy of life. Anyone who sees his Child in The cup will instinctively feel disgusted because this baby is exactly like himself, which is the proof of their life failure.

    ¡°Can an artificial being understand human love? It¡¯s a joke. I haven¡¯t felt love since I was born, so how can I love someone?¡±

    Henry VIII looked at Annan, ¡°To my father, I am his continuation; to my many children, they are my continuation. What if they were killed? It doesn¡¯t matter if they are poisoned, kill each other, or have their mind controlled. It has nothing to do with me.

    ¡°This is not revenge, but just the statement of facts.

    ¡°Since my father sees me only as a vehicle for the continuation of the kingdom and the royal blood, I don¡¯t need to express opinions on matters other than this ¡ª which is undoubtedly in line with his stance.

    ¡°If Philip or Elizabeth came to see me, I would lie in bed and pretend to be confused. But unlike them, you¡¯re not my descendant. When I see you, there¡¯s no need for me to be wary or put up a facade.

    ¡°Anyway, this year is the 65th year of my life. Next Wednesday is the day I will die. I don¡¯t care about it anymore. Let them do what they want because I have no ¡®love¡¯ for them.

    ¡°To me, they¡¯re not as interesting as a book.¡±

    He spoke words that were contrary tomon sense, but he did not hesitate at all.

    Annanpletely understood the king¡¯s situation.

    Henry VIII had no ¡°love¡± for the Noah Kingdom and his children.

    In his heart, there was only hatred, responsibility, and indifference. His hatred for the ¡°father¡± who copied life to him and set a boundary on his lifespan. He was indifferent to the responsibility for the ¡°royal family¡± and ¡°kingdom¡± that shackled his life and to the future destiny for him and his children.

    He did not understand love.

    It wasn¡¯t that there was no need for him to understand it.

    But, he simply did not want to understand it.

 Chapter 409: The Secret Of The Seventh Luminary

    <h4>Chapter 409: The Secret Of The Seventh Luminary</h4>

    ¡°I see,¡± Annan murmured in a low voice.

    His gaze met Henry VIII¡¯s eyes. Those ice blue eyes were as pure as jade and crystal clear as mirrors. Yet, at the same time, the king stared at him with a false gentle smile that seemed indifferent.

    In other words, Henry VIII watched what unfolded in front of him on an equal footing.

    Even though their eyes met, Annan still felt like Henry VIII was not looking at him.

    Those eyes were like Kafni¡¯s eyes when she first saw Annan.

    It appeared like what entered the king¡¯s eyes was not ¡°Annan¡±, but a painting called ¡°Annan¡±. Or perhaps he was staring at something behind Annan.

    Kafni¡¯s supernatural vision ability could be directly inherited from Henry VIII.

    Henry VIII¡¯s ability to ¡°know everything¡± was probably born from this supernatural vision.

    By now, the answer was already obvious.

    Why was Henry VIII so indifferent to his children but fervent to himself? He did not care about his own life or death, nor the kingdom¡¯s existence, so why should he express kindness to Annan?

    He was not afraid of Old Grandmother.

    But because he was interested in Annan.

    Annan and Henry VIII were simr but the opposite of one another.

    The contrast was like the inside and outside of a mirror.

    The unreversed [Winter Heart] and the Child in the Cup identity the king was born with. They were unable to feel the ¡°love¡± from their parents since childhood, and they were the only heir to the kingdom. However, they took opposite paths in the end.

    ¡°You should probably talk to my eldest brother beforehand.¡± Annan was silent for a long time before replying in a low voice, ¡°I may not be able to give you the answer you want now.¡±

    After all, his [Winter Heart] was reversed.

    His previous memory might also have beenpletely wiped.

    Perhaps the former Annan could echo Henry VIII to a certain degree before the amnesia. However, he was nowpletely different from a few years ago.

    Without the memory of that period, the personality attached to it was no longer there.

    However, what happened at this moment was quite odd.

    In Annan¡¯s typical behavior, he would not have spoken so much.

    Instead, he would listen to Henry VIII¡¯s words and try to earn rapport from the king to snatch some benefits from the encounter.

    But somehow, Annan did not want to lie, which would be only limited to Henry VIII and this topic.

    Annan¡¯s instinct instigated him to participate in the topic and value Henry VIII highly ¡ª just as Henry VIII valued Annan.

    However, facing Annan¡¯s statement, Henry VIII just nodded gently.

    ¡°¡ªI know. I see what you mean.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter if you remember the past or not. That¡¯s not a ¡®mirror¡¯ about me.¡±

    ¡°Mirror?¡± The strange word startled Annan.

    He knew that Henry VIII was neither a transcender nor a ritualist.

    He might have learned some ult knowledge but would not go too deep into it. Some of that knowledge would bring a burden to the soul. Without embarking on the Transcendence path, souls might go crazy after learning the knowledge.

    No matter how Annan looked at it, the ¡°mirror¡± had nothing to do with the current topic.

    Unless¡­

    ¡°Your guess is right.¡± Henry VIII nodded and said in a t and dignified tone. ¡°Not long ago, Pope Benjamin came to see me once.¡±

    He was like a Soul Snatch Wizard who was proficient in wizardry involving reading minds, saying precisely what Annan was thinking.

    However, Annan did not feel any trace of the spell at all.

    Benjamin?

    How could he have anything to do with this?

    However, it might be rted to the ¡°Man in the Mirror¡± since ¡°mirror¡± is mentioned.

    Annan frowned slightly and blurted, ¡°If I make up a ¡®mirror¡¯position with you and I¡¯m a ¡®mirror¡¯ with a person, could it be that I am the center of the ritual?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Henry VIII answered.

    ¡°And you¡¯re just a part of the ritual?¡± Annan asked again.

    Seeing that Annan could understand the situation to this depth the moment he heard ¡°Benjamin¡±, Henry VIII could not help but smile in gratification.

    He just said calmly, ¡°That¡¯s natural, Your Majesty Annan.

    ¡°[The deities are born from the Light Realm, and they know that the radiance is born in the mirror and falls into the void.] [The Rays of Seven Luminaries have never fallen into the mortal world], [The ¡®mirror¡¯ without equal weight bes the hatching egg, and the true light will not descend from the Light Realm].¡±

    Henry VIII spoke in an intricate rhythm.

    Annan felt a weight burdening his soul upon hearing it. It was like putting a stubborn rock in a half-full water bag, which made the water bag heavy. But, at the same time, it made the water level called ¡°consciousness¡± rise until it overflowed.

    Still, Annan was familiar with this feeling.

    It is the mysterious ¡°weight¡±.

    He epted this weight, which meant that Henry VIII had taught him this ult knowledge.

    But if it is the knowledge of [Light] and [Mirror]¡­

    Annan realized something.

    ¡°Then, Your Majesty¡­ If you know it, and if you can tell me.¡± Annan frowned slightly and asked earnestly, ¡°What is [Me]?¡±

    ¡°You are the [Divine Transporter].¡±

    Faced with the philosophical question, Henry VIII answered without hesitation, ¡°The great thing summoned by the ¡®ascendancy ritual¡¯ is thest light that transcender sees, and the first light that deities see.

    ¡°You may be the hand of the Divine Transporter, or you may be the Divine Transporter itself, or even just a ray of light. But what you are does not depend on the past but the future.¡±

    As expected.

    Like his granddaughter, Kafni, Henry VIII was a mystical person. From this point of view, Kafni was the only one who perfectly inherited Henry VIII¡¯s talent.

    Henry VIII¡¯s supernatural vision was even far sharper than Kafni.

    What Kafni saw was the essence of Annan¡¯s soul. Inparison, what the king saw was the existence of a real image in Salvatore¡¯s mirror.

    But what Henry VIII saw was not a person, not even a thing, but a concept.

    He could even see Annan¡¯s Book of Divine Transporter.

    However, the ¡°hatching light¡±?

    Is he trying to help me?

    But that doesn¡¯t make much sense for Henry VIII.

    In other words, all this means nothing to him.

    Is it because of what Benjamin said to him?

    Thinking of this, Annan was silent for a while.

    He turned to ask, ¡°Then, Your Majesty, do you need anything from me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Henry VIII nodded and immediately turned serious.

    He replied firmly, unlike the kindness he had portrayed previously, ¡°Remember, you muste to my funeral ande as the ¡®Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯. You should tell Nn about it.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to die in four days, and the funeral is next Sunday. It¡¯s important, and you muste.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Annan did not ask why but just nodded.

    This was bound to cause a lot of trouble for him. It might turn many people into his enemies, revealing his location and letting his enemies track his whereabouts.

    But, so what?

    Annan knew he wanted to be there as well.

    So, it had been decided.

    Afterward, Annan did not even bid farewell to the king but silently pulled Kafni, who was still a little dazed and overwhelmed, and left.

    Behind them, Henry VIII smiled and looked at them calmly.

    As Kafni was pulled away by Annan, she looked back subconsciously as she was about to leave the door.

    She was not sure if it was an illusion.

    Kafni always felt that the king¡¯s smile was simr to the smile when she first met Annan a few years ago.

    But, it was by no means the same smile.

    Kafni suddenly remembered that Annan had read a poem to her.

    It was a poem written by a poet in Austere-Winter that Kafni did not understand at that time.

    But she memorized the poem in her mind.

    The poem went like this:

    ¡°I will fall into the abyss one day.

    ¡°My body is burned to the ground, my teeth have rotted, and my flesh has dposed.

    ¡°But until then, I will walk with the light.¡±

    I see.

    He is not reading the poem to me and not to the king either, but to the future Annan through me.

    Kafni finally realized that Annan was decisively different from Henry VIII.

    In the eyes of Henry VIII, no one ever existed.

    On the contrary, there was always someone else in Annan¡¯s eyes, no matter the past or the present.

    It seemed the light of hope always shone in Annan¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 410: Dream Elixir

    <h4>Chapter 410: Dream Elixir</h4>

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Salvatore looked nk.

    He wore an unbuttoned white coat with sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

    He had just left the basement of Geraint¡¯s house, strolling in Geraint¡¯s house while trying to find Nn or Eugene to report thetest situation. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked to the Gallery of Mirrors, he saw Annan and Kafni walking in together through the back door.

    Looking at their clothes, it was indeed quite formal.

    Annan had put on a new tuxedo the Paper Princess bought for him, imported from the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Kafni did not wear her typical dark dress. Instead, she put on a long skirt with the colorbination of white and purple like a petunia [1] and a pair of silky whitece long gloves.

    Salvatore might have thought the two of them were going on a date.

    But, isn¡¯t it too formal?

    ¡°Have you gone to seek an audience from His Majesty?¡± Salvatore was a little surprised.

    It seems like they have met the king, judging from their appearance.

    But I heard that Henry VIII was so ill that he was bedridden. Because of this, Princess Royal Elizabeth reigned over the government.

    ¡°You look quite surprised.¡± The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose. ¡°I¡¯m from the Austere-Winter family, and Kafni is the princess. Is there anything strange about us seeing His Majesty?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­¡± Salvatore frowned slightly and murmured, ¡°I was just wondering if Henry VIII was feigning illness?¡±

    Hearing this, Annan and Kafni looked at each other.

    Annan asked in a low voice, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    Salvatore scratched his fluffy, somewhat dry, and dull brown curly hair in anguish, thinking seriously, ¡°What I¡¯m thinking about is that if the king is ill, then he won¡¯t let the heir of another country, which is you, to approach him.

    ¡°Not because the king will be worried that you have bad intentions against him, but to avoid anyone trying to use this as a reason to start a war.

    ¡°If the king dies shortly after you left, no matter if he died of illness or old age, it will undoubtedly arouse suspicion as long as anyone mentions that you have seen him. That¡¯s because Her Royal Highness Kafni¡¯s words won¡¯t clear the suspicion of you harming the king.

    ¡°If they bribe the guards or get Prince Philip or Princess Royal Elizabeth to frame you, you won¡¯t be able to exonerate yourself from the me. This will be a sharp de in the hands of the wicked, which will stir up the Noah Kingdom¡¯s civil unrest.¡±

    Henry VIII would avoid this to ensure the kingdom¡¯s continuation unless he knew from the start that he would not die anytime soon and there must be more than one person who knew about this.

    ¡°It¡¯s even possible that they¡¯re feigning illness for a purpose¡­ for example, to lure the enemies?¡±

    ¡°You are quite sharp.¡± Annan smacked his lips.

    Although Salvatore was not as capable as the ¡°other him¡±, he was still quick-witted.

    However, there was a problem with the most crucial point. For example, Henry VIII did not care about the Noah Kingdom. But, the problem was that Salvatore was short of this piece of intelligence.

    Regardless of his omission in this regard, he had guessed everything avable to him.

    ¡°Fine, just tell me if it¡¯s inconvenient to tell me.¡± Looking at Annan and Kafni¡¯s tacit nces, Salvatore pped his hands in dissatisfaction.

    With his left hand on his waist, he took out a bottle of medicine from his pocket with his right hand and handed it to Annan, ¡°Here you go. I havepleted it.¡±

    ¡°What kind of medicine is this?¡± Annan took over the medicine suspiciously.

    Then, the glimmering panel immediately appeared in front of him:

    [Salvatore School ¡ª Dream Elixir]

    [Type: Consumables/Ritual material (Gold)]

    [Description: The Dream Elixir was crafted with the technique invented by Benjamin. It uses all the curses contained in the souls of 11 Bronze Rank Transcenders, 51 Silver Rank Transcenders, and 1 Gold Rank Transcender as raw materials, in addition to the brain of the Dream Stealer Danton as the curse material. There are a total of 63 tablets.]

    [Effect: After taking at least one tablet before falling asleep, you will enter a unique ¡°Distortion¡± difficulty level nightmare, which has a unique property of ¡°phantasm¡±; each tablet can also be used to nullify a death count, and you will wake up from the nightmare after the drug ispletely dissipated.]

    ¡°I have improved the teacher¡¯s technique, and I call it the Dream Elixir.¡±

    When Annan looked down at the panel, Salvatore exinedcently, ¡°I was thinking, since I would be making the nightmare here, and it was not naturally formed, why shouldn¡¯t I alter it slightly to my wish?

    ¡°Using this agent I invented to enter the dream, you will be kicked out automatically when you die. Although you won¡¯t be collecting the souls of those transcenders, their remnants remain in their curses. I can use this remnant to deceive the nightmares, purifying the nightmare with a ¡®non-existent puppet¡¯.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s genius.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but praise from the bottom of his heart.

    This could be the first nightmare in the world with a ¡°safety¡±.

    It¡¯s not that it can¡¯t be done, but no alchemist has ever wanted to do so.

    After all, ordinary transcenders would struggle to reduce the erosion rate on their souls. It was totally unlike Annan and the yers who could enter the nightmares and grind [2] their progress as though they were games¡¯ dungeon instances.

    For them, the nightmares were more of a ¡°natural disaster¡±.

    Only a few people in urgent need of power would actively seek nightmares to improve themselves.

    Only the priests would treat the nightmare purification as their duty.

    So, why would an alchemist want to help a priest?

    The alchemists were upied with their work without any spare energy. At the same time, they were prideful and thus would not think of this possibility.

    After all, the status of alchemists and priests has been different since ancient times.

    Even Salvatore thought of this to help Annan instead of helping the priests to purify the nightmares more safely.

    ¡°Annan, we don¡¯t have Danton¡¯s soul here. Without the soul as the cornerstone, we can¡¯t extract historical projections from the dream world and turn them into nightmares.¡±

    Salvatore said thoughtfully, ¡°So I have installed a setting¡ª

    ¡°I used the ritual of ¡®the Man in the Mirror¡¯ to make this nightmare into a mirror mode. That is to say, I did not forcibly install a story into the nightmare but utilized the soul of the drug user as the cornerstone to import a story into the nightmare. Then, the curses and the power of the elements in Danton¡¯s skull will serve as a catalyst.¡±

    After Annan pondered for a while, he slowly said, ¡°In other words, if I take this elixir, what I will enter will be my nightmare?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is equivalent to yourself being the dream key of this nightmare. If you distribute this elixir to someone else, the nightmare he sees will be different from yours. However, you may stray into other people¡¯s nightmares since I haven¡¯t perfected the segregation technique.¡±

    Salvatore warned earnestly, ¡°So it¡¯s apound nightmare ¡ª like a gallery. It will be moreplicated than a typical [Twisted] difficulty nightmare.

    ¡°Your advantage is that the nightmare you see must be something you have experienced. However, the challenge also lies here. The consciousness remaining in the curse of others will lead the story in apletely different direction from the actual history. That¡¯s also the possibility of falling into someone else¡¯s nightmare once in a while anding back very quickly.

    ¡°You must give up your habitual thinking route to escape the nightmare.

    ¡°This nightmare is unlike a gallery. It will not erase your memory. The details of each entry may be different, so I rmend taking at least three pills at a time, allowing you to have three opportunities to restart.

    ¡°But, don¡¯t take more than five tablets. Otherwise, it will put too much pressure on your heart and affect your body. Although it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t treat you, it¡¯s always better to be careful.¡±

    Hmm, turning the memory of the past into a nightmare.

    But I have absolutely no memory of Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s past.

    In this case, can the dream world still import nightmares normally?

    Is it better to have meplete it than the past ¡°Annan¡±?

    Annan stopped overthinking.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Annan nodded, looked into Salvatore¡¯s eyes, and replied seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll take the elixir tonight.¡±

    Kafni held Annan¡¯s hand worriedly, ¡°How about I apany you?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I can do it myself.¡± Annan immediately rejected Kafni.

    His juvenile version and Kafni¡¯s juvenile version were different.

    But are they still Annan¡¯s nightmare?

    What could it be?

 Chapter 411: Nightmare: Wolf Kiss

    <h4>Chapter 411: Nightmare: Wolf Kiss</h4>

    [The Dream Elixir has reverberated.]

    [You¡¯re now entering the dream world.]

    [Dream key detected.]

    [Detected the existence of Dream Key: Annan¡¤Austere-Winter.]

    [Searching for nightmares. No keywords avable¡­]

    [Nightmare found.]

    [You¡¯re falling into a nightmare. A dungeon instance is being generated¡­]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has a unique property: Phantasm]

    [When a different person enters this dungeon instance, varying changes will ur.]

    [This dungeon instance will have different changes upon every new entry.]

    [The total soul erosion rate of the team is 2%. In addition, the dungeon instance difficulty increases by 2%, and the nightmare¡¯s mutation probability increases by 2%.]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty isbeled ¡°Distorted¡±.]

    [Warning: Relevant elements are detected. The nightmare has been mutated¡ª]

    [This dungeon instance has ¡°3¡± save points. Death does not increase the erosion rate, and the challenger will be kicked out of the dungeon after 3 deaths.]

    [This dungeon instance provides a storyline with decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Increases the starting profession by 3 levels]

    [Dungeon instance decryption reward: Element (Brilliance) awakening depth increases by 20%]

    [Loadingpleted.]

    After Annan consumed the elixir, he quickly fell asleep on the bed.

    When he slowly woke up and opened his eyes because of the familiar feeling of falling, the data stream in front of him began to dissipate gradually.

    ¡°Yes, I will fall into the abyss one day.¡± Annan heard a familiar yet unfamiliar cold voice ringing in his ear.

    He reacted immediately¡ªit was his own voice.

    Or rather, it was Annan¡¯s voice.

    ¡°My body is burned to the ground, my teeth have rotted, and my flesh has dposed.

    ¡°But until then, I will walk with the light.¡±

    Hmm, it seems like an Austere-Winter poet wrote this poem.

    Such thoughts shed inside Annan¡¯s mind.

    But the nightmare was already loaded before Annan could think further about it.

    When he opened his eyes again, he found himself curled up in the corner at the end of the alley. The freezing air put him in a lethargic state, upied with soreness all over his body.

    His starting health was at 90%.

    En?

    Annan, who had just entered the nightmare, was stupefied for a moment.

    Is this my nightmare? Is it me?

    No way, right?

    ¡°¡­Eh.¡± Annan sighed.

    He suddenly reacted.

    Although this was his nightmare and the body¡¯s age was simr to his, it was not his body.

    When Annan was about to stand up, he suddenly realized that the shape of his spine was different from ordinary people¡¯s.

    This was more like a canine spine than a human.

    Annan looked down, only to find that his skin was also covered with a thickyer of gray-white hair. Both arms and legs were wolf-shaped. Only the fingers were more human-like than wolves.

    He even had a big fluffy, gray-white tail.

    Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a female body.

    Am I a wolf?

    No way, am I a Frost Beast? It doesn¡¯t seem right either.

    Annan thought about it.

    He felt his spine and flesh transform. The tightened muscles in his arms and legs slowly rxed, the fur on his hands and face faded, and his fingers became white and slender, bing more human-like. His figure gradually resembled the shape of a human.

    However, his feet were noticeably non-human, and his fluffy tail and ears had not disappeared.

    Annan stood up this time and felt around the tattered and flimsy clothes on his body.

    Through the touch, he realized that this body was full of bruises and abrasions left after being beaten. However, his bones and internal organs were not seriously injured.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too thin?¡± Annan murmured, ¡°What is this, a werewolf?¡±

    Why does something like this appear in my nightmare?

    It was an outfit befitting for spring and autumn. Strangely enough, Annan did not feel very cold.

    Maybe it was because of the hair that had covered his body.

    But just then, Annan heard footsteps.

    It was the footsteps of an adult male.

    His pupils shrank instantly, and his body subconsciously curled up, crouched down, and looked up.

    It waspletely different from human vision.

    The moment Annan sensed the danger, the whole world in front of him instantly turned into a pure yellow vision.

    Time seemed to flow twice as slow, and colors became blurred and unclear.

    The outline of what was still moving in front of him became bright.

    An old-fashioned-looking old man approached Annan.

    He wore a turtleneck tan windbreaker, a dark brown top hat with beaver fur, a cane in his hand, and heavy plush boots.

    At the moment their eyes met, Annan saw the introduction mission of this dungeon instance.

    ¡°1496, December 30.

    ¡°Your name is Be. You¡¯re a werewolf with no parents and nost name.

    ¡°As we all know, the Frost Beast is a monster that looks like a wolf and is born by devouring spiritual powers such as hope, love, loyalty, happiness, and so on. The werewolves were the aboriginals before the Old Grandmother came to thisnd.

    ¡°There is no blood rtionship between the ¡®Werewolves¡¯ and the ¡®Frost Beasts¡¯. The only simrity is that they both look like wolves.

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t stop the people of Austere-Winter, who suffered from the Frost Beasts, from hating and discriminating against werewolves.

    ¡°Mortals are unable to resist the gue of the Frost Beasts. So in the Austere-Winter Dukedom, the existence of transcenders must be made public. They have the responsibility of fending off Frost Beasts¡¯ assault.

    ¡°If you want a higher social standing, you must either be a transcender or a ritualist. Be, who is still a young girl, is always bullied by the vigers. She made up her mind to ¡®be a transcender or a ritualist¡¯, ¡®be a big shot¡¯, and ¡®get ahead of other¡¯. She recklessly left from St. Alexius Province to Frostwhisper Province during the winter year.

    ¡°This nightmare can be interpreted as Be¡¯s dream or her delusion. She doesn¡¯t know swordsmanship, she doesn¡¯t know how to hunt, she doesn¡¯t know how to read, she isn¡¯t physically outstanding, and she doesn¡¯t have a witty mind. At the same time, she has a thin body and a mediocre temperament. Only her appearance can be regarded as ¡°performing¡±.

    ¡°With her talent, identity, and ability, it is impossible for her to embark on the path of transcendence through her strength. No ritualist is willing to recruit a stupid apprentice. At most, she can only be a private pet for those with a special hobby ¡ª a rare person interested in a werewolf girl.

    ¡°However, Be is not willing to ept such a fate.

    ¡°There was only one thought in her not-so-smart head: She wanted to be a person of high social standing.

    ¡°She is willing to pay any price for this.

    ¡°She is willing to endure all suffering.¡±

    After these words dissipated, a line of words appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes again.

    [Main mission: Be a transcender.]

    Immediately, words of smaller font appeared under the main headline.

    [Join Winter¡¯s Hand.]

    [Complete the ¡°Wolf Kiss¡± training.]

    [Have a face-to-face conversation with Annan¡¤Austere-Winter.]

 Chapter 412: Werewolf Bella

    <h4>Chapter 412: Werewolf Be</h4>

    Is he talking to me? Annan pursed his lips.

    Wait a minute¡­ He¡¯s interested in me.

    Whether the ¡°Annan¡± in this dream was in his first life, he could confirm it as long as he got to have a face-to-face private conversation.

    After all, there were some things that only the ¡°Annan¡± knew.

    For example, the content of his previous life, such as things on earth.

    If he could gain the ¡°Annan¡¯s¡± trust in this era, it would help him to get some vital information.

    But before that, he had to work on the missions first.

    Be part of the Winter¡¯s Hand?

    Annan came back to his senses and watched the old-fashioned old man vigntly.

    Is he from the Winter¡¯s Hand?

    It looks like it.

    The people of Winter¡¯s Hand have no emotions at all.

    *tter.*

    The crisp sound of the cane hitting the ground had a strange rhythm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, puppy. I¡¯m not your enemy.¡±

    The old man stopped five meters away, lowered his head, and made a calm, emotionless voice to Annan, who was crouching on the ground, ¡°You want power, right?

    ¡°Do you want to be a transcender?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan whimpered, and he couldn¡¯t help but avoid the eyes of the old man and lowered his head.

    [TN: We will refer to Annan¡¯s possession as Be¡¯s body as ¡°she¡± from here onward.]

    When ¡°she¡± raised her head again, she had already adjusted her emotions and substituted herself into Be¡¯s identity.

    Those dark golden wolf pupils were full of hesitation, vignce, and hope.

    This was precisely in line with her current personality.

    Annan yed ¡°Be¡±, a werewolf girl who yearned for power because of being bullied.

    She traveled to Frostwhisper Province in search of a change but ran into obstacles everywhere. Her wallet was stolen. When she became penniless, she could only survive by stealing food. But the other beggars had eyes on her because she was carrying food. Even though she snatched a piece of territory by relying on the werewolf¡¯s innate strength, she could barely sleep by relying on newspapers and rags. Thus, she was not living in afortable state.

    This was the possibility Annan analyzed from the clues he found on Be¡¯s body.

    Her clothes were shabby, and an exposedceration was inflicted during a previous fight; her earliest wounds were nearly healed. Some wounds were only a day or so old, so she should have been in a fight twice recently. Since she was not very hungry, she should have eatenst night. Since there was a rag on her body when she woke up, she should have won the fight.

    Judging from those clues, she was particrly good at fighting, and she was alone. Considering her IQ, she might even be foolish enough to ask about how to be a transcender before being targeted by the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The reason why the Winter¡¯s Hand did not approach her at the very beginning was to thoroughly investigate Be¡¯s ancestry for the past few days.

    There would only be someone approaching her after ensuring she was good to go.

    So at this time, Annan must not be eager to agree immediately.

    That would only make them question her motives.

    With Be¡¯s character, she should now¡­

    ¡°But, who are you?¡± Annan questioned, ¡°Being so secretive¡­ I can¡¯t trust you!¡±

    It was reasonable to show excessive vignce and appropriate self-abandonment when she was just attacked and hurt.

    The old man did not doubt Annan¡¯s actions.

    There was still no expression on his face. His pupils were cold, and his expression was stiff like a puppet.

    ¡°I¡¯m from the [Winter¡¯s Hand].¡± He said calmly, raising his right hand hidden in his sleeve.

    On the thumb of his right hand, there was an icy ring that exuded cold air.

    When the old man raised his hand, the air in the alley immediately became cold. Annan couldn¡¯t help but start to shiver. The gray hair on her skin grew back again, and she felt a little warmer.

    ¡°How can I trust you?¡± Annan¡¯s voice was a little louder at first. However, the more she spoke, the less confident she became. Her voice gradually lowered, and there was a vague sense of fear.

    Of course, those were all an act.

    But at the next moment, the old man reached out his hand and pointed at her.

    Annan suddenly felt her emotions calm down for a moment.

    It was like a sedative with her mind going nk. All her emotions were stripped away.

    If she were an average person, she might havepletely lost her ability to resist at this time. But Annan was used to the Reversed Winter Heart and was unexpectedly fine with it.

    But she certainly was not stupid enough to show it at this time.

    At this moment, the old man asked her calmly, ¡°How much are you willing to give up for power?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to give up anything.¡± Annan kept her expression calm and narrated in a low voice.

    ¡°Anything¡ªthat statement doesn¡¯t carry much weight.¡± The old man also responded in the same calm and unwavering tone.

    His pupils were deep and blue. There seemed to be a surging chill visible to the naked eye.

    *tter.*

    The old man struck the floor with his cane and said calmly, ¡°Are you willing to give your soul for the path of transcendence?¡±

    ¡°I would.¡±

    ¡°Can you promise to keep all secrets?¡±

    ¡°I can.¡±

    ¡°Can you give all your feelings and never fall in love with anyone in this life?¡±

    ¡°I can.¡±

    ¡°Are you willing to ughter innocents for orders?¡±

    ¡°I would.¡±

    ¡°What about the women and children?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s a suicide mission, are you willing to do it?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°What if it¡¯s high difficulty with a 90% chance of death?¡±

    ¡°I can give it a try.¡±

    ¡°If I ordered you to do it, would you go?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    So far, Annan had thought about how ¡°Be¡± would possibly reply so as not to answer too affirmatively and not be epted.

    After all, the Winter¡¯s Hand was a state secret service agency, not an assassin organization. They would incline to have a more upright view, which was better and more reassuring.

    But then, the old man¡¯s question gave off a bad feeling to Annan, ¡°Are you loyal to the Grand Duke?¡±

    What is this question?

    Loyalty ¡ª what¡¯s the point? Loyalty is nurtured. No one is born loyal.

    Unless¡­

    Annan replied after giving it a brief thought, ¡°I can be loyal if I¡¯m needed to.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± The old man nodded quietly.

    He raised his cane slightly and pointed at Annan.

    ¡°Hold my cane and stand up. Homeless puppy.¡± In a voice without the slightest emotion, he replied calmly, ¡°From now on, you are under me.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Annan held the cane and stood up.

    He felt that the chilling touch in the depths of his heart was taken away. Suddenly, a feeling of excitement several times stronger than usual poured out.

    He was stunned.

    The previous technique was probably not just for lie detection. A considerable part of the reason was to build a good favorability upon the first encounter.

    The old man withdrew his cane and asked calmly, ¡°Your name is Be, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes! My name is Be. I have nost name.¡±

    ¡°Then Be ¡ª I¡¯m your teacher. You don¡¯t need to know my name. Just call me ¡®teacher¡¯, get it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher!¡± She wagged her tail and leaned forward, her voice full of excitement, ¡°When can I be a transcender?¡±

    ¡°You have to pass the ¡®Wolf Kiss¡¯ test first. You will be the ones walking with the Frost Beasts. If you can¡¯t tame a Frost Beast, you don¡¯t deserve to be a Winter¡¯s Hand.¡±

    The old man turned around calmly and turned his head slightly back.

    There seemed to be a faint blue light shing in his deep eyes, ¡°I warn you onest time. The [Wolf Kiss] may kill you.

    ¡°If you leave this alley with me, there will be no turning back and giving up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± Annan said seriously, ¡°Do you need to teach me anything, teacher?¡±

    ¡°No. You¡¯ll have to survive the [Wolf Kiss] first.¡± The old man answered briefly and turned to leave.

    Annan followed without hesitation.

    His heart moved slightly.

    Wolf¡¯s kiss¡­

    Do you mean getting eaten by the Frost Beasts?

 Chapter 413: Weâ€™re Only The Enemy Of Evil

    <h4>Chapter 413: We¡¯re Only The Enemy Of Evil</h4>

    Annan followed the ¡°teacher¡± out of the narrow and dim alley.

    She raised her head and looked at the gray sky.

    Annan noticed a gray-white barrier in the sky far away. It looked like the frost formed through the condensation of the morning dew outside the window in the middle of winter.

    On the outside of the frosted shell, the whistling blizzard could be faintly seen with the naked eye.

    Annan knew that this was not the cursed barrier the Old Grandmother erected. Instead, it was the heat regtory barrier the Storm Tower¡¯s Edict Wizards had installed.

    In the center ofrge cities, there would be a semi-automatic device called [Large Barrier Generator].

    It was a semi-automatic ritual run by the Edict Magic to refill the barrier. It prolonged its original duration fromsting only three days to an indefinite period. The barrier could be maintained when the materials were continuously replenished.

    Annan heard from Father Vasily that the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s barrier was fully automatic. It involved one of the many pieces of knowledge that many ritualists did not want to publish: ¡°Ritual doesn¡¯t necessarily need ¡®humans¡¯ to participate¡± to suppress the growth of ritual automation technology.

    ¡°Ritual automation¡± was a considerable technology level in Austere-Winter Dukedom and the Papal Kingdom. Unfortunately, this directly put many ritualists out of work.

    They could not even find other jobs.

    If a ritualist lost his job, it was effectively the same as losing the ¡°necessity of existence¡±. After all, every ritualist was dangerous. No one knew how much knowledge they had in their minds and whether they would execute a dangerous ritual someday or bring a severe distortion to the environment because of a failed ritual.

    There were indeed some rituals that could only be performed by humans. But this was because there were special conditions that ¡°must be performed by living beings with self-awareness¡± in some rituals.

    But the effect of the ritual was corrted to its cost.

    Considering the cost, the poor Austere-Winter Dukedom couldn¡¯t use an overly powerful barrier to shield the entire city. Although this barrier was called the ¡°Heat Regtory Barrier¡±, its primary function was to iste cold winds and blizzards.

    The chill oozing from the ground was not dispelled. Instead, the barrier was like a giant, transparent ss cover.

    Even so, theserge cities had be Austerian¡¯sst hope.

    What was used to stop the curse of the Gray Mists was the frigid blizzard that could freeze even the curse.

    Since the blizzard could freeze curses, it could also freeze ordinary people, beasts, and crops into death.

    As a result, the subway usage rate of Austere-Winter Dukedom was dozens of times more frequent than that of other countries. In this case, it was fair to say that the subway was inclined toward civilian usage already.

    The subways of other countries were utilized in the import, export, and transportation of transcenders in and out of the country. In the Noah Kingdom¡¯s case, they had started to build an above-ground railway dedicated to the domestic transport of goods and people.

    However, for Austere-Winter Dukedom, not even the transcenders could travel from one city to another alive, let alone the ordinary people.

    Another weight in the circumstances [capable of freezing curse] was that the transcender would not be able to replenish their mana in the blizzard.

    Even the metals would be cracked in the never-ending blizzard, not to mention that the blizzard¡¯s temperature here was even lower than that in other countries. So it was even impossible to build an above-ground railway.

    Many corpses were buried in the snow of the wild.

    Most were illegal transcenders driven out of the city and left to fend for themselves. Ordinary people could be beheaded if theymitted capital crimes, but not the transcenders.

    If they were to die, they would cause trouble for the people in the city.

    But the expulsion from Austere-Winter in the winter year was the same as sending a person out in a canoe with a day¡¯s worth of food and water from the ship. Again, the mortality rate was evident.

    Ordinary people could only take the subway.

    But ¡°Be,¡± who was yed by Annan currently, was different.

    It was difficult for werewolves to purchase subway tickets, and Be was a werewolf who had no money.

    If Annan had guessed correctly, Be had faced the never-ending blizzard, walking step by step in thend covered with heavy snow across dozens of miles. She must havee from one barrier to another.

    Annan did not know how Be did it.

    But anyway, the ¡°teacher¡± brought Annan to the subway station.

    It was not the same as the subway station in Annan¡¯s memories.

    Inside the brass-colored station, there was a faint roar that sounded like an old factory. The water traces on the ground were slightly frozen. When someone walked on it, there would be a creaking sound.

    The crowd gathered in the hustle and bustle, chattering among themselves. White mist rhythmically spewed out of their mouth and nose as they breathed.

    Although it was a civilian subway, the people here were well-dressed.

    In other words, they only came here to take the subway after they had dressed up.

    Annan, dressed in shabby clothes, appeared out of ce.

    ¡°Is this your first subway ride?¡± Looking at Annan, who was looking around, the old man nced at Annan.

    There was no emotion in those cold eyes.

    Annan showed a silly smile and responded sincerely and enthusiastically, ¡°Yes, teacher!

    ¡°This is the first time in my life that I have taken the subway!¡± Her loud voice caused the people around her to look over with slight disgust.

    However, she did not have any special reaction to it. Instead, she did not care about the sight of passers-by.

    Annan did not lie either.

    This was indeed the first time Annan took the subway in this ¡°life¡±.

    The old man reached out his hand to grab Annan¡¯s arm and let her lean against him, while the other hand inadvertently revealed a cold ring while silently raising his head and scanning the crowd.

    When the passers-by around saw the ring, their expressions suddenly changed. They turned around immediately, pretending that they did not see anything. Even the chatters had faded for a while.

    Although Annan knew it was impolite to speak at this time, Annan still asked curiously out of the need for acting, ¡°Teacher, are they afraid of you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The old man answered straightforwardly.

    There was no emotional fluctuation in his pupils.

    He took Annan into the train that had just arrived and took a seat in the front seat of the first cabin. He had hidden Annan further in at the seat by the window.

    After being seated, Annan continued to ask, ¡°Why? They didn¡¯tmit a crime.¡±

    ¡°Because they know they¡¯re not perfect.¡± The old man replied slowly, ¡°They all know they maymit crimes in the future. That¡¯s why they are afraid of me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The old man replied calmly, ¡°You have to make them fear you like this. The more afraid they are, the less they dare tomit a crime.

    ¡°You also have to keep in mind that we are not righteous but the enemy of evil.¡±

    Annan raised her head the moment she heard this sentence.

    Annan suddenly felt the world around him turning scarlet in the blink of an eye.

    Intermittent shouting, roaring, and crying came from all directions as if he were plunged into the deep water of chaos.

    It felt like an old TV with a poor signal.

    The bustling subway station shuddered a few times. Then, the scene disappeared utterly, turning into a dim room.

    The surroundings were narrow, dark, and damp. It was more like a bathroom than a ward.

    His body turned into a man in his twenties. At that time, he was only wearing underwear, his hands and feet were tied back, fixed on a chair, and he was gasping for breath.

    It felt like he just woke up from a nightmare.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± A sullen, eunuch-like voice sounded behind Annan, ¡°Then, let¡¯s continue¡­ Mr. Danton.¡±

 Chapter 414: The Escape Room Of Death & Fear

    <h4>Chapter 414: The Escape Room Of Death & Fear</h4>

    With that gloomy voice sounded, the surrounding lights turned on instantly.

    Annan narrowed his eyes narrow subconsciously because of the sudden re.

    Is this Danton¡¯s nightmare?

    Even though I was informed that I could be traveling back and forth in multiple nightmares, this is still a little hard to adapt to.

    Is there a mission?

    At this moment, Annan opened up the system panel:

    Health: 95%

    He was startled.

    Not because it was low, but how could it be so high?

    His avatar was being tortured.

    Suddenly, a ssh of cold water came without warning, soaking Annan¡¯s body instantly.

    His hair went utterly wet, and the sudden cold water irritated his back to the point where his muscles tensed. But he was still unable to get up from his chair.

    ¡°¡­Ha¡­ha¡ª?!¡±

    Annan opened his mouth subconsciously, gasping for breath. His heart palpitated intensely.

    In just five seconds or so, twice as much cold water than just now was poured onto him.

    The bone-seeping chills struck Annan into suffocation for a while.

    He had the illusion that he was about to drown for a moment, and then the water flow stopped abruptly.

    ¡°Wait¡­wait! What are you doing?¡± Since another wave of cold water would hit him soon, Annan asked quickly.

    He suddenly fell into this nightmare and didn¡¯t even have the main mission, let alone a guide or instruction.

    He did not even know what was going on!

    ¡°Be obedient, Mr. Danton.¡± The eunuch-like voice sounded gloomy again, ¡°This is a necessary treatment.

    ¡°Your spirit needs to be cleaned.¡± Before Annan could think about it, icy water at the portion that exceeded the previous two sshesbined poured down!

    This time Annan finally could not help but choke. The water was much cooler than thest time!

    This is simply the arctic ice water!

    Only then did he react that this seemed to be a ¡°water treatment¡± that was once used to treat psychic influences!

    But screw this ice water!

    ¡°Cough¡­cough¡­¡± Finally, Annan couldn¡¯t help but cough, ¡°Wait¡­ I¡¯m choking¡­¡±

    The water on the ground had reached his ankles.

    However, more water came before Annan could rest or receive any response.

    But the water did not stop this time, and the man behind him stopped talking.

    At this moment, Annan suddenly realized everything.

    Perhaps the purpose of Danton¡¯sing here was to treat himself, but the ¡°doctor¡± who performed the treatment wanted to kill him!

    I can¡¯t sit still like this!

    I will die!

    Maybe, the next time water sshing on me will be boiling water¡­

    But there are no silver coins around.

    Without any hesitation, Annan tried hard to break free from the ropes that bound his wrists on both sides of the chair.

    He struggled for a while and immediately found that the knot was too firm. It was unlike it was used to stop the patient from struggling, but more like it was used to kidnap someone.

    Can the spell work then?

    Annan quickly shed the spells he mastered in his mind. However, he found that his head was being continuously washed with ice water, and he could not concentrate. There was no way for him to activate the guided spells and chant spells at all.

    He could not even open his eyes!

    Even if he opened it, he couldn¡¯t see anyone in front of him at all. His wrist was buckled down, so [Chilling Touch] wasn¡¯t an option either.

    Wait, something is wrong!

    At the next moment, Annan suddenly opened his eyes.

    Thank goodness Danton learned the spells from the Energy Falteration School!

    Azure blue¡¯s brilliance shed from his eyes. While he lowered his head, he spat out aplicated and cold sentence, ¡°Get out!¡±

    [Frost Lingual]!

    As the words in his mouth sounded, the surroundings suddenly became gloomy and cold.

    A spatter of water turned into a sharp ice de. It quickly flew to Annan¡¯s left wrist. While cutting the hemp rope, it also left a cut about two centimeters thick and four centimeters long on his wrist.

    Annan breathed in the cold air, raised his left hand, pulled out the ice de with his teeth, and then held the de backwardly with his left hand. It allowed him to cut the rope binding his right wrist!

    Then, it would be the ropes at the ankles. As the water level almost reached his knees, he could feel the resistance as his hands plunged into the icy water.

    Perhaps because of theck of [Frostwhisper] profession, Annan felt his tongue gradually freezing after utilizing [Frost Lingual]. His skin also developed obvious frostbite from the sudden cooling of the surrounding air.

    His health was depleted to 53%!

    But the good news was that he finally got up from his chair!

    He looked back and found that there was no one behind him at all. There was only a closed vent at more than two meters in height. A square sewer wasid directly above him, and ice water was sloping down toward the seat.

    Luckily, I responded quickly.

    Annan gritted his teeth and stood up from the ice water staggeringly.

    If he had just tried tomunicate with the person behind him, the water might have almost touched his chest by the time he reacted.

    By then, he could not untie the rope around his ankle even if he had the means.

    ¡°You can trap Danton, but you can¡¯t trap me.¡± Annan muttered in a low voice and said, ¡°Frost element¡ª¡±

    Danton¡¯s body had not awakened the frost element, so Annan had to exchange mana for the elemental power first.

    ¡°¡ªThe frost makes thy wheel, the wall makes thy path!¡±

    With a feeling of emptiness rising in his body, Annan unleashed a Frost Wheel, half the size smaller than him, and quickly sted the wall.

    Ahead of him was an empty, dark space. Then, the water on the ground began to flow over there.

    A doubt suddenly appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    This should be the ¡°past¡± that Danton has personally experienced, right?

    For a Soul Snatch Wizard, this murdering device was far deadlier. There was no way Danton could escape from it, so to speak¡­ but how did he survive?

    Also, who was nning the murder?

    Or, was it just Danton¡¯s ¡°fear for death¡±?

    Annan summoned the panel again and noticed that his health had been drained to less than 50%, so he rushed out the cracked wall without thinking.

    At the next moment, Annan was in a trance.

    He felt he was standing in front of his seat in a daze. The world in front of him once again became a subway.

    Am I back? That¡¯s so quick?

    ¡°Why are you standing? Sit down.¡± The teacher beside her (Be) frowned slightly and said inly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan was about to sit down, but she suddenly froze on the spot when her butt touched the seat.

    Eh?

    She felt her body freezing, and she couldn¡¯t help but shiver.

    After looking down, Annan saw a wound about four centimeters long on Be¡¯s wrist.

    The wound was still new. It was wet around the injury and seemed to be bleeding slowly.

    Annan nced back at the teacher and gestured her left hand.

    But she realized that the teacher seemed unable to see the wound. The teacher¡¯s eyes did not even nce at the wound.

    Annan opened up his panel:

    [Health: 37%]

    Why am I suddenly at myst bit of health?

    I had 90% of Health previously.

    Unless the 53% damage I suffered when I was Danton just now was taken into the calction.

    All the damage suffered in the previous nightmare fragments was inflicted upon me?

    In Be¡¯s nightmare, the damage I had previously suffered is invisible to everyone.In other words, that means there are no ways for me to heal the damage.

    I¡¯m fucked.

    Why do I suddenly feel that three elixirs are not enough?

    Annan suddenly realized the difficulty in this [Twisted] level nightmare.

    She thought that this nightmare was too simple. After all, she had almostpleted all three side missions.

    Unexpectedly, the core difficulty of this nightmarey in the ¡°limited-time escape room at the lowest cost¡±.

    The difficulty with the Gallery nightmare was about ¡°solving the puzzle¡±; the difficulty of the Great Hunt nightmare was in the ¡°role-ying¡±.

    They were all [Twisted] or [Distorted] level of nightmares. The nightmare tentatively named [Wolf Kiss] wasposed of countless ¡°escaping rooms¡± or other dangerous rooms.

    Damn, is this the other-worldly Cube [1]?

    Annan gritted her teeth, shivering in her seat to keep warm while having her mind racing in thoughts. Her heart, stimted by the ice water, was beating fast. There was a faint sore at it.

    She only had three lives and depleted half of them at this time.

    He could withstand about six trials if used reasonably, provided that the ¡°Wolf Kiss¡± ritual would not deduct too much health.

    Let¡¯s wait for the next death escape room.

    Annan could not figure out its specific rules and mechanisms by only experiencing it once.

    I have to do it again.

    Just once is fine¡­

 Chapter 415: Young Annan & Dmitri

    <h4>Chapter 415: Young Annan & Dmitri</h4>

    They did not stay long on the subway.

    After all, they were moving within the city. The teacher led Annan off the subway after a 20 minutes ride.

    After exiting the subway station, they were already at the gate of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    Annan was a little surprised.

    Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke allowed a subway station to be built before his gate.

    Wouldn¡¯t it be noisy? With so many peopleing in and out of the subway station, it would still be quite loud even when there was still some distance from the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence gate.

    With peopleing and going like this, it was difficult to keep the ce safe as well.

    Annan noticed that Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s Residence was much smaller than the Noah Kingdom¡¯s Pce.

    The Grand Duke¡¯s Residence was rectangr. It appeared to have the width of a street. There were about fifty windows per floor.

    The height of the residence reached three floors. Only the innermost section had four floors, forming a white tower.

    There were many circr columns arranged outside. Each column had a four windows gap between them. Soon, Annan realized that the wall rotated about five degrees at each subsequent column. Therefore, it presented a t arc that bulged outward.

    Annan followed the teacher to a narrow door on the right.

    The old man reached out his right hand and tapped the heavy ck iron gate with a ring exuding cold air.

    With a muffled sound, the narrow metal door that was only two people wide opened inward on its own.

    ¡°Enter.¡± The old man answered briefly, then walked in with Annan.

    Annan followed closely behind the old man. She did not see the old man doing anything in particr, but the door closed again automatically after she passed through.

    What? An automatic door. Annanmented in his heart.

    After passing a narrow corridor with frescoes on the walls and ceiling and metal soldier statues on either side, Annan followed the old man into the side door.

    It was a small garden.

    Annan saw a small fountain in the middle. A white trace extended from the fountain to the east, west, north, and south, dividing the area into four rectangles.

    It was rtively wide here, about the size of an ordinary city square. It seemed the ce was much bigger than how it looked from the outside. Surprisingly, this ce already had ten main doors, even not counting the side doors.

    The innermost building should be the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s quarters.

    Where does the Old Grandmother hibernate?

    Is it at the back of that building?

    Or underground?

    Annan remembered that when the Old Grandmother hibernated as a dragon. However, Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s ce was too small. She even wondered if a dragon could be stuffed here.

    This ce was a little bigger than the viscount¡¯s mansion in Roseburg ¡ª just a little bit. Plus, that included dedicated areas for governing purposes.

    Of course, Annan also understood that the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke had a different natural environment than the Noah¡¯s Kingdom.

    The city of Austere-Winter Dukedom was built under the heat regtory barrier. There was not much living space. If the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke family upied too much space, fewer civilians could be amodated.

    What happened now was to allow more people to survive.

    Even the nobles had cramped dwellings.

    Annan could even see the desk inside from the window. Even for the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, the three buildings outside served as the government office building.

    The four-story, one-street-long section was the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s house. This was probably the only dwelling for the Austere-Winter family.

    At this moment, it seemed that the [Winter¡¯s Hand] might also live here.

    For the ruler¡¯s family, this ce was too narrow. The Grand Duke¡¯s dwelling was so limited that it lost the viscount¡¯s mansion.

    Travelers from other countries could not help butpare their royal pces with them and feelcent that their country was bigger than the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    But the Austerians were not ashamed of it. Instead, they were proud of it.

    That was because they had leaders who truly loved their people.

    It was indeed their pride.

    ¡°¡ªStand up, Annan.¡± Just then, Annan suddenly heard someone calling ¡°his¡± name.

    She looked over there reflexively.

    But she found out that two people were standing there.

    One was Dmitri, whom Annan had met in ¡°Nightmare: The Great Hunt,¡± and the other was the young Annan.

    He looked simr to Maria, but with short hair that only reached the shoulders. Maria¡¯s hair draped down to her waist. Other than that, they were almost indistinguishable.

    In their hands, one of them held a ded sword. Indeed, it was not a wooden or a training sword but a ded metal sword that could be used inbat. The only difference was that Annan held the sword in both hands, while Dmitri only held the sword in his right hand, with his left hand in his pocket.

    The young Annan coughed softly, stared at Dmitri closely, and quickly got up.

    ¡°Young Annan¡± did not look at her but spoke coldly, ¡°Again!¡±

    The voice made Annan dazed for a moment. In this blurred moment, ¡°he¡± thought it was Maria from ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡±.

    After all, hearing his voice differed from hearing it from the other¡¯s perspective.

    The next moment, what surprised Annan was the tip of Dmitri¡¯s sword shining with a cold, crystal-colored light.

    As the de moved, frost traces painted the air. Traces of crystal light were left in the air, drawing elegant paths one after another.

    That¡¯s [Frost Sword]! Annan recognized it instantly.

    It waspletely different from the Frost Sword Annan used.

    Dmitri¡¯s pace was like fencing, moving back and forth rhythmically.

    The young Annan¡¯s de was also quickly stained with pale white marks from the Frost Sword. However, the damages were only at the degree of LV1. Only light frost marks that were barely visible to the naked eye could be seen.

    The young Annan appeared as if using a greatsword. While spinning the sword above his head like a helicopter, he lowered his body and charged forward.

    This was the [Bodyguard Swordsmanship] that Annan was good at!

    However, Dmitri¡¯s figure flickered like a phantom before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    As Dmitri took a step back, he pointed out the long sword and tapped at the young Annan¡¯s sword.

    Frost traces glued the two swords together. At the same time, Dmitri easily broke the bnce of Annan¡¯s footsteps. With that, the young Annan couldn¡¯t help but fall forward. The sword that was initially protecting his head section was thrown back to his waist.

    Immediately after, Dmitri took a step forward. He pointed the cold de at young Annan¡¯s neck, backhanded!

    He wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge it!

    The young Annan loses his bnce, and it appears as if he is rushing to the de with his neck. How could he avoid this attack?

    At this moment, Annan took a step forward subconsciously.

    Not trying to ¡°save himself¡±, but subconsciously did not want to see a child die in training.

    But the old man pressed on her shoulder.

    ¡°¡­?¡±

    Before Annan could ask, the young Annan instantly crouched and stood on both feet like a cunning young wolf. At the same time, he sent out one of his hands and pped Dmitri¡¯s right inner wrist from the bottom up.

    The mysterious technique of utilizing body weight shook Dmitri¡¯s grip on the sword.

    At the same time, the young Annan suddenly spun in a circle. Instead of a sh, it felt more like flinging his sword.

    With the attack incorporating the spiral momentum, Annan¡¯s de collided with Dmitri¡¯s de, and the sword in Dmitri¡¯s hand was instantly knocked away!

    That¡¯s [Disarm]! Annan realized immediately.

    This was one of the starting skills that Annan had mastered.

    But for Annan, [Disarm] was just a technique that forced the opponent to release the weapon when the opponent showed a w. It was not so fancy at all.

    Wow!

    In my childhood form, did I have so muchbat experience?

    But just when Annan thought ¡°he¡± was going to win, Dmitri suddenly stepped sideways and took a step forward.

    Frost traces spread silently to the ground from under Dmitri¡¯s feet. His slender legs assaulted the knee socket of Annan¡¯s right leg, hooking Annan¡¯s right leg and staggering him forward. After that, he happened to step on the icy surface smoothly.

    It was a fluent and light kick from the side. Dmitri¡¯s attack glued Annan¡¯s knee socket to the ground, leaving Annan only half a meter away from the ground.

    Then, the young Annan fell to the ground in an embarrassed manner.

    The frost traces on the ground returned to Dmitri¡¯s feet again.

    He kicked his de up lightly and held it in his hand again.

    ¡°Stand up, Annan.¡± Dmitri spoke again.

    The young Annan caught a couple of breaths before getting up again.

    The real Annan next to him was dumbfounded.

    No wonder Annan fell to the ground during the swordsmanship sparring¡­

    Is the Austere-Winter family so good inbat?

 Chapter 416: The Protectors Of Austere-Winter

    <h4>Chapter 416: The Protectors Of Austere-Winter</h4>

    This exquisite fighting technique¡­

    If Annan could grasp it when he transmigrated to this world¡­ or when he just awakened his memory, Annan could defeat ten opponents at once, no matter if they were bandits or mercenaries.

    He did not even realize that the Frost Sword could adhere to and drag the opponent¡¯s weapon. He still did not understand Dmitri¡¯s technique of reproducing Esmeralda Blood Freeze.

    [TN: Steven¡¯s ability allows him to decrease the temperature of his blood to freeze targets. (link)]

    As a matter of fact, Dmitri was not a transcender at all.

    In other words, the technique fell into the ¡°skill ¡± category, just like [Frost Sword]. It was not the utilization of transcended power.

    Moreover, that fluent swordsmanship with kicks.

    Annan was confident that even an ordinary Silver Rank transcender, who was not proficient inbat, would not be able to defeat Dmitri in closebat.

    Also, Dmitri was using a one-handed sword only.

    Dmitri did not utilize an extra crossbow or shield with his free hand. Instead, he had one in his pocket.

    Suddenly, Annan noticed that he was watching his younger self and Dmitri for too long.

    Annan¡¯s heart suddenly tightened. In a low voice, she asked the old man and brushed off the suspicion, ¡°Is that Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke?¡±

    [TN: I will describe Annan as ¡°she¡±, since Annan now possesses Be.]

    ¡°That¡¯s His Highness Dmitri.¡± The old man replied calmly and emotionlessly, ¡°Next to him is His Highness Annan.¡±

    ¡°Can I¡­¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± Before Annan could say anything, the old man refused indifferently, ¡°After you pass the [Wolf Kiss] ritual alive, you will naturally get to meet his highnesses.¡±

    Hearing the old man¡¯s voice, Dmitri turned around.

    His long, pure ck hair fell to his waist. However, it was slightly different from his hairstyle on the Noah Continent. Dmitri had braided his hair.

    However, he was clean with no trace of dirt and dust to be seen. The serious frowning expression was still there, like in Annan¡¯s previous memory.

    He nced at Annan, who was a werewolf at the moment, without saying anything or asking her name.

    Dmitri just turned around and looked at the old man. ¡°Is this the one who traversed the blizzard?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The old man nodded.

    He did not pay a formal greeting to Dmitri, nor did not say any honorifics. Instead, he replied calmly, ¡°If it¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll take her for a ¡®Wolf Kiss¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Go.¡± Dmitri frowned and nodded slightly.

    The young Annan on the side also looked over calmly. The real Annan just happened to look over.

    For a moment, their eyes met.

    For some reason, Annan felt a chill in her heart after being stared at by ¡°him¡±.

    Annan held her breath.

    The seemingly weak body was unexpectedly divine.

    It was reminiscent of the deities. Those were indifferent and clear gazes.

    Others might not realize it, and they might through that was a well-behaved appearance of ¡°seriously and quietly listening¡±.

    It was something only Annan could perceive.

    That was definitely not what he had seen before.

    It was definitely not the look that Annan would have.

    At this moment, Annan realized that he was apletely different person before the memory loss despite sharing the same memories on Earth.

    The influence of Winter Heart on personality was far too significant.

    They might have the same knowledge and the same soul in their bodies.

    However, reversing the Winter Heart could determine his course of action.

    If the current Annan was like a fearless ¡°Adventurer¡±, then Annan in the previous life was like a ¡°Demon King¡± with nopassion and empathy.

    Those were eyes indifferent to life, power, and the world.

    Annan did not doubt that the previous ¡°self¡± might destroy the world.

    Is this me who acquires the Winter Heart?

    It was not like an ignorant young child trying to inherit this talent and responsibility, but having the positive emotions frozen over time.

    Annan was still a little lost, but he felt his shoulders were being held down.

    She woke up and followed the old man inside the building, ¡°Be.¡±

    The old and indifferent voice from her ears brought her back to reality, ¡°The fate of the Austere-Winter family is already heavy. Don¡¯t let them remember the names of the dead, and don¡¯t let them talk to the dead.

    ¡°We are the Protectors. We are not only protecting their bodies but also their minds. Since birth, they have not felt joy, hope, courage, or love. The Frost Beats feasted on their emotions since birth.

    ¡°Do you understand the pain?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, teacher.¡± Annan was silent for a while but answered honestly.

    She really could not empathize with it, but she was aligned with this possibility.

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t understand.¡± The old man said tly, ¡°But you will soon understand.

    ¡°Why did the Winter¡¯s Hand devote allegiance to the Austere-Winter Family? We have full respect for them because we have tasted the bitterness of despair. If you have not experienced it, you will not understand.¡±

    With that, the old man opened the corridor door with the ring again. ¡°Go in. It¡¯s right at the end.¡±

    He announced, ¡°Come in, Be.¡±

    Annan noticed that the corridor was dark and deep, with no lights.

    The old man took the first step and walked in.

    Before being engulfed by the darkness, he turned his head to give Annan a nonchnt look and motioned her to follow.

    Is there really an end?

    Annan grew suspicious of it after the old man¡¯s warning.

    She remembered that the old man mentioning the ¡°Wolf Kiss¡± ritual was capable of killing a person.

    This dark corridor was too suspicious.

    Will a Frost Beast lunge at me when I¡¯m halfway through the corridor? Then, therees the chase event.

    Annan was silent for a while but stepped inside.

    But right after he walked in, the door behind him suddenly creaked and closed on its own, making a muffled thud.

    The next moment, Annan suddenly felt the world around her turning scarlet in the blink of an eye.

    It¡¯s the familiar feeling.

    But this time, I haven¡¯t sat down yet¡­

    Those sentences just popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    He heard the intermittent screaming, roaring, and crying in his ears,ing from all directions.

    It was like a TV with a bad signal. The world around him was noisy and jittery.

    After a few moments, Annan fell into a trance, realizing that he had fallen into a long corridor.

    The corridor was unusually pure white, reminiscent of a girl¡¯s fair skin.

    At a position about one meter below, it looked like the skin scorched by fire, browned, charred, distorted, soaked in blood, and even dripping grease could be seen.

    At the end of the corridor was arge piece of a pure red curtain five meters high. It was also clean and pure red, just like the corridor¡¯s walls.

    Annan had be a middle-aged man dressed as a detective.

    He wore a beret with a pipe in his mouth. He also held a heavy cane with a steel core in his right hand.

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and took a sip of his cigarette.

    This body seems proficient in analytical thinking. He is worthy to be a detective.

    I should take advantage of this perk to sort out my thoughts.

    This time Annan did not trigger the dream crossing mechanism when he sat down. Instead, he fell into his nightmare when he entered the corridor.

    So, do I fall into someone else¡¯s dream when the surrounding environment fits the scene of a particr nightmare fragment?

    Previously, the old man put Annan in the subway train¡¯s front row. Annan entered the nightmare the moment the subway door closed.

    During that moment, the space in front of Annan shared the same distance as he was from the wall in that ¡°treatment room¡±.

    With that inference, the length and width of this corridor should also be simr to the corridor at Austere-Winter¡¯s Residence. Annan could take this opportunity to verify this hypothesis. However, he had to leave this nightmare first, so he temporarily noted this conjecture in his head.

    The treatment room was blurred. Inparison, it showed that this corridor was not a memory ¡°remembered¡± by the deceased.

    Come to think of it, they did not have a soul at all. How did the dream world download the relevant information?

    It was just their mental imprint ¡ª an abstract, deep fear hidden in a curse or stored in their mind.

    What Danton dreaded was the treatment¡­ So, was he suffering from a mental illness?

    Did that happen after he became the Soul Snatch Wizard?

    Or was it before?

    If these nightmare fragments were the things that the dead feared, it was unsurprising for anything that happened in the nightmare. It would be illogical, resembling a real ¡°nightmare¡± in sleep.

    ¡°What will it be this time?¡± Annan exhaled a smoke ring and murmured in a low voice, ¡°Fire? Demon? Or what?¡±

    But fortunately, there was no immediate danger in this ce at the start, unlike thest nightmare fragment.

    So, he decided to check his status panel in the end.

    Health 100%. Awesome.

    I have a dagger and a pistol with six bullets.

    I don¡¯t have a mana pool, so this body is not a wizard. The muscles aren¡¯t well-trained, and there is no trace of swordsmanship.

    Is it a hunter?

    Or lurker?

    Regardless, Annan did not know any skills in those professions.

    He only knew that he had three silver coins in his pocket.

    ¡°Ah.¡± The corner of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly, and he grabbed one of the silver coins without hesitation.

    ¡°Tribute to the silver coin, Lord Silver Sire.¡±

    He kissed the silver coin and said in a low voice, ¡°Bless me¡ª¡±

    So Annan no longer hesitated, raised his head, and walked forward.

 Chapter 417: Mr Detectiveâ€™s Fear

    <h4>Chapter 417: Mr Detective¡¯s Fear</h4>

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and walked forward slowly.

    He puffed his cigarette, and his mind gradually became clearer.

    Fragments of information quickly connected in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    This could be the curse effect held by the host of this dream.

    Can smoking improve thinking? Is it a pipe? What gas is inhaled?

    Wait, it doesn¡¯t matter.

    Annan quickly interrupted his thinking from deviating too far.

    Is the inclination to deviate from the main thinking path aponent of the curse?

    Hmph.

    ¡°This is weird.¡± Annan snorted softly and stroked the stubble on his chin.

    The middle-aged male detective spoke charmingly and methodically, ¡°A real detective? Sure enough, it¡¯s a [Hunter] type profession.

    ¡°How much curse does it hold that it influences my behavior patterns? Hmph, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Annan forced himself to stop thinking again, reaching out and gently touching the white wall beside him.

    This is not an illusion.

    When Annan came into contact with the wall, he immediately recognized that the wall was soft.

    Roughly speaking, it gave off the feeling of the skin. In terms of muscle density and fat density, the person was not petite, but not fat either, probably slightly chubby.

    ¡°This thinking ability.¡± Annan bit his lip when he realized that his mind was racing.

    Why does the white wall immediately give me a sense of ¡°girly skin¡±?

    Shouldn¡¯t the thinking pattern generally start with the wall color being ¡®lily¡¯ or ¡®cream¡¯ or something?

    ¡°There¡¯s only one reason. This is the first time I¡¯ve entered the body of a transcender whose mind far surpasses mine.¡±

    Annan said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s like how I possessed Be¡¯s body and acquired the werewolf transformation ability and dynamic vision. After I acquire the body of a detective, do I also have his ability to think and analyze?

    ¡°It turns out that this nightmare is about focus. I should still focus my attention. The thinking deviation may not be the side effect of the curse, but my will is not adapted to this level of thinking speed. Afterpleting the thoughts, I subconsciously think further¡ª

    ¡°No, calm down. Let¡¯s continue to analyze this ce¡­

    ¡°I instinctively make associations to other things because this body has superb analytical thinking.¡±

    Annan stopped, squatted lightly, and reached out to touch the skin that seemed to be scorched by fire.

    Sure enough, the sensation was the touch of the skin after being scorched.

    He turned his head and squinted at the pure red curtain fluttering in the distance.

    It was indeed a charming and pure red.

    Compared to the curtain on the stage, it had no heavy shadow; if it waspared to the silk skirt, it had no reflection.

    ¡°Is that blood? No, it¡¯s fire. That exins the scorch marks on the walls.¡±

    Annan murmured in a low voice, speaking out to limit the speed of his thinking, ¡°When I reach the corridor¡¯s end, will the curtain turn into mes and block the way?

    ¡°But why are the scorch marks closer to the ground when the curtains are hung high?¡± Annan stomped lightly.

    The texture feedback told him it was an old wooden floor under his feet. With theck of damp proofing [1], the moisture on the floor was terrible.

    Since it was detailed to this extent, it was not fabricated out of thin air.

    Is it different from Danton¡¯s Nightmare?

    This is what Mr. Detective has been through.

    ¡°Strange.¡± Annan whispered, ¡°Why haven¡¯t there been traps yet?¡±

    ording to his reasoning, this nightmare section should beposed of one escape room after another. Moreover, it should be a deadly trap based on the nightmare¡¯s host¡¯s character.

    For example, Danton¡¯s weakness as a Soul Snatch Wizard was theck of direct attack. Thus, there was no living person in his nightmares at all. The continuous pouring of ice water stopped him from using anyplex spells. The eunuch¡¯s voice might be his fear of the Rotten Man. The gradual death trap corresponded to Danton¡¯s overly conservative character.

    Indeed, Danton had an overly conservative character.

    Danton had controlled the Fourth Prince for several years. If he took a little risk, he could try to plot and control Henry VIII.

    But he never made a move in the end.

    On the one hand, it was because of obeying Rotten Man¡¯s orders. On the other hand, it should be his prudence. Or rather, the indecision that was based on timidity.

    Well, since this is the detective¡¯s fear of death.

    What kind of trap will it be?

    ¡°I¡¯m standing here thinking, and I have collected so much information. But time doesn¡¯t seem to have passed at all. I even took a few steps forward, but there was no reaction. It is too calm.¡±

    It is as if I was deliberately left here to think.

    Could it be that?

    Annan¡¯s heart suddenly tightened.

    He no longer hesitated and suddenly trotted forward.

    His boots tapped on the wooden floor, making a series of noises.

    Along the way, there was no sudden attack, and everything around was unusually calm.

    But the sense of danger in Annan¡¯s heart also became stronger.

    After approaching the pure red curtain, he did not try to get under it.

    Silver, slender des protruded from Annan¡¯s fingers.

    Annan raised his right hand forward while turning sideways.

    What he had seen before, the match between the young Annan and Dmitri, came to mind.

    The swordsmanship skills that belonged to Dmitri had revived from the depths of Annan¡¯s memory.

    The de was not covered with crystal-colored frost.

    However, the iparably light cuts formed a perfect arc in the air.

    Without hurting the de incarnated through the [Sharp Object] skill, Annan cut off the curtain blocking the path with a few shes.

    Unexpectedly, the curtains instantly burned and turned into threatening mes after they fell to the ground. The curtain that had not been cut off in the air also burned. The mes visible to the naked eyepletely blocked the entrance.

    Even though Annan backed away subconsciously, he could not escape the rapidly spreading mes.

    That scorching heat was not the ordinary me burning on a wooden floor. Instead, the reaction felt like a lit match falling into gasoline on the ground.

    The fire spread so fast that it was unstoppable and irreversible.

    If Annan did not cut the curtain, he would be enveloped in mes when he tried to slip through the curtain.

    But even so, I can¡¯t survive this at all!

    Just as Annan was thinking about how to escape, another voice appeared in his mind:

    Does Mr. Detective fear mes? Why? What¡¯s up with the skin on this wall?

    ¡°You¡¯re so noisy!¡± Annan yelled and threw the smoking pipe away.

    The thought eleration brought about by the pipe was irrelevant.

    There was something else more pressing than that.

    While stepping through the sea of ??fire, he quickly took off his jacket and held it around his head. In addition, he did not forget to put the remaining two silver coins in his trouser pocket.

    There is no time to drench myself with water. I have to rush through this ce!

    Annan endured the burning pain on the soles of his feet and dashed forward in the corridor that turned into a sea of ??fire.

    He held his jacket up and crashed directly into the door that was burning with mes!

    There was no pain.

    But the jacket burned directly.

    After rushing through the door of mes, Annan quickly ran to the wooden steps behind the door, took off his jacket without thinking, and swung a few times in the air to try to extinguish the mes.

    Luckily there were no mes on the steps.

    But the more he swung, the more intense the mes.

    What is the pattern? What does this me foretell? That corridor¡ª

    ¡°Damn, is this brain sick!?¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help butin.

    He threw the unsalvageable jacket directly behind him, kicked open the wooden door, and raised the [Sharp Object] in his hand.

    Don¡¯t move. That was what was in his mind.

    But after seeing everything clearly, Annan¡¯s pupils shrank instantly.

    He was not in the basement at all.

    Annan had a misjudgment since he did not feel any shaking movement.

    I¡¯m in the cabin.

    This is a zing passenger ship.

 Chapter 418: The Untouchable Fire of Reasoning

    <h4>Chapter 418: The Untouchable Fire of Reasoning</h4>

    Annan realized something was wrong the moment he broke through the door.

    The smell of alcohol, burnt, blood, and gunpowder¡­

    At the moment of catching these smells, Annan figured out everything.

    No doubt a group of pirates had alreadynded to plunder this ce.

    These pirates utilized alcohol and fire arrows and quickly dismantled the resistanceing from the sailors.

    The sailors just held their heads in their hands, stopped resisting, and allowed the plundering.

    The reason was probably straightforward.

    They had to put out the fire as soon as possible. Otherwise, all the people on the ship would die in the sea.

    So they did not even have the will to fight. If they could not satisfy the pirates as soon as possible, they would all die here as time passed.

    It was just a merchant ship.

    The ship was not designed to defeat pirates but to put on more people and goods.

    The pirates did not kill them at all. Instead, they were hustling people and cargo on deck.

    Probably some agreement was reached. After moving part of the cargo, the sailors would still have time to put out the fire.

    Annan saw a chubby woman in her twenties with fair skin looking at him in horror.

    She was being towed onto the pirate ship by two pirates.

    ¡°Dad!¡± She looked at Annan and shouted.

    But why?

    That doesn¡¯t seem like a desperate cry for help but consternation and fear.

    ¡°¡ªUgh.¡± Suddenly, Annan couldn¡¯t help but hold his throat due to the intense suffocation.

    He gasped for breath, but the world in front of him suddenly became hallucinatory.

    The world around him was quickly dyed with many strange colors ¡ª cyan, blue, green, yellow, and purple. The colors changed rapidly, and a strong sense of suffocation came from his chest.

    Intense dizziness overwhelmed Annan and put him to the ground.

    ¡°Yo, it¡¯s a Master Transcender.¡± Someone sneered, ¡°He seems to be a priest.¡±

    After Annan broke through the door, he was immediately noticed by the pirates holding the silver de.

    But the pirates were surprisingly calm.

    Being stared at by a transcender, they did not even panic.

    Annan looked over but couldn¡¯t even see their faces.

    Their faces were blurred, like the passers-by in a dream.

    The eyes of ridicule stared at him from all directions.

    ¡°Even the barrier can¡¯t stop your curiosity?¡± The pirate sneered, ¡°It¡¯s the high seas here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting your death.¡±

    At that moment, Annan realized the detective¡¯s fear.

    He was a stowaway, or possibly a transcender who had broken thew in another country.

    He could not use the subway, so he chose to board this passenger ship to cross the border.

    But for Mr. Detective as a transcender, the dense air of the Gray Mists over the high seas was untreatable and poisonous. Thus, he could only stay at the bottom of the cabin with the sealed barrier.

    Unfortunately, he happened to be plundered by pirates.

    The plunder might not have happened. After all, those pirates did not even have faces. Their faces would be recorded in the nightmare if it was real history.

    It was not something that happened after all. Instead, it was a hypothetical nightmare made up of nothing but fear.

    Instead, this was the detective¡¯s ¡°hope¡± or ¡°fear¡± that a pirate would kidnap his daughter.

    Is it because his daughter is already dead? Or is it because his daughter died from the fire, or something else¡­

    In short, the oue must have been his daughter found dead on the upper floors.

    He knew this clearly, but he couldn¡¯t leave that corridor, and he could only think quietly.

    He could only stand in ce and think calmly. Unfortunately, he could not do anything else, just like a real ¡°detective¡±. The ¡°me¡± blocking the exit was to prevent him from seeing the truth with his own eyes; the scorched wall indicated that his daughter died ¡°due to fire¡±.

    Even if he knew everything, he could not save or kill anyone ¡ª [The Predicament of the Aware].

    ¡­Damn it¡­how is this brain¡­still racing at such a moment¡­

    Annan¡¯s consciousness gradually became blurred.

    Is this what a transcender feels after entering the Gray Mists?

    Heartache and shortness of breath;

    The voices around you distort and be distant;

    The color of the world in front of me bes strange and dazzling;

    There is a strong, endless metallic sound in the brain like tinnitus;

    The skin seems to be on fire, and the pain ensues¡ª

    Am I not turning into a demon?

    It¡¯s even possible to have the curse burning me to death.

    I will most likely lose my first life here.

    Such thoughts popped into Annan¡¯s mind.

    If Annan wanted to escape, he had to analyze the truth of the ¡°fire¡± and stay in ce, wait for a while, or simply be burned to death by the me.

    But that was not what Annan wanted.

    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Annan coughed suddenly and spat out a piece of an internal organ.

    Since living is no longer possible, I should kill my enemies with no reserve!

    He raised his head, and his pupils shone with a dazzling glow.

    It was the sparks when the overflowing curse and the soul struck each other.

    Consume one silver coin and activate [Eternal Youth].

    Annan regained some strength.

    He jumped out suddenly, beheading the nearest pirate with one sh!

    Boom!

    At this moment, Annan was shot in the abdomen and thigh in two gunshots.

    At the moment when the pirate¡¯s head had not yetnded on the floor, thest silver coin in Annan¡¯s hand ignited the brilliance.

    Silver de!

    The [Sharp Object] in his hand suddenly shone with dazzling brilliance.

    In the blink of an eye, the silver weapon turned into a splendid silver light held in Annan¡¯s hand.

    With the blow that Annan shed with all his strength, a silver de about three meters in length, like a crescent moon, quickly slid across the deck against the waist of ¡°Mr. Detective¡±. It divided all the pirates, crew members, passengers, and masts into two!

    ¡°Cough¡­¡± Annan¡¯s mouth was overflowing with blood.

    He looked at the ¡°daughter¡± whom he had cut in half, and a thought shed through his mind.

    Not because of the fire of reasoning but because I recklessly rushed out of the safe house and killed her along with the unknown murderer.

    Will Mr. Detective be satisfied with such a thought?

    ¡°Probably, not¡­¡± Annan murmured and knelt on the deck where he was alone, gradually turning into a gray-ck stone.

    The next moment, Annan woke up suddenly.

    She felt herself kneeling at the beginning of the dim corridor.

    After entering the corridor, did I not even take a single step?

    But my posture is the same as before entering the Detective Nightmare. So I should note this down.

    I don¡¯t know how long it has passed. Based on the previous nightmare jump, it should be just a moment.

    Annan touched the back of her left hand.

    Sure enough, the wound on the back of her hand was gone.

    She opened her status bar again:

    Health: 100%

    Soul Corruption Rate: 2%

    My corruption rate hasn¡¯t increased? Well, that¡¯s normal too. After all, they are imitated Gray Mists.

    [TN: Erosion will be referred to as corruption from here onwards.]

    However, since my health suddenly returns to full, is it because I have already died once?

    Does the save point mechanism work like this? There is no longer a re-challenging mechanism, just fully restoring my health. So, that¡¯s how it is.

    Taking a deep breath, Annan stood up slowly.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Wolf Kiss ritual, right?¡± She quickly cleared Mr. Detective¡¯s memory from her mind.

    Maybe something rted to this could be encountered again in the future. But now, for Annan, the most important thing was toplete the nightmare of Werewolf Be and let her be promoted to a transcender.

    I still have two lives left, right?

    Annan no longer expected himself to resolve the mystery revolving around the dungeon instance at once.

    At first, he also thought, ¡°since this is his nightmare, maybe he can decrypt it 100% in one shot¡±. But after dying once, Annan had calmed down.

    He had lost one life even when none of the side missions werepleted.

    It was not an instant-death event with no skills involved but a genuine challenge imposed in the dungeon. Even if Annan challenged the dungeon again, he was not confident of clearing the dungeon in full health.

    How would he know if the mes would spread to him even when he stood still in the ¡°Mr. Detective¡± dungeon?

    ¡°Maybe I should bring yers into this nightmare?¡± Annan muttered.

    But what¡¯s the use of this?

    So, I get to see how they deal with the dungeon on a live broadcast.

    However, there was no value in this move for Annan. What Annan needed to decipher was Be¡¯s nightmare or his nightmare. The nightmare fragments of the dozens of innocents would be different every time he crossed into other nightmares. The real value for to have the yers in this dungeon was to study ¡°how to avoid triggering nightmare jumps and lose health meaninglessly¡±.

    ¡°Well, this is considered a Rogue-like Horror Game. The yers may like it. Horror game without a clear and direct route.¡±

    In a sense, it was the same type of nightmare as the Gallery Nightmare.

    Then, let¡¯s get the yers to find the specific locations that can trigger the nightmare jumps.

    If Annan¡¯s inference was correct, the type of nightmare that would be triggered should be the same in the same ¡°type of ce¡±.

    Let¡¯s first go and see what the [Wolf Kiss] ritual is and what it will offer.

    Worsees to worst, I can try to see if it is possible to team up with the yers!

    If I can form a team of four people and one person has three lives, it is equivalent to twelve lives.

    This thought filled Annan with determination.

 Chapter 419: Thoreau Nick

    <h4>Chapter 419: Thoreau Nick</h4>

    Annan walked slowly and cautiously in the dark corridor.

    [TN: Annan is still possessing Be¡¯s body.]

    After she concentrated, the world before her stretched long and wide again. Her vision wasplimented with a dim yellow hue, and the speed of time seemed to slow down tremendously.

    This ce was the residence of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. Therefore, it was unlikely that there would be any enemies.

    But after all, the job she ¡°applied for¡± was the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    As the official transcender agency of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, which also served as the secret service, maintaining vignce might add merits to the interview.

    However, there was a movement in front of Annan¡¯s eyes the next moment.

    Is it reallying?

    Annan narrowed her eyes slightly, and her hands silently turned into bestial ws.

    Although it was a dark corridor, a human-shaped silhouette could be seen moving due to the werewolf¡¯s vision.

    It appeared to be about 1.7 meters or so, and the figure was rtively thin.

    Although he disappeared from Annan¡¯s vision immediately when he stopped, the man made a move again as Annan got closer.

    He reached out and grabbed Annan¡¯s neck silently.

    There¡¯s no killing intent.

    Is it part of the exam?

    Annan did not stay passive in her thoughts.

    The moment the man reached out and grabbed Annan, she immediately swiped in front of her and crouched.

    She tightly hugged the opponent¡¯s calf with both hands, then immediately got up. Utilizing the strength from her waist, she leaned backward and threw the man to the ground.

    ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± The man groaned in pain.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine now, Be.¡± The old man¡¯s t voice sounded in the darkness, ¡°He has no malice.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan replied obediently.

    Otherwise, she would not just throw him only.

    However, the Wolf Kiss ritual would have to be postponed if the man caught her.

    After all, she had to undergo a certain amount of training before going to the ¡°exam¡±.

    The light filled the narrow corridor again as the old man squeaked the door open.

    Annan saw the young man lying on the ground, groaning as the sun illuminated the ce.

    It was a young man with light brown hair, fair skin, and freckles on his face.

    He appeared to have thin cheeks, and the cheeks had even sunken inward. His spirit did not look good, and his forehead was bruised and bleeding from Annan¡¯s backward throw.

    But when he stood up, his gaze towards Annan became somewhat eager.

    ¡°Hi, my name is Thoreau Nick.¡± The young man made a low, indistinct voice and extended his right hand slightly toward Annan as if he wanted to shake hands but did not dare.

    Meanwhile, he kept staring at Annan¡¯s face.

    The strange eagerness made Annan feel a little awkward.

    I beat you up, so why are you so enthusiastic about me?

    Is this person a pervert?

    ¡°He¡¯s your senior. Like you, he hasn¡¯t passed the Wolf Kiss ritual. You two will work together in a moment.¡± The old man on the side spoke without a hint of emotion, ¡°Just like you, he is also a homeless person.¡±

    ¡°Are you a werewolf too?¡± Annan heard the ¡°teacher¡± and looked at the pale and thin man.

    She whispered, turning her right hand back into a human hand, and shaking hands with Thoreau Nick.

    ¡°No, he is not.¡± The old man replied coldly, ¡°Even in the entire ¡®Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯ organization, you are the only werewolf.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the child of a murderer. Both of my parents are murderers. They died very early.¡± Thoreau Nick whispered shyly, ¡°I don¡¯t have the money to study swordsmanship, so I go to make money. However, when I have the money, the teacher still won¡¯t let me learn it because of my low social status. So, I secretly learn it from the side.

    ¡°But in the end, I was discovered and was beaten out by the teacher.

    ¡°Teacher said if I learn swordsmanship, I will use it to kill someone. Later, when they spread the word, it became that I would definitely kill a person. So, they kicked me out.¡±

    ¡°Driven out?¡± Annan froze for a moment, then realized that it meant being exiled out from the barrier.

    ¡°After that?¡± She asked subconsciously.

    It was the old man standing behind them who answered Annan.

    He put his two hands on the shoulders of Thoreau Nick and Annan, respectively, and replied calmly, ¡°I picked him upter. I saw that he had an excellent talent for the path of transcendence, so I led him to this path.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Thoreau Nick¡¯s voice was a little louder.

    In his eyes, Annan seemed to see a sparkling me. ¡°Only the teacher is willing to take me in, and only the teacher is willing to teach me the knowledge of killing¡­¡±

    It was a light yet fanatical voice, ¡°The teacher is my benefactor! For the teacher, I can even offer my life!¡±

    ¡°Murdering is an untouchable line for civilians. But for us, killing is just one of the means,¡± said the old man slowly.

    There was no expression on his face. His deep pupils were cold as ice, ¡°But you must never kill people for fun. Those who let their desires inte can¡¯t pass the Wolf Kiss ritual.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand, teacher¡­¡± Thoreau Nick¡¯s voice suddenly became much lighter.

    He lowered his head, and his eyes became uncertain and cowardly again.

    But facing him like this, the old man did not react.

    Sensing that this was an opportunity, Annan could finally spit out the doubts in her heart, ¡°What is the Wolf Kiss ritual?¡±

    The old man was silent for a while, then turned away silently.

    Thoreau Nick reacted quickly, hurried over, winked at Annan, and motioned her to follow quickly.

    They followed the old man through two corners and entered the basement.

    Annan immediately sensed an intense chill.

    It was like stepping into a cold room¡­ No, it was even colder than that.

    Even when walking, Annan could feel creaking at her knees. Her joints were screaming like aputer turned on in the cold winter or the fan making a whirring noise.

    She subconsciously wrapped her whole body in fur and couldn¡¯t help but hunch her waist and try to curl up.

    To Annan¡¯s surprise, neither the old man nor Thoreau Nick reacted to the chill.

    The old man seemed to ignore the cold altogether. Thoreau Nick¡¯s hair was starting to frost, but he did notin or was surprised.

    Suddenly, Annan realized something.

    This was probably where the Old Grandmother hibernated.

    After they got down to the bottom, the old man turned on the light and said inly, ¡°We have arrived.¡±

    After a short dy, the iconic light green sparks of the ¡°Green Fire¡± ignited, leaping across the room.

    Then, a bunch of bright orange-yellow light bars illuminated the entire basement.

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly, crouching on the ground. Her tail wagged uneasily.

    Although Annan guessed long ago that this might have something to do with the Frost Beasts, she never expected that there would be so many of them.

    It almost felt like a chicken farm.

    They were now in an underground warehouse of about one hundred square meters.

    The wall was painted red, and arge ¡°3¡± wasbeled on the wall.

    There were seven rows and seventeen columns of iron cages on the four walls.

    Each cage was one meter wide, one meter high, and three meters deep. In each cage was a translucent, pale white wolf soul like a soul beast.

    After the lights came on, the Frost Beasts, lying on their backs, stood up from their cage and opened their eyes.

    Their pupils were iparably pure ice blue.

    ¡°The so-called Wolf Kiss ritual is to let you sleep here after the Frost Beasts are released.¡±

    The old man said slowly, ¡°After you fall asleep, you will enter a nightmare, in a state ofpletely losing positive emotions. The nightmare isposed of your memories of thest few days. As long as you break free from this nightmare, you will pass the Wolf Kiss ritual, and you can be an excellent transcender.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was suddenly stunned.

    She realized a severe problem.

 Chapter 420: Nightmare: A Dream Within A Dream

    <h4>Chapter 420: Nightmare: A Dream Within A Dream</h4>

    ¡°Awesome.¡± Annan whispered, ¡°I¡¯vee to understand everything.¡±

    It was a crucial topic.

    First of all, it was impossible to re-enter the second nightmare whilst in a nightmare. A nightmare was a projection of the souling from the dream world. Although it was so real that it could even be seen as another trajectory in history, it would not affect reality.

    A projection naturally should not produce another projection.

    In other words, it was impossible to enter a new nightmare while in one.

    This was also the primary way to distinguish between nightmares and reality.

    The reason why Annan appeared in this nightmare with many nightmare fragments intermittently appearing was that the original nightmare had a unique mechanism bound to it.

    It was about the ¡°Unique Property: Phantasm¡±.

    It had nothing to do with the ¡°distortion¡± that urred in the nightmare.

    Since the nightmare was already distorted, it meant that some parts of this nightmare were altered, resulting in some unexpected changes that could not be duplicated.

    Annan even searched for a long time to find out where the ¡°distortion¡± of this nightmare happened.

    He was very concerned about it.

    Back then, in ¡°Nightmare: Reflection¡±, the nightmare had undergone ¡°unrepeatable¡± changes probably because Evelyn was still stuck inside the nightmare.

    In other words, the Evelyn in that nightmare was not the Evelyn extracted from the dream world after her death, but the Evelyn who had not truly be an undead.

    If Annan went into that nightmare again, many traps would be different.

    Therefore, it was essential to study the distortion in nightmares.

    But just for a moment, Annan realized with hindsight where the distortion of this nightmare had happened.

    This nightmare was apletely unsolvable dead end.

    ¡°Hehe¡­hahaha¡­¡± Annan suddenly couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    For him, that was a great joy.

    That was the satisfaction of solving the mystery.

    Not the emotion from knowing that his happiness was about to be devoured by the Frost Beasts.

    Smelling fresh ¡°joy¡± and ¡°satisfaction¡±, the Frost Beasts were restless, scratching the edge of the cage, and there was a lot of noise in the originally quiet basement.

    The old man¡¯s movement to release the Frost Beasts suddenly stopped.

    He turned around suspiciously and looked at Annan silently.

    He did not speak but had already questioned Annan without words.

    Annan just waved her hand and restrained her smile.

    ¡°Teacher,¡± she asked respectfully, ¡°How do we be transcenders?¡±

    ¡°You need to survive the Wolf Kiss ritual first.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean. If an ordinary person wants to be a transcender, what does he need to do in the end?¡±Annan asked.

    The old man fell silent for a while, then replied, ¡°After umting enough power, he has to enter a nightmare.

    ¡°Like you, who can traverse through blizzards, and Nick Thoreau, who has been trained. You two have reached that standard.

    ¡°So you need to survive the nightmare once at this time. You will use the curse power from the nightmare to corrode and perforate your soul. Through the ¡®hole¡¯ punched by the curse, you can continuously obtain the curse power from the outside world. Only those who can restore their curse power over time can be called a transcender.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThat is to say.¡± Annan chuckled, interrupting the old man¡¯s words.

    He straightened up slowly and said calmly, ¡°If I want to be a transcender, I have to ovee a nightmare, right?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°But, that¡¯s impossible,¡± said Annan calmly.

    The voice belonging to Annan ovepped with the voice belonging to Be and sounded underground, ¡°Because this is my nightmare.¡±

    The next moment, the nightmare started to shake. Its magnitude was not severe, like a minor earthquake.

    Whether it was the silent old man like an iceberg, or Thoreau¡¯s Nick with his head lowered, they all became stagnant, like puppets.

    Soon, the ceiling copsed into pieces, smashing open the cage that bound the Frost Beasts.

    But the Frost Beasts did not take the opportunity to attack Annan but whimpered and hid in the cage as they huddled in the corner. A few others ran out of their cages and tried to escape outside.

    But there was nothing outside.

    Therefore, Annan would never be able to achieve the main mission of [Bing a transcender].

    Why was Annan able to master all the abilities belonging to werewolves immediately after entering this world? Like in the separate nightmare fragment, he had the detective¡¯s power as soon as he possessed the body.

    In fact, during Annan¡¯s previous entry into ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡±, he did not have the slightest bit of the original owner¡¯s ability to deceive and read minds; when he entered ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±, he did not master the artist¡¯s artistic talent, and he even did not understand those paintings.

    There was only one answer.

    In essence, this nightmare that Annan had entered into wasn¡¯t his nightmare.

    This world was false and superficial.

    ¡°Why did you make me Be instead of myself? Because even you can¡¯t understand me.¡±

    Annan sneered, ¡°Why do you let me see Danton¡¯s fear of death? What are you implying to me? What are you trying to tell me in Mr. Detective¡¯s nightmare fragment? Are you warning me to discard the superfluous rationales? Do you want me to act on my body¡¯s instincts?

    ¡°But who gave me the instinct of the body?¡±

    This was a nightmare that Annan could never achieve the main mission.

    A side mission itself required ess to the nightmare within one.

    Also, a nightmare of having a dialogue with ¡°self¡± in a nightmare.

    ¡°What are you trying to tell me? What are you trying to mislead me?¡± Be¡¯s persona soon left Annan¡¯s voice, reverting to his clear and transparent voice.

    His face and skin that belonged to Be started to disintegrate.

    Only the face belonging to ¡°Be¡± remained.

    Annan picked it up and threw it into the air.

    Be¡¯sst piece of skin gradually turned to ashes in the air.

    He stared at the disintegrating nightmare and the empty air.

    Evelyn was the ¡°relevant element¡± that caused the ¡°reflection¡± to be distorted back then.

    So, what was the detected ¡°relevant element¡± that distorted his nightmare?

    There was only one answer.

    Annan looked at the empty sky and calmly asked thest question, ¡°Since you have trapped me here, what are you trying to do?

    ¡°Dream Stealer, Mr. Danton?¡± At the moment when nothingness disappeared, a few lines of words that had been obscured for a long time appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes.

    That was his real main mission.

    [Main mission: Wake up]

    Immediately, arge piece of small fonts appeared again under this line of words:

    [Escape from the edited nightmare (Completed).]

    [Collect at least seven fear fragments (3/7).]

    [Find and kill the residual consciousness of Dream Stealer Danton]

 Chapter 421: Annanâ€™s Real Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 421: Annan¡¯s Real Nightmare</h4>

    So, that¡¯s the real main mission.

    After the false dream copsed, Annan finally entered his real nightmare.

    What was presented to him was a world on the verge of being broken.

    Looking down, it was a bottomless abyss.

    A broken wall, like a vast ship, was slowly sinking downward.

    The direction of gravity was unreal. There were even some horizontally flipped ruins that were turned upside down 180 degrees.

    ¡°Looks like the opening scene where a demon will pop out and chat with me.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help butin.

    He was now near the bottom of the pit. Looking up, there were paintings of different sizes hanging on many broken stone walls of different heights.

    But unlike ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±, the content on each painting here was simple.

    It was either the eyes, the ears, or the mouth.

    The eyes and mouth opened and closed at varying intervals.

    Those facial features should be extracted from people Annan had encountered.

    Annan had figured that out just because he noticed Salvatore¡¯s trademark tired eyes with dark circles at a nce among the many portraits.

    To be honest, Annan did not see many people whocked sleep to this extent and had not died yet.

    Annan looked up. The dark red sky had an icy blue eyeball recing the position where the sun would typically be.

    If Annan guessed correctly, that was his pupil.

    An ice-blue light beam scanned the ground, following the direction of the eyeball. The ground struck by the light beam had a thinyer of the ice surface in the blink of an eye. Then, it quickly dissipated after the eye looked away.

    ¡°So, is this a parkour game?¡± Annan murmured somewhat unexpectedly, ¡°Do I need to avoid this light? If I get hit, will I die or something?¡±

    How do I collect these fear fragments?

    At this stage, Annan had collected three pieces.

    Two of them should be obtained from the two nightmare fragments. The third piece could be Annan¡¯s fears.

    Suddenly, Annan noticed that two paintings in the distance were burned. There was also a painting with a dagger emitting a rainbow-colored light on it. He was assured that it was his ¡°other eye¡±.

    ¡°I got it now.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    If everyone¡¯s memory fragments would generate a sub-nightmare, there should be 63 nightmare fragments here.

    Then, the mechanism of entering the nightmare fragments must be obvious.

    The entrances were these paintings.

    For the paintings made up of the eyes, ears, and mouths of people, which Annan did not recognize, there was a high probability of them being the fragments Salvatore added.

    Could it be that because I had participated in the Gallery nightmare, its manifestations had also changed ording to my subconscious?

    ¡°¡ªWell.¡± At this moment, the eye in the sky nced over.

    Annan did not take any chances and hid in the nearest cover immediately.

    He nced around, took two steps forward, and jumped up.

    The inverted gravity was quite obvious.

    Annan jumped halfway and was ¡°sucked¡± to the left. In other words, he was falling toward the debris on the left with the wall in Annan¡¯s direction.

    Just in case, Annan chose to flip his body dexterously like a cat andnded on the ground lightly in a posture on all fours.

    He stood still, relieved his dizziness, and rushed forward again.

    After a few jumps, Annan leaned against the wall behind him.

    This was to prevent himself from being caught by the eyeball in the sky when he entered a nightmare fragment.

    The problem now is¡­

    Where the hell is Dream Stealer Danton hiding?

    Could he be in a fragment? Well, there¡¯s no end to them.

    Or do I have to collect at least seven fear fragments to find Danton?

    But if I don¡¯t catch Danton, will he change the nightmare again?

    Annan pondered as he quietly nced at the painting in front of him.

    If he guessed correctly, there should be an entrance to the escape room in these paintings.

    ¡°Are these Benjamin¡¯s eyes? Whose mouth is this? Looks like Kafni¡­ But here are Kafni¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Ah, it¡¯s this¡ª

    Finally, Annan noticed an unfamiliar pupil.

    Annan had never seen such cold gray pupils. He would have memories of it if he encountered one.

    Those gray eyes in the painting quickly sensed Annan¡¯s gaze.

    The moment its eyes met Annan¡¯s.

    All the paintings with ¡°mouths¡± suddenly made sounds simultaneously.

    Shouting, roaring, and crying assaulted Annan from all directions.

    This time, there was no jitter like a TV with a poor signal, but his whole vision went dark.

    By the time the light came back, Annan had gotten a new body.

    This time it was a young woman with a good figure.

    She wore a white turtleneck and slippers; it seemed Annan was in her home.

    Annan nced out the window, suddenly startled, a little lost.

    Outside the window were a blue sky and white clouds.

    Annan had never seen such a clear, jewel-like sky.

    Noah¡¯s sky resembled those in industrial cities. Although the sky was visible, what you see after raising your head would be gray. That was due to the excessive factory.

    There was only a whistling blizzard above the dome barrier for the Austere-Winter¡¯s skies.

    But in this ce¡­

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but walk toward the window.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± She was not quite used to her new body, but fortunately, she still had no problem walking.

    Looking out from the window, the beautiful scenery made her a little lost.

    It was a spectacle that closely resembled the pattern of modern high-rise buildings.

    At first nce, the buildings had at least ten floors. They existed in either a group of four or a duo. In the middle of each group of high-rise buildings, some things looked like elevators and ss straws.

    Gold and silver tunnels protruded from these pipes, winding around adjacent buildings like blood veins while emitting light. Perhaps because of the color matching, it did not feel disgusting and gave a sacred feeling under the sun.

    Annan also saw two massive statues. They were at least twenty stories high (roughly a hundred meters or so).

    One of the statues was a heroic knight riding a red horse, wearing red armor and a red helmet. He held a massive, exaggerated six-ded spear in his backhand, looking like he was about to smash the tip of the spear into someone in front of him at any time. That weapon was like abination of a spear and a mace. It was highly deadly, whether it was a piercing attack or a shing attack.

    The other one was a barefoot child with white hair and white robes with long hair. From the view at the back, it was a little unclear whether it was a man or woman. He spread his hands forward, palms up, and bowed his head slightly as if he was saying something.

    ¡ª¡ªAnnan knew at a nce that it was Red Knight and Mr. Ray.

    Is this the Papal Kingdom?

 Chapter 422: Being Put In A Tight Spot

    <h4>Chapter 422: Being Put In A Tight Spot</h4>

    Annan had also wondered about how the mysterious kingdom built above the clouds, the Papal Kingdom, would be.

    Unexpectedly, the first time he saw the scenery of the Papal Kingdom was in someone else¡¯s nightmare.

    Although it was called ¡°the Papal Kingdom¡±, the technology here was quite developed.

    Annan saw steam airships hovering in the sky, tricycle-like vehicles moving swiftly on the streets even without horses, and the golden and silver pipes transporting items to every household.

    Some tower-like buildings were hollowed out, with manyplicated gears operating them. Many huge pipes about a meter thick warped those buildings like a snake.

    This ce looks much more prosperous than the Noah Kingdom.

    No wonder people in the Papal Kingdom look down on people from other countries.

    This exins it.

    Just by taking a nce, Annan was confident that there was a technology gap reaching more than two hundred years.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Just then, Annan suddenly heard a loud noise from the door.

    It was not a knock on the door but the noise of a drunk man kicking at the door.

    Annan held her breath and instantly turned her attention to it.

    [TN: Annan possesses a female in this nightmare. Thus we will be using ¡°she¡±.]

    But she did not ask ¡°who is there¡± on reflex.

    There was no need to ask someone kicking the door with that question.

    Instead, it would be better to pretend not to be at home.

    She closed her eyes and evaluated her body.

    This body had a mana value about the middle level of Bronze Rank. She specialized in the Edict school. But she could not use the spells of the Energy Falteration School. At the same time, Annan did not know any Edict magic.

    Besides, her body was frail. She had poor reaction speed, and her body hardly had any muscles. Thus, she might have never learned how to use a sword. Annan might not necessarily y her opponent through this body.

    Fortunately, there was a silver coin at the corner of the table.

    Annan quickly grabbed the silver coin.

    She noticed that the silver coin was wiped clean, and she was not someone short of money.

    The coin seems to be often held in hand. Is it used for divination?

    Will she still have Prophet school spells?

    While Annan¡¯s thoughts were racing, she was not at aplete halt. She hesitated a little, took off her slippers, and hid them under the table carefully and quickly.

    Immediately afterward, she ran to the closet in the bedroom.

    No, wait a minute.

    She hesitated, grabbed the upper level of the wardrobe, and tried to jump.

    But, she failed.

    ¡°¡ªDong!¡± There was another bang at the door again.

    Annan tried again and finally jumped on it this time.

    She crawled inside in struggle, pushing the folded quilt to the outside while she curled up.

    Luckily, she was short, allowing her to shrink in a small wooden cab.

    Then, Annan closed the closet door carefully, keeping her breathing long and light.

    ¡°¡ªDong!¡± Finally, the third loud bang came.

    Several footsteps came from the door.

    ¡°Activate the recording ball!¡± a man ordered.

    A strong ¡°hum¡ª¡± noise resounded in the air the next moment.

    The rustling sound was like many bugs crawling on the window, or the whispers of a big crowd repeatedly echoed in the air.

    Someone responded quickly, ¡°We have activated the moring psychic noise. No Edict spells will work now!¡±

    The first voice whispered, ¡°The target is not necessarily at home. Search carefully! But don¡¯t cause any damage to the ce. Remember the items¡¯ original location before searching, and remember to restore it at the end.¡±

    ¡°We spare no mercy. Repeat! Kill on sight!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡±

    Another voice replied.

    Annan frowned slightly.

    What are these people doing?

    She initially thought this might be a group of viins attacking a young woman, but now it seemed like they were units dedicated to hunting down Edict Wizards.

    Not even capture, but the order to kill?

    Why?

    If their goal was to kill Soul Snatch Wizard or Destruction Wizard, Annan could still understand it. Even a rigorous hunt on Idol Wizards still made logical sense.

    But do you have such a big grudge against Edict Wizard?

    They are just a group of obedient wage earners. Besides, she is a Bronze Rank Edict Wizard. Apart from the ability to distinguish real names, poisons, and curses, she doesn¡¯t have much spatial ability.

    But blocking off Edict spells did not matter to Annan. After all, he did not know any Edict spells in the first ce.

    Suddenly, footsteps crashed into the room.

    Annan held her breath immediately.

    Unsurprisingly, the visitor looked at the bedroom for a while and then directly went to the wardrobe.

    He mmed the closet roughly, then immediately stepped back a few steps and pointed his pistol into the closet.

    ¡°Tsk.¡± He smacked his lips regretfully and closed the wardrobe door slightly.

    As Annan expected, the space above the wardrobe was too small. It did not seem to have enough space for a person to hide there. Thus, no one had anticipated it.

    ¡°Eh?¡± But the next moment, the man eximed in suspicion.

    Annan¡¯s heart tightened.

    She reacted¡ªthe slippers under the table that were noticed.

    Annan had to put her slippers at the door if she wanted to pretend she was not at home.

    However, rushing to the door might not be a smart move under the pretense that Annan did not know how long the door wouldst, having someone kicking it.

    It was usible that the door was broken through as soon as she had just reached the door.

    But there was no other way now. At that time, there was nowhere to hide the slippers. She did not expect there would be so many people assaulting this ce.

    After all, she only heard a knock on the door.

    If there was only one person, she might be able to kill the target through a surprise attack using the curse ¡°the Last Work¡±.

    However, it appeared that there were at least four of them.

    Even if Annan could deal with one of them, she could not deal with the remaining three. Instead, she would be encircled in this small room.

    It¡¯s better to wait for them to leave.

    ¡°Hiss¡­¡± After the man saw the slippers under the table, he contemted.

    He sniffed the air and wandered the room with his gun in hand.

    Annan shrank in the tiny space, not even daring to take a breath.

    After a while, a voice came from outside, ¡°Have you found anything?¡±

    ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t seem to be at home.¡±

    The man replied, ¡°Let¡¯s head back?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The person outside responded inly, ¡°Remember to restore it to its original state.¡±

    Then, the man began to recover his rummaging traces. As the man passed by the wardrobe, he closed the door, blocking Annan¡¯s sightpletely.

    His footsteps quickly moved toward the direction outside the door. Then, Annan heard the bedroom door closing.

    Is this the end? Annan was startled.

    Also, not everyone could react so quickly and hide like her. Maybe the other dungeon challengers would subconsciously ask ¡°who¡±.

    Something is still wrong!

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank to the extreme in an instant.

    He¡­

    Why does he close the door?

    The original state of the bedroom is that the door is not closed!

    The next moment, the wardrobe was suddenly opened again.

    There was no one in front of Annan.

    Only a pistol gleaming with silver light and etched with spells pointed at the small space above the wardrobe.

    The man hid on the side of the closet and pointed the gun at Annan through the quilt.

    ¡°Miss, can you pleasee out?¡± The man¡¯s gentle voice sounded, ¡°We are not hostile, but we just want to ask you something.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± There was a pause before a soft reply was uttered.

    Bang!

    The next moment, the man thumped and closed the wardrobe door without hesitation.

    Bang! bang! bang! bang!

    The screams of a girl suddenly came from inside.

    Without hesitation, the man fired at Annan¡¯s location, backed up, and shouted, ¡°I found her. I need backup!¡±

    The screams gradually grew softer and subsided quickly.

    Soon, the sound of footsteps came.

    Four people rushed into the bedroom with the ball that kept making noise. After entering the room, the group continued to shoot at the top of the wardrobe without anymunication.

    There had been no response, but they were still pouring bullets at it cautiously.

    Then, there was another half-minute of silence.

    There was no sound inside either.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look.¡± The voice of the man who took the lead came.

    ¡°No, Captain!¡±

    Another young voice sounded, ¡°Let me do it!¡±

    The man walked up slowly and cautiously opened the wardrobe door.

    He was already prepared. When he opened the door, he was mentally prepared to see the corpse of a woman who had died in a tragic state.

    However, all he saw was a tall, middle-aged man with ck hair and ck eyes curled up there.

    His eyes were burning with the fire of anger.

    The bullet shattered his shirt, revealing the pale and robust muscles inside. Small holes were punched out on him¡ªthe bullets embedded in the epidermis of his torso, unable to prate the skin.

    The next moment, a mighty fist stuck out, breaking the bridge of the young man¡¯s nose with one punch!

    Like a fish jumping out, the powerful marble body lunged on the young man¡¯s chest. Annan opened his hand, grabbed the young man¡¯s head from the front, took advantage of the momentum to push his target down, and mmed the back of the opponent¡¯s head to the ground!

    [TN: Anna took the form of [The Last Work ¨C David]. Thus we will be using ¡°he¡± pronouns.]

    In just a moment, Annan had already killed one person.

    He turned his head and looked at the remaining three with zing eyes.

    ¡°David¡±, who kept his smile, had a cold expression at this moment.

    ¡°I hope you can give me an exnation,¡± said Annan calmly.

    His left eye shone with brilliance¡ªthe curse light that belonged to the Silver Rank.

    ¡°Sir, this is a misunderstanding.¡± Seeing this light, the middle-aged man in the lead was silent for a while, but he still admitted his defeat.

    He tried his best not to look at the man on the ground and said in a low voice, ¡°We have no intention of going against you. We are just collecting some materials on the orders of our lord.¡±

    ¡°Whose order?¡±

    ¡°The Deity of Extortion and Promise Keeping, Protector.¡±

    The man responded quickly, ¡°He is the Silver Sire¡¯s subordinate deity. They requested us for some Edict Wizard¡¯s spine. We¡¯re telling the truth.¡±

    His attitude is sincere, and he doesn¡¯t seem bluffing.

    Spine?

    Is it Sage¡¯s Stone again?

    Annan nodded slowly.

    Great.

    Everything makes sense now.

    He walked slowly toward the middle-aged man, his clenched fists gradually loosening.

    ¡°I see.

    ¡°But you attacked me for no reason and made me lose that woman.¡±

    Annan walked over as he uttered his words slowly.

    If the group ran into someone else, they might have deceived the person.

    People in the Papal Kingdom probably did not know that the Protector had never left the Noah Kingdom.

    It was not May yet. The Protector could notmunicate with people abroad at all!

    The remaining three hesitated and subconsciously took a half step back.

    Although Annan could not use any spells now, it did not mean he did not have enough deterrence. After all, no matter if it was David or himself, they were genuine Silver Rank.

    A couple of them should be ordinary people.

    What a weak fear.

    What she fears should be ¡°being hunted and killed¡±.

    Annan walked to the middle-aged man. Without warning, a silver de protruded from the palm of his hand, piercing the heart of the leading middle-aged man.

    ¡°But I, David, don¡¯t believe your nonsense!¡± Annan grinned, showing a cruel smile, and slowly pulled out the silver de.

    Seeing that terrifying smile, the remaining two took two steps back in fear.

    Although they had guns in their hands, they dared not confront Annan at all.

    Annan was a Silver Rank Transcender.

    But they obviously could not see it.

    Annan¡¯s health was left at 9% after being shot by them.

    Annan turned into David after being shot to lure his enemies. The purpose was to sustain a couple of bullets and scream to prove that he was hit.

    Now there was a bullet embedded in his heart.

    He would lose some health just by taking a couple of steps.

    However, on Annan¡¯s face, there was an arrogant smile akin to the viin.

    This expression made the two of them afraid to flee and dared not to attack.

 Chapter 423: Are You Spying On Me, Danton?

    <h4>Chapter 423: Are You Spying On Me, Danton?</h4>

    ¡°Hoho¡­¡± Annan narrowed his eyes and let out a low, arrogantugh, ¡°What about the truth?

    ¡°Who is it? Who has asked you to trouble her?¡±

    ¡°The Last Work: David¡± was 180 centimeters tall, and his muscles were incredibly sturdy and burly. However, it was not that obvious when wearing a coat. But after bullets destroyed his shirt, it became intimidating.

    Watching the two remain silent, Annan grabbed a bullet stuck in his shoulder into his left hand.

    Under the terrified gazes of the two, he slowly clenched the bullet into a ball like he was ying with a walnut.

    Annan¡¯s health dropped by 3% because of this action.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Annan sighed and shook his head boredly, ¡°I¡¯m tired of this.¡±

    He punched over, knocking the person closest to him directly to the ground.

    When he raised his fist, the man subconsciously crouched down.

    However, Annan seemed to have predicted his movements from the very beginning.

    The ce where he initially punched was exactly where the man would squat!

    From another person¡¯s point of view, it seemed as if that person had deliberately bumped his head into Annan¡¯s fist.

    This body was like a marble statue ¡ª a stone statue of a sturdy man weighing more than 500 kilograms, and the strength of a punch could even parry an iron sword directly.

    The punch hit the nose; the man fell to the ground with a muffled sound and passed out.

    Thest person raised his gun subconsciously and aimed it at Annan.

    Annan grinned and stared back without fear.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to shoot?¡± He said slowly with tremendous pressure, raising his right hand and holding the silver de.

    Annan stood there like a sculpture.

    He pointed to his forehead with his right thumb.

    ¡°Try this ce?¡± The husky voice was terrifying, exuding a terrifying murderous aura.

    The opposing man was trembling, unable to hold the trigger.

    Of course, Annan¡¯s movements were slow. It was because he had already felt his heartpletely shattered by the previous blow.

    His life force gradually dissipated even just standing there motionless.

    ¡°Give me the gun if you don¡¯t dare. Don¡¯t waste your time.¡± The man hesitated for a moment, finally slowly inverted the muzzle¡¯s direction, and put the gun in Annan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°We are hired guns, my lord. I have no intention of going against you. Please spare me.¡±

    The man said in a low voice in clear logic, ¡°I can answer anything you want to ask; I can also leave my contact information. If you need me to do something for you in the future, you can look for me.¡±

    Annan snorted.

    If he knew at the beginning they were all ordinary people, and there were no transcenders, he would transform directly and kill them on the spot.

    This was indeed his mistake.

    The previous fear fragments were too biased toward solving puzzles. Thus, Annan subconsciously conformed to the previous thinking approach on ¡°how to use what is already in the dungeon instance to solve the mystery¡±.

    Unexpectedly, there was ¡°the fear of being unable to ask for help¡±.

    The fear of this female wizard was somewhat simr to Danton¡¯s fear. In other words, wizards feared being ¡°unable to cast spells¡±, which was also normal.

    But, these fear fragments were not a real nightmare after all.

    Since it was not a record extracted from the Dream World, it must be the information that the dead wizard himself had.

    Why are the people of the Papal Kingdom collecting spines?

    Could it be that the crafting recipe of the Hermetic School Sage¡¯s Stone was leaked to the Papal Kingdom?

    This is unlikely.

    Or is it that Danton¡¯s fear is mixed in here again?

    Thinking of this, Annan spoke in a harsh voice, ¡°Before that, give me all your money.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Hearing such a request, even the only survivor was stunned.

    Annan growled impatiently, ¡°Hey, what do you mean?

    ¡°Are you letting me touch that dirty thing with my hands?¡±

    Dirty stuff?

    Do you mean the ¡°corpses¡±?

    The man was startled.

    He quickly realized that this might have something to do with the curse of this formidable person.

    ¡°Yes, yes¡­ please wait a moment¡­¡± He responded immediately, handing his wallet to Annan.

    Annan opened it and found about a dozen banknotes and five silver coins. It seemed this was already a lot at the level of ordinary people.

    He inadvertently took out a silver coin and said inly, ¡°That¡¯s all?

    ¡°You intend to buy the wizard¡¯s life with this money?¡±

    ¡°No, no¡ªof course not. There¡¯s more, but it¡¯s all with the captain.¡± The man whispered, lowering his head down.

    In fact, Annan kept this victim alive intentionally.

    When Annan killed the first person, and when he slowly approached them, this person took the most steps back. He was also the one with the most intense fear on his face. It was for this reason that he was at the back of everyone.

    Annan was behind him and suddenly asked, ¡°So, who is it?

    ¡°Don¡¯t fool me with the name of the Protector. I have gone abroad. Answer me immediately while you look for the stuff!¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord. We are just Austere-Winter¡¯s mercenaries. Old Bart the ¡°Sore Head¡± gave us this listst month and the recording ball that recorded the [Mind Buzzer] spell. But we don¡¯t know who is the boss behind it.¡±

    ¡°In other words, the other party doesn¡¯t necessarily want an Edict Wizard¡¯s spine? Or not necessarily her spine?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    While lying on the ground picking up things, the man exined in a low voice, not daring to look back, ¡°He also provided additional methods to counter Soul Snatch Spells and Idol Spells, but we can only mute Edict Wizard¡¯s magic before seeing them. So it is safest to hunt Edict Wizards.

    ¡°And we will investigate the specific coordinates on our own.¡±

    As he answered, there was a vague doubt in his heart.

    He suddenly began to wonder why the man hid in the closet, given his overbearing nature.

    And, what about the female owner of this house?

    At the very beginning, he only heard her screams. The ce was so small that it was supposed to be impossible to hide two people.

    He vaguely realized something and turned around.

    ¡°¡ªBang! Bang!¡± Two gunshots sounded without warning.

    Annan, who had transformed into a girl¡¯s body, fired without hesitation.

    However, the physical body was rtively weak. Annan was not confident about hitting the head, so the first shot was aimed at the back.

    But the first shot missed. Originally, Annan wanted to hit the lungs or stomach and aim the second shot at the head. However, the first shot went directly to the shoulder, and the second shot went to the cervical vertebra.

    ¡°Why do you turn around?¡± Annan sighed, ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to y dumb now?¡±

    As Annan spoke, she immediately transformed back to the female body.

    After that, she urgently used silver coins to repair the wound on her body. Before the silver coins were depleted, she had restored her health to 45%.

    Originally, Annan wanted to fully restore her health before killing the man.

    After all, David¡¯s body was made of marble. The Silver Sire¡¯s healing divine art was ineffective on it. If Annan wants to regain health, he must revert to the female body.

    But if he changed back, there would be a cooldown period. He would not be able to transform right away. That girl had nobat experience, so it was impossible to fight with that body.

    If it was the divine art used by Father Flint to repair machines or the Divine Art used by the Elegant Elder to repair statues, those spells might be of some use.

    Annan¡¯s vision went dark. Then, he returned to that broken world again.

    Annan¡¯s health had dropped to 45% while gaining another fear fragment. His body had many bullet holes, and blood slowly oozed out. It even affected his movements somewhat.

    As for the painting that Annan entered previously, it had now beenpletely burned to ashes.

    But Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Suddenly, he opened his mouth and said, ¡°Are you spying on me, Danton?¡±

 Chapter 424: Annan Seizing The Initiative

    <h4>Chapter 424: Annan Seizing The Initiative</h4>

    ¡°You may have all my memories to create nightmare imitations, but you¡¯re a fool.¡± Annan leaned on the wall behind him and said slowly, ¡°If you had the same wisdom as me, you wouldn¡¯t leave so many loopholes.¡±

    Naturally, there was no response to Annan¡¯s words.

    But that did not matter.

    After exiting the nightmare, Annan understood Danton¡¯s logic.

    Danton survived his nightmare because Salvatore underestimated the power of a Gold Rank transcender and added Danton¡¯s brain as a curse material to the elixir.

    After the soul was ¡°dyed¡±, it had essentially surpassed the limit of the ¡°human¡± race.

    Danton was a real inhuman.

    After all, only Danton¡¯s spine and soul were taken away. At the same time, his brain was still intact despite having his soul taken away.

    For this reason, Salvatore used them as the main ingredient for the Dream Elixir.

    Salvatore must not have expected that the final product retained Danton¡¯s fragmented will even when the soul was lost, the brain was whipped into a pulp, boiled, and filtered.

    But luckily, it was just a fragment of his will.

    Danton¡¯s actions were rigid like machines, probably because there was no soul.

    In other words, Danton could not see through Annan¡¯s bluff in pretending to be strong.

    All of Danton¡¯s actions had a clear goal.

    He pulled Annan into a fake ¡°Nightmare: Wolf¡¯s Kiss¡± to get Annan to ept the Wolf Kiss ritual.

    Annan originally held the reversed Winter Heart, which deprived him of all negative emotions. Thus, what would he be left with if he was deprived of all positive emotions in the Wolf Kiss ritual in the nightmare?

    Only the empty shell remained.

    At that time, Danton¡¯s will fragment could take advantage of the void and upy a corner of Annan¡¯s soul. Slowly, Danton would regain a body capable of thinking and have a transcended soul that could cast spells.

    ¡°But you don¡¯t realize how good my memory is. You can¡¯t read my mind in this space because you have lost your spell casting ability. Thus, you can only get information from what I say.¡±

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly as he said calmly, ¡°Otherwise, you should have known¡ª

    ¡°I recognize more paintings than those I have named.

    ¡°So, I¡¯ve seen through your petty actions.¡±

    Indeed, Danton did something behind his back.

    Before Annan jumped over, he had already noted the paintings on the wall.

    There were eight paintings on this wall: Two from Kafni, one from Kafni¡¯s dad, two from Old Bread, one from Yiyi, and one from Jiu Er.

    The other one had a ck pupil.

    Instead, it was ck but not gray.

    But when Annan turned his gaze to the painting, it silently turned gray.

    In other words, it became another painting.

    But that only made Annan a little suspicious.

    After all, he might be mistaken.

    But when Annan left the nightmare, he found that Yiyi¡¯s mouth and Jiu Er¡¯s ears, which he had not mentioned, had disappeared from the wall.

    ¡°That is to say, you have a certain level of authority and can control my nightmares. The imitation nightmares you created before should also have this level of technology.

    ¡°But the part you can control is little. So, you¡¯re saving power, or you¡¯re worried that I¡¯ll see through it. So your strategy is to send your adjusted nightmares straight to me.

    ¡°I wondered why the two burning paintings were far from me. If I hadn¡¯t moved there, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible to see the paintings so far away.

    ¡°The answer is simple. It¡¯s because it doesn¡¯t matter which painting I look at. My nightmares are in the order you have arranged them.¡±

    Annan replied calmly.

    ¡°In the first nightmare, you used your fear fragments to imply to me that ¡®Danton is indeed dead¡¯, trying to make me give up my [Vignce] of you;

    ¡°And then you told me that logical reasoning would make me sluggish and stuck so that I could put aside [Reasoning] and walk down the hallway without hesitation. That¡¯s all the steps you havemitted to making me ept the Wolf Kiss ritual.¡±

    But at that point, Danton had failed.

    Annan was too rational and calm.

    So he realized the loophole in the false nightmare.

    However, after that, Danton did not admit defeat.

    ¡°Then, you threw me into a dead end where I had to rely on [External Force] to clear the level. You must be thinking through my behavioral pattern. Your goal is to force me into using David¡¯s power, reminding me of this strength.

    ¡°In the previous two fear fragments, you leveraged the fast-paced nightmares and stopped me from remembering this power to eliminate redundant factors influencing the Wolf Kiss ritual. So the question is, why do you want me to use that power now?¡±

    Annan said calmly, ¡°That¡¯s because you want me to use ¡®David¡¯ too in this world, right? Or, do you want me to change my body to ¡®David¡¯ when we confront each other?

    ¡°If it¡¯s a trap, you¡¯ll emphasize this concept to me in the next three fear fragments. You¡¯ll choose the nightmares that ¡®I can¡¯t get through without changing my body¡¯ to make me habitually think so. The purpose is to induce me to activate this ability when I confront you. Even though I can¡¯t figure out the reason, it should be rted to your means for aeback.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a soul yourself, so you can¡¯t enter the nightmares. Like a creature who can¡¯t go into dreams, you won¡¯t be in the fear fragments. Thus, you must be in this ce.

    ¡°Why is that eye in the sky my own? What am I looking at? What am I looking for?¡±

    The answer was already evident.

    The eye in the sky hinted at Annan to ¡°look into¡± his heart.

    That was to search for Danton.

    Although it sounded strange, the broken stone ship should be Annan¡¯s inner world under the night sky before dawn.

    Danton was the ¡°virus¡± program of this world.

    That eye was searching for Danton instead of Annan.

    Then, let¡¯s walk through the procedure again.

    Annan did not move, leaned against the wall, and sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve already said the whole story to this level. Do you still want to continue?¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice echoed, but there was no response.

    ¡°Or, you don¡¯t even have an entity until the subsequent three small dungeon instances are over?

    ¡°That would be too pitiful, right?¡± Annan mocked without hesitation.

    Danton still did not appear in front of Annan.

    ¡°Fine, I will go through the process.¡± Annan leaned back and said, ¡°I¡¯m hurt andzy to move.

    ¡°Which nightmare do you want me to enter? Go ahead and bring the painting to me. Move it yourself, got it?¡±

    After a short dy, the painting in front of Annan that belonged to Kafni¡¯s mouth suddenly became the mouth of another person.

    The moment they looked at each other, shouts, roars, and cries surrounded Annan again.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Annan¡¯s cold voice fell.

    At the moment when his voice fell, the noise suddenly subsided.

    In a quiet atmosphere, Annan fell into a new nightmare again.

    Then, he noticed that his left hand and right foot were handcuffed to the operating table. A small saw was ced beside his right hand, and directly above him was a huge rotating hacksaw, slowly approaching.

    He understood well what this scene was and what he would do next.

    Annan did not panic at all.

    Recalling the previous scene, the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

    As expected¡­

    His guess was right.

    ¡°Although it¡¯s a nightmare, it¡¯s my dream after all.¡±

    Unlike the previous nightmare, what Annan entered this time was his dream.

    Danton was able to alter his nightmares, probably because of this. If it was someone else¡¯s nightmares, he might be unable to change them.

    After all, he was the real [Dream Stealer].

    He remained the world¡¯s first ss in the operation of dreams even if he lost his mind, was muted from spell casting, and only relied on instinct to act.

    Annan respected his technique.

    ¡°But, it¡¯s my world, after all.¡± Annan closed his eyes slowly.

    His body bulged up instantly and turned into a hard marble statue.

    ¡°Mr. David¡± knocked the shackles attached to his wrists from the operating table with just two punches.

    However, the shackles were not broken.

    Instead, he destroyed the operating table.

 Chapter 425: Typical Pattern of the Saw Series

    <h4>Chapter 425: Typical Pattern of the Saw Series</h4>

    ¡°Soul¡¯s mark?¡± Salvatore repeated the word, and his face gradually became unsightly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Alexander Robin nodded calmly, ¡°After the soul is dyed, it can be regarded as an iplete demi-deity.

    ¡°If the soul stays in a fixed ce for a long time, the escaped elemental power can even unconsciously infiltrate the surrounding environment and gradually transform it into an environment suitable for itself. If the power of the element gathers, it may even leave a fragment of will there.

    ¡°For example, Noah¡¯s Blood Butterfly Valley or Austere-Winter¡¯s Storm Tower. The supernatural scene that distorts the world is the mark left after the death of a powerful transcender.¡±

    Hearing this, Salvatore took a deep breath.

    He repeated, validating the information, ¡°So, will the elemental power infest corpses too?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more urate to describe it as a vessel. Even if the transcender doesn¡¯t die, whether a hand or a bone, it may gradually reshape the world around it.

    ¡°However, the power of the elements is mainly stored in the brain. Hence, it is not a serious problem as long as it is handled properly.¡±

    Captain Alexander replied. Then, he frowned slightly, ¡°What are you trying to say? Or rather, what have you done?¡±

    The former [Champion], the old knight captain approaching 60 years old, sat in the parlor of Noah First Bank in a white suit that looked very out of tune with him.

    Alexander had a majestic face, sun-tanned skin, short reddish-brown hair that was well taken care of, plus those golden-orange pupils reminiscent of a lion and that iconic scar. Instead of a banker, the identity of the chairman was still more suitable to be called ¡°warrior¡± or ¡°general¡±.

    Typically speaking, Salvatore would not even dare to look at him.

    Thousands of killings and battles had equipped the man with an aura of blood and war.

    Salvatore had just advanced to the Silver Rank. In the state where his perception was sensitive but his will was inadequate, it became even more challenging to resist the intimidation exuding from the man.

    If this matter had not directly involved Annan¡¯s safety, Salvatore would not havee here tomunicate with this troublesome man!

    But, he was also grateful to the Paper Princess.

    Luckily, the Paper Princess had a sharp mind.

    She issued Salvatore to consult Captain Alexander in his method of handling the ¡°Dream Stealer¡±.

    Although the Paper Princess was a de facto deity, she was not a deity who ascended from the transcendent path. Instead, she was the ¡°deity¡± created out of thin air by her creator and lover.

    So the Paper Princess was not fluent in the path of transcendence.

    Alexander was different.

    Although he was only a Silver Rank Transcender, he was an [Champion] after all.

    ¡ªHe was undoubtedly the [Champion], a hunter of evil deity believers and dark wizards, and a senior executive of Silver Sire Church. For the secrets of the transcendence path and the Fallen path, there were not many people in Noah who knew better than him.

    Salvatore did not hide anything.

    He told Alexander what he added in crafting the Dream Elixir.

    In the current state, he was quite regretful.

    Benjamin¡¯s original recipe did not mention the extra step he had taken. Instead, his ability as a [Alchemist] guided him to make this amendment.

    In fact, the crafting recipe was alright if the brain of the Gold Rank Wizard was not added or the power of Dream Stealer Danton¡¯s element did not affect the nightmare.

    However, Salvatore¡¯s original intention of helping Annan to enter the nightmare more safely and stably brought harm to Annan instead.

    ¡°¡ªYou¡¯re such a piece of shit, Salvatore.¡± The hoarse voice sounded grimly at the bottom of his heart, ¡°The form is already in your hands, and you can¡¯t even do it properly.¡±

    But it was just a mistake¡­

    ¡°Is it really just a mistake? Isn¡¯t this a mistake because of your arrogance andcency?¡±

    Shadow whispered like a demon to destroy Salvatore¡¯s sanity, ¡°If you had consulted Alexander before crafting it or written a letter to the tower master and asked, would you make such a mistake? Please don¡¯t use time as an excuse. It won¡¯t take much of your time.

    ¡°Stop making excuses. It¡¯s your fault. After you became an alchemist, did you get carried away? Hmm? You have even started smoking. Do you n to indulge in drinking too? Do you still want to create the special drug?

    ¡°Seriously, Salvatore. Give me your body if you feel like you can¡¯t do anything right.¡±

    The shadow is always stronger than me.

    Indeed, Salvatore was well-aware of it all this time.

    As long as he offered the body to the shadow, all problems would be solved.

    He would not cause any mishaps because of his mistakes. At the same time, he got to make up for the mistakes immediately, even if they had already happened.

    ¡°I get it,¡± Salvatore whispered.

    ¡°Um?¡± The shadow paused and let out a hoarse and low sneer, ¡°So, you finally can¡¯t stand failure? Do you want to give up? You can always leave your body to me.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m going to take care of this matter myself.¡± Salvatore said slowly, ¡°I want to save Annan.¡±

    Looking at him, the rxed expression on Alexander¡¯s face gradually escaped. He became stern and serious.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you if you need me, ck Tower¡¯s Son.¡± The captain spoke in a reliable tone, ¡°But, do you have a n?¡±

    ¡°Some.¡± Salvatore replied, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back now. I will modify the ¡®Dream Elixir¡¯ ess point on the way. This way, when we are by Annan¡¯s side, we can use the drug to enter his nightmare directly.

    ¡°As for defeating Danton, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±

    ¡°Rx, don¡¯t underestimate me. I¡¯m a priest too. I know nightmares well. Even if we can¡¯t defeat Danton, we just need to help Annan escape.¡± Alexander said earnestly, ¡°Danton¡¯sst will is trapped in a small pill and can¡¯t escape. We don¡¯t need to fight him to the death immediately. We just need to let Annan not fall into his trap unprepared.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen to yourmand, captain,¡± Salvatore responded.

    However, contrary to what they thought, Annan did not fall into Danton¡¯s trap of bing a mindless puppet.

    Instead, Annan went on a rampage in the fear fragments.

    Boom!

    With one punch, Annan smashed the steel operating bed directly. At the second punch, he punched a hole in the bed.

    Indeed, Annan did not destroy the handcuffs but the ce where the handcuffs were connected to the operating table. Annan even swung the chain, cosying as the Ss [1]. Considering that only the left hand was connected to the handcuff and he smashed the bed at the end, he resembled Chang Koehan [2].

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Annan sneered, breaking the chain at his ankle.

    When he saw the chainsaw, he already understood what the fear was.

    This was the fear of facing the ¡°necessary price¡± and the ¡°choice determining the life and death¡±.

    In the storyline that Danton arranged for Annan, Annan should use the dull saw to cut off his left hand.

    After all, this was just a nightmare. It would not lead to disability, and there was nothing that could not be done. It was only the difference between whether or not to bear the pain.

    Would he suffer prolonged pain that he could not give up midway or a slow death?

    That was the typical plot arranged in the Saw movies series.

    Either way, it should be possible to escape from the nightmare. However, Annan chose the third way.

    Are you asking me to pick the left or right hand?

    Isn¡¯t the road in the middle wide?

    [TN: Saying a road being wide is a Chinese idiom to indicate that the solution is easy.]

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. I can¡¯t fix you up with my fists.¡± The fear fragment was resolved the moment Annan sat up.

    Annan leaned against the wall, raised his head, and said calmly, ¡°There are two more chances for you.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±

 Chapter 426: Humans, How Can You Go Up Without Your Wings?

    <h4>Chapter 426: Humans, How Can You Go Up Without Your Wings?</h4>

    ¡°¡ªLet¡¯s continue.¡± Annan was unwavering in his eyes.

    It would be too naive to think this was enough to intimidate him.

    He had made up his mind to kill Danton, and nothing could turn him back.

    It was just a choice between death and pain. Wasn¡¯t that what life was all about?

    Danton still did not show up.

    The scene in front of Annan¡¯s eyes changed again.

    This time the world quietly changed without the painting emitting disturbing noises.

    When Annan opened his eyes again, he realized that he had entered a dark world that looked like a colossal pen holder. There were densely packed human heads below, and whatid above him was the only light source.

    At the same time, he was crawling upward, clutching a thin rope.

    The rope seemed to be on the verge of breaking.

    Annan seemed to feel something.

    He looked down and saw that there were still many people under him clutching the slender rope.

    The crowd gave off an impression of Detective Conan¡¯s silhouettes [1]. Annan was unable to discern their gender and age. What he could see were dense silhouettes gathered under him, like densely packed ants lined up along the honey.

    Annan did not react at first.

    But after looking down at this familiar scene, Annan realized in the blink of an eye.

    Is this ¡°The Spider¡¯s Thread¡± by Akutagawa Ryunosuke [2]?

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan had understood the basic rules of the current fear fragment.

    The moment he fell into a deep nightmare, he realized what the fear involved.

    It was either a savior¡¯s or forerunner¡¯s ¡°despairs of ignorant mortals¡±, or ¡°desperation to fail when one step away from the finish line¡±.

    Danton wanted to see Annan¡¯s rage when he broke the spider thread or see Annan¡¯s despair when he climbed to the highest point and saw the spider thread suddenly break.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Annan burst outughing.

    He shouted at the bottom of his throat, ¡°Those below me, be careful!

    ¡°If you continue to climb up, the spider thread will be broken!¡± After issuing the warning, Annan ignored the people who followed.

    Instead, he just focused on climbing up.

    Although this nightmare was the spider thread, Annan was not Gandhara.

    He would naturally give the people at the bottom a chance, and it was not mercy but ¡°fairness¡±.

    Of course, they had the right to climb up.

    Annan did not want to stop them from pursuing their light of hope if they did not go down on purpose or hindered others.

    ¡ªEven if their doom was impending when the crowd had gathered.

    Annan did not order them to give up on their survival or stall their right to do so.

    Annan knew what he should, could, and needed to do.

    These people were not his subordinates or his servants. Annan was not their savior, their parent, or their master.

    Annan did not have to crawl out of this hell, either. He did not have such a strong desire.

    Instead, he did what he was supposed to do.

    Going up was better than going down.

    Thus, he climbed up.

    If Annan fell with the crowd, it was their fate brought about by their choices.

    Annan would love to see others pay the price of their stupidity¡­ or rather, retribution.

    However, he would never interfere.

    That was because he should not be their retribution.

    Annan looked up at the light, crawling intently on the spider thread.

    Unsurprisingly, the spider thread snapped when Annan was nearing the top, just as he had expected.

    Many people fell back into the abyss.

    Annan was no exception.

    When falling in the air, Annan¡¯s mind came to such a thought, ¡°Ah, I failed.¡±

    ¡°Can I get out of this fear like that?¡± While Annan kept falling back into the abyss, he did not lose any health points.

    He fell into the stench of blood, and a thought suddenly appeared in his mind:

    Now, a second has passed.

    The next moment, the silver thread was condensed out of thin air again.

    ¡°Ha, that¡¯s what it is.¡±

    Annanughed suddenly, ¡°Every time you fail, only one second will pass. So, is this ¡®the fear of repeating the same failure forever¡¯? It is indeed a powerful move. For ordinary people, it may break them.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange. Is there something going on outside? You¡¯re suddenly quite desperate in your move. Are you worried that someone will save me from my dream?¡±

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly while being submerged in the pool with a blood stench.

    But Annan¡¯s voice was so indifferent.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about such a piece of good news, Danton.

    ¡°Don¡¯t expect anyone toe. That¡¯s supposedly for you.¡±

    He turned his head and looked at the ¡°silhouettes¡±, keenly capturing fear and loss in their eyes.

    Do I need to repeat failure many times here?

    Toward the third time, or the fifth time?

    There couldn¡¯t be more. Their will had started to disintegrate. Any more, and they would lose their minds.

    Forget it.

    Let them suffer.

    Let them fail.

    Let them fall into despair.

    ¡°¡ªBut you can climb up with me as long as you lift your spirits.¡±

    Annan slowly reached out his hand, held the highly fragile spider thread, and shouted, ¡°Then let¡¯s go together!¡±

    Then, the second fall.

    It was followed by the third fall.

    The fifth attempt.

    The tenth attempt.

    Fewer and fewer people followed Annan crawling up the spider¡¯s thread. Annan was the only one left to crawl up on the twelfth attempt.

    But in the end, Annan would still fall just one step short.

    But unlike those who looked up to Annan, he would climb again no matter how many times he failed.

    Annan¡¯s persistence did note from the Reversed Winter Heart.

    It was the trait that Annan possessed before soul-crossing to this world.

    A minute had passed unknowingly.

    It was not that Annan failed because of his mistakes.

    The reason was the mistakes of others, the unprovoked suffering, and the so-called [Fate].

    If it were an ordinary person, he might have been furious by now.

    ¡°Great.¡± Annan muttered.

    His pupils shone brighter.

    His life had been a smooth sail over the past few months.

    Annan was about to forget the feeling of disciplining himself.

    He used to neverze on the bed, smoke, drink, overeat, andze around while working. He would stop ying with his phone after going to bed and stop eating three hours before bed.

    The reason for him living such a regted life included his rationality.

    Another reason was that Annan enjoyed ¡°self-restraint¡± ¡ª like an ascetic.

    It was not easy to be ascetic in modern life. However, just being logical and abstinence was already considered ascetic in modern times where there were so many temptations.

    However, Anana did not expect that just living an ascetic life (disciplined study, work, and even games) had already made him a fantastic person before he realized it.

    ¡°For that, I have to thank you, Danton.¡± When Annan fell for the hundredth time, the light in his eyes shone brighter.

    Let¡¯s continue.

    Yup, it¡¯s another fall.

    Continue.

    I¡¯m falling.

    Again.

    Annan¡¯s mind came up with the phrase he had seen thousands of times in a certain game.

    ¡°Human¡­¡±

    Annan murmured, gripping the rope again.

    Without wings, how can you go up?

    ¡°Probably because I¡¯m abnormal.¡±

    Maybe Annan did not even notice it.

    The corner of his mouth showed a big, bright smile.

    His pupils were brighter than the stars.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue!¡±

 Chapter 427: Iâ€™m Sisyphus

    <h4>Chapter 427: I¡¯m Sisyphus</h4>

    There was no light and only an abyss of rancid blood.

    The so-called panions¡± could not even speak.

    It was a hell of nothing.

    Apart from the fragile spider silk, there was nothing to leverage on.

    The situation was absolute, inescapable desperation.

    Only one second would pse every time you ¡°fall and fail after giving your best¡±.

    Other than that, there was nothing to interact with and nothing to investigate; there was no power to leverage on, and not even a main mission was given.

    The process only pushed Annan to fail repeatedly.

    Just like what Sisyphus [1] had suffered.

    Annan was convinced that this was indeed a superb trap.

    That was because the process would wear down a person¡¯s spirit even when he was blessed with unlimited physical strength and if he would be resurrected after falling from such height.

    It was not sleepiness.

    Instead, it was numbness and despair ¡ª mental damage capable of destroying the soul¡¯s consciousness.

    The difficulty of this fear fragmentid not in the fragile spider silk itself but the unknown.

    The unknown would bring endless fear.

    It was the fear of ¡°how many more times will I fail here¡±.

    The current fear fragment had a different set of rules than the previous fear fragments. Other fear fragments only required Annan to ¡°escape decisively¡± or ¡°brave into¡± that fear then he would have resolved it.

    No matter if it was ¡°sudden invalidation of own power¡±, ¡°unstoppable sacrifice¡±, and et cetera, they were just momentary and short-lived fears.

    Only the ¡°fear of constant failure¡± couldst a lifetime. It could not be resolved with the idea of ??¡±hold on and it would be over¡±.

    After the failure, would you not continue to fail?

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible after thinking about it rationally.¡±

    This was merely a fairy tale for adults: To add value to one¡¯s failure, to make it appear less of a ¡°failure¡±, or tofort oneself as a cebo.

    Annan did not need that kind of thing.

    Failure was a failure.

    It was the fact of being unable to seed and thus fail. It was limited to that and would not expand more than that.

    There were no excuses, reasons, or false values attached to failure.

    After all, Annan believed that people shouldn¡¯t be afraid of failure.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t stand still in the face of failure.¡± Annan gripped the spider thread again.

    Once again, he struggled to climb up the thread alone in the abyss that was absent of light and sound.

    Those people had long since given up following Annan.

    They were just silent, looking up at Annan ¡ª looking at Annan, who kept failing.

    Would they wish him to seed?

    No.

    Most of them were looking forward and waiting for Annan to give up.

    However, there was no pain or despair they wanted to see on Annan¡¯s face.

    Instead, only happiness was shown.

    Annan stayed focused on his objective.

    He would do his best ¡ª to fail again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do the deed that no one does.¡±

    It was already the 200th attempt.

    ¡°If no one tries, it¡¯s up for me to make the sacrifice.¡±

    The 400th attempt.

    ¡°No one persists, so let me persist to the end.¡±

    Then, the 600th attempt.

    That was no longer the perseverance that a normal human being could muster.

    Annan was cultivating like an ascetic. Although the path would lead to victory, failure was also one of the precious gains.

    Those who rejoiced in misfortune.

    Those who waited for Annan to give up.

    They had even given up on this sentiment, gradually looking forward to and worshipping Annan as a deity and symbol.

    Annan remained the same.

    It was not suffering when Annan enjoyed the pain.

    In this hell that seems tost forever, Annan gradually captured his essence eventually.

    To be precise, he enjoyed ¡°being alive¡±.

    Just like when Annan was bored, he could read the script and the advertisements in the newspaper carefully several times.

    He did not know how long he had been in this ce.

    Even his original purpose, his intention to kill Danton, faded over time.

    It was as if he had lived through a hard life in a dream.

    Even in the most desperate of times when Annan had turned entirely into a blood-dyed man, the brilliance in his icy blue pupils remained shining.

    ¡°Have you had enough rest?¡± Annan shouted again, ¡°As long as you can lift your spirits and climb with me, just follow!¡±

    There were no lofty promises.

    There was no warm atmosphere.

    There was only silence and silent followers.

    It was not everyone, but it included dozens of people.

    But after Annan fell again, new people joined him, and some stepped down from the thread.

    That was not meaningless following and imitation.

    It was just that they could not turn a blind eye to it even though it had long been known that the end of the path was a failure.

    But looking at people with such bright eyes who were trying to climb up, how could they stop in ce and remain motionless?

    Annan attempted failure too.

    Trying to get used to failure.

    Adapting to failure.

    Then¡ª

    ¡°¡ªto ovee the defeat.¡±

    This was the fate of humanity.

    Annan slowly grasped the silk on his 666th attempt.

    ¡°Is someoneing with me!¡± His eyes shone brightly.

    More than ten minutes had passed in the outside world.

    But in Annan¡¯s mind, there was no thought of ¡°buying more time for Salvatore¡± at all.

    He was like a captain who started an expedition with augh at the sea of ??defeat.

    From the first few times, Annan had not looked down at those who followed him.

    Or, Annan was convinced from the beginning that someone would follow him.

    Striving for greater heights was enough to fill a person¡¯s heart.

    Annan never needed someone to follow to provide the determination and confidence to move forward.

    But Annan noticed no one followed him to climb up this time.

    It was not like they had given up again.

    Instead, they raised their head and watched Annan leave silently.

    It was as if they had a premonition of something.

    It only happened at this attempt.

    Annan climbed out of the narrow mouth of the pit alone.

    He woke up again between the rubble and the wall.

    Everything he had experienced previously seemed to be just a dream.

    But that bright smile remained on Annan¡¯s face like a scorch mark left by a me.

    Then, Annan opened his eyes slowly.

    The bright brilliance also shone from Annan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°666, is that the number of beasts [2]?¡±

    Annan finally climbed out of hell andpleted the impossible mission. Of course, he was delighted.

    However, what pleased him even more was that Danton had admitted defeat.

    Indeed, there was no end to this nightmare.

    Instead, it just repeated meaningless failures.

    Annan, who had experienced many failures constantly, did not flinch. However, Danton, who designed this dungeon and tried to murder Annan here, was afraid in front of Annan, who had remained unchanged and even more excited.

    He was afraid of Annan¡¯s fearlessness.

    For him, Annan was simply a lunatic.

    However, it seemed to have some divinity.

    Annan was like a butterfly that had just broken free from its cocoon. It struggled to lift its wings.

    ¡°You have conceded again, Danton!¡± Annanughed loudly and happily, ¡°You have all my memories, and you still can¡¯t defeat me!

    ¡°Do you think you can kill me?

    ¡°I am a loser! I am a madman! I am Sisyphus!¡±

    What doesn¡¯t kill me makes me stronger!

    Annan had a firm belief in that.

    He was different from before being tortured by the infinite fall.

    Although the change might not seem significant, there was indeed a growth.

    ¡°You have onest chance, Danton.¡± Annan opened his eyes and looked at the portrait in front of him.

    His eyes were as bright as stars.

    Brilliant, thin mes ignited at the bottom of the frozenke.

    The series of death traps were like trials to cleanse Annan¡¯s heart.

    ¡°What kind of gift will you give me?¡±

 Chapter 428: The Final Trial

    <h4>Chapter 428: The Final Trial</h4>

    The former Annan decisively gave up his memory for a particr purpose.

    Annan believed that his determination and unwavering resoluteness were aligned with his character.

    However, Annan would never give up everything at will because of some small things.

    For Annan, the details in the memory were an asset in themselves.

    That was because he had such a talent for looking into people¡¯s hearts.

    So, what else was there that Annan would instead give up and pursue?

    Undoubtedly, that intense and fiery positive emotion had never been frozen by the [Winter Heart].

    Annan had a better idea at this moment.

    ¡ª Annan¡¯s original disposition: a pure desire to embrace asceticism.

    ¡ªA heart without fear brought by the reversed Winter Heart.

    ¡ªMaking him unstoppable in the repeated failures.

    The ascetic heart that had not been frozen by Winter Heart would only have enthusiasm and perseverance when facing the torture of failure. On the other hand, the reversed Winter Heart burnt away Annan¡¯s burnout, despair, and fear when facing defeat. The never-ending, infinitely repeated failures prevent Annan from seeking a second answer. After all, only fools would repeat the same thing but crave different results.

    Under the intertwining effect of these three elements, the painful torment had turned into absurd happiness.

    The greater the pain, the greater the happiness.

    This was a dungeon level that only Annan could pass.

    This was not a test that could reach the end with persistence but a dead end that would forever exist.

    If Annan did not have the heart of asceticism, he would only think about how many times he would have to repeat it to be saved by Salvatore; if Annan did not have the reversed Winter Heart, he would havemitted suicide in despair in the endless failure. Faced with such a desperate situation, he would inevitably use his brain and seek another solution.

    Danton never imagined that his designed traps had turned into the best whetstones.

    This was an experience powerful enough to rewrite personality. Annan was never alone before this nightmare and even at the current moment.

    ¡°For that, I have to thank you. Danton.¡±

    Even if the previous memory had been blurred like a dream.

    Annan would never forget the ecstasy of climbing up from the abyss.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt I¡¯m in such good shape.¡±

    Annan felt the joy and excitement in his heart.

    His soul was so bright.

    He vividly felt the splendid power awakened in the depths of the soul.

    Annan was also quite confident.

    Danton¡¯s attempt to murder him in the dream world was meaningless.

    ¡°Come at me, Danton!¡± Heughed. The brilliance in his eyes was so bright, ¡°I want to see what else you can bring me!¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt will be as you wish.¡± Finally, a dull voice sounded in front of Annan.

    Sitting in front was the portrait of the young child with the same posture as Annan.

    That was Annan¡¯s mirror image, having the same ice blue pupils, the same clothes.

    However, Annan¡¯s hair was ck, and the opposition was white.

    The most significant difference was that Annan¡¯s pupils were as bright as the stars under the night sky.

    On the other hand, the pupil of the other party was a deep iceke that was as calm as water and without emotion.

    Although the two never met, Annan was immediately convinced it was Dream Stealer Danton.

    In other words, it was Danton¡¯s will, a virtual image of the soul reconstructed with the help of Annan¡¯s memory.

    It was not entirely urate to refer to him as Danton.

    Instead, it was born from thebination of Danton and Annan¡¯s memories.

    However, having more memories did not make Danton superior.

    Instead, the former Annan was willing to give up his memory and start again.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re just trying to take over my body?¡± A radiant smile came across the corners of Annan¡¯s mouth, ¡°Interesting. You dare to appear in front of me!¡±

    Although it was a delightful smile, it unexpectedly put shudders in the onlooker¡¯s heart.

    Facing Annan¡¯s question, ¡°Danton¡± was silent for a moment.

    ¡°I have greatly underestimated you.¡± [Danton] said slowly, ¡°In my original n, even if this pure fear can¡¯t trap you, it should at least make you feel hopeless. You are a hedonist, a willful, and a reckless madman.

    ¡°You¡¯re stronger than you in your memory.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that natural?¡± The smile on Annan¡¯s face did not fade, ¡°I am stronger than the next me at every minute and every second. I¡¯m not old yet, and progress is a matter of course. You had me a few hours ago, but I¡¯m different now.¡±

    ¡°Is this the power of the Book of Divine Transporter? The path of ascension and change¡­¡± Danton muttered.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Danton.¡± The smile on Annan¡¯s face gradually faded.

    He said earnestly, ¡°This is my strength. It is the result achieved through my willpower.

    ¡°It is the past me who chose to abandon all the feelings and memories that have been frosted. Now, I have no weakness in my heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s like adding ¡®Danton¡¯ to make me less pure.¡±

    ¡°Purity. Does it work?¡± Danton asked calmly.

    In the face of Danton¡¯s expected rhetorical question, Annanughed even more, ¡°As expected of you! As expected of me! This level of conversation. It¡¯s great!

    ¡°Give me myst nightmare.¡± Annan stared at ¡°Danton¡± and said calmly, ¡°Or I¡¯ll kill you now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already been prepared for you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not something you¡¯ve yed with, is it?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, and it¡¯s straightforward and fairly brief.¡± Danton closed his eyes.

    The painting near him disappeared again and turned into the pupil of an old man.

    Annan looked at the painting without fear.

    The me-like madness that had just awakened in his heart urged him to take risks.

    The closer Annan was to death, the more he experienced failure and the more power surged in his heart.

    The scene in front of Annan¡¯s eyes changed again.

    He was lying on the hospital bed.

    His body was fragile. When he opened his eyes, he could only see iparably vague things, and it was difficult to speak when he opened his mouth. The small voice heard in his ear was as noisy as a chisel digging into his brain.

    He was surrounded by strangers which he could not see clearly.

    He felt someone sitting beside him, holding his old hand; he also felt some sobbing in a corner, some pacing outside the house, some were looking at him, and some were afraid to look at him.

    Annan felt inexplicable when his time hade.

    Death was already standing by his bed. It might be his end the next time he breathed out.

    Annan suddenly understood.

    This time, the challenge was not a time-limited escape room, not a role-ying game of wrestling with others and earning more time, or even a tform jumping with repeated failures and malicious creators. It was a simple game of ¡°going forward¡±.

    As long as Annan epted his death, this short, directionless petty game would be over.

    But, if Annan epted the fate of his death, could he still wake up?

 Chapter 429: The Madmanâ€™s Heart

    <h4>Chapter 429: The Madman¡¯s Heart</h4>

    Annan felt the suffocation growing intense with phlegm stuck in his throat.

    He could not open his eyes at all and could only move his eyelids slightly, even when he mustered all his strength.

    Annan felt pain all over his body: under the skin, internal organs, and bones. Luckily, his curse was still working.

    This had weakened the pain countless folds. However, the pain was still vividly haunting Annan despite the pain relief effect.

    All the curses could do was to make Annan calmer.

    It was an unprecedented sense of being weak.

    Not to mention chatting, Annan did not even have the strength to groan with each breath bing more debilitated, closer to death.

    I see.

    Is this what it feels like to age and die?

    Annan had an insight in his heart.

    That was not a life that could be terminated suddenly after exhaling the next breath.

    Instead, Annan died little by little. It was like the light of a fire that gradually went out.

    Suddenly, Annan saw something¡ª

    The most eager, middle-aged woman held her hand. She seemed to be the body¡¯s daughter, and her body suddenly lit up.

    Even Annan did not need to open his eyes to see his image.

    (Is this finally the end? It¡¯s such a hassle. Is the old man finally going to die?)

    As Annan¡¯s left eye warmed slightly, a faint whisper sounded in Annan¡¯s heart.

    Is this the [Angel¡¯s Left Eye]?

    Annan was stunned for a moment before realizing it.

    The next moment, the young woman who had been sobbing in the corner finally cried out loud.

    It was a sob that came out of her throat when she could not hold it back anymore.

    The man beside her sighed deeply, hugged the woman in his arms, gently patted her shoulder, andforted her silently.

    At this moment, the young man also suddenly showed light.

    (Damn, die quickly. Jenny hasn¡¯t slept for several days. Her body will not be able to take it.)

    While the girl named Jenny was sobbing loudly, the sadness spread around the room like a curse.

    People who did not intend to cry could not help but choke with sobs.

    Tears flowed from their eyes subconsciously, but they did not seem to realize it. Those who shed tears became sadder.

    Even Annan had wet the corner of his eyes.

    A middle-aged man suddenly stood up, lowered his eyes, sobbed, reached out his trembling hand, and wiped the corner of Annan¡¯s eyes with a handkerchief.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± He spoke in a low sob.

    He appeared saddened with that solemn attitude.

    In Annan¡¯s eyes, the man was suddenly highlighted.

    (Great, I finally found an opportunity to express my [Filial Piety]. The teacher¡¯s family now sees my sincerity. When I use the teacher¡¯s name to sell paintings to make money, they probably won¡¯t point it out of concern for me.)

    Immediately afterward, one person after another in the house gradually lit up in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    A rustling, malicious whisper resounded in Annan¡¯s heart.

    (I don¡¯t think I have a share of the teacher¡¯s legacy. Then, I¡¯ll take the painting from the studio tomorrow.)

    (I wonder if the second uncle¡¯s inheritance can fill Little Marlin¡¯s gambling debts. This is a terminal illness. Why did you waste so much money on him previously?)

    (It¡¯s retribution. He deserves it. If Grandpa didn¡¯t stop me from marrying Justin, he wouldn¡¯t have ended up with no money to find a priest now.)

    (I have wasted more than a month of my time, but he will finally die. Great, I don¡¯t have a job anymore.)

    As Annan got closer to death, the more mournful those around him became.

    But the malice that ignited in their hearts became more and more intense.

    That might not be called malicious.

    Instead, they just looked forward to Annan¡¯s death.

    The old painter, who had been hospitalized for a long time, had already burned away the grief of his family and students in the long and near-death journey.

    The noise in Annan¡¯s head faded away.

    Everything around him suddenly became quiet, the pain in his body disappeared, and he fell intoplete silence.

    Then, he remembered.

    They were not like that for a while when they first fell ill, and neither was he.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste money on treating me. My disease can¡¯t be cured.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that! We have to treat the elderly with money.¡±

    Like shbacks, the events four months ago shed before his eyes.

    Their eyes were filled with anxiety and urgency in words and actions. There was eager and real ¡°love¡±.

    But not long after that, the love wholly burned out.

    The vicissitudes in life and themitment of energy, mental and financial resources consumed the overflowing ¡°love¡± before the sickbed.

    It happened unknowingly. The desire to ¡°survive in the end¡± gradually turned into a desire to ¡°die sooner.¡±

    The sentiment amplified between 10%, 30%, and 50% across time.

    What they showed was still the love of the past, but what they were thinking was clear as day in the eyes of the old man.

    The only way to revive that love is to die.

    To wash away the exhaustion, irritability, pain, and sadness and turn them into sweet nostalgia.

    Only when I die can I not be hated and stop troubling them.

    Death is my only way out.

    Is that what you want to show me, Danton? Annan watched the shbacks of the body¡¯s life in the studio, and this thought came to his mind.

    Danton did not want Annan to die in the nightmare but to confuse Annan¡¯s perception of ¡°life¡± and ¡°death¡±.

    Danton wanted to nt the thought on Annan that ??¡±It¡¯s wrong for me to live¡±, and let Annan have the idea that ??¡±people are expecting him to die¡±.

    What is Danton going to do?

    Is he trying to detonate the desire to seek demise?

    ¡°This is so boring.¡± Annan sighed deeply, ¡°It¡¯s not as interesting as thest trap.¡±

    The nightmare suddenly fell apart.

    Then, Annan reopened his eyes.

    The brilliance in his eyes dimmed a little, but the glow overflowed again immediately.

    ¡°It¡¯s underwhelming.¡± Annan sighed, ¡°How is this your ultimate trick? Who do you think I am?

    ¡°This level of fear is negligible. I don¡¯t even have the slightest thought of ¡®I should die¡¯.¡±

    The white-haired youth opposite Annan frowned iprehensibly, ¡°How? Don¡¯t you have a heart?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a shred of guilt when the people who loved you hates you? You don¡¯t even want them to give up on saving you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural. Their hate for me has nothing to do with me. I don¡¯t live for them.¡± Annan sighed and stood up.

    The broken wall beneath his feet suddenly shook.

    The seven fear fragments were collected, and the nightmare suddenly trembled.

    The ruins spun and gathered together; buildings were outlined in the void, filling the gaps in the broken walls.

    The ship, which was initially broken into pieces, was reconstructed in the blink of an eye.

    Finally, Annan recognized it after having a full view of the ship.

    This was the first nightmare he had ever experienced.

    An artificial nightmare created by Benjamin with John¡¯s soul and all the curses of Don Juan Geraint.

    That ship.

    ¡°Hey, make no mistake, Danton.¡± Annan looked down at the white-haired youth leaning against the wall and said calmly, ¡°I am not a saint, a deity, or a king.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me how the outsiders are. There¡¯s a limit to what I have control over. All I can manage is myself.

    ¡°Like the spider thread nightmare, I told them to follow me. But did I turn around and wait for them? Did I expect them? Did I give orders and direct them?

    ¡°Am I stipting that they have to follow me? Did I demand them not to betray me? Did I say a word when they backed off?¡±

    Annanughed heartily, ¡°Stop it, Danton!

    ¡°I¡¯m not your average madman. They do what they like. I won¡¯t sacrifice myself because I want to answer their request but because I want to get something. Thus, I don¡¯t need any remuneration. Then, when I¡¯m hated and not needed, I forget about them.

    ¡°They like to y this game called ¡®life¡¯, so I lead them in the game. But when I don¡¯t want to, no one gets to force me to help them; if they don¡¯t like it, they go back and live their own lives. After all, their expectation has nothing to do with me.¡±

 Chapter 430: Nightmare: Dreams Within A Dream, Clear!

    <h4>Chapter 430: Nightmare: Dreams Within A Dream, Clear!</h4>

    Annan ended his sentence.

    The vast, ice-blue pupil finally came over and stopped in the captain¡¯s room where Annan and the white-haired youth were.

    For some reason, Annan had a strong hunch in his heart.

    He chose not to move but calmly epted that light¡¯s basking.

    The icy blue light shone on Annan¡¯s back, casting a long projection that shrouded ¡°Danton, ¡± crouching on the ground.

    As predicted.

    Annan was unharmed under his own ¡°scrutinizing¡± gaze.

    The damage he suffered in the nightmare previously had rejuvenated.

    As Annan¡¯s vigor gradually stabilized, ¡°Danton¡± opposite Annan slowly curled up, and his presence weakened.

    Annan had collected all seven fear fragments.

    There was a saying in this world that a person would only be unlucky seven times in a row. The reason being ¡°seven¡± was the number of luck and idents. Danton only had seven chances tounch offenses directly at Annan.

    After seven times, the ¡°ident¡± was over.

    At this moment, this ce was Annan¡¯s home base.

    The self-seeing eye on the sky was a mechanism like a firewall.

    It existed to seek out and kill the invader in the consciousness: ¡°Danton¡±.

    In a sense, ¡°Danton¡± was a ¡°Trojan horse¡± [1] ¨C hebined Annan¡¯s memories. Naturally, some belong to Annan¡¯s emotions, and some belong to Annan¡¯s will.

    He would be determined as the ¡°changed Annan¡±.

    Originally, the ¡°self-seeking¡± eye would not be able to detect Danton.

    When Danton invaded other people¡¯s minds previously, he had never failed once when he used this method.

    However, Annan was unique.

    Annan had iparable confidence and affirmation of his form and soul.

    Annan was sure his trajectory would not change deep down in his heart. If there were any growth and changes, he was well aware of the direction he would be heading.

    Even when there was an impurity in the process, Annan would eliminate them immediately.

    His self-belief and self-discipline were not human-like.

    ¡°You have failed.¡± Annan raised his eyebrows and looked down at ¡°Danton¡± with his hands in his pockets, ¡°Do you know why you have failed?¡±

    ¡°The chef doesn¡¯t look at the recipe but read the art of war!¡± ¡°Danton¡± responded subconsciously.

    [TN: A Chinese saying that someone is being scammed terribly and he has to resort to out-of-the-box aspects to counter the scams.]

    ¡°¡ªOoh, as expected of me!¡±

    However, Annan was not surprised or stunned by thisment. Instead, he reached out his hand and apuded excitedly and happily, ¡°That¡¯s a good saying!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you wanting to kill me?¡± ¡°Danton¡± looked up from the shadows and looked at Annan withplex eyes, ¡°Now you can.¡±

    ¡°I can.¡± Annan replied, ¡°But I don¡¯t believe you.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you will perish so easily even if I kill you here. I want to eradicate you.¡± With Annan¡¯s voice, the world around him trembled again.

    The world had changed again.

    The captain¡¯s cabin gradually copsed and was ttened. The three-dimensional world slowly turned into a ne and a high mountainter.

    That icy blue pupil became even bigger and prated the sky¡¯s veil.

    But this time, Annan and Danton were thrown into a new world.

    Danton was powerless in front of Annan and was fixed on the guillotine.

    The shape of the guillotine was precisely the same as what Annan had seen from the Pale Princess.

    It was the ce of judgment for the immortals ¡ª powerful enough to end everything.

    ¡°You modified other people¡¯s memories without authorization for your selfish desires.¡± Annan¡¯s voice rumbled in the sky.

    ¡°You stole others¡¯ status and identities.

    ¡°You bullied the weak, confused the mind, and toyed with others.

    ¡°You live by stealing. You¡¯re a thief of the mind, Danton.¡±

    ¡°What is this? Are you putting me on trial?¡±

    ¡°Danton¡± couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud, ¡°But that¡¯s what our Soul Snatch school is all about. I¡¯ve been taught this way since I was a kid.

    ¡°It¡¯s all about ¡®having everyone to serve me¡¯. We are weak and limited, and I can¡¯t do anything alone. So we must make good use of the power of others to survive and progress further in this world.

    ¡°Since the purpose is to take advantage of others, does the outer shell have a moral value?¡±

    Danton argued slyly like Annan¡¯s sophistry.

    Use confusion as the knife and plunge at the core like a spear.

    However, Annan wasn¡¯t being dragged around by his nose.

    After all, Annan also possessed this sophistry.

    ¡°Indeed, there¡¯s nothing wrong with using the power of others to achieve your own goals. It¡¯s a life choice, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡± Unexpectedly, Annan did not deny the matter.

    He replied softly, ¡°It¡¯s just that you are ustomed to stealing for a living, and you are ustomed to the life you can readily get your hands on. This will make your soulzy, not thinking about progress, and not trying to change;

    ¡°You think that you are a strong person, and you y with the fate and mind of the weak at will, which will make you arrogant and less cautious;

    ¡°If you don¡¯t respect other people¡¯s past, that weakens your will and resilience.

    ¡°In every challenge you have faced in the past, you have chosen the most inferior and simplest answer. Your truancy from the life lessons will send you to the grave you dug with your own hands.¡±

    That would be this moment and this ce.

    ¡°Your failure is inevitable. You will encounter the same fate even if you don¡¯t meet me. In the end, you will still fail.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you were originally a loser, and that¡¯s why you came to this ce.¡±

    Thus¡­

    Failure¡­

    All the fears Danton instilled in Annan were various scenarios and types of [Failures].

    That was because Danton had an intense fear of failure.

    He was aplete failure himself.

    He was terrified of his failure, particrly Bernardino, who defeated him with an unstoppable force. This fear was deeply engraved in his brain and had not been ovee even to this day.

    He had a fear of his identity being discovered, the fear of his strength being nullified, the fear that made him indecisive, the fear of being powerless, the fear of sacrifice, the fear of repeated failure, and the fear of death.

    Ahhh.

    I see.

    Everything is clear now.

    Danton took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

    They weren¡¯t Annan¡¯s fears all along.

    Instead, his fears were turned into nightmares.

    It happened because Annan¡¯s and Danton¡¯s memories were mixed when Danton absorbed them.

    Although Danton wanted to murder Annan and trap the sentience, Danton instinctively created nightmares that came from his fear.

    That was how Annan overcame some levels so easily.

    It was not that Danton¡¯s dream control became inferior.

    Instead, the fear of [Failure] in his heart had not dissipated.

    ¡°Yeah, I failed¡­¡± Danton smiled wryly and slowly lowered his head to the guillotine.

    He had been ying with dreams for decades. However, Annan, who was not even a Soul Snatch Wizard, had a much more thorough grasp of human hearts.

    What an¡­

    At his life-and-death moment, the cordless beheading de hanging high above his head mmed down.

    It easily cut off Danton¡¯s neck.

    ¡°What an irony.¡±

    No mind reading was required.

    Annan calmly continued Danton¡¯sst words.

    The world in front of Annan instantly turned into darkness.

    Nightmare: Dreams Within A Dream¡ª

    ¡ªPerfect Clear.

 Chapter 431: Advancement: Victory Knight

    <h4>Chapter 431: Advancement: Victory Knight</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [You have purged the nightmare with a designated identity. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have escaped from the rewritten nightmare. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have collected seven fear fragments. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have eradicated Danton¡¯s mind imprint. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have made Danton admit his failure. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have looked within yourself. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have purified the nightmare at the first attempt. Your evaluation ratings have increased significantly.]

    [You have performed a powerful purification. Your evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation ¡ª S+]

    [You¡¯re given 18000 points of Shared Experience, Perception+1.]

    [You have ascended, Will+5.]

    [Dungeon clearance reward: Your initial profession is increased by 3 levels]

    [Among the currently owned professions, it is detected that the profession (Silver Knight) is the first to be mastered.]

    [Hidden plot you have decrypted: 100%]

    [You may receive the first stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 90%).]

    [You may receive the second stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 100%).]

    [The current purification progress is 63/63. The nightmare is terminated.]

    [Based on the nightmare region, you have acquired the Silver Sire¡¯s holy light engravings.]

    [Current total engravings: 63 (Silver Sire)]

    It hase to an end.

    Annan took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

    Aside from the deadly ¡°Spider Thread¡± nightmare with a dead end, this was indeed the most arduous nightmare Annan had ever experienced.

    This was a distorted level nightmare.

    The nightmare left behind after the death of a Gold Rank transcender had almost trapped Annan in it.

    What about the more advanced nightmares?

    ording to the Paper Princess, there were higher tiers of nightmares above the Distorted difficulty level. A distorted nightmare was born after the death of a Gold Rank transcender.

    Then, would the more powerful the Truth Rank transcender, as well as the saints and the deities, leave nightmares after death?

    Those nightmares were collectively referred to as [Otherworldly Level].

    That was the highest nightmare level in this world.

    In this case, they were not so much a nightmare but a ¡°dream world¡±. When souls were rted to ¡°truth¡±, the nightmare formed already had the characteristics of belonging to the world.

    It was no longer a projection of information obtained from the dream world.

    Just like the hole that appeared in ssblowing. The soul had opened up a small world in the dream world.

    It was an entric, chaotic, nightmare world with unique properties.

    It was uniquely different from other nightmares. The otherworldly level nightmare was not in this world at all. This world was just a key or a door.

    Being killed in an otherworldly level nightmare was a true death. Moreover, it was much more difficult to resurrect the person if he died in another world.

    That was the precise reason that powerhouses at this caliber would dart to the depths of the mist when they died.

    After all, they were all able to act in the mist.

    The purpose was to prevent otherworldly nightmares from appearing within the Great Barrier, leading to devastating disasters.

    This also exined why searching for and recovering sacred bones was challenging.

    In most cases, the retrieval of sacred bone not only required the task of venturing deep into the mist. There was a need to clear a nightmare at the otherworldly level to retrieve it.

    Luckily, the sacred bones had consciousness.

    As long as they were not suppressed or sealed, they would look for their host when qualified people appeared.

    ¡°I managed to purify a distorted nightmare upon the first encounter. Even though it¡¯s worth celebrating, I shouldn¡¯t be too proud.¡± Annan got up from the bed, adjusted the pillow, leaned on it, and said softly, ¡°Give me all my decryption rewards¡­ Eh?¡°

    At this moment, Annan suddenly saw that there was an ¡°Avable to be advanced¡± prompt behind [Silver Knight], and the prompt blinked intermittently.

    That was the prompt to confirm the assignment of 3 level points.

    Then, Annan focused his attention on the prompt and saw a new line of text emerge.

    [Silver Knight LV20 + 3 (Avable to be advanced): Victory Knight LV3 (Main attribute: Constitution/Will)]

    [Key words: Resilient, endurance, resistance]

    [Proficient: Environment (Nightmare), Resist Negative Status, Brawl]

    [Advancement requirements: Will and Constitution have to be above 20; Strength and Agility lower than 20. You¡¯re required to fail over 100 times in a row, even withoutmitting a mistake and then proceed to attain victory. Your previous nightmare rating has to be above A. This profession can only be attained through the knight-type profession¡¯s advancement.]

    Is this a new profession advancement?

    Annan hesitated for a moment.

    This profession seemed to be on the path toward the [Tank] aspect.

    He also remembered that the mastery of the Silver Knight profession included ¡°fighting alone¡± and ¡°besiegement¡± aside from nightmares. This should correspond to the Silver Knight¡¯s healing ability and overpowered fighting capability based on money.

    For Annan, he was indeed ipatible with spendthrift warriors like Silver Knight. It was a valid option only when there were no other choices.

    After all, advancement into a Silver Knight would only dispose of two skills, [Silver Hand] and [Silver de]. Nothing else would be lost. Those divine arts were exchanged through the system, and the [Silver Knight] profession only provided high Constitution bonuses.

    Each level promotion of Silver Knight would increase 2 points of Constitution by default and then randomly add 1 point into one of the three physical attributes: Strength, Agility, and Constitution.

    Such a high Constitution bonus was superb in Bronze Rank. However, Annan soon found it weak at Silver Rank, with ¡°Frostwhisper¡± as aparison.

    It¡¯s decided! Annan hesitated for a moment but clicked on the advancement.

    After all, he was not a good fit for Silver Knight.

    After all, Annan was a direct descendant of the Old Grandmother and would return to Austere-Winter Dukedom sooner orter. At that time, it would be hard to exin to the Old Grandmother after returning as a Silver Knight.

    Moreover, the advancement requirement of the Victory Knight was difficult.

    If it weren¡¯t for Danton¡¯s killing intent this time, it would be impossible to fulfill the conditions.

    The rarer the profession, the more Annan wanted to try it out.

    Even if Annan drew an SSR card [1] that was not quite practical, it was a much happier result than a more practical regr rarity card.

    Annan believed that to be a yer¡¯s instinct.

    Luckily, this profession did not disappoint him.

    LVL 3 Victory Knight upgraded Annan¡¯s attribute panel in this manner:

    Attributes: Strength 15, Agility 16, Constitution 37 (+5), Perception 49, Will 31.

    Each level promotion of Victory Knight would add 2 points of Constitution and 2 points of Will!

    This was indeed a better Silver Rank profession than Silver Knight.

    Themon feature of the Silver Rank profession was that the Will attribute would be improved when leveling up.

    That was because the ascension from Silver Rank to Gold Rank had a rigid Will attribute requirement.

    This was one of the reasons why Captain Alexander had not advanced into Gold Rank so far.

    Still, the Victory Knight¡¯s skills did not disappoint Annan.

 Chapter 432: Curse: Heart Of Sisyphus

    <h4>Chapter 432: Curse: Heart Of Sisyphus</h4>

    Annan carefully checked the skills of the Victory Knight.

    ¡°¡­This profession is not bad.¡± He was amazed by it.

    ¡ªAs expected of a rare profession.

    Hundreds of failures consecutively withoutmitting any mistakes, but attain sess in the end. Annan even doubted that there would even be ten people in this world who had advanced in this profession.

    Victory Knight LV23: [Austere-Winter Swordsmanship LV10 (Max)], [Frost Sword LV10 (Max)], [Parallel Comprehension LV1], [Victory Will LV1 (Max)], [Brilliant Sword LV1], Avable Skill Points 3

    The first tier [Silver Hand] and [Silver de] had be two new skills, [Victory Will] and [Brilliant Sword].

    Victory Will was a passive skill that only needed one level to reach its maximum capacity.

    The skill effect was that when the sum of Strength and Agility was lower than the Will attribute, the user got to utilize the Will attribute as a skill check [1] instead of the Strength or Agility attribute once a day.

    For every 10 points of the Will attribute, an additional chance to use [Victory Will] would be given. Currently, Annan¡¯s Will attribute was 31, which means he could activate the ability four times a day.

    This was also the first skill that Annan noticed where the attribute growth had to be suppressed to trigger the effect.

    There was no doubt that this was a superb skill.

    It was so strong that it scared Annan a little.

    The ability signified the chance of ¡°temporarily doubling the Strength or Agility attribute¡± several times a day.

    As a matter of fact, the [All-out Blow] swordsmanship ability consumed three times the stamina, so it could only temporarily increase the Strength by 30%.

    However, even if [All-out Blow] raised the Strength attribute by 30% ten times, it might not be as decisive as the effect of a 100% increment brought by the [Victory Will].

    On the other hand, Brilliant Sword was a skill rted to both Will and Constitution attributes:

    Its description read, ¡°Burning your will to its limit, increasing damage immunity rted to the Will attribute (currently 31% saving throws [2]) and storing all damage taken. Using this skill again will send out a brilliant sh that delivers the damage stored; the lower your health, the greater the power of the light sh, reaching its peak when your health is lower than 30%.¡±

    This skill could only be used once a day and was a true ¡°ultimate move¡±.

    Simply put, being attacked during the preparation phase of the attack would increase its damage and deliver a brilliant blow.

    Its most remarkable value was that the preparation duration for the attack was flexible.

    It was considered a guided spell.

    As long as Annan did not use other guided or chant spells, he could maintain his charged state. Even if he utilized other swordsmanship abilities to attack, the charging phase would not be interrupted.

    If Annan had [Elves¡¯ Hand], he could use another guided spell while charging. It would not affect Annan¡¯s status, which was equivalent to a longsting damage immunity.

    So Annan allocated all three avable skill points on the [Brilliant Sword] without hesitation.

    Each level increment of the Brilliant Sword did not bring about significant qualitative changes. On the contrary, it only boosted the damage mildly.

    However, when the [Brilliant Sword] reached LV4, the first special effect was finally triggered:

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: The damage of this skill increases by an additional 50%.]

    Annan had aplicated feeling about it.

    After so long, he finally looked like a Boss.

    Although he had be a Berserker-type Boss, he was still a Boss to some extent.

    His golden ¡°Elite Rare¡± temte finally had some convincing power.

    ¡°I finally have my first ultimate move. My first reliable range AoE attack skill.¡±

    Annan immediately realized the shoring of that [Silver de].

    Sure enough, the new profession was splendid.

    But since the skill was released in the form of a ¡°sh¡±, it might interact with Annan¡¯s first curse to further increase the damage.

    ¡°¡®Victory Knight¡¯¡­?¡± Annan muttered to himself.

    A skill could be triggered only when the attribute was suppressed or in a poor state.

    Annan found them a little ironic.

    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s get the plot decryption rewards.¡± Annan sighed.

    Preparation in giving out rewards¡­

    Annan¡¯s [Brilliance] had a 63% awakening depth. After the ¡°Nightmare: The Great Hunt¡±, Annan had already amplified it to 73%. After calcting the improvement that could be achieved through element extraction, it would be 95% by then.

    After this nightmare, Annan had officially crossed the 90% threshold. Therefore, there was no need to pursue 100% awakening depth. The reason being Annan could already fully extract the ¡°Brilliance¡± element within a safe range. Even if Annan burnt part of his soul, the gap could be filled up quickly.

    Then, Annan had to pursue the rest of the four elements: ¡°Wisdom¡±, ¡°Glory¡±, ¡°Beauty¡±, and ¡°Strictness¡±.

    Counting in the ¡°Brilliance¡± element that Annan hadpleted its awakening ahead of time and the ¡°Frost¡± element blessed upon him since birth, Annan had harnessed six elements.

    Only by perfectly clearing the Distorted-tier nightmare could the awakening depth of the elements be improved stably and safely. Although the awakening depth of an element did not trante directly as the awakening progress, it could be regarded as ¡°aptitude¡± to do so.

    In other words, that was to inherit the awakening depth of the nightmare owner. Of course, the premise was that Annan must have the qualifications for the element. Otherwise, the relevant rewards would not be triggered.

    This was one of the reasons why many transcenders suppressed their attribute before advancing to Gold Rank.

    In addition to looking for the advancement ritualpatible with them, they were looking for a Distortion-level nightmare that suited them. The goal was to absorb the nightmare owner¡¯s elemental power and enhance the awakening depth. Like in the Immortal Cultivation Simtor, there was no hope for ascension if the Golden Core [3] wascking.

    At least 90% of the awakening depth could the challenger seek toplete the elements¡¯ perfect crystallization without consuming drugs. Of course, if the challenger was a Truth level transcender or a direct descendant of a deity, they were born with an element that was 100% awakened.

    But, if the first stage required 90% mastery, how would the second stage trigger?

    Annan thought.

    After he confirmed the prompts, two notifications crossed his eyes:

    [You have acquired dungeon instance decryption rewards: Element (Brilliance) awakening depth is increased by 20%.]

    [You have acquired dungeon instance decryption rewards: Curse ¡°Heart of Sisyphus¡±.]

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Annan muttered lightly.

    This was the second time he was given an additional curse in a nightmare.

    This is not Danton¡¯s final curse on me, right?

    Annan nced over worriedly.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Then, he went silent.

    [Heart of Sisyphus (Taboo Type): You must not despair because of failure.]

    [This curse is attached to you. It has no maintenance cost and is automatically triggered and released after the conditions are met.]

    [Triggered when the ability check fails three times in a row and you try to make an ability check again¡ª¡ª]

    [Before this ability check ismitted, all abilities you apply to it are temporarily boosted with a +1.]

    [This curse can be triggered infinitely. However, the soul corruption rate will be increased by 1 each time it is activated; if it is triggered multiple times on the same ability check, the corruption rate will be increased by 2, thus apounded +3 increment. Corruption rate will be raised by 3 when triggered for the third time, a total of +6, and so on]

    [A loser¡¯sst gift and tribute ¡ª Danton]

    Is this your final Hamon [4]?

 Chapter 433: The Late Salvatore

    <h4>Chapter 433: The Late Salvatore</h4>

    ¡°Victor?¡± Annan muttered.

    From the nightmares Danton constructed and the traps he set, Annan realized that Danton had been struggling with the ¡°matter of win or lose¡± all his life.

    ¡°Really, how boring!¡± Annan murmured in a low voice.

    Danton was filled with a pathological paranoia about ¡°victory¡±.

    There was an inexplicable sense of inferiority in his heart. He might have longed for the approval of others but could not, or he had fallen to the bottom after trying his best.

    It was shown from Danton¡¯s fear fragments that having his power not working terrified him.

    That showed that Danton knew precisely what he was doing.

    But he still dared to carry out such a risky mission even though he knew this.

    He worked on stealing the country for the sake of the deities.

    He did not crave immortality, so he should not believe in the Rotten Man.

    ¡°Or, his purpose is not to help the Rotten Man, but to control the royal family.¡±

    In this way, Annan started to understand why Danton controlled the Fourth Prince for so long, but he never found an opportunity to attack Henry VIII and directly modify the king¡¯s memory.

    The reason was simple.

    Danton did note to the Noah¡¯s capital because he was a fanatic in pursuit of power. He did not want to take the throne deep down his heart. Instead, he desired to toy with the royal family in his palm with his power. The victory would only be meaningful to him if he won while following the rules.

    It was not an assassination attempt but lurking for more than ten years. It was like a game as he controlled the Fourth Prince to execute all his orders.

    The n was to follow the game rules and wait for Prince Philip to inherit the throne by official means.

    The Rotten Man met the expectations of being the most casual deity for choosing His believers.

    Even believers who did not believe in Him and used His power at will were eptable as long as they were useful.

    Or, He was as expected of a deity who even dared to offend the Old Grandmother.

    Anyway, the Rotten Man had not evenpleted the ascendancy ritual. As a result, He became a deity without weakness. His unique characteristic was that His vitality was tenacious. However, He was the weakest and even lost to the mighty Gold Rank transcenders. At the same time, He did not care much about threats from other deities.

    The advantage of being paratively tenacious¡± put Him at ease.

    For example, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual area could be brought into ruins if you could venture deep into the Gray Mists and break through the many traps and barriers the Venerated Skeleton installed. On the other hand, ??the Man in the Mirror¡¯s ritual could be interrupted if you could travel to the past.

    The Rotten Man was different.

    His ritual had not beenpleted yet, so there was no way of disrupting it.

    Therefore, He was also the weakest of all deities ¡ª only one-seventh of the divine power.

    The ascendancy ritual the Rotten Man constructed was initially intended for His monarch. After the monarch backstabbed Him, He altered the ritual to ascend himself.

    This oue was that His ascendancy was not perfect.

    He had to make the royal heirs of the seven countriesplete the ¡°Immortal¡± ritual, and he had to be thest survivor among the seven immortals to be a true deity.

    Before that, he was only one-seventh of a deity.

    By the way, the ¡°one out of seven¡± immortal included him.

    Philip¡¯s n was to be an ¡°Immortal¡± like the Rotten Man. If he did not master any transcended power before, he could instantly be a high-ranking existence among the Silver Rank transcenders with the power he was given.

    ¡°Immortal¡± was not just a measure of immortality.

    They were candidates for deityhood, after all.

    Except for notpleting ¡°four rotating wheels¡± and not getting ¡°perfected element essence¡±, other aspects werepleted. The Rotten Man had only two advantages over them.

    Once bing an immortal, the vitality would be far beyond that of ordinary deities; only other immortals who also hold the truth of ¡°Immortality¡± could kill the target.

    In other words, taking away the ¡°power of immortality¡± that belonged to the other party.

    Only a tyrant determined to cut off the royal family¡¯s blood and abandon his blood and kinship could be immortal. Therefore, the final winner would be called the ¡°King of the Immortals¡±.

    Annan did not know what Philip wanted to do previously.

    However, he caught some ideas about it at this instance.

    Judging from the situation on Danton¡¯s side, Philip should be trying to kill Rotten Man.

    However, Annan did not know where his confidence came from.

    But if it was understood in this way, it could exin why Rotten Man decisively gave up a Gold Rank believer and a royal heir. That also exined why Philip knew the Rotten Man¡¯s ritual but did not resist at all.

    The reason being Prince Philip was taking advantage of Rotten Man at the same time.

    As expected of the most disdainful deity, even his believers were more despicable than others.

    The Venerated Skeleton even called Him the insiders of his [Betrayal] realm.

    ¡°What is this all about¡­¡± Annan sighed and took away the quilt to get out of bed.

    Just then, the door of his room was mmed open.

    Salvatore, who had an anxious face, and Alexander Captain, who had a calm face and a burly figure, rushed in.

    They froze when they saw Annan, who was about to get up.

    Alexander nced at Annan carefully, then shook his head and breathed a sigh of relief.

    Salvatore was frozen in ce, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.

    Annan raised an eyebrow and chuckled, ¡°Are you here to save me, senior?

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. You¡¯rete.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯mte?¡± Salvatore repeated.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Annan. He nced at the bottle of pills by the bed and threw it to Salvatore.

    ¡°I¡¯ve solved the problem myself.¡± He said, ¡°You¡¯re not quite a reliable doctor.¡±

    Salvatore, embarrassed and clumsy, grabbed the bottle and took a closer look.

    Only then did he notice that the pills in the bottle had lost their eerily dull luster, like ordinary pills. Each piece was exactly cut into two pieces right in the middle.

    ¡°Did you cleanse the curse?¡± Salvatore muttered.

    He stood on the spot, thinking for a moment. Then, he suddenly trotted to Annan¡¯s side, held his head, and carefully looked at Annan¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Stop looking.¡± The Shadow replied in his heart, ¡°It¡¯s Annan.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? He¡¯s even more confident than before. I¡¯m afraid he had consumed Danton. What a terrifying man.¡±

    Sorry, I couldn¡¯t see anything. Salvatore murmured in his heart.

    After all, he did not have the skills to peek into others¡¯ hearts.

    But from the looks of it, Annan was in a good mood.

    After inspecting for a long time, he sighed and moved his hand away, ¡°I don¡¯t even know whether to congratte you on your safe return or punch you. I¡¯ve been worrying about you for so long.¡±

    ¡°Congratte me then.¡± Annanughed, ¡°It¡¯s your fault after all, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ yes.¡± Salvatore sighed reluctantly and admitted: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Annan.¡±

    ¡°No apologies needed. Just congratte me!¡± Annanughed and said, ¡°At least in terms of oue, it¡¯s not bad!¡±

    His pupils were as bright as stars, and his smile was brighter than Salvatore had ever seen.

    Only then did he believe that Annan was alright, and he was relieved.

    He was taken aback and was anxious about it as he brought along a mighty rescuer. At the same time, he also worked hard to make a pill that could enter other people¡¯s nightmare. However, all his efforts weren¡¯t of help.

    But Salvatore still believed from the bottom of his heart that something like medicine ¡ª the fewer people use it, the more worthy it was to be a celebration.

    As the medicine producer, if no one had to use his pills anymore, he should be happy but not sad.

 Chapter 434: Fuzzy Truth

    <h4>Chapter 434: Fuzzy Truth</h4>

    ¡°Is this ce Denizoya?¡± Lin Yiyi looked around and asked curiously.

    Although the official name of the United Kingdom was Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom. However, the disparity in the prosperity of ¡°Denizoya¡± and ¡°Fildes Archipgo¡± was significant.

    Previously, Lin Yiyi stayed at Treasure Diamond Ind for a day to satisfy the advancement conditions.

    Although she did not get any essential items, she learned a couple of pieces of information.

    Ascending from ¡°Treasure Diamond Ind Guard Knight¡± to the Silver Rank tank profession of ¡°Blue Guard¡± required the person to be at Treasure Diamond Ind.

    The group had to buy Treasure Diamond Ind¡¯s specialty ¡ª the sapphire mirror.

    The sapphire, which the people referred to, was not necessarily blue.

    It was a ritual item called ¡°sapphire mirror¡±, a non-curse ritual materialposed of chipped gems in six colors: pink, blue, yellow, green, white, and gray. The requirement was that the chipped gemstone could not be adjacent to other gemstones of the same color.

    Azure Sage¡¯s advancement ritual required the person to acquire chipped gems, mirrors, and adhesives, which were then glued together in Edict Wizard¡¯s specially made ¡°Sinless Room¡±. Then, the person had to use this mirror to fall asleep with the rays of the setting sun reflected on his face.

    Treasure Diamond Ind¡¯s chipped gems were cheap, like grocery prices.

    It was not a description, but actually at the price of cabbage!

    Three-quarters of ??Treasure Diamond Ind wasposed of rich red and sapphire veins [1]. Moreover, this ore vein was cursed thousands of years ago. It would devour the creatures that touch the core of the ore vein and absorb the curse, flesh, and blood to generate new gems continuously.

    This rule waster learned by the mine owners on Treasure Diamond Ind. They carried out blood sacrifices to extend the life of the veins.

    Treasure Diamond Ind had no farnd, iron ore, or coal mine, and the only work avable was mining. There were more than 50,000 native miners consistently mining gemstones. The number was limited to the registered gemstone miners, not counting the migrants from other inds who ept employment work. In the past ten years, the United Kingdom alone had exported more than one ton of gemstones and gemstone-rted products, 100% of which came from Treasure Diamond Ind. The difference was whether it had undergone processing.

    The Azure Diamond Tower was built on the ore vein, continuously mining from the depth of the ore vein.

    At Treasure Diamond Ind, only rubiesrger than a pigeon egg could be considered expensive; sapphires were even less worthy, generally less than half the price of rubies of the same quality and size.

    If the chipped gems were under five carats, they were not much more expensive than the same amount of ss.

    Their main purpose was to sell them to Denizoya¡¯s costume designers, to polish them as shiny decorations on new fashion clothes, or to sell them to the Edict Wizards as spell casting materials.

    Lin Yiyi also learned that many of Edict Wizard¡¯s spells require gems and ore powder as spell casting materials.

    With the idea of ??¡±buying souvenirs in travel¡±, Lin Yiyi used all her pocket money to buy two pockets of chipped gems.

    Each pocket was 150 grams.

    Then, she reserved half a pocket of them as the spell casting material and would probably give everyone half a sack as a souvenir. The rest of them would be sold back to Noah. With that, she should be able to get her start-up fund directly.

    Carrying more than 100 grams of gemstone was forbidden when leaving Treasure Diamond Ind. Otherwise, the person had to pay some taxes. Luckily, Old Bread Daryl¡¯s reputation was useful. Many big shots knew him. Thus, no one had searched Lin Yiyi, nor was she examined by the Edict Wizards.

    A big shot even gave her a flower-shaped gemstone hairpin. It was made of five flower-shaped pink diamonds and a flower heart set with many honey-yellow sapphires.

    To be honest, it was pretty heavy.

    Lin Yiyi dared not to ept it, but Bishop Daryl motioned her to take it directly.

    So Lin Yiyi epted the gift, like a child who said ¡°no¡± to a red packet [2] but dly epted it smilingly.

    Even for the luxurious Treasure Diamond Ind, the city¡¯s urban style was like Noah¡¯s rural areas. It even felt like the infrastructure was not as good as Freezing Water Port, at least Freezing Water Port used to have a gallery and a theater despite being obsolete now.

    The Elegant Elder and Silver Sire were deities who directly announced their cities. Just like the fear of the Silver Sire that might appear at any time, everyone was inclined to behave courteously, easy-going, and politely. This situation applied simrly to Denizoya because of the Elegant Elder.

    The capital of Denizoya was also called Denizoya. After all, the Noah Kingdom and the Denizoya Kingdom were both countries built around the ¡°city where a deity resides¡±.

    But unlike Silver Sire, the Elegant Elder rarely roamed the street.

    He always stayed in His home.

    It was aprehensive office, appearing like any other office in Denizoya. The only difference was that the owner was an upright deity.

    Many painters, writers, ywrights, costume designers, and poets who dream of bing famous overnight would regrly send their works to the Elegant Elder. The Elegant Elder would send Hisments on the splendid and poor works. Singers and the actors would also participate in the Elegant Elder¡¯s rituals like a talent show regrly¡­ and then get roasted.

    Indeed, most of them were charred.

    The biggest difference between the Elegant Elder and the Paper Princess was that He had no tolerance even for a slight artistic w.

    No matter how good the work was, the Elegant Elder always pointed out its shorings. Moreover, the ws pointed out by Him tend to be critical. Therefore, the artists who heard the opinions would quickly be angry.

    Unless the Elegant Elder found a candidate who was particrly pleasing to the eye, He would provide vital pointers in a friendly way.

    Otherwise, He gave the most critical roast.

    Still, the artist could not help much because the Elegant Elder was better than them.

    In the face of a crappy singer, the Elegant Elder would disy a gorgeous singing voice on the spot; when facing an actor with embarrassing acting skills, the Elegant Elder would also use the same performance to p the candidate. Not to mention painting, sculpture, writing, etc¡­

    The Elegant Elder was the founder and innovator of many artistic genres, a living ancestor in the true sense. He had never stopped learning, researching, and creating. New work mighte out at any time. Each piece was undoubtedly the ¡°best¡± of that era, and thetest art was always the ¡°best¡±.

    The key to Nichs¡¯ cemetery was in the hands of the Elegant Elder.

    The Elegant Elder personally designed and guarded the barrier of Nichs¡¯s cemetery.

    However, ording to the non-disclosure agreement, Lin Yiyi was not allowed to go to the cemetery. First of all, she must beware of the possibility that someone would take the opportunity to release and resurrect Nichs and steal the body in the name of checking the body. This approach was alsomon.

    Lin Yiyi also dared not stay with the Elegant Elder.

    She had seen the Elegant Elder from a distance¡­ Wearing a beret and sses, the thin-faced old man looked like an elderly version of Zun [3] and like Osamu Tezuka [4], who had lost weight twice.

    The Elegant Elder did not seem to have a good temper.

    Still, the group did not have to see it personally. After all, they only came here to confirm the matter.

    Lin Yiyi and the others already knew before they left Noah as to what happened to ¡®Nichs II¡¯. Although she did not know why, the Silver Sire and the Elegant Elder were calm about this matter, which she found a little strange.

    But when Bishop Daryl returned, Lin Yiyi realized that things might be more severe than she thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad, Yiyi,¡± said Bishop Daryl solemnly.

    ¡°So, the corpse is really gone?¡±

    ¡°More serious than that.¡± Bishop Daryl took a deep breath.

    He touched his bald head and said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s because Nichs¡¯ body is still in the grave.¡±

    ¡°The body is still there?!¡± Lin Yiyi was stunned.

    Daryl nodded, ¡°Not only that but there is no sign of anyone entering or leaving the barrier ¡­at least not in the past five years.¡±

    Annan, who observed this from Lin Yiyi¡¯s perspective, was also stunned.

    He also immediately realized that the problem might be serious.

    Nichs II had regarded himself entirely as the real Nichs. All the evidence points to him as ¡°Nichs¡±. He just forgot some memories and thought he was an artificial human.

    But if Nichs had not been resurrected, then who was that Nichs in the royal capital?

 Chapter 435: The Deities Know The Radiance Is Born In The Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 435: The Deities Know The Radiance Is Born In The Mirror</h4>

    After learning that Annan was safe and sound, Salvatore apanied Annan for dinner before leaving.

    On the other hand, Captain Alexander excused himself and left immediately after learning that Annan was fine.

    Even if he was the bank¡¯s chairman, it did not mean he could stay idle. However, he was in good health, and the travels did not take much of his energy.

    Instead, Salvatore was exhausted from the emergency travels.

    Salvatore hade to Annan previously to deliver the dream elixir. Having another bumpy ride for this emergency had exhausted all of his energy.

    At the same time, he did not have the option to catch a sleep. The sky was getting dark. If he consumes a stimnt, he might not be able to fall asleep at the designated hours.

    That would be even worse.

    Salvatore could only go for a walk in the garden and then go home after the stroll.

    He did not even dare to eat his fill tonight.

    He was wary of the lethargying after a meal. He might identally take a nap after sitting down, which could release the shadow.

    After returning, I still have to check and correct the assignments I arranged a few days ago for my apprentice. Luckily, Little Hohenheim has a rtively stable personality. He is enthusiastic in his study, making notes, and such. I don¡¯t need to be worried too much.

    Annan had met the child too.

    He is indeed a good boy.

    Salvatore was quite busy these days, so he could only arrange homework for his apprentice, hand over the teaching materials and his ss notes, and let the child self-study first.

    ¡°Safe journey, senior.¡± Annan waved at him with a smile.

    Salvatore waved his hand without looking back, ¡°It¡¯s not like I will get lost.¡±

    But you¡¯re a little wobbly.

    Actually, I¡¯m really worried.

    But Annan thought about it carefully and did not seem worried anymore.

    In a sense, ¡°Vatore-senpai¡± was much superior to the senior. As long as the senior fell asleep, a vicious and decisive shadow would appear to take over the body. This was more reassuring than the senior, who was slow to respond and always had kindness toward people.

    At this moment, crow¡¯s chirpings came from behind Annan.

    ¡°Ga!Ga¡ª¡°

    [You have acquired a new mark, ¡°Advanced Influence: Caw of the Faceless Crow¡±.]

    [If you don¡¯t remove it in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°record¡± after seven days (Difficulty: Distorted). ]

    A familiar system prompt appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes again.

    This was the fourth time he had heard this voice in the past few days.

    Knowing that Annan did not want to enter this nightmare for the time being, the Faceless Poet kindly had his vessel chirp twice to refresh the duration of Annan¡¯s influence.

    The duration of the influence could be refreshed as long as it was repeatedly obtained before it reverberated.

    The Faceless Poet seemed to take in a liking toward Annan. Whenever the Paper Princess was not around, he would appear from nowhere and chat with Annan for a while.

    ck mud flowed out from the bottom of Annan¡¯s bed and skillfully gathered into that young human figure.

    It was a young girl with a ck crow mask, only about 145 centimeters tall, with long satin-like magical ck hair wrapped around her body.

    She made a high-pitched sound reminiscent of a chirp, ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Annan. I was wondering whether to rush in to save you, but I didn¡¯t expect you to survive.¡±

    ¡°Can you see my dreams?¡± The Faceless Poet first reached out a finger, cing a finger in front of her lips and making a silent gesture.

    Then, she said with a smile, ¡°I am the Deity of Records and Secrecy ¡ª a smart crow who can see everything but remains silent forever.

    ¡°Of course, if it¡¯s you, it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t spill anything.¡±

    ¡°Are you for real?¡± Annan asked rhetorically.

    Hearing this, the Faceless Poet let out a burst ofughter, ¡°What secret did you see, Annan? Let me guess¡­ Denizoya¡¯s matters?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Annan nodded.

    He asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on with Nichs?

    ¡°Previously, the Paper Princess told me that Nichs was an artificial man with all of Nichs¡¯ memory and knowledge and that Father Stone was watching over him. But, Iter learned that there was a great possibility that the ¡°Nichs¡± was the resurrected Nichs himself, but his memory was modified, forgetting that ¡®he is himself¡¯.

    ¡°Bernardino gave me a hint. ¡®How many Nichs are there?¡¯ I still don¡¯t have an answer to that.¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s doubts, the Faceless Poet just looked up andughed.

    Herughter was hearty, but for some reason, it sounded like a hint of sarcasm.

    ¡°I¡¯m notughing at you, Annan.¡± She exined quickly, but the smile on her face couldn¡¯t be hidden at all, ¡°How do I put this? Ah, I can almost tell you now. After all, the n has beenpleted, and you have also realized it. So I don¡¯t think we can hide it anymore.¡±

    ¡°Now?¡± Annan keenly caught a keyword.

    The Faceless Poet nodded.

    ¡°Yes, now,¡± she said with a chuckle, ¡°in fact, this matter has something to do with you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s because Nichs is also a ¡®mirror¡¯.¡±

    The Faceless Poet replied, ¡°It¡¯s your mirror.¡±

    ¡ª[The deities are born from the Light Realm, and they know that the radiance is born in the mirror and falls into the void.] [The Rays of the Seven Luminary have never fallen into the mortal world], [The ¡®mirror¡¯ without equal weight bes the hatching egg, and the true light will not descend from the Light Realm].

    The three words Henry VIII said again appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    Henry VIII was a man who was ¡°simr and opposite¡± to Annan.

    He acted as a mirror for some rituals and was used to incubate Annan¡¯s light.

    In this way, only people who were ¡°simr and opposite¡± to Annan were qualified to be mirrors.

    In what way was Nichs the opposite of me?

    Is it because he lost his memory like me?

    That¡¯s not right.

    Annan suddenly remembered.

    Nichs in the past was a person who was called ¡°demon¡± by Kafni. Heunched massacres at every ce in the capital and had no psychological burden on doing evil deeds. He even raised many evil subordinates.

    However, Nichs was quite restrained in this state.

    ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Annan suddenly understood something. He asked slowly, ¡°Has he lost his memory of doing evil?

    ¡°So he became a good man?¡±

    It was just like Annan.

    ording to Annan¡¯s spection, the sacred bone did not acknowledge him in his first life. Thus the reversal of his Winter Heart had urred. Then, he cleared his memory and embarked on his second life.

    The reason why he cleared up his memory was to prevent his cold memory from contaminating his feelings.

    If Nichs¡¯s experience of doing evil deeds was deleted, it could indeed restore him to ¡°the state before evil¡±.

    The Faceless Poet shook his head quietly, ¡°It¡¯s quite close to the truth, but you still haven¡¯t figured out the most important part.¡±

    ¡°The most critical ce?¡±

    ¡°Try to remember.¡± The ck-haired young girl raised the corners of her mouth, ¡°Do you still remember the nightmare you have just experienced?

    ¡°If the remnants of Danton¡¯s will infect your mind, do you think you are still Danton or Annan?

    ¡°It¡¯s the same. Do you think there will be no fragments of will left in the world after Nichs¡¯s death? He¡¯s much stronger than Danton.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was stunned for a moment and his head buzzed.

    Many scattered clues were connected in his mind.

    From the very beginning, the Paper Princess did not lie or mislead the truth!

    Nichs was a person he created himself. Thus, the corpse was still in Nichs¡¯ grave!

    The memories he had forgotten, and Father Stone who watched him but let him out. How many Nichs exist in the capital at the same time?

    At first, Annan thought it was one.

    Later, Annan thought there were two of them. The good watcher and the evil Father of the Demons.

    Afterward, Annan thought there was only one Nichs. The former was just thetter¡¯s memory being washed away.

    However, it appeared that the answer was zero.

    Not a single Nichs.

    All of them were fake.

    ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of this? Wait, I get it.¡± Annan raised his head and said slowly, ¡°Your purpose is to create a ¡®harmless Nichs¡¯ from the start!

    ¡°So that¡¯s why the deities let him act and why he finds his memories are deleted so easily. That¡¯s because ¡®finding yourself as the real Nichs¡¯ is what you¡¯re here for!

    ¡°Using the imprint of Nichs¡¯ thinking, the body of the artificial human, the memory that has been modified andpleted by himself without authorization, you got an artificial human who thinks he is Nichs!¡±

    Annan came into a moment of silence afterward.

    He stared at the Faceless Poet and asked slowly, ¡°So, why is he my mirror?¡±

    In Annan¡¯s vision, the Faceless Poet was not highlighted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, Annan.¡± The Faceless Poet smiled mysteriously, ¡°Since I dare to tell you, it¡¯s not what you think.

    ¡°All I can say is that the Silver Sire and the Elegant Elder have proposed the n; you are who you are now because you have proposed this n.

    ¡°The causal rtionship is reversed. You got the inspiration and determination to throw away the memory because you saw the whole picture of the n back then. What I said is true because this is my [Record].

    ¡°Since I have revealed so much, but you haven¡¯t figured out what your n was back then, that means it¡¯s still not the time yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be just fine. I¡¯ll watch over you, buddy!¡± After saying that, the Faceless Poet once again turned into ck mud and dissipated.

 Chapter 436: The Swampâ€™s Black Tower Is Under Attack

    <h4>Chapter 436: The Swamp¡¯s ck Tower Is Under Attack</h4>

    rence had put on his ck round-rimmed sses. As always, he wore the same red robe that had stuck with him for many years. The light brown curly hair on his head looked fluffy and messy.

    He squinted his eyes, frowning and staring at the young wizard in front of him.

    The young wizard had brown curly hair draped to his shoulders. His smile was confident and bright. At the same time, he was equipped with a dark green, raincoat-like cloak. The outfit was simple and casual for the wizard¡¯s standard.

    His skin was engraved with ck tattoo runes and transmutation circles. The patterns criss-cross, leaving arcs and marks on his body. As such, he appeared like a stitched-up puppet bear.

    If an experienced alteration wizard were here, he would have noticed that if the [skin] of the young wizard was peeled off and unfolded, it could be directly transformed into seven magic circles that fit together like gears.

    ¡°So, you have seeded in the end.¡± rence asked slowly, ¡°[Purest Spiritual Medium] Bernardino?¡±

    ¡°You recognize me.¡± The corners of Bernardino¡¯s mouth rose. He spoke in a melodious voice that was a little artificial, ¡°Then, it seems that I am not sessful either.

    ¡°How does my young and healthy body today resemble my decayed ¡®shell¡¯ in the past?¡±

    ¡°I can see it in your heart.¡± rence replied forthrightly, ¡°I¡¯ve only seen such a cold, vicious, and dark heart in one person.

    ¡°Your body may change, but your heart won¡¯t change. It¡¯s just that the suffocating lifelessness has turned intocent and arrogant.¡±

    He flicked his freshly polished nails under a crisp low sound.

    After the flick, the white jade nails drew a pure white shimmer in the air.

    In rence¡¯s eyes, there were many tiny ck cracks like electric sparks in the empty air where his fingernails swept over.

    It was a severed fragment of fate.

    When the two faced each other, a new destiny was born between them.

    ¡ªrence will die here.

    This was the future that rence saw.

    ¡ªBernardino has murderous intentions.

    This was the mind that rence read.

    Being approached by a high-ranked Soul Snatch Wizard at this distance put himpletely defenseless.

    Even if Bernardino did not take the path of soul snatching, it did not mean he would lose the resistance to the same type of spell.

    But he did not panic in the slightest and calmly watched the master who controlled souls.

    In rence¡¯s vision, countless souls had surrounded him.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re pretty happy with your chosen path.¡±

    Bernardino leaned against the table. He reached out his hand to lightly grab his new hair, lowered his head, and sniffed the hair at his fingertips. Then, he said warmly, ¡°Are you ready for advancement? Or, have you got your hands on someone¡¯s legacy?

    ¡°The advancement from Silver Rank to Gold Rank can¡¯t be aplished just by staying in the wizard tower and entering a dream. Talent without creativity and innovation needs the legacy left by a Gold Ranker.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡±

    rence paced to his cupboard, rummaging through the reagent shelf, and responded indifferently without looking back, ¡°The tower master has promised me to trade [Dream Stealer] or [Mask Master] advancement ritual.¡±

    ¡°I remember that the legacy profession of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower should be [Fire Stealer]?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s left for the Son of the Tower. I¡¯m still a Soul Snatch Wizard, after all.¡± rence replied calmly, ¡°But I have a high probability of advancing to the Gold Rank. The tower master is willing to trade with other wizard towers by exchanging advancement rituals and material.¡±

    Advancement rituals for gold rank had fallen into the category of ult knowledge. They were not knowledge that could be copied at will, so they could be traded for other advancement rituals.

    Although each wizard tower had its heritage, there were students from other wizardry schools.

    Even if the probability was not high, developing a new Gold Rank transcender from a different school was possible.

    The wizard in red rummaged and found a bottle of reagent that looked like an ink bottle. It was green and transparent; it consistently sent out light-colored bubbles even though it was well sealed.

    rence opened it, and a strong mint aroma poured out of the bottle.

    He raised his head and swallowed the cold liquid into his belly in three mouthfuls.

    The sweet and refreshing taste melted on the tongue, sliding down from the base of the tongue to the bottom of the heart. Immediately afterward, a strong icy feeling rose from the abdomen and shot straight to the top of the head.

    rence frowned in agitation as if he had ingested a mouthful of mustard.

    After a while, he slowly recovered.

    ¡°Soul purification medicine?¡± Bernardino tilted his head and raised the corner of his mouth slightly, ¡°It¡¯s bad for your stomach if you drink too much.¡±

    ¡°If your stomach hurts, you can make it up with other medicines,¡± replied rence tly.

    He turned his head and stared at Bernardino, ¡°But you¡¯ve been clinging on here. If I¡¯m facing you unprepared, isn¡¯t it disrespectful to you?¡±

    After drinking the medicine, a faint white halo flickered in rence¡¯s eyes, which was evidence that his perception and will attributes were temporarily boosted by the reagent, and he couldn¡¯t control it.

    Hearing this, Bernardino chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rence. I don¡¯t want to be too rude. But if you want to challenge me, it¡¯s best to drink the ¡®Heart Snatching sk¡¯ and ¡®Swift Elixir¡¯ next to you.¡±

    rence did not answer, just sullen and silent.

    He drank the two bottles of potion mentioned by Bernardino and hesitantly took out a bottle of dark red translucent reagent like a perfume sample. After thinking about it repeatedly, he still drank it as he gritted his teeth.

    It was as if he had been punched hard in the abdomen by something invisible, and his whole body shuddered. He slowly bent down with trembling, almost spitting it out.

    ¡°Are you ready, Your Excellency, the Savior of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower?¡± Watching this scene, Bernardino said warmly.

    rence spoke in a husky voice, ¡°So, you finally admitted it? You came here for troubles?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. It is fate.¡± Bernardino sighed, ¡°If you said at the time that you are going to advance into a Spiritual Monk, I might change my mind.¡±

    ¡°Might?¡± rence sneered.

    He slowly raised his head, and the whites of his eyes had utterly turned bloody.

    Bernardino smiled, ¡°Well, I might. But sure enough, I still want to expand my collection.¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you here for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to find the soul of Hugo cktower.¡± The rune on Bernardino¡¯s skin instantly lit up as soon as he finished his sentence.

    It was the inheritance from the Jade Tower¡ªa treasure tailored for him by the great alchemist of the past, Isaac mel¡¯s soul.

    ¡ª A moving Sage¡¯s Stone transmutation circle.

    The next moment, the world around rence turned into an [Alien Land].

    A dark, greasy liquid quickly spread out from under Bernardino¡¯s feet.

    In the blink of an eye, it had spread across the room and passed through the walls. The vein-like runic lines were clinging to the wall and slowly growing upward.

    Seeing this, rence showed no anger.

    That was because of thest reagent he took, the ¡°Blood of Dry Rage¡±.

    His anger would be constantly converted into chaos power. If his rage were not enough, the reagent would burn his blood instead.

    ¡°How are my students?¡± rence jumped, dodging the ck mud that was charging at him.

    He jumped to the shelf behind him and asked in a low voice.

    The moment he asked, he already got the answer from Bernardino¡¯s mind.

    ¡ªThis ck mud was the manifestation of Bernardino¡¯s elemental power.

    Wizards dragged into the mud would be directly refined into Sage¡¯s Stone.

    And his next move is¡­

    rence read Bernardino¡¯s mind.

    Without hesitation, he pped his hands.

    Under the crisp pping sound, an invisible halo centered on rence suddenly spread.

    The books, documents, and newspapers in his office seemed to have gained life and run rampant after getting into contact with the halo.

    At the same time, rence inserted his sharp fingernails directly into his temples.

    At this time, Bernardino¡¯s jewel eyes just lit up.

    rence was instantly happy.

    I¡¯m just in time!

    The ward, enough to capture rence¡¯s soul instantly, was interrupted by the intense pain in Bernardino¡¯s brain just before it was activated. The opponent was half a stepte.

    In the next moment, countless words turned into a stream of light. Fine chains of light swept in from all directions, tying up Bernardino instantly!

    Idol Spell, Pain Synchronization!

    Edict Spell, Page Lock!

 Chapter 437: Isaac Flamel

    <h4>Chapter 437: Isaac mel</h4>

    [Pain Synchronization] and [Page Lock].

    They were all spells that did not require projectiles and could lock on a target immediately.

    The reason being rence knew that spells with a trajectory would be intercepted by the soul under Bernardino¡¯s control.

    rence withdrew his index finger from his temple after limiting Bernardino¡¯s actions.

    He lowered his body calmly, avoiding a Soul Arrow that would shoot toward the area between his eyebrows in the next moment.

    Then, he drew the line at the center of his forehead with his blood-stained nails.

    It resembled a third eye.

    ¡°[Hell descends]¡­¡± rence chanted in a low voice, ¡°[We are the hells of others].¡±

    Chaos Spell: Malicious Fluctuations!

    Gray waves radiated with him as the center.

    The storm blew away and shattered the reagents in the study. Those transparent spiritual bodies that silently approached rence were also wrapped in the power of this st wave and blown away together.

    The attack was immense malice visible to the naked eye, wrapped in a violent curse.

    The incantation was known to instantly drive an ordinary person crazy and make the Bronze Rank Transcender vomit to the point of being incapacitated. The attack was a materialized malicious shockwave.

    The attack was useless for transcenders above Silver Rank, but it was a soul-based shock that could at least blow away the spirits with no masses.

    The dense spiritual bodies gathered between him and Bernardino were instantly cleared out.

    The phantoms may return quickly, but

    I only need 3 seconds!

    He had prepared a fully-charged [Soul-Eating Arrow] that was enough to injure Bernardino severely or even kill this opponent directly!

    The next moment, he suddenly clenched his right hand.

    The sharp centaur¡¯s phnx shed through the air as if the fingernails cut some sturdy silk thread.

    That was what he saw: the fate of [Bernardino was about to be exempted from the controlling spell].

    Oveing this almost inevitable fate would take a massive toll on rence.

    The skin all over his body cracked with blood dripping out. He was drenched with blood as if he had undergone millions of cuts by small knives.

    But luckily, the moment rence attempted to sever this fate, he already knew the answer:

    Without hesitation, he reached out his fingertips and cut open the artery in his throat.

    The sshed blood suddenly slowed down in the air and turned into suspended, spherical blood droplets.

    The time around the blood drop seemed to be slowed down. Bernardino¡¯s chant was also slowed down several times, bing extraordinarily clumsy.

    ¡°You¡­are¡­not¡­¡±

    Chaos Spell: Borrowed Time for the Dying!

    ¡°Jealousy makes you lose¡­¡±

    rence¡¯s control of power was not precise after drinking the reagent. As he cut his artery, his trachea was also cut, which made it difficult to speak.

    However, he exhausted all his strength and pointed his hand at Bernardino against his rapidly blurred consciousness; blood sprayed out incessantly. ¡°Anger is your defeat¡­ arrogance is your defeat¡­ greed is your defeat¡­¡±

    No¡­ no¡­

    I still have ample mana, but the blood loss is too severe.

    That¡¯s all I can do¡­ unleash the spell¡­

    ¡°Your soul will disperse¡­¡± rence cast his final spell before losing consciousness.

    A pale gray shadow flew out from his fingertips.

    rence then lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss.

    Chaos Spell: Soul Eating Arrow!

    Yet at this moment¡­

    He did not have the chance to witness the [Soul Eating Arrow] go straight through Bernardino¡¯s body and hit a spirit body behind him.

    The soul collided with the Soul Eating Arrow. Pain overflowed in his expression as he crystallized instantly. Pieces of him peeled off and turned into ashes in the air.

    After that, it took another 3 seconds before Bernardino broke free from the [Page Lock].

    ¡°Why bother¡­¡± He sighed, ¡°You have no chance of winning from the beginning.¡±

    His jeweled eyes lit up slightly, sucking rence¡¯s spirit into his belly.

    rence¡¯s body immediately lost its life.

    A spirit walked over and ripped rence¡¯s body off the table.

    The body was about to drop into the swamp spawned on the ground.

    Then, Bernardino¡¯s heart moved.

    The spirit body peeled off his four fingernails and handed it to Bernardino. rence¡¯s body was then thrown into the ck mud, waiting for it to sink.

    ¡°Centaur¡¯s phnx¡­¡± Bernardino sneered, ¡°Fate, and the attempt to sever it. Until the end, you still believed in this kind of thing¡­¡±

    If fate could be changed so easily, how would centaurs end up where they are now?

    How would you possibly end up like this?

    Indeed, Bernardino did hear this statement back then.

    Soul Snatch Wizard, in the pursuit of seizing the mind, was invincible in battles with those of the same level.

    It epassed the ability to read the opponent¡¯s thoughts and tactics at any time, interfere with the opponent¡¯s thinking, and silently change the opponent¡¯s tactics. Even when the fighting time was prolonged, the soul snatch wizard could directly delete all the opponent¡¯s memory, turning it into a mindless and ignorant puppet.

    The only two things that soul snatch magic could not influence were ¡°time¡± and ¡°destiny¡±.

    Attacks from the future and the past were something they could not avoid.

    At the same time, the power of fate was not something that could be curbed by reading the mind.

    ¡°Take a break, rence. When you wake up, you¡¯ll be there for me.¡± Bernardino whispered, ¡°Rx, friend. You are special¡­

    ¡°Aside from Your Excellency Hugo, I will only take your soul.¡±

    For the current Bernardino, those useless and boring souls were no longer worthy of being his ¡°spirit¡±.

    Soul, who pushed rence¡¯s body into the ck mud, walked back with a nk expression and stood beside Bernardino.

    If Annan were here, he would instantly recognize it as Danton¡¯s soul.

    It was Danton who quietly changed rence¡¯s tactics, deleted the thoughts of ¡°escape¡±, ¡°avoidance¡±, and ¡°dying time¡± in rence¡¯s mind, forcing a Soul Snatch Wizard tounch a face-to-face assault on him.

    This was also the oue of Bernardino¡¯s dedication to holding himself back to protect the integrity of rence¡¯s soul.

    It clearly disyed the overwhelming advantage of high-ranking wizards over the lower-ranking wizards.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to meet the tower master.¡± Bernardino took a deep breath.

    This was not the first time he had seen a creature like the ¡°Tower Master¡±.

    But it was the first time to challenge a living tower master.

    However, his win rate was 1000 percent.

    All Alteration Wizards were destined to be unable to defeat him.

    He brought his strongest spiritual body with him ¡ª even without a body, he might be the strongest transcender in this era.

    Behind Bernardino, a man with white hair and green eyes stood silently.

    Three invisible, eternal barriers wrapped around him. That also included Bernardino.

    [Track Analysis].

    [Inert Refinement].

    [Refractive Mirror].

    This was a triple barrier dedicated entirely to Alteration Wizard.

    That reason was that Isaac mel was the inventor of the most popr ¡°Alteration spell¡± today.

    He was the greatest Alteration Wizard in the world¡­

    If he didn¡¯t have a student named Nichs.

 Chapter 438: The Mirror Of Rebellion

    <h4>Chapter 438: The Mirror Of Rebellion</h4>

    When Bernardino turned to leave and was about to look for the tower master, a twisted ¡°humanoid¡± suddenly appeared in front of him like a ghost.

    However, describing the monster with the word [humanoid] was not quite befitting.

    He had no hair and not even hands. His ¡°characteristic¡± could only be roughly estimated through the legs that allowed him to ¡°stand¡±.

    He wore a faceless ck mask with a shimmering red ¡°¦Á¡± symbol. He had a jet-ck cloak, and his overly slender body resembled a ghostly figure. His frame was hidden in the tightly retracted cloak.

    It was like a living column rising from the silt over the ck Tower.

    Seeing this human figure, Young Bernardino raised the corner of his mouth.

    He narrowed his eyes and bowed deeply to the man. Then, he spoke in a slow, polite, and artificial voice, ¡°Lord Hugo¡­ long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Long time no see, Bernard.¡±

    It was somewhat unexpected.

    After a moment of silence, a young voice came out from under the ck mask, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for about ten years.¡±

    ¡°After all, you have cultivated many amazing young people.¡± Bernardino narrowed his eyes and said calmly in a mellifluous voice.

    Due to the tan curly hair draped to his shoulders, he looked like a noble man after ignoring the horrific tattoos on his skin,posed of countless alchemy runes.

    Who would have known he was the son of a fisherman?

    He was a humble, lowly man who would do anything to achieve his goals.

    An idiot who lost the token and all the money Father Ludwig had umted over the years to give him as travel expenses and tuition fees.

    A person who could not do anything well and could only sell his soul in exchange for a chance to change his fate¡­ a futile wastrel. He was an undoubted ggard¡± who finally began to explore the path of transcendence after 100 years old.

    Standing before him was the young and promising son of the tower, who was less than half his age back then and had lost his physical body.

    The talent that everyone was looking forward to.

    A genius wizard who sessfully advanced to Silver Rank at seventeen.

    The one who saved himself from the unfortunate hell¡­ his only friend.

    Of course, since Bernardino, who was forty-three years old, met Hugo, who was seventeen years old¡­ He had been unable to look directly at Hugo¡¯s brilliance.

    Hugo was his only friend.

    But he was not Hugo¡¯s only friend, and he did not even know if he was considered a friend. Or was it just pity? Or a charity to the pitiful?

    But now, everything had been reversed.

    What kind of creature was the ¡°Tower Master¡±? He had long understood.

    He was a pitiful fellow like a hermit crab.

    [Tower] continued to exist after losing its tower master. But, how long could a tower master stay alive after leaving the tower?

    In Bernardino¡¯s view, freedom was undoubtedly taken away.

    It was worse than losing freedom.

    The tower master was a voluntary sacrifice.

    The mission of each generation of tower masters was to cultivate the next heir. It was also a contract formed between the tower master and the tower. After the heir was qualified to inherit the [Tower], the tower master would put all his soul and curse into the heir¡¯s body and be one with the candidate¡¯s soul.

    It was not so much a person but a ¡°group¡±.

    The twenty-four wizard towers brought from the East by the Mysterious Lady had always been like this. This system was passed down from generation to generation.

    It was like the monster¡¯sir.

    Bernardino would be breaking this cycle.

    He wanted to split and kidnap the soul belonging to Hugo and end the wizard tower¡¯s inheritance ritual!

    Hugo could not do anything about it.

    Have I really escaped from hell?

    Maybe not.

    ¡ªThat¡¯s because he is hell itself.

    The corners of Bernardino¡¯s mouth rose, ¡°How do you feel when you see me here?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s not good.¡± Under the mask, Hugo replied in a young, cheerful and gentle voice like a young poet.

    ¡°I feel it. This is Sir Issac¡¯s [Inertia Refinement]. Have you dug up his grave too?¡±

    ¡°I prepared it just for you, Hugo.¡± Bernardino said inly, ¡°You told me yourself back then. Issac is the founder of the Alteration School, the greatest Alteration Wizard, and thest alchemist.

    ¡°All alteration magic operates on Issac¡¯s model, using the concept of ¡®converting¡¯, ¡®changing¡¯, and other concepts as the underlying framework. They are all extensions of Issac¡¯s elements, and they cannot escape the fate he denied. At least 90% of Alteration spellse from his inventions in the current state.

    ¡°Even if you are now a Firestealer of the Prometheus school, you will start as an Alteration Wizard after all.

    ¡°Give it up, Hugo. You have no chance of winning. If you are willing to surrender, I will stop attacking your students. Even if I don¡¯t take the initiative to attack them, the other creatures in the tower will die here as long as we fight.¡±

    He did note here to bring destruction to the pirs of the wizard tower.

    Certainly, he would not mind replenishing his arsenal at this ce if too many of his souls were consumed.

    However, things went out of Bernardino¡¯s expectations.

    After a brief silence, Hugo suddenly asked, ¡°Are you in a hurry?

    ¡°Are you fleeing from the Bell Ringer Oik? Or the Silver Sire?¡± Hearing this, Bernardino¡¯s face immediately turned gloomy.

    He took a deep look at Hugo and then took a long breath.

    Unexpectedly, he replied, ¡°Silver Sire can¡¯t attack me. He will even help me stop Bell Ringer Oik¡¯s pursuit because I can¡¯t die at their hands.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m [Mirror].¡± Bernardino replied slowly, ¡°I am the fifth hatching egg of the [Rays of Seven Luminaries].¡±

    Hugo paused for a moment.

    The red symbol on his face shed suddenly.

    ¡°So, the Rays of Seven Luminaries areing? Is the immaterial world about to invade?¡±

    ¡°He has descended, but the mirror has not broken, so he has not awakened.¡±

    The corners of Bernardino¡¯s mouth slowly rose, but the smile on his face began to dissipate.

    ¡°[Fate is the Wheel of Divine Transporter]. The Divine Transporter has not arrived on his track, and my destiny has not yet been sealed. Then why can¡¯t I fight for my future?

    ¡°I¡¯ve been following the world¡¯s trends for 40 years, but a nightmare woke me up. I know this is a fate that should not be confronted. The Rays of Seven Luminaries are the Divine Transporter. But I still want to do it. I don¡¯t care if I lose my chance for ascension.

    ¡°If I can aplish the ascension before the Fourth Mirror shatters, my fate can be changed.

    ¡°I want to fight against my destiny. Even if it might implicate the whole world this time, it doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡±

    He looked at the monster with the voice of ¡°Hugo¡± and said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s not the ¡®Spiritual Monk¡¯ Bernardino standing in front of you. It¡¯s the future Deity of Death, Bernardino.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Deity and the World¡¯s Undertaker. There¡¯s no other choice.¡±

    I am different from my past self.

    I am a big shot.

    I am a person of greatness.

    The man who decides the fate of the world.

    At the same time, He was also a rebellious pawn.

    Bernardino looked at Hugo and dered, ¡°To aplish my great work, I must attain your me.

    ¡°Do your best to resist me, Hugo.¡±

 Chapter 439: Endless Fire

    <h4>Chapter 439: Endless Fire</h4>

    Through Hugo¡¯s previous inquiry, Bernardino already knew his opponent¡¯s stance.

    He wants to buy more time, but that will be futile.

    Bernardino was in a hurry, but he was not racing against just a couple of minutes or hours.

    Or is it simply his stance to reject me?

    ¡°But, is there a meaning to this?¡± Bernardino sighed lowly.

    The next moment, the walls around them copsed inward in an instant.

    The stone of unknown material had copsed inward, transforming into dark ck sharp shadow des during the process.

    That was a blow enough to sever the stainless steel armor in an instant!

    However, a ck half-body giant rose from the mud behind Bernardino. It suddenly extended two huge hands to grab Bernardino!

    As soon as the shadow des struck the giant, its advancement immediately slowed down.

    But these shadow des suddenly lit up with white light the next moment.

    After about one-eighth of a second, the shadow des exploded!

    The shockwave alone kicked up the dust, and the ¡°mud¡± on the ground was sted into a big hole. They were not actually mud, but the realm incarnated through the power of elements.

    Only the power of the same level could destroy the power of elements!

    Before Bernardino could counterattack, Hugo disappeared into the wizard tower without warning, like a phantom. It appeared as if he had never appeared before.

    After the explosion, the ck mud giant was thinned by argeyer.

    Dust from the explosion permeated the air.

    Suddenly, the dust glowed in white again. The scene was like many stars lit up around Bernardino.

    There came a more robust explosion than the previous attack, apanied by waves of light and air bursting out into the surroundings!

    This time, even one of the outer walls of this floor was blown through.

    The surging airwaves brought by the explosion roared out. Then, like a cannonball, the explosion dispersed the clouds outside the tower!

    However, just before the third explosion¡­

    [Analysispleted.]

    Issac reached out suddenly, his lips moving slightly.

    [¡ªCompleted the countermeasure.]

    The moment the dust floating around lit up again, they suddenly stopped in ce.

    In a world invisible to the naked eye, they generated a reverse alteration process at the moment of the explosion. The power of the two alteration magic canceled out perfectly, and the chain alteration ended. Thus, they be pure, powerless glitter dust.

    ¡°[Chain explosion]?¡± Bernardino recognizes the magic that took ce.

    It was not an overlyplicated alteration spell per se. The only challenge was the time gap between its two explosions.

    Typically, this spell was used toy an ambush on the battlefield. After an explosion or some whileter, it would explode again in ce. Since the trap was triggered once, the enemy would subconsciously deem the area that had exploded as ¡°safe¡±. This spell operated in this train of thought, inducing the secondary detonation in the ¡°safe zone¡±.

    In general, this spell required ck Fire as the spell casting material to trigger.

    Hugo altered the wall material into shadow des and induced an explosion from it. Although it was a small trick, it was indeed magic at the tower master level.

    In the next moment, the floor beneath their feet suddenly copsed.

    The floor instantly turned into a dense sea of ??electric currents. Those who fell into it would be burned to ashes by the high temperature in the blink of an eye; the electric current would decimate its victim into powder.

    However, the fighting parties did not fall.

    Hugo did not dissipate the ck mud entirely. Instead, they cling to the walls on both sides, and the weak points of contact were enough to support Bernardino for a moment.

    It did not even exist for ? a second, and Issac converted them back into ordinary dirt.

    There were several patches of ugly dirt on the solid ck walls, floors, and ceilings, giving off a sense of incongruity.

    Immediately after that, dense runes appeared and spread on the wall. There were many ¡°eyes¡± on the runes of the wall. Each shot out high-temperaturesers, and thesers were then reflected on the opposing wall.

    With the reflection of theser ensuing indefinitely, the initially sparsesers had multiplied rapidly. In the end, the scorchingsers filled the entire corridor!

    There was no doubt that this was a fatal trap.

    If Bernardino came alone, he might be vaporized in an instant.

    However¡­

    [Huh, you dare to y with light in front of me?]

    Even if he was in the soul state, the corner of Issac¡¯s mouth raised slightly, revealing a smile carrying a hint of contempt on his translucent face.

    The dust condensed in the air around them and was transformed into spinning prisms.

    When those scorchingsers were two meters away from Bernardino, they were reverted and converged to the top of the tower!

    A surging stream of rainbow-colored light instantly prated three floors of the tower. After a short dy, it prated directly from the top floor of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower and shot straight into the sky!

    An intense beam of iridescent light could be seen gushing out above the ck Tower, even at a distance beyond 10 kilometers.

    After about 30 seconds, the light gradually dissipated.

    The surrounding walls turned red.

    The next alteration magic seemed to be readied.

    However, Bernardino had found his way to the top of the tower.

    He would st his way out if he could not find his path!

    A ck me suddenly lit up in Bernardino¡¯s eyes. The rune on his skin glowed again, and the burning rate of Sage¡¯s Stone flowing in his veins instantly doubled.

    ck mud sshed out and stained the wall that thesers had sted.

    Countless ck lines pierced through the ck giant¡¯s body, connecting to the silt on each floor. Immediately afterward, its body suddenly rose, like a giant spider with more than a hundred legs pulled by a three-dimensional mobile device. It grabbed Bernardino and quickly climbed to the top of the wizard tower.

    The slender shadow with a dark body had no arms and no face. The tower master, ¡°Hugo¡±, was waiting for him in the middle of the room.

    This was a top-secret ce.

    It was also a ce of inheritance.

    Only the ce where the tower master and the son of the tower coulde.

    No wizards could imagine what the scene here was like.

    There was nothing around.

    Indeed, nothing.

    In the ck space, let alone entertainment facilities, there was not even a seat, a table, or amp. If it wasn¡¯t like having a hole punched in this ce, but it was pitch ck, and nothing could be seen.

    Those things were meaningless to the tower master.

    ¡°I have seemed to damage the original wizard tower terribly.¡± The corners of Bernardino¡¯s mouth rose, and the t tone was marked by arrogance and pretentiousness.

    ¡°If this level of damage can bring destruction, it¡¯s not a wizard tower anymore.¡± The tired young voice didn¡¯te out of ¡°Hugo¡±.

    Instead, it came out from the ceiling in the center.

    The next moment, it was like ejecting a battery.

    A cylindrical cabin slowly fell from above.

    It flipped upside down as it approached the ground and opened the hatch.

    A thick, unidentified liquid spilled onto the ground.

    A human-shaped gap was revealed.

    The young man, who was wet and not wearing an inch of clothing, walked out from the inside with some staggering.

    The crimson brilliance shed in the young man¡¯s eyes.

    The mes swept through the whole body in the blink of an eye. It was like a magic show. The nutrient solution on his body was transformed into aplex and mysterious robe.

    ¡°You really haven¡¯t gotten old¡­¡± Bernardino squinted his eyes slightly and sighed in a low voice, ¡°Immortality in exchange for freedom. Do you like it?¡±

    ¡°My goal was never immortality.¡± Hugo replied calmly, ¡°The mission of the Alpha Tower is to provide the world with the fire of wisdom. Just like the original tower master, Lord Prometheus.

    ¡°Immortality is just a ¡®tool¡¯ that allows me to perform my duties until I find an heir.¡±

    After spitting out Hugo, the entire wizard tower seemed to have lost its energy and gradually stopped running.

    In other words, Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, the ¡°Alpha Tower¡±, had stopped the power supply of all other functions and facilities. Instead, it had given all its energy to the tower master, Hugo.

    ¡°I have never expected myself to beat you with a mere projection.¡± Behind Hugo, a pure crimson me roared, ¡°I just don¡¯t want to burn my students to death with my own hands.¡±

    A half-body humanoid made of never-ending mes rose from the ground. Hound-like ws surrounded Hugo in the middle, turning the surrounding environment into a never-ending sea of ??fire in the blink of an eye.

    The entire ck Tower was like massive upright firewood, ignited from top to bottom and burst into mes after a dy of several seconds, instantly releasing terrifying light and heat.

    The surrounding swamps and nts were all scorched by the surging mes.

    The dazzling brilliance released by the tower-shaped torch could be seen throughout the kingdom.

    Alteration Wizard was never short of attack methods.

    They were just afraid of whether their attacks hurt their teammates.

    How terrifying an unscrupulous Alteration Wizard could be? No one dared to imagine.

    This was also why Salvatore¡¯s ¡°Shadow¡± must always be treated vigntly and sealed.

    ¡°Since you have killed all my students, you also set me free.¡± Hugo¡¯s voice was cold and rational in the sea of fire, ¡°If you want my soul, then you can try. If you want to escape from your destiny, then let me kill you.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just buying time, I¡¯m pretty confident with myself no matter how long it will be.¡±

 Chapter 440: Sacred Fire

    <h4>Chapter 440: Sacred Fire</h4>

    The Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯s invasion of the Royal Pce left behind twelve unscarred Silver Rank transcenders¡¯ corpses;

    At the same time, Kafni just happened to finish her craft on [Curse Vessel: Light-concealing Ice Cube] for Annan;

    Annan had acquired Frostwhisper¡¯s unique Silver Rank spell [Frost Tower] too;

    Also, Annan possessed Old Grandmother¡¯s real name to substitute the requirement of [Advanced Influence in the Frost Realm].

    In addition, Annan learned from ¡°The Eighth Analects On the Sunray¡± not long ago that Mr. Ray¡¯s real name was Baldr.

    With those conditions met, Annan¡¯s preparation for the ritual [Chill of the Winter Sun] wasing to an end. If Annan acquires either ¡°Blizzard Weather¡±, ¡°Hailstorm Weather¡±, or ¡°Heavy Rain Weather¡±, he could initiate the ritual.

    At the same time, the ritual would operate at its optimum capacity.

    Annan was confident that there were very few of [Frostwhisper] or [Winter¡¯s Hand] who could acquire a near-perfect ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡± in Silver Rank like him.

    Annan had already invested a lump sum of 150 order mana pointsst night, which was also the night Henry VIII died. He made a thirty-meter-high ¡°Frost Tower¡± in the backyard of the Geraint family with immutable ice.

    Indeed, the tower was imposing and mountainous.

    It could be categorized into threeyers.

    Annan had already sent the crew to transport the dead bodies to the third floor, which was closest to the sky.

    The order mana value would be fully restored in the early morning of each day. If Annan wanted to, he would build a tower as high as 40 meters, but that was pointless.

    After all, Annan¡¯s only goal was to capitalize on the temperature up there.

    If it weren¡¯t for the concern of lining up the corpses, a height of 90 meters would suffice.

    However, the entity could not be addressed as a tower at that height.

    As Annan realized, its area seemed to be fixed. Or perhaps other elements were limiting it.

    The tower was 22 yards in diameter.

    This happened to be Annan¡¯s [Frostwhisper] level of profession.

    In other words, if Annan invested 50 mana points to it, what he had summoned could not satisfy the condition of being a [Frost Tower] at all.

    It would be 20 meters in diameter and less than 10 meters in height.

    At best, it was more like a frosted casserole pot.

    Because of this, Annan realized that ordinary Frostwhisper could hardly use this skill.

    After all, Annan¡¯s mana value was quadrupled to them.

    Either the candidates were elves having order mana values like Annan, or they had to amplify their magic through rituals.

    That said, the magic involved was a Chanted Spell.

    It was necessary to conform with the Ritual Spell¡¯s benchmarks to have a proper result.

    An inferior version of Frost Tower would falter in its sturdiness and aesthetic value. It could only be used as a portable fortress to defend against stray arrows and fireballs.

    But Annan did not want to put his tower in the Crow¡¯s residence either.

    This was entirely a spell that could be used as a portable base and storage warehouse.

    Instead, Annan only wanted to observe at a safe ce what this ¡°Frost Tower¡± was and what its internal structure was like.

    Also, how strong of an attack the tower could resist.

    It seemed Annan was quite satisfied with the experimental results.

    The tester was the Paper Princess.

    She simted an attack equivalent to a single blow from the Silver Rank Destruction Wizard, and the Frost Tower was barely damaged. Then, She simted a sh equivalent to a single blow from the Gold Rank swordsman. Unsurprisingly, the Frost Tower was cut.

    However, the sword energy only cut through one side of the wall. It could not prate and escape on the opposite side. Instead, the tower was left with a scar about 4 centimeters deep on the opposite side.

    This meant that after the attack passed through the Frost Tower, the attack power of a ¡°Gold Ranker¡± would be reduced to Silver Rank level.

    Of course, the attack of the Gold Rank Destruction Wizard would not apply in this situation.

    In terms of damage output alone, the Destruction Wizard would outperform the other transcenders since that was their specialization.

    Since the Gold Rank swordsman could sever the wall of Frost Tower under a single sh, one blow from the Gold Rank Destruction Wizard was enough to decimate the tower directly.

    ¡°But, this funeral happens too fast.¡± Salvatore whispered to Annan, ¡°The king just passed away yesterday, and the funeral is immediately held today?¡±

    Salvatore and Annan were in formal attire. They sat on a bench by the Silver Sire Fountain.

    He wore a unique outfit dedicated to ck Tower¡¯s Son ¡ª a long, solid ck cape with a high stand-up cor that looked like Lelouch¡¯s [1].

    Annan put on the outfit, [Silver Sire¡¯s Favorite]. It was a white robe with texture and material like a veil. Although it did not look formal, anyone who recognized the outfit would know what it signified.

    There was no outfit more solemn than this.

    It happened that those outfits were in ck and white. Thus, it would not pose any etiquette problems at the funeral.

    ¡°Even though the king died yesterday, the actual statement is that Henry VIII has been in a state of critical illness for a long time.¡±

    This funeral was probably prepared for a long time.

    Annan sneered, ¡°It seems they are in a hurry.¡±

    It now appeared that it was not just about Prince Philip.

    Even Princess Royal Elizabeth was probably looking forward to her father¡¯s death.

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± At this moment, Salvatore felt his heart twitch.

    He had a vague feeling of unease.

    He looked around, then to the southwest.

    He could see a raging fire in the sky over there.

    The scorching fire and smoke formed a column that prated the sky.

    Salvatore stared intensely at the fire, his brows furrowing.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Annan realized something and turned to look at Salvatore.

    ¡°That seems to be in the direction of ck Tower.¡± Salvatore murmured, ¡°Did something happen to ck Tower?¡±

    ¡°The tower master is still there. Since there is a tower master in charge, what can go wrong?¡± Annan replied casually.

    However, at this moment, a clear voice sounded beside Annan, ¡°There is indeed an incident at Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.¡±

    Annan turned around and looked at the man who sat beside him. The man had a slender face, curly hair in the middle, and a monocle,plimented with a bright and sunny smile.

    Initially, the bench could only fit two people. However, it became a little crowded when three people sat on it. In other words, Annan was small and thin, so he leaned toward Salvatore, barely able to have a seat.

    ¡°Pardon me¡­ What happened to ck Tower?¡± Annan asked in the shoe of Salvatore.

    After all, the being he was asking was an upright deity.

    Although Salvatore was the son of the tower, he had not seeded it. Facing the Silver Sire, Annan had more say than Salvatore.

    In the past, the seniors took care of him quite well.

    Since something happened at Salvatore¡¯s side, it was time for Annan to help.

    Silver Sire nced at Annan and Salvatore, who looked a little urgent.

    ¡°In fact, Swamp¡¯s ck Tower is already on the verge of destruction.¡± He said slowly, ¡°Except for you, Von Hohenheim and Longjing Tea.

    ¡°Maybe all ck Tower¡¯s wizards studying there are dead.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s pupils suddenly tightened.

    He skipped the pleasantries; he immediately put his hand on Annan¡¯s leg and leaned his upper body toward Silver Sire, ¡°Please tell me more. What happened? How can I help?¡±

    ¡°¡®The Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯ Bernardino is trying toplete [the Creation feat], further perfecting his [Sublime Avatar]. In doing so, he must get the [Sacred Fire].¡±

    The Silver Sire said slowly, ¡°You should know what the [Sacred Fire] is, right?¡±

 Chapter 441: So Annan, Whatâ€™s The Price Youâ€™re Paying?

    <h4>Chapter 441: So Annan, What¡¯s The Price You¡¯re Paying?</h4>

    Salvatore certainly knew what Sacred Fire was.

    The first master of the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was Prometheus, the ¡°Fire Stealer¡±.

    In the endless desert, the most dangerous thing was not the scorching sun.

    Instead, it was the boundless darkness when night fell.

    That living desert would devour the people inside when night falls. In other words, they would be engulfed by the sand underfoot as long as the [Light] was lost in the desert.

    So to get through the endless desert, there needed to be enough lights and fuel.

    The hardest part was the fuel.

    Ordinary mes had limited illumination range in the desert. The darkness in the desert had be something with texture and weight.

    To solve this lightless dilemma, an elf named Prometheus chose the advancement into bing a ¡°Fire Stealer¡±.

    He stole the ¡°Third Luminary¡± of the sun: ¡°the bright fire that burns forever¡±.

    Using his flesh and wisdom as fuel, he extracted the ¡°Endless Fire¡± ¡ª ¡°Sacred Fire¡± in people¡¯s mouths. A bright white me that burned forever as long as people were still thinking.

    People rushed out of the living desert with torches zing Sacred Fire.

    At that time, Prometheus was as dry as a corpse. He looked like anky ghost with a thin waist, and his legs and arms were slender enough to be held by an eight-year-old girl with a single hand.

    At that time, the Mysterious Lady had 24 wizard towers to be built all over Yasn to support the Great Barrier.

    Aside from the primary responsibility to ¡°just exist¡±, each wizard tower had a different meaning and mission.

    Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was meant to produce ¡°Sacred Fire¡±.

    Sacred Fire was one of the top cursed materials. It was the necessary me for Father Flint in his craft. The fire was capable of gradually affecting the mortals within its range, granting rity to their minds. At the same time, it could also be used as an Order Power, blessing the transcender holding the torch and rushing out beyond the barrier.

    The Gray Mists could not enter the range of the Sacred Fire.

    During the heyday of the Yasn Empire, there were Sacred Fire stations all over the empire. Each Sacred Fire stand was a giant statue of a hero.

    The elf sages sat in front of the statues, meditating or debating intensely. They would offer their wits to keep the Sacred Fire burning. However, people no longer needed the Sacred Fire to resist the Gray Mists when the Great Barrier was built.

    Its significance was to remind people not to forget the sacrifice of the sages in the past and make amemoration of them.

    However, all the Sacred Fire stations went out during the Blood War.

    War had exhausted people¡¯s minds. The more important mission of the wise people was to assist the lord in conquering the world instead of expanding their knowledge.

    At the current state, the Sacred Fire could only be obtained through the Fire Stealer.

    Hugo was currently the only fire stealer in the world.

    Of course, Salvatore would be one in the future.

    ¡°Why would Bernardino need Sacred Fire?¡± Salvatore blurted out subconsciously.

    Bernardino is a Soul Snatch Wizard advanced through the ¡°Necromancer¡± school. Why does he need to use Sacred Fire toplete ¡°the creation¡±?

    But he quickly reacted, ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t matter. Where¡¯s my teacher? Did he kill my teacher too?¡±

    Salvatore grew anxious, ¡°What can he rely on to defeat my teacher? Teacher is the most powerful Alteration Wizard in the world!¡±

    His fingers were trembling.

    Annan reached out and grabbed Salvatore¡¯s left hand silently and firmly. Feeling the warmth of Annan¡¯s palm and the pain of Annan¡¯s pinching his finger, Salvatore calmed down a little.

    To tell the truth, Salvatore¡¯s heart had no sorrow or pain.

    There was only being at loss, panic, and disbelief.

    Hearing this suddenly, he felt restless.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s going to do either.¡± Silver Sire replied calmly, ¡°As for Hugo cktower, he is still alive and has the upper hand. The entire swamp has been dried up due to the battle, and there is no living thing within the surrounding marshes.

    ¡°Before Hugo¡¯s soul burns out, he may be able to suppress Bernardino all the time. That¡¯s because the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower will give him infinite order mana. But after all, the wizard tower can¡¯t provide him with elemental power.

    ¡°Bernardino sacrificed his body and made it into an unfinished version of Sage¡¯s Stone. When he attacked Danton previously, he obtained a Sage¡¯s Stone in high purity. He also constructed an automatic magic circle, transforming his killed targets into Sage¡¯s Stone. With that, the feat of the ¡°four rotating wheels¡± ispleted.

    ¡°If Hugo decisively burned all the wizards in the tower to death, he could have defeated Bernardino in 37 hours. But he didn¡¯tmit to that act until the end. So those wizards couldn¡¯t help their master but helped their enemy instead.

    ¡°He also brought ¡®Jade Record Issac¡¯ and ¡®Dream Stealer Danton¡¯ this time, as well as 12 Frostwhisperians¡¯ souls. He threw all his reserves as ¡®countermeasures¡¯ to defend against Hugo. Bernardino seems to have prepared for an endurance battle. With the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower¡¯s wizards as soul supply, Hugo can no longer defeat Bernardino.¡±

    Therefore, it was a matter of time before Hugo would lose.

    Silver Sire calmly pointed out the cruel truth, ¡°In about 52 hours, Hugo¡¯s soul will be burned out.

    ¡°However, with Spiritual Monk¡¯s [Spirit Magic], Bernardino can probably still retain Hugo¡¯s consciousness. With his spiritual art and using other souls as nourishment, Hugo can be resurrected at the soul level. If you can defeat Bernardino one day, you might be able to get Hugo back.

    ¡°Oh yes, Bernardino still keeps rence¡¯s soul,¡± said Silver Sire slowly.

    He seemed to be implying something.

    Salvatore gritted his teeth.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    I¡¯m going. That was what he wanted to say.

    However, his rationality made him realize that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the enemy since even Hugo couldn¡¯t defeat an enemy in the wizard tower.

    He was an [Alchemist], the weakest transcender.

    The opponent was someone who could even kill his teacher.

    Even if he went, there was nothing he could do.

    ¡°Go, Salvatore.¡± However, the Shadow¡¯s serious voice sounded hoarsely in his heart, ¡°You want to go.

    ¡°What if you die? You¡¯re ck Tower¡¯s Son! If the ck Tower is gone, isn¡¯t yourst name absurd and shameful?¡±

    ¡°But I¡­¡± Salvatore gritted his teeth, his fingers no longer shaking. However, there was a tightness on his chest.

    Annan turned to look at Silver Sire at this moment.

    ¡°If I want to request your intervention¡­¡± He stared at Silver Sire and asked slowly.

    Silver Sire appeared here and told Salvatore about it when Annan was around.

    It showed that His goal was to tell Annan about it.

    If Salvatore found out about it himself, he would leave secretly to avoid involving Annan.

    Since Annan knew about it, he wouldn¡¯t allow Salvatore to die.

    Seeing Annan asking so, a smile appeared on Silver Sire¡¯s face.

    It was like he had been waiting for this question for a long time.

    With a clear voice, he asked word by word, ¡°Then, Annan¡ª

    ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡±

    ¡°The price¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll keep your life safe, and we have even made mirrors to speed up your emergence.

    ¡°But I won¡¯t kill your mirror for you. That¡¯s your mission. We can pay you tuition, teach you knowledge, and help with your revision. But, we won¡¯t help you on the real test.¡±

    Silver Sire said calmly, ¡°He¡¯s your mirror, Annan.

    ¡°Your first mirror is Don Juan Geraint. A boy with the same talent, wisdom, and gentle personality, and the ¡®third son¡¯ who is about to be the heir to the family, but was murdered by the Rotten Man in the nurturing period. He is a swordsman and Falteration Wizard and even has a simr bloodline. There is no doubt that you are simr to him.

    ¡°But your talent is far superior to his, and your mind is stronger than his. The purest is powerful and bright, diverging onto different destinies. This is the first luminary.¡±

    ¡°Your second mirror was originally Danton. But he was afraid of the confrontation with you in the supporting role, so he escaped his fate and put his unhatched Truth Fragment into the Roseburg Viscount¡¯s soul.

    ¡°You are the same as him who has suffered from thousands of failures, but you have never given up hope. The indelible and ever-new hope is the second luminary.¡±

    ¡°Your third mirror is Henry VIII. Like him, you have never felt love since birth. But, you have a family you cherish, a kingdom you value. On the contrary, he hates his bloodline and mission.

    ¡°Both of you are people who did not understand love from the beginning of your fate, but your love for the world and others in your heart will never go out. The fire that never goes out is your third luminary. It¡¯s also the third Truth Fragment that ising soon to you.¡±

    ¡°But since there¡¯s a price to pay¡­¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°In other words, there are still chances for me, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, after all, I am the Trade Deity. As long as there is a price, there is nothing that cannot be negotiated.¡±

    The corner of Silver Sire¡¯s mouth was slightly raised. He patted Annan¡¯s shoulder, stood up, and turned his back to Annan, ¡°Go to the funeral first. This is what you promised me. I¡¯ll talk about the restter.

    ¡°We still have a lot of time.¡±

    ¡ªAt least there are 52 hours left.

 Chapter 442: Book Of Divine Transporter, Page 3

    <h4>Chapter 442: Book Of Divine Transporter, Page 3</h4>

    Henry VIII¡¯s funeral unexpectedly made quite a mor.

    It was their king who died.

    However, as ¡°Child in the Cup¡±, he had always been treated as a tool to continue the royal bloodline.

    People respected him, obeyed him, and feared him. However, they did not love him, much less of any reverence toward him.

    This was also why Princess Royal Elizabeth did not encounter much resistance, as she held power when ¡°Henry VIII was terminally ill and dying¡±. Elizabeth had a better grasp of the people¡¯s hearts than Henry VIII.

    Even a fool knew who to choose between the future king and the dying king.

    Even so, whether Henry VIII had chosen an heir remained unknown. After all, his will would only be handed over to Silver Sire, and Silver Sire had no obligation to publish his will.

    In other words, unless the king had publicly chosen a new king before his death, his ¡°will¡± had no practical significance. What it represented was not the will of thete king but the will of the Silver Sire.

    If Silver Sire was dissatisfied with the first-in-line heir or was utterly disappointed with him, He naturally had the power to establish a new king.

    After all, this country was under the Silver Sire¡¯s asylum.

    The Silver Sire Church had infiltrated every aspect of Noah¡¯s life. The price of the Silver Sire Church not managing the kingdom¡¯s policies was their power to intervene in the royal session.

    In the typical ritual standard, the new king would not officially attain the throne until May 1st, the festival belonging to Silver Sire. At the current state, it was still early spring, having two months left for the heirs in their showdown.

    Suppose there would be no major changes until May 1st.

    Princess Royal Elizabeth would be the first in-line heir toplete the session to the throne. However, Silver Sire might not necessarily let her inherit the throne if there were any major changes in the Noah Kingdom when she was supervising or a severe problem arose on her side.

    In fact, this was also the reason why His Royal Highness Albert, the fourth prince, was ostracized and suppressed by his older brothers and sisters. That was because he had a good rtionship with the Silver Sire Church.

    While everyone was gearing up for Silver Sire Church¡¯s eventual support or neutrality, he seemed to have befriended the judges.

    But, he imed at that time that he did not want to inherit the throne and had no interest in the throne.

    Would anyone believe this?

    Ministers and nobles formed different factions at the king¡¯s funeral ording to interests and kinship. Many people also surrounded the three heirs.

    They did not chatter loudly but whispered and discussed in low volumes. But when more people gathered, the whispers became quite audible.

    But the whole ce instantly became quiet after Annan¡¯s group entered the hall.

    It was Silver Sire who walked in with Annan and Salvatore.

    People sparsely stood up, then bowed respectfully to Silver Sire and held their hands on their chests.

    ¡°¡ªTribute to the silver coin.¡± Nobles, royal heirs, bishops, and the Supreme Pontiff saluted Silver Sire in unison.

    ¡°In the name of silver coins, I bless you.¡± Silver Sire smiled, cing his hands on Salvatore¡¯s and Annan¡¯s shoulders, raising his head, and speaking in a loud and clear voice.

    People ended their salutes, looking up curiously at the two close to Silver Sire ¡ª Annan and Salvatore.

    The nobles who could attend the king¡¯s funeral had their intel sources.

    At least 80% of them knew Annan and Salvatore. The remaining 20% ??did not know Annan only.

    However, they were not quite sure why Silver Sire was appearing at the same time as them.

    What does this portend?

    ¡°Go, Annan.¡± Just then, Silver Sire patted Annan on the shoulder.

    Annan nodded. He calmly walked towards Henry VIII¡¯s coffin under the puzzled and surprised gaze of everyone.

    The sky above the capital quickly became overcast.

    It was gloomy weather with a chilly wind blowing.

    As Annan was getting closer to the coffin, it suddenly started raining at the funeral.

    After all, it was a funeral. The guests¡¯ entourage must carry ck umbres because it was also a requirement of etiquette. Sometimes, it was even necessary to pray for rain to maintain a solemn atmosphere.

    Those entourages immediately put up umbres for the nobles in their seats.

    Fortunately, they moved quickly.

    When Annan walked to the coffin, the icy drizzle turned into heavy rain apanied by thunder in the blink of an eye.

    The smell of this heavy rain would put the attendees in silence. An inexplicable andplicated suffocating air pressed on everyone¡¯s hearts.

    It was like clenching fists in enduring something.

    It was like looking up at the starry sky, expecting something.

    Mr. Kai, who was originally guarding the coffin, nodded to Annan and took two steps to the side.

    Mr. Kai¡¯s long ck hair fell to his waist. He was wearing a white robe and a pure white mask. The bloody smiling face on the mask had turned into a clown-like crying face.

    ¡°Do you need me to open it for you?¡± Mr. Kai bent down slightly and made a gentle and maic voice to Annan.

    Following his movements, an invisible barrier emerged above the two and the coffin.

    Annan nodded respectfully, ¡°Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Kai.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Kai replied briefly.

    He reached out and touched the coffin.

    The coffin¡¯s lid was like a maic levitation slide, which floated up and slid down, revealing Henry VIII¡¯s overly young face.

    Although he died, there wasn¡¯t a gloomy death air on him. His face was still solid without sunken cheeks. Besides the slightly pale face, he appeared like he was sleeping peacefully.

    Amid the surprised nobles chattering, Annan reached out his right index finger and lightly tapped on Henry VIII¡¯s forehead.

    The moment Annan touched Henry VIII, a glimmering panel shed:

    [¡ªYou have discovered a Truth Fragment.]

    [Condition 1: No conflicting torn Truth pages currently held.]

    [Condition 2: Hold Elite Rare (Purple) and above status temte.]

    [Truth Appears¡ª]

    Then¡­

    Intense white light spread out with the point of contact between Annan and Henry VIII as its center. Then, it shot off from the ground!

    That was the most sacred brilliance the attendees had ever seen.

    Staring at that light alone would put them at peace.

    The guests were basked in white light, but everyone present did not feel ufortable from the dazzling light and just stared at it subconsciously. They were like puppets whose mind was captivated by it.

    Apart from Silver Sire, the only people present who could retain alertness were Salvatore, Mr. Kai, and Prince Philip.

    After more than half a minute, the light finally dissipated.

    Paper-like white pages with a jade-like tactile were suspended in the air.

    Dark golden text swam across it like waves.

    A glimmering panel popped up:

    [Book of Divine Transporter, Page 3]

    [Type: Truth Fragment (1/6) (locked)]

    ¡¾Remaining fragment holders: 3¡¿

    [Appeared: 3]

    [Description: A freshly-born Truth Fragment. Gather all the fragments to grasp a new ¡°Authority¡±.]

    Annan tapped on it silently.

    Like a burst bubbled, it shattered directly out of thin air and merged into Annan¡¯s body.

    After a short dy, a few new lines of words appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [Book of Divine Transporter (3/6): Summon or dismiss a specified number of yers from another world (80/300).]

    [Current special effects (3/6): Allow yers resurrection; Shared Experience Pool (2%); Teleportation Keystone.]

    [Shared Experience Pool: 2% of the experience points (It has increased by ¡®1%¡¯,) obtained by yers whose level is not higher than the host in any way (bonus experience points from ¡®dungeon instance¡¯) can be deposited into Shared Experience Pool. It can then be allocated to any ally unit (not limited to yers).]

    [Teleportation Keystone: It is possible to establish a teleportation keystone in a town of not less than ¡°medium¡± size. yers can teleport at will via different teleportation keystones or return to thest registered teleportation keystone after a simple ritual. However, the current teleportation cannot ovee the barrier yet.]

    ¡°Let me introduce you,¡± The Silver Sire¡¯s resounding voice came behind Annan, ¡°This is Annan Austere-Winter. Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, who is about to seed the throne, the beloved descendant of the Old Grandmother, the newly born vessel of the Book of Truth, aing deity in the future!

    ¡°¡ªCongrattions to Your Excellency, Annan!¡± Silver Sire said with an impassioned voice in front of the deceased king and the future deity.

 Chapter 443: You Are Not Allowed To Go

    <h4>Chapter 443: You Are Not Allowed To Go</h4>

    In the end, Silver Sire revealed Annan¡¯s true identity in public.

    Many people had learned of Annan¡¯s identity through investigation and pretended not to know, so they could be considered not knowing it in official terms.

    But, since Silver Sire dered that ¡°Annan Austere-Winter appeared in Noah¡±, the nobles could not pretend not to know about it.

    Since Silver Sire mentioned in full title and name that Annan was about to seed Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, it meant that Annan¡¯s status had changed from the third heir to the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. However, the reason his eldest brother gave up the inheritance of the throne remained unknown.

    Many nobles, who wanted to get acquainted with the Austere-Winter Dukedom or even restart cross-border trade, had ns in their minds; all the nobles whose daughters were not married at the appropriate age eyed Annan as well.

    If it was an underage mortal Grand Duke, they might have ns in their mind. However, for a future deity, they did not even dare to think about it.

    Moreover, Annan was not a false deity like the Venerated Skeleton and Rotten Man, who used ritual to be deities. They could not even find an upright deity they could rely on and were forced to wander between countries. Instead, Annan was under the protection of at least two upright deities, Silver Sire and Old Grandmother. He could be a subordinate deity of true deity at any time.

    No one dared to have a grudge against Annan.

    They stood no chance of surviving against Annan.

    No power or family could resist time. But the deities were immortal and uncorrupted by time. If one attempted and failed, the price would be too great. At the same time, the protection of Silver Sire would put the sess rate of any action extremely low.

    Therefore, every nobleman would leave the three royal heirs, run to Annan and greet him respectfully after the funeral. Even the three heirs came to Annan to exchange a few words.

    However, after seeing Salvatore¡¯s gloomy face and Silver Sire still staying by Annan¡¯s side, they immediately understood that Silver Sire still had something to say to Annan.

    So no one lingered too long around Annan since no one dared to waste the time of an upright deity and a future deity.

    It was like attending an idol handshake meeting or visiting a gallery museum. The flow of people did not even stop. Although they did not line up and sit in their seats, the order came naturally.

    Everyone came up with a self-introduction. After getting familiar with each other, they politely said goodbye and left. Then, it would be the next one, with things happening orderly.

    Those who were eligible to attend the king¡¯s funeral were quick-witted. No one would be disrespectful at this time.

    ¡°What exactly do you want to do?¡± After everyone left, Annan asked Silver Sire, ¡°If you want to choose a new king, tell me directly. I will help.¡±

    ¡°Even if I told you¡­¡± Silver Sire looked at Annan with a half-smile, ¡°You will also find a way to make Kafni seed on the throne, right?¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t conflict with my support for a certain prince now ¡ª or rather, my support for her father.¡± Annan replied calmly and softly, ¡°Kafni¡¯s curse is not in a hurry.¡±

    Judging from the Silver Sire Church¡¯s previous actions, he knew who the new king in Silver Sire¡¯s heart was.

    It could only be Kafni¡¯s father, His Royal Highness Albert.

    Thanks to Philip¡¯s murdering of his siblings, Silver Sire did not have much choice these days.

    Since Silver Sire did not express his support for Elizabeth at the funeral. It showed that He was not satisfied with Princess Royal. Not very satisfied, at least for now. Philip did not intend to get Silver Sire¡¯s support initially. He just wanted Silver Sire to have no other option.

    Then, there was only one answer.

    Albert had no outstanding talent, even as a king and noble. His grasp of people¡¯s hearts and politics was rtively poor. His emotional intelligence was probably not as good as that of his daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Kafni.

    But that could be his perk too.

    Albert had no pros but no cons, either. He was not alcoholic, yful,scivious, orzy. He did not have any obsession with power and did not even think about inheriting the throne, so he did not know exactly what his older brothers and sisters did.

    His temperament and personality were calm. He wouldn¡¯t get angry when scolded, and he wouldn¡¯t be anxious if he were to fail.

    It also meant that he was an easy-to-manage king.

    Silver Sire chose Albert instead of Elizabeth, who was significantly more capable and widespread, indicating that His next goal was to strengthen His control over the Noah Kingdom.

    ¡°Are you nning to make a big move?¡± Annan spected rationally.

    Silver Sire was watching Annan with interest.

    Because of Annan¡¯s question, the corners of His mouth rose and He blinked.

    ¡°If I say that I¡¯m going to make Kafni the King¡­¡± said Silver Sire slowly.¡±

    ¡°¡­What?¡± Annan was startled.

    Then he suddenly reacted and asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Kafni was a Fallen.

    She could turn into a demon at any time ¡ª at least Annan did not think it was appropriate for her to be the king in this situation.

    Our king was a demon.

    Just by saying this, Annan felt that it was terrible.

    ¡°This is based on other considerations. The reason why your identity is exposed is also for Kafni¡¯s good.¡± Silver Sire squinted slightly and looked at Annan, ¡°Can you understand?¡±

    ¡°En, no problem.¡±

    ¡°Also, the price you gave is not enough for me to do it myself. We separate personal rtions from business. All I can do is send you in person and give you a temporary buff that makes you immune to immediate death.¡±

    ¡°But I think you probably won¡¯t watch me die?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural.¡±

    Silver Sire smiled, then admitted, ¡°If I confirm you¡¯ve failed, I¡¯ll take you away.

    ¡°After all, Bernardino is the Fifth Mirror, and you¡¯ve only just gotten three pages of the Book of Divine Transporter. He¡¯s not the enemy you¡¯re capable of facing right now.¡±

    ¡°But if I kill him ¡ª it won¡¯t be a problem, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s natural!¡± Silver Sireughed and said in a hearty and loud voice, ¡°For the Divine Transporter, fate-based interference is ineffective. That¡¯s because fate is the Wheel of Divine Transporter. So what you do is destiny.

    ¡°If you can kill him, it means that he is destined to perish here; if you can¡¯t, then it¡¯s your fate that you can¡¯t do it at all.¡±

    I see. Annan nodded calmly.

    Salvatore said hesitantly, ¡°So, Annan¡­¡±

    ¡°You are not allowed to go,¡± Annan answered without hesitation.

 Chapter 444: Never-sleeping Reflection

    <h4>Chapter 444: Never-sleeping Reflection</h4>

    ¡°Only one Sage¡¯s Stone and only me.¡± Annan said thoughtfully, ¡°If you want to help, concoct me some suitable reagents. Silver Sire has provided me with instant teleportation, so our time is not so tight. We can wait for me to finish the ritual, and everything is ready. I will depart before sunrise tomorrow.

    ¡°Before that, I¡¯ll ask you to stay upte and help me work on the logistics.¡± When he learned that what he could give was not enough for Silver Sire to intervene directly, Annan had already decided to attend to this matter personally.

    Annan was at Silver Rank. Different from his previous state as Bronze Rank, he had gained a new truth.

    If Sage¡¯s Stone were injected in again, it would grant him a more substantialbat power than the battle with the Rotten Man that day. There was a chance of defeating Bernardino.

    At the same time, only thest bottle of Sage¡¯s Stone was left.

    And that was Annan¡¯s excuse for rejecting Salvatore.

    Salvatore, who did not use Sage¡¯s Stone, could not go head-to-head with Bernardino.

    If Annan didn¡¯t know about this, Salvatore would use the bottle of Sage¡¯s Stone.

    He felt sorry for the newly admitted students as he vited the oath when enrolling and could not secure the orthodox ck Tower inheritance. However, he was resolved to seek his destiny at the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    If Salvatore learned about this matter privately, he would stop involving Annan and head over secretly.

    However, he found out about the situation along with Annan.

    Then, things were different.

    In the battle with Rotten Man, he clearly realized thatpared with Annan, letting himself use Sage¡¯s Stone was a waste. Even if he handed his body over to the Shadow, what he could do was probably limited.

    Annan was able to tie the Rotten Man even in Bronze Rank!

    At least he remained undefeated for three minutes!

    Even though the Rotten Man wasn¡¯t much stronger than the Truth Rank transcender.

    At the same time, Annan had the protection of the upright deity.

    Salvatore still did not know what Silver Sire wanted to do with Annan. However, for upright deities, they would not have to beat around the bushes if they had malicious intent. It was not aplicated technology in this world to alter the mind, modify memory, or even directly enve the mind.

    Annan wouldn¡¯t die even if he failed with the Silver Sire¡¯s protection.

    Salvatore was not a passionate suicide squad either.

    He wanted to save the tower master and take back the senior¡¯s soul. It was better to take revenge on Bernardino. Instead of rushing head-on and getting ughtered by Bernardino.

    Salvatore was confident that Annan was much stronger than him.

    Then, he could only give this opportunity to Annan.

    Thinking of this, Salvatore regretted it a lot.

    Why did I only make three bottles of Sage¡¯s Stone at the time?

    If it¡¯s four bottles, I can fight side by side with Annan!

    ¡°I understand.¡± Salvatore nodded reluctantly.

    When he first advanced into an [Alchemist], he thought that he could provide more help to Annan.

    But he never imagined that there would be times when something happened to him, and he needed Annan to stand up for him.

    When something happened to my family, I could only watch from the sidelines, but my friends are working hard for me. How can things go on like this?

    I can¡¯t let this happen again.

    At this time, Salvatore regretted his choice of profession.

    If he attained the exclusive profession ¡°Sacred Fire Envoy¡± as he became the son of the tower at that time, he could fight side by side with the tower master and use his soul to fuel and heal the tower master.

    ¡°Go back, Salvatore.¡± The Shadow¡¯s cold and hoarse voice came, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time. Head back to Geraint¡¯s house and borrow their best Alteration Lab.

    ¡°Then, give me the body. I will make the reagent for Annan myself.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    For the first time, Salvatore allowed the Shadow to borrow his body.

    ¡°If you have anything else you want to say to Annan, tell him immediately,¡± Salvatore said in his heart and closed his eyes.

    After a few seconds, he fell asleep on the spot.

    Immediately afterward, dense ck runes filled with an evil aura emerged from his body, transpiring with a disturbing thick ck smoke that wrapped him in it. His eyes became two blood-red crescents, glowing faintly in the ck smoke.

    The title ¡°the Shadow Demon¡± seemed more suitable for him than Kafni.

    ¡°What do you need, Annan?¡±

    ¡°Salvatore¡± asked directly.

    ¡°Potions that increase will¡¯s power, those that increase Constitution attributes, or those that increase damage resistance. I don¡¯t need potions that increase Strength and Agility. It¡¯s better to suppress my Strength and Agility appropriately. These are my orders.

    ¡°Secondly, I need a potion that temporarily increases the Perception attribute and a concoction that increases my capability to kill spirits. I will give you my sword. If possible, apply those effects to my sword. After that, some healing potions. How far can these be achieved?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me. I will finish those conditions within twelve hours. No, I will finish it for you in ten hours.¡±

    ¡°Salvatore¡± sneered and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not that wastrel. Bring me the sword. You want potions that suppress the Strength and Agility attributes and put those effects in the potion that increases your Will¡¯s power, right? Are there any other requirements?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s all.¡± Annan nodded.

    ¡°Then, there are two bottles of custom reagents: one to increase Will¡¯s power while reducing Strength and Agility slightly, and the other is a reagent that greatly improves survivability. After that, I will make you a bottle of spirit resistance reagent, one bottle of Stoneskin reagent, one bottle of Spiritual Fortitude reagent, three bottles of Whisperer¡¯s Elixir, one Mind-purifying Elixir, one Mind-deflecting Ring, one Anti-spirit enchantment, and one dozen of vigorous healing reagents. Am I correct?¡±

    ¡°Salvatore¡± recited Annan¡¯s order with a deadpan expression.

    After hearing this, Annan became a little worried, ¡°Why are there so many things? Are you sure you can finish the task?¡±

    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t underestimate me. I¡¯m Salvatore¡¯s Shadow.¡±

    ¡°Salvatore¡± sneered and replied coldly, ¡°Go and do your ritual. Before you leave, I wille with something.¡±

    After saying that, she bit her thumb.

    [TN: Salvatore¡¯s Shadow has a female persona.]

    Annan had no idea how she did it.

    ¡°Salvatore¡± turned into a ck wind, flying away like a demonic beast in Journey to the West.

    At least Annan could be sure that Salvatore could not do this.

    ¡°They¡¯re not very happy,¡±mented Silver Sire slowly.

    Annan nodded and said nothing.

    How Swamp¡¯s ck Tower ended up had nothing to do with Annan. Annan was not acquainted with them.

    But, he was a close friend of Salvatore.

    If Annan did not stop Salvatore, he would die. Annan understood the senior and also the Shadow well. Salvatore was a rational and soft person. He would realize that his resistance was meaningless to the enemy and that he couldn¡¯t save anyone.

    But the Shadow was different.

    Shadow never did ¡°what you should do¡±, but ¡°what you want to do¡±. She was Salvatore¡¯s most primitive desire, the embodiment of his desire for pleasure, revenge, and rage: the source of all his driving forces.

    Salvatore¡¯s behavior was constrained by morality,w, rules, and reason. What he did must take into ount the benefit and the opinion of others. The rtionship between Shadow and Salvatore was simr to the conflict between the ¡°id¡± and the ¡°superego¡± on the personality level.

    Salvatore acted with reason and will to contain the Shadow. But now, his reasoning and will were on the verge of copse. At this time, he would eventually act ording to Shadow¡¯s train of thought.

    This was the essence of his curse, [Never-Sleeping Reflection].

    An ever-present mirror of self. At the same time, it was also a defense mechanism based on Salvatore¡¯s way of doing things.

    When Salvatore encountered an event that he could not handle, the Shadow would appear to resolve it. Salvatore was a person who would not give up easily. When it was necessary to do something, the Shadow woulde out to take the me and lead the body to fulfill its will.

    That was the so-called ¡°temptation by the demon¡±.

    It was not just Annan who realized this.

    With Pope Benjamin¡¯s wisdom, he should have long understood the essence of Salvatore¡¯s curse.

    That was why he taught Salvatore to strictly control himself, constantly strengthen his self-discipline, and do his best to resist the possibility of the ¡°Shadow¡± upying his body.

    In fact, this approach strengthened the ¡°Shadow¡± to ensure that the Shadow could do things Salvatore was afraid to do and unwilling to do at the critical moment.

    The Shadow was his reflection in the water.

    The more rational Salvatore was, the crazier the Shadow; the more innocent Salvatore was, the darker the Shadow; the more Salvatore thought for others, the more selfish the Shadow would be.

    The seal imposed by Benjamin Pope was to protect his student.

    It was not just to keep his life safe.

    It also gave him an excuse he had to make when faced with the choice that contradicted his heart ¡ª and the me tailored for the shadow.

    That would maintain the integrity of Salvatore¡¯s personality so as not to leave him with regrets.

    ¡°Pope Benjamin liked him as a student.¡± Annan sighed.

    Silver Sire looked at Annan, smiled gently, and shook His head silently.

    He did not say much but simply urged, ¡°It¡¯s time to do your ritual. If it¡¯s two hourste, the ice cubes won¡¯t necessarily melt.¡±

    ¡°Then, can you give me a ride?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Silver Sireughed, raised His hand, and a newly created silver coin appeared between His fingers.

    He threw the silver coin at Annan casually and said casually, ¡°Then, let the silver coin open a path for you¡ª¡±

    At the moment of being hit by the silver coin, Annan was in a trance as if a bridge made of silver coins appeared, floating in thin air.

    Without waiting for him to move forward, the bridge moved independently.

    In the blink of an eye, Annan reached the other side.

    When Annan opened his eyes again, he was already in the Frost Tower.

    Geraint and Salvatore had not yet arrived home.

 Chapter 445: Stern Old Grandmother

    <h4>Chapter 445: Stern Old Grandmother</h4>

    Annan took out the mirror given to him by the Man in the Mirror and slowly lifted the curtain.

    In the mirror, which was about the size of an adult head, nothing was reflected from it.

    It merely shone with pale gold nihility brilliance.

    After absorbing Annan¡¯s lifespan worth a day, Annan¡¯s mirror image finally appeared in the pale golden mirror. Besides that, there was still nothing else in the mirror. The frost runes of the Frost Tower behind Annan were still not reflected in the mirror.

    ¡°¡ª[Reguetto].¡± Annan called upon Old Grandmother¡¯s real name in dragonnguage.

    Calling the true name of any deity in front of this mirror could summon the other person¡¯s reflection in the mirror without consuming the corresponding ult knowledge.

    After a dy of about three seconds, water waves visible to the naked eye appeared in the mirror. Annan¡¯s face slowly grew a pair of pure white, curved dragon horns like ice sculptures; fine silver dragon scales also appeared at the junction of his cheek and neck.

    His hair turned snow-colored, and the short hair reaching his shoulders spread beyond the mirror. Then, his face turned into a mature and indifferent look at 27 years old.

    The reflection was simr to Annan, Maria, and the Paper Princess. However, it did not match the ¡°Old Grandmother¡± moniker and looked like the Paper Princess¡¯ elder sister. Moreover, she did have a strong elder aura.

    The Old Grandmother looked deeply into Annan¡¯s eyes. The corners of Her mouth rose for a moment and then ttened back immediately.

    She said solemnly with a stern face, ¡°It seems that you have found something that you have to do in Noah.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Old Grandmother.¡± Annan was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly, ¡°It¡¯s for my friend. I need to defeat a strong foe.

    ¡°So I need an Advanced Influence of the Lord of Frost toplete the ¡®Chill of the Winter Sun¡¯ ritual. I¡¯m sorry to bother you.¡±

    It was only then that he knew what the Old Grandmother meant to him when he first met the Venerated Skeleton¡­ that time when he first heard Old Grandmother¡¯s real name.

    [¡ªIf you have something to do in Noah, just deal with it ande back. Annan, you have grown up. Do what you have to do like a man. I support you.]

    What She meant should be precisely what was happening in the current state.

    It was not the challenge for Annan to fend off the Rotten Man.

    Instead, it was to have Annan defeat ¡®the Purest Spiritual Medium¡¯ Bernardino.

    Old Grandmother did not have the ability rted to prophesy but what She said was the problem Annan was facing now.

    She had seen through Bernardino¡¯s mind long enough to guess what Bernardino would do.

    The Silver Sire was probably in the same shoe too.

    After all, He had lived in the human world for thousands of years. He was not the kind of deity holding on to a supreme status beyond mortal affairs, but the deity blended in the human world. All in all, the twelve upright deities were ancient beings proficient in grasping human psychology, personalities, and desires.

    What Mysterious Lady told Annan back then was that he might not be suitable for the ¡°justice¡± sacred bone.

    She should have seen through Annan¡¯s heart.

    Since Old Grandmother would suggest Annan stay in Noah, does it mean that Annan would ignore these troubles and leave directly in the first life?

    Then, I would rather be who I am now.

    The reflection in the mirror seemed to notice what Annan realized.

    Old Grandmother nodded slightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re still a child, so it¡¯s natural for me to take care of you. But I won¡¯t do everything for you. I won¡¯t be able to raise good children that way, but a spoon-fed kid. This is your destiny and your mission. You want to ovee it with your desires, set the path with your will, then get it done with your actions.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the influence you want; I¡¯ll give you blessings. But I¡¯m not going to guarantee you from dying. Since you¡¯ve made up your mind to do it at the risk of dying, I won¡¯t depreciate the value of your self-awareness. In this world, awareness itself is a priceless treasure.

    ¡°Listen clearly, Annan. If Silver Sire wants to protect you and save your life when you fail, don¡¯t ept his kindness but remember to thank him.

    ¡°Be confident in yourself with what you have now. If used properly, it is enough to achieve your goals. Giving yourself leeway will only dull your sword at critical moments.

    ¡°[The invincible, strong enemy] is a snow mountain, and the process of challenging it is a ritual; if you die at the hands of the Spiritual Monk, I will kill him to avenge you.¡±

    The Old Grandmother said sternly.

    That was significantly different from the casual air between Silver Sire and Annan.

    The Frostscale Dragon King had strict requirements for Annan.

    She did not like Annan¡¯s use of the deities¡¯ power to fight with the guarantee of safety. It was not a battle but a skirmish or a duel.

    ¡°Are you determined?¡± Annan pondered for a long time, then nodded slowly, ¡°I probably understand a bit.¡±

    I¡¯m still too weak¡­

    So I can only pray for a miracle; So I can only seek protection.

    For the first time, Annan¡¯s heart ignited a desire for stronger power and a higher rank.

    It was not intense, but pure enough ¡ª like the first light in a mirror.

    As if seeing through Annan¡¯s mind, Old Grandmother nodded again.

    ¡°Remember this desire, Annan. Keep it firmly in your mind. When you¡¯re trying to dye your soul, remember to recall it.¡± The Old Grandmother uttered heavy andplex dragon words, ¡°Listen, Annan ¡ª a strong enemy is wealth.

    ¡°A weak enemy is just a stumbling block. But an enemy who is too strong to defeat, it bes a [Ritual] when his hostility is aimed at you.

    ¡°Every life and death challenge is a rare experience. The flowers that bloom from Noah can never withstand the cold of Austere-Winter, but the flowers that grow on thend of Austere-Winter will not freeze to death. ¡°

    Strong enemy. Ritual.

    Old Grandmother kept repeating those two words.

    Annan realized that it was a hint from Old Grandmother.

    He suddenly froze and realized something.

    ¡°I will, Old Grandmother.¡± Annan said earnestly, ¡°I will do my best to fight the enemy fairly and will not seek retreat and leeways.¡±

    ¡°Good boy.¡± Old Grandmother¡¯s tone gradually softened.

    Her voice gradually softened, ¡°Also, call me grandma.

    ¡°For you, I¡¯m not the [Old Grandmother], but I¡¯m your grandmother.¡± Then, the image of the Old Grandmother disappeared into the mirror.

    The next moment, two lines of prompts appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [You are blessed with a new mark, ¡°Supreme Advanced Influence: Winter Love¡±]

    [This effect does not reverberate and therefore does not disappear over time; while holding this influence, you will no longer receive any influence from the Lord of Frost.]

    It was not [Advanced Influence: Remains of the Frost Deity].

    It was the ¡°Most Advanced Influence¡± that Annan had never heard of, and it would not generate nightmares.

    Is this the power that only belongs to the popes?

    Annan vaguely guessed why even if the pope did not use transcended power, the power of the ritual was several fold that of other bishops.

    There was the secret, ¡°Supreme Advanced Influence¡±!

    This was a great power that only upright deities could bestow. It was a pity that Annan could only use it toplete a ritual.

    But that was enough.

    Immediately afterward, several new prompts appeared in front of Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [You got the blessing of the Deity of Frost and Tradition ¡°Old Grandmother¡±.]

    [Within seven days, it only triggers when you use the spell of Energy Falteration School. Your spellcasting level is increased by ten extra levels.]

    [You got the secret about ¡°Austere-Winter¡±, read it in Frostwhisper¡¯snguage, and it will cause an unquenchable blizzard.]

 Chapter 446: Perfected Chill Of The Winter Sun

    <h4>Chapter 446: Perfected Chill Of The Winter Sun</h4>

    In the next moment, a sentence appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    The Old Grandmother directed the message to him via the dragonnguage. Just hearing this, Annan felt his [Health Points] dropping rapidly.

    ¡°[Austere-Winter] was born before the four seasons and even before the birth of light and fire. It was originally used to describe the nascent earth, the sky¡¯s stillness like a dying old man; The hatred of things¡­¡±

    I¡¯m at my limit!

    Annan had already lost consciousness.

    His health was at a precarious 1% when he woke up again. The interior of the Frost Tower was covered with anotheryer of enchanting frost.

    However, the first two sentences of the ¡°Secret of Creation¡± were firmly engraved in Annan¡¯s heart.

    ¡°You said with a straight face for me to fight by myself with determination and will¡­¡±

    But didn¡¯t you give me a bunch of good stuff in private?

    Annan muttered softly.

    He was blessed with the Supreme Influence of the Lord of Frost.

    There were additional gifts from the Old Grandmother too.

    Next, the ritual would officially start.

    Annan ced the transcender corpses in a circle around him ording to the twelve points on the clock.

    The corpses ally t with their faces up and their palms down. Annan had already shaved their hair bald previously. Those bald heads were in a circle, leaning against his feet.

    Annan took out the ¡°light-concealing ice cube¡± curse vessel Kafni made for him.

    It was like an oval ice grain the size of a grape and looked like a light bulb. However, it was not dazzling and probably at the same brightness as a deskmp often used by students.

    They were stored in a small women¡¯sntern. Thentern had a white silkmpshade, and it was even embroidered with patternsposed of hollow sterling silver and finely polished crystal.

    This was Kafni¡¯s favoritentern¡­ and also the lonentern she lit behind her when she decimated her enemies as the ¡°Shadow Demon¡±.

    When Annan¡¯s hand was on thempshade, he could even feel a touch of warmth. That was the heat of light left behind when the light struck thempshade. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Annan¡¯s [Perception] attribute was very high now, he might not have noticed the difference from room temperature because he was in the freezing Frost Tower.

    But when Annan touched the ice, he felt an immense chill.

    That was the ¡°feeling of having the chill adhere to his skin surface¡±.

    It was like licking a metal railing in winter or touching dry ice with bare hands. However, the sensation was down by a notch.

    But if ordinary people were to touch this ice cube, there was a high probability that they would suffer immense frostbite.

    The ice cube obviously stored light, but how was it colder than ordinary ice?

    It was in a container made of crystal, but it did not melt at room temperature.

    But there was white mist puffing out of it when Annan¡¯s hand held it.

    Annan gently ced it under the corpse¡¯s tongue and closed its mouth to hide the light.

    The transcender corpses that had been frozen for a long time in the freezer showed a blemish hue on their skin. Not to mention any body temperature, the body was frosty.

    But even so, the ¡°light-concealing ice cube¡± would melt once it left its original transparent container.

    On the other hand, Annan stood in the middle of all the corpses with his eyes closed. His face showed signs of calm breathing.

    The heavy rain outside the tower was unstoppable.

    The rolling clouds gradually gathered and became lower in pressure.

    The citizens had already returned home, and the heavy rain roared in the city.

    With Annan¡¯s current mana pool, it was not difficult to keep the [Notion Rain] running. Noah was already about to rain, and Annan¡¯s effort was merely the icing on the cake.

    However, it did rob away the light under the sky.

    It was pitch ck inside the Frost Tower.

    Annan stood quietly in the center, motionless. The twelve ¡°light-concealing ice cubes¡± kept shining in the same rhythm as his breathing.

    The highest-level influence Annan held was like the eye of a storm, attracting the magic power from the surrounding heaven and earth from afar.

    The iparably overcast and cold magic power continuously gathered from the Frost Tower and the heavy rain outside. Part of it was absorbed into Annan¡¯s body, and another part sank into the corpse beneath his feet.

    The light hidden in the body could not prate the restraint of the corpse. Soon, the corpse gradually became like ss, transparent and shining.

    ¡°Old Grandmother [Reguetto]¡­¡± Annan whispered Old Grandmother¡¯s real name.

    With Annan¡¯s chant, iparable frost power oozed from Annan¡¯s side.

    A thinyer of frost gradually formed on the skin of Annan and the corpses. Even Annan¡¯s heartbeat slowed down. He felt freezing energy remodeling his lungs, trachea, and nasopharynx.

    He quickly opened his mouth and read out Mr. Ray¡¯s real name again: ¡°Baldr¡­protect me¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªI can hear you, Divine Transporter¡­Is something wrong?¡±

    Some familiar voices sounded in Annan¡¯s heart, ¡°It¡¯s [Chill of the Winter Sun], right?

    ¡°Let me help you.¡±

    The next moment, an iparably splendid, brilliant golden light burst out from Annan¡¯s body.

    He was covered in ayer of ice, but it did not stop the light from shooting out.

    It was like a ¡°light-concealing ice cube¡±.

    Twelve hours, twelve months, and twelve corpses form the symbol of twelve upright deities.

    Immense chill air and brilliance seeped out from the twelve corpses. Annan stood in the middle, and the cold air gradually froze his body. The radiant light roamed freely in his body as if he were carving or healing something.

    The brilliance on the twelve corpses gradually faded, and the ice cubes meltedpletely. On the other hand, Annan was in a standing state, enclosed in ice, and his body exuded a dazzling light.

    The light resembled some kind of liquid. It trembled and dripped off the ice, gradually seeping into Annan¡¯s lungs.

    This process was repeated for several hours until sunset.

    As Annan¡¯s mana properties were altered, the ¡°ice¡± and ¡°light¡± disappeared simultaneously.

    Then, Annan slowly opened his eyes.

    He took a deep breath¡­ It was like taking a puff of a cigarette and slowly exhaling it, but what he exhaled was a frigid cold wind capable of freezing mortals instantly.

    [You havepleted the ritual perfectly. Therefore, your Will attribute receives +2 bonuses.]

    [You have acquired the aptitude type ability ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡±, and the aptitude is termed the ¡°Frostscale Dragon¡±.]

    [Chill of the Winter Sun (Aptitude): You can freely alter breathing as ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡±, and this process will continue to consume order mana.]

    [When inhaling, you can extract living creatures¡¯ heat and life energy from the air. The extracted life energy can be used to restore some of your injuries.]

    [When exhaling, a frigid cold wind will be sent over. Its effect is equivalent to the Dragon¡¯s Breath used by the ¡°Frostscale Dragon¡± of the same age. Living creatures killed by this wind cannot be resurrected by all means below the Truth Rank.]

 Chapter 447: Winterâ€™s Harvest

    <h4>Chapter 447: Winter¡¯s Harvest</h4>

    Done¡­

    Valtore took a deep breath, ¡°Luckily, I have finished in time.¡±

    Her dark red pupils shone with an unsettling, ember-like fire, and her face was filled with exhaustion that could not be concealed.

    However, she couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud.

    Theughter was full of contentment.

    ¡°As expected of me, I havepleted this level of demanding requirements.¡± Of course, she did not tell Annan what he was asking was very hard.

    Limiting Strength and Agility attributes was not the challenge. The difficultyy in strengthening the Will while ¡°reducing Strength and Agility appropriately¡±. It was necessary to express the medicinal properties but also to make it less reactive at the same time. Only when the reagent¡¯s effects repeatedly canceled each other would the reagent be crafted.

    The reagent that would protect Annan¡¯s life was even more crucial.

    How powerful was the reagent had to be so that Annan could survive in front of that level of enemy?

    Salvatore did not know.

    Neither did his Shadow know.

    All they knew and could do was to give it their all.

    They would make the most potent reagent they could muster.

    This was a battle belonging to the ¡°Salvatore(s)¡±.

    For the first time, Salvatore and his Shadow reached a consensus. They stood in the same position and tried their best to aplish a goal.

    Many reagents were not difficult for an alchemist. The difficultyy in its quantity. Without Alteration equipment supporting batch productions, making so many reagents in a short period was difficult.

    Crafting Alteration products would take a lot of time.

    Even Senior Sister ¡°Vatore¡± could operate only six furnaces simultaneously. With the assistance of Salvatore himself, she could barely craft all these things out.

    However, no time was dyed.

    The sky had already turned a little bright.

    She immediately picked up the agent and left the basement.

    The ce where these reagents were crafted was not far from Annan. After all, they were both in Count Geraint¡¯s house. The only difference was their location: the backyard and the basement.

    However, when she was about to reach the ce, she suddenly slowed down her pace.

    What¡¯s going on here?

    Count Geraint¡¯s backyard turned into an icehouse [1] with hazy white smoke permeating everywhere. As Salvatore approached, he felt the chill on his feet gradually seeping into his bone marrow.

    She looked closely and saw that Annan hade out of Frost Tower.

    He stared at the rising sun.

    The white chill visible to the naked eye was swirling around him like a vortex following the rhythm of Annan¡¯s breathing.

    Annan¡¯s hair had also turned into the same frosty white color as Maria¡¯s. His icy blue right eye turned into a vertical pupil. Delicate and soft silver dragon scales grew from his neck near his corbone.

    Senior Sister Valtore felt that Annan¡¯s threat level had increased significantly.

    As the instinctive side of Salvatore, her intuition was much more urate than Salvatore¡¯s.

    If she came to control this body, Annan wouldn¡¯t be able to kill her despite having the profession of an alchemist. However, things became different.

    She was like a puppy approaching a sleeping beast, as if the other party could easily take his life away.

    It was an instinctive trembling and fear.

    After hesitating for a while, the Shadow retreated, ¡°Annan?¡±

    Salvatore opened his tired eyes, rubbed them, and walked toward Annan as if nothing had happened.

    The most significant difference between him and Shadow was that Salvatore never thought Annan would be his enemy. He did not even have the slightest hint of it.

    Because of this, Annan¡¯s deterrence did not hold up in front of him at all.

    ¡°Annan?¡± Salvatore said in exhaustion, ¡°I have done my part here¡­ Cough¡­¡±

    While talking, he realized that he had not eaten or drunk for 14 hours straight. Not only was his throat hoarse, but he was also even a little dizzy. He was covered in sweat, and his limbs were a little weak.

    ¡°Thank you for your hard work, senior.¡± Annan nodded, and the icy blue vertical pupils gradually changed to human¡¯s round pupils.

    However, the fine scales that appeared on his skin did not disappear.

    After hepleted the Chill of the Winter Sun ritual, Annan unintentionallypleted a mission he had received previously.

    [Completed: Path of Archaic Bloodline]

    [The evolution of the talent ¡°Winter Heart¡± ispleted.]

    [¡°Winter Heart¡± (Reverse) has evolved to the next stage: Winter¡¯s Harvest (Reverse)]

    [Winter¡¯s Harvest (Reverse): You will not feel all negative emotions; the damage of the ¡°frost¡± element you emit will be permanently increased by 50%; you will bepletely immune to the damage of all ¡°frost¡± elements below the Truth level.]

    [After all professions have been promoted to Gold Rank, Winter¡¯s Harvest (Reverse) will evolve to the next stage: Winter¡¯s Blood (Reverse)]

    [Winter¡¯s Blood (Reverse): You will not feel all negative emotions; the damage of the ¡°frost¡± element you emit will be permanently increased by 100%; you will bepletely immune to the damage of all ¡°frost¡± elements below the Truth level.]

    [After awakening the Winter¡¯s Blood, you will recall the form in the depths of your bloodline.]

    Compared to Winter Heart, it was much more robust.

    The reversal of Winter¡¯s Harvest also made Annan less likely to hurt himself.

    Silver Sire¡¯s increased resistance to instant death for Annan;

    Benjamin provided the Sage¡¯s Stone to Annan through senior;

    The Old Grandmother granted the blessing and the mystery of the world¡¯s creation of ¡°Austere-Winter¡±;

    Winter¡¯s Harvest, given to Annan by the Silent Lady, engraved with the Reverse Inscription;

    Mr. Ray blessed him with ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡± personally.

    And the many reagents provided by the seniors.

    Annan felt all the kindness.

    Although his mood was calm and serious, the corner of his mouth rose slightly.

    He felt that he was truly loved.

    To be watched, to be blessed, and to have anticipation ced on him.

    Maybe the others would be stressed¡­

    But Annan loved this feeling¡ª

    Annan took the reagent package from Salvatore.

    Without hesitation, he raised his head and drank all the bottles he recognized.

    Then, he paused for a while after seeing the two bottles of reagent that he had never seen before.

    Annan never thought that Salvatore could achieve it.

    [Salvatore¡¯s School, the Heart of the Radiant Glory Elixir.]

    [Type: Consumable (Purple)]

    [Description: Salvatore has designed a reagent for his friend Annan Austere-Winter, which can weaken the Strength and Agility while strengthening the Will.]

    [Effect: Will+5, Strength-1, Agility-1. The effectsts 24 hours after consuming it.]

    [¡°I hope you can do it¡± ¨C Salvatore¡¤Shadow]

    [Salvatore School, the Heart of Hope Elixir.]

    [Type: Consumable (Dark Purple)]

    [Description: Salvatore has dedicated a reagent for his friend Annan Austere-Winter, which can greatly improve vitality.]

    [Effect: After taking it, when taking damage more than 50% of the Maximum Health, you will not faint due to fatal injury for 24 hours; Obtain the ability of aptitude type ¡°Unyielding¡±: The effect only activates once. When Health is reduced to below 0%, it will continue to decrease. Then, Health will recover by 30% after three minutes.]

    [Cost: If ¡°Unyielding¡± is triggered, your Constitution will be reduced by 20 points temporarily. 1 Constitution attribute will be restored daily; if the Constitution attribute bes lower than 0, you will die immediately.]

    [¡°I hope you wille back alive¡± ¨C ??Salvatore cktower]

 Chapter 448: I Will Lead The Frontal Assault

    <h4>Chapter 448: I Will Lead The Frontal Assault</h4>

    [Annan¡¯s Sword]

    [Type: Weapon/essory (Dark Blue)]

    [Description: The original noble saber of Don Juan Geraint. It¡¯s strong, light, and elegant; after being used many times by Annan Austere-Winter with the Frost Sword ability, its inner structure was damaged, and the de became colder. But Salvatore has now repaired the damage to the interior.]

    [Effect: The wielder will be afflicted with the curse ¡°Arctic Cut¡±.]

    [Arctic Cut: When it causes ¡°cut¡± damage to living enemies, it can cause additional frost damage that is difficult to dispel; when it causes ¡°cut¡± damage to ghosts and spirit-type enemies, the damage is converted to frost damage.]

    Eh.

    It¡¯s a weapon simr to that [White Guillotine].

    But that sword is too heavy and toorge to carry around.

    So, Annan only brought three curse vessels: Elves¡¯ Hand, Annan¡¯s Boning Knife, and Annan¡¯s Sword. He also brought along the boning knife satchel with the reagents and elixir in it.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be going.¡± Annan said solemnly to Salvatore, ¡°Leave it all to me, senior.

    ¡°Trust me.¡±

    Then he nodded to Silver Sire, who appeared beside them at some point.

    Before Salvatore could respond, Silver Sire threw a silver coin at Annan.

    Like an afterimage, Annan instantly disappeared in front of Salvatore¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t said goodbye to him yet.¡± Salvatore lowered his hands a little decadently.

    He murmured in a low voice, ¡°Come back alive¡­ Annan¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk to him when hees back.¡± Silver Sire gently advised Salvatore, who was somewhat lost.

    The next moment, He tossed a silver coin out.

    Then, he disappeared in ce in an instant and followed Annan over.

    Their location was less than 200 meters away from the aze Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Even at this distance, Annan had already felt the surging heat waveing at him.

    However, when those heat waves approached Annan, they were naturally cooled by the cold air that Annan exhaled. The ground under Annan¡¯s feet also creaked with tiny cracks due to the sudden chilling effect.

    ¡°Is it this ce?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Silver Sire nodded calmly and suggested, ¡°But you are not ready yet.¡±

    ¡°What else?¡± Annan was about to say that he had done everything he could prepare for.

    He could even fight with a demi-deity.

    Silver Sire just shook his head.

    ¡°Do you know why he is your Fifth Mirror?

    ¡°That¡¯s because you and him both use the power of others to achieve your goals. The Fifth Luminary of the Sun is the light reflected in the pupils of the world. That is to say, you and he are simr but opposite in that¡ª¡±

    ¡°He possesses undead while I have my yers?¡± Annan suddenly understood everything.

    That was why Silver Sire had meplete Henry VIII¡¯s funeral first.

    Was Henry VIII¡¯s death my fault?

    He had to give me this power right away, so¡­

    Then, Annan dismissed the hesitation immediately.

    ¡°What am I hesitating about?¡±

    He murmured in a low voice, ¡°There is only one enemy.

    ¡°Then I need to do my best and kill him.¡±

    If Annan wasmitted to giving it all, he should not save even a shred of energy.

    The yers were powerless against the Purest Spiritual Medium, but they were strong enough to fight the undead¡­ at least guarding Annan¡¯s back.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± In the palm of Annan¡¯s right hand, the rune, which looked like a power button, gradually lit up.

    He closed his eyes and whispered, ¡°If you can hear me, please help me.¡±

    Just then, Annan saw two new buttons in his backend interface:

    [Generate a promotional video.]

    [Set a teleportation point.]

    I can understand the second option. But what¡¯s the deal with the first one? When did ite out?

    Annan was startled.

    He was so used to using his power that he forgot he was not alone.

    ¡ªHe was never alone.

    He was not a solitary monarch who could be bullied arbitrarily.

    ¡°But it¡¯s half past five in the morning¡­¡±

    How many people can be summoned for such an urgent call?

    For them, it¡¯s just a game.

    Although the yers already knew this was a real otherworld, what they got from here was no benefit to them in their original world.

    The yers could not bring back any special abilities or treasures in this ce.

    Everything they were involved in was just giving ¡ª disrupting their beautiful dreams or ns for work and school and having them as Annan¡¯s tools to challenge powerful enemies while unprepared.

    How many people wille?

    Annan murmured and closed his eyes.

    No matter how many people were summoned, he would surely win.

    Under their watchful eyes, they won an upright victory.

    Generate a promotional video¡­

    After Annan clicked that button, the world in front of him suddenly opened up.

    It was like a fantasy-like soaring with Annan¡¯s hand reaching up to the light above the abyss.

    The light suddenly expanded.

    Annan saw Salvatore and his apprentices walking between Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Salvatore caught up with a girl, patted her on the shoulder, and asked, ¡°Is there really no problem? I think you are still a little hesitant.¡±

    ¡°No¡­teacher, I¡­¡±

    The girl whispered shyly, ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m too embarrassed to say¡­¡±

    ¡°Say it out. No one willugh at you.¡± Salvatore rubbed his dark circles, revealing his signature dead fish eyes and his signature gentle tone, ¡°We are family.¡±

    When the screen changed, Annan saw wizard apprentices chattingzily in ss. rence frowned, scratched the ckboard with his long fingernails, and made an unbearable creaking sound.

    ¡°Listen to the ss!¡± He raised his voice sternly, ¡°If you don¡¯t listen to the ss now, what will happen in the future?¡±

    A boy below muttered softly, ¡°We don¡¯t necessarily have a future¡­¡±

    After that, he was red at by rence and lowered his head embarrassingly.

    The scene changed. It was rence confronting the younger Bernardino in the ck silt.

    ¡°How are my students?¡± rence asked Bernardino nonchntly.

    Countless golden chains locked Bernardino firmly.

    The screen moves toward Bernardino, revealing the corners of his mouth that suddenly rise slightly and a disdainful smile.

    ¡°Keke.¡± And the sneer that was so low it was barely audible.

    The scene changed. Bernardino was holding four long bloody nails.

    Bernardino sneered, ¡°Try to sever your fate. Until the end, he believed in this kind of thing.¡±

    Annan¡¯s voice resounded loudly, ¡°¡ªBut as long as you can lift your spirits, you can climb up with me.¡±

    In the abyss, he slowly reached out his hand to hold the iparably fragile spider thread, and shouted loudly, ¡°Then, let¡¯s climb together!¡±

    Then, there came the determined Annan¡¯s climb.

    It was a long climb.

    A hopeless climb ¡ª and an expected fall.

    ¡°Give it up, Hugo. You have no chance of winning. I won¡¯t do anything to your students if you¡¯re willing to surrender.¡± Bernardino¡¯s voice sounded in the dark.

    ¡°Are you short of time?¡± Another voice that Annan had never heard before echoed across him.

    In the ck abyss, an invisible and colorless me seemed to ignite.

    Annan was still falling.

    The light in his eyes was shining brighter.

    ¡°Human¡­¡± Annan murmured, clenching the spider¡¯s thread for the hundredth time.

    A whisper sounded at the bottom of the hopeless abyss:

    ¡°Without wings, how can you go up?¡±

    Obviously, it said such decadent words.

    But Annan showed a brilliant smile. His pupils were brighter than the stars.

    Failure could not defeat him.

    ¡°Have you had enough rest?¡± Annan¡¯s voice sounded at the bottom of the abyss, ¡°As long as you can lift your spirits and climb with me¡ª

    ¡°Just follow!¡±

    Like a waking ant.

    The crowd gradually followed Annan, climbing up the thread without knowing how many times they tried.

    The camera soared from the abyss.

    At the moment of leaving that glow-filled summit, it became the ck Tower that was looking down and zing.

    ¡°Swamp¡¯s ck Tower is on the verge of annihtion.¡± Silver Sire¡¯s voice came from outside the screen, ¡°Except for you, Von Hohenheim, and Longjing Tea, maybe all the ck Tower Wizards are dead.¡±

    Followed by Old Grandmother¡¯s voice, ¡°It seems that you have found something that you must do in Noah.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Old Grandmother.¡± Annan¡¯s voice sounded slowly in the darkness, ¡°I need to defeat a strong enemy for my friend.¡±

    ¡°Leave everything to me, Senior. Trust me.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s hoarse voice came in a low voice, ¡°Come back alive¡­ Annan¡­¡±

    Annan slowly whispered the name, ¡°Bernardino¡­¡±

    Then, there came Hugo¡¯s icy voice.

    It seemed to ovep with Annan¡¯s voice, ¡°If you want my soul, thene and take it.¡±

    The final picture suddenly appeared. The frame was fixed at the burning ck Tower, with Annan walking forward under the tower.

    The production of the promotional video ispleted.

    ¡°It¡¯s well made.¡± Annan was silent for a while, then murmured in a low voice, ¡°Then let¡¯s publish it to the yers.¡±

    Finally, set the teleportation point to the [Swamp¡¯s ck Tower].

    Annan slowly drew the de out, ¡°If you want toe, just follow¡­¡±

    The brilliance shed again in his eyes.

    ¡°And I¡¯ll lead the frontal assault¡ª¡±

 Chapter 449: The Players Are Gathering

    <h4>Chapter 449: The yers Are Gathering</h4>

    Xiang Tiange put on his sneakers, opened the door, and walked out while doing chest muscles training.

    The strong muscles visible to the naked eye tensed and rxed powerfully with his movements.

    After entering ¡°Mist Continent¡±, there was a significant improvement in the recovery of his physique.

    Xiang Tiange was used to getting up at 0:00 every day. After 5 hours of live streams, he would go for a morning run until 6:00 a.m. Later, he would visit a breakfast ce before returning home. Usually, he would then go for a bath and some reading.

    9 a.m. would mark his next exercise session,sting until noon. Then, he would y games all afternoon ¡ª ore back from errands and enter the Mist Continent on time at 4 p.m.

    His schedule was unlike the youngsters like Jiu Er and Lin Yiyi.

    Xiang Tiange was not that young anymore. So he prioritized taking care of his body. It just so happened that he had the spare, so it was still vital to keep up with proper exercises.

    However, as he was jogging halfway, a sudden buzz appeared in his mind. A line of words appeared:

    [Mist Continent has been updated to a newer version.]

    [Starting from the current version, it is no longer mandatory for characters to take an 8 hour break before the next login. There is no longer a minimum and maximum time limit for logging on and off. You can deal with rted affairs in your reality at any time.]

    [Situations such as hunger, dry cough, disease, and excretion of the body in reality can be viewed in the game; all social applications installed in the mobile phone, including text messages and phone functions, have been incorporated into the ¡°mini-programs¡± of the forum. They can be essed directly in the game.]

    [However, yers are still asked to rest before entering the game. Please take care of your real life first, don¡¯t affect your study, work, and health for the sake of the game.]

    [The teleportation mechanism has been activated, spending 5% of the current level experience to perform teleportation, or you can use the affection rating to purchase teleportation membership from the faction leader; the teleportal range will gradually increase as the main storyline progresses. yers are given ess to the missions for the construction of teleportation.]

    [After going online, you will automatically receive ¡°Ritual: Return to the Teleportation Point¡±, which can be used once every three days. After using it, you may return to the previously registered teleportation point; after death, options of ¡°return to the registered teleportation point¡± and ¡°resurrection in ce¡± will be added. Subsequent yers will get this ritual afterpleting the beginner mission.]

    [The open beta version is about to be released. Please pay attention to the follow-up content in time.]

    [Do you wish to watch the new version of the promotional video?]

    ¡¾Yes¡¿/ ¡¾No¡¿

    This shit looks legit¡­

    Would there be a silly kid treating this like a game? Is there any point in trying so hard to maintain the perception of being a game?

    Xiang Tiange¡ªor rather, Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butin in his heart.

    Although he did not know if he would pass out when watching the promotional video, he chose to walk to the inner aisle. Then, he sat on the steps of the roadside shop so as not to ck out and obstruct the passers-by.

    He wiped his sweat and closed his eyes.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yiyi was still in the game.

    She had nned to go offline at 8.00 p.m.. After seeing this update prompt, she raised her head and nced at the sky in surprise.

    ¡°Is this a hotfix?¡± But after all, she was in a safe ce. She opened the promotional video without any hesitation.

    Then, she opened her eyes widely.

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Longjing Tea was about to quit the game and had returned to his room, so he essed the promo video without any concerns.

    ¡°Howe I¡¯m in there!?¡± As soon as he watched the beginning of the clip, he couldn¡¯t help butin.

    He did not even know when this was recorded. The act of pretending to study was conspicuous in the ssroom.

    It reminded him of when he lowered his head to y with his phone or read light novels during school. It gave off the feeling that his crime scene was recorded, edited, and published to the public¡­

    But he soon got rid of the feeling of being ashamed.

    The smile on his face faded away.

    ¡°Is the ck Tower destroyed?¡±

    Has Mentor rence also died?

    ¡ªAre you constructing spells now?

    ¡ªDid I disturb you?

    rence¡¯s concerned voice rang in Longjing Tea¡¯s ear.

    He still remembered thezy and nostalgic chuckle when he watched the silly teenagers y.

    He still remembered the vast library that shocked him tremendously.

    He still remembered those fantastic books. Books that could talk, books that were as delicate as a girl¡¯s skin, books that could only be read with heat-insting gloves, books that could only be read after answering the password¡­

    He remembered the light in those children¡¯s eyes.

    He remembered his mentor, Mr. rence.

    ¡°Is Swamp¡¯s ck Tower facing annihtion?¡± Longjing Tea closed his eyes slightly.

    He thought for a moment, then opened his eyes faintly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ignore this.¡±

    ¡°Annan! You¡¯re so cool.¡±

    Lin Erer, who got up from the dormitory and looked at his phone on the bed, couldn¡¯t help but smack his leg in excitement.

    His roommate was awakened by the smack and nced at him nkly while half asleep.

    This alerted Lin Erer as well.

    He thought for a moment and tried to call Lin Yiyi.

    At this time, Lin Yiyi should still be in the game. What an opportunity to try this new feature.

    The other party took about 10 seconds to pick up the phone. He should have studied how to answer the call.

    ¡°Hey?¡± Lin Yiyi¡¯s familiar voice came from the other end of the call. The audio quality was exceptional too.

    ¡°Sister?¡± Lin Erer whispered, ¡°Can you help me to take an official leave from the tutor?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡±

    ¡°No. I saw the new event. The fight is happening soon. It¡¯s not convenient at school. They might check on my dorm. I¡¯m thinking we will be busy in the next few days. How about I crash at your ce for a few days?¡±

    While he was talking about the event, he intended to ck off.

    At the same time, the food at Miss Jiu Er¡¯s house was superb.

    Lin Yiyi was a little helpless, ¡°Your leavests a couple of days. Would your instructor approve it?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I have good grades, and I am obedient. If the reasons are good, why won¡¯t he approve it?¡±

    Lin Ererughed along and whispered, ¡°Sister, please¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll say I¡¯m married, and the family asks you to return to your hometown. That should work, right?¡± said Lin Yiyi impatiently.

    Lin Erer shuddered and woke uppletely, ¡°No, no, sister! I¡¯ve used this reason! You can¡¯t marry a second time!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Yiyi was silent for a long time and then made a puzzled voice, ¡°What the hell? Why didn¡¯t I know that I was married?¡±

    ¡°Justst time¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine~ Then I¡¯ll call your tutor at noon. I¡¯ll give you a leave for half of the month.¡±

    Lin Yiyi raised his brows and sneered, ¡°But then you don¡¯t bother with what excuse I use to ask for a leave.¡±

    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± Lin Erer replied with a smile.

    He hung up the phone and woke up his roommate.

    He spoke to his roommate about feeling ufortable and got him to ask for a half-day absence from the tutor. Also, he told his roommate not to walk him up for the meal. Instead, he would look for food after waking up.

    After all, it looked like he would attend the boss fight with Annan. He did not know if he could finish it in an hour. If the battlested till 8 a.m. and it was not done, his roommate would try to wake him up for sses.

    If it was found out that he couldn¡¯t wake up, it might cause amotion.

    Then, Lin Erer closed his eyes again.

    Suuankou, who was still a little sleepy, opened his eyes from the bed.

    His identity had be a youth version of a phantom thief in another world.

    He saw a post from Delicious Wind Goose on the forum:

    ¡°Anyone who is not afraid of death, are you going to help Boss Annan with something big?¡±

    The content of the post was brief, with only one sentence.

    ¡°Remember to wait for me when you go, and don¡¯t start the boss event first. I¡¯ll be there in fifteen minutes.¡±

    That was the first reply to Longjing Tea¡¯s post.

    ¡°Come on, Old Goose.¡±

    Then Lin Yiyi: ¡°I¡¯ve already arrived. Please teleport over here! Annan has turned white!¡±

    Jiu Er: ¡°This is my revenge battle! Originally, my mother told me we would go on a two-day-long vacation. However, it seems that it will be dyed by a week.¡±

    Citalopram: ¡°I¡¯ll take a leave of absence. Please give me 10 minutes.¡±

    ¡­

    More than 60 people had replied to this post, and the number was still increasing.

    Everyone¡¯s opinion was unified.

    Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but reply:

    ¡°I¡¯ming!¡±

    Even though he might be of little use in this kind of battle¡­

    ¡°Standing up for my bro. I¡¯m good at this!¡±

 Chapter 450: Charge With Me!

    <h4>Chapter 450: Charge With Me!</h4>

    Delicious Wind Goose rushed home, panting.

    Annan¡¯s call time was 5:30 p.m. On the other hand, Old Goose was at the ce farthest from home for his morning run. Thus, he darted back, and it only took ten minutes to get back on his bed.

    He did not take a bath and skipped breakfast.

    But, it was not much of a problem.

    He had watched the new promotional video.

    Like the first promotional video, it was a mix of insane footage. Although the yers had no idea what Annan¡¯s spider thread was about, more information was provided than in the first promotional video.

    ¡ªThe first Boss-level opponent had appeared.

    Although ording to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s spection, there was a high probability that they still could not harm this Boss.

    Even though a few yers had already advanced to Silver Rank, they still had 80 Bronze Rank in the end.

    The only good news was that the 40 new yers hadpleted their Advancement and be transcenders.

    Eighty transcenders¡­ They could partake in this turmoil as long as the infinite resurrection was avable!

    It was a long-awaited adrenaline surge that pumped him up.

    It was reminiscent of making a party in adventure games back when he was young.

    And now, he was already a leader among Mist Continent¡¯s closed beta yers.

    This was also rted to the many strategies he uploaded during the exploration of ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±, as well as his sess in sneaking into Noah andpleting the secret mission.

    ¡°Don¡¯t start yet. Wait for me¡­¡± Delicious Wind Goose grumbled, closing his eyes quickly and entering the Mist Continent.

    After he went online, he got the teleportation ritual directly.

    The ritual was simple ¡ª Tap anything that makes a sound thirteen times in a row, say ¡°Praise the Divine Transporter¡±; blink at the light source seven times in a row, and say ¡°Reverence to the Divine Transporter¡±. With that, the yer would teleport to the previous checkpoint.

    He had seen from the forums that there was only one teleportation waypoint at the moment¡­ the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    ording to the information that Lin Yiyi inquired from Annan, the yers only need to use this ritual at a teleportation waypoint if they want to teleport to other ces.

    A teleportation waypoint was not a ¡°coordinate¡±, but a designated ¡°region¡±.

    The teleportation would proceed in a general area instead of a pinpoint coordinate.

    Those who teleport would randomly appear within the field of vision of an ¡°acquaintance¡±. If there were enough acquaintances in this ce, then the location which the ally teleported could be roughly influenced.

    The teleportation destination would be unreliable if no allies were at the target location.

    ¡°In this case, we have to arrange for someone there to guard the teleportation waypoint in the future.¡± Delicious Wind Goose muttered in his heart. Then, he performed the teleportation ritual quickly and urately.

    He should now be the one who understood the ritual most among the yers.

    After blinking at the lit candle seven times in a row, Delicious Wind Goose chanted in a low voice:

    ¡°¡ªReverence to the Divine Transporter.¡± The next moment, he felt the candle me suddenly expand and spread.

    A bright and dazzling light quickly spread from the center of Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s field of vision to the surroundings.

    The whole world turned into light.

    A mysterious power spread from his eyes to his whole body. After enshrouding him, an immense ¡°soaring feeling¡± came about. It was as if he had risen to a higher realm.

    ¡°You¡¯rete, Old Goose.¡± Lin Yiyi¡¯s voice sounded from the side, ¡°Everyone is waiting for you.¡±

    She smiled gloatingly, ¡°Does it feel good to teleport?¡±

    ¡°I thought I would faint and teleport.¡± Delicious Wind Goose acquiesced to her ridicule. He said helplessly, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the typical pattern?¡±

    No wonder there is a fee for teleportation¡­

    He raised his head and looked around, ¡°How many people are here?¡±

    ¡°¡ªEveryone is here.¡± It was Annan himself who answered Old Goose.

    When Delicious Wind Goose looked at Annan, he couldn¡¯t help being stunned for a moment.

    The thin white robe, the short shoulder-length hair like snow, and the scales on the neck made Delicious Wind Goose instantly think of the dragon character in Final Fantasy 14.

    But his hair is too short inparison.

    If it can grow to the waist, it should be stunning¡­ I think adding a pair of dragon horns should also look fantastic.

    When such thoughts popped up in Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s mind, he suddenly thought of someone.

    He immediately turned his head to look at Citalopram in the crowd.

    Unsurprisingly, Citalopram¡¯s eyes were locked on Annan, focused.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Annan looked at the yers withplicated eyes.

    He also thought that many yers should be participating in thisrge-scale event.

    After all, yers like to join in the fun. He had expected about 50 people, given his confidence in the yers.

    As long as there were more than 30 people, Annan could establish a safe area to outnk the enemy.

    If fewer than 20 yers came, Annan had tounch a heavy assault to get inside the ck Tower while avoiding being attacked by the enemy from his rear.

    But Annan never imagined that all the yers woulde together.

    Most of the first batch of yers were streamers. So they had plenty of time, which formed the central power of Annan¡¯s forces.

    The second batch of invited yers included students, executives, and bosses. Each had their life and life difficulties.

    However, they left their respective lives behind ¡ª choosing to answer Annan¡¯s summon without getting any real benefit.

    Even though they could not even be considered friends.

    Nearly half of these yers had never met Annan, let alone establishing a connection with Annan.

    What happened here had crossed cultures, civilizations, and even worlds. It signified the connection between ¡°people¡±.

    For a while, Annan was inexplicably moved.

    He finally confirmed where he and Bernardino were simr but different.

    Like himself, that ¡°Spiritual Monk¡± snowballed more and more powerful ¡°helpers¡±. The souls and the yers were considered the same aspect.

    However, the difference was that the spirits of Bernardino were silent,cking a mind andcking freedom.

    On the other hand, Annan¡¯s yers rely on their free will to decide their behavior.

    They explored, saved the world, fought the evils, and did it just because they wanted to ¡ª without anyone forcing them, ordering them, or enving them.

    This was not a game where death arrived if they disobeyed Annan¡¯s orders.

    Annan did not disregard the yers¡¯ state and summoned them directly ¡ª although he did have such authority.

    But having it did not mean that Annan had to use it.

    yers came chatting andughing with each other, with no pressure, no fear, and no absence.

    They sincerely and earnestly wanted to save everything ¡ª destroy the bad, keep the good, avenge the evil in the name of justice, and do whatever they wanted in the name of freedom.

    They were unrestrained souls.

    These were the yers.

    They followed Annan like a pack of wolves following their king.

    You all taught me a lesson too.

    Annan¡¯s lips moved slightly, speaking silently.

    He looked up at the burning Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    It was as if he sensed Annan¡¯s killing intent ¡ª many transparent spiritual bodies emerged from the sky and came over.

    That was the spirit legion in the number of thousands Bernardino had collected over the years.

    In the high-intensity confrontation with Hugo, they had no room to make an attack.

    But for Annan and his yers, every spirit was an experienced and powerful ¡°elite monster¡±.

    yers were not afraid at all.

    They were like wolves with green eyes, looking at the spirit bodies flying towards them with unprecedented enthusiasm.

    After they came to Mist Continent, they had never seen such a high density and number of elite monsters!

    Annan¡¯s only one sentence of pre-war mobilization came at this time:

    ¡°Here, I give you the power of infinite resurrection¡ª¡± He had no ns of ??continuing to hide his authority.

    yers had received prompts that the resurrection would not deduct their level for the time being.

    This thoroughly boiled the yers¡¯ enthusiasm to another level.

    Annan drew his long sword and pointed forward.

    He pointed it to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, which was haunted by undead.

    His eyes were bright, and his voice was inspiring.

    ¡°My warriors!¡±

    Annan was the first to rush forward.

    A sonorous cry resounded through the sky.

    ¡°Charge¡ª¡±

 Chapter 451: No Casualties

    <h4>Chapter 451: No Casualties</h4>

    The spirits descended above the zing Swamp¡¯s ck Tower like missiles.

    Annan was the first to face off against the enemy.

    His eyes were as bright as stars. It was the manifestation of the [Brilliant Sword] skill during the charging phase.

    In this state, Annan possessed damage immunity BUFF of ? iing damage. Undisputedly, he was a reliable defender.

    Annan kickstarted the battle with [Frost Sword]!

    It was the swordsmanship ability enhanced by the ¡°Will¡± attribute. It finally showed its true might after Annan reached the Silver Rank.

    Pure white frost marks spread across Annan¡¯s de.

    Without hesitation, he sent a frost-colored, translucent arc-shaped sword energy toward the sky.

    After the sword¡¯s energy was sent about 30 meters away from Annan, its power began to decrease, and its form began to dissipate and expand.

    However, the spirits having their maximum prowess reaching Silver Ranking, could not resist the attack despite having the frost element diluted.

    Among those spirit bodies that swooped down from the sky, 30 spirit bodies were condensed into ice because of Annan¡¯s sword energy.

    They changed from their translucent illusory state into ice sculptures, condensing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Then, the frozen spirits shattered on their own.

    An empty area about twenty meters long and three meters wide was particrly conspicuous amid the spirit bodies¡¯ army.

    But these spirits were not afraid at all.

    They continue their offense on the yers at the expense of theirpanions.

    At this distance, Annan could deliver two or three sh attacks at most.

    Each time Annan harnessed [Frost Sword], he temporarily increased all frost damage by 10% and reduced his frost damage resistance by 10%. Considering that many of Annan¡¯s skills were harmful to himself and his attacks would spread, he could only send out five shes at most.

    After entering the melee, Annan could not unleash AOE attacks because of the yers behind him.

    Luckily, the yers did not hold Annan back.

    The yers were more organized than Annan imagined.

    ¡°Let¡¯s unleash the ritual!¡± Delicious Wind Goose followed Annan along with Lin Yiyi. He raised his sword and guarded the nks. At the same time, he turned back and shouted orders to the other yers.

    ¡°Got it!¡± Wandering Child responded immediately.

    This was the strategy they had discussed offline previously. Previously, they had no enemies to test it out. Strictly speaking, this was the first battle in which the ritual was used.

    Delicious Wind Goose posted the ritual he had mastered on the forum in photos and drawings, allowing yers to copy the ritual without mastering the skill.

    On the other side, the Child could manipte the terrain at will.

    If it was only a small-scale battle, these terrain factors could only y the role of interference, hindrance, and follow-up attacks. However, in a group battle, the walls summoned with magic might hinder the teammates. Of course, the Child was aware of it.

    But what if he used these earthen walls to form an altar?

    Layers of earthen walls rise from the ground, outlining a perfect circle.

    Four yers proficient in the Agility attribute quickly go to the five corners of the altar to form a pentagram with Delicious Wind Goose. As the yers ignited the rosin, myrrh, frankincense, dried rose, and thyme in turn, five mes fell on the earth wall at the same time. The Child and those who participated in the ritual tapped the ground with the weapons in their hands and shouted at the same time: ¡°This is the ce where all things are buried¡ª¡±

    The five groups of mes soared wildly.

    A dim stream of light approached the mes. Immediately after, the gray-white streamers of light surrounded the circle.

    A hemispherical phantom gray barrier rose.

    When the spirits passed through the barrier, they couldn¡¯t help but roar in pain. Their movements also seemed to have be a little slower.

    And more importantly, the yers¡¯ weapons were dyed with a light grayish-white color.

    It was a color reminiscent of bone and lime.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan, we will take a defensive stance!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose immediately said to Annan, ¡°We¡¯re using the Requiem ritual to suppress the speed of these spirits!¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Annan nodded solemnly, ¡°Then, I will focus on attracting the enemy¡¯s attention.¡±

    He recognized that it was the Requiem ritual originated from Bone Burying Grandma.

    In the magic circle, burn multiple different spices. After tapping the ground once in the middle and reciting the name of ¡°bone burying¡±, it would bless everyone in the magic circle with Requiem ability for an hour.

    ¡ªThat was the ability to attack spiritual bodies with ordinary weapons.

    Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s ¡°Requiem¡± and Mr. Ray¡¯s ¡°Purification¡± were the two most effective abilities for spiritual bodies.

    Annan never thought that the Child¡¯s ability to transform terrain could be applied this way.

    ¡°That¡¯s a great help, Child!¡± Jiu Er shouted and shed her belly with an axe.

    After her Health Points dropped by half, her curse turned red and hot, fully activated.

    After the second batch of yers entered the fray, the three yers who adopted the [Berserker] profession immediately used self-harming methods to activate their curses and rushed to the frontline of the battlefield.

    Their attacks were working well.

    The weapons used by Berserkers were mostly polearms. Only such weapons could fully exert their strength in use.

    It also enabled their offense to be efficient.

    Weapons under the effect of [Requiem] were quite unhandy to unharness. It felt like having a cushion full of air or cotton on the hardy weapon.

    It was probably like a massive bridge-shaped balloon at the mall entrance.

    If the Berserkers were to strike a little harder, it would smash the spirits away.

    Instead, the Hunters and Lurkers fight more efficiently.

    The most troublesome thing about these spirits was that physical contact had to be avoided.

    Upon physical contact, the skin at the point of contact would be razed by negative energy, leaving a purple bruise. At the same time, the spirit would also absorb a considerable part of the Health Points from it.

    But other than that, the fighting style of these spirits was simplistic.

    Even the spirits with long-range attack methods fly to the faces of the yers foolishly and then start to chant the spells ¡ª the spirits could not use divine art and other abilities. Only the spirits that were wizards in their lifetimes could use spells after death. The magic was limited to the Order Mana too.

    The body used to carry the Chaos Mana was gone. It was just like how demonization manifested in the physical body, not the soul.

    The mage spirits chanted spells in a head-on confrontation instead of kiting the yers at their maximum spell-casting distance.

    The yers were familiar with this state.

    It was apparent that the Spiritual Monk could not micro-manage all of them.

    ¡ªObviously, it was an F2A operation [1].

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°This reminds me of someone¡­¡±

    As he spoke, he raised his round shield to block an attack firmly and then shed over with his sword backhandedly, shing the spirit body approaching Annan¡¯s back.

    Lin Yiyi, on the other side, quickly spun the long staff in her hand. She could perform four consecutive attacks and m four spirits away in a second. For foes she could smash away, it made it easy for her to wield the weapon. Aside from the magic caster at melee range, she did not face any pressure.

    The duo guarded Annan with one on the left and the other on the right. Then, the group slowly advanced counterclockwise in the barrier, using Annan as the main damage output, who could instantly destroy all the spirits they encountered.

    A few Silver Sire Priests took off their heavy armor, held a money pouch in their left hand and many silver coins in their right hand, and quickly roamed the battlefield. They promptly recovered thebat power for the wounded yers and prevented the spirits from breaking through their line.

    Among the yers, ¡°Dove¡± had the highest shooting uracy. She stood with the Child in the center of the magic circle, sting the spirit bodies capable of casting spells and interrupting their magic with precise shooting. The real Dove used the Chocte¡¯s body to hide in the shadows and lurk among the yers dexterously, helping those with their backs vulnerable and killing the spirits who want to sneak attack them.

    Although it was the yers¡¯ first time cooperating, they showed extraordinary teamwork.

    Annan even felt that the free resurrection privilege he granted was wasted.

    The battlested ten minutes until the formation stabilized.

    There were no casualties.

    [1] F2A. It¡¯s a game acronym that stands for clicking all enemies (by pressing F2) and selecting attack (by pressing A). Usually referred to as an F2A bot in winning war strategy games.

 Chapter 452: A Well-organized Cooperation!

    <h4>Chapter 452: A Well-organized Cooperation!</h4>

    ¡°We¡¯re all done here, Your Highness Annan!¡± Delicious Wind Goose looked around and quickly said to Annan.

    As a veteran warrior and core MT yer, he knew it very well. In the typical monster clearing dungeon instance prioritizing ¡°overwhelming the enemy in numbers¡±, the most challenging part was to receive the monsters¡¯ assault at the beginning. There would be surprises of having a sudden decrease in members or having the tanks annihted.

    [TN: MT stands for Main Tank.]

    However, without the ability to taunt and attract the enemy¡¯s aggro, this world did not have a tank profession in the strict sense.

    Instead, the melee professions took on the excellent role of interception, interference, and controlling the foes.

    While it was right to say that there was no tank, it was urate to say that everyone in the melee profession was a tank.

    The front line was stabilized. The first defense all the spirits could engage was of melee profession, and there would be no multiple spirits attacking the same yer on both sides. Since Annan had gotten rid of the entanglement of these spirits, he managed to enter the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Compared with Annan, who was alone, these spiritless bodies would prioritize the yer group.

    It had be a battle with soldiers going up against the soldiers and the generals having a showdown.

    Annan had achieved an overwhelming victory on the ¡°soldiers vs. soldiers¡± battlefield.

    If Annan came here alone, these spirits would swarm and drown him here.

    After all, Annancked the AOE skill to vanquish the spirits.

    In the best-case scenario, Annan would utilize the [Brilliance] element to vanquish all spirits by relying on the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    But Annan¡¯s activation on the Sage¡¯s Stone would onlyst him a total of three minutes.

    Cleaning up the spiritual bodies and advancing would dy him at least one minute. That was equivalent to shortening Annan¡¯s boosted period by half to two-thirds.

    Annan believed that this should be Bernardino¡¯s original n.

    Bernardino took advantage of these spirits and traded the disposable ¡°resources¡± for Annan¡¯s trump cards. This was not a conspiracy but a forced ¡°exchange¡± imposed on Annan. Even if Annan knew the opponent¡¯s goal, there was no way to go about it.

    However, the yers cooperated well and resolved Bernardino¡¯s tactics despite having a disadvantage in quantity and level.

    This was something that Bernardino could not do.

    He couldn¡¯t return the will to the spirits he controlled.

    Bernardino knew very well that those spirits would rebel against him immediately if he did so.

    This also meant that although he had arge number of spiritual bodies, there were only very few who could exert 100% of their power.

    That was why he only brought two Gold Rank spirits and then assaulted the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. The reason was not that he did not have other Gold Rank spirits, but he had to control those Silver Rank wizards simultaneously. That was already his limit of multitasking while he had to cast spells.

    This was the theoretical limit of the Soul Snatch School.

    The Soul Snatch Wizardry was a school whose core idea was to nurture oneself by relying on others.

    They were bound to excel in the early and even the middle stagespared to the wizards at the same level.

    However, the situation wasn¡¯t necessarily the same in theter stage.

    The Soul Snatch School focused on absolute control. However, their upper limit was the lowest inparison to the others.

    There was a limit to having perfect control over the other¡¯s minds or spiritual bodies, which solely depended on the individual¡¯s ¡°capability¡±.

    How much strength robbed from the ¡°others¡± could you control?

    How much of the mind could you snatch from the others?

    The yers were different.

    Although they were smaller in numbers, they had freedom of will without Annan interfering with them.

    Bernardino couldn¡¯t be distracted just to control weak spirits.

    However, the yers disyed far superior fighting power than usual for Annan in the name of justice, revenge, and many other factors.

    This difference in ¡°heart¡± was the foundation for yers to defeat the strong while being the weak.

    ¡°¡ªI will leave the rest to you.¡± Annan said solemnly, ¡°Can you keep up?¡±

    ¡°I will need 15 minutes.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose took a rough estimate and replied in a deep voice, ¡°However, the resurrection skill you activated is probably not going to be expended here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for the best. This shows that you are bing really strong.¡± The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose, revealing a gratified smile, ¡°Then, I can rest assured to have you all adventure on your own in the future.¡±

    ¡°Go, Your Highness Annan.¡± Lin Yiyi replied, ¡°Old Goose and I are in charge here. So you should conserve your energy and mana.

    ¡°You still have a strong enemy to defeat.¡±

    ¡°Then, I wish the best for all of you.¡± Annan finally nodded.

    He then walked in the ¡°twelve o¡¯clock¡± direction, which was the ritual¡¯s location closest to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Then, he bounced off the ground and sent a frost-colored beam forward. Finally, he leaped out of the gray barrier!

    Annannded precisely in the opening he made avable and withdrew the de into the sheath around his waist.

    Immediately afternding on the ground, he supported himself on the ground with his left hand and exerted force on his hands and feet at the same time.

    Shua!

    Annan¡¯s movement stirred up whirling air around him. At the same time, he was like an agile fish, flying just above the ground as he darted through the spiritual bodies floating above!

    That was because the spirit bodies feared the earth.

    If Annan were alone, he would never dare to rush in like this. He might stand no chance to stand upter on.

    However, Longjing Tea, who spectated the battle for a long time at the 12 o¡¯clock location, had yed a vital role after Annanunched himself:

    ¡°¡ªTruce!¡± The ¡°Edict¡± spell was activated.

    Those spirits in the sky who wanted to chase Annan were instantly pushed to the other end of the battlefield by Longjing Tea¡¯s spell. They wereunched away from the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower at six o¡¯clock direction.

    As for the ally spell target, Longjing Tea only picked himself. This meant that Longjing Tea ¡°shot¡± arge area of ??enemies to one side without disrupting the yers¡¯ formation.

    To conserve mana, the invisible wall in the middle was only maintained for a moment before Longjing Tea disbanded it.

    But even so, his positioning skill yed an outstanding group control.

    Given the speed of these spirits, they missed the chance to chase Annan, and it was no longer possible to catch up.

    ¡°That looks like Tathagata¡¯s Palm attack!¡± The Child eximed excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s beautiful!¡±

    [TN: Reference to the Monkey King¡¯s inability to escape Buddha¡¯s palm.]

    Then, Longjing Tea irritated these spirits. Scorching hot fireballs,ser beams, fatal poisons, reactive acid, and the invisible attack concussing the soul drowned Longjing Tea instantly. Spirits without long-range ability also flew toward Longjing Tea.

    He was also the first yer to die.

    However, as soon as his body was reduced to ashes, it gathered and appeared again. Like turning back time, he appeared in ce intact.

    ¡°It¡¯s Overtime!¡± Longjing Tea roared, ¡°Neckless, quite screwing with me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± Delicious Wind Goose shouted.

    He leaped forward and shed with excitement, instantly beheading a spirit body. It was a contrasting swordsmanship approach, like how he had fought reservedly just now. Instead, the swordsmanship was wild, wide open, and full of ws.

    Then, Delicious Wind Goose caught the attention of other spirits.

    Since the spiritual bodies were disced, they needed time to return to their previous formation.

    Longjing Tea reached out to him when Delicious Wind Goose was about to be besieged.

    ¡°[Dodge]!¡± An Edict spell came.

    Delicious Wind Goose seemed to have eyes behind his back¡ªor rather, his body had 360-degree perception. His body moved flexibly, and he dodged all the attacks smoothly.

    Then, Longjing Tea pointed to Jiu Er, who was about to be besieged again, and ordered again, ¡°[Dodge]!¡±

    Jiu Er also became flexible and avoided several attacks that were in the blind spot of her vision but could be seen by Longjing Tea.

    The Child standing in the center of the ritual also used the Aero Strike to send out a few invisible air des and pull several spiritual bodies over.

    Soon, with iparable cooperation, the yers stabilized their lineup again.

    Annan kept jumping upward from the outside of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    After all, he could not fly, so efficiently climbing up the wizard tower was challenging. Who knew if the copsed debris blocked the stairs?

    So Annan was outside the wizard tower, breathing out frost air. After the frost burst from outside the tower, he stepped on the ce where the mes were temporarily extinguished and jumped upwards again.

    After about five minutes of climbing, Annan finally approached the upper floors of the wizard tower.

    The brilliance in his eyes has grown brighter.

    He held the dagger around his waist with his right hand and touched the bonding knife with his left. Then, he took a deep breath.

    He did not use Sage¡¯s Stone right away.

    But when he reached the tower¡¯s roof, he leaped high into the sky.

    Without hesitation, Annan blessed the [Frost Sword] magic on the bonding knife.

    Then, he immediately hurled it toward Bernardino!

    It was followed up by Annan pulling his rapier out.

    A meteor-like bright frost shed by.

    Annan activated [Victory Will] for a frontal charge attack!

    Then, activating [Victory Will] again tounch a heavy blow!

    Annan¡¯s Strength and Agility increased sharply from 14 to 36!

    He appeared in the Bernardino perception range under a quarter of a second.

    Annan had alreadyunched a swift surprise attack!

    His figure was like aet hitting the moon, following the dagger he sent to attack Bernardino!

 Chapter 453: Annanâ€™s Avatar

    <h4>Chapter 453: Annan¡¯s Avatar</h4>

    In just a split second, Annan was already approaching Bernardino.

    The moment he swung his sword, the surrounding sky gave off an illusion of being lit up.

    When Annan was less than five meters away from Bernardino, he suddenly felt an unprecedented resistance.

    He rushed forward for two steps with the help of his inertia. However, the invisible resistance became stronger and stronger.

    It was like being swallowed up by transparent glue.

    Annan felt pressureing from his chest. In just a moment, his body went to aplete halt, and even breathing became difficult.

    His movements became extremely slow¡­ Annan even felt the bones of his right arm creaking and breaking.

    Annan realized this seemed to be some kind of defensive barrier, or the restriction and imprisonment magic afflicted toward one single individual.

    It did not seem to be from the Energy Falteration School, but more like the Edict School or Idol School.

    But the next moment, Annan noticed something.

    While the invisible force restrained his movements, the boning knife thrown from behind him passed through Annan¡¯s armpit with unabated speed and pierced straight into Bernardino¡¯s right shoulder!

    It only restrained me but not the bonding knife?

    Annan squinted slightly, noticing this detail.

    After the boning knife pierced into Bernardino¡¯s body, it shattered into pieces of nothingness. As it exploded, the wound tore further. A vicious and hot liquid with an unusually bright red color immediately flowed down Bernardino¡¯s injury.

    The massive impact made Bernardino sway and stagger, almost falling over.

    ¡°Annan?¡± Bernardino did not respond in pain. It was like the pain sensation was void from his body. He frowned and looked back with aplicated expression, ¡°You actually came at this timing¡­¡±

    He did not attack Annan right away.

    At this time, Annan gave up the idea of ??continuing to move forward.

    He could not recognize what spell he was bound by.

    At this point, the best thing to do was to get out first.

    Annan sprung his legs and jumped back against the ground.

    During the confrontation just now, the bones of his right arm were afflicted with tiny cracks. His muscles were also strained heavily, and his entire right arm swelled abnormally at a rapid pace.

    Annan immediately checked his health.

    88%¡£

    88%.

    Although his right arm was injured, his health value did not drop significantly.

    As Annan retreated quickly, he took a powerful healing reagent out of his bag, bit off the stopper, and chugged it into his mouth.

    In addition, he also took out Sage¡¯s Stone at the same time.

    In the end, I still have to use Sage¡¯s Stone. Otherwise, I won¡¯t even have the power to fight Bernardino.

    I can¡¯t even see where and when the Gold Rank spirit bodies guarding Bernardino are attacking me without attaining the Gold Rank.

    Annan injected Sage¡¯s Stone into his heart without hesitation.

    He nned to drag it out and wait for the yer toe over.

    However, it seemed that this n was invalid.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually Sage¡¯s Stone.¡± Seeing Annan¡¯s actions, Bernardino smiled slightly and said in a pretentious tone, ¡°You actually want to use Sage¡¯s Stone to defeat me¡ª¡±

    ¡°You are wrong.¡± Annan denied it.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to use Sage¡¯s Stone to defeat you.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to use the power of Sage¡¯s Stone to give us a fair fight.¡± Annan said slowly, word by word, ¡°Then¡­

    ¡°I will kill you with my power.¡±

    He felt a strong heartbeat.

    Even the eardrums were pumping to the rhythm of the heartbeat.

    A strange power boiled his blood.

    There was a burning sensation surging in his blood circtory system.

    However, it shouldn¡¯t be confused with pain.

    The sensation was like being huddled in a warm bed on a winter night. It was so warm that it put him sleepy.

    Runes, shining with golden light, flowed from his heart and quickly spread throughout his body.

    Wrists, shoulders, chest, abdomen, back, cheeks, forehead, legs¡­

    [Your level is rising. The current level is LV 26.]

    [Level continues to rise. Your current level is LV 31,]

    The texts flowed through rapidly and eventually slowed to a halt:

    [Your level has increased. Your current level is LV 48.]

    [Extracting elements¡ª]

    [Bloodline element(s): Frost (100%)]

    [Soul element(s): Brilliance (100%), Wisdom (45%), Glory (10%), Beauty (13%), Strict (6%)]

    The information shed past in seconds.

    His level and the extraction of his elements were much betterpared to thest time.

    Level 48¡­ Isn¡¯t the limit of the Truth Rank Level 50?

    Does Sage¡¯s Stone really have this kind of power?

    Or, is it just me that I¡¯m special?

    Such doubts shed through Annan¡¯s mind.

    An intense glow rose from his brain. In Annan¡¯s eyes, the whole world became brighter.

    [Element Manifestation: Frost, Brilliance]

    [Perfect manifestation.]

    [The Truth is manifesting¡ª]

    [Book of Divine Transporter 3/6]

    [Avable truths: the Undying, the Way to Rise and Change, the Beasts Number]

    Annan exhaled suddenly.

    This time, his clothes were not entirely torn by that power.

    However, there were still tattered ¡°tears¡±.

    Behind Annan, a pair of wings was pierced from his shoulders and waist each.

    One pointed to the sky proudly while the other pair draped.

    Those runes had also ¡°opened their eyes¡±.

    This time, there was a subtle difference from the previous transformation.

    Not only had the number of eyes doubled to eighty, but all eyes had also be silver vertical pupils.

    There were more traces of silver connecting them.

    Even the rapier in Annan¡¯s hand had an extra eye on the sword.

    Ah, I see. Annan blurted.

    No matter if it was Danton¡¯s spirit or the man he had never seen before¡­

    Or the ck y figurine in the void that was madly ughtering, or the monster with half of its body aze with crimson mes, hands like canine, heads like eagles, and straight backs¡­

    ¡ªThey were avatars.

    Everything became clear.

    The rtionship between the two, the remaining power, the nature of ck Tower, the nature of the elements of both parties¡­

    Even if Annan had not opened his eyes¡­ He ¡°saw¡± it.

    Although it was still vague and the information was iplete, Annan did receive the actual data with the help of his eyes.

    Three minutes is enough.

    There is a chance to win.

    The moment Annan opened his eyes again, the sky was entirely obscured by the dark clouds summoned out of thin air.

    Whether it was sunlight, moonlight, or starlight¡­

    It all darkened in front of Annan.

    Even the zing fire above the ck Tower had dimmed at least three folds.

    The only bright light source between the sky and earth was Annan.

    Annan¡¯s vertical pupils had turned entirely silver and emotionless.

    His silver hair fluttered backward even without wind.

    ¡°Bernardino¡­¡± However, Annan¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t move. ¡°So, you want to escape your fate?¡±

    An ethereal voice sounded out of thin air between sky and earth.

    The ck, oil-like half-body monster tried to retreat from the frontline as if instinctively felt threatened.

    Annan¡¯s avatar was much better than thest time he saw it.

    It was no longer a blurred, half-human silhouette.

    The outline of the facial features and the muscles on the body was faintly visible. Annan¡¯s avatar was superior to the half-human, half-eagle, half-dog monster burning with the mes belonging to Tower Master Hugo.

    Suddenly, Hugo¡¯s avatar suddenly hugged Bernardino¡¯s avatar as if he had realized something.

    The next moment, the pouring freezing rain fell!

    The white ice mist, condensed above the burning ck Tower, formed many dense thorns. It enshrouded Bernardino¡¯s body.

    The white ice fog built with countless sharp ice crystals covered the sky above the ck Tower.

    Then, behind Annan¡­

    A dragon head that shone from the inside out and wasposed of ice, like a work of art, was silently generated in the ice fog.

    It flew in the fog and bit Bernardino!

 Chapter 454: Fight

    <h4>Chapter 454: Fight</h4>

    Bernardino¡¯s pupils contract suddenly.

    Annan, how could he have an avatar?

    The most basic avatar can only be awakened when the elements are perfectly extracted. It isn¡¯t a power that can be obtained by merely holding a page fragment of the Book of Truth!

    Even if there was aplete Sage¡¯s Stone, it was impossible for Annan to immediately grasp the power of the elements and attain full awakening upon them!

    Due to the surprise factor, Bernardino could only control Isaac mel to use [Atmospheric Aegis], condensing the air into a solid magic crystal. Then, he borrowed Danton to cast the Soul Snatch magic of [Forbid Attack] on Annan.

    Just now, the ray of [Forbid Attack] struck Annan while he could not see Danton at all.

    His will to follow through with the desire to attack caused his arm to be injured.

    However, Annan could see it all in the current state.

    When Annan¡¯s awakening of the ¡°Brilliance¡± element had reached 100%, the ray didn¡¯t even get close to Annan and was deflected straight out.

    Even the brilliance of the Sun, Moon, and Star became dim in front of Annan.

    Unauthorized light could not get close to Annan at all.

    That shield, which was strong enough to resist the blow of the Gold Rank Destruction Wizard, was gnawed on by Annan¡¯s [Exalted Avatar]. It shattered in the end!

    [TN: Previously, Exalted Avatar was tranted as Sublimed Avatar in Chapter 399.]

    After the dragon¡¯s head bit, it continued to m forward and knocked Bernardino straight out!

    The spirit body had no elemental power to speak of.

    Although the elemental power was obtained by burning the soul, it needed to be stored in the brain. Without having both the soul and the body, it was difficult to use the power of the elements.

    Without the spiritual body, the extraction of the element would be halted; without the physical body, the end product could not be stored.

    The elemental power that Issac could extract was deadly enough for mortals.

    However, it could withstand a single blow from the dragon¡¯s headposed of elements of light and ice.

    Exalted Avatars could only be in the environment of their relevant element and could only move within its rted elements. That was why Bernardino had to start setting up his surroundings before releasing his Exalted Avatar. Likewise, that was why Hugo could only call out his Exalted Avatar after setting the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower aze.

    Fundamentally, they could only move on the ground ¡ª especially on their ¡°own¡± territory.

    Therefore, although they were entirely made up of elemental power, they could hardly be stopped by any spells and abilities. However, they could not directly attack enemies with the same power.

    But Annan was different.

    With the transcended power of Chill of the Winter Sun, he sprinkled ice crystals in the air. With this as its track, he could let his dragon head fly freely in the air.

    Just then, Annan felt a sudden sharp pain in his head as if his soul was being torn apart¡ª

    Danton must be looking at me.

    Annan¡¯s pupils shone in eerie azure blue.

    ¡°¡­ Lily Wreath¡­ Azoth¡¯s Power¡­.¡± At this time, Issac uttered his chant swiftly.

    The surrounding air turned poisonous.

    That was the [Hermetic Poison Dust]!

    Using the pure-hearted Fallen as the raw material, it was a fatal poison dedicated to otherworldly beings!

    The ancient form that ¡°Hermes II¡± was trying to reproduce and improve. It was easily generated out of thin air by his mentor using ¡°air¡± as a raw material in his alteration magic.

    However, Hugo¡¯s voice sounded at the same time:

    ¡°Love of Dianthus. Noose of Orchids. Azoth¡¯s Power. Resurrection of God. Face of the Sun¡­ Lily Wreath¡­¡±

    Although he finished the chant a littleter than Issac, it didn¡¯t dy too much since he reacted fast enough.

    ¡°Hermetic Poison Dust¡±, which had just been brought over by Issac¡¯s alteration magic, was returned to its original state; it did notst long!

    ¡°You are familiar with my spells¡­ On the other way round, I am familiar with your spells too.¡± Hugo sneered, ¡°The times are different, old man.

    ¡°And now our situation is different!¡± Two Alteration Wizards with simr strengths and levels were hostile to each other. In the end, no one couldplete their Alteration spell that took a long chant.

    Hugopleted a few Alterations relying on the advantages of the Exalted Avatar. However, after being entangled, Issac reverted everything.

    After Annan arrived, there were two Exalted Avatars on this side.

    Issac, the only one who could effectively damage Annan, could not do anything under Hugo¡¯s intervention!

    The dragon head that knocked Bernardino out had already flown back at this moment.

    The dragon bit toward Danton¡¯s spirit body again from the back.

    However, Danton, who looked directly at Annan, remained unfazed.

    That was not the confusion of the spirit after being manipted by Bernardino.

    It was aplex expression.

    Pleasure, jealousy, stunned, lost¡­ and finally turned into gentleness.

    From the very beginning, Danton was not fully controlled!

    It was just that he managed to interfere with Bernardino¡¯s memory, allowing him to ignore this part of the dissonance.

    After seeing Annan¡¯s curse, Danton seemed to understand something.

    Thus, he did not follow Bernardino¡¯s control.

    He did not run away but just stared at Annan.

    It was bitten by the dragon head that came from behind!

    [You have killed a Gold Rank spirit in battle. 6800 Shared Experience points are granted.]

    A prompt appeared in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    He raised his right hand, and the dagger with an eye floated in the air.

    The Frost Wheel came about in his hand.

    It was unlike a regr Falteration Wizard, which summoned an illusory light wheelposed of energy. Instead, it was an actual ¡°wheel¡± that was somewhat rustic and slightly worn.

    Annan threw it like a boomerang.

    The wheel ignored Issac¡¯s spirit body and attacked Bernardino directly!

    There was light in Bernardino¡¯s jeweled eyes.

    The swarming spirit bodies quickly poured out of his eyes to fend off the wheel!

    ¡ªThe spiritual body swarm that attacked the yer previously was not all the tricks he had left!

    ¡°How many people did you kill?¡± Annan sighed deeply.

    There was no anger and nopassion.

    The tone was condescending, like the deity-like indifference.

    In the freezing rain, Annan¡¯s body became illusory.

    He held his rapier.

    It was the same attack as before.

    Annan activated [Victory Will] once again for another frontal charge!

    If the previous attack could be described as a meteor, it was like a brilliant light stream this time.

    Annan dashed toward Bernardino from the other side with his rapier wielded.

    At this time, Hugo¡¯s Exalted Avatar had also be tattered.

    Its neck was broken, and it shrunk in size.

    Bernardino¡¯s Exalted Avatar was finally able to return.

    The spinning Frost Wheel and Annan came in person.

    Without hesitation, Bernardino controlled the Exalted Avatar to block the Frost Wheel first.

    The burly man with the blurred face looked at the in wheel seriously and solemnly.

    It quickly smashed many spiritual bodies, but it was only a little slowpared to the torrent of spiritual bodies.

    The Exalted Avatar pushed his hands forward together to firmly mp the wheel!

    But even so, the wheels were spinning fanatically!

    It felt more like a chainsaw than a wheel.

    However, the Exalted Avatar managed to hold the wheel tightly, restraining it back from returning as well!

    The ck mud and cold currents rushed violently all around the surroundings.

    Hugo¡¯s avatar,posed of ¡°Endless Fire¡±, slowly recovered. It was about to be resurrected again.

    Bernardino inhaled a spirit body in the air into his hand and turned it into a short sword.

    He blocked Annan¡¯s surprise attack with exceptionally skilled movements!

    That powerful body was not inferior to Annan¡¯s strength during his second-form period. On the contrary, it was the ever-moving body that continuously extracted Sage¡¯s Stone for energy!

    Based on his curse, the memories of all those he killed would flow to him from dreams.

    Thus, he grew more powerful when there was more death.

    At this moment, Bernardino made himself a Gold Rank Swordsman.

    Annan had formidable might and a sharp de.

    But it would be meaningless if Annan could notnd a hit.

    On the other hand, losing Danton was a massive loss for Bernardino.

    But at the same time, he regained a lot more mind power.

    He controlled the ck mud and attacked the head of the ice dragon like a torrent.

    On the other hand, his muscles swelled. Instead of retreating, he advanced and fought Annan in close quarters!

    This was clearly an opportunity.

    The best chance to kill Annan!

    Hugo and Issac confront each other;

    Hugo¡¯s avatar had not been resurrected;

    With the manifestation of the elemental power, he stopped Annan¡¯s avatar;

    On the other hand, his avatar halted the Frost Wheel Annan summoned¡ª The wheel was not merely a projection but the actual [Frost Wheel].

    Only at this time could he fight Annan fairly.

    Annan was so eager for it, so why wasn¡¯t Bernardino so?

    Sage¡¯s Stone onlysted for three minutes. He knew it very well.

    He just had to hold on, and he could get through it¡­

    However, Annan did not choose to brawl with him.

    He had the will to win at all costs¡ª

    Annan did not block Bernardino¡¯s attack.

    Puff¡ª

    The short sword of spirit bodies sank straight into Annan¡¯s chest!

 Chapter 455: The Death Of Bernardino

    <h4>Chapter 455: The Death Of Bernardino</h4>

    Annan¡¯s ferocious sword shed a wound in Bernardino¡¯s neck as another eye of his closed.

    The wound instantly frosted, and the chill eroded into his body.

    Still, Bernardino was unfazed.

    This sword was considered a mortal item, after all.

    It did not carry the same weight as the Frost Wheel, which had witnessed the beginning of the world.

    Bernardino retorted with a sh, attempting to behead Annan directly.

    On the hand, Annan maintained a strict offense disregarding his safety.

    That disyer the Truth of the [the Undying]!

    Bernardino nced over.

    Although there were 80 eyes on Annan, only 45 eyes were opened. At this moment, there were 44 eyes left.

    This meant he had to kill Annan 44 more times!

    He faintly noticed that Annan¡¯s other elements were too far from awakening. [Way to Rise and Change] was temporarily unavable; [Number of Beasts] required the support of the yers to keep running.

    The only thing Annan could utilize was the truth of [Undying]!

    With one eye closed and the wound on his body healed, Annan pointed the de at Bernardino¡¯s chest again, leaving a scar deep into the bone!

    Neither of themmitted any probing attempts.

    Except for the first blow, there was no parry or dodge.

    Every sh was a deadly attack.

    Every time the sword was swung, the opponent did not die.

    The two wizards finally chose to fight each other with swords.

    It was a literal ¡°life-and-death battle¡±.

    Annan would die once every second.

    But his fierce onught made Bernardino¡¯s movements more and more sluggish.

    Even though the sword in Annan¡¯s hand was only a mortal weapon, the elemental power left by the Frost Sword was substantial!

    Annan had long ignored the damage Frost Sword would inflict on himself. Under the Sage¡¯s Stone state, Frost Sword could hardly cause any harm to him, and he had already stacked ten stacks of the [Frost Blood] buff.

    This was almost the strongest state Annan could have before bing a deity!

    Even if the opponent had a body approaching immortals because of the Sage¡¯s Stone, he could notst too long under Annan¡¯s fanatic assault!

    The more Annan attacked, the more timid Bernardino became.

    Does he put no value in his life?

    I don¡¯t have any grudge against him¡ª

    His body became increasingly rigid, and his reaction gradually slowed.

    At first, he could kill Annan once per second, butter, he couldn¡¯t even attack Annan. Instead, Annan would frantically sh him dozens of times in a row.

    Even the ck mud on the ground was gradually frozen and hardened.

    His Exalted Avatar was also covered with ayer of frost marks, like a frozen corpse. It became highly stiff.

    Bernardino felt an unprecedented fear of death.

    Until 3 minutes passed where the Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯s time limit expired, he couldn¡¯t kill all of Annan¡¯s 45 lives.

    28 eyes were still open.

    Bernardino couldn¡¯t even help butugh when Annan lost his brilliance and became mortal again.

    It was a sorryughter for feeling relief after a troubled state.

    His Exalted Avatar had been frozen into an ice sculpture.

    The ck mud turned into a hardened ck te, and no more surging souls could rise from it.

    All his souls were exhausted, and he had no more tricks left.

    The Sage¡¯s Stoneing from converting the wizards of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, had almost exhausted with the ¡°bloodshed¡±.

    Bernardino would really die if he were to sustain a few more attacks.

    ¡°Finally, finally¡­ I won!¡± Bernardino¡¯s eyes widened, staring at Annan almost frantically with his voice cracked.

    It was ecstasy for he who had won his battle against his fate.

    He was not a mirror of another person. He should never be.

    All the destined fate should end at this time.

    He roared and thrust the de into Annan¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Die! Annan!¡±

    Pfft¡ª

    Annan did not retaliate.

    He slowly raised his head and looked at Bernardino.

    There was an iparable brilliance in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    That was the light that could sear even the soul, which only came from those who dared to burn everything!

    Annan clenched the Frost Sword that was already on its limit, and his hand was already frostbitten.

    However, Annan still shed the sword firmly and with great strength at Bernardino!

    His right hand holding the sword was torn off in the process.

    The fracture was splendid ¡ª like dead pork that had been frozen for a long time.

    ¡°Wait! No!¡± Bernardino finally lost hisposure.

    With theplete exhaustion of Sage¡¯s Stone power, the rejuvenated Spiritual Monk had his skin begin to wither and age again.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you dead yet?!¡± He was in a sorry state and desperate cries. He wanted to avoid Annan¡¯s attack, but he couldn¡¯t.

    His body had also been filled with frost elements.

    ¡°Fate is like a cobweb, the more you struggle¡­ the tighter it gets.¡± Annan just grinned, even a little sour about it.

    ¡°Grandma really gave me too much, and I don¡¯t need them at all.¡± He still had the two more cards he hadn¡¯t unleashed.

    Bernardino had fallen in Annan¡¯s third trump card.

    Annan took a deep breath, ¡°I won¡¯t give you a chance to resurrect.¡±

    He whispered, ¡°Face your end.¡±

    Then, he blew out a frigid gust of wind that enveloped Bernardino entirely.

    Bernardino had wholly turned into an ice sculpture, and it then cracked.

    The enemies killed by Chill of the Winter Sun would be led to the end of all things by the power of ¡°Austere-Winter¡±, and there would be no chance of resurrection.

    [You have defeated a Gold Rank enemy in battle and given 12800 Shared Experience points.]

    However, Bernardino¡¯s Exalted Avatar and the frozen ck mud on the ground did not disappear.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan¡­¡± Hugo¡¯s voice sounded tired, ¡°It¡¯s not over yet. His Exalted Avatar must also be destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Annan nodded.

    For Gold Rank enemies, just destroying their bodies was far from over.

    Learning from Danton¡¯s lesson previously, Annan took a few steps back and came to the Exalted Avatar, which was frozen into an ice sculpture and still folded his hands like a ck Buddha statue.

    ¡°The pain of killing me so many times¡­ I will return the favor to you here.¡± Annan¡¯s heart was still bleeding.

    However, he raised his rapier solemnly.

    This was the first time he had used this skill.

    Even he did not know how powerful the ability would be.

    ¡ª[Brilliant Sword].

    It was an ability that unleashed all the absorbed damage to form a splendid ray of sh; the lower the user¡¯s health, the more robust the ray sh would be. It would reach its maximum state when Health Point was lower than 30%. It was a greateback mechanic.

    Indeed, an ability effective for a turnaround.

    It was just that Bernardino had died before experiencing its might.

    ¡°Let it be your funeral, thest Spiritual Monk of the world,¡± Annan murmured in a low voice.

    The skill was then blessed with [Victory Will]¡ª

    A dazzling brilliance spewed out from Annan¡¯s hands.

    Then, the attack was delivered!

    There was no whistling noise or explosions.

    Only the bright and brilliant surging light quietly spewed out from the de¡¯s tip, destroying everything in front of Annan.

    Bernardino¡¯s Exalted Avatar finally fell apart aftersting about six seconds in the basking of the brilliance.

    Then, a beam of light tilted towards the sky, breaking through the obstacles of the white fog and mes and reaching the sky!

    Until the beam of light dissipated, a white page with a jade-like textile was quietly suspended in the air.

    The mirror finally ushered in its end¡ª

    Ushered in its fate.

 Chapter 456: Book Of Divine Transporter, Page 4

    <h4>Chapter 456: Book Of Divine Transporter, Page 4</h4>

    [Book of Divine Transporter, Page 2]

    [Type: Truth Fragment (1/6) (Locked)]

    [Remaining fragment holders: 2]

    [Spawned: 4]

    [Description: A freshly-born Truth Fragment. Gather all the fragments to grasp new authority.]

    Annan did not tap on it in a hurry.

    Instead, he first drank a bottle of healing agent and recovered from his injuries. Then, he notified the yers that the main mission waspleted. Only then he reached out and touched the page suspended in the air.

    Like a phantom, the page shattered out of thin air and merged directly into Annan¡¯s body.

    The collection progress of the Book of Truth had also increased by one level.

    It also disyed a new special effect.

    A long-awaited feature for Annan:

    [Book of Divine Transporter (4/6): Summon or dismiss a specified number of yers from another world (80/400).]

    [Current special effects (4/6): Allow yers¡¯ resurrection. Shared Experience Pool (3%). Teleportation Keystone. Unlock friends and party features.]

    [Shared Experience Pool: 3% of the experience points (increased from ¡®2%¡¯) obtained by yers whose level is not higher than the user from any way (¡®dungeon instance¡¯) can be deposited into the Shared Experience Pool. Experience points stored in the Shared Experience Pool can be allocated to any ally unit (not limited to yers).]

    [Friend and Ally: yers can add friends. After adding friends, they can check on each other¡¯s level, health, and city location at any time. The yers get to restrict information ess from friends too. Friends can form teams of 4, 8, and 20. After defeating a monster, the other teammates will share 50% of the additional experience, and the initial benefactor will gain 50% of the original experience. The feature will invalidate friendly fire, but the controlling effect on teammates persists.]

    ¡ªEqual distribution of experience points!

    ¡ªFriendly fire negation!

    This was the feature that Annan had been waiting for.

    Without an equal distribution of experience points, the yers would not adopt the support profession. If the profession stopped them from gaining thest hit, they would rather focus on damage output.

    Would they perhaps hope for the other teammates to be merciful and let them take thest hit?

    After the experience distribution mechanism was activated, team y would be encouraged.

    At the same time, when friend fire was turned off, yers could be more inclined to form a fixed team rather than going solo or jumping from team to team. These two conditions wereplementary.

    yers would be motivated to form a team when it would not interfere with their growth, and they did not have to worry about attacking an ally out of ident.

    After collecting a substantial yer count, the yers had the ability to explore and act in an unfamiliarnd. There were only so many things to put in the luggage, and the hassles of an adventure encouraged them to stay put in the original city.

    When the ¡°game¡± was too real, these problems were bound to arise.

    Being realistic did keep the realistic hassles persisting.

    After all, ying the game of life directly did not have the fantasy element.

    With the experience points sharing mechanism, the ability to disable friendly fire, and the previous teleportation ability that Annan unlocked, the yers could finally go out and explore without fear and worry.

    ¡°Your Highness Annan.¡± After everything settled down, Hugo cktower stepped up and whispered slowly to Annan, ¡°Thank you so much foring¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity¡­ We, Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, have nothing left to give you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯te here for the rewards.¡±

    Annan tightened his white clothes, which had be looser, and responded earnestly, ¡°I¡¯m here to help my friends.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I heard Salvatore mention you.¡± Hugo¡¯s voice was soft, ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect you toe.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I didn¡¯t expect it either.¡± Annan smiled, ¡°I¡¯m actually an impulsive person too.¡±

    ¡°I can tell.¡±

    ¡°Is it obvious?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing.¡±

    Hugo said slowly, ¡°Let¡¯s forgo the chatter, Your Highness Annan. I need to return to the ck Tower¡¯s center immediately. Otherwise, the mes in the ck Tower will be difficult to extinguish.

    ¡°Although my disciples are already¡­ as long as the ck Tower is still there, the legacy and hope are there.¡±

    ¡°What about the books?¡± Annan asked with concern.

    With such an immense me, I wonder if something will happen to those books ¡ª no, something terrible must have happened.

    But Hugo didn¡¯t pay much attention to it, ¡°The meaning of the wizard tower is to continue the legacy. Those books are only their outward appearance. Even if they are burned, they can reappear as long as we desire.

    ¡°As for the rest of the wealth, they are not a big deal.¡±

    Hugo smiled. The young man spoke in an optimistic and t voice, ¡°I live alone here anyway. Those tables, chairs, beds, etc¡­ I can¡¯t use them either.¡±

    ¡°Um.¡± Annan looked at Hugo withplicated eyes.

    If he was the Tower Master and the fire engulfed his family, he would definitely not be able to maintain such a calm attitude.

    Hugo was more open-minded than an old man.

    As if he understood Annan¡¯s doubt, Hugo just smiled, ¡°I won¡¯t live for long.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your problem. You came on time. Thanks to you, I canst for a few more years. At least I canst until Salvatore advances to Gold Rank and protects him while hepletes his inheritance.

    ¡°At that time, my mission will finally end¡­¡±

    He sighed deeply.

    It was not sorrow but the calmness of letting go of the burden.

    Before leaving, Hugo handed Annan two pale yellow crystal balls the size of walnuts.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Annan asked.

    When he came into contact with this thing, a prompt appeared in front of him:

    [Soul Crystal (rence Freddy)]

    [Type: Raw material/Consumable/sacrifice/mystical item (Purple)]

    [Description: The soul crystal made by Hugo cktower contains theplete soul of the dead. There may be other uses for it.

    [Description: You have never heard of it being used as a sacrifice in rituals (the ¡°Advanced Mysticism¡± check failed).]

    [Effect: When crushing it, it will be regarded as killing the person stored in the crystal. You can also extract curses for it or bring about a nightmare. The time of death is regarded as the moment when the crystal is crushed.]

    The properties of the other crystal were exactly the same as the previous one, except that ¡°Isaac mel¡± was marked in parentheses at the back.

    ¡°Are they rence¡¯s soul and Sir Issac¡¯s soul? To resist your Frost Wheel, he consumed almost all the other souls¡­ Only rence¡¯s soul survived.

    ¡°But after that person dies, the soul that relies on him to exist will copse.¡±

    Hugoughed at himself in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s the only benefit of dying in a Spiritual Monk¡¯s hand. At least the soul is still intact¡­ There may be a possibility of resurrection.

    ¡°He did not kill Sir Issac, and his soul has long since dissipated. This artificial spiritual body is made of ¡®stuffing¡¯ other spiritual bodies and his remaining thoughts. However, an artificially created spirit body like him cane in handy sometimes.

    ¡°I remember Benjamin researching something like that, or you can find someone else to guide you. Anyway¡­ I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t give you any reward. It¡¯s the only gift I can give you.¡±

    Hugo replied calmly.

    Annan hesitated momentarily, then said, ¡°So, what about his nightmare?

    ¡°Will his nightmares still exist after I kill his soul?¡± Annan was concerned about these nightmares that granted ess to the elements.

    Hugo nodded, ¡°If you¡¯re interested, I¡¯ll purify this nightmare for you. I¡¯ll purify it to the limit, but I won¡¯t take anything from it. Then, I will give you the key and the relevant information. This way, you can easily inherit all the power in the nightmare.

    ¡°It¡¯s not in a hurry for the time being. Soe back at the end of June.¡±

    ¡°Ok, no problem.¡± Annan agreed, slightly relieved.

    Bernardino was dead.

    Next, Silver Sire would help Kafni ascend to the throne. It could have been better timing for Annan to be involved. Otherwise, it was conspicuous to have the leader of other countries supporting the new king to ascend the throne.

    Anna would leave it all to Silver Sire. Even though it could be a hassle for Him, He seemed pleased to do it. Annan would have avoided suspicion for a few months before Kafni came to power.

    But what would he do for these few months?

    Annan was a little dazed after recognizing he was pretty free.

    Should I go back to Austere-Winter Dukedom?

    But Maria is there. Can I reallye back after returning?

    Especially with a Kafni waiting for him on Noah¡¯s side, would his sister let Annan go?

    However, Annan hadpleted the Old Grandmother¡¯s mission. Sooner orter, he still had to go back.

    On the Underground Federation side, Annan was a little concerned too. The main reason was that Annan wanted to meet Mysterious Lady and ask what happened at the end of his previous life.

    Of course, there was the most crucial mission.

    ¡ªAnnan could not teleport across barriers, which made it temporarily impossible for yers to teleport across borders.

    But this was not wholly unavoidable.

    They could take the subway and insert teleportation waypoints underground. As long as they enter any subway, they could be teleported to the underground of any country.

    It sounded like a Skaven [1].

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back first and exin the matter to the senior,¡± Annan whispered.

    The deficit of 20 points in the Constitution gave Annan the illusion of being extremely weak.

    It will take twenty days to recover¡­

    The elixir granting one extra life is potent, but¡­

    I should have my senior continue to study alchemy, at least to reduce the side effects of this drug.

    Looking at the hurried yers, Annan stood at the top of the burning ck Tower and looked from above at them.

    He smiled and waved to the yers.

    Annan shouted, ¡°I won¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªWe are victorious!¡±

    [TN: End of first Volume: Rays of Seven Luminaries]

 Chapter 457: False Tome

    <h4>Chapter 457: False Tome</h4>

    [TN: Beginning of next Volume: Book of Divine Transporter]

    February 1st was the Holy Day of Mysterious Lady. Therefore, it was also when Her ritual was at its strongest.

    The followers of Mysterious Lady, who were ustomed to holding various rituals on this day, would head out and buy books. This did not include the ritualist.

    February 1st to 7th was called the Reading Festival. During these seven days, booksellers would sell as many books as possible, and the price was often only 70%, half or even lesser than their usual price. The requirement was that the buyer had to finish the books.

    On February 8th, Mysterious Lady would give a certain amount of holy light engravings as a festival reward based on the spread of knowledge in these seven days. It worked regardless of whether the person was Her priest.

    It was not limited to the booksellers. Teachers, mentors, and instructors would be rewarded as long as they passed down new knowledge to others. Some strenuous ult knowledge could only be acquired in a rtively simple way during that week.

    These holy light engravings could be used to buy all kinds of ult knowledge and rituals no matter if it was for prolonging life, curing disease, or strengthening physical fitness. There were all possible gains.

    You could buy various Inscriptions after umting a certain amount of holy light engravings too.

    ¡°I never thought that Noah¡¯s Kingdom would also hold a book festival,¡± Annan said casually while holding the book he had just bought in his hand.

    With the Spiritual Monk Saga resolvedst week, Annan still needed time to recover from his injury.

    Due to the side effects of Salvatore¡¯s reagent, his body was weaker than ever.

    Annan did not intend to help Kafni with Silver Sire on her side. Instead, he nned to leave for a while. After all, the king selection only started in May.

    Annan¡¯s current n was to leave after his attributes were restored to their original value.

    Unexpectedly, he just happened to catch up on the reading festival, thus encouraging the yers to buy more books.

    Books in this era were already rtively cheap. The prices of newspapers were a clear example.

    Initially, the elves had a moreplex papermaking technology. Then, Father Flint optimized this technology. In this world today, paper was not expensive. Portable type printing technology was already developed more than two hundred years ago.

    This had significantly reduced the price of books, and even civilians could buy some books after saving money. This also greatly promoted the development of art ¡ª poetry and novels. It was only after the printing technology took shape that it began to develop formally.

    It was just that some expensive books¡­ For example, books that record ¡°cumbersome knowledge¡± could only be spread by handwriting. There were only two ways to document knowledge carrying a substantial weight properly.

    One was to know the ¡°full picture¡± of this knowledge wholly. Only when the understanding was correct could it be recorded smoothly; the other method would be having a transcender who was at Gold Rank and had a ¡°dyed¡± soul create a record of the transcendent knowledge. However, thetter option often led to errors or deviations in the description due to personal interpretation or malice.

    For example, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual.

    ult knowledge itself was ¡°restricted¡±. It was a secret kept in the Light Realm.

    Even after getting to know a fragment, the person could only replicate it if he possessed the strength to separate the knowledge. In other words, it was like ¡°copying the shortcut file to the disk instead of the program itself¡±.

    In essence, the mechanism was designed to ¡°keep the secret¡±.

    It was just that the person keeping the secret was not a living person but a particr book.

    When the secret keeper still survived¡­ In other words, when the body corresponding to the shortcut still existed, even if the user only knew a few words of the knowledge, he could summon this part of the power from the Light Realm through ¡°automatic association¡±.

    However, since the user only knew a fragment of the knowledge and could not record it, it was depleted after being used.

    However, in addition to these two methods, there was a way of forcibly writing down the transcended knowledge.

    That was to add his understanding, rece the original reference with some metaphor, and disrupt the order of the original sentence. Then, the person would write a ¡°mystic book¡±.

    That book was the so-called ¡°false tome¡±.

    The value of a false tome depended entirely on the author¡¯s reputation. There was indeed a conscientious author who created a false tome and then created the corresponding ¡°key¡±.

    But some influential storytellers crafted nonsense and tranted two hundred thousand words in two sentences.

    Most of the ult knowledge that could be purchased came from the false tome or ¡°remnant tome¡±.

    Annan suspected that Sire Sire might be involved when he found the book that previously recorded Mr. Ray¡¯s real name. During the Reading Festival, Annan and the Paper Princess searched several bookstores and could not find any originals.

    On the contrary, Annan bought a lot of valuable false tomes and remnant tomes.

    ¡°Iffac¡¯s trantion of the [Song of the Iris] is not bad.¡±

    Annan held the book and was amazed, ¡°There is actually a package of ¡°Iffac¡¯s Key¡± for sale.¡±

    ¡°Iffac is a well-known ultist who lives up to his fame.¡± The Paper Princess threw her remarks casually, ¡°Mysterious Lady is optimistic about him. She may turn him into Her monster when he dies.¡±

    ¡°So, even you know his name?¡± Annan looked at the Paper Princess in surprise.

    It meant something to have a deity remembering his name. He was not even a painter in Her corresponding field but an ultist¡ªwhat a rare sight.

    ¡°Part of the reason for that is because Marquis Iris is not a taboo in Noah.¡±

    The Paper Princess nced at Annan and said, ¡°He also wrote a trantion of ¡°The Analect of Paleness¡±, but no bookstore dares to sell it.¡±

    ¡°Is it about the Pale Princess?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Deities too close to Silver Sire or contradict Silver Sire will not have their tome sold locally. But if you are in the south, you can buy Silver Sire books. This is also an unspoken rule.¡±

    The Paper Princess nced at Annan¡¯s bag and said with a vague dissatisfaction, ¡°Didn¡¯t you still buy that book?¡±

    Annan coughed lightly and said nothing.

    [Dragon, Snow, and Magic Painting]

    It was a false tome.

    It told the story before the birth of the Paper Princess in a fairy tale tone. Ordinary people would only think it was a fairy tale with a tragic ending. Only those who knew the Paper Princess understood what the metaphor was.

    However, the book that carried actual value for Annan was the false tome called the [Last Elegy of the Grand Duke].

    It seemed to be a personal biography, but it hid many secrets.

    There were so many secrets in the ¡°Last Elegy of the Grand Duke,¡± which was also the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s secrets.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re concerned about the Venerated Skeleton?¡±

    ¡°His current state is so bizarre. I tend to investigate all who might be my enemies.¡± Annan nodded and spoke rationally, ¡°To be on the safe side, I must study the Venerated Skeleton and the Rotten Man.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Hearing Annan¡¯s words, the Paper Princess nodded thoughtfully.

    She said slowly, ¡°There¡¯s something I didn¡¯t know if I should tell you. But I must tell you, since you¡¯re used to the current pace.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nichs escaped.¡±

    The Paper Princess replied calmly, ¡°It was Father Stone who let him go on purpose.¡±

 Chapter 458: Going With the Flow

    <h4>Chapter 458: Going With the Flow</h4>

    ¡°Is this where Nichs lives?¡± Annan looked up, squinting slightly and looking around.

    It was the Noah Kingdom¡¯s St. Bernie District and the location with the most intensive underworld transactions in the royal capital,monly known as the ¡°Underworld City¡±.

    ¡°Daddy¡¯s General Store¡± and ¡°Alberta Used Bookstore¡± were here. Annan had bought books with the Paper Princess nearby, not far from Nichs¡¯s residence. After hearing the Paper Princess¡¯s words, they went straight to this ce.

    Their destination was a two-story low stone-walled vi. The surroundings were deserted, and the vegetation in the yard was not taken care of. One street away from this ce was a high-rise residential area being leveled and rebuilt. The smell of stone materials would asionally hit this ce.

    The environment here was rtively poor.

    Moist, dark stone walls withyers of ivy were right outside. There were cracks in the old stone bricks too. It was an incredibly old house.

    Generally speaking, it was difficult to imagine a researcher living in such a house.

    Although Annan did not know much about Alchemy and Alteration Wizardry, he knew it would disrupt the experimental result. In addition, there could be problems with the reagent storage. They usually encourage ¡°storage in a cool, dry, and ventted ce¡±.

    But such thoughts disappeared as soon as Annan entered the house.

    When he entered the room, it was evident that he had entered a certain septum. There was a slight resistance to his footstep walking into the house. It was like advancing against the wind but only for a brief moment.

    In that instant, the air spontaneously formed a filter membrane, which directly filtered out the impurities and excess moisture on his body.

    The air inside the room was exceptionally fresh and dry. Even the odor was eliminated after entering the room.

    ¡ªMost notably, Annan and the Paper Princess did not detect the barrier before entering through the door. It was intricately designed to ¡°trigger instantly when someone enters¡±. If it was a trap, they might have stepped in.

    ¡°As expected of Nichs.¡± Annan was not irritated but praised, ¡°Such a delicate barrier can still operate on its own after he leaves.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. This self-purification filter barrier alone is not something ordinary people can do.¡± The Paper Princess nced around.

    She was surprised to realize that this barrier was actually aposite barrier with a test tube rack as a fulcrum. It wasplex enough but not cluttered. Nichs¡¯ approach to handling these details could even inspire the Paper Princess.

    The Paper Princess also gave Nichs high evaluations, ¡°I didn¡¯t need an intuitive understanding of his alchemy abilities before. But now¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he haspleted the [Supreme Crown].¡±

    ¡°He has definitely done it.¡± A heavy and deep voice resounded in the room.

    Annan and the Paper Princess looked over.

    A ster statue of the same height as a man was found sitting cross-legged on the ground.

    Its eyes were slightly closed and deep as if it was thinking about something in silence. The distressed expression on its face gave the impression of a philosopher. At the same time, he appeared like a monastic monk who strictly observed the precepts and had no desires.

    ¡°Father Stone.¡± The Paper Princess nodded to Him.

    Father Stone just replied calmly, ¡°You know, you shouldn¡¯te. Especially not with Annan.¡±

    ¡°But you gave me the address. You also knew I was with Annan, and you didn¡¯t stop me.¡± The Paper Princess countered, ¡°I thought that¡¯s your attitude.¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Father Stone did not say much.

    He did not seem to be a talkative person. Instead, he merely raised his head.

    Those eyes carved out of marble met Annan¡¯s eyes as if they were living things.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Father Stone replied inly, ¡°I might tell you ording to the situation.¡±

    He implied that there were certain words that he would not say.

    ¡°Did you let Nichs go?¡± Annan cut to the chase.

    If Father Stone could not even talk about this, there was no point in having a conversation.

    Father Stone answered, ¡°I did it on purpose. But Nichs shouldn¡¯t know about this. His escape n was thorough.

    ¡°He used the opportunity of his soul being out of his body to create a ritual area in the sewers two kilometers away. He gradually severs the connection between his soul and his body and uses very little material to cultivate a temporary area for his prosthetic body. Then, he projects his soul into it in batches. Next, hebined the soul into soul-purifying medicine to reinforce the reagent, making up for the emptiness in his soul.

    ¡°In the end, he managed to escape.¡± ¡°Warden,¡± Father Stone replied calmly.

    ¡°¡­But?¡± Annan knew Father Stone had something to add.

    Then, it went as predicted.

    Father Stone nodded and said calmly, ¡°But he doesn¡¯t know. All ¡®pces¡¯ are my body, and all ¡®sculptures¡¯ are my eyes and ears. The royal city is a huge pce¡­ His operation was exposed to my watch from the beginning; if I wanted to, I could make the sewer copse instantly. I was in the same barrier as him. It was that simple.¡±

    That was why Father Stone would be Nichs¡¯ watcher.

    This was actually why he brought Nichs to Noah¡¯s capital.

    As the Deity of Pce and Sculpture, his power could only be raised to the maximum in the capital. Then, he could monitor and control the pce at will and use sculpture as his ¡°surveince guard¡±. After all, only in the capital would he get enough pce with sculptures.

    Even the body Father Stone was in now was not his main body.

    That was because Father Stone existed in all sculptures. They were mediums in which He could be revealed to the world.

    Unlike the Paper Princess, Father Stone was not a creation of the Elegant Elder that ¡°gained sentience¡±. Instead, he was a student of the Elegant Elder¡­ and one of the very few students who the Elegant Elder apuded. As a mortal, in just fifty years, he mastered the sculptural and architectural skills umted by the Elegant Elder over thousands of years. Then, he made almost trivial innovations to be a deity.

    He was the only deity to be a Deity of Art in mortal form.

    ¡°But, why did you send him away?¡± Annan stared closely at Father Stone.

    Father Stone replied calmly, ¡°His talent can¡¯t be used in Noah because of theck of material here. So his hands will be tied.¡±

    That¡¯s a lie.

    At least He did not speak the whole truth.

    But Annan did not reveal it.

    He just asked slowly, ¡°So, Nichs¡­

    ¡°He knows that he is a ¡®mirror¡¯, right?¡± Hearing this, Father Stone was silent for a long time.

    After about half a minute, he spoke again, ¡°It¡¯s not something you have figured out on your own.

    ¡°Did the Faceless Poet tell you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Annan replied in a deep voice, ¡°But because of this, I managed to figure out some clues.

    ¡°For example¡­ This is a fake Nichs. He doesn¡¯t have Nichs¡¯ soul, nor is he Nichs¡¯s artificial human. He just got a body with Nichs¡¯s thoughts.¡±

    The Paper Princess on the side immediately shuddered and blurted out, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that!¡±

    ¡°I know. This is what the Faceless Poet told Annan. It seems that even Nichs¡¯s escape was fate itself.¡±

    Father Stone replied calmly, ¡°I can¡¯t peep in the area where [Secret Keeping] is involved, but you only have a little time away from my sight. Only Faceless Poet has the opportunity to tell you this.

    ¡°[His] behavior is dangerous. You shouldn¡¯t know you¡¯re chasing a mirror because it¡¯s your destiny. [TN: The Faceless Poet]

    ¡°As we all know, [Fate is the Wheel of Divine Transporter]. You will leave traces after you have passed it. If you chase your destiny, it bes a paradox in itself. This will cause you to chase the mirror with your own will. You can¡¯t get your mirror that way. It only appears in front of you when you don¡¯t crave it.¡±

    So, Henry VIII, Nichs, and Bernardino appeared when I did not know about them?

    When I chased Bernardino, it was to seek justice for Salvatore, not to find my mirror. That was why I caught him!

    Annan came to a realization.

    So when Annan was thinking about when to find Nichs, the ¡°Fourth Mirror¡±, Nichs suddenly disappeared.

    So new questions emerged from Annan¡¯s mind:

    Why would the Faceless Poet tell me such a thing?

    Why did Father Stone let Nichs go?

    ¡­Unless.

    These two things were originally aimed at the same purpose.

    The two deities acted ording to the situation withoutmunication but formed tacit cooperation.

    ¡°So, you intentionally make this false ¡®Nichs¡¯ thinks he is Nichs who has lost his memory and lives in the world as Nichs?¡± Annan keenly captured their thoughts.

    But¡­ What¡¯s the point?

 Chapter 459: In Short, Letâ€™s Install the Teleportation Waypoint

    <h4>Chapter 459: In Short, Let¡¯s Install the Teleportation Waypoint</h4>

    Suuankou looked around and couldn¡¯t help but sigh in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s actually a subway.¡±

    He was in a wide underground space that was only essible by going down four flights of stairs from the subway station. Since the roadbed was unstable,mps lit by the product of alteration magic, ¡°Green Fire¡±, were installed at this ce.

    Although there was a unique sense of the steam era in the architectural style, this was indeed the subway station in his memories.

    Apparently, it was not a subway powered by electricity but an underground rail train with a magic-modified, elf-style engine with alteration devices. It operated by extracting the Gray Mists as energy.

    Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to develop subway technology hundreds of years ago. Recently, various countries had begun to study how to create a subway that could be used effectively without using the engine technology of the Underground Federation.

    On the Noah Kingdom¡¯s side, they nned to use an improved version of the steam engine with more power ¡ª at least to be able to drive the train. For this, the ck Fire made by Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was used as the power fuel.

    The biggest problem with ordinary steam engines was that the waste gas they produced could not be discharged, and the windows could not bepletely sealed. Eventually, the conductor and passengers would be killed by the exhaust gas in the carriage. There would be excessive steam appearing in the waiting hall too.

    In response to this problem, the ??Noah Kingdom technicians intended to use the technology of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower to create an advanced exhaust fan to extract the exhaust gas into a gas tank. Then, the disposed gas would pass pipes leading to the surface to discharge exhaust gas at deserted ground.

    Another by-product of this technology was the so-called ¡°overground rail train.¡±

    With the addition of a powerful steam engine, the only downside was the exhaust.

    So as long as it was used on the ground, would there be no problem with it?

    Salvatore did not need to return to ck Tower to teach recently. Instead, he was invited and stayed in Noah¡¯s royal capital to participate in the construction of the ground railway. As a result, there was significant progress on the project. The officials predicted that it would be opened to use within this year. Arge-scale overground railway centered on the Noah Kingdom would be built, allowing the transportation from the east of Noah to the west directly.

    If the oue were great, they would proceed to expand the railway, which was a simpler task than developing subway lines. They could even use some rituals to speed things up on a massive scale.

    What they nned to do was to get rid of the status quo where the Underground Federation hadplete control over freight and passenger transport.

    Even though it was Noah¡¯s underground¡­

    ¡°Strictly speaking, they are no longer Noah¡¯snd.¡±

    Lin Yiyi, who had already taken the subway once, exined, ¡°ording to the ¡°Underground Act¡±, except for the mining area and the coal area, the area 40 meters below the ground is under the Underground Federation.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it less than 40 meters deep?¡± Jiu Er keenly felt where they were now, ¡°It should be about 33 meters.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because we¡¯re in the capital, the royal city of Noah.¡±

    Annan, who was wrapped in a cloak, tried his best to control himself not to look around. Instead, he said in a low voice, ¡°Only this ce is a special case. Under the royal city, it belongs to the joint rule area of ?the ?Noah Kingdom and the Underground Federation. I will take the subwayter. At that time, we have to take the ¡®deep well¡¯ to dive further.¡±

    ¡°Deep well?¡± Jiu Er repeated.

    ¡°Unlike the world overground, the underground living space is wide. There are areasbeled differently ording to their floor level.¡± Annan exined.

    In fact, this was what he had just learned from the book.

    He had never seen the subway in this world or been to the Underground Federation. But, this was not suitable to say to the yers.

    Until the end, Father Stone did not tell Annan where Nichs went. Was it the Austere-Winter, Underground Federation, the Papal Kingdom, or the United Kingdom? There were no hints given.

    But if Father Stone was right, he might run into Nichs if he roamed around aimlessly.

    As a result, Annan was not in a hurry.

    Instead of looking for a needle in a haystack to find Nichs, it was better to stick to his n first.

    First, let¡¯s set up the teleportation waypoint in the Underground Federation.

    There were currently only four teleportation waypoints: Freezing Water Port, Roseburg, Noah, and Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. Except for the teleportation waypoint of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower that only allowed departures, the others met the corresponding requirements and were directly ¡°activated¡±.

    Still, activating the teleportation waypoint was not hard.

    In a medium-sized and above the city, the yers needed to have a local residence and a stable job, living there for more than a week andpleting three nightmares. Then, they would be regarded as ¡°residents¡±. As long as an area had three residences there, the teleportation waypoint there was activated. After the residents left, others could still be sent over.

    Although Annan¡¯s Constitution had not fully recovered, it was no big deal. In his n, not only would he not have conflicts with people these days¡­

    He wasn¡¯t even going to continue using the ¡°Annan¡± identity.

    Annan¡¯s identity and secrets had been disclosed to a considerable extent to support Kafni ascending the throne and to reach a deal with Silver Sire.

    Noah Kingdom was unlike Austere-Winter. The Three-eyed Crows were not Winter¡¯s Hand either. Their job was surveince, not assassination. This made it difficult to prevent the leak of some intelligence.

    What¡¯s more? If Kafni outperformed Princess Royal, Annan¡¯s identity must be semi-disclosed in Noah¡¯s royal city. Only when the top and middle managers from all walks of life could understand the rtionship between Kafni and Annan could she use her power to defeat Princess Royal.

    This was equivalent to the fact that ¡°Annan Austere-Winter is about to seed Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, and even will be the future deity¡±. Not only would it spread in Noah, but outsiders would also get this piece of intelligence soon.

    Thus, Annan¡¯s identity restricted his actions.

    His status was noble, and the underground world was too chaotic. No matter what others thought of him, or afraid of something happening to him¡­ In short, it was not easy for plots against him to take ce secretly.

    It was not a big deal for Annan.

    He nned to use Annan¡¯s identity to take the three yers through the subway ticket checkpoint. After leaving Noah¡¯s royal city, they would pass through the deep wells of subway stations in other areas, dive into the second-floor urban area, and find a rtively stable andrge-scale city.

    Then, Annan would leave them and let the three yers build the teleportation waypoint. With that, he could send the other yers down in batches. After all, it wasplicated to gain ess to the subway in Noah. However, it was only a matter of money for the residents of the Underground Federation if they wanted to take the subway.

    This was equivalent to smuggling the yers out of Noah Kingdom. In this way, yers in the Noah Kingdom could be secretly transported to other countries. However, re-entering the Noah Kingdom could prove to be challengingter.

    It was difficult for unofficial transcenders to enter other countries.

    That was why Annan needed immediate power instead of summoning new yers.

    When the yers just arrived in this world, their default level would be Level 5.

    In other words, when the yers first arrived, they had yet to embark on the path of transcendence.

    This was equivalent to having more than 300 undetectable spies. Annan could use them as his eyes and hands to infiltrate other countries.

    Then, the best time to summon yers should be in Underground Federation when the teleportation waypoints were almost finished.

    At that time, Annan could summon a certain number of yers in the underground areas of major cities in different countries and let them enter different countries.

    To provide yers with the motivation to activate the teleportation waypoints, Annan also delegated rich experience points to each yer who performed the task. Of course, these experience points were distributed equally to the yers.

    That was the essence of having yers form teams of four.

    It would avoid yers moving in a conspicuouslyrge group, thus increasing the efficiency of setting up the teleportation circles.

    Jiu Er¡¯s group was selected because of their reliable capabilities. They could keep their daily life undisturbed while adventuring new parts of the game as quickly as possible.

    At that time, Annan would find a ce and switch to another identity. Then, he would get to seek out treasures in the Underground Federation.

    ¡ªWhy are you looking for Annan Austere-Winter and ¡°Ghindaio David Buonaro¡±?

 Chapter 460: Nigel Elliott

    <h4>Chapter 460: Nigel Elliott</h4>

    The conditions for subway ess differed across various countries, where the Underground Federation managed distinctive authority levels.

    Austere-Winter Dukedom could only use the subway for cross-city transportation in the ¡°Winter Year¡± due to its small temperature regtion barriers. In addition, the Winter Hand responsible for surveince, counter-espionage, and assassination work had a higher privilege to take the subway.

    Except for a few monitored targets, which were not allowed to enter the underground, most civilians could take the subway as long as they had the money.

    However, it was different in the Noah Kingdom.

    In Noah Kingdom, almost 90% of the subway capacity was used for freight and cargo.

    As the world¡¯s most prominent grain, minerals, and timber exporter, the Noah Kingdom owned four subway lines, which transported goods to foreign countries almost daily. They would buy livestock products inrge quantities from the Papal Kingdom and luxury goods and artwork from the United Kingdom. At the same time, the Noah Kingdom purchased Frost Beasts via the Underground Federation from the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    The shipping route on the Dukedom side of Austere-Winter waspletely terminated after the Noah Kingdom had a war against Austere-Winter. It had not yet reopened until now.

    However, Austere-Winter Dukedom still had various exports to the Papal Kingdom and Underground Federation.

    In addition to the Frost Beasts, there were high-quality stones, chilly iron ore, lead ore, gold ore, and non-melting ice. However, due to the limitation of transportation capacity, most of them were sold to underground folks directly, and these people were responsible for transporting them away. Therefore, if the Noah Kingdom wanted to buy the Frost Beasts¡¯ blood, they had to go through the underground people.

    Thus, it was vital to control the price.

    If unaudited people were allowed to go underground, there would be many smugglers, which would disrupt the market. In other words, the Noah Kingdom controlled the right to use the subway not for political purposes but for economic purposes.

    Subway ess was only granted after getting the signature of the Minister of Transport. Even if the local nobles had the signature and could use the subway themselves, they could not give away the permission to use the subway to others, let alone grant others the right to enter the subway station.

    The signature was not the end of it. After getting the signed pass, the applicant had to apply to the local subway hall a few days in advance. In this process, the application letter would be sent to the royal capital through a ritual. After checking and confirming that the applicant¡¯s identity was alright, the designated time for the subway usage would only be approved.

    It was a troublesome procedure.

    Annan felt a headache just by listening to it.

    This was probably why the Noah Kingdom urgently needed to build an overground railway.

    However, if Annan reopened shipping to Freezing Water Port, it would also reduce the demand for overground rail in the Noah Kingdom.

    ¡°Wee, Your Highness Annan.¡± The receptionist in the subway hall took out a booklet, put Annan¡¯s ess card on it, and validated the password. He then politely handed it back to Annan and replied respectfully, ¡°Your Excellency Yiyi, Your Excellency Suuankou, Your Excellency Jiu Er¡­ The deep well is ready to be used.¡±

    He could only speak so calmly because he could not understand the meaning of the yers¡¯ names.

    Annan thought to himself and nodded calmly, ¡°Alright, Viscount Horatio. Thank you for your hard work.¡±

    ¡°No, no¡­ You¡¯re pulling my leg¡­¡± Viscount Horatio apologized in a panic and even wanted to take Annan and his entourages to the [Deep Well] in person.

    Indeed, the receptionist was a viscount. Although he was a rtively marginal viscount, he was still an aristocrat.

    ¡ªBut, it was because he was a noble that he couldprehend what Annan¡¯s identity signified.

    Although he was the viscount of the royal capital, he was not qualified to participate in the king¡¯s funeral. Therefore, although he knew the existence of His Highness Annan, he had never seen Annan.

    When he saw Annan for the first time, he was still attracted by the splendid appearance close to a deity. Even though he knew it was a bit rude, he couldn¡¯t help but nce at Annan a few more times.

    Of course, it was not his fault.

    After Annan had adopted Frosty Hair, he appeared closer to Old Grandmother and the Paper Princess.

    As the Paper Princess who controlled the element of ¡°Beauty¡±, Her appearance was the highest standard of ¡°Beauty¡± for the humans in this world. Although Annan only had his hair color changed, his presence was at another level since he was closer to the Paper Princess.

    This was why Annan decided to temporarily not use this identity to operate underground.

    Boys should protect themselves when they go out so that some strangedies don¡¯t kidnap them.

    Of course, they have to be wary of strange middle-aged men too.

    The group went to the [Deep Well] with their luggage.

    The so-called ¡°Deep Well¡± was a steel structure shaped like a hydraulic elevator.

    The group stood on an empty shock-proof board of at least 50 square meters and signaled to the staff.

    The staff pressed a button. The group descended quickly alongside with slight vibrations and creaking noises.

    ¡°It¡¯s too extravagant.¡± Suuankou whispered, ¡°They only transport four of us, even with such arge space.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself. This should be used for unloading goods at usual times.¡± Lin Yiyi replied casually.

    Annan nodded and added, ¡°Noah Kingdom does not have many people who can take the subway. The number drops further for those who can actually bring their man along. Thus, only a few of us will be on this journey.¡±

    Before he finished speaking, the Deep Well had already reached the next floor.

    In front of them was a strange man in his fifties with short brown hair carrying arge luggage bag, hunched slightly and alone on the tform.

    When the man saw Annan, he was slightly startled.

    Annan was keenly aware that it was not just an ordinary gaze. Instead, he noticed a hint of surprise.

    Does this person know me?

    Before Annan spoke up, the person turned around and greeted him. He asked in a low voice, somewhat nervously, ¡°Hello, Your Excellency. I¡¯m Nigel Elliott. May I take the liberty to ask you a question?¡±

    ¡°Please speak. But I don¡¯t promise I¡¯ll answer it.¡± Annan nced at him and replied calmly.

    Annan did not say his name.

    In front of Kafni, Senior Salvatore and the yers, he asionally acted cute and harmless. However, in front of outsiders, his mannerism and aura were imposing.

    However, the person¡¯s question startled Annan, ¡°Excuse me¡­ Are you acquainted with ¡®the Paper Princess¡¯?¡±

    Nigel asked respectfully.

    He did not know I¡¯m Annan Austere-Winter, but he knew I was rted to the Paper Princess.

    Annan was silent. He suddenly remembered where on earth he had seen this name.

    Shortly after Delicious Wind Goose arrived at Noah, Old Goose had seen a portrait of the Paper Princess in the newspaper. There was a painter having a brief encounter with the Paper Princess. With a fleeting ¡°fuzzy impression¡±, he roughly restored 90% of the true appearance of the Paper Princess.

    But, thest 10% was beyondmon sense and iprehensible, ¡°the Truth of Beauty¡±.

    In fact, the painting that he expressed was more like Annanpared to the Paper Princess.

    It was expected of him to be shocked when he saw Annan.

    Annan thought so in her heart. He said with an amiable tone and a smile, ¡°You are the ¡®famous painter¡¯. I heard the Paper Princess mention you. You are a diligent person and have a good talent.¡±

    He had emphasized the word ¡°famous painter¡± specifically.

    The person waved his hands again and again, ashamed, ¡°I don¡¯t live up to that yet. I know that the Paper Princess I painted is really too ordinary, far from the thrilling and fantastical beauty. The painting is on disy, but¡­ the money the newspaper agency gave is too much¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I understand.¡± Annan nodded andforted in a warm voice.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s constion, the middle-aged painter was so grateful that he almost held Annan¡¯s hand. However, when he looked up to see Annan¡¯s face, he lowered his head subconsciously and forcibly withdrew his approaching hand in embarrassment.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Annan threw a question to dispel the painter¡¯s embarrassment, ¡°Where are you going? Maybe we can journey together.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m visiting the province of St. Felix in Austere-Winter Dukedom, Your Excellency. Coldwind Fortress in the province of St. Felix.¡±

    The painter Nigel did not ask Annan¡¯s name or whereabouts but directly stated his destination.

    Surprisingly, we¡¯re on the same path.

    Annan and the others were heading to the Razor Territory of Bloomfield Province. That ce was two stops after Coldwind Fortress and three stops after the Frostwhisper Province.

    Of course, that was the destination they would disclose on the surface.

    Their real destination was the underground city under the Razor Cor ¡ª the Sporeggar Mill.

    But there was no need to tell this passerby.

    ¡°We are heading toward the same direction.¡±

    As Annan said so, the train had already rumbled from a distance.

    He closed his mouth and nced at the entrance.

    Annan turned to Nigel and smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s get in the carriage first, Your Excellency Nigel.¡±

    He added, ¡°I still have some things that I want to ask you for advice.¡±

    Annan had realized something.

    Nigel Elliott rubbed the corner of his shirt nervously, opened and closed his mouth, then nodded again and again.

 Chapter 461: â€œYoung Geniusâ€

    <h4>Chapter 461: ¡°Young Genius¡±</h4>

    ¡°I was a¡­ clumsy painter.¡± Nigel sat next to Annan and whispered with his head down.

    There were hardly any people on the subway to travel from the Noah Kingdom to Austere-Winter Dukedom, so they all sat in the front row of the train.

    Undoubtedly, they were on a subway that was underground. However, its seating arrangement was closer to the train. It was just that they were not assigned to any seat, and they could freely choose wherever they wanted to sit.

    The first-ss seat in the subway was a low sofa with two rows facing each other that could amodate two to three people. There was also a wooden table in the middle of each set. Each table had a te of fresh fruit, a te of dried fruit, a te of preserved fruit, and a te of cakes. This table could even be used for reading, writing, or painting.

    Sitting across from them were Jiu Er and Lin Yiyi intrigued by the story.

    Among the three yers present, Suuankou could sit beside Lin Yiyi or Annan as he was the only male among them. After all, Annan was petite, so they could squeeze another person on the sofa.

    However, after seeing thepetitiveness in Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er¡¯s eyes and reaching apromise (referring to no one sitting there), Suuankou, sitting next to Annan, was ruthlessly rushed to the table across the corridor by his sister.

    But, he got to upy two sofas and a table by himself, including all the snacks.

    For Suuankou, it was refreshing to lie on the sofa while listening to the stories.

    But speaking of it, Suuankou found Annan a lot cuter after getting those white hair. Anyway, Annan wouldn¡¯t shy away from male yers. Kafni had nothing to be wary of, and Suuankou would try getting closer to Annan from time to time.

    As the famous author Anderson had once said ¡ª since Annan couldn¡¯t be f**ked anyway, and the actual gender did not matter, then it was better to think of Annan as a beautiful girl in his mind. Anyway, Annan looked cute and hadn¡¯t started to change his voice in puberty yet.

    Like in every silly group, there would always be a lucky group of friends who were chosen by the masses and sacrificed and became a ¡°trap¡± girl.

    If I think about it this way, whether it¡¯s hugging Annan or sitting and chatting with Annan, isn¡¯t it the same as taking advantage of the young and lovely white-haired princess?!

    I am really talented.

    Suuankou was in awe of Anderson.

    These days, not many people look directly at their desires like this.

    Thinking about it carefully, he even wanted to call the police immediately.

    Annan is only 14 years old. What am I doing!?

    But looking back, Annan¡¯s charm was indeed a little unusual. Previously, it was an average level of beauty. However, after Annan adopted white hair, even Suuankou nced at Annan repeatedly. Annan¡¯s voice seemed more alluring, and even his words became more convincing.

    Is this some charisma-rted ability?

    While Suuankou was thinking¡­ Nigel, seated beside Annan, was still whispering his story.

    ¡°I¡¯m really¡­ a clumsy painter.

    ¡°Neither my parents were painters, not even in the art industry. My father was a treasurer of a viscount, and my mother was a low-tier ritualist. They wanted me to be a transcender in the future, preferably enrolling into Swamp¡¯s ck Tower to learn Alteration magic.¡±

    Nigel looked at the table and said softly, ¡°Because of their work, they had ess to Alteration products and knew how much money they could make from it. They felt this was a safe way to make a lot of money without being busy, and the work would stay relevant for a long time. Moreover, it was a profession with the ability to harness transcended power.

    ¡°So when I was determined to be a painter, I encountered unprecedented obstacles. Not only was I not paid a penny since I was fourteen, but I was also even kicked out of the house, and naturally, I had no food. I could only go back after admitting my mistake.

    ¡°My father was still famous in our town at that time, so no one was willing to hire me forbor work. He had also spoken to the folks he knew, making me unable to find a job. I knew nothing. It was hard to support myself, and I needed money to buy paint and canvas for painting.¡±

    The middle-aged painter sighed and took a deep breath, ¡°I was young at the time, I didn¡¯t know anything, and I didn¡¯t suffer much hardship. After experiencing hunger, I decided not to return, no matter what. Even if I were starved to death, I would not go back and apologize.¡±

    Luckily, you did not go. Otherwise, you would be dead now. Annan was silent for a moment.

    The wizards at Swamp¡¯s ck Tower were all dead. It was something that had yet to be made public. Such atrocities in the country would undoubtedly lead to the decline of the Noah Kingdom¡¯s credibility, causing panic in the general public and also affecting the admissions of ck Tower. Therefore, the incident was tacitly concealed by both parties.

    ¡°What did you do then?¡± Jiu Er asked curiously, ¡°Did you discover your painting talent and then sell your paintings?¡±

    ¡°I hoped so.¡± Nigel smiled wryly.

    Deep in his azure blue pupils was the pain that had long since subsided. The bitterness and decadent look also gave him a strange charm.

    He said sincerely, ¡°Really, if only I had talent.

    ¡°I put my only way to survive at the time on the Paper Princess. I painted like crazy, painting for 14 hours a day. First, I painted vases and fruits and continued to paint them hundreds of times. I used my greatest enthusiasm and energy to paint and then sold all the paintings to the Paper Princess in exchange for living expenses, paint and canvas money, and rent.

    ¡°In the end, I was already disgusted with paintings, and I couldn¡¯t get much money for painting. So I looked out of the window of the rented room and went to paint the scenery outside the window.

    ¡°Because I wanted to rent the cheapest house, I often moved every few months to avoid getting a cold in winter or getting a rash in summer. After all, I did not have the money to request Silver Sire¡¯s priests to cure me, so I could not fall sick.

    ¡°But thanks to the fact that I moved frequently, the scenery outside the window also changed from time to time, and there was no shortage of things to draw. The same scenery was different in spring and autumn. Before I returned to the room I used to rent, I could always find beauty that I hadn¡¯t discovered before.

    ¡°At that time, I was able to survive and continue on this path by relying on the provisions from the Paper Princess. My talent was too inferior¡­ I worked hard for seven years to paint, finally selling my first painting.

    ¡°I was only 21 years old at the time and became a well-known genius painter. However, they wouldn¡¯t know that I worked hard on more than 2,000 scrapped paintings before I became what they called a ¡®genius¡¯.

    ¡°At that time, I coveted the title ¡®genius¡¯ that did not belong to me because of my vanity. I always felt it was an honor and an affirmation of my future. To be a genius in the eyes of others, I worked even harder. I painted with all my power. But among the paintings I painted, I was, at most, satisfied with only one or two of them that could be sold without losing the title of a genius.¡±

    Nigel replied slowly, ¡°But at that time, I didn¡¯t understand anything at all.

    ¡°When I first started, I didn¡¯t know much about the Paper Princess. I thought the coins I got were all transactions that the Paper Princess conjured out of thin air using her divine power. I was satisfied with the low-quality products without the slightest desire to change them; I was even proud of myself for always being able to trade my paintings for a higher price from the Paper Princess. Then, I consider myself recognized by the Paper Princess and able to persevere in my passion to be a ¡®genius¡¯.

    ¡°Until I learned from my mother that the money the Paper Princess handed over to us painters was not something she made out of thin air. It was the money she would make after painting and selling her paintings. She had given them entirely to us.

    ¡°I did not know until then how much trouble my inferior talent caused the Paper Princess.¡± He groaned in pain.

 Chapter 462: Let the Hope Passed On

    <h4>Chapter 462: Let the Hope Passed On</h4>

    Nigel took a deep breath with aplicated expression, ¡°I¡¯m not the ¡®young genius painter¡¯ they preach. I¡¯m a humble, inferior, and hypocritical person who lives by selling his dreams and passions.

    ¡°From then on, I made up my mind that I would never rely on the Paper Princess to sell and dispose of my scraps, just like how I made up my mind to not rely on the support of my parents for a living. This made my life, which was still affluent, immediately changed. It was pretty challenging. When I was earning my living expenses, I finally realized¡­ If I only rely on my own capability, I will never grow to this level.

    ¡°Even if my family is willing to provide me with money for food and lodging, even after I settle down into a stable life, and even after I can practice as hard as I do when I live outside¡­ It already costs arge amount of money just to buy canvases and paints necessary for practice.

    ¡°When I really couldn¡¯t draw anymore, I was forced to start selling scraps. At that time, people would say that my talents were exhausted, and the masters would publicly criticize my painting attitude for being too perfunctory.

    ¡°Countless people would reprimand me. People who had bought my paintings had also written to express their disappointment. However, only I know that these scraps were my true level. Even the masterpieces that touched people¡¯s hearts were regarded as perfunctory works by them.

    ¡°But every one of my paintings is painted with all my strength¡­ I really didn¡¯t¡­ I didn¡¯t treat it perfunctorily¡­¡±

    After he finished speaking, he sighed deeply, ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m too ipetent¡­ that¡¯s it.¡±

    This was not a story worth hearing.

    The story was covered with tears and dust.

    Just thinking about it made him tired.

    ¡°And then?¡± After a brief silence, Annan asked softly, ¡°How did you break free from it and be a famous painter?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Nigel said slowly. ¡°When I was at my worst, I found an old book. It¡¯s written on the ritual of how to summon the Venerated Skeleton¡­¡±

    Hearing this, Annan and Lin Yiyi raised their heads and looked at each other.

    They had keenly captured something.

    Jiu Er immediately interjected, ¡°And then? Did you use the ritual?¡±

    ¡°No, because my mother warned me that the ritual was fake.¡±

    Nigel shook his head, ¡°When everyone scolded me, I finally returned home in embarrassment. But beyond my expectations¡­ My parents did notugh at me, nor did they force me to be a wizard.

    ¡°I also hesitated for a long time and finally gave up this opportunity. I chose to trust my mother and admitted myck of talent. So I found a job doing ounting and went out to work.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to take the Paper Princess for granted. She is my deity and my idol. But I also don¡¯t want to live off my parents. Since I ran away from home back then, I didn¡¯t have that face of continuing painting at home as if nothing happened.¡±

    He took a deep breath and said solemnly, ¡°I finally¡­ chose the Elegant Elder.¡±

    ¡°The Elegant Elder?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Since my mother said these false deities¡¯ rituals have hidden scams, I sought an upright deity for help. I put the worst and best paintings in my two years of career, together with my painting habits and many doubts, into a letter and sent them to the Elegant Elder through ritual.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t n to get a response¡­ but in the end, I didn¡¯t expect that the Elegant Elder actually wrote me a reply.¡±

    The middle-aged painter sighed, ¡°I doubt that I am someone who is pitied by the deities.

    ¡°Although the letter was full of contemptuous insults and criticisms, everything in it was an uratement. He circled every questionable part of my painting with a meanment. But to be honest, his evaluations were straight to the point. In addition, there was also a painting repainted by the Elegant Elder himself, which was about my most dissatisfied painting. Honestly, that was the most beautiful painting I had ever seen.

    ¡°I will cry every time I read this letter. I question if I have the talent for painting and whether I want to go down this journey¡­ But I gritted my teeth and practiced along with the criticism of the Elegant Elder. At that time, I really made significant progress.

    ¡°I just endured the humiliation, read the Elegant Elder¡¯s revisions over and over, and practiced over and over again. I even memorized every sentence of the letter at the end. It took me 8 years to digest the Elegant Elder¡¯s criticism. And at the time, I was 30 years old and took over my father¡¯s job.

    ¡°I was still painting as an amateur, and no one knew¡­ People had even forgotten the viscount¡¯s treasure ¡®Nigel¡¯, who was famous ten years ago. Some people suspected I hadmitted suicide, so the poor artworks I sold were instead regarded as a painting that made a genius paintermit suicide. Their value increased ridiculously. The appreciation value was much more expensive than my proud works.

    ¡°I tried my best and spent a year painting an artwork that I was most satisfied with. Then, I sent it again to the Elegant Elder, but he soon painted me a better painting with a new criticism. But my faith could no longer be destroyed by him ¡ª I just wanted to be a famous painter. To be famous again when everyone had forgotten me, to be rich by painting, and to return the favor from the past to the Paper Princess.

    ¡°So I did another four years of penance under the advice of the Elegant Elder. I again sought approval from the Elegant Elder and was reprimanded. This was repeated twice. In the year I was 44, the Elegant Elder finally wrote me back.

    ¡°¡ªHe said, ¡®It looks like a pass. Let¡¯s try and see if you can sell the painting¡¯.

    ¡°I burst into tears.¡±

    Nigel Elliott said in a hoarse voice with deep emotion, ¡°So after 20 years of absence from the art world, I made my debut again.

    ¡°My goal this time is simple. I want to be the painter with the most money first and return to him the money the Paper Princess once gave me with interest. Then I want to imitate the Paper Princess to travel worldwide and use my paintings to record everything I see. Ultimately, I will give up all my wealth and go to Denizoya to serve art for the rest of my life.

    ¡°Now, I havepleted the first goal. After I met the Paper Princess, I gave the Paper Princess my house in the capital, all my deposits, and cash as gratitude. After all, I am now not short of money because I can at least make a living by painting.

    ¡°Next, I¡¯m going to travel around the world. The first stop is the Coldwind Fortress in the province of St. Felix. First, I want to see the legendary cold wind rumored to cut the flesh directly. Second, is it really possible to pour water into ice in Coldwind Fortress?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to see what the Frost Beasts are like, and I¡¯m going to see if I see if the world changes after I¡¯ve been drained of all positive emotions.¡±

    Annan felt Nigel¡¯s eyes shining brightly.

    It was a brilliance simr to the light in his eyes.

    Today, Nigel could be called a real painter.

    ¡°Austere-Winter Dukedom is dangerous,¡± Annan warned in a low voice.

    Nigel smiled, ¡°I¡¯m not going to die. My life is still precious. When I¡¯m about to die of old age, I will sponsor a few poor students who love painting and pass on what I have learned in my life to them¡ª

    ¡°¡ªI will pass on the kindness that the Paper Princess gave me in the past, the hopes and dreams that she gave me.¡±

    The eyes he looked at Annan¡­ There was no trace of love between men and women in the eyes that looked at the Paper Princess through Annan.

    Instead, it was a glowing longing.

 Chapter 463: Light Ants & the Deep Submerged Layer

    <h4>Chapter 463: Light Ants & the Deep Submerged Layer</h4>

    Some words wereforting to hear.

    Especially for those who had experienced ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± and after seeing the tragedy of Amos, they would have a deeper sentiment for Nigel¡¯s story.

    They were also painters and felt the limit of their talents. Nigel¡¯s talents were even far inferior to Amos¡¯. But, in the end, the two embarked on entirely different paths and ushered in different endings.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Annan nodded and sighed softly.

    He finally knew where that strange feeling came from.

    The way Nigel looked at him¡­or rather, the way he saw the Paper Princess through him gave off a familiar feeling to Annan. It was only now that he finally remembered how Kafni looked at him when they first met each other.

    ¡°You¡¯re an amazing person, Nigel.¡± Annan eximed, ¡°You have indeed lived up to the title of a master.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still too early.¡± Nigel shook his head.

    Although he had already dedicated all his wealth to the Paper Princess, there was no regret in his eyes.

    There was only reason and rity in his eyes, like a beacon.

    ¡°I¡¯m only in my 50¡¯s, and my journey around the world is just starting. Now I want to live the way of the Paper Princess and pass on that love, kindness, and hope.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t rule out the possibility that this idea may change. After traveling to a particr city or area, I may fall in love there. Then, my journey will end here, and I will choose a quiet andfortable life.

    ¡°These are all possible situations, and I won¡¯t refute them; people can change, and I admit it. But, I won¡¯t repeat it, having the ideal to constrain and solidify my life until enthusiasm fades and only numbness remains.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to repeat that because that¡¯s my ideal and not my life. I¡¯m prioritizing my life before my goals. I might have been confused about it back then, but now I have seen it clearly.¡±

    ¡°But as long as I remember how I feel, I will remember the hope the Paper Princess gave me. So I¡¯ll keep going like this.

    The middle-aged painter scratched his fluffy and somewhat messy hair and said with a smile.

    He was not resolved and not hot-blooded. It could be because he was a little shy and he spoke softer. It was not resonant and inspired.

    However, it was convincing.

    Nigel scratched his head again. He turned his eyes away, stared at the table again, and his voice became much quieter, ¡°Why did I say this¡­? I¡¯m sorry, Your Excellency Annan.¡±

    He was not that shy.

    But looking at Annan¡¯s almost identical appearance to the Paper Princess, he felt the same embarrassment as telling the daughter the story of chasing the mother.

    Even though Annan was not directly involved, Annan was close to the Paper Princess. On the one hand, it would make Nigel more willing to reveal the hidden story; on the other hand, Nigel felt more embarrassed by it.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve learned a lot from you too.¡± Annan smiled gently andforted softly, ¡°Thank you very much, Your Excellency Nigel.¡±

    It was not pleasantries, but Annan sincerely thought so.

    As the chat ensued, the underground subway train had entered the deep submergedyer. The windows and doors were sealed entirely.

    So far, no new passengers hade in. There were still five of them, and it seemed empty.

    They had almost crossed the sea. If the depth was only tens of meters underground, it was impossible to cross the border.

    If the slope were too steep, there would be higher requirements for the power of the engine.

    Therefore, the method adopted by the Underground Federation was a downward spiral.

    The passengers would enter on the top floor, which was the subway floor. Then, they would follow the downward slope and rotate an arc of about 120 to 180 degrees to descend further. After passing through the urban, ntation, and explorationyers, they would reach the deepestyer¡ªthe deep submergedyer.

    The deep submergedyer was uninhabited and could not be reached through deep wells, and even the specific ¡°route¡± was kept secret from other underground city dwellers. Therefore, the speed of the subway train could be directly increased to the maximum without carrying passengers or stopping in the middle.

    The air here was also poisonous to ordinary people. Therefore, it was necessary to activate the istion barrier andpletely seal the train carriage when entering the deep submergedyer. It also further increased the speed without worrying about the door being overturned by the influx of air from the outside.

    ¡°Although I have seen it once.¡± Lin Yiyi looked out the window and murmured in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s still beautiful¡­¡±

    Although the train was deep underground, there was still light here.

    It certainly was not sunlight or artificial light.

    It was a unique creature that the underground world depended on for survival: the ¡°Light Ants¡± created by the Mysterious Lady.

    Light ants were simr in size to ordinary ants. They feed on feces and dirt in their juveniles. After eating a small amount of waste or a lot of dirt, they would stop eating and emit a permanent glow. The light ants that only ate feces would emit pure white light. On the other hand, the color would vary depending on the soil they eat.

    After the light ants died and rotted, they would turn into sticky colloids. When the light ants and the corpses of the light ants were gathered together, they would be a solid gem called ¡°light ant stone¡±, which could emit a faint glow at night.

    As the light ants with various colors condensed into minerals, the light ant stones would also form beautiful light spots of different colors. The stones were one of the materials of the Edict magic. The Idol Wizards usually desired the light ant, which was also one of the important exports of the underground world.

    In fact, the primary light source of the Underground Federation was light ants.

    In the urban and deep submergedyers, the light ants attached to the wall had formed a good cycle. If the eggs of the light ants wereid on the higher section of the crystal wall, they would starve to death. Only the light ants that hatched closer to the soil got to eat.

    After devouring the soil the same volume as their size, the shimmering light ants and the crystal shell formed by their fathers and grandparents formed a colorful light veil.

    This light was not intense¡­ To use an analogy, it was the brightness of a mobile phone screen during the day. However, that was enough. After all, the underground people had a low-light vision. It was already fairly bright for them. If necessary, there would be another Green Fire or something else in the room as a light source for close-up inspection.

    In the ntationyer, immense light was needed to promote the growth of crops. Farmers would use something like a bricyer¡¯s trowel to shovel out the eggs of light ants and then throw them into the dung to bury them. It would create ¡°light ants¡± with strong light. After sifting them out, the farmers would smear them on the y again to produce a vital light source that couldst for three months. It was just like spreading caviar.

    The explorationyer was thergest area. It wasrger than the other threeyersbined. This was territory belonging to the ¡°Digger Council¡±.

    They had multiple goals that expanded further than the exploration for more ores. They would also drill holes in the ground, excavate the remains of ancient creatures, and explore areas conducive to living, making driveways, or growing crops. For them,nterns made of Green Fire were more convenient than light ants.

    In the deepest submergedyer, the driveway was not so high. The same light would be dazzling.

    It was like walking through a time travel tunnel ¡ª the fast train speed and colorful hemispherical crystal tunnel made everything look extraordinarily dreamy.

    It did not take long.

    The group had rushed to the bottom of the sea.

 Chapter 464: Leviathan

    <h4>Chapter 464: Leviathan</h4>

    The so-called seafloor tunnel was also part of the deep submergedyer.

    I wonder how the Underground Federation does it¡­

    Light ants also piled up the crystal wall that meandered to the other end.

    The majority of the tunnel was embedded in the seabed. It was not a semi-circr tunnel but an inverted U-shape tunnel with an arch bridge erected vertically on both sides.

    The primary soilponent of the sea bottom was corpses and feces instead of soil. Thus, the light shone much brighter than when it was in the deep submergedyer. The crystal walls were polished smoothly by the pressure of the deep sea, and they were sturdy enough to withstand even the immense pressure of the ocean floor.

    This ¡°light dragon¡±, which was meandering and making noises from time to time, had already dispersed the sea creatures from approaching.

    Of course, not all deep-sea creatures would be expelled by the intense light and noise. It was not ruled out that there would be animals who could not bear it and choose to attack the crystal wall.

    Just as the five people watched, a vague ck silhouette like a massive whale with eight tentacles was projected on the crystal wall in the distance. As the train approached, it gradually became clearer with its size increasing.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Jiu Er asked curiously.

    ¡°It seems to be some kind of deep-sea creature.¡±

    Lin Yiyi stared at it for a while. Finally, she gave up guessing and shook her head, ¡°They are deep sea creatures. No one can see them anyway, so they just keep growing. It¡¯s unsurprising no matter what they look like.¡±

    But soon, they felt something was wrong.

    The creature first approached from the direction of the backlight, and it appeared hazy.

    However, as the train got closer, they gradually saw what it was.

    At least, they could roughly determine that its body length was more than 200 meters. There was no doubt that it was a behemoth!

    It had been hovering above the crystal wall as if thinking about something and looking for something.

    ¡°Is it going to hit us?¡± Looking at the growing ck silhouette, Suuankou murmured, ¡°If it hits¡­¡±

    Thinking of this possibility, the yers broke into a cold sweat.

    yers could be resurrected, but if that massive silhouette broke the tunnel¡­ Annan would be buried at the bottom of the sea!

    They stopped chatting and raised their heads to stare at the shadow.

    They could only hope it would give up attacking the crystal wall, and there was nothing else they could do.

    Or, perhaps it would hesitate a little longer until the train crossed the ck Sea and reached the northern continent!

    Then, even if the tunnel was broken, it did not matter to them!

    However, after the train approached, the monster became excited instead.

    It turned back and stared at Annan¡¯s group.

    Only then did Annan see it clearly that the creature had pale skin, six pairs of eyes, and eight huge octopus-like tentacles. Besides that, it looked like a whale or a shark.

    ¡°It seems to be treating the train like some small fish.¡± Annan whispered, ¡°Everyone, be careful¡ª¡±

    He was not as panicked as the yers.

    In the worst scenario, he would summon Frost Tower the moment the crystal wall was smashed. It should protect Annan from being crushed to death instantly and buy time for rescue.

    However, when the huge ¡°undersea whale/shark¡± opened its mouth and wanted to bite at them.

    It was swallowed by something even bigger without warning!

    The new ¡®thing¡¯ really swallowed it.

    Even as they looked carefully through the crystal wall, they could not make out what it was. There was only a massive mouth with threeyers of sharp teeth, suddenly lunging the whale shark from the bottom.

    The tentacle shark even struggled a little before being swallowed directly.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Nigel broke into cold sweat out of panic, looking in the direction where the shadow left and muttering.

    The yers were ashen-faced. At the very moment something was about to happen, they had even forgotten about whether they could be resurrected.

    It was an instinctive fear.

    However, Annan was rather thoughtful.

    He was probably the only one who knew the truth among all the people on this train, including the train conductor.

    That was because a prompt popped up in front of him at that moment:

    [You have acquired the new mark: ¡°Novice Influence: the Leviathan¡¯s air¡±.]

    [If you don¡¯t remove it in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°sea¡± after seven days (Difficulty: Hard).]

    the Leviathan¡¯s air¡ª

    This was not Annan¡¯s first time seeing this influence.

    ording to Benjamin, the Leviathan¡¯s air was around him when he lost his memory and copsed on the beach at Freezing Water Port. Then, Benjamin eliminated the influence in Annan, considering that he was not a transcender.

    Another ¡°Leviathan¡± known to Annan was an underwater female beast that appeared in Earth¡¯s mythology. The name ¡°Leviathan¡± itself had the meaning of ¡°crack¡± and ¡°vortex¡±, which was a massive sea serpent that could coil a continent.

    It existed in this world as one of the Mysterious Lady¡¯s Supreme Monsters.

    Annan, who had bought a lot of false tomes, already knew what those three monsters were.

    It was just as Annan had expected.

    The three Supreme Monsters were ¡°Leviathan¡±, ¡°Behemoth¡± and ¡°Ziz¡±. Among them, the Leviathan was a ¡°giant serpent that traverses all oceans¡±. It could incur tsunamis at will and was the king of all sea creatures.

    It was recorded in the ¡°Book of Job¡±, representing the three most enormous monsters in the sea,nd, and air. Their prototype was the fat-headed fish, the flightless and the green caterpir. The fat-headed fish and the flightless battled each other, which was also taken from this allusion.

    The Underground Federation was a country sheltered by the Mysterious Lady.

    Although she and the Silent Lady were not in the Underground Federation all year round and traveled to strange ces, she would not ignore the Underground Federation entirely.

    Leviathan might have taken on a mission to maintain undersea tunnels.

    This also exined why the sea beast hesitated before attacking the underwater tunnel.

    It was because of Leviathan¡¯s deterrence!

    When Annan was cleared of memory and left Mysterious Lady, Leviathan should have sent Annan away.

    Since it was the Sea King Leviathan, not the Giant Bird Ziz¡­

    But would that mean that the ce where Annan met the Mysterious Lady was on the bottom of the ocean and not some isted ind?

    While Annan was pondering about it, the train passed the sea region and went into the deep submergedyer of another continent.

    Although there were the same light ants, the soilponent of the Austere-Winter Continent was different from that of Noah. Compared with the Noah Kingdom, which was dominated by warm colors such as red, orange, yellow, and pink mixed with blue and green tones, the crystal wall here wasposed of pure sky blue and light purple. It was much more dazzling than the previous scene.

    A few hourster, the train returned to the subway level.

    Nigel was getting out of the car.

 Chapter 465: Arriving At Austere-winter Dukedom

    <h4>Chapter 465: Arriving At Austere-winter Dukedom</h4>

    The group was reaching Coldwind Fortress. It was almost time for Nigel to get off.

    ¡°Then everyone, I¡¯m leaving¡­¡±

    The middle-aged painter with a hunched back nodded to the rest of the group. He also said respectfully to Annan, ¡°I wish you a pleasant journey too.¡±

    Although Nigel still could not figure out the true identity of ¡°Your Excellency Annan¡±, he was aware that Annan and the Paper Princess should be closed.

    ¡ªAnnan is probably the Paper Princess¡¯s heir.

    Nigel thought he should have more respect for Annan.

    Until now, he did not realize that Annan was the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    As an ordinary person, he never thought about it in that direction.

    After all, Nigel was an ordinary painter who had never left his country and concentrated on painting, unlike the ritualist like his mother or an evil painter like Amos, who was rted to the transcender. Moreover, Nigel did not even know the name of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, let alone the name ¡°Annan¡±.

    He did not even know how many children King Noah had. Instead, he only knew that the king was dead.

    On the underground train, Nigel also mentioned to Annan¡¯s group that he chose to leave Noah at this time partly because the king had passed away.

    In his anticipation, the capital would be chaotic until the Silver Sire Holy Day. Even a painter like himself would be asked to pick a side, or else he would die in an ¡°ident¡±. Nigel wanted to avoid trouble, so he ran away in advance.

    How did the king die? Who would the new king be? What would the future hold for Noah?

    He did not know anything, but it was better to flee first for the time being.

    Nigel thought so.

    This was themon sense of ordinary people regarding politics.

    Since the Roseburg Viscount incident, Annan had hardly encountered any mortals who had absolutely nothing to do with the transcended world and the upper echelons of the kingdom.

    Although Nigel was quite a famous painter in Noah, he was to the extent that the newspaper office could easily get an appointment from him. He was neither affluent nor connected to the upper echelons.

    Celebrities of this level were merely ¡°ordinary people with a bit of fame¡± for big shots. They were not even valid chess pieces.

    Therefore, even to Lin Yiyi and the yers who could take the subway, Nigel¡¯s attitude was respectful and gentle for fear of offending the underlings of some bigwigs.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasant journey, Mr. Nigel.¡± Lin Yiyi said with a smile, ¡°I wish you a smooth journey as well.¡±

    Annan sat in the same position, closed his book, nodded slightly to Nigel, and said naturally, ¡°May Grandma keep you safe on thend of Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and may Silver Sire¡­ Oh, the name of Old Grandmother should be praised here.¡±

    Nigelughed and said to Annan, ¡°May the Old Grandmother bless you too.¡±

    Then, he carried the suitcase a little tiredly.

    For ordinary people, this kind of journey was strenuous. It started in the morning and arrived at the destination at 9:00 p.m.

    As the train slowly decelerated and stopped, the noise of expelling gas came.

    The door opened. The cold wind blew in from outside, and Suuankou shivered.

    As a matter of fact, he was the only male among the three yers, but he was also the only yer whose Constitution attribute was less than 5.

    After Nigel got out of the car, Suuankou responded quickly and crossed the corridor. He sat next to Annan again.

    Although it was already 8:30 in the evening, there were still 7 people in the carriage.

    Now that it¡¯s February, Noah is getting warmer very early, and the capital is not as cold as before.

    The yers had already put on trench coats and capes. They wore wool vests or shirts ¡ª this was a batch of ¡°yer-standard equipment¡± that Annan asked Longjing Tea to get at wholesale prices.

    Each yer was given a suite in Roseburg, and eight sets of clothes were bought in advance for all seasons of the year. These outfits would be delivered in advance when the season came. Annan intended to treat this as a bonus reward for the senior yers.

    It did not cost much money or effort. However, the yers would feel like Annan noticed and remembered them.

    When new yers arrive in the future, old yers would feel a sense of superiority. This sense of superiority was not at the expense of the new yers¡¯ gaming experience, but the feeling was much more prominent.

    ¡°I thought Mr. Nigel would give us a painting each.¡± Jiu Er sighed and mumbled softly.

    Suuankou also smacked his lips, obviously feeling a little disappointed, ¡°At least he should give us a sketch or something. When he bes famous in the future, it can be sold for a lot of money.¡±

    ¡°Why are you selling it? That¡¯s a lot ofmemorative value.¡± Jiu Er retorted, ¡°This is not something ordinary people can get. It¡¯s a souvenir when you walk away from a famous painter. Isn¡¯t it more meaningful than selling for that little money?¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t draw because he¡¯s not in that mood.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, ¡°Nigel shouldn¡¯t be on this train for travel but evacuation. He might have faced some troubles.¡±

    ¡°Trouble?¡± Lin Yiyi showed a curious expression, ¡°How did you notice it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. When we came, the hydraulic tform had already returned to its original level. There was no staff nearby, so Nigel should havee to the deep underground level very early. Thus, something is going off here.¡±

    Annan flipped through the book and replied softly, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he have friends with him?

    ¡°Even if no one but him can get onto the subway floor, they can still chat on the surface level and wait for the time to pass. It¡¯s not a good experience to wait for the train by yourself.

    ¡°Nigel is a well-known painter, and many people want to tter him. With his cautious personality when dealing with people, he will not offend any friends. But he came to take the subway by himself and waited at the subway level directly.¡±

    ¡°Does this mean that he sneaked out?¡± Lin Yiyi spected along Annan¡¯s train of thought.

    Suuankou shook his head and vetoed what his sister said, ¡°To be precise, he doesn¡¯t want other people to worry about him.

    ¡°He came to Austere-Winter Dukedom more than just to travel. Therefore, there must be some danger ahead.¡±

    Then, Suuankou did not know what to say next.

    As a mortal, what other dangerous activities could he be involved in?

    Watching the yers fall into silence and thinking hard, Annan couldn¡¯t help butugh aloud, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he paint us a picture? The answer is simple.

    ¡°He is an ordinary person in his fifties. Since he only has a suitcase that can be carried in one hand, he won¡¯t have any picture frame, easel, or canvas. The canvas cannot be folded, and it isn¡¯t possible to store the easel and the picture frame. If he carries pens, palettes, coloring oils, and paints, there is simply no room for clothes, let alone daily necessities.¡±

    This was a problem that yers in modern life would not consider.

    In a world where technology pointed to the 16th century, getting around took more work.

    There were nomissaries where you could easily buy water, food, clothes, shoes, and tools. There was no phone that convenientlybined wallet and ID. Medicines, drinking water, food, clothes, and most importantly¡­ the silver and copper coins used in daily transactions were not light in weight.

    Coupled with the preparations for his work, there was a limit to how much he could bring.

    ¡°The answer is simple. From the very beginning, Nigel knew where he was going and what he did not need to take. He was not ¡®traveling¡¯ aimlessly, wandering around, but with a clear purpose. It was more like he was on a business trip.¡±

    Annan replied calmly, ¡°So it¡¯s obvious. He must have been called here by someone. Since he ventures to a foreign country and keeps it a secret from his friends, it¡¯s naturally somewhat dangerous.¡±

    Spy? Elopement? Smuggling? Treasure hunting?

    Or something else?

    Hearing Annan¡¯s reasoning, the yers immediately came up with various spections.

    Annan nced at them. The corners of his mouth rose, ¡°Okay, stop guessing. Anyway, we will meet again if fate brings us together. Nigel is not the kind of person who will do dangerous things. We wished good luck. We may meet again soon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat something to fill our stomachs. We¡¯ll be getting off in less than an hour.

    ¡°When we get to the ce, I¡¯ll invite you to supper.¡±

    On the other side, in the tower of the storm wrapped in the never-ending storm¡­

    Maria opened her eyes slowly, frowning slightly, and looked into the distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s Annaning home?¡±

 Chapter 466: Storm Tower

    <h4>Chapter 466: Storm Tower</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t that Maria could perceive Annan¡¯s presence directly.

    [Winter Heart] did not offer that feature.

    After listening carefully, Maria opened her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s really Annan!¡±

    She ¡°heard¡± Annan¡¯s voice.

    Indeed, auditory hearing ¡ª Maria could already hear Annan¡¯s voice by the time Annan had gotten so close to her.

    On paper, the Storm Tower was situated in the St. Felix Province, which was Nigel¡¯s destination near the ¡°Coldwind Fortress¡±.

    In terms of distance measured in a straight line, it was less than 20 miles.

    Of course, that calction was more ¡°theoretical¡±.

    With that said, no one would be able to find the Storm Tower on the map.

    The reason was simple.

    The location of the Storm Tower was 3 kilometers above the exact location marked on the map.

    It was unlike the Papal Kingdom, which was propped up by massive mushroom-shaped mountains and built high in the sky.

    Instead, the Storm Tower hung in the empty spaces 3 kilometers above ground.

    That was already close to the flight altitude of a civil aircraft.

    Additionally, there was a gray-white translucent barrier, the Large Barrier Generator erected, which was alsomonly known as the ¡°urban barrier¡±.

    Thus, ordinary people could not even notice it when they arrived at the coordinates of the Storm Tower.

    Moreover, the Storm Tower had a different shapepared to the traditional ¡°tower¡± like the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    That was because the Storm Tower was upside down.

    The spire faced down, and the bottom was at the top. At the top of the spire was a beam leading straight down to the wall of frost breath and many small barriers.

    It appeared more like a spaceship than a ¡°tower¡±.

    Maria sat cross-legged at the top of Storm Tower without any protection, inverted.

    Her long silver-white hair exuding a bluish hue, draped quietly to her waist. She appeared as if she had ignored the storm around her.

    She wore her usual white tulle skirt and a hollowed-out silver crown on her head. Compared with the previous hunt on the defected wolf girl, the number of dragon scales on her body increased further.

    In addition to her neck and ankles, silver-white dragon scales appeared outside her wrist, jawbone, and calf.

    Two silver-white dragon horns protruded on her forehead.

    But strangely, she was upside down like the Storm Tower, but her hair and long skirt did not hang down toward the ground. It looked like she and the tower were mirror images¡­ like mirages.

    Although she waspletely exposed to the Old Grandmother¡¯s frost breath, she was not engulfed by the Gray Mists.

    It was not because she could avoid the Gray Mists but because the Gray Mists did not exist at this height anymore.

    There were endless hurricanes entwined around the Storm Tower at the speed of reaching 200 kilometers per hour. If they were to descend to the ground, cities would be destroyed.

    The hurricanes, like dragon¡¯s roars, had even distorted the sky outside the barrier. The whorl-shaped hurricane went straight to the bottom of the inverted tower, providing energy for the wizard tower.

    The Storm Tower, which could fly at will, must also stay in ce to extract and digest the storm power that lingered in the sky.

    The storm would multiply if the tower left this air space for a short while.

    This was because the elemental power polluted the surrounding world. The core of this storm was no longer this world. Instead, it was ¡°a small part of the immaterial world¡± that fit into the cracks of this world.

    A high concentration of elemental power was corrosive to the reality of this ce.

    Just as elemental power could easily destroy material or energy defenses, Annan¡¯s [Frost Sword] was fatal to the Bronze Rank and Silver Rank Transcender even before he advanced to be a transcender.

    Ordinary things that did not have the elemental power could hardly resist any other elemental power.

    If the concentration of the elemental power escted, it would pollute an area and transform the surrounding into an environment suitable for its element.

    The fourth-generation tower master of the Tower of Storm, Artaste Frostwhisper, was a formidable transcender.

    She was revered as the Storm¡¯s Eldest Daughter ¡ª the founder of the profession: ¡°Daughter of the Storm¡±. She could fly from the westernmost side of the continent to the easternmost side in three breaths.

    This feat was equivalent to flying from the Noah Kingdom to the Papal Kingdom.

    She could destroy a town with one blow. In fact, that was the town of the elves, which was a city protected by curse energy.

    She could also listen to the wordsing from the wind and hear the conversation of a designated person at a distance of more than 30 miles. Not to mention she had other abilities like summoning the wind and rain, changing the weather, summoning lightning storms, and other abilities.

    One day, she acquired the Book of Truth called ¡°the Anthem of the Storm and Heart¡±.

    Everyone thought she would be a Storm Deity. Some people had even built shrines for her in advance, and some werepeting to be her pope.

    But for some reason, such a powerful transcender had her ascendancy ritual fail.

    It was an irreversible failure that directly led to her death. The Book of Truth she hadpiled was also scattered back into the world. At the same time, Artasta did not even leave her soul behind. It was the kind of death that destroyed both the body and soul.

    Before she died, the elemental power lost control. It was about to condense an infinitely increasing hurricane ¡ª Artasta¡¯s sense of mission as the tower master made her send the Storm Tower up from the ground. It soared beyond the Great Barrier and was inverted in the sky. At the expense of her soul, she arranged the ritual to erect a core that used the power of the never-ending storm to rece the energy that typically came from the leylines as the wizard tower¡¯s power supply.

    The storm power was naturally iparable to curse energy.

    But after the end of the Third Era, the curse energy had be obsolete. The Storm Tower had be the only ¡°main tower¡± that could activate all the abilities of the wizard tower of the old era.

    Over the past few hundred years, the Storm Tower had deviated from its anchor point.

    One of them was to end the Blood War.

    The Daughter of the Storm of that generation brought the storm¡¯s power to the sea surface. It was a storm thatsted seven days and six nights, forcing the hot-blooded to calm down.

    Another time the Storm Tower was utilized was to destroy the Necromancer Alliance.

    Every time the Storm Tower left its anchor point, the scale of the storm would increase tremendously. After leaving twice, it had doubled in size from the beginning. No one knew the limits of the Storm Tower. Thus, from the end of Blood War until now, the Storm Tower had never moved.

    In the current state, the Large Barrier Generator of Austere-Winter Dukedom was built around the Storm Tower.

    The unfortunate death of Storm¡¯s Eldest Daughter was undeniably a time bomb to Austere-Winter Dukedom and even the whole world. Still, it could also exist as a steady stream of energy if used properly.

    Those who could inherit the power of the Daughter of the Storm would immediately be a formidable Gold Rank transcender.

    The qualification was simple: Edict Wizard, female, Silver Rank, and most importantly ¡ª possessed the divine blood.

    Although it was not necessary to have the blood of the Old Grandmother, it must be the direct bloodline of the deities. Otherwise, human beings would be unable to withstand the elemental power infused into the body during the inheritance process.

    Only the heirs of the deities could pass this damage to the ancestors and survive the trials of inheritance.

    ¡°Vasily Manning!¡± Maria opened her eyes. Her eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

    Why was Annaning to Austere-Winter, but I hadn¡¯t been notified?

    Didn¡¯t Vasily say that Annan went to the Noah Kingdom? Didn¡¯t he say that he would help Kafni inherit the throne?

    Why did hee to Austere-Winter at this time?

    She was unprepared!

    She was still cultivating in the Storm Tower and could only leave at the end of the month.

    Moreover, she had only been here for two days!

    Maria immediately had a bad mood.

    If she knew that Annan would be here this month, she wouldn¡¯t return to Storm Tower.

    The crackling lightning throbbed uneasily in her eyes. The moment Maria had a bad mood, her hair flew up. An uncontroble storm spread rapidly around her with her at its center.

    Vasily, just you wait!

    Maria chose a person to me without hesitation.

    But what about Annan?

    Of course, Annan couldn¡¯t be wrong. He was a good boy, and he definitely had something to do when he came to Austere-Winter.

    I just don¡¯t know if Annan will leave within a month¡­

    No, even if he leaves Austere-Winter Dukedom, I have to look for him!

    I haven¡¯t seen Annan for too long. After the maintenance work of the Storm Tower this time, I don¡¯t have toe back for half a year. No matter where Annan is, I can go after him directly.

    ¡°Wait for me, Annan¡­¡± Maria muttered anxiously.

 Chapter 467: Natta County

    <h4>Chapter 467: Natta County</h4>

    Sure enough, Maria did not possess the ¡°storm¡± element.

    As Annan¡¯s sister, her soul element was naturally ¡°frost¡±.

    As the Daughter of the Storm, she was not required to go through the soul burning process to absorb the ¡°storm¡± element.

    Instead, her mission was to appease the living storm.

    The Daughter of the Storm was the most peculiar tower¡¯s daughter.

    They were priestesses who worshipped the concept of ¡°storm¡± itself.

    The elemental power surging within her would only be Artaste¡¯s storm element.

    In the past, the mission of Storm Tower was to suppress extreme weather: tornadoes, typhoons, tsunamis, thunders¡­ natural disasters that were difficult for human beings to fight against, and only the pure nguage¡± power could resist.

    But since Artaste, the essence of Storm Tower had changed.

    It still inherited the most ancient and orthodoxnguage power spell, the predecessor of the current Edict spell.

    But now, the mission of each generation of the Daughter of the Storm had evolved ¡°into absorbing and preserving the ever-expanding elements of the storm.¡±

    Right above the Storm Tower was the space crack connected to the immaterial world.

    The escaping elemental power must be collected to ensure that the storm did not further erode reality. If the storm were allowed to expand, this crack would be bigger.

    The Daughter of the Storm did not need to burn her soul to increase her depth of the storm element. It could reach a higher realm even beyond the limit of 100%. However, it would alter her soul tremendously.

    Until the end, the soul would grow to the extent that the body could not hold it. Only death awaited it. After all, only a sentient brain could store the elemental power.

    The overflowing elemental power born after their death could further erode reality. Thus, the Daughters of the Storm would throw themselves into the crack above and die in the immaterial world at the critical point.

    This meant that they died without a whole body.

    This was also the responsibility of a transcender.

    Thus, only responsible girls would be acknowledged during the Daughter of the Storm selection.

    To solve this problem¡­not to die after receiving this strength, the solution was simple.

    The power of such a high element concentration had already satisfied one of the conditions of the ascendancy ritual. As long as she could be a deity and be a ¡°living pir of the world¡±, she couldpletely control the concept of storm and suppress this curse that had been passed down for hundreds of years.

    However, the [Anthem of the Storm and Heart] was lost since the Storm¡¯s Eldest Daughter perished.

    The Storm¡¯s Eldest Daughter was a transcender who lived in the early Yasn Empire and a transcender who lived in the middle of the Third Age.

    At the end of the Third Age, the Anthem of the Storm and Heart appeared sporadically several times. At that time, there were still elites holding the anthem from time to time in the historical records.

    After the end of the Third Age, there came 200 years with no historical records.

    Since those 200 years had ended, the Anthem had never reappeared in this world.

    It was like the anthem had disappeared out of thin air.

    The anthem still existed in this world ¡ª Prophet magic could confirm this. However, its specific location had been lost. Only those who hold the storm element could see it. The Truth Fragment would not manifest until a qualified person appeared.

    It was even possible that someone hid the anthem. As long as the person who held it was not dead but had been living somewhere after aplete collection of it, it would hinder the Book of Truth from appearing.

    But how did the person who possesses the anthem to live so long?

    Why hadn¡¯t the person holding it ascended yet?

    That was all a mystery.

    To take a step back, the Storm¡¯s Eldest Laughter, who was almost the incarnation of Storm, failed in the ascendancy. Could the other Daughter of the Storm as her heirs seed in the ascendancy with this Book of Truth?

    However, Maria remained fearless in this situation.

    She was just regretful that she couldn¡¯t get the Book of Truth.

    When the unqualified were born, the Book of Truth would only circte on different ¡°seeds¡± in the form of page fragments.

    The birth of qualified people alone was not enough to make the Book of Truth fully manifest at once ¡ª it was just that it could be manifested.

    The number of sacrifices must also be sufficient.

    Just like the sacrifice that gave birth to ¡°light¡± was the ¡°mirror¡±.

    That was because [light is born from a mirror].

    However, Maria had no idea what the sacrifice that gave Storm would be.

    That must be ult knowledge hidden in the storm realm.

    As the Daughter of the Storm, Maria knew that the entire [Anthem of the Storm and Heart] was four pages long. One page was the truth about wind, and the other was the truth about thunder and electricity; the remaining two pages remained unclear.

    However, even if she just obtained a page or two¡­ Even if it was only one page, she would try the ascendancy ritual.

    It was much better than waiting to die.

    Annan arrived at his destination¡­

    On the other side¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose, Dove, Anderson, and Yokai Sensei, four yers and a cat, had also arrived in Natta County.

    As the yer who participated in the mission the most, Delicious Wind Goose had sessfully advanced into Silver Rank. He was also the first to acquire the Silver Rank profession among the yers.

    He did not choose the unpopr and rare professions, given his character.

    Otherwise, he would focus on something else rather than choosing the warrior profession.

    Being a warrior was the mostmon and staple profession in almost all games.

    And, it was his pursuit to y with an ordinary profession.

    Moreover, Swordmaster hardly got any advancement, so its profession advancement would not be underwhelming.

    Therefore, when Lin Yiyi, who had reached the critical point at the same level, was still trying to get the designated gems, he had already advanced.

    Therefore, the advancement of Delicious Wind Goose was also simple.

    The new profession¡¯s name was ¡ª Sword Saint.

    The advancement could onlye from the two professions, [Swordmaster] and [Sword Dancer]. It was a profession that extracted the strengths of many swordsmanships and elevated its swordsmanship to the limit.

    Unlike [Swordmaster], Sword Saints could not fight in armor. They could only wear the mostmon cloth armor. At the same time, they had to swear not to put poison on their weapons and not to alternate their profession to any other profession.

    Aspensation, Sword Saints would gain exceptionally flexible mobility and devastating attack power¡ªand the real secret was that the Sword Saints had two ¡°switches¡±. That would allow them to convert the Strength attribute to the Agility attribute and vice versa. They could manipte how much the attribute shifts, and there was no limit to using it.

    In addition, Sword Saints could also umte energy resources called ¡°Qi¡± through meditation, which enabled them to sh out powerful prating sword energy. The upper limit of Qi was rted to the Perception attribute. The Sword Saints, with a solid will, could instantly exchange positions with their sword energy. As for the number of times to activate this ability, it was closely rted to the Will attribute as well.

    Thus, there was a high demand for the four attributes: Strength, Agility, Perception, and Will. However, there were only these three skills avable to them. Other than that, there was no other ability given to them.

    Undoubtedly, it was a simple profession with high damage output.

    With Anderson as the ¡°guard¡±, Dove and Chocte taking on the role of the [Hunter] and [Thief] profession, and Yokai Sensei as the Silver Sire Priest, the four of them formed a five-person team with one Tank, one Healer, one Hunter, one Thief, and one DPS.

    [DPS: Damage per second. The powerhouse of delivering damage.]

    ¡ªIndeed, it was a team of five.

    Only in this way could they effectively adventure the game, the currently known most difficult dungeon instance ¡ª the birthce of Demon Blood, Natta County.

 Chapter 468: There Are No Taboos After Sunset

    <h4>Chapter 468: There Are No Taboos After Sunset</h4>

    Natta County was the westernmost city in the Noah Kingdom.

    It was best known for the fact that half of its downtown was exposed outside the Great Barrier of the Noah Kingdom.

    A bird-eye view would disy a sharp contrast:

    At first nce, the city on the east side was no different from the Noah Kingdom¡¯s other cities.

    At the very least, the difference wasn¡¯t exaggerated.

    Crowded slums, noisy and dpidated shopping streets, rumbling factories and mills, and vast wheat fields outside the city.

    There were young girls selling flowers on the street, little boys and old men as beggars, and men with broken limbs who looked around at the rich people walking on the streets.

    Instead, there was only one difference.

    Natta County had no city guard, no police department, and no church.

    This was awless city with three underground gangs in charge of the city.

    Although chaotic and sinful, it was a living city, after all.

    But the west side was different.

    On the west side of Natta County, gray, rotten, dark green sticky mold clung to the surfaces of buildings. Even the rock tiles lost their color and turned dull gray. No one would stay there without any extra protective measures.

    The ornamental nts on the street had withered. The withered white shrubs and trees had be dry and brittle as if they were untreated for decades. The carcasses of small animals scattered on the ground¡ªsuch as dead mice, hedgehogs, and wild ducks. They had swelled up into clumps of wiggling meat that sat quietly like potted nts; all reaching the height of knees.

    But the strange thing was that the factory outside the city on the west side was still running.

    However, what it spewed was not grayish-white steam or dark yellow exhaust gas.

    Instead, it emitted a thick blood fog.

    The sky was covered with blood mist, and the clouds were dyed scarlet. This scarlet would prate the clouds at sunset and dye the evening light on the ¡°East City District¡±.

    This indicated that the carnival of blood and gunpowder was about to begin.

    After sunset, there were no taboos.

    In the dark alley, a gunshot rang. ¡°Bang!¡±

    If it were the other cities in the Noah Kingdom, the city guards would have been attracted to this ce at this time.

    But no one came to take a look.

    Yokai Sensei grinned and frowned as he handed the smoking, rusted flintlock pistol to Delicious Wind Goose behind him.

    Beneath his knees was a youth whose hands were severed, and his head exploded.

    Before the youth¡¯s skull bit the bullet, there were already two bullet wounds on his forehead.

    Yokai Sensei fumbled through him and found a gray metal foil like a horseshoe, three copper coins, an empty syringe, a small bag of bullets, and a small aluminum can of ¡°ck Fire¡±.

    Liquid ck Fire was a high-ranking alternative to gunpowder. It was more stable than gunpowder, and it would fire devastating bullets. After throwing the aluminum can of ¡°ck Fire¡± and hitting it with a bullet, it became a bomb.

    That was dangerous equipment.

    Luckily, just moments before the opponent shot, Dove suddenly jumped out behind him and kicked him on the back of the head, knocking him out directly.

    ¡°¡­As expected of Natta County.¡± After ying with the flintlock pistol seized from youth, Delicious Wind Goose muttered, ¡°Even such a young child would engage in robbery.¡±

    ¡°You call this a robbery?¡± Yokai Sensei took out a silver coin and tapped the bullet wound on Anderson¡¯s left arm, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Anderson knocking you away, you would have died already, even when you have just entered the city.¡±

    ¡°Stop bbering. Heal me!¡±

    Anderson covered his arm and called out with grinning teeth, ¡°Heal. It¡¯s a bruise, and it didn¡¯t hurt the bones¡­but maybe it hurt the tendons. My arm is twitching.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s rest first. Who knows what¡¯s going on here? Use the healing conservatively.¡±

    Yokai Sensei said casually. As if tossing a stone, he flipped the silver coin onto the wound with precision.

    The glinting silver coin melted into a ball of light when it touched the wound. The bullet wound on Anderson¡¯s arm healed immediately. Although it was a little ufortable, it was able to function normally.

    The wound was roughly taken care of.

    It would take a little more than two silver coins to recover from this injury fully.

    Luckily, Yokai Sensei was not gued with the ¡°obsessiveness toward healing¡±monly found in priests.

    Before entering the Mist Continent, he was a righteous healing trebuchet.

    [TN: Trebuchet as the metaphor of showering the heals.]

    Of course, he had now be a righteous healing glitter.

    [TN: The coin is glinting, thus the nickname.]

    This time, they went to Natta County to adventure the unexplored part of the game. Of course, they brought a lot of reserves¡ªan overloaded elite squad of four people, one cat, and about 120 silver coins.

    Serious injuries, such as broken limbs orrge-scale fractures of ribs, would take about 10 to 12 silver coins for an immediate full recovery. This meant that they had a reserve of healing resources of about 10 Health Bars.

    He was not so much a priest but a ¡°human-shaped health potion¡±.

    If it was a fatal injury like having the heart pierced, it was better to leave them to their demise rather than wasting the resources.

    Anderson did not have the divine art ability to treat critical injuries like that yet.

    Once it involves organs and the brain, the amount of silver coins needed increases exponentially.

    This was the amount that they had gathered together with other yers. Only then could they umte an adequate amount of silver coins. At the same time, nearly 40% of them were contributed by Longjing Tea alone.

    ¡°Should we look for a ce to stay?¡± Yokai Sensei nced at Dove and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s find an inn. I¡¯m a little hungry.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Delicious Wind Goose sneered, ¡°You¡¯re pretty courageous to live in an inn in this ce. Do you dare to eat what¡¯s served inside? Regardless of whether we will be turned into minced meat as food, I think these silver coins will be gone tomorrow. ¡°

    [TN: Reference to the Water Margin.]

    ¡°Then, what shall we do?¡± Anderson frowned, ¡°Are we still stuck with dry food and jerky? Where can we go offline tomorrow if we don¡¯t have a bed?¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid? Now you can go offline without a bed.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose squinted his eyes, ¡°Hear my proposal¡­ If you are not busy, the four of us should not go offline for the next two days. Whoever wants to eat, drink and poop can quickly go offline but return immediately. The rest will guard him.

    ¡°Are any of you busy?¡± The three people and one cat looked at each other, but no one spoke.

    Anderson replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have any issue with it.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Delicious Wind Goose nodded immediately, ¡°Then, that¡¯s decided for now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s revise our missions. Our main objective is to live here for a week, ovee three nightmares, and set up a teleportation waypoint for the rest of the yers¡­ preferablypleting the mission within ten days.

    ¡°The reward level of the three nightmare dungeon instances, the experience in the dungeon instance, plus the extra reward experience of the teleportation waypoint. The experience points given will raise Anderson and Dove to about Level 16 and 17.

    ¡°The good thing about Natta County is that there are many wild transcenders and demons here. Most of the transcenders in Natta County are felons. We don¡¯t have to worry about thews and the guilty from our conscience for this ce. My suggestion is to get Level 20 and advance to Silver Rank as soon as possible.

    ¡°The underground world is rich in resources but also dangerous. Compared with the unknown beasts, human beings are much more vulnerable. After hunting down a sufficient number of illegal transcenders, we refrain from the rank advancement at this ce. Instead, we retreat directly through the teleportation waypoint, head back to the capital, and advance in a safe ce.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    Anderson concluded, ¡°Kill some monsters, find nightmares, and clear the dungeons.¡±

    Yokai Sensei added, ¡°Also, find a ce to sleep, at least not to worry about losing money.¡±

    Dove let out a meow.

    ¡°¡­No, having a ce to sleep in peace is impossible.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was calm, ¡°We should be prepared for the worst, having our money and gear could be lost at any moment.

    ¡°I smell lust here¡­ This ce is full of deceit, betrayal, rage, and jealousy.¡±

 Chapter 469: It Is Common Sense To Take All The Missions Coincide With Our Journey

    <h4>Chapter 469: It Is Common Sense To Take All The Missions Coincide With Our Journey</h4>

    Although Delicious Wind Goose did not be the Holy Grail Knight, he still chose to serve the Cup-holding Lady.

    He endured his desire to advance to the Holy Grail Knight and caught Cup-holding Lady¡¯s attention, granting him holy light engravings.

    In fact, this was also one of his ns.

    In other words, this could also be regarded as Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s test on Cup-holding Lady.

    For other upright deities, this might be annoying to Them.

    But what the Cup-holding Lady liked most were the children putting themselves on the brink of danger.

    Instead, she started paying attention to Delicious Wind Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose suspected the abnormal appetite and sexual desire that appeared from time to time in the past few days was because the Cup-holding Lady was watching.

    Delicious Wind Goose traded these holy light engravings for three months of [Smell of Desire] before heading to Natta County.

    He could urately smell the ¡°desire¡± aura emanating from others.

    This would give him the upper hand when negotiating.

    But he had miscalcted, whereby the sinister thoughts filled this city everywhere.

    Every inch of thisnd was stained with desire and blood.

    It was like hell on earth.

    ¡°Be careful. But, we don¡¯t need to humble ourselves unless necessary.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said slowly, ¡°At max, I will drop to Level 20. For the rest of you, you can only drop to Level 10 at most. Yokai Sensei has no Transcended profession yet, and your death has no punishment. Worsees to worst, we will brute force our way out. ¡°

    ¡°Okay, got it.¡± Yokai Sensei shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. For now, we should find something to do since we¡¯re free. 48 hours¡­ Should we massacre this ce? Or can we join some forces?¡±

    Even though his original goal was to be a healing tank¡­

    After getting so many silver coins, Yokai Sensei still couldn¡¯t resist the temptation. He had saved up holy light engravings and wanted to buy Divine Art ¡°nging Object¡±.

    Shortly after entering the city, he seized another flintlock.

    In the current state, Yokai Sensei was confident about skirmishes.

    Although the flintlock only had a single shot and was inconvenient to be reloaded, he could hold the flintlock in his right hand and the silver coin in his left hand to release [nging Object]. Within twenty meters, he had the confidence to defeat two opponents instantly.

    Well, it was possible to equip every part member with a flintlock, except for Dove & Chocte.

    If Delicious Wind Goose and Anderson had a flintlock gun each, they could reduce the enemy¡¯s manpower by four the moment they entered the fight.

    Anderson would protect Dove. With her rapid-fire ability, her pet could kill one person every two seconds, even when it was the pet possessing her body. Of course, this was limited to a distance of fewer than 30 meters.

    For transcender enemies, Chocte¡¯s ambush would be deadly.

    A serval with three times the strength of an adult male could easily snap off the enemy¡¯s neck.

    After Dove advanced to the ¡°Beast Summoner¡±, the Serval would acquire a stable [Sneak] ability.

    Sneak could be activated in a third of a second and get out of sight from everyone. Chocte that controlled Dove¡¯s body could use three seconds to guide and directly recall the cat to within ten meters of it. This did not necessarily mean a defense measure, but it could also be regarded as a ¡°redeployment¡±.

    Although Anderson only had an ordinary [Guard] profession, he was the guard with the highest sess rate for parries.

    The ¡°Guard¡± profession had an ability called ¡°Perfect Block¡±. The specific effect was that if the user performed a full block immediately before the attack hit, the damage would receive a parry penalty. The penalty scoring was equivalent to half of the higher attribute between Strength and Agility.

    In other words, since Anderson had 18 points in the Agility attribute, if he perfectly parried an enemy¡¯s attack with 20 points of Strength, then the remaining damage he received would be regarded as only 11 Strength in the attack.

    If the enemy¡¯s Strength attribute were less than nine, he would be immune to the damage.

    Coupled with the curse ¡°I will not back down¡± that he held, when he blocked in front of his teammates, he could be immune to the knockback, knockdown, and knock-up effects of this attack at the cost of taking twice the damage. In addition, it allowed him to protect the party members at the back.

    As a simple and reliable tank, Anderson did not need fancy skills or abilities as long as he could sustain the damage for his teammates.

    The team did not have Noxus Wine with the highest attack power, Sister Hyphen as the strongest Parry and Tank, and the only Mage ¡ª Longjing Tea. However, the current team,posed of four people and one cat, remained the most potent urban warfarebination yers coulde up with.

    Dove¡¯s participation did not seem to be fully capitalized. In this environment, the Serval was stronger than its owner.

    A team capable of attacking fortifications, Boss Monsters, clearing mobs, remotely sniping, and ambush ¡ª the yers came together to form this lineup, not just to purify nightmares.

    The yers were ustomed to epting all missions before going to a destination.

    In addition to Annan¡¯s mission to ¡°set up the teleportation waypoint¡±, they also received an additional mission from Salvatore:

    ¡°¡ªIf you¡¯re going to Natta County, try to get a few bottles of Demon Blood. Even just one bottle is fine. I¡¯ll make each of you a bottle of powerful reagents that can temporarily boost your attributes as a reward. Also, I will pay you at the market price. If you have additional bottles, I will buy the rest at the market price.

    ¡°¡ªOh, by the way, it¡¯s better to collect some demon materials. Blood, eyeballs, horns, internal organs¡­ It will do as long as they areplete. I will give each of you a bottle that contains preservatives. Just throw whatever you get into it. When you return, I will give you money or a reagent ording to the quantity.¡±

    The mission spelled at least one bottle of Demon Blood and enough ¡°materials¡±.

    Thetter condition was manageable. Since it was in Natta County, there would be demons.

    But the former mission¡­

    ¡°To get Demon Blood, we must establish a good rtionship with the local gang organization. This is not something ordinary people can make.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose nced at the ordinary moon in the sky and said slowly in a low voice, ¡°In other words¡­you need to gain some faction reputation at least to the level of [Respect]. Only then will it be possible to get Demon Blood.

    ¡°It¡¯s best to get more of them and sell them to Salvatore. At least, we should not let those yers who support and invest in us lose money.¡±

    ¡°There are three gangs here. [Rotten Meat Gang], [Red Dead], [Mushroom Eater].¡±

    Yokai Sensei took the flintlock and ammo from Delicious Wind Goose before asking, ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°It can only be the [Red Dead]. I have already investigated beforehand.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose did not think too much and immediately replied, ¡°Although [Mushroom Eaters] are the primary producers of Demon Blood, they are also the only gang that domesticates demons.

    ¡°For us to get the materials, let¡¯s exclude this option.

    ¡°The [Rotten Meat] is a gang full of prostitution, gambling, and drugs. Judging from the name, there may be cannibalistic customs. Even if Dove doesn¡¯te, we can¡¯t enter.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said solemnly, ¡°Although it is a game, this is another real world. We have to maintain an appropriate moral bottom line.

    ¡°As for [Red Dead]¡­these illegal ritualists and transcenders who manufacture and sell arms are all made up of felons. I specte that their higher-ups are spies sent by other countries or rebels of the Noah Kingdom. What they¡¯re doing isn¡¯t quite right.

    ¡°They¡¯ve been making firearms in their factories at Natta County, and the firearms they¡¯re making are of high quality. They can even produce ¡®ck Fire¡¯. But the problem is that they have the most transcender. If Natta County doesn¡¯t have firearms, this ce would have been unified long ago. But instead of doing that, they sold the guns to other Natta County people at a higher price.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said slowly, ¡°In my analysis, they are not nning to stand out. A chaotic Natta County and an orderly Natta County are entirely different. The chaotic Natta County is just useless and dangerous garbage, and thetter already has the value of being noticed and used.

    ¡°The leader of ¡®Red Dead¡¯ is most likely using this gang as a cover to do something secretly. I will post these analyses on the forumter, but the truth has nothing to do with us. We don¡¯t want to explore blindly, asking for trouble. This is the hidden plot that theter yers need to consider, we just need toplete our mission and pave the way for them.

    ¡°Another reason is that they have the lowest level of restraint on the lower and middle ranks, with few rules other than limiting internal conflict ¡ª including fighting other gangs or looting and killing neutral parties.

    ¡°Let¡¯s attack a stronghold of the [Mushroom Eaters] first. We kill them all, preferably hunting a few demons. Then, we throw their bodies out and rest for a night. The [Mushroom Eaters] will take revenge, and we will have Dove using your ambush abilities to kill them all.

    ¡°After this matter, we will seek out the [Red Dead]. In this way, we carry some [weight] in their eyes. Only then, we can ask them for Demon Blood and the nightmares¡¯ keys.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose narrowed his eyes and frowned deeply.

    Compared with the past, the bald, burly man had begun to show a condensed and dangerous aura.

    ¡ªIt was just like the painting that the Paper Princess gave him.

 Chapter 470: Letâ€™s Forget About Lockpicking & Barge In Through the Wall

    <h4>Chapter 470: Let¡¯s Forget About Lockpicking & Barge In Through the Wall</h4>

    1 a.m..

    It was already bedtime.

    In Noah¡¯s other cities, those still wandering around at this time were considered criminals.

    However, in Natta County, the streets and alleys were still lively.

    yers saw three shabby-dressed children armed with a crossbow each, shooting poisoned arrows at a man who just passed the corner; he also saw an old man with white hair and a white beard pushing a small cart. There was a small sack struggling slightly; the yers also saw a woman¡¯s calf in red high-heeled shoes, which fell alone beside the trash can.

    But in fact, Anderson and the rest of the yers initially thought that Natta County would be more chaotic and lively at night. For example, the house would be demolished, robbed, or something. They did not expect to only encounter such minor events after walking through half of the city.

    Upon giving it a deeper thought, it made sense.

    After all, Natta County did not suddenly be like this. People¡¯s hearts were full of unrelenting panic and fear.

    And they had adapted to the life here.

    Those who want to stir up something big must have done it. There were no ¡°civilians¡± here anymore. Everyone knew each other, and a tacit understanding had formed.

    Or it could be interpreted as the forces here had already reached a ¡°stalemate¡±.

    Unless there was an opportunity to break the bnce¡­ For example, having new influencing figures or attractive and easy targets from outside. Otherwise, the situation was rtively stable.

    There were even two groups of people who attacked them.

    The first group consisted of three men, each armed with a flintlock and a good machete at their waist, seemingly robbers; the second group consisted of five people: two with rifles, two Bronze Rank Transcenders, and a petite, old ritualist. Their goal seemed to be capturing the yers.

    Ultimately, these two groups only pushed the yers to replenish their equipment and ammunition and dirtied Dove¡¯s fur.

    The first group did not even have time to fire a single shot.

    They only stared at the Yokai Sensei, who was fumbling for money.

    As a result, the silver coin in Yokai Sensei¡¯s hand suddenly turned into a beam of silver light, and the nging shock wave severed one of their upper bodies. Blood sprayed the area.

    They did not expect a Silver Sire Priest toe to Natta County. When the enemy was in a panic, Dove, who had already sneaked behind them, stepped on one of them and broke the target¡¯s neck. At the same time, she lunged at the remaining enemy with all her strength and pped his temple with one paw.

    The three opponents were killed swiftly.

    After gradually getting used to killing actual humans, the transcender¡¯s power was disyed solidly.

    Although the second group seemed much stronger, their death was worse.

    The reason being Delicious Wind Goose had participated.

    After Delicious Wind Goose saw the opposing ritualist take out a bottle of frog viscera on the street, he immediately recognized that the opponent wanted to ¡°summon the paralyzing cloud¡±. Thus, he immediately reacted.

    Before both sides could react, Delicious Wind Goose, who was silently at the back of the team, lowered his body slightly. He converted almost all of his Strength attribute to Agility and reached Anderson instantly with a flicker.

    Anderson even subconsciously wanted to raise his shield.

    But before he could raise the shield, Delicious Wind Goose had already drawn the de out from its sheath.

    The sword body shone with dazzling silver light, wrapped in a moonlight-like sword energy.

    ¡ªThis was the [Steady Sweep] from Bodyguard Swordsmanship, which was used when assaulting in a single direction while under siege.

    But under the blessing of [Sword Saint] ability, the released sword energy pierced through the five people with a single sh.

    The five enemies were severed in half in an instant.

    Those were all one-hit kills.

    The corpses of the two transcenders began to dry up and disintegrate, leaving behind a dagger and an empty potion bottle.

    This was the ¡°nightmare key¡± the enemies left behind.

    ¡°Fuck, is Silver Rank so strong?¡± Anderson looked dumbfounded, ¡°You weren¡¯t like this before you advanced!¡±

    If Delicious Wind Goose was his enemy, he could not defend against this blow at all.

    Unless he knew Old Goose¡¯s trajectory long ago and made a prediction at least one second in advance, his reaction speed could not keep up with Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s movement speed.

    Delicious Wind Goose took a deep breath, and the dark red rune on the back of his right hand gradually faded.

    ¡°It¡¯s a curse,¡± he exined.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s initial ¡°Lucky Roll¡± had saved his life several times. However, the new curse obtained during the advancement stage gave him a massive boost despite its usage being limited to specific scenarios.

    His newly acquired curse was called [Unrelenting].

    Delicious Wind Goose could not ¡°turn back and run away¡± in the state of ¡°de out of the sheath¡±. It was like the pawn pieces in Chinese chess. The yer could not move them diagonally but only forward. At the same time, the pawn pieces could not retreat. Otherwise, just like the pawn chess pieces, Old Goose¡¯s power would plummet and even his muscles would wither ording to the distance he fled when he turned his head back.

    Although Old Goose could not look back, things like ¡°jumping back¡± and ¡°rolling backward¡± were still allowed.

    If Old Goose wanted to turn back, he had to put the sword back into the sheath or throw the sword directly on the ground.

    On the other hand, as long as Delicious Wind Goose kept charging forward with the de out of the sheath, the damage of his next blow would be boosted depending on the moving distance and time. The upper limit was a three-fold boost.

    This was why he had always stayed at the backline of the team.

    If the enemy came from behind, Delicious Wind Goose could turn around and unsheath, finishing off the enemy first. With that, he would not be concerned about protecting the backline while fighting in the front.

    If the enemy appeared from the front and his teammates could not defeat it, he could use the distance from the backline to the frontline of the team tounch a [Charge]. That would activate the curse to increase the power of his first ¡°Sword Qi¡±.

    This was their pre-agreed tactic.

    To fully exercise the curse, Old Goose needed to charge at least a distance of about 60 meters. This distance would create about a 40% to 50% boost.

    Having something was better than nothing.

    ¡°Neckless. How much sword energy did you use?¡±

    Dove seriously sent a private message to Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°Your charge distance should not increase the power so much.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose nced at the cat calmly and replied, ¡°It¡¯s still plenty. I still have 8 ¡°bars¡± of qi energy.¡±

    Anderson also frowned, ¡°So, you have depleted two bars of energy? Wouldn¡¯t it be a waste?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose had to meditate for three hours to umte one sword energy bar.

    At the same time, he could store 10 bars of energy at most.

    The yers were certain that there would be no time for Old Goose to slowly meditate and recover his energy in the first few days before arriving in Natta County. It was not like the mana pool that would recover naturally with the sunrise and sunset.

    This was why they adopted such a tactic. They would have the tank and the healer at the front and the melee damage output profession at the back.

    This was to provide that [Charge] distance to Old Goose topensate for power and conserve sword energy.

    ¡°Being able to act first and keep us in good shape is the optimum approach.¡± Delicious Wind Goose was calm, ¡°Our resources should be used at such times. Sometimes you can¡¯t be greedy.¡±

    He squinted his eyes and nced ahead. Then, he said in a low voice, ¡°We have remained stealthy so far, and that¡¯s important.

    ¡°Half a street ahead is Rotten Fang No. 21. If we make too much noise here and they notice us in advance, we will lose the advantage of making the first move. Then, we will have bigger trouble.¡±

    The closer the team was to the critical moment, the calmer Delicious Wind Goose became.

    There must be someone patrolling near the target.

    They were not designated to guard against the yer team but the other two gangs.

    Dove entered the [Sneak] state to take out the lurking sentries. Under the protection of the night, she silently moved along the wall and advanced.

    She detoured for about 15 minutes and silently eliminated a hidden sentry and a stationed sentry. Then, she posted a screenshot on the forum.

    ¡°¡ªTheir sentry system works in pairs. There are two hidden sentries and two stationed sentries. We can¡¯t get around thest hidden sentry. They are inside with the target. I detoured around twice and still couldn¡¯t get in. They are watching the stationed sentry at the front corner. On the other side, the stationed sentry is looking in the direction opposite to ours. I have marked the exact location.

    ¡°Since the stationed sentry doesn¡¯t look in our direction, they may not notice us. Do we use my main body to eliminate the lurking sentry? The sound of the broken window might attract attention instead¡­ Or should weunch a frontal assault directly?¡±

    Dove asked Delicious Wind Goose.

    Anderson turned to look at Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°Boss, what should we do? We didn¡¯t bring any rogue with us.¡±

    How to pry the door in?

    Or should they go in through the window?

    To be honest, Old Goose was a little nervous too.

    In the previous fewrge-scale events, his participation was far from the height the rest of the yers perceived.

    Since he had to take on the role of a defender ins this attack¡­ even an attack with assassination elements, he began to doubt whether he could do it well.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to shoot the arrow. Instead, we should charge in directly.¡± Delicious Wind Goose narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°You guys sneak in first. Then, I will rush over from here and unleash three bars worth of sword energy at the wall. A sword attack with a three-fold boosting effect should be able to simultaneously smash the wall and kill those standing behind it.

    ¡°Then, the rest of you immediately confront the enemy. Chocte, your target is the stationed sentry left outside and then you will proceed to back us up. Everyone else follows me in through the gap!¡±

    If there is a way in through the wall, ignore the windows; if there is a way in through the window, ignore the door.

    This was what Brother Sledgehammer taught him.

 Chapter 471: Tank! You Still Have to Dodge the Instant Death Event

    <h4>Chapter 471: Tank! You Still Have to Dodge the Instant Death Event</h4>

    2 a.m. was the dead of night.

    A silver-white sword energy unfolded silently; it was as pure as moonlight.

    Its lethality was indisputable.

    ¡ªBoom!

    The sword energy sted the targeted wall.

    Apanied by the sound of the wall copsing, dense smoke permeated the battlefield.

    Dove darted at the moment the wall copsed and entered through the crack.

    After checking the prompts in front of his eyes, Delicious Wind Goose responded loudly, ¡°I have killed four people!¡±

    ¡°I saw it. Back off!¡± Anderson yelled immediately, pulled out his leather shield, trotted two steps forward, and rushed to Delicious Wind Goose, who sheathed his sword. Then, he raised the shield high.

    Apanied by the gun noise, a burning ember-colored bullet shot out from the lingering smoke and dust.

    Anderson groaned after receiving the bullet.

    He felt rapid dehydration and became increasingly thirsty. The impact point of the bullet at the leather shield was already charred.

    ¡°I have lost 20% of my health. Give me some healing.¡± Anderson grunted.

    Before Anderson entered the battle, he had about 18% of his health depleted. At this point, he was a little flustered after having almost one-third of his health gone.

    If this bullet struck Delicious Wind Goose, he might not die immediately, but it would be a fatal injury.

    Apparently, it was an attack from a Bronze Rank Transcender.

    However, since it was a surprise attack, the attack became possible to injure or even kill a Silver Rank Transcender. Dove and the others have already demonstrated this scenario once before.

    Still, the yers were the ones who seized the initiative in this battle.

    The moment the bullet flew out of the smoke, a devastating arrow wrapped in a whirlwind wasunched from the back without making a sound.

    The arrow plunged into the rising smoke and dust when Anderson received the bullet. The sharp whirlwind even cleared away an area of dust.

    This was the newly learned skill after Dove advanced.

    Almost most hunter professions had [Elemental Arrow].

    The opponent¡¯s bullet burning with ashes should also be this skill.

    This skill would collect the element in the environment around the user to greatly strengthen the next shot, giving it various effects.

    The opponent shot a bullet with ¡°fire¡±. Thus, he should be near a stove.

    There were almost no signs around Chocte. However, even though the sign was an ordinary ¡°air¡±, it was already deadly enough given her terrifyingly urate and instinctive counterattack.

    Even if they were both Bronze Rank Transcenders and Hunters, there was still a gap between them.

    A muffled grunt was heard.

    Then, Chocte¡¯s kill prompt appeared in front of the party members.

    That was why Chocte did not appear in the first ce.

    As long as the opponent counterattacked, their position would be exposed. Thus, Chocte must lurk at the back with the broadest view.

    The team was notcking in damage output capabilities.

    However, only Dove had the skill to counteract reinforcements and attack opposing hunters and wizards.

    Although Dove¡¯s advancement did not contain the mastery of [Trap] type ability, she was an aimbot turret because Chocte substituted the primary human body.

    Sure enough, the Hunter profession should not be yed as an ADC at the front row but as an assassin with an aimbot covering her.

    Yokai Sensei had such a thought in his mind.

    He held a flintlock gun with the muzzle facing the ground in his right hand. Then, he hid behind Delicious Wind Goose and Anderson.

    He skillfully took out a silver coin with his left hand. After touching it, he threw it out in an arc and fell into Anderson¡¯s arms.

    If there were no wounds and bone dislocations, this healing would restore about 30% of Anderson¡¯s health.

    Yokai Sensei pondered in his mind.

    This ¡°game¡± did not show the damage figure or healing amount. Different people had varying constitutions. ording to the types of injuries, many aspects depended on the healer¡¯s experience and habit. For example, how much health could be recovered upon each heals, which injury be treated first, and so on.

    Anderson was somehow exceptionally good at this rough ¡°estimation¡±.

    ¡°Meow¡ª¡± Dove¡¯s voice sounded in the smoke.

    This was the code they agreed upon in advance.

    Anderson and Yokai Sensei secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

    One single cry meant that all the enemies were defeated. After that, the rest of the yers only had to guard the entrance.

    Two mews would signify the presence of a formidable enemy and have the squad ready for battle.

    The reason was that ¡°demons¡± might appear in this stronghold.

    Anderson and Yokai Sensei looked at each other, keeping their vignce up and observing the smoke that hadn¡¯t dissipated.

    However, they soon saw the kill notifications appearing continuously in front of them.

    ¡°It seems like we are no longer needed.¡± Anderson couldn¡¯t help but grin.

    Dove¡¯s efficiency was outstanding. She would take down one enemy per second on average.

    There was an inexplicable feeling of being led by two seniors.

    Yokai Sensei shook his head.

    As a priest, his perception was rtively sharp.

    He could vaguely feel that many people nearby had woken up and were peeping at this ce.

    They did not open the windows, or even turn on the lights. Instead, they just watched silently in the deepte night of 2a.m..

    ¡°Still, we should¡­¡± Yokai Sensei withdrew his warning gaze and spoke casually.

    But before he finished speaking, he heard a sharp mew, ¡°Meow¡ª¡±

    The yers¡¯ eyes quickly became serious.

    The next moment, the ground suddenly began to copseyer byyer.

    The ground melted like soft butter. Yokai Sensei, who had perceived something went wrong at the first moment, reacted immediately and retreated quickly. Delicious Wind Goose was a little slower, but he ran the fastest.

    Anderson, who raised his shield in a daze, could not react in time. Then, he fell into it.

    A middle-aged man¡¯s deep and angry voice came, ¡°Where did youe from, thieves?¡±

    Immediately after, the ground coughed up arge amount of mud like a rising volcano. The gushing mud wrapped Anderson directly, like a bug enveloped in amber.

    A man with only half of his hair remained, and shiny red skin stepped out of the ruins.

    His right arm was robust, but he just stood there, leaning firmly on the ground like a khaki mud pir. He only wore a pair of underpants. His left hand had sharp nails and looked like an orangutan hand.

    ¡ªRather than walking, it was more urate to describe it as crawling.

    He nced at Anderson with his dim yellow pupils, then raised his right hand to him and squeezed it slightly.

    The flowing mud suddenly solidified. Anderson was sealed inside it.

    Then, an arrow flew toward his head.

    The man did not underestimate the arrow at all. He plunged his hand deep into the ground. A slightly curved soil column was pulled out like a stretched year cake [1].

    The arrow was nailed to the soil pir under a bang and went straight into it.

    But at this moment.

    Delicious Wind Goose rushed out all of a sudden. His figure darted swiftly¡ª

    He avoided a few earth pirs that rose indiscriminately in front of him with iparable lightness. Wherever he walked, the ground copsed one after another. The attacks couldn¡¯t catch up with his speed at all.

    As the silver sword energy was unleashed, the middle-aged man was severed in half.

    Then, Old Goose¡¯s figure shed, appearing where the sword energy hadnded. Many copsed mud pirs submerged his original spot. The exploded sword energy caused the mud to ssh everywhere.

    Old Goose sheathed his sword, signifying that the battle was over.

    ¡°A Bronze Rank Demon looks quite scary.¡± Delicious Wind Goose secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

    For safety purposes, Old Goose used two bars of Qi for this attack.

    ¡°Old Goose, you¡¯re so cool!¡±Yokai Sensei couldn¡¯t help but let out a strange cry.

    Delicious Wind Goose hissed, frowned, and grinned, ¡°Silent¡­ I only have three bars left.¡±

    ¡°Then, you are a noob, brother.¡± Yokai Sensei clicked his tongue, ¡°You¡¯re using your ultimate move to snatch the kill.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Delicious Wind Goose nced at Anderson, ¡°Don¡¯t you need healing?¡±

    ¡°No need. I have already respawned and lost 1 level.¡±

    At this time, Anderson had a sad expression on his face. He followed the serval out of the building slowly, ¡°How can this man bind me in seconds? I thought it was an effect like foot trapping. How can it work so well? I was ready to block it.¡±

    ¡°You bring shame to our team!¡±

    Yokai Sensei, who had dodged sessfully by relying on his mere 5 points of Agility, let out a cry of delight.

    Then, they broke into a mess.

    Yokai Sensei evaded the instant death event and watched his friend die. It was undoubtedly joyous for him to throw remarks at his friend. This shame would most likely linger for about a week.

    Of course, that would only happen after clearing the level.

    If the entire team were defeated because of a teammate¡¯s mistake, there would be no joy but fuming blood pressure.

 Chapter 472: Spirit Thief

    <h4>Chapter 472: Spirit Thief</h4>

    The Razor Territory in Bloomfield Province was one of the influential cities in the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    The locals call it ¡°Razor Ridge¡±.

    This was not because its terrain was like a razor but because a massive dragon called ¡°Barber¡± lived there.

    For the time being, it was still kind to people. It had no particr hobbies and would not wreak havoc on the world. It was unlike Old Grandmother, who would fall into Wyrmrest every few decades and hibernate. Instead, the dragon was like Father Flint, nestled in his home to study.

    Dragons were intelligent creatures. They were smart and lived in istion. Almost no dragons were enemies with humans because they were smart and knew it would disturb their lives.

    There were few dragons left in this era already.

    It was not because of theck of magic essence or any other reason. Instead, all the dragons who came to Yaseran back then had be deities before the Third Age.

    Dragons were creatures that existed before the First Age. The so-called ¡°First Age¡± began to exist after the concept of ¡°history¡± was born in humanoid creatures.

    Many dragons who did not be deities died or left Yasnd to the desert for various reasons.

    The ¡°living desert¡± was a deadly natural disaster for elves and centaurs. But to the massive dragons, it was just a terrain challenging to traverse.

    In the current world, there were less than ten dragons that had yet to be deities. Seven of them disguised themselves as humans and formed the ¡°Chanter Alliance¡±, which became the famous idol group in the Papal Kingdom. They also regted the orders.

    Austere-Winter had two dragons.

    One was called ¡°Barber¡±, and the other was called ¡°Graupel¡±.

    The Barber was named so because he would shave the heads of those who offended him. The dragon would shave those who fantasized about bing a dragon-ying hero or coveted the treasure in his nest. Then, he would throw them at the Razor Ridge. When someone went bald, the others would know he had done something stupid.

    Therefore, Austere-Winter had a proverb, ¡°the man with the shaved head¡±, which meant the lucky one who survived doing something stupid.

    Razor Territory was also the central manufacturing ce of Frost Beasts¡¯ products.

    That included extracting the Frost Beasts¡¯ blood, making semi-finished reagents or storing them in the freezer, and stripping the furry hides of the Frost Beasts for tanning, dyeing, and processing. All of them were carried out in Razor Ridge.

    Although the primary value of raising the Frost Beasts was for their blood and fur, the meat shouldn¡¯t be wasted either¡ªwhether it was made into frozen steaks or sausages, it could effectively improve theck of food in Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    These harvested Frost Beasts were not the militarized ones. Instead, the military Frost Beasts were tall, robust, muscr, andrge. They were sent to the army with each troop adopting one as a mount and hunting animal.

    These militarised Frost Beasts were cultivated with the emotions of felons, death row prisoners, and tortured spies in prisons. The ws were cut off on time, leaving only the ability to swallow emotions. At the same time, these Frost Beasts tend to eat less and grow fat.

    Although it sounded like a Dementor [1] from Azkaban, it looked more like a fat orange cat.

    At first nce, it was hard to tell whether they were pigs or cats.

    ¡°Oh, so, these are Frost Beasts!¡±

    The person speaking was a kind and cheerful middle-aged man with ck hair and ck eyes. He had well-defined features. He stood in the crowd, looked at the chubby Frost Beasts being transported in the cage, and couldn¡¯t help but exim in amazement, ¡°I can¡¯t believe myself seeing one!¡±

    ¡°Is this your first time seeing the Frost Beasts?¡±

    A well-dressed middle-ageddy wearing the Frost Beast fur asked, ¡°Are you a foreigner?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. Graciousdy!¡±

    The middle-aged man extended his hand in a friendly manner, ¡°Hi, my name is Ghindaio¡¤David¡¤Buonaro. I just came to thisnd not long ago. The popr etiquette here is to shake hands, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are right. When shaking hands, it is best to open up the other hand with the palm facing the other party.¡±

    After being ttered, thedy, who looked a little solemn, couldn¡¯t help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly.

    After shaking hands with ¡°Ghindaio¡±, she habitually taught him a few words before realizing she was a bit pushy.

    She coughed lightly and then introduced herself calmly, ¡°Leona Bunyan. The third daughter of the Bunyan Family.¡±

    ¡°Hello, Ms. Bunyan!¡±

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± smiled happily and referred to herst name appropriately based on the earlier conversation.

    He said cheerfully, ¡°How should I put it? At first, I thought that the Frost Beasts were scary creatures like giant wolves! I didn¡¯t expect it to be a little cute. If it weren¡¯t so scary, I would want to raise one. Hahahaha!¡±

    ¡°The vast majority of the Frost Beasts are wolves, but that doesn¡¯t mean they are all wolves.¡±

    Leona smiled helplessly and exined, ¡°It¡¯s just that there are a lot of wild wolves and foxes in thisnd during the harvest year. So the majority of the Frost Beasts had themon shape of a wolf.¡±

    The Frost Beasts were monsters whose bodies had mutated after being exposed to a blizzard full of curses for a long time and survived. Bear, deer, and badger types of the Frost Beasts also existed.

    But no matter what they looked like before mutation and their anatomy, there was only a gap between body size and constitution after bing a Frost Beast.

    The meat taken from them had a dark hue, appearing as dark purple flesh. Even if it were stored indoors, it would freeze by itself. If the meat were cut into slices, it would have a strong fishy taste, and the muscles were so strong that it was difficult to chew. Some gourmets with strange tastes or skilled cooks would try to challenge this rare ingredient.

    Of course, when grilled, the Frost Beasts taste almost like tougher beef jerky. The chilly aspect also disappeared.

    ¡°Did you know that if you shine an intense light on the juvenile Frost Beast, you can see the opaque blood vessels like tree branches in their translucent bodies? There is a block of shadow just behind the heart.¡±

    Almost all of their previous internal organs had disappeared. In addition to the heart which was several timesrger than before and pushed the stomach, there were those blood vessels that connected the skin. Also, there was the ¡®heart sac¡¯ hidden behind the heart.

    The long convoy transporting the Frost Beasts had upied the road entirely. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t move, Leona couldn¡¯t help but chat with the kind middle-aged man beside her, ¡°Although the Frost Beasts can feed on positive emotions, they do not consume it by lungs or stomach. Instead, it is absorbed via their blood.¡±

    They absorbed emotions through the skin and stored the positive emotions they feasted in the gall-like ¡°heart sac¡± behind the heart. The more the emotions were absorbed, the more the fluid clotted in the emotional sac.

    If the abdomen of the Frost Beasts was cut open at this time, the crystals in the heart sac could be taken out. These crystals could be used as a powerful curse material, usually referred to as ¡°emotion crystals¡±. This would make the Frost Beasts weak but not necessarily dead if the wound was well-stitched.

    The crystal¡¯s color varied across different emotions. It could be separated by physical means. Crystallized ¡°happy¡± could be consumed after being processed. It would evoke happy feelings. Simrly, feelings such as ¡°loyalty¡±, ¡°hope¡±, and ¡°bravery¡± could also be sold.

    This was a special underworld production unique to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    ¡ªSpirit Thief.

    That was to steal happiness, courage, love, and hope and sell it to those who need it.

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± listened carefully. He responded positively from time to time, replying things like ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡±, ¡°I see¡±, ¡°You know a lot. I¡¯m amazed.¡±, ¡°Ah, I have learned something new today¡±.

    Then, he nodded thoughtfully.

 Chapter 473: Overseer Nieusel

    <h4>Chapter 473: Overseer Nieusel</h4>

    Residents of the Underground Federation would never call the Underground Federation by its full name.

    The public did not recognize the name ¡°Twin Goddess Republican Federation¡± when the two deitydesses were not residents in the country.

    They were grateful to the two deitydesses for giving them the ability to live underground.

    Gratitude, however, did not mean reverence.

    The underground folks would not pay tribute to anything.

    They paid no reverence to the monarch, their parents, and their deities.

    They did not even have the concept of a country, a territory, or a nation. That was because they were still developing their nd¡±. Also, the dwellers were a collection of many ¡°losers¡± at the beginning, and their poption was still increasing.

    Compared with the narrow world above the ground, the underground world, with almost infinite space and rich resources, allowed the citizens of the Underground Federation to live quitefortably.

    The underground folks even had a sense of superiority over those living above ground.

    They would even get together often to mock the worries of the above-ground people.

    Because there were always people above ground worried that the underground folks would attack them through the subway. Newspapers and speeches reiterated the underground threat, emphasizing the dangers of the subways.

    But the truth was that they did not pay the slightest attention to the world above them.

    These underground dwellers did not have to worry about food and clothing and had ess to light sources. They had individual living spaces that were sold at extremely low prices. Plus, it was easy for them to buy specialties from various countries; They had no obligations to be enlisted in war by their country. There were no city lords, kings, or nobles. The only exception was that they had to pay taxes to the Wise Council and must abide by the localws proposed by the Wise Council.

    The entire underground world was governed by the dual parliamentary model of the ¡°Digger Council¡± and ¡°Wise Council¡±.

    However, this did not mean that the status of the legitive members was superior.

    The cities in the underground world did not have a so-called ¡°mayor¡±. Instead, almost all members of the Wise Council were in charge of the jurisdiction. They did not have any specific positions, and they took charge of their respective responsibilities.

    The reason being the Underground Federation had been expanding outward while their poption was small. The federation did not have special affairs to attend to. At the same time, the federation did not need to report to any country, king, or local nobles.

    Even in different underground cities of the urbanyer, thews varied. Housing prices were low, and there were no immigration restrictions. When localws in a region were unwee, the residents would move to other cities independently.

    It was a distinctive ce from the world above ground.

    ¡°That¡¯s why there are so few people here¡­¡± Suuankou looked around and whispered, ¡°Is it because the living environment here is poor?¡±

    He dared not speak loudly.

    Those unfamiliar with the new ce might easily step into danger unknowingly.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not the case.¡±

    It was not Jiu Er or Lin Yiyi who spoke.

    It was a man with ashen skin. He wore a long-sleeved, ruffled leather jacket.

    ¡°Something major happened, giving birth to a troublesome nightmare. This ce used to be called the ck Mushroom Mill instead of Sporeggar Mill. After the nightmare, many people thought it was troublesome, so they moved out temporarily. I¡¯m only going toe back after the nightmare is over.¡±

    As the man said, he reached out his hand to Suuankou and smiled at Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er, ¡°Let me introduce myself. I¡¯m the supervisor of Sporeggar Mill. My name is Nieusel.

    ¡°Where do youe from? Since you came to Sporeggar Mill at this time, are you the friends who want to resolve the nightmare here?¡±

    He had natural brown curly hair, and his eyes shone in a strange green light. Those eyes glowed on their own. They were characterized by unusually pale or dark ster statue or obsidian-like skin. At the same time, those were the main characteristics of underground people.

    Niusel exuded a faint smell of alcohol and tobo.

    ¡­Is he an Overseer?

    Lin Yiyi became vignt immediately.

    Simr to the world above the ground, the underground world also had positions like ¡°policeman¡±, ¡°judge,¡± and wyer¡±.

    The underground people refer to the police as ¡°Overseers¡± and the judges were members of the Wise Council. They were also thewmakers. Lawyers were called ¡°Debaters¡±, and they were despised and belittled professions in the underground world.

    Cities had theirws discussed and determined by the members of the local Wise Council. On the other hand, members of the local Digger Council jointly paid for the fee to hire Overseers. Sometimes, the Digger Council¡¯s members would directly stand in as an Overseer.

    Of course, they were more affluent than citizens.

    But it was not because being a member would make you rich. On the contrary, only those who could be rich were eligible to be a member.

    The founders of the Underground Federation formed the original dual councils.

    ¡ªThe so-called ¡°Wise¡± and the ¡°Diggers¡±.

    The pinnacle of ¡°wisdom¡± and ¡°hard work¡±.

    The Wise Council was all Mysterious Lady¡¯s believers and a small number of Father Flint¡¯s believers. They were outstanding inventors, engineers, and botanists. These ¡°Wise¡± created the splendid civilization of the underground world bit by bit. Only the genius could be members of the Wise Council.

    The subway that used the Gray Mists as energy and the seafloor tunnels were their masterpiece¡ªnot a gift from the deities.

    As for the Digger Council¡­

    Among them, the believers of the Silent Lady and the believers of Bone Burying Grandma ounted for half of the council each.

    Everyone who volunteered to be a ¡°Digger¡± and discover a new soil for the Underground Federation would receive a set of equipment and a ration. They would be sent to dive into the explorationyer, and the rest were up to their fate.

    Not every ce had a ¡°well¡± that would allow them to return to the ground.

    In the explorationyer, the Diggers had no map and could not replenish their supplies. It wasmon to lose light sources, food, and water there. At the same time, they were vulnerable to the attacks of the underground monsters or even other Diggers.

    Those who died in the explorationyer could not even send the message ¡°I¡¯m dead¡± out.

    The victim would only bebeled as ¡°missing¡±.

    The ownership of valuable areas discovered by the Diggers would automatically belong to the Digger Council, and the discoverers would be granted the status as members of the Digger Council. But before the discoverer died, anyone who rented and used thend through the Digger Council would have 30% of expenses paid to the discoverer; this figure would be reduced to 10% ten years after the Digger died and would continue to be given to his family.

    But under this generous remuneration, there was a 70% ¡°disappearance¡± rate in the first month of ¡°Diggers¡±.

    This was why the ¡°Diggers¡± believed in Bone Burying Grandma.

    When they went on an expedition, many people had already mentally prepared to ¡°die in the soil¡±.

    ¡ªIt was said that the ¡°Wise¡± relied on their wisdom and brains to earn wealth and make citizens respect them and be happy. On the other hand, the ¡°Diggers¡± won their wealth by relying on ¡°hard work in digging¡±, ¡°courage to endure great danger¡±, and ¡°luck in returning sessfully¡±.

    Conversely, the ¡°Overseers¡± would only need to be directly responsible to the Diggers.

    What they arrested was not necessarily the person who broke thew but the person the Diggers wanted to arrest.

    If the Overseer himself was the ¡°Digger¡±¡­

    Lin Yiyi nced at Nieusel.

    Her silly brother and Jiu Er were young and unreliable.

    Annan went to the Austere-Winter Dukedom, and now she had to attend to the matters on her own.

    The underground world was not a rightful ce.

    Weak people would only be bullied here. However, they would be unwee if they stirred up too much trouble.

    I have to make him wary of us but not too intimidating¡­

    So Lin Yiyi pondered for a while and had an idea in her mind.

    She said in a deep voice, ¡°My name is ¡®Yiyi¡¯.

    ¡°We are the scribes of the [Secret Eye].¡±

 Chapter 474: Trade & Plunder

    <h4>Chapter 474: Trade & Plunder</h4>

    Hearing Nieusel¡¯s words, Nefertari frowned slightly, ¡°Secret Eye?¡±

    She was a youngdy with skin as pale as a stone statue but hair as crimson as mes, full of strange vitality.

    Her figure and skin were well maintained. However, it was impossible to determine her approximate age at first nce. me-colored brilliance danced in her eyes like a zing bonfire in that pupil.

    She was one of the ¡°Wise¡± of the city.

    At the same time, she was also Nieusel¡¯s friend since childhood.

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s the name?¡±

    ¡°En, they im to be here to resolve the nightmare.¡±

    ¡°Nightmare at Sporeggar Mill? Are they serious?¡±

    Nefertari paced around the room. Her expression became slightly serious, and she asked Nieusel again, ¡°Have you verified with Edict magic?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I did everything that is under my role. My magic told me they weren¡¯t lying. There is such an organization, and they belong to it. But other than that, I don¡¯t know anything. I can¡¯t find anything more about them, and I¡¯ve never heard the name myself.¡±

    Nieusel shrugged helplessly and looked at Nefertari, who was walking anxiously around the room. The dark green light seeped into his eyes, ¡°That¡¯s why I came to you to see if you know anything else than me.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Nieusel. I haven¡¯t heard that name either.¡±

    Nefertari frowned, ¡°But I may have a little idea¡­ Maybe the problem is more serious. Wait a minute. I will do an experiment.¡±

    ¡°What? Nefer, what did you think of?¡± Nieusel¡¯s eyes lit up, and he chased after Nefertari and asked endlessly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so close to me. You have stepped on my shoes, idiot! Bring me the barrel of ¡°knowledge worms¡± in the basement, and I¡¯ll establish a ritual to verify my conjecture.¡±

    Looking at Nieusel, who was running around like a dog and stomping off his shoe, Nefertari felt her blood pressure rising.

    ¡°Bring them all? Or just one?¡±

    ¡°One single ritual only uses one, but how do you n to take one out?¡±

    ¡°How do you take it out?¡± Nieusel followed Nefertari¡¯s words and asked.

    The woman grinned, feeling a slight headache. She replied helplessly, ¡°So don¡¯t take it out! Bring me the whole barrel!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you should have said that earlier.¡± The brown-haired, blue-eyed, robust, and handsome Overseer Nieusel nodded repeatedly and ran to Nefertari¡¯s basement.

    Nefertah put pressure on his temples a few times, trying to calm down.

    Nieusel was an all-rounded man. He was pretty intelligent, but he never used his brain often.

    She quickly arranged the ritual area with crystal powder, forming a hexagram by ovepping two triangles. Then, she took out polished yellow crystal fragments and ced them ording to the clock position of 2 o¡¯clock, 6 o¡¯clock, and 10 o¡¯clock. Starting at the first designated location, she put one fragment¡ªnext, two fragments at the second designated spot, and so on. After that, she put three light sources behind the yellow crystal.

    ¡°Is this the barrel?¡± Nieusel came up with a small oak barrel and said troublingly, ¡°I only saw this ¡®barrel¡¯¡­¡±

    While they called it a barrel, it was actually the size of a beer can.

    It was soaked in ice water previously, so it looked a little wet.

    Before handing it to Nefertari, he graciously picked up the cotton cloth on the table and wiped the damp and cold wooden barrel.

    ¡°Well, watch. You don¡¯t need to leave, but don¡¯t bother me.¡±

    Nefertari warned, ¡°This is a ritual directly connected to the Mysterious Lady. From now on, keep quiet until I say yes.¡±

    ~~~

    Nieusel nodded silently, watching Nefertari perform the ritual intently.

    Nefertari shook her head helplessly and put the barrel on the corner of the table.

    She opened the barrel lid, revealing the white translucent worms inside. There were about a couple of dozen.

    It looked like a child¡¯s ring finger. Since the temperature gradually returned to normal, these ¡®knowledge worms¡¯ whose skin was covered with frost also began to shake their bodies slowly, slowly bing active.

    Using a ss vessel resembling a wine raisin, Nefertari took out three worms and carefully poured them into the middle of the ritual area.

    This was a monster called ¡°knowledge worm¡±.

    In ancient times, ritualists believed that if a person suddenly became obsessed with learning or reading, he was usually parasitized by the knowledge worm.

    When they touched the flesh and blood of living beings, they would immediately turn into transparent spirit bodies and be one with it; if they touched any metal, they would be weak. It was so fragile that they would be split in half after being picked up by metal chopsticks.

    The higher the temperature, the more active and restless they be, turning into transparent spirit bodies; when the surrounding temperature was low enough, they would manifest. This was also why the ancients understood ¡°why the brain doesn¡¯t work well when it¡¯s hot¡±.

    Of course, modern ritualists already knew that the previous views on knowledge worms were incorrect.

    In other words, the predicted rtionship should be reversed.

    It was not because of being ¡°parasitized by knowledge worms¡± that people sought knowledge like a demon but because the heart of seeking knowledge was refined and manifested by ritual. Only then, the ¡°knowledge worms¡± truly born. Once this ¡°thirst for knowledge¡± was extracted, it would disappear with the ¡°initial desire to know¡±. Unless the host were motivated or inspired by something, he would never learn new skills and knowledge again and be useless.

    For various reasons, the ¡°Activation Extraction: Knowledge Worm¡± ritual spread widely. However, so far, only the Underground Federation could producerge numbers of knowledge insects.

    The reason being there were geniuses in this ce who were willing to learn, study, and strive to be ¡°Wise¡±.

    There were also the most ¡°intelligent people¡± willing to ¡°sell themselves¡± in exchange for money.

    Whether it was plundering or active trafficking, the Underground Federation would export many knowledge worms every year.

    It was true that the ¡°Wise¡± were the founders of the Underground Federation.

    But at the same time, not all ¡°Wise¡± were willing to dedicate their wisdom to others selflessly.

    A Wise would not kill.

    That was not a ¡°secret act¡±.

    But some Wise did not want many Wise to appear in their city.

    They would arrange rituals to take away the wisdom of others, give them curses to make their minds gradually deteriorate, or take away others¡¯ ¡°thirst for knowledge¡±. In their approach, some Wise would even give theirpetitors an overlyfortable life, inviting them to eat, drink and have fun. The Wise would target their opponents based on the varying personalities.

    However, even the Wise who did not make their own ¡°knowledge worms¡± would inevitably buy some ¡°knowledge worms¡± from other people.

    These worms were practical consumables, no matter if it was applied on themselves to incur the dedication to learn or use it on ritual to acquire short-term prophecy magic.

    Indeed, these worms were consumables.

    In the free Underground Federation, selling rtionships was also rtively uncontrolled.

    In the hands of these ¡°Wise¡± who were proficient in various rituals, many unexpected things could be transferred through various rituals, including: lifespan, health, wisdom, power, body parts, and even¡­ the desire for knowledge, someone¡¯s love for themselves, the mastery for a particrnguage, beautiful faces, enchanting voices, and even illusory fates.

    Since it could be transferred, it also meant that it would be trafficked.

    Reaching a formal transaction meant that Silver Sire had protected and supervised this trading.

    It was precisely because of this reason that everything could be sold and bought in the Underground Federation.

    However, it was just that the ¡°taxes¡± were unavoidable.

    This was not a tax for a non-existent ¡°king¡±.

    Instead, the ¡°taxation¡± was a ¡°transaction¡± for the Silver Sire to acknowledge the trade.

    Instead of the process turning into plunder.

 Chapter 475: Ritual: Sniffing The Door Of Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 475: Ritual: Sniffing The Door Of Secrets</h4>

    ¡°[¡­Sniffing the moonlight with blood, granting the vision of the afterimage of the secrets roaming the world. But to follow the path, we must first determine the three paths of seeking knowledge, death, and liberation].¡±

    Nefertari whispered the ult knowledge to activate the ritual, ¡°I offer the ¡®subject seeking knowledge¡¯, opening up the door of secrets¡ª¡±

    With her whisper, the ritual called ¡°Sniffing the Door of Secrets¡± was activated.

    The Mysterious Lady¡¯s aura permeated the ritual area.

    The stars of the sky appeared in front of Nefertari¡¯s eyes, in a trance.

    They moved thousands of times faster before Nefertari¡¯s eyes on mysterious trajectories. Her attempt to see those trajectories gave her a headache.

    Of course, she knew that this was the influence of the ¡°Gravity of the Stars¡±.

    It was an Advanced Influence that belonged to the Mysterious Realm. If left unchecked, she might slip into a difficult nightmare.

    The simple ritual she held would naturally not summon the deity¡¯s will. However, her aura was enough to bring corresponding influence.

    And influence was a residue of power.

    This was the test that the upright deity gave to the ritual users, and it was also a blessing to those who were capable.

    The three ¡°knowledge worms¡± gradually stopped wiggling.

    The knowledge worms were gradually dyed into a clear moonlight hue through the three yellow crystal lights.

    Nefertari cut her right index finger with an iron dagger.

    She squeezed a drop of blood onto the head of one of the knowledge worms.

    ¡°Firstly, [Secret Eye is a real organization];

    ¡°Secondly, [Secret Eye does not exist];

    ¡°Thirdly, [Secret Eye can be said to exist, or it can be said not to exist].¡±

    After she gave three options, the blood-stained knowledge worm slowly crawled toward the yellow crystal at 10 o¡¯clock direction.

    What this meant was that the answer was the third condition.

    It was somewhat expected.

    Nefertari nodded silently.

    She squeezed out another drop of blood and asked at the same time:

    ¡°Firstly, [Secret Eye has another name. ¡®Secret Eye¡¯ itself is just its nickname];

    ¡°Secondly, [Secret Eye is not an organization, but something else];

    ¡°Thirdly, [Secret Eye no longer exists, and the person bearing its name is not the orthodox sessor].¡±

    These were the three possibilities she came up with.

    Each knowledge worm could be used in this ritual to ask a question requiring picking one option among three. The ritual host could ask a question at most three times in a row. However, even though it was a selection of three options, it was possible to get four answers and even more from the question. If all three options were wrong, the worm would stay put.

    With the established ¡°three¡± certainties, countless possibilities were eliminated.

    This was also the concept of ¡°Mystery¡± that Mysterious Lady would uphold¡ª

    This time, the worm crawled toward the 6 o¡¯clock direction and finally crawled toward the light in the 2 o¡¯clock direction with some hesitation.

    This meant that the answer was the first option but might have something to do with the second option.

    Since it was a disguise, there was no need to continue to question the ¡°Secret Eye¡± identity. Since they came with a mask, taking it off must not be easy.

    So, Nefertari continued to narrow down her doubts:

    ¡°Firstly, [Secret Eye came here to take away my or my friend¡¯s assets];

    ¡°Secondly, [If Secret Eye is not here to take away my friend¡¯s and my assets, then what Secret Eye will do may endanger our lives];

    ¡°Thirdly, [In the case that Secret Eye does not meet the above two possibilities, it is now worthy of trusting or temporarily worthy of trusting.]¡±

    Since it was Nefertari¡¯sst chance to ask a question, she was sharp-witted in adopting a small trick.

    Shebined two simr answers even though the third option might have six possibilities lurking in it.

    Since there was a lot of information to process, the worm hesitated this time, obviously dumbfounded.

    The worm thought for a while.

    It hesitated and paced around the ritual circle. In the end, it climbed slowly in the 10 o¡¯clock direction.

    Seeing that the knowledge worm picked the third option, Nefertari was relieved.

    ¡°They are friends rather than foes, Nieusel.¡±

    Nefertari concluded to the friend next to her, ¡°They may be a subordinate of a certain organization or some big shots and came here under that name. But, we can rest assured with the organization at present.

    ¡°Oh¡­and you may speak now.¡±

    After three inquiries, the ritual will automatically end.

    It seemed they would not offend this ancient and mysterious organization for the time being.

    If the other party came here for their money or life, Nefertari could not be reassured even if they were only ¡°temporarily harmless¡±.

    But in the third question, the first two options were ruled out. Only in this way could Nefertari be friendly to them.

    ¡°As expected of Secret Eye, it is really secretive.¡± Nieusel sighed.

    Nefertari frowned and muttered in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s strange¡­¡±

    Since their purpose ofing here is not to seek money or life, and they are worthy of trust, why did the knowledge worms hesitate at the end?

    Nefertari was a little confused.

    This organization calling itself ¡°Secret Eye¡± does not covet our property, and what they do will not endanger anyone¡¯s life.

    Under this premise, it should be trustworthy because there is no conflict of interest.

    But why does the knowledge worm think that the other party may not be trustworthy?

    Haih, forget it.

    Let¡¯s act ording to the answers instead of being indecisive.

    Nefertari made up her mind.

    ¡°Are they waiting at your house now?¡± She ordered rationally and in great detail, ¡°Then Nieusel, give ¡®Secret Eye¡¯ the second-level authority. They can go anywhere except for the forbidden area and my house, but don¡¯t tell them about it. Bring some snacks and small gifts to wee them. Send it as your apology for leaving without saying goodbye and aspensation for asking me to test them. Don¡¯t tell them about thest part.

    ¡°Are there two girls among them? Then, you bring them an agate ne and a topaz ring. Pick those two silver ones from my dressing table and then a silver sapphire brooch for thed. Let¡¯s see if they dare to wear it. Then,e back and tell me the news.

    ¡°Then, amodate them near your house and find them two houses next to each other. Check how they live, and tell me the room allocation when youe back¡­ Well, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Nieusel replied, ¡°Is there anything else? I made a note.¡±

    Nefertari thought for a moment, ¡°Wait a minute, there¡¯s one more thing¡ª¡±

    She narrowed her eyes, ¡°Give them the [key].¡±

    She added.

    It¡¯s unlikely they really came to resolve the nightmare, but we should do it in case, right?

    ¡°Leave it to me, Nef.¡± Like a loyal dog, Nieusel nodded again and again, ¡°I¡¯ve noted them down! I¡¯ll get it done!¡±

    Seeing him rushing away with his things, Nefertari smiled helplessly.

    Above their heads¡­

    Annan, incarnated as ¡°Ghindaio¡±, had already found his next target.

    A Spirit Thief who tried to steal Annan¡¯s out-of-town traveler¡¯s ¡°curiosity.¡±

    She was a werewolf.

    What caught Annan¡¯s attention was that she looked somewhat simr to ¡°Be¡±.

 Chapter 476: â€œThe Scammer And The Missionaryâ€

    <h4>Chapter 476: ¡°The Scammer And The Missionary¡±</h4>

    ¡°Tell me, kid.¡± Although being attacked, ¡°Ghindaio¡± did not show any anger on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Why did you attack me, a passer-by?¡± He just yed with the loot he had seized and asked gently, ¡°Who sent you here?¡±

    It was still the amiable and quiet smile on his face, but this smile wouldn¡¯t warm anyone¡¯s heart. On the contrary, people would feel chills from the bottom of their hearts just looking at it.

    The werewolf girl had her hands tied behind her head, cowering and kneeling in front of Annan. She could not help but reveal fear just by catching Annan¡¯s gaze.

    Of course, she knew the existence of ¡°transcender¡±.

    Or, to put it another way, she was already prepared that she might die in the hands of a transcender someday when she was nning to do this business.

    But having this kind of intention did not mean that she would challenge the dignity of a transcender directly.

    ¡°Why, why¡­¡± Although asked by Annan, the werewolf girl had already lost her reasoning to answer this question.

    Obviously, she did not see the so-called ¡°vessel¡±.

    There was not even a piece of bronze jewelry.

    But her curse vessel, which supposedly made people do what she said, had bounced away.

    And why do the Frost Beasts obey his orders?

    It¡¯s over. It¡¯s over¡­

    She just trembled and murmured.

    The manifested fear was reflected in the gloomy pupils.

    In front of her was a crouched, translucent white ghost at Ghindaio¡¯s feet.

    However, it was not a wolf or a dog, but a Frost Beast.

    It was full and satisfied, wagging its tail like a pet dog. It crawled between the middle-aged man¡¯s legs, rubbing against his leg vigorously with its body.

    The emotion that fed the Frost Beasts was naturally obtained from the werewolf girl.

    After the Frost Beast absorbed her emotions, she lost the will to resist, not daring to escape or retaliate. Her spirit instantly plummeted, and she had depressed and helpless thoughts.

    On the other hand, Annan yed with the two crystal bells.

    It was the curse vessel he took from the werewolf girl:

    [¡°The Scammer and the Missionary¡±]

    [Type: Jewelry/mystical item (Purple)]

    [Description: Two crystal bells, white and purple, are tied together. There would be no sound when any of it was shaken, but idents would happen if both were shaken simultaneously.]

    [Effect: When the two bells are shaken at the same time, ¡°Friendship¡± (the effect is equivalent to the Idol spell of the same name) and ¡°Mind Maniption¡± (the effect is equivalent to the Soul Snatch school spell of the same name) would be released on the designated target at the same time; this effect could only be used once a day. The avability is refreshed at sunrise (avability today: Activated).]

    [Price: When the user shook the bell, the user would draw the attention of everyone around him/her.]

    ¡ªThis was undoubtedly a precious curse vessel.

    It was ineffective against Annan because the body of ¡°Ghindaio¡± was immune to mind control. At the same time, it would deflect all the spells of the Prophet school and Idol below the Gold Rank.

    Using Soul Snatch Magic and Idol Magic to attack Annan would result in nothing.

    But it did not mean the item was terrible just because it did not work on Annan.

    Its strength outweighed its price entirely. With a concealed and practical effect, even the price seemed ridiculous.

    A purple-grade mystical item¡­

    Gold items outmatched purple items. Even though the purple items were sought after, they were not as precious inparison. It could be made through ritual material and Advanced Influence.

    But even so, that was the fact.

    Could a werewolf who was not even a transcender¡­ or even a werewolf with a low status and was discriminated against in Austere-Winter be able to get her hands on this level of item?

    Annan was a unique case already.

    Using these two spells simultaneously when the target was unaware, it was almost guaranteed to affect even a Silver Rank Transcender.

    The ¡°Friendship¡± skill would gain affinity and reduce the target¡¯s wariness. It would imnt the idea of ??¡±I¡¯m pretty close to this person¡± if used properly. Using ¡°Mind Maniption¡± at this time would not only increase the sess rate but also make the victim unable to detect that he was being manipted. The pleasant feeling would cover up the unreasonable actions during the [Mind Maniption].

    It could be used for multiple purposes: gaining the liking of wealthy business people or nobles, making friends with a certain transcender, and even murders.

    As long as the host¡¯s social skill was adequate and did not stir up suspicion out of social awkwardness, this item was at the level of top-grade hypnotism found in other ¡°novels¡±.

    However, the person is only using this level of an item to be a Spirit Thief¡­

    ¡­This is weird.

    To Annan, it felt like stopping by to steal the pancakes downstairs when driving out for work every day.

    ¡°My name is Doreen, my lord.¡± Doreen¡¯s mood calmed down a little, at least she could speak intermittently.

    The fear in her eyes still hadn¡¯t yet dissipated. After losing all positive emotions, her whole world was like hell. Any negative feelings would inte uncontrobly.

    ¡°Nobody sent me. It¡¯s true!¡± She pleaded mournfully, ¡°But, but, my lord¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Someone told me¡­ Yes, it was yesterday. He said that several rich businessmen from the Noah Kingdom woulde here tomorrow. He did not say what you look like, and I just heard your Noah ent¡­ I didn¡¯t intend to steal your emotions and sell them to others, but to sell them back to you¡­¡±

    Werewolf Doreen¡¯s speech was a little incoherent, but Annan could catch her message vaguely.

    It appeared that someone told Doreen about the itinerary of Annan¡¯s group and asked her to intercept him.

    But¡­yesterday?

    Annan frowned slightly.

    It was right when they set out from Noah. But the news of Annan¡¯s trip was not told to many people. Even ording to their original itinerary, they should still be in Noah at this moment.

    It was because Father Stone let Nichs go and because Kafni was about to seed to the throne.

    Also, it was Annan who came up with this idea.

    Who leaked the news to Doreen?

    What is his goal?

    To use this curse vessel on Annan¡ªor someone close to him? Or to make him notice her?

    Was it because Doreen and Be look alike?

    That was a shame. Annan had no memory of it at all.

    But in terms of age, Be was eighteen when Annan was about nine. At this moment, Doreen appeared to be around fourteen years old. It felt a little wrong whether the exnation pointed out that she was a biological daughter or a biological sister.

    Annan pondered for a moment, then asked gently, ¡°What did he say specifically, little girl?

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Take your time. Did he mention how many people? What are their appearance and characteristics? Can you tell me who he is?¡±

    ¡°No, no. He didn¡¯t.¡± Doreen shook her head and said with some hesitation, ¡°He only mentioned two males and two females. He didn¡¯t say anything else. So I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s right.

    ¡°That¡¯s my ¡®teacher¡¯. He gave me this curse vessel.¡±

    ¡°Do you know his name?¡± Annan did not have high hopes for it as he asked, ¡°Does he has an alias or something?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Unexpectedly, Doreen answered readily, ¡°He said his name was Nic me.¡±

    Doreen spoke the slightly distorted name in a voice with an Austere-Winter ent.

    But Annan immediately recognized what it was.

    The so-called Nic me¡­

    It was just another way of saying the name Nichs mel.

 Chapter 477: Because You Are, So You Are Not

    <h4>Chapter 477: Because You Are, So You Are Not</h4>

    Is this Nichs so anxious to die?

    So, he did not want to flee while taking the role of ¡°mirror¡±, leaving Annan with a tail to find him?

    Of course, there was another possibility.

    The so-called ¡°Nics mel¡± was an imposter.

    After all, Nichs left the Noah Kingdom much earlier than Annan. Moreover, Annan had never discussed with anyone else on his schedule for visiting the Austere-Winter Dukedom ¡ª especially his destination.

    Nichs was indeed formidable.

    But how did he guess it out of thin air?

    Since the opponent learned about Annan¡¯s destination, that person might be a wizard of the Prophet School. Otherwise, the conversation between Annan and Nigel was eavesdropped on.

    Of course, saying that the opponent was an imposter might not be urate.

    After all, that person did not im that he was indeed Nichs.

    Most people would never have heard the name.

    The very few people who had heard of this name must have thought that Nichs, who was called ¡°Hermes II¡±, had died hundreds of years ago. No one would believe him even if he imed he was not dead.

    People would take him as a scammer if he said so directly.

    So, how did he reiterate that?

    ¡°I am Hermes II, the master of Jade Tower hundreds of years ago. I am notpletely dead. If you can help me, I will be grateful after I resurrect and take control of Jade Tower.¡±

    Only a fool would believe it.

    Even ¡°Qin Shihuang¡± would not send such text messages these days.

    [TN: Author¡¯s mockery on scam messages using a historical figure.]

    Therefore, Annan was doubtful about this name. Didn¡¯t it serve no purpose to disclose this name even if the person was really Nichs?

    It was more likely that people would regard it as a duplicate name.

    In this worldposed of curses and oaths, ¡°name¡± was important. It was an oath that carried a certain weight, and it was not something that could be easily changed.

    Just like Don Juan could no longer use the name Don Juan after his resurrection.

    Changing one¡¯s name at will was a dangerous and meaningless behavior in the Transcended world. Many spells could determine whether the name used by the other party was their real name. For example, the jade token of the Edict school for verifying the real name was also a popr and practical curse vessel.

    The advanced spells of the Edict School and the Prophet School could even identify the target¡¯s real name directly.

    This was especially true for nobles who were not transcenders. Idol Wizard might have processed their real names and made substitutes to bear the ritual directed to the name. It worked just like adding a firewall.

    Although it was not 100% effective, it was more or less ayer of protection.

    But if he changed his name casually and thought of it as his name, the name itself would be a loophole that could bypass the substitute that protected him from ritual.

    When some transcenders said ¡°investigate a big shot¡±, they usually meant ¡°investigate the alias or identity the target had used¡±.

    After all, no matter how cautious a person was, as long as he had done some shady deeds, most of them had used aliases. If the name was only used once or twice, it was almost certain that the name was unprotected by a substitute.

    As long as you find a way to get the other party¡¯s pseudonym, you would have the opportunity to designate him as a ritual subject. It opened up many possibilities, whether it was entering his dream, checking on his memory, making him impotent, giving him bad luck, or directly cursing him.

    In the same way, there was no point in faking someone else¡¯s name.

    If the imposter used the name of Salvatore, the ritual would react differently when the ritual host was thinking about the face of the imposter, thinking about what the imposter had done, and then activating the ritual based on this name. The ritual would either fail or pull the imposter into it. The original person would not be implicated.

    So no matter whether the other party was Nichs or not, it was possible to find him as long as he left his name.

    So, should I give it a try?

    Annan was contemting.

    After knowing the other party¡¯s name and what he did, it was not a problem to use a ritual to locate him directly. Annan also knew the rituals avable for this purpose.

    But what if this was a trap to mislead Annan or even to locate him back in reverse?

    After all, this name was too easy to get.

    Annan even suspected that Doreen might be the bait itself.

    After all, Doreen and Be look alike.

    Although Annan could not remember whether Be was close to him back then, what she had done, and whether she was still working at Winter¡¯s Hand, it must have meant something since the other party chose Doreen specifically.

    Anyway, ¡°The Scammer And The Missionary¡± fell into Annan¡¯s possession. So, it was still a win, especially since the item was quite handy.

    ¡­The question now is, which floor is the opponent on?

    Annan sighed and put the crystal bell away.

    Before Annan could identify his opponent¡¯s goal, he would be more cautious.

    Let¡¯s find a way to detain Doreen first and then hand her over to Sister Maria. Then, I can even hand her over to Old Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose was knowledgeable in the ritual aspects. At the same time, the yers were not afraid of death. If this was a trap, Annan could just let Delicious Wind Goose bite the bait¡ªat worst, Annan had to give Old Goose thousands of affection ratings aspensation and rewards afterward.

    ¡°I may need to stay with you for a while, kid.¡±

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± looked at the werewolf girl with her hands tied and kneeling in front of her and said gently, ¡°You should know that the current situation is that someone wants to trouble me, and I am innocent.

    ¡°If I kill you here, then the trouble you caused me will be over. But if I don¡¯t find out about the situation, new problems will await meter.

    ¡°I¡¯m azy person. I n to settle it once and for all. You should go with me for a while and apany me to investigate your teacher, Nichs. If you are innocent, I will let you go and apologize.¡±

    Annan¡¯s message was that if she was involved in it, it was just a matter of killing herter.

    But after hearing these half-threatening and half-kidnapping words, Doreen, trembling with fear previously, gradually calmed down.

    She could tell that Mr. Ghindaio did not want to do anything to her just yet.

    He was not like those big shots who were easily offended just because he was shamed or had been calcted by others. He would not kill an insignificant pawn just because he was annoyed.

    Mr. Ghindaio seems quite sensible.

    The tranquility born from reasoning gave people chills just by looking at it.

    As for being restricted in personal freedom and being threatened with death¡­

    Was there any value in the freedom of a werewolf?

    When the Frost Beasts ate her emotions, she thought she would die there. It turned out that when she was on the verge of dying, Mr. Ghindaio ordered the Frost Beasts to stop, saving her life.

    If Mr. Ghindaio wanted her death, she would already be dead.

    Thinking of this, Doreen felt that there was nothing to be afraid of.

    She plucked up her courage and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I am sent here by someone?¡±

    Hearing this, ¡°Ghindaio¡± showed a cheerful smile.

    Ghindaio reached out his hands and supported Doreen to her feet slightly.

    ¡°¡ªBecause you are, so you are not.¡±

    Ghindaio lowered his head, pressed his forehead against Doreen¡¯s, and said with a smile, ¡°This sentence is philosophical. You won¡¯t get it.¡±

    What does he mean?

    Doreen froze, lost in thought.

    She thought about it seriously for a long time and felt as if she understood something, but also as if she did not understand anything.

    But, but¡­ it seems so cool.

    I hope Mr. Ghindaio won¡¯t kill me.

    Doreen prayed silently in her heart.

 Chapter 478: Ike Searing-fang

    <h4>Chapter 478: Ike Searing-fang</h4>

    It went exactly as expected for Delicious Wind Goose.

    After showing off their strengthst night, the people from ¡°Red Dead¡± approached early this morning.

    The talk went well for the yers from the start.

    After all, the management of ¡°Red Dead¡± was loose. It was not a strict organization. After confirming that the yers were interested and had no intention of joining other organizations, the negotiation was done.

    The ¡°Red Dead¡± organization had a loose arrangement on the outside and tight management on the inside. They were not afraid of spiesing in. After all, peripheral members had almost no ess to any information and had to work for nothing.

    As to who would be an internal member, it all depended on their actions. However, the ¡°Boss¡± had the immediate decision. Their identities were even kept secret. Even the other peripheral members would not know which of their members were internal members.

    But the strange thing was that the internal members were united. Not to mention the hidden spies who joined in advance, there were even no bribed betrayers among them.

    Many people thought the Boss, or perhaps someone under him, was a Great Wizard proficient in Prophet School and Soul Snatch School. Thus, there was such a tight organizational structure.

    However, things went beyond Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s expectations.

    It happened after they had a rough discussion about ¡°joining the Red Dead¡±.

    After confirming that they were willing to join Red Dead, the person who came to talk to them suddenly changed the subject. He asked Delicious Wind Goose, or perhaps the whole group, to go to the fort sternly.

    Delicious Wind Goose only found out after asking.

    It was said that the ¡°Boss¡± instructed them before the group went out. If Delicious Wind Goose were willing to join them, he would be directly promoted to a core member. The three people who came together with Delicious Wind Goose would also be promoted to internal members.

    ¡­But why?

    The yers were baffled.

    If it happened not long after they first came to Mist Continent, they might have thought that they were blessed with the protagonist¡¯s plot armor since they were the yers. However, after recognizing their status, they knew that they would be, at best, ying a supporting role.

    At the same time, the yers had not met the boss yet.

    The ¡°Red Dead¡± even knew they came to Natta County with ulterior motives.

    Why would the Red Dead¡¯s leader invite them into the core of the organization when they had never met before?

    If the other party could predict the future, would they not know their purpose?

    In the end, the yers made a decision after a discussion.

    The conclusion they gave was not to spread out.

    It was better to be wiped out all at once than to be defeated individually. Even though the yers could brute force their way out at any time, they could also pay some sacrifice and teleport away anytime. However, Natta County was not a safe ce after all. Even if a single person acquired the ¡°Red Dead¡± namete, the person might still be unable to get food, clothing, housing, and transportation if he was not smart enough.

    So although they felt something was wrong, they still went together to the ¡°Red Dead¡± base in the end.

    Then, they sessfully met the ¡°Boss¡±.

    To their surprise¡­ one of the most influential people in Natta County was not a wizard.

    Delicious Wind Goose was ready to face a dark spell caster like the Gul¡¯dan [1] type.

    It turned out to be Gul¡¯dan, indeed.

    But it was Gul¡¯dan with his clothes off¡ª

    ¡°Here, you can call me ¡®Boss¡¯. You can also call me by my first name, Ike Searing-Fang.¡± The person who spoke was a burly man with golden curly hair.

    He was smoking a cigar, and his voice was calm and charismatic.

    Ike wore a yellow linen gown with sleeves rolled up to the elbows and an off-white waistcoat with many pockets. This outfit looked like an engineer and a reporter.

    His skin was bronzed, and his exposed skin was covered with scars. He was extremely muscr, and his figure was about the same size as Delicious Wind Goose or even more exaggerated. He had an inverted triangle figure like a superhero in theic book.

    At the same time, he was one head taller than Delicious Wind Goose, about 1.9 meters tall.

    His arms were firm like a sailor¡­ the kind who loved spinach [2].

    But what was most familiar to Delicious Wind Goose was that Ike Searing-Fang¡¯s pupils looked like flowingva, giving off a ¡°bright dark red¡± feeling. He also spat out a faint white mist that smelled of sulfur when he breathed.

    ¡ªThe most important thing was a heavy gold chain around Ike Searing-Fang¡¯s neck. It looked like a bunch of mahjong tiles.

    With this body type, could he be a Soul Snatch Wizard or a Prophet Wizard?

    Delicious Wind Goose was confident Ike could crush Yokai Sensei with one punch!

    Except that Anderson might take three punches to kill, the three of them weren¡¯t enough to contend with him.

    More importantly,Delicious Wind Goose had seen thisst name in a nightmare: the very nightmare that made him a transcender.

    There, he met a Destruction Wizard named ¡°Arthur Searing-Fang¡±.

    His pupils and the sulfur smell in his breathing were simr to the man named Ike!

    ¡°Stop looking at me. I¡¯m not a wizard.¡±

    Ike, who called himself ¡°Boss¡±, grinned and exhaled a plume of white smoke mixed with the smell of cigars and sulfur. The cinnamon smell almost covered up the scent of sulfur¡­

    But as it happened, Delicious Wind Goose had a keen sense of smell.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you about my specific profession. But I¡¯m definitely not a wizard.¡±

    Ike Searing-Fang smiled lowly and spoke in a charming, masucline voice, ¡°I think you must be very curious. Of course, I¡¯m not a wizard, but how can I judge that you are credible?¡±

    No, I¡¯m not curious at all.

    We¡¯re just here to spend our day, Boss¡­

    Delicious Wind Goose thought that from the bottom of his heart.

    But he remained expressionless on his face and nodded slowly.

    His body was about the same size as Ike¡¯s. The silver bracelet on his wrist looked intimidating if he did not talk much and pretended to be cool.

    ¡°To tell you the truth, this is a ritual we held. It¡¯s also arge-scale artificial nightmare created by me myself.¡±

    Ike said slowly, ¡°I need you, Delicious Wind Goose. You are a Silver Rank transcender who has just advanced or a ritualist who has seen a true deity. The most important thing is that you are not a wizard. So, you perfectly meet the victory conditions of this ritual.¡±

    Why must it not be a wizard?

    Why me?

    Delicious Wind Goose was suspicious.

    But he did not ask much.

    Presumably, the other party would not say it out either.

    Delicious Wind Goose said directly to the point, ¡°So, what should I do?¡±

    Ike grinned, revealing an unabashedly happy smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll know when the timees.¡±

    Three hourster¡­

    The four of them were respectfully invited into a luxurious vi with the ¡°key¡± provided by Ike.

    Of course, this luxury was also quite rtive.

    Compared with the vis they had seen in the capital, it was naturally not as good.

    But in Natta County, Delicious Wind Goose believed this might be the best thing Ike or ¡°Boss¡± coulde up with.

    Ike requested that the yer could try to purify the nightmare he designed. It would be best if they could pass the level.

    What the hell are they going to do?

    How did he do it, artificially creating a nightmare?

    He is not a wizard, but how can he achieve that?

    And what does that even mean?

    Delicious Wind Goose was puzzled.

    It looked like some kind of conspiracy. But the other party was too frank, which made them a little undecided.

    And¡­

    That was a nightmare!

    It was the element for the teleportation waypoint that granted experience and level-up rewards.

    The nightmare itself was pretty interesting too.

    It was quite enticing.

    The courage as yers also stopped them from backing down before trying.

    After all, they could be resurrected.

    After the yers discussed it, they nned to have three people enter the nightmare to see the situation themselves.

    They could use it to establish a teleportation waypoint if all went well.

    Of course, just in case¡­ they could not have the entire team enter the nightmare.

    They left the only priest, Yokai Sensei, in charge of the vigil.

    Yokai Sensei¡¯s duty was not to protect hisrades.

    Instead, when the enemyunched an assault, he would strike first to kill all his teammates.

    He was the priest of the upright deity, and there was no way he could be controlled.

    However, if the curse vessel of a transcender were stolen, the person would lose most of his transcended abilities in an instant.

    It was a safety precaution even though they thought there was no point in plotting against them or kidnapping them. At the same time, it was highly probable that Ike was Gold Rank. Even if he weren¡¯t, it would not be difficult for him to deal with them.

    But this ce was Natta County, after all.

    The yers could not trust the others easily.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Dove had exchanged eyes with Anderson.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m watching.¡±

    Yokai Sensei patted the gun and said in a deep voice, ¡°I think you should start a live broadcast. We should let the free yers spectate you, and that feature helps keep a record of it.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose nodded and turned on the live broadcast readily, ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    He then cuffed the metal bracelet on his wrist and leaned back. For some reason, the metal bracelets looked like handcuffs, but nothing connected the two cuffs.

    This was the first time yers entered an unexplored nightmare while actively using the ¡°dream key¡± as an item.

    Based on Ike, this seemed like a nightmare that enabled a party-finding feature or something like that.

    A nightmare that three people could enter together¡ª

    ¡°This seems to be called a [co-op nightmare].¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose muttered, his consciousness gradually bing blurred.

    His first reaction was: This boss did not scam me. So it¡¯s really a nightmare?

    Between drowsiness and waking, he felt his limbs bound by inexplicable power. It was like being chained to a cold chair.

    ¡ªSuddenly, he trembled and woke up.

 Chapter 479: Nightmare: The Wizard Among Us

    <h4>Chapter 479: Nightmare: The Wizard Among Us</h4>

    Man-made nightmare?

    Annan saw something that interested him from the panel showcasing the Old Goose.

    The only person Annan knew who could create nightmares was Benjamin.

    Moreover, Benjamin¡¯s starting goal was mastering the relevant knowledge of nightmare science. His initial wish was to save Evelyn from the infinite loop of nightmares. Therefore, he had been studying nightmares since bing a wizard.

    Benjamin undoubtedly had a solid foundation in nightmare science.

    He was even proficient in the four schools of Soul Snatch, Alteration, Shaping, and Idol at the same time. For this reason, he dropped all other schools in exchange for specialization.

    At the same time, the four magic schools he had mastered were the only four rted to nightmare science.

    Therefore, Annan was not surprised that Benjamin could artificially create nightmares.

    But what made Ike Searing-Fang create nightmares?

    He had no relevant skills and was not even a wizard.

    ¡°¡­Interesting.¡± Annan pondered for a long time.

    He took Doreen to a nearby hotel, got a room, and ordered lunch in advance. Then, he proceeded to watch the nightmare in Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s adventure.

    In the yers¡¯ teamposition, each team would have at least one yer who was good at conquering nightmares. It would prevent the team from getting stuck when they encountered nightmares. After all, they could not call for backup then.

    Natta County was crucial because it involved the high-value specialty ¡ª ¡°Demon Blood¡±. To ensure the smooth establishment of the teleportation waypoint in Natta County, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s primary role was to tackle the nightmare since he was the foremost explorer of ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±.

    This was also why Delicious Wind Goose, the most potentbat force, could not stay watch for the night and must enter the nightmare.

    If the goal was to clear the nightmare and sort out information, Delicious Wind Goose was even more valuable than a priest.

    As the Silver Sire¡¯s priest, Yokai Sensei¡¯s skill in solving nightmares could only be regarded as above average. It could be said that it was close to the nightmare decryption level of an NPC. It was definitely not his turn to be the pioneer of the game. After researching at least one nightmare clearance route, it would be more beneficial to let hime in and use his life to test other routes.

    At present, among all the yers, the most efficient in clearing the nightmare were the two professional puzzle solvers, Suuankou and Longjing Tea. They were specially recruited in the second phase. Then, the ranking proceeded to Delicious Wind Goose.

    Although Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s size looked quite intimidating, he was a serious card game streamer. In terms of brains, he was much brighter than Wandering Child, Jiu Er, and Lin Yiyi.

    Seeing that Delicious Wind Goose would engage in a co-op nightmare and turn on the in-game live broadcast after a long absence, the yers from other ces would enter Old Goose¡¯s live stream channel whenever they were free. Most of them had activated the full immersion feature in their viewing experience. This immersion was a new content recently updated, allowing the spectator to observe nightmares from the first-person perspective with detailed senses.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m the first!¡±

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m at the front row to the Old Goose¡¯s live stream.¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou guys came here so fast. Don¡¯t you even have to go to work?¡±

    ¡°¡ªObviously, those who can watch the live broadcast don¡¯t have to go to work.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI heard Old Goose turned on a live stream, and I just went online. The biggest advantage of this game is that I don¡¯t have to miss anything because I have to sleep.¡±

    After Delicious Wind Goose gradually woke up, he opened his eyes and found a lot of bullet text flying in front of him. The yers were chatting happily, and the chats had even blocked his view on the mission list.

    Immediately, he turned off the bullet text feature indifferently and calmly.

    I¡¯m just asking you to watch it. Why did you alle here to chat?

    After closing off the bullet text panel, Delicious Wind Goose finally saw the nightmare prompts in front of him:

    [This dungeon instance difficulty is hard.]

    [This dungeon instance does not provide plot introductions and no decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance loading has beenpleted.]

    No rewards for solving the mystery in this nightmare?

    Delicious Wind Goose was slightly taken aback.

    He looked around and quickly realized where he was.

    He was in a narrow room, sitting on a heavy metal chair.

    Judging from the roughness and dullness of the skin on his hands, ¡°he¡± seemed to be a middle-aged man in his forties. At the same time, he was not a noble nor a wizard. Instead, he was likely a farmer or fisherman and not a transcender.

    The environment around Delicious Wind Goose was dim. There was only one window hung high in the room. This ce looked like a prison cell.

    His hands and feet were chained to the chair, rendering him unable to move.

    In front of him was aplex but medium-sized bronze machine. This machine was about the size of an induction cooker. There was a round tray in the middle, decorated with thick and long white candles full of scales.

    On the side close to the Delicious Wind Goose, 13 long-handled buttons stick out.

    The keys looked a bit like the white keys of a piano. The numbers ¡°1¡± to ¡°12¡± were written on one side, while a simple, circr rune was drawn on the other side. There was also a single button on the far left that said ¡°Spell¡±.

    With the assistance of the dim light, Delicious Wind Goose noticed a big [3] painted on the left side with blood-like red paint on the wall in front of him.

    A piece of paper with the word ¡°Lurker¡± was pinned on his right. The words were written inrge fonts.

    What is this?

    It doesn¡¯t look like an escape room game, and isn¡¯t this a co-op nightmare? Where¡¯s my teammate?

    Is this the Werewolf game [3]?

    When Delicious Wind Goose thought of this, a glimmering panel suddenly shed in front of him:

    [Main mission: Win the ¡°game¡±.]

    Immediately afterward, three additional conditions appeared below:

    [At least one person in the team survives to the end.]

    [The victory conditions of the whole team cannot conflict.]

    [Don¡¯t let the ¡°Idol Wizard¡± win.]

    Before Delicious Wind Goose could finish reading the prompts, a familiar voice came beside him.

    It was the voice of ¡°Ike Searing-Fang¡±!

    ¡°Everyone. It¡¯s our game time again!¡±

    His voice seemed to being out of a loudspeaker. It sounded in the room repeatedly, producing a slight echo.

    ¡°Your identities have been randomly assigned, so let¡¯s cut to the chase. This time, there are ¡®neers¡¯ participating in the game. ording to the old rules, I will exin the specific rules of ¡®Ritual: Unification War¡¯ to neers!¡±

    Ike himself has participated?

    Is that why he invited the four of us into the nightmare?

    Delicious Wind Goose put on a solemn face, and he focused again.

    Soon, under Ike¡¯s exnation, Delicious Wind Goose understood the rules of this so-called ¡°game¡±.

    It was notplicated.

    This was an elimination game involving twelve people participating ritual.

    None of these twelve could cast a spell, and they were imprisoned in these twelve rooms.

    But under the rules, eight of them could imitate the wizards of the eight schools and had one unique skill to ¡°imitate the wizard¡¯s spell-casting¡±.

    The identities of the other four were Swordsman, Lurker, Hunter, and Priest. What made the game unfair was that only the wizard had the skill. The remaining four belong to the ¡°vigers¡± faction.

    The ritual wouldst four days and three nights.

    As for the rest of the rules¡­

 Chapter 480: Ritual: Unification War

    <h4>Chapter 480: Ritual: Unification War</h4>

    In Ike Searing-Fang¡¯s description, the rules were notplicated.

    Wizards could activate a ¡°skill¡± every night or kill someone. If he chose to kill, he would not be able to use his ability.

    If two wizards decided to kill each other that night or one of them chose to do nothing for one round, it would be considered a stalemate. Neither of them would die.

    Vigers could also choose to kill.

    If a viger fought with another viger or if the defender chose to do nothing, a stalemate woulde in; if a viger fought with the wizard or if the viger chose to do nothing when attacked by a wizard, the viger would die;

    The viger could only kill a wizard if the viger acted after the wizard and the wizard had chosen to attack other people;

    The first person would be the killer if multiple people kill one person simultaneously. The second person would see the body and be able to know who the murderer was.

    During the day, everyone would get a one-minute speaking opportunity ording to the order of actionsst night;

    After everyone had finished speaking, there was a three-minute private chat time. The yer could press the button to select someone to initiate a private chat. If the other party agreed, he had to press the button to establish a private conversation. After hanging up, the person who made the call could not make another call that day but could answer other people¡¯s calls.

    After the private chat period, everyone could vote to execute one person within one minute. The one who got the most votes would be executed. A stalemate would put the vote invalid.

    ¡°Idol Wizards¡± could reveal their identities and activate special victory conditions. After the private chat period, they could choose to make a concluding speech or decide not to speak. This was because the ¡°Idol Wizard¡± had a unique winning condition.

    The yer would choose their faction in this ¡°game¡± simr to the Werewolf Game.

    There were three victory conditions¡ª

    If there were a murderer who sessfully killed two people and survived to the end, all those who have murdered would win. The innocent people who had not killed any people would lose;

    If no one among the killers had killed two people, then all innocent people who had not killed anyone would win in the end, and all the murderers would lose.

    The unique victory condition of the Idol Wizard was to use a skill after actively revealing his own identity and guess the ¡°four identities¡± of two dead yers and two alive yers. As long as the answer was correct at the end of the game, the Idol Wizard got to win and all the rest would be counted as lost.

    ¡°Here announce the ¡®spells¡¯ held by all wizards in this round of the game:¡±

    Ike¡¯s voice sounded from all directions, ¡°Prophet Wizard, get to check a person¡¯s specific school every night.

    ¡°Edict Wizard can check whether a person has killed someone every night.

    ¡°Energy Falteration Wizard will not be affected by Soul Snatch¡¯s or Destruction Wizard¡¯s skills. Active use of spells can cause the designated target¡¯s action sequence to be dyed until the end.

    ¡°The Soul Snatch Wizard can permanently silence a ¡®puppet¡¯ and control the opponent¡¯s vote. He can also release the control at any time. But it is a ¡®simtion game¡¯ after all. The controlled person still retains his memory and will not be brainwashed. However, when the Soul Snatch Wizard has a controlled subject and chooses to kill, the murderer seen by the witnesses is the controlled ¡®puppet¡¯, not the Soul Snatch Wizard himself. When an Edict Wizard inspects the ¡®puppet¡¯, he shall remain innocent. On the other hand, when an Edict Wizard investigates the Soul Snatch Wizard, the Soul Snatch Wizard will be shown guilty.

    ¡°When a Destruction Wizard is killed, he will blow up the person who killed him. When he is voted out during the day, he can choose one person to blow up to death.

    ¡°Shaping Wizard can change into another identity. He will be given the identity and killing record that is the same as the target and synchronized. This record is valid till the end. However, Shaping Wizard will not get the opponent¡¯s skills. If the Alteration Wizard uses his skill, he can resurrect the first person that will die that night.

    ¡°Idol Wizard has two lives. In other words, the killer can achieve the victory condition of two kills as long as he kills an Idol Wizard. However, the identification number and identity of the person who kills the Idol Wizard will be revealed in the next day¡¯s early morning. If the Idol Wizard is killed by a puppet controlled by Soul Snatch Wizard, the Soul Snatch Wizard himself will be exposed.

    ¡°Your voice has been processed, and it won¡¯t sound like your original voice. But when you speak, the button corresponding to the number will sh. Remember the number on the left side of the room; that is your number. The paper on the right side of the room disys your identity. Whether you use a skill or choose to kill, you just need to press the corresponding button. If you leave the seat, it will be regarded as suicide.

    ¡°Those who die in this ¡®game¡¯ will also be killed in reality. However, the loser will wait here and enter the next round of the game, and the winner¡­ will be the real wizard!¡±

    It was almost as he expected at the beginning.

    ¡ªIt was really a Werewolf game [1].

    In other words, it was the ¡°Wizard Among Us¡± rule formted by ¡°Ike Searing-Fang¡±!

    Delicious Wind Goose suddenly thought of something. He nced at the identity te on his right.

    Lurker¡­ It is a viger card.

    Undoubtedly, that¡¯s the worst identity in this game!

    ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Delicious Wind Goose took a cold breath.

    ¡­Damn it, why!

    Anything is fine. But, please, at least give me a wizard card!

    Annan frowned slightly.

    He noticed another matter.

    Why is this ritual called the ¡°Unification War¡±?

    Themonly known ¡°Wizard War¡± was an elite war that had swept the world, but it was not veryrge in scale. Whether it was an alchemist or a necromancer, Ice Warlock, and Silence Warlock, they all lost their legacy in that war. Instead, they merged in multiple formats of three-in-one or four-in-one and formed the so-called ¡°school¡±.

    Before the Unification War, varying wizard towers had only one core profession as their legacy. Professions such as Ice Warlock and Silence Warlock were not born in wizard towers but from the folks.

    At that time, the mages and warlocks were notpletely dependent on the organization formed by the wizard tower. Instead, the spell casters in the wizard tower were a minority.

    But things changed after the Unification War.

    The Eight Great Schools of Wizardry were formed during the Unification War.

    After the Unification War, spell castersbined lores together. It was impossible for the Silence Warlock to learn Ice Warlock¡¯s spells, let alone learning alchemy. However, there was no ¡°profession¡± barrier at this stage. They would be able to find relevant books if they wanted to learn.

    Although this was a knowledge inheritance mechanism that relied on the wizard tower, it also led to the fact that all spell casters must depend on the wizard tower to obtain sufficient training.

    From a historical point of view, although the Unification War caused great chaos that year, it promoted modern magic¡¯s prosperity.

    This ritual Ike Searing-Fang held was a ¡°Wizard Among Us¡± game called [Ritual: Unification War]. If the winner could be a wizard, it meant that this ritual was effective.

    In other words, he really borrowed power from this ritual.

    Then, the situation of the Unification War back then might be moreplex than what was recorded in the history books.

    ¡­Let¡¯s continue watching.

    There will be answers to all the questions after this nightmare is cleared.

 Chapter 481: An Unexpected Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 481: An Unexpected Beginning</h4>

    ¡°Then, we¡¯re proceeding to a public speaking period of up to four minutes, followed by a one-minute private speaking period.

    ¡°¡ªThen, let the game begin!¡±

    After Ike Searing-Fang¡¯s voice sounded, the cuff on Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s wrist was immediately unlocked.

    However, Delicious Wind Goose did not speak immediately but kept silent first.

    He would wait and see other people¡¯s speeches first, lest he says something wrong and exposes his identity as a neer. At the same time, it gave him the opportunity to reflect a little bit on the current situation.

    As a result, he saw that the rune marked with the number ¡°1¡± on the machine in front of him suddenly lit up. A filtered voice sounded beside him:

    ¡°I¡¯m number one, viger, pass.¡±

    Um?

    Delicious Wind Goose was taken aback.

    Why do you im yourself as a viger?

    Not only do vigers have no skills, but they also don¡¯t have an advantage in the battle with wizards, so they may be killed. Even if he is a viger, he should assume another identity to save his life.

    But then, number 2 spoke, ¡°I¡¯m number 2, viger, pass.¡±

    Why are the speeches so short?

    Delicious Wind Goose was a little taken aback.

    It was different from the Werewolf game he had previously yed.

    He had yed the Werewolf party game before. In addition, he even yed a season in the Werewolf Game Variety Show, which the streaming tform organized. But because of this, he was a little confused about the situation in front of him.

    But it¡¯s toote now¡ª

    Although it was the designated period for the yers to speak publicly, the rule here was to speak in order. Delicious Wind Goose, as number three, was about to have his turn to speak up.

    ¡°Ahem! Viger, number 3¡­, pass.¡±

    Despite being unable to figure out the situation, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s IQ was still fine.

    From the 4th to the 6th, they all imed to be vigers.

    Fuck, how are there six yers iming the viger¡¯s identity!?

    Something must have gone wrong there!

    There must be something here that the Old Goose had overlooked.

    Or probably that his faulty thinking approach made him capture the wrong hint.

    Delicious Wind Goose hesitated for a moment but opened up the bullet text first.

    It was number seven¡¯s turn. A different voice sounded:

    ¡°Number 7, my identity is Destruction Wizard. I will not kill anyone tonight.¡±

    ¡°Number eight, um¡­ I¡¯m the seer, and I¡¯ll check on number seven tonight.¡±

    The seer¡­isn¡¯t it the Prophet wizard?

    [TN: Seer [1] is the role name the Werewolf game adopted. Thus, it hints that he exists outside this world.]

    Delicious Wind Goose reacted. This was probably a hint given to him by one of his teammates.

    The yers sent three people into the nightmare. That was the most significant advantage for the yers¡ªit was simply a rule-breaking approach to allying. So there must be some way to contact their teammates. It would be more convenient whether it was in the voting or killing stage.

    Then, he heard another voice:

    ¡°Number 9, I am the Prophet wizard. Number 8, it is not toote to im you are a viger. Otherwise, I will verify Number 8¡¯s identity tonight. If I die, you shall vote Number 8 out of the game tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Number 10, Edict Wizard. I¡¯ll defend myself tonight without using a skill.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the Eleventh, an Edict Wizard. I¡¯ll defend myself tonight, too.¡±

    Why did the tempo suddenly speed up?

    Six vigers¡¯ roles were imed at the start, then two Prophet Wizards and two Edicts Wizards popped out.

    Speaking of which, where is thest yer?

    At this moment, Number 12 said, ¡°I¡¯m number 12, and I¡¯m a viger. I¡¯m new, and I don¡¯t know anything. Can someone teach me privately?¡±

    This should be the third yer.

    Eighth and Twelfth.

    I wonder who Dove is and who Anderson is.

    But hearing so much defensive stance, Delicious Wind Goose vaguely realized something.

    Number seven: ¡°How many neers are there? Is it just the twelfth?¡±

    Number One: ¡°No, there is at least one neer between Number Eight and Number Nine. I¡¯m more inclined toward Number Eight. Soul Snatch Wizard should control Number Eight tonight so he won¡¯t screw things up.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan had already reacted.

    This game should not be yed the same as Werewolf the Party Game¡­

    ¡ªThis game was not a game contesting for kills at all.

    He looked at Delicious Wind Goose with some concern.

    Judging from the bullet text, the rest of the yers did not notice. They were still approaching the nightmare with the thinking pattern of ying Werewolf the game.

    Should I give them a hint now?

    Delicious Wind Goose was still thinking hard.

    At first nce, the yers should have an advantage as the killer because they could trust each other.

    If the yers came in with their entire party of four, they were all wizards on the first night, and sessfully killed four people, then they would win. That was because there were only three rounds of voting, and it was impossible to vote four of them out.

    However, the problem was that the yers could only have some of them take the wizard role in terms of probability wise. That was because one-third of the people in this game were vigers.

    For example, Delicious Wind Goose was a viger this round.

    In theory, the vigers could kill wizards too, but the chances were minute.

    So, those people wearing vigers¡¯ disguises should pick a defensive stance to protect the real civilians.

    In other words, their default victory condition was having the innocent win. In other words, everyone would y safe so that everyone won and everyone was happy in the end.

    Should we approach this game in this way too?

    Delicious Wind Goose was a little enticed by this idea.

    But he quickly vetoed this decision with reasons.

    And the reason was simple.

    After all, they entered the arena as three people, not four. Since he was a viger, there was a high probability that number 8 was not a Prophet Wizard. If there was a viger between number 8 and number 12, then they had a lineup of double vigers. Thus, they had no way to resist a killer.

    Number one and two might be wizards wearing the viger disguise, but Delicious Wind Goose was truly a viger. If more than three people joined forces, there was a high probability that Old Goose would die in the first round.

    Even if Old Goose did not on the first night¡­ If three people were almost certain to be voted out, everyone had to use skills to prove their identity on the second night. There was a high probability that someone would die the second night.

    If this was the case, those who participated in the killing had a high chance of winning.

    Even if the NPC won, the yers could still win alongside them.

    Then, there was a final choice.

    Delicious Wind Goose, as one of the ¡°six consecutive ims for vigers¡±, had a low probability of death.

    If he was lucky enough to survive until the third day, he could kill hispanions to gain kill counts. It did not even have to be Delicious Wind Goose. Number eight or twelve could opt for this strategy too.

    In that case, choosing to kill was the best choice.

    They could kill people in the first two days to reduce the number of people able to send messages out publicly.

    Even if all the people in the game were on the defensive for the first two days, as long as one person sessfully killed someone, he could be arranged to kill anotherpanion on the third day and obtain the victory condition. No matter if the other person had killed someone or died, the condition of ¡°the whole team of killers win¡± could be satisfied.

    As long as one person sessfully killed two people and survived to the end, the yers would emerge victorious.

    Delicious Wind Goose immediately reacted.

    The core of this game was not to hide their identity!

    Because he did not need to kill all the vigers or all the role yers to win, exposing the killer¡¯s identity did not mean a disadvantage.

    The keyy in the ¡°Wolf King¡±!

    To protect the person that would have a double kill to attain victory, he was even allowed to kill a teammate to get a kill count! As long as a person with two kills survived to the fourth night, all those who had killed people would win.

    The innocent did not need to find all the killers. They needed to prevent the killers from getting two kill counts in the third round or vote the wolf king out on the fourth day and win!

 Chapter 482: War Game

    <h4>Chapter 482: War Game</h4>

    Soon enough, the four-minute public chat time was over.

    Delicious Wind Goose pressed the ¡°8¡± key without hesitation.

    The receiver also quickly answered the phone:

    ¡°Who are you? What¡¯s your identity?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose asked immediately.

    ¡°I¡¯m Dove, Energy Falteration School, and not a Prophet,¡± Dove responded quickly, ¡°You are the captain. Time is running out, so speak quickly. I¡¯ll pass on yourmand to Anderson.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose did not have much time to think, but he already had a rough n, ¡°They put on the viger role to stay defensive. As long as no one dies by the next night, the innocent will win.¡±

    His thinking gradually became clear as he spoke, ¡°But they can¡¯t defend all the time because they will inevitably vote out three people. Then, on the next day, someone among the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh will use their skill. ¡°

    Moreover, there was also the Idol Wizard bringing chaos into this game.

    The Idol Wizard only needed to make sure that two people were dead. At the same time, the rest would not want the Idol Wizard to win. Then, if the Idol Wizard disclosed his identity and dered it the next day, the other people must let the ¡°survival target¡± he named die to stop the Idol Wizard from winning; at the same time, the ¡°death target¡± he dered could not be executed.

    The option left would be to kill the Idol Wizard directly.

    But no matter what, as long as the Idol Wizard used his skill, it would bring about death.

    Then, the Idol Wizard would almost certainly kill people on the first night to switch sides. If the switch failed, he might throw away his offensive stance and act defensively.

    However, as long as the Idol Wizard seeded in killing people on the first or second night¡­at thetest on the third night, there would be at least two nights where murders would happen.

    There was no way to shelter away this possibility.

    ¡°If we go with the innocent team, we can¡¯t fight back and kill anyone. Once vigers are actually killed, we can¡¯t kill people who already have a kill count to stop the opponent. That forces us to switch sides¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if the seven ¡®vigers¡¯ in this round are real or not. If Anderson is a wizard, I suggest killing No. 1 and No. 6 tonight. As long as we can get a viger dead, we willmit suicide and give him the kill count on the third night. Then, that willplete our mission.¡±

    Time was running out.

    Without hesitation, Dove dialed number 12.

    Delicious Wind Goose realized that the greatest difficulty with this game was timing. Time was so tight thatplex logical thinking was almost impossible. Furthermore, it was hard to convince other people because time was tight, and no one would listen.

    ¡­Then, how will the voting go during the daytime tomorrow?

    But at this moment, Delicious Wind Goose saw the lights of No. 8 and No. 12 lit.

    He suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

    Looking at the dim runes of others, he seemed to see others looking down at him indifferently.

    Delicious Wind Goose realized one thing.

    Among the twelve people, it seemed only three of them had a private chat.

    This meant that if someone died tonight, they might have been exposed!

    Unfortunately, that was unavoidable. The killers could notmunicate with each other at night.

    Delicious Wind Goose could not modify his n immediately.

    He could only wait for dawn.

    Soon enough, the first night was over.

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s daytime.¡±

    Ike¡¯s voice sounded: ¡°Number one diedst night. He was murdered.

    ¡°Speak in the order of actionsst night: Twelfth, Nine, Eighth, Eleventh, Sixth; the rest did not actst night. We will start with number two today. Your chance to speak is arranged in numerical order.¡±

    ¡ªThis is bad.

    It was different from what he had anticipated at the start. Even the people who don¡¯t take action will be announced?

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s heart sank.

    Does this mean that the identities of the three of us are revealed on the first day?

    Longjing Tea, who watched the live broadcast, sighed.

    ¡°¡ªOld Goose, your brain power is stillcking¡­¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but shake his head as he muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not the end. It depends on how you act.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose seems to realize something.

    But he still could not find the crux of the problem.

    The oue of this game does not fall on the ¡°wizards¡± but on ¡°vigers¡±.

    No. 12 was obviously taken aback for a few seconds.

    He did not seem to expect that he would be the first to act.

    He hesitated.

    Then, he suddenly started to speak, ¡°I am the Prophet wizard. I didn¡¯t reveal my identity on the first day. I tested on the seventh yesterday, and he is indeed a Destruction Wizard, not an Idol Wizard.¡±

    ¡­What?

    Delicious Wind Goose was taken aback.

    ¡ªWonderful!

    Although this speech was not top-notch, it salvaged the situation a little.

    Then it was number 9¡¯s turn to speak, ¡°I am the actual Prophet Wizard! I tested number 8st night. He is an Energy Falteration Wizard. They have negotiated beforehand! Let¡¯s first vote for imposter number 12 today and vote for number 8 tomorrow! I saw the 3rd and 8th having a conversation. So, we will vote 3rd out on the fourth day. I have already made arrangements for you all. Pass!¡±

    Then, it was followed by Dove.

    She said thoroughly, ¡°Number 9 is wrong. I am not an Energy Falteration Wizard. Of course, I am not a Prophet Wizard either.

    ¡°¡ªI am a viger.¡±

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth turned upward.

    It was Dove who reacted first.

    Dove said calmly, ¡°From the 1st to the 6th, the sixth viger ims will protect them, but I may be killed as a lone viger. Thus, I have imed to be a Prophet Wizard. At that time, there was no Prophet Wizard. Obviously, I have to wear that hat. At the same time, we have number 7, the real Prophet Wizard, to perform the verification so as to prevent him from pretending to be the Destruction Wizard as an Idol Wizard to mess up the voting.

    ¡°Number 9 goes against me when I im to be the Prophet Wizard. However, instead of voting me out, he voted for the real Prophet Wizard number 12 first. I suspect he intends to kill me, a real viger, tonight. Now, he is lying about his identity. Therefore, I propose to cast your vote to execute number nine today. Pass.¡±

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly.

    Although there were still many ws with Dove¡¯s speech, she was pretty alertpared to Delicious Wind Goose just because she had never yed Werewolf.

    Dove sessfully disrupted all the first three speeches, creating doubts that ruined their credibility. Those who speakter must pick a side and provide new information and ideas. Otherwise, it would be deadlocked.

    There was an obvious difference between the rule of this nightmare and Werewolf.

    That was because vigers could hardly kill anyone and couldn¡¯t act. Thus, they were basically regarded as innocent people.

    In other words, vigers without skills had a higher social status than wizards with skills.

    After all, this was not a [killing game] that focused on logical interpretation and hiding identity.

    It was a [War Game] that focused on incitement with [killing game] as a disguise in its appearance.

    It would have a clear dividing line. Before the death of the second corpse, everyone tended to be defensive; after the second corpse appeared, everyone else would tend to kill.

    Under strategic deterrence, no one would act rashly. Whoever acted first would be the target of the public.

    But if everyone started to act, those who had not acted would be ¡°sheep¡±. At that time, everyone had to change sides with blood on their hands to avoid being persecuted. The situation would immediately be chaotic.

    To prevent the ¡°wolves¡± from eating more ¡°sheep¡± and bing fat, vigers must be protected. At this time, vigers had the highest status card. However, after the war broke out, the sheep would be eaten in the shortest time. By then, the viger role was the most dangerous card again.

    The victory condition of this game did not lie in how to hide one¡¯s own identity or how to see through the identity of others.

    It was about how people with ulterior motives could disrupt others and how people who wanted to maintain order could persuade everyone to be rational.

    It was about how to control people¡¯s hearts and how to set off momentum.

    In other words, how to instigate and stop a war.

    So, this was a ritual about ¡°war¡±.

 Chapter 483: Delicious Wind Gooseâ€™s Speech

    <h4>Chapter 483: Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s Speech</h4>

    Annan turned his attention back to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s live broadcast.

    Obviously, the identities of the three yers were utterly exposed after the first night.

    Old Goose had reasoned that the key to this game was ¡°inciting the others¡±.

    In other words, dragging people into the mess.

    Thus, their victory condition was no longer hiding their identity but using various means and words to persuade others to startmitting murders too.

    However, the core challenge of this game did not lie in speaking skills.

    Instead, it was ¡°time¡±.

    There were less than five minutes of thinking time in each stage. The average ritual participant would not be able to make instant decisions every round. There must be some kind of ¡°habit¡±.

    In other words, the participants would adopt the strategy of ¡°sticking with the decision until a certain critical point was reached¡±.

    At the same time, due to theck of time formunication, it was almost impossible to ¡°use logical and sound reasoning to convince others¡± and gain the right to speak.

    Under such conditions, people would tend to make decisions instinctively.

    Conversely, the yers had to give the ritual participants a sense of urgency and flip the decisive [switch].

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Whether discussing the possibility of the other¡¯s behavior at the logical level or figuring out the rationality of the other¡¯s behavior, there would be mistakes and omissions. If the yers wanted to grasp the behavior pattern of the others in advance, they had first to determine their strategy.

    If the yers did not know what the other ritual participants wanted, they could not figure out what the others wanted to do.

    ¡°I wonder when Delicious Wind Goose will notice this.¡±

    The tremendous difference between this game and the party game was that the ritual signified death, even though it was a nightmare.

    But a nightmare was an abstraction of historical records¡ªit must be different from reality. However, its original story must have happened in reality at least once.

    ¡°¡ªOnce the sess or failure of the game determines their own life and death, everyone will adopt a rtively safe and conservative strategy when they are calm.

    ¡°¡ªunless they lose their cool.¡±

    Longjing Tea wrote quickly in the bullet text.

    Although the sess or failure of this game had nothing to do with whether the yers¡¯ identities were exposed, their private conversations on the first night would have significantly diminished the credibility of their words.

    Without knowing who to be voted out, the participants would inevitably vote the three yers out first.

    It was just because the yers happened to have three people.

    This gamested a total of three days and four nights. After excluding the daytime of the first day when nothing could be done, it was exactly three rounds. This meant that participants could only cast votes to eliminate three people.

    This was the critical point for strategic dominance [1].

    Having four people contact each other on the first day could tip the bnce. The rest of the participants could only vote three people out. In any case, there was a possibility that one person would kill two people without being voted out.

    ¡°¡ªAfter all, only three of you entered the game, and you didn¡¯t talk to the other NPCs on the first day. Thus, you are isted on the second day. The correct approach is to talk to the NPCs in groups on the first day. The discussion is unimportant, and the point is to form small groups to divide them and make them suspicious of each other.¡±

    Longjing Tea, who had mastered the rules, quickly taught Delicious Wind Goose.

    It was a pity that only Old Goose turned on the live-streaming function. Otherwise, Longjing Tea felt he could operate the three yers in the nightmare andplete the game.

    However, considering that only Delicious Wind Goose could see his words, it might be difficult for the yers tomunicate. Even though Longjing Tea had already guessed all the rules and tactics, he still could not secure the victory.

    However, Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s gaze soon brimmed with determination.

    He had figured it out.

    He understood what he did wrong and would try to make amends ordingly.

    Soon, it was Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s turn to speak.

    Dove¡¯s previous statements had only temporarily misled the participants. But if Old Goose could not give anyeback speeches, the oue would be having the three of them voted out.

    He fell silent for a moment and slowly replied,

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m not a viger.

    ¡°I im myself as a viger in the first round to protect the vigers from being killed.

    ¡°And my real identity is an Idol Wizard.¡±

    After Delicious Wind Goose said this, he said calmly, ¡°You may vote me out now, but that is meaningless. The people after me don¡¯t need to speak anymore because the murderer has won. If you don¡¯t believe it, listen to my analysis¡ª¡±

    He had foreseen the surprised and uncertain expressions of the others.

    ¡°If I don¡¯t reveal myself this round, then I will definitely use my skill tonight, and I will be killed immediately since I can¡¯t defend myself; if I don¡¯t reveal myself, then I will be voted out tomorrow.

    ¡°So I will die if I don¡¯t reveal myself, that¡¯s why I have exposed my identity.

    ¡°The only condition for me to survive is that you choose not to vote me out for the time being, and I will begin the murder and switch my side immediately after nightfall. In this way, even if I temporarily ¡®die¡¯, I don¡¯t have to die as long as the side I belong to wins.

    ¡°Why do I say the killers have won?

    ¡°The answer is straightforward. It will seed as long as the person who kills me tonight is not the same as the person who killed yesterday. On the third day, two people will meet the victory condition of ¡®killing two people¡¯. The rest can only choose to vote for the one I have highlighted.

    ¡°Then, even if the number of murderers does not increase, there will be a winner alive to proceed to the fourth day. Considering this matter, the winning chance of the evil side is already greater than 50%. Then, if you want to switch sides in time, you have to get a kill count on the second day.

    ¡°In this way, the killer faction will fulfill the winning condition even if we can maintain a defensive state and attain the final victory on the craziest night of the third day. This will happen as long as no two people kill one person at the same time and the ¡®winner¡¯ sessfully hides his status¡ªhalf of the people at that time would have blood on their hands. The skills of the Edict Wizard and the Prophet Wizard are no longer valid because what they want to do is no longer to protect themselves but to hide the ¡®winner¡¯.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose dered his demon-like inferences in a calm voice and methodically.

    There was no doubt that Old Goose was bullshitting.

    Delicious Wind Goose did not know whether those eliminated would die immediately or at the end. That was because ¡°at least one person survives¡± was their dungeon instance¡¯s winning condition as a yer. However, the condition for the other ritual participants was not necessarily this.

    He was just taking a gamble.

    If Old Goose did not make a move, he would die.

    However, the oue might change if he stirred up more chaos.

    ¡°What if the winner is killed by mistake on the third night? Everyone has to start killing on the third night. If the person who gets the kill on the second day chooses to defend, there is also the possibility of being attacked and killed by multiple people at the same time on the third day.

    ¡°Thus, taking either the defense or the offense have the same winning chances on Day 3.¡±

    Of course, this was all nonsense.

    There was no doubt that if Delicious Wind Goose was really the Prophet Wizard, then killing on the second day and defending himself on the third day was the strategy with the highest probability of winning.

    But after hearing this, who would care about details like this?

 Chapter 484: The Only Solution

    <h4>Chapter 484: The Only Solution</h4>

    ¡°You are talking nonsense!¡± Participant Number 11 could not bear it any longer and said, ¡°That¡¯s not how the probability is calcted.¡±

    ¡°¡ªSo what?¡±

    However, Delicious Wind Goose immediately raised his voice and threatened, ¡°If you choose to vote me out now, it means that there will be a murderer with a ¡®kill¡¯ on the first night!¡±

    He immediately moved the topic to another direction, no longer lingering with the previous probability problem.

    Delicious Wind Goose said quickly and confidently as he moved the participants¡¯ attention to another topic, ¡°By then, you still can¡¯t be sure who the killer is. The killer has achieved his goal as long as there are at least two deaths tonight. Thus, the situation will evolve into either one person being left out or three participants failing to achieve the killing quota.

    ¡°Unless it is the first scenario and your elimination votes are correct on the third and fourth days, only then can the killer be stopped. That¡¯s because the third night will still return to the possibility of ¡®being killed at any moment¡¯.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we prevent the second scenario? That¡¯s because the number of murderers on the second day exceeded three, equivalent to four peoplemitting murder on the first day. Vigers can¡¯t defend themselves. If you cannot identify the murderer, you won¡¯t be able to satisfy the winning condition.

    ¡°In other words, the murderer faction will win as long as more than three people choose to kill tonight!¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose added firmly, ¡°When I told you about this, you knew this fact, and you knew that other people also knew this fact. Then this has be public knowledge among us.

    ¡°Thus, the ending has already been determined!¡±

    ¡ªTime was up.

    It just so happened that the designated period for everyone to speak openly had just ended.

    Old Goose had calcted the time in his mind. His goal was to stop others from having the chance to speak.

    His nonsense was illogical, but he believed his convincing inferences should mislead some people.

    In the end, Delicious Wind Goose realized this was not a logical puzzle game.

    Instead, it was a game to incite the others.

    The point was not to find out the truth but to get others to act on his terms.

    His speech was resounding and confident, and he gave out a lot of information.

    Not many people could notice his logical error in a short period.

    Considering the cost of exnation, if you couldn¡¯t exin clearly to others, you could only choose to cooperate with others. Like the beginning of an irreversible chaotic war, those who realized the truth could only go with the flow.

    It was impossible for everyone to choose the optimal strategy. Even if everyone decided on the optimal strategy, it was not necessarily the optimal decision as a whole.

    After the four-minute public chat period, Delicious Wind Goose received a private chat immediately.

    It was not Dove beingbeled as Number 8, nor Anderson beingbeled as Number 12.

    Instead, it was Number 2. He was the real idol wizard.

    He knew Old Goose was a fake Idol Wizard, but that did not affect the two of them killing people together.

    They nned to pick a target. Then, they would kill the target, one after the other. In any case, they would both get a kill. It would be the same for the following night.

    Later, Number 7 sent a private chat request as well. He also made a simr proposal to Old Goose.

    When Number 2 sent a private chat invitation to Old Goose, Number 9, who had previously shed with Dove, also sent a private chat to Dove to ally.

    The only one who realized that Old Goose was bullshitting was Number 11. Although he was a step behind the others, he also reacted. Thus, he also expressed interest in joining an alliance with Anderson, the Number 12.

    In an instant, the peace was over.

    ¡°¡­Done.¡± The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth raised.

    As for who thest ¡°Wolf King¡± was, it did not matter anymore because he was destined to be born.

    [TN: ¡°Wolf King¡± refers to the person who kills twice in the ritual.]

    Of course, Annan noticed there was an optimal solution to this game. That would be having everyone go through three rounds without doing anything. This would lead to the ¡°peace ending¡±.

    It was just like the ¡°peace¡± that had been maintained previously.

    But this required ¡°collusion,¡± just like ¡°peace¡± in reality.

    So why would wars happen when everyone knew that ¡°keeping the peace was good for everyone¡±?

    A ¡°peaceful state¡± could only be reached if everyone believed everyone else would maintain peace.

    It was like the twopanies did not issue vouchers and engage in price wars. This was the best situation collectively, and everyone could get better returns. But if someone started a price war first, the other party who did not do it would not survive.

    This was what Delicious Wind Goose was going for.

    As long as everyone realized that the possibility of others¡¯ killing was opened, they would soon realize they would lose if they sat idle for three rounds. It was impossible to stop the killer without using skills. However, as long as skills were used, killing became easier.

    Thus, they had tomit murder, at least getting two kills.

    When all wizards did not use skills, everyone had to head out and kill randomly for three rounds. It was possible that the wolf king would also be killed. Thus, the wizard who had one kill must also keep killing, trying to get two kills before sticking to a defensive approach to secure their survival.

    After the ¡°peace¡± was broken, and everyone had an awareness of ¡°what if others choose war¡±, everyone would participate in the never-ending ¡°war¡±.

    This stupid strategy, on the contrary, would be the Nash equilibrium [1] of this war game.

    That was the best choice for everyone when other people¡¯s strategies remained unchanged.

    Whether others had been in peace or war, it would not go wrong after choosing war. But these ¡°correct decisions¡± added up on each other and became a devastating mistake.

    ¡°So, this is war¡­¡± Annan took a deep breath.

    He seemed to smell the stench of blood and gunpowder from this ritual.

    No wonder¡­

    No wonder this ritual can be established.

    At first, Annan thought that this Wizard War Game was about Wizards who borrowed power from Mysterious Lady. After all, the final winner would be a wizard.

    But it seemed that it probably borrowed power from ¡°the War Deity¡±, Red Knight.

    This ritual had touched the core Truth of the Red Knight very much.

    Red Knight would give this ritual a generous reward.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to watch this anymore.¡± Annan sighed and turned off the live broadcast.

    The ending was already set.

    The yers would have already won unless they were unlucky enough to die on the second and third nights.

    With everyone being dragged into the mess, ¡°surviving the war¡± was just a game of luck.

    ¡°Ike Searing-Fang must be a genius toe up with this ritual.¡± Longjing Tea was sharp.

    Dove was also quick to respond.

    Although Delicious Wind Goose was stunned for a while, he quickly adjusted his state.

    In the end, he did not disappoint Annan.

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly.

    The yers finally began to mature.

 Chapter 485: Nightmare: The Wizard Among Us. Cleared!

    <h4>Chapter 485: Nightmare: The Wizard Among Us. Cleared!</h4>

    The situation went on as expected for Delicious Wind Goose.

    Although he was eloquent and instigated wars, he was voted out the next day when everyone did not want to reveal their ambitions.

    Under the low buzzing sound and the clicking sound of mechanical rotation in the room Old Goose was in, he was lifted high. The seat rose to a height of more than four meters, and he was seemingly almost ejected out of it.

    The nine buttons in front of him lost their luster at the same time. No matter how hard Old Goose pressed them, there was no response.

    Delicious Wind Goose sighed softly, sat on the chair, and closed his eyes to wait for the execution, ¡°Fine.¡±

    All for the sake of a necessary sacrifice.

    Delicious Wind Goose had achieved his goal.

    Of the three in their squad, only Delicious Wind Goose had the viger role. He was a defenseless sheep, and it would only be beneficial if he fed himself to his teammate. No matter if he stayed on the defense or made a move, he would die for nothing.

    However, under the deterrence of Delicious Wind Goose, others had to use a round of voting opportunities to vote out a viger who could not resist. Of course, they knew Delicious Wind Goose might not be an Idol Wizard.

    But after his death, the Idol Wizard who worthed two kills was hidden.

    If Dove reacted quickly, she should be able to realize that the first person to approach Old Goose was the real Idol Wizard. So what Dove had to do was avoid him and not kill him. The point was to lead others to kill him.

    In this way, other people had to vote out the person who had two kills on the third day.

    Although they killed people secretly at night, they still had to maintain their superficial image during the daytime.

    They would attack secretly while condemning others for being suspicious.

    ¡°This ritual is fascinating.¡± Delicious Wind Goose sighed.

    Of course, his actions still came a bitte.

    They did not enter as a four-person team and missed the opportunity on the first day, leading to a problematic start. His remedial action only ended up bringing the situation back to a bnce of power.

    In this state, Dove and Anderson could still die, getting ambushed while killing others at night. Even if they were defensive, they could have been murdered by two people working together.

    I hope everything goes well¡­

    Hope they both are ok.

    ¡°¡­Um?¡± Delicious Wind Goose waited a long time, but his execution hadn¡¯t yet arrived.

    The room creaked for a long time, but nothing happened.

    Instead, he heard the sound of gas escaping, as if some gas were slowly injected into the room.

    ¡°Oh, it isn¡¯t an instant death¡­¡± Delicious Wind Goose sighed.

    He also did not expect that his nonsense spection previously would be correct.

    Their life and death were only decided after the oue was determined.

    However, this was also a reasonable guess.

    Suppose the participants would be killed after their character was dead. The possibility of being killed could be avoided as long as they used their skillsst. When skills were not used, the participants were regarded as ¡°idle¡±, so there was no need to point out that they were ¡°ying defense¡±.

    In other words, the wizards would only be confident enough to use their skills when they did not know they were being killed. Thus, there would be wizards choosing not to use their skills.

    Although this was not a logical puzzle game, it still required logic when Delicious Wind Goose deduced the hidden rules of the game.

    In retrospect, it seemed pretty urate.

    If even this spection went wrong, others would immediately guess Delicious Wind Goose was the neer.

    But this was also a no-brainer. Delicious Wind Goose could only describe it ambiguously to ensure his words were provocative. Thus, he did not leave a way out for each of his statements so that the words seemed to have ¡°weight¡±.

    ¡°Is it a hypnotic gas?¡±

    It doesn¡¯t seem like it.

    Soon, Delicious Wind Goose, sitting on the chair, felt his body start weakening.

    His limbs began to tingle and be cold. His breathing gradually became rapid, but he was still a little out of breath.

    Soon, he began to feel dizzy, with bouts of dizziness before his eyes and a metallic buzzing in his head. The sound of ocean waves seemingly rang in his ears. A severe pain stung his ears every time the tide rose.

    I see.

    A thought popped up in Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s mind.

    The losers did not have to do anything. Their test was about how long they could survive in this poisonous gas.

    In a darkened room, his legs were bound to the seat.

    Fortunately, he could still read the bullet text

    When Delicious Wind Goose gradually lost consciousness, he suddenly woke up.

    [Main mission: Win the ¡°game¡± (Completed)]

    [At least one team member survives to the end (Completed).]

    [The victory conditions of the whole team are not in conflict (Notplete).]

    [Stop the ¡°Idol Wizard¡± from winning (Completed).]

    Ah, we have cleared the dungeon.

    Sure enough, Dove still did not disappoint him.

    The yers just cleared the level three times in one breath.

    However, they would still have to deal with Ike Searing-Fang.

    That person is a dangerous man.

    Delicious Wind Goose just had such an idea in his head.

    The system prompts were still rapidly emerging in front of his eyes:

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [You have purified the nightmare with the designated identity. Your evaluation ratings increased.]

    [You have notpleted the otheryers of the nightmare. Thus, your evaluation ratings have dropped.]

    [You have seen through the essence of ritual. Your evaluation ratings increased.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªC]

    [Obtained Shared Experience 110 points, Perception+1.]

    [Your Perception attribute is greater than 10 points and meets special reward conditions.]

    [Acquired dungeon instance clearance reward: Given a profession (wizard apprentice), Level 1.]

    [The wizard apprentice is your second profession. The amount of experience required to upgrade the profession¡¯s level with Shared Experience Points increases to 200%.]

    [Warning: If the ¡°wizard apprentice¡± advances to a transcended profession ¡°wizard¡±, you must promote this profession to Level 30 before attempting to advance to Gold Rank.]

    [ording to your soul attribute, the school you get is: Idol]

    [You are given Order Magic: sh]

    ¡°Um?¡± Delicious Wind Goose froze for a moment.

    Fuck?

    Can a nightmare really change jobs?

    I can change my profession to wizard as long as my attributes meet the standard and the dungeon clearance is smooth.

    You gotta be kidding me?

    Is that where the ¡°alternate profession¡± originally came from?

    Delicious Wind Goose was shocked. Not only he, but the bullet text who witnessed this scene also went crazy.

    ¡°¡ªOMG! You guys hurry up and activate the teleportation waypoint!¡±

    ¡°¡ªFuck! We have just started tackling a nightmare here, and we don¡¯t have any free time to spare this week!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWe can¡¯t spare a hand here either!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat are you guys fighting for!? Luckily, our team is close to Natta County, and we can arrive the day after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHey, hey, don¡¯t farm this nightmare too much yet. Leave as soon as you have the profession, and leave some nightmare attempts for those who want to change jobster.¡±

    Although the profession given was just a wizard apprentice, its requirements were low!

    In addition to the special boost in attributes, the yers started the Mist Continent game with an average of 5 points in all attributes. This meant that as long as they challenged 5 nightmares, they could steadily increase their Perception by 10 points.

    That was a whopping free 10 attribute bonus.!

    The nightmare¡¯s reward simply opened the door for a job transfer for new yers!

    Considering that it only tinkered with the levels in the [Wizard Apprentice] profession, it was actually a piece of good news!

    After the highest-level profession had sessfully advanced, it won¡¯t be troublesome for subsequent professions to advance as well. They just had to find a nightmare and clear a level to advance.

    But if they did not advance the profession, it would not drag them down.

    To advance into Gold Rank, all transcended professions must reach Level 30. If the challenger had two transcended professions, it would take three times the experience points to advance into Gold Rank.

    The yers would not choose this approach unless it were a special case.

    But if it was just an elementary profession, the bonus was negligible. For example, a Lurker profession with a stealth skill, a Hunter profession with a pet, and the improved attribute points were hardly adequate.

    The wizard apprentice profession was different!

    ¡ªWhen the [Wizard Apprentice] was maxed out, it allowed the user to equip 4 spells! Moreover, the experience required for the apprentice level was minimal. At the same time, it also increased the user¡¯s mana pool.

    Although the spells were not strong, they were practical and flexible. In addition, it also came with 10 Perception attribute points.

    If you want to improve your strength and agility, you only need to undergo training. However, the Perception attribute could only be improved by clearing the nightmare. Besides the Will attribute, the Perception attribute was the most precious.

    Even Annan found the reward bountiful after watching it. He had already turned off the live broadcast. Seeing that the forum suddenly broke out in amotion, he looked through the rewards that Delicious Wind Goose got with some curiosity.

    It was also the first time he had seen such a nightmare that directly rewarded a profession.

    To be honest, Annan was a little moved.

    But he was not greedy to acquire [Wizard Apprentice] as the alternate profession. His wizard profession had reached the Silver Rank already.

    Annan was mainly coveting the designer of this ritual.

    He coulde up with a wizard job transfer ritual, couldn¡¯t he also make a job transfer ritual for the lost [Monk] profession? He might have Demon Blood¡¯s crafting skills.

    Ike Searing-Fang is indeed a talent!

    Should I start thinking about getting him on my side?

 Chapter 486: Nefertariâ€™s Overthinking

    <h4>Chapter 486: Nefertari¡¯s Overthinking</h4>

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s group had lived underground for two days.

    The yers epted the jewelry Nieusel gave without any hesitation.

    Not only did they ept the gifts, Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er even put them on.

    Lin Yiyi also thanked Nieusel, ¡°It was a great help.¡±

    Nieusel passed those words to Nefertari too.

    Nefertari was taken aback and immediately told Nieusel not to approach them again.

    She felt that the yers should be keen and had already seen through her purpose. Yet, they did not even shy away from it and ryed the corresponding message to her.

    This meant that they had brains and confidence.

    It felt like a dangerous probing attempt.

    It directly determined Nefertari¡¯s attitude toward the three yers.

    Wearing silver and gold jewelry wasmon for the average person.

    In fact, whether it was silver jewelry or gold jewelry, they did not directly signify transcendence ¡ª only ¡°silver coins¡± and ¡°gold powder¡± had those effects.

    But when ordinary people did not understand ult knowledge, it was perfectly normal to use gold and silver ornaments to ward off evil spirits.

    Ordinary people could wear it casually too.

    The situation varied for the transcenders.

    Only the transcenders would use bronze essories. Therefore, people who knew somewhat about the transcended world could directly infer that someone was probably a transcender after seeing him wearing bronze jewelry.

    It carried a symbolic meaning. Some remote viges who did not understand ¡°transcender¡± even called the ¡°transcender¡± as ¡°bronze man¡± and regarded bronze as an evil metal.

    Of course, the ¡°bronze¡± essories did not mean that it was metallic brown.

    Some bronzes were more golden, while others were more white. The color differencergely depended on itsponent and ratio. But even the most golden bronze, its luster was different from real gold.

    But in any case, bronze was not a suitable metal for jewelry.

    Not only because it would oxidize quickly when it was corroded by sweat, but the more important factor was also because ¡°it was not expensive enough¡±.

    Hundreds of yearster, some people might like oxidized bronze watches that experienced the precipitation of time. But in the eyes of rich people in this era, bronze jewelry was too cheap.

    In fact, bronze rings were even cheaper than iron rings. It could hardly be used anywhere other than as a curse vessel. In terms of luxury, it was too cheap.

    This was why many disposable curse vessels came in the form of bronze rings.

    It was cheap.

    However, when ordinary people would not wear bronze essories, transcenders were particrly fond of bronze essories.

    Even after advancing to Silver Rank, many transcenders would still wear bronze essories openly.

    This was not about modesty but hiding the number of curses they possessed.

    Silver Rank Transcender would have at least two curses. If you could make others think that you were a Bronze Rank, then even if they figured out the repercussions of your curse through behavior patterns, you would only suffer with a single curse¡¯s jinx.

    After all, curses were strange, and it was not easy to activate the jinx. The more you wanted to achieve multiple jinxes simultaneously, the more difficult it was to set up a plot.

    As long as the transcender did not vite all the curses, he would not be killed by jinx.

    Moreover, acting in a low-key manner could also be used to prevent ritual and magic attacks.

    The essence of the Ascension Path was the sublimation of the soul. Bronze Rank¡¯s spell effects would reduce tremendously against Silver Rank Transcender and would be utterly invalid against Gold Rank Transcender.

    As for the wizard apprentices who had not attained a rank yet, their spells were ineffective against the Silver Rank Transcenders.

    As long as the gap epassed two ranks, the transcended power applied would be ineffective against the opponent. The effect of rituals worked the same too.

    Supposed a Silver Rank Transcender pretended to be a Bronze Rank. Even if he revealed his real name or identally fell into someone else¡¯s ritual, he could survive if the opponent only applied a ritual capable of killing a Bronze Rank Transcender. Of course, that was provided that his opponents were not vignt enough.

    After all, the cost would increase exponentially every time the ritual¡¯s effect was raised by one rank. It was hard to imagine having malicious passers-by who would mess with him regardless of the cost.

    If it weren¡¯t for the Bronze Rank Transcender, it would be difficult to hide one¡¯s curse vessel. Many Bronze Rank Transcenders would also wear lower-level products as cover. But they had no other way. The Bronze Rank vessel was already the lowest level.

    That was why ¡°Bronze Rank Transcenders¡± traversed humbly on the ground.

    There was not such a big gap between Bronze Rank Transcenders and those who were Bronze Rank or above.

    Instead, under the constraints of ¡°curse¡±, everyone acted more cautiously and prudently. No one dared to act particrly arrogantly.

    Those who were particrly arrogant usually failed to reach the Silver Rank. They would have already been killed by the detectives hired by the local priests.

    Those who needed to act in the name of a transcender were almost always ¡°Bronze Rank¡± on the surface. At the same time, those who wore Silver Rank jewelry. For example, Annan¡¯s disyed identity was not a transcender but an ordinary person.

    The only exception was Gold Rank.

    They had to empty their elemental power to pretend to be a Silver Rank with slightly higher attribute points. Otherwise, their status as a Gold Rank could not be hidden. Instead, they could only be physically hidden. In other words, it was staying away from the world of mortals.

    As long as the elemental power was stored in the brain, it would gradually distort the surrounding world. Moreover, if the Bronze Rank Transcender looked directly into the eyes of the Gold Rank Transcender, it would cause a sanity drop.

    For example, there was a Gold Rank Soul Snatch Wizard who hid his identity by modifying the cognition and memory of others. However, he could disguise himself as a Silver Rank at most.

    Silver Rank was the limit of mortals.

    Attaining Gold Rank would signify a person throwing away his humanity.

    But even for a Gold Rank powerhouse, it was possible to face a lot of trouble to have the details of his curse leaked.

    It was possible to fall into a plot and lose one¡¯s life.

    But it wasn¡¯t because Lin Yiyi and the others were too arrogant and reckless in epting these jewelry pieces. On the contrary, none of the three of them were fools.

    Lin Yiyi guessed that the other party wanted to see if they were liars.

    In other words, were they stray transcenders? Did they have any organization? Did they know the rules that had emerged in the past ten years? There might be more detailed considerations, such as testing their mode of action, but taking this step was enough.

    Obviously, it was too dangerous for a transcender to wear silver jewelry; if the three of them were Silver Rank Transcenders disguised as Bronze Rank, gifting silver jewelry could also be regarded as a bluff that ¡°I already know your identities.¡±

    However, Lin Yiyi also had ns in choosing to ept the silver jewelry instead of returning it.

    Lin Yiyi had prepared a silver bracelet beforehand, but neither Jiu Er nor Suuankou did so.

    They would stay here for a long time and probably go through advancement here.

    Instead of going out to buy silver jewelry for advancement and revealing that ¡°they are transcenders who came here to advance¡±, it was better to ept it openly and admit that they were about to advance.

    However, Lin Yiyi did not anticipate Nefertari to misunderstand her actions.

 Chapter 487: The Nefertari That Has Gradually Gone Haywire

    <h4>Chapter 487: The Nefertari That Has Gradually Gone Haywire</h4>

    In the bright study, there was a uniquemp immersed in water.

    It was not a smokelessmp made of ¡°Green Fire¡± as fuel. On the contrary, the light emitted was bright, but it was ring by the standard of a study. Worse still, it wasn¡¯t pleasant for the eyes.

    After all, underground folks were sensitive to light.

    Money, leisure, status, and skills¡ªNefertari had high requirements for her quality of life.

    The walls and curtains of her study were pure wooden furniture made of evening primrose and secret oil. This opaque material had a strong light absorption, which could keep the study from sunlight even at noon. In return, it would prevent the light in the study from being reflected through the curtains, thus leaking privacy.

    For sound instion, a special ointment was applied.

    This ointment could be extracted from the skin secretions of the Silent Realm¡¯s summon, a xenomorph-like monster called the Mute.

    Her crystal deskmp was made of a hollow irregr cube with a lot of seawater and dozens of ¡°light-concealing ice cubes¡± to make a deskmp with adjustable brightness. As she pressed the knob, seawater would flow through the mechanism to the other side without ice, and the brightness would also decrease after reducing the amount of water.

    This simple invention was also the product of the ¡°Wise¡±.

    They were unlike the Alteration Wizards of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, who wanted to develop a reagent withplex functions or conduct research and development at a deeper level.

    Instead, they used arge number of existing ritual products to make appropriatebinations. Most of the Wise Council¡¯s inventions were at this level. After all, the Wise were not Alteration Wizards and were not schrs researching deeper-level technology.

    However, using the fundamental theories and products of Alteration Wizards to optimize was surprisingly efficient. Moreover, the sales of various products they produced were superb.

    Like the light-blocking curtain mentioned above, it was called ¡°light-proof linen¡± in the Noah Kingdom. Each piece would cost 8 silver coins¡­ almost 10 times the cost.

    The Wise might be physically defenseless, but wisdom was a lethal weapon for them.

    The young female ritualist with skin as pale as a marble stone and ming pupils was searching the bookshelves.

    She had 8 bookshelves filled with books, and she used the Mysterious Lady ritual to ovep the bookshelves¡¯ positions. In this way, the bookshelves would only upy the space of one bookshelf, but she could consult the information on multiple bookshelves simultaneously. Moreover, she could continue to add more books in the future.

    ¡°Found it!¡± Nefertari whispered.

    She took out an ancient leather book from the bookshelf giving out dark blue ripples.

    The book was made of elf skin and trembled slightly like a living thing when touched by the hand. It seemed to have some consciousness, resisting Nefertari¡¯s reading.

    Nefertari put her hand on the page and whispered,

    ¡°Silence. Six. Light ant.¡±

    Then, she turned the book pages and recited the password she had set, ¡°Glow Worm. Three and one-seventh. Nefertari.¡±

    After resolving twoyers of passwords, the text on the page was restored to its original state.

    Her cautiousness was justifiable.

    This was because the book was a genuine ¡°original¡±.

    The book was called [Jungle Adventure 1096], a diary written in the Fourth Age about the secrets of deities and extraordinary beings.

    Nefertari had roughly read through this book. That was why she was able to pinpoint this book urately.

    ¡°Wise¡± would use a special esoteric ritual to allow themselves to skim a book, leaving a clear impression of it without eating up memory. In this way, they would avoid a lot of undue influence when reading the ¡°originals¡± or avoid being entrapped by the hidden rituals in the book.

    When they needed to search for information, they would immediately know where the information could be found in their mind.

    It was simr to a search engine that filled in data by itself.

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Soon, Nefertari found the passage in her memory, ¡°¡­When we marched to Natta County, Blind Monty, Captain Justice, and I finally made up our minds. We have decided to corrupt our souls.

    ¡°Blind Monty gave us a suggestion: This is a technique used by the ascendants of the ¡®Tooth and Iron Alliance¡¯ when the elves and centaur ruled the world, and it can effectively resist betrayal. This is a good technique. It¡¯s recorded down below:

    ¡°When the trio is preparing to corrupt their soul at the same time, they can disclose the oath curse that protects the soul to one of them; when they are trying to condense the soul, they can tell the other person about the oath curse that represents the core of the soul.

    ¡°In this way, it is guaranteed that everyone will know the oath curse of the other two after the soul condensation ispleted. However, it is impossible to kill anyone among themselves with a jinx alone; at the same time, everyone is the secret keeper of the other two. The other two people will protect him. It prevents him from suddenly losing the secret keeper and bing unable to suppress the curse.

    ¡°At the same time, having each other¡¯s deepest secrets is also one of the easiest ways to form a friendship. This ritual usually chooses two transcenders of the same sex and one transcender of the opposite sex. This is to prevent the opposite sex from intervening in this stable triangle structure and to prevent anyone among them from deceiving vital information. When one¡¯s critical w is held in the hands of another, anyone in the team has a reason to exclude all those whoe close.

    ¡°They don¡¯t exist as a rtionship as a couple, but an overly close ¡®secret keeper¡¯ rtionship that is better than lovers and rtives. Usually, they don¡¯t need friends of the opposite sex. It is said that under the background of having friends of the opposite sex who can share their hearts, all the opposite sex will appear superficial and dull.

    ¡°In ancient times, the ¡®Sun Council¡¯ produced actual power in this ritual. [The Fifth Luminary of the Sun is the light reflected in the pupils of the world.] The rtionship between people can also be a strength. (Also: Blind Monty said that the Sun Council is not called the Sun Council, but its name cannot be pronounced or written down.] Thus, it is referred to as the Sun Council here. The following ¡°Sun Church¡±, ¡°Eight Luminaries Council¡±, and ¡°Eight Luminaries Church¡± refer to the same).¡±

    Nefertari only read until this point.

    After reading the materials she needed, she closed the book rationally and calmly.

    Essential qualities of a ritualist were not curiosity, fanaticism, and seeking knowledge.

    Instead, it was reasoning and calmness.

    Even if she only inquired about such information, she was forced to read a piece of ult knowledge about the ¡°Fifth Luminary of the Sun¡±. It had a pronounced effect on her mind. When she closed her eyes after looking at the light, she could feel the light dancing in her eyes, seeming she couldn¡¯t even close her eyes the next moment.

    The learned Nefertari knew that this was the Novice Influence named the [Radiant of Rapture]. She needed to put herself in a dark environment and lie on the ground for more than ten minutes to let the ¡°living light¡± in her brain and eyes escape.

    ¡°Still, I have achieved my goal.¡± Nefertari frowned slightly.

    ording to Nieusel¡¯s feedback, the three of them lived in one house but stayed in three different bedrooms.

    This magical rtionship made it difficult for Nefertari to judge the situation.

    After Lin Yiyi epted the three jewels, this abnormal behavior immediately startled Nefertari as if it reminded her of something.

    But after checking the information now, Nefertari suddenly realized,

    [The name of the organization cannot be read or written down.], [Starting from Bronze Rank, they act in a group of three], [Two of the same sex, one of the opposite sex, but it is not a couple rtionship], [Taking the role of ¡°secret keeper¡± for each other when advancing¡±]¡­and most importantly, possibly rted to [the Sun].

    When they met for the first time, Nefertari was sharp enough to perceive something rted to the influence of the ¡°sun¡± from them.

    As we all know, the ¡°eye¡± was one of the appearances of the Sun.

    I¡¯m right!

    Everything just so happens to coincide!

    There is no doubt that the Secret Eye is this ancient organization that has existed since the Fourth Age¡­ even in the age of elves!

    Nefertari thought contentedly.

    Could ¡°Secret Eye¡± be referring to a sr eclipse?

    What does sr eclipse refer to?

    Could it be the zeroth day of the Sun? There is no such saying either.

    ¡°Or¡­ are they worshiping the Seventh Luminary?¡± Nefertari murmured.

    After all, only the Seventh Luminary has yet to be born. Therefore, to say ¡°light that does not exist¡±, that could only be the Seventh Luminary.

    But the concept is too abstract¡­

    Sure enough, I should stop specting. Let¡¯s rule out this possibility first.

 Chapter 488: The Stuck Team Is Slacking

    <h4>Chapter 488: The Stuck Team Is cking</h4>

    Overseer Nieusel, who had curly brown hair and green pupils emitting a mystical green light, visited Lin Yiyi¡¯s house.

    He took a sip of the tea Lin Yiyi made for him with a cheerful and sunny smile.

    Nieusel looked at least 1.85 meters tall, with thick shoulders and burly muscles. However, the smile on his face looked a little innocent. He appeared like a fourteen years old, carefree youth.

    His smile was seemingly contagious.

    ¡°This tea is not bad. I suppose this came from the Noah Kingdom!¡± Nieusel pped his hands, happily picked up a piece of pastry, and praised, ¡°It has excellent quality. It should only be avable in Noah¡¯s capital. I still have some tea from the Papal Kingdom at home, and I will bring it to you when I have time. Oh, this snack is not bad!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a normal snack you can find on the street.¡± Lin Yiyi smiled helplessly.

    In their world, an extroverted person like Nieusel should be a real person.

    Those people were generally pretty nice people.

    He could chat happily for two hours with someone he had only met twice. Moreover, he was almost the only one talking. Lin Yiyi hardly said a few words.

    Under such circumstances, Nieusel would not feel embarrassed and could still smile so brightly. So much so that even Lin Yiyi, who did not have much to say, was led to chatting for a while by him. She even felt that her mood had improved.

    This was probably why the person behind Nieusel sent him an Overseer to interact with them.

    It was precisely because the other party was familiar with Nieusel¡¯s character and knew that he could mingle well with other people, so he was sent to the yers¡¯ side every day.

    But what was this for? What did they want? The Overseer did not patrol the streets nor stay in his office. Is it fine toe over to chat and drink tea?

    He had nevere empty-handed either. This time, he sent a few bottles of wine and a few sets of clothes. There was also special coffee powder from the United Kingdom¡ªyes, the yers had been in this world for so long, and this was the first time they had encountered coffee.

    Of course, the coffee was not referred to as coffee.

    ording to Nieusel, the beans were called ¡°Alpine Wine¡± and were a specialty of the Alpine Ind in the United Kingdom.

    The raw material of ¡°Alpine Wine¡± was called ¡°Alpine Fruit¡±, which was generally used by local people as a kind of wild medicinal material. While energizing the brain, its most effective function was preventing nightmares¡¯ sudden arrival.

    When the Influence was about to take effect, taking a small bottle of ¡°Alpine Wine¡± stewed with about 80g to 100g of coffee powder could maintain a sleep-free state for nearly a day. In some ces where it was unclear whether there would be nightmares, this reagent could effectively maintain wakefulness.

    Lin Yiyi thought to herself. If she were to have taels of coffee beans in her stomach, she probably would not be able to fall asleep even if she did not undergo any ritual.

    People in this world also believed that ¡°natural things would be better for the body¡±. The Alteration Wizard could also make sobriety mixture and energy recovery medicine, and the effect was better.

    However, ¡°Alpine Wine¡± was a natural nt, after all. Many nobles of the United Kingdom preferred to take this stuff and would give it to each other as gifts for friends. There would also be some nobles who would take a small amount of ¡°Alpine Wine¡± for health care and ¡°supplement to the brain¡±.

    However, this item was not worthy of being poprized as a drink at present due to its price.

    Indeed. ording to Nieusel, the Alpine Wine was costly.

    Lin Yiyi was already thinking. When the yers could roam the world freely, should they head to the United Kingdom to dig out a few coffee trees?

    The Noah¡¯s soil was fertile, and thend was cheap.

    She nned to get some ¡°Alpine Nuts¡± to see if they were real coffee beans.

    No matter what, this thing looked like coffee. Thus, they might be the same thing. If their nature were simr, she would look up some information or buy a coffee tree cultivation guide so the yers could start farming.

    Isn¡¯t it convenient to use a teleportation waypoint to achieve this?

    It would be great to be involved in the business. After all, the yers did not know how long they would stay in this world. Although doing missions to earn money gave a sense of adventure, it felt a bit boring after some time.

    Just in case, let¡¯s do some business first.

    Old Goose¡¯s group went to Natta County to see if they could get involved in the ¡°Demon Blood¡± industrial chain. Longjing Tea had also made an agreement with Salvatore and would rmend some new yers to go to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, which was destroyed once. These yers would ascend their profession into Alteration Wizard.

    On the one hand, it was because Swamp¡¯s ck Tower had a lot of forms that could make serious money. On the other hand, Salvatore needed such a group of ¡°genius wizards¡± as the pir to continue the development of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    But then again, coffee is so expensive.

    Why do they gift them to us?

    All three of us are Bronze Rank Transcenders, and there is no shortage of transcenders in the underground city.

    It stands to reason that there is no need to befriend us.

    Could they already know that we are working under His Royal Highness Annan?

    Considering that Annan was about to inherit the Austere-Winter Dukedom and the ¡°Sporeggar Mill¡± was just below the Austere-Winter Dukedom, it seemed logical to establish a good rtionship with Annan.

    Still, they should refrain from supervising the yers in challenging the dungeon instance.

    Could it be ¡°work very¡±?

    This was already his second trip to this ce.

    When he came to deliver the giftsst time, he had chatted with the three of them for a long time like this.

    Although they were delighted during the chat, they discovered they had unknowingly wasted a lot of time after the conversation. With this time, they would rather study how to challenge the dungeon instance or hang around the forum for a while.

    If Old Goose or Longjing Tea were here, they would enjoy the chat. Unfortunately, the other yers probably did not have that kind of leisure.

    So when Nieusel visited for the second time, Jiu Er and Suankou pushed Captain Lin Yiyi out to handle him.

    ¡°¡ªPlease, elder sister.¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou are the senior.¡±

    The duo continued to nestle on the bed, browse the forum and enjoy snacks. They were having the time of their life.

    No matter how much they ate in this world, their body in reality wouldn¡¯t get fat. Not only their body won¡¯t get fat in reality, but their body in this world wouldn¡¯t even get fat either. After all, the body of a battle-ss transcender required a lot of energy. After realizing the good news, the yers consumed snacks and barbecue daily, falling into madness.

    In fact, after the three yers arrived in the underground city ¡°Sporeggar Mill¡±, the first thing they did was to ask passers-by about the shops to buy delicious snacks.

    They were prudent.

    After all, they had a lot of money now. Suuankou sold a few sets of traps when he was in the capital; Jiu Er worked as a thug for a month, hacking about twenty people to death. Many of them were transcenders, so she had earned a lot of money.

    However, Lin Yiyi earnt a little bit more.

    When she passed by Treasure Diamond Ind for the first time, she bought a lot of cheap gems relying on Bishop Daryl¡¯s reputation. When these gems arrived at the Noah Kingdom, even the price of the least expensive gems had doubled or tripled. A polished piece of ruby ??the size of a thumb was sold for 30 gold coins.

    This had supplemented the cost of buying her gemstones for advancement after she lent some money to Old Goose.

    Lin Yiyi was also in aplicated mood.

    She never expected that smuggling gems would obtain her first pot of gold in the game.

    Except for Longjing Tea, who came from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower and was directly filled with equipment and reagents, they were almost the wealthiest yers.

    Of course, other yers did not expect them to bring back any special products. After all, as long as they could sessfully establish the teleportation waypoint, other yers could teleport over at any time.

    The premise of everything was to have the teleportation waypoint established smoothly.

    ¡°By the way, Nieusel.¡± Lin Yiyi changed the subject abruptly and asked instead, ¡°[Sporeggar Mill] nightmare has been with you for so long. Do you have any information for reference?¡±

    Yes.

    It was embarrassing to say.

    From the second day they moved here, they had been stuck in progressing through the nightmare for two days.

 Chapter 489: The Life We Chose

    <h4>Chapter 489: The Life We Chose</h4>

    A few days ago, when Nieusel gave the yers the house, he gave them a ¡°key¡± into the local nightmare at Nefertari¡¯s instruction.

    The yers had to lock the door before bed and tie a strip of cloth around the left ankle. This was the key to the ¡°Sporeggar Mill¡± nightmare.

    Yes.

    The local nightmare of this underground city was called Sporeggar Mill.

    It was a nightmare on a distorted level, and its content leaned toward horror and puzzle. The puzzle in this horror game had many trapsid in it. Imagine the game that suddenly made the yer fall into the crypt to death while walking or investigating something, or the games that killed the yer when their attention was captured elsewhere for a while.

    Worse still, the yers were not kicked out of the nightmare immediately after dying three times in it.

    It had a unique exit point, and the dungeon challenger must go to that location to exit. Suuankou only found out about the exit point on the second day.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s group spent eight hours in a row on the first day of adventuring, and they did not wake up until six in the morning.

    Although they were in the underground world where the sun could not reach, Mr. Ray dutifully woke them up.

    In this dungeon instance, which increased the erosion rate by 1% every time the challenger died, Lin Yiyi¡¯s erosion rate had risen by 17% before entering a chase or encountering an enemy with an HP bar.

    Jiu Er¡¯s erosion rate had increased by 15%. She was currently the fastest progressing challenger. At the same time, she even told the rest of the group about the map.

    That was because Jiu Er was a yer who relied on instinct. She had avoided many pitfalls subconsciously. This also caused her to skip many traps without noticing them.

    However, Suuankou¡¯s erosion rate rose by 31%.

    This was not because Suuankou was more stupid than the other two. On the contrary, he might be the best yer at deciphering the horror puzzle among the yers. In the same eight hours, he did not die twice at the same ce despite the high death count. It meant something that was enough to prove his strength.

    But, he had a bad habit which was his curiosity.

    Even without the blessing of the skill [Skillful Hands] and [Eagle Eye], his eyes were sharp. Coupled with being familiar with this area, Suuankou could always detect something that might be dangerous if he investigated it at the first moment.

    Yet, he could not resist his curiosity.

    So, he went to test his limits anyway.

    The result was his death.

    25 of his 31 deaths urred in this manner.

    He would not step on the mushrooms he detected. However, if he guessed that ¡°Teemo [1] might have buried a mushroom somewhere¡±, but he was not 100% sure, he wanted to step on it without scanning. If he did not explore it, he would always feel that the surroundings were dangerous and ufortable.

    However, it was still ufortable after stepping on them.

    Thus, Suuankou¡¯s progress did not advance much, but he almost tried out all the death traps.

    This was also why Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er did not want to progress yet. Anyway, Suuankou loved thendmines so much. They would prefer Suuankou to progress for a while first.

    With the strategy he summed up, the two could avoid some erosion.

    After all, it cost Annan¡¯s affection rating to clean the erosion rate to zero.

    Although they had been saving their affection rating, they felt like the premium currency of the game.

    If the Mist Continent were a mobile game, then Lin Yiyi would pay to get those affection ratings directly.

    However, the problem was that they could not deposit their money for this game!

    To avoid a meaningless increase in erosion rate, they uniformly arranged Suuankou to explore the nightmare first. He was tasked to identify the nightmare¡¯s mechanism and thene back and tell the rest of the yerster.

    However, they said that the younger brother was meant to be sacrificed.

    It was still a little distressing to have the younger brother to sweep thendmines.

    It just so happens that Nieusel is so enthusiastic. Why don¡¯t I ask him, a local, if there is any strategy for reference?

    ¡°¡­For example, where are the traps? Where are the more convenient items?¡±

    Lin Yiyi asked with a smile, ¡°You have been here for so long, so you should have some tips, right?¡±

    ¡°It seems that you have really entered the nightmare.¡± Nieusel touched his face, a little surprised.

    Do you even suspect that we won¡¯t enter the nightmare at all?

    Lin Yiyi resisted her desire toin.

    Where is the most basic trust between people?

    ¡ªI have told you clearly. We came here to tackle the dungeon instance! So you didn¡¯t believe us at all!

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mad,¡± Nieusel saw Lin Yiyi¡¯s face turn sour and apologized immediately, ¡°I¡¯m just a little surprised¡­

    ¡°After all, Sporeggar Mill has a reputation for being a ¡®massive nightmare with almost no solution¡¯. Many priests came here to ovee it but couldn¡¯t figure out a way.

    ¡°Although the nightmare was only at the level of Silver Rank at the beginning, this nightmare had a troublesome characteristic. It is impossible to quit even after dying many times in the nightmare, which directly makes those whoe to solve the nightmare die in the nightmare instead. In the end, the nightmare range expands and has advanced to the Distorted level. Originally, the nightmare only epasses the ck Mushroom Mill, but now it has expanded to more than half of the city.¡±

    So far, no one had cleared the nightmare.

    Although it was not so easy to trigger the key to entering this nightmare, it was still possible to trigger it.

    A nightmare that the challenger would respawn immediately after death and would not be kicked out no matter how many times the challenger died. For irrational mortals, it meant death once they entered it by mistake. Although the person could escape if he just stayed still and waited until dawn or he could escape at a special location, mortals who could not maintain rationality in their dreams must not be able to do so.

    ¡°So, we don¡¯t keep records here.¡± When Nieusel said this, he couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°After all, we don¡¯t have our own priests here.¡±

    ¡°¡­Oh, right.¡± Lin Yiyi reacted.

    This was the deityless Underground Federation.

    Whether it was the Mysterious Lady or the Silent Lady, there was no shrine for them here. This meant that there would be no priests in the underground world who ¡°see the purification of nightmares as an honor and duty¡±.

    Those who came here to purify the nightmare must have sought strength from the nightmare.

    When a nightmare difficulty was overly serious, no one would bother to solve it.

    It was because it was ¡°not worth it.¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever entered this nightmare before?¡± Lin Yiyi asked.

    Nieusel shrugged, ¡°Will you charge against the artillery?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m morepetent or experienced than those seniors who died in this nightmare. They have already verified for us with their lives that this nightmare is unsolvable. Then, I will naturally not make any attempt.

    ¡°This is the result of respecting them. Instead of directly purifying nightmares, controlling the spread of the ¡®key¡¯ will be more effective. When you go to other underground cities, you will gradually understand this. There will be several difficult nightmares in each city, and even some cities are named after nightmares¡­ such as us.¡±

    This handsome and tall man with a gentle personality waved his hands. Then, he said those cruel words casually, ¡°Without the priest going forward to purify the nightmare, we can only choose topromise and coexist with the difficult nightmare. The good news is that our Sporeggar Mill¡¯s [key] is not so easy to trigger.

    ¡°Those young people who are full of passion but cannot see reality clearly and dream of bing a transcender¡­ Only they will try to enter the most dangerous nightmare where the ¡®key¡¯ is directly disclosed to the public. That¡¯s because they cannot get keys to the nightmare that can be purified more easily. Thus, this is their only choice left.

    ¡°¡ªEach city has unique rules. This is our life and the reason why many townspeople relocate.

    ¡°Of course, this is also the life we ??choose.¡± The man paused and smiled wryly.

 Chapter 490: Nieusel In Deep Veneration

    <h4>Chapter 490: Nieusel In Deep Veneration</h4>

    Perhaps it was because the Gray Mists would not invade the underground world even without the barrier¡¯s protection.

    The underground folks did not have an intuitive feeling of ¡°we were being protected by two deitydesses¡± even though their birth, the development of the underground world, and many underlying technologies in the underground world were blessings from the two deitydesses.

    Instead, the underground folks would see it as ¡°a matter of the ancestors¡±. After all, hundreds of years had passed.

    That was far too distant.

    The underground world had no national traditions. Many underground dwellers did not even know how the federation was built or when they started living underground. Worse still, many people were illiterate, and the educated rate was rtively poor. This country had the lowest literacy rate among all other countries.

    After all, the Mysterious Lady and the Silent Lady were upright deities who were not very keen on education. Many of their priests were mystics or elitists.

    As for the deities inparison, Silver Sire knew that it was necessary to improve the quality of the general public to promote trade and increase consumption power. As the Deity of Tradition, Old Grandmother taught her descendants to read books and learn life skills. Then, there was the Elegant Elder, the Deity of Art. Although his people were biased toward continuing the legacy of artisans or folk artists, they were generally educated.

    There wasn¡¯t much toment on the Papal Kingdom. Although the seven upright deities were cooperative and had a good rtionship, the priests under them were not like this. Each church had racked its brains topete for new blood and resources, conducting various ns, events, and festivals. The benefit of providing free education has been given since hundreds of years ago.

    However, the underground world was different.

    The underground world had a group of outstanding ¡°Wise¡±, and the people at the bottom lived quite happily. Coupled with the possibility of bing a ¡°Digger¡± and getting rich overnight, very few people had the patience to study. Anyone who could be the Wise was a powerhouse with both will and talent.

    In this environment, ordinary people did not even know their country¡¯s history.

    There was no ¡°standard examination¡± designated. The citizens had sufficient resources, no pressure in life, and even a life-gambling shortcut to bing a big shot was avable. This led to theck of desire and motivation for ordinary people to learn.

    In hundreds of years, nine generations had passed.

    This was enough to have short-lived mortals forget the past kindness.

    The underground folks no longer recognized the status of the priest as being higher than the regr citizens. Funds were no longer provided for the church construction, and the believers of the Mysterious Lady could no longer directly be a Wise. These were the new rules that just appeared in thest decade.

    Of course, since it saved urban expenses and led to the reduction of tax rates, the public generally supported this.

    Ordinary people did not know what the Gray Mists were, what harm they had, and what their ancestors owed to the two deitydesses. Their perception of nightmares was ¡°not to be involved¡±. They did not understand the transcended world at all. The priests of the two deitydesses were unlike the Silver Sire priests who ¡°served with a smile¡±. Instead, they monopolized the federation¡¯s education, publicity, and financial resources.

    The people¡¯s understanding of the church was ¡°dispensable¡±.

    If the nightmares couldn¡¯t be purified, they would move.

    However, they could feel the benefits of tax cuts directly.

    Those in power want to gather power, and ordinary people want to pay fewer taxes. So everyone had what they wanted.

    As a result, the priests of the two deitydesses were driven out of the underground world instead.

    However, these two deitydesses were kind, or they simply did not care. Their presence was not prominent in the territory, and they wouldn¡¯t punish the folks for betraying them. This was also one of the reasons why the underground folks dared to do so.

    If their deities were the grumpy Father Flint, Red Knight, Motherly Moth, or Cup-holding Lady with an unpredictable personality, they would naturally not dare to do this.

    As a direct consequence of not having churches, there would be no authorities of any kind other than Digger and the Wise. Coupled with the abundant resources in the underground world and the above-ground world did not bother to invade them, these folks could livefortably.

    However, no one would be willing to sacrifice their lives to purify the nightmare for them.

    Even if someone purified the nightmare, they only did so to improve their strength. To make the nightmarest longer, the person who had cleansed the nightmare would not leak the ¡°strategy¡±. Instead, the nightmare was preserved as a resource, or they would deplete it in one go.

    In a sense, the underground people are like the yers¡¯ economics.

    Hearing what Nieusel said, Lin Yiyi immediately had this thought.

    ¡°So, can I ask a question?¡± Since the conversation had reached this point, Nieusel did not hide anything anymore.

    He asked curiously, ¡°How many times have you died in Sporeggar Mill? Can you tell me?¡±

    ¡°There are about 70 deaths in total.¡± Lin Yiyi thought for a moment and replied, ¡°My younger brother has died more than 30 times.¡±

    Hearing Lin Yiyi¡¯s words, Nieusel was stunned.

    His hand that raised the teacup stopped. Then, he looked at Lin Yiyi steadfastly as if he had been petrified.

    Nieusel seemed to hear something unbelievable, ¡°Is he your younger brother?¡±

    ¡°Ya, blood-rted brother.¡± Lin Yiyi replied positively, ¡°My brother is two years younger than me.¡±

    ¡°So, has he died at Sporeggar Mill over 30 times?¡± Nieusel seemingly only knew how to repeat Lin Yiyi¡¯s words.

    Lin Yiyi nodded.

    ¡°Right about 30 times only.¡± She smiled and said naturally, ¡°Our n is not to leave until we resolve the nightmare.¡±

    Nieusel opened his mouth but closed it again.

    For a moment, he did not know what to say.

    She saw with her own eyes that her own brother had one-third of his soul eroded by the nightmare. Furthermore, the nightmare was not even in their own country or the city where they lived.

    He expanded his soul as a painful price for a group of strangers who had never met and would never see each other again.

    Even so, he still did not give up.

    Even a social butterfly like Nieusel was speechless for a while. He did not know whether he shouldfort Miss Yiyi or praise her brother as a warrior. He felt he did not seem to have the position to say such a thing.

    The original joyful mood gradually calmed down because of this shame and embarrassment.

    The big boy was silent for a while, then stood up.

    He bowed deeply to Lin Yiyi.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Nieusel looked down at Lin Yiyi, who was in a daze, and said seriously, ¡°I would like to thank you for the people of this city.

    ¡°I know my gratitude is nothing, and I can¡¯t help you. It¡¯s hypocritical to say my thanks. But please take it as a personal tribute. It¡¯s not emotional ckmail, and I don¡¯t expect you to purify this nightmare. If you want to leave, I will never stop you.

    ¡°And you will always be my friends.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re blowing it out of proportion.¡± Lin Yiyi did not react in time. She smiled a little embarrassedly, ¡°It¡¯s just to purify the nightmare. This is our task and our mission.¡±

    She was referring to establishing a teleportation waypoint.

    ¡°Our other colleagues wille hereter. After all, there are many nightmares in the underground world.¡±

    What she meant was to grind [1] the dungeon instance.

    ¡°¡­What.¡± Then, Nieusel remembered.

    Nefertari said they were members of the Sun Church and followers of light.

    Are they trying to bring light to the lightless underworld?

    Or is it to illuminate the darkness deep in our hearts and let us understand how humble we are?

    That¡¯s deeply respectable.

    He shook his head, sat down again, and said in a deep voice, ¡°I understand.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t quite understand why your mission is to help us purify our nightmares. I mean, why Sporeggar Mill?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know that either.¡± Lin Yiyi said frankly, ¡°This is about our leader. You can understand it this way. Our leader determines the location.

    ¡°He should be here soon. If you want to know, I¡¯ll ask the leader if he can chat with you alone.¡±

    I don¡¯t think there is anything wrong with saying this.

    Not to mention that the underground folks might have already guessed Annan¡¯s identity. Even if Annan¡¯s identity can¡¯t be revealed, the name ¡°Ghindaio¡± can be made public.

    In fact, Annan is supposed toe down after a stroll. It should be fine if he arrives in a different batch than the three other yers. I just don¡¯t know if Annan is upied by something else¡­

    ¡°Your leader?¡± Nieusel murmured.

    Is the leader of the ancient mysterious organizationing to Sporeggar Mill?

    As an Overseer, Nieusel immediately felt the pressure.

    Although it might seem a little naive or they might be bluffed, Nieusel, at this instance¡ªat least beforemunicating with Nefertari, would stubbornly believe that the members of this organization were kind.

    He was so stubborn, a man as simple as a golden retriever.

 Chapter 491: The Current Dmitri

    <h4>Chapter 491: The Current Dmitri</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Ms. Bunyan.¡± The middle-aged man who alwaysughed a lot touched the back of his head and let out a heartyugh, ¡°In our customs, it should be me treating the guests.¡±

    Thedy with xen long curly hair and blue eyes nodded reservedly.

    A well-hidden joy and satisfaction shed in her eyes after hearing that she was called ¡°Bunyan¡± instead of ¡°Leona¡±.

    Can she be satisfied just by being called by herst name?

    Annan noticed the details, thinking silently in his heart.

    Annan learned the tranquility and easygoingness that enabled him to get along well with anyone from the Prophet Wizard named ¡°Ghindaio¡±¡­ or rather the living sculpture that was given life.

    It was the prototype of Annan¡¯s [The Last Work] curse.

    But now, Annan noticed another person in the underground world through Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes. The man named Nieusel had a clean, innocent, simple, and cheerful smile. So, Annan quickly absorbed and learned the relevant skills.

    A marble stone statue was undoubtedly stiff, but ¡°Ghindaio¡± was different.

    It was not acting but the nature of the living marble golem imitating humans. It was natural, just like a cheetah knowing how to hunt and a goshawk knowing how to fly.

    Then, Annan had a new expression to use.

    Ms. Leona, who also had a smile, felt closely toward this stranger she first met.

    ¡ªNaturally, it could not be because of the other party¡¯s out-of-town merchant¡¯s dress up.

    The Bunyan family was not short of money.

    Instead, it was because of that simple and cheerful smile.

    Of course, Leona knew that a business person couldn¡¯t have a soul capable of showing such a smile. So it must be his disguise or acting.

    But so what?

    It was not like she wanted to marry him, let alone do important business with him. The nature of the other party had nothing to do with her. If it was just a fair-weather friendship, then choosing the one she got along happily was the right choice.

    As for the wisdom in picking friends, Leona was well-versed in it.

    Or rather, the Bunyans were excellent at it.

    ¡°In our Austere-Winter, there is no rule of having the guests treat the meal.¡± Leona smiled and poured Ghindaio a ss of pale, stale wine before filling her ss.

    She raised her ss and gulped it down.

    Then, he smacked his lips happily, turned the ss upside down, and gestured to Ghindaio.

    Ghindaio¡¯s kind and cheerful smile never faded.

    He just drank a ss of wine with a smile and put the empty ss back on the table without changing his expression.

    ¡°Compared to buying me a drink,¡± Ghindaiomented, ¡°I¡¯m quite amazed at the fact that I¡¯m drinking with a stranger for the first time in a conversation.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Leona chuckled and filled her ss again, ¡°Where do the Noahs like to meet strangers? Teahouses? Theaters?¡±

    ¡°Theaters sometimes, but we usually treat someone to a meal in our own family¡¯s manor. Strictly speaking, most people around us are acquaintances. During the social season, the nobles of the Noah Kingdom hold banquets two to three times a week.

    ¡°Everyone is either holding a banquet at their own home or on the way to someone else¡¯s banquet. At the banquet, we are already acquainted, so we¡¯re no longer strangers.¡± Ghindaio drank his wine and replied casually.

    Leona also drank her wine without changing her expression. Then, she poured more wine with a chuckle, ¡°Your Excellency Ghindaio seems to have excellent alcohol tolerance. I thought only Austerian liked to drink.¡±

    ¡°Our Noah Kingdom¡¯s drinking capacity is actually not that bad. Especially after practicing at the banquet.¡± Ghindaio said with a smile.

    So, you want to make me drunk?

    Sorry, it might be a waste of wine. I¡¯m just a marble-stone golem.

    A true heart of stone.

    Leona frowned when she captured what Ghindaio meant, ¡°Oh?¡°

    The meaning behind his words was that ¡°I often attend banquets.¡±

    So she followed the topic and asked, ¡°Could it be? Which family¡¯s second son are you?¡±

    In Austere-Winter Dukedom, the eldest son usually inherited the title and territory, and the other heirs would receive a share of funds after they reached adulthood. They relied on the connections they built when they were young and an initial fund to run their businesses.

    They called this kind of heir who did not inherit the title and turned to business and politics, regardless of the birth order, the ¡°second son¡±.

    Ghindaio just smiled.

    He did not answer this question but asked politely, ¡°Before answering this question, I also want to ask¡­

    ¡°Bunyan¡ªIs that the Bunyan I know?¡±

    Of course, this was a pleasantry.

    Sure enough, Annan had never heard of ¡°Bunyan¡±.

    At least it must not be a prominent noble. Otherwise, Annan must have seen the name in a book.

    When Leona heard this, the corners of her mouth rose.

    However, before Leona could answer, Annan heard another familiar voice, ¡°Bunyan¡­ They are crazy hounds. Do you now have a name that you can be proud of?¡±

    A man sneered, lifted the heavy leather curtain to shelter himself from the wind, and walked into the private tavern with a few customers.

    Wrapped in the frosty wind, the man sat beside Annan.

    Leona frowned when she heard his words, and her face suddenly turned cold.

    However, when she saw the face of the person who came, she was taken aback for a moment. Nevertheless, she immediately stood up, paying respects to the person who arrived, ¡°Your Royal Highness Dmitri.¡±

    It was Annan¡¯s elder brother, Dmitri¡¤Austere-Winter.

    However, he was slightly different from the Elder Brother Annan saw in the two nightmares.

    The Dmitri in his nightmare dungeon was a stylish man with no one hair out of ce. He had a well-proportioned figure, a straight back, and long pure ck hair hanging down to his waist. There was no mess on his head, no stains on his body, and no dirt under his nails.

    However, Annan felt Dmitri had be ten years older than in his dream.

    His habitually frowning had developed three deep wrinkles. The wrinkled skin under the furrowed brow looked like a ghost-like totem.

    He was wearing a heavy Frost Beasts fur coat with his arms, not in the sleeves. The shirt underneath was rolled up to the elbows, and he had a thick cigar dangling at his mouth.

    His hands were clean, but bulging veins could already be seen on the back of his white and burly hands.

    ¡°Long time no see, Ms. Leona,¡± Dmitri said in a deep voice, smoking a cigar.

    Leona¡¯splexion turned slightly pale.

    In Austere-Winter, the standard way of greeting people should be to address them as brothers and sisters or as uncles and nephews. Because of the Old Grandmother, the Austerians consider each other family ¡ª at least in terms of etiquette.

    If the address was not carried out in this manner, it meant ¡°they were not close¡±.

    However, that was not the case with the Bunyans and the Austere-Winters.

    His Royal Highness Dmitri seemed to be annoyed.

    Leona did not dare to utter a word for a moment.

    Dmitri sat on the right side of Annan, diagonally opposite to Leona.

    His elbows leaned on the armrests as he crossed his hands and ced them in front of his stomach.

    He spewed a puff of mist lightly, and the smoke from the cigar slowly spread around.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for about two years.

    ¡°But, you still keep the word ¡®Bunyan¡¯ on your lips.¡±

    He nibbled on the end of his cigar; his voice was still so low and maic, ¡°It seems that time can¡¯t change anything, can it?¡±

    Compared to six years ago, Dmitri¡¯s voice had be a little hoarse due to excessive smoking.

    Dmitri did not continue to trouble Leona.

    He only gave a slight warning, and his tone softened. Then, he looked at Annan beside him¡ªor rather, ¡°Ghindaio¡±.

    ¡°Who is this?¡±

    ¡°Ghindaio,¡± the ck-haired, ck-eyed middle-aged man smiled. He sat on a chair while bowing slightly. He had greeted Dmitri politely, ¡°My full name is Ghindaio David Buonaro, Your Royal Highness Dmitri.¡±

    Hearing the name, Dmitri¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

 Chapter 492: The Man Betting Against Deity

    <h4>Chapter 492: The Man Betting Against Deity</h4>

    ¡ªGhindaio David Buonaro.

    Yes, Dmitri had heard that name from Maria before.

    That was a few years ago, shortly after Dmitri¡¯s incident.

    In that bet against the deity, Dmitri lost his ability to bear offspring because of his defeat. Subsequently, he lost the right to inherit the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Although the matter was kept strictly confidential, the public statement was that ¡°Dmitri was cursed because of the Rotten Man¡¯s plot¡±.

    Of course, this was not a lie. Even the Edict Magic would judge that this statement was true. Dmitri had lost because the Rotten Man had pulled strings in the dark. Ultimately, the Rotten Man had taken away Dmitri¡¯s ¡°bet¡±.

    Others might wonder why the Rotten Man dared to make a move on the direct descendants of an upright deity.

    However, they could only hide this doubt in their hearts.

    After all, that was the Rotten Man!

    It was amon awareness to be respectful to the deities. However, among the deities, there was obviously a gap.

    It was not surprising that Rotten Man would do anything.

    They would see Dmitri as a poor man who was attacked. No one knew what kind of excellent deeds he did when he was young.

    After all, he was defeated.

    As a result, he was forced to hand over the responsibility that was initially on his shoulders to his younger brother.

    Of course, he did not me Annan.

    Dmitri was very clear that Annan¡¯s n was indeed correct and effective.

    However, Annan¡¯s capability was still iparable to their father.

    Even the precocious Annan still lost to Ivan Austere-Winter.

    Although the [Winter Heart] curse had interfered, Annan could still show sympathy to others. He could use the power in his hands rationally and cautiously, and he had never misjudged any crime. Thus, he would be a king who rewarded and punished fairly, waspassionate to his people, and always rational. This was also why only one-third of the young people left when the Austere-Winter Dukedom sumbed to the winter year.

    With only one and a half legions still able to participate in the battle, they relied on geographical advantages and strategicmander advantages to fend off the Noah Kingdom¡¯s aggression many times. However, Dmitri did not know why King Noah wanted to invade Austere-Winter and go for a sudden peace treaty.

    In the end, except for the Freezing Water Port, a peace treaty was signed without paying any price. Even the given Freezing Water Port made the Noah Kingdom a little uneasy. Instead, that ce felt like a spy in their kingdom.

    Austere-Winter hardly paid any price, but the Noah Kingdom was greatly tormented.

    Even when Ivan had to take over the Austere-Winter Dukedom during the ¡°winter year¡±, Ivan did notin. Instead, the country was governed orderly, creating the lowest mortality rate in the winter year of all generations. It was even the first time that immigrants returned to Austere-Winter Dukedom before the winter year was over.

    However, Ivan¡¯s excellent quality might have drawn the envy of fate.

    He had an incurable disease.

    The reason why it was incurable was that this ¡°disease¡± came from Ivan¡¯s excellence. So instead of saying it was a disease, it was more like a gift.

    His innate ability [Winter Heart] had long evolved to the ultimate form [Austere Winter¡¯s Blood] at the same level as Old Grandmother.

    This was the central mystery passed down at the beginning of the world¡¯s birth.

    It was the ultimate meaning of the Truth carried in the Old Grandmother¡¯s bloodline.

    If Ivan was a Gold Rank transcender, he might be able to use this power to alter himself into a dragon.

    However, the problem was that Ivan was not even a Transcender.

    That was because of his clear self-awareness, knowing he did not have such strong desires and obsessions. Thus, he would not be able to set foot on the Gold Rank. Since he knew he could not reach his limit, Grand Duke Ivan had not embarked on this path from the beginning.

    But it was simply not the strength that a mortal body could bear.

    As a result, Ivan was gued by illness, and heat would suddenly escape his body every few days. This had happened even though the Austere Winter¡¯s Blood in Ivan¡¯s body was rtively gentle. Those who came into contact with Ivan¡¯s blood would immediately suffer severe frostbite. The effect was like barraging liquid nitrogen onto the face.

    The Austere-Winter family could withstand almost all types of damage, but only the ¡°Frost¡± attribute damage would kill them.

    However, as long as the Old Grandmother woke up, Ivan could be saved.

    The ¡°Wyrmrest¡± of the Old Grandmother was the covenant She established when She ascended, which She could not defy.

    Every Wyrmrest would never exceed 80 years.

    As long as Ivan could live for another 30 years, he could be saved.

    But, obviously, he could not take it anymore.

    Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s ability to move was getting worse. He asionally vomited blood with ice shards in it. Also, his body would lose heat once every two days on average. His speeches became slurred. His body would tremble violently, and his thinking was in a mess as if he had Alzheimer¡¯s disease.

    He could only persevere through the ritualist¡¯s medical treatment.

    However, the Grand Duke, who was able to go to the front line to supervise the battle with high spirits, could never return.

    Annan thought this was because Ivan possessed transcended strength at the Truth Rank level, but his mortal body could not contain it.

    Among the many deities, the Cup-holding Lady could preserve a person¡¯s memory and revert the body to a newborn baby. The Pale Princess could alter a person into a sane ghost. The Motherly Moth could make another person inherit all the memories of the target person. Finally, the Rotten Man was able to make mortals ¡°immortal¡±. These were the solutions that could solve the problem.

    The first target the Austere-Winter Dukedom picked was the Rotten Man.

    This was also the most thorough solution ¡ª as long as they could win the bet.

    The Rotten Man had to find seven sacrifices toplete his ritual. He did not dare to make a move on the people of the Austere-Winter Dukedom. Inparison, the Underground Federation had no king, and the ¡°kings¡± of the Papal Kingdom were the seven upright deities¡¯ popes.

    Even if the Rotten Manpleted his ritual in the United Kingdom and the Noah Kingdom, the number was far from enough.

    Thus, the Rotten Man had to ept the bet Dmitri made.

    He used his ¡°royal blood¡± to summon the Deity of Immortality and Heirless, Rotten Man and bet against him.

    If Dmitri won, then Rotten Man would give the most outstanding immortality to the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke ¡°Ivan III¡± and use the same immortal power at the Truth Rank to neutralize Ivan¡¯s strength;

    If Dmitri lost, then Rotten Man would take away Dmitri¡¯s fertility.

    Thus, if the Rotten Man lost, only one immortal would be added to His ritual¡¯s form. This was equivalent to adding an Undying of the same level as himself. In fact, thest step of the Rotten Man ascendancy ritual was to kill all the Undying except Himself. However, for each additional Undying, his power would amplify. Thus, it was a win-win situation.

    As long as Dmitri won the bet, he would help Rotten Man progress in His ascendancy ritual.

    No matter what, the Rotten Man suffered no loss.

    It was just that Dmitri was inadequate. He hesitated for a moment at thest moment and lost to the Rotten Man.

    Originally, Dmitri had to consider other methods.

    Could he negotiate with other upright deities in exchange for this miraculous power?

    Although he did not know any rituals, his brother Annan would.

    Annan always knew everything.

    He just had to pay the price whether it was fertility or longevity, kidney, hair or skin.

    If you want to take it, you can do whatever you want.

    How was Dmitri so free and easy?

    That was because Dmitri¡¤Austere-Winter was never afraid to ¡°give¡±.

    He was not a transcender nor a ritualist.

    He was the Old Grandmother¡¯s bishop and would be the cardinal-bishop in the future. If all the bishops believed in him, he would also be the Old Grandmother¡¯s pope.

    Since Dmitri was a child, he swore to give all his soul to all living beings.

    There was no room for his own flesh and blood in the path he was destined to walk.

 Chapter 493: â€œThe Prophet School Is A Wily Bunchâ€

    <h4>Chapter 493: ¡°The Prophet School Is A Wily Bunch¡±</h4>

    However, when Dmitri and Annan just started to n for the next step¡­

    Ivan Austere-Winter discovered the two brothers who were secretly making ns.

    So Grand Duke Ivan had beaten up Dmitri.

    Firstly, it was because Dmitri dared not ask his father¡¯s opinion on such a significant matter as the eldest son. Secondly, he failed to set an example as an elder brother and led his younger brother Annan to mess around. Thus, he had to take the second beating in Annan¡¯s ce.

    Dmitri did not care about his fertility, and he did not even think about having children.

    Even though he did not care about this matter, the fact that he was infertile would make the Dukedom unstable. That was simply because he was the first heir.

    At that time, Maria had decided to take the path of the Daughter of the Storm.

    Thus, the Young Annan was the only one left to inherit the throne as the Grand Duke.

    This decision incited Maria¡¯s panic. Unlike her elder brother Dmitri, Maria did not particrly trust the Young Annan. On the contrary, she was worried and overly caring for him.

    Their mother died in the second year after Annan was born. There were supposedly six brothers, the sixth of whom died before birth, and the remaining two died of [Winter Heart] power before they were three years old. Thus, they did not get their name.

    Annan was the child beforest.

    Maria was the third child beforest.

    Dmitri took care of her since birth, and she would take care of Young Annan.

    She was more like a mother than a sister.

    Even though she knew that Annan was talented, she did not trust the child she raised with her hands and was intensely worried. Compared with Annan and her father Ivan, she believed Brother Dmitri could be a better Grand Duke.

    However, Ivan¡¯s lifespan had not been sessfully extended because of the Rotten Man, and he might die at any time.

    ¡ªAt that time, brothers and sisters would depend on each other for their lives.

    Compared with ordinary people who only wished to ¡°live a good life¡±, the three still had the people of a country to be taken care of. Not long after the war, foreign enemies were around, and the nobles in the country seemed politically unstable. At the same time, they still had to take care of and protect themon people.

    Dmitri¡¯s brother, whom Maria trusted the most, lost his right of inheritance.

    The future Austere-Winter Dukedom would fall into the hands of Young Annan.

    How could she bear it?

    The originally calm Maria nned to enjoy her life and wait to die. She would then inherit the Daughter of the Storm when she was 40. However, she made up her mind to be a formidable transcender as soon as possible.

    This was also why she had participated in Master Michngelo¡¯s session ritual.

    She was the Edict Wizard from the Storm Tower, the future Daughter of the Storm.

    However, the Daughter of the Storm was mortal and would die one day.

    Maria was not afraid of death, but she was worried about Annan.

    Could Annan really take care of himself without her?

    She also felt that Michngelo¡¯s sudden summoning of eight young wizards must be a conspiracy. Most likely, he was doing some ritual. But at that time, she could not care about that much anymore.

    Just like when Dmitri and Annan acted privately, she did the same to their father.

    It might be revenge, or it seemed like a strangeparison. She did not tell Ivan and Dmitri about her going to Howling White Tower.

    Maria had always been upright, saying and doing what was in her mind.

    She was firm and unyielding, taking responsibility on her shoulders and moving forward in silence.

    Compared with girls of the same age or the heirs of the emperor who grew up in a world surrounded by conspiracies, she was more like those Austerians of ordinary families who owned a family business.

    It was also because of her integrity, Maria almost died in the taboo ritual of the Twin Towers [Ovepping Death and Life].

    At that time, Maria did not understand how this ritual took effect. Only when they were fighting each other until only four of them left did they hear Michngelo¡¯s message, telling them that this was the first half of a ritual.

    It was not until not long ago that they realized this was an ascendancy ritual.

    Michngelo, the host of the taboo ritual, had sessfully sublimated and achieved true deity not long ago.

    Michngelo was pronounced as ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±.

    So when Maria came back that year, Dmitri got another heavy beating.

    This was the unbearable weight of the eldest son.

    In any case, it was he who was beaten up.

    But also, thanks to the beating, Dmitri remembered it clearly. ording to Maria, only four people survived that ritual.

    Except for Maria, the remaining three were all dangerous folks. Of course, the few who died were even more difficult.

    The Man in the Mirror¡¯s pope, Benjamin Foster;

    The ck Wizard from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, David Gerald;

    The Man in the Mirror¡¯s student, Ghindaio Buonaro of the Prophet School.

    And the name, Ghindaio David Buonaro.

    It happened that the names of the two survivors were mixed in this ritual.

    Although Dmitri did not know why ¡°David¡± was added as the middle name, it was undoubtedly the person ¡°Ghindaio¡± who Maria mentioned, judging from his appearance.

    That harmless and docile Prophet Wizard maintained peace until the end. Maria did not know what he did or what tricks were on his sleeve. Presumably, he had already used the Prophet Magic to rewrite everything that might affect his future.

    The purpose of the Prophet School had never been just to ¡°see the future¡±.

    What they practiced was the skill of ¡°rewriting the future based on the past¡±.

    Dmitri once met a Prophet Wizard from the Twin Towers.

    When Dmitri asked him, ¡°Prophet school can directly obtain the results of their study through spells, then what exactly do they need to learn¡±, the person replied by throwing a question back to Dmitri.

    ¡°If ¡®yesterday¡¯ has be ¡®tomorrow¡¯, it will be two days ago. So is ¡®the day after tomorrow¡¯ ¡®today¡¯ or ¡®yesterday¡¯?¡±

    Dmitri was dumbfounded.

    Although he did not figure it out in the end, he was convinced that the Prophet Wizards were a witty bunch.

    The silent, low-key, and unobtrusive Prophet Wizard must haveid many tricks, and definitely the ¡°Prophet¡± at the highest level.

    The witty brains were constantly working. Every one of them was smart and scary, and everyone had a future vision. A Prophet Wizard, who could modify the future from the past, looked so ordinary that people would forget it if they did not pay attention.

    If you saw this, would you believe it?

    Anyway, Dmitri did not believe it.

    His feeling at the time was, ¡°The Prophet School is a wily bunch.¡±

    The more low-key the person looked, the more likely he was calcting everyone he could.

    Dmitri nced at the gentle and cheerful middle-aged man in front of him.

    As predicted, he saw a silver ring in the person¡¯s hand.

    Have I fallen into the plot of these nagging Prophets again?

    The thought came to Dmitri¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 494: A Crucial Frost Beast

    <h4>Chapter 494: A Crucial Frost Beast</h4>

    ¡°Is seeing me here also part of the ¡®future¡¯ you saw?¡± Dmitri stared at Ghindaio, speaking bluntly.

    Dmitri took away the cigar. Then, as his deep and maic voice sounded, the smoke spewed out of his mouth naturally, ¡°Your Excellency Ghindaio?¡±

    Hearing Dmitri¡¯s address, Leona was startled and looked at Ghindaio in astonishment.

    She was not one of those lower social status civilians who knew nothing about the transcended world.

    In the current state, she realized her situation:

    Dmitri addressed Ghindaio in the honorific of ¡°Your Excellency¡± and mentioned the word ¡°future¡±. Also, he has a silver ring that appears quiteplicated, which I initially mistook as an ornament.

    Could he be a Great Wizard of the Prophet School?

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± was taken aback when he heard Dmitri addressing him in honorifics, ¡°Oh?¡°

    However, he did not reveal his identity directly, nor did he ask how Dmitri knew this name.

    Instead, he grinned at the corners of his mouth with interest, showing a gentle and harmless smile, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that you have the habit of smoking.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I only got into it in recent years. It¡¯s not a good habit.¡± Dmitri replied casually.

    He stared at Ghindaio and said slowly, ¡°I suggest you rify everything.

    ¡°Since you can see the future, you should also know why I came here.¡±

    Ghindaio replied with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡ªNonsense.

    Dmitri did not believe the nonsense of the Prophet Wizard.

    However, he did not dare to attack the wizard simply.

    Those who could see the future would never be troubled by any ¡°idents¡± or ¡°troubles¡±. When they took the initiative to appear in front of others, either things were adequately arranged, or it did not matter anymore. Thus, those who act would fall into their plot.

    Dmitri was a little fidgety.

    He got up and went to the wine cab. Then, he took down a small barrel of fine wine. Later, heid silver coins into the shallow grooves where the wine was ced. The number was the same as thebel on the top of the wine barrel.

    This self-service tavern was a leisure facility unique to Austere-Winter.

    It appeared like an ordinary dwelling, but the door was never closed. Besides, the door was covered with a thick ck animal skin curtain. There was no one inside, only a counter full of wine, a singlemp, and a barrel of sauerkraut [1] for free. Other than that, food, wine, and a small round table were avable.

    Austere-Winter was cold, so Austerians fancied wine.

    Even in the winter year when crops could not be grown, Austere-Winter Dukedom would purchase ample wine, plus the Noah Kingdom¡¯s grain to make wine. People would tend to frequent the taverns. After all, those ces were lively, and there were hot meals. However, the price of the wine in the taverns was much higher than the actual price. After all, they opened the business to make a profit.

    So some people would bring their own appetizers and find a cheap private tavern to drink and chat with friends. Those who had no money could have some sauerkraut directly. Of course, some were dedicated to drinking only.

    The private tavern owners usually ran multiple ¡°stores¡± at the same time. Typically speaking, they were responsible for restocking because they had other jobs.

    Since Austerian worried that the boss would be unable to continue working or lose too much money, the customers would spend money there. They would give a little more if they had spare money. Austerians valued reputation quite a bit. Thus, there came the most derogatory insult in Austere-Winter, a ¡°Wine thief¡±. Itbined the meaning of being poor, uneducated, and their whole family dead.

    Of course, if a beggar had no money and was about to freeze to death, they were acquiesced to enter the tavern and get the cheapest wine to warm up themselves and survive.

    After all, life was tough for everyone these days.

    As the Grand Duke¡¯s son, Dmitri naturally would not dine and dash. However, his character was not the kind of person who would pay more money.

    He poured himself a ss of crimson wine, nced at Leona again, and poured her a ss. Then, he poured Ghindaio a ss without hesitation.

    It was different from Leona¡¯s approach in pushing Annan to drink endlessly.

    Dmitri did not even finish his drink before taking another puff on his cigar.

    He took another puff before his cigar was lit for long so that it would taste a bit bitter.

    However, this bitterness made him more energetic.

    Forget it, there is nothing to hide.

    ¡°You should have seen the convoy yesterday. The convoy was transporting the Frost Beasts.¡± After getting Ghindaio¡¯s reply, Dmitri continued in a low voice, ¡°They are just passing through this ce. Logically speaking, they should set off for Frostwhisper Province in the morning.¡±

    Dmitri exhaled the smoke slowly.

    He nced at Leona.

    ¡°However, they found that they had lost an important Frost Beast this morning. It is said that the Frost Beast is also in this city now. I am near the Razor Territory, so I rushed over immediately.¡±

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± immediately thought of the wolf that belonged to Doreen, ¡°One Frost Beast should not bring Your Royal Highness Dmitri toe and find it in person, right? Is it dangerous?¡±

    Even though Doreen had acted as a [Spirit Thief] more than once, it should not be the case.

    Moreover, it was just a Frost Beast.

    Frost Beasts were not rare in Austere-Winter, whereby they could be found everywhere in the wild. Only after the domestication of the Austere-Winter family could they get ¡°the Frost Beasts that had been trained¡±.

    What made the Frost Beasts precious were those that were domesticated.

    Frost Beasts were uncontrolled and attacked other creatures at will. Only its fur and blood could be sold for some money. It was not anything particrly valuable, just a natural disaster.

    Even lone Frost Beasts were roughly equivalent to the Noah Kingdom¡¯s brown bear level of deterrence to hunters. Anyway, the hunters would be dead if the beasts managed to get closer. Their defense power was solid, so there was no significant difference.

    Considering that the smaller-size Frost Beasts were more agile, their threat level soared even higher.

    ¡°If it¡¯s only the typical Frost Beasts, I¡¯ve seen them all, whether it¡¯s the Frost Beasts in the shape of rabbits, foxes, or even crows.¡± Dmitri nced at Ghindaio and patiently exined, ¡°You should also know the nature of the Frost Beasts.¡±

    ¡°There are the beasts that have absorbed the curse from the Old Grandmother¡¯s Dragon¡¯s Breath.¡± Ghindaio nodded.

    It was not a secret.

    Essentially, the ¡°Winter Heart¡± and the strength that caused the Frost Beasts to mutate, as well as the Frost Beasts¡¯ ability to suck the emotions of creatures, were the other manifestations of the same power.

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡± But Dmitri said slowly, ¡°Man is also an animal.¡±

    Hearing this, Ghindaio was taken aback.

    His pupils shrank slightly.

    Noticing this detail, Dmitri immediately felt a lot of relief in his heart. I didn¡¯t expect that you nagging Prophet Wizards would have something you didn¡¯t know!

    ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s a werewolf.

    ¡°When she was transformed into a wolf, she was attacked and fell into aa in the wild. After waking up, she found herself transformed into the Frost Beasts. But the problem is¡­¡± Dmitri said slowly, ¡°After she has returned to human form, she still possessed all the unique abilities of the Frost Beasts. At the same time, she also regained her rationality. Her name is ¡®Butter Biscuit¡¯, and she is the only human form of the Frost Beasts. Do you get the meaning of her existence?

    ¡°The primary mission of the convoy this time is to escort her to Frostwhisper Province. But this morning, the person in charge of the convoy told me that he lost Butter Biscuit.

    ¡°So, Your Excellency Ghindaio. Please tell me. When did you arrive at Razor Ridge? When are you leaving? What are you nning to do here?¡±

    The man was biting his cigar. His voice was a little fuzzy; his right arm reached out from under the overcoat, holding the wine ss and raising it to Ghindaio while asking in a low voice, ¡°Can you answer my question, brother?¡±

    Ghindaio froze for a moment.

    He chuckled.

    He also picked up the wine ss and clinked it lightly with Dmitri.

    ¡°Why not, my brother?¡± Ghindaio narrowed his eyes and said with a half-smile.

 Chapter 495: Doreen & Her Teacher

    <h4>Chapter 495: Doreen & Her Teacher</h4>

    Doreen folded her hands on her knees, squatting in the corner of the room in fear.

    The Frost Beast she brought was squatting in front of her, staring at her closely.

    It was full. Thus, it would not hunt for at least two days.

    Doreen, as Spirit Thief, knew this all too well.

    But her fear was not because the Frost Beast was staring at her.

    However, it was because of ¡°Ghindaio¡±.

    ¡ªHow could a wealthy business person from the Noah Kingdom have the technology to tame the Frost Beast instantly?

    Why couldn¡¯t Doreen, a wandering werewolf, tame the Frost Beast?

    If she had tamed a Frost Beast, the selling price would be enough for her to indulge in pleasure and enjoy life for more than 10 years. Then, she would not have to use ¡°The Scammer And The Missionary¡± to deceive passers-by and peek into other people¡¯s minds at risk.

    No one could ever tame her Frost Beast.

    Just because Doreen took it to ¡°eat a few meals¡±, it would not take Doreen as the first hunting target if it was not particrly hungry.

    The rtionship between her and the Frost Beast was more appropriate to be described as ¡°cooperation¡±.

    However, Your Excellency ¡°Ghindaio¡± tamed the Frost Beast without sweat.

    No doubt that ¡°Ghindaio¡± must have the Austere-Winter¡¯s Blood!

    Even if he pretended to be a wealthy businessman from the Noah Kingdom, he could not hide this power. If a random Transcender could tame Frost Beasts, the beasts would not be a disaster.

    If one could tame a Frost beast, even if they were not the Grand Duke Ivan, they were undoubtedly rted to the Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s bloodline within two generations¡­ That person was undoubtedly an extraordinary figure.

    If she were to follow her original life path, Dorine would never have encountered such a big shot in her lifetime.

    But why would ¡°Ghindaio¡± hide his identity ande to the Austere-Winter Dukedom from the Noah Kingdom?

    Dorine dared not guess and also dared not ask.

    She could only throw all the me on her teacher.

    She had a hunch that she might identally get involved in some conspiracy involving the highest level of authority in the Dukedom.

    Just being nced at by Ghindaio, Doreen was so nervous that her back was straight, and her palms were sweating.

    In the current state, she wanted to flee. However, she was waiting for her permission to go and did not dare to run away on her own ord, fearing that her suspicion about Ghindaio¡¯s real identity was revealed.

    She would not have any undue curiosity and would never inquire about anything.

    Doreen was self-aware.

    The less she knew, the safer she would be.

    Not to mention¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m just a werewolf.¡± She buried her head in her knees, muttering softly.

    Werewolves were not well received by the Austerians. Inparison, the dwarves who were proficient at wine, had a robustbor capacity, and did not like meat could mingle with Austerians in the resource-poor Austere-Winter Dukedom. When the full moon was approaching, the werewolves, who asionally go frenzy and lose their minds, lost the people¡¯s trust.

    Worse still, it had be a fact that all other races would discriminate against the werewolves.

    Of course, werewolves were also citizens of the Austere-Winter Dukedom. In Austere-Winter Dukedom, as long as they were minors, persons with disabilities or serious illnesses, or those who worked in exchange for remuneration for more than one month, they were citizens protected byw.

    The Austere-Winter Dukedomw would not protect adults free from disease and disaster but did not work hard.

    But the problem was that werewolves could only find a job if they had outstanding abilities.

    At the same time, there was such aw in the Austere-Winter Dukedom:

    ¡ªying a berserk werewolf is not considered a crime of homicide. Instead, they are treated as innocent.

    There was nothing wrong with thew itself.

    Once a werewolf went berserk, it would attack others like the Frost Beasts. Werewolves would first attack cubs of other races, followed by people of different races, then cubs of their race, and finally other werewolves. Werewolves could attack anything but their immediate bloodline.

    The purpose was not to devour but only to kill. Therefore, it was an attack with a rtively high killing efficiency.

    Even a werewolf without a transcended profession might defeat Bronze Rank¡¯s Transcender after going berserk.

    ording to the research, this was the racial ability werewolves obtained since ancient times topete with other races for resources and living space. Adult female werewolves after the end ofctation and young male werewolves who had no child yet were prone to go into a frenzied state.

    For self-protection, no one would spare mercy against a berserk werewolf.

    Thus, thew was necessary to ensure the safety of other races.

    But there was a problem. Werewolves did not necessarily go berserk on a full moon.

    Some werewolves might not go berserk even once for several years, but some werewolves would go berserk twice a month. A fanatical werewolf was no different from usual except that he could not speak or drink.

    Wanting to prove that a werewolf who was killed was not berserk was harder than proving innocence.

    This unique racial trait also made it difficult for many viges to ept werewolves¡ªespecially underage male werewolves. They could only live in caves outside the small barrier in the form of werewolf tribes.

    As for female werewolves, they were rtively safe without pregnancy and could stay in the small barrier. But once pregnant, they would also be driven out of their residence. After thectation period ended, the female werewolf would go berserk almost once or twice a month, and it wouldst until the child was seven years old and could hunt independently.

    The lifespan of werewolves was short, only forty years on average. A six-year-old werewolf was already about the size of a seventeen-year-old human youth.

    Logically speaking, Doreen, as a female werewolf, could live in the barrier as long as she did not get married. It was not a particrly hard life if she learned some skills, found a job as a female worker, or saved some money to attend an adult university.

    But the problem was that Doreen¡¯s mother had gone berserk in the vige.

    Her mother had a great personality, so she gained the vigers¡¯ trust. She could even marry humans and have children¡ªyes, Doreen was actually a half-werewolf.

    But no matter how good the character was, she could not resist her racial instinct.

    Doreen¡¯s mother went berserk twice.

    But fortunately, Doreen¡¯s father was a transcender. He was an Idol Wizard who graduated from Howling White Tower.

    He quickly put Doreen¡¯s mother down each time.

    After that, until Doreen was five years old, she did not go berserk again. Her father gradually rxed his vignce.

    Until a foreign woman holding a child and asking for directions knocked on the door of their house at night.

    By the time Doreen¡¯s father woke up, she had killed the child and nearly killed the child¡¯s mother.

    Doreen¡¯s father hesitated for a long time.

    He finally decided. After the battle, she helped Doreen¡¯s mother to dispose of the crime traces and hide the corpses.

    There was no problem at first.

    However, when Little Doreen was ying in the yard the next day, she identally dug out the untreated corpse.

    With the premise that the victim was not from the same vige, Doreen¡¯s mother was not in or reported by the vigers. But she had already killed someone. The vigers could not ept living with her¡ªtheir family was kicked out.

    Later, for some reason, her father¡¯s illegal use of spells and crimes were exposed.

    The Winter¡¯s Hand captured the wanted Doreen¡¯s parents ¡ª Doreen¡¯s mother would be imprisoned for twenty years, while her father would be sentenced to three years of confinement andbor.

    Doreen was left alone.

    Unlike other werewolves, she had such a happy childhood that she did not even know the ¡°survival skills¡±, even thief and robbery.

    Later, she met her ¡°teacher¡±.

    The teacher specialized in nurturing werewolf orphans, turning them into phantom thieves, spirit thieves, spies, killers¡­

    [Professor Wolf] Frederick Wolfheart.

 Chapter 496: Donâ€™t Trust The Werewolves

    <h4>Chapter 496: Don¡¯t Trust The Werewolves</h4>

    ¡°Professor Wolf¡± was an illegal transcender wanted jointly by the Austere-Winter Dukedom and the Papal Kingdom.

    Thest name he once had was ¡°Melvin¡±, which signified a famous wizard family rich in outstanding Idol Wizards.

    Before the Unification War, they were the sessors of the ¡°Divine Child¡± and the ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡± profession.

    Before a child was born, they could identify the child¡¯s aptitude through magic. Only children with ¡°talent¡± survived. Before birth, the fetus would be nurtured with the soul power of the family¡¯s senior wizard through Idol Wizardry.

    After the ¡°Divine Child¡± was born, the people of the Melvin Family would seal it in an absolutely pure barrier until it was seven years old. The child was not allowed to face any human beings below the Gold Rank. The only ones who could enter and exit the barrier were animals with no mortal thoughts and transcenders above Gold Rank.

    The adult wizards of the family would kneel and pray outside the ¡°Divine Son¡± chamber every day as if the person inside was not a child but an unawakened deity.

    Other grown-up Divine Childs also used Idol Spells to impart relevant knowledge to the new [Divine Child] through dreams. During the process, the Divine Child would not hear the voices of mortals. Instead, the child would gradually gain transcended power and could listen to the voices of others without ears.

    This in itself was a massive, lengthy ritual.

    During the seven years of prayer and worship, the Divine Child, who had never been in contact with the mortal world, would gradually umte divinity in his body. When the [Divine Child] turned seven years old and the ritual ended, its soul would reach its maximum purity and attain the Silver Rank in one go.

    What the [Divine Child] profession possessed was notbat power.

    It was the ability to listen to others and fulfill their wishes.

    In other words, it was a ¡°limited wishing technique¡±.

    After the ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡± of the previous generation left the world, any Divine Child in the family could unconditionally advance to Gold Rank after seven years.

    ¡ªIndeed, it was the ¡°departure from this world¡±, not death.

    The Idol School¡¯s magics were referred to as ¡°false deity spells¡± in ancient times. But at Gold Rank, the authority of the ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡± was almost identical to the actual deity.

    As the strength of the ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡± became robust, the ¡°Inheritance¡± element would also continue to grow in power. And, when the ¡°Inheritance¡± element was developed to the limit, the Divine of the Mortals would be deified entirely. His consciousness would be integrated with other generations of the ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡± in the past and continue to bless the development of the Melvin Family.

    It had no deity name and could not leave the residence of the Melvin Family. However, it could still walk on the ground and had its consciousness.

    In essence, it was the ancestor deity of the Melvin Family.

    This was the ¡°Idol School of Magic¡±.

    Spells rted to beliefs, contracts, and wishes.

    Professor Wolf used to be a Divine Child. Except for Eugene Melvin, who was ¡°born to know¡±, the former Frederick Melvin was the most likely Divine Child to inherit the position of the ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡±.

    ¡ªHowever, he became a traitor.

    That was because he did something he must never do as an Idol Wizard.

    He had entrusted his faith to others.

    He indulged in many incredible ¡°performances¡± directed by the Tragedy Writer and firmly believed in the not-so-good reputation of the Murder and Conspiracy Deity.

    For Idol Wizard, ¡°faith¡± was the most valuable currency. Idol Wizards above Silver Rank, as long as they had enough time, could adjust their ¡°temporary¡± beliefs through various rituals and spells. Also, they could use order mana to use divine art in almost any field.

    Although the depth of divine art was not as good as bishop-level priests and there were no passive special effects, its multi-functionality was enough to make up for everything.

    Idol Wizards could also consume their faith to summon a dead person¡¯s thought body or attach others¡¯ souls to themselves.

    Those with adequate power could alter the name of another person to change his fate. At the same time, they could let another person with their name altered to substitute themselves, even more so that it would happen without the target knowing.

    However, as long as the Idol Wizard chose to believe in a certain deity, more than half of his spells would be unusable.

    The ¡°Divine of the Mortals¡± was even less likely to be a subordinate deity ¡ª especially if he was a believer of the notorious false deity.

    For the Melvin Family to disassociate itself from Tragedy Writer, they removed Frederick from the Family.

    Since then, Frederick had lost the surname ¡°Melvin¡±.

    But to him, it was not shame but freedom.

    Without the shackles of the family, the Silver Rank Transcender acted at will and served as a cardinal bishop. Even though he was only at the Silver Rank, the Winter¡¯s Hand could not catch Frederick.

    In the current state, Professor Wolf was rumored to have advanced to Gold Rank.

    People did not even know his profession.

    But many homeless werewolves were brought up by him and were under his control. After all, besides the Austere-Winter Dukedom, there were also werewolves in the Underground Federation and the Papal Kingdom.

    It was probably because Doreen was not an orphan, and she did not have too much affection for her ¡°teacher¡±. It was just that when she did not know what to do, she chose to execute the teacher¡¯smand first.

    If the ¡°teacher¡± asked her to do a life-threatening mission, she would definitely run away.

    Who knows that this seemingly ordinary mission is so dangerous!?

    ¡°Doreen?¡±

    At this moment, the door made a creaking sound as it opened.

    Ghindaio¡¯s gentle voice also came from outside the door, ¡°I brought my friends over to y¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Dmitri¡¯s helpless voice followed.

    I¡¯m not your friend. ¡ª Thoughts like this could be read easily, even if unspoken.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not lying. This is the werewolf that attacked me. And the Frost Beast, you saw it too. You didn¡¯t lose it.¡± Ghindaio shrugged, ¡°It is said that she followed the ¡®Teacher¡¯s¡¯ order and came to attack me.¡±

    ¡°A werewolf¡¯s ¡®teacher¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°You know him?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you even if I know him.¡± Dmitri replied in annoyance, ¡°The rest involves the internal affairs of our Austere-Winter Dukedom. You¡¯d better stay here until we¡¯re sure you¡¯re innocent. We¡¯ll send Winter¡¯s Hand to interrogate her.¡±

    Then, Dmitri nced at Doreen.

    There was subconscious loathing in his tone, ¡°Also, don¡¯t trust any werewolves.

    ¡°They look pitiful, earnest, and trustworthy, but you won¡¯t know what they are thinking in the dark.¡±

    ¡°Is this a warning?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s advice.¡± Dmitri replied calmly, ¡°It¡¯s also a lesson.¡±

    Ghindaio frowned slightly.

    He nodded thoughtfully.

    Doreen looked up at the middle-aged man, who was probably a big shot, in a daze and in trepidation.

    Then, there were the two people behind him.

    Doreen¡¯s pupils suddenly dted with fear.

    She knew one of them ¡ª Leona Bunyan.

    The Bunyan Family were the hounds of the Austere-Winter Family. While they might not be qualified to be loyal dogs, that was because their duty was, at best, to ¡°find the prey¡±.

    It involved things that were inconvenient to be done through the [Winter¡¯s Hand], like killing someone who did not break thew, getting something from someone, or going to a foreignnd to find something.

    These were the responsibilities of the hunters in the Bunyan Family.

    Leona was a special case.

    Her mission was to search for Frost Beasts ¡ª to defeat the organization that controlled the untamed Frost Beasts.

    In other words, Leona was the leader of the ¡°Austere-Winter Dukedom ¡®Spirit Thief¡¯ Incident Special Team¡±.

    It was also Doreen¡¯s specialty.

    That being the case, then the person following her¡­

    Doreen caught a glimpse of the wolf¡¯s head badge on Dmitri¡¯s cor.

    This was the Austere-Winter Family Emblem.

    Are you still saying you¡¯re not a member of the Winter Family?!

    Is he Prince Dmitri?

    Why hide your identity in front of His Highness Dmitri?

    Then, when I am interrogated, should I reveal this or not?

    It feels like both saying and not saying is dangerous¡ª

    Doreen groaned, hugging her knees and curling up into a ball.

    She felt that she might get into trouble like never before.

    Teacher, is everything in your n?

 Chapter 497: Annan Stuck In His Journey.jpg

    <h4>Chapter 497: Annan Stuck In His Journey.jpg</h4>

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± watched calmly as Ms. Leona escorted Doreen away. The tamed Frost Beast followed her out as well.

    The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

    Of course, Annan had realized.

    If Dmitri¡¯s group asked about the Frost Beast source from Doreen, they would immediately notice the w in Ghindaio¡¯s identity.

    However, it did not matter.

    Annan did not expect to have this disguisest long, not even intending to fool Dmitri with it.

    Vasily Manning¡¯s news was only dyed for a few days, not knowing that Annan had already left for Austere-Winter. But, sooner orter, he would find out.

    After all, Annan left the Noah Kingdom initially to avoid suspicion. Therefore, this news would not be hidden for too long. Moreover, it was peculiar if Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, who had a close rtionship with one of the candidates, stayed in the capital during the Noah Kingdom¡¯s new king¡¯s ascension to the throne.

    It would be fine if Kafni did not seed to the throne.

    If Kafni seeded to the throne, there would inevitably be gossip, saying that Queen Kafni was under the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s control and that Noah Kingdom had no future.

    This might even directly shake the Noah Kingdom¡¯s power foundation.

    Those with ulterior motives would have words on hand that could incite others.

    Of course, even if Annan were not in the Noah Kingdom, what was intended would still be aplished. However, it woulde with a couple of troubles.

    When Vasily sent the news of Annan¡¯s return to Austere-Winter, Dmitri would instantly guess that ¡°Ghindaio¡± was Annan from the many details Annan had left behind.

    Also, he would immediately realize that since Annan returned to Austure-Winter Dukedom in a hidden identity, it meant that he needed such a disguise. Then, Dmitri would help Annan hide Ghindaio¡¯s true identity instead.

    Instead of worrying about the disguise being exposed, Annan wanted to take advantage of the present situation to inquire about things that Dmitri might not tell him, ¡°Speaking of which, brother.¡±

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± asked Dmitri¡¤Austere-Winter beside him in a low voice, ¡°Since werewolves are so dangerous, why doesn¡¯t Austere-Winter Dukedom just exile them?¡±

    The werewolves¡¯ talent for going berserk made them the equivalent of time bombs.

    No one would want a werewolf to be near their child, even after knowing their age and gender, and they would not go berserk for a while.

    Never mind a werewolf who could kill someone, even humans. For example, those who had been in prison or received a punishment. Even if they just stole a piece of bread and a few silver coins, the parents would feel uneasy about having the criminals near their children.

    ¡°The once and for all solution is to expel the werewolves from the countrypletely.¡± Ghindaio said with a half-smile, ¡°Anyway, the situation hasn¡¯t changed for any better.¡±

    Dmitri nced at him, ¡°Are you sympathizing with the werewolves?¡±

    Ghindaio shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m not even an Austerian, so I have any right to sympathize with them. It¡¯s just my pure curiosity. You are the sessor of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. Then, you should know the answer to this question¡­ Can you tell me?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t something we can¡¯t talk about. It¡¯s no secret,¡± said Dmitri slowly.

    He sat on the table alone and took out a copper box from his arms. There should have been a row of cigars inside, but only three were left.

    Dmitri took out one of the dark brown cigars and cut a slit in the round end with a cigar cutter. He unceremoniously picked up a thick match from Ghindaio¡¯s table, lit it, turned it around, and smoked the cigar carefully.

    He tapped the cigar box lightly with his left thumb and nced at Ghindaio.

    Seeing him unmoved, Dmitri raised his head in surprise, ¡°¡­You don¡¯t smoke?¡±

    Ghindaio said with a half-smile, as if hinting at something, ¡°I¡¯m not old enough to smoke.¡±

    However, Dmitri did not realize what Ghindaio meant. Instead, he just clicked his tongue.

    Dmitri shook his head and murmured in a low voice, ¡°Everyone will die one day, so what¡¯s the point of living so carefully?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°No, nothing.¡± Dmitri denied.

    He was silent for a while before slowly speaking up, ¡°The answer is straightforward.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t want to expel them, but that we can¡¯t. Although we haven¡¯t studied the rules of werewolves going berserk thoroughly yet, the general rule is that there¡¯s a chance to trigger berserk in werewolves when the lives of ourselves and the group are endangered.

    ¡°For example, a werewolf may go berserk when severely injured or in desperation. ording to our research, this seems to be some curse inherited in the bloodline. No one knows, and no one bothers about it.¡±

    A curse inherited through the blood?

    Is it like the Winter Heart?

    Annan was thoughtful.

    I see.

    That was why Austere-Winter Dukedom spares them.

    Although the werewolves were discriminated against, suppressed, and restricted from gaining power, the Dukedom never expelled them from its territory but gave them a definite way to survive. Once the werewolves were cornered, the outburst of their power would throw turmoil into the Austere-Winter Dukedom, damaging it from within.

    The Noah Kingdom was watching covetously, and the Austere-Winter Dukedom dared not to use radical means to deal with the werewolf problem.

    Even though they dared not, the Dukedom still retained the desire to do so.

    If possible, they would rather the werewolves leave the Winter Kingdom as soon as possible.

    It did not matter whether they went to the Underground Federation or the Papal Kingdom. Anyway, the status of werewolves was rtively higher there.

    The Underground Federation was sparsely popted and rich in resources. The ck-haired werewolves who entered the underground would hardly go berserk. In the Papal Kingdom, the status of werewolves was slightly higher than that in Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    The Papal Kingdom¡¯s people were also afraid of werewolves. However, the difference was that some werewolves in the Papal Kingdom had already stood at the top of the power and could speak for their race.

    After all, werewolves were born to war machines and people of ¡°blood and desire¡±.

    Werewolves could not produce Old Grandmother¡¯s believers, but they could easily produce people in the faiths of the Red Knight and the Cup-holding Lady.

    In fact, there was a Bronze Rank transcended profession called ¡°Werewolf¡±.

    Werewolves did not need any pre-requisite profession. It did not demand their swordsmanship and sneak ability. As long as they clear the nightmare after reaching adulthood, they have the opportunity to advance into a transcended.

    Also, it was easy to embark on the Fallen path.

    It was even right to say that they were born to be Fallen.

    Among the twelve upright deities, the only two who could ept demon believers were the Red Knight and the Cup-holding Lady.

    The Red Knight even had an apostle army called the ¡°ughter Squad¡±, all of which wereposed of recruited demons. In Cup-holding Lady¡¯s ritual, there was even a high-level ritual that altered mortals into blood fiends, a long-lived species¡ª In Annan¡¯s understanding, they could also be called a ¡°vampire¡±.

    However, there came a strange part.

    In short, the Austere-Winter Dukedom wished the werewolves to go away.

    Why was Be epted and even qualified for Winter¡¯s Hand?

    Judging by Dmitri¡¯s reaction, Annan thought Be had probably gone berserk.

    She might even have attacked him in his first life. Otherwise, considering Dmitri¡¯s seemingly serious butzy personality, he would not have suddenly developed such a strong dislike for werewolves.

    However, Annan had no way to ask Be questions, no matter if misfortune had struck her or not.

    In terms of the settings of his disguise, he wore the shoes of a Noah civilian.

    Even if he reported the real name of a member of the Winter¡¯s Hand, he might be arrested on the spot. In addition to Doreen, there was one more person.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even try to run away.¡± Seeing Ghindaio stand up, Dmitri said abruptly, ¡°I¡¯m free now, looking for the Frost Beast. I¡¯ll keep an eye on you until your suspicion is cleared.¡±

    ¡°En, I get it. I¡¯m going to get some wine. Is that okay?¡± Annan smiled and said, ¡°I also understand now why you must find the Frost Beast.

    ¡°The research value is unimportant, but the werewolf is the unstable factor. Don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°¡­Tsk.¡± Ghindaio¡¯s words have a mysterious tone.

    Dmitri smacked his lips and smoked his cigar with a displeased face.

    Annan shook his head. He got up to get a few bottles of wine from the wine rack at the door.

    He had yet to try it, whether he could use the new function: the teleportation waypoint. Thus, he could not be overconfident. He would stay there obediently cause it would not cause him too many days.

    At the same time, Annan was eager to see Dmitri¡¯s expression when he learned the truth.

    Annan thought with a smile.

    Thinking of the adventuring trio waiting hard for him in the underground world, Annan¡¯s smile grew brighter.

    It was pretty interesting to watch them mess around.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to bully you¡­ You see, I¡¯m also stuck here.¡±

    I¡¯m under detention, my brothers.

    You guys go ahead and work first. I¡¯m noting. Don¡¯t wait for me.jpg

 Chapter 498: The Light Hatched In The Heart

    <h4>Chapter 498: The Light Hatched In The Heart</h4>

    ¡°Let¡¯s not wait for His Highness Annan.¡± Lin Yiyi sighed, ¡°I think he must be in some trouble.¡±

    Four days had passed since Overseer Nieusel visited as a guest.

    The yers had achieved their goal of staying there for a week.

    The only thing left was to clear the nightmare.

    The other yers awaited their progress, waiting for the underground teleportation waypoint to be built so they could teleport over.

    Lin Yiyi felt a little uneasy to ck off at this moment.

    ¡°But, if we don¡¯t put it on hold, you still have to let me search the path.¡± Suuankou couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Before the dungeon¡¯s entry count is used up, will His Royal Highness Annan arrive in time? I don¡¯t want to explode on the spot because of the overflowing erosion rate.¡±

    ¡°Soul erosion is probably not going to make you explode¡­ I think.¡± Lin Yiyimented in uncertainty.

    Suuankou looked at her in disgust, ¡°Are you really my sister?¡±

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes widened immediately. He pped the back of Suankou¡¯s head, ¡°You are my younger brother. How could I not be your older sister?¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ okay¡­ okay¡­¡± Suuankou admitted defeat in seconds.

    Jiu Er, who was watching from the side, burst outughing.

    ¡ªThis is probably the ¡°younger brother¡¯s standing in the family¡±.

    Seeing Suuankou like this, Lin Yiyi softened her heart.

    She sighed, ¡°You go ahead and enter the nightmare first. Just in case, don¡¯t enter the nightmare when your erosion rate is approaching 80. I will be your substitute. If I haven¡¯t cleared the dungeon at an 80 erosion rate, we will have Jiu Er take over.

    ¡°If we enter the nightmare dungeon instance together, it will waste too much respawn count. It is better to enter separately, so we have three times the chance of trying.¡±

    Suuankou muttered, ¡°Are you sure the calction works that way?¡±

    However, Suuankou still shook his head, drank the iced fruit tea in his hand, and stuffed a few pastries into his mouth.

    He had even snatched a piece of golden msses cake from Jiu Er¡¯s hand and stuffed it into his mouth, gulping it down along with his freshly chilled mead.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Jiu Er immediately smacked the table with a displeased face, shaking the room for a while, ¡°Take what¡¯s on your te!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s on other¡¯s tes is more savory¡ª¡± Seeing Jiu Er¡¯s current displeasure afterughing at him just now, Suuankou felt relieved immediately.

    However, he spoke righteously without scruples, ¡°I am nourishing my brain. Since I have to work in my dream for a while, what if I am hungry and unable to think in the nightmare?¡±

    ¡°Then, what if you can¡¯t make it to the end?¡± Jiu Er narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°Little Brother¡­ May I interest you in a bet? I don¡¯t want to bully you either, so how about 50 push-ups? Just treat it as a physical exercise for you.¡±

    Seeing the Rich Loli Sister, a head and a half shorter than him, showing a malicious smile, Suuankou knew he should stop.

    He could manage 50 push-ups.

    ¡ªHowever, ording to the paradox proposed by a not-so-famous philosopher, Zhang Wuji¡¯s mother, Yin Susu [1]¡­ A woman¡­ a youngdy¡­ or rather a girl (Jiu Er) with such a good look must be good at lying.

    [TN: Author is citing the ssic story.]

    What¡¯s more? Suuankou did not know whether he could live through this nightmare or not.

    In this regard, he and his sister had simr views: Even if it were a deadlock, they would not just sit still and wait.

    It was not that he had the power to raise his spirits or decide victory and defeat in a desperate situation. The current situation was far from that caliber.

    It was just that the ¡°promotional video¡± that Suuankou had watched not long ago shed in his mind.

    ¡ªIn the pitch-ck hell, Annan climbed up from the abyss again and again with bloody hands and light in his eyes.

    At that time, Annan was just an ordinary person.

    He was not a game master nor a recognized gaming expert either.

    However, Suuankou had an inexplicable feeling. It was a little regrettable that only Annan was so prominent in performance.

    We can¡¯t achieve such incredible things, and we can disy our persistence in that level of danger. However, in the dungeon instance with countless ¡°opportunities¡±, we can always try a couple more times, right?

    As for the increase in erosion rate due to death, isn¡¯t it because I am weak?

    If I be stronger, I won¡¯t die, right?

    The more Suuankou failed, the more he felt like a fire gradually bloomed in his heart.

    But this statement was too embarrassing and too geeky. He dared not tell others.

    Although he felt bright in his heart, he still yelled indistinctly, ¡°If I don¡¯t clear the dungeon, it¡¯s because of Benzema!¡±

    He contained the sudden thrill in his heart, grabbed a rope, and rushed into his room.

    Jiu Er was taken aback when she heard this.

    She thought hard for a while, then looked back at Lin Yiyi in a daze, ¡°Who is Benzema?¡±

    Lin Yiyi was silent for a while and guessed, ¡°I guess¡­ it¡¯s a poor devil.¡±

    She looked at Suuankou, who was going away with some worry and expectation. Then, she shouted, ¡°Remember to turn on the live stream!¡±

    ¡°Ao!¡± There came a muffled reply from the room.

    ¡°Ai¡­¡± Lin Yiyi sighed softly.

    Jiu Er and Suuankou were not close to each other.

    However, Lin Yiyi was Suuankou¡¯s elder sister.

    How could she not tell that Suuankou was feeling restless?

    That¡¯s because¡­

    Lin Yiyi reached out her right hand and gently touched her corbone. She slowly stroked her chest downward as if it was a relief from overeating.

    Restlessness also surged in her heart.

    Lin Erer was the younger brother, and she was the older sister. Although Lin Yiyi¡¯s grades were excellent, she had an extended family dispute when she graduated from a prestigious school and became a content creator. The trolls, peers, and rumormongers on the Inte also gave her a lot of headaches.

    No industry came perfectly clean.

    Compared with ¡°Suuankou¡±, who had not stepped into the society, the ¡°light to pursue an ideal¡± in Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart had long been extinguished.

    Dream, freedom, and fantasy¡­ Everything was just a job. It was just that this job was more to her liking, and it was not so conflicting and tiring to do it.

    But now¡ª

    The feeling felt real.

    It probably started since the zing ck Tower saga¡­ or rather, from seeing that promo video. Lin Yiyi felt that the ¡°light¡± in her heart seemed to hatch again.

    Is that my vision?

    Is that my dream?

    Or is it determination?

    Or perhaps aspiration? Ambition?

    In short, Lin Yiyi wanted to go higher and further.

    This zing fire in her heart and the enthusiasm that had been extinguished for a long time might be a gift to her from this world.

    ¡ªYes.

    The adventures of these ¡°yers¡± in this world were not without reward.

    For now, they had gained ¡°hope.¡±

    No matter what, they would never be listless orzy but always have a ¡°hopeful heart¡± that drives them forward with determination and never gives up.

    The light that burned in the heart.

    Lin Yiyi was a little uneasy about this feeling.

    But honestly, it did not feel bad. It was as if she had be an adventurer, a hero.

    She understood what Suuankou was thinking and worried about.

    But wasn¡¯t she the same?

    So she could not fall into panic.

    That was because she was the elder sister.

    If she panicked and started to feel restless, what would her brother do?

    Who could he count on?

    In fact, Lin Yiyi was his younger brother¡¯s goal and the direction he was striving forward, whether from his past studies or his current career.

    In the current state, Lin Yiyi had a goal, epting the light in her heart. So, she started to change herself.

    This unyielding heart was indeed like Lin Yiyi. But ording to Lin Yiyi¡¯s understanding of him, her brother was azy person. He even had a sense of inferiority and was shy.

    When he met Jiu Er for the first time, he did not even dare to strike up a conversation, and he did not dare to speak when eating, seemingly cautious.

    This was also understandable. After all, Jiu Er was a wealthy youngdy with more than one vi in the Mountain She vi area. Rumors said that her family sells cars.

    How manypanies could sell cars in Shanghai City?

    He dared not to guess and dared not to ask.

    But now, he gradually dared to joke with Jiu Er and progressively became more confident around her. The self-confidence was not annoying. On the contrary, there was a hint of brilliance in his eyes.

    This was undoubtedly a positive change.

    Lin Yiyi nced at Jiu Er.

    Jiu Er did the same.

    Compared with the unconfident, shy, and soft dumpling Lin Yiyi saw at the beginning, Jiu Er¡¯s aura gradually strengthened.

    ¡°Since everyone works so hard, I have to work harder.¡± Lin Yiyi murmured. A sense of determination rose in her eyes.

    She also gradually made up her mind.

    Maybe I should try to ept the ¡°light¡± in my heart.

    She also had some anticipation for it.

    What changes will it bring to her¡­

 Chapter 499: Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill

    <h4>Chapter 499: Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill</h4>

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated¡­]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has a unique property: Spider Web, Fantasy]

    [After dying in this dungeon instance, you will not be kicked out of the dungeon.]

    [This dungeon instance will not mutate.]

    [This dungeon instance will change differently when different people enter it.]

    [This dungeon instance will change upon each new entry.]

    [The dungeon instance difficulty is set as distorted.]

    [This dungeon instance has a total of 12 save points. Each death increases the erosion rate by 1%.]

    [This dungeon instance does not provide a plot introduction but has decryption rewards.]

    [The dungeon instance has finished loading.]

    Suuankou gradually opened his eyes.

    With the further improvement in his Agility attribute, the sense of vertigo every time Suuankou entered a nightmare gradually ceased to affect him.

    After the dizziness gradually dissipated, Suuankou realized that he had appeared in a forest outside the city.

    The trees in the underground world looked weird. Under the light shining down from the dome walls, the twisted and deformed trees had no leaves but were covered with damp moss. They mimicked the appearance of monsters with wooden skins.

    Suuankou was in the middle of this ¡°forest¡±.

    There was a path beneath his feet, winding its way into the forest¡¯s depths.

    A young girl¡¯s soft voice could be heard from the 4 o¡¯clock direction in Suuankou¡¯s ears.

    ¡°The bystander is no different from the perpetrator. Both should be scorned.¡±

    Then, a reminder of the side mission appeared in front of Suuankou.

    [Enter Sporeggar Mill.]

    At this time, bullet texts shed in front of his eyes.

    The yers gloated and clicked into the stream when they again saw someone challenging [Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill].

    The deceptive and misleading dungeon was not friendly to those who challenged it but was undoubtedly joyful to those who spectated it.

    ¡°¡ªAh! Brother Koutsu, what a rare customer!¡±

    ¡°¡ªDidn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re obnoxious with this? Has your baby been born now?¡±

    [TN: It¡¯s an analogy to mock someone in Chinese culture, hinting that Brother Koutsu has been stuck with this nightmare so long that his son was born.]

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m open for business. Will Brother Koutsu die 18 times today? The bet will be Chaoshan Beef Hot Pot! I¡¯m activating the betting table in the forum. Come check it out if you¡¯re free!¡±

    [TN: Chaosan [1] is a location, possibly referring to a cooking style.]

    What the hell! Fuck you!

    If it weren¡¯t for my inability to participate in the betting table, I would maneuver the results in my favor!

    Suuankou murmured in his heart but did not stop his advancing pace.

    Instead of walking forward, he turned around without looking back.

    Anyway, he was somewhat familiar with it after dying so many times.

    Of course, he had memorized the starting part of advancing in the dungeon.

    *Breathing out* ¡°¡­ha¡­ ha¡­ ha¡­¡±

    The sound of heavy breathing and the tter of boots onto the wet mud gradually became clearer in front of Suuankou.

    Suuankou was unfazed. He just walked forward silently.

    Before the man came into Suuankou¡¯s field of vision, he slipped and fell heavily on the mud.

    Suuankou took two steps forward and saw a dark-skinned man in old leather armor with gray sideburns fall to the ground. His hands were dirty when he fell to the ground.

    ¡°Jo¡­ Job?¡±

    After seeing Suuankou, the messenger looked up in surprise with a hint of joy on his face, ¡°Come here, give me a hand. I¡¯m exhausted.¡±

    So Suuankou walked over indifferently.

    ¡°¡ªYeah, our Brother Messenger fell to the ground again.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBrother Messenger fell before taking many steps this time.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis is called respecting the old and loving the young, and let the eldest brother take two steps less.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHe is probably the Diving [2] Champion.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s okay. Brother Koutsu did not stand still and wait for the messenger toe.¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt can¡¯t be helped. The messenger runs slower than Brother Koutsu walking.¡±

    The bullet texts mocked in unison.

    After all, Suuankou had died so many times, which meant that the spectators also witnessed it an equal amount of times.

    The yers were arrogant on the first day because they did not know how challenging the dungeon was and did not turn on the live-streaming feature.

    But after the three yers kept dying all night long, they realized that this dungeon instance wasplex. Then, they entered the dungeon with the live broadcast switched on.

    The other yers had also watched the process for a long time and had already memorized the process for the first segment.

    They naturally knew that they would not encounter this messenger if they walked straight forward when they first entered the nightmare.

    The challenger had to stand still and wait for three minutes before the messenger rushed over from behind, panting.

    But no matter what time or ce the dungeon challenger encountered the messenger, the messenger was bound to fall down in the challenger¡¯s sight.

    Afterward, the messenger would reach out and ask the yer to pull him up.

    There were even several death gs hidden here.

    [Death g: Sequence that leads to death.]

    If the dungeon challenger went straight forward, he would arrive in the ¡°Maze Forest¡± without a clear knowledge of direction. The ferocious underground beasts would attack those who strayed in the wrong direction.

    Only by holding the token of the messenger could the dungeon challenger see through the illusion and find the actual path.

    If the challenger went with the messenger, the challenger would indeed find the way. But in the next trap room, both would be wiped out due to the increased weight.

    If the dungeon challenger pulled up the messenger at this time, it would also be a death g.

    In this nightmare, the dungeon challenger¡¯s hands were ¡°bound to be dirtied¡±.

    ording to Suuankou¡¯s current conjecture, the messenger had to be killed outside the Maze Forest.

    As for the way to do it¡­

    Suuankou had a dagger in hand, as well as a gun. But he did not have spare gunpowder and bullets on hand.

    If the dungeon challenger attacked the messenger with a dagger, the opponent would resist fiercely. Duringbat, the challenger would easily have their hands stained with blood. Also, if the challenger were pushed to the ground, that would be a guaranteed death.

    At present, there seems to be only one solution at the start.

    Suuankou stopped about three or four steps away from the messenger and killed the messenger on the spot with a precise gunshot.

    After the messenger gradually stopped breathing, Suuankou turned him over with his feet. Reaching his hand carefully, he took a withered yellow leaf sandwiched between two ss tes from the victim¡¯s pocket.

    It looked like some kind of specimen.

    When he touched the leaf specimen, Suuankou saw two rows of data:

    [Withered Leaf]

    [¡ªIt is the token of the trees, often leading those who lost.]

    Immediately afterward, the world before Suuankou seemed to be more colorful.

    To be more precise, it resembled the vibe of ¡°having the color contrast rising in a software¡±.

    A white arrow appeared on the ground, pointing forward.

    Only then did Suuankou move forward.

    No bullets were left in the gun, and there seemed to be no chance of picking up bullets afterward. But anyway, Suuankou decided to bring the gun along first.

    Worsees to worst, it¡¯s better than an iron baton.

    Soon, Suuankou walked into the dark forest.

    The traces made by human footsteps had also disappeared. There was no sunlight in the underground world, and it was impossible to determine the direction through shadows.

    However, Suuankou could still see the white arrow appear on the ground, pointing firmly in the correct direction.

    When Suuankou walked in this direction, some trees in the distance gradually faded with his steps. When he walked over, a path revealed whereby it was not there previously.

    Those who did not follow this direction would inevitably die.

    Thebat power of those ferocious beasts did not matter. As long as the challenger had their hands stained in blood or mud while fighting the beats or fleeing for his life, it tranted to ¡°them still staying alive, but are already considered dead.¡±

    ¡ªPlease kill yourself and restart again.

 Chapter 500: Suuankouâ€™s Adventure In The Wonderland

    <h4>Chapter 500: Suuankou¡¯s Adventure In The Wondend</h4>

    Suuankou walked in the designated direction for about 15 minutes and finally exited the ¡°roadless¡± forest.

    ¡°¡ªIn theory, you can just memorize the path, right?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYeah, you don¡¯t have to kill Brother Messenger if you can ovee the Maze Forest by memorizing the set path.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen why don¡¯t you proceed with Brother Messenger? Anyway, you will die in the floor segment.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s true¡­¡± The yers were still discussing.

    However, Suuankou gradually began to concentrate.

    That was because he realized that this dungeon instance had already officially started.

    Suuankou walked a few steps forward from the main road.

    Then, three paths appeared in front of him. It did not look like a forked road that came about because of people threading it. Instead, they were more like a crooked trident-like road drawn by the child.

    The road fork diverged into one straight path and two symmetrical U-shaped paths.

    A faceless gentleman, holding a cane, was standing before the junction.

    He raised his head and looked at Suuankou.

    ¡ªThis gentleman¡¯s drawing style was like the familiar in the Magic Girl Madoka¡¯s [1] world.

    Suuankouined in his heart.

    The man had no facial features¡ªthat was not to say that his face was as smooth as a duck¡¯s egg.

    Rather, it was the opposite.

    The faceless gentleman had marks of various colors of crayons painted on his face. It was like a child¡¯s drawing, where they lose patience halfway through and start scribbling randomly, resulting in a messy ¡®egg''¡±

    So maybe the man could also be called the ¡°egg-faced gentleman¡±.

    ¡°Sir,¡± the egg-faced gentleman said, ¡°There is no turning back from here onward.¡±

    Although Suuankou already knew the answer to this dialogue, this dialogue functioned as a trigger that he could not afford to omit.

    This was a critical part of the selection process. Every time the dungeon challenger came to this location, the ¡°level¡± he could choose varied.

    Therefore, Suuankou respectfully asked the egg-faced gentleman, ¡°So, where should I go?¡±

    The egg-faced gentleman asked, ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know either,¡± Suuankou replied honestly.

    He had no idea.

    ¡°In that case.¡± The egg-faced gentleman replied slowly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where you go.¡±

    ¡°Where do these three roads lead?¡±

    ¡°This path,¡± the egg-faced gentleman raised his left hand, ¡°leads to the ball. And here,¡± he raised his right hand, ¡°to the candy house. And behind me, that is Mr. Bear¡¯s Home. So go wherever you like, but remember never to turn back.¡±

    Fuck¡­

    Suuankou had a hard time resisting the urge to cuss.

    Why is it so difficult this time?

    The bullet text suddenly made a fuss:

    ¡°¡ªGo to the ball!¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo, no, no, it¡¯s time to go to the candy house. You did not bring along the messenger this time, so maybe you can progress further.¡±

    Some yers had never watched the live broadcast about this nightmare before. Only now did they recognize the source of thisment:

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s the Cheshire Cat.¡±

    ¡°¡ªSuuankou¡¯s Adventures In the Wondend [2]? Ew, don¡¯t disgust me.¡±

    ¡ªAh, begging for the bullet text system to enforce real-name registration.

    Suuankou nced at the bullet text nkly, and this idea came to his mind.

    This time, it was a hell of a start.

    He had been to the ball and the candy house.

    Undoubtedly, the ball was no longer his option because some massive stone statues were dancing inside. They kept spinning back and forth in the middle of the dance floor. Suuankou went there four times. Before he even figured out what he should do, the stone statues crushed him to death.

    He could only judge that these stone statues seemed to be chasing him. It was just that their behavioral rules were different.

    Some stone statues chased Suuankou along the shortest distance; some statues aimed for the position where he would arrive after 10 seconds; some statues targeted the position where he passed through 5 seconds ago; some statues patrolled on a fixed route until they got closer to him.

    There seemed to be only one unique solution to this challenge.

    However, there was no safe zone once he entered the dance floor.

    Although Suuankou could solve it, he was chased by a group of six-meter-high stone statues. His nervous brain was in a mess, and he could not think properly ¡ª hecked a clear idea of what to do next.

    What exactly am I looking for?

    Is my goal to find the exit?

    Or am I required to survive there for a designated time period?

    All of these remain unknown.

    I should have Sister Jiu Er challenge this.

    The kind people are blessed with good luck.

    Suuankou thought in his heart.

    As for the candy house, it was simply a trap house.

    It was also the reason why he wanted to kill the messenger. The messenger would choose the path instead of him.

    If Suuankou did not possess the token, then he would not be able to see this ¡°egg-faced gentleman¡± at all. Only one of the three roads that faced forward would be revealed.

    If the candy house were an option, the messenger would choose the candy house.

    However, that so-called ¡°candy house¡± was simply a trap house.

    The entrance corridor was installed with an illusion floor. Some floors only revealed a bit of transparency. If the dungeon challenger identally stepped on it, he would fall and die.

    The first room ahead was the heating room.

    The key was hidden under a massive pile of cakes, and the temperature in the room continued to rise. The challenger would be roasted alive if he could not find the key.

    Next up was the candy slide. It was a roller coaster-like slide with no handrails. If the challenger did not clean his hands in the previous level, he would be thrown out directly into the massive cauldron of boiling sugar.

    The next level was the biscuit room. That was to say, the room with no survival. The ceiling would fall in response to the weight in the room. If there were only one person, it would descend halfway through. However, the ceiling would drop to the floor if there were two people. But, the door to the next level was about three-fifths of the height.

    Here the person must give up all the weight on his body before he could barely enter the next level.

    After that was a ¡°single-nk bridge¡± that looked like a variety show. The single-nk bridge was made of a stick-shaped biscuit that shatters when stepped on. Also, hot syrup was gushing out from the cannons on both sides.

    Anyway, Suuankou had not passed this level yet.

    He did not know what the next level was.

    All he knew was that this was a nightmare of a child¡¯s prank.

    Adults were generally not that obsessive at ying tricks.

    So far, Suuankou had not even seen ¡°the Mill.¡±

    He would die over and over again fanatically at the road fork, which was the second save point of this nightmare.

    The only person who had seen the mill was Jiu Er.

    That time, Jiu Er died from touching the toy of the miller¡¯s daughter with her hands that had been soiled.

    By the way, she died another time after touching a toy with bloody hands.

    Indeed, she died twice in the same spot.

    However, Suuankou had not forgotten his main mission ¡ª checking up on the traps with his life.

    So this time, let¡¯s choose a ce I have yet to go¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m going forward,¡± Suuankou replied.

    At the next moment, the egg-faced gentleman disappeared. The trails on the left and right sides vanished along as well.

    It was as if everything that had happened previously was just an illusion.

 Chapter 501: Breaking the Habitual Thinking Pattern!

    <h4>Chapter 501: Breaking the Habitual Thinking Pattern!</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s stillcking.¡±

    Watching this scene, the corners of Annan¡¯s mouth raised silently.

    Suuankou still has not noticed what the ¡°Sporeggar Mill¡± nightmare foreshadows.

    This may also be a w from the yer¡¯s perspective.

    They still need more experience and training.

    They only think about how to ovee the dungeon¡¯s level, not how the dungeon level came about.

    The nightmare was the projection of history and the manifestation of obsession.

    Those nightmares were almost ¡°real-time,¡± indicating that the deceased¡¯s obsession was the event itself. The more abstract the nightmare, the more it indicated that the other party was not clear about the nature of his obsession, nor could he tell what he was concerned about.

    It was even more so with the children¡¯s nature.

    This nightmare filled with childlike innocence must have some sort of mysterious metaphor.

    It was not entirely clear why a distorted nightmare came about after a child¡¯s death. However, Annan thought of Elle, whom he had met a while ago, and the ball that Elle gave birth to. He had a hunch that the current nightmare was not a particrly iprehensible situation.

    It was most likely that a deity was involved.

    After tracing the details of this nightmare, Annan noticed something difficult to realize from the perspective of a ¡°yer¡±.

    For example, the exit point of this dungeon instance.

    That egg-faced Cheshire Cat in a gentleman figure once said, ¡°There¡¯s no going back from here¡± and ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where you go¡±.

    That was actually a hint.

    If the dungeon challenger chose to turn around in the road fork, he could leave this dungeon instance.

    That was because it was actually not three paths avable to the dungeon challenger, but four paths.

    yers¡¯ impression bias made them ignore the ¡°path where they came from¡± as they encountered the egg-faced figure, which was also the path already under their feet. They would think that if they went back the same way, they would only go back to the Maze Forest.

    But, if the yers chose to go back when they encountered the egg-faced figure, they could log out of the dungeon instance.

    ¡ªThis logout point was what Suuankou realized.

    But at that time, he did not actually want to exit.

    ording to Annan¡¯s analysis, Suuankou should have been thinking, ¡°since the messenger came from behind once, why can¡¯t there be a second time for a messenger to appear?¡±

    In other words, ¡°If you go back, will there be a second messenger¡±, or ¡°Can the dead messenger sequence be refreshed?¡±

    If that was possible, it indicated that the ¡°candy house¡± was indeed the path to the correct solution. So Suuankou had to pass the candy house no matter how much experience he had.

    In the end, he did not expect that not only did he not meet the second messenger when he turned back this time. On the contrary, he had been following this road on and on, and there was no end to it. When Suuankou subconsciously turned around, he was kicked out of the nightmare.

    This incident was a valid reference to make further inferences.

    It meant that in this ¡°reticent¡± nightmare, any words that could be heard were most likely to be some kind of clues.

    The destinations of these three roads should be the same.

    That was why the egg-faced gentleman said, ¡°Go wherever you like¡±.

    But these three paths were still different.

    For example, Jiu Er arrived at the mill twice through the ¡°magic forest¡± level. It was also considered the easiest level among the three dungeon challengers currently.

    There were many strange-shaped mushrooms in the forest. Of course, there were some poisonous mushrooms. The dungeon challenger had to pick up any three mushrooms to make a pot of mushroom soup, and he could reach the mill.

    The proportion of poisonous mushrooms was not high.

    Jiu Er was not from the Wild Fungus Province, but she just chose based on her intuition and had not been poisoned. Even on the second time, a ¡°Quick Mushroom¡± buff was granted to her, which temporarily increased her Agility by 5 points.

    If Annan guessed correctly, these three roads would affect only the initial ¡°items¡±. In other words, it was the initial state when entering ¡°Sporeggar Mill¡±.

    In other words, the Magic Forest was not about ¡°oveing it without getting poisoned¡±. Instead, it was about ¡°receiving positive buffs¡±.

    Then, other levels must also carry the same importance.

    For example, the candy house.

    The messenger would only pick the candy house, and the house was guaranteed to be there when the messenger was alive. Moreover, the candy house¡¯s first and second levels were ¡°more efficient to ovee after having apanion¡±. The fourth and fifth levels were levels where ¡°the dungeon challenger would die if he had apanion¡±.

    That meant the answer to the candy house was panion¡±.

    So Annan deduced that bringing the ¡°messenger¡± to Sporeggar Mill itself was a reward granted by the candy house route!

    But how could the yers get through the levels with the messenger apanying them?

    If the two move forward together, they would be unable to stop when they reach the level of the torrent without a handrail; they would be thrown into the weight-sensitive room simultaneously, and then the ceiling would fall and smash them into a pulp.

    However, what if one of them chose to stay for a while during the second level ¨C the heating room?

    In fact, the heating room was the only level that was not fatal.

    There was the trap on the first level, the sugar pot on the third level, the ceiling on the fourth level, and the bottomless abyss on the fifth level. However, only the heating room on the second level inflicted continuous damage.

    They must have been in a hurry when they got the keys and left. They scrambled to leave the heating room without thinking that the correct solution was ¡°having one of them not leaving¡±.

    One person had to leave first, strip off their equipment, enter the torrent and rush directly into the weight-sensing room. With that done, he could pass through the weight induction room as quickly as possible.

    The other person could enter the third level when they reached their limit. When he reached the fourth level, the other person had already reached the fifth level. The weight-sensing room would not be triggered when the two people were not in the same room simultaneously.

    All in all, the trap capitalized on habitual thinking patterns.

    This was the typical approach of an escape game.

    After passing the third and fourth levels, which could ¡°only be ovee when the duo separate¡±, the person left behind would surely die if the person who left first could not wait.

    The ¡°single-nk bridge¡± would copse five seconds after being stepped on.

    The time set was fixed, and the duration was mind-boggling.

    The single-nk bridge was only about two or three meters long. So in terms of the length of the single-nk bridge, five seconds were more than enough.

    Suuankou believed this was a rule established to prevent yers from ¡°climbing on the single-nk bridge and moving bit by bit slowly¡±.

    However, it was actually because the ¡°five seconds¡± were designated for [two people].

    After all, a brother and sister duo had entered the ¡°candy house¡± together in the original fairy tale.

    ¡°So, what is this room?¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    He watched Suuankou arrive from the end of the road into a tall, rough, and even somewhat abstract ¡°house¡±.

    The house was like a kindergartener¡¯s doodling.

    There were square windows and an angr roof. The warm-colored walls that could still be kept clean in the forest, and the red wooden door without any decoration.

    Suuankou stepped forward cautiously.

    He pushed the door lightly and found that the door was not closed tightly. After a gentle push, he opened the door directly.

    Annan stumbled into deep thoughts after watching this scene.

    Speaking of which, what¡¯s the story of the three little bears again?

 Chapter 502: Master Newton, Wake Up!

    <h4>Chapter 502: Master Newton, Wake Up!</h4>

    ¡°Anyone there?¡± Suuankou gently pushed the door open and shouted, ¡°Can Ie in?¡±

    However, there was no response.

    From the outside, the house looked massive. However, it was so simple that everything felt abstract. After Suuankou opened the door, it seemed huge and real immediately.

    To put it into words, it was like a country house being erged four-folds.

    It looked like a giant¡¯s home.

    Suuankou stepped cautiously into the front porch.

    The floor was made up of dark red wooden nks that creaked when stepped on.

    The lighting in the room was dim.

    The light source was not Green Fire but a crystal chandelier made of light ants. The ceiling was pitch ck, and the room was not brightly lit. Instead, the brightness resembled a dimly-lit ¡°bedsidemp¡±.

    The corridor by the front door alone was more than ten meters long.

    As Suuankou threaded one step at a time slowly to the end, he saw a living room.

    There was a massive table with a height of 2.5 meters.

    Suuankou even wondered if he had been shrunk.

    He could not even see what was on the table. Since the light source was rtively dim, even the shadow of what was on the table was not cast.

    Three chairs surrounded the table.

    The shortest chair was also thergest. It looked like a slightly higher bed that even Suuankou could climb on.

    The second shortest chair had an unusually soft seat that looked like jelly. Before Suuankou touched it, it was already bouncing left and right.

    It looked like if he jumped on it, the chair might fall to the ground, or he would bounce to the ceiling.

    He could reach the table after jumping to the highest chair.

    ¡°Is it a tform game [1] this time?¡± Suuankou sighed deeply.

    He felt like his first death in this dungeon instance was approaching.

    He climbed onto the hard and thick ¡°bed¡±.

    His uing destination was quite far away from him, which was about 3 meters in length and 0.5 meters higher.

    But considering he couldtch on to the edge, it did not seem too challenging.

    Thus, Suuankou retreated a couple of steps on the hard bed before leaping into the air.

    He barely reached the second chair; it was a near miss.

    Instead, his calf hit the edge of the chair, and he knelt on it.

    However, Suuankou did not feel any pain in his knee.

    Instead, the second chair was as soft as a spring. It bent almost into a downward U shape along Suuankou¡¯snding momentum.

    It was like a pitcher throwing a baseball.

    Suuankou felt a massive forceing from under him.

    The soft seat under him suddenly bounced back to its original shape.

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Suuankou eximed.

    He did not even have time to react and was knocked into the air instantly in an unrealistic manner.

    Then, there came a crisp collision. Suuankou was stuck to the ceiling.

    The severe pain made his mind go nk. It was onlyter that he realized that many sharp objects had stabbed into his chest, and blood was dripping down.

    ¡ªAbove the chandelier made of light ants¡¯ secretions were many fang-like metal spikes hidden in the dark ceiling.

    Suuankou was thrown into a trance.

    Then, he found himself standing at the door of the house again.

    As his health points were fully restored, his erosion rate increased by one again.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Suuankou couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°I did not expect that to happen.¡±

    That had gone beyond ¡°logical bouncing force¡±!

    ¡ªMaster Newton, wake up!

    After witnessing such a ridiculous way to die, the spectating yersughed themselves silly.

    ¡°¡ªThe chair wouldin: No, sir, he made a move first.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI never imagined Brother Koutsu would crash his head on a chair and die today.¡±

    ¡°¡ªChair: Abba Abba Abba.¡±

    [TN: An inte meme among the Chinesemunity mimicking the silly response of a baby.]

    ¡°¡ªBrother Koutsu, next time you have to jump out of the car!¡±

    [TN: A meme picture jumping off a car [2].]

    ¡­

    Even after seeing the bullet text that ridiculed and mocked him sh past his eyes, Suuankou still felt peaceful in his heart.

    He realized he had gradually gotten used to it.

    It was like how he used to feel when ying those tformer games.

    The more he died, the more he got used to it.

    So, why didn¡¯t some yers stream?

    Their goal was to avoid this situation!

    Because when it was time to fail, it was bound to happen.

    But as long as the yer did not turn on the live broadcast, no one couldugh at them!

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I have fully mastered the knack of this dungeon instance.¡± Suuankou murmured to himself in a deep voice and pushed open the door.

    His previous death was notpletely worthless.

    When Suuankou flew to the highest point, he seemed to see three bowls of soup on the table.

    The bowls offered a bad vibe.

    Thergest bowl contained bone broth.

    The secondrgest bowl contained scrappy soup.

    The smallest bowl had a meat broth.

    The smallest bowl was about the same size as a standardrge portion in the market. The medium bowl was already the size of a basin, and therge bowl was at the level of a pot. Worse still, it was therge pot typically used in restaurants, not the standard wok at home.

    ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s actually ¡®medium¡¯, rge¡¯, and ¡®extrarge¡¯!¡± Suuankou could not help butin.

    It was just that Suuankou saw the shape of the ¡°skull¡± in thergest bowl, which made him uneasy.

    If he had guessed correctly, this level was about choosing between the three options. He had to drink the soup in one of the bowls to pass the level. Two of the bowls were supposed to be death traps.

    ¡°¡ªI remember it now. I¡¯ve read this in the fairy tale!

    ¡°¡ªRemember to drink the smallest bowl of soup and sleep on the smallest bed!¡±

    Finally, a Walkthrough Guide Brethren spoke in the bullet text.

    This time, it was neither Annan nor Longjing Tea who spoke.

    On the contrary, the two of them did have childhood experiences with fairy tales. Apart from fairy tales like Alice¡¯s Adventures in Wondend and Candy House, Annan had no memories of the Three Little Bears¡¯ fairy tale.

    However, Annan could find out who spoke up.

    As Annan nced at the backend interface, his expression became a little weird.

    Unexpectedly, the brethren who offered a guide was Citalopram.

    Could it be that she told Jiu Er this fairy tale before?

    Knowing that there was no one in the room this time, Suuankou walked less cautiously.

    He hurried back to the living room and went to bed skillfully.

    After sprinting a little to boost his jump, Suuankounded steadily on the second chair.

    ¡°Awesome!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but exim tremblingly.

    The second chair bounced the next moment, pinning him to the ceiling.

    Suuankou returned to the door of the house again.

    ¡°Okay, I get it now. Trust me, this time. You can¡¯t stop in the middle, but you must jump continuously.¡± Suuankou cheered up and went back to the first bed again.

    Sprinting a couple of steps forward, he leaped onto the second chair. Without the slightest pause, he jumped again. The momentum from the second chair enabled him tond easily on the third chair.

    That was also the tallest and smallest chair.

    It appeared like a potato being stuck on three bamboo poles.

    In the current state, Suuankou could already see the desktop.

    Even the smallest bowl was within reach.

    ¡°Hu.¡± Suuankou breathed a sigh of relief in the end.

    He slowly sat down on the chair and subconsciously reached out to prop his elbows on the table.

    However, at this moment, he suddenly heard a crisp ¡°snap¡± from the chair.

    The chair had cracked.

    Suuankou grabbed the table subconsciously. Then, the table, together with the dishes on it, fell backward with Suuankou.

    His vision went dark again, and he returned to the room¡¯s door.

    ¡°Fuck, am I the Witcher [3]? How can a chair two meters high drop me to death?¡± Suuankou blurted out.

    ¡°So, I have to get on the table in the end?

    ¡°Seeing how things unfolded, do I have to run to the middle of the table, or will the table still fall?

    ¡°Is this [Geralt: Death Comes Special DLC]?¡±

    This nightmare was ridiculous.

    It was not as dangerous as the ¡°ballroom¡±, where there was no time to speak, and he was being chased around.

    However, this level was not easy.

    But anyway, he would get closer to the ¡°correct solution¡± every time he died.

    Although he did not say it out, Suuankou always found it pointless to win by luck like Jiu Er.

    Every time Suuankou died, he would grow.

    Then, it was not a loss to sacrifice a life.

    After all, Suuankou was a yer.

 Chapter 503: Three Names

    <h4>Chapter 503: Three Names</h4>

    This time, Suuankou finally jumped onto the table before the chair copsed.

    Although there was no proof yet, he had a premonition that the table might topple if he stood on the table¡¯s edge for too long.

    So, there was not a moment of pause after Suuankou jumped onto the table, whereby he darted to the center of the table immediately.

    He nced over at the three bowls of broth lined up beside him. Hesitation painted his face in the end.

    ¡°To speak the truth, I don¡¯t want to pick any of them,¡± Suuankou muttered.

    But there was no other choice. The dungeon level was designed to have the dungeon challenger pick a bowl amongst the three options without giving him any room for hesitation.

    For the time being, I can only trust the bullet text.

    ¡°Pick the smallest bowl, right? Got it.¡± Suuankou gritted his teeth, picked up the bowl filled with broth, and gulped it down in one go.

    The next moment, a prompt appeared in front of his eyes:

    [Drank the Meat Broth: You drank the broth. Whose meat is it?]

    Unexpectedly, the broth tasted pretty good.

    It was not too hot or cold but at the right temperature.

    ¡°¡ªEvidently, it has been here for so long, but howe the temperature is just right?¡± Suuankou was surprised.

    He touched the other bowls ¡ª the bone broth in therge bowl was still steaming, while the medium bowl was cold.

    Thus, Suuankou¡¯s final choice must also be this bowl of broth, even without the bullet text¡¯s guidance.

    Unless the fact of ¡°drinking more than one bowl of soup¡± was a death g.

    ¡°Then, what should I do?¡± After drinking the broth, Suuankou obediently sat on the table and waited for a while.

    However, he did not get to see the next event being triggered.

    ¡°¡ªYou should go back the way you came, dear.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI think you¡¯re going to heaven again.¡±

    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t stay still. You¡¯re like a dish sitting on the table. Wait any longer, and you will be the next broth.¡±

    ¡°¡ªLittle Bear: I¡¯m missing my broth. Why not take its ce!?¡±

    ¡°You are waiting for nothing!¡±

    Seeing theughter on the bullet text, Suuankou sneered, ¡°I won¡¯t fail in the same trap twice!¡±

    He nced at the tallest, narrowest chair.

    If its durability is based on how long it is used, it will break in a second or two.

    In other words, I just need to wait for it to break!

    If I jump from the shortest chair to a medium-height chair, I will be thrown away by the chair. Likewise, jumping down from a high ce leads to my immediate death too.

    What if I fall directly onto the first chair? Suuankou was also worried that he would be like Geralt [1], who could fall to his death from a height of two meters. Then, he would die as soon as he closed his eyes.

    [TN: Reference to the fall damage in the Witcher game (Geralt ¨C yer¡¯s character) is ridiculous.]

    Suuankou jumped onto the highest chair as soon as he ended his mutter.

    Immediately after, the small chair beneath him began to copse.

    Suuankou did not jump immediately.

    Instead, he jumped when the chair was almost the same height as the middle chair. Then, hended steadily on the second chair. Immediately after, he quicklyunched himself with a slight jump and reached the shortest chair with thergest area.

    Then, hended smoothly.

    ¡°¡ªFucking brilliant!¡±

    ¡°¡ªHow did you do it.jpg.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHis maneuver is worthy to be called the Jumping Technique of Not Knocking Your Head.¡±

    In Suuankou¡¯s typical behavior in streaming, he would have breathed a sigh of relief at this time and then immediately started bragging around to hide his fear.

    However, he just touched his calf with a strange expression.

    It¡¯s strange to say, and I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an illusion.

    He felt that his body seemed to be much stronger.

    Although he shouted, ¡°the same move would not hurt the holy warrior twice¡±, he only expected a 60% to 70% sess rate in his n. He was even mentally prepared to get stuck in this level a couple of times.

    [TN: A Saint Seiya [2] meme.]

    Needless to say, this segment was a challenge.

    However, when Suuankou took the first step, he felt his movements were smooth, precise, and stable.

    It was much more perfect than his transcended body outside this nightmare. It operated like a machine; his muscles were robust and could be manipted freely as he liked.

    To put it in an analogy, the unique property allowed him to stop urately and steadily when running with all his strength to thest step before the cliff, not missing a hair.

    An outstanding level of dancer-like precision.

    Only then did Suuankou notice that a door leading inside had opened.

    ¡°Was there a door here previously?¡± He cautiously asked the bullet text.

    Although the temporary buff after drinking the broth filled Suuankou with inexplicable confidence, he would like to stay cautious when going to new ces to be safe.

    Anyway, the dungeon instance did not have a time limit.

    Soon, Suuankou got the clue he wanted from the bullet text.

    ¡°The door is there already, but the lights here were rtively dim, so you didn¡¯t see it at first.¡±

    Suuankou murmured the bullet text.

    He walked slowly to the room and opened the door.

    Inside was a massive warehouse-like space with three beds.

    The shortest bed was no different from an average person¡¯s bed, while the middle-sized bed already looked like a giant¡¯s bed. The height of that pillow would break the neck. The enormous bed looked like a mountain at first nce.

    ¡°So, I have to sleep on the shortest bed, right?¡± Suuankou walked over and lifted the quilt.

    He was about to mock that ¡°I actually slept in a nightmare¡±.

    However, he found out that there was something inside the quilt.

    There was a tattered puppet bear with its limbs torn off and its belly hollowed out; it huddled under the quilt, looking at Suuankou with a pair of shining green pupils.

    Suuankou was curious if he had mistaken it, but he had a feeling that those were human eyes.

    Just when Suuankou and the puppet bear met each other¡¯s gaze, the puppet bear suddenly spoke, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you a secret¡­ I¡¯m going to tell you a secret!¡±

    It was a sharp shriek, like an eight-year-old girl screaming at the top of her lungs.

    This was also the first voice Suuankou heard beside the egg-faced gentleman.

    ¡°¡ªTell me your name, and I¡¯ll tell you a secret!¡±

    Name?

    Suuankou was taken aback.

    That was certainly not ¡°Suuankou¡±, even less likely to be ¡°Lin Erer¡±.

    [TN: Lin Erer is Suuankou¡¯s real name in the original world; he is Lin Yiyi¡¯s little brother.]

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s [Job].¡± Again, a reliable bullet text was prompted immediately.

    This was the name he heard from the messenger when the dungeon challenger had encountered the ¡°messenger¡±.

    ¡°Job!¡±

    Suuankou immediately replied, ¡°My name is Job.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Uncle Job.¡± A crisp, girly voice came from the tattered puppet bear, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you a secret.¡±

    ¡°It was just a dream ¨C a bad, terrible dream. As long as you wake up from the dream, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Of course, I know this is a dream! Suuankouined in his heart.

    No¡­ wait?

    He suddenly thought of something.

    ¡°So, how do I wake up from this dream?¡± Suuankou asked modestly.

    However, the puppet bear just let out a weirdugh.

    ¡°Give me another name.¡±

    After a long time, it said. ¡°Give me the name of a dead man.

    ¡°The name of the bystander, or the name of the perpetrator, or the name of the long-overdue messenger¡ª¡±

    Needless to say, Suuankou could not answer that question.

    Because he never asked for the messenger¡¯s name at all. He consistently killed him when he first met him.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m fucking stuck again!¡± He cried in despair.

    Who knows that this level actually requires the messenger¡¯s name?

    But at this moment, Suuankou saw a bullet text:

    ¡°¡ªMy silly brother. The messenger¡¯s name is Grover!¡±

    ¡°Grover!¡± So Suuankou shouted without hesitation.

    Hearing the name, the puppet bearughed.

    Sheughed non-stop before speaking out crisply.

    ¡°If you give me another name now, a victim¡¯s name. I¡¯ll tell you the secret of how to be saved.¡± After a while, the little bear made a puzzled and cute voice, ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have it?

    ¡°¡ªThen you can wake up now.¡±

    At the next moment, Suuankou suddenly woke up.

    He sat up abruptly and found a humming mill in front of him.

    At this moment, the mill¡¯s entrance was wide open, and no one was inside.

 Chapter 504: Detective Kou-nan

    <h4>Chapter 504: Detective Kou-nan</h4>

    [TN: Suuan ¡°kou¡± as a pun for Connan [1].]

    Suuankou stood up slowly, silently staring at the scene before him.

    The humming mill looked like the gaping mouth of a monster.

    The surrounding air seemed to stagnate here.

    Obviously, there was no ¡°sun¡± as the primary light source in the underground world. Instead, the crystal wall dome shone for 24 hours, and there was no difference between morning and night.

    However, Suuankou inexplicably felt the air of [Dusk]ing from around him.

    Even though he did not know what the air of [Dusk] was, his intuition was telling him so, warning him urgently.

    ¡ªDon¡¯t go in.

    Fear seemed to have liquified, seeping in through his pores. He felt the blood vessels in his forehead and temples pulsating fanatically due to this inexplicable tension.

    ¡ªI have to flee.

    In a trance, Suuankou felt the air around him be sticky and sweet.

    The world before him instantly turned into a ck-and-red sketch and reverted to its original state immediately after.

    Even the bullet text in front of Suuankou¡¯s eyes disappeared.

    It was like ying a horror game with friends, but the world suddenly fell silent after some walking and came to a critical moment.

    After turning around, the yer would notice the room was empty at some point.

    It was much scarier than ying alone since the beginning!

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Suuankou muttered, ¡°Did I wake up from a dream¡­ or did I enter a dream?¡±

    ¡ªMotherfucker.

    Suuankou¡¯s lips moved slightly. He gritted his teeth hard and cursed silently.

    Then, he gradually sank his face and looked seriously at the mill with its wide open door.

    ¡°Excuse me, is anyone there?¡± Suuankou yelled at the door.

    However, there was no response.

    ¡ªIndeed, there should be no response.

    Suuankou approached the door slowly and entered.

    But the next moment, the door behind him suddenly made a loud ¡°squeak¡± and closed with a m!

    ¡°It¡¯s the same old pattern.¡± Suuankoumented with a calm expression, ¡°I have anticipated that.¡±

    He stopped at the door and looked around.

    There was a peculiar smell in this massive mill. Suuankou tried to identify it, which seemed to be the mushrooms¡¯ smell.

    That¡¯s right.

    This mill was formerly called the ck Mushroom Mill.

    Suuankou learned from Nieusel that the ck mushroom was a strange mushroom unique to the underground world.

    It was a lowly mushroom without needing to care for them. It could survive in dead wood but had to live in a dark environment. Since it appeared entirely ck, it was called a ck mushroom.

    With just a little blood or feces, the mushroom would multiply and upy the growing space of other mushrooms with iparable strength, causing the other mushrooms to die and be nourishment.

    That was right. It was a ¡°fungus that could digest fungi¡±. Therefore, there was no need to look after them at all, and there was no need to worry about the growth of bacteria.

    The value of this mushroom was that after it was dried and ground into powder, it would be a food that was rich in nutrition and could be stored for a long time.

    Its status in the underground world was equivalent to that of wheat.

    The powder produced by ck mushrooms was equivalent to ¡°flour¡±.

    Almost all therger underground cities would have their own ck Mushroom Mill. Its production did not shy away from cities with imports from other cities, even though it was not necessary.

    That was because the cost of ck mushrooms was low, and no cultivation techniques were required.

    ck mushrooms ground into powder without being dried could be produced into new ck mushrooms when sprinkled on rotten wood. The mill¡¯s work was to constantly rece the dead wood, scrape off the grown ck mushrooms, dry and grind the powder. Only two or three people were needed to handle the tasks above.

    The task of ¡°recing wood¡± and ¡°drying ck mushrooms¡± had to be done at the same time; On the other hand, the ¡°grinding¡± task did not require manualbor. Of course, it was not a traditional windmill doing the job but a steam engine.

    The humming could be heard even from outside, which meant the mill was still operating.

    But there was no one in this ce at all.

    Not to mention the sound of conversation, not even the sound of footsteps could be heard.

    ¡°What¡¯s this¡­¡± Suuankou suddenly noticed a sharp detail.

    A shovel was lying upside down by the hall¡¯s corner on the first floor.

    The tip of the shovel was bloodstained, dried, and brownish. On the ground nearby, there were still spots of blood.

    However, Suuankou did not understand the relevant knowledge of forensic science and could not use these details to restore the scene.

    If it was Citalopram, perhaps more details could be found.

    Although Citalopram was a psychiatrist, Suuankou always subconsciously felt that Citalopram had a forensic-like cold air with her.

    To put it into words, it felt like Orochimaru [2].

    He picked up the shovel and assessed it carefully.

    A system prompt appeared in front of him:

    [Bloody Shovel]

    [¡ªIt was once a murder weapon.]

    There was no doubt that people had died here.

    Even though Suuankou did not know who died, he could also guess that this should not be a murder.

    In an underground city with no weapons shortage, no one would murder with a shovel.

    At the same time, however, no one should be entering the ce with a shovel.

    Suuankou¡¯s eyes turned to those bloodstains.

    He took two steps forward, approaching the bloodstain.

    Then, Suuankou suddenly felt an immense sense of fear for no reason when he got closer to the bloodstain.

    The surrounding world adopted a red shade decorated with ck lines.

    In his ears, there was a distorted scream. It was like the rustling sound of a shell being brought close to the ear, mixed with a sharp and piercing voice like a devil:

    ¡°¡ªHurry up, he¡¯s about to wake up! Take out his liver first!¡±

    ¡°¡ªKars,e here. I¡¯ll turn on the machine!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhere is Alice?¡±

    ¡°¡ªShe must be hiding in this mill!¡±

    The next moment, the auditory hallucination ended.

    Suuankou suddenly heard a wailing wind behind him.

    He shuddered immediately!

    A sharp pain came from the back of his head. His eyes widened, but his vision went dark instead.

    Suuankou staggered two steps forward and fell to the ground.

    The blood spilling from the back of his head slowly soaked the ground.

    It was covering, eroding towards dried brown bloodstains.

    Finally, the blood trails outlined identical traces.

    ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Suuankou was startled and sat up on the bed.

    He clutched the back of his head as if he could still feel phantom pains.

    He looked around vigntly and saw the two beds at the first moment.

    He was lying on the bed, still covered with a quilt.

    Little Bear stood by the bed with an OvO smile stitched on his face with ck thread.

    Bullet text appeared before his eyes again:

    ¡°¡ªFuck, that scares me!¡±

    ¡°¡ªJust now, I thought two people woulde out, take out a test tube and feed Brother Koutsu a pill.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI know. This story is called Detective Kou-nan (confirmed).¡±

 Chapter 505: Sporeggar Mill

    <h4>Chapter 505: Sporeggar Mill</h4>

    What happened?

    Suuankou was still a little dazed.

    His mind went nk from that hit.

    The brain stopped abruptly, like a sudden power outage, which also terminated some of his thinking processes. In the end, Suuankou stared nkly at the puppet bear.

    ¡ªand the toy knife in the puppet bear¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Do you have an answer?¡±

    As the expression of the puppet bear changed to -v-, she spoke in a voice like a silver bell again, ¡°If you give me the victim¡¯s name, I will tell you the secret of how to be saved.¡±

    ¡°The victim¡¯s name¡­¡± Suuankou murmured.

    His eyes gradually focused on the toy knife in the hand of the puppet bear.

    Then, he raised his head and looked at the puppet bear.

    He asked softly, ¡°Is that you¡­

    ¡°Alice?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me! Correct answer! Correct answer!¡± The little bear grinned and raised her hands in cheers. ¡°Then, the next step is how to be saved!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the liver~¡± The little bear spoke in a sweet voice, ¡°The antidote to poison is the liver¡­

    ¡°¡ªDo you believe me?¡± She raised the toy knife and chopped Suuankou¡¯s limbs under a few attacks.

    But the strange thing was that no blood spewed out every time the knife fell.

    On the contrary, Suuankou¡¯s torso copsed after each cut.

    After the four cuts, Suuankou¡¯s body had be as tattered as the puppet bear on the bed.

    ¡°¡ª¡± He opened his mouth but could not speak.

    Suuankou¡¯s eyes went dark, and he returned to the ck Mushroom Mill again.

    Two new statuses appeared before his eyes:

    [Broken Limbs: Your limbs have been severed.]

    [Missing liver: Your liver has been stolen.]

    Suuankou felt a sticky sensation on his shoulder.

    He touched it and found a red line appeared on his shoulder.

    It was like a limb that was cut and hastily glued backter.

    Every time he walked, he felt the sensation from his legs gradually fade away. Simrly, Suuankou felt his right hand bing weaker whenever he wanted to pick up something¡ªfor example, reaching out to open the door.

    Suuankou reacted quickly.

    Is this the restriction on the number of steps I can take and the number of times I can investigate around?

    This is also amon approach in a pixted puzzle game.

    For example, the yer has to take something in a room full of mes or walk through a poisonous pool after wearing a pair of ss shoes.

    If there is such a setting, then there is probably a hidden item.

    Do I need to pick a set route?

    But in any case, I can¡¯t waste the steps count avable to me.

    Suuankou thought to himself.

    Judging from the reaction of the previous bullet text, the live stream should not be cut off even when he could not see the bullet text. In other words, he could still fulfill the primary goal of ¡°leaving footage behind¡±.

    Then, what Suuankou had to do was locate the traps.

    Thus, death was nothing to be feared.

    He did not approach the shovel near the corner this time.

    Instead, he came to the stairs.

    Then, he saw several flour sacks piled together.

    Strange mushrooms grew on the top of the highest flour sack in its pile.

    Suuankou had never seen such a mushroom before.

    It appeared in a dark green hue.

    But on a closer look, it looked more like transparent skin with dark green liquid stored inside. The transparent epidermis was like dehydrated, chapped skin in white-like patterns as if it would burst in the next moment.

    ¡°Mushrooms¡­¡± Suuankou whispered thoughtfully.

    Then, he approached the stairs.

    Scattered mushrooms grew on the hollowed-out wooden stairs. It spread upward in a line. Its number was abundant on the nk above the flour sack, and only a few mushrooms appeared intermittently further up.

    It is blood.

    Suuankou soon realized the truth.

    This time, he had restored the scene.

    There was supposed to be someone here who bled profusely after an injury. Then, the person followed the stairs and went up. The blood left behind had strange mushrooms grow out of it for some reason.

    Then, Suuankou walked up the stairs.

    He could have easily jumped over the two steps covered with mushrooms. Even though his limbs were severed, the broth he drank from the Three Bears¡¯ House allowed him to jump up a few steps in this state.

    But after all, not everyone could take the same route as him.

    As a pathfinder, Suuankou did not avoid the mushrooms.

    Instead, he stepped on them directly.

    Those mushrooms produced an awful crackling sound. It was like trampling on a section of intestines, sshing out the dark green liquid.

    However, Suuankou suddenly reacted.

    The ¡°mushroom fragrance¡± I smelled outside the mill is precisely the smell left by this mushroom!

    Without hesitation, he followed the route led by the mushrooms on the ground and walked to the second floor.

    The space on the second floor was much narrower than that on the first floor.

    There was no empty hall but only two residential rooms: a narrow toolroom and a toilet. At the end of the corridor, there was a wooden wall that was hammered open.

    A square slot-shaped opening could be seen below this wooden wall. It appeared to be used for dumping ck mushrooms. Behind the wooden wall was a gear machine buzzing and rotating.

    The gears were roaring.

    Suuankou was about to walk over to check on it.

    He suddenly felt a little itchy in his calf.

    He bent down and scratched it subconsciously.

    But he soon realized something.

    Then, he raised his arm and assessed it carefully.

    After expending an ¡°investigation¡± count, Suuankou realized there were chickenpox spots on his forearm¡¯s skin.

    Is it because I stepped on those mushrooms?

    Or is it because I broke them and I¡¯m [missing a liver]?

    Then, would I not be affected by these mushrooms if I drank the bowl of cold ¡°scrappy soup¡± in the Three Little Bears¡¯ house?

    So, what if I drank bone broth?

    Does that mean ¡°my limbs¡± won¡¯t be severed?

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Suuankou murmured.

    He finally understood.

    The scene in the previous ¡°passage¡± might provide him an ability or a buff that could be used against various traps in the Sporeggar Mill.

    But if the person did not enter the Three Little Bears¡¯ room, he would not have his limbs cut off, right?

    Or perhaps different passages offered varying debuffs.

    Based on the choices in the early stage of the passage level, the state when entering the mill would change.

    Just when Suuankou thought about it, his left arm was visibly swollen.

    The itchy feeling gradually turned into numbness and swelling. He soon lost his sensation on the skin under the blisters.

    ¡°Is there a time limit?¡± Suuankou murmured.

    The next moment, his left arm exploded.

    Then, he respawned again in front of the mill.

    So, I have died again.

 Chapter 506: The Spread of Light

    <h4>Chapter 506: The Spread of Light</h4>

    ¡°What? Their leader is alsoing?¡± Nefertari raised her eyebrows and stopped what she was doing.

    She reached out her hand and pressed a few times on the ritual disc burning with blue-violet mes to extinguish the fire.

    Looking back, the pale-skinned red-haireddy asked her tall childhood friend in surprise, ¡°When? What level of leader?¡±

    In the beautiful me-colored pupils, there was an unceasing me dancing.

    It was the search for endless knowledge or possibly greed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask, but it should be a senior church member,¡± Nieusel replied in a deep voice.

    He shook his head, sat behind Nefertari, and looked at the bookcase in a daze.

    He whispered, ¡°They are indeed the Light¡¯s followers, like you said.¡±

    ¡°What do you see?¡±

    ¡°Light.¡± Nieusel replied, ¡°Unlike us, they have light in their eyes and cannot be lost¡­ Their light seems toe from their hearts.

    ¡°They are young. The oldest is in his early twenties and younger than 30 years old. The boy among them is her blood-rted little brother.¡±

    ¡°Blood-rted little brother?¡± Nefertari froze for a moment.

    She was silent for a moment and replied in a daze, ¡°I remember that the male heir in the world above ground should be the primary heir of the family, right?¡±

    ¡°At the very least, that applies to the Austere-Winter Dukedom. I believe the nobles of the United Kingdom also have this custom.¡±

    Nieusel¡¯s mood was heavy, ¡°Her brother has died in Sporeggar Mill more than 30 times.¡±

    Hearing this, Nefertari¡¯s hand trembled slightly.

    Her lips moved slightly. The word ¡°idiot¡± was stuck in her mouth, but she still could not bear to spit it out.

    She was silent for a while, but she still swallowed the words and put it another way, ¡°It¡¯s their leader who ordered them to go to Sporeggar Mill to purify the nightmare, right?¡±

    Overseer Nieusel nodded.

    Then, he added, ¡°Their leader ising here to purify the nightmare too.

    ¡°I heard from them that there should be a group of backups after that. There are at least a hundred people, all of whom are elites who are proficient in purifying nightmares.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to pay that much.¡±

    ¡°No, they did not ask for money.¡±

    ¡°They did not ask for it, but can I not pay them?!¡±

    Out of the blue, Nefertari shouted irritably, ¡°Whether they want it or not is their business, and whether I give it or not is my business!¡±

    The two of them raised their heads at the same time and looked at each other subconsciously. However, after a brief but unbearable silence, they quickly turned their eyes away.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Nieusel spoke first.

    His voice was gentle and honest, as calm and harmless as his appearance.

    Nefertari sighed deeply and shook her head, ¡°You are not at fault. I was too emotional.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I think, Nieusel. Listen to me. These one hundred people must not havee here to purify Sporeggar Mill.

    ¡°They should be here to spread light into the underground world. The leader wants us, the underground folks who live from the false light, to experience the light that belongs to the ¡®sun¡¯.

    ¡°However, if they purified the Sporeggar Mill nightmare for us, I n to give them a generous gift. Theye to change the fate of our underground people and give their blood and sweat, even without ties or reasons.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what the Wise Council and the Digger Council in other cities will do. However, I want them to firmly believe that when theye here, at least one city will wee them and at least one city will recognize and remember their contributions. Their dedications are not in vain.

    ¡°Those stupid and short-sighted mortals may not understand what they have changed. They don¡¯t care about nightmares and never care about the fate of every underground city in which nightmares have eroded. The space in the underground world is so vast that they no longer cherish them.¡±

    Nefertari stood up, put her hands on her chest, and her voice grew slightly louder, ¡°But I understand what this means! This is a country without deities. Although the underground world is vast, it is not infinite. As nightmares spread everywhere and as our poption increases, we wille to an end one day.

    ¡°But it¡¯s different now!

    ¡°I know what they paid! However, I understand more clearly that all the misfortunes we have experienced have nothing to do with them.¡±

    I even want to join them. Nefertari¡¯s lips moved.

    But she still did not say that out loud.

    She felt sad for her cowardice and her clinging to her survival.

    She could ept her death to seek Truth and ept the ending where she paid her life for her friend¡ªsuch as Nieusel.

    However, for the hundreds of thousands of nightmares that could never be purified in a lifetime, it was like throwing a pebble into the sea if she fought to the death and sacrificed everything.

    They were insignificant sacrifices that would not see the dawn of hope.

    It was even possible that the speed at which she purified nightmares could not keep up with the rate at which nightmares were born. Even if she abandoned her life, her rtives and friends, and the ideals she held since she was a child, she would not be able to produce meaningful results.

    Just thinking about it would terrify her.

    She was not afraid of sacrifice and not afraid of death.

    However, she feared that her sacrifice was meaningless and nothing would change.

    Just thinking about it almost made her cry.

    ¡°I understand, I understand.¡± Nieusel wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes intimately and then said in a gentle voice, ¡°We should not have our heroes¡¯ blood and tears go to vain. Is that what you mean?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I meant.¡± Nefertari obediently stood still.

    After Nieusel handed her the handkerchief, she gently blew her nose.

    Only then she pursed her lips, raised her head, and said seriously to the tall and robust brown-haired Overseer, ¡°Nieusel, our fellow [Digger]. The umtor of wealth, the Protector, the person who pioneered the city¡ª

    ¡°I, the [Wise], Nefertari apply for a fund ording to the ancient rules. It is used to entertain the [Secret Eye]¡¯s leader, build enough houses, purchase sufficient food and drinking water, hire servants, and provide travel expenses and medicines to the followers of the Light until their destination city is willing to pay for it. After the purification of Sporeggar Mill, I would like to give them some gifts in our name.¡±

    The gift that could be given to a transcender would only be curse vessels.

    Nefertari knew that was a lot of money.

    Even if she took out all her private money, she could not make up for it.

    The scale of the underground city was much smaller than that of the above-ground town because of itsrge area and sparse poption. The entire Sporeggar Mill might not even reach 30,000 people. On the contrary, the city poption of the Austere-Winter directly above it was ten times more than that.

    As a matter of fact, theparison was the Austere-Winter Dukedom during the winter year. Thus, there was no need topare with other ces.

    The tax collected from 30,000 people could barely support 100 people to live with high standards.

    Plus, there were ¡°gifts¡± and travel expenses.

    Nefertari could not afford the money at all.

    However, the ¡°Digger¡± was different.

    Those who could be a Digger usually had to risk their lives in the explorationyer for more than ten years. Thus, they had umted a considerable amount of wealth at hand.

    However, this wealth was earned with their lives. That was because Digger usually would not enter the explorationyer anymore. Thus, they were always spending their wealth instead of having an ie. After investing in an underground city and bing an Overseer, the Digger usually tried to manage his expenditure as much as possible.

    Although they were not as clever, they also understood the danger of spending money without generating ie.

    However, Nieusel replied without hesitation, ¡°I agree.¡±

    That was because he shared simr thoughts too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I still have the founding right to establish two cities and one medicine field,¡± Nieusel replied smilingly, ¡°The annual dividend alone can supply the daily consumption of Sporeggar Mill.¡±

    ¡°Then, we will all be paupers.¡±

    ¡°Sooner orter, you¡¯ll earn it back again. You¡¯re smart, after all.¡± Nieusel shrugged.

    The two looked at each other and smiled.

    The two of them were not too surprised by each other¡¯s choice.

    Instead, this was the reason they had known each other and known each other since childhood.

    It was just that they had not fallen in love yet.

    ¡­probably.

 Chapter 507: Deserving Deaths

    <h4>Chapter 507: Deserving Deaths</h4>

    Even if they suddenly decided not toe, Nefertari would not me them. As the Wise, she naturally knew that ¡°kindness should not be returned with enmity¡±.

    The highest priority was to help those three young people, stopping them from meaninglessly eroding their souls in the nightmare.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what happened in the ¡®Sporeggar Mill Nightmare¡¯. Just like you don¡¯t have any clues either.¡± After all, this nightmare was too dangerous.

    Once inside, it was hard to get out ¡ª like arva caught in a spider¡¯s web.

    Those who barely survived this nightmare never dared to have a second attempt.

    The Wise would never act recklessly.

    When she realized that this nightmare could not be purified with her strength, she would not even attempt. It was a pointless act that put her in danger.

    Not only did Nefertari not enter this nightmare, she even stopped Nieusel, who wanted to enter this nightmare.

    Nieusel back then was less sensible than he was now.

    He was still a hot-blooded youth, like a naughty dog looking for fun. He still did not understand that some things in this world could not be changed merely by one¡¯s power.

    However, Nefertari was not doing nothing either.

    Although she had never entered this nightmare once, she had done some research in her spare time.

    She did it just in case.

    In the future, if there was any chance to resolve this nightmare or the situation was so urgent that she had to enter the nightmare, she could hasten her speed to grasp the situation. It was to prevent the case of reloading bullets in front of enemies.

    In other words, it was her foresight.

    ¡°I¡¯ve investigated what happened in ck Mushroom Mill back then.¡± Then, Nefertari told Nieusel seriously, ¡°You can tell them these. Maybe it can help them.¡±

    ¡°Tell me now. I will remember them.¡± Overseer Nieusel nodded.

    ¡°As you know¡­ something happened at ck Mushroom Mill in July seven years ago. Seven monthster, it will be seven years since that incident.¡± Having said that, Nefertari paused slightly.

    Speaking of which, ¡°seven¡± is the lucky number in this world.

    Does this also portend something?

    She shook her head slightly and continued, ¡°The miller¡¯s name is Ian. He has a dwarf wife and a seven-year-old daughter Alice.

    ¡°At that time, a strange disease was prevalent in this city for a while.¡±

    People who worked in the mushroom cultivation industry suddenly started to develop blisters. It started out as red spots turning into transparent blisters that became unbearably itchy.

    As they continued to be exposed to the mushrooms, the blisters grewrger and more transparent until it became too difficult for them to work. If the blisters were punctured, the people around them might be infected with the blisters.

    ¡°Seven years ago.¡± Nieusel stumbled into deep thoughts, ¡°Were you in the Bone Eater Forest at that time?¡±

    ¡°En, it¡¯s not too far from here.¡± Nefertari nodded and asked casually, ¡°And you were still in the explorationyer around the Cinder Barren, right?¡±

    Nieusel replied, ¡°Yes, I was lucky at the time. Then I discovered another mining area, the Misero Excavation Site.¡±

    ¡°Then, you probably don¡¯t know about this. At that time, that ce was not well-known. It was a logging area built around the ¡®Maze Forest¡¯ and temporarily named ¡®ck Mushroom Mill¡¯. It was yet to be an urban area with no Wise and Digger looking over that ce.

    ¡°The lumberjacks realized that some kind of spore might infect them, so they sent a disease-free messenger to the nearest city¡ªthat is, the ¡®Bone Farm¡¯ near the bone-eating forest. My teacher was over there.¡±

    As Nefertari said, she reached out and stroked the ritual disc behind her.

    Under her dragging, a light blue brilliance appeared on the ritual disc. It quickly outlined the locations of Gray Forest, Bone Eater Forest, Bone Farm, and ck Mushroom Mill.

    ¡°[Bone Healer] Seti?¡± Nieusel reacted immediately.

    Nefertari became the Wise at a young age, and her sess was rted to her teacher, a Gold Rank Transcender.

    As the most powerful Idol Wizard in the Underground Federation, Seti was also the best healer and a knowledgeable ritualist. So no one wanted to offend him.

    After all, no one knew when they would need a doctor¡¯s help.

    Nefertari studied the Mysterious Rituals from Seti and learned some novice medicine skills along her journey. Since she did not want to be a transcender, she graduated from Master Seti early and became a [Wise] by virtue of her rtionship with Seti.

    ¡°Something is not right?¡± Nieusel quickly noticed contradictions, ¡°If Master Seti is there, a small problem like this should be resolved pretty soon.¡±

    Since he had never heard of ck Mushroom Mill having this strange disease, it meant the incident was a minute matter. At the very least, it got sorted out in the end.

    After all, he had never seen a simr disease for many years.

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡± Nefertari said slowly, ¡°This is not a disease but a curse.

    ¡°The believers of the Deity of Poison and Spider [ck Widow] cast this poison curse in the mushroom.¡±

    ¡°So Master Seti can¡¯t resolve it either?¡±

    ¡°How can that be? It¡¯s just that to identify and neutralize the unknown curse hidden in the ¡®poison entity¡¯, the teacher needs more time to develop the antidote.¡±

    The red-haired woman took a deep breath, ¡°But the lumberjacks have no time to wait.

    ¡°For some reason, a saying soon appeared among them. They imed that this strange disease had no cure, and the messenger had taken the opportunity to escape, so he would not return.

    ¡°Panic struck the loggers. But they quickly noticed that Ian¡¯s family, involved in the mushroom industry, was not sick.

    ¡°They asked Ian why he did not get sick. But Ian did not know because he had not been exposed to poisonous mushrooms directly. In the end, the lumberjacks sumbed to panic and came to a hasty conclusion, where the Ian Family cast the poison.¡±

    ¡°There was no evidence for this, and it was undoubtedly a false connection. But they were already unhappy with Ian¡¯s family previously. After all, all of them are workers. However, Ian spends less money and uses less effort to earn from a mushroom mill.

    ¡°In the end, they broke up in discord with Ian¡¯s family in the process of ¡®asking for an exnation¡¯ and ¡®asking for an antidote¡¯. However, ck Widow Believer ¡®Deward¡¯, who was in the crowd, once again stirred up the crowd. He imed that Ian¡¯s family¡¯s liver could be grounded to make an antidote.

    ¡°You know, it was a traditional remedy in the pioneering days. Of course, we now know that it doesn¡¯t work, but the rest don¡¯t know about it.

    ¡°At that time, about a quarter of the loggers agreed to Deward¡¯s instigation. Although others felt a little inappropriate and too radical, they did not stop the atrocities of the loggers in the end. After all, they were not close to the Ian Family.

    ¡°So, they¡¯re just watching from a distance.

    ¡°Ian¡¯s wife was an escaped murderer from the Austere-Winter Dukedom. She was a Silver Rank transcender. However, she was handicapped and tortured by the Frost Beast for a long time. When she went to prison, she wasmitted to the curse prohibiting ¡°hurting people¡± and ¡°murder¡±. Herbat prowess was not as good as before. Her profession was the [Giant yer], and her profession¡¯s skills did not help much inbat; Deward was equivalent to ck Widow¡¯s bishop. He, who had murdered thirteen people, had already mastered thirteen different toxin-type transcended abilities.

    ¡°In her fight with Deward, she lost but escaped smoothly. But seeing Ian being cut open to have his kidney retrieved and her daughter still sleeping upstairs, she wielded her weapon and came back. Unfortunately, killing Deward triggered her curse. Thus, she lost her strength and died from poisoning in the end.

    ¡°In the end, their family was pushed into the gear machine designated for grinding mushrooms. The immense resentment and curse turned into reality, and the endless stream of blood poured out of the machine like an endless river. It waited for the opportunity to swallow the involved criminals holding the ¡®antidote¡¯ and the onlookers in the grinding machine.

    ¡°The blood-soaked mill was covered with mushrooms. Half a dayter, the messenger who got lost in the Maze Forest arrivedte with the message ¡®Master Seti will arrive in three days¡¯.

    ¡°Even though it was only half a dayte, everything was toote.¡± Nefertari sighed.

    From her point of view, Ian¡¯s wife was naturally not a good person. However, the thugs deserved it too.

    They deserved to die.

    But what confused her was that the ¡°mastermind¡±, ¡°evil perpetrator¡±, and ¡°bystander¡± had all ended up in the same fate. In the current state, evenpletely innocent passers-by would be drawn into a spider web-like nightmare, being tortured to death.

    The mainstream view of nightmare science was that resentment could significantly increase the intensity of nightmares. Since nightmares were the wound left by the dead transcender in the world, it was the bloodyst words of ¡°letting the world remember my death¡±.

    All Nefertari knew was that this nightmare still murdered innocent people to this day.

    From this point of view, this hatred hadsted too long, and it had already be distorted.

    The victims of the past were the perpetrators.

    It was time for this [Nightmare] to end.

 Chapter 508: The Passed Down Hope

    <h4>Chapter 508: The Passed Down Hope</h4>

    In the end, Suuankou failed to clear the level at ¡°Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill¡±.

    Although he died more than 20 times in the nightmare, this time around already marked the furthest progress he could achieve. He even felt that after two or three more tries, he might be able to encounter the ultimate BOSS monster.

    However, just when Suuankou was about to continue sweeping the mines in person and testing all the traps inside Sporeggar Mill, Lin Yiyi suddenly sent him a bullet text, telling Suuankou to stop killing himself.

    Just now, Nieusel came again and delivered ample valuable information. The yers on the forum analyzed and discussed the new information enthusiastically based on what Suuankou saw.

    In other words, that referred to what had happened before ¡°¡®Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill¡¯ was born.

    With this new input, many previously confusing things had an answer.

    The yers also realized that nightmares were the distorted version of history. If they could understand the truth of history, it would undoubtedly help to purify the nightmares.

    Again, at least there was a thinking approach to solving the problem.

    Suppose the yers found out about the corresponding representation of the traps, level design, and monsters in the nightmare. Then, they could figure out effective measures to deal with these obstacles. They would break free from the predicament of not knowing what to do and expending their lifes to identify the solution.

    They wouldplete the investigations before entering the nightmare. This was the mainstream tactic used by the aboriginals in this world to purify nightmares due to the limitations of the valuable erosion rate.

    Naturally, Suuankou also understood that if the information avable was limited, there was not much room for maneuver.

    So when he heard that his sister had obtained new information, he stopped immediately. Instead, hey at the door of Sporeggar Mill and began to close his eyes and meditate.

    Unexpectedly, Suuankou did not trigger any death g.

    He waited until 6 a.m. the next day before finally waking up from the nightmare.

    ¡°That is to say, I am lucky. This save point is rtively safe, and nothing will happen if I go AFK.¡±

    [TN: Away From Keyboard [1].]

    After Suuankou opened his eyes, he looked at Lin Yiyi, who was sitting by the bed, and spat out the first sentence, ¡°If it¡¯s a critical point that doesn¡¯t let me AFK, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m already dead inside.¡±

    After Suuankou woke up, he realized that his erosion rate had unknowingly increased to 70%.

    After waking up, a new debuff appeared:

    [On the verge of madness: Your soul is already overwhelmed, and your desires are sewn into the bottom of your pupils by fear. You are about to go mad.]

    [Your Will attribute has a temporary -3 debuff, and hallucinations will asionally appear. For all the Influences incurred, the time required to produce an echo is shortened to one-third; every time you are about to wake up from a nightmare, there is a small probability that you will immediately enter a new nightmare; an additional 30% increment on all effects of chaos spells.]

    ¡°I don¡¯t dare to challenge the nightmare now.¡± Suuankou gritted his teeth, feeling the pain.

    This had happened even at the debuff with a 70% erosion rate.

    He was terrified to enter the nightmare.

    If the erosion rate bes 90% or 100%, will it die on the spot?

    Will regr people get drawn into nightmares after their erosion rate reaches this level?

    So, how on earth did they get wholly corrupted?

    Suuankou had zero ideas about this.

    After all, he was the first yer whose erosion rate reached a critical value.

    Other yers simply would not die so many times. yers¡¯ total game time and the rare distribution of nightmares in the Noah Kingdom turned them into hungry wolves with green eyes when they saw the nightmares. The nightmares would be eaten cleanly instantly.

    The ¡°Shared Experience¡± of this game was really too difficult to earn.

    The direct way to earn level-up was to purify the nightmares that matched the yer¡¯s specifications.

    After Delicious Wind Goose advanced to the Silver Rank, the nightmares at ¡°normal difficulty¡± could no longer improve the level of his profession. ording to such rules, the yers could only rely on the distorted difficulty nightmares for level increment after they advanced to Gold Rank.

    Suuankou even wondered if the level they raised and the experience they gained from the nightmare was the experience and level held by the deceased.

    However, typically, Suuankou would not die that much.

    He would be the first yer to reach the critical point partly because he was obsessed with solving the puzzles and the difficulty of this dungeon instance was overwhelming. But the most crucial factor was that he was worried about his sister, Lin Yiyi.

    He had witnessed his sister die again and again in the nightmare. Of course, he knew that this was just an insignificant ¡°death¡±; it would not even bring about Dragonrot [2], loss of humanity, or Blood Echoes [3].

    But after all, this was not a game that could be restarted anytime.

    ¡ªDeath was really agonizing.

    Even if the yer¡¯s pain perception was weakened by arge proportion, the pain was still immense.

    As her blood-rted brother, Suuankou wanted to do something for her.

    His sister had been his idol since he was a child, and she was also the banner standing in the distance in his eyes.

    They came to this ce not to level up merely by purifying the nightmare several times. Instead, they were here to eradicate the nightmare. Thus, pioneering the hidden part of the game was their duty.

    In Suuankou¡¯s approach to decryption and his intuition, he would not have died so many times. The death count would be less than half of the current total count.

    However, his duty was to sweep mines in person.

    Even if he knew there might be a trap, he had to step on the trap and take a look.

    This had nothing to do with his skill and performance.

    It was just the awareness of being ¡°willing to bear pain¡±.

    He did not want his sister to endure this struggling, challenging, and tiring work. Instead, he could do it too.

    Since he was apanied by two girls, how could he be afraid of pain and suffering, let the girls be responsible for pioneering work, and reap the benefits by himself?

    Suuankou knew that he used to be an introverted person.

    It was hard for him to conversate with strangers, and he did not even want to leave hisputer if possible. His friends were on the Inte. His smile only appeared when chatting with the sillyizens, and he only talked to his fans, who he did not personally know.

    And part of that reason was Lin Yiyi.

    As a sister, she was outstanding, which put a lot of pressure on Suuankou.

    No matter what he did, he would bepared to his sister. Not just his parents but also rtives and other friends, as well as his teachers.

    He and Lin Yiyi went to the same elementary school, junior high school, and high school. The ovep rate of their teachers in middle school exceeded at least 30%.

    When he was a child, he felt resentment.

    ¡ªWhy was the other praised for academic achievement with 80 points and 90 points on the test? He asionally got a 95 on the test but was reprimanded for regressing and beingzy. If that were the case, would a student with poorer performance have better treatment?

    ¡ªWhy could the others happily leave the house and have fun if they were in the top five in the ss? However, if he could not get first ce, he would be reminded that ¡°his sister always took first ce back then¡±.

    ¡ªWhy did he work so hard to aplish what his sister had aplished? Why did he have to work four times as hard as others to get one-third of the joy of others?

    ¡ªWhy did he have such an excellent sister?

    She was outstanding and easily became famous, whether it was academically, in poprity, or even being a streamer. Suuankou tried his best to yplex games and arrangeedic reactions, but his number of followers was not as good as that of Lin Yiyi.

    Although Suuankou never said it, there was resentment in his heart.

    However, things had changed.

    He gradually realized the expectations from parents and teachers were the hope passed down to him.

    He was not the shadow of his sister but someone who could surpass that.

 Chapter 509: I Have Found A Gift For You. How about [Hope]?

    <h4>Chapter 509: I Have Found A Gift For You. How about [Hope]?</h4>

    What had enlightened Suuankou was the story he heard from Nigel when his party had yet to depart as they met Painter Nigel at the Noah Station.

    There was a painter named Nigel Elliott, who was also a clumsy youth.

    People expected too much from him beyond what he was capable of. They would look disappointed when he did not live up to that false expectation.

    Butpared with Suuankou, the suffering and pressure the painter had endured were much heavier.

    Painter Nigel spent eight years of his spare time building a solid foundation while he worked on his artless, mundane job.

    Afterward, he spent another 12 years exploring the deepest and highest levels of the industry. He crashed into the wall called ¡°the Elegant Elder¡± again and again relentlessly without giving up.

    Then, at 44, he emerged proudly with his chest up and held his head upright, fulfilling the expectations that people had for him 20 years ago.

    Even after Nigel had gone through half his life, his life was actually just at the beginning.

    This unwavering and persistent outlook on life deeply shocked Suuankou.

    That was especially true, when the person was also troubled by exaggerated expectations from others, simr to Suuankou.

    Nigel did not escape that expectation nor plead for his innocence. Instead, he worked silently to improve himself so that one day, he could be worthy of the ¡°genius¡± people branded on him 20 years ago.

    He wanted to extract himself from the character of being an inferior and hypocritical young sessful person.

    The first half of his life was so simr to Suuankou.

    Even if Suuankou tried his best, he could not catch up with the expectations of others to climb up quickly. So then, he silently endured others¡¯ doubts about his efforts, swallowing tears in his stomach and desperately climbing up thedder.

    What those people wanted was for him not to be ¡°the next Lin Yiyi¡± but to be better than Lin Yiyi.

    It was just that he had not reached that height yet. So he looked up, unable to see through the shadow cast by the giant.

    But all this was because he was too young, just like Nigel.

    If he could also unswervingly devote 20 years of his life, he could seed too!

    It might take even less than that because his talents were superior to Nigel¡¯s!

    He was not merely following Lin Yiyi¡¯s footsteps.

    Instead, they happened to be on the same path.

    At this moment, when he realized that his horizon was so shallow.

    Jealousy, resentment, grievance, and injustice were instantly resolved from the heart.

    Instead, a clear and brilliant light hatched from the bottom of his heart.

    This brilliance abolished theziness caused by not being rewarded for the effort and the inferiorityplex caused by doubting whether one could meet the expectations of others.

    There is still a long way to go in life.

    ¡ªAnd I will never admit defeat, let alone stop my progress.

    ¡ªOne day, I will live up to others¡¯ expectations.

    Suuankou was not a painter, nor was he Nigel¡¯s student. Moreover, Nigel did not know his past, let alone be concerned about his future.

    However, Suuankou had truthfully felt a light of hope along Nigel¡¯s words. The brilliance spread from another heart to his own heart.

    ¡°Are you all right, Erer?¡± Lin Yiyi asked with concern, ¡°How are your hallucinations? Are there any other abnormalities in your body?¡±

    The elder sister looked at Suuankou worriedly.

    You are working too hard.

    Suuankou just grinned, showing a cheerful and generous smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡±

    That¡¯s because I¡¯m a man.

    I¡¯m already a grown-up man.

    It¡¯s time for me to protect you, sister.

    He smacked his lips regretfully and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s just that I won¡¯t be able to help muchter. So I have to leave the rest to you all.¡±

    Lin Yiyi shook her head, ¡°We will save some dungeon entry opportunities for you. After Annan arrives and purifies your erosion rate, you can rechallenge the dungeon. We definitely will let your level stay caught up.

    ¡°If your affection rating is not enough to purify your erosion rate, then deduct it from me.¡± Lin Yiyi replied without hesitation, ¡°Rest now, don¡¯t enter the nightmare again.¡±

    That was unquestionable, true, and iparable love and concern.

    Suuankou was taken aback.

    Of course, he knew that Lin Yiyi attached great importance to Annan¡¯s affection rating. Even after Jiu Er exchanged her affection rating for an extended military axe, Lin Yiyi still held her affection rating and never actively used it.

    As a matter of fact, the yers could respawn after death.

    Suuankou¡¯s debuff only affected ¡°his level upgrade efficiency¡±. On the other hand, Annan would clear the erosion rate directly to zero. To use it reasonably, Suuankou should hold on a little more and only remove the erosion rate after it reaches about 90%. With that, its efficiency would be rtively high.

    This was undoubtedly Lin Yiyi¡¯s concern.

    Speaking of which, Lin Yiyi gave her ¡°promotional code¡± to Suuankou instead of other people in the end.

    That showed her unwavering care and concern at all times.

    However, Suuankou did not notice it previously.

    No, it was not so much that Suuankou did not notice it. It was fairer to say that he did not care about other people¡¯s love for him in the face of the burdensome ¡°expectation¡± that had almost crushed him.

    Those cares were insignificant in the face of the pressure he faced. They were not enough to resolve his pressure, nor could they solve his problems.

    I¡¯m such a heartless little biscuit.

    [TN: A ng to describe someone as naive and innocent.]

    Suuankou sighed softly.

    He suddenly felt that his mind had be so peaceful.

    ¡°Thank you, sister,¡± said Suuankou softly.

    Being suddenly thanked by Suuankou, Lin Yiyi was also taken aback.

    She smacked her lips and suddenly felt some goosebumps.

    It was the first time she heard Suuankou seriously thank her in such a formal and less ingratiating tone.

    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t quite get used to it.¡± Lin Yiyi held her arm shyly.

    She smiled, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t feel bad.¡±

    Right above them, in a city more than ten kilometers away¡­

    Annan chuckled and turned off the backend-interface camera that peeped at the yers.

    They are all good kids.

    Annan sighed silently.

    The yers were a little youthful and edgy but not inherently ill-natured.

    They were all young people with light in their hearts.

    ¡°They have answered my call and came to this world, as my power, to help me save this world. I have to prepare some rewards for them.¡± Annan slowly closed his eyes.

    His authority could not affect the other world, but he was not out of options to give rewards.

    Even [Games] could move people and help them gain insights. It was not impossible to even change a person¡¯s life. Then, this more realistic ¡°game¡± could not just be ¡°fun¡± for the yers.

    At this moment, it appeared that the gifts had disyed themselves.

    ¡ªFix their shorings.

    ¡ªDiscover their strengths.

    ¡ªAcknowledge their efforts.

    ¡ªDevelop the characters and abilities they need.

    ¡ªRelease the resentment and jealousy of the past, heal their pains, and affirm their efforts and wishes.

    ¡°I will give you [Hope]. How about that?¡± Annan whispered.

    He opened his eyes slightly.

    At that moment, pure and wless light overflowed from his eyes.

    Just then, Dmitri pushed the door open, ¡°Hey!¡±

    Seeing ¡°Ghindaio¡± carrying divinity at this moment, he stopped and was stunned for a moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Ghindaio turned around as if nothing had happened and asked with a smile.

    Dmitri pursed his lips but did not respond.

    Is that just an illusion?

    When he entered the door, he seemed to see a pure and holy deity.

 Chapter 510: A Parting Gift From the Paper Princess

    <h4>Chapter 510: A Parting Gift From the Paper Princess</h4>

    ¡ªNo, that¡¯s not an illusion.

    Although Dmitri¡¤Austere-Winter was not a transcender, he was still a bishop.

    At this close range, his senses would not go wrong.

    There was a pure, divine light flickered on Ghindaio.

    ¡°Your Highness Dmitri, what did youe to see me for?¡±

    With a gentle smile, he asked Dmitri, who was wearing an off-white coat.

    Dmitri wore a fleece coat made of the Frost Beast fur, but his hands were in his trouser pockets. He threw the two empty sleeves behind, like a white chasuble [1].

    He frowned slightly and gave Ghindaio a silent stare.

    Dmitri asked through gritted teeth in an unfriendly tone, ¡°Huh, you even addressed me as ¡®Your Royal Highness¡¯?

    ¡°It¡¯s you, right? Annan! I know you well. Don¡¯t try to fool me!¡±

    Even though you said it imposingly, haven¡¯t I fooled you already?

    Annan muttered in his heart.

    However, he merely showed a radiant smile at Dmitri.

    Then, his body seemed to shrink suddenly, returning to Annan¡¯s original appearance.

    Having used the identity of ¡°Ghindaio¡± for too long, Annan felt a little difort after returning to his original body.

    The long silver-white hair behind Annan had already grown over his neck, and his tall and straight figure resembled Dmitri¡¯s style.

    Annan still wore the soft and smooth silver-white robe without any exaggerated essories.

    That was because his outfit suffered a certain degree of damage in the previous battle with Bernardino. So the ingenious Paper Princess altered the high-cored robe into a deep V-neck. At the same time, she sewed a sapphire button on the neckline to tighten it.

    Disregarding the triple silver circlet-shaped rune on the cuffs, it appeared a bit like Enkidu¡¯s [2] outfit.

    After having the Paper Princess handling the outfit, its current name was no longer called [Silver Sire¡¯s Favorite]:

    [Love Bearer (Current count is two)]

    [Type: Equipment/ Armor/ Clothing (Gold)]

    [Defense: 4 (Equivalent to a thick leather armor)]

    [Efficacy (Defense): Cut, heat, electric shock, corrosion]

    [Vulnerability (Defense): Piercing attack, blunt attack]

    [Description: The silver silk robe woven by Silver Sire himself. The robe is light but tough and durable. There¡¯s a divine essence in it that is not negligible; it has been further strengthened with the Paper Princess¡¯s pale painting. Priests with a rank of bishop and above can recognize its origin.]

    [Effect: When ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡± has worn it, he is automatically immune to curses and Prophet Spells below the Silver Rank.]

    [Silver Sire¡¯s Favorite: Wipe your eyes with it to get the [Detect Poison] ability for ten minutes. Its effect is equivalent to the Hunter¡¯s ability of the same name; wipe your hands with it to get the [Purify Poison] ability for ten minutes. Its effect is equivalent to the Idol Spell of the same name.]

    [Paper Princess¡¯ Fondness: The holder gets the curse [Heat Tolerant]. Its effect is equivalent to the Idol Spell of the same name; when the holder is attacked, the robe immediately releases a [Trace Erasure]. Its effect is identical to the Silver Rank¡¯s Sneak ability.]

    [Effect: Automatic repair can be performed by consuming silver coins; it can be repaired with paint too.]

    The Paper Princess had significantly enhanced the outfit under her meticulous mending.

    The attributes blessed by the Paper Princess and Silver Sire on the outfit revealed the different personalities of the two deities.

    Silver Sire was more inclined to give Annan a higher status directly and was worried that Annan would be poisoned and conspired¡­ or be embarrassed and lose his reputation after his clothes were damaged.

    However, the Paper Princess paid more attention to Annan¡¯sfort and safety. Having the Silver Rank spell, [Heat Tolerant], enchanted on the clothing was too extravagant.

    ¡ªCan¡¯t you switch your outfit if it¡¯s too hot or cold?

    Even the king would not do this. If there were such an opportunity to receive enchantment, the king would rather have [Righteousness] or [Persuasion] spells of the same magic school at the same level.

    [Heat Tolerant] was more often used to resist attacks. For example, when the Falteration Wizard attacked, the victim could use this spell to prevent himself from being frostbitten or frozen. Also, it was an emergency measure to protect internal organs from the searing wind and high-temperature environments.

    In fact, the spell was equivalent to the extended version of Bronze Rank¡¯s [Resistance to High Temperature] and [Resistance to Low Temperature]. After all, these two spells could not take ce simultaneously. In some cases, the situation was not thatplicated.

    However, due to the limited spell slots, even the Silver Rank Idol Wizard probably would not learn such useless spells. Moreover, this spell was a Chant Spell and upied arge spell slot.

    Annan was a Level 22 Silver Rank Wizard. He only had 13 spell slots in total, and only four of them were Chant Spell spell slots.

    It made Annan feel a little embarrassed. The Paper Princess dedicated this spell to Annan, which was equivalent to saying that she thought Annan might not know how to take care of himself and would catch a cold if she did not pay attention.

    Where is this concerning aunty?

    Maybe it¡¯s because I am fourteen years old.

    Disregarding this spell that made Annan a little helpless, the Paper Princess also enchanted Annan with the divine art [Trace Erasure] in her realm.

    When the Stealth ability and Sneak ability reached a high level, most of them would unify into one aspect.

    For example, the divine art [Lurking in the Shadow] could eliminate sound and smell in a dark environment. There would be no air resistance when attacking, so there would be no wind noise.

    On the other hand, the divine art called [Hidden Spirit in the Mirror] allowed Lurkers to hide in the mirror world and had aplete mirror image influence on the real world. For example, if a dagger were pierced through the right chest in the mirror world, the attack would pierce the heart in the real world. Only in reflective mirrors,ke surfaces, and swords¡¯ des could one see traces of the lurker.

    [Trace Erasure] was a divine art in the field of painting.

    Once used, one¡¯s existence was like being erased by an invisible eraser. Even if the spellcaster made a sound, used a spell, orunched an attack, invisibility would ensue. Only when the person had liquid tainted his body could he break free from this divine art.

    This ability would undoubtedly siege the initiative in a passive situation.

    Generally speaking, when seeing the enemy disappear suddenly, few people would continue to attack without hesitation. Under the constraints of instinct and reasoning, the attackers usually would adopt a vignt, defensive stance and immediately raise their focus.

    The time gap was enough for Annan to respond to the situation.

    Judging from these two aspects, the Paper Princess¡¯s parting gift was practical.

    As written in the equipment description, this was the ¡°fondness¡± from the Paper Princess.

    ¡°The Silver Sire and the Paper Princess?¡± As the bishop of the Old Grandmother, Dmitri could also see the mark on Annan.

    They were like signatures, a divine mark clearly visible in the eyes of the high-ranking priests.

    You¡¯re less than a year away from home, but have you already received the support of two deities?

    Also, this hair¡­

    Seeing that Annan had silver hair, Dmitri¡¯s mood was a bitplicated.

    As the eldest son, he certainly understood what this meant.

    Annan¡¯s [Winter Heart] had already begun to hatch.

 Chapter 511: What Is Divine Transporter?

    <h4>Chapter 511: What Is Divine Transporter?</h4>

    To this day, Dmitri still in ck hair.

    This meant that the divine blood in his body had not been activated, and he was still a mortal.

    It seemed unbelievable.

    Among the three siblings, Dmitri should have been the closest person to the Old Grandmother as the Old Grandmother¡¯s priest.

    But now, he was the only one who had not awakened yet.

    Looking at Annan¡¯s silver hair and the dragon scales emerging from his corbone and neck, Dmitri¡¯s frown slowly rxed, ¡°You made it, Annan.¡±

    With aplicated expression, Dmitri said softly, ¡°Do you remember me?¡±

    ¡°I know you.¡± Annan replied calmly, ¡°My brother, Dmitri Austere-Winter.¡±

    It was knowing rather than remembering.

    Realizing this subtle difference, Dmitri¡¯s eyes dimmed for a moment.

    If Maria heard the news, she might cry secretly.

    Dmitri grinned like he was about to give a wry smile, but he could not.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong,¡± Annan smiled gently, ¡°You have reached a verdict in your interrogation, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± There was no emotion in Dmitri¡¯s tone, ¡°Only the Austere-Winters can tame the Frost Beasts. My father¡¯s condition has deteriorated, and he can no longer get out of bed. Maria is still in the Storm Tower.

    ¡°After thinking about it, it¡¯s only you left.¡±

    Dmitri was not sure that ¡°Ghindaio¡± was Annan.

    Otherwise, he would not have yelled ¡°Hey¡± rudely and entered the door. Instead, he would give Annan a warm hug and then say to Annan seriously and peacefully, ¡°I have recognized you. You should go back to your original appearance.¡± or something like that.

    However, Dmitri knew it would be embarrassing to be mistaken as he hugged ¡®Ghindaio¡¯.

    It would damage the image of the Austere-Winter family.

    Thus, Dmitri still wanted to be on the safe side and called out probingly.

    However, Dmitri still felt a little ashamed, knowing he did not recognize Annan at first sight.

    He is my blood-rted brother, but I still can¡¯t recognize him even though we have interacted for so long.

    If my father can leave the bed, maybe I will be beaten again.

    It¡¯s just that my father doesn¡¯t have the strength to beat me anymore.

    ¡°Why do you hide your identity from me?¡± Dmitri frowned and asked in annoyance, ¡°If you hint at me, I won¡¯t teach you to smoke or make you drink some inferior-grade wine. I won¡¯t even smoke in front of you. Even second-hand smoke is bad for your body. Well, the same goes for drinking too much poor wine.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault.¡± Annan shrugged, ¡°You brought Leona along.¡±

    Dmitri¡¯s expression became serious, ¡°Is there a problem with Leona?¡±

    ¡°Not really. Or rather, I don¡¯t know.¡± Annan replied bluntly, ¡°But my return to Austere-Winter should be a secret. My next n is to work on some matters in the Underground Federation, but my identity as ¡®Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯ is not suitable in that situation. You should understand what I mean, brother.

    ¡°Is it something dangerous?¡± Dmitri said in his deep maic voice, ¡°If that is the case, I won¡¯t let you go.

    ¡°You are the future Grand Duke. Austere-Winter Dukedom still needs you. It¡¯s time for you to try using your authority. Sooner orter, those powers will belong to you.¡±

    ¡°It is not dangerous.¡± Annan waved his hand, ¡°But my identity is quite intricate. If someone finds out about it, things will change.¡±

    Annan wanted to operate a non-governmental Transcender organization responsible for purifying nightmares in the underground world without the favor of deities.

    Undoubtedly, it would gain favors from both the Wise and Digger.

    With the yers¡¯ personalities, they wander freely in the underground world where their legal awareness was weak, and the edge between order andwlessness was blurred. At the same time, they had a heart inclined to proper order. It would be easy for the yers to gain a high reputation among the people.

    There was a significant probability that it would grow into the thirdrgest organization in the Underground Federation, and it might even turn official, bing one of the authorities of the underground city.

    However, this would only happen when Annan sessfully hides his identity.

    If someone else discovered that the supreme leader of this organization was the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke ¨C Annan, it would bring trouble.

    ¡°Is it rted to the politics of other countries?¡± Dmitri was keenly aware of the hint that Annan had not mentioned yet.

    Annan nodded and said helplessly.

    ¡°But once my transformation curse is released, it cannot be used again before the downtime is over. So I can¡¯t change back for the time being.¡±

    On his side, he already had ns for Sporeggar Mill.

    However, Annan had to wait a few days for the ¡°Last Work¡± cooldown to be over before heading down.

    Still, Annan felt a little sorry for Suuankou and the rest.

    Annan: I¡¯m on the way; I will be there soon.jpg

    However, Annan could also sense at the time that Dmitri was not convinced that he was Annan.

    Annan resolutely canceled his transformation decisively to convince Dmitri of his true identity and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles.

    Misunderstandings happen between people. Many contradictions and misunderstandings came from the initial misunderstanding.

    However, those who were smart would prevent misunderstanding from the very beginning.

    Although Annan was somewhat different from himself in Dmitri¡¯s memory, whether it was temperament, hair color, or height, things became reasonable because of this.

    ¡°I am sorry.¡± Although Dmitri did not know why he had to apologize, he did so smoothly.

    He had long been used to taking the me for his younger brother and sister.

    He hesitated for a moment, then said softly, ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you go home first?

    ¡°You should visit father. He misses you very much too. You don¡¯t need to seed immediately. But you still have to go back and get something, right? Among other things, your n needs money.

    ¡°You should go home and get some funding, Annan.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan was silent for a moment.

    ¡­In a trance.

    Annan felt a familiar feeling of ¡°home¡±.

    There was no doubt that the memory of the past had long been turned into a silent void.

    But that ¡°feeling¡± remained in Annan¡¯s heart.

    Although he could not remember what had happened between him and Dmitri, Annan still felt a familiar intimacy in his heart when he looked at Dmitri.

    ¡°Speaking of which¡­ brother.¡± For some reason, Annan always felt that saying ¡°brother¡± was a bit more awkward than saying ¡°sister¡±.

    Ignoring the awkwardness, he continued, ¡°Do you know that I have erased my memory?¡±

    ¡°Everyone in the family knows.¡±

    ¡°Why did I have to wash away my memory?¡± Annan asked Dmitri.

    He had wondered about this question for a long time.

    But so far, no one could fully answer this question.

    Either there were some facies, or the information was notplete.

    Presumably, Dmitri might give him aplete answer.

    Dmitri rubbed his eyebrows with some headache.

    ¡°Where do I start¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way, Annan. How many pages have you collected in your Book of Divine Transporter?¡±

    ¡°I have collected two-thirds of it,¡± Annan replied.

    ¡°Then it should be fine for me to tell you.¡± Dmitri breathed a sigh of relief and replied softly, ¡°You have been a ¡®Divine Transporter¡¯ since you were very young. About the time you crossed the world membrane from the world on the other side of the dream world, using nightmares as the medium. It descended into the body of Annan, who was still a baby.

    ¡°[Divine Transporter] is something that transcends the world, and its essence is ¡®sublimation¡¯. A mind with only negative emotion cannot control this strength. But it is the most dangerous talent to be able to touch the Truth but not be able to grasp it.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t be the actual Divine Transporter, you will be the Mirror of the Seventh Luminary.¡±

 Chapter 512: Beyond The Dream World

    <h4>Chapter 512: Beyond The Dream World</h4>

    Annan¡¯s expression was a littleplicated.

    Hearing Dmitri¡¯s words, it seemed Dmitri already knew that Annan was a transmigrator in his first life.

    In novels, things like this are usually hidden until the finale, right?

    It is still expected to have upright deities like the Silver Sire, the Old Grandmother, and the Elegant Elder know that. Howe even my siblings know that I am a world traveler?

    Dmitri nced at Annan and knew he was in deep thought, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it, Annan.¡±

    Even if he loses his memory, Annan is still Annan after all.

    The man with long ck hair and a cold demeanor said, ¡°You were the first person we met.

    ¡°The most significant difference between Austere-Winter and other countries is that we don¡¯t name our babies. The babies don¡¯t get names until they grow up to be able to feed themselves, dress themselves, take care of themselves, and not starve to death at home alone.

    ¡°People who can¡¯t take care of themselves are not worthy of having a name, let alone inheriting a surname. At best, they are just pets.¡±

    In Austere-Winter, the line between ¡°man¡± and ¡°beast¡± was not that far off.

    Those who could not be called adults would only be treated as ¡°cubs¡±.

    Simrly, if someonemitted a crime or did something that a human being should not do, he would be deprived of his human name.

    A precedent would be Grinznuha¡¤Austere-Winter, deprived of the surname ¡°Austere-Winter¡±.

    In Austere-Winter Dukedom, this was a severe punishment under ¡°family jurisdiction¡±.

    If someone was deprived of his surname by his family, he was legally severed from all his kinship. This was not a matter of secretly stripping off thest name, but it must be reported to the local Austere-Winter Church. The deration would be registered uniformly throughout the country every year.

    For example, the right to bail with family members as surety, home surveince, and the right to inherit or be inherited would be rendered void. The oue was irreversible. It was likebeling the person¡¯s identity as an orphan who ¡°had no parents and no rtives¡±.

    Other Austerians usually regarded the ¡°outcasts¡± from the family as people who ¡°disrespect tradition¡±, ¡°have made major mistakes¡±, and ¡°were deviant¡±.

    If one¡¯s name was stripped off, it was tantamount to depriving all rights as a human being.

    If one had murdered ¡°a nameless person¡±, he would not even be convicted of homicide. Instead, it was the ¡°crime of destroying other people¡¯s property¡± or ¡°crime of destroying public property¡±.

    Generally, criminals sumbed to imprisonment for more than 20 years, but it did not reach the parameter of the death penalty yet. Or, criminals with sufficient weight in terms of punishment would be sentenced to ¡°name removal¡± by the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    It was not just delisting in the legal sense.

    Instead, Idol Magic would apply to erase their name in this world under the mystical realm. With the contract he signed, all the rituals rted to his name were also erased, and others could no longer recall his name.

    In other words, they became people who the world had forgotten.

    In the Austere-Winter Dukedom, where ¡°you are born after you get a name¡±, names were vital. It was one of the ponents of being a human¡±.

    ¡°However, you gave yourself the name [Annan].¡± While talking, Dmitri subconsciously put his hand into his inner pocket and touched the cigar packet.

    But soon, his right hand froze as if reminded of something. He moved his hand out of his arms ufortably.

    As if covering up something, he raised his voice slightly, ¡°The person we know is ¡®you¡¯ from the beginning.

    ¡°You have lost many mystical memories. You may have forgotten¡­ In this world, visitors from other worlds aremon. Austere-Winter Dukedom is even more so¡ª¡±

    Near the Storm Tower, there were asional living immaterial world creatures seeping out from the hole.

    Immaterial world creatures could not obtain material bodies directly after entering the Mist World, which was the world where the Mist Continent was located. That was because the immaterial world was a world where [Phenomenon] was superior to [Existence], thus giving the name ¡°immaterial world¡±.

    The core power system of the Mist Continent was curse and oath.

    The ¡°elements¡± and the primitive form of the element, ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone¡±, were transcended power belonging to the immaterial world.

    An example would be Father Flint, who stole fire, in Annan¡¯s knowledge.

    The Sage¡¯s Stone in the immaterial world was equivalent to the spell energy in the Mist World. It was the root power of the world. After Father Flint stole the Sage¡¯s Stone from the immaterial world, only then this world had this ¡°elemental power¡±.

    ¡°The ¡®element¡¯ was the form of existence determined by the will and the strength born from the soul and mind. Therefore, it reflected the characteristics of the immaterial world.¡± Dmitri exined, ¡°In other words, after immaterial world creatures enter this world, they must reside in the human body to survive. At least they need a sentient creature with a will.

    ¡°Also, the ¡®mind body¡¯ can be understood as the consciousness born in the dream world. The dream world is the link between many worlds. The volume of the dream world is thergest among the known worlds. It has no concept of time, and there are even other worlds at the end of it.

    ¡°In principle, it¡¯s not just nightmares with the theme of ¡®our world¡¯s history¡¯. It¡¯s just that no one has ¡®memories of other worlds¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that there is a special ancient profession called Dream Walker, who can enter the dreams of other worlds. It¡¯s just that the Mysterious Lady buried this ¡®secret¡¯.

    ¡°It is not entirely impossible for a soul to fall into this world from the other side of the dream world. A powerful Dream Walker can forcibly capture a soul from another world to this world; if it is an unknown creature native to the dream world, it is said it allows the soul to enter other worlds without losing memory. As you said before, you should be the second type.

    ¡°As far as I know, among the deities, the Red Knight and the Bell Ringer Oik were born into this world from different worlds through the dream world. Lady Luck passed through the dream world in the form of flesh and came to us from an unknown world. This matter is no secret in the Papal Kingdom.

    ¡°A soul that can cross the dream world means that it is born with the ability to remain fully awake in nightmares. This guarantees that every soul thates from the other side of the dream world must be able to be a transcender.

    ¡°Actually, this is the second time I¡¯ve discussed this topic with you.¡±

    Annan had teased ¡°Suuankou¡¯s Adventures in Wondend¡± previously.

    However, there came the other side of the story where it became ¡®Annan¡¯s Adventures in Wondend¡¯.

    A world adjacent to the dream world?

    Annan was lost in thought.

    In other words, Annan¡¯s original world should also be adjacent to the dream world.

    If the Dream Walker could enter the dreams of other worlds, there might be a certain degree of knowledge of the dream world on Earth.

    It was just that it was definitely not called the ¡°Dream World¡± over there. Just like ¡°Mist World¡± was not really called the ¡°Mist World¡±.

    Could it be a fantasynd?

    Please not. In that case, my boss could be¡­

    Annan had aplicated feeling.

    He shook his head, dispelling the wild thoughts.

    He suddenly noticed another detail, ¡°Wait, did you say a born transcender?¡±

    ¡ªIf this is the case, why would I choose the path of ritual in the past?

 Chapter 513: [Dye] & [Fear]

    <h4>Chapter 513: [Dye] & [Fear]</h4>

    Dmitri did not answer this question.

    ording to Dmitri, he asked Annan about it at the time.

    At that time, Dmitri was the established next-generation Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    It was just that Annan did not give him a direct answer. All Dmitri knew was that Annan had intentionally not taken the path of transcendence.

    This was useful when he traveled around the world.

    However, he went too far on the path of ritual.

    With his identity, the ult knowledge he had ess to was undoubtedly the highest level. Except for some of the most advanced knowledge about taboos that could not be touched, he should have more or less mastered other ult knowledge.

    Annan might also have mastered taboo knowledge if there were no surprise variables.

    Otherwise, the Old Grandmother would not rest assured and gave Annan the forbidden knowledge about ¡°Austere-Winter¡± while half asleep.

    The exception would be Annan had mastered this knowledge in the first ce.

    ¡°Generally speaking, a ritualist can also embark on a path of transcendence. The path of ritual does not directly conflict with the path of transcendence, but there are exceptions.¡±

    Dmitri replied, ¡°The more transcended knowledge you have carried and the higher your rank, the heavier this ult element will be.

    ¡°When reaching the [Corruption] stage, it will directly increase the erosion rate to a certain extent if you hold ult knowledge; when you reach the [Condensation] stage, the more ult knowledge you have, the more additional curses you need for the condensation process to bepleted.

    ¡°Most importantly, during the advancement [Dye] stage, by umting arge number of high-level ult knowledge in the same realm, one can modify one¡¯s natural elemental tendencies,¡± Dmitri exined.

    This was a secret that only official transcenders had ess to. It was also the method used by the wizard towers and the official transcendence organizations of various countries to inherit the skills of using elements.

    Annan finally understood.

    Annan¡¯s reason for abandoning the memories of his first life might not be just about eradicating memories without ¡°positive emotions¡±. Part of the reason was to prevent ult knowledge from affecting his advancement.

    Contacting the deities would inevitably bring ample ult knowledge. However, one could not be a trascender if he desired to have contact and interaction with the deities conveniently.

    From this point of view, Annan probably decided to have a second life from the very beginning.

    He took the path of ritual in the first life not because he did not want to avoid the path of transcendence.

    Instead, the goal was to pave the way for the future self so that Annan would not have to make a correction during his actual pursuit.

    He mastered the knowledge of the ritualist, traveled around the world alone, met the deities, sessfully reversed the Winter Heart, and cleaned his past knowledge. Or, he might have achieved other things, but the current Annan had not yet mastered it.

    It seemed the strategy of his first life focused entirely on optimizing the second life.

    That¡¯s really befitting my style.

    ¡°Is it for the sake of a pure and clean element?¡± Annan murmured.

    Why are the elements mastered by the wizards the types that fit their attributes?

    It turns out to be this reason.

    How can there be such a coincidence that the awakening element happens to be the best to use?

    They have no attribute panel, let alone Sage¡¯s Stone.

    Before the advancement, they don¡¯t know what their elemental inclinations are.

    For example, Dream Stealer Danton did not know that he needed the ¡°Dream¡± element before he changed his profession to Dream Stealer; Spiritual Monk Bernardino was even less likely to know his element before discovering this profession with the ¡°soul¡± attribute.

    After all, not every wizard tower was like the Storm Tower, whereby the host could inherit the power of the previous generation¡¯s elements and directly overwrite his talent.

    However, they could [Dye] their souls through mastering arge amount of high-level ult knowledge in a particr realm!

    I see.

    No wonder this is called the ¡°dyeing¡± rank in ancient times.

    Was it renamed as the ¡°Gold Rank¡± to hide this secret?

    There were factors directly affecting the upper and lower limits of the Gold Rank transcenders¡¯ strength. It was the coordination between the elemental power and the user¡¯s transcender capabilities on whether power amplification could go beyond a simple 1 + 1 = 2.

    ¡°Conversely, if the knowledge acquired is too messy or has overwhelming content, it will make the advancement ritual uncontroble, right?¡±

    Thus, generally speaking, a ritualist was an ¡°old man¡±.

    The greatest advantage of a ritualist was to make up for his shorings by using the power of great people to aplish things that could not be achieved with only one¡¯s strength.

    Then, a transcender couldn¡¯t change his profession to a ritualist just to master rituals in a few realms. It was even more unlikely for their goals to collect transcended knowledge in the same realm as oneself.

    After all, rituals in the same realm could be achieved with transcended power.

    Therefore, it was not just because the ritualist got older that he had more knowledge.

    Most of the reason was that transcenders would buy rted books and acquire ult knowledge when they did not intend to continue to advance.

    This was indeed knowledge that Annan had no way of learning.

    If Annan had not asked Dmitri, he would have waited until Salvatore was ready to advance to the Gold Rank before learning from this senior.

    But¡­

    ¡°Brother, don¡¯t you know about Transcender?¡± Annan looked at Dmitri suspiciously.

    Although Dmitri was not a transcender, he could grasp knowledge to this depth. Even Salvatore, as the ck Tower¡¯s Son, did not even know this secret when he first advanced to Silver Rank.

    But hearing Annan¡¯s tone, Dmitri shivered suddenly, ¡°Don¡¯t call me brother. Instead, please call me by my name.¡±

    Dmitri¡¯s expression was a bit weird, ¡°You may not remember, but you used to call me Dmitri directly. Whenever you call me ¡®brother¡¯, it is usually nothing good.¡±

    It¡¯s usually to let you take the me, right? I understand.

    Annan nodded knowingly.

    This is indeed something I would do!

    However, Dmitri did not answer right away.

    He reached into his arms subconsciously again. Before he realized and pulled his arm out, Annan had reached out and held his arm.

    ¡°Just smoke. It¡¯s fine.¡± Annan looked at Dmitri¡¯s tired and even red eyes and softly persuaded, ¡°One is fine. I don¡¯t mind, but you remember to take care of your body.¡±

    Smoking is bad for your health.

    However, it was ufortable for Dmitri to hold back, given his addiction to cigars.

    Dmitri sustained tremendous mental pressure. Annan did not want to deprive Dmitri because of him.

    ¡°I am more or less a high-ranking priest, so there will be no problems with my health. Maybe I am healthier than you.¡± Dmitri muttered, hesitated again, and sat down on Annan¡¯s bed, taking out the humidor.

    ¡°You may not remember. I like to smoke the best cigar and drink the most inferior-grade wine. Ah, you don¡¯t remember.¡±

    Seeing Annan¡¯s expression, Dmitri quickly understood and stopped talking.

    After he put the lit cigar into his mouth, he sighed softly.

    ¡°I also thought about bing a transcender back then.¡± Dmitri made a low, maic voice, ¡°But it¡¯s because of Father.

    ¡°Father¡¯s sickness is because he is not a transcender.

    ¡°I¡¯m much older than you and Maria. At the time, I had no other siblings. I was terrified the first time I saw my father sick. There was no one to share the fear with.

    ¡°I decided at that time to embark on the path of transcendence. I wanted to be a Gold Rank transcender¡ª

    ¡°It happened until I watched my first younger brother, who was also my father¡¯s second son, die miserably in a nightmare. In the end, he turned into an irrational demon.¡±

    When Dmitri said this, he subconsciously bit the cigar.

    Annan caught fear, sadness, and anger in his eyes.

    ¡°¡ªSo, I have backed down.¡±

    Heughed at himself and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous, Annan. It doesn¡¯t matter if youugh because it is absurd and shameful.

    ¡°Son of the Grand Duke, the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, runs away from mere nightmares? I¡¯m not a hero, not even a warrior.

    ¡°From then on, I didn¡¯t want to inherit the position of Grand Duke. This is one of the reasons why I dared to make that bet with Rotten Man.¡± Dmitri murmured.

    Dmitri¡¯s voice was soft, ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t deserve it. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    Annan fell silent.

    But if you are terrified of nightmares, why do you choose to be a priest?

 Chapter 514: Ivan Austere-Winter

    <h4>Chapter 514: Ivan Austere-Winter</h4>

    Considering Annan was short of time, Dmitri did not n to drag on further. He got someone to prepare a full-body cloak for Annan and escorted him into the subway.

    Transportation in the Austere-Winter Dukedom was much more convenient than in the Noah Kingdom.

    Annan found a subway station entrance without traveling more than one kilometer away.

    They arrived in Frostwhisper Province in about two hours. After changing to another train, Annan followed Dmitri to the gate of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too fast?¡± Annan sighed.

    This is surprisingly quick.

    This is faster than Smander. It reminds me of taking a bullet train for a business trip.

    Dmitri asked in return, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to hurry up?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Annan shook his head, followed Dmitri, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Where¡¯s the werewolf?¡±

    ¡°Although I¡¯m in no position to advise you, it¡¯s best not to get too close to werewolves.¡± Dmitri took a deep breath and let out the hateful words from his mouth.

    Dmitri did not look back but just kept walking in front of Annan.

    There was a lot of information contained in this discourse.

    Annan raised his eyebrows and replied bluntly, ¡°So, Dmitri. What happened? This is already the second time.

    ¡°You know. I¡¯ve forgotten all about the past.

    ¡°If you want me to be vignt against werewolves, you should rify your words instead of being so vague. It will only arouse my meaningless curiosity. Or do you want me to look into this matter deeper?¡±

    The elder brother was not angry about having Annan reprimanding him.

    He remained silent for a while with a strange expression on his face.

    When Annan was thinking about whether what he said was too impolite, Dmitri sighed lightly and wistfully, ¡°As expected of you, Annan.

    ¡°It¡¯s your unabashed, straight-to-the-point tonality. That¡¯s your style.

    ¡°Only after being reprimanded by you can I feel the sense of security that ¡®I have done nothing wrong now¡¯. You have talked to me so politely previously. I always felt that there seemed to be an extra distance between us. Now it looks like nothing has changed.

    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re back.¡±

    Annan had question marks surrounding his head.

    Wait, brother.

    Is there something wrong with you?

    Is this the legendary masochism with the desire to be reprimanded?

    ¡ªShocked Annan.jpg

    Given Dmitri¡¯s words, could it be that I will scold him when I have nothing better to do in my first life?

    Who is the big brother here?

    ¡°Dmitri has his reasons for not wanting to tell you.¡± At this moment, the voice of a middle-aged man who was somewhat weak but still calm came from not far ahead.

    Annan raised his head and looked over there.

    The middle-aged man had short gray and white hairbed to the back. Some traces of ck could still be vaguely seen in his hair. At the same time, his hair had be rtively fine but still thick.

    He had the same grizzled beard, gray eyebrows, and dark purple veins that had sunken slightly in his fair skin. It was evidence of perennial illness and debilitating health. The wrinkles on his forehead were shallow, but his smile lines were deep.

    He had a slightly protruding back and was shorter than Dmitri. At this moment, he held a dark blue scepter with three support handles below it. It looked like a walking stickmonly found in hospitals that supported intravenous drip.

    Annan raised his head subconsciously and met his gaze.

    Those ice-blue pupils looked exactly like Annan and Dmitri¡¯s.

    But it urred that its transparency was higher. Compared with Dmitri¡¯s emotionless eyes, it was more simr to an infinitely calm iceke.

    Beneath the ice was a never-ending ice storm.

    ¡°¡­Father.¡± Annan whispered.

    His voice was hoarse for some reason, but there was no hesitation in his tone.

    Obviously, this part of memory had utterly dissipated and wiped out.

    But there seemed to be something still flowing in the blood, perhaps the instinct.

    He could not even imagine how ugly his expression would be.

    Dmitri, on the side, nodded tly and bowed slightly to show respect, ¡°Father.¡±

    Before Annan was this man, who seemed to be only 40 years old but had gray hair, eyebrows, and a beard. He was the Grand Duke of Austere-Winter, Ivan Austere-Winter.

    Compared with the Young Henry VIII, the traces of time could be seen in Ivan.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you came back.¡± Ivan nced at Annan and repeated steadily. ¡°Juste back.¡±

    His youngest son finally returned to the family, but no joy could be seen on his face. He did not smile gently, nor was he moved to tears. Instead, he stared at Annan fixedly as if he wanted to remember his current appearance firmly.

    This was not because of the weak rtionship between them.

    The Austere-Winter family had been cursed by the [Winter Heart], and there was no ¡°joy¡± in the family.

    The kinship of the Austere-Winter family and the love born in the Austere-Winter family was a pure sense of identity that transcended happiness and blissfulness.

    ¡°Come in first, Annan,¡± Ivan replied calmly, his lips raised slightly, trying to make a smile.

    This was already a very original smile.

    However, Annan could still clearly see that it was just acting.

    This was the gentle expression of an unintentional person just to reassure others.

    It appeared like amp lit by a blind man in the night.

    Annan took a deep breath and followed Ivan into the room.

    Ivan¡¯s skin looked good, but he was struggling to walk.

    Holding a silver, ck, and dark blue scepter, he walked slowly into the room. Annan nced at it. Dmitri did not intend to reach out to help Ivan, so he followed Grand Duke Ivan and walked slowly into the room.

    The Grand Duke¡¯s room was much simpler and unadorned than Henry VIII¡¯s.

    There was no decoration of the jewelry. Only four or five picture scrolls that seemed to be painted by the deities were pasted in the room. A bookshelf filled with mystic books, a sofa, a long low table, and a taller desk with signed documents.

    Besides that, there was only a double bed with only one pillow. Then, there were two woman portraits hanging above the bed.

    The one on the left appeared to be a rtively ordinary ck-haired girl with a gentle temperament.

    She had long ck hair, braided and hung over her shoulders. It was the same hairstyle that Annan saw when Annan was eight years old and Dmitri in ¡°Nightmare: Wolf¡¯s Kiss¡±.

    There were some vague simrities with Dmitri¡¯s appearance.

    She might be Dmitri¡¯s mother.

    In the portrait on the right was a silver-haired girl who looked exactly like Maria and Annan. Her temperament was cold, but there were no scales on her face. She looked about her early twenties.

    They seemed to be ordinary people.

    At least none of them were the Austere-Winters.

    ¡°Bubble fruit tea. Your favorite drink.¡± Ivan opened the lid for Annan and said in a low voice.

    Annan saw many fruit slices moving up and down in the soda water, and pale frost marks could be seen on the slices.

    He sat on the chair curiously and took a sip.

    The taste is not bad.

    It¡¯s like iced fruity sparkling water from a milk tea shop.

    ¡°Dmitri doesn¡¯t want to go into much detail with you because he was the most direct victim.¡±

    Sitting on the sofa, Ivan nced at Dmitri, who was standing upright. He turned his head and exined to Annan, who was sitting on a chair while enjoying the drink.

    ¡°It¡¯s back when you brothers gambled with the Rotten Man.

    ¡°A werewolf named Be has betrayed Dmitri.¡±

 Chapter 515: Betrayed Dmitri

    <h4>Chapter 515: Betrayed Dmitri</h4>

    Under Ivan¡¯s exnation, Annan figured out what had happened then.

    The Rotten Man and Dmitri yed a total of three games.

    The first two games resulted in a draw between the two parties.

    The third game, which was thest game, was originally the game where Dmitri had the greatest advantage.

    This was a gamble simr to a variety show.

    The rules were simple.

    Dmitri would choose one person to be his ¡°assistant¡±. The Rotten Man would ask them two questions simultaneously ¨C one about Dmitri and one about his chosen assistant. The requirement was that the two candidates had to know the answer altogether.

    If the answers to these two questions were the same and neither lied, it would be considered a victory.

    If the answers given were different, it was considered a failure. Once they failed, the ¡°right answerer¡± would have to pay the price. In other words, the person would bear the curse of [No Heir], while the ¡°wrong answerer¡± did not need to pay any price; if the two people had the same answer but lied, then the two of them would bear the curse of [No heir] together.

    Hearing this, Annan understood.

    This was a gamble that tested people¡¯s hearts.

    If both were right, the candidates would win. However, it would be a defeat if both candidates gave the wrong answer. Simrly, it would be a loss when only one candidate had answered correctly.

    This was not a gamble that tested ¡°tacit understanding¡± and ¡°rapport¡±.

    Instead, it was a test of ¡°trust¡± ¡ª the standard prisoner¡¯s dilemma.

    In particr, Dmitri would appoint the assistant directly.

    No matter how close a friend was, once they knew the price they might have to pay for being involved, they would probably bear animosity.

    Instead, if it were a closer rtionship¡ªfor example, ¡°close rtives¡± such as Maria or Annan, he would not choose the person as his assistant.

    Dmitri could not afford even the slightest possibility of failure, no matter how tiny the chance was.

    So the other way around¡­

    If a person was selected as an ¡°assistant¡±, it was the equivalent of telling the person that he was a ¡°receable friend¡±.

    ¡°Wait, something¡¯s not right.¡± Annan suddenly realized the crucial problem.

    ¡ªSo, why Be?

    It was not surprising that a werewolf, especially a werewolf from the Winter¡¯s Hand, was chosen as an assistant in the ritual. After all, the fundamental mission of the Winter¡¯s Hand was to protect the blood of the Austere-Winter family. Taking risks andpleting tasks were one of their responsibilities.

    Anyway, the Winter¡¯s Hand probably could not have offspring.

    That was because they held too many secrets.

    When the Winter¡¯s Hand retired, they had to be watched daily.

    Whether it was leaving their residence, grocery shopping, or interacting with friends, they would be under surveince as long as they had contact with other people. Vacation was something that would not cross their mind. To leave the city, they had to get the mayor¡¯s signature and be apanied by three Winter¡¯s Hands for the monitoring process. Only the group judged to be rtively safe and had made outstanding achievements in Winter¡¯s Hand had this privilege.

    Most of the Winter¡¯s Hand suffered a bitter end. Theirst mission was usually to guard the tomb of the Austere-Winter Family, preventing people from stealing the corpses with the deities¡¯ blood. From then on, they would not be able to leave. The only good thing was that they could be buried with the people of the Austere-Winter family they guarded all their lives.

    But needless to say, their families could not worship them either.

    To be the new Winter¡¯s Hand instructor and continue to work in Frostwhisper Province until death was considered their best ending.

    To die on a mission was their greatest luck.

    At least, they would be [heroes] and be remembered.

    As Michngelo once quipped: ¡ª[Winter¡¯s Hand] were giants.

    That was because giants were a race that ¡°had no vision in youth¡± and ¡°could not speak when old¡±.

    They were not fighting for righteousness, nor were they required to obey thew.

    First, they protected the blood of the Austere-Winter Family, followed by arresting and killing the designated targets by the orders of the Austere-Winter Family. Then, their next role in line was to punish the viins. Therefore, the Winter¡¯s Hand was undoubtedly a ¡°blind man¡±.

    It should be the best choice to have Winter¡¯s Hand as the assistant.

    But the premise of this was that both parties should have a more thorough knowledge and understanding of the other party. Otherwise, even if the person did not take the initiative to betray, he would still fail if he did not know the answer to the question.

    Then, Ivan Austere-Winter revealed a piece of shocking news, ¡°Be and Dmitri were a couple at one point. It even reached the level of discussion on marriage.¡±

    At this point, Annan nced at Dmitri again. He could not help but widen his eyes.

    Brother?

    Werewolf?

    How did they match?

    The noble eldest son of the Grand Duke fell in love with the lowly werewolf girl who had no parents.

    Annan felt a story of at least 300,000 words emerge in his mind.

    However, Ivan did not go too deep into this issue due to his concern about Dmitri¡¯s reputation.

    However, Annan already knew the end of the story.

    ¡°But in the end, Be chose to betray?¡± He did not quite understand.

    What is her goal?

    Now that the two decided to get married, wouldn¡¯t the oue be the same if one of themcked fertility? They could only choose to tide over the difficulties together, and this would be theirst stand when they had no answer.

    ¡°Be deliberately chose the wrong answer. As a result, Dmitri paid the price for his trust.¡±

    ¡°What happens next?¡±

    ¡°Then, the Winter¡¯s Hand investigated Be. Although this is a misfortune, it is also a good thing.¡± Ivan raised his head, nced at Annan, and then at Dmitri, who lowered his head.

    ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for this incident, we wouldn¡¯t have found out. Be¡¯s teacher, former Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s [Thumb], dmir, had already betrayed Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°Betrayal to the Austere-Winter Family?¡± Annan murmured and repeated.

    Then, he recalled.

    If Annan was not mistaken, ¡°dmir¡± was the ¡°Thumb¡± who recruited Be into Winter¡¯s Hand in ¡°Nightmare: Wolf¡¯s Kiss¡±.

    No wonder he asked Be, ¡°Are you loyal to the Grand Duke?¡± It was such a weird topic.

    Loyalty without trial and training was meaningless and unrealistic unless the answer he wanted was not ¡°loyalty¡±.

    Instead, it was ¡°disloyal¡±.

    ¡°What did they do?¡± Annan asked.

    Ivan tapped his cane on the floor.

    The Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke replied slowly, ¡°They used Be to steal Dmitri¡¯s body fluids to create a curse vessel that can control and tame the Frost Beast without the need for ¡®Austere-Winter¡¯s bloodline¡¯.¡±

    Annan asked curiously, ¡°So, how far have theypleted?¡±

    Ivan reached out, stroked the groove on the scepter, and replied slowly, ¡°Unfortunately, they¡¯ve seeded.¡±

 Chapter 516: The Frost Maul Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 516: The Frost Maul Disaster</h4>

    Rebels¡­

    Annan vaguely recalled this matter.

    A curse vessel that reces the essence of the Austere-Winter family. This is critical.

    Even if the curse vessel was destroyedter, the idea that ¡°the Austere-Winter family was notpletely necessary¡± had already taken root in people¡¯s minds.

    Grand Duke Ivan spoke slowly, ¡°By the time we realized that dmir might have betrayed Austere-Winter, he had already tampered with a third of the Frost Beast¡¯s memory, changing the highest authority from me to ¡®him¡¯.

    ¡°Fortunately, it was discovered in time. Be turned herself in, iming her intention to shoulder her crimes bymitting meritorious deeds. Then, we used her information to clean up the inside of Winter¡¯s Hand.

    ¡°A total of 31 traitors were found, and 17 fled. Although it isn¡¯t a big number, they have quietly stolen a lot of supplies by relying on the Winter¡¯s Hand authority.¡±

    In other words, they had nned it for a long time.

    With his father exining the matter, Annan slowly sorted out what had happened six years ago.

    At that time, dmir lent the Rotten Man¡¯s power, sneaked underground, and escaped Austere-Winter Dukedom after the Rotten Man acquired the bet. No one knew what price he paid or if he had already conspired with the Rotten Man in the first ce.

    The Austere-Winter Dukedom immediately seized dmir¡¯s students.

    But even so, there was still a person who slipped through the ¡ª dmir¡¯s disciple, Thoreau Nick, who did not pass the Wolf¡¯s Kiss ritual and left Frostwhisper Province long ago.

    Annan still remembered the name.

    He met this man in the Wolf¡¯s Kiss Nightmare.

    Thoreau Nick was a shy young man with light brown hair, fair skin, and freckles. He had thin and sunken cheeks.

    His parents were murderers, so no one wanted to teach him swordsmanship. In the end, dmir brought him up and led him to the path of transcendence.

    ¡°¡ªTeacher is my benefactor! For the sake of Teacher, I can even offer my life!¡±

    It seemed that Thoreau Nick¡¯s sonorous and passionate words still lingered in Annan¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Relying on dmir¡¯s authority, Thoreau Nick led the defected Winter¡¯s Hands and organized a rebel army called the ¡®Iceshredders¡¯.

    ¡°They im that Austere-Winters have no human emotions, so thews are harsh, unkind, always sacrificing others but never self-sacrifice, which is unconvincing.

    ¡°Since the fundamental reason for the Austere-Winter Family to serve as the Grand Duke is that Austere Winter¡¯s Blood can freely control the Frost Beast, and the Frost Beast is an irresistible military strength. Then, as long as other means are used to control the Frost Beast, we don¡¯t need the Austere-Winter Family to be the Grand Duke.¡±

    When Ivan said this, he sneered, ¡°The winter year is still too long.

    ¡°The younger generation who were born in the winter year and grew up in the winter year have forgotten their Old Grandmother.¡±

    ¡°Then?¡±

    ¡°After that, they made a lot of promises locally and got the support of some local nobles.¡±

    However, it happened that Ivan Austere-Winter was the most recognized and capable Grand Duke in the past two hundred years. His charisma made most people unwilling to participate in the rebellion.

    Sacrifices had happened.

    Therefore, the rebels did not stir up many public opponents against the dukedom.

    ¡°Most people are waiting and watching. They hope to ¡®sacrifice less and pay a lesser price¡¯ by capitalizing on the rebels.¡±

    Everyone hopes that they will not be the losers of this ordeal.

    That is reasonable.

    After that, it was a rebellion thatsted three years.

    Having the curse vessel that controlled the Frost Beast allowed the Iceshredders Rebel Army to recruit soldiers at almost no cost outside the small barrier. It was also possible to collect arge number of cubs through the underground world and release them into the blizzard to artificially generate the Frost Beasts.

    Ordinary soldiers could not resist the assaults from the Frost Beasts, except for the First Legion trained with the Frost Beast.

    Although the rebel numbers were not significant, they onlyunched the Frost Beast from a distance to attack those towns that did not support them, mainly to annihte the troops that came to back up the officials. Actual rebels were rarely on the move, which was also tricky to deal with.

    Only the Austere-Winter Family, the Winter¡¯s Hand, the Priest of the Old Grandmother, and the First Legion with the Frost Beast mounts were effective against the Frost Beast.

    ¡°In the beginning, their strategy was sessful. As the number of towns they attacked increased, many towns could not survive before reinforcements came, or the reinforcements could not resist the Frost Beasts. The dissatisfaction against us gradually increased.¡±

    Grand Duke Ivan said slowly, ¡°At this moment, your elder brother, Dmitri, the Iron-Blooded, came up with a n with Be¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°After all, the Iceshredders have many Frost Beasts but few people. They hoard the Frost Beasts without thinking, but our Frost Beasts have soldiers from the First Legion and criminals to feed them, but they don¡¯t have enough people.

    ¡°Then, we can reduce the rebel attack frequency. Then, more and more of the Frost Beast gradually lost control because they did not kill soldiers andcked food. The hungry Frost Beasts finally ughtered the first town for food, and the tables had turned.

    ¡°The Iceshredders lost the support of all marginal towns and local nobles immediately. The Frost Beasts under control are weapons, but the Frost Beasts that have gone wild turn into a natural disaster. Natural disasters can only be resolved under the dukedom¡¯s power. From this point of view, Be¡¯s strategy has immediately taken effect.

    ¡°However, the massive hunger of the Frost Beast was uncontroble. The greedy predation made more of the Frost Beast lose their food source and go crazy, and finally formed a natural disaster called the ¡®Frost Maul Disaster¡¯ like an avnche.¡±

    The natural disaster overshadowed the rebellion.

    At this time, Be, who had made up for it, disyed her power. The werewolf would not be the first to be attacked by the Frost Beasts, so the efficiency of the werewolf hunting the crazy Frost Beasts is superb. As long as ordinary people were used as bait, the frenzied Frost Beasts would turn a blind eye to the werewolf¡¯s attack.

    Therefore, Winter¡¯s Hand tried to recruit a group of werewolves and trained them as ¡°Windrunners¡±, which were used to go to various ces to kill and eliminate the excess frenzied Frost Beasts.

    Things are going pretty smoothly.

    Tobat the Frost Maul Disaster, Austere-Winter Dukedom absorbed more werewolves into the army and the Winter¡¯s Hand. At this time, people gradually forgot about the Iceshredders. They could only control ordinary Frost Beasts, and the newly born Frost Beasts would soon go crazy.

    Finally, Maria Austere-Winter sessfully inherited the power of the Daughter of the Storm.

    She utilized the power of the Storm Tower to scan the entire territory of Austere-Winter and came about the Great Barrier to kill the Frost Beast on arge scale. Finally, the disaster came to an end.

    On the flip side, she located the Iceshredders and executed the counterinsurgency.

    ¡°However, Nick Thoreau, who was the leader, is missing.

    ¡°After Maria intensified her detection efforts and monitoring scope, although she did not find Thoreau Nick, she unexpectedly reached a discovery. Be and some of the werewolves recruited into the Winter¡¯s Hand sent out messages secretly.

    ¡°The person who received the news this time was no longer dmir, who fled the Austere-Winter Dukedom and entered the underground world.

    ¡°It¡¯s an ambitious man named [Professor Wolf] Frederick.¡± In other words, she betrayed the Austere-Winter Dukedom for the second time.

    It was most likely that the strategy she offered back then was the strategy ¡°Professor Wolf¡± was given to improve the status of werewolves.

    In other words, the destruction from the Frost Maul Disaster, which was at least five folds the Icebreaker Army, could be their conspiracy.

    ¡°This is the cause of the ¡®Second Purge¡¯ where all werewolves were purged from Winter¡¯s Hand and executed in secret.¡±

    After Ivan finished speaking, he looked at Annan and said calmly, ¡°Be fled for several years and was found and killed by Maria two months ago.

    ¡°But Annan, you know¡­ It¡¯s not over yet.¡±

    dmir, who sneaked underground; Thoreau Nick, who disappeared inexplicably; and Professor Wolf, whose ns remained hidden¡­

    Annan nodded slowly.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Is that why Dmitripletely lost trust in her and even in werewolves?

    I got it now.

 Chapter 517: Iâ€™m Just A Tool

    <h4>Chapter 517: I¡¯m Just A Tool</h4>

    ¡°In the end, how long will it take?¡± Doreen crouched in the corner of the prison with her hands on her knees.

    She had been locked up here for almost a week.

    It was an enclosed room isted from the outside world.

    There was no one else, not even a voice to be heard, but her. When eating, drinking, and taking out the garbage, she had to enter Room A in the inner room first. After the warden confirmed that she had entered Room A, the warden would remotely lock Room A¡¯s door through ritual and send someone into Room B to put food and water in and take away the waste.

    There was nothing in her room except a wooden tray for food, a wooden bowl for drinking water, a small toilet, and a ¡°bed¡± resembling a sleeping bag on the floor.

    Otherwise, the room was empty.

    Only when being interrogated would there be strangers with rings or white gloves and stern faces pushing the door in.

    Doreen would instantly lose consciousness by looking at them.

    It was pretty disturbing, just like immersing her head in icy water and being frozen until she became unconscious.

    She did not even know what questions she had answered or when they left. It was as if she had been too drunk and had lost her memories.

    When she woke up, she found her brain searing hot as if she had a fever. It would take several hours for her to recover.

    However, the good thing was that fear and anxiety that slowly umted in her heart due to her imprisonment in this confinement room would disappear with the arrival of that brain-overheating state.

    Doreen was worried.

    Did I leak information about Mr. Ghindaio when I was unconscious?

    Or is there already a fight outside now? A battle among the heirs? Or a battle between uncles and nephews?

    Will His Royal Highness Dmitri be exiled?

    He doesn¡¯t look smart after all.

    I heard that Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s health is poor. Will something happen to him? Would Mr. Ghindaioy assassination attempts against him and find opportunities to usurp the throne after the Grand Duke died of illness? Then, His Royal Highness Dmitri will be exiled outside the country. This is highly possible. However, Grand Duke Ivan is said to be a pretty kind person. I hope he survives.

    Mr. Ghindaio¡ªno, His Highness Ghindaio does not seem to discriminate against werewolves as much as his brother. If he can be Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, maybe the situation of our werewolves can be improved a little. Hopefully so¡­

    But, since I know so many secrets, will Ghindaio kill me to put me into silence?

    ¡°Woo.¡± Thinking of this, Doreen groaned and buried her face between her knees.

    ¡ªI think I am done for.

    Just then, there was a creaking sound.

    The door, which was tightly fitted and without a doorknob, was opened from the outside. Two Winter¡¯s Hands came in, holding the door with one person inside the room and the other person outside. They looked straight in front and disregarded everything else.

    Eh, they haven¡¯t entered and locked the door yet?

    Doreen shivered, looking at the door in bafflement and terrified.

    Usually, this door would only be opened when she entered Room A and locked herself.

    Why aren¡¯t they worried about me running away this time?

    Is it my death sentence approaching?

    ¡°¡ªDoreen.¡±

    Mr. Ghindaio¡¯s voice came from the door.

    The handsome middle-aged man had a gentle smile on his alluring face like a sculpture. He walked in through the two Winter¡¯s Hands.

    ¡°Sir Ghindaio,¡± Doreen whispered in reply.

    She struggled to stand up from the ground.

    Since she had squatted for too long, her legs felt a little numb, so she staggered and fell forward.

    Before she fell into Ghindaio¡¯s arms, he quickly grabbed her shoulders and helped her.

    Is it an illusion?

    Why does it feel like Mr. Ghindaio¡¯s hand is so strong? It¡¯s like a stone statue that hase to life.

    However, she reacted quickly and struggled to stand up straight.

    ¡°Sorry, Mr. Ghindaio! I sincerely apologize!¡± Doreen made her voice as loud as possible, but it was still too soft to be heard.

    She was terrified because of her clumsiness.

    Then, she felt her throat constricted with fear and her gums and fingertips feeling slightly numb.

    Ghindaio gave a somewhat iprehensible, mysterious, and scrutinizing smile.

    I seem to have seen this smile somewhere.

    Yes.

    When the teacher chose her back then, he seemed to have shown this expression.

    ¡°Doreen.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­! I¡­ I am here.¡± Her voice was getting softer and softer.

    But Ghindaio patted her shoulder and smiled gently, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.

    ¡°By the way, why are you so afraid of me? You haven¡¯t been like this beforehand.¡±

    What can I say?

    That¡¯s because I don¡¯t know if I have leaked a secret, so I don¡¯t know if I will be put to death.

    Looking at Doreen, who hesitated, Ghindaio¡¯s eyes grew deeper.

    As if wanting to break the silence, the ck-haired, ck-eyed middle-aged man spoke slowly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Everything is the same as before.¡± Ghindaio blurted casually, ¡°Oh, right. What are your ns after you are released?¡±

    ¡°My ns¡­¡± Doreen faltered, unable to answer. She did not even know the right words to say.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± She hesitated for a long time and finally said so.

    This was the truth.

    She did not know the ¡°right¡± words to say, so she could only tell the truth in the end.

    At least if she spoke a wrong answer like this, she would not regret it too much.

    ¡°But, if I can¡­ I want to find [teacher].¡±

    ¡°Professor Wolf?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Doreen bit her lip ¡ª literally. She sucked her blood like a baby sucking milk.

    ¡°I want to ask him. Why did he give me this mission? Also, what am I to him?¡±

    As she spoke, Doreen¡¯s voice grew softer again.

    At the same time, she became more and more lost.

    In fact, there was no need for [Professor Wolf] to give her the answer.

    She had long understood that she was just a disposable tool.

    After all, Professor Wolf himself was not a werewolf.

    He adopted and raised werewolf orphans only to achieve his own goals. From this point of view, Professor Wolf was no different from the others who regarded werewolves as tools.

    ¡°In that case.¡± Ghindaio said softly, ¡°You might as well work for me first.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Doreen looked at Ghindaio in surprise.

    But is this necessary?

    I¡¯m just a useless werewolf.

    I don¡¯t have connections or any special skills. I only know how to follow orders and can¡¯t do anything well.

    ¡°Yes, work for me.¡±

    Ghindaio said slowly, ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the underground world first to do some things. After that, I want to search for Professor Wolf and confront him face to face. From this point of view, our goals are the same, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Same goals?

    Doreen stared nkly at Ghindaio.

    In her eyes, the gentle smile of the middle-aged man was reflected.

    It seemed exceptionally convincing.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like [teacher].¡± She whispered.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°No, nothing.¡±

    Doreen inexplicably had a closer feeling toward the person in front of her.

    Since I¡¯m just a tool, why don¡¯t I use it for those who want me?

    Thinking of this, Doreen felt that her mood improved a lot.

    Somewhere out of her sight¡­

    Ghindaio held two crystal bells in his lowered left palm.

    As expected.

    Ghindaio nodded thoughtfully.

 Chapter 518: Rasputinâ€™s Ring

    <h4>Chapter 518: Rasputin¡¯s Ring</h4>

    ¡°Victor.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°You first give this letter to Igor in the St. Alexis Province. Then, head to Melvin¡¯s house and ask them for a copy of Professor Wolf¡¯s detailed information.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Standing behind Ivan Austere-Winter, the middle-aged man with frost hair and gray eyes nodded. He took a thick letter from Grand Duke Ivan.

    He did not hesitate, nor did he salute and leave.

    He left the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence without looking back.

    A cold ring could be vaguely seen on his right thumb.

    Ivan Austere-Winter sighed and stood up slowly. Then, he held the scepter and walked to the window.

    Looking at the back of Victor leaving, he asked softly, ¡°Zoya, what did Annan bring when Annan left?¡±

    ¡°He just brought some money along.¡± An adult woman with long dark blue hair gradually emerged from Ivan¡¯s side.

    There was a cold crystal ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

    Zoya sighed helplessly, ¡°He only took 50 pounds of paper money and a small bag of silver coins. No matter what I said, he didn¡¯t put on the positioning ring either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how kids are when they grow up,¡± Ivanmented inly.

    Zoya raised her eyebrows, ¡°The way you put it, His Highness Annan did not look like a child previously.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because he has an adult soul in his body. Don¡¯t treat him as a child. He understands these things. If he wants to help, he wille back immediately.¡±

    Grand Duke Ivan took a deep breath and exhaled a mouthful of condensed air.

    A thinyer of frost instantly formed on the ss in front of him. Ivan¡¯s face turned pale, and he could not help but shiver.

    Seeing this, Zoya immediately stepped forward.

    She supported Grand Duke with her right hand and put her left hand behind Grand Duke Ivan to smoothen his breathing. The crystal ring suddenly lit up, quickly drawing the chill from Ivan¡¯s body.

    However, Ivan was still trembling violently.

    He frowned tightly, did not say a word, and just gasped violently with his mouth closed. The severe pain made him clench his teeth, and the muscles on his cheeks bulged.

    The purple runes on the cheeks became more profound and apparent.

    After a while, Ivan said hoarsely, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Zoya.¡±

    ¡°You really are¡­¡± Zoyained, letting go of Grand Duke Ivan.

    Her right hand was a little red from the chill, while the ring on her left hand grew increasingly shiny.

    ¡°In short, don¡¯t be too harsh on Annan. Unlike Dmitri, he is not a kid who is overly concerned with his reputation. He knows how to escape, but he is not timid.

    ¡°Among high-ranking people, this is a rare talent.¡± Ivan said slowly, ¡°I trust him more than I trust Dmitri and Mariabined.

    ¡°Dmitri is a serious kid, but he is short-sighted. He has a gloomy personality, but he is easy to entrust his heart to others. So, he is prone to prejudice against people and things. He can be an excellent minister, but he cannot be a Grand Duke.

    ¡°Maria, like her mother Anya, is a persistent and brave girl. However, she loves her blood rtives more than her distant rtives and friends, and her love for her rtives and friends is more than for her people. Maria does not care about strangers and will choose to be close to or distant from someone based on her preference. If she seeds to the throne, she will be an incapable ruler or tyrant.

    ¡°If anyone can be a better Grand Duke than me, it can only be Annan.¡±

    ¡°Is it because His Highness Annan is broad-minded even to contain the entire world?¡± Zoya made wild guesses.

    Ivan shook his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s a madman.¡± Grand Duke replied, ¡°He is a fearless lunatic.¡±

    He still remembered how Annan replied when he told Annan about the secrets of this country and this world.

    ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t care. I¡¯m what you called ¡®a person who is not of this world¡¯.¡± Not long after getting the name, the Young Annan replied, ¡°If necessary, let me be the Grand Duke. I can even be a deity or a saint.¡±

    ¡°Think about it, Annan. In this world, the higher status does not represent riches and wealth, not power but a smelting forge.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± At that time, the immature Annan asked sharply, ¡°There must be the Lord of Cinder [1] to spread the fire, father.

    ¡°If it can¡¯t be someone else, why can¡¯t it be me?

    ¡°If it can¡¯t be me, why can¡¯t I take this fire away?¡±

    Although Ivan did not understand what the Lord of Cinder meant, Ivan vaguely understood Annan¡¯s metaphor.

    It was from then on that Ivan recognized the essence of Annan.

    Being able to sacrifice everything other than the goal for the sake of the [objective] without any psychological pressure.

    In other words, he was the one who could destroy the world to save it.

    A person who did not move forward relying on the teachings of others did not yearn for wealth and power, did not believe in benevolence and morality but a person who simply obtained pleasure from the actions of ¡°aplishing goals¡±.

    From then on, Ivan understood.

    Annan walked on a dividing line between dusk and dawn.

    Then, instead of forcing him with ¡°fear¡±, it was better to seduce him with ¡°pleasure¡±.

    If Annan wanted to be a saint or a deity, Ivan must seal his fear. It was not for the ¡°absence of fear¡± but to prevent this fear from misleading his path and goal in another direction.

    However, on the other way around.

    ¡°I also trust Annan immensely.¡± Ivan said slowly, ¡°Only a madman would want to save this riddled world; only a madman would save these countries full of crimes, and only a madman would try to save foolish and short-sighted mortals.

    ¡°Only a madman would try to purge the world of all nightmares; only a madman would try to purge the Gray Mists; only a madman would easily kill his past ¡®self¡¯ to rise higher.

    ¡°But it just so happens that Annan is such a lunatic.

    ¡°He has a strong desire to rise, so he is a perfect transcender; he has an immense desire to seek knowledge, so he is an ideal ritualist; he has a tremendous desire to possess, thus a perfect Fallen.

    ¡°He is meant to be the peak of any path. He is not trying to change the world for justice orpassion, but just for pleasure.¡±

    All his desires were for internal ascension, not for possessing external objects.

    That was probably why he was chosen for the [Book of Divine Transporter].

    The Divine Transporter was the carriage of [Ascension].

    If Austere-Winter Dukedom needed a new king, it could only be Annan.

    Austere-Winter Dukedom needed Annan for the rescue, and Annan needed the responsibility to save.

    It had been like this from the very beginning.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Zoya seemed to have thought of something and asked Ivan, ¡°Annan seems to have a ring from the Rasputin Family in his hand.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ivan was stunned for the first time.

    He turned around suspiciously, ¡°How did hee into contact with people from the Rasputin Family?¡±

    Zoya shrugged.

    ¡°I guess,¡± she whispered, ¡°He got it at Geraint¡¯s ce.¡±

    ¡°Could it be Anya¡¯s younger sister?¡± Thinking of his dead second wife, Anya Rasputin, the mother of Annan and Maria, Ivan frowned slightly.

    He remembered that Annan had capitalized on the ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± identity when he was in the Noah Kingdom. Interestingly, Don Juan¡¯s mother was a nobleman from the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    However, to Ivan¡¯s knowledge, Don Juan¡¯s mother should be from the Melvin Family.

    Thinking about it now, Anya¡¯s younger sister, Lily Rasputin¡¯s, sudden disappearance happened during the first two years before the third daughter of the Melvin Family married into the Noah Kingdom. So it might be a little rted.

    ¡°Investigate this matter, Zoya.¡± Ivan tapped the scepter with his fingertips.

    He responded in a low voice, ¡°Look into the third daughter of the Melvin Family, Euphemia Melvin. Did she exchange identities with Lily Rasputin? Check to see if it is the ring of the Rasputin Family. If so, ask the Rasputin Family for a copy of Lily Rasputin¡¯s password, and give the password to Annan.

    ¡°Annan said he¡¯ll be back next month. Get things done by then.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Grand Duke.¡± The woman with long blue hair answered solemnly.

    ¡°And also,¡± Ivan said in a low voice.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty?¡± Zoya asked suspiciously, ¡°What did you mean to say?¡±

    ¡°When Annan returns, remember to give him some extra money secretly, possibly 50 pounds. I think he has 80 other-worldly entourages. This money allows 80 people to take the subway and will be spent after four or five trips.¡±

    Ivan said with a straight face, ¡°He may not be embarrassed, but he must not know the fees of the underground world. Next time, bring him 200¡­ No, 300 pounds worth of paper money.

    ¡°Austere-Winter is poor, but not so poor that the Grand Duke needs to save the expenses. Got it, Zoya?¡±

    ¡°En, I shall remember that,¡± Zoya responded with a slight smile.

 Chapter 519: You May Call Me Ghirlandaio

    <h4>Chapter 519: You May Call Me Ghindaio</h4>

    Nieusel was still patrolling the streets of Sporeggar Mill at 7:30 p.m.

    There was no unified routine based on sunrise and sunset in the underground world, where there was no real and constant sun.

    The factories here never stopped. The workers not only worked in three shifts but also the working hours of each factory were not specific. Based on this lifestyle and work schedule, the shops on the street would have different opening hours.

    This was also why people above ground were not suitable for living underground for a long time.

    Once a person got used to this ¡°sleep as long as you want¡± lifestyle, the person would gradually bezy.

    At the same time, they could not have free working hours like the underground folks.

    Even though they were only moving vertically up and down, they still felt like they had crossed the time zone when they returned to the surface. It was as if they were going from the Noah Kingdom to the Papal Kingdom. It even gave the impression of jetg.

    For Nieusel, his job was flexible.

    He was the only [Overseer] in Sporeggar Mill.

    The Digger Council of the local city provided the wages for employing Overseers, and the Overseers were only responsible for the Diggers in their city.

    At the same time, Sporeggar Mill was a smaller city.

    Thus, this small city only had one Digger in total.

    That person was Nieusel himself as well.

    In other words, Nieusel worked for himself, paid himself, and was responsible for himself. Even if he always cked, no one would care about it, let alone bother him.

    Even if he worked diligently every day, he would not get a penny.

    However, Nieusel still patrolled the streets every day.

    It was not because he was bored just sitting around.

    Deep down in his heart, he wanted to use his strength and his way to protect the city.

    He did not establish this city, let alone this was not his birthce.

    The reason for his hard work could only be attributed to Nefertari¡¯s presence at this ce.

    This small city had only one Wise and one Digger. No specialty products existed, and this ce did not fall on any major trade route. Worse still, the city above this ce was just a small town.

    Sporeggar Mill was undoubtedly one of the smallest cities in the resource-rich and vast underground world.

    If Nieusel and Nefertari moved again, it would be difficult to find an edge city with no person in charge and only needed two people to manage it.

    For Nieusel, Sporeggar Mill was closer to his ¡°home¡± where he, Nefertari, and enthusiastic ¡°neighbors¡± resided.

    There were hardly any young people here.

    Those who came to Sporeggar Mill were primarily elderly.

    That was also how the duo recognized Lin Yiyi¡¯s group as outsiders at first sight.

    Usually, there were not so many young people in Sporeggar Mill.

    Except for him and Nefertari, the other residents were closely knitted neighbors nearby. After living for so many years, the residents had roughly recognized each other¡¯s faces.

    Usually, when Nieusel walked on the street, he was warmly greeted by grandparents and asionally given presents and snacks.

    Of course, they were not out here to tter the city¡¯s ¡°sole enforcer.¡±

    Nieusel was usually a little off-key,zy, and did not like to think, given his character. However, he would respond if someone asked him with despair and hope.

    He was not short of money, nor was he famous. Helping others was simply an act he wanted to do.

    After living for so many years, Nieusel had gradually be the ¡°virtuous king¡± of the city.

    ¡°The Wise¡± of the city seldomly emerged, except for things his intellect could not aplish. However, the Sporeggar Mill¡¯s residents gave Nefertari the same amiable smile just because they learned that ¡°Mr. Nieusel was after thedy.¡±

    The kindness was shown to whoever was involved and connected to Nieusel.

    This was perhaps the best acknowledgment of a ¡°kind person¡±, even though Nieusel never felt like he was a kind person.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright now, Granny Marchi.¡± Nieusel squatted on the ground and straightened out the tangled wires on the mechanical crutch, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with it. It¡¯s just that the wires are tangled.

    ¡°But the wires are damaged. Please let your son take it for reparationter. It may not be so simple to fix next time.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, youngster.¡± The white-haired elderly smiled at Nieusel.

    She had no legs but no prosthetics, either.

    Under the two arms of Elderly Marchi, there were twoplex crutches with many gear structures. She gripped the middle bar of the crutch tightly, lifted it slightly, and the axle began to rotate slowly.

    Like a person walking, the mechanical walking cane on each side had two legs alternately moving forward.

    There was no question that this was an incredibly expensive custom-made machinery. Only the Wise of the underground city couldplete such a design.

    Compared with the fiery new invention of the ¡°automatic wheelchair¡±, it was not only hard to maintain but also ufortable to use.

    However, this was the option when there was no other choice.

    Nieusel knew it without asking that it was a constraint from a curse.

    Old Marchi¡¯s fingers were ornamented with rings. Two were made of silver, ten were made of bronze with different colors, and two rings decorated her index finger.

    This represented the lives of at least a dozen transcenders.

    Marchi was the first transcender resident of this underground city.

    There was no doubt that ¡°Marchi¡± must be a fake name, and even the face could be fake. A Silver Rank Hunter, who chose to enter the underground city, must be a wanted criminal.

    Her exceptionally burly ¡°son¡± might be a disciple or an aplice, or her son might be her father instead. Everything was possible.

    But that was the business left in the above-ground world.

    Nieusel could not care less about it.

    She was just a resident in the underground world who needed to be protected.

    Nieusel smiled gently and waved his hand at the back of the leaving Elderly Marchi.

    He turned around and unexpectedly saw two strangersing along the crowd.

    Nieusel narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the passers-by.

    There was a young girl who walked ahead and looked around curiously.

    She had shoulder-length gray hair, gray dog ??ears hanging on the head, and a big fluffy gray tail behind it. Undoubtedly, she was a werewolf entering the underground world for the first time.

    Nieusel somewhat sympathized with the werewolves being persecuted in the Austere-Winter Dukedom. However, the premise was that they did note to Sporeggar Mill to stir up trouble.

    His gaze focused on the wolf girl¡¯s lower abdomen.

    After confirming that she was not pregnant, Nieusel rxed a little and looked behind the werewolf girl.

    Then, he met eyes with the middle-aged man with ck hair and ck eyes.

    He smiled and looked over.

    Your Excellency Nieusel.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s lips moved slightly, silently speaking Nieusel¡¯s name.

    Thanks to a childhood game of ¡°lip-sync¡± that Nefertari used to y, Nieusel was able to recognize the lip shape of his name.

    Are you calling me? Nieusel was slightly wary.

    His gaze fell naturally, and he caught sight of a silver-white ring.

    Silver Rank?

    The middle-aged man was different from the werewolf, who was naive and seemingly foolish. Just standing there, this middle-aged man gave off intense pressure.

    He is a dangerous man and probably a big shot too.

    Nieusel¡¯s bestial instincts told him so.

    He had always trusted his instincts.

    However, when Nieusel was still hesitating about approaching and expressing his greetings, the middle-aged man turned around first and walked toward him.

    This is bad. I can¡¯t avoid getting into contact.

    As the footsteps approached, Nieusel felt a chill down his spine. Looking at that friendly and gentle smile, he could not help but feel goosebumps and involuntarily stepped back.

    ¡°Thanks for looking after my apprentices.¡± The middle-aged man wore a smile.

    He reached out his right hand toward Nieusel. The werewolf girl who was following him looked over nkly and stopped.

    For some reason, Nieusel became even more nervous.

    He wiped his hand on his pants before epting the handshake cautiously, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Nieusel. But, may I ask who you are?¡±

    The middle-aged man did not answer.

    He raised the right hand he recently shook hands with, raised his index finger and middle finger, and pointed to his eyes.

    ¡°You may call me Ghindaio.¡± The middle-aged man had a charming, deep, and gentle voice, ¡°I appreciate your care for my three apprentices.¡±

    ¡ªIndeed, it¡¯s the Secret Eye!

    Nieusel reacted immediately.

    Luckily, he is not an enemy!

    He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

    The source of that immense oppression finally had an answer.

    But then he had doubts again.

    Is the Secret Eye¡¯s leader just Silver Rank?

    But where did that sense of dangere from?

    No Silver Rank Transcender had imposed such a strong sense of oppression on Nieusel!

    Nieusel relied on his keen instincts to return alive from the depths of the underworld and be a Digger.

    He trusted his instincts as much as he trusted Nefertari.

    ¡°You are¡­¡± Nieusel was about to speak when he was interrupted.

    ¡°¡ªShh.¡± Ghindaio held his right index finger to his lips.

    He retained that brilliant smile but said softly, ¡°It¡¯s not convenient to talk here.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Yiyi and the rest.¡±

    ¡°Alright, sir.¡±

    Nieusel could not help himself and called out sir.

    He could not help but feel a little inexplicable.

    This is only the first time we have met.

    But why does it give me a feeling that I¡¯m his subordinate?

    Nieusel was surging with the unknown fear and the novelty of facing the higher-ups of a powerful and ancient organization, along with the joy of finally ushering in the rescue of Sporeggar Mill.

    His heart beat like a drum.

 Chapter 520: Twin Goddess Republican Federation

    <h4>Chapter 520: Twin Goddess Republican Federation</h4>

    Although Ghindaio spoke out the name of Suuankou and the rest, Nieusel did not want to bring him directly to the yers.

    It was not that he wanted to collect money or deliberately add trouble for Ghindaio.

    Instead, this wasmon and necessary vignce among the underground folks.

    Ghindaio did not look like an assassin or a spy and was a big shot. However, there seemed to be loopholes and contradictions surrounding this ¡°Ghindaio¡±.

    What if he was not Suuankou¡¯s leader but an enemy?

    Then, wouldn¡¯t that mean he had betrayed Suuankou¡¯s group if Nieusel brought him over?

    Compared with the Secret Eye organization that promised to change the underground world, the Suuankou trio had significantly contributed to Sporeggar Mill, including their soul and life.

    If Nieusel put aside those who had contributed a lot and tried their best to help just to get more assistance, that would undoubtedly be a shameful betrayal.

    Even if Nieusel did not get more help because he neglected Ghindaio, he would never me Suuankou¡¯s group for it.

    Nieusel had seen too many examples of kindness turning into hatred.

    Even if Sporeggar Mill¡¯s nightmare was not purified in the end, Nieusel had already decided never to express disappointment to them.

    After all, the nightmare of the underground world had nothing to do with them. If the nightmares were not purified, their interests would not be harmed. Likewise, it would not benefit them to have the nightmare purified.

    Yet, they were willing toe here to purify the nightmare. No matter the oue, Nieusel had already considered them his friends.

    Worse came to worst, it was just returning to the current situation.

    asionally, Nieusel would reflect on it. Perhaps, he never believed that they would purify the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare.

    As long as he had no expectations, there would be no disappointment. Conversely, if there was no disappointment, could it also be treated as he had no hopes at all?

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Yiyi was overwhelmed with surprise, but sheined in annoyance, ¡°His High¡­ His Excellency Ghindaio is finally here! I have waited for a week, and he has not arrived. The snacks I bought for him have expired! He promises to be here soon, but ten days have passed.¡±

    ¡°¡®I thought he was ditching us.¡±

    Jiu Er patted Lin Yiyi¡¯s head andforted her friend gently, ¡°Sister Hyphen, how are you so innocent and cute?¡±

    ¡°Is this a proper constion? Didn¡¯t you all believe him too? Am I the only one who believes the promise?!¡± Lin Yiyiined.

    Have you ever seen this situation where an NPC solemnly said to you, ¡°Let¡¯s go back here to gather after shopping¡±, and then the person just disappeared for two weeks before rushing over, satisfied with ¡°I have done shopping¡±?

    If there happens to be, it can only be Ubi¡¯s game.

    [TN: Amon ng in the Chinese gamingmunity. It¡¯s an innuendo regarding a gamepany that tends to release unfinished games filled with bugs.]

    In the past few days, Lin Yiyi ran to the subway station entrance to see if Annan was there, worried that Annan might not find them when he arrived. She felt she was about to be a loyal dog Hachiko [1].

    As a result, she waited for almost a week, but the person she longed for did not arrive.

    However, Annan came a few dayster when she stopped waiting for him.

    She was quite annoyed.

    ¡°Since he has yet to arrive within two days, he must not be shopping around to catch fresh air. Therefore, something must have happened.¡±

    Suuankou, who was walking behind, whispered, ¡°Didn¡¯t I persuade you the day before yesterday to eat that snack quickly?¡±

    Lin Yiyi, ¡°En?¡°

    The ¡°danger¡± signal popped up above Suuankou¡¯s head immediately, but he still responded, unfazed, ¡°But don¡¯t me my sister. After all, the boss has never beente, so there must be something unexpected this time. Since the boss didn¡¯t do it on purpose, it is normal that we didn¡¯t expect this.

    ¡°Considering the status of our leader, it¡¯s reasonable for him to encounter a problem that needs to be solved immediately.¡±

    ¡ªAfter all, his real identity is Annan¡¤Austere-Winter.

    In thend of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, sudden emergencies were expected.

    Whether it was an assassination, urgent government affairs that required attention, being brought home to inherit the Grand Duke¡¯s throne, or even being arranged for a blind date by the Grand Duke, these were all expected.

    Instead, since it only took ten days toe back here, Annan must be busy.

    Suuankou could imagine that Annan must have rushed over immediately after settling the matter.

    Considering that Nieusel was still by his side, Suuankou did not say the second half of the story.

    Nieusel, walking at the side, was also aware.

    This must be something the group could not tell him.

    However, this was expected. After all, the group only acquainted him for less than two weeks.

    In the underground world, staying vignt at all times was a virtue. It would prevent the betrayal of one¡¯s rtives and friends. After all, there was no upright deity church in the underground city and no government. At the same time, many heretics believed in the Venerated Skeleton and the ck Widow.

    It was a perk to be more vignt.

    ¡°Alright, here we are,¡± said Nieusel.

    He put his hand on Suuankou¡¯s shoulder, looked forward, and pointed with his chin, ¡°That¡¯s Mr. Ghindaio. Next to him is a werewolf femalepanion. First, see if you recognize them. Are they your acquaintance?¡±

    It was a tavern.

    Ghindaio and Doreen sat near the window, but strangely, they were not face to face. Instead, they sat shoulder to shoulder, facing inward.

    This was the seat Nieusel deliberately arranged. Since testing them directly could be too rude, Nieusel had alreadyid his hands on their arrangement.

    This prevented Ghindaio from seeing them first.

    But the moment they saw Ghindaio, Lin Yiyi and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Yes, he is Ghindaio,¡± said Lin Yiyi in confidence.

    Nieusel nodded, ¡°Then, you should talk to him first and confirm his identity. Also, don¡¯t go with the three of you.¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to be so troublesome!?¡± Suuankou asked in surprise.

    It was almost like the rendezvous of spies.

    ¡°This level of vignce is necessary.¡± Nieusel shook his head. He was used to the naivety of the people above ground.

    ¡°In the underground city, this kind of deception of ¡®Who are you, it¡¯s me, have you forgotten me?¡¯ is typical.

    ¡°Besides, Shaping Magic and Idol Magic allow people to disguise themselves as others. It¡¯s easy to change appearances using illusion and ritual. You should first check to see if they are your acquaintances. If they are indeed, then call the rest of the group over. We should set a secret code first so we can run away once if things don¡¯t look good.¡±

    Nieusel said patiently, ¡°After all, he is a Silver Rank Transcender. If it bes confrontational, you have to run away. I can¡¯t save you.¡±

    Nieusel had seen this plot of pretending to be an acquaintance and assassinating the target immediately after approaching.

    ¡°This ce is chaotic.¡± Jiu Er sighed.

    Nieusel shrugged and lowered his voice, ¡°That¡¯s our situation here.¡±

    Another interpretation of freedom waswless. Different cities had differentws, making it impossible to arrest thewbreakers in one city after they had entered other cities.

    ¡ªYou are the Wise of other cities, so why do you arrest people from our city? Are you trying to extend your authority to our ce?

    Especially the underground city had such high traffic. Everyone here had been to other cities. If someone imed a person to be a fugitive from their ce and someone else tomorrow, that would seem like robbing away people from other cities.

    Based on this concern, waiting for the Wise of other cities to express their opinion before arresting the suspicious person was not feasible. The Wise had to make their own judgment. For example, ¡°if this person is left here, will other citizens move away¡± and if other situations would happen.

    After all, in terms of the legal system, the status of the Wise in different cities was equal. Each Wise was the supreme ruler in their city.

    There was nopetition among them, and wars were not allowed. The development of cities depends on their capabilities. Because of this, it was better to say that the underground world was a federation of many small countries than many cities in one country.

    The underground world was not a federal state, after all. This ce did not have a unified constitution andws, and there was no president. The underground world did not even count as a confederation because most underground cities did not have independent finances and military, so they were not counted as independent sovereign states. The transportation and freight between these cities were shared, and no one dared to use them alone, let alone cut them off.

    asionally, Nieusel found the situation strange.

    Why did the so-called ¡°Twin Goddess Republican Federation¡± neither have two deitydesses nor a Federation?

 Chapter 521: Wanting To Be A Hero

    <h4>Chapter 521: Wanting To Be A Hero</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want some more?¡± The middle-aged man with ck hair, ck eyes, and facial features as deep as a statue held a wine ss with his right hand and clinked sses with the werewolf girl beside him.

    He whispered gently, ¡°The wine here is pretty good. Or are you still nervous?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just¡ª¡±

    Feeling Ghindaio¡¯s warm breath on her ears, blowing the off-white fluffy hair, Doreen immediately shivered and sat up straight.

    She subconsciously reacted loudly.

    However, she quickly realized that before anyone else turned their attention to her. She immediately shook her ears,y on the table, and kept silent.

    Doreen tilted her head and said in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s because, Master Ghindaio, I can¡¯t tell whether the wine is good or bad.

    ¡°We werewolves are all like this. We have no good taste for wine.¡±

    ¡°Are werewolves a race that can¡¯t drink?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    Doreen shook her head.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡± But, she whispered, ¡°We can still drink it, and we won¡¯t get alcohol poisoning like a canine.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that we werewolves can only taste bitterness when we drink. So no matter how good the wine is, it doesn¡¯t make any difference to us.

    ¡°If we need to drink to lift our spirits, or if we want to get drunk, we only drink the lowest grade wine. That¡¯s because the bitterness has washed out all other vors.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ghindaio was slightly taken aback when he heard those words, ¡°Is that really the case?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Doreen said with a bitter face, ¡°I don¡¯t like drinking alcohol. That¡¯s just because it is too bitter.

    ¡°Compared to expensive wines, those cheap diluted wines can be less bitter. In that case, I can still drink a little bit, and it will be a refreshing appetizer.¡±

    Is it too diluted?

    Ghindaio couldn¡¯t help but raise the corners of his lips.

    Wait.

    He suddenly recalled something, and his movement of raising the wine ss froze slightly.

    His brother, Dmitri, mentioned that he liked to drink inferior-grade wine.

    Logically speaking, as the former first heir of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, he shouldn¡¯t even have ess to inferior-grade wine. After all, that kind of alcohol was quite harmful to the body, especially for Dmitri, a heavy drinker.

    Could this have something to do with Werewolf Be?

    ¡°Ghindaio¡­ milord!¡± A somewhat familiar voice sounded from behind.

    Upon hearing this, Ghindaio turned his head curiously.

    He saw Lin Yiyi at the first moment, followed her direction to look behind her, and saw Nieusel and the other two yers.

    Ghindaio smiled and waved to the three.

    Seeing this, Nieusel reached out his hand helplessly and pped himself on the forehead.

    All my efforts are in vain.

    ¡°Yiyi.¡± Ghindaio sped his hands together and smiled gently at Lin Yiyi, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯mte. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± At that moment, Lin Yiyi hallucinated Annan with folded hands and a slight smile through Ghindaio.

    The silver shawl hair and blue-green pupils are as clear as gemstones. It would be even cuter if he could close one eye and tilt his head slightly.

    Ah, I will only fantasize about it.

    Lin Yiyi silently closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She had a peaceful expression on her face as if she had be a Buddha on the spot.

    From this point of view, shouldn¡¯t Ghindaio be regarded as the leader of the Peerless Young Beauty Virtual Organization?

    Both the organization itself and the leader of the organization are virtual entities.

    But at least the people are real. So is the mission.

    That¡¯s enough.

    Lin Yiyi asionally thought she was lucky to appear in this ¡°game¡± as a savior, adventurer, or hero in this world.

    If she came to this world at the Demon King¡¯s side, she would find it difficult to ept the fate of destroying everything after being exposed to iparably real people and bonds.

    At the very beginning, although Lin Yiyi knew this might be another world, she still did not feel it. For her, this was a fantasy game.

    However, in herter contact with these ¡°indigenous peoples¡±, she gradually realized this aftermunicating, working with, fighting, and cooperating with them.

    This ce was indeed another world.

    It was different from Jiu Er. She already had the awareness to kill, or she had not yet understood this world¡¯s nature. Those were possible exnations.

    After Lin Yiyi realized this, it was difficult for Lin Yiyi to ept killing others to gain experience. It could be her morality. However, she always felt that if the ¡°monster¡± she slew were real, she would have a sense of guilt, especially if the victim had a family.

    Of course, Lin Yiyi would still eradicate those truly hateful or attacked her.

    However, her target was not like killing the guards, robbers, and the viscount¡¯s mansion guard at the beginning, which felt easier.

    It was not ¡°as a yer to kill the monsters¡±, but ¡°as a hero to kill the viins¡±.

    It was a killing that required awareness.

    She did not know whether this change was good or bad.

    However, she wanted to be a hero at the moment.

    ¡°Lord Ghindaio¡­¡± Lin Yiyi hesitated to speak, ¡°Can we stay here and resolve the problem of Sporeggar Mill?¡±

    She was a little worried that Annan was in some trouble.

    ording to her ¡°initial impulse¡± when she first entered the game, she would rush over happily and request a mission if Annan encountered any trouble.

    This will bring a lot of affection ratings!

    I Have ttered Him.jpg

    However, times had changed.

    She interacted with Nieusel a few times and chatted with the underground dwellers while shopping.

    She realized how much an unsolvable nightmare had gued the locals, Nieusel, and his childhood sweetheart.

    Lin Yiyi felt like she could purify this nightmare. Their decryption efforts had progressed to the second level of the Sporeggar Mill.

    They were close to the end. If they tried harder, they might have passed the level. Then, the nightmare would be purified, and the lives of the residents in the city would change.

    Lin Yiyi realized that she was capable of doing it.

    When she was young, she dreamt of bing a superhero.

    Indeed, although she was a girl, Lin Yiyi¡¯s dream was not Disney¡¯s princess but a manga superhero.

    She asionally fancied that if she had superpowers, some huge monster might suddenly emerge when she was in school. And at this time, she would make a grand appearance like a hero and save her teachers and ssmates. Those people would also be surprised that their ss monitor was a person with superpowers.

    Undoubtedly, her dream would note true on the other world: Earth.

    However, things were different now.

    Lin Yiyi felt clearly that she was needed.

    She could change the fate of others.

    Maybe, she might even be able to save the world!

    She had heard that the most crucial thing about RPG-type games was the ¡°role-y immersion¡±. yers would gradually bring themselves into the role and experience this ¡°virtual second life¡±.

    What she was experiencing at the current moment was an iparably real second life.

    ¡°I want to stay here.¡± She repeated a second time, ¡°I want to purify their nightmares.¡±

    Looking at the light gradually rising in Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes, Ghindaio smiled reassuringly.

    ¡°Of course.¡± He held Lin Yiyi¡¯s shoulders gently.

    Those sturdy hands held her shoulders firmly. Although it was a stone statue, the skin was soft and warm, which made Lin Yiyi¡¯s heart beat faster.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± Ghindaio chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ve taken care of the problems on my side.

    ¡°A rescue job? You won¡¯t be doing it alone.

    ¡°Let me join too.¡±

 Chapter 522: Annan: I Will Do It Myself

    <h4>Chapter 522: Annan: I Will Do It Myself</h4>

    After meeting with the yers, Annan did not follow Nieusel to meet Nefertari first, nor did he purify Suuankou¡¯s rming erosion rate immediately.

    ¡°Let me show my sincerity first.¡±

    I will do it myself.

    Saying so, Annan followed the three yers back to their residence.

    Since Annan¡¯s arrival was quite sudden, Suuankou and Lin Yiyi had not tidied up their room. Thus, both their rooms were in a mess. From this point of view, even though they did not look simr, they shared a simrity.

    So, in the end, Annan could only be invited to Jiu Er¡¯s room.

    Lin Yiyi and Nieusel exchanged pleasantries in the living room, which could also be treated as a friendly and mutual probing session.

    Suuankou initially thought that it would be inconvenient for Jiu Er to look after Annan since she was a girl. However, under Jiu Er¡¯s deathly stare, Suuankou was quick-witted and silently left without saying a word.

    Suuankou was not sure if it was an illusion, but the people around him would tend to give him the ¡°death stare¡±.

    It could also be that only he would subconsciously trigger the gaze of others.

    In the end, he chatted with Doreen.

    Let¡¯s see if I can collect some information or get some mission clues¡­

    It¡¯s definitely not because I¡¯m curious about that animal ear and want to touch it!

    ¡°This is the ck tea I brewed, Your Excellency. Please drink some to warm yourself first.¡±

    ¡°Ah, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± took the cup of ck tea, which should be called milk tea, with both hands, and thanked with a slight nod.

    He tried a sip.

    It tastes good¡­or rather, fantastic.The aroma ratio of milk and tea is just right, and the taste is dense and smooth. It¡¯s at the right temperature for a leisurely drink that warms my stomach without burning my mouth.

    ¡°You just drank some wine. Although it¡¯s not much, taking it after drinking may damage your kidneys if the ck tea is too strong.¡± Jiu Er stood aside and said softly, ¡°You just came down from above, going through the barrage of the cold wind. You may have caught a cold. But, I don¡¯t know if you can ept the taste of ginger, so I didn¡¯t make ginger tea.

    ¡°Considering that you may be a little tired after traveling for so long, I added milk and sugar without consulting you first. It may warm your stomach and replenish sugar in your brain.¡±

    After all, purifying nightmares could be regarded as mentally strenuous.

    Jiu Er showed a cute smile and offered cookies.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there is no oven here.¡± She shook her head regretfully, ¡°I even know how to bake desserts.¡±

    Jiu Er knew about heart cookies when she readics. She also learned from the chef at her home, so she could at least bake cookies well.

    However, it was a pity that she had not met anyone to whom she wanted to give homemade biscuits.

    It was a rare opportunity to make cookies for Annan, but there was no oven in this world.

    This undoubtedly alerted her that they were not in the same world.

    Although Jiu Er¡¯s tone was gentle and polite, Annan could tell she was not in a good mood.

    ¡°There¡¯s also citrus and honey here. Would you like honey citrus tea? It¡¯s a hangover fix.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary, Jiu Er.¡± Ghindaio chewed the biscuit, and the iparably bright smile on his face faded a bit. Although the smile faded a lot, it gave Jiu Er the feeling that it was more real.

    ¡°This body of mine cannot get drunk.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then¡­¡±

    ¡°But I still want you to make one for yourself.¡± Ghindaio looked at Jiu Er with deep eyes, ¡°Honey citrus tea is delightful.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Yes, it is. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Sweet things can soothe the spirit, easing a bad mood.¡± Through the golem¡¯s body, Annan stared at the petite ck-haired girl.

    Her hairstyle was a slightly long pure ck lotus shape, and her bright eyes were like the morning stars.

    Annan¡¯s eyes were as warm as ck tea.

    His voice was cheerful and steady, ¡°You can treat it as brewing it for me, and then I will offer it back to you.¡±

    ¡°How can you tantly say this out in advance?¡± Jiu Er was amused.

    If it is prepared for Annan, and Annan feeds it to me or gives it to me, it can barely be considered romantic.

    If I make it for myself, that feels inexplicably empty.

    ¡ªIt¡¯s a feeling of nothingness.

    But did he notice that I¡¯m not in a good mood?

    Jiu Er¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    She opened her mouth. Just as she was about to say something, Annan reached out and pressed her hair.

    Feeling the warmth passing through her hair, Jiu Er was stunned.

    ¡°Just think of it as doing it for me.¡± Annan said softly, ¡°Be nice to yourself, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Woo.¡°

    Jiu Er was silent for a long time, then suddenly let out a cry, turned around, and ran out of the room, ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    She closed the door and leaned against the room door, trying to rub her flushed face.

    There was still a mix of shock and smirk on her face. She rubbed her face hard, trying to change it to normal, but the warmth lingered.

    What¡¯s happening?!!!!!!!

    Isn¡¯t Annan an ignorant and pure cute boy?

    Why does it feel like Ahjussi when he bes older?!

    [TN: Middle-aged male in Korean.]

    Jiu Er always thought that she was a few years older than Annan and should be the one teasing him. She was unprepared when Annan teased her in the ¡°Ahjussi¡± state and felt her face burning.

    ¡°¡­Oops.¡±

    It was like having a fever.

    She moaned silently.

    Do I have an Ahjussiplex?!

    Shut up. I¡¯m Annanplex!

    It took her a while before she finally calmed down.

    The temperature on her face did not drop, and even the temperature on her palm also went up.

    She carefully opened a crack in the door and peered inside.

    For some reason, she expected to see Ghindaio standing in front of the door the moment she opened it, and then suddenly startled her.

    Unfortunately, that did not happen.

    Ghindaio did not go to bed, let alone lie under her covers. Instead, he took a nket and slept on the sofa without taking off his clothes.

    He fell into a deep dream with a rope tied around his ankle.

    ¡°Tsk.¡± Only then did Jiu Er slowly react.

    Why did Annan suddenly make such a move?

    He did not want to take the liberty of lying on her bed and sleeping under her quilt. After all, Ghindaio was an adult male in appearance. He did not think it was appropriate, even if no one would find out about it.

    However, he did not want to reject Jiu Er repeatedly because of this. He did not want her to be disappointed by this.

    Jiu Er was certain she would pester Annan to sleep in her quilt. Or rather, she had been tidying up the room quietly without reminding Lin Yiyi, which was the little scheme of adolescent girls.

    However, Annan¡¯s keen eyes noticed it. He drove Jiu Er out of the room in this gentle way and immediatelyy on the sofa and entered the nightmare. Jiu Er could not force him to her bed, and it was even more impossible for Ghindaio to stay here all the time.

    There was only one chance, and she identally missed it.

    ¡°Is this a rejection? But it¡¯s so tactful¡­ that means, do I still have a chance?¡± She muttered softly and approached Ghindaio¡¯s sleeping face.

    After a long time, she gently shook her head withplicated emotions.

    Picking up the citrus prepared on Annan¡¯s bedside, she peeled it open and bit off a piece.

    Obviously, it was very sweet.

    It¡¯s a pity I didn¡¯t get you to eat it this time.

 Chapter 523: Only One Chance To Overcome The Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 523: Only One Chance To Ovee The Dungeon</h4>

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated.]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has unique properties: Spider Web, Fantasy]

    [After dying in this dungeon instance, you will not be kicked out of it.]

    [This dungeon instance will not be distorted.]

    [This dungeon instance varies as different people enter it.]

    [This dungeon instance will change differently upon every new entry.]

    [The dungeon instance difficulty is set as distorted. You may enter up to 33 times.]

    [Current purification progress is 0/1.]

    [This dungeon instance has a total of 12 save points. Each death will bring about 1% erosion rate.]

    [This dungeon instance does not provide a plot introduction but has decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance clearance reward: Granting level upgrades between 3 to 5 to any profession below Gold Rank; granting level upgrades between 1 to 3 to any profession above Gold Rank.]

    [Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Raise element (Revenge) or element (Poison) or element (Strict) awakening depth for 10%.]

    [Dungeon instance loading ispleted.]

    As Annan slowly opened his eyes, twisted and deformed trees resembling monsters appeared in his vision. The leafless trunks were covered with dark green moss, and the air was filled with the musty stench of spores.

    Annan was somewhat worried about what Jiu Er would do to his body. However, considering that it was ¡°Ghindaio¡± instead of ¡°Annan¡± who slept outside, it probably would not be a problem.

    For a handsome and cute boy like me, I have to protect myself when I leave the house.

    ¡°However, there are a couple of things that I have to be personally here to be able to see in this dungeon instance.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    In other words, Annan had a different authority level than the yers.

    Otherwise, the yers would have noticed the oddities when they were introduced to the dungeon instance long ago.

    Forget about everything else.

    Why is the maximum purification of this dungeon instance limited to [1]?

    This means that once anyone clears this dungeon instance, it will be purified immediately.

    In Annan¡¯s knowledge, only priests with specialized nightmare skills could peep into others¡¯ experiences in nightmares.

    The point of reference was Priest Louis¡¯s ritual before Annan embarked on the path of transcendence. If the rituals were establishedpletely, Priest Louis could observe the process of oveing the nightmare from the outside world, givingmands to the challengers in the nightmare, or forcibly terminating the nightmare to rescue people from it and prevent the erosion from bing too high.

    Annan knew the rted divine arts to this.

    However, these perks were not practical for him because yers could use the forum to achieve the results.

    Annan already enjoyed the perks of observing (referring to the live broadcast),manding (referring to bullet text), and cleansing the yer¡¯s erosion, even without terminating the nightmares. Furthermore, he had the authority to kick yers offline.

    From this point of view, the yers were like Annan¡¯s priests.

    For ordinary people, especially for underground cities without priests, a dungeon instance that ¡°could only be cleared once¡± had be impossible to be decrypted.

    The method of checking the durability of dungeon instances involved divine art too.

    ¡°In other words, Sporeggar Mill is a man-made nightmare,¡± Annan murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly.

    ¡ªThis might be the essence of the [Spider Web] unique property.

    After entering the nightmare, the challenge could not break free. The victim would repeatedly die in the nightmare until it ran out of life. However, once it broke free, the spider web would be broken softly without leaving any evidence.

    I did not expect to capture the nightmare¡¯s secret immediately after entering the nightmare and before I set off.

    That being the case, this nightmare can only be purified by unlocking its secrets.

    ¡°I hope I can resolve it once and for all.¡± The moment Annan moved his footsteps, the girl¡¯s soft voice came to his ear:

    ¡°¡ªBystanders are no different from perpetrators, and they should be scorned.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not like them.¡±

    Seeing the side mission [Enter Sporeggar Mill] appearing before his eyes, Annan calmly replied, ¡°I won¡¯t just watch by the side.¡±

    Although he knew that what he said would not be heard by anyone, this message was not amunication between the living.

    It was the prayer of the living to the dead.

    Without hesitation, he turned his head and walked back.

    The Child had roughly guessed it right.

    The secret of Sporeggar Milly in the ¡°messenger¡±. Knowing how to use this reverse thinking was the key to victory.

    It was a pity that Suuankou was sharp but not smart enough.

    Suuankou noticed something was off here, but he could not figure out the critical point. Otherwise, he would not be stuck and should have identified the issue long ago.

    The real answer was already in front of him.

    ¡°¡­Heh¡­ha¡­ha¡­¡± The sound of heavy breathing and the tter of boots into the wet mud reached Annan¡¯s ears.

    Annan knew from the previous walkthroughs that the messenger would fall when he was out of sight. Then, he would reach out and ask the dungeon challenger to pull him up from the ground.

    Suuankou subconsciously believed that the messenger must be killed. So he did not stop the messenger from falling. Or, he probably did not think of preventing the messenger from falling to the ground.

    ¡°¡ªGrover,¡± Annan spoke suddenly, calling out the messenger¡¯s name before seeing the messenger.

    The moment his voice sounded, the messenger¡¯s footsteps stopped immediately.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Messenger Grover asked probingly.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Job.¡± Annan calmly answered with the ¡°second¡± name.

    These were all the names the ¡°Little Bear¡± would ask. These names must be obtainable from other ces and y a crucial piece somewhere.

    ¡ªFor example, at the current state.

    Hearing the name of ¡°Job¡± and confirming that it was his voice, Messenger Grover breathed a sigh of relief.

    While panting, he walked over slowly.

    A dark-skinned man in worn leather armor with gray sideburns walked out from the shadows into the light.

    His skin was dark as marble, and his figure was frail and old. His pupils glowed with light gray shimmers.

    However, the messenger¡¯s expression froze right before he approached Annan.

    That was because when he walked out from the darkness into the light, which was the moment he saw ¡°Job¡±, ¡°Job¡± held a flintlock in his right hand, pointing it vaguely at his head.

    ¡°Stop. Don¡¯t move, Grover.¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°I hope you¡¯d better not move¡­ my friend.¡±

    The voice of ¡°Job¡± was hoarse and rough, unpleasant to the ears. He should be a middle-aged man in his 50s who looked the same age as Grover. The hair by his temples had started graying.

    With a gun pointed at his face, Grover¡¯s lips moved slightly. Doubts, shock, and tension shed across his face.

    He realized something quickly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t run away, Job!¡± Mr. Messenger argued hard with an anxious expression.

    However, Annan just looked at him nkly, with a vague smile at the corner of his mouth.

    Soon, the messenger¡¯s expression gradually calmed down.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious, Job.¡± Mr. Grover frowned slightly, and the fear on his face dissipated, ¡°How did you find out?¡±

 Chapter 524: Only The Spider Is Safe Inside The Web

    <h4>Chapter 524: Only The Spider Is Safe Inside The Web</h4>

    ¡°Let me see if my judgment is correct,¡± said Annan slowly.

    Since there was only one chance to clear the dungeon instance, Annan¡¯s original n was to burn the mill before entering. However, this approach was not reliable.

    Annan was susceptible to merely getting a ¡°Normal Ending¡± that way.

    It was better to avoid following the predestined route to solve the mystery.

    Instead, Annan would like to do it the other way around.

    Annan had already learned from Nefertari about the tragedy of Miller Ian and his family.

    Due to the ck Widow Follower Deward¡¯s conspiracy, the curse was imbued into the mushrooms. In order to save themselves or due to past conflicts, the lumberjacks pointed the me at the only family who did not be poisoned, the ¡°Ians,¡± in hopes of obtaining the ¡°cure¡± from their liver.¡±

    In the end, the loggers murdered the Ian family. The corpses of the Ian family turned into poisonous spores engulfing the mushroom mill, devouring everyone in it, and a nightmare was born from it: Sporeggar Mill.

    Everything came to this point because Messenger Grover waste. Yes, he brought Master Seti¡¯s mail, but it was toote.

    It was a seemingly reasonable development.

    However, there came a problem if the incident was observed from three perspectives.

    Since the messenger had looked for Master Seti, why did Deward not flee immediately?

    Master Seti was the strongest Idol Wizard in the Underground Federation. He was a true Gold Rank Wizard ¡ª a ¡°veteran wizard¡± and an elderly ritualist.

    Why did Deward dare to stay here? Would he think his plot could fool Master Seti?

    Or, did Deward presume that Master Seti would not return with the messenger? Or did he know when the messenger would return?

    Also¡­

    ¡°Messenger Grover.¡± Annan asked, ¡°Did you go to Master Seti?¡±

    ¡°Of course¡ª¡±

    Grover took a step forward and spoke emotionally, ¡°Three days! Master Seti is arriving in three days!¡±

    Facing this exaggerated performance, Annan asked calmly, ¡°Is there any point in waiting for him toe?¡±

    All the infected, the lumberjacks, had all died in Sporeggar Mill. The poison no longer spread but was confined within the house. Was there a need for Master Seti to ¡°cleanse¡± the poison?

    Also, since the lumberjacks suspected someone deliberately poisoned them, why didn¡¯t they suspect that ck Widow Believers were among the crowd?

    Or did they have no suspicion about it? Has no one ever suspected it?

    Thinking about this, things were already very close to the truth.

    Hearing this, Grover froze for a moment.

    He looked at Annan, turned silent for a long time, and suddenlyughed.

    ¡°It seems that I have seeded in the end.¡± He said cryptically.

    It was also tantamount to admitting his crime.

    Apparently, Grover realized that this ce was a nightmare.

    ¡°But how did you figure it out?¡± Grover asked with interest, ¡°How many times have you attempted?¡±

    Annan did not answer the second question.

    He just replied calmly, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. The parties involved are all dead.¡±

    Then, who leaked the information about ¡°the loggers suspected that someone had poisoned them¡± and ¡°they went to seek an exnation¡±?

    Or perhaps¡­

    Was Deward dead? How did they determine that Deward was dead? Did they use the ritual to determine that the person ¡°Deward¡± has passed away?

    So, how to prove that ck Widow¡¯s believer was the deceased ¡°Deward¡±?

    After eliminating all impossible answers, the remainder was the correct answer. Not to mention, there was no second answer in front of Annan.

    Since the only survivor of the incident was ¡°Messenger¡± Grover, this contradictory and odd narrative could onlye from Grover!

    Since Annan knew something was wrong with Grover, assuming he was the mastermind behind the incident and tracing back to the past¡­ everything became clear.

    Supposed Deward and Grover were originally aplices. That would reveal the answers to everything.

    Why did Deward, assuming the man who sent the message was called ¡°Deward¡±, spread the news that ¡°the messenger had escaped¡±?

    That was because he did not want these people to wait quietly for Master Seti to arrive.

    Why was Deward so arrogant, even knowing that Master Seti mighte at any time?

    That was because he knew that the messenger had not looked for Master Seti or that the master would not arrive in time.

    Why did the lumberjacks not suspect that this was the work of ck Widow? Supposed Deward, the lumberjacks, and the miller¡¯s family had died in Sporeggar Mill. Supposed, they died without an intact corpse.

    Who was ¡°Job¡± which was the character the dungeon challenger controlled?

    The answer was straightforward, just as Little Bear hinted.

    The first question she asked was, ¡°Who are you?¡±.

    This was to imply, ¡°Why is there a character named [Job]?¡±.

    The second question was, ¡°Giving the name of a dead person¡ªthe bystander¡¯s name, the perpetrator¡¯s name, and the bted messenger¡¯s name.¡±

    There was still only one answer to this question.

    He was not only a ¡°bystander¡±, but also a ¡°perpetrator¡±, and also a ¡°bted messenger¡±.

    What they described as the same person.

    Thus, why did Job, who got lost in the forest and never entered the mill, not be ¡°one of the survivors¡±?

    ¡°That was because Grover killed [Job].¡±

    Annan replied slowly, ¡°Even if the person is dead, the dead body revealed is disproportionate.

    ¡°Job had to end up dying in Sporeggar Mill. Otherwise, people would have noticed there was an extra person.

    ¡°Through this point of view, many hints were revealed.

    ¡°The fairy tale themed puzzles, a ¡®gentle¡¯ system that only increased 1% erosion rate per death, deliberately leaked ¡®logout points¡¯ and the abundance of save points.

    ¡°They were the subconscious efforts of the nightmare host to ¡®stop Job from entering Sporeggar Mill¡¯.¡±

    Annan exined slowly.

    Under his narration, the ground began to tremble, and the forest started to shed into pieces.

    There was no need to ¡°enter the world of fairy tales¡±.

    That was just the main body of the nightmare, a hint given to the dungeon purifier.

    Generally speaking, nightmares were wounds inflicted on the world by the deceased transcenders. The nightmare¡¯s will would trick the dungeon purifier into a trap. Thus, the nightmare and its purifier were hostile to each other.

    But there was a problem.

    What if the nightmare host did not want to harm others?

    The checkpoint in the middle was to persuade the dungeon challengers to quit.

    Why moving forward with the messenger would guarantee failure?

    This was what Suuankou should have noticed long ago, the most apparent hint.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to go back and make up for the lessons.¡±

    In addition, there were many hints:

    Candy House had ¡°two people¡±;

    The ¡°fairy tale¡± was a facade;

    The guide had no facial features.

    These questions were repeatedly thrown to the nightmare purifiers, reminding them, ¡°Who is guiding the way?¡±

    However, it became pretty unfortunate.

    For many years, no one could understand this desperate, silent cry for help.

    For the one who guided the way¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s a spider.¡± Annan sighed, ¡°I also hope I guessed wrong, but unfortunately¡­ it seems I guessed right.

    ¡°Then, this can be troublesome.¡±

    Behind him, the forest fell apart, and the earth returned to dust.

    Except for a small piece ofnd where Annan was situated, the surrounding world had been reduced to a spider¡¯s web.

    It looked like a sweet and delicious cake.

    Annan turned around.

    The gigantic spider stared at him.

    Ah, yes.

    ¡°I have also missed another hint,¡± Annan murmured.

    Within the [Spider Web], only the spider would be safe and sound.

 Chapter 525: A Nightmare Made Of A Living Soul

    <h4>Chapter 525: A Nightmare Made Of A Living Soul</h4>

    In front of Annan¡¯s eyes was a massive, translucent spider.

    The highest end of its fang was about 20 meters above the ground, which was as tall as a four-story building. It looked like a jasper-colored ck Widow¡ªthis did not refer to a deity¡¯s name but a spider¡¯s name.

    The inside of the spider¡¯s jaws and abdomen was filled with translucent turbid liquid. There were more than seventy V-shaped traces in a messy distribution on the abdomen. It looked like densely packed scars, exuding an ominous ck air.

    Annan recognized that they were the holy light engravings of the Deity of Poison and Spider ¡°ck Widow¡±.

    Its six eyes were staring at Annan coldly.

    From the spider¡¯s eyes, Annan could feel the cold eyes full of human emotion.

    The reason there were six was that one pair was closed.

    Where was thest pair?

    The answer was self-evident.

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time meeting you.¡± Annan raised his head and smiled without fear.

    ¡°Should I call you Grover or Deward?¡±

    [You may call me Grover.]

    Rustles sounded from all directions. It was indistinctlyposed of slurred words.

    Annan turned around.

    At some point, the ¡°Messenger Grover¡± standing behind him had turned into a white bone.

    Actually, it was not precisely a bone. Instead, it was a puppet made of white silk thread. The only thing in its body that could move, and the only thing that was moving was the pair of ck spider eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of a viper with a tail like a crawling spider. When the bird swoops and wants a good meal, the viper shoots out and injects the venom into the enemy¡¯s body. ¡°

    Regarding the skill set of ¡°weaving webs¡±, snakes could not bepared with spiders.

    Annan looked at the massive spider again. His right hand holding the gun drooped naturally, and he put his left hand into the pocket.

    Being stared at by the huge spider, Annan did not show any fear.

    ¡°There is no doubt that ¡®Grover¡¯¡­¡± Annan held his left hand toward the spider, then extended the right hand, ¡°¡­is ¡®Deward¡¯.¡±

    Smiling, he sped his hands over his chest as if embracing a giant spider.

    ¡°Do you want me to continue?¡± Annan asked, ¡°Anything else you still want to hear, Mr. Grover?¡±

    [Please continue talking.]

    The spider was rustling, and its six limbs trembled restlessly in its web.

    Tiny undtions weremunicated, and they became waves.

    The narrow foothold beneath Annan trembled pitifully.

    It was a hazardous situation.

    Upon looking down, Annan could see the abyss.

    Still, Annan showed no fear.

    Instead, he looked at the spider with pity andpassion.

    ¡°Then, Mr. Grover¡­ at least I have a modicum of respect for your piety.

    ¡°Let me go on.

    ¡°Deward has never existed in the first ce.¡±

    Annan replied calmly.

    If the yers, Nieusel and Nefertari heard this, they would be stunned.

    However, this should be the reality judging from the situation.

    ¡°Supposed Deward is the ck Widow¡¯s believer, but who said this? Oh, right, you are thete messenger. Even if you use ritual to check on ¡®Deward¡¯, you can¡¯t locate the person and can only check if the person is dead. Then, this matter wille to an end here.

    ¡°That¡¯s because the ¡®name¡¯ itself is the simplest contract in this world. If you want to perform a remote ritual, you must first know the target¡¯s name.¡±

    When the Paper Princess chatted with Captain Alexander and Annan, they mentioned the characteristics of ck Widow Believers.

    ck Widow was the Deity of Poison and Murder.

    He was one of the very few deities who demanded a living sacrifice.

    It was not necessary to dedicate the victim to her in the ritual, but the requirement was to kill someone with a specific poison and offer the ¡°part¡± with the poison through a ritual. The parts included the liver, hair, nails, et cetera.

    There would only be one ck Widow Believer in each region.

    Once foreign spider worshipers broke into the, the local ck Widow Believer would poison them first.

    In other words¡­

    ¡°ck Widow¡¯s believers simply won¡¯t work together tomit murder.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°Mr. Grover, you made up lies, created the illusion of Deward¡¯s existence, and killed ¡®Job¡¯ who did not go to the mill. I¡¯m afraid it was to fill in the ws of ¡®Deward¡¯.

    ¡°But since you can rece Deward with Job¡¯s corpse, I¡¯m curious about what happened to them.

    ¡°Also, does this person, Deward, really exist?¡±

    [Naturally, everything was shredded into pieces.]

    The spider rustled as ifughing.

    [Deward is someone I have killed before. Of course, he existed.]

    So that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s a real person who has been killed in the past.

    Therefore, even if you check on it with some high-end rituals, you will not get prompts such as ¡°the number you dialed is an empty number¡±.

    But¡­

    Annan raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Then, did Alice crush them into pieces, or did you do it?¡±

    The master of this nightmare should be Alice¡¯s mother. But its core was Alice, the daughter. In Grover¡¯s words, they finally killed the loggers¡¯ group, whose flesh had swelled and was grounded.

    That should be the moment when the nightmare was born.

    Since Grover could serve as a witness and exin this matter to others, he was not suspected.

    The messenger must have had the best alibi. He was not even in the Sporeggar Mill when it happened.

    However, if Job died after the nightmare was born, that would be after the ritual waspleted. So how did he impersonate Deward?

    ording to Grover¡¯s statement, it seemed like they were grounded into pieces of flesh.

    Why?

    When did Job die?

    ¡°No, wait.¡± Annan¡¯splexion changed.

    He had already guessed it out.

    Seeing Annan¡¯s expression, the spider gradually slid from the web and approached.

    It leaned close to Annan,ughing unscrupulously.

    [What else do you want to know? I can tell you all.]

    [Sporeggar Mill is indeed centered on Alice.]

    [They did die from the nightmare with Alice as the core.]

    [But who has stipted that¡ª¡ª]

    The spider gradually approached Annan.

    Its two chelicerae [1] were pressed against Annan¡¯s only foothold like pincers.

    The earth had dark green light gradually seeping out.

    [¡ªthe soul of a living person cannot be used to create nightmares?]

    Yes.

    Alice is the real victim.

    She is not dead at all!

    So in this nightmare, the power of [Spider Web] and [Fantasy] would fight against each other.

    The [Spider Web] was undoubtedly the characteristic of Grover¡¯s and ck Widow¡¯s meddling in this incident.

    On the other hand, [Fantasy] was the unique characteristic Alice possessed!

 Chapter 526: She Was Alive

    <h4>Chapter 526: She Was Alive</h4>

    Annan felt something was wrong at first.

    The difficulty of this nightmare was ridiculously high. The dungeon challenger would die upon any mishaps that came without warning.

    While the dungeon was filled withplex ¡°lethal traps¡±, the dungeon challenger still had to go through a long walking simtor, as if it was designed to burn some calories. Every time the dungeon challenger died, it would increase minimal erosion rate.

    This system was seemingly calcted.

    It appeared like it wanted to slowly kill the person who entered the nightmare.

    On the flip side, the part closer to the fairy tale element was screaming desperately to force the dungeon challenger to leave.

    It died frequently and could not be kicked out after dying.

    The essence of this contradiction was that the [Compassionate] part and the [Malicious] part were under the control of two people!

    Nightmares were attributed as distorted because of ¡°unique property¡±.

    Examples included [Reenactment], [Memory], [Fantasy], and [Spider Web].

    As we all know, elemental power was the transcended power from the immaterial world. Nightmare¡¯s unique property worked the same, but its origin was the dream world.

    The typical nightmares absorbed curses by killing mortals, and they would gradually evolve into higher-level difficulties. Even if left alone, they would expand progressively to hard difficulty.

    However, the difficult nightmare had to devourrge quantities and mighty transcenders to be a distorted ss.

    That was because itcked the [unique property], and the unique property could only be evoked through the power of the deceased¡¯s elements.

    Nightmare¡¯s unique property was its mysterious power to invade and transform the world. Thus, only nightmares with unique properties could be powerful after being purified by the Gold Rank Transcenders.

    For the hard nightmare to advance, the unique property was a prerequisite. Despite that, having it alone was not enough.

    That was because the concentration of the curse power was insufficient.

    Why was the durability of man-made nightmares so low while the durability of nightmares born through natural death was higher?

    The reason was that the ¡°durability¡± was the ¡°material¡± that created nightmares!

    The experience needed for level-ups was not conjured out of thin air. The nightmare of the deceased had high durability because the host was dead. Most of the soul¡¯s curses would turn into nightmares.

    On the contrary, the ¡°craftsman¡± had to supply the curse needed for artificial nightmares.

    The higher the durability, the more curses would be spent. For nightmares with little durability, it was basically an empty shell with a concentrated curse inside. This phenomenon illustrated the exquisite quality of this craftsmanship.

    There was no doubt that Alice did not have elemental power.

    Her mother was just a typical Silver Rank.

    At the beginning of the birth of this nightmare, it only had the characteristic of the [Spider Web].

    Those who entered the nightmare woulde straight to the Sporeggar Mill.

    Inside the mill, there was an infinite cycle of death. The dungeon challenger would die if he were to touch anything and even stand idly. There was no safe ce. Each death would raise not just a 1% erosion rate but the maximum rate.

    The dungeon was like the malicious Cat Mario designer. Grover¡¯s sole purpose was to kill.

    His goal was to ¡°hunt¡±.

    The ritual that constituted ¡°Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill¡± was also the spore poison ck Widow bestowed.

    What the perpetrator wanted to sacrifice was not the lumberjacks nor the Alice family.

    Instead, the prey was the transcenders who tried to purify this nightmare!

    They died from too much erosion. If the transcender died in this nightmare, it would not generate a new nightmare. Instead, the nightmare that killed them would devour it. It was just like ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±.

    This soul was the ¡°proof of murder through poison¡± and the trophy he dedicated to ck Widow!

    Who would have thought this nightmare was under someone¡¯s maniption and hunted people to acquire the curse¡ªor rather ¡°experience¡±?

    It was a hard difficulty-level nightmare on the surface, but it had unique properties that only difficult ¡°distorted level¡± nightmares had!

    Moreover, it was the toughest one!

    After murdering many transcenders, he obtained ample curse power from the transcender¡¯s soul. Just the share that Alice received as the core of the nightmare made it advance to a distorted nightmare.

    That was certainly not what Grover wanted.

    Since it had be a distorted-level nightmare, the number of Silver Rank Transcenders who would challenge this nightmare had significantly reduced. At the same time, the chances of an elite conquering this nightmare rose.

    Also, the nightmare gave birth to its unique property when it advanced¡ª[Fantasy] belonging to Alice.

    ording to Nefertari¡¯s records, this nightmare had already killed many people when it was at the hard level. There were also high-level transcenders among them. At that time, every death would increase the erosion rate by 10% or more.

    Thus, the nightmare was sealed after it became distorted. No one dared to challenge it again.

    But if a survivor entered the nightmare again, he would be surprised to find out that the content of the nightmare had undergone earth-shaking changes.

    Alice put the people who entered the nightmare into the dense forest, lengthened the route, and dyed the progression through death time to prevent the dungeon challengers from entering the mill before dawn.

    Her purpose was to stall for time.

    After turning into a distorted ss nightmare, Alice and Grover had part of the control over the nightmare. Of course, Alice¡¯s authority was lower than that of Grover.

    However, she put in all her efforts to intercept those challenging the nightmare within the scope of her ability!

    Her goal was to keep the dungeon challenger from reaching the mill!

    As Alice said, [Bystanders are no different from perpetrators. Both should be scorned.]

    In the very beginning, she was not pointing to anyone else but herself.

    She would never allow herself to stand idly while othersmitted evil deeds!

    Thend beneath Annan¡¯s feet, which was this narrownd of less than ten square meters, was the isted ind that Alice could protect with all her strength.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Annan raised his head and looked at the spider that was tantly poisoning thend under his feet.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s call, Grover took a look at him and then resumed his work at hand.

    It was the manifestation of the [Spider Web], so naturally, it could not enter the realm of [Fantasy].

    The moment the onught of webs came, it would be a harmless fairy tale creature.

    However, Alice was not a transcender.

    The strength she held was frail.

    She was still a living person before being made into a nightmare, just like Little Bear¡¯s suggestion.

    She had severed limbs and hollowed-out bellies. Then, she was stuffed with spores to create nightmares with the deepest grievances.

    Naturally, she could notst long.

    Shortly after creating the nightmare, she died.

    As an ordinary person, she could not stay awake in a nightmare, even in her nightmare.

    However, even the subconscious had an instinct to ¡°must not sit idly by¡±.

    The will was like a candle in the wind.

    A clumsy, tiny, pitiful me that could die at any moment.

    Grover did not bother to pay attention to her because even the person Alice killed would be his power. As long as Alice drove people away unscrupulously, it was only a matter of efficiency for him.

    There was no need to kill ¡°Alice¡±.

    His hunting ground was more than this one.

    It was a trap tricking transcenders who did not know the truth to die, an automatic killing mechanism that continuously generated ¡°food¡±. As long as the nightmare was purified once, it would end naturally. No traces or evidence would be left behind.

    However, things had changed.

    [Do you want to protect him?]

    The spider rustled andughed.

    The earth was already oozing dark green light.

    However, Annan could hear it clearly. There was a disguised fear in that ridicule.

    He knew this feeling all too well.

    It was just like a murderer longing for peace, the feeling when his identity was about to be revealed.

    Grover was scared.

    Under Annan¡¯s piercing eyes, Grover was terrified.

    [Die.]

    The spider yelled.

    The spider web¡¯s edge had begun to melt and copse.

    [You will never wake up.]

    [What a good ending!]

    [What a gentle and happy death!]

    What spread under Annan¡¯s feet was a poison that could kill even illusory concepts like ¡°Earth¡± and ¡°Dream¡±.

    Click.

    Annan unhurriedly opened the safety lock.

    If a spider couldugh, it wouldugh out loud.

    [What can your poor pistol do?]

    [You have neither silver coins nor gold dust.]

    [There is nothing with a quantity of 7 here and no other people in this ce.]

    [No burning coals, no cups, and no moths.]

    [You don¡¯t have any ritual or divine art to use.]

    [You might as welle out, I don¡¯t want to destroy ¡°Alice¡± if possible.]

    [You should jump into the abyss and die in your ignorance.]

    ¡°You¡¯re too noisy.¡± Annan raised his head slowly.

    He stared at the spider that had regained its eight eyes.

    The corner of his mouth raised, ¡°What are you afraid of?

    ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± Annan pulled out his left hand.

    It was indeed empty, holding nothing.

    All he had in his pocket was a poor knife.

    ¡°If I die here, I really die¡­

    ¡°¡ªIf you die here, will you die too?¡± The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth raised.

    He had an irresistible urge tough out loud.

    However, there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.

    What is this¡­?

    Am I angry?

    Did I get mad?

    So Annan spoke.

    He uttered words that human beings could not verbalize andprehend.

    ¡°The word ¡®Austere-Winter¡¯ was born before the birth of the four seasons and before the birth of light and fire.¡±

    As soon as these words were uttered, the process of ¡°poison¡± eroding the ¡°earth¡± was terminated.

    Because at this moment¡ª

    The earth, spider, and spider web¡ªeverything was covered in silent snow in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 527: The Trial Begins, You Madman

    <h4>Chapter 527: The Trial Begins, You Madman</h4>

    That was thenguage only Frostwhisper could speak.

    The purpose of the birth of thisnguage was to carry on the legacy of ¡°Austere-Winter¡±.

    It was the secret since the beginning of creation.

    The body that belonged to ¡°Job¡±, which Annan used, was gradually disintegrating.

    The mortal¡¯s body could not bear the mighty power of the secret of creation.

    The scene resembled an old photo with dozens of holes burned into soots. Holes appeared on his body gradually, with the gray-white snow exuding from them.

    The invisible and colorless blizzard blew in all directions, with Annan as the center.

    Those were not snowkes condensed through mere ¡°water¡±.

    Wherever the blizzard passed, utter silence came without warning.

    There was not a whisper of wind, and there was not a hint of noise either.

    Instead, the world turned into a pure and silent gray after the ancient words came to an end.

    The surrounding seemed installed with a ck and white filter with the sound volume turned off.

    All sounds were swallowed up.

    All colors were frozen.

    Wherever the blizzard passed, color and sound werepletely taken away.

    The blizzard swirled endlessly in the sky, and it was impossible to determine its position with the naked eye.

    Only Annan¡¯s chanting resounded in the gray-and-white silent world.

    ¡°It was originally used to describe the stillness of the sky as a dying old man when the earth was born, and the earth¡¯s hatred for the things that supposedly passed away but defied death.¡±

    After Annan slowly chanted the creation knowledge, his dungeon avatar crumbled. Only half of the head remained, and the solitary left eye looked at the spider.

    However, Annan still held the gun in his right hand. There were a dozen small holes in his right arm and threerger holes in his left arm. Peering into these holes, no flesh and blood could be seen but only dark and abyss-like things.

    There seemed to be a pause button pressed upon this world.

    A thin gray-white blizzardyer had engulfed the massive spider less than a few meters away from Annan.

    Its chelicerae, raised high and lifted off the ground out of fear, had be still.

    The narrow ind beneath Annan turned into a raised iceberg.

    The spider webs in the distance were also covered in ice.

    Through a bird¡¯s eye view, the ce seemingly had a meteorite fall into the icyke, smashing out web-like cracks.

    The sun, moon, and stars in the sky were extinguished, leaving only darkness.

    This was a world with only ck, white, and gray left.

    Even illusory ¡°dreams¡± would be mercilessly frozen.

    That defined the actual ¡°Austere-Winter¡±.

    *Crunch.*

    The sound of boots stepping on the snow in the silent world sounded.

    Annan, whose body became riddled with holes due to the chanting of forbidden knowledge, advanced slowly in the snow alone.

    I can still move.

    Annan was quite surprised.

    His health value warned him ringly.

    [Health: -1545%]

    The number was still dropping like an expanding hole.

    However, Annan was inexplicably confident.

    I will never die here.

    *Crunch.*

    In the gray-white world, Annan slowly approached the gigantic frozen spider.

    It was not that he did not want to walk faster but that he had exhausted all his strength just by moving.

    Annan, who was insensitive to pain, did not know the extent of his injuries.

    However, his curse erased the pain.

    It was really¡­

    ¡°¡ªAwesome.¡± Annan grinned, revealing a brilliant smile.

    Then, he saw an iparably rare scene.

    The right side of his face that was about to disappear made his smile look a bit hideous.

    Annan could not cast any spells.

    He did not possess a robust physical body currently.

    There were no weapons avable.

    There were no items avable for ritual.

    Faced with a giant spider that was several stories high, it was [impossible] for a mere human to win.

    That was why Grover ignored Annan¡¯s threats, leisurely stood aside, and chatted with him.

    Only the people of the past can see through the truth.

    At that time, the protection of the [Fantasy] dungeon characteristic was absent. Although the nightmare was hostile to the nightmare challenger, it became easier to see through the truth and realize that ¡°this was a nightmare under someone¡¯s control¡±.

    At that time, Grover must have done the same. It would incarnate a towering spider, humbly admitting the loopholes the challenger had pointed out, epting all curses and prayers with a smile. Perhaps, the dungeon challenger would charge toward the massive spider with the poor little knife with a mortal¡¯s body, just like Don Quixote against the windmills [1].

    Letting the opponents taste the despair and pain before killing them.

    Then, Grover would kill the prey in the nightmare, and it would repeat after the prey had respawned. The process ensued until the opponent waspletely dead in the nightmare.

    ¡°I thought I was ying elerated World [2].¡± Annan sneered.

    He raised his flintlock, which had turned pure white in the blizzard, and aimed at the spider.

    Even until a few days ago, Annan did not think that the sacred bone of ¡°justice¡± would recognize.

    However, seeing such a disgusting person¡ªno, such a disgusting spider.

    Yes, this was the dream world with only the phantom image.

    Alice was already dead, and no one would be saved even if the spider was killed.

    However, from another perspective, his death could save more people.

    ¡°If eliminating evil is justice¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    ¡°Then, I am the judge of justice.¡± The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth raised even more.

    His smile grew wider.

    There was a gleam in his eye.

    His finger was on the trigger.

    The wildughter was almost unbearable.

    He gritted his teeth and grinned, suppressing himself and trying not tough out loud. Then, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

    His voice sounded in the silent world.

    ¡°The trial begins¡ªyou madman!¡± A metal bullet was shot out from the muzzle in this ck, white, and gray world.

    The gunfire drew a trajectoryposed of countless circles like the smoke expelled from an airne, piercing through the spider¡¯s body with iparable precision.

    It struck the head, traversed the body, and flew out from the back.

    It was an ordinary projectile, but it did not meet any resistance.

    However, it was not because of the weakening of defense but the suppression of ¡°movement¡± through ¡°stillness¡±.

    In the next instant, arge area of web-shaped cracks appeared at the point of contact between the bullet and the spider.

    ¡ªSnap.

    It was like breaking the ice with a stone. Cracks densely covered the spiders.

    ¡ªSnap.

    The crack continued to expand, spreading to the stagnant air beyond the spider.

    Colors began to be chaotic, and subtle sounds started to emerge.

    Blue, purple, and golden blood flowed from where the spider was injured. The blood was like a rainbow, constantly flowing and changing.

    ¡ªSnap.

    The crack further expanded and spread to the entire nightmare world.

    Only a tiny isted ind where Annan was located was safe and sound.

    The next moment, the nightmare shattered with a bang.

    The isted ind built on the spider web could no longer bear the weight and fell toward the abyss.

    At the moment before the world finally reverted to its normal colors, Annan saw the spider shattered into tens of thousands of parts. It broke apart miserably in the air, and countless fragments of limbs covered in frost exploded like fireworks.

    ¡°Ahahahahahahahahahaha!¡°

    Annan lost his consciousness blissfully amidst the wildughter that could not be suppressed in the end.

 Chapter 528: Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill. Cleared!

    <h4>Chapter 528: Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill. Cleared!</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [You have seen through the truth of the nightmare. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have escaped from the modified nightmare. Your evaluation ratings have increased.]

    [You have killed Grover. Your evaluation ratings have increased significantly.]

    [You have purified the nightmare at the first entry of the nightmare. Your evaluation ratings have increased significantly.]

    [You havepleted an effective purification. Your evaluation ratings increased significantly]

    [You have eradicated the nightmare. Your evaluation ratings have greatly reduced.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªS]

    [You have acquired 10000 Shared Experience Points. Perception+1.]

    [Your Perception attribute reaches 50, blessing you with the permanent ability ¡ª ¡°Transcended Perception¡±.]

    [You have acquired dungeon instance clearance reward: To upgrade any profession by 5 levels]

    [Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Element (Strict) awakening depth ascension 10%.]

    [Hidden plot you have decrypted: 100%]

    [You may receive the first stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 100%).]

    [Based on the region where the nightmare belongs, you have acquired the holy light engravings of the Silent Lady.]

    [Current total engraving(s): 63 (Silver Sire)/1 (Silent Lady)]

    [The ¡°Justice is watching you¡±.]

    [The ¡°Protect¡± is watching you.]

    [The ¡°Sacrifice¡± is watching you.]

    It¡¯s over.

    The rope tied around Annan¡¯s ankle to symbolize the ¡°spider web¡± and ¡°trap¡± had several knots frozen. They were covered with ayer of frost as they split by themselves.

    The air in the room was so harsh that it would hurt the trachea by just breathing. In addition, the window was covered with a thickyer of frost traces like cracks.

    Jiu Er put the honey citrus tea next to Annan previously. It was utterly frozen into popsicles. The walls were covered with centipede-like frost marks.

    That power leaked from Annan¡¯s nightmare.

    ¡°It¡¯s so refreshing.¡± Annan sighed deeply.

    He touched the corner of his mouth.

    Previously, there was a hole, and the gums were reachable from the outside of the face. At this moment, the skin at that spot had fully recovered.

    It was like the scars seared after the wildughter. A faint smile remained on his face.

    Aside from the episode where he repeatedly climbed the spider silk in the bottomless abyss, he rarely experienced such intense pleasure.

    This was probably because emotions existed objectively, even though he could not feel negative emotions.

    Ordinary pleasure was understood as ¡°happy¡±.

    However, smashing the things he disliked to pieces¡ªeven the part involving disgust and anger, Annan did not feel them at all. However, the joy brought by removing the dislike could help Annan feel his pleteness¡±.

    What are ¡°justice¡±, ¡°protection¡±, and ¡°sacrifice¡±?

    Sacred bone?

    This was the first time Annan saw simr descriptions and tooltips after purifying the nightmare.

    It¡¯s not easy¡­

    ¡°Is the Heart of Justice willing to admit a fanatic like me?¡±

    However, it was not limited to Justice only.

    Annan thought.

    After all, he did punish the viin in the truest sense ¡ª he had not encountered such a tant viin before since his second life.

    Such behavior could indeed be referred to as justice.

    ¡°But why do Protect and Sacrifice get interested in me?¡± Annan was baffled.

    What did I protect?

    I didn¡¯t sacrifice anything, did I?

    Did I sacrifice myself, and it counted for something?

    But I am a little curious¡­ The bone of justice is the ¡°heart¡±.

    What about protection and sacrifice?

    I wonder if I can log in to multiple sacred bones simultaneously.

    ¡°¡­Ugh.¡± Annan just wanted to sit up from the sofa when he suddenly felt dizzy.

    It was not that there was something wrong with his body.

    Instead, the world around him suddenly became clearer¡ªlike wearing over-prescription sses. Annan¡¯s brain swelled slightly due to the suddenrge amount of information he received, and he could not quite adapt to it.

    Is this the [Transcended Perception]?

    It was not limited to his sense of touch bing several times more sensitive.

    Annan could even feel the temperature on his skin. He could feel his emotions clearly and even vaguely see the fuzzy ¡°threads¡± connecting everything in front of him.

    Is this the prophetic eye of the Prophet Wizard?

    Annan had heard that generally speaking, the principle of Prophet Wizard¡¯s prediction was to ¡°know what they would know in advance¡±. However, a mighty Prophet Wizard could see the connection between ¡°people¡± that had nothing to do with him.

    It could roughly be understood as the line of cause and effect.

    However, Annan did not know the scientific name nor how it worked. After all, he was not a Prophet Wizard from an academic background.

    However, Annan could be certain of one thing.

    His Perception attribute had reached a situation beyond his control.

    If he continued to improve his perception, his will might copse if it became less than 50 points.

    Before Annan adapted to his [Transcended Perception] or until his Will attribute was also raised to the [Transcended Will], Annan did not n to upgrade the level of ¡°Frostwhisper¡± for the time being.

    So he did not have choosing power in investing the attribute points.

    After Annan added all five levels to the [Victory Knight], he felt his body giving out a faint, creaky sound.

    It was not a painful metamorphosis.

    His body was like dry soil, greedily absorbing water.

    It was just not so apparent under Ghindaio¡¯s disguise.

    Never mind about the will strengthening; the constitution¡¯s improvement would not be disyed in Ghindaio.

    So, Annan¡¯s [Victory Knight] had soared to Level 28.

    It did note entirely from the nightmare.

    Instead, part of it was the reward after killing the spider.

    The spider melted directly into the nightmare as Annan eradicated it, so he did not get experience points directly. Instead, they turned into ¡°levels¡±, bing part of the nightmare¡¯s rewards.

    Of course, if Annan died, the other party would get the same rich reward as Annan.

    Victory Knight LV28: [Austere-Winter Swordsmanship LV10 (Max)], [Frost Sword LV10 (Max)], [Parallel Comprehension LV1], [Victory Will LV1 (Max)], [Brilliant Sword LV4], Avable Skill Points 5.

    On the other hand, Annan¡¯s Constitution attribute had finally reached 47 points, and Will attribute had also gained 41 points.

    After having Will attributes exceeding forty, Annan suddenly felt that the feeling of his head swelling and being groggy had greatly alleviated.

    The constant influx of information into the brain had be less unbearable. Perhaps, it might be the result of the strengthening of the Constitution attribute that had made Annan¡¯s mind clearer and firm.

    The Constitution attribute close to 50 points had reached the point where the cut wound would stop bleeding immediately. The blood that flowed out probably would stay in its active state for quite a long time.

    Given the passive effect of [Silver Muscle], Annan would be blessed with Constitution+5 by default when receiving an attack. However, the +5 Constitution would not grant Annan the unique ¡°Transcended Constitution¡± ability. Instead, it only increased the Constitution to be more than 50.

    Transcended Perception allowed Annan to get the Prophetic Eye of a Prophet Wizard in the ¡°Ghindaio¡± state.

    However, Annan did not know what Transcended Constitution and Transcended Will would bring to him when he reverted to Annan state.

    However, he looked forward to it.

    At this moment, Annan suddenly had a premonition that the door would be pushed open.

    Sure enough, after a couple of seconds, the door of Jiu Er¡¯s room was pushed open from the outside.

    Jiu Er, holding the fruit te, nced at Annan sitting up. She was taken aback.

    ¡°Your Royal Highness Annan?¡± She said subconsciously.

    Immediately, she realized that she had slipped her tongue.

    Then, she quickly turned around and was relieved that no one had followed her.

    Jiu Er closed the door, which gave a strange sensation due to freezing.

    She did not notice the change in the room, nor did she see the frozen windows or drinks. Instead, she just felt unusually cold.

    ¡°Is it cold, Your Highness Annan?¡± She asked Annan curiously, ¡°And how did you exit the nightmare so quickly?¡±

    Jiu Er couldn¡¯t help admiring Annan secretly.

    ¡ªAs expected of His Highness Annan!

    He has found a way to log out of the nightmare in such a short time.

    He is at least three times faster than Suuankou!

    However, Annan just showed an odd grin.

    ¡°That¡¯s incorrect. I¡¯ve already purified the nightmare.¡±

 Chapter 529: I Havenâ€™t Finished Yet. Why Is It Over Already?

    <h4>Chapter 529: I Haven¡¯t Finished Yet. Why Is It Over Already?</h4>

    ¡°What?¡± Jiu Er reacted in bafflement.

    I haven¡¯t started yet.

    How is it over?

    After Annan entered the nightmare, Jiu Er made a few cups of honey citrus tea and gave one to the people chatting outside. Then, she went to get the fruits Nieusel brought over, cut them up, and put them on the fruit te. Afterward, she returned to Annan¡¯s room.

    She originally nned to stay in the room, have some fruits, and read a book for a while. When they met and chatted in the tavern, the yers had already mentioned the characteristics of this nightmare to Annan.

    After all, Annan was not like a yer who could disregard death.

    The yers were still worried that they would be unable to rescue Annan if he died too much in the nightmare.

    After all, ording to Nieusel, quite a few victims died in this nightmare.

    They believed Annan should not die in this since this nightmare seemed about the same difficulty as the gallery. However, they still mentioned to Annan that this nightmare had a ¡°safety exit¡±, just in case.

    Of course, out of the yer¡¯s negligence, none of them mentioned the correct way to use the safety exit to Annan.

    Jiu Er thought that Suuankou had mentioned it, and Lin Yiyi also felt that his brother must have mentioned it. At the same time, Suuankou thought that Jiu Er would tell Annan. It was only when Jiu Er went out to get the fruit just now that she realized they had made such a low-level mistake.

    Luckily, Annan had already learned that ¡°you cane out from the safety exit when you see the faceless man¡±. Since 70% of the dungeon was deciphered, a confrontation would not lead to too many problems. Annan should be able to leave after dying a couple of times.

    Jiu Er and the other yers did not think Annan could catch up with them by challenging the dungeon instance for the first time.

    They were nning to wait for Annan to exit the nightmare. With Annan¡¯s IQ, it should take five hours before he sought the escape path.

    It would be in time for the group to get together for dinner. Then, during the meal, the yers would send Suuankou to give Annan a couple of spoilers about what the next dungeon level looked like and how to solve the problem.

    This was the walkthrough they had studied for nearly two weeks before finally summing it up.

    The dungeon purification would only be started after Annan acquired the dungeon instance guide.

    However, the end result was unexpected.

    Annan had somehow cleared the nightmare.

    Jiu Er was dumbfounded and speechless.

    I just went out for a walk. Half an hour or so at most has passed.

    In the end, he went?

    The petite ck-haired girl was bewildered.

    Only then did she realize the peculiarity of her room.

    A thickyer of frost pattern hung on the windows, and some frost traces could be seen on the walls. After Jiu Er opened the door, the cold air in the room had already dissipated rapidly. However, at a height close to the ground, there was still visible cold air slowly drifting away.

    It was like after opening the refrigerator where freezing air like smoke rushed toward you.

    The tea she put on the table had been frozen into a lump of ice.

    ¡°This is the power that overflowed from my dream,¡± Ghindaio exined.

    Jiu Er suddenly felt a chill down her back when their eyes met. Then, a burst of goosebumps and tingling sensations came to her.

    To put it into words, it was like when she did not listen to the ss. Suddenly, the teacher asked questions. When the entire ss stood up for a long time, she noticed the teacher¡¯s gaze cast over her.

    The sense of danger, fear, and the feeling of being wholly seen through bound Jiu Er¡¯s heart.

    ¡ªWait, what¡¯s going on here?

    ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± Ghindaio realized something.

    He turned his gaze away and said softly, ¡°I¡¯m not quite able to control this power yet.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to adapt as quickly as possible so I won¡¯t cause you any trouble.¡±

    When did His Highness Annan be so strong?

    Jiu Er was in a trance, feeling like she had missed an episode.

    In her memory, Annan was more robust than these yers, but there should be a limit to it. Annan ranked higher than the lowest-level yers without cheating and activating Sage¡¯s Stone.

    Annan was neither a bishop of an upright deity nor a ritualist.

    Logically speaking, he should be equal to the yers in the nightmare.

    However, it only took Annan half an hour to purify ¡°Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill¡± when he just came into contact with this nightmare for the first time.

    How did he do that?

    Even if you don¡¯t even die once, you can¡¯t pass through the mill in half an hour, right?

    Half an hour¡­ I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t even get to meet the faceless man.

    Jiu Er remembered that walking continuously for an hour was necessary at the very beginning. The main reason was that it was too time-consuming to turn back and kill the messenger because you had to walk over ande back.

    Could it be that His Royal Highness Annan simply dismantled the nightmare?

    Jiu Er asked curiously, ¡°Can you tell us a little about how you purify the nightmare?

    ¡°You know, we have to purify the nightmare. Only then can we build a teleportation circle here.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ve purified it.¡± Ghindaio shrugged helplessly.

    He pointed to the broken rope at his ankle, ¡°Look, even the ¡®key¡¯ has broken.

    ¡°This is one of the signs that the nightmare is over.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jiu Er murmured in disappointment.

    Damn, I haven¡¯t yed enough yet¡­

    But, His Highness Annan is really strong.

    ¡°We have died more than a hundred times.¡±

    Jiu Er said honestly, ¡°I never thought you could purify it in one fell swoop.¡±

    The yers were required to purify the three nightmares before sessfully building the teleportation circle.

    Those normal difficulty nightmares were easy to find. After all, it was impossible to have no people die here. Also, there was no priest in the underground world to purify the nightmares regrly.

    After Nieusel learned that they had died more than 60 times, he offered them some simple nightmares.

    Suuankou did not go for them because he had been concentrating on tackling the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare. Later, his erosion rate reached a dangerous value, and he could no longer enter any nightmares.

    Besides Suuankou, Jiu Er and Lin Yiyi had already purified the nightmares twice while waiting at this ce,pleting two-thirds of the mission.

    Their mission would bepleted if the team cleared the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare once. The group would be able to leave¡ªas for why they did notplete the mission directly, it was just because they stubbornly wanted to help Nieusel and the rest to resolve the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare.

    So in their subconscious, they no longer held the idea of ??pleting the mission first and then leaving¡±.

    In other words, they still did not notice the dangerid in Sporeggar Mill.

    Let me help purify this nightmare first.

    This was what the yers thought.

    They did not think this nightmare was dangerous or terrifying because they were immune to actual death.

    On the contrary, it was full of challenges.

    After Jiu Er learned that this challenging nightmare had been purified, her reaction was not to rx, ¡°I can finally rest,¡± but ¡°Damn it, I haven¡¯t finished it yet. Why is it over already? Is this a time-limited dungeon? What a regret!¡±

    What a stubborn bunch.

    Annan noticed the thoughts of the yers.

    He smiled gratifiedly.

    It¡¯s fine. Be unbending.

    Now that Annan had ns to embark on the path of justice, the yers must also follow along.

    ¡°Call Suuankou and Lin Yiyi in. I¡¯ll cleanse the erosion rate for you all first. Then, I¡¯ll tell you the story about ¡®Alice¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 530: All of My Deeds Are Righteous

    <h4>Chapter 530: All of My Deeds Are Righteous</h4>

    Annan purified the erosion rate without utilizing any ritual.

    He just needed to click the [Eliminate Corrosion] button on the system backend interface, corresponding to each yer¡¯s operation page. Not to mention that Annan did need to be in front of the yer or even visibly see the yer. The function would remain operational even across the Great Barrier.

    However, if Annan were to eliminate the erosion rate directly, he felt it would be uneventful.

    In other words, it was not thatpelling.

    In that case, yers would subconsciously think that the ¡°erosion rate was not something that would be difficult to eliminate¡±. When they tackled nightmares, they would not be so attentive and serious. Consequently, the yers would hardly learn from nightmares and improve themselves.

    However, Annan did not hold any superficial rituals.

    He just chanted a passage of ult knowledge about ¡°purification¡± to them and purified the erosion rate of the three yers simultaneously.

    ¡°The sixth luminary is the light surging inside the sun and constantly splitting and converging; the seventh luminary is seen when the transcender¡¯s soul is sent to the light realm in the Divine Transporter¡¯s hand in the ascendancy ritual. Finally, the eighth luminary is the light in the sky before the earliest sunrise.¡±

    This was unlike top-secret knowledge like [The Rays of Seven Luminaries have never fallen into the mortal world]. So it did not carry that much ¡°weight¡±.

    If one were to recite this knowledge to a liquid mixed with impurities, the liquid would purify itself. For example, the water mixed with silt, reagents that came into contact with hands and became filthy, or fine impurities that remained after filtration. All these ¡°impurities¡± would be dispelled through this chant.

    It would not have any effect on people. The chant could also dispel subtle curses¡ªfor example, being cursed or hated by others. Even if the victim were a mortal, the subtle curse power would gradually umte in the body.

    Having been cursed all the time would invite misfortune.

    There was no exception, even if the target was not a transcender or a ritualist.

    During the New Year, the elders had the custom of giving the children a ¡°blessing silver coin¡± to bite it. It was probably simr to the new year blessing money on earth. The difference was that there were actual curses in this world, and the silver coins circted in the market would abolish weak curses.

    [TN: Chinese New Year¡¯s culture ¨C Red Packet]

    Of course, this was just amon custom of gifting and receiving lucky money for ordinary people.

    ¡°It is because of myte arrival that Suuankou¡¯s soul has been eroded to such an extent. This is my responsibility.¡± At the dinner table, Ghindaio said solemnly to the others, ¡°Please ept my apology.¡±

    This time, he did not charge Lin Yiyi¡¯s affection rating.

    Even Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er, who were not severely eroded, were purified.

    He set a threshold for the purification of erosion rate. The purpose was to stop the yers from ¡°dying without constraint in nightmares¡±. Suuankou and the others did not die wastefully but were in the process of making progress.

    In this case, it was meaningless to collect their ¡°coupons¡±.

    Annan did a favor for them. Not only did he not charge the three yers, but he purified them at no cost.

    The yers were grateful.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Nieusel was in disbelief, ¡°Can you purify the erosion rate?¡±

    ¡°I can only purify ¡®Secret Eye¡¯ members who have signed a contract with me. This is also our confidence to purify the nightmare.¡±Ghindaio smiled gently, ¡°Of course, it won¡¯t be without a cost.¡±

    ¡°Of course I understand. This is impossible without a price! But it is still a miracle!¡±

    Nieusel was excited, ¡°This is simply a deity-like miracle. Even so, what your apprentices have paid for us is their life. The brilliance of this sacrifice will not dim because the victim is saved.¡±

    Unfortunately, there is no cost to this.

    Annanmented in his heart.

    Then, Annan invited the Overseer of the underground world to the table.

    However, Nieusel dared not to participate in such a big event. He apologized first, ran home, and asked Nefertari¡¯s opinion before he dared to ept the invitation.

    Hearing that Sporeggar Mill had been purified, Nefertari was overjoyed and did not know what to do. She wanted to scream, but she thought that would be unruly as ady.

    In the end, she stomped her feet lightly to hide her joy.

    However, she was exhrated after thinking about it again, so she stomped her feet more than 30 times.

    Then, her feet grew numb.

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± invited Nieusel to dinner, and Nefertari originally wanted toe. However, before leaving, she thought about it and figured that since ¡°His Excellency Ghindaio¡± did not invite her, she better not go. So she shied away.

    In the end, she decided to send this brown dog(Nieusel) first to make friends with ¡°His Excellency Ghindaio¡±. On her side, she tried her absolute best to figure out what to gift and what to do to repay for this kindness.

    She knew full well that she was not as social as Nieusel because she tended to probe others¡¯ minds subconsciously. This often caused displeasure to the sharp powerhouses. Her teacher also warned her back then that it was best to restrain this talent in front of strangers.

    She was a natural Soul Snatch Wizard. It was just that she could not find a suitable mentor and did not embark on this path. That was why she became a ritualist in the end.

    At the same time, Nefertari had social anxiety because he had not met people for a long time.

    The more prominent the big shot she was going to meet, the more afraid and worried she became. She always worried that she would say something wrong when she got nervous.

    On the other hand, Nieusel did not have this kind of psychological burden.

    He wore his heart on his sleeves without any cover. Therefore, he would not be med even if it became slightly rude.

    His unabashed innocence, pure heart, and keen observation ability to perceive what others wanted had allowed him to make friends with anyone.

    In addition to having an excess of conscience, Nieusel was a born politician.

    Like a golden retriever, he happily put a relieved smile on his face, almost hanging his tongue out of his mouth.

    On the way back, Nieusel sang the opera full of joy loudly on the road without shying away. That incited neighborlyughter from passers-by. He hugged everyone he met, telling them the good news that the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare had been cleansed.

    ¡°But you have guessed it wrong, Nefertari.¡± Nieusel murmured in his heart.

    A big shot like him is approachable.

    He is a gentle and righteous man.

    Looking at his resolute and cheerful face, Nieusel felt that this person was reliable!

    In fact, it was mainly Nieusel¡¯s canine-like keen intuition that told him that this person¡¯s soul was shining brightly.

    When Ghindaio told them [selectively] the truth about Sporeggar Mill, Nieusel decided so.

    Even if magic or ritual was utilized, oveing the nightmare by taking shortcuts and using brute force was the same.

    Ghindaio was keenly aware of the existence of ¡°Alice¡±, decisively shut down the nightmare, and let Alice rest in peace. He did not capitalize on the loopholes in this nightmare to repeatedly squeeze Alice¡¯s soul to seize power. This undoubtedly showed that he was a man of integrity.

    But in this case¡­

    ¡ªI have to tell Nefertari the truth again.

    Deward was innocent.

    The messenger Grover was the real murderer.

    ¡°Even if everything is over; even if the people involved are dead; even if no one cares about it anymore, people still have the right to know the truth.

    ¡°We shouldunch a joint arrest against Grover and have Deward¡¯s name cleared!¡±

    Nieusel replied emphatically, ¡°But that¡¯s our job.

    ¡°¡ªPlease rest assured and leave it to us!¡±

    Yes, Annan did not tell them Grover was dead.

    Because Annan wanted to use them to issue a wanted warrant.

    ¡ªHe wanted to use the intelligencework and social connections of the underground people to follow the clues to find many nightmares Grover arranged during his lifetime and even seek out ck Widow¡¯s believers.

    Annan would send the yers and even himself to end all these hideous artificial nightmares.

    These cobwebbed souls deserved their rest in peace.

    Even so, it was an exploit. However, Annan showed no guilt or self-doubt.

    His eyes were as bright as stars.

    That was because¡­

    ¡ªMy heart and my deeds are as clear as a mirror.

    ¡ªAll of my deeds are righteous.

 Chapter 531: You Came Just In Time

    <h4>Chapter 531: You Came Just In Time</h4>

    After the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare was resolved, the yers¡¯ mission to build the teleportation waypoint would no longer be hindered.

    Originally, purifying the nightmare three times was a rtively easy condition.

    The yers would prioritize purifying the nightmares with the lowest difficulty since they could choose.

    Anyway, they were the novices at Bronze Rank.

    They could receive the rewards of normal difficulty nightmares wholly. When advanced to the Silver Rank, they could only level up by clearing nightmares with difficulty above hard. It would not be so easy to get experience points.

    After Bernardino was killed, the yers left the initial ¡°beginner stage¡±.

    Their footsteps advanced from the Freezing Water Port to the capital. In this process, Annan provided the ¡°dungeon instance¡± used for their level-ups and the foes they could kill for free. Not only were their daily necessities met with the nightmare key provided, but no one supervised them.

    When the yers left the capital and traveled independently, they gradually realized it was not easy to find high-quality nightmares.

    Generally speaking, yers would die a couple of times before clearing the dungeon, even in a fresh normal difficulty nightmare, unless it was a high-IQ yer who was particrly familiar with this process.

    At the same time, nightmares like these gave stingy rewards.

    For example, restricted increment on the level of the swordsman profession or the dungeon could only increase the levels of the lurker profession. Otherwise, the nightmare would only give out skills that were not needed, or multiple curses would restrict the yers for no reason.

    There were few nightmares with puzzle-solving content, and the durability was usually depleted before the puzzle was solved. Also, there could be people defeating the nightmare already. Then, they left directly because of being unsatisfied with the reward. As a result, it left a mess for the people approachingter.

    The problem was that yers could not see how much of the nightmare durability was left.

    Only priests specializing in nightmares could use rituals to identify how many entries were left.

    In the end, the entry count would be depleted when the yers only cleared the nightmare two to three times where the decryption progress had reached more than 60%, sometimes even 90%.

    That annoyed the yers terribly.

    Those queued in front, you should finish what you have started!

    Why would you want to show the leftovers!?

    Still, the yers had to purify the nightmares.

    The reason was also simple.

    Murder was against thew.

    After reaching Bronze Rank, ordinary people no longer gave experience. However, it was tough to defeat a transcender, and it easily became troublesome if they were tomit murder.

    In fact, some yers were being hunted down by the veteran Silver Rank¡¯s hunters. There had been two deaths so far. The experience deducted from death was ten times more than the experience gained from killing someone.

    Until now, his ¡°Diary of Being Hunted¡± was still serialized in blood and tears on the forum. It became the second most popr post daily. His experience amused the yers, who were more cautious and did not like to cause trouble. The spectators did not need to sabotage themselves and experience dying richly.

    Also, Delicious Wind Goose contributed to the daily most-read post. These posts recorded many practical and simple rituals.

    Delicious Wind Goose had not gone far on the path of ritualist, and the knowledge he carried was not heavy enough. At the same time, he could not impart the knowledge to others. If he told others about this knowledge, he would lose knowledge of the same weight.

    But he found a trick.

    He recorded the more uplicated ritual knowledge to the real world with a drawing program and illustrated them with stick figure patterns.

    He did not use pen and paper to write it out in detail because that would trigger the forgetting mechanism, which he learned after trying it once. The forgetting mechanism would activate even if he wrote down ritual knowledge on earth. He was so frightened that he looked back at this knowledge directly and then burned the paper.

    Delicious Wind Goose was in high spirits, thinking he would be a ritualist on earth. But as expected, these rituals were useless on earth.

    Luckily, when Delicious Wind Goose used the abstract narrative method of ¡°soul painter-level stickman stick figuresbined with numbers¡± to record the ritual, it did not trigger the forgetting mechanism.

    This seemed to be treated as creating a ¡°false tome¡±.

    Afterward, Delicious Wind Goose printed and took screenshots of this knowledge and passed them to the Freezing Water Port forum. The yers watched those stickmen to ¡°enlighten themselves¡±.

    The result was that this post had been read hundreds of thousands of times. People were earnestly figuring it out, but some treated it as nonsense or a joke. Everyone was ¡°expressing their own opinions¡±.

    Then, Delicious Wind Goose would pin the post that sessfully ¡°figuring out the Charades¡± at the top of the post. So the yers couldprehend it intuitively.

    It turned out that rituals worked in this manner¡ªlike the ¡°key¡± to false tome.

    Although the yers still did not have this ult knowledge, they could hold the ritual if they followed suit. Of course, this was limited to rituals that ¡°did not consume ult knowledge¡±.

    In this way, Delicious Wind Goose roughly understood why false tome came about.

    It was simply because creating a false tome did not consume knowledge!

    As long as the knowledge was not output in total uracy, it would not be judged as ¡°passing the knowledge¡±.

    However, Delicious Wind Goose felt something was wrong with this strange setting. This was unlike a natural rule, but more like a manmade constraint.

    After all, he had never heard that the earth¡¯s white cors could abuse bugs.

    By the way, among Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s posts, the ritual with the highestmendation was the ritual for ¡°preservation¡±.

    Compared with those bizarre nightmares, nightmares obtained from the influence could only be challenged once.

    But at least the rewards were generous.

    Since the dungeon was assigned, the rewards given would be practical.

    Of course, the difficulty was not necessarily the case.

    After experiencing all kinds of nightmares, yers regarded nightmares as dungeon instances with limited time, limited entries, and rich returns.

    Holding the idea of ??¡±take the free meal first before eating your food¡±, Lin Yiyi and the others kept the ¡°Novice Influence: Leviathan¡¯s Air¡± when they passed through the seafloor tunnel.

    From this influence, a random nightmare of hard difficulty would be presented.

    It was the most profitable to wait until they advanced to Silver Rank before challenging it.

    They were still three Bronze Ranks back then, and it was a waste to challenge the nightmare of the hard difficulty level.

    The reason ¡°back then¡± was noteworthy was because Lin Yiyi had sessfully advanced. The silver jewelry that Nefertari sent was at the right time.

    It was [Azure Blue Saint Guard].

    After getting used to the new curse and profession skills, Lin Yiyi was ready to challenge Hard nightmares and continue to level up.

    ¡°Are you going away for a while?¡± Nieusel was a little surprised.

    But he quickly smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. The Sporeggar Mill Nightmare has been purified. We already owe you a big favor.

    ¡°If you want to leave, it¡¯s better to wait a couple more days because we¡¯re still preparing the gifts.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t be leaving so soon. We have to purify some nightmares before we leave. Someone wille hereter to take over our jobs.¡± Jiu Er exined.

    Then, Nieusel was in deep thought.

    ¡°Are you upied with something else?¡± He asked with concern, ¡°Can I help?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Annan replied with a smile.

    He nced at Jiu Er and Suankou and guessed what they were thinking.

    After Jiu Er and Suuankou finish the teleportation waypoint mission here and get the mission reward, they would be approaching the ¡°qualifying rounds¡±.

    In other words, it was time for them to prepare for the advancement nightmare of attaining the Silver Rank.

    At the same time, the two of them had yet to figure out their advanced options.

    Lin Yiyi had predesignated advancement stages, so she did not need to be concerned.

    Delicious Wind Goose was satisfied with [Sword Saint] that befitted him.

    However, neither Suuankou nor Jiu Er wanted to casually advance to a standard route.

    Also, Jiu Er could not travel by herself.

    She was too small, and she looked like a little girl.

    If she were to travel alone, she might get into trouble. No, she would definitely get into trouble!

    Then, she had to bring Suuankou along.

    However, since she brought Brother Koutsu with her, she would have to take Sister Hyphen along. Otherwise, if Sister Hyphen stayed here alone, she would be lonely.

    The group had said they would stay to purify nightmares, and they were a little embarrassed to leave too soon.

    However, the group still had to bring up this matter.

    At most, they woulde back after advancement.

    Where else could there have more dungeon instances besides the underground world?

    Hearing Annan¡¯s response, Nieusel took another look at the silver jewelry on Lin Yiyi¡¯s chest.

    He asked probingly, ¡°If you are troubled by the professions¡¯ advancement, how about I consult Nefertari?

    ¡°She is the actual Wise. She has read a lot and is knowledgeable. I think she should be able to help you a little bit.¡± The golden retriever did not have any psychological burden, so he sold out his childhood sweetheart.

    The yers nced at each other, then at Annan.

    Annan¡¯s expression was also a little weird.

    What? Do you have a lot of information about professions¡¯ advancement?

    It just so happens that I¡¯m here, and it¡¯s time for the third batch of yers toe. At that time, more than 200 people wille in one shot. I have yet to figure out the advancement for them too.

    You came just in time!

    ¡ª¡ªWhatever! Show me your goods!

 Chapter 532: She Got It Right Again

    <h4>Chapter 532: She Got It Right Again</h4>

    Sporeggar Mill was not that massive.

    Although this city was underground of the Razor Territory, it was not a city under the Razor Territory. In the case of a sparse poption, it was easy to umte a lot of garbage if the territory was oversized. Then, it would also be inconvenient to find a ce to eat and shop.

    The habit of the underground city was to install as few production facilities as possible in the residential area of ??the urbanyer.

    There were dedicated ntation and explorationyers below, which were used to produce various raw materials. Also, the transportation and freight in the underground city were convenient. At the same time, thend was sparsely popted. This led to a severebor shortage.

    However, the freight subways and merchants would not pass by so diligently if no production facilities were allocated. Variousmodities and basic materials needed would also be out of stock.

    Usually, lesser-known small cities did not have names of their own.

    The same goes for ¡°ck Mushroom Mill¡± in the past and¡±Sporeggar Mill¡± today.

    It was once a logging area for the Ashwood Forest.

    Yes, there were also trees in the underground world. The curse overflowed from the ntationyer,bined with the light source provided, could generate trees with unique properties.

    For example, the Ashwood Forest, whose alias was ¡°Misty Forest¡±, was the same forest the yers had encountered in the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare.

    This twisted and abstract strange gray tree was a precious ritual material. After being cut into pieces and burned, it could be used as a primary ritual material involved in getting lost. At the same time, only a few urbanyers cultivated this tree type.

    Although this tree type was impractical, they were cherished.

    Ashwood that was rtively straight and of good texture could be sold for a pretty high price. The curse vessel bow made of ashwood as the primary material could impose [Phantom Shot] skill on the arrows fired.

    The effect was to make the ¡°arrow¡± in the eyes of the enemy deviate from the actual arrow position. The faster the rate of fire, the greater the angle the phantom shifted from its main body. Therefore, skilled hunters could even control the rate of fire to confuse the enemy about the true position of the arrow, achieving the effect of an almost invisible arrow.

    The gray mushrooms that grew on decaying ashwood were hallucinogenic. It could be made into a colorless and transparent hallucinogenic poison when ground into powder.

    ¡°We live in the Ashwood Forest.¡± Nieusel exined to Annan¡¯s group, ¡°You have to hold the ashwood¡¯s leaf as a ¡®beacon¡¯ to reach the correct coordinate, but I didn¡¯t prepare any extra leaves. So follow closely and don¡¯t fall behind. If you have fallen behind, don¡¯t take any steps and stand where you are. Be sure to wait for us toe back; if anyone finds someone left behind, remember to sound an rm as soon as possible.

    ¡°If you get lost here, it¡¯s not a joke. Without beacons and the ability to locate through smell and perception, it is difficult to leave this ce. That¡¯s because ashwood stirs up hallucinations, making people misjudge the distance between things.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s on the same road, you may not be able to return to the original position if you go to the end and turn back.¡±

    Nieusel held a leaf of ashwood near his home. It was the same kind of leaf that the messenger had in the nightmare.

    When holding a leaf of a certain tree in hand, the host would ¡°get lost¡± and reach the area where the leaf belonged without resisting the ¡°being lost¡± effect of Ashwood Forest.

    This was equivalent to some key or a map for automatic navigation.

    ¡°Wait a moment?¡± Lin Yiyi was keenly aware of the details, ¡°Do you live together?¡±

    Annan noticed this too, but he did not have the nerve to ask.

    He felt this kind of question would lower his social standing.

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Nieusel turned his head away in embarrassment when a girl asked him this question.

    He faltered and replied, ¡°After all, we have tomunicate with each other at any time, so we can only live closer. She just wants to live in the Ashwood Forest and doesn¡¯t want to be disturbed.¡±

    There¡¯s no need to exin, my friend. I understand everything.

    Annan smiled silently.

    Nieusel tried to argue, saying something like ¡°they haven¡¯t confirmed their rtionship yet¡±, ¡°just living together, it is very pure¡±, and so on. However, Lin Yiyi¡¯s expression became more and more strange.

    It¡¯s true love. Maybe it is even first love.

    This kind of pure love. Ah, just nice.

    If there were no outsiders, she might writhe like a maggot.

    Jiu Er was rather curious.

    What would that Nefertari be like?

    Having the big loyal dog, it felt like she was a short and tsunderedy, it would be a good match. Or the kind ofdy who was delicate and frail and sat in a wheelchair was also lovely.

    The innocent Suuankou focused on walking his path attentively.

    The reason being he was warned that he might get lost, so he followed Annan nervously without falling even one step behind. Of course, he had no idea what the two girls behind him were thinking.

    Luckily, there was no such setting as ¡°darkness falls¡± in the underground world.

    [TN: It¡¯s a Werewolf Party Game reference to going to the nighttime cycle where yers die.]

    After walking for about an hour, the group saw the small western mansion in front of them.

    Like the houses in other underground cities, it was enormous. After all, thend was the least valuable thing in this ce. It was even much cheaper than furniture. As for the size of houses, it solely depended only on the owner¡¯s wish.

    Nieusel did not take out a key.

    He just walked to the door and pushed open the unlocked door.

    ¡°Nefertari!¡± He shouted inside, ¡°I brought the guests back!¡±

    ¡°Hey?!¡± Nefertari¡¯s flustered voice came from inside, ¡°Wait a minute. I haven¡¯t cleaned up the house yet.¡±

    ¡°Why are you tidying up the ce? It¡¯s the Secret Eye. It¡¯s not to meet my parents.¡±

    ¡°Go to hell, you idiot!¡±

    Annan¡¯s group stood at the door politely and did not follow in immediately.

    After another moment, Nefertari hastily opened the door.

    It was a girl with red hair and scorching eyes, wearing a violet robe. A white ribbon hung from each of the slightly longer sleeves.

    She put her hands on her abdomen. Her ribbon was folded into one, hanging straight to the position close to her feet.

    She bowed to Annan reservedly, ¡°It¡¯s nice meeting you, Your Excellency Ghindaio.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite sudden. I didn¡¯t make any preparations yet. My apologies.¡±

    ¡°No, forgive our rude intrusion.¡±

    Ghindaio smiled softly, ¡°We came here without first asking. I hope we did not cause you any trouble at all.¡±

    How could that be no trouble?

    I wore pajamas at home! How could I meet anyone casually!?

    Nefertari muttered to herself, but she dared not speak it out.

    ording to the information she found, the Secret Eye might be the ancient Sun Church.

    Nefertari was not a transcender but it did not mean she could not fight transcender.

    Many of the jewelry she carried were curse vessels. They mainly yed the role of Prophet Magic and Idol Magic. However, the identification and detection magic of these spells slipped away silently when applied to Ghindaio.

    It was not that the detection failed, but it did not activate at all.

    It was as if the person in front of her was not a living person, but a stone statue without consciousness and emotion.

    But how is this possible?

    Her curse vessel was given by her teacher¡ªa Gold Rank Transcender.

    There is no doubt that he is not Silver Rank at all.

    Nefertari thought quickly.

    Judging from the fact that no influence appeared when the spell was applied, he should not be a deity. However, having the effect of the curse vessel missed, he would be a hidden Gold Rank Transcender at the very least and probably even a saint!

    Yep, purifying the nightmares of the underworld does not benefit them. All their efforts are for nothing.

    But if he is the [Justice], [Perseverance], or [Benevolence] of this generation, there is a motive for his action.

    After all, a saint can derive power from the corresponding behavior, like a deity.

    Thinking of this, Nefertari quickly nced at Ghindaio¡¯s body.

    As far as she knew, the sacred bone of [Justice] was the heart, [Perseverance] was the bones from the forearms, and [Benevolence] was at the tongue. Therefore, she could disregard the possibility of the sacred bones at the prominent positions, such as ¡°right arm¡±, ¡°skin¡±, and ¡°eye¡±.

    Ghindaio¡¯s hands did not glow, and neither did his tongue.

    So¡­

    Is he supposed to be the holder of the [Justice] sacred bone?

 Chapter 533: Thief Saint Alfonso

    <h4>Chapter 533: Thief Saint Alfonso</h4>

    Even among the Wise, the number of people who knew the sacred bone was quite little.

    The secret of the sacred bone was not weighty knowledge.

    The reason was that the saints never intended to ¡°encrypt¡± this knowledge from the beginning. Instead, they obtained the power of the oath by announcing the curse.

    The problem was that sacred bone¡¯s secrets were not [practical] enough.

    Even if someone acquired this knowledge, he could not use it to conduct rituals, let alone generate influence. After finding out about this knowledge, the curse binding force corresponding to the saint would get stronger. At the same time, the oath power would intensify. However, those benefits had nothing to do with the new learners.

    This was just ordinary ¡°knowledge¡±.

    Nefertari knew the sacred bone topic well because of her teacher ¡°Bone Healer: Seti¡±.

    Seti, as the strongest Idol Wizard in the underground world, naturally would not have a weird profession name like ¡°Bone Healer¡±.

    Since this name reced his profession and became his title, Seti must have done something rarer and more iconic than advancing to Gold Rank.

    As the name suggested, besides being an outstanding Idol Wizard, an excellent healer, and a veteran ritualist, he was the best-known sacred bone schr in the world.

    He once sessfully repaired the broken [Fearless Bone].

    This was the sacred bone representing [Courage], and its bone part was the spine.

    Embarking on the path of saint meant voluntarily choosing an absolutely irreversible destiny.

    The sacred bone was not an empty energy body but an independent and living organ that existed somewhere in the world.

    Afterpleting the test of the sacred bone and getting the acknowledgment of the sacred bone, there was a dangerous and bloody [Wedge Ritual].

    Roughly speaking, it was a transnt surgery.

    To transnt the Heart of Justice, the host must first cut out his own heart.

    Of course, the instation steps were simple. There was no need for nerve grafting [1] as long as the original parts of the body were removed first. It functioned as a plug-and-y system like Sharingan [2], and the healing divine art involved was notplicated.

    What made this ritual difficult was its requirement toplete it under the eyes of at least twelve witnesses and in an awake state.

    In other words, the host was forbidden to take anesthesia and pass out.

    ces like ¡°tongue¡±, ¡°eyes¡±, and ¡°right arm¡± were still alright.

    However, positions involved ¡°the Heart of Justice¡±, ¡°the Skull of Honesty¡±, and ¡°the Flesh of Sacrifice¡± were dangerous andplex for transntation.

    That was also why one could not turn back on the path of saint.

    If a saint vited the established ¡°covenant¡±, he would not lose all his holy light engravings like a pope or the authority in his realm like a deity. However, the consequences were equally severe.

    It might get even worse.

    If a saint betrayed his pathway, the sacred bone would leave him.

    It was ¡°leaving the person¡± in the physical sense.

    Once there was a benevolent saint who betrayed his path, his tongue would ¡°slip out¡±. There was also a righteous saint who had too much authority over life and death and finally fell into evil ways. He lost his heart, and his chest was hollow. The body was found in his bedroom.

    However, if one were to devote to their path, they risked damaging their sacred bone.

    The sacred bone was not indestructible and invulnerable.

    Otherwise, the saint with [Sacrificial Flesh] would be invincible.

    The owner of the previous generation [Fearless Bone] was a hero from Austere-Winter Dukedom who was once a legendary mercenary.

    The covenant he held befitted Austere-Winter¡¯s custom. He vowed to ¡°never run from a fight¡±.

    Before he became a saint, his identity as a mercenary had offended many people. In the end, he was conspired by others, pushing him to a battle with the ¡°Deity of Sword and Duel¡±, Marquis Iris.

    Marquis Iris was the Duel Deity.

    He would never spare mercy in the middle of a duel and would never stop attacking until the opponent was dead or surrendered.

    That said, the two heroes¡¯ covenant just happened to conflict.

    In the end, the mercenary sacrificed his life to achieve his path.

    [Fearless Bone] provided him with robust strength, allowing him to have the qualifications to fight against the formidable Marquis Iris even without possessing the Book of Truth.

    As a matter of fact, Marquis Iris was the subordinate deity of the Red Knight. He also possessed the attributes of Dueling Deity and War Deity. In a one-on-one duel, the power of Marquis Iris could be infinitely magnified.

    In the first ten minutes, they were in a stalemate. However, after Marquis Iris sessfully inflicted the first wound, the situation in the battle immediately took a one-sided turn.

    In less than five minutes, the mercenary was covered with injuries.

    He lost his right arm, four fingers of his left hand, nearly all of his ribs, and two-thirds of his internal organs. The throat had a third of it slit. The heart and lungs each had a translucent prating wound.

    If this injury was inflicted on ordinary people, it was enough to kill them several folds, not to mention fighting back.

    While the loser kept his courage and pressed on, the peak [Bone of Fearlessness] produced more immense power in a desperate situation.

    He had remained near death, but his strength gradually became more robust. Also, he did not intend to back down, admit defeat and die.

    His strength amplified tremendously every time he got up after falling to the floor.

    He stalled an all-out Marquis Iris for an hour and even blinded Marquis Iris¡¯s left eye.

    It was not until all the bones in his body were broken into pieces, almost turning into minced meat, that he finally did not stand up again.

    The spine was smashed into nearly a hundred pieces by the furious Marquis Iris, and it hadpletely lost its function as a sacred bone.

    People thought that the ¡°courage¡± in the bones had been lost at that time.

    Unexpectedly, thirty yearster, a wizard named Seti collected all the fragments of the ¡°Fearless Bone¡±.

    He transformed the surrounding cities into huge ritual areas named [Bone Eater Forest] and [Bone Farm].

    Under the effect of the Bone Eater Forest on the outer ring and the ritual area of ??the Bone Farm on the inner circle, he spent twelve years and sessfully restored the ¡°Bone of Fearlessness¡±.

    Not only was the appearance restored, but the soul of [Courage] that had long been dormant was also reawakened. He had rejuvenated its function as a sacred bone.

    As the world¡¯s first Idol Wizard who could repair sacred bones, he even researched the ¡°back door¡± of sacred bones.

    He entrusted a friend with the extract of the bones of courage to make an Alteration Mixture and injected it into his student¡¯s brain, sessfully erasing his ¡°fear¡±. Later, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti presented the ¡°Bone of Fearlessness¡± to the young student.

    Sure enough, he bypassed the Bone of Fearlessness¡¯s authentication system and got Bone of Fearlessness¡¯s approval.

    He was even just an [Spiritualist] of Silver Rank, and he was not a brave and fearless hero like the previous generations of heroes. Instead, he was a timid young man who did not like talking.

    However, he had be the ¡°brave hero¡± of this generation.

    This honor could undoubtedly be regarded as [the Creation]¡ªa feat only one person could achieve.

    Now that Master Michngelo had sublimated to ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±, he was already the number one Idol Wizard in the world.

    This could also be regarded as the [Supreme Crown].

    After the appearance of this ¡°artificial saint¡±, the search for sacred bones started in the underground world.

    This man-made saint who held the ¡°stolen courage¡± and had not even advanced to Gold Rank was undoubtedly the best mobile billboard.

    ¡ªIf you follow the same method, you should be able to be a saint yourself.

    Silver Rank was the mostfortable Rank ¡ª smart, robust, resistant to aging, mighty strength, and longevity. Many people were unwilling to take risks and advance to Gold Rank.

    However, if it was possible to acquire Gold Rank power in the Silver Rank, who would not want that?

    Thus, while trying their best to belittle this ¡°unqualified¡± saint, the transcenders and ritualists were secretly looking for the sacred bone that had not yet found an owner. They would take them to ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti and spend a price to allow them to undergo this surgery.

    Of course, most transcenders did not trust Seti.

    They did not believe this method could stimte the power of sacred bones. There were even some people who thought that this ¡°artificial saint¡± itself was a scam.

    The purpose was to get more sacred bones and information about sacred bones.

    However, Nefertari knew it wasn¡¯t a hoax.

    It was real.

    That was because Alfonso, who was scornfully called ¡°the Thief Saint¡±, was not only Nefertari¡¯s senior.

    He was also Nefertari¡¯s half-brother.

 Chapter 534: Suuankou: OMO

    <h4>Chapter 534: Suuankou: OMO</h4>

    Annan raised an eyebrow.

    He noticed that Nefertari looked at him with a strange expression.

    She seemed to see someone else through him.

    Some nostalgia, but some sadness.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Annan asked, ¡°Did you think of someone?¡±

    The cheerful and gentle voice of a middle-aged man came from a disguise named ¡°Ghindaio¡±.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Nefertari did not lie, nor did she equivocate.

    Ghindaio was likely to be a Gold Rank Wizard who could deflect Silver Rank¡¯s Prophet and Idol Spell.

    Lying to him was probably meaningless.

    The saint who held [the Heart of Justice] probably did not like liars too.

    ¡°My elder brother is the current Fearless Saint.

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you are the holder of ¡®Justice¡¯.¡± Nefertari replied somewhat hintingly.

    She was unsure if those three ¡°apprentices¡± from the Secret Eye knew about it.

    Hearing her words, Nieusel froze for a moment.

    He looked at Annan with some surprise.

    Is Sir Ghindaio the Justice Saint?

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not there yet.¡± Ghindaio was a little surprised by Nefertari¡¯s keen intuition and was a little curious that she knew another saint.

    But since it was the first time they met, Annan did not know if there were any taboos and if it was appropriate to talk too deeply about it. This could affect first impressions.

    So Annan politely skipped the topic. However, he did not hide anything, and he did not bluff. Instead, he told his situation truthfully, ¡°Maybe it will be in the future, but I¡¯m not a saint now.¡±

    ¡°You will certainly be!¡± Nieusel said loudly and forcefully, ¡°There is no other candidate but you!¡±

    His words were full of confidence, and his voice was so loud that he even interrupted Annan and startled Nefertari. He was even more confident than Ghindaio.

    No wonder!

    No matter the cost, he purifies nightmares and solves strangers¡¯ troubles even when no benefits are involved.

    Even after he woke up from the dangerous nightmare trap, he did not ask for payment or even mention the danger he had experienced in the nightmare.

    The first thing Ghindaio did was to clear the innocent¡¯s name and seek justice for the innocent death. The truth of this matter was meaningless to anyone.

    After all, the person whose reputation was ndered had long since died, and he was not a big shot but just an ordinary person. However, correcting the scattered error in history was a troublesome matter that would easily offend anyone. Those who hated troubles would silently hide the fact that ¡°Deward is not a ck Widow believer¡±.

    However, Ghindaio did not do that.

    Undoubtedly, if this is not justice, few things in this world can be called justice!

    Nieusel looked at Ghindaio with undisguised admiration.

    These days, even if one were to ask his closest friends or rtives to solveplex problems, the helpers wouldin if the matter was really troublesome.

    People, whom you could tell the truth and objectively describe what kind of predicament you were facing, were already in the minority. There would be dramatical exaggeration toward how tough the challenge they had solved. Their goal was to emphasize their capabilities, make this matter more interesting, make the other party appreciate themselves more, and inform the other party what price they had paid and what risks they had taken.

    He would tell the story as if he had almost lost his life when the helper suffered minor injuries; he had to emphasize how challenging his family¡¯s financial situation was when he asked for funds.

    Only a handful of people would silently take on their hardships and difficulties.

    The reason was that they knew very well that telling this matter out was a secondary injury to the help-seeker. Of course, it was not physically hurting their bodies but hurting their dignity.

    Nieusel¡¯s father was such a man of few words.

    When Nieusel was young, his father taught him that he must not becent and arrogant just because he had helped others, being all over himself as the benefactor.

    ¡°A man can¡¯t haggle over every detail, can¡¯t expect favors to be repaid, and can¡¯t owe favors unpaid.¡±

    However, Nieusel¡¯s father also taught him not to expect others to follow his moral standards.

    Nieusel had always done so.

    Perhaps this sense of responsibility persuaded Nefertari, who was much better than him, to be his friend.

    Nieusel was grateful to his father for making him who he was. He felt that although his father was not the Wise, he had a wise heart.

    He was not stupid, but he did not like to care about many things. On the other hand, Nefertari was bright, and her heart was as upright as his. That allowed him to go out without his brain and just listen to Nefertari¡¯smand.

    It was not difficult for him to notice that it was almost impossible for people like him to exist in the underground world where legal awareness was weak. He had been used to this situation for a long time ¡ª just like his father had taught him. He was a silent kind person.

    He did not force others nor expect others to do good.

    However, he saw someone who acted like him, His Excellency Ghindaio¡ªor perhaps acting more nobly than him!

    Although Ghindaio did not say it, Nieusel knew how dangerous Sporeggar Mill was.

    Nieusel felt that he might not even be able to do this!

    A man as great as my father¡­

    He must be worried that if he told the truth about the danger he had encountered, he would make me feel guilty.

    Moreover, it would make his apprentices feel bad about themselves and create a barrier against Nefertari. It was because of their pleas that His Excellency Ghindaio was in deep danger and almost failed to escape.

    Ghindaio must have noticed the friendship I formed with Ms. Yiyi and the others. That¡¯s why he could not bear to part with this friendship!

    What a wise and gentle man.

    ¡°Could it be that [Justice] is underground now?¡±

    Nieusel spected, ¡°I heard that sacred bones and saints will attract each other.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about this either.¡± Ghindaio just shrugged helplessly.

    Nieusel emphasized, ¡°I know some friends who can be trusted. If you need, you cane to me at any time. I am usually here in the afternoon.

    ¡°When you leave, remember to pick a few leaves from the surrounding ashwood. Then, when youe back, the road will appear.¡±

    ¡°I will help myself with it if I need to.¡± Ghindaio smiled, pointed behind him with his chin, and motioned, ¡°Why don¡¯t you invite us in for our chatter?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me about that!¡±

    Nefertari greeted Annan nervously, red at Nieusel next to her, and silently said, ¡°You idiot¡±.

    Then, she quickly invited Annan and his party in. Later, she made each of them a cup of lung-clearing tea. This herbal tea tasted like wax gourd tea or lotus leaf tea, but it was not unptable after adding sugar to it.

    Jiu Er and Suankou were not needy about it.

    After hearing their wishes, Nefertari pondered for a while.

    ¡°An excellent job transfer for Berserker and Ambushers.¡± She was familiar with these two professions.

    There were few Berserkers in the underground world, but there were still quite a few Ambushers. After all, the intensity and angle of the light source here were constant, and there were many situations where traps coulde in handy.

    However, she quickly locked on to several directions.

    To betterplete this task, she asked the yers¡¯ opinion, ¡°Any other special requirements?

    ¡°For example, what is the best direction for professions¡¯ advancement?¡±

    Jiu Er replied without thinking, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s dangerous. I want the profession with the strongest attack power!¡±

    Suuankou thought about it seriously for a long time.

    He asked probingly, ¡°I hope it can increase mybat effectiveness in encounters. If I can¡¯t arrange traps in advance, I will almost always be on edge as the spectator¡­ I mean, I will always watch from the side.¡±

    This was the truth.

    In encountering enemies, he could only open Sneak and stood by the wall with an ¡®OMO¡¯ expression.

    His health points were rtively low, and the backstab damage was insufficient. He could not even deal damage even if he went over. His main job was to dismantle and install traps.

    It feels like an errand boy.

    Even the Trap Rogue wants to y the damage role!

 Chapter 535: Blood Eater

    <h4>Chapter 535: Blood Eater</h4>

    ¡°In general, I want a profession with a stronger sense of presence.¡± Suuankou summed it up this way, ¡°If possible, it¡¯s best to keep the skills rted to traps¡­at least the ability to create traps. That is a priority overbat power.¡±

    After all, Suuankou relied on this to make money.

    It was said that the profession of his elder sister after the advancement stage was high-maintenance.

    ¡°Azure Guardian¡± could use gems like Edict Wizard. However, they did not use gemstones as spell-casting materials but used sapphires of different colors as spell-storage items for storing various types of one-time-use unique abilities.

    For example, resistance to toxins, rapid regeneration, floating shields that rotate around the body, instant and directional silence ability, or increasing the damage of the next attack. Every time the Azure Guardian advanced a level, he could learn a new method of making magic storage gems.

    However, the ritual must be held one day in advance to process the gems.

    It was like Tohsaka Rin [1].

    Ordinary Treasure Diamond Ind Guard Knights could only be regarded as caravan escorts at best ¡ª even if they could block flying arrows and parry weapons, holding a stick was much less practical than wielding a shield.

    At least if the opponent suddenly wielded a gun and went, ¡°Sir, the times have changed¡±, Treasure Diamond Ind Guard Knight would bepletely helpless.

    Show Me How You Stop Me.jpg

    However, the situation was different for the Azure Guardians.

    The initial Azure Guardian was the Azure Diamond Tower¡¯s protector.

    Under the development effort the Edict Wizards dedicated, the deficiencies of this profession were made up for through these ¡°gem skills¡±.

    High resistance and high defense, able to deflect rays and bullets that could not be parried otherwise, self-recovery, and boosting the attack power to the average level of a transcender of the same level.

    However, those Edict Wizards did not enforce the rules that ¡°Azure Guardian must protect the Azure Diamond Tower¡±. Instead, they publicly announced the advancement ritual, which was the previous ritual with chipped gems.

    They adopted another control method.

    The gemstones required for the ¡°magic ability¡± of the Azure Guardian could only be gemstones produced in Treasure Diamond Ind.

    Those who chose to work under or guard the Azure Diamond Tower would receive said gems as sry every month. In addition, they would receive some ¡°gem magic that they could not create by themselves¡± every month. That would be the ¡°restricted spells¡± that the Edict Wizards poured into gems.

    Isn¡¯t this just a membership system?

    When Lin Yiyi said this, Suuankou blurted out.

    Therefore, Azure Diamond Tower did not take the initiative to recruit any Azure Guardian, but almost all of the Azure Guardians who advanced sessfully returned to the Azure Diamond Tower in the end.

    Most of them originally nned to work for 6 years and leave Treasure Diamond Ind after saving enough gems. However, when that time came, they would be reluctant to part with the ¡°Members Restricted Spell¡± gems given out every month.

    Thinking that ¡°it seemed that there was nothing to do if they left¡±, they hesitated and stayed.

    Let¡¯s See What Spells Will Be Sent Next Month.jpg

    Lin Yiyi was not short of money or gems at the moment. However, looking at herbat approach, Suuankou felt it was better for him to save some money in advance.

    The craftsmanship of making traps could not be lost to achieve this goal.

    ¡°A Trap Master who can fight head-on and has more offensive power than Berserker.¡± Nefertari thought for a while, then nodded slowly, ¡°I probably have some ideas. Excuse me first.¡±

    She got up and walked to her study.

    The situation was urgent, and she tidied the living room a little.

    The two bedrooms or her study were in a mess. That was to say, Nieusel¡¯s collection room was still tidy.

    That was not because Nieusel was more hygienic than Nefertari. However, Nieusel only sometimes went there.

    When cohabiting with the opposite sex, they were not so particr about their image. This could also be regarded as an example of their close rtionship as childhood friends.

    She pulled out a few books from the ovepping bookshelves rippling with dark blue ripples.

    There was no need to unlock these books because the knowledge recorded in them was not that dangerous.

    ¡°For Berserker, you can worship the Cup-holding Lady.¡± Nefertari opened the book in front of Jiu Er and used her nails to lightly imprint a mark on the page, pointing out to her the specific content location.

    ¡°Cup-holding Lady?¡± Jiu Er asked curiously, ¡°Is it the Holy Grail knight?¡±

    She had heard about the job change of the Holy Grail knight.

    The Paper Princess once prophesied Delicious Wind Goose that he might be a Holy Grail Knight in the future. At that time, the yers had already learned about this job change, and some people indeed wanted to change to this profession.

    Through the profession feature of the Holy Grail knight, yers could rely on other yers to superimpose many basic attribute points.

    Although attribute points were not the only determinant ofbat power, umting a little more was good with no repercussions.

    Although this bucket profession was not weak, it did not meet Jiu Er¡¯s special requirements.

    ¡°Cup-holding Lady is the Deity of Blood and Desire. In addition to the Holy Grail symbolizing ¡®Desire¡¯, she is also the Deity of Blood. In other words, she also controls the ¡®Blood in the Cup¡¯.

    ¡°The blood in that cup is the blood of the snake, the blood of the tree, the blood of the stone, the blood of the pleasing. Then, the blood of the endless and the blood of the rustless.¡±

    Nefertari gave a detailed description to Jiu Er, ¡°If a berserker believes in the Cup-holding Lady, he can sacrifice his blood in a golden cup for nine days and rece it with rust-free blood.

    ¡°Drinking rust-free blood to advance. You can advance to the special profession ¡®Blood Eater¡¯.

    ¡°Blood Eaters have a unified curse, ¡®Supreme True Blood¡¯. They need to sacrifice their blood once a month and rece it with rust-free blood. It overflows from the Holy Grail in the arms of the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s blood.¡±

    ¡°You need to take rust-free blood often, but you may obtain a solid physique without cost. The Veteran Blood Eaters are already so strong that their bodies are like other-worldly monsters. After they die, their flesh and blood will flow incessantly, wriggling and healing. ¡®The Endless Skin¡¯ itself is an excellent curse material, which can be used to make drums and curse vessels.

    ¡°At the same time, the Blood Eaters are immune to all forms of disease and poison. They will no longer age easily, their appearance will not change, they will not need to eat extra food, and the damage to their bodies will heal quickly. Even after taking rust-free blood, one no longer needs to eat food for a month. When Berserker sacrifices his flesh and blood, he can muster tremendous strength several times higher than usual.

    ¡°This is because after the constitution is greatly enhanced, the strength that can be tolerated when going berserk also increases.

    ¡°However, at the same time¡­ If you don¡¯t take the rust-free blood on time to maintain your life, your muscles will gradually shrink and age rapidly. Theplications include fever, subcutaneous hemorrhage, anemia, and internal organ infection simultaneously. Dyed care is bound to be life-threatening.

    ¡°However, as long as you take rust-free blood regrly, there is no special problem. Even if you are not a Blood Eater, you can use rust-free blood to rece anyone¡¯s blood for blood transfusions, which can significantly speed up recovery. You won¡¯t be a Blood Eater if you don¡¯t have nightmares within a day after your blood transfusion.

    ¡°So the ritual of Rustless Blood will not stop, and the side effects of this curse cannot be triggered at all. If you are worried that you won¡¯t be able to use it, you can also sell the Rustless Blood you made.¡±

    Nefertari¡¯s tone was seemingly hinting, ¡°if you have a lot of milk, why don¡¯t you sell me the milk?¡±

 Chapter 536: Explosion Is Art!

    <h4>Chapter 536: Explosion Is Art!</h4>

    Although Jiu Er was weirded out by what Nefertari had said, this profession did meet her requirements.

    There were noplex mechanisms. On a simple and in basis, the taboos of the curses were also simple to understand.

    It was unlike the Holy Grail knight, who might trigger the ¡°Bewitched¡± debuff from time to time. At the same time, it was unlike Sword Saint, who required abo to bebat effective.

    Seeing the progress of Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s advancement, Jiu Er only had four words in her evaluation.

    ¡ªThe hero tends to die young.

    Delicious Wind Goose was short of breath and possibly on thest one. His sword qi reserve was ridiculously little.

    After activating two skills, he would be out of sword qi.

    Even the Ultraman would oust him!

    [TN: Ultraman is said tost three minutes in battle.]

    Is this really a swordsman profession but not an assassin profession?

    Or is it a trend now that the Assassin next door has switched to bing a Berserker, and the Swordsman will take over a Rogue¡¯s assassination job in a one-shot kill attempt?

    ¡°As for the advancement of [Ambusher], my rmendation is [Saboteur].¡± Nefertari said, opening another book.

    This was a spell book with a name. The title of the book was ¡°My Body is a Forge¡±. Under the book cover of golden red scales was a thick parchment. There were only a few pages in the whole book.

    Just by opening it, Nefertari caused the temperature in the air to rise rapidly. Within a few seconds, ayer of white steam was condensed on the inside of the transparent water cup in the room.

    ¡°Be careful not to touch the pages.¡± Nefertari warned, ¡°Just read it from a distance, close the book when you¡¯re done, and don¡¯t turn the pages.¡±

    The pages were indeed quite magical.

    To put it in rtive terms, it was like a searing iron te. Touching it with bare hands would inevitably result in a burn.

    Since the book was opened, the surrounding temperature had been rising continuously. As Suuankou inched closer, he felt a scalding sensation even at the vertical distance of 10 centimeters, resulting in a moist face. At the same time, he even struggled to open his eyes.

    Both Ghindaio and Nieusel came over curiously.

    ¡°Is this a spell tome of the Destruction School?¡± Nieusel asked curiously, ¡°Are you asking him to change his job to be a Destruction Wizard?¡±

    Ghindaio would love to ask this question too.

    However, considering his charisma would decline if the side of being a curious baby were shown, he restrained his curiosity. Luckily, Nieusel was exceptionally caring, and he asked all the things Annan wanted to know.

    ¡°Yes, this is the spell tome of the Destruction School.¡± Nefertari nodded and exined, ¡°Saboteur is a newly emerging profession. As far as I know, the total number of Saboteurs in this world may be less than ten.

    ¡°It can only be advanced through the [Ambusher] or [Destruction Wizard] job. But in fact, the real purpose is to change the job of a Destruction Wizard.¡±

    The ming-eyed girl said seriously.

    Ghindaio realized something, ¡°It¡¯s because the Destruction Wizard is too unstable.¡±

    ¡°Unstable¡± was just a euphemism.

    Annan still remembered that the Destruction Wizard he met in ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡± was more than ¡°unstable¡±.

    The taciturn red-haired youth wrapped his eyes with bandages, sewed up his mouth with thread, wore the straitjacket used to control people with a mental health condition, and even wore shoes without soles. White bandages had temporarily reced his stockings.

    The blood he shed would burn violently, more reactive than gasoline touching a lit match. He could ignite or detonate a person just by looking. The words he spoke would destroy buildings and disintegrate the human body. Even after he was killed, the body would cause a massive explosion that shook the earth.

    As the name suggested, the ¡°Destruction¡± School was a school that only studied ¡°Destruction Spells¡±. It was an official and legitimate school of wizardry. What they believed in was that if the spell could not solve the problem, it meant that the power was inadequate.

    As long as the destructive force sufficed, it would achieve all goals through its deterrence. Just like the deities high above, They were just older and stronger transcenders.

    They were the wizard faction that was obsessed with a ¡°sense of presence¡± and were most persistent in ¡°power¡± and ¡°politics¡±.

    That was because of their blind trust in ¡°Destruction Spells¡±. As well as the iparable ¡°power level¡± of the Destruction Spells, it created an obvious status hierarchy in the wizard tower.

    Unlike other schools of spells, the sole purpose of the Destruction Spells was destruction. It was not a wizard school like Energy Falteration or Soul Snatch but a fusion of multiple professions.

    Instead, in the wizard civil war, all the spell-casting professions in the world gathered all the high-performance, cost-effective spells for attacking and destroying.

    It was unlike the Alteration Wizard, which could carry outrge-scale chain alteration magics wantonly on the battlefield and finally release arge-scale bombardment far beyond its strength.

    Destruction Wizards like to fix some dangerous spells on themselves. In other words, turning spells into permanent abilities. For orthodox Destruction Wizards, ¡°You look dangerous¡± could even be regarded as apliment.

    Probably like saying, ¡°you look fanatic¡± or ¡°you look like a madman¡± to a Berserker.

    ¡°However, in the peaceful time, this kind of wizard apprentice with a violent personality and strong desire to control is notmon.¡±

    Nefertari paused, then continued, ¡°I heard these from a Senior Wise at the Wise¡¯s meetingst year.

    ¡°[Saboteurs] are said to be a new profession invented by the famous Destruction Wizard Family ¡®Burning Teeth¡¯. Rather than giving Ambusher a powerful advancement, their main purpose is to create a new way out for Destruction Wizards.¡±

    The higher the Destruction Wizard¡¯s level, the higher the damage inflicted on oneself.

    They were the only wizard tower that would study Chaos Spells directly.

    When it came to pure power, ordinary spells were inferior to chaos spells. Coupled with the strange enchantments that Destruction Wizards always hang on themselves, it led to the high mortality rate of Destruction Wizards.

    ¡°The [Saboteur] profession¡¯s strength lies in the ability to set up or even throw traps in the wild at any time. For example, throwing or sticking an inconspicuous sphere that can be detonated manually or using one¡¯s blood to make a liquid bomb that can be detonated at any time.

    ¡°In addition, you can also enchant your projectiles, arrows, throwing knives, or other traps with the scorching effect. Of course, they can also explode. Even if the enemy does not step on the traps, he will not anticipate that the trap can be manually detonated.¡±

    What a great profession!

    Explosion is art!

    Suuankou¡¯s eyes emitted lights, and he listened carefully.

    Nefertari was serious about teaching, ¡°This profession requires the highest level of [Skillful Hands] ability. At the same time, you must also learn the Instant Spells [Metal Detonation] and [y Detonation], as well as the Guided Spell [Heat sma] and [me Weapon]. As long as you master these spells, you can advance to be a Saboteur in the nightmare.

    ¡°For ordinary Destruction Wizards, they have to free up four of their limited spell slots to configure these spells. Generally speaking, they have to wait until the Bronze Rank reaches the limit to have enough spell slots. That¡¯s mainly because there are not enough slots for Instant Spells.

    ¡°However, you are different.

    ¡°You are not a Destruction Wizard in the first ce, and the spell slot of Instant Spells cannot be upied. So you can master these four spells without bing an official wizard, relying only on the [Wizard Apprentice] profession. In this case, there is no need to upgrade your wizard level to the same level as your current profession.¡±

    In other words, what Nefertari meant was to let Suuankou acquire Level 10 on [Wizard Apprentice (Destruction School)] as his secondary profession and stop after getting the advanced spells.

    That was the approach.

    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Suuankou expressed gratitude to Nefertari respectfully and excitedly.

    Nefertari did not get used to it. Instead, she just shook her hand in embarrassment, ¡°No problem.

    ¡°This book has everything except [Metal Detonation] and [y Detonation]. You may study on your own first. If you can master it, I will find the spell books for those two spells for you. There¡¯s no need to visit the wizard tower to learn those spells.

    ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t understand it, I can¡¯t help you either.¡± Nefertari spread her hands, ¡°After all, I¡¯m not a wizard.¡±

    Annan, who was on the side, was piqued as he gazed at her.

    Nefertari¡¯s knowledge of the profession¡¯s advancement was well-organized and reliable.

    There will be more yers in the future too.

    Should I kidnap Nefertari¡­ no, I mean hire her as a tutor consultant for the profession¡¯s advancement?

 Chapter 537: Two Saints

    <h4>Chapter 537: Two Saints</h4>

    After confirming their professions¡¯ advancement, the yers left contentedly.

    As the group entered Ashwood Forest, Nieusel had prepared leaves for them at the entrance as a signpost when leaving.

    However, for the sake of etiquette and safety, Nieusel decided to go out and send Lin Yiyi and the other three¡­ at least send them out of Ashwood Forest.

    If a guest were visiting, it would be impolite to have them get lost on the way back.

    Annan originally wanted to leave with the yers. On the journey, he could also chat and interact with the yers. Anyway, such a long journey would be shorter with goodpany.

    However, before Annan left, Nefertari kept him behind.

    It seemed like she had some questions she was unsure if she could tell the rest of the three people.

    ¡°You sent them away,¡± ¡°Ghindaio¡± crossed his arms in front of his chest and asked slowly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ Your Excellency.¡± After the yers left, Nefertari became more respectful toward Ghindaio. Unknowingly, she changed to a more respectful term.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for suddenly taking up your time.¡±

    The red-haired girl poured a cup of tea for Annan, then sat down and responded thoughtfully, ¡°But I do have some important matters.

    ¡°I want to know if [Secret Eye]¡¯s visit to our underground is rted to the ¡®Heart of Justice¡¯?¡±

    Oh?

    Hearing this, Ghindaio frowned slightly.

    The ck-haired, ck-eyed middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly at this question. Then, he uttered nomittally, ¡°Why do you ask that?¡±

    ¡°Let me introduce myself, sir.¡± Nefertari¡¯s tone was calm.

    However, in her pupils reminiscent of solid mes, the mes danced restlessly like candles in the wind, revealing her innermost emotions.

    ¡°You may not know¡­ the Fearless Saint of the current generation, Alfonso, is my elder brother. My teacher is Bone Healer Seti.¡±

    ¡°Alfonso.¡± Ghindaio nodded, repeating the name carefully and slowly.

    Who is that?

    Annan was a little lost.

    Annan was not ignorant of saints, but he had not heard of this saint¡­ at least, he had not seen it in books.

    At first, Annan did not get it.

    After being apanied by the Paper Princess for a fewps in the bookstore, Annanpleted all the necessary information.

    Annan knew about Bone Healer Seti, a Gold Rank Idol Wizard, a sacred bone restoration master.

    After all, there were not many Gold Rank Transcenders. Once someone advanced into Gold Rank, he would still die if the ascension dragged on for too long.

    Silver Rank Transcenders already had enough power to guard against idents. Their strength was enough to give them high status. If the person had wealth and connection, it was not particrly hard to invite a ritualist to hold a ritual to prolong life.

    Even the Roseburg¡¯s Viscount, the Rotten Man¡¯s believer who did not know anything about the ritual, could aplish the life-prolonging ritual. Thus, it was not a problem for the Silver Rank Transcender.

    They were easily recruited by wealthy noble families or actively joined various organizations.

    Bronze Rank Transcender was just a rtively capable hired thug. They might be a show-off for a while but could be easily defeated by a flintlock shot. Only ordinary wealthy business people and local nobles would hire them as teachers or bodyguards. Formal organizations would not even ept them. Most of the stray transcenders were at this level.

    However, it was a stark difference in the Silver Rank immediately.

    During the ¡°soul condensation¡± ritual during the advancement to the Silver Rank, not only condensed the turbid soul into an entity, but also purified the impurities in the body, prolonging a person¡¯s lifespan. Moreover, it also transformed a person¡¯s talent fundamentally. It mainly strengthened the brain¡¯s memory and logical thinking ability. The ¡°purification¡± of the body had freed them from talent defected.

    It was a real ¡°reborn¡±.

    Silver Rank Transcender had a long lifespan and a burly physique. No matter what they did or what industry he was in, their situation would not be too bad.

    They mightck the talent to be top performers, but it was impossible to have ¡°no talent¡±. Furthermore, it would not affect their state due to aging, overtime work, stayingte, and illness. Thetter factor determined their capacity to grow instead.

    Therefore, the status of this level of Transcender had suddenly risen¡ªeven the royal family would never underestimate the Silver Rank Transcender. At the very least, they could be recruited as a court minister with a long lifespan and excellent physical condition, immune to prophesy magic, charm magic, kidnapping, or assassination.

    Two-thirds of Noah Kingdom¡¯s ministers were Silver Rank Transcenders or direct descendants of these transcenders.

    Transcenders were much easier to manage than ordinary people.

    If it was not a coboration but serving the hiree, submitting a personal curse was an expected ¡°sincerity¡±.

    That was just like Benjamin¡¯s situation.

    Having the curse in possession would help the hiree to be worry-free about betrayal and being bribed. Such talents were more reassuring to be utilized.

    In fact, Dream Stealer Danton¡¯s portrayed identity was a Silver Rank Wizard. He did not even show any other talents, and this was enough to make him employed in the Noah Kingdom¡¯s human resources. He lived in the pce and did not have to do any work to enjoy the excellent treatment as a consultant.

    Therefore, for ordinary transcenders¡ªsuch as wizard apprentices, ¡°Silver Rank¡± was the end of the path of transcendence.

    Also, the number of Gold Rank transcenders was smaller than that of influencing ministers in various countries. There was no difficulty remembering the names.

    Unless it was like Dream Stealer, who had never been active in front of people after advancing to the Gold Rank, could he hide his whereabouts? For those Gold Rank Transcenders who had showcased their power publicly, they could even find out what the profession was and what the elements were.

    Except for the twelve upright deities¡¯ popes and those tower masters who could not leave the wizard tower and thus would never meet, there were only ten Gold Rank Transcenders in the entire world at the west of the desert.

    One of them was the Spiritual Monk.

    However, he was dead.

    Since he could sessfully advance to the Gold Rank, he probably wanted to be a deity. Even if there had not been a new Book of Truth for a long time, advancement to the Gold Rank would not be possible even if their strength was sufficient if there was not enough desire for ¡°ascension¡±.

    Therefore, each of them was a leader in their respective fields.

    Most of them held the [Supreme Crown].

    The tower masters could not be a saint, and the popes might be unable to bnce the responsibilities of saint and pope.

    Then, the saint would only be born from these ten people.

    Shortly after the end of the era of ¡°Hermes II¡±, the thirteen saints gradually disappeared for unknown reasons.

    They somehow gave up the sacred bone¡¯s power and chose to die, or perhaps the sacred bone gave up on them.

    This incident might be rted to the man who was directly erased from almost all historical records, so the information Annan found was also vague about this.

    In the end, people all over the world passed through the ¡°decade without saints¡±.

    Although there were thirteen sacred bones in existence today, there were only two saints that Annan knew of. Of course, there would be more sacred bones, but this information would likely be dyed.

    After all, even the Gold Rank Transcenders were rare, let alone determining when they became saints.

    These two saints, whom everyone knew, were the public figures among them.

    Namely, the holder of the [Eye of Patience], Bacon, the ¡°Man of Wisdom¡±; and the holder of [the Skull of Honesty], St. Peter, the ¡°Man of Silence¡±.

 Chapter 538: The Winter Insurgent, Vladmir

    <h4>Chapter 538: The Winter Insurgent, dmir</h4>

    One of the two saints was formerly an Alteration Wizard from the Jade Tower of the Denizoya Kingdom.

    Instead of inheriting the Tower Master role, he chose the ¡°Doctor Forbidden¡± profession to learn spells across many schools.

    At the same time, he also studied the path of ritual and collected ample ult knowledge.

    He was a wise man who had reached the pinnacle of both the ascension and ritual path.

    They said that he had mastered all rituals in the world and could cast all spells. Of course, it was only ¡°what the folks said¡±.

    No one would be surprised that he was recognized by the [Eye of Patience]. After all, he could be the Mysterious Lady¡¯s pope if he wanted to. He must be a ¡°very patient¡± person, given his capacity to achieve that.

    However, the holder of the [Skull of Honesty] was the opposite.

    If ¡°the Man of Wisdom¡± was a great man whose ability was so outstanding that everyone recognized him, then ¡°the Man of Silence¡± was so low-key that no one knew why he became a saint.

    However, he was indeed a saint.

    St. Peter was Mr. Ray¡¯s pope and one of the few who could be a saint¡¯s pope.

    On his outward appearance, he was a short man with a mild temper and low profile.

    He was so low-key that no one understood what ¡°the Skull of Honesty¡± was capable of and why he was chosen. He never stepped forward to answer people¡¯s questions, either.

    After all,pared with such attributes as ¡°patience¡± and ¡°courage¡±, ¡°honesty¡± was too difficult to judge. It was even more difficult to deduce what qualities he possessed that granted him the acknowledgment of the sacred bone.

    If honesty meant not telling lies, even some monks whose roots were rted to the ¡°Truth¡± Realm would spend their entire lives not telling a lie.

    In fact, a Gold Rank Monk decades ago had a problem with ¡°the Skull of Honesty¡± picking such a weirdo instead of him. He was still tangled with the grievance even when his soul dried out.

    Saint Peter had never even shown the power of his element, let alone fought with others.

    The strangest thing was that he never prayed in front of people.

    He was a contrast to other upright deities¡¯ popes who held meetings now and then, organizing various grand blessing rituals and festivals several times a year. However, instead of treating others amiably while maintaining dignity like the other popes, he was not as gentle and polite to everyone as these popes were.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that this matter could not be faked, some people would have suspected that he was the Silent Lady¡¯s pope instead of Mr. Ray¡¯s pope.

    He was just too ¡°quiet¡±.

    This entric pope would hide where others could not see him no matter what he did, whether it was a festival or prayers.

    But as a leader, doing nothing was bound to make things worse. But every time there was a crisis, things would always be inexplicably back on track.

    Initially, people thought the pope was lucky and could turn misfortune into blessings.

    A crude way of putting it was, ¡°the fools had their unique blessings¡±.

    However, something was not right if he had been lucky for decades.

    Thus, people treated it as a mystical and profound art. After all, he was the longest-lived Gold Rank Transcender, an old tortoise that had lived for more than a hundred years. It was expected not toprehend the profundities of his ways.

    What was even more interesting was that after he had acquired the Skull of Honesty, he never said a word in front of others.

    He did not be mute. He would at least speak in the Internal Council of Cardinals and the ¡°House of Purity¡±. Moreover, he had taken his turn in bing the Supreme Pontiff for a couple of generations. However, his silence was a little too much.

    It was a duty for the popes to bless others, blessing the priests under hismand and those who suffered from misfortune.

    Not to mention that he was the Purification Deity¡¯s pope. His priest was always on the front line of fighting against nightmares, and the death rate was rtively high.

    However, he never said a word to the sacrificed priest, shed a tear, and never even attended their funeral.

    He never said even words of recognition for the dead andfort for the living, such as ¡°he was a great man¡±, ¡°he was a bright kid¡±, ¡°I am saddened by their passing¡±.

    This had umted dissatisfaction of the Papal Kingdom¡¯s citizens against him for some years.

    However, although some people think that the method of ¡°maintaining honesty through silence¡± was ugly, he had solidly served as a saint for nearly a hundred years.

    The other popes of his generation had changed six times, and the sons of his friends had all died of old age, but he still sat on the pope¡¯s throne as firm as a mountain. Moreover, the connections he umted over the years had gradually grown.

    He did not need to say a word, and Mr. Ray¡¯s Church could operate tacitly.

    St. Peter was a well-known figure, though he always got the scolding.

    But ¡°Alfonso¡±¡­

    ¡°In my memory, there seems to be no one named Alfonso.¡± Annan blurted.

    Nefertari was silent for a moment.

    ¡°My brother is the saint whom my teacher gave the ¡®Courage¡¯ sacred bone.¡± She exined tactfully.

    ¡­the Thief Saint?

    Annan frowned slightly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to be rude.¡± He said slowly, ¡°But is your brother still alive?¡±

    Annan heard something about this sacred bone in Boffis¡¯ nightmare.

    In the knowledge, a soul that had not reached Gold Rank could not bear the power of sacred bone. Once the sacred bone was unleashed, the soul would soon disintegrate. His lifespan would not exceed one month at most.

    Ghindaio ignored Nefertari¡¯s embarrassed smile, tapped on the table, and said slowly, ¡°To my knowledge, the most satisfying candidate for sacred bone will not be the Gold Rank Transcender. It is not even the transcender but the ordinary people who have not embarked on the path of transcendence or ritual. But I am afraid they will die in less than a month.

    ¡°Or perhaps the ¡®Bone Healer¡¯ can make the Silver Rank Transcender use the sacred bone¡¯s power without dying?¡±

    Hearing this, Nefertari¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°You indeed know about this!¡±

    Most people did not know about this matter. Not all Gold Rank could master the sacred bone because the top leaders of various countries had never mentioned this knowledge in any records to prevent people frompeting for the sacred bone!

    That was because the power poured out from the sacred bone could instantly elevate ordinary people to the strength of Gold Rank. After they die, it would be arge-scale distorted nightmare.

    That was why the sacred bone was not only a rare treasure but also an unmanageable trouble.

    Even elves with the curse power had to craft Wyrmrest Reagent to put the Heart of Justice to sleep.

    To collect enough dragon blood to make Wyrmrest Reagent, Boffis¡¯ mother even sold a painting to the dragon willing to sell blood ¡ª this painting waster ¡°the Paper Princess¡±. And the dragon who sold blood back then also gave his life and soul to the Paper Princess.

    Without this incident, the Deity of Illusion would no longer be the Paper Princess.

    From this point of view, the price of temporarily sleeping in the Heart of Justice was even the life of a deity.

    Although this statement was somewhat exaggerated, it was enough to prove the trouble that the sacred bone would bring.

    ¡°Back then, half of the teacher¡¯s experiment had failed.¡± Nefertari replied honestly, ¡°As you said, my brother¡¯s body is on the verge of copse. Even if my teacher is there to repair it, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t survive this year.

    ¡°But if you let your brother deviate from the Way of Courage and abandon the sacred bone, he will die immediately and turn into a terrible nightmare. Those ignorant people who came to seek the [Fearless Bone] had no idea about what would happen if they inherited it.

    ¡°But the [Fearless Bone] isposed of multiple sacred bones. The bones can be transnted in batches if someone can inherit the Way of Courage. In this case, my brother might not have to die.¡±

    Nefertari exined earnestly, ¡°We have previously contacted ¡®the Daughter of the Storm¡¯ Maria of Austere-Winter Dukedom, the ¡®Light Forger¡¯ Gregory VII of the Papal Kingdom, and our underground world¡¯s ¡®Captain Stone¡¯ Celecia, and ¡®the Winter Insurgent¡¯ dmir. We asked if they wanted to inherit the [Fearless Bone], but they all refused except for dmir.

    ¡°But ¡®the Winter Insurgent¡¯ dmir once betrayed the Austere-Winter Dukedom. There is no guarantee of what he will do after he bes a saint. We don¡¯t want to offend the Austere-Winter Dukedom, but we also don¡¯t want Alfonso to die and be an intractable nightmare.¡±

    When she said this, she looked eagerly at Annan¡¤Austere-Winter.

    ¡°Since you are here to find the Heart of Justice, you must have reached the Gold Rank.

    ¡°If I have a way here to let you master two sacred bones simultaneously, would you like to test it out ¡ª yourpatibility with the [Fearless Bone]?¡±

 Chapter 539: The Principle Of Wyrmrest

    <h4>Chapter 539: The Principle Of Wyrmrest</h4>

    ¡­the Fearless Bone.

    Annan was lost in thought.

    It should be because I helped them purify the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare that I raised their ¡°affection rating¡± to the level where I can know and participate in this matter.

    If it were just ordinary passers-by friendship, Nefertari would not reveal this.

    If Annan did not keep his word and spread the word about it, she would get into trouble. Even her older brother would be targeted. Her teacher, ¡°Bone Healer¡¯s¡±, reputation would be tarnished ordingly.

    It was precisely because the yers had fully demonstrated the brilliant image of saviors in front of her and Nieusel that Annan could have a reasonably high base affection rating status before he appeared.

    Furthermore, Annan swiftly resolved the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare, which had proven his capability; his act of justifying Deward¡¯s name also showed his sense of morality.

    These events gave Annan the opportunity to acquire the sacred bone.

    It was as if he hadpleted an epic mission inexplicably. When the rewards were distributed, Annan was blessed with another quest.

    If it were not for Annan¡¯s quick response, he would not have realized what he had done to be given the sacred bone as soon as he met.

    The sacred bone was undoubtedly the top-notch curse vessel in this world. It was a treasure second only to the Book of Truth.

    Of course, this perception was only valid for the average person.

    Annan had the Book of Truth¡¯s page fragments within him, and he was still looking for the [Heart of Justice] at the same time.

    He did not have that desire for [the Fearless Bone].

    He was not even sure if the [Fearless Bone] acknowledged him.

    Most likely, Annan would only ept it reluctantly when the Bone Healer begged him.

    Annan thought¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be too cruel if I replied honestly to Nefertari?

    The reason being he had no desire for the [Fearless Bone].

    [Perseverance] or [Patience] might be more suitable for Annan.

    Annan believed that real courage should not be without fear but the capability to face fear and despair with [Courage] after clearly knowing the fear and despair.

    Just like the inheritors of the previous generation. Knowing that they would live on if they retreated and would die if they continued, they would still face the fate of death.

    At the same time, Annan could not feel fear at all.

    Where was the courage?

    He thought for a moment and replied more tactfully, ¡°If I can confirm that the method you said of ¡®using two sacred bones at the same time¡¯ is okay, I am fine to conduct some tests about it.

    ¡°But if I can, I will still look for the Heart of Justice first.¡±

    ¡°I am happy as long as you are willing to assist in the test!¡± Nefertari said hastily, ¡°If we don¡¯t have enough evidence to convince you to believe us, you don¡¯t have to inherit this sacred bone!¡±

    ¡°Great, then there would not be any problem.¡± Annan coughed lightly.

    This is quite pitiful.

    Annan could not bear to watch it anymore.

    If it weren¡¯t for the help of Winter Heart that made Annan feel no guilt, he would have agreed by now.

    It¡¯s so pitiful for not being able to give the equipment out even acting so proactively.

    Annan quickly changed the subject, ¡°I remember there is still a way to seal the sacred bone. For example, ¡®Wyrmrest Reagent¡¯ will do.¡±

    ¡°Of course, we know this, and the form of Wyrmrest Reagent is not particrly a secret knowledge.¡±

    Having said this, Nefertari sighed, ¡°But the dragon¡¯s blood is too expensive.

    ¡°As we all know, dragons are a prized species. The more chaotic the society, the stronger the dragon¡¯s desire; the more peaceful the dragon is, the more sleepy and mild-tempered the dragon is. It has been peaceful for a long time, and the tempers of several dragons have changed. They gradually became milder, and the greed and thirst for treasures also steadily faded.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost impossible to find dragons now. They¡¯re all huddled somewhere to hibernate. Even if you want to exchange treasures for dragon blood, it¡¯s hard to entice them to sell that blood.¡±

    In other words, as the world became peaceful, dragons gradually became chilled.

    Is it bipr?

    Annan was in deep thought.

    Although he did not know what this term meant, Annan also probably knew why Old Grandmother and Father Flint distinguished themselves as the Deity of Fire and Creation and the other as the Deity of Ice and Tradition, even though they were both dragons.

    This was probably why there was no third dragon among the upright deities.

    However, it was the first time Annan heard this.

    The Paper Princess did not have this weird dragon instinct. Oh, right, she was a paper dragon.

    A paper dragon was not even a creature. How could She have such an instinct?

    Annan¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    Is this why the Old Grandmother chose ¡°Wyrmrest¡± as the covenant?

    If the Dragon n falls asleep every time the world is at peace and wakes up naturally when it is about to fall into chaos¡­

    ¡°I see,¡± Annan whispered.

    So, the Old Grandmother never actually abandoned Her people!

    She was not a willful deity. Wyrmrest happened to be the embodiment of Her parental love.

    It was not that the Old Grandmother woke up just in time of crisis every time, nor was it that the Austere-Winter Family woke up the Old Grandmother when they were in danger. It was because She would wake up naturally whenever a crisis came!

    She could instill pressure on the people in times of peace and give shelter to the people in times of war.

    It was like an awkward old father. He would reprimand and pour cold water when the child made achievements but be the person first to stand up and beat the bully¡¯s head when the child was bullied.

    Although She never said and exined the rules ingrained in Her action, the Old Grandmother would wake up when needed.

    ¡°So, when we can¡¯t get the dragon¡¯s blood, we can only seal the saint¡¯s relic in another way.¡±

    Nefertari exined, ¡°Even if the sacred bone can lure qualified people to their direction, it will not mark the specific location for the eligible candidates. Finding the sacred bone is also a part of the trial.

    ¡°In other words, as long as the sacred bone is ced in the maze, it can be effectively ¡®sealed¡¯. At least it can prevent the weak mortals from taking it away and causing disasters.

    ¡°The underground world is a naturalbyrinth. It even has different heights. The saints will find a way toe underground and create a maze to hide the sacred bone unless they deviate from their path and are abandoned by the sacred bone. Unless they don¡¯t want future generations to get this sacred bone, they will rush directly to the depths of the Gray Mists. This is equivalent to throwing the key into the safe.¡±

    So, that¡¯s the case.

    Annan came to a realization.

    As far as he knew, more than half of the other Gold Rank Transcenders lived scattered in the underground world except for the tower master and popes.

    Annan did not know the reason previously. He believed that they might not want to submit to authority, evade their responsibilities, or simply want to be quiet.

    Now it seemed they were all looking for sacred bones in the underground world.

    However, there was no limit to the number ofyers in the underground world. The terrain was moreplicated than the Chongqing Overpass [1]. It was indeed a naturalbyrinth. Mortals would get lost once they entered it.

    So, was that the reason traitor dmir came underground?

    Was this because he was not fleeing but because he thought he could fit a sacred bone? That was why he had been staying underground for several years.

    That being the case¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡± Annan¡¯s expression became slightly serious, ¡°Please tell me the relevant details.¡±

    Even if it was to prevent dmir from seeding or causing trouble, Annan had to test his qualifications for the sacred bone.

    Because Annan just suddenly realized something.

    If the Old Grandmother would sleep forever in peaceful times,why is Old Grandmother about to wake up now?

 Chapter 540: The Calm Before The Storm

    <h4>Chapter 540: The Calm Before The Storm</h4>

    After setting a date with Nefertari, Annan left Ashwood Forest alone.

    Of course, Annan would not have dropped all his ns immediately and rushed to Bone Farm with Nefertari without saying anything.

    That would seem too eager.

    That might give a poor impression.

    It possibly gave off a feeling of ¡°Did I fall into a ploy?¡±.

    Even if there was no conspiracy behind it, it depended only on the ¡°person who had this thought¡±. As long as he had such an idea, the suspicion and animosity would incubate in his heart no matter if he spoke it out or told the others about it.

    Moreover, Annan actually could not make it at all.

    That was because he had not even reached the Gold Rank yet.

    Both his real body and his substitute ¡°Ghindaio¡± were Silver Rank. Although Nefertari could not determine his specific rank, Bone Healer Seti could definitely see through it.

    However, that was still fine.

    After all, Annan had the blessing of the Book of Divine Transporter. Purifying nightmares would be a piece of cake.

    After all the yers came to the underground world, Annan could explore this ce through the yers. If Annan could locate simple and easy nightmares, he could head over and challenge them a couple of times to raise his level quickly.

    Luckily, Nefertari¡¯s elder brother, ¡°the Thief Saint¡± Alfonso, was still rtively tenacious in physical condition.

    He could live on for a while longer.

    It was currently mid-February.

    Nefertari told Annan that he shoulde to her in mid-June.

    They would arrive at Bone Farm at the end of June and undergo tests a couple of days before July 1.

    At that time, the Winter Insurgent dmir would also arrive.

    On July 1st, which was Lady Luck¡¯s Holy Day ¡ª ¡°Great Lucky Day¡±, they would hold a ritual to rece Alfonso¡¯s spine in batches and transnt the power of the sacred bone.

    It would be a long surgerysting seven days from July 1st to July 7th.

    Sure enough, performing the operationsting seven days was much more challenging and dangerous.

    However, it was vital to make up the number ¡°seven¡±.

    Just as ¡°three¡± was a mysterious number, the effect of the ritual could be strengthened by superimposing the number ¡°three¡± in the ritual. Inparison, ¡°seven¡± was a lucky number.

    In a ritual where the result could not be predicted, the sess rate would be effectively increased by piling up the number of ¡°seven¡± in the ritual area.

    For example, having seven ritualists, seventy-seven participants, using the seven-pointed star as the foundation to perform the ritual, using seventy-seven kinds of ritual material, seven kinds of small ritual, seven types of ritual material, etc.

    Determining the level of a ritualist often involved seeing how many ¡°powerful numbers¡± they could incorporate into a set ritual and how they could add the necessary spells without affecting the effectiveness of other spells and without disrupting their nned ¡°numbers.¡±

    Therefore, the ritual a clever ritualist optimized often had some strange andplicated details. These details often determined the ritual effect.

    ording to Seti¡¯s calctions, only by extending the session period to this extent would Alfonso be ¡°lucky¡± enough to survive with the remaining power left by the sacred bone.

    However, it was just a chance, nothing more.

    Even with Seti helping him survive, removing the spine piece by piece without anesthesia was a test for both him and the ¡°sessor¡±.

    If Alfonso could not survive and die, it would be easier for Annan¡¯s side. Because there was no need to dy for seven days. The ritual would be over quickly.

    However, if Annan¡¯s side could not hold on, Alfonso would die. There would be no winner at all. Alfonso would explode on the spot without a soothing ¡°pool¡± that gradually drained away the power.

    This was like the difference between slowly releasing the air in the balloon from its mouth or directly puncturing the balloon.

    Therefore, it was essential to have a rigorous selection process for qualified candidates.

    There were no second chances for Alfonso.

    The candidates would be tested one by one before the ritualmenced.

    Although Annan could have handed over his blood or hair to Nefertari and let her take it for a remote test, that would be too dangerous.

    In this world, assassination could be attempted through spells just by knowing the other target¡¯s real name.

    Just like the dragon blood, the blood given to the other party actively carried a special meaning on the ritual level. This was equivalent to getting the key to the back door, and even a double with the same name might not be able to block the magic.

    Although Annan¡¯s clothes could block a considerable part of the malicious ritual, he did not want to use his own life to test the opponent¡¯s ritual level.

    Everyone heard it. He asked me to.gif

    Nheless, the exposure of his real identity would disturb his n. Using ritual to locate the real name was much more convenient than testing via DNA.

    Even Annan could use this simple ritual.

    ¡°Four months¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    That should be enough.

    It took him about four months to ascend from a mortal level to Silver Rank as he came to this world.

    It should not be a problem to attain Gold Rank in four months.

    Delicious Wind Goose had established the teleportation waypoint over his side not long ago.

    Erecting the teleportation waypoint at Sporeggar Mill would be over in a week.

    Afterward, Annan would delegate a mission to the yers, getting them to spread out in the underground city to various towns to establish teleportation waypoints.

    By that time, it would be almost time to recruit new yers.

    March 1st.

    It was the opening time for a new round of beta testers.

    The best way to give new yers something to do when they arrive was to have the veteran yers guide them. For example, they could form a mercenary party with 4 veteran yers and 1 newbie, leading the neers to purify nightmares andpete with the Diggers and the Wises in the underground city.

    As for the main storyline for the new yers¡­

    Annan actually came after Nichs II.

    However, the more he pursued it, the harder it would happen, ording to the Paper Princess. So then, it was better to set the starting boss as ¡°the Winter Insurgent dmir¡±.

    Anyway, Annan would also run into each other after four months.

    Thoreau Nick was still missing, and Professor Wolf should be within the territory of the Austere-Winter Dukedom. However, as an Idol Wizard, he was great at hiding. So much so that Maria, the Daughter of the Storm, could not hear his voice.

    Undoubtedly, he was definitely plotting something.

    Being aware of this matter was meaningless.

    After all, he was the Tragedy Writer¡¯s believer. The beneficiary of the conspiracy he nned was not necessarily him. His goal would be achieved if the scheme was ¡°exciting¡± enough.

    It could be said to be utter chaos and evil.

    Thoreau Nick just wanted to make trouble, but Annan did not know whose side he would take or what to do. It was unfathomable.

    Annan also asked Dmitri. He had no clues from the Austere-Winter¡¯s side, so he could only y it safe and reserve his strength to strike when the time came. However, this was more of a euphemism.

    Another way to put it was to wait for the enemy to ¡°gank¡±.

    However, sitting idle was not wise.

    Moreover, the Winter Insurgent dmir was the more critical and direct enemy than Wolf Professor Frederick, whose purpose and stance was unknown.

    This was true both for the current Annan and for the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    The Old Grandmother was about to wake up, which meant the disaster was approaching.

    While everything looked calm at the moment, it might just be the calm before the storm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stay put and focus on growth.¡± Annan slowly closed his eyes.

    He did not want to return to Austere-Winter yet.

    After summoning the yer on March 1st, he would conduct a secret investigation. Since the number of yers summoned would be huge this time, it was inevitable that some folks would be out of control even if Book of Divine Transporter excelled at picking people. After all, more than a hundred yers would arrive in one go.

    At that time, Annan would dismiss all the yers in disorder first.

    Then, he would wait until mid-March and head back to Austere-Winter Dukedom to have the Winter¡¯s Hands forge a set of legal and verifiable fake identities for these yers.

    As for the two weeks before March¡­

    Since I¡¯m just around, I should clear a few hard-difficulty nightmares and level up first.

    Soon, these two quiet weeks passed like this.

 Chapter 541: Trailer For The New Version

    <h4>Chapter 541: Trailer For The New Version</h4>

    March 1st.

    Half a month had passed since Annan left Nefertari¡¯s ce.

    However, it was not like they had not met each other in the past half a month.

    After all, Nieusel¡¯s daily job was to patrol the city¡ªor wander around. Although thew and order of the underground city were much more chaotic than the above-ground city, it was due to the massive floating poption [1].

    Moreover, Sporeggar Mill was a small ce that favored the elderly¡¯s retirement. There was no unique local product, with very few new faces every month. The inhabitants were all neighbors who knew each other well. Nothing really would go wrong.

    Typically, Nieusel¡¯s job was to help the olddy fix a high-tech wheelchair, help a child get a ball from a tree, and even open the door with his Digger¡¯s higher authority key when someone forgot it and asked for his help. The biggest part of his workload might be the two-hour round-trip during themute to and from get off work.

    In Lin Yiyi¡¯s words: On the surface, Nieusel was the top manager of the underground city, but he was just a policeman in actual fact.

    However, it was a bit insulting to say that.

    At least the number of households in the police jurisdiction was ten times more than that in Sporeggar Mill. The entire Sporeggar Mill, including the floating poption, had only about 1,000 people.

    ¡°The foot traffic is not as high as the old residential area I rented.¡± Lin Yiyimented so.

    Suuankou deeply agreed, ¡°That¡¯s the foot traffic level that includes three dormitory buildings over my area.¡±

    After all, thend here was free.

    So everyone lived scattered, and the house was massive.

    The price of goods in the underground city was low. Thus, there was no pressure in life. The residents would not starve to death if they looked for a job. Plus, there was a dedicated ntationyer, so no one would farm in the urbanyer to make a living.

    As a result, Sporeggar Mill had be like an abandoned, closed rural area with only elderly widows and widowers left for retirement and abandoned farnd. No onees, no one goes, no life pressure or passion.

    The cost of relocation to the underground city was minute. Those who were not satisfied with this kind of life had left.

    Nieusel and Nefertari held no opinion about it.

    Instead, they preferred this quiet and ordinary life.

    Although no one had confessed their love so far, and theoretically, they had not initiated an official rtionship, Annan and the yers had grown tired of the lovey-dovey couple already.

    Only Miss Werewolf, who was young enough and knew nothing about rtionships, was slightly confused.

    I don¡¯t know what happened, but I¡¯m eating melon and watching by the side.jpg

    In thisfortable environment, daily patrols were not so much work but exercised to keep himself from gettingzy, like walking a dog.

    Every time Nieusel passed by the vi where Annan and the yers lived, he would pay a visit. He often would bring some snacks or fruits,e in for a few cups of tea, and chat with anyone casually.

    As they gradually got to know each other, Suuankou and Jiu Er were no longer awkward with him.

    Nieusel was also quite talkative.

    asionally when he was in a good mood, he would take Annan and the group out for dinner¡ªyes, five of them.

    It was different from thest time when they went to Ashwood Forest for serious business. Then, the advancement was more or less private, and it was a business that needed to be kept secret. Thus, it became reasonable to lock Doreen at home to look after the residence.

    However, it would be too cruel to go for a meal without her.

    Doreen was a real werewolf, after all. Although she did have a pair of dog ears, she obviously could not be kept as a pet dog.

    In the end, most of Nieusel¡¯s days were pleasant.

    He was in a good mood for eleven days during these two weeks.

    After all, he had seen the sincerity of the ¡°Secret Eye¡±.

    Not only the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare was purified, but the teleportation waypoint was also erected not long after that.

    Annan also tacitly crafted a piece of CG [2], indicating that the new expansion [Wheel of Fortune] hadmenced. The CG included summoning the yers who traveled afar to return and adventure the unexplored part of the game.

    First, Annan led the yers to charge toward the burning Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    ¡°If you want my soul, thene and try it.¡± Annan¡¯s whisper sounded.

    Whaty ahead of Annan was the overwhelming undead.

    Behind Annan were the fearless yers.

    Annan stood in the middle of the screen. His silver-white hair fluttered wildly in the wind.

    On the parchment-textured motion picture, the scene froze.

    [You have sessfully defeated the Spiritual Monk.]

    ¡°Bernardino¡­ Are you trying to escape your fate?¡± Annan¡¯s ethereal voice came.

    The parchment-like screen switched to Annan¡¯s ascension form.

    He was like a deity, levitating in the air and descending his judgment on the Spiritual Monk Bernardino.

    The screen resumed, and the infinite light flooded the screen.

    After the sh, there came a world ofplete darkness.

    Father Stone, like a Buddha statue, spoke slowly in the darkness.

    ¡°As we all know, [Fate is the Wheel of Divine Transporter]. Traces will only be left after passing by.¡±

    Father Stone¡¯s calm and alluring voice came.

    Then, a faint Mars-like shimmer pierced the darkness.

    That was the glow of Dmitri¡¯s cigar when it was just lit.

    ¡°Is seeing me here also part of the ¡®future¡¯ you saw?¡±

    Dmitri confronted Ghindaio, who put on a faint smile and questioned him bluntly.

    ¡°Elder brother.¡± Annan murmured.

    [The wheel of fortune has begun to turn.]

    [The traitor, who once swore to protect Annan, betrayed his duty¡ªdmir reappears.]

    At the same time, Ivan Austere-Winter¡¯s voice sounded slowly.

    ¡°dmir, the former ¡®Thumb¡¯ of Winter¡¯s Hand, has betrayed Austere-Winter.¡±

    An old man with a stern face, cold pupils, and a stiff expression like a puppet was illustrated quickly like a pencil drawing; the figure stood upright.

    He wore a heavy brown trench coat with a high cor, a dark brown top hat made of beaver fur, a cane in his hand, heavy plush boots, and an ice ring on his right thumb.

    Beside him was a shy young man with light brown hair, fair skin, and freckles. He had gaunt cheeks that made his face appear sunken. His back was slightly bent, probably because of fear, malnutrition, or shyness.

    Ivan Austere-Winter¡¯s voice-over sounded again.

    ¡°dmir has fled underground. But Thoreau Nick relied on dmir¡¯s authority and the resources left by his teacher to organize a rebel army called the ¡®Ice-shredders¡¯.¡±

    [Cold hands and a mad heart.]

    [The traitors who have been incognito for a long time in the underground abyss opened their eyes because they are greedy for the saint¡¯s power.]

    At the end of the dimly lit corridor, the image of Thoreau Nick and dmir standing side by side suddenly moved.

    Thoreau Nick¡¯s young and enthusiastic voice sounded, ¡°Only the teacher is willing to take me in. Only the teacher is willing to teach me the knowledge of killing¡­¡±

    ¡°Teacher is my benefactor! For the sake of my teacher, I don¡¯t even care about my life!¡±

    In thest scene, Nefertari sat opposite the camera.

    She faced the viewer seriously and said, ¡°Before July 1st, the Winter Insurgent dmir must be at Bone Farm.¡±

    ¡°We still have a lot of time.¡± Ghindaio¡¯s voice sounded.

    [To be stronger with everything I got.]

    ¡°Our time is running out.¡± Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡¯s voice sounded.

    [To stop their conspiracy.]

    [No matter what¡ª]

 Chapter 542: The Crownless Deity

    <h4>Chapter 542: The Crownless Deity</h4>

    The trailer, which was less than three minutes long, had ended.

    Even though there was not much information provided, the essential segment of the newest version ¡ª the BOSS was still delivered.

    Annan¡¯s eldest brother, Dmitri, the eldest son of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, appeared in the yer¡¯s eyes.

    Annan took this matter into consideration. After the yers scattered around the world, there was still a chance to run into Thoreau Nick and dmir. So knowing what the boss looked like in advance would benefit them.

    As for the ¡°material¡± delivered in this trailer, Annan had seen them with his own eyes.

    He extracted these materials from his memory and performed simple editing. Thoreau Nick and dmir became traitors who seized the sacred bone¡¯s power and betrayed the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    dmir gave off the impression of the Don in the mafia, and the stooped Thoreau Nick looked like a murderous lunatic.

    Of course, Annan knew there was a deeper reason behind dmir¡¯s betrayal of the Austere-Winter Family. However, the matters involved were tough to exin in a few words. For the time being, Annan would draw a framework in the matter and let the yers investigate them in person.

    After all, the yers would be more trusting of the information that they had personally investigated.

    Anyway, those two were indeed viins.

    It was better to let the yers recognize their faces first and simply understand that ¡°this is the boss of this chapter. Don¡¯t confront them directly after seeing them¡±. Then, Annan would put the yers in the underground world and let them roam freely.

    In addition to raising the level, Annan would also have time to go to different cities to investigate this matter through the subway.

    So, Annan issued a new main mission to all yers who watched the trailer.

    [You have acquired the main mission: Wheel of Fortune ¡¤ Initiation.]

    [Mission requirement: Form an elite squad and arrive at ¡®Bone Farm¡¯ before July 1st (0/1).]

    [Special requirement 1 (normal difficulty): When all squad members reach Bronze Rank, this mission ispleted. When this goal is achieved, you may receive the mission ¡°Courage of the Novices¡±.]

    [Special requirement 2 (hard difficulty): When all squad members reach Silver Rank, this mission ispleted. The mission ¡°True Courage¡± can be epted when this goal is achieved.]

    [Special requirement 3 (distorted difficulty): When all squad members reach Gold Rank, this mission ispleted. When this goal is achieved, you may receive the mission ¡°Along with Me¡±.]

    For the yers entering this world in the first and second phases, it was not difficult to reach the hard difficulty as long as they did not die too many times. Even the new yers who were more efficient could attain Silver Rank within four months.

    As for the ¡°distorted¡± difficulty, it was just for show.

    Annan did not expect the yers to advance to the Gold Rank within four months.

    After all, a strong and pure desire was required for the Gold Rank advancement. This condition might stop arge number of yers. If they did not treat this world as the real world, they would not be able to reach the Gold Rank.

    Their origins determined their ¡°inner demons¡± could onlye from another world. This meant that the yers had to achieve a perfect bnce between the two worlds.

    It was necessary to have a strong ¡°ascension desire¡± in the real world and at the same time to be serious about this world and treat it as a second life.

    Still, I should put this in for the time being.

    Just think of it as a challenge for the pro yers.

    After all, the Silver Rank goal is too simple. Many people have achieved it now.

    Four months¡­

    I can¡¯t have the yers sit idly by.

    There needs to be some game content for them.

    What if there is a boss, right?.jpg

    The yers were excited about the abundance of dungeon instances in the underground world.

    After the teleportation waypoint was established, the yers teleported down one after another.

    Except for the yers whose teleportation waypoint was soon to be released and faced dys, the rest had teleported to the Sporeggar Mill together.

    After seeing the more than 70 transcenders arriving one after another, Nieusel realized that ¡°Secret Eye¡± was indeed serious.

    After all, the group, including Annan or Lin Yiyi, did not repeatedly emphasize to Nieusel that ¡°we still have a lot of reinforcements¡± during this period. Even Nieusel himself forgot about this matter afterward.

    Nieusel looked back now on this matter.

    He believed that Annan and the rest did not emphasize or repeat this matter because they thought it was supposedly so from the bottom of their hearts. No one thought of it as surprising.

    The reason being everyone in the ¡°Secret Eye¡± did not find their travel over thousands of miles to the underground world to help and purify the nightmares worth boasting about repeatedly!

    However, in Nieusel¡¯s perception, that was an extremely noble deed.

    The upright deities¡¯ priests used their lives to fulfill this mission unswervingly, so they won the respect of the people and the attention of the political level.

    As for what the Silver Sire¡¯s priests do to them, what did the Elegant Elder¡¯s priests do to them?

    Ordinary people did not know the difference between upright and false deities.

    For them, the biggest difference was that ¡°the priests of upright deities will actively purify nightmares¡±, while the priests of false deities will care for themselves first.

    These people from the Secret Eye were like upright deities¡¯ priests who did not serve any deities.

    Or, instead, that was what Nefertari had told him.

    ¡°The Seventh Luminary¡± worshiped by the Sun Council was ¡°the Crownless Deity¡±.

    If there was no Nefertari when the yers arrived, Nieusel might even wonder what kind of tricks Lin Yiyi¡¯s group did in Sporeggar Mill to allow so many transcenders to teleport down at the same time. It was less than a hundred, but it was already arge-scale army transportation capacity with strategic significance.

    As a matter of fact, this was transnational transportation for transcenders!

    Not only was the range exceptionally far, but it also crossed the Great Barrier. ording to these new folks, Nieusel heard they were initially from the Noah Kingdom.

    However, this reassured Nieusel¡¯s doubts.

    This proved that they were unofficial and peaceful.

    If they were rted to the Noah family or sold this technology to the king, the Noah Kingdom would have used this method to airdrop many transcenders to invade the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    If more than 70 Silver Rank Transcenders proficient in guerri tactics could be teleported in one go, the Frost Beast army on the Austere-Winter Dukedom side would face tremendous struggle.

    Soon after, Nefertari quickly discovered the ¡°Secret Eye¡¯s¡± method. After all, she was the Wise of orthodox ritualist background.

    Although she was unclear about the details, the teleportation was based on a ¡°ritual¡±.

    Moreover, it was a ritual about light, candlelight, and the Seventh Luminary. In other words, the light of the Divine Transporter.

    The Divine Transporter, which had yet to be a deity or even be born, could support this ritual. This could be an indication that its true strength was already very close to upright deities.

    The results of this discovery made Nieusel and Nefertari respect Secret Eye even more.

    Ghindaio walked the talk too.

    Nieusel did not back down either.

    All the yers sent over were allocated a set of Sporeggar Mill manor, as well as sufficient travel expenses and living expenses. Sporeggar Mill temporary resident certification was issued to the yers. This meant that he used his reputation to vouch for these yers, allowing the yers to avoid unnecessary trouble when traveling to other cities.

    This even led Nieusel to sell part of his collection to raise extensive funding in one go. He also prepared a gift for Lin Yiyi¡¯s group, and he would give it to them when they departed.

    Nieusel even prepared a rather expensive gift for Annan. In Annan¡¯s opinion, it was unnecessary since he was already given a sacred bone after all. He could not just reap benefits from one side.

    I¡¯m so honest that I can¡¯t bear to keep taking advantage of you.jpg

    It was with Nieusel¡¯s funding that yers could travel to different cities.

    As an elite squad of four, they entered twenty different cities, covering the major cities underground of the Noah Kingdom, the Austere-Winter Dukedom, the Papal Kingdom, and the United Kingdom.

    As the yers followed the original n and went to different underground cities, Annan made preparations in the face of the promotional video for the second batch of beta-testing yers that would arrive in March.

    ¡ªMarch 1st.

    It was the day when the ¡°Second Beta Test Qualification¡± was officially issued to Lin Yiyi¡¯s world.

    The number went up to three hundred people.

 Chapter 543: Mist Continent, The Second Beta Test Begins!

    <h4>Chapter 543: Mist Continent, The Second Beta Test Begins!</h4>

    Wang Shouyi yawned while swiping his phone in boredom on the evening subway.

    Despite his name, he did not sell spices.

    [TN: Wang Shouyi is a brand for spices in real life.]

    asionally, he would also feel that benevolence was invincible.

    ¡ªKindness was indeed more important than righteousness.

    For example, the name of his twin brother, Wang Shouren, would often incite the awe of others subconsciously. Conversely, the name Wang Shouyi would only make people who hear it smile in bewilderment.

    As the host of a game¡¯s talk show, Wang Shouyi had finished all recordings for this week. The remaining work would be the responsibility of post-production.

    What he had to face after returning home was a two-day vacation.

    He was generally not too busy at work.

    Before the scriptwriterspleted this week¡¯s manuscript, he was so free that he yed VR games like the lightsaber rhythm game [1] in thepany.

    When he got home, it was nothing more than a different ce to y games.

    Except that the machine configuration and save feature were not shared, the only difference might be that he could y games at home without wearing shoes.

    There were still many youngdies in thepany.

    Wang Shouyi was not thick-faced enough to take off his shoes and y games in public. Probably when he was ten years older, he would have the thick face to do so. However, at that time, it would be uncertain whether he would still love games as much as he does now.

    ¡°There were too many masterpieces releasedst month, Halo, Detroit: Be Human, DQ, and Hades. This month has be a bit boring.

    ¡°Only the Paranormal HK gets more attention.¡±

    It could be an illusion.

    Recently, Wang Shouyi felt that the streamers on the main website seemed to have something on their minds. They were always absent-minded during the live broadcast. But, he had never heard of Fighting Cat Streaming tform having wage arrears issuestely.

    They could have provided more entertainment value in the horror game: Paranormal HK. It was as if they had suddenly be more courageous. Come on! Be more natural in your acting.

    On the other hand, those female streamers have improved their acting skills. They are not as rigid recently¡ªcould it be that the Fighting Cat Streaming tform has been giving lessons to streamerstely?

    ¡°Speaking of which, Rusty Lake¡¯s new work is not bad. But it¡¯s too unpopr to talk about.¡±

    After scrolling through thetest game industry information, Wang Shouyi muttered in a low voice, ¡°As for the games that will be released soon¡­¡±

    After ncing at the preview, Wang Shouyi became a little more energetic, ¡°Dragon Ball Z, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 14¡­ Oh, these two games are not bad! SELF [2]¡­ this may be a niche product. Utawarerumono hasunched its PC release. Ah, I can mention this on the talk show. Warcraft 3 reboot version. Oh my God, what year is it now? Can this really be treated as a reboot version?¡±

    Um?

    What¡¯s this?

    Wang Shouyi scrolled to the bottom and saw a game he had never seen when going through the release list a few days ago.

    It was a wide-screen picture of a silver-scaled dragon soaring under the frosty sky.

    Hey, this poster is pretty nice.

    ¡°It¡¯s released today?¡±

    Seeing this exquisite promotional screen, Wang Shouyi couldn¡¯t help but click on it.

    However, it appeared that thework quality was quite poor on the subway. Wang Shouyi clicked several times, but the screen turned ck with a loading circle spinning when he entered the application.

    However, he was even more curious because of this.

    Just at this moment, the subway arrived at the station.

    Forget it. I¡¯m almost home.

    I should check it out when I get home and save money for inte data usage.

    The house Wang Shouyi rented was near the exit of the subway station. After leaving Metro Line 3, he returned home quickly.

    The first thing to do when he got home was to turn on the air conditioner to warm up his body.

    He rubbed his face and turned on theputer before changing clothes.

    Before taking a bath, it is better to have a happy hunt first.

    Seeing the phone he had left on the bed, Wang Shouyi reacted.

    ¡°Oh yes, I wanted to watch the promotional video.¡±

    After dying for a while, he did not desire to read on. However, he worked in the game industry after all. No matter if the game was good or bad, it could be used as a topic.

    When he sat on the bed and clicked on the promotional CG, there was no dy this time.

    Is my homework really that fast?

    A thought shed through Wang Shouyi¡¯s mind.

    But soon, the ck screen began to move.

    A sphinx logo with two wings emerged. Unlike ordinary sphinxes, this statue was supposed to be a person¡¯s ¡± face, ¡± but it was nothing but darkness.

    Wang Shouyi was sure he had never seen this logo before.

    ¡°What is this? Is it an indie game from a new studio?¡±

    He muttered, sitting in front of theputer with his mobile phone in his arms and turning the volume to the maximum.

    Then, he heard theplicated, unknownnguage ringing from all around.

    Just hearing this voice gave him a chill down his spine.

    It was like wearing a thin sweater and rushing outside for a walk on a windy winter night.

    Wang Shouyi was inexplicably frightened. He adjusted the air conditioner¡¯s temperature, raising it three more degrees.

    The next moment, the whisper came again.

    The sound of something massive roaring past from a low altitude seemed to sound behind Wang Shouyi.

    He was slightly startled.

    It was as if the sound wasing from behind him.

    This is like a blockbuster movie. The sound effect is incredible! How do you get stereo sound on your phone?

    The next moment, an ¡°angel¡± with six wings of light appeared on the phone.

    It stood under the dark sky.

    It was impossible to discern gender through the body and appearance. The silver vertical pupils reminded Wang Shouyi of the previous dragon. Dazzling light emitted from the ends of its long silver-white hair, fluttering in the void like tentacles formed by light beams. Its body had countless star-like pupils that blinked.

    It levitated in the sky, looking down at the camera.

    It spoke in an ethereal voice, ¡°Bernardino, do you want to escape your fate?¡±

    The next moment, the pouring freezing rain crashed down!

    It overwhelmingly flooded the entire screen!

    Then, the screen went ck again.

    ¡°My fate¡­¡±

    Bernardino¡¯s chuckle sounded from the other side of the viewer.

    Wang Shouyi was taken aback.

    He turned around following the sound and found that the screen on the phone was projected onto theputer screen for some reason.

    ¡°Fate is like a spider web. The more you struggle, the tighter it is.¡±

    A young voice sounded, and the ice-blue pupils lit up on the pitch-ckputer screen.

    ¡°Fate is the Wheel of Divine Transporter, leaving traces after it has passed.¡±

    A rich and deep voice came from his phone.

    ¡°This is fate, and I¡¯ve missed it.¡± Bernardino¡¯s voice red on his TV.

    ¡°I want to ascend beyond all.¡±

    A voice sounded.

    ¡°I want to ovee failure.¡±

    Another voice sounded.

    ¡°I want to rise higher like the stars.¡±

    ¡°I want to change the past.¡±

    ¡°I want immortality.¡±

    ¡°I want a happier life.¡±

    ¡°I want¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I want¡ª¡±

    Countless voices stacked together.

    Not only his mobile phone,puter, and TV, but also his oven, his refrigerator, his rm clock¡ªeven the nine squares of ss on his windows. Wherever there was a ce that looked like a screen, it was covered by dense eyes crowded together.

    A strange light lit up in his room.

    He could not see the light source, but the room gradually became brighter and brighter¡ªhe was overwhelmed by the more brilliant light, and his surroundings changed from pitch ck to pure white.

    ¡°I want¡­¡±

    Wang Shouyi heard it suddenly, and his voice sounded in the CG.

    The average person might not be familiar with their voice. After all, the sound you hear would be distorted.

    However, Wang Shouyi often heard his voice because of his job. That was why he was able to notice it immediately.

    His voice echoed in the white space:

    ¡°What do I want?¡±

    The next moment, strange words appeared in his mind:

    [Trying to establish a connection with the Mist World¡­]

    [Connection has been established.]

    ¡ªFaceless Deity Studio wishes you a happy game.

 Chapter 544: Follow Your Heart

    <h4>Chapter 544: Follow Your Heart</h4>

    What appeared in front of Wang Shouyi was iparably pure white light.

    There was nothing in this world except light.

    However, the light was neither dazzling nor nauseating. On the contrary, it was as warm and tender as water. He reached out to touch it, like stroking the warm breeze of spring.

    ¡ªYou call this a game?

    As the host of a talk show in the game industry, Wang Shouyi just felt that he had so many roasts clogged in his belly.

    Is this a game of aliens or a game of deities and demons?

    Or both.

    God damn the Faceless Deity Studio.

    You even started apany?

    At the very beginning, Wang Shouyi was indeed startled.

    When theputer suddenly started ying the promotional video, he was frightened. However, he was not so scared after the pictures began appearing on the windows.

    The reason was obvious.

    The problem was so serious that there was no point in panicking.

    At least this was not a problem that could be solved by calling the police.

    Wang Shouyi was much weaker than his brother in terms of talent. That was why his brother became a young and promising youngwyer, but he only became a content creator.

    Sending out thetest industry news weekly,menting on the games that had just been released, sharing the ranking list, and rmending unpopr or high-quality games at the end of the show¡ªthat was all he did.

    Besides the sponsorship of the big boss, his ie was the asional earnings such as a mouse, keyboard, and headset. Then, he would establish a Taobao store to sell snacks and merchandise. Wang Shouyi could afford the rent because there were not so many people in his studio.

    [TN: Taobao is a Chinese online shopping tform.]

    However, he still had his own unique talent.

    As a person who asionally yed horror games on live streams, he never screamed and even had the leisure to entertain his fans withedic monologues. No matter what unexpected situation Wang Shouyi encountered, he could deal with it calmly.

    ¡°Can I take a picture of this?¡±

    His first reaction was that he wanted to get his phone and take a picture as a memory.

    However, just when he was about to reach for the phone, he suddenly realized that he did not have hands.

    He was like a ghost, floating in pure white space.

    After Wang Shouyi raised his head, two illusory figures formed by countless dark green arcs intertwining appeared in front of his eyes.

    [Are you male or female?]

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Wang Shouyi was silent for a while andined.

    The next moment, the long-haired figure with a slightly raised chest copsed.

    The male figure zoomed in and moved in front of him.

    Through the dark green arc, Wang Shouyi¡¯s appearance gradually emerged.

    [Is this how you look?]

    Is this character customization?

    This is just like a game!

    Are you serious?

    Do you think I will believe that this is really a game if there is a character customization session?

    If it¡¯s really a game, give me some face presets.

    ¡°No way, right?¡±

    After another moment of silence, Wang Shouyi chose to customize his appearance against his will.

    After all, not everyone could resist the temptation to refine one¡¯s appearance and figure.

    After a long period of character customization, Wang Shouyi temporarily gave up the idea of ??further modification.

    Mainly because of his curiosity about the content behind it, he could not help but want to see whaty ahead of him.

    Wang Shouyi¡¯s love for gaming was unmistakable.

    Otherwise, he, a master¡¯s student born in 1985, would not be able to choose this profession.

    He knew this was not an official game¡ªhe had a little understanding of the Cthulhu mythology. So when he saw the ¡°Faceless Deity Studio¡±, he recalled what was the faceless sphinx about.

    May I ask if the boss of yourpany is a dark-skinned, tall, thin man with a hearty smile?

    If yes, is it toote for me to uninstall the game now?

    ¡°I should just go with the flow since it¡¯s already happening.¡± He sighed and chose to finish up the character customization process.

    The next moment, he got a material body back.

    The first thing Wang Shouyi did after getting his body was lightly stomp the floor.

    He realized this was different from the texture of the wooden floor in his home. It was something closer to the bouncy rubber flooring.

    Following his movements, a ripple of light, like a water wave, spread to the surroundings. It¡¯s just that it never bounced back after reaching the limit, as if this pure white space was boundless.

    What to do next?

    Do I go forward?

    As this idea appeared in Wang Shouyi¡¯s mind, a line of text appeared in the empty air in front of him.

    [When you have nothing to do, do you prefer to move or stay still?]

    Under this line of text, there emerged a running self and a standing still self.

    ¡°Is this Pok¨¦mon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team [1]?¡±

    Wang Shouyi frowned.

    Do I have to undergo psychological tests to select a profession before entering the game?

    Looking at the promotional CG, it seems like a fantasy game. Following this line of thought, it should be a physical profession if I choose to move. If I choose to be static, it should be a magic profession.

    Mages may suffer in the early stage, but Mages will always be Mages.

    Thinking of this, Wang Shouyi directly chose [still].

    Another phantom shattered again. He continued to walk forward, and a new option with arger font appeared.

    [Would you rather rely on your own strength or others¡¯ power?]

    ¡°It¡¯s natural to believe in myself.¡± Wang Shouyi continued to move forward without hesitation.

    [Are you good at leading others, or do you prefer to act alone?]

    Looking at himself in front of a crowd and himself walking alone, Wang Shouyi was lost in thoughts for a moment.

    He turned silent for a while and made his choice, ¡°I should be good at leading people.¡±

    ¡°Should.¡±

    So the other self dispersed. What appeared in front of him was thergest font he had seen so far.

    [Do you prefer to control other people¡¯s hearts or actions?]

    At this time, the image of the two ¡°Wang Shouyi¡± was quite clear.

    These were no longer two silhouettes but two paintings.

    In other words, it was two roads separated from the middle.

    The self on the left had a mysterious smile on his face, sitting gracefully cross-legged on a chair; it had a demeanor that gave people a sense of rxation. He raised his head slightly and reached his right hand forward a little. It was like giving a lecture to the students.

    His pupils shone with a captivating light blue brilliance. In front of him were a dozen people with blurred faces and different genders, standing, sitting, and squatting. The simrity was that everyone¡¯s eyes were shining with the same brilliance as his. Moreover, they had almost identical smiles on their faces.

    The self on the right had a stern face.

    Several gemstones were floating around his raised left hand, and his mouth was slightly opened as if he was shouting something loudly. And in front of him were various condensed runes. Countless words formed a chain, locking the actions of many people in front of him. Those people had painful expressions as if they had been shocked by electricity.

    Wang Shouyi vaguely realized that this should be thest round of his profession selection.

    These should be all mages.

    So, is the one on the left mind control? Professor X?

    And the one on the right seems to y a controller role. However, it looks like a profession that takes a lot of money.

    Is there no further exnation?

    At least tell me what type of profession they are in. Even though this picture is probably understandable, it is not umon for him to see propaganda fraud.

    Generally speaking, ¡°yable¡± meantck of damage, ¡°simple and easy to use¡± meant that there were very few avable skills, ¡°teamy oriented¡± meant that it was either a healer or supporter, and ¡°mobility¡± was destined to be shy and frail.

    Since I¡¯m not sure how to choose, it¡¯s better to choose ording to my intuition.

    At least if this is the case¡­ Even if the profession is a sewage worker, there is nothing much to regret and resent.

    After such thoughts appeared in Wang Shouyi¡¯s mind, the picture on the right gradually distorted and melted.

    This time, he did not copse and disappear, but the image on the left gradually eroded the right. It was like showing the real appearance of the picture scroll that was half covered.

    [You have made your choice.]

    [So¡­]

    [Wee to the Mist World.]

    The next moment, all the light that filled his eyes instantly disappeared.

 Chapter 545: Husky & Thirteenth Fragrance

    <h4>Chapter 545: Husky & Thirteenth Fragrance</h4>

    ¡°Cough cough¡­cough cough cough¡­¡°

    The moment the light dissipated, the air with a slightly pungent smell poured into the nose and mouth.

    It was a smell that reminded him of burning coals.

    It¡¯s just like the coal briquettes [1] I used when I was a child¡­

    Being caught off guard, Wang Shouyi couldn¡¯t help but cough.

    After coughing a few times, he gradually rubbed his eyes and tried to look around.

    After the light dissipated, he did not temporarily lose his vision as if he was stunned by a sh grenade. Instead, he felt that the surrounding light dimmed down. Finally, it came to the brightness of the street lights during nightfall.

    At least it was much darker than the white-filled world with no shadows just now.

    ¡°It¡¯s really a game that travels to another world.¡±

    He touched his arm and looked down at his clothes. Then, confirming everything was the same as what he had customized, Wang Shouyi couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s like that.¡± A steady voice sounded, ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry. As the second batch of yers, you have guides helping you out.¡±

    Another voice with a slight ent muttered, ¡°It¡¯s much better than our situation back then.¡±

    Wang Shouyi tried to look in that direction.

    His vision had yet to adapt to the dim light fully.

    But soon, he saw the world in front of him clearly.

    But when he saw the faces of these people in front of him, he was slightly taken aback.

    A bald, muscr man approaching 190 meters in height, with a long sword hanging from his waist. His right hand rested on the sword¡¯s hilt while his eyes were slightly closed, giving off a silent aura that blended well with nature.

    Then, there was a youth who was a head and a half shorter than Wang Shouyi. The youth held a sharp metal ring reminiscent of Maiev Shadowsong¡¯s weapon equipped with both hands. Part of his hair had turned into light brown tree roots, and his left arm waspletely lignified. His pupils have a warm aquamarine luster, making him look like a short half-tree man.

    Next, a rather young girl with a longbow and three daggers slung at her waist. She looked over ignorantly, and her pupils were so clean that they quickly captivated others¡¯ consciousness. Behind her squatted a serval whose height was close to the girl¡¯s waist. It looked at Wang Shouyi with eyes full of wisdom.

    And there was another person who looked familiar to Wang Shouyi.

    It was a young man with ck hair, sses, and a ck and red robe. He looked like a young president with a calm temperament.

    ¡°Mr. Chen?¡± Wang Shouyi asked in uncertainty.

    Hearing his address, the other party also froze for a moment.

    ¡°Aunt Thirteenth?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really you!¡± Wang Shouyi blurted out.

    Longjing Tea, on the opposite side, was also surprised.

    Yes, Longjing Tea also knew this neer.

    Wang Shouyi was more or less a well-known news broadcaster in the game industry circle, with the stage name ¡°Thirteenth Fragrance¡±. The other presenter who was partnered with him was called Husky.

    They got acquaintedst year at the Paris Game Exhibition in France.

    Like various game demos or exhibitions, Wang Shouyi was given the beta test keys or tickets.

    Of course, besides his studio, the influential streamers of the Fighting Cat Streaming tform went with him.

    When he went to Paris, he met Beer Chen, who had just retired. At that time, Beer Chen was not a manager yet and was not yet the boss.

    However, since Beer Chen is here¡ª

    Wang Shouyi was absorbed in thought, looking back at the remaining three people.

    Looking at the bald man who seemed to exude the air of a celestial being, Wang Shouyi blurted out.

    ¡°Brother Xiang!¡±

    Isn¡¯t this Xiang Tiange!?

    He must have heard of this influential brother in the streamer circle who was theoretically the best at fighting.

    The reputation of Delicious Wind Goose was all-rounded. In addition to being a streamer on the Fighting Cat Streaming tform, he was also a frence content creator. Thus, he socialized with many other content creators at gatherings and parties. After all, studios and influential streamers in this industry would generally live in Shanghai.

    Wang Shouyi went over for a toast at that time.

    Of course, he was in awe when he toasted Delicious Wind Goose. It could be said that he maintained a deep reverence and respectful attitude.

    He knew that this big brother could easily smash his head into pieces.

    However, unlike its deterrent appearance, Delicious Wind Goose had a warm temperament. He drank a lot but was not boastful and loud like the others. It might be that he was not drunk at all.

    Now that Delicious Wind Goose and Beer Chen are here.

    Then, this person¡­

    ¡°Brother Kai!¡±

    Isn¡¯t he the Kid!?

    Although he seemed about ten years younger, mainly because his hair had grown back, Wang Shouyi still recognized this big brother.

    Wang Shouyi shook hands with each other enthusiastically, ¡°You are my idol, Brother Kai! I have watched your games since I was a child!¡±

    ¡°Am I that old!?¡± Wandering Child couldn¡¯t help butin.

    However, he did say hello in a friendly manner, ¡°I have also watched your show! When will your new updatee this week!?¡±

    ¡°The day after tomorrow! If the post-production isn¡¯t dyed, it will be published in the morning of the day after tomorrow!¡±

    ¡°Ah, I should be able to watch it the day after tomorrow when I¡¯m in this game.¡±

    ¡°Game?¡± Wang Shouyi was stunned for a moment.

    He was not surprised that there was a quit feature in this game. Of course, knowing that this was not the death game like Sword Art Online, he was d. But in fact, when he saw a guide, he was already overjoyed.

    What surprised him was that the Wandering Child dared to stay up all night in this world.

    When he watched his live broadcastst time, he remembered that the middle of his head was already a little bright.

    [TN: Getting balder, an indication of poor health.]

    ¡°Your hair¡­¡± Wang Shouyi hesitated, ¡°Will that be alright?¡±

    Longjing Tea, on the side, heard those words. He subconsciously nced at the Child¡¯s hair, which was full of vitality in this world.

    This vitality was surging that it had grown roots in the shape of garlic.

    It might not be far away from having grass and flowers on the head and the MEGA EVOLUTION into a more giant flower.

    [TN: Bulbasaur evolutions.]

    Looking at these three ¡°veteran yers¡± who were acquaintances, Wang Shouyi was in aplicated mood.

    It seems like I wasn¡¯t picked for the first batch of game testers.

    ¡°But, this is¡­¡± He looked at Dove and Chocte.

    ¡°Oh,¡± introduced Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°she is my archery teacher. She is also a well-known wilderness survival streamer¡­ Dove. Have youe across her?¡±

    As he spoke, he pointed to the serval with wise eyes on the ground.

    Then, he pointed to the taciturn girl whose eyes were always on his neck, ¡°This is the teacher¡¯s cat, named Chocte.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Shouyi was a little dazed.

    He did not quite understand.

    He just held his hand to the girl with some hesitation, ¡°Hi, Teacher Dove. My name is Wang Shouyi. You may also call me Thirteenth Fragrance.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better decide on your name first.¡± Longjing Tea on the side, folded his arms, and calmly interjected, ¡°Why don¡¯t you name yourself Thirteenth Fragrance?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance nodded.

    A glimmering panel suddenly shed before his eyes as he was just about to say something.

    [User name confirmed.]

    [ID: Thirteenth Fragrance]

    Human, male, level 5¡­

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 5, Constitution 5, Perception 8, Will 7

    Shared Experience: 0

    Profession Overview:

    Wizard Apprentice LV5: [Instant Spell LV1 (Consciousness Capture)]

    [Finally, you have recalled your name.]

    [What sounds after your name is your mission.]

    [As a reserve member of the Secret Eye, you are led by the leader ¡°Ghindaio¡± to the underground city, purifying the terrifying nightmare through wisdom and perseverance.]

    [At the same time, the Secret Eye will also collect more knowledge and secrets from this ce. The nightmare you purify will eventually be your strength because you are different from them¡ªdeath cannot imprison your soul.]

    [The Secret Eye members will not usher in actual death after a defeat but wake up again after losing part of their power. Simrly, no matter how many times you die in nightmares, as long as you spend a certain contribution (Reputation: Secret Eye), you will be able to clear the erosion on your soul.]

    ¡¾However, only you know the biggest secret of the ¡°Secret Eye¡±.]

    [It is not the superficial leader ¡°Ghindaio¡± who grants you the power of immortality, but the person you are truly loyal to, ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡±¡ªAustere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke who is about to seed to the throne.]

    [This is a secret that no one can know.]

    [You need to be stronger by using all means within the scope of what is reasonable andwful.]

    [As for the rest, you know¡­ Your ¡°mentor¡± will tell you. If everything goes well, you will be an official member within a month.]

    [The first thing to do is to stand out from your ¡°peers¡±.]

    [You will make it¡ª]

    [Acquired the main mission: Embark on the path of transcendence]

    [Mission requirement: Obtain the Bronze Soul within 30 days, advancing into a transcender (0/1).]

    [Additional requirement: Within the same area (Currently: Cinder Barren), the first yer toplete this mission will receive [Immediate Respawn Privilege*1].]

 Chapter 546: Wizardâ€™s Precepts

    <h4>Chapter 546: Wizard¡¯s Precepts</h4>

    ¡°Have you finished watching?¡±

    It was not until Thirteenth Fragrance looked away from the empty air that Longjing Tea, who folded his arms by the side, asked, ¡°What did you pick for your profession?¡±

    ¡°¡­Pick?¡± Thirteenth Fragrance looked at Longjing Tea in surprise. Then, after a pause, he asked, ¡°What? You pick your own profession.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Is your profession randomized?¡±

    ¡°No, I did a psychological test. It¡¯s like the Pok¨¦mon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team [1]. I have answered four questions.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance exined in detail, ¡°When I answered thest question, I was granted two wizard professions. I chose one of them, so I was given the wizard apprentice profession.¡±

    ¡°Wizard apprentice is good!¡±

    The Child on the side eximed loudly, ¡°If you have an inclination toward Alteration Magic, you should head to ck Tower for Salvatore¡¯s mission.¡±

    He asked curiously, ¡°What magic school do you belong to?¡±

    Longjing Tea waved his hand, ¡°Even if you ask him that, how could he know? Let¡¯s put it this way, what was the first spell you were given?¡±

    Is it possible that the skills assigned are not the same?

    Wang Shouyi was stunned for a moment.

    He nced at the skill panel again before answering, ¡°It¡¯s a Level 5 Wizard Apprentice. My skill is a Level 1 ¡®Instant Spell¡¯, followed by ¡®Consciousness Capture¡¯ in brackets.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Soul Snatch School.¡± Longjing Tea quickly said his judgment.

    While Longjing Tea was at it, he corrected, ¡°Also, this spell is called Consciousness Capture. The Instant Spellbel above means that this spell is cast instantly. The spells in this game are basically divided into types ording to the casting time: Instant Spell, Guided Spell, Chant Spell, and Ritual Spell.

    ¡°The first type is a spell activated by a single action, such as pping your hands or pointing at a person. The second type is a spell that can be turned on and off at will and consumes magic power continuously. The third type requires chanting, and the fourth type is the spells that can only be used in a nonbat state.

    ¡°I wrote the wizard profession¡¯s newbie guide in the forum. You can go to the forum to take a look. I will make another post in a while, and you put the questions you still remember and the answers you choose in thement section. Finally, I will summarize your psychological test questions and see if we can exhaust all possibilities and identify the patterns behind them.¡±

    Longjing Tea narrated it methodically.

    Immediately, he began to teach Thirteenth Fragrance how to use the Freezing Water Port forum.

    Fundamental posts such as novice guides, worldview introductions, and yer rules should be read immediately. Any questions would be answered at the first moment.

    There were also articles written by Delicious Wind Goose about important rituals and several subway line diagrams that Lin Yiyi uploaded.

    Then, there was the novice guide Longjing Tea published, which was an essential guide for wizard-based professions. It contained information about the ¡°Influences¡± on spells, mana pool, erosion rate, how to use spells urately with your mind, and how to acquire practical spells.

    This knowledge originally needed to be ¡°paid¡±. Even if a yer had reached a certain level in the ¡°Secret Eye¡± faction, he was only eligible to spend reputation points to inquire about this. After the query, it would also increase the reputation of the knowledge uploader¡ªthat was, Longjing Tea¡¯s faction.

    But considering that when the yers¡¯ prestige level could buy this knowledge, they probably would not need it anymore. Hence, Longjing Tea did not charge a fee for the information but provided this knowledge to the rest of the yers for free.

    ¡ªLet¡¯s treat this as an upfront investment.

    After all, there were a lot of yers in this group.

    It was unlike back then¡­ In the very beginning, Longjing Tea was the only one suitable for the wizard profession. He was also lucky and was brought to the wizard tower by the aboriginal wizard in this world to study.

    Although the wizard¡¯s count was not underwhelming at present, only Longjing Tea was an official wizard with a professional background among the current yers.

    The yers could not get these materials without entering the wizard tower. It became easy to go astray.

    For example, except for Destruction Wizard, all other wizard professions must manage their erosion rate so that it would not get too high. Otherwise, it would directly reduce their avable mana points.

    In the case of excessive erosion rate and inadequate Perception attribute, the ratio of Order Mana to Chaos Mana would be easily tipped over. In this case, the victim would enter the ¡°Lost Control¡± state.

    Even if the mana value were not exhausted, using Order Magic at this time would sumb to a failure rate as high as 50%, and its effect would randomly change between decreasing 50% to adding 200%.

    ¡ªThis also meant that yers could asionally actively enter the Lost Control mode to take a gamble.

    However, the Destruction Wizard was different.

    To follow the path of the Destruction Wizard, the wizard needed to increase the erosion rate greatly ¡ª It was best to get more than 40% of the erosion rate before bing Bronze Rank.

    The reason was that this was the only way to get Chaos Spells in advancement.

    The effects of casting Chaos Spells included an increment in the erosion rate and generating influence, but the damage was formidable. Generally speaking, Chaos Spells could only be obtained at the Silver Rank and above. However, the Destruction Wizardry School was an exception.

    The School of Destruction epassed the perks of many schools and mastered the spell with the ¡°most powerful destruction power¡± in each school. So among the spell list of the Destruction School, more than half of them were chaos spells¡­ Therefore, those wishing to enter the Destruction school¡¯s wizard tower must possess potent spells.

    The ordinary Order Destruction Spell was like ¡°Metal Detonation¡±. It would detonate the metal the user had touched within 80 meters of them into many fragments. If it was used for killing, it could knock down most of the infantry within a diameter of twenty meters in an instant.

    However, if it was used to attack obsidian, there was probably only a scrape.

    On the contrary, Bronze Rank Chaos Spells already included ¡°Radiant Burst¡± and ¡°Heat Vision¡±.

    Under the premise of adding a small amount of erosion rate, the former could detonate ring light. This light could prate the eyelids, instantly blinding enemies within tens of meters, and could blind the attacked enemy for at least three hours. It permanently reduced vision and might even incur permanent blindness.

    The price was to make one¡¯s skin hot and fragile. He would feel severe pain if the user was lightly touched. The effect wouldst up to eight days.

    Thetter spell was to sacrifice his eleven-day worth of vision and one-third of his permanent vision. The spell effect was to send out aser ray thatsted 11 seconds from the eyes. The beam would appear as the user stared at something for one second.

    This scorching ray could easily cut through thinner metals. When someone was struck by it, it would incur a searing wound. It would even melt metal as the user stared at it for more than three seconds. The moment the light ray had taken shape, it would even make mortals burn out of thin air. The temperature at the end of the light ray was close to 2000 degrees, which could even melt metal and rock.

    Although once the pupil moved or the eyes were closed, the beam would disappear. However, it was still possible to change the destination of the light ray by moving the head to form a burning trajectory.

    With this power level, a Silver Rank Transcender could be injured just by touching it. If the opponent did not dodge, even a Gold Rank warrior-type Transcender with thick skin and flesh would be killed if the victim were to stay still for 11 seconds.

    ¡ªIf the opponent did not activate an Avatar to resist the damage.

    This was the Chaos Spell of the Destruction school.

    For example, the ¡°Forbidden Lava Tower¡± ¡ª a wizard tower that fell in the United Kingdom and was established inside the crater was currently the most mainstream Destruction School.

    Unlike other wizard towers, the candidates had to take exams when enrolled. In addition, the wizard tower would only ept official wizards with Bronze Rank and above. At the same time, the wizard tower would not train wizard apprentices.

    The content of the exam was to use spells to attack a specially made obsidian with ritual engravings. The wizard tower would only allow enrollment when the candidates either melt, crush, or split the obsidian. In short, the candidate had to ruin the ritual above the obsidian.

    Since the core idea of ??Destruction Wizard was different from other schools, what they believed in was ¡°deterrence through violence¡±. Then, they would use this deterrence to gain power and the right to speak.

    However, the mighty Destruction Spells were difficult to control and expensive. So the Destruction Wizards, on the contrary, did not like to use spells. Instead, they usually used traps, guns, or explosives transformed through magic.

    They believed in avoiding using spells unless necessary. When the Destruction Wizard intervened in front of people, their words carried extra weight.

    Therefore, if a certain wizard was born in the Destruction school, but his ¡°magic deterrence¡± was not enough, then the deterrence of all Destruction Wizards would drop when he roamed the world.

    When people forget the deterrence of the Destruction Wizard, they must create massive destruction again and kill many people to regain their prestige and restore their deterrence.

    In other words¡­ If someone joined the Destruction School, then as long as the erosion rate was low when one had be an official wizard, this game ount was equivalent to useless.

    Those who could not enter the wizard tower could not learn powerful spells. They would eventually be a stray wizard.

    In the same way, Soul Snatch School did not allow dating before graduation. Idol School did not allow faith, while the Energy Falteration School must try its best to control its emotional calmness. These were the precepts that must be held during the apprenticeship stage.

    This knowledge was fundamental.

    However, whether they followed or not was their business.

    But as for telling them or not¡­ Longjing Tea believes that this would be his duty.

    He got into the game earlier than these new yers. Thus, it became his responsibility.

 Chapter 547: Why Did You Create A Female Account?

    <h4>Chapter 547: Why Did You Create A Female ount?</h4>

    ¡°It turns out to be like this¡­¡± Thirteenth Fragrance sighed under his breath.

    He sat on a chair in the inner room and quickly flipped through the posts rmended to him by Longjing Tea.

    Today seems to be¡­ the public beta test opening? In short, it is the day when many new yers log in. He was just the first one toe.

    Regarding ¡°where is this ce?¡± and ¡°what are we going to do?¡±, Longjing Tea and the rest decided to wait for everyone to get together before talking about it. The goal was to avoid having to tell everyone one by one about it when they came to this world, which was troublesome.

    So, Thirteenth Fragrance ran into the room, sat down, and rested for a while¡­ while having his drink. Dove asked him to feel free to help himself with the snacks and fruits, but he was too shy to eat them.

    ording to the ¡°starting spell¡± on the post, he figured out that he was a wizard inclined toward the Soul Snatch school.

    Of course, this inclination was not 100% certain.

    Changing the magic school could be done through ritual or mastering other magics. As long as the proportion of the spells learned exceeded 50% of the overall ratio, one would be ssified into the new school of magic after bing a transcender.

    Generally speaking, this approach was only chosen when someone identified their original path was wrong. For example, if the erosion rate was too high, he could only pick the path of the Destruction Wizard.

    Inparison, one of Soul Snatch Wizard¡¯s taboos was falling in love.

    That was because it was too easy for the Soul Snatch School to manipte others¡¯ minds.

    The most basic Soul Snatch Spell could identify the strength of ¡°a certain emotion¡± in everyone around them. For example, love, killing intent, and fear. This could not only be used to detect the enemy, but also to judge others¡¯ views of themselves.

    Because of this, it was necessary to have a certain level of morality for self-control. That was not to seize the hearts of others indiscriminately. The most serious taboo was to use spells for personal gain.

    Couples who did not quarrel or break up when they were in love were a minority. Once there was a rtionship dispute or even a crisis of breaking up, outsiders had no position to prevent Soul Snatch Wizard from using spells to peek into the other party¡¯s inner thoughts, determine the target¡¯s thoughts, and even directly alter the target¡¯s mind.

    For the other person, every time he quarreled or was in a bad mood, he would doubt whether the other party had manipted him or whether he liked the person because of the spell¡¯s effect.

    This distrust would further deepen suspicion and create conflicts.

    Half of the major eight schools of wizardry advocated ¡°use as little magic as possible¡±, and the other half advocated ¡°using more spells¡±. For example, the Prophet School, Idol, and Alteration School were in thetter situation.

    Both the Destruction School and the Soul Snatch School were the former.

    Thirteenth Fragrance also noticed that the mentors were all riddlers in the wizard tower that taught Soul Snatch Spells.

    When they usually spoke, their words were ¡°bring that book¡±, ¡°go to that ssroom¡±, ¡°to achieve that goal¡±, and so on. In short, they did not speakprehensible words.

    That was to train the Soul Snatch Wizards to gain insight into other people¡¯s minds and guess their intentions without using spells.

    If this ability werecking, the teacher would usually dismiss them and stop them from pursuing the Soul Snatch Wizard advancement.

    If this power of observation and analysis was insufficient, then a half-knowledge of the minds of others was almost a disaster on the social level.

    They might notice a little hatred and regard the target as an enemy in their hearts; they might perceive the fleeting love and think that the other party was pursuing them.

    They must have 100% confidence in the uracy of their spells. However, with the low-level Soul Snatch Spells, it was impossible to search the other party¡¯s memory in detail. It was even more impossible to detect all the emotional details of the target with iparable precision.

    If they got a little information and made a mistake in the analysis and judgment, the problem would be more serious ¡ª it would be difficult to check for themselves.

    After all, feelings were fleeting.

    The feeling at that moment could not be preserved forever, let alone be preserved in a fixed frame, nor could it be expected that it would never dissipate. Achieving this was the feature of the highest level of Soul Snatching Spell that wizards could only master at the Gold Rank, which involved partitioning and permanently sealing a portion of emotions. Moreover, it was operable in a Ritual Spell approach.

    A Destruction Spell of the same rank could easily destroy a city; an Alteration spell of the same rank could exchange a piece of matter for the me at the sun¡¯s center.

    In this world where ¡°the heart and mind have power¡±, the spells, costs, and difficulty of manipting the mind were much greater than other spells of the same rank.

    ¡°It¡¯s like Professor X, but not exactly so.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance looked at the Soul Snatch Spell he was about to master, trying hard to think and conceive its possible practical approach.

    For example, the primary spell of the Soul Snatch System was ¡°Consciousness¡±.

    This was something all Soul Snatch Wizards learned. Its status was about equal to Destruction Wizard¡¯s Fireball spell series.

    Fireball, superrge fireball, high-temperature fireball, a sticky fireball that burned continuously, fireball with lightning, a fireball that could explode¡­ If you ignore the original names of those spells, at least one-fifth of the spells in the Destruction School could be understood as variant versions of the fireball spell.

    Looking at the exnation on the post¡­ It seemed that the first boss the yers encountered was a Soul Snatch Wizard at the beginning of the adventure.

    He could use the [Mind Maniption] spell to manipte the yer¡¯s mind, just like Urie. There was also an advanced version of this spell called [Full Control]. ording to the yer being manipted, it felt like a dream.

    The yer vaguely realized his action was wrong, but a louder voice told himself, ¡°this was for granted¡±. It was not about having consciousnesspletely disconnected, ckened, unable to remember what happened, or trying to take over one¡¯s body.

    After being controlled, if the victim suddenly suffered a critical injury or intense pain, the target could get out of the maniption instantly. It was like being in a dream and suddenly realizing that he was dreaming.

    The point was not to make the target do something ¡°they did not think they could do¡±. It was about their ¡°perception¡±, not that they could not do it¡­ like betraying a friend.

    But for ¡°wild monsters¡±, these maniption spells were too challenging, with a significant focus on the wizard¡¯s adaptability.

    Longjing Tea rmended immense and straightforward consciousness-based spells.

    For example, Thirteenth Fragrance could use ¡°Consciousness Capture: Fear¡± to lock on the enemy and then use ¡°Consciousness Enhancement¡± to control them. He could also identify his teammates who were afraid and enemies who were not scared and use ¡°Consciousness Recement: Fear¡± to swap their fears.

    Alternatively, he could use ¡°Consciousness Capture: Courage¡± to lock the enemy and then use ¡°Consciousness Discement¡± to make the enemy¡¯s desire to fight to disappear. Or he could use ¡°Consciousness Discement¡± to dispel the fear and despair of teammates.

    It enabled him to take the role of a controller and supporter.

    It could be called a universal spell.

    There was no preparation needed, and the range of the spells was not too small. The magic could be cast as long as the opponent could see him.

    After the Soul Snatch Wizard became a transcender, as long as the opponent had a ¡°strengthened¡± consciousness or intense emotions, he could use the [Soul Tear] spell to cause great damage to the enemy.

    If there were more than two types of enhanced consciousness simultaneously, the damage of Soul Tear would also be doubled. In Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s opinion, this should be simr to the type of ¡°additional damage ording to the number of debuffs after stacking debuffs¡±.

    Misfortunes nevere singly?

    Or was it an outbreak?

    In short, Thirteenth Fragrance still liked this profession, just like the psychological test he had done at the beginning.

    He was not a Twisted Fate [1] enthusiast who enjoyed spamming red cards. Instead, he liked to possess a lot of controlling spells.

    From this point of view, this psychological test was worthwhile.

    Just as Thirteenth Fragrance was still rehearsing in his mind, ¡°How will I form the damage output cycle in the future¡±, the door opened again, and two girls came in.

    Are there two new yersing in?

    Thirteenth Fragrance thought to himself.

    One of them was a short-haired girl who looked familiar¡­ It seemed to be Ah Dian. She was a voice actress from China and also a horror game streamer. She seemed to have ate-night radio station or something. She was a young girl who looked a little clumsy.

    However, another girl with a silver ponytail, whom he had never met, suddenly stared at him nkly.

    Then, the person eximed, ¡°Wang Shouyi!¡±

    ¡ªWho are you?

    I beautify 30% of my face, but how do you still recognize me?!

    Thirteenth Fragrance was shocked.

    As if reading Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s mind, the other party added, ¡°I¡¯m Huohuo¡­ It¡¯s me, Husky!¡±

    ¡°What the hell?!¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance was dumbfounded.

    He was familiar with this name. This was the ¡°partner-in-crime¡± for his job.

    However, ¡°Husky¡± should be a man.

    ¡°¡ªWhy did you create a female ount?¡±

    No, wait, I should have said¡­

    ¡°How the hell did you do that?¡±

 Chapter 548: Former Ace Duo

    <h4>Chapter 548: Former Ace Duo</h4>

    ¡°¡­Ah?¡± The silver-haired girl named ¡°Husky¡± showed a confused expression when she heard those words, ¡°You don¡¯t get to choose during character customization?

    ¡°There¡¯s the ¡®Are you male or female?¡¯ prompt.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Thirteenth Fragrance immediately fell silent.

    When he customized his appearance previously, such thought shed through his mind, and he had a vague guess in this regard. However, he did not have the guts to choose randomly.

    After all, the scene of entering the ¡°game¡± at the very beginning was terrifying.

    Rather¡­

    ¡°As expected of you.¡± He really lived up to his name.

    Sure enough, there could be a wrong name, but there was no inurate nickname.

    Despite being unsure whether this is permanent world travel or whether you can return to the earth, you actually have the audacity to open a female ount without a second thought.

    ¡°What if you can¡¯t change back from now on? Have you thought about it, stupid dog?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Husky put her hands on her hips, smiled slightly, and said with great certainty, ¡°I have never considered this problem.

    ¡°If this is a game, shouldn¡¯t it be called the second life? Since it¡¯s my second life, I have to experience a life I can never share.

    ¡°As for the great adventures in the legendary stories or fighting against formidable enemies, you must first win if you want a good experience.

    ¡°¡ªBut I am a noob!¡±

    The silver-haired girl said confidently, ¡°Since I am uncertain whether I can get the best game experience, I created a female ount. So, I can experience the second life I can never experience in real life.¡±

    Since you put it like this¡­

    Upon hearing these words, Thirteenth Fragrance and the person next to them, Ah Dian, immediately showed signs of being persuaded.

    It seems to make sense?

    But it still feels a little weird!

    It was unlike looking at the back of the little girl in front of theputer screen but bing a little girl!

    ¡°Are you Thirteenth Fragrance?¡± At this moment, Ah Dian came up.

    She looked a little reserved, ¡°I really enjoy watching your shows¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, hello, hello¡­¡±

    Instead of facing his old partner, Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s tone suddenly softened. He reached out his hand to the ck-haired girl with short shoulder-length hair, ¡°Ah Dian, right? I have also heard about your channel. Your singing is sweet!¡±

    ¡ªOf course, these were just pleasantries.

    Thirteenth Fragrance just happened to know this streamer.

    As for listening to the female streamer singing or something, wouldn¡¯t it be nice to just y Stoon 2 instead?

    If he wanted prettydies, he would prefer to y with Bishoujo Mangekyou [1].

    ¡ªThirteenth Fragrance was the man who married the game!

    Even though he said it so confidently, it did not feel cool.

    ¡°Stop it, you old pervert. Hurry up and let go of the little girl¡¯s hand!¡±

    Husky, on the side, did not hold back at all. He just went to the side to pick up a snack, nced at Thirteenth Fragrance as he passed by, and said unceremoniously, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the girl smiling awkwardly?¡±

    Only then did Thirteenth Fragrance realize he did not let go of her hand.

    He quickly let go of his hands and apologized to her with his palms together, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ah Dian¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no¡­ I was just lost in thought.¡± Ah Dian also quickly diffused the tension.

    She was not embarrassed by it. It was just that Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance was a pair of well-known seniors who had been famous for a long time. She did not know what to say after having them appear in front of her and share amon secret with her.

    After all, there was more than one generation gap between them.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was in his early thirties, not yet at the level of the third zodiac year (36); the Husky was three years younger than him. They used to have a senior-and-junior rtionship at a university club, and they were only two semesters apart.

    [TN: Each zodiac year is 12 years. Namely, the Chinese Zodiac.]

    Ah Dian was only neen years old this year and was still in college.

    It was fair to say that she ¡°grew up watching the shows these two had hosted¡±.

    Before Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky started their own business, Thirteenth Fragrance was also a TV host for three years.

    After graduating from graduate school, Husky went to the same TV station in the game industry. The game industry was still a new thing at that time. They were responsible for broadcasting some game industry news or trying some games and showing the audience the game¡¯s plot and process.

    That was the story before the rise of the live-streaming era.

    The female hosts who co-hosted with them were now the top yers in international e-sports events.

    If it weren¡¯t for the internal conflicts between them and the TV station¡ªmainly about the Husky¡¯s promotion and sry issues, they should also be treated at this level now.

    When Thirteenth Fragrance joined the industry, the TV station was short of people.

    However, when Husky joined thepany, the industry was no longer so unpopr¡­ Husky did join thepany because of his rtionship with Thirteenth Fragrance.

    His real name was ¡°Huohuo¡±. He gave himself the nickname Husky to match Thirteenth Fragrance, role-ying the meme of spice and wolf [2]. Of course, he had his motive here: to form a concept of a ¡°duo¡± in the audience¡¯s perception.

    In this case, the Husky would have apetitive edge as a rookie.

    Unlike Thirteenth Fragrance, Husky¡¯s understanding of games, knowledge of the game industry, and game technology were inferior to Thirteenth Fragrance. However, this was not the reason why he was excluded. The real reason was that they were too tacit, and the entertainment value of the program was superb.

    Indeed, it was because they were enjoyable to watch.

    ¡ªIt was so good that after the two of them chatted, the hostess next to them could not participate in the conversation at all. Forcibly interjecting the discussion would make the audience dissatisfied; if she did not interrupt, she could only be an eye candy who could only say ¡°yes¡± and ¡°right¡± like a robot.

    This was actually not a good thing.

    Husky was too aggressive without being irreceable.

    Thirteenth Fragrance could act as amentator and the stage controller on his own. He could pair him with any host and work well with them. However, if one of the hosts was Husky, who only contributed entertainment value, the third person would be limited. She could not participate and follow the pacing of the show.

    If Husky was delegated to host the show independently, he would not be able to achieve the value Thirteenth Fragrance provided. If he was delegated to be in a supporting role to entuate others, he could not achieve such a tacit understanding and humor as he did with Thirteenth Fragrance.

    In the end, when it was found that this defect could not be corrected, Husky was persuaded to resign.

    Well, he was not tantly fired. Instead, the bosses moved him to backstage and transferred him to the position of post-production director. However, the seeming promotion to the director role was a demotion. It was an indirect persuasion to resign. After all, Husky focused entirely on the host position.

    He did notck that sry.

    Thirteenth Fragrance saw that the Husky he worked with was leaving, so he resigned without hesitation. Although the TV station tried its best to keep him with them, it still failed to do so.

    Thirteenth Fragrance cared more about his friend than his favorite job.

    Husky was just as talented as Thirteenth Fragrance was ¡ª even more so as a graduate student. Unlike Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s major, Husky¡¯s major was highly demanded. However, he rejected many offers from bigpanies and went to a small TV station to be a host with Thirteenth Fragrance.

    In fact, how much would a host make?

    Husky was fired.

    Thirteenth Fragrance thought this friendship would be over if he did not say anything at this time.

    He could always find another job.

    If he lost this friend, then he would truly lose him.

 Chapter 549: What An Artisan!

    <h4>Chapter 549: What An Artisan!</h4>

    Of course, Thirteenth Fragrance dared to make such a choice because he had enough trust and understanding of his capabilities.

    At that time, the era of live broadcasting hade.

    Thirteenth Fragrance thought that with the increasing poprity of the Inte across different age groups (from adults to children) and regions (from urban to rural areas), as well as the decreasing cost and improving speed of inte ess, the ¡°online shows¡± would eventually rece ¡°television¡±. Even though TV had evolved from cable TV to digital TV, it would still face the same fate.

    At least in terms of entertainment programs, digital TV, which could only be watched at scheduled times or yed backter, did not have a clearpetitive advantagepared to online live broadcasts and videos that could be watched on phones.

    Their participation in the video and live-streaming industry could also be regarded as an early investment.

    So, the two established a video studio by themselves, relying on their umted connections to start their business.

    The early stage was quite challenging.

    By relying on live broadcasts of gamementary and game strategies, video programs reporting game industry news, and asionally hosting some niche small-scale events, they had barely managed to survive.

    These days, they were still doing live broadcasts, but less frequently than before. After all, they had grown older. However, every time they go live, they can still reach the level of the top ten to fifteen yers in the game host genre.

    The achievement was actually not bad.

    Ah Dian naturally knew the history of the two of them.

    At that time, she was also sad about the resignation of thisedic duo¡­ Later, when they moved on to the live stream industry, Ah Dian, who was still a high school student, even bought a three-month membership card.

    Sure enough, she did not have the time to watch the stream.

    However, it was not a lot of money but a little appreciation.

    The moment Ah Dian held Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s hand, she suddenly realized, ¡°This time, I might be the eye candy who ruins the team¡±. So, she was a little embarrassed and did not know what to say.

    But after she saw the high-intensity offline interaction between Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance, she was still very excited.

    ¡°Hey, dog¡­¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance habitually put his hand on Husky¡¯s shoulder.

    As he was about to ask something, he felt a fragrance hit him. He also felt the touch of a strange woman¡¯s hair on his arm.

    He suddenly had an awkward expression and put his arms down unnaturally.

    He coughed lightly and asked calmly, ¡°What profession are you? Brother Kai, have they told you about the forum?¡±

    ¡°Well, they have said it. I¡¯m watching it now.¡±

    Husky did not have any particr reaction toward Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s physical touch.

    How did this silly dog customize his character? Her voice became clear and bright, just like a teenage girl¡¯s.

    Speaking of which, is there a prototype for the character avatar Husky created?

    Generally speaking, at the beginning of character creation, isn¡¯t it based on one¡¯s own image¡­ How did he do it? Did he create a beautiful girl character based on his own image?

    Husky was not ugly in the first ce.

    If he were to be a little younger, he could still be considered handsome.

    Husky was short. When he was in school, his nickname was Hobbit ¡ª because his surname was Huo.

    However, his current features resembled a puppy, which was quite unexpected.

    [TN: Puppy is a Chinese inte ng used to describe a young and enthusiastic guy who some females prefer as a partner.]

    In the end, he had turned into a white-haired puppy.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s your profession, silly dog!?¡±

    For some reason, Thirteenth Fragrance felt a surge of anger for no reason when he saw Husky, who lowered his head, silently ate snacks, and ignored him. He had an immense urge to rub her face.

    However, he felt embarrassed being watched by Ah Dian.

    ¡°Why are you yelling!?¡±

    Husky raised his head helplessly and red at Thirteenth Fragrance, ¡°My profession is wizard apprentice. Wizard apprentice, are you afraid!?¡±

    ¡°I am also a wizard apprentice. What spell do you have?¡±

    ¡°My starting spell is ¡®Turning Stone to Mud¡¯. I read the post. It says it¡¯s from the Shaping school.¡±

    While reading the post distractedly, Husky said slowly while eating snacks, ¡°It seems like a profession that incarnates ¡°Thousands Needle of Death [1]¡°. In the future, I can also incarnate ¡°Sand Water Funeral [2]¡°. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s cool! It¡¯s not too difficult and just right for me!¡±

    It did not sound tooplicated.

    However, Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s expression was a little strange, ¡°Did you intentionally choose a low-difficulty profession?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Husky said confidently, ¡°This is called making use of my strengths and avoiding my weaknesses.

    ¡°My game control is poor, my mind is not quick, and my reaction is slow. If I¡¯m too confident in myself, I will be doomed. Being aware that I am old, I must y a champion suitable for old folk. If I attempt to y Yasuo [3], I will drag us down.¡±

    As she spoke, she picked up a piece of candied fruit and stuffed it into Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s mouth.

    Thirteenth Fragrance opened his mouth subconsciously and epted the food ¡ª only to realize that his teeth had rubbed against the Husky¡¯s hand.

    Originally, he would not care about such things, and he might p the table and shout, ¡°Have you washed your hands, silly dog?¡± But now, he suddenly stared at Husky with some difort.

    In the end, Husky did not care. He just rubbed it against himself, then picked up another nut and put it in his mouth.

    Thirteenth Fragrance could not get used to the scene of a little brother turning into a girl.

    If it was really the other world, it was still fine¡­

    But the problem was that they would return to their original world anyway.

    Thinking of this, Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s expression became even more strange.

    ¡°How on earth did you create this person?¡±

    He finally couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you have a prototype? I remember that the starting character is yourself, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course, there is no prototype.¡±

    Hearing this, Husky frowned slightly, raised her head, and asked, ¡°Is character customization so difficult?¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡°

    ¡°The customization engine is so powerful. What is the challenge of doing it? I can even make figures out of y. But I can¡¯t dive deep into fantasy poison. Otherwise, I will change my face every month, and each one will be a beautiful girl .¡±

    Huskie said proudly, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the power of a ten-year Illusion Games¡¯ [4] yer!¡±

    What an artisan!

    That¡¯s how the game is meant to be yed!

    You are really talented, my friend.

    At this moment, Thirteenth Fragrance suddenly thought of something.

    Could it be because Husky was particrly good at creating an avatar that he was assigned the ¡°Shaping Wizard¡±?

    ¡°Actually, the appearance you customize is quite handsome.¡±

    Ah Dian on the side whispered, ¡°I am also a wizard apprentice. I belong to Idol School¡­ The initial spell is ¡®Healing Touch¡¯. So I should be a supporter.¡±

    In fact, she put little time into her character customization.

    It might be because of her natural beauty or just inziness. She did not wear makeup. Of course, foundation, concealer, and lipstick did not count as makeup.

    Since she did not wear much makeup, she did not look at her face much. Thus, she was not confident in her makeup skills. She thought that the more she customized, the uglier it would be. Instead, she almost did not change anything and entered the game directly.

    Seeing the young Thirteenth Fragrance now back, she did not recognize him at first nce.

    When he recalled the face of Thirteenth Fragrance back then, Ah Dian wanted to yell that the ssic was back from the bottom of her heart.

    Unlike the real image of Thirteenth Fragrance, who was already in his early thirties, it felt a bit like a younger version of Yasuo.

    He did not change much of his appearance. It was just that he lost about forty catties of weight, which was probably the image of his peak appearance ten years ago.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was indeed so handsome when he was in school. After graduation, he was busy with work andcked exercise, so he gradually gained weight.

    It could only be said that time was a butcher¡¯s knife, turning Cade bald and Shouyi fat.

    Back then, the Child God was handsome when he had hair.

    He could be regarded as a handsome little monk if he turned bald. However, it was unlike his current awkward bald level.

    ¡°Is someone scolding me?¡±

    At this moment, Wandering Child stroked his woody hair and walked into the door thoughtfully.

    ¡°How are you guys doing? Do you all get to know each other? You should be teammates in the future. There¡¯s probably still some time before forming a team to travel across regions.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance responded quickly.

    Getting along with a Husky in the form of a beautiful girl was a misfortune. The image of a beautiful girl and his image appear alternately in his mind, making him feel blue.

    ¡°But the three of us are all mages. Is having a magic team okay?¡±

    ¡°In the early stage, you will focus on tackling the dungeon instance. It doesn¡¯t matter what profession you have.¡±

    The Child exined casually, ¡°Tomorrow, the faction leader wille just in time. Then, if you are lucky, the boss can take you along.¡±

    Faction leader?

    The three newbies were a little nervous when they heard about it.

    It should not be a problem, right?

 Chapter 550: It Isnâ€™t About The Money

    <h4>Chapter 550: It Isn¡¯t About The Money</h4>

    Thirteenth Fragrance did not expect that the starter pack for the newbies in this game was quite generous.

    He just entered the game withoutpleting anything yet.

    He had not fought any monsters,pleted any dungeon or any missions, even more so that he had not met his faction leader. Compared to other games, he probably just created a character and was in the beginner stage of adjusting the keyboard controls and changing the horizontal movement key from QE to AD.

    Then, the group was already given a vi from the senior yer.

    They received the house key of the residence they were staying in now.

    Thirteenth Fragrance: ???

    He suddenly had a sense of doubt¡­ Could this be a house management game?

    Is it the type that does missions to earn money to buy furniture and then focuses on house decoration?

    ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it.¡± Longjing Tea knew what he was thinking at a nce.

    He exined directly, ¡°You have to thank the boss. These houses are the benefits that the boss has fought for us. Of course, we have to thank Suuankou and his sister. You should know each other, right?¡±

    ¡°Lin Yiyi and her brother?¡± Thirteenth Fragrance immediately understood, ¡°Ah, I know them as well.¡±

    So they came to this world too.

    Their current primary career was content creation, and their sub-career was being a streamer. Compared with Suuankou, Sister Hyphen was still closer to the two of them.

    The one who was more familiar with Ah Dian was Suuankou. When she did not make her debut, she was still Suuankou¡¯s admin.

    ¡°Thanks to the siblings for the sessfulpletion of their main mission and the perfect defeat of the boss monster Ghindaio, we now have a loyal and wealthy boss who is willing to support us, covering expenses for travel and amodations.¡±

    ¡°This brother is pretty generous!¡± eximed Husky.

    ¡°Of course, Nieusel did not provide the house at this ce. Originally, the money he gave was just for renting. But the surrounding environment is not bad, so we bought you a vi with a little extra money.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said, ¡°We have also made some money recently, and our financial situation is not so tight.¡±

    Huh, you¡¯re saying the surrounding environment is not bad?

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s expression was slightly subtle.

    When he first entered the Mist Continent, he was choked by the pungent smell in the air.

    ¡°This ce is called Cinder Barren. You should have seen it on the mission page. Of course, it¡¯s not the red and cknd que.¡±

    As Longjing Tea said, he unfolded a cowhide map from his arms.

    He pointed to a dark red basin area, ¡°Look, it¡¯s right here.

    ¡°I know what you want to say. The air here is quite poor. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s because this is not a residential area, in essence. This is an explorationyer, which is eighteen kilometers underground. It isn¡¯t the urbanyer where the residents of the underground city usually live.

    ¡°During the first exploration, this ce was once flooded by magma. The mining area originally built around it was alsopletely destroyed by theva. It wasn¡¯t until fifty yearster that someone conducted a second exploration¡­ That person was the big shot which provided us with supplies, Digger Nieusel.¡±

    Longjing Tea pointed to a corner not far from the dark red basin.

    ¡°You may enter the mine through here and go down another 80 meters. This is the new mining area Nieusel discovered. He named it ¡®Misero Excavation Site¡¯ ¨C Misero is his uncle¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°Excavation site?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance repeated, ¡°Is this for us to mine?¡±

    He knew that the resource collection profession was profitable.

    However, it would be pointless for this other world to be like a second life if all he could do was mine aimlessly without the chance to learn spells, purify nightmares, and battle and defeat monsters.

    In fact, he could endure loneliness. At worst, he should exercise his body and increase his Strength and Constitution. He saw a post on the forum that exercise could raise attributes.

    But what about Ah Dian and Husky, who were with him?

    With their current bodies, could they survive mining?

    After all, resource collection could not be aplished by merely pointing at it and clicking it with the mouse and keyboard.

    Going down the mine was aborious job. Moreover, this fantasy world could be dangerous, with monsters appearing out of nowhere.

    Seeing his unwillingness, Longjing Tea just smiled mysteriously.

    ¡°Do you know why we can buy you a house?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance was indeed curious.

    The house they lived in was not an ordinary personal residence. On the contrary, the amenities provided were varied andprehensive. It was even a two-story vi with some furniture. Whether the walls, floors, tables and chairs, bedrooms or study rooms, even the ¡°gas pipes¡± and ¡°water pipes¡± were installed ¡ª of course, this world did not call the pipes by those names.

    Apart from the empty study room and theck of decorations and ornaments, the only possible disadvantage was poor air quality. It was a bit dry outside, and the smell was a little pungent. However, there was no doubt that this ce was already the top-notch house in the city.

    This vi had four bedrooms. Even if all three of them resided at this ce, there was one empty room left for someone who wouldeter.

    As far as the present was concerned, Husky could be regarded as a girl.

    However, his essence was an uncle, after all¡­ In order not to disturb Ah Dian, Husky lived on the first floor with Thirteenth Fragrance in the end. On the other hand, Ah Dian went to live on the second floor.

    In their n, she would always live on the first floor if the fourthpanion was a female. If the new joiner were a male, Husky would go to the second floor.

    ¡ªFake girls were still better than men.

    However, this luxurious residence did not seem like a free gift. Or it did not seem like a ce people could afford it casually.

    Thinking of this, Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s heart tightened.

    Is there a mortgage?

    Do you want us to mine to make up for the fees?

    While he was thinking, Longjing Tea continued exining, ¡°The big shot which provided us with travel expenses also gave us a license for personal excavation. Mining from the excavation site he discovered can be done without paying taxes. In other words, we can bring away the things we dug out personally.¡±

    It¡¯s like a botanical garden where you take the apples and plums you pick right away.

    Thirteenth Fragrance had realized something.

    That would be nice.

    Maybe I can even save up for a start-up fund.

    Being a magician takes money. That stupid dog, Husky, does not seem like someone who can earn money. Don¡¯t sell yourself out identally.

    It would be a good idea to let the three of them learn spells to get through the early stage if they could mine and deposit start-up funds.

    Seeing that he was a little moved, Longjing Tea finally added, ¡°Of course, the most important thing is¡­

    ¡°¡ªMisero Excavation Side is a rich gold mine.¡±

    As they chatted to this point, a car just passed by outside the window.

    Longjing Tea pointed out the window with his chin, motioning Thirteenth Fragrance to look out.

    The creature pulling the cart was like a colossal, dark-skinned rhinoceros. It was about two meters tall and looked like a rough-skinned and thick-skinned type. However, it appeared pretty docile. There were about thirteen dark-skinned and heavily armed men guarding them.

    The moment Thirteenth Fragrance saw this thing, he felt that the ¡°sense of another world¡± had finallye.

    Then, heid his eyes over to observe it.

    Behind it, there was a metal carriage being pulled that was as heavy as a truck¡­ the kind that the ground would tremble as it traversed the road.

    Even on the Misty Continent, when pedestrians sensed the approaching behemoth, they immediately stopped talking and hurriedly moved aside. In this respect, it was remarkably simr.

    The metal carriage with an upward opening behind the behemoth was fully loaded with gold ore, so much so that even with the naked eye, one could see a faint golden color.

    Through visual inspection, there must be about ten tons.

    It should be the output of this group of people in a day.

    Thirteenth Fragrance stared straight at them in the eye.

    ¡°I thought about it, and it seems that there is nothing wrong with mining for a few months.¡±

    He immediately changed his words, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s gold or not. The main thing is to exercise our body. If the wizard is too vulnerable and gets ambushed in the back row, it will be bad, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Longjing Tea responded with a serious face, ¡°You are right¡ª

    ¡°However, after you dig for a few days and get the start-up funds, you still have to pay back the rent we posted for you.¡±

    ¡°Next time, definitely, next time for sure¡­¡±

 Chapter 551: Never Leave Husky Alone At Home

    <h4>Chapter 551: Never Leave Husky Alone At Home</h4>

    Thirteenth Fragrance did not expect the opportunity to experience the life of a gold miner personally. Of course, being a gold miner, he did not have it so easy that he could just stroll through the mining area and pick up gold without even using a pickaxe.

    Ever since the onboarding session, he went to the mining area with Longjing Tea.

    The house they resided in was very close to the mining area.

    When Longjing Tea bought them a house, they should have expected it.

    It took less than twenty minutes to walk there, and then it was a long loop down the stairs.

    When Thirteenth Fragrance got down to the bottom, he showed his license. After registering his name, he went in, put on a numbered bracelet of solid gold, and took a bag and a pickaxe.

    For some reason, the experience reminded Thirteenth Fragrance of going to a bathing center to take a bath.

    He did not go too deep with this thought either. Instead, he roamed around the entrance and harvested a couple of gold ores.

    This feels like ying a low-difficulty gold miner stimtor.

    It¡¯s so easy.

    If it were too heavy, he would not be able to take it back. When he collected enough of them, he returned to the entrance, handed in the bracelet and pickaxe, and brought the gold ores back.

    ording to Longjing Tea, the license permitted only one person to enter. Moreover, the VIP license was obtained after selling the rare curse vessel ¡°Demon Blood¡± to Nefertari.

    After all, even if Nieusel wanted to help them, they could not just issue everyone a mining license. However, the ¡°Secret Eye¡± came here to purify nightmares, not to take the subway and dive into the explorationyer to mine, which would derail from their primary goal.

    However, Longjing Tea and the others just teleported over and sold the special product, ¡°Demon Blood¡±, in exchange for some magical materials. They then told Nieusel that they wanted some ¡°extra financial assistance¡±.

    With that, the Longjing Tea team got a license.

    They came here and had umted funding for quite some time.

    But after that, they nned to leave and return to the Noah Kingdom to ¡°resupply goods¡±. On the way, they would return to the capital and help Annan check up on Kafni, whom he had not seen for a while. They would ask her if she needed any help. After that, they might need to stay in the capital for a long time.

    But this license would be a bit of a waste if left unused.

    Thus, Longjing Tea¡¯s team intended to lease this license to the Thirteenth Fragrance team.

    They only asked for a tenth of themission. Then, they could alternately tackle the nightmare, wander around the city, and harvest the gold. If their nning was done well, they could harvest gold for twelve hours daily and continuously transport gold ores into the vi.

    After saving enough of the gold, they would send a message to Longjing Tea through the Friend system. He would contact Mr. Ray¡¯s believers to take away the harvested gold. After drawing a certain cut, they would turn the refined gold into legal gold bricks, stamp Mr. Ray¡¯s seal, and then send it back.

    This would be where Longjing Tea and his team got their start-up capital.

    After waiting another two hours, they found out that no new yers had logged in, so Longjing Tea and the others returned to their residence.

    Thirteenth Fragrance took Husky to the Misero Excavation Site and showed her the way. The rest of the work was to let Husky take Ah Dian there again, and then they could start working.

    They were not imposed with a requirement on the amount of gold harvested. They would have earned as long as the license did not sit idle.

    Instead, they should dedicate most of their time to leveling up.

    That referred to the ¡°nightmare¡± that Longjing Tea mentioned.

    While waiting for Husky to return from the Misero Excavation Site, Thirteenth Fragrance had already skimmed the must-see posts.

    He then used the built-in search function of the Freezing Water Port forum to browse several times the terms he did not quite understand. In addition, he ran through further in-depth research for things he did not understand in the results so as to quickly collect information.

    He quickly determined that the main approach to level up in this world was to tackle the dungeon instances¡­or in other words, to purify nightmares.

    This world¡¯s ¡°dungeon instance¡± was not the kind of dungeon that could be repeatedly spawned. Instead, they were memory fragments rted to a certain memory of the deceased transcender, but the content had been distorted.

    yers¡¯ ability to remain awake in nightmares, to quickly purify the nightmares, and to have a constitution that was not greatly affected by deaths in nightmares, as well as a mechanism to clear erosion, were the fundamental reasons why the ¡°Secret Eye¡± gradually gained influence in the underground world.

    While I am leveling up, you are happy. In a sense, this was the definition of an adventurer.

    However, Thirteenth Fragrance continued to search cautiously and found the posts left by yers discussing nightmare strategies. Then, he followed the published time of the post and found several ¡°ssic recordings¡± with rtively high evaluation ratings and rtively strong controversy.

    He did not have the time to watch them all, but he had bookmarked them¡ªanyway, he had ess to the forum even after returning to the original world.

    The time spent in this world he seemed to be counted as sleep in his original world.

    ying this ¡°game¡± would not only help the user feel less tired, but his body would also maintain its posture before entering this world. It only took four or five hours to have an energetic day.

    This was undoubtedly a good perk.

    His work was busy. Moreover, he also ran apany that supported many people. He was not a content creator like Lin Yiyi, who could quit if she wanted to.

    Not only did he have to work, but he also had to maintain the quality of his work.

    Since this ¡°game¡± could be essed at night, it allowed him to be online every day. It just happened that the game would force him to fall asleep when he suffered from insomnia. This would undoubtedly save him a lot of time.

    Thirteenth Fragrance wondered if it could bring hispany¡¯s copywriting work into this world.

    This way, he could work overtime in his dream.

    At the same time, he could even mine in his dreams.

    After escorting Husky back, Thirteenth Fragrance quit the game directly.

    On the one hand, he wanted to do an experiment to confirm whether this ¡°game¡± could be logged out; on the other hand, he wanted to move his body back to the bed first.

    He still remembered that he should be lying on theputer chair now.

    No matter how high the sleep quality was, a stiff neck would be insufferable the next day.

    He would lie on the bed, open a few bottles of cold beer, and then order a fried chicken bucket to watch the recording slowly. Wasn¡¯t that much morefortable than lying on a wooden bed and breathing the unpleasant pungent smell while watching the recording?

    ¡°My weight is going to increase again.¡± Thirteenth Fragranceyfortably on the bed, murmuring in a low voice while opening up the food takeaway app.

    It was 11:00 p.m.

    The time flowed at the same rate for both worlds.

    In this case, he nned to have another barbecue skewer and wait until three or four in the morning before returning to the game. Anyway, the underground world had no distinction between day and night.

    As for his body weight, Thirteenth Fragrance had always been indifferent to it.

    As long as he did not n to find a wife, his life would be much morefortable.

    Husky once mentioned a saying on the show.

    It was said that there was no hatred for no reason in this world, nor was there obesity for no reason.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was aware of where his fat came from.

    But he still could not control his mouth!

    ¡­That reminds me.

    ¡°It looks like there¡¯s also plenty of fun and delicacies in Mist Continent.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance fell into deep thought, ¡°After all, eating too much fat is not good for my body¡­¡±

    Speaking of which, did he forget something?

    On the other side, Husky and Ah Dian carried a bag of gold ores and walked out from the mine, panting heavily.

    ¡°It¡¯s too heavy¡ª¡± Huskyined.

    Ah Dian, on the side, also muttered in dissatisfaction, ¡°Who told you to take so much? It¡¯s the same if we collect it on the second round instead.¡±

    Husky collected too many gold ores, twice as much as that in the Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s bag. It was torturous for them to go up the stairs¡ªForget about carrying it. One person had to pull at the front, and the other pushing from behind.

    Ah Dian came here to memorize the path but was caught off guard and pulled over to help.

    After the initial sense of reverence for her senior faded away¡­ or rather, Husky¡¯s yful nature, as the name suggested, it became difficult for Ah Dian to be serious.

    ¡°Because the gold is just there!¡± Husky was stupefied, ¡°It¡¯s so heavy. How about Ah Dian lift it for me?

    ¡°Anyway, Thirteenth Fragrance won¡¯t be avable for a while, so I guess he must be offline for supper. Why don¡¯t weze around after we go back?¡±

    When she said this, she suddenly cheered up, ¡°Hey? Didn¡¯t we collect a lot? We just pretended that we had gone twice. You went for one round of harvest, and I did too. Then, we pretended to have harvested the gold ores. With that, we can rest for a while!¡±

    ¡°That seems like a good n.¡±

    Hearing this, Ah Dian hesitated, ¡°But is this really okay?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it? Let¡¯s just say we went there twice! Then we shipped it back in one go, which saved us a round trip. No matter what, it looks like a smart move!¡±

    Husky said with bright eyes.

    ¡°¡­Pfft.¡± Hearing this, there was a chuckle from a woman who could not helpughing.

    Husky turned his head without hesitation and looked at the person curiously. Ah Dian shyly covered her face, lowered her head, dragged the bag, and walked forward.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Husky snorted lightly.

    The underground residents she had met previously were either dark or white skin, and their pupils were bright like two light bulbs.

    One of the two people walking behind her was indeed like this. She had burning eyes and a formidable demeanor, like an adult version of Shana [1].

    But the other person had ck hair and ck eyes and well-defined features. Like an Italian, his skin color was natural. Moreover, his pupils were not shining.

    They were just like the yers.

    Are they people above the ground?

    Such an idea quickly popped up in Husky¡¯s mind.

    Immediately, she had a strange association: The people on the ground who would appear in the gold mining area, if they did not look like they were here to fight for something with their lives, then they must be a big shot!

    ¡°Is there anything we can do for you?¡± She asked without hesitation.

    Aquamarine¡¯s pupils stared at the man without blinking. Although it was the first time Husky used the girl¡¯s body, she naturally showed a cute smile, ¡°How about you, sir?¡±

    ¡ªBrother, can you give me some missions?

    The meaning between the lines went like this.

    The opposite man also coughed lightly with a strange expression, ¡°Of course. If you want to work, I can give you a job that works twelve hours a day.

    ¡°But, let¡¯s go back and find a ce to discuss the details¡­ Husky.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡°

 Chapter 552: Setiâ€™s Curse

    <h4>Chapter 552: Seti¡¯s Curse</h4>

    Husky tilted his head.

    She cast a curious nce at the man, but her mind had not entirely caught up yet.

    Why does he know my name?

    Thinking of this, Husky subconsciously looked up.

    There is no ID floating in the air?

    Ah Dian at the side suddenly realized something.

    She wondered if this was the big shot who ¡°woulde tomorrow¡±.

    So Ah Dian turned her head, looked at the man respectfully, and greeted him probingly,

    ¡°Lord Ghindaio¡­?¡±

    The middle-aged man with ck hair and ck eyes turned his head and nodded calmly at Ah Dian, ¡°Long time no see, Ah Dian.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡°

    Husky replied in a silly and puzzled tone again.

    Ah Dian, on the side, helplessly pressed her hand on her face.

    In fact, she did not think she was very smart. However, standing with Husky, she became the smarter one.

    Husky opened his mouth wide and blinked.

    Gradually, she realized that something was wrong.

    ¡ªShe now wanted to publish an urgent post on the forum: Before I recognized the big boss who came to inspect at the grassroots level, I unabashedly asked if I could get any private work elsewhere¡­ In this situation, if I were a girl, could I get by using cuteness?

    ¡°¡­I was just joking, boss.¡±

    Husky tried his best to show an innocent smile.

    Luckily, Ghindaio did not take her seriously either.

    Although they had no memory of each other, Ghindaio seemed to know them already, ¡°Where is Thirteenth Fragrance?¡±

    ¡°Well, he¡­ is sleeping.¡±

    Ah Dian just wanted to say that he was offline, but after thinking about it, she still did not dare to say it.

    So she could only euphemistically express that he was tired and sleeping.

    Unexpectedly, Ghindaio just pointed it out tantly, ¡°He should have gone back to your world.

    ¡°When is heing back? It should be early morning in your world, right?

    ¡°Did Longjing Tea tell him that your body is considered sleeping in this world?¡±

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡°

    Husky once again showed a naive nk expression.

    They already had a general idea that this world ¡°was not a game, but another world¡±. However, hearing the aboriginals calmly talk about the information of ¡°another world¡± with them still made Husky stunned.

    Seeing that Husky¡¯s brain was once again in the state of ¡°running in the background¡±, the burning-eyed girl beside her burst outughing.

    She generously extended her hand to the two and introduced herself, ¡°My name is Nefertari. Hello¡­ adventurers from another world.¡±

    Having been in contact with the yers with Annan for so long, Nefertari¡¯s initial misunderstanding of the yers was naturally resolved long ago.

    She was a true ¡°Wise¡±, after all.

    She also learned that the price for the yers to conquer the nightmare was not as high as she imagined. Even after the curse in the nightmare eroded them, there were still ways to save them.

    Unfortunately, this was because their body constitution was unique and could not be poprized. The members of Secret Eye were otherworldly souls who entered this world through the dream world and obtained artificial bodies. Perhaps it was because their spirit bodies had been in contact with the dream world deeply when they entered this world, they were better at purifying nightmares than the aboriginals in this world.

    They seemed to call this ¡°dungeon exploration¡±.

    But as she said to Nieusel, the achievements of the Secret Eye should not be discounted just because the danger they encountered was not so great.

    She still thought they were all heroes.

    When Nefertari was a child, she firmly believed that when both an ordinary person who would be burned to death by fire and a transcender who was not afraid of mes saved an innocent person from the fire, their achievements should be the same.

    Even though the former struggled more in performing those deeds.

    However, it should not be assumed that thetter¡¯s good deeds were inferior to the former¡¯s. Furthermore, it was inappropriate to criticize thetter for not trying their best just because they only saved one person. It was not fair to expect them to have saved more.

    For those rescued, their emotions when they see someone reaching out a helping hand had nothing to do with what the other party had to give up.

    What they cared about was the fact that they were saved.

    Only bystanders wouldment ¡°what did this person sacrifice¡±.

    There seemed to be a case where only the story of the adventurer who exhausted all his strength to defeat the devil was worth moving.

    That was just for the bystander¡¯s idleness.

    When a person with only ten silver coins donated nine to the disaster victims, it was naturally praiseworthy. However, if a person with a hundred gold coins came out at this time and only donated ten gold coins to the disaster victims, someone wouldsh out at this person.

    Nefertari deeply understood that this harsh attitude did no good in the situation but would make other people with a hundred gold coins reluctant to help.

    Even knowing that nightmares would not destroy the Secret Eye members, she did not bear any grievances with them. Instead, she felt more confident in Ghindaio¡¯s career.

    If it were someone else, he might think, ¡°then what they did was nothing serious¡±.

    However, Nefertari would never do that.

    He who did good deeds should at least not be reprimanded.

    That was the life philosophy Nefertari¡¯s teacher, Bone Healer Seti, taught.

    The greater your power, the more you should do good deeds and keep order.

    However, this kindness shoulde from within and not be forced by others. If you did it for the expectations of others, you would only usher in an increasingly heavy burden.

    Fools would always have blind expectations of people who were stronger than them. Once the other party failed to meet the expectations, they would be disappointed. Therefore, if there was no special need, never stand out and show your strength at will.

    ¡°The so-called being wise and protecting yourself is the way of the Wise. If you have ten points, you can only give seven points at most; the remaining three points are your leeway.¡±

    Nefertari, who was only a teenager at the time, asked Master Seti a question:

    ¡°So, should we hide our power when we acquire it?

    ¡°Then, why did we pursue this power in the first ce?¡±

    Naturally, it was for the sake of using it when encountering hardship¡ªSeti originally wanted to answer like this.

    However, he was silent for a long time in the end.

    Bone Healer Seti had always been considered to have some kind of ¡°curse¡±.

    He was the most excellent Idol Wizard, the most potent healer in the underground world, and a powerful ritualist. Many children of big shots, geniuses, and entric talents had learned from him.

    However, anyone who became Seti¡¯s student could not realize their original dream in the end.

    There was not a single one.

    Some even wondered whether Seti sacrificed the dreams of these children in exchange for their talents. But only Seti knew that he did nothing.

    The moment he heard Nefertari¡¯s question, he was in a trance and vaguely realized something.

    Perhaps¡­

    Is this where something goes wrong?

    Maybe it really is a curse.

    It was just that Seti did not realize it¡­

    That was a curse called ¡°individuality in knowledge.¡±

 Chapter 553: Wishes And Choices

    <h4>Chapter 553: Wishes And Choices</h4>

    Apart from those deities, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti was at the top of this world.

    Despite the fact that many people sought to learn from him, Seti¡¯s recruitment of students was not just based on the candidates¡¯ backgrounds. As a transcender of Gold Rank, he was aware of the power of ¡°desire¡±. Thus, he sought clear knowledge of what kind of terrible demon the candidates could be if their potent desires were polluted.

    Therefore¡­ As long as there was a person with a potent and pure desire and upright views, Seti would recruit him as a student even if there was no tuition fee.

    This reason was also partly because of Seti¡¯s unique profession.

    Teaching his disciples could also enhance his strength because Idol Wizards could increase their power as long as they were admired. Whereas Seti was more inclined to extract reverence from ¡°students¡±.

    What Seti valued ??most was their pure ¡°desire¡±.

    The power of desire was the purest of the several powers avable to the Idol Wizards.

    He agreed with those students who could not fulfill their wishes ¡ª to give them the power to fulfill their desires for free. Then, after theyplete their wishes, they return and leave their stories behind.

    But in the end, after graduating from Seti, the number of people who really achieved their ¡°wish¡± was zero.

    Never mind outsiders, even Seti sometimes wondered if he subconsciously took away his students¡¯ wishes just because he was around them.

    Obviously, as long as they learned a little bit from Seti, they could easily achieve their wishes.

    For a person with a pure heart and a strong desire, the desire would not beplicated and difficult to achieve.

    But those students bore the idea of ??¡±be prepared for any danger¡± after epting Seti¡¯s teaching; they also learned from other students how great their teacher was.

    After all, other Gold Ranks were unlike Seti, where ¡°teaching¡± itself was a form of ¡°self-improvement¡±. If they epted apprentices, they were primarily looking for an assistant. It was like looking for a graduate student to help with work, so naturally, the apprentices would be carefully selected.

    They realize they might not get it next time if they miss this opportunity.

    No, they would definitely not get it next time.

    After getting the power to realize their wishes, they did not leave as agreed initially, whereby they would onlye back after their wishes were fulfilled.

    Instead, they stayed with Bone Healer and continued to learn.

    It was like a teacher who saw students asking questions during ss.

    Seeing that the students were so motivated, Seti naturally had no objection to it.

    It would be better for them to learn more and grow more so that they were ¡°prepared for danger¡±.

    They did meet the expectations of the teacher. Most of Seti¡¯s students had be big shots, at least a well-known celebrity in the circle. Some became Silver Rank Transcenders.

    They all had beautiful lives of their own.

    In the eyes of others, they were all happy.

    However, only Master Seti knew that his students must have regrets because almost none of their initial wishes were fulfilled.

    It was different from the immature ¡°fantasies¡± of ¡°I want to be a king¡± and ¡°I want to be a dragon¡± that was destined to fail for ordinary kids. Instead, the desires were genuinely pure and potent.

    Seti remembered them all.

    One kid was a genius swordsman.

    He became an Overseer at a young age. However, he retreated and fled because he was inexperienced in facing underground monsters. He exposed innocent residents to the monsters, leading to many casualties.

    At that time, if he fought the monsters, everyone else could sessfully evacuate even though he would die. However, as a protector, he was the first to escape. This caused all the people he protected to die.

    Thus, he escaped me from anyone.

    He came to Seti and wept bitterly. He hoped to be someone with courage and no longer back down.

    So he read many books under Seti¡¯s tutge, witnessed many grand events, and was guided by Seti to interact with many influential figures. Over time, he developed into an outstanding young person with courage, knowledge, and a sense of responsibility.

    Relying on the connections and his already outstanding ability, he came to the United Kingdom and became the Chief of Police of the United Kingdom.

    But when it came to politics, he backed down even more than before¡­ As a foreigner wielding great power, the king was often suspicious of him, and his colleagues had long coveted his influential position. Many traps were set before him, tempting him to overstep his authority and thus provoke the king.

    He had to yield in the face of justice to prevent this position from being taken away by people with ulterior motives. Over time, he gradually learned to turn a blind eye, pass the buck, and master the skill ofing clean¡­ and these were all outstanding teachings from Seti.

    He saved many people and defended justice many times but concealed many crimes and let some sinners go.

    The former young swordsman who wept over his retreat became a politician.

    At that time, another child wished for his childhood sweetheart, a rich youngdy, to be happy. However, he was not worthy of her status, nor did he have the means to make her happy.

    After training with Seti for a long time, he finally became a well-known elite and a protector trusted by the underground people. He guarded the most dangerous mining area and acted as the personal guard of the big shots. In his spare time, he took relief supplies deep into the explorationyer to rescue those reserve Diggers trapped underground after running out of supplies.

    This legendary mercenary, known as the ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡±, was once thought that he might be recognized by the [Wrist of Perseverance] if he could advance to the Gold Rank.

    Many Diggers were saved by him when they were young. This kind of favor umted and became a vastwork of connections. He then finally seeded in marrying his childhood sweetheart, who fell in love with him.

    However, to support himself and the people who relied on him, he continued to work tirelessly every day, even after getting married. He hardly had a few days to return home throughout the year¡­ People he had saved would thank him, and others would entrust him with more important matters. His daily life was a never-ending stream of tasks and people to rescue. In the end, he died on a mission without even leaving behind a child.

    Nefertari still remembered that there was a brilliant boy who loved reading but could not afford books. He aspired to be a Wise Council Member with a broad knowledge of books.

    Finally, after graduating from Seti, he entered his dream job at the Royal Library of the United Kingdom, the best library in the world. After all, this was the sum of all historical records of more than a dozen countries, and it was the library with the most preserved ancient books in the world.

    Relying on his excellent ability, his position rose consistently, and he finally became the library director. Due to his transcended knowledge, he became the teacher of the three princes. It could be regarded as entering the high level of the kingdom.

    However, he no longer had any time to read. The knowledge he had once learned gradually faded from his mind because it was too profound, and he had no time to review it. As someone who would hold a high position in the future, many people wanted to tter him. But, he was not so impressive to that point where he could refuse these big shots.

    Some had malicious intentions and wanted to inquire about some royal secrets from him. Many of his friends were spies with hidden purposes. It was exhausting to discern these people and to match wits with them.

    The result was that he had to socialize every day, and he had be out of shape. Greasy food and alcohol destroyed his body. The royal children and those unspeakable secrets exhausted his mind.

    His mind gradually became drowsy. He felt that the fire of wisdom in his mind was dwindling daily, and the books he could read through once also began to be obscure. Memory also gradually began to decline.

    Not to mention bing the greatest Wise. He had to even rely on rituals to recover his health and not be so forgetful temporarily.

    None of the students did anything wrong.

    They just tried their best to learn and use their knowledge to the best of their ability.

    However, if none of them did anything wrong, why couldn¡¯t they fulfill their iparably simple wish?

    ¡°¡­Nefer.¡±

    So the old man asked Nefertari, who was the only one who asked this question: ¡°What do you think is the purpose of obtaining transcended power? If you get transcended power, what will you use it for?¡±

    This question made Nefertari think about it for a year.

    Her final answer was, ¡°I think the transcendence path is the path to the right to say no, teacher.¡±

    The young Nefertari replied thoughtfully, ¡°Obtaining transcended power is not to do what I want. Instead, it is to feel confident not to do something when I don¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°So, are you still nning to embark on the path of transcendence?¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo, teacher.¡± She replied.

    Nefertari was a natural born transcender. But she did not need to be a transcender to be happy.

    As the only student who rejected the path given by Seti, Nefertari¡¯s answer was unwavering.

    She was also the only student eligible to return to Bone Farm after graduation.

    Because she was the only one who realized her original wish ¡ª to be Wise and live with the person she liked.

    Nefertari had never regretted missing the path to transcendence.

    Because she was really happy.

 Chapter 554: The Intersection Of â€œFateâ€

    <h4>Chapter 554: The Intersection Of ¡°Fate¡±</h4>

    There was no doubt that the so-called ¡°curse¡± was just nonsense.

    For Seti, Nefertari was uniquely special.

    Although Nefertari had the talent to be a transcender, she did not choose this path. She believed that if she sought the right to ¡°refuse¡±, she could easily obtain it through her rtionship as a student of the Bone Healer and the mystical knowledge and wisdom imparted to her by the Bone Healer¡¯s teachings.

    In other words, when she ¡°graduated¡±, the wish had already fallen into her hands.

    The same went for her seniors.

    ording to the original contract, Seti was responsible for educating them. After they thought they would have been able to achieve their wishes, they would leave the Bone Farm. Then, they would return to the teacher and tell the story of what happened after they left the teacher and fulfilled their wishes.

    Seti crafted this ritual.

    Although the ¡°power of desire¡± was the purest strength for the Idol Wizards, it was also the most ethereal power. However, the power could be preserved forever if the wish was fruitful.

    It could be understood that every desire to bear fruit was a permanent mad believer.

    At the very beginning, Seti¡¯s goal for this ritual was to help him channel the source of his power from external to internal. By generating a multitude of wishes, he sought to gain a pure, stable, and endless source of power for himself.

    In this way, he couldplete the crucial step:

    ¡ªFour rotating wheels.

    In other words, the perpetual mechanism.

    The candidate must possess their perpetual machine for infinite energy to ascend into a deity. Besides the Book of Truth, Seti only had this final step left toplete; everything else had already been aplished.

    This was his original ¡°wish¡±.

    But he always wanted to impart more knowledge when he started teaching his students. Initially, he hoped these students could realize their original, innocent wishes and make theme true. However, it gradually turned into a hope that they could excel and stand out from the rest.

    This was not a bad thing. But it was not a good thing either.

    Because this meant that Seti¡¯s wish at the time had also silently changed.

    It was the same as his students.

    The only disciple, who did not follow what he taught, was the only one who achieved the original goal.

    Nefertari proved that Seti was wrong.

    Perhaps the rumors were true. Seti was a monster who devoured wishes in exchange for talents, even though he did not devour their innocent and powerful desires himself.

    However, he taught the students topromise and widen their horizons. It let them know that there was a higher ce in the world, letting them know that their wishes in the past were immature and imperfect.

    It was not so much that they suffered a ¡°curse¡±.

    It was more urate to say that life had already altered their wishes without them realizing it.

    If the marquis was someone who never wanted to back down, why did he choose to go into politics? Didn¡¯t he understand what this meant? The answer was straightforward. In the process of ¡°increasing courage¡±, desire and power had polluted his goal.

    He wanted to rely on his acquired abilities to seize power, not protect others. At this time, his wish had quietly changed.

    If the legendary mercenary really loved his wife more than others, why didn¡¯t he retire and choose a more stable life after marrying his wife? Because besides his wife, he also fell in love with other people¡­ those who wanted his help.

    It was not necessarily a bad thing. It only indicated that he had a selfless personality, to begin with. However, his initial wish had indeed changed.

    If the future national teacher wanted to settle down and focus on research, could the king still force him to hold a government position? Putting aside everything else, would it be difficult for him to take up a trivial position as a pce consultant and pursue his studies and knowledge in peace?

    Obviously, his goal had also quietly changed.

    He did not really want to acquire so much knowledge but hoped that ¡°he could be a schr in the eyes of others.¡±

    Why is it so?

    Are they not strong enough?

    Is their original goal challenging to achieve?

    After learning the ending of these stories, the Young Nefertari fell into thinking.

    Nefertari believed this was because those people regard the ¡°means¡± as ¡°ends¡±.

    It bes an infinite false loop if you forget your original purpose and regard the tool as the real purpose.

    It was not that those people were greedy. Instead, it was just that they were too forgetful.

    It was not that they forgot their initial dreams¡­ but they forgot the person they were who dreamed so. Instead, they viewed their past, immature selves as something that needed to be corrected.

    Even Seti himself did not notice it at all!

    For ordinary people, this was growth.

    However, for the Idol Wizards, this might indeed be a curse.

    It was a curse called the Ouroboros [1].

    ¡°A person who devours himself to grow can never reach the end.¡± Nefertari sighed silently.

    If it continued like this, then Seti would go astray. His desire had never been satisfied. Thiscking would leave a mark.

    The so-called ¡°Idol¡± for Idol Wizardry referred to puppets and statues. In other words, the fakes were ¡°thought to be deities by ordinary people¡± and were ¡°praised, worshiped, and enshrined by people¡±.

    What would happen when a statue enshrined as a deity suddenly began to doubt whether it was a deity?

    The statue would crack and copse.

    If an Idol Wizard had doubts about themselves, the more robust the power they possessed, the worse their fall would be.

    It stood to reason that Seti should have realized his mistake after Nefertari¡¯s graduation.

    No one knew how he would correct the ¡°wrong wishes¡± he had umted over the years.

    Thinking of this, Nefertari looked at Ah Dian without any trace.

    She had noticed it.

    Whether it was the restless, silly-looking silver-haired girl¡­or this quiet, shy, but also a bit clumsy, ck-haired girl, they were all people with zing and pure desires.

    ording to what Ghindaio told her, the three Secret Eye apprentices here were all wizard apprentices. Their inclinations were ¡°Idol¡±, ¡°Shaping¡±, and ¡°Soul Snatch¡± respectively.

    They were all potent talents, precisely the type that Seti would teach. Besides the Energy Falteration School and Destruction school, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti could be the instructor of the other magic schools.

    In other words¡­

    As long as Nefertari gave it a nod, they would directly be Master Seti¡¯s students.

    Especially that young girl from the Idol School.

    Nefertari nced at Ah Dian again.

    Wizard apprentices who could adapt to Idol Magic were rare, second only to the affinity of the Prophet School.

    To be an Idol Wizard, one must have a strong self-confidence that ¡°one was destined to be extraordinary¡±, and at the same time, must possess outstanding talents and have a strong sense ofpassion for ordinary things. At the same time, their mortal talents must be rtively low.

    That was to say, people who ¡°had talent and self-confidence¡± but would never use it.

    Examples include cooking, cleaning, exercising, childcare, and other practical skills you ¡°should learn as a human being¡±. The ¡°mortal characteristics¡± above would pollute the ¡°native divinity¡± in them.

    If you want to learn, it must be ¡°impractical¡±.

    Since she could learn Idol Spells, she had the corresponding affinity.

    If she could meet Teacher Seti, she would be his direct disciple.

    But for now, let¡¯s take some time to observe her first¡­

    The primary goal was to see if she wanted to be a transcender and whether she was evil.

    People withpassion for all things and those with an evil nature did not always conflict with each other.

    On the other hand, every Idol Wizard with malicious intentions would lead to massive disasters.

    For example, the man called ¡°Professor Wolf¡±.

    One-third of the reason Nefertari came here with Ghindaio was this girl named Ah Dian.

    The remaining two-thirds of the reason was rted to Professor Wolf.

    ording to information received by other ¡°Secret Eye¡± members, ¡°Professor Wolf¡±, Frederick Melvin, once came to Cinder Barren.

    He murdered his only close friend here as a devout ritual and entrusted his faith to Tragedy Writer. This was also the beginning of all betrayal.

    In other words¡­

    If Frederick had not dispelled his friend¡¯s nightmare, then there was a probability of finding the nightmare belonging to that person here!

    And this friend also happened to be Nefertari¡¯s senior.

    Through the faint sense of connection between the two Idol Wizards, a ¡°fate¡± had emerged between people.

    Yes.

    It was the legendary mercenary who ¡°died on a mission¡± in the previous story.

 Chapter 555: Law of Similarity & Law of Contamination

    <h4>Chapter 555: Law of Simrity & Law of Contamination</h4>

    There would inevitably be a link between the Idol Wizards.

    Just like Prophet Wizards could interfere with each other by covering up and disguising each other¡¯s predictions, Alteration Wizards could also speed up, interrupt, or reverse each other¡¯s alteration magic chain. Simrly, Idol Wizards could also influence each other.

    However, this kind of influence was more metaphysical, affecting each other in the conceptualization of ¡°fate¡±.

    Powerful Idol Wizards would affect Idol Wizards who were weaker than themselves within a specific range, making the targets more and more like themselves in various senses. This was called the ¡°Law of Simrity¡± of the Idol School.

    This rule applied to the Idol Spells. For example, ¡°using a person with the same name as a substitute for another person as the ritual¡¯s target¡±, which was also the mostmonly used spell: ¡°Shadow Substitution.¡±

    Weak Idol Wizards got to borrow the strength of mighty Idol Wizards through this ¡°simrity principle¡±. In fact, this could also be understood as the essence of ¡°primitive ritual¡±. The goal was to make oneself simr to the believers of the deities to steal the strength of a Truth ¡ª like a priest of the blood elves.

    The most potent weapon of the Idol Wizard was the ¡°Idol¡± made of a true deity, the image of a powerful idol wizard, or a ¡°model figure¡±.

    Yes, the ¡°model figures¡± of Idol Wizards were like the ¡°pre-conversion agent¡± of Alteration Wizards.

    If the wizards possessed Mr. Ray¡¯s model figure, they could evolve the Idol Spell with a simr effect and domain into Mr. Ray¡¯s divine art.

    For example, evolving ¡°Healing Touch¡± into ¡°Purifying Touch¡± and evolving ¡°sh¡± into ¡°Dazzling Skin¡± as if they were Mr. Ray¡¯s pious priests.

    If they rece the statue they possessed with ¡°the Pale Princess¡± through a simple Ritual Spell, they could change the ¡°Touch of Healing¡± into the ¡°Phantom Touch¡±. Simrly, the spell could also be altered into the ¡°Toxic Touch¡±.

    The Melvin Family, from which ¡°Professor Wolf¡± was born, was a wizard family proficient in the ¡°Law of Simrity¡±.

    They made ¡°children of deity¡± and ¡°grant them divinity.¡± In this way, the advancement conditions of ¡°the Divine of the World¡± were achieved.

    In addition, Idol School also had a core rule called ¡°Contamination Law¡±.

    It could also be understood as the divergence of Idol School.

    Like in the Soul Snatch school, there were two subschools between controlling the mind and the soul.

    The so-called w of contamination¡± meant that the fate of Idol Wizards would tend to be close to each other. Weak Idol Wizards would be attracted to powerful Idol Wizards subconsciously.

    Once the weak Idol Wizard came into contact with the spell-casting traces of the powerful Idol Wizards or even just participated in rted events, the fate of both parties would be disturbed ordingly.

    ¡ªThe point was that both parties were affected.

    In other words, the weaker party could also influence the stronger party.

    Even if it was indirect contact, it could also be said that two people were ¡°contaminated¡±.

    For example, there was an Idol Wizard with the power of ¡°worship¡± who once helped a vige resist a flood and gained their worship through it, having the vigers worship him as a deity. Generally, at this time, they would have a makeup deity name. For example, some names like the ¡°Deity of Drought and Flood¡± and the ¡°Peace Elder¡± made the vigers think he was a deity who had passed by.

    Then, this temple could continuously provide him with strength.

    However, if another idol wizard with the ¡°power of fear¡± came and carried out evil deeds here, stirring up mountain torrents and causing earthquakes, people would be terrified of him. Then, this power of fear would also be transmitted to the previous Idol Wizard because of the ¡°contamination¡± between the two, thus weakening his power.

    The mana pool of the Idol Wizard was simr to a pie chart.

    Whether it was ¡°wish¡±, ¡°worship¡±, or ¡°fear¡±, it would upy a part of Order Mana. The Idol Spells above Silver Rank need to use a specific power to cast it.

    If the first idol wizard did not happen to use the ¡°power of fear¡± to cast rted spells, then this power of fear would be stored in his mana pool, unable to consume it. If other mana were used, the power of fear would umte further as the mana recovered.

    It was like being stuffed with many useless cards in the deck, polluting the card deck.

    Nefertari¡¯s teacher, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti, was an Idol Wizard proficient in ¡°contaminationw¡±.

    He could even use the student¡¯s tokens to heal or strengthen them remotely at Bone Farm. If his student were severely injured, the token would also be broken. Of course, Seti could also curse or directly kill the other party through the things his student had touched. It was just that he did not have to.

    At this stage, Ghindaio arrived in Cinder Barren, following Nefertari to search for the nightmare of the legendary mercenary ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± Justus.

    From this point of view, things had be the confrontation between the two branches of ¡°Simrity¡± and ¡°Contamination¡± in the Idol School.

    Thus, it had be dangerous for Nefertari toe here.

    However, only Nefertari was aware of this.

    She did not tell Ghindaio about it.

    A powerful Idol Wizard could even make his destiny form a cycle, contaminating other people in the future. This was thebined effect of simrity and contamination.

    Just like Bone Healer¡¯s original intention changed, his students would also fall into the same fate as him.

    When Frederick Melvin and his friend ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± Justice came to Cinder Barren, Justice died.

    And now, Ghindaio and Nefertari also came to this ce.

    That was why Nefertari did her best to stop Nieusel froming.

    Same ce with the exact headcount¡­

    If Frederick hade here to investigate something, their goal would have been the same.

    If even the gender proportion was simr, then the fate of the past and the possibility of repeating it were high.

    That was to say, the fate of ¡°one of them murdering the other¡± might reappear here.

    Once Ghindaio knew about it, he would sumb to the Law of Contamination. Although ¡°Professor Wolf¡± Frederick was not good at thew of contamination, he was notpletely ignorant about it.

    If he worked on it personally, it might cause Ghindaio to fall into the w of simrity¡±, repeating the fate of the past.

    Of course, when Nefertari first met Ghindaio, she also used Idol¡¯s detection method. However, the effect slipped away on Ghindaio.

    Now she knew that Ghindaio was not an Idol Wizard, then this showed that a powerful Idol Wizard was protecting him.

    However, her teacher was already the strongest Idol Wizard.

    Could it be the Man in the Mirror?

    If Ghindaio represents ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±, does it mean that there are three Gold Rank Idol Wizards whose fates are intertwined?

    Nefertari had a heavy heart.

    On the other side, the old man wearing a strange cloak and holding a mirror also stepped out of the Cinder Barren subway.

    He took off his cloak.

    In the somewhat aged pupils, there were reflective silver pupils like mirrors.

 Chapter 556: Why Are You So Experienced At This?

    <h4>Chapter 556: Why Are You So Experienced At This?</h4>

    After Annan and Nefertari arrived at Cinder Barren, they did not begin exploring immediately but looked for Longjing Tea¡¯s group resting in residence.

    Annan had granted freedom to Husky and Ah Dian, allowing them to continue to work and y as they pleased.

    Although the two girls were interested in Annan¡¯s purpose ofing here, he wanted to avoid taking them along for the time being.

    They are not even a transcender, yet send them to challenge the world boss directly.

    Isn¡¯t that just causing trouble without reason?

    Although there was no pressure to resurrect yers of this level and nothing was lost from their death, they would still get in the way.

    At least for the time being, they could not be of help either.

    As for Nefertari, Annan noticed she was friendly to the girl Ah Dian and asked where she lived.

    She may want to introduce Ah Dian to her teacher.

    That¡¯s pretty good.

    So Annan asked Nefertari to reside at another residence dedicated to the yers: Ah Dian and the rest. Just when Annan peeked at Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky from the backend interface, he saw an empty room on their side.

    Annan felt that the two girls were quite different from each other, one being a simpleton and the other a fool. Perhaps this contrast could stimte Naifertari¡¯s maternal instincts and create a favorable impression. Meanwhile, Thirteenth Fragrance was particrly eloquent and a proper member of society, even a former host. His sociability formed a solid contrast to Husky and Ah Dian.

    If all goes well, these three people should be able to gain Nefertari¡¯s rapport.

    After these three new yers became transcenders, Annan could send them all to Bone Farm through Nefertari¡¯s connection.

    Gaining an apprenticeship to a Gold Rank Wizard was not an easy task. There must be a test.

    However, the barrier of entry might lower a little with Nefertari¡¯s connection.

    From Nefertari¡¯s point of view, the old man seemed to have a good temper, and the greatest advantage was that he liked to be a teacher. Moreover, he was older and more knowledgeable, so he should be open to the students¡¯ choices to go their separate ways.

    At least there would be no such situation as Benjamin, who thought the students were ¡°not pure enough¡±, so he killed the students.

    After all, most transcenders still hoped to change their fate and obtain wealth, status, and a life of ease andfort after advancing to the Silver Rank and reaching the pinnacle of their talents.

    After all, transcenders with an immense desire to ascend to Gold Rank were a minority.

    ¡ªIf he could not handle this fact, he would have died of anger long ago.

    He certainly would not live that long.

    However, since Nefertari went to the other residence, Annan was finally able to recover from the identity of ¡°Ghindaio¡± and took a little rest with the main body.

    Before Annan progressed to the Silver Rank, he still liked to use the ¡°Ghindaio¡± to make his move. At least the body of a healthy and robust adult without illness or injury was much easier to utilize than the body of a fourteen-year-old child.

    It was not because ¡°Ghindaio¡± had a robust strength and solid constitution. On the contrary, Annan mainly felt that walking with longer arms and legs was more convenient.

    But after Annan acquired the ¡°Victory Knight¡± profession specialized in will¡­or rather, after his Will attribute exceeded 40 points, Annan felt a significant sense of harmony between his soul and body.

    This sense of harmony between body and soul was the key tobating the curse. However, it also made Annan feel awkward when using the curse substitute ¡°Ghindaio¡±, even though it was not quite noticeable.

    Generally speaking, it felt like putting on newly bought shoes.

    You would feel a little ufortable when you switch to a new shoe. After that, you would adapt quickly, and nothing would happen if you did not put our attention to it. However, you would feel that something was not right again afternding your focus on it.

    It could be an illusion, but Annan felt increasingly uneasy as he approached the Cinder Barren. It was as if something was drawing him to this ce.

    The feeling was like forgetting whether you had locked the door when leaving the house or whether you had turned off the gas valve of the stove.

    It was like worrying about something but forgetting about it at the same time. It was as though he would miss out on something important if he did note to Cinder Barren.

    Annan took his intuition seriously.

    As mentioned before, his intuition had always been urate. And now that some of his emotions had been shielded, his intuition became more urate.

    Especially¡­

    After Annan turned back into his original body, the strange, spiritual tugging feeling suddenly disappeared.

    This abnormality aroused Annan¡¯s vignce.

    Before investigating, it was better to maintain this state and wait quietly for a few days.

    Annan made up his mind.

    When Longjing Tea and the others opened the door and saw Annan in the main body, they were startled.

    As a matter of fact, the news that Annan Austere-Winter was the heir of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke had already been spreadst month.

    Until then, Dmitri¡¯s disinheritance was only a secret in the upper echelons of various countries.

    The Guardian Deity of Austere-Winter Dukedom was the Deity of ¡°Tradition¡±. If nothing else, it must be primogeniture ¨C in which case, all eyes would be on Dmitri.

    If Annan and Maria were walking down the street, as long as they did not have a few Winter¡¯s Hands behind them, they would not be noticed as ¡°the child of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡±. But no matter where Dmitri appeared, he would be immediately recognized as ¡°His Royal Highness Dmitri¡±.

    So when Dmitri met Ghindaio for the first time, he was not surprised that Ghindaio called his name.

    But now, with the news that Annan was about to seed to the throne, the attention had transferred to Annan.

    Ordinary people at the bottom certainly did not care who the next sessor from other countries was. They might not even be able to tell which ¡°generation¡± the person was from, and they might not even know what the political system of other countries was and whether there was a king.

    Just like in the past at Freezing Water Port, the people had no idea what ¡°Don Juan Geraint¡± looked like. At most, they knew that ¡°he may have blue eyes¡± before giving Annan a chance to impersonate him.

    But then Annan discovered that the people from Freezing Water Port did not even know what King Noah looked like! More than 80% of Freezing Water Port people did not even know the Roseburg¡¯s Viscount in the next city!

    In this era without civilian copiers and the Inte, even if the price of paper was rtively low, it was by no means easy to deliver many ¡°high-resolution¡± urate portraits of a person.

    However, the transcenders and ritualists with more essible ess to information from the upper echelons, nobles, and intelligence brokers had now received Annan¡¯s portrait.

    It was like Dmitri would be tracked by intelligence personnel in real-time no matter where he went¡­ It was like a reality show. Wherever he went, there would be prying eyes behind him.

    In this world, it was not easy to quickly deliver urate information, but it was easy to track a person.

    If such informants or ritualists saw Annan¡¯s face, the portrait of ¡°Annan¡¤Austere-Winter in Cinder Barren¡± would be sold directly to Noah¡¯s capital within a week.

    Annan did not care less about it, but the yers were more nervous than him.

    Delicious Wind Goose made a silent gesture and nervously stuck his head out the door.

    He opened his eyes, and his pupils were sharp as he scanned left and right.

    Then, he carried Annan up and ran straight into the room. The door shut instantly with a bang.

    ¡°Seal the windows!¡± He immediately whispered instructions to the Child behind him.

    The Child nodded seriously.

    Several pots of vines ced by the window exploded, sealing the window airtight in the blink of an eye.

    If a passer-by sees Annan¡¯s back, they might mistakenly think that this family had kidnapped a passing child; if they did not see Annan and witness such an exaggerated scene, they probably thought there was some underground organization here, trading in secret.

    Why are you so experienced at this?

    Annan could not helpining in his heart.

 Chapter 557: â€œDid I Kill Myself?â€

    <h4>Chapter 557: ¡°Did I Kill Myself?¡±</h4>

    ¡°Shield of Unfallen, Justice?¡± Annan asked.

    Hearing Annan¡¯s question, Longjing Tea furrowed his brow in thought and said, ¡°Hmm, let me see¡­ Now that you mention it, I have a vague memory of that. Let me think for a sec¡­¡±

    Instead of sitting in a chair, he paced around the room.

    He poured the freshly brewed ck tea for Annan and then brought the snacks.

    ¡°Take your time. I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡±

    Annan took the warm but not scalding ck tea and smiled gently at Longjing Tea.

    Wandering Child quietly stood by the window while Delicious Wind Goose secretly observed the passers-by on the second floor.

    Although Annan wanted to say they were overly nervous, he did not do so. After thinking about it, he realized it was a sign that the yers had treated him kindly.

    It was different from the initial situation.

    Initially, the yers pleased him to gain favorability or with the objective of missions and rewards.

    However, things had changed.

    In the current state, they had gradually be friends with Annan.

    The process was mutual.

    Annan no longer regarded them as pure tools, and the yers had be friendly, respectful, and even reverent toward Annan.

    ¡ªYes, reverence.

    Although Mist Continent tried its best to maintain its image and dignity as a game, the yers had long known that this was not a game but the real world.

    Annan interacted with them sincerely, striving to protect them and wholeheartedly find ways to make things convenient for them¡ªeven bringing the yers to this world and bing the ¡®anchor point¡¯ for all the changes here.

    So why wouldn¡¯t the yers be friends with him?

    Since it came from a friend¡¯s standpoint, when they were in awe of Annan¡¯s will, they would naturally develop a sense of admiration of ¡°I am not as good¡±. It was no exception that it turned into respect and even admiration.

    Isn¡¯t this a surprise? While you are farming for affection rating, I¡¯m earning your favorability too!

    ¡°Meow~¡± Feeling Annan¡¯s touch, Dove let out a soft cry.

    She was curled up on the sofa beside Annan, quietly putting its serval head on Annan¡¯sp.

    Chocte on the side followed suit, using Dove¡¯s body to securely lean against Annan¡¯s other side and let out a ¡°meow¡±.

    Only then did Annan notice that Chocte was about the same height as him when they sat on the same sofa.

    ¡°Speaking of which, haven¡¯t you changed back yet?¡± Annan lowered his head to the cat and asked, ¡°I should have told you how to switch bodies, right?¡±

    Dove was Annan¡¯s secret keeper, and Annan was also Dove¡¯s secret keeper. As a soul partner with Shared Perception, it was normal for Serval ¡°Chocte¡± to feel dependent on Annan.

    It was just that Annan did not expect that Dove still had not returned to her original body after so long.

    Dove shook her head.

    Unexpectedly, the sly cat lying on Annan¡¯sp spoke out, ¡°It can already talk anyway. There is no urgent need to change back.¡±

    ¡°Is a cat¡¯s body morefortable than a human¡¯s?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    As a person who had the same bond with Dove as a ¡°shapeshifter¡±, Annan, who could also shapeshift, was a little curious about Dove¡¯s experience.

    In the end, Dove shook her head.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± She replied affirmatively, ¡°After all, I am human.¡±

    ¡°Ah, you are still a human.¡±

    Longjing Tea, who was flipping through the newspaper, couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you transform back into a human form for a few days. Monsters may be more diligent than you in transforming into humans.¡±

    ¡°What do you know, brat? I¡¯m training Chocte.¡±

    Dove raised her cat head upright and looked at Longjing Tea, ¡°Turning into a cat doesn¡¯t hinder my daily life much, and it actually allows me to study how the forest cats fight, sneak, and perform more naturally.

    ¡°And after Chocte bes me, she can understand how I fight. And with a human body, I can easily teach her somemon sense. Didn¡¯t you see that she can already speak a few words? She can even write, sing, and know that people must wear clothes. She also keeps herself clean. Isn¡¯t that progress?¡±

    ¡°Is that why you asked Chocte to edit the video and cover for you?¡±

    Longjing Tea asked loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t let the cat work for you! Or at least give her a sry!¡±

    Hearing this, Annan looked in surprise at the ¡°Dove cat¡± on herp.

    Wow, Chocte also has these functions?

    Dove did not respond and just muttered, ¡°Hmph, this person is outrageous.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you who went too far!¡± The yers broke into a mess.

    Initially, Longjing Tea showed respect and politeness towards Dove, considering her as his senior. However, as they got to know each other better, he discovered that this seeminglyposed and stable older girl had a hidden talent foredy, much to his surprise.

    Delicious Wind Goose seemed to be a calm and reliable burly man. Moreover, he adopted the profession of being the core carry of the team, Sword Saint. However, he was pretty careless and prone to getting carried away¡­ He was the cautious type who utilized his ultimate moves on mobs.

    However, the problem was that the mana recovery of his ultimate move was slow and stagnant.

    After Wandering Child advanced to Silver Rank, his ability to manipte nature became significantly more substantial. He had be a semi-closebat, semi-ranged offense-type assassin profession. However, what he was most concerned about was that he had grown green hair like tree roots.

    Dove was a highly-urate shooter. Longjing Tea had never seen a more powerful shooter than Dove. The Serval could also be used as a scout or assassin.

    Undoubtedly, it was aplete team.

    If there was anything wrong with the team when Dove and Chocte were counted as two people, four were in DPS roles.

    There were four squishy damage dealers. Every one of them was vulnerable!

    None of the four of them could wear heavy armor. Thebined thickness of their armor was as thick as fouryers of cloth.

    Longjing Tea was deeply annoyed by that.

    Indeed, including his mage profession, they became five squishy damage dealers.

    He inexplicably felt guilty for picking the fifth ADC role while scolding his teammates after seeing his teammates pick four ADCs.

    [TN: Attack Damage Carry (ADCs).]

    Whether it was keeping an adventure journal, calcting how much money they had left in savings, or finding ways to contact other people to melt andunder their gold mines, bargaining with them, buying houses andnd, and buying furniture, Longjing Tea did all the socializing work alone.

    He heard from Jiu Er that Delicious Wind Goose was proficient at socializing. Moreover, Dove and the Child were not the types to struggle withmunicating with others.

    However, after he formed a team with Longjing Tea, they becamezy.

    Speaking of which, am I not your boss outside this world?

    asionally Longjing Tea had such confusion.

    However, there was no other way. Now that Annan came here to ask them for information, he was still the only one who could answer Annan.

    Longjing Tea was still working while arguing with the cat.

    When he turned to the 32nd newspaper, he found a clue.

    ¡°How could it be in ¡°The Unsolved Mystery of the Prospecting Land¡±?¡±

    Longjing Tea muttered doubtfully and then slowly read the newspaper¡¯s contents.

    ¡°The former ¡®Shield of Unfallen¡¯ Justice had fallen in Cinder Barren the day before yesterday¡­¡±

    He slowly widened his eyes.

    Longjing Tea was confused.

    ¡°ording to the injury analysis, the fatal injury that directly led to Justice¡¯s death was a heavy blow to the back of the head by the heavy sword. In addition, there were twelve wounds on his body, all of which were prating wounds andcerations.

    ¡°¡ªIn terms of magic examination, the murderer who killed Justice was Justice himself.¡±

 Chapter 558: Shield Of Unfallen & Professor Gray

    <h4>Chapter 558: Shield Of Unfallen & Professor Gray</h4>

    Annan blinked his eyes.

    He hesitated to speak.

    Twelve injuries were inflicted on the body with the de shing the back of the head. However, the magic examination still assessed the situation as a suicide.

    How did he sh the back of his head with a de? Did he toss it into the sky, then jump up to catch it?

    That was too unreal.

    This was second only to being shot in the back of the head with his hands and feet tied.

    Could it be a suicide using a Rube Goldberg device [1]?

    ¡°The result of the magical examination should be correct.¡±

    Longjing Tea pointed to the newspaper and exined, ¡°Look¡­ No one believed it at the time because this test result was too bizarre. Many wizards and ritualists came to verify the test result. Even the teacher of ¡®Shield of Unfallen¡¯ Justice, Gray Professor Seti, is there.¡±

    Wait¡­

    ¡°Gray Professor Seti?¡± Annan raised his eyebrows and murmured in a low voice with some doubts.

    Isn¡¯t Seti¡¯s title the ¡°Bone Healer¡±?

    Or did this happen before Master Seti became Bone Healer?

    It can be more than just a hunch.

    Maybe I¡¯m overthinking¡­

    Hearing ¡°Professor Gray¡± being mentioned, Annan immediately thought of ¡°Professor Wolf¡±.

    Speaking of which, Professor Wolf was expelled from the family and changed his name to ¡°Professor Wolf¡± shortly after this event, right?

    Was he trying to ride the wave of poprity of ¡°Gray Professor¡± Seti?

    Such a thought popped into Annan¡¯s mind immediately.

    He became a little cautious.

    ¡°Wait a minute, let me take a look.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Longjing Tea responded and handed the newspaper to Annan. Annan spread the old newspapers on the table and carefully checked the old records.

    Dove on the side alsoid the cat¡¯s head on Annan¡¯s arm and read the newspaper together intently.

    Chocte also put its head on Annan¡¯s shoulder in a simr manner, pretending to read the newspaper with nk eyes. Its pupils did not move from left to right ording to the lines.

    [TN: Chocte is possessing the human form for now.]

    ¡°Huh?¡°

    After screening it twice, Annan was a little surprised.

    The newspapers did not mention ¡°Frederick Melvin¡± at all.

    Instead, the news only mentioned Justice receiving a somewhat mysterious mission. A big shot nominated him to enter Cinder Barren to find a curse vessel.

    This mission was actually quite strange.

    Cinder Barren was uninhabited at that time. Theva rampaged thend not long ago, making it a barrennd.

    In other words, there was no danger in searching for treasure at that ce. Of course, theva might have buried the item. However, the difficulty should have been digging it out in the first ce.

    Hence, there was no reason to recruit [Shield of Unfallen] for this mission.

    ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡±, as a young Gold Rank Transcender, was also the proud disciple of ¡°Professor Gray¡±. He was exceptionally skilled in bodyguard and security operations with an abnormally resilient physique. He could even resist the me Demon¡¯sva attack with his body alone, making him a formidable individual capable of swimming inva.

    His typical mission was subjugation against underground monsters or a bodyguard mission on some bigshots.

    He could protect innocent people from serious injuries with his own body alone.

    ¡°¡­ult Bond Envoy?¡± Annan murmured.

    Fortunately, the transcenders in the underground world did not stay in the dark. The newspapers published the information clearly.

    ¡ª[Shield of Unfallen], Justice, was the Gold Profession advanced from the Silver Rank Profession ¡°ult Bond Envoy¡±.

    Annan had encountered this profession as early as the ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡± saga.

    ¡°ult Bond Envoy¡± could transfer energy to each other within the visible range. The user could extract a target¡¯s vitality and use it to heal another person; or extract the mana pool of many wizards and concentrate them on one wizard.

    It was a profession with high utility value.

    Such a transcender was wee in any country and force. As generals, they could ¡°concentrate everyone¡¯s strength into one¡±.

    On the other hand, the profession offered a lot of practical value, making them treated as tools.

    Moreover, difficulty became way more challenging for this profession to advance to Gold Rank.

    The blissful life made it difficult to have a persistent and pure ¡°ascension desire¡± for a breakthrough and rise to a higher level.

    However, the ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± did it.

    Given his Gold Rank, he was like a guardian deity walking in the world.

    He could transfer the injuries that others had suffered to himself; or transfer the attack that was about to fall on his teammates to himself in advance.

    Then, he could draw the enemy or nature¡¯s power to heal himself quickly.

    Whether the heart was pierced, the limbs were torn, the skin was peeled off, or the spine was pulled out, Justice would not die as long as he kept breathing.

    Justice was like a human shield.

    Justice¡¯s followers would not be harmed if he stood his ground. Even if the people around were flooded by bullet text, covered by the rain of mes, had their hearts stabbed by an assassin, their throats cut off, and their brains smashed.

    Simply put, as long as Justice wanted to protect that person, any transcender below Gold Rank could not kill it. The only exception would be if the target were taken away from Justice¡¯s vision.

    Justice was a protector who gave off a strong sense of security.

    Whether it was protecting militia against monsters, fighting against natural disasters, or escorting people into dangerous areas, the team members were given the buff ¡°to freeze their health point value¡± as long as they stood together with Justice.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Annan frowned slightly.

    This doesn¡¯t seem right.

    If Justice is so tenacious¡­

    How could he be knocked to the floor by a simple backstab? Why were there such apparent injuries?

    ¡°It seems like there are many ws in this information,¡± said Dove softly.

    Her cat¡¯s head moved slightly on Annan¡¯s arm, and she raised her head to look at Annan, ¡°Your Highness, are you here to purify this nightmare?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Annan nodded in deep thought.

    If the mission was to search for an item, then it might be possible that he tagged along with Frederick, the Idol wizard, for the mission. Even though Idol Wizard could not find the item as fast as Prophet Wizard, the difficulty should still be easy.

    As long as he ¡°could find this item in the future¡±, a Prophet Wizard could immediately get a fruitful result. On the flip side, divination would remain useless if he was incapable of finding the item.

    However, the situation was different for an Idol Wizard.

    They had unique means to locate the source from an oue. Even if the item was hidden hundreds of meters underground, they could search it out, provided they were adequate in their mastery.

    From this point of view, Frederick might have approached Justice after Justice took on the mission.

    Then, the chances of pre-arranging traps for murder did not seem to be that high either.

    In fact, Frederick had yet to reach the Gold Rank back then.

    Frederick only advanced to Gold Rank after he was expelled from the family.

    At that time, he was just an Idol Wizard of Silver Rank¡­ and Justice was a meat shield profession at Gold Rank.

    It was even possible that Frederick did all the work for damage output, pulling more sweat than Justice.

    It made no sense for Frederick to be the murderer.

    ¡°However, Justice was murdered. This is indeed a fact, and it was a perfect murder. No one has discovered what Frederick has done for so many years. Frederick even exchanged for power with the Tragedy Writer through a ritual.¡±

    Longjing Tea concluded, ¡°There is no way to collect information outside the nightmare.

    ¡°Does this nightmare have any clues? For example, where can we get the key or something? We may have to go into the nightmare to collect more information.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, no.¡±

    Annan shook his head helplessly, ¡°Nefatari and I came here just to find the ¡®key¡¯.

    ¡°Since the truth has not been made public for so many years, even Justice¡¯s death at the hands of Professor Wolf is a secret. The key is probably not found yet.

    ¡°In other words¡­ If Professor Wolf doesn¡¯t purify this nightmare, there is a high probability that we will purify a brand new nightmare that no one has purified.¡±

    In other words, the group had to start by finding the ¡°key¡±.

    ¡°You can already skip the first step.¡± A deep voice came from the room.

    Annan felt Dove¡¯s(serval) hair standing upright in his arms. Delicious Wind Goose immediately opened his eyes, casting his sharp and bright gaze over it. Longjing Tea frowned slightly, took a deep breath, and was ready to use the Edict spell anytime.

    However, they suddenly reacted at this moment.

    Why does this voice seem familiar?

    ¡°Wait.¡± Annan stopped the yers.

    Annan was a little surprised, looking at the standing mirror in the room.

    Or perhaps, looking at the person walking out of the standing mirror.

    ¡°Your Excellency Benjamin?¡±

 Chapter 559: Fate is the Wheel of the Divine Transporter

    <h4>Chapter 559: Fate is the Wheel of the Divine Transporter</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Your Highness Annan.¡± The one who responded to Annan¡¯s question was the pope of ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±, Benjamin Foster.

    Delicious Wind Goose and Wandering Child both knew him.

    After all, they wererades who participated in the major event together.

    Seeing that it was an acquaintance, the yers breathed a sigh of relief and calmed their nerves.

    However, Benjamin had a drastic change in his appearance and the air surrounding himpared to the past.

    Back then, he would look like an ordinary old man with the temperament of a schr without the wizard robe. However, Benjamin was filled with a mysterious air. Rather than calling him a human being, describing him as a totemic figure or a symbol would be more urate.

    Benjamin¡¯s pupils had turned into mirror-like silver that reflected everything before him. He wore a rather intricate gray cloak.

    The part near the end of the cloak was iid with many broken lenses. At first nce, the iridescent halo was overflowing, like a peacock with wings spread.

    No one could forget it after seeing it once. That figure would be branded in mind.

    Whenever Benjamin Pope spoke, it seemed like a mystical echo was in the air, as if the reverberation had been switched on.

    The moment Benjamin¡¯s voice came out, Annan realized a new influence had appeared.

    [You are blessed with the new mark ¡°Novice Influence: Infinitely Ovepping Echoes¡±]

    [If it is not removed in time, you will fall into a random nightmare (difficulty: hard) with the keyword ¡°mirror image¡± after seven days.]

    Can a pope incur an influence so easily?

    Annan cast his gaze on the dark golden mirror in Benjamin¡¯s embrace. His hands were hidden in the cuffs, and the mirror in his arms could reflect everything, but it could reflect a person.

    Could it be that?

    The title, [The Man in the Mirror], referred to a unique way of existence where the deity was said to live within the mirror.

    Benjamin seemed alone, but did he carry the deity he served with him?

    For a moment, Annan could not decide whether it was the deity¡¯s or pope¡¯s equipment; or whether the ¡°pope¡± was the deity¡¯s mount.

    What a strange way of symbiosis!

    It felt like a hippopotamus.

    An impolite metaphor came to Annan¡¯s mind.

    After a light cough, Annan asked politely, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Not to mention that Benjamin was considered half a teacher to Annan. He also provided a lot of help to Annan in the early stage. Benjamin, who was now Pope, had a social hierarchy simr to Annan even after Annan seeded as the Grand Duke.

    Benjamin Pope asked, ¡°Are you looking for Justice¡¯s nightmare?¡±

    Without waiting for a response, Benjamin made a deration on his own.

    ¡°It is impossible to find it.¡±

    Before Annan and the others could question, Benjamin exined in an ancient voice, ¡°Because the ¡®key¡¯ of Justice¡¯s nightmare is not in the current timeline.

    ¡°That¡¯s why ¡®the Man in the Mirror¡¯ brought me here to guide you.¡±

    What does that even mean?

    Longjing Tea was slightly taken aback upon hearing Benjamin¡¯s words.

    On the other hand, Annan understood a little bit.

    Since he participated in ¡°Nightmare: White Tower¡±, he had some understanding of the ritual that made up the foundation of Michngelo¡¯s ascension into a deity.

    His ritual foundation was hidden in the ¡°past¡±. Without the means of crossing the timeline, the ritual could not be disrupted at all.

    False deities, who ascended through this ritual, would lose their temporarily ¡°rented¡± Truth after the ritual was ruined. Therefore, they would be sent back to Gold Rank. For example, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ritual foundation was the entire principality he had sacrificed.

    If someone wanted to kill the Venerated Skeleton, they did not need to confront Him directly. Instead, the person just had to find a way to enter the Gray Mists, discover the ruins of the Elegy Dukedom, dig all the way underground, and kill all the undead. With that, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ¡°proof of betrayal¡± would be destroyed.

    However, that would be challenging.

    On the other hand, the Man in the Mirror¡¯s ritual was hidden in the ¡°past¡±. Therefore, it could also be a secure way of hiding the ritual.

    ¡ªWas Justice¡¯s nightmare also hidden in the ¡°past¡±?

    ¡°Idol wizards are attracted to each other.¡± Benjamin said slowly, ¡°This is because the essence of their strength is ¡®fate¡¯. Once fate has ovepped or been connected, the causation link will not be broken even after many years. ¡°

    Hearing this, Annan gradually understood the context.

    ¡°Do you mean the Man in the Mirror has a connection with Professor Wolf?¡±

    After Michngelo became a deity, people who knew Him could not just pronounce His past name casually. The reason being it would incur influence, which was regarded as ult knowledge, giving birth to meaningless pressure on the observers.

    Benjamin nodded at Annan¡¯s spection.

    He gave an affirmative answer without any hesitation.

    I see.

    Annan understood.

    That was why Nefertari came here. ¡°Bone Healer¡±¡ª the former ¡°Gray Professor¡± must have made contact with ¡°Professor Wolf¡±.

    Idol Wizards could borrow power by increasing their ¡°simrity¡± with each other.

    From this point of view, Professor Wolf, Frederick, would name himself so, probably to steal the Gray Professor¡¯s power.

    Perhaps, the reason ¡°Gray Professor¡± was renamed to ¡°Bone Healer¡± was also rted to Professor Wolf.

    Then, their connection should not be as simple as ¡°they were both Idol Wizards¡±.

    Annan frowned slightly.

    ¡°Time Stopper Eye¡± Michngelo, who was Gold Rank at that time in the past, was now a deity.

    Bone Healer, also known as Gray Professor Seti, was and is currently at Gold Rank.

    Professor Wolf Frederick was only silver then, but now he had reached Gold Rank.

    The past and present¡­

    If ¡°Michngelo¡± participated and used Seti as an intermediary, could this be considered a ritual in the field of ¡°mirror¡±?

    Annan fell into deep thought.

    He looked at Benjamin and asked seriously, ¡°How would the Man in the Mirror help us?

    ¡°What else do we need to do?¡±

    ¡°In general terms, we just need to purify this nightmare.¡±

    Benjamin Pope replied, ¡°I am the substitute walker of ¡®the Man in the Mirror¡¯. I can¡¯t deal with this nightmare myself. Otherwise, I would have resolved it long ago. It must be purified by people of your time.¡±

    ¡°Professor Wolf is stealing the power of the Man in the Mirror,¡± Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°Am I right?¡±

    Hearing this spection, Benjamin was silent for a moment.

    He was nomittal and remained silent.

    However, this silence already told Annan the answer.

    As expected.

    Benjamin came here to terminate this nightmare.

    The ¡°destiny¡± of the three Idol Wizards converged at one point.

    Thinking about it carefully, it seemed like all three people had some connection with Annan.

    In other words, Annan could hear the names of these three people. It meant that he had already made contact with them.

    Benjamin contacted Annan in the shoes of the Man in the Mirror.

    Nefertari contacted Annan in the shoes of Seti.

    Then, Doreen, the werewolf girl, came into contact with Annan in the shoes of Professor Wolf.

    What if it was not a coincidence? Instead, the three Idol Wizards were all ¡°avoiding¡± Annan, so they sent out substitute walkers who were simr to themselves.

    ¡°Fate is the Wheel of the Divine Transporter¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    He had reached a deeper understanding of this sentence.

    ¡ªDivine Transporter could be a higher concept than ¡°fate¡±.

 Chapter 560: Exchanging [Three Secrets]

    <h4>Chapter 560: Exchanging [Three Secrets]</h4>

    Annan realized that he might have underestimated the power of [Book of Divine Transporter].

    It was more or less a page fragment of the Book of Truth. Just because it existed there, it should have some kind of passive effect.

    Back then, when Marquis Iris was not yet a deity, he was almost undefeatable just by relying on his Book of Truth.

    Of course, the power of the Book of Divine Transporter was not as violent as the Book of Truth of Marquis Iris.

    The essence of ¡°Divine Transporter¡± might be rted to ¡°fate¡±.

    It could even be far more supreme than the concept of ¡°fate¡±.

    Annan felt a sense of rxation at the first moment he first switched back to his original body.

    The ¡°Ghindaio¡± form could indeed deflect Idol Spells below Gold Rank. However, as an Idol Wizard of Silver Rank itself, Ghindaio could not resist the fate interferenceing from the mutual attraction and the mutual influence among the Idol Wizards. This showed that the fate essence was not included in the conditions of ¡°the Gold Rank¡±.

    After Annan switched back to the main body, the feeling of being bound by something disappeared immediately.

    At first, Annan thought it was because he did not have the Idol Wizard profession, so he would not be involved in this essence of fate.

    However, the situation continued until the morning after Annan met Benjamin Pope and acquired the nightmare¡¯s ¡°key¡± from him.

    Annan was about to adopt the ¡°Ghindaio¡± identity. When he used it to meet Nefertari, Annan suddenly realized that the feeling of being dragged by fate, as if suffering from obsessivepulsive disorder, had disappeared subconsciously.

    The Book of Divine Transporter might havepletely wiped out this effect.

    Annan did not even do anything.

    He just changed back to his own body, and these threads of fate broke down naturally without warning, as if they were burned on a candle.

    The faint ¡°fate¡± power could not even approach the holder of the Book of Divine Transporter.

    This ¡°fate¡± should have been formed when ¡°Ghindaio¡± met Nefertari and the wolf girl ¡°Doreen¡± for the first time. After all, the ¡°Ghindaio¡± form was the curse bestowed by the Man in the Mirror.

    The real ¡°Ghindaio¡± itself was a living stone statue made by the Man in the Mirror himself. In the real world timeline, it should still be in the Howling White Tower.

    It was only natural that the Man in the Mirror could interfere with this incarnation of Annan.

    This fate surfaced when ¡°Benjamin also went to the same ce¡±. It was precisely because this condition was met that Annan realized where the connection of these three Idol Wizards was.

    ¡°Idol Wizardry is really troublesome¡­¡± Annan sighed.

    It was necessary to sort out one¡¯s own destiny and determine the starting point and end point of each cause and effect. You should even remember every ¡°temple¡± and regrly maintain your foundation of power. You should also be careful not to get entangled with the fate of other Idol Wizards¡­

    Idol Wizard is indeed a really troublesome profession.

    Fortunately, Annan was not an Idol Wizard.

    Hearing this, Nefertari just smiled, and she did not know what to say.

    Aren¡¯t you an Idol Wizard yourself?

    She just changed the subject, ¡°Did you just say that you have found the ¡®key¡¯?¡±

    Annan denied, ¡°I didn¡¯t find it, but someone sent it over.¡±

    ¡°Someone sent it over?¡± Nefertari frowned slightly, wondering, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    Annan nodded, ¡°The Man in the Mirror¡¯s pope, His Excellency Benjamin. Do you know this name?¡±

    ¡°Ah, this¡­¡± Nefertari was taken aback when she heard the name.

    Her witty brain quickly figured out the truth behind the matter.

    ¡°Sorry, sir.¡± Without warning, Nefertari bowed seriously to Annan and apologized in a low voice, ¡°But I really don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    This appeared to be an apology that came out of nowhere.

    Annan just nodded silently, epting her apology frankly.

    This was not what Nefertari wanted to do in the first ce.

    If the word ¡°exploitation¡± was to be used, the source should be her teacher ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti.

    Strictly speaking, this could be regarded as an ¡°exploit¡±.

    To put it into perspective, it was like three people had a quarrel, and then they called the police to settle it.

    The only difference was that Annan did not have the obligation to settle the case.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m still interested in this matter, so it is not a problem.¡± Annan said so.

    To be more precise, he was somewhat interested in ¡°Professor Wolf¡±.

    Frederick was more or less the sinner of Austere-Winter. Attempting to control Winter¡¯s Hand was a capital offense. Moreover, ording to Annan¡¯s intuition, he might have some connection with the Winter Insurgent dmir.

    If Annan interfered from this point, he might figure out what happened back then and what was their current situation.

    Annan could seize this opportunity to eradicate them forever ¡ª the secrets.

    Annan¡¯s rtionship to the rest could be using them, but it happened mutually.

    The Man in the Mirror wanted Annan to interrupt Professor Wolf¡¯s ritual of stealing his ¡°mirror image¡± power.

    Bone Healer probably hoped that Annan could avenge his students.

    They probably knew long ago that the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡± could sever the fate essence and use it to attack themon enemy, Professor Wolf.

    On Annan¡¯s side, he also wanted to attack Professor Wolf. So the parties involved could also be regarded as having themon enemy ¡ª thus, temporary allies.

    Then, there was a problem.

    Why did Professor Wolf send Doreen to Annan¡¯s side?

    Doreen encountered ¡°Ghindaio¡± because of Professor Wolf.

    What was Professor Wolf hoping for?

    Could it be that he thought Annan would not kill him?

    He could not possibly think that Doreen could really kill Annan. Could he? No way?

    Or perhaps¡­

    ¡°Has his goal actually been achieved already?¡± Annan frowned slightly.

    He felt a little headache.

    These Idol Wizards were sly foxes.

    That¡¯s right. Human beings have desires which drive their actions. Whoever walks the path must leave traces.

    However, what these Idol Wizards wanted was really too abstract.

    Benjamin Pope passed the key and left.

    He obviously wanted Annan to take action against Professor Wolf, but he did not tell Annan any other information about ¡°Professor Wolf¡±.

    It was not so much that he was not willing to, or he did not want to¡­

    Annan vaguely felt that maybe only he could only do this.

    Professor Wolf might have some kind of curse that would be triggered as long as ¡°someone learns his information¡± or ¡°his secret is told by others¡±.

    ¡ªNing Yoshikage Kira [1[?

    Moreover, the key to entering this nightmare also surprised Annan.

    This made him more certain that he woulde here¡ªit must be based on the traction of ¡°fate¡±.

    ¡°I came to you because of this key¡­ One person cannot enter. The current information is seriously insufficient, and it is impossible to proceed to the next step of deduction.¡±

    Annan said to Nefertari seriously, ¡°I need your help, Nefertari.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so polite, your excellency. I came here originally to find out the truth. Obviously, you are the guest. You have nothing to do with any party. I am very embarrassed to involve you here.¡±

    Nefertari also responded seriously, ¡°So¡­ what is the key? We might as well set off immediately.¡±

    No, it actually has something to do with me.

    That¡¯s because I am Annan¡¤Austere-Winter. Professor Wolf and I have a direct feud¡­

    Annan muttered so in his heart.

    However, he did not say those words out.

    Because soon, Nefertari would find out.

    He just replied, ¡°The name of this nightmare is [Phantom Fever].

    ¡°The key to entering this nightmare is an Idol Wizard of Silver Rank, and a non-wizard profession who is not familiar with himself, [exchange three important enough secrets that the other party does not know at Cinder Barren].

    ¡°The key point is that these three secrets must be directly rted to themselves, cannot have ¡®weight¡¯, cannot refer to the same thing, cannot be a curse and must be able to endanger their own safety.¡±

    It was indeed a strange request.

    The condition could even be said to be harsh.

    However, the strange thing was that Annan could meet all the conditions.

    He was indeed unfamiliar with Nefertari¡­ Including this time, they had only met three times in total. Nefertari was indeed not a wizard even though she should have been a wizard in the first ce.

    When Annan was ¡°Ghindaio¡±, he could also be regarded as the Idol Wizard of Silver Rank.

    From this point of view, Annan was a little skeptical that Michngelo gave Annan the ¡°Ghindaio¡± curse just for this day.

    These three secrets were quite specific.

    If Annan did not want to silence the other party afterward through death, Annan could only tell three insignificant secrets. However, it has to be important enough¡ªthis was a paradox.

    However, it was notpletely unavoidable.

    As long as Annan told secrets that ¡°the other party will know sooner orter¡± or ¡°it would be better to let the other party know about it¡±, the loss suffered from leaking this information could be minimized.

    ¡°Let me start first.¡±

    When Nefertari frowned and thought, Annan said softly, ¡°Let me demonstrate¡­

    ¡°[I can gain power by killing my enemies].

    ¡°[Members of Secret Eye can be revived infinitely].

    ¡°And¡ª

    ¡°[My real name is Annan ¡¤ Austere-Winter].¡±

 Chapter 561: Annan Austere-Winterâ€™s Admirer

    <h4>Chapter 561: Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s Admirer</h4>

    ¡°¡­En?!¡± Nefertari was shocked when she heard this.

    Although the first two secrets werepletely unexpected for her, it was nothingpared to the shock brought to her from the third secret.

    ¡ªAnnan¡¤Austere-Winter?

    As a student of Bone Healer Seti, Nefertari certainly knew the name.

    She knew more about it than ordinary people.

    Annan was Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s favorite young son, the future Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, and the real inventor of the internalbustion engine.

    At the same time, he also had a close rtionship with several upright deities. ¡°The Loved One in the Cup¡±, ¡°The Blessed One of the Red of War¡±, ¡°The One Sheltered by the Venerated Skeleton¡±, ¡°The Silent One¡±, ¡°The Monster That Leaves No Trace¡±, and a candidate for a saint recognized by [Eye of Patience] , Old Grandmother¡¯s most beloved ¡°young dragon¡±.

    Annan was termed the most talented ritualist in history. Before soul purification, he had reached the pinnacle of a ritualist.

    This was absolutely impossible in theory.

    Ritualists were a group of people who only rely on ¡°wisdom¡±, ¡°perseverance¡± and ¡°luck¡± to obtain transcended power.

    The path of ritual was far more dangerous than the path of transcendence because the power they controlled was beyond their level. Any ritual failure would bring irreparable damage. This left the ritualist with no room for failure.

    Generally speaking, the strength of a ritualist depended on the highest level of ritual they were capable of controlling.

    Even the highest-level ritualist¡ªin other words, it did not mean that the ritualist, who could replicate the ¡°miracle of creation¡±, would not fail when performing low-level rituals.

    Whether it was being cursed with bad luck, trembling due to injury, being influenced in one¡¯s thinking¡­even including the inevitable end that ritualists must face.

    The soul of a mortal could afford an overburdened ult knowledge.

    The path of ritual itself was not entirely a ¡°craft of mortals¡±. At least when this path was first developed, the souls of its practitioners were not that weak. It waster that the Yasn people discovered that this path could allow people without transcended talent to use transcended power. That was why ritualists were popted to arge scale.

    During the Yasn Empire period, ¡°ritual¡± was even apulsory exam for the official transcender. Just like being good at using guns does not mean you won¡¯t need to practice close quarter fighting.

    However, the ritualist path lost the orthodox method of inheriting the knowledge after the empire was destroyed, the fall of the ¡°Great Sky Library¡± into the deep sea, and the demise of the elves. This led to the fragmentation and loopholes in the inheritance of most ritualists.

    Annan¡¤Austere-Winter, as the son of the Grand Duke, would of course receive a moreplete education than folk¡¯s ritual knowledge.

    Generally speaking, this kind of big shot would rather take the path of transcendence than the path of ritual. They would only know some rituals that they needed to use daily, and some rituals that could be used against themselves.

    Ritual was power that did not tolerate ¡°failure¡± at all.

    However, Annan was different.

    Before he became a transcender, he had already used the ¡°Creation¡± level ritual multiple times.

    Ritualists were not as hierarchical as transcenders. ¡°Amateur ritualists¡±, who only mastered high-level ult knowledge butck awareness of low-levelmon sense, were not umon.

    Ritual itself was divided into levels.

    Generally speaking, the levels of mysterious ritual were divided ording to the weight of ult knowledge as a ¡°key¡±.

    The heaviest knowledge was the ultimate secret at the beginning of the world, it would change the world as long as it was spoken. It was said that the reason ¡°ult knowledge¡± was ¡°knowledge that will be forgotten when spoken¡± and ¡°knowledge with power¡± was hidden in the secret of creation.

    Below that was the ¡°core knowledge¡± about the other world, which could also be called ¡°the Otherworldly level¡± knowledge. Whether it was the world beyond the dream world or the immaterial world, or other worlds that were not directly connected to the ¡°Mist World¡±, as long as it involved the knowledge of the nature of the world, its power was enough to destroy the sanity of mortals.

    For example, curse energy, the real Sage¡¯s Stone, the essence of dreams¡­ etc. These secrets about the nature of the world were beyond the reach of ordinary people. Nefertari only heard of their names. She did not dare to find out more about it or even think about it.

    As long as a person learned a few words about the other world, the person would keep falling into nightmares. It was even possible to conjure otherworldly beings in dreams.

    Further down was the knowledge before the Second Age. That was, knowledge about ¡°history¡±.

    The ult knowledge of those ancient deities was at this level, which was the highest level a mortal could bear. The knowledge was like the real names of the twelve upright deities and what they did before the Second Age.

    This level of knowledge had power just by reading it out. It could be used in ritual as a substitute for valuable material, and could also produce high level influence. If mortals carried too much of this knowledge, their souls could be destroyed by the weight of knowledge.

    For example, if a mortal learned the Old Grandmother¡¯s real name, he would often dream of the Austere-Winter snowstorm. When he woke up, the house would be covered with ice and snow. The subject would hear wolf howls that only he could hear more and more frequently. Once he left, he would never return.

    However, if a mortal learnt about Father Flint¡¯s secrets, the subject¡¯s quilts might burn on its own when he slept, and his creativity would gradually increase. asionally, there would be scorched marks on the skin as if struck by a hot hammer. There might even be a sudden explosion without warning, reducing the person to ashes.

    Only transcenders above Silver Rank could hold this mystery for a long time.

    Later on, after the Second Age, it involved the knowledge of ¡°Truth¡±. For example, the real names of the new deities such as the Paper Princess, the real names of the Book of Truth, and the secrets of the ancient deities after the Second Age.

    This level of knowledge, at most, could only produce illusions, auditory hallucinations, and phantom touch.

    Even an ordinary person could wield a considerable amount of this knowledge as long as their spirit was resilient enough, without worrying about whether their rationality would be destroyed.

    After the Second Age, information below the Truth no longer had ¡°mystery¡±.

    Thest knowledge was the ¡°false tome¡± derived from the above kind of knowledge, which was understood as a ¡°custom¡± by ordinary people in a second-hand use. For example, the secret about the funeral, the secret about the cksmith, the secret about the locksmith, they sounded like a made-up story, or a strange custom of some ce.

    Generally speaking, part of the ¡°Truth level¡± knowledge could be modified intentionally or unintentionally. It was indeed practiced as folklore in many ces. asionally, strange phenomena would appear.

    Except for a very small number of coincidences that ¡°just meet the ritual conditions¡±, most of the cases were just visual hallucinations or auditory hallucinations.

    Annan was obviously just an ordinary person.

    At most, he could only recognize Old Grandmother¡¯s real name.

    But ording to the rumors, he had indeed performed the ¡°Creation¡± level ritual.

    Since even Bone Healer Seti oncemented Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s ritual talent to his students, presumably that should be a real story.

    Nefertari had already graduated by then.

    She just went back to take a look.

    However, even with Seti¡¯s understanding and recognition of Nefertari, she was not even qualified to know the ritual¡¯s name.

    The reason being it was possible to deduce part of the mystery of creation from it as long as the subject knew the ritual¡¯s name. As a mortal soul, Nefertari would be severely injured from it.

    However, Annan, as a mortal, how did he perform the ritual?

    At that time, Nefertari wanted to ask.

    However, she was still timid and did not dare to talk back.

    However, since it is Annan ¡¤ Austere-Winter.

    That became unsurprising.

    Annan was a saint candidate, who had been noticed by the [Eye of Patience], two years ago.

    It was expected for Annan to be able to purify Sporeggar Mill;

    Annan was able to clear the erosion rate of his subordinates and revive them, and he did not exceed Nefertari¡¯s cognition.

    It was only natural that Annan would be the leader of the ancient organization, ¡°Secret Eye¡±.

    It became reasonable for Annan to be able to create a fake body and a pseudonym for himself;

    Now that Annan had embarked on the transcendence path, it became unsurprising for Nefertari that Annan could defect Silver Rank magics.

    Then, everything made sense.

    He was that Annan Austere-Winter¡­ You know?

    Nefertari felt no fear at once.

    With Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s ritual knowledge, he would have no problems in any nightmare. Anything Annan acquired in his hands could be used to arrange rituals. A casual word of ult knowledge at the Creation level could kill formidable enemies in a nightmare.

    I see.

    Then, there is nothing to be afraid of.

 Chapter 562: Nightmare: Phantom Fever

    <h4>Chapter 562: Nightmare: Phantom Fever</h4>

    Since ¡°Ghindaio¡± was Annan¡¤Austere-Winter, there was no need to maintain a barrier or keep information from him. It was best to be transparent and open with him.

    Nefertari was so smart. Of course, she guessed what kind of secret she wanted to choose ¡ª it had to look important enough, but it had better be the type that the other party would know sooner orter, or a secret that would not hurt if the other party knew it.

    So she pondered for a moment, and then revealed her three secrets:

    ¡°Firstly, I have one-eighth of elven blood in me. My grandmother¡¯s mother was an elf who survived from the Third Age;

    ¡°Secondly, my teacher ¡®Bone Healer¡¯ Seti lost his elemental power after repairing the sacred bone. That was why he chose to change the title;

    ¡°Thirdly¡­¡±

    When Nefertari said this, she paused slightly.

    She said slowly, ¡°Actually, I happen to be Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s admirer.¡±

    ¡­Huh?

    Hearing this, Annan froze for a moment.

    The key itself was considered ritual. To guarantee that it worked, Nefertari would not lie.

    Annan did not expect such a coincidence.

    Annan¡¯s heart suddenly moved.

    He wanted to know what kind of person he used to be.

    Why can I get close with so many upright deities?

    What was my personality before amnesia?

    As for the ¡°internalbustion engine¡± Annan once told Father Flint, did He create it?

    Where did he go in the past when he traveled around the world?

    This knowledge was something that Dmitri was unwilling to tell Annan.

    Just as Annan was about to ask, Annan hesitated.

    He did not tell Nefertari that he had lost his memory.

    With Nefertari¡¯s wisdom, if she knew that he was Annan¡¤Austere-Winter at the same time, and he had lost his memory, she was able to infer a great deal of truth.

    This felt like Annan made a loss.

    Annan did not know Nefertari that well after all.

    Annan could not guarantee that Nefertari would not leak his information.

    Thinking of this, Annan thought deeply.

    Perhaps this was the essence of this nightmare ¡°key¡±.

    If the other party held a secret that created the intention to kill, how would you choose?

    Is this why the ¡°Professor Wolf¡± killed the ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡±?

    Is it because ¡°you know too much¡±?

    This cause of death is too unoriginal and traditional, right?

    Is the truth really that simple?

    Just when Annan was thinking, he suddenly felt a strong drowsiness hit him.

    Annan felt groggy, and his consciousness became blurred.

    Relying on hisst sobriety, Annan found the sofa and sat down on it.

    Nefertari lost consciousness earlier than Annan.

    Before Nefertari could leave her seat, she passed out on the spot.

    Suddenly, Annan suddenly felt a burning heating from his body.

    It felt like the temperature of the skin suddenly started to rise. It was like being in a fire, scorching and boiling, and there was a burning sensation in the throat when breathing.

    If Annan¡¯s pain sensory had not been blocked, perhaps he would have felt severe pain.

    What happens to Nefertari¡­

    Annan felt that the surrounding temperature was still rising.

    Just as this thought came to Annan¡¯s mind, his vision turned into a quiet darkness at the next moment.

    The burning sensation dissipated without a trace. Instead, a phantom fever still radiated from Annan¡¯s skin.

    It felt like a wound burned by fire.

    Even if the me were removed, the wound itself would carry the lingering pain of being burned by the fire.

    [Dream key detected.]

    [The existence of dream key is detected: Exchange ¡°three secrets¡±]

    [Searching for nightmares with the keyword: ¡°secret¡±¡­]

    [The nightmare has been found.]

    [Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated¡­]

    [Detected that the current dungeon instance has a unique property: Reenactment]

    [The dungeon instance is being generated again¡­]

    [Dungeon instance difficulty is distorted. There is no limit to the entry count, but you need to get the dream key again.]

    [Current purification progress is 0/120.]

    [Squad total erosion rate is 31%. The dungeon instance difficulty rises by 31%. Nightmare mutation probability rises by 31%.]

    [Warning: Rted elements detected. The nightmare has been distorted¡ª]

    [This dungeon instance has no save point, and death does not increase erosion rate; after death, you will be forced to exit the dungeon instance.]

    [This dungeon instance provides a plot introduction and decryption rewards.]

    [Dungeon instance customs clearance reward: Get 5% of the adaptability of the element (Understanding)]

    [Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Element (Wisdom) awakening depth rises by 20%.]

    [Loadingplete.]

    ¡­En?

    Annan watched the countless streams of data flowing downward in front of him, and suddenly realized something was wrong.

    This seemed to be the first ¡°twisted¡± dungeon instance that had no failure penalty in his experience.

    Moreover, it was also the first nightmare that Annan experienced that could contribute adaptability to a new element to him.

    This was also one of the few nightmares that Annan enters with a party.

    In the ¡°Nightmare: The Great Hunt¡± he entered with Kafnist time, if it wasn¡¯t because the unique property of that nightmare was memory, it would definitely not produce distortion. Kafni¡¯s erosion rate alone was enough to push that nightmare into distortion level.

    Leaving that aside, how miserable was it to trigger the 31% probability? After all, the nightmare after the distortion level was basically equivalent to entering the ¡°B side¡±, and the difficulty would increase significantly.

    [TN: A CS:GO to enter the B bomb site. Usually goes with idiotic Rush B approach.]

    Also, if Annan remembered correctly, his own erosion rate seemed to be only about 2%.

    Nefertari is an ordinary person, why is her erosion rate so high?

    Not only was she unable to help this time, but it made it more difficult for Annan to clear the dungeon. You must know that ordinary people would not have a clear sense of self-awareness in nightmares. In other words, they would not realize that they were in a nightmare.

    Even if she realized it through Annan¡¯s reminder, she still could not maintain a clear mind. It was like being in a dream and realizing ¡°Oh, I seem to be dreaming¡±, but still unable to obtain a clear consciousness like waking up.

    This game. I¡¯m on a dual-queue to carry a girl.

    Nefertari is even my fangirl, even though that is my past self.

    While thinking wildly, Annan felt the phantom fever on his skin gradually dissipate.

    The familiar feeling of weightless falling gradually returned.

    Annan, who was suspended in the void, also felt that his body began to fall gradually¡­

    Immediately afterward, there was the typical introduction to any nightmare.

    However, this time Annan was surprised.

    He heard two very different words.

    A thick and steady voice said slowly on Annan¡¯s left side:

    ¡°A fleeting moment of anger. A neverending remorse.¡±

    At the same time, a gentle and elegant voice whispered softly on the right side of Annan:

    ¡°Life is the prison of death. Death is the hymn of life.¡±

    The next moment, Annan suddenly woke up.

    What appeared in front of him appeared arge face.

    It was very reassuring to look at.

 Chapter 563: Frederick And Justice

    <h4>Chapter 563: Frederick And Justice</h4>

    What a reassuring face.

    Without warning, this idea popped up in Annan¡¯s mind.

    In front of Annan was a ¡°ssic¡± face of a mercenary middle-aged man. A healthy gleam appeared on his dark brown skin, and his tea-colored pupils shone brilliance.

    This person¡¯s body was so robust that even when wearing a leather coat, the muscles on their shoulders could push the fabric outwards.

    The man¡¯s right hand supported Annan to get up. Annan did not even feel any pressure and was lifted up directly.

    The mercenary middle-aged man¡¯s forearm muscles were so strong that they felt like steel hinges as if they had to firmly lock the bones in ce. His palms were scorching hot, and even after he withdrew his right hand, Annan could feel a wave of heat steaming from his shoulder.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Watching Annan open his eyes, the corner of the man¡¯s mouth raised, ¡°You¡¯re awake.

    ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? How does the taste of ¡®Dragon¡¯s Drink¡¯ feel?¡±

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s not bad when paired with grilled meat. But please spare me from drinking it straight.¡±

    ¡°Annan¡± shook his head and spoke in a gentle voice.

    He found a ss of warm water from the table and gulped it down. His dry eyes finally felt some relief.

    At this moment, Annan immediately discerned that these were the two voices he had heard when he entered the nightmare.

    Could this be Frederick and Justice?

    Is the body I¡¯m using actually in the identity of Frederick?

    Annan thought at first that Frederick should be a boss here.

    However, speaking of it, if I am Frederick¡­

    So could the soul in Justice¡¯s body now be Miss Nefertari, who is unaware that she is in a dream?

    Annan did not think about what to say, but a tired-sounding voice came out of his mouth, ¡°¡­I¡¯m fine now.

    ¡°When I just finished drinking, I felt like someone was dancing in my head¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahahahahaha! Men have to drink strong alcohol!¡±

    The man let out a heartyugh, took out the jug tied around his waist, and raised his head to take a sip. Then, the man handed it to Annan, raised his eyebrows, and made a nasal sound as a gesture.

    ¡°Nah. Not for me. Forget it.¡±

    ¡°Annan¡± issued a series of unswerving and triple rejections in a gentle tone, ¡°I am also a wizard to some extent¡­ Please let me sober up.¡±

    ¡°Ahahahahaha! With me here, what are you afraid of!?¡±

    Hearing ¡°Annan¡±, the man justughed out loud.

    He grinned, reached out his right thumb, and picked out a heavy gold chain that looked like a mahjong tile from his neck, ¡°Look clearly, Freder¡ªit¡¯s gold now! I¡¯m not the same now as before. Do you know what it means to be fearless?!

    [TN: Freder is an abbreviation of Frederick.]

    ¡°Right. Even if you fall into the magma, you will never die!¡±

    He seemed to pronounce some sort of nickname for Frederick.

    Afterughing, the man suspected of ¡°Justice¡± raised his head and took another sip of the strong liquor.

    Annan still could not control his actions and words.

    However, he was only able to adjust his gaze.

    He noticed that there seemed to be something written on the ¡°card¡± on the heavy gold chain. It appeared to be densely packed with short text¡­ However, when Annan nced at it, he couldn¡¯t make out what was written on it.

    ¡°Ha¡­¡±

    ¡°Annan¡± sighed deeply and helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s all good, but let¡¯s forget about the wine.

    ¡°When this thing falls on the skin, it will feel a burning pain. How did you drink it? The alcohol is so strong that it is already poisonous.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s poison. You can treat it that way.¡±

    The man unscrewed the wine bottle nonchntly and stuffed it into his waist, ¡°But don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already transferred all the poison you took back to me.

    ¡°This is the magic wine that can make dragons drunk¡­ It¡¯s a good thing you can¡¯t find it outside. It¡¯s a rare experience to drink this thing and not die.¡±

    The man said and sat down beside Annan.

    He used his forearm to mp Annan¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Hey, Freder. You are a busy person. I don¡¯t get to see you many times. It¡¯s a rare opportunity. Do you want to try suicide?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Freder¡± and the Annan in his heart eximed confusedly in unison.

    ¡°Let me tell you. I can even reverse death now.¡±

    The man patted his chest and made a sound like metal shing.

    He spoke in a low and proud voice, ¡°It would be great if I was so strong back then. Ingrid, she¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªJustice.¡±

    ¡°Annan¡± spoke suddenly, interrupting Justice¡¯s words and confirming that Annan¡¯s guess was correct, ¡°Before you drink too much, tell me about the mission goal first.

    ¡°You brought me to Cinder Barren, so what do you want me to find for you? I can¡¯t find it if it¡¯s buried under volcanic rock.¡±

    He rubbed his temples and said in annoyance, ¡°I¡¯m busy, Justice¡­ unless it¡¯s a ¡®lost item¡¯ with clues. I don¡¯t want it to be a treasure that can¡¯t be found in a short while.

    ¡°In three days, I have to return to the family to participate in the next ritual cycle. If you are not in a hurry, I wille to you next week?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t overdrink¡­¡±

    Justice muttered in a low voice and patted ¡°Annan¡± on the shoulder hard, making him feel a tinge of pain, ¡°I won¡¯t dy your things. It¡¯s a simple job, and I won¡¯t let you do it for nothing. You will be rewarded ordingly.

    ¡°But before that, you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.¡±

    Justice said, reaching out and groping in his arms.

    ¡°Annan¡± stared at Justice.

    After about three or four seconds, the high-spirited and confident expression on Justice¡¯s face became a little embarrassed, ¡°Hey? Wait¡­Maybe I fell downstairs when I was drinking yesterday. Maybe I didn¡¯t bring it¡­ Don¡¯t panic. You rest first. I¡¯ll look for a contract¡ªoh, I can order lunch. What do you want?¡±

    Justice¡¯s tone was casual.

    ¡°Annan¡± sighed and said casually.

    ¡°Searedmb with ck pepper pesto¡­ Don¡¯t bring me wine. I want a ss of orange juice. It¡¯s better to be iced.¡±

    ¡°Understood, ck pepper steak and¡ª I don¡¯t want orange juice. Let us each take a step back. How about orange wine?¡±

    Seeing ¡°Annan¡±¡®s expression, Justice raised his eyebrows and grinned happily, ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Don¡¯t mind me. Searedmb with ck pepper and pesto and iced orange juice. I remember it very clearly.

    ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t move around. You can also read the newspaper in the room. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    After saying that, Justice left the room without a word.

    The scenes so far had beenpletely out of control. It should be regarded as the opening CG part.

    After Justice left, Annan¡¯s body was finally able to move freely.

    The next moment, the introductory plot of this dungeon instance just appeared in front of his eyes.

 Chapter 564: Sudden Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 564: Sudden Disappearance</h4>

    [Frederick was invited to Cinder Barren by his former friend ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± Justice, intending to use the object-finding spell to help his friendplete a difficult mission.]

    [¡ªThe development of the original story should have gone this way.]

    [Frederick had the feeling that Justice was seemingly hiding something from him. He trusted his intuition of being an Idol Wizard, drank the magic wine that would make him unconscious, and used the power of the wine to steal Justice¡¯s mission contract from his dream.]

    [But Frederick, he would prefer not to have read that contract¡ª]

    [The initiator of this contract was called ¡°Trisino¡±. If it was just a simple name, it only hinted that he appeared to be a person from the United Kingdom. However, coupled with the feather pen imprint on the contract¡­ As the future sessor of the Melvin Family, Frederick already recognized this person.]

    [The true identity of ¡°Trisino¡± was unknown to the public. However, the ritual could identify him as the pope of the Deity of Murder and Conspiracy ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±.]

    [In the contract, it was specified that Justice should bring an Idol Wizard to Cinder Barren. When the star reached the designated position, the Idol Wizard staying here would sense the iplete ¡°dream essence¡±. The conspirator could get the essence of the unfinished dream from it.]

    [ording to the contract, the sunset that day was the moment the stars reached the desired position. Frederick did not know what the ¡°interval between dreams¡± was, and he did not know what the ¡°dream essence¡± was. However, he knew that the contract initiated by ¡°Trisino¡± must have ill intentions.]

    [When Frederick and Justice parted, Frederick had a big fight with Justice because of another person. However, Frederick still hoped that he could protect his impulsive and stupid friend from the conspiracy brewed by Tragedy Writer.]

    [Or perhaps, it was a former friend.]

    The plot introduction made Annan blink in surprise.

    This situation was somewhat different from what he knew.

    In Annan¡¯s knowledge, it seemed that Frederick had deceived Justice. He dedicated his friend Justice as a sacrifice to the Tragic Writer.

    However, judging from the hints of this nightmare, it appeared that Frederick did not know anything about it.

    He even wanted to save Justice from the Tragedy Writer.

    However, Justice¡­

    The man looked different from what Annan had heard from Nefertari in the first ce.

    ording to Nefertari, Justice was a calm and reliable Protector.

    However, based on what Annan saw with his own eyes just now, the arrogance and the self-centeredness in Justice¡¯s words were quite obvious. Justice was not as calm and reliable as the rumors said, and he was even a little irritable¡­ and a little prideful.

    Moreover¡­

    What is ¡°the dream essence¡±?

    And who is ¡°Trisino¡±?

    Why have I never heard of this name?

    ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡±

    Everything Annan saw in the nightmare did not match the information he had collected in advance from the outside world. This made him a little confused.

    Following Justice¡¯s previous words, he got up from the sofa and prepared to investigate Justice¡¯s room.

    He noticed that most of the stuff in Justice¡¯s room was in newspapers.

    The newspapers were on the wall, table, and cab. Justice stored newspapers of almost all years and publications. He could be regarded as a loyal fan of the newspaper¡­

    After all, in this era, the price of newspapers was far from cheap. It was expensive to collect them all. A considerable part of Justice¡¯s ie should be used to buy newspapers from various countries.

    It was almost like obsessivepulsive disorder.

    Or was Justice a collector of newspapers?

    ¡°¡­Huh?¡°

    Annan eximed.

    Relying on his keen observation skills, Annan quickly discovered that the newspapers on the wall all had some kind ofmonality.

    These newspapers either mentioned Justice ¨C and whoever mentioned him must praise his outstanding contribution, or they mentioned ¡°Gray Professor¡± Seti and his other students.

    Looking around, Annan could even see more than twenty ¡°Portraits of Justice¡±. It was usually on the newspaper¡¯s front page, drawn by a painter hired by the newspaper.

    Although what Justice did was indeed remarkable.

    It was too narcissistic.

    This was so abnormal that Annan couldn¡¯t help wondering whether this strange behavior was rted to his curse.

    ¡ªBut what curse would make people buy newspapers continuously? You also had to post all the news rted to yourself on the bedroom wall so that you could read it at any time.

    Before Annan could get to see more, Justice rushed back suddenly.

    ¡°¡­Something went wrong, Freder.¡±

    The robust ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± looked a little serious.

    Only when his face was solemn could Annan vaguely see a shadow of Nefertari.

    Annan also quickly put on a straight face, continuing to y the role of Frederick, trying to get more words out of Justice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Could it be¡­ that your contract was lost?

    ¡°Speaking of which, where¡¯s my lunch?¡±

    He imitated Frederick¡¯s tone, nced at Justice, and asked leisurely.

    ¡°¡ªAmong other things, you¡¯re sure to miss lunch.¡±

    Justice said, grabbing Frederick¡¯s right forearm, and said in a low voice, ¡°Come and see¡ª¡±

    With that said, Justice dragged Annan out of the house.

    The house looked like a donut¡ªthey were on the second floor, and the rest area on the first floor could be seen in the middle of a circle of houses.

    But at this moment, there was no one in the rest area. The chairs and tables were messy.

    Annan and Justice exchanged nces and walked quickly down the spiral staircase without saying a word.

    On closer inspection, Annan noticed ¨C the six round tables in the lounge area were scattered randomly, with two to five chairs surrounding the round table.

    Some round tables still had untouched tea, which was still warm; some round tables had some cards on them. However, Annan nced at the cards and quickly counted the number of cards before realizing that half of the cards were gone.

    It was like someone just poured a cup of tea and left directly.

    It was like a group of people ying cards halfway through and then running away with the ¡°cards in hand¡±.

    Annan walked over and touched the seat. There was no warmth anymore.

    ¡°Look here, Freder.¡±

    Justice pointed to the front desk.

    Annan looked over and subconsciously took a few steps forward.

    His eyes suddenly became sharper.

    The drawer at the front desk was opened, and it was full of money. No one has touched it¡­ The ount book was ced on the table, opened, and even half-written, but the pen was missing.

    [201, Smoked salmon¡ª]

    This was thest line left on the ledger.

    It seemed that the guest in Room 201 ordered smoked salmon, and then the front desk took the money and recorded the purchase at the same time. Then, before the order was jotted downpletely, the person suddenly disappeared¡ªeven the pen he was holding disappeared along with him.

    This¡­ hotel? Not really a hotel, but Justice obviously stays here for a long time.

    In short, not long ago¡ªmaybe an hour or half an hour ago, all the people here suddenly disappeared from the world.

 Chapter 565: Misplaced Secret

    <h4>Chapter 565: Misced Secret</h4>

    This is strange.

    Annan¡¯s keen intuition alerted him that everything in front of him revealed a strange and inexplicable sense of disharmony.

    The citizens disappeared without warning.

    Together with everything they carried, they disappeared from the world simultaneously.

    Is this the effect of nightmare distortion?

    ¡°Is it the same outside?¡±

    Annan whispered to Justice.

    Although no one was around, he subconsciously lowered his voice in this eerie silence.

    The robust Justice nodded solemnly.

    ¡°I just went outside to take a look. At least there is no one in the street¡­ or in the store next door.¡±

    Justice pointed to the second floor: ¡°I went to Room 201 to take a look, and when I knocked on the door, there was no response.

    ¡°What do you think, Freder?¡±

    Justice also did not know much about the situation and was a little nervous.

    Justice lowered his head to look at Annan and asked Annan for advice earnestly, ¡°Shall we¡­ break in and take a look?¡±

    ¡°How about you?¡±

    Annan asked back, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I wonder now¡­ is this a [nightmare]?¡±

    Justice frowned slightly.

    As a mercenary in the underground city, he encountered many major events.

    When encountering such a weird situation without any clue, his first reaction was, ¡°Could this be a distorted nightmare world?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d better identify each other¡¯s identity first, Freder.¡±

    Justice stared at Annan and said slowly, ¡°The three secrets we exchanged back then¡­ Do you still remember?¡±

    ¡­Is that thing originally used here?

    Annan suddenly realized.

    But he soon became worried again.

    Annan couldn¡¯t know the three secrets of Justice.

    However, it was not Nefertari, who entered the nightmare with Annan, who controlled Justice¡¯s body.

    It was good and bad at the same time.

    Since Nefertari, as a mortal, could not stay awake in a dream, the Justice right now could be regarded as the Justice in history. With that, Annan could dig up information from Justice, and it would be helpful to clear the dungeon.

    However, at the same time, it also meant that this turned a ¡°teammate controble character¡± into an uncontroble NPC.

    If Annan could not answer this question, Annan¡¯s ¡°first live¡± in this dungeon would be over.

    When Justice patted Annan¡¯s shoulder previously, Annan felt a tinge of pain.

    If Annan¡¯s guess was correct, Justice might have broke his shoulder de. Still, Justice immediately shifted the injury back on himself.

    It seemed Justice did not need to exert any transcended power on Annan.

    Frederick¡¯s body was simply too fragile.

    Frederick did not have any level in the melee profession at all. Most likely, he had no physical training and a poor constitution. At this distance, Annan suspected that as long as Justice pped him lightly, Annan would be dead on the spot with his head turning into a propeller.

    However, in the face of this dead-end, Annan did not show any panic.

    Annan¡¯s pupils had no hesitation or fear, and he just replied calmly, ¡°Of course, I remember¡­how did we get here?¡±

    ¡°Each person says one thing. In the first round, you say your own secret; in the second round, you say the other person¡¯s secret to prevent deception. Then leave one round, just in case. If it matches, it means this is not a nightmare¡­ or the person who entered the nightmare is not you or me.¡±

    Justice said slowly, ¡°Who starts first?¡±

    Annan replied calmly, ¡°You first.¡±

    Annan suddenly realized why the feature of this nightmare was the same ¡°reenactment¡± characteristic as ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±.

    The reenactment characteristic of the nightmare would cause amnesia after death. It was like actually having a dream¡­ After waking up, you would only be left with a vague memory.

    If its unique property was not ¡°reenactment¡±, then the person who entered this nightmare could repeat this event sequence for several rounds to empty out all the secrets of Justice or Frederick.

    Conversely, since this event sequence was here, it could be understood as the dungeon challenger would not die here.

    Nightmares must have an ending, and they could definitely be purified. Like in Mario Maker, no matter how difficult a level was, you must pass it once before you could upload it.

    There was no such thing as a nightmare that could not be purified because that meant that the world within the nightmare would never end. In other words, it would be a ¡°file¡± with an infinite volume. This itself was a bug.

    Even a sinister nightmare like Sporeggar Mill, whose purpose was to kill the purifiers, had the right path to resolve the nightmare after all.

    Where Sporeggar Mill was viinous was in its deceptive difficulty.

    It was not that defeating the nightmare was hard. Instead, as a nightmare at the difficulty of distortion, itbeled itself as hard difficulty. The death penalty was extremely severe. This would lead to ack of information for those who conquer this nightmare.

    The nightmare could only be cleared once, considering that ¡°someone might purify this nightmare¡±. Therefore, the actual secret would stay hidden, and the nightmare would be automatically destroyed as long as it was cleared once. It was like a safe that would self-destruct once opened.

    If Sporeggar Mill could really be unsolvable, then there was no need for the spider to set up this ¡°nightmare with only one drop of blood¡± at all.

    Since you can prepare to run away, it means that you are not 100% confident.

    However, looking at it now, with Frederick¡¯s Constitution¡­ it was absolutely impossible for him to outrun Justice. Therefore, the only chance to escape should be when Frederick leaves the house.

    However, the chance was slim.

    Once the chase started, it was just too hard to run away from a Gold Rank transcender in a deserted city.

    As a matter of fact, even though Justice was apparent with his ¡°main tank¡± role, Justice¡¯s profession was lurker when he was in Bronze Rank.

    Therefore, this event sequence should be a necessary plot point ¨C an inescapable dialogue¡­

    Where is my chance to survive?

    ¡°First, I have an intense desire to kill,¡± Justice said slowly.

    Annan frowned.

    Is the Protector, known as the ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡±, a born killer?

    That was indeed a secret that Annan did not expect.

    But how should I respond?

    Looking into Justice¡¯s eyes, Annan said slowly: ¡°[I can gain power by killing enemies].¡±

    This was the secret that Annan exchanged with Nefertari from the outside before entering the nightmare.

    However, it was definitely not Frederick¡¯s secret.

    Strangely enough, facing this secret, Justice felt no sense of disharmony.

    ¡°Second,¡± Justice said slowly, ¡°You, Frederick¡­ and Ingrid are secret lovers.¡±

    ¡ªIngrid.

    This was the second time Annan had heard the name.

    It was supposed to be a girl¡¯s name.

    In the CG just now, when Justice was bragging about his strength, he identally mentioned this name. However, Frederick quickly cut it off.

    It seems like¡­

    Is this girl dead?

    The three of them used to be in the 7th ss, right? A typical love triangle rtionship between two bros and a girl¡­ Then, did the girl just suddenly dies?

    Annan was thinking quickly in his mind, but his expression remained unchanged.

    ¡°Secondly, your teacher, Bone Healer¡¯ Seti, lost the power of elements after repairing the sacred bone.¡±

    Annan slowly spoke the second secret that Nefertari gave him.

    Oddly enough, it still met Justice¡¯s requirements.

    It was as if Justice didn¡¯t hear Annan¡¯s words. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his gaze at Annan immediately rxed.

    ¡°Now, at least the possibility that one of us is the purifier of the nightmare can be ruled out. We are still ourselves.¡±

    ¡ªNonsense, because we are both purifiers of nightmares, but you have fucking amnesia.

    Annan said silently in his heart.

    However, Annan only showed an expression of approval on his face, ¡°But there is still the possibility of ¡®this is a nightmare world¡¯.

    ¡°To be safe, I suggest not treating it as a nightmare to avoid unnecessary injuries.¡±

    ¡°Rx, Freder.¡±

    Justice disagreed, ¡°With me, you won¡¯t get hurt.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find out. What kind of conspiracy is all this?¡±

    After Justice finished speaking, he no longer hesitated.

    Justic walked straight out.

    Annan watched his back and followed him silently.

    ¡ªIt¡¯s not an illusion.

    Annan confirmed in his heart.

    Although Justice hid it well, the anger in his heart suddenly rose at that moment¡ªas if he was irritated by something.

    However, Annan obviously didn¡¯t say anything wrong.

    Could it be what he said?

    ¡­Could it be that you thought of Ingrid?

    The lesser I express myself, the lesser mistakes there will be.

    Annan didn¡¯t say a word but pulled down the hood behind him to cover half of his face.

    I have to y it by ear this time.

 Chapter 566: The Wise Has No Feelings

    <h4>Chapter 566: The Wise Has No Feelings</h4>

    There wasn¡¯t much to uncover from Justice¡¯s temporary stronghold.

    It was a circr cake-like structure resembling a crown. Annan had also seen it in the coal-ravaged wastnd more than a decadeter.

    This structure was called a stronghold, and it was a popr architectural form in underground cities.

    The entrance on the first floor was the front desk and the lounge. The lounge had seven doors leading directly to the kitchen, the storage room upying two rooms, the power room, and four living spaces. After going up the circr stairs on both sides, there were eight more rooms on the second floor, summing up to 12 living spaces.

    Generally, this type of stronghold was typicallyid down first in barrennds where it was unclear whether a city would be built or if anyone woulde.

    This building with multifunctional capabilities was not a priority for demolition and could be ced anywhere. Even if there were more residents in the future, it could be converted into a bar, hotel, shop, warehouse, dormitory, or safe house.

    This could be regarded as the initial ¡°poption building¡±.

    Installing six of them was enough to amodate the people for the pioneering stage.

    Generally speaking, the higher the proportion of strongholds in a city, the lower the development level of the city.

    After Annan followed Justice out of the stronghold, he saw the deste street.

    Compared with Cinder Barren more than ten yearster, this ce might not even upy a tenth of the area. It was not so much a city but a settlement in the wilderness¡­ like a seedy western town.

    Even the sky was not as bright as it should be. This was because the luminescent ant corpses here were not thick enough to form ayer that could glow for a long time.

    The ground here was dark brown, like theva had dried up. There were only three streets, with two horizontal and one vertical. The building count was so little that it could be counted with two hands.

    The streets were empty at the moment. There was nothing but Annan¡ªno people, insects, monsters, or even the wind. It was so quiet.

    ¡°Looking at the furnishings in your room. You should have been here not long ago.¡±

    Annan frowned, then turned to look at Justice, ¡°Is Cinder Barren usually this quiet?¡±

    ¡°How can that be?¡±

    Justice frowned, ¡°Before this ce was flooded byva, it was a famous gold and coal mine. Later,va flooded and destroyed the city because of the workers¡¯ mistakes as they dug through the leylines.

    ¡°You may not know, but right above here is the furnace mountain in the St. Felix province.¡±

    ¡°I remember that Furnace Mountain is an active volcano.¡±

    Annan raised an eyebrow.

    Of course, Annan knew the name.

    Frederick, being an Austerian, should know that too.

    Furnace Mountain was one of the few mountains in the Austere-Winter Dukedom that was not entirely covered by snow. It was also the gambling ce for those driven out of the city. A windbreak cave left by the people.

    Inside Furnace Mountain¡¯s caves, the natural underfloor heating could melt snow to obtain fresh water. People could also cook meat and boil water inside the caves. Even in winter year, people could survivefortably. In the harvest year, Furnace Mountain was a famous hot spring resort in the Winter Kingdom.

    The only problem was that Furnace Mountain was not a dormant volcano but an active volcano that had always been active. This was why there were no cities near Furnace Mountain.

    ¡°When Furnace Mountain is about to erupt, Storm Tower will be responsible for suppressing it. But this only dys the eruption time and provides time for residents in nearby towns to evacuate. The Furnace Mountain still maintains its regr eruption cycle of about once every 15 to 20 years.¡±

    Justice sneered, ¡°Otherwise, where do you think the magma suppressed by the Storm Tower went?

    ¡°¡ªCinder Barren. That¡¯s how it was destroyed.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s been rebuilt now.¡±

    Annan said calmly.

    He walked slowly and warily down the street with Justice, not too far away from his reliable teammate.

    Justice¡¯s sharp eyes were also scanning around.

    While looking for abnormalities around him, Justice sneered, ¡°Who made it produce gold?

    ¡°Compared with human life, the Digger and the Wise think the gold here is more valuable. So there is an investigation report¡­ The report shows that the probability of another volcano eruption near Cinder Barren is extremely low, and it is rmended to resume prospecting operations.¡±

    ¡°Extremely low?¡±

    ¡°Extremely low ¡ª of course, it is extremely low. Before this ce was turned into ¡®Cinder Barren¡¯ and when it was still called ¡®ck Gold Field¡¯, the previous safety report was marked as ¡®safe.¡¯ If it weren¡¯t for the Storm Tower¡¯s intervention, there would never have been an ident¡­ but who can say for sure?¡±

    Justice chuckled, took out the gon from his waist, and took another sip.

    He muttered in a low voice, ¡°When the volcano is about to erupt, Austerian can¡¯t notify us in advance that the volcano is about to erupt, and we will let Storm Tower take action.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t have the time.¡± Annan said softly.

    Justice sneered silently, ¡°Even if Austerian had this time, the Wise Council wouldn¡¯t notify us. The Wise has no feelings.

    ¡°That¡¯s because the cost of disaster relief is too high.

    ¡°If they knew that this ce might be destroyed at any time, it would be impossible to send a mercenary group in and lead the residents to evacuate. That¡¯s because confidential information like this is illegal. If you disclose this information to the mercenary group, you will have to pay more.

    ¡°No one knows what the scale of the disaster will be. Will the leylines copse? Will the mining area be destroyed? Willva flow in, and if so, how much will it flow in? Will it destroy towns? Or will it just fill up the ground? Or will it flood the city together?

    ¡°If they rescue, they have to save everyone. It¡¯s too costly. At the same time, if the disaster is not serious, then the mine owners and miners will be the first toin about ¡®making a big deal out of a molehill¡¯.

    ¡°Because the evacuation operation seriously dyed their work process. It may even lead to their equipment being stolen, vandalized, or damaged by the disaster.

    ¡°Those smart people in the Wise Council will not do this. If Austerian issued a warning, they would not pass it on. They may even send mercenaries to push back those who escaped¡ªespecially the mine owner.

    ¡°In this way, the ¡®mining license¡¯ sold by this city can be sold again. Since the mine owner is also dead, there will be nopensation. Everything is just an ident, then no one can sue them, and that will be the end of the matter.¡±

    Justiceined non-stop.

    His words were full of sarcasm and untraceable hatred.

    Annan paused.

    Annan decided to take a risk.

    So Annan said slowly, ¡°You still can¡¯t forget Ingrid.¡±

    Hearing this, Justice turned around and stared at Annan behind him.

    Annan didn¡¯t meet his gaze.

    Instead, he continued to move forward with a nk expression.

    As Justin was much taller than Frederick, the hood pulled down by Annan covered most of his expression, making it difficult to gauge his emotions.

    After a while, Justice followed up.

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±

    Justice whispered, his tone unusually calm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make them pay sooner orter¡­¡±

 Chapter 567: Gap Between Dreams

    <h4>Chapter 567: Gap Between Dreams</h4>

    Hmph, I still manage to probe something out of Justice.

    In the ¡°Three Secrets¡± ritual, the holder of the name ¡°Ingrid¡± was in a secret rtionship with ¡°Frederick¡±.

    Then, Ingrid seemed to die because of something behind it.

    On the other hand, Justice had a crush on her.

    ¡­So this is not the 7th ss [1], but the Minato ss [2]?

    ¡ªAre you Brother Obito [3] now?

    However, depending on the situation, at least ¡°Lin¡± was not killed by ¡°Kakashi¡±. Otherwise, Justice probably wouldn¡¯t be so polite to Frederick.

    Why, though, secret lover?

    Annan frowned slightly.

    Is it because of the Melvin family?

    As a member of the Melvin Family, especially the famously talented youth, he was second only to the direct blood of Eugene Melvin in the queue of seeding in the position of ¡°the Divine of the World¡±.

    Frederick¡¯s marital problems were not something Annan could decide on his own.

    In Annan¡¯s understanding, the Melvin family was a pure-blooded wizard. All people with the surname Melvin would undergo a talent test before they were born. Without wizard talent, the baby would be aborted. The Melvin family would only marry other wizards and continue the purification of the Melvin family¡¯s bloodline.

    Girls who married into the family and boys who joined through marriage were almost certain to give birth to wizards in the next generation. As long as they received the proper education and did not fall victim to nightmares or excessive erosion that disrupted their promotion and evolution, they would inevitably advance to the Silver Rank.

    Annan had seen the most outstanding achievement of the Melvin family in Nightmare: White Tower, Eugene Melvin.

    Eugene was the first to discover that ¡°Master Michngelo might not have died in the White Tower¡±. He even found out from the very beginning that Michngelo, as the tower master, could actually leave the wizard tower.

    Michngelo even had tomunicate with Eugene Melvin in advance to let him enter this ritual. At that time, Annan thought that it was because Michngelo was afraid of Eugene that he killed Eugene. The purpose was to prevent his ascendancy ritual from being disturbed.

    Indeed, Eugene Melvin of the Silver Rank was capable of interfering with this ritual that had spanned several years.

    However, in hindsight, Eugene might have volunteered to work with the Man in the Mirror.

    Michngelo could not really kill Eugene without using spells. This was undoubtedly an extremely risky and low-return move to make, but Eugene Melvin did die.

    But as the next head of the Melvin Family, wouldn¡¯t this incur the wraith of the Melvin Family?

    How could that be possible?

    Adding on to the oddities of Frederick, whether it was the mission introduction or Justice¡¯s words, Annan could infer that Frederick knew nothing about the Tragedy Writer and was not interested.

    How could such a person be the ¡°Professor Wolf¡±, who troubled the Austere-Winter Dukedom?

    There was a sense of incongruity in this nightmare.

    It was like Annan had forgotten something important.

    However, Annan couldn¡¯t recall it.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Annan said softly.

    At this moment, Annan¡¯s footsteps stopped abruptly.

    The surrounding gradually fogged up.

    Justice also stopped immediately. He raised his right arm to signal Annan to hide behind him.

    This fog is outrageous.

    Annan thought.

    ¡ªI¡¯m afraid there will be a boss.

    Annan raised his hand, lightly patted Justice¡¯s back, and hid his figure behind Justice.

    Or, to be more precise, due to the significant height difference between the two, the ce Annan patted was from a position close to Justin¡¯s waist after getting closer to Justice.

    ¡°Anyone here?¡±

    The Shield of Unfallen, Justice asked softly.

    His left hand silently held the throwing axe at his waist¡ªyes, his weapon was not a shield, but an axe.

    ¡°Careful.¡± Annan whispered.

    He saw a red figure appearing about eighty meters away.

    Yes, the figure was red and bright¡ª

    The figure was marked by his curse ¡°angel¡¯s left eye¡±, a tall red figure.

    [Angel¡¯s Left Eye: It should be attached to the left eye socket. There is no cost to maintaining the magic effect. The equipment cannot be removed.]

    [When someone is about to betray you, he will be highlighted immediately in your field of vision and disyed through obstacles (so this effect can be used without opening the left eye)]

    Annan whispered, ¡°Protect me.¡±

    Fortunately, the hood covered his expression, so Annan¡¯splicated expression was not seen by Justice.

    That was because Annan saw it clearly.

    Opposite him, the enemy who triggered the curse ¡°angel¡¯s left eye¡±.

    His figure was exactly the same as that of Justice standing beside him.

    The next moment, a scorching red spinning axe was hurled over at a forty-five-degree angle in the air.

    Like a sh of lightning, the axe swung past Justin at the front, approaching Annan¡¯s head in the blink of an eye.

    Sure enough, the boss is Justice. I have guessed it right.

    This was the first thought that came to Annan¡¯s mind.

    ¡ªThis Main Tank is trash.

    This thought came to Annan¡¯s mind when he saw that Justice hadn¡¯t reacted at all¡ªor rather, as if he hadn¡¯t seen the axe.

    This axe smelled like wine.

    This was thest thought that came into Annan¡¯s mind as the throwing axe got closer.

    There wasn¡¯t any pain.

    However, Annan¡¯s visions suddenly went dark when the axe approached his eyes.

    ¡°Um?¡± Annan sighed, and he slowly opened his eyes.

    He did not die.

    When Annan opened his eyes, he noticed he was sitting at the table. It was just like when he was in school. With his arms folded on the table, he fell asleep lying on his arms.

    Annan could even see red marks printed on his arms.

    This slender arm looked like that of an underage person.

    Annan raised his head and looked around.

    This ce seemed to be a library, but it was not huge¡­ at least not as big as Swamp¡¯s ck Tower. There were also some people around him, all young people in their teenage years.

    Behind Annan was a girl with long dark blue hair who hurried over.

    Noticing that Annan woke up, she asked in a clear and joyful voice in disbelief,

    ¡°Freder? You¡¯re awake!¡±

    The girl looked no more than 14 years old.

    She looked at Annan with a concerned expression, even a hint of admiration.

    Is she Ingrid?

    ¡°Ingrid?¡± Annan pretended to be sleepy, rubbed his eyes, and asked subconsciously.

    ¡°That¡¯s brilliant, Freder!¡±

    In response to Annan¡¯s probing attempt, Ingrid did not take any strange actions.

    She lowered her voice and eximed, ¡°You actually woke up from a nightmare by yourself!¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m lucky¡­¡± Annan grunted.

    His heart moved.

    Nightmare¡­ What nightmare?

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you find the professor to seek help, and the professor wille over in a while. You have to exin to him that you fell into a nightmare.¡± Ingrid said bitterly to Annan.

    Before ¡°Frederick¡± could respond, he heard a rather energetic voice, ¡°¡ªFreder!¡±

    Following the gaze, Annan noticed a hedgehog-haired teenager who appeared to be about 17 years old.

    He stepped forward and happily patted Annan on the shoulder, ¡°I knew you bastard is fine!¡±

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±

    At this moment, Annan suddenly felt a slight pain in his shoulder. This was a pain that was even filtered through Annan¡¯s curse.

    The familiar spot made Annan recognize him immediately.

    Is this Justice?

    ¡°Justice, what are you doing!?¡±

    Seeing Annan suddenly let out a cry of pain, Ingrid looked at Justice with dissatisfaction, ¡°Be mindful!¡±

    ¡°Ah, sorry, Freder! I¡¯m just too excited.¡±

    Young Justice touched the back of his head shyly and embarrassingly, and then his eyes lit up, ¡°Let me treat you to barbecue, Freder!

    ¡°I heard that a batch of high-quality beef from the Papal Kingdom has recently arrived. I have wanted to try it for a long time! So let the three of us go together!¡±

    ¡°Ah, then you both enjoy yourself.¡±

    Hearing that it was about eating meat, Ingrid was a little tempted, but she rejected it, ¡°I don¡¯t like eating meat very much.¡±

    This is a lie.

    Annan captured her thoughts keenly.

    Are you afraid of getting fat?

    Annan took a deep breath and looked down at the books before him.

    There were inscriptions in dark gold letters on the dark, stone-like tome.

    The book¡¯s title was the ¡°Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡±.

    Dream?

    A noun suddenly appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    The gap between dreams!

 Chapter 568: â€œPraise The Name Of The Divine Transporterâ€

    <h4>Chapter 568: ¡°Praise The Name Of The Divine Transporter¡±</h4>

    Just by looking at the pages with jade and stone texture, Annan guessed that this was probably an original work.

    Just looking at the cover, Annan felt a heavy weight in his brain. It was like a sore muscle after a workout.

    Of course, Annan also felt this feeling before.

    After reading the original scripture for some time, Annan would also experience simr feelings.

    It was like feeling nauseous when seeing delicious food after being stuffed. In fact, this was a warning from the brain to the body, indicating ¡®no more food¡¯. Otherwise, the body would be stuffed to death like a goldfish.

    This could also be understood as the ¡°cooldown time¡± toprehend the original scripture.

    The previous Frederick should have read the book ¡°The Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡±, passed out, and entered a nightmare.

    Could it be Frederick¡¯s prophetic dream?

    Annan pondered.

    At this moment, the plot introduction shed in Annan¡¯s eyes:

    [Frederick fell into a nightmare after reading the original ¡°Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡±]

    [¡ªabandoned streets.]

    [¡ªsevered friendship.]

    [¡ªthe conspiracy of the deities.]

    [¡ªthe lost lover.]

    [Did Frederick foresee the future in the past?]

    [Or did the future Frederick recall the past before dying?]

    [There is only one thing that Frederick knows¡­]

    [ording to the development in the ¡°prophecy¡±, Ingrid is about to face misfortune.]

    [He will do everything to prevent that unfortunate future froming.]

    After reading the introductory plot in front of him, arge amount of data flow finally unfolded in front of Annan.

    [Main mission: Changing the Fate]

    [Prevent Ingrid from acting alone.]

    Below the main mission, a side mission acted as a clue.

    Annan finally remembered.

    Why did he feel an inexplicable sense of disharmony previously¡­

    It was not because of the deserted streets.

    Nor was it because of any foreign objects around.

    Or he realized that he was in a nightmare¡­

    Instead, the very reason was that Annan had alreadye into contact with the crucial character ¡°Justice¡±, but what about his main mission?

    Why didn¡¯t it appear?

    Annan had indeed encountered this situation, which happened in ¡°Nightmare: Gallery¡±. The outside world part was just the location of the choosing the dungeon level.

    In hindsight, what had happened was Frederick¡¯s prophetic dream.

    But if it was just his prophetic dream, it did not exin why the two prompts included Frederick and Justice upon entering.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± At this moment, Annan heard a light cough.

    Annan noticed that the expressions of Justice and Ingrid became serious and tense. So if he realized something, he immediately stood up and looked in the direction where the voice came from.

    The personing toward them with light footsteps was an old man.

    The old man had messy, gray, shoulder-length hair and wore a purple garment simr to a toga [1] worn by ancient Romans. His gray pupils were calm and tranquil like water. He wore gray cloth shoes and a dark grayce sash draped from his left shoulder to his right waist. He had a smile on his face and exuded a faint scent of alcohol.

    ¡°Professor.¡± The three responded in unison.

    When the old man saw the three of them, he couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    As the old man smiled, Annan caught a whiff of the intoxicating aroma of wine emanating from him. It wasn¡¯t the stench of alcohol but rather a captivating scent that seemed to emerge from his mouth and intoxicated those who caught even the slightest whiff. It made Annan¡¯s mind feel a bit hazy, and his cheeks flushed.

    ¡°I knew it. I felt the spindle was touched. It turned out that a distinguished guest has arrived¡­¡±

    He looked like a drunken old man, showing the three of them a sincere and hearty smile. Like an exaggerated actor, he ced his right hand¡¯s middle and ring fingers on his chest and leaned forward slightly.

    Seeing this, Justice and Ingrid were at a loss.

    However, Annan¡¯s heart suddenly tightened.

    That was because he saw the golden rings on the ten fingers of the old man.

    Annan realized the true identity of the drunk old man in front of him ¡ª Gray Professor Seti.

    In this era, Seti should be the second Idol Wizard in the world.

    Seri seemed to be able to see Annan¡¯s true identity. That was why he called him a ¡°distinguished guest¡± and greeted him whimsically.

    ¡°Marvelous.¡±

    Old Seti circled them, sniffed their scent, and narrowed his eyes happily as if savoring delicious food, ¡°It¡¯s the fragrance from the bugs that escaped from the cobweb.

    ¡°An escapist? A savior? A betrayer? Or a self-deluded saint?¡±

    The old man seemingly pointed out something.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Justice and Ingrid had no idea what was happening and could only understand a small part.

    Ingrid exined in a panic, ¡°Professor! Frederick entered the nightmare. It¡¯s true! It¡¯s just that he woke up again¡ª¡±

    When Ingrid said this, she gently pulled Annan¡¯s right little finger and said pleadingly, ¡°Speak up¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, professor!¡±

    Justice¡¯s voice was so loud that it overwhelmed Ingrid immediately.

    He yelled, ¡°Frey has fallen asleep! It¡¯s dangerous!¡±

    Hearing this, Gray Professor just smiled slightly.

    Seti smiled at Annan, ¡°Did you have a dream¡­or did you wake up from a dream?¡±

    ¡°I had a nightmare first and then woke up from the nightmare.¡±

    Ingrid, on the side, quickly waved her hands and exined.

    Annan was just silent for a while.

    Annan asked probingly, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t about what I think, but what you think.¡±

    Gray Professor said slowly.

    Seti looked into Annan¡¯s pupils, ¡°You want to stop hatred and misfortune. But that¡¯s wrong.

    ¡°You think so because you have the heart of a dragon. The heart of a dragon is powerful, more robust than the heart of a jackal, more potent than the heart of a man, and stronger than the heart of a lion. But humans don¡¯t have such strong hearts. Only hatred can give people longsting strength.

    ¡°We are just mortals and not born dragons.¡± Annan was silent.

    He slowly raised his head and stared at Gray Professor.

    Annan became increasingly certain that the gray pupils of ¡°Gray Professor¡± had already prated Frederick¡¯s body and saw the inner essence.

    However, the other two didn¡¯t understand.

    On the contrary, Justice looked at Professor Gray with shining eyes, focusing on the surface of the professor¡¯s views, which might have sounded ¡°cool¡± to the young man. However, he clearly did not understand what Professor Gray was implying.

    This dialogue crossed the boundary between dreams and reality and the boundary of time

    that spanned decades.

    After a moment of silence, Annan asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Constrained by the rule that ¡°dreamers could not show that they had discovered this was a nightmare,¡± the Gray Professor could not reveal it tantly to Annan. Instead, he could only put it in vague words.

    In other words, it was up to Annan to realize it himself.

    Thest one who saw through that he was the dreamer seemed to be the Man in the Mirror.

    From this point of view, Gray Professor and Michngelo were not too far apart.

    The corners of Gray Professor¡¯s mouth raised slightly.

    The gray pupils of his eyes were full of amusement, but there was not a trace of a human figure reflected in them.

    He spoke in a self-absorbed manner, Let me peacefully enter the grave¡ª you only need to pray.¡±

    ¡°The unfortunate person will inevitably offer themselves to the furnace of misfortune. My hands will be burned and be stronger; my feet will be burned and be agile. My pupils will be burned like ss, and I will be able to gaze upon the Divine Transporter.¡±

    ¡°¡­it seems like a poem by Austere-Winter?¡±

    In the silence, Ingrid guessed aloud.

    Seti smiled and looked at her.

    ¡°And what about theter part? Do you remember, Ingrid?¡±

    ¡°I gaze at the sun, seeking the light sealed in my pupils.¡±

    Instead, Annan continued in a cold voice, ¡°But when I looked at the sun, all I shed were tears¡­ I knew in my heart that my body was just ordinary.

    ¡°In the melting pot of the Light Realm, my body was burnt to nothingness, my teeth rotted, and my skin and flesh dissolved¡ª

    ¡°I cry because of this ¡ª I am mortal!¡±

    In ¡°Nightmare: Wolf¡¯s Kiss,¡± he heard pieces of the poem.

    Later, with the help of the Paper Princess, he found the full text of the long poem.

    It told the story of a berserker who fanatically pursued the ¡°Divine Transporter¡±, deliberately tortured himself with the pain of the mortal world, wanted to make himself transcend and ascend to the Light Realm with the Divine Transporter.

    This knowledge carried weight. Therefore, many people thought this was a reference to those transcenders who had no talent but to pursue the path of bing a deity.

    ¡ªThe ascendancy ritual was usuallypared to the ¡°Divine Transporter¡±. Likewise, the process of the ascension to a deity waspared to ¡°being sent into the Light Realm by the Divine Transporter¡±.

    What Gray Professor recited was the opening part of the poem.

    Berserker bid farewell to his parents, full of confidence and ready to embark on a journey of seeking pain.

    What Annan responded to was the context near the two-third mark. It was about a Berserker who had experienced many hardships and eventually realized he was still a mortal who could not board the Divine Transporter. All hopes were lost.

    The ritualists usually interpreted this as implying that even with strong desires, one could not ascend without stepping into the Golden Rank and instead would bring ruin to oneself.

    Annan remembered the content of this poem because of its name.

    The name of this book was¡­

    ¡°Praise the Name of the Divine Transporter¡±.

 Chapter 569: Who Is Professor Wolf?

    <h4>Chapter 569: Who Is Professor Wolf?</h4>

    Ordinary poets and artists might think that ¡°Praise the Name of the Divine Transporter¡± was a story of a berserker torturing himself for lofty ideals. Then, he was enlightened and sublimated from the ideals.

    Ordinary ritualists and transcenders might think that what was described in the long poem ¡°Praise the Name of the Divine Transporter¡± was only ult knowledge about the ¡°ascendancy ritual¡±.

    If it was in the game, it might be expressed as¡­ After reading this book, the yer would acquire knowledge or skill about the ¡°ascendancy ritual¡± at the cost of sanity.

    However, Annan knew that it was a prophecy book.

    The Paper Princess did not even know about it.

    What it described did not refer to the illusory image of the ¡°Divine Transporter¡±, but the Book of Truth that would be born decades after the prediction ¡ª [Book of Divine Transporter].

    At this moment, Gray Professor recited this passage in front of Annan. Of course, what he expressed was not the original intention, but hinted to Annan that he had seen through Annan¡¯s soul essence.

    Annan thought silently.

    Besides that, Gray Professor might be giving some clues.

    The so-called, ¡°unfortunate people would eventually devote their lives to the furnace of misfortune¡±.

    Was he emphasizing Justice¡¯s fate?

    Could it be that the Gray Professor had already seen the end of Justice as an ¡°unfortunate person¡±? That was why he gave Justice ¡°hate¡±.

    Was this to let this hatred be the nourishment for him when he advanced to Gold Rank?

    Justice¡¯s voice rang in Annan¡¯s ear, ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll make them pay.¡±

    ¡­Wait a moment?

    Thinking of this, Annan suddenly realized¡ª

    Gray Professor seemed to be encouraging Justice to take revenge!

    Deliberately creating hatred and creating misfortune ¡ª Are you Uchiha Madara [1]?

    Do I have to dance now too?

    ¡°Mortals¡­¡±

    Gray Professor smiled nomittally, ¡°If you say so.¡±

    The gray-haired and gray-eyed old man turned to look at Justice, ¡°What do you think, Justice?

    ¡°Do you want to be my student?¡±

    ¡°Well, how should I put it?¡±

    Justice scratched his head and showed a naive smile, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in bing a transcender.

    ¡°Being a wealthy businessman and spending the rest of my life in peace is enough for me.¡±

    ¡°Ah, speaking of it,¡± Ingrid suddenly said, ¡°I remember that Alison and you were childhood sweethearts, right?

    ¡°That¡¯s so lucky. Alison is ady from a wealthy family. She is gentle and cute. If only I were a boy¡ª¡±

    The girl with blue and ck long hair showed envious eyes, ¡°Ahhh, I¡¯m so envious! I also want a rich and beautiful girl to support me¡­¡±

    She cried out.

    Justice heard those words, but his expression froze slightly, and he hesitated in response, ¡°Ah¡­ um.¡±

    Annan on the side watched silently, watching with gusto.

    Hey, what kind of love triangle is this?

    Ingrid and Frederick seemed to like each other, and Justice was loved by the eldestdy Alison but he had a crush on Ingrid.

    This is too twisted, simply too twisted.

    Give me more drama. Come on.

    He couldn¡¯t help butment in a low voice in his heart.

    Ingrid did not know the embarrassment in Justice¡¯s heart, but she just showed a worried expression, ¡°But, Justice¡­ Alison¡¯s father, Jon, is a Silver Rank Transcender. It is a family that controls the ult Bond Envoy profession.

    ¡°The root of Mr. Jon¡¯s strength is that he inherited the curse passed down from generation to generation in his family. Alison doesn¡¯t have the talent of a transcender. He hopes that his son-inw can inherit this curse.¡±

    Ingrid hesitated to speak.

    Ingrid did not finish her sentence.

    In general, the curse did not have to be passed down. Not to mention passing it on to close people like children or students.

    After all, the nature of a curse was also a curse. Cursing one¡¯s offspring. No matter how you put it, it was not quite right.

    However, Mr. Jon¡¯s situation here was special.

    If Mr. John still could not find a satisfactory heir, he might pass this curse on to outsiders. That meant that there would be another person who was more suitable for the status of ¡°Jon¡¯s heir¡± than Alison.

    In this case, it would be fine if the other party kept his ce.

    However, if the other party tried to seize the family property, how could Alison fight him?

    Justice did not take it seriously.

    For some unknown reason, Justice argued vigorously, ¡°When I met Alison, I didn¡¯t know she was the eldestdy. Alison is also a frugal and quiet child, and she is not very interested in the affairs of the chamber ofmerce.

    ¡°The ult Bond Envoy is so dangerous. There are politics in the chamber ofmerce. If anyone wants to inherit it, let him take it.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that, Justice.¡±

    Gray Professor came over, stroked Justice¡¯s hair, and said with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t have to, but you can¡¯t make Alison give up too. Because it belongs to her, not yours.¡±

    ¡°Then let her make up her mind.¡±

    Justice retorted habitually with disapproval.

    Annan on the side narrowed his eyes slightly, and if he remembered correctly¡­

    ording to Nefertari, ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± Justice initially went to study under Gray Professor, hoping to make his childhood sweetheart happy. ¡°Because he did not have the status worthy of the one he love, let alone the capability to make her happy.¡±

    Justice¡¯s reaction was a stark contrast.

    His rtionship with Alison was not as close as the rumors said. It seemed that they were probably at the level of ordinary friends.

    If Justice liked Alison, then he should put himself in her shoes.

    However, seeing Justice¡¯s reaction, he looked like a kid who kept emphasizing to Ingrid, ¡°I don¡¯t care about Alison¡¯s money at all¡±.

    Suddenly, Annan remembered.

    If¡­

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t have the status worthy of my loved one, and I don¡¯t have the capital to make her happy¡±, the ¡°loved one¡± in it doesn¡¯t refer to Alison, but Ingrid?

    So, that was why Justice had always been working outside after Justice and Alison got married.

    It was not because Justice was a fool who reversed the process and the oue.

    It was because he did not like Alison at all.

    He was just using the contacts of the Alison Chamber of Commerce¡­or, possibly, plotting against her father¡¯s curse to gain power.

    ¡°¡®Only hatred can give people longsting strength¡¯¡­?¡± Annan murmured.

    Annan realized another thing.

    ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± Justice was already a Gold Rank transcender. Even in the underground city, he was already a great figure. Although he was not as influential as Gray Professor¡ªor Bone Healer, his status was much higher than that of the Wise. Not to mention, he was a Protector and had umted a lot of favors.

    If his goal was to avenge the Wise who killed Ingrid, then he could have done it long ago.

    Or rather, he had already done it.

    Well, what happened in thest dream?

    Justice said, ¡°I¡¯ll make them pay.¡±

    Who is this ¡°they¡± referring to?

    Are those the Wise?

    ¡­or Austere-Winter Dukedom?

    Is the ¡°Professor Wolf¡± Frederick¡­ is he still Frederick?

    Annan thought of this and looked at Gray Professor.

    The old man nodded slightly at Annan.

    He picked up the book in front of Annan and smiled lightly, ¡°Let¡¯s go for a walk. Don¡¯t stay in the room and read all the time.¡±

    The moment Gray Professor spoke, Annan smelled the familiar smell of alcohol from his mouth.

    It was the smell of alcohol on Justice in the previous nightmare.

    It was also the smell of wine left on the axe when he attacked Annan.

    A magic wine that could make dragons drunk.

    Just breathing it in would make the cheeks feel hot, and the poison could instantly stun a human being just by touching the skin. It was a powerful poison that even the body of a Silver Rank could not resist.

    There weren¡¯t many wines of this caliber.

    Even with absolute ethanol, it was impossible to have this effect.

    Annan finally remembered what it was.

    This should be the [Wyrmrest Reagent] that had not been added with the ¡°active blood of adult dragons¡±.

    It was a necessary potion to store¡­ or, seal the sacred bone.

 Chapter 570: Pope Trisino

    <h4>Chapter 570: Pope Trisino</h4>

    ¡°Master Benjamin¡­ Should I call you, Your Highness Benjamin, now?¡± Longjing Tea sat on the sofa and smiled at Benjamin who was sitting on the other side of the table, ¡°However, you are my teacher¡¯s teacher after all. In my tradition, I should address you as Grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a title.¡± Benjamin put down the teacup and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m not an Idol Wizard. You can call me whatever you want.¡±

    Benjamin was different from other people.

    Benjamin¡¯s attitude towards Longjing Tea was unexpectedly good.

    Benjamin ced the dark golden oval-shaped mirror he was holding in his arms on his table to the left. Benjamin also took off his papal robe.

    Longjing Tea understood what Benjamin meant.

    Benjamin was implying that his current identity was not a pope, but a wizard from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    After the destruction of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, there were not many wizards from Swamp¡¯s ck Tower left. Salvatore was Benjamin¡¯s most outstanding disciple, and Longjing Tea was Salvatore¡¯s eldest disciple. The rtionship between them was still quite close.

    ¡°Idol Wizard¡­ Do they care about titles?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Very much.¡± Benjamin nodded.

    ¡°For them, ¡®titles¡¯ are the root of all power. Whether it is name, position, title, alias¡­ Idol Wizard can derive power from the attitude of others towards themselves. Simrly, their attitude toward others will also change due to the way others address them.¡±

    He picked up a piece of snack and said casually.

    Longjing Tea nodded, ¡°Are you saying that if you were an Idol Wizard, your attitude toward me would bepletely different depending on whether I called you Grandmaster or Pope?¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s not ¡®my attitude towards you will be different¡¯. It¡¯s that the one, who responds to you, is not the ¡®same person¡¯.¡±

    Benjamin shook his head and gave an example, ¡°You should know that His Highness Annan is going to purify Justice¡¯s nightmare, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.. .but Justice is not an Idol Wizard, right?¡±

    ¡°¡®Shield of Unfallen¡¯ Justice is indeed not. But in his nightmare, ¡®Professor Wolf¡¯ Frederick will inevitably appear¡­ You know that Frederick was expelled from the Melvin family, right?

    ¡°For Idol Wizards, the negative impact of being expelled is much more profound than for ordinary people ¡ª that¡¯s why it can be a punishment.¡±

    In the Austere-Winter Dukedom, where ¡°you are born after you get your name¡±, being expelled was tantamount to being deprived of all rights as a human being.

    But for Idol Wizards, being expelled would even damage their souls.

    They would connect the ¡®title¡¯ together with the corresponding ¡®identity¡¯.

    Benjamin exined, ¡°When Frederick still had the surname Melvin, you could call out the divinity in his soul if you called him by the full name with the surname. When he was a Melvin, he is ¡®the Divine Child.¡¯ If one avoids his name and calls him by nicknames, only mortals can respond to him.

    ¡°Then, after he is deprived of the surname Melvin, he will no longer be able to use the power of ¡®the Divine Child¡¯. All the strength around ¡®Melvin¡¯ will disappear together.

    ¡°Although Destruction Wizard is recognized as the most dangerous profession, Idol Wizards are equally dangerous in my opinion. They are dangerous because they may lose themselves at any time.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Longjing Tea arrived at a sudden realization.

    He had a vague understanding of it now.

    To put it simply, if a regr person was like a game ount that had multiple roles, then an Idol Wizard was like someone who would create a separate ount for each role they yed.

    ¡°In other words, an Idol Wizard must n his life well, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Idol wizards have no way of turning back. They have to keep going with the decisions they make. Once they give up a certain identity, it means that they give up all the strength they have acquired in this identity.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Longjing Tea murmured, ¡°Then, I still have to ask Ah Dian to pay a visit to His Excellency Bone Healer.¡±

    ¡°Ah Dian?¡± Benjamin asked, ¡°Is that your friend?¡±

    ¡°She is more or less my junior, and she has the affinity of Idol School,¡± Longjing Tea nodded, ¡°Since Idol School has no way of turning back, it is natural to find the best teacher for her.¡±

    ¡°My advice is don¡¯t go.¡± After a long silence, Benjamin frowned.

    Huh?

    Longjing Tea asked in surprise, ¡°Why?¡±

    As soon as he spoke, he immediately reacted, ¡°Is there a problem with the Bone Healer?¡±

    ¡°His title before being ¡®Bone Healer¡¯ Seti was ¡®Gray Professor¡¯ Seti. Before that, he had another title¡­

    ¡°Seti is just his surname. His real name is ¡®Trisino¡¤Seti¡¯, the pope of the Deity of Murder and Conspiracy, Tragedy Writer.¡±

    Benjamin said slowly.

    How could mere mortals steal the power of the Man in the Mirror who ¡°became a deity in the future¡±? Even the Man in the Mirror himself could not see through the future¡­

    There was no doubt.

    That would require Tragedy Writer to do it himself!

    ¡°Tragedy Writer, also known as ¡®the Drunk Madman¡¯, ¡®the Deity of Drama and Fable¡¯, ¡®the Lamenter¡¯. He is the author of ¡°the Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡±, ¡°the Law of Simrity and Drama Creation¡±, and ¡°the Law of Simrity and Fable¡±; he is the writer of the trilogy.

    ¡°¡ªAt least on the path of the ¡®Law of Simrity¡¯, Tragedy Writer has gone farther than anyone else. They are also ¡®the creation¡¯ and ¡®supreme crown¡¯ of the Tragedy Writer when he ascended to a deity.

    ¡°After the Tragedy Writer¡¯s ascendancy ritual waspleted, His depth of research was far superior to that of everyone in the world. After His ascension until now, thew of simrity had not made any new breakthroughs. A family like Melvin, who studied thew of simrity, had been continuing the research back then.

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s ¡®the Bone Healer¡¯ or ¡®Professor Wolf¡¯, thew of simrity they master is directly inherited from the school of the Tragedy Writer.

    ¡°Unless you are learning ult knowledge from the Bone Healer, I don¡¯t rmend learning anything from him, especially Idol Wizardry.¡±

    Their fate would be intertwined through the process of ¡°teaching¡±.

    As Benjamin said, He looked in the direction where Annan was sleeping.

    There were already points of contact or interaction between Annan and the Tragedy Writer.

    Before Annan lost his memory, he escaped from Tragedy Writer¡¯s conspiracy and made a bet with Tragedy Writer.

    This fate seemed to be strengthenedter. Annan should have seen the Tragedy Writer¡¯s nightmare again or cracked His believers¡¯ conspiracy.

    The Tragedy Writer was not a paranoid power-holder.

    He was an admirer of misfortune, fate, and coincidence¡­ He was keen to watch the unfortunate fate of others andment the tales. However, He also looked forward to a shining soul that could crush the ovepping conspiracies and achieve the epic of bing a ¡°hero¡± against the momentum of ¡®impossibility¡¯.

    Whether it was the victory or the failure of the conspiracy, it would please Him.

    After all, He was just a crazy ¡°ywright¡±.

    ¡ªHe was just looking forward to more exciting stories.

    In other words¡­

    As long as it was an interesting enough soul and fate, both were likely to be targeted by the Tragedy Writer.

    ¡°¡ªAt that time, it is impossible to escape.¡±

    Benjamin said solemnly.

 Chapter 571: It Feels Quiet Here, Letâ€™s Go

    <h4>Chapter 571: It Feels Quiet Here, Let¡¯s Go</h4>

    Annan followed Ingrid and the others, and he left Bone Farm through the subway.

    Of course¡­ording to the rules of the underground city, the Bone Farm at this time was not called the Bone Farm yet. Just like Cinder Barren at this point in time was not called the Cinder Barren.

    Due to Gray Professor Seti, it was called the Gray Tower. At the same time, it also had the alias the ¡°Tower of Reflection¡±.

    In other words, the gray tower was equivalent to the reflection of the wizard tower in the aboveground world to the underground world. It was praise toward Gray Professor Seti¡¯s strength and knowledge, putting him on par with the tower masters of the wizard towers in the world above.

    However, as far as Annan¡¯s perception was concerned, even if Seti was not as good as the tower master for the time being, he was closing there.

    They still had sses three dayster, so the three of them didn¡¯t leave too far.

    After all, the three of them were still studying ritual and ult knowledge besides Seti. The school was only on holiday for three days, and it would be too strange for them to travel out of the province.

    The only exception was Seti¡¯s wizard apprentice, who Seti thought personally. The other students, who study ult knowledge, attended the same ss. It was a long-term stay in the ¡°school¡±.

    Of course, the students were only offered a ce to stay without food.

    In addition to Seti himself, some teachers were students Seti taught.

    There were too many ritualists, who came here to learn ult knowledge. The fees here at Seti were not much. In other words, the specific amount depended on fate. Hence, many people woulde to try their luck.

    Annan asked around along his journey, and he found out that there were more than 80 students, who were in the same semester as him, Ingrid, and Justice. When they were in ss, they used arge ssroom simr to an auditorium, and they learned ult knowledge systematically by grade.

    It was much more formal.

    Of course, the curriculum was not as tight as that of typical universities.

    They were about two sses a week, and the students would graduate in about one to three years. If there were students with outstanding talents, they would be recruited by Seti as ¡°in-house disciples¡± to learn knowledge about transcenders and be hunters or wizards.

    Looking back now, Nefertari should have graduated from the status of ¡°ritualist apprentice¡±.

    But¡­

    Annan silently looked at Justice in front of him.

    Speaking of which, Nefertari said she was the only example of resisting fate and seeding.

    However, as far as the current situation was concerned, Justice was also the one, who chose to decline, when invited by Gray Professor.

    However, Justice became a transcender in the end.

    So, could Nefertari stay with her resolve till the end?

    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Justice looked happily at a storefront.

    It said [Mane Fluff Ind Specialty Barbecue in fancy fonts. From the outside, it was made known that it was a restaurant rebuilt from a ¡°stronghold¡±.

    ¡ªThis was proof of the store¡¯s influence.

    It showed that the store had alreadye here when there were few people here, and they had been working until the city became prosperous.

    This ce seemed to be called the Speckled Bone Forest.

    When Annan got out of the subway, he saw the street sign here.

    It should be named after the surrounding specialty products.

    Here, there were arge number of curved bone columns that looked like coral, stctites, and vertebral structures of living organisms. These ¡°speckled bone columns¡± were ck and yellow, and they stacked on each other. The bone column was a natural product unique to this ce.

    The ck markings were traces formed when the bone was eroded. The yellow part was the oxidizedyer. If the outeryer of these ¡°bone shoots¡± were peeled off, the milky white translucent boneyer simr to tooth enamel would be exposed.

    This kind of treasure would only be born when the underground depth reached a certain level below the gemstone vein.

    So, the bone here was a gem in itself.

    These were the ¡°spine of the mineral veins¡± in the lists of mysterious materials. It could also be called the ¡°heart of the earth¡± or ¡°the marrow of the mountains¡±. Not only was there a demand for them in some rituals, but they could also be made into curse vessels that absorbed the impact, reduced fall damage, or increased weight.

    For example, if a Lurker had a curse vessel that reduced falling damage, he could jump on the ground without being easily numb or fractured by the impact. A heavy-armored warrior could also incorporate arge amount of ¡°spine of mineral veins¡± into his armament. This way, they could prevent being knocked back or knocked away by enemies. If added to the helmet, it could also effectively resist the impact of blunt objects.

    Those materials were also the key material for the handcuffs and shackles used to restrain transcender criminals. Although the material was not particrly hard, it could greatly increase the weight of the handcuffs and shackles if it was mixed with metal. The best usage was to make ¡°gold iid jade¡± shackles together with adamantium.

    ¡°Is this ce directly under the gem vein?¡± After ordering the meat, Annan raised his eyebrows and asked Justice, ¡°I remember that this ce should be far away from Treasure Diamond Ind, right?¡±

    Justice thought about it, ¡°Above here should be the Province of St. Alexis. It should be near the Pir of Poison Fern.¡±

    ¡­In other words, there is a gem vein directly below the Pir of Poison Fern.

    Annan did not know about this previously.

    There were not many people in the Pir of Poison Fern.

    It was deste there. There was no city, but arge snowfield.

    This ce seems to be the relics left by the Third Age. Those stone buildings are smashed into pieces by something. The broken stone pirs are covered with dark green ferns, and the nts are poisonous.

    After returning, I have to ask my elder brother to send an investigation team to investigate the Pir of Poison Fern.

    Annan made up his mind.

    ¡­Of course.

    The premise was that Annan could retain his memory and go back alive.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that out of the whole world, we can only enjoy the craftsmanship of the barbecue chief of Mane Fluff Ind and the freshest and high-quality beef of the Papal Kingdom at the same time in the underground city.¡± Justice was a little excited.

    Annan chuckled, ¡°You seem to look forward to it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to it. I¡¯ve wanted to eat it for a long time!¡±

    Justice patted the table lightly, not daring to use too much force. He yelled in a low voice, ¡°I can¡¯te out to eat barbecue by myself. It would be too lonely, and the two of you are busy studying every day. I don¡¯t want the pity stare by others, ¡°Oh, that poor boy, he didn¡¯t have friends!¡±

    ¡°You guys rarely have free time, I don¡¯t often get this chance¡­¡±

    At this period, Justice did not have a bulky body. Instead, he was a little thin¡­ about the level of 17 years old, with a body shape that was below the average level for high school sports clubs.

    While waiting for the barbecue, the conch-shaped sapphire ring on Ingrid¡¯s left index finger flickered on and off.

    She put the ring to her ear in some surprise, closed one eye, and listened intently for a while.

    ¡°It seems to be from Teacher, and it¡¯s a long paragraph.¡± Ingrid was a little embarrassed, and she looked around, ¡°It¡¯s a bit noisy here¡­ I¡¯ll go out and listen to it.¡±

    Annan on the side was stupefied.

    What is this? How did he do it?

    Is this a pager? Or a magic voice message device?

    Could the Idol School create such a fancy thing?

    But at this time, Annan did not forget his main mission.

    [Prevent Ingrid from acting alone.]

    It appeared that the surroundings were quiet, and there were no enemies.

    Annan¡¯s left eye also did not detect the betrayer; ¡°Frederick¡±, with the solid perception of a wizard, could also detect the hostility of the surrounding people. The result was naturally ¡°none¡±.

    Still, just in case¡­

    Thinking of this, Annan also got up, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ingrid froze for a moment, showing a somewhat embarrassed smile, ¡°I¡¯m just answering the teacher¡¯s message. I guess it should be about having us bring something when we go back. It shouldn¡¯t be a big deal.¡±

    Justice also chimed in, ¡°Well, don¡¯t leave me alone. If the meat is here, should I wait or not?¡±

    ¡°You have to wait for us.¡± Annan nced at him and smiled, ¡°Wait for us toe back, good boy.¡±

    ¡°You bastard¡­¡± Justice grunted.

    Annan followed Ingrid and left the barbecue shop.

    The entrance was quiet, but the voice inside the messenger stone was not loud either. Gray Professor seemed to be in the fountain square or near the ssroom. There were obvious noises of fighting around, covering most of Seti¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t hear it.¡± Ingrid grunted.

    Annan gestured for Ingrid to hand the ring to his ear.

    ¡°¡­Come back¡­stay safe¡­Austere-Winter¡­the Daughter of the Storm¡­the weather¡­¡±

    The message was unstable.

    Annan raised his head, frowning slightly.

    What about Austere-Winter and the Daughter of the Storm?

    Gray Professor is too inattentive. Why didn¡¯t he record it well? I couldn¡¯t hear it clearly at all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a quieter ce.¡± Ingrid whispered, ¡°It¡¯s still a bit noisy in here.¡±

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s head there.¡±

    Annan soon saw a silent dead end.

    It was a narrow alley between two tall buildings, and there was a lot of rubbish in it.

    It was a bit troublesome for two people to pass through it. The narrowest part was still protruding in, and the two of them could only walk sideways one after the other, so as not to be rubbed by the dust on their clothes.

    Is it quiet enough here?

 Chapter 572: Is This A Dream, Or Reality?

    <h4>Chapter 572: Is This A Dream, Or Reality?</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t until Annan and Ingrid reached the innermost alley that they finally reached a quiet enough ce.

    Annan smiled and waved to Justice at the barbeque store across the street, signaling that they could see him. Then, the voice from Gray Professor was yed.

    It was a lengthy instruction.

    ¡°You guyse back as soon as possible. Don¡¯t dy it for too long, and pay attention to safety.

    ¡°I have received news that the previous Storm Daughter of the Austere-Winter Dukedom haspleted her self-sacrifice today, but the next Daughter of the Storm is Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s aunty. She is not young and needs to use rituals and potions to adjust for some time before she can take over. The specific ritual time the Austere-Winter Dukedom decided is 12 dayster.

    ¡°Without the suppression of Storm Tower in the past two weeks, various forms of weather disturbances may ur all over the world. For example, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. The seafloor tunnel of the deep submergedyer may copse, and there¡¯s also the possibility of an earthquake in the metropolitan area, causing the ground to copse or crack. The sky dome and subwaynes may copse.

    ¡°You¡¯d bettere back quickly, or you may encounter something bad, such as the copse of the sky dome or the railway. After returning to the Gray Tower, it will be safer.¡±

    I see.

    Annan came to a sudden realization.

    This critical point of the plot turns out to be here.

    He had figured it out.

    Annan didn¡¯t think about the possibility of earthquakes at first. Even if there was, most of the news would be intercepted by the underground city¡­ So it was normal that there was no earthquake record in the above-ground world.

    The underground was not immune to earthquakes.

    In other words, because the depth of the underground city was not too deep, even shallow earthquakes would ur below them.

    The smooth establishment of the underground city was probably because of the Storm Tower.

    If the earthquake could not be suppressed, cities and tunnels would not be able to be sessfully built underground.

    Most likely, a small earthquake could copse any newly built section, not to mention the fragile seafloor tunnel.

    It turned out that they had tacitly agreed that there would be no earthquakes in the underground world.

    It was the first time that Annan was aware of the necessity of the wizard tower.

    As for the other wizard towers, Annan was not clear about their purpose for the time being.

    However, Storm Tower could directly suppress natural disasters. This was of great significance to the five major countries.

    In the uing 12 days, other countries had already started organizing evacuations.

    Annan nced at Ingrid.

    In that case, are you dying soon?

    Of course, Annan didn¡¯t have the nerve to say that out loud.

    At first, Annan thought that Ingrid died from theva pouring into the ¡°ck Gold Field¡±. That was why ¡°Professor Wolf¡±unched revenge on Austere-Winter Dukedom. However, when ¡°Frederick¡± said that he did not know the reason why Cinder Barren was formed, Justice was not surprised and would exin it to him in a friendly manner.

    If Ingrid had died at ck Gold Field, but ¡°Frederick¡± had forgotten about it ¡ª Justice would probably not exin it at all but would beat Frederick up instead.

    At the same time, Justice could rte Ingrid¡¯s death to the incident of ¡°ck Gold Field¡± bing ¡°Cinder Barren¡±.

    This showed that Ingrid should not have died in theva-pouring incident.

    Now that Annan thought about it. Ingrid, a young girl, had no reason to go to the gold mine of the explorationyer.

    Rationally speaking, to avoid casualties caused by the earthquake, the Wise should choose to close all the cities and gather refugees. Perhaps the Wise would ask the residents to leave the underground world and wait on the ground for 12 days.

    However, they did not.

    After all, there were only 12 days. In the short 12 days, there might not be any natural disasters like a tsunami, volcanic eruptions, or earthquakes. If the residents evacuated for 12 days and then move back in, the cost in between was too high.

    Not to mention the cost of food and lodging, lost wages, and property lost during the chaotic evacuation. With all of them gathered together, the underground city, which originally had a seriousck of legal control, was even more difficult to manage.

    Every city had differentws, and people naturally had different habits. It was usually fine, but if the citizens were evacuated into a centralized ce, conflicts would inevitably ur.

    So in the end, not only did the Wise not issue an evacuation order, the information was covered up.

    Since Annan didn¡¯t know about this matter, the final loss may indeed be small.

    Only ¡°Speckled Bone Forest¡± was changed to ¡°Bone Eater Forest¡±. There should have been only 1 earthquake in those 12 days.

    That was the earthquake that killed Ingrid.

    That would be at this ce and this moment.

    That being the case¡­

    Then the real identity of Gray Professor is probably¡ª¡ª

    Annan and Ingrid exchanged nces.

    Before Annan could say anything, he suddenly felt a violent shaking under his feet.

    His pupils contracted instantly.

    In Annan¡¯s gaze, the ¡°Speckled Bone Forest¡± in the distance began to disintegrate from top to bottom.

    It was like countless tall columns piled up with Coke cans, copsing section by section; it was like arge-scale domino.

    Like ck and yellow mountains and seas were frozen in the air. They roared likendslides and tsunamis before copsing.

    It was an iparably spectacr scene.

    Ingrid stared in a daze.

    Annan turned around.

    He happened to see that the building beside her swayed and fell toward her.

    At that moment, the world before Annan¡¯s eyes suddenly became dim and slow.

    Looking over from the barbecue store across the street, Justice¡¯s eyes showed a gradually frightened expression.

    He reached out to the two of them¡ª

    ¡°Careful!¡±

    Annan shouted and hugged Ingrid.

    He took her and ran into the narrow alley. Both of their skins were scratched by the stone wall¡­ But even so, they only ran from the innermost point to a position close to the exit.

    Annan watched the increasingly slow, dim yellow world be gradually abstract, like an oil painting.

    Annan felt the heat up his spine.

    His strong intuition told him that danger was approaching.

    So¡­

    Without thinking, he pushed Ingrid down on top of him.

    Annan himself opened his arms, propped on the walls on both sides, like a solid umbre.

    Under Justice¡¯s horrified gaze, the figure of ¡°Frederick¡± was submerged by tall buildings that were leaning and falling slowly.

    It was different from the¡±history¡±.

    Ingrid, who was supposed to be buried at the end of the alley, survived under the dome supported by ¡°Frederick¡±.

    Like all residents of underground cities¡­

    On the verge of death, Annan did not lose this memory and woke up from the nightmare.

    The world before his eyes became dim and dry.

    Then, the world gradually became darker.

    The world seemed to be paused.

    Only Annan¡¯s mind was running wildly¡ª

    At the same time, he felt the rusty smell of being hit by boulders on his back, the blood spilling from his throat, and the smell of ¡°Wyrmrest Reagent¡±ing toward his face along the strong wind.

    Ah.

    Annan reacted.

    It was his choice.

    To hold on¡­ or to shield this unfortunate fate for Ingrid?

    Or dodge to the side, dodging the axe thrown by Justice?

    Was it the original ¡°future¡± Frederick¡¯s prophetic dream?

    Or was it the ¡°past¡± during childhood, which the obsessions of childhood recalled by Frederick before his death?

    ¡°Did you have a dream¡­ or did you wake up from a dream?¡±

    Gray Professor¡¯s voice sounded clearly in Annan¡¯s ears.

    Which side is reality?

    Where is the dreand?

 Chapter 573: Nightmare: Phantom Fever, Cleared!

    <h4>Chapter 573: Nightmare: Phantom Fever, Cleared!</h4>

    ¡ªThis should be a prophetic dream.

    Let me approach it that way.

    Annan quickly made his decision.

    Annan didn¡¯t want to run away, and he believed that Frederick wouldn¡¯t want to choose to run away either.

    Anyway, in thest part of the two timelines, ¡°Frederick¡± was already on the verge of death.

    If Annan was lost about what to choose, he just had to think about how he would act if he became the owner of the body. Then, he would act ordingly.

    No matter whether Annan dodge here or not, he would die.

    If this was Frederick¡¯s memory before he died, then even if he avoided the axe that was flying towards him, how would he, who ran away in the face of Ingrid, face the Justice, who ¡°chose to betray¡±?

    That was probably Justice from another timeline.

    If Frederick¡¯s dream of no one on the street before was just because of the prophetic dream reflected in his mind after reading that book¡­

    So at this moment, if he chooses to roll out and avoid the falling wall after suffering an injury. Perhaps Frederick, who had advanced to Silver Rank at a young age, would indeed not die because of this¡­ At least he still had one life left.

    He was an Idol Wizard, a rare wizard profession. He should have the ability to heal himself.

    However, in this case, Ingrid¡¯s ending would not be any different from history. That must be the wrong path.

    Annan did not know Idol Spells either.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t the real Frederick, the genius iconic wizard.

    ¡°Did you have a dream¡­or did you wake up from a dream?¡±

    If possible, Annan wanted to try the possibility of ¡°both sides were real¡± or ¡°both sides were dreams¡±.

    However, time was short.

    The wind from the axe was so sharp that it almost cut his cheek. The pain when the falling rock behind him hit his back was so real.

    Which side to believe in?

    Annan also didn¡¯t know how to choose the third path among the two options of ¡°dodge¡± and ¡°don¡¯t hide¡±.

    The pure Idol Wizard of Silver Rank did not have the spells that could resolve the disaster in front of him. If the wizard was the Shaping or Edict school, there could be other possibilities.

    However, Annan did not know that kind of spell. Frederick was a pure Idol Wizard. To maintain the purity of their family, they couldn¡¯t learn spells from other schools. They did not even see a single person in infancy; they did not have anyone to talk to, and they did not learn much practical knowledge.

    They were afraid of ruining the ¡°divine nature¡±.

    Could I have stepped into a mousetrap?

    I shouldn¡¯t have entered the alley. Is it a fake road?

    As long as youe in, there are only two paths left to choose from.

    All sorts of guesses emerged in Annan¡¯s mind.

    However, he didn¡¯t move away in the end.

    Since there was no other choice, Annan chose a path that would make Frederick less ashamed.

    After the world became dim and the flow of time became extremely slow¡­ About 15 seconds had passed.

    A boulder fell from the sky, and hit his back heavily in the silent world.

    Then, Annan¡¯s vision went dark.

    ¡°¡­Ouch.¡±

    Annan woke up suddenly and opened his eyes.

    He found himself lying on the couch with data running across his eyes.

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with the specified identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [The purification waspleted when entering this nightmare for the first time. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªB]

    [Acquired Shared Experience 2800 points. Perception +1.]

    [Reward for dungeon instance clearance: 5% adaptability of elements (Understanding)]

    [The current awakening depth of soul elements: Brilliance (100%), Wisdom (47%), Beauty (24%), Strictness (16%), Glory (11%), Understanding (5%)]

    [Hidden plot you have decrypted: 33%.]

    I did not get decryption rewards.

    B-level evaluation ratings¡­ This was the lowest evaluation rating of all the nightmare dungeon instances that Annan cleared.

    This showed that he was definitely on the wrong track.

    This should be regarded as the standard ending, a.k.a the normal ending in games. If Annan hadn¡¯t endured the fear of dying and fled when he was at the crossroad, it would trigger a bad ending.

    ¡°This is strange.¡±

    Annan rubbed his temples and sat up from the sofa.

    The first two hints were useless.

    He cleared the level by himself, and it could even be regarded as he won by himself.

    However, Annan knew that he had lost this time.

    ¡­But, what is the right way?

    Since when did I look in the wrong direction?

    There must be a different crossroad.

    However, everything at the start was smooth. Annan went through the dungeon smoothly.

    It was just unlike thest part, where the dungeon stopped for 15 seconds to let Annan think about it. When he yed Frederick, he naturally walked toward the road fork.

    Or should I not immerse myself too much into the character?

    Annan saw that Nefertari, who was lying on the table, trembled. He knew that she must have woken up.

    So, Annan shook his drowsy head, walked over, and gently patted her to help wake her up, ¡°Are you awake, Ms. Nefertari?¡±

    Nefertari looked up in bewilderment.

    It was the first time that Annan to see the expressions of ordinary people after purifying their nightmares. It appeared as if they were in deep slumber.

    The moment Nefertari looked at him, residual fear and consternation shed in her eyes. Immediately afterward, she was confused about why she had such associations.

    ¡°¡­I seem to have a dream,¡± Nefertari looked at Annan with some hesitation, ¡°You seem to be dead in the dream but that person doesn¡¯t seem to be you¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you remember what happened in the nightmare?¡±

    Annan asked Nefertari, ¡°Any detail is fine.¡±

    While Annan was ying Frederick, she was supposed to be ying Justice in the nightmare. The perspective and information should be different from Annan¡¯s.

    Nefertari rubbed her eyes.

    Then, she put her hand on her forehead, frowned, and thought hard about it, ¡°I don¡¯t remember clearly. After waking up, the memory quickly disappeared. I only remember that I was strange in the dream¡­¡±

    ¡°Even a small of it helps.¡±

    Annan chuckled and added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about misleading me. I¡¯ll verify itter on my own¡­ You just need to provide references.¡±

    ¡°I understand. The mission of the Wise is to ¡®propose possibilities,¡¯ and the conclusion is to be determined by the Wise and Digger together.¡± Nefertari nodded and exined in a low voice.

    She pondered for a while and said uncertainly, ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether this memory is real¡­

    ¡°But, I remember that you seem to have died more than once.¡±

    Oh?

    Annan immediately became energized, ¡°Did I die twice? Was it once headshot by a throwing ax and once crushed to death by falling rocks?¡±

    If Annan died twice in Nefertari¡¯s memory, did that mean both timelines were real?

    This proved that the two events were neither a prophetic dream nor a memory before death.

    ¡°Twice?¡±

    Nefertari raised her head in surprise, ¡°Twice?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°But in my memory¡­¡±

    The red-haired girl also realized something and gradually frowned,

    ¡°¡ªYou have died three times?¡±

 Chapter 574: The Unfortunate Must Be Dedicated To The Furnace Of Misfortune

    <h4>Chapter 574: The Unfortunate Must Be Dedicated To The Furnace Of Misfortune</h4>

    Three times?

    Annan froze for a moment.

    Even if both sides are real, that would mean dying twice¡­ Where did the third deathe from?

    Or¡­

    Annan gradually reacted.

    Multiyer cooperative games such as Overcooked [1], Moving Out [2], Super Bunnyman [3], Battle Block Theater [4], and Biped [5] were all multiyer cooperative puzzle-solving games with rtively fair conditions for both parties.

    In other words, the hardships and puzzles they face were the same. Anyone could solve it.

    But in reality, the puzzles and challenges that the two sides face in all cooperative games were not necessarily the same or symmetrical.

    There were also some cooperative games in which the puzzles faced by both sides were not in the same difficulties. Instead, each yer faced different difficulties, such as Fireboy and Watergirl, Brother ¨C A Tale of Two Sons, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Tick Tock: A Tale For Two, and Out of Inferno.

    For example, Fireboy and Watergirl, Brother ¨C A Tale of Two Sons, and Out of Inferno were still on the same screen at least. Of course, because the hards encountered in Out of Inferno were almost synchronized, even in split-screen mode, the yers could not divert attention to the other side.

    ¡°Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes¡±, ¡°Tick Tock: A Tale For Two¡±, and the famous simtor to break rtionships, ¡°We Were Here Too¡±, required both yers to rely on each other to gather information and solve puzzles. Each person¡¯s experience of the game was only half of the full game, as they needed to interact with the other yer and relied on their descriptions and actions to progress.

    Let¡¯s name this nightmare ¡°Phantom Fever¡± first.

    If ¡°Nightmare: Phantom Fever¡± was also a ¡°two-yer cooperative game¡±, then the two people, who y Frederick and Justice, might have faced different dungeon levels!

    For example, Frederick had only two paragraphs, ¡°past¡± and ¡°future¡±. However, there was a third plot on Justice¡¯s side. The ¡°other¡± Justice who ¡°betrayed Frederick¡± shoulde from this third plot!

    This was probably why Nefertari woke up a littleter than Annan.

    Annan soon realized the situation.

    It was a pity that Nefertari could not be like a yer, who could maintain consciousness from a dream before advancing into a transcender. She would lose consciousness after falling into a nightmare. As long as she woke up, she would forget arge part of her experience in the nightmare. Hence, she had no way to tell Annan about the plot in the dungeon instance.

    Annan wasn¡¯t sure if ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti deliberately set it that way or if this nightmare was the type that would not increase the dungeon challenger¡¯s level.

    This meant that even if Nefertari cleared the level a few more times, she would not advance to a transcender.

    Annan recalled the words of the ¡°Gray Professor¡± when he saw through his identity, and his heart shuddered.

    Is that also in your scheme?

    Annan narrowed her eyes slightly, lost in thought.

    If Annan guessed correctly, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti, was also known as the former ¡°Gray Professor¡± of the Gray Tower.

    His true identity was probably that [Trisino].

    In other words, the pope of the Deity of Murder and Conspiracy, ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±, who was mentioned in the plot of the ¡°future segment¡±.

    As mentioned in the plot introduction, ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± Justice epted a contract from Pope Trisino to bring an Idol Wizard to Cinder Barren, and let him feel the ¡°gap between dreams¡±.

    Frederick would help as long as Justice asked for it, given their friendships.

    However, Justice didn¡¯t say anything to Frederick until the end.

    That carried a lot of information.

    In the end, that remains a mystery.

    Annan thought to himself.

    Conversely, as long as Annan figured out Justice¡¯s secrets, all mysteries were solved.

    Who is Trisino that makes Justice so obedient?

    The plot of the ¡°youth segment¡± showed that Justice admired Gray Professor very much. The magic wine Justice drank was exactly the wine that Gray Professor Seti used to seal the sacred bone.

    There was another coincidence.

    Annan not only knew the properties of the sacred bone wine, he even owned a bottle of [Sacred Bone Extract (Justice)].

    Justice¡¯s bottle of Wyrmrest Reagentcked dragon blood as the main material. However, Gray Professor was an Idol Wizard who couldplete the ¡°Supreme Crown¡± after all. He might be able to optimize this form.

    While this was some sort of a reagent, it was not synthetic. Alteration School, on the contrary, could not understand it better than the Idol School.

    ¡°Thief Saint Alfonso¡± obtained the qualification to hold the [Bone of Courage] by using a transmutation potion made from the extract of the Skeleton of Courage.

    If at that time, it had not been decided that Alfonso would use [Bone of Courage].

    Or to put it another way¡­ the technology to force the body to be suitable for the [Skeleton of Courage] was perfected to the point where Alphonse could utilize it.

    There must be earlier prototypes.

    Thinking of this, Annan felt a chill in his heart.

    The stories are connected.

    It all ties together¡ª

    ¡°A fleeting moment of anger. A neverending remorse.¡±

    This was what Justice said at the beginning of the nightmare.

    When you think of courage, there is also recklessness, and then rage.

    Justice¡¯s big change in temperament might not be because he waspletely opposite to the outside rumors. Judging from Justice¡¯s childhood state, he did not seem to be such a violent and irritable person who liked to me others.

    He was more like a standard hot-blooded male lead: reckless, cheerful, valuing friendship, and not very smart.

    He would take his anger out on Austere-Winter, perhaps because the extract from the Bones of Courage had altered his mind.

    Ingrid¡¯s death did have something to do with Austere-Winter. However, the connection was too far-fetched. The Daughter of the Storm would choose to sacrifice herself, which meant that she was unable to hold on. At that time, Austere-Winter had no better candidate to seed in the Daughter of the Storm role.

    The Wise wasn¡¯t really to be med either.

    Leaving aside the judgments of the Wise at the time, there was indeed no mistake.

    After receiving the news, an earthquake urred half a dayter. If they were evacuating at that time, there might have been even more casualties.

    During the short 12-day protection period, only the Spotted Bone Forest had an earthquake, while other ces were safe. Moreover, only the stone forest in the Spotted Bone Forest was destroyed due to the earthquake.

    There were not even cracks in the houses of the city.

    The dead and the wounded might be less than ten people¡­

    Justice, who was also in Speckled Bone Forest, stayed in the barbeque store the whole time. As a result, he was not injured at all. If the one who followed Ingrid into the alley was not a frail wizard, like Frederick, he might have just hugged her and run out. Or even a normal wizard, with [Stone to Mud] or [Position Change] types of spells, could also escape from the disaster smoothly.

    It just happened to be Frederick. It just so happened to be Ingrid.

    Ingrid would be killed because of this, more because she happened to hide in the alley to answer the phone, but couldn¡¯t get out when the ident happened. It was also because the buildings around her were few super tall buildings in the city.

    The real responsibility of the Wise, instead, was why the residents were not notified to stay in a rtively safe ce after the earthquake had already urred in the ¡°Speckled Bone Forest¡±. Although this problem was solved because there was no earthquake in the next eleven days, there was indeed a problem in how they handled things.

    However, their conclusions were irrelevant to Ingrid.

    So why would Professor Wolf choose revenge on the Austere-Winter Dukedom?

    What if Professor Wolf was neither Justice nor Frederick?

    Was the ¡°poisonous wine¡± of arge amount of holy bone extract that was consumed really something that Justin¡¯s self-healing ability could recover from?

    Since this extract was capable of altering Alfonso¡¯s mind, why couldn¡¯t it change Justice¡¯s mind?

    Unless Justice¡¯s mind was already changed by it.

    Annan seriously suspected that Ingrid¡¯s death was rted to ¡°Gray Professor¡± Seti.

    He sent the recording, but couldn¡¯t he find a ce that was a little quieter?

    Since it was such an important matter and it was not a simple matter that could be passed in a sentence or two, Gray Professor insisted on recording so much in a noisy ce¡­ Maybe this was because he nned it out. If Ingrid couldn¡¯t hear clearly, she would go to a closer ce to answer the phone.

    He had also calcted at the same time that there would be an earthquake in the Speckled Bone Forest.

    He guessed that Ingrid would die. He also guessed that Justice would see all this, but survived safely.

    If only he was Tragedy Writer¡¯s pope, he was likely capable of conducting this event.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this ¡®the unfortunate must die in the furnace of misfortune¡¯?¡± Annan murmured.

    If Gray Professor nned Ingrid¡¯s death, then Justice¡¯s epting the contract and visiting the Cinder Barren was the same as what happened in Speckled Bone Forest many years ago.

 Chapter 575: There Is Only One Truth

    <h4>Chapter 575: There Is Only One Truth</h4>

    Hearing Annan¡¯s whisper, Nefertari on the side came over curiously, ¡°Your Highness¡­ Ghindaio¡­? Cough¡­¡±

    Nefertari bowed her head in embarrassment and coughed lightly.

    Although she knew Annan¡¯s secret, she was not quite used to the fact that ¡°Ghindaio is Annan¡¤Austere-Winter¡±.

    Ghindaio could also be regarded as a handsome uncle. However, his overly friendly and talkative demeanor did not match the image of the cool and aloof handsome young man that she had imagined.

    Although she had never met Annan¡¤Austere-Winter, nor his father, Grand Duke Ivan, Nefertari felt that the legendary Annan¡¤Austere-Winter must be a handsome white-haired ¡°Shouta¡± who did not talk much.

    Her eyes wandered slightly, and then she put on a serious face, ¡°What you just read? Could it be ¡°Praise the Divine Transporter Book¡±?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Annan asked softly, ¡°Have you ever heard of this poem, Miss Nefer?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s quitemon¡­ The teacher likes this poem very much. Not only do we have to learn this book in ss, but when we graduate and are ready to pursue our dreams, he will also cite a sentence from ¡°Praise Divine Transporter Book¡± as a dictum of life.¡±

    Nefertari replied, ¡°Some people will see it as a prophecy.

    ¡°After all, this is a ¡®prophecy¡¯ made by the teacher individually for each person, with different contents! The teacher is also proficient in the Prophet School and Idol School magics¡­ It¡¯s the prophecy made by a Gold Rank Wizard of Idol School and Prophet School. It could guide our future life. Everyone believes in this.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan¡¯s heart moved slightly.

    It seemed to have rung something in his mind vaguely.

    He turned to ask, ¡°Then, Nefer¡­ Which sentence is your dictum?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the lines spoken by the idiot saint whom the protagonist, ¡°Divine Transporter¡±, meets on ¡®Facial Features Ind¡¯ after realizing he is a mortal and he is destined to fail in his journey to seek the ¡®light sealed in his pupils¡¯ in this epic poem.¡±

    Nefertari pondered for a while, then replied affirmatively, ¡°I remember it should be¡­

    **I sing for my own ears,

    Listening only to songs that bring me cheer.

    My tongue speaks only words of strength and power,

    My hands create and work at my own leisure.

    My feet are like wild horses,

    Running free in the fields with my own choices.

    I live for myself and no others,

    My life, my rules, forever and ever.

    But my eyes alone ¨C they are not mine to keep,

    The world they see is not for me to reap.

    For they hold the light that others behold,

    And so I am neither human nor light, but rather a peeper of light.

    A peeper at the light that passes by,

    A witness to the divine transporter in the sky.

    Hearing this, Annan felt a chill up his spine.

    It was not because of fear but excitement.

    The intense excitement could not be suppressed. It was a sense of challenge when facing a strong enemy.

    If Annan was only having spection before, Annan was more certain about it now.

    ¡°Gray Professor,¡± ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti, is increasingly likely to be Pope Trisino. It is possible in his scheme¡­ and it is getting more extensive and serious.

    Nefertari might not understand the real meaning behind this dictum.

    She didn¡¯t know that Annan was the holder of ¡°the Book of Divine Transporter¡±.

    Otherwise, with Nefertari¡¯s wisdom, she could immediately think of the fact that ¡°her mission itself was to lead Annan to this ce¡±.

    However, this logic indicated Pope Trisino¡¯s n included ¡°Annan and Nefertari forming a friendship¡±.

    Yet what made Nefertari trust Annan was Annan¡¯s cleansing of Nightmare: Sporeggar Mill.

    Sporeggar Mill itself was rted to ck Widow.

    Did this mean that the ck Widow is also in the plot of Pope Trisino or rather the Tragedy Writer?

    ¡°Should I say that he is worthy of being the Deity of Conspiracy¡­¡±

    Annan took a deep breath.

    The most troublesome thing about Tragedy Writer was that he ¡°did not expect anything in return¡±.

    Whether ordinary people plotted murder or weaved conspiracy, they must have their own goal. In other words, the ¡°motive¡±.

    They must benefit from murder or conspiracy, or eliminate harm. Therefore, deducing their ns from their desires and goals became possible.

    However, this rule did not work for the Tragedy Writer.

    The Tragedy Writer only wanted amusement.

    Supposed Seti was Pope Trisino. He had predicted the future decadester and even noticed that the Man in the Mirror and ck Widow were involved in the nightmare. Therefore, Tragedy Writer must have given Pope Trisino the power to achieve that.

    Otherwise, as a mortal, how could he steal and plot against the future deity?

    But, for now, Annan had gained a small victory.

    He wasn¡¯t sure whether ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti was really the Tragedy Writer¡¯s pope, Pope Trisino. However, someone must know the truth.

    That would be Pope Benjamin from the Man in the Mirror.

    Annan would get something out of it by asking the Man in the Mirror.

    Annan already had a hunch that he had captured the rough picture.

    The Man in the Mirror did not personally take action to get back his power, probably because He did not want to have a battle with Tragedy Writer, an old deity. That was why He didn¡¯t destroy Tradey Writer¡¯s chess game and let Annan rece His will to fight against Pope Trisino.

    Given the personality of the Tragedy Writer, it was unlikely that He would show favoritism.

    As long as ¡°Seti¡± was ¡°Trisino¡±, Annan¡¯s keen eyes had captured all his opponent¡¯s motives and rules of all his actions.

    All his conspiracies were based on ¡°the inadequacy of information¡±.

    Ingrid did not know that the earthquake was about to happen to her, so the quake killed her. Justice and Frederick also did not know that Ingrid would face an ident, so they did not save Ingrid. Justice didn¡¯t know that Frederick knew that he had a crush on Ingrid, so he would bury his hatred in his heart and not tell his friends. Frederick did not know Justice had decided to betray him, so he did not talk much to him.

    Austerians did not know the consequences of suppressing the volcanic eruption. The underground folks did know the Storm Tower¡¯s actions or inactions might lead to the copse of the underground world. Justice also did not know the Daughter of the Storm¡¯s self-sacrifice was equally about protecting the world.

    Nefertari did not know that another deity interfered in the formation of the Sporeggar Mill, so she thanked Annan, who contributed to Sporeggar Mill. Thus, she brought Annan to Cinder Barren.

    She probably did not know how her brother inherited the sacred bone and the operations and taboos involved.

    All because of ¡°not knowing¡±.

    The tragedy was written in the essence of ¡°not knowing¡±.

    People thought there was no need to make these things public and tell others; they were toozy to seek information that was not readily avable.

    Why is the ¡°Nightmare: Phantom Fever¡±beled with an average rating, but it also gives the adaptability of the element, [Understanding]?

    If Trisino were involved in this nightmare, everything would fall into ce.

    Annan did not forget.

    In the secret that Nefertari handed to him, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti had lost his original element.

    What was his original element?

    There was probably only one answer.

    That was the [Understanding] element that Annan acquired from the nightmare.

    Annan suddenly came to a realization.

    The ¡°Prophetic¡± ability that transcended karma was the strength of [Understanding].

    His ability to reach conclusions so quickly, even beyond having enough evidence but intuition¡­ It was not just because Ghindaio¡¯s body had levels in Prophet Wizard.

    It was rted to the [Understanding] element he had just obtained and had not yet extracted.

    Then, another question arose.

    Why did ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti ditch his [Understanding] element?

    Seti had probably already awakened it to perfection.

    He even depended on the strength of the element to arrange his plots.

    However, he abandoned it at this stage.

    The subsequent ¡°Seti¡± should havepletely lost the ability to ¡°arrange conspiracy¡±.

    Before the n was implemented, he abandoned this power early¡­ What were Seti¡¯s ns?

    Was it about changing his elements?

    Or it was to separate ¡°Trisino¡± from ¡°Seti¡± entirely?

    No matter what, Annan had found the correct form to solve things.

    Destiny is the Wheel of Divine Transporter.

    No matter how many things ¡°Trisino¡± predicted, only Annan could not be predicted by him.

    Then, finding a reliable yer and bringing him into the nightmare would suffice.

    Dying from this nightmare did not increase the erosion rate, nor did it have a lot of traps like the Sporeggar Mill. The hardest part was that the ¡°key¡± to enter the nightmare was rare.

    [A Silver Rank Idol Wizard], [A Non-wizard Profession], [Cinder Barren], [Three secrets].

    After each failure, the key resets. The user had to re-exchange three secrets to re-enter.

    However, how could there be so many secrets that ordinary people could exchange casually?

    Consequently, the exchange of secrets might subconsciously develop a barrier between the two.

    If another person entered, it would be difficult to form a tacit understanding.

    However, the yers would not care.

    A world separated the yer and Annan.

    They were best friends.

    Friends who would never have a conflict of interest.

    ¡°Nightmare: Phantom Fever¡± was also a nightmare formed by the ¡°information gap¡± that ¡°Trisino¡± was proficient at pulling strings.

    However, Trisino must not know there were live broadcasts in this world.

 Chapter 576: â€œDream Eaterâ€ Trisino Seti

    <h4>Chapter 576: ¡°Dream Eater¡± Trisino Seti</h4>

    To wake Nefertari up and to alert her of who Bone Healer was, Annan didn¡¯t tell her everything directly.

    Instead, Nefertari was brought directly in front of Benjamin.

    It went as Annan expected.

    In other words, his previous intuition was urate. Benjamin personally confirmed Annan¡¯s guesses.

    ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti was Tragedy Writer¡¯s pope, ¡°Trisino¡±.

    It was a recent event he served the Tragedy Writer either.

    ording to Benjamin, Seti had been Tragedy Writer¡¯s pope, at least before Benjamin graduated.

    ¡°At that time, I wanted to learn Idol Magic. Swamp¡¯s ck Tower did not have Idol School¡¯s mentor, I wanted to visit other wizard towers to learn it.¡±

    Benjamin sat at the table, nced at the silent Nefertari, then turned to Annan and said, ¡°At that time, I got the corresponding authority to ess the information in the wizard tower.

    ¡°It¡¯s mentioned in it, the deeds of ¡®Dream Eater¡¯ Trisino Seti. This is his Gold Rank¡¯s profession¡¯s name¡­ Miss Nefertari, you probably don¡¯t know his profession name yet?¡±

    Benjamin calmly narrated the facts.

    However, it gave off a feeling as if he was mocking something.

    ¡°Because as long as you know the official name of the profession, ¡®Dream Eater¡¯, you can easily associate it with what he did.¡±

    Trisino Seti was a demon who fed on the dreams of mortals.

    ¡°The more brilliant the original intention¡­ the stronger the curse that erupts when people forget and abandon it.¡±

    Benjamin exined, ¡°People are used to ¡®abandoning unrealistic dreams¡¯ as a means of survival. Just like people, who survive in the wild, throw away money and jewelry in their bags to reduce their burdens.

    ¡°This is the behavior of people exchanging ¡®valuable things¡¯ for ¡®chance of survival¡¯. So, it can also be regarded as the greatest sacrifice. It is carried out for the living, for survival, and wholeheartedly to reach the goal.¡±

    Sacrifice ¡°bright dreams¡± in exchange for ¡°better reality¡±.

    Idol Wizards¡¯ goal for their life was to make themselves a deity.

    Idol Magic was probably the most egoistic wizard school. They have to believe in themselves fully, thinking they can achieve anything. In other words, before they acquired the ¡°deity¡¯s strength¡±, they must first have the ¡°diety¡¯s mentality¡±.

    Idol Wizards, who worshipped deities, would have their powers declined by at least half.

    Frederick was like this, and so was Trisino Seti.

    Gradually bing ¡°dehumanized¡± was not something an Idol Wizard could stop.

    Just using Idol Magic would keep the wizards going in that direction because that was their ¡°purpose¡± itself.

    Just like the Energy Falteration Wizards would gradually lose their feelings and be indifferent; the Prophet Wizards would gradually lose themselves in countless future possibilities, unable to distinguish between the present, the past, and the future; the Soul Snatch Wizards would eventually modify their memory and personality; the Shaping Wizards would even alter their bodies.

    This was not the cost of the magic.

    Instead, it was based on the curse of their fates.

    As the body grows stronger, it bes prone to hunger; as the mind grows more intelligent, it bes easier to doubt things.

    In fact, arge part of the modern school of wizards was to unify simr ¡°curses¡±.

    Just like the wizards, who manipted the soul and mind, it was likely to go to the point of modifying their memory and personality¡ªwhether it was to absorb the memory of other people¡¯s souls into the body or to finely remove emotions such as timidity or arrogance. The essence had no difference.

    They offended the same taboo.

    ¡°As long as Idol School believed in deities, it meant that they no longer fully believed that they were omnipotent. Their power in the concepts of ¡°doing anything¡± would be strayed toward a certain direction ording to their beliefs¡­

    ¡°So, why didn¡¯t Seti get weaker?¡±

    Benjamin said meaningfully, ¡°Or, has he already weakened?¡±

    Nefertari got it wrong from the beginning.

    She thought that her teacher¡¯s purpose was to let theme back to ¡°announce their victory¡±. However, the goal was to let them ¡°noting back¡±.

    Trisino Seti was indeed trying toplete ¡°four rotating wheels¡±. However, his approach was not the ssical model of ¡°being a wish-making machine¡± in which he fulfilled wishes and gained powers. At the same time, he was not stuck in failures either.

    Most importantly, he had been absorbing power all the time.

    He turned the ¡°dreams¡± of his students into sacrifices for a deity. His students gave him the dreams they cherished ¡°now¡±, and he would fulfill their ¡°future¡± wishes.

    It appeared as if no one was at a loss.

    Seti had acquired power, and his students got a good life. The only regret was the ¡°original wish¡± that would never be forgotten in their heart. The starting wish remained in the heart like a scar.

    Just like first love, no one could forget it.

    However, in reality, what his students were selling was their original destiny.

    If they proceeded with their dazzling wishes along their paths, they might face setbacks, but there was a greater possibility that this burning desire would be fulfilled in the end.

    However, Trisino Seti was deliberately changing their ¡°initial heart¡±.

    It was a paradox of paying their dreams to realize their dreams. The logic seemed wed but there were simple shortcuts.

    That was to change it to another dream.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that the students didn¡¯t pay the price, but they paid a heavy price, while they be strong.

    ¡°That¡¯s why Trisino Seti only recruits young people as apprentices.¡±

    Benjamin pointed out the truth mercilessly, ¡°It¡¯s not like ¡®youth who likes to dream,¡¯ as Seti proimed.

    ¡°It¡¯s because people subconsciously think that young people are immature, that the dreams they keep are childish. People want to believe that as they grow up, their dreams will one day be changed. In a way, they want other people to be like in abandoning their starting dreams.

    ¡°It is this kind of thinking¡ªor this wish that makes them not think that there is anything strange about [All the students of Trisino Seti changed their original intentions during the learning process]. At most, it will be mentioned in the chit-chat, [Seti is a dream-eating monster], [Seti has a curse on him], etc.¡±

    However, there was no such curse in the world.

    Benjamin sneered, ¡°It¡¯s all a conspiracy.

    ¡°What kind of conspiracy is the least likely to be discovered? It is a conspiracy that benefits everyone. Even if a keen person already senses something is wrong, he will stay quiet for his goals and benefits. Once this kind of tacit understanding is destroyed, they won¡¯t be able to get any benefit.¡±

    It was a brilliant conspiracy.

    Or perhaps it had followed ¡°the trend¡±.

    ¡°The unique exception may be Nefertari yourself.¡±

    Having said this, Benjamin looked deeply at Nefertari, ¡°You are the only student whose wish has been fulfilled.

    ¡°Since Pope Trisino didn¡¯t interfere with your actions, it means that you must have some kind of irreceable unique property.¡±

 Chapter 577: Anchor

    <h4>Chapter 577: Anchor</h4>

    There was a lot of information.

    The information was different from the education Nefertari had received, and the information was even contradictory at times.

    It was understandable that Nefertari might be lost because she could not ept it. Perhaps, she felt helpless for being deceived up until now, or she simply did not believe their words.

    Annan and Benjamin were prepared.

    Unexpectedly, Nefertari epted it calmly.

    ¡°¡­Is that really the case?¡± She murmured.

    There was a bright fire in her eyes.

    ¡°Have you expected this?¡± Annan asked with interest.

    That¡¯s not what you said before.

    Nefertari just shook her head.

    ¡°No.¡± She looked at Annan and replied seriously, ¡°To be precise, I felt a sense of disharmony after we exited the nightmare.

    ¡°Although I didn¡¯t be a transcender because of getting power from the nightmare, I seem to gain something from it. It greatly strengthens my intuition.¡±

    Nefertari reached out her slender right index finger, and she pointed at her temple. With a calm expression, she bit her lips slightly, ¡°Although the teacher lied to me a lot, the talents I have developed are not in vain. My brain doesn¡¯t go stupid because of that.

    ¡°After I woke up, I took the potion that strengthened my thinking ability immediately. Although I have forgotten most parts of the nightmare, I instinctively had some doubts about my teacher, so I believe in my intuition.

    ¡°I must have seen something.¡±

    Nefertari said in a deep voice, ¡°The information makes me doubt the teacher, which means that it must strongly contradict something I know. Even if I forget that, since this feeling remains in me In my heart¡­ that is the ¡®trace¡¯ left by me in the past. It is also the ¡®clue¡¯ for my doubts.¡±

    Annan replied, ¡°That¡¯s the power of [understanding].¡±

    Annan said slowly, ¡°This nightmare does not provide curse power, but it triggers the [Understanding] element in people. That is to say, it let a person, who does not have the transcendence ability, to advance into Gold Rank.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Nefertari nodded, ¡°Not everyone can extract elements from their soul. Strong and pure desire itself is also a talent.

    ¡°This represents the ¡®alignment¡¯ of people¡­ This is also the result of the teacher¡¯s research. Damn, I should have thought of it¡­¡±

    Human thoughts were scattered and desires were fickle. Being swayed by emotions and desires was amon human trait¡­ strong desires themselves could spiral out of control.

    The ability to solidify desires in a certain direction and to move in a fixed direction by virtue of desires was the adaptability of an element.

    For example, people characterized as demons, people who went crazy for power, or people who would do anything for justice, the ¡°desire¡± of such people was the qualification to advance to the Gold Rank.

    Such things could be developed after birth instead of having the quality solely innate.

    However, most people could not develop it.

    No matter how weak mortals were, as long as someone gave them a perfect strategy, and then a ritualist or priest stabilized their minds, they could pass the nightmare and be a transcender. Afterward, as long as they were fed with ¡°nightmares alongside the strategies to challenge them¡±, level promotion could be attained easily.

    It applied at least up to the level of Silver Rank. The achievement could be gained through investing resources.

    Those wizards, who studied in the wizard tower, typically sought to be Great Wizards and change their lives.

    However, some people did not need their lives to be changed by the power gained by Transcender.

    Not all power holders would not be transcenders.

    It was just that they were exposed to knowledge beyond ordinary people.

    They knew from the very beginning that Gold Rank required talent.

    Whether one possesses such talent or not, could determine whether they have the ability of a transcender.

    For example, Annan¡¯s brother, Dmitri.

    He knew early on that he was unlikely to have the talent to master an element. No matter how strong the desire was, it would only turn him into a lunatic.

    Since it was impossible to advance to Gold Rank, there was no possibility for the ascendancy process to be a deity.

    Then, there became no need to be a transcender.

    ¡°Alignment?¡± Thinking of this, Annan was silent for a moment.

    He exchanged a look with Nefertari, his eyes grew heavier.

    Annan finally figured out what were those ¡°bright dreams¡± that ¡°Dream Eater¡± Trisino devoured.

    That was ¡°the ability to awaken the element¡±.

    Those children had their original bright dreams changed. They also became mediocre because of this¡­ Here, the biggest difference might be that their original ¡°element adaptability¡± was plundered by Trisino.

    That was indeed a precious ¡°sacrifice¡±.

    Children with this kind of talent might not have a high chance of embarking on the path of transcendence. There might be only one in ten of them who would choose this path. Those who could survive to the Silver Rank were even rarer. At that time, those, who had not changed their original intentions, would have to be screened out again. After all, even if Trisino didn¡¯t do anything, things like ¡°original intentions¡± themselves might change.

    If they could go through all these ups and downs, they would be able to reach the Dyeing Rank and be a true transcender.

    ¡°Since this is the case, we have found the reason why Justice has suddenly been promoted from a mortal to a Gold Rank within five years.¡±

    Nefertari said seriously, ¡°A normal person can¡¯t advance so quickly¡ª¡±

    Hearing this, Longjing Tea, who was silent at the side, raised his head and looked at the cat sitting on Annan¡¯sp silently.

    Annan¡¯s face remained unchanged, and there was nothing unusual about it.

    ¡°He went from Silver Rank to Gold Rank with almost no hindrance. At first, I thought it was because of Justice¡¯s ability to excel. Now it seems that he may be like my older brother¡­¡±

    Having said that, Nefertari paused.

    Annan understood what she meant.

    Supposed ¡°the Thief Saint¡± Alfonso was an ¡°artificial saint¡±.

    Then, Justice might be the ¡°artificial Gold Rank¡±.

    Annan had already captured this from the nightmare.

    The ult Bond Envoy was not Justice¡¯s family profession at all, let alone the job transfer mastered by ¡°Gray Professor¡±. It was the profession mastered by Justice¡¯s childhood sweetheart ¡°Alison¡±, the youngdy who married him.

    Justice also had the talent to be a transcender, at least he wouldn¡¯t be looked down upon by his father-inw. In fact, his father-inw had even started to find a mortal son-inw. How could such a person pick on Justice? Not to mention that they were childhood sweethearts, and even Alison pursued Justice.

    Alison¡¯s family even had a strong curse that had been passed down from generation to generation. In other words, they did not need a ¡°powerful son-inw¡±, but an ¡°heir¡±.

    This showed that they must have the corresponding training knowledge of bing a transcender.

    Then, herees the problem.

    Since Justice didn¡¯t go to Gray Professor for the perfunctory reason of ¡°not worthy of childhood sweetheart¡¯s family¡±.

    Why did he go to the Gray Tower to study?

    What could he learn?

    Gray Professor was not a Lurker at all, nor was he an ult Bond Envoy. It was even more impossible for him to have the Gold Rank profession¡¯s inheritance of the ult Bond Envoy. Alison¡¯s family only needed an heir, and the Silver Rank was the best situation.

    Those, who had advanced to gold, might be short-lived and unable to leave more children.

    Therefore, Alison wouldn¡¯t want Justice to advance to Gold Rank.

    Then, the answer was self-evident.

    What Gray Professor gave him was some kind of ¡°elemental power¡± that had already hatched.

    It was like the [understanding] that Annan and Nefertari had gotten.

    That would be creating talent out of thin air.

    Just like how [Understanding] sharpened the intuition of Annan and Nefertari.

    The element obtained by Justice would change his behavior and thoughts.

    ¡°Everything makes sense now.¡± Annan looked at Nefertari.

    Only Nefertari was special.

    There were two possibilities here.

    ¡°¡­First possibility, it¡¯s because you refuse to be a transcender. You may not have the talent of the ¡®element¡¯. After all, your reaction after getting the [understanding] is much greater than mine. This possibility is not too low.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes, ¡°But if this is the case, it means¡­ your uniqueness is decided ¡®before enrolling¡¯.

    ¡°Then, there is a second possibility¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªMy value is because I don¡¯t have this talent, and I don¡¯t want to be a transcender.¡±

    Nefertari continued.

    She made a low and slightly maic voice, ¡°I am an ¡®anchor¡¯.

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s the real proof of existence for ¡®Bone Healer¡¯ Seti.¡±

 Chapter 578: Tragedy Writer: I Even Watch My Own Show

    <h4>Chapter 578: Tragedy Writer: I Even Watch My Own Show</h4>

    With the help of Benjamin, Annan felt that he was getting closer to the truth.

    The different identities of an Idol Wizard would indeed be separated from each other as people recognize them. However, the holder of these identities was the same person in reality.

    There must be intersections between ¡°they¡±.

    Then, as long as ordinary people identify one of the identities and continue to investigate, they might find other identities. That was what Annan and the others were doing now.

    It was not an easy task to hide identity.

    There was a saying: If you want others to not know about something, you must not do it.

    To make one of the personas more shed out, hinting at others it was a new identity, it was required to engage in a lot of unique and personalized behaviors at a high frequency. However, since these actions were widely known, they would inevitably leave evidence behind.

    ¡°This is not something that can be kept well hidden. Since Trisino can foresee the future ¡ª no matter if he relies on the Prophet Spell, his wisdom, or the divine art of Tragedy Writer¡­ In short, he can see the future up to this point.

    ¡°Then, the fact that you ¡®learned the identity of Pope Trisino¡¯ must have been expected by him.¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°Have you considered this?¡±

    Nefertari nodded, ¡°Naturally.¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s supposed to let me get the adaptability of the [understanding] element.

    ¡°The teacher once told me that my talent lies in intuition.¡±

    In her words, Nefertari still referred to Seti as a ¡°teacher¡±. That could be understood as a kind of¡­ ¡®female intuition¡¯.

    Speaking of this, Nefertari smiled helplessly, ¡°Although it may be a bit boastful to say so, my intuition has always been quite urate.

    ¡°asionally, I can directly guess the truth without evidence or logic.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Annan heard this, and he raised his voice slightly higher.

    What did Annan realize?

    Nefertari nodded to Annan, ¡°Yes.

    ¡°It¡¯s simr to the expression of the [understanding] element. So I guess the [understanding] element in this nightmare may have been prepared for me in the first ce.¡±

    Trisino threw Nefertari to a safe ce but asked her to bring Annan to participate in the n.

    His goal should be to let her get that share¡­ It was likely that it was Trisino¡¯s own mastery of the [understanding] element.

    ¡°You probably guessed it right.¡± Hearing this, Benjamin nodded slightly, ¡°Pope Trisino may not want to get anything from you¡­ Rather, it¡¯s the opposite. He wants to keep you alive.

    ¡°You are the ¡®anchor¡¯ tied to the safety rope around his waist before he jumped off the cliff.¡±

    Hearing this, Annan looked at Benjamin.

    ¡°If you put it that way¡­¡±

    ¡°He probably wanted aplete separation from his past self.¡±

    Benjamin said in a deep voice, ¡°That was the idea of ??¡¯the Man in the Mirror¡¯ at the beginning. That¡¯s why I came here.

    ¡°In the ascendancy ritual, when He arrived at the Light Realm on the Divine Transporter, his vision of the future became broad for a moment. It was at that time that the Man in the Mirror saw Pope Trisino steal the power stolen from Him in the ¡®past¡¯.

    ¡°He used the strength of the Man in the Mirror to construct the nightmare you just purified. He must have a n for going in a big circle. The future in the eyes of the Man in the Mirror has been revealed¡­Trisino must have eventually betrayed the Tragedy Writer.¡±

    Pope betrayed the deities not once or twice.

    This was not surprising.

    Just like fans tend to lose their respect for idols, Pope himself would get the covenant of the deities, which meant that he had already gained the attention of the deities for some reason.

    They must be outstanding talents themselves to be a deity¡¯s secret keeper. For such a person, unless their ideals were the same or they were favored in the past, most of them would not sincerely believe in a certain deity.

    From another point of view, the pope had no obligation to believe in deities. This was only based on the ethics of the secret keeper, or the exchange of interests.

    Annan, for example.

    Annan had the Angel of Betrayal, Angelo¡¯s covenant.

    From the perspective of religion, Annan was the Angel of Betrayal or the pope of the Venerated Skeleton¡­ Obviously, Annan not only had no faith in the Venerated Skeleton, but he even wanted to kick Him.

    ¡°Tragedy Writer is naturally aware of this matter.¡± Benjamin said in a deep voice.

    Tragedy Writer was originally the pinnacle of the Idol School, the master of [Law of Simrity], and Pioneer King. It was also reasonable for Idol School to also practice Soul Snatch School or Prophet School.

    As wise as He was, He didn¡¯t even need to use His power or peek into the future.

    The deities of this world could not stay in ces like the astral world. They were all in the world, but not necessarily at a fixed spot.

    As for the Tragedy Writer, He must be by the pope¡¯s side.

    With His insight into human hearts, it was impossible for Him to not notice that Trisino had ulterior motives.

    He just wanted to watch the fun even if it involved Him

    Pope¡¯s betrayal of the deities was indeed a good show. If the process of this betrayal was stretched to decades, then no matter what the result was, it would be an outstanding ¡°tragedy¡±.

    ¡°To put it simply, Trisino intends to regain the power that has been weakened ¡®because he has faith¡¯.¡±

    Annan straightforwardly exined to Longjing Tea who was a little confused, ¡°He wants to return to his strongest state. And for this purpose¡­ he must betray the ¡®Tragedy Writer¡¯.

    ¡°Yes, He¡¯s going to kill ¡®Pope Trisino¡¯.¡±

    At that moment, Longjing Tea¡¯s voice sounded in his head.

    ¡°ording to the spell check, the one who killed Justice was none other than Justice himself.¡± His pupils dted slightly.

    Everything was simr.

    ¡°This nightmare, named ¡®Phantom Fever¡¯, has the characteristic ¡®reenactment¡¯¡ªthat is, the characteristic of the gallery nightmare.¡±

    Annan added.

    As long as the dungeon challenger dies, he would lose his memory.

    Because really, all nightmares were everchanging.

    Known information, whether misleading or not, would affect the judgment of the dungeon challenger. In other words, the memories of their nightmares had already interfered with their choices. They would act more on ¡°experience¡± rather than ¡°intuition¡±.

    The so-called ¡°reenactment¡± feature was to help people return to their original intentions.

    The losers did not know what to do to pass the level. They would eventually return to the step of ¡°choosing with their true thoughts¡±, and finally repeat that infinitely.

    That was to say, the ¡°reenactment of something¡± had been achieved.

    Like the dungeon challengers, they betrayed Elle again and again in Nightmare: Gallery.

    This nightmare also had a simr mechanism.

    ¡°As you know, I can see what you see.¡± Annan said seriously to Longjing Tea, ¡°This time, I need your help¡ª¡ª

    ¡°But I have already passed the level once. My choice will inevitably be unobjective, and I am not familiar with any of you. There will inevitably be misunderstandings when you cooperate¡­ It just so happens that the Man in the Mirror is here. So, I wish to hold a ritual.

    ¡°The ¡®self-propelled mirror¡¯ ritual in the field of ¡®mirror¡¯. It is used to transfer the key to the nightmare to others.¡±

    In other words, it was to find two yers, who would cooperate, to y on behalf of Annan.

    Annan exchanged secrets with another yer and then let both yers enter with the keys. Annan and Delicious Wind Goose watched the live broadcast outside. They would be thementator, analyzing the details of the nightmare dungeon instance from a neutral and objective perspective.

    After the analysis, Annan and a yer would enter the nightmare.

    ¡°I hope that you will elect two people. It doesn¡¯t matter what profession you have because I can prepare the key¡­ There is only one requirement. You must cooperate with each other tacitly and know each other well.¡±

    Annan looked at Longjing Tea seriously, ¡°I would need your help.¡±

 Chapter 579: Dungeon Instance Analyst

    <h4>Chapter 579: Dungeon Instance Analyst</h4>

    ¡°In other words, let¡¯s go adventuring unexplored part of the game?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance frowned slightly, and subconsciously pushed the bridge of his nose without sses, ¡°Is it just me and Husky?¡±

    Longjing Tea asked in a low voice, ¡°Is there any problem?

    ¡°From my point of view, the two of you should be the most suitable, but your opinions will be given priority.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m interested. I think Husky should be keener than me¡­ But objectively speaking, can the two of us do it?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance analyzed seriously and calmly, ¡°I watched the recordings and broadcastings of two dungeon instances, ¡®Gallery¡¯ and ¡®Unification War¡¯ yesterday. It¡¯s to get a reference for the [Distorted] and [Hard] difficulties. To be honest, they are exciting.

    ¡°If you give me a dungeon instance or two to practice, I have the confidence to challenge it. After all, the reaction speed of this body is much stronger than my own body.

    ¡°But for Husky, he¡­ No, she may not be able toplete the role.¡±

    [TN: A brief reminder that Husky created a female avatar in the ¡°Mist Continent¡± game.]

    He sighed. He said sincerely and helplessly, ¡°Let me tell the truth. I don¡¯t think Husky can y the role well and clear the nightmare. If it is a test of reaction or mechanics, she can at least y at the upper level. However, she¡¯s more of an intuitive yercking in logical aspects.

    ¡°Nightmare is a dungeon instance that requires brains to y and decipher. It is not suitable for her.

    ¡°She¡¯s the type of yer who, even in a game of Werewolf, could suddenly start doing stand-upedy or making herselfugh. Even if I continued to y my role without responding, she could seamlessly switch to doing aedy routine on her own.¡±

    Of course, I know about this.

    Longjing Tea smiled silently.

    The veteranedian¡¯sbination of Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance was considered his childhood.

    Although the two had be a duo of a young man and a girl, their style had changed slightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Longjing Tea said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s fine to approach the nightmare through metagaming [1]. We even encourage that/

    ¡°In ¡®Phantom Fever¡¯, the main difficulty is ¡®misunderstanding between two people¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. ording to our spection based on the information we have so far, the information everyone knows and the mission they hold in this dungeon instance ispletely different.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have to be like a role-ying game where you have to continuously y your assigned role andplete tasks¡­ as long as you don¡¯t overdo it to the extent that the core NPCs suspect that this is a nightmare, whether you y your assigned role or not will only have a minimal impact on the final evaluation after the nightmare ends.¡±

    ¡°However, in this nightmare, there may be an enemy ¡®disguised as another person¡¯. Then, the ability to quickly distinguish whether the person is a teammate or monster will be critical.¡±

    Longjing Tea exined.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    No wonder they came to us.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was silent for a moment and subconsciously pushed the bridge of his nose which was empty.

    The emptiness of not pushing something made him scratch his fair in embarrassment and cough lightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too nervous. It¡¯s just a dungeon instance.¡± Seeing him nervous, Longjing Tea chuckled. He opened the cigar box and handed over a cigar. Then, he pushed the cigar cutter and matches together.

    ¡°I have quit.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance responded subconsciously, ¡°I¡¯m getting old.¡±

    Longjing Tea smiled, ¡°We¡¯re just virtual avatars here.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes.¡± Only then did Thirteenth Fragrance react. He took the cigar and thanked him.

    This world was too real. He hadn¡¯t died yet, and he hadn¡¯t personally experienced any transcended power. Thus, he would tend to forget that he was in the ¡°game¡± or appeared in the ¡°other world¡± as a projection.

    ¡°This time, your mission is not necessarily to clear the dungeon. It is to turn on the live broadcast, live as long as you can, and record the dungeon instance in the form of broadcasting format forprehensive analysis. Here you will be provided with little information.¡±

    As he spoke, Longjing Tea reached out his hand and drew a line in the air.

    From his side, Old Goose wrote a detailed guide of about 2,500 words through Annan¡¯s narration. He sent it to Thirteenth Fragrance through a private chat in the friend system.

    ¡°Read it first. After reading it, summarize it and send it to Husky. I probably won¡¯t be able to finish reading such a long guide, and she should receive much lesser information.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance nodded.

    To put it simply, it was to go to the dungeon instance analyst to test the mechanics.

    In the first adventuring group, this approach was quitemon.

    There were some ¡°Boss Monsters¡±, which their core mechanism couldn¡¯t be figured out by just fighting them once or twice. Even if it was to figure out the precise cooldown, there would inevitably be a few particrly crazy bosses where the yers would be stuck for a long time.

    In this case, having an analyst was necessary.

    By viewing the recorded video repeatedly, challenging the Boss Monster repeatedly, recording the health points and behavior, and deducing the damage through the damage record and the tank¡¯s defensive attributes¡­ Such bosses had always existed since the primitive era of video games.

    They were termed mathematicians.

    Even with unpacking the data through the damage output and mechanics of the ¡°Boss Monster¡±, it was challenging to craft a walkthrough directly. The strategy to tackle the ¡°Boss Monster¡± would include strategic damage reduction on each key phase, positioning, movement, and the safe spot. It would these mathematicians a long time to count.

    At the researching stage and making strategy videos, it was even more important to understand the game mechanics. Strategy videos could be verbose and redundant¡­ but if the mechanics were overlooked, it would be a shame.

    When Thirteenth Fragrance was a student, he was part of the game group in adventuring unexplored parts of the game.

    He even had the record of being the first of the whole server in a variety of MMORPG games in clearing bosses. He was also experienced as an analyst while studying.

    Husky was the exact opposite of him.

    That stupid dog had always copied the homework directly. Sometimes, he made mistakes in copying the work, and he had to ask Thirteenth Fragrance ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡±

    Farming a dungeon instance included getting materials, ying safe, and analyzing the mechanics behind the dungeon. Thirteenth Fragrance was quite familiar with these tasks. He was mainly worried about whether he could control Husky.

    As the saying goes, there were bad names, but no inurate nicknames.

    Husky was a dog who would run wildly once they were out of sight.

    On the other hand, the level of tacit understanding between them was superb.

    Even a look or a movement could make the other party understand what they wanted.

    I hope Husky can live up to it.

    I will sort out the strategy for her again, delete the unnecessary parts, and emphasize the parts that need special attention¡­

    Thinking of this, Thirteenth Fragrance sighed.

    This cigar tastes a bit average. It¡¯s certainly not as good as the good cigars I have smoked in reality, but this is expected after considering the current era and technological advancement.

    ¡°When will we start?¡±

    ¡°Boss¡¯s suggestion is to wait until the two of you are ready to go to bed. Let¡¯s say tonight.¡±

    Longjing Tea smiled at him, ¡°After all, he doesn¡¯t know whether you are busy in the ¡®other world¡¯. So to take care of your work and rest, you should give priority to your sleep time¡ªthat is, do the dungeon instance guide after 10 p.m.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Thirteenth Fragranceughed when he heard the words, ¡°He must not know that young people in our world only go to bed after midnight.¡±

    ¡°Cade doesn¡¯t even go to sleep until after dawn.¡±

    Longjing Tea shrugged, ¡°However, Cade is almost bald now¡­¡±

    Hearing this, the two of them looked at each other and smiled.

    On the other side, Annan had already chosen the person who would share the secret with him this time.

 Chapter 580: The Comedian Duoâ€™s Debut

    <h4>Chapter 580: The Comedian Duo¡¯s Debut</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s actually you.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s expression was a bit subtle, ¡°I thought I had to summon Her Royal Highness Kafni or perhaps a youngdy from a noble family. She might have to teleport over to be in a duo queue with His Royal Highness Annan like a sweet couple.¡±

    [TN: Duo queue is a game term where 2 yers enter the matchmaking system as a party.]

    The Goose didn¡¯t expect that the person Annan had decided to share the secret with would be Dove.

    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t you know I¡¯m also Annan¡¯s secret keeper? We don¡¯t have to bother Her Royal Highness in this matter.¡±

    Dove was lying in the warm cat bed,zily sweeping her tail, ¡°Besides, we¡¯re not really running a dungeon together. We¡¯re just joining the party for the sake of it.¡±

    ¡°In a situation where both people have hired someone else to y for them, shouldn¡¯t this be considered as two ¡°proxy yers¡± ying together as a sweet duo couple?¡±

    Dove asked a great question.

    Delicious Wind Goose fell silent.

    The Goose¡¯s expression became subtle, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Husky¡¯s special situation, your words give off a weird feeling.¡±

    This should have been a harmoniousbination.

    Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance, a well-knownedian duo, each substitute a male and a female yer to have a duo queue ¡ª What happened here could be transformed into a seven or eight episodes TV series. Each episode could be a 20-minute video, with a catchy title. Its views might push it to appear on the home page.

    However, Husky turned into a beautiful girl with a silver ponytail, and Thirteenth Fragrance went straight back to his prime youth. The story was not quite right.

    How to put it?

    Delicious Wind Goose had an inexplicably feeling that this story should happen in drama. ¡°To be honest, I kind of want to see it.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied honestly.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal. Everyone wants to see it.¡±

    Doveyzily in the cat bed, ¡°The forum is lively now, knowing that Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance made their debut again in another world. The premiere is exciting.

    ¡°We should learn from this routine. In the future, I think this entertainment program can be converted into a long-term event¡­ We can gather a few streamers to perform a simr variety show. I think the entertainment value of the program is surely not bad.¡±

    ¡°What kind of event is this? ¡°Stealing A Person¡¯s ount¡±, ¡°Blind Date for You¡± or ¡°Your Names¡±?¡± Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Are you a devil?¡±

    Dove carried her tail lightly with her mouth, then raised her head innocently, ¡°I¡¯m a cat.

    ¡°Let the ount boosters fall in love with each other. Why should it concern me? Besides, I¡¯m just a cat.¡±

    ¡°Is a serval, who is almost one meter tall, not embarrassed to say that she is a house cat?¡±

    Longjing Tea¡¯s voice came from outside the door.

    Longjing Tea brought a young man, who looked like the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Heart [1]. Then, a silver-haired husky girl with bright eyes, who looked around curiously, pushed open the unlocked door and walked in.

    ¡°Tiange, where¡¯s the boss?¡±

    [TN: A reminder that Xiang Tiange is Goose¡¯s name in his original world.]

    He nced at the cat snoozing in the cat bed and turned to Delicious Wind Goose, asking, ¡°I¡¯ve brought the person over.

    ¡°His Highness and Old Pope are performing a ritual in the next room.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose was sitting at a table, busily arranging materials and taking notes on aptop. With a calm and serious tone, he responded, ¡°You can have her lie down over there for now. It¡¯s a bed made for Chocte, so it¡¯s quite big. However, considering that we need to monitor both of your sleep, you will have to share the same bed for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Husky said indifferently, ¡°When we were busy, we slept on the same sofa. I thought we had to lie on the altar¡­ It would be nice to have a bed.¡±

    ¡°Someone kicked me down the sofa¡­¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance red at Husky.

    Considering her current image, Husky took back what she said after thinking about it.

    Even Longjing Tea and Delicious Wind Goose might not care, Dove and everyone in that room didn¡¯t know the original image of Husky.

    Let¡¯s save some face for her.

    ¡°Also, who says I can¡¯t act?¡±

    However, Husky kept muttering, ¡°I¡¯m a standard Role-yer genre yer, okay? We have to pretend to be a little stupid on purpose to be real. Beingpletely rational doesn¡¯t look like role-ying at all¡­

    [TN: A reference to GTA5 RP.]

    ¡°For example, now, do you think I look like an innocent and energetic girl? It¡¯s too simr! It¡¯s so true, brother, I wonder if I was born in the wrong birth.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, I was wrong¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m such a genius.¡±

    ¡°Yes Yes Yes¡­¡­¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance sighed weakly,y down on the designated position with the help of Longjing Tea, and put on the corresponding mirror.

    Ah Dian, who was standing outside the door watching, cheered for theedic duo¡¯s debut.

    Originally, she wasn¡¯t there. The live stream this time was originally nned to be on the forum¡­ It could be regarded as the first serious ¡°variety show¡± in the history of the Freezing Water Port forum.

    However, Ah Dian strongly requested to watch and take pictures at close range.

    As a result, Ah Dian followed all the way. It was a pleasure for her to watch it in excitement.

    ¡ªIt turns out that it¡¯s not a nned skit!

    When theedian duo was online at the same time, they talked non-stop. The scene was exceptionally hrious. If it weren¡¯t for Ah Dian¡¯s need to maintain the image of a girl, she would probablyugh until she wriggled like a worm in bed.

    ¡°Dove, we have finished up the work for adjustment. Come in.¡±

    Ghindaio¡¯s voice came from the back room, ¡°Forget it¡­ Longjing Tea, you can just bring in Dove¡¯s cat bed. She has lost a little hair recently, so don¡¯t let the cat hair disturb the ritual.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡±

    Longjing Tea, who was helping the two make the beds, looked up and responded.

    Why is it me again?

    Old Goose sighed in resignation and walked over to pick up Dove, who was nestled in a cradle-shaped cat bed, along with the bed itself.

    Old Goose seriously suspected that when buying the cat bed, Dove had specially requested to add handles and shoulder straps on the side of the bed, to prepare for the current situation.

    Old Goose quickly took the cat into the back of the room.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Delicious Wind Goose to see the expressions of Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance gradually bing dazed. Then, the two fell asleep without saying a word.

    After a while, Annan came out following Longjing Tea.

    ¡°Feel free toe out. Is there no problem with the ritual?¡±

    While Delicious Wind Goose asked, he switched to the live broadcast interface of the two that had already been opened. Then, he adjusted the panel in his field of vision to make it into a split-screen mode.

    Old Goose had an illusion for a moment.

    It felt like he was a gamementator for ¡°A Way Out¡±¡­

    Old Goose nced at ¡°Ghindaio¡± who was sitting peacefully next to him with a mirror-shaped ne on top of the heart.

    There are no outsiders here either.

    Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to change back to Annan? Ghindaio¡¯s appearance is too stressful.

    He muttered.

    ¡°Is there any problem? Can you see it?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I can see it.¡± Annan responded.

    He turned his head and showed a gentle smile, ¡°After all, at the very beginning, you are my ¡®eyes¡¯.¡±

    That moment.

    Delicious Wind Goose suddenly recalled how Annan released his elemental power and he turned into a mythical being form.

    Among the many ¡°eyes¡± on the body¡­

    There was one which seemed to be his own.

    Before Delicious Wind Goose dwelled deep into this thought, he saw that the two people, who were thrown into the adventure had woken up separately, through the live broadcast in the ¡°split-screen¡± mode.

 Chapter 581: Itâ€™s Me

    <h4>Chapter 581: It¡¯s Me</h4>

    ¡°Life is the prison of death. Death is the hymn of life.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance seemed to hear someone whispering in his ear.

    What the hell?

    He trembled, and instantly woke up.

    Perhaps because of this fright, his memory of that sentence became weak. It was like waking up from a dream, and he couldn¡¯t remember it clearly.

    After waking up, his first reaction was¡­

    ¡°Fuck, this body is great.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    He clearly felt that not only had his body be strong and powerful, but his vision was also unusually clear. Although his pupils were somewhat dry, he could easily see the tiny corners of the room. It was as if a highly nearsighted person suddenly became not nearsighted in an instant.

    He also felt that his breathing had be more steady. His thinking speed also seemed to have increased slightly ¡ª he attempted mental multiplication and division of three-digit numbers and the result was calcted about one-third faster than he could do it before.

    Originally, he thought it might be a bit difficult to carry the Husky in a dungeon.

    But now he suddenly had the confidence¡ª

    Of course, Thirteenth Fragrance knew that this was just an illusion.

    It was like after a person¡¯s strength suddenly increased, he would even have the illusion that ¡°I could smash the wall with one punch¡±. But in fact, it was only because one¡¯s true level exceeded the old cognition that misjudgment urred.

    But¡­

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I will see Husky when I wake up?¡±

    He propped himself up from the bed nkly and looked around.

    ¡°Where¡¯s my dog?¡± In the room covered with newspapers, there was no dog.

    He couldn¡¯t even find the warm water beside his bed ording to the guide.

    No, it wasn¡¯t like it was not there¡ª

    Thirteenth Fragrance saw the ¡°cup¡± mentioned in the guide.

    The water in it had been drunk, and it was ced near the door.

    He knew who drank it at a nce.

    Hey, I¡¯m the one who is intoxicated in the plot. Why did you drink it?

    Am I waking up early orte?

    Thirteenth Fragrance nced over and saw that the kettle was on the stove, and it was far from boiling.

    He turned over, paced the room cautiously and somewhat confused, and began to check the newspapers in the room.

    ¡­Sure enough.

    They were all news reports from Justice.

    ¡°Our Protector ¡ª Shield of Unfallen Justice¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather hurt myself than see others suffer¡±

    ¡°You Need Me as a Shield¡± ¡ª Justice the Hero

    ¡°Wow! 48 people were rescued within 30 seconds after the disaster! The highest efficiency rescue record! ¡°

    ¡°Shield Without Shield, de Without de¡±

    ¡°Master of Great Swords and Handaxes! He is also a healer! ¡°

    ¡°God damn it, he is a great sword and hand axe user who heals¡­¡±

    Seeing this, Thirteenth Fragrance finally couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°It¡¯s more than an assassin with a great sword and a hand axe.¡±

    ¡°¡ª I¡¯m Here For Your Head.¡±

    ¡°¡ª Connor: Do you have anyments?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance froze for a moment when he saw two lines of text drifting past his eyes.

    ¡°Bullet text?¡±

    He was shocked, ¡°There is also a bullet text interface?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIsn¡¯t it fun? Can you y it? Have you never yed it?¡±

    ¡°Stop it, friend. This meme is too old¡­¡±

    Thirteenth Fragranceined, ¡°Could it be Old Goose?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s a cat.¡±

    ¡°¡­?¡±

    He vaguely wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he still didn¡¯t dare to say it.

    What is emotional intelligence? (That will be a tactical retreat)

    I can¡¯t deal with this.

    Thirteenth Fragrance felt that the more he read the bullet text, the more he was distracted. He wouldn¡¯t have time to investigate things inside the dungeon instance if he kept paying attention to the chats.

    He still remembered his mission.

    He mainly came in to test the mechanism.

    ¡°Let¡¯s search this room first.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance quickly adjusted his mentality, and skillfully said to the ¡°audience¡±, ¡°There should be a screen recording setting here, right? Then, I won¡¯t wait for you. I will just skip it after looking at it. I can¡¯t see clearly. You can watch the recordingter. We try to save more time.¡±

    He quickly walked around the room as he spoke, taking in the general content of the newspapers on the walls andmitting them to memory. Following the timeline of events, he mentally recorded Justice¡¯s experiences, while muttering to himself rapidly and continuously.

    This took about ten minutes or less.

    Thirteenth Fragrance already had a general idea in his mind.

    After leaving the dungeon, he could supplement his memory by watching the recording, so there was no need to memorize everything at once. As long as he had a general idea and didn¡¯t remember things incorrectly, it would be fine.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s start rummaging through Justice¡¯s storage.¡±

    Afterward, Thirteenth Fragrance began to search for Justice¡¯s personal belongings in sequence, following the time in the newspaper.

    Sure enough, he didn¡¯t expect it.

    The items in the drawer and the time and content of the newspaper above were consistent. They should bebeled with confidentiality.

    At a nce, Thirteenth Fragrance knew roughly when this was, what Justice had in his hands at the time, or what Justice was doing.

    There were rted things in the drawer below the newspaper.

    After a while, Thirteenth Fragrance found many items including but not limited to a slightly yellowed cloth doll, a spare hand axe, a t metal empty liquor bottle, strange potions with unknown uses, and a cheap wooden ring.

    How to put it?

    They were all types that seemed to be useful, but their purpose was not clear.

    The only thing that could be used immediately is probably this hand axe.

    Thirteenth Fragrance strapped the handaxe to his waist.

    At this moment, the door was pushed open.

    Thirteenth Fragrance, who was rummaging through boxes and cabs in the room, was startled for a moment. He subconsciously squatted down, trying to hide his body.

    However, he reacted quickly.

    I am not a thief, so what am I afraid of!?

    So he wanted to turn around confidently and yell at him.

    He saw a robust and terrifying burly man slowly approaching him with a terrifying aura.

    Dark brown shiny skin, muscles protruding like a rock, and a cloth bag in his hand. The cloth bag was seemingly stuffed with a person.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was shocked and returned to his squatting position.

    As a result, the burly man froze for a moment when he saw him.

    He looked back at the bed and looked at Thirteenth Fragrance hesitantly.

    ¡°Well¡­¡°

    Um?

    This reaction¡­

    At this time, Thirteenth Fragrance had an idea.

    He asked tentatively, ¡°Husky? Dog? Huohuo?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­you finally woke up.¡±

    Immediately, the burly man breathed a sigh of relief, dropped the cloth bag casually, andined, ¡°I can¡¯t wake you up no matter what, so you scared me to death!¡±

    Seeing this, Thirteenth Fragrance felt relieved.

    Sure enough, it was Husky.

    He nced at the terrifying muscles on Husky and realized that Dog could easily lift objects weighing at least several tens of pounds with one hand¡­

    He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What are you afraid of?¡±

    ¡°I thought I was the only one in the dungeon!¡±

    ¡°Husky¡±ined righteously, ¡°I have no clue, and I don¡¯t know what to do. I¡¯m afraid of messing up these things¡­ Then, you won¡¯t know what will happen. We may get stuck.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if there are any rules for the item cement here, but it will definitely mess it up if I touch it.¡± Husky said, squatting down and rummaging through the cloth bag, ¡°So, I went to investigate other people¡¯s rooms.

    ¡°Anyway, there was no one outside. I kicked open all the other doors, and brought back all the things that might be useful inside.¡±

    As Husky said, he took out a bunch of fruits from the cloth bag.

    Then, he passed an apple to Thirteenth Fragrance, ¡°Eat it.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s raised his voice, ¡°Where is the strategy guide I gave you?¡±

    He took the apple and took a bite.

    As a result, Husky¡¯s answer was quite straightforward.

    He nced at Thirteenth Fragrance in surprise, ¡°It has been two hours, my brother! I must have forgotten it!

    ¡°I can still remember that it¡¯s you lying on the bed. Otherwise, I might hammer you to death.¡±

    ¡°Why?!¡± Thirteenth Fragrance was shocked, ¡°We are teammates!¡±

    The burly man yed by ¡°Husky¡± scratched his head, a little confused, ¡°But didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s a role y?

    ¡°ording to my plot introduction, I seem to be here to kill you, brother.¡±

    Husky said in uncertainty.

 Chapter 582: Overlapping Dreams

    <h4>Chapter 582: Ovepping Dreams</h4>

    Is this some sort of mischief?

    Thirteenth Fragrance was stunned by Husky¡¯s overly blunt words.

    Even the other yers who were watching them on the forum were stunned for a moment.

    Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t hold back for a moment andughed out loud.

    He quickly cleared his throat andposed himself, exining to Anan and the other yers, ¡°I suppose you could call it a reflex.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good too.¡± The corner of Annan¡¯s mouth couldn¡¯t help but rise for a moment, ¡°If he gets into the character, Thirteenth Fragrance will be in trouble¡­¡±

    Annan was unlike the yers, who could live stream and leave a recording. Therefore, Annan¡¯s actions in the nightmare wouldn¡¯t have the same ¡°detective¡± approach as Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance. Instead, Annan would prioritize roleying and advancing the plot.

    Of course, part of the reason was that Annan entered the solo queue from the perspective of the ¡°1st yer¡±.

    Justice was ¡°yed by a bot¡±. His behavioral logic was restored to the original. Justice himself had a strong desire to control so that Annan had little free time after waking up. He could only conduct arbitrary investigations in the room.

    What Annan saw was far less than what Thirteenth Fragrance saw.

    From the perspective of the ¡°2P¡± yer Husky, itpleted the fragmented parts.

    For example, what Husky saw and heard after entering the dungeon instance was what Annan had no information about.

    ¡°A fleeting moment of anger. A never-ending remorse.¡±

    Those were the two quotes that Annan heard when he entered the dungeon instance. Each yer only heard half of the phrase. What Husky heard was the first part.

    Later, when he entered the dungeon instance, the plot introduction appeared.

    [Today is your 30th birthday and you¡¯ve initiated a trade with ¡°Trisino¡± for the third time.]

    [Of course, you know what the name ¡°Trisino¡± stands for: the pope of the Deity of Murder and Conspiracy ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±, ¡°Dream Eater¡±, ¡°Wine Drinker¡±. ¡¿

    [At the same time, he is also your mentor, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Trisino Seti.]

    [There are no more than five people in this world who know his secret, and you are one of them.]

    [In the previous two transactions, you sessfully got what you wanted, but you also paid a corresponding price. In this transaction, you are determined to sacrifice yourst friend ¡ª Frederick Melvin, whom you haven¡¯t seen for seven years. You will officially bid farewell to your human identity.]

    [ording to the contract, you¡¯re supposed to bring an Idol Wizard to Cinder Barren. When the star reaches the correct position, you can follow him into the ¡°gap between dreams¡±. In other words, the ¡°gateway to the dream world¡±.]

    [At this ce, the boundary between dream and reality is blurred. Reality can fall into a dream, and the dreamer can reach reality. Under your persuasion, Frederick is drunk and unconscious. He fell into a deep sleep.]

    [¡ª Where you are now is the Cinder Barren in his dream. To be precise, it is the ¡°prophetic dream¡± that he dreamed of in the past.]

    [Dream and reality, at this moment, reach an infinite cycle.]

    [Let him believe that this dream is reality, and get the dream essence from his dry, dreamless corpse.]

    At this point, Husky immediately got the main mission.

    [Acquired the main mission: Wait and see]

    [Convince Frederick that he is in a dream.]

    [Kill Frederick.]

    The introductory plot on the side of ¡°Justice¡± exined the situation that Annan was confused about before.

    Where is the dream?

    At present, the answer was obvious. Both sides were dreams.

    This deserted street was indeed Frederick¡¯s prophetic dream in his childhood. That was why other than the two of them, no one else could see it. That was to reduce ¡°variables¡±.

    However, this was a prophetic dream that Frederick had in his childhood.

    However, this did not mean that the [reality] outside was Frederick¡¯s childhood. The correct statement was that both sides were dreams.

    They were all dreams that appeared after Frederick got drunk!

    There was something wrong with the drink Justice gave Frederick.

    What they were now in was the prophetic dream that Frederick once had in his childhood.

    To be precise, he ¡°dreamed of his past self, the prophetic dream of [now]¡±!

    It was Frederick¡¯s dream within a dream.

    It could be a coincidence of fate or careful calction¡­

    Dream and reality subtly ovepped here.

    ¡­Is this the clever calction of ¡°Dream Eater¡±?

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill creeping on his spine.

    There was a gap of sixteen years between the two ys of [Past] and [Future]. Frederick was about 15 years old back then, but Justice was over thirty now.

    During Frederick¡¯s childhood, Trisino showed him the mystical book ¡°The Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡± written by the Tragedy Writer.

    That was to allow Frederick to use the power of Prophet School and Idol School to dream of the future 15 yearster. Even though Frederick was already the Idol Wizard of Silver Rank at that time, he was not a Prophet School after all.

    The dreams spanned more than decades, but the rity in the logical structure was maintained.

    Even the Silver Rank Prophet Wizard could barely do this because the difficulty of ¡°prediction¡± would increase as the amount of information increased and the time span increased.

    Either it was far and blurry, or it was near and clear. The dreamer¡¯s lens couldn¡¯t be far and clear at the same time¡­at least Silver Rank could not do it.

    Even if Frederick was a genius, it was impossible to easily achieve this level of a prophetic dream.

    The evidence was¡­ Except for this time, Frederick had never had a prophetic dream of this level.

    This was the power that belonged to the deities.

    15 years ago, Frederick dreamed of his present strength. 15 yearster, he dreamed of the power of the past. Both were the proud works of the Tragedy Writer¡ª

    This was a grand drama that had been in the making for at least 15 years!

    ¡°No wonder, Nefertari said I died three times.¡± Annan was upied in thoughts.

    Three times indeed.

    Firstly, ¡°Young Frederick¡± was crushed to death by a boulder, and it was the [past] dreamed by the current Frederick after he was drunk.

    The second time was when ¡°Young Frederick¡± was killed by a throwing axe. It was the [future] that Frederick dreamed of when he came into contact with ¡°The Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡±.

    The third time¡­

    It must be outside the dream.

    The situation was scary and eerie.

    Repeatedly waking up and falling asleep, turning into the endless cycle of dream and reality.

    It was indeed a deity¡¯s work.

    Annan nodded, and he was just about topliment them.

    However, Husky looked at his plot introduction and read it to Thirteenth Fragrance.

    Then, he looked suspiciously at Thirteenth Fragrance, who yed ¡°Frederick¡±, and questioned from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°What does it mean?

    ¡°I know how to kill you, but how can I convince you that this is a dream?¡±

 Chapter 583: The Comedic Player

    <h4>Chapter 583: The Comedic yer</h4>

    Thirteenth Fragrance fell silent.

    He couldn¡¯t even get angry, but looked at Husky helplessly, ¡°Are you asking me how to kill me? Then, you are quite polite.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I have a clue about this.¡±

    Husky said usibly, ¡°I have already tested it, and I can punch through the wall directly. I can cross a distance of 100 meters in a second. I think it will be easy to kill you, so I don¡¯t need to ask you.¡±

    ¡°Then, you are quite polite.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The main reason is that the step of ¡®convincing you that this is a dream¡¯ is a bit difficult¡­ What kind of dream is this? I don¡¯t understand the inception.¡±

    Husky took a pen, copied that part, and asked Thirteenth Fragrance, ¡°Here is it. How can you exin this? Can you give me a chance?¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Just believe it.¡±

    ¡°Then, I believe it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble. My mission here is notpleted at all. If we two fightter, I won¡¯t have time to ask you what to do.¡±

    There was no intentional mischief on Husky¡¯s face, but rather an unusual level of concentration.

    It was like when the yer was ying solo and he leaned in to ask ¡°What should I use to beat you¡± or ¡°What weapon is best to destroy you¡±, that kind of question. His tone was natural.

    Even after entering the game, he asked for pieces of equipment.

    Annan understood the situation a little.

    Husky was not stupid.

    The fact that Husky was able to immediately recognize the need to gather information and the possibility of abat encounter in the future during this safe period demonstrated that he was quite intelligent.

    After Husky woke up, he found that he couldn¡¯t wake up Thirteenth Fragrance, so he immediately went out to gather all the nearby resources. He didn¡¯t waste time waiting for Thirteenth Fragrance to make a decision, nor did he run too far away by himself.

    This indicated that Husky had a pretty good reaction speed and ability to take action. Although his logical andprehension abilities were slightly inferior, that was because they were overshadowed by Thirteen Fragrance¡¯s strong abilities in that area.

    The reason why Husky behaved like this was not because he was a noob.

    However, it was because he ¡°reacted too quickly.¡±

    When most people see a problem, they would subconsciously think about it for a while, trying to see if they could solve it; some people immediately sought for help without looking at the problem.

    Husky was not thetter.

    He was able to quickly assess what he was capable of doing and what he could not do or was not as good at as others. Then, he immediately proceeded to do what he could and sought help directly on tasks that he could not do, without wasting any time.

    The most important thing was that Husky would not hide any confusion or ipetence because of ¡°shame¡± and ¡°ego¡±.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do it¡±, ¡°I can¡¯t remember¡±, ¡°I forgot a lot¡±. Most of the people were like that¡­ However, they would not say it immediately. Instead, they would try to remember it by themselves and then do it first by relying on ambiguous memory.

    However, when Husky encountered things he could not remember, he simply admitted that he couldn¡¯t. In this task, if he did not understand or did not know how to do it, he wouldn¡¯t pretend to understand it, but rather straightforwardly tell Thirteenth Fragrance, ¡°Help me Doraemon¡±.

    ¡ªProbably the so-callededic yer.

    Nobita* Husky.

    [TN: A reference to Nobita [1] in Doraemon.]

    ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful duo.¡± Annan whispered.

    Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky were unique characters. Just one who trusted his reason, and another one who trusted his intuition.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was suited for solving puzzles in nightmares, and Husky probably did not perform too poorly in situations where he did not have teammates to rely on. In levels that relied on intuition, he might have even been able to demonstrate his strength.

    ¡°Slow down.¡±

    In desperation, Thirteenth Fragrance could only exin, ¡°Let me think of this as a dream. This part was probably not meant to be taken literally as ¡°change my perception.¡± After all, it was just a thought. I might have thought it was a dream one moment, and then the next moment I might not have. Could you really have won just by me having that thought? That was obviously not true.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, it refers to the fact that I will make a different choice in terms of ¡®whether this is a dream¡¯ or not. My plot introduction has not appeared yet, but I have read it in advance in the guide.

    ¡°There is no doubt that this is a dream. That¡¯s why it didn¡¯t give me a mission. When I die here and go back to the ¡®past¡¯, I will receive the main mission of [Changing My Fate].

    ¡°¡ªBut there is no doubt that this mission is a fake.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance made a wise judgment.

    Thirteenth Fragrance cleared his throat and touched his hoarse throat.

    Husky immediately handed over the fruit. He also took out the mead and juice found in other rooms from the cloth bag. Then, he also took out a bag of tea and brewed it with freshly boiled water.

    Then, Husky sat on the chair with an OvO expression on his face and stared intently at Thirteenth Fragrance.

    ¡°Brother, tell me.¡± He nodded humbly, ¡°I will try my best to understand it.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance was used to the Husky behavior.

    Thirteenth Fragrance nced at Husky, and further exined, ¡°Your mission mentioned that this is my ¡®dream within a dream¡¯. In other words, what the ¡®I¡¯ saw in the youth period was also a dream.

    ¡°Then, why was ¡®I¡¯ able to receive the mission at that time? It was also a dream, so what is the difference between the dream at that time and the dream now?¡±

    The answer was of course no different.

    Annan knew what he was going to say.

    When he saw the plot introduction of Husky, he grasped the whole picture of this nightmare.

    Neither their ns nor their spections were wrong.

    This was a nightmare born on ¡°trust¡±.

    As long as the two parties exchanged information, the difficulty of the nightmare would drop significantly.

    Each of them had a main mission that happened to be ¡°what the other person wanted to do.¡±

    Frederick¡¯s main mission was to change fate. The destiny he changed was to keep Ingrid from dying.

    But the one who truly harbored feelings for Ingrid was Justice. Would Justice have stopped Frederick if he knew Frederick wanted to save her?

    No, he would help instead.

    But why didn¡¯t Justice help?

    Because he knew it was false ¡ª it was Frederick¡¯s dream. Changing fate in a dream was useless.

    Justice¡¯s mission was ¡°to make Frederick think the dream was real¡±. So he wouldn¡¯t say anything and instead would act¡­ so all three ¡°Justice¡± that Annan saw in different age groups were the same person internally.

    It was ¡°Justice¡± yed by ¡°Justice¡± in the y.

    If Frederick knew that both sides were dreams, would he struggle with which side he would choose?

    Neither would he.

    The answer was the same. Changing fate in a dream was useless.

    The only difference was that only one person knew this truth, but the other did not.

    ¡°So, the real main mission should be in the world on the third level.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance said slowly.

    ¡°That¡¯s where ¡®the sleeping Frederick¡¯ is, the real world!

    ¡°The so-called ¡®believing that this is a dream¡¯ just requires me to do nothing, and it will naturally unravel. Because only when I believe that this is a dream, I will vite the received main mission and choose to stand by and watch.¡±

    Husky had two missions. On one hand, Husky was asked to kill. On the other hand, the mission required him to stand and watch. Waiting for the karma toe, and killing Frederick.

    Frederick¡¯s mission was to change his fate, but he could only pass the level without doing anything.

    It was a battle of fate¡­

    ¡­No, no.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    He recalled the actions of the two before and frowned, ¡°It¡¯s not quite right.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Delicious Wind Goose asked.

    ¡°This nightmare has ws.¡± Annan replied.

    Its [symmetry] was not perfect.

    Is there something wrong with the Tragedy Writer¡¯s n?

    That¡¯s unlikely¡­

    ¡°Thirteenth Fragrance may have guessed wrong.¡± Annan thought for a while in silence, then suddenly realized.

    He said slowly, ¡°Maybe, I mean¡­ just maybe.

    ¡°¡ªMaybe there are more than three levels to this nightmare.¡±

    But four levels.

 Chapter 584: Tragedy Writer And Comedian

    <h4>Chapter 584: Tragedy Writer And Comedian</h4>

    Thirteenth Fragrance looked at hispanion with some concern.

    After listening to Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s exnation, Husky had a stunned expression of ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s it¡±, and began to flip through his ¡°inventory¡±, looking for things.

    Leaving aside Husky¡¯sprehension ability, how much did Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s blood pressure increase?

    Husky¡¯s previous preliminary search was objectively quite useful.

    He used brute force and smashed through all the doors of other rooms on the second floor except Justice¡¯s room. This effectively saved time during the investigative phase. After all, Thirteenth Fragrance could not do that.

    Although the body of ¡°Frederick¡± had the status and attributes of the Silver Wizard, he was only limited to the stats.

    If it were a silver-ranked swordsman, perhaps they could rely on their physical attributes to demonstrate some abilities. However, for a pure silver-ranked wizard, there wouldn¡¯t be much beyond the attribute points they gained from their training.

    If the boss came in, he could disy the true strength of this ¡°body¡±. However, Thirteenth Fragrance did not know Idol Spells.

    Even if ¡°Justice¡± did not stop him, it won¡¯t be easy for him to break in.

    It was even possible for him to lose health points.

    Luckily, even though Husky wascking in puzzle-solving skills, he was quick and diligent in his work, at leastpleting all of the early tasks.

    ¡°Luckily, this dungeon instance allows a high degree of freedom.¡±

    Husky lowered his head and rummaged through his cloth bag whileining, ¡°If I pick it up, and then prompts pop up like [Can¡¯t be moved], [Can¡¯t be opened], [A red apple], [A toy knife] or something, I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a horror game.¡±

    ¡°I do feel that it will suddenly be a horror-themed dungeon.¡±

    Husky nodded and asked in return, ¡°Don¡¯t you think this set of nightmares having one nested in another is scary?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not like you, who get scared into a fool, from watching ¡°Mulhond Drive¡±.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragranceined, ¡°It¡¯s okay to be afraid of ¡°P.T.¡±, but it¡¯s not normal to be scared in ying ¡°Inside¡± and ¡°Little Nightmare¡±.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? As long as you can¡¯t fight back and die suddenly, isn¡¯t that a horror game?¡±

    Husky immediately countered, ¡°You are not a normal person who can watch ¡°The Shining [1]¡± while writing a paper. You even y ¡°Layers of Fear [2]¡± without a change in your expression. I am a serious normal person!¡±

    After the twoedians started talking about the topic of ¡°what is a horror game¡±, the bullet text was immediately taken off track, and they immediately started arguing about it.

    However, it was Husky¡¯s feigned move to divert the attention before changing the topic back to the business.

    ¡°Like those horror games, isn¡¯t it easy to go wrong when you stand in ce and investigate things? Then, why don¡¯t you take everything you can see to the same ce and investigate it slowly?¡±

    ¡°Would it trigger something?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance asked irritably, ¡°That is to say, there is no mechanism like that in this dungeon, but there is a simr mechanism in the gallery.¡±

    ¡°Then, we will just die once.¡±

    Husky responded straightforwardly, ¡°I have been wondering for a long time. Since you have to pay the price for the first encounter of a problem anyway, why don¡¯t we hurry up and trigger a few more traps to die?

    ¡°¡ªAs long as my life triggers enough traps, rounding that up will be a profit.¡±

    As Husky said, he dumped the cloth bag after taking all the food. Then, he scattered everything on the ground.

    ¡°Look. I brought back all the things I could take away that might be useful. What is left over are snacks, roasted meat that is still warm, freshly roasted untouched grilled fish, and grilledmb¡­ The ring on the bedside, the jewels in the drawer, some papers, certificates, diaries, bills, daggers, swords, crossbows, shields, etc. There are two guns, a bag of bullets, some paintings, pens, coats of arms, misceneous items, and the clothes they put in the room. I have taken all the items.¡±

    After Husky finished speaking, he sat down on the chair.

    He sighed, ¡°Luckily, this bag is big, and I even find a lunch box. Otherwise, I would have to transport it several times for the food alone.¡±

    As Husky said that, he lined up barbecue meat, grilled fish, pastries, and fruits into bowls in his room. Then, he poured a cup of tea for each of them.

    He pointed at the ¡°treasures¡± on the ground, and he gestured ¡°Here you go¡± to Thirteenth Fragrance with his chin.

    ¡°What do you want to investigate? Just investigate the room, there is food and drink here¡­ Anyway, it¡¯s a dream. Don¡¯t worry about hygiene. Just enjoy it.¡±

    Husky took a sip of the juice and smacked his lips. He dug another spoonful of grilled fish steak with a spoon and ate it unfazed.

    ¡°It¡¯s great, and this fish has no bones.¡±

    Husky eximed, ¡°It would be even better if this juice was served with ice.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance had a strange expression on his face.

    His rationality told him that Husky was probably stuck with a bug.

    ording to the guide, the ¡°next scene¡± of this nightmare should not be triggered until they walked on the street.

    At the earliest, when ¡°Justice goes out to order food¡±, ¡°Frederick¡± could receive his main mission.

    ording to the expected process, Thirteenth Fragrance would see his plot introduction. He would know that ¡°Justice¡± might be deceived by ¡°Trisino¡± and ¡°Frederick¡±. Then, he would have to investigate the room because he was concerned for his friend, ¡°Justice¡±.

    After he investigated for a certain period or investigates key items, Justice would return and take him away immediately.

    He must have been startled and confused.

    However, when they found out that there seemed to be no living people in this town, his attention would be shifted to this new, bigger anomaly.

    This should be the script written by the ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±.

    However, Husky didn¡¯t wait for Justice to wake up at all.

    He just went outside and brought back all the things he could collect.

    As a result, while Thirteenth Fragrance was investigating these things in the room, his plot introduction had not yet appeared.

    Is it true that as long as the Husky leaves the room without seeing Thirteenth Fragrance, the plot will not officially begin?

    In that case, where would that ¡°other Justice¡±e from?

    Does the throwing axe go straight through the wall?

    Things are still going in a good way after all.

    Thirteenth Fragrance sighed silently.

    Anyway, under normal circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to obtain as much as I have now at this point. We might as well investigate and see what we can find out¡­ If it doesn¡¯t trigger any plot, then that would be even better.

    In that case, they would have enough time to spend here.

    If the ¡°other Justice¡± is out on the street right now, let him sit there and wait.

    ¡°Help me keep watch. Stop me from getting killed by an axe flying in through the window.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance gave an order and squatted down in front of the misceneous pile.

    He was like a makeup streamer. He picked up an iron coat of arms, used his hand as the background, and put the item in front of the camera. ¡°Can you see it? Can you see it? I feel like I need a notebook and a pen¡­ ¡°

    ¡°Yes! Yes!¡±

    Husky immediately yelled. He dug out the notebook and pen from the misceneous pile, ¡°Here you go. Do you want tea? Or a chair? I saw that there is a low leather stool opposite the door, which is quitefortable.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance stopped him immediately, ¡°What if the plot is triggered as soon as you go out? My plot has not yet been triggered, so you just stay.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite boring, so I¡¯ll eat and rest first.¡±

    Huskies looked calm, ¡°These things are so heavy, it¡¯s really tough work for me.¡±

    Annan, who was outside the dream, had an expression of ¡°I saw an extremely rare scene¡±.

    This time, the yers were wilder than before.

    I wonder if this nightmare is being watched by the Tragedy Writer like the ¡°gallery¡±.

    If Tragedy Writer saw His script turned into a si,what would he think?

    Annan was curious about it.

 Chapter 585: Nightmare Purifier Detection Mechanism

    <h4>Chapter 585: Nightmare Purifier Detection Mechanism</h4>

    Although Thirteenth Fragrance did not want to admit it from the bottom of his heart, the things Husky brought back provided a lot of information.

    Moreover, they were important.

    ¡°These foods and drinks are all hot and almost all intact. Combined with the unusually small number of tableware, we can deduce that¡­when these people disappeared, whatever they had been in contact with also disappeared along with them.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance breathed a sigh of relief, put down the pen, turned the book to the beginning, and narrated, ¡°Except for the seats, there is only one thing that has not disappeared with their owners. That is the gold jewelry.¡±

    Husky¡¯s short-term memory was rtively reliable.

    He remembered the gold rings he picked up were not from the cab or drawer but from the ground.

    To be precise, they were found next to the seat.

    If there were only one or two urrences, it could be considered a coincidence, as if they happened to fall next to the chair.

    However, three gold rings were found near the chairs in different rooms. One ring and a gold ne were found on different beds in the rooms. Something was not quite right. After all, they were gold jewelry. Why would someone just throw them away casually?

    As long as you pay attention to this detail, it was easy to deduce the truth. After these people disappeared, only these pieces of gold jewelry were left behind at the very spot the people vanished.

    ¡°The number of upants in rooms 201-208 are: one person, four people, Justice, three people, three people, two people, four people, and one person, respectively.¡±

    ¡°If ¡®Frederick¡¯ is counted as the upant of Room 203, then the number of residents on either side of rooms 204 and 205 is perfectly symmetrical.¡±

    ¡°The ¡®spawn point¡¯ was shaped like a twoyer cake. After cutting out a small circle in the middle, each person¡¯s room bes a fan-shaped ring. Room 204 and Room 205 happened to be the two rooms closest to the main door.

    If the spawn point was cut symmetrically, then after counting Frederick, it was exactly symmetrical from left to right.

    ¡°If it¡¯s some kind of Mysterious Ritual simr to the Garden of Order¡­then the arrangement in Room 206 should be rted to Room 203.¡±

    [TN: Reference to Fate Grand Order.]

    Thirteenth Fragrance looked at the notes, reviewing them carefully.

    He quickly confirmed one thing.

    ¡°Only Room 206 and Room 203 do not contain any gold utensils or jewelry at all.¡±

    ¡°Gold¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    He opened his eyes, upied in thoughts.

    After a long time, he sighed.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    At least Annan had fully understood the way Pope Trisino arranged this nightmare.

    Delicious Wind Goose turned his eyes away from the forum in front of him and looked at Annan, who was immersed in deep thoughts while watching Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky remotely.

    ¡°Gold¡­ Does it mean Mr. Ray¡¯s realm?¡±

    As a ritualist apprentice, Delicious Wind Goose asked Annan modestly.

    Annan shook his head.

    ¡°The metal ¡®gold¡¯ indeed symbolizes the sun and indicates ¡®dyeing¡¯. Just like silver symbolizes the moon and ¡®condensation¡¯.

    ¡°But when gold exists as jewelry, it has another meaning.¡±

    Annan exined.

    ¡°The Alteration Wizards of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower believe that they do not alter one substance into another substance out of thin air. Instead, they transform the old subject into a purer subject through a ¡®newer and stronger¡¯ substance. It is also the reason why the power of the Alteration Spell will be increasingly stronger once it is activated¡­

    ¡°It isn¡¯t apounded effect like a snowball. Otherwise, the weaker the Alteration Wizard, the more powerful and difficult to control it should be. Instead, the closer the Alteration Magic is to the endpoint, the greater the resistance will be. This resistance is not based on spells, but on spirituality ¡ª that is, the resistance to finding the correct path is higher than that of the wrong path.

    ¡°Spirituality will tend to the direction of lower pressure, just like fluid will flow to the side of lower pressure. In the end, the Alteration Magic that enters the wrong path will ¡®return to the original point¡¯. That is where a [cycle] urs.¡±

    In other words, the Alteration Spell would continue to circte and be more powerful, making it more inclined in the wrong direction.

    In other words, that was the sudden ¡°diving¡± that urred on the Alteration object at a higher level of spirituality.

    Having said that, Annan nced at Thirteenth Fragrance.

    When he was exining the magic, Delicious Wind Goose was frantically recording it, rying what Annan said as a bullet text to Thirteenth Fragrance for reference.

    However, the exnation was not a big deal.

    ¡°The purification process has branches and can form a cycle. It naturally also has the ultimate endpoint, the end with the greatest pressure. It is the so-called ¡®Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯: [Things that cannot be changed and cannot be altered.]¡±

    In other words, ¡°all perfect element essence¡± was a treasure that could transform some imperfect things into their perfect forms.

    This was what Annan learned from Salvatore, the knowledge from the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    It was once a top secret known only to the Sons of the Tower. After the inheritance of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was interrupted by the Spiritual Monk, Salvatore hoped that the knowledge would have a chance to spread, so that this knowledge would not be lost after his death one day.

    ording to Salvatore, the perfect Sage¡¯s Stone could not be manufactured artificially,

    unless everything was perfectly blended.

    The Alteration process to get the real Sage¡¯s Stone wasplicated. The Alteration Magic involved had to convert animals into nts, then proceeded to the fossil, the atmosphere, the water, and finally reverting to animals again. The magic would lose its original essence, making it a mixture containing the whole world in an unssifiable manner.

    In this point of view, the Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermes School could never reach the ¡°ultimate endpoint¡±.

    The Sage¡¯s Stone of the Hermes school was created using materials that symbolize all things in the world, resulting in something that ¡°could not be ssified.¡± The item would be considered a ¡°prototype¡± or ¡°model¡± of the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    ¡°When the [Golden Jewelry] is ced in the [circle] representing the cycle, it no longer represents [Sun] or [Purification], but heralds the [Sage¡¯s Stone].¡±

    Annan said slowly, ¡°The positions you are in are carefully arranged.

    ¡°Using [circle] to symbolize the cycle, [symmetry] to symbolize mirror image, and [gold jewelry] for the Sage¡¯s Stone, it created this symmetrical, circr gap between dreams.

    ¡°A [key] is needed to trigger the ritual. It is also thest step in creating symmetry¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand now.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s pupils shrank.

    After he read the notes, he realized, ¡°Since Room 203 is Justice¡¯s room, he is usually alone. And the real Frederick would never regard this as his room¡­ Historically speaking, this mechanism has not been triggered.¡±

    ¡°Only when we, as purifiers of nightmares, enter this nightmare from the future will trigger this mechanism. That¡¯s because we reced ¡®Frederick¡¯ and we don¡¯t have Frederick¡¯s memory.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why the food is hot and fresh! Because they just disappeared¡­ Or, perhaps we just entered the dream.¡±

    Frederick¡¯s dream and the nightmare they enteredpletely ovepped at the beginning!

    The moment the yer ying ¡°Frederick¡± entered the dungeon instance, the mechanism was triggered and the dream of ¡°Frederick¡± was switched to the ¡°gap between dreams¡±.

    In other words, this was a ritual arranged to detect ¡°whether there are nightmare purifiers entering this nightmare¡±!

    As long as this history became a nightmare and there were nightmare purifiers entering, they would be thrown directly into the designed dream within the dream. Consequently, the dungeon purifier would be unable to escape¡­ unable to enter the real history.

    Frederick himself probably never dreamed of being here!

    Trisino had even predicted that this ce might be a nightmare. There would be people purifying it and peeping on it in the future.

    Thirteenth Fragrance felt a chill run down his spine.

    Annan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    How can a ritual be done to this extent?

    Even a piece of consciousnessing back from the future could be detected and sealed, keeping them away from real history.

    ¡°So, is there a fourth level?¡±

    ¡°Sure enough, there is a fourth level in this nightmare.¡±

    Annan and Thirteenth Fragrance said almost in unison.

    That would be Justice¡¯s [death] and [Frederick] bing Professor Wolf in the surface world.

    That would be a true historical node.

    The next moment, a new main mission appeared in front of Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky.

    [Main Mission: Going back to the real history.]

    [Break out of the third dream.]

    [Break out of the second dream.]

    [Break out of the first dream.]

    Find out what happens next by getting early ess to chapters! Please do check out themunity goals as well! Thanks for the support! Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 586: Sadako Plus

    <h4>Chapter 586: Sadako Plus</h4>

    ¡°This nightmare operates like a nestling doll, with one nightmare within the other. It¡¯s a fine andplicated work.¡±

    Husky admired btedly, ¡°There is a mechanism detecting nightmare purifiers.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance was drinking tea, and he almost spat it out.

    ording to the information given by the yers on the forum, the upper echelon of this world did not choose to be a Transcender. It was because of the ¡°nightmare¡± mechanism that might reveal secrets after their death.

    However, the current nightmare was formidable.

    An elite predicted in advance that after ¡°someone¡± died, Cinder Barren¡¯s incident would be a nightmare.

    He set up the ritual about [Mirror], [Cycle], and [Sage¡¯s Stone].

    ¡°The room was symmetrical on the left and right sides. The two Frederick dreams had formed a symmetrical mirror. This is a ritual about the [Mirror] field. Before the Man in the Mirror became a deity, it was simr to In the [de] field. It is generally a ritual in the public domain, so everyone can use it.¡±

    Annan exined to Delicious Wind Goose.

    If Delicious Wind Goose could go further on the path of ritualist, it might be beneficial for him and the other yers.

    ¡°However, in the next step, the ritual disc that foretells the [circle] is formed by the [circr] building. Frederick¡¯s two dreams are like a circle, which is both [symmetrical] and [circr]. Yes. The ritual of this cross-domain timeline can also borrow power across time.¡±

    ¡°He made the ritual disc in the [past] andpleted the ritual in the [present]. Then, ording to the rules of the cycle, he can borrow the strength of the Man in the Mirror in the [future].

    ¡°To do this, he must make sure that in the not-so-distant [future], there will be a deity in charge of the mirror realm. If not, ording to the [cycle] rule, this ritual will go for him instead. He had to pay for the curse needed to create this ovepping nightmare himself.¡±

    ¡°However, he might have seen the future, or simply make the right bet. Therefore, ording to the [cycle] rule, part of the power of the Man in the Mirror was drawn here.¡±

    ¡°The ¡®Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯ is immutable. Its contact with any substance does not generate a mortal ¡®power¡¯ but returns it to its perfect form. Therefore, nothing can destroy it. Each time you attack it, it bes stronger.¡±

    ¡°In other words, this ¡®perfection¡¯ is flowing from a higher point to a lower point, from the perfect to the imperfect.¡±

    This nightmare named ¡°Phantom Fever¡± by Annan was a siphon.

    The nightmare was a ritual. As long as the nightmare had not ended, the Man in the Mirror¡¯s power would continue to be depleted.

    ¡°The ritual of stealing the power of the deities is not particrly rare, it¡¯s just that you don¡¯t usually use it, so it¡¯s normal if you don¡¯t know about it.¡±

    ¡°All rituals that use ¡®Sage¡¯s Stone¡¯ as a symbol and are directly connected to a certain deity borrow power from the subordinate deities.¡±

    Not even just the ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone¡± concept.

    Annan said it before. Almost all rituals were ¡°illegal prayers¡±, but what they asked for was different.

    If believers werepared to acquaintances and priests werepared to rtives and friends, then the ritualist was the kind of person who went to a stranger¡¯s wedding banquet to eat and drink, even though he had never met the brides before.

    As long as it was quiet and not too excessive, the deities wouldn¡¯t bother to care. Usually, the ritualist would also make an offering, and pay some ¡°offering¡± with ritual material as a fee.

    However, if the deity was hot-tempered, if the deity happened to be in a bad mood, or if the ritualist had borrowed too much power, the deity might follow the link generated by the ritual and directly attack the ritualist¡¯s soul.

    This was the reason why the ritual failed when the process was correct.

    Naturally, a ritual of such magnitude as ¡°using the [Sage¡¯s Stone] as a symbol to transfer curses from rtively perfect divine beings to rtively imperfect humans¡± could be refused or even directly retaliated against by the gods.

    If this happened to the false deity, it would be a high-level divine art.

    However, Trisino knew the deities too well.

    He constructed the ritual from the past and transferred the strength of the deity of the future to the people of the past. The Man in the Mirror hadn¡¯t been born at that time, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t refuse it.

    So, Trisino could be regarded as the priest of the Man in the Mirror after the ritual was realized.

    This meant that¡­ After the Man in the Mirror became a deity, he must first pay off the overdraft bills that Pope Trisino had used his ¡°credit card¡± for the past ten years.

    ¡°A ritualist can achieve such a feat!¡±

    Seal the Nightmare Purifier from the future, borrow strength from subordinate deities, and even steal power.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s eyes sparkled with the light of seeking knowledge.

    Annan immediately stopped the Goose¡¯s thoughts of seeking death, ¡°It¡¯s not a question of can you do it but a concern should it be done. ¡®Dream Eater¡¯ Trisino Seti was able to maintain autonomy without being killed by the Man in the Mirror because of his other identity, the pope belonging to the Tragedy Writer.¡±

    The person¡¯s [identity] and [position] mattered.

    Although Pope Trisino might rebel at any time, it had not happened yet.

    Tragedy Writer was powerful, but his personality made him untrustworthy.

    For a bystander, who would enjoy watching his house on fire, there was no limit to what he would do. Trisino had been nning to defect for more than ten years, but He had never stopped Trisino.

    Annan was sure that if Tragedy Writer threatened Trisino, Trisino would probably give up his n immediately.

    However, it was Tragedy Writer¡¯s acquiescence that made Trisinoplete the ritual that cheated the deity¡¯s power long ago, but he dared not take action.

    That was why Benjamin Pope came here in person.

    Since you dared not act, let the original owner do it himself.

    Although the Man in the Mirror used to be the strongest wizard, he was able to produce a top-level curse vessel of the level of [Time Stopper Eye¡¯s gramophone] before the ascendancy ritual. Among the transcenders, it was undoubtedly the apex.

    However, as a deity, without the Book of Truth and sacred bone, he stillcked some means after all.

    Benjamin¡¯s level had indeed risen, earning attributes and skills. However, the impact of missing one or two talent trees was serious.

    Especially toward the ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±, which was subordinate to the Elegant Elder¡¯s realm. He maintained his autonomy and had not be the top false deity among the Elegant Elder subordinate deities. Even the Man in the Mirror did not want to confront him head-on.

    However, the Man in the Mirror didn¡¯t intend to continue to repay the debts Trisino incurred.

    ¡°Tell that boy.¡±

    At this moment, Benjamin¡¯s voice suddenly sounded from Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°The exit of the first-level nightmare is in Room 206. Go there with two people, fall asleep in Room 206, and then you can wake up from the first-level nightmare. ¡°

    Annan and Delicious Wind Goose were taken aback for a moment.

    It was only then that he realized that Benjamin¡¯s voice came from the eyes of Delicious Wind Goose.

    Using the ¡°pupil¡± of Delicious Wind Goose as a mirror, Pope Benjamin was peeping into the eyes of Delicious Wind Goose.

    Delicious Wind Goose was shocked.

    All yers who saw this scene realized that if Benjamin wanted to, he could even get out of anyone¡¯s ¡°eye¡±!

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Wandering Child blurted out, ¡°Is he the Plus version of Sadako [1]!?¡±

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 Chapter 587: Overcoming The Dungeon Level With Husky

    <h4>Chapter 587: Oveing The Dungeon Level With Husky</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I¡¯m here to help you.¡±

    It seemed like the two streamers in the nightmare dungeon instance were too irritating, and Benjamin couldn¡¯t help but assisted in the voice of a wise old man, ¡°This nightmare is built with ¡®mirrors¡¯ as the core. So you only need to find the symmetrical objects for eachyer. Then, you can enter the next level.¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°You make a move in the end.¡±

    Annan wasn¡¯t speaking to Benjamin Pope.

    He was talking to ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡± behind Benjamin Pope through Benjamin.

    With the Man in the Mirror and Benjamin staying together, since Benjamin chose to give the answer directly, it meant that the Man in the Mirror decided to make a move.

    The Man in the Mirror didn¡¯t destroy this nightmare, nor did He let Benjamin enter the nightmare to fight against Tragedy Writer.

    After Annan and the yers decrypted the dungeon¡¯s truth to this level, it did not matter if the Man in the Mirror answered in advance. The yers would arrive at this step sooner orter.

    With the script¡¯s direction established, the Man in the Mirror¡¯s involvement was elerating the process instead of ruining the dungeon.

    However, if the Main in the Mirror did not participate, the yers could still ovee the level. Then, why did He decide to make a move at this time?

    The answer was straightforward.

    That was to make the yers more confident.

    It was like when faced with arge number of simr questions, the sample questions with answers were first presented.

    ¡°I see.¡± Delicious Wind Goose also reacted, ¡°The purpose of this ritual is to steal the power of the Man in the Mirror, involving deities in this nightmare. Therefore, Tragedy Writer can¡¯t provide help during the construction phase of the nightmare¡­ It¡¯s just like the Man in the Mirror will not attack the nightmare directly.¡±

    Annan added, ¡°Then, He can only rely entirely on the power of the Man in the Mirror to construct the nightmare!¡±

    The rules of this nightmare were different from the ¡°Sporeggar Mill¡±. It was also different from ¡°the dream within a dream¡± and ¡°gallery¡±, which had multiple rules due to real-time interference by high-ranking people.

    The nightmare was still veryplex though.

    However, the rules throughout the nightmare were consistent!

    Hearing this, Thirteenth Fragrance breathed a sigh of relief.

    He understood his situation now.

    ¡°¡ªThis is a dungeon instance focused on puzzle-solving entirely.¡±

    As long as he and Husky could find key information and guess the general direction, Benjamin could offer remote assistance.

    Then, He would help Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky decrypt the ritual through the bullet text sent by Delicious Wind Goose.

    Although Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky had absolutely no ritualist knowledge, it would be fine if they just followed suit.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the kind of decryption game that can be cleared by blindly clicking on the screen and trying everything one by one?¡±

    Husky raised his doubts.

    Thirteenth Fragrance said angrily, ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s me who is cracking the head!¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t thinking at all. Of course, you think it¡¯s easy!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just toozy to move, and I¡¯m not a fool.¡±

    Huskie said frankly, ¡°Having one person to do the thinking is enough. I¡¯m an energy conservationist.¡±

    ¡°¡­Sometimes I get the feeling that you¡¯re prettyid-back. You¡¯ve got a brain, but you don¡¯t use it when you¡¯re out and about. It¡¯s aid-back feeling.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t say that.¡±

    Facing Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s ridicule, Husky smiled without changing his face, ¡°I know what you said. However, when I am with you, I can stop using my brain. It shows that I trust you, right? When a person lives alone, he always uses his brain well.¡±

    ¡°Come on, when have you ever lived by yourself?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance sneered and exined to the other yers, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. This person hired a housekeeper at home.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense!¡±

    Husky yelled, ¡°I did live alone!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrancehehe smiled, ¡°How much is a pound of potatoes?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Potatoes. Don¡¯t you buy groceries for your own living? Answer me for celery, tomatoes, eggs, or anything relevant.¡±

    Hearing this, Husky fell silent.

    He was silent for a long time, and his voice was much lower, ¡°Isn¡¯t it about 10 dors per dozen of eggs?¡±

    [TN: 110 Yuan.]

    Thirteenth Fragrance was even taken aback.

    ¡°What the hell? I thought you could make up a number, but I didn¡¯t think you could make up a number that¡¯s so outrageous.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance sighed.

    Husky became angry from embarrassment, ¡°I clearly remember that it¡¯s about this number¡­ Oh, it¡¯s so annoying. Let¡¯s get to work! Go to Room 206!¡±

    After finding the correct location and preparing to get to the next level of the nightmare, there was no need to take the rest.

    In line with the idea of ??not wasting food, Husky finished the food and drinks. He burped and followed Thirteenth Fragrance to Room 206.

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s expression wasplicated.

    Before he and Husky graduated from college, they often slept together in Inte cafes or e-sports hotels. They even squeezed through the same sofa at work¡­

    However, when he was sleeping outside with that beautiful white-haired girl, he was a little cautious and a little nervous. Even if he knew that his brother was in the shell of the girl, people judged people by their appearance.

    Thirteenth Fragrance, who had thin arms and thin legs, felt intimidated in the face of the ¡°Justice¡± yed by Husky.

    He was worried about what would happen if he didn¡¯t fall asleep, and then Husky rolled over and crushed him to death while sleeping soundly.

    Damn it. Other people, who keep dogs, worry about whether they will crush their huskies when they fall asleep. What I¡¯m worried about is whether Husky will crush me to death if he falls asleep.

    Justice¡¯s arm was several times thicker than the thigh. Thirteenth Fragrance even suspected that if he punched Husky and Husky took the hit with the neck, his hand bones might be broken; if Husky stretched out his hand in his sleep, he might punch Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s head out.

    After Thirteenth Fragrance went out, he saw six doors lying quietly on the ground.

    Only the door next door was intact.

    However, there was a two-meter-high hole broken in the wall next door.

    Thirteenth Fragrance gasped, feeling like he had done a great job of contributing to global warming.

    ¡°¡ªLive well. Take care!¡±

    ¡°¡ªThirteenth Fragrance: Sorry to interrupt, I was wrong (erged pupil).¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis manhole is fucking outrageous.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis is very scary.¡±

    Seeing Thirteenth Fragrance was taken aback, the other yers, who were not serious about watching the excitement, burst intoughter.

    Thirteenth Fragrance swallowed and said to Husky earnestly, ¡°I remembered these doors.¡±

    ¡°Are you on the same birthday as the master?¡±

    ¡°The Master? Newton?¡±

    When Husky heard this, he thought for a while, ¡°What? I remember you said it before.¡±

    When Husky said this, he turned his head. He smiled and said, ¡°Why? Are you trying to praise me? Is the method of tearing down these doors particr and in line with physics? My physics grades are not bad.¡±

    ¡°No, I just mean your physical attack power is quite high.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance said calmly.

    Husky smiled suddenly.

    ¡°It¡¯s so annoying! Don¡¯t talk about it. Let¡¯s head to the next level of the nightmare!¡±

    Husky grabbed Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s right arm and dragged Thirteenth Fragrance staggeringly to Room 206 like a jailer.

    Fortunately, the ¡°dream murder¡± that Thirteenth Fragrance worried about did not happen.

    The moment they sat on the bed in Room 206, Thirteenth Fragrance felt a trance.

    The moment he opened his eyes again, Thirteenth Fragrance felt the bed beneath him turn into a chair. He was sitting by the table.

    Is this the secondyer of the nightmare?

    Thirteenth Fragrance nced at his mission.

    [Main mission: Returning to the real history.]

    [Break out of the third dream (Completed).]

    [Break out of the second dream.]

    [Break out of the first dream.]

    So, did we justplete one-third of the dungeon?

    That¡¯s it?

    It seems like this nightmare is not so terrifying.

    Thirteenth Fragrance suddenly gained confidence.

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 Chapter 588: â€œWhereâ€™s My Huskyâ€ Broadcast

    <h4>Chapter 588: ¡°Where¡¯s My Husky¡± Broadcast</h4>

    Thirteenth Fragrance realized that ¡°Frederick¡± seemed to have fallen asleep on the table.

    My neck hurt a bit, and my forehead is ufortable. My arms are sore and numb. I can feel the throbbing sensation when the blood just flowed to my fingertips.

    ¡­But I miss this pose.

    During Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s college days, sometimes he would y games or rush assignments the night before. If it was an all-nighter, he would do the same in the lecture on the next day, sleeping in the lecture hall for two lectures.

    After Thirteenth Fragrance got to work, he seldom slept on the table like this¡ªhe worked overtime until 11 p.m. at most. It could be a littleter when there were asional games. After getting off work, the director would take them to eat something delicious.

    Although Husky was sidelined by others on TV, Thirteenth Fragrance had been treated well by others. Even after he left, he was able to rely on his previous contacts to start a business.

    Since then, Thirteenth Fragrance seldom stayed upte, which made him sleepy the next day.

    Moreover, there was a dedicated staff lounge, which was soundproof, quiet, and had quilts.

    There was no need to sleep at the workstation.

    Firstly, it was bad for health. Secondly, it had poor sleep quality¡­ Lastly, it was to prevent someone from snoring and affecting other people.

    Reminiscing the school days brought Thirteenth Fragrance some nostalgia.

    Thirteenth Fragrance raised his head and rubbed his eyes. The first thing he did was to look around slowly, recording everything he saw through the live broadcast window.

    There seemed to be some kind of library here.

    Its area was quiterge.

    At least it was much bigger than a university library, almost at the level of a municipal library.

    Thirteenth Fragrance saw 17 people in his field of view, including 4 girls. All of them were young people in their teens and twenties. The youngest was only 12 years old, at the age of graduating from elementary school, while the oldest was approaching graduation from college.

    Is this some kind of building simr to a transcender school?

    ¡°Freder? You¡¯re awake!¡±

    A crisp girl¡¯s voice sounded from Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s side.

    It was a girl with long dark blue hair. She had no makeup, looked beautiful, and had a sunny smile.

    To Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s surprise¡­

    ¡­ This girl¡¯s voice and appearance were simr to Ah Dian.

    The Delicious Wind Goose outside the nightmare also looked at Ah Dian in astonishment.

    Ah Dian was also taken aback when she saw the girl.

    Her appearance was based on her real appearance as a temte, and there were hardly any major changes.

    It was a bizarre coincidence.

    Seeing Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s strange gaze, Ah Dian stomped her feet ufortably and shouted dissatisfiedly, ¡°It¡¯s only a coincidence!¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Annan sighed.

    Annan had little contact with Ah Dian, so he didn¡¯t realize when he was in the nightmare. It was only when he saw Delicious Wind Goose suddenly looking at Ah Dian that he realized that Ah Dian¡¯s voice was simr to Ingrid¡¯s.

    In that case, it seemed that the three of them had formed a subtle ¡°simrity¡± and symmetry with the trio in the nightmare.

    The nightmare was a story of three people.

    However, only two had names.

    ¡°Ingrid¡± and ¡°Ah Dian¡± could only watch from the sidelines.

    Thinking of this, Annan¡¯s expression became serious.

    Destiny was the Wheel of Divine Transporter. As a subsidiary product of the Book of Divine Transporter, the yer should not be affected by the power of fate.

    However, this simrity made people think of the word ¡°fate¡±.

    After all, how high could this probability be?

    It just so happened that the three of them entered the Mist Continent at the same time, and it just so happened that Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance entered this nightmare, recing the identities of the two old friends. ¡°Ingrid¡± and ¡°Ah Dian¡± could only watch from outside.

    Could it be that Tragedy Writer did this?

    The goal was to create that simrity, but it shouldn¡¯t be either.

    This would undoubtedly consume His power.

    Even if other Books of Truth were used to counter Annan¡¯s Book of Truth, the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡± had an innate ability to restrain the ¡°fate¡± attribute. Negating this restraint would cost a huge price.

    Also, the Tragedy Write would get nothing from it.

    Not just because the yer was unkible, but even the nightmare itself could not kill.

    Dying from this nightmare did not even increase the erosion rate. Coupled with its high difficulty, this was also the reason why no one had purified it.

    Through prophecy and divine art, this nightmare was identified as harmless. Its key was rare, and the difficulty was extremely high. Everything was set up to prevent others from purifying this nightmare early.

    However, ording to Annan¡¯s analysis, this nightmare was the ritual used by ¡°Dream Eater¡± Trisino to steal the Man in the Mirror¡¯s power. His attempt to steal this power could only be because he intended to betray Tragedy Writer and hold an ascendancy ritual.

    Tragedy Writer would not help the pope, who was about to betray Him.

    The only exception would be the Tragedy Writer was particrly interested in the fun.

    After all, He was seeking chaos and fun.

    It was possible for Him of doing such a thing.

    While Annan was thinking outside the dungeon instance, the plot in the nightmare was still going on simultaneously.

    For some reason, Husky¡¯s screen remained ck.

    It wasn¡¯t until just now that the Husky side suddenly lit up.

    On the Thirteenth Fragrance side, it happened to also hear a sunny voice full of vigor.

    ¡°¡ªFreder!¡±

    He followed the sound and looked over.

    He found that the person calling him was a young man about 17 years old, with a somewhat rebellious haircut like a mohawk.

    The young man stepped forward and happily patted Thirteenth Fragrance on the shoulder, ¡°I knew you bastard is fine!¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah, yes.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance smiled and nodded reluctantly.

    However, there was a chill creeping behind him.

    Sweat unknowingly soaked through the close-fitting clothing.

    The problem was serious, and panicking was useless.

    This time, it was worse than the previous nightmare level. Back then, at least it was just Husk couldn¡¯t find anyone.

    However, the character was reced here.

    The cheerful, smiling youth wasn¡¯t Husky at all.

    Thirteenth Fragrance knew Husky all too well, more than Husky¡¯s parents.

    There was no way that Husky would greet him with such a cheerful tone and a sunny smile.

    Husky had a silly smile, and he would spout nonsense from the TV shows

    Fuck you.

    Where is my dog?

    Why is Husky gone again?

    Thirteen Fragrances felt a sense of nervousness as her n was being disrupted, as well as a sense of worry that the Husky had disappeared.

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s side was alright.

    However, there could be problems on Husky¡¯s side.

    On the other side, Annan¡¯s split-screen live broadcast finally showed Husky¡¯s vision.

    That was exactly what Husky saw.

    After Husky opened his eyes, he found that he was also in the library. He looked around for a while. When he saw the young version of ¡°Frederick¡± rubbing his eyes and waking up, he smirked. Before he passed, a new introduction plot and main mission appeared in Husky¡¯s eyes.

    [¡ªJustice sessfully arrived in the past.]

    [This is the autumn when he is 17 years old. It¡¯s the node where his fate is changed.]

    [The power from the Man in the Mirror gives him a chance to return to that day.]

    [This is the only andst chance to save his best friend, Frederick Melvin.]

    [Main mission: Fate]

    [Luring Ingrid to Speckled Bone Forest.]

    [Guarantee that Frederick is always within Justice¡¯s field of vision.]

    [Confirmation of Ingrid¡¯s death.]

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 Chapter 589: Huskyâ€™s Bizarre Adventure

    <h4>Chapter 589: Husky¡¯s Bizarre Adventure</h4>

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±

    Seeing the Husky¡¯s mission panel, Delicious Wind Goose couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    This almost overturned all his previous understanding of this nightmare.

    Is it not Ingrid¡¯s death that leads Justice to try to murder Frederick?

    Judging from the main mission at Husky, it appears that the truth is not the case.

    Is Frederick dead? Did Justicee back to save his old friend? What about confirming Ingrid¡¯s death?

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and said nothing.

    He vaguely felt that he had touched some inspiration, but he was not sure for a moment.

    The only certain thing was this nightmare, or this incident must be rted to the Tragedy Writer.

    It was probably even more direct than ck Widow¡¯s influence in Sporeggar Mill.

    ¡°Do not panic.¡±

    Facing Delicious Wind Goose, who was a little confused, Annan turned his head and reminded in a low voice, ¡°Keep watching first.¡±

    ¡°Since this is a mirror attribute nightmare that emphasizes [Symmetry] and [Cycle], it is not surprising that there are two nightmare subjects.¡±

    In other words, is this a nightmare for both Justice and Frederick?

    Delicious Wind Goose pondered.

    If that¡¯s the case, will it be necessary to judge in the end which side is the mirror image?

    It¡¯s not impossible.

    Although the yers outside were full of confusion, they were still a little nervous and uneasy. However, Husky remained unfazed.

    In other words, he didn¡¯t care much about his introduction to the plot.

    Husky showed a strange smile, trotted over, and pulled Ingrid in front of him behind him.

    ¡°Yo, you¡¯re still studying hard.¡±

    He put his arms around Frederick¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Youth is really promising, Brother Freder, did you fall asleep while reading a book?¡±

    Husky approached with a saying from their world in the wrong manner, so that Thirteenth Fragrance could say along the way that he was illiterate.

    Frederick just woke up, looked around in confusion, and didn¡¯t respond to Husky.

    When he saw Husky, his pupils shrank suddenly. He tilted his upper body back a little in fear. Obviously, he was a little sleepy.

    In the next moment, Frederick suddenly realized.

    Frowning, Frederick reached out his right hand and tapped his forehead lightly. Seemingly confirming something, he breathed a sigh of relief. He showed a somewhat alienated and fearful smile to Justice, ¡°Sorry, Justice. I didn¡¯t hear it just now¡­ What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡°

    Husky didn¡¯t respond to him.

    He stood there and was in doubt, tilted his head, and suddenly fell into thinking.

    No, this person doesn¡¯t seem to be Thirteenth Fragrance.

    Just then, Ingrid finally leaned over.

    She stood at Frederick¡¯s table somewhat stiffly, smiling, ¡°You¡¯re awake, Freder.¡±

    ¡°You just fell asleep after reading this book¡­ I have called the professor. He will be here soon.¡±

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t panic. I was just dreaming.¡±

    Frederick nodded, lowered his eyes, and said softly.

    His voice was soft, but it could clearly reach the ears of the other two.

    It was like whispering as if afraid of waking someone up or whispering to apanion in a quiet library.

    That kind of quiet and gentle temperament would indeed make a good first impression.

    So, Husky immediately approached him familiarly and shouted, ¡°Freder¡ª¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what name ¡°Justice¡± should call him.

    So, he simply imitated Ingrid and greeted him in the same way.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Justice?¡±

    Frederick¡¯s gaze was as gentle as water.

    Compared with Ingrid¡¯s eyes, which were always shining with light and were unique to the underground people, Frederick¡¯s calm pupils gave off a mystical divinity.

    His movements were gentle, serious, and solemn, as if he wasn¡¯t talking and working with someone, but rather constantly performing a ritual to worship the deities. His actions seemed to follow some kind of strict rules.

    Even Ingrid¡¯s voice was much quieter in front of Frederick.

    Husky was unscrupulous.

    He immediately turned around and bent down slightly, showing off a bright smile at a 45-degree angle. He eximed loudly, ¡°Let¡¯s go eat barbecue tonight!¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Frederick only responded gently, ¡°Ingrid treated youst time. Let me treat you this time.¡±

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the store in Speckled Bone Forest!¡±

    Husky¡¯s voice got louder, even startling Ingrid.

    She patted Husky¡¯s arm vigorously and was just about to scold him and tell him to be quiet. When she saw Husky¡¯s shining eyes with no evil intentions, she couldn¡¯t help but m on the brakes and stop there.

    She whispered, ¡°The professor is nearby. Be careful not to alert him.¡±

    ¡°Justice, you seem to be in high spirits.¡±

    At this moment, a hearty old man¡¯s voice came.

    Husky looked over.

    It was a gray-haired old man wearing a purple robe like an ancient Romanian.

    His long messy hair casually draped over his shoulders, and his gray pupils were calm. There was an amiable smile on his face and a faint smell of alcohol on his body.

    ¡°Professor.¡± Frederick and Ingrid responded in unison.

    Ingrid quietly tugged on Husky¡¯s cuff, and then Husky reacted.

    ¡°Oh! Good morning, Professor!¡±

    Husky raised his hand full of vigor and saluted the professor indiscriminately, ¡°You smell so good!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the smell of alcohol, Justice.¡± Ingrid whispered in Husky¡¯s ear.

    The professor nodded with a smile and nced at Husky with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite a talent.¡±

    He showed a kind smile to Husky, ¡°You may be very suitable for [the Skull of Honesty]. Are you interested in being my student?¡±

    Hearing this, Ingrid eximed, ¡°What?¡±

    Even Frederick¡¯s eyes on Husky had a hint of surprise.

    Does my friend have the affinity to be a saint?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just kidding.¡±

    Gray Professor chuckled, breaking the silence, ¡°[The Man of Silence] is still alive.¡±

    ¡°He is most likely able to live until the end of the world.¡±

    He said, turning his head to look at Husky.

    The old man said meaningfully, ¡°I am not here to dissuade you. If you have any new ideas in the future, you cane here to find me at any time.¡±

    ¡°I can ept you as a disciple at any time.¡±

    That was the old man¡¯s words.

    Husky had the impression that Gray Professor was not talking to ¡°Justice¡±.

    It was more like talking to ¡°himself¡±.

    A wise light suddenly shed in Husky¡¯s eyes.

    At least for that one sentence, he did not lie.

    He was not stupid, and he was just toozy to use his brain.

    In the absence of Thirteenth Fragrance, Husky would move on his own.

    <strong>Great news!</strong> We¡¯re thrilled to announce a special <strong>7-day trial</strong> exclusively on <strong>Patreons (Click Here)</strong>. If you¡¯re still unsure about how our early ess chapters work or if you¡¯re looking to gain more trust in our trantions, this is the perfect opportunity for you to join us. Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!

 Chapter 590: Husky: OvO?

    <h4>Chapter 590: Husky: OvO?</h4>

    Under the watchful eyes of Annan and the yers, Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance had subtly reached the same progress in different worlds.

    Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance were in different worlds, with differentpanions and conversations. Even the main missions were different too, but they all went to the predestined barbecue restaurant.

    Husky¡¯s side had three side missions.

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s mission was the same as Annan¡¯s before entering the nightmare.

    There was only one main mission named [Changing Fate]. The description was ¡°to prevent Ingrid from acting alone¡±.

    This ¡°fate¡± referred to the fact that Gray Professor deliberately let Ingrid enter the alley, and she was crushed to death by the copsed building in the brief earthquake that followed.

    Thirteenth Fragrance had already known what would happen through Annan.

    So the death resulting from the sudden rise in difficulty became meaningless to him.

    Ingrid wanted to go out to ¡°answer the phone¡± because she received the message from Gray Professor.

    Thirteenth Fragrance firmly refused Ingrid¡¯s request to go out.

    Thirteenth Fragrance was direct. He utilized the persuasiveness of his Frederick identity and said, ¡°I feel that something bad will happen if we go out at this time.¡± In the end, Ingrid believed him.

    Afterward, Thirteenth Fragrance sat beside Ingrid and covered Ingrid¡¯s ears with both hands. He tightly covered Ingrid¡¯s right ear with his right hand and put on Ingrid¡¯s ring with his left hand, twisting it into an eggshell shape and sticking it to her ear.

    Such an intimate gesture made Ingrid¡¯s cheeks blush.

    However, Ingrid did not push Thirteenth Fragrance away.

    Ingrid lowered her head. Her breathing quickened slightly, and her gaze somewhat evasive.

    Even during the first two attempts to establish a connection, she was somewhat absent-minded. Despite the silence, she couldn¡¯t quite make out the contents of the ¡°voice message¡± that Professor Gray had sent her.

    Thirteenth Fragrance had a realization.

    ¡­Ingrid is pursuing Frederick.

    Thirteenth Fragrance looked up sympathetically at Justice sitting across from him.

    It feels like cheating.

    ¡­But that¡¯s not quite right either.

    After all, it¡¯s Justice¡¯s secret love without a rtionship.

    It seems that Ingrid has no interest in Justice at all.

    But there is something strange. Justice doesn¡¯t seem to have much reaction to this scene¡­

    The three of them sat in the barbeque store.

    Before the barbecue meat was served on the table, Thirteenth Fragrance felt that the seat began to shake.

    It was like sitting on a trampoline. The ground suddenly became soft and floated like a wave.

    Under their gaze, the whole city was undting up and down. The Speckled Bone Forest outside was copsing with a loud crash.

    [Completed the main mission: Changing fate.]

    The next moment, a new prompt appeared in front of Thirteenth Fragrance.

    ¡­That¡¯s it? That¡¯s it

    Questions arose in Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s mind.

    On the other side, Husky also arrived at the Speckled Bone Forest at the same time and entered the barbecue store almost at the same time.

    What was different from the Thirteenth Fragrance was that Husky followed his nature and unceremoniously ordered a lot of food.

    ¡°That¡¯s too many!¡± Ingridined, ¡°We can¡¯t finish it at all.¡±

    ¡°If we can¡¯t finish it, we can grab them as a takeaway.¡±

    Frederick had a gentle tone, ¡°As long as we don¡¯t waste the food.¡±

    ¡°I can also pack it up and take it away. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Husky said sternly even though he felt that there would be nothing left in the end.

    Anyway, it¡¯s not my stomach, nor my reputation. What¡¯s the worst that can happen? Being stuffed to death, and even vomiting from overeating. It doesn¡¯t matter.

    It is rare to be able to eat meat casually without worrying about gaining weight, calories, blood pressure, blood lipids, and uric acid.

    Isn¡¯t that beautiful?

    Thinking of this, Husky showed an innocent smile, ¡°Freder¡ª¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to have alcohol? I¡¯d like to get some drink.¡± Huskyughed foolishly.

    ¡°No problem at all.¡± Frederick responded softly.

    Then, the table was added with two buckets of apple beer. Husky turned his head and said with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s drink together.¡±

    ¡°Oh, do you drink, Freder?¡± Ingrid let out a sigh. She mustered up her courage and said, ¡°Then, give me a bucket of it too!¡±

    ¡°Girls shouldn¡¯t drink too much. If you want to have a taste, grabbed some from me.¡±

    Frederick rejected Ingrid¡¯s request.

    Frederick said with some nostalgia, ¡°Of course, I can drink pretty well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more urate to say that I didn¡¯t drink much water when I was a child.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°The goal is to develop my divinity.¡± Frederick replied.

    Frederick gave an example, ¡°Look at the professor. Why does he always have the smell of alcohol? The purpose is the same.¡±

    ¡°Some inds in the United Kingdom hold the Drinking Festival in March every year. This is a festival that originates from the Papal Kingdom. After the [House of Purity] was established, these festivals were canceled, but the United Kingdom adopted the tradition.¡±

    [TN: Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom.]

    ¡°Drinking Festival?¡±

    Ingrid asked suspiciously, ¡°But I remember that none of the clergy or deity is directly rted to wine. Could it be a festival dedicated to the ¡®Deity of Harvest and Brewing¡¯, the Wolf of the Valley? Or ¡®the Drunk Madman¡¯, Tragedy Writer?¡±

    ¡°It is indeed rted. Some people in the United Kingdom also think that they are offering sacrifices to the Wolf of the Balley. But strictly speaking, it is not.¡±

    Frederick shook his head slowly and exined softly, ¡°The Drinking Deity is a deity that does not actually exist. Because the essence of drinking here does not refer to the alcohol we drink, but the chaotic state after drinking.¡±

    ¡°Before the Osserians entered this continent, the Yasserans had already invented wine. It was only after people got drunk that they named the beverage, ¡®wine¡¯, they discovered by ident.¡±

    ¡°At that time, the Yasn people hadn¡¯t seen the real deities, didn¡¯t understand divine art, and were still in the uncivilized period. They worshiped this chaotic state after drunkenness, and believed that it had some kind of divinity.¡±

    ¡°So therees a Drinking Festival. People would drink ale every year on March 3rd, the day after the alcohol was ripe. The Drinking Festival usuallysts for three days. By the way, this is also why the concept of ¡®Drinking¡¯ was thought to possess extraordinary power. During these three days, everyone is not allowed to drink water but only alcohol.¡±

    ¡°Those, who drank alcohol, will feel dry and hot. The Yasn people think it is the ¡®life force bursting out of the body¡¯. So the Yasn people at that time would remove all their clothes, y music, sing and dance wildly in the forest, and roam the mountains until sunset. All animals encountered, regardless of age and species, will be hunted and eaten raw on the spot.¡±

    ¡°After sunset, people return to the city to concentrate onedy and tragedy. That¡¯s why Tragedy Writer is called ¡®the Drunk Madman¡¯. Since then, people have thought that the actors and writers of tragedy andedy must drink alcohol to get the ¡®Drinking Deity¡¯s madness¡¯ and ¡®inspiration and spirituality¡¯.¡±

    ¡°¡­Of course, Drinking Deity is not a true deity. It is a primitive belief of Yasn. However, people worshipping the Drinking Deity can still acquire some transcended power. This is one of the original forms of Idol spells.¡±

    ¡°The Drinking Deity is a typical man-made deity. An idol that does not exist but is believed to exist. Therefore, the mainstream inheritance of the Idol School is the ¡®Drinking Deity School¡¯. This is the case in my family, the professor is the same, and even the Tragedy Writer is the same as the Drinking Deity¡¯s origin.¡±

    Picking up the wooden handle of the beer mug, Frederick showed a gentle smile full of emptiness and divinity, ¡°To cultivate divinity, the water I drink since I can speak will always be mixed with wine. This is to ensure the child of divinity will be in the primitive state all the time, away from the turbid world. Of course, that is not a fun experience.¡±

    Even if there were elders, who use Idol Magic to heal, children were passing out and dying before seeing actual people.

    Frederick was just lucky enough.

    Frederick¡¯s biological parents died when he was two years old. The elders of the n gave him strong alcohol and even magical wine. He was treated as a subject in a controlled experiment with the other children.

    Before Frederick became a transcender, the curse in his body was so strong that when he talked to others at close range, he could make mortals drunk.

    His luck was that before his body was destroyed by various kinds of magical wine, he was able to open his ¡°Deity¡¯s Eye¡± and see the thread of his destiny.

    Frederick looked at Justice quietly and remained silent.

    His pupils were as dark as an abyss, devoid of any human emotion.

    In the same way, Frederick could also see the thread of fate in others.

    For example, Justice whose fate line was suddenly changed.

    Does this have anything to do with the prophetic dream I saw?

    What is Gray Professor nning?

    Justice wants to save me.

    Am I in any danger?

    Frederick fell into a long thought.

    ¡°OvO?¡±

    ¡°OvO?¡±

    Husky, who lowered his head and concentrated on studying the menu, raised his head and cast puzzled eyes at Frederick.

    It seemed Husky didn¡¯t understand what Frederick said.

    Or rather, Husky didn¡¯t listen from the very beginning.

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 Chapter 591: I Have To Rely On Myself In The End

    <h4>Chapter 591: I Have To Rely On Myself In The End</h4>

    Frederick had caught some clues even without any evidence.

    ¡°Justice¡± was unlike himself.

    Frederick knew Justice well, probably better than his parents.

    Justice was a pure person. He was a self-centered person and had a strong desire. It was not based on material, but based on emotion. In other words, he cherished and attached great importance to every rtionship he had.

    Whether it was the friendship with Frederick, the secret love for Ingrid, and the respect for Gray Professor, Justice would do anything to maintain the rtionship.

    Justice was the kind of person who would kill for a friend or a lover.

    Of course, that included people who harbor hostility or malice toward Justice¡¯s friends or lovers¡­ If someone wanted to hurt them, Justice would be the first to rush up. However, Justice might also kill his friends or lovers if faced with betrayal.

    The sense of danger hidden in his behavior pattern could make new friends who started to get close to him feel uneasy.

    Immediately, the friends would instinctively stay away from Justice, but they did not know that Justice would treat this as an act of betrayal.

    It was precisely because of this that Justice only had Frederick as a close friend.

    As a member of the Melvin Family, Frederick was not awful good person. After undergoing and surviving the ritual of the child of divinity, his ¡°humanity¡± was virtually gone.

    Frederick had lost his mortal love for material desires, whether it was the desire for food or the romantic love between men and women.

    Frederick no longer feared failure, nor rejoiced in sess. He was not afraid of injury, nor was he afraid of death. From this perspective, he might no longer be considered a human being.

    Frederick made friends, and even friends of the opposite sex, more out of a sense of ¡°ordinary people need friends¡±. He imitated mortals as a rebellion against his own ¡°Melvin¡± surname.

    Ordinary people certainly would not be friends with Justice.

    However, it so happened that Frederick was not an ordinary person.

    Frederick did not act out of desire, nor shrink back out of fear. Hence, Frederick would not betray Justice at all, since he did not have the motive.

    So even if Justice was dangerous as a friend, it would not affect Frederick.

    Instead, such a ¡°useful¡±, ¡°solitary¡± and ¡°loyal¡± friend was exactly what Frederick needed to y an ordinary person. Frederick could make friends with Justice attentively without worrying about the many troubles that the other party might bring.

    For example, meaningless socializing, banquets, developing a social circle, etc. These did not make any sense to Frederick. Frederick needed to ¡°have friends¡± rather than ¡°having many friends¡±.

    Compared to Justice, Ingrid was a bit more troublesome.

    Ingrid was a good kid. She was innocent, pure, and kind. The only thing that should not be done was falling in love with this monster, Frederick.

    Frederick didn¡¯t know what love was. He could only try his best to imitate the ¡°acts of love¡± which he read from the book and respond appropriately.

    Watching Ingrid leave the barbecue store after receiving the message, Frederick looked at Justice calmly.

    The person in front of him was more like Ingrid than Justice.

    Innocent, straightforward, and carefree like a youth.

    Frederick stared at ¡°Justice¡± for a while. He saw a trace of divinity from ¡°Justice¡±.

    The presence or absence of this trace of divinity was the key to learning Idol Spells.

    Justice would not have divinity for no reason.

    So there could only be one answer.

    This idiot with a bright smile like a silly dog wa?is not Justice.

    I am currently in some kind of nightmare. Considering that this ¡°Justice¡± wants to save me, it is probably my nightmare.

    Am I dead already?

    Frederick watched ¡°Justice¡± with interest.

    Justice is visibly relieved when Ingrid left the barbeque store. So, is his mission getting Ingrid away from me?

    Why?

    Ingrid couldn¡¯t possibly kill me.

    She is incapable of that.

    So is there a dangerous item around her?

    It¡¯s impossible. In that case, I should be able to notice it immediately.

    Therefore, the mission of ¡°Justice¡± can only be [the Murder of Ingrid].

    This may indicate that Ingrid will be some kind of hindrance affecting me in the future, and may even hurt me.

    Frederick had no mortal feelings. He wouldn¡¯t be hurt emotionally. Since he was already at the Silver Rank, there was no possibility of advancing to gold in the short term.

    Then, what could I possibly die from?

    Is it something that makes Ingrid stronger than me? Could it be the Fallen path?

    That¡¯s possible.

    Ingrid was pure. She had clear and persistent desires. Once she embarked on the Fallen path, she had a chance to be a powerful demon.

    Besides, there was another possibility.

    ¡°Professor¡­has he been researching sacred bone recently?¡±

    Frederick spoke suddenly and asked Justice.

    Thankfully Ingrid was gone. Otherwise, she would have noticed something was wrong at the first moment.

    Of course, the real Justice wouldn¡¯t know the answer to this matter.

    Not to mention, ¡°Justice¡± was not yet a student of Gray Professor.

    Even if Justice was a student of Gray Professor, ¡°Justice¡± just learned that he had the adaptability of [the Skull of Honesty]. This could also in turn prove that Justice did not learn this matter before.

    However, it did not matter if Justice could not understand it as long as ¡°Justice¡± knew.

    Since he entered the nightmare from the future, he probably investigated Frederick.

    ¡°It seems so.¡±

    Unsurprisingly, ¡°Justice¡± replied without any precautions, ¡°I remember it as ¡®the Fearless Bone¡¯, but I don¡¯t know exactly when.¡±

    ¡ªthe Fearless Bone.

    I see.

    Frederick narrowed his eyes.

    He knew that Gray Professor had been collecting the Fearless Bone.

    Not long ago, the Gray Professor collected all [the Fearless Bone] fragments, which he seemed to be trying to fix it.

    So is it possible that if Ingrid hadn¡¯t died, then she would have been used to ¡°hatch [the Fearless Bone]¡±?

    Probably.

    ¡°Listen, Justice.¡± Suddenly, Frederick said, ¡°Don¡¯t respond to me, and don¡¯t ask me anything. Just listen.¡±

    ¡°I am currently 16 years old. The key is [Immature Wolf Wine, Second, Snowy Cotton]. I¡¯ll repeat it. Listen carefully. It¡¯s three words: [Immature Wolf Wine, Second, Snowy Cotton].¡±

    ¡°If Ingrid epts the sacred bone transformation of Gray Professor, then everything is fine. However, if she bes a demon, then she will be a demon who tends to be [love] or [exclusive]. Her essence will be concepts such as [cage] or [imprisonment].¡±

    ¡°The identity of [Gray Professor] is a fake name. His real identity should be a werewolf. I specte that he may change his name to [Professor Wolf].

    ¡°One ult knowledge is, [¡®the Wolf of the Valley¡¯ and ¡®Tragedy Writer¡¯ are actually the same deity].

    ¡°Farmers in the Papal Kingdom and the United Kingdom would deceive their children by telling them that the wheat fields are dangerous because wolves hide in them, which will cause the wheat to bend and fall over when the wind blows. This was originally meant to prevent the children from trampling on the wheat seedlings, but over time people began to believe it to be true.¡±

    ¡°They believe that this [wolf] is the Deity of Harvest, the soul of the grain, and is the so-called ¡®the Wolf of the Valley¡¯. It is usually represented by a ck wolf with its tail down¡­ Its counterpart is a white dog with its tail up, symbolizing wheat¡¯s albinism. When a farmer is injured in the field, he will be said to be ¡®bitten by a white dog¡¯. Some old farmers in the United Kingdom will ask the carpenters in the vige to carve a heavy-tailed ck wolf idol sculpture and ce it in the center of the wheat field as a ritual to pray for a good harvest.¡±

    ¡°However, ¡®the Wolf of the Valley¡¯ is not a real deity. It is a myth and legend created by the Tragedy Writer to advance to the Gold Rank before the deity¡¯s ascension. The records about the Wolf of the Valley revealing divinities and blessings are times when the Tragedy Writer appears.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Tragedy Writer is the sublimated deity of werewolves because wolves and wine are the essences of grain. ¡®The Drunk Madman¡¯ can be understood as ¡®a man in wolf¡¯s clothing¡¯¡­¡±

    A sudden earthquake came from below Frederick as he revealed the truth to this point.

    Frederick suddenly realized something.

    nce sideways at Ingrid, watching her being buried by the building.

    So Frederick immediately said in a hurry, ¡°Also! Don¡¯t try to seek power from Tragedy Writer through ritual¡­ He is a peerless ritualist himself, and the sacrifices and gains of ritual will inevitably be distorted by him!¡±

    ¡°When you see me again, tell me the key! I¡¯ll tell you the rest of the truth¡ª¡±

    Frederick hadn¡¯t finished speaking.

    Husky and Thirteenth Fragrancepleted the main mission of [Break out of the second dream.] at the same time.

    The world in front of them was instantly changed.

    Husky looked bewildered.

    What just happened?

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 Chapter 592: Husky Gave Up Thinking

    <h4>Chapter 592: Husky Gave Up Thinking</h4>

    ¡°¡­Uh-huh?¡°

    Huskies looked bewildered.

    At this moment, he felt as if he had studied hard for a long time with all his strength. Then, when he was gearing up and preparing to go, he suddenly received the news that he had guaranteed cement.

    He was just about to start using his brain to execute the mission beautifully and earnestly. As a result, the BOSS monster in the mission, who was supposed to be deceived by him, took off all his equipment and exposed his weakness.

    While frantically throwing his loot items on the ground, the BOSS monster began to recite the mechanism of other bosses at lightning speed.

    ¡°The whole world is stopping me from using my brain!¡± Husky grumbled, dissatisfied.

    How can I prove that I¡¯m quick-witted?

    With that in mind, Husky looked around.

    This ce is a little familiar.

    It is still Room 203.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve spawned back to the same ce again?¡±

    Husky muttered suspiciously.

    He turned around and noticed that Frederick was still asleep in bed.

    It was precisely the same as when he first entered the nightmare.

    The difference from when he first entered the nightmare was that Frederick was filled with a strong smell of alcohol.

    Husky¡¯s keen sense of smell allowed him to determine that this was not the aroma of alcohol left when wine was spilled on the clothes but the pungent stench of alcohol when people sweated after drinking.

    It was like a drunken man who fell without taking off his jacket after returning home.

    A new plot introduction appeared before his eyes again.

    However, this time, the plot introduction waspletely different from before.

    There was only one short line, the meaning of which was unclear.

    [You decide.]

    Then, the prompt disappeared on its own.

    There was no new main mission.

    ¡°What do I have to decide?¡±

    Husky stared nkly, ¡°So, can I decide to stay idle and do nothing?¡±

    ¡°By the way, my brothers, what did Freder say just now? I heard it clearly that [Professor Wolf] is [Gray Professor]¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, I¡¯m overloaded with information. I¡¯m still reading.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThis is stupid. Why did you rush over to this level on your own?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThirteenth Fragrance hasn¡¯t gotten any information despite his deliberate work, but you¡¯re already at the finish line. What an illogical between the hare(Thirteenth Fragrance) and the tortoise (Husky).¡±

    ¡°¡ªHaha, ignorance is bliss.¡±

    Everyone in the bullet text was stunned.

    They didn¡¯t even bother to discuss the massive amount of information. Instead, they began toment Husky¡¯s luck.

    After all, it happened suddenly.

    Delicious Wind Goose had a pen and paper. He was the only one who reacted immediately and began to take notes quickly. The other yers only remembered a little. Frederick spoke too fast.

    When Husky was still pondering that ¡°So, Professor Wolf is Gray Professor, ¡± he returned to his senses. Then, he realized what Frederick was talking about, the Wolf of the Valley.

    At that time, Husky appeared to be at a loss. What about the middle part?

    Then, when Husky was thinking about ¡°What is the Wolf of the Valley? Is it Holo the Wise Wolf [1]¡°, he found Frederick shouting something like ¡°When you see me again, just tell me the key¡±.

    What happened felt like the teacher told the students, ¡°Just revise after ss¡±.

    It resembled the feeling where the student was distracted in an Additional Mathematic ss. When the student recollected his thought, he could not understand whatever was exined next.

    The student would forget what was lectured for the middle part of the ss, let alone memorize it¡­ Worse still, Husky didn¡¯t even listen to it attentively.

    Would it hinder the puzzle-solving of this dungeon level?

    ¡°¡­But at least it shouldn¡¯t affect you to ovee this level.¡±

    Even if Husky was not as bright as Thirteenth Fragrance, Husky could quickly tell that Frederick had just thrown out a lot of information, probably realizing that he was in a nightmare. This suggested that Husky could not usually ess the intelligence Frederick shared.

    It would be too despicable to hide the necessary clues to clear this dungeon through the information outside it.

    ¡°Hey, Mr. Justice¡ª¡±

    At this moment, a young man¡¯s shout came from outside the door.

    Immediately, there was a knock on his door.

    This startled Husky in the room, who was in the ¡°meditator¡± pose.

    Husky shuddered and looked toward the door.

    Husky walked over with some hesitation and opened the door.

    Husky found out that it was a young man dressed as a waiter. He handed the tray with food to Justice.

    ¡°You have ordered pan-searedmb chops, honey-roasted chicken wings, and sheep pudding. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have any oysters, but the kitchen has prepared fried fish and sd for you. As for the drinks, they will be brought over shortly.¡±

    The waiter looked at Husky with admiration. Then, he said quickly, with some nervousness.

    ¡°Oh, great.¡±

    Husky¡¯s eyes lit up, and the previous doubts clouding him had dissipated.

    Husky smiled happily at the waiter, ¡°Thank you, pal.¡±

    Afterward, Husky took the te with one hand and was about to close the door.

    But at this moment, the waiter said anxiously, ¡°Wait, wait!¡±

    ¡°Anything else?¡± Husky asked suspiciously.

    Husky suddenly realized something, ¡°Oh, I have forgotten the tips¡­¡±

    But I don¡¯t have any money with me, do I?

    ¡°What is a tip?¡± The waiter repeated nkly.

    The waiter quickly exined his objective, ¡°Can you sign for me!? You are my idol!¡±

    As the waiter spoke, he handed over a section of cut cloth.

    Using arge piece of paper for autographs was inappropriate.

    Huskies understood that too.

    After all, the situation in this world was unique, and there was such a thing as a ritualist. Who would know if someone would write it into a contract or a loan?

    ¡°Ha. Idol¡­¡±

    Husky grinned, ¡°You even know this word.¡±

    Husky thought that since there was Idol Wizard in this world, the concept of ¡°Idol¡± he understood should not exist.

    Otherwise, when people hear the word, [Idol], they might subconsciously think in the direction of ¡°the Idol Wizards from the tower¡±.

    However, the reality was slightly different from Husky¡¯s perception.

    ¡°Yes, this is a new word usage proposed in the book ¡°On Idtry¡± written by the teacher!¡±

    The waiter smiled triumphantly, ¡°Your Excellency Justice, I¡¯m just a part-timer here. Now, I¡¯m still learning ritual knowledge from the Gray Professor!¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Huskies understood it now.

    Thinking about it¡­ Ordinary people would not understand this kind of umon vocabry.

    In a peaceful ce like the Noah Kingdom, for townspeople in some small ces, ¡°wizards¡± and ¡°transcenders¡± only appeared in legends and stories. They were not sure if it was true or not. The word idol, at least for now, was a jargoon¡­ like the word ¡°machine¡± was not yetmonly used.

    Husky nced at the waiter again.

    Indeed, the waiter was about 18 years old.

    He was indeed like a student.

    He turned out to be a fellow apprentice.

    Husky smiled slightly, ¡°Cool. Bring me a pen and paper!¡±

    He took a signature pen that looked like a fine brush and scribbled it casually on the cloth strip.

    Of course, the wording was unlike the medicine prescription at the pharmacy.

    Anyway, this junior would not know what Justice¡¯s signature should look like.

    Justice could scribble it casually.

    ¡°Um¡­¡±

    At this moment, Frederick¡¯s dreaming sound came.

    Is he waking up?

    ¡°Thank you, Your Excellency!¡±

    The junior was tacit when he saw the situation.

    He quickly took back the cloth strip and pen and excitedly saluted Justice, ¡°You saved my sister! Although you may not remember it, thank you very much!¡±

    After that, the waiter immediately left and closed the door.

    Husky held amb chop in each hand, squatted beside Frederick¡¯s bed, chewed it, and waited intently for Frederick to wake up.

    Even though Husky still had many things he could not understand, Frederick was about to wake up.

    Whether this ¡°Frederick¡± was himself or Thirteenth Fragrance, they were smarter than Husky. Then, it became meaningless for Husky to crack his head, which might narrow his thinking.

    It was better to wait for the boss to wake up and ask the boss directly.

    Frederick didn¡¯t sleep much longer, though.

    The moment Frederick opened his eyes, arge te with a face appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Immature Wolf Wine, Second, Snowy Cotton.¡±

    Husky immediately said seriously.

    Frederick looked dazed, and his eyes were bloodshot when he woke up.

    ¡°What? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Great!¡±

    It¡¯s Thirteenth Fragrance!

    Husky was moved to tears immediately.

    Although Frederick and Thirteenth Fragrance would help him think, meeting someone he knew was still worth being happy and rxed.

    So, Husky gave up thinking.

    ¡°Thirteenth Fragrance, help me¡ª¡±

    Great news! We¡¯re thrilled to announce a special 7-day trial exclusively on Patreons. If you¡¯re still unsure about how our early ess chapters work or if you¡¯re looking to gain more trust in our trantions, this is the perfect opportunity for you to join us. Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 593: The Truth Of Everything

    <h4>Chapter 593: The Truth Of Everything</h4>

    ¡°You mean¡­ the real Frederick noticed that he was in a nightmare? Then, he told you the information?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance, who had just woken up, listened to Husky¡¯s narration. He gradually understood the flow of events through the bullet text.

    He looked at Husky with some strange eyes.

    ¡°Not bad, Brother Husky.¡±

    ¡ªYou dog, are you so sought after?

    Why are people still carrying you even if I¡¯m not around?¡­ It¡¯s as if the whole world is preventing Husky from being self-reliant.

    Could this be the legendary dog ??that everyone favors?

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t get it at all. Do you have any clues?¡±

    Husky said frankly.

    As he spoke, he handed over amb chop.

    ¡°Give me some water first. My mouth is so dry.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance grumbled, but he took themb chops anyway.

    He leaned on the bed and thought for a while before slowly saying, ¡°There are a few things that can be confirmed.¡±

    ¡°First of all, ¡®Professor Wolf¡¯ is Gray Professor from the beginning. ording to outsiders, Frederick should have be Professor Wolf. But considering your main mission, there is a step to save Frederick. I can take it that Frederick Melvin is also dead.¡±

    ¡°Frederick is dead too?¡±

    Husky was startled, ¡°You mean¡­ all three are dead?¡±

    ¡°¡­Three?¡± Thirteenth Fragrance froze momentarily, but he couldn¡¯t understand where the three came from.

    However, he soon realized something.

    ¡­Oh, it¡¯s Ingrid.

    So Thirteenth Fragrance nodded, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s what happened. It¡¯s Gray Professor¡¯s conspiracy. The Gray Professor showed Justice that if Ingrid hadn¡¯t been killed, she might have endangered Frederick¡¯s safety. The Gray Professor made Justice believe that possibility.

    ¡°That¡¯s why he made Justice ¡®travel through time and space¡¯ back in time, killed Ingrid, and ¡®changed¡¯ the past. Are you aware of the problem?¡±

    ¡°That is to say¡­¡±

    Huskies held the poker with a solemn expression.

    The corner of Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s mouth twitched, and he reminded. ¡°Don¡¯t forget. Ingrid is dead in the [historical ending].¡±

    Before entering the nightmare, they learned that ¡°Ingrid¡± and ¡°Justice¡± were dead.

    Ingrid was a victim of the earthquake that year. The results determined that Justice hadmitted suicide with more than ten knives in his body.

    ¡°¡ªThen, what kind of ¡®destiny¡¯ Justice has changed?¡±

    Things were going in the direction he wanted.

    In other words, history was originally like this.

    He had nothing to change at all.

    ¡°The fundamental problem is that this is the third nightmare level.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance replied.

    At the same time, Annan outside the nightmare also exined this to Delicious Wind Goose beside him, ¡°That¡¯s why there are three levels of nightmares.¡±

    Annan sighed slowly.

    With a deep sigh,plex emotions visible to the naked eye were slowly pushed out of Annan¡¯s lungs like gray smoke.

    It was at that moment that Thirteenth Fragrance entered the shallowest nightmare.

    Annan had already fully understood this nightmare.

    ¡°Its hidden mechanism is not difficult to understand. It is even simpler than the Gallery Nightmare.¡±

    So much so that Annan could understand it after deciphering it for a while.

    Of course, it might also be because Annan was outside the situation that he could grasp the big picture clearly.

    Annan nced at the still-confused Delicious Wind Goose and said, ¡°If you¡¯re puzzled by this, then it¡¯s a good thing¡­ because you care too much about what the ¡®truth¡¯ is, which is why you¡¯re puzzled.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand yet.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose paused but still lowered his head and answered.

    Old Goose did not like to pretend to know what he did not know.

    The core of the nightmare had always revolved around those three people.

    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of [understanding].¡±

    Annan¡ªor ¡°Ghindaio¡± tapped his temple with the middle finger of his right hand, ¡°What youck is understanding. Thinking beyond logic¡­ thinking beyond what you see. ¡°

    The key to unlocking this nightmare was ced in the nightmare.

    In other words¡­

    ¡°Please allow me to keep you in suspense. I will put the most important part at the end, just like putting a richly vored main dish as the climax of a meal course.¡±

    ¡°Let me start from the beginning¡ª¡±

    Annan smiled.

    In the nightmare, Thirteenth Fragrance also said simr words to Annan.

    ¡°After knowing the true identity of Professor Wolf, we will naturally have a question ¡ª who is Frederick who has been deprived of his surname?¡±

    ¡°Is it Gray Professor?¡±

    Sitting obediently by the bed, Husky couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did he kill three people one after another and steal Frederick¡¯s identity?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but also not quite right.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance sighed, with a somewhatplicated expression, ¡°It¡¯s more urate to say ¡®Frederick Wolfheart¡¯ is an identity of Gray Professor.

    ¡°We already knew that Ingrid was dead long ago. Justice had also been dead for some time, and the autopsy result was ¡®suicide¡¯.

    ¡°Here¡¯s a typical narrative trick¡­¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance looked at Husky and said slowly, ¡°At first, we thought that Frederick killed Justice because ¡®Frederick¡¯ became the believer of Tragedy Writer and gained power from it. Thest person Justice saw was Frederick.¡±

    ¡°However, after learning more information, the rtionship between Justice and Frederick is not that bad. Frederick may have been killed too.¡±

    ¡°From this moment on, we will decisively abandon the preconceived judgment that ¡®Justice was murdered by Frederick and disguised as suicide¡¯. That¡¯s because our new information has already conflicted with the basis of the old spection. ¡°

    Why was the Idol Wizard of the Silver Rank able to murder the Shield of Unfallen, who was more robust in defense and vitality and had a higher Rank than himself?

    Why hadn¡¯t anyone found out that the murderer of Shield of Unfallen was Frederick after all these years?

    The answer was simple.

    It wasn¡¯t Frederick who killed Justice.

    Did Gray Professor have the ability to make Justice go back in time and save Frederick?

    Obviously, the Gray Professor didn¡¯t. If it was the Man in the Mirror himself, with the mirror he set up in the [past], maybe he could barely do it.

    However, Gray Professor must not be able to do this.

    In other words, since that time¡­ even before that, Justice had been in a dream.

    He [sees] the ¡°possibility¡± of Frederick dying because of Ingrid.

    The so-called [Dream Eater].

    Of course, what he devoured was not only [dreams].

    ¡°Let¡¯s put it simply.¡±

    Annan crossed his fingers. The ck-haired, ck-eyed middle-aged man spoke in a steady and reliable voice, ¡°Frederick Melvin and Justice didn¡¯t die at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Frederic Melvin died before Justice.¡±

    ¡°Justice saw the possibility of ¡®if Ingrid hadn¡¯t died¡¯ and the future he would change.¡±

    ¡°In fact, this nightmare has always been Frederick¡¯s nightmare.¡±

    Yes.

    ¡°¡ªThe order of death is reversed.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance added.

    It was not ¡°Frederick Following Justice to Cinder Barren¡±.

    Justice went to Cinder Barren to collect the body of his only friend, Frederick Melvin,missioned by Gray Professor.

    That was the second nightmare of ¡°Saving Ingrid¡± that he broke free from.

    The maker of this nightmare was ¡°Gray Professor¡±, more urately known as ¡°Dream Eater¡± Trisino Seti.

    Great news! We¡¯re thrilled to announce a special 7-day trial exclusively on Patreons. If you¡¯re still unsure about how our early ess chapters work or if you¡¯re looking to gain more trust in our trantions, this is the perfect opportunity for you to join us. Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 594: The Tragedy Of Infinite Reenactment

    <h4>Chapter 594: The Tragedy Of Infinite Reenactment</h4>

    The whole point of Frederick Melvin was for the nightmare of ¡°having Justice¡¯s existence¡±.

    The nightmare exined it by itself.

    From the beginning, Gray Professor¡¯s student was Justice, not Frederick, who reached Silver Rank at a young age.

    Since then, Gray Professor had already known.

    He would kill Frederic Melvin eventually.

    So it was pointless to teach him.

    He would murder Ingrid in front of Justice andter Frederick.

    Everything was to create an extremely real nightmare that could disguise the truth. That was to make Justice lose himself in the nightmare and confuse between dream and reality.

    ¡°Justice confuses reality and dreams and sees another possibility of ¡®Frederick¡¯ in the nightmare. As the story develops, the fate of ¡®Frederick¡¯ remains the same due to the butterfly effect caused by Ingrid being rescued. Justice, out of rage, turned to his trusted teacher, ¡®Gray Professor¡¯ Seti.¡±

    ¡°Justice was ¡®sent to the past¡¯ by Seti. He thought he was in the past, but it was just the ¡®plot¡¯ in Frederick¡¯s nightmare. Justice had entered a dream within a dream.

    ¡°Justice killed Ingrid, returned history to its ¡®right¡¯ ce, and still became Shield of Unfallen, with the living Frederick on a mission to Cinder Barren. This is how he expected things to unfold.¡±

    From the beginning, what Justice expected was that when he came to Cinder Barren, he didn¡¯te to collect his friend¡¯s corpse.

    This ¡°unwillingness to admit¡± allowed Gray Professor to confuse his reality with his dream.

    However, the longer Justice stayed in Cinder Barren, the uneasiness hidden in Justice¡¯s subconscious became more and more apparent.

    He gradually realized that he seemed to be dreaming. That was why the town was suddenly empty.

    But in fact, he was not the one who woke up.

    It was the ¡°betrayer¡±.

    While they were walking in the street, Frederick was suddenly killed.

    Justice was, of course, mad.

    He would rush to kill the attacker at all costs, even if that person were another self.

    ¡°That¡¯s because Justice subconsciously realized that maybe he was the one who killed Frederick.¡±

    He wanted to fight with ¡°another self¡±.

    Regardless of the oue, only one person would be left in this deserted world.

    That person was ¡°Justice¡±.

    People who died in dreams would be resurrected on the surface level.

    He existed within the dream of Frederick¡¯s nightmare and could only wake up from the previous level of the nightmare.

    The characteristic of this nightmare was ¡°reenactment¡±.

    Once the dungeon challenger died, he would lose this memory, allowing [reenactment].

    ¡ªthat would be the tragedy of infinite reenactment.

    ¡°Do you remember?¡± Annan told Delicious Wind Goose, ¡°Nefertari said that ¡®Frederick¡¯ died three times in her nightmare.¡±

    ¡°The first time was when Frederick was crushed to death by a building while saving Ingrid; the second time was killed by another Justice on the street. What about the third time?¡±

    Annan stared nkly before him and said slowly, ¡°The third time will be after waking up from a dream within a dream.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s when Justice woke up before the ¡®Dream Eater¡¯ Trisino Seti in the dream. That was when Ingrid didn¡¯t die, and Frederick was killed.¡±

    ¡°At that time, Justice lost his memory and returned to the beginning, so how would Justice make a decision?¡±

    ¡°He will not know anything and go to the past again.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s voice trembled a little.

    Justice would go through the same cycle again.

    Justice would return to Cinder Barren again.

    Just like the dictum left by Justice.

    [A fleeting moment of anger. A neverending remorse.]

    The Justice, who ¡°betrayed¡± Frederick, was the Justice who had truly realized everything from countless cycles.

    That was the ¡°enlightened¡± Justice.

    Realizing that this was just a nightmare, recalling the left by Frederick at the beginning¡ª

    [Life is the prison of death. Death is the hymn of life.]

    This was the dictum that Frederick left for the nightmare purifier at the beginning of the nightmare.

    To understand it in a literal sense, it meant: When ¡°life¡±es to an end, ¡°death¡± will break free from the cage. Its existence is to praise the ¡°life¡± that imprisoned itself.

    So who was the survivor?

    Justice.

    Who was the deceased?

    Frederick.

    His meaning was simple. As long as Justice died, ¡°Frederick¡± would be reborn.

    However, Frederick¡¯s soul was depleted to construct the nightmare.

    There was no way that Frederick would be resurrected.

    Only the name ¡°Frederick¡± was resurrected.

    Unfortunately, Justice, confused between reality and dream, did not hear this prompt.

    In other words, he didn¡¯t care when he heard it.

    The moment Justice saw Frederick¡¯s death in a nightmare, he was furious, seeking power to try to kill Ingrid and save Frederick, which had already led to Frederick¡¯s tragedy.

    The only ¡°enlightened¡± Justice hid the fact that he recovered his memory. Instead, he asked Trisino to ¡°go back in time¡±.

    He wanted to kill Frederick in his dream and let Frederick be on the [dead] side.

    Then, the imprisoned self would be freed and given a new life.

    This would be the [exit] of the nightmare after Frederick¡¯s death.

    It was to [Kill Frederick].

    However, this exit was blocked by himself.

    This ¡°enlightened¡± Justice lost the most crucial memory because of the nightmare feature of ¡°reenactment¡±.

    That would be the fact that he was killed by another ¡°Justice¡± countless times.

    Why did Justice and Frederick suddenly enter the ¡°no-man¡¯s alley¡±?

    It was because the ¡°enlightened¡± Justice came to Cinder Barren.

    He was also Justice.

    He already knew that this ce was a dream.

    So, he would kill the false Frederick and set himself free.

    His consciousness when he was awake became thest piece of the puzzle of the infinite loop paradox.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s like Triangle [1].¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose finally understood everything.

    It gave him chills down my spine.

    This was an iparably grand tragedy with infinite reenactment.

    Frederick and Ingrid were props in the scene.

    This was a [one-person show].

    The hero and the devil were the same person.

    Annan said slowly, ¡°Do you remember?¡±

    ¡°I told you before that the power of the Idol Wizard goes ording to the title. At that time, we thought ¡®Professor Wolf¡¯ Frederick would call himself so to steal the power of the ¡®Gray Professor¡¯. Then, we learned that Professor Wolf is Gray Professor.¡±

    Why was it when Annan asked Benjamin, ¡°Is Professor Wolf stealing the power from the Man in the Mirror¡±, Benjamin didn¡¯t give a simr answer, but an ambiguous one.¡±

    All the truth was hidden in that sentence.

    It was Gray Professor who stole the Man in the Mirror¡¯s power. However, after Gray Professor stole the power of the ¡°mirror¡±¡­

    ¡°Part of him¡±, which was part of ¡°Gray Professor¡±, woke up in Frederick¡¯s body and became Professor Wolf ¡°Frederick¡±!

    Why did Gray Professor suddenly lose the power of the elements?

    It was because the power of the elements was transferred to ¡°Professor Wolf¡±!

    Why did Gray Professor change his name to ¡°Bone Healer¡±, and Professor Wolf be Tragedy Writer¡¯s believer?

    Trisino Seti¡¯s original purpose was to use the nightmare of the [mirror] attribute to separate the ¡°Bone Healer¡± as a wizard from the ¡°Professor Wolf¡± as a pope!

    The reason why Professor Wolf became the mentor of werewolves.

    It was not for revenge but to improve the status of werewolves.

    The Tragedy Writer was a Deity of Werewolves and was Tragedy Writer¡¯s pope. So it became his due diligence.

    ¡°[The Tragedy of Infinite Reincarnation] is a tragedy that Trisino Seti dedicated to Tragedy Writer¡ªfor Tragedy Writer to help him plunder the power from the Future Deity.¡±

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 Chapter 595: The Determined Husky

    <h4>Chapter 595: The Determined Husky</h4>

    Thirteenth Fragrance stared at Husky, ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    Husky shook his head honestly.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I think you seem to understand.¡±

    Husky replied confidently, ¡°I have an idea of the overall gist, especially the critical part.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance asked curiously, ¡°Which part did you understand?¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnyway, it¡¯s the old man in the gray clothes who is causing trouble, and the other brothers with names are all miserable, right?¡±

    Husky said with confidence. There was no hesitation on his face.

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s expression froze for a moment.

    ¡°Hey, did I get it wrong?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance eximed, ¡°¡­No, you¡¯re quite right.¡±

    Should I say he is worthy of being called Husky?

    Even if he skipped everything he did not understand, he captured something by relying on his keen intuition¡­

    ¡°What is your main mission?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    Husky replied honestly, ¡°There¡¯s only one line. [You decide]¡­ and then the prompt is gone.¡±

    ¡°I see. It seems my guess is correct.¡± Thirteenth Fragrance pondered momentarily and exined to Husky¡¯s puzzled eyes, ¡°I haven¡¯t received any main mission here.¡±

    ¡°It could be that only you have the main mission for the nightmare on this level.¡±

    There were three levels to this nightmare.

    In fact, they had been looping in the first and second levels of the nightmare.

    The first level of the nightmare, which was the first ¡°Freder¡¯s nightmare¡± that Justice saw, was the world where Ingrid did not die and killed Frederick more than ten yearster.

    At the end of that world, a checkpoint g was nted. In game terms, it was the first checkpoint or possibly the first spot to make a save file.

    However, it was a dead end.

    After that, Justice ¡°returned to the past¡± and entered the second level of the nightmare.

    They went back to youth. This time, Ingrid died, and they lived to adulthood. Then, they entered the Cinder Barren, where ¡°Justice, the Enlightened One¡±, killed them.

    After death, due to the ¡°reenactment feature¡± of the nightmare, Justice lost his memory and returned to checkpoint 1. He had returned to the first level of the nightmare, entering the beginning of the second level of the nightmare¡­ In other words, the time when Ingrid died in the youth period.

    Justice repeated the ¡°second-level¡± nightmare countless times.

    Every time another self killed him, it would restart from the youth period. Then, he would go through a nightmare thatsted more than ten years until he reached the Cinder Barren. By then, he was killed by another self.

    In the end, he would fully realize that he was dreaming. Unfortunately, there was a bug in the infinitely repeating story.

    Justice could only realize that he was being used when he was a nightmare purifier. Only then did he know that the house he stayed for a long time had been transformed into a ritual area.

    The way to crack the ritual was to enter Room 206 with Frederick.

    After that, Justice would keep the ¡°memory of clearing the nightmare level¡±, return to the youth period, and return to the present ce ten yearster. That would be the current location where Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky were.

    It was a ¡°popted¡± Cinder Barren.

    The prerequisites for a seemingly true ending had already been met.

    Why were there people here?

    Was it because the ¡°Enlightened One¡± Justice has not yet invaded this world?

    Was it because he would be the Enlightened One in the future?

    ¡°It¡¯s like how you have trusted me.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance said to Husky, ¡°If Justice realizes that this is a nightmare and clears the nightmare with Frederick from the exit of Room 206 andes back here again, then Justice will tell Frederick everything he knows.¡±

    What Husky had experienced had happened once in history.

    Frederick trusted his friend.

    Frederick¡¯s wisdom enabled him to realize that his friend had been trapped in his own nightmare.

    Then, Frederick, as the master of the nightmare, would tell Justice how to clear the nightmare.

    ¡°¡­Kill Frederick. Kill all Fredericks.¡±

    With the face of ¡°Frederick¡±, Thirteenth Fragrance replied to Husky with the face of ¡°Justice¡±.

    Just like the countless reenactments in history, the situation when the tragedy just happened here was the same.

    It was the essence of [reenactment].

    Thirteenth Fragrance vaguely understood the weight of this word.

    However, this time was different.

    That was because Thirteenth Fragrance was not Frederick.

    Husky was no longer Justice.

    ¡°This is a dream within a dream, so you¡¯re going to kill me twice.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance looked at Husky and said to him calmly, ¡°Kill me for the first time [in this world], so there will be no Justice. You can return to Gray Professor at the end of the first life with your memory.¡±

    ¡°This is your second checkpoint or the second save point.¡±

    ¡°The ¡®enlightened One¡¯ Justice at that time probably killed Gray Professor angrily. He has realized that this is his nightmare. The most important thing is that Gray Professor will not resist.¡±

    ¡°Afterward, you shall use the ritualist knowledge that Gray Professor taught him to take over Gray Professor¡¯s ritual. Then, you will return to the second life and try to kill all the ¡®Frederick¡¯ in the dream. When all the ¡®Frederick¡¯ in this nightmare are dead, Justice can escape from this nightmare.¡±

    It was like withdrawing all text messages sent to the past in Steins; Gate [1].

    The only piece of information missing from the awakened Justice was in the deserted Cinder Barren, where a mysterious man killed both Justice and Frederick.

    This mysterious person was the ¡°Justice the Enlightened One¡± who would do whatever it took to clear the nightmare.

    If Justice knew about this, he would have been revived from the first save point. However, since he was the Enlightened One, he and Frederick didn¡¯t go outside. Instead, they went directly to Room 206.

    He just didn¡¯t know about this matter.

    ¡°In other words, the first and third levels of nightmares only appeared once. The content of the first level of the nightmare was fabricated by Gray Professor, and it was a trigger. On the other hand, the Enlightened Justice created the third level of the nightmare.

    ¡°The moment the enlightened Justice entered the second level of the nightmare and killed Frederick, he was already stuck. Yes, the enlightened person only made a move once, and that would suffice to make this nightmare stuck.¡±

    Infinite paradoxical loops were generated.

    Why does dying in this nightmare not increase the erosion rate?

    Because that was by design.

    Without this feature, Justice would have died in a nightmare during the second level of the infinite loop.

    When a transcender dies in a nightmare, it bes part of it.

    In fact, as long as Justice was murdered in the nightmare, Gray Professor had achieved his fundamental goal: resurrect the body of ¡°Frederick¡± and use it to split his identity.

    However, as a sacrifice dedicated to Tragedy Writer, he made a deliberate detour, leaving Justice in a state of death and life.

    That was the paradoxical cycle of being ¡°killed by the future self¡± constantly.

    The cycle was like an ouroboros [2].

    The first and third nightmare levels were limited to one count, but the ¡°dungeon instance¡± of the second level looped increasingly. It multiplied like a virus.

    Since Justice could not eliminate all of Fredericks, Justice could never escape the nightmare.

    Although Justice¡¯s erosion rate didn¡¯t increase at all, he had repeated hundreds, thousands, and countless times of reincarnation in just one night of the nightmare. Unfortunately, his spirit had beenpletely lost.

    [A fleeting moment of anger. A neverending remorse.]

    It was never-ending torture.

    After Justice died, his soul was also deeply trapped in this nightmare. Since he wasn¡¯tpletely dead, his soul didn¡¯t feed this nightmare. However, he wasn¡¯t alive either, so he gave birth to a new nightmare.

    Frederick¡¯s soul and nightmare were stuffed into Justice¡¯s body.

    Gray Professor stole Frederick¡¯s body.

    ¡°This time, I understand now,¡± Husky said in a low voice.

    ¡°So, what should I do?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance fell silent.

    He wasn¡¯t sure, and he didn¡¯t dare to make this bet.

    He was also afraid that he would also be stuck in this nightmare.

    At this moment, Annan¡¯s steady voice suddenly rang in his ears.

    ¡°¡ªAfter letting Husky kill you,mit suicide from the first level of the nightmare and prevent the Awakened Justice from being born. ording to the rule of this nightmare, ¡®Justice is all dead¡¯ in the first level of the nightmare so that you can be resurrected.¡±

    Is this foreign aid?

    Thirteenth Fragrance froze momentarily and quickly shared Annan¡¯s words with Husky.

    They had no other choice.

    So they quickly made up their minds.

    ¡°I actually want to kill you once¡­¡±

    When things came to an end, Husky hesitated a little.

    Finally, looking at Thirteenth Fragrance with his eyes closed, he slowly clenched his fists.

    Husky was full of determination.

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 Chapter 596: Nightmare: Gemini. Clear!

    <h4>Chapter 596: Nightmare: Gemini. Clear!</h4>

    Annan was filled with emotion.

    For the first time, he saw a nightmare that could form a paradoxical cycle and get the nightmare purifier stuck. This also made Annan warier of the ¡°nightmare¡± mechanism.

    Especially after he analyzed the way to clear this nightmare, he couldn¡¯t help but admire Gray Professor¡¯s work.

    The nightmare the Gray Professor designed was too delicate.

    It even hinted at the way to clear the nightmare from the very beginning.

    How the two sides exchanged three secrets hinted at the method of tackling the three nightmare levels.

    Firstly, it was fairness and symmetry ¡ª implying that Room 206 was the correct exit, which was also the easiest level.

    Only when these two people knew each other well enough could they recognize each other¡¯s true identity and get enough information in the second level. Each of them must rely on their own strength to tackle the level so that the two could reach the third level at the same time.

    The test of the third level seemed to be the easiest, having the ¡°Justice¡± yer kill ¡°Frederick¡± beforemitting suicide.

    If the yers were asked to make such a choice, it would not be difficult.

    However, after they learned the information from the second level, the two nightmare purifiers would instinctively doubt, ¡°Will this make me stuck in this nightmare?¡± So, they dared not act at will.

    ¡°Frederick¡± would doubt whether the other party wouldmit suicide honestly ording to the agreed method. ¡°Justice¡± would worry that if hemitted suicide, would he be stuck in this nightmare like the real Justice? After all, ¡°Frederick¡± would not have to bear the consequences anyway.

    If they were strangers and didn¡¯t trust each other enough, there would already be an argument here.

    What made Annan confirm this matter was what Nefertari said.

    Nefertari said that ¡°Frederick¡± had died three times. This showed that she had be an ¡°Enlightened One¡± and sessfully stuck herself to death.

    The nightmare she experienced was much bigger than Annan¡¯s.

    They woke up almost at the same time.

    So, after Annan died in the dream, he must have waited for Nefertari for a while.

    Normally, when the person was kicked out of a nightmare, he would wake up immediately.

    Why did Annan have to wait a while?

    There was probably only one answer.

    Annan had a chance to be resurrected.

    The yers, who could ignore death, and even Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance, who trusted each other, were troubled at this moment.

    How could the aborigines of this world easily entrust their life to another person¡¯s ¡°promise¡±?

    Only when Annan believed in Nefertari, Thirteenth Fragrance believed in Annan, Husky believed in Thirteenth Fragrance, and Thirteenth Fragrance also believed in Husky¡­ could this nightmare be cleared.

    The barrier between people might be another tragedy that Gray Professor wanted to show Tragedy Writer.

    That was to say, the tragedy outside the stage.

    Annan also gradually understood the reason Nefertari called this nightmare ¡°Phantom Fever¡±.

    Frederick had been resurrected.

    The protagonist of this nightmare had been Justice from the very beginning.

    The so-called Phantom Fever was the temperature in Justice¡¯s palm that was scorching hot enough to burn Annan¡¯s shoulder.

    It was the blood of a friend, the Phantom Fever left on the fingertips.

    Annan recalled the first time he entered this nightmare¡­ the real Justice¡¯s reaction.

    At the moment, when Annan tentatively said ¡°You still can¡¯t forget Ingrid¡±, Justice looked back at Annan once.

    That was right.

    Although Justice killed Ingrid countless times for Frederick, Ingrid was also the person he had a crush on.

    That was why Justice was fascinated by the dream of ¡°Frederick and Ingrid are alive¡± and denied the reality of ¡°Frederick and Ingrid are dead¡±. This was his first step into the tragedy theater.

    This proved it was not that Justice did not care about Ingrid.

    Justice cared more about Frederick rtively speaking.

    He killed Ingrid time and time again but only buried himself deeper. When he finally made up his mind to wake up and killed Frederick with his own hands, this nightmare was born.

    Then, he died.

    ¡°Phantom Fever?¡±

    Annan muttered, ¡°It¡¯s such an ironic, sad name.¡±

    ¡°Presumably the name of this nightmare was also given by Professor Gray. Every time the name ¡®Phantom Fever¡¯ is said, it is another mockery of Justice.¡±

    If only to give the nightmare a better name¡­

    ¡°Your Highness Annan. You said that the name of the nightmare is just a title, right?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose suddenly said, ¡°Let¡¯s call this nightmare, Gemini.¡±

    ¡­the legends of the Gemini?

    The friendship between the god and mortal was indeed befitting.

    Annan thought about it for a while, then he nodded silently.

    This world had a starry sky that was the same as that on Earth. Other than that the sun had special effects, and the stars and the moon were extra bright.

    However, the constetions were not the modern 88, but 60 in total. There were some remaining unnamed. The naming of the constetions in these two worlds was also slightly different.

    For example, there was no Scorpio, but Raven; there was no Capricorn, but Leviathan.

    Gemini existed in this world. However, the story of Gemini in this world involved ult knowledge at the ¡°historical¡± level. Considering the weight of ult knowledge, Annan did not study it.

    It was just names anyway.

    Justice had a mncholic fate.

    At least Annan and the yers did not want tough at this miserable man, who lived and died in an infinite loop, for the sake of ¡°friendship and love¡±.

    The ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± saved many people.

    Thirteenth Fragrance offered no resistance.

    Husky punched Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s head straight away with a punch.

    The head held high, hit the wall.

    The blood bloomed like a lotus flower, dyed the ck and white portrait of ¡°Justice¡± in the newspaper on the wall bright red, and smeared it like a demon.

    After being killed by Husky, the scene on Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s side became a ck screen.

    However, as they expected, Thirteenth Fragrance was already dead. He would be kicked out of the nightmare once he died, but he was still asleep outside the nightmare.

    On Husky¡¯s side, the words ¡°you have decided¡± began to twist rapidly.

    Finally, it changed as a whole.

    [I¡¯m enlightened.]

    The prompt said so.

    The next moment, the picture before Husky¡¯s eyes changed.

    Husky was in a new ce.

    ¡°¡­Changing the past is not a simple matter.¡±

    Gray Professor Seti¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°When you go back, remember not to modify the redundant details¡­ Well, okay. It seems that I don¡¯t need to say more nonsense.¡±

    The old man with gray hair and gray eyes still smelled of alcohol.

    He looked at Husky with a smile, ¡°You have finally awakened.¡±

    Seti was still wearing the purple robes of ancient Roman sages and spread his hands to the sides naturally, ¡°It¡¯s really not easy. I don¡¯t know how many times you have gone through the loop. Have you decided to leave the nightmare?

    ¡°Then, kill me, I won¡¯t resist.¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    Husky sneered, ¡°Are you still trying to lie to me now, old man?¡±

    He clenched his fist.

    Justice¡¯s fist was hot and powerful.

    This was a fist raised to save a friend.

    At this moment, Husky¡¯s eyes shone brightly with wisdom, ¡°Or, you finally have something that you fail to foresee?¡±

    Seti¡¯splexion changed slightly.

    The corner of Husky¡¯s mouth rose, ¡°You don¡¯t need to trick me. No matter what you say, it can¡¯t affect my determination. I will kill myself and let another person get out of here. This is the trust between me and him.¡±

    ¡°But before that¡­¡±

    Husky grinned.

    He bared Justice¡¯s cold, sharp teeth.

    ¡°I said, old bastard. Is it fun to watch the show?¡±

    Husky¡¯s face revealed a fierce wolf-like gaze, ¡°Before I¡¯ve had enough fun and decided to leave¡­

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m going to beat you up!¡±

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 Chapter 597: Beat You Up For 20 Minutes

    <h4>Chapter 597: Beat You Up For 20 Minutes</h4>

    ¡°¡ªPtoo.¡°

    Husky spat a mouthful of thick bloody phlegm on the ground, leaned against the wall with difficulty, and gasped for breath.

    Trisino Seti¡¯s body was no longer human.

    Of course, Seti won¡¯t suffer without a fight.

    However, Seti¡¯s ritual was not over yet. He couldn¡¯t move at will and couldn¡¯t leave this ce¡ªhe even transferred his soul to Frederick¡¯s body in advance.

    This meant Seti could not use his divine art and elements, thus unable to trigger any new rituals.

    Trisino, who had lost his elements, had even lost his ¡°Divine Eye¡± that could see through the future and dreams. In the nightmare, he noticed that Annan and Husky came from outside the nightmare and from the future. He could even see that Annan was the Book of Divine Transporter holder.

    However, the person standing in ce was nothing more than an AI wearing a ¡°Trisino¡± skin.

    Trisino was immobilized, and he could only rely on spells to retaliate against Justice.

    ¡°Brother, you can even defeat a bot.¡±

    As long as Justice could be knocked out and thrown back into the ritual again, everything could be fixed.

    However, Trisino, who had lost his element and divine art, was far too weak to achieve that.

    Or, perhaps ¡°Justice¡± was too strong.

    Even Husky, who knew nothing about transcender and had littlebat experience, could use this body to fight against a Gold Rank transcender.

    Through Husky¡¯s eyes, the yers gained their first exposure to the might of a Gold Rank.

    As a Gold Rank Transcended, who was immobilized and unable to use elemental power, Trisino could rely on magic. The yers got to witness the power they still possessed in those conditions.

    That was the level that could easily kill all the current yers countless times.

    The skin was cracked and peeled off instantly;

    The spine grows wildly like a tree, piercing the chest and head;

    The head floated up like a balloon and then exploded;

    The internal organs were removed telepathically, and the victim was turned into a stone statue¡­

    However, these attacks were almost useless in front of Justice.

    Even if the head were removed, Justice would not die immediately; if the internal organs were removed, they could grow back. ¡°Justice¡± waspletely unstoppable unless Husky gave up on his own.

    The yers finally realized why Trisino used the ¡°nightmare¡± as such a convoluted process to weave a paradoxical loop to kill Justice.

    As the ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± of the damage absorber, all his transcended abilities were used to increase his immortality. ¡°Justice¡±¡®s body was so strong that Trisino¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t even make him feel pain.

    Even when Justice fell into a pool ofva or got crushed by a mountain, he would not die. After all, Justice¡¯s way of saving people was to absorb all the damage. To achieve that, Justice had to be tenacious. Only when the tolerance to pain had reached a certain height would the person save others using the power to absorb damage.

    That was why Justice was stabbed several times, even after Justice hadmitted suicide. As long as Justice was still alive, these attacks could not leave traces on him at all.

    Those injuries could only be left after his death.

    Of course, Trisino did not act out of hatred in damaging Justice¡¯s body. However, Trisino wanted to make sure that Justice was dead.

    Judging from what Justice said to Annan, Justice held grievances against Seti. It was the inadequacy in rank that limited Justice. As a result, in real history, Seti killed Justice before Justice had time to make a move against Seti.

    Even after Justice died and turned into a nightmare, Justice still didn¡¯t know why he died.

    The fist that Husky hurled undoubtedly had Justice¡¯s own will!

    After all, this ce was just a nightmare, and everything that happened was not real. Husky didn¡¯t even desire to kill Seti, nor did he have the need to live; as long as he died, the mission was consideredplete, and he didn¡¯t have tomit suicide.

    Then, the carefree feeling enabled Husky to achieve it.

    Husky did not need to kill the enemy, survive, or even dodge an attack to avoid pain.

    Then, all he had to do was ¡°y for fun¡±.

    Husky¡¯s biggest advantage was that he was physically strong enough.

    Punch after punch bombarded Seti¡¯s body.

    Twenty minutester, Husky, who had endured more than 60 attacks that were enough to remove his health bar, beat Trisino to death with his fists.

    Even if it was a nightmare, it did not make sense.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± said Husky.

    It was not to Trisino but to Justice.

    ¡°I have broken your body¡­¡±

    But you shouldn¡¯t mind.

    Husky said silently in his heart.

    Husky had never met this stranger. He still did not know what Justice looked like, so he somehow could empathize with Justice.

    He broke off the extra tooth with his hands and threw it on the ground. This was because after Justice¡¯s tooth was broken in half, he had a new tooth. However, his original tooth had notpletely fallen out.

    Husky spat out another mouthful of bloody phlegm and heaved a sigh of relief.

    Husky wiped the blood on his face. His head had been cut horizontally here not long ago. However, the fatal injury was healed in the blink of an eye, leaving only a little blood stain.

    When Husky wiped off the bloodstains with his hands, the scars on his face had disappeared at some point.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, brother¡­¡±

    Husky smiled meanly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about the collection of books here?

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to be able toe to this kind of ce in a nightmare. Let me look through what¡¯s good! The screen recording team should get ready!¡±

    It was a pity that this ce did not seem to be Trisino¡¯s wizard tower.

    Husky searched around but couldn¡¯t find the extensive library he remembered.

    However, his effort was not fruitless.

    This seemed to be a temporary base for Trisino to hold rituals.

    Hence, it was still possible to locate the mystic books.

    At least Husky found three books from the rubble after looting the ce for half an hour.

    Husky saw a copy of ¡°Theory of Pale¡± written by Iffac and ¡°The Law of Simrity and Prophetic Dreams¡±. Then, there was a thin, withered yellow book that Husky could not even discern the title. The pages feel like moth wings covered in dust.

    To be safe, Husky opened the two books he could understand page by page.

    Although Husky had not read the game guide, the Huskies followed the instructions written in the bullet text.

    Husky lowered his head without opening his eyes. With his eyes closed, he just turned the book pages, let the recording and broadcasting team take screenshots, and then took them to print in reality.

    The thickness of the two books was manageable. Soon, Husky flipped through all the pages.

    Husky quickly picked up the book whose title he couldn¡¯t even read.

    The moment he opened the book, Husky froze suddenly.

    His skin turned yellow and withered in the blink of an eye, devoid of vitality. He aged instantly, his eyes growing dim and lifeless. The surrounding world decayed and took on a visible hue of yellow like a filter of ¡°old photographs¡± had been applied.

    Without a sound, Husky¡¯s screen suddenly went ck.

    Immediately afterward, a glimmering prompt shed before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    ¡°¡­Huh?¡°

    How did the husky die?

    Annan was a little surprised.

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 Chapter 598: Your Tip Doesnâ€™t Make Sense

    <h4>Chapter 598: Your Tip Doesn¡¯t Make Sense</h4>

    [Nightmare has been purified.]

    [Purify the nightmare with the specified identity. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [You have defeated ¡°Dream Eater¡±. Evaluation ratings increased.]

    [You have purified the nightmare upon your first entry. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Tragedy Writer acknowledges your aplishment. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [You havepleted a powerful purification. The evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation ¡ª S]

    [As the substitute walker, you¡¯re given Shared Experience 18000 points, Perception+1.]

    [The ritual executor (you) gets half of the experience reward.]

    [The substitute walker gets dungeon instance clearance reward: Element (understanding) adaptability 5%]

    [Hidden plot you have decrypted: 100%]

    [You may receive the first stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 90%).]

    [You may receive the second stage reward (obtained whenpletion reaches 100%).]

    [Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Element (wisdom) awakening depth increased by 20%, element (understanding) awakening depth increased by 20%.]

    [The substitute walker has not yet be a transcender, so the rewards of ¡°element (wisdom) awakening depth increased by 20%¡± and ¡°element (understanding) awakening depth increased by 20%¡± are transferred to the ritual executor (you).]

    [The nightmare is terminated.]

    [Due to the unique circumstances of the nightmare, you have acquired the holy light engravings of Tragedy Writer.]

    [The Man in the Mirror is satisfied with your performance. You¡¯re given 20 holy light engravings from the Man in the Mirror.]

    [Current total engravings: 120 (Tragedy Writer) / 34 (Silver Sire) / 20 (the Man in the Mirror) / 8 (Mysterious Lady) / 6 (Silent Lady) / 4 (the Elegant Elder) /1 ( Bell Ringer Oik)]

    The increase in holy light engravings was because the yers had purified nightmares in various ces before, including the underground world.

    After the nightmares were purified, the holy light engravings would be rewarded.

    Annan suddenly had a premonition.

    As the number of yers continued to increase, he might have an endless supply of holy light engravings in the future.

    ¡­I wonder if Silver Sire or Old Grandmother will get mad at me.

    After all, the essence of holy light engraving was ¡°equity certificate¡± ¡ª referring to those curses that flowed into the realm of deities after purifying nightmares. The fundamental owners of those curses were still the priests, who purified these nightmares. The leases of the curses were held until their death.

    The deities would help them hold these curses, providing free services of altering the curses into the power the transcenders could use and making it seamless as if the transcenders possessed the cursed themselves.

    They were ssified as the priest¡¯s [divine art ability], [permanent Ability], and [extra ability].

    They could possess transcended strength, but they didn¡¯t have to worry about the umted curses on their bodies.

    In other words, those holding the holy light engravings could be regarded as a priest of a deity at any time.

    However, not everyone couldmunicate with deities.

    In fact¡­

    The ¡°prayers¡± of most people were not heard by the deities at all. That was because their will was too weak and disordered, the voice could not be conveyed to the deities without the blessings from the ritual.

    Unless the nightmare was purified in a church or the like, people, who had not be priests, would not get holy light engravings after purifying the nightmare.

    That was why Bishop Daryl was so polite to Annan at the very beginning.

    That was because Annan, who held Silver Sireholy light engravings, could be the priest of Silver Sire at any time.

    The ability to be a priest was much rarer than the ability to be a transcender.

    The transcenders before the Third Age studied priesthood and ritualism simultaneously. It was just that human beings couldn¡¯t easily be transcenders like elves, and it took a certain amount of energy to study the way of transcendence.

    Later on, the three paths gradually diverged to enable the neers to focus on one path only without being distracted.

    Thoroughly purifying nightmares would increase the deity¡¯s power, while prayer and faith would not. Delineating the ¡°territory where nightmares appear¡± was also the essence of the existence of the upright deities¡¯ diocese. However, in the boundaries of the diocese, the nightmares that false deities personally participated in were transcended power that could be secretly taken away.

    The difference was that upright deities had a systematic procedure, while the false deities were more hands-on. However, the holy light engravings issued by the false deities did not take a strict entry barrier like the upright deities¡¯ churches. Generally speaking, if someone was pleasing to the eye, the false deities would give out holy light engravings casually. Perhaps, if they wanted to boost a person quickly, they could increase the person¡¯s strength by investing in arge number of holy light engravings.

    For example, the twenty engravings given to Annan by the Man in the Mirror.

    Some transcenders didn¡¯t have the talent of the priest and couldn¡¯tmunicate with the deities¡­ After they purify the nightmare, those strong curses that couldn¡¯t be absorbed were all taken away by the nearest upright deities.

    yers certainly didn¡¯t all have priest¡¯s talent.

    Those, who could take office as priests, were still a minority so far.

    However, in terms of rules, yers, who were summoned by the¡±Book of Divine Transporter¡± were treated as Annan¡¯s summons from another world. In this case, even with Annan¡¯s thick face, Twelve Upright deities would want to give goodies out for nothing. Instead, they would much prefer ¡°paying wages¡± ording to the standard.

    Since the yers were treated as summons, they would only be granted holy light engravings when Annan had given them out.

    Otherwise, the holy light engravings would flow into Annan¡¯s ount by default. It was just like twopanies were trading. All the money was directly transferred to thepany, instead of being sent to the employees of thispany one by one by anotherpany.

    The merit distribution was a bit rude and seemingly presumptuous.

    From this point of view, Annan also realized that he seemed to have been regarded as an ¡°equal¡± existence by the deities.

    Of course, Annan was most surprised.

    There were 120 Tragedy Writer¡¯s holy light engravings¡­

    In fact, He could take back the holy light engravings directly.

    The flow of curses was default and automatic, while holy light engravings, being such significant items, had always been distributed manually.

    Whether it was the upright deity distributing the engravings to churches or nightmare purifiers; or the false deity winning over cronies and gaining believers. The engravings were an important resource. Its essence was the power of the deity itself.

    The power that could be exchanged with a holy light engraving was roughly equivalent to its actual value. After all, mortal beings had limited lifespans, so the engravings were not as valuable. During the novice period of priests, the spells and abilities that could be exchanged with holy light engravings were even slightly higher than the engraving¡¯s value, serving as a means to ensure the priests¡¯ survival.

    Judging from this fact, it would be a shock for Tragedy Writer to see his pope being hammered to death.

    The Tragedy Writer even gave Annan all the power used to create this nightmare!

    Annan also realized that this kind of nightmare with more than a 100 purification count was most likely crafted by the deities. All the curses from the two mortals were not enough to support the ¡°rewards¡±.

    Holy light engravings were of course more valuable than experience.

    Annan still remembered that when Old Bread Daryl¡¯s holy light engravings materialized, even he could feel the unusual sacredness. Just by looking at it would feel a strong sense of dizziness.

    That was the sign of an overflowing curse.

    At that time, the holy light engravings on the Old Bread Daryl were more than 200.

    Old Bread Daryl was most likely Silver Sire¡¯s pope. He had saved up the engravings to reach that amount.

    Seeing the densely umted holy light engravings on Annan, which came from ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±, people who did not know would probably think that Annan was the cardinal-bishop or pope of Tragedy Writer.

    Suddenly, a glimmering panel shed before Annan¡¯s eyes for no reason.

    [The Venerated Skeleton is satisfied with your performance. You¡¯re given 10 holy light engravings from the Venerated Skeleton.]

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?!¡±

    Annan subconsciously blurted out.

    Your tip doesn¡¯t make sense!

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 Chapter 599: Thousand Faces Illusory Tower

    <h4>Chapter 599: Thousand Faces Illusory Tower</h4>

    I wasn¡¯t doing anything. Then, the Venerated Skeleton rewarded me with 10 holy light engravings¡­

    This made Annan confused and at a loss.

    Although this nightmare did contain a lot of ¡°betrayal¡± elements, the purifier of this nightmare was not Annan.

    You old fellow, not doing your own work anding here to watch my livestream¡­ You even tipped me along the way.

    Judging from the rewards given by the Man in the Mirror, the rewards were fruitful.

    However, something seems wrong here.

    ¡°You¡¯re not taking me as your pope, right?¡±

    Annan showed aplex look.

    Not to mention, Annan was really the covenant holder of Angel of Betrayal, Angelo. In fact, he was one-half the pope of the Venerated Skeleton, even though he didn¡¯t want to take the job himself.

    Sensing from the room that the ritual was over, Nefertari walked out of the room.

    Her expression was a littleplicated.

    Looking at Annan, Nefertari asked in a low voice, ¡°Is it over?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all over.¡± Annan replied.

    Annan looked at Nefertari, who was frowning and reserved. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be like this. This is not your problem, and it has nothing to do with you at all.¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t want to push everyone, who was a little bit close to Trisino, to the other side.

    Although Nefertari referred to Trisino as a teacher to this day, they were not on the same side. Nefertari was also innocent. She was also the one being used, but her rtionship with Trisino was deeper.

    Even though she knew that she might be used or even deceived by Trisino, she couldn¡¯tpletely forget the teacher-student rtionship for a while.

    This was expected.

    If Nefertari couldpletely abandon the old rtionship in the blink of an eye, Annan would be wary of her instead.

    Everything was just fine now.

    ¡°Bone Healer Seti, also known as Gray Professor. He is also the soul within the current ¡®Professor Wolf¡¯.¡±

    Annan said slowly, ¡°They¡¯re the same person, but they¡¯re not using the same name. Do you know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Nefertari nodded slightly.

    She even knew about it a little more than Annan.

    The Idol Wizard yed around with having names and dissociating themselves from names. It was not an art Trisino Seti invented first, and it was not even bothersome. However, surviving after dissociating from a name was not easy.

    Typically speaking, the name dissociated from a person was a deactivated curse vessel. He could use this type of curse vessel at any time to switch his mind.

    Nefertari hesitated for a moment before making up her mind.

    ¡°Teacher¡­ is not actually a native underground dweller.¡±

    Nefertari said softly, ¡°He grew up in the Papal Kingdom, and graduated from the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower. When he was still a Silver Rank Great Wizard, he worked as a ¡®dealer¡¯ for several years.¡±

    ¡°¡­Thousand Faces Illusory Tower?¡±

    Annan frowned slightly, and murmured in a low voice, ¡°No wonder.¡±

    He knew that the spell that split the name and identity was inherited from [Thousand Faces Illusory Tower].

    It was the wizard tower that mainly taught the schools of Idol and Shaping, but it was not known for being a wizard tower.

    Except for the wizards, other transcenders and ordinary people called it the ¡°Tower of Lies¡±.

    The apprenticeship period of this wizard tower was extremely long.

    As long as the person failed to advance to Silver Rank, he would always be an ¡°apprentice¡±. Even after reaching the Silver Rank, it would take several years for the person to serve the wizard tower before leaving.

    It was a wizard tower as dangerous as the ¡°Forbidden Lava Tower¡±.

    Compared with the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower, Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, which existed in the depths of the poisonous swamp full of methane, was even considered a safe zone.

    Except for Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, Jade Tower, and Azure Diamond Tower, other wizard towers were more or less dangerous.

    The most dangerous one is the most mainstream inheritance of the Destruction School ¨C Lava Forbidden Tower.

    The apprentices of the Lava Forbidden Tower were in a precarious position. If they got too close to the core area, they could be sted to death by the magic of high-ranking wizards. If they stayed too far away, they risked being engulfed by the active magma elementals. Even during ss, there was always the possibility of a fellow student having a sudden revtion¡­ and causing an explosion.

    The ssmates, who sat with this enlightened ssmate, would die at random.

    The the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower was not as dangerous as in the Lava Forbidden Tower, but it was about the same.

    That was the wizard tower that inherited [the ¡°dark side¡± of wisdom].

    Mentors, or ¡°dealers¡± teach apprentices not just spells but intrigue, trickery, murder, fraud.

    The tower was not only used as a teaching institution, but also an ¡°entertainment ce¡±. It attracted many gamblers who were eager to ¡°change their fate against the destiny¡±.

    It was a life casino where anyone could use ¡°luck¡±, ¡°lifespan¡±, ¡°loyalty¡± and other abstract things as bets or rewards to gamble or trade with others.

    However, ¡°direct attacks¡± of any kind were ban.

    Whether it was using ritual to curse the opponent, using Soul Snatch Magic to increase the rapport and trust of others, using Shaping Magic to be another person, using Prophet Magic to predict the future, or using trickeries to win the gamble ¡ª as long as you were not exposed, it would be allowed.

    The Thousand Faces Illusory Tower had only three absolute rules.

    First, the chips of each gamble must be of equal value. The stakes of both parties must be judged to be of the same value by the wizard tower before the gamble could proceed. Only apprentices could initiate a gamble, while outsiders could only choose to ept or not.

    Second, outsiders entering the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower must win at least one gamble before they could leave. Once any kind of debts of outsiders were not settled, they would never be able to leave the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower.

    Thirdly, all wizards belonging to the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower, whether they were apprentices or ¡°dealers¡±, must wear ¡°masks¡± when they were in the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower.

    It was some sort of protection mechanism.

    As long as the person was found ¡°not wearing a mask¡± and being reported to the tower owner, they would be immediately deprived of the status of ¡°apprentice¡± or ¡°dealer¡± and be regarded as ¡°outsiders¡±.

    Apprentices could leave the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower at any time, but they couldn¡¯te back after leaving. If an apprentice reached the Silver Rank, he could choose to be a ¡°dealer¡±. In other words, a mentor.

    The ¡°dealer¡± could not participate in any form of gambling as the initiator or responder, but each game must have at least one dealer present to oversee the game. ording to the prior agreement of the three parties, the dealer could draw any percentage from the winner ¡ª usually around 5%. However, there were a few exceptions.

    When the dealer left the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower, he needed to send the mask back, and pay himself ¡°one-third of the chips he won this time¡± as a deposit for the mask. Then, he could still receive the mask when he returned next time.

    Otherwise, the next time the person returned, he would be treated as an outsider.

    Generally speaking, the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower was a sacred ce for wizard apprentices to deceive outsiders and use their wisdom to plunder their abstract possessions such as lifespan, luck, memory, and skills, so as to grow themselves.

    That was where smart people with bad intentions go.

    However, it would be false to say that there was no intrigues between wizard apprentices. The wizard apprentices could also initiate a ¡°duel¡± like other wizard apprentices, as long as the other party was willing to ept, they could still gamble.

    The only thing that was absolutely fair was the ¡°chip¡±.

    There were even a few deities, who ¡°yed¡± in the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower and followed the rules. Since the chips provided by both parties must be of equal value, unless someone was being emotional, otherwise it was safe for the deities.

    To prevent the deities from retaliating from anger, the Holy See of ¡°Lady Luck¡±, one of the twelve upright deities, was built at the entrance of the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower.

    In other words, the entrance to the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower was in the backyard of Lady Luck¡¯s house.

    ¡°¡­Including ¡®Tragedy Writer¡¯ himself, he has been waiting in the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower for a long time, pretending to be an outsider. Waiting for the foolish apprentices to start a gamble with him. Naturally, there is no camaraderie among the apprentices of the Magic Tower. The seniors are also happy to watch this kind of fun.¡±

    Nefertari said so.

    The usual image of Tragedy Writer was a middle-aged werewolf, who was obsessed with gambling games or wine games. He wore a purple robe, smelled of alcohol, and had a decadent and sloppy face.

    To figure out when Trisino Seti began to believe in Tragedy Writer¡­

    ¡°¡ªThat can only happen at that time.¡±

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 Chapter 600: Dream Egg: The Sun That Never Sets

    <h4>Chapter 600: Dream Egg: The Sun That Never Sets</h4>

    The fantasy tower that ¡°only those who desire could see¡± was filled with intrigues.

    To deceive others better, you must first deceive yourself.

    Therefore, the magic tower apprentices would use a simple Idol Spell to split away a particr part of their memory and personality, hiding them inside a vessel.

    This spell could be used even before the person had advanced into a transcender. However, the upper limit of ¡°mask¡± that could be held at the same time was closely rted to one capability.

    Through identity splitting, the wizards could achieve precise and controble changes in their personalities and thinking approaches.

    For example, 70% fear, 90% rage, 50% greed, etc.

    In this way, even if others peeped into their memory, it would not reveal their ws; when others tested their character, they could also demonstrate their innocence naturally.

    This was more than an acting skill, but a manifestation of a ¡°mask¡±.

    Every identity could be weaved into a ¡°mask¡±.

    For example, to be made a phnthropist, he could acquire the mask of ¡°phnthropist¡± and dispose of ¡°greed¡± and ¡°rage¡± that contradicted the character.

    However, the person could storepassion, indecisiveness, and mercy inside the ¡°mask¡±. Then, if the person did not use this curse vessel, his character would be highly ruthless and decisive.

    In the same way, to put away the evil characteristics, the person had to create a disguise of a viin. As long as he could separate the two identities in the society¡¯s perception, he could activate the magic, which also required three chants and one personal item.

    After reaching the Gold Rank, the identity split would bring power.

    An advanced identity split like what Trisino Seti had performed would allow different selves to have independent thinking. If the mask were stored in the body, the person would achieve ¡°multiple personalities¡±.

    Trisino could even store different thoughts, different abilities, and even different types of elements in different identities. By switching identities, he could realize ¡°omnipotence¡±.

    However, if a Gold Rank Idol Wizard released his identity with consciousness¡­

    Then, the situation would be different.

    When this identity entered another body, it could be understood as ¡°being freed¡±.

    Henceforth, there was no distinction between the primary identity and sub-identity. Consequently, the status of both parties was the same.

    This was ¡°acting¡± at the highest level that blurred the line between false and true.

    Although ¡°Dream Eater¡± and ¡°Gray Professor¡± were the same person, after his ritual seeded, ¡°Bone Healer¡± Seti and ¡°Professor Wolf¡± Frederick were divided into ¡°two people¡±.

    Their only connection was that they had a mon memory¡±. They knew that the other person was once a person with themselves. However, their previous memories were notpletely shared.

    ¡°That is to say¡­the teacher may not know the situation on [Professor Wolf]¡¯s side.¡±

    Or maybe he really is innocent.

    Nefertari didn¡¯t voice out thetter part of the sentence.

    She was worried that this might make Annan suspicious of her.

    Even she herself didn¡¯t have the confidence to say such words calmly.

    I may even have started to have doubts about the teacher.

    Thinking of this, Nefertari was a little lost for a while.

    On the other hand, Annan frowned, thinking of something.

    Is the book that instantly killed Husky the ¡°prize¡± Seti won from the magic tower?

    Just as Annan pondered it, Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance slowly woke up.

    Looking at their sudden increase of nearly 20,000 experience points, they felt like getting rich overnight.

    After defeating the twisted difficulty nightmare with one blow, the two yers acquired 18,000 experience points each.

    These massive experience points raised their wizard apprentice level to Level 10 instantly. After they advance, they might be pushed directly to the position close to the next advancement level.

    It became not a dream to ascend to Silver Rank, breaking through two ranks consecutively in a short period!

    The only thing that inhibited their advancement speed was the step of ¡°obtaining the advancement conditions¡±.

    ¡°Speak up, Husky.¡± Annan suddenly asked Husky, ¡°How did you die in the end?

    ¡°Did you identally glimpse the contents of that book? Did you have any special experience when you died?¡±

    ¡°¡­Actually, I have no memories of it.¡±

    The silver-haired girl with a single ponytail rubbed her eyes and thoughtfully replied, ¡°When I opened the book, I felt something rushing into my brain. Then, I realized that ¡®something got into my brain¡¯. After that, I have no memory of anything.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s an ult knowledge bearing too much weight on your soul. Miss Husky¡¯s soul hasn¡¯t aplished the condensation stage yet, so she can¡¯t bear that level of ult knowledge.¡±

    Just then, Benjamin came out from the inner room.

    He said in a deep voice, ¡°[The Man in the Mirror] let me thank you. He has retrieved his power back.¡±

    ¡°In addition to the holy light engravings already paid to you, He owes you another favor. You can call any of His names through that mirror if you need it. We will be there immediately. ¡°

    Although it was a nightmare that Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance cleared, Pope Benjamin did not hesitate to remember this favor on Annan¡¯s part.

    This showed that Pope Benjamin probably already knew the essence of the ¡°yers¡±.

    Probably the Man in the Mirror told Pope Benjamin.

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan nodded and replied in a deep voice.

    Annan¡¯s pupils didn¡¯t move at all. The calm face that belonged to Ghindaio gave people a sense of reliability.

    Annan changed the subject, ¡°But did you say ult knowledge?

    ¡°Can you tell me what field and level of ult knowledge it is about?¡±

    Hearing this answer, Annan was a little rxed.

    Justice¡¯s physical strength was too iprehensible.

    If this book could obliterate his body, then Annan would never dare to touch it.

    However, if it was because Husky¡¯s soul rank was too low, Annan wanted it.

    While Husky was searching, Annan saw a map of the underground city ¡ª or perhaps the subway lines. He remembered the approximate location of the ritual area.

    The book might no longer be there or have been taken away long ago.

    However, Annan did not want to miss out on the possibility.

    ¡°Are you interested in that book?¡±

    Benjamin was a little surprised.

    Hemunicated silently with the mirror in his arms and then said, ¡°If you wish, the Man in the Mirror can bring you that book directly.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not necessary.¡±

    Annan quickly stopped, ¡°I know where it is. I¡¯m just a little curious about what it¡¯s.¡±

    It would be a waste to use the favor for this book.

    ¡°I can give you this level of information for free.¡±

    Benjamin replied, ¡°That is ¡°Dream Egg: The Sun That Never Sets¡±, written by the Motherly Moth. It is not a highly ssified document from the beginning of creation but a record of a ¡®dream¡¯ She had. It is a key to one of the worlds at the end of that dream world.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about a world where the same day repeats endlessly, from sunrise to sunset, and the sun never sets. It is the story of a parallel world, as you previously guessed: it is the ¡®wager¡¯ Trisino once won from the Mother Moth in the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower.¡±

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 Chapter 601: Amber Of Knowledge

    <h4>Chapter 601: Amber Of Knowledge</h4>

    It was the ¡°other-worldly¡± level ult knowledge written by the Motherly Moth herself.

    ¡°¡­Did you just say [Key]?¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but get curious, ¡°Is it something like [dream key]?¡±

    Suppose the ¡°dream key¡± was used to enter a nightmare¡­

    ¡°Then, is there only one copy of ¡°Dream Egg¡±?¡±

    ¡°The ¡°Dream Egg¡± is a series written by the Motherly Moth. It¡¯s about the Motherly Moth¡¯s secrets.¡±

    Pope Benjamin whispered to Annan in the shoe of the Man in the Mirror, ¡°It records a dream that the Motherly Moth had. However, generally speaking, deities don¡¯t dream. They don¡¯t even need to sleep.¡±

    The answer was clear already.

    ¡°Is it about the world beyond the dreams?¡±

    Annan asked probingly.

    Did the Motherly Moth sneak into the depths of the dream world and even enter other worlds beyond the dream world?

    Does that mean that the Motherly Moth can enter the yers¡¯ world?

    Can other deities do this?

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Benjamin replied briefly, ¡°Walking in the depths of the dream world is the racial ability of the Motherly Moth.¡±

    ¡°She used Her authority to solidify the ult knowledge that recorded a certain part of other worlds into pieces of amber. It¡¯s just like the condensation process of soul and light.¡±

    ¡°It seems to exist in the form of books, but that is on the surface level. Books, like stone tablets and y tablets, are ¡®solidified knowledge¡¯. Compared with stone tablets or y tablets, it has a certain degree of secrecy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like an amber that seals moths.¡±

    Pope Benjamin exined.

    We could appreciate the trapped moth inside the amber by holding it up to a light source without shattering it.

    There was ¡°no need to read¡± this book.

    There were no words in it.

    As long as it was ¡°opened¡±, knowledge would naturally flow into the mind.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s an ¡®other world¡¯, using the words from this world to describe it will create misinterpretation and inuracy.¡±

    Benjamin exined, ¡°Since it¡¯s a direct transfer into the soul, it is natural that considerations for individual tolerance to constrain transmission speed are not taken into ount. In a sense, it bes screening barrier to select for ¡®qualified¡¯ individuals bes a screening barrier.¡±

    Even within the same cultural sphere, there could be special cases where ¡°something could not be tranted.¡± This was especially true for proprietary terms with unique historical backgrounds, where understanding the context was necessary toprehend the meaning of the words themselves.

    The barrier extended across the world.

    If a word were tranted, a greater facy would appear.

    Just like the ¡°nickname¡± of yers, it had been just ¡°pronunciation¡± all the time. The yers naturally understood this world¡¯s words and characters when they talked and read books. However, this did not apply to nicknames. Whether the aboriginal people read the yers¡¯ nicknames or the yers read the aboriginals¡¯ names, no trantion would be given.

    Nicknames and names carried much information.

    Even when entering servers in other countries, the user would not understand the nicknames. Simrly, when you hear a foreigner¡¯s name, you would not understand what it means.

    Under Benjamin¡¯s exnation, Annan quickly understood the Motherly Moth¡¯s approach.

    It was simr to Annan¡¯s Book of Divine Transporter but slightly different.

    The Motherly Moth collected the intelligence and information of that other world in depth and made a ¡°copy of another world¡±, which was saved in the format of a ¡°book¡±. It was different from the traditional concept of nightmare in this world.

    It wouldn¡¯t be fair to force everyone who opened this book to be drawn into that world. That would be akin to murder. The strength of the soul required to traverse dream realms and reach the depths of the dream world was something only transcended above the Gold Rank could achieve.

    Only a soul dyed in color could enter the dream world without getting lost.

    Then, the Motherly Moth allowed the people, who opened this book, to enter another world via a traditional dream format.

    That otherworld had been ¡°sampled¡± by the Motherly Moth.

    She eliminated all irrelevant, disruptive clues. What was left was the backbone, which could also be understood as the main plot.

    In simpler terms, the Motherly Moth used the knowledge of other worlds to create ¡°single-yer games¡± one after another.

    This made Annan immediately think of himself.

    In a sense, Annan¡¯s Book of Divine Transporter was simr to ¡°Dream Egg¡±!

    The yers also entered other worlds in dreams. The difference was that what Annan was doing was online games. There was multiyer, and the timeline of the main world proceeded as usual. The ¡°expansion pack¡± was constantly changing.

    The ¡°Dream Egg¡± the Motherly Moth created utilized other worlds as themes to make single-yer games that would no longer be updated and produce DLC.

    ¡°Ordinary people¡­ especially ritualists whose souls had not been condensed, it was impossible for them to enter other worlds through the dream world. ¡°Dream Egg¡± provided this possibility. Of course, it was only a possibility. ¡°

    Benjamin said, ¡°They can also be called the ¡®otherworldly level¡¯ nightmare. A nightmare that is at a higher level and more dangerous than the ¡®twisted level¡¯. If you die in it, you are dead.¡±

    ¡°To prevent ¡°Dream Egg¡± from bing a murderer¡¯s weapon, it can only be used to ¡®clear the level once¡¯ or ¡®enter ten times¡¯. The ¡°Dream Egg¡± cannot be used permanently.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why the ¡°Dream Egg¡± usually has rigorous entry conditions. If the conditions are not met, the soul will be crushed and killed when an abundance of otherworldly-level ult knowledge is poured into the soul. It will damage the entry count too.¡±

    ¡°But, you just said that ritualists can also use ¡°Dream Egg¡±?¡±

    Annan asked suspiciously, ¡°The ritualist¡¯s soul strength should be about the same as that of Husky? Husky even used Justice¡¯s body at the time, but the moment he opened this book, he was killed by its ult knowledge.¡±

    ¡°It requires a certain intensity of ritual protection, much like safeguarding the soul in a nightmare.¡±

    Benjamin exined, ¡°There aren¡¯t many powers that can transcend the rules of this world. Aside from the ult knowledge above the otherworldly level, we only have the power of elements and the Book of Truth. Therefore, if the user can¡¯t even use the protective ritual built by the otherworldly level of knowledge, then he is not ¡®qualified to use this curse vessel¡¯.¡±

    Thus, the ritualists needed to obtain ult knowledge above the otherworldly level to build a self-protection ritual and then open this book to receive a new otherworldly level of ult knowledge.

    Hearing Benjamin¡¯s words, Annan¡¯s expression was a little subtle.

    In a trance, he thought of ¡°What should I do if I can¡¯t beat the BOSS¡±, ¡°Let¡¯s upgrade¡±, ¡°But I need to fight the BOSS to level up¡±, ¡°Then go and fight the BOSS¡±, ¡°But I can¡¯t beat the BOSS¡±, ¡°Go upgrade!¡± emoticon package.

    ¡°Among other things, it requires ¡®initial purification progress¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Initial purification progress?¡±

    ¡°It is the purification progress when entering the nightmare for the first time in thest three months. This is the primary data that priests will be assessed when they advance to a bishop.¡±

    ¡°The nightmare at the otherworldly level is dangerous. All lower-level powers in this world are ineffective. The nightmare purifier can¡¯t utilize any transcended power of the target world, nor can they call upon divine intervention to escape. Mr. Ray¡¯s intervention of dispelling a nightmare and freeing the person inside won¡¯t activate. You can only leave after aplishing the objectives in the dungeon. Your death in the nightmare carries on into this world.¡±

    ¡°So even if you can bear this ult knowledge, it¡¯s a trial version of ¡®acquiring this knowledge¡¯. If you want to enter another world to obtain the full version, you must reach the ¡®initial purification progress¡¯ within thest three months for more than 90%.¡±

    Obviously, Trisino Seti was not a good candidate for it.

    He might hold ult knowledge at the otherworldly level.

    However, only if the initial purification progress reached more than 90%¡­ Unless he could purify it in one fell swoop, then he would seed. It was unlikely for him to achieve that.

    ¡°So he probably hasn¡¯t had time to use this ¡°Dream Egg¡±.¡±

    Benjamin concluded, ¡°However, this is also expected. Not everyone gets the ¡°Dream Egg¡± to enter another world¡­ The curse vessel that can continuously produce the otherworldly level ult knowledge is valuable.¡±

    ¡°For example, it can be used to assassinate the enemy.¡±

    ¡°If you can, why not?¡± Benjamin asked back.

    Annan thought to himself. Oh, that makes sense.

    I am convinced.

    Annan thought.

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 Chapter 602: Why Donâ€™t You Give Tragedy Writer A Call?

    <h4>Chapter 602: Why Don¡¯t You Give Tragedy Writer A Call?</h4>

    After warning Annan again, Benjamin left through the mirror with the Man in the Mirror.

    Annan could understand that Benjamin¡¯s seemingly neutral but persuasive exnation was an act of kindness.

    It was a warning to prevent Annan from using dangerous items like ¡°Dream Egg¡± indiscriminately.

    That was why Benjamin emphasized the ¡°Dream Egg¡± and how dangerous the other world was without telling Annan precisely what he could get from it.

    However, since Trisino Seti could get this ¡°Dream Egg¡± from the Motherly Moth through gambling means, it meant that Seti had alreadyid his eyes on it.

    Seti would be willing to bet on this back then and took the bet with the upright deity¡­ after that, he didn¡¯t choose to sell it but carried it with him until he was ready to give up his ¡°Dream Eater¡± identity.

    That meant he prepared to use Dream Egg.

    That said, Seti thought of it as a good item.

    Then, the rewards and ie obtained from it must not be little.

    Benjamin also mentioned to Annan that few ¡°Dream Eggs¡± existed in the world. There was little knowledge of other worlds made into ¡°amber¡± by the Motherly Moth.

    There were many other worlds She had seen because of her racial trait. However, there were not so many wonderful worlds that She hoped to preserve.

    For the Motherly Moth, the act of spending power to deliberately create a ¡°Dream Egg¡± was probably simr to making specimens or models to preserve rare things encountered.

    Of course, She did not need to sell it, nor would She give such hazardous things to her believers. In rare cases, it would only be given to outsiders as a prize or reward.

    ording to Pope Benjamin, only three or four copies of ¡°Dream Egg¡± should exist that were currently known and had not been used. Counting those that might have been used, the total number of ambers distributed was only seven.

    There was even a saint who died in another world. The twelve upright deities¡¯ churches had always prohibited priests from using items that might enter other worlds ¡ª including ¡°Dream Egg¡±.

    However, Annan wanted the book.

    However, Annan¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to get something from the other world.

    After all, Annan¡¯s growth path was stable.

    He had a Book of Truth that was almostplete and more than one sacred bone in the approval period. He didn¡¯t have to take risks in using Dream Egg.

    Annan wanted to experience¡­or let some lucky yer experience traveling the world in Dream Egg and traveling in Book of Divine Transporter.

    In this way, Annan would ponder deeper about the ¡°Divine Transporter¡± and what the Book of Divine Transporter stood for.

    This might be useful for him to grasp the truth.

    However, Annan¡¯s interest level was ¡°potentially useful¡± and ¡°quite interesting¡±. It was not to the point where Annan had to exhaust the favor from the Man in the Mirror. After all, even if Annan got the book, Annan could not use it.

    Previously, the Man in the Mirror owed Annan a favor during the ascendancy ritual.

    Owing one more favor now wasn¡¯t much of a big deal.

    It felt like Annan ¡°raised a deity¡± in a sense.

    Annan wasn¡¯t worried that the umted favors would turn into grievances, let alone that the Man in the Mirror wasn¡¯t that kind of deity. Annan wasn¡¯t a mortal now.

    With the Old Grandmother and Silver Sire around, the Man in the Mirror wouldn¡¯t dare to make enemies.

    As Annan became stronger and more prestigious, the Man in the Mirror wished to build more rapports with Annan.

    Although Annan did not know how much strength Trisino Seti stole from the Man in the Mirror, Annan deduced that it was a significant amount.

    After all, the Man in the Mirror gave too much reward.

    Holy light engravings were not a one-time lease but a permanent power. Whether it belonged to the Silver Sire or the Pale Princess, it was a fixed unit. However, each unit could be exchanged for different things from different deities.

    This was rted to each deity¡¯s ¡°business philosophy¡±.

    Some deities might be inclined to let priests exchange the holy light engravings for divine art, increasing their capability. The strategy was to nurture them into future elders. However, false deities had a different approach. They encouraged believers to exchange holy light engravings for cheaper ¡°temporary capabilities¡± to recover the cost.

    After all, holy light engravings were not ¡°money¡±, but ¡°a stock that could be held for life¡±.

    If it were used to exchange for divine art or a permanent blessing, then as long as the believers were not dead, this part of power would always be theirs.

    However, if the believers chose the temporary ability, even if the deity suffered a little loss, He would be willing to give more.

    However, the time for the deities to get back these holy light engravings had also significantly been shortened.

    Some deities, such as the Paper Princess, Father Stone, and Marquis Iris, would use holy light engravings to exchange for corresponding help and pay back the cost in a shorter cycle.

    For example, use holy light engravings to buy the paintings of the Paper Princess, and even spend more holy light engravings to customize the paintings you want. Perhaps, getting Father Stone to help build huge and magnificent pces for free¡­ or having Marquis Iris fight someone.

    Giving out 20 holy light engravings in one go was already quite a fortune for the Man in the Mirror, who had just be a deity and had no believers.

    Those holy light engravings worthed the amount to nurture 20 priests.

    These were the 20 churches¡ªor perhaps 20 ¡°gold mines¡±.

    [TN: The gold mine depicts the economy in terms of Warcraft 3.]

    For every priest, even if they only purified one-third of an ordinary nightmare every month, it would only take less than two months to recover the cost entirely.

    Apart from Pope Benjamin, Annan did know if there were other priests.

    Starting a ¡°deity¡± business was difficult.

    It was also challenging to be a deity during the startup period.

    Objectively speaking, the 20 holy light engravings given out for nothing at the Man in the Mirror¡¯s ¡°startup¡± stage were lesser than the 120 engravings that Tragedy Writer should have given Annan in full. However, they carried different values and meanings.

    It was more urate to say that Annan was surprised that Tragedy Writer could gather so much power to construct this nightmare¡­

    It was 120 holy light engravings.

    Annan spected that Trisino might have stolen the ritual of the Man in the Mirror¡¯s power but failed in the end.

    Tragedy Writer himself exchanged the power of the Man in the Mirror for the power of the same scale.

    Judging from this, Annan guessed that the Man in the Mirror had about 120 holy light engravings worth of curses locked in this ritual. This was no small number for a new deity.

    The Man in the Mirror gave a 20%mission to Annan of the debt collected. It was a sign of great courtesy.

    The so-called reciprocity.

    Annan had no point holding these holy light engravings too.

    He had already seen the divine art list of the Man in the Mirror.

    The divine art that could be purchased here from the Man in the Mirror was mostly illusion, mirror image, clone, and sneak¡­ The most valuable divine art was mirror movement¡ªan ultra-long-distance teleportation circle that required instation in advance.

    However, this was a teleportation circle, after all, not teleportation by itself.

    It provided the same existing function the yers had.

    The yer could set up a teleportation circle, so it was not a big problem for Annan to use.

    For Annan, the Man in the Mirror¡¯s divine art list was divine art of little value.

    At least there were alternatives to rece the functionality of those divine arts.

    However, it was different for yers.

    The mirror image of yourself, the mirror image of the enemy, and the mirror image of the field¡­ For yers whose fighting style had yet to be systemized, they could have more inspiration if they acquired the divine art of the Man in the Mirror.

    Annan nned to select some yers, find an excuse, and give each one or two holy light engravings. As long as the yer had one, he could transfer their profession to the priest without upying the profession slot; if they had two engravings, they could save one to buy divine art.

    Of course, the main goal was to gift out the holy light engravings of the Man in the Mirror.

    Annan could take the opportunity to expand the number of priests.

    Although the average piety level might be significantly reduced, the yer¡¯s ¡°work enthusiasm¡± was still reliable.

    They could bezy about anything other than farming dungeon instances.

    For the ten holy light engravings of the Venerated Skeleton, Annan would not give them to yers, making them the Venerated Skeleton believers.

    This reminded Annan that he seemed to be the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s pope.

    As for the 120 holy light engravings of Tragedy Writer¡­

    ¡°How the hell am I going to spend these things?¡±

    Suddenly, Annan felt a headache.

    He did not need the divine art and ability to murder others!

    Couldn¡¯t it all be reced with detecting hostility?

    That was no different from buying undesired membership for 20 years in one go.

    A few yearster, he would seed as the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    What murder conspiracy was better than a Grand Duke¡¯s direct order?

    Plus, his brother¡¯s pope¡¯s order?

    Plus, Kafni¡¯s queen¡¯s order?

    Plus, the senior¡­ Unfortunately, the senior was a lonemander.

    As for using conspiracy to obtain other people¡¯s secrets, Annan could get help from the Crow family. His own Winter¡¯s Hand does precisely this, and the Faceless Poet was also quite familiar with Annan.

    ¡°Wait?¡±

    Suddenly, Annan remembered.

    He seemed to have a mirror¡ª[The Man in the Mirror¡¯s Newborn Mirror], also known as the Beginning Mirror, which could be used tomunicate with other deities.

    As long as Annan called the other party¡¯s real name, he could summon the other party¡¯s reflection in the mirror for free.

    Although Annan did not know Tragedy Writer¡¯s real name, Old Grandmother or Silver Sire should know.

    Perhaps, Annan could give Silver Sire a ¡°call¡± and ask for Tragedy Writer¡¯s real name first.

    Then, the holy light engravings would be used as payment for consultation from the Deity of Conspiracy.

    ¡°¡ªHi, hello. May I ask what conspiracy your pope is brewing?¡±

    Would he respond?

    Or make Him teach Annan how to detect or stop a conspiracy. The Conspiracy Deity should be good at this, too, right?

    Anyway, it was better than these holy light engravings being unspent there.

    Annan thought of this and decided to do it.

    He quickly ran to the inner room, changing the ritual that had yet to be removed, and put up the mirror directly.

    Great news! We¡¯re thrilled to announce a special 7-day trial exclusively on Patreons. If you¡¯re still unsure about how our early ess chapters work or if you¡¯re looking to gain more trust in our trantions, this is the perfect opportunity for you to join us. Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 603: Seeking Out A Deity For An Online Class

    <h4>Chapter 603: Seeking Out A Deity For An Online ss</h4>

    [The Man in the Mirror¡¯s Newborn Mirror] was a round mirror that would appear pale gold in dim light.

    The decorations around the mirror were made of ordinary bronze material, and they shimmered with a gentle golden glow in the faint light. They looked just like a regr vanity mirror everyone could find on a table in an average household.

    If there were something different about it, it would be that it appeared exceptionally ¡°new¡±. There were no signs of wear or aging, as if it had returned to its original state.

    However, at the beginning of its birth, the mirror certainly wouldn¡¯t have had such a faint golden glow.

    When this curse vessel was activated, those looking at the mirror would lose a certain lifespan.

    Before Annan held the ritual, he drove away everyone in the room.

    Annan thought about it, and he didn¡¯t seem to know Silver Sire¡¯s real name. After all, Annan¡¯s primary source of ult knowledge was when he went shopping with the Paper Princess in Noah¡¯s capital. While buying books, he was tutored, giving him chances to learn many things.

    In Noah, it was impossible to buy rted books that recorded the secret of Silver Sire.

    That was taboo.

    However, Annan did remember Old Grandmother¡¯s real name.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t want to tell his parents that he wanted to find Tragedy Writer.

    Then, there was only one option left.

    ¡°Baldr, are you there?¡±

    ¡°Long time no see, Divine Transporter.¡±

    A clear, youthful voice sounded in front of Annan, ¡°Is there anything you want from me?¡±

    An indescribable radiance emanated continuously from the mirror.

    Annan couldn¡¯t see Mr. Ray¡¯s face at all.

    However, that didn¡¯t matter ¡ª he¡¯d already seen it anyway.

    Mr. Ray¡¯s appearance and clothes were still the same in his memory.

    ¡°What is Tragedy Writer¡¯s real name?¡±

    ¡°The werewolf?¡±

    Mr. Ray¡¯s voice became wary, ¡°What are you looking for him for? He is not someone to be associated with.¡±

    ¡°I just purified a nightmare and got a lot of His holy light engravings. However, I won¡¯t exchange them for divine art, so I want to make a deal with Him.¡±

    Annan said truthfully.

    Annan would not dare to tell the truth in the face of the Old Grandmother. Even to the Silver Sire, Annan would selectively tell the truth. It was simr to the feeling of being with a strict grandmother or an uncle who takes you out to y but also has asional strict demands.

    However, when it came to Mr. Ray, Annan had no pressure.

    He was more like the older brother next door from childhood.

    While facing Annan¡¯s statement, Mr. Ray did not continue to question nervously. He answered, ¡°It¡¯s the name he used after he entered the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower until he ascended to be a deity. The name known to outsiders was [Sophocles]. As the Wolf of the Valley, his real name was [Dionysus]. His original name was [Mmpus], which was unknown to anyone but his parents.¡±

    ¡°If your purpose is to ask for help, then the safest choice is Dionysus. [The Wolf of the Valley] is a werewolf with a good personality except for a little madness and wildness. However, if you want to get some skills from him, you¡¯d better call [Mmpus].¡±

    ¡°[Sophocles] has a vile character, far worse than the Rotten Man and the Venerated Skeleton you havee into contact with. Therefore, I do not rmend that you have any form ofmunication with him.¡±

    Mr. Ray¡¯s exnation was detailed.

    After confirming that Annan wanted to do this, He didn¡¯t stop Annan. Instead, He put out the solutions to the problem that Annan would encounter as much as possible.

    He was the friendly neighborhood older brother.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Ray.¡±

    ¡°No thanks, Divine Transporter. My brother.¡±

    Mr. Ray¡¯s tone was as warm and bright as the sun, ¡°If you are in any trouble, even if you are just in a bad mood or not feeling well, you can call my name. If it is you, I will always be there.¡±

    ¡°Even if I am not in front of this mirror, as long as the sun shines on you, I will always be with you.¡±

    After Mr. Ray finished speaking, the bright and warm power was removed from the mirror before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Only the remaining afterglow illuminated the entire room.

    Annan had already sealed the door and windows while only using candles for light.

    However, the room was still as bright as day.

    The light was like liquid flowing from the gap between the windows and the door.

    They would naturally flow within the room, seeping in or pouring out from Annan¡¯s body. Even when Annan blinked, the liquid light would squeeze out from the gaps between his eyeballs and eyelids.

    Annan didn¡¯t feel the slightest difort. He felt the warm light embracing him. He didn¡¯t feel the light was ring or a burning sensation on his skin.

    The light did not hurt Annan.

    When these lights were roaming the room, Annan had prompts that appeared in front of his eyes as expected.

    [You have acquired the new mark ¡°Advanced Influence: Flowing Light¡±.]

    [If it is not removed in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°light¡± (difficulty: twisted) on August 8.]

    Annan knew that ¡°Flowing Light¡± was the high-ranking influence of [Novice Influence: the Radiant of the Rapture].

    If ordinary people use rituals rted to Mr. Ray, they usually get this effect.

    Light would ooze from their minds.

    The person needed to lie on the ground in a dark environment for a while. Only then could the light in the brain flow out.

    Otherwise, the person would have a longsting ecstasy, disturbing their thinking.

    When they opened their eyes, all the light sources the person saw were several times brighter. Even if the person closed his eyes tightly, his world would not bepletely dark. The light would always be there, sticking to the pupils.

    This was a gift but also a punishment.

    The strength of light was not as zing as fire and not as ruthless as frost. It looked pretty harmless and as warm as Mr. Ray.

    However, using the ¡°light¡± required the person to have the awareness to bear the light.

    People, who need to close their eyes to resist the light, could not manipte the power of the light smoothly as if it were their limbs.

    Annan was not among them.

    ¡°I got the name¡­¡±

    Annan didn¡¯t think too much, and he didn¡¯t hesitate.

    He called out the name directly to the mirror:

    ¡°Mmpus¡­ Can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re finally willing to call my name. I¡¯ve been waiting for this day.¡±

    A charming, low, and pleasant voice came from the mirror, ¡°Annan. Annan from the Austere-Winter family¡­ Was the first time we met a few years ago?¡±

    The next moment, the mirror in front of Annan reflected the appearance of a middle-aged man.

    It was utterly inconsistent with the rumored image of ¡°a drunken middle-aged werewolf in a purple robe with a decadent and sloppy face¡±.

    The mirror in front of Annan reflected a middle-aged man with neatlybed-back hair and aposed yet joyful smile.

    He was dressed impably, with a high-bridged nose and deep-set eyes like abysses. He wore clothing resembling a ck overcoat or a ck suit, entuating his solidly built physique.

    Just by holding a deck of cards, he looked like a gambling master. With a cat in his arms, he resembled the Godfather.

    In any case, he was undoubtedly a masculine man.

    The deep voice would put all the voice actors in shame.

    The first thought that popped up in Annan¡¯s mind was this idea instead.

    Before Annan could respond, Tragedy Writer twitched his nose slightly as if smelling something.

    That gesture was too elegant, as affectionate as sniffing a rose.

    ¡°Such a strong, bright smell¡­ I see. It was Mr. Ray who gave you my name.¡±

    Tragedy Writer smiled, ¡°I would like to thank him for his favor.¡±

    ¡°So, sweet Annan. You went through great lengths to call me out¡­ What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Great news! We¡¯re thrilled to announce a special 7-day trial exclusively on Patreons. If you¡¯re still unsure about how our early ess chapters work or if you¡¯re looking to gain more trust in our trantions, this is the perfect opportunity for you to join us. Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 604: No One Can Judge Your Life

    <h4>Chapter 604: No One Can Judge Your Life</h4>

    Hearing Tragedy Writer¡¯s deep and maic voice, Annan felt a tingling chill down his spine.

    It was like the intoxicating fruit full of juice.

    Or¡­

    It was like being stared at by a snake wrapped around the branches of an apple tree.

    Tragedy Writer was the deity in the younger generation.

    However, the pressure from Him was far greater than the Paper Princess and Father Stone Annan had encountered, who were older than Him.

    The pressure alone was close to the level of Faceless Poet.

    There was no malice or murderous intent in His gaze.

    It was a gaze so calm that it reminded one of the seas at midnight. Yet, under the imprable darkness, a dim light of hope shone.

    Compared to that level of mystery, it was the pure childlike curiosity and joy that made people feel terrified.

    It was like a child tearing off a butterfly¡¯s wings, wondering how it would fly, like a child drowning an ant¡¯s nest with juice and watching them drown in the gift with joy.

    Ordinary people would be stunned, unable to move because of fear.

    Annan, who had no fear, could even feel the numbness of his spine. It was as if an electric current was constantly rushing through the spine¡­ He felt abnormal excitement and joy. His body was so excited that he began to tremble, his breathing was a little heavy, and he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists to relieve the pressure.

    ¡°I do have something to look for you.¡±

    In front of the Tragedy Writer, Annan did not put up an act; he didn¡¯t hide his emotions at all.

    It was impossible to hide it.

    ¡°Did you give me many holy light engravings not long ago?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Tragedy Writer chuckled lightly, ¡°You have provided me a good show. You deserve it.¡±

    ¡°A good show?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know it well yourself? This delicate tragedy is like an inverted ¡®Gemini¡¯ story. The son of the dead deity, the son of man, who gave up everything to save the other party, and the son who died in the dream to save his friend. The Son of God who would rather die.¡±

    ¡°The never-ending spiral of sacrifice entangled in fate¡­ That is the ¡®Gemini¡¯ on the tragic level.¡±

    ¡°When the spiral was interrupted, the conspiracy was exposed. The betrayal was reenacted, and the muddy soul of the mere childishness released a golden light in an instant¡­ This is exactly what I want to see.¡±

    Tragedy Writer smiled, saying, ¡°Also, there is someone who thinks that the old history has long been forgotten.¡±

    ¡°He suddenly awakens in a dream and realizes his secret is exposed¡­ He is filled with panic and anxiety. What kind of decision will he make from this panic and anxiety?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to inform the ¡®other me¡¯ of this information? Or do you want to reunite with other selves? Or do you n to exterminate the person who learned the news? What kind of conspiracy will emerge from this? That¡¯s what I¡¯m curious about and what I want to see: a tragic [sequel].¡±

    Tragedy Write revealed the answer in one go.

    He could not contain his excitement.

    No matter what Tragedy Writer was saying, the smile on his face could not be dissipated.

    It was as if someone had branded this shame on their body with a red-hot iron.

    ¡°So, my lovely Annan.¡±

    His deep voice lingered in Annan¡¯s ear, ¡°I¡¯ll reward you¡­ Is there anything wrong?¡±

    Annan believed that if Tragedy Write were by his side at this moment, He would hold his shoulder with one hand from behind¡ª¡ªhis intuition brought about by the [Transcended Perception] told him exactly this.

    ¡°It¡¯s more than that.¡± Annan looked directly into the Tragedy Writer¡¯s eyes.

    Annan did not know if there was something wrong with the mirror.

    Annan felt his smile was simr to Tragedy Writer¡¯s, and it was bing increasingly simr.

    He asked Tragedy Writer seriously, ¡°Do you think the story about ¡®me¡¯ is also a tragedy?¡±

    Annan was suspicious of that.

    Tragedy Writer had noticed Annan when he came to Noah Kingdom to meet Kafni for the first time before he lost his memory.

    The son of the Grand Duke, who voluntarily gave up his memory to rise to a higher position, bing the Future Deity in the Book of Truth¡¯s favor.

    If Tragedy Writer was a person looking for fun¡­

    Was the story of Annan bing Don Juan Geraint under the gaze of the Tragedy Writer?

    ¡°Not always.¡± Unexpectedly, Tragedy Writer unswervingly gave a negative answer to this.

    ¡°Fate is the fate of the Divine Transporter.¡±

    Tragedy Writer said slowly, ¡°This sentence can also be understood as [Fate] is the loser after fighting the Divine Transporter. Knocking down other people¡¯s unfortunate fate and then standing on top of it, isn¡¯t this the ywright of fate?¡±

    ¡°Your story is already destined to be an epic. How can I not pay attention to you? As for whether your life is happy or miserable, whether your journey is full of ambition or regret¡­ I will not be so full of myself andment on it as a tragedy before the end of your story.¡±

    ¡°No one canment on your life, Annan. Neither can I.¡±

    The soothing voice of the Tragedy Writer rang in Annan¡¯s ears.

    He was joyful, showing a contented smile and gently spreading his hands.

    ¡°I¡¯m in quiet joy.¡±

    He said slowly and heavily, ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t call me today, I would still look at you and show the same smile.¡±

    It was a scorching ¡°love¡±.

    It was like a sculptor staring eagerly at an unfinished stone and wood statue¡­ like a painter facing a chaotic mess of colors.

    It looked like a prototype with random daub of color.

    For creators, what they wanted to create was already ¡°hidden in it¡±.

    Annan realized Tragedy Writer might know more than he first thought.

    He might have been paying attention to Annan all along.

    The reason why Tragedy Write suddenly gave Annan 120 holy light engravings probably wasn¡¯t just because He saw a good story.

    Instead, He saw two storylines finally intertwined and merged before Him.

    ¡°Your holy light engravings don¡¯t really help.¡± Annan was silent for a while, then said directly in a low voice.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Seeing this, Tragedy Writer smiled brighter, ¡°Are you being this straightforward already?¡±

    ¡°Did you notice something, Annan?¡±

    That was right. At the very beginning when Annan met Tragedy Writer, Annan nned to be more tactful.

    Annan was not sure at the beginning whether returning the holy light engravings given by the Him and asking for a discount would anger Him.

    Annan wouldn¡¯t be confident to do that in his original world.

    However, he soon realized that Tragedy Writer wouldn¡¯t be mad.

    Compared to what happened over there at Trisino, the protagonist of the ¡°script¡± Tragedy Writer cared more about was Annan.

    Yes.

    Tragedy Writer did not gift Annan so many holy light engravings because of an exciting twist on Trisino¡¯s nightmare.

    ¡ªBut because the person who made this nightmare take an exciting twist was ¡°Annan¡±.

    Annan got to the bottom of it.

    In the beginning, these were the holy light engravings that Tragedy Writer found an excuse to give to Annan.

    The possibility was highly likely.

    If anything was surprising, it might be the calling the Tragedy Writer.

    Consider the ability to predict the future held by Trisino¡­ Wasn¡¯t this the future Tragedy Writer saw?

    He gave Annan so many holy light engravings to have a dialogue with Annan now.

    Even earlier¡­

    A creepy feeling struck Annan.

    That was why he didn¡¯t want to dy any longer. If Tragedy Writer expected everything, it would be better to settle it quickly.

    Great news! We¡¯re thrilled to announce a special 7-day trial exclusively on Patreons. If you¡¯re still unsure about how our early ess chapters work or if you¡¯re looking to gain more trust in our trantions, this is the perfect opportunity for you to join us. Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to ess our Patreon page.

 Chapter 605: Manipulator Of Fame And Fate

    Chapter 605: Maniptor Of Fame And Fate

    ¡°How many holy light engravings will it take to reveal and decipher the conspiracy surrounding me?¡±

    Annan asked.

    Faced with the offensive question, Tragedy Writer did not get mad.

    He was calm, and he looked at Annan through the mirror with a smile, ¡°Then, it depends on the conspiracy.¡±

    ¡°The word [conspiracy] has a broad meaning. No fewer than ten people aremitting a ¡®conspiracy¡¯ against you for ¡®love¡¯. Some still don¡¯t know your existence, and their conspiracies are rted to you. Would their conspiracies count?¡±

    ¡°If I were to tell you everything, then this is not a matter that can be resolved by more than a hundred holy light engravings. On the contrary, that is already closely rted to the truth of [conspiracy].¡±

    ¡°Then, tell me one by one.¡± Annan replied without hesitation, ¡°What¡¯s the deal with Professor Wolf?¡±

    ¡°What did he want to do by sending Doreen to me? What did he want to do by bing Professor Wolf?¡±

    ¡°Do you still need to ask?¡± Tragedy Writer replied leisurely, ¡°Don¡¯t you have the answer in your heart?¡±

    ¡°I thought you were only looking for fun, but I didn¡¯t know you were a riddler too.¡±

    Annan said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m using holy light engraving to buy the answer, Your Excellency.¡±

    Besides, I have multiple answers in my mind.

    There are even contradictory ones.

    I¡¯m here to get the direct answer instead of asking for hints.

    ¡°This question is worth 40 engravings.¡±

    Tragedy Writer shook his fingers as he chuckled, ¡°[Frederick]¡­ Do you know why his surname is Wolfheart?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because he has exchanged his heart for a werewolf¡¯s heart.¡±

    ¡°As you can see, he made some interesting arrangements. He divided himself into two halves, split his memory, and changed his name. He thought that he could escape from me by doing so.¡±

    Keep dreaming.

    Tragedy Writer didn¡¯t say anything, but his mocking and joyful demeanor was already conveyed to Annan through the mirror.

    His reserve made his expression never so straightforward.

    ¡°I am the first deity who has achieved splitting personality. I am also the deity who has studied the ¡®name¡¯ the most.¡±

    Tragedy Writer had just finished speaking.

    A prompt finally appeared before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    [Acquired ult knowledge: The second real name of the Deity of Conspiracy and Murder ¡°Tragedy Writer¡±.]

    [This ult knowledge can be used as ¡°Golden Spell (Idol): True Name Looting¡±.]

    It could not be used as an influence to cast rituals, nor could it be used to summon deities.

    ¡°Tragedy Writer¡± purified the ult knowledge of his real name to such purity.

    ¡°Remember. This is [Mmpus], not [Sophocles].¡±

    Tragedy Writer raised a finger and made a silent gesture, ¡°Of course, you can perform a ritual using ¡®Sophocles¡¯, but I no longer consider it ult knowledge. Only when the name ¡®Sophocles¡¯ is spoken during the ritual does it correspond to me as ult knowledge and get consumed.¡±

    ¡°After all, it¡¯s just a pseudonym. Although it¡¯s a well-known pseudonym to everyone, it can also be regarded as a real name since there is no meaning in making people forget the pseudonym.¡±

    ¡°If you need anything, call me by my real name. I took back the other power gathered around this name to prevent you from misusing and forgetting it. After all, this is something that no one knows except you. Mr. Ray also told you about it because you are the one who asked this question.¡±

    Tragedy Writer said leisurely.

    Simply put, ¡°Sophocles¡± was a business number, and ¡°Mmpus¡± was a personal number¡­

    Annan instantly understood what Tragedy Writer meant.

    As Annan conversed with Tragedy Writer, he grew more ustomed to His indirect way of speaking.

    Annan was in awe of the Tragedy Writer¡¯s control over power in the ult knowledge of his real name.

    Annan dared not say that other upright deitiesck this ability. After all, it didn¡¯t seem to have much practical use, and perhaps They simply didn¡¯t need to do so. However, Annan could also tell it was a very intricate and meticulous technique.

    ¡°So, you should also realize how stupid it is for him to try to escape from me by manipting his name?¡±

    The elegant middle-aged man with ck hair, ck eyes, and well-defined features showed a sarcastic smile, ¡°In the words of your world, isn¡¯t it teaching the fish how to swim [1]?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t drag me into it,¡± Annan interjected calmly.

    ¡°After he found out that it was impossible to escape from me no matter what, I think he might have gone mad.¡±

    The smile on Tragedy Writer¡¯s face was always elegant and gentle, ¡°He gives himself the heart of a wolf. Then, he carefully manipted the werewolves to make them seize power in Austere-Winter Dukedom. It was all because he was afraid of me.

    ¡°In the end, he finally realized that no matter how much he ttered me, my attitude toward him would not change, and I would not take his life. Thus, he decisively abandoned his previous conspiracy, all for the sake of self-preservation. A half-hearted scheme¡­ ironic, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Speaking of this, Tragedy Writer shook his head slightly and said hintingly, ¡°When a drunk man can break free from drunkenness at any time, it means that he is not drunk at all but just pretending to be drunk.¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I wanted to test whether you were truly Annan¡¤Austere-Winter. It¡¯s a probe ¡ª you know what that means, right? That little girl was nothing more than a fate probe.¡±

    Upon hearing that, Anna quickly understood the situation.

    ¡°The goal was to intertwine her fate with [Annan].¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The avatar you currently use is Michngelo¡¯sst masterpiece before his ascension. This marble golem has self-awareness and the ability to self-propel, making it immune to most spells from the Prophet and Idol schools of magic.¡±

    ¡°While the golem can¡¯t deflect Gold Rank¡¯s Idol Spell, it¡¯s also a pity that the highest level of the spell to view the thread of fate will not exceed Silver Rank. That is to say, Frederick cannot view the fate of [Ghindaio].¡±

    ¡°The thread of fate cannot be attached to the golem. Then, there is no way to manipte, vibrate, perceive, or affect your fate remotely¡­ It is also impossible for him to decipher the thread of fate and infer your real name by looking at the past.¡±

    Since ¡°Ghindaio¡± did not have a thread of fate, even the higher-level Idol Wizard couldn¡¯t check what happened in the past.

    Annan quickly understood the problem.

    Wait¡­

    That being the case¡ª

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    The Tragedy Writer interjected, ¡°Because you took her in, ¡®Annan¡¯ had an indirect connection with her.¡±

    ¡°If [Ghindaio] is not Annan, then why does Doreen, who has a clean background and doesn¡¯t wander off, have a fate thread connected to [Annan Winter]?¡±

    She shouldn¡¯t have met Annan¡¤Austere-Winter.

    ¡­Wrong.

    If it was at that time that Professor Wolf was finally able to affect Annan, he should have been toote!

    Because at that time, the yer had already arrived at Sporeggar Mill!

    Annan finally reacted.

    Why was he drawn to Sporeggar Mill? Why he met Nefertari through the dream of Sporeggar Mill and was further drawn into ¡°Nightmare: Gemini¡±?

    ¡°Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance¡±, who were simr to the two characters involved in the past, were sent to crack this nightmare and expose the true identity of ¡°Professor Wolf¡±.

    Professor Wolf couldn¡¯t do such a thing.

    It did him no good at all. On the contrary, it made his already calm life turbulent again.

    However, for the Tragedy Writer, this was undoubtedly a rare delight.

    ¡°So, it was you from the very beginning?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Tragedy Writer replied frankly, ¡°Before you left Noah, I have been watching you since you left the Paper Princess and Faceless Poet. Specifically, it was when you wanted to go to the Razor Territory in Bloomfield Province and the Sporeggar Mill below it. I have influenced your fate since then.¡±

    ¡°Under the protection of the Book of Divine Transporter, I could only do one thing. That is to let you choose [Sporeggar Mill] from the many cities in the underground kingdom. That was the result when I gave everything I had to extend the story that unfolded afterward. However, it has nothing to do with me in the end, but the real ¡®fate¡¯.¡±

    Destiny was the wheel of the Divine Transporter.

    The Tragedy Writer sighed a second time.

    ¡°Doreen failed to assassinate you, couldn¡¯t transmit more information under maniption, and wasn¡¯t personally retrieved by Professor Wolf himself¡­ because Professor Wolf vaguely sensed that you were following the ¡®plot I set up¡¯ and moving forward ordingly.¡±

    ¡°Of course, he doesn¡¯t dare to sh with you again. He doesn¡¯t dare to trap you on the ground anymore and waste your time.¡±

 Chapter 606: New Generation Of Deities

    Chapter 606: New Generation Of Deities

    I see.

    With this, the lingering doubts entangled in Annan¡¯s mind for days were finally released.

    Since Annan arrived at Cinder Barren, he vaguely felt that everything that happened was too coincidental.

    At first, Annan thought it was the ¡°gravity¡± of fate.

    Just like the previous four mirrors, the encounters were all coincidences. However, everything could be exined if what was waiting for Annan at the end was also a mirror.

    However, until the end, Annan didn¡¯t meet Nichs II¡­ nor did he meet the sixth mirror. He still did not know where it was.

    However, if the chain of events was attributed to Tragedy Writer, it could partly exin how it had unfolded.

    However¡­

    Is Professor Wolf avoiding me?

    It is indeed possible.

    If he has no enmity with me and can¡¯t get anything from me, then there is no need for him to be my enemy.

    Annan thought to himself.

    Annan was fundamentally different from Dmitri, whereby Tragedy Writer paid attention to him.

    ¡°Professor Wolf¡± Frederick had long been terrified by the Tragedy Writer. The deity who once was his admired idol now haunted him relentlessly, regardless of the methods he employed.

    Tragedy Writer became interested in Professor Wolf because of his unusual behavior. Like a child intercepting ants everywhere, he was interested in ruining his n.

    Under this pressure, no matter what ns Professor Wolf had next, he would avoid Annan. In addition to avoiding Annan¡¯s direct participation, he even deliberately avoided Annan to prevent indirect involvement of Annan.

    In this way, it was good that Professor Wolf got the characteristics of Annan¡¯s thread of fate.

    Just like those Idol Wizards who were about to murder a person, if they knew the fate of some prominent figures and famous detectives, they could avoid it. This was much simpler and more direct than the hidden evidence.

    Professor Wolf¡¯s problem could be treated as solved for the time being¡­

    At least until his n had to involve Annan, he would stay far away from Annan.

    ¡°I have one more question.¡±

    So Annan raised his head and continued to ask.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Tragedy Writer in the mirror smiled, ¡°Is there only one question?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go one by one.¡±

    Annan ignored Tragedy Writer¡¯s question and said, ¡°In terms of the Noah Kingdom¡­ Is Prince Philip your believer?¡±

    ¡°This question is worth 40 engravings.¡±

    Tragedy Writer replied leisurely.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    ¡°No matter what I ask you, it¡¯s 40 engravings, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Tragedy Writer didn¡¯t hide it and nodded frankly, ¡°The only things you can and must ask me are these three questions.¡±

    ¡°I can tell you the final answer you want, and you don¡¯t have to go beat around the bushes. I will not support Philip to take the throne, and neither will the Cup-holding Lady.¡±

    This answer made Annan slightly relieved.

    At least, there would be no danger on Kafni¡¯s side.

    Kafni was all alone.

    She was unlike Princess Royal, who had the support of the older generation of courtiers and the army. Her situation was different from the Third Prince, Philip, who had many transcenders and ritualists, as well as Tragedy Writer, Rotten Man, and Cup-holding Lady. After the Rotten Man left, he had two deities as backers.

    Only the Silver Sire Church supported Kafni.

    Silver Sire Church¡¯s support for her was based on her father¡¯s friendliness to Silver Sire Church and Annan.

    However, Annan could not interfere much until Kafni gained the advantage ¡°alone¡±. As the heir of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, Annan could not intervene tantly.

    Otherwise, it would be tantamount to handing the dagger pointing at Kafni¡¯s heart into the hands of the other twopetitors.

    A king might not need to be kind or wise. However, the king would be opposed if the king were an obedient puppet controlled by a foreign country¡ªor even an enemy country.

    Without Annan intervening, could the Silver Sire Church alone help Kafni resist the attack of the other two?

    Although she had left Noah, Annan was a little worried.

    After hearing Tragedy Writer¡¯s promise, Annan could finally breathe a sigh of relief. This showed that the support from the two deities to Philip was not as severe as Annan imagined¡­ At least They couldn¡¯t be regarded as ¡°backers¡±.

    Since Philip couldn¡¯t get the support of the Tragedy Writer, it was difficult for Philip topete against Kafni based on his capability.

    This would at least prevent Kafni from being assassinated.

    At least in terms of His authority of conspiracy and murder, Annan was wary of Tragedy Writer.

    Tragedy Writer had established himself as a deity after obtaining and gainingplete control over a Book of Truth.

    Tragedy Writer, Father Stone, and Marquis Iris should all be regarded as the pinnacle among the deities of the new generation.

    They were all deities born in the Thid Age andter.

    The history from the second generation onward belonged to ult knowledge. Therefore, no matter how good a mortal historian was, he could only explore from the Third Age at most. If he explored forbidden knowledge further, he would lose his mind.

    The boundary of deities began in the Third Age.

    To ascend into a deity, two of the factors were [the creation] and [supreme crown].

    The candidate mustplete the great cause that only he could achieve and reach the absolute ¡°world¡¯s first¡± in a particr realm.

    This meant that all the deities were unparalleled in their history.

    Therefore, traces of some deities could be more or less found in the historical records of the Third Age onward. Even though the knowledge about them had been deleted because it involves mystery, stories about them could still be vaguely seen in archives among mortals.

    For example, ¡°an elf who had won all the swordsmanshippetitions¡± and ¡°a building designed by an architect who even the Elegant Elder had admired¡±. A schr could identify the footprints of the new deity from these scattered records.

    As for the deities of the second generation and before, there was no way to find their ¡°before bing deities¡± stories.

    There were even some ancient deities whose own names had lost their legacy. Just knowing their existence was considered to have acquired ult knowledge. Because of this, they had be forgotten deities¡­

    Unlike the deities of the new generation, they would even be celebrated and known as the protagonists of some dramas and legends.

    Tragedy Writer was also a fairly well-known category of deities.

    Almost all murderers and conspirators worshipped the Tragedy Writer in secret. Even in some rural ces, there was still the custom of ¡°as long as someone is found worshiping the Tragedy Writer, you can determine that he is a murderer¡±.

    Once thetter situation appeared, they would

 Chapter 607: Rustless Blood And Legendary Curse Vessel

    <h4>Chapter 607: Rustless Blood And Legendary Curse Vessel</h4>

    After Tragedy Writer frankly stated that he did not support Philip instead of Kafni, He added new information.

    ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t support Philip much. It¡¯s all his ingenuity. His use of the deity¡¯s strength is more of a use of the name to fool those who follow him.¡±

    ¡°Even Cup-holding Lady only gave him [Rustless Blood]. The ¡®sugar¡¯ he made has nothing to do with Cup-holding Lady¡¯s divine art or even the alteration spell. It¡¯s just a pure ritual product.¡±

    ¡°Rustless Blood?¡± Annan was a little surprised, ¡°Philip is a Blood Eater?¡±

    Blood Eater was Berserker¡¯s Silver Rank profession¡¯s advancement. After drinking Rustless Blood and advancing, they only needed to sacrifice a cup of their blood every month to get Rustless Blood which extended their lifespan.

    After taking it, they would be filled with vitality for a month. Their bodies would disy potent rejuvenation. They would no longer get sick, and their appearance would not grow old. However, if they couldn¡¯t take Rustless Blood in time, their blood would ¡°rust¡±, resulting in a torturous death.

    This was indeed in line with Annan¡¯s impression of Philip.

    However¡­

    ¡°As far as I know, Prince Philip is not a transcender.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not.¡± Tragedy Writer replied with a smile, ¡°He is a born ¡®Rustblood¡¯. Therefore, he cannot be a Berserker, let alone worship the Cup-holding Lady like an ordinary believer.¡±

    ¡°His homemade candyced with Demon Blood is a superficial faith in the Cup-holding Lady. Instead, he holds a deeper belief in the Rotten Man. His belief in me is an act to control his men. He will hold a ritual to the Cup-holding Lady and the Rotten Man daily to maintain his youth, but that¡¯s just an ordinary ¡®ritual¡¯, not a ¡®sacrificial ritual¡¯ on a religious level.¡±

    ¡°He is using this method to create momentum for himself. However, he knows it, the Cup-holding Lady, the Rotten Man, and I know it too. Prince Philip doesn¡¯t believe in any deity.¡±

    ¡°He only believes in himself. He is a simple child because he only wants to have fun.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. His origin, fate, talent, and illness prevent him from making this wishe true.¡±

    ¡ªRustblood.

    Annan learned a new term.

    This was the term used by the people of this world to refer to hemophilia.

    Their skin often had bruises for no reason or bruises that were difficult to dissipate, even when it was due to a soft impact. Their joints were abnormally stinging and stiff, and their urine asionally turned rust-colored¡­ People believed their blood had ¡°rusted¡± when injured and bled profusely.

    People in this world had already discovered through Father Flint¡¯s divine art and the judgment effect of the Alteration Spell that human blood contained a small amount of ¡°iron¡±.

    However, they didn¡¯t know what form the iron existed in¡­ Some wizards interpreted this phenomenon as ¡°mineral veins are solid, so the iron is solid; blood is liquid, so the iron in blood should also be liquid, but it¡¯s mixed in blood.¡±

    Those wizards were ancient doctors and researchers.

    They believed that blood could rust like iron and be ¡°unhealthy¡±, thinking that people got sick because ¡°blood would rust¡±.

    That was why the blood in the cup that the Cup-holding Lady bestowed, which could eliminate all kinds of diseases and eternal youth, was called ¡°Rustless Blood¡±.

    Since a Rustblood would bleed profusely once a small cut was made, they could not carry out a ritual dedicated to the Cup-holding Lady.

    After all, not all Cup-holding Lady rituals would give back ¡°Rustless Blood¡±. Only Blood Eater could get Rustless Blood easily and quickly.

    Hence, the Cup-holding Lady simply forbade the Rustblood to perform a self-sacrificing ritual dedicated to her. This meant that Philip could not sacrifice his blood to the Cup-holding Lady.

    And the curse of berserker must be the type of self-harm. This is the prerequisite for advanced berserker.

    ¡°That is to say, if Philip is a Rustblood, he shouldn¡¯t be able to sacrifice to the Cup-holding Lady. He can¡¯t be a berserker, either. So¡ª¡±

    The answer was self-evident.

    What Philip drank was not ¡°Rustless Blood¡± bought with his blood.

    There was more than one Blood Eater, nourishing him with his blood!

    The time limit for Blood Eater to change blood was nine days before and after one month.

    The ritual could be held nine days in advance at the earliest. If it were earlier, the ¡°Rustless Blood¡± in their blood would not be exhausted. The [cup] would not treat it as the user¡¯s blood.

    If it were nine dayste, the blood would decay.

    The weight of ¡°a cup of blood¡± referred to one-ninth of the total blood in the human body. That was about 50.

    Generally speaking, the blood sacrificed to the Cup-holding Lady would remain in the disappearing state for nine months and then return in the form of Rustless Blood¡­ The typical Cup-holding Lady believers would sacrifice a cup of animal blood every nine days. Then, they would add one or two drops of their blood. After nine months of worshipping, they could exchange for a continuous youthful state.

    However, Philip couldn¡¯t use this method because of his Rust Blood disease.

    However, neither divine art nor self-healing could relieve the sacrificer¡¯s weak state. It was impossible to regenerate blood either.

    Strictly speaking, the blood was not lost but existed in their bodies differently.

    Without self-regeneration, continuous blood loss of 1,000 milliliters during the Rustless Blood expiration period might already be life-threatening.

    A Silver Rank Transcender couldn¡¯t dedicate his life to Prince Philip directly and cheaply.

    However, they still had a way to sell Rustless Blood to Philip as long as they had enough people.

    During each sacrifice, one could obtain a small portion of Rustless Blood, which could be sold or given to Philip. If the vendor sold one-twentieth of their Ruthless Blood, their maximum lifespan is reduced by one day. Every cup of Rustless Blood could extend the lifespan of a Blood Eater up to 39 days. If consumed in smaller quantities, the effective duration would be proportionally reduced. However, the invalid duration remained constant at nine days before it became ineffective.

    Rustless Blood had 21 to 22 days of potency, nine days of ineffectiveness, and nine days of sickness per month. By adjusting the flexible time of these eighteen days, they could distribute the blood.

    ¡°Why does Philip want Rustless Blood so much?¡±

    Annan asked with some vignce, ¡°Are you going to say that this question requires 40 holy light engravings?¡±

    ¡°This is a supplement detail to the previous question, and I will not charge for it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    Tragedy Writer smiled slightly, ¡°The reason is simple. Philip was old once.¡±

    ¡°He had been old once?¡± Annan could hardlyprehend this.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He has indeed [aged] once and was so old that he was close to death.¡±

    Tragedy Writer said affirmatively, ¡°That is the power of [legendary] curse vessel.¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 608: Thoreau Nick

    Chapter 608: Thoreau Nick

    Legendary curse vessel.

    Annan recalled the days with senior.

    The first time he learned about the existence of the legendary curse vessel was when Salvatore told him about it.

    The legendary curse vessel was even more powerful and rare than the curse vessel with a deity name.

    The legendary curse vessel was even capable of ¡°miracles¡± such as resurrection from the dead and creation out of thin air.

    ording to the Paper Princess¡­ the strength of a legendary curse vessel was roughly equivalent to apleted Secret of Creation. Although the user might be far less powerful than a Book of Truth holder with aplete collection or a saint who had fully fused with the sacred bone¡­ the unique feature of the legendary curse vessel was its ¡°mystery¡±.

    How influential was the legendary curse vessel?

    Nobody had the answer.

    This mystery was the embodiment of deterrence.

    The rulers of the five major countries retained control of the country under the threat of the transcenders, priests, and the Fallens because they had the legendary curse vessel.

    There were six legendary curse vessels in Yasn Empire. Three pieces were inside the imperial capital, and three were outside the imperial capital, forming an ovepping triangle resembling a star.

    After the copse of the empire and the sinking of the imperial capital into the sea, three of the six legendary curse vessels initially controlled by the Yasn Empire were reced by the closest and fastest responding King Noah, Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, and King Denizoya during that time. They immediately imnted the curse that controlled its activation into his blood.

    At that time, the Noah Family relied on the strength of this curse vessel to follow the general trend and built the Noah Kingdom; while the Denizoya royal family relied on the curse vessel to conquer the entirerge archipgo; the Austere-Winter family did not act at all because their family guarded this curse vessel for generations.

    As for two of the remaining three pieces, they were immediately controlled by the pope of the Bone Burying Grandma and Mr. Ray. They were in the imperial capital when the Great Barrier was shattered. However, after they became powerful to their level, even the disaster that destroyed the imperial capital and killed almost all the elves could not kill them.

    They immediately rescued two of the legendary curse vessels that sank into the bottom of the sea along with the imperial capital.

    Even a pope could only possess one legendary curse vessel at a time. So, they could only see thest one fell into the bottom of the sea and was buried in water with the old empire.

    The two popes were old friends for many years.

    They did not want to fight each other.

    Instead, they decided to unite with popes from other upright deities, find a piece ofnd to rekindle life, and jointly guard these two legendary curse vessels¡ªrelying on the popes of the seven deities to take turns serving as the Supreme Pontiff. They formed a unified supreme governing body: ¡°House of Purity¡±.

    As for the underground world¡­

    They were the only nation that did not have a legendary curse vessel. In the beginning, they were a gathering ce of a group of losers¡ªbecause there was no royal family or rulers, and the city-states were governed independently. Therefore, there was no need to rely on the legendary curse vessel to maintain their rule.

    Other countries had no reason to invade them.

    The Digger and the Wise could be bribed and threatened. Controlling them was equivalent to controlling territory in the underground world. It was easier to maintain power than a kingdom.

    It was normal for different cities to be close to other earthly countries¡ªjust as Sporeggar Mill was close to Austerian.

    After all, they were too close.

    While doing business frequently, there was no conflict of interest. It was also expected that they would be pro-Austere-Winter.

    This was why the underground world had no legendary curse vessel but had never been attacked or hostile by any country.

    There was no meaning to that.

    There were things that could be bought with money.

    Supposed Philip got old once.

    Then, his attitude of yearning for a young body and reckless enjoyment could be exined.

    It was like a person who survived the desert. After seeing the water, he couldn¡¯t help but drink it.

    Philip¡¯s wanton enjoyment of life proved that he had already endured the pain of aging once.

    But¡­

    Was it because of the power of the legendary curse vessel that turned him from young to old and then young again?

    Or was the aging due to some kind of curse? Did he rely on the legendary curse vessel to return to youth?

    ¡°May I know what legendary curse vessel this is? Where does ite from? What effect does it have? What is its name?¡±

    Annan was silent for a long time, but he still couldn¡¯t help but ask Tragedy Writer.

    Tragedy Writerughed and said, ¡°If I answer your question, I will charge forty engravings.¡±

    ¡°But, are you sure you want to ask me that question?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Annan frowned.

    Annan did have something more to ask.

    However, this matter was also important¡­

    Annan took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Then, what do you think I was going to ask you?¡±

    ¡°Thoreau Nick¡­ right?¡±

    Tragedy Writer smiled slightly, and he said without hiding it.

    ¡­The Tradey Writer was right.

    Annan was silent for a moment.

    A traitor to Winter¡¯s Hand, Thoreau Nick, was a leader of the Ice-shredders. He should still have information about his teacher ¡°dmir¡±, but he was much easier to deal with than dmir.

    Thoreau Nick and dmir¡¯s n against the Austere-Winter Dukedom was undoubtedly a conspiracy. Then, the Tragedy Writer should have a clear knowledge of it.

    If Annan got his hands on urate Thoreau Nick¡¯s information, Winter¡¯s Hand could dispatch a to arrest Thoerau Nick. Naturally, he could also ask for dmir¡¯s information. Then, Annan could still foil the conspiracy between the two of them.

    Once this opportunity was missed, it would be difficult to hunt them down, like finding a needle in a haystack.

    The underground world was vast.

    Relying on yers to search was unreliable. Whether he was still in the underground world was still unknown.

    So was the information about Philip¡¯s legendary curse vessel important? Or was the information about Thoreau Nick that affected Austere-Winter Dukedom more important?

    ¡°Oh yeah.¡±

    Then, Annan realized despite it being a choice between two beneficial options, both were free. At the same time, it was also a dilemma of ¡°which one was better¡±.

    This was a trap.

    Tragedy Writer looked at him with a smile because He wanted to watch Annan make painful choices.

    However, Annan wouldn¡¯t be fooled.

    If one was perplexed by these two questions and positioned oneself as already having both things, thinking that the choice was about ¡°which one would be less unpleasant to lose,¡± it became difficult to choose. Worse still, one might end up selecting the wrong answer.

    However, in reality, no matter which option was chosen, it was given immediately.

    In other words, Annan only had to choose the information that ¡°could immediately benefit him¡±.

    Then, there was one and only correct answer.

    Annan, who was about to seed as the Grand Duke, would soon inherit a secret about the legendary curse vessel; if the information about Philip¡¯s legendary curse vessel referred to Noah¡¯s legendary curse vessel, then Annan believed that after Kafni would tell him after she seeded the throne.

    Moreover, Annan and the yers were both underground. The teleportation circle had been established. Once he learned about Thoreau Nick, he could act immediately no matter where he was. However, if Annan learned about the legendary curse vessel, it would not benefit Annan.

    Therefore, there was only one choice.

    ¡­But.

    Could He have even guessed this?

    ¡°As you said.¡±

    Annan tried his best to stay calm, and he said slowly, ¡°I will still choose Thoreau Nick.¡±

    ¡°You must be wondering why Thoreau Nick suddenly disappeared?¡±

    Tragedy Writer replied with a smile, ¡°The answer is simple. That¡¯s because he contacted Professor Wolf, who had just been reborn at that time.

    ¡°Professor Wolf gave him a new name, a new body, a new identity. [Thoreau Nick] is, of course,pletely dead.¡±

    ¡°His¡­ or rather, her new name is [Celecia].¡±

    Tragedy Writer showed the happy expression of the magician when he uncovered the red cloth.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That is the answer you want! An answer that you have never expected!¡±

    ¡°She may not be the strongest, but she is undoubtedly the most famous Gold Rank transcender in the underground world. The legendary explorer ¡®Captain of the Stone¡¯, Celecia, appeared in legends and dramas. Shemands the magical Stoneheart Ship, sailing through the rockyyers as the captain, the digger among diggers, and the Periwinkle flower in the deep caverns. She is the former Austere-Winter fugitive, leader of the Ice-shredders, Thoreau Nick!¡±

    After Tragedy Writer gave the answer that shocked Annan, heughed and cut off the video call.

 Chapter 609: Safety Measure

    <h4>Chapter 609: Safety Measure</h4>

    After Tragedy Writer hung up the video call on his own, Annan didn¡¯t stay at Cinder Barren for long.

    After handing over the three new yers to Longjing Tea, Annan and Nefertari took the subway back to Sporeggar Mill.

    Neither Husky nor Thirteenth Fragrance was an Idol Wizard. Moreover, they had maxed out their experience points. They could advance to the next level as long as they filled up the spell slot in the apprenticeship stage. There was no need for them to seek the Bone Healer.

    In the worst-case scenario, they could head to the ck Tower. Although Swamp¡¯s ck Tower was burned down, the knowledge stored in the Wizard Tower was not lost.

    They could go to Bone Healer and learn rare spells under his rmendation. They could also go to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower to help transcribe spell books and learn magic. Their choices were flexible.

    However, Ah Dian¡¯s situation was different.

    Ah Dian¡¯s talent was Idol Magic. It was better for her future to approach Bone Healer, but this choice was somewhat dangerous.

    Although Bone Healer had drawn a clear line with Professor Wolf, they were once the same person. Whether to learn spells from him depended on Ah Dian¡¯s choice.

    No matter what her choice was, it was her [destiny]. Therefore, it was better for an Idol Wizard to follow her destiny.

    Annan didn¡¯t n to interfere.

    When Annan left, he brought along Delicious Wind Goose, the ritualist.

    Although Nefertari¡¯s trust in Bone Healer had already suffered a severe blow in this incident, she still owed Annan a favor somehow.

    The Man in the Mirror had extended longevity, so Annan didn¡¯t mind.

    Nefertari was only a mortal, after all. Annan didn¡¯t want to hold onto her favors for too long¡­ It was better to settle things as soon as possible.

    It wasmon for mortals to turn gratitude into resentment.

    Although Nefertari was not a transcender, she could indeed help Annan.

    She was a knowledgeable ritualist.

    Annan intended to ask Nefertari to teach Delicious Wind Goose.

    Xiang Tiange learned a lot of his knowledge about ritualists from Faceless Poet, who disguised himself as an old man, in the dungeon during the time Philip imprisoned him. There he learned somemon rituals.

    Although he recorded all those rituals through the screenshots and the recording functions, he stillcked the foundation knowledge.

    Later, Xiang Tainge bought a few mystic books from the Noah Kingdom¡¯s royal capital. He barely learned something under the guidance of ¡°the false father¡±.

    [TN: Annan¡¯s servant.]

    Xiang Tiange could now use more than 20mon rituals, catching up on this fundamental knowledge. He had some understanding of the principles of the rituals. However, he was still far from being able to make minor adjustments to rituals based on specific circumstances or even create his rituals.

    However, Nefertari was different.

    She imed to Annan that she possessed 70% of the teacher¡¯s mastery. Nefertari did not seem like a person who liked to boast. She was even cautious. Thus, it was likely that her mastery had shot up to 80% of the ritualist knowledge of Bone Healer.

    That was a considerable feat after considering theplexity of the ritual in Gemini¡¯s Nightmare made by Bone Healer.

    Nefertari¡¯s ritualist knowledge should be much better than ¡°the false father¡±.

    After all, the ritualist knowledge that the false father knew was essible to ordinary Winter¡¯s Hand agents.

    Although it was profound and more secretive than ordinary ritualist, it was more inclined to the school¡¯s standard. Almost all the rituals he had mastered were express rituals with diminished effects.

    Annan thought it was best to use the favor to ask Nefertari to teach Delicious Wind Goose someplex rituals. This process also provided some ult knowledge to Delicious Wind Goose and some ritual materials for him to practice. After all, learning ritualist knowledge required books and experimental learning.

    Delicious Wind Goose got to record his screen directly too.

    This was tantamount to equipping the yers with ritualist knowledge, and Annan could also learn along.

    To prevent Delicious Wind Goose from losing too much time, forcing him to level up after falling behind¡­ Annan nned to give Delicious Wind Goose the reputation and experience points of the ¡°Secret Eye¡± during this process.

    After all, there weren¡¯t manypetent candidates who could study consistently.

    Only Delicious Wind Goose and Longjing Tea had this capability andmitment level among the first two batches of yers.

    Annan intended to ask Longjing Tea to guide the yers who had chosen the wizard profession. Among the third batch of currently logged-in yers, quite a few had chosen Wizard Profession. They needed a capable mentor whom they respected.

    Longjing Tea was capable of taking on this role.

    However, before Delicious Wind Goose started his official ¡°study abroad¡± career, Annan needed another small favor from Nefertari.

    ¡°That should be all there is to it.¡±

    The red-haired girl breathed out, stood by her desk, and patted the newspapers and books on the table, ¡°All the information about ¡®Captain of the Stone¡¯ should be here.¡±

    Annan sat on Nefertari¡¯s seat, flipping through these materials intently.

    Nieusel, wearing a leather jacket, brought a ss of iced juice to each of them.

    Then, he stroked Annan¡¯s smooth, cold white hair in the disguise of an ident.

    Annan ignored him and kept looking down at the documents.

    ¡°I¡¯m off to work, Nefer.¡± He casually said to Nephi.

    Then, he leaned close to Annan¡¯s side and put his chin on Annan¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Is there anything you want me to bring along, Your Majesty?¡±

    ¡°Call me Your Highness starting from now.¡±

    Annan gently pushed his head away with some disgust, ¡°You smell like smoke. Don¡¯t get so close to me¡­¡±

    ¡°But I have changed my clothes.¡±

    ¡°Forget it. Every piece of your clothes smells like smoke.¡±

    Annan replied coldly.

    He had returned to his original body.

    After all, he had already exchanged three secrets with Nefertari. The fact that he was Annan Austere-Winter could no longer be kept secret.

    Now that Nefertari already knew about it, it did not make much sense for Annan to continue to hide his identity. Moreover, it might affect the rtionship between Nieusel and Nefertari.

    Considering that Nieusel was reliable in all aspects except for his cheerful personality, he won¡¯t reveal his friends¡¯ secrets. Also, he should be witty-minded.

    So Annan simply told Nieusel the secret.

    Annan believed that when he seeded as the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke or advanced to Gold Rank, ¡°Ghindaio¡± would be rarely used. Leaking this secret was fine.

    As long as the rtionship between ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡± and ¡°Secret Eye¡± were not revealed, the problem was not significant. The secrets of ¡°Ghindaio¡± and ¡°Secret Eye¡± also remained hidden at his point in time.

    Nieusel didn¡¯t know that this was a protection for Nefertari and Nieusel.

    Nefertari had faintly noticed it. She and Annan had a tacit understanding and didn¡¯t tell Nieusel. Otherwise, he would be worried.

    After all, Nefertari was also a student of Bone Healer.

    Nefertari was used as bait to lure Annan in because of Bone Healer¡¯s rtionship with Professor Wolf. Now she knew more about her mentor. Her safety was jeopardized.

    Who knows if Bone Healer would decide to kill her? He might change her fate and put her in a more dangerous situation. He could control Nieusel¡¯s fate to retaliate against or deter her. It was also possible to destroy her wishes in this way.

    There were many dangerous possibilities.

    So to be cautious, Annan simply stated that he was familiar with these two people.

    ¡°Ghindaio¡± was able to conceal the connection of fate.

    After Annan showed his true face before Nefertari and Nieusel, the two who ¡°knew Annan¡¯s appearance¡± formed a fateful connection with him.

    Through Annan¡¯s intimidation and Tragedy Writer¡¯s attention to him, it should be able to deter Bone Healer and Professor Wolf.

    The so-called safety measures.

    Annan believed it was necessary to prevent the tragedy from happening from the very beginning instead of appearing as the savior after the tragedy.

    He carried out his wish rightfully before it was toote.

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 Chapter 610: Captain Of The Stone. Celecia.

    <h4>Chapter 610: Captain Of The Stone. Celecia.</h4>

    The good news was that information was avable on Celecia, also known as the ¡°Captain of the Stone.¡±

    However, that was a rtively reserved statement.

    There was simply too much information exposed about her.

    Rather than being a low-key transcender, it was more urate to say that Celecia was a star or a legendary figure.

    Her stories were avable in children¡¯s literature.

    The most outrageous thing was that the books had been turned into aplete series!

    The series was a set of eight fairy tale picture books. Thetest book was releasedst month.

    There were also novels centered around her as the main character and a plethora of scripts.

    In this pre-Inte age, having this level of poprity was not easy. Even for ¡°the Shield of Unfallen¡±, his reputation during his lifetime was only among the rich people who ¡°need to hire security¡±, or the Wise and Digger with a wide range of intelligence sources.

    It was usually after the death of a particr hero that writers and poets began to write many novels, ys, and poems for him. This process would take more than a decade. Afterward, establishing this level of poprity would take a considerable period.

    With this unusual poprity, Annan wondered if the urrence was a particr requirement designated by her curse.

    ¡°It seems like a lot of information about ¡®Captain of the Stone¡¯es from a script.¡±

    Annan browsed through the information Nefertari found from the infinite bookshelf and muttered thoughtfully, ¡°Is there any special meaning to this?¡±

    ¡°To be precise, most of them are stage ys and musicals. That¡¯s what¡¯s trending among girls these days.¡±

    When Nefertari said this, she coughed lightly and added in a low voice, ¡°I heard it from a friend.¡±

    I understand. I asionally have such a friend.

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth rose slightly.

    He could empathize with her.

    Though calm and knowledgeable, Miss Nefertari was a youngdy in her early 20¡¯s.

    It was expected for her to retain a youthful heart.

    Annan¡¯s reading speed was fast as he went through the information in the books quickly under an hour.

    Although there were multiple genres, the main story of ¡°Captain of the Stone¡± was simr.

    It was traced back to the ¡°captain¡¯s origin¡±. As a nobledy from a foreign country, Celecia fled into the underground world after being hunted down. She acquired a ship through a wonderful adventure.

    It was a ghost ship that could carry people freely through rock formations, air, and seawater without destroying anything.

    The ship¡¯s name was ¡°Silver¡±.

    In some investigations, the reports pointed out that the ship could be alive. It could be a curse vessel with awareness of danger.

    Miss Celecia signed a contract with the ship and became the captain who would never leave ¡°Silver¡±. In return, this ship could take her through all obstacles and wherever she wanted.

    ¡°Silver¡± could sail through any terrain as if it was merely a phantom, no matter whether it was rock formations that might copse at any time, dangerous veins with metal ore, orva.

    ¡°Silver¡± did not need ck Fire or Green Fire as a power source, nor would it need to consume the life energy like the legendary ghost ship. Every time it ¡°stopped¡±, it would absorb the surrounding substances to repair or replenish the hull.

    The excrement and waste on the ship would also be absorbed by ¡°Silver¡±. asionally, after Celecia discovered a magical ce, she would create an empty ¡°air bubble¡± through Silver as a location marker.

    Many diggers had dug bubbles. They knew that Celecia had been here and there could be valuables in that ce.

    Therefore, Celecia was known as ¡°the Digger of Diggers¡±.

    She asionally strayed into natural mines.

    Her adventures epassed the monsters in the underground, deepyers ofva, isted viges, murlocs in the deep sea¡­ Except that she didn¡¯t go to the above world, she went everywhere and met various people.

    In many cases, these ces were not ces Celecia wanted to go.

    Such a convenient ship attracted many people¡¯s attention, and some people wanted to snatch it. However, Celecia was already a Gold Rank transcender.

    She also had some loyal followers.

    The followers enjoyed the free and fantasy-like adventures. They were willing to follow Celecia to explore ces.

    Some people wanted to hitch a ride. They usually wanted to go to a particr ce or to find someone¡ªfor example, the younger brother who had been away from home for more than ten years because he wanted to be a Digger, the middle-aged man who disappeared while exploring the gathering ce of lions and scorpions, the serial killer who escaped punishment, etc.

    Celecia had a strange rule.

    Whoever boarded the ship had to tell a story. The story of why he was seeking this person, this thing, or this ce¡­ A brand new journey could begin if the story were ¡°one she hadn¡¯t heard before¡± and satisfied her.

    Otherwise, the person would be kicked off the ship.

    Celecia had her poet on board the ship. The poet would record the stories the captain heard and everything during their journey. The stories would be written into long poems, which would be distributed to the cities where they stopped for supplies during the journey.

    Celecia would not ask for money in the process.

    Instead, many people were not seeking a specific destination but were drawn to Celecia.

    Celecia had long pink-purple hair that was rare toe by. She had a doll-like exquisite appearance and a petite figure. She was a powerful Gold Rank transcended, rumored to be pretty young.

    Some noble offspring were enchanted by her bewitching charm and boarded her ship in the ces she passed through. Among them were even wizarding families, transcended families, and a royal offspring from Denizoya¡­ as well as a few young girls who fell in love with her.

    This made her legend appear more enchanting while incurring negative rumors about her. As a result, she was also known as the ¡°Enchanting Poppy.¡±

    The Poppy was known to be a nt belonging to the Papaveraceae family, characterized by small flower sizes and delicate petals.

    It was hard to tell if the alias was apliment or nder.

    Those, who had not boarded the ship, would never know what happened on the ship. The ship would not carry anyone except the crew and ¡°passengers¡±, making it even more mysterious.

    Based on the long poems recited by the poets on board the ship and the scarce information about who boarded and disembarked, the creators unleashed their imagination, giving birth to various musicals, operas, and novels.

    Typically, it revolved around a particr expedition as the main storyline, with the emotional conflicts among the well-known individuals on board serving as the primary dramatic tension in the plot.

    It was the soap opera of this era.

    The plot would continue¡­

    ¡°It sounds like a romantic story.¡± Annan muttered.

    It was expected for Nefertari to indulge in it.

    Unexpectedly, the screenwriters of the underground world produced quite some work.

    Annan learned something from these slightly exaggerated scripts that put him in disbelief.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know the reason, Celecia seemed like a catfish.

    Her effort seemed to be paying off.

    In an instant, the young man Annan saw in the Wolf¡¯s Kiss nightmare appeared in his mind.

    The one who was devoted and fanatical about dmir¡­ An ordinary youth with light brown hair, scary white skin, and freckles on his face.

    His cheeks were sunken, his back slightly hunched, and he appeared entric. Even in the presence of his colleagues, he would instinctively avoid their gaze. One could tell that he suffered from severe social anxiety without speaking to him.

    However, for such a person¡­

    Annan closed the book.

    He was silent for a while with some self-doubt.

    Are they the same person?

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 Chapter 611: Spell Curse

    <h4>Chapter 611: Spell Curse</h4>

    Annan couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°It¡¯s tough for me to imagine that Thoreau Nick will like his new identity so much.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard for me to imagine that too.¡±Nefertari shrugged.

    She sat on the table facing Annan, flipped through one of the newspapers, and sighed in a low voice, ¡°I once dreamed that it would be great if I were Celecia, but I have never thought that Celecia is just a person who does not exist.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the work of the curse from the Substitute School.¡±

    Annan pointed at himself and smiled, ¡°Is it the same with ¡®Ghindaio¡¯?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not quite the same¡­¡± Nefertari¡¯s expression was a bitplicated.

    How to put it?

    Probably because the original person beneath the ¡°Ghindaio¡± avatar was cuter. On the other hand, Celecia¡¯s original form was not as attractive. There was a strong sense of incongruity.

    ¡°However, the technology for making the ¡®substitute¡¯ shoulde from the Melvin Family.¡±

    Nefertari exined, ¡°My teacher is proficient in thew of contagion. The spell of interfering with others by using ¡®items connected to the target¡¯.¡±

    ¡°This shows that after the teacher obtained Frederick¡¯s body, he probably also obtained the knowledge and skills Frederick possessed.¡±

    ¡°Have you studied the curse and spells of the Substitute School?¡±

    Annan asked Nefertari with great interest, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this.¡±

    There were three types of Substitution Curses rted to him. [The Last Work ¡°David¡±] was a prime example.

    Its essence was a Taboo Type curse to prevent Annan from using, disclosing, or spreading ¡°Taboo Ritual: Ovepping Death and Life¡± in any way. As a reward given by the Man in the Mirror, Annan could use the power of this curse to transform into ¡°Ghindaio David Buonaro¡±.

    This was a body that was made in advance. The avatar was driven by curse energy.

    Dove exchanged bodies with Chocte, which was essentially affected by this type of curse. Annan¡¯s curse vessel, ¡°Elven Skin Glove¡±, operated simrly. If the user wore Elven Skin Glove for too long, the user¡¯s skin would be damaged, with the Elven skin recing it. Immediately afterward, the skin belonging to the ¡°elf¡± would spread upward from the arm until the elf reced the user.

    Of course, it was not the user transforming into an elf.

    Instead, it signified an ancient elf gaining another kind of rebirth in this manner. Of course, the maniptor would still be the one wearing the glove. However, his body would be reced by ayer of skin that could not be removed.

    In the same way, ¡°Celecia¡± was the same.

    Professor Wolf must have used unique material to forge this body in the first step. Of course, Celecia was not made out of marble like Ghindaio since it was a girl.

    As for how delicate the body was, what material it was made of, whether there was a ¡°reference prototype¡±, how strong it was, what profession it was¡­ These were things that only Professor Wolf and Celecia knew.

    If Annan thought that ¡°Ghindaio¡± was more helpful than his original body, he could also learn the spells of the Idol and Prophet schools. In this way, as long as he was in the ¡°Ghindaio¡± form, he could cast these spells smoothly.

    Annan didn¡¯t do this because he only used ¡°Ghindaio¡± as an avatar.

    After all, there was no way to promote the rank of ¡°Ghindaio¡±. Even though the avatar was handy when Annan was Bronze Rank, the avatar would gradually be less potent as Annan grew further.

    Annan was also wondering how did ¡°Celecia¡± achieve Gold Rank.

    Maybe she was initially in Gold Rank? Or perhaps the treasure ship ¡°Silver¡± could be forced to advance in ranking¡­ or maybe it was Professor Wolf¡¯s unique ability.

    For example, when Annan advanced to Gold Rank, ¡°Ghindaio¡± would remain unable to use the power of elements.

    This change of identity was thorough. Only ¡°knowledge¡± and ¡°skills¡± could be used universally.

    Even Annan¡¯s way of walking and speaking would be altered. The ever-present cheerful smile on ¡°Ghindaio¡¯s¡± face served as proof.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain that ¡®Celecia¡¯ should be a real person.¡±

    Nefertari said slowly, ¡°If Thoreau Nick advances to Gold Rank, it won¡¯t affect Celecia, so it must be that ¡®Celecia¡¯ has advanced to Gold Rank already. If you want the substitute to be able to advance, you must turn a living human into a substitute.¡±

    The curse of Substitute School roughly worked like this.

    The exceptions were ¡°humans¡± like Ghindaio and Celecia and cats like Chocte.

    Golems made of pure stones or inanimate forms, such as scarecrows and tin men, would operate just fine as well.

    ¡°The curse of the Substitute School is essentially the spell following the Law of Simrity.¡± Nefertari exined, ¡°For example, if you make a human figure out of mud, ash, or cloth, use decorations to make him ¡®resemble¡¯ someone, hurting him with a ritual knife will render the target the same pain.¡±

    ¡°Alternatively, there¡¯s the approaching of creating a terrifying figure using wax, gemstones, or obsidian. cing it in the target¡¯s bedroom can cause the target to be killed by this horrifying figure in their dreams. It can also invade the target¡¯s nightmares, artificially increasing the difficulty of the nightmare.¡±

    ¡°These are simr spells relying on the Law of Simrity that the Melvin Family is good at.¡±

    Something simr to it had some kind of connection.

    By deepening this connection, it was possible to make a ¡°less simr¡± object into a close ¡°avatar¡± linked to a particr person. This could then rece or substitute the person¡¯s existence.

    ¡°The Substitute Spell can be traced back to before the Second Age. The spell can transform someone into a frog, snake, or apple when used individually. This magic is typically employed as an offensive spell to prevent the opponent from resurrecting. In the Second Age, where resurrection magics are widespread, it has be a conventional countermeasure spell.¡±

    Nefertari said slowly, ¡°The oldest application of the Substitution Curse ¨C that is, ¡®favorable transformation¡¯ can be traced back to the Third Age.¡±

    ¡°At that time, the elves had a mysterious magical energy that made their civilization prosper. Even the dragon hoped that he could be an elf to enjoy it, so he developed this spell. First, the spell createdplex substitute magic in advance. Then, the dragon upgraded the magic to trigger instantly. This had greatly reduced the difficulty of spell casting for each time the dragon transformed.¡±

    ¡°Later, the spell became known to others. Some Yasserans wanted to use this spell to be Osserians. As a result, elves and centaurs were attacked. After that, this spell even spread to Osserians. Some elves also wanted to be an elf with a higher status and rece the other party¡¯s life. Later, this spell was banned by legition.¡±

    ¡°Long after the extinction of the elves, during the Wizard War period, the Melvin Family restored this spell through the relics of the elves. Although they did not keep the magic strictly secret, using this spell required the user to have a profound knowledge of the ¡®Law of Simrity¡¯¡­ The new deity, ¡®the Man in the Mirror¡¯, who was also proficient in the Law of Simrity, had ascended. Hence, no one could use this spell except the Melvin Family.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan had a clearer understanding now.

    That ¡°Elven Skin Glove¡± was not an elf who wanted to be resurrected through this method¡­ However, a certain Yasn or elf wanted to use this curse vessel to rece Annan!

    Later, for some unknown reason, the person, who made this curse vessel, didn¡¯t have the time to use it.

    So it was handed down.

    As for the ability to cast two spells concurrently, there was a side effect.

    No wonder the elven relic could swap Chocte¡¯s and Dove¡¯s bodies. The relic was originally a popr spell in the Elven Age!

    ording to Annan¡¯s knowledge of Elven Ruins¡­

    To gain knowledge from Elven Ruins, one must have a certain purity of elven blood or profession.

    In other words, the Melvin Family seemed to have a strong connection with elves.

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 Chapter 612: Journey To The Ship

    <h4>Chapter 612: Journey To The Ship</h4>

    The Melvin Family had converted theplex substitution spell into a curse everyone could use.

    In a sense, the magic was turned into a ck box [1], whereby the user didn¡¯t need to understand theplicated principles to use the magic smoothly.

    This notion of transforming spells into curses ignited inspiration within Annan.

    ¡°However, since it is a curse, it is possible to dispel it, right?¡± Annan looked at Nefertari and asked.

    After all, they were not spell casters.

    If something went wrong, they were unable to fine-tune it. For example, the Man in the Mirror could modify the appearance and physique of ¡°Ghindaio¡±. He could also take away or give more power to the marble golem. However, Annan couldn¡¯t do that.

    Annan was merely a user.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Nefertari replied, ¡°All the Substitute School curses can be reverted. However, the conditions to achieve that are different. This is determined by the person who converted the magic into a curse.¡±

    [The Last Work: ¡°David¡±] was a curse the Man in the Mirror crafted. Hence, its rules were rted to ¡°mirror¡± and ¡°time¡±. Hence, the cooldown period and the active period were the same. It was an optimization dedicated to Annan personally.

    The state of Dove and Chocte could be restored by passing through the elf portal once more. As for Elven Skin Glove, reverting its effect could be moreplicated. Annan guessed that the user might need to chop off his hand or peel off his skin.

    It was close to impossible to revert to the original state.

    However, the creator of the Substitute Spell intended to plunder another person¡¯s life during the Third Age. They didn¡¯t think about how to change back to the original form at the beginning.

    ¡°How Celecia can turn back into Thoreau Nick may be something only Professor Wolf knows.¡± Nefertari gave it a serious thought, ¡°If you need information about the Winter Insurgent, why don¡¯t you look for Professor Wolf and Celecia simultaneously?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not quite possible. Professor Wolf will avoid me, and I¡¯m not equipped to catch a Gold Rank Idol Wizard.¡±

    It also depended on thepletion of Celecia.

    Professor Wolf might have perfectlybined the abilities of Idol Magic¡¯s two main departments.

    The original ¡°Frederick¡± was proficient at the Law of Simrity. ¡°Dream Eater¡± was excellent at the Law of Contagion. Then, he was tantamount to an all-rounded Idol Wizard who had mastered all the abilities in Idol Wizardry.

    Catching him could be more challenging than hunting down the Winter Insurgent.

    ¡°If she can¡¯t change back to her original form, I can¡¯t convict her of her crime.¡± Annan shrugged and said helplessly.

    After all, Celecia was not an ordinary person. Instead, she was a celebrity having close ties with high-level officials in many countries.

    After the Substitution Magic was applied on the ¡°name¡± level, Edict Spells, Idol Spells, rituals, and divine arts that rely on the ¡°real name¡± would be deflected ordingly.

    That was why the ritualists of the Austere-Winter Dukedom had been unable to locate Thoreau Nick for many years.

    When Thoreau Nick was ¡°Celecia¡±, ¡°Thoreau Nick¡± would be regarded as not existing.

    It was more like the magic returned with the output of ¡°User not found¡±.

    The Tragedy Writer must have known because what happened was part of a ¡°conspiracy¡±. The executor was his ¡°new pope¡±, Professor Wolf, Frederick. He saw it with His own eyes.

    However, Tragedy Writer was not among the twelve upright deities.

    Even if Annan believed His words, His testimony was not solid evidence to the public.

    However, apart from Tragedy Writer¡¯s words, Annan had no evidence to prove that ¡°Celecia¡± was ¡°Thoreau Nick¡±, unless ¡°Celecia¡± changed back to her original state.

    Without clear evidence, it was impossible to arrest the other party.

    Much of her power relied on the ship, ¡°Silver¡±. She was more or less a Gold Rank transcender who had mastered an elemental power. It would be difficult for the Winter¡¯s Hands at Silver Rank to kidnap her silently. If an army were dispatched, regardless of the loss, the resistance from the underground city would intensify.

    Thoreau Nick wasn¡¯t a valuable target in the first ce. His value was that he was the weakest Ice-shredders with counterintelligence capabilities.

    The rest of the Ice-shredders were all from Winter¡¯s Hand. They were the former members of the spy agency. Trying to get the other Winter¡¯s Hands to find them was hard, let alone catch them.

    Although Thoreau Nick was Ice-shredders¡¯ leader, he was not from Winter¡¯s Hand.

    It was a shame, but he was the only one the Austere-Winter Dukedom could capture.

    Capturing him would open the possibility of catching the rest of the Ice-shredder and even possibly the critical intel on the Winter Insurgent, dmir.

    However, it was merely opening up the possibility instead of certainty.

    ¡°This gives me a feeling that Tragedy Writer has scammed me¡­¡± Annan grunted.

    Knowing how difficult it was, he would have asked about Philip¡¯s situation.

    However, Annan knew the situation was tricky, so there was no need to continue to let yers search for Thoreau Nick in the underground world.

    That would likely alert the enemy.

    Annan nned to have the yers build teleportation circles without distraction. Annan would pause the mission to look for Thoreau Nick and the Winter Insurgent dmir.

    ¡°Then, it has been decided.¡±

    Annan thought for a moment and quickly formted a new n, ¡°Let¡¯s change the Secret Eye¡¯s main mission from [Find Thoreau Nick and dmir] to [Search for the Stoneheart Ship, Silver].¡±

    ¡°I want to go to the Stoneheart Ship personally as a ¡®passenger¡¯. Then, I will approach Celecia and take the opportunity to initiate a transaction with her.¡±

    It would be troublesome to convict Celecia.

    Then, it was better to approach the problem from another perspective, helping her to get rid of the crimes.

    Given Annan¡¯s identity, his promise was undoubtedly credible. Annan would have Celecia be a witness to expose the others in exchange for lifting the warrant on Thoreau Nick.

    This way, Celecia wouldn¡¯t have to worry about l revealing information and getting arrested or hunted down when she ventured into the world above ground. She would be free to go wherever she pleased. Using this as a bargaining chip should carry some weight.

    At present, among the three enemies that Dmitri was looking for: Professor Wolf¡¯s priority was ascension, while Thoreau Nick, a.k.a ¡°Celecia¡±, already had a new life.

    The only danger left was the Winter Insurgent, dmir.

    Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s greatest traitor.

    So far, Annan could not even find his motives.

    Annan didn¡¯t even know why dmir would suddenly betray Winter¡¯s Hand.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the ¡®Stoneheart Ship¡¯ traverse through the rock formation seamlessly. Many people have tried to find clues to its whereabouts but have been unsessful¡­¡±

    Nefertari looked at Annan concernedly, ¡°Even if you found the ship, you will be alone on the boat. What if something terrible happens?¡±

    ¡°She is a Gold Rank Transcender, and many entourages are on board. Your Highness, you are only at Silver Rank.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an enticing deal for her to be exonerated. However, you are the sole heir of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, aren¡¯t you? If Celecia has connections with the Winter Insurgent, and the purpose of her travels is rted to the Winter Insurgent, then you will be putting yourself in danger.¡±

    As the Wise, she must make every effort to prevent such a daring n.

    However, Annan just smiled.

    ¡°If you want to break the deadlock, you have to take risks.¡± There was no fear in Annan¡¯s eyes, ¡°The fact that it¡¯s dangerous for me to go there in person is precisely what makes it meaningful. Celecia must be aware of this, which shows my sincerity.¡±

    Moreover, Annan had backup ns.

    Annan could teleport all yers to his side at any time. Once he activated the infinite resurrection authority, he would gain the upper hand on the battlefield.

    However, there was no need for Annan to reveal that to Nefertari.

    ¡°As for how to get on ¡®Silver¡¯, let me return to Austere-Winter first and officially hire the Secret Eye organization.¡±

    ¡°I will scatter them in the world, along with the information. Celecia must know what I¡¯m hinting at¡­ She¡¯ll halt the ship and let me board it when she realizes it.¡±

    ¡°Until then, let them follow the whereabouts of ¡®Silver¡¯ and embark on a journey that tails the ship.¡±

    Moreover, the Winter Insurgent dmir and Captain of the Stone Celecia would go to Bone Farm topete for the sacred bone at the end of June.

    Before that, Annan would head to Swamp¡¯s ck Tower and have Hugo¡¯s help to purify Bernardino¡¯s nightmare. With that, Annan would advance to Gold Rank.

    This advancement opportunity was originally for ¡°Ghindaio¡± instead of ¡°Annan¡±.

    Furthermore, Annan would have his first chance to meet the unsuspecting dmir. Before that, everything must be prepared.

    Then, there was Noah¡¯s election day on May 1st. When that happened, Kafni would need Annan¡¯s help.

    Annan wouldn¡¯t be free from May until June.

    Luckily, it was still early March.

    ¡°In other words, there are less than two months left¡­¡± Annan murmured, ¡°I have to go back to Austere-Winter first. Spread the news of Annan¡¯s return.¡±

    Annan felt the pressure to deal with the Celecia matter within a month.

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 Chapter 613: Doreen & Bella

    <h4>Chapter 613: Doreen & Be</h4>

    Annan had taken many things into consideration.

    However, he insisted on bringing along Doreen, the werewolf, with him when he returned to Austere-Winter Dukedom this time.

    Annan had yet to figure out why Doreen and Be looked so simr. Based on Doreen¡¯s disclosed identity and background, their hometowns were far apart, so they were not rtives.

    Their ages didn¡¯t match at all.

    If Be was alive now, she should be around 24 years old.

    Here¡¯s a brief outline of the timeline.

    Be the Betrayer joined Winter¡¯s Hand eight years ago on December 30, 1496, when she was 16. About a year and a half after joining Winter¡¯s Hand¡­ which was about six years ago, she betrayed Dmitri in the gambling match, causing Dmitri to lose his fertility.

    After a rebellion thatsted for three years ¨C approximately three years ago, Be¡¯s strategy caused ¡°the Frost Maul Disaster¡± and led to the recruitment of werewolves to form the ¡°Windrunner¡±. By this time, Be should have already made contact with Professor Wolf.

    However, Doreen was only 13 years old now.

    The exnation of a mother-and-daughter rtionship was not quite right either. Doreen had a biological mother. Her mother couldn¡¯t have been 16 years old at the time.

    However, there was indeed a rtionship connection between Doreen and Be.

    When Be joined the Winter¡¯s Hand eight years ago, Doreen met Professor Wolf.

    Doreen¡¯s mother went into a frenzy and killed a foreigner¡¯s child at that time. Then, the event proceeded with both her parents being imprisoned. Doreen, who was only five years old, lost her parents.

    At that time, Doreen met Frederick Wolfheart, Professor Wolf, who called himself ¡°Nics LeMay¡±.

    The ¡°Frederick¡± at that time had been reced internally by Trisino Seti. As for why Professor Wolf called himself ¡°Nics LeMay¡± at that time, it was also a noteworthy question.

    For an Idol Wizard, the name was necessary.

    If the coincidence happened only once, it might be a coincidence.

    However, Doreen and Be happened to look alike. Coincidentally, both knew Professor Wolf, and they happened to experience a major life change in the same year thatpletely altered their life trajectories. Moreover, Doreen¡¯s father also happened to be an Idol Wizard.

    With so many coincidences piling up, Annan would be dull if he ignored the clues.

    There must be some connection between Doreen and Be, even though the answer remained unknown.

    If Annan left Doreen in the underground world, Professor Wolf might notice that Annan and Doreen were separated. At that time, the other werewolves might assassinate Doreen.

    Annan took Doreen back to Frostwhisper Province to protect this vital witness and clue.

    This time, Annan only brought three yers along to activate the teleportation waypoint of Frostwhisper Province.

    The yers wouldn¡¯t be moving together with Annan. They would separate after Annan led the yers out of the subway station. After activating the teleportation waypoint, they would go back underground.

    Annan had already instructed the yers of Silver Rank to notify him when they encountered danger.

    Before that, the yers were expanding their influence in the underground world without any secrecy, assuming the ¡°Secret Eye¡± identity.

    Let me establish a teleportation circle here.jpg

    Just like the expansion of the Zerg, even the Wise could not detect that the yers were establishing the teleportation circle without any evidence.

    After all, the yers didn¡¯t harm anything.

    The yers would visit a ce, find a hotel, and rent a room for a month. Then, they would go out to cleanse the nightmare. When the amount of purification was sufficient, they would leave directly without seeking money or fame.

    If one didn¡¯t know in advance that it was a ritual to create teleportation circles, who would have noticed the meaning behind these baffling actions of the yers?

    The yers had indeed purified the nightmares in the underground world¡ªthose perilous entities that nobody wanted to confront but profoundly impacted their lives.

    Even if the Wise could see into the future and knew the yers¡¯ purpose, they would know the benefits Annan and his ¡°Secret Eye¡± brought them.

    Then, he, too, would be silent about it.

    At that time, he also became Annan¡¯s aplice.

    This was Annan¡¯s conspiracy.

    Only the Prophet Wizards, who cared about the underground world, would discover the yers¡¯ objectives. However, they would see the benefits of these actions, so they would be Annan¡¯s ally instead, choosing to acquiesce or support Annan¡¯s efforts.

    Through countless films and video games, Annan had developed a wariness towards those Prophet Wizards. With their abilities, they could easily disrupt even the most intricate ns. As Arthur Searing-Fang had once said, no secret could remain hidden in the presence of a prophet

    As long as they would know about it ter¡±, they could learn about it now.

    Hence, Annan had prepared strategies to deal with these prophets.

    That was right.

    As long as Annan stayed on the path of righteousness and ensured that their cause was just and beneficial for all, at least the neutral Prophet Wizards would not choose to oppose the yers. Even if a few Prophet Wizards wanted to stop Annan, they would be intercepted by the actions of many more Prophet Wizards beforehand.

    It was not difficult to prevent something wrong when everyone was united. However, the difficulty of stopping something right was multiplied a thousandfold because they would be divided.

    Annan had gradually mastered this technique.

    Compared with the technique of Mind Maniption, this maniption technique was more advanced. It rode on the power of a ¡°trend¡±.

    Of course, this was also the ability Annan had to train in advance to inherit the position of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    Annan didn¡¯t want to be an ipetent Grand Duke.

    Annan wanted everything Ivan guarded to continue. He didn¡¯t even want to see the people of Austere-Winter Dukedom suffer more than Ivan under his governance.

    Annan¡¯s motto was always to do his best.

    This was how Annan had acted since long ago.

    Soon, Annan returned to the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    Although Annan was a little worried if he brought Doreen along, would that remind Dmitri about Be and worsen Dmitri¡¯s mood? Fortunately, Dmitri was busy.

    Dmitri wasn¡¯t usually in Frostwhisper Province, so he didn¡¯t see Annan and Doreen.

    That went beyond Annan¡¯s expectations.

    Even though Annan returned to Austere-Winter with a werewolf until he entered the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, Winter¡¯s Hand never appeared to stop him or question Doreen¡¯s identity.

    Annan even prepared a set of rhetoric in advance, but it wasn¡¯t needed.

    However, Annan quickly had an idea after giving it a few thoughts.

    Annan was not Dmitri, after all.

    He had always been self-sufficient and didn¡¯t require others to worry about his affairs.

    Annan had always held a high position at home and among the high-ranking officials ¡ª perhaps stemming from his insightful decisions in the first ythrough and his keen strategic vision.

    Now that Annan was about to inherit the position of Grand Duke, those Winter¡¯s Hands would be his subordinates at any time. Maybe they were already treating Annan as the new Grand Duke¡­ Naturally, no one would dare to express one-sided opinions before Annan.

    To remain silent if not necessary was also one of the dogmas of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    Unlike Three-eyed Crow, they could not be in a safe ce to spy on the country¡¯s secrets. They had to do everything personally. Naturally, they would witness many things they shouldn¡¯t see.

    However, they were just the ¡°hands¡± of the Grand Duke.

    The hands didn¡¯t need to have their thoughts. That would only add unnecessary burdens to the brain or lead to mistakes.

    They only had to follow and believe.

    Young members of the Winter¡¯s Hand only focused on ¡°not looking¡±; theypelled themselves to fulfill their assigned tasks and ignore everything else.

    Alongside the frequent usage of the Falteration Spells, their hearts would be colder and colder. These mature Winter¡¯s Hands usually chose to ¡°keep silent¡± because the Grand Duke might asionally need their eyes to recount what they had seen.

    Except for Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke himself, even Grand Duke¡¯s wife and child must be under the surveince of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    That is to say¡­

    Am I actually the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke from now on?

    Just pushing open the door of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, Annan was in a daze for a moment.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Doreen.¡± Annan was silent for a moment before saying softly.

    He put down his hood. Doreen, who was following him, was also nervous, imitating Annan¡¯s movements and putting down her hood.

    She still hadn¡¯t gotten over the fact that Ghindaio was Annan Austere-Winter.

    ¡°The Grand Duke is waiting for you in his chambers.¡± Silently, a female voice sounded behind Annan, startling Doreen. Her gray hair stood up instantly, her tail drooped low and was tightly sandwiched between her legs. She even trembled a little when she walked.

    However, Annan just nodded silently.

    In the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, Annan walked forward without looking back.

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 Chapter 614: Help me! Iâ€™m about to be killed.jpg

    <h4>Chapter 614: Help me! I¡¯m about to be killed.jpg</h4>

    Doreen never thought that the person she attacked was the only heir of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, the legendary Annan¡¤Austere-Winter!

    When she realized that ¡°Ghindaio¡± was Annan¡¤Austere-Winter, Doreen was so scared that she forgot to breathe. It had been two days since that moment, and her anxious feeling hadn¡¯t subsided.

    Attacking the Austere-Winter family was undoubtedly a felony, regardless of whether she was a werewolf.

    Although Doreen was a werewolf, she was from Austere-Winter.

    She naturally knew the Frost Beast was under the Austere-Winter family¡¯s control.

    Furthermore, she once studied under a mentor. Although she didn¡¯t be a transcender, she discovered that the Storm Tower needed a sacrifice from the Austere-Winter family every few decades.

    In other words, the Austere-Winter family was the protector of the Austere-Winter Dukedom. Therefore, anyone with the surname ¡°Austere-Winter¡± was respected by all.

    Besides that, Austere-Winter¡¯s governance abolished the need to separate nobles andmoners in its dukedom.

    Therefore, the nobles were not friendly toward the Austere-Winter family. The most prominent reason might be the surveince of the entire nation under ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± and the strictness of thew caused by this decision.

    This drastically reduced the privileges of the nobility.

    Not all nobles, like the Austere-Winter family, were absent of human feelings. On the contrary, they had hearts filled with joy and delight, so they would naturally have desires: the desires for wealth, for the opposite sex, for power, and for food.

    In the winter year, Austere-Winter resources became scarce. There was ack of entertainment, which would naturally make the nobles dissatisfied.

    Even though you can¡¯t taste the delicious food, how can you let us live that simple life like your family? No matter how tight the resources are, they must be enough for the nobles to use.

    These nobles controlled the operation of the dukedom.

    Economy, education, industry, fishing, hunting, military¡­ These required a lot of talent to manage. However, Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s resources were scarce. It was already a challenge to keep everyone from starving. Thus, offering higher wages wasn¡¯t a possibility.

    Hence, using power for personal gain had bemon in the dukedom.

    However, Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke had a firm attitude.

    Grand Duke naturally had his confidence in exercising an upromising attitude. Although these nobles were in charge of the operation of the dukedom, the Austere-Winter family represented the continuation of the dukedom.

    Even if the central power of the Austere-Winters was diluted, the Austere-Winter family had to be there. Otherwise, the people would be vulnerable to the Frost Beasts.

    The Winter¡¯s Hand members stationed in various locations were primarily responsible for domestic affairs rather than foreign matters. Wizards, in particr, were a significant focus of surveince because they possessed numerous methods and were prone tomitting crimes, especially smuggling, theft, and murder. However, the number of wizards was rtively small.

    The primary role of the Winter¡¯s Hand was targeting local nobles, especially in ces far away from Frostwhisper Province and ces that were challenging to supervise.

    The Winter¡¯s Hand supervised and prevented illegal transactions and extravagant expenditures, investigated cases of abuse of power, and gathered evidence. They also had the authority to take emergency and unconventional measures, such as assassination, without the need for reporting. This authority was mandatory when facing dangerous actions like treason, summoning evil deities, killing innocents, or assassinating other nobles or church members.

    The nobles were dissatisfied with this strict surveince approach.

    Especially afterparing the treatment of nobles in other countries, they were naturally even more dissatisfied.

    During the three-year ¡°Ice Breaking Rebellion¡± event, these local nobles were the leading investors of the Ice-shredders.

    Of course, the nobles didn¡¯t have the same objective as the Ice-shredders. Even the most extreme nobles didn¡¯t want the Austere-Winter family to disappearpletely.

    After all,pared to the well-behaved Austere-Winter family, Ice-shredders was an organization that had its desires but also had the means to control the Frost Beasts. The Ice-shredders couldn¡¯t be trusted.

    As all Austerians know, the Frost Beasts were dangerous.

    Even when parents tried to scare their children, they would say, ¡°If you don¡¯t sleep, the Frost Beast will crawl in and lick you.¡± Ordinary people were likely to go crazy after being licked by the Frost Beast once.

    Unlike the horror legends of other countries, the Frost Beasts were everywhere.

    Anyone who ventured through the barrier would encounter Frost Beasts everywhere. The frequency was simr to encountering beasts in the wild. After all, any wild beast was likely to be transformed into the Frost Beast.

    As a result, this terror became more vivid. No one would dare to challenge it.

    So, no one wanted the Austere-Winter family to disappear unless they also had the technique to control the Frost Beast.

    The best situation was secretly obtaining the Ice-shredders¡¯ technology to control the Frost Beast. If the nobles could not achieve it, their only option was to have the Grand Duke disband Winter¡¯s Hand. Alternatively, they would attack Austere-Winter¡¯s prestige or weaken Austere-Winter¡¯s rights.

    However, unlike the nobles, the people of the Austere-Winter Dukedom loved their Grand Duke even more.

    Since the civilians believed that only the Austere-Winter family was the absolute and just ruler, even the most stringentws and uneptable government orders could be implemented.

    However, that was not necessarily the case outside Austere-Winter¡¯s direct governance.

    The actions of those local nobles who used their power for personal gain and were dealt with fairly by Winter¡¯s Hand strengthened the position of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke in the hearts of the local people.

    One of the reasons why the Ice-shredders failed was because the people generally did not support or were even hostile to their rebellion. During the three years of rebellion, the Ice-shredders had never received any resources from civilian forces. As a result, their ranks had hardly expanded at all.

    The people trusted the Austere-Winters, especially the Grand Duke of this generation, Ivan Austere-Winter.

    Ivan was a wise king, no matter the military, economic, religious, or political.

    If the Icebreaker¡¯s rebellion and the Frost Maul Disaster hadn¡¯t urred during his reign, they might havested another decade. By that time, the economic impact would have been much more significant¡­ Neither Noah, the Papal Kingdom, nor the United Kingdom could have shown the same level of restraint as they do now.

    Of all the children of Grand Duke Ivan, the most famous was Dmitri, the eldest.

    However, anyone aware of the political situation in the Austere-Winter Dukedom would know that Annan¡¤Austere-Winter was the true heir.

    ording to legend, the most talented ritualist in history went to other countries when he was 8eight years old. Although influenced by the Winter Heart, he had a magical charm, so much so that he could form friendships with more than 20 deities.

    Just hearing his legend made Doreen incredulous.

    If ¡°Captain of the Stone¡± Celecia was the legend of the underground people, then Annan was the legend of Austerians.

    Annan was also Doreen¡¯s idol!

    Dorin never imagined someone as humble as herself would be so close to the legendary Annan¡­ She had even spent a night with Annan in the same room.

    Many recent events had thrown her mind into chaos.

    After learning that Annan would take her to Frostwhisper Province, Doreen refused.

    It was because of her timidity.

    Just by going underground, she was terrified of seeing so many bizarre strangers daily. She hid in the house every day and dared not go out.

    However, it was much more intense to enter Frostwhisper Province.

    That was the center of power for the entire nation; the core of Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­ Doreen was just a werewolf.

    However, Doreen¡¯s refusal and resistance were naturally ineffective in front of Annan.

    Her current status was Annan¡¯s captive.

    However, when Doreen thought she was brought back as a trophy, she seemed less resistant and less afraid.

    After entering the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, Doreen stood at the door of the Grand Duke¡¯s room, feeling uneasy.

    She felt the cold and slightly hostile eyesing from all directions. Doreen couldn¡¯t help but let out a groan.

    I don¡¯t want to be here!

    Help me! I¡¯m about to be killed!

    Suddenly, Annan¡¯s indifferent voice sounded from inside, ¡°Doreen,e in too.¡±

    ¡°Woo¡ª¡±

    Doreen was startled. She was so nervous that she forgot to breathe.

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 Chapter 615: Anya Rasputin

    <h4>Chapter 615: Anya Rasputin</h4>

    Doreen felt the hostility.

    Doreen was sure of that.

    That was also one of the survival skills of the werewolves in the countryside.

    To prevent themselves from inadvertently messing with someone they couldn¡¯t afford to provoke and to avoid being attacked while walking in an alley, werewolves were sensitive to the hostility from others.

    In the moment of sensing danger, the entire world before Doreen¡¯s eyes turned a hazy yellow instantly.

    The flow of time seemed to slow down, causing everything stationary to blur significantly. Everything in motion before Doreen¡¯s eyes became remarkably clear and vivid.

    This ability to predict danger was also one of the racial characteristics of werewolves.

    However, there was an exception to this kind of scenario, which was the current situation.

    Even though she sensed the danger, there was still nothing in front of Doreen. Nothing seemed to move in her field of vision except for the wind blowing the curtains.

    Doreen nced sideways.

    She was not supposed to see anything if she was not a transcender.

    Even though she could feel the gaze of many people upon her, and even though she sensed an intense hostility or even murderous intent, she simply couldn¡¯t pinpoint where they were.

    ¡°Doreen?¡± Annan urged again.

    ¡°¡­Yes,¡± Doreen responded tremblingly. Her vertical pupils reverted to round pupils, and she swallowed nervously.

    Facing the cold gaze behind her, she slowly opened the door.

    The first thing that caught her eye was not Annan.

    Instead, it was a middle-aged man with numerous deep purple markings on his skin, gaunt cheeks, and deep, piercing eyes.

    He had meticulouslybed back grayish-white short hair. His hair appeared thin, and so did he. He seemed to be in poor physical condition, sitting in a chair, leaning on a staff divided into silver, ck, and deep blue colors, which rested on the ground like sharp ws.

    His pupils were the same icy blue color as Annan¡¯s right eye. His facial features bore a resemnce to Annan, approximately around 70%.

    However, his pupils had a lighter hue than Annan¡¯s eyes. It was more like egg white than ice because it was faintly yellowish, highlighting the sense of transparency.

    Is he the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke?

    Doreen realized who he was in a split second.

    It was the legendary Ivan Austere-Winter.

    ¡°You are Doreen, right?¡±

    Ivan¡¯s voice was steady. The corners of his mouth raised slightly.

    It was different from the cold feeling that Annan gave to people. Annan was like a translucent ice surface, giving off a serene yet dangerous vibe. On the contrary, Ivan seemed to have umted thick snow atop this icyke.

    All sense of danger was hidden beneath the deep snow.

    At the same time, Ivan gave people an intricate sense of distance and awe.

    It gave off an impression of a deepyer of snow with many corpses hidden beneath it.

    ¡°¡­Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    Doreen¡¯s anxious and fearful mood quickly calmed down under Ivan¡¯s gaze.

    She nodded, knelt on the ground, lowered her head, and replied softly, ¡°My name is Doreen Angeal.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke responded softly, nodding slightly.

    He suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know Be? She is also a werewolf.¡±

    ¡°I do not know her.¡± Doreen thought about it seriously and shook her head.

    ¡°I see.¡± Ivan sighed softly and waved his hand, ¡°Take a seat, child.¡±

    ¡°Please have your seat.¡± The voice, identical to when Doreen followed Annan into the room, sounded behind her.

    However, Doreen wasn¡¯t startled this time ¡ª perhaps because her nerves were already tense. The surprise was expected.

    Doreen turned her head and saw the owner of the voice this time.

    It turned out to be a middle-aged woman who had deep blue hair. The color hue was simr to the Grand Duke¡¯s scepter.

    On the ring finger of her left hand, she wore a transparent ring that continuously emitted cold air as if the ring was sculpted from ice.

    Is she the upper echelon of Winter¡¯s Hand?

    Doreen¡¯s heart tightened.

    She had heard from the teacher before about the responsibilities of the top ten high-ranking members of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The left hand¡¯s ring finger was responsible for all internal affairs of the Grand Duke, including food, travel, and attire. The role was roughly equivalent to the Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom¡¯s ¡°Beardless¡±, representing King Denizoya¡¯s eunuch. The status in the pce was rtively high.

    There was no doubt that she was a big shot.

    When Doreen moved forward, she nodded to her respectfully.

    This made ¡°Ring Finger¡± stunned for a moment. Then, she smiled faintly, with her gaze bing gentler.

    She put her left hand on Doreen¡¯s shoulder, and her right hand pointed silently at the chair in the corner of the room.

    Even though Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke lived a minimalistic life, the ce was not shabby either. Doreen¡¯s seat was a fluffy, cold couch made of the Frost Beast fur.

    Doreen curled up on the couch, instinctively looking around the room.

    She soon found portraits of two women hanging above the bed.

    Firstly, there was a ck-haired girl with a handsome appearance and a gentle smile. Her hair cascaded down over her left shoulder with the front twisted into a French braid.

    The other person looked identical to Annan. She had beautiful long silver hair held in ce by a headband. Her expression and demeanor were even colder than Annan¡¯s, giving off a noble air.

    That should be Annan¡¯s biological mother, right?

    Speaking of which, the two Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s wives seemed to have passed away.

    They willingly married the Grand Duke.

    Doreen pursed her lips.

    Grand Duke Ivan was not a transcender, but his talent was frighteningly superb, causing his partners to not live long like himself.

    Of course, quite a few nobles had long coveted the lineage of the Austere-Winter family.

    However, not everyone could pass the Old Grandmother¡¯s test.

    The Old Grandmother was a Tradition Deity.

    She didn¡¯t care whether they were in love¡­ If they were in love, it was naturally the best. Even if there was no love, it must be consensual for both parties.

    Forced marriage was the seed of unrest. They often implied one party approaching the other with ulterior motives, leading to the merging and separation of power once offspring were born. After the death of both parties, thisplex lineage could result in ¡°instability.¡±

    Instability was a significant blow to tradition.

    Therefore,rge-scale marriages were rare in Austere-Winter Dukedom. The nobles would prioritize each other¡¯s health and capabilities. That would affect the offspring and then the family legacy.

    Grand Duke Ivan was no exception.

    Ivan¡¯s first wife was amoner. She was not a transcender, not a ritualist, but just in Old Grandmother¡¯s believer.

    She also knew at the time that Grand Duke Ivan had a cursed constitution, but she was still willing to marry Ivan.

    ¡ªnot to marry Grand Duke, but to marry Ivan.

    Unfortunately, even true love didn¡¯t change the reality.

    After giving birth to her two children, she died of illness.

    The second child of the Grand Duke died before getting a name.

    If the dukedom only had one heir, ¡°Dmitri¡±, the dukedom could be regarded as unstable. Without a female heir, who would inherit the Storm Tower?

    Not to mention, Dmitri¡¯s talent was average at best. He worked diligently, but he was not smart or strong enough, not even a transcender.

    Then, a noble youngdy stepped into the Grand Duke¡¯s residence, boldly dering her intention to marry the Grand Duke.

    She had no romantic feelings for Grand Duke Ivan and had never even met Ivan.

    However, through the divine art test, she didn¡¯t covet wealth and authority. Instead, she wanted to marry the Grand Duke¡­not Ivan.

    Her purpose was pure and simple, but it was difficult for Ivan to ept.

    Yes, her objective was her dedication to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    ¡°¡ªThe nobles fight, the civilians suffer, and the Austere-Winter Dukedom will be destroyed.¡±

    That was her remark.

    Therefore, before Grand Duke died, she must be used to ¡°procreate¡± a more powerful heir for Austere-Winter Dukedom; at the same time, she wanted the future daughter to continue the mission of suppressing the endless storm.

    The Daughter of the Storm was Ivan¡¯s aunty. She was old, and she was the only female heir with ¡°Winter Heart¡±. Unable to rely on the Storm Tower¡¯s power to suppress it, they had no choice but to seek a divine child from the Theocracy, which also meant relinquishing power.

    Ivan detested the marriage at first. He rejected it three times, and he didn¡¯t even have any feelings for this assertive youngdy either.

    Butter on, he was won over by her wisdom, perspective, and broad-mindedness.

    Ivan realized she would be a better Grand Duke than himself if she had Austere Winter¡¯s Blood.

    Soon, they quickly became friends¡ªnot lovers. Friends of the opposite gender who could entrust everything to each other and chat freely about the world and politics. It became a story of their remarkable friendship at that time.

    Many of Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s effective and long-term policies came from his second wife.

    In the end, theyter got married.

    This was Ivan¡¯s second andst wife.

    Four children were born, two of whom survived the Winter Heart¡¯s curse. In the end, as a powerful ritualist, she had failed to contend against Ivan¡¯s growing frost power. Like Dmitri¡¯s mother, she died of illness in the bed.

    Doreen remembered that this heroic woman was from the Rasputin family.

    Her name seems to be Anya Rasputin.

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 Chapter 616: Lily Rasputinâ€™s Ring

    <h4>Chapter 616: Lily Rasputin¡¯s Ring</h4>

    ¡°¡ªRasputin never leaks any secret.¡±

    That was the family motto of the Rasputin family.

    They certainly followed it to their heart.

    This ancient family with an eleven lineage, existing since the Third Age, had no members leaking secrets.

    The secrets weren¡¯t limited to other people¡¯s curses or the deities¡¯ secrets. They would even remember a banter like ¡°I need you to keep this secret¡± and would never leak it or forget it.

    Rather than saying it was a family motto, it was better to say it was a curse flowing in the blood.

    It was also because of their loyalty to this oath.

    In Austere-Winter Dukedom alone, the Rasputins ounted for over one-fifth of the transcender¡¯s curse. When the transcenders did not have a trustworthy ¡°secret keeper¡±, they would first look for Rasputin. Some foreign transcenders would make a trip to Austere-Winter Dukedom just to let Rasputin keep the secret for them.

    The secrecy continued until both of them died.

    As a price for keeping secrets, the Rasputins would ask for an additional ¡°verified and urate¡± secret as a reward.

    This led to Rasputin bing the most powerful ritualist family in Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Every Rasputin would store the secrets he held and needed to tell others in his ring before death. After a member of the Rasputin family died, one could get the secret after having the password.

    The password of this ring was kept from the owner himself. The three elders of the Rasputin family each held a password chart. ording to their date of birth, gender, and number of children in the family, a password could be obtained from the chart.

    Only by piecing together the three codes could a Secret Ring be unlocked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed it, Annan. The ring you¡¯re holding is Rasputin¡¯s Secret Ring.¡±

    Grand Duke Ivan said to Annan.

    ¡°Ring?¡± Annan froze momentarily, ¡°What ring?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the relic left by Don Juan Geraint¡¯s mother. It should be on you right now.¡± Ivan reminded.

    However, what Ivan said made Annan more confused.

    He frowned and thought for a while, ¡°Isn¡¯t Don Juan Geraint¡¯s mother from the Melvin family.¡±

    ¡°It was supposed to be like that. Or rather, we all thought so.¡±

    Ivan shook his head, ¡°However, that is indeed the ring of the Rasputin family. You should understand what it means.¡±

    ¡°¡­ an exchange of identities?¡± Annan murmured, ¡°But, the surname Rasputin¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is the family of your mother, Anya Rasputin. The owner of this ring is Anya¡¯s sister¡­ Lily Rasputin, who disappeared suddenly that year.¡± Grand Duke Ivan said slowly.

    ¡°Then, who was supposed to marry the Geraints?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be Euphemia Melvin, the third daughter of the Melvin family.¡±

    In other words, she was the sister of Wolf Professor Frederick Melvin and Eugene Melvin, who died in the White Tower.

    ¡°Euphemia is gone too?¡±

    ¡°Of course. However, based on what was previously mentioned, we all thought she married into the Noah family or married someone from the Crow family¡­ given the Crow family¡¯s special status, it¡¯s understandable that we couldn¡¯t reach her.¡± Ivan exined.

    Otherwise, this matter wouldn¡¯t be kept in the dark for a long time.

    ¡°Okay, let me think¡­¡± There was too much information.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but frown in deep thought.

    Ivan continued, ¡°You should also know the meaning behind the Rasputin family. I have already arranged for someone to get Lily¡¯s password. As for what to do with it, it¡¯s up to your decision. You can read it up first, handing it over to the Rasputin family, or give it to the Old Crow of the Geraint family.¡±

    ¡°After all, when you return this time, you will seed as the Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡ªSo, I can no longer give your advice on this matter.

    Although Ivan didn¡¯t say this directly, his eyes hinted at it to Annan.

    It was a firm and gentle look, full of hope.

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan became silent, then nodded slightly.

    Unlike the Melvin family, which remained neutral, the Rasputin family was one of the few families closer to Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. They also lived in Frostwhisper Province.

    In other words, the Rasputin family could be swayed. Annan had to take their feelings into consideration¡­ So, giving the Secret Ring to the Geraint family would not be wise.

    Why Lily hadn¡¯t shown any reaction all these years?

    Judging by the ring she left for Don Juan, she seemed to have a deep affection for Don Juan. She didn¡¯t dislike the Geraint family either since she even engraved the feather¡¯s emblem on the ring.

    The feather of the crow was a unique emblem of the Geraint family.

    Annan thought the ring was from the Geraint family because of the emblem. However, when he was a guest at the Geraint family¡¯s residence, he never saw anyone else wearing this kind of ring.

    At that time, Annan didn¡¯t think much about it.

    In the end, it is actually the Secret Ring of the Rasputin family.

    ¡°Luckily, I brought it with me.¡± Annan took out the ring with some hesitation.

    It was a luxurious silver ring iid with sapphires.

    The outer edge of the ring had feather-like patterns engraved on it. However, upon closer inspection, the inner side appeared to have subtle runes.

    After getting the information from Ivan, the attributes on the ring had quietly changed.

    [Deep Blue Protector]

    [Type: Ring (purple) / sealed item]

    [Description: Don Juan Geraint¡¯s mother left the relic for him, which contains cold magic power and a curse.]

    [Description: A ring that seals a secret. The inner ring is engraved with ¡°Lily¡¤Rasputin¡± in thenguage of the elves.]

    [Description: This ring has undergone secondary processing with remarkable craftsmanship. It seems to be somewhat simr to the ring of ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡±,]

    Seeing this, Annan subconsciously raised his head and looked at the woman with long dark blue hair, who was also a Winter¡¯s Hand member.

    The transparent ring on her left ring finger was undoubtedly different from this ring.

    Where is the simrity?

    Annan held the ring hesitantly, raised his head, and asked Ivan again, ¡°Is it fine to leave this matter to me?¡±

    ¡°After all, this is Lily¡¯s ring. She has no other rtives. You and Maria are her closest rtives. It is reasonable for you to decide its fate.¡±

    Ivan seemed to know this ¡°Lily¡±, who was his aunty.

    ¡°How about Euphemia?¡±

    ¡°Melvin is not the same as Rasputin. I¡¯m not going to let their family investigate this matter.¡± Ivan replied.

    What Ivan hinted was to let Annan investigate this matter personally.

    It was a logical move.

    ¡°Then, give me the password.¡±

    ¡°The password to unlock the seal is as follows: Get the cowhide of the shoulder of a brown calf. Give it three drops of snake¡¯s tears, then wipe the surface of the ring while it is slightly warm but not red from the mes.¡±

    Ivan said, turning his eyes to his desk, ¡°Zoya has prepared it for you.¡±

    ¡°Should we step aside?¡± Grand Duke seemed to have a vague idea of that secret.

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 Chapter 617: Ritual: Spirit Guide

    <h4>Chapter 617: Ritual: Spirit Guide</h4>

    Annan picked up a piece of treated cowhide and cut it into the size of a handkerchief. Then, he sniffed it lightly.

    It appeared that cowhide stench was treated for the convenience of Annan.

    Annan put [Deep Blue Protector] at the side.

    The item looked so advanced.

    He sighed silently.

    Although Annan had hardly done any ritual, his body was moving naturally.

    Annan gently uncorked the tan vial containing ¡°Snake¡¯s Tears¡±, submerged the crystal wand into it, and ced it on top of the cowhide.

    After releasing a single tear droplet, Annan immersed the crystal wand into the vial. He repeated the process until a total of three drops of tears fell onto the cowhide. There were no visible changes on the cowhide, but the tears on it were absorbed.

    With that, Annan had aplished half of the ritual to unseal the ring.

    Afterward, Annan turned the knob and neatly ignited the Green Firemp on the table.

    After igniting a slender and steady me, Annan used a pair of tweezers to pick up the ¡°Deep Blue Protector¡± and slowly and evenly roasted it over the fire.

    About every four seconds, Annan would touch the ring with different fingers of his left hand to test the temperature.

    The challenge with ritual was that many of its indicators were not clear. For example, instructions for taking how many steps, heating or cooling it down to what exact temperature, etc. An instruction like the ¡°appropriate amount¡± was vague. Due to the high cost, danger, and variations in materials involved in the mysterious ritual, not many people dare to engage in mass production.

    So in many cases, relying on instinct and luck was necessary.

    Fortunately, the temperature required in this ritual was not too high.

    When it reached the point where the ring was ¡°slightly hot but did not turn red¡±, Annan immediately removed it from the fire, wrapped it with the treated cowhide, and held the cowhide, wrapping the ring in both hands. Then, he gently rolled and wiped it in his palm.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Annan murmured in surprise.

    As soon as he wiped it twice, he suddenly felt something was wrong with his hand.

    It was as if a gemstone was suddenly snapped off.

    ¡°¡­Did I identally rub off the gemstone?¡±

    Annan quickly opened the cowhide, only to find that the blue gem had fallen out.

    It wasn¡¯t just the gem falling off. Even the silver part was wiped off as if Annan had erased ayer that covered it, with each wipe revealing a patch where the silver coating was removed. After just a couple of wipes, the portion that held the gemstone had already been wiped off. That was why the gemstone came off directly.

    As Annan wiped it further, the remaining silver traces on the ring were erased. The silver dust fell and stained the cowhide.

    The ring itself revealed a new essence.

    It was a slender female ring made entirely of dark blue gemstones.

    Annan inspected the ring subconsciously before looking at the female Winter¡¯s Hand named ¡°Zoya¡±.

    The ring on her left ring finger looked the same as the Secret Ring.

    The only difference besides the color was that the Secret Ring didn¡¯t emit that dangerous cold air. The chill that could freeze the user¡¯s finger off if he weren¡¯t a Falteration Wizard.

    As for the ring in Annan¡¯s hand, even though it gave off a chilling touch, the coldness was roughly at the level of a metal being exposed to winter¡­ to the extent that ordinary people could safely touch it.

    Of course, licking it might not be safe.

    After Annan wiped the ring, the system prompted a piece of new information.

    [Deep Blue Protector, Lily¡¤Rasputin¡¯s Secret Ring]

    [Type: Ring/ritual prop(Gold)]

    [Description: Lily Rasputin¡¯s Secret Ring. Its seal has beenpletely lifted.]

    [Effect: Wear it to trigger Ritual: Spirit Guide.]

    [Spirit Guide: The illusion of the ritual conductor ¡°Lily Rasputin¡± will appear before your eyes. She will impart to you some ¡°knowledge.¡± This knowledge is like a catalog, and you can learn theplete portion of any category of knowledge. However, once you have extracted it, others who use this ritual will no longer be able to inherit the same knowledge again.]

    I see.

    Annan put [Deep Blue Protector] on his left ring finger without hesitation.

    In his eyes, the ring burst into a strong white light. Light dust particles drifted out from the ring and slowly condensed before him. Annan quickly turned around to investigate the pupils of the others.

    Neither Ivan nor Zoya saw this abnormality.

    Is it an illusion?

    Soon, that light condensed into a woman sitting on a chair.

    She looked young, probably in her early twenties.

    Annan subconsciously nced at the portrait on the bedside.

    ¡°Lily¡¤Rasputin¡± was about 70% simr to his mother, Anya. She was also beautiful, but her temperament was not as cold and noble as Anya¡¯s.

    Lily gave people the impression that she was more inclined to be ¡°cute¡±. There was a small flower in her hair. It was the silver-purple flower in the sea of ??flowers when Annan and Kafni first met.

    ¡­So, any imperfection in Don Juan¡¯s appearance should be Old Crow¡¯s fault.

    Such an idea immediately appeared in Annan¡¯s mind.

    After learning the fact, Annan realized Don Juan Geraint should be his cousin.

    Although Don Juan¡¯s appearance was handsome, Annan and Maria carried the superiority regarding looks.

    Upon closer reflection, Old Crow was the true spy¡ªapletely ordinary-looking person. Even Annan¡¯s memory couldn¡¯t recall what Old Crow looked like.

    Eugene Geraint carried a magical ¡°ordinary presence¡± that made people neglect his presence. However, Old Crow had nothing exceptional about him¡­ Annan even forgot his silhouette and the sound of his voice.

    This strange talent was indeed a gift to spies.

    Speaking of it, isn¡¯t the age difference between Old Crow and Lily more than 20 years?

    ¡°Ah, can you hear me?¡± Lily Rasputin spoke up after looking at Annan for a while.

    Her voice was youthful, reminiscent of a young teenage girl.

    Without waiting for Annan to respond, Lily blurted, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know who will open this ring, I must first rify that Euphemia Melvin did not kidnap me, and I didn¡¯t kill her!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re best friends. It¡¯s our deal to swap lives. It¡¯s a pretty crazy deal, right?¡±

    When Lily said this, she stuck out her tongue, ¡°If Dad knew that I went to marry an old man, he would break my leg!¡±

    ¡°But I think¡­ by the time the ring is opened, Dad should not be able to see me anymore.¡±

    When she said this, her expression was a little lonely.

    However, Lily quickly cheered up, ¡°The first secret I want to reveal is the truth about the deal between Euphemia and me.¡±

    ¡°Actually, from the very beginning, I knew that I would not live long.¡±

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 Chapter 618: Lilyâ€™s Love

    <h4>Chapter 618: Lily¡¯s Love</h4>

    ¡°When I was very young, I was in a ritual no one knew about.¡±

    Lily reminisced and whispered, ¡°My sister Anya was an impressive person. She was diligent in her studies and fair-minded in her dealings. Even at a young age, she expressed her determination to save this country. I, on the other hand, could never utter such words¡­ At most, all I hope for is to witness springtime once in my lifetime.¡±

    ¡°I want to know what ¡®the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers¡¯ means, what ¡®bountiful harvest¡¯ is. These words I¡¯ve seen in books, but I don¡¯t know their meaning.¡±

    ¡°But then¡­ Sis, she had a big goal. She wanted to marry Grand Duke Ivan. At that time, she was only 14 years old. That¡¯s a big deal, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Because we didn¡¯t know when Grand Duke Ivan would find a wife, my sister was anxious. She wanted to impress the Grand Duke, and it was tough to change the situation of the Austere-Winter continent alone. My sister had that talent, but she was too young.¡±

    ¡°My sister wanted to hold a forbidden ritual. She summoned Silver Sire and sold her ¡®life after age 30¡¯ to trade for 15 years of tripled wisdom. However, her parents could never find out about this ritual, so she had to collect the materials herself. I also helped her to collect them.¡±

    ¡°However, due to my clumsiness, I mistakenly took the three-year-old cedar branch into a three-year-old fir branch. I identally cut my thumb, too, staining the ritual knife with my blood, resulting in the failure of my sister¡¯s ritual.¡±

    ¡°My sister is not a transcender. The price of failure is death. The curse ran rampant and destroyed my sister¡¯s internal organs¡­ I was a little flustered at the time, so I used my sister¡¯s remaining material to perform the ritual again. Then, I sessfully summoned the Silver Sire.¡±

    Speaking of this, Lily showed a wry smile or perhaps a nostalgic smile, ¡°My sister died not long ago. Silver Sire is indeed a fair deity. I used one-third of my life to save my sister. Then, I used one-third of my lifespan to grant my sister five years of doubled wisdom.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, the two of us held the ritual secretly. Our parents didn¡¯t find out about it. However, my lifespan is very short. If I stay at home, maybe¡­ No, I will die faster than my parents.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see them mourn for me. Moreover, ording to the book, I want to go to the ce where the spring flowers bloom. I want to take a look at the legendary sea of flowers before I die¡­¡±

    ¡°It just happened that I met my friend, Euphe, four yearster. She was dissatisfied with the marriage arranged for her by the Melvin family¡ª ¡®Old Crow¡¯ Nn Geraint. He was almost 50 years old, and Euphe was only 16 years old.¡±

    ¡°Besides this matter, Euphie was dissatisfied with the entire Melvin family. She felt they were treated merely as tools for carrying on the bloodline, where every aspect of their lives, even their basic needs, were arranged and controlled as if imprisoned. She was the sole resistor against these traditions, and perhaps it was for this reason that her family decided to marry her off to Noah¡­ sending her far away to a ce where she couldn¡¯t be seen.¡±

    ¡°Count Nn only hoped to get a child with Melvin¡¯s bloodline. Melvin¡¯s bloodline could give birth to a wizard¡¯s heir¡­ He just hoped to have a child with transcendent talent.¡±

    ¡°¡ªRasputin¡¯s blood could do the same thing.¡±

    ¡°So Euphe and I made an agreement¡­ When Euphe got married, I would leave a letter and pretend to run away from home. But in fact, I would marry Noah in Euphe¡¯s shoes. Euphe would use my name and embark on the adventure of the underground world for me.¡±

    Speaking of this, Lily showed a gentle smile, ¡°I was nervous at first. I only wanted to fulfill my little wish and hoped my parents would not be sad for me.¡±

    ¡°Then I found out¡­ Nn was nice to me.¡±

    ¡°Although he was the count, he was Noah¡¯s Intelligence Director and the father of two children. However, he was a gentle person.¡±

    ¡°He would remember my birthday and take me for a walk in the sea of ??flowers. When I cried, he would quietly apany me, patting my back and hugging me.¡±

    ¡°I like Noah¡¯s sea of ??flowers very much. The silver and purple ones are beautiful. Those are the flowers he took me to see. They are more beautiful than the ones I saw in the book or my dreams.¡±

    ¡°I also like Noah very much. It is a city with spring, summer, and autumn¡­ It¡¯s a ce where girls can wear short skirts below the knee. I also hope that Austere-Winter can also bloom in spring one day. I want my sister to see that beautiful, silver-purple sea of ??flowers too.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s just a thought. It¡¯s impossible to achieve it. My sister will be Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s wife. Then, there is a war between Austere-Winter and Noah.¡±

    If the war can be quelled one day, my sister may serve as the Grand Duke¡¯s wife and go on a mission to Noah. By then, I¡¯ll have the chance to meet her¡­ and hand over this ring to her. If not¡­¡±

    Lily showed a faint, happy smile that seemed to be shining, ¡°If I am lucky enough where my sister, my father, and my mother are still around, please tell them that I am happy.¡±

    ¡°And¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    She sat securely in the chair with her hands on herp. She bowed slightly forward.

    ¡­I see.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath.

    He didn¡¯t say anything; his gaze simply softened silently.

    For some reason, his first instinct was to say thank you to Old Crow.

    ¡°The following segments are the secrets stored in this ring. Please search ording to the catalog and record the part you need.¡±

    Lily¡¯s voice became rigid like a robot.

    ¡°Firstly: Three-eyed Crow, One-Eyed Crow, and Noah¡¯s intelligence collection model;

    ¡°Secondly: Information on the Noah Kingdom¡¯s counts and other noble families;

    ¡°Thirdly: The secrets of the ministers of the Noah Kingdom;

    ¡°Fourthly: Information about false deity, ¡®Faceless Poet¡¯;

    ¡°Fifthly: Ritual: Taboo Transaction and the ult knowledge it requires¡­¡±

    Further down, there was knowledge about various rituals and information about the curses she collected.

    Annan did not filter the information but chose to absorb all the knowledge.

    Although a considerable part of this information ovepped with the information he already knew¡ªsuch as theposition of Three-eyed Crow and the rtionship between Faceless Poet and the Geraint family. There were still pieces of intelligence that Annancked.

    The information provided Annan with the ability to help Kafni.

    Then, there was little info regarding rituals. At least it wasn¡¯t burdensome to the point that Annan could not bear the knowledge. After all, Annan¡¯s soul was in the Silver Rank.

    Annan stood there. After quickly absorbing all the knowledge, Lily suddenly said, ¡°If possible, I hope you will go and see my son after absorbing this knowledge. His name is Don Juan Geraint.¡±

    ¡°This is the ring that Euphe and I made together. With this ring, he can be Winter¡¯s Hand. I always feel that His Benjamin Benjamin is not that simple. He may not be able to take care of Don Juan until Don Juan reaches adulthood. If Noah is not doing well, I will give him this ring. He has half my blood. After bing Winter¡¯s Hand, he will be epted by Grand Duke Ivan.¡±

    ¡°This is thest protection of a negligent mother.¡±

    ¡°If something has happened to him, this is a gift for you. Thank you for listening to me so much.¡±

    ¡°I hope you can forget me.¡±

    After Lily¡¯sst words, her virtual image disappeared before Annan.

    The prompt regarding the information about this ring had changed again.

    [Lily¡¯s Love]

    [Type: Ring/Talisman (Gold)]

    [Description: It used to be Lily Rasputin¡¯s secret ring and its knowledge has beenpletely extracted.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the consumption of Energy Falteration School spells below Silver Rank is halved; when encountering a fatal attack, ¡°Ritual: Precise Teleportation¡± is automatically triggered.]

    [Price: The holder will suffer the ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± curse.]

    [Precise Teleportation: You will be immediately teleported to a pre-determined safe location.]

    [Winter¡¯s Hand: You must obey the orders of the ¡°Winter Heart¡± holder.]

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 Chapter 619: Rasputinâ€™s Infamy Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 619: Rasputin¡¯s Infamy Ritual</h4>

    ¡°¡­So that¡¯s how it is.¡± After listening to Annan¡¯s exnation, Grand Duke Ivan sighed deeply.

    His mood was a littleplicated, and his right hand holding the scepter tightened slightly.

    ¡°Anya¡­¡± Ivan whispered the name.

    There wereplicated emotions in his eyes.

    Was it Sad? Nostalgic? Calm?

    Or neither of them.

    Even Annan couldn¡¯t understand thatplicated emotion.

    Those were the eyes one could have only after living through most of their life.

    The people who met those eyes would quiet down subconsciously.

    ¡°Are you sad, Father?¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Ivan was not responsible for this matter. It was a tragedy caused by Lily¡¯s clumsiness in the first ce.

    However, Anya performed that ritual to seek extraordinary wisdom, find a way to marry Ivan, and change Austere-Winter. Lily faced a misfortune ident because of this.

    After all, Ivan Austere-Winter was old.

    Unsurprisingly, old people would look back on the past with regret.

    Instead, because Ivan had many sesses in his life, those failures became even more deeply ingrained in his memory¡­ Just like his two wives.

    ¡°Nn Geraint¡­¡± Ivan was silent for a long time, whispering the name of Old Crow.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°If you see him again, thank him for me.¡±

    Ivan said slowly, ¡°Anya also told me¡­ She hopes to see the winter year over and the harvest yearing. She wants to see a blooming flower, even if it is just a small one.¡±

    ¡°However, I can¡¯t fulfill such a simple wish for her. Nn is better than me. He granted Lily a joyful life.¡±

    ¡°But, you are a brilliant Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°I am.¡± Ivan replied calmly, ¡°But I can¡¯t be considered a good husband.¡±

    When Ivan said this, he took another deep look at Annan, ¡°¡­I¡¯m not a good father either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡± Annan shrugged, ¡°At least you are not a bad father.¡±

    Grand Duke Ivan gave his children a lot of freedom.

    The Wolf¡¯s Kiss dungeon showed that Annan¡¯s elder brother, Dmitri, brought him up when he was young. Except for Winter¡¯s Hand, who took care of his necessities, his older brothers and sisters were mainly there for him.

    Only when Annan learned Frost Sword did Grand Duke participate in his life by teaching him personally.

    When Annan first regained consciousness at Frozen Water Port, the Silent Oil had not yet seeped out¡­ So Annan¡¯s memories were only temporarily sealed rather thanpletely lost.

    Back then, Annan recalled that Ivan taught him the Frost Sword technique. It indicated that Annan and Ivan¡¯s ¡°shared memories¡± were likely rare.

    Given Ivan¡¯s busy schedule, Annan might not see him more than several times a year.

    At that time, Ivan was still in good health, unlike now when he needed to lie in bed all year round. He must have been traveling all over the ce¡­ Probably at a level of constantly being on the move and not settling down.

    At least he managed to give too much freedom to Anna and Dimitri that he didn¡¯t notice his children were in trouble.

    After all, Ivan was the best Grand Duke in Austere-Winter¡¯s history.

    This was something all Austerians would admit from the bottom of their hearts.

    No generation of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke could handle various affairs of the winter year better than Ivan. At least after the death of his first wife¡­or maybe even before that, Ivan had dedicated his entire life to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    It was expected that Ivan would neglect his family.

    After all, Ivan¡¯s time was not infinite.

    Of course, Annan¡¯s remarks might sound too casual. After all, this was not his childhood. When he arrived in this world, he already had an adult soul in his body.

    And now, Annan had utterly forgotten about his childhood. It was like speaking without experiencing it firsthand ¡ª at least Dmitri and Maria would be affected dramatically by this.

    At least their childhood would not be so pleasant.

    However, they still had a rtively normal mother. Especially Dmitri¡­ his mother seemed to be a rtively gentle person. It could even melt solid ice like Ivan¡¯s heart.

    Perhaps, Dmitri and Maria had always cared for and loved Annan because Anya passed away shortly after Annan was born.

    Grand Duke Ivan was busy with government affairs and had no time to care for his children. So the two siblings volunteered to take care of Annan.

    The elder siblings took the parental role.

    Compared with the Melvin family, who simply treated their offspring as tools, the Austere-Winter family was considered excellent.

    ¡°However, although Lily is doing well in Noah, telling Rasputin about it is better.¡± Ivan coughed lightly.

    Ivan raised his thin right hand, revealing the faint outlines of his bones. He handed Anna a rigid card resembling a greeting or business card.

    After handing it over, Annan squeezed it lightly with his hand. He discovered that a thin metal sheet was sandwiched in the middle of the thick paper.

    There was an address and a name written on it.

    ¡°Vasika Rasputin. Am I going to meet him tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°He is Anya and Lily¡¯s cousin. He is also the patriarch of the Rasputin family. You can call him uncle or even aunty.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Annan was a little confused.

    Is this person male or female?

    ¡°Rasputin is a secret keeper, so naturally, there are many taboo rituals. Vasika has performed a special ritual, merging himself with a female cat. So he will constantly change his gender and appearance with the moon¡¯s phases.¡±

    Ivan nced at the copper calendar on the wall, ¡°Now Vasika should be a female¡­ She may have manifested some characteristics of a cat. After you meet her, remember not to be afraid and not to be rude.¡±

    Cat girl? There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.

    Annan thought so from the bottom of his heart.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°However, isn¡¯t the frequency of the Rasputin holding taboo rituals too high?¡±

    So far, all the Rasputin Annan had heard seemed to have held taboo rituals.

    Ivan shook his head, ¡°This is a normal situation for the Rasputin family. That¡¯s how the surname Rasputin came from in the first ce.¡±

    Grand Duke said slowly, ¡°In Frostwhisper, the word ¡®Rasputin¡¯ is usually used to describe a person who has misbehavior¡­ It isn¡¯t apliment.¡±

    It was more than ¡°not apliment¡±. Ivan¡¯s words were too tactful.

    It was a derogatory word that was treated as an insult to a person¡¯s morals.

    ¡°Why would Rasputin use this word as a surname?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Infamy Ritual¡¯.¡±

    Ivan replied, ¡°Their goal is to provoke unconscious insults from others. In doing so, they can easily acquire amon influence known as the ¡®Curse of Three Insults¡¯, which requires being ¡®heartfeltly insulted¡¯ by three people within a day.¡±

    ¡°This is also why in the story, some ritualists who have fallen into darkness will use cruel means tomit evil deeds everywhere and leave their names behind. They are deliberately collecting insults, curses, and hatred. If these are gathered to a certain extent, they will also be an influence.¡±

    ¡°It causes weak viins to fall into nightmares and die, but also increases the strength of true viins.¡±

    To put it simply, they are looking for scolding.

    Annan thought to himself.

    ¡°This is amon influence necessary for many taboo rituals used to curse and kill others. Rasputin is a traditional ritualist family. They have multiple influence pools¡­ and their name is naturally one of the influences.¡±

    ¡°So they used ¡®Infamy Ritual¡¯ to rece their family name with this archaic insult. Although few people understand Frostwhisper, as long as they pronounce this surname, it can be regarded as a ¡®heartfelt insult¡¯.¡±

    ¡°In addition to the name, they will participate inrge-scale events such as ceremonies, funerals, and weddings. The goal is to collect influence as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Almost all of these influences will be used to hold rituals before the expiration date. Therefore, every Rasputin will perform at least one taboo ritual. They will be more or less different from ordinary people. Although they are all weird, Rasputin will be your best friend when you seed as the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.¡±

    Ivan reached out and patted his three-color scepter and said meaningfully, ¡°They always need Austere-Winter¡¯s help.¡±

    ¡°Remember that. I can¡¯t reveal too much to you for the time being¡­ But in the conversation with Patriarch Vasika tomorrow, don¡¯t be deceived by his bluff.¡±

    ¡°Remember, you have absolute agency.¡±

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 Chapter 620: The Fourth Exhausted Collection

    <h4>Chapter 620: The Fourth Exhausted Collection</h4>

    The next day at 9 a.m., Annan departed as nned.

    Grand Duke Ivan initially intended to assign a member of Winter¡¯s Hand to assist Annan, but Annan firmly declined.

    Annan thought that the presence of a Winter¡¯s Hand member would make Vasika Rasputin more cautious and prevent him from speaking his mind freely.

    However, if Winter¡¯s Hand were added to the picture, these two possibilities would be gone.

    It would be treated as a ¡°conversation under the watchful eye of Grand Duke Ivan¡±, making Vasika hide, which was detrimental to negotiations.

    Annan was not afraid of Vasika telling lies.

    His left eye could detect betrayal.

    Some lies would reveal more information too.

    Why was Vasika lying? Why did he lie about this? What mattered to him? What did he want to hide? Which direction was he leading Annan to? How should Annan respond to him?

    If Annan had figured those answers out, he would get more information.

    It appeared dangerous to have the dukedom¡¯s sole heir meet a Silver Rank Transcender, who was also a great ritualist, in his ce.

    However, considering Annan¡¯s ability and the loyalty of the Rasputin family to the Austere-Winter family, Ivan agreed to Annan¡¯s n.

    Annan didn¡¯t bring Doreen, the wolf girl, along. She was temporarily left in the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence. Her appearance was simr to the betrayer, Be, and she was a werewolf. The other Winter¡¯s Hands were dissatisfied with her existence.

    With Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s loyalty to Austere-Winter and Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s ¡°silence¡± principle¡­ No matter how hostile they were to Doreen, at least they would not rush into Doreen¡¯s room and hack her to death while Annan was away.

    Annan just left Doreen alone in her room.

    Annan thought it was an excellent n to have the Winter¡¯s Hands scare Doreen with their murderous looks.

    Whether Annan wanted to intimidate herter with these Winter¡¯s Hands orfort her with ¡°The Scammer And The Missionary¡±, it would be effective.

    ¡°So, the ¡®Fourth Exhausted Collection¡¯ is here,¡± Annan murmured.

    That was the address on the card.

    He had investigated itst night.

    This was an art collection museum the Rasputin family invested in. It had an inner and outer gallery, with the inner gallery not open to the public. Entry was only allowed with a one-time invitation or a unique identity card.

    The ck card with a metal core was the unique identity card.

    The outer gallery housed a collection of various artworks, while the inner gallery contained rare enchanting materials and artifacts.

    There were even handicrafts made by the Elegant Elder, paintings by the Paper Princess, and fragments of the chevalier¡¯s armor.

    [TN: A reminder that Chevalier is rted to the deity, Red Knight.]

    Some items were for exhibition only, and others were avable for rent. Some were also being regrly auctioned off.

    The inner gallery would only receive Annan that day.

    At the entrance of the inner gallery stood a tall guard wearing thick ck leather armor that covered his face. The guard inserted Annan¡¯s card into the jade hammer in his left hand, which looked like ice cream. Then, Annan reached out his finger and wrote his name on the surface of the jade hammer shaped like ice cream. The jade glowed green.

    This ID card detection device with a signature is quite advanced. It even has touchscreen functionality.

    Annan thought to himself.

    The reason for not using fingerprints was probably that changing one¡¯s fingerprints or palm prints in this world was much easier than changing one¡¯s real name.

    After the green light came on, the tall guard said in a muffled voice, ¡°Dear guest, you may enter now.¡±

    Annan vaguely saw that the other party¡¯s wrist was iid with silver bracelets like handcuffs.

    Does the security guard have to be a fully armed Silver Rank transcender?

    That¡¯s quite expensive.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Annan nodded, tightening his cloak.

    After all, this was Frostwhisper Province, not the Noah Kingdom or some remote town.

    Having a Destruction Wizard on the street would kill at least eight nobles or ministers.

    In other words, there was a significant number of people who knew Annan here.

    Although Annan left the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, getting information on his travel destination wouldn¡¯t be challenging. However, Annan didn¡¯t want his whereabouts to be exposed too easily.

    Otherwise, even if Vasika Rasputin didn¡¯t plot against Annan, some local nobles might have malicious intent.

    So Annan covered her mouth with a scarf and put on a thick white cloak. This was the unique attire of the ¡°Winter Walker¡± of the Austere-Winter Dukedom. This outfit was probably equivalent to the camouge attire tied with leaves worn by Noah¡¯s hunters.

    Winter Walkers took the gatherer role in the wild.

    The profession was considered a shady profession. In the wilderness beyond the barriers, evidence would be buried under the deep snow no matter what happened. During the resource-scarce winter years, the best way to gather supplies was naturally plundering from others.

    Sinners who were exiled beyond the barrier, travelers trying to cross the snowstorm to reach the next city, and the Winter Walkers wandered in the snow. Fighting amongst each other wasmon, resulting in many death in the wilderness.

    This white outfit was for camouge in the snow.

    At the very least, avoid being ambushed¡­ Once injured in the wilderness, survival became highly unlikely. Whether getting hit by an arrow or shot by a bullet, theck of sufficient warmth made it difficult for wounds to heal on their own, leading to worsening infections.

    Even bandaging or immobilizing a wound would result in a substantial loss of body temperature.

    Therefore, the consensus was that every Winter Walker must have taken a few human lives, possibly the enemy, the prey, and thepanions. Although they were not necessarily transcenders, they must be ruthless characters.

    Therefore, Winter Walker rarely revealed his face.

    That was to prevent people from discovering their true identity and taking revenge on their family members¡­ or being poisoned in food or drinking water by someone who had a long-standing hatred of him.

    It wasn¡¯t a scenario that could be found in hunters in warm regions.

    Disguising yourself as a Winter Walker was the best way to keep others at a distance.

    So although Annan turned around and walked toward the inner gallery, other tourists were curious, but no one dared to follow.

    Annan paced into the empty inner gallery.

    There were many ss cabs here.

    ss technology was better than the Earth if theparison was made across the same era. However, the technology of bulletproof ss had yet to be invented.

    Instead of bulletproof ss technology, runes and ritual magic were engraved in the ss.

    After all, what was inside were priceless treasures.

    For ordinary people, everything was a dangerous item to avoid.

    The items included: A ck me burning on a constantly moving ice-blue candle, a cat-shaped haze swirling like dark clouds, a man¡¯s right hand crawling around in the cab, a human brain covered with numerous eyes, devoid of hair and eyshes, yet wide open and keenly observing Annan¡¯s stone skull, a bird¡¯s heart made of rubies pulsating¡­

    An elegant voice sounded, ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    Annan turned around.

    A ¡°human being¡± walked out from the silent dark corner.

    While she could be considered a human, her pupils were dark golden vertical pupils close to orange, giving people a dangerous feeling; she had four ears, two human and two cat ones.

    A deep brown ponytail tied high at the back of the head, divided into two strands, one cascading loosely over the left chest and the other gathered into a ponytail hanging in front of the right side.

    Her left eye was adorned with a mysterious emerald green eyeshadow, while her right eye was ck. Her fingernails were also painted in ck and red, respectively.

    Her legs remained human legs. She wore a boot on her right foot while her left foot was bare. Her footsteps were swallowed by darkness, making no sound.

    She stood at least a head taller than Annan, looking down at the white-d traveler wearing a cloak.

    The catwoman said softly, ¡°Your Majesty¡­ Annan?¡±

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 Chapter 621: Imbalanced Beauty Vasika

    <h4>Chapter 621: Imbnced Beauty Vasika</h4>

    In the dimly lit gallery, Annan raised his head slightly.

    Under the candlelight, the silver-white hair exposed from the white hood exuded a warm milky white reflection.

    Annan¡¯s face seemed to be glowing.

    His aquamarine left eye shone with a warmth luster, which the flickering candlelight was reflected.

    The candlelight came from the brassmp posts dotted around the room. Near the top of themp posts was a wide open palm holding the base of the candle. Its appearance reminded Annan of the experience points farming mob in Fate Grand Order.

    Those candles were all thick. Each was thicker than Annan¡¯s arm, with no carvings or patterns on the surface, just pure and quietly burning white candles.

    The scene before him reminded the Pale Princess¡¯s nightmare where many candles were ced in a room.

    ¡°Please have a seat over here.¡± Catwoman Vasika put her hand on Annan¡¯s shoulder. Her tone was soft and elegant, ¡°Here¡¯s your tea.¡±

    She pushed Annan lightly and led him up the spiral staircase to the tform at the side of the room.

    The design was ingenious. Sitting here allowed Annan to observe the disy cabs surrounding the U-shaped hall. Yet, from any other position, it was almost instinctive to overlook this spot. Even before Annan ascended the stairs, he had not noticed the table and seating here.

    I wonder who designed it. The design is clever.

    ¡°It¡¯s a [Deflected Vision] ritual. It deflects attention in a 180-degree range.¡±

    Catwoman Vasika noticed Annan¡¯s gaze. She smiled slightly and softly exined, ¡°It¡¯s the ritual you have personally arranged for us.¡±

    Oh, it¡¯s me.

    Forget about it.

    Sitting in the seat, Vasika poured Annan a cup of tea.

    It was Annan¡¯s favorite bubble fruit tea.

    Am I used to know her well?

    ¡°You don¡¯t use Green Fire here?¡± Annan didn¡¯t rush to move on to the main subject but threw a casual question.

    The lighting here was not bright.

    It was simr to the brightness of a candlelit dinner.

    It gave off a romantic air, but the curtains were so heavy that it reminded people of a shady Inte cafe. Annan¡¯s perception attribute was solid. Ordinary people couldn¡¯t see what was in it.

    It would be much brighter than that if Vasika utilized Green Fire to light these ss cabs.

    ¡°Although the possibility is low, Green Fire has the risk of explosion after all. There are no barriers that can resist the explosion from inside. It is also impossible for me to install another ritual on every exhibit cab. After all, some exhibited items are meant to be auctioned.¡±

    Vasika replied in a light tone, ¡°As long as there is a risk, it cannot be used. For Prophet Wizard, as long as there is a 1% possibility, the possibility can be increased to 100%. That is the ability to manipte the possibility. However, candles are different.¡±

    ¡°However, I heard that there seems to be an optimized version of Green Fire technology in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower a few years ago, which is still in the experimental stage. However, it may take six years before it is poprized. Let¡¯s talk about it at that time.¡±

    ¡°Moreover¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Annan asked.

    Vasika smiled. ¡°Also, light and secrecy are interrted.¡±

    ¡°When seeking the power of secrecy as the core of the ritual, it is essential to ensure that the [light] and [fire] within the space are sufficiently dim and steady. If they be too active, it would turn into a [revtion] and [disy]; if they are too inert, it would be [fear] and [darkness].¡±

    ¡°The former will allowed some exhibited items to bypass my security ritual, affecting the minds of distinguished guests, making them pious, fanatical, and passionate for no reason. While thetter will make some indescribable dark items breed wantonly and even infiltrate other people¡¯s dreams.¡±

    Maintaining the bnce of elements among multiple ritual areas was a cumbersome and challenging task.

    The catwoman gave her remarks.

    Having said that¡­

    Annan nced at Vasika again.

    Vasika¡¯s unique character trait was unbnced.

    Her eye shadows and nails were in different colors. Her hairstyles didn¡¯t fit her image well. She was barefooted on one foot while wearing a boot on the other.

    Upon closer observation, Annan realized her jacket¡¯s left and right sides were made of different materials. The left side had fur as the base and cloth as the decoration, while the right side was the opposite. The patterns on both sides were also different.

    Her right hand was as bare as her left foot; her left hand was covered with a long leather glove that extended to the elbow. She only had an earring on one ear, and the brooch was only on one side.

    There was a strong emphasis on [asymmetry].

    Sure enough, Vasika would capture attention and a sense of disgust.

    Annan had the unique character to break free from the preconceived norm and shallow disgust of judging people by their appearance. After all, Vasika was not the ¡°normal situation¡± that the average person would encounter.

    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± The catwoman elongated her tone and said leisurely, ¡°Your Majesty, are you inquiring about the sense of asymmetry I have on me?¡±

    ¡°Is that what I have asked during our first encounter?¡± Annan asked back.

    The catwoman patriarch smiled and nodded.

    Her hands, with fingers interlocked, had sharp nails that evoked the image of an open-mouthed Venus flytrap.

    She rested her chin lightly on the center of her fingers.

    The catwoman¡¯s vertical pupils narrowed slightly, which gave people a strong sense of danger. She said with great interest, ¡°For some reason, you haven¡¯t triggered the ritual twice in a row.¡±

    ¡°Ritual?¡±

    What ritual?

    Annan was about to ask that question.

    The next moment, his keen perception felt the sense of danger one step ahead.

    It was a sense of danger, like being pointed at with a knife or aimed at with a gun.

    Am I ambushed?

    No, not really¡­

    This sense of dangeres from outside the door¡ª

    ¡°There is no need to be nervous, Your Majesty.¡± Catwoman said leisurely, ¡°They are merely some pests.¡±

    As her calm voice fell, three masked men broke in suddenly, looking around for something. However, they didn¡¯t see the two people sitting on the high tform.

    One of them gave Annan the strongest sense of danger¡­ Annanst felt this kind of experience when he saw Kim in the White Tower Nightmare.

    He should be a Destruction Wizard¡ª

    Then, Catwoman slowly dropped her right hand¡¯s index finger and middle finger.

    Before the infiltrators could make a move, their bodies trembled as they knelt on the ground.

    They groaned and then began to vomit.

    Catwoman frowned slightly and released her crossed fingers.

    The three of them fainted immediately.

    This bizarre scene made Annan a little puzzled.

    Catwoman was indeed a Gold Rank trascender.

    Annan didn¡¯t see her curse vessel activated just now. Power at the Bronze Rank wouldn¡¯t be enough to stunt the Silver Rank Destruction Wizard.

    ¡°This is the power of a ritualist,¡± Catwoman exined.

    She chuckled lightly, ¡°The people behind them are quite daring to have them break into the ritualist¡¯s arena.¡±

    ¡°The poor wizard is probably being used. I know the mastermind¡¯s n. After confirming you are here, he may trigger some mechanism or ask someone next to him to kill the Destruction Wizard to blow you up.¡±

    Silver Rank¡¯s Destruction Wizard was a terrifying explosive.

    When Kim died, the sacrificial explosion effect destroyed a quarter of the wizard tower. Annan and the others could feel the violent vibration of the ground across the wizard tower.

    If it exploded in such a narrow space, bad things might have happened to Annan.

    In front of this catwoman, this assassination that was likely to seed was strangely stopped by her.

    ¡°Is it the power of imbnce?¡± Annan vaguely sensed something.

    The three people seemed to have severe motion sickness.

    Catwoman nodded and smiled happily, ¡°As expected of you. Even if you lose your memory, you are still so sharp.¡±

    ¡°This is my [Beauty of Imbnce] ritual.¡±

    Catwoman Vasika smiled slightly, ¡°Under ¡®certain¡¯ conditions, anyone who hates or admires me will have their ¡®bnce¡¯ controlled by me. As the depth of this hostility or love increases, so will my control.¡±

    ¡°The three of them have pure killing intent towards me, which is a kind of imbnce. So I controlled the sense of bnce in their bodies and made them rotate more than 500 times in horizontal and vertical directions simultaneously. Then I cut off their soul-to-body connection, making it pletely out of bnce].¡±

    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±

    ¡°Do you have to ask?¡±

    Catwoman smiled happily, ¡°You have installed my ritual for me.¡±

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 Chapter 622: The Ridiculous Assassins

    <h4>Chapter 622: The Ridiculous Assassins</h4>

    Is it me again?

    Annan was speechless for a moment.

    He hoped he had written a diary or something for his first ythrough.

    Who the hell keeps a diary?

    Annan?

    ¡­Obviously not.

    Annan was aware that he didn¡¯t have this habit.

    As a result, Annan didn¡¯t know what the ¡°Annan¡± once did.

    Those were things that didn¡¯t make sense, but it was something that Annan would do.

    Annan was a little uncertain about Vasika¡¯s attitude toward him alone.

    It didn¡¯t seem like it was just animosity, either. The familiarity and closeness between them were genuine.

    However, if they were once friends, the deliberate sense of distance and Vasika¡¯s smiling attitude gave a subtle feeling to Annan.

    Being in the Austere-Winter, Annan was already confused after considering how familiar Faceless Poet was with him when he was in Noah.

    Annan even suspected that he had already gotten into trouble when traveling around the world.

    ¡°Do you have any idea?¡±

    Since Vasika¡¯s attitude was intricate, Annan didn¡¯t ask further about the ritual of the [Beauty of Imbnce].

    Instead, he turned to look at the three ¡°assassins¡± who had passed out and asked Vasika, ¡°So, it¡¯s these three people, huh?¡°

    ¡°This senseless yet seemingly desperate assassination is undoubtedly the work of the Northern Alliance.¡±

    ¡°Northern Alliance?¡±

    ¡°The Alliance of Six Northern Provinces.¡±

    Vasika exined, ¡°In other words, the six northernmost provinces of Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°The Great Barriers in all regions are gradually shrinking. Initially, we thought it was due to the decline in upright deities¡¯ power. However, based on thetest curse studies two months ago, we can now confirm that the power of the mist is growing stronger again.

    ¡°Oh, the Gray Mists has be stronger?¡± Annan was a little surprised.

    Annan quickly reacted and understood everything, ¡°Is the result of this research made public?¡±

    ¡°Austere-Winter doesn¡¯t have the extra research power to do this kind of research. The newses from the Papal Kingdom¡¯s research, and we can¡¯t suppress the news. The schrs know it, and nobles know it too.¡±

    Catwoman chuckled, raising the corners of her mouth as if mocking something.

    The light in the room was already dim. From Annan¡¯s point of view, Vasika seemed to have half of her face sunk in shadow.

    During the Ice-shredders War, those local nobles contributed secretly but didn¡¯t dare to be so tant about it.

    The Old Grandmother seemed to be waking up, after all.

    When humans were groggy and half-awake, they would often linger in bed for a while; but for a deity who was also a dragon, the duration of this drowsy period could vary, and no one could guarantee how long it would be.

    It could be years, but it could be minutes.

    If new information prevented them from holding back any longer, they could strike Annan during this period.

    The purpose these local nobles wanted to achieve was simple. It was so simple that Annan guessed their goal when he saw the assassins.

    They wanted the young and capable Annan dead. Only Dmitri, who was ipetent, not a transcender, and sterile, was left to inherit Austere-Winter Dukedom. Dmitri didn¡¯t have the capability or the energy to deal with so many people.

    In this way, Maria was the only offspring of the Austere-Winter family left behind.

    The bloodline wouldn¡¯t bepletely cut off as long as Maria didn¡¯t die. As the future pope of the Old Grandmother, Dmitri could not convert to the Cup-holding Lady for the ¡®Child in the Cup¡¯ ritual.

    Maria was the Daughter of the Storm. She could be sacrificed at anytime. Therefore, she could not seed as Grand Duke. This would leave hidden dangers to the dukedom.

    The person marrying Maria would give birth to a male offspring of the Austere-Winter lineage. That child would inherit the position of Grand Duke in the future.

    This was also why Ivan was not in a hurry to let Annan go home while he was living abroad. On the one hand, it was the trust in Annan. On the other hand, Annan was not necessarily safer than in a foreign country after returning home.

    After all, Annan was underage. If Ivan could still handle official duties, he could not immediately seed in the position of Grand Duke.

    As long as Annan returned home, he should immediately seed to the throne. Even if he couldn¡¯t immediately take over the various authorities of the Grand Duke, he should immediately get the protection of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    After all, the Winter¡¯s Hand was a secret service responsible only for the Grand Duke.

    Even the first heir to the Grand Duke had no right to mobilize them. The situation was beyond the tradition and rules. Before Grand Duke handed over the three-color scepter to Annan, the person Winter¡¯s Hand must obey and protect was still Ivan.

    In this way, the Winter¡¯s Hand could covertly go against Annan¡¯s wishes or work against him.

    Even if Annan was willing to trust them, Ivan could not.

    After all, there was the precedent for the Winter Insurgent.

    Ivan wanted to remain vignt.

    Winter¡¯s Hand wasn¡¯t an army of golems that were guaranteed not to betray.

    They were an extension of the cursed power of ¡°Winter Heart¡±. Their allegiance was only to the Grand Duke or the ¡°Winter Heart¡± who held the three-color scepter, not to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    This was why the Winter Insurgent was able to betray the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Even if their actions harmed the dukedom¡¯s interests, they did not harm the Grand Duke. Thus, there was no negative feedback from the curse.

    However, they escaped too quickly. Ivan didn¡¯t manage to give the order. Otherwise, Ivan could have them confess their conspiracy on the spot or even make themmit suicide.

    The Winter¡¯s Hand could not disobey the orders of the wielded of the three-color scepter, could not perform ¡°harmful actions¡± against them, and could not lie to them.

    Even if the Winter Insurgent advanced to Gold Rank, this curse would always remain in his soul and could never be eradicated.

    However, if it weren¡¯t for the Grand Duke¡­

    The only duty they had to fulfill was the ¡°order¡± that Ivan gave them. If they had ill intentions, they could easily bypass the rules.

    Thus, the session to the Grand Duke was important.

    Without the protection of the Winter¡¯s Hand, how much chance did the underage Annan stand to protect himself?

    This idea probably led to the local nobles dispatching assassins, intending to kill Annan directly before he seeded to the throne.

    A Silver Rank Destruction Wizard who could sacrifice his life was a formidable killer.

    It was a pity that the local nobles¡¯ intelligence was far behind.

    They thought Annan was the ritualist from half a year ago.

    Brother, isn¡¯t your information a bit too outdated?

    I¡®m almost at Gold Rank. Do you guys think I¡¯m a rookie who can¡¯t even reach the Bronze Rank?

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 Chapter 623: The Taboo-Breaking Northern Noble

    <h4>Chapter 623: The Taboo-Breaking Northern Noble</h4>

    ¡°It seems that the news from Austere-Winter Dukedom is not well-informed.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°They should have found out that I have a silver ne after a little investigation.¡±

    The ne isn¡¯t aesthetically pleasing.

    It only serves as a curse vessel.

    These assassins must have assumed that I¡¯m still a ritualist.

    They made their move in the ¡®Fourth Exhausted Collection¡¯ because it was Vasika¡¯s territory.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t have a profound grasp of the ult knowledge, he knew it was impossible to use the ritual power in another ritualist¡¯s ritual area.

    It was like a program file withoutments, written in a cryptic manner that only the person involved could understand.

    Anyone nning to insert a piece of new code you wrote would face errors.

    There was also the factor of personal preference. That was especially true for the advanced ritualists.

    In their ritual area, the rituals of all other ritualists would be excluded.

    Take, for example, the ¡°cat¡¯s heel¡± Annan saw.

    In popr rituals, ¡°cat¡¯s heel¡± would usually herald ¡°silent steps¡± and ¡°the dead hunted¡±.

    However, Vasika ¡°used the Fusion Card¡± with a female cat. Thus, the cat¡¯s heel represented ¡°Vasika owned here¡± in the ritual area.

    Vasika could be teleported to any cat¡¯s heel in the gallery; she could cause damage to the enemy telepathically as if she was there.

    There were many other cases of this ritual type.

    Things had various meanings in different environments. The typical examples were weddings and funerals.

    The definition of ¡°ritual pointer¡± would be modified for the convenience of the owner of the ritual area. For example, if an external requirement necessitated specific celestial positioning, a particr date, or a unique state toplete the ritual, it could be substituted within the ritual space to rece these inconvenient elements.

    The substitute could no longer be used as content for other rituals. Any universally applicable ritual involving this pointer would inevitably fail, and the consequences of ritual failure would be either death or permanent injury.

    ¡°But¡­ aren¡¯t they afraid of you?¡± Annan didn¡¯t understand.

    Although Annan couldn¡¯t use ritual here, Vasika was present.

    Did they send the assassins from Silver Rank here for nothing?

    Or did they think sealing Annan¡¯s ritual ability was more important than sealing Vasika¡¯s ritual ability?

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. They n to kill me altogether.¡± Vasika sneered.

    If outsiders didn¡¯tpletely understand all the elements within the ritual space, they couldn¡¯t perform a ritual within it; likewise, the best way to kill a ritualist was to tamper with their ritual space.

    ¡°As soon as I entered the door today, I found out that although the collection itself has not been moved, the positions of several vases have been quietly moved. I have a ritual pointer, ¡®the eyes of a sailor with 33 years of sailing experience¡¯. It was reced with a human eye of the same color. I have also lost a bottle of ¡®ck Cat¡¯s Footsteps¡¯. That¡¯s why I lost my footsteps.¡±

    ¡°Their objective is to make me fail when conducting a ritual. Afterward, the Destruction Wizard will trigger an explosion, causing an explosion and then frame me for the failure of the ritual leading to the explosion.¡±

    Vasika sneered, ¡°But why would they think a trap of this level could kill me?¡±

    ¡°They are nothing but a group of fools. I have more experience in the path of ritualist than all of them. As early as the moment I entered the door, I had already noticed that theyout of the inner gallery had been changed.¡±

    ¡°The [Fool¡¯s Eye] was opened before I entered the door, but it would only open its eyes when someone approached it; the frequency of [Cat¡¯s Haze] was abnormally high, which meant that the [Cat] curse material in the room was out of bnce. I had already ced them in a bnced state. There are too many ws.¡±

    Catwoman sneered, ¡°Only those reckless people from the Northern Alliance can be so stupid.¡±

    ¡°Their territory is already being invaded by the Gray Mists, shrinking inwards by a dozen meters every year.

    ¡°In other countries, it might not be a big deal.¡±

    Vasika nced at the three unconscious assassins and said coldly, ¡°However, our Austere-Winter city is protected by the temperature-regted barrier. The city closest to the edge of the Great Barrier, called ¡°Sentinel Fortress¡±, has already begun arge-scale relocation ind. As the Great Barrier approaches the small barriers around the city, the small barriers that provide instion are immediately shattered by the Great Barrier intercepting the curse.¡±

    ¡°The cold wind pours in. This means the total death of a city. Other cities will be under pressure from the refugees from the Northernnd.¡±

    ¡°Based on current data, the cities protected by small barriers in the six northern provinces wille into contact with the Great Barrier as early as May next year, and thetest city wille into contact within five years. Among them, in the Frangell Province where Sentinel Fortress is located, the second city wille into contact with the Great Barrier in the third year.¡±

    ¡°This means that seven cities in the six northern provinces will disappear within five years. This will lead to an increase in the number of refugees, a decrease in stability, and a sharp decline in taxation and power. In addition, nobles and officials in seven cities will lose their status.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan nodded and interrupted Vasika¡¯s narration in a low voice.

    Annan understood why these people wanted to seize power in such a hurry. They were even getting so desperate that they acted in a self-sabotaging manner.

    The chaos of losing the seven cities would not fully erupt after five years.

    However, the nobles of those seven cities were not fools. The schrs under them wouldn¡¯t be stupid even if they were fools.

    The schrs would exin to their masters that their happy life in the local area would onlyst less than five years.

    When the Great Barrier shrunk, they would immediately lose their power, poption,nd, and everything.

    The ind nobles would gloat or feel tired of the chaos caused by the refugees. They wouldn¡¯t share their fief and authority.

    Unless¡­

    There was more to gain.

    For example, the entire dukedom.

    ¡°However, they are divided. Although the six northern provinces are all in the north of Frostwhisper Province, business districts are further south and north. The further it was to the south, the stronger their survivability when the Great Barrier shrinks.¡±

    Catwoman Vasika said leisurely, ¡°After all, no one knows how long the Great Barrier will shrink. So the nobles whose core territories are in the south and the smaller nobles whose ownnds are rtively safer are not too concerned. Some even take pleasure in others¡¯ misfortune. However, the seven northern cities or states closest to the border have be so anxious that they are starting to panic.¡±

    The catwoman wagged her tail and put it on the table. Annan realized that Vasika had a very long tail.

    Vasika said with deep meaning, ¡°To keep their power, these stupid nobles are willing to try any taboo.¡±

    ¡°Assassinating the heir of the Grand Duke is one of the taboos. Cooperating with the Winter Insurgent and Ice-shredders is also one of them. Stealing the Frost Beast for military use is also a wrongdoing they would opt for.¡±

    ¡°Of course, they dare to pry into the demon¡¯s power.¡±

    ¡°Demon¡¯s power?¡± Annan frowned, ¡°Do you mean the Fallen path?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but only partially.¡± Vasika answered curtly, ¡°I mean curse power.¡±

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 Chapter 624: Short-sighted Nobles & Classes

    <h4>Chapter 624: Short-sighted Nobles & sses</h4>

    ¡°Curse energy?¡± Annan frowned, realizing that the problem was starting to get serious.

    His expression also became serious.

    ¡°What curse are you talking about?¡± Just in case, Annan asked for rifications.

    Annan still held a glimmer of hope in his heart.

    If it was that ¡°curse energy¡±, then it was not as simple as a rebellion by local nobles.

    Vasika¡¯s answer erased Annan¡¯s glimmer of hope, ¡°It is the curse power that you know. The tales told by the legend: ¡®Holy Grail¡¯, ¡®the Fountain of Youth¡¯, the forbidden technology from elves. They intend to use the ¡®blood of the world¡¯ pumped by the curse shaft. The power of creation that can almost make your wishese true.¡±

    Hearing the word curse shaft, Annan was finally able to confirm it.

    ¡°But how did they find the courage to¡­¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t they dare?¡± Vasika Rasputin scoffed, interrupting Annan. ¡°They are short-sighted and selfish. Protecting their wealth and power is their highest purpose, the underlying motivation behind all their actions.¡±

    ¡°Forget about the blood of the world leading to the further strengthening of the Gray Mists. They want the Great Barrier to be further suppressed, and it is best to stay away from them. In this way, they can independently support the Great Barrier and are eligible to be existence on the same level as Austere-Winter Dukedom.¡±

    ¡°If enough curse energy can be extracted, fighting against the upright deities is not impossible. Even if the world bes riddled with holes for hundreds of yearster, they don¡¯t care.¡±

    Speaking of this, Vasika¡¯s eyes became gloomy, ¡°Speaking of this. I even suspect that the concentration of the Gray Mists has increased abnormally.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that someone has started using curse power again?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not impossible. Generally speaking, the Great Barrier only shrinks up to five meters yearly. But sincest year, this number has suddenly increased significantly.¡±

    The brown-haired cat girl who gave people a strong sense of imbnce nodded heavily, ¡°The strongest possibility is the United Kingdom. The old and frail King Denizoya and those ¡®old royal families¡¯ of Fildes Archipgo have this motive.¡±

    The warnings of the ancestors were too distant for the people of today. Compared with the many miraculous feats that the curse energy could do, its side effects were negligible for individuals.

    For the short-lived species, the cost was much less than that of the elves.

    Before the arrival of the elves and centaurs in Yatheran, the technology of Yatheran was equivalent to the level of the early middle ages on Earth. They didn¡¯t have the protection of deities, the survival rate of transcenders without bearing technology was extremely low, and they didn¡¯t understand spells at all. Only a few ancient ritualists used iplete, barbaric, inefficient power.

    At that time, the Gray Mists, for the Yasn people, was just the most basic ritual of ¡°lighting the lights and pping hands¡±, which could dispel the light curse.

    The concentration of the Gray Mists increased so rapidly because of the abuse of curse power by the elves. It wasn¡¯t until it caused apparent destruction to the bodies of the elves that the Great Barrier was established based on the 24 wizard towers.

    Banning the curse energy was already the matter at the end of the Third Age.

    From the end of the Second Age to the end of the Third Age¡­ In less than a thousand years, the outside world was filled with thick fog that the transcender could not pass through.

    ¡°If it is a curse that can push the Austere-Winter¡¯s Great Barrier to shrink inward, the scale of extraction of the curse energy is quite a lot.¡±

    Annan replied immediately.

    This determined that even if the curse energy was harvested, it was not done individually.

    Considering that nobody suddenly unveiled a magical differential engine or a magical spacecraft in the past few months, it didn¡¯t seem like its technology was secretly developed by any country.

    Something was not quite right.

    Annan quickly realized the problem.

    ¡°You want to say that the efficiency is wrong¡­ right?¡±

    Just looking at Annan¡¯s eyes shed, Vasika guessed what he was going to say.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Annan nodded lightly, ¡°If the curse shaft is restarted, it will take a few months. No matter what you do, you should have already extracted enough curse energy.¡±

    The most simple use of curse energy could support the consumption of a prosperous city.

    Harvesting crops in seconds, rapid reproduction of animals, and greatly extending lifespan¡­ All these miracles that seemed to be a premium paid game feature could be easily aplished using the curse energy.

    The curse energy could only be stored in the curse shaft.

    That was because the curse energy was the blood of the world.

    If the curse shaft leaked without triggering an explosion, even if the curse energy only touched the air, it would immediately return to the world.

    Because ¡°air¡± was also a part of this world.

    The curse energy was stored stably in a curse shaft where the environment was like another world.

    The reality was that no one hade up with any booming technology.

    The curse shaft was idled.

    Why is this happening¡­

    Annan thought for a while.

    Annan turned his head and asked, ¡°Those guys from the Northern Alliance¡­ Where did they get the curse energy technology?¡±

    ¡°They haven¡¯t technically got it yet. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here to chat.¡± Vasika corrected.

    ¡°But you said earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°They haven¡¯t reached a unified consensus internally yet. But someone will eventually be unable to resist. Because within the province of Frangell, there is specimen storage.¡±

    ¡°Although, in principle, the elves should have destroyed all their curse energy technology, there are idiots among the elves just like these short-sighted nobles.¡±

    Vasika frowned, ¡°In the [specimen storage] of the Frangell Province, there was a curse shaft manufacturing technology. A Frostwhisper directly brought it out.¡±

    ¡°I even suspect some of them have already started secretly manufacturing curse shafts in their territory.¡±

    That¡¯s something they would do.

    Annan nodded. He also realized the seriousness of the problem ordingly.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid our meeting today wille to an end.¡±

    Annan turned to nce at the three people on the first floor and then looked at Vasika, ¡°I have to contact Winter¡¯s Hand and take them away for interrogation.¡±

    Torturing was hard and dirty work. Naturally, Annan would not be doing it.

    Also, he didn¡¯t need to find a way to get these people out. That was something Winter¡¯s Hand needed to think about.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the yers didn¡¯t have much experience in this expertise, and considering that there were still some minors among the yers, Annan would get them to do the work for practice.

    However, Annan still remembered Ivan¡¯s reminder.

    Although Annan didn¡¯t know why, Ivan reminded him to try to grasp the initiative when talking with the Rasputin family.

    ording to Annan¡¯s spection, this seemed rted to the legendary curse vessel Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke held.

    Vasika did not attempt to intimidate Annan or have any ulterior motives. Ivan¡¯s warning was not necessary for the time being.

    However, Annan could use this to his advantage.

    Vasika didn¡¯t know what Annan was thinking.

    She nced at the three people, ¡°I¡¯ll help you look closely at them. Although I don¡¯t think you can ask anything from them, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAlso, Your Excellency Vasika.¡± Annan interrupted suddenly.

    ¡°No need to keep your distance from me, Your Majesty. Just say what you want to say.¡± Catwoman chuckled, ¡°After you seed to the throne, I will be your court ritualist.¡±

    ¡°I do have something to trouble you.¡± Annan smiled at Vasika, ¡°I have a group of loyal and trustworthy young people here. I mean, they are young people loyal to me personally.¡±

    ¡°They are subject to special curse restrictions. Even if they fail in the ritual, they will not die. Also, they are pretty smart.¡±

    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is¡­¡± Vasika asked tentatively.

    ¡°Would it be possible for them to study under the Rasputin family? We can discuss the specific remunerationter.¡± Annan, who smiled lightly, looked like a cunning white fox cub.

    For some reason, Vasika raised her mouth slightly.

    ¡°Okay. I don¡¯t need any reward, I can even give you a gift.¡± Sheplied with Annan¡¯s request, ¡°The only requirement is that anyone who learns our family¡¯s ritual must add the word [Rasputin] to their name.¡±

    ¡°Of course, they may note until next month. I¡¯m going to be a cat soon. You might not understand me.¡±

    Bing a cat?

    Annan had someone in mind¡­ No, a cat.

    ¡°As long as there is an interpreter who canmunicate with cats, there will be no problem,¡± Annan replied like this.

    On the other hand, the yers, who were doing the [Ship Adventure] underground, had not yet learned that Annan had given them many benefits.

    However, their search for Captain of the Stone Celecia had yielded some new results.

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 Chapter 625: Noxus Wine

    <h4>Chapter 625: Noxus Wine</h4>

    ¡°What? She has already left!¡± Lin Yiyi asked unwillingly, ¡°When was it?¡±

    ¡°Not so long ago.¡± The dwarf bartender with a braided maroon beard wiped his wine ss, raised his head slightly, and recalled, ¡°That should be three days ago¡­¡±

    The primary mission was to collect intelligence on the world map. The ¡°story progression¡± was at a rtively slow-paced stage.

    The yers formed an elite squad of four and roamed freely underground.

    While the yers dispelled nightmares and established teleportation waypoints, they worked on tracking down the Captain of the Stone, Celecia.

    Lin Yiyi led the four-yer team, including Suuankou, Jiu Er, Citalopram, and herself. They were the team in the lead of obtaining critical information.

    They arrived at the southernmost part of the Denizoya Kingdom, below the ¡°Lucky Corner¡±, to establish the ¡°southernmost teleportation waypoint¡±.

    The Denizoya Kingdom was arge ind nation.

    Its southernmost part was once called the ¡°Dragon Hunt Penins¡±.

    As early as the Sanguinary Battle period, it was sted and sunk by a Gold Rank Destruction Wizard, leaving only a small sharp corner by the north. This ce happened to be a town surrounded by farms. Later, the town was renamed the ¡°Lucky Corner¡±.

    The entire penins was sunk, and almost all the residents were killed in the sea or the explosion. Only this town was lucky to escape. The town even achieved the miracle of no casualties.

    Sure enough, it was ¡°good luck¡±.

    After the United Kingdom¡¯s Great Barrier began to operate, the Lucky Corner was the southernmost part of the known civilized world.

    Among the four countries on the face of the, the United Kingdom was the ¡°most fragmented¡± piece. Austere-Winter was aplete piece. Although Austere-Winter was considered a dukedom, its territory was thergest.

    Austere-Winter even bordered directly with the Papal Kingdom to the east, and it was only 30 nautical miles away from the Freezing Water Port at its southwestern tip. And this oceanic trench was also naturally formed ¡ª of course, when the Imperial Capital was still standing, it was just a river.

    After the sudden death of the imperial and the Sanguinary Battle, Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke chose to uphold the longstanding tradition of the Duchy instead of seizing the opportunity to dere themselves a kingdom. That was why it remained as a dukedom.

    Like the current Denizoya Kingdom, they were also duchies in the beginning.

    If the four nations were put together on the map, it was roughly shaped like a handle. Noah upied the most fertilend in the continent¡¯s northwest corner, as well as several scattered inds in the east and south.

    The United Kingdom upied thergest inds south of Noah, as well as a vertical ¡°big ind¡±.

    Thisrge ind was the Denizoya Kingdom.

    Instead, the Destructive Wizards during the Sanguinary Battle period created the oceanic trench with explosions.

    As the nation with the most Destruction Wizards, the United Kingdom was also the nation with the most Destruction Wizards assassinated.

    That was why they were the most fragmented country.

    The central part of the United Kingdom was the ¡°grip¡± part on the left side of the handle. Many of those scattered inds were sted out from the main ind.

    The oceanic trench between the United Kingdom and the Noah Kingdom was not always as wide¡­

    This terrain was created from wizard battles in the form of explosions. Part of it used to belong to Noah, and another part used to belong to the United Kingdom. In particr, the people of Denizoya United Kingdom were expertise in bombing across the border.

    Denizoya people believe that the equivalent bombing could solve all problems. If it did not solve the problem, it was probably because the bombing was not enough.

    Destruction Wizard¡¯s core concept was the ¡°deterrence that brings peace¡±. It was also a typical Denizoya ideology.

    Even if the person was not a Destruction Wizard, ordinary Denizoya people had this concept too.

    Just like the dwarf store manager in front of Lin Yiyi and the others. It was the first dwarfmunity that the yers had found.

    Although the dwarfs had moved underground, they retained the Denizoya tradition. For example, these dwarfs drinking in the tavern and those red-haired individuals, each carrying a gun¡­ it was enough to make one¡¯s heart skip a beat.

    As it turned out, the underground world had no affiliation with the above-ground part.

    The underground region still maintained a strong connection with the city directly above it when it came to folklore or tradition.

    From the underground of Austere-Winter Dukedom to the underground of Denizoya Kingdom, the most noticeable change was the significant increase in the ¡°weapon possession rate,¡± exceeding 300%.

    Firearms existed only as secondary weapons at Sporeggar Mill.

    The situation was quite different in a medium-sized town called ¡°Saltpeter Ranch¡± in the underground world of the Denizoya Kingdom.

    Even older people and children here carried weapons. Firearms were given the highest priority¡­ Even if the person didn¡¯t carry a gun, he would carry a crossbow, dagger, or hatchet.

    At Sporeggar Mill, the men would hide even if they were armed. Everyone wore wearing heavy clothes to prevent people from seeing how much wealth and weapons they had.

    Everyone was eager to show their guns and wealth at the Saltpeter Ranch.

    Lin Yiyi even encountered a man named ¡°Ike Searing-Fang,¡± the creator of the dungeon known as Nightmare: The Wizard Among Us. She also witnessed a unique essory that belonged to the Shield of Unfallen ¡ª arge golden chain resembling a mahjong tile.

    That essory is actually a specialty of this region.

    There were even shops dedicated to selling these items. They had styles with gold ting, bronze designs, and even genuine gold ones. Moreover, the inscriptions on the mahjong tiles seemed to carry different meanings.

    Just like tattoos, they even represented differences in status and identity.

    Different levels of status¡­ also corresponded to different types that could be purchased.

    The Denizoya people believed that possessing wealth was a form of power. They would actively disy their entire power as much as possible.

    yers even witnessed a peculiar attire¡ªa gun holster attached to the forearm, where they would simply tuck their guns. It was like a unique mechanical device resembling a hidden sleeve arrow but located on the outer side of the arm rather than the inner side.

    There was a higher poption of transcenders. Of course, the yers didn¡¯t know if they were people merely ¡°dressed up¡± as transcenders, mixing in the crowd.

    ording to this custom of the Denizoya people, such people must exist.

    This custom even led to Lin Yiyi and her group being immediately recognized as ¡°outsiders¡± upon their arrival here.

    Initially, this made their progress easier.

    The people there didn¡¯t harbor any anti-foreigner sentiment.

    Instead, it was a more severe situation. Everyone followed thew of the jungle and bullied the weak.

    Incidentally, Lin Yiyi and the others could enter the tavern and gather information without any trouble because of the incident when Jiu Er had gotten fed up with repeated confrontations from the robbers.

    From that point on, no one bothered with the yers.

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 Chapter 626: Outlawâ€™s Haven

    <h4>Chapter 626: Ouw¡¯s Haven</h4>

    Things quickly settled down after Jiu Er unleashed a bloodthirsty rampage and scored a quadruple kill right in the street.

    The yers were a little worried as they thought of running away as the chaos spread.

    However, they soon discovered the Overseer didn¡¯te over to trouble them.

    Most importantly, the murder did not stir up chaos on the street.

    The yers didn¡¯t have the chaotic scene to mask their escape.

    Jiu Er killed four people in the street, yet the passers-by showed no concern. They didn¡¯t run away but instead cast surprised nces at the yers before calmly walking away with their usual expressions and steady pace.

    Lin Yiyi, who was anxiously muttering whether they should run away, was dumbfounded.

    What the hell? What¡¯s happening?

    Why do these people look like NPCs designed with poor AI?

    The wanted level should have increased with stars hovering on my screen. Even if I identally killed a chicken, all the vigers woulde to attack me. The NPCs in Assassin¡¯s Creed would scream in panic after an assassination. Shouldn¡¯t they at least be scrambling around or running in a panic?

    [TN: Reference on GTA, Skyrim, and Assasin Creed.]

    However, the folks at Saltpeter Ranch quickly calmed down.

    There was even a family of three talking andughing happily passing by. The little girl¡¯s eerieughter terrified Lin Yiyi.

    What was even more creepy was that the little girl was holding a crossbow.

    Like a child running around the street holding a water gun, she wielded a crossbow without any care.

    The arrows glinted coldly.

    ¡°Is this ce called Yharnam [1]?¡± Suuankou couldn¡¯t help butin.

    Lin Yiyi even had a terrified expression, ¡°Even Gotham [2] lost out to this ce.¡±

    What puzzled the yers even more was that less than three minutes after the event, an old man with two guns holstered at his waist, and a distinct scent of blood on him appeared. He casually dragged a dark red bup sack and nonchntly stuffed the eight bodies into it.

    Jiu Er¡¯s axe was still dripping blood, but the old man didn¡¯t even bat an eye.

    Even the cleaners onlyined slightly when they watched this scene.

    Jiu Er was quite bold. Perhaps she developed strangemon sense during her days spent ¡°working¡± in Noah¡¯s royal capital.

    Jiu Er ran over to stop the old man, talked with him for a while, and wiped the axe on the old man¡¯s bag seriously.

    Then, they nodded to each other and took their leave.

    Suuankou was dumbfounded like his sister.

    Only after asking the boss in the bar did the yers understand what had happened. It turned out that the city had a uniquew.

    ording to thews of ¡°Saltpeter Ranch¡±, it was not deemed guilty to ¡°attack others to death after being attacked or provoked¡±. Simrly, if one¡¯s interests were harmed through methods such as robbery, theft, or intentional assault, as long as the intiff could not provide evidence such as witnesses or stolen goods, the Overseer would simply ignore the matter.

    If no one imed the body, it would be carried away and buried by the ¡°corpse collectors.¡±

    They were all believers in the Bone Burying Grandma.

    Corpses must be properly disposed of, or undead would be born.

    In the Noah Kingdom and Austere-Winter Dukedom, people who engaged in this upation were usually serious and pious.

    However, in Saltpeter Ranch, where people die every day, they had an impatient work attitude in this upation.

    Even the Denizoya Kingdom couldn¡¯t be so chaotic since it was known for its strictws. The kingdom had the widest range of death penalties and was currently the only nation that strictly implemented the death penalty.

    They followed the concept of ¡°deterrence¡±.

    However, the underground region of the Denizoya Kingdom carried over the chaos in the kingdom but lost the strictness of thew because of the government¡¯s liberal approach. The Wise who tried to change the situation at Saltpeter Ranch either failed and fled or were killed.

    It became an underground city without the Wise.

    The two Diggers here, ¡°the Bloodhand Brothers¡±, were the kings of this ce.

    In the end, the yers concluded: It would be nice if Delicious Wind Goose were here.

    No matter how chaotic this ce was here, it was still not as chaotic as Natta County, with no restrictions and taboos.

    Delicious Wind Goose, who could chat amiably with Ike Searing-Fang, was a muscr, bald man. Moreover, he was a Sword Saint. If he removed his shirt here, he would probably be a big shot before establishing the teleportation circle.

    The barbaric social setting made Lin Yiyi feel insecure.

    However, Jiu Er, who used to work as a ¡°safety consultant¡± at Gray Swan Safety Insurance Company, quickly adapted to this rule.

    Less than half an hour after Jiu Er went into the alley alone with an axe in her hand, she returned with useful information.

    ¡°Captain of the Stone¡± Celecia had arrived in the city recently and was resupplying.

    Afterward, the yers made their way to the reputedly most well-informed tavern called ¡°Stone, Wood, and ss¡± ¨C a tavern run by a group of dwarves.

    A centaur followed them underground to survive¡­ Perhaps, it could also be interpreted as the dwarves kidnapping a centaur. No one dared to offend this group of dwarves in this ce.

    No one would fight here.

    Even the Bloodhand Brothers woulde here to eat asionally.

    Even more so with ¡°Captain of the Stone¡± Celecia.

    ¡°She¡¯s still an old client of mine.¡± The middle-aged dwarf said hoarsely, ¡°Every two or three months, she will visit this ce. This ce has the best ¡®Saltpeter Mead¡¯. They needed it on the ship.¡±

    ¡°Saltpeter Mead?¡± Jiu Er asked curiously, ¡°Does it taste like niter?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s magical wine that can rece niter!¡±

    The dwarfughed, saying, ¡°The lead bullet soaked in this wine can be fired without gunpowder! The wine soaked in the lead bullet can also be used as fuel; the unsoaked wine can be mixed with fresh water to drink directly. If there is anything in the water, it will sink to the bottom, which is very useful.¡±

    ¡°We used to live in the mountains. You know, there may not be clean water in the mines. But we can use this wine to purify the groundwater or use it for mining¡­ This is the magical wine that only old dwarves can make!¡±

    ¡°Are you very old?¡±

    ¡°You have to call me Grandpa.¡± The bartender smiled, ¡°I¡¯m 69 this year.¡±

    Another bald, white-bearded dwarf with rosy skin sat at the bar,ughing loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! He is 64 years old!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, I¡¯m 69!¡±

    ¡°How can you fucking be 69. You are three years younger than me! You have to call me big brother even!¡±

    ¡°You are old and confused. You are over seventy already!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if I¡¯m over seventy, but don¡¯t you brag like that!¡±

    ¡°What did I do wrong?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re bragging!¡±

    The two dwarves quarreled among themselves, and their voices became louder.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡± Jiu Er curiously asked Lin Yiyi in a low voice.

    Lin Yiyi was a little nervous and patted Jiu Er¡¯s arm, signaling her not to talk here.

    On the other hand, Citalopram, who was drinking quietly, exined to Jiu Er in a low voice, ¡°The dwarves don¡¯t show their age on their appearance. Their culture is to respect those who are older. The older the dwarves, the more respected they are¡­¡±

    ¡°Their lifespan is typically around eighty years. Until thest ten years of their life, they maintain a youthful body and can continue to procreate and work. However, in thest decade before death, they suddenly be aged and frail.¡±

    ¡°The ones who can live to be more than a hundred years old in good health are the ¡®elders¡¯¡­ If the elders experience ¡®aging before death¡¯, their power will soon be taken by the new elders who are older and more robust. ¡°

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Half-dead Enchantress.¡± The bartender interjected, ¡°But I still can¡¯t tell you about Celecia¡¯s information.¡±

    Only then did the yers realize that the two dwarves had ended their quarrel at some point.

    Their quarrel started quickly and died quickly. However, if anyone thought the dwarves were honest and straightforward, he was fooled¡­ Dwarves were known for their cunning.

    They would consciously abduct individuals from other races to work for them and learn from them, assimting their technologies and incorporating them for their use.

    However, Jiu Er vaguely captured something.

    If the dwarves couldn¡¯t reveal it, why did they bring the topic back?

    Jiu Er quickly understood.

    She reached into her pocket, pulled out ten bills, and ced them on the table, gently pushing them forward to the bartender.

    ¡°Is this amount eptable?¡± She asked in a low voice.

    The bartender didn¡¯t even bat an eye.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want paper money here, Miss Big Axe.¡±

    The bald dwarfughed, ¡°Do you think we can go to Silver Sire Church to exchange for it? If anyone here dares to run to the ground, he will be arrested and hanged.¡±

    When he said this, he yelled, ¡°Am I right, scumbags?!¡±

    ¡°You old bastard. Do you want to be shot?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t make fun of her! Be careful with that big axe!¡± The tavern just responded with augh.

    Not many underground citizens were among them, and many were above-ground people. The true underground folks were easy to recognize because their eyes would glow in the dark.

    Less than a quarter of those who drink here were people with glowing eyes.

    Lin Yiyi reacted btedly.

    Why did it always feel so out of ce¡­

    Why was it so chaotic here to an abnormal extent¡­

    Many Austerians were living underground in Austere-Winter to escape the blizzard.

    Simrly, people sought refuge underground after fleeing the United Kingdom. They were considered ¡°exiles¡± who evaded the legal consequences imposed by the United Kingdom.

    It¡¯s really the same situation as Natta County.

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 Chapter 627: Bartender: Forget It, I Canâ€™t Afford To Mess With You

    <h4>Chapter 627: Bartender: Forget It, I Can¡¯t Afford To Mess With You</h4>

    Amidst the maliciousughter of the death row inmates in the tavern, Jiu Er took the paper money back in silence.

    Observing her actions, the dwarf bartender red at the other customers and lightly tapped the table as a show of intimidation.

    Hearing this, the bartender showed a narrow smile, ¡°Little girl, I can understand your heart in chasing idols and legends. If I was young enough, I might do the same. However, Captain Celecia¡¯s whereabouts are her privacy.¡±

    ¡°How much will it be if it¡¯s in gold coins?¡± Lin Yiyi interjected.

    Why are young people nowadays so rude?

    The bartender nced at Lin Yiyi. To be precise, he nced at the long stick she was carrying behind her back and Lin Yiyi¡¯s wristband.

    Lin Yiyi had a leather wristband on her left hand and another on her right hand, each adorned with several gemstones of varying sizes and slightly different shapes.

    I see.

    She is a young Azure Guardian¡­

    The bartender quickly recognized her origins.

    Getting Silver Rank in your twenties. It is indeed something to be proud of.

    This was amon transcended profession in the United Kingdom. However, the number of Azure Guardians who could freely move around outside Treasure Diamond Ind and even the United Kingdom was rare.

    Unless they had a reasonably lucrative wage, it was difficult for them to continue to buy new gem abilities and ¡°spell casting materials¡± ¡ª those high-quality gems from Treasure Diamond Ind.

    The ability of Azure Guardiansrgely depended on how many ¡°spells¡± they had stored. In a sense, it was simr to Silver Sire¡¯s priest.

    ¡°Well, give me a number then,¡± Lin Yiyi retorted with a hint of annoyance. ¡°I can¡¯t afford anything too expensive.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I always charge people ording to who they are,¡± the bartender replied without hesitation. ¡°You guys better have something to offer. Just by looking at you, I can tell.¡±

    ¡°As for the others¡­¡± The bartender nced at the others.

    His eyes swept over Suuankou, but he dared not look closely.

    ¡­Darn it, he looks like a Destruction Wizard.

    The young man had dark red pupils resembling magma. Having been sitting at the bar for quite some time, he faintly emanated air with a hint of sulfur. The bartender involuntarily felt a dryness in his throat.

    Although the bartender wasn¡¯t good at recognizing faces, he noticed that the young man and the Azure Guardiandy appeared simr.

    Judging from the bartender¡¯s years of experience, they should be siblings.

    The siblings came from different wizard towers, meaning their family must have some connection with the wizard towers of the United Kingdom.

    ¡­Forget it, we can¡¯t afford to offend the Destruction Wizard.

    They were genuinely afraid that if they made a casual sarcastic remark, the other party would explode in anger on the spot.

    Was there any difference between killing people ten meters away and killing people ten miles around? Obviously not.

    The two youngdies were apanied by a Destruction Wizard who had at least obtained formal qualifications and an Azure Guardian who advanced to Silver at a young age¡­ They must not be simple folks.

    The bartender didn¡¯t have a grudge against Azure Guardian.

    The main reason was her temperament, which was a bit too ¡°manly¡±.

    It became even more apparent, especially with twodies of contrasting temperaments positioned nearby.

    One of them was, without a doubt, the Half-dead Enchantress¡­ the Pale Princess¡¯s priest.

    It was quite evident.

    The bartender was wary of her and even spoke to her politely.

    The Pale Princess was the Deity of Ghosts and Spirits. Her believers were mostly ghosts, and her priests were 100% dead.

    Although these Half-dead Enchantresses looked gentle and good at singing, they could absorb the spirit of others.

    After living with them for a long time, even an average person would get sick. People who already had chronic diseases might die suddenly at any time. If the Half-dead Enchantress was powerful enough, even their singing alone could take the life and soul of mortals.

    Unlike the world above the surface, there were many followers of the Pale Church in the underground cities.

    Although the Pale Princess was a pure white ghost girl, she had a beauty that ordinary people couldn¡¯t see directly, defeating even the world¡¯s top singing voice.

    However, She was a deity called ¡°The Throat of Death¡±.

    In the underground world with no sunlight and moonlight and the ¡°dome¡± was short, the visibility of ¡°the Pale Tide¡± had been significantly improved.

    During the Pale Princess parade, those with sharp eyes could see her face.

    Once affected by that alluring beauty and singing voice, the person would be fanatical. However, the Pale Princess was a freely-roamed deity. She didn¡¯t care about her followers but only her ¡°loved ones¡±.

    That was her pope.

    The Pale Princess would only ept sacrifices from people she was satisfied with, and the most demanding of all kinds of sacrifices was ¡°self-sacrifice¡±. When she didn¡¯t have a pope, she would choose the ¡°most interesting soul¡± among her fanatical followers and make it her lover and pope. She would sing to him day and night, whispering to him in obsession.

    It persisted until she felt disgusted with this soul.

    Generally speaking, the believers of false deities were not too fanatical.

    The believers of upright deities were devoted because they had a sense of purpose belonging to ¡°purifiers¡±. They were not so devoted to the upright deities as they were respectful and proud of their sacred mission.

    It wasn¡¯t so with the believers of false deities.

    The rtionship between false deity and one¡¯s believer took the space of a ¡°dealer¡± versus a ¡°fraudster¡±. Believers did things for false deities in exchange for power.

    That kind of ¡°piety¡± was simr to the minister¡¯s loyalty to the country. It was not for justice, morality, mission, or hope. Instead, it was to protect his interests.

    However, the situation was different for the Pale Princess.

    Her believers were undoubtedly the most fanatical.

    At the same time, the Pale Princess had a convenient power. She could easily purify the erosion rate of others, no matter whether the other party was her believer. Because of this, even though her believers were so fanatical, she had not been denounced as an evil deity.

    Besides Mr. Ray, only the Pale Princess was good at this ability. In addition, the Pale Princess and Mr. Ray dressed in pure white¡­ Some people thought that the Pale Princess should have been ¡°a certain day of the sun¡±; others imed that the Pale Princess might be Mr. Ray¡¯s mother, daughter, or a female substitute of Him.

    No matter what, the Half-dead Enchantress was an existence that must not be provoked in the underground world.

    One would rather provoke the ck Widow¡¯s spiders than the Half-dead Enchantress.

    The first case would be offending one person, but thetter would offend a fanatical and troublesome group.

    Taking a step back, they needed the Pale Princess to purify the erosion.

    What if the person offended the Pale Princess and was not allowed to be part of the Pale Tide?

    Therefore, when other passers-by noticed Citalopram, they lowered their voices. When Citalopram walked past them, some people nodded respectfully.

    As for thestdy, who looks like a wealthy nobledy¡­

    ¡­Wait a moment.

    This is the scent of citrus and amber. Is it [endless blood]?

    The bartender¡¯s keen sense of smell captured something.

    His expression became extremely horrified.

    For a split second, he thought of the axe that looked extremely heavy but was held casually by her.

    Could she be the legendary Blood Eater?

    Where the hell did these crazy peoplee from?

    Did the asylum forget to lock its door?

    In the Berserker profession, Blood Eater was the only one with all abilities offering positive effects and had no negative advancement effect. At the same time, with the preliminary profession of Berserker, which was rare, the number of Blood Eaters was scarce.

    It was because this profession itself was the one the Cup-holding Lady favored. The person had to ce himself in mortal danger at least nine times voluntarily but survived to advance as a Berserker.

    It wasn¡¯t wrong to say they were bloodthirsty monsters.

    The bartender nced at Jiu Er¡¯s height.

    ¡­A little monster.

    He added in his mind.

    The bartender nced over the faces of the four peopleplicatedly.

    Azure Guardian, who was in her twenties¡­

    A Destruction Wizard, Half-dead Enchantress, and Blood Eater.

    It appeared that the only person he could mess with was the Azure Guardian.

    Of the rest of the three, one was a violent lunatic no one dared to speak harshly at because of his hot temper. One was the leader of a group of unreasonable lunatics, while the other was an exceptionally skilled and virtually indestructible lunatic who could only advance as a Berserker.

    One bodyguard and three lunatics.

    What are they looking for Celecia for?

    The bartender opened his mouth and closed it at the next moment.

    Amidst intense spection, he hesitated with aplex expression for a long time before finally letting out a deep sigh of resignation.

    ¡°Forget it. There is no need for money. I¡¯ll tell you directly. Cecilia took an order from a little girl and went to a ce called ¡®Elegy¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Jiu Er tilted her head with a nk expression.

    What makes youply?

    What just happened?

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 Chapter 628: Elegy Dukedom

    <h4>Chapter 628: Elegy Dukedom</h4>

    Although Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t know what happened just now, she was aware that the bartender¡¯s attitude toward them suddenly changed for the better.

    However, the reason didn¡¯t matter.

    The yers obtained a clue about Captain of the Stone.

    If the yers had a direction, it would significantly shorten their investigation time.

    The yers would no longer solely rely on luck and random encounters. Thus, it was a significant improvement in efficiency.

    ¡°I only know the ce named ¡®Elegy¡¯, but is it even possible to look it up?¡± Lin Yiyi looked surprised, ¡°Are you the ¡®Longjing Google¡¯?¡±

    Lin Yiyi obtained preliminary information from her side and posted it on the forum. Less than three hourster, Longjing Tea called her, saying they had gathered all the information on the ¡°Elegy.¡±

    ¡°Skip the nonsense. You have to trust my data research capability, Hyphen.¡±

    ¡°Why did you start calling me Hyphen again?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those details. After all, I also know your real name. Calling you Yiyi feels like I¡¯m close to you, which is a bit awkward.¡±

    Longjing Tea said dissatisfiedly, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m professional in researching information to develop a guide, whether in or outside the game. Isn¡¯t Miss Nefer also helping with the investigation?¡±

    ¡°I saw your live stream. Are you guys performing some kind of reality TV show? This level of information¡­ Instead of asking random people, you should search in the database of the Secret Eye.¡±

    He leaned back on the seat while maintaining the voice call with Lin Yiyi and fidgeting with the pen in his hand.

    There were three books in front of him showing pages marked with bookmarks. There was also a newspaper spread out on the table. He held a thick brown leather notebook in his left hand, which Nefertari had lent him temporarily.

    ¡°Brother, if you feel the address is too close, call me Yi¡­ No, wait a minute¡­ Forget it.¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop talking nonsense. Listen up, Hyphen¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you talking to someone?¡± Nefertari came over curiously.

    She walked over with a liquor bottle, and the apanying ssware and ice cubes were already in the room.

    ¡°Ah¡­ yes, Your Excellency.¡±

    Longjing Tea quickly propped himself up from the chair and politely exined to Nefertari, ¡°I was providing information to Miss Yiyi just now. Under the influence of His Highness Annan¡¯s curse, we have this approach to transmitting information. ¡°

    ¡°That¡¯s convenient.¡± Nefertari sighed.

    She didn¡¯t bring the barrel over because Longjing Tea hadn¡¯t finished using these books. Instead, she turned around and ced it on the square table at the door.

    She opened the cask of liquor, and a strong aroma of malt filled the air.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s nose sniffed lightly, and a bright light shed in his eyes.

    It was not fruit wine, but it was beer.

    He was interested, but he still needed to mind the main business.

    Longjing Tea coughed lightly and sped up his speech a little, ¡°To put it simply, Miss Yiyi. The term ¡®Elegy¡¯ you mentioned is the name of a duchy that has disappeared. It¡¯s also the surname inherited by the noble family of that Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°If Miss Nefer wasn¡¯t next to you, I want to kick your ass hard with my boots.¡± Lin Yiyiined.

    ¡°Go away.¡± Longjing Tea felt a little ashamed. However, under Nefertari¡¯s curious gaze, he was too embarrassed to curse out loud, so he could only lower his voice and say, ¡°Okay, to make the long story short, Elegy Dukedom is the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s home. You probably have a deeper memory of the Venerated Skeleton than I do.¡±

    ¡°That dude?¡± Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but curse, ¡°Darn it, why are we still dealing with that fellow? Why is he everywhere? Is he the next mob in the update patch?¡±

    The trauma left in the gallery dungeon instance made her subconsciously dare not pronounce the name.

    ¡°I think the Venerated Skeleton is innocent this time,¡± Longjing Tea replied. ¡°Because the ritual for the ascension of the Venerated Skeleton was buried underground in the Elegy Dukedom.¡±

    ¡°Buried underground?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the underground. But it¡¯s not the underground world¡­ The birth of the underground world was rted to the Rotten Man. The Rotten Man copied the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ¡®no Book of Truth¡¯ ritual to be a deity and then sessfully sublimated into deityhood.¡±

    ¡°That is to say, in the era of the Skeleton, there was no such thing as an underground world. It should be purely buried somewhere under the Elegy Dukedom. The ascendancy ritual he used wasposed of the corpses of all citizens of a country. If all the bones in his hometown can be dug up, then I think it¡¯s quite easy to destroy it.¡±

    Longjing Tea replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s still a big project.¡± Lin Yiyiined, ¡°Digging up and rebury every corpse from a country again? I think it would be easier to blow up the ce.¡±

    ¡°So I also think that Captain of the Stone¡¯s guests going to Elegy Dukedom this time should not be for this matter.¡±

    In other words, the passengers who took the ship to Elegy Dukedom this time should not be to help the Venerated Skeleton or go against the Venerated Skeleton.

    Lin Yiyi quickly realized this.

    After all, it was a ce where important things were buried, even rted to the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s existence.

    If she were the Venerated Skeleton, as long as someone suddenly broke into such an important ce, she would not consider the other party¡¯s excuses. She would destroy the other party just in case.

    However, if the other party wanted to defeat the Venerated Skeleton, it would take a long time to ruin the ritual.

    If there was a team of workers, they might be able toplete it in a few years. But for one person, it was impossible no matter what. For such an important ritual, the Venerated Skeleton wouldn¡¯t have left the ce without some kind of sensing or monitoring device.

    Supposed that person could move away all the corpses of a nation and purify them before burying them back before the Venerated Skeleton noticed and rushed over¡­

    Then, the person must be able to defeat the Venerated Skeleton.

    The Venerated Skeleton was not a subordinate deity. There was no second life. For a strong opponent of this level, instead of thinking about how to destroy His ritual, it would be faster to attack Him.

    ¡°This is strange¡­¡± Lin Yiyi frowned, ¡°There¡¯s just something off about it.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Longjing Tea clicked his tongue. ¡°I also sense that something is off. But I¡¯ve been busy training new recruitstely, so I can¡¯t spare the time at the moment¡­¡±

    ¡°The location of the Elegy Dukedom ruins is in the southeast of the Papal Kingdom¡­ That is the southeast corner of the ¡®Circr Zone¡¯, which the Gray Mists have long swallowed. You are in the southwestern corner of the United Kingdom. That¡¯s almost the opposite end.¡±

    ¡°Then, how will Celecia and the others get there?¡± Lin Yiyi frowned slightly, ¡°20 thousand miles under the sea? That¡¯s a maelstrom.¡±

    To sail directly there, Celecia had to cross the maelstrom caused by the sinking of the Imperial Capital. That was a ce that even ordinary people¡¯s merchant ships dared not travel to.

    The curse concentration there was said to make nightmares manifest in reality.

    After so many years, no one could pick up the legendary curse vessel that sank along with the Imperial Capital. It was not that no one tried, but that they all died in the salvage operations.

    If Celecia could sail past there, did it also mean their ship could submerge into theyer where the Imperial Capital was?

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 Chapter 629: Blood Butterfly Valley

    <h4>Chapter 629: Blood Butterfly Valley</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the information that we can¡¯t obtain. I have calcted their sailing speed ording to the previous records in the newspaper. Even if they travel in a straight line, it will take ten days to arrive smoothly.¡±

    Longjing Tea calmly added, ¡°If you take the subway, it will be a detour. You have to take the subway to Noah first, and in between, you have to cross a stretch of water. Then, transfer to another vehicle from the southernmost point of Noah and ride to the capital.¡±

    ¡°One thing to note is that the time you need to go to the Papal Kingdom is not the sum of the subway travel times. Because the subway in this era doesn¡¯t run continuously¡­ Even if you have the help of ¡®Silver Sire¡¯ to consistently get the tickets and enable you to transfer ording to the fastest schedule, you still have to wait for two days.¡±

    ¡°Then you have to change trains again to Austere-Winter, which, if everything goes smoothly, can be done within half a day. Afterward, you have to change trains twice to get to the Papal Kingdom underground.¡±

    ¡°¡­Okay, that¡¯s so much trouble.¡± Lin Yiyi was demotivated. She had a strong thought of ¡°I don¡¯t want to move anymore¡±.

    ¡°Trouble? There¡¯s more hassle. Elegy Dukedom buried too many corpses underground. It might be the air is filled with dead. Anyway, there¡¯s no underground city there.¡±

    ¡°So you have to go to the top of the Papal Kingdom first, and then hire the airship to fly south¡­ As for how to persuade the captain to go in the direction of the Elegy Dukedom and how tond there, I can only say that I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Assuming you didn¡¯t miss any trains and found a rentable airship within a day, ten days have passed.¡±

    Longjing Tea put on a friendly smile, ¡°Are you still going to rush over there?¡±

    ¡°No, let me refuse it.¡± Lin Yiyi looked indifferent, ¡°This is troublesome. I might as well teleport to the Papal Kingdom to exchange some experience points. I don¡¯t want to be still traveling while offline¡­¡±

    ¡°Your only option is to teleport.¡± Longjing Tea couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°I just counted it for you to strengthen your resolve.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Remember. Our ultimate goal is to intercept Celecia, not go to Elegy Dukedom.¡±

    ¡°Although that little girl is suspicious, I feel that she can be a long side mission. However, our ultimate goal is to stop Celecia. She left about three days ago, so her expected arrival should be seven dayster.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Lin Yiyi grasped the situation.

    If her party went there by subway, they would not make it.

    The yers could only hope that after Celecia arrived, she would stay in ce for more than three days. Otherwise, they would have arrived to find nothing.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll teleport over.¡±

    ¡°Very well. My intention is to let you understand the limitations.¡±

    Longjing Tea coughed lightly, ¡°Then, there is only one more thing.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The teleportation waypoint over the Papal Kingdom has yet to be established. Old Goose arrived in the Papal Kingdom yesterday. He¡¯s there, so you don¡¯t have to worry about the purification efficiency. But you still have to wait for five days. Otherwise, you can teleport to the Sporeggar Mill. We can take the subway to the Papal Kingdom in less than two days. It¡¯s the more conservative approach.¡±

    Longjing Tea responded with a smile, ¡°My suggestion is¡­ Since you were there for a day yesterday, why not stay for a whole week and establish the teleportation waypoint at Saltpeter Ranch?

    ¡°At that time, you can ask Old Goose to rent an airship first. After establishing the teleportation waypoint, you can teleport directly to the Papal Kingdom. When you arrive at the Papal Kingdom, you can directly board the airship and leave. If it goes well, you should be able to catch up before Captain of the Stone gets to Elegy Dukedom.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a possible choice.¡± Lin Yiyi replied calmly, ¡°Instead of tiring ourselves in traveling, it¡¯s better to fight nightmares and level up on the spot.¡±

    ¡°However, I think the biggest problem here is not the nightmare.¡±

    ¡°What is it then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about the people and situation there.¡±

    Longjing Tea looked at the report on ¡°the Bloodhand Brothers¡± recorded in the newspaper on the table.

    The Bloodhand Brothers were named ¡°Barney¡± and ¡°Jacob¡±.

    Their surnames weren¡¯t ¡°Bloodhand¡±.

    After the first crime, the police in Noah Kingdom, Miles Field, gave an alias to them, ¡°Bloodhand¡±.

    ¡°Noah has a ce called ¡®Blood Butterfly Valley¡¯. There are butterflies made of blood floating there all the time. If the butterflynds on the skin, it will burn scars simr to the ¡®infinity¡¯ symbol.¡±

    ¡°Infinity? Is it the mathematical one?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Looking at the newspaper and notebook, Longjing Tea frowned slightly, ¡°People left with marks by blood butterflies will suffer from a disease simr to hemophilia. Once injured, they will bleed continuously, and the wound will gradually fester. Once their blood leaves the body, it bes a new butterfly.¡±

    ¡°Sounds a bit like Resident Evil.¡±

    ¡°Yes. The most dangerous thing is that apart from ¡®humans¡¯, cows, sheep, dogs, cats, birds, and even mice can spread this curse as long as they are warm-blooded animals. That is a trace left behind by a formidable Fallen. It is the same phenomenon as the endless storm at the Storm Tower.¡±

    ¡°This ¡®Fallen¡¯ is the mother of the Bloodhand Brothers. The two brothers are quite powerful Fallen. When the information wasst updated six years ago, they were only one step away from being fully demonized.¡±

    After hearing what Longjing Tea said, Lin Yiyi¡¯s expression was a little subtle.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be a ssic revenge drama in Detective Conan, right? It¡¯s about revenge because my mother was killed.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not quite it¡­ I prefer to refer to it as ¡®gically ingrained ws¡¯.¡±

    Longjing Tea calmly replied, ¡°As you can tell, the blood butterfly is dangerous but will keep spawning in the valley. No matter how many have flown away or destroyed, the number of blood butterflies will eventually remain the same: 178.¡±

    ¡°So in the end, Swamp¡¯s ck Tower sted the mountain, created a clever avnche, and sealed the two ends of the Blood Butterfly Valley. Arge barrier was also created to seal the remaining gaps.¡±

    ¡°There was a massacre in Natta County about sixteen years ago. Although it was Natta County, which was called the Land of Lawlessness, that incident was too atrocious. More than half of the townspeople are missing. The inside of the windows and walls are covered with bloody handprints as if people covered in blood are beating the windows and walls.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a scene from a horror movie.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. It is said that the two brothers imparted the ¡®Demon Blood¡¯ recipe in Natta County. Their method is still uncertain, but it should be rted to blood. As for the original purpose, it was to create ¡®Demon Blood¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Since the two of them are staying in the underground world, that is to say¡­¡±

    ¡°The brothers brought the first batch of Demon Blood to the underground world.¡± Lin Yiyi continued.

    Her expression also became serious, ¡°So, there should be a lot of Fallen hidden in Saltpeter Ranch. Is that what you mean?¡±

    ¡°Not only that.¡± Longjing Tea replied, ¡°Maybe a real demon will appear.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said it¡¯s better to establish a teleportation waypoint if you can. But if you can¡¯t, it doesn¡¯t matter. You can also resurrect at Sporeggar Mill. We can then team up and fight back when we reach a higher level. If all goes well, it is better to ce a teleportation waypoint.¡±

    ¡°Also, remember to protect yourself.¡±

    ¡°¡­Maybe it¡¯s a littlete.¡± Lin Yiyi whispered calmly, ¡°Remember to put the warning at the beginning next time.¡±

    After finishing speaking, she silently closed the chat.

    Her perception attribute had been warning her half a minute ago.

    There was nothing around her.

    In other words, there was an undetected threat slowly approaching her room.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 630: Behold My Mercy Strike!

    <h4>Chapter 630: Behold My Mercy Strike!</h4>

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Yiyi stared straight ahead, whispering into the air.

    In fact, she had already hung up on Longjing Tea.

    She maintained herposure during the conversation to avoid alerting the assassins.

    She focused all her attention on her surroundings to sense their movements.

    In a ce out of the opponent¡¯s sight¡­

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s silver bracelet, hidden in her left sleeve, began to shimmer with a gentle,ke-like azure radiance.

    Directly below the bracelet was a leather wristband iid with gemstones. It fitted tightly to the bracelet, preventing it from quickly slipping off.

    The dark blue curse pattern quietly and slowly overflowed from the curse vessel, spreading in the wristband and lighting up each gemstone.

    ¡°Yes. Well, that¡¯s right¡­¡± Lin Yiyi continued to answer in a low voice, pretending to be on the phone.

    At the same time, she rxed her shoulders and closed her eyes slightly.

    As one of the opals in her cuff shattered silently, a golden-green halo slowly emerged from the bottom of Lin Yiyi¡¯s pupils.

    Edict School, [Comprehensive Scan].

    ¡­Good, I can sense it now.

    After Lin Yiyi closed her eyes, the originally pitch-ck vision was slowly painted with a light gray background.

    The ability outlined the three-dimensional model of her room.

    In the light gray 3D model, four red human figures slowly approached Lin Yiyi.

    Like the yers, it was a teamposed of four people.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s perception of one of them was blurry. The dark red outline was faint. The strange energy that hid their presence appeared from that person.

    Is this a space warfare mothership? He even makes everyone around him invisible¡­

    There was no doubt that that person should be the team leader.

    Therefore, it was safe to presume that the person releasing the strange energy to cover their presence had the most information.

    Apart from him, Lin Yiyi nned to keep another person hostage topare the information she could dig out. Otherwise, Lin Yiyi and the others wouldn¡¯t even know if the person was talking nonsense during the interrogation.

    The third batch of yers entered the game slowly, unlike the first two batches, where the yers spawned in the world all at once. Currently, Thirteenth Fragrance was the only yer who had Soul Snatch Magic.

    He was supporting Longjing Tea¡¯s side, making preparation for the advancement nightmare and learning spells at the same time.

    After raising Thirteenth Fragrance to Silver Rank, he should be a useful asset.

    Lin Yiyi still hadn¡¯t forgotten how terrified they were when they saw Silver Rank Soul Snatch Wizard for the first time not long after they entered this world.

    Lin Yiyi was the first to be put under control at that time!

    As for the others¡­

    Lin Yiyi slowly opened her eyes. A white crystal on her cuff burst again. The stored spell was conducted into Lin Yiyi¡¯s body through the runes.

    ¡°¡­Yes, right ¡­ [Blind].¡±

    While Lin Yiyi pretended to be talking on the phone, she activated the Edict spell without warning.

    ¡ªEdict School, [Enhanced¡¤Blind].

    Her body emitted blinding light. The four enemies instinctively closed and covered their eyes.

    However, their effort to cover their eyes were useless. Moreover, it was already toote by the time they were alerted.

    As the ring light overwhelmed the enemies, the intense dizziness caused their bodies to lose bnce.

    Lin Yiyi instantly stood up from the seat.

    She then picked up the solid iron staff ced by the bed and swiftly spun it around.

    Bang!

    Before the four were stunned, they shot crossbow arrows at Lin Yiyi.

    However, Lin Yiyi easily intercepted these arrows at a distance of less than five meters.

    With a sh of light in her eyes, she kicked the seat away and knocked the nearest person to the ground.

    This was the new skill she obtained after she advanced, [Adaptive Combat Technique]!

    After activating the skill, all ¡°interactive¡± objects in her vision be highlighted.

    In an instant, Lin Yiyi felt like Jackie Chan in a furniture store. She felt like she could throw everything out reasonably and efficiently.

    However, breaking too many items would be costly since this was an inn. Lin Yiyi restrained himself from making a mess in the end.

    She swiftly extended her staff and swung it forcefully, aiming directly at the temple of one of the individuals. Her attack smashed the person¡¯s skull, causing brain matter to stter.

    This made Lin Yiyi feel a little queasy, and she subconsciously held back.

    Her quick follow-up strike with a backhand swing broke the other person¡¯s neck with a loud snap.

    At this time, the leading ¡°mothership¡± was about to recover from the dizziness. He backed away, struggling to swallow something.

    Is it poison? Or is it an antidote that removes the negative debuffs?

    However, it didn¡¯t matter what he nned to do. Lin Yiyi already reached out her left hand to him, facing him with the palm.

    As a tiny sapphire shattered, Lin Yiyi spoke in a dignified tone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±

    At the moment when [Inferior Immobilization Spell] took effect, the person froze instantly.

    What Lin Yiyi needed was just this short moment.

    Like ying billiards, she bounced back the iron staff at the end, lightly ced it between her thumb and index finger, and slid forward quickly.

    With a bang of the iron staff, it hit the man¡¯s forehead.

    The man passed out immediately.

    As the opponent fainted, the strange energy that made Lin Yiyi¡¯s perception unable to reach them dissipated immediately. This also confirmed her guess. This person was indeed the source of it.

    Lin Yiyi also activated another skill in this situation: the [Mercy Strike] she had raised to Level 3. This skill allowed Lin Yiyi to ¡°output the highest damage possible without killing the target¡±.

    From the game perspective, the skill seemed silly. However, it was Lin Yiyi¡¯s favorite.

    After all, Lin Yiyi had many targets she shouldn¡¯t kill in this world. With this skill, Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t need to worry back holding back too much and risking being killed by the opponent.

    Since the skill was raised to level 3, Lin Yiyi could subdue an ordinary human in one hit. However, she couldn¡¯t use this skill in an actual battle.

    In other words, this was a skill simr to ¡°striking with the back of a knife¡±.

    Lin Yiyi had a hunch that pushing the skill to Level 7 would allow her to knock out someone by smashing her staff on the person¡¯s head without killing the victim.

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s attack took less than five seconds.

    The assassin, who was knocked down by the flying chair, seemed to have a slight concussion and had not yet gotten up from the ground.

    She made the same attack and mmed the staff on the back of the head of the assassin who hadn¡¯t gotten up with [Mercy Strike].

    With that, Lin Yiyi dealt with all the assassins.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but exim in surprise.

    She nced over and found that the skin of the ¡°mothership¡± was red.

    That¡¯s their leader.

    Is he a Fallen?

    She was about to tie them up when she suddenly remembered something.

    Wait a moment.

    Since she was attacked for no reason, the rest of the party might also¡­

    ¡°Help me, Sister Hyphen¡ª¡± A message shed before Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes.

    It was from Jiu Er.

    Fuck, you¡¯re embarrassing us. They are merely a bunch of noobs.

    Immediately afterward, Lin Yiyi saw Jiu Er¡¯s following message.

    ¡°¡ªSomeone with Gold Rank is beating me up!!!¡±

    ¡°¡­Ha?¡°

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 Chapter 631: Sacrifice Saint

    <h4>Chapter 631: Sacrifice Saint</h4>

    ¡­Gold Rank transcender?

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s expression became rather peculiar.

    Mainly because she remembered Jiu Er¡¯s behavior.

    Jiu Er could be saying, ¡°It¡¯s so scary, save me,¡± while chopping up the opponent with iparable cruelty.

    No, it shouldn¡¯t be like that, no matter how you think about it. Lin Yiyimented.

    After all, it was a Gold Rank Transcender¡­ No matter how weak the opponent was, he had elemental power. The elemental power was a form of power superior to all the abilities the yers could use now.

    Even the Prophet Magic, which allowed one to see the future to dodge the attack, could not predict the attack involving elemental power. The effect of the Edict Spells to help teammates avoid attacks was nullified in the face of elemental power too.

    It was a transcendence from the role of [Berserk] to [Deityhood] ¡ª the battle utilizing elemental power had transcended the confines of predetermined skill descriptions and exceeded the coding limitations.

    Jiu Er¡¯s seemingly resilient immortality should not have any effect when faced with the power of elements.

    Even if Lin Yiyi could parry the opponent¡¯s normal attack, it was impossible to evade the elemental attack.

    So what was the use of Jiu Er summoning them over?

    It felt like building a suicide squad.

    The bizarre thing was that Gold Rank was rare in this world.

    Gold Rank was basically the equivalent of ¡°legendary¡± in the DND rules. Those with the Book of Truth or sacred bone would be considered a half-deity. The Gold Rank individuals were limited in numbers, and everyone had their own ¡°title¡±.

    On the one hand, the title was to show respect. On the other hand, it was for the convenience of borrowing power. Indeed, Gold Rank could lend their powers through ritual.

    The title also carried another meaning, which was to facilitate divination.

    Suppose the person didn¡¯t know the target¡¯s appearance. Having the target¡¯s real name wasn¡¯t enough to pinpoint the target in a ritual. Just like if the person didn¡¯t know the real name of a deity, even if they identally pronounced the name by mistake or used it as his name, it wouldn¡¯t take effect in the ritual. Nothing would happen at all.

    In this case, the name did not directly correspond to the individual.

    However, the situation was different from a unique title.

    Through the title, the ritual could pinpoint the target directly. Whether it was the amplification ritual, the debuff ritual, or the detection ritual, it would effectively y its due role.

    Of course, this was also because there weren¡¯t a lot of Gold Rank individuals around.

    If there were many individuals in Gold Rank, it would be painful to think of titles not coinciding with the others. Moreover, the title wouldn¡¯t disappear after death. Instead, the new generations who advanced to Gold Rank would inherit the title of their predecessors.

    With enough Gold Rank individuals, there would be too many titles, so much so that a number suffix would follow each title¡­

    On the other hand, it was precisely because Gold Rank was extremely rare that Lin Yiyi could hardly believe a Gold Rank enemy was attacking Jiu Er.

    ¡°Even so¡ª¡±

    Lin Yiyi couldn¡¯t ignore her teammates!

    What¡¯s more? She wasn¡¯t just a teammate, but her friend.

    Lin Yiyi made her choice. She rushed out without thinking about tying up the two people who had already been subdued.

    At this time, the other two yers almost ended the battle on their side.

    When Lin Yiyi left her room, she saw that her younger brother and Citalopram, who had transformed into a spirit body, were already standing at the door of Jiu Er¡¯s room.

    Citalopram glowed with pure white fluorescent light that was bright enough to illuminate the dark corridor.

    This was an indication that she was considerably ¡°charged¡± with energy.

    ¡ªAnd the fuel of the Half-dead Enchantress was the vitality of the living.

    No doubt the two yers were attacked too.

    However, their situation should be different from Lin Yiyi¡¯s side. The enemies who attacked them didn¡¯t move as slowly as the four invisible individuals. They had been waiting at the door for quite a while.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go in and take a look?¡± Lin Yiyi asked Citalopram.

    She was in spirit form now, so she should be able to pass through walls.

    The quiet girl shook her head. Her pure ck hair fluttered quietly in the air.

    ¡°I can¡¯t get in.¡± Citalopram said softly, ¡°It urs that there is a barrier encaging Jiu Er¡¯s room. We can¡¯t even hear anything inside. Jiu Er¡¯s profession doesn¡¯t grant her the barrier ability either.¡±

    ¡°So the barrier can only be from the enemy. Suuankou didn¡¯t dare to blow it up directly, fearing there might be some unforeseen circumstances. That¡¯s why we were all waiting for you to be here.¡±

    ¡°I see. Let me do it.¡± Lin Yiyi quickly realized the current situation.

    She put her left hand on the door without hesitation and muttered with a little distress, ¡°This ability is quite costly¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ª[I will hereby dispel all barriers]!¡±

    As Lin Yiyi¡¯s majestic voice fell, thergest ck crystal on her cuff shattered.

    This was the Silver Rank Spell of the Edict school, [Dispel Barrier]!

    It was quite a general-purpose spell, but only Edict Wizard of Silver Rank could manufacture it. The production of ck crystals was very low. Storing this spell only required one gem. However, it was worth more than thebined value of several gems previously used by Lin Yiyi, and even more.

    This was also the first time Lin Yiyi had activated this spell. In her heart, she didn¡¯t know much about its effect.

    As a matter of fact, she didn¡¯t feel bad about consuming the material for the spell casting. As a Monster Hunter yer, she had always been good at using items and tools to assist her quest.

    The primary pain point was that she didn¡¯t know how effective this tool was.

    It was fine to be expensive, but not if the item was expensive and useless.

    Luckily, the item disyed remarkable effect despite its costly price. At least it didn¡¯t disappoint Yiyi.

    As the peculiar sound of wind chimes echoed, a ck, semi-transparent ripple from the ck crystal emanated slowly from Lin Yiyi, spreading outward in all directions.

    When it touched Jiu Er¡¯s room, it made a creaking sound like broken ss being trampled on.

    Shortly after, the sound of a violent impact became distinctly audible from the room.

    Before the magic effect disappeared, Lin Yiyi kicked open the door.

    Citalopram hastily followed in by passing through the wall.

    The next moment, Lin Yiyi¡¯s pupils couldn¡¯t help but shrink.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of bleeding¡­¡± Suuankou subconsciously said.

    In Jiu Er¡¯s room, the walls, ceiling, and floor were almost covered with blood.

    At a nce, the scene in front of the yers was like hell on earth.

    Standing in the middle of the room was a young man with a gentle smile.

    He had short honey-colored hair and pale gold eyes.

    He possessed a handsome appearance coupled with a peculiar, mesmerizing charm¡­ But what caught the yers¡¯ attention the most were the numerous fresh, crimson wounds covering his body.

    ¡ªIndeed. Although the clothes of the attacked Jiu¡¯er were a bit tattered, she waspletely unharmed.

    After advancing to the glorious self-sustaining Tank role, injuries of this degree would heal on their own.

    On the contrary, the attacker had fresh wounds all over his body.

    Burns, cuts, stab wounds, bruises¡­ Various types of wounds were scattered all over his body, even on his face and hands, and there was no sign of healing whatsoever.

    These wounds marred his beauty, causing his almost mesmerizing countenance to evoke a sense of fear in people.

    Citalopram¡¯s pupils shrank slightly, ¡°It¡¯s a saint¡­¡±

    She happened to know this man.

    She had seen this man once during a meeting with the Half-dead Enchantress she had attended in the underworld.

    The person was an actual saint, the holder of the sacred bone ¡°the Flesh of Sacrifice¡±.

    ¡°The Man Against Himself,¡± Henry Worden.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 632: The Man Against Himself

    <h4>Chapter 632: The Man Against Himself</h4>

    At this moment, Henry Worden¡¯s right hand transformed into a crimson demonic hand.

    The demonic hand was as big as four headsbined. Apparently, the loud crash just now came from the hand hurling Jiu Er to the wall heavily, with her bouncing back from the impact.

    Jiu Er stood up, panting heavily.

    Jiu Er resembled a demon lord from hell, drenched in blood. The bright red curse patterns on her abdomen had been fully activated, spreading to her shoulders and lower back.

    The bottom of her pupils flickered with dark red light. Blood dripped on the battered steel battle axe in her hand.

    If a passer-by came in, they would immediately conclude that Jiu Er was the viin and the young man was an innocent person being brutally attacked.

    However, Lin Yiyi could easily tell that the blood on Jiu Er¡¯s axe and body was all her own.

    The room was filled with a strong scent of bergamot and amber, like cologne.

    That was exactly what Rustless Blood smelled like when it touched the air.

    Lin Yiyi would often hold Jiu Er when going offline. After Jiu Er advanced into Blood Eater, Jiu Er¡¯s scent immediately changed to this aroma, and it was very distinct. Whether sweating or bleeding, this type of scent would emanate.

    The youth with honey-colored hair didn¡¯t seem surprised that his barrier was dispelled.

    After hearing the sound of the door being smashed open, he turned around leisurely and unhurriedly.

    At the same time, he wasn¡¯t distracted from transforming his right hand into countless sharp, thin spikes.

    These spikes quickly protruded forward, forming countless sharp spears, nailing Jiu Er to the wall.

    However, it wasn¡¯t a substantial injury to Jiu Er at all. Instead, it only immobilized Jiu Er.

    Her health points decreased by less than 30%, indicating that the opponent was holding back.

    Moreover, she didn¡¯t feel much pain.

    Since Jiu Er changed her ss to Berserker, she continuously reduced her pain perception. Now, she only felt 5% of the pain¡ªthis pain level made her almost impervious to the effects of most injuries as if she had built-in invincibility.

    No matter how low her health points became, she would be fine because of her robust regeneration capability. She didn¡¯t need pain as a warning¡­ However, in that case, she couldn¡¯t enter the Berserk state willfully due to the pain nullification.

    To enter the Berserk state, it took the pain.

    A berserker who couldn¡¯t go berserk and fought calmly was simply too cute.

    After attacking Jiu Er, the young man turned around suspiciously.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± He did have some memories of Citalopram, ¡°You are Miss Citalopram, right? I saw you not long ago.¡±

    ¡°Yes, esteemed saint.¡± Citalopram replied coldly.

    She floated forward in confusion, nced at Jiu Er, who was nailed to the wall but was still alive and well, and asked boldly, ¡°Why are you attacking my friend? Did the Bloodhand Brothers hire you?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? I am not your enemy. On my way here, I dealt with the little guy who wanted to attack thisdy.¡±

    The young man rubbed his hair in some trouble and sighed, ¡°She attacked me first.¡±

    ¡°You appeared in my room first!¡± Jiu Er, who was pierced by countless ruby-like sharp spears, heard this and shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a girl! If I haven¡¯t slept yet¡ª¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡­Pfft.¡± The young saint couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    His expression was strange, as if he was trying his best to suppress his smile.

    ¡°Ah, sorry. I¡¯m very sorry, miss.¡± Instead, he apologized and asked in surprise, ¡°Are you a newly advanced Blood Eater? No wonder you are really small.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean!?¡± Hearing the word ¡°small¡±, Jiu Er¡¯s voice became louder.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, buddy. Let me introduce myself. I¡¯m [the Man Against Himself] Henry Worden, the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s bishop. When I was in Silver Rank, my profession was the Holy Grail Knight.¡±

    Henry said softly, ¡°I have a few friends who are Blood Eaters. So I know that this level of injury is nothing to a Blood Eater. It¡¯s better to say that sustaining some injuries is a great exercise for Blood Eaters.¡±

    ¡°The strength of Rustless Blood is stronger than you think. Every time your injury heals, your body will be further strengthened.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said. It¡¯s not an assault but just ying around.¡±

    As he spoke, he withdrew his right hand, which had mutated into countless red spears.

    Those crystal-like red spears retracted like vines, reverting to an ordinary right hand.

    ¡­The Holy Grail Knight?

    Hearing this, Lin Yiyi looked at Henry with a strange expression.

    This profession requires a pure body.

    In other words, he is an old virgin whose real age is unknown.

    Judging by how he spoke, it was more than being a virgin. He exuded the air of an ascetic monk.

    Would the ascetic practice turn him into a Buddhist?

    This is bizarre.

    No matter how you think about it, there is a sense of incongruity.

    ¡°¡­The age of my friends ranges from forties to eighties. Some choose to be Blood Eaters, partly because they are already ¡®no longer young,¡¯ and the Berserker profession greatly depletes their lifespan.¡±

    ¡°This desire to feel young again gave birth to Blood Eater.¡±

    When Henry said this, he looked at Jiu Er with strange eyes, ¡°Because no matter what age they advance, they will eventually turn back into sixteen-year-old youthful girls. So I thought you too¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only a teenager!¡± Jiu Er yelled in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°I understand. I get it. I believe you.¡± Henry nodded to Jiu Er with eyes full of trust.

    For some reason, Jiu Er became even angrier.

    The young-looking saint coughed lightly and said slowly, ¡°I shall continue. Blood Eater is unlike the Holy Grail Knight, who must restrain his desires.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to return to youth from an aging body. The lifestyle of Blood Eaters is generally, and rtively¡­ so I didn¡¯t expect that you would care about such things. I want to apologize to you, miss.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t think you believe me¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyway, restraint on desire ismendable. I¡¯m happy to see a Blood Eater with normal morals, even if it may not align with the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s church. But I believe the Cup-holding Lady will havepassion for a pure child like you.¡±

    ¡°You have smoothly advanced to Blood Eater at this age, probably because of this reason.¡±

    But I¡¯m really that young!

    Jiu Er felt wronged.

    Unlike Lin Yiyi, who liked to pretend to be young¡­ Maybe because Jiu Er was very young, she had always wanted to be praised as ¡°mature¡±.

    Jiu Er felt defeated for a strange reason ¡ª ¡°you look too young¡±. It didn¡¯t hurt, and she even mysteriously gained a slight increase in physical attributes. Jiu Er didn¡¯t feel like she was at a disadvantage. So she didn¡¯t say much, just rushed into the inner room to change her clothes.

    Her clothes had be somewhat tattered under the merciless assault. Fortunately, they still served their purpose, although they had be slightly breezier.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re not an enemy for now¡­¡± Lin Yiyi interjected.

    There was no need for the yer to fight any monster anymore. She didn¡¯t mind using precious gemstones.

    However, she was grateful that they came in early to resolve the misunderstanding.

    If Jiu Er were beaten up for a few more hours, he might lose his temper. At least if Jiu Er¡¯s clothes were destroyed, this conflict would not be so easy to resolve.

    At least it wouldn¡¯t offend others in Annan¡¯s name.

    The consequences would be serious if a saint became the yers¡¯ enemy.

    If the yers were lucky, they could win him over as an ally.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lin Yiyi had no idea.

    Hearing this, the young man¡¯s expression became slightly more serious, ¡°I have sensed that you were attacked. However, I arrived a bitte, so I can only deal with the most important part, preventing the Bloodhand Brothers from getting fresh Rustless Blood.¡±

    ¡°Of course, they knew that Blood Eaters cannot be easily killed. So they are only here to ¡®steal blood¡¯, inflicting a little damage before immediately retreating. The enemies who attack you are a facade. The goal is to prevent you from immediately detecting their true intentions and hinder your efforts to stop their retreat.¡±

    Henry paused and looked at Jiu Er, who hurriedly came out wearing a bathrobe. Bloodstains were still visible on her. He apologized once again, ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, Miss¡­¡±

    ¡°My name is Jiu Er.¡± Although Jiu Er didn¡¯t dare toin, she puffed up her cheeks like a puffer fish.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Jiu Er. But you don¡¯t have to worry about such things because exposing your bare skin holds no significance to me.¡±

    The young man said, pointing to Jiu Er¡¯s clothes, and said sincerely, ¡°Because when I was ¡®the Holy Grail Knight¡¯, I was a woman.¡±

    ¡°Hey? What?¡± Jiu Er was a little confused.

    Only then did Lin Yiyi realize the source of that sense of incongruity.

    It was not an ¡°ascetic monk¡±, but a ¡°nun¡¯s presence¡±.

    ¡°So, the Cup-holding Lady¡¯s church can even do that.¡± Suuankou blurted out in surprise.

    The saint nodded and affirmed, ¡°Yes, it is indeed possible. Compared with Mr. Ray, who can only convert from female to male, and the Motherly Moth, who can only go from male to female, Cup-holding Lady¡¯s high-level ritual can do a two-way transformation. This undoubtedly pertains to the essence of the [desire] realm.¡±

    When he said this, he looked at Suuankou with doubts and expectations, ¡°Could it be that you also wish to¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, I don¡¯t need that.¡± Suuankou repeatedly refused.

    Lin Yiyi was gloating.

    However, considering her younger brother might be agitated, she wisely suppressed her desire to watch the excitement and gloat over it.

    Lin Yiyi immediately posted the news on the forum.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 633: The Three Rituals

    <h4>Chapter 633: The Three Rituals</h4>

    ¡°¡ªDamn, this is some good stuff!¡±

    ¡°¡ªI have no other intentions, but I think you should cancel your anonymity first.¡±

    ¡°¡ªHey, the person publishing this post, make the transformation happen!¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait, wait¡­does this mean she can be a ¡°futanari¡±¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªFutanari!¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo way. The Cup-holding Lady is erotic.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhy do you say so? Are you excited? Actions speak louder than words, so it¡¯s better to act instead of just talking.¡±

    Seeing the information sent by Lin Yiyi, the forum became rowdy in an instant.

    Originally, the yers didn¡¯t particrly care about this kind of thing.

    However, Husky broadened their horizon.

    To be honest, some felt their heart racing.

    After all, this was their second life.

    Changing gender and even their race would not affect their lives¡ªfor example, Dove, who had not yet changed back from the cat form.

    This was undoubtedly a new life experience.

    Although yers didn¡¯t care much in the past, they asionally envied the alternative and novel experience of Dove and Husky.

    But after all, they didn¡¯t make those ¡°bold choices¡± when they entered the game, and they could only regret it now.

    However, just now, the yers suddenly heard that there was a ritual to switch gender.

    Combined with the ritual that could modify the appearance, it dosed the yers with the poison of fantasy to reshape their appearance.

    As for cost and difficulty, the yers never pay attention to such things.

    They wouldn¡¯t mind farming for the resources as long as they could obtain the materials.

    ording to the yers¡¯ typical behavior, they might hoard ¡°the required material¡± in this high-level ritual as a currency¡ªfor example, ¡°a bottle of fantasy elixir¡±.

    yers never have enough of the skin items.

    So, is this your fetish?

    Seeing the yers¡¯ enthusiasm, Annan was taken aback.

    Although it was impossible to buy skins and other skin items in this world, items that changed appearance were always considered a luxury in the gaming sphere.

    ¡°¡­But I¡¯ll have to remind them when I get a chance,¡± Annan said with a slight frown.

    If the ritual of the Cup-holding Lady was more convenient and less expensive than the rituals of Mr. Ray and the Motherly Moth, why would Mr. Ray and the Motherly Moth retain their rituals?

    The ritual of switching genders and the ritual of prolonging life for mortals were difficult.

    The ritual of the Sun Realm was called [Reshaping the Body of the Sun]. This ritual required a special and expensive flower, which needed to be performed at a specific time every day. The ritual involved collecting the sunlight of the sunrise, noon, and sunset for all twelve months, totaling 36 types of sunlight.

    The final step required the person in the ritual to carry out 36 acts of kindness in one day and then consume the flowers imbued with the sun¡¯s essence before sunset while apanied by prayers praising the sun.

    Then the person would dream that he was in the melting pot of the sun. After waking up after intense roasting, he could turn into a fairly healthy male body.

    It was worth mentioning that this ritual could be performed even by men.

    It could make already elderly and depleted bodies regain fertility and revive weakened bodies gued by chronic illnesses¡­ It could even instantaneously grant an untrained thirty-year-old the robust physique obtained from daily proper nutrition and dedicated exercise.

    Some ritualists in their thirties and about to embark on the transcended path would hold this ritual. At least they could rece their daily hours of reading, studying, or being weakened by curses with a healthy and strong body ¡ª it was much more cost-effective than starting from scratch with physical training. It could also eliminate anytent illnesses that had not yet surfaced.

    The Motherly Moth¡¯s ritual was called [Dead Butterfly in Dream]. There was a risk in this ritual. It did not require expensive materials like Mr. Ray¡¯s ritual. Instead, it only needed somemon ritual materials and the permission of ten female rtives and friends to donate blood voluntarily.

    These ten people need to have a rtionship with the person going through the ritual. This could be as a teacher-student, parent-child, ssmate, or evenrade¡­ This connection must have been ongoing for at least ten months.

    Afterward, the ritual¡¯s target needed an assistant to cut off the same ten fingers. No anesthesia was allowed in the process. No medical treatment to cease bleeding was allowed. Afterward, the person must be fed a special secret medicine and fall unconscious from the incense.

    Later, the ritual¡¯s target would temporarily lose his memory and be ced in a random dream worldposed of the experiences of ten ¡°supporters¡±.

    The goal of the ritual¡¯s target was to realize he was in a nightmare whereby his memory and existence were fictitious. He needed tomit suicide in the dream, then one of the fingers would stop bleeding. Instead, the wound spat out gray threads made of flesh and blood.

    The ritual person had to pass through the ten nightmare levels before the others dyed of blood loss. Then, he would be wrapped in a ¡°cocoon¡± made of gray silk threads. A sixteen-year-old girl would emerge after the cocoon was incubated for ten days. Her appearance would be thebination of features from the ten other people supporting this ritual. She would lose her original facial features. The process was like giving birth to a new life from these ten people.

    Unlike Mr. Ray¡¯s ritual, this ritual would not function for females.

    The essence of Mr. Ray¡¯s ritual was to reshape a healthy body.

    Thus, this ritual had the effect of rejuvenation.

    The Motherly Moth was the Deity of Dposition and Breeding.

    She was proficient at rituals about rebirth. If women wanted rejuvenation, they needed to carry out another ritual.

    Of course¡­ In principle, it was allowed to switch between these two rituals to turn oneself into a girl with ¡°periodic age changes¡±.

    However, it wasn¡¯t practical. The ritual of extending life was not hard, but it was banned among royal families.

    Most of the time, individuals of Gold Rank wouldn¡¯t die of old age but rather due to theplete exhaustion of their souls.

    However, if the person did not reach the Silver Rank to obtain a pure soul before performing the life extension ritual, the soul of the ritual¡¯s target would begin to rot.

    The stench would attract Bell Ringer Oik. The stronger the smell, the faster the Bell Ringer Oik woulde.

    The Cup-holding Lady¡¯s ritual [The Great Sin of Drunk] was moreplicated than these two rituals.

    The indescribable ritual process was not a problem. The key was that a series of random changes would ur to all participants in this ritual.

    Usually, the changes skewed ording to the desire, which made it uncontroble, just like no people hadplete control over their desires.

    The real purpose of this ritual was to ¡°make the ritual target more beautiful¡±. However, whenever the people involved woke up, they found something different from their original image. However, most of them were satisfied with the result.

    If the ritual¡¯s target was a woman who liked girls, she might be a handsome man. However, it was also possible that she became a heroic woman. However, what made it scary was that she would be a woman with man¡¯s features. Those worried about being assassinated would have an extra heart. Those who felt their life was too hectic would have more arms after the ritual.

    Simrly, bizarre mutations like ¡°having an eye in each hand¡±, ¡°having an eye in the back of the head¡±, or abnormal and drastic changes in weight and height.

    The Cup-holding Lady gloated over the mutations guided by desire. It was considered the consequence of being punished for indulging in desire. Of course, the concerned person might not think this was a punishment.

    Annan felt the first two mentioned ritual was alright.

    In short, [Reshaping the Body of the Sun] was a daily sign-in requirement like the popr mobile games.

    The danger of [Dead Butterfly in Dream] did not exist for yers.

    [The Great Sin of Drunk] was different.

    Anything could happen.

    The mutation produced in this ritual could not be cured. It was not a ¡°disability¡± or ¡°disease¡±, but the person was in great health. The only way to revert the changes was to alter one¡¯s desire and repeat the ritual.

    ¡°However, the result of the ritual is predictable.¡±

    Annan suddenly remembered something.

    Speaking of it, Salvatore had a magic mirror that could reflect the essence of a person¡¯s soul.

    Using the mirror with the ritual might generate strange ¡°races¡± in this world.

    Seeing the yers discussing enthusiastically, Annan opened his mouth but said nothing.

    I didn¡¯t do anything to scam you this time, my yers.

    You have voluntarily jumped into the trap¡­

    I should stop those weirdos from carrying out this ritual for the peace of the world¡­

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 Chapter 634: How Could The Assassin Fail?

    <h4>Chapter 634: How Could The Assassin Fail?</h4>

    When Annan was thinking about Salvatore, Salvatore seemed to have a tacit understanding and contacted Annan.

    ¡°Annan? Can you hear me?¡± In the standing mirror in Annan¡¯s bathroom, Salvatore¡¯s face emerged.

    Salvatore seemed a little nervous.

    He moved a small stool over and sat in front of the mirror in formal attire. He leaned forward slightly with his hands on his knee.

    He nced at the Winter¡¯s Hand behind Annan with only half of his body exposed and looked embarrassed, ¡°Oh, you have someone with you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just an elder taking care of my daily life.¡± Annan¡¯s clothes were slightly damp, and his hair was wet. He was wearing a thick, furry coat on his upper body.

    He gave a gentle and harmless smile. ¡°My familycks a sense of security. They always think that I might be abducted at any moment¡­ So when I¡¯m at home, at least one person usually keeps an eye on me.¡±

    ¡°That must be ufortable.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s also a kind thought.¡± Annan replied.

    He tilted his head, ¡°Is there anything you can do to find me suddenly? Or¡­ to experiment with this new ritual?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, Annan!¡± Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Salvatore reacted, ¡°This is my newly developed ritual. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Is it in the mirror realm?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Salvatore¡¯s expression showed signs of exhaustion, but his tone was rather excited. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking since Teacher is now the Pope of the Mirror Realm, will I have the chance to meet the Man in the Mirror in person?¡±

    ¡°So, what happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a favorable oue!¡±

    Senior Salvatore happily shared what he saw, ¡°Before the Man in the Mirror held the ascendancy ritual, he practiced Idol Magic! His ability to give life to golems and his superb technology of manipting time impressed me. I admire him a lot¡­ but since I don¡¯t have the affinity of the Idol Magic, I can only admire his achievement from a distance.¡±

    ¡°I was blessed with the signature token from the Man in the Mirror. It can be used as an unlimited number of real names, and it also has a considerable degree of power. With this token, it provides a steady stream of ¡®infinite ovepping echoes and influence¡¯. I can experiment with a new ritual in the mirror realm!¡±

    So, you made a video call to me in the end.

    Annan had a weird expression.

    However, it¡¯s quite convenient¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s the name of this ritual? How does it cost?¡±

    ¡°I call it [Mirror Reflecting Friendship].¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a straightforward name.¡±

    ¡°As for utilizing a cheaper and stable curse vessel in the future, I will find another way to optimize it.¡±

    Speaking of this, Salvatore showed a bright smile, ¡°After all, I sleep less than ordinary people¡­ You know it too.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m your secret keeper, after all.¡± Annan nodded.

    After rence died, Salvatore¡¯s secret keeper was transferred to Annan.

    Because of the curse [Never-Sleeping Reflection], Salvatore was forced to stay upte daily. He could only fall asleep at 3 a.m. and wake up at 9.00 a.m.

    And the second curse he got when he advanced to Silver Rank limited him to sleep no more than six hours a day ¡ª for every hour he slept beyond that, his outward appearance aged by one year, but his lifespan did not increase.

    Luckily, there was a way around it.

    After all, in terms of judgment, being in aa did not count as sleeping.

    Salvatore¡¯s mood calmed down instead ¡ª as long as he stayed up until he passed out, he could catch up on sleep naturally.

    Once epted such a setting, it became a reasonable excuse for staying upte and working overtime.

    ¡°But did you specifically contact me just to test the effectiveness of the ritual?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried it twice in a ¡®long-distance¡¯ setting and tested the possibility to ¡®change the name¡¯ ¡ªthis time is mainly to test if the ritual can cross the barrier and enablemunication across different countries. The results are promising.¡±

    Salvatore was in a good mood, ¡°The other thing is to tell you about the news from the Noah Kingdom. You left without traces, so I can¡¯t contact you.¡±

    As he spoke, he began toin.

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Annan reassured him, ¡°What news? About Kafni?¡±

    ¡°There is a Fallen named Blood Fiend in the capital. Do you know that? He has attained a deep level of demonization, and his [appendage] has almost formed. Its power is equivalent to a Gold Rank without awakened elements.¡±

    While recalling, Salvatore said slowly, ¡°But, the fiend was killed not long ago.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the [Ritualist Killer]? Wasn¡¯t he killed long ago?¡±

    ¡°At first, Philip thought he had killed Blood Fiend. He didn¡¯t expect that Blood Fiend only had one head left, but he still didn¡¯t die.¡±

    Salvatore exined, ¡°Then, he was attacked by the Blood Fiend in his room. He was in a sorry state, and the Blood Fiend killed his lover. But he was lucky to be safe in the end.¡±

    ¡°So Philip survive it, huh?¡±

    Annan was surprised, ¡°How did he do it?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t surprised that Blood Fiend wasn¡¯t dead.

    Because it was Delicious Wind Goose who attacked Blood Fiend at that time ¡ª he deliberately didn¡¯t kill Blood Fiend.

    This was originally a coboration between them. It was just that very few people knew about it.

    Annan wondered why Blood Fiend didn¡¯t kill the unsuspecting Philip.

    Philip was not a Gold Rank Transcender nor a Fallen.

    Philip was merely a veteran ritualist.

    How could he fail to assassinate the weak Philip?

    Are you not ashamed?

    Then, Salvatore vaguely figured out something from Annan¡¯s replies.

    ¡°So, is the Blood Fiend your ally?¡±

    Salvatore was in doubt. He leaned forward as if he was about to fall.

    ¡°Be careful not to fall over.¡± Annan reminded, ¡°Also, Blood Fiend is not my ally. It¡¯s just that Delicious Wind Goose brought Blood Fiend to Philip¡¯s house.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Salvatore felt a little sorry.

    After knowing it was Annan¡¯s idea to assassinate Philip, he changed the subject and stopped pitying Philip. Instead, he regretted that Philip didn¡¯t die, ¡°That should be because you didn¡¯tmunicate well.¡±

    ¡°I supposed Blood Fiend didn¡¯t n to assassinate Philip initially. However, someone noticed him, pushing to kill Philip. However, he failed.¡±

    ¡°So, he has been discovered.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Salvatore replied, ¡°It¡¯s the Sacrifice Saint, ¡®The Man Against Himself¡¯. He went to the capital to search for Blood Fiend. He will find and kill any Fallen with the special ability. He has been hunting Fallen for more than a decade.¡±

    ¡°His purpose is to prevent the sacred bone of ¡®the Flesh of Sacrifice¡¯ from falling into the Fallen¡¯s hands.¡±

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 Chapter 635: Don Juanâ€™s & Clarenceâ€™s Resurrection

    <h4>Chapter 635: Don Juan¡¯s & rence¡¯s Resurrection</h4>

    ¡­This narration doesn¡¯t sound quite right, either.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    ording to the current logic, Henry Worden, [The Man Against Himself], appeared in Saltpeter Ranch to deal with the Bloodhand Brothers.

    The Mother of the Bloodhand Brothers was a demon rted to ¡°blood¡±. The brothers might have inherited part of the demon¡¯s power in addition to their mother¡¯s forbidden knowledge. Thus, Henry Worden wanted to hunt them down.

    However, the saints generally would not have a straightforward goal.

    Once their ¡°selfishness¡± grew stronger, they would easily deviate from the original path. If their state differed from the condition when the sacred bone epted them, the sacred bone would abandon them.

    This time, Henry Worden came here with a direct purpose.

    His actions were rushed.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Annan left the Noah Kingdom. Henry went to the Noah Kingdom to kill the ¡°Blood Fiend¡± during this period. Then, he appeared in the underground world, trying to eliminate the Bloodhand Brothers.

    The situation showed that Henry was in a hurry.

    Considering the purpose of this matter itself, whereby Henry wanted to stop the ¡°Flesh of Sacrifice¡± from falling into the hands of the Fallen, it hinted that Henry had deviated from the way of sacrifice to a considerable extent.

    Annan caught the attention of ¡°the Flesh of Sacrifice¡± when he previously cleared the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare.

    Back then, Annan thought that ¡°the Flesh of Sacrifice¡± was without an owner, as it was in the process of selecting the next saint.

    However, the Flesh of Sacrifice had an owner now.

    Probably, that sacred bone had the intention of ??¡±jumping ship¡±.

    If someone with a more ¡°sacrificing spirit¡± than the holder appeared, it might betray the current owner at any time. During this critical stage, it was quite dangerous to continue using the sacred bone¡¯s power.

    Once the ¡°Flesh of Sacrifice¡± part left the owner, it would be a fatal injury.

    On the other hand, Henry Worden didn¡¯t hesitate to take the risk of the sacred bone abandoning him. He utilized its power to handle his affairs, demonstrating a spirit of sacrifice that ultimately slowed down the bone¡¯s inclination to leave.

    The situation reflected the ¡°paradox of sacrifice.¡±

    Then, there was probably only one answer.

    ¡°Is Henry dying?¡± Annan asked, ¡°That man who is against himself.¡±

    ¡°Why are you asking that all of a sudden?¡± Salvatore was confused, ¡°Probably not? If he believes that he is near the end of his life, he will leave the Great Barrier as soon as possible and enter the depths of the Gray Mists.¡±

    When the saints sensed their impending death, they would retreat into the depths of the Gray Mists. This served two purposes: to prevent the sacred bone from falling into the wrong hands and being manipted against their will; and to avoid the manifestation of a nightmare upon their demise, which could harm others.

    While saints came in all types and personalities, they ultimately walked the path of righteousness for the sake of the world.

    ¡°No¡­ nothing.¡± Seeing that Salvatore was unaware of Henry Worden¡¯s intentions, Annan didn¡¯t intend to involve him.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Annan changed the subject, ¡°What you wanted to tell me in the first ce again? What did you want to say?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes!¡± Annan easily distracted Salvatore¡¯s attention, ¡°With the help of Tower Master Hugo, Senior rence has been sessfully resurrected!¡±

    ¡°Which form of resurrection?¡±

    ¡°A resurrection that retains the soul and memory, like being reborn from a fetus.¡±

    Salvatore added, ¡°The situation with Don Juan is roughly simr. However, Don Juan was born into a distant rtive of the Geraint family. On the other hand, rence, as a Silver Rank Wizard, has immense soul power. The tower master found a good ¡®mother¡¯ for him.¡±

    ¡°Which family is it?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± After Annan asked this question, Salvatore¡¯s expression became a little awkward.

    He coughed lightly and said in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ the Gerald family. You know who it is.¡±

    ¡°David Gerald?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Gerald¡¯s illegitimate daughter. She was raised in an orphanage invested in by the tower master Hugo before. She was fond of the tower master, so she proposed this n after learning about it. Then, she will give birth to a child with Master Hugo to revive Senior rence.¡±

    ¡°She undoubtedly has the bloodline of Soul Snatch Wizard, so bearing rence¡¯s soul power would not hurt her body. The other half of the bloodline is Tower Master Hugo, so the talent of this new baby would be superb.¡±

    Salvatore¡¯s expression was strange, ¡°But something still feels off to me.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s fate.¡± Annan concluded, ¡°I should pay a visit when I have time.¡±

    ¡°You should reallye back.¡± Salvatore sighed deeply, ¡°Hugo has a curse of ¡®having no offspring¡¯. He established an oath during his youth, which was used in exchange for a healthy body that wouldst forever.¡±

    ¡°After Senior rence¡¯s new body is born, the curse will be triggered. Originally, a curse¡¯s negative feedback would not cause death. However, when Hugo fought Bernardino back then, his soul was almost exhausted. Based on my calctions, Hugo might die within six months due to soul exhaustion even if he doesn¡¯t get immediately killed by breaking the curse.¡±

    In other words, Hugo exchanged his life for the resurrection of his beloved student.

    ¡°So, there¡¯s still half a year left¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    Salvatore corrected: ¡°To be more precise, it would be half a year after the baby is born.¡±

    ¡°When is the baby going to be born? I¡¯ll be back¡­ I want to name the baby.¡±

    ¡°That will be great.¡± Salvatore cheered, ¡°Having someone of your noble status as the godfather to bestow names upon them. It might just make them luckier in the future. Who knows?¡±

    ¡°As for the specific timing, Don Juan is expected to be born in early May. Senior rence will be a bitter since the child was conceived not long ago. It will probably take about eight months, so around the end of this year.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all after Kafni ascended the throne, so it should be fine.¡± Annan nodded, ¡°I will attend the ceremony. I have already prepared a gift for Don Juan.¡±

    ording to the etiquette of Austere-Winter, the godfather should give the newborn a precious gift with a strong connection with the godfather.

    The gift Annan prepared was [Annan¡¯s Sword].

    This was originally Don Juan Geraint¡¯s noble sword. It apanied Annan for a considerable period, helping him ovee the difficulties during the starting stage of the second ythrough.

    Annan used it to cast Frost Sword many times, imbuing its de with frost elements. Then, Salvatore upgraded it further, turning it into a curse sword containing [Arctic Cut].

    [Arctic Cut: When it causes ¡°cutting¡± damage to living enemies, it can cause additional frost damage that is difficult to dispel; when it causes ¡°cutting¡± damage to ghosts and spirit enemies, it will convert the physical damage to frost damage.]

    Its color changed from dark blue to purple after Annan used it to perform ¡°Brilliant Sword¡±.

    At the same time, a new feature had been added.

    [Sword of Victory: This sword was once used by Annan¡¤Austere-Winter. The glory of victory soaked is imbued in the sword. Its nobility and reverence are greater than bright gold.]

    Although there was no substantial buff on the sword, the sword carried the characteristic of ¡°nobility¡±. It could be used in simr rituals to rece scepters, rings, crowns, etc.

    After Annan seeded to the throne, this item had no use for him.

    This was originally a temporary curse vessel made for spirit bodies.

    What Annan preferred to use was his ¡°inexhaustible¡± boning knife.

    The [Sword of Victory] was originally Don Juan¡¯s sword.

    Giving the sword back to Don Juan¡¯s reborn body was a cycle of destiny.

    ¡°By the way, senior.¡± In the beginning, Annan thought of what he wanted to ask, ¡°Is your magic mirror still there? It isn¡¯t burned to a crisp in the ck Tower, right?¡±

    ¡°Nope. It originally belonged to Teacher Benjamin. Later, the teacher took it away for something important. I didn¡¯t pry further since the Teacher¡¯s expression was so serious.¡± Salvatore exined.

    He asked, ¡°Do you want it? He will lend it to you if you ask.¡±

    ¡°Well, I will ask himter.¡± Annan nodded.

    Annan cared more about what Benjamin would do with the magic mirror than borrowing it.

    ¡°First, I should investigate this group of assassins and then ask Benjamin more about it.¡±

    As for the Bloodhand Brothers and Captain of the Stone¡­

    Annan hesitated momentarily but decided to ignore them for the time being.

    Annan was quite upied, and he trusted his yers to deal with them.

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 Chapter 636: â€œLeft Pinkyâ€ Zorgen

    <h4>Chapter 636: ¡°Left Pinky¡± Zorgen</h4>

    The ¡°video call¡± with Salvatore concluded. Having patiently waited at the doorway, the Winter¡¯s Hand entered the room after a courteous knock.

    The person was a rather thin old man.

    He looked tall and thin, like a dried-up scarecrow or a thin, ghostly figure.

    His pupils were silvery white as if clouded by mist. At a nce, he looked like a blind person with pure white eyes.

    Interestingly, the most noticeable thing about him wasn¡¯t the ice ring on his left pinky but rather the scarf around his neck.

    The old man wore seven dark gray wool scarves, wrapping him from the noise to the shoulders. Other than his silver-gray eyes, his features were concealed.

    ¡°Your Highness, the results of the interrogation are out.¡± A deep, soft voice sounded from beneath the scarves, ¡°Can I report to you now?¡±

    ¡°Go ahead, Uncle Zorgen.¡± Annan nodded slightly. There was a touch of respect in his voice.

    Annan had lost his memory. However, he was informed that this Winter¡¯s Hand member watched him grow up as a child. The old man also took care of Ivan during Ivan¡¯s childhood too.

    In Winter¡¯s Hand, the ¡°ring finger¡± was dedicated to housekeeping, and the ¡°thumb¡± was in charge of administrative work.

    The ¡°pinky¡± was referred to as the ¡°unneeded finger,¡± or alternatively, the ¡°secretive finger.¡± Their responsibilities entailed tasks ¡°hidden from the public¡¯s eyes¡±, carrying out operations such as espionage, interrogation, assassination, and the fabrication of false evidence.

    Generally speaking, the Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s members were elites who had advanced from the Energy Falteration Wizard profession. However, taking up the pinky finger role required a Lurker profession.

    They said that before Annan was eight years old, Zorgen intercepted at least ten assassination attempts on Annan. Moreover, Zorgen also protected Annan¡¯s mother, Anya Rasputin, before Annan was born.

    The reason why Annan faced assassination attempts again was that he was separated from Ivan.

    At present, the Winter¡¯s Hand was iplete. However, given the authority involved, having vacancies was better than filling them improperly.

    This new approach came into being after the defection of the Winter Insurgent, dmir. Before that, the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± were always filled up. There were even many candidates vying for reserved positions, which led to internal conflicts within the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    ¡°The Winter Insurgent¡± was a wake-up call.

    He reminded Ivan that the real power of Austere-Winter Dukedom was not in the hands of those ministers but in the hands of the ¡°ten fingers¡± of Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The previous ¡®Right Pinky¡¯ was also among the defectors. Since then, all of his disciples had been thoroughly purged¡­ Until now, the ¡®Right Pinky¡¯ faction was still being managed by Zorgen.

    The rule of Winter¡¯s Hand was that ¡°the left hand managed the internal affairs, the right hand managed the external affairs¡±, just like the left hand was used to block attacks and protect vital points, while the right hand was used to wield weapons and attack.

    At present, the right hand of Winter¡¯s Hand had four vacancies. The other four rings had no owners except for the most important ¡°thumb¡± as themander, which Ivan designated the respective ring to be under ¡°Victor¡¯s¡± possession. Those authorities were passed to the left hand.

    The spies sent to foreign countries stopped receiving instructions. They would be living their lives as usual; those passing intelligence back to Austere-Winter Dukedom were ordered to go back undercover. For example, the ¡°Father¡± was in this situation.

    [TN: ¡°Father¡± is the ritualist Annan faced in Chapter 257, a spy Austere-Winter Dukedom sent to Noah Kingdom.]

    These Noah spies couldn¡¯t pass the information back at all.

    This situation baffled Old Bread Daryl, who was wondering about the ¡°sudden reduction in Austere-Winter¡¯s intelligence personnel¡±. It was essentially due to a shift in the ¡°Ten Fingers''¡± powers, reducing them to six fingers¡­ not because of any significant internal changes within Austere-Winter, or any secret intelligence they didn¡¯t want outsiders to know.

    At the same time, this was the true secret that the Noah Kingdom must not find out.

    ¡°Judging from your report, our top priority is to arrest Urie immediately.¡±

    Zorgen stood up straight, his lean body resembled a tall ghost, and his hands pressed tightly against his trouser legs. Without referring to any notes, he proficiently recited the intelligence obtained from the interrogations directly to Annan.

    Simply put, the Northern Alliance was involved. To be precise, it was the private actions of three members within the Northern Alliance ¨C Viscount Peter, Viscount Ostoff, and Count Urie.

    They weren¡¯t simply trying to assassinate Annan.

    Afterparing with Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s previous investigation, Zorgen keenly discovered a strange transaction in the Frostwind Territory. On the surface, it wasbeled as ¡°purchasing everyday use Green Fire¡±. However, upon careful investigation, it was discovered that the money was channeled into the underworld, specifically to a town named ¡°Saltpeter Ranch¡±.

    The ruler of this town, ¡°the Bloodhand Brothers¡±, had an inexplicable rtionship with the Noah Kingdom¡¯s Natta County. The ¡°Mushroom Eaters¡± gang produced arge amount of Demon Blood, but only a small amount flowed into Noah¡¯s local. The rest were sold to Saltpeter Ranch.

    Afterward, the Demon Blood flowed into the Frostwind Territory in the north of Austere-Winter through the Saltpeter Ranch.

    ¡°Yuri Frostwind was sued for researching taboo rituals before. He paid arge amount ofpensation and handed over three manors to escape prison. The taboo rituals were rted to municating with dream world creatures¡¯. The rituals required the use of ¡®Hermes¡¯ Poison Dust,¡¯ which necessitated a material known as the ¡®Pure Hearted Fallen.''¡±

    ¡°Looking back now¡­ those materials were likely just the remnants left from a failed attempt to create a demon. They probably didn¡¯t even manufacture poison dust, let alonemunicate with creatures from the dream world.¡±

    The old man¡¯s eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, ¡°Considering that they may have sessfully created a demon, I think it is necessary to dispatch the Frost Beast troops to seize it. Anyone rted to the taboo ritual should be arrested.¡±

    Permission from ¡°Forefinger¡± and above were required to dispatch the Frost Beast troops. The old man¡¯s proposition overstepped his authority.

    An operation like this might also startle the Northern Alliance.

    Annan thought momentarily, then asked, ¡°Have you told my father?¡±

    ¡°Grand Duke Ivan instructed me to report to you first, Your Highness Annan.¡± Zorgen replied.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not act hastily.¡± Annan suggested, remaining silent for a moment as he furrowed his brows. ¡°Did you mention that the assassin¡¯s weapon is venom?¡±

    ¡°The weapon is a standard curse vessel [Venom ¨C Heart Failure]. Once it strikes, the de shatters and sends fragments into its victim¡¯s muscles. At the same time, the de remnants inflict a ¡®Heart Failure¡¯ spell on whoever it¡¯s in contact with every three seconds.¡±

    The old man replied calmly, ¡°This is the technology of the Searing-Fang family in the United Kingdom.¡±

    His words were devoid of emotion as if Annan¡¯s previous response hadn¡¯t existed¡ªthere were neither counter-questions nor follow-up inquiries.

    The old man was like a cold puppet.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s start our investigation from there.¡± Annan tapped the table with his index finger and said slowly, ¡°We must find out who is involved in this, which will help us identify who our enemies are and their potential goals. Only then can we determine who can be persuaded to our side and who cannot be trusted.¡±

    We have few avable personnel in the underground city, making it difficult to conduct an efficient investigation in Saltpeter Ranch.¡±

    The old man responded emotionlessly, ¡°But we have three spies who¡¯ve be ¡®Diggers¡¯ in the underworld. However, if they were to surface, it could expose them, leading to the loss of their rights. Although we¡¯re uncertain, the ¡®Wise¡¯ could be a troublesome hindrance. You¡¯d have to consider using these spies as expendable pawns.¡±

    ¡°No, there is no need to mobilize our spies.¡± Annan had a new idea.

    Speaking of which, Lin Yiyi and the others were at Saltpeter Ranch.

    Annan could let the yers investigate it.

    Annan smiled with triumph and confidence.

    The silver-haired youth narrowed his eyes. He spoke slowly, ¡°I should be able to obtain fairly urate information quite soon.¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 637: Substitute Walker Of Blood Grail

    <h4>Chapter 637: Substitute Walker Of Blood Grail</h4>

    [TN: The term previously tranted as ¡°cup¡± will be standardized as ¡°grail¡± from this chapter onwards. This includes changing ¡°Cup-holding Lady¡± to ¡°Grail-holding Lady.¡±]

    When Lin Yiyi realized that ¡°the Man Against Himself¡± would join her team, she realized that the yers probably wouldn¡¯t need to be hands-on in this mission.

    It felt like having a professional yer carrying the team.

    The yers could challenge difficult games with the ¡°carry¡¯s¡± presence.

    Though, would the yers care about the ¡°carry¡¯s¡± feeling?

    No! They would be more focused on their benefits.

    Those were likely the internal monologues after feeling blessed having the carry¡­

    *Thwack*

    Thisbat approach differed from when he was ¡°fighting¡± with Jiu Er.

    The red spear transformed from Henry Worden¡¯s right arm had sharp thorns reminiscent of a beast¡¯s fangs.

    When the spears prated the enemy¡¯s body, the enemy lost the ability to struggle.

    *Swoosh~*

    As the rigid spears rapidly softened, they began to emit a screeching rustle. The slender, red tentacles, which had spread throughout the alley, quickly melted away, withdrawing back into Henry¡¯s side and transforming into his right arm.

    Those impaled victims found themselves being reeled back amidst their screams. Their bodies produced squeaking and creaking sounds as they werepressed and crushed by an invisible force, disappearing into the red torrent formed by the tentacles.

    ¡ªThe magic hand had seemingly devoured them.

    The blood and pieces of flesh in the alley were seemingly licked up and swallowed by an unseen force, leaving not a trace behind.

    Let alone a corpse; not even a drop of blood remained on the scene.

    The only evidence that a fierce battle took ce here before was the holes and scratches left on the wall.

    ¡°Are we the viin here?¡± Citalopramined.

    Lin Yiyi shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem. Brother H is the protagonist.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying, Brother or Uncle?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any difference. Henry is our boss now.¡± Lin Yiyiined, ¡°These people are the protagonists with the face of a viin¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you guys chatting about?¡± Henry Worden leaned over curiously and asked lightly, ¡°Are you saying I look like a viin?¡±

    His voice and eyes emanated a gentleness contradictory to his brutalbat approach.

    It was as if he had not torn apart the bodies of his enemies with the spear that his right arm had transformed into¡­ but rather, as if he was gently touching a butterfly¡¯s wings.

    ¡°Sir, we¡¯re just saying the way you fight is kind of cool.¡± Jiu Er tried to diffuse the tension, ¡°Isn¡¯t that so?¡±

    Instead, Henry was amused, ¡°Why are you asking me?¡±

    ¡°However, Saint¡­¡± Citalopram, in the form of a spirit body, spoke in an ethereal voice with an echo, ¡°Don¡¯t we need to leave a survivor for questioning?¡±

    When Citalopram asked this question, Henry showed an eerie smile.

    At that moment, Suuankou felt the air getting stuffy and sticky. He instinctively touched his face and looked at the back of his hand, only to realize that there was no blood or sweat on his face or body.

    The others didn¡¯t seem to notice it.

    This former Holy Grail Knight, Goddaughter of the Cup-holding Lady and now the Sacrifice Saint, lowered his eyes. There was a sense ofpassion in them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He repeated.

    Whether it was the various types of wounds covering his body, his clear eyes that were as transparent as light golden liquor, or his gentle tone¡­ they all emphasized a sense of harmlessness andpassion.

    He slowly closed his eyes as if tasting a mellow wine.

    However, the words he uttered gave people an unpredictable sense of danger, ¡°I have kissed their blood, and I have tasted their desire.¡±

    Following Saint Henry¡¯s words, all the wounds on his body began to bleed.

    ¡°Your Excellency?!¡± Lin Yiyi eximed, ¡°Are you injured?¡±

    ¡°¡ªNo, he sensed our arrival.¡± What responded was the immature voice of a boy.

    The yers didn¡¯t see the source of the voice at all.

    However, the voice seemed so close, as if it was a whisper in the ear.

    However, in stark contrast to this voice was the rationality and wisdom in his words, ¡°No secrets exist in front of a Bloodseeker. After all, ¡®secrets¡¯ and ¡®desires¡¯ are intimate sisters.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all for now.¡± Henry said softly.

    When Henry opened his eyes again, ¡°the Man Against Himself¡± gave off a different air.

    The pupils of Lin Yiyi and Suuankou shrank. They vividly felt their hearts racing. The thumping of their heartbeats was so wild that it was buzzing in their ears.

    Immense fear surged into their hearts for no reason.

    Their knees trembled¡­ their backs were so taut that they felt like they were about to snap, and sweat was seeping from their palms.

    The effect urred, although the yers weren¡¯t in confrontation with Henry.

    Simply being in Saint Henry¡¯s presence¡­ no, more urately, just catching a whiff of his presence was enough to instill this instinctual fear in them.

    However, why did Jiu Er not feel anything?

    Lin Yiyi looked at Jiu Er curiously.

    The excitement and curiosity of potentially witnessing a sh between deities overcame her fear.

    Enduring the intense difort in her heart, Lin Yiyi sent a private message to Jiu Er.

    ¡°¡ªHow do you feel now? Is there any difort?¡±

    However, Jiu Er did not response.

    ¡°Jiu Er?¡± Lin Yiyi suddenly realized something was wrong.

    Jiu Er¡¯s pupils had turned scarlet at some point.

    She raised her head and stared at the sun¡­ She muttered something in a low voice.

    ¡°No need to panic, Miss Yiyi.¡±

    The Sacrifice Saint said softly, ¡°She is summoning the Cup-holding Lady for me.¡±

    ¡°[The Flesh of Sacrifice] suppressed my divine art, so I can only find another believer of Cup-holding Lady to help meplete the ritual¡­¡±

    ¡°Did this happen when they attacked Jiu Er?¡± Lin Yiyi realized it.

    Henry must have buried something under Jiu Er¡¯s skin during that time.

    She frowned immediately, resisting the fear in her heart, raised her head, and looked directly at Saint Henry, ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªShh.¡± Saint Henry lowered his eyes and put his hand before his lips.

    As the thunderous heartbeat sounded on Jiu Er, the surrounding world was dyed pure scarlet in the blink of an eye.

    It wasn¡¯t the blood sshing out of her body¡­ Instead, the sky ¡°dome¡± of the above-ground world turned into a dark red abyss.

    That¡¯s the mouth of the grail.

    Lin Yiyi, who had experienced ¡°Ritual: Roaring Heart¡±, recognized it immediately.

    ¡°What a treasure¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really good stuff.¡±

    There came an old, frail voice that sounded like he had exhausted all his strength just to speak, ¡°The saint¡¯s blood¡­ Do you want to hand over the sacred bone to this child?¡±

    Only nine seconds had passed since the surprise.

    Thunder roared again from Jiu Er¡¯s body.

    That was the sound of a heartbeat amplified thousands of times.

    Despite Lin Yiyi having the physique of a Silver Rank, she couldn¡¯t muster any strength in front of the loud noise, and she was shaken to the point where her body went numb.

    Given this amplitude of power, the passers-by must be¡­

    ¡­Huh?

    Lin Yiyi suppressed the dizziness and looked around.

    Unbeknownst to them, the yers seemed to have left from the previous alley.

    There were no buildings beside them. Instead, the yers found themselves in the middle of a crimson ne.

    This was a vast crimson prairie. Each de of grass seemed to have absorbed the crimson sunlight, turning into an iparably pure shade of deep red.

    ¡°¡ªDamn, are we within a barrier?¡± Suuankou blurted out.

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 Chapter 638: The Flesh Of Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 638: The Flesh Of Sacrifice</h4>

    Apart from the five individuals standing on the yers¡¯ side, two more figures could be seen off in the distance.

    Behind him stood an elderly man with a hunched back.

    He looked unusually old, seemingly like the boy¡¯s great-grandfather. The old man looked so old that he seemingly had one foot in the grave¡­ as if he couldn¡¯t get up again if he fell. It wouldn¡¯t seem strange if he passed away at any moment.

    What they had inmon was that they were both wearing long gloves, and their pupils were the same bright red.

    ¡ªIt was the red simr to Jiu Er¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Your Excellence Barney, and Your Excellency Jacob.¡± The saint¡¯s tone was gentle, and he nodded politely, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.¡±

    Are they the rumored Bloodhand ¡°Brothers¡±?

    Lin Yiyi was stunned for a moment.

    Are you sure they are brothers?

    Such arge age gap seems odd, even if they imed to be grandfather and grandson.

    The age difference is too unreal, even if they are a grandparent-and-grandchild pair.

    As soon as ¡°the Man Against Himself¡± finished his words, the same loud thunderous heartbeat sounded from Jiu Er again.

    The first heartbeat summoned the[Mouth of the Blood Grail].

    The second heartbeat sent them to this crimson world.

    At the third heartbeat, the dark red sun in the sky began to drip with blood.

    It started as a trickle but quickly grew heavier. The dark red ¡®sun¡¯ seemed like a tilted bottle¡¯s mouth, continuously pouring its content down.

    After that, Jiu Er stopped emitting the thunderous heartbeat.

    She raised her head and stared intently at the ck sun in the sky. Her eyes were empty with only dark red as if the [Mouth of the Grail] was reflected in the bottom of her pupils.

    Upon a closer look, the yers realized the crimson prairie wasn¡¯t as huge as they had imagined.

    The ce was roughly the size of two football fields.

    The viscous, citrus-scented blood sma quickly soaked the ground.

    The saint appeared to be rooted to the spot. He stood unmoving, drenched in the torrential downpour of blood.

    ¡°[Taboo ritual: Heaven in the Grail]¡­It is indeed you, Miss Worden.¡±

    [TN: Henry Worden is originally a female before bing a saint.]

    Despite the situation, the young boy in the distance didn¡¯t panic. He merely chuckled, ¡°Such a familiar tactic. I¡¯m scared.¡±

    ¡°But, didn¡¯t youe to me willingly?¡± Henry Worden didn¡¯t immediately attack. Instead, he spoke amicably across a river of blood with the odd pair of ¡°brothers¡±: one too old and one too young.

    However, his tone quickly became less than friendly, ¡°If you¡¯re scared, shouldn¡¯t you be wetting your pants and calling for your mommy, scampering off like scared rats?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s meaningless to run away. After all, you are a monster who can steal all a person¡¯s desires by eating them.¡± The boy calmly looked at the battered saint, his tone turning vicious, ¡°I wonder¡­ how much of you is still actually you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still myself.¡± The saint replied without any hesitation.

    As the blood soaked the ground, the saint no longer hesitated.

    He didn¡¯t even bother raising his hand.

    The whole world came alive in an instant.

    From the blood beneath the saint¡¯s feet, countless thorny vines burst forth, spreading out toward the two opponents on the other side.

    When those vines neared the opponents, half morphed into sharp spears while the remainder came at them from different directions, aiming to trap their limbs.

    Meanwhile, the blood beneath the Bloodhand Brothers acted like water ghouls, gripping their legs and feet, holding them tightly in ce.

    Boom~

    Though they seemed like soft vines, they created a thunderous bang when hurled like spears.

    Despite the distance of several hundred meters, the ground was still rumbling and shaking.

    Only then did Lin Yiyi understand why the saint threw the enemy so far away.

    Otherwise, the AoE attack might harm the yers.

    ¡°Give me your life, Barney!¡± The boy let out a sound that was both youthful and incredibly sharp.

    Meanwhile, the old man obediently nodded, not finding any issue with the boy¡¯s words. ¡°No problem, brother.¡±

    Then, the downpour of red spears bombarded them.

    The ground was bombarded until it copsed. Cracks visible to the naked eye emerged from all directions. The ground undted like a floating ind, and blood gushed from the cracks.

    As for the Bloodhand Brothers, they were overwhelmed by the continuous bombardment.

    ¡ªSo the younger one is the older brother.

    While huddled on the ground, covering her head, this thought urred to Lin Yiyi.

    She originally thought she might be able to help¡­ but after seeing the saint¡¯s opening move, she realized ¡ª she might not be up to it.

    It was as if the crimson world came alive.

    Fountains of blood gushed from the depths of the ground.

    A river of blood fell like a waterfall from the sky.

    These blood were all under the control of Henry Worden, turning into any shape at will.

    The spectacr scene of the downpour of spears was merely a prologue.

    This attack, which could have sted the yers to smithereens, was merely a probing move for the Bloodhand Brothers.

    An unknown and invisible power tore through the rain of red spears. Only then did the yers get a glimpse of the Bloodhand Brothers¡¯ situation.

    Then, the yers understood what ¡°give me your life¡± meant.

    The brothers were the Fallens in Gold Rank, which implied total demonization.

    As the boy pointed his right hand to the saint, invisible hands spawned mid-air.

    Some appeared youthful as a child¡¯s, others aged like an elderly person¡¯s; some hands seemed masculine, rough, and strong, and others were as delicate and fair as a woman¡¯s. Precisely because they were amidst the surging river of blood, these hands made of air became more clearly visible.

    With just one nce, Citalopram could discern the curses and resentment brimming within those ¡°hands¡±.

    The mutated body parts of the brothers were not ¡°blood¡± but ¡°hands¡±.

    The Bloodhand Brothers could seize the ¡°hands¡± of those they had killed besides manifesting and controlling them through a medium.

    Without warning, the ground beneath the saint¡¯s feet cracked.

    Hands formed from the soil firmly gripped the saint¡¯s legs ¡ª just as the saint had done to them. Meanwhile, hands forged from the air, as hard as steel, snapped the saint¡¯s neck in the blink of an eye.

    However, the saint didn¡¯t care about his injuries at all.

    He didn¡¯t even care about having his neck snapped off and his calf crushed.

    Instead¡­ the world became furious when the saint was harmed.

    The movements of the blood entities elerated several folds with the speed tripled. The unexpected eleration allowed them to break through the invisible barrier of the restraining hands after turning back into liquid.

    Immediately, the blood entities surged up, gathering together to form a tide.

    The tides came crashing down from above. On the other side, the invisible hands had sped together and positioned in front of the tide, attempting to split the tide apart.

    Then, the tide made of blood was sliced in half.

    As the blood got closer to the Bloodhand Brothers, it merged like a closing mouth and bit down on the brothers in the middle!

    In the blink of an eye, the saint firmly grasped the victory with one against two.

    This was a battlepletely beyond the yers¡¯ imagination.

    The yers slowly understood why the saint was called a ¡°monster¡±.

    A saint was more than an arsenal of weapons.

    The entities could be transformed into anything based on the situation. As its volume increased, it would eventually be an indestructible ¡°phenomenon¡± like a hurricane or a tsunami.

    That was the mighty power of the sacred bone [the Flesh of Sacrifice].

    It was not so much a divine power but a curse power.

    Lin Yiyi finally knew why the saint asked Jiu Er to use the taboo ritual to summon them to the realm of ¡°the Heaven in the Grail¡±.

    If the river of blood were in the real world, cities would be destroyed, bing one with the river of blood.

    If the desert came alive, the destruction would be on this scale too.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 639: Mystery About The â€œGrailâ€

    <h4>Chapter 639: Mystery About The ¡°Grail¡±</h4>

    The world reflected in the grail had transformed into a blood-filled [hell].

    The indescribable blood entities relentlessly tear, cut, grind, stab, pierce, crush, and pulverize their victims.

    The scene resembled summoning hell to reality.

    It was only at this moment that the yers finally realized that the saint¡¯s transcended power could destroy an entire nation.

    For ordinary beings, their power and might were almost akin to that of deities.

    Even in the face of a dragon, there would be heroes brave enough to raise their swords. But against phenomena like storms and tsunamis, only the most reckless lunatics would dare to go against them.

    This gave Lin Yiyi a strong sense of unease.

    Why?

    Facing this invulnerable opponent and even trapped in this inescapable world, the Bloodhand Brothers still did not give up hope¡­

    In the face of the absolute and irreversible disadvantage, what¡¯s their reason for still keeping hope?

    Rather, what else can they do to achieve the final victory?

    *Cough*

    The older brother among the Bloodhand Brothers, the eight-year-old boy, sneered, ¡°It seems like you are quite vignt, Miss Saint.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re even willing to sacrifice your blood to seal us in this ce, unscrupulously using the power from the sacred bone and even your elemental power.

    ¡°Are you so afraid?¡± His voice was low but gradually became louder. It was like speaking into the mic.

    It gave off an illusion that the voice was already deeply embedded in this world.

    ¡°Are you so afraid about the secret we inherited from our mother?¡±

    The boy¡¯s mocking whisper became louder and louder, ¡°Then as you wish¡­¡±

    ¡°[The term ¡®ritual¡¯ originally stems from a sacrificial ceremony. This is also the origin of the term ¡®sacrifice.¡¯]¡±

    The spell was beyond humanprehension, unable to be articted in spoken words.

    At that moment, the blood was frozen.

    Instead of being frozen by ice, magic seemingly petrified the blood. The blood lost its color, instantly turning from crimson red to gray.

    The Young Fallen named ¡°Jacob¡± opened his blood-red eyes, whichter transformed into pure, gray-white stone eyes.

    As the price for uttering the spell, his younger brother, who was already extremely old behind him, gradually turned pale along with his words. He gradually turned into a stone statue without any sign of life.

    With Jacob at the center, the ¡°blood¡± around him waspletely frozen, devoid of color and motion, like a pale white flower slowly blooming in the sea of blood. It eventually froze the entire blood sea, transforming it into rugged, sharp, rocky terrain.

    ¡°[The first sacrifice urred before the birth of the rivers and mountains. Cybele ced her unborn and unconceived daughter, her initial and final sister, along with her womb, into a golden grail and offered them to the darkness.]¡±

    That was the sphemous utterance at the beginning of the world.

    It happened before the birth of the upright deities.

    As the sound echoed throughout the world, the blood that had solidified into the rocks around him began to crumble and turn into powder.

    It was as if they never appeared.

    The closer the rocks were to Jacob, the faster they disintegrated, while those further away from him took longer to crumble.

    Following his words, the younger brother behind him gradually closed his eyes and turned into a quiet stone statue. It quickly copsed and disintegrated into nothingness.

    The blood tide solidified silently and dissipated into the air.

    ¡°¡­Why am I¡ª¡±

    Lin Yiyi was surprised and terrified to realize that her hands were gradually turning into powder¡­ Her body was about to float away like a fantasy.

    Apart from Citalopram, which existed in spirit form, other yers also shared the same symptoms.

    The yers were about to turn into dust and dissipate into the air.

    However, a deep voice sounded immediately.

    ¡°[¡­The existence and non-existence of Siby¡¯s daughter were contained within the womb in the cup, her only evidence. The night received the girl with joy and trepidation¡ªit dared not look, listen, or speak. For all secrets eventually, return to the Sea of Forgetfulness, and thus the night knows all¡­]¡±

    That voice was from ¡°the Man Against Himself.¡±

    As he chanted, his powdered body gurgled again. Fine blood flowed like tiny rivers, gathering from all directions, forming his body again.

    Jacob¡¯s expression turned ugly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you die?!¡±

    The young saint with short honey-colored hair and golden pupils gave off a mncholy vibe.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m already dead.¡± Saint Henry said softly, ¡°This is a speech before the birth of [Blood], a blood-hating speech taken out of context. It is undoubtedly a poison for all lives born from the mother.¡±

    ¡°Then, why do you¡­¡±

    Saint replied calmly but firmly, ¡°Because I can¡¯t die yet.¡±

    ¡°¡ªSo, I declined.¡±

    Henry denied the arrival of death.

    He returned to the world only by virtue of his own will.

    ¡­or, perhaps, with his body¡¯s help.

    He had ¡°the Flesh of Sacrifice¡±.

    He was originally ¡°the walking sacred relic¡±.

    However, the essence of this sacred relic was this suffering body that followed the saint¡¯s will slowly forward.

    As the saint walked, traces of suffering appeared on his clean body for no reason.

    Frostbite, burns, cuts, creases, fists, bruises¡­

    Countless ¡°injuries¡± appeared on the saint¡¯s body as he walked.

    Those were the curse he was destined to bear.

    ¡°But, do you know why I kill you?¡± The saint said slowly, ¡°Because I want to take back this taboo and ¡®wrong¡¯ knowledge.

    ¡°I don¡¯t fear it, but I hate it.¡±

    If taken out of context, the oldest words of creation could be transformed into sphemous utterances that severely damage the faith of the upright deities¡¯ believers.

    ¡°However, those thirteen deities have their kindness to this world.¡±

    The young man walked forward slowly and calmly while looking at the boy from afar.

    He made a clear and distant voice, ¡°Listen up¡ª¡±

    ¡°[If everything bes clear, the yet-toe daughter would turn into nothingness, and the night would be unable to close its eyes. Thus, the night emerged from the Sea of Forgetfulness, taking on the appearance of the grail-bearing mother, Cybele.]¡±

    ¡°[She bestowed her eyes upon the infant, granting the child the ability to perceive all the world¡¯s mysteries. She gifted her tongue to the girl, enabling her to speak all the words of the world. She bestowed her wisdom upon the young woman, allowing her to unravel all the secrets of the world.]¡±

    ¡°[At that moment, there were no mysteries, no words, no secrets left in the world. So she withdrew from the Sea of Forgetfulness and revealed the mountains, rivers, and streams.]

    ¡°[Only after the Sea of ??Forgetfulness forgets itself, the fire of wisdom can be born!]¡±

    The verse wasn¡¯t intended to instill hate in the deities.

    Instead, in an era when everything was forgotten, the verse of world creation caused the Sea of Forgetfulness to recede, revealing mountains, rivers, and streams!

    That was the biggest secret about the Silent Lady, Mysterious Lady, and Grail-holding Lady!

    When the young man pronounced these secrets correctly, he did not experience the petrification and crumbling as the boy did.

    The boy didn¡¯t feel any pain.

    His body didn¡¯t be a statue like his deceased brother but bled like a flowing river. Eventually, the blood seemed alive and seeped into the ground.

    There was no dry corpse showing blood loss, nor were there any bones left in this world. His body seemed to have melted¡­ and seemed to have been brewed into wine.

    ¡°Idiot.¡± The young man reached out and pressed his forehead, closed his eyes, and cursed in a low voice.

    Using ult knowledge at the world creation level inflicted pain. However, he suffered enough pain to ignore it and continue to chant the knowledge.

    ¡°¡­[Heaven in the Grail] is a taboo ritual because only here can the secret of the ¡°grail¡± be used correctly.¡±

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 Chapter 640: The Complete Mystery Of Creation

    <h4>Chapter 640: The Complete Mystery Of Creation</h4>

    [You have acquired the secret plete) about the ¡°grail¡±. Speaking in any forgottennguage will reshape the physical body (you can revive any mortal below the Gold Rank, including yourself).]

    [You have previously encountered this secret, and you possess Transcended Perception. Thus, you have gained additional information (by incorporating it into a ritual with the influence of any Dark Realm, you can transform it into a secret about ¡°the night¡±; by incorporating it with the influence of any Mystery Realm, you can transform it into a secret about ¡°mystery¡±).]

    [You have obtained aplete secret of creation. Your mind can no longer carry any more weight. Your soul is overwhelmed (you can no longer obtain ult knowledge of ¡°historical level¡± and above before you advance to Gold Rank or release this secret knowledge).]

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°What the hell!¡±

    It never urred to Annan that he would obtain a piece of ¡°creation¡± level knowledge just by spectating the event.

    The knowledge was even moreplete than what Annan got from the Old Grandmother.

    ¡°The Man Against Himself¡± had a much lesser understanding of this secret than the Old Grandmother. Therefore, the power this knowledge possessed wasn¡¯t as potent as the mere fragments of information about ¡°winter¡± from the Old Grandmother.

    Last time, when Annan summoned the Old Grandmother, he had passed out because he could barely bear the secret of ¡°Austere-Winter¡±.

    He had even triggered Winter Heart¡¯s effect at that time.

    After all, no matter how ¡°the Man Against Himself¡± got the secret, it was conveyed through ry and dissemination.

    On the other hand, the Old Grandmother was the ancient deity who personally experienced the beginning of the world¡¯s creation.

    She must have acquired the Austere-Winter¡¯s clergy at that time.

    The Old Grandmother¡¯s firsthand ¡°experience¡± was naturally at an entirely different level from the Man Against Himself¡¯s understanding gained through secondhand ¡°ounts.¡±

    epting the knowledge given by the Old Grandmother was already too much for Annan¡¯s soul to bear.

    However, this allowed Annan to use the ¡°Frostwhisper¡¯s¡±nguage power to kill [Spider] Grover in Sporeggar Mill.

    Although Annan couldn¡¯t recall the knowledge, he could still vaguely see the faint remnants upon focusing his mind on it.

    It was a deste wilderness devoid of light and fire. The deep, ashen sky remained silent, while the earth impartially buried everything. Annan couldn¡¯t gaze at the sky, nor could he look at the ground; even his lungs and heart seemed on the verge of freezing. Breathing became difficult, and there was a sense of tightness in his chest.

    During that night, Annan had a strange nightmare.

    He couldn¡¯t remember the dream¡¯s content, but his back, palms, and forehead were covered with ayer of frost when he woke up.

    That was the trace of his sweat being frozen.

    It was a feeling Annan had never experienced before.

    Even the most ancient secrets, dating back to the Second Age and beyond, would bepletely eradicated from one¡¯s mind if consumed during the ritual.

    The lips were the mouth of the bottle, and the words were the smoke that drifted out. What was consumed was the content in the bottle¡ªthe knowledge in the brain.

    Annan looked deeply at the Sacrifice Saint through Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°The Man Against Himself¡± seemed to sense Annan¡¯s gaze.

    He froze momentarily, looked around for a while, and then fixed his gaze on Lin Yiyi.

    The young man smiled and nodded slightly.

    He even looked polite.

    Lin Yiyi suddenly panicked. Why did the saint suddenly nod to me?

    Did he hear my thoughts? That doesn¡¯t seem like the case¡­

    Annan was also taken aback.

    Can he see me directly through Lin Yiyi¡¯s eyes?

    Could there be any unusual reaction in the yers¡¯ eyes when I borrow their vision?

    Or perhaps¡­

    ¡°Did Henry Worden sense that I have just acquired this ult knowledge?¡±

    Speaking of which, Henry approached the Bloodhand Brothers because they held ¡°false knowledge¡± and decided toe to recover it.

    So when he nodded in a friendly manner towards Annan just now, it meant that he wouldn¡¯t interfere further if Annan possessed the correct knowledge.

    Did the sainte here to eliminate false knowledge?

    ¡°However, the power of upright deities is really outrageous¡­¡±

    The upright deities didn¡¯t need to be present.

    Just the legends about them and the distorted rumors possessed transcended power at the elemental level ¡ª capable of instantly annihting the living blood sea created by the sacred bone. That was at least the power in the magnitude of the ¡°perfected elemental power¡±.

    However, there was another problem.

    How did Saint Henry know that the ult knowledge held by the Bloodhand Brothers was wrong and taken out of context?

    Logically speaking, after forcing the Bloodhand Brothers to use this ult knowledge, they should have forgotten it.

    Then, there should be no need for Henry toe back to life and kill them.

    Looking at the proficiency of the Bloodhand Brothers in executing it, they seemed to have used this knowledge a long time ago. However, they still hadn¡¯t forgotten it and used it normally a moment ago.

    ¡ªIs there a way that allows the users to exert the secret of creation repeatedly?

    Annan was interested.

    However, since the Bloodhand Brothers didn¡¯t unleash this secret immediately in the battle, this method should have limitations even if it existed.

    ¡°¡­But wait, how is it possible that a Silver Rank soul can hold an entire secret of creation? Wouldn¡¯t there be insufficient storage?¡±

    Annanined, ¡°How did I be a great ritualist previously? Well, it seems that if you can¡¯t reach Gold Rank, you can¡¯t even get to the end of the path of the ritualist.¡±

    Sure enough, I must have some special ritualist equipment in my first ythrough¡­

    Suppose we follow this logic.

    ¡°Henry might have¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    Annan found the answer to his questions when he acquired this ult knowledge.

    Mysterious Lady turned out to be the daughter of Grail-holding Lady¡­ No wonder Mysterious Lady was also known as ¡°the Soon-to-be Daughter¡±. Annan originally thought it was a description that the Mysterious Lady ¡°was ubiquitous even she wasn¡¯t around¡±.

    However, it turned out that Mysterious Lady was ¡°existent yet not existent¡± from the beginning. The ¡°Night¡± gave her physical form, turning her from a baby into a maiden.

    From this perspective, the power of the Silent Lady (also known as the Silence Lady, the Silent One, or the Muted and Eyeless Woman) should be far greater than that of the Mysterious Lady and the Grail-holding Lady because the power of both the Mysterious Lady and the Grail-holding Lady derived from her!

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 Chapter 641: Annanâ€™s First False Tome

    <h4>Chapter 641: Annan¡¯s First False Tome</h4>

    ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    The secret of creation was indeed remarkable.

    It was the mother of all secrets.

    After getting this knowledge, Annan¡¯s previous hazy memories became clear.

    Since the power of the ¡°Mysterious Lady¡± came from the ¡°Silent Lady¡± (the Deity of Darkness and Veto), ¡°3¡± became the number of silence and seal. At the same time, it could also be used as a ritual number.

    Also, the Mysterious Lady was the Deity of February, carrying the recurring theme of two. She possessed the mystical power of ¡°duality¡± between good and evil, light and darkness, and life and death.

    The duality made up the foundation of modern rituals, and it could be found in all popr rituals without exception. It also made up the fundamental theory of mortals borrowing power from deities regarding the ¡°mortal and deity¡± duality.

    However, how did the ¡°number 3¡± increase the power of ritual?

    That was because the Mysterious Lady was a part of the Silent Lady!

    The Silent Lady theoretically should possess the knowledge the Mysterious Lady knew. In the legends, the Silent Lady gave the Mysterious Lady her eyes, tongue, and wisdom, making her the ¡°silent one.¡±

    Therefore, ¡°number 3¡± could amplify the rituals, while number 2 could not enhance the veto power. The reason was that Silent Lady shared part of the ¡°secret¡±ponent, and the Mysterious Lady shared parts of the veto power!

    That also exined why ¡°desire¡± was closely rted to ¡°secret¡±. That was because ¡°desire¡± was the mother of ¡°secret¡±.

    Thus, people often associate ¡°desire¡± and ¡°darkness¡± together. In the earliest era when ¡°desire¡± was born, ¡°darkness¡± and ¡°desire¡± were fundamentally on the same face!

    Annan encountered a verse in ¡°Theory of Pale¡±.

    ¡°¡­As time passed and the main races evolved, the images of the deity gradually began to change..¡±

    At that time, Annan thought that this statement implied that ¡°the original deities shared certain characteristics¡±¡­ For example, the ancient deities were all perceived as symbols of ¡°motherhood¡± by people. Andter, some of them became younger¡­ and so on.

    The interpretation was reasonable and logical.

    However, Annan only understood the ambiguous phrase now.

    The author was referring to how the images of the Grail-holding Lady and the Silence Lady were originally identical andter differentiated into distinct appearances!

    ¡ªOnly those who knew the truth could ¡°understand the verse¡±.

    If the original author had included this statement in the book, it would likely have faced more severe censorship than just being banned in the Noah Kingdom. However, on the other hand, it hinted that the author of this book also possessed this knowledge.

    It was unlike the secret about ¡°Austere-Winter¡±.

    The secret about the ¡°grail¡± seemed to be widespread, so it was no longer a secret.

    In retrospect, the power of the Grail-holding Lady was closely rted to the Silent Lady!

    Grail-holding Lady originally sacrificed ¡°the non-existence child¡± to the night. If the night was considered nothingness, the child could be regarded as a child of the night.

    Hence, the night was overjoyed and epted the Grail-holding Lady¡¯s sacrifice because it simply couldn¡¯t have children.

    However, a child with the nothingness property could be attributed to it.

    In that regard, the world¡¯s first ritualist wasn¡¯t even the Mysterious Lady, but her ¡°mother¡± Grail-holding Lady. Instead, the Mysterious Lady was the product of the first ritual.

    Only by fully establishing the correctness of this ¡°sacrifice ritual¡± and confirming its sess could the Mysterious Lady be born. This logic expressed that the Grail-holding Lady ¡°Cybele¡± must have possessed the power toplete a ritual.

    Her sess in the ritualpleted a ¡°sacrifice¡±, granting the ¡°sacrifice¡± property in the ¡°grail¡±. That was how she acquired the Book of Truth and became a deity.

    Since then, the curse vessel rting to the ¡°grail¡± type could still be used as a substitute for the concept of ¡°sacrifice¡± in rituals.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Annan suddenly realized something.

    There was a ¡°Sun Deity¡± in this world, but no ¡°Moon Deity¡± existed. At first, Annan instinctively thought that this was because the power of the ¡°sun¡± was too much greater than that of the moon, and the moon reflected the sun¡¯s brilliance.

    Upon learning that the nameless and formless entity revered as the ¡°night¡± was the precursor to the Silent Lady, it was astonishing to realize its immense power¡ªso potent that it could separate into two upright deities.

    This phenomenon suggested that there was no sun at the beginning of creation.

    Annan retained vivid memories of this nightmare.

    ¡ªThat wilderness without light and fire

    ¡ªThe silent and deep sky.

    ¡ªAnd the emotionless earth, as if to bury everything.

    Are the ¡°heaven¡± and ¡°earth¡± the original forms of ¡°the Silence Lady¡± and ¡°the Bone Burying Grandma¡±?

    Then what the Grail-holding Lady holds could be the ¡°prime desire¡± that triggered the world¡¯s first ¡°sacrifice¡±¡­

    ¡°Is it a longing for a physical body embodying wisdom?¡± Annan lowered his head and took a deep breath.

    It shouldn¡¯t be something instinctual.

    It was an act against instinct. ¡°Sacrifice¡± was originally a ritual of giving away the precious things one held. This was neither conducive to the continuation of the ethnic group nor to the contribution of a new life.

    That was the nascent desire called ¡°knowledge¡±.

    Before the emergence of the Grail-holding Lady, the concept of ¡°curiosity to knowledge¡± did not exist in the world. Back then, the Soon-to-be Daughter hadn¡¯t gotten the wisdom from the night, and there wasn¡¯t even a notion of ¡°knowledge¡± on earth.

    At that time, the Sea of Forgetfulness enveloped the earth. All life in the world did not have the concept of ¡°memory¡±.

    In this case, the Grail-holding Lady sparked the first sacrifice.

    No wonder she got the Book of Truth for the ¡°Blood and Lust¡±.

    Annan¡¯s brow furrowed, having learned too many secrets that he shouldn¡¯t have borne at his age.

    ¡°Wisdom.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, huddled in the chair, and murmured.

    He thought a lot.

    For example, he possessed a talent for the element of ¡°wisdom¡±. For instance, he was acquainted with the Mysterious Lady and the Grail-holding Lady before, and he had even used the knowledge of the Grail-holding Lady. Moreover, he bled ¡°the Forgetting Blood,¡± also known as the ¡°Silent One¡¯s Ointment,¡± which was the power that belonged to the Silent Lady.

    Only after the Sea of Forgetfulness receded could the fire of wisdom be lit.

    So¡­

    The fact that he had forgotten the memory of his first ythrough, was it a ritual to ¡°light the fire of wisdom¡±?

    ¡°¡­This secret is important.¡±

    Annan realized that he must not forget this incident.

    He had never reached a moment where he was so close to the truth.

    But if he read out the knowledge of the world¡¯s creation, Annan would forget it¡ªhe still didn¡¯t know how the saints retained the knowledge.

    ¡°But it¡¯s fine!¡± Annan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.

    It was not like he had no way to go around the rules.

    Like the ambiguous ount in the ¡°Theory of Pale¡±.

    As long as he described it like this, he could leave a message for himself!

    To prevent the power of mysterious knowledge from being infused into the scrolls, Annan had to use encrypted words, illustrating in ambiguous terms. Then, he would create a book containing a hidden ¡°decoding table¡± to decipher the encrypted words for his future self.

    That was right.

    It was a ¡°false tome¡±!

    ¡°I¡¯m going to start making my first ¡°false tome¡±¡­¡±

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 Chapter 642: Source Tome, Remnant Tome, And Grinzuha

    <h4>Chapter 642: Source Tome, Remnant Tome, And Grinzuha</h4>

    ¡ªTo create my very own false tome.

    Annan was indeed moved.

    Aftering to this world for so long, Annan had been going through books written by others. He did gain a lot of mystical knowledge from them. In the process, he acquired important inspiration from the books and was sometimes deceived because of them.

    That excluded Annan¡¯s experience in his first ythrough.

    Even the knowledge that Annan had reacquired now carried a certain degree of ¡°weight¡±. Some knowledge was ¡°source¡± knowledge Annan had fully grasped and could be written down.

    Of course, the majority of Annan¡¯s knowledge was one-timed used, which was used to create shortcuts. The knowledge in this category could only be recorded in books, bing a ¡°false tome¡± when Annan¡¯s soul was dyed.

    The source and remnant tome had mystical powers. As one delved into the pages, influence would spawn. Some might endanger the reader¡¯s well-being. If the reader could read andprehend it, they would attain a piece of knowledge that could only be used once.

    The system resembled downloading a shortcut file that essed the content. However, the knowledge remained in the book.

    This logic also made up the principle of the [Page Lock] spell.

    The primary way to distinguish between a remnant tome and a source tome was by examining their titles.

    For example, ¡°The Birth and Initial Cirction of Silver Coins¡± was a source tome. ¡°The Enigma of Fate and Dice: A Discourse¡± and ¡°The Eighth Analects On the Sunray¡± were remnant tomes. Generally speaking, unless it were a wicked person surnamed Austere-Winter when writing remnant tome, everyone would not make the book title too plete¡±, so as not to mislead people.

    Usually, they were the discourse on details or knowledge that wasn¡¯t quiteprehensive.

    Anyone who could craft a source tome would refrain from resorting to a remnant tome.

    Usually, it was the failed ritualists who created the remnant tome solely to provide a ¡°data backup¡± after failing to develop the source tome. It was filled with encryptednguage that only they could understand¡­ much like the handwriting that rivaled a pharmacist¡¯s lecture notes.

    The difference between the source tome and the remnant tome was that the knowledge obtained from the remnant tome would consume more time and energy when trying toplete this knowledge.

    After all, when there were conflicting records between the two books, one had to seek deeper ounts to determine who was correct.

    The learning process of ritualists involved reading various books, summoning ancient beings through rituals, exchanging offerings, and seeking secrets. Through this process, they gradually supplemented imperfect, one-sided, extreme, and false knowledge.

    When knowledge waspleted, the ¡°source tome¡± about this ult knowledge could be made.

    Remnant tome was the game guides that ¡°the creator didn¡¯t understand much, but he still wrote it out¡±.

    There were naturally many problems and many omissions. However, there was no guide avable. Having them was better than nothing. However, to master the knowledge, learning from remnant tome was never enough.

    The reader simply wouldn¡¯t know which part was urate and which part was wrong. It created more hassle than having zero knowledge in a nk te.

    Only the transcender with a dyed could create a remnant tome by imprinting the knowledge on the pages with their soul. Even though the pre-requisite was Gold Rank, its price was much cheaper than the original. Copying this book did not require a Gold Rank, nor did it require real knowledge.

    The reader only had to read once, and he could copy them like copying homework.

    To replicate a source tome, one mustpletely understand its content. The thoughts and insights must align with those of the author, reaching the same level ofprehension.

    Otherwise, the reader would be hurt by the knowledge.

    The mild symptom would be excessive fatigue and mental exhaustion. If the person insisted on copying the source tome, he would go crazy. Whatever was copiedter on was false knowledge.

    In the beginning, neither Annan nor the yers werefortable with this strange logic. Why could knowledge not be replicated?

    Later, Annan gradually understood.

    In this world, the ¡°secret¡± was protected. There was no need to go through any intellectual propertywsuit or worry about others stealing the technology. As long as the creator deemed it should remain a secret, the Mysterious Lady would safeguard it. It would not be easily replicated.

    That was why the Soul Snatch Wizard could see the memories in other people¡¯s brains but couldn¡¯t ¡°project¡± them to others to prove what they saw.

    The knowledge was considered a ¡°true secret¡± in a verdict.

    The knowledge epassed what he saw and heard.

    What he had expressed in hisnguage was no longer considered a secret. The ability ofnguage to describe and summarize was imperfect¡ªthis wasmon knowledge among ritualists.

    So when using different types of rituals and styles of mystical knowledge, they would employ othernguages.

    For example, discussing secrets about elves would require using the Elvennguage ¨C otherwise, many things simply couldn¡¯t be tranted. Whether it was transliteration or interpretation, there would have been misunderstandings.

    Just like when poetry was tranted acrossnguages and cultural boundaries, the rhythm was often lost. During trantion, references the trantor didn¡¯t understand naturally weren¡¯t tranted ording to the intended meaning but rather the surface meaning. This applied to idioms and colloquial expressions as well.

    So there would also be some remnant tome ¡°with personal interpretation¡±. It was like the game of word passing, where the oue always resulted in apletely different meaning. ¡°The remnant tome of a remnant tome¡± existed, but the uracy would be terrible.

    In this world, ult knowledge required concise uracy.

    It would havepletely lost its power if the information had been lost too severely during trantion. This was also a core principle in the creation theory of many false tomes.

    Annan didn¡¯t quite understand why someone would create a false tome.

    However, Annan gave it some thought. Even gossip between individuals was passed around. As for the secrets of deities or ancient kings, it was like ¡°celebrity gossip level¡± or even higher in terms of mysterious knowledge. It didn¡¯t seem strange to treat them as stories when telling them.

    Of course, celebrities who had gossip written about them wouldn¡¯te after anyone. However, deities with erroneous knowledge written about them woulde after people.

    The Bloodhand Brothers in the underground world were probably killed because of this.

    ¡°Then, I should be able to create at least one source tome.¡± Annan murmured.

    Annan had fully grasped the secret of the ¡°grail¡±. However, to turn it into a source tome, he must use the ¡°deadnguage¡±, which was anguage that anyone no longer spoke.

    This required Annan to first conduct a ritual to the Mysterious Lady and learn a deadnguage. Only then could he record the secret about the grail.

    As for the rest, Annan didn¡¯t have a Gold Rank yet. He could not create a remnant tome. Thus, his only option left was a false tome.

    There were generally three types of false tome. Either they concealed the mystical knowledge within fables, fairy tales, scripts, or novels, hid it within specialized knowledge, or werepletely nonsensical and baseless.

    The novel ¡°Red Rose and White Rose¡± recorded that Rotten Man poisoned the queen¡¯s mother and seized power from the king. It was just that Rotten Man¡¯s real name was not mentioned, but another word was used to refer to him.

    In the aesthetics study of sculpture [The Beauty of Solidification], a few remarks about the deities themselves were subtly inserted by evaluating numerous deity statues. It seemingly discussed the sculptures, but the book was referring to the deities.

    A ssic example of the third example was Grinznuha Austere-Winter¡¯s ¡°masterpiece¡±, Dangerous Faith and Deities.

    Speaking of which, it had been quite a while since Annan returned to Austere-Winter, and he still hadn¡¯t asked Ivan about this person.

    Logically speaking, to be expelled from the Austere-Winter family with their name removed, the sin was quite severe.

    Thinking of this, Annan suddenly remembered something.

    ¡°Austere-Winter bloodline¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    If Grinznuha Austere-Winter did not die alone but gave birth to a child with the ¡°Winter Heart¡± curse?

    Does that mean¡­

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    It was quite possible.

    But no matter what¡­ After Annan wrote the false tome, he had to go to the north.

    Before that, let¡¯s give Lin Yi and the others a main quest to search for trading records. After all, the Bloodhand Brothers are out of the picture. They probably didn¡¯t destroy all the evidence before leaving, so there¡¯s a chance they might find intact records of their transactions with the Northern Alliance.

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 Chapter 643: New Main Mission

    <h4>Chapter 643: New Main Mission</h4>

    After the Bloodhand Brothers died, Jiu Er quickly recovered her senses.

    As her iris turned back to ck, the yers experienced a dizzying sensation before returning to the outside world.

    The sky turned into colored glowing ss again, and the surroundings became dark. The foot was mud instead of the grasnd soaked in blood, and the saint was gone.

    A system prompt suddenly appeared in front of them.

    [Just yesterday, Annan¡¤Austere-Winter was attacked.]

    ¡°Huh?¡± When Lin Yiyi saw the system prompt in front of her, she was taken aback.

    Luckily, the system continued to scroll down in the disy after a pause.

    [Fortunately, Vasika¡¤Rasputin saved Annan at the critical moment.]

    Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but cuss, ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    Suuankou was startled for a moment. At this stage, the yers were aware that they had arrived in this world because of the Book of Truth that Annan possessed.

    So if something happened to Annan, they would be sent back immediately.

    In that instant, Suuankou even felt some regret¡ªwhy didn¡¯t he keep a few guards by Annan¡¯s side? If His Highness Annan could unleash the power of the Book of Truth¡¯s resurrection ability, the infinitely respawning yers could have intercepted the assassin.

    Jiu Er muttered in a low voice and rubbed her eyes, ¡°Fortunately, nothing bad happened.¡±

    She stared at the system prompt for so long that her eyes felt a bit dry. The illusion she saw earlier left her feeling somewhat confused.

    Citalopram also nodded in agreement.

    After that, the plot introduction of the main mission continued to scroll down slowly.

    [Winter¡¯s Hand interrogation provided Annan new information¡ªthese assassins came from a fringe noble faction called ¡°Northern Alliance¡±.]

    [Not only were they engaged in acts of rebellion, but they were also seeking the power of the Fallen, involved in ndestine dealings with the ¡°Natta County¡± of the Noah Kingdom and the ¡°Saltpeter Ranch¡± of the Twin Goddess Republican Federation. It seemed there was even a trace of the ¡°Ice -shredders Army¡± among them.]

    [You¡¯re determined to investigate and gather evidence of their dealings with these factions as soon as possible.]

    [You will encounter different types of enemies in three different investigation directions. Defeat those malicious obstructers and choose the direction you have the greatest advantage. Yourrades will cover the remaining directions.]

    [Remember, the entire investigation process must be kept confidential.]

    [Acquired the main mission: The Power of the Three Phases (1)]

    [Mission requirements: Form an elite squad and kill the ¡°Mushroom Eaters¡± (0/30); form an elite squad and defeat ¡°the Bloodhand Brothers¡± (2/2); form an elite squad and locate the Ice-shredders (0/1). Choose one.]

    Lin Yiyi blurted out, ¡°Huh? Wait a minute¡­¡±

    Soon, the mission in front of them indicatedpletion.

    [Completed the main mission: The Power of the Three Phases (1)]

    [After a grueling battle against the Bloodhand Brothers, you have emerged victorious in the end.]

    [From now on, your investigations at Saltpeter Ranch will no longer be hindered. Find evidence of their dealings with the nobles of Austere-Winter before they dispose of the relevant documents.]

    [Acquired the main mission: the Power of the Three Phases (2)]

    [Mission requirement: Find relevant evidence (0/1).]

    The first main mission was scored the moment it popped up.

    Immediately afterward, the yers immediately got the second main mission.

    ¡°What the hell! Difficult battle and narrow escapes.¡± Suuankouined, ¡°I thought we didn¡¯t even make a move?¡±

    Didn¡¯t they die after watching we watch the CG?

    ¡°Look at the forum.¡± Citalopram said suddenly, ¡°Others seem to have received the main mission at the first stage.¡±

    ¡°¡­Oh?¡± The other three yers paused for a moment and looked at the forum.

    As expected, the yers were in amotion. Half wereining about the frightening mission briefing, and the other half were discussing and analyzing the clues raised in the mission briefing.

    However, none of them received the main mission of the second stage.

    So Citalopram posted the screenshots of the missions she had received, then recounted their experience. Part of the reason for doing so was to let Jiu Er know what happened, as Jiu Er didn¡¯t witness their battle throughout.

    After a brief silence, everyone eximed.

    ¡°Have you really fought?¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re a bunch of sidekicks.¡±

    Suuankouined, ¡°The mechanism of this boss is impossible to defeat.¡±

    Suuankou originally wanted to post the video footage.

    However, they discovered that, for some reason, the video was corrupted. This was the first time yers encountered the inability to record videos.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s possible for us to defeat him.¡±

    Lin Yiyi subconsciously punched Suuankou, who was about to retort. He quickly reacted, ¡°If it¡¯s just us, the Bloodhand Brothers won¡¯t go all out. They wouldn¡¯t appear in front of us either.¡±

    Although the Bloodhand Brothers seemed to have confronted them unreasonably, that was because the Sacrifice Saint was with them.

    Otherwise, the yers had to fight smaller mobs individually to locate a boss monster at this level.

    ¡°The instant kill should be a unique rage mechanism.¡±

    Among the four, Lin Yiyi, who yed the most MMOs, analyzed, ¡°Look at his brother. After activating the skill, he died on the spot. Then, after his brother was defeated, the skill was interrupted.¡±

    ¡°So, there¡¯s a specific mechanic involved¡­ like maybe before he uses that skill, we have to activate a defensive shield or hide somewhere to survive through that skill. It¡¯s a berserk mechanism with loopholes. That means we have to eliminate one of them before they realize something¡¯s wrong. Of course, the fight might have stipted one death among us at the end.¡±

    ¡°Then, we follow the flow of the plot and kill the Bloodhand Brothers.¡±

    Suuankou resisted his sister¡¯s beating and persistentlyined, ¡°Then, are we going to shout ¡®Return and fight for us the Champion of the Light¡¯ and we will all be resurrected in full health?¡±

    [TN: World of Warcraft reference: Battle of Dazar¡¯alor.]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll work. First, we need to find a way to exclude the saint from the battle with the Bloodhand Brothers¡­¡±

    ¡°So, we¡¯re merely mascots in this ordeal.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t work either. This must be a progression for the Light Vanguard, and afterward, there might be a 24-yer raid. In that case, the saint should be frozen at the beginning, and we need to output damage until the boss is in low health. Then, the boss wipes us out, but he¡¯s left half-dead. The saint appears out of nowhere, talks trash, and finishes the job.¡±

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Suuankou suppressed hisughter, ¡°Then, our loot drop will be pretty bad.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only darkness¡­ in front of my eyes¡­¡±

    Since she didn¡¯t see the battle, Jiu Er, who didn¡¯t follow the conversation the whole time, finally spoke. She frowned and said in a deep voice, like Batman.

    So the yers suddenly burst intoughter.

    ¡°What are you guys saying?¡±

    Saint Henry walked over behind them with a curious expression on his face.

    The yers fell silent for a moment.

    It was like gossiping about the teacher and suddenly being ambushed by the stealthy teacher from behind.

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 Chapter 644: Saltpeter Ranch & Demon Farming

    <h4>Chapter 644: Saltpeter Ranch & Demon Farming</h4>

    Given Henry Worden¡¯s perception, he had heard what the yers were saying.

    Even though each word was understandable on its own, it became iprehensible after putting it together. There were even transliterated words that he had never heard before, simr to technical terms.

    As a saint, he identally discovered that there was still knowledge he did not understand. It was undoubtedly quite a novel and rare experience.

    The yers immediately became serious and stopped the banter after seeing Saint Henry again. They addressed his question respectfully.

    Lin Yiyi felt troubled. ¡°About that¡­¡±

    She wasn¡¯t sure how to exin to the saint.

    It felt like exining game terms to grandparents.

    That¡¯s what they called the age gap, right?

    At this moment, Jiu Er was the first to speak up.

    ¡°May we touch his body?¡±

    ¡°¡­Touch the body? Jacob¡¯s?¡±

    Saint was stunned momentarily, ¡°But, does he have a corpse?¡±

    Afterward, Henry Worden quickly reacted, ¡°Oh¡­ are you looking for spoils of battle?

    ¡°That¡¯s no problem. I can be sure there are no other Gold Rank Fallens in this town. You should be more careful and vignt when searching. With yourbat strength, there shouldn¡¯t be any major problems.¡±

    The saint was not that interested in what the yers were discussing previously.

    Since the yers diverted the topic, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to circle back to it.

    Instead, he patiently exined to the yers, ¡°Follow this road to the entrance of a barbershop. Then, turn into the small alley on the left and go straight until you reach the end, then take a right turn. That will lead you to the back of the ¡®Saltpeter Ranch¡¯.¡±

    ¡°By the way¡­¡± Suuankou asked curiously, ¡°Why is this ce called Saltpeter Ranch?¡±

    As the increasingly distinct smell of sulfur reached his nose and he saw a menacing sorcerer approaching, Henry instinctively took a half-step back, pursing his lips with a hint of caution.

    This surprised Suuankou a bit.

    So, my intimidation works on a seemingly immortal saint like this?

    As expected of the School of Destruction, it¡¯s cool!

    ¡°This has something to do with your Destruction School.¡± The saint said slowly, ¡°You may not know that the gunpowder used in firearms contains a certain proportion of nitrate.¡±

    ¡°Well, I know that.¡± Suuankou¡¯s expression was a bitplicated.

    He never imagined that one day he would be educated by someone from another world on elementary chemistry.

    It took great effort to resist the urge to bombard the saint with questions and delve into a discussion about potassium nitrate. After all, he was still a college student and hadn¡¯tpletely forgotten the content of the college entrance examination.

    However, Suuankou thought about it. If he wanted to pretend to be a time traveler, he should only act cool among his peers.

    ¡°One of the main sources of nitrate is saltpeter. However, saltpeter must be processed before it can be used for tanning leather or manufacturing gunpowder, dyes, and other chemicalpounds.¡±

    The saint said seriously, ¡°Fallen are those who have beenpletely consumed by the curse and turned into demons. Their fresh blood can trigger explosions after mixing with fermenting urine. The mixture can be used to produce high-purity saltpeter powder that ismonly used as gunpowder. A Destruction Wizard discovered it. The recipe has been optimized over several generations.

    ¡°In other words, domesticated demons are worth breeding. I know that several underground cities engage in saltpeter production using this method.¡±

    ¡°After all,pared with purification from nitrate mines, urine, and blood are cheaper and inexhaustible. The so-called Saltpeter Ranch actually means demons breeding ground.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Suuankou nodded.

    There were so many absurdities in this conversation, Suuankou felt like he had a bellyful of sarcasm that he couldn¡¯t express.

    ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll take my leave,¡± the young man, covered in wounds, saw the momentary silence among the group that didn¡¯t initiate any further conversation. He smiled faintly at everyone and nodded, ¡°Until we meet again, everyone, if fate allows.¡±

    Then, he walked in another direction.

    Suuankou, together with the other three yers, watched his figure disappear.

    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re choking on something.¡± Lin Yiyiined in a low voice.

    Suuankou nodded silently.

    In fact, he was still somewhat wary of this saint.

    Even though the saint seems friendly, he might be in a different stance in the future.

    In that case, all the boasting he had done with that guy would have only made future challenges more difficult. If he had identally unlocked something crazy and messed up, he would have still been the one dealing with the consequences.

    Unlike his sister, Suuankou had always been wary and kept his distance from others.

    Having said that, he suddenly had an idea.

    Coal and natural gas were avable. The development and awareness of this technology were not low.

    Even the value of coal areas and gas fields was greater than the value of mining areas. Despite having clean alternative resources like ck Fire and Green Fire, which were simr to ¡°crude oil,¡± strategic reserves of coal mines were still crucial.

    One of the Alteration Magic raw materials of ck Fire was the stored natural gas, and the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower had a precious natural gas well at the bottom. It was highly valued that no yers had ever entered it. Green Fire was much simpler. It was a safe resource after the ck Fire underwent two cycles of alteration magic. The ck Fire used for Green Fire conversion was specially treated and mixed with stabilizers to prevent explosions.

    Although they looked simr, yers who had knowledge of this aspect had already tested it. ck Fire and Green Fire were not crude oil or natural gas liquids. Theirbustion efficiency was simply not what civilization at this stage could utilize.

    It could be said that without the two Alteration Magic products, ck Fire and Green Fire, the civilization of this steam-age should not have existed at all.

    The ck Fire and Green Fire were the way wizards in this world used natural gas. The form was unknown. However, the locals employed special forms and Alteration Magic to transform natural gas into ck Fire and Green Fire, which had rtively stable properties and incrediblebustion efficiency.

    The former contained higher and more intense energy, while thetter was more gentle and controble. Since Green Fire was an ¡°absolutely non-explosive¡± me, the temperature was low, and it would not easily harm the children.

    Its price was also quite low. Tower Master Hugo made this decision. He made the recipe of Green Fire public. An Alteration Wizard of Bronze Rank could stably produce enough Green Fire for a town. Moreover, the consumption of Green Fire for cooking for the whole city was only up to three to four barrels of ck Fire per day.

    Afterward, Master Benjamin further optimized the form. As long as three Wizard Apprentices worked together, they could operate the Alteration Magic to convert ck Fire to Green Fire. The amount of ck Fire consumed was reduced to one-third. If there was no ck Fire, coal or charcoal could also be used as substitutes, which was much more efficient than directly burning them to light fire.

    Benjamin did fulfill the promise he once made to Evelyn. He made it possible for every household to lightmps and cook food.

    Even the urban residents of the Noah Kingdom had gradually developed the habit of drinking hot water. This new culture was born because the burning cost was getting lower and lower.

    Before that, wanting to drink boiled water was a luxury in this world.

    Leaving aside the ck Fire, the ¡°Green Fire¡± technology was even more advanced than the Earth. There was no crude oil in this world, which made the yers doubt whether the knowledge on Earth could be used normally here.

    However, this would not be a problem after Annan seeded to the throne.

    The yers only need to provide the direction and let His Majesty Annan send schrs to experiment.

    The yers wouldn¡¯t bother exining how they came up with the technology since there were so many excuses in their heads already.

    Thinking of this, Suankou had an idea.

    He realized that as a Destruction Wizard, he seemed to have prepared too little dangerous items with him.

    ¡°You guys go first. I need to take my luggage.¡± Suuankou told hispanions, ¡°I¡¯ll buy some spell-casting materials first. I¡¯ll travel light, and I¡¯ll be able to catch up with you soon.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then make haste.¡± Lin Yiyi quickly responded.

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 Chapter 645: Curse: Mothâ€™s Knot

    <h4>Chapter 645: Curse: Moth¡¯s Knot</h4>

    ¡°Something is not quite right.¡± Suuankou narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Suuankou vaguely sensed something was wrong. He was a fast-growing transcender, and he had more or less reached the Silver Rank, thus his Perception attribute was not poor.

    The current issue was more than just someone tailing him.

    After Suuankou left the team, he had a vague sense of strange malice. He hadn¡¯t gone far when he began to feel a growing difort in his body.

    To put it into perspective, it felt likeing down with a strong fever. But this difort was so intense¡­ In less than a minute, he felt his body bing unsteady and his head spinning.

    He even felt a growing heaviness in his chest, making his breathing increasingly difficult and sluggish. His limbs became increasingly heavy, and his skin tingled with intensifying nerve pain.

    ¡­This is bad.

    Suuankou reacted and nced at his status bar.

    Health: 85%

    After about three or four seconds, the number dropped by 1%.

    When Suuankou realized he was losing health, Suuankou immediately became vignt.

    He stood there and counted quietly.

    After ten seconds, he lost 1% of his blood; after another ten seconds, he lost another 1%.

    Does the damager over time follow the strict rule of every 10 seconds?

    Since it¡¯s rted to 10 seconds, this should be the curse of the realm the Motherly Moth belongs to.

    But what is the medium?

    Why are they cursing me? No, let¡¯s not worry about that question for now.

    Suuankou calmed down quickly and began to look around, searching for something rted to the number ten.

    Meanwhile, a train of thought came to his mind. He began to calcte.

    ¡ªBased on the current rate of health depletion, after tracing it back, it would have started approximately five minutes after I left the team.

    At this realization, he immediately halted his steps and braved the intensifying sense of illness as he retraced his path.

    He made every effort to maintain his pace, matching it with the speed he had walked here.

    Suuankou noticed the abnormality when his health points dropped to 67%. There was a soaked hemp rope in a fish tank.

    There were ten knots tied on the rope.

    ¡°Knot?¡± Suuankou murmured.

    Suuankou managed to recall it. The ¡°knots¡± could serve as a medium for curses, too.

    After Delicious Wind Goose shared various theories about rituals, Suuankou noticed bizarre simrities with some ancient ethnic customs on Earth. So he bought some books on folklore some time ago to research and gather information.

    In the East Indies, the indigenous people believed that ¡°tying knots¡± could bind the fetus inside the mother¡¯s body. This meant it could prevent her from giving birth easily or cause slow postpartum recovery. Therefore, they believed that during pregnancy, both the husband and wife should refrain from ¡°tying knots.¡±

    In some parts of Southeast Asia, during childbirth, everything that could be untied was untied inside and outside the house. This includes braids, shoces, ropes, and even removing gunpowder from gun barrels and setting aside arrows from bows. They even avoided sitting cross-legged because it was also considered a form of ¡°tying knots.¡±

    There was also the culture of veils with knotted patterns to ward off wizards. That was why the brides wore veils with numerous knots during weddings. Those veils were believed to resist spells.

    Although this witchcraft was quitemon, none of the rituals taught by Delicious Wind Goose in this world involved any ¡°knotting¡± ceremony.

    Suuankou didn¡¯t care about such things at the time.

    However, Suuankou noticed the strange knots in the fish tank. Worse still, there were still living fish in this fish tank. Such a thick knot might pollute the water.

    However, the owner did not mind it, paying no heed to it.

    Either the shopkeeper was an aplice, or he was under mind control.

    Suuankou ignored the shopkeeper and removed the hemp rope from the fish tank.

    How do I deal with it?

    Should I untie the knot or cut it off with a sword like what Alexander did?

    Let¡¯s just be on the safe side.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± At this moment, while wiping his hands with a towel, the shopkeeper reprimanded aggressively, ¡°Don¡¯t touch that rope. Put that thing back!¡±

    It was a burly man with dark skin and a robust physique.

    His eyes shimmered with a bright brown glow ¡ª a testament to his pure-blood status as an underground dweller.

    ¡°Oh?¡°

    Suuankou felt rest assured after hearing that.

    I thought I could be wrong, but I¡¯m more certain after hearing your words.

    Without hesitation, he reached out and untied each knot one by one. With each knot untied, he felt a sense of relief wash over his body.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Seeing this, the shopkeeper rushed over to stop him.

    Before the shopkeeper got closer, the ground before him exploded, and viscous orange mes spewed upwards in clusters.

    Amidst the miserable wailing, the man was burned to ashes by the raging fire within four to five seconds. Then, the mes on the floor gradually dissipated.

    ¡ªIt was the skill, [me Trap].

    Once it turnedpletely ck, it spewed out a scorching me equivalent to the Bronze Rank Destruction spell ¡°Jet me¡±. It was hot enough to char a person. Deactivating this trap requires soaking the card in hot blood, then tearing it apart before it dried up.

    Otherwise, even slicing the card in half would trigger the trap.

    Suuankou tossed the trap in front of him before the shopkeeper could charge over. The moment the shopkeeper stepped on it, the shopkeeper immediately triggered the trap.

    At this time, Suuankou had already untied all the knots.

    He suddenly felt his body bing lighter. All the sudden difort disappeared.

    What a hassle!

    Suuankou breathed a sigh of relief. He threw the knot into the fire on the corpse without thinking.

    Suddenly, Suuankou¡¯s eyes were confronted with a row of blood-red, hastily writtenrge characters. It startled him, causing a shudder to run through his body.

    [You have nullified the curse ¡ª The Moth¡¯s Knot]

    The next moment, the burning rope disintegrated into countless gray moths. They pped their ming wings and flew to the sky. However, they didn¡¯t get far before each one plummeted to the ground, turning into piles of ashes.

    As for the burnt hemp rope, there seemed to be something in it.

    Suuankou ignored the passers-by who fled in panic because the shopkeeper was killed. Instead, he squatted on the ground and took out the hemp rope after the mes extinguished.

    He peeled off theyer of ck ash covering the hemp rope, revealing the golden thread underneath.

    The golden thread seemed to be hair but resembled a thin copper wire.

    When Suuankou touched it, a new system prompt appeared in front of his eyes:

    [Elderly Youth Hair (Residual)]

    [Type: Material / misceneous (Blue)]

    [Description: Strands of hair from an elderly yet youthful individual, treated with a special potion. It has been damaged but still retains usable enchantment.]

    [Effect: The bearer will be afflicted with the ¡°elerated Aging¡± curse.]

    [elerated Aging: The bearer¡¯s aging process doubles in speed.]

    It will still drop a Blue grade curse material even after being damaged. What a surprise!

    Suuankou¡¯s first reaction was, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I fucking set it on fire¡±, but it felt quite wasted. However, he quickly realized that the me¡¯s temperature was already low, so it was unlikely to burn it down.

    Probably because the ¡°Moth¡¯s Knot¡± was nullified, the curse was gone.

    But I¡¯m just a yer.

    I don¡¯t know anyone here, so there couldn¡¯t be any grudges or animosity.

    ¡°Who would go to such lengths to kill me?¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 646: Eternal Lady

    <h4>Chapter 646: Eternal Lady</h4>

    Even though Suuankou didn¡¯t know much about ritual, he had somemon sense about it.

    Even though Suuankou had attained Silver Rank too quickly in two months, he was still a legitimate Silver Rank, which he had gone through the condensation of the soul.

    Ordinary rituals would not be effective in hurting him.

    The promotion in his soul rank brought him resistance to transcended properties.

    Being at Silver Rank even granted him resistance against some spells of Bronze Rank. However, the resistance would be meaningless if the ability had nothing to do with transcended power.

    For example, Dove shot Jude, the Shaping Wizard, in the head.

    They had no resistance against a normal attack.

    If Dove were using her transcended ability as a Hunter that guaranteed headshots and let the arrow chase its target, Jude would have deflected the ability instead.

    Back then, Dove wasn¡¯t even at Bronze Rank. The transcended power she exerted would have deflected away from Jude.

    Generally speaking, the easily ¡°deflected¡± transcended ability were instant-death spells, followed by illusion and positioning abilities. The Edict School usually had the highest priority among spells and abilities of the same level.

    Rituals carried the lowest priority.

    However, the curse ritual, ¡°Moth¡¯s Knot, ¡± took effect. If Suuankou hadn¡¯t discovered it early enough while having knowledge about it, he would have already been in aa with a high fever and lost the ability to fend for himself.

    Since the ritual¡¯s curse affected Suuankou, it showed that the opponent had utilized high-level materials and rituals. Although the ¡°Elderly Young Hair¡± literally said it was the golden hair of premature aging, why would it be golden hair if it was premature aging?

    Suuankou didn¡¯t quite understand how this happened.

    He knew that killing ordinary people with a curse didn¡¯t require such a precious curse material.

    In other words, the opponent already knew he was the Silver Rank Destruction Wizard before the attack.

    Of course, Suuankou was not actually a Destruction Wizard.

    His profession was [Saboteur].

    It was a rare profession. There might be less than ten people in this world holding this profession. Anyone with knowledge of the transcended world would assume those with the sulfur scent to be Destruction Wizards.

    Who the hell wants to assassinate a Destruction Wizard in a busy city?

    Even though Suuankou wouldn¡¯t explode after death, the ordinary Destruction Wizards would. The explosion of a Destruction Wizard of the Silver Rank level was powerful enough to demolish a street!

    Unless¡­

    ¡°Unless that person wants you to explode in the city.¡±

    A somewhat familiar voice sounded from behind Suuankou.

    Suuankou was slightly taken aback and turned around.

    It was a handsome young man with honey-colored curly hair. His fair skin showed many scars, and his golden pupils were reminiscent of wine.

    Only then did he realize that the person who appeared behind him was the Sacrificial Saint whom they had just parted way¡­ [the Man Against Himself], Henry Worden.

    ¡°Saint.¡± Suuankou greeted him respectfully.

    He asked curiously, ¡°Didn¡¯t you leave? Why are you still here? Do you have any mission?¡±

    When Suuankou said the word ¡°mission¡±, his eyes lit up.

    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯te here to see you.¡± Henry Worden shook his head and said frankly, ¡°I met an acquaintance, so I ran after her. However, I lost her when I got to this ce.¡±

    ¡°Just when I was about to leave, I sensed the disruption of curse magic nearby, so I rushed over.¡±

    As he spoke, he nced at the rope that had been charred.

    After a bit of hesitation, he asked, ¡°[Moth¡¯s Knot] or [Rope That Binds Feet]?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s [Moth¡¯s Knot].¡± Suuankou immediately asked, ¡°Saint, do you have any clues?¡±

    ¡°¡­Kind of. But I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Henry frowned slightly, ¡°But I think you may have been the innocent victim here. She might be after me.¡±

    ¡°If you fail to lift the curse, I should have seen you unconscious somewhere when I came over. If I lean over at this time, you will probably be killed by her directly to be detonated.¡±

    So, am I just a dynamite keg to you?

    He had just analyzed for a long time why the enemy would attack a Destruction Wizard. It turns out that I¡¯m just a trap to murder Henry.

    In this conspiracy, he did not exist as a ¡°person¡±, but as arge explosive trap that could draw the target in.

    Does Destruction Wizard have no human rights?

    ¡°So, who the hell is that?¡± Suuankou asked.

    Suuankou asked earnestly, ¡°I was almost killed by that person today. Although it was treated as an object, I want that person¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°I can tell you her name. After all, she has many enemies. Having one more won¡¯t make any difference.¡±

    However, Henry warned, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go against her, at least before advancing to Gold Rank. It¡¯s best not to try to find her. Otherwise, you will die.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s truly a heartless and despicable assassin who knows no dignity. Even when she fights against Silver Rank or even Bronze Rank, she will use all vile methods such as curse, poison, and ambush, even as a Gold Ran. You might not even get close to her before she kills you from a distance.¡±

    ¡°She?¡±

    Only then did Suuankou realize that the culprit was a woman.

    He shouldn¡¯t have been so dull. In front of this ¡°the Man Against Himself¡±, his perception of gender seemed a bit vague.

    Suuankou still hadn¡¯t forgotten. His sister looked at him meaningfully after learning that the Motherly Moth and the Grail-holding Lady have rituals that could alter a male into a female.

    Are we really blood-rted?

    ¡°Yes, ady.¡± The young saint with honey-colored hair nodded, ¡°Her name is Ingrid. [Eternal Daughter] Ingrid.¡±

    ¡°Ingrid?¡± Suuankou froze for a moment.

    After hearing this name, he immediately thought of Ingrid, who had died long ago in the ¡°Gemini Nightmare¡±.

    Justice¡¯s first love, whom he failed to save. She was also the girl who studied with him at Dream Eater Seti.

    An ordinary girl who had long since died.

    Having the same name?

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 Chapter 647: Leading Us To Ascension

    <h4>Chapter 647: Leading Us To Ascension</h4>

    Just in case, Suuankou hesitated and asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you know about the [Shield of Unfallen]?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± The honey-haired youth nodded frankly.

    ¡°If you are slightly older, you should know about him. The ¡°Shield of the Unyielding¡± is undoubtedly a heroic defender. He can be considered a role model among the transcenders, and he has undeniably saved many lives and changed the unfortunate fates of many people.¡±

    ¡°What I admire most about him is not just his good intentions and deeds. The path of transcendence is the path of desire and ascension. Many people choose this path to change something or have something. A transcender without enough desire can¡¯t go far.¡±

    ¡°In other words, there are very few transcenders with kind hearts. His calm and determination make Justice, Shield of Unfallen, stand out. He also disys a clear and unwavering moralpass.¡±

    ¡°As a result, while striving to do the ¡®right thing¡¯, he also lives a fulfilling life. He can live easily without being burdened by his desires and has the ability to control himself so as not to be manipted by others.¡±

    Saint praised without hesitation, ¡°If someone asks me, ¡®What kind of transcender should I be?¡¯, I will tell them to learn from the Shield of Unfallen, Justice.¡±

    It was undoubtedly a high evaluation.

    However, Suuankou¡¯s expression was a little subtle.

    Although he did not enter Justice¡¯s nightmare, the nightmare was under live broadcast. Suuankou naturally also watched the live broadcast and knew what happened then.

    Is Justice a kind person?

    Will he not be dragged down by his desires?

    Did he live a fulfilling life?

    Did he avoid being taken advantage of by others?

    Justice has failed in every aspect.

    Instead, Justice¡¯s life could be summed up as a ¡°chess piece¡±. His life was under the other¡¯s control. He did not live a free and easy life, but it was challenging, with his family far from happy.

    Ingrid¡¯s death pained justice. He became the ¡°Shield of Unfallen¡± to prevent this painful reenactment. However, his attempt to relieve this pain enabled him to absorb damage from others.

    Rather than saying Justice did it to save others, it was more urate to say that he absorbed the harm of others to fulfill his desires for self-harm. Based on the psychological analysis by the yers, it was likely that Justin used this pain topensate for the emotional suffering caused by his shattered childhood.

    In other words, his suffering was not to save others but to inflict pain on himself.

    The innocence he held during his childhood influenced and constrained his entire life. Even until the end, when he fell into the trap set by his teacher and died as a tool to create ¡°Professor Wolf,¡± he was still entangled with these feelings.

    Justice¡¯s life has nothing to do with kindness, rity, calmness, or ease.

    However, since Justice has such a good reputation with people regarding him highly, it¡¯s best not to reveal his secrets.

    Suuankou¡¯spassion prevented him from revealing the truth.

    Thinking of this, Suuankou took a deep breath and shivered.

    ¡ªThe nightmare mechanism is terrifying!

    No one can clear off their dark history, like destroying your browser history. Worse still, future generations can look through it and talk about it.

    A person could maintain his heroic image and hide all his ws. However, once a nightmare is born after his death, it will expose his most authentic self.

    Oh shit.

    All the efforts for the righteous image will be gone.

    That¡¯s really scary.

    Suuankou thought about it for a while before he figured out how to ask about Ingrid without ruining Justice¡¯s image.

    ¡°Do you know that Justice¡¯s first love back then was a girl named Ingrid? This girl named Ingrid had died in front of him.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not surprising.¡±

    The saint was not surprised by what Suuankou said. Saint Henry asked, ¡°Then do you know why her name is [Eternal Lady]?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Suuankou shook his head.

    Saint sighed, ¡°You should read more books.¡±

    ¡°There is a false tome called ¡°Praise the Name of the Divine Transporter¡± written by an Austere-Winter poet. It describes the relevant knowledge about the ¡®ascendancy ritual¡¯ in an encryptednguage.¡±

    ¡°In that poem, the fanatic realizes he is still a mortal. Even though he already has the pupil of light and the beautiful and clear desire, he is devastated when he still can¡¯t board the Divine Transporter.¡±

    ¡°This is to point out that even with the purest and clearest desire, it is impossible to perform the ascendancy ritual if the soul is not dyed.¡±

    ¡°After the fanatic returned to his hometown, he met his childhood sweetheart whom he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. He fell in love with this girl, married her, and had children.¡±

    ¡°From a young girl in the past to a maiden today, and on to a future mother and grandmother. Even until the remains are in the grave, the fanatic apanied her throughout her life with his passionate and unwavering love¡ª ¡®When I look at her, it¡¯s like looking at the sun. My eyes are filled with tears, and my pupils hold the light.''¡±

    ¡°As a moth drawn to the light, the fanatic had already undergone trials and possessed a soul as pure as crystal, reaching the Silver Rank. His lifespan surpassed his wife¡¯s, which led to him still being in his prime when she passed away.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t until the seventh year of his wife¡¯s death that the fanatic looked at her tomb and became enlightened.¡±

    ¡°[That is indeed the light! That is the evesting love, the third echo that resounds from the depths of the sun].

    ¡°[¡ªI have already got my light, but I don¡¯t know it!]¡±

    Hearing this intently, Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but interrupt, ¡°In other words, he has already¡­¡±

    The saint nodded, ¡°Yes, he has finally advanced to Gold Rank.¡±

    ¡°His soul was dyed by [love], shining with the radiance of the third sun. Clinging desperately to his longing for the light, he pursued the Divine Transporter throughout his life, yet it remained beyond his reach. But when he relinquished his desires and wholeheartedly loved his beloved, he awakened the element known as ¡®Love¡¯ and advanced to the Gold Rank.¡±

    ¡°So, he finally sublimated into a deity. Thest sentence of the whole poem is his sincere praise, prayer, and remembrance of his lover. [Only the Eternal Lady can lead us to ascencsion].

    ¡°Of course, the fanatic¡¯s story is fictitious. No deity regards ¡®love¡¯ as a Truth. However, the ¡®Eternal Lady does exist.¡±

    Saint said thoughtfully, ¡°Ingrid is the previous generation tower master of the Thousand Faces Illusory Tower, a Gold Rank Wizard from the Idol School. She lived in the same era as I did. She was among the few who believed that the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡± is not a false tome, but a prophecy.¡±

    ¡°The truth she is pursuing is the [Rising Love] in this poem, and for this reason, she changed her title to the ¡®Eternity Lady¡¯. This is how she obtained the power of the ¡®Fanatic¡¯s Wife¡¯ in the story.

    ¡°She possesses the element of [love]. If her love is not destroyed, she will never die. However, she has never been recognized by the truth of [Rising Love], and the Book of Truth in that particr realm has never emerged.¡±

    ¡°Ingrid thought that her love wasn¡¯t real enough. So she decided to seal her memory and fell in love with a mortal who could be a ¡°Gold Rank¡± when she was a child to find ¡°true love¡±. She nned to reenact the tale in ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡±.¡±

    ¡°She will give the other party the ¡®desire¡¯ enough to advance to Gold Rank. When either dies, she will restore her memory, leave there silently, go far away, and repeat the process.¡±

    ¡°This is an ascendancy ritual that belongs to Ingrid. As long as her lover awakens the element of ¡®love¡¯, she can be a deity¡ª[the Eternity Lady] who controls the power of Divine Transporter.¡±

    ¡°But obviously, she keeps failing. She¡¯s not recognized by [love], nor by the [Divine Transporter].¡±

    Saint shrugged, ¡°The Shield of Unfallen has indeed advanced to Gold Rank, and his desire is also rted to protecting others. Plus, Bone Healer is also quite a powerful Idol Wizard.]

    ¡°ording to Idol Magic¡¯s w of contagion¡¯, all Idol Wizards must have some kind of connection. Then, it is not surprising that Ingrid¡¯s incarnation became a student of Bone Healer and fell in love with Shield of Unfallen when she was young.¡±

    It turns out that there is another truth behind this history.

    Suuankou¡¯s mood became moreplicated.

    No wonder¡­

    But there¡¯s a problem. The person Ingrid fell in love with seems to be Frederick and not Justice, right?

    Thinking about it makes me feel sad for Justice.

    ¡°Then, why did she want to kill you?¡±

    ¡°Because her target was me. I did fall in love with her.¡±

    Saint replied calmly, ¡°The element I hold is ¡®love¡¯¡­or the property of ¡®possessing love¡¯. But I chose to inherit the sacred bone instead of sublimating into a deity. So, I didn¡¯t continue to develop my [love] element, making her fail again right at the end.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to kill me. Instead, she wants me to abandon the sacred bone and sublimate into a deity¡ªusing the soul as firewood to awaken the element of ¡®love¡¯. But I don¡¯t want to be a deity, so my grasp of the [love] element¡¯s power is shallow.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°I remember you said you¡¯re still a woman in Silver Rank, right?¡±

    Hearing this, the saint looked over strangely, ¡°It¡¯s just ¡®love¡¯. Does it have something to do with gender?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ha?¡°

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 Chapter 648: Annanâ€™s Seventh Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 648: Annan¡¯s Seventh Mirror</h4>

    Annan, who waszily slumped in the chair like a cat, opened his eyes widely.

    In the beginning, Annan only wanted to see how Suuankou nned to improve his power and how much he nned to increase.

    Previously, Suuankou had a sudden enlightenment. He realized that as a yer from the Destruction School, he would have a shameful situation of insufficient firepower. The so-called power was his justice. He was determined to devote himself to the way of justice.

    However, it was unexpected that Suuankou had fallen into a curse after departing from the group.

    The curse named ¡°Knot¡± was notplicated and was naturally within Annan¡¯s knowledge.

    However, even if Annan knew the principle of the curse and how to resolve it, he didn¡¯t intend to inform Suuankou. The curse wouldn¡¯t attach itself to the soul, making it unremovable.

    Generally speaking, the curse of the ¡°knot¡± series was essentially a form of ¡°restraint¡±.

    These curses could inhibit the birth of a fetus, suppress male desire, impede the body¡¯s self-healing abilities, and more. Combined with the curse of pathogenic fungi, it caused Suuankou to suffer from high fever and weakness, ultimately leading to his death.

    However, this level of curse would be washed away after one death.

    Moreover, Suuankou wasn¡¯t a Destruction Wizard ¡ª he just smelled like a Destruction Wizard. There was no need to worry about blowing up the surrounding streets and identally injuring civilians after his death.

    Moreover, there were never any civilians here from the beginning¡­

    Saltpeter Ranch was the breeding ground of the demon. It was originally a paradise for sinners and criminals.

    The vast majority of people here were death row inmates. Except for those like them who came here by subway from other underground cities, none were innocent.

    The outsiders who came here must have something to ask for.

    After all, this was the southernmost part of the United Kingdom.

    It was the boundary of the entire civilized world. Therefore, there weren¡¯t any subways passing through here¡­ The subway that arrived at the Saltpeter Ranch came only once every 40 days, and it was just a single freight train with only two passenger cars.

    The main goal of this train was to transport the saltpeter away. They didn¡¯t bother much with human transportation because the notorious Saltpeter Ranch was a gathering ce of criminals. No one bothered much about them.

    That ce was filled with societal scumbags, where murder wasn¡¯t considered a crime. Thus, being ¡°wanted¡± meant nothing there.

    The people there were either notorious scumbags who couldn¡¯t be messed with or ¡°good people¡± who cleaned up scumbags.

    So, either way, they weren¡¯t taken seriously or respected.

    At that time, Annan spectated the scene for leisure, wanting to see Suuankou st his way through. It would be an excellent reference to Nefetari¡¯sbat approach that focused on outputting damage.

    It was precisely because of this that Annan would tend to spectate Suuankou.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t expect to receive the critical information instead of just catching some fun.

    The ¡°Eternal Lady¡± Ingrid yearned for the power of the Divine Transporter, aiming for the truth of ¡°Ascendant Love¡±.

    The Seventh Luminary of the Sun was the light seen when the transcended soul was sent to the Light Realm by the Divine Transporter in the ascendancy ritual.

    Eternal Lady¡¯s [ascension] referred to this luminary.

    If death had a direction, it must be downward; if the ascension from mortal to deity had a direction, it must be upward.

    Divine Transporter was a four-wheeled vehicle that walked on the ¡°road of ascension and change¡±. It was a collection of non-physical concepts of ¡°ascension¡±.

    Although what Ingrid sought was merely the ¡°Ascendant Love,¡± one of the many forms of ascension, her ritual aimed to seek the ¡°Book of the Divine Transporter.¡± At the very least, she was calling for fragments of the book.

    The Divine Transporter was light ¡ª the light born in a mirror.

    While Ingrid was pure and bright, Annan was brighter. Therefore, Don Juan was Annan¡¯s first mirror, embodying the essence of pure brightness as the First Luminary. The Second Luminary¡¯s reflection was found in the form of Danton, Annan¡¯s second mirror. He faced hardships and failures like Annan. However, Annan pressed on with evesting and unyielding hope. The hope that never faded away was the Second Luminary. Following the same pattern, Ingrid, who also possessed the light of the Seventh Luminary, undoubtedly served as a mirror. Moreover, she was the seventh mirror that did not exist in the Book of Divine Transporter.

    That was because the Book of Divine Transporter had only six pages.

    Annan hissed softly, ¡°It¡¯s like what Father Stone said. Destiny is the fate of the Divine Transporter, and it will leave traces after it has passed.¡±

    When Annan pursued his mirrors with his own will, he couldn¡¯t find his mirror. Just like a wheel could not precisely travel on the tracks it had already made¡ªinterfering with destiny could lead to changes in destiny itself.

    The fate altered by interference was like retracing the same tracks of a wheel. It was simr to the wheel of a vehicle moving along the same tracks it had already traveled. In other words, trying to alter destiny would lead to simr oues without any significant change.

    After Annan learned from the Faceless Poet that ¡°he had seven mirrors in total¡± and ¡°Nichs was his fourth mirror¡± through deduction, he had never been able to get any new information rted to the ¡°mirror¡±.

    From this point of view, the Faceless Poet¡¯s behavior was indeed a part of keeping secrets. She leaked some secrets to prevent new secrets from being revealed.

    At this point, Annan¡¯s efforts to collect the fragments of the Book of Divine Transporter hade to an impasse.

    He had almost forgotten about this matter, leading to the current situation.

    Without Annan interfering at all, Suuankou helped him find the seventh mirror.

    This was undoubtedly the so-called ¡°fate¡±.

    Neither Suuankou nor the other yers knew about the existence of the ¡°mirror¡±. After hearing Saint Henry¡¯s introduction to ¡°Eternal Lady¡±, he didn¡¯t think much about it.

    In the ¡°Gemini¡± nightmare that Annan challenged, Seti read a passage from the book, [Praise the Divine Transporter], to him. Naturally, yers wouldn¡¯t know the situation when Annan cleared the nightmare, nor would they realize there was a fishy book here.

    Then, when Suuankou summed up the information and shared it with other yers, crucial details like ¡°the Eternal Lady¡¯s desire was the Ascendant Love¡±, and the fact that the title ¡°Eternal Lady¡± was taken from the Book of Divine Transporter might be overlooked as a ¡°meaningless background¡±.

    Supposed Suuankou summed up this information as ¡°Eternal Lady intended to awaken the ¡®love¡¯ element to the limit¡± and Annan hadn¡¯t happened to be watching Suuankou.

    Then, Annan would miss out on this crucial information.

    Anna would never realize that Ingrid was his seventh mirror. Based on the information he knew, the Book of Divine Transporter had only six pages, and Nichs, currently on the run, was the fourth mirror. Apart from that, he hadn¡¯t discovered the sixth mirror yet.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Something¡¯s not right.¡± Annan suddenly became conflicted again.

    He curled up into a ball, holding his head in his hands, and crouched on the chair.

    He realized a more critical problem.

    He already knew that Ingrid was his seventh mirror and Nichs was his fourth mirror.

    So¡­

    Should I approach Ingrid now? Should I send yers to find Ingrid for him?

    ¡°So, am I supposed to know about it?!¡±

    Annan was conflicted.

    He suddenly had the urge to punch Faceless Poet.

    If you hadn¡¯t spoiled me on the plot, would I be so troubled now?!

    ¡°Forget it. I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Ultimately, he decided it was best not to do anything or give instructions. He would let the yers act freely¡­ If everything went smoothly, Ingrid would eventually appear in front of Annan on her own.

    Just in case, it was better for Annan not to mobilize or give orders to Lin Yiyi¡¯s team anymore.

    It all depended on the ¡°AI bots¡±.

    ¡°Although I am the NPC in the eyes of the yers, I¡¯m forced to treat the yers as NPCs instead.¡±

    Annan always felt that something was not right.

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 Chapter 649: The Missing Page of the [Anthem Of The Storm And Heart]

    <h4>Chapter 649: The Missing Page of the [Anthem Of The Storm And Heart]</h4>

    But the other way around¡­

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    The presence of the ¡°Eternal Lady¡± Ingrid was significant.

    It was more than just because she was a ¡°hidden mirror¡±.

    Due to her existence, some of Annan¡¯s previous conjectures were confirmed.

    Annan¡¯s ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡± was a Book of Truth with only six pages. Every page of the Book of Truth contained a truth.

    ording to the normal process of the ascension ritual, Annan had to choose one to two truths from the six and return them from the Light Realm to the Pirs of the World, using them to create another Book of Truth.

    These truths would eventually solidify in the ascended soul, bing clergy.

    Therefore, ording to the theory that ¡°light came from the mirror¡±, Annan had to break the six mirrors to collect theplete Book of Truth and get all the [Divine Transporter¡¯s Truth].

    Besides these six mirrors, there was a seventh mirror that shouldn¡¯t exist.

    The Light of Divine Transporter was originally the Seventh Luminary, plus the Book of Divine Transporter only had six pages. So Annan habitually thought that to incubate the light of the Divine Transporter, all he needed was to collect the first six luminaries.

    However, the current situation pointed out that his ritual did not end immediately after ¡°collecting all six pages of truth¡±.

    This reminded Annan of another matter.

    The legendary ¡°the Storm¡¯s Eldest Daughter¡± Artaste¡¤Frostwhisper also collected the ¡°Anthem of the Storm and Heart¡± back then. She was also the founder of the Daughter of the Storm profession and the fourth generation of Storm Tower Master.

    At that time, everyone thought that she would be the Storm Deity.

    But in the end, her ascendancy ritual failed.

    With the unexpected discovery of the seventh mirror, a shocking fact presented itself before Annan: merely collecting all the Truth Fragments might not be enough. There should be one final, simr ¡°enlightenment¡± hidden ritual to aplish the task.

    The enlightenment ritual would be done subconsciously during the process of collecting all the Truth Fragments. Just like the Idol Wizard¡¯sw of contagion, there was a connection to destiny. Just like how Annan had not yet found the sixth mirror, he had already discovered the trail of the seventh mirror half a year after obtaining the Book of Truth.

    That was why other deities weren¡¯t quite aware of this concept.

    Otherwise, the Paper Princess or Faceless Poet would remind Annan to slow down and pay attention to his surroundings. Because of this, Artaste died suddenly for no reason, even though she was so strong.

    Not because she was too weak but because she was too strong.

    She collected the Book of Truth too fast.

    After she decided to ascend to deityhood, she used her dragon-like flying ability that could travel across civilizations in three seconds to gather all the Books of Truth in less than half a year.

    She didn¡¯t need the ¡°Anthem of the Storm and Heart¡±.

    Her supreme crown at that time was ¡°the strongest transcender in the world¡±.

    She was still the strongest without using the Book of Truth.

    As a result, she sublimated directly after collecting the Book of Truth, which caused her tock a certain key.

    Like ¡°the Mirror of the Seventh Luminary¡± in the Book of Divine Transporter, the light was born from the mirror. How could the light of Divine Transporter not have its own mirror?

    So, in other words¡­

    ¡°The Anthem of the Storm and Heart¡± isn¡¯t fully collected. After the pages are collected, there is one final step.

    In this way, Maria¡¯s future destiny will never be a certain death!

    As long as Annan could help her find the final key, Maria would be the true Storm Deity.

    In that case, Storm Tower could also be liberated from its original duties and be a wizard tower that could properly ept disciples and impart knowledge.

    Once the Storm Deity was born, the perpetual storm over the sky would be gone. Now, if the Storm Tower were moved away from the Austere-Winter¡¯s sky, the umted storms from these past centuries would erupt. Its power was strong enough to tear through the Great Barrier and tten half of the Austere-Winter Continent.

    However, the power fell under ¡°storm¡±. If Maria could be the Storm Deity, it would be Maria¡¯s power.

    Once the Storm Tower stood on the ground again, it would regte the weather of the entire continent. Then, there would be no more tragedies of suppressing magma back into the depths of the underground world and flooding the underground city. It would also prevent out-of-control typhoons and tsunamis from killing fishermen in the United Kingdom.

    In that case, everything would instantly get better.

    Maria, Austere-Winter Dukedom, and the underground world would be safe. The fishermen and coastal cities in other countries would be safe too.

    A bright light lit up in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    It was the light of finding the right path.

    It was pure, filled with joy, and hopeful.

    Go for it! Annan clenched his fists, silently chanting in his heart.

    ¡°Then, I have to pour in more effort,¡± Annan murmured.

    Annan couldn¡¯t just watch.

    Annan would still have to wait for the yers to gather evidence from the Northern Alliance.

    Annan might as well go to the Fourth Exhausted Collection again and contact Vasilisa regarding the issues with ritual studies. If everything went smoothly, Annan would set up a teleportation point at that ce.

    The third batch of yers were logging in one after another.

    The speed at which the system searched for yers was rtively slow. It had been almost two weeks after Annan released the login permission in one go. Only half of the new yers had arrived.

    In addition to the character Annanset, he also noticed that the yers who the Book of Divine Transporter could summon seemed to have some kind of ¡°shoring¡± and strong ¡°desire¡±.

    They had excellent talents and character, but their lives were not so smooth, with things bothering them in their hearts.

    I might be able to help the yers too.

    Only at this moment did Annan¡¯s mind be so clear, and such thoughts emerged.

    Previously, Annan didn¡¯t take the yers too seriously because his talent was already outstanding. He had long been used to acting alone. He would only ask yers to help him in trivial matters.

    So, after the Freezing Water Port saga, Annan had been handing over the most troublesome tasks, but not necessarily the most difficult ones, to the yers. These quests included pathfinding in the capital, establishing teleportation waypoints in the underground world, and the ship-chasing adventure.

    Essentially, yers were just convenient tools for Annan to use. However, they were tools that couldn¡¯t handle any troublesome tasks.

    However, the appearance of the seventh mirror changed Annan.

    When he couldn¡¯t interfere with the yer¡¯s actions, he hoped they could help him with something. Once that feeling arose, the yers entered Annan¡¯s view.

    They were not just a one-way giver-and-receiver or ¡°master-servant¡± rtionship but truly became ¡°friends¡± who could help and rely on each other.

    Annan also started valuing the presence of yers. That was how he became aware of the rules of yer summoning.

    ¡°A person who has desires and shorings in his heart¡­¡±

    We¡¯re supposed to help each other. It¡¯s mutual.

    Annan hoped that while the yers helped him, he could also do something to help these friends a little bit.

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 Chapter 650: Ritual: Dragon Purification Fire

    <h4>Chapter 650: Ritual: Dragon Purification Fire</h4>

    Suuankou felt a mix of emotions.

    Is it just me, or is it an illusion? Every encounter with Saint Henry gives me a surprise that disrupts my worldview.

    Are all the locals in this world like that?

    You all seem to be more open-minded than people on my Earth.

    Now that I think about it, it seems unsurprising.

    After all, there were ways to change one¡¯s appearance, gender, and race. Furthermore, it was easy to achieve them.

    The technological level of this world was between the years 1500 to 1700. However, the technology to swap bodies had already surpassed the Earth.

    Even without marriage, the locals of this world could create offspring and continue the bloodline through the Child in the Grail ritual.

    The marriage views and views on transcended power brought about by various convenient rituals and transcended power were more advanced and open than the yers from Earth.

    ¡°However,¡± Suuankou suddenly realized something, ¡°The [Eternal Lady] tries to hurt me with the curse [Moth¡¯s Knot].¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that she is proficient in the ritual of the Moth Realm?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to ask about her gender change, right?¡±

    Seeing Suuankou¡¯s true intention, the saint couldn¡¯t help butugh aloud, ¡°Am I right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a logical consideration,¡± Suuankou whispered.

    Saint Henry couldn¡¯t help butugh, giving Suuankou a yful rub on the head. He messed Suuankou¡¯s hair up. ¡°Since I told you this, would I not know?

    ¡°It¡¯s expected that Ingrid is capable of utilizing the Motherly Moth¡¯s ritual. In the Motherly Moth and the Silent Lady¡¯s rituals, the shared requirement is that ¡®the ritualist must be a woman¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The slightly harsher rituals require that ¡®the ritual host must be a virgin¡¯ or ¡®the ritual host must be the mother of three children¡¯, or even ¡®the ritual host must have had an abortion¡¯ or ¡®never have an abortion¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Like Mr. Ray¡¯s rituals, half of them must be held by men. Mr. Ray¡¯s rituals are held by boys or robust and healthy men. So in Mr. Ray¡¯s Church, almost all priests are men. In contrast, over 80% of the Motherly Moth¡¯s priests are women of different age groups.¡±

    I see. Suuankou nodded knowingly.

    That¡¯s why the Sun Realm and the Moth Realm have rituals about switching genders because their high-level rituals have gender requirements.

    This meant that some rituals¡¯ prerequisites were bound to conflict.

    However, the priests could easily find suitable ritual hosts to help each other when using their churches¡¯ rituals ¡ª so as to meet each other¡¯s ritual needs.

    Inparison, the stray ritualists would hardly satisfy the ritual condition. That was why they traveled afar to collect different types of rituals.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether Ingrid was originally a man or a woman.¡±

    The saint with honey-colored hair narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the sky-imitating dome shining with faint brilliance, and murmured in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s in the past. That has nothing to do with me.¡±

    Judging from his tone, there¡¯s a story behind them.

    Suuankou¡¯s eyes moved slightly.

    He was actually quite curious about the details of this story. However, he was keen to realize that Henry Worden was not in a good mood.

    If Suuankou continued to pester Saint Henry for questions, it would advance the plot. However, it would lower the yers¡¯ rapport with this NPC.

    Unlike Jiu Er, Suuankou was reserved in his y style. Compared with satisfying his urge to know more, it was more important for him to maintain a friendly rtionship with this saint.

    ¡°Alright, after I leave, she should stop attacking you.¡± The young saintforted Suuankou softly, ¡°If you¡¯re still worried, I¡¯ll teach you a ritual in the realm of Father Flint. With this ritual, you will never fall under her curse again.¡±

    After that, Saint Henry couldn¡¯t help but smile. He blinked at Suuankou, ¡°You should still be chaste now?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Suuankou took a deep breath before nodding.

    Generally speaking, Suuankou wouldn¡¯t feel any difort when asked by someone of the same sex like this.

    However, when Suuankou learned that the saint named ¡°Henry Worden¡± was once an abstinent female Holy Grail Knight, Suuankou suddenly had the illusion of a ¡°sister¡± in front of him.

    In addition, the saint¡¯s hair color resembled a certain character.

    When the saint talked to him, Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but imagine a girl with the same honey-colored hair but stars in her eyes and a wand in her hand.

    [TN: I believe it is Sailor Moon¡¯s reference.]

    If Henry is still a woman, she must look like that.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be shy about, boy.¡± Seeing Suuankou¡¯s embarrassment, the saint couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    With his left hand in his pocket, he rubbed Suuankou¡¯s hair vigorously with his right hand, ¡°Chastity is not a mistake. Living a chaotic private life to prove that you are popr is notmendable.¡±

    ¡°The Grail-holding Lady once said that abstinence is a virtue.¡± The young saint said gently, ¡°¡®Love and lust are not the same. You should love others while practicing abstinence. Desire is a devouring beast, and only the strong can control it.¡±

    ¡°Many people think that the believers of the Grail-holding Lady are mostly indulgent lunatics. But in fact, the Grail-holding Lady teaches us to practice abstinence. Only a strong and powerful soul should indulge in its desires.¡±

    ¡°Just that some people have a skewed perception of themselves. They believe they have enough self-control¡­ yet, they are unable to tame their desires and end up being controlled by them.¡±

    ¡°For these individuals, my lord¡¯s will is that if they cannot control their uncontroble desires, they should perish due to theirck of restraint. However, if they grow through this process, gradually reim themselves, and restore peace within their souls, they shall be the ones.¡±

    It was about karma and letting nature take its course.

    Suuankou was deep in thought.

    I didn¡¯t expect the Grail-holding Lady to be an upright deity practicing Buddhism.

    That was why the Grail-holding Lady ignored the desperate cries that her greedy believers sent to her. Disasters caused by desires were already predetermined.

    ¡°The Grail-holding Lady is such a contradictory deity,¡± Suuankou murmured.

    The saint was not angry, ¡°Yes. The contradiction between love and lust, abstinence and indulgence, is the charm of the way of our Lord. We, Holy Grail Knights, believe that ¡®only the self is the answer to the self¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Self-persuasion, self-depravity, self-torture, self-salvation, oveing the immature self, and firmly controlling desires in your hands is the way to hold the grail.¡±

    The saint gently patted Suuankou on the shoulder, ¡°There is no need to shy away from the rtionship between a man and a woman, but it is not worth bragging about. Don¡¯t choose a love destined to be short and unfortunate for vanity¡¯s sake.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the depravity of the self which harms others. If you can understand this truth, I can teach you this ritual, which can also be regarded as passing down the legacy.¡±

    The saint was somewhat nostalgic, ¡°Because when I was given this ritual, I was also educated by an elder in this way.¡±

    ¡°What ritual?¡±

    ¡°This is a high-level ritual of Father Flint. Only chaste and healthy young people can use it. It is called [Dragon Purification Fire]. Father Flint prefers chaste, healthy, and robust men.¡±

    Saint took a deep breath and said slowly, ¡°You need to turn off all artificial light sources within the visible range around you. Green Fire, ck Fire, charcoal fire, and firewood are prohibited.¡±

    ¡°Under the open night sky, pour your blood on the iron block, ce the iron block on the iron mat, hit the iron block rhythmically while chanting¡ª¡±

    ¡°[This is neither the golden flint nor the wooden flint; this is the dragon flint. The dragon uses blood, bones, iron, and fire to ignite its me¡ª]¡±

    ¡°Afterward, the purification fire will ignite on the iron block. This fire cannot be lit by wood or vegetation but can be ignited by alcohol. The more extinguished light sources around, and the stronger and chaste the young man, the longer the purification fire canst. Anyone cursed or sick, as well as livestock, can have their curses burned away by walking over the purification fire after removing their clothes.¡±

    ¡°This is a ritual that can dispel almost all curses. However, only healthy and robust men can bear this power. If others are to be cleansed of curses through this ritual, the purification fire will scorch their skin, and they will need to avoid sunlightpletely for several days to recover.¡±

    ¡°Special attention must be paid to the fact that this ritual should not be used on elderly individuals, as it could very likely lead to sudden death¡­ And under no circumstances should it be used to burn the bodies of others. If you were to direct the purification fire toward a corpse, you would lose the ability to use the purifying fire ritual and might even offend Father Flint¡¯s believers.¡±

    The young man said seriously with a straight face, ¡°Do you understand, boy? Purifying fire is a serious thing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve fully understood.¡±

    Suuankou nodded slowly.

    This is a sacred ritual¡­

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 Chapter 651: What Is This?

    <h4>Chapter 651: What Is This?</h4>

    Meanwhile, Lin Yiyi and her group were still waiting for Suuankou.

    ¡°He is taking too long.¡± Lin Yiyiined, ¡°I understand that he went to replenish ammunition¡­ but if he can¡¯t catch up with the group, he shouldn¡¯t have said he would. So, should we wait for him or not?¡±

    ¡°We should look for him first.¡± Citalopram suggested in a low voice, ¡°Something might have happened, given the dy. Since Suuankou didn¡¯t call for our help, that means that even if he encounters some trouble, it¡¯s probably not serious. However, it could also be he is in deep trouble, and there¡¯s no use for panic. In any case, we don¡¯t need to assist him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better for us to go in and search around first. If we wait too long and the people inside find out their leader is dead, they might just take off with the stuff and run.¡±

    Some critical information or valuable materials may be stolen or burned by that time.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, Sister Wen Xue!¡± Jiu¡¯er eximed, eyes wide, as she yfully punched her left palm with her right fist and cheered loudly, ¡°Clever move!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t run away,e here¡­¡± Seeing Jiu Er¡¯s exaggerated actions, Citalopram suddenly lost her temper.

    She grabbed Jiu¡¯er¡¯s ear in a huff and vigorously shook her head from side to side¡ªas if trying to shake some sense into her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was wrong.¡±

    Jiu Er felt a bit dizzy from all the shaking, her head spinning like a scrambled egg, and she let out a groaning whimper.

    Lin Yiyi watched the lively scene in enjoyment.

    Citalopram patted her head in annoyance and said, ¡°Then, your punishment is to lead the battle.¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± Jiu Er raised her axe confidently, ¡°Are we going in now?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Citalopram didn¡¯t even adopt her spirit form.

    She pointed forward, ¡°Jiu Er, charge!¡±

    ¡°¡ªAt least let me shout my warning, okay?¡± Jiu Erined, but she picked up her axe obediently and charged toward the back door of the farm ahead.

    Jiu Er took a deep breath.

    As if being doused with fuel, Jiu Er¡¯s abdomen beneath her clothes suddenly burst into a scarlet me.

    The curse power surged from the curse mark and spread throughout the body.

    Her leg muscles twitched abnormally, and she started to sweat a faint shade of red, exhibiting an incredible speed humans should not possess.

    This was the improved skill she obtained after she advanced to Blood Eater.

    [Death Charge LV7: Blood Eaters possess unparalleled vitality unmatched beyond Berserkers, allowing them to push their hearts and muscles to the limit. Immediately consume 50% of Health as fuel tounch a furious charge against the enemies. After this skill ends, you can immediately activate ¡°Berserk¡±.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: When the charge ends, you will be blessed with an additional 15 seconds of the ¡°Berserk¡± effect without consuming the ¡°Berserk¡± skill charges.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV7: Your charge attack bes unstoppable.]

    [Berserk] was Berserker¡¯s unique skill, which came after the [All-out Blow] attained maximum level.

    Berserker had lower attributes in [Constitution] and [Will]. Based on these attributes, Berserker could only gain one charge per rest. The rest allowed them to apply an additional 100% power boost to any action, significantly increasing his strength.

    Compared with the skill [All-out Blow], which only granted a 30% damage bonus, the Berserk state¡¯s attack boost was as high as 100%.

    Moreover, the [All-out Blow] itself delivered one heavy blow limited to heavy attacks in swordsmanship, like downward shes, leaping shes, or momentum shes.

    On the other hand, [Berserk] wasn¡¯t limited to increasing the damage of the next attack by 100%. Instead, any other subsequent actions would go through a [Strength Check] with the user¡¯s strength doubled. This meant that the effect would be applied to any action that required strength, including choking, strangling, grappling, breaking free from hold, and even lifting or throwing heavy objects.

    That exined why only the Berserkers possessed the [Berserk] skill was considered a true Berserker.

    Jiu Er had acquired this skill back in the Noah Kingdom¡¯s capital.

    At that time, Jiu Er had a crushing advantage against ordinary people and Bronze Rank transcenders. After activating the [Berserk] state, she was as formidable as the hands of Noxus. There was no point in blocking her attacks.

    She swung her axe in a sweeping arc, cleaving through shielded enemies and anyone behind them in two. If she swung vertically, it wasn¡¯t just a matter of cutting them in half¡­ it was more like smashing their heads into their chests.

    She had wielded this steel axe for quite some time.

    The current state of the axe could no longer be described by its sharpness. It was full of notches and dents. However, it could still be an axe instead of an iron club.

    Jiu Er would find a wolf-tooth club [1] easier to use since she hadn¡¯t undergone strict military training. However, it wouldn¡¯t look cool, in her opinion.

    There was a saying that strength was a temporary pursuit, but being coolst forever.

    However, the weapon had killed too many people.

    Jiu Er might be the yer with the highest number of kills. The experience she gained from killing could boost her level by two.

    This was her reward for working part-time as a ¡°Special Technical Consultant¡± at Gray Swan Security Company.

    However, the Berserker¡¯s ability to freeze the health value was formidable. The more fearless she was, the harder it was to kill her.

    Jiu Er¡¯s proficiency in axe was honed slowly by destroying these gang members.

    Her proficiency was thoroughly ¡°hands-on¡±.

    Thus, she had rich experience in this kind of siege battle.

    Jiu Er darted to the enemy like aet.

    She held the axe and struck heavily on the wooden wall about fifty meters away.

    Without a mistake, she charged into the wall instead of the door.

    However, it was more like crashing into the wall than a charge. Both her feet were off the ground. Her limbs pressed against the wall like a cat.

    Watching it in slow motion would make her seem cute.

    However, the people inside the building would think differently.

    There was only a loud ¡°boom¡± that even shook the ground.

    It looked like a three-story wooden building resembling a warehouse crumbling into dust. Instead of describing it as someone charging on the wall, it was more like a fully-loaded truck had crashed into it.

    As Jiu Er crashed into the thick wooden wall, she left behind a vertical crack.

    That wasn¡¯t just a wooden board. It was a thick wall made of processed logs and strong adhesive, like those found in wilderness cabins, whose defensive strength was strong enough to withstand solid iron cannonballs.

    However, under Jiu Er¡¯s reckless charge, the wall cracked open a gap half a person¡¯s width.

    The chaotic splinters of wood left Jiu Er bleeding as well.

    However, Jiu Er was unfazed by it.

    Anyway, she had already turned off her sense of pain, and these wooden splinters only inflicted superficial wounds. She hardly lost any health points, and the damage didn¡¯t trigger her passive abilities.

    Jiu Er struggled andpletely ignored those splinters, putting all her strength into moving herself out of the wall gap.

    Some people in the building were already lying down to rest, and some were still working.

    When they saw Jiu Er and heard the loud noise, they were all terrified.

    ¡°What¡­what is this?¡± Someone blurted out.

    Jiu Er¡¯s terrifying appearance was shocking, making their mind go nk. No one dared to go forward.

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 Chapter 652: White Ghost Citalopram

    <h4>Chapter 652: White Ghost Citalopram</h4>

    The people inside the building watched the bloody demon stabbing its axe into its abdomen. Then, the scarlet curse mark spread rapidly like a living thing and crawled out of the skin, whizzing.

    They were like creepy insects waving their small limbs around aggressively.

    The curse markings, alive and writhing, viciously bit into the fractured de of the fine steel axe, burrowing into it. The bright red and ck colors covered the de like a swarm of insects, making the broken and damaged steel axe appear exceptionally menacing and evil.

    The curse stored in her body was instantly activated.

    Jiu Er had awakened the curse with the dense curse marks spreading from her abdomen to her whole body.

    She raised a dark red battle axe, taller than herself, high above her head. With a sh of dazzling light, she swung it fiercely behind her in a spinning attack!

    With that, Jiu Er opened up more spaces in the narrow crack of the wall, creating a gap that was enough for the two people to pass through side by side.

    Then, a strong, citrus-scented blood stench burst forth from her body.

    It was like peeling dozens of citruses in a small room¡ªthe overwhelming scent of citrus overpowered the smell of wood chips and dust from the broken wall.

    ¡°Are we facing a demon?¡±

    The Fallens in the room, who were genuinely involved in the demonized path, were utterly astonished.

    However, they were not very nervous.

    This was due to their confidence in their boss.

    ¡°Go upstairs and look for the boss.¡± A muscr man with red skin pulled a short boy like a skinny monkey to his side, patted his shoulder, and said in a low voice, ¡°Go quickly.¡±

    ¡°Yes, got it.¡±

    The boy nced at Jiu Er with some apprehension and quickly ran away after nodding.

    He sprinted up the wooden stairs, making a dull thumping sound.

    Before he could find anyone else, the boy turned left after running to the second floor.

    Suddenly, two pale, semi-transparent slender arms reached out from the wall beside him.

    The left hand silently covered his mouth while the right hand grabbed his neck. Both hands tightened and dragged the boy directly to the wall.

    Dark bruises appeared on the boy¡¯s cheeks and neck.

    The cold air seeped into the boy¡¯s body through the skin, and his pupils were filled with death, making him look like a zombie.

    The boy struggled frantically. Unfortunately, behind him was not an enemy but a wall.

    Citalopram went through the wall with both arms, grabbed and pinned him to the wall.

    A steady stream of vitality was sucked into Citalopram¡¯s body through physical contact. As soon as the victim passed out, he became a frozen corpse that exuded cold air.

    ¡°You¡¯re not sending reinforcements over.¡± Citalopram smiled and retracted her arms to the wall.

    Behind her, three people had fallen staggeringly.

    There was no way for the henchmen here to defeat a spiritual body possessing human-like intelligence and the ability to use divine art, especially without any curse vessel.

    However, out of the consideration of possibly getting intel from these henchmen, Citalopram didn¡¯t kill them. Instead, she drained their vitality and left them at their spot in an unconscious state.

    After all, in the team, she was the only one effective in subduing the enemy and not killing them.

    Suuankou¡¯s attack would hardly leave any dead body. Jiu Er was unrestrained in her attacks. Sister Hyphen didn¡¯t have serious damage, but shecked the ability to subdue the enemies. To keep their victims alive, they could only hope that their attack on the enemy heads didn¡¯t kill them but only knock the victims out. Otherwise, the targets might have immediately fled if they held back too much in their attacks.

    To wake them up, Citalopram only needed to heal their health points slightly. However, they had to bask under the sun every now and then to dissipate the cold air in them. Also, the victims had to be left in a warm environment for at least one day to get their health back to at least 20%. Only by satisfying these requirements could the victims wake up.

    However, while Citalopram could assassinate a target, shecked power in direct attack.

    Strictly speaking, Citalopram was still not a transcender.

    However, she had been umting experience points with stable growth in the number of holy light engravings.

    Citalopram rarely raided any dungeon instance.

    She generally made progress in exploring the world. After all, she was a priest. It wasn¡¯t convenient for her to copy others¡¯ work, but it applied vice versa. Also, she had attained the maximum level possible, so defeating any dungeon wouldn¡¯t bring any growth. Naturally, she wasn¡¯t interested in dungeons.

    In fact, most of the holy light engravings she obtained came from the Pale Princess.

    The Pale Princess had been keeping an eye on this new believer of hers.

    asionally when Citalopram purified nightmares, the Pale Princess would enter her nightmares and rece someone to chat with her. When the Pale Princess left, she would give her a few holy light engravings as a fee for her effort.

    As a result, Citalopram became the priest with the most holy light engravings among the yers.

    [ID: Citalopram]

    Half-dead Enchantress. Female. Level 10.

    Health: 100%

    Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 5, Constitution -, Perception 16, Will 15

    Profession Overview.

    Ghosts (Ex): Pale Body Lv1

    Priest (the Pale Princess. Remaining engravings 7): Phantom Touch, Ghost Walk, Remote Blink, Silent Panic, Life Return

    Except for [Pale Body] and [Phantom Touch], Citalopram had acquired new divine arts.

    [Ghost Walk: While you are in a ¡®walking¡¯ or slower movement state, you gain a 300% bonus to movement speed, and your ¡®stealth¡¯ effect is increased by a level equivalent to half your Perception attribute. This divine art can only be used in ghostly form.]

    [Remote Blink: Enemies you have attacked or who have detected you are marked with a special curse thatsts for a duration equal to your ¡®Will¡¯ attribute. You can sense the target¡¯s exact location, and if the straight-line distance between you and the target is less than your ¡®Perception¡¯ attribute, you can blink across the terrain to appear directly behind them. This divine art can only be used in ghostly form and consumes a pinch of white or grey powder.]

    [Silent Panic: Physical Form: Your touch may inflict a special effect on the target, equivalent to the Soul Snatch Magic ¡°Fear.¡±

    Ghost Form: You can use aplete magic casting action to apply a special effect equivalent to the Soul Snatch Magic ¡°Fear¡± on all living beings within a radius equal to half your ¡°Perception¡± attribute. This divine art consumes one grey moth.]

    [Life Return: When you gain healing from any attack with a ¡®Life-Drain¡¯ effect, you can obtain additional hit points equal to 100% of your maximum health. When you take damage, it is deducted from the additional hit points first. You can also use an immediate touch action to transfer any amount of additional hit points to a target at 50% efficiency.]

    This was the new divine art Citalopram obtained.

    She already had a considerable degree ofbat effectiveness.

    Although she still focused on support, assassination, and control, a group battle was beyond her expertise.

    Citalopram was rtively weak in defense, after all.

    She didn¡¯t have the extra health boost from the Constitution attribute¡ªthis meant that her spirit form would have been seriously wounded if hit even once by any attack, like a silver bullet that could strike spiritual beings.

    Even though they had already turned off the friendly fire, the area control spells from Sister Hyphen and Jiu Er¡¯s knockback abilities were effective against her.

    Citalopram stayed aside, not to avoid enemy attacks but mainly to avoid attacks from teammates.

    ¡°However, if the timing is right¡­¡± Citalopram murmured.

    Citalopram could teleport to the battle below to take control of more enemies too.

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 Chapter 653: Let Me Teach You What Is Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 653: Let Me Teach You What Is Assassination</h4>

    These gang members following the Bloodhand Brothers surely wouldn¡¯t know that the reinforcements they hoped for were destined never to arrive.

    Without warning, Jiu Er leaped into the air. Without uttering a single threat, she crashed into the crowd like a meteor,nding with a tremendous thud¡ª

    A tall man standing in the front was a little caught off guard.

    In his haste, he had no choice but to raise the table beside him and face Jiu Er.

    The battle axe, wrapped in dark red energy, effortlessly smashed through the round table raised like a shield and shattered the skull hidden behind it.

    ¡°You bastard¡ª!¡±

    The man, who looked like a drunkard and was flushed all over, instantly became furious.

    They didn¡¯t wait for backup any longer and instead attacked without a second thought.

    Two Lurkers retreated into the darkness while the leader breathed out a white mist, filling the air with the smell of sulfur.

    He must be the only Fallen in this group who had obtained the demonic power.

    For the rest, their highest level was merely at Bronze Rank.

    Jiu Er quickly analyzed the situation.

    The next moment, the burly man with reddish skin punched Jiu Er through the air!

    Like sharp flying needles, his blood pierced through the skin on the back of his left hand, transforming into bright sparks that flew toward Jiu Er.

    Jiu Er ignored the damage from the throwing axe embedded in her shoulder.

    She yanked the throwing axe from her shoulder with her right hand while quickly retreating. At the same time, she raised the dark red battle axe in front of her with her left hand, effortlessly blocking the fiery needles that burst forth from the burning blood.

    These attacks, which looked like tiny sparks, didn¡¯t go out even after striking Jiu Er¡¯s battle axe.

    The fiery needles had a structure simr to the tail needle of a bee¡ªwith barbed, ck, thin needles. Each needle steadily burned with a dark red me, scorching Jiu Er¡¯s battle axe and giving off an unpleasant smell resembling burning rubber.

    As Jiu Er retreated, she backhandedly threw the flying axe back. The axe didn¡¯t hit the person who had thrown it but instead struck down a man who was loading bullets next to him, knocking him straight to the ground.

    After Jiu Er quickly withdrew from the crowd, she created a distance for another [Charge].

    She stepped forward on the spot, using her momentum to fling her battle axe forward¡ªlike pulling off the ¡°guard point¡± [1]. She sent the axe crashing toward the ¡°elite monster¡± who had activated the Fallen power.

    [TN: Guard point is the block of the charge de in Monster Hunter.]

    The man snorted coldly, with purple blood veins surfacing on his right arm. As sweat as red as blood seeped out, his clothes burst into a fierce me, turning into a poisonous fire.

    The Fallen had noticed that his enemy was just a child.

    His right arm burned violently and tripled in size.

    His thick and red right arm became more prominent. The knuckles erged with ayer of red, hard, horn-like material growing on the skin.

    His right arm, which had transformed, was already invulnerable. It became a sturdy shield as the man held that arm before him.

    Not to mention human heads ¡ª he could even hold the de of a greatsword in his hand and crush it.

    This was a demon-like clenching attack!

    It was a signal that he nned to intercept Jiu Er¡¯s attack and disarm her!

    However, his body suddenly froze.

    ¡°[Do not move]!¡±

    With a sharp and authoritative rebuke, an invisible force spread like numbing lightning throughout his body, slowing his movements momentarily.

    The control spell effect only happened for one second.

    However, that interruption prevented him from catching Jiu Er¡¯s ¡°guard point¡± with his palm.

    Jiu Er put her strength into her waist and whole body, spinning like a top with the massive battle axe, which was evenrger than herself.

    Rather than she shed with the axe, it was more urate to say she swung it out.

    The gigantic axe came crashing down in great momentum while Jiu Er was flung into the air!

    With Jiu Er readjusting her trajectory, she precisely hit the demon¡¯s massive hand precisely where the index and middle fingers connected to the back of the hand.

    She chopped off the two demon fingers thicker than Jiu Er¡¯s waist.

    ¡°Help me, Sister Hyphen!¡± Jiu Er let out a piercing scream.

    ¡°[Dodge]!¡± Following Lin Yiyi¡¯s shout, Jiu Er¡¯s body moved by itself. She was bounced to the side by the invisible power.

    Lin Yiyi sprinted at full speed from behind her, holding a long silver steel rod wrapped with curse patterns. Then, she leaped out like a dragon.

    Her movement was silent and fast ¡ª the storm whipped up by her motion blew her short ck hair back, revealing her eyes filled with killing intent.

    Her steel rod was nestled in the crook of her arm, extending forward with her swift movement.

    Lin Yiyi charged over at high speed like a train, stopping in front of the Fallen swiftly.

    All the kic energy was transferred to the weapon in her hand.

    [Falcon Strike]!

    This was a technique that could maintain the uracy of the attack under high-speed sprinting. It was also the next skill after the [All-out Blow] reached the maximum level.

    The moment she stopped, the extending rod acted like a blunt sword or the shaft of a spear without its head. With a faint rotational vibration, it channeled all her charging power to strike at the most formidable enemy in front of her on the first floor!

    It was aimed at the giant hand with two fingers chopped off by Jiu Er, sparking as it went. With a humming, high-speed vibration, it targeted the forehead of the elite fallen one with pinpoint uracy.

    If it were a long spear, the power of this blow alone would be enough to prate and explode Fallen¡¯s head.

    However, it was a solid steel rod.

    There was a muffled thud like a heavy object mmed to the ground.

    The Fallen¡¯s head was unnaturally bent backward, with blood spilling from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The recoiling from the steel rod created intense heat as it rubbed against Lin Yiyi¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Did you just smash his brains out?¡± Jiu Er muttered quietly, rushing before Lin Yiyi to shield her from shotgun pellets.

    The lead bullets didn¡¯t even prate Jiu Er¡¯s body.

    Under the force of her writhing muscles, which moved like living creatures, the shotgun pellets were quickly pushed out, falling to the ground.

    She didn¡¯t have the leisure to chat, ¡°He looks like an elite monster. Shouldn¡¯t we leave one alive for questioning?¡±

    As Jiu Er spoke, she easily swung her battle axe, cleaving a Lurker who lunged from Lin Yiyi¡¯s side in half at the waist.

    ¡°Shush!¡± Lin Yiyi was annoyed, ¡°I used Mercy Strike! The skill feedback tells me that I have seeded!¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re Batman now? As long as you say you don¡¯t kill people, even if a car hits his face at full speed, he won¡¯t die?¡± Jiu Er said in disbelief.

    You have smashed his brains out. How can he still be alive?

    ¡°Maybe his Constitution is better. I wasn¡¯t counting on sparing his life anyway. But my skill tells me that the [Mercy Strike] was sessful.¡±

    Lin Yiyi was also a little uncertain, ¡°I should invest more skill points into this skill. Having it at Level 3 isn¡¯t safe. Stop nagging. Keep blocking the bullet for me!¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou are the tank! I am the DPS, sister!¡± Jiu Erined loudly but still stood before Lin Yiyi and absorbed the damage for her.

    Lin Yiyi was troubled, ¡°What can I do? I can¡¯t get this bullet out of the way.¡±

    ¡°Just spin your steel rod!¡±

    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s leave it at that. These people can¡¯t kill you.¡± Lin Yiyi still hesitated.

    As the agility-type tank, she was great at parrying melee attacks and blocking flying arrows.

    But the bullet is just¡­

    However, several small ck balls suddenly rolled over from the ground the next moment.

    With a loud explosion, the massive st shook the walls, forcing all the Fallen resting on the upper floors toe down.

    Lin Yiyi didn¡¯t seem anxious at all.

    Instead, she looked relieved and said, ¡°You finally came back, little brother!¡±

    ¡°¡­Sisters, you all are embarrassing.¡± Suuankou, who arrivedte, put on ck fingerless leather gloves and walked in disdainfully, ¡°Do you even know how to assassinate someone?¡±

    ¡°Here, let me show you what a real assassination is!¡±

    As he spoke, he pressed his gloved left hand to the floor.

    Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er turned around and ran away when they saw something was wrong.

    He closed his eyes, activating the curse vessel at the center of his palm.

    A dark red curse pattern flowed out from his fingers, crawling along the ground at high speed. It disappeared in a corner of the building, turning into rows of runes.

    As the noise gradually drew closer, the footsteps upstairs became more and more distinct.

    Suuankou¡¯s pupils suddenly turned dark red likeva.

    The next moment, a loud bang sounded from upstairs!

    The explosion burst into mes, and the shockwave sent the walls and windows flying out. The impact of the st ttened the entire second floor!

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 654: Arenâ€™t We Supposed to Leave Someone Alive?

    <h4>Chapter 654: Aren¡¯t We Supposed to Leave Someone Alive?</h4>

    The massive shockwave, apanied by the ze, had shattered the wooden walls of the second floor. Shards of wood and ss rained like a torrential downpour, and thick smoke billowed along with it.

    However, it was a fairly small explosion.

    The detonation point was attached to the wall, so the noise of the explosion was transmitted so clearly to the outside.

    This wooden building had soundproofing, defense, fire, and detection barriers. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand Jiu Er¡¯s charge. The yers didn¡¯t need toe inside; they could have just set fire to the door, used long-range sound wave attacks, or used curses from the Soul Snatching School to control someone to open the door.

    However, the person who arranged the defensive barrier did not consider the attack from within. The soundproof barrier originally intended to guard against the Soul Snatch spell also prevented the high-level Fallens upstairs fromunching immediate support.

    That was why Jiu Er smashed the wall open with an axe.

    As the external walls, load-bearing walls, and load-bearing pirs were detonated, the weight of the building itself was enough to demolish this structure.

    With several crucial load-bearing walls already fractured, the building descended straight down. With creaking and groaning sounds, the building¡¯s third floorpletely destroyed the remaining walls of the second floor. The immense weight and the inertia from the fall caused such an impact that even the third-floor floor and walls were mostly demolished. Immediately after, it continued its descent, crashing directly onto the first floor.

    The copsed building emitted a heart-stopping thunderous roar.

    The deafening rumble was enough to cause ringing noise to the ear and dizziness to anyone nearby, but unfortunately, there were no people in close proximity.

    Jiu Er and Lin Yiyi barely ran out of the range, but they still felt their hearts palpitating.

    It was a sense of tension and fear that would never appear, even when fighting a powerful enemy.

    Even when facing formidable enemies, they would think that ¡°they also had transcended abilities¡±, so viewing the enemy as an obstacle to ovee.

    However, this scene was different.

    It felt more like a natural disaster, pure destruction.

    The building copsed right in front of their eyes. Forget about Lin Yiyi, Jiu Er was scared even though she knew she would not die even if crushed underneath.

    That was the fear stemming from mon sense¡±.

    Suuankou did not detonate from the middle of the room on the second floor. He controlled the explosive rune, etched it into the beams and walls, and detonated it simultaneously.

    It was called the ¡°Explosive Rune¡±.

    It would maximize the conservation of curse power and st the wall most effectively.

    Coupled with Suuankou¡¯s explosion technique learned from the Earth¡¯s inte, he attached the rune to the concave surface of the building. With only three spells, this seemingly solid building was sted.

    The Explosive Rune was the signature Destruction Magic. Given its practicality, almost all Destruction Wizards of Silver Rank would set aside a spell slot to learn this spell.

    This required the wizard to have set up a specific phrase in advance¡ªit had to be at least five sybles long. Then, as long as they inscribed this rune and remained within the perception range, they could trigger the explosion by reciting the phrase or using other spells to activate it.

    The power of the explosion was not strong.

    In fact, it was used to create items like ¡°explosive cors¡± for controlling prisoners or to clear paths and destroy mazes. Its explosive power was enough to blow off a head or demolish a wall¡­ but it was limited to that extent.

    Suuankou used three spells.

    Firstly, it was [Explosive Rune]. Then, he used the Instant Spell when detonating the rune, [Total Detonation].

    This spell could trigger all explosive devices within his perception range and amplify their power. It worked on bombs without detonators, other people¡¯s explosive runic inscriptions, or other interactive spell constructs.

    It was primarily used to detonate the grenade in the enemy¡¯s hand or to detonate the gunpowder in the barrel. Excessive explosive power could instantly paralyze the opponent¡¯s firearms and cause the opponent¡¯s firearms to go off.

    As for the advanced profession, Saboteur could also learn the exclusive spell called [Wandering Rune]. That was the third spell Suuankou cast.

    The user could prepare five runes in advance and store them at his fingertips. As an instant action, the stored rune could be released and moved by thought to somewhere within the user¡¯s perception.

    Strictly speaking, this was not a spell of the Destruction School.

    It was closer to the techniques unique to the profession of ¡°Lurker¡±.

    Lurkers above Bronze Rank could use techniques to create clones or dense fog, remotely control the movement of objects, or dispel other people¡¯s traps or spell traps.

    Combined with his creations, this crafty abilitypensated for the biggest drawback of the Saboteur¡¯s spells ¨C their ck of flexibility.¡±

    The only imperfection was that the fragments of those buildings were blown outside.

    However, Suuankou was not a professional after all.

    Even withpletely targeted explosives, he still didn¡¯t bother calcting the specific yield needed for the explosion. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t a true professional demolitions expert. He didn¡¯t need to worry about whether the yield was too high.

    After the explosion, his mission was done.

    Of course, the problem of identally injuring friendly units was still unavoidable.

    However, Suuankou expected this issue.

    Ordinary Destruction Wizard could hurt an ally just by throwing a fireball. Thus, he didn¡¯t think that burying his teammates under the building he detonated was an issue since the fireball incident wasmon.

    Considering teammates weren¡¯t buried in the building, it became so much safer than throwing fireballs!

    Seeing Suuankou walk confidently out of the building, wearing a cool expression and pulling on his gloves, the horrified looks on Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er¡¯s faces still hadn¡¯t faded.

    ¡°Damn it, you scared me to death.¡± Lin Yiyi held her chest with lingering fear.

    She couldn¡¯t help but scold and punch Suuankou.

    ¡°You brat¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Suuankou said, dissatisfied, ¡°I¡¯m saving the situation, sister!

    ¡°My profession as a spell caster relies on environmental damage to make a living! Do you think the environmental damage is not enough? I have already gained more than 20 kill prompts. We could be overwhelmed if they alle down from the upstairs.¡±

    It was different from the grunt downstairs.

    The Fallens upstairs were not low-level.

    At worst, they were in Bronze Rank and above¡­ plus the Fallen Path had a lot of advantages in the early stage, and the fighting style was novel. After they arrive downstairs, the party might not be able to defeat them.

    ¡°I only have one question¡­¡±

    Lin Yiyi spoke hesitantly, ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to leave someone alive?¡±

    Suuankou¡¯s body froze when he heard this, and he was silent for a moment.

    He forced himself to calm down and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Let¡¯s check if there is any document or record.¡±

    ¡°You really forgot about that, right?¡±

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 Chapter 655: Annan: Itâ€™s Not Easy For Them To Survive

    <h4>Chapter 655: Annan: It¡¯s Not Easy For Them To Survive</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Citalopram¡¯s steady voice came from the side, ¡°They¡¯re not all dead. There are still a few survivors.¡±

    Compared to her usual tone, Citalopram raised her pitch a little higher.

    Citalopram staggered, trotting over from the vicinity of the copsed building in her main body.

    Since the physical attributes of Half-dead Enchantress could not be improved through exercise, Citalopram only had five Agility attributes. Moreover, Undead had no Constitution attributes, making Citalopram the lowest attribute among the yers.

    Suuankou had the expression of those witnessing a ghost, ¡°Sister Wen Xue, where did youe from?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI was on the second floor! I saw your runes floating up, which scared me to death!¡±

    Citalopram yelled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice it is one yer shot on the first floor?!¡±

    ¡°Hey¡­ what?!¡± Suuankou was also startled, ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t here!¡±

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m on the second floor!¡± Citalopram reprimanded loudly, ¡°Next time when you¡¯re about to st a ce, remember to check if your teammates are within the range of the explosion, okay? Although this version has no friendly fire, the environmental damage is still effective against us!¡±

    As a matter of fact, it was not easy for her to escape.

    Roughly speaking, it was in the vicinity of the spot where Jiu Er breached the wall.

    That was pretty much the area where Jiu Er and Lin Yiyi made their escape.

    Suppose someone got close to that spot, nning to ambush the yers when they escaped. Citalopram could have her spirit instantly return to her physical body and then release it again. With that, the yers would turn the tables on the enemies trying to surround them.

    In the end, what Citalopram never expected was that she wasn¡¯t surprised by the enemy¡¯s encirclement but rather startled by her teammates¡¯ bombardment.

    Thankfully, Citalopram made precautions that she would face resistance at the exit, so she ced her main body a little further away.

    If she had followed her habit of cing her main body against the outer wall to achieve the maximum range of movement, then by the time she returned to her main body, she would likely have been buried by the copsed wall.

    Even though she was still a fair distance from the building, the dust and wood chips that fell on her made her look somewhat ¡°worn¡± ¡ª Miss Ghost seemed to have a more vintage feel.

    ¡°The people inside are notpletely dead yet.¡±

    Although the face of the Half-dead Enchantress was usually pale, coupled with the frightened expression on Citalopram¡¯s face, it made her look more like a living person.

    She didn¡¯t have time to reprimand Suuankou further.

    If she had more time, she would not stop lecturing Suuankou. However, she had no time for that.

    ¡°Most of those on the second floor were killed by the copsing third floor¡­¡±

    There were no survivors among those captives she subdued.

    Citalopram couldn¡¯t help butin in her heart with resentment.

    Before she finished speaking, Suuankou guessed what she was going to say, ¡°But there are still some people who haven¡¯te down from the third floor, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Citalopram nodded.

    Lin Yiyi said bluntly, ¡°This is because you didn¡¯t finish the job properly. Hurry up and go finish them off.¡±

    ¡°No big deal.¡± Suuankou was brimming with confidence, ¡°I only used a fifth of my mana. I still have mana left.¡±

    ¡°Remember to leave some of them alive!¡± Jiu Er shouted.

    Jiu Er felt aggrieved. She blocked the gunfire in front of Sister Hyphen to keep some of the enemies alive. However, her effort amounted to nothing.

    Otherwise, she would have rushed in and unleashed a spinning attack that could have taken everyone down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I acted hastily just now because I was startled earlier¡­ so I identally went a little overboard.¡± Suuankou said in a deep voice, ¡°When I went for resupply earlier, someone tried to ambush me.¡±

    As Suuankou spoke, he squatted down again and pressed his left hand with the fingerless glove on the ground.

    Upon hearing this, Lin Yiyi was taken aback momentarily and asked with a mix of seriousness and concern, ¡°What happened? Did someone attack you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine for the time being. I¡¯ll tell you in detail when we go back. It¡¯s a littleplicated.¡± Suuankou briefly replied, taking a thin strand of hair from his pocket and handing it to his sister. ¡°Take a look at this.¡±

    ¡°[Elderly Youth¡¯s Hair]?¡± Lin Yiyi read, ¡°What is this? The hair of a young but old man?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a residual curse vessel from a ritual. The curse had almost taken my life.¡± Suuankou whispered, ¡°Fortunately, the Saint didn¡¯t go far¡­ he saved me.

    ¡°This should be regarded as a follow-up content to the Gemini Nightmare. The one who tried to curse me was ¡®Ingrid¡¯. Let me quickly deal with the opponent now and then ask Old Goose what¡¯s happening.¡±

    He took a slow breath, and his pupils became bright again.

    Suuankou gave the impression of taking a deep breath with a cigarette in his mouth. As he inhaled, his pupils zed with bright,va-like brilliance.

    Then, he exhaled slowly.

    A violent sulfur scent poured out from his mouth and nose.

    In the building that had already copsed, the mes lit up again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill all of them! Keep some of them alive!¡± Lin Yiyi quickly reminded again.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Suuankou replied confidently, ¡°This time, there will be no problem¡ª¡±

    Suuankou raised his hand slowly, seemingly pulling something intangible from the ground.

    As Suuankou aimed his palm at the building, a magic circle suddenly lit up.

    ¡°¡ªThe element of explosion!¡±

    He extracted the element, raising his voice as he chanted, ¡°With earth as bone, with fire as blood, with hatred as the sword¡ª

    ¡°[Scar Echo]!¡±

    That was the Chant Spell of the Destruction Magic and the first skill Suuankou used.

    The spell called [Scar Echo] targeted a person¡¯s body, and it was a spell that struck the target based on the remaining amount of health.

    It could inflict half the damage of a previously caused specific type of injury.

    In other words, at least the opponent¡¯s health must be lower than one-third to be killed. And that was under the premise that the damage received by the opponent was of the same type.

    The spell mechanism was like the Reaper¡¯s Scythe [1].

    The spell was quite meaningless for the typical Destruction Wizards who emphasized maximizing damage.

    However, when it was activated with elements like ¡°explosion,¡± ¡°burning,¡± or ¡°shattering¡± as the foundation, it could actually ¡°y¡± inorganic objects.

    In other words, the spell targeted ¡°buildings¡± as units, and the already damaged structures were destroyed again through the behavior revealed by the element ¡ª once more.

    A tinum-colored beam of light was seen shooting out from the magical circle, quietlynding in the rubble of the building.

    The next moment, the sounds of explosion, copse, and shattering rang again.

    That already damaged building exploded from within once again.

    The spell did not damage those who fell from the third floor and struggled to get out of the copsed building.

    That was because they had not been ¡°bombed¡± previously.

    However, the building was attacked, sending out even more fragments.

    Walls and furniture that had not been previously sted suddenly shattered and exploded without warning. The splintering fragments embedded themselves deeply into their bodies, severely injuring them in an unexpected way.

    Just like the Transcender had to unleash the curse vessel to activate the curse mark to use Transcended abilities above Silver Rank. Simrly, Fallen had to transform their body to activate their abilities too. Otherwise, besides having higher physical attributes, they were not much different from the Bronze Rank Transcenders.

    This was also why the copsed second floor crushed those people to death.

    ¡°Okay, sister, it¡¯s done!¡± Suuankou breathed a sigh of relief and said proudly, ¡°With that, except for those inbat mode, the rest should be on the verge of death. Even those inbat mode must be seriously injured by now if they tried to struggle out of the heavy building filled with sharp fragments.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the next part to our Batman.¡±

    Suuankou respectfully stepped aside and gestured to his sister, inviting her to proceed.

    ¡°Alright, I shall punish you aftering back.¡± Lin Yiyi said, raising her stick and drawing a symbolic circle around Suuankou as a warning. ¡°You better not step out of this circle. When I get back, I¡¯m going to beat you, but I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Suuankou suddenly panicked, ¡°Why!? I held back this time!¡±

    ¡°You almost buried me in there, and you¡¯re asking why?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it just almost, sis?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I won¡¯t actually beat you to death.¡±

    Suuankou groaned, ¡°I¡¯ve seen it all. You said the same thing when you hit someone¡¯s head with an iron rod!¡±

    But before he knew it, his sister had already charged out with her iron rod.

    Annan, who was still nestled in the chair and spectated the yers intently, finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked away.

    ¡°What a close call. No harm is done.¡± Annan sighed.

    It¡¯s nerve-wracking.

    Annan wasn¡¯t talking about the yers having a close call; he mainly meant that the enemies were lucky to escape unscathed.¡±

    It was not easy for the enemies to survive through the ordeal.

    Annan was worried that the enemies would be put to death by the yers, being eradicated out of an ident.

    With Sister Hyphen intervening, we should be getting new intel soon.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± Annan grunted and jumped out of his chair.

    After Annan finished his dinner, the new information should be delivered to him.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 656: Transforming Into A Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 656: Transforming Into A Dragon</h4>

    Yiyi was the only sensible person in that party of yers.

    Annan was relieved when Lin Yiyi intervened.

    The food in the Duke¡¯s Mansion was delicious, but it wasn¡¯t exactly extravagant ¡ª a serving of pan-searedmb chops, a te of sliced ??sausages, a small te of pickles, followed by a bowl of sd, a bowl of stewed pears, and a dish simr to buns filled with a fish and egg mixture.

    Most of them were served because of Annan.

    After all, Annan was going through puberty. He held a Silver Rankbat profession. Even without much exercise or battle, the daily workout and the winter cold were enough to have him eating the equivalent of two adult-sized meals.

    Regarding Ivan¡¯s current health condition, the doctors had warned him that he could only consume steamed or stewed meat ¡ª fried, grilled, or raw food was strictly prohibited. He shouldn¡¯t overeat, nor was he allowed to eat cold food.

    Food like buns was food specifically arranged for Ivan. It waster spread to the Austere-Winter folk.

    It was less taxing on Ivan¡¯s body since it was leavened, made of fermented dough. Plus, Ivan himself despised wasting food. Even if his physical condition weren¡¯t great, he would still try to finish any leftovers.

    Therefore, Winter¡¯s Hand, who was responsible for taking care of Ivan¡¯s body, was meticulous with Ivan¡¯s diet. They would rather serve a lesser portion rather than serving too much food.

    The ¡°bun¡± filled with meat and eggs would ensure nutrition without over-serving. A te of these buns and a few slices of pickles constituted Ivan¡¯s meal, and it was designed to be as low in oil and salt as possible.

    Forget about the Grand Duke. Even the noble and ordinary businessman who didn¡¯t even have a manor would not have such a simple diet.

    However, Ivan didn¡¯t have the slightest dislike for this simple food.

    Not only was Ivan eating carefully and seriously, but he also ate at a slower pace.

    Mainly when chewing, it took quite a while to swallow.

    It wasn¡¯t that he was an old man with missing teeth.

    Instead, Ivan¡¯s body was frail, and hecked muscle strength.

    Not only did he need a walking cane to move around¡­ Even spending too long eating would leave Ivan feeling tired.

    Although he was just middle-aged, his eating habits, movement, and sleep schedule were simr to those of an elderly person. Only Ivan¡¯s neat, pearly white teeth could prove that he was not yet an old man.

    Annan heard from Aunt Zoya, the ¡°ring finger¡±, that Grand Duke Ivan usually ate a bun the size of a fist and a bowl of pear stew without sugar. Since Ivan ate two buns that day, his appetite was considered excellent.

    The reason behind it should be Annan¡¯s rare presence at home.

    Although Ivan didn¡¯t have any expression on his face and he didn¡¯t feel any joy in his heart, his appetite had improved.

    As a member of the Austere-Winter Family, Ivan couldn¡¯t eat cold food.

    In a way, it felt like an insult.

    However, Ivan obeyed the doctor¡¯s instructions to live longer.

    That was because Austere-Winter Dukedom couldn¡¯t be without him.

    Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s body was already overburdened.

    In the past two weeks, he had multiple dreams where he transformed into a dragon, soaring the skies with his kin¡­ but every time, he woke up just in the nick of time, choosing to return to his own body.

    Ivan knew that it was the Old Grandmother calling him.

    The [Austere Winter¡¯s Blood] flowed in his body.

    That was genuine dragon blood.

    A mortal¡¯s heart and muscles simply could not bear the great power of the dragon¡¯s blood. This was the truth about Ivan¡¯s incurable disease.

    His spirit would likely turn into a dragon if he were to pass away. He would return to the Old Grandmother¡¯s realm, bing her envoy.

    When Ivan became the envoy of an upright deity, Ivan would regain a healthy and robust body. He wouldn¡¯t have to live in such struggle and pain.

    Just like his father and grandfather.

    Deities chose their envoy in different ways. However, in general, the envoys of the deities were those They loved the most.

    For example, the Red Knight chose His envoys from ¡°chevaliers¡± who had demonstrated valor on the battlefield and died without fear or remorse for their deaths. Even if they were just mortals in their lifetime, they would be immortal Silver Rank ¡°chevaliers¡± once they became an envoy.

    Meanwhile, the Silver Sire would select astute bankers or legendary merchants ¡ª usually, they were His popes and cardinals or major merchants from other nations.

    In their lifetimes, they might have made important discoveries or had ¡°sales¡± experiences referenced in legends. But without a doubt, they were among the most brilliant and discerning individuals in the world.

    If they didn¡¯t offend Silver Sire, they would be promoted to ¡°managers¡± after death, gaining immortality in another sense. Their job was to help the Church of Silver Sire continue to expand its territory or run various local businesses.

    Another name for them was ¡°Silver Guide¡±. In fact, there was also a summoning ritual called ¡°Summon: Silver Guide¡±.

    However, the ritualists summoned the Silver Guides not to let them help in the battle but to let them help in starting a business.

    In the same way, there were Mysterious Lady¡¯s ¡°ssical Schrs¡± and Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ¡°Desire Evoker¡±. When the ritualists summoned them, it was not for them to be enforcers.

    In theory, any deities could have their envoys. The ritual that gave birth to the envoy was part of the deity¡¯s power. They could respond to rituals in their respective realm on behalf of the deity. Their main role was essentially customer service.

    Of course, some deities were more withdrawn and preferred to avoid being surrounded by envoys all the time.

    For example, Bell Ringer Oik did not have an envoy. The Paper Princess liked to travel alone and did not recruit any envoy.

    If the deities did not specifically retain souls to create envoys, these souls would have been ¡°buried¡± by the Bone Burying Grandma. Over the course of twelve years, they would have gradually settled and returned to the world¡¯s origin. This could be seen as a kind of ¡°reincarnation,¡± though there was no direct connection between the previous life and the next.

    If the souls of the deceased failed to return, it could be seen as a depletion of the world¡¯s fundamental forces ¨C after all, there was an output without any return. From this perspective, the existence of ¡°undead¡± could be considered a kind of smuggling.

    Envoys were a type of undead too. The only difference was that their deities had made up for this loss of power, thus legitimizing their existence.

    ¡°Annan.¡± Ivan hesitated for a long time, but as he watched Annan eating, he made up his mind. ¡°I have heard our grandmother¡¯s call. I think it¡¯s about time for you to take the three-color scepter.¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m about to transform into a dragon.¡±

    Annan stopped eating after hearing this.

    He took a deep look at Ivan.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 657: Giving the Last Will

    <h4>Chapter 657: Giving the Last Will</h4>

    ¡ª[Dragon Transformation].

    In other words, bing the envoy of the Old Grandmother.

    Annan certainly knew what an ¡°envoy¡± was.

    In fact, this was a euphemism. Only the undead could be an envoy of a deity.

    This meant that Ivan¡¯s time hade.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t feel any grief.

    It was not a farewell.

    This differed from the doctrines of some false deities who imed that ¡°the souls of the deceased would join the deity¡± or ¡°the souls of the dead would go to hell.¡± The Twelve True Deities didn¡¯t need to deceive their followers with such lies. However, false deities, especially those keen on establishing their territories, would tell white lies to get support.

    The biggest lies were ¡°Deity will hear your prayers¡± and ¡°Be faithful to Deity¡±.

    ¡ªExcept for Kafni possessing an inborn perception tomunicate with deities, only the legitimate and powerful rituals would allow the deities to hear the followers¡¯ voices. Of course, the situation was different with calling out the deity¡¯s true name. After all, saying the real name was considered a ritual already.

    Simply put, if the deities could hear their followers just by being called, the rituals served no function.

    Neither upright nor false deities need piety nor faith. The deities¡¯ role only involved two aspects: maintaining the concept of their divinity and purifying nightmares.

    As for having more envoys, running churches, crafting divine art, inventing teachings, etc., they were feats achieved out of the two primary aspects.

    However, even though the deity didn¡¯t need piety and faith, the churches needed them.

    The more a churchcked benefits andpetitiveness, the more it emphasized the importance of faith. Through the web woven by faith and the afterlife, the church couldpel its followers to perform various works for them.

    When the followers were devoted enough, they wouldn¡¯t ask for anything in return, and they didn¡¯t care about experience. For small false deity churches, this was a crucial step.

    There was no shortage of people for upright deities¡¯ churches with solid appeal, such as Silver Sire Church.

    The Silver Sire Church would tell their followers that it was okay not to truly believe in the Silver Sire as long as they didn¡¯t spheme in the church. Even if they badmouthed the Silver Sire on the streets, as long as the Silver Sire didn¡¯t happen to witness it, no one would bother them.

    You canin all you want, but the work cannot be dyed.

    The highest mission assigned to individuals by the church was to purify nightmares, which was the volunteer mission that everyone needed toplete.

    For example, they might have been asked to teach at the church school, manage the collected donations, or help ordinary people read and understand the contracts they encountered. They could also have receivedints and reports against other contract workers and participated in investigations¡­ These tasks also had to be done.

    ¡ªAs a matter of fact, the core teaching of Silver Sire was not to gain profits but to maintain transactions.

    So those merchants who made money through deceitful means, like killing the golden goose to get the golden eggs, would also be hunted down by the Silver Sire¡¯s priests if they were reported. This kind of righteous punishment was also part of the Silver Sire¡¯s job.

    Old Grandmother adopted a different manner of action from the Silver Sire.

    As the Tradition Deity, She favored only Her bloodline. For this reason, the Old Grandmother would only choose envoys from the heirs of the Frostwhisper blood.

    In other words, all the envoys of the Old Grandmother were strictly blood-rted.

    After bing an envoy, they might find their father, uncles, aunts, and grandfather all staring at them, muttering, ¡°You¡¯re here¡± or ¡°You have finally showed up.¡±

    All of Her envoys was a dragon in appearance.

    It waspletely different from the ¡°Perfect Dragon Form¡± obtained after ¡°Winter Heart¡± evolved to its final form and advanced to Gold Rank.

    They could transform freely, had a long lifespan, and possessed strong resistance without losing their original profession. If they were originally a wizard, they could even cast spells in the form of a giant dragon.

    To be more precise, it was bing the ¡°same race¡± as the Old Grandmother.

    In fact, the ¡°Winter Heart¡± talent was originally used by Old Grandmother to create the same kind. The curses, restraints, and enhancements it provided were all side effects caused by extracting the dragon bloodline.

    Old Grandmother¡¯s envoy ¡°Frostwhisper Dragon¡± was just a dragon in appearance.

    They lost their human hearing and vocal organs and could only use [Frost Lingual] or [Dragon Language] to ¡°listen¡± and ¡°speak¡±.

    Therefore, to conduct the advanced ritual of summoning a dragon, one must proficiently master one of these ancientnguages. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able tomand the dragon at all.

    However, the giant dragon transformed in this way could not be transformed back into a human form, nor could itmunicate in humannguage. They also lost the transcended abilities they had when they were humans. Naturally, they couldn¡¯t perform rituals. They only possessed the skills granted by the ¡°shell¡± bestowed by the Old Grandmother ¨C abilities such as dragon¡¯s breath, flying, resistance, and attack power. It was like humans transformed into dragons.

    Of course, even so, theirbat effectiveness was terrifying.

    Unlike the ¡°Silver Guide¡± type of envoy, the Frostwhisper Dragon were enforcers, weapons with ice breath. They also possessed human wisdom. With a calm and indifferent demeanor, they could summon blizzards with just their words. These creatures have tough skin, sturdy build, and height at a towering 20 feet tall.

    That was a monster that even a group of Silver Rank transcenders could not handle.

    The terrifying part was that this exterior could be damaged because it was essentially a projection formed with ¡°traditional¡± power. So, when the summoned dragons were in a good mood, they fought for the summoner without caring about their safety.

    However, even if the user couldn¡¯t turn back into a human, it wasn¡¯t a big problem.

    The envoy wasn¡¯t part of the mortal world anymore. This limitation of being unable to transform back into humans often led them to fall into a dragon slumber. To ensure effective control over them, the Old Grandmother ensured the envoys stayed away from the mortal realm.

    If the envoy were in the material world, they wouldn¡¯t be able to respond to the ritual in time. It was equivalent to being absent from work.

    As an Undead, the deities paid the ¡°fee¡± for the envoy to continue to survive without triggering the burial mechanism.

    If the envoys didn¡¯t work, it would be freeloading.

    Although the Old Grandmother was kind to her blood descendants, it didn¡¯t mean she would let them do whatever they wanted ¡ª all her envoys were blood descendants, which also meant that no one was special in any way to her.

    Maybe Silver Sire would give someone asional time off if they had unique talents, but the Old Grandmother wouldn¡¯t do that.

    She adopted the role of a parent seriously.

    For the Old Grandmother, all Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Dukes were her child, no matter how powerful they were outside.

    For their work, the envoys must reside in other adjacent worlds or the gaps between worlds. This way, they could respond instantly when the ritualists initiated their ceremonies.

    As for the benefits, Ivan could finally reunite with his father and grandfather.

    Ivan was so talented and devoted his entire life to his work. Annan didn¡¯t need to worry about the Old Grandmother not appreciating him.

    In that case, there was at least one upside. Annan and Ivan would not part forever.

    After Ivan was turned into an envoy, they still had a chance to meet again.

    Yes.

    Afterward, as long as Annan held the ritual of ¡°Summon: Frostwhisper Dragon¡±, there was a chance that Annan would summon his father.

    ¡°It¡¯s likely to be this month,¡± Ivan said slowly, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re dealing with the Northern Alliance. I¡¯ll try to live a few more days, waiting until you¡¯ve handled their issues before turning into a dragon.¡±

    ¡°Before that, I must deliver to you the secrets passed down from generation to generation of the Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°Is it the legendary curse vessel?¡± Annan guessed what Ivan was about to tell him.

    Ivan nodded. He patted the three-color cane and said calmly, ¡°Actually, this is the legendary curse vessel our family has passed down from generation to generation. You didn¡¯t expect it, did you?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah?¡± Annan froze for a moment.

    I didn¡¯t expect that.jpg ((??

    Annan nced at the three-color scepter in Ivan¡¯s hand. Its three legs spread out like an IV stand and fell into doubt.

    So, it isn¡¯t an anti-slip cane?

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 Chapter 658: Turbulence in Austere-Winter Dukedom

    <h4>Chapter 658: Turbulence in Austere-Winter Dukedom</h4>

    ¡ªLegendary curse vessel.

    There were only six treasures left in this world, each vastly more powerful than the deity-named curse vessel. They were as legendary as their very titles suggested.

    Just knowing its name was equivalent to being a part of a ritual.

    The current distribution of the legendary curse vessel was one for Noah, one for Austere-Winter, one for Denizoya, and two for the Papal Kingdom. There was still one of them sank in the bottom of the maelstrom. It was said that the Wises of the underground world were trying to salvage it.

    All of the current nations were able to rebuild after the disaster solely because they possessed these legendary curse vessels. Had they not had these curse vessels, it was unlikely that any deity would choose to rebuild the barrier around them.

    Precisely because the legendary curse vessel was too critical to lose, apromise was reached between the divine authority and the newly established royal power.

    The legendary curse vessel Austere-Winter held was this three-color scepter that Ivan had always used as a crutch.

    Annan thought it was a testament to the power of the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­ And indeed, it was, but it was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but scrutinize the appearance of this scepter.

    It was made of silver, ck, and deep blue, intertwined like sturdy vines. At the bottom end, these three colors unwound and extend in three different directions, forming a shape much like an anti-slip stand.

    There was a structure like a ring handle at the top ¡ª it was made up of a silver ring and a ck cross, intricately woven together. At the center of the entire design was arge, deep blue, octagonal gemstone.

    Usually, when Ivan wanted to stand up, he would put his hand into the middle and hold the upper part of the cross. While on his foot, he would put his hands on the handle as if holding the steering wheel.

    This allowed Ivan to stand firmly.

    Due to its function as a ¡°cane¡± being so perfect, Annan hadn¡¯t suspected it had any other uses.

    ¡°¡­But isn¡¯t this too dangerous?¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I remember that other Winter¡¯s Hands have touched it. What if the news leaks and the three-color scepter is stolen?¡±

    ¡°It is precisely because no one can trust that it should be held in the hand; it is precisely because it is not safe to hide anywhere that it should be put openly under the sun.¡±

    Ivan said slowly and took a deep look at Annan, ¡°It is precisely because the Grand Duke and the scepter cannot be lost that this item is used as a symbol of the Grand Duke¡¯s power ¡ª so there is no need to consider the consequences of losing one of them.¡±

    This legendary curse vessel was significantly different from other countries.

    Austere-Winter was known to have a ¡°smaller poption¡±.

    In the Noah Kingdom, a single banquet at the royal pce would involve over 200 participants; Denizoya & Fildes Archipgo United Kingdom had even more people ¡ª just considering the royal family members who resided permanently within the pce, the number would exceed 300 after including the harem, servants, and eunuchs.

    Inparison to the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­

    There were only a handful of people within the current Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke Residence. Ivan no longer had a wife, and he had no elders left. The only child at home was Annan.

    Besides the two of them, there were four other people in total. All of them were the leaders of Winter¡¯s Hand. There were only six leaders now, and two were away from home.

    In Austere-Winter Dukedom, there were no servants to serve the Grand Duke. A separate department was established in the Winter¡¯s Hand to handle Grand Duke¡¯s internal affairs.

    One reason was that the Austere-Winter Dukedom was in short supply of everything. One of the duties of the Winter¡¯s Hand was to monitor the local nobles so that they didn¡¯t overspend. To achieve this goal, the Grand Duke had to set an example.

    On the other hand, the Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s main responsibility was the Grand Duke¡¯s safety. If there was an attack, the Winter¡¯s Hand might be able to protect the Grand Duke, but expecting them to protect the servants was out of the question.

    One might expect Austere-Winter Dukedom to be stable and secured given the watchful eyes of the Winter¡¯s Hand and the Austere Winter¡¯s Blood¡¯s crucial role in suppressing the Frost Beast. However, the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke and his descendants faced the highest number of assassination attempts among leaders of all nations.

    This peculiar phenomenon also caught the attention of schrs from other nations.

    ording to the research results of a sociologist, this was likely to be rted to the mechanism of the ¡°Winter Year¡±.

    During the Winter Year, the people of Austere Winter had to rely on the protection of small barriers to avoid being frozen to death by the chilling winds. This resulted in the majority of them primarily living in city-states. As the connections between cities became more tenuous, the average person¡¯s reverence for the Austere-Winter¡¯s Blood and the dukedom¡¯sws significantly decreased.

    Consequently, local nobles held direct control, implementing a myriad of regionalws. The Grand Duke¡¯s oversight and control over these local nobles were effectively weakened.

    However, themon folk didn¡¯t care about that ¡ª their dissatisfaction with the extravagant and reckless local nobles would inevitably reflect on the Grand Duke. This was partly due to the local nobles intentionally diverting people¡¯s attention and resentment toward the ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡±, which was overseeing them.

    The achievements of Grand Duke Ivan were undeniable. But the nobles always had other tricks up their sleeves.

    One theory was that the Winter¡¯s Hand restricted the Grand Duke¡¯s ess to information, just like the eunuch-ruled Denizoya Kingdom ¡ª but only those with a certain cultural understanding would get the reference.

    Another more prevalent usation was to me Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s poor health.

    Why were the taxes so high? Because a lot of resources were needed to keep the Grand Duke alive. Why did the Hands of Winter or the nobles act recklessly? Because of the Grand Duke¡¯s poor health, he couldn¡¯t leave Frostwhisper Province.

    As a result, Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke was often attacked by various types of people.

    Of course, very few ¡°of those conducting revenge¡± were utterly brainless.

    Most of the attackers knew that Ivan must be protected by Winter¡¯s Hand.

    They all hoped to achieve their goals by kidnapping Grand Duke¡¯s heirs, wives, or rtives.

    Some demanded the release of some critical political prisoner (usually a spy from another country or had ties to the Ice-shredders). Others, more audaciously, wanted the Grand Duke to pass certainws. Some hoped he would punish certain local nobles. Of course, their kidnapping attempts were almost always doomed to fail.

    However, some clever ones would attempt to assassinate the Grand Duke under the guise of being local nobles, hoping that once the truth was uncovered, the Grand Duke would retaliate against the actual noble in question.

    This was also the reason why Annan still needed to investigate carefully after the Northern Alliance made assassination attempts on Annan.

    Annan and Ivan didn¡¯t want to be yed for fools ¡ª they always made sure to get to the bottom of things before taking action. After all, there were instances in the history of the Austere-Winter where people framed their political rivals.

    Besides, there was always the risk of foreign spies poisoning their food or servants being bribed to eavesdrop and steal important documents. For a ce as remote and isted as the Austere-Winter Kingdom, it was all too easy to buy off someone of a servant¡¯s status.

    Even if countries were both protected by the same deity, it didn¡¯t mean they got along well with each other.

    Setting aside border conflicts, the sheer difference in their cultural atmospheres mademunication between them scarce.

    Plus, there was the previous King Noah ¡ª the one who vowed to unify the five nations and rebuild the Great Barrier.

    Even though Annan knew the real reason was that he was a ¡°Child in the Grail¡± with a predetermined fate, and he purposely tried to pit others against the Noa Kingdom out of revenge for his birth¡­ the people and leaders of the other nations were none the wiser.

    As a result, the Child in the Grail¡¯s revenge hurt Noah and stirred up turbulence elsewhere. ¡ª his act of dering war on Austere-Winter reversely made Denizoya and the Papal Kingdom vignt, leading them to an arms race.

    After the strength of the Papal Kingdom and Denizoya United Kingdom improved, Austere-Winter also had to be vignt against them.

    As a result, the peace temporarily maintained after the Sanguinary Battle ended was bing increasingly precarious.

    In addition, the matter of the Winter Insurgent was a wake-up call for the Austere-Winter family that even the Winter¡¯s Hand, bound by a curse that made them as trapped as caged birds and unable to disobey the Grand Duke¡¯s orders, couldn¡¯t be fully trusted.

    In the end, Grand Duke Ivan not only had to find a way to lead all the people through the brutal winter year.

    Aside from that, there was also the mess left by the Ice-shredders and the Winter Insurgent. The Frost Beast troops were always restless. A crucial Frost Beast was lost some time ago. The suspicion was that someone was experimenting with the Frost Beast.

    Looking back, Annan faced another assassination attempt again. It appeared that it was not just the desire to sway Dmitri¡¯s forces. The situation would be moreplicated if the ¡°Grinznuha¡¤Austere-Winter¡± bloodline were found.

    In terms of how the Winter Insurgent overcame the curse of the ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± and brought the other Winter¡¯s Hands out of the control of the Grand Duke, the Austere-Winter family had yet to find out about it.

    Under such circumstances, the tax withheld by the local nobles and the reckless behavior of relying on ¡°localws¡± had already pointed themselves to be the most straightforward situation.

    They were all troublemakers.

    With so many troubles intertwined, Ivan¡¯s body couldn¡¯t hold it.

    ¡°The situation Austere-Winter is facing isplicated. Fortunately, you are back.¡± Ivan said slowly, ¡°I must first grant you the position of Grand Duke and the curse vessel. Only then can I carry out some investigations and actions I have nned.¡±

    ¡°Come with me, Annan. I¡¯ll teach you how to use the scepter¡¯s power.¡±

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 Chapter 659: Legendary Curse Vessel: Three Sirens

    <h4>Chapter 659: Legendary Curse Vessel: Three Sirens</h4>

    After putting the cutlery on the table, Annan followed Grand Duke Ivan into the secret room of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    The purpose was not to avoid outsiders but to avoid Winter¡¯s Hands.

    Even Winter¡¯s Hand, who wore the ring, was only allowed to know that ¡°Grand Duke¡¯s three-color scepter was a legendary curse vessel¡±¡ª this aided them in helping the Grand Duke protect this treasure.

    But the deeper secrets¡­ including the real name and effect of this curse vessel, were kept hidden from them.

    This was necessary to maintain dominance and tradition.

    ¡°And the other reason¡­ is actually to protect them.¡± Grand Duke Ivan stared at Annan calmly, ¡°Last year, I was not sure whether you could inherit the position of Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°The reason is that you have reversed the ¡®Winter Heart¡¯ bloodline curse. Even though it is mandatory for you to wield the Book of Divine Transporter, it might mean you lose the ability to wield this scepter¡­ at least, you can¡¯t use half of its ability.¡±

    The ¡°Winter Heart¡± was indeed a cruel curse but also a protection.

    Not for anything else but for protection from being enchanted by the curse of this legendary curse vessel.

    Annan came to a sudden realization.

    In a split second, all the little quirks Annan had noticed throughout his journey suddenly clicked in his mind like lightning.

    I see¡­

    No wonder the Old Grandmother maintained the curse in the bloodline and watched Her children suffer throughout their mortal days; no wonder they would lose this curse after they died.

    No wonder the power from this curse didn¡¯t seem that strong, as if it was merely designed to keep someone alive; no wonder despite having the highest level in [Austere Winter¡¯s Blood] talent, Grand Duke Ivan insister not to be a transcender.

    That was how Grand Duke Ivan was different from his children, including Annan.

    Ivan should have known the secret of this three-color scepter since he was very young.

    Then, Ivan kept silent, perhaps because¡­

    ¡°Is the price of bearing this curse terrifying?¡±

    Ivan said slowly, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    He took his hand away from the scepter.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in talking about it.¡± He added, ¡°Just feel it for yourself.¡±

    Huh, did you let me try just like that?

    Then, if something goes wrong with me, can you kick me away from this scepter, given your health?

    Annanined, but he wisely said nothing.

    Annan was cautious, imitating Ivan¡¯s movements and lightly pressing his hand on the scepter.

    It was different from what Annan had imagined.

    The attributes of this curse vessel didn¡¯t even appear in front of his eyes.

    Annan didn¡¯t feel the slightest pain. On the contrary, he felt an intense sense offort.

    It felt like he was caressing by an invisible warm hand, with an almost serene calmness, joy, andziness washing over him. Annan squinted his eyes as if about to fall asleep any moment, feeling as though everything was perfectly in ce as if there was nothing in the world to worry about.

    ¡°Wake up, Annan.¡±

    Suddenly, Annan felt a gentle pushing from in front of him.

    Annan didn¡¯t fight back at all.

    It wasn¡¯t until Ivan pushed him away from the scepter that Annan woke up instantly as his hand left it.

    That drowsy feeling instantly set off the rm bells in his mind.

    It reminded him of the first time he encountered the Rotten Man and the incredibly soothing, numbing scent that wafter from Him.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Annan asked vigntly, ¡°Is this its effect¡­ or a curse?¡±

    ¡°Both.¡± Ivan replied briefly, ¡°This is one of the forms of this scepter.¡±

    ¡°Turn it upside down and try it.¡±

    ¡°Upside down?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. ce the cross and the ring handle at the bottom, and switch the three extended branches to the top, essentially holding it upside down. Try it and see if you can use it that way.¡±

    Ivan said sternly, ¡°If possible, I will tell you its name. If it still doesn¡¯t work, I can only pass it to Dmitri.¡±

    ¡°Even if he is infertile, that¡¯s the only option left. It¡¯s the only method to conceal the existence of this ¡®legendary item¡¯. Dmitri may be naive and easily manipted. Therefore, I¡¯ll find a way to sideline him for you¡­ and then you can quickly have a child, and we¡¯ll adopt them under his name as the heir.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not get into that now. I will give it a try first.¡± Annan felt a bit uneasy about getting married and having children.

    He interrupted Ivan, took a deep breath, and looked at the scepter solemnly.

    With a burst of determination, he swiftly picked it up and, using his remaining wits to turn the scepter upside down.

    ¡°Huh?¡± At that moment, Annan couldn¡¯t help but gasp slightly.

    A surge of intense cold emanated from the scepter, rushing through his body in an instant.

    Unlike the warm current that made him feel drowsy and content before, this rush of cold instantly swept away all of Annan¡¯s fatigue.

    But it didn¡¯t make Annan feel the pain of the cold. Instead, he shivered as if the blood in his veins surged, and his mind became incredibly clear in an instant.

    ¡°You seempatible for the [Tyrant] form.¡± Ivan nced into Annan¡¯s eyes and heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Tyrant?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s one of its two forms.¡± Ivan exined, ¡°The real name of this legendary item is [Three Sirens] with two distinct forms: one that brings endless joy known as the [Inept Ruler] and another that evokes boundless rage, called the [Tyrant].¡±

    Thetter exnation didn¡¯t matter much.

    When Annan heard the name [Three Sirens], a system panel appeared before his eyes.

    [Three Sirens: Tyrant]

    [Type: Supreme Proof (Orange)]

    [Description: Once a testament to the authority of the ancient elf king, crafted from the lives of the innocent, the souls of the guilty, and the will of the saints. Those seeking its cursed power will be inept rulers or tyrants.]

    [Description: When the Siren is reversed, it will transform you into the form of a tyrant.]

    [Effect: The holder will be afflicted with the curses of ¡°Heart of Suspicion¡±, ¡°Soul of Rage¡±, and ¡°Blood of Madness¡±.]

    [Heart of Suspicion: You¡¯ll always be distrustful and envious of others until you summon the ¡°Tone of Purity¡±. But if you choose not to, your learning, training, and growth rates will triple (your experience gain and attribute growth speed will increase threefold).]

    [Soul of Rage: You¡¯ll forever be engulfed in uncontroble anger until you summon the ¡°Tone of rity¡±. However, if you resist this, any damage you deal to others will automatically be tripled (when holding the scepter, your overall damage increases by 200%).]

    [Blood of Madness: You¡¯ll sporadically fall into bouts of insanity with random negative emotions bing extreme until you summon the ¡°Maiden of Light¡±. However, if you choose not to, you can permanently control the will of three transcenders (can only be used three times and only on the transcenders; each use can permanently alter the mind of a Transcender with Gold Rank and below. However, there¡¯s a one-in-three chance of turning them into a fallen being of the same tier)]

    ¡°So, this is what they called the legendary curse vessel?¡± Annan had mixed feelings.

    Is it powerful?

    Indeed, it¡¯s undeniably powerful.

    But somehow, it feels¡­ not entirely irreceable?

    Rather than its bestowed power, the curse it carried seemed even more unbearable. If Ivan had grasped the ¡°Tyrant¡± form of the [Three Sirens], he probably would have turned into a terrifying tyrant instantly.

    It was only because Annan possessed the ¡°reversed Winter Heart¡± he could nullify its negative effects.

    By that logic, its ¡°upright¡± form must have a different effect. But Annan couldn¡¯t even pick it up. He almost turned into a blissfully clueless fool when he touched its upright form.

    ¡°In fact, you can treat it as a kind of [seal].¡± Ivan said slowly, ¡°You must have felt it¡ªthe power and the curse of the scepter both operate on the premise of ¡®not releasing the Siren¡¯. But there¡¯s another way to use it: to release one of the scepter¡¯s ¡®three colors¡¯ and summon a Siren. But no one knows what would happen if a Siren is summoned¡­¡±

    ¡°Has the Sirens ever been summoned?¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Annan did know what the Siren was¡ªwhen he saw those three names, he guessed it was indeed the ¡°Siren¡± he knew.

    However, Annan wasn¡¯t sure if the Sirens here were consistent with the Sirens he knew.

    After all, in this world, even Master Michngelo had be a deity.

    ¡°Actually, the siren was summoned once.¡±

    ¡°When was it?¡±

    ¡°It was the year when Yasn Imperial Capital sank.¡± Ivan frowned and said solemnly, ¡°Just in case, you¡¯d better not be curious about it.¡±

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 Chapter 660: Cursed Fate

    <h4>Chapter 660: Cursed Fate</h4>

    Annan had a clearer idea now.

    While it exined the reason for the empire¡¯s sinking, it pointed out another problem.

    ¡°Has it always been our Austere-Winter Family who guarded the ¡®Three Sirens¡¯?¡± Annan asked Ivan.

    Unexpectedly, Ivan shook his head, ¡°Our Austere-Winter family is indeed a family with a long history. However, we haven¡¯t been around since the very beginning¡­ At least not until thete period of the Third Age did we start to be the guardians of this legendary item.¡±

    ¡°Before us, the ¡®Frostwhisper¡¯ n was responsible for guarding the legendary curse vessel. They are closely rted to the Old Grandmother. You know the [Barber] in Razor Ridge, right? He is a member of the Frostwhisper n.¡±

    Thete period of the Third Age?

    Annan frowned and asked, ¡°Is it the period when the elves stopped using curse power?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was after the era of curse power ended. At least after the curse powerpletely ceased in the vicinity of Frostwhisper Province.¡± Ivan replied with certainty, ¡°The curse power has never polluted the [Austere Winter¡¯s Blood]. It has been that way for a thousand years until now.¡±

    ¡°We have been the guardians of the [Three Sirens] since the age of the empire¡­ In fact, when the empire copsed, the Three Sirens still served as the scepter of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, held in the hands of that generation¡¯s Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°So, besides me, is there any other Austere-Winter family member who reversed the Winter Heart?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Ivan shook his head and borated, ¡°You should understand by now that the Winter Heart serves two purposes. Firstly, it¡¯s the Old Grandmother¡¯s approach to creating the same kind. The next purpose is to guard this curse vessel. So, she would never let the others easily interfere with the Winter Heart.¡±

    ¡°The only power that can interfere with the [Winter Heart] are those with the same level. Therefore, only those two Ladies could engrave the Reverse Inscription on it. However, the Old Grandmother¡¯s rtionship with them is distant, neither hostile nor friendly.¡±

    ¡°Old Grandmother¡¯s prestige alone is not enough to get Their help. However, They will not intentionally interfere with the [Winter Heart] to oppose Old Grandmother either. You are the only special case, but this is also because of the [Book of Divine Transporter], not because you¡¯re [Frostwhisper].¡±

    ¡°Stepping back for a moment, even finding those two Ladies is not easy. They have mastered the realm of mystery and darkness. If they don¡¯t want to see someone, then the person will never be able to reach the [Land of No Light] in his lifetime.¡±

    ¡°So that means,¡± Annan said in a deep voice, ¡°No one has used the [Tyrant] form before, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Ivan affirmed, ¡°The history of ¡®Frostwhisper¡¯ is too long, and I wonder how the Dragon n guarded this legendary curse vessel. But at least in the history of ¡®Austere-Winter¡¯, we have never epted [Tyrant ]¡¯s power because the Winter Heart sealed our choice.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the first [Tyrant].¡±

    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s not put it that way.¡± Annan grinned.

    For some reason, Annan had the impression that Ivan was scolding him instead of praising him.

    ¡°That also means¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    From this point of view, no one had used the [Blood of Madness]¡¯s ability to control three ¡°Transcenders¡±. Winter Heart was not allowed to use the Tyrant¡¯s power from the ¡°beginning of design¡±.

    Is my situation merely a coincidence?

    Winter Heart is an ability Old Grandmother gives ¡ª in the popr understanding, theck of positive emotion is to restrain the Frost Beast.

    However, Annan knew that it was a lie.

    Annan¡¯s [Winter Heart]¡¯s effect was reversed. However, when he came into contact with the wolf girl, he realized he could still tame the Frost Beast.

    That said, the ability to tame the Frost Beast had to do with his bloodline, not his emotional state.

    The Old Grandmother was fond of her descendants ¡ª one might even say she yed favorites. If one proved exceptional, she wouldn¡¯t let them die. Or rather, she¡¯d ensure they stayed by her side even in death.

    Then, wouldn¡¯t Old Grandmother know that blocking positive emotions with the Winter Heart would significantly increase the probability of death?

    The Old Grandmother must have known.

    But even so, Old Grandmother still made this choice.

    In other words, the Old Grandmother intentionally let her descendants use the [Inept Ruler] ability.

    At the same time, its ability as a [Tyrant] had been passed down¡ªat least Ivan knew about it. Surely, it couldn¡¯t have been intended for Annan, who would only appear many yearster?

    That was impossible.

    So, this [Tyrant] ability should be thest trump card of the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    Perhaps, the Old Grandmother intended to have its reversed effect when the situation was unmanageable. But so far, this ability had not been used by anyone.

    ¡°What are the abilities of [Inept Ruler]?¡± Annan asked, ¡°I¡¯m more keen to learn about its ability than the associated curse.¡±

    Ivan said deeply, ¡°I was going to tell you. Your descendants might not have the reversed Winter Heart. They could return to our destined path.¡±

    ¡°Out of the three abilities of [Inept Ruler], the most useful one is¡­ among the holder¡¯s descendants, at least one will surpass the holder in excellence. This is the true foundation that has allowed the Austere-Winter family to pass on for thousands of years.¡±

    ¡°Of the other two abilities, one allows the holder to control all kin within three generations¡­ including parents, grandparents, uncles and nephews, children, great-grandchildren¡­ including Winter¡¯s Hand.¡±

    ¡°In fact, this is how we control Winter¡¯s Hand. The way to obtain [Winter¡¯s Hand] curse is to inject the diluted and harmless Austere Winter¡¯s Blood into their bodies. Anyone who tries to steal Austere Winter¡¯s Blood will eventually fall under our control.¡±

    ¡°This is also [Tradition] power. It represents the authority of the ¡°head of the family¡±. In the divine art of the Tradition Realm, there are divine arts offering simr effects. So, I once suspected that the creation of this scepter might be rted to Old Grandmother, but I don¡¯t have any evidence.¡±

    ¡°What about the third ability?¡±

    ¡°The third ability is the most pointless. Its presence is more prominent as a curse.¡± After a momentary pause, Ivan added, ¡°It¡¯s a curse called [Fate of No Victory]. In one¡¯s lifetime, whatever you desire the most, you¡¯re doomed not to get it. Aspensation, things that merely ¡®piqu¨¦ your interest¡¯ often exceed expectations.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Annan froze for a moment.

    Ivan is clearly an outstanding Grand Duke, perhaps even the most outstanding Grand Duke in Austere-Winter¡¯s history.

    Could it be¡­

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then, father, what do you want most¡­?¡±

    ¡°My grandfather died when I was very young. He was exhausted to death.¡±

    Ivan didn¡¯t answer Anna¡¯s question directly. After a long silence, he murmured, ¡°My aunty dedicated herself to Storm Tower. My uncle was expelled from the family as a traitor.¡±

    ¡°My father is a delicate and soft person. He was born in the harvest year, so shortly after the winter year came, he became irritable and wept every day.¡±

    ¡°My closest younger brother and I were once kidnapped, and the rescuers tragically killed him. Unable to handle the pressure, my eldest brother fell out with our father. At the age of sixteen, he chose to run away from home and flee underground. I haven¡¯t seen him in almost thirty years.¡±

    ¡°After my younger brother died and my older brother ran away from home, my father alsomitted suicide because he was overwhelmed.¡±

    ¡°¡­so I don¡¯t want to be a Grand Duke at all.¡±

    The most outstanding and wise Grand Duke in historymented in a low voice.

    ¡°All I ever wished for was for my family to live safely and happily, that¡¯s all. I had no idea why I was chosen to be groomed as the next Duke¡­ until I took it up. Until I assumed this mantle and inherited this curse.¡±

    Grand Duke Ivan wore a rare, mocking smile on his face.

    He wasn¡¯t mocking the others but himself.

    He was mocking his fate.

    ¡°¡ªI didn¡¯t understand everything until the night before my fathermitted suicide, the day I took over the curse. I was destined to kill my family¡­ This is my fate.¡±

    ¡°Anya¡¯s talent as a Grand Duke is indeed much stronger than mine. I never wanted this damned title of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke at all. It was only after Anya was killed by this curse that I wanted to carry on her will, and that¡¯s when I truly tapped into the power of this authority.¡±

    I don¡¯t want this power.

    I would rather my lover and family live in peace and health.

    ¡°So¡­ sorry, Annan.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Annan.¡± Ivan spoke expressionlessly, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have passed this burden onto you. You¡¯re still so young¡­ much younger than I was back then, and I understand the pressure you¡¯re under.¡±

    ¡°Maybe all the misfortunes you have encountered so far and all the sufferings you will suffer in the future are also the fate I brought to you¡­¡±

    ¡°The scepter is a terrible birthday present, so¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 661: Annanâ€™s All-Seeing Scepter

    <h4>Chapter 661: Annan¡¯s All-Seeing Scepter</h4>

    It was a in, peaceful narrative.

    Ivan apologized to Annan.

    His pale icy-blue eyes were empty and emotionless.

    However, no matter how Annan interpreted it, every word seemed like a silent grief.

    It was like piercing a poisonous knife into the heart.

    It was a moan that could not even be uttered.

    ¡°I can¡¯t even make sure that you can maintain control over the [Winter¡¯s Hand]. All I can do is limit the user of the scepter¡¯s power, hoping they don¡¯t realize that the [Winter¡¯s Heart] has lost its control over the [Winter¡¯s Hand]¡­¡±

    ¡°I know it¡¯s challenging, especially at your young age. Keeping these seemingly loyal Winter¡¯s Hands in check will be even harder. Thankfully, you now possess the power of [Tyrant]. If you struggle to manage them, you can always control one or two among them first. Then, you can capitalize on them to control the rest.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to shy away from a power that can alter one¡¯s mind¡­ All powers have their value simply by existing. In fact, I once considered turning the scepter upside down to tap into the Tyrant¡¯s strength but ultimately decided against it. My main concern was bing too reliant on that power and the fear that I might genuinely turn into a mad tyrant.¡±

    ¡°I hope you can understand. The year I took over the three-color scepter, I was only 17 years old, fifteen years younger than your brother Dmitri, one year younger than your sister Maria, and only three years older younger than¡­ now, only two years older than you.¡±

    Ivan looked at Annan calmly, ¡°This scepter and this destiny is your birthday present.¡±

    ¡°Happy birthday, Annan.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Father.¡±

    Annan was silent for a long time before taking a deep breath and thanking him in a low voice.

    It wasn¡¯t until then that he suddenly remembered that today seemed to be March 14th¡­it was really his birthday.

    Even Annan himself had forgotten about it.

    After all, he had been in this world for less than a year. His previous memory had been erased.

    Strictly speaking, this was Annan¡¯s first birthday aftering to this world.

    Annan vaguely felt something surging in his heart.

    The moment he captured that emotion, his eyes seemed to light up.

    However, it wasn¡¯t a vague description anymore.

    Ivan saw that pure light gushed out of Annan¡¯s eyes.

    It was like the glimmer of light in a dark cave, pointing toward the only way out.

    It was the light of hope¡ª

    Is that the Light of the Divine Transporter?

    Ivan was also a little dazed.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± It was like how Ivan was saying ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯ all over again. Annan took a deep breath and sincerely said ¡®thank you.¡¯ Yet, he didn¡¯t feel a hint of sadness.

    Annan raised his head and smiled calmly, ¡°But I don¡¯t have to inherit this fate.¡±

    ¡°Father, have you ever heard of a saying?¡±

    Annan reached out again, gripping the three-color scepter tightly.

    At that moment, the light in his eyes became brighter and tripled in its brightness.

    ¡°[Fate is the tracks of the Divine Transporter]. For Divine Transporter, the curse based on fate is meaningless.¡±

    Annan¡¯s tone was as calm as Ivan¡¯s but had a different resolve.

    If Ivan¡¯s emotion was utter despair, then Annan¡¯s was a sense of control.

    ¡°So, I don¡¯t believe in fate. Whatever misfortunes or hardships there might be, I don¡¯t think they¡¯vee before and won¡¯t in the future.¡± He whispered.

    From the secret room, Annan looked down and saw a crystal ball on the table.

    Annan¡¯s heart moved, and he reached out to hold it.

    The crystal ball came to life like a living creature ¨C it suddenly opened its eyes.

    It looked just like a massive eyeball, even blinking from time to time.

    The most mysterious part was that, no matter from which angle you looked, you could always see a human-like deep gray eyeball with a hint of silvery mist.

    As the power of Divine Transporter coursed through it, a system panel appeared in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    [All-Seeing Eye of the Faceless Poet]

    [Type: Mystical item/ritual item (Gold)]

    [Description: A crystal ball crafted by the Faceless Poet, capable not only of initiating Prophet rituals but also of dispelling or safeguarding all ¡°secrets¡± within its range.]

    [Effect: Whenever any light approaches the crystal ball, it activates, triggering the ¡°All-Seeing Eye¡± to illuminate the space within a 15-yard radius. This dispels all darkness, fog, blinding effects, and invisibility. Its power is equivalent to the Gold Rank Prophet spell of the same name.]

    [Effect: Once a day, you can cast ¡°Total Darkness¡± once a day to block out the surrounding light and sound. This effect is equivalent to the Silver Rank Idol Spell of the same name and canst up to three hours. Since there is no ¡°light¡± when activating this effect, the ¡°All-Seeing Eye¡± effect will be automatically terminated.]

    [Price: After using ¡°Total Darkness¡±, the holder will lose vision and hearing for three times the duration of activating ¡°Total Darkness¡±.]

    ¡°This is a curse vessel to detect whether someone has sneaked into the secret room.¡± Noticing Annan¡¯s gaze, Ivan said casually, ¡°Although it¡¯s a deity-named curse vessel, it¡¯s rarely used¡­ If you like it, feel free to take it with you.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, no one will use this secret room for quite a long time.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I was just thinking about something else.¡± Annan thought about it and said in a low voice, ¡°I wonder if using the three-color scepter upside down might raise suspicions in others. They might not recognize it as the legendary curse vessel of Austere-Winter Dukedom, but they would surely notice its significance beyond just a ¡®symbol of power¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Once I be a target, things will get much moreplicated. To avoid their suspicions, I¡¯ve decided¡­¡±

    As he spoke, Annan slowly ced the crystal ball on top of the scepter.

    This heavy scepter made a resounding thud when it hit the ground. However, once Annan knew its real name, it felt weightless in his hand.

    The sturdy vine, neither gold nor copper nor wood, felt like an exoskeleton shell when touched.

    The vine perfectly secured the crystal ball in ce ¡ª and even after Annan ced the crystal ball on top, the three branches wriggled like living things, gripping it even tighter.

    The silver-gray eyeballs blinked in a panic but inexplicably became quiet and closed again.

    ¡°This is perfect. It doesn¡¯t look out of ce at all.¡±

    Annan smiled contentedly, ¡°When people see this scepter again, their attention will be drawn to the crystal ball. The scepter beneath it will merely be seen as a stand for the [All-Seeing Eye] and be overlooked.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s spread the word that someone assassinated me. To prevent future attempts, I¡¯vebined the All-Seeing Eye with the three-color scepter, to create the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s new scepter.¡±

    ¡°At a nce, it actually looks quite legitimate. I remember in the Papal Kingdom. Some people usedrge gemstones, skulls, or crystal balls as the heads of the scepters. It¡¯s a kind of tradition, and it won¡¯t seem out of ce.¡±

    I¡¯m such a genius.

    Annan thought to himselfcently.

    After the secret room was reopened, the Winter¡¯s Hands waiting outside saw that Grand Duke Ivan exited without carrying anything.¡±

    The three-color scepter was in Annan¡¯s hand, so they knelt before Annan.

    ¡°¡ªRise.¡± Annan intoned with a deep breath, ¡°Your Grand Duke has returned.¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 662: Players Trying To Steal The Winterâ€™s Handâ€™s Job

    <h4>Chapter 662: yers Trying To Steal The Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s Job</h4>

    Lin Yiyi¡¯s [Mercy Strike] was a useful skill in capturing captives.

    Those left defenseless by Suuankou¡¯s bombardment were unable to fend off Lin Yiyi¡¯s surprise attack.

    Even though Lin Yiyi was technically an Agility Type Tank, who said tanks possessed no offense capability?

    Lin Yiyi was a legitimate half-tank fighter. She relied on the magic stored in the gems to unleash spells that hindered the enemy. Adding on to her superb Agility and Perception, she held a considerable advantage in one-on-onebat despitecking the ability to instantly deliver critical damage.

    There was one particr skill that shaped Lin Yiyi¡¯s situation.

    [Tussle Master LV7: Upon any effective contact with an enemy (including controlling spell effects and ranged attacks like bows and crossbows), your presence and suppressing power will progressively increase. Starting from the effective contact, every time both you and the enemy take a turn to attack, and the opponent is within your threat range, all of their skill checks receive a -1 penalty, stacking up to a maximum of -4 for all skill checks.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV4: When an enemy is within the range of your spells and ranged attacks, your interference ability applies at half effectiveness. This half effect also operates independently, even if the enemy isn¡¯t within your direct threat range.]

    [Effect after acquiring LV7: When the enemy is not within your direct threat range but within the influence range of your Adaptive Combat Technique and the Adaptive Combat Technique is avable, your interference ability will take full effect. This effect can stack with the additional LV4 bonus.]

    That was the foundation for Lin Yiyi to take the role of a tank.

    She didn¡¯t need the skill to taunt the enemy since her skill took ce like an aura.

    ording to Lin Yiyi¡¯s understanding, the effect of this skill was to impair enemies¡¯ attacks with her interference and hindrance.

    It worked because her effective attack range was too long.

    Moreover, her movements were agile, and her Perception attribute was outstanding. Anyone who showed a w within her attack range would be punished coldly by her.

    Combining this skill with her [Adaptive Combat Technique] and the instant spell-casting of Azure Guardian, her threat and presence on the battlefield increase significantly.

    Simply put, it was simr to Jackie Chan¡¯s performance in the movie, defeating many enemies at once.

    It was like the terrifying scene when Home Alone¡¯s Goldberg Machine was in effect.

    In actual fights, when Lin Yiyi charged into the enemy lines, all eyes were on her.

    Enemies skilled in ambushes wouldn¡¯t dare to turn their backs or move directly past Lin Yiyi; those adept at stealth, once within her detection range, would be singled out by her with a swift strike; and foes with the ability to cast spells often couldn¡¯t evenunch a full attack before she seized the opportunity to catch them off guard with a blow.

    If the enemiescked instant Edict Spells to repel her, she would gain an increasing advantage against arge group of enemies and a chaotic battle. After all, Lin Yiyi could dodge and parry attacks effectively with her high Perception and Agility. Plus, her long weapon allowed her to pursue the enemy with attacks andunch surprise attacks.

    Lin Yiyi would be coined theedic hero. Her threat level wasn¡¯t as high as the assassins, with her attack range still shorter than some sses. However, her presence inexplicably made her an important target.

    Among those enemies beaten to death by Suuankou¡¯s set of attacks, there were indeed a few tough ones.

    However, with Lin Yiyi charging into the crowd right from the start and with the stealthy support of Citalopram¡¯s ambushes, the yers took down the enemy even without dispatching Jiu Er.

    The reason why Jiu Er and Suuankou were not dispatched was mainly because they wanted captives this time.

    First of all, the target must be alive with their limbs rtively intact and at least partially couldmunicate.

    Jiu Er¡¯s primary profession was a Berserker, after all. Suuankou was already an honorable trap thief.

    That task wasn¡¯t challenging for a technical profession like Delicious Wind Goose.

    However, for Jiu Er, she was just a Bronze Rank berserker with Silver Rank¡¯s attribute values if she didn¡¯t activate the curse mark. Facing these Fallen who started their journey at Silver Rank, she couldn¡¯t do anything. However, she couldn¡¯t hold herself back once she activated the curse mark.

    Suuankou was in a worse situation. The ¡°Saboteur¡± profession had never considered the question of ¡°Why should I hold myself back?¡± at the beginning of the design.

    All transcended professions with the Destruction Magic as the fundamentals did not have the concept of ¡°holding back¡±.

    That even went against the fundamental theory of the Destruction School.

    After a not-so-difficult battle between two people and seven elite monsters, the yers sessfully seized six captives ¡ª thest one was really impossible to catch. His mutation allowed him to grow wings and fly quite fast.

    He might have escaped if Suuankou hadn¡¯t reacted fast enough to deal with him.

    However, although the yers caught the captives, they were not good at interrogation.

    They only understand the more basic concepts. After all, the Inte was a wealth of knowledge. At the very least, the yers separated the prisoners to impose more psychological pressure on them. The yers operated on the prisoner¡¯s dilemma and used misinformation to bluff them. Then, the yers tried each tactic in turns.

    However, they were novices after all.

    Although they theoretically knew what to do, their initial attempts at intimidation were pretty weak. The residents of the Saltpeter Ranch were already a rough bunch, and these Fallen ones were even more rebellious. In the end, the yers were tricked into revealing more information, and the tables turned with the captives trying to persuade them instead.

    In the end, after Lin Yiyi identally leaked the news that ¡°the Bloodhand Brothers¡± had died, the captive¡¯s expression changed, and hemitted suicide on the spot.

    It took a while for the yers to deal with the demon the other party turned into aftermitting suicide. After turning into a demon, the Fallen was much better than the former self.

    At this time, the yers also found out that if the Fallen wanted tomit suicide, they couldn¡¯t stop it: Fallen only needed to seek taboo power to speed up the demonization. He would die on the spot after the erosion rate reached 100%.

    Consequently, the interrogation failed for two more targets in the same manner. Unfortunately, the yers obtained little information from the first three interrogation victims. Then, the yers got to verify the information from the third captive through the fifth and sixth captive.

    ¡°Thankfully, we had enough samples, and it¡¯s a good thing you guys didn¡¯t rush in. At least you had the sense to start a live stream to inform me and to keep them isted¡­¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose, who was remotely guiding them through the live stream, was also on edge watching it.

    He eximed loudly, ¡°You guys are brilliant negotiation experts! You have simply surprised me! Out of the four of you, didn¡¯t three of youe from prestigious schools? How did you take the exam back then? Did you copy the answers from others?¡±

    Jiu Er: ???

    Fermented Rice Ball, the only high school student among the yers, felt like he was being singled out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have already begun to gradually be proficient.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re getting the hang of it,¡± Lin Yiyi confidently stated. ¡°Honestly, our process isn¡¯t that wed. The main issues are, first, we have an intelligence gap. To this day, we don¡¯t know why they panic and resort to suicide upon learning their leader has died. Secondly, weck confidence. We showed signs of hesitation during the interrogations, and these seasoned guys saw right through our uncertainty.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t interrogation the responsibility of Winter¡¯s Hand? They¡¯re absolutely loyal to the Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°No matter how loyal they are, there are traitors. How can they be as reliable as us? We are the ones who will never betray, and Annan must understand that.¡±

    ¡°I just like your self-confidence that I don¡¯t know where it came from¡­¡± Delicious Wind Gooseined, ¡°Because it always amuses me.¡±

    He remembered when Lin Yiyi clicked on [Full Defense] to Level 7 and obtained the special effect of [Shifting Arrows]. Her first reaction was to spin the iron rod confidently, having Suuankou, Jiu Er, and Citalopram stand far away and shoot at her with a flintlock.

    It vividly demonstrated to other yers what it meant to actively ask to get shot.

    To this day, that confident moment of Lin Yiyi twirling her iron rod was still circting on forums as a popr gif meme¡­

    Then, Lin Yiyi realized she couldn¡¯t deflect bullets just yet, let alone pull off an epic move like bouncing them all back to take out a fortress.

    Her Agility and Perception attributes only allowed her to barely track the trajectory of the bullets, relying on her instincts to dodge them. If there was just one, she could potentially deflect it.

    The sess rate was probably simr to an average person trying to backhand a tennis ball shot at them ¡ª one was definitely doable. However, with twoing at once, the sess rate dropped significantly, and more than three was pretty much a surefire disaster.

    ¡°Tell me the information you have collected first,¡± Longjing Tea said calmly, ¡°I will summarize it into a report and hand it to Annan.¡±

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 Chapter 663: Reverse The Fallen Path

    <h4>Chapter 663: Reverse The Fallen Path</h4>

    ¡°The Dolgoruky family?¡± Annan repeated in a low voice, ¡°Are they the only ones involved with the Fallen?¡±

    ¡°To be precise, we only have evidence against that one family.¡± Longjing Tea calmly exined, ¡°Of course, it is not ruled out that the Northern Alliance chooses only to let the family take the forefront. If that is the case, they might have prepared to distance themselves from this family. Striking at this point might not spread the impact throughout the entire North.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s a scapegoat¡­¡± Annan sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t really care.¡±

    Holding the scepter in his right hand, Annan sat in front of a standing mirror.

    In front of Annan was a feather quill dancing in the air, jotting down the ¡®contents of the meeting¡¯ by itself. It reminded him of the time in Joseph Buckel¡¯s bakery back then, where an Edict Spell seemed to suggest, ¡®You¡¯re already a bag of flour. You should find a way to bake yourself into bread¡¯.¡±

    This spell was called [Echo Servant]. It was a basic Edict spell, which even a wizard apprentice could use.

    Its previous name was [Action Rey], and it was a demanding spell like Longjing Tea¡¯s [Dodge It Now] that could be used to cosy Ash from Pokemon.

    This spell was initially created for investigative purposes.

    It bypassed the limitations of the Prophet School and Idol School on retracing abilities ¡ª meaning it didn¡¯t attempt to glimpse ¡°what happened in the past¡±. Instead, it allowed objects from the crime scene to re-enact recent events independently.

    Later, with the further development of ritual studies, this troublesome problem could already be solved with simpler rituals.

    The ability was modified slightly ¡ª the underlying logic was changed to ¡®replicate the actions of the item¡¯s owner.¡¯ For example, Backer just had to perform an action once; then, by immediately using this spell, objects would mechanically repeat the action based on Backer¡¯s logic.

    This spell had been applied to industries. That was why the prices of firearms and ss were rtively low back then. It indirectly achieved the effect of an ¡®assembly line¡¯¡­ The same actions could be repeated with just a few wizard apprentices throughout the day.

    Although someone in the Papal Kingdom had already invented the concept of ¡°machinery¡±, for other countries ¡ª and even local factory owners within the Papal Kingdom, it was still cheaper to hire a wizard apprentice.

    It was not easy to be a transcender.

    However, bing just a wizard apprentice ¡ª or learning just one or two spells ¡ª wasn¡¯t all that challenging. If one was smart enough, they could even master it in months.

    Their focus wasn¡¯t to study magic at all.

    They wouldn¡¯t care about the principles of magic and transcendence. Their only goal was to learn a specific spell.

    The wizard tower would not recruit this kind of apprentice.

    But wizards who graduate from the Wizard Tower also can take on apprentices¡¯ roles ¡ª as seen from the students who were murdered by Benjamin years ago. Many came to the Wizard Tower to study, with their main goal simply to make money.

    For the Austere-Winter Dukedom, whichckedbor, many local factories and farms must be maintained this way. Although this spell could only rece the simplest mechanical work, it excelled in precision.

    Austere-Winter Dukedom had further developed this spell ¡ª using the technology of the golem and optimizing it.

    For example, the magic pen ¡°carrying the clerk¡¯s soul¡± in front of Annan, and the magic armor made of ¡°guard¡¯s soul¡±.

    Of course¡­ a true transcender would know that this was a gimmick for the seller to fool the nobles.

    After all, mortals¡¯ souls didn¡¯t work at that level.

    In fact, it was a curse vessel produced throughplex logic optimization. It was possible to trante the ¡°specified dialogue¡± heard into text.

    It was like a primitive form of programming¡­ the result was simr to a voice-to-text artificial intelligence.

    In other words, the technology tree of this world was wildly skewed. On the one hand, the locals had internalbustion engines, with Annan personally unlocking them; on the other hand, the locals already unlocked programming, androids, and artificial intelligence.

    This machinery was also a gift Annan would give to Salvatore and Kafni.

    It could be considered a specialty of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    At least only the nobles of Austere-Winter had ess to buy it.

    While flipping through the notes, Longjing Tea read slowly so that Annan could jot them down, ¡°The organization the Dolgoruki family belongs to¡­ which you referred to as the Northern Alliance¡­ they are internally called the Northern Brotherhood.¡±

    ¡°En, go on.¡± Annan replied deeply, ¡°You may speak a little faster.¡±

    ¡°You wrote this on the paper¡­ They chose the Fallen Path because there was a definite way out of it. What does this refer to?¡±

    Annan was lying on the chair, curled up in a ball.

    Longjing Tea also used the [Ally Reflecting Mirror] ritual.

    Annan temporarily taught Longjing Tea this ritual as an advance payment.

    Longjing Tea, who had studied in Swamp¡¯s ck Tower, also knew Salvatore¡¯s ¡°letter delivery ritual¡±. He sent letters to Annan directly through the ritual.

    However, considering the potential error in information transmission, Longjing Tea chose to activate this ritual and then exined the situation to Annan carefully in voice form to ensure that Annan received the information the yers had interrogated urately.

    Longjing Tea typically operated professionally.

    Longjing Tea found it inappropriate just to send a ¡°text message¡± or an ¡°email¡±. He wanted to have a phone call or face-to-facemunication to ensure the uracy of the information.

    When Longjing Tea became a corporate ve, serving under other leaders¡ªlike serving Annan, Longjing Tea still believed in the same approach.

    However, Annan could turn off the other party¡¯s visual and auditory ess.

    Even though Salvatore could see Annan during the ritual, it was because Annan knew that Salvatore had missed him after being apart for so long.¡±

    However, Annan didn¡¯t believe Longjing Tea was eager to see him.

    You don¡¯t miss me at all. You are just greedy to get missions from me.jpg

    When Longjing Tea called, Annan had already changed into pajamas and was half asleep ¡ª he was toozy to change clothes, so he simply turned on the voice permission and used the ¡°Tyrant¡± form to wake up.

    All Longjing Tea could hear on his end was the sound of writing, having no idea that Annan wasn¡¯t actually writing anything.

    ¡°To put it simply, the [Northern Brotherhood] learned a key ritual from them ¡ª a ritual that canpletely reverse the Fallen path.¡±

    ¡°Um?¡± Annan perked up upon hearing this, ¡°Reversing the Fallen path? That¡¯s impossible¡ª¡±

    He thought of Kafni.

    If there is such a technology¡­

    Longjing Tea replied, ¡°This is a new technology that is still experimental.¡±

    ¡°To put it simply¡­ as long as there is enough gold, the curse in the soul can be purified; then if gold with a purity of more than 100% can be produced, it is also possible to purify the fallen soul.¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 664: Satiated Gold

    <h4>Chapter 664: Satiated Gold</h4>

    Would purity matter?

    It would.

    High-purity gold carried the power of ¡°purification¡±. The higher the purity, the stronger the purification would be.

    Just as high-purity gold had been ground into powder and mixed with acquer made from palm oil and herbs to ward off impurities ¡ª if the purity of the gold had reached a certain threshold, it indeed could be used to reduce the erosion of the soul.

    Even Mr. Ray had a special ritual: using gold to clear the erosion rate.

    It was an advanced ritual that belonged to the Purification Realm.

    In theory, it was usible. Theoretically, with incredibly pure and top-notch gold, it would yield a more potent purifying force than Mr. Ray.

    However, it was ¡°in theory¡±.

    The question was how to get it.

    ¡°Gold with a purity of over 100%¡­ How could such a thing exist?¡± Annan asked subconsciously, ¡°Even the legendary [pure gold] cannot be used to reverse the Fallen path.¡±

    Are they dreaming?

    Do they expect the gold to jump up and shout ¡°Hyaku P¨¡sento¡±?

    [TN: 100% in Japaneese. Most likely an anime reference.]

    With the current technology, achieving pure gold solely through technical means was absolutely impossible ¡ª because 100% pure gold could only be obtained through the [Sage¡¯s Stone].¡±

    Thus, another term for Sage¡¯s Stone was the ¡°Philosopher Stone¡±.

    All the Sage¡¯s Stones in the world were exhausted.

    This iparably precious [pure gold] must be stored throughplex storage methods. It was the most precious ritual in the Purification Realm, and it could be used to hold the highest level of a purification ritual. It allowed the user to borrow the purification power at the same level as an upright deity.

    Only two pieces of pure gold exist today, both of which were kept in Mr. Ray¡¯s church.

    However, even the gold of this purity could not be used to reverse the Fallen path. It could purify a transcender with a 99% erosion rate. However, those reaching a 100% erosion rate would turn into a demon, which was impossible to reverse the effect.

    In a simr analogy, imagine the water being poured from the cup. The water could be poured back if it was poured into another cup. However, once the water was poured on the dirty floor, getting the clean water back was impossible.

    Its nature had changed.

    When the Fallen chose to step into the Fallen path from Bronze Rank, they were already heading in the opposite direction. They started demonizing before the erosion rate reached 100%.

    Instead of pouring water into the silt, they added silt to the water from the very beginning.

    Just pouring the muddy water into another cup and pouring it back, it was impossible to turn them back into clean water.

    Their nature had changed. This was not something that could be aplished in the Purification Realm.

    This was an outstanding achievement that could only be aplished by the ¡°deceased deity¡±. Unfortunately, He had already died. The Truth He held had copsed and disappeared from the world. The oue was irreversible.

    This was the reason why the demon was born, and it was also the fundamental reason why the Fallen path could not be reversed.

    To retrieve a fallen soul using ¡°gold¡± required a purification power beyond Mr. Ray.

    [Pure gold] could be exchanged for Mr. Ray¡¯s full power. By that logic, if the quality of the exchange had been further enhanced, the power obtained might indeed have be even more pure.

    But the problem was how could an elemental exist with a purity exceeding 100%? Forget surpassing 100% purity; if they had a way to mass-produce [pure gold], they could obtain Mr. Ray¡¯s power¡­ With that, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for the Papal Kingdom to intervene and directly influence the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Why beat around the bush?

    ¡°No, they actually can¡¯t produce pure gold because that truly requires advanced technology,¡± Longjing Tea denied, ¡°ording to the records in the document, the Nothern Brotherhood already has a n in mind and might have even produced a prototype. They¡¯ve named this type of gold, the [Satiated Gold].¡±

    ¡°Satiated Gold¡­¡± Annan repeated.

    Annan quickly caught onto something.

    Its name gave Annan an ominous feeling.

    ¡°Tell me in detail.¡± Annan was silent for a while and added, ¡°Do you have any other information about the [Satiated Gold]?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because of their documents that I believe this could be possible, which is why I¡¯ve brought it to your attention with such gravity, Your Highness.¡±

    Longjing Tea said thoughtfully, ¡°I truly believe they can seed.¡±

    ¡°There is another thing involved here¡­ Have you heard of [Curse Energy]?¡±

    ¡°¡ªthe blood of the world. Iplete creation power. It¡¯s a limited ¡®power to achieve what you want¡¯. Or it can also be called ¡®currency capable of exchanging everything¡¯.¡±

    Annan replied slowly, ¡°I know about it, and I know that Northern Brotherhood is trying to master it.¡±

    ¡°However, even if they get the curse energy, they shouldn¡¯t be able to create it.¡±

    Simply put, the curse energy was ¡°the Holy Grail¡±.

    It was the ability to skip the [ingredients] and [process] and directly obtain the [result].

    In Annan¡¯s view, if used properly, this thing could be considered a resource as precious as those at a gctic level¡­ Yet, the elves using it to construct grand cities, extend their lifespans, and produce entertainment was undoubtedly a tremendous waste.

    However, it was a shortcut, not a wishing power.

    If there was no starting point or journey in between, then naturally, one couldn¡¯t reach the destination.

    In other words, to create something with curse energy, the creator must know what raw materials he needed and how to process them.

    ¡°So, what does the Northern Brotherhood want to do?¡±

    ¡°They tried to use the [curse shaft], the world¡¯s wedge, to anchor multiple worlds together¡­ such as the dream world.¡± Longjing Tea said seriously, ¡°First create the curse shaft, then have it appear in someone¡¯s nightmare ¡ª prepare a piece of ultra-pure gold in reality, and then have an identical piece of gold appear in the same position within the nightmare.¡±

    ¡°Then, use ¡®curse energy¡¯ to elevate this nightmare to ¡®the Otherworldly Level¡¯ nightmare ¡ª indeed, this could be achieved. As long as a twisted-level nightmare consumes enough transcender souls, it can transform itself into another world level.¡±

    ¡°Then, the curse shaft will be the ¡®real world wedge¡¯, and everything in the nightmare will be real. It is nailed to two worlds at the same time, and the two worlds will be two ovepping like the paper being stapled together.¡±

    ¡°If the number of curse shafts exceeds three, then one can pinpoint this artificial ¡®nightmare world¡¯ entirely. The most distinct feature of the Otherworldly Level nightmares is that they can manifest genuinely in other worlds ¡ª just like those visitors from other worlds.¡±

    Speaking of this, Longjing Tea paused for a moment. He continued without changing his expression, ¡°Then as long as you use the power of curse shaft to destroy that nightmare world from the nightmare, the gold may fall into the real world.¡±

    Longjing Tea said slowly, In this case, there is a possibility ¡ª just a possibility.¡±

    ¡°Due to their absolute consistency in coordinates and essence, the gold from these two worlds might ovep. Then, it would appear to have the mass and volume of ¡®one piece of gold¡¯, but in reality, it is ¡®two pieces of gold¡¯¡­ That is, [Satiated Gold], having consumed another version of itself.¡±

    ¡°If this is possible, it will not be as simple as ¡®reversing the Fallen¡¯.¡±

    ¡°This means that Fallen will reach the same rank as transcender, or even further up.¡± Annan said in a deep voice.

    Unlike the ¡°upward¡± path of ascension, the ¡°downward¡± path of fallen did not require any talent. It only took time. Sooner orter, the demonization would bepleted.

    With this method, what manifested was not just a single piece of gold. Even if a nightmare could only be used this way once, they could still obtain a ¡®batch¡¯ of Satiated Gold.

    If everything had gone smoothly, they could have even purified all the demons in the world ¡ª transforming them into transcenders of the same caliber.

    ¡°That¡¯s absurd!¡± Annan couldn¡¯t fathom where these people got their courage from.

    Are these all spections?

    There is no evidence at all!

    If the curse power is truly drained, then the world itself would gradually weaken. Even if they think, e hell or high water¡¯ after they¡¯re dead andpletely ignore this fact¡­

    Even if the coordinates ovep and the essence is the same, it is really ¡°superimposing each other¡± rather than ¡°destroying each other¡±.

    However, gold isn¡¯t necessarily the only thing that falls out of that ¡®nightmare world¡¯.

    How do they ensure they never appear in the nightmares? Would their ¡®curse shaft¡¯ be otherworldly? If the ¡®curse shaft¡¯ in this world gets destroyed first, would a hole appear leading to that ¡®temporary artificial world¡¯? Would there be other ¡®ovepping¡¯ materials emerging?¡±

    Going through all this trouble, do they really just want to obtain arge number of Gold Rank soldiers?

    But in that case¡­wouldn¡¯t it be better to just use the curse power to make a wish?

    Although Annan acquired new information about what they were doing, he became more confused.

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 Chapter 665: King Of Fallen

    <h4>Chapter 665: King Of Fallen</h4>

    After hanging up the one-way video call, Annan frowned and huddled in the chair, thinking.

    No matter how I think about it, something feels off.

    If their goal is just to get a lot of Gold Rank Transcenders, then they don¡¯t need to go through all this trouble.

    There was a high probability that they had already started on the curse shaft.

    Then this also meant that they had obtained curse energy.

    All they needed to do was to mass produce and then kill dozens of Bronze Rank transcenders to get the ¡°foundation¡± for creating nightmares.

    They could simply use curse energy to multiply the rewards of clearing a nightmare dozens or hundreds of times. After clearing the nightmare once, the user would be promoted to Bronze. Clearing another nightmare for the second time would guarantee Silver Rank, and clearing it again would push the user to the peak of Silver Rank. Then, they could get ready to advance to Gold Rank.

    The curse shaft provided curse energy that could quickly achieve the above feat¡­ It would guarantee many loyal subordinates to enter the Silver Rank¡¯s peak.

    There was no danger.

    It was a sure-win situation.

    However, the Northern Brotherhood¡¯s goal seemed to be obtaining something with a purity that was ¡°beyond pure gold¡±.

    Annan simply found it unreasonable.

    Those stupid nobles, desperate to cling to and consolidate their power, weren¡¯t the brightest bulbs. They would surely be willing to cross any forbidden line, especially when they were about to kick the bucket if they didn¡¯t act.

    It didn¡¯t seem logical to analyze them by the taboos and IQ of ordinary people.

    Their indirect approach seemed too troublesome to gather any timely benefits.

    The process was neither safe and controble, norbor-saving and fast enough.

    Why would those cowardly, short-sighted fools take such a path?

    ¡°After eliminating all the impossibilities, the only possibility remains¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    Then, there was only one oue left.

    There was at least one traitor within the circle of the Northern Brotherhood. At least he had the absolute right to speak that could overwhelm other noble advisors.

    However, putting it as a traitor didn¡¯t seem urate either because he didn¡¯t care what would happen to Austere-Winter Dukedom. So he was surely not on Annan¡¯s side either.

    As a matter of fact, even if those nobles were idiots, the ¡°brains behind them¡± were smart people.

    Based on the bits and pieces Longjing Tea gathered from the Saltpeter Ranch, he immediately realized something was off¡­ Those advisers must have also seen that the n wasn¡¯t quite right.

    However, the n was still being implemented steadily.

    That meant the person who proposed this n might hold a much higher status than the others. This would exin why, even though others sensed something was off, they couldn¡¯t openly object.¡±

    The Saltpeter Ranch¡¯s production of the demon¡¯s blood hinted at the broader n. This implied the n was so refined that there was no harm in sharing it with partners.

    That set off some major red gs.

    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t realistic to assassinate Annan using just any random person.

    If they had already obtained the ¡°Satiated Gold,¡± it wouldn¡¯t be as simple as sending a few Silver Rank Fallen to assassinate Annan. They would surely send a group of 25 Gold Rank troops to overrun the Frostwhisper Province directly.

    Gold Rank Transcender and Gold Rank Fallen were not at the same level.

    Kafni once said to Annan that the essence of Transcender¡¯s power was to use curses to transform the soul, while the essence of Fallen¡¯s power was to use curses to transform the body.

    Setting aside the destruction caused by the unstable nature of the Fallen.

    The fundamental shoring of the Fallen Path was that their souls remained at the ¡°gaseous stage¡± of a Bronze Rank transcender.

    One of the hallmarks of Fallen was that their souls were ¡°like a ck smoke¡±, while Gold Rank transcenders¡¯ souls were ¡°bright like a diamond or rainbow¡±. This implied that the demonized Fallen could hardly harness much elemental power.

    It was even more impossible for them to sublimate into deities either ¡ª because in the ascendancy ritual, only the soul could take the Divine Transporter to enter the Light Realm.

    ¡ªAll of this was because the quality of their souls was not up to par.

    Annan had slightly more detailed information than Kafni.

    For example¡­ Annan discovered that the ¡°elemental power¡± wasn¡¯t the innate ability of this world. It flooded the world after Father Flint ignited the Sage¡¯s Stone.

    The Sage¡¯s Stone was the World¡¯s Blood in the ¡°immaterial world¡±, and its status was equivalent to the solidified curse energy.

    In other words, Father Flint most likely stole the real Sage¡¯s Stone from the immaterial world.

    Before that, the soul that reached the [Dyed] rank was only ¡°noble¡±.

    If no one could use the elemental power, then the Ascension Path would be inferior to the Fallen Path until the ascendancy ritual waspleted.

    This reminded Annan of the battle between immortals and demons.

    The Fallen Path was the ¡°beast way¡± that used curses to transform the body ¡ª for a world full of curses, this might be the right path.

    Only if the Fallen Path were more effective and powerful than the Transcendence Path, then the Fallen Path would have the value of being handed down.

    Otherwise, it would have been eliminated long ago in the thousands or even tens of thousands of years of civilization history.

    ¡°The Enigma of Fate and Dice: A Discourse¡± mentioned that ¡°going up is a leap while going down is one step at a time¡±. This subtly highlighted the difference between ¡°the Ascension Path¡± and ¡°the Fallen Path¡±.

    That was why the ascendancy ritual was called the ¡°ascendancy ritual¡±.

    It represented the unique ¡°difference¡± exclusive to the Ascension Path.

    Since those who learned about the Ascendancy Ritual often associated it with the Ascension Path, the high-ranking transcendents changed the ancient term ¡°Ascension Path¡± to ¡°Transcendence Path¡± to better safeguard this secret.

    No matter how Father Flint got the Sage¡¯s Stone, the world was filled with elemental power. Only the Ascension Path could fully harness this ability¡­ This was an epic patch that buffed the Ascension Path¡¯s ¡°Dyed¡± Rank.

    Annan immediately realized that the upright deities hoped to increase the number of ¡°deities¡± through this ¡°new patch¡±.

    He was all too familiar with this approach¡­ Using ¡°buffs¡± and ¡°nerfs¡± to influence the yers¡¯ behavior was a basic skill for game designers.

    Was it reasonable? No¡­

    Introducing the ¡°elemental power¡± concept made the ¡°strong, pure soul¡± a tangible and essible force.

    Even if there were more than a dozen demons, only two or three Gold Rank Transcenders with sufficient soul reserves could easily kill them all.

    Who made your blue mana points bar short?.jpg

    The two brothers from the Saltpeter Ranch would have been taken out in two swift moves by the Saint, one move for each, if they hadn¡¯t possessed the secret of creation. Of course, the Saint was at the Truth Rank.

    However, it was evident that the Northern Brotherhood didn¡¯t have multiple Gold Rank transcenders.

    Because in the entire Austere-Winter Dukedom, there were no wild Gold Rank transcenders at all ¡ª Winter¡¯s Hand was confined to Silver Rank. Any unauthorized Silver Rank transcenders trying to further advance in the Austere-Winter Dukedom would be captured, monitored, imprisoned, and expelled by Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The current Howling White Tower had not yet elected a new tower master.

    So apart from the Daughter of the Storm, Maria, and the ¡°Beauty of Imbnce¡±, Vasika, who could resist the Gold Rank under special circumstances, the only Gold Rank in Austere-Winter¡¯s was Old Grandmother¡¯s pope, and the Melvin family¡¯s ¡°the Divine¡± of the World¡±. Thetter two were not affiliated with the Austere-Winter family.

    This was the weakest period of the Austere-Winter Dukedom ¡ª if the ancestor summoner ritual wasn¡¯t counted.

    The only reason the Northern Brotherhood didn¡¯te for Austere-Winter Dukedom was because they were rookies.

    If the Northern Alliance had two Gold Ranks, they would initiate a war to redistribute the territory. If they had more than three Gold Ranks, they could march into the Frostwhisper Province, detain Annan and Ivan, and then ¡°hold the emperor hostage tomand the subordinates¡±.

    Therefore, they had notpleted the ¡°Satiated Gold¡± experiment.

    Instead, it was the person who proposed this experiment that restricted them. Otherwise, they might have started mass-producing a Silver Rank army with their curse shaft already in ce.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    He thought of another matter.

    The Northern Brotherhood, as the feudal lord of ¡°the northernmost part of the map¡±, didn¡¯t have much money.

    So, how did they persuade the Fallen forces of Saltpeter Ranch and Nata County to be loyal to them? Given the nature of these Fallens, they¡¯d probably have turned on their partners and tried to sell them out to the Grand Duke for a reward.

    Unless the Fallen wanted something else from the Northern Brotherhood.

    From this point of view¡­

    ¡°Could it be that a shadow ruler has already appeared in the circles of Fallens?¡± Annan whispered worriedly.

    A Fallen who is able to cross borders and control all Fallen.

    The Northern Brotherhood was just a pawn at their disposal ¡ª a pawn for the ¡°Satiated Gold¡± production.

    Their ultimate goal of getting [Satiated Gold] was to break free from the Fallen Path.

    Who could possibly have the power to cross borders and remotely control the Fallens from the Noah Kingdom, the underground world, and Austere-Winter?

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 Chapter 666: Annanâ€™s Prestige

    <h4>Chapter 666: Annan¡¯s Prestige</h4>

    The information Longjing Tea brought was undoubtedly of great significance.

    Combined with other evidence, besides serving as direct evidence of ¡°the Northern Brotherhood¡¯s crime¡±, it sparked new thoughts in Annan¡¯s mind¡ª

    There might be a ¡°King of Fallen¡± out there.

    At the very least, among the Fallen in different countries, there existed a uniquemunication channel that had yet to be discovered.

    This directly disrupted the yers¡¯ previous ns.

    Next, Lin Yiyi¡¯s party would probably have to stay in Saltpeter Ranch for quite a long time¡ªor in other words, they could take advantage of the Bloodhand Brothers being eliminated to seize control of this area.

    Anyway, this ce was originally a helpless ce that didn¡¯t even meet the minimum standard of ¡°establishing one Wise and one Digger¡±.

    Instead of staying idle while the news of the elimination of ¡°the Bloodhand Brothers¡± spread, attracting the Wise and Digger from other regions to take this area under their wings, it was more advisable to conquer this ce immediately.

    Achieving this task was not difficult for the yers.

    After the yers stayed here for a while and established the teleportation waypoint, they could start summoning all other yers.

    And this meant that the mission of chasing ¡°Captain of the Stone¡± Celecia must be handed over to a different group of people.

    Meanwhile, Annan was about to hit the Northern Brotherhood. He urgently needed to get Celecia¡¯s first-hand testimony¡­ if gentle persuasion couldn¡¯t persuade Celecia.

    ¡ªThen, a forceful arrest might be needed.

    To achieve this goal, Annan gave Longjing Tea the ¡°Super Deluxe Edition Monthly Membership Card¡± for free teleportation within this month and reduced respawn costs to one-fifth.

    Longjing Tea could find reliable and well-coordinated teammates to form the strongest party.

    They would need to teleport to the Papal Kingdom as soon as possible and take the airship to the Elegy Dukedom. At this time, the ship ¡°Silver¡± probably hadn¡¯t arrived at its destination yet¡­ which meant they could lie in wait for it.

    To ensure they had a smooth journey, Annan had Longjing Tea teleport back to the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower first and asked Tower Master Hugo for a ¡°pass permit¡±. Essentially, it served as his guarantee to rent an airship that ¡°allowed an external route¡± from the Papal Kingdom.

    The Churches of the Seven Deities had their airships.

    He thought that he would end up borrowing an airship from Mr. Ray.

    That was because Mr. Ray had the most friendly attitude toward him among the seven deities of the Papal Kingdom.

    Unexpectedly, the Grail-holding Lady whom Annan first asked readily agreed.

    It was a free rental with no fee at all.

    Annan got the right to use the most luxurious airship of the Grail-holding Lady Church for half a year. This meant that yers had obtained another way of cross-border travel besides the teleportation waypoint and the subway.

    ¡°Thank you very much, everyone.¡± Longjing Tea bowed gracefully to the person before him, ¡°Thank you very much for your help.¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± thedy standing before him said with a beaming smile. ¡°It¡¯s not like we requested the airship. This is part of our job. I¡¯m just d we could be of help to you.¡±

    The great wizard standing before thedy was young and handsome, dressed in a ck and red high-cored coat, with hands adorned in ck and red mismatched gloves. He had a gentle smile, a clear and resonant voice, and courteous manners, looking every bit like the heir to some prestigious noble family.

    However, if the great wizard really came from an aristocratic background, there would undoubtedly be an air of arrogance about him that couldn¡¯t be shaken off. This weing aura felt more like that of someone who came from a schrly background¡­

    However, in fact, thedy in front of him knew in her heart that this person¡¯s status might be more noble than some noble heirs.

    The great wizard was a direct disciple of ¡°Salvatore,¡± the Son of the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    Not long ago, the Swamp¡¯s ck Tower suffered a terrible disaster, where nearly all its inheritors were killed. After that, only a few direct-line wizards remained.

    They said that the current Tower Son, Salvatore¡¯s state was unstable. Given the talent of this young wizard called ¡°Longjing Tea¡±, he was likely to be the next generation of Tower Son.

    The receivingdymented. If I could be acquainted with this future Tower Master, perhaps I could also be a higher-ranking Grail-Holding priest¡­

    In fact, even if the Tower Master Hugo of Swamp¡¯s ck Tower hadn¡¯t written Longjing Tea a letter of introduction, no one would dare to stop the yers.

    ¡ªBecause this ¡°Joyful ss¡± airship was transferred from the House of Purity.

    She and her three colleagues had also received orders from within the church¡ªthe original mortal attendants had all been dismissed. The four Grail-holding Lady¡¯s priests and the airship would be ¡°rented out¡± for six months. They were subtly instructed to amodate the airship owner¡¯s requests as much as possible.

    This was an order from the administrative level above the cardinal¡­ In other words, either the Graild-holding Lady¡¯s Pope or the Supreme Pontiff.

    Although she was only a deacon and could only be regarded as the ¡°Blood Drinker¡± of the second rank, she had already started learning divine art and attempting to purify nightmares. She was, to some extent, a formal priest.

    How could something from the church be borrowed so easily and quickly upon request?

    Moreover, among the four of them, there was even a ¡°Grail Holder¡±, the chief priestess of the Grail-holding Lady. It stood to reason that the chief priestess no longer needed to do these chores.

    The priests of the Grail-holding Lady would serve as service staff in airship decks, bars, hospitals, and theaters, not because the churchcked money. This was merely a training exercise for them to practice their ¡°smiles¡±.

    The priestess of the Grail-holding Lady was required to show a heart-warming smile under any circumstances.

    This was different from the ¡°smile service¡± that Silver Sire required of His priests. Silver Sire focused on fostering a sense of ¡°equality¡± and ¡°respect¡± among traders.

    The Grail-holding Lady believed a person could influence another person with just one action.

    A smile, song, gesture, or gaze could immediately change another person¡¯s mood and even indirectly change his life.

    The high-level Grail-holding Lady priest could even make people rx their vignce immediately through a smile and heal the other party¡¯s spirit through short-term physical contact. The Grail-holding Lady¡¯s envoy ¡°Desire Evoker¡±, just relying on ¡°talk therapy¡± was enough to reshape a person¡¯s character.

    Theoretically, the ¡°Desire Evoker¡± could rekindle the ¡°desire for ascension¡± in transcenders who once had the potential but, due to various subjective or objective reasons, lost hope or their intense desire and thus lost their qualification to advance to the Gold Rank.

    ¡ªThis was the most advanced application of the Desire Realm.

    If a priestess could not immediatelyfort an irritable individual through words and smiles, it suggested that this priestess did not have a deep enough understanding of the Realm of ¡°Desire¡± and her professional skills were not up to par.

    The low-level priests were sent to different ces to exercise their ability to ¡°soothe people¡¯s hearts¡±, which was a ritual in itself for selecting talents.

    But even so, they were still priestesses who came to this environment to hone their abilities, not genuine service staff.

    Ultimately, the airship and the people were granted just like that.

    They weren¡¯t even explicitly requested. They simply came with the airship as a ¡°bonus¡± thrown in with the deal.

    In other words, Pope was afraid that the person who borrowed the airship from them could not drive it.

    Who could possibly have that much prestige and influence?

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 Chapter 667: Scholars Of The Papal Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 667: Schrs Of The Papal Kingdom</h4>

    She felt depressed, even a little scared.

    Fear came from the unknown.

    In fact, a priest was held in high regard in the Papal Kingdom.

    That was because this was a country without any ¡°traditional aristocracy¡±.

    The authority of the Papal Kingdom was not passed down based on ¡°family¡± lineage, but rather it shifted constantly among different churches.

    Perhaps today, the jurisdiction over the ¡°industrial¡± region was under the Grail-holding Lady¡¯s bishop. However, next year it might be reassigned to the followers of Father Flint. The year after, the jurisdiction would fall over to Mr. Ray¡¯s side.

    On an annual basis, the House of Purity would reallocate the jurisdictions.

    Under the watchful eyes of the Seven Deities, the popes would make a ¡°work report¡± to the Supreme Pontiff and true deity. Based on the summary and discussions among the Seven Deities, adjustments would be made to the work direction for theing year.

    Afterward, the popes would promote bishops who had been performing well within the church and reward those who had outstanding achievements. The rewards were naturally holy light engravings.

    In the Papal Kingdom, regardless of faith and denominations, all priests had a strict and systematic path for promotion: the Supreme Pontiff, Pope, Cardinal Bishop, Archbishop, Bishop, Chief Priest, Deacon, and Schr.

    Upon graduation from a church school, one would be a schr. Outstanding graduates would be directly promoted to deacon. However, if an individual started working for the church directly, they must receive rmendations from the head priest for three consecutive years to be a schr.

    Upon bing a schr, the individual would be included among the ¡°priest¡± group. However, being a schr was still in the elementary stage. After bing ustomed to the specific requirements of various denominations and bing well-versed in their scriptures, he would be promoted to a deacon by the chief priest and begin the formal study of divine art and purification of nightmares.

    Only those who had made enough achievements¡ª¡ªreferring to the chief priest and deacon involved in the purification of nightmares¡ªcould be promoted to the bishop position. Afterward, in addition to their abilities in purifying nightmares, their administrative capabilities as bishop were also taken into consideration before any further promotion to the rank of archbishop.

    For the promotion from archbishop to cardinal bishop, there would be an assessment of the depth of purification of nightmares. The minimum requirement included at least 100 holy light engravings at disposal while mastering at least two advanced divine arts.

    Besides having the authority to appoint and dismiss ¡°archbishops,¡± the popes were also elected from among the cardinals.

    Under the unique governance system of the Papal Kingdom, theoretically, any priest could be the Supreme Pontiff. Therefore, the social status of a priest was higher than that of a non-priest.

    Of course, Longjing Tea had also looked into it deeply.

    This did not mean that the promotions of the Papal Kingdom were fairer than other countries. Although under the watchful eye of the deities, they might be a little more honest. However, people could never be absolutely honest.

    People sought fairness on the one hand and inequality on the other. When they pursued justice or inequality depended on whether they found themselves above or below the line.

    ording to Longjing Tea¡¯s research, the session of power in the Papal Kingdom did not form a pattern of blood and kinship.

    However, they had formed another model simr to the Japanese ¡°academic clique¡±.

    However, that was theoretical.

    Priests who graduated from different church schools and were mentored by different bishops developed varying levels of personal abilities and had distinctly different initialworks and resources at their disposal.

    ¡°Mentors¡± in the church schools could likely be anyone ranging from ordinary bishops to cardinal bishops. Students taught by a cardinal bishop, once they managed to secure a position as a bishop, often found themselves conveniently ced by their mentor in jobs that facilitate easy promotion.

    On the flip side, if a cardinal bishop had a poor impression of a particr bishop, that bishop essentially had slim chances of being promoted to archbishop unless they achieved remarkable results in the less desirable assignments where it was hard to gain credit.

    This meant that at the level of ¡°bishop¡±, there would be a considerable promotion gap from ¡°one year¡± to ¡°lifetime¡±.

    Since the bishops held power in the church schools, cliques between teachers and students were inevitable after graduating. Graduates of these schools were inclined to work at the same institutions, which further led to the formation of ¡°cliques¡± or ¡°factions¡± within the organization.

    When the bishops, who were busy with government affairs in a certain area, acquired support from their colleagues and superiors, their work would naturally be much easier.

    Thus, different church schools would also have their clique due to the administrative area where the ¡°cardinal bishop¡± was located in the school, personal preferences, and the job type of the archbishops.

    Once the cardinal bishop was appointed, he would not leave unless he made a serious mistake.

    This meant that a long lifespan would lead to a situation where more than half of the cardinal bishops in a church were appointed due to mentor-student rtionships.

    That made it even harder for other people to run for the pope.

    The governance trend highlighted how astonishing it was to have the pope lend out ¡°the Joyful ss¡± airship and even dispatch several priests. One of them was a chief priest who also fell under the pope¡¯s faction.

    The receivingdy¡¯s mentor was a cardinal bishop with an alias called ¡°Red Crown¡±¡ªand the mentor of ¡°Red Crown¡± was the current pope of the Grail-holding Lady Church.

    Brtedies were not dumb.

    She could tell that the person who borrowed the airship¡­ probably had a status far beyond her imagination.

    Maybe the person behind them is another upright deity¡¯s pope?

    However, as the pope of the Grail-holding Lady, who does she need to please?

    Could it be the Mysterious Lady¡¯s pope?

    That¡¯s not impossible. After all, both wizards and ritualists belong to Mysterious Lady.

    The brown-haired and beautifuldy thought so, and her smile when she looked at the four of them became more sincere and heart-warming.

    Leaving aside these aspects, for now, their partyposition was impressive.

    A Sword Saint, a Great Wizard, a Beast Summoner, a Wind Dancer¡­

    These were four Silver Rank Transcenders, all young as hell.

    Why could she recognize that these people were young but not the disguise of a veteran?

    Because she could tell that half of these four people were virgins¡­

    Also, these people had unique profession lineups, with two having the rare elf legacy professions.

    The brown-haired female deacon was in a trance. She even thought she had returned to the mythical age of the Third Age.

    ¡°Just to reconfirm, you¡¯re going to travel to Elegy Dukedom, right?¡±

    Thedy with a charming smile confidently adjusted her proud long hair¡ªpure brown hair with natural curls, fluffy but not dry, ¡°Then let me be your guide.¡±

    However, their answer was far beyond her imagination, ¡°Yes, but we are not going on a vacation.¡±

    The big cat cradled in the arms of the summoner spoke in humannguage, ¡°We might have to make an emergencynding, so you all better get ready.¡±

    ¡°¡­Emergencynding? Plunging directly into the Gray Mists?¡± She was a little dumbfounded.

    Are they nning to dig the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s grave, or are they up to some other big deal?

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 Chapter 668: Smile Slowing Fading.jpg

    <h4>Chapter 668: Smile Slowing Fading.jpg</h4>

    Typically speaking, the ¡°Joyful¡± airship wasn¡¯t avable for rental. It had never been rented out even once in its history.

    That was because the ship was actually the armed aerial fortress of the Grail-holding Church.

    It was 160 meters long, with a maximum diameter and height of nearly 30 meters ¡ª roughly as tall as a six-story bell tower. Because of this, it was honored as the ¡°Our Great Bell Tower¡± and ¡°The Respectable Joyful¡± by the Grail-holding Church.

    Although it was unlike Red Knight¡¯s airship, carrying so many weapons and explosives¡­ it did not mean it would be inferior.

    The most advanced technology on the ¡°Joyful¡± was its shock absorption and soundproofing. The ¡°Joyful¡± even had a dedicated restaurant, ballroom, study, bathhouse, and rec room to y cards, y chess, read books, and enjoy dances.

    The Joyful airship had two levels of cabins. Each room had a huge, soft double bed. Apart from not having a private bathroom and the rooms being a bit cramped, the airship was no different from the most luxurious hotels.

    The maximum flight speed of the ¡°Joyful¡± would reach 80 kilometers per hour ¡ª and if it entered the ¡°quiet mode¡±, it would maintain a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

    In the quiet mode, the Joyful¡¯s stability even allowed for a game of pool in the rec room. The stability in this mode made it possible for the ritualist to use the ritual in the air.

    Performing rituals was risky. If it failed, it could trigger an explosion. Certainly, conducting a ritual while on a turbulent flight was certainly not a safe course of action.

    However, the challenge could be ovee.

    The ¡°Joyful¡± ritual room had a unique design ¡ª it catered to the secret number ¡°9¡± of the Grail-holding Lady and could amodate up to nine ritualists to coborate inrge-scale joint rituals. Moreover, it could dissect some rituals into nineponents.

    In this way, everyone only needed toplete a part for the ritual to be carried out stably.

    Thus, the possibility of ritual failure would be significantly reduced.

    As long as everyponent was treated without issue, the ritual would generally not have problems in the end. It was like breaking downplex problems into smaller, verifiable steps and calcting each step separately.

    Conversely, if the ritual failed, the ritualist only needed to bear one-ninth of the negative feedback. Generally, it posed no danger to the ritualist¡¯s life.

    The ¡°nineyers of ritual¡± that split the ritual into smallerponents was also arge-scale auxiliary ritual developed by the Grail-holding Church. It was called the ¡°Feast of All Love¡±. Besides dissecting, it could also be used to amplify and project Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ritual.

    This approach could only be used by the priests of the Grail-holding Church¡­ However, only the Grail-holding Church might need this kind of assistance.

    ording to a record, [The Secret About the Grail], the Grail-holding Lady was the only upright deity that required ¡°sacrifice¡± toplete the ritual.

    Just like praying for the power of ¡°the Purifying realm¡±, one must sacrifice high-purity Gold ¡ª simrly, carrying out the Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ritual, [Ritual: Roaring Heart] required self-sacrifice.

    To hold an advanced ritual, it was easy to injure and disable yourself.

    Of course, for some people, obtaining arge amount of high-purity gold might be more difficult than donating their blood and limbs.

    This airship allowed ritualists to hold rituals continuously at the lowest cost, the fastest speed, and the least risk.

    Moreover¡ª

    A giant airship glided over the Great Barrier at sixty kilometers per hour¡ªsince it was above the Great Barrier, this meant that almost all attacks from the ground would likely miss.

    Meanwhile, it could continually exert influence on those directly below it.

    As long as the Grail-holding Church held the ¡°Joyful¡±, the church could intervene on the battlefield anytime.

    Many of the divine arts in the ¡°Blood¡± Realm had considerable lethality and interference in battles.

    For example, it induced mass sleep, mass insomnia, mass hysteria, mass madness¡ªor caused vines to grow from one¡¯s heart, turned the blood within the body putrid, or transformed the blood that left the body into scalding, strong acid to counterattack the enemies, and so on.

    It was just like the air force bombing the infantry. The victims were left unable to resist and unable to counterattack¡­ They couldn¡¯t even dodgerge-area ritual attacks. The only thing they could do was to escape as soon as possible.

    However, this was an airship with a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

    If the airship wanted to pursue its enemy, the infantry couldn¡¯t run away.

    How could such a killing machine be borrowed casually?

    Worse still, it was even lent to outsiders. The worst part was that the church didn¡¯t even leave a cardinal on the airship to watch over it.

    Only the four poor priests were on the airship.

    Their authority was too low even to know what behaviors were not allowed.

    It must be a conspiracy. The four priests thought sadly.

    Fortunately, the church only lent their four priests onto the airship instead of nine ritualists.

    At least the current situation was not the worst scenario.

    Just as this airship had advanced weapons, at least no engineers could operate the weapons on board.

    It wasn¡¯t too ridiculous, in a way.

    If the church gave them the ritualists too, the four priests would have suspected that the Grail Holding Church was nning to bomb other countries with the excuse of ¡°lending airships to tourists¡±¡ª for example, the capital of Denizoya.

    It just so happened that the rtionship between Denizoya and the Papal Kingdom was not good.

    In that case, maybe the four priests were the unlucky ones who were used as pawns to take the me after the Grail-holding Church triggered the war.

    But that isn¡¯t quite right either. One of us is a direct disciple. I haven¡¯t offended anyone, and the teacher doted on me.

    What is happening?

    Who am I supposed to build rapport with? Where is this airship going?

    This airship is the bombing airship with the highest configuration in the world. Why is it driving toward the Elegy Dukedom? Are we going to bombard the grave of the Venerated Skeleton?

    The four priests discussed it secretly but still couldn¡¯t figure it out. On the contrary, the four of them became more and more nervous.

    Fortunately, one of them had be acquainted with Longjing Tea and sessfully told her name.

    ¡°¡ªIrene.¡± Longjing Tea ordered, ¡°We are dropping here.¡±

    After the ¡°Joyful¡± entered full speed, it took only eight hours for them to fly from the center of the Papal Kingdom to the sky above the Elegy Dukedom.

    The priest with beautiful long brown hair, who had been standing beside them and listening to their chat, had aplicatedplexion.

    The more she listened, the heavier her heart became.

    I don¡¯t think I can maintain this professional smile anymore¡­

    Smile Slowing Fading.jpg

    Why are they talking about Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke and Noah Kingdom¡¯s royalty? Are their identities really that high-ranking? Which country are they from, anyway? And they¡¯re calling the Venerated Skeleton ¡®Old Bone,¡¯ using such a familiar and almost audacious way of addressing him¡­ It seems like they also know Silver Sire.

    The most outrageous thing was that she also heard this group of people discussing how to assassinate the Noah Kingdom¡¯s prince and how to rob the underground cities.

    Why are these people chatting so unscrupulously?!

    Who are these people, really? Where did thesewless roguese from?

    Will I end up being silenced for good?

    Probably, yes¡­

    Irene shivered slightly, her expression growing increasingly fearful.

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 Chapter 669: Skydiving Simulator

    <h4>Chapter 669: Skydiving Simtor</h4>

    ¡°Get ready, my brothers!¡± Longjing Tea raised his voice, ¡°Grab everything¡­ We¡¯ve arrived at the Elegy Dukedom!¡±

    Chocte meowed andined lowly, ¡°It¡¯s all misty down here. I can¡¯t see a thing.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, how do we go down? Are we just going to jump down directly?¡±

    ¡°Irene?¡± Hearing this, Longjing Tea also turned to look at Priest Irene, asking.

    Ah? How do you go down?

    Isn¡¯t this something you should have thought about before boarding the airship?

    Why are you asking me?

    Moreover, you all are Silver Rank oddballs¡­ is the method we ordinary people use really of any reference value to you?¡±

    The female priest nced hesitantly at the cat that was being held in the arms of the young girl and uttering human words.

    ¡­You don¡¯t seem to be quite right either.

    Could ck Glory Tower¡¯s years of research on ¡°advanced spiritual creation¡± have finallye to fruition?

    Speaking of which, though¡­

    When Irene realized that there seemed to be something wrong with these people, she assessed them carefully again.

    That bald Sword Saint didn¡¯t seem quite right either¡­

    Sword Saint wouldn¡¯t wear armor. The lighter their body weight, the higher the efficiency of meditation. So some Sword Saints would choose to go shirtless or simply wear a cloth belt diagonally to hang the sword.

    However, this muscr bald head was even more terrifying.

    The muscr bald wore a thin white garment, which revealed his demon-like robust muscles. His distinct flesh tone was visible through the fabric.

    Generally speaking, shouldn¡¯t Sword Saint be the handsome guy with a thin physique and long fluttering hair?

    Why does a Sword Saint have such a burly build?

    The muscles on his shoulders can¡¯t even be pierced with a dagger. Does this Sword Saint really need armor?

    The Wind Dancer, who talked the least and was sleeping in a corner all the time, was odd too.

    I hadn¡¯t noticed before¡­ why does his skin have a wooden texture? At first nce, his hair looked a bit greasy, but upon closer inspection ¡ª isn¡¯t that actually vines?

    Could he be an awakened Elven Ancient Tree?

    Can you fly?

    There¡¯s something off about this group of people¡ª a beast summoner whose highly intelligent pet seems to be controlling her instead, a Sword Saint whose body is so robust that he seems nearly invulnerable despite his frail appearance, and a Wind Walker who looks just like a walking tree.

    Only Longjing Tea can be considered a normal person¡­

    Irene groaned.

    ¡°Since the Gray Mists are deadly, there are only two ways to force anding,¡± Irene thought for a while and replied seriously, ¡°Firstly, it will be for us to find a ce tond.¡±

    ¡°Afterward, we will activate the ritual room and make a passage down from where the airshipnded. You may go underground from the airship to explore.¡±

    ¡°The second option is continually generating a curseden storm from above, temporarily dispersing the mist. You would descend through the storm¡¯s center using ropes and seek an underground space that provides shelter from the mist. My suggestion is the first option because we won¡¯t be able to see the cityyout through the mist, and we don¡¯t have enough energy for sustained ¡®illumination¡¯.¡±

    ¡°In other words, you can temporarily blow away the curse, right?¡± Longjing Tea captured the critical information, ¡°How long will itst? How far is the range?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a ritual called ¡®Relentless Heart¡¯, which can turn the rhythm of a ritualist¡¯s heartbeat into an invisible storm. Sister Georgina knows how to operate this ritual.¡±

    Irene frowned, thinking seriously, ¡°But this ritual needs a frog heart soaked in burning oil to maintain it. We didn¡¯t prepare much ritual material this time, so we can only activate it about three times, which is about ten minutes.¡±

    ¡°Because the bottom of the airship isn¡¯t sturdy enough, we must first disperse the mist once to ensure no protruding, sharp statues or building structures below. This is to prevent the airship¡¯s bottom from being pierced when wend¡­ and then we need to save another dispersal to bring you all back up.¡±

    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need to be so troublesome.¡± The Wandering Child said, ¡°Just activate it once, and we can go straight down.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Irene froze momentarily, ¡°But, aren¡¯t you the only Wind Dancer?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an orthodox Wind Dancer.¡± The Wandering Child said to himself, ¡°Not one of those knock-offs. I can at least handle two people.¡±

    ¡­Wait a minute, why two people?

    However, Irene didn¡¯t care about such details.

    Although she was still skeptical, she did not forget her duty ¡ª she was only here to serve.

    She quickly called a priest named ¡°Georgina¡±¡ªthe granddaughter of a pope, whereby she was the only chief priestess among the four.

    At the rank of chief priestess, the person could hold most of the rituals alone. After receiving the news, she quickly went to the first ritual room to prepare the ¡°Relentless Heart¡± ritual.

    It wasn¡¯t a difficult ritual.

    However, its power was also multiplied under the amplification of the ¡°Feast of All Love¡± ritual.

    As Priest Georgina pressed the stethoscope-like metal disc to her chest, she whispered the sacred chant about praising ¡°the one whose heart beats relentlessly¡±.

    A clear and powerful heartbeat sounded in everyone¡¯s ears the next moment.

    With each beat, the heartbeat grew stronger than thest ¡ª and in the blink of an eye, it blended into the clouds, roaring like thunder.

    The crisp sound of the heartbeat quickly synchronized with the rumble of thunder.

    The storm rose with it.

    An incredibly sharp howl, akin to a ghostly wail, rang out ¡ª as if one¡¯s heart was being clenched tightly.

    It was a roar so overpowering that merely hearing it could make one feel dizzy.

    Even the mist, which was hard to disperse even in strong winds, dissipated at a visible rate under the invisible storm.

    In the blink of an eye, the storm arrived right below them.

    ¡ªIt revealed a magnificent gray city reminiscent of the architectural style of ancient Rome.

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Wandering Child took a breath slowly, reached out, and held the bronze circlet, ¡°You guys remember to keep up¡ªDon¡¯t turn into a box afternding!¡±

    [TN: Reference to games like Apex Legend, PUBG, Fortnite. It describes the situation where the yer dies once dropping into the map, turning into a box for others to loot.]

    The Wandering Child opened the bottom deck of the airship and entered the violent and chilly air flow pouring in from outside.

    The Child jumped with his head down from 8,000 meters at the storm¡¯s center!

    A bird eye view would reveal a tornado spreading around the Child.

    He was like an ant, slowly descending from the center.

    This scene made Priest Irene¡¯s pupils tighten nervously.

    Soon, Longjing Tea and the bald Sword Saint followed closely behind and jumped off directly.

    They¡¯re out of their minds! This is utterly reckless!

    Are they going tond just like that?!

    Jumping straight from this height¡­

    Seeing that the small girl didn¡¯t jump off, Irene was relieved at this moment.

    However, at this moment, the cat in the girl¡¯s hand suddenly jumped off the airship.

    Immediately afterward, she saw that the city below copsed.

    It was as if some invisible power was pressing it down. The buildings in the center of the city melted and copsed like butter, revealing arge pit with dark, moist ground inside. The melting didn¡¯t stop, and a tunnel was ¡°dug out¡± in a few seconds.

    The seeds of the storm wrapped around the three people and the cat, protecting them.

    Rather than falling, it was more like flying ¡ª they streaked down like a beam of white light, crashing into the depths of that pit.

    The three of them disappeared into the pit without making any sound and without the ground shaking. Following that, the melting ground closed back together, restoring the gray ¡°surface¡±. It was like sealing the filling inside a pie with a touch of dough.

    The girl stepped forward and closed the hatch.

    She raised her head and stared at Priest Irene with those cold pupils reminiscent of a doll.

    In a somewhat awkward tone, she said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m here. I¡¯ll notify them toe back. You can hold the ritual again. I¡¯ll locate it. You have to open the hatch.¡±

    Although it was a bit difficult, Irene still managed to understand her.

    Roughly speaking, Irene¡¯s task was to stay put as the beacon to pinpoint the location.

    What came to Irene¡¯s mind was this thought. Why is this girl not as fluent as her cat?

    Your cat is even fluent in the Noah Kingdom¡¯s dialect.

    Are you not ashamed?

    Irene didn¡¯t know what to do for a while.

    Irene sat on a chair with the girl squinting her eyes slightly as if she was about to fall asleep ¡ª mainly because Irene was afraid that she would disappear. For such a small child, it would be terrible if she identally opened the hatch and fell.

    ¡°But, they dug that tunnel way too fast¡­¡± she murmured.

    ¡ªThat child with vine hair is a treant, right?

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 Chapter 670: The Ship & The Witch

    <h4>Chapter 670: The Ship & The Witch</h4>

    However, for the legendary adventure group traveling aboard the ship ¡°Silver¡±, suchmon sense did not apply.

    Looking out through the bubble was supposedly clear. However, the outside world was painted with a hazy and illusory feeling.

    However, what truly caught the attention was her left eye ¡ª a strand of golden hair hung in front, slightly veiling her left eye. Behind that strand of hair, her left eye rested peacefully, with no visible bulge of the eyeball.

    She opened her emerald green right eye and quietly watched everything outside the ship.

    Rock formations, soils, ores, rivers, cities¡ª

    Inmon sense, they were ¡°obstacles¡± that were impossible to cross.

    However, they couldn¡¯t slow down the ship ¡°Silver¡±.

    ¡°For ¡®Silver¡¯, those are just food.¡± A cold voice sounded from behind the girl.

    The one-eyed girl turned her head.

    The captain of the ¡°Stoneheart Ship¡±¡ª Celecia strolled over.

    Celecia stared at the one-eyed girl who was looking back and slowly approached.

    ¡°I saw youing out of Orpheus¡¯s room just now.¡±

    The girl in the white dress, known as Elle, did not answer the question.

    She pursed her lips and replied softly, ¡°Is that alright?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cecilia said with a faint smile, her gaze slightly dreamy, as if inebriated.

    ¡°I mean Arthur.¡± Elle nced toward the back of the ship, ¡°Although I haven¡¯t been on the ship for long, I can tell that Arthur Searing-Fang is pursuing you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°What about Orpheus Denizoya?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, too.¡±

    ¡°So¡­¡± Elle paused and asked, ¡°Who would you choose?¡±

    Celecia looked at Elle with some surprise.

    She smiled like a flower, ¡°Why do I have to choose?

    ¡°It¡¯s not just Arthur and Orpheus¡ªLily and Lucia love me too. They¡¯re supposed to love me as I love them all.¡±

    Celecia put her hand on her chest like an elegantdy.

    However, what came out of her mouth was a debauched statement, ¡°If they were to fight over me, it would only mean they love me too much¡­ Love me to the point where they can¡¯t stand the fact that I might love someone else in this world besides themselves.¡±

    ¡°Then, why would I be dissatisfied? I can only be intoxicated by this fanatical love. Unfortunately, my love for any of them is not enough to make me give up the others.¡±

    When the delicate and beautiful witchughed, she looked inebriated, with a faint blush, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a kind of sadness?¡±

    ¡°This shows they can¡¯t bear my love yet.¡±

    ¡°¡­Miss Celecia, don¡¯t you think this is a betrayal?¡± Elle was silent for a while, then spoke softly.

    Celecia didn¡¯t mind at all.

    ¡°Not at all. They still love me, and I still love them¡­ This is a matter of the heart, both in love and on the battlefield. If anyone is dissatisfied or no longer fond of me, they¡¯re free to leave my ship at any time, and I won¡¯t hold them back¡ªyet if they choose to stay, they should strive to earn my favor¡­ Oh, and don¡¯t call me ¡®Miss¡¯.¡±

    She pointed her finger like a gun and closed one eye, ¡°It¡¯s fine to call me Mr., Your Excellency, or Captain. I should be a person of greater strength and authority than those mere titles.¡±

    Those sounded like the words of a whimsical king.

    She was obviously such a lovely girl with a fascinating smile, but the wordsing from her mouth were so arrogant that it was surprising.

    ¡°Is it strange? It¡¯s quite normal. After all, I¡¯m the owner of Silver. Do I need to adhere to the conventions? I don¡¯t live in the mortal world¡­ Besides, shouldn¡¯tws be amended for me, trends be altered, and customs be changed in my favor?¡±

    ¡°The Pale Princess also has many lovers. Will people use her of corruption and betrayal because of the ghosts behind her?¡±

    What she meant was ¡ª I¡¯m the next Pale Princess.

    She treated herself as a deity, holding herself to the standard of a true deity without self-doubt. It was an astonishing level of arrogance.

    It was an egoistic fanaticism so intense that it could distort reality.

    Even Elle couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    Worse still¡­

    When Cecilia spoke such wild words, her pupils were so bright and affectionate.

    This was the most arrogant person Elle had ever seen.

    However, she was not a fool.

    It was as if the light was dancing in her eye ¡ª the light of wisdom.

    It was not about being unable to see the rules of the human world.

    On the contrary, it was self-confidence where no one could defy her ¡ª She could easily bewitch everyone¡¯s minds with a poison called ¡°love.¡± Even though everyone knew the love she gave wasn¡¯t whole, no one could walk away from her side.

    At times, the victims struggled in pain; at other times, they lost this precious rity, bing entranced.

    Should I say¡­ truly the legendary ¡°Enchanting Poppy¡±?

    ¡ªInteresting.

    Elle raised her eyebrows, thinking so in her heart.

    ¡°¡­Celecia?¡± A male voice came from behind, ¡°Where have you been, Celecia?¡±

    A man with a muscr yet gentle bare upper body, wet ck hair, and amber eyes hesitantly opened the cabin door.

    His room was just opposite the captain¡¯s cabin, which was the room closest to the bow.

    He quickly found Celecia.

    However, he also saw Elle at the same time.

    The moment Elle cast her gaze on him, he felt like an electric shock jolted him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    He apologized hastily and quickly retreated to his room.

    After changing his clothes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and came out the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Elly.¡± This young man, surnamed ¡°Dennisoya¡±, was tall and lean, with features like a philosopher¡¯s statue. He seemed shy as he apologized to Elly, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here¡­¡±

    Elle asked in a low voice curiously, ¡°Why do you have to apologize?¡±

    This question left him stumped.

    Orpheus Denizoya scratched his head, not hesitating for too long. ¡°I just thought¡­ it might not be appropriate for you to see a man¡¯s body. After all, you¡¯re not married yet.¡±

    Elle replied indifferently, ¡°Compared with your captain, you are much more conservative.¡±

    Orpheus was a little embarrassed, ¡°The captain is not like that¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, we have arrived at the Elegy Dukedom.¡± Celecia interrupted him and pped her hands with a smile. ¡°Our journey is nearing its end.¡±

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 Chapter 671: The Venerated Skeleton: Youâ€™re Right

    <h4>Chapter 671: The Venerated Skeleton: You¡¯re Right</h4>

    How would a Wind Dancer differ from a modern Windrunner?

    Perhaps the most significant difference was they didn¡¯t need to slow down under any conditions.

    Any obstacles were utterly non-existent in front of them¡ª

    As Wandering Child rotated the circlet in his hand, the silver bracelet on his right wrist gradually shone brighter and brighter.

    The dark green curse markposed of elven characters flowed from the curse vessel from his right wrist through the shining golden bronze circlet to his left hand, binding it like shackles onto his left wrist.

    The earth cracked and melted, receding to both sides, forming a straight downward passage.

    Wind and water acted as invisible wings, swirling around everyone. When they got too close to obstacles, they would be gently pushed away by the soft currents.

    The overall experience was like squatting in a transparent stic ball, thrown down from a high altitude and then a hole-in-one.

    Amidst the highly stic gentle vibrations and repeated collisions, they entered the passage carved by the Wandering Child. The underground passage, sloping at an angle, was like the curve left by a stitching needle sliding across the ground as if sewing the skin of the earth.

    This caused the three of them and the cat to fall directly into the underground depths without deceleration.

    ¡ªThis was done to allow external air to mix in, preventing the underground space from being sealed for too long and making it hard for them to breathe.

    ¡°Okay, here we are¡­¡±

    After touching the original underground cavity, Wandering Child dispelled the ¡°tunneling¡±.

    This was his first opportunity to use this kind of elven magic¡ªthe kind that instantly melted the rockyers around him. If he were to use this magic in a city or even on a mountain, he might be immediately wanted by authorities.

    While not inherently lethal, this could still be considered a ¡°highly destructive¡± spell. The only requirement was to be ¡°elerating at maximum speed¡± in the air to use it.

    All he needed to do was perform the ¡°Wind Dance¡± while freely descending from high above, then activate the tunneling technique. He could effortlessly meltdown passing structures and defensive instations in this way, much like a shooting star.

    ¡°¡ª[Light].¡±

    Afternding smoothly, Longjing Tea chanted casually.

    He raised his left hand adorned with red gloves, high-fived the other two, and then patted the cat.

    Immediately after, all the ces his left hand had touched began to emit a soft, glowing light.

    Its brightness was slightly harsh, but at least it brightened the surroundings.

    Especially Dove, who used the Chocte body every day ¡ª She roamed the tunnel, leaving streaks of white trails like shooting stars imprinted on her retinas. But she also acted like a miniature searchlight, casting an extremely bright light around her.

    ¡°This ce¡­¡±

    Longjing Tea frowned slightly, lost in thought.

    At first, he couldn¡¯t see what this ce was used for.

    It appeared that no one had visited for centuries, to the point that the room was covered in thickyers of dust, and the walls showed signs of erosion.

    However, it also seemed to be a sizable space.

    ¡°¡­is kind of like an oversized underground garage,¡± Delicious Wind Goose quipped. ¡°The kind with ceilings at least ten meters high.¡±

    ¡°But each room is only two or three meters high.¡±

    Longjing Tea looked toward one of the rooms.

    As Delicious Wind Goose put it, these ¡°buildings¡± looked like garages. Square spaces of around 20 to 30 square meters¡­ What else could you call them? Petrified tents?

    Such ¡°tents¡± were linked one after another.

    Some in groups of five or six, some in groups of seven or eight. They were stacked horizontally and vertically, resembling a maze.

    ¡­But calling it a maze would be a bit embarrassing.

    Due to the height, anyone could easily jump up with a light leap.

    What was the point of a maze when it could be traversed easily?

    ¡°Would you like to open it and have a look?¡± Dove suggested, ¡°Let Tiange give it a try?¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± The Child rejected, ¡°What if there is an explosive in it?

    ¡°This thing could be considered a rock¡­ I¡¯ll handle it for now.¡±

    He said, raising the bronze ive in his hand again.

    As the curse in the vessel flowed out, he began to turn the ive slowly as if holding the steering wheel¡ª

    Soon, the floor of the building closest to them was melted.

    It didn¡¯t turn into scorchingva but a thick fluid as dark as cement. It was mixed with dust and dirt. It once again hastily solidified into the shape of a slope.

    ¡°I originally wanted to make steps, but this is almost the same. We can just make do with it.¡±

    The Child breathed a sigh of relief.

    For him, melting all the surrounding rocks in one go wasn¡¯t that difficult¡­ But precisely controlling the melting of a single wall and ensuring it flowed toward his side to avoid contaminating or damaging what was inside required some serious technical finesse.

    ¡°You should practice this more at home when we return from this quest.¡±

    Longjing Tea remarked, ¡°After all, your way of entering a room is unique now¡ªno need to open the door, just steal the wall.¡±

    ¡°Next time, see if you can melt a hole right through. Ideally, when we leave, you can patch it up again.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re making it difficult for me.¡± The Child frowned in distress.

    Only after he advanced to Wind Dancer did he realize why the advancement into ¡°Forest Walker¡± involved manipting vines, the ground, air, and flowing water for attacks ¡ª all of these yed a role in his flying ability.

    Wind Dancers weren¡¯t helicopters, nor could they lift off by stomping their feet. They¡¯re more like Tanooki Mario [1], who grabbed the Super Leaf [2]. After a sprint, they could take off into the air.

    Their uniquebat abilities were tied to their flying state ¡ª some required high speed, some demanded staying far above the ground, and others involved flying close to the ground.

    So, manipting objects like earth, flowing water, and vines to create a ¡°sprint zone¡±¡­ for example, using elevated tforms or frozen surfaces, or even propelling themselves instantly by air or vines to gain high velocity, became quite a convenient and advantageous tactic.

    For a legitimate Wind Dancer, they needed to wear metal-reinforced heavy boots. The purpose was to maintain bnce¡ªpreventing themselves from flying up and identally hitting the ground face-first with their weapon.

    But the Child was still a rtively inexperienced Wind Dancer¡­ The more powerful the Wind Dancers were, the lighter they weighed, as the storm favored them. However, the Child weighed 50 kilograms.

    The storm probably didn¡¯t like him.

    ¡°[Cleansing].¡± Longjing Tea cast another Edict Spell.

    A cleansing aura that could dispel all the ¡°impurities¡± around him burst forth from his raised left hand, adorned with a red glove.

    Dust, mud, and dirt were swept away in the blink of an eye.

    Immediately afterward, Dove, who was like a searchlight, got in.

    Unlike Delicious Wind Goose, Longjing Tea had positioned himself as a support from the beginning.

    What would make up a good support?

    Heal, control, debuff, speed buff, damage buff¡­

    All in all, making sure your main party wasfortable was the key to good support.

    Therefore, he learned a lot of spells like ¡°illumination¡± and ¡°cleansing¡±. Because of the limited spell slots, ordinary wizards hardly equipped this kind of spells. Instead, they prefer to form a ¡°set¡± of spellbos.

    The extra spell slots would be used to learn these ¡°extra spells¡± to improve the quality of life and travel experience.

    However, Longjing Tea¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t constrained by the era¡ªperhaps it was also because the ¡°yers¡± had teammates they could trust, which allowed him, as a wizard, topletely disregard the possibility of adventuring alone.

    The Illumination Edict Spell could also be used to stun or blind people in dark ces, or it could be attached to invisible individuals to make them visible. As for the spell that dispersed impurities, it might have seemed less useful, but in reality, it could remove many toxic or visibility-obscuring substances¡­ such as smoke, dust, mud, and acid. So, it was actually a useful tool for controlling the battlefield environment.

    The spells he carried were all of this kind¡ªthings that seemed like they might not have much use but always managed toe in handy.

    ¡°¡­Meow? This is¡­¡± Surprised, Dove couldn¡¯t help but utter a few words.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Longjing Tea leaned over.

    Then, he saw a skeleton sitting on the seat.

    ¡°It¡¯s a corpse.¡±

    Dove leaned in, sniffed, and then made a disgusted face as she licked it with her tongue before using the skill [Hunter Intuition] to confirm more information, ¡°It¡¯s a corpse from at least a century ago¡­¡±

    ¡°Is this where the Venerated Skeleton buried his subjects?¡± Wandering Child couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    However, a strange chill suddenly swept over their bodies at this moment¡­

    Fear gripped their hearts, rendering them immobile.

    And a deep, old voice with a heavy echo sounded behind them.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­ You¡¯re right.¡±

    Unlike the Gallery Nightmare, it was an announcement to send them into the nightmare.

    Instead, with an increasingly cold sense of fear, making them stiff and their backs soaked in cold sweat¡ª

    The crunch of heavy metal boots trampling the dust came clearly from behind them.

 Chapter 672: Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust

    <h4>Chapter 672: Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust</h4>

    Such a vivid sense of fear.

    That intensely strong and piercingly cold shiver traveled all over the yers¡¯ bodies as if the icy liquid was being injected into their veins ¡ª it was a chill crippling from the inside out.

    Lethargy made their bodies numb. Despair blocked their thoughts.

    It was obvious at first nce that it was the Venerated Skeleton Himself.

    He just stood there, yet it took all the yers¡¯ strength to barely turn around.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    What met their gaze was a giant skeleton standing at a height of nearly ten feet.

    However, the Venerated Skeleton looked entirely different from the ¡°lean and withered¡± skeleton the yers first encountered when they met Him.

    He wore a white cashmere cloak, a pure white triple crown on His head, and a gold crying mask on His face. His feet were d in heavy white metal boots, and His hands were covered with thick white gloves resembling bear paws.

    At this moment, He spread His cloak wide open to both sides.

    That skeleton, which once looked like a ghost, thin as a phantom and seemingly on the verge of disappearing, now donned a robust and unyielding armor, towering like a mountain.

    The crown on His head seemed a bit worn, and the mask on His face also showed some signs of tarnish. Even the well-maintained pure white armor bore a few scars.

    He looked like a pdin.

    Not as the undead master known as the Venerated Skeleton, but rather like a pdin who fought to the death against the undead.

    It was so ironic.

    ¡°I recognize you¡­¡± The old and deep voice of the Venerated Skeleton sounded from under the golden mask, ¡°Annan¡¯s servant¡­¡±

    Perhaps it was because the interior of the armor was empty, so there was a strange echo.

    Seeing that the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t want to attack them, Longjing Tea was relieved.

    For a moment before, Longjing Tea thought the Wandering Child destroyed the ritual area of ??the Venerated Skeleton, leading Him to exact revenge while also defending the high ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I saw it; you didn¡¯t disturb the peace of the deceased¡­¡±

    As if the Venerated Skeleton had read Longjing Tea¡¯s thoughts, He gave him an ¡°empty¡± nce and sighed.

    Longjing Tea did not meet the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s gaze.

    Because that crying face mask didn¡¯t leave enough holes to reveal His eyes ¡ª rather than calling it a mask, it was more like a metal te, fixed like a clown¡¯s expression, branded onto the face.

    The yers cheered up because the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t attack them immediately.

    ¡­So, is this a friendly NPC with the name typically adorned in yellow color?

    As long as we don¡¯t attack, you shouldn¡¯t be an enemy, right?

    That would be great¡­

    Longjing Tea breathed a sigh of relief.

    In his panic just now, he thought he was about to be beaten up by the Venerated Skeleton.

    Maybe it was because it was Chocte¡¯s body or simply because the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t exert a strong oppressive aura on animals. The first one to snap out from the shock was Dove in the form of a serval cat.

    She walked up to the Venerated Skeleton, wrapping boldly around His legs.

    As Chocte grew, Dove became arge cat over half a meter tall. With her size and the enhancements from her original form, she could easily hunt down a human.

    Having three warriors of the same rank might not be enough to defeat this cat.

    However, in front of the Venerated Skeleton, twice as tall as the Yasn dwellers, Dove looked like an ordinary pet cat.

    The Venerated Skeleton nced at her but didn¡¯t kick her away. Instead, he looked deeply at Wandering Child.

    ¡°Elves¡­¡± He whispered with some nostalgia, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen the circle of an elf for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen this item before?¡± Wandering Child spoke up. He asked nervously. ¡°This is¡­ the inheritance I got from the ruins of the elves.¡±

    ¡°Naturally. In my time, the circlet was glorious.¡± The Venerated Skeleton was concise in His words.

    Not because he couldn¡¯t utter more words coherently.

    He just didn¡¯t talk much¡­ He had to think about how to say it when it came to ¡°modern¡± grammar.

    ¡°The elves worship the circlet. For the elves are the people of the snake.¡± The Venerated Skeleton replied calmly, ¡°The will of the snake resides in all circlets.¡±

    He raised his hand and made a gesture casually.

    Without the appearance of curse markings or even the fluctuations of a curse, the steps on the ground began to merge again on their own ¡ª as if time was flowing backward, it seamlessly turned back into a wall with no door.

    The only difference was that the dispelled dust did not gather again.

    The Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t borate further on the topic of elves. Instead, he turned around and walked away.

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

    He said.

    Once He spoke, He didn¡¯t hesitate any further.

    He headed toward a deeper, darker ce where no light shone. Dove immediately followed by the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s side¡ªthe cat¡¯s body shone with fragmented light, gracefully apanying the giant while lighting the way for the rest of the yers.

    His heavy metal boots should not have the creaking sound of snow when they stomp on dust. Or rather¡­ Judging from the three-meter-high size of the Venerated Skeleton, there should only be the sound of a huge iron block thundering the ground.

    His presence should be as imposing and undeniable as a steamroller.

    But¡­

    Longjing Tea took a deep look at the Venerated Skeleton.

    Are his footsteps so light because he¡¯s trying not to damage the ground here?

    Or is it because inside that heavy armor, there¡¯s nothing but a set of bones¡­?

    A thought struck him. He took two steps forward, boldly asking, ¡°Venerated Skeleton, do you need us to clean up the dust here?¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± The Venerated Skeleton uttered that low, echoing old voice without looking back, ¡°Ashes to ashes, dust to dust¡­¡±

    It was a voice that resembled a sigh.

    The yers followed the towering pdin.

    The light shining from the Serval¡¯s body refracted on the metal armor, emitting a dazzling radiance. However, the lights were too little and dim¡ªso much so that the shadows from the Venerated Skeleton appeared darker.

    The group walked in silence, passing by one after another equally silent graves.

    Even though there were no spirits here, Longjing Tea still felt a chill down his spine.

    It was a sense of vicissitude that couldn¡¯t be felt by merely visiting historicalndmarks.

    There¡¯s some kind of ¡°presence¡±.

    Longjing Tea quickly captured that feeling.

    The historic cities he visited had histories much older than the Elegy Dukedom, but they weren¡¯t nearly as eerie as these graves. That was because next to the ¡°ancient city¡± was ¡°not so ancient¡± surrounding buildings.

    Longjing Tea felt the fear of peeking into the cracks of history¡ªlike falling deeper into the cracks of the world.

    Rather than calling Elegy an ancient city, it was more like an ancient tomb.

    Clusters of small structures, like garages, quietly lie beneath the city. They might be organized by family lineage, marriage ties, or close friendships.

    Then, these giants entered the tomb in an orderly manner, took the poison, and waited for others to seal their ¡°lid¡±.

    ¡­But.

    Logically speaking¡­ shouldn¡¯t all these corpses have been absorbed into the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s body?

    ¡°This is my hometown.¡±

    It was sudden and without warning.

    The Venerated Skeleton spoke up.

    ¡°This is where I was born and died. It is where I died and was born again.¡±

    Like every old man who missed his hometown and folks, He told the stories of the past to the young people who were not close to him.

 Chapter 673: Silver Brigade Are All Villains

    <h4>Chapter 673: Silver Brigade Are All Viins</h4>

    Gorgeous, dreamlike light slowly bloomed from the dark underground of Elegy Dukedom.

    A new luminous object gently floated in, passing straight through the rockyers as if encountering no resistance.

    The ship had a silvery-gray bubble, like a dream sparked by a matchstick. The bubble even made the ship ¡°Silver¡± inside it appear so ethereal and fragile.

    After it gradually stopped on t ground, the bubble burst suddenly, revealing the ship wrapped in it.

    The isted and muted voice immediately broke through, ¡°We have arrived.¡±

    Celecia¡¯s cold voice sounded from the bow, ¡°ording to the customs, shouldn¡¯t you invite us in?¡±

    ¡°Captain, are you sure?¡± The one-eyed Elle chuckled, ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you want to.¡±

    A stream of light shed by.

    Iridescent steps made entirely of rainbow lights appeared, connecting the bow of the ship to the ground. Standing at the forefront, besides Captain Selicia, was the passenger Elle.

    The other crew members also disembarked together.

    ¡°Silver¡± was no ordinary ship ¡ª it was a living, ship-shaped monster. Therefore, ¡°Silver¡± did not need a sailor, a first mate, a carpenter, or a navigator. It charted its course, sailed automatically, repaired itself, and never encountered adversaries.

    Therefore, all crew members were essentiallybatants. Their main responsibility was carrying food and water supplies onto the ship.

    Then, it was to provide entertainment for the captain.

    However,pared with thebat power of ¡°Captain of the Stone¡±, these crew members didn¡¯t y much of a role in ¡®protecting the captain¡¯s safety¡¯. A more urate description for them would be ¡®friends¡¯ or ¡®family members¡¯.

    Of course, in Elle¡¯s opinion, the more urate word should be ¡°pet¡±.

    Orpheus Denizoya, whose upper body Elle had seen a few hours ago, was already dressed.

    Elle learned he was the Sixth Prince of Denizoya, the true royal heir. After a trip, he became enamored with the petite and enchanting Celecia. He was willing to pledge his loyalty to her.

    Such a move would undoubtedly devalue his status as the heir to the royal family, just like the situation Kafni faced.

    Loyalty to the monarch was one thing.

    However, no one would be willing to serve a puppet that was suspected to be controlled by others.

    However, for Orpheus, this didn¡¯t make him feel anything was wrong. When he served Celecia, he had voluntarily given up and withdrew from the throne.

    He believed ¡ª and wanted to be sure that Celecia didn¡¯t fall in love with him because of his status.

    To solidify the foundation of their love, he gave up everything he had worked for in the first half of his life. His parents, friends, career, destiny¡­ When he left Denizoya, he brought nothing but a golden harp.

    It was a seven-stringed harp made of gold and rosewood, radiating a gentle glow.

    This poet with amber pupils seemed to have forgotten all the embarrassment before.

    He smiled slightly at Elle, then yed the harp and sang in a low voice.

    It wasn¡¯t a frivolous, lively, joyous love bad.

    It was a deep, slightly raspy tune, sounding somewhat mncholic and ancient.

    Elle was in a daze for a moment.

    She recognized it¡­ It was a piece often used in the operas of the people of Denizoya people. The name of this piece was ¡°Leaf¡±, and the Elegant Elder penned it. It was typically performed solo through a three-stringed instrument during parts of the story that expressed ¡°fate¡±, conveying a sense of timelessness.

    Orpheus reinterpreted it for a seven-stringed harp, adding an epic feel to the piece.

    This was certainly not an adaptation from Orpheus.

    When Elle was young, she wanted to go to Master Harold¡¯s concert at Freezing Water Port.

    These artists from Denizoya traveled from afar, crossing the entire Noah Kingdom to the northernmost Freezing Water Port, primarily drawn by the renowned genius, Amos.

    It was the performance that Elle had always wanted to hear but ultimately never got the chance to before her passing that year.

    ¡°This song is for you, Little Elle.¡± After the song was yed, Orpheus chuckled and put away the golden harp.

    ¡°Don¡¯t y such a passionate song for someone, Orpheus.¡± A mocking voice from behind him said, ¡°It sounded as if someone is going to die.¡±

    The person who was speaking was a noble young man with gorgeous golden curly hair.

    His skin was unnaturally pale, almost ghostly white. His pupils glowed like flowingva, so bright that making eye contact with him was blinding, forcing one to look away.

    It was a brilliant gaze that could not be looked directly at.

    He wore a cloak with alternating red and white stripes. Its design resembled flowing mes or burning clouds, making it quite eye-catching.

    Even though Orpheus was of the noblest bloodline, being the royalty of the Denizoya, this young man appeared as if his lineage was more distinguished than Orpheus.

    ¡°Your Excellency Arthur.¡± Elle nodded politely to the blond youth.

    Arthur Searing-Fang smiled brightly at her and put his right hand over his chest. With a bit of exaggeration, he gave Elle a bow. He politely said, ¡°Miss Elle, I will sit this out. If you run into any tomb raiders, just hurry back to the ship¡­¡±

    ¡°No enemy can defeat us. Anyone who can be our enemy is not our enemy¡ªthe ¡®Silver Brigade¡¯ is invincible in this world.¡±

    Arthur smiled, showing the charming smile of a businessman introducing a product.

    Elle keenly grasped that was a sense of arrogance simr to Celecia¡¯s butpletely different.

    If Celecia was the epitome of self-centeredness, bordering on narcissistic fanaticism¡­ then Arthur Searing-Fang was the epitome of calm andposed.

    Yes, it was more gentle.

    For a hot-tempered, power-hungry Destruction Wizard, Arthur was a total oddball.

    However, he didn¡¯t have a good temper.

    On the contrary¡­ his temper was so bad that he didn¡¯t take any enemy seriously, resulting in him never feeling anxious or angry.

    He saw himself as a saint¡ªtolerant of others¡¯ mistakes, failures, offenses, and attacks. Perhaps this was because, from the beginning, he never regarded others as being on the same level as himself.

    However, these men are not important¡­

    What really matters is¡ª

    Elle looked at thedy¡¯s cabin.

    Two women came out from there.

    One was a centaur with an exquisite figure and long ck hair.

    Her chest stood tall, and her exposed thighs were round and smooth. She seemed no different from a beautiful young girl¡ªexcept she had an extra pair of legs. She appeared to be like a skipping and hopping little deer.

    The other person was an adult woman with a mask and weird hair.

    Her hair was a lifeless, heavy silvery-gray that flowed like mercury, with shades of pinkish-purple identical to the captain¡¯s at the tips. And she always wore a mask on her face, concealing her true countenance from view.

    Perhaps the only one who had seen her face was Captain Celecia.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­ Lily, Lucia.¡±

    Celecia called out, ¡°Let Arthur watch the ship. We¡¯re going down for a stroll.¡±

    Elle looked at the masked woman.

    She already knew the name, but she smelled a lie in it.

    It was instinctive for Elle.

    She noticed¡­

    That woman with a mask is not Lily Rasputin at all.

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 Chapter 674: The Greatest Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 674: The Greatest Betrayal</h4>

    The echoing deep voice of the Venerated Skeleton was long and deep.

    Suddenly, Longjing Tea seemed to see some kind of hallucination.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s weathered and corroded armor blended well with the surrounding tombs. It appeared to be seamlessly integrated with a remarkably consistent style. It was almost as if it was meant to be here¡ªin the tombs of this ancient dynasty that had faded away nearly a thousand years ago.

    His voice did not seem to originate in front of the yers.

    He stood there, like someone reciting softly to the future, from a lost past.

    At this moment, Annan watched everything through Longjing Tea¡¯s eyes.

    He bore the unmistakable traces of being influenced by something divine, though yers couldn¡¯t perceive it.

    [You got the new mark ¡°Novice Influence: Ancient Whispers¡±]

    [If it is not removed in time, you will fall into a random nightmare with the keyword ¡°moth¡± after seven days (Difficulty: Hard).]

    ¡­[Ancient Whispers].

    Annan frowned slightly.

    The influence was low rank and notmonly used in rituals but somewhat cherished due to its hard-earned nature.

    In other words, it necessitated an ancient transcender or ritualist who had undergone multiple life-extension rituals and effectively depleted their own lifespan twice to activate it.

    This influence wasn¡¯t within the ¡°bone¡± and ¡°betrayal¡± realms held by the Venerated Skeleton.

    Judging from His age¡­

    Since Annan had gained the influence, it meant that even Annan didn¡¯t understand the secret that the Venerated Skeleton was about to reveal.

    Annan concentrated his attention, listening to the secrets told underground nearly two thousand kilometers away.

    The Venerated Skeleton walked alone ahead, asionally reaching out to touch a tombstone by the roadside. Even though these tombstones didn¡¯t bear the names of the ¡°residents¡± buried there, it didn¡¯t hinder the Venerated Skeleton from identifying them.

    Longjing Tea and his twopanions walked side by side with their illuminated hands raised. Their nervousness was evident in their asional nces, ensuring that the person next to them was still present. It was as if they might suddenly vanish in the next second.

    A very faint glow burned silently in the pitch-ck underground¡­ The cloak of the Venerated Skeleton in front casts a deep invisible shadow.

    At first nce, the surroundings revealed only massive stone pirs and tombstones the size of small garages.

    Other than that, there was nothing else.

    The yers were transcenders, and even some yers were ghosts themselves. They were not afraid of ghosts.

    However, this ancient history inflicted a great sense of oppression.

    So much so that the yers didn¡¯t even dare to say a word.

    They didn¡¯t even engage in a private chat on their friend page and forgot to start a livestream. They simply held their breath, taking careful, light steps as they followed quietly behind the Venerated Skeleton.

    Suddenly, without warning¡ªthe Venerated Skeleton stopped.

    His stature was so tall that itpletely covered the way ahead. Longjing Tea couldn¡¯t see what was in front of the Venerated Skeleton for a moment.

    However, Dove saw it.

    She reacted immediately, sent a screenshot to the forum, and activated the live broadcast feature.

    She instantly realized that the situation in front of her might be so critical that she had to record it.

    It was a tomb that looked no different from the surrounding ¡°garages¡±.

    However, what made it unique was a stone statue standing before it.

    The first and only thing Dove saw ¡°beyond the tombstones¡± was¡ª

    A short stone statue, not even reaching two meters after including the half-meter pedestal. That was because the person carved in the statue was quite petite.

    It was a kindly-looking old woman with a gentle smile; a thin and petite figure. She slightly hunched her body, squinting her eyes. Her appearance was quite ordinary, with a face covered in wrinkles, much like a grandmother who¡¯s so good-natured she hands out candies to children.

    However, even the Venerated Skeleton had His head bowed.

    Then, her identity was self-evident.

    This old woman was the first of the twelve upright deities, whose appearance and figure were the closest to ordinary people, without any special features.

    She was the deity that Elegy Dukedom believed in, ¡°the Bone Picker¡±, ¡°the Unseen Deity of the Living¡±, ¡°the Silent Deity¡±, ¡°the Mother of Ashes and Charcoal¡±, the Deity of Death and Earth. She wasmonly known as Bone Burying Grandma.

    The Bone Burying Grandma was the protector of all the unburied. She would gently bury and rebury the remains of those who had died unexpectedly. Only the dying could see her.

    At the same time, the Grandma was also the upright deity who disliked responding to advanced rituals the most. Except for requiem and bone burial rituals, almost all rituals rted to Bone Burying Grandma were difficult to receive a response.

    Her silent character wasparable to the Silent Lady.

    The ritualists understood this as a result of the ¡°stability of the earth¡± and the ¡°irreversibility of death.¡± Because both the ¡°earth and the departed remain silent.¡±

    However, although the Grandma was silent,pared with the upright deities such as Red Knight, Old Grandmother, and Father Flint, the Grandma had a better temper¡ªprobably on the same level as Grail-holding Lady and Lady Luck. None had seen her angry before.

    Or rather, from the history dating back to the Third Age, the Grandma had never gotten angry. Throughout the span of two thousand years, she had never initiated an attack on any mortals or transcenders¡­ not even in the case of the exceedingly rare ¡± death defiers¡±, to whom she typically paid little attention.

    Especially after Bell Ringer Oik was born, she cared less about those ¡°resurrected ones¡±.

    To the extent that when ritualists were preparing rituals, those ¡°ingredients to prevent offending a deity¡± typically didn¡¯t include considerations for the Bone Burying Grandma.

    When people were seeking power from fire, light, war, and veto, they would be mindful of the uracy of their rituals and whether any materials within them might vite the taboos.

    For example, Father Flint hated water¡ªwhether in a cup, well, swamp, or on the ritualist¡¯s body.

    Therefore, after summoning Father Flint¡¯s power, He would always dry the ritualist¡¯s body. Conversely, if the ritual area was too humid (such as holding a ritual in a swamp), then not only was it impossible to borrow Father Flint¡¯s power, but it might also attract Father Flint¡¯s attack.

    On the other hand, Mr. Ray had requirements on the nature of the ritualist. Because He was the Purification Deity, if the ritualist¡¯s mind were disordered, entangled with impure intentions, the residual effects left after His departure would cleanse those influences away.

    On the other hand, if the ritualist were a viin and did not repent, the power of light would burn him to death.

    However, the ritual of Bone Burying Grandma was simple.

    The bone burial ritual used by Delicious Wind Goose with the assistance of Wandering Child, strictly speaking,cked proper offerings. With the ritual site hastily evacuated using transcended abilities, itcked solemnity and was less than earnest.

    However, they still managed to borrow power that wasn¡¯t cut short.

    Longjing Tea thought to himself if Bone Burying Grandma hadn¡¯t such a good temper.

    Then, the sphemous act of the Venerated Skeleton worshiping in front of her statue was enough for the Bone Burying Grandma to appear and fight him on the spot.

    Indeed, the Venerated Skeleton was worshiping before the statue of the Bone Burying Grandma.

    Worse still, the process was pretty official.

    The Venerated Skeleton knelt on one knee before Bone Burying Grandma.

    His left hand hung straight down, a gesture of respect to the earth. He lightly touched his forehead, eyes, ears, and lips with His right hand, then ced it over His heart.

    This interpretation signified a vow not to think, look, listen, speak, and live¡ªa set of five principles for the deceased.

    If the deceased vited the rules, he would be judged as abnormal.

    The Venerated Skeleton was undoubtedly an anomaly.

    Look, the dead body is talking¡­

    ¡°Man will face death eventually.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton said calmly in front of the statue of Bone Burying Grandma.

    Even though he didn¡¯t turn around or mention anyone by name, Longjing Tea quickly caught on¡ªthe Venerated Skeleton was speaking to him.

    So, after gathering his courage, he asked, ¡°Then you¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªtherefore.¡± The Venerated Skeleton uttered in a low, hoarse, old voice.

    ¡°Resisting death is the greatest betrayal a man canmit.¡±

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 Chapter 675: To Bury Is To Forget

    <h4>Chapter 675: To Bury Is To Forget</h4>

    Longevity was naturally sought after. But being born with eternal life would be even better.

    Resisting death was like betraying all the experiences we had in life.

    Every painful choice, every sorrow from loss, every joy from gain¡­ past loves and grudges fade with time.

    Seeing the graves of the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of loved ones and enemies made those past sentiments feel absurd.

    Everything that one had worked hard for and suffered for in the past seemed meaningless because of the great continuation of life.

    In this regard, the intense desire held by the Gold Rank and the idea of using the soul as the substitute to fuel their lifespan set the groundwork for their reshaped worldview after they achieved deityhood.

    The outlook on life of the short-lived species was quite different from that of the long-lived species, with good reason.

    Giants were known for their long lifespans.

    However, the undead and deities were the most long-lived species in this world.

    At the same time, the Venerated Skeleton was both undead and deity.

    ¡°The so-called ¡®funeral¡¯ is a ceremony to bid farewell to the departed.¡± The Venerated Skeleton knelt before the Bone Burying Grandma, whispering, ¡°The earliest funeral began in the early days of the First Age. The so-called ¡®Bone Burying Ritual¡¯ meantying the deceased to rest in the earth.¡±

    ¡°Why did the ancients think of burying the deceased in the earth?¡±

    His voice was calm and cold; just listening to it sent chills down the spine.

    ¡°Of course, it isn¡¯t just for their rest. The association of ¡®burial¡¯ and ¡®rest¡¯ came about when people realized that [the earth is always silent, like winter, like a corpse].¡±

    ¡°In essence, to bury is to forget. It¡¯s about never seeing each other again.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton took a brief pause before uttering this statement.

    He had seemingly taken a deep breath even though His body had lost the ¡± breathing ¡± function.

    ¡°Therefore,¡± whispered the Venerated Skeleton, ¡°To bury¡ªis to betray.¡±

    ¡°People naturally reminisce about the departed, but deep in their blood, they¡¯ve always known that death is inevitable. Therefore, it¡¯s not so much the fear of death itself, but rather the understanding that death means aplete separation from what one has known.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton spoke more fluently, ¡°What they fear is not ¡®death is upon them¡¯ because they¡¯ve always known ¡®death wille¡¯. From the beginning, they feared how ¡®death¡¯ severs their lives.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like being exiled to the ends of the horizon. Sent off to the afterlife with empty hands¡­ The ancients¡¯ imagination of the world beyond death likely stems from this thought.¡±

    As He gradually adapted to modern grammar, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s speech became more coherent. As a result, that intense and peculiar pressure He emitted lessened considerably.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s heart was pounding violently.

    His instinct made him feel uneasy and thrilled.

    He vaguely sensed the Venerated Skeleton seemed to be up to something big.

    Because their initial encounter was so abrupt. Now, recalling it, they hadn¡¯t performed any ritual to summon the Venerated Skeleton.

    Then, the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t summon Himself here.

    In other words, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s appearance here had nothing to do with the yers. They just happened to be here at the same time.

    He must have returned to Elegy Dukedom earlier on.

    Herees the problem.

    Why is this old man going back home alone?

    Is he visiting a rtive?

    Or, perhaps¡­

    ¡°Due to the ¡®Five Laws of the Dead¡¯, death bes fearsome, severing everything and leaving everything behind. Aside from the fear of losing what cannot be lost, death itself isn¡¯t terrifying.¡±

    ¡°My country was once called [Elegy]. That¡¯s not its real name.¡±

    No one responded. The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s ancient voice echoed at the very center of the sea of graves.

    ¡°For a month, the ¡®Farewell Song¡¯ echoed nationwide. But contrary to what other countries might think, it wasn¡¯t because of their bravery. It¡¯s because, after long contemtion, we giants havee to face and ept death directly. It¡¯s a celebration, as well as a farewell.¡±

    ¡°There is an old saying that has been circting for a long time. Giants have no vision when they are young and cannot speak when they are old. The first half of the sentence is correct because giants have just one massive eye. When the young ones keep it open too long, they feel fatigued.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not like you, needing to hunt and craft. We don¡¯t require two eyes to target prey ¡ª giants possess a psychic ability, relying solely on it to sense their surroundings. So, in times of scarce nutrition, the nourishment is prioritized for the brain and body, dying the eye¡¯s development.¡±

    ¡°When the body bes strong and the mind fully developed, the giant will open its eyes. This is the time to seek a mate¡­ The clearer and brighter the eyes, the better the development of the mind and body, indicating greaterpetitiveness.¡±

    ¡°And when the giants grow old, they actually can speak. But they choose not to speak in front of others¡­ This is because they are gradually cutting ties with the world.¡±

    ¡°After a falling out, both sides hurt. But give it enough time, and feelings ease up. It¡¯s like how as we age, we start getting ready for the next chapter ¡ª from being a baby gearing up for the teen years to a teen getting ready for adulthood.¡±

    ¡°You all tend to shy away from facing death¡­ The older you get, the more you want to avoid it, and you don¡¯t even want to hear the word ¡®death¡¯. It¡¯s as if by not hearing it, you can prevent it from happening.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBut deathes for us all.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton said calmly.

    Given His current status, saying that seemed somewhat ironic.

    The Venerated Skeleton was a deity born from death.

    In the records, the Venerated Skeleton was thest Grand Duke of the Elegy Dukedom ¡ª when the Great Barrier copsed, the Elegy Dukedom was right next to it. Unfortunately, the Gray Mists overwhelmed the Elegy Dukedom, leaving them nowhere to retreat.

    Faced with a ¡°certain death¡±, all transcenders who believed in Bone Burying Grandma immediately used their remaining power to eliminate other transcenders of different beliefs in the dukedom. They then absorbed all the curses from them¡­ After that, they took poison before sealing their bones with Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s divine art.

    The Venerated Skeleton silentlyunched an ascendancy ritual after everyonemitted suicide.

    He absorbed the ¡°death¡± of everyone and turned it into the foundation of his ascension. Beneath his hollow cloak bound the souls of all his citizens.

    It was He who denied the eternal rest of the people, thus making Him the betrayal of death.

    This betrayal, in the face of ¡®certain death¡¯, a betrayal of fate, a betrayal of duty, and a betrayal of the citizens, crowned him the Betrayal Deity.

    So now¡­

    Longjing Tea felt an increasing mix of unease and excitement.

    What the hell is the Venerated Skeleton trying to say?

    What exactly is he trying to do?

    Longjing Tea sensed that something was approaching. With weaker perception, even Delicious Wind Goose and Wandering Child began to feel a chill down their spines.

    ¡°I buried everyone. I bid farewell to everyone. I betrayed everyone. I forgot everyone.¡± The Venerated Skeleton said word by word, ¡°I have severed all ties. I bid farewell to everything that was mine¡ªmy world was destroyed that day.¡±

    He slowly stood up from the ground.

    His figure was tall and majestic, like a pure white mountain.

    ¡°I always felt that something was wrong.¡± The old man¡¯s voice sounded leisurely, ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already buried myself.¡±

    After saying that, the Venerated Skeleton, who stood like a knight, was silent momentarily.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma.¡±

    It was a faint whisper.

    Only Dove caught this whisper.

    The next moment, the Venerated Skeleton did something that no one present had anticipated.

    The Venerated Skeleton chanted calmly.

    ¡°[Destroy]¡ª¡±

    ¡ªThe edict of ultimate destruction.

    The Supreme Edict Spell was blurted out.

    Before the Venerated Skeleton, the dark gray, tsunami-like cone-shaped aura spread outward.

    The first victim was the statue of Bone Burying Grandma and the tomb guarded by it.

    In just a split second, the two were destroyed!

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 Chapter 676: The First And Last Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 676: The First And Last Betrayal</h4>

    Without warning, the ground began to shake.

    The group who had just disembarked from the ship ¡°Silver¡± immediately became serious.

    ¡°Is this ce about to copse?¡±

    Orpheus fiddled with his harp¡¯s strings nervously.

    He looked at the female centaur Lucia, ¡°Can you check that out, Lulu?¡±

    [TN: Lulu is the nickname of Lucia.]

    ¡°Let me try¡­¡±

    Lucia nervously trotted forward on her four hooves, extending her pristine hands forward ¡ª her nails were sharp, fair, and shiny, resembling jade pieces.

    As she sorted out something in the air, her expression became more and more serious.

    ¡°Luckily, it¡¯s not going to copse.¡± She took a deep breath, ¡°But we should be careful¡­¡±

    Then, the second wave of earthquake swept across.

    It was like an invisible roar¡ªthe ground remained still, and the surrounding ancient, low stone buildings were unharmed. Yet, they staggered backward as if forcefully pushed by something, their bodies instantly engulfed by a chilling cold.

    That is a power fueled by hatred.

    Elle¡¯splexion changed.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Elle shouted hastily.

    Celecia frowned slightly. She was about to reach out and grab Elle, but she was a moment toote¡ª

    Four iridescent light bands burst out from behind Elle¡ªresembling a mix of oddly shaped wings, tentacles, or even indescribable appendages.

    The moment the light bands appeared, she was enveloped by a colorful stream of light, transforming into a massive ethereal figure.

    A strong aura of curse emanated from her, forming a vivid halo visible to the naked eye. The halo cloaked her, creating a distorted figure reminiscent of a coge ¡ª much like the witch in the barrier.

    Just by looking at her, Celecia felt like she had been struck hard, her head snapping back. Meanwhile, Orpheus experienced a mild dizziness.

    The centaur, with a robust perception, suffered critical damage from it.

    She groaned in pain and staggered backward. Blood oozed out from her nose and mouth. Her fingernails also quickly became soaked in blood.

    The next moment, the iridescent storm formed by the curse surged violently, pushing them away instantly.

    The colossal figure, reminiscent of a coge, vanished swiftly before everyone¡¯s eyes in the form of fluttering origami.

    Like the contrails left by a jet ne, many distorted rainbow-colored bands of light lingered in the air, illuminating the dark underground.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡±

    Orpheus looked in Elle¡¯s direction in shock, ¡°A deity?¡±

    It was as shocking as if the fluffy puppet around him suddenly turned into an enormous lion.

    ¡°I saw it. It¡¯s one half of the Deity of Bones and Betrayal [the Venerated Skeleton].¡±

    When Elle revealed her true self, the thread of her fate became clear.

    Centaur Lucia, who could peer into fate, said with aplex expression, ¡°Do you still remember the story she told beforeing here?¡±

    ording to the rules of the Silver Brigade, those wishing to board the ¡°Silver¡± to reach their destination must share a story. In other words, the reason why they wanted to go there. Only if the story sounded interesting would the Silver Brigade give the person a ride.

    In the story that Elle told, her father abandoned her without warning. Elle wanted to catch up with her father to seek an answer. She recently found out that her father was heading to the ruined Elegy Dukedom¡ª

    Why was such a lovely girl abandoned?

    Why did her father insist on going to the forgotten Elegy Dukedom?

    This did get Celecia a little interested.

    Celecia requested to ¡°watch the whole incident until the end¡± to ensure she was not deceived. Aspensation, they could help Elle to a certain extent.

    In retrospect, Elle¡¯s father was the Venerated Skeleton.

    It made perfect sense that the Venerated Skeleton went to Elegy Dukedom.

    Is it not normal for people to go back to their hometown to visit rtives?

    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± The masked ¡°Lily¡± couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Should we go check it out?¡±

    Everyone looked at each other.

    On the other side¡­

    When the Venerated Skeleton destroyed the statue of Bone Burying Grandma and the tomb behind her, a terrifying tremor began. It felt as if a giant beast underground had awakened or, like the roar of a machine, making everything around shake and rumble.

    The Venerated Skeleton, who had just attacked the statue of Bone Burying Grandma, quietly looked up at the sky.

    Or rather, looking at the rock formation and the city above it.

    ¡°People call my country ¡®Elegy¡¯, or the country of giants. But how many people still remember its real name?¡±

    The old and deep voice of the Venerated Skeleton sounded, ¡°Forgetting is a betrayal.¡±

    The surrounding roar became more and more intense, even gradually burying the sound of the Venerated Skeleton. There was even a loud squeaking sound¡ªlike the sound of a truck when it failed to brake and drifted on the ground.

    Yet, amidst the deafening noise, the calm voice of Venerated Skeleton could still be heard.

    ¡°Its true name is the [Eternal Dukedom]. But this does not mean that the citizens have eternal life. Instead, the ruler of the dukedom is known as the ¡®Eternal Duke¡¯, just like the ancestor of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, ¡®Frostwhisper Duke¡¯.¡±

    ¡°As I mentioned, giants are a race that views life and death with indifference. This broad-mindedness stems from their preparations to face the ¡®inevitable end¡¯¡­ This ¡®inevitable end¡¯ is the ultimate point in giant philosophy.¡±

    ¡°However, there is a problem here¡­ Ordinary giants indeed can prepare themselves in advance for a more serene,plete, and virtuous death. They sever past ties, forget old affections, and pass away namelessly and forgotten in a quiet, solitary corner.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBut, I can¡¯t do it.¡±

    The voice of the Venerated Skeleton was almost drowned in the rumbling noise.

    The surrounding area seemed unchanged ¡ª the ground hadn¡¯t copsed, the tombs were intact, and even the ceiling was undamaged. Yet, the noise around had gotten louder¡­ to the point where there were sounds of things falling and breaking.

    It sounded like huge metal and wooden boxes were falling from above, cracking or shattering when they hit the ground.

    At this time, the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s voice gradually became louder.

    ¡°Why are we called the Eternal Duke? Because, as rulers, we¡¯ve been imprisoned in this pure white armor for generations ¡ª passed down from one to the next, we all share the same name: the Eternal Duke.¡±

    ¡°No one knows which generation of the Eternal Duke I am, nor when the previous one died or where he wasid to rest. People don¡¯t care about these things¡­¡±

    ¡°They pretend their leader is immortal, and everyone ys along ¡ª even though they all know that nothing trulysts forever, and mortals cannot live eternally. Because of this belief, they don¡¯t have to worry about session, the continuity of decrees, the persistence of friendships, or being forgotten. They can attribute anything they need to remember to the [Eternal Duke].¡±

    ¡°Their Grand Duke remembers every death worth remembering. They can easily forget everything and usher in a free and unburdened death.¡±

    The so-called [Eternal Duke] was the living tombstone of the Eternal Dukedom.

    It held the stories of everyone¡¯s fate, documenting all rtionships¡­ The only entity that was not allowed to die, not allowed to let go. It was not a person but merely an existence, a symbol.

    The Venerated Skeleton said calmly, ¡°But my fellow nsmen didn¡¯t know one thing until they died. Of course, maybe they don¡¯t care about it either.¡±

    ¡°That is¡­ the [Eternal Duke] legacy has long ended.¡±

    ¡°My rule hassted for more than 400 years, and the lifespan of a giant is 150 years. That¡¯s because¡­in the 24th year of my rule, I have already altered myself to an undead. That is the very first betrayal.¡±

    The voice of the Venerated Skeleton grew distant and faint, ¡°For whom the so-called elegy is dedicated?

    ¡°¡ªYes, the elegy sings for me.¡±

    Finally, the space began to shatter.

    It wasn¡¯t like ss shattering¡­ but more like a seed sprouting or a chick hatching.

    Something too intense to look directly at leaked out.

    The iridescent and distorted ¡°angel¡± from afar attacked the Venerated Skeleton without hesitation.

    A stream of iridescent light emerged from the tip of the ¡°four wings¡±, focusing on the Venerated Skeleton like aser beam.

    ¡°Stop it, Father!¡±

    Elle¡¯s echoing voice sounded. The sharp and indistinct baby¡¯s voice and the sweet girl¡¯s voice sounded in the air simultaneously.

    However, theser beam failed to reach the Venerated Skeleton. It was stopped by something transparent, much like ripples of water, surrounding Him.

    The moment Elle confronted the Venerated Skeleton, the surrounding space instantly boiled over.

    The distorted brilliance emanated from Elle spread into the surroundings immediately.

    The tomb transformed into a lively home, and the dark underground world took on the glow of a sunset. The dust on the ground turned to grass, and between the empty graves, giants began to appear.

    Yet all of this seemed like a painting ¡ª fragmented and disjointed.

    ¡°Even though you¡¯ve noticed, it¡¯s already toote. You¡¯ve been fooled.¡± The Venerated Skeleton said calmly, ¡°Your very existence is just to be betrayed once more¡­¡±

    ¡°This is thest betrayal, Elle.¡±

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 Chapter 677: I Hereby Renounce the Name [the Venerated Skeleton]

    <h4>Chapter 677: I Hereby Renounce the Name [the Venerated Skeleton]</h4>

    ¡°You probably never realized, but I never needed you¡­ From the very beginning, I didn¡¯t need any ¡®other half¡¯.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s voice was calm, like an elder speaking to a younger generation, but his words terrified Elle.

    ¡°Father, don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°All I need is another demideity with the imprint of ¡®the Betrayed¡¯ to witness this scene.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton continued to walk slowly forward.

    That was originally where the statue of the Bone Burying Grandma was ced. Now, there was nothing left here.

    In the illusory, abstract world, like a witch barrier, many graves appeared in the open space before the Venerated Skeleton. Each tomb was covered with a crown.

    The Venerated Skeleton stomped hard. All these tombs copsed into bottomless pits.

    There was nothing in it.

    All the other [houses], which were the giants¡¯ [graves], started breaking apart one by one.

    Under the entire Elegy Dukedom, all the tombs copsed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it before¡­ Burial is forgetting, and forgetting is betrayal. And the tombstone is thest memory of the dead.¡±

    ¡°It is my only weakness, the bridge between the living and the dead.¡±

    ¡°But if I destroy it, it is the most important beginning.¡±

    From the very beginning, the Venerated Skeleton wasn¡¯t just a ¡°betrayer¡±.

    But why was he missing the ¡°betrayed¡± side?

    That was simple.

    The people built a tomb for the Grand Duke before they buried him.

    ¡°Our tombs are all sealed. Do you know what that means?¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton said slowly, ¡°Transcenders bury ordinarymon, priestsy their followers to rest. Eldersy children to rest, husbands their wives, the wise their students, and the curse continues through the generations. But among them, I am the eldest, the grandest, the most revered¡­ no one cany me to rest.''¡±

    ¡°I buried everyone but myself. No one knew where my despair was¡ªpoison couldn¡¯t kill me.¡±

    No matter how lethal the poison was, it could not kill the [Eternal Duke].

    The poet had said that the nation of giants inherited the curse of immortality.

    But it wasn¡¯t a curse, it was a grand drama in which everyone participated.

    Because nobody knew the Venerated Skeleton couldn¡¯t kill Himself. Their beloved Eternal Duke had long since be undead.

    Following the course of the events, the Venerated Skeleton became a deity. It was not because of his betrayal at the time of burial but a betrayal that happened three hundred years ago.

    The Eternal Dukedom battled the undead for 500 years to fend off the southern [Death Tide] and eventually wiped them out. They¡¯d choose to end their lives when the Great Barrier copsed to avoid bing one of the undead¡­

    However, everyone didn¡¯t know their Grand Duke was undead from the beginning.

    All their efforts, all sacrifices, all decisions were doomed to fail.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. I proposed nothing. I objected to nothing. Because it¡¯s not something I can object to, I can¡¯t even make it public that I¡¯m undead.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton said slowly, ¡°Because [Eternal Duke] was nothing more than a gravestone. He represents the final resting ce for all those teetering between life and death, as a mere symbol and tool for those who¡¯ve given up everything to journey to the afterlife.¡±

    ¡°They went ahead and decided everything themselves while I quietly watched the country copse. Everything died. On the noisynd, there was no life anymore. The once livelynd was silent, and below ity the giants, just like their forefathers¡­ meeting their end peacefully.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m the only one left.¡±

    The Gray Mists would not kill the undead from the very beginning.

    The Venerated Skeleton was left alone.

    Were there any grievances?

    Not really.

    I should have severed the bond of the eternal blood. From now on, I¡¯ll stand as the sole tombstone in the future. That was the sacrifice and decision the [Eternal Duke] made back then.

    It was neither revenge nor betrayal.

    It was caused by the deception 400 years ago, and it muste to an [Answer].

    When the Eternal Duke decided to turn into a skeleton 400 years ago and end that ridiculous, cynical drama, everything was already predestined.

    The betrayal happened 400 years ago.

    His experience of being betrayedsted even longer. Long before this ¡°tradition¡± of Eternal Dukedom took shape.

    The lineage with the Eternal Blood, forced to live behind masks like jesters¡­ from the start, these rulers were denied the privilege of ¡®death¡¯. This was the ultimate cruelty to the giants who longed for a certain end ¡ª they couldn¡¯t find rest, even in death.

    However, there must be someone who remembers the death of all, to maintain orderly rule, to uphold the rtionships between people, and to sustain this fragile giant¡¯s nation.

    That person was the one who was betrayed from the very beginning.

    From the very beginning, the Venerated Skeleton had been able to sublimate fully as ¡°the Betrayal Deity¡±.

    However, he gave up on that.

    ¡°¡ªFate. He told me so.¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton muttered to Himself.

    With his back to everyone, he took off his golden clown mask.

    Then, he threw it into thest grave in front of him.

    That was the tomb of the ¡°Eternal Duke¡± 400 years ago.

    From here onward, there were still densely packed tombs¡ªand within each tomby a corpse.

    ¡°I thought at the time¡­ Can this level of [betrayal] carry this twisted nation, will, and history?¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton replied calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s because this betrayal is not pure. It has the elements of ¡®skeleton¡¯ mixed in, making me a pathetic and abominable undead.¡±

    He turned around.

    Under the mask, in the knight¡¯s armor, was an ordinary corpse without any special light and shadow effects.

    It was an incredibly lean and shriveled body. Standing at just two and a half meters, it seemed remarkably short and scrawny from a giant¡¯s perspective.

    Those heavy metal boots were as valuable as ¡°Wind Dancer¡±.

    Precisely because He was so light that He couldn¡¯t walk properly without boots that were heavy enough.

    As an undead, the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t have any special power. It was just a continuation of life¡­ a tombstone, a ¡°data center¡± that could engrave the history of all His people.

    The Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t ¡°carry the soul on Him¡±.

    He bore the weight of a ¡®history¡¯ passed down through generations for a thousand years and lived through himself for four hundred years, documenting the entire saga of thend of giants from its beginnings to now.

    What he was carrying was not the ¡°Elegy Dukedom¡± when the Gray Mists attacked.

    It was all the giants from the beginning of the birth of the Eternal Dukedom until its destruction 1,400 years before the Great Barrier copsed.

    This achievement was recognized by the world, granting Him the deity name ¡ª [the Venerated Skeleton].

    ¡°The Eternal Dukedom betrayed my family for a thousand years. I, in turn, betrayed its people for four hundred. Alone for a millennium, I finally found you, Elle. Someone who¡¯s been betrayed beyond measure¡­¡±

    ¡°When my tombstone was destroyed, I gave up theirst memory of me; when the statue of the Bone Burying Grandma was destroyed, I gave up thest sliver of this ridiculous [Tradition].¡±

    ¡°To this day, the Eternal Dukedom meets its end here.¡± The Venerated Skeleton hereby dered, ¡°I hereby renounce the name [the Venerated Skeleton].¡±

    All of his adornments fell apart and vanished.

    The cloak, armor, gloves, crown, and boots ¡ª

    All that remained in this world was his skeletal remains.

    Heughed at himself.

    ¡°How can this piece of junk still be around?¡±

    As He said, He grabbed his spine and yanked it out¡ª

    The broken bones scattered in the air and on the ground.

    All evidence of the Deity of Betrayal and Skeleton ¡ª [the Venerated Skeleton] ¡ª was obliterated here.

    However, the purer ¡°Betrayal Deity¡± was about to be born in the abyss after death.

    ¡°Give me your body, Elle.¡± In this twisted void with the hue of an oil painting, the sounds of an old voice, a young voice, and a baby¡¯s cry resonated simultaneously.

    ¡°¡ª¡ªAaaaahhhhhhhh~!¡±

    Meanwhile, numerous mosaic-like blurred patches appeared on Elle¡¯s body. She let out a sharp cry that hardly sounded human.

    Although it was only one syble, it could not be understood in humannguage.

    She was undergoing an irreversible upgrade under the gaze of the yers.

    She was about to be swallowed up by those blurred patches.

    However, at this moment, thest rib on the Venerated Skeleton happened to be inserted into the ground.

    By coincidence, everyone looked at that rib at the same time.

    Longjing Tea suddenly realized something.

    The Venerated Skeleton¡¯s n was probably to erase the [Skeleton] clergy throughplete betrayal and swallow Elle¡¯s body to be the pure ¡°Betrayal Deity¡±.

    But in his n, an important issue was overlooked.

    Elle was an angel.

    The new Betrayal Deity was re-ascended from an Angel¡­ and the Venerated Skeleton was to consume her body.

    The old ¡°Venerated Skeleton¡± then would be considered dead.

    Suppose the death of a Bronze Rank Transcender would give birth to a normal difficulty nightmare, the death of a Silver Rank Transcender would give birth to a hard difficulty nightmare, and the death of a Gold Rank Transcender would give birth to a distorted difficulty nightmare¡­

    If the Sage who controlled a Truth died, the nightmare at the Otherworldly Level would be born. However, the deities also held a Truth, and it was at a more profound level.

    So¡ª

    Longjing Tea¡¯s train of thought came to this statement.

    Then, the entire world rumbled.

    The instantly distorted and copsed space swallowed the three yers, a cat, Elle, and everyone on the ¡°Silver¡± ship.

    Not only their soul was sucked into the dream world.

    Instead, the physical body entered the ¡°nightmare¡±¡ª

    The next moment¡­

    Apart from that one rib, nothing was left underground in the Elegy Dukedom.

    [Everything] disappeared.

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 Chapter 678: Nightmare: Faithful

    <h4>Chapter 678: Nightmare: Faithful</h4>

    ¡ªDrip drop.

    The sound of the water droplet, however, awakened him like a heavy hammer.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ huh¡­¡± Longjing Tea let out a low and heavy groan.

    Severe dizziness hit his brain and sweat-drenched his body.

    A chilling sensation crept up his back, making his stomach turn. Even though he was conscious, it felt like he was paralyzed, trapped, unable to move.

    That was an iparably vivid sense of fear.

    It felt like sleep paralysis; he couldn¡¯t even open his eyes.

    After the yers got used to turning down the pain sensation to a certain level¡­ they hadn¡¯t felt such vivid and intense difort in a long time.

    Longjing Tea was so spaced out ¡ª struggling to think clearly, just barely realizing he was in the middle of a nightmare.

    After Longjing Tea¡¯s third attempt to regain himself. Some sort of transparent and invisible film shattered before his eyes. He felt the weight imposed on his body lifted.

    He opened his eyes in an instant, turned over, and sat up in an instant.

    ¡°*Deep breaths*, ha¡­ ha¡­ ha¡­!¡°

    Longjing Tea gasped for air. He used his right hand to brace himself on the ground while wiping away the cold sweat on his face with his left.

    He soon realized that the object touched by his right hand was abnormally cold.

    ¡ªThat¡¯s a ceramic bathtub with icy cold water.

    Longjing Tea turned around as if he had a new discovery.

    ¡ªDrip drop.

    The faucet, slightly turned and not fully shut, was dripping water into the tub.

    Before that, he was lying quietly in the cold water of the bathtub.

    ¡ªBathtub? Faucet?

    Does the Mist Continent have those?

    Longjing pondered as he rose from the tub.

    While it wasn¡¯t as modern, that bathroom still held its own. It had that post-90s European design vibe.

    He even saw a mirror.

    Thinking about it, Longjing Tea gave a shake to get rid of the water on his pants after stepping out of the tub. Not bothering to change into dry clothes, he quickly headed over.

    He assessed carefully.

    ¡ªHe recognized his reflection in the mirror. It was ¡°Longjing Tea¡± from the Mist Continent, not the ¡°Old Chen¡± he was outside this world.

    Even though his clothes had changed since he arrived¡­ he was now wearing a light blue shirt with a modern touch.

    This discovery made him rx for a moment.

    At least the scariest situation didn¡¯t happen¡­

    However, he entered the dungeon instance while streaming.

    But now, not only did all the bullet texts before Longjing Tea¡¯s eyes disappear, but he couldn¡¯t even view the health points and erosion rate disy panels.

    The feeling in his fingertips felt incredibly real. He gave the back of his left hand a hard scratch with his right thumbnail, and the pain was unmistakably sharp.

    100% pain ratio¡­

    I can¡¯t see my health bar.

    I¡¯m unable to enter the forum.

    I¡¯m unable to see bullet text.

    ¡­I couldn¡¯t even log out of the game.

    ¡°Damn it, why¡­¡± Longjing Tea casuallyined, ¡°I don¡¯t want to y that fucking game of ¡®Be a hero and get to the 100th floor¡¯¡­¡±

    [TN: Sword Art Online reference.]

    Having said that, he was still a little nervous.

    He also couldn¡¯t be sure¡­if he died here, would he be able to be resurrected?

    At this moment, he touched a silver ring iid with emerald on his left middle finger.

    ¡ªThat¡¯s my curse vessel.

    Due to the outfit change, the one-time-use items and ritual items stored in the wizard robe were no longer with him, but his curse vessel came to this ce along with him.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s heart skipped a beat. A dark green light exited his pupils.

    At the same time, a faint green light simultaneously shone from his emerald gem. As a pale green inverted tree pattern spread from his middle finger towards his wrist, the curse¡¯s power again filled Longjing Tea¡¯s entire body.

    Am I able to use spells?

    He was a little surprised.

    It was a precedent that had never been seen in his previous nightmares.

    Is this the legendary [Otherworldly Level] nightmare?

    But Longjing Tea did not act rashly.

    He withdrew the curse back into its vessel and then checked his body.

    ¡°Am I hurt?¡±

    Longjing Tea ran his hand over his back but didn¡¯t feel any cuts or bruises. He was pretty much in one piece.

    Nope.

    He found his answer.

    ¡°¡ªSo, am Imitting suicide, or is someone trying to kill me?¡±

    He whispered, drying his right hand with a towel beside the mirror. Then, he touched the area under his eyes with his hand¡ªit rarely sweated there.

    Although his face was covered in cold sweat, it was dry there.

    The faucet in the bathtub was right next to his right hand, and the control to turn it off was nearby as well. So, there was indeed a possibility that it could ssh.

    He checked his sleeves again.

    The right sleeve was found to be more damp than the left¡­ The upper part of the left sleeve was still dry, but the right sleeve was soaked.

    It became obvious. He must¡¯ve turned that faucet on and off himself.

    However, there was another problem.

    Longjing Tea thought calmly and nced back at the bathtub.

    Through those faint water marks, he quickly did some rough calctions in his head.

    About three to five hours had passed.

    Any more precise, and it¡¯d be harder to figure out.

    Just in case, Longjing Tea didn¡¯t turn off the faucet immediately. Although the possibility was very low, if someone monitored the faucet¡¯s status, he would be exposed directly.

    The door to the bathroom room didn¡¯t close.

    Without putting on slippers, Longjing Tea walked around the room all wet andposed. After ensuring no one else was in the house, he changed into dry, clean clothes.

    In the process, he reconfirmed that this was definitely not the era¡­ or the world of the Mist Continent.

    Because he saw something like a ¡°television¡±.

    It wasn¡¯t one of those t-screen TVs, but rather the old chunky kind with dials. The TV was on, but it just showed static.

    Longjing Tea looked up at his watch.

    ¡ª3:50 p.m.

    There were dirty dishes on the table. From the remnants, it looked like it was steak or some other type of grilled meat. The sauce was ck pepper ¡ª definitely Longjing Tea¡¯s favorite.

    Longjing Tea checked on his physical state and discovered he wasn¡¯t hungry.

    ¡°Then, I should be in the bathtub after dinner¡­¡±

    He muttered and found a bottle of medicine on the table.

    There were nobels on the clear bottle containing blue oval-shaped pills. The color reminded him of the toilet bowl cleaner.

    Is this a sleeping pill? Or something else?

    Longjing Tea thought for a while and found his coat in the room ¡ª a rather stylish blue-ck uniform with an emblem.

    He pocketed the pill bottle.

    Then, he went back to the bathroom and turned off the faucet.

    Just then, he heard the phone ring.

    He went back to the living room and picked up the phone.

    He didn¡¯t speak first, just in case.

    A raspy voice came from inside ¡ª Longjing Tea was silently relieved he could understand it.

    But he quickly frowned.

    ¡°Longjing Tea,e to the bureau quickly.¡± A majestic middle-aged voice came, ¡°Someone is about to be killed¡­ Grab your gun.¡±

    Huh? Am I a cop?

    Longjing Tea froze for a moment before realizing something.

    Wait¡­

    ¡­About to?

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 Chapter 679: Eternal City

    <h4>Chapter 679: Eternal City</h4>

    Even though he had no memory of it, thankfully, Longjing Tea found his case notebook. After a quick skim, he guessed that the person who had just called him was probably ¡®Captain John¡¯.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s current character¡¯s title was ¡°Lieutenant¡±, and he also served as the ¡°Special Magic Consultant¡± for Angus City.

    ¡­Angus City.

    Is it that Angus from Scond?

    Longjing Tea discovered something familiar to him.

    What surprised him even more was finding an unusual service pistol. The gun looked somewhat like a standard police handgun but had no magazine and, oddly, three safeties.

    He casually opened the firsttch of the safe. A faint buzzing vibration emanated as his palm touched the spot where the gun¡¯s handle was. The crystal on the side of the gun handle emitted a pulsating red glow.

    Suddenly, Longjing Tea realized something.

    He shifted it to his left hand and soon discovered that what he carried activated independently. As the curse patterns emerged, the gun handle also disyed ck curse markings, intertwining with the reverse tree pattern on Longjing Tea¡¯s backhand.

    The crystal quickly recharged and turned green.

    But just in case, Longjing Tea aimed it at the flowerpot in the corner and pulled the trigger.

    A faint green brilliance shot out, smashing the flowerpot into pieces.

    ¡­It¡¯s not fully automatic. I can¡¯t fire it continuously when I hold the trigger. It isn¡¯t too loud with the noise level of a children¡¯s toy pistol. However, its power is roughly the level of a small-caliber firearm.

    ¡°Is this the wizard weapon of this era?¡±

    The consumption rate is quite low. Longjing Tea didn¡¯t even feel any drain on his curse energy.

    He fired the gun at the wall again.

    Then, he saw a hole the size of a pinky finger in the wall.

    ¡­Is it a piercing wound rather than a st injury?

    Longjing Tea soon had a n in mind.

    Instead of continuing the experiment, he put the gun in the gun pouch on his waist and went out.

    ¡ª Although there were many changes, he recognized at a nce that this was the same style as the giant city he saw before entering the depths of the underground world. However, there weren¡¯t any giants among the passersby; they were all humans of roughly his height.

    In other words, we¡¯re still in the Eternal Dukeom.

    Lost in thought, Longjing Tea asked for directions as he walked briskly. He soon arrived at the Angus City Police Station.

    The police station was just a short distance from his home, only two streets away.

    ¡°You¡¯rete, Longjing Tea!¡± A stern-faced, portly middle-aged man with a trim beard sat on the sofa, raising his voice at him, ¡°Where¡¯s Joe? Bobby! Take Longjing Tea to the scene quickly and fill him in on the situation as you go!¡±

    He should be Captain John.

    Longjing Tea quickly analyzed the situation.

    But why can¡¯t I go directly to the scene instead of arriving at the police station?

    He pondered in his heart.

    But Longjing Tea soon found out why ¡ª a middle-aged man with blonde hair hopped onto a motorcycle. He sat in the sidecar on the left, while on the right was a short man holding a gun.

    The intended design is likely so that I can draw my gun and get off the bike quickly at any time.

    Undoubtedly, this is a different world from the Mist Continent I know. It¡¯s probably another world or another era.

    While there are some differences, there are still some simrities¡­

    To Longjing Tea¡¯s ears, at least, the blonde-haired man had a pretty distinct Denizoya ent.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    The situation was not tooplicated, and Longjing Tea quickly grasped it.

    Someone was attacked on the road¡ªit was a high-ranking transcender of at least [condensation] level, and the person who was attacked was an ordinary person.

    But the strange thing was that the attacker didn¡¯t kill the victim. Otherwise, the person being attacked would have died long ago.

    Logically speaking, since they didn¡¯t resort to lethal force or kidnap the victim, it probably meant the situation wasn¡¯t too serious.

    However, a girl was frightened and called the police on the spot. After all, it was a violent incident involving a high-level transcender. The Angus City Police Department had to respond as soon as possible.

    At that time, Longjing Tea was curious and asked another question.

    ¡°What if it¡¯s just a violent incident caused by a fight between regr people?¡±

    ¡°If we can handle it, of course, we¡¯ll arrest them,¡± the short man named Bobby replied in a somewhat shrill voice, shrugging. ¡°The situation just hasn¡¯t escted enough to call for backup¡­ All we can do is drive them off.¡±

    ¡°What about Captain John?¡±

    ¡°How can we trouble Captain on this? What if it is really dangerous?¡±

    So you also know that it may be dangerous?

    Longjing Teained in his heart.

    Before long, the motorcycle made its way to the outskirts.

    Focused and alert, Longjing Tea drew that peculiar gun with his left hand.

    He was ready to chant his Edict Spell anytime.

    But he soon saw the scene¡ª

    ¡°¡­Um?¡°

    Rather than calling it an attack, it was more like a beating.

    An extremely robust, tall baldy was beating up a slender, short, white-haired youth.

    Each punch drew blood ¡ª there was already a terrifying pool of it on the ground. Just the amount of blood could fill half a bathtub, yet the white-haired young man was still staggering but hadn¡¯t fallen.

    Are you sure the victim is an ordinary person?

    Such a thought came to Longjing Tea¡¯s mind.

    To Longjing Tea, this youth, who couldn¡¯t be killed no matter how many punches were hurled at him, was much more terrifying than that burly man.

    Because the moment he saw that burly man, he recognized his identity.

    Longjing Teazily shouted, ¡°¡ªHey.¡±

    Hearing this, the burly man turned around.

    He raised his right hand, fingers together in a karate-chop gesture, and made a sh gesture toward them.

    The moonlight-like [Qi] was sent over.

    The terrifying pure moonlight struck instantly.

    Its power was enough to cut them in half.

    The two officers were too terrified to speak ¡ª they didn¡¯t even draw their guns.

    However, the moment the sword energy approached them, the sword energy suddenly distorted toward the middle. The tall, muscr man silently appeared in front of them.

    Holding one ear of each person, he mmed their temples together. Blood and brain matter burst forth from their foreheads.

    The two police officers lost consciousness and passed outpletely.

    ¡°¡ªSkull Splitter.¡±

    The burly man took a deep breath, lowered his head, and closed his eyes. He said in a deep voice.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Longjing Teained, ¡°Are you stupid? They are dead.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯m trying to get them unconscious as quickly as possible, or we¡¯ll have to fight.¡± Delicious Wind Goose looked at Longjing Tea, ¡°You work in the police station, and I don¡¯t know your address. It¡¯s not easy to find you.¡±

    ¡°How do you know I work for the police?¡± Longjing Tea frowned slightly, ¡°Have you finished your main quest?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose nodded and said in a deep voice, ¡°Actually, this is at least the third life¡­ In the first two lives, when you are all dead, I will return to the day at 2:30 in the afternoon.¡±

    ¡°And except for me¡ªor maybe, except for thest person who died, no one else will retain their memories. That¡¯s why I said this may be at least the third life.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s no need for us to deceive each other. If no one came forward before the second loop saying they remembered the previous loop, it might only be the third loop.¡±

    Dove¡¯s voice sounded slowly, and a serval came out of the shadows.

    Immediately after, the one-eyed girl, Elle, came out from the other side.

    ¡°It was me who called the police.¡± Elle reached out her hand to Longjing Tea nervously and awkwardly, ¡°Hi, hello¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, hello, Miss Elle. I¡¯ve heard of you.¡± Longjing Tea shook hands with Elle in a friendly manner.

    If Elle is here too¡­

    Thinking of this, Longjing Tea looked at the white-haired youth who couldn¡¯t be punched to death.

    ¡°Who is this?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guess it already?¡± Delicious Wind Goose asked back.

    Dove replied, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton. This child is the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    ¡°I¡­who am I¡­?¡±

    The white-haired young man, who was beaten until blood covered the ground, looked up, staring at everyone with a bewildered expression.

    ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± Longjing Tea took a deep breath and asked again.

    ¡°We¡¯re trapped.¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this city.¡±

    ¡°If you want me to exin what is wrong¡­¡±

    At this moment, the two police officers ¡ª the police officers whose brains were beaten out, woke up leisurely.

    They looked at Delicious Wind Goose, but there was no hostility.

    It wasn¡¯t that the police officers were holding back; rather, it seemed as if they had never been attacked.

    Police Officer Bobby sighed in relief, ¡°You guys stop fighting? That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Well, the conflict has been resolved.¡± Delicious Wind Goose added. As he spoke, he patted Longjing Tea on the shoulder.

    Catching on immediately, Longjing Tea added, ¡°I¡¯ll stay a bit longer to document the details of the case. You all can head back first.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll head back first.¡±

    ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± Longjing Tea took a deep breath and asked, ¡°What did I say in the previous life?¡±

    ¡°Everyone here could only deal with the [missions]. Just like the mission that the two police officers received should be ¡®stop the fight¡¯, then after the fight was over, they would end the mission and return. This is a possibility you mentioned.¡±

    ¡°The fact that I attacked them was the ¡®test¡¯ proposed by you in the previous life. The result is just as you expected ¡ª attack them before the ¡®fight is over¡¯, and then end the battle before they wake up. The ¡®mission¡¯ ispleted. The ¡®return¡¯mand will overwrite the ¡®counterattack¡¯mand, so the action will be ignored. However, if we continue to attack them now, they will immediatelyunch a counterattack.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied, ¡°And no one will die anyway. But they don¡¯t realize it at all¡­ It¡¯s like¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like an NPC who operates rigidly.¡± Longjing Tea took a deep breath.

    At this moment, he suddenly heard the voice of the Venerated Skeleton in his ear.

    But this time, instead of ¡°I¡¯m listening¡±, it was aplete sentence.

    ¡°To ensure that something can be remembered, people can always die a little more¡­¡±

    The next moment, the main mission panel popped up before him.

    [Main mission: Restart]

    [Find the unforgotten thing.]

    [Find the person who is not in the dream.]

    [Confirm the ¡°reset¡± mechanism.]

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 Chapter 680: Respective Identities

    <h4>Chapter 680: Respective Identities</h4>

    The unforgotten object?

    The person who is not in the dream?

    ¡°What are those?¡± Longjing Tea frowned.

    ¡­If there is something that cannot be forgotten, then I should have the memory of it right now. However, I couldn¡¯t recall such a thing.

    That means I have never been exposed to that key item.

    And if this ¡°person who is not in the dream¡± is someone who was with us before but did not fall into this nightmare, how can we find him in the nightmare?

    ¡°Do you have any clue about these missions?¡± Longjing Tea turned to ask Delicious Wind Goose in a low voice.

    ¡°Not only do I have no clue, I¡¯mpletely in the dark.¡± Delicious Wind Goose replied bluntly, ¡°I have already reached the third life¡­ I located the Venerated Skeleton and Elle this time quickly, but nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°My identity seems to be an artist.¡± Elle replied, ¡°I came here to find inspiration¡­ If nothing else happened, I should have met Miss Dove.¡±

    ¡°Tiange told me that when he found me for the first time, I was with Miss Elle.¡±

    Dove squatted gracefully on the ground, wagging her tail slowly, and calmly replied, ¡°But there is one problem¡ªif you don¡¯t find us before 3:30, it will not be easy to find the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    ¡°However, if by chance we don¡¯t manage to catch Him, it won¡¯t be tooplicated,¡± Delicious Wind Goose added, ¡°After all, we found the Venerated Skeleton previously under your lead.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. The Longjing Tea in this world is a police officer. The police station has a monitoring room powered by Prophet Magic, which can automatically track down individuals with artificial intelligence. That¡¯s how we find the Venerated Skeleton previously.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Longjing Tea found it difficult to understand, ¡°Is He really the Venerated Skeleton? And¡­why do we want to capture Him?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know. But he is the Venerated Skeleton, after all, right? He may be the key to this nightmare, so I captured Him first.¡± Delicious Wind Goose added, ¡°Previously, we received help from a centaur. She said that this child is the Venerated Skeleton. I initially wanted to capture and interrogate Him, but I didn¡¯t expect Him to be an NPC¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the Venerated Skeleton is¡­¡± The white-haired youth in a shirt struggled, trying to escape Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s grasp. ¡°Let me go¡­¡±

    However, Delicious Wind Goose quickly pped the back of His head hard.

    He was knocked out immediately. Perhaps it could be out of fear, or His ¡°aggro¡± was reset. He seemed to have forgotten entirely about the fact that Delicious Wind Goose attacked Him and stayed where He was.

    ¡°This AI is quite peculiar.¡± Longjing Tea pondered, ¡°It seems real, yet there¡¯s a mechanical oddity to it. But if you call it mechanical, they indeed possess intelligence.¡±

    ¡°Not just the AI. The whole city is weird.¡± Delicious Wind Goose took a deep breath, ¡°Don¡¯t forget. This is the third life¡­ Do you know what it means?¡±

    ¡°It means that our whole party has died twice.¡±

    Longjing Tea nced at the white-clothed youth strangely, ¡°Could it be that this kid will directly transform into the ¡°second phase¡± and beat us all to death?¡±

    [TN: Reference to the second stage in Boss fightmonly found in games.]

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Delicious Wind Goose said in a deep voice, ¡°Simply put, this city is safe ¡®until sunset¡¯. But after the sun sets, it will gradually be terrifying.¡±

    ¡°It will gradually be fragmented, and everything will be supernatural and abstract¡­Have you seen the magic girl Madoka? It¡¯s like in the witch¡¯s barrier.¡±

    ¡°Witch¡¯s barrier? Is there a familiar?¡±

    [TN: Pue Magi Madoka reference. Here¡¯s the fandom link about the witch barrier.]

    ¡°No, at least I didn¡¯t see it.¡±

    ¡°Then what killed us?¡± Longjing Tea was puzzled.

    They were all Silver Rank transcenders, at the very least.

    Even if the city bes supernatural, we would still effortlessly vanquish the evil spirits.

    Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s expression became serious, ¡°It should be our teammates.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    To be precise, it¡¯s everyone around you. The exact mechanism is still unclear, but out of the blue, people go mad and attack those near them¡­ And in the second ythrough, the order in which they lose their sanity is entirely different.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose said thoughtfully, ¡°Do you know why I didn¡¯t go to Child God first?¡±

    ¡°¡­Cade? Why? You¡­you want to social bully him?¡± Longjing Tea raised his eyebrow and made a joke casually.

    ¡°Pfft, nonsense.¡± Delicious Wind Goose snorted, ¡°It¡¯s because the Child went crazy first. I thought it might be dangerous to find him. You and I were those who didn¡¯t go crazy in the end.¡±

    ¡°Besides, there is the group of people who brought Elle here¡ªthose on the ¡®Silver ship¡¯. They are also in the nightmare.¡±

    ¡°So, are they friend or foe?¡±

    ¡°That depends on whether they have gone crazy. If they are not crazy, everyone is naturally an ally. But if they turn crazy¡­¡± Delicious Wind Goose shrugged, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Like that centaur girl, cute and good-looking, but she¡¯s always the first to go crazy; while that bard named Orpheus, he can persist until the end.¡±

    ¡°There seems to be something wrong here.¡± Longjing Tea frowned slightly.

    He seemed to have caught a glimmer of inspiration.

    ¡°Specifically,¡± Longjing Tea asked, ¡°Tell me about everyone¡¯s identities in this nightmare.¡±

    ¡°That is a new question you haven¡¯t asked me before.¡± Delicious Wind Goose also raised his eyebrows, ¡°I feel that it would be great if you were the one who was responsible for inheriting the memory at the beginning¡­ I mean, my brain works, but it¡¯s not as sharp as yours.¡±

    ¡°But my memory is not bad for the time being. I have all this information memorized, and I am waiting for us to analyze it. Listen carefully¡ª¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose cleared his throat and narrated.

    The nightmare¡¯s identity of Arthur Searing-Fang, whom the yers had met once in ¡°Witch Hunting Nightmare¡±, was the Chief Justice.

    The centaur girl was a forest ranger for a neglected nature reserve that hardly gets any visitors on regr days.

    The heir of Denizoya ¡ª the man named Orpheus Denizoya was a famous singer; the woman, who went by the name ¡°Lily¡±, had be a wandering thief without any family or friends.

    Celecia became a graduate student under an elderly schr; The Wandering Child became a wealthy man who owned a museum of collections; Dove was a hunter.

    ¡°I seem to have found some clues.¡± Longjing Tea frowned slightly, ¡°These identities are not randomly arranged. Does it imply something? Or is it simply a manifestation of the deepest desire in your heart?¡±

    ¡°It is indeed possible.¡± Delicious Wind Goose nodded.

    ¡°Is everything safe until the sun goes down?¡±

    Longjing Tea took a deep breath.

    He realized that the mechanism of this nightmare seemed to be to let them find teammates.

    In a sense, the nightmare had not yet fully begun.

    He thought of a game.

    It was a game where you only had 60 seconds to collect resources, and then you had to live in the shelter all the time¡­

    Now, it was the stage where they started ¡°searching forpanions¡± and ¡°collecting resources¡±.

    ¡°Uh!¡± The thin, white-haired youth asked softly, ¡°What have you been talking about since just now? Although I don¡¯t understand, do you have anything to ask me?¡±

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 681: The First Person Who Lost His Mind

    <h4>Chapter 681: The First Person Who Lost His Mind</h4>

    ¡­Huh?

    Did the ¡°Venerated Skeleton¡± just strike up a conversation?

    Has this conversation happened before?

    Longjing Tea was a little surprised. He looked around and discovered that other people were as surprised as he was.

    That means this hasn¡¯t happened before.

    Strange, how did this conversation trigger?

    Longjing Tea pondered in his heart. However, a kind and convincing smile appeared on his face immediately. ¡°We have a little problem, and we want to ask you for help¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh! Please go ahead.¡± The young man said confidently, ¡°I am free today!¡±

    ¡°¡­Oh!¡± The white-haired young man was a little nervous when he heard this.

    He hastily wiped his hand on his pants, shook hands with Longjing Tea, and gave a slight bow. ¡°Hello, Officer Longjing Tea! I¡¯m Midas¡­ Um, a student.¡±

    ¡­Midas? So that¡¯s your real name, Mr. Bone?

    Longjing Tea frowned.

    This name is too familiar to him¡­

    ¡ªHand of Midas!

    The namees from a king in Greek mythology who asked for a golden touch and turned his daughter into gold. This is also the origin of the word ¡°golden touch¡±, though I couldn¡¯t recall the other details.

    Damn, I wish I have a search engine now¡­

    Longjing Tea vaguely realized that there seemed to be some secret hidden in the real name of the Venerated Skeleton.

    So, is this what he looked like before bing a deity?

    No, no, definitely not.

    Before Mr. Bone bes a deity, he is a giant. Giants not only have an average height of more than three meters but also have only one eye.

    However, Midas is clearly just an ordinary human being.

    He even looks a bit skinny and frail.

    Is he really the Venerated Skeleton?

    Such self-doubting thoughts popped up in Longjing Tea¡¯s mind again.

    Longjing Tea said so to test the NPC.

    He was trying to gauge whether these ¡°NPCs¡± knew that people go mad and attack each other during nightfall.

    However, the young man showed no response at all.

    He just had a ¡°fuck, I seem to have forgotten to do my homework¡± expression on his face, ¡°Speaking of this, I was originally here to find my tutor!¡±

    ¡°Oh, will that take up your time?¡± Longjing Tea asked with a seemingly concerned look.

    The young man shook his head with a pained expression, ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s already toote¡­ But let¡¯s still head towards the city. This really isn¡¯t the ce for a conversation.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but¡­ what are you doing here? Did youe back from outside the city?¡±

    Longjing Tea continued to probe for more information.

    Unexpectedly, this time, he struck a jackpot.

    ¡°What¡¯s outside the city?¡±

    The young man turned around suspiciously, ¡°What is [outside the city]¡­?¡±

    Longjing Tea¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    An inexplicable and unexined sense of fear made him swallow his saliva.

    The yers didn¡¯t have motorcycles now, so they wasted a lot of time walking back. By the time they finally settled in a coffee shop, the sky had already begun to take on a faint red hue ¡ª it was sunset.

    On the journey, Longjing Tea also dug out information that gave him a headache.

    The white-haired and thin young man suspected to be ¡°the Venerated Skeleton who lost his memory¡± seemed to have no concept of ¡°whaty outside the city¡± at all.

    ording to the things mentioned in his narration, all the people in this city had never left the city¡ªin other words, they had no concept of ¡°things outside this city¡± at all.

    This was a fragment of the world with ¡°only one city¡±.

    When asked about history, Midas was utterly clueless. He had never studied it¡­ and he didn¡¯t really care about what the future held either.

    While this world followed a coherent world logic, it was like a fragment cut out of a world¡­ It was even the opposite of a typical nightmare. In regr nightmares, each being waspletely real, and there was even a chance one might have realized it was just a dream.

    But here, everyone was used to this city.

    In this real world, everyone was not real enough.

    When Longjing Tea asked, ¡°What are you going to do?¡± the young man answered without hesitation ¡ª he wanted to show his thesis to his tutor.

    But as for the specific paper, he wasn¡¯t willing to show it to the yers.

    As for what would happen after showing the thesis to the tutor, Longjing Tea didn¡¯t know.

    When Longjing Tea asked him what he nned to do in the future, he also looked nk.

    ¡ªUtopia.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the yers to realize what this ce was.

    There was no distinction between ¡°outside¡± and ¡°inside¡±, nor between ¡°war¡± and ¡°destruction¡±. Even the concepts of ¡°past¡± and ¡°future¡± were blurry. Details about the past were vague, and there was no hope for the future.

    These were truly people who were ¡°unbelievably happy¡± and ¡°live in the moment¡±.

    Another thought surfaced in Longjing Tea¡¯s mind.

    Are they real people?

    This is too much like a program.

    Soon, as the yers waited in silence, night fell.

    After the sunset, it suddenly became eerily quiet¡­ But for a moment, Longjing Tea couldn¡¯t pinpoint what exactly had changed.

    ¡°Shall we go and check on the others first?¡± Longjing Tea asked several other people.

    Delicious Wind Goose nodded. He said in a deep voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go find that centaur first. If she hasn¡¯t gone crazy, we should be able to find more clues¡­¡±

    ¡°What about Midas?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let Dove look after him? Dove has a sharp nose.¡± Delicious Wind Goose smiled and touched Dove, whose real name was Chocte, ¡°If necessary, she can also locate us through olfactory senses¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t even get to finish his sentence.

    Dove suddenly opened her mouth wide¡ªher mouth expanded six times its size, biting off and swallowing the unsuspecting Delicious Goose¡¯s left hand and the upper half of his body.

    ¡°Dove?!¡± Longjing Tea was shocked.

    When exactly?

    And didn¡¯t Dove say everything is fine?

    There was no reply to Longing Tea¡¯s question.

    In the blink of an eye, he was the only yer left.

    Dove didn¡¯t even speak.

    ¡°Hoo hoo hoo hoo¡­¡°

    A menacing growl echoed deep in her throat.

    Her pupils shed with a beast-like gleam.

    Suddenly, a shimmer spread throughout the coffee shop ¡ª it was as if trees drawn with crayons were rising from the walls around, and the lights dimmed.

    Dove jumped high andnded between the branches drawn by a crayon.

    The cold moonlight shone on her.

    Those colorful fur had never looked more monster-like than this.

    Suddenly, the cold air scattered from the floor and then gathered.

    The invisible cold air condensed into a lotus flower, which gathered quickly, like the petals of a lotus flower closing.

    The girl with long pink-purple hair and a delicate face like a doll calmly opened the door of the coffee shop.

    The next moment¡ªthe ¡°monster Dove¡± turned into an ice sculpture and slowly disappeared as if being wiped away by some invisible force.

    Along with its disappearance, illusory walls like witch barriers came about.

    The surrounding environment had returned to the coffee shop again.

    ¡°Celecia¡­¡± Elle blurted in surprise.

    Hearing this, Celecia was slightly taken aback.

    Then, she showed a somewhat ambiguous smile and narrowed her eyes, ¡°Call me Captain, Little Elle¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou should know where we are, right?¡± Her voice was low and a little dangerous.

    However, she was at least open tomunication.

    Elle said anxiously, ¡°This is¡­¡±

    The door of the coffee shop opened again before Elle finished her sentence.

    ¡°Celecia.¡± The middle-aged man frowned, ¡°Do you still have a room for me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, teacher!¡± Celecia turned her head respectfully and smiled from the bottom of her heart at the middle-aged man.

    It was a sincere, attached, and even fanatical smile.

    The figure of the personing in made Longjing Tea¡¯s pupils shrink slightly.

    On his right thumb, he wore an ice ring that radiated an eerie coldness, and he held a heavy cane in his hand. His face remained expressionless, his eyes cold, and his demeanor as rigid as a puppet.

    His figure and appearance seem somewhat simr to the ¡°Winter Insurgent¡± dmir but much younger than that old man.

    He had turned into a middle-aged man in his 40¡¯s or 50¡¯s.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 682: Respective Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 682: Respective Secrets</h4>

    ¡°¡ªFuck, why did Dove go crazy this time?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIs it because Dove can¡¯t go to the city? She didn¡¯t seem to stay in the city for long in her previous life¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªWait a minute, stop chattering. Isn¡¯t that the Winter Insurgent?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHuh? Really? Is the Winter Insurgent that young?¡±

    ¡°¡ªIt seems so? Does this mean that Captain of the Stone Celecia has a connection with the Ice-shredders? Can this be used as evidence?¡±

    Although Longjing Tea and the others couldn¡¯t see the bullet text, the live stream was still on.

    Annan and the yers could see their point of view, yet their messages couldn¡¯t reach the yers at all.

    Not only was the bullet-text functionality disabled, but even direct messages and emergency calls were rendered useless. Even when Annan tried to assign them missions, there was no response.

    Judging from the situation, the Book of Divine Transporter was iplete. It didn¡¯t have the ¡°table of contents¡± yet. It was not enough to support the yers¡¯ resurrection in the dungeon instance in another world.

    You May Not Be in the Service Area.jpg

    In a sense, the yers should be thankful that this dungeon instance in another world followed a ¡°day cycle¡± mode, where everyone would return to the start after they die.

    Otherwise, things might have gone wrong by now¡­

    Outside the dungeon instance, Annan observed the yers through the third-person view¡­ He had more or less figured out the mechanism of this dungeon instance.

    The trap of this dungeon instance was simple.

    That was, ¡°overlooking the things we see in daily life.¡±

    When Longjing Tea woke up, he was in the bathtub, having seemingly taken some kind of pill to end her life; Dove woke up in a jungle with a deceased hunter lying at her feet; while Delicious Wind Goose woke up in a Swordsmanship Hall, the exact location was actually a study within the hall.

    Before him, there were scattered bottles of alcohol, the stench of booze on him¡­ and a letter with the word ¡°Failed¡± written on it.

    Wandering Child did be a millionaire, but his family was in a mess. There were suspicions of his wife having an affair, one of his sons turned out to be a ssic good-for-nothing who was addicted to gambling, and his daughter became an ATM for her boyfriends, leading a chaotic personal life.

    None of the yers revealed these hidden details to each other.

    Once these clues were pieced together, the yers would immediately have an idea.

    Longjing Tea once thought ofmitting suicide due to pressure, and Dove might have taken a life in the Australian jungle. Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s deepest regret in life was failing his college entrance examination. Wandering Child¡¯s consistent failure at matchmaking was probably his worries about married life.

    These happened to be their deepest fears of what could happen in the future or have happened in the past.

    Even without understanding why, they subconsciously ignored it. Even when chatting with others, they never mentioned it¡­ or perhaps, they dared not bring it up, even trying hard to forget about it.

    Piecing it together with the initial appearances of the people from the Silver Brigade, the truth spoke for itself.

    The centaur was a timid race. If possible, the little centaur girl would escape to a ce where there were no people, far away from the city and close to nature ¡ª so she became a ranger of the abandoned natural reserve.

    Since he was young, Arthur Searing-Fang always believed that he would eventually be a big shot in the future. With his intense ambition and remarkable abilities, he was considered to be on a path to greatness, the future Gold Rank.

    But as he grew up, for various reasons, he neither became a Gold Rank nor a big shot. Instead, captivated by Captain of the Stone, Celecia, he joined the Silver Brigade.

    Was he infatuated with Celecia? Would he even give up everything so far for her?

    Most probably he was just running away.

    Orpheus became a renowned artist because deep down he yearned for people to admire him for who he was, not for his lineage. The woman who portrayed ¡°Lily Rasputin¡± even abandoned her real name, simply wished to be in a ce where no one cared about her and no one recognized her.

    Back in the day, Elle was infatuated with and admired her adoptive father, the famous painter Amos. She had a particr fondness for music. So, she was especially torn between pursuing music or art.

    Of course, before Elle could make up her mind, Amos was dedicated to sacrificing her.

    So in this nightmare, she became a musician and a painter at the same time. This was the vision fantasy in her heart.

    Celecia was even more so.

    The yers, having never seen ¡°Wolf¡¯s Kiss¡± ¨C the nightmare within a nightmare ¨C were missing a crucial piece of information.

    Captain Celecia, the legendary adventurer who piloted the Stoneheart Ship and sailed in the rock formations, was the ex-Austere-Winter fugitive¡­ the leader of the Ice-shredders, Thoreau Nick!

    When Celecia was ¡°Thoreau Nick¡±, he was the most loyal disciple of the Winter Insurgent dmir. He even knew dmir earlier than all werewolves.

    Thoreau Nick was a murderer¡¯s child.

    His father was an assassin, and his mother was an aplice, also a murderer. When Thoreau Nick was very young, their home address was exposed, and his mother was killed in retaliation by another in the same line of work.

    Thoreau Nick was in the locker at the time and witnessed his mother killed.

    And his father never returned after that. Judging by the timeline, his father likely died before his mother. Most likely, his father was killed on a mission that the enemies dared to seek revenge.

    Later, the child from the same vige who hade to y at Thoreau Nick¡¯s house was killed.

    Ever since then, Thoreau Nick¡¯s personality had be twisted.

    He had a good talent for swordsmanship and magic, but his background prevented him from passing the political review of Winter¡¯s Hand. Therefore, he lost the opportunity to learn Falteration Spells. The teacher in the swordsmanship hall was also unwilling to teach him because he was the child of a murderer.

    ¡°¡ªIf you learn swordsmanship, you will definitely use it to kill the innocent.¡±

    That was the old swordmaster¡¯s perception of Thoreau Nick.

    The old man was sharp and precise just like his swordsmanship. When Thoreau Nick learned swordsmanship and magic from the Winter Insurgent, he didn¡¯t forget toe back and kill the old man while he was a fugitive.

    The old teacher¡¯s prophecy was indeed fulfilled, and it was proved by his own dead body.

    Even though Thoreau Nick¡¯s background prevented him from learning the Falteration Magic, dmir took a fancy to his talent.

    dmir went against the major sentiment and recruited Thoreau Nick as his disciple. With that, dmir included Thoreau Nick in the second campaignunched by the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    That was actually a kind of hardbor.

    Winter¡¯s Hand was also known as the ¡°Children¡¯s Severed Finger¡±.

    They had no Winter¡¯s Hand treatment, no ess to high-level secrets, no pensions, and no recognition after death. It was just working hard for a sry.

    This special force was avable in almost every country.

    Mainly because of the unique standing of transcenders in society, which made them precious resources and targets inconvenient to hunt down. These intricate circumstances allowed a special force like them to exist.

    In other words, they became cannon fodders who didn¡¯t even know the details of the mission in advance. Generally speaking, it was a ¡°probation team¡± voluntarily joined by serious criminals whose crimes were enough to be sentenced to ¡°exile¡± but not yet the ¡°death penalty¡±.

    In Austere-Winter, exile was a form of death.

    The whole meaning of their existence was to use their remaining lives to protect the Austere-Winter Dukedom by killing people, making themselves ¡°less wasteful¡±.

    However, Thoreau Nick didn¡¯t care about that.

    For the first time in his life, he felt needed and recognized.

    Like a tamed dog, he devoted all his allegiance to his ¡°teacher¡±, dmir.

    In fact, his capability had long been able to pass the Winter¡¯s Hand test. However, because of the strong fear and psychological trauma in his heart, he still couldn¡¯t pass the Wolf¡¯s Kiss ritual. Therefore, even though his skills in killing the opponent had long surpassed the ordinary Winter¡¯s Hand, he could only stay with other felons in the ¡°Severed Finger Squad¡± and was unable to acquire an official role.

    The situation continued until dmir became ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡±.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 683: Eternal Reincarnation

    <h4>Chapter 683: Eternal Reincarnation</h4>

    Annan managed to figure out that Celecia¡¯s wish was rted to dmir.

    However, the yers had no idea about these ¡°behind-the-scenes¡± stories.

    It was not their fault.

    Annan deliberately didn¡¯t tell them about it.

    Annan wanted to get information from Celecia about the Ice-shredders and the Winter Insurgent. Therefore, he didn¡¯t tip the yers off to avoid making her suspicious or putting her on guard prematurely.

    Given the yers¡¯ tendencies, if they knew about this secret, they would surely try to bring it up in the conversation.

    Annan was certain that if he shared this secret with the yers, it would undoubtedly be leaked. Moreover, he probably wouldn¡¯t gain any benefits from it.

    If Annan capitalized on this information gap, he could gain new intel ¡ª this was the lead the Tragedy Writer gave to him.

    After all, Annan didn¡¯t expect the Venerated Skeleton would rush over without warning, then perform a 360-degree spin in the air and free fall to death, plunging the yers into this Otherworldly Level nightmare.

    Without this knowledge, the yers would find it difficult to grasp the mechanics of this nightmare.

    From this perspective, the yers shouldn¡¯t be med for not realizing the underlying elements of this nightmare.

    ¡°After all, they originally had some information they were reluctant to share and were missing a crucial piece of the puzzle¡­ So it was only natural they would feel confused.¡±

    Annan tapped his fingers on the armrest and murmured.

    In other words, the initial identities of all those who entered this nightmare were rted to their innermost desires.

    It was not the desire to ¡°get¡± something, but the desire to ¡°want to be¡± something.

    At the same time, the fear deep in everyone¡¯s heart restricted them.

    Whenever the yers¡ªor rather, all purifiers who entered this nightmare¡ªexhibit any form of ¡®cheating¡¯ behavior, they face a ¡®gradual distortion¡¯ as punishment.

    As soon as their actions deviated from their own ¡®identity¡¯, their minds started to twist gradually at night. It began with hallucinations, both visual and auditory, and then progressively led toplete distortion and madness¡­ which was to fall into a dream within a dream.

    The more intense, clear, and challenging the fear in their hearts was, the less resistant they were to that state of ¡®madness¡¯.

    Why were Longjing Tea and Delicious Wind Goose more resistant?

    Because they had all ovee¡­ or experienced this fear.

    The child hadn¡¯t ovee this fear up to that point. However, Dove¡¯s situation was different. Although she hadn¡¯t conquered her inner fear, in the two previous walkthroughs, she had joined the team prettyte. That time, she was the first one to be discovered.

    She had gone madter in the past, simply because she hadn¡¯t strayed from her role as a ¡®jungle hunter¡¯.¡±

    Obviously, a wild jungle hunter should not speak human words, let alone appear leisurely in a coffee shop.

    In other words¡­the more Dove talked and conversed with other people, the closer she became to madness. The reason why the Child went crazy every time was because he didn¡¯t know how to role-y a rich man at all.

    Longjing Tea took the longest to go mad because his current ¡®persona¡¯ was that of a police officer who knew magic. And most of what he did didn¡¯t stray too far from his duties as a cop¡ªwhether it was investigating suspicious individuals or fighting with thugs.

    No matter how many people could survive to the end, only one could inherit the memory.

    If multiple people survived to the end, the inheritance of memories was random.

    That was forcing the one in charge of memories to betray and kill theirpanion.

    Hence, if the solution was deducted based on only what they individually knew, the problem would be serious.

    ¡°Suppose everyone has a ¡®fear of the impending future¡¯ as well as a ¡®perfect life in the present¡¯, and they live each day peacefully and joyfully amidst this contradiction, without any memories¡­¡±

    Then, when people grasped that ¡°they would go crazy if they didn¡¯t role-y¡±, how many people would choose ¡°Why not just continue ying the role¡±?

    It was impossible to find [something that would not be forgotten] in one walkthrough. There must be someone who retained the memories from the previous round, and then in the second round, they gathered teammates and sought out clues.¡±

    He must risk going crazy and use less than eight hours to gather and convince hispanions to investigate the truth¡­ and kill everyone to ensure that he would survive to the end and inherit this memory.

    But in the end, when his teammates had realized that the leader, who had previously asked for their trust, had started attacking them¡­ how could they have believed that the leader hadn¡¯t gone mad but had nned to kill them and ¡®save the game¡¯?¡±

    Until someone like Delicious Wind Goose made a change, and because of the emergence of a new mechanism, they were killed. All the memories they retained and the information they had gathered werepletely forgotten.

    Everything would start all over again.

    Torture after torture¡­

    That resulted in the cycle of eternal reincarnation.

    Everything was just at the beginning stage for the yers.

    From this point of view, this in and quiet other world was undoubtedly filled with danger. It did not contain any malicious intent, it only hoped that the purifier could give up struggling, integrate into the nightmare, and live a peaceful life.

    However, it became much more dangerous than Sporeggar Mill.

    There was no doubt about it. It was a tied knot.

    All Purifiers who stumbled into this nightmare were like pinballs in a pinball machine¡­ They had to encounter countless extremely lucky and small-probability events in countless changes before they could escape from it.

    Not to mentionpletely purifying it.

    And, here¡­

    Annan also realized that there was another trap that could torture people to death.

    In regr nightmares, they could afford to die because only their consciousness entered the dream.

    In the Otherworldly Level nightmare, they had physically entered the dream world.

    Fortunately, this nightmare had a reincarnation mechanism, so everyone had a chance to be resurrected in the next life.

    Then, there was another problem.

    If after countless coincidences, a certain yer finally inherited the memories of multiple lives and solved all the puzzles.

    ¡ª¡ªAt this moment, hispanions went crazy or died.

    Should he leave directly?

    If he broke this eternal cycle of reincarnation, then could thepanions who died in this life be resurrected?

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 684: The Person Who Is Not In The Dream

    <h4>Chapter 684: The Person Who Is Not In The Dream</h4>

    Annan realized something, ¡°This is where the bones are buried¡­¡±

    Suppose Annan¡¯s guess was right.

    The Otherworldly Level nightmare might not be naturally urring. However, the Venerated Skeleton couldn¡¯t create a nightmare in which He was trapped.

    Rting to thest moment when the Venerated Skeleton disintegrated and thest bone was submerged into the earth of Elegy Dukedom, this was probably a ¡°bone burial¡± ritual.

    Just when He was about to seize Elle¡¯s body and transform into the real Betrayal Deity, Bone Burying Grandma took action¡­ She turned the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s corpse into this nightmare to seal the Venerated Skeleton.

    As what the Venerated Skeleton said:

    ¡ªBurial is for forgetting.

    And to forget is to betray.

    To escape this endless, repeating nightmare, the easiest way was to keep betraying your teammates ¨C ensuring you¡¯re thest one standing in every cycle.

    Then, in the next cycle, gather everyone¡¯s strength and wisdom to solve the puzzle before betraying and eliminating the rest of the team.

    Until the mystery waspletely solved, regardless of whether anyone had died in this life, just choose to leave ¡ª and the nightmare would be ended.

    Whether he wanted to escape or not, his surviving teammates with no memory would urge him to leave. They were unaware of how many times they had been killed by him in past cycles¡­ that in itself was a profound betrayal.

    It was about dreams, life and death,panions, sacrifice, and fated betrayal.

    Someone who could pull this off certainly wouldn¡¯t be the Venerated Skeleton. In this nightmare, he was just an NPC and didn¡¯t have the power to retain memories.

    In other words, thisrge-scale ritual that unfolded at the expense of ¡°the death of the Venerated Skeleton¡± would allow another person to gain part of the [Betrayal] Truth.

    Even if the Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s seal failed and the Venerated Skeleton escaped from it, another person had taken away arge amount of [Betrayal] Truth from Him.

    Then, the true andplete Betrayal Deity would fail to emerge. This ascendancy ritual had a higher chance of failure, or it might just result in a deity less powerful than the Venerated Skeleton.

    The ritual of Bone Burying Grandma had a clear intent.

    Even though the Venerated Skeleton gave up His ¡®skeletal¡¯ part of the clergy and returned it to the earth, it didn¡¯t mean that the part it vacated could fully embrace the true essence of betrayal.

    Perhaps, this was probably because Bone Burying Grandma didn¡¯t dare nor want to entrust the Venerated Skeleton with the full clergy of betrayal. After all, the purity of a deity¡¯s clergy was crucial, as it rted to its ¡°proximity¡± to the other deity¡¯s realm.

    Silver Sire and Red Knight went out of their way to maintain the purity of their realms.

    The essence of the ¡°transaction, trade¡± realm that Silver Sire held was ¡°unequal exchange¡±; because if it waspletely equal, then it was merely an ¡°exchange¡±. Based on this clergy, he could extend his control over multiple realms such as currency, cargo transportation, transportation, spection, etc.

    Red Knight was ¡°the War Deity¡± ¡ª ¡°violent actions with intent among multiple participants.¡± Based on the purity of this realm, Her subordinate deities range from ¡°weapons¡± to ¡°tactics¡±, from ¡°knights¡± to ¡°conspiracy¡±, and even ¡°guard¡± and ¡°plunder¡±.

    Like the Mysterious Lady, the Deity of Secrets and Ritual; while there were many types of secrets and rituals, whenbined, the term ¡°secret¡± tended to be interpreted as ¡°ult knowledge¡±.

    However, Mysterious Lady was also a unique case. When she ascended, she did not pick two pages out of the Book of Truth. However, two adjacent pages were automatically selected for her.

    Most deities used to adopt multiple clergies to broaden their influence across varied realms, like the Old Grandmother and Bone Burying Grandma. However, some deities aimed to refine their realm and sought more adjacent spheres of influence.

    Once the Venerated Skeleton obtained the pure [betrayal] clergy, his ability in this realm would increase dramatically.

    Without relying on the Book of Truth at all, through repeated optimization rituals, He would attain the deity level. It also granted him the option to refine his clergy further¡­

    In terms of talent, the Venerated Skeleton was indeed an extraordinary genius.

    Historically, there were only three transcenders who had sessfully ascended to deityhood without relying on the Book of Truth. The Venerated Skeleton, the Rotten Man, the Man in the Mirror ¡ª apart from Rotten Man, the remaining two were peerless geniuses, the likes of which no one had emerged in hundreds of years.

    The more brilliant these geniuses were, the greater the harm they posed to the world when they harbored malicious intentions and fell from grace.

    It was reasonable for Bone Burying Grandma to seal the Venerated Skeleton.

    Not to mention that the Venerated Skeleton had destroyed the statue of Bone Burying Grandma.

    No matter how good-tempered She was, She couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to that.

    Just as the Old Grandmother controlled the element of ¡°frost¡±, anynd of snow was her divine realm. On the other hand, the Bone Burying Grandma controlled the two strongest realms in the world¡­ one of them was the [earth].

    If Annan guessed correctly, Bone Burying Grandma might be the ¡°earth¡± at the beginning of creation.

    With the [earth] clergy at her disposal, she could appear anywhere and shake the earth anywhere. The ce they were in before was underground, a secret room wrapped in the earth. Naturally, that too was part of the Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s realm.

    Achieving this feat was still a bit unbelievable.

    Annan murmured, ¡°In short, the core elements of this nightmare are Elle and the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    His right hand¡¯s fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest like waves, while his left hand rested on his forehead, eyes slightly closed in deep thought.

    In a brief moment earlier, the Venerated Skeleton had renounced his identity as a deity ¡ª at least in that instant when he discarded his divine form but failed to possess Elle, he was not considered a deity.

    Bone Burying Grandma¡¯srge-scale Otherworldly Level nightmare was probably intended to seal Elle together with the Venerated Skeleton.

    But if it were just Elle alone, she might not be able to seal the Venerated Skeleton. Through each reincarnation after another, she would eventually copsepletely.

    The existence of other people was Elle¡¯s ¡°safety lock¡±.

    The purpose of their existence was to help Elle bear this ¡°memory¡±.

    ¡°¡­But they are my people. Tsk.¡°

    ¡°They were the ones who followed my orders and went to find her. It was also because of me that Elle was not sealed in the Freezing Water Port.¡± Annan gritted his teeth, smacked his lips, and thought deeply, ¡°This is on me¡­ This is my responsibility. Tsk¡­¡°

    ¡°Even if it means eternal reincarnation, I have to get them back.¡±

    Is there any other way¡­

    How can we notify them? How can we break this nightmare with the cycle of reincarnation?

    What¡¯s the essence of Elle being at the heart of the nightmare? Does she have memories? No, she probably doesn¡¯t. The others were dragged directly into the nightmare by the Grandma just to relieve Elle¡¯s pressure in bearing the memory.

    Since Elle has no strong desire to live, she will not end up as thest survivor. But if she bes thest survivor, that would be the best oue. ording to the nightmare design of the Bone Burying Grandma, the person who breaks the nightmare as the leader, in the end, would at least grasp half of the ¡®Betrayal¡¯ truth. If it were Elle¡­

    ¡­thest survivor?

    Elle?

    ¡°¡­Wait a moment.¡± Annan stopped tapping his fingers.

    He thought of something and suddenly opened his eyes widely.

    He immediately jumped down from the chair and walked to the mirror where Salvatore had beenmunicating with him.

    He held the mirror with both hands and stared at his left eye.

    It had an emerald green gemstone luster and was the left eye of an angel.

    That was the left eye given to him by Elle.

    The moment Annan saw that eye, a thought he once had echoed in his mind.

    It was what he said after hearing Elle¡¯s covenant:

    [You are much better than the Venerated Skeleton. It would be nice if you were the Betrayal Deity.]

    Annan sighed at that time.

    [She will be the ¡®betrayed¡¯, watching the betrayer¡¯s actions; and I will be the ¡®betrayer¡¯, listening to the cry of the betrayed.]

    So said the Venerated Skeleton at the time.

    ¡°If only you were the Betrayal Deity¡­¡± Annan repeated.

    He realized something and slowly touched his left eye.

    Using his index finger, he touched his eyeball.

    There was no pain at all.

    It felt like jade.

    ¡°This time, it¡¯s¡­¡± Annan murmured.

    ¡°¡­ me watching?¡±

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 Chapter 685: Elleâ€™s Fear

    <h4>Chapter 685: Elle¡¯s Fear</h4>

    ¡°¡­So, as you can see.¡±

    The conversation between Longjing Tea and Celecia sounded beside Elle.

    Elle looked at the coffee in the ceramic cup.

    She recognized what coffee was; it was the United Kingdom¡¯s ¡°Alpine Wine¡±, a specialty from Alpine Ind. Without the need for Alteration Magic in the synthesis, the natural energy potion that kept sleepiness at bay and prevented one from falling into a nightmare was made.

    In the Noah Kingdom, some old nobles would take it in small amounts ¡ª of course, only as a brain tonic, not a luxury to be consumed as a beverage. Whether it truly had brain-boosting effects, well, that remained to be seen¡­

    The production of alpine fruit was limited. To make matters worse, it was only grown on one ind but was in demand by many countries. Its price was even more expensive than the equivalent volume of silver.

    Elle recognized the alpine fruit because Amos was given a small box when he was painting for the Viscountess of Roseburg. She even counted them. There were eighteen pills in total, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to eat any.

    In the month when Amos showed signs of mental distress, Elle carefully roasted and ground the entire box of alpine beans, blending them with sugar, mint, and pepper. She then served them in multiple servings of drinks to Amos.

    Perhaps the medicine worked. Amos¡¯s spirits lifted considerably over those two weeks. Sadly, Elle had barely any alpine fruits left.

    Thinking of her adoptive father, Elle was lost in thoughts.

    What am I feeling now¡­

    Is it nostalgia? Is it hatred? Is it love? Is it admiration? Is it fear?

    Elle couldn¡¯t tell.

    However, she couldn¡¯t forget what had happened.

    At least¡­the period when her mother ra was dead and Amos had not fallen into evil ways was indeed the happiest period for Elle.

    Amos devoted himself entirely to loving and caring for Elle, even setting aside his work to look after her meticulously. He feared that the grief from her mother¡¯s passing might sadden her or shorten her life.

    However, Elle wouldn¡¯t.

    She had seen her mother use her to threaten and ckmail Joseph. She knew how limited her mother¡¯s ¡°love¡± for her was because she was merely a tool to extort more ¡°love¡± from her biological father.

    She had also seen how Joseph ruthlessly abandoned her and her mother and even used the Edict Spell to immobilize them¡­ She was also filled with disappointment in her biological father.

    It was after reading the mystic book that Joseph gave her that ra became ¡°the Spider Whisperer¡±.

    Amos was obedient and never went where she didn¡¯t let him be¡­ but the same could not be said for others.

    And when Amos didn¡¯t notice at all, his sister unexpectedly ¡°died¡± of illness. raforted Amos while threatening Elle not to tell the truth.

    Afterward, she dug up the body of Amos¡¯s sister and destroyed the evidence ¡ª the evidence that she had peeled off a small piece of skin as evidence of a sacrifice to ck Widow.

    Elle witnessed all this and she was scared of her mother.

    That was a truly vicious woman. She had almost no love for her mother, only fear.

    For Elle, who was still a young girl, both fatherly and motherly love came from Amos. Back in the day, although Amos was quite renowned in his field, he hadn¡¯t yet reached that almost devilish prominence. Their life wasfortable and well-off, but not exceedingly luxurious.

    For the most part, Amos had little work. Especially when Elle was still young, he was always by her side.

    As for Elle¡¯s mother, she continued practicing apprentice-level spells and traveling to distantnds to purify nightmares. But truthfully, shecked the talent to be a true sorceress. Eventually, she secluded herself in her study, going through books thicker than Elle¡¯s arm, and delving into ominous and terrifying rituals in the basement.

    Elle was always a little scared when her mother was at home ¡ª she never dared to go to her mother¡¯s study by herself, let alone the basement. Only when the mother needed a ritual assistant would she be taken to the basement.

    Whenever she saw the bottles of poison and the carcasses of various poisoned animals, she worried that one day she would turn into a corpse¡­ and Amos wouldn¡¯t even know who killed her.

    ra¡¯s death was not so much saddening her.

    Instead, it made her feel a lot more at ease.

    She didn¡¯t have to worry about being poisoned to death one day while she could have all Amos¡¯ love to herself.

    And in this nightmare¡­

    Upon waking, she saw young Amos.

    He was still a painter¡ªand a fairly well-known one at that. He was busy at work. He didn¡¯t speak too much with Elle¡­ Of course, if he talked a lot, Elle might not be used to it.

    In that case, she might be reminded of Amos sacrificing her to the Venerated Skeleton and her watching Amos die hundreds of times in her nightmare.

    Having ¡°one encounter¡± was just right.

    However, Amos told her that her mother would be home tonight, asking her to go back home early.

    Elle didn¡¯t want to go back.

    She didn¡¯t even want to see that woman.

    Even though she was an angel now, she was still afraid of her mother.

    Waking up in the middle of the night and imagining her mother standing at the foot of the bed could still send chills down Elle¡¯s spine, making her break out in a cold sweat.

    ¡ªI hope my mother neveres back.

    However, did Elle have an attachment to her mother?

    It wasn¡¯tpletely absent.

    Especially after being immobilized by Joseph, her mother held her hand firmly and left silently. At least at that moment, her mother was the whole world in the frightened Elle¡¯s heart.

    When Elle tried her best to act silly and make her motherugh while her mother was studying rituals and spells and when she saw her mother showing a rxed smile, the happiness that arose in her heart was not false.

    The rtionship wasn¡¯t based on pure hatred and fear.

    Of course, Elle wouldn¡¯t reveal the fear hidden in the deepest part of her heart. It was something that even she could not figure out and could not exin to others.

    She hoped to see Amos again, but she was conflicted; she didn¡¯t want topletely forget her mother, yet she didn¡¯t even want to remember her name.

    She hoped to quietly make the most of the day in this ¡°world of the future,¡± but she dreaded the arrival of tomorrow.

    If tomorrowes, it means I have to see my mother again.

    Elle thought about it and tightened her grip on the coffee cup.

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 Chapter 686: Elleâ€™s Happiness

    <h4>Chapter 686: Elle¡¯s Happiness</h4>

    ¡ªYes, the future era.

    For Elle, everything revealed in this nightmare suggested a possibility of the ¡°future¡±.

    Every part of this nightmare was so detailed and novel. They were all things she had never seen before, so how could it be a fictitious dream?

    After all, Elle knew that catching a glimpse of the future in the dream world wasn¡¯t out of the realm of possibility.

    The legendary curse vessel in the hands of Mr. Ray¡¯s pope ¡ª the Man of Silence, St. Peter, offered a glimpse into the future.

    However, his silence might be the price of getting a glimpse of the future.

    Since the power of the legendary curse vessel could achieve this, why not the deities?

    Elle believed that if she lived in this era, she wouldn¡¯t have¡­ at the very least, she wouldn¡¯t have met such a tragic end as she did 60 years ago.

    Her mother was gorgeous. She had a talent for singing, with a voice reminiscent of a siren. She could y the piano and a stringed instrument so well that among the mountain folks of the Noah Kingdom, Elle¡¯s love for concerts primarily stemmed from those times when her mom would y and sing cheerfully for her.

    Back then, ra had only heard a handful of songs when she was 13 years old. However, even with just the melodies she picked up from wandering poets and her casual humming, she was utterly enchanting.

    People said she was resilient, remarkably beautiful, and endearingly naive ¡ª but her biological father, Joseph, wouldn¡¯t just settle for any wife. Being a prodigious wizard who achieved the Silver Rank so young, he was bound to be part of higher-ups if he chose politics and destined for wealth if he ventured into business.

    His fate was destined to be different from ra¡¯s.

    He was fascinated by ra¡¯s voice, which prompted him to take the time to deeply understand her personality, her history, and everything about her. It might¡¯ve been what made him fall for her. As a Silver Rank wizard, he went out of his way to bring a girl, whocked magical aptitude and couldn¡¯t even read, into the wizard¡¯s tower to be with him.

    He taught ra how to read, taught her about human nature, taught her rituals and spells, took her to concerts, and hired teachers to teach her multiple musical instruments. However, these were merely ra¡¯s pastimes.

    Ever since Elle was young, she knew that her mother¡¯s only wish was to be a big shot and rise to nobility, rather than just living in someone else¡¯s shadow.

    Singing and ying the piano wouldn¡¯t achieve her goal.

    Even if she became a great artist, she would only be the priestess of the Elegant Elder, at best. Besides, she never really saw singing as an art form¡­ She just looked at it as a way to win people over, a tool to delight them.

    Therefore, the Elegant Elder would not acknowledge her.

    Even if she was recognized¡­ if she wanted to climb up the societydder through this path, it would take a longer time than the wizard path.

    She¡¯d have been better off marrying some high-ranking noble without an heir and then poisoning him. If she had yed it right, she could have secured her status as a noble¡­ And if one murder hadn¡¯t done the trick, there was always the next.

    Marrying Amos wasn¡¯t aligned with ra¡¯s n either.

    As for why did the marriage take ce, ra was impressed by his talent.

    ra gave birth to Elle when she was 17 years old ¡ª she was still called Elle at the time. When she remarried Amos, Amos was only 19 years old¡­and 5 years younger than ra.

    At that time, Amos was a genius.

    His talent was even recognized by a bishop of the Elegant Elder ¡ª and each year, his skills surpassed those of the previous, advancing rapidly. At the same time, he was also a gentle-mannered, charismatic young man with a maic voice, always courteous and graceful in his interactions.

    Even though ra had many sinister ns and schemes in mind, whenpared to her love for Amos¡­ she was willing to set them aside for a while. At least, she couldn¡¯t let Amos see her true nature, and for that, she even went as far as threatening her own daughter.

    So, from a very young age, Elle realized that her mother never truly loved Joseph.

    Perhaps the only person she ever loved was Amos. Amos was indeed in love with her¡­ He was in love with ra and Elle too.

    If they had been in this future era where even singers and pianists could rise to prominence, Elle¡¯s mother might not have plotted such sinister deeds involving taking lives. And if Amos¡¯s endeavors had gone smoothly, he wouldn¡¯t have resorted to forbidden rituals¡­ trading away his own daughter and lover.

    So, probably Elle¡¯s family would be like this.

    Her eyes stared nkly at the light brown surface of the coffee.

    ¡ªPeople in the future are truly fortunate.

    So fortunate that she even felt a twinge of envy¡­ almost bordering on jealousy.

    It would be great if I could live in this era too.

    Just by tapping into the power constructed from the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s bone, a mere glimpse left Elle entranced.

    It felt like a fantasy hade true.

    Looking at the people who entered the nightmare with her, they still looked calm and rational, which made Elle feel a little ashamed.

    ¡­Be more reserved, Elle! Look how calm everyone is!

    Ady can¡¯t be so rude¡­!

    ¡­Even though I have already made a fuss of myself.

    Elle let out a silent cry in her heart, sitting up straighter out of sheer embarrassment.

    She ate another piece of fluffy pastry and showed a happy expression.

    With so much sugar added, it¡¯s sweet but not overly so, soft yet holds its shape¡­ This must be a premium pastry only a noble youngdy gets to enjoy, right?

    Then, there¡¯s the ¡°Alpine Wine¡± as well. The Roseburg Viscount can¡¯t even afford it, but it has be amon people¡¯s food in the future.

    She noticed students in casual clothesing in with their textbooks, grabbing a bite and coffee, and chatting away happily.

    While engrossed in thoughts, Elle raised her coffee cup in front of her mouth, trying to appear more refined as she nibbled on her pastry like a squirrel.

    Taking the opportunity, she opened her clear emerald-green eyes wide, looking around with a curiosity like that of a cat. If not for this, she wouldn¡¯t dare gaze at strangers for fear they might notice and look back at her.

    This city seemed so new and beautiful to her.

    It would be a pity if I could only live here for one day¡­

    She tentatively took a sip of the coffee and frowned at its bitterness.

    I have added so much sugar!

    Why is it still not sweet enough?

    However, this bitterness, when mixed with the sweetness of the pastry, created an unexpectedly bnced taste.

    Elle hesitated for a moment. Should I take a few more bites of the pastry or add more sugar to my coffee?

    Hmm¡­ let¡¯s add more sugar.

    Amos used to say, ¡°It¡¯s normal for girls to love sweets! Eating more sugar makes your smile even sweeter¡­ just watch out for cavities.¡±

    Compared with Alpine Wine, the pastry is so much more delicious.

    What if aftering out of the nightmare, I can no longer eat it¡­

    It would be better to eat less so I won¡¯t miss it too much.

    Elle pondered and then put down her coffee cup.

    It spilled some coffee on Elle¡¯s eye mask.

    ¡°Are you okay, Little Elle?¡±

    Celecia, who was sitting diagonally opposite, noticed it immediately.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m fine¡­¡±

    With the idea of ??not bothering others as much as possible, Elle took off her blindfold and showed an apologetic smile, ¡°I actually don¡¯t need the blindfold. I¡¯ve just gotten used to wearing it. I can use my hair to cover my eyes.¡±

    As she finished her sentence, she froze momentarily.

    At that very moment, she suddenly realized she could open her left eye. In the socket where there should have been nothing, there was now the distinct texture of an eyeball.

    [Elle¡­ Open your eyes.]

    An ethereal, hallucinatory voice sounded in her heart.

    ¡°¡­No.¡± An inexplicable fear made her momentarily choose to resist.

    On the other side¡­

    Annan sat upright in front of the mirror, closing his eyes.

    ¡°Elle¡­ Don¡¯t be afraid. Open your left eye.¡±

    He whispered softly and gently.

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 Chapter 687: So She Became Determined

    <h4>Chapter 687: So She Became Determined</h4>

    That was a ritual developed by ¡°the Man in the Mirror¡±.

    It was called [Ally Reflecting Mirror].

    At the same time, the visual feedback ryed through the mirror could be adjusted to only go in one direction ording to the mirror holder¡¯s wish.

    What this ritual required was a sufficiently clean ¡°reflective mirror¡±posed of inorganic substances.

    The left eye that Elle had given to Annan was a pure gemstone ¡ª it was also a mirror.

    When entering the nightmare, Elle had already returned to her most perfect state, which was before her left eye left her. In other words, Elle¡¯s left eye existed in her own eye socket and Annan¡¯s eyes at the same time.

    This was undoubtedly a pair of mirrors that was ¡°destined¡±.

    If Elle opened her eyes, everything reflected in the gemstone in her left eye would be reflected in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Just as the Venerated Skeleton once whispered ¡°I¡¯m listening¡± to every nightmare purifier who entered the Gallery Nightmare, Annan was in the truest essence ¡°watching¡±.

    If Annan could use this as a medium tomunicate with Elle, then within this endless, recurring nightmare, there would be an external force intervening.

    It was a small influence, but it was enough to change the dream world.

    ¡°¡­But, Elle is unwilling to open her eyes.¡±

    That was because she noticed it.

    If she opened her eyes, this dream-like ¡®nightmare¡¯ mighte to an end. She would eventually wake up, returning to a world full of traitors.

    But¡­

    ¡°Do I really have the right to refuse it?¡±

    Elle looked at the coffee worriedly.

    She lowered her eyes and stared at her sad right eye¡¯s reflection in the light brown coffee.

    She already grasped the situation.

    In the conversation between Longjing Tea and Celecia, this nightmare repeated the same day and only one person could remember everything.

    Living here would indeed be incredibly blissful.

    ¡ªIt was a stable life without any worries or pressures.

    It might not be grand, but it was a content and tranquil happiness.

    That was the life Elle had longed for but never had.

    All Elle had to do was give up all hope and resistance. Then, she could immerse herself in a life that was endlessly repetitive yet still felt fresh ¡ª even the one who had to remember everything could be ignored.

    If that person gave up this mission as well¡­

    Then, this [Authority of Memory] wouldn¡¯t stay with him for long. If multiple people survived until the end, only one person would have the right to retain memories.

    Indeed, Elle longed for such a life from the bottom of her heart.

    To spend the whole day feeling fulfilled and happy.

    The fear of seeing or experiencing things would eventually be a distant ¡°future¡±.

    There was no need to regret the past or worry about the future. Just rx the mind and enjoy the peaceful ¡°present¡±.

    However, Elle suddenly felt a trace of pity after understanding the nightmare.

    The sentiment even surprised her.

    ¡ªBecause that was herpassion for the Venerated Skeleton.

    The country of giants in the past was actually like this.

    All giants could live carefree, rxed, and at ease. Since there was no fear of death, then the idea of ¡°sacrificing the present for the future¡± was meaningless.

    If one didn¡¯t yearn to live as long as possible, there was no need to focus on health and retirement. Naturally, there was no worry about lifestyle choices or maintaining family ties. This led to freedom in one¡¯s job, a casual approach to learning, and a lot of wasted time.

    In other words¡­

    ¡ªAll the giants chose to give up thinking.

    But if everyone did this, the country could not survive. This nightmare onlysted for the same day, but the reality couldn¡¯t be the case. Then, someone must pay the price for the safety of others.

    Just like in a project group, there were always many who cked off and one who did the work. The one who was the slowest or most hesitant often ended up picking up the ck for everyone else¡¯sziness.

    When all the giants gave up thinking, the Venerated Skeleton was the only ¡°brain¡±.

    How simr was everything that happened in the Eternal Dukedom in the past to the current nightmare?

    The difference was that the person who was now ¡°carrying the memory of everyone¡± still had the right to choose to forget ¡ª he could choose to do nothing and spend the day peacefully.

    When the countdown ended, he could forget all worries and return to the starting point.

    If one had considered this entire otherworldly realm as ¡®heaven after death¡¯, then it truly seemed incredibly blissful.

    But the problem was that only Elle genuinely wanted to keep the nightmare going.

    Elle looked worriedly at Longjing Tea and Celecia.

    They genuinely adapted to this current way of life but they didn¡¯t seem to crave it.

    Elle admired them.

    Even such a wonderful and carefree life could be dismissed as ¡®unreal¡¯ by one¡¯s own will, departing from it without any attachment.

    However, Elle couldn¡¯t do it.

    She cherished the warm sunlight, the fragrant and luxurious drink, the soft, sweet cake¡­ She also relished the joy of solving puzzles with her friends and loved seeing the rxed and happy smiles on everyone¡¯s faces in the street.

    Elle sighed softly ¡ª she was worried that her sigh would make herpanions around her worry about her.

    Who can tell me?

    Is this nightmare truly born from me?

    Is this a dream that imprisons others just for me?

    Does this nightmare loop endlessly on this day alone simply because I dread facing tomorrow and seeing my mother?

    If I¡¯m content with all this, am I no different from the giants of Eternal Dukedom?

    [Elle, open your eyes.]

    A low, soft voice sounded in Elle¡¯s heart.

    She knew whose voice it was¡­ It was Annan¡¯s voice.

    At the ce where she died, at the ce where she was reborn ¨C she had seen that person.

    Even among the many who sessfully purified the gallery, he stood out as the one who truly captivated Elle¡¯s heart. She admired the light within him¡­ a confidence that let him walk any path without hesitation.

    But at this moment, that was also the voice that frightened Elle.

    If I am truly the one who gave birth to this nightmare, the one who trapped so many innocent souls within¡­ would Annan me me, berate me?

    However, she would rather take a few scoldings. In that case, she might actually snap back to reality, finding strength in the rebuke to push forward with determination.

    Elle was aware that she was a weak person. She was so weak that she needed someone to push her before she would dare to act.

    Deep down, she never wanted to hurt anyone¡­ and she even hated to disagree with others. Going against someone¡¯s wishes based solely on her own will¡­ that was truly hard for her to ept.

    But if she considered herself merely as a tool, then it would be fine.

    If she could just stop overthinking and worrying, and simply follow someone else¡¯s lead¡­

    [Elle, I can indeed help you open your eyes directly, and I can also control your body to act.]

    Annan seemed to hear her voice and whispered in her heart.

    [But you have to open your eyes on your own ord.]

    Elle was stunned.

    Annan¡¯s voice continued in her heart.

    [I know what you are worried about.]

    [But if you¡¯re always too afraid to face the future and make choices, just going with the flow¡­ then what¡¯s the difference for you between this nightmare and reality?]

    ¡°Living carefree, without worries about the future, life, reality, or ideals, and just enjoying the present¡­ that¡¯s a luxury only kids have.¡±

    Annan whispered in her ear, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to grow up, Elle. Take responsibility for the consequences of every action and decision you make.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not just living someone else¡¯s dream or acting on their will. Eventually, you¡¯ll pay for your choices ¡ª they might be too hard to face or too painful to bear.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s the way to go.¡±

    Those were harsh words.

    It wasn¡¯t from the heart, but it rang crystal clear by the ear.

    It was like an invisible giant hand snatching Elle away from her world of innocence and purity.

    ¡°¡­Actually, I¡¯ve known it all along.¡± Elle murmured, ¡°I just¡­ always wanted to pretend I didn¡¯t.¡±

    She always wished that she was still a child and that her life could stay at the age of 13 forever.

    But that was not possible.

    ¡ªElle, as a ¡°girl¡±, was already dead.

    She stared at the coffee quietly.

    She stared into her own eyes in the light brown reflection.

    As early as Annan¡¯s second sentence, she had already opened her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± She whispered.

    Then, she was filled with determination.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 688: Iâ€™m Here. Let Me Beat The Game.

    <h4>Chapter 688: I¡¯m Here. Let Me Beat The Game.</h4>

    The moment Elle opened her eyes¡­

    Over at the other world¡­ Annan, deep in thought with his eyes closed, briefly experienced blurred vision before it sharpened.

    Then, Elle gradually relinquished control over her body and handed it over to Annan.

    At first, Annan shook his head slowly, feeling a sensation simr to dizziness. As Annan gradually adapted to Elle¡¯s body, this feeling soon became much weaker¡­ until it disappeared entirely.

    It was a strange sense of alienation.

    It felt like watching a character through a VR monitor, directing her movements with mere thoughts.

    Annan turned his head and then moved his fingers.

    He directed his mind ¡ª a character panel appeared before his eyes.

    ¡ªYes, a character panel.

    It was unlike a simple panel with health points and erosion rate that wasmonly found in a dungeon. Instead, it was aplete attribute panel. It felt like it wasn¡¯t a nightmare but in the real world.

    Elle Angelo. Apostle (human). Female.

    Elite Rare (Gold), Challenge Rating 49

    Title: Angel of Betrayal

    Rank: Gold Rank

    Health:100%

    Erosion Rate:0%

    Attributes: Strength 11, Agility 12, Constitution 14, Perception 87, Will 49

    Unique Trait: Angel¡¯s Right Eye

    Profession Overview¡ª

    Half-deity (the Venerated Skeleton) LV1: [Truth: Betrayal LV3], [Angelization LV1]

    Priest [Current total engraving(s)]: the Venerated Skeleton(1142), Bone Burying Grandma(3), Mysterious Lady(5)]

    Divine Arts: Betrayal Realm¡¯s Divine Art Proficiency, Skeleton Realm¡¯s Divine Art Proficiency

    Permanent Ability: Resist Corrosion, Resist Frost, Resist Sonic Damage, Negative Energy Affinity, Reflect Instant Death, Reflect Aging, Energy Organ, Immune to Piercing Damage, Immune to shing Damage, Prophecy Nullification, Edict Nullification, Mortal Damage Nullification, Night Vision, Energy Vision, Curse Perception, Ritual Perception, Ritual Intervention, Transcended Perception, Light Realm Perception

    [Bloodline Element: Vanity (3%), Beauty (8%), Corruption (13%)]

    [Soul Element: Betrayal (100%), Pure Kindness (53%), Understanding (25%)]

    So, this is the attribute panel of an angel?

    Everything started off alright, but Elle¡¯s stats were weirdly low. They were so unbnced that it got Annan worried. What if something happened to Elle?

    Then, Annan saw the luxurious Permanent Ability list at the back.

    An old man on the subway looked at his phone.jpg

    [TN: It¡¯s a Chinese meme. Click here for the image link.]

    Is this what an angel¡¯s resistance is like?

    Annan thought that Ghindaio¡¯s resistance was strong enough. However, inparison to a real high-ranking angel, he found that he was not on the same level at all.

    Elle was immune to all magics of the Prophet and Edict Schools. Plus, if it wasn¡¯t a curse vessel attacking her, then the damage would be ignored no matter how great it was.

    From this point of view, the damage caused by the transcender¡¯s unarmed strike was probably much more effective than shing her with a knife. Thetter would just be outright negated.

    After carefully reading Elle¡¯s resistance list, Annan was still a little worried.

    Elle¡¯s resistance isn¡¯t thatprehensive¡­

    Like her attributes, her resistance was partial.

    After all, she was considered half undead and had no resistance to fire, lightning, or light damage, which made sense. However, it wasn¡¯t quite safe when she wasn¡¯t immune to blunt damage.

    She had the Permanent Ability of [Energy Organ]. This meant that she wouldn¡¯t take poison damage nor could she suffocate. Even if her heart or liver was pierced, it would not cause any substantial harm.

    However, if she was not immune to blunt damage, a Gold Rank Transcender could kill her easily. The so-called ¡°mortal damage nullification¡± referred to damage that did not contain the power of elements.

    In other words, she was vulnerable to any Gold Rank transcender.

    Or like Annan, a transcender who could use the power of elements in advance. Elle¡¯s defenses would be nonexistent.

    Having only 14 points in the Constitution meant she was critically vulnerable to the aforementioned attacks.

    For instance, consider how the Shaping Great Wizard Jude was killed by a single arrow from Dove, who hadn¡¯t even started on the Transcendence Path. It was a situation akin to that.

    However, after bing an angel, she had improved.

    Annan didn¡¯t know how to use her Truth. After all, it was not Annan¡¯s own truth. He could only peek into it and ¡°digitize¡± it through the power of the Book of Divine Transporter.

    Fortunately, Annan could still use the power of elements.

    Elle did not have the perks provided by a profession, which meant she was low on skills and stats. However, she truly possessed divinity and could be considered a half-deity. As a Gold Rank, she could utilize elemental power.

    Previously, when she transformed the surrounding world into another realm, manifesting abstract bands of light to alter the surroundingws, it was undoubtedly the materialization of the power of the elements.

    But¡­

    ¡°Elle, how do you use these truths and elements?¡± Annan asked Elle in his mind, ¡°What can it be used for?¡±

    It was like nning to boost a buddy¡¯s game ount, but when I logged in, I just stared nkly at a bunch of skills I¡¯d never seen before, feeling like a total noob subbing in.

    [I¡­I don¡¯t know either¡­]

    Elle responded hesitantly in her mind.

    She resembled a rushed premium yer who gained a profession without reading the skill instructions.

    ¡°How could you not know?¡±

    [Because I haven¡¯t fought with anyone yet¡­]

    Although Elle already possessed such power, she didn¡¯t have such a strong desire.

    She didn¡¯t adopt the orthodox ascendancy method, using desire as the fire, will as the anvil, and curse as the hammer, and subjecting her mortal soul to repeated corruption, calcination, condensation, purification, dissolution, dyeing process¡­ until she ascended.

    Elle was just an ordinary person to start with, basically just broken bones that hadn¡¯t been buried and couldn¡¯t be.

    As the Divine Child, she was already Gold Rank from the moment she was born.

    In this world where she must maintain enough desire toplete the [¡°Dyed Rank¡± Trial], Elle was the only one without it.

    Besides Elle, perhaps only pure-blooded dragons could turn their souls golden without being ¡°dyed¡± by their desires.

    She was an irreceable miracle.

    [But because of that¡­ I think enough people have died because of my birth.]

    She said softly, [I hope that at least I can stop killing people and stop having disputes with others.]

    ¡°That won¡¯t be easy, Elle.¡± Annan was silent for a while and replied in his heart, ¡°For you, it is much harder to not kill someone than to kill someone.¡±

    [Eh? Really?]

    ¡°But I¡¯ll help you.¡± Annan looked up.

    He took control of Elle¡¯s body and gave Longjing Tea a pat on the shoulder.

    Sensing Elle patting his shoulder, Longjing Tea immediately turned around. Celecia also stopped talking.

    People had always shown a lot of care for Elle. It was likely because of the deep-seated kindness in everyone¡¯s heart towards true goodness.

    Even if they knew they couldn¡¯t do it themselves, upon witnessing someone genuinely treading that path, they would silently show their respects and lend a helping hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Longjing Tea.¡± Annan showed a bright smile and extended his thumb to Longjing Tea.

    However, Longjing Tea was stunned when he saw the familiar smile blooming on Elle¡¯s face. He vaguely felt that the smile looked familiar, but the difference had been so vast that he had hesitated to acknowledge it¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s me ¡ª I¡¯m Annan.¡±

    A soft yet confident andmanding voice emanated from Elle.

    Elle opened her emerald green eyes for the first time in a long time.

    Like the girl in the white dress from the past, she shed a cheerful, radiant smile, evoking the warmth of the sun.

    The brilliance of the sunset fell on Elle.

    ¡°Just as Elle¡¯s heart calls out, and just as you call out¡­¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± said, ¡°Even if it¡¯s another world, I can reach it and take you away from all dangers¡­as always.¡±

    ¡°Your friend, Annan Austere-Winteres to the rescue.¡±

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 Chapter 689: The Fear Of Being Chased By Nightmares

    <h4>Chapter 689: The Fear Of Being Chased By Nightmares</h4>

    Annan Austere-Winter?

    Hearing this familiar name, Celecia¡¯s light blue pupils shrank slightly.

    Of course, she recognized this name.

    But that was a long time ago¡­

    Back then, Celecia was a young man named ¡°Thoreau Nick¡± who followed ¡°Teacher dmir¡± in Winter¡¯s Hand. As a reserve member of Winter¡¯s Hand, she had of coursee into contact with the Grand Duke¡¯s son.

    Of course¡­ considering her identity back then, even if she did meet Annan, they definitely weren¡¯t close.

    Even so, she could still sense the captivating [maic allure] of ¡°Annan¡±.

    Annan had an alias at the time called ¡°the Silent One¡± and ¡°the Monster That Leaves No Trace¡±.

    He was not called the Silent One because of the favor he received from the Silent Lady ¡ª it was the opposite.

    Thoreau Nick once handed young ¡°Annan¡± evidence about a count¡¯s rebellionte at night.

    Even Thoreau Nick himself had not read the content.

    After getting the report, Annan just sat quietly in the study, jotting down notes seriously. When he sat in the chair at the study of Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, his feet didn¡¯t even reach the floor.

    He was so young back then.

    Even Thoreau Nick, who had a fanatical ¡°faith¡± in dmir, couldn¡¯t help but voice his doubts.

    ¡ªCan such a young child recognize all the words in this letter?

    ¡°[Can such a young child recognize all the words in this letter?] That¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking, right?¡±

    Young Annan raised his head and stared at Thoreau Nick with his tired, calm, and mystical eyes.

    It was an emotionless nce, like a gaze of a higher being.

    ¡°¡­I see, so that¡¯s the kind of person you are.¡±

    Those words struck Thoreau Nick like thunder.

    ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± was a tool that must be absolutely loyal to Austere-Winter just like how you would protect your heart with both hands ¡ª even if it meant grabbing the sharp edge of a sword or catching a dagger with the back of your hand, you couldn¡¯t let anything get through that hurt the heart.

    At that time, Thoreau Nick was overwhelmed with fear.

    Young Annan¡¯s devilish whispering did not stop there.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re serving dmir instead of Austere-Winter? How interesting. I bet you want me dead right now. I¡¯d wager your skills are way beyond others in the Winter¡¯s Hand. Couldn¡¯t undergo the Wolf¡¯s Kiss ritual? Maybe that¡¯s for the best; less of a hassle if you ever turn traitor, knowing too much.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ wait a minute!¡±

    The first bit sent chills down Thoreau Nick¡¯s spine, and the next part made Thoreau Nick blurt out, ¡°I swear I will never betray you¡ª¡±

    ¡°You will.¡± With a more certain attitude than Thoreau Nick, Annan said calmly, ¡°Because dmir will eventually betray me.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°I know him better than you do. I also know you better than you know yourself. Naturally, I also know you better than him. It¡¯s so easy to read¡­ I can even see your future at a nce because I am on another level. I have seen stories simr to this in another history.¡±

    Young Annan said something that didn¡¯t make much sense, then tossed the response letter into the hands of a very confused Thoreau Nick.

    ¡°Quite aplicated riddle, right? But you¡¯ll figure it out sooner orter.¡± Annan added.

    After that, Annan fell silent again, turning the pages of the book without saying a word.

    But at that moment, Thoreau Nick couldn¡¯t bear to listen to another word from Annan. He practically tripped over himself in his haste to flee the study.

    For him, it was no longer a human world but an abyss inhabited by monsters.

    After handing Annan¡¯s reply to dmir with slightly trembling hands, Thoreau Nick couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher¡­will you betray Grand Duke?¡±

    He regretted it the moment he asked this question.

    However, dmir just nced at him and replied coolly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell others what you heard from His Highness Annan.¡±

    ¡°Then, do you mean¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªOf course, I will.¡± dmir calmly said something that was beyond Thoreau Nick¡¯s understanding, ¡°Because betrayal sometimes has its meaning.¡±

    ¡°The¡­ meaning of betrayal?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the Grand Duke, so you can¡¯t understand it.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡­¡±

    ¡°If the Grand Duke needs it, I can be the Grand Duke.¡±

    That was an equally absurd and treacherous statement.

    dmir ended the conversation and disappeared for two days.

    Celecia didn¡¯t fully understand dmir¡¯s words at that time.

    However, she still remembered¡­

    A week had passed since that day. The count who had attempted a rebellion seemed to have vanished. By the time people noticed, they found out that everyone in the count¡¯s mansion hadmitted suicide.

    Everyone left a suicide note. There were no signs of anyoneing in or out of the count¡¯s mansion, no evidence of a fight. Even using prophecy magic, no traces of spells could be detected. So, it was concluded that they had all taken their own lives.

    Count¡¯s rtives also happened to be seriously ill, bankrupt, or imprisoned for crimes.

    Thest person to inherit the countship was a young man from Winter¡¯s Hand. He was Thoreau Nick¡¯s senior brother, who also belonged to dmir¡¯s faction.

    When the Icebreakers army was getting established, he was one of the nobles who provided support. Later on, he and his family were naturally held ountable and were all enlisted into the Frostbeast army.

    ¡ªTo this day, Celecia still couldn¡¯t figure out what happened that day.

    All she knew was that it definitely had to do with whatever Annan decided and what her teacher did.

    Therefore, after the teacher¡¯s betrayal, the first thing she could do was to escape from Frostwhisper Province to a ce where Annan could not find her.

    Even to this day, she asionally woke up from dreams about Annan¡¯s gaze.

    She had no fear of being caught or imprisoned. Whether she was imprisoned or executed, there was nothing to fear for her. As early as her teenage years, she had been prepared to die for her teacher.

    However, if Annan were right there, merely giving her that silent stare¡­ it would shake her to her core.

    And now¡­

    After ¡°Elle¡± finished talking to Longjing Tea, she turned her head.

    ¡°Elle¡± sped her hands together and smiled at Celecia with a strange yet familiar smile.

    ¡°Long time no see, do you still remember me?¡± She said softly, ¡°Mr. Thoreau Nick?¡±

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 Chapter 690: Mirage of Betrayals

    <h4>Chapter 690: Mirage of Betrayals</h4>

    Celecia¡¯s heart abruptly stopped.

    The statement was not an exaggeration.

    At that very moment, Celecia felt her heart stop beating out of fear.

    She opened her mouth. Many words came to her mind, but those words stuck in her throat. She couldn¡¯t utter a single word.

    She was no longer Thoreau Nick. Her life had started over, and she was already in Gold Rank. She was no longer the loser who failed the Winter¡¯s Hand exam. Moreover, she was a popr figure, an idol in many people¡¯s hearts¡­

    Sure enough, she had ample achievements.

    However, in the end, she remained silent and slowly lowered her head.

    Go figures!

    Even after getting a whole new look and changing up how I act, Annan still knew it was me right off the bat, huh?

    What exposed me?

    ¡°At your disposal¡­ Your Highness.¡± Celecia responded bitterly.

    ¡ªThis is ridiculous.

    She thought she could escape this old fear.

    ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± Elle¡¯s voice was soft and gentle.

    Celecia¡¯s azure blue pupils, which were reminiscent of a ragdoll cat, were instantly filled with pain and fear.

    Soon, ¡°Elle¡± smiled mischievously again, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to call me [Your Majesty].¡±

    As the tension rose and then quickly subsided, Celecia couldn¡¯t help but rx.

    Celecia even felt that her initial fear had significantly lessened.

    Everything fell ording to Annan¡¯s n.

    Annan could guess what kind of personality he had in his first ythrough ¡ª the kind of fear that would be in the hearts of everyone who came into contact with him.

    With that, Annan came up with a new n based on how he understood himself. Detonating the existing fear to make obey the ¡°current¡± Annan.

    As the saying goes, faking it till you make it.

    Annan was fake, and he would be using the facade of his ¡°other self¡±.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Celecia¡¯s tone became much more rxed, no longer filled with bitterness, ¡°At yourmand.¡±

    ¡°I already have a n to escape from this nightmare.¡± Elle said calmly, ¡°We may not meet the conditions this cycle, but I¡¯ll save everyone in the next one.¡±

    ¡°To retain the power of ¡®remembering¡¯ to Elle, I need all of you to die once at the stipted time.¡±

    ¡°Before that, I have some questions that I want to talk to you about.¡±

    ¡°Is it about the teacher?¡± Celecia quickly realized what Annan wanted to ask.

    She quickly responded, ¡°Just like you predicted back then, the teacher betrayed you.¡±

    What had I foreseen back then?

    Annan was surprised.

    This message was packed with information.

    Suppose Annan had known that dmir would betray.

    Given Annan¡¯s personality and capabilities, if it came to that, there was no way dimir could sessfully betray him.

    ording to what Ivan said at the time, what dmir did was to use Be to steal Dmitri¡¯s bodily fluids to create a curse vessel that could control and tame the Frost Beast without the ¡°Austere-Winter bloodline¡±.

    dmir took control of a third of the Frost Beasts, built the Ice-shredders, and then caused the Frost Maul Disaster. As control of the Frost Beast was shaken, the loyalties of the local nobles were put to the test ¡ª many realized that their loyalty to Austere-Winter did not seem to be necessary.

    Their loyalty only answered to the controller of the Frost Beast.

    The Frost Beast unit was the most formidable force in Austere-Winter. The mightiest war machine was also the Frost Beast. Punishments and tortures were carried out with the help of the Frost Beast, the deterrence of thew also stemmed from the Frost Beast, and even trade exports relied on Frost Beast products.

    He who controlled the Frost Beast seized everything.

    Ordinary soldiers couldn¡¯t possibly defeat a Frost Beast of a simr size ¡ª simply being near a Frost Beast would make them tremble with fear and sorrow. If they weren¡¯t taken down with a single blow, just being close to the Frost Beast would paralyze theirbat abilities.

    The Frost Beast¡¯s ability to absorb positive emotions in an area-effect manner on the battlefield was akin to a poison gas that couldn¡¯t be defended against with gas masks. Although most Frost Beasts were wolves, there were also types like bears, foxes, and hawks¡­ Any non-primate animalrger than a certain size that had perished as a youngling in a blizzard had the potential to be transformed into a Frost Beast.

    With just one deep breath, a Frost Beast could drain the sense of ¡°happiness¡± within a conical range; and when in groups, merely passing by a person was enough to freeze them in ce, turning them into statues covered in frost, devoid of thought or hope.

    The Frost Beast would not eat humans.

    However, victims of the Frost Beast would stop avoiding snowstorms. The despair and powerlessness in their hearts would paralyze their will to act and desire to survive.

    Victims of the Frost Beast, when in the wild, usually ended up freezing to death.

    When the Frost Beasts moved in groups, it only took a few of them, each taking a bite, to consume someone¡¯s spirit entirely, driving them to despair and death.

    However, the Frost Beasts could not enter the water, nor could they enter the Gray Mists.

    Therefore, the Frost Beast troops could only be used for defensive measures and maintainingw and order.

    That was the biggest w of this army.

    However, on the other hand, seizing control of the Frost Beast would neutralize any other private soldiers, especially those under the nobles.

    If the Frost Beasts got close, just a dozen or so could instantly paralyze the resistance of a hundred-man squad. Ordinary metal arrows had little effect on them¡­ only oil-soaked fire arrows could inflict effective damage.

    dmir¡¯s betrayal didn¡¯t result in significant destruction. However, the appearance of the ¡°Ice-shredders¡± directly sparked a rebellion that swept across the entire Austere-Winter continent and led to a purge within Winter¡¯s Hand.

    If Annan had known about it and wanted to stop it, he would have done so.

    However, he didn¡¯t.

    What would that mean?

    Was Annan expecting the rebellionunched by ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡± dmir at the first ythrough?

    Or was it already in Annan¡¯s n at the first ythrough?

    1500 military-grade Frost Beasts were lost.

    This number was nearing the ¡°bottom line¡± that the Austere-Winter Dukedom could tolerate.

    So, conversely¡­

    If the rebellion of ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡± was what Annan had needed, then which of the subsequent events was ¡®essential¡¯?

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan murmured.

    His eyes grew brighter.

    After that, two ¡°unprecedented¡± events happened.

    The first event was the dismissal of the upper echelons of the Winter¡¯s Hand ¡ª the authority over foreign affairs, which was the power controlled by the ¡®Right Hand¡¯, was brought back under the direct control of the Grand Duke.

    Until then, even Ivan hadn¡¯t realized that the true power of the Austere-Winter Dukedom had already fallen into the hands of the ¡®Ten Fingers¡¯ of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The second thing was that the Northern Brotherhood hadpletely lost their loyalty to the Austere-Winter family, openly rebelling against them. That was their ¡°Satiated Gold¡± n. This was the first family since the founding of the Austere-Winter Dukedom that dared to trade with the Fallen. Their audacity clearly stemmed from the ¡®Artificial Frost Beast¡¯ initiative.

    However, what if the Winter Insurgent¡¯s ¡°betrayal¡± was merely an act to prompt the Grand Duke to reim his authority?

    Suppose this n aimed to single out those among the local nobles who made deals with the Fallen.

    Then, why hadn¡¯t dmire back yet?

    Did he actually turn against Austere-Winter for real, blurring the lines between pretense and reality?

    Or¡­

    ¡°So, where is dmir now?¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± asked Celecia after thinking for a long time.

    However, without missing a beat, Celecia replied with a bitter smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t seen the teacher for a long time.¡±

    After a long silence, Celecia replied in a low voice, ¡°Since the Ice-shredders were formed, I have never met the teacher again.¡±

    ¡°It was only after I became the ¡®Captain in Stone¡¯ that I found out that the teacher didn¡¯t die.¡±

    ¡°But no matter what, I can¡¯t reach the teacher. Ship ¡®Silver¡¯ has the ability to pursue the target, but it has never been able to lock on the teacher¡¯s location. I even doubted whether the teacher was still alive. However, I always get to learn from others that the teacher is indeed living well.¡±

    ¡°All I can conclude is that the teacher has been hiding from me¡­ I don¡¯t know why. If it¡¯s for the teacher¡¯s sake, I¡¯d rather have people recognize me as Thoreau Nick¡­ even if it means being wanted, even if everyone knows I was once the ouw. The only thing I truly don¡¯t want is for the teacher to turn a blind eye to me.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan mused.

    He had grasped most of the facts.

    All it would take was to meet dmir once and everything would be clear.

    ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Elle¡± nodded and stood up from the chair leisurely.

    ¡°I still have to look for someone. It¡¯s not a condition for clearing the nightmare. It¡¯s just my personal matter. Work for me, Thoreau Nick¡­ No, Celecia. If everything goes well, I may forgive you.¡±

    ¡°Who will that be?¡±

    ¡°That person is ¡®Lily Rasputin¡¯ on your ship.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± smirked, ¡°Of course, if we¡¯re talking about her real name¡­¡±

    ¡°Euphemia¡¤Melvin, right?¡± Celecia replied softly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Elle¡± threw a brief and calm reply, ¡°Lead the way.¡±

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 Chapter 691: Illusory Fictional City

    <h4>Chapter 691: Illusory Fictional City</h4>

    The masked ¡°Lily Rasputin¡± on the treasure ship ¡°Silver¡± was undoubtedly Euphemia Melvin who ran away from home back then.

    Until now, Annan hadn¡¯t been able to verify the uracy of this spection.

    However, with Celecia¡¯s help¡­

    Her reply convinced Annan that his deduction was right.

    It was just a hunch previously, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to check.

    Anyway, in this world where ¡°everything would be forgotten in the next cycle¡±, even if Annan made the wrong choice, it would still be fine. Although this world was created to seal the Venerated Skeleton, it served another purpose for Annan.

    ¡ªIn the outside world, somements or actions led to unexpected turns of events, resulting in an ¡®unforeseen ending¡¯. In gaming terms, this could be roughly called a ¡®secret ending¡¯ or an ¡®easter egg¡¯, where the biggest secrets are usually concealed.

    But the main difference between real life and games was that ¡®you can¡¯t reload a save file in reality¡¯.

    This meant that if you wanted to chase that ¡®secret ending¡¯, you had to let go of the ¡®usual oue¡¯ that was already in motion.

    It would be a tough decision to make.

    Or, precisely because yers in games could reload and restart multiple times, the joy of reaching the ending might not be as grand. This was because ¡®achieving that ending¡¯ was the initial goal all yers had when they started the game, and its value might diminish.

    Compared with the outstanding and secret ending, a normal ythrough seemed ¡°not interesting enough¡±. Even though the oue of the secret ending might not be as good as the regr ending, people would still pursue the secret ending. It appeared as if unlocking the secret ending was a higher form of achievement.

    In this infinite nightmare loop of [Eternal Reincarnation], the nightmare¡¯s conditions became the ¡°load savefile¡± feature.

    This implied that Annan might have to use drastic measures to get intel that was usually hard toe by.

    For example, Annan told Celecia his real name.

    While she might temporarily obey Annan¡¯s orders and tell him everything she knew, this also meant that obtaining certain information might be even more challenging.

    There were things she could tell ordinary people, Elle, a stranger, and a passerby, but not Annan.

    ¡ªThat was inevitable.

    Since this cycle would eventually end and everyone would lose these memories, it would be a waste to not take advantage of such a rare opportunity to extract some valuable information.

    Since it might damage Annan¡¯s reputation among the yers, Annan didn¡¯t bring Longjing Tea along this time.

    To keep Longjing Tea¡¯s wild side in check, Annan sent him back to his ce ¡ª definitely the best spot for ying the part and staying safe.

    Naturally, people would tend to rest at home in the evening; they would need a good reason to head out.

    Annan was worried about it at first. If Euphemia returned home honestly, it would not be easy to find her residence in these high-rise buildings.

    Fortunately, Euphemia Melvin was not that kind of person.

    Finding her wasn¡¯t particrly difficult.

    She had a distinctive appearance.

    Her hair was a heavy silvery-gray, reminiscent of mercury, hanging straight down. Near the ends, though, it unexpectedly transitioned into a pinkish-purple ombre with curls.

    Such a distinctive hair color was unforgettable at just one nce. Not to mention the metallic mask she wore, covering the upper half of her face, making her look like something out of a fantasy.

    Annan and Celecia did not even use any transcended abilities, nor did they leverage Longjing Tea¡¯s police authority. They just asked a few folks on the street and tracked down Euphemia the old-fashioned way.

    At that moment, she was leisurely strolling through the food street ¡ª a can of coconut juice in her left hand and several steaming skewers in her right. With great gusto, she took a big bite, munching on several pieces from the skewers all at once.

    Given the stack of wooden sticks poking out from her waist pouch, it seemed Euphemia had been on a food spree for a while.

    ¡°Lily?¡±

    This was such a departure from her usual look that when Ceresiaid eyes on her, she was momentarily speechless.

    She asked probingly, ¡°Is that you?¡±

    ¡°Hi, Captain.¡±

    Euphemia seemed to have no doubt that ¡°Celecia would eventually find her¡±.

    The moment she was called, she said hello to Celecia without hesitation, ¡°You¡¯re a littlete. Wasn¡¯t I your top priority? That¡¯s kind of heartbreaking. I thought you¡¯d find me sooner¡­¡±

    While her words conveyed sadness, her tone wasid-back, without a trace of sorrow.

    She turned around. Upon seeing Elle, she paused for a moment. Then, she greeted smilingly, ¡°Hey, Little Elle¡­ I didn¡¯t expect to see you here. Weren¡¯t you an angel?¡±

    She clearly couldn¡¯t forget the sight of Elle turning into an angel and flying away.

    However, she didn¡¯t seem too bothered.

    Noticing that Elle¡¯s eyes were focused on the coconut juice in her left hand, she handed it over with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s coconut juice, and it¡¯s delicious. Among the drinks, this one tastes the best to me. Not only it¡¯s fresh, it¡¯s also sweet. Do you want to try it?¡±

    Obviously, she had already bought a lot of drinks in this ¡°other world¡±.

    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be this familiar with the drinks.

    As the creator of this otherworldly nightmare, Bone Burying Grandma could either literally see the future, or she pulled bits of ¡°modern¡± life from the yers¡¯ memories, using them to quickly craft this slightly scaled-down ¡°other realm¡±.

    Annan felt thetter reason made more sense.

    In this world, some things simply didn¡¯t need to be here.

    The most distinctive feature of the Mist Continent, apart from the curse, was the ¡°ritual¡± that started with the Mysterious Lady.

    Even if more people be aware of the power held by the ¡°Mysterious Lady¡±, it didn¡¯t make Her any less mysterious or any weaker.¡±

    The essence of ritual was to ¡°rent¡± transcended power.

    Every country agreed on controlling the secrets that could make someone a ritualist. It wasn¡¯t about weakening the ritual¡¯s power, but because those secrets were just too dangerous.

    If the ritual failed, it could lead to various disasters ¡ª earthquakes, tsunamis, torrential rains, droughts, or even explosions in buildings, continuous nightmares among the townsfolk, participants in the ritual going mad, simply shortening of lifespan, or destroying the ritual site. Regardless of the oue, it was always troublesome.

    On the other hand, holding the power of ritual would quickly inte any ordinary person¡¯s ego. No curse of transcendence restrained them. Besides, their mind wasn¡¯t cleansed of distractions since they didn¡¯t condense their souls like those advancing to the Silver Rank. They acted more recklessly, without consideration for the consequences.

    In other words, controlling the rituals wasn¡¯t because having more ritualists would weaken the power of the rituals. It was simply that the armed forces of the kingdoms on the surface couldn¡¯t effectively deter or control these civilian ritualists to obey thew.

    So, with the advancement of technology, official standardization of rituals became the inevitable path forward.

    And over those centuries, new and more effective rituals had inevitably emerged. After all, rituals could be created¡­ as long as they adhered to certain rules, they could be integrated into the ¡°Truth¡± system.

    From Annan¡¯s observation, this ¡°other world¡± seemed more akin to an Earth-like worldview, but with elements adopted from the Mist Continent settings.

    It almost entirely blocked the development of all non-magical rituals. It seemed more like a fictional city, built using the magical knowledge of various schools led by the transformation school,bined with the technology of Earth around the 20th century.

    To create a world with mere thoughts¡­

    The Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s power even made Annan feel a little nervous.

    What baffled Annan: Did all twelve upright deities have equal power? Or was it just the Bone Burying Grandma who was special?

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 692: The Person Who Gave Up Her Name

    <h4>Chapter 692: The Person Who Gave Up Her Name</h4>

    Upon realizing that the Bone Burying Grandma fabricated this world, the sense of incongruity became quite understandable.

    Since this wasn¡¯t the future of Mist Continent, things were different.

    Annan attempted to use the special abilities.

    Even though Elle had the unique divine art abilities of ¡°Betrayal¡± and ¡°Skeleton¡±, they were of no use here. This was simr to the trade concept in this world. When Annanunched a ritual at Trade Deity Silver Sire, he couldn¡¯t get any response.

    Silver Sire wouldn¡¯t ignore Annan¡¯s summon. The only possibility was that he didn¡¯t hear it.

    This meant that even though there were ¡°curses¡± here, this ce was not the Mist Continent.

    There were no traces of upright deities such as Silver Sire. In the Mist Continent, the death of any deity would lead to the death of the ¡°Truth¡±.

    It was indeed the real ¡°other world¡±.

    Different worlds had different rules.

    However, when Annan called out to the Bone Burying Grandma, his ritual received an immediate response.

    Apart from the bone burial ritual used to purify the undead, Bone Burying Grandma usually did not respond to rituals. ¡°Funeral¡± was one of the core rituals of the Bone Burying Grandma, but no one had ever seen signs of Bone Burying Grandma appearing at anyone¡¯s funeral.

    In other words, this was a world Bone Burying Grandma built, where she was the only deity.

    And, the grandma must be watching the yers¡¯ actions.

    There was no doubt that this was a piece of crucial information.

    This meant that the grandma must be looking forward to something.

    If this other world was a perfect prison of eternal reincarnation, then the grandma wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to it at all. Once the nightmare was created from the start, she could just walk away.

    This spection gave Annan confidence.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a disgrace.¡± Annan said to Elle in his heart, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be considered your pope? Why am I saving you?¡±

    When Elle was born, the person listening to Elle¡¯s covenant was Annan. In other words, Annan was the secret keeper of ¡°Angel of Betrayal¡±.

    If Annan decided to establish an ¡°Angel of Betrayal Church¡±, then he could be the first generation of the pope. The reason why he was not a pope at the moment was simply because he had not established a church. Meanwhile, Elle had no other believers except Annan.

    [I don¡¯t want that to happen either.]

    Elle screamed in her heart.

    [Didn¡¯t I give youplete control of my body? Please save me, Your Majesty Annan!]

    ¡°Huh?¡°

    Annan sighed, ¡°Just leave it to me. I already have the solution.¡±

    Already On the Way.jpg

    All they needed to know was what Bone Burying Grandma hoped to achieve. Then, they would find the exit.

    However, Elle wasn¡¯t quite aware of her identity as a divine being.

    She was the Angel of Betrayal. As the other half of the Venerated Skeleton, she was half a level above a pope. However, she was addressing Annan as Your Majesty.

    While Annan was chatting with Elle, he wasn¡¯t distracted from his actions.

    ¡°Elle¡± took the coconut juice from Euphemia¡¯s hand with a smile. She nced at the packaging on the aluminum can, and her expression became a little subtle.

    Yes, Annan recognizes this brand. Or rather, he only knows this brand for its coconut juice¡­

    ¡°The packaging might look a bit shy, but it actually tastes really good.¡± Euphemia said with a smile.

    In just a few hours, she had be familiar enough with this city to act as a tour guide.

    This showed that she had indeed devoted herself wholeheartedly to exploring this city.

    Apart from Celecia, who knew that the ¡°teacher¡± was fake but still enjoyed thisfort, Euphemia Melvin, going by ¡®Lily Rasputin¡¯, was also getting caught up in this dream.

    However, her enjoyment waspletely different from Celecia¡¯s.

    Suppose Celecia was addicted to the past, which was like a bubble.

    Then, Euphemia was simply enjoying ¡°the present¡±.

    Euphemia casually suggested ces to Elle, rmending ces to Elle and Celecia, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, this street has tons of amazing food, and it¡¯s so cheap! I¡¯ve been eating for over an hour and haven¡¯t even spent all the cash I lifted from some random pedestrian.¡±

    ¡°Miss Euphemia.¡± Just then, ¡°Elle¡± revealed a faint smile and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you a few things.¡±

    ¡°¡­Euphemia!¡±

    Hearing this, Euphemia was silent for a long time and sighed, ¡°After so many years, it is really nostalgic to hear her name.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m sorry, you found the wrong person. Euphemia is indeed my friend, but she is not me. My name is Lily Rasputin.¡±

    ¡°[Get the cowhide of the shoulder of a brown calf. Give it three drops of snake¡¯s tears, then wipe the surface of the ring while it is slightly warm but not red from the mes.].¡± ¡°Elle¡± dropped the bomb abruptly.

    Her voice was light, like a yful tune¡­ but there was a hint of menace in it.

    When ¡°Elle¡± said this, Euphemia hadpletely lost her voice.

    Even behind that mask, Annan could tell Euphemia must be looking pretty grim right now.

    ¡°How is she doing now?¡±

    ¡°Of course, she is dead. She has been dead for a long time. Even her child is dead¡­ Her child is a talent of Energy Falteration School, not an Idol School Wizard.¡±

    Holding the coconut juice in her left hand, ¡°Elle¡± said leisurely, ¡°You should have known this a long time ago, right? But you didn¡¯t tell me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was you who killed her. Until she died, she was thinking about delivering Old Crow¡¯s intelligence.¡±

    ¡°That has nothing to do with me!¡± Euphemia interrupted Elle abruptly and coldly.

    However, when seeing ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± knowing smile, she was momentarily speechless.

    Of course, she could clearly discern the underlying message in ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± words.

    Everything ¡°Elle¡± said was true.

    The friend was dead.

    This didn¡¯t surprise her. Lily didn¡¯t have much life left at that time but her child also died because of her.

    She already had some guesses. The Rasputin family specialized in Energy Falteration School and the Edict School, unlike the Melvin Family¡¯s Idol School. If Lily gave birth to a child with the Energy Falteration School, the old man¡¯s suspicious nature would prompt him to investigate whether the kid was truly his. He would likely figure out that Lily wasn¡¯t the real ¡°Euphemia¡±, and that they had swapped identities.

    After that, Euphemia couldn¡¯t even imagine what kind of torture Lily and her children would face.

    Yes, she had already anticipated this possibility.

    However, back then, she took a chance, assuming this possibility wouldn¡¯t ur.

    But now¡­

    Euphemia¡¯s heart quivered. Her words wereced with a sudden burst of unexined anger, deep-seated fear, and guilt.

    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t want that to happen either¡­¡±

    She was halfway through her sentence when she choked up.

    She didn¡¯t know how to justify such a despicable side of herself

    She was guilty no matter what.

    At this time, ¡°Elle¡± came closer like a smiling devil.

    ¡°Elle¡± whispered in Euphemia¡¯s ear, ¡°Do you know?¡±

    ¡°Annan Austere-Winter, the child born to Lily¡¯s sister Anya, was a talented ritualist. He mastered many rituals, including rituals that could extend lifespan.¡±

    ¡°Had Lily been in the Austere-Winter Dukedom, perhaps she wouldn¡¯t have died.¡±

    ¡°All this is precisely because of your betrayal of the family.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not betrayal!¡± Euphemia subconsciously refuted, ¡°The Melvin family is the greatest betrayal!¡±

    Euphemia said it.

    ¡°Elle¡± narrowed her eyes slightly.

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 Chapter 693: Curse Of The Living Dead

    <h4>Chapter 693: Curse Of The Living Dead</h4>

    ¡ªThe Melvin family is the greatest betrayal.

    That was definitely the truth blurted out under duress and desperation.

    It might be a bit exaggerated, but it was not false.

    That was one of the truths Annan wanted to get from her through aggressive means.

    Apart from Rasputin, the only noble in the Austere-Winter Dukedom with a Gold Rank transcender was the Melvin family.

    Whether it was the previous rebellions or the attacks Annan facedter on, their family was eerily quiet about it all.

    Typically, as holders of such a rare and strategically significant Gold Rank transcender, wouldn¡¯t they be more vocal about such national-level events?

    Not only were they quiet, but the Winter¡¯s Hand actually let them stay that way.

    No one ever investigated them, nor did anyone doubt them. It was as if every time a disaster struck, everyone instinctively forgot about the Melvin family.

    As Annan spected before¡ª

    What is the purpose of the Winter Insurgent¡¯s betrayal?

    What is his purpose? What is the necessity of doing this? What is the reason why he has note back yet?

    There was only one answer.

    His mission was far fromplete.

    Annan had roughly guessed one of his goals.

    That was to gain influence in the underground cities.

    ¡°The Winter Insurgent¡± was well-known, highly skilled, and ruthless. Since arriving in the underground world, he quickly rallied an armed force and effectively took control of multiple cities.

    If he were still the Winter¡¯s Hand of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, such actions would undoubtedly be met with joint condemnation from other countries ¡ª it was unquestionably an act of aggression.

    But after he instigated the rebellion¡­ regardless of the actual truth, from the outside perspective, he was seen as the initiator of the uprising. Therefore, even if it was for political asylum, the underground world couldn¡¯t stop him from building his own forces.

    ¡ªBecause he was trying to protect himself.

    Moreover, in the underground world, the original political structure was also very loose. The Winter Insurgent was not the first to acquire the name ¡°Digger¡± by purchasing discovery rights, and then gain control of a certain city.

    Since they could do that, why couldn¡¯t I?

    Aside from this goal, the other motives might be rted to the Melvin family.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Even Celecia couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by these words, ¡°That¡¯s not what you said when you first joined us.¡±

    Especially, when admitting to rebellion in front of the next generation of Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke ¡ª even though Euphemia didn¡¯t know that ¡°Elle¡± was actually Annan, Celecia was aware of it.

    ¡°Because that¡¯s a lie.¡± Euphemia Melvin looked bitter, ¡°I didn¡¯t escape from my family just to pursue freedom.¡±

    ¡°Do you know? All the descendants of the Melvin family, except for the Divine Child who inherited ¡®the Divine of the World¡¯, the rest are mere tools to pass on the bloodline. Since we are tools, naturally we will not learn ¡®human¡¯ skills.¡±

    To preserve their divinity, the children of the Melvin family were kept away from worldly affairs from birth, untainted by the mundane. Activities like farming, cooking, forging, and hunting were strictly forbidden, and even learning about them was not allowed ¡ª they couldn¡¯t even touch books rted to these subjects.

    Among the knowledge in the world, the only ones that the children of the Melvin family were allowed to learn were ¡°the knowledge of killing and saving people¡±. In other words, assassination and medical treatment.

    However, it was only limited to ¡°learning¡±.

    The Melvin family would never truly allow them to do so. The reason was that they were concerned that external forces might interfere with their ¡°nurturing¡± process¡­ Whether it was taking a life or saving one, there was always a ¡°target¡± for applying one¡¯s skills.

    The target¡¯s words, actions, and gaze might shake the Divine Child¡¯s divinity and drag him into the mundane world.

    While such actions were taken to cultivate divinity, they also cut off the possibility of the Melvin family¡¯s children escaping the family ¡ª they had simply never been exposed to any knowledge of the ordinary world.

    Let alone making money, they didn¡¯t even know which items were edible and which weren¡¯t; they had no clue about what constituted poison, what the shelf life of food was, or even what properly prepared food should look like before it was eaten.

    They didn¡¯t even have the skills to buy things¡­ where to purchase certain items, or what their approximate prices might be. In fact, they didn¡¯t even recognize the concept that ¡°this item can be purchased¡±, let alone carrying money with them.

    To give an example, the children of the Melvin family were like friends entrusted with an EVE Online ount ¡ª utterly clueless once they started the game.

    What is this? What is that? What should I do? What are they doing?

    Reaching this extent, they could truly be called ¡°detached from worldly affairs.¡±

    ¡°But, the children of the Melvin family are by no means dim-witted. Cultivating intelligence under such strict conditions is a challenge in itself¡­ To enhance the children¡¯sprehension and logical thinking, mere education isn¡¯t enough. Special potions are needed to abstract their thinking.¡±

    Euphemia exined in a low voice.

    Simply put¡­

    It was like the children of the Melvin family had consumed so many ¡®supplements¡¯ that they all became exceptionally smart.

    ¡°Given this, we knew that leaving the family would make even basic survival challenging; and to call it ¡®challenging¡¯ would be an understatement. Yet, even so, there have always been those who escaped from the family. You haven¡¯t seen them because¡­ they¡¯re all dead.¡±

    ¡°The family is always been adept at Idol Magic. If one doesn¡¯t escape quickly and far enough, just the everyday items left behind in the family home can be used to curse and kill the defectors¡­ Whether it¡¯s fleeing the family without permission or revealing the family¡¯s rules to outsiders, both are considered forms of ¡®betrayal¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Killing with a curse right away, that¡¯s just too much¡­¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± frowned slightly after hearing this, ¡°And as for betrayal to the ¡®family¡¯? Does merely leaving the family count as a betrayal?¡±

    Isn¡¯t this too harsh?

    Moreover, such a ridiculously strict family code immediately raised red gs for Annan.

    Is this level of family code really just for inheriting the ¡°Divine of the World¡±?

    ¡°Yet, that¡¯s the reality.¡± Euphemia said with a bitter smile, ¡°That¡¯s why I nned to escape¡­ And it¡¯s for this reason that Lily used that method to help me flee from the family.¡±

    ¡°As far as I know, ¡®Professor Wolf¡¯ Frederick is also from your family, right?¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± asked, ¡°How did he escape?¡±

    Although Annan had long known that ¡°Professor Wolf¡± Frederick Wolfheart was actually ¡°Dream Eater¡± Trisino Seti, he still decided to ask. Maybe he could get some answers from a different angle.

    ¡°He faked his death to escape.¡±

    Euphemia quickly replied, ¡°I¡¯ve studied his technique. He faked his own death to throw off the curse¡¯s tracking. Then, he wore an artifact called ¡®the Living Dead¡¯ to channel the curse into it.¡±

    ¡°On the one hand, he can also use this method to evade detection and curses. At the same time, he can also produce arge number of curse vessels.¡±

    ¡­Just like ¡°The Scammer And The Missionary¡±?

    Annan asked, ¡°What is [the Living Dead] again?¡±

    Upon hearing this, Euphemia was silent for a moment.

    ¡°This is why I say that the Melvin family is the biggest betrayal.¡±

    The most significant difference between her and Frederick was the green, downward-pointing triangle rune etched in the center of her forehead. Within the triangle rune was another dark green equteral triangle, dividing it into four sections.

    The rune glowed faintly at this moment ¡ª no doubt, this was the reason why she always wore a mask.

    ¡°This is the Curse of the Living Dead. If I die while carrying it, I will be a ¡®Living Dead¡¯.¡±

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 Chapter 694: The Gold Refining Plan

    <h4>Chapter 694: The Gold Refining n</h4>

    The Living Dead¡­

    If tranted literally, it could be interpreted as the ¡°living bones.¡±

    Annan paid special attention to this term because of its association with ¡°bones¡±.

    Speaking of which, this nightmare of the Otherworldly Level was also born after the Venerated Skeleton abandoned the realm of ¡°skeletons¡±.

    Then, ¡°Elle¡± proceeded to ask without hesitation, ¡°What¡¯s the [Living Dead]?¡±

    ¡°As the name suggests, the Living Dead.¡± Euphemia whispered and touched her hair.

    More than four-fifths of her hair had turned a heavy, mercury-like silver-gray, with only the tips appearing somewhat having vigor.

    ¡°This is evidence that the ¡®Curse of the Living Dead¡¯ is nearingpletion. If the curse fully takes effect, I¡¯ll be a faceless corpse.¡±

    She endured the fear in her heart and described it in detail.

    The so-called Living Dead manifested itself as a skull.

    Just like a mannequin, it would be like a ster statue with no eyes, no mouth, no hair. It was just a nk face with only the outline of the head.

    It was like the ¡®head¡¯ of those ster mannequin models. The spine, mouth, flesh, and brain all had to be removed¡­ What was left in the end was a silvery-gray, hollow skull that became translucent when held up to strong light.

    That was the Living Dead¡­ also known as the ¡°living corpse¡±.

    ¡°In the Melvin family¡¯s research, the ¡®living corpse¡¯ is still deemed a person. It can serve as the ¡®secret keeper¡¯ of the curse. Through rituals, the consequences of failed nightmare purification can be transferred onto the living corpse.¡±

    ¡°From this point of view, they send me off as a gift for a marital alliance¡­ because those sent for such alliances would have the Curse of the Living Dead lifted. Of course, they would still need tomit to a secrecy pact.¡±

    Euphemia said slowly, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to follow their will.¡±

    ¡°They make me sick.¡±

    What kind of expression was shown on her face?

    It was not just fear¡­ but anger, hatred, disgust, and overwhelming sadness.

    ¡°Many have wondered why the Melvin family has so many newborns in every generation¡­ Yet, there aren¡¯t that many ¡®elders¡¯ who can develop abilities for the fetuses, nor are there many young boys and girls who are ¡®sold off¡¯ for marriage alliances. And only one inherits the title of the Divine of the World. So, where did all the others go?¡±

    Euphemia sneered, ¡°The children usually only have two uses. Either to make ¡®living corpses¡¯ or to make ¡®death chrysalis¡¯.¡±

    The so-called ¡°death chrysalis¡± was a ¡°solidified soul¡± that had not entered the ¡°Dyed¡± rank.

    If the Silver Rank Transcender fails to advance to Gold Rank due to the depletion of their obsession, they turn into a mindless shell. That was what they called the ¡°death chrysalis¡± ¡ª an immortal body and soul with Gold Rank, yet no longer having the ability to perceive the world or control their body.

    Like a butterfly that had not broken out of its cocoon.

    ¡°Those living corpses needed to be set aside for a decade, even several decades, before they could be used. During those decades, they were kept in the ¡®human world¡¯. They were hidden in the bedrooms, studies, wall crevices, and just about any corner of the Divine Child¡¯s home.¡±

    Euphemia¡¯s words sent chills down Celecia¡¯s spine.

    How could a young child, who knew nothing and wasn¡¯t allowed to leave their home, have had so many ¡®skulls¡¯ in their living space?

    ¡°If [Melvin] needs it, he can rituallybine the ¡®living corpse¡¯ and the ¡®death chrysalis¡¯ to get a ¡®Gold Rank transcender that can only be used once¡¯.¡±

    ¡°In this ritual of producing the temporary Gold Rank, it is necessary to kill a person in a precise manner ¡ª to remove his brain while he is still alive and transnt it into another ¡®skull¡¯ of the living corpse. Use his pain and fear of death to awaken the living corpse.¡±

    ¡°At that moment, the mind of the ¡®living corpse¡¯, stagnant for decades, is jolted awake. Memories frozen for those years surge back to life. The intense and pure will to live, simmering on the brink of death over those decades, serves as the key, propelling the desire-devoid ¡®death chrysalis¡¯ to instantly ascend to ¡°deity¡± status. This powerful ¡®vessel¡¯ is then driven by the very person who had their skull removed.¡±

    ¡°And at that point¡­ by using the Soul Snatch Magic or the Idol Magic to control the thoughts of the person who has had their skull removed, one can indirectly harness this immense power. Until the ¡®starter¡¯ diespletely, and before the death chrysalis¡¯s soul burns out, it can be manipted at will.¡±

    ¡°This n is coined the ¡®gold refining n¡¯. ¡®Only death and pain can gold be forged¡¯. That¡¯s what they said. But what they aim to create isn¡¯t gold, but to make Gold Rank Transcender.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Euphemia continued, ¡°And in the Melvin family¡¯s residence¡­¡±

    ¡°More than a dozen ¡®death chrysalis¡¯ have been stored. The number of living corpses is in three figures¡­ Even Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke doesn¡¯t know their n.¡±

    ¡°There is no doubt that this is an act of rebellion.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath.

    One person provided the body and the most important ¡°fuel¡±, one person provided the ¡°permission¡± to use, and one person provided the ¡°key¡± to start.

    The Melvin family had divided the unattainable ¡°Gold Rank¡± into three steps. The goal could be realized with the life of a transcender who failed to advance to the Gold Rank and two transcenders who didn¡¯t even need to be in the Silver Rank.

    Although cruel and terrifying, this idea was indeed quite genius.

    If Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke were a cruel tyrant who could consume human lives as numbers, he would probably apud him and n to leverage this technology at all costs.

    But for Annan, this was utterly useless.

    Even a Gold Rank transcender couldn¡¯t leave the Great Barrier without obtaining the Book of Truth.

    There was no way the Melvin family didn¡¯t know about this.

    Due to the presence of the Frost Beast units, there was no possibility of arge-scale rebellion in the Austere-Winter Dukedom. The Frost Beast was lethal and suppressive to all sentient creatures because they were hatched from the Old Grandmother¡¯s aura.

    Resisting the Frost Beast required elemental power.

    In other words, the so-called ¡®gold forged from pain and death¡¯ was essentially a sharpened de meant tobat the Frost Beast forces.

    The Melvin family had always been amassing power. That was why they never allowed family members to leave on their own or spill their secrets.

    It seemed that Frederick was trained as a ¡°family elder¡± ¡ª a high-ranking member of the Melvin family. In other words, he was trained to be the ¡°Operator of the Gold Body¡±, or a candidate for ¡°the Divine of the World¡±.

    That was why he wasn¡¯t afflicted with the ¡°Curse of the Living Dead¡±.

    He went to Professor Gray to learn rituals because the Melvin family nned to train him to be the operator of the ¡°Gold Refining Ritual¡±.

    ¡ªOther than that, the rest of the n were all consumables.

    The true supreme being, ¡°the Divine of the World¡±, perpetuated his ¡°existence¡± through sessive generations of sessors¡­ and the remaining people could note into contact with the Divine of the World, or even see the whole picture. Anyone with a deeper understanding was torn apart by sheer terror.

    ¡°Wait?¡±

    Annan was startled.

    Isn¡¯t this essentially another ¡®possibility¡¯ for the Eternal Dukedom ¨C or perhaps this otherworldly nightmare?¡±

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 Chapter 695: Deity Of Similarity

    <h4>Chapter 695: Deity Of Simrity</h4>

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a coincidence.

    Fate is the track of the Divine Transporter.

    At least when Annan made up his mind to get involved¡ªor even long before that, from the very first time he was drawn in, the situation had already changed because of his presence.

    Rather¡­

    Annan mused.

    What if this ¡°coincidence¡± happened before I got involved?

    Because no one knew everything, nor was there apletely objective ount of everything.

    Perhaps what Euphemia said was all she knew, but that didn¡¯t necessarily represent the absolute truth.

    What she knew might not be the deepest truth.

    For example, Euphemia didn¡¯t know about the existence of the Eternal Dukedom¡­ let alone that the Eternal Duke had been yed by the same person for a very long, long time.

    On the other hand, the technology that the Melvin family was best at was the ¡°Law of Simrity¡± in Idol Magic.

    Then maybe the situation with the Eternal Dukedom was not the same as that with the Melvin family.

    However, did the legacy of ¡°the Divine of the World¡±e from the ¡°Law of Simrity¡± that imitated the Eternal Dukedom?

    Annan highly considered this possibility as the deepest truth.

    Using a one-time Gold Rank to create a force capable of resisting the Frost Beast troops. It was a waste no matter how you looked at it. They couldn¡¯t possibly go to such great lengths just forbat power.

    So, what they needed was probably other uses for the Gold Rank transcender.

    Given Euphemia¡¯s authority, she wouldn¡¯t find out the deeper purpose.

    Then, there was the fact of the Eternal Dukedom being buried in history.

    It was also the ce where the first wless deity¡± in history, who could shape the Truth by himself without relying on the Book of Truth, was born. This ritual held great power within a reasonable manner.

    Suppose the tradition shaped by the Melvin family was fundamentally to ovep with the Eternal Kingdom.

    Then¡­

    ¡°Do they want the throne of the Venerated Skeleton?¡± Annan murmured.

    ording to Euphemia, the Melvin family had always been diligently creating living corpses and death chrysalises¡­ If this custom stretched for hundreds of years, then the things they umted, they would be too wasteful and too patient.

    Annan was more inclined to believe this tradition hadn¡¯t been maintained for too long.

    It amounted to more than a dozen death chrysalis and three digits of living corpses.

    ording to Annan¡¯s investigation¡­ As thergest wizard family in the Austere-Winter Dukedom, the Melvin family, including its branches, would have about 30 children every 10 years. Moreover, it would be tough to find the heir qualified as the ¡°Divine of the World¡±. Only one suitable candidate would appear every 20 or 30 years.

    That ¡®three-digit¡¯ number didn¡¯t seem like a lot. Otherwise, Euphemia would have said ¡®over 200¡¯ or ¡®over 300¡¯.

    It was like iming a five-digit ie, which usually just meant just over ten thousand.

    If Euphemia wasn¡¯t exaggerating, then the Melvin family¡¯s efforts had spanned over 30 years ¡ª from when Euphemia was little, or around the time of Annan¡¯s mother, there were over a hundred living corpses. Then counting another 30 years forward in time after that.

    ¡°That¡¯s almost 60 years ago.¡± Annan murmured, ¡°If there are about a hundred living corpses, the shortest time may even be less than 50 years.¡±

    In Annan¡¯s knowledge, thest time the Melvin family changed the ¡°Divine of the World¡± was indeed in the year 1451.

    Currently, they were in the year 1504.

    In other words, thest time the Divine of the World was reced was about 50 years ago. Assuming it started from his generation, that would align.

    ¡­Wait a moment.

    Annan thought for a moment and asked in his heart.

    ¡°Elle, when were you born?¡±

    [¡­Huh? Wait, wait, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I¡­ Give me a moment¡­]

    The sudden question threw Elle off guard.

    She thought for a moment before replying:

    [I was born in 1442¡­ Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s June 12th¡­ What¡¯s wrong?]

    ¡°Got it.¡± Annanforted, ¡°I suddenly thought of it, so I just asked.¡±

    ¡ªActually, this is bad.

    Amos dedicated Elle to the Venerated Skeleton on her 16th birthday. At that time, the Venerated Skeleton had arrived at Freezing Water Port.

    That was 1458.

    The time between Elle¡¯s birth and death was less than ten years from when the Melvin family implemented the ¡°gold refining¡± n.

    Suppose the focus was shifted from Elle to the Venerated Skeleton.

    The Venerated Skeleton was at odds with the Elegant Elder and was not weed by the Bone Burying Grandma. Before he came to Noah Kingdom, the only ces he could go to were Austere-Winter and the underground city.

    Suppose the Venerated Skeleton had been in the Austere-Winter Dukedom before going to the Freezing Water Port. The Melvin family would easily obtain the information that ¡°the Venerated Skeleton had been taking the role of Eternal Dukes across many generations¡±.

    Annan remembered that the first time he met the Venerated Skeleton, the Venerated Skeleton snatched a mysterious book that recorded many of His past events. At that time, Annan thought the Venerated Skeleton was his enemy. However, the Venerated Skeleton seemed to have great respect for the Old Grandmother and did not attack Annan at all.

    So why did He take away the record about Himself?

    What gave Him this habit?

    Think about thew of simrity of the Melvin family again, Annan had a rough idea of what the Melvin family was going to do.

    ¡°As for that Satiated Gold, it¡¯s probably part of the efforts to support this n.¡± Annan sneered in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s it. What a close call! I almost got deceived.¡±

    Euphemia didn¡¯t realize the crux of the problem at all.

    The Melvin family had indeed betrayed.

    But they were different from the uncultured people of the Northern Brotherhood. They were a wizard family with a long-standing heritage. Naturally, they should have known that there was no point in seizing power in the Austere-Winter Dukedom. It had been the Old Grandmother¡¯s lineage since the Elven Age.

    Their true objective was to steal the Truth of the Venerated Skeleton.

    They somehow learned about the past of the Venerated Skeleton. They were also the ones who changed the Melvin family¡¯s tradition, crafting it into a ¡°simr idol¡± ording to the Eternal Dukedom¡¯s standards. So, the ¡°Divine of the World¡± was essentially equivalent to the ¡°Eternal Duke¡±.

    And the Divine Child raised by their family, in order to inherit the Divine of the World¡­ The candidate naturally possessed the talent for the same type of element. This was the simrity they intentionally cultivated.

    Weaker Idol Wizards could use the ¡®Law of Simrity¡¯ to borrow the power from stronger Idol Wizards. Conversely, powerful Idol Wizards could also use this method to absorb and consume those who were simr but weaker than themselves

    This level of rapid promotion to the Gold Rank, in terms ofbat power, had no difference from the demonized Fallen. But their only difference was that they could burn souls to extract arge amount of pure elemental power.

    Moreover, supposed they shared the same elemental power.

    This meant that ¡°the Divine of the World¡± could focus all these powers on himself. The characteristics of those n elders were also sufficiently simr to the Divine of the World. They might also project their spirit onto them.

    In the end, ¡°the Divine of the World¡± would be like the Venerated Skeleton ¨C betraying the whole n, absorbing the existence of the entire n, attributing their ¡°cause of death¡± to themselves, and dissolving their bodies and curses within.

    And after attaining the same height as the Venerated Skeleton and sufficient simrity, it would attempt to devour the existence of the Venerated Skeleton through the ¡°Law of Simrity¡±.

    So, the ¡°gold¡± in the Satiated Gold program¡­

    Did it really refer to the ordinary ¡°gold¡±?

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 Chapter 696: You Dare Use My Own Spells Against Me.Jpg

    <h4>Chapter 696: You Dare Use My Own Spells Against Me.Jpg</h4>

    [TN: If the link isn¡¯t broken, here¡¯s the meme image from ¡°know your memes¡±.]

    However, Annan did not tell Euphemia what he was thinking¡­ even though telling her would not have made a difference.

    Prejudice had already solidified and taken root in her heart. Besides, for the ordinary members of the Melvin family like them, there was nothing wrong with her words and actions ¡ª they were indeed being treated as tools and expendables by the family.

    It was just a matter of disagreement over the purpose.

    It was not something that victims like them could care about.

    But Annan didn¡¯t even have time to say anything more.

    Through ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± eyes, Annan could see ¡°Euphemia¡¤Melvin¡¯s¡± body, tinted with a light, sunset-like blush.

    ¡­Uhm?

    Annan realized that Euphemia had also ¡°lost her senses¡±.

    She had ¡°acted out of her role¡± for too long.

    While Annan was thinking, Euphemia¡¯s expression hadpletely changed.

    That was a brilliantly defiant smile ¡ª the cruel smile revealed by those who have been deprived of everything, as they pull out a dagger in a dark alley.

    ¡°You all should have respected me!¡± Euphemia suddenly raised her voice and chanted, ¡°Because I have torn the light in the mirror to pieces and walked on destiny¡ª¡±

    As she spoke, she slowly opened her hands to her sides.

    The entire world between her hands, including ¡°Elle¡± and Celecia, also became blurry in an instant.

    ¡°This is Euphemia¡¯s most powerful chant! It¡¯s the secret Chaos Spell of the Melvin family!¡±

    Celecia¡¯s expression suddenly became serious. She exined in a low voice to Annan Austere-Winter in ¡°Elle¡± form, ¡°I have never seen her use this spellpletely¡­ but when I lost my mind, she sessfully subdued me. She said that this is the spell she used.¡±

    Euphemia¡¯s chant did not end.

    That was the Idol Magic, ¡°Desperate Prayer¡±. A major deity invocation ritual that could bepleted solely with words and actions, without the need for the power of elements. At Silver Rank, this was the highest-level spell she could perform. However, as the price, this spellpletely relinquished the self, actively making the self ¡°simr¡± to the target.

    Any slight mishap would lead to oneself being assimted and swallowed up by the high-level existence, with absolutely no ability to resist.

    As Euphemia chanted and gestured in the air, the world around them was being alienated from its original part.

    The ground was torn apart in the blink of an eye on the street.

    And the sky, centered between her hands, spread outwards, turning the entire world into a starry expanse.

    It didn¡¯t happen above the distant starry sky¡­ but surrounding Euphemia, right beside Elle and Celecia.

    Numerous light trails swiftly connect between thes, forming one constetion after another. Euphemia¡¯s hands are shining dimly, with countless figures emerging on her left hand.

    A strong sense of oppression spread from Euphemia to the surroundings.

    As soon as the translucent silver-gray halo emerged from Celecia¡¯s body, it was pressed back to the surface of her body.

    That was Celecia¡¯s element, [Destiny].

    Amid Euphemia¡¯s prayer, Celecia showed an expression of extreme pain ¡ª her illusory form condensed from elements was continuously shattered by the light flow that constituted the constetion map.

    ¡°Look! There¡¯s a man here who¡¯s above fate¡ª¡±

    Euphemia was still chanting impassionedly and loudly in Elvish, ¡°When He looks to the left, He transforms into a lion of radiant glory; when He looks to the right, He takes the form of a fierce bull!¡±

    ¡°Left¡± and ¡°Right,¡± in Elvish, also carry the meanings of ¡°past¡± and ¡°future.¡±

    ¡­Hmm?

    Annan vaguely noticed something.

    Although Elle was a little flustered and wanted to leave, Annan suppressed her thoughts for the time being.

    Annan did not care if Celecia died. Anyway, everyone would die eventually in this loop.

    And Annan felt that¡­ Euphemia¡¯s ultimate move might not be effective against him.

    As expected.

    Many light balls poured out from around Euphemia ¡ª each resembling a closed pupil.

    The moment Celecia saw those light balls, her eyes burst open. As she screamed, blood overflowed from her closed eyes.

    Activating this magic came with a cost to Euphemia.

    Her forehead was visibly sweaty, with perspiration continuously trickling down ¡ª her skin turning bright red. The intense heat and pressure from within made even her eyeballs bulge, forcing her to close her eyes.

    And just because she had her eyes closed, she didn¡¯t see ¡°Elle¡± who was peacefully standing among the stars at that moment.

    Euphemia¡¯s chant became increasingly sacred and rhythmic

    ¡°He is the master of the Divine Transporter, the one who leads 600 stars from below to above, [descending] to the Merka Baha Hall! He is not a deity but a person higher than a deity! The way of ascension and change is the sacredness of the Divine Transporter!¡±

    ¡°We are disciples of sublimation, following the path of sublimation! I am a disciple of Divine Transporter¡­ I am the gatekeeper of the light realm!¡±

    When Euphemia¡¯s chant reached this point, her eyes were melted by the light.

    Her voice brought ovepping echoes, just like Elle, who had used the power of an angel before.

    The light flowing through the stars grew increasingly intense and blinding. Celecia was pinned in the void by the dense light spears. As the chant continued, the number of light spears kept increasing ¡ª while Celecia¡¯s power continued to decline.

    Euphemia¡¯s suicidal chant had not stopped.

    In other words, her original purpose was to use this chant to kill herself¡­

    ¡°Divine Transporter, I am the gatekeeper! I am the threefold gatekeeper: I am the gatekeeper of eye and form, I am the gatekeeper of goodness and permanence, I am the gatekeeper of worms and cicadas¡ª¡±

    ¡°When I open it, the light of the Divine Transporter shalle to the world!¡±

    Euphemia kept tearing off her clothes because they blocked the light.

    It was not the light from outside, but the light piercing from within¡­ New wounds continuously appeared on her flesh. They were neither cuts nor burns, but sharp lights stabbing outward from within her body.

    The continuously splitting wounds and the light constantly piercing out seemed to form many ¡°eyes¡± on her body.

    The price for opening these eyes was that she became bloody. Euphemia was already dying. Her whole body was gradually dissolving in the increasingly intense light. Celecia, who was pinned in the air and unable to move, was also engulfed by the light.

    Many lights formed many spears. It was a light in which nothing ordinary could exist, a light unseen by the ordinary person ¡ª a light that was literally ¡°blinding.¡±

    ¡ªHowever.

    These lights, which destroyed everything around them like living creatures, seemed to have not noticed Elle, swimming past her and leaving.

    They even rubbed Elle¡¯s wrist affectionately, like living creatures.

    [¡­Why?]

    Elle¡¯s confused voice came from the bottom of her heart.

    [What is happening¡­]

    ¡°It seems like the Venerated Skeleton really didn¡¯t tell you anything¡­¡± Annan sighed.

    In the blink of an eye, the phenomenon around him disappeared.

    The illusory starry sky and the light of the Divine Transporter summoned by the mad Euphemia suddenly disappeared.

    Elle returned to the alley again.

    Celecia and Euphemia disappeared.

    ¡°Elle¡± was puzzled.

    ¡°Huh¡­¡± She let out a long sigh.

    ¡°I have indeed met a lot of idol wizards.¡± ¡°Elle¡± whispered, ¡°But this is the first time I have seen one that summons the power of the Divine Transporter to attack me¡­¡±

    How should I put it¡­

    ¡ªYou dare use my own spells against me, Potter?

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 Chapter 697: [Heart Stopper]

    <h4>Chapter 697: [Heart Stopper]</h4>

    Even though Annan didn¡¯t do anything, two people died together in the fierce battle.

    Up to now, it was less than an hour after the sky went dark. Three people had already gone crazy or died.

    Moreover¡­

    ¡°Elle¡± raised her head slightly.

    She stared quietly at the dark night sky in the distance with her pure emerald green eyes.

    It might be an illusion.

    After the death of those three people, the sky seemed to be darker.

    The pitch-ck night sky was now seeminglyyered with ink, a rich darkness that might drip down at any second. The light emitted by the surrounding streetmps had all be weak and feeble.

    [Will this bring any new influence?]

    Elle said in Annan¡¯s heart.

    She was a little worried about this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t need to know.¡±

    Annan, controlling Elle¡¯s body, skipped down the street, responding nonchntly.

    [But I¡¯m a bit worried. This doesn¡¯t seem normal.]

    ¡°Of course, it won¡¯t be ordinary. Either it will hasten the madness, or a supernatural event will obstruct us. Otherwise, there will be a mass weakening or illusions affecting the purifiers of the nightmare.¡±

    Annan replied leisurely.

    [What?!]

    Elle¡¯s voice suddenly rose quite a bit.

    The possibilities listed by Annan were much more terrifying than what Elle had thought of ¡ª she had originally just thought that the phenomenon only made people more anxious.

    But after hearing Annan say it¡­

    Doesn¡¯t this mean things are getting more troublesome?

    ¡°That¡¯s what is happening, but it has nothing to do with us. If I distract myself with worries, will the nightmare obediently stop causing surprises?¡± Annan chuckled, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I would have to sit at home, worrying about this world every day, praying for blessings for all beings¡­ What apassionate person I would be.¡±

    [Then, what are you up to¡ª]

    ¡°Everything I can do and want to do has already been arranged.¡±

    Annan looked into the distance leisurely, ¡°Indeed, this anomaly is concerning. But before it actually works, any worries and spections without evidence are meaningless.¡±

    ¡°Compared to that, what I can get out of talking to him¡ªthat¡¯s what matters to me more.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± said, stopping in her tracks.

    Her heels gently clicked together. The blonde girl in the white dress ced her hands together in front of her, revealing a gentle smile, ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    ¡°Arthur the Chief Justice?¡±

    ¡°You should address me as Your Honor, Miss Elle.¡± The young man with gorgeous golden curly hair walked out of the darkness with his chest and his head raised.

    He wore a crisp white suit and white leather shoes without a speck of dirt. Beneath, he had a bright red shirt and a tie with silver and red diagonal stripes. From this, one could see his fanatic love for ¡°white and red¡±.

    Even with the cross-era attire, Arthur was not stumped. Somehow, he managed to dress himself quite appropriately.

    He always maintained a dignified demeanor and attentive dress at all times. Those were the pride that he was born with when one regarded oneself as something of extreme nobility.

    Not allowing any imperfection in himself¡ªAnnan read this type of character from his subtle actions.

    Those eyes, shining like flowingva, were so bright that even at night they made his already pale skin and pure white clothing seem as if they were glowing.

    Making eye contact, or even just seeing him, would be blinding, causing one to want to look away.

    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re prepared for my arrival.¡± ¡°Elle¡± whispered with a faint smile.

    ¡°Of course. Who do you think I am?¡± Arthur spoke nonchntly, ¡°After seeing the crazed Lucia¡­ it only took me half an hour to roughly understand the current situation. What kind of difficulties we are facing now, what I should do, and the rules of this nightmare¡­ You don¡¯t need to bother exining these things to me anymore.¡±

    ¡°To save time, I¡¯ll just ask directly ¡ª which loop is this? Have you met the captain? How is she doing?¡±

    ¡°In the verifiable history, this is the third loop.¡± ¡°Elle¡± replied calmly, ¡°Celecia is dead. Miss Lily¡¯s prayer spell killed her.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Arthur pondered and slowly nodded his head.

    He extended his right hand and walked slowly forward as if he wanted to shake hands with ¡°Elle¡±.

    But ¡°Elle¡± instead hid her hands behind her back. She lightly and gracefully moved backward, almost like a dance. A mysterious and soft smile crept on her lips as she quietly watched Arthur.

    Arthur suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°¡­So you¡¯re that type of person,¡± he said, somewhat annoyed, as he ced his extended right hand on his forehead. ¡°I originally thought I could kill you in a simpler way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Mr. Arthur.¡± ¡°Elle¡± said in a crisp voice, ¡°But a friend told me¡­ it¡¯s best to avoid any physical contact with a Destruction Wizard unless absolutely necessary.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like that friend of yours.¡± Arthur stopped in ce, revealing an impably standard, eight-toothed professional smile. ¡°Otherwise, you could have died quietly.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask a question?¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± leaped back even faster, raising her voice to ask, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have gone mad. Why are you suddenly attacking me?¡±

    ¡°¡­Asking such a question shows I overestimated you.¡± Arthur silently shook his head, looking at ¡°Elle¡± with almost pitying eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it simple logic?¡±

    ¡°Since you know this is the third cycle, and I know nothing about it¡­ and you have nothing to say to convince me, it means the clue to retaining memories is with you. And in the past two cycles, you couldn¡¯t persuade me to join you. This means that this qualification, I can surely seize it too.¡±

    ¡°Any nightmare must have its exit. The only difference is whether this exit can be achieved through human power.¡±

    Arthur said, putting his left hand in his pocket and walking forward slowly again.

    His confident strides made it seem as if he wasn¡¯t walking on a deserted street but rather on a fashion runway.

    The tap-tap sound of his leather shoes on the street echoed leisurely with the evening breeze.

    ¡°Elle¡± had retreated to the end.

    Arthur continued to speak slowly, ¡°You have repeated it three times, but still failed to resolve this nightmare.¡±

    ¡°I guess, in this nightmare, the trigger for going mad is probably ¡®starting to fear, betraying one¡¯s deepest desires¡¯. I know the captain very well.¡±

    ¡°The captain could never betray her desires. She wouldn¡¯t have gone mad first, so she must have been killed by someone ¡ª meaning, you all are trapped in this challenge, unable to find the answer.¡±

    ¡°Then, step back and let me do it.¡± Arthur said calmly, ¡°Trust me! When I save the captain and Lucia, I will do my best to try to save you as well.¡±

    As he spoke, he took his left hand out of his pocket.

    At some point, his left hand had been adorned with a deep red silk glove, so red it was as if holding a broken heart.

    Arthur pointed his left hand toward ¡°Elle¡±.

    ¡°Goodbye, Miss Elle.¡± He said elegantly, ¡°Although you rejected the best [gift], I still have the second best to give you¡­¡±

    Then, he clenched his left hand.

    ¡°Heart¡ª¡±

    ¡°[Heart Stopper]¡­that¡¯s what you meant to say, right?¡± ¡°Elle¡± stood unscathed, tilting her head and smiling, ¡°Unfortunately, things don¡¯t go the way you want.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Arthur was stunned for a moment.

    The next moment, an uncontroble terror instantly gripped his heart.

    With no possibility of resistance¡­ the invisible hand formed by the power of the curse instantly crushed his heart. The remaining curse power surged through his blood vessels to the other organs, paralyzing them in an instant.

    Blood suddenly gushed from his mouth, his pupils swiftly contracted and then dted ¡ª everything in sight was instantly swallowed by darkness as his upright figure abruptly leaned forward, stripped of all its strength.

    And thest lingering image in his retina was of Miss Elle, smiling.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 698: The End Of The Third Loop

    <h4>Chapter 698: The End Of The Third Loop</h4>

    ¡°How do I put it¡­¡± Annan exined to Elle subtly, ¡°This grumpy man from the Destruction School is quite easy to read.¡±

    Once you get the idea, you can tell what¡¯sing just by the way things are heading.

    The fundamental concept of Destruction Wizard was the theory of deterrence.

    Their magical power was extraordinarily immense, capable of easily shattering city walls, breaking mountains, and leveling cities. However, they typically opted for the quietest and least destructive type of magic, provided it could achieve their goals.

    This was to maintain their own posure¡± to uphold ¡°deterrence.¡±

    This was because the Destruction Wizards did not possess defensive abilities that matched their destructive power.

    Without the convenience of terrain tools like fortresses, airships, or high towers, they would typically find themselves in the awkward situation of having a ¡°kill radius of ten kilometers, and a casting radius of one kilometer¡±.

    For this reason, the Destruction Wizards had developed another sub-school of spells.

    Just like Idol School had the distinction between the ¡°Law of Simrity¡± and the ¡°Law of Contagion¡±.

    Some Destruction Wizards had specialized in Instant Death Spells, also known as the so-called ¡°silent destruction¡±.

    Annan had used Arthur¡¯s body to experience his fighting method in the Witch Hunt Nightmare. Back then, Arthur¡¯sbat approach was to first release his floating cannon, followed by endless aerial bombardments.

    And now, naturally, Annan would not possibly forget Arthur¡¯sbat approach.

    However, since Celecia left Arthur in the ¡°Silver¡± Ship to keep an eye on it, he didn¡¯t witness the scene where Elle turned into an angel. Then, he was already sucked into the nightmare without warning and without receiving any information at all.

    In his opinion, Elle was merely an ordinary ritualist because she didn¡¯t even have a curse vessel with her.

    This meant she had no curse. Naturally, she couldn¡¯t possibly be a transcendent being.

    There was no w with Arthur¡¯s logic.

    Yet subconsciously, he overlooked another possibility. Besides ordinary people, the ones without curses could also be deities and saints.

    They had switched to covenant. The power behind it was much more stable, naturally eliminating the need for a vessel to bear the curse.

    So facing such a cute girl who was not even a transcender, Arthur had still chosen to be quite the gentleman, opting to use an instant death spell to erase her in a sh rather than burning her alive.

    The specific cause of death was the brain being instantly melted into a pulp

    The spell he intended to useter was the Instant Death Spell called [Heart Stopper], which was even moremon.

    Because that was the most powerful spell against humans that a Silver Rank Destruction Wizard could cast. It only required a pure red ordinary glove to crush a person¡¯s heart from a distance.

    This was a nearly irresistible powerful curse.

    Even a Gold Rank transcender could only be immune to this spell through elemental power. If a Gold Rank transcender was attacked without warning, he would be killed instantly.

    However, this spell had many restrictions. For instance, it could only be used once every 13 days. The target must be within perceptual range. No third person could obstruct it. At the moment of the curse, both individuals had to make eye contact.

    This was just an Order Magic. Using it would not increase the erosion rate. As long as the magic hit, even a strong individual who could survive without a heart would be instantly and severely damaged.

    However, there was only one w.

    This was a preparation made with Arthur as the hypothetical enemy.

    As an angel with two realms of ¡°Skeleton¡± and ¡°Betrayal¡±, Elle had the special ability to reflect Instant Death.

    Had it not been for Annan wanting to coax more information from Arthur, right after the handshake, Arthur would have been dropped dead on the spot.

    Ironically, Annan didn¡¯t retreat to keep ¡°herself¡± safe but to try to keep Arthur alive for a longer while due to the death spell reflection.

    After Arthur also died, Elle asked quietly in her heart.

    [Are you not afraid, Annan?]

    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Annan said with some surprise.

    [He holds no grudge against you, nor does he harbor any hatred towards you¡­ but he can still think of killing you without any guilt. In his view, his actions are even justified. Such a twisted person is nearly a monster, isn¡¯t¡­]

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.¡± Annan sighed, ¡°You are too naive, Elle. It¡¯s not just innocence now, it¡¯s almost weakness.¡±

    [But¡­]

    ¡°It¡¯s just a mundane interaction.¡± Annan, using Elle¡¯s body, revealed a smile aspassionate as a Madonna. ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than strangers killing each other for the sake of [victory].¡±

    ¡°He wants to dominate this nightmare, and so do I. But only one person can reign over everything¡­ So I ask you, Elle¡ªwho do you trust more? Or rather, who do you think, if given the chance to handle this, could let more people survive?¡±

    [It can only be you, Annan. He seems to only care about Miss Celecia and Lucia, so¡­]

    ¡°Forget it, it would be too much of a bully to ask you like this.¡± Annan smiled and didn¡¯t ask any further questions.

    ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± emerald green eyes became dark and deep under the lightless night sky.

    After Arthur died, the sky became darker.

    The surrounding street lights crackled with electricity.

    It was only 9 p.m. then, but that should have been considered the final round. Aside from Longjing Tea, most of the other people had probably already died.

    Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the alley.

    Longjing Tea¡¯s figure shed past outside.

    ¡°Here!¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± piped up.

    Soon, Longjing Tea followed the sound and came over.

    He saw Elle in a white robe standing alone deep in the alley, while Arthury on the ground, his left hand stretched forward as if saying, ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡±

    He breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°I saw you guys disappeared for too long, I thought you were attacked or went crazy¡­¡± Longjing Teained, ¡°It scared me, so I hurriedly followed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem. It¡¯s all expected.¡± ¡°Elle¡± lowered her head, nced at Arthur¡¯s body, then looked at Longjing Tea, showing a gentle and kind smile, ¡°You are the only one left now. Do you want to do it yourself?¡±

    ¡°If you do it, will it not hurt?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is much difference.¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯d better do it myself.¡± Longjing Tea said simply, ¡°I will leave the rest to you, boss!¡±

    After he said that, he raised his gun, turned on the safety, and pointed it at his forehead.

    The next moment, the magic bullet was activated ¡ª it shattered Longjing Tea¡¯s head.

    Such a clean death shocked Elle deeply.

    [How did he face death with such courage?]

    ¡°This is where Arthur and I differ, Elle.¡± Annan said leisurely, ¡°What Arthur seeks is merely to save himself. Although he appears graceful and calm, it¡¯s to conceal his nature as a failure ¡ª back then, he swore to be a significant figure of the Gold Rank. But now, he doesn¡¯t even mention it at all.¡±

    ¡°His confidence has already been shattered. He¡¯s just trying to deceive himself.¡±

    ¡°But Longjing Tea and the others are different. It¡¯s precisely because they know¡­ no matter by what means, I must win; what I want is a perfectly benevolent and righteous victory. Therefore, under any circumstances, I will never flee¡ª¡±

    That¡¯s why they still choose to believe in me between life and death.

    That¡¯s why they entrusted me with the hope of escaping this nightmare.

    Before Annan could finish, the deepening night had already bared its fangs.

    From top to bottom, the night swallowed everything in the world.

    When Annan opened his eyes again, he woke up in a D¨¦j¨¤ vu room.

    This was something he had seen in the Gallery Nightmare.

    It was Elle¡¯s bedroom.

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 Chapter 699: Amos From Another Timeline

    <h4>Chapter 699: Amos From Another Timeline</h4>

    ¡°Are you awake, Elle?¡± A somewhat familiar voice came from beside ¡°Elle¡±.

    Annan immediately noticed that Elle was under the quilt.

    So he didn¡¯t immediately throw off the quilt and sit up. Instead, he shrank back deep into the quilt and opened his eyes to look in the direction of the sound.

    It was Amos.

    A young man in his early thirties, with short brown hair and deep blue eyes. He was carefully trimming his sideburns with an electric razor in front of the mirror. Hearing the sound Elle made, he nonchntly stopped the razor.

    Amos turned around and looked over with a rxed and happy smile.

    That was apletely different look from the Amos in the Gallery Nightmare.

    In the nightmare, the painter Amos was filled with an unapproachable aura. Even facing his own daughter Elle, he had no kind words. Instead, he kept sighing, his expression painful and conflicted, his face stubbled and hair messy¡­ he just looked utterly down.

    In contrast, the Amos in the nightmare world not only had a beaming smile and a rather fashionable hairstyle, but he even cheerfully hummed a tune.

    It seemed to be a snippet of an opera he had heard somewhere recently. He hadpletely forgotten the lyrics, so he could only hum off-key at random. But even this was enough to show that his mood was cheerful.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stay upte, Elle. Your schedule is so unhealthy.¡±

    After shaving, Amos patted toner on his face as he walked over. Standing in front of the bundled-up nket, he said unhappily, ¡°If you want to watch the cartoon at 8:30 in the morning, then you should go to sleep earlier.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s at 8:30, not 6:30 or 5:30. You can go to bed early and get up early, have breakfast, and then watch it. Are you listening, Elle?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°Elle¡± huddled under the quilt, making vague sleepy sounds and not responding directly.

    Amos sighed helplessly but did not get mad at her.

    Amos instructed, ¡°Your mom¡¯s world tour ended yesterday and she said she¡¯ll be home tonight. I have to go on a business trip and will probably be back in two or three days. If you¡¯re not sleeping early tonight, just stay home and pay attention to the doorbell, okay?¡±

    ¡°She should be back around midnight. Did you hear that?¡±

    ¡°Uhm.¡± The quilt made a low whine.

    ¡°So I¡¯ll take it you heard me, okay?¡± Amos said with a good-natured smile. He patted the bundled-up nket and cheerfully said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you back some gifts. How about some tasty treats? And some music records¡­ Anything else you want?¡±

    ¡°Anything.¡±

    ¡°Anything is the worst gift to give.¡± The man thought seriously for a moment, as if he suddenly remembered something, ¡°Ah, I remember now¡ªdidn¡¯t you mention wanting a portrait painting from Dad for your birthday?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking¡­ since it¡¯s a portrait painted by your dad, it¡¯s sure to be filled with emotion, an irreceable treasure. I will make the process of painting this portrait a tribute to the Elegant Elder, and I¡¯m sure the Elegant Elder would be very pleased. It will be the best offering.¡±

    ¡°But if you want it, I¡¯ll paint it for you when Dades back.¡±

    Amos smiled gently, patting the puffed-up nket, ¡°Compared to the rewards from the Elegant Elder, Elle is indeed more important.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m heading out. Goodbye.¡±

    As he spoke, he picked up his already-packed suitcase and headed for the door.

    After he left for a long time, Elle slowly got out of the quilt.

    Her golden hair was fluffy and messy, with very clear tear stains on her face.

    She cried quietly and silently.

    Even though Annan had controlled Elle¡¯s body, Elle could still hear and see.

    ¡°Is this your wish, Elle?¡± Annan¡¯s voice resonated in a low tone.

    The voice emanating from Elle¡¯s body was deep and soft, as gentle as a mother¡¯s.

    [¡­Yes. Sorry¡­]

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to say sorry about.¡±

    [I don¡¯t know either, but that¡¯s what I want to say¡­ and, thank you.]

    Hearing the pitiful voice in her heart, ¡°Elle¡± raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°What did you say in your previous loop?¡±

    [Amos and I had a fight.]

    ¡°Why are you arguing with him?¡±

    [I, I also¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ But, suddenly feeling that Amos was back, I got really panicked¡­ I actually didn¡¯t want to argue with him, but I also didn¡¯t know what to say, and my emotions were so mixed up, so¡­ In the end, he didn¡¯t understand what I meant, but still apologized and quietly left¡­ I, I just¡­]

    Deep in her heart, Elle¡¯s voice was intermittent and gradually filled with tears.

    Ah¡­ Annan sighed deeply.

    She is still a little girl.

    Because the emotions in her heart were tooplex¡ªjoy, panic, admiration, longing, worry¡­ various emotions intertwined together. Elle,cking enough ability to express herself, inadvertently turned it into groundless anger.

    ¡°Rather, the fact that Amos didn¡¯t start an argument with you shows that he really has a good temper in this world.¡±

    [Amos actually¡­he used to have a good temper¡­]

    Elle¡¯s voice, weak and with a hint of grievance, resonated from the bottom of her heart.

    [But after his progress suddenly halted, he gradually became irritable¡­ He¡¯s still okay with Mom and me, but he¡¯s bing increasingly short-tempered with others¡­ and for no reason at all, he picks fights¡­]

    That¡¯s because the smooth-sailing genius has encountered a threshold for the first time that talent alone can¡¯t cross.

    But you two, father and daughter, really do resemble each other¡ªeven though there¡¯s no blood rtion.

    But at least when ites to getting upset and starting to pick fights with people¡­ you really do take after each other.

    Annan thought for a while and whispered, ¡°Then you can think about it this way. Since Amos has always had a good temper and good talents before, why did he suddenly encounter the threshold of his talents?¡±

    [¡­Why, why?]

    ¡°Thinking back to that time, the Venerated Skeleton had already appeared in Frozen Water Port. His destination was clear from the start. It was the Frozen Water Port where you and Amos were. So, could the reason for Amos¡¯s halted talent be attributed to the Venerated Skeleton?¡±

    [What? Could there be such a reason? Is that true?]

    Of course, it¡¯s not true.

    There was no evidence, just a superficial connection. Attributing the cause to one point. This was the typical attribution of causality, akin to a Detective Conan-level deduction.

    Annan was naturally aware of it too.

    But so what?

    Since the sorry Mr. Skeleton was carrying this burden anyway¡­ since He was destined to die no matter what, it was better to have Ellie, thispletely innocent young girl, not weeping alone and drowning in the unfairness of fate, unable to break free from the shadows of the past. It was better to help her understand ¡ª it was all the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s fault.

    Then, as the Venerated Skeleton passed away, the narration of ¡°the enemy is dead and the great revenge has been avenged¡± would take ce. The shadow that had been lingering in her heart would vanish.

    This could be regarded as one of the few contributions the Venerated Skeleton could make.

    Moreover¡­

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Who can be sure that this must be ¡°an unfounded spection¡±?

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 Chapter 700: Things Only Remembered

    <h4>Chapter 700: Things Only Remembered</h4>

    Given the transcended abilities such as spells, rituals, and curses, nothing was ¡°impossible¡± in this world.

    Thus, trying to use the traditional method of ¡°eliminating all impossibilities, leaving only the inevitable¡± became unachievable.

    However, Annan wasn¡¯t the type obsessive about having concrete evidence.

    He trusted his instincts more.

    Rather than pursuing the idea that ¡°there¡¯s only one truth,¡± a concept that could be elusive, ¡°finding out the motive¡± was a more effective and practical approach.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Annan said suddenly, distracting Elle, ¡°I¡¯m going to help you take a bath and fix your hair.¡±

    Hearing this, Elle was immediately shocked.

    ¡ªWhat, what, what, what? Take a bath?

    She panicked immediately. All theplicated thoughts in her mind were swept away.

    [¡­Huh? Wait, wait a moment¡ª]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Elle. You can trust me¡­ you can feel all this anyway, right? I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±

    [It¡¯s not that¡­ but¡­ no matter what¡­ it¡¯s not impossible¡­ but, but this¡­I think¡­]

    Elle was troubled. She hesitated, not knowing what to say.

    Annan chuckled slightly.

    She is so cute.

    ¡°Elle¡± opened the quilt and got out of bed with bare feet. Since she was still wearing her pajamas, the real Elle hiding in [Elle¡¯s] heart was not so embarrassed that she shut down herself immediately.

    She narrowed her pupils slightly and looked around.

    Perhaps the biggest difference from the Gallery Nightmare was that there were more toys in the room.

    They were the kind of items that weren¡¯t really useful or entertaining. You might not have yed with them more than a few times after buying. They seemed like impulse purchases ¡ª the kind of new toys parents bought to appease their kids when they said, ¡°I want this.¡±

    The key point was that it revealed another hint.

    This meant that not only Elle would be able to leave the house, but she also went out and about with her parents.

    In real history, in the final period ¡ª Elle was not allowed to leave home at all.

    She was like a canary in a cage.

    And the ¡°Elle¡± here was a bird that could fly freely.

    ¡°That¡¯s really nice.¡± Annan eximed out of nowhere.

    [¡­Yeah, that¡¯s pretty nice.]

    Elle¡¯s whisper echoed quietly in her heart.

    Her mood settled a bit, and her reaction wasn¡¯t as intense.

    ncing at the half-drawn oil painting and half-written lyrics on the desk, Annan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    He realized that this was Elle¡¯s evidence for thinking that he was ¡°out to collect inspiration¡±.

    ¡­That¡¯s not wrong either.

    However, Elle, with her suspicions, asked a few more questions but still couldn¡¯t figure out why Annan wasughing.

    Annan quickly finished showering. With Elle¡¯s guidance, hebed Elle¡¯s hair and put on her outdoor outfit before leaving the house.

    Before heading out, Annan specifically checked his watch.

    ¡ª2:50 p.m.

    Do different purifiers have different free time every day?

    Well, that makes sense.

    ¡°Elle¡± left the house. What greeted her was the golden wheat field.

    The midday sun was bright and warm, creating a serene atmosphere reminiscent of a fairnd far removed from the mundane world. Elle¡¯s white dress and hair were gently caressed by the cool breeze.

    She straightened her hair and listened quietly for a while.

    ¡°Actually, you should realize something is wrong while you are here.¡±

    [Where, where¡­?!]

    Elle hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock of Annan helping her take a bath previously, so she responded with some embarrassment.

    [I¡¯m just an idiot anyway, okay¡ª]

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Annan chuckled softly, his emerald-green eyes narrowing leisurely, ¡°Otherwise, maybe you could have handled this nightmare on your own¡­ perhaps.¡±

    [What is it exactly¡­]

    ¡°It¡¯s too quiet, Elle. Listen.¡±

    Annan closed her eyes, lightly touched her right earlobe with her right hand, and tilted her head slightly to the right.

    ¡°There¡¯s no sound, right?¡±

    [¡­so what?]

    ¡°Did Amos nt this wheat field?¡± Annan smiled and said, ¡°Since someone nted it, why didn¡¯t anyonee to harvest it? Then why is there no sound of people around?

    ¡°If there¡¯s such a vast wheat field here¡­ then why can¡¯t I hear any sounds of insects or birds? And most importantly ¡ª the rustling sound of wheat swaying in the wind, have you heard it?¡±

    The answer was nothing.

    It was just like andscape painting.

    But it was only at the level of [semi-finished product].

    This world was only a fragment¡­ a fragment of a dream like a fairy tale.

    ¡°You might not know this, Elle. In wheat fields, there are always insects, and there would be field mice, sparrows, rabbits¡­ and even wolves.¡±

    [Wolf?]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The farmers in the Papal Kingdom and the United Kingdom would call back their children who wanted to y or trample in the wheat fields because of the wolves inside. Even now, there¡¯s a ritual in the Papal Kingdom and the United Kingdom to this day, called the ¡®Young Wolf Wine¡¯.¡±

    Annan spoke in a tone one might use to tell a child a story. Yet, a meaningful smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°Some elderly people in the Papal Kingdom and the nobles in the United Kingdom believe that there are souls in the rice. The reason why they eat hand-pounded rice instead of machine rice in the rice mill is because they think the rice mill grinds it too much. The soul in the broken rice will escape. This soul is called the ¡®Spirit of the Valley¡¯, and it usually appears in the wheat field in the form of a wolf¡­that is, ¡®the Wolf of the Valley¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Farmers who believe in the Valley Wolf will cut off the ¡°Valley Mother¡± in the fieldst. The so-called ¡®Valley Mother¡± is the wheat stalk that bends first when the wind blows over the field. They believe that within it hides a ¡°Valley Spirit¡± in the form of a wolf. Those who get injured and bled without noticing during the harvest have been bitten by the Valley Wolf.¡±

    ¡°They take seven stalks from the ¡®Grain Mother¡¯, anoint them with oil, andy them on the bed as if they¡¯re a child. The family then observes three days of traditional customs, just like they¡¯ve really weed a new child into the world.¡±

    ¡°The stalks that have gone through the ritual are called ¡®Young Wolves¡¯. Just one of these stalks is considered to be worth an entire wheat field¡­ The wine made from the ¡®Young Wolves¡¯ is called ¡®Young Wolf Wine¡¯, and it¡¯s seen as the most valuable thing in a farmer¡¯s home.¡±

    [Whoa! That sounds amazing!]

    Elle praised.

    She asked impatiently.

    [Then, what¡¯s the use of Young Wolf Wine?]

    ¡°The answer is that it¡¯s useless.¡±

    [Why?]

    ¡°Because the Valley Wolf Deity is fictional. It is actually an incarnation of the Tragedy Writer when he was a mortal. It does not have any divine power at all. It is a ¡®non-existent deity¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Then the question is, why do people believe in the existence of the Valley Wolf? Think about it, Elle.¡±

    Annan said, his footsteps still not stopping.

    Elle curled up in her heart, thinking hard and seriously.

    [Is it because no priest was born among them? And mortals will not be given divine art, so¡­]

    ¡°You¡¯re getting there but that¡¯s not the right answer.¡±

    A smile full of malice andpassion appeared on the corner of Annan¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°The correct answer is ¡ª even if they don¡¯t get any divine art, even if reason has already told them that the Valley Wolf does not exist at all. But they would choose to believe that the Valley Wolf does exist.¡±

    ¡°Because apart from the Valley Wolf, they have no other deities to turn to. If they were to find out that the valley wolf was a falsehood, then everything they¡¯ve done up to this point would seem so foolish and sphemous. The peace and tranquility they¡¯ve enjoyed up to now would bepletely disrupted.¡±

    So, the more someone believed that the Valley Wolf might not exist, the more someone could see through it all ¡ª the smarter they were¡­ the more likely they were to have upheld this lie.

    ¡°Then, let me ask you one more thing.¡±

    [What?]

    ¡°Does Eternal Duke exist? Or ¡ª¡±

    ¡°Does His presence or absence give any meaning?¡±

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 Chapter 701: The Power of Trust

    <h4>Chapter 701: The Power of Trust</h4>

    Did the Eternal Duke exist?

    Was Eternal Duke really a legacy passed down from generation to generation?

    Did the giants really not know that the Eternal Duke hadn¡¯t been reced for a very long time and had always been the same individual?

    Also¡­

    Would the presence or absence of Eternal Duke really have a big impact on them?

    A race that didn¡¯t even care about their own life or death.

    Regarding the existence of Eternal Dukedom, would they even care?

    The answer was naturally no.

    ¡°It was probably the moment the Eternal Duke¡¯s territory was invaded by the gray mist that he realized¡­ from the very beginning, he was the one who wasn¡¯t needed.¡±

    The people of the Eternal Dukedom were fearless to death, which also meant that they would not actively flee from it. In other words, the ancient giants of Eternal Dukedom were a race doomed to extinction from the very beginning.

    The memories inherited by each generation of Eternal Dukes and the ¡°burdens¡± they had bore through painstaking efforts were just wishful thinking.

    ¡°Since they are not afraid of death, it means that they will not thank Eternal Duke for ¡®continuation¡¯. In other words¡­ all the Enternal Family has done is to prolong the death of this doomed country.¡±

    The giants were like students who hadpletely given up on taking their college entrance exams ¡ª the kind who didn¡¯t even n on showing up. And the Eternal Duke was like the homeroom teacher who chased after them, urging them to study hard.

    Full of weariness and exhaustion, a repetitive job without any real purpose. But as a ¡®duty,¡¯ it had to be done.

    If it weren¡¯t for the copse of the Great Barrier, maybe the Venerated Skeleton¡­ in other words, Grand Duke Midas, might have taken hundreds, even thousands of years to realize this.

    Of course, maybe he had realized it a long time ago. But just like those farmers who¡¯d rather believe in the existence of the valley wolf, he preferred to think that the mission he bore had meaning.

    ¡°It¡¯s just self-deception.¡± Elle said calmly, ¡°This nightmare is the same.¡±

    Crossing the sea of ??wheat fields with almost no obstacles, ¡°Elle¡± arrived at a dense forest.

    ¡°Dove¡ª¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± stopped in front of the dense forest and called out, ¡°Are you there?¡±

    Soon, a serval cat appeared silently on a tree branch before ¡°Elle¡± like a shadow.

    She gracefully leaped down and walked over to Elle with light, cat-like steps, gazing at Elle with eyes filled with doubt, astonishment, and anticipation.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Dove. I¡¯m Annan.¡± ¡°Elle¡± squatted down, touched serval¡¯s chin with the back of her hand, and showed a calm smile, ¡°I¡¯m here to save you.¡±

    Upon hearing this, the other party showed almost no hesitation and a visible ¡°relief¡±.

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re finally here¡­¡± Doveined, came over, and nudged Elle¡¯s belly with her head. It licked her hand, ¡°But¡­ why is it Elle¡¯s body?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff. Just remember ¡ª keep ying your role as the serval cat, don¡¯t speak unless necessary, and don¡¯t leave this forest. At midnight, gather in the center of the wheat field to the east¡­ Do you have a way to tell the time in the jungle?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it will be a piece of cake.¡± Dove said lightly, ¡°It¡¯s included in my profession. I have also memorized most of the astrology of this world.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then goodbye.¡±

    ¡°See you at midnight.¡±

    After Dove finished speaking, she turned around and jumped onto the treetop. It didn¡¯t make any sound or even shake the tree. It leaped a few times and disappeared into the dense forest.

    [She just left like that. Can such a short conversation make her feel at ease?]

    Elle asked with confusion and some self-doubt.

    [Why would she choose to believe you when she heard your name? This is obviously my body, right?]

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s because I¡¯m worthy of trust.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± said without changing her expression. Then, she asked, ¡°So do you trust me, Elle?¡±

    [Of course, I trust you. You are my secret keeper.]

    ¡°In that case, you might as well trust mepletely. You can always trust Annan Austere-Winter.¡± ¡°Elle¡± said this as she walked through the jungle.

    Not long after, Elle arrived at a wilderness. This was the same ce where Longjing Tea had encountered Elle previously.

    Coming side by side from afar, it was Celecia apanying the ¡°teacher¡±.

    ¡°Elle¡± rushed over in a couple of steps.

    Upon seeing Elle, Celecia paused for a moment, then visibly sighed with relief.

    ¡°Elle¡± also showed a cold smile and greeted her with open arms.

    For a moment, Ceresia felt she had seen Elle¡¯s smile somewhere before¡­ But before she could figure it out, the two girls were already warmly embracing each other.

    ¡°Mr. Thoreau Nick.¡± Annan whispered in her ear, ¡°I¡¯m Annan Austere-Winter.¡±

    It happened like the whisper of a demon.

    At that moment, the old fear struck Celecia.

    Like ice-cold water with chunks of ice poured over her head, chilling to the bone.

    ¡°You might not know this, but I¡¯ve known from the start why ¡®the Winter Insurgent¡¯ betrayed us. I also know that you haven¡¯t seen him for a long time. It feels ufortable to be avoided by the teacher, right? Don¡¯t you know why he is avoiding you?¡±

    It was a soft, warm whisper.

    ¡°Elle¡± narrowed her eyes slightly and raised the corners of her mouth.

    Celecia, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t stop trembling. Her expression kept changing.

    ¡°Elle¡± the elegant voice sounded, ¡°Obey my orders. I will give you a chance to see him again. Do you believe me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I believe you, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Call me Your Majesty. I have seeded the throne. If I wish, I can pardon you¡­ Of course, I assume you¡¯d rather see your teacher again, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Celecia gave in.

    ¡°Thene with me; I have some tasks for you. First, say your goodbyes to this ¡®substitute¡¯. It won¡¯t take you very long, maybe about two or three hours. You two should arrange a time to meet up again. ¡°

    The two girls hugged each other intimately and whispered.

    Elle¡¯s body was so soft that it felt like her whole body was melting. Celecia was like a quiet, gentle blooming flower, catching the butterfly firmly.

    However, the middle-aged schr, who looked like ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡± on the side, didn¡¯t hear the whisper between them at all.

    ¡°Your friend, Celecia?¡± The middle-aged man asked curiously.

    The hug between the two girls had just ended.

    ¡°Elle¡± turned around gracefully and curtsy to the man, ¡°Hello, sir¡­ I am Elle Angelo, the daughter of Painter Amos.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I heard about your father!¡± The man praised enthusiastically, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect his daughter to be so beautiful and cute. You can call me ¡®teacher¡¯. I am this child¡¯s teacher and her father.¡±

    Bullshit¡­

    Amos was not surnamed Angelo at all.

    ¡°Elle¡± raised her eyebrows after having a deeper understanding of this nightmare.

    But, teacher?

    She looked at Celecia with interest.

    Under Elle¡¯s gaze, Celecia seemed a little ashamed ¡ª Her body trembled, and she quickly asked the ¡°teacher¡± for a leave.

    She then left with ¡°Elle¡±.

    ¡°Remember¡­ once you return at 6.00 p.m., continue ying your roles as a student and a daughter, and try not to do anything out of character. Then, at precisely midnight, arrive at the very center of the wheat field to the east, at Elle¡¯s house.¡±

    After the ¡°teacher¡± left, Annan gave Celecia instructions.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Celecia agreed.

    Celecia was a little confused and asked her previous lord, ¡°Then, why do you need me now?¡±

    ¡°Convince your crew to stay in character and not break role¡­ It could be fatal. They only need to y their parts until midnight. At that time, everyone should gather in the wheat field. Don¡¯te too early; if you¡¯re early, wait outside the boundaries of the field, but don¡¯t get too close. And definitely don¡¯t bete.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± raised her eyebrows and sneered, ¡°I won¡¯t give you a reason to convince them. Can you convince them on your own?¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Celecia nodded and asked in a low voice, ¡°But I don¡¯t know where they are, so maybe¡­¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± nodded, ¡°But I know their location. Give me a map, and let me mark it for you. Before that, youe with me first. You can learn how to persuade them. You and I shall split up, or else we don¡¯t have enough time. Also, it¡¯s impossible for me to convince your crew.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. My crew members absolutely trust in me ¡ª I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any challenge in this.¡± Celecia replied affirmatively.

    It was when she talked about her crew that there was light in her eyes.

    ¡°A simple trust¡­ What¡¯s the use of it in the face of desire and fear.¡± Elle said thoughtfully.

    They passed through the wilderness and abruptly found themselves on the edge of a city. The blonde girl shed a charming smile and expertly hailed a taxi ¡ª their destination being the residence of a wealthy man.

    That was where the Wandering Child lived.

    When they arrived, there were no surprises.

    ¡ªThey were stopped by the guard.

    Then, ¡°Elle¡± took a deep breath. She shouted, ¡°Cade,e out!¡±

    In less than half a minute, the magnate, dressed as mboyantly as a peacock and looking quite out of ce, came stumbling and tumbling out of the front door.

    He was practically shouting in a sobbing tone, telling all the security guards to get out of the way.

    He was stunned for a moment after seeing Elle and Celecia, but soon his eyes focused on Elle.

    ¡°I¡¯m Annan.¡± ¡°Elle¡± said leisurely, ¡°I¡¯m here to save you.¡±

    Wandering Child breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Boss, you are finally here. I know you will definitelye and save me. I¡¯m so scared right now.¡±

    His reaction was exactly the same as Dove¡¯s.

    This left Elle silent and confused.

    However, this time she didn¡¯t ask the same questions. Instead, she just observed quietly.

    Really¡­ it only takes a name.

    Annan¡ª

    Is he so trustworthy?

    Elle fell into deep thoughts.

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 Chapter 702: Reasonable Action

    <h4>Chapter 702: Reasonable Action</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m going crazy.¡± Following ¡°Elle¡±, Wandering Child couldn¡¯t stopining, ¡°As soon as I woke up, there was a beautiful woman with blond hair saying that I¡¯m her husband¡­ But before I could do anything, she is asking for money without saying anything.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t all. It¡¯s reasonable to give money to my wife. But she also said the casino has held up my son again. She wants me to bail him out this afternoon. Have I lost my mind? If my son was gambling, I¡¯d break his damn legs! And you¡¯ve taken two hundred thousand from me and you¡¯re not even nning to bail him out? So, what the hell are you nning to do with the money?¡±

    ¡°So, guess what happened next? My daughter came home. Blonde hair, blue eyes, so pretty¡­ She just doesn¡¯t look anything like me.¡±

    ¡°Then she brought her friends over to hang out¡­ I took a glimpse. There are seven guys. I thought about it and decided not to judge, kept my mouth shut¡­ But then, get this, one of the guys ¡ª probably in his thirties or forties, old enough to be my uncle ¡ª said my daughter told him he coulde to ask me for a job.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I said yes. I figured this is just a dungeon anyway, it¡¯s not my real money, so I¡¯ll give however much. But this older guy was at least polite about it; he came to discuss it with me.¡±

    ¡°But then, two young guys showed up. Right off the bat, they tried to extort me. They imed my daughter owed them over a hundred grand and that they had evidence of me evading taxes that she gave them. What the hell? What¡¯s wrong with these punks?¡±

    ¡°I went inside to see what was going on, and man, what a sight ¡ª they were ying a CD and drinking in my house. It was like one of those KTVs with a disc yer, with them kissing and stripping¡­ My blood pressure shot through the roof!¡±

    Wandering Child keptining, ¡°Just as I was about to throw those idiotic young punks out, I got a call. It seemed to be from a mole I nted around my wife, probably her driver or some servant¡­ He said he saw my wife entering a hotel, all cozy with two men. Man, what a sight to behold, and not in a good way.¡±

    ¡°Is this some kind of twisted fate? The plot twists here are just too damn crazy, aren¡¯t they? Boss, is this a nightmare? When am I going to wake up?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. This is just a nightmare.¡± Annan didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment, so she could onlyfort her in a low voice, ¡°Then, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Then, you¡¯re here.¡± Wandering Child said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, ¡°I want to see how this nightmare can unfold.¡±

    Annan was also taken aback by the unexpected turn of events that had befallen the Wandering Child.

    Out of everyone, you seem to have gotten the worst of it. Even the pace of your storyline is more intense than the others. No wonder you lost it the quickest.

    If Annan hade anyter, the Wandering Child might have lost his temper and flipped the table due to the pressure.

    ¡°In this nightmare, you would go crazy for not ying a given character?¡± After listening to Annan¡¯s description of the nightmare rules, Wandering Child repeated.

    ¡°Elle¡± nodded pitifully.

    ¡°¡­But I feel that if I continue to act ording to the character, I will also go crazy.¡±

    ¡°But the good news is that now that I¡¯m here, we have the possibility to escape the situation.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± narrowed her eyes, ¡°As a rich man and a renowned collector, it is reasonable for us to discuss business, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, reasonable.¡±

    ¡°Then it makes sense for us to buy something, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll write you an order. As a significant client and the daughter of the artist Amos, I¡¯m specifically requesting that you personally gather these items for me, in exchange for one of Amos¡¯s most precious paintings. I¡¯ll need them delivered to this martial arts school ¡ª and by the way, the Delicious Wind Goose is here. Since Amos¡¯s artwork is a renowned masterpiece, doesn¡¯t this seem like a fair deal for a major collector like you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, everything makes a lot of sense!¡± Wandering Child cheered.

    As long as he could reasonably leave this hellish ce, even work would make him feelfortable. But every time he wanted to go out, he would be called back by a phone call due to an emergency at home.

    But this time, it was the extremely important ¡°business¡±.

    ¡°But, you know¡­¡± Elle said, drawing out her words.

    ¡°But?¡± Wandering Child eximed.

    ¡°As a wealthy man, isn¡¯t it just typical that people are trying to ckmail you with evidence, regardless of its authenticity? Given your status and your love for your family, it doesn¡¯t make sense for you to abandon your children and wife.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± casually remarked, ¡°However¡­ hiring mercenaries to help sort this out would also make a lot of sense, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Of course ¡ª in order to rescue the hostage, the mercenary identally injures the hostage and causes the hostage to be injured and faint. Naturally, it is a helpless and necessary sacrifice. You must feel pain and sadness for hera.¡±

    ¡°But where can I find a mercenary¡­¡± Wandering Child was startled halfway through his words.

    He nced at Celecia and reacted immediately.

    ¡°Not Celecia.¡± Annan said with a smile, ¡°She is just an ordinary, Gold Rank transcended student.¡±

    ¡°But Delicious Wind Goose is no problem. Imagine a master swordsman owing you a favor for some reason, deciding to handle some of your dirty work¡­ including rescuing people, silencing loose ends, and taking revenge on a cheating wife. That seems usible too, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Wandering Child nodded and said solemnly.

    Before Annan finished speaking, the Wandering Child grasped the logic of this nightmare.

    To put it simply¡­ you must find a reason for each of your actions in your own ¡°identity¡±.

    The Child was no longer afraid.

    He was different from Delicious Wind Goose.

    Suppose Delicious Wind Goose was an outstanding and serious profession card game yer. Then, the Wandering Child was a card game yer who was good at talking nonsense.

    ¡°Back when I had hair, I was also quite the card yer¡­ I get that!¡± Wandering Child¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.

    He asked in a deep voice, ¡°What about the order? Without further ado, I¡¯m ready to set off now.¡±

    What he was implying was, given some more time¡­ who knows what kind of tricks those rascals might pull on him. It was better to leave sooner thanter.

    Celecia, who was nearby, also seemed lost in thought.

    She probably understood how to help her crew members.

    Soon, Annan wrote the order and gave it to the Wandering Child.

    ¡°ck male sheep horns, ck male goat horns¡­ Are these ritual materials?¡± Wandering Child confirmed, ¡°Are there any other requirements? For example, it must be a cursed material or something?¡±

    ¡°I have specifically noted the parts that require curse materials in the list.¡± ¡°Elle¡± stood up with a smile and said, ¡°Then, I will go to Delicious Wind Goose to wait for you. Let¡¯s say goodbye here, Miss Celecia.¡±

    [Huh¡­?]

    Elle¡¯s doubtful voice sounded in Annan¡¯s heart.

    [Didn¡¯t you say that you can¡¯t hold upright deities¡¯ rituals here?]

    That¡¯s the problem, Elle.

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 Chapter 703: Ritual: Contacting The Night

    <h4>Chapter 703: Ritual: Contacting The Night</h4>

    ¡°Elle¡± went to Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s swordsmanship hall alone.

    Delicious Wind Goose was definitely the toughest yer around. Before ¡°Elle¡± showed up, he had already pulled himself together and started looking into things, all while keeping up his act.

    After ¡°Elle¡± arrived, Delicious Wind Goose, like other yers¡­ easily gave Annan his trust. It was agreed that at midnight, he would meet with Longjing Tea and Wandering Child in front of Elle¡¯s house.

    Therefore, Annan didn¡¯t go looking for Longjing Tea.

    Because it was no longer necessary.

    After that, he helped ¡°Elle¡± prepare the ritual area in the basement of the swordsmanship hall.

    ¡ªThis was why Annan asked Wandering Child to send the ritual material here.

    [Annan, are you nning to summon Bone Burying Grandma?]

    ¡°No.¡± Annan said leisurely, ¡°This is not a ritual to summon Bone Burying Grandma.¡±

    ¡°Did Elle ask something?¡± Delicious Wind Goose, who was kneeling on the ground and carving the ritual pattern with a silver ritual knife, raised his head when he heard ¡°Elle¡±. He exined with a smile, ¡°Did she think this is a ritual under the Bone Burying Realm? Why did she think so?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple because I¡¯ve tried it before. As Elle, I can¡¯t use the divine art of the [Skeleton] and [Betrayal] realm at all. And I¡¯ve also tried the ritual of upright deities. I can¡¯t activate them here either.¡±

    Elle, legs crossed and sitting in a chair, was carving wooden runes with a small knife. With a light chuckle, she turned and asked, ¡°If it were you, how would you use a ritual to determine if this ce is the Mist Continent?¡¯

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I will summon the Silver Sire. After all, as long as the price is enough, a Silver Sire¡¯s ritual has the highest sess rate. He will not refuse any form of transaction, as long as the price is right. If there is trading and currency in this world, but the Silver Sire didn¡¯t respond to the ritual¡­ then something must be wrong.¡±

    Delicious Wind Goose thought for a moment and nodded in response.

    ¡°Well said.¡± Annan praised, ¡°I can tell you have trained well with Nefertari in ritual knowledge. When we return, I will send you to the Rasputin Family. I¡¯ll show you some of the top-secretrge-scale rituals.¡±

    ¡°¡­Um, boss. What you said is called setting an event g in our ce. It¡¯s a jinx.¡± Delicious Wind Goose said awkwardly.

    Annan just smiled.

    Elle quickly changed the subject. As she carved into the piece of wood she¡¯d chopped from the chair, she remarked, ¡°What you did was right. Among the upright deities, Silver Sire and Grail-holding Lady are the go-to ones. They¡¯re the most responsive, even without any special ¡®boost¡¯ to help or locate them.''¡±

    ¡°For example, the Bone Burying Grandma when there is no undead, the Red Knight when there is no war, the Motherly Moth when the person holding the ritual isn¡¯t a female¡­ they rarely respond to rituals from non-believers. Then there¡¯s Lady Luck who answers based on her mood, and the Mysterious Lady who¡¯s super picky about precision. Their presence can really throw off your judgment.¡±

    ¡°Like you, I tried Silver Sire¡¯s ritual before and found that it didn¡¯t work. However, since Bone Burying Grandma incurred this nightmare, I tried Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s ritual again and found that there was a response.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± chuckled, ¡°So I tentatively concluded that this is a world where ¡®other upright deities do not exist, only Bone Burying Grandma exists¡¯. Elle also heard this idea too.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Delicious Wind Goose frowned.

    He had just finished carving the ritual when he stood up, casting a puzzled nce at Elle, who was lounging in her chair with her legs propped up. Just as he was about to say something, the doorbell rang.

    ¡°It¡¯s Wandering Child.¡± Elle added.

    So Delicious Wind Goose nodded and went to open the door first.

    Because there were outsiders around, Elle, who was still trying to stay quiet even though they couldn¡¯t hear her words, finally couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    [Uncle Delicious Wind Goose, it seemed like you wanted to say something earlier¡­ Did I miss something?]

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to call him uncle. Although he looks mature, he is only 29 years old this year.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m d that you realize that there is a problem here even though it¡¯s still a littlete.¡±

    ¡°¡ªbecause that deduction is incorrect.¡± Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s steady voice came from the doorway, ¡°Why do you conclude that there is only one upright deity in this world after you have only tried Silver Sire and Bone Burying Grandma? That doesn¡¯t make any sense, and I can¡¯t see Lord Annan jumping to that conclusion either.¡±

    Hearing that, Elle just gave a smile.

    She stepped forward and took the ritual material from Delicious Wind Goose.

    ¡ª3 ck male sheep horns, 3 ck male goat horns, and 3 bull horns. Plus, 3 ck candles, 3 mirrors, 1 small bottle of crocodile tears, 27 mouse hearts, 27 venom nds from centipedes, and 1 small bottle of the Silent Ointment.

    [¡­Huh?]

    Elle was startled when she went through the materials.

    [Isn¡¯t this¡­]

    ¡°Does it look familiar, Elle?¡± ¡°Elle¡± asked warmly.

    Of course, Elle was familiar with this setup.

    Some of these ritual materials¡­ specifically the three candles, three ck ram horns, three ck goat horns, and the three bull horns, were the very items used by Amos years ago for the Venerated Skeleton ritual when he sacrificed Elle to the Venerated Skeleton.

    ¡°You know what, Elle.¡±

    ¡°You know, Elle,¡± Annan said calmly, emphasizing each word, ¡°The [Contacting the Venerated Skeleton] ritual is actually a watered-down version of another ritual.¡±

    ¡°When ites to [3], what does it remind you of?¡±

    [Deity of Veto and Darkness¡­ the Silent Lady?]

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Annan replied.

    As he spoke, he inserted the ritual materials in order into the ritual array carved on the ground by Delicious Wind Goose.

    Each ¡°horn¡± had its designated spot. Around the nine horns, the mouse hearts and centipede venom nds were ced in groups of nine, forming nine triangles. These serve as ritual substitutes for a baby¡¯s heart and a viin¡¯s brain.

    After that, Annan ced the three ck candles on the outermost edge¡­ arranging them with the three mirrors to create ovepping triangles. He then lit the candles.

    The moment the third candle was lit, the warm orange me turned into a chilling icy blue. After that, Annan snuffed out the other lights in the room.

    ¡°Delicious Wind Goose is right. I just confirmed that Silver Sire¡¯s ritual is invalid, and I also confirmed that Bone Burying Grandma¡¯s ritual is valid. But, why do we have to believe that only Bone Burying Grandma exists in this world?

    ¡°I kept thinking, is Bone Burying Granny the only special one? But then, I overheard Amos talking about [The Elegant Elder¡¯s Blessing] and doing some [Ritual for the Elegant Elder]¡­ That¡¯s when it clicked. This ce has its own ¡®rituals¡¯, they¡¯re just not supercharged enough to call on some major powers.¡±

    ¡°So, here¡¯s the thing I don¡¯t get. If we¡¯ve got upright deities in this world slice, why aren¡¯t they answering when summoned by rituals? And why don¡¯t these ¡®rituals¡¯ pack any kind of transcended power?¡±

    Annan said. He burned the three wooden charms engraved with the Silent Lady¡¯s rune on three candles.

    When the runes touched the candles burning with a chilly blue me, they too started to flicker with a cold light. It didn¡¯t look like wood burning in fire, but more like they were slowly being ¡°devoured¡± by the mes.

    Soon, the rune disappeared into Annan¡¯s hands.

    The shadowy rune appeared above the candle me.

    ¡°The answer is simple because the upright deity that does not exist is not Silver Sire¡­ but the Mysterious Lady.¡±

    Annan said, dropping crocodile tears on the three candles to extinguish them.

    The candle me was gradually extinguished, but the three rotating runes still hovered above the candle.

    Finally, the mes were extinguished.

    The three runes rotated quietly and silently.

    ¡°This is the true form of the ritual of ¡®contacting the Venerated Skeleton¡¯¡­ [Contacting the Night].¡±

    Not in contact with Silent Lady, but in contact with the night.

    The moment the ritual seeded, the entire world visibly plunged into twilight.

    And the sess of this ritual meant that all of Annan¡¯s previous inferences were correct.

    It wasn¡¯t like the sun was dropping, but more like time went into super speed mode. If the group checked on people outside right then, they¡¯d probably look like they were in a timepse, darting here and there real fast.

    So, this ritual just sneakily fast-forwarded the world to smack dab 9 o¡¯clock at night, and no one had a clue.

    The Delicious Wind Goose and Wandering Child beside them had disappeared without a trace. They should have found Longjing Tea by now. ording to Annan¡¯s previous instructions, they might be on their way to the wheat fields or assassinating ¡°unworthy children¡±.

    However, none of them were in the swordsmanship hall. If everything went well, they should not go crazy now.

    ¡°It¡¯s 9 PM. Two plus one is three; 9 PM is like three times three, and there¡¯s a three-hour gap between nine and midnight¡­ So, that means we¡¯ve got three more hours to go. It¡¯s the ¡®Golden Hour¡¯ for the Silent Lady.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± raised her head calmly.

    ¡°¡ªI shall begin to announce the answers right here and now.¡±

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 Chapter 704: The Thing That Cannot Be Forgotten

    <h4>Chapter 704: The Thing That Cannot Be Forgotten</h4>

    If Annan hadn¡¯t heard the biggest secrets about the Silent Lady, the Mysterious Lady, and the Grail-holding Lady from the Sacrifice Saint¡ª[the Man Against Himself], Henry Worden, he might¡¯ve had to seriously scratch his head to crack this nightmare.

    However, Annan happened to know the secret.

    The Mysterious Lady was once the daughter of the Grail-holding Lady ¡°Cybele¡± who sacrificed her unborn child to the ¡°dark night¡± along with her womb.

    It was precisely because of this ritual sacrifice that Mysterious Lady, the Deity of Rituals, was born. It was also because the ¡°dark night¡± gave Mysterious Lady part of her power that she was demoted from the ¡°dark night¡± to a deity.

    This happened in an era before mountains and rivers were born.

    Cybele, as the world¡¯s first living, breathing thing, only managed to kickstart the whole ¡°Blood and Desire¡± concept in the world after pulling off that sacrifice. From then on, that was when new life started popping up.

    And this secret, telling the ¡°Secret of Creation¡±, fell on the timeline after the secret of the ¡°Austere-Winter¡±.

    The word ¡°Austere-Winter¡± was born before the birth of the four seasons, and even before the birth of light and fire. It was originally used to describe the silence of the sky when the earth was first born, as quiet as a dying old man; and the ¡°earth¡¯s¡± hatred for all things that would pass away but would not die.

    The earth here referred to the Bone Burying Grandma from the dawn of creation. The ¡°devoid of light and fire¡± and the ¡°sky tranquil like a dying old man¡± naturally pointed to the ¡°night.¡±

    Since there was no birth of light and fire yet, naturally, there was no distinction between day and night. A sky without light was what was called the ¡°night.¡±

    That was the reason only the Bone Burying Grandma and the Silent Lady rituals did the trick back then. Now, why Bone Burying Granny responded quickly¡­

    ¡°In this ce, the correct name of Bone Burying Grandma is [Earth].¡±

    ¡ªIf there is day, there will be night; if there is earth, there will be sky.

    ¡°Elle¡± stood in the pure, warm darkness, looking at the three rotating runes. She said calmly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it from the very beginning. I think, Elle, you should also be able to realize that this world is created with you and the Venerated Skeleton as the core, supplemented by everyone else¡¯s ¡®desires¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Then, you should be able to figure out the reason why this world will cycle endlessly and stay on this day.¡±

    [Could it be ¡¯cause I¡¯m dreading Mom¡¯s return but still kinda wanna see that upbeat Amos?]

    Elle answered from the bottom of Annan¡¯s heart immediately.

    The girl¡¯s voice was full of guilt and hesitation.

    Obviously, she herself had already thought about this matter.

    [If it weren¡¯t for me¡­]

    ¡°You are wrong, Elle. This is not what you are afraid of.¡± Annan asserted.

    His pupils shone brightly in the pure darkness.

    That was the light called [Understanding].

    ¡°Elle¡± was silent for a while, then sighed.

    She whispered, ¡°Perhaps even you have forgotten¡­ You are not Elle Morrison, nor Elle Buckel. You are Elle Angelo.¡±

    ¡°Your real name is Angelo.¡±

    ¡ªElle is already dead.

    ¡°Joseph told me that Angelo was sealed in the Freezing Water Port by them. And the Gallery Nightmare was what was left after Angelo, ¡®the Divine Child,¡¯ died. Elle was just a tragedy that repeated 1834 times. It¡¯s just a resentful spirit.¡±

    ¡°You have been the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s daughter from the very beginning.¡±

    Elle was just a human being.

    After her death, she had no spirit remaining ¡ª the Bronze Rank Transcender would have a smoky soul, the Silver Rank Transcender could turn their condensed souls into droplets, and the Gold Rank Transcender would have a crystallized, solid soul.

    Even a demon could not extract a ¡°tangible¡± soul from a mortal corpse.

    The reason why the Venerated Skeleton could retain Elle¡¯s soul was because when she was still alive, Amos traded her to the Venerated Skeleton. By absorbing the curse from the Gallery Nightmare, Elle¡¯s spirit body gradually formed.

    Then, there was a problem.

    Since the formation of the Gallery Nightmare had nothing to do with Elle, then what was the rtionship between Angelo and Elle?

    A memory that had not yet faded shed past Annan¡¯s eyes.

    That was after ¡°Angelo,¡± who was like a little ball of flesh, transformed in the blink of an eye into a baby girl weighing about seven or eight pounds.

    ¡°What should I call you?¡± At that time, Annan asked softly, ¡°The Venerated Skeleton? Angelo? Or¡­Elle?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYou may call me Elle¡­ Annan. This is the privilege I give you, for the sake of staying with me until the end and watching my birth.¡±

    The baby girl in front of Annan made a girlish voice, ¡°And my real name is Angelo.¡±

    ¡°Angel of Betrayal¡­the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s daughter, Angelo.¡±

    The person who signed the covenant with Annan was the dead Elle¡­ or rather, the newborn ¡°Angelo¡±.

    And now this innocent girl who knew nothing¡­

    The Angelo who thought she was ¡°Elle¡±.

    Just like the man who thought he was ¡°Nichs II¡±, the artificial man with Nichs¡¯ memories.

    ¡°Obviously, you have forgotten the pain. But I must help you remember it.¡± ¡°Elle¡± narrated.

    But deep down in Annan¡¯s heart, the real Elle remained silent.

    She didn¡¯t respond as if she had disappeared.

    Annan kept going on his own track, ¡°Once we nail down that you¡¯re Angelo and not Elle¡­ well, another piece of the puzzle falls into ce.¡±

    ¡°Why does the Venerated Skeleton need you as his Half-deity? How can you help himplete the Betrayal truth? What is the meaning of your existence?¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton was a genius ritualist.

    He noticed the loopholes in the ascendancy ritual and created a new ritual that did not require the necessary step of [prototype of truth]. This achievement already proved his talent.

    So, what was the meaning of ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± existence?

    ¡°You may not know that Mysterious Lady is the biological daughter of Grail-holding Lady.¡± Annan said suddenly.

    [¡­What?]

    This huge revtion totally floored Elle; she just couldn¡¯t keep it together.

    ¡°Yes. Mysterious Lady is the unborn daughter of the Grail-holding Lady. She sacrificed her daughter and her womb to the dark night, thereby gaining the power of [the Holy Grail]. The dark night gave half of her own power to the unborn baby, giving her existence and truth.¡±

    ¡°The night is the Silent Lady.¡±

    What exactly was the so-called Half-deity?

    By now, the truth was already there, clearly revealed.

    ¡°What you fear is not your mother. In other words, it is not Elle¡¯s mother, Lady ra. It is [your] mother ¡ª your creator, the Venerated Skeleton.¡±

    ¡°When the Venerated Skeleton returns, you will be dedicated to the night as a sacrifice and be the ¡®Mysterious Lady¡¯ of this world. You willplete this world, but be left in this world.¡±

    ¡°The Venerated Skeleton will be flesh and blood with the power of the ¡®cup¡¯, freeing him from the undead body that he hates the most.¡±

    This was the only way to go.

    After abandoning the truth of [Skeleton], the Venerated Skeleton no longer had the power of [Skeleton] to support its existence. He must regain a physical body to exist in the world.

    And he originally hated undead¡­ In the beginning, he only altered himself to be undead so that the tragedy would no longer be reenacted.

    ¡°That white armor is the proof of the former Pdin.¡± Annan narrated, ¡°That¡¯s why the Venerated Skeleton wears it all the time.¡±

    This nightmare was actually structurally identical to Sporeggar Mill.

    ¡°Spider¡± Grover and ¡°Bear¡± Alice respectively control half of the nightmare¡¯s unique property. Alice tried her best to use the power of [Fantasy] to keep the Purifiers away from the ¡°spider web¡±, but she was unable to do anything.

    However, in this nightmare, it was ¡°Elle¡±, or¡­Angelo, who upied the dominant position.

    As long as she didn¡¯t want to, this nightmare would never arrive at the next day.

    As a result, the real Venerated Skeleton would never return.

    But it also meant that the nightmare would keep repeating itself on this day.

    The part that the Venerated Skeleton was responsible for was ¡°everyone fulfills their duties and lives a peaceful life following their own lifestyle.¡±

    Just like the country he once ruled in the human world ¡ª Eternal Dukedom.

    But the difference with that was¡­

    The Venerated Skeleton was unwilling to let them die so easily.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a deity filled with hatred for the mortal world. Not only did he betray everyone, but he¡¯s also the Grand Duke who was betrayed by his own people.¡±

    Annan muttered in a low voice, ¡°It is only [remembered] by everyone, but has no meaning¡­ ¡®something that cannot be forgotten¡¯.¡±

    Its name was¡ª

    Eternal Duke.

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 Chapter 705: Abandon Dignity

    <h4>Chapter 705: Abandon Dignity</h4>

    The Venerated Skeleton could be the person who hated undead the most in the world.

    The golden mask he always wore was a testament to his time as the ¡°Eternal Duke¡±.

    His tinum boots, white metal gloves, and the heavy armor he donned again upon entering the Elegy Dukedom were all traces of his past as a pdin.

    He was once a Holy Knight ¡ª fighting to annihte all the undead in this world, doing his best and fighting all his life. Because of this, no one had ever doubted that Eternal Duke was actually undead.

    That was why only the Eternal Duke would feel sad for himself.

    Grand Duke Midas despised the undead so much, yet he himself became a mere skeleton¡­ His sole purpose was to hope the painful curse passed down through his bloodline would end with him.

    He didn¡¯t want to pass down the ursed fate to the others.

    That was exactly what he did.

    Until¡­ the Great Barrier shattered, the Gray Mists invaded, and the giants went extinct.

    In the eyes of people in other countries, it was such a legendary deed ¡ª people praised this epic and heroic act of dying.

    But only the Eternal Duke suffered and mourned for this.

    He realized that everything the Eternal Family sacrificed meant nothing. The giants didn¡¯t care about their own lives or deaths, nor about the family¡¯s legacy or the continuation of the nation.

    From the beginning, [Eternal Duke] was just a wishful y.

    Instead, he should thank the giants for being willing to give them a face and y this unspoken game with their family.

    If he was just the Eternal Duke, that would be okay ¡ª it meant they were finally free. He could finally get a peaceful eternal rest.

    However, Midas had already altered himself into an undead.

    He couldn¡¯t even die.

    ¡ªRidiculously funny tombstone.

    ¡°Burial is forgetting, forgetting is betrayal; tombstones are the remembrance of death.¡±

    ¡°His goal is also simple.¡± Annan said leisurely, ¡°Abandon the truth of [Skeleton] and regain flesh and blood. In other words, he wants to erase his old self as a ¡®tombstone¡¯. This is a n with higher priority than obtaining theplete truth of Betrayal.¡±

    Annan had probably guessed it.

    The initial n shouldn¡¯t be like this.

    If Annan had chosen the most ¡°correct¡± way to end the nightmare in the gallery ¡ª shoot the turbid blood bullets with the [No Travel] curse into Angelo¡¯s body, then Angel of Betrayal¡¯s ¡°Angelo¡± would be anchored at the Freezing Water Port.

    This meant that, as Angelo¡¯s pope, he had also joined the carnival of ¡°betraying Angelo¡±. Then, the definition of ¡°betrayed by everyone¡± wasplete. Coupled with the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s other half of divinity, the true Betrayal Deity could be born in a ¡°nightmare¡± that no one could interfere with.

    In this way, the Venerated Skeleton only needed to descend directly into Angelo¡¯s body. With that, he would directly rece his own [Skeleton] truth with theplete [Betrayal] truth.

    So at that time, ¡°Angelo¡± was a baby girl, but she could make the deep and old voice of the Venerated Skeleton.

    If Annan really pulled the trigger ¡ª then this scene would be staged in Freezing Water Port in advance.

    There was really no one left to stop the Venerated Skeleton then.

    Because the ¡°Angelo¡± at that time had not even been born in the world, naturally she would not resist the Venerated Skeleton like the ¡°Angelo¡± who thought she was Elle today.

    Everything happening now was just a supplement to the ritual at that time.

    The Venerated Skeleton was a peerless ritualist.

    He naturally knew that the skeletons he left underground in Elegy Dukedom were a significant threat. If he was going toplete the unfinished ritual, he might as well eliminate all the risks at once.

    ¡°Think about it again, Elle¡­ Why did Delicious Wind Goose know that the child was the Venerated Skeleton?¡±

    Annan said calmly, ¡°Since the beginning of the third cycle, he knew that the child was the Venerated Skeleton, but he didn¡¯t know what the Venerated Skeleton would do. What does this mean?¡±

    [This means he only became aware of this at the end of his previous cycle.]

    Elle thought for a long time before responding from the bottom of Annan¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Correct answer. To be more specific¡­ He might have seen the Venerated Skeleton during the day in his first loop, but it was only in his second loop that he confirmed the existence and purpose of the Venerated Skeleton ¡ª so in his third loop, he could catch him first but still didn¡¯t know what he would do.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± murmured in a low voice and left the basement where the ritual was held.

    She walked slowly outside and looked up at the moonless night.

    There was no one on the street.

    And she walked to Elle¡¯s house alone.

    ¡°Then the answer is self-evident ¡ª only at the end does the young man, known as ¡®the Venerated Skeleton¡¯, appear. And when he does show up, he has evidence enough to prove he is the Venerated Skeleton¡­ but before he could do anything, the world resets.¡±

    ¡°You can guess now what Midas did when he appeared in front of Delicious Wind Goose, who was thest survivor at the time, right?¡±

    [He killed him.]

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Elle¡± nodded.

    As she journeyed on the road, time passed at an abnormal speed, which was the effect of the ritual.

    After Annan exined this to Elle, he was in a trance and suddenly found that he had arrived outside the city¡­ and the night became darker.

    It was about 10 p.m.

    Even though no one died, the night was getting darker.

    That was the process of the sky gradually returning to a ¡°dark night¡±.

    Annan looked up at the sky and then continued to narrate in a low voice.

    ¡°He said there¡¯s no concept of ¡®outside the city¡¯ in this world; he said that everyone in this city has never been outside its walls. Yet, Longjing Tea¡¯s colleague has a Denizoya ent; Celecia¡¯s teacher speaks in the Austere-Winter dialect; Amos says your mother is on a world tour, and he has to go on a business trip out of town. How can there possibly be no concept of ¡®outside the city¡¯?¡±

    ¡°So, why did we believe in Midas then?¡±

    [Because he¡­ didn¡¯t resist at all when faced with Delicious Wind Goose¡¯s beating¡­ Oh right, he even directly told us his name!]

    Elle replied immediately.

    [So Uncle Delicious Wind Goose said that Midas must be a part of this nightmare, he is¡­ what¡¯s it called¡­ a [non-yer character]. Yeah¡­ that¡¯s what he said¡­]

    ¡°However, Delicious Wind Goose overlooked one thing.¡± Annan said calmly, ¡°He is a [Purifier] who entered the nightmare at the same time as us.¡±

    As he spoke, he took a step forward and reached the dense forest.

    It should be 11 p.m.

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡ª¡±

    From the very beginning, the Venerated Skeleton was putting up an act.

    Dove who identally killed others in the jungle, Delicious Wind Goose who failed when he was most proud, Wandering Child who was extremely afraid of marriage¡­ and everything they long for were all reflected in this nightmare.

    This was a nightmare woven together by the memories of all those who entered.

    That¡¯s why there had been so many obviously illogical patchwork technologies inside, and the terrain had be so bizarre. As one of the two controllers of the nightmare, Elle had almost entirely influenced itsposition¡­ And the Venerated Skeleton, as the other half-controller, had turned this ce into the ¡°Eternal Kingdom¡±.

    So¡­

    ¡°How did he lose his memory as the Venerated Skeleton?¡± Annan sneered in a low voice, ¡°Mr. Bone is quite dishonorable. Even if he is beaten by a mortal, he still pretends to have no memory and no consciousness at all ¡ª in order to deceive others, does he not care about his reputation?¡±

    The scene shifted.

    ¡°Elle¡± had already arrived at the wheat field before she finished speaking.

    It must be close to midnight now.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± From the other side of the wheat field, the white-haired youth responded across time.

    This proved that the time he experienced should be synchronized with Annan¡¯s side.

    With his hands in his pockets, he stepped on the wheat and walked across the wheat field.

    There was no emotion in his slightly narrowed pupils.

    ¡°Sacrificing dignity in order to achieve a goal ¡ª I think that is the most cost-effective ¡®sacrifice¡¯.¡± Eternal Duke replied seriously.

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 Chapter 706: Angel & Demon

    <h4>Chapter 706: Angel & Demon</h4>

    There was no shame or guilt whatsoever.

    There was no resistance or anger.

    The youth with white hair and white clothes, pale and frail, appeared like a ghostly apparition, possessing no such thing called ¡®self-esteem¡¯.

    In other words, when he altered himself into undead, all his self-esteem and glory werepletely shattered at that time.

    ¡°A life full of regrets and embarrassment. Living without purpose. Like some kind of joke¡­ just clowning around.¡±

    The youth whispered, breathing deeply.

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    He paused slightly and slowly exhaled a cold breath.

    Centered around the Eternal Duke, the surrounding wheat field suddenly sunk in, like it got hit by a st of air. In no time, frost set in, turning the golden field a frosty white.

    Like talking with a mouthful of smoke after taking a puff, the youth¡¯s voice turned raspy. A chilly breath slipped out from between his lips.

    ¡°I have been ¡®dead¡¯ a long time ago.¡±

    When the ¡°eternal¡± turned to ¡°skeleton¡±, when the Eternal Tower turned into a tombstone, and when he became Him, Midas¡¯ heartpletely died.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if I¡¯m beaten until I vomit blood. It doesn¡¯t matter if my head is stepped on. Even if you cut open my stomach and take out my internal organs¡­ Even if you pour feces and urine on me, I will pretend ignorance. I can still show you a smile.¡±

    The pale youth said, showing a student-like and somewhat shy smile, ¡°Look ¡ª the smile looks just like this.¡±

    He said, unable to hold back hisughter.

    ¡°I¡¯ve yed the roles of my father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather¡­ but also my son, my grandson, and my great-grandson. I¡¯ve been doing this for 200 years.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡±

    He whispered, ¡°I sacrificed [honor], [dignity], [dream], [family], [peaceful rest]¡­ and finally sacrificed everything I got. In my sacrifice to nothingness, offering ¡®dignity¡¯ is the least painful thing for me.¡±

    His heart had already died.

    Annan realized this profoundly.

    Opposite Eternal Duke, the girl with blond hair and a white dress put her hands behind her back, looking at him with pity and silence.

    That was the calm gaze when looking back after seeing everything. Condescending, as calm as a screenwriter reviewing a script.

    ¡°No reaction, Frostwhisper.¡± The youth sighed, ¡°I truly didn¡¯t expect you to enter this nightmare. Of course, maybe I did think of¡­ [Destiny is the Wheel of Divine Transporter]. I know that saying too. But¡­ well¡­ who really knows?¡±

    He said and paused.

    Then, the Eternal Duke spoke again, ¡°Actually, when I first saw you, I already had a premonition. So at that moment, I wanted to kill you¡­ But in the end, I just took away the book.¡±

    ¡°But you finally knew everything¡­ saw everything clearly, and came to me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to stop this.¡± The blond girl squinted her eyes and made a sweet and soft voice in the moonless night.

    ¡°Elle¡­ no, Angelo. I¡¯ve asked you many times.¡± ¡°Elle¡± asked word by word, ¡°It¡¯s almost midnight. Let me ask you again¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you trust me?¡±

    There was a brief silence.

    Three seconds of pause felt like an eternity.

    Then, Elle gave the answer.

    [Yes.]

    She firmly and decisively gave her final answer.

    [I believe in you ¡ª no matter what hardship I encounter, no matter what situation I am in¡­ no matter what the situation is, no matter what anyone says, no matter what I go through ¡ª I will believe in you.]

    Angel of Betrayal, uses the honorific title for her pope.

    That wasn¡¯t out of respect for the pope, but rather reverence for a trustworthy elder.

    ¡°Let midnighte then, Elle.¡± Annan said, emphasizing each word, ¡°I swear¡­ you¡¯ll be safe and sound.¡±

    As he spoke, the chimes of midnight had already begun to ring.

    But¡ª

    ¡°Elle¡±¡®s eyes gradually overflowed with rainbow-colored brilliance.

    It was a light that burned like a candle

    This time, time didn¡¯t flow backward.

    Beside Elle, the world was instantly illuminated by a rainbow¡¯s glow. The light was like ribbons, embedding ¡°deep¡± within this world, soaring upward like ¡°wings¡±.

    Facing all these, the youth with white hair and white clothes opposite him just sighed deeply.

    ¡°This is ridiculous.¡± He whispered, ¡°A deity who doesn¡¯t act like one. A human who doesn¡¯t seem human. A betrayer who is not like a betrayer. A secret keeper who is not like a secret keeper.¡±

    ¡°Angelo, you are my angel, my daughter¡­ You were born because of me. How can you fight against me with that power?¡±

    As he spoke, the young boy¡¯s pale face suddenly shattered like broken porcin.

    What was revealed in the cracks was a gray color that was not consistent with Elle.

    However, that amount of light was several times or dozens of times that of Elle.

    Just by exposing a gap, the light in it was enough to illuminate the ¡°dark night¡±.

    ¡°We are all born on this earth, going through the cycles of birth, aging, sickness, and death.¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± took over the conversation and replied in a leisurely voice, ¡°But we will leave the earth eventually.¡±

    ¡°We will no longer age. We will no longer get sick. We will¡­ no longer die.

    ¡°We came from the wilderness of nothingness and marched toward the kingdom of all things¡­ If human beings can reach where they are now, we have sacrificed and given up more than you in the past. We will eventually be more in the future than you are now.¡±

    ¡°Until the farthest future, we will eventually abandon everything we have now. Everything in front of us will be history.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s not a betrayal¡ª¡±

    ¡ªThat¡¯s the immortal bird, reborn in the fire.

    Elle¡¯s voice gradually became filled with heavy echoes.

    The next moment, a rainbow-colored angel rose into the sky.

    Then, she descended to the ground instantly, like a shooting star.

    Eternal Duke merely raised his left hand. A gray light, reminiscent of a demon, emanated from his fractured skin, halting her in the void.

    The same truth of rainbow and gray, upon contact, shed and then merged¡ª

    The entire nightmare copsed and was reconstructed, half a colorful fairy tale and half a gray mime.

    But in the end, the light overflowing from Eternal Duke was superior.

    His voice was tinged with echoes and a high-pitched metallic sound.

    [Angelo, I betrayed everyone!]

    He boasted.

    A gray, absurd monster pressed down, rumbling and copsing a corner of the sky. The entire world felt like a shattered specimen jar.

    It looked like an abstract figure of a boy, half crying and halfughing. The side of his face that wasughing constantly shifted its appearance, while the crying half just quietly shed tears.

    The sharp, roaring sound echoed like thunder, engulfing the entire world.

    [But you have not been betrayed by everyone!]

    [We walked the same path, and I have gone further than you ¡ª you can¡¯t say no to me!]

    ¡°Is it really¡­ so?¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± suddenly smiled after hearing this.

    She didn¡¯t cast Angelization.

    Instead, he just whispered one sentence.

    ¡ªMerely one sentence.

    That was what she once said to Annan.

    ¡°Dreams are the poison that makes good people confused and evil people mad.¡±

    At that moment, the gray demon stopped.

    Annan was still chanting, ¡°Those who ignore morality for the sake of their dreams, those who go beyond thew for the sake of their dreams, those who betray their loved ones for the sake of their dreams¡­¡±

    ¡°I curse you.¡±

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 Chapter 707: The Inevitable Outcome

    <h4>Chapter 707: The Inevitable Oue</h4>

    Those were words that did not contain any transcended power.

    It was neither a secret from before the Second Age nor knowledge about another world.

    It was just a reiteration of the covenant Elle established.

    That was the first cry uttered by the dead Elle and the newborn Angelo at the end of the Gallery Nightmare.

    As Annan chanted, many lines cracked open again on the gray sky that had been torn apart. It appeared just like when ss was shattered¡­ Rainbow-colored light overflowed from it, turning into chains that bound the giant gray demon with two faces.

    It was a chain manifested through the power of the oath and curse from the ¡°covenant¡±.

    It was the chains that halted the movement of the gray youth with his fists raised, ready to strike, not Annan¡¯s chant.

    ¡°¡ªI curse you, to be ultimately betrayed by your own dreams. You will exhaust your talents, wither in spirit, be abandoned by all¡­ until you eventually betray your own dreams.¡±

    ¡°I also curse you¡­ the dreams you¡¯ve betrayed will turn into your greatest curse, your deepest nightmare. It will haunt you for a lifetime, you who abandoned it, and you will wake from nightmares¡­ regretting forever everything you have discarded.¡±

    Annan sighed slowly, ¡°This is Elle¡¯s covenant.¡±

    It was a curse unknown and unseen by anyone, except Annan as the secret keeper.

    Even the Venerated Skeleton hadn¡¯t heard this secret until now.

    More and more rainbow chains poked out from the cracks in the sky, binding the gray giant.

    That was a curse that came from the past.

    One half of the boy¡¯s face, the smiling half, showed anger and roared. On the other side, the crying half continued to weep quietly, offering no resistance.

    Many zed rainbow chains poked out from the cracks. So many cracks, in fact, that the gray sky itself was stained with the colors of the rainbow.

    ¡°This is your own power¡­Midas.¡± ¡°Elle¡± raised her head and sighed softly, ¡°Angelo is exactly your work. It is precisely because of her unique rtionship with you that this curse can be returned to you¡­ just like an umbilical cord.¡±

    The ¡°Angelo¡¯s umbilical cord¡± found in the gallery was the fictitious organ that connected a mortal to a deity.

    That was originally the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s backup n to upy Angelo¡¯s body, but it made him so closely connected to Angelo ¡ª even able to traverse time, tracing back to the very beginning.

    If other deities ¡°had betrayed others for dreams¡±, with the power that Angelo had possessed, they could not have beenpletely bound by this curse.

    However, Elle ¡ª or rather Angelo was different.

    In other words, only the Venerated Skeleton at this moment was also made different¡­

    Because the Venerated Skeleton had abandoned His original body.

    ¡ªYes. He was sucked into the nightmare while His soul was with Elle. Therefore, the curse was fired back to its source as if Elle had cursed her own body.

    However, at this moment¡­

    The gray gigantic figure, whose upper half was the only thing visible against the entire sky, roared in rage.

    [Traitor¡ª]

    [No¡ª]

    His roar was like thunder, rumbling.

    The gray, huge demon fiercely powered up his right fist, instantly breaking the rainbow-colored chains binding his right arm, and heavily smashed them to the ground.

    [¡ªDream out loud!]

    It was like a tsunami.

    The entire earth was torn apart by the shock wave, lifted straight up like a tide. The gray haze engulfed the sky, and a yellow sandstorm bombarded the area.

    And at this moment¡ª¡ª

    The power of the earth was suddenly defeated by an invisible power. A rock wall rose in front of Elle.

    That was the Geo Strike the Wandering Child cast.

    A corner of the sky suddenly turned dark red.

    Arther hurled a zing meteorite toward the gray demon¡¯s figure. The falling meteor emitted a whistling sound as it smashed forward.

    The centaur archer raised her bow and shot a brilliant arrow.

    The Sword Saint meditated for a long time. He suddenly opened his eyes and unleashed an attack that seemed capable of splitting the world in half.

    That was a support attack from other nightmare purifiers.

    However, for the Venerated Skeleton, who had revealed His true form as a deity, these attacks had no meaning.

    He roared furiously, sweeping away these attacks with his right arm as if He were sweeping all the pieces off the chessboard.

    The dark gray glow that exploded like a supernova easily destroyed these attacks.

    Above the sky, more rainbow-colored chains pierced through the cracks and were nailed to His right arm.

    The tips of these chains were sharp and slender spikes. As they pierced into the body of the demon, scenes of the ¡°past¡± shed past Annan¡¯s eyes.

    That was the memory of the Venerated Skeleton¡­ or the Eternal Duke that was being counterattacked by the Truth.

    Looking at those memories, Annan sighed deeply.

    So that¡¯s how it is.

    Thus¡­

    Midas¡¯s struggle had no meaning anymore.

    Celecia struck at this moment. She and the centaur must have noticed it¡­

    ¡ªThey must have seen the ultimate defeat of the Venerated Skeleton.

    ¡°Are you still wondering, when did you¡­ignore morality for the sake of your dreams, cross thew for your dreams, betray the people you love for your dreams?¡±

    ¡°Elle¡± looked at the giant who was bound by chains and asked again.

    Those were not ¡°words¡± used to attack the Venerated Skeleton.

    It was merely¡­ the ¡°answer¡± to clear up His doubts.

    ¡°That¡¯s fate¡­ destiny set in stone. Of course, you might also call it [the inevitable oue].¡±

    The Venerated Skeleton was unaware of Angelo¡¯s covenant;

    Angelo also didn¡¯t know the past of the Venerated Skeleton.

    It was precisely because of this passing coincidence that this scene happened.

    ¡°Perhaps even you have forgotten¡­ what your real dream was when you were young.¡±

    Rainbow-colored chains came further from the cracks in the air.

    The chains were nailed to His limbs. They wrapped around His arms, dragging the gray demon slowly but surely toward the earth.

    Finally, the demon fell to the ground.

    Only then did they finally see the outfit of the gray demon.

    He was cloaked in majestic armor of white gold. Countless tormented souls, their faces twisted in pain, seemed to flow like clouds across its surface. From a distance, it almost looked like a gray relief [1].

    ¡ªThose were the giants¡¯ souls caged inside the body of the Venerated Skeleton.

    The ancient giants were not a transcended race¡­ This flowing soul was the foundation for the Venerated Skeleton to be a deity.

    But for the deceased, this was by no means a blessing.

    This meant that they would suffer endless torture after death. The pain they suffered was the Venerated Skeleton¡¯s affirmation of the ¡°Betrayal¡± Truth.

    However, when the Venerated Skeleton, who possessed the [Death of a Nation], faced the pull of this thin and fragile rainbow chain¡­

    He felt so powerless.

    His eyes were overflowing with disbelief.

    [This is impossible¡­ Your truth cannot be more perfect than mine!]

    [My life is full of betrayal! I have betrayed everyone and been betrayed by everyone! And you¡ª]

    [¡ªYou don¡¯t dare to betray even one person, Elle! You can¡¯t even grasp the surface of betrayal!]

    [How dare you embark on the Transcendence Path if you haven¡¯t even done a good job as a transcender?]

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s what you think.¡± ¡°Elle¡± sighed deeply, ¡°Did you really walk a deeper journey than Elle?¡±

    She walked over slowly, the dust stirred by the fallen demon parting on either side of her, not a specknding on her white dress.

    Soon, ¡°Elle¡± reached out her hand and pressed it on the gray demon¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°If you really forgot, I¡¯ll help you remember it.¡±

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 Chapter 708: The Truth Had Manifested

    <h4>Chapter 708: The Truth Had Manifested</h4>

    The gray demon¡¯s pupils immediately shrank.

    The sobbing side of him remained unresponsive, but the other side showed pain.

    Under his pupils, a rainbow-colored light slowly lit up.

    Everything around seemed to pause and then rapidly rewind¡­ In the blink of an eye, Annan found himself looking at a cathedral.

    ¡ªThat was the Bone Burying Cathedral.

    Annan recognized the ce quickly.

    This statue belonged to the Bone Burying Grandma, the same one that was crushed by the Venerated Skeleton not long ago.

    And now it was enshrined high in the church.

    The giant young man, with white hair and skin, and a single amber eye reminiscent of the sun, knelt on one knee.

    He looked up at the statue of Bone Burying Grandma. His face was solemn, and his eyes seemed to be shining.

    ¡°¡ªMidas¡¤Eternal.¡±

    ¡°My son. My heir¡­ my continuation.¡±

    ¡°The current generation¡¯s Eternal Duke.¡±

    The [Eternal Duke], who wore a pure gold mask and was draped in pristine white armor, solemnly inquired with his head bowed. His hands supported a dark gold greatsword engraved with a string of runes, saying:

    ¡°How are you going to treat my people?¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do with this country?¡±

    ¡°What do you see yourself as?¡±

    Three weighty questions were fired in a row.

    However, the youth with amber eyes did not waver at all.

    The boy, without any hesitation and eagerly, recited the oath to his father that he had already thought of.

    ¡°I swear that I will show mercy to all living beings and care for the weak at all times;¡±

    ¡°I swear to be impartial and to strictly abide by thew at all times;¡±

    ¡°I swear that until the day I die, I will always have justice and love in my heart;¡±

    ¡°I swear, I will be the one who eliminates the most pain, and I will be the one who creates the greatest happiness;¡±

    ¡°I will be a candle, and I will burn out. But before I burn out, I will do my best to dispel darkness for future generations;¡±

    ¡°I shall erect monuments and bury those things that are dying but not yet dead; within my sight, I will not allow the dead to walk the earth.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give everything I have and then turn to dust ¡ª and my bones will end up being the foundation for the giant to rise again.¡±

    But only his dad knew how tough that promise would be to live up to¡­ how heartbreaking the oath.

    ¡ªYou will regret this. The father thought.

    However, the father didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    Respecting the next generation of Eternal Duke¡¯s will was a curse passed down from generation to generation in the Eternal Family.

    ¡°Then, as you wish.¡± Eternal Duke said in a deep voice.

    He lifted the big sword and tapped it once on each of his son¡¯s shoulders, left and then right.

    Then, he handed the giant sword into his son¡¯s hand, turned around, and took off his cloak.

    Very few people knew.

    Few would know. On the back of the Eternal Duke¡¯s armor, there was a crack like a pupil.

    That position was for¡­

    ¡°Farewell, father.¡± Midas muttered in a low voice, pointing the giant sword at his father¡¯s back ¡ª and thrusting it hard.

    The moment the de stabbed through its victim, it burst out with a divine heat.

    Without any resistance or pain, the previous generation Eternal Duke turned to ashes in the blink of an eye¡­ The sacred armor worn by Eternal Duke as the ¡°Great Pdin¡± also fell to the ground in pieces.

    Midas was silent and put on the white-gold armor that fell on the ground.

    As the Eternal Duke, he was not even qualified to collect the ashes as a remembrance.

    At that moment, Eternal Duke felt self-loathing, and a vague idea came to his mind.

    ¡°I want to break away from this disgusting tradition.¡±

    It was for his descendants who no longer had the right to keep his father¡¯s ashes.

    It was for [Justice] and [Love].

    ¡°I will be a candle, I will burn out.¡±

    But before it burns out¡­ I will do my best to do good.

    The next moment, the whole world turned gray and came to a pause.

    ¡°Do you remember now, Midas?¡±

    Elle, who was the only element possessing color, stood where Midas¡¯ father disappeared. She looked at his gray-white back that was paused.

    ¡°¡­Your first dream wasn¡¯t about getting a body or bing a deity. It was about breaking this cycle¡­ It was the noble wish of [hoping this tragedy wouldn¡¯t happen again].¡±

    It was a simple and lofty dream like ¡°I want to be a hero of justice.¡±

    It was a genuine wish without any issues or dirt to speak of.

    Eradicating the undead, helping the weak, helping those who could be helped, and saving those who could be saved.

    This was what Midas did during the first 30 years after he inherited the position of ¡°Eternal Duke¡±.

    Of course. He was only human, he would fall in love too.

    He would also get married, have children¡­ His son would eventually take his ce.

    But the initial trouble showed up.

    His son turned out to be a fool.

    ¡°¡ªYour Majesty, I¡¯m going ahead.¡±

    These were thest words of his wife, who took her own life with the sacred sword [Embers of Burial] after their son had grown into adulthood.

    One swing was enough to wipe out undead for ten miles.

    However, such a holy sword was mostmonly used tomit suicide.

    At that moment, Midas had an unprecedented resistance to [Mission] and [Oath].

    as well as¡­

    [Death].

    A giant should not have had such thoughts.

    Since they were kind of indifferent to each other, they just lived for themselves. Even for the most weary among the Eternal Family, they got a ¡®special pass¡¯ to only live 40 years¡­ Once their kid was grown, they could just hand down the armor and the sacred sword to the next generation.

    From this point of view, even the Eternal Duke¡­ had the same ideology in life and death.

    However, the instant his wife died, a nearly absurd sense of mission arose in Midas¡¯s heart.

    If I die¡­ can my son really inherit his path?

    But when he sharply realized that, no matter what, he alone couldn¡¯t fight against the heavy ¡®tradition¡¯ built up over a thousand years¡­ Duke Midas cowardly took a step back.

    He was not helpless.

    20 years after he inherited the throne of Eternal Duke, the year his son turned 16.

    After the white-haired kid and the Eternal Duke went back into the secret room, just like before¡­ only the somewhat crazed-looking Eternal Duke came back out.

    But no one knew.

    The person who died this time was not the Eternal Duke of the previous generation¡­ but his idiot son.

    ¡°Perhaps at this moment¡­ your original wish had changed.¡±

    ¡ªKilling his own son with his own hands.

    It was undoubtedly the most unforgivable sin in any country.

    And after gaining ¡¯20 years¡¯ of time from killing his son, as well as a new wife and son¡­ even though this son was intelligent, his abilities could not possibly surpass Midas, who already had 40 years of ruling experience.

    ¡°I will be a candle, I will burn out¡­ but my life is more valuable than theirs.¡±

    With this in mind, Midas killed his wife and son again.

    In this way, generation after generation¡­ he killed all his children and spouses, ying the role of ¡°Eternal Duke¡± with different personalities from generation to generation.

    Finally, he faced his greatest limit: the invisible wall called [lifespan].

    The ¡°limit¡± that was almost impossible for the giant race to reach.

    Midas, unable to let go, ultimately chose the greatest taboo.

    Throwing morals out the window. Breaking thew. Backstabbing the ones he loved¡­

    He hadmitted all the forbidden things.

    ¡°Dreams are the poison that makes good people confused and evil people crazy¡­¡±

    Annan murmured quietly.

    When did it start¡­

    When the youth with brilliant eyes fell so deep?

    ¡°You were betrayed by your own dream in the end. Your talent exhausted, spirit withered, abandoned by all¡­ you ultimately betrayed your own dream.¡±

    ¡°That is Elle¡¯s covenant. It transcends time, space and cause and effect, confirming the very root of the truth of [betrayal] ¡ª and that¡¯s you, the Eternal Duke.¡±

    ¡°From the beginning, you have been living under Elle¡¯s curse. The most ridiculous thing is that Elle was born out of your fear and regret for the [skeleton].¡±

    ¡°The dream betrayed by you has be your biggest curse and deepest nightmare, haunting you for the rest of your life¡­making you regret everything you abandoned for the rest of your life.¡±

    If the Venerated Skeleton didn¡¯t intend to snatch Elle¡¯s body, then the fact that He was killed by Elle was enough to make him the real Betrayal Deity ¡ª it was precisely because of his instinctive dislike of the ¡°skeleton¡± that he lost his body and the ability to respond to rituals.

    And now¡­

    ¡°Here, the Truth of [Betrayal] ispletely proven.¡±

    Annan opened her eyes and returned to the broken world full of sand and dust.

    The next moment, a rainbow-colored brilliance condensed on ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± fingertips.

    Under the gaze of the tired gray demon who was pierced by countless rainbow chains.

    A strong rainbow brilliance rose from the ground.

    ¡°Elle¡¯s¡± voice was full of rumbling echoes.

    ¡°As you yourself said¡­ what you fear is not ¡®death hase¡¯, because you have already known that ¡®death hase¡¯. Just like the oath you made, ¡°I will be a candle, I will burn out.¡±

    ¡°You looked in the wrong direction from the beginning, Tombstone¡­¡±

    ¡°You will burn out here.¡±

    A ray of light condenses in Elle¡¯s hands.

    That was the Book of Truth that carried the principle of [Betrayal].

    ¡ª¡±Atonement¡±.

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 Chapter 709: Book Of Truth: Atonement

    <h4>Chapter 709: Book Of Truth: Atonement</h4>

    Elle¡¯s emerald green pupils shrank slightly.

    Appearing at her fingertips were two pages, intertwining and circting like swimming fish.

    It was mainly translucent white, tinted with a faint blood color as if it was watercolor bleeding in water, looking like two goldfish interweaving with each other. Dark red text was swimming above it¡­ that was a curse of utmost purity and sanctity.

    In front of her, a glimmering panel that was somewhat familiar but slightly different appeared.

    [Atonement. Title Page. Last Page.]

    [Type: Book of Truth (2/5) (unlocked)]

    [Remaining fragment holders: 1]

    [Appeared:3]

    [Description: A newly born fragment of truth, recording thew of fulfillment for all sins and a thousand punishments in this world, has currently acquired the ¡°Betrayal¡± chapter. Gather fragments of four sins to gain more authority; because the ¡°Redemption¡± chapter has been obtained, this Book of Truth is now fully unlocked.]

    [Atonement (2/5): It can only be used with a ¡°just¡± heart or a ¡°pure kindness¡± heart: the right to kill and seize the betrayer.]

    She didn¡¯t just obtain the Truth Fragment, but the Book of Truth.

    Since the most crucial ¡®final page¡¯ has been obtained, is this book nowplete¡­

    Annan looked thoughtfully at someone else¡¯s Book of Truth.

    After taking a look at other people¡¯s papers, he felt that he could do it.

    Although all page fragments had not been collected yet, Elle had now obtained the ¡°Prototype of Truth¡± and could already ascend to the deityhood.

    So, thest page is the key, huh? Wait, no¡­ you need at least one of the other pages along with thest one to make the Book of Truth work. Just thest one on its own is useless.

    Where is thest page of the Book of Divine Transporter?

    Following the unique collection method of the Book of Divine Transporter¡­

    The seventh mirror was probably the ritual of obtaining a ¡°table of contents¡± or a ¡°cover¡±. In other words, as long as Annan knew who his sixth mirror corresponded to and defeated Ingrid, who was the seventh mirror, he would be a deity.

    Since ¡°light is born from the mirror¡±, the way to collect the Book of Divine Transporter was to find people who were simr but opposite to him. However, regarding the truth about ¡°crime and punishment¡±, they surely wouldn¡¯t be like Annan.

    Suddenly¡­

    [This is my Book of Truth!]

    The giant gray hand shot up ¡ª tightly grasping the Book of Truth in the air.

    It was a gray demon that ¡°lived¡± like a living tombstone.

    He was pierced by chains before and fell to the ground¡­ However, He was just pretending to be dead. As Midas said, as long as He could achieve his goal, He would give up His dignity.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t stop him at all.

    The gray demon¡¯s cracked hand was falling apart while it reached through thin air.

    But He couldn¡¯t hold onto anything.

    The demon¡¯s movements were dyed for a moment.

    [Howe?]

    ¡°¡­Haha.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    He looked at the gray demon who could barely speak and sighed.

    ¡°Unfortunately, this is a truth that only [Justice] and [Pure Kindness] can use.¡±

    ¡°You may have met this condition once. Therefore, you were inspired by the Truth¡­ but you failed to resist the temptation and failed to control yourself. From that moment on, you have failed.¡±

    If he could just follow through the mistakes, he too would be a deity. But the Venerated Skeleton insisted on abandoning his skeletal form.

    This was a tragedy caused by his overconfidence and his slow and rigid understanding of the world.

    Now that Elle was born, He would not have a second chance to regain the truth of [Betrayal].

    ¡°From the very beginning, you took the wrong direction, Eternal Duke.¡±

    He forgot, or deliberately ignored one thing ¡ª deities were the ¡°living pirs of the world.¡±

    In other words¡­

    No matter the truth, its ultimate manifestation must be ¡°order¡±. Even for evil deities such as Tragedy Writer and ck Widow, who killed people as a form of sacrifice, there existed some rules¡­ They all leaned toward ¡°the restraint of power¡± and would not allow acts of massacre, extermination, or breeding of gues to ur.

    Even the Tragedy Writer would be disgusted by the unsightly and crazy conspirators, and might even take action to clean up the pest himself. Even the ck Widow¡¯s believers, who studied all kinds of poisons and tested them on humans, would craft antidotes with those same hands. Moreover, ck Widow was never a deity born from a human, to begin with, but the deity of spiders. From the perspective of spiders, or even other races that were friendly to the spider race, she was naturally not considered an evil deity.

    Fundamentally, this was because a deity was the spokesperson of a [Truth].

    Because an authority like truth couldn¡¯t think or act, it needed a proxy to personify itself and make its presence known.

    Even the Book of Truth, which recorded the truth of death, would not choose a madman who wanted to destroy the world and kill everyone. Just like Red Knight as the War Deity, he would not start a war.

    The deities might have different interests, personalities, and stances¡­ but they were ultimately ¡°protectors of something and someone.¡±

    So, if the truth of ¡°betrayal¡± really existed in the world¡­

    ¡ªIt would never exist in a Book of Truth that ¡°recorded many evil deeds in the world¡± and therefore could only be mastered by viins. At most, it would only choose people with the position of ¡°the protector of betrayers¡±.

    Whether it was the Eternal Duke or the Venerated Skeleton¡­ No matter how consistent he was with the truth of betrayal and how many people he had betrayed, he still did not meet this requirement.

    He started in the wrong direction.

    ¡ªConversely, someone ¡®betrayed by everyone¡¯ might fit the need for a ¡®protector of the betrayers¡¯ better. Therefore, the previous Venerated Skeleton, even though he forcibly obtained the [betrayal] truth through rituals, wouldn¡¯t have been acknowledged by the Book of Truth.

    After he realized that he was also betrayed by the people and destroyed his tombstone, he came full circle and returned to the starting point. Thus, he was able to meet this condition.

    But at that time, Elle was already further forward and delving deeper than him. It was the Venerated Skeleton who kicked Elle away¡­

    Annan might be the person who helped the most in the ascension process.

    The internalbustion engine he invented in Annan¡¯s first life seemed to have prompted someone in the Papal Kingdom to obtain the Book of Truth about the ¡°machine¡±. In the future, the stranger would surely ascend into a deity. In this life, Annan would respectively send the Man in the Mirror and Angelo as the Angel of Betrayal to the Light Realm.

    Even Annan himself was apatible match for the Book of Truth and dueled with his ¡°mirrors¡± to have the final ¡°Divine Transporter¡±.

    Although the Eternal Duke might have a deep understanding of ritual, his understanding of ¡°deity¡± and the Book of Truth went awry.

    From this point of view, Rotten Man was more like a deity than him ¡ª Rotten Man would at least protect the ¡°immortal¡± he created.

    The Venerated Skeleton was just using his authority as a deity to create more ¡°betrayers¡± and sneered at the tragedies caused by these betrayers¡­ Maybe he just hoped to get somefort from it.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said before¡­ did you really delve deeper than Elle?¡±

    Maybe Midas set off earlier than Elle.

    But he was on apletely different path.

    Just like Elle got ¡°Atonement¡± instead.

    Annan nced at the system panel.

    As expected, Elle¡¯s [Pure Kindness] element had been awakened to 78%.

    Perhaps it was because of her [Pure Kindness] element that exceeded 66% or 75% that allowed her to meet the final requirement for the manifestation of Truth.

    What an irony.

    What Eternal Duke did back then was the final blow that defeated him now; The useless and weak kindness that Elle held was an opportunity for her to win.

    ¡°This drama about [Betrayal] should end now.¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat do you think?¡±

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 Chapter 710: Nightmare: Giving My All! Dungeon Clear!

    <h4>Chapter 710: Nightmare: Giving My All! Dungeon Clear!</h4>

    Facing Annan¡¯s calm rhetorical question, the gray demon said nothing.

    He just sighed deeply.

    The face on the other side which was always changing finally turned sad. It was sad just like His other side of the face that had been crying.

    The next moment, the demon full of cracks finally crumbled into pieces.

    Like gray petals, or perhaps like a moth.

    The fragments that dissociated from it floated in the still air, forming a massive tornado¡­ flying toward the distant horizon.

    Under it, a white-haired youth was standing there with cracks all over his body.

    He looked skinny.

    Upon closer observation, he took on the appearance before he became the ¡°Eternal Duke¡±.

    This was a nightmare world built from everyone¡¯s wishes.

    This probably meant that Midas¡¯s deepest wish now was to have never be the ¡°Eternal Duke¡± back then.

    ¡°Can you let me speak to Elle?¡±

    The white-haired youth opened his mouth and closed it again. He was silent for a long time before whispering.

    ¡°Elle¡± blinked.

    Annan did not respond immediately but asked in his heart.

    ¡°What do you think, Elle?¡±

    [¡­Let me see him off.]

    Elle said softly.

    Hearing this, Annan didn¡¯t say another word and immediately closed his eyes.

    If it were up to Annan, he wouldn¡¯t have left the body just yet.

    But now, Annan dispelled his ritual and handed the control of the body back to Elle.

    His consciousness was instantly kicked back to the outside world ¡ª and then without saying a word, Annan returned to the nightmare through the perspective of the idle yers watching the show.

    But this time, what he was paying attention to was the world from another perspective.

    ¡­Huh?

    Annan noticed that, from the perspective of the Longjing tea, he couldn¡¯t see the rainbow glow spilling from the many wounds on young Midas at all. Midas¡¯s injuries were like a void, swallowing the surrounding light, pure darkness like a starless night sky.

    In other words, he couldn¡¯t see the rainbow light representing Elle¡¯s side at all. However, the gray light belonging to the Venerated Skeleton could be seen clearly.

    What makes it happen that way?

    ¡°Atonement¡­¡± Young Midas repeated the name, with the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

    He wanted to sneer, but in the end he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Have you evermitted a crime?¡± Finally, he asked, ¡°Angelo¡­ no, even for Elle ¡ª what are you guilty of?

    ¡°You have nevermitted a crime from the beginning, so where is the atonement? You¡¯re merely an infant, born less than half a year ago, who inherited the memories of a girl¡­ Can someone like you even wield the [Atonement]?¡±

    After Annan left, Elle¡¯s temperament had obviously changed.

    But faced with the pressing questions of young Midas, she showed not the slightest bit of fear.

    ¡°Yes, I want to atone.¡±

    These were the first words Elle Angelo said after she regained her body.

    Her voice was much softer than when Annan was controlling her.

    But the willpower in those words made her words seem so convincing.

    ¡°Just now, I have made up my mind that the rest of my life will be a life of atonement.¡±

    ¡°What sin are you atoning for? What have you done wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your sin that I want to atone for.¡± Elle said softly, ¡°My¡­ father.¡±

    That word, ¡®father,¡¯ left the white-haired young man frozen in shock.

    But Elle¡ªor rather Angelo instead became emboldened.

    The more she spoke, the braver she got, and her eyes brightened with each word.

    ¡°No matter what, you are still my father¡­ Angelo¡¯s father. Even if you refuse to acknowledge me, even if you only desire my body¡­ you are still my father. You gave me life.¡±

    ¡°My mother is Elle, and my life and memories are inherited from ¡®Elle¡¯. I am another flower blooming on the branch named Elle. Of course, I remember Elle¡¯s hatred for you¡­ I also know that my birth is but the beginning of a tragedy, nothing more than aplete mistake.¡±

    ¡°But I believe, since my birth was already a mistake¡­ I cannot afford to make more mistakes in my life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve also thought before, what¡¯s the harm in offering my body to you? But Annan said¡­ I¡¯m not here to carry on someone else¡¯s dream, nor am I an agent of another¡¯s will. The child known as Elle is already dead¡­ I¡¯m not that child, I must bear the consequences of my own choices.¡±

    ¡°It was then that I realized¡­ after you became the Betrayal Deity, you would only continue to make one mistake after another. I may be the beginning of the tragedy, but I¡¯m not its conclusion. You will relive all the curses, pain, hatred, and nightmares you¡¯ve experienced, inflicting them on others¡­¡±

    ¡°If I give up resistance. That will be my retribution ¡ª the price I pay for my wrong choices.¡±

    Elle¡¯s voice became powerful for the first time.

    That was apletely different voice from Annan¡¯s. Her right hand was clenched in front of her chest, and her pupils were shining.

    The young Midas¡¯s expression becameplicated.

    He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

    In the end, he closed his mouth in silence, waiting for Elle to continue speaking.

    ¡°[The sins of the father shall be paid by the child.]¡ªyes, no one has forced me, nor has anyonemanded me. This is the debt I¡¯ve chosen to shoulder voluntarily. I simply want¡­ the tragedy that happened to me not to be [reenacted] on anyone else.¡±

    ¡°I will inherit the [Betrayal] truth and atone for all the crimes you havemitted, father. I will watch over this world and hope that the tragedy that happened to you and me will never happen again.¡±

    Elle looked directly at Midas and said firmly, ¡°I will cut off the chain of all tragedies.¡±

    Annan, who watched this scene through Longjing Tea¡¯s eyes, also sighed deeply.

    Some people, after suffering themselves, wanted to see others endure the same¡­ That was somewhat understandable.

    But there were also people who, having suffered themselves, hoped that others wouldn¡¯t have to endure the same pain.

    That was perhaps the biggest difference between Midas and Elle Angelo.

    Under Midas¡¯s gaze, and in front of everyone else, Elle Angelo recited her new oath, word for word.

    ¡°I will show mercy to all beings, care for the weak;¡±

    ¡°I will be fair and selfless, strictly adhering to thew;¡±

    ¡°I will always hold justice and love in my heart;¡±

    ¡°I will be the one to eradicate the most suffering, and also the one to create the greatest happiness.¡±

    Midas, who until then had merely had aplex expression, only at this moment¡ªhis pupils sharply constricted.

    The expression on his face turned to one of astonishment, shock, and sadness.

    ¡ªThat was the oath that he had given up in the past.

    But now¡­ Elle Angelo had regained this curse in her bloodline and turned it into a covenant.

    ¡ªI¡¯ll fulfill what you didn¡¯t achieve back then.

    In her pupils, this sentence was conveyed with utmost rity.

    Even Midas was shaken by her will and determination.

    She would obtain a divine form, like an eternal me, no longer burning out. This might perhaps be her greatest distinction from the Eternal Duke of the past.

    Elle chanted, conveying this harsh covenant to everyone present.

    Only then did Midas sigh deeply.

    He closed his eyes slowly, as if in repose.

    ¡ªIn fact, he still had onest betrayal up his sleeve.

    The curse thatpelled him to kill all his offspring by his own hand had long been entwined deep within his soul¡­ If he gave up on reincarnation, he could also invoke this curse, using the spiritual kinship between them, to forcibly execute Elle right there.

    At that time, he and Elle would be reborn together somewhere in the world. The twin embodiments of good and evil would once againpete for the right to the [Atonement].

    However, he eventually gave up this option.

    Perhaps he recalled the weight of his father¡¯s sword from years ago.

    Maybe he felt that the warmth of the setting sun that day shouldn¡¯t be so chillingly cold.

    Or perhaps it was just a nearly five-hundred-year bted¡­ further legacy of the once ¡°Eternal Duke¡±.

    ¡°¡­To ensure that certain things are remembered, it¡¯s worthwhile to give it my life.¡±

    He thought to himself and closed his eyes.

    The moment he gave up his qualifications for the truth, the world shattered.

    Thest word of Angelo¡¯s covenant echoed in the air.

    ¡°¡±I will spare no effort¡ª¡±

    ¡ªI¡¯ll give it my all.

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 Chapter 711: Bone Pickerâ€™s Forgiveness

    <h4>Chapter 711: Bone Picker¡¯s Forgiveness</h4>

    The moment the fabricated nightmare world shattered, a prompt that Annan had never seen before emerged before his eyes.

    [The world has been purified.]

    Isn¡¯t the prompt usually the nightmare has been purified?

    Also, I didn¡¯t enter the nightmare, so why did such a prompt appear before me?

    These thoughts came to Annan¡¯s mind.

    Then, he continued reading the prompts.

    [Seeing through the truth of the nightmare. Your evaluation ratings increased.]

    [All members survived. Your evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Achieved purification upon the first entry into this nightmare. Your evaluation ratings increase significantly.]

    [The ¡°remains of the Venerated Skeleton Midas¡± have been purified. Your evaluation ratings increased significantly.]

    [Complete purification as an apostle. Your evaluation ratings will be reduced.]

    [Comprehensive Evaluation¡ªS+]

    [Obtained Shared Experience 29500 points. Perception+3. Will+1.]

    [Obtained the reward for clearing the dungeon instance: The weaker profession is promoted by 3 levels.]

    [Receive world purification reward: Element (understanding) awakening depth increased by 25%.]

    [You have mastered ¡°Ritual Spell: Trace of Divine Transporter¡±.]

    [Based on the region where the nightmare belongs, the Bone Burying Grandma has blessed you with the curse vessel: Bone Picker¡¯s Forgiveness.]

    [Bone Picker¡¯s Forgiveness]

    [Type: Weapon / ritual item / mystical item (Gold)]

    [Description: A weapon in the form of a double-barreled short hunting gun with pure white wings and golden runes. It¡¯s equipped with only one bullet. It can be transformed into a silver ring.]

    [Description: It predates any known ¡®gun¡¯. Before the invention of ¡®guns¡¯. it seems to have had other uses (¡°Mysterious Ritual¡± check failed).]

    [Effect: Anyone killed by this gun will be forgotten by the world.]

    [Cost: Sufficient resolve is necessary to fire the bullet.]

    ¡°Forgiveness, huh? So, you handle forgiving the dead, while I¡¯m in charge of making them dead, is that it?¡± Annanined subconsciously.

    ¡­What a weird item!

    Why would you give me something like this?

    Of course, Annan knew that ¡°Bone Picker¡± was the alias of Bone Burying Grandma.

    ¡°The Grandma didn¡¯t even give me holy light engravings this time.¡±

    Do you feel like it¡¯s too much trouble to deal with all these holy light engravings this time, so you¡¯ve simply decided to cash them in directly?

    Annan rarely used the divine art in the Bone Burying Realm.

    Probably that was why Grandma gave him a potent curse vessel.

    Although it could only be used once, this effect was worthy of the title of a curse vessel of upright deity.

    Strictly speaking, this gun was not a weapon.

    Because it only had one bullet.

    In reality, this exceptionally cool-looking gun had no magazine, nor any ce to load bullets or gunpowder. Its barrel was merely a shallow indentation, less than a centimeter deep, making it even more simplistic than a toy gun.

    At least a toy gun could shoot little pellets.

    In this way, it was utterly impossible for Annan to load his own bullets.

    Rather than calling that indentation a gun barrel, it was more apt to describe it as the groove that had been carved into a stone wall during animal sacrifices, meant for the flow of blood.

    The ce for the trigger was actually a pendulum¡­ the kind of thing that swung rhythmically beneath a clock.

    The moment Annan took the gun, he identally touched the pendulum. But he didn¡¯t hear any mechanical sounds emanating from the body of the gun. It was soft and yielding, conveying no feedback whatsoever.

    ¡ªIt has a mind-reading safety mechanism.

    Is it so advanced?

    Annan quickly stopped paying attention to this new toy.

    After turning it into a ring and wearing it on his hand, he continued to check the dungeon instance rewards.

    Although this dungeon instance wasn¡¯t triggered by Annan himself, he unexpectedly received a portion of the rewards¡­ He just didn¡¯t know if it had taken away any share from the yers.

    What surprised Annan the most was that the Ritual Spell called ¡°Trace of Divine Transporter¡± actually belonged to Idol School.

    ¡ªThe magic seemed to be the one Euphemia used: the Ritual Spell to borrow Annan¡¯s power.

    However, this magic didn¡¯t seem to have much practical use¡­ Or, rather, Annan didn¡¯t know what its specific effect was.

    When Annan witnessed this magic previously, he was just standing by, watching the show ¡ª seeing Euphemia sweating buckets, totally wiped out from keeping the ritual going. Meanwhile, Celecia was beside her, just screaming her head off, ¡°Ahh!¡± But she didn¡¯t seem to be fighting it, nor did there appear to be any special effect. In the end, they both just melted away.

    What exactly does this magic do?

    Annan curiously skimmed through the description for his spell, only to find that they weren¡¯t written very clearly either.

    [Level 2 Chant: ¡°Divine Transporter, I am the gatekeeper! I stand as the gatekeeper of three gates: I am the sentinel of sight and creation, the guardian of virtue and permanence, the keeper of worms and cicadas.¡± With this invocation, the summoner called upon the celestial ¡°Divine Transporter¡± dwelling above the three gates. Each activation will release one-third of the Divine Transporter¡¯s light. However, surpassing thepatibility limit during activation can result in the user¡¯s own ¡°melting¡±.]

    [Current ritualpatibility: 100%]

    ¡ªI don¡¯t quite get it.

    However, Annan at least knew how to use this ability.

    The main reason was that Annan didn¡¯t quite get the three gates. He didn¡¯t know what the effect of ¡°Divine Transporter Light¡± was either. The Divine Transporter light summoned by Euphemia was definitely not in the correct usage.

    This strange usage was simply like knocking someone unconscious with a gold brick and then eximing, ¡°Is this the power of money?¡±

    Even a bizarre man would not be able to use it like that.

    As for the three gates, it was even more confusing.

    Even with Annan¡¯s umted knowledge, he had never heard of the ¡°three gates¡±. He hadn¡¯t even seen this word in any ult records.

    However¡­

    Annan understood what the ¡°cicada¡± meant ¡ª because cicadas had the habit of ¡°molting¡±, and ¡°molting¡± was actually another way of saying ¡°Dyed Rank¡±. Therefore, cicada was a reference to ¡°the way of sublimation¡± in mystical knowledge.

    So, if cicadas are the transcenders, what are the worms?

    Could it be the Fallen?

    But this seems rather unlikely. The Divine Transporter is the culmination of the path to ascendancy ¡ª in the ascendancy ritual, the one being elevated ultimately boards the Divine Transporter to reach the Light Realm, thereby achieving divinity. It makes sense that the ¡°cicada¡± is rted to the ascendants; however, it doesn¡¯t seem to have much to do with the Fallen ones.

    For instance, the nightmare from another world had already ended, and the scoring segment had already begun.

    However, the yers¡¯ vision had not yet recovered. Instead, it was still pitch ck.

    Perhaps this was where Eileen had been within the fragments of the nightmare, undergoing the final ascension ritual.

    It was annoying to mention this.

    Annan¡¯s Book of Truth was clearly the Book of the Divine Transporter, but when Elle was ascending, he couldn¡¯t see it at all¡­

    If the ¡°Three Gates¡± was not an unpopr pronoun, then this meant that it came from at least the ¡°Historical¡± Level¡­ or even other ult knowledge of the Creation Level.

    That meant top secret.

    I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll only get answers to these questions when I meet that bbermouth poet again¡­

    At present, it seems that it probably has the special attack effect guaranteed to critically strike and break through defenses, specifically targeting the ¡°fate¡± element¡­

    ¡°I just don¡¯t know if this special attack will be equally effective against mages of the Prophet School.¡± Annan murmured.

    But at the next moment, four consecutive prompts suddenly appeared before his eyes:

    [¡°Justice¡± is taking notice of you¡­]

    [¡°Mercy¡± is taking notice of you¡­]

    [¡°Sacrifice¡± is taking notice of you¡­]

    [¡°Hope¡± is taking notice of you¡­]

    ¡°¡­Um?¡± Annan was stunned for a moment.

    ¡­What¡¯s going on? Why has the number of sacred bones observing me increased?

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 Chapter 712: Absolver

    <h4>Chapter 712: Absolver</h4>

    Celecia wasn¡¯t sure if it was an illusion, but it felt like the time it took to wake up from this nightmare was exceptionally long.

    She even felt a little groggy, as if she had slept too much.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Celecia had purged a nightmare.

    She had already had experience in this area when she was young.

    However, the nightmare at the Otherworldly Level was too rare.

    The Otherworldly Level nightmares came from two main sources.

    The first source was basically impossible to achieve¡­ which was to reach the end of the dream world ande into contact with the projections generated in the dream world from the other worlds.

    Under these circumstances, the rewards from the Otherworldly Level nightmare were much lower ¡ª usually ¡°souvenirs¡± from other worlds. But all that was needed was the ¡°Dream Egg¡± to enter this Otherworldly Level nightmare.

    The dream world was the intersection of worlds. The world where these yers were located was also on the other side of the dream world¡­ Annan suspected that the world he was originally in should also be on the other side of the dream world.

    If these two simr but different ¡°earths¡± could connect to the dream world, then the nightmare there would be called ¡°the Otherworldly Level¡±.

    However, except for deities who were familiar enough with the dream world, it was almost impossible for mortals to enter the dream world. The connection between the dream world and the Mist World was a nightmare ¡ª entering the dream world meant ¡°entering the world outside the nightmare¡±.

    ¡ªIn other words, it was like exploiting a bug in a nightmare, glitching your way out of the map. Then, you¡¯d also have to avoid other nightmares¡­ so you don¡¯t end up trapped in a different one.

    Another kind of Otherworldly Level nightmare was the nightmare left after the death of a transcender above the Truth Rank.

    At this level, the candidate only needed to find a perpetual motion machine andplete a great deed to be a deity.

    These principles all determined that the conditions for the birth of Otherworldly Level nightmares were extremely stringent.

    A Truth nightmare could only be born when a deity died.

    It was not a projection descending from the dream world, but rather a part of the dream world imbued with the deity¡¯s soul ¡ª a nightmare that one could physically enter directly.

    It essentially equated to the residual consciousness of the deceased deity tearing apart a section of the dream realm, using this ¡°material¡± to weave a ¡°personal world¡± that allowed them to cling to existence.

    That was a fabricated otherworld.

    The true Otherworldly Nightmares all originated from one real world after another.

    Their power structures,mon knowledge, and even races might bepletely different from the Mist World, but those were indeed ¡°events that had urred,¡± leaving traces in the dream world.

    The fabricated otherworlds born from the fall of deities were much more dangerous because theycked any logic. They existed solely to satisfy the grudges of the deities, to amodate the thoughts of the deities, birthing worlds filled with absurd fantasies.

    For example, this nightmare they just purified.

    The framework of the nightmare was derived from the memories of all those present, while the theme was determined by ¡°Elle and the Venerated Skeleton¡±. The world¡¯sws were entirely up to them, and even the absence of a certain righteous deity could be decided by the will of the Venerated Skeleton.

    It¡¯s true. I almost died.

    [TN: Celecia¡¯s perspective.]

    If His Majesty Annan hadn¡¯te, me and my crew would have been permanently sealed in this nightmare.

    If Annan came but didn¡¯te into contact with her, that would be even worse. There was a high probability that her crew would be buried in this nightmare.

    However, that also confused Celecia.

    Why did His Majesty Annan contact me after entering the nightmare?

    It¡¯s like he knew I would be there¡­

    ¡­I¡¯m afraid there is only one answer.

    Celecia was not a fool.

    She quickly realized that Annan¡¯s entry into this nightmare should have been much earlier than she could remember. This meant that she might have revealed some secrets to Annan in the previous loops.

    This made Celecia a little uneasy.

    Mainly¡­

    Did I persist through Annan¡¯s interrogation? Did I reveal the secrets that the teacher didn¡¯t want to reveal?

    No, that¡¯s not right.

    If it is His Majesty Annan, there¡¯s no need for interrogation. He has magical eyes that can read people¡¯s minds¡­ all secrets arepletely unhidden in front of him.

    After this realization, Celecia felt it was inevitable that some secrets had already been revealed to Annan.

    It was not that Celecia didn¡¯t keep it a secret, it was just that Annan figured it out on his own.

    Moreover, Annan had stated from the very beginning that he was clear about the teacher¡¯s purpose for betrayal¡­ This probably isn¡¯t a secret obtained through interrogating me because the rtionship between the teacher and Annan is indeed quite close. Perhaps the teacher and Annan had been in contact more times than with me.

    At this thought, Celecia felt a sense of helplessness and destion that she hadn¡¯t experienced in a long time.

    Ever since she acquired this captivatingly beautiful body and gained transcended power strong enough to disregard others¡¯ opinions, she felt as if her past insecurities had been erased like illusory bubbles.

    But now, upon her re-encounter with Annan ¡ª despite not actually seeing him, just hearing a few words through another¡¯s body, mouth, and voice ¡ª that familiar trembling and fear resurfaced.

    That feeling of knowing everything and having everything under control¡­

    Even though she was already a Gold Rank transcender, Celecia still felt a fear intense enough to make her tremble¡­ But beyond that fear, there seemed to be something else.

    ¡­His Majesty said that he would arrange for me to meet with the teacher.

    As for promises of forgiveness for her sins ¡ª Celecia didn¡¯t exactly disbelieve them; she just didn¡¯t care much about them.

    She hoped for absolution, yearning to navigate her ship above ground. And the purpose of expanding her operational range was still to search for her teacher.

    As long as I can see the teacher again, that¡¯s all that matters¡ª

    After she woke up, she looked around for Elle.

    Although Annan had only controlled Elle¡¯s body to speak previously, given that Annan¡¯s rtionship with Elle is so close, maybe Elle will have a way to contact Annan¡­

    However, when she cast her gaze upon Elle, her eyes suddenly froze.

    Something has changed.

    That was an apparent change.

    Elle was still wearing the in white skirt with significantly less fabric, making it noticeably shorter. Her arms were adorned with white long gloves, and her right foot was d in a silver-white boot, apanied by white stockings that covered half her thigh.

    The biggest difference was that her left foot became barefoot.

    On her left ankle, a silver shackle was locked in ce, tightly binding a section of broken chain that dragged along the ground, making a scraping noise with her every step.

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t a broken chain¡­ but something she couldn¡¯t see.

    Atop her head, Elle wore a silver princess crown resembling thorns, securing her light golden hair that had grown nearly twice as long. It hung straight, almost as if ironed, cascading down to her thighs. Her left eye remained tightly closed, and her right eye shone a gentle, watery jewel green.

    She appeared to have matured suddenly from a 14-year-old girl. A blend of girlish innocence, youthful purity, and a touch of maternal radiance emanated from her. In the lightless underground, she shone on her own, drawing everyone¡¯s gaze with a luminosity that seemed toe from within.

    A single nce was enough to tell.

    It was the form of a deity, a ¡°symbol¡± that was different from ordinary people. The image itself possessed ¡°knowledge¡±.

    Everyone who awoke instinctively turned their eyes towards Elle. Perhaps it was because of her beauty, the brilliant light she radiated, or maybe because of the grand vow she made in the nightmare.

    ¡°I am the judgment where the traitors meet their end; I am the gatekeeper of the eternal door between good and normalcy; I am the light before the eyes of the sinners who turn from darkness to light.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just about ¡°betrayal¡±.

    Through ¡°Atonement¡±, Elle realized a deeper truth than ¡°Betrayal¡±¡ª

    ¡°I am the Defiance Deity! The judge of all who betray pure goodness and justice, the guide for those who rebel against the dark and corrupt ways.¡±

    ¡°My name is¡­ the Absolver.¡±

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 Chapter 713: The End Of The Silver Brigade

    <h4>Chapter 713: The End Of The Silver Brigade</h4>

    After theplete demise of ¡°the Venerated Skeleton¡± at this very moment and ce, a new deity named ¡°Absolver¡± was born, inheriting His power.

    The Defiance Deity was by no means a weak deity.

    She served as the punisher of traitors and the guide for those who had awakened. This meant that within the ¡°Defiance Realm¡±, there were divine powers capable of punishing sinners or enabling them to reform.

    In this way, not only was it impossible for Her to be an evil deity, but the ¡°Defiance Church¡± might even receive support from the upper echelons of various countries.

    The divine ability to detect, stop, and punish traitors held significant meaning for those in power. Furthermore, the ability to guide those who had gone astray back to the right path ensured that the ¡°Defiance Church¡± would hold extremely high prestige among themon people and in the gray areas of society.

    This was a talent that even twelve upright deities would recruit.

    However, it was still a mystery as to which upright deity She would serve¡­

    Although She was born from the power of the Bone Burying Grandma, it seemed that Her power didn¡¯t quite align with Bone Burying Grandma, nor did they pertain to adjacent realms. The Red Knight¡¯s War Realm seemed to bepatible with the Defiance Realm, but they didn¡¯t appear to be a perfect match either.

    However, even if the Absolver did not be the subordinate deity of an upright deity, She would undoubtedly hold an exalted status.

    At least for this moment, Arthur and Euphemia were indeed moved.

    The entire crew of the ship ¡°Silver¡± was brought together by Celecia¡¯s charm. Of course, there was also a part of them who was lustful for her body¡­ However, the biggest reason was the sense of belonging of ¡°finding the same kind¡±.

    People like them were able to detect it when they met simr people.

    Everyone on this ship was a loser in life.

    They all had some kind of passionate pursuit, but then they all failed for some reason.

    Hidden beneath their gentle, arrogant, or withdrawn appearance was exactly the same sense of inferiority.

    Now, they served as the secret keeper of the covenant. There was a high chance that the first pope of the new deity would be selected among them.

    That would be taking one step to the peak.

    If someone wished to embark on the path of the clergy¡­ just one step forward, and they were at the finish line.

    Even though they were just a pope of a false deity, the ¡°Defiance Realm¡± under Absolver could grant them a lofty status close to that of rulers¡­ This influence could even extend beyond national borders.

    After possessing this power, there was a chance that their wishes that hadpletely failed before could be revived.

    Arthur was about to speak.

    ¡°Your Excellency Absolver¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªLord Absolver.¡±

    But at this moment, Celecia¡¯s voice came out, interrupting his words.

    She walked forward slowly, looking directly at Absolver.

    Seeing Celecia speaking out, Arthur and Euphemia hesitated for a moment, then closed their mouths. Despite being covered by the mask, Euphemia¡¯splexion became obviously darker¡­ Arthur seemed a bit better, just slightly pursing his lips and quietly pondering.

    It seems like it wouldn¡¯t be bad if the captain were to serve as the pope of the new deity.

    At the very least, we get to indirectly utilize this immense political influence¡­

    If it goes well¡­¡­

    Before he could think deeper about it, Celecia¡¯s words made them look over in surprise.

    ¡°Do you still have contact with the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke? I would like to see him.¡±

    ¡°Captain?!¡±

    ¡°Lord Celecia?¡±

    The golden harp wielder, Orpheus, and the centaur girl, Lucia, looked over in shock.

    They all knew about Celecia¡¯s past, especially Lucia. As a centaur who could see the threads of fate, she could even see everything about Celecia from ¡°before she became Celecia¡±.

    Everyone on this ship knew that their captain had been trying to search for ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡±.

    She seemed to be deeply in love with her teacher.

    Her love was an outpouring of devotion, as steadfast as that of a loyal dog.

    Whether she was a member of the Ice-shredders, or she only met the Winter Insurgent after he entered the underground world¡­ Based on her feelings for ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡±, there was no doubt that Celecia would be an enemy of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    With her fierce and passionate personality, she did kill some spies sent underground by the Austere-Winter Dukedom. With the efficiency of the Austere-Winter Dukedom intelligence department, the ¡°Silver Brigade¡± should have been on their cklist.

    And now, hearing what she said¡­

    She wanted to meet with Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke voluntarily.

    Wouldn¡¯t this be walking into a trap?

    ¡°I have no intention ofpeting for the pope¡¯s position.¡±

    Celecia nced at her crew members and replied seriously, ¡°I never thought that what I wanted to pursue in the past is actually right in front of me¡­¡±

    ¡°Only that lord won¡¯t lie to me because it is meaningless. He made me an offer that I cannot refuse. If everything goes well, I think¡­ I will probably quit this journey.¡±

    Celecia said seriously, ¡°If things end here¡­ Arthur, I will leave this ship to you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Arthur¡¯s face turned gloomy. His intimidating,va-like eyes, reminiscent of a demon¡¯s, fixed tightly on Celecia, ¡°That kind of thing would only taint my purity.¡±

    ¡°Besides, if I could be Pope, I would also get off the ship, Captain.¡±

    ¡°I have to fight for this opportunity to be pope no matter what.¡±

    At that moment, Euphemia, wearing an iron mask, looked at the Absolver and spoke devoutly, ¡°If I cannot be the pope, I am willing to be your follower¡­ because I really, really need your divine art.¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t be like this¡­¡± Orpheus smiled bitterly, ¡°Are we going to disband?¡±

    Miss Centaur beside her was tapping her hind hooves uneasily, timidly not daring to speak.

    Before his eyes, strange conflicts broke out within the Silver Brigade.

    However, Celecia had not been surprised by this.

    What outsiders didn¡¯t know was that the Silver Brigade¡¯s recruitment of new members was not just based on ¡°liking the look¡± of someone.

    Their strange rule of ¡°telling a story before taking one for the ride¡± was precisely because of the special requirements of the ship ¡°Silver¡±.

    In reality, rather than saying ¡°Silver¡± was an obstacle that could traverse terrains, it was a ship that could travel to any ce in the world.

    It was more befitting to be called a living refuge¡­

    It was a monster born to eat dreams.

    There was nothing like fairy tales in this world.

    Just like the Sporeggar Mill nightmare.

    Beneath the fairy-tale facade of candy, the flesh was writhing.

    ¡°Silver¡± indeed consumed materials around its docking points, but this was actually just for self-repair. The energy provided for ¡°traveling¡±, turning itself intangible, couldn¡¯t possibly be sufficient from just consuming this bit of matter. What drove ¡°Silver¡± was the ¡°dreams¡± of the crew and passengers.

    When someone urgently wished to go somewhere, only then could this living ship from the immaterial world journey in the immaterial world. These crew members yearned for something from the bottom of their hearts but were no longer in a hurry because their dreams were shattered. They were the energy charging the ship.

    Naturally, the captain also possessed the power to use the desires of the crew and passengers as a source of energy.

    The price was that the ship would never take the crew to the ¡°destination¡±.

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 Chapter 714: The Ripped Mission That Completed Itself

    <h4>Chapter 714: The Ripped Mission That Completed Itself</h4>

    [TN: Silver is Celecia¡¯s ship¡¯s name.]

    When a crew member sincerely hoped to encounter someone, ¡®Silver¡¯ would never let them meet this person; when a crew member wished to take one more look at a certain ce, ¡®Silver¡¯ would never pass by that location.

    As long as the individual was on the boat, he was bound to miss the people he wanted to see and the ces he wanted to go.

    This was a curse known as ¡°So Near Yet So Far¡±.

    However, if it was used in reverse, it could also serve as a sanctuary.

    For example, Arthur sincerely hoped that he could be Gold Rank and return to the family to seize power. Hence, the power of ¡°Silver¡± would make him avoid his own people;

    Centaur Lucia wanted to find her own kind and return to the centaurs¡¯ secluded habitat. As long as she was still on the ¡°Silver¡±, she would never encounter any centaur, and she would never enter the centaur¡¯s secluded habitat.

    When someone harbored a certain ¡°impulsive desire¡± deep within, Silver would ensure they never had the chance to fulfill that wish.

    For example, confessing to a girl who the individual knew didn¡¯t like him, assassinating an undefeatable enemy, or a wanted person returning to his hometown to meet his family, etc.

    This was something many people would have: [self-destructing wish].

    Therefore, Celecia was very selective in her crew members.

    All the crew members she chose were losers ¡°with a strong desire tomit suicide.¡±

    If they didn¡¯t board Silver, the burning fire in their hearts would eventually destroy their lives.

    As long as they were on ¡°Silver¡±, they would never take the next step.

    It was a hindrance and a restraint.

    Celecia believed that it was also a kind of salvation.

    The ship made them stay away from those ¡°dangerous wishes¡±, lying dormant in the dark where no one could find them, quietly umting strength and honing their will.

    In fact, even Celecia was one of the people saved by ¡°Silver¡±.

    Of course, Celecia wanted to see the teacher again from the bottom of her heart. This was her most sincere wish.

    However, her rationality also told her clearly ¡ª What if she got to see him?

    What was the point of meeting the teacher?

    Did her teacher still need her?

    She knew that her teacher was also a Gold Rank transcender, and even the former leader of Winter¡¯s Hand, proficient in intelligence gathering and analysis. If he truly wanted to find her, the window of time when she arrived at each destination and left ¡°Silver¡± would have been enough to make contact with her.

    Since the teacher didn¡¯te to look for her, it meant that he didn¡¯t need her.

    ¡ªThat was a rather optimistic guess.

    Another thought that lurked in her heart was¡­ she might have been abandoned.

    In the Winter Insurgent¡¯s n so far, she seemed to have reached the end. All the roles Celecia could y have been exhausted. Even she herself didn¡¯t know what else she could do for the teacher.

    The teacher didn¡¯t even give her a mission again.

    Would it mean that she was no longer needed?

    Even if she had be Gold Rank?

    Even if she was no longer the weak and powerless Thoreau Nick?

    Even if she had obtained such a beautiful body?

    So, was her existence meaningless?

    Once she delved deep into this issue, she couldn¡¯t help but shudder¡ªfurther contemtion could even shatter her entire worldview that she had held until now.

    The reason why she was willing to ept ¡°Silver¡¯s¡± curse at that time was just because she wanted to deceive herself.

    If she attributed her inability to see her teacher entirely to the ¡°Silver,¡± it seemed to make the teacher appear less ruthless. She could also temporarily forget her wish¡ªunattainable desires were meaningless.

    However, it was only a fantasy.

    But, things became different.

    Perhaps it was because she was sucked into the nightmare of the Otherworldly Level that her connection with ¡°Silver¡± was severed? Only then could she make contact with His Majesty Annan? Only then could she have the opportunity to fulfill her wish.

    ¡ªNo doubt? All of these were the arrangements of fate.

    But with such thoughts, a nightmarish notion began to surface within her, irremovable from the depths of her heart:

    Is it possible that the curse of this ship is really so strong that even the teacher can¡¯t get around it? Maybe the teacher has been looking for me a long time ago? Was he stopped by the curse of this ship?

    It was like that moment when a person unexpectedly realized, ¡°Damn, when did my phone die?¡± followed by the sudden fear of, ¡°Did I miss any important calls while it was dead?¡±¡ªespecially when that call was important, and the phone had been turned off for several years already.

    What if that¡¯s the case? Did I not miss the opportunity?

    Even knowing that her reasoning was highly irresponsible ¡ª it was almost akin to actively abandoning her crew.

    However, Celecia didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity either.

    ¡°Our Silver Brigade sails with ¡®dreams¡¯ as fuel and ¡®dreams¡¯ as the destination.¡±

    Celecia said earnestly, ¡°And now? I think¡­ I¡¯m close to my dream. I must go to the Austere-Winter Dukedom. If this trip goes smoothly, my wish will be fulfilled¡­ But if it doesn¡¯t go well, I probably won¡¯t make it back alive.¡±

    ¡°If any of you still want to continue this ¡®journey of chasing dreams¡¯? I will transfer the captain¡¯s position to him now.¡±

    She was upfront with her intention.

    No matter what, she wouldn¡¯t being back.

    Then, the Silver Brigade, which was united only by her charm, should be disbanded.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll stay. Give me the ¡®Silver¡¯.¡±

    Unexpectedly, the only one who spoke was Orpheus holding the golden harp amidst the silence.

    At this moment, all the crew members ¡ª even Arthur looked over in surprise.

    They all knew¡­ among these crew members, in truth, only Orpheus had genuinely fallen in love with Celecia.

    Arthur¡¯s feelings for Celecia were almost like mutually supportiverades-in-arms, while Euphemia¡¯s affection for Celecia was that of friends who shared the same origins and paths, and Lucia¡¯s was a kind of confidence and reliance on the captain.

    But did Orpheus really abandon his right to inherit the throne? He secretly followed ¡°Silver¡± and ran out ¡ª he was really here for Celecia.

    But now, he chose to stay on ¡°Silver¡±.

    Orpheus silently strummed the harp strings a few times. This ck-haired man with amber eyes then gazed at Ceresia with his gentle look.

    ¡°I¡¯ll dock Silver underground in Austere-Winter. If, in the end, you¡­ I¡¯lle to pick you up. When that timees, I¡¯ll hand the captain¡¯s role back over to you.¡±

    It sounded somewhat ominous and a little humble.

    However, Celecia just looked at him and nodded slowly.

    For the first time, a look of reluctance and confusion appeared in her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Orpheus. I¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Orpheus took a deep breath and interrupted her.

    In his amber-colored pupils, there was no sadness. On the contrary, they were gentle and bright, ¡°If I had such an opportunity, I would leave too.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®So Near Yet So Far¡¯ is a curse, it¡¯s more like a trial. A trial that gives people the courage to give up everything and chase their dreams.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have that courage now, but I hope I will in the future.¡±

    ¡°¡­Then, I will stay with Orpheus.¡± The centaur girl lowered her head and said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to meet strangers¡­¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll leave.¡±

    Arthur and Euphemia looked at each other and said without hesitation, ¡°I will travel with Her Excellency Absolver until She finds Her pope, and then I will start building a Defiance Church for her.¡±

    What he meant was clear.

    Even if he couldn¡¯t be a pope, he still wanted to be a cardinal.

    Euphemia quickly understood what he meant and said quickly, ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡°But, I probably won¡¯t be going back to Austere-Winter so soon¡­¡±

    Absolver tilted her head in slight distress.

    At this moment, Longjing Tea blurted, ¡°Miss Celecia, if you want to go to the Austere-Winter Dukedom, you might as welle with us.¡±

    ¡°We are Annan Austere-Winter¡¯s most trusted confidants. The reason why we came to Elegy Dukedom is because the Grand Duke wants to see you.¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t understand theplex love and hatred involved, he did grasp that Celecia wanted to see Annan.

    ¡ªWhat the hell! Did the main missione alive?

    After leaving the mission aside, the ¡°arrest¡± targetes forward on their own, asking to be arrested.

    Did money start falling from the sky?

    What is this called?

    The ripped main mission thatpletes itself¡­

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 Chapter 715: Conspiracy, Celecia & Slaughterhouse

    <h4>Chapter 715: Conspiracy, Celecia & ughterhouse</h4>

    Annan remained somewhat uneasy, wondering if the yers could truly bring Celecia back withoutplications.

    Celecia was a celebrity in the underground world.

    Known as the ¡°Digger among Diggers¡± and the ¡°Poppy in the Deep Rock,¡± she was strong, free, and beautiful ¡ª not greedy or weak, but full of desire and fortuitous. She embodied the spirit of young individuals who steadfastly pursued their dreams, constantly venturing into uncharted territories.

    Undoubtedly, she was a superstar who fully conformed to the values ??of the underground world.

    Regardless of gender, regardless of age¡­ Everyone wanted to be Celecia, everyone also wanted to have Celecia.

    Every child had dreams of adventure.

    Some as grand as epics, others as sweet and romantic as fairy tales.

    But as they grew up, that dream of adventure faded. They realized traveling and adventuring weren¡¯t as great as they had imagined. They also recognized that they had their own life paths to follow¡­ And when they saw they were short on money, time, energy, and skills, those unrealistic adventure dreams just naturally drifted away.

    However, the Silver Brigade was different.

    They were the living legends.

    Owing to Celecia¡¯s influence, many young people aspired to be Diggers.

    If the underground world had a unified government, then Cerecia would surely be a spokesperson-level senior figure¡ªsimply to allow her and her team to continue their adventures, they would be given a substantial amount of funding.

    If the story of ¡°Silver Brigade¡± ended, it might lead to the development of the underground world to slow down and stagnate.

    Digger was not an easy job to begin with.

    Even the word ¡°danger¡± didn¡¯t quite sum it up.

    A set of exploration equipment includingnterns and positioning anchors, as well as only enough rations and water for a week¡ªthey didn¡¯t have tents, let alone even sleeping bags.

    To have additional equipment, the person had to go to the only designated store to buy it himself.

    That included tents, sleeping bags, portable bandages, nutritional supplements, additional light sources, anti-cut gloves, and other series of equipment ¡°convenient for Digger¡¯s exploration operations¡±. The variety was quiteplete and reliable.

    However, it would cost a lot of money to buy all of them. Take bandages, light sources, and other goods as examples. Their prices were twice as expensive as simr items on the ground.

    In fact, the underground world had the most convenient transportation, termed as the ¡°center of the world.¡±

    Due to the subway system connecting various countries, the prices of many goods here were not much higher than in their ces of origin. They might even be much cheaper, given the lower costs associated with bulk importation. The underworld also had a ¡®Wise¡¯ system, making it the ce with the highest number of wise people among the authorities of various countries¡ªwithout equal.

    These Wise had indeed developed many advanced equipment for exploration and excavation. The level of advanced technology was superb. These products were undoubtedly at the world¡¯s leading level.

    However, ironically, the equipment avable to most ¡°amateur Diggers¡± wasn¡¯t affordable. Worse still, they were more expensive and were even limited¡­

    However, no matter what, ¡®Diggers¡¯ was the only way for those in the underground world who were not smart enough,cked talent, or had not received higher education to be a big shot¡ªit was essentially a gamble with their lives.

    And from this point of view¡­

    On the one hand, the Wise hoped that Digger could help them explore morend; on the other hand, they did not want the number of Diggers to be toorge ¡ª at least they must always control the overall number of Diggers to be less than the Wise.

    The Wise controlled many aspects likew, healthcare, education, etc¡­ but security, finance, and most importantly, the rights to the cities, were all in the hands of the Diggers.

    Generally, the Diggers were usually aware of their own limitations and would not overly interfere with the policies implemented by the Wise. If the Digger they were assisting was too foolish or tyrannical, the Wise would leave that ce.

    So a city might not have Wise, but it must have its own Digger. Even if the ownership was sold to the Wise and the Wise served as the Digger or the original owner met with an unexpected death, there would still definitely be a Digger. It was just a matter of whether the Digger was within the city.

    But no matter what, one thing couldn¡¯t be changed¡ª Digger was much richer than the Wise.

    So? All they could do was control the number of Diggers.

    How to control it?

    It was simple¡­ just control the amount of ¡°quality equipment¡± on the market.

    They used the legend of Celecia to lure arge number of young people whocked the skills in learning, research, or politics and couldn¡¯t make it into the ¡®Wise¡¯ ss, into bing Diggers. At the same time, they further controlled the amount of ¡®quality equipment¡¯ avable on the market, ensuring that only a few could be Diggers.

    What about the rest of the people?

    They would naturally meet their demise.

    After each resupply, every Digger could receive a beacon that marked their coordinate through a ritual, so they could ¡®save their progress¡¯ for when they returned.

    And just in the first month of the Diggers¡¯ expedition, the ¡°disappearance¡± rate was as high as 70%. On average, each Digger was able to install less than three beacons.

    In other words, even with the extensive experience of many Diggers and the group efforts of ¡®exploration teams¡¯ diluting the data with arge number of positioning beacons, the vast majority of Diggers stillcked the ability to return three times.

    In the first month, numerous Diggers would either surrender to despair or perish in the oppressive darkness of the underground.

    In their so-called ¡®epic and romantic¡¯ exploration careers, they were kicking the bucket way more often than people in a war zone.

    Their survival rate was even strictly controlled. Wanting to unearth something valuable without the right gear was just a pipe dream. After all, this was not a single-yer game¡­ If they fell behind in efficiency, others would snatch up the ¡®treasure¡¯ first.

    Of course, over time, these novice Diggers woulde to understand the stark reality of the Wise¡¯s conspiracy. However, if they lived long enough, they could also gradually collect a full set of equipment¡­ for example, from the corpses of the dead.

    When they truly became a ¡°Digger¡± and returned home, their positions immediately changed.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Wise who were unweing of additional Diggers; the Diggers themselves didn¡¯t wantpetition wing at their own authority ¡ª their power was equal. Just one more person meant seeing their own influence halved. And if two more Diggers came into the picture, they could even directly snatch away a city.

    No matter how much they hated the conspiracy of ¡°controlling the number of Diggers¡± back then, they would either actively or silently carry the conspiracy forward.

    It was a genuine ughterhouse.

    The tunnels were dug by a vast number of ¡®aspiring Diggers.¡¯ Generation after generation of young people spent their lives in search of wealth, but the title of ¡®Digger¡¯ could only be imed by the first person to nt their mark at the destination.

    With a stroke of luck, a few might experience the epiphany early enough to return with their lives intact. However, those less fortunate would merely be piles of bones, ultimately to be interred by the Bone Burying Grandma.

    From this point of view, Celecia could also be considered one of the murderers, or at least an aplice.

    She had done nothing. This tradition had been formed for generations before she entered the underground world. However, the survivors who were full of hatred would not be unreasonable.

    ¡ªThe deeds of Celecia, the ¡°Captain of the Stone¡±, had led to a new wave of emerging ¡°Diggers¡± in the underground world.

    Arge number of children lost their parents.

    Arge number of parents lost their children.

    The wife who lost her husband, those who lost their siblings¡­ While the underground world was ushering in an unprecedented wave of development, different tragedies were also being staged here.

    In fact, more people wanted to end Celecia¡¯s life than those who fell in love with her.

    Not to mention¡­ Celecia had already forsaken the power of destiny that the ship ¡®Silver¡¯ brought her, returning to the Silver Rank.

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 Chapter 716: Let The Moon Come To Me

    <h4>Chapter 716: Let The Moon Come To Me</h4>

    ¡°¡­So, will there be many people looking for trouble?¡±

    After listening to Annan¡¯s narration, Longjing Tea swallowed hard.

    He gradually realized that. Could it be that the difficulty of this mission actually lies in ¡°how to escort Celecia safely¡±?

    It turns out that this isn¡¯t actually a capture mission, but an escort mission.

    ¡°Indeed, never take the underground route¡ªdon¡¯t try to take the subway from the Papal Kingdom back to Austere-Winter. It would spell disaster.¡± Annan said solemnly, ¡°You are taking Celecia with you, and you cannot teleport back¡­ This is very troublesome.¡±

    ¡°I suggest you find a way to drive the airship directly back to Austere-Winter. I will inform my sister to open the barrier and let you in as soon as she sees you.¡±

    ¡°This should be very safe¡­ Even if those who have a grudge against Celecia locate you, as long as you fly high enough, they shouldn¡¯t be able to attack you.¡±

    Stop it, boss.

    Don¡¯t babysit us anymore¡­

    Longjing Tea became more and more uneasy as he listened.

    Originally, he didn¡¯t think there would be any danger in flying back in the airship¡­ but after Annan said so, he suddenly felt that something was off.

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s all. I¡¯ll hang up first.¡±

    Longjing Tea spoke somewhat reluctantly, ¡°If we encounter any problemster on, I¡¯ll hold another ritual to consult you. Or perhaps you could bring someone with you¡­?¡±

    ¡°I might be a bit busy in the following days and may not have the time to respond to your ritual promptly. I suppose I should bring a few people with me¡­ In a moment, I¡¯ll grant ess and have Suuankou and Citalopram teleport over. Then you can have the Child teleport over. Yiyi and Jiu Er will be teleported to you to bolster yourbat power.¡±

    Annan thought for a moment and responded.

    ¡­Are you leaving without Sister Hyphen with you?

    Longjing Tea was a little surprised.

    Lin Yiyi boasted the best close-quarter protection among her peers, with the sole exception of facing heavy gunfire, much like scenarios in movies.

    Moreover, it was normal to bring Citalopram along. After all, she was somewhat of a healer. But why specifically choose to bring Brother Koutsu and Child?

    The team setup seemed strange.

    However, Longjing Tea didn¡¯t ask further and hung up first.

    Anyway, there were three yers following Annan ¡ª if there was anything that needed attention, they wouldn¡¯t be toote to ask.

    With this in mind, he hurried over to arrange the follow-up matters.

    Arthur and Euphemia didn¡¯t need to ride in the airship with them. They boarded the ship with Absolver and would only leave when they were back to a ce without the Gray Mists.

    Once they returned to a popted area, the outsiders would immediately notice ¡°Celecia was no longer the captain¡±.

    To be honest, Longjing Tea thought it wasn¡¯t a bright idea to have a vtile and destructive Destruction Wizard on an airship. What if he was killed by a sniper or curse? He would then detonate in the sky¡­

    Arthur¡¯s conscious decision to leave indeed allowed Longjing Tea to breathe a sigh of relief.

    ¡ªIt was rmended that the Destruction Wizard was not allowed to use any public transportation.

    On the other side, Annan also sighed in response.

    Nothing should go wrong with Celecia¡¯s side.

    She still seemed willing to cooperate.

    Once Celecia was sent to Austere-Winter, the next step of the n could proceed. Although the Winter Insurgent did not look like a simple traitor¡­ this did not prevent Annan from taking preventive measures against him.

    Is ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡± a friend or foe?

    Has he truly Austere-Winter, or is he carrying some special mission¡­? It¡¯s even possible that he got carried away ying a double agent and blurred the lines between pretense and reality. All these are possibilities.

    Regardless, I must meet him in person.

    But before that? I need to make a trip to the north.

    Although the yers did not find much evidence, they were certain that the ¡°Dolgoruky¡± family was affiliated with Fallen.

    The Dolgoruky family was most likely the Northern Brotherhood¡¯s scapegoat to take the heat¡­ Annan didn¡¯t have a clear idea of the details, and he was baffled by their confidence. Why would they think Annan would be satisfied after punishing the ¡°Dolgoruky¡± family only?

    ¡°Sure enough, Ivan is too gentle.¡± Annan sneered, ¡°Should I say? He is indeed an [Inept Ruler].¡±

    ¡°However, what¡¯s my [Tyrant] way of doing things? Is it different from him?¡±

    Besides Citalopram, the sneaky healer, Annan specifically summoned Wandering Child and Suuankou back to his side.

    Annan just nned to cause a scene.

    In a street battle, Suuankou¡¯s sting skill was even more effective than indoor battle; in the worst-case scenario, Wandering Child also had the ability to dig tunnels at high speed, allowing the party to escape.

    Moreover, he could demolish buildings in an instant¡ªno matter how sturdy a city wall was, it could not withstand his attack. Whether they were walls of ice, earth, or wood, the Child God could erase them from a distance.

    It¡¯s quite fair to say that he specializes in wall attacks. It¡¯s also quite useful for disintegrating static defense. Paired with Suuankou¡¯s st magic¡­

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth raised slightly.

    ¡°Ah? I¡¯m looking forward to this adventure a little bit¡­¡±

    Annan murmured, squinting his eyes happily.

    Everything seems fine now.

    Don¡¯t run away cowardly ¡ª I even brought Suuankou here. If I don¡¯t get to blow up something, I feel quite sorry for the blood of Destruction flowing in him.

    ¡°¡ªYour Majesty Annan.¡± Just at that moment, the female Winter¡¯s Hand with deep blue long hair appeared silently behind Annan, ¡°Lord Ivan is looking for you.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Zoya?¡±

    Annan asked as he stood up. He walked quickly through the corridor following the Winter¡¯s Hand who managed his daily necessities.

    Zoya led the way before Annan and whispered, ¡°Lord Ivan¡­ is approaching the Dragon Transformation.¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Annan¡¯s steps halted abruptly, and he let out a soft exmation.

    He pursed his lips and resumed walking again. However, he didn¡¯t say anything else.

    When Annan entered Ivan¡¯s bedroom, he already felt something was wrong.

    The room was filled with white frost.

    It was like opening a closed cold storage. A frosty mist visible to the naked eye lingered around Annan¡¯s feet.

    Ivan was lying upside down on the bed.

    Hey at the end of the bed, his head raised just enough to stare at the portraits of the two women hanging above.

    As the door opened, a subtle change came over Ivan¡¯s eyes, the color lightening gradually until his pupils were a pale yellow. He shifted slightly, attention drawn to the movement at the door.

    Even the action of raising his head was so stiff that it was difficult toplete.

    ¡°¡­Annan.¡± Ivan whispered in a very weak voice.

    However, it wasn¡¯t exactly a weak voice.

    It was the muffled and vague sound made when the tongue had frozen stiff.

    Annan walked over and held Ivan¡¯s hand.

    His hands were so cold ¡ª so cold that Annan¡¯s health bar dropped a bit.

    ¡°Do not touch me.¡± Ivan answered word for word.

    He spoke a few words, only for his voice to be cut off because his throat had already been half-sealed by ice.

    Ivan just continued, ¡°Annan, people have two hands¡­ One for taking away and one for giving.¡±

    ¡°You had lost one. But now you have it back.¡±

    ¡°They are your hands.¡±

    ¡°It is a powerful hand that can grasp¡ªand pull down¡ªthe moon.¡±

    ¡°Be nice to them.¡±

    Annan was startled.

    Does Ivan mean that I should treat the yers better?

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to remind me of that.¡± Annan smiled helplessly, ¡°Besides, I won¡¯t pull the moon down either.¡±

    ¡°If I need to, I will make the moone to me.¡±

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 Chapter 717: The Tyrant Is Coming

    <h4>Chapter 717: The Tyrant Is Coming</h4>

    Grand Duke Ivan turned into a dragon.

    The news quickly spread throughout the Austere-Winter province.

    It was impossible to hide the news.

    Almost everyone saw it. A huge dragon with bright yellow pupils and scales as white as snow, enveloped in frosty air, flew out of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence. It soared and circled reluctantly in the sky above the Frostwhisper Province.

    When it flew out, the frost that condensed around it formed a white trail. Under the night sky, the frost-like scales on its body seemed to shimmer.

    Following the traces of the dragon¡¯s flight, gorgeous snow fell in the Great Barrier. The nts that caught those snow would bloom with pure white flowers the following year.

    If one ate these flowers, they could calm feelings of sorrow, anxiety, and fear, making the heart peaceful again¡­

    ¡ªThis was thest gift Ivan Austere-Winter gave to his people.

    People gathered on the street or opened their windows at home to watch their Grand Duke transform into a giant dragon, hovering in the sky or squatting on a high tform.

    The bright yellow dragon pupils were filled with strong emotions.

    Nostalgia, joy, affection¡­ even across species, and from hundreds of meters away, one could clearly see the emotions overflowing from within its heart.

    He gained a healthy body and regained hisplete emotions ¡ª at the end of his mission as Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke, the curse named Winter Heart had also been unlocked.

    Even though they weren¡¯t informed, the Austerians quickly understood after witnessing this scene.

    Their Grand Duke, Ivan Austere-Winter, would be leaving them today.

    But only a few knew that this was not a farewell of suffering.

    Because¡­ the dragon named Ivan Frostwhisper will also be born today.

    ¡°Goodbye, Ivan.¡± Annan stood in front of the wide-open floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the pure white dragon flying freely in the air and gradually adapting to its new body.

    Annan wore a thin attire despite the snowfall.

    Annan¡¯s right eye was as clear and transparent as an ice-blue pupil of a ragdoll cat, while the divine radiance flickered in his emerald-like left eye. He gazed deeply at Ivan, who had transformed into a white dragon.

    Finally, the dragon flew over every part of the Frostwhisper Province.

    It once again flew back to the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence in public view.

    On the top floor of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence, Annan held a scepter that was taller than him. The three-color scepter hugged a crystal ball tightly, and at the bottom was an inverted silver cross.

    The pure white dragon, its body bathed in moonlight, flew toward Annan.

    ¡­The moon is reallying to me.

    Annan sighed silently and raised the three-color scepter high.

    Ivan reached out his dragon ws ¡ª huge ws that could hold Annan¡¯s head in his hands.

    Now it merely ced one of its fingers on the scepter.

    It was obviously just a crystal ball.

    Yet it was like a sharp steel needle, piercing through the dragon¡¯s w¡ªdark red blood slowly dripped onto the scepter, soaking the entire crystal ball. It emitted a faint, dark red glow.

    This was the enthronement ceremony for the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    This means that the three-color scepter is no longer under the control of Ivan Austere-Winter, and it also means aplete transfer of power.

    ¡°Hold your head high¡ª¡±

    Ivan let out a dragon roar again and circled toward the sky.

    As Frostwhisper Province¡¯s barrier opened up, the moment the silent snowstorm fell, the pure white dragon flew away.

    After the dragon hadpletely disappeared, Annan, standing in the ceremonial magic circle that amplified his voice, made a clear, cold, and pleasant promation that resounded throughout the entire city.

    [I am Annan Austere-Winter. Son of Ivan! Lord of Austere-Winter¡ª]

    He slightly raised the scepter in his hand. The crystal ball shing with dark red light quickly washed away the dragon¡¯s blood and once again shone with bright ice blue brilliance.

    Under that brilliance, the barrier closed back.

    Then, the wind and snow approaching from outside the barrier were prevented from entering.

    The new Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke was born.

    In the Province of St. Alexis¡­ the residence of the Melvin family.

    In a closed vige filled with the smell of incense andpletely isted from the outside world, a man with no hair and golden eyes stood on a high stone clock tower.

    There were many runes imprinted on the back of his head, which looked like aplex array. Now the light golden halo was flowing in the rune. Three halos bloomed on the back of the head.

    Viewed from the front, one could see the sacred halos behind the man¡¯s head, each slowly rotating in a distinct pattern: first clockwise, then counterclockwise, and clockwise.

    Behind him, a girl with ck hair reaching the floor knelt and spoke to him in a low voice.

    ¡°¡­From that time on, we made a mistake in the ritual positioning of ¡®the Venerated Skeleton¡¯. It was initially confirmed that the divine intervention of ¡®Silent Deity¡¯ caused the changes in the positioning of ¡®the Venerated Skeleton¡¯. The elders are already preparing to redo the ritual and recalibrate. Preliminary recalibration can bepleted within three days¡­¡±

    The man did not give any response.

    His lips were tightly closed, and his eyes shone brightly. He shone with brilliance in the night. Under the stars, he resembled the sun after sunset.

    He quietly stared north in the direction of Frostwhisper Province without saying a word.

    Nortnd, Franrangell Province.

    Wearing a frost-colored military uniform, a middle-aged nobleman stood upright, a scar running vertically across his left eye. He gazed gloomily at the southern night sky.

    He was Ostoff Dolgoruky, a former lieutenant in the Frost Beast unit. He was also the current head of the Dolgoruky family.

    ¡°Ivan has undergone Dragon Transformation? Annan Austere-Winter is still not dead.¡±

    Behind him, a white-haired old man with a kind face and single-rimmed sses said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Viscount Dolgoruky.¡±

    ¡°But I suppose you¡¯re about to face the vengeance of our new Grand Duke.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Count,¡± Ostrov replied slowly. ¡°I have been prepared for some time and won¡¯t implicate you all.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You have misunderstood. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    The elder behind him, handsfortably sped behind his back, spoke as calmly as an old butler.

    A tall, thin man with dark skin and eyes shining with green light suddenly emerged from the shadows at his feet.

    There was a dark shadowy thread between his hands.

    Suddenly, the thin thread tightly wrapped around Viscount Ostoff¡¯s neck.

    Viscount Ostoff struggled fiercely and groaned, but could not say a word.

    The old man¡¯s squinted eyes opened, revealing dark golden vertical pupils.

    He said leisurely, ¡°I mean¡­ you may be able to prove useful for other purposes.¡±

    Atop the Fourth Exhausted Collection Hall, a ferocious beast with dark golden pupils crouched quietly.

    That was none other than ¡°Beauty of Imbnce¡±: Vasika Rasputin.

    If Annan could see what it looked like at this moment, he would know that she was not some kind of ¡°Catwoman¡±.

    That was because it was a lynx.

    The markings on its body form an asymmetrical yet mystically beautiful pattern that would make people feel dizzy at a nce.

    However, it was just quietly looking at the pure white dragon in the distance.

    White falling snow fell on it, but it didn¡¯t melt at all, covering it with a thinyer. On the contrary, the ceiling beneath it melted the falling snow due to the temperature in the ¡°Fourth Exhausted Collection Hall¡±.

    ¡°The [Tyrant] ising.¡±

    In the lynx¡¯s mouth, a maic low voice came out ¡ª Vasika¡¯s gender that day was male.

    ¡°¡ªSame goes for Blizzard.¡±

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 Chapter 718: Grand Duke Annan

    <h4>Chapter 718: Grand Duke Annan</h4>

    It was ironic.

    After the death of the previous King Noah, the people of Noah spent two months organizing the session ceremony. Up until now, the ceremony had yet to conclude, nor had a sessor been confirmed.

    Kafni and her uncles and aunts continued their intense struggle, both overtly and covertly¡ªmeanwhile, this event didn¡¯t affect the normal operations of the Kingdom of Noah.

    On the night Grand Duke Ivan transformed into a dragon, Annan had alreadypleted the ession ceremony without any hindrance.

    When Annan seeded to the throne, his brothers and sisters had not even had time to return home.

    Even so, no unexpected events urred during the transfer of power¡­ After all, the actual people in power of the country were not so much the ministers or the Grand Duke, but rather the Winter¡¯s Hands.

    The main job of the Grand Duke was merely to make decisions in the general direction.

    In a sense, those ¡°Ring-bearing¡± Winter¡¯s Hands were the real top echelons of this country ¡ª they not only had the power to discuss policy directions with the Grand Duke but were also responsible for the supervision and implementation.

    Those Winter¡¯s Hands, distributed all over the country, were responsible not only for monitoring nobles and officials everywhere but also for overseeing these policies.

    These members,prising the highest echelon known as the ¡°Ten Fingers of the Ring,¡± essentially acted as the cab of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    During the times when Grand Duke Ivan could not move freely, it was the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± that governed Austere-Winter.

    Now, only six of the Ten Fingers remained. Due to the rebellion stirred up by the Winter Insurgent dmir, the power of Winter¡¯s Hand had noticeably diminished. The four external authorities ¡ª ¡°military affairs¡±, ¡°espionage¡±, ¡°diplomacy¡± and ¡°foreign trade¡± had been taken back into the hands of the Grand Duke.

    So far, the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± of the Winter¡¯s Hand were iplete.

    It was not because Ivan Austere-Winter didn¡¯t have the ability to find four trustworthy people from Winter¡¯s Hand¡­ It was actually for Annan¡¯s sake.

    The other six ¡°Ten Fingers¡± had all witnessed young Annan¡¯s outstanding methods.

    They more or less knew Annan¡¯s origins, understood Annan¡¯s close rtionship with the Twelve Upright Deities, and had witnessed Annan¡¯s wisdom.

    Then, after Ivan¡¯s death, they wouldn¡¯t harbor any ill intentions toward Annan¡­ and Annan would be able to ¡°use¡± them normally.

    If Ivan replenished the Ten Fingers, he would face a new problem

    ¡°Those who are loyal to Grand Duke Ivan may not necessarily be loyal to you; those people believe in Grand Duke Ivan because they know him, but they have not witnessed your talent¡­¡±

    At the morning table, a mature woman with dark blue curly hair and a gentle temperament sat on the table and whispered.

    There was a transparent ring on her left ring finger that exuded cold air.

    At the table, there were only her and Annan¡ªbecause the one named ¡°Zoya¡± was responsible for all domestic affairs including Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s food, housing, travel, and dressing.

    Now that Annan had officially seeded to the throne, Zoya would continue to serve him. Annan asked her to eat with him, so Zoya would naturally not refuse.

    In fact, the reason she did not dine with Grand Duke Ivan was not that Ivan prevented her from sharing his table, but because of the Grand Duke¡¯s extreme frailty¡­ She had to constantly watch closely to see if Grand Duke Ivan choked or had a sudden illness.

    Not just during meals¡­ even during bathing, changing clothes, and using the toilet, Ivan was always under the watchful eye of Zoya. The concern was that Grand Duke Ivan might suddenly fall, choke to death, or die suddenly ¡ª events that were indeed probable.

    And now that the Grand Duke had be the healthy Annan, she no longer had to worry so much.

    However, the other members of the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± each had their own political affairs to handle. The only one who could stay in the Grand Duke¡¯s mansion for an extended period, constantly apanying Annan, was still only the ¡°Left Hand¡¯s Ring Finger.¡±

    Ivan¡¯s transformation into a dragon was too rushed.

    The job of teaching Annan how to be a qualified Grand Duke fell on Zoya.

    ¡°I understand, Aunt Zoya.¡±

    After Annan swallowed the food, he said in a calm and orderly voice, ¡°Father hopes that I will fill these four positions myself.¡±

    ¡°But my advice is¡­ don¡¯t appoint ¡®Ten Fingers¡¯ just yet.¡±

    Zoya said solemnly.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Annan nodded, ¡°After all, I am still young. Even with your help and support, I have never even met the other nobles and officials of Austere-Winter¡­ It is difficult to gain their recognition.

    ¡°Appointing high-level officials or making personnel changes at this time could lead to instability within Winter¡¯s Hand. My idea is to first introduce some new decrees or other major events to attract their attention.¡±

    ¡­Annan is quite reliable, putting my mind at ease.

    Zoya sighed silently, satisfied.

    He¡¯s much better than his idiot brother.

    His Excellency Dmitri has the feminine face of a schemer, but his personality is quite straightforward.

    He didn¡¯t like being suspicious of others, nor would he be overly cautious around people. If Dmitri had seeded to the Grand Duke¡¯s position, then after hearing Zoya¡¯s suggestion, he certainly would have responded without a second thought, ¡°No problem, I think there¡¯s no need to oveplicate things.¡±

    Maria, on the other hand, didn¡¯t care about those people at all.

    She was undoubtedly a born tyrant ¡ª Zoya would rather Dmitri seed to the throne than Maria.

    Because Maria cared more for family than friends, more for friends than strangers, and more for strangers than enemies, she acted with a very clear ¡°hierarchy of priorities¡± that depended solely on her personal feelings. If she became the Grand Duke, her governance would be tantly nepotistic, making decisions based solely on favoritism.

    The seniors wouldn¡¯t mind it. Perhaps, Maria would also have a good rtionship with them. She wouldn¡¯t drag them down. But she certainly brought in a bunch of ipetent, yet likable fools to sit in high-ranking positions.

    It was undoubtedly a blessing to have Annan, a smart person, to inherit the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    Although Annan was not as gentle as Ivan¡­ nor was he able to make friends with everyone like Ivan. His approach was undoubtedly much tougher than Ivan¡¯s.

    But now, Noah was also undergoing a change of kings, and the ruler of the United Kingdom was reportedly nearing his end¡­ The world was about to enter a ¡°new generation.¡±

    Being tough during this time might not be a bad thing.

    ¡°So, do you have any thoughts on a decree that can attract their attention?¡±

    Zoya asked in a low voice.

    ¡°Show me the spy list first.¡± Annan replied, ¡°Those we sent to other countries, and the spies of other countries sent to us too.¡±

    Annan wanted to check on this for a long time.

    Even as the first heir, Annan did not have the power to get a hold of this information. Because this was the authority that originally belonged to the ¡°middle finger of the right hand¡± but now belonged to the Grand Duke. Even the Grand Duke¡¯s wife, children, or parents had no ess to it.

    Soon, a Winter¡¯s Hand handed over a thick stack of documents.

    ¡­There are many surprises.

    Although the ¡°right hand¡± representing offense in the Winter¡¯s Hands was almost crippled, thanks to the diligent maintenance of that ¡°right thumb¡±, it hadn¡¯t beenpletely destroyed.

    Annan skimmed through it ¡ª the intelligence personnel installed in the Noah Kingdom was the least, followed by the Papal Kingdom. Austere-Winter, on the other hand, buried at least 30 spies in the United Kingdom, which had nomon borders at all¡­ It was unrted to the chaotic situation in the United Kingdom.

    But most spies were dispatched to the underground world.

    There were more than ten official members of the Winter¡¯s Hand alone there ¡ª including peripheral members, those who hadn¡¯t even made it into the Winter¡¯s Hand, temporary members, and spies infiltrated into the underworld. There were a total of 160 people. Most of them existed in the form of illegal arms and mercenaries, but three had be ¡°Diggers¡±.

    Annan checked carefully but could not find the name ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡±.

    ¡­What happened?

    This made Annan frown slightly.

    It was slightly different from what he initially thought.

    However, when Annan looked for the three highest-ranking spies, he had some unexpected gains.

    ¡°This person is¡­¡± Annan was stunned.

    Annan actually knew one of the top three spies.

    He was immediately thankful¡­ Fortunately, when he was investigating the Fallen, he didn¡¯t activate this spy.

    Because the spy who prated the deepest underground world of Austere-Winter Dukedom was none other than the Overseer of Sporeggar Mill.

    ¡ªNieusel.

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 Chapter 719: Fragments Of Truth

    <h4>Chapter 719: Fragments Of Truth</h4>

    Looking at the spy list, many of Nieusel¡¯s actions shed before Annan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡­No wonder.

    ¡°After he knew I was Annan Austere-Winter, his attitude towards me became so warm¡­¡±

    He even rubbed my face.

    Annanined.

    Didn¡¯t anyone tell him not to kiss up to the boss¡­ or to suck up to him?

    No wonder he always addressed Annan as ¡°Your Majesty¡± instead of ¡°Your Highness.¡± It was because he had known all along that only Annan would ascend to the dukedom. This was indeed something that one would understand only if they had been acquainted with the upper echelons of Austere-Winter.

    Not even the royal family of Noah Kingdom could confirm this¡ªeven the Northern Brotherhood and the Austere-Winter nobles didn¡¯t figure it out.

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan murmured.

    That was why when Annan left with his childhood sweetheart named Nefertari, Nieusel was so trusting of them, and his reaction was so calm¡­

    That was why he sold his collection and also provided housing and travel expenses for the yers. That was why Sporeggar Mill, the underground city directly under the Austere-Winter Dukedom, was so warm to Austerians.

    From this perspective, even though Nieusel didn¡¯te from a family of Diggers or the Wise and had little money, he managed to sessfully be a ¡°Digger,¡± discovering multiple underground cities, likely thanks to funding from the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    There was even a possibility¡­

    Winter¡¯s Hand had dispatched professionals and used professional equipment to conduct underground exploration¡­ They then transferred the cities they discovered to Nieusel, who had the status of ¡°prospective Digger¡±.

    Therefore, Nieusel became Digger at such a young age, but still stayed in Sporeggar Mill, a small town that was declining due to nightmares ¡ª this was probably his mission as a spy.

    If Austere-Winter never activated this spy, he would always live in Sporeggar Mill. Live, work, get married, and have children normally as a Digger, maintaining his normal life trajectory¡­ until Winter¡¯s Hand needed him.

    That is to say¡­

    The corners of Annan¡¯s mouth raised slightly.

    He put the paper back.

    ¡ªI will just pretend I haven¡¯t seen it.

    As one of the very few high-ranking individuals who infiltrated the underground world, Nieusel was quite significant for the Winter¡¯s Hand. He wasn¡¯t the kind of low-level intelligence agent they could just send inrge numbers as they wished.

    The Wise in the underground world were difficult to deal with ¡ª this was not because they were ahead of other countries in terms of race or education, but because they were always in a high-level and high-frequency life-and-death game.

    There was one very crucial difference in the underground world.

    That was because thews of different cities weren¡¯t universal, making cross-city pursuits extremely difficult. This led to a situation where assassins, swindlers, and robbers ran rampant in the underground world, and crimes were seldom punished.

    To vie for power and eliminate opposition, the Wise often engaged in plotting schemes, setting traps, and fabricating false evidence to attack each other.

    If not for their use of a significant portion of their wisdom for infighting ¡ª the conflicts among the Wise within the same city, the overt and covert struggles between the Wise and the Diggers, as well as the internal strife between cities and within factions ¡ª the number of intelligent individuals in the underground world would likely have grown to levels that would rm the monarchs of other nations.

    Once they activated Nieusel, having him start operations in the underground¡­ he would quickly be discovered by the Wise. If he was lucky, he might be able to evacuate; if not, he would face almost certain death. Essentially, he could be considered a disposable asset.

    To prevent their important memories from being discovered after death, almost all spies were not transcendent beings¡­ This was also one of the methods used to identify spies. However, it left these spies with virtually no ability to defend themselves when faced with assassination.

    Although there were many Diggers, their significance was actually equivalent to that of other territorial nobles. To deploy such high-level spies, an order had toe directly from a member of the Winter¡¯s Hand of the ¡°right-hand middle finger¡± level to avoid wastage.

    Now only Annan couldmand Nieusel.

    However, Annan had decided.

    ¡ªHe won¡¯t do that.

    There was no shortage of people like him in the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­and Nieusel was not just a spy, but also Annan¡¯s friend. He was also a worthypanion.

    ¡°Let him live his life in peace first.¡± Annan whispered.

    Nieusel had obviously recognized Annan¡¯s identity a long time ago, but he didn¡¯t say anything¡­

    Let¡¯s scare him the next time we meet.

    The corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a warm chuckle.

    ¡°Grand Duke, what did you say?¡± Zoya on the side asked with some confusion.

    ¡°I was just looking for information about the Winter Insurgent.¡±

    Without any concealment or deception, Annan exined to Zoya directly, ¡°I suspect that there may be other truths hidden in the Winter Insurgent¡¯s ¡®defection¡¯ incident back then.¡±

    ¡°For instance¡­ Could this be a drill? Do we actually need the Winter Insurgent to betray the Austere-Winter Dukedom openly, so they can infiltrate other factions under the guise of ¡®the Winter Insurgent¡¯?¡±

    So, is this essentially a double-crossing scheme?

    Hearing Annan¡¯s question, Zoya was not angry or confused.

    ¡°This is your second day after taking the throne.¡± She just nced at Annan subtly, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to say it out directly so early¡­¡±

    ¡°Because Aunt Zoya is the person involved. If Ivan has any spections, Zoya should also know about it.¡±

    Annan spoke calmly, his voice rational, ¡°I am currently the best choice for the Grand Duke of Austere-Winter Dukedom. While this question may be a bit awkward, it¡¯s not sensitive. Even if I ask the other ¡®Ten Fingers,¡¯ at most, I¡¯ll be mocked a bit, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°But if I¡¯m afraid of beingughed at and worry about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing, then I will miss the opportunity.¡±

    Zoya, responsible for Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s domestic affairs year-round, had the longest contact with Ivan among all the members of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    Without a doubt, Zoya¡¯s opinion was highly valuable. If Annan chose not to trust her or thought ¡°This question doesn¡¯t need to be asked,¡± and consequently kept things hidden from this elder, leading to misinformation or misunderstandings that caused dys, it would simply be courting trouble.

    Ever since Annan was young¡­when the teacher said, ¡°Raise your hand if you don¡¯t understand¡±, Annan never dared to raise his hand because he was worried about how others would see him.

    If he didn¡¯t understand, he had to raise his hand.

    If he didn¡¯t understand, he would definitely ask.

    When faced with ambiguous answers, Annan would never guess on his own. Instead, he would engage the other person in a heartfelt conversation to ascertain their true feelings, thereby understanding their mindset at the time and why they responded as they did.

    Now, the reason Annan could adeptly see through people¡¯s minds was precisely because of the skills he had honed during that time.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the answer?¡± Annan asked, ¡°Is [the Winter Insurgent] one of our own?¡±

    Although Zoya responded, she did not answer directly just then. She couldn¡¯t possibly have been the type of person who was slow and gentle, unaware of the importance of timing in her words and actions¡­ So, she hadn¡¯t been digressing, but rather, she had been trying to deliberately steer the conversation away from that topic.

    However, Annan was not that easy to fool.

    ¡°This question may be a bitplicated.¡±

    ¡°Then, tell me slowly. I think as the Grand Duke, I should have the right to know this now, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Zoya replied seriously, ¡°You naturally have the right to know everything¡­ but I just want to say that all we know is the former ¡®Winter Insurgent¡¯.¡±

    After she said that, she stayed silent for a moment to collect her thoughts.

    Then, she replied, ¡°You have guessed it right. At least initially, ¡®the Winter Insurgent¡¯ did defect on purpose. And his defection n¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­You¡¯re the person arranging it.¡±

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 Chapter 720: That Is Annanâ€™s Style

    <h4>Chapter 720: That Is Annan¡¯s Style</h4>

    Through Zoya¡¯s exnation, Annan quickly understood.

    ¡­This was another n arranged by Annan in his first life.

    His initial guess was correct ¡ª rather, it was precisely because it was his own n that Annan could guess it so well.

    No one knew ¡°Annan¡± better than Annan.

    Just think about it¡­ What kind of predicament was the Austere-Winter Dukedom facing ten years ago?

    The Northern Brotherhood was already established at that time, but it had not yet started building the curse shaft. However, they were probably already affiliated with the Fallen.

    Judging from theposition of Ice-shredders¡¯ senior management, there were also many troublesome people among the group of Winter¡¯s Hands represented by ¡°The Right Hand¡± at that time¡­

    Annan remembered that when he was in the Noah Kingdom, Daryl mentioned that ¡°Austere-Winter blocked the news, and they couldn¡¯t get any info.¡± Yet all external affairs were handled by the ¡°Right Hand¡± of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    This meant that Noah Kingdom could even get information from Winter¡¯s Hand previously. Either someone was selling information, or spies had simply infiltrated¡­

    In addition, the maind nobles in Austere-Winter harbored ill intentions. The Curse of the Living Dead circted within the Melvin family was undoubtedly an ongoing n. Due to Ivan¡¯s anti-corruptionws across various regions, many local nobles were dissatisfied with him. The Austere-Winter family had not taken any significant action for a long time¡­ they trulycked deterrence.

    What if Annan back then had discovered something like ¡°the Curse of the Living Dead¡± of the Melvin family and the ulterior motives of the various factions in Austere-Winter?

    He mighte up with a n that utilized his ¡°right thumb¡± dmir to administer this powerful medicine to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.

    First, let the Winter Insurgent gather those from Winter¡¯s Hands who were suspected to be spies from other countries or those with inferior abilities. Then, they would defect. In this way, all these members of Winter¡¯s Hands would be eliminated¡­ and the Grand Duke would have an excuse to gather power.

    While these responsibilities were said to be incorporated into the ¡°Left Hand¡±, they were, after all, powers that the Grand Duke had reimed and bestowed anew. Any actions had to first be approved by the Grand Duke¡­ This was equivalent to bringing powers, which hadn¡¯t been directly managed for a long time, back under his direct control.

    During the subsequent settlement, there was an excuse to eliminate those local nobles who had once funded the Ice-shredder Army. This decision was also arge-scale centralization of power.

    And as the final ¡°recycling process¡±, allowing dimir to enter the underworld to continue consolidating anti-Winter forces¡­ while expanding his influence, he could also plunder resources massively without worrying about his reputation.

    In the end, Annan would defeat him, gaining these resources and simultaneously crushing the anti-Winter forces in one fell swoop.

    ¡ªIt was indeed a fantastic n.

    It truly followed Annan¡¯s approach.

    Annan¡¯s ns often aimed to achieve multiple goals with a single action. At that time, Annan had been frozen by the Winter Heart for nearly ten years, making his emotions extremely subdued. It was understandable that he was more ruthless back then than he would be now.

    ¡°However, two years after he entered the underground, [the Winter Insurgent] suddenly stopped contacting us.¡± Zoya said so.

    Apparently, the Winter Insurgent was still active underground. Although his presence was not very prominent, he was indeed gathering the anti-Winter forces and continuously building and strengthening his own power.

    However, he suddenly stopped contacting Austere-Winter.

    No matter how Austere-Winter¡¯s side tried to change the method of contact to find him, either they couldn¡¯t find him or there was no reply. In short, hepletely cut off his connection with Austere-Winter. And on Austere-Winter¡¯s side, they couldn¡¯t turn around and im, ¡°The Winter Insurgent is actually someone we sent out,¡± or ¡°This is our n from the very beginning.¡±

    All those people were settled. The fact that Austere-Winter orchestrated the event couldn¡¯t be known.

    Otherwise, there would be trouble inside Austere-Winter.

    If the Winter Insurgent were to reveal this information, that would be the most troublesome ¡ª regardless of whether the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke admitted it or not. As long as he said so and someone deliberately publicized it, it would cause significant damage to Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s authority.

    However, the question was that the Winter Insurgent didn¡¯t do that either.

    dimir held ample critical secrets.

    Once the secrets were made public, it would cause considerable damage to Austere-Winter. However, that didn¡¯t happen, so Austere-Winter didn¡¯t send people to hunt him down nor did they hire a saint to capture him.

    ¡°Since he has not done any actual harm to Austere-Winter, we cannot be 100% sure that he has indeed defected. However, he has been amassing power and has never contacted us even once for so many years¡­ This is obviously not normal and doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    ¡°I must also admit that dmir is the strongest Winter¡¯s Hand. He is proficient in various espionage techniques, tracking, and counter-tracking techniques. If he were being monitored, he could easily leave a signal¡­ not to mention that no one could stealthily monitor him.¡±

    Zoya said cautiously, ¡°This is really bizarre, but I suggest you not concern yourself with it for now.¡±

    Her opinion was to continue to wait and see ¡ª at least not to push ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡± to the opposing side, making him the real ¡°the Winter Insurgent¡±.

    Annan thought so too.

    Inparison, the situation at the Winter Insurgent was blurry.

    The Melvin family and the Northern Brotherhood were much more tant.

    The former had ¡°the Curse of the Living Dead¡± and the ¡°gold refining n¡±, while thetter was ¡°secretly affiliated with Fallen¡± and ¡°using sealed forbidden technology¡±.

    The contrast was stark.

    They didn¡¯t have that many confusing tricks clouding the situation.

    At least Annan wouldn¡¯t hesitate when he was ready to take action, not knowing whether they were friends or foes.

    Annan never liked to wait, and he acted decisively and cleanly.

    When Citalopram and Suuankou logged in at noon, Annan asked them to teleport over directly.

    Having three yers, Citalopram, Suuankou, and Wandering Child, as well as two high-level Winter¡¯s Hands, ¡°Left Ring Finger: Zoya¡± and ¡°Left Little Finger: Zorgen¡±, Annan and his party set off directly.

    This was the second day after Annan ascended the throne.

    It wasn¡¯t even 24 hours before he inherited the title of Grand Duke that he left the Frostwhisper Province.

    At this time, Dmitri, who had just left the province not long ago, had just heard the news that Ivan had transformed into a dragon and Annan had seeded to the throne. He was preparing to rush back¡­ However, Annan had already left before he could set out.

    And he even took with him the symbol of the Grand Duke¡¯s authority ¡ª the ¡°three-color scepter¡±.

    This was a decisivenesspletely different from the frail-bodied and gentle-natured Grand Duke Ivan.

    However, at least Zoya and Zorgen were agreeable to Grand Duke Ivan.

    Grand Duke Ivan was the type that no one could dislike¡­

    He usually acted with a lot of caution. In general, he would choose to mediate and resolve disputes. He enforced ¡°prosperity¡± to override instability¡­ Among all the dukes in history, he handled the winter years the best. During his reign, the fewest young people fled from Austere-Winter.

    But this also meant that Ivan had inevitably not been too assertive in high-level power struggles.

    Annan was different.

    People of Austere-Winter knew that Dmitri began assisting Ivan with state affairs over a decade ago. However, what they didn¡¯t know was that Ivan¡¯s youngest son, ¡°Annan Austere-Winter,¡± had been offering strategies and advice from the age of four. By the age of six, he had personally woven and thwarted numerous conspiracies.

    Even when he couldn¡¯t run smoothly, he was already capable of performingplex rituals. By the age of eight, he had penned timeless poems and novels, and invented over ten new innovations, including the internalbustion engine.

    While aplishing these great achievements, Annan even consciously hid himself¡­ Only the high-ranking Winter¡¯s Hand and his immediate family knew what he had done.

    Of course, in Zoya¡¯s opinion, there was no need to hide those feats.

    Because it sounded too fantastical ¡ª anyone who heard it would have thought that Ivan was building momentum for his young son.

    In other words, it sounded like bullshit.

    Zoya and the others had already carried out several ¡°not so gentle¡± but effective actions under Annan¡¯smand. It was precisely because of this administrative approach of carrot and stick that Grand Duke Ivan, who had to walk on crutches, was feared by the nobles.

    Yet, none of them could have imagined that the ¡°carrot and stick¡± approach actually involved two people, one giving the reward and one administering the punishment.

    To outsiders, Grand Duke Annan had just ascended the throne and was too young. The Winter¡¯s Hands must have many ill thoughts in their minds.

    However, only they, the ¡°Ten Fingers¡±, knew¡­ They had been operating under Annan¡¯smand for a long time.

    Compared to Ivan¡¯s decision-making style, they preferred Annan¡¯s approach.

    For example, before Annan and his party went to Frangell Province, Annan looked for his ¡°left index finger¡± and wrote a decree.

    First, move the Frost Beast troops over and quietly ce them at their doorstep.

    Would that be terrifying?

    ¡ªAbsolutely yes.

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 Chapter 721: Tactical Strategy Game Player

    <h4>Chapter 721: Tactical Strategy Game yer</h4>

    Annan sat in the spacious subway carriage, engrossed in the book. Zoya sat beside him, attending to him by ensuring he ate and drank in time.

    Meanwhile, ¡°Pinky¡± Zorgen sat quietly behind Annan, with his eyes slightly closed ¡ª this was to prevent his sharp gaze from rming Annan and also to maximize the use of his senses to detect the surroundings.

    As for the three yers: Citalopram, Suuankou, and Wandering Child, they were on the other side of the subway. The two men were sprawled out haphazardly, while Citalopram leaned against the innermost part, her eyes slightly squinted.

    ¡°These people are toozy.¡± Zoya said discontentedly by Annan¡¯s ear.

    Although Annan could trust the yerspletely, Zoya still remained vignt toward them. In the confined and inescapable environment of a subway carriage, it was hard to believe that the yers had the reflexes to protect Annan from assassins.

    Annan knew what Zoya said was indeed true.

    But if they were asked to escort someone over a long distance, transport supplies, be constantly alert to iing enemies, or keep vigil at night, they wouldn¡¯t have that level of concentration.

    Even if their body didn¡¯t get tired, their mind would.

    Moreover, Annan could see from the backend interface¡­ These three appeared to be sleeping, but in reality, they were using the forum to link to their mobile phones on Earth, busy watching videos, catching up on TV series, reading novels, and asionally clearing some physical tasks.

    ¡ªWhile Annan seemed to be reading seriously, he was actually watching a TV series through Citalopram¡¯s eyes.

    Every time this happened, Annan felt relieved ¡ª Indeed, it¡¯s a great idea to grant the yers permission to ¡°connect to the inte on their phones using their minds¡±.

    This ability could be used anywhere.

    This feature assisted the students among the yers to do their homework and take exams, which could be considered one of Annan¡¯spensations for them to focus their energy on this world. Anotherpensation was the real-time monitoring of body status, which could detect all kinds of physical illnesses, primarily to prevent them from sudden death due to exhaustion.

    As the collection of the Book of Divine Transporter grew further, Annan¡¯s control over the yers also increased.

    Annan suspected that once he hadpleted the collection, he might be able to treat the yers¡¯ physical conditions¡­ After all, if their body could be scanned, there was no reason it couldn¡¯t be treated.

    Another aspect of this feature was restoring Annan¡¯s ability to ess the inte.

    The feature was not perfect. Annan still couldn¡¯t actively participate in the inte of that world, his vision had already transcended the current world.

    Even after the yers returned to Earth, Annan could see the world through their eyes. In this way, Annan got to enjoy some games, animations, movies, novels, and TV series.

    This effectivelyplemented Annan¡¯s entertainment options.

    It felt a bit subtle¡­ like when you¡¯re on a high-speed train, watching the person next to you or in front of you y with their phone, and you quietly lean in to peek.

    Fortunately, the yers couldn¡¯t feel Annan¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°These people¡­¡± Zoya whispered with dissatisfaction, ¡°sleeping all over the ce in broad daylight¡­ If not for Your Majesty¡¯s trust in these Dream World¡¯s folks, I would not allow them to travel with us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Zoya. They are all reliable.¡± Annan raised his head and chuckled, ¡°Even if they die a hundred times in front of me, they will never run away.¡±

    ¡°After all, they are creatures of the dream world. If they cannot die, of course, they would not know fear.¡± Zoya nodded and added, ¡°I just think that they are not quite suitable for escorting VIPs on long-distance negotiations. Throwing them into an army or having them carry out assassination missions might actually be where they are more useful.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Citalopram, who was watching the show next to him, twitched her eyelids slightly and pressed pause. Clearly, she wanted to hear more of Annan¡¯s opinion of the yers.

    Annan noticed it immediately.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t need to say anything nice. Telling the truth was enough.

    ¡°¡ªYes! You¡¯re indeed right.¡± Annan nodded, nodding his head and speaking softly, ¡°They have courage butck patience, they have wisdom butck meticulousness, they have a sense of justice butckpassion. I am aware of all these things, and even understand them better than you do.¡±

    ¡°But my duty is to utilize people¡¯s strengths andpensate for their weaknesses. This is what I must do as a ruler. Forcing people to do things they are not capable of is not realistic and not efficient enough; that is merely arrogance intended to demean others¡¯ dignity.¡±

    ¡°They are all talented individuals. If I can¡¯t fully utilize their unique abilities, bring out each person¡¯s special strengths¡­ then that¡¯s my responsibility.¡±

    The yers were undoubtedly sharp swords.

    But it wasn¡¯t the case that just because a sword was sharp enough, it meant it was unbeatable¡ªunderstanding this sword and knowing how to wield it was also a discipline in its own right.

    Trying to block a heavy axe with a rapier was the act of a fool, and charging at someone wielding a long spear with a short sword was also an unwise move. That was a disrespect towards the sword, and it was also a disrespect towards intelligence¡­

    There was no doubt that yers were not suitable for all types of work.

    After all, a person¡¯s energy and interests were limited, and time was a fixed factor.

    For menial physicalbor, one could recruitborers; for work in design, there were designers who were up to the task. To wage war, one needed mercenaries; they were experts in warfare, understood how to win, and it wasn¡¯t just about destroying the opponent.

    How to use each yer¡¯s unique abilities was like cing different chess pieces in their proper positions¡­ This was also what a ¡°yer¡± had to do.

    From this point of view, Annan was also a yer himself.

    It was just that those yers yed MMORPGs, while Annan yed a strategy role-ying game ¡ª a tactical strategy game.

    Annan had brought Suuankou and Wandering Child along this time precisely for their ability to cause destruction. As for bringing Citalopram, it was partly because of her healing abilities and partly because Annan had received new intelligence¡­ The Pale Princess was currently staying in Frangell Province.

    Bringing the Half-dead Enchantress would be beneficial to both Citalopram and Annan.

    It was possible that this decision would lead to a new storyline.

    As a former game nner, Annan grasped the psychology of yers very well.

    He had better set goals as close and brief as possible, allowing yers to quicklyplete tasks at each stage to obtain rewards, therebypensating for the yers¡¯ck of patience and concentration.

    He also needed to rify the objectives of the mission. He had to tell the yers explicitly what their tactical goals should be, what taboos they must notmit, and what additional objectives they couldplete to earn extra points. This would pool the yers¡¯ wisdom and prevent them from being uncertain about how to proceed.

    Since the yersck empathy andpassion for the natives, then simply let them be a force of justice ¡ª using a sense of noble mission, the expectations and admiration of others, to make them discipline themselves, and to have yers monitor each other.

    ¡ªIf you want it, I will give it to you. If you find it troublesome and think you can¡¯t do it well, I won¡¯t let you do it. If you do it, you will be rewarded¡­ Everyone getting what they need was the long-term solution.

    Annan was not the kind of nner who fed yers rubbish. At this time, no one had restricted the amount of benefits or the amount of expected profits for him.

    His innate ability to see into people¡¯s hearts was not just for intimidation. This talent was used to unite and lead others.

    That was the proper use of this talent.

    As a qualified tactical game yer, if he wanted to rationally ce each yer in different positions¡­then as a yer, Annan should also treat himself equally.

    He should also put ¡°Annan Austere-Winter¡± in the right position.

    After all, Annan was also a yer.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 722: A Dead Person

    <h4>Chapter 722: A Dead Person</h4>

    ¡°Got it, got it, you¡¯re the best¡­¡± Zoya sighed and reached out to hold Annan¡¯s book. ¡°But don¡¯t read on the subway. Not only is the lighting bad here, but it¡¯s also a bit bumpy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not far from Frangell Province. If Your Majesty feels bored, I can also chat with you, or we can talk about some less confidential matters. Otherwise, you can follow their example and catch a rest.¡±

    It¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t really read it.

    It¡¯s like using the textbook merely as a phone stand, and at that moment, ying with the phone bes irresistibly satisfying.

    Annanmented internally but obediently closed his eyes, curling up like a white kitten in Zoya¡¯s embrace.

    The first-ss cabin had been cleared out. There were only six of them in this carriage. Since no outsiders were around, Annan didn¡¯t have anything to shy away from.

    Seeing this, Citalopram immediately opened her eyes and took a screenshot.

    She captured just the right moment as Annan squinted and curled up into a ball.

    Haha¡­ this is the photo-taking technique I practiced in ¡°Pokemon Snap [1]¡± back then!

    Citalopram thought proudly and posted this photo to the forum.

    There was a line of text below the picture: Serenity.jpg

    Annan, who was browsing the forum with his eyes closed, happened to see this post being updated.

    So he opened his eyes in confusion and looked at Citalopram.

    Without saying a word, Citalopram took another screenshot and posted it on the forum again.

    Confused.jpg

    Dammit, you¡¯re not done yet, are you?

    ¡°Sleep, sleep¡­¡± Zhuo Ya whispered, reaching out to pat Annan¡¯s head, holding him in her embrace.

    This Winter¡¯s Hand, who was already in her forties, looked remarkably young, appearing more like a woman in her early twenties ¡ª a unique longevity mechanism possessed by those of the Silver rank transcender.

    Upon entering Silver Rank, a body that had not yet fully developed would continue to develop, but a body that had already matured would not age easily anymore. This was because the soul, having undergone ¡°condensation¡±, could now nourish the body in return¡­ Even if one fell ill or sustained an injury, the rate of recovery would be much faster.

    Thus, Annan still did not quite understand why Ivan did not be a transcender. Since he was not interested in the path of transcendence, ording to the ¡°blessing of the Tyrant,¡± he would not encounter any obstacles.

    And he would not truly die, but would instead turn into a dragon¡­ In this way, he also wouldn¡¯t have to worry about bing a nightmare and leaking secrets.

    If he could be a Silver Rank Transcender, Ivan would not have died so early and lived in struggle. Even though his curse would gradually be stronger as the way of sublimation developed further, his body would also be stronger at the same time¡­ What¡¯s more? Even if he only ascended to Silver Rank to get the benefits of improved abilities, it would suffice.

    Annan still didn¡¯t quite understand why.

    As a result, the 49-year-old Ivan already had frosty white hair and deep wrinkles before turning into a dragon. His body had aged quite severely.

    Zoya, who was almost the same age as him, looked like a young female teacher who had just graduated. Her dark blue wavy hair gave her a schrly vibe. If she were to put on a wizard robe, anyone would think she was a Great Wizard.

    As for Zorgen, even when Ivan was young, he was already the Pinky Finger of the Left Hand. He had adopted the role even before Annan¡¯s grandfather¡¯s generation.

    When Ivan was 8 years old, Zorgen still looked only 40 years old. But now, after more than 40 years, he had finally be an old man.

    The tall and thin old man, who resembled a slender shadow, always liked to stand silently in the corner. Even with Annan¡¯s perception, he often failed to notice his presence. If it weren¡¯t for his loyalty to the Winter family that made him unable to abandon the profession of ¡°Hand of Winter¡±¡­ and the necessity to advance all professions at once during the promotion, Zorgen would have already advanced to a Gold Rank [lurker] by now.

    If the other Silver Rank transcenders were stuck in Silver Rank, it was because theycked desire,cked talent, or did not meet the requirements for promoting their profession.

    Then what about Zorgen? He had to dilute his strength by taking on multiple other professions to suppress his sudden advancement in rank.

    Besides the high-ranking profession ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand¡± from the ¡°Falteration Wizard¡±, he now had additional alternate professions of ¡°Assassin Master¡± of the lurker profession, ¡°Winter Chanter¡± of the warrior profession, and ¡°Shadow Hunter¡± of the hunter profession. Almost all of these alternate professions had climbed to the limit of the Silver Rank.

    Zorgen might be the most powerful Silver Rank transcender in the entire Austere-Winter or even the world¡­ at least one of them.

    Two nights ago, Annan seeded as the Grand Duke.

    The first thing he did was to recite the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± curse under Zoya¡¯s guidance.

    Therefore, Annan also knew just how many curses afflicted Zorgen¡ªhe was bound by 18 curses. It was his recklessness in his youth, trading curses for power¡­ and now he had long tasted the price of that choice.

    The first thing Zorgen said to Annan had nothing to do with the mission, but it was to warn him¡­ not to use the power of curse in exchange for strength unless necessary.

    That was because ¡°the debts owed must be repaid.¡±

    With Zorgen apanying him and having summoned the Frost Beast troops, Zoya, who effectively served as the court steward, permitted Annan to venture deeply into the territory of the Northern Brotherhood.

    It was because of herplete trust in Zorgen¡¯s abilities as a scout.

    As long as Zorgen was around, Annan would never be assassinated. If Zorgen consumed his life force, he could take Annan into the shadow world and escape quickly from the shadows.

    Although Zoya was just a physically frail woman, she was one of the ¡°Ten Fingers,¡± holding the highest authority of Austere-Winter. Naturally, she could not be just an ordinary Winter¡¯s Hand.

    It should be noted that even a formal member of the Winter¡¯s Hand was at least a Silver Rank. Winter¡¯s Hand was a wizard institute ¡ª apart from intelligence work, they were most often tasked with the capture, pursuit, and interrogation of wizards. Therefore, in the nightmare of the White Tower, Michngelo was rude to the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    Generally speaking, what Winter¡¯s Hand mastered were ¡°counterspell¡± skills.

    However, Zoya was a special case.

    Because Zoya¡¯s teacher was Michngelo of the Howling White Tower, who was now the Man in the Mirror.

    She was the Tower Son of Howling White Tower.

    It was just that she betrayed the White Tower and joined Winter¡¯s Hand ¡ª and in turn, captured the ck Wizard who was born in Howling White Tower.

    ording to the customs of the wizards, even if a wizard encountered a problem ormitted an offense, they must ultimately be turned over to the wizard tower for punishment¡­ at the very least, the wizard tower must be notified. This applied to the Noah Kingdom, the Papal Kingdom, and the Denizoya¡¯s United Kingdom.

    However, the Austerians didn¡¯t ept this rule.

    Thew of Austere-Winter was above all else.

    Even if the wizard or priest broke thew, it must be punished by Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡­or in other words, by Winter¡¯s Hand. Instead of sending it back to the Howling White Tower or the Frostwhisper Church.

    It was precisely because of this talent that she had be the ¡°Ring Finger of the Left Hand¡±.

    Besides Falteration Spells, Zoya was proficient in Idol Spells, Prophet Spells, and Edict Spells. Not only could she interrupt murder attempts through curses, but she could also predict assassinations. That allowed her to cast Edict Magic to halt the assassin¡¯s actions or help the Grand Duke escape.

    Then, there was the addition of two assets to the team: two Silver Rank Dream Walkers and a Half-dead Enchantress whose divine art mastery was close to the level of a cardinal bishop.

    The team consisted of six individuals: an old man, a child, two youths, and two women, collectively projecting a fragile impression.

    However, the team setup wasn¡¯t intended for a peaceful negotiation at all.

    Before the subway train stopped, the yers had woken up.

    As promised before, Suuankou came over.

    ¡°Come on, take three of these each, and three of these as well¡­ And for this one, it¡¯s strong, so just one per person ¨C Your Majesty, you shouldn¡¯t take this¡­ Here, Grandpa, I will give you one.¡±

    He was like a dealer, dealing the cards.

    Suuankou took out two piles of cards and skillfully began to deal three cards to everyone. Then, everyone except Annan was given a set of ck, white, and red balls the size of walnuts.

    ¡°I think you could make these cards look like ying cards if you have time.¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Or you can just use ying cards to make them. The white and red cards look like they will make people wary.¡±

    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s a good idea!¡±

    Suuankou¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°I will take note of that!¡±

    As the subway arrived at the station, they quickly got off the train.

    Naturally, someone woulde to pick them up as they went to the surface. No one would dare let the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke run to their house by himself.

    The person who came to meet them at the station¡­ was a former officer of the Frost Beast troops.

    He was dressed in a frost-colored military uniform, his chest adorned with full badges. He had a vertical scar cutting across his left eye, and his face bore a kind and affable smile.

    Annan knew his name.

    The person¡¯s name was Ostoff¡¤Dolgoruky.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 723: Mountain-Top Viscount Residence

    <h4>Chapter 723: Mountain-Top Viscount Residence</h4>

    Viscount Dolgoruky.

    During the yers¡¯ investigation in Saltpeter Ranch, they found only this name. It seemed that only this person was dealing with Fallen, and the others werepletely unaware of it.

    However, that was unlikely.

    The politicalposition of the Northern Brotherhood wasposed of one count and multiple subordinate viscounts.

    Dolgoruky was not the most authoritative viscount among them, nor was he the one most loyal to Count Urie. He did not have the strength, nor the courage to contact Fallen on behalf of others.

    The truthy tantly before their eyes.

    Viscount Ostoff Dolgoruky was a scapegoat the Northern Brotherhood put forward.

    Annan then realized that they had long since prepared a contingency n for ¡°if they were discovered¡±¡­ and the content of this n was to push forward Viscount Dolgoruky and the entire Dolgoruky family behind him to take the me.

    ¡°Are you trying to buy time?¡± Annan thought.

    No matter who proposed the ¡°Satiated Gold¡± n, who taught them the curse shaft technology, why they believed in this n, and why they agreed¡­ In short, all they needed now was time.

    If Annan didn¡¯t know about the ¡°Satiated Gold¡± n, then himing over to tackle the Dolgoruky family would also be considered a sess of his political objective.

    Firstly, arresting them with concrete evidence would undoubtedly suppress the arrogance of the northern nobles and increase the deterrence against other ind nobles.

    And through the interrogation by Winter¡¯s Hand, it was also possible to dismantle their channels ofmunication with the outside world¡­ If one was meticulous enough, even the leverage on several of his ¡°aplices¡± could have been uncovered.

    It would be a bountiful harvest.

    It could even be called a great victory¡ªif there were no unexpected events afterward, the Northern Brotherhood would no longer be able to cause any trouble.

    However, Annan knew about the Satiated Gold scheme.

    That made him realize¡­

    ¡°¡ªThis is the strategy akin to a gecko cutting off its tail.¡±

    The Northern Brotherhood bought time by ceding arge number of political interests and shrinking its sphere of influence on arge scale.

    That indicated there was a deeper level of conspiracy.

    However, there was a problem.

    Annan learned of the evidence of the Dolgoruky family¡¯s involvement in Fallen at the same ce where he learned of the ¡°Satiated Gold¡± project.

    Since they had already made ns that ¡°evidence of collusion with Fallen¡± would be discovered, were they so sure that the ¡°Satiated Gold¡± n would not be leaked?

    So, what if their goal was to make Annan think ¡°they are just stalling for time¡± and thus he hesitates to act?

    That would be anotheryer of inception. Things going in a circle.

    The question now was which level of deception they were in.

    ¡°There is a Wise in the north¡­¡± Annan thought with interest.

    There was only one question. Annan couldn¡¯t figure it out for the time being.

    The Northern Brotherhood had used ¡°Viscount Dolgoruky¡± as bait, putting him forward.

    How could they be so sure that Annan absolutely couldn¡¯t persuade him to leak information¡­ or in other words, were they so confident that Viscount Dolgoruky could withstand the interrogation of Winter¡¯s Hand?

    Then, on the other hand¡­

    Annan took a deep look at the man in military uniform with a scar on his face next to him.

    ¡ªIs he really Viscount Dolgoruky?

    As if feeling Annan¡¯s gaze, Ostoff Dolgoruky suddenly turned around, nodded to Annan, and showed a kind smile.

    This smile made Annan narrow his eyes slightly.

    If he really is Viscount Dolgoruky¡­ isn¡¯t he too calm?

    Annan temporarily gave up the idea of directly confronting and arresting the person.

    That was because he smelled a trap.

    And Annan was well aware that there was no need to be afraid of traps.

    Just by cracking the opponent¡¯s trap, it would instead have put the enemy at a disadvantage. Because there was too much information hidden in the trap, it would have in turn exposed the opponent¡¯s situation, as well as their understanding of us.

    This was undoubtedly an opportunity.

    Through the route Ostoff Dolgoruky led them, Annan noticed that this feeling became more obvious.

    After leaving the subway station in Frangell Province, the group walked west for a while and stumbled into a high mountain.

    Although it was the first time Annan saw it, he could immediately recognize it as the Mountain Frangell¡ªwhich was also where the name Frangell Province came from.

    The name Frangell meant ¡°deep well¡± in the Elvishnguage. It was one of the few mines in Austere-Winter and produced rare coal resources.

    Whaty before them was a rugged mountain road.

    Even though the small barrier had already blocked the fierce snowstorm from outside, it still could not keep out the chilling cold that seeped up from the ground.

    It was noon, yet there was not the slightest feeling of warmth.

    The air in the mountains was damp and cold as if it would stick to the soles of one¡¯s shoes. Rather than calling it a ¡°road¡± to the viscount¡¯s mansion, it would be more urate to describe it as a narrow path leading to a hunter¡¯s cabin in the mountains.

    Not only were there no stones paved, but even the dirt on the road was notpletely leveled. Its width did not even allow more than four people to walk side by side.

    The only difference from the dense forest was that it, at least, had the trees chopped down. asionally, they would step on a not-yet-excavated tree root or trip over a stone.

    This inevitably made them wonder ¡ª do people really take this path?

    Or, rather¡­

    ¡°With such transportation conditions, how is the daily food and drink supply for the Lord Viscount delivered up here?¡± Citalopram asked.

    She was not a Winter¡¯s Hand, but she was still a young girl after all. It was not impolite for someone of her status to ask such a question, nor did it seem like she was pressing for an answer.

    ¡°Actually, there is another path up this mountain that wraps around from the west side. It¡¯s just that the entrance is too far from the subway station¡­ It would be more urate to say that what we¡¯re on now is the lesser path. But a little further up, you¡¯ll be able to see the road.¡±

    Viscount exined, ¡°As for the miners, they usually enter from the mine on the south side and do not need to climb up the mountain.¡±

    He said, leading everyone out of the dense forest.

    The scene suddenly opened up before their eyes¡ªalthough there still weren¡¯t any stone pavements, there was a wide and t dirt road winding up around the mountain. The Viscount¡¯s manor was at the very top.

    ¡°Lord Viscount, do you usually live at such a high altitude?¡±

    Citalopram asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this be inconvenient?¡±

    ¡°Ah, because I like to see the sea view.¡±

    ¡°Sea view?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you might not have seen the map. Beyond the Frangell Mountains to the west lies the ck Sea¡­ that is the sea north of the Noah Kingdom.¡±

    The viscount smiled gently, calmly exining, ¡°If you live at the top of the mountain, you can see a very beautiful sunset every evening. This is the most beautiful sight you can see in the deste ce of Mountain Frangell.¡±

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Unexpectedly, Annan felt that the viscount was not lying.

    However, he had a vague feeling¡­ that something was wrong.

    Zoya also seemed a little silent. She hadn¡¯t said a word since seeing the viscount. She followed Annan quietly as if she was thinking about something.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 724: Frost Beast Humanoid

    <h4>Chapter 724: Frost Beast Humanoid</h4>

    Once they reached the smooth and well-lit mountain path, their travel significantly improved.

    At a point where the viscount¡¯s mansion was faintly visible, Annan suddenly heard a rustling noiseing from the woods beside them.

    ¡°¡ªYour Majesty.¡±

    A low and soft voice emanated muffled from beneath Zorgen¡¯s scarf.

    He stepped forward to stand in front of Annan and gestured for Annan to hold onto one of his scarves.

    Zorgen was wrapped in eight dark gray wool that wound from his forehead down to his shoulders. The eight scarves of varying lengths dangled around his body.

    Apart from those silver-gray eyes, not a patch of skin was exposed. He was wrapped more tightly than Danzo [1], and he could disguise himself as a mummy while lying in the coffin.

    After Zorgen stopped Annan, Zoya did not leave but motioned to the yers to check out the situation.

    She looked deeply at Viscount, not hiding her suspicion and vignce.

    The three yers looked at each other and followed the sound without hesitation.

    Citalopram was so shocked that her soul seemed to leave her body on the spot ¡ª a sight that made Viscount Dolgoruky pause for a moment and take a second look at her.

    However, there was no sound of fightinging from the forest.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the yers to return.

    ¡°Your Majesty, we caught a strange¡­ little fe.¡±

    Suuankou nced at Old Viscount, hesitated, and then said, ¡°I think you should take a look¡­¡±

    There was a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and joy.

    It was like seeing the cat at home suddenly turn into a catdy¡ª

    However, when Annan saw what was following them clearly, he instantly understood why the yers had such expressions.

    It was a girl with white hair.

    She was very young, barely clothed. Yet her skin was not dark or dry, instead, it was pale to the point of almost glowing¡­ To be precise, her skin was indeed translucent.

    She has a pair of dog ears on her head and a white tail under her body.

    Her hands were tied behind her back with vines, and vines also wrapped around her left ankle, ending with a strand of hair from the Wandering Child.

    On his head, the ¡°strange hairstyle¡± that resembled tree roots extended a vine that roughly bound the girl. Clearly, this girl was the one he had captured.

    This was probably a ritual modification that Wandering Child made to himself to make up for the fact that ¡°Vine Strike¡± could not be used in most environments ¡ª he could now bring his vines.

    The outfit looked odd.

    However, yers dressing in strange-looking equipment for the sake of attributes or special effects were also considered a characteristic of the game.

    The girl with white hair had been trying to run away. However, upon seeing Annan, she paused, then crouched on the ground like a dog, looking up at Annan timidly with those silver pupils. Her eyes seemed to hold a certain eagerness.

    ¡°A werewolf?¡± The viscount frowned slightly in displeasure, ¡°Your Majesty, I don¡¯t know this wolf cub¡­ it should be wild.¡±

    ¡°Do you need me to get rid of her, Your Majesty?¡± The tall, ghostly figure of Zorgen emitted a deep and soft voice.

    As if she understood what he said, the werewolf girl suddenly became furious. However, she didn¡¯t dare to growl at the old man, so she could only whimper and shrink back. However, the Wandering Child blocked her path.

    The strange thing was that Wandering Child didn¡¯t dare to touch her at all ¡ª he took a few steps back as if he was electrocuted.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Zorgen.¡± Annan suddenly had an intuition and said, ¡°Don¡¯t attack her.¡±

    This familiar feeling¡­

    He walked forward, squatted down, and extended his right hand to the girl.

    When she saw Annan approaching, her eyes suddenly lit up.

    ¡°Woo¡­¡±

    She struggled to get closer but staggered a little because her ankles were tied.

    ¡°Release her.¡± Annan stood up andmanded softly.

    The child hummed in acknowledgment. The light green vines untied themselves from the girl¡¯s body as if alive and retracted back to his head.

    However, the vines were covered with ayer of frost marks.

    The girl, who had been trying to escape all this time, did not flee upon seeing Annan. Instead, she affectionately rubbed against Annan, hugged his waist, and raised her head trying to lick his cheek but couldn¡¯t quite reach¡ªshe was about up to Annan¡¯s chest.

    ¡ªIt¡¯s just like what it seems.

    Feeling the attraction deep in his blood, Annan was thoughtful.

    ¡°This child is not a werewolf, or at least not in the traditional sense.¡± Annan turned around and exined in a low voice to the two Winter¡¯s Hands, who frowned in concern, ¡°She is¡­ a Frost Beast.¡±

    ¡°Frost Beast?¡± Zoya was surprised.

    She suddenly remembered something, ¡°I recall that His Highness Dmitri seems to have lost a Frost Beast in the form of a werewolf.¡±

    ¡°It should be her.¡± Annan replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect her to be here.¡±

    Zoya stepped forward to take a closer look at this girl ¡ª possibly the only Frost Beast Humanoid in the world.

    However, after Zoya got closer, the girl¡¯s pupils shrunk into vertical pupils. She was so nervous that her body stiffened ¡ª if it weren¡¯t for Annan decisively hugging her tightly on the spot, she might have bolted away immediately.

    However, even so, she still fearlessly red at Zoya. She growled as a sign of warning¡­ yet her legs wouldn¡¯t stop trembling.

    ¡°¡­This little thing is afraid of Zorgen but not me?¡± Zoya joked.

    Just when Zoya wanted to approach, the girl suddenly opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

    Something pale white, like a phantom, peeled off Zoya¡¯s face and was sucked into her throat.

    However, immediately after, the girl began to cough uncontrobly as if she had choked on something.

    Zoya immediately halted her footsteps.

    Her pupils trembled suddenly but quickly calmed down again.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s really a Frost Beast.¡±

    Zoya¡¯s voice became slightly deeper, and her mood suddenly turned somber. Yet, she felt relieved.

    Even a well-trained Winter¡¯s Hand could notpletely resist the Frost Beast¡¯s active emotion-devouring effect at close range¡­ even though it was only a Frost Beast cub.

    No matter how powerful the Frost Beast was, it would not harm the people of the Austere-Winter family.

    The Frost Beast was a transcended creature born from the curse of ¡°Austere Winter¡¯s Blood¡±.

    Just as oars mimic fins and leaves mimic wings, the ¡°Winter¡¯s Hand,¡± a transcendent profession capable of paralyzing others¡¯ emotions and consciousness, was originally born from imitating the survival mode of ¡°Frost Beasts¡±.

    However, Winter¡¯s Hand was only human after all.

    Having the Frost Beast devouring their emotion would leave a strong feeling of difort.

    However, when the Frost Beast had consumed the emotions of a Winter¡¯s Hand, it also felt difort¡ªdifferent from consuming the emotions of ordinary people, it was probably akin to the difference between eating hot grilled meat and eating grilled meat that had been frozen.

    ¡°Aunt Zoya, do you have any extra clothes?¡± Annan asked Zoya.

    ¡°Do you want to take her with you? That¡¯s fine. His Highness Dmitri has been looking for her for several months.¡±

    Zoya nodded, simply took off her coat, and handed it to the girl.

    Although the Frost Beast was not afraid of the cold, and Zoya had no good temper towards werewolves¡ªshe also could not stand to see a girl so scantily d in front of so many people.

    However, the girl with dog ears did not ept her kindness.

    She squirmed on the spot, shrinking her body and transforming back into the form of a white wolf.

    That was a werewolf¡¯s natural ability ¡ª to transform into the beast form.

    ¡­But she didn¡¯t seem like a wolf.

    It looked to be less than knee-high to Annan, white and fluffy. It was small enough to be held in Annan¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Is this a white fox?¡±

    Citalopram looked intently at the girl who had transformed back into her beast form, her eyes a little more fiery than before.

    ¡°¡­But, only werewolves can transform. I haven¡¯t heard of any fox-men.¡±

    Suuankou whispered, ¡°So I think this is probably¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­A werewolf in the form of a fox or a fox-dog?¡±

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 Chapter 725: Abandoned Lighthouse & Port

    <h4>Chapter 725: Abandoned Lighthouse & Port</h4>

    Annan carefully tucked the cub that curled up into a ball like a white marshmallow into his arms.

    Since the three-color scepter could not be handed over to others and must be held in the hand at all times, Annan only had one hand free to use.

    This child was too small¡­ Even with Annan¡¯s stature, he could grab the cub¡¯s back from behind with one hand. If it were the palm of an adult, the cub could probably sit in the palm.

    However, for safety and convenience considerations, Annan couldn¡¯t keep holding the cub like that. In the end, he stuffed it inside his clothes ¡ª Annan did not wear the attire given by Silver Sire for this trip. Instead, he put on a white cardigan on the outside, with a sweater and a shirt underneath.

    Annan stuffed the cub between his sweater and shirt so that its paws and head could poke out from the cor of his sweater. Since the puppy¡¯s hair color was simr to Annan¡¯s, Annan looked a bit like a Kangaskhan [1] with a baby.

    If it were indeed a fox-dog, it would serve well for warmth. However, despite Annan¡¯s lineage from the Austere-Winter family, which protected him from Frost Beasts¡¯ attacks, the prating cold of the beast¡¯s fur persisted.

    Now, Annan distinctly felt a chill at the front of his chest¡ªas if he had tucked someone else¡¯s cold hands from a winter day inside his clothes.

    Surprisingly, this feeling was not annoying to him.

    They encountered no further setbacks in their travels after that.

    They followed the winding road upward, entering the Viscount Dolgoruky¡¯s residence.

    It was more like a lighthouse than a mansion.

    It was a structure adapted from a lighthouse. It still retained the architectural features of a lighthouse, although the light had been extinguished. Of course, it might also be due to it being daytime, to conserve fuel.

    Because of this, Annan didn¡¯t notice this strange lighthouse when he was at the bottom of the mountain.

    Although this ce looked odd, there were servants inside. The building didn¡¯t seem to be a tant trap.

    Annan stood at the door and subconsciously looked to the west.

    It wasn¡¯t even noon yet; it was still much too early to watch the sunset.

    However, even with twoyers of barriers, the shimmering sea surface below was still clearly visible from such a height.

    The gently undting ck sea was filled with dead silence, without any birds or ships.

    ¡ªThis sea was named the Whalebone Sea hundreds of years ago.

    Before the Great Barrier copsed, this sea area was originally used by the elves to hunt whales. At that time, in addition to its role as a mine, Frangell Province also served as a port.

    Now, the unified barrier had shattered.

    After Austere-Winter used the power of the Old Grandmother to form a new barrier, this sea area was separated from the barrier.

    The curse in the form of ¡°the Gray Mists¡± was not actually a ¡°mist¡± in the form of liquid. ording to Annan¡¯s understanding, it was more simr to an aerosol particle that could dissolve on biological surfaces.

    It wouldn¡¯t drift too high, nor would it forcefully prate the earth and the sea surface. It could float in the air for a very long time without easily dispersing¡­ However, on this basis, it could still be blown by strong winds. Over time, it would very slowly settle onto thend and the sea surface, continuously contaminating them.

    Thend contaminated by the curse would witness the rapid death of all its original nt life, eventually giving rise to a type of fern that stored the curse and poison, known as ¡°poison fern¡±; while aquatic creatures in the shallow sea areas would die swiftly, and the sponge animals would rapidly dpose into tentacled monsters simr to the poison fern.

    ording to research by the Noah Kingdom¡¯s Alteration Wizards, the cause of death forrge aquatic animals was total organ failure. This was somewhat simr to the herbivores living outside the Great Barrier¡­ Their corpses asionally exhibit this symptom.

    As for how it was triggered and the sequence of organ failure that followed, the specifics remained unknown due to theck of conditions for continuous observation within the Gray Mists.

    But it could be simply inferred that ¡ª its lethality to ordinary people and animals whose souls had not yet materialized was not that high.

    The more advanced the animal, the slower it dposed in the Gray Mists. ording to observational reports from viges and towns exposed outside the Great Barrier, over 80% of the inhabitants¡¯ causes of death were due to dysentery or food poisoning from consuming food that decayed too quickly; the remaining 20% wereplications caused by wounds that failed to heal and rapidly decayed due to exposure to the Gray Mists.

    Austere-Winter¡¯s Great Barrier manifested in the form of a frigid hurricane ¡ª this icy storm that surrounded the Austere-Winter was enough to freeze the Gray Mists and blow them into the upper atmosphere. However, in the Noah Kingdom, the Great Barrier was a thin silver film¡­ There was still a very small number of people who had been living outside the Great Barrier.

    The situation was different from Natta County.

    Generally speaking, these people were death row inmates repurposed for waste utilization ¡ª they were exiled beyond the Great Barrier, living in small towns that clung to the edge of the Great Barrier. By selling information about their living conditions, or by collecting the carcasses of herbivorous animals that had nearly turned into monsters, they could exchange for a small amount of clean food and water¡­ Their main purpose was to serve as observers of the effects the Gray Mists had on the human body.

    Relying only on simple gas masks and cloaks, people who survived in the Gray Mists for over a year would exhibit clear signs of rickets, multiple abscesses on the skin surface, their faces bing extremely gaunt like that of a ghoul, and the skin around their joints would inexplicably develop fissures¡­ They would typically die at this stage due to infections caused by wounds that could not heal.

    Humans would not experience organ failure for at least two years.

    Interestingly, although whales were also aquatic animals, they differed from fish and possessed a stronger resistance to the Gray Mists¡ªthis allowed them to asionally surface without being killed by the mists.

    Annan spected that this might have been because whales are mammals¡­ it¡¯s just that humans of that era had not yet discovered this fact.

    The Great Barrier in the United Kingdom was built with the statues sunk in the sea. To this day, there were still fishermen in the United Kingdom who crossed the Great Barrier and went out to hunt whales ¡ª as long as they didn¡¯t leave too far, they coulde back even if they were injured.

    Even injuries sustained outside the Gray Mists could be treated with divine arts or rituals upon returning within the Great Barrier¡ªordinary herbs were no longer effective because the wounds had been infected by a curse, and the potent curse had to be removed first.

    Logically speaking, there should be whalers here in Austere-Winter.

    Although Austere-Winter¡¯s Great Barrier was wildly ferocious, the winds near the sea surface were not strong enough to sweep ships into the sky because there was a concern for disrupting marine life. By employing the ¡°iron chain¡± to link the ships, the sailors could prevent being blown off course and losing direction.

    Therefore, only mortals could sail out.

    The Freezing Water Port was originally used for trading between Austere-Winter and the Noah Kingdom.

    For the Austere-Winter Dukedom, which severelycked food and fuel, especially the northern cities that suffered from food shortages due to the disruption of the southern cargo subway, whaling brought huge benefits¡ªit saved many of the people from freezing or starving to death.

    Upon seeing the lighthouse, Annan initially thought that upon reaching the summit, he would witness the scene of whaling ships operating in the nearby sea.

    However, it was so quiet outside.

    Not to mention the whaling ship, even the port was dested.

    ¡ªThis is abnormal.

    Although coal is produced here, the subway in the northern cities is disconnected from the south. Importing and exporting resources from here areborious.

    So, why did Frangell Province, which has a tradition of whaling,pletely abolish the whaling industry?

    For environmental protection? Or ecological protection?

    ¡­That¡¯s nonsense. The winter year has been going on for decades. Austerians can hardly survive anymore. Not to mention, this viscount doesn¡¯t look like the kind of person who would do good deeds.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly and walked into the viscount¡¯s residence.

    His intuition told him that one of the Truth¡¯s fragments must be here.

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 Chapter 726: The Serpent That Is Not A Serpent

    <h4>Chapter 726: The Serpent That Is Not A Serpent</h4>

    Climbing the mountain had already exhausted all of one¡¯s physical strength and energy. Moreover, the Austerians weren¡¯t so concerned about formalities.

    Without any pleasantries, the group got straight to the point¡­ which meant started dining.

    The sumptuous meal that had been prepared in advance was served without any dy¡­ Of course, ¡°sumptuous¡± was described from the perspective of the Austere-Winter Continent.

    Generally speaking, the meal was somewhat alrightpared to what Annan had at the Grand Duke¡¯s Mansion, but the quality was quite limited.

    Besides the six followers of Annan, there was also the viscount¡¯s son, who was about 8 years old, and his wife with auburn hair and blue eyes at the dining table. In total, ten people sat at the round table, filling it to capacity.

    There were three vegetable dishes: one boiled, one steamed, and another mixed with fragrant mushrooms. In addition, there was a te of baked beans, a te of fried sausages, a dish of steamed sausages filled with rice and blood, a bowl of boiled beef with little seasoning, a bowl of spicy beefsteak chopped into small pieces, and a pot of stewedmb.

    The staple food was a thick stack of leavened pancakes¡ªsomewhat resembling thicker Crispy Chinese Pancakes, which could be eaten with butter, jam, or caviar, or used to wrap around the steak.

    ¡­For the yers, this was not considered a sumptuous meal.

    Mainly because the vors were too nd.

    It was either steamed, boiled, or stewed. The dishes were unsalted, while the stewedmb had too much salt.

    Described in the words of Wandering Child ¡ª thismb tasted as if it had been seasoned with a salt bomb, concentrating all the salt from the previous dishes into this one. There was so much salt that themb soup had even begun to taste somewhat bitter.

    This culinary skill made the expressions of the yers quite subtle.

    Citalopram only ate a little, barely touching the food. Annan and Zoya didn¡¯t eat much either. As for Zorgen, he didn¡¯t even take a bite ¡ª he didn¡¯t even take off his scarf, he was acting like Kakashi [1].

    On the one hand, Suuankou was genuinely hungry, and on the other hand, he reluctantly ate more meat as a sign of respect¡­ However, the Wandering Child kept eating sausages and steaks with wine. These sausages and steaks were probably the only two rtively normal dishes on the table.

    Although this steak had no salt at all, it was somewhat spicy.

    ¡ªThis was no longer a question of good or bad culinary skill.

    Something was definitely wrong.

    However, the expressions on the viscount¡¯s family were quite normal; they ate with apparent relish. The child could even be described as wolfing down the food, consuming thepletely unsalted beef and the overly saltymb without changing his expression, as if partaking in a strange meat-eating ritual.

    This even began to make the yers wonder if perhaps the taste preferences of the Austerians were somewhat unique¡­

    Had it not been for Lin Yiyi and Longjing Tea, who had eaten several meals in the country and stated very confidently on the forums that this could not be the case, they might have really believed it.

    After the meal, the group followed the viscount to the study.

    On the way, the viscount still showed no signs of anything amiss.

    He also enthusiastically introduced the decoration of the house to Annan.

    ¡°Does it feelpletely different from the South? Your Majesty?¡±

    Viscount Dolgoruky said with a smile, ¡°In the Frangell Province, there are some elven traditions that have not yet been abolished¡­ This includes the artistic and aesthetic style of the elves.¡±

    The viscount¡¯s residence was decorated in a unique way.

    In any one of the corridors, there was no sense of symmetry between the left and right sides¡ªwhen the left side had wooden walls adorned with paintings, the right side would either have marble statues, a mosaic of pieced-together stones, or a stone wall carved with verses of poetry.

    The chandeliers in the rooms were as if ying Sudoku¡ª the number of chandeliers variedpletely from room to room. The floors were exceptionally in, while the ceilings were as transparent as crystal¡­ Overall, the viscount¡¯s residence was filled with a strong sense of asymmetry.

    ¡°Due to the presence of the Twin Towers in the south, people regard symmetry as beauty. However, northerners often prefer asymmetry¡ªunless necessary, they cannot tolerate something that is too symmetrical.¡±

    ¡°On your way here¡­ when you leave the subway station, you should also see the houses on both sides of the street.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Annan nodded in agreement, ¡°The houses on both sides of the street havepletely different decorative styles. And they are scattered without any apparent rule.¡±

    Even if not aligned ¡ªplete misalignment, too, could be seen as a form of symmetry.

    If one were to make an analogy, it would be like a novice ying a city-building simtion game, cing buildings wherever they wanted. The space utilization was poor. On just one street, there were three fire stations, with two of them situated less than a hundred meters apart.

    It was an architectural style that could drive someone into obsessivepulsive disorder.

    Or, perhaps a style that was too asymmetrical could also satisfy someone with OCD? Or maybe this in itself was a kind of OCD¡­

    ¡°This is indeed the architectural style of an elf city.¡± Annan replied.

    He had indeed seen an elven city¡ªit was from the ghostly form of the elf, Miss Boffis, in the ce where she resided.

    Of course, Annan didn¡¯t iterate his thoughts fully.

    ¡ªThe city of elves? Even from a modern point of view, it was quite an advanced aesthetic.

    It was a gorgeous and colorful city.

    Asymmetrical megastructures over a hundred meters tall, filled with postmodern artistic style, featured more than twenty types of creatures turned into colorful crystals. Walls were adorned with semi-transparent, luminous decorations. There were gigantic arches and tunnels. If one had to describe it, ¡®psychic punk¡¯ would probably be an apt summary.

    Upon seeing that kind of city, the great sense of shock one experienced was such that the [asymmetry] was a detail that one woulde to realize was ¡°indeed so¡± only upon reflective consideration afterward.

    To summarize the architectural style of the elf city in one word, that would be ¡°shy¡±.

    It was too shiny, especially at night. The colorful neon brilliance brought by magic energy rendered the entire city like aputer case filled with LEDs, with incredibly severe light pollution.

    ¡°The Elven City I know is exactly like this.¡± Annan said so calmly.

    Of course, I don¡¯t agree with that.

    ¡°Of course, Your Majesty.¡± Viscount Dolgoruky said proudly, ¡°The elven tradition we pursue is not just that.¡±

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°This is what I am going to show you now¡ªthe [reason] that justifies the treason charge I have.¡± The viscount said seriously.

    That was the first time he mentioned his ¡°crime¡± after meeting Annan.

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Zorgen, who had been following him, clenched his right hand slightly.

    Annan raised his head and looked at the viscount.

    He said slowly, ¡°Since you took the initiative to mention this, I think¡­ there should be something in this room that can convince me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Your Majesty.¡± The viscount smiled calmly, ¡°Then the question is¡­ do you know what the elves worship?¡±

    ¡°¡ªSerpent.¡± Annan replied without hesitation.

    ¡°Correct, but not entirely. The more urate term would be¡­ the [Serpent that is not a Serpent].¡±

    The viscount put his hand on the doorknob of the study and pushed it slowly.

    ¡°Its name is the Beast of Change¡ª¡±

    ¡°That is the [Worm].¡±

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 Chapter 727: Worm

    <h4>Chapter 727: Worm</h4>

    In the end, Annan failed to push open the study door.

    Because at the moment when Viscount Dolgoruky uttered these words, a sinister demon hand, made entirely of shadows and with reversed joints, suddenly reached out from the shadow cast in front of his study.

    It seemed slow but was actually fast, swiftly reaching out from the ground and grabbing the viscount¡¯s face¡ªthis demonic hand forcefully pushed the viscount backward, shoving him away from Annan¡¯s side, and then violently smashed him against the wall on the other side of the corridor!

    By chance, on the other side was a stone wall bonded together with cobblestones. The viscount, struck in the back by the smooth stones, almost passed out from the blow. His body involuntarily twitched as the shadow hand pressed him against the wall.

    ¡°¡­You¡¯d better give me a clear exnation on this, Your Excellency Viscount.¡± As if he had just woken up, a light and low whisper sounded from behind Annan.

    Zorgen hadpletely opened his eyes.

    The silver-gray pupils were cold, burning with a blue halo. It seemed to be exuding cold air. The entire corridor was covered with faint traces of frost, and the area close to the ground was as cold as an ice cer.

    ¡°Hehehehe¡­ hahahaha¡­¡±

    The viscount, with a scar on his face, couldn¡¯t help but let out augh despite the situation.

    It was a heartyugh as if he had finally let go of something.

    But, he couldn¡¯tugh for long.

    ¡°¡ªWell.¡±

    He was slowly lifted off the wall by the shadow hands and held in the air.

    Then, the hands exerted their grip, pping Viscount Dolgoruky against the wall again.

    This time, Zorgen applied a bit more force, causing the viscount to involuntarily cough up a mouthful of fresh blood.

    A mouthful of dark red, thick, and turbid blood.

    That was the blood that only the dead had.

    Zorgen¡¯s expression changed slightly, and he turned to look at Zoya.

    ¡°Look at his neck, wrists, and ankles.¡± Zoya thought for a moment and immediately responded, ¡°And the skin around the heart.¡±

    Soon, from the shadow of each person, a reversed-joint hand of shadow extended¡ª they swarmed up andpletely tore to shreds the clothes of the viscount, who was stillughing uncontrobly.

    As expected, they found a discontinuous ck thread around the viscount¡¯s throat, about six or seven centimeters long, usually concealed by his chin. It resembled the stitching marks of an ellipsis like the crude seams sewn together when joining two pieces of cloth.

    On his left chest, the same intermittent thin line was found¡­ It was a ck circle the size of an egg tart.

    After seeing these traces, Zorgen immediately broke the viscount¡¯s throat without saying a word.

    ¡°¡­These are the traces of being bitten by a [worm].¡± Zoya exined in a low voice, ¡°He is already dead.¡±

    ¡°What is a worm?¡± Annan frowned and asked softly.

    He was still thinking about the problem of ¡°the gate of worms and cicadas¡±¡­ ¡°Cicada¡± refers to the way of sublimation, so what is ¡°worm¡±?

    And now he knew that the [Worm] was the ¡°Beast of Change¡±. Thus, the ¡°gate of worms and cicadas¡± meant the gateway before the ¡°path of promotion and change¡±.

    Annan was immediately surprised¡ªthe knowledge about ¡°worms¡± that even he didn¡¯t understand was mastered by Winter¡¯s Hand and these northern nobles who were not even transcenders or ritualists. Judging from Zorgen¡¯s reaction, it seemed this was likely not some sort of secret¡­

    ¡°This is what Lord Ivan should have told you originally, but his Dragon Transformation was too early and too fast.¡±

    After confirming that Viscount Dolgoruky had died once again, Zhuo Ya quickly exined, ¡°This is the Worm Cult, which we had eradicated once before. Unexpectedly, it has bred anew¡­ This truly is like the nature of worms.¡±

    She whispered to Zorgen, ¡°Do you still remember the cityyout? I¡¯m afraid there are many more of them in this city.¡±

    Annan asked doubtfully, ¡°The Worm Cult?¡±

    ¡°There is no official name, and it is not a sect. It is just the name Austere-Winter calls them¡­ They call their behavior [following serpents that are not serpents].¡±

    Zoya roughly summed it up, ¡°This is a group of elf fanatics.¡±

    ¡°They believe that the elves who can naturally be Silver Transcenders when they reach adulthood and cannot be a Fallen because they skipped the Bronze Rank are a higher race than the Yasns.¡±

    ¡°And they believe that the emergence of Fallen is because other races are not as noble as the blood of elves ¡ª they believe that other races are ¡®the breeds of demons¡¯. The reason for the birth of sin and the breeding of sin is that they are not elves. As long as everyone bes an elf, there will be no more Fallen and demons being born.¡±

    ¡°This group of people search for and dig Elven Ruins around the world, purchase arge number of antiques from the Elven Age, and imitate the lifestyle of elves. The ultimate goal is to find a way to alter themselves into elves. The fanatics among them even pursue a way to alter everyone into elves.¡±

    As Annan listened, his expression gradually became somewhat peculiar.

    It sounded somewhatical, yet he couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint what made it so.

    Annan replied thoughtfully, ¡°In my memory, the elves seem to have migrated from the east, right?¡±

    ¡°I remember there are Fallens there.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t care about this. I actually think that it is because the elves are extinct that they can pursue the blood of elves so enthusiastically.¡±

    Zoya shrugged, ¡°Their philosophy is that the world is so evil, and every bad thing is because of ¡®race¡¯. If the bloodline of elves, the rule of elves and the customs of elves are restored, there will not be so much tragedy and ugliness in the world.¡±

    ¡­I¡¯m afraid not, brother.

    What you are pursuing is not the blood of elves, but curse energy, right?

    The Elven Age was prosperous not because their blood was noble, but because of curse energy. It was a versatile resource that could provide anything with a finger snap, which was so convenient.

    By activating curse energy, one could bypass the ¡°raw materials¡± and ¡°process¡± to directly obtain the needed product. This process was swift and clean. It did not produce any waste; it did not require arge workforce, only designers were required to use it.

    It was like turning on creative mode in the game.

    At that time, curse shafts were built in almost every town in the entire empire to continuously extract curse energy. Most people could obtain abundant living supplies withoutbor, so people who sang, wrote poetry, exercised, and invented things emerged inrge numbers.

    The so-called ssical culture that flourished in the elven empire could actually be simply described as ¡°entertainment activities created by people with too much time to spare.¡±

    Under those conditions, of course, there would be no disputes and no crimes. However, the extraction of curse energy quickly caused environmental degradation around the world. This could even be regarded as an ascension mode.

    Thus, being obsessed with the elven bloodline was meaningless.

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Have they seen elves?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I don¡¯t think they would be so fanatical if they had seen the elves. They were just looking for someone to me.¡±

    Zoyamented.

    She sighed, looked at Annan who was still a little confused, and exined, ¡°Do you know that time when Grand Duke Ivan and his younger brother were kidnapped? That was what the Worm Cult did.¡±

    ¡°They were demanding the release of a political prisoner ¡ª a high-ranking member of the Worm Cult.¡±

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 Chapter 728: Distributed Computing

    <h4>Chapter 728: Distributed Computing</h4>

    Annan certainly remembered that time.

    His uncle, whom he had never met and who had never even taken a wife, was killed by the Winter¡¯s Hand during that rescue operation. Later on, Ivan¡¯s father also died of depression because of this.

    The Winter¡¯s Hand who decisively killed the hostage was the old man whoter followed Maria to the White Tower.

    ¡°Who exactly are worms?¡± Annan asked carefully, ¡°Is there some kind of trap in this room?¡±

    ¡°The [Worm] is not some actual insect that exists in reality, but rather an apparition, a symbol. It is the manifestation of the so-called ¡®Serpent that is not a Serpent¡¯ in elven rituals. ording to current archaeological research, the prototype of the ¡®Serpent that is not a Serpent¡¯ appears to be some kind of gigantic parasite¡­ It lives parasitically upon the earth, just as snakes are born from the earth.¡±

    Zoya exined in a more academic tone, ¡°It is generally represented by concepts such as [parasitism], [invisible pain], [self-eating], and [cirction], etc., which are actualized in this type of ritual. Rituals based on the concept of [silence] would summon darkness, and those based on [luck] would summon dice.¡±

    ¡°The Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ¡®Rustless Blood¡¯ is also the blood of serpent, which here refers to the blood of the worm. Since ¡®the Serpent that is not a Serpent¡¯ is a parasite of the earth, it is also the blood of stone, the blood of the tree.¡±

    ¡­the earth?

    Does this refer to Bone Burying Grandma?

    Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

    Speaking of which, the ¡°dark night¡± gave away part of its power to give birth to the Mysterious Lady. When Bone Burying Grandma was the ¡°Earth¡±, did it be what She was today without losing any power?

    Since the existence of ¡°pleasant blood¡± was rted to the worm¡­ did the worm steal part of the power belonging to the ¡°earth¡±?

    Is it like how the Mysterious Lady possesses a part of the power that belongs to the night?

    But this time, it is not a gift, but a theft ¡ª representing the [invisible pain].

    What about [self-eating] and [cirction]?

    ¡°What is the specific image of a worm?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°It has no real form. In a ritual, it is a self-devouring snake, forming the shape of a circle.¡± Zoya replied.

    ¡­Ouroboros?

    Annan¡¯s eyes widened slightly.

    Isn¡¯t that Ouroboros?

    Zoya continued talking.

    ¡°If a ck, intermittent ring pattern appears in front of someone¡¯s heart or at the joints at the extremities of the limbs, it can be understood as having been bitten by the [worm].¡±

    ¡°That is to say, he has already died once¡­ but was revived in this manner. Even among ritualists who fear neither heaven nor earth, the worm ritual is a taboo among taboos.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Annan asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s because ¡®worms¡¯ are contagious.¡± Zoya replied.

    ¡°The worm ritual, rather than being a resurrection ritual, is more like a self-backup. The personality possessed by someone revived through the worm ritual is not the original personality of the deceased, but a mixed personality dominated by the fixed personality of the ritualist¡­ If they continue to kill, continue to perform the worm ritual, they can still pass on the original ritualist¡¯s personality intact.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the ¡®parasitized¡¯ revived by the worm ritual do not possess the memories of the ritualist themselves, they only have the personality of the ritualist at the moment of the ritual ¡ª he knows what he needs to do. However, hecks these experiences, even if one wanted to search his memories through a Soul Snatch Spell, it would not be possible.¡±

    ¡°The resurrected person can continue to move for 13 days. After 13 days, the corpse will decay¡­ But, within these 13 days, as long as the ritual is performed once more, the mission can be passed on.¡±

    ¡°It may be slow at first, but once it starts to spread, it will be very crazy ¡ª even the ritualist himself may not be able to stop it.¡±

    It multiplies itself like a virus.

    Annan understood the situation.

    No wonder Austere-Winter officials wanted to destroy this organization.

    The Worm Cult was not harmful. However, the taboo ritual they mastered was fraught with danger ¡ª a disaster waiting to happen if the situation escted.

    ¡°¡­But is this ritual a heritage from the elves?¡± Annan frowned slightly, expressing his doubt, ¡°I feel that this ritual is evil.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because this ritual was not originally used in this manner.¡± Zoya shook her head, ¡°We had already investigated the Worm Cult before Your Majesty was born.¡±

    She was about to continue exining when she was interrupted by Zorgen.

    ¡°Take His Majesty further away first.¡±

    Zorgen did not turn around but whispered to Zoya softly, ¡°Ostoff Dolgoruky revealed his identity on his own initiative. I suspect he may have prepared some traps in the room.¡±

    ¡°How about I go in and take a look?¡± Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I can be resurrected.¡±

    ¡°The Destruction Wizard should stand aside and stay further away from His Majesty.¡± Zorgen said unceremoniously, ¡°I am very experienced, but being with you will drag me down.¡±

    I feel like you are discriminating against the Destruction Wizard.

    Suuankou pursed his lips and said nothing more.

    Annan, leaning on his scepter, retreated to the beginning of the corridor.

    Yet, despite themotion upstairs, the viscount¡¯s wife and son didn¡¯t respond at all.

    The three yers looked at each other.

    ¡°I¡¯ll head down and keep an eye on them.¡± Wandering Child whispered.

    Citalopram shook her head, ¡°You are not suitable¡­ Your weapon is toorge and not easy to carry. I¡¯ll go¡­ I¡¯ll also take the opportunity to chat with the mother and son. Remember to livestream and share your perspective with me, I¡¯ll be keeping an eye out from below.¡±

    ¡°The same goes for you. When you are in danger, just buy time. We will go down as soon as possible.¡± The Child whispered.

    He also realized that this ce seemed different from what he initially thought.

    This was not a safe house but a dungeon.

    If the Worm Cult¡¯s ritual was to imitate the elves¡­ then this whole town seemed to be somewhat off. Not to mention those two family members who gave off a sense of dissonance.

    ¡°I will.¡± Citalopram nodded and walked down alone.

    They watched Zorgen press his right hand on the door, his shadow flowing like a living thing, flowing under the crack of the door ¡ª this scene reminded Annan of Kafni.

    It was just that Zorgen¡¯s control of the shadows seemed to be different from Kafni¡¯s.

    If the tentacles in Kafni¡¯s shadow were like limbs, Zorgen¡¯s shadow reminded Annan of an element pool.

    ¡ªThis was like the Spiritual Monk summoning the power of his elements back then.

    However, Zorgen was in Silver Rank and probably hadn¡¯t awakened an element yet.

    ¡°The elves developed the Worm Ritual not to use them to extend their personalities ¡ª elves have many life-extending rituals, and they also have curse energy to use. Moreover, the elves have long lifespans. They don¡¯t need to use this method to ¡®copy¡¯ themselves.¡±

    Zoya continued, ¡°In the beginning, it was a ritual intended for research purposes.¡±

    ¡°Its purpose is to replicate your own thoughts into multiple copies¡­ to use multiple ¡®individuals¡¯ to utilize the same idea for synchronous thinking.¡±

    ¡­Distributed Computing?

    Annan was immediately shocked.

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 Chapter 729: Forced Teleportation Ritual

    <h4>Chapter 729: Forced Teleportation Ritual</h4>

    Breaking down a huge problem, processing each small part in several machines, and then gathering the results together. Sharingputational resources, bncingputational load¡­ Those were the core principles of ¡°distributedputing¡±.

    Annan didn¡¯t expect simr ideas had alreadye up in the Elven Age.

    They used the worm ritual to make multiple copies of themselves at a certain moment.

    Each ¡°self¡± held an encrypted task. They did not understand the tasks that the rest of the ¡°selves¡± were responsible for, but ultimately, they all returned theirputational results to the main body¡­ They could even bypass returning directly to the main body, allowing newly replicated ¡°selves¡± to perform further calctions or storage.

    ¡ªThis was the evolution of using itself as the center of the system.

    Massive engineering projects could be constructed by multiple selves, or they could be used for the analysis and calction of certain structures. They could also serve to store transcended knowledge¡ªnot only allowing for distributedputing but also enabling distributed storage.

    Annan held his breath slightly.

    I have to say that the ancient elven sages are really geniuses.

    They are able toe up with this idea without having any experience withputers.

    If Annan guessed correctly, this should be a technology used inbination with curse energy ¡ª if the pollution problem caused by curse energy wasn¡¯t there, then the only limitation on this universal material was the ¡°construction efficiency¡± of curse energy.

    In this perspective, although the curse energy had caused a lot of destruction to the world, the elf schrs managed to conduct scientific research unscrupulously without considering the loss of raw materials. Subsequently, it allowed them to develop many new marvelous technologies.

    Even if the use of curse energy was prohibited, and many ancient technologies built on the foundation of curse energy had thus lost their significance, it did not mean that they were worthless in themselves.

    It simply required a reevaluation of the limitations of materials, energy, and efficiency.

    If it could be modified into a weakened form based on the modern technological system, it might not necessarily be unusable.

    For example, the Worm Ritual.

    This kind of human-based distributedputing and storage system was undoubtedly a great invention. However, it was used by the people of the Worm Cult at that time as if it were a zombie virus.

    It felt too low.

    It was like using Nokia as a hidden weapon, rotten eggs as biochemical weapons, and magic sticks as weapons.

    Even though there wasn¡¯t any problem with it.

    ¡°It¡¯s been taken care of, Your Majesty.¡± Zorgen said suddenly.

    Annan came over in surprise, ¡°That¡¯s pretty quick.¡±

    ¡°Because they haven¡¯t made any progress over the years. It¡¯s just the same techniques.¡±

    Zorgen said quietly. The door was opened from the inside ¡ª it was Zorgen¡¯s shadow hand that reached under the door crack and pulled the door handle from the inside.

    Zorgen silently stepped aside from the door, allowing Annan to walk past him.

    The first thing that caught Annan¡¯s eyes was a broken makeup mirror.

    One could tell at a nce that something was amiss¡ªno one would ce a mirror at the bedroom door, positioned like a screen, facing outward.

    But now, this mirror was not onlypletely shattered, but it also had ayer of irregr ice formed on it,pletely losing its function as a mirror.

    ¡°Be careful, Your Majesty. I did notpletely destroy the ritual. I merely cut off the initiating end.¡± Zorgen stared at the ritual area on the ground and murmured softly, ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to alert the enemy.¡±

    In the viscount¡¯s study, a ritual circle was drawn on the floor with the fresh blood of some animal. White candles were lit at various heights, but they seemed to have been dripped with some special liquid, causing each to be a different color.

    Orange fire, crimson fire, cyan fire, golden fire, deep purple fire, aqua blue fire, gray fire, pink and purple fire.

    Besides that, on the walls, floor, ceiling, cabs¡­ there were more than a dozen mirrors of various sizes ced around. Now, these mirrors had all been shattered and then sealed with ice.

    If not for this, these lights would likely be reflected and bounce off these many mirrors, spreading throughout the room like starlight.

    ¡°The ritual of light and mirror¡­¡± Annan murmured, looking at the ritual and thinking seriously.

    What is the purpose of this?

    ¡°¡ªThis is a ritual of forced teleportation.¡± Zoya revealed directly, ¡°The candlelight refracted the mirror image of the firelight in the mirror so that two light sources shined at the same time ¡ª this is a ritual representing teleportation.¡±

    ¡°[Eight colors of light] are the key to activating Mr. Ray¡¯s advanced ritual. The teleportation effect of a high-level ritual ispulsory and takes immediate effect¡­ With so many mirrors, it serves as encryption for the true destination. In reality, only one mirror is actually effective.¡±

    Forced teleportation?

    Isn¡¯t this a war strategy?

    Or are they nning to teleport me directly into their encirclement?

    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Mr. Ray¡¯s advanced ritual?¡± Annan noticed another detail, ¡°If I remember correctly, Mr. Ray¡¯s ritual should have a strong purifying effect, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zoya replied, ¡°Mr. Ray¡¯s advanced ritual can only be initiated by healthy and energetic men. There is no doubt that a corpse parasitized by the Worm Ritual cannot summon Mr. Ray¡¯s power.¡±

    Although Mr. Ray always presented Himself as a bright and warm young man with a radiant smile in front of Annan, it was said that He had a rather violent temper ¡ª He was demanding cleanliness and was exceptionally harsh on believers who failed to meet his standards.

    It would be fine if it was the original Viscount Ostoff Dolgoruky.

    There was a scar on his face that was so deep that it was visible to the bone¡­ This was the mark left on his body after he narrowly escaped death, and it was also proof that he had defeated death. The tenacious warrior¡¯s will was favored by Red Knight, Mr. Ray, and Father Flint.

    If the real Viscount Ostoff Dolgoruky performed this ritual, there would probably be no problem.

    After he was parasitized by the worm, he was no longer worthy.

    If he dared to summon Mr. Ray after being parasitized by the worm, Mr. Ray would burn him to a crisp with a burst of holy light.

    These are ordinary candles lit with cursed grease. Judging by the rate of burning, they were lit about half an hour ago. At most, it wouldn¡¯t have been more than an hour.¡±

    ¡°Viscount Dolgoruky wouldn¡¯t be able to perform this ritual, and he has been with us all the time, so¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªSo, the person who arranged the ritual hasn¡¯t gone far yet.¡±

    Annan concluded.

    Zorgen¡¯s strategy was valid. In the absence of certainty about the specificposition of the ritual, destroying the ritual site indeed carried the risk of alerting the ritualist.

    Since this ritualist could enter the viscount¡¯s study to arrange this teleportation ritual while they were eating, then there was a high probability that he did not sneak into the viscount¡¯s residence, but was originally hidden there!

    Then it was highly likely that he hadn¡¯t gone far, and he might even have still been within the viscount¡¯s residence!

    ¡°Zoya¡ª¡± Annan said softly, ¡°Do it.¡±

    Zoya narrowed her eyes.

    She showed a confident smile, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t run far away, he will never be able to hide from me.¡±

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 Chapter 730: An Eye For An Eye

    <h4>Chapter 730: An Eye For An Eye</h4>

    The crystal ring on Zoya¡¯s left ring finger, which continuously exuded cold air, suddenly shone brightly.

    The dark blue curse mark, which was simr to her hair color, spread quickly from the ring. It emerged on the back of her hand, forming curse patterns like a spell.

    Her pupils gradually brightened, sparkling like starlight in the blink of an eye ¡ª a gxy-like brilliance flowed in her eyes.

    She took out a rune-engraved chip made of talisman from her arms, cut open the ring finger of her left hand, and squeezed the blood into her left eye.

    The next moment, the brilliance of her left eye suddenly went out and became pitch ck, even losing its highlightpletely.

    Annan¡¯s nose twitched.

    He smelled something familiar¡­

    That chip seemed to be made of centaur¡¯s finger bones.

    It had a special smell unique to centaur.

    ¡ªThe spells that need to be cast using centaur finger bones could only be high-level Prophet Spells.

    ¡°I will be overthrown by wine!¡± She eximed, spreading her arms as if to embrace someone and tilting her head back to loudly recite, ¡°For the prophet too was overthrown by wine, misinterpreted revtions, and erred in judgment¡ª¡±

    Hearing this chant, Annan knew what spell Zoya was going to use.

    It was a high-level Idol Spell called [Urgent Intoxication], which was simr to the divine art of the same name in ¡°the Valley Wolf¡±.

    It could, by temporarily sacrificing its ability to foresee the future, convert this into an insight into ¡°the present.¡±

    ¡°I drank blood due to my thirst for wine, I harmed myself due to my thirst for blood, and thus I was intoxicated before even drinking¡ª¡±

    As Zoya finished her chant, her originally gxy-like brilliant right eye also became dull andckluster, and a faint smell of alcohol began to emanate from her body.

    The next moment, she slowly brought her hands together in front of her. It was a slow and extremely strenuous motion, as if each hand was weighed down by an invisible heavy object.

    But the moment her two fingertips came together, a pyramid was formed in front of her.

    A deep blue halo, like ripples on water, invisibly spread out from her as the center.

    The light curtain spread rapidly. As it passed each person, they each heard a light ¡°pop¡± sound in their ears¡­ It was like the sound made when lifting a finger off the surface of water, only much louder and clearer.

    This spell, used for wide-area scanning, even continued to spread beyond the viscount¡¯s mansion, extending to a radius of three kilometers around the area.

    ¡°I found him!¡± Zoya called out urgently.

    Immediately after, she quickly reached out and pressed her hand against the wall.

    The ice seeping out instantly formed a smooth mirror on the wall.

    Zorgen skillfully picked up a candle from the ground and handed it to Zoya.

    Zoya held the candle with her right hand and pointed at the mirror.

    With an authoritative voice, shemanded, ¡°¡ª[Reveal] yourself here at once!¡±

    The next moment, the figure of a middle-aged man appeared in the mirror.

    On the other end, the man who was trotting down the mountain saw a thin curtain of ice suddenly appear in front of him, with a look of panic in his eyes.

    But before he could react ¡ª managing only to shield his face with his hands, he crashed through the ice curtain.

    Before he could even wonder why the ice curtain hadn¡¯t harmed him, he stumbled out of the ice mirror on the wall, shattering itpletely.

    The Edict School was proficient in spatial abilities, but targeted teleportation was a challenging feat.

    It was a highly difficult spell that could only be mastered by those who studied both the Edict School and Idol School, [Mirror Manifestation].

    Using a mirror and light as mediums, this spell allowed the caster to draw out a person they saw from within the mirror. If the person on the other side crashed the mirror that appeared in front of them, they would cross the spatial gap and step out directly from the mirror.

    Since wizards typically had rtively fragile physiques, poor reflexes and defensive capabilities, this spell was generally used for ¡°rescue¡± purposes¡­ to instantly pull frontline teammates to a safe location.

    With proper coordination with teammates, the spell could also teleport enemies from nearby directly in front of them ¨C as long as the enemies entered the ¡°mirror¡±.

    For example, using this spell when the enemies were falling was a guaranteed hit.

    Longjing Tea worked hard to learn this spell too.

    However, his train of thought was different from these aboriginal wizards.

    His idea was to set up arge amount of ck Fire, Suuankou¡¯s magic, or other high-risk explosives in the secret room ¡ª such as tying a Destruction Wizard and locking it inside. Then, use this spell to first summon the enemy¡¯s mirror image and quickly close the pathway before making a hasty escape.

    And then, he had another yer teammate from a different battlefield assist by pushing the enemy into that mirror¡­

    The mist of deathbined with teleportation is the ultimate strategy. Don¡¯t y the game if you don¡¯t like it.jpg

    Looking at the man who appeared utterly baffled after being teleported, Annan put on a faint smile.

    The ritualist who attempted to teleport Annan into a hostile crowd was instead teleported back to his own ritual setup by Annan¡¯s people using his own ritual materials, and indeed found himself among the hostile crowd¡­

    ¡­Is this what they call ¡°an eye for an eye¡±?

    The moment the middle-aged man stumbled and fell out of the ice mirror on the wall into the study, he recognized his surroundings.

    He didn¡¯t even pay attention to the ice shards on the ground, immediately dropping to his knees¡­ and even slid a short distance forward due to the inertia.

    He shouted without hesitation, ¡°¡ªWait, wait! Don¡¯t kill me! I surrender! Spare my life!¡±

    However, Zorgen showed no mercy.

    A slender shadow hand emerged from the man¡¯s own shadow in front of him, gripping his own throat tightly. The momentum even caused his knees to lift slightly off the ground.

    However, Zorgen did not exert his full force yet.

    The shadow hand, powerful enough to crush the man¡¯s head, only left him with a face flushed red. The victim could barely manage to speak, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t kill me¡­¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zorgen stared at him with emotionless silver-gray eyes and asked in a low voice.

    The shadow hand loosened slightly, cing him back on the ground. He slid to his knees again, his bloody kneesnding on the ice shards, causing him to involuntarily cry out in pain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not on the same side as them, I¡¯m hired¡­ No, no! I¡¯m being threatened! I have their information¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me if I kill you and then search through your brain.¡± Zorgen whispered, ¡°There is a Soul Snatch Wizard among us¡­ A wild dog that ys with rituals.¡±

    ¡ªI didn¡¯t expect that you, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also lie.

    Annan thought calmly.

    He did know a Soul Snatch Wizard, but he didn¡¯t bring him along this time.

    This time he brought Brother Koutsu, a Destruction Wizard who would not die in explosions, and Child the Breacher, but he did not bring a Soul Snatch Wizard.

    After all, Annan initially thought that it would be a fight once he arrived here ¡ª the kind where after the banter, he would be ready to fight under the siege of the army.

    He even brought the Elven Skin Glove.

    Unexpectedly, the opponent did have bad intentions, but his methods were much better than he imagined¡­ The ssic method of sending personal soldiers to encircle and suppress the Grand Duke was useless.

    However, what the ritualist said next made Annan stunned for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m on your side, Your Majesty! I¡¯m on your side ¡ª I was sent here by His Excellency Crow to Austere-Winter!¡±

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 Chapter 731: I Shall Name You: Russell

    <h4>Chapter 731: I Shall Name You: Russell</h4>

    ¡°Which Crow are you talking about?¡± Annan asked seriously in the living room of the viscount¡¯s residence, after the other person had changed back into their clothes and bandaged their knees and shins.

    After Zoya¡¯s examination, it was no surprise that the viscount¡¯s wife and children had also been bitten by the worm¡ªthey all had the mark of the worm¡¯s ring on their chests, likely spread personally by the viscount who had been bitten himself.

    Considering their potential usefulnesster, the two were captured and tossed into a corner after Citalopram paralyzed their sight, hearing, and mobility. The servants of the viscount¡¯s residence were checked as well, revealing that nearly half had been quietly reced.

    After receiving Annan¡¯s permission, those servants were killed by the yers¡ªall who didn¡¯t bear the worm¡¯s ring on their chests. The remaining servants without the mark were confined in several rooms. As for whether they would be executed, imprisoned, exiled, or used as witnesses to the viscount¡¯s treason to redeem themselves, that would depend on the interrogation by the professionals to follow.

    As for the man before them now¡ªhe needed to be interrogated immediately.

    Fortunately, it seemed that the man had no will to resist.

    ¡°Count Geraint, of course.¡±

    Despite iming to serve a foreign intelligence agency, the man spoke without any hint of evasion.

    ¡°Are you under the Three-eyed Crow?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just employed by Count Geraint¡ªmy name is Jacob, Your Majesty. People call me ¡®the Master Key¡¯, and some respectfully refer to me as ¡®the Lockpicker¡¯.¡±

    The middle-aged man with short yellow hair like withered grass said in a ttering manner.

    To prevent him from doing anything bad, he was restrained by Zoya using a simple method. The temporary approach to restrain a ritualist was straightforward: just by forcing their hands together and making them wear a glove designed for only one hand.

    If the fingers couldn¡¯t move and the palms couldn¡¯t be separated, most rituals becamepletely unusable. A more borate method would involve putting on iron gloves and shackles, but for a ritualist who voluntarily epted restraint, a single glove was sufficient.

    What made Zoya unhappy was that it was Annan¡¯s gloves.

    ¡°Sounds like a thief.¡± Zoya crossed her arms and blurted abruptly.

    Whether it was attempting to attack Annan, assisting the Northern Brotherhood, or acting as a spy sent by the Three-eyed Crow, or sullying Annan¡¯s gloves with that filthy body, she harbored no good feelings towards this seemingly frivolous man.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m a thief, my lord.¡± However, Jacob had no fear of Zoya¡¯s cold gaze, nor did he refute her contemptuous remarks.

    He said yfully, ¡°The rituals I excel in are sneaking in and transporting things. It¡¯s not just about getting in, the key is being able to carry things out. I once spent a night in the United Kingdom and left a minor noble¡¯s house with nothing but walls.¡±

    To be left with nothing but bare walls¡­

    ¡°Tell me the important point.¡± Annan said calmly.

    ¡°Ah, in short¡­ I was sent to Austere-Winter by His Excellency Crow five years ago. The purpose was to join the Northern Brotherhood, an extremist organization, and serve them.¡±

    Jacob added, ¡°But since the end ofst year, I received a mission ¡ª if they attempt any harm against His Majesty Annan, I am to intervene in their actions and secretly protect His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°I swear to Old Grandmother, I would never harm His Majesty Annan¡­ That incredibly chaotic teleportation array? Although it might make His Majesty Annan dizzy for a while, it¡¯s absolutely safe!¡±

    The man, with hair as disheveled as dry grass, hastily exined, ¡°I will teleport all those captured to separate ces at certain intervals ¡ª but not to the location they specify. Instead, I¡¯ll send them to safe houses that I¡¯ve arranged in advance.¡±

    ¡°I arranged the mirrors in such a disarray? It¡¯s not to prevent you from tracking me! Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t I just set the mirrors to shatter automatically after the ritual? I arranged them chaotically precisely to obscure the location of the final mirror¡­¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Annan nodded and said calmly, ¡°However, I still hope to talk to Count Geraint to confirm your statement.¡±

    ¡°¡­I can¡¯tmunicate with Count Gent. Our contact is one-way; he can only initiate tasks for me.¡± Jacob shrugged, ¡°But if you have something to say, just speak up, okay?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My pupils are engraved with [Crow¡¯s Eyes]. Everything I see is observed by the ¡®Three-eyed Crow¡¯ ¡ª the Three-eyed Crow in charge of me is proficient in lip reading, so anything you want to say will be reported to Lord Crow.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Zoya¡¯s expression darkened further, with evident murderous intent spilling from her eyes.

    Had it not been for Annan seeming not to want to kill him at the moment, this statement alone would have been enough to sentence him to death.

    That was because he had already seen Zoya¡¯s face¡­ half of Zorgen¡¯s face, to be precise.

    The identity of the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± wasn¡¯t a particrly crucial secret. Exposing Zoya and Zorgen as the Ring and Pinky Fingers respectively wouldn¡¯t have a significant impact, since they held positions that seldom appeared in public. Their identities had not yet been revealed by the intelligence departments of other countries.

    And now, because of this man, their identities were exposed for no reason ¡ª Zoya even harbored thoughts of killing him.

    On the other hand, Three-eyed Crow was indeed an intelligence agency with Old Crow leading it ¡ª Count Geraint¡¯s wisdom was indeed well-deserved.

    This was where the Crows really had the upper hand.

    The middle-aged man had hay-colored hair and light green eyes, giving off an unkempt appearance. He revealed a smile missing half a tooth, not particrly pleasant to look at. He said with a smile, ¡°However, I do have another matter that can prove my innocence.¡±

    ¡°Tell me.¡±

    ¡°The Frost Beast recognizes me,¡± Jacob stated firmly. ¡°Because I was the one who brought her here ¡ª since I couldn¡¯t possibly teleport His Majesty Annan to their designated location, I can¡¯t go back this time.¡±

    ¡°And I knew that Prince Dmitri was looking for her. The Northern Brotherhood had captured her not long ago¡­ After I found out, I stole her from her cage and released her on the mountainside. You can ask her directly.¡±

    ¡°Is what that man said true?¡± Annan took the white cub out of his arms and asked softly.

    The milky-white young fox-dog nodded obediently.

    Is that why this child appears in a ce like this halfway up the mountain?

    ¡°That¡¯s a good reason.¡± Annan¡¯s expression softened a little.

    The first humanoid Frost Beast in history was of great significance to the Northern Brotherhood. A Frost Beast with intelligence and the ability to speak meant it could be domesticated ¡ª controlled without the need for a Winter Heart. Being female implied the potential for reproduction.

    Annan suddenly realized.

    ¡­But, this is no good.

    She couldn¡¯t be handed over to my foolish brother¡­ Given Dmitri¡¯s animosity and hatred towards werewolves, he might just raise her and then take her for breeding purposes.

    Annan had a feeling that Dmitri mightmit this deed.

    ¡­Let¡¯s keep it here with me for now.

    For some reason, Annan felt a special kinship towards her, far more than with any other Frost Beast.

    ¡°I have to give you a name, little one.¡±

    Annan thought for a moment.

    Then, he suddenly smiled.

    Annan thought of a good name.

    In the ¡°Faceless Deity Studio¡± where he worked during his lifetime, there was a colleague who had a good rtionship with Annan. He was also Annan¡¯s roommate and Annan¡¯s college roommate¡­ Unlike Annan, he was a real ¡°cute boy¡±.

    They said the rtionship between roommates was that of father and son.

    In my previous life, I couldn¡¯t be your father, so in this life, you¡¯ll be my daughter.

    ¡°¡ª You shall be called Russell.¡± Annan said with a smile full of paternal love, tinged with a hint of malice.

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 Chapter 732: Lockpicker Jacob

    <h4>Chapter 732: Lockpicker Jacob</h4>

    Annan could roughly confirm that Jacob and the Northern Brotherhood were indeed not on the same side.

    If Jacob had ill intentions toward the Annan regime, all he needed to do was to kidnap and sell Russell. This would not only yield immense profit but also inflict catastrophic damage on the governance of the Austere-Winter Family ¡ª and even the tradition of the Austere-Winter Dukedom that had been inherited to this day.

    Russell was currently the only variant of the Frost Beast that had advanced intelligence and couldmunicate through speech.

    Her existence held irreceable significance for the Northern Brotherhood, as well as for other rebellious nobles, or any organization or individual contemting a rebellion.

    Being able to speak and understand speech signified the ability tomunicate ¡ª which meant the ability to intimidate, seduce, brainwash, and negotiate. It also implied the potential to be controlled.

    If Maria were to handle this matter, she would probably kill Russell immediately to eliminate this ¡°possibility¡±.

    Among the three Austere-Winters of this generation, she was the most decisive and ruthless in handling affairs ¡ª she was the one closest to being a ¡°king¡±. If it weren¡¯t necessary for someone to inherit the Storm Tower, perhaps Duke Ivan might have even considered entrusting the three-color scepter to her.

    She possessed the ability to perceive the essence of matters and ruthlessly resolved the most fundamental issues¡­ This was a talent simr to Annan¡¯s, only shecked some patience and was less tolerant.

    Although Maria had the personal ability to control Russell and the authority to keep her subordinates in check, being able to do something didn¡¯t mean she would do it. In her family, upying a position that bridged generations, she needed to both assist her elder brother and take care of the young Annan.

    Feeling the pressure of an unreliable elder brother and a younger brother who disyed exceptional talents from a young age, Maria developed a habit of acting with caution.

    She would never expose any vulnerability.

    Even if there were just a slight possibility of undermining the rule, tradition, and authority, she wouldn¡¯t allow such a crisis to persist¡­ Once this young creature was persuaded, kidnapped, or fled on its own, or even if its blood was stolen, the Austere-Winter family was destined to face turmoil.

    If she couldn¡¯t solve the problem, she would get rid of the source: the person who raised the problem. If Maria became the Grand Duke, she would be the ruler capable of making such decisions immediately.

    If it were up to Dmitri to handle this matter, Annan was certain that he would be hesitant.

    He neither had the brutalness to deal with Russell, nor the ability to keep Russell under his control ¡ª from a very young age, he was not adept at refusing others.

    He was a kind, gentle, and not-so-smart person¡­ Had it not been for the incident with his ex-girlfriend, he probably wouldn¡¯t even have thought of using or harming Russell, the young Frost Beast cub.

    Only Annan could have transformed Russell into his use.

    Only when she was with Annan was there a possibility for her to have a name of her own.

    The name [Russell] was the possibility that belonged only to Annan.

    ¡°Woo¡ªow¡ª¡°

    Knowing that he had a name, the milky-white little fox-dog raised its neck and howled excitedly like a young wolf.

    This kid is not much cuter than Doreen¡­

    Annan, with a smile, once again lifted her up with one hand and tucked her back into his clothes.

    ¡°So, Jacob.¡± Annan, with his head lowered and not looking at Jacob, casually said, ¡°I hope you understand that you have only proven that you are not one of them.¡±

    ¡°Are you truly a Noah? Did you actually receive Count Geraint¡¯s well-intentioned order? Are you hiding the mission itself? Or even, are you [Jacob]?¡±

    ¡°All these questions will not simply vanish after confirming that you are temporarily not my enemy.¡±

    ¡°Then, what should I do?¡±

    The man with hair like withered grass spread his hands helplessly, ¡°I have said everything I should and shouldn¡¯t. I have also presented all the evidence avable to me.¡±

    ¡°Just follow along. ¡± Annan raised an eyebrow, ¡°What do people call you again? [Lockpicker]? Are you good at that?¡±

    ¡°If you need my assistance, I can give it a try.¡± Jacob shrugged, ¡°Whether it¡¯s making holes in a person or the walls ¡ª I¡¯m equally good at it.¡±

    Before three Silver Rank transcenders, the two ¡°Ten Fingers¡±, and Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke holding a three-color scepter, he, as a pure mortal, did not panic at all.

    ¡°Could you hear my suggestion, Your Majesty? I can use ritual to establish a curse ¡ª you decide the content of it.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Annan nodded and said without hesitation, ¡°Then, you shall swear on this: [I and any individuals or forces affiliated with me will never be enemies with Annan Austere-Winter, his immediate family members, and subordinates from now on, nor will we do anything that directly or indirectly harms the interests of Annan Austere-Winter and his immediate family].¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, are you awyer? This is the longest curse I have ever heard in my life.¡±

    Jacob was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t remember it. Could you write it down for me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky that the curse cannot be too long.¡± Annan raised an eyebrow, ¡°Otherwise, I will definitely write you a thick contract. For people like you, it will never be a waste of effort to be more cautious.¡±

    After Jacob established the curse, the curse turned into a rune. Like a bracelet, it was branded on his right forearm.

    After all, Jacob did not own a curse vessel, nor did he have a condensed soul. Even if he uses ritual to bypass the ¡°no soul¡± condition, if he wanted to use the curse, he could only use his own body to bear the curse.

    ¡ªIn this case, breaking any slight part of the curse would result in his death. Moreover, bearing the curse already damaged his body and shortened his life span.

    ¡°It seems there¡¯s no way for me to return to the Noah Kingdom.¡±

    Jacob rubbed his wrist.

    When the curse was branded on the skin, it gave off the scorching sensation of branding an iron mold on the skin.

    Even though the skin wasn¡¯t burned, so there wasn¡¯t any ongoing scalding pain, that momentary sensation still gave him a lingering sting in his wrist.

    He grinned and said, ¡°If the count sees me establishing such a curse, he will probably kill me.¡±

    The intelligence agents sent to other countries eventually turned into traitors, serving the foreign leaders loyally instead.

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± Annan chuckled softly, reassuring, ¡°I have a good rtionship with Her Royal Highness Kafni. When Kafni seeds to the throne, perhaps we could form an alliance.¡±

    ¡°Even if we form an alliance, Lord Crow will definitely not let me return.¡± Jacob muttered.

    He looked at Annan and said with a wry smile, ¡°Your Majesty, you see¡ªI¡¯m just a homeless stray dog. So, in terms of treatment¡­¡±

    ¡°What Austere-Winter can give you is certainly not as good as Noah¡¯s.¡± Annan said leisurely, ¡°But what I can provide you is more than Count Geraint.¡±

    After he said that, he motioned to Zoya to take off his gloves.

    ¡°I will get you treated, then give you half an hour to rest and have a meal. After that, we¡¯ll need you to show us the way.¡± Annan narrowed his eyes, ¡°Since you¡¯ve been here for a while¡­ you must surely know something about the Northern Brotherhood.¡±

    ¡°Arrange a ritual and teleport us to a safe and concealed location behind those rebels.¡±

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 Chapter 733: Madmenâ€™s Journey

    <h4>Chapter 733: Madmen¡¯s Journey</h4>

    After being freed from restraints and treated for wounds, Jacob just sat there, looking at Annan with some confusion.

    ¡°Do you trust me so much? I even arranged a ritual against you before¡­ I had just surrendered to you not long ago¡­¡±

    It hasn¡¯t been a minute yet.

    The middle-aged man with hair the color of dry grass opened his mouth, as if about to speak, but then hesitated.

    ¡ªYou have misunderstood. It¡¯s actually because you don¡¯t understand how strong I am.

    Annan thought silently in his mind.

    Even if Jacob really teleported them to the enemy¡¯s encirclement, Zorgen would start killing them and Suuankou would start bombing everywhere.

    Only in ces where there was no need to worry about friendly fire or harming innocent civilians, would the Destruction Wizard¡¯s DPS be exceptionally high.

    Suppose the party was in danger.

    Annan could have simply ced a teleportation waypoint right there, then offered free teleportation and unlimited revives, and proceeded to write the main storyline¡¯s script right on the spot¡­

    Oh no, terming it as the main mission is not enough.

    If I want to urgently summon the yers as bodyguards, I should initiate a limited-time event with guaranteed reward points for killing the targets and set respawn mode to off. Then, I will put up a limited-time point shop that offers invitation codes, free teleportation privileges, and limited-time unlimited resurrection privileges.

    For the yers to establish a teleportation waypoint, three people were required to tackle a nightmare that might span for a week. However, that was actually a restriction Annan imposed on the yers. The purpose was to encourage not to forget leveling up, while simultaneously purifying the local nightmares as a good deed and earning some reputation.

    He could set up teleportation waypoints as easily as reviving yers, without any restrictions.

    The requirement that teleportation consumed experience was an additional rule set by Annan. The purpose was to limit the high-frequency movements of yers¡­ thereby controlling them to stay in a specific area for an extended period and integrate them into the localmunity.

    If Annan had truly granted unlimited teleportation and resurrection priviledges and even encouraged them to kill, the yers would have be the fourth disaster, sweeping fearlessly across thend like locusts. In this world, the dead did not respawn¡­ If the yers had truly gone mad, even just six hundred of them would have been enough to tten the entire world.

    When locusts were solitary, they were gentle, adorable, and even edible. But when the density of locusts became too high and they turned into social creatures, then they became destroyers.

    In a sense, the same goes for the yers.

    Annan had confirmed it many times¡­ This world should be grateful that it was Annan, the nner, who mastered the Book of Divine Transporter, rather than some world-destroying archdemon whopletely misunderstood the yers.

    Without proper guidance on the yers, a four-page Book of Divine Transporter was enough to assemble a demon army that would take the joint efforts of the entire world to stop them.

    Annan was naturally the yer¡¯s supporter.

    But in reality ¡ª yers were also backing Annan up.

    From this perspective, Annan effectively restrained the power from the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡±. However, he didn¡¯t use ritual or curse to limit it¡­ but rather through his will and conscience.

    Allowing the yers to run rampant in this world would, of course, reward rapid resource collection and their swift growth.

    However, this meant that many innocent people would die, and the world would plunge into chaos.

    Ganging up to attack wizard towers, teaming up to assassinate transcend being without any grudges, assaulting high-ranking hunters guarding national borders, engaging in illegal smuggling and even going on a rampage when caught, deliberately plundering viges to attract the regr army, attacking ordinary people or destroying buildings to test their skills, infiltrate properties to plunder, robbing merchants or damaging railways, grave robbing to steal the wealth of the deceased ¡ª these were all conceivable scenarios of a ¡®certain future¡¯.

    Just like it was impossible to expect yers to obey traffic rules in the game.

    However, Annan utilized [affection rating] and [teleportation and death cost experience and levels] to restrain the yers, leading them to gradually integrate into this world¡­ and ultimately decide to embark on a path of glory and nobility.

    Annan wouldn¡¯t identify him as a kind person just because of that.

    However, he refused to be a despicable person either.

    yersmitting evil deeds without any concerns was not their fault. Since they were not originally from this world, and the mechanics allowed them to do so¡­ they were just role-ying. At most, it was a sin of ¡®ruining the gaming experience of others¡¯.

    Yet, Annan held the ability and authority to guide the yers. He had the means to reverse this possibility ¡ª if he was aware of it but chose not to act, then that would be Annan¡¯s sin

    Just like ¡°herding wolves¡±.

    yers¡­ or rather, these souls summoned from the other side of the dream world by the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡±, these visitors from other worlds given simted bodies by the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡± were Annan¡¯s herd.

    Certainly, Jacob wasn¡¯t aware of this at all.

    He didn¡¯t know about the Book of Truth, let alone how scary the yers were.

    In his opinion, Annan was merely a Young Duke who dared to enter the enemy¡¯sir with ¡°only five¡± subordinates.

    On this basis, he also began to worry about Annan¡¯s safety.

    ¡°How about I send you their address? Your Majesty, you could first dispatch troops to station there, then go in for interrogation.¡±

    ¡°¡ªThen, if we have their specific locations.¡± Annan turned to Zorgen and asked, ¡°Can the Frost Beast army defeat them?¡±

    ¡°There is no problem.¡± Zorgen replied in a low voice, ¡°Paying a certain price is eptable¡­ The power of the Frost Beasts cannot be resisted, but the soldiers controlling the Frost Beasts will suffer casualties.¡±

    ¡°If they haven¡¯t hidden any traps or special weapons, with mymand, the casualties should be able to be kept below 300 ¡ª of which over 280 will be human soldiers¡­ The war will end within two weeks.¡±

    What he meant was that the loss would only amount to 20 Frost Beasts.

    It was a negligible price to pay.

    Those who joined the Frost Beast troops were mostly serious criminals. They were merely expendable. Only a very few young people would risk their lives to join the Frost Beast troops ande into contact with Frost Beasts.

    ¡­But that¡¯s too slow.

    Two weeks¡¯ worth of time¡­

    If the other party wants to destroy or trigger something, we won¡¯t make it in time.

    ¡°Let us first create an opening from the inside.¡± Annan said calmly. ¡°The capable should bear more responsibility ¡ª I am not like my father. Don¡¯t underestimate my fighting capability.¡±

    ¡°They should not have died here. At least not in a battle against their own kin¡­ The Northern Brotherhood engaged in forbidden research, colluded with the corrupt, and studied Frost Beasts, viting multiple taboos. However, until they truly raised the banner of rebellion¡­ their armies, their staff, and their guards were still my subjects.¡±

    ¡°Thus, at least I should kill them myself.¡±

    Let me take responsibility alone for this crime.

    Annan said solemnly.

    ¡­Bearing this responsibility personally?

    Jacob¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    Such bravery and magnanimity stirred Jacob¡¯s heart profoundly.

    He finally realized¡­

    Annan was a ruler of apletely different type than the astute and politically savvy Ivan.

    He also gave up advising against Annan.

    He captured the unwavering determination in Annan¡¯s eyes.

    Is this reckless bravery without strategy, or the courage to lead from the front? Let my own eyes be the judge.

    Jacob thought so. He smiled sincerely.

    ¡°Is there any wine, Your Majesty?¡±

    He straightened up and asked softly.

    ¡°¡ªWe have Blood Thorn Wine.¡± Zoya answered, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a specialty of the Frangell Province? You can¡¯t buy it elsewhere.¡±

    There was a hint of hostility in her words.

    Blood Thorns Wine was indeed a specialty of Frangell Province and could not be purchased elsewhere. However, that was not because it was in short supply¡­ Instead, it was because it tasted awful.

    That was because the blood thorn wasn¡¯t a fruit but an herb that could make the heart beat faster.

    Thest time Annan heard about blood thorns was ¡°Blood Impulse Decoction¡± sent by Salvatore.

    This was a decoction made from blood thorns as the main ingredient, mixed with the two cursed materials ¡°berserker¡¯s blood¡± and ¡°mad bull¡¯s blood¡±. It was boiled in an iron pot for five hours under the influence of the Alteration Magic.

    It could temporarily boost one¡¯s strength and trigger bloodlust. However, if not used skillfully, it coulde with some side effects ¡ª such as loss of reason, high blood pressure, or liver damage.

    The blood thorn wine was also harmful to the liver and unpleasant to drink.

    It was extremely sour, tasting like unripe kiwi. After drinking it, the body briefly became stronger¡­ If described in terms of attributes, it would be at a level of [Strength +0.5].

    But the difort in the stomach and dizziness that it brought after drinking couldn¡¯t bepensated for by that 0.5-point strength boost. It was more of a substitute for strong liquor among the hardy people in the regions facing food scarcity.

    ¡°Well, this will do.¡± Jacob took the bottle from Zoya without hesitation.

    He didn¡¯t pick up a ss but instead lifted the bottle and guzzled it down ¡ª the wine flowed down his chin, soaking his chest.

    It was a gulp that couldn¡¯t taste anything, like swallowing a bitter broth in one go.

    It was less about savoring the wine and more about bolstering himself, just seeking that hint of drunkenness.

    Regardless of the oue, he thought, this mission would undoubtedly leave its mark in history.

    With only five guards by his side and a young Grand Duke who was just 15 years old, he had epted the loyalty of the foreign spy who had just attempted to assassinate him. He was willing to let the spy transport him deep into the territory of the hostile noble who wanted him dead.

    There was no Gold Rank transcender to escort him, nor was there a cardinal bishop. No Soul Snatch Magic was cast on Jacob to rob away his will either.

    However, everything was based on the reason that he didn¡¯t want the criminals in the Frost Beast army to kill each other with his own people.

    ¡­What an arrogant and foolish ruler.

    Jacob took this as a ceremony. He first drank to the Drinking Deity and the Valley Wolf. If they were to fail, then all of this would be offered to the other side of the Valley Wolf ¡ª Tragedy Writer.

    This was what a drunkard would do!

    Jacob raised his head and the potent wine poured into his throat ¡ª making his heart race.

    He drank a bottle of blood thorn wine in one gulp.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Jacob whispered firmly.

    A hazy thought came to his mind.

    Ah, even after so long¡­

    I still feel ufortable drinking Austere-Winter wine.

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 Chapter 734: Luminous Oil

    <h4>Chapter 734: Luminous Oil</h4>

    A mirror spawned in the sewers of the Frostwind Territory, Lahti Province.

    It looked like a wealthydy¡¯s vanity mirror.

    It had a design resembling a folding fan¡­ Its lower end was a slender wooden handle, much cleaner than the surroundings. It seemed like it was originally meant to be inserted somewhere but had been taken out separately.

    If someone visited this ce, they would immediately notice the incongruence here.

    In this sewer full of filth, that mirror was as clean as new.

    Without warning, light burst out from the mirror.

    Like an uncoiling fishing slowly unfurling from underwater.

    A brilliant golden, interwoven light burst forth from the mirror, casting itself onto the ritual formation inscribed overhead.

    As the brilliant golden light swept across the ritual formation overhead in a rhythmic pattern, the formation activated in sequence. A dazzling rainbow-colored radiance descended from above, flooding the underground sewer with an instant burst of light.

    The next moment, seven people emerged from the light.

    They arrived at Frostwind Territory with perfect precision.

    It was the sole county in the Northern Territories¡ªhome to Count Yuri Frostwind.

    If there was one and only drawback, they didn¡¯t reach the ¡°safe house¡± but instead entered the sewer system.

    When Zoya heard they were about to infiltrate through the sewer, Zoya almost hit Jacob ¡ª how could the Grand Duke be brought into the sewer?

    Of course, Jacob remained righteous and confident.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t a local native, so it was very difficult to find a truly trustworthy safehouse. Putting him in a remote ce carried the risk of being discovered while cing him in someone¡¯s home also had the possibility of betrayal.

    In other words, sewers were the safest.

    Spacious, solid, essible, and no one woulde in.

    There was the smell but it could be removed through rituals.

    In the end, Annan stopped Zoya and decided that they would sneak in through the sewer¡­

    There was no need for respectability or anything like that.

    Practicality was more important.

    ¡°¡­To perform the interdimensional propulsion teleportation ritual, one must undergo the ¡®lightpensation,¡¯monly known as the ¡®light infusion¡¯ supplementary ritual, adding a significant amount of enchanted light to the ritual. Types of light like ¡®dawn¡¯ or ¡®dusk glow¡¯ can be used, but if interdimensional teleportation is required, the necessary amount of light is almost impossible to collect during a single ¡®sunrise¡¯ or ¡®sunset¡¯.¡±

    ¡°On this basis, the more objects, the heavier the weight and therger the volume, the more ¡®extra light¡¯ is required.¡±

    Jacob¡¯s voice gradually became clearer in the light, ¡°Considering the weight and preservation, I couldn¡¯t possibly carry arge quantity of [light-concealing ice cubes] with me. So, I can only use the rtively more expensive and less preservable [luminous oil]¡­ Your Majesty may have heard of it. It is a vitalponent of the Alteration School¡¯s masterpiece, [Universal Solvent ¨C Azoth].¡±

    He carefully sealed the container, looking quite distressed.

    The container was roughly the size of a sauce jar, and it was t.

    It was just like a small round container typically for holding traditional cooling ointment.

    To transport all seven of them from the southwestern corner of the Frangell Province to the northeastern direction in the Lahti Province, they had consumed approximately one-third of its content.

    Annan didn¡¯t know the exact amount.

    He looked at Jacob, who had a pained expression on his face. He could only smile helplessly, ¡°I¡¯ll reimburse youter, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. I heard that His Excellency Salvatore is Your Majesty¡¯s friend. Why don¡¯t you just sell him this box of [luminous oil]? He will definitely need it in making Azoth.¡±

    Jacob made a strange request.

    However, it made sense after giving it careful thought.

    After all, for a ritualist, many things could be substituted with lower-grade alternatives, and even those lower-grade alternatives could be substituted further down the line¡­ it was like a scavenger in the dumpster, they could put together aputer for just a few hundred bucks.

    Getting them to buy top-of-the-line graphics cards with arge budget was unlikely because the motherboard couldn¡¯t handle it, and the power supply was inadequate.

    The same applied to ritualists. Once they used materials like [luminous oil] with intense magical properties, they couldn¡¯t opt for lower-grade materials for the rest of theponents. Although it would enhance the ritual¡¯s effect, they typically didn¡¯t need exceptionally good ritual effects¡­ After all, they only needed to use it once.

    After all, they were not followers using rituals of their own deities but rather ritualists who stole divine powers¡­ known as ¡°free believers¡±.

    True believers might choose better offerings out of faith, but ritualists would certainly consider cost-effectiveness. Having such high-quality materials in their hands, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to use them readily. They might even keep them until they expire.

    It would be better to sell it to the Alteration Wizards.

    ¡°Azoth¡± was the highest-level pre-transmutation agent for alchemists and could be used as a substitute for any material in advanced transmutations. It could be considered a universal synthetic material.

    The Alteration Wizards wouldn¡¯t be using Azoth until Silver Rank. There would be no strict demand for Azoth until they reach the Gold Rank.

    However, it seemed Salvatore was about to inherit Swamp¡¯s ck Tower.

    When Salvatore bes the tower master, he will truly attain the Gold Rank. Why not buy it and give it to Salvatore as a reunion gift? It would be both precious and practical, and the senior should appreciate it.

    ¡­Speaking of it.

    When I get to see Kafni again, what gift should I give her?

    Annan thought for a moment and ignored this question for now.

    ¡°After we return, you can sell the remaining portion to me, alright? I¡¯ll buy it at market price. Any other high-grade magical materials you¡¯re reluctant to use, you can also sell to me.¡±

    Annan nodded and said in a deep voice, ¡°Do you wish to buy cursed materials or mystic books? You can also go through the official purchase channels. I will ask Zoya to prepare a Winter¡¯s Hand reserve status for you.¡±

    Seeing as how useful Jacob is¡­

    Since it¡¯s a small problem that can be solved easily, I might as well help him out.

    He was the best among the ritualists that Annan knew when it came to teleportation rituals. He imed that he was also skilled in breaking barriers and delving into nightmares¡­ These were all abilities that woulde in handy asionally.

    Knowing that I am short of people, did Count Crow send me some talents?

    Uncle Crow, thank you.

    To be on the safe side, Annan ordered in a low voice.

    ¡°Zoya? Scan the area.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Zoya responded. A faint, clock-like illusion appeared in her eyes, tinted with a yellowish hue. Then, she brought both of her hands together in front of her, with her fingertips touching, creating a pyramid-shaped formation.

    The deep blue halo once again rippled outward, like water waves, spreading around.

    [Urgent Intoxication] was not chanted this time, so the range was much smaller, with a radius of only three hundred meters.

    However, this time she activated the Instant Spell [Prophet Vision]. For the next few minutes, whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the scene five seconds ahead ¨Cbined with the Guided Spell [Panoramic Perception], it ensured she wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard by anyone.

    Not long after Zoya cast [Panoramic Perception], she let out a soft exmation.

    She opened her eyes suddenly, and her expression became serious.

    ¡°Wait a moment, Your Majesty¡­ We need to move away immediately.¡±

    As she finished speaking, a crimson ray of light passed over them ¡ª as it passed Annan, it deflected away on its own.

    Only then did Zoya finish her sentence, ¡°A Prophet Wizard detected us.¡±

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 Chapter 735: Curse Energy

    <h4>Chapter 735: Curse Energy</h4>

    Hearing this, Jacob was stunned.

    [Panoramic Perception] under normal circumstances had a scanning radius not exceeding 500 meters. To exceed this limit, the caster had to utilize Idol Magic¡¯s amplification effect or consume a special reagent.

    So it was typically used for defensive counterattacks.

    To properly utilize the Prophet Spell: Panoramic Perception to scan, the caster had to have a rough idea of the approximate location in advance.

    In other words, someone must have told the Prophet Wizard that they would appear from around here.

    ¡°¡ªYour Majesty, it¡¯s not me!¡± He hurriedly defended, ¡°I remember that this is a safe ce¡­ How could it be¡­¡±

    ¡°I know it¡¯s not you.¡± Annan frowned and said in annoyance, ¡°Be quiet since you get us into trouble!¡±

    Annan had seen vividly that Jacob did not emit the red light that signified betrayal. It meant that it wasn¡¯t his intention.

    Therefore, there was only one possibility ¡ª he was taken advantage of.

    I see.

    Annan quickly realized something.

    Sure enough, there is a Wise in the north.

    They must have discovered the teleportation point set up by Jacob quite early, but they didn¡¯t alert anyone ¡ª they started to monitor the teleportation point immediately after the specified time as they failed to teleport Annan to the designated location.

    ¡°Break through the ground, we¡¯ll leave from here!¡± Annan immediately ordered the Wandering Child.

    ¡°Should I drill a hole straight up from here?¡± The Wandering Child asked, gripping the ring tightly, ¡°Or should it be at an angle?¡±

    ¡°Vertical is fine, faster.¡± Zorgen replied in a low voice, ¡°I can take you guys up.¡±

    He opened his silver-gray eyes and raised his head to look up at the dim sewer.

    At the same time, a small red ball was caught between the index and middle fingers of his right hand.

    As the Child spun the roulette in his hand, the ground above him melted and copsed ¡ª as if the ground was struck by the [Stone to Mud] magic of the Shaping School.

    The moss-covered bricks turned into something like crushed tofu dregs, pulverized by an invisible force, then gathered into a corner and dropped down. This was done to prevent the debris from falling on their heads.

    In just three seconds¡­ a faint light seeped in from the top.

    Then, Zorgen threw the red projectile above them.

    It prated that light with iparable precision.

    Then, it exploded!

    The moment the firelight red up, a distinct shadow appeared beneath each of the seven of them.

    The shadow hand took shape and manifested. It was different from Kafni¡¯s technique which required continuous maintenance of shadow existence. Seven shadow hands, withpletely different degrees of slenderness and ferociousness, poked out from everyone¡¯s shadow.

    These shadow hands grabbed the cors of their clothes from behind, and then rapidly spread upwards.

    The seven of them were thrown out through the sted hole.

    Zoya was the first to fly out from the hole.

    She closed her eyes tightly, with clock-like traces reflected in her eyes.

    The [Prophet Vision] state was still ongoing. When she closed her eyes, she could perceive five seconds into the future.

    Although unable to immediately deploy [Panoramic Perception] due to being in motion, it was already possible to determine that the area above was temporarily safe.

    Annan also came to the surface with his eyes closed.

    It wasn¡¯t a concern about being suddenly dazzled by the bright light. After Annan achieved 100% awakening in the [brilliance] element, he was no longer susceptible to harm from [light] in any form.

    Mainly Annan had Transcended Perception. He could ¡°perceive¡± obstacles around him without vision. After temporarily closing his eyes to block out his sight, the range of his perception would temporarily increase and be clearer.

    He could clearly perceive that at least no one gathered at the resurrection point above¡­

    ¡ªYou seem quite unprofessional, my friend.

    If I were guarding above, I would have ordered the yers to strike indiscriminately into it the moment I saw a hole appear.

    Blowing up sewers didn¡¯t sound respectable. It resembled blowing up toilets.

    Of course, it was also due to them having gotten out too quickly.

    Zoya detected the perception source immediately. She detected the other Prophet Wizard¡¯s [Panoramic Perception] five seconds in advance at the edge of her own [Panoramic Perception] before the opponent.

    The moment they were actually detected, they had already started digging upwards. It only took three seconds for the Wandering Child, the Breacher, to dig to the surface. In just over a second, Zorgen had sent the entire party vertically out of the sewer and onto the ground.

    The Prophet Wizard responsible for the perception task probably hadn¡¯t even finished reporting the situation at this moment.

    When Annan opened his eyes, he realized that something was wrong.

    There was neither an army nor therge wave of demons that was anticipated.

    They were right in the center of a huge barrier ¡ª arge square with a diameter of about 600 meters, from which everything inside had been cleared out.

    Two people were confined with them: a white-haired old man with a kind smile and wearing single-rimmed sses. Standing in front of him was a girl with blond hair and blue eyes.

    In the other three corners of the circr barrier, divided evenly at 90 degrees from him, stood a mature woman with ck hair and blue eyes, a middle-aged man with ck hair and blue eyes, and a bald, muscr man with dark skin and white pupils.

    These four people all exuded an unusually hollow aura of death, yet they brought a very clear sense of oppression to Annan. On their faces, they all wore kind smiles identical to that of the old man.

    They wore the same smile on Viscount Dolgoruky¡¯s face.

    These five people in the barrier had simr attire.

    They all carried a strange device on their backs ¡ª about the size of a backpack, with a transparent canister made of yellow crystal in the center. It was filled with a canister of golden gel. On the left side, there were three smaller bottles, each about the size of a Yakult drink [1].

    That was a pale white liquid so faint in color it was almost transparent. It continuously emitted a hazy, flickering glow, giving off a strange sense of ¡®breaking free¡¯.

    Annan found them quite familiar.

    On the right side of the device was a conduit. It extended from the main canister and covered the face like a respirator.

    ¡­What is that?

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯ve been waiting for a long time, Your Majesty.¡± The five people spoke at the same time.

    Their voices interwove. What they had inmon was that they had be muffled and indistinct due to wearing masks.

    It only took one nce to tell that this was the user of the Worm Ritual.

    That old man was Count Urie.

    ¡°I see.¡± Annan raised his eyebrows and calmly put the three-color scepter on the ground, ¡°You have never trusted Jacob from the beginning.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The five voices sounded at the same time, ¡°He can modify the ritual, and so do we.¡±

    ¡°No matter where he teleports you, he will eventually teleport you here.¡±

    ¡°This is impossible!¡± Jacob said without hesitation, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen my ritual disk at all¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite possible.¡± This time only the old man spoke.

    He opened his eyes and said calmly, ¡°Because of curse energy, anything is possible.¡±

    He didn¡¯t give any other exnation.

    He simply, without hesitation, pulled a rope on the left side of his body. The spring that was caught between the auxiliary tank and the main tank instantly snapped.

    The transparent liquid from the first tank was immediately immersed into the golden colloid. The moment it came into contact with that transparent liquid, the golden colloid began to boil vigorously, emitting a faint golden mist that flowed through the breathing tube and into the breathing mask.

    At that moment, Annan experienced an unmistakable sensation ¨C he felt his heart tremble for a moment.

    He recognized the source of the two cans.

    Because he, too, had been exposed to them.

    ¡ªThat was the sacred bone extract of the Heart of Justice,bined with the inert curse energy extracted from the curse shaft that had not yet been activated.

    Thank you for supporting our novels. Yourment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by essing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us! Click here to ess our support page.

 Chapter 736: Power Of Creation

    <h4>Chapter 736: Power Of Creation</h4>

    ¡ªCurse energy.

    The World¡¯s Blood, the iplete power of creation, the limited ¡®power of making wishese true¡¯, and the currency for exchanging all things.

    It undoubtedly possessed immense value. However, this did not mean that just by acquiring the power of the curse, one could immediately be a Great Sage, obtaining omnipotent and unrestrained transcended power.

    It was like discovering oil; one needed highlyplex technology to convert the oil into wealth. Simrly, finding nuclear material didn¡¯t mean they could use it as a weapon.

    Even if they built a curse shaft and obtained curse energy, it certainly did not mean that they could utilize the curse energy immediately.

    ¡ªSo, how exactly did the Northern Brotherhood n to capitalize on the curse energy?

    Annan was aware of this problem from the very beginning.

    However, Annanter realized that ¡°Satiated Gold¡± seemed to be just a metaphor.

    They didn¡¯t really intend to use curse energy to create nightmares.

    They definitelycked the technology to build a sophisticated curse energy disperser ¡ª a device the elves had developed after long research in the desert.

    In the city of elves, the ¡°street lights¡± on the ground that could automatically light up when filled with water were actually ¡°dispersers¡± that highly activated curse energy throughplex technology.

    It was a machine that activated inert curse energy, specializing it in different directions.

    They used it to create curse energy for consumables, to maintain residents¡¯ health, to process precision instruments, to create transcended equipment, and to massively produce buildings.

    The ¡°colors¡± of curse energy were different in the directionality of the specialized curse energy, so they were used in different machines.

    The magnificent curse energy civilization created by the elves was not a primitive creation, born from merely channeling curse energy and brute-forcing ideas.

    Even if the Northern Brotherhood seeded in building the curse shaft, how would they alter and activate the extracted inert curse energy?

    Now, Count Urie¡¯s actions finally exined Annan¡¯s doubts.

    For a moment, Annan thought of the bottle of [sacred bone extract (justice)] he found in Elven Ruins.

    It was the ¡°Dragon Blood Medicinal Wine¡± Boffis¡¯s mother made, who soaked a sacred bone into the wine.

    Annan was surprised back then.

    Why were there traces of curse energy found in the bottle of Wyrmrest Reagent: [the Heart of Justice]?

    The production of Wyrmrest Reagent did not require curse energy.

    Moreover, Boffis¡¯s mother kept [the Heart of Justice] because she wasn¡¯t acknowledged by it for the time being, so she sealed it for her future use.

    Thus, she wouldn¡¯t have injected curse energy into Wyrmrest Reagent ¡ª if the medicinal property was damaged, the sealed sacred bone would escape.

    However, Annan finally had his answer.

    No curse energy was injected into the ¡°Wyrmrest Reagent¡± that stored the sacred bone.

    Instead, the sacred bone extract was used as a catalyst to activate the inert curse energy!

    The old man took a deep breath. His pupils were gradually filled with pale golden particles.

    Something appeared in front of him.

    It was an illusory entity with a white background and golden hexagons spread out like a honeb.

    The golden particles formed the shape of a wall, and then the white base with the golden grid shattered and retreated, revealing an incredibly sturdy wall of fine steel. The wall was adorned with sharp, dark spikes. Anyone charging at it would likely be instantly turned into a porcupine.

    ¡°What a foolish creation!¡± Zorgen didn¡¯t hesitate.

    Without further dy, he faced his right hand toward the old man behind the wall and squeezed hard!

    Without being seen at all, like a monstrous entity, a shadowy flower full of spikes and sharp fangs suddenly bloomed beneath the old man, firmly gripping and immobilizing him in ce.

    Afterward, spine-like icy spikes fiercely shot out from the center of the flower, instantly piercing through the old man¡¯s body as if it were tofu!

    It was Shadow Hunter¡¯s ability [Shadow Trap]bined with Winter Chanter¡¯s [Ice Thorn Spear]. The former could summon a pre-constructed shadow creature from the enemy¡¯s shadow beneath their feet. At the same time, thetter could, with a specific motion, call forth sharp and hard ice spears from a designated location after a brief dy.

    For the Shadow Hunter, the Shadow Trap was merely a brief control skill to distract the enemy¡¯s attention. The surging Ice Thorn Spear, aside from inrge-scale group battles, was almost impossible to hit the enemy with.

    However, if these two skills were used simultaneously, they transformed into an assassination technique with nearly a hundred percent hit rate. Paired with the damage bonus of the assassin master to ¡°enemies who couldn¡¯t see them¡±, just the first strike was enough to kill Count Urie instantly!

    Seeing their ¡°carry¡± killed the boss instantly, the yers were stunned for a moment.

    [TN: Gaming context, the one person winning the match for everyone else.]

    However, the battle was far from over yet.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in killing me.¡±

    The old man had half of his head gone. He couldn¡¯t even open his mouth.

    This was the phrase unanimously spoken by the remaining four individuals, ¡°The will of the snake resides in all rings.¡±

    They simultaneously revealed a kind smile in unison, opening the safety valve.

    Apanied by a hissing sound reminiscent of opening a soda can, the activated gaseous curse energy flowed through the respirator and was inhaled into the bodies of the four individuals.

    Did they draw experience from the previous failure?

    An eggshell with a white base and golden grid emerged around them, which quickly turned transparent, enveloping them within.

    The remaining half of the old man¡¯s head was smiling¡­ burning in golden mes, turning into ashes.

    Before he died, he made the second andst creation in his life.

    The entire barrier was instantly filled with endless white light.

    It was not the light that was created.

    Instead, it created a kind of ubiquitous dust that continues to emit light without affecting vision.

    The whole world turned pure white.

    It was like they were stepping on a gray-ck floor of nothingness. In each corner stood an enemy, and their shadows had all disappeared.

    Just the counterattack before deathpletely halted the shadow ability.

    Suuankou couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I¡¯m feeling that vibe now. The desperate noobs.¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± Citalopram motioned him to be quiet.

    ¡°The truth is, you could havemented a bit more.¡± The girl revealed a kind smile and said with a lightugh, ¡°After all, the time left for you is not much.¡±

    Around the four of them, traces of the white gold appeared again. However, this time it disappeared in a sh, and many swords emerged from the side.

    ¡°Where did the glittering golde from?¡± Wandering Child was surprised.

    Each of them was a magic weapon shining with brilliance.

    The moment they were created, without any pause, they shot toward the crowd from all directions!

    But until then¡­

    ¡°Blood of Frostborn¡ª¡±

    Traces of frosty white flowed out from Annan¡¯s scepter. He quickly built its gorgeous hollow frost tower around him, protecting everyone.

    Annan held the three-color scepter tightly and uttered an ancient chant that no one had ever heard before.

    ¡°Tower of Babel!¡± A Frost Tower appeared.

    These sharp and swift weapons struck the wall of the Frost Tower, leaving only a hole of less than half a centimeter before being mercilessly deflected away.

    ¡°Great!¡± Suuankou shouted, ¡°They failed to prate our defense!¡±

    However, Annan frowned.

    The attacks could leave a mark. This indicated that this strike had already surpassed the destructive power of the Silver Rank. The defensive strength of the Frost Tower was sufficient to nullify the damages from the Silver Rank. However, these des were rapidly thinning the walls of the Frost Tower at a visible speed.

    ¡°The power that can create all things¡­¡± Zoya¡¯s face looked ugly.

    She was a little nervous.

    However, Zorgen was unfazed.

    The ring on his pinky finger had already been activated ¡ª the runespletely covered his entire left arm and most of his face. Curved, wolf-like ck totems were etched onto his body, even causing him to sport heavy ck eyeshadow around his eye corners.

    ¡°The ¡®counts¡¯ have good coordination with each other. They gradually be more familiar with the curse energy.

    ¡°However, they have littlebat experience. This is our chance.¡±

    Zorgen said concisely and swiftly, ¡°Creating a spellbound creature takes time¡­ its appearance depends more on imagination and knowledge.¡±

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t wait any longer! We had to gather our strength and start reducing their numbers first¡ª¡±

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 Chapter 737: Power Of Unity

    <h4>Chapter 737: Power Of Unity</h4>

    After about five or six seconds of continuous strikes, Count Urie realized that hurling swords had little significance in defeating the Frost Tower.

    So they no longer conjured swords from their surroundings but instead summoned bulky anchors, huge hammers, massive axes, and enormous spears resembling thead screwdrivers.

    Meanwhile, above the Frost Tower, a viscous and dense ck Fire poured down like torrential rain. It gradually seeped into the interior of the Frost Tower from the gaps at the top of the tower and the cracks created by the impact.

    Four secondster, next to ck Fire, several spheres with a white background and a golden honeb grid appeared again.

    In the blink of an eye, they shed their shells and transformed into clusters of fireballs.

    The moment the fireball was created, it ignited the ck Fire.

    The thick fire flowed into the Frost Tower along the ck Fire. The interior of the translucent Frost Tower suddenly became brighter.

    However, at this moment, the Frost Tower was already cracking in all directions.

    Burning chunks of ice, resemblingets, fell to the ground.

    Everyone inside scattered in all directions. Only Annan, Zoya, and Citalopram were still standing in the middle.

    Annan looked up.

    His blue and green pupils gradually shone brightly.

    It was a brilliance as bright as starlight¡ª[Brilliant Sword] was already charging its power.

    He held a staff taller than himself, lifting it from the ground as if he were wielding a massive sword with one hand.

    Behind him, Citalopram looked serious and closed her eyes.

    A silver, crown-like sacred engraving emerged from her forehead.

    She stood there, sping her hands and fingers in front of her chest, and began a long andplex chant.

    ¡°I call upon the Bondless Princess, the Throat of Death who loves and is loved¡­¡±

    Zoya joined her left index and middle fingers together and gripped them tightly with her right hand. Then, she pulled out a dazzling ice de gleaming with a chilling light from between them.

    The faint yellow mark of the clock was once again imprinted in her eyes. A red rune in the shape of a ¡°½í¡± appeared on her forehead, and she looked around warily.

    This was a Chaos Spell called ¡°Perception¡±.

    At the cost of increasing her erosion rate, Zoya significantly reduced her sense of time while enhancing her perception. The external manifestation was that objects near her and Annan would slow down by more than ten times, whether it was the ¡°now¡± timeline or the ¡°five secondster¡± timeline.

    There were many silver coins scattered at Annan¡¯s feet.

    The coins were thrown at Annan¡¯s feet before the yers dispersed.

    However, Annan did not use these silver coins tounch any attack¡­ Instead, he waited for Zorgen to strike first while charging his power.

    Zorgen charged straight toward the mature woman with ck hair and blue eyes.

    Annan didn¡¯t know if he had mistaken it, but there seemed to be a trace of anger in Zorgen.

    Is he still the same person I know?

    Zorgen, who had the power of shadow restraint, was perhaps the one whosebat effectiveness was most affected. However, even so, he still did not hesitate at all.

    Zorgen opened both of his hands. Two frost hammers materialized, one in each hand.

    It was a short-handled giant hammer with one end sharp and the other blunt, with a hammerhead thicker than a forearm. If an ordinary person were to use it, their bnce would be unstable.

    ¡°[Courage]! [Victory]! [Glory]!¡±

    He loudly chanted Frostwhisper, which humans couldn¡¯t understand.

    His muscles went bulging, and his body began to grow in size.

    The slender, skeletal old man suddenly surged in presence and aura, transforming from an assassin-like figure into a knightly one. In that moment, all four counts simultaneously turned their gaze toward him.

    A golden, crystal-like light spear was conjured in the air above him.

    An iron wall with spikes appeared before Zorgen too.

    Beneath Zorgen¡¯s feet, the icy spikes he had previously conjured protruded from the ground. After witnessing it once, Count Urie had ¡°replicated¡± this spell through curse energy.

    After taking a brief second to create the entities, Count Urieunched the most threatening light spear, sending it at Zorgen at a speed that could not be detected by the naked eye.

    ¡°[Robust]! [Smash]! [Sturdy]!¡±

    Zorgen roared and swung his hammer violently.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t destroy all the light spears.

    A light spear pierced through his left shoulder and emerged from his right lower back. Another light spear passed through his heart from the front, and one more light spear pierced his neck and came out from his right armpit. These light spears were scorching hot. Upon contact with his body, they made a sizzling sound, much like meat being seared on a hot iron te.

    However, Zorgen seemedpletely unfazed by it.

    Frost and madness overflowed. The frost marks spreading from his feetpletely froze the surrounding ground. A white chill seeped out of his skin.

    This made him look like he was emitting a lot of white mist.

    With just one m of his hammer, the iron wall was shattered.

    Crack, crack, crack, crack¡ª

    Frost marks spread along the ground, wrapping the transparent barrier as well.

    The woman with ck hair and blue eyes couldn¡¯t help but show a hint of shock and fear.

    She began conjuring a fierce wind¡ªa whirlwind carrying des.

    However, it was not effective.

    Zorgen¡¯s advance was unstoppable.

    ¡°[Noble]! [Loyalty]! [Pure]!¡±

    There was no need to be concerned about the meaning as long as the chant wasn¡¯t repeated.

    He roared the words of Frostwhisper, which was enough to call out the power of ¡°Winter Chanter¡±.

    As the power of ¡°winter¡± stacked, it caused the surrounding sounds to be silent.

    Zorgen¡¯s heavy hammer shattered the silence instantly.

    However, the ck-haired woman suddenly seemed delighted.

    That was because this strike only left the ¡°barrier¡± in front of her with numerous cracks but didn¡¯t break her defense.

    Using this attack as a reference, she would not be injured by the same attack again.

    Only the sound of whooshing through the air was heard.

    Several cards flew in with iparable precision and were nailed to the cracks, changing color at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    She made a muffled dazed sound while wearing a respirator mask.

    The next moment, there was an explosion.

    The raging fire exploded the barrier from the inside out.

    The golden color of creation on a white background appeared before her eyes again. However, before it could be revealed, Zorgen struck her head with a hammer!

    The sound of broken neck bones was heard. Her head was smashed directly into the chest cavity.

    The color of creation immediately dissipated. A certain substance that was originally transparent turned into variegated ster.

    However, she didn¡¯t die immediately!

    ¡°This is [Death Chrysalis]. She is considered half dead.¡± Annan¡¯s calm voice came from behind, ¡°A Gold Rank transcender¡¯s body? It¡¯s not that easy to destroy.¡±

    As he spoke, the much colder white frost traces than Zorgen¡¯s suddenly appeared and enveloped the unprotected woman without warning.

    ¡ª[Frost Arena].

    The [Frost Arena] that was tripled in power by [Tyrant] instantly dyed the woman¡¯s entire body pure white. She was imprisoned in it like an ice sculpture.

    Zorgen didn¡¯t hesitate.

    He struck the target with his hammer again, shattering the solidified ice sculpture.

    This time, there were no further obstacles in his attack.

    It was the icy frost of utter destruction, cold enough to make the surface of any substance be brittle.

    ¡­In the gamenguage ¡­the enemy hit by Annan¡¯s move would have its physical defensepletely stripped away while being imprisoned.

    Above Annan¡¯s head, rain of burning ck Fire was pouring down.

    Before theynded next to Annan, they were frozen by the [Frost Arena] and turned into ck particles.

    ¡°There is no turning back, and there is no ce to return.¡± Citalopram¡¯s chant also ended here.

    She did not hesitate to look at the young girl with blond hair and blue eyes. She reached out and dug out her own eyes and stabbed the dagger into her own heart.

    For a Half-dead Enchantress, it was not a fatal injury.

    Soon, her body became transparent.

    It was a high-level divine art called [Journey of Hate and Love]. It was also a high-level curse.

    The virtual image of the Pale Princess, whose face was blurred, appeared behind the young girl with blond hair and blue eyes.

    However, the opponent waspletely unaware.

    Under the skirt of the Pale Princess, a silver-white chain prated the girl¡¯s heart and sank into Citalopram¡¯s heart.

    As the chains were tightened, Citalopram¡¯s spirit body was instantly pulled out ¡ª and submerged into the blonde girl¡¯s body.

    Her pupils lost focus for a moment, then returned to their senses.

    However, ¡°she¡± took off her mask without thinking¡­ and threw the equipment containing curse energy behind her to the Wandering Child.

    At this time, the virtual image of the Pale Princess had already chopped off the sickle in her hand.

    As the pure white sickle shed down, there were no wounds on the girl¡¯s neck. However, she suddenly fell to the ground and lost her breathing and heartbeat instantly.

    ¡°What a move!¡± Wandering Child jumped up, took the equipment flying in the air, and praised loudly, ¡°Sister Wen Xue, your Hamon¡­ just leave it to me!¡±

    He resolutely carried the jar behind him and put the mask on his face.

    Less than half a minute had passed since the Frost Tower shattered.

    Only two of the four enemies were left.

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 Chapter 738: The Power Of Making Wishes Come True

    <h4>Chapter 738: The Power Of Making Wishes Come True</h4>

    Only the middle-aged man with ck hair and blue eyes, along with the ck-skinned, muscr man, remained¡­ However, in a certain sense, the battle had only just begun.

    Count Urie had gradually adapted to the power of creation.

    The interval between his object creation had started to shrink gradually.

    As the density increased, the effective attack frequency of Zorgen, Zoya, and Suuankou suddenly plummeted to less than one-tenth. They struggled to evade the increasingly ferocious attacks, feeling as if they had entered a second phase of the boss battle and were in deep distress.

    However, at this moment, Annan was also keenly aware of another thing.

    When objects were just created and their ¡°shells¡± had not been removed, they were extremely fragile, susceptible to breaking with a single blow.

    This was what Annan realized when he saw Zorgen smashing the ck-haired woman¡¯s creation with a hammer. Hence, when they ignited the ck Fire rain, they couldn¡¯t create a wall of fire to ignite all the passing ck mes.

    It was not that they didn¡¯t think of it. Instead, they couldn¡¯t do it.

    Their ¡°imagination¡± was too weak.

    His method of using sacred bone extract to activate curse energy seemed unable to copy and transform existing objects ¡ª they could not manifest creations when interacting with other substances.

    For example, if there were a curtain of fire suspended within the ck mes, what would it have looked like? What shape would it have taken? What color would it have been now?

    It was precisely because they could not createplex imagination that they created ck Fire and Fireball respectively and made them collide.

    This very small detail revealed their weakness!

    If they were to create most efficiently, ¡°Count Urie¡± should have simply imagined their bodies exploding, breaking apart, or burning, among other states. Magic was certainly capable of achieving such effects¡ªit could alter the flesh and strengthen it, so it could naturally destroy the flesh as well.

    However, they didn¡¯t do so.

    Of course, they wouldn¡¯t be holding back on purpose.

    It only indicated that their application of curse energy was still rtively rudimentary.

    Due to ack of imagination and knowledge, or simply because the curse energy transformation efficiency was insufficient when stimted in this way, they were still unable to directly interfere with other substances using curse energy. They could only use it to create substances or energy for projectile attacks¡­ This greatly reduced the threat of curse energy.

    It transformed the nearly omnipotent curse energy, which could change reality based on imagination, into a mere skill projection with unlimited firepower mode.

    This essentially equates to turning ¡°telekinesis¡±, a nearly versatile superpower that could even constitute an entire skill tree, into a skill with 50 power points and 25 PP, which was undoubtedly a significant weakening.

    But even so¡­

    It was merely the floor cracked continuously, sprouting ice spikes ¡ª bright fireballs and transparent poison needles mixed, under the cover of giant axe des and hammers, barraging them like relentless rain.

    The opponents gradually realized that just using the power of the Gold Rank and creating weapons for projectile attacks might injure them, but it was insufficient to inflict serious damage or even kill them.

    That was because Annan learned divine art from Silver Sire, which offered him a significant healing capability.

    The effect of ¡°Tyrant¡± was [when holding the scepter, all your damage is increased by 200%], which was a ridiculously powerful 200% final damage bonus¡­ However, when Annan used it, he found that it was better than he imagined.

    For the Frost Arena, it enhanced more than just frost damage ¡ª even the freezing effect was multiplied by three. When Annan held the silver coin to heal others, the healing effect was also significantly increased.

    Suuankou, due to his greed for the kills and failure to dodge in time, had his entire right arm chopped off by a flying axe. Annan used four silver coins to treat him¡­ originally intending just to seal the wound and temporarily stop the bleeding.

    Unexpectedly, the treatment effect was so strong that Suuankou¡¯s entire arm grew back.

    The threefold amplification of healing and control skills was significantly more pronounced than the threefold increase in damage numbers¡ªbecause the transcenders in this world were generally more fragile.

    It was more like ¡°Naruto style¡± than ¡°Once Piece style¡±.

    Just like the Silver Rank Shaping Wizard, who was eternally remembered by the yers, was once instantly killed with a headshot by a basic attack arrow from Dove, who had just entered the game¡­

    Even among the ¡°tank¡± sses in the yer base, without an undead-type health-locking ability, they absolutely could not withstand such intense barrage attacks. Healers would be unable to keep up¡­

    Like Citalopram.

    Although she could heal, her healing ability could only be used after taking damage¡­ In other words, it was a melee healer¡¯s de that charged up by attacking others. Once fully charged, she could raise her hand to heal.

    She was worried that on this battlefield if she couldn¡¯t dodge and was killed immediately, she would be gone.

    Her attack power was too low, making it impossible for her to deal significant damage. As a healer, she was inherently fragile and easily fell victim to unpredictable area-of-effect attacks. Therefore, without any hesitation, Citalopram, upon enteringbat, began casting on the spot without a word. She focused all her attention on a one-for-one trade, taking one enemy down with her.

    The advantage of her exchanging her life for an enemy was to stop AoE damage.

    Through the continuous use of [Impeding Wall],bined with the alternate use of [Slothful Eye] and [Frost Arena], Annan slowly retreated to the blind spot. There was very little space for him to dodge in this position, but at least the projectiles could not break through the Impeding Wall.

    Although this was an Energy Falteration School ability Annan had mastered very early on, its ability to hinder projectiles was crazy. Its specific effect was to reduce the speed of all non-living objects that had a contact area smaller than the wall and were moving faster than ¡°1 meter per second¡± to this speed. However, if it was used to intercept a living being, it could only reduce the speed by a maximum of 30%.

    This meant that whether it was bullets, arrows, or even lightning, upon touching this wall, they wouldpletely lose their threat. The lightning would burst in ce, and the arrows and bullets would fall to the ground.

    That was to say, only fireballs, which originally flew at a slow speed or projectiles that could elerate again in the air, could break through the protection of this transparent air wall.

    Hence, Annan¡¯s party would be safe as long as it wasn¡¯t an AoE attack.

    Although the frequency of enemies¡¯ creations had increased greatly, the space for them to dodge had also increased significantly.

    Seeing Citalopram¡¯s actions after controlling the opponent¡¯s body, Zorgen and Suuankou were not in a hurry tounch another attack. They were waiting to see if the Wandering Child could use this strange ¡°oxygen backpack¡±.

    In Zorgen and Zoya¡¯s understanding, ¡°Wandering Child¡±, a youth with a difficult-to-pronounce name, was the inheritor of the ancient elf profession ¡°Wind Dancer¡±. Since he had inherited the Elven profession, it meant that he must have entered Elven Ruins ¡ª the so-called [specimen storage].

    Then, he must have seen curse energy.

    Guided by the thought, ¡°You¡¯ve studied with the elves, so you must understand enchantments, right?¡± everyone waited expectantly to see if the Wandering Child could demonstrate the correct way to use the curse energy.

    And Wandering Child did not disappoint¡ª

    Two minutes after obtaining the curse energy equipment, a wall of golden polygons suddenly appeared in front of him ¡ª dividing the entire battlefield into two.

    The moment all projectile weapons came into contact with this force field wall, their kic energy was dispersed through the wall.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    The two ¡°Count Urie¡± looked at the child in perfect synchronization ¡ª they did not stop striking, but those weapons could not prate the force field wall at all.

    There was curiosity in their eyes, ¡°Is this the elf technology you learned from specimen storage? Is this the elves¡¯ protective barrier? What is it called?¡±

    ¡°This is called an AT force field, noob. Have you not seen it before?¡±

    [TN: AT force field is the Neon Genesis Evangelion¡¯s reference.]

    The Child, who was just being chased around, let out a satisfying curse.

    He took a deep breath of curse energy and let out a cold chuckle with a muffled voice, ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured out how to y with this thing¡­ To use thought materialization to y a low-end version of Unlimited de Works [1], that¡¯s really something.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s try this first¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªFriend, have you ever gotten hit by a high-speed train?¡±

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 Chapter 739: Rise Again, My Warrior!

    <h4>Chapter 739: Rise Again, My Warrior!</h4>

    In front of Wandering Child and behind the dark-skinned Count Urie, a huge curtain with a white background and gold patterns appeared at the same time. It was constructed in the blink of an eye.

    It resembled two huge standing mirrors.

    That was the spell [Mirror Manifestation] that Wandering Child just saw.

    Because the space they had avable was limited, even when creating a high-speed train, there was far from enough space to amodate it¡­ let alone enough space to elerate it to the point of breaking the sound barrier.

    A blow capable of breaking the city wall could only leave a crack on it.

    To break the shield, one would need a greater force of impact.

    Time was running out. Wandering Child immediately thought of a high-speed rail. Because he had just gotten off the high-speed train yesterday, he had already imagined ¡°what would happen if I were hit by this thing¡± while waiting for it at the station.

    In Count Urie¡¯s perspective, the mirror in front of him sent out a metal serpent, about two or three people tall and of unknown length. It grew its size swiftly, roaring as it burst out of the mirror!

    Count Urie was immediately frightened.

    At that moment, he saw that the monster had numerous patterns on both sides. Its sharp, snake-like head had two huge, dazzling eyes.

    It flew like a bolt of lightning, faster, fiercer, and heavier than any cavalry charge he had ever witnessed!

    The weapons created by the count flew at a speed he had personally witnessed¡ªhe at least needed to acknowledge this power and believe in its existence to conjure them with his magical abilities.

    It wasn¡¯t just a matter of manipting numbers. From the outset, there was a flying sword traveling at three times the speed of sound¡­ If one had never witnessed the moment of breaking the sound barrier, even with magical abilities, they wouldn¡¯t be able to create such a thing.

    In other words, this person must have seen this terrifying monster with his own eyes!

    Count Urie couldn¡¯t even dodge it ¡ª the massive monster that emerged about ten meters in front of him was already charging at full speed before it even appeared. His mind was utterly shaken by it.

    The moment it appeared, it let out a heart-shaking roar, and the ground trembled thunderously¡ªit smashed through the still-forming steel wall, along with the eggshell-like structure beside the dark-skinned, muscr man!

    No one would think this was a mechanical creation¡­ because to create precise machinery with magical abilities, one must know the internal structure and principles. The role of magical abilities was merely to substitute for the materials and the process of manufacture.

    Moreover, the Child didn¡¯t look very smart. He didn¡¯t look like the Wise who could invent such a thing.

    However, Wandering Child didn¡¯t actually create a real high-speed train. He had no idea about theponents inside. In the end, as long as the train could move, it was sufficient. After all, the Child only nned to use it one time.

    Essentially, it was just a massive solid iron batting ram whose speed was far slower than that of a bullet.

    After all, the Child was not familiar with missiles or sniper rifles. He could create handguns or crossbows¡­ but it wouldn¡¯t make much sense.

    The effect of the force field shield was to ignore single instances of damage below a certain threshold. It might not be effectively stronger against shield-breaking attacks¡­ In other words, it couldn¡¯t guard against Suuankou¡¯s attack.

    The moment the force field shield around him shattered, Count Urie was sent flying ¡ª like a baseball hit with full force. He whizzed toward the side of the barrier, rebounding off it with his body, then collided with the side of the unmanned high-speed train, and was once again sent flying out.

    However, the dark-skinned Count Urie¡¯s body was notpletely destroyed yet ¡ª he used hisst consciousness to strengthen his body with curse energy.

    However, he only had time to strengthen it for a moment, and he was already knocked away. The container containing curse energy he was carrying behind him was shattered immediately ¡ª and his whole body was bruised and bloody.

    Zorgen was also startled by Wandering Child¡¯s attack.

    However, he was not unustomed to demons of this magnitude¡ªhe quickly reacted, rushing to the side of Count Urie, who had not yet regained consciousness and was frozen into ice by Annan. With one hammer blow, he smashed Count Urie into pieces.

    Now, there was only thest ¡°Urie¡± clone left.

    Wandering Child took a deep breath and unplugged the second safety valve.

    Two-thirds of the curse energy he carried on his back was depleted, and it had returned to an inert state again. However, after being activated by the sacred bone extract, it became active again.

    The curse energy is almost running out already? What should I build this time?

    The Child pondered in his mind.

    The Child felt a tinge of regret¡ªhe had indeed created that train instinctively just now, resulting in an excessive waste of curse energy. Otherwise, he should have created a ne loaded with explosives¡­ and then flown it directly at the target.

    I wonder if the remaining curse energy is enough.

    The only surviving Count Urie didn¡¯t hesitate.

    He instantly flew up¡ªsoaring more than 60 meters into the air, turning into a mere ck dot. It wasn¡¯t wings that lifted him, but rather he was standing atop a gigantic Skeleton Crow.

    Count Urie first strengthened the force field wall around him ¡ª a spherical one, a cube-like one, and another spherical one.

    Arge number of ¡°living creatures¡± began to appear around him.

    Count Urie certainly wasn¡¯t stupid enough to create the Frost Beast.

    He made ghosts instead.

    These semi-transparent spirits would inflict negative energy damage upon contact. They could also cause uncontroble shivering¡ªone moment of distraction would allow Count Urie¡¯s attack to hit Annan¡¯s party.

    However, after Annan saw this familiar scene, he was stunned.

    Ghosts?

    Those are not spiritual bodies Spiritual Monks would raise.

    In nature, they are the ghosts who follow the Pale Princess ¡ª the dead who make up ¡°the Pale Tide¡±.

    Since you took the initiative to summon this kind of thing¡­

    Then, don¡¯t me me for this.

    In his haste, Annan hadn¡¯t thought of a good reason to revive Citalopram. Mainly, he felt that bringing Citalopram back might not be very useful¡ªCount Urie wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to stand still and take another instant death blow.

    What if the Child died? Annan would surely revive. He had the curse energy added, making him the best damage output in the party.

    However, since you did the honor of creating ghosts¡­

    Without saying a word, Annan pointed the scepter at Citalopram¡¯s body, who had died in a state of soul loss.

    Annan shouted loudly and firmly, ¡°¡ªRise again, my warrior!¡±

    Naturally, there were no light effects.

    However, Citalopram suddenly opened her eyes.

    She was even a little confused. How did Ie back to life?

    A somewhat perfunctory and simple prompt appeared before her, as the situation was urgent and Annan didn¡¯t have the time to ponder over the wording:

    [¡ªThe power of the Divine Transporter revives you.]

    ¡°¡­Fight, fight for you?¡± She propped herself up, raising her right hand, and murmured somewhat nkly, ¡°Your¡­ your majesty?¡±

    Seeing this scene, Count Urie on the opposite side was stunned for a moment.

    How did shee back to life?

    The ghosts in the sky saw Citalopram. They also became a little hesitant and whispered to each other.

    Before the Half-dead Enchantress attacked them, they wouldn¡¯t dare attack a Bishop-level Half-dead Enchantress.

    ¡°No matter how she survived, do you want to do it again?¡± Count sneered, ¡°I won¡¯t be fooled again this time. What are you going to do to buy time?¡±

    ¡°Of course, that will be this.¡± Annan chuckled and threw the silver coins into the air.

    These silver coins shone with dazzling silver light. Silver Sire responded to Annan¡¯s call. A divine art had been activated.

    ¡°I was just thinking¡­ why the healing effect could also be amplified by [Tyrant]. And when I saw Suuankou¡¯s arms grow like crazy, I kind of understood.¡±

    Annan said in a low voice, ¡°Excessive healing¡­ perhaps it can also kill.¡±

    Count Urie created ayer of [Force Field Shield], ayer of [Regeneration Wall], and ayer of [Reject Damage]. These were all divine arts and spells he had seen. He utilized curse energy because he was among the most knowledgeable and learned elders in the northern nobility, capable of maximizing the power of curse energy.

    The protection he arranged was indeed reliable.

    However, the only thing he didn¡¯t create was the profane shield used to trap enemies and resist the healing of divine art.

    At this moment, dozens of silver coins were intertwined into awork. All the powerful healing beams were irradiated on Count Urie!

    I¡¯ll heal you to death¡ª

    Because she was concerned about her aloof image, Annan silently repeated in his mind.

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 Chapter 740: Mutation

    <h4>Chapter 740: Mutation</h4>

    That was because Count Urie had no ¡°wound¡±.

    The divine art [Eternal Youth], which required close proximity with the wound to be used, was evidently not feasible in this scenario. However, this spell was essentially on par with [Healing] divine art. It was a lower-tier skill that the healing professions typically phase out after their early stages, resorting to it only when they were desperately low on mana.

    Annan used this divine art because he didn¡¯t usually need to take the healer role. Considering that Count Urie was flying in the air, Annan immediately pulled out the divine art list from the Silver Sire and exchanged five holy light engravings for the most potent healing divine art in the early stage, [Greater Healing].

    Using at least one silver coin as a medium, it could emit a healing beam directed at either a person or a silver object. If directed toward a silver object, this object could temporarily store the healing instance. The maximum storage capacity depended on the value of the silver object (how many silver coins it was worth).

    If directed at a person, the target, upon being illuminated by the light, would immediately receive a certain magnitude of healing. Furthermore, their self-healing ability would significantly increase for a period of time afterwards.

    To put it simply, this was a long-distance, single-target divine art.

    The divine art¡¯s ability to instantaneously mend limbs and external injuries was even inferior to [Eternal Youth]. However, fortunately, it was a long-range spell and included a HoT (Healing over Time) effect. If the cumtive healing of the HoT was taken into ount, it could ultimately restore about twice the health that ¡°Eternal Youth¡± could.

    Annan had an understanding of this divine spell,rgely thanks to the yer known as ¡°Youkai Gakkou¡± [1]. He sessfully transitioned into a role as a healing tank, and was currently the only yer among them who specialized in shield mastery.

    Since he had to stand at the forefront, it was impossible for him to retreat to the back to heal others, nor could he expect severely injured teammates toe to his front for healing ¨C they might perish on the front lines. Therefore, his method of healing evolved into using ¡°Greater Healing¡± and ¡°Silver Radiance Aura¡±¡­ The former was a long-range ray with a HoT (Healing over Time) effect, while thetter was a wide-area health regeneration aura.

    However, ording to the yers¡¯ grumblings on the forum, the HoT (Healing over Time) effect of ¡°Greater Healing¡±¡­ was reportedly extremely itchy.

    Because it didn¡¯t function like ¡°Eternal Youth,¡± which ¡°enhanced vitality and repaired wounds,¡± but rather ¡°elerated bodily healing.¡± During the healing process, wounds and internal organs would be extremely itchy¡­ It was a sensation so intense that one could distinctly feel their internal organs wriggling

    Just like Mr. Ray¡¯s ¡°purification¡± divine art, it could purify a person into oblivion under high power.

    Silver Sire¡¯s divine art treatment would not be so harmless.

    The fact that His divine spell could be amplified by ¡°Tyrant¡± indicated that there were certainly harmfulponents to the body in this spell. This might have been the reason why the clerics of the Silver Knight urged people not to overuse divine healing spells.

    As the saying goes, ¡°every medicine has its poison¡­¡±

    ¡­In fact, Silver Sire was the deity of the ¡°Trading¡± realm.

    It could be a bountiful gain, but He would never lose.

    The reason they hadn¡¯t noticed this aspect before might be due to the fact that the divine spells of the Silver Knight required spending money¡­ No one would spend a heap of silver coins to forcefully heal someone who already had a full health bar.

    However, when Annan previously healed Suuankou, he had over-healed him ¡ª but Suuankou¡¯s bones were creaking. It twisted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Flesh and blood intertwined like snakes, and the newly formed skin was so sensitive that he couldn¡¯t even grip his weapon properly.

    Then, what would happen if Annan cast a more potent healing [Greater Healing] than [Eternal Youth]?

    Thest Count Urie answered this question for Annan.

    Bathed in the silver radiance of the Silver Knight¡¯s healing divine art, he let out a distinct groan, his expression instantly contorting in extreme pain.

    His body exhibited obvious swelling. His muscles bulged all over, skin turning bright red and quickly shifting to purplish-red. His bones creaked audibly, and the veins on his head and arms became prominently bulged.

    His heart throbbed violently, pulling at the veins throughout his body ¡ª the high density of blood sma caused his blood pressure to rise exponentially. The fresh blood, forced out by the high pressure, surged into his brain, slowing and stalling his thought processes.

    Within the span of three to four breaths, his fingertips and face turned a dark purple-ck. Blood began to flow from the corners of his eyes and ears. His breathing became abnormally rapid, with arge amount of curse energy gas being inhaled into his body, causing his pupils to gradually dte¡­

    ¡°Ugh¡ª!¡±

    With a muffled groan, his eyeball flew right out ¡ª and a new eyeball was regenerated in the blink of an eye.

    When his thoughts were disrupted, making it difficult for him to create.

    ¡°Lockpicker¡± Jacob, who was flurrying around like a dog but miraculously uninjured, also witnessed this scene.

    ¡°I have coins! I have coins!¡±

    He screamed and ran to Annan, took out all the silver coins and silver jewelry, and threw them in front of Annan.

    ¡°Not bad¡­¡±

    Annan chuckled, activated divine art again, and pointed at the silver coins on the ground.

    They turned into beams¡ª

    Annan pointed at Count Urie again.

    The number of Annan¡¯s holy light engravings belonging to Silver Sire had exceeded 400 ¡ª his divine art strength was approximately equivalent to Silver Sire¡¯s cardinal bishop level.

    There were about 50 silver coins Annan activated. After being amplified by the ¡°Tyrant¡±, Count Urie received a healing amount equivalent to 150 silver coins.

    ¡ªWhen Suuankou had his arm chopped off by a single strike, his health bar dropped by more than a third. Annan threw out four silver coins, instantly regenerating his bones, flesh, nerves, and skin, and even overflowed with a third of the healing amount.

    Instantly repairing the severed upper arm to the elbow and healing, along with restoring blood and alleviating pain, required about 4 silver coins. 10 coins could instantly regenerate the entire lost limb.

    So, to what extent could 150 coins achieve?

    This would be equivalent to the ¡°nutrition¡± needed for instantly growing 15 arms. For a healthy person¡­ it would undoubtedly be a potent poison.

    Suddenly, Count Urie¡¯s shoulders burst open ¡ª blood sprayed out like from a high-pressure pump, sttering more than five meters away. His flesh instantly healed¡­ but under the immense internal pressure, the healed flesh was forcibly squeezed out by the muscles, forming arge lump on each of his shoulders.

    His back also began to crack. Blood and flesh gushed out.

    Then, it was his left abdomen. The burst liver instantly regenerated ¡ª or rather, every part was regenerating. His abdominal cavity was squeezed by the rapidly proliferating internal organs, swelling up as if he were pregnant.

    He inhaled arge amount of curse energy into his body, which, under his intense desire to ¡°heal me,¡± also began to take effect.

    A vast amount of vitality began to be utilized ¡ª his entire skeleton rapidly grew. His teeth visibly lengthened and sharpened, his hands transformed into w-like structures. His pupils became firm, covered by a hard membrane. He hunched over as his spine started to thicken and elongate¡­ A tail grew out from his cyx.

    His skin, filled with bumps like a toad, was transformed lymph under the power of curse energy, driven by his desire. His skin turned blue-ck, bing unusually tough.

    His cognitive abilities were gradually eroded by pain¡­ The curse energy device on his back began to fall off as his body became deformed.

    ¡­No, no.

    I want to fly¡­I will die if I fall¡­

    Under the high blood pressure, the chaotic state of his brain caused Count Urie¡¯s creative power to be twisted.

    As such thoughts vaguely emerged in his mind, his back suddenly bulged ¡ª a set of blood-soaked wings struggled to open from his waist.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not enough¡ª¡±

    As Urie came to this thought, another pair of wings spread out from his shoulders.

    As the curse energy device was pushed out by the wings, it fell.

    ¡°Hey¡­¡±Annan raised his head and opened her eyes.

    A developmentpletely beyond Annan¡¯s expectation happened before his eyes.

    His vertical pupils turned dark gold from over-absorbing curse energy. He had blue-ck scales covering his body with two pairs of wings, sharp fangs, ws, a hunched waist, and a pointy, powerful tail.

    Count Urie, who was not Fallen at all, suddenly turned into a demon in front of Annan¡¯s party.

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 Chapter 741: Curse: Creatorâ€™s Bane

    <h4>Chapter 741: Curse: Creator¡¯s Bane</h4>

    ¡°Roar¡ª¡±

    Count Urie spread his wings and let out a roar of pain.

    Even though his body underwent such mutations¡­ it was still expanding. Rather, it was precisely because his skin had be extremely tough, leaving his constantly proliferating flesh with nowhere to go.

    His abdomen was bulging high, filled entirely with liver.

    His internal organs also began to deform, with flesh continuously proliferating and strengthening. Scales appeared on the surface of his body, and the overgrown bones on his forehead turned into horns ¡ª no, more like a crown of thorns.

    The curse energy that remained in his body was still rapidly strengthening his body, further aggravating this vicious cycle.

    ¡°¡­There¡¯s no need to fight any longer.¡± Zorgen took a deep breath, stored the curse back, and disengaged frombat mode: ¡°He¡¯s finished.¡±

    In the end, ¡°Count Urie¡±, whose appearance was beyond recognizable from before, roared and swooped down.

    He couldn¡¯t think at all

    He couldn¡¯t bear this pain anymore¡ª

    This ¡°death chrysalis¡± originally had the physique of Gold Rank, but as it was continuously strengthened by curse energy, its strength exceeded the limit of Gold Rank.

    But without the curse energy device and skill, it couldn¡¯t even break the ¡°AT force field¡± created by the Child with its physical strength alone.

    [TN: AT force field refers to Absolute Terror Field from Evangelion[1]. ]

    It could only watch helplessly as the cooldown refreshed after a minute had passed. Citalopram chanted divine art to summon the Pale Princess.

    Such a robust demonic body could not resist soul damage.

    However, the moment Count Urie lost his life, Annan clearly saw relief in his eyes.

    Even after losing its primary consciousness, this demonic body still didn¡¯t die ¡ª its heart continued to beat, just as it did when it was the ¡°death chrysalis¡± at its base form. What was killed was only the consciousness of Count Urie, which had attached itself to the physical body through the Worm Ritual, and the death chrysalis absent of soul and desire.

    This body at this moment was in a vegetative state that would never wake up.

    However, this ¡°body¡± was overfilled with vitality.

    It was even gradually deforming ¡ª visibly losing its human form at a noticeable speed, transforming into a giant lump-like meatball. This seemed to be the state that could maintain its existence for a longer period.

    It seemed that until it exhausted the immense life force given by Annan, it would continue to maintain this state of being both dead and alive.

    Zoya asked hesitantly, ¡°Your Majesty¡­ what about this¡­?¡±

    ¡°Take it with us.¡± After a moment of thought, Annan spoke with some hesitation, ¡°It¡¯s somewhat of a spoils of war after all. It might be useful¡­ At the very least, it can serve as one of the pieces of evidence for Count Urie¡¯s rebellion.¡±

    ¡°Would anyone believe that this ball is Urie?¡± Suuankou couldn¡¯t help butin.

    ¡°The worst case scenario is to give it to the senior.¡± Annan replied without hesitation, ¡°Maybe he will like it. I will cast divine art on it once or twice a day to nurture it first.¡±

    ¡°Curse energy is too dangerous.¡± The Child handed the curse energy device to Zorgen and dispelled what he had created. Looking at the additional debuff, he couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly, ¡°If you want to use the curse energy in the future¡­ Let me do it. Anyway, I¡¯m not clean anymore¡­¡±

    [Curse: Creator¡¯s Bane (your aging rate doubles every 7 years, but your maximum lifespan is extended 7 times; any influence you obtain will produce an influence on that day; when you increase the erosion rate in any way, you will get 7 times the additional increment; you cannot get any rewards from nightmares except profession level, curse vessel and curse; you will die immediately when you fail or trigger any negative feedback from not fulfilling the curse; you will inevitably enter nightmares when you sleep; your soul emits a faint odor)]

    [¡°¡ªThose who harm the world will eventually be despised by the world.¡±]

    The moment the Child inhaled the curse energy, a new curse appeared.

    A total of seven debuffs shocked him.

    No wonder Count Urie didn¡¯t try curse energy beforehand, he must have seen the others using curse energy.

    Even by the standards of yers who had the ability to reset their corruption level at any time and possess unlimited resurrection chances, this curse was somewhat excessive. For the indigenous people, it could be described as a curse that went ¡°bone-deep¡± and personal.

    The only advantage would be that the Child had infinite dungeon instances to grind.

    I will think of a way to make it up to him after returning. Annan thought.

    I may meet other curse energy users in the future.

    After taking a look at the ¡°Count Urie Ball of Flesh¡±, Annan suddenly realized the battle between curse energy users was a cognitive war.

    What curse energy created was just a shell.

    It was not the ¡°real form¡±, but the ¡°form in the creator¡¯s mind¡±.

    Just like the Child¡¯s creation of a ¡°bullet train,¡± it was essentially just a ¡°piece of iron that could run as fast as a bullet train.¡± He even forgot to build the tracks, but this ¡°bullet train¡± still raced at incredible speed.

    The ¡°bullet train¡± didn¡¯t even have a control panel ¡ª it could certainly go, at least for a dozen meters or so, but it had no way to stop because the Child hadn¡¯t created any braking mechanism for it. There were no seats inside either¡­ it was either empty or filled with steel tes.

    What the Child created was just ¡°that thing¡± he saw while waiting for the high-speed train.

    What the Child created wasn¡¯t a genuine AT field at all; it was more of a ¡°kic energy transfer barrier¡± with the ¡°AT field skin.¡± Itcked the other functions of an AT field and didn¡¯t possess the essence of the ¡°Wall of the Heart.¡±

    If the Child directed the curse energy to create an ¡°extremely powerful defensive barrier¡±, then it would consume much more curse energy than creating a ¡°kic energy transfer barrier¡±.

    The Child realized that when facing simple projected weapons, it was sufficient to neutralize their kic energy. Hence, when he created this barrier, he hardly used any curse energy.

    Just like the more detailed and reasonable the demands made by Party A, the more money (curse energy) they paid, the more Party B was able to reproduce.

    With the knowledge and awareness of Count Urie, he failed to realize that the harm inflicted on him was not from any curse, but rather from the excessive stress on the body caused by healing spells. Therefore, he had not set up any defensive strategies against healing spells¡­ Even now, he had not figured out exactly how he had fallen into this situation.

    Even if he had attacked himself immediately, dislocating his arm, discarding his leg, or even beheading himself for a ¡®separate action,¡¯ he could have quickly alleviated the ¡°damage¡±.

    However, he didn¡¯t realize where this pain came from¡­or should I say? He never thought that he would be hurt by the healing spell.

    Due to intense pain, he became aware that his body was about to burst. Therefore, instinctively, he hoped that curse energy would help strengthen his body¡ªand indeed, the curse energy did just that.

    The curse energy continued to strengthen his body. Still, his internal organs continued to proliferate, his blood pressure increased rapidly, and his body temperature continued to rise, which caused the pressure in his body to continue to increase.

    However, Urie didn¡¯t understand why ¡ª so he hoped that curse energy would help him strengthen his internal organs again and heal this injury.

    Unfortunately, that would be adding fuel to the fire.

    Thus, the spell energy followed his wishes, tirelessly and thanklessly providing him with further treatment¡­

    ¡­The curse energy was probably the perfect Party B who could fulfill ¡°any ridiculous design idea from the client¡±.

    Following these rules¡­

    If curse energy were used to trigger a nuclear explosion, given the understanding level of these yers, perhaps what they would ultimately produce would just be an ¡®immense explosion with a mushroom cloud and shockwave,¡¯ rather than a real nuclear st¡­ As for radiation, it might be simted in the form of a curse or the Gray Mists.

    What curse energy could create was only part of the imagination.

    Therefore, Count Urie did not allow his weapons to reach three or five times the speed of sound¡­ because he had only seen speeds of that magnitude. If it were faster, he would have no idea what it would look like, so he could not create it.

    If curse energy were used to create artificial humans¡ªbased on the general understanding of the human body in this world, what would likely be created were ¡®dolls that think and power themselves with hearts¡¯, possessing simted souls,posed only of flesh and bones. Having a lung or a kidney would already be considered quite cultured.

    ¡ªThis was not a resource used for battles, wars, or to meet luxury needs, nor was it something that the indigenous people of this era should use.

    It was a specialty product with extremely high value¡­ Even in the stars, it was probably a specialty mine that required purple rarity technology or even red rarity technology to collect and use it.

    [TN: Color rarity is a metaphor from games.]

    The World¡¯s Blood regenerated slowly. It was almost considered a nonrenewable resource.

    What Count Urie did was undoubtedly an absolute waste¡ªa tremendously extravagant waste.

    The extent to which future generations even wanted to travel back in time to kill them.

    Annan was fully aware of this.

    The elves, who first discovered curse energy, used them to escape from the desert as ast resort. They initially thought, ¡°Once they escape, they will never have to use it again.¡±

    However, they did not resist the temptation.

    After that, the elves used curse energy to adventure unexplored parts of the Yasn Continent. It was considered a reasonable use ¡ª but after that, it was aplete waste of resources.

    It was not a case of giving aid in time of need, but rather adding the finishing touch.

    During the Empire times, the elves had the ability to use curse energy to do various things ¡ª they could extend their own lifespans, skip the research process to obtain results, heal irreversible injuries, even resurrect others, enhance their living environments, create various forms of entertainment, and even directly craft housing for residents.

    ¡­and to build wonders.

    Of course, building wonders might not be considered a waste.

    Would building a wonder be considered a waste?

    ¡°Can we go back?¡± Jacob smiled and said tremblingly, ¡°I can teleport us back again.¡±

    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t over yet.¡± Annan said solemnly, ¡°Look for their curse shaft¡ªit should be nearby.¡±

    ¡°There are other nobles too. We have to put an end to this matter immediately.¡±

    ¡°Curse energy technology must not be spread anymore.¡±

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 Chapter 742: â€œMaster Keyâ€

    <h4>Chapter 742: ¡°Master Key¡±</h4>

    Although they sessfully defeated Count Urie, they were still trapped in the barrier.

    In theory, as long as the intensity was sufficient, it should have been possible to break through the barrier. This was what was known as ¡°might makes right.¡±

    However, as Count Urie wasunched into the barrier, it bounced back rather cartoonishly. The barrier didn¡¯t even shake¡­ It showed how sturdy the barrier was.

    Annan originally intended to use the ¡°Tyrant¡¯s¡± triple amplification. By self-harming to critically low health, he then nned to unleash a Brilliant Sword attack to break the barrier.

    However, Jacob¡¯s words convinced him otherwise.

    ¡°Your Majesty, we had no idea what would happen after the barrier was broken. It might have deflected the attack back, or it could have exploded. There was also a chance it would alert others¡­ The barrier might even absorb damage, or even use the lives of ordinary people to repair itself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Annan nodded in agreement.

    He asked, ¡°So do you have any solution?¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡± Jacob said confidently, ¡°I can break the barrier of this level.¡±

    Watching his solemn and earnest demeanor, Annan was skeptical yet somewhat convinced.

    Annan decided to give Jacob a chance.

    ¡°This looks like aposite ritual of Grail-holding Lady mixed with Red Knight, manifesting the [colosseum]. At the same time, it is also a [stage] and a [battlefield].¡±

    Following behind Jacob, Annan casually remarked, ¡°Logically, once we have the victor, this barrier will no longer be a [colosseum] or a [battlefield], it will be resolved through the ¡®curtain call¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be so troublesome.¡± Jacob smiled, ¡°A barrier of this level can¡¯t stop me¡­¡±

    After the battle, Jacob slowly regained himself.

    Previously, he was hiding everywhere, driven to flee like a mouse¡­ However, when everyone was too busy to pay attention to him, the attacks from both sides were cleverly executed, yet none managed to hit him.

    ¡°That¡¯s part of the ritual. I won¡¯t be hit by ¡®stray attacks¡¯. To hit me, you would need tounch at least two consecutive attacks specifically targeting me. Those attacks not aimed at me won¡¯t hit me.¡±

    Facing Annan¡¯s confusion, Jacob didn¡¯t hide anything and patiently exined how he achieved this effect, ¡°By using a ritual, I linked my [wounds that are present but not yet manifested] to a keyhole, and the things that can inflict these wounds to a key.¡±

    ¡°After that, I set up the most ssic curse ritual on myself, casting the curse of the [key must not align with the keyhole] on myself. Then, I cut off a piece of my skin, turned it inside out, and sewed it back. At the same time, I tattooed the ¡®inside¡¯ on what was originally the inner side (now the outer) and the ¡®outside¡¯ on what was originally the outer side (now the inner). I also embedded copper wire and cursed pearls, crafted by artisans, within my body to construct a ritual site, reversing the concept of inside and outside.¡±

    Afterward, Jacob showed his right shoulder to Annan.

    Indeed, there was a patch of skin on his shoulder that appeared unusually shallow. And around it, the skin did have faintly protruding marks, swelling like a brand, forming a barely visible ritual site.

    ¡­So, you gain the protection of stray attacks just like that?

    Annan was shocked.

    This is brilliant!

    Though this person¡¯s hair is like dry straw and he has the longsting odor of not bathing¡­ he really seems to be a talented individual!

    Jacob¡¯s control over rituals was quite narrow, essentially limited to the aspect of ¡°locks and keys¡±. However, within his domain, his grasp and understanding of rituals were remarkably strong.

    Among all the ritualists Annan had encountered so far, Jacob was the only one who had thought of using ¡°foreign objects¡± to construct a ritual site within the body.

    Logically speaking, this should be impossible.

    Because the flesh and blood within the body inherently carried meaning, their mere existence would interfere with the ritual.

    Like during the process of human alchemy? It was like having an extra iron bucket for holding materials in the alchemical ritual¡­ That certainly changed the proportions.

    Jacob, by embedding pearls within his body, likened his body to a ¡°m¡±, representing the flesh inside the shell. Would this mean he defined his entire physical body as ¡°inside¡±? By using the pearls, he redefined the foreign objects inside his body, implying that these objects couldn¡¯t be considered as ¡°flesh¡±.

    In this way, he could allow the materials used to construct the ritual site within his body to form a separate ritual, without affecting himself. This enabled him to sessfully construct a ritual site within his body.

    Coupled with the ¡°reversing the inside and outside¡± ritual he designed¡­ It was exceptionally outstanding. Without being a transcender or knowing divine art, using only a simple ritual, he was able to achieve something that even the Bronze Rank Transcender couldn¡¯t do.

    Although Annan had forgotten most of his mystical knowledge, his keenness for rituals hadn¡¯t faded. Upon hearing Jacob¡¯s exnation, he quickly reverse-engineered Jacob¡¯s ¡°form¡±.

    He truly lived up to being the so-called ¡°Master Key¡± and ¡°Lockpicker¡±¡­

    Annan¡¯s first reaction was ¡ª He seems to be a good candidate as a ritualist mentor for the yers,

    With Jacob¡¯s brilliant mind, ifbined with some transcended profession¡­ it might even create a new profession.

    For instance, using the ritual embedded within the body inbination with curses collected by hunters, spreading them outwards? Or using a warrior¡¯s robust physique to store arge number of rituals within the body? Or even, allowing Shaping Wizards to transform, to a certain extent, internal organs or tissues as part of a specific ritual¡­

    In some rituals, hearts, blood, or bones were used. However, not all rituals needed to consume these materials ¡ª some organs were just needed as a medium.

    So? Why can¡¯t we use the organs in our bodies as ritual mediums?

    ¡°You are a genius.¡± Annan praised.

    Maybe Jacob¡¯s experience and knowledge can¡¯t be applied to the yers.

    But his ideas themselves have considerable value.

    After being praised by Annan, Jacob smiled sheepishly.

    Jacob, who had been beaten before, finally no longer felt embarrassed this time without anyone interfering. He demonstrated his profound ritual knowledge and why he was known as ¡°Lockpicker¡±.

    He first took an antidote in advance, then took out a poisoned steel nail and slowly drove it through the palm of his left hand, all the way to the back of his hand. The venom paralyzed his sense of pain, enabling him to do this.

    He began to chant simultaneously, ¡°I am the lock, steel is my key ¡ª I open my flesh with potent poison, as a key unlocks every door.¡±

    As he chanted, he pulled out the steel nails and put his left hand close to the barrier.

    ¡°I am the door, and the thing I cling to is the wall. This wall has no door, but I am the door!

    ¡°I open all locks with potent poison, thus I am the key ¡ª I shall open all doors.¡±

    As he spoke, he pulled his left hand, which was attached to the barrier, back towards himself.

    A vortex-like illusory door, centered on the wound in his palm, spread across the barrier.

    The shape of that door resembled a body pierced by a steel nail, magnified countless times.

    ¡°Okay¡­pleasee over.¡± Jacob smiled and turned around.

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 Chapter 743: Black Rock Curse Shaft

    <h4>Chapter 743: ck Rock Curse Shaft</h4>

    Annan finally understood where Jacob¡¯s title ¡°Lockpicker¡± came from.

    Generally speaking, the status and strength of ritualists were determined by the depth of ult knowledge.

    When ites to ult knowledge above ¡°the Historical Level¡±, almost any ritual could have a strong effect.

    For example, revealing others¡¯ hidden secrets out of thin air, causing the sky to darken as if it were night, inciting a war in a region fraught with disputes¡­ Also, Annan¡¯s aptitude ability ¡°Chill of the Winter Sun¡± acquired through ritual, was simrly based on the ¡°Historical¡± level ult knowledge.

    Even just telling the secrets of the ¡°other world¡± was enough to destroy the sanity of mortals. It could also be used to construct nightmares and invade other people¡¯s nightmares.

    The secret of creation was even more profound. Merely speaking of them was enough to obliterate the Fallen incarnated as demons. If fully utilized in a ritual, they could potentially confront entities of the Truth Rank.

    The ult knowledge that Jacob possessed was not at the highest level of ¡°the Historical Level¡±. Just general knowledge about ¡°truth¡± and ¡°rituals¡±, probably the level of Vasily¡¯s father.

    However, bybining these not-heavy secrets and nesting them into each other, he built a secret that was at least equivalent to ¡°the Historical Level¡±.

    ¡­The solo yer type, huh?

    Annan was certain that he had never seen this ritual used by Jacob anywhere else.

    If this ritual became widespread, many barriers would bepletely meaningless. To put it more dramatically, even locking doors at home wouldn¡¯t ensure safety; doors and windows could no longer provide a sense of security. Whether it was thieves, robbers, or assassins,mitting crimes would be much easier.

    Because this ritual involved creating a ¡°door¡± in a ¡°wall¡± and opening it. The troubling aspect was that the ¡°ult knowledge¡± required for this ritual was not significant, implying that even moderately skilled ritualists could use this ritual.

    ¡°Remember not to spread even a word on your ritual.¡± Annan said seriously, ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Jacob was stunned for a moment, and then he said with great certainty, ¡°If I were to do such a thing, I would have already gone to the United Kingdom or underground to find a territory to raise a group of thieves or assassins. With my abilities, most defensive measures wouldn¡¯t be able to stop me.¡±

    ¡°Group teleportation, object teleportation, walking through walls, nullifying and prating barriers¡­ But I won¡¯t do that, Your Majesty. Because I know what is the consequence of the spread of my knowledge.¡±

    Jacob said with a smile, pointing to his temple, ¡°This is ¡®poisonous knowledge¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Poison is the key that can open all locks. Poisonous knowledge will also prate every joint of the country and society like poison through the human body; it will kill many innocent people just like poison kills flesh and blood.¡±

    ¡°I am not a good person¡­ I am a thief, I am a spy, and I am also a liar. However, at least I am not a demon who likes to watch the world burn. I am more or less a human being.¡±

    ¡°Then, first of all, I wish you to be a good person.¡± Annan smiled and extended his hand generously, ¡°Maybe you will be a great man in the future.¡±

    Hearing Annan¡¯s words, Jacob was also startled.

    The smile on his face gradually faded, and he solemnly extended both hands to grasp Annan¡¯s, saying earnestly, ¡°Then¡­ I take your words as a blessing.¡±

    He was careful not to let his wound touch Annan¡¯s hand. It was probably not because he was worried about hurting himself, but because he didn¡¯t want the blood to stain Annan¡¯s hands.

    Under the sunlight, Annan¡¯s fair and slender right hand appeared to shine against the backdrop of Jacob¡¯s rough and scarred hand.

    Alternatively, one could say¡­ At that moment, it seemed as if Annan himself was glowing.

    After leaving the barrier, the glowing powder that had filled the surroundings was also left inside the barrier.

    It resembled a half-sphere of light, like an inverted bowl.

    After they left the barrier through the ¡°door¡± opened by Jacob, the barrier remained in its original ce.

    This was actually good news ¡ª the barrier blocked sound and light, so they wouldn¡¯t know that Count Urie was defeated. This way, at least, they wouldn¡¯t rm anyone prematurely.

    As for the ¡°ball of count¡±, Annan asked Zorgen to cut a part of it and pack it away. The remaining flesh, including the ¡°rest of¡± Count Urie, was kindly incinerated by Suuankou.

    They would not let the remnants of Count Urie continue to exist in this world.

    After all, resurrecting a corpse with curse energy was not impossible. However, without a body, given their level of knowledge and intelligence, resurrecting someone was out of the question.

    They had to annihte the threat from the root.

    Through Zoya¡¯s Prophet spell and the information provided by Jacob, Annan¡¯s party quickly found the location of the curse shaft.

    The distance to the curse shaft was not far, less than five kilometers. Annan¡¯s party walked for a while and soon reached the location. Strangely, they did not encounter any other armed forces on their way.

    This indicated that Count Urie had not prepared any other contingencies apart from himself. Moreover, there were no guards arranged around the area of the curse vault.

    ¡°It¡¯s meaningless to have guards here,¡± Jacobmented.

    Soon, Annan and the others understood why.

    As they approached the curse shaft, they felt a strong sense of difort.

    The heart kept trembling, feeling like an irregr heartbeat. There was a throbbing sensation in the brain, and breathing became rapid.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be any radiation here, right?¡± Wandering Child said worriedly, ¡°You won¡¯t be infected by my curse, right?¡±

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case. Otherwise? The count should have started using curse energy long ago. He wouldn¡¯t have activated the device after seeing us¡­¡±

    After approaching the curse shaft, they heard an obvious buzzing sound.

    Whaty within the [curse shaft] wasn¡¯t visible from the outside.

    Its entrance was a vertical shaft, simr to an elevator shaft, excavated downwards from the peak of a mountain. The entrance was indeed protected by threeyers of barriers, but Jacob easily ¡°unlocked¡± them.

    Inside, there was a roughly diamond-shaped spiral staircase that continued downward. The deeper they went, the hotter it felt¡­ And gradually, a strange pumping sound could be heard, with their hearts beating rhythmically to that sound.

    The surrounding ck walls didn¡¯t seem to be masonry but like blood vessels.

    ¡°Woo¡­¡± Russell, who was shrinking in Annan¡¯s arms, whimpered uneasily. Her body was stiff, and she didn¡¯t dare to move.

    Previously, when she was bombed by Count Urie, she showed no fear and didn¡¯t even let out a single cry¡­ But now, as they approached the curse vault, she started to tremble. It seemed as if she was wailing, pleading with Annan not to continue descending.

    Russell¡¯s entire body stiffened like a rod ¡ª out of fright. She trembled incessantly, akin to a vibrating phone set on silent and tucked into a pocket, buzzing so intensely that it caused Annan difort in his chest.

    After Annan and his group descended beyond a certain critical depth, the world in front of him suddenly became distorted.

    It was as if the frame rate was too high, causing the image to tear apart.

    Before his eyes appeared fragmented pieces of history. It seemed like someone was doing something in a dimly lit room, pointing at something on a map, or carving something¡­

    However, those images were silent and fleeting,sting barely one or two frames. Annan couldn¡¯t see them clearly, leaving only a vague impression.

    Jacob¡¯s voice became distorted, ¡°As we go further down, we¡¯re about to enter the curse shaft!¡±

    ¡°Be careful. Grab the hands of those around you.¡± His voice was tinted with a strange mechanical sound.

    The ¡°fractured scenes¡± in front of her eyes also began to increase significantly, and Annan also heard whispers in her ears. But he still couldn¡¯t hear clearly what was being said.

    I have to check the recording and broadcastter. Annan thought to himself.

    The next moment, Annan suddenly felt a strong dizziness.

    His almost non-existent system rarely showed a line of bright red prompt:

    [¡ªWarning, you are entering the ck Rock Curse Shaft.]

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 Chapter 744: Unremoved Curse Shaft

    <h4>Chapter 744: Unremoved Curse Shaft</h4>

    It had been a long time since Annan had seen their system pop up on its own.

    Except for using [Nightmare Fragments]¡­ which were the keys left behind by the transcender after his death that led to nightmares, and the [Truth Manifestation] prompt when Annan obtained the Divine Transporter page fragments, he basically hadn¡¯t seen the system¡¯s prompt popping up when he was outside a nightmare.

    Moreover, it was such a disturbing bright red font.

    Annan slightly frowned, extending his perception as far as possible around him, slowing his steps on the staircase.

    Fragmented images kept appearing before them¡­ When distracted, there was a possibility that one of them might slip and fall.

    ¡°Be careful and don¡¯t trip. Walk slower!¡±

    Annan reached out to grab the hand extended by Zoya, using his staff like a cane to slowly descend in the dark corridor, raising his voice to warn, ¡°I feel the frequency of the illusions has noticeably increased¡ª¡±

    Annan heard his own voice, which seemed indistinguishable from his real voice.

    However, when others heard Annan¡¯s voice, it wasn¡¯t quite audible to them.

    As they approached the special environment of the curse cer, his voice stretched out extensively, bing severely distorted. It sounded like a radio with poor reception, or a record on a slipping turntable.

    ¡°Actually¡­ panic¡­ because¡­¡±

    Jacob¡¯s voice, which became increasingly vague and fragmented, sounded in everyone¡¯s ears. However, this time it was no longer a problem of not being able to hear clearly ¡ª just like when a call came in while the phone was ced near the speaker, Jacob¡¯s voice was covered up by the sharp and intense whistling sound.

    They even felt ufortable buzzing in their ears.

    The yers, however, felt a sense of familiarity¡­ It was like the difort in the ears during an airne¡¯s takeoff.

    The next moment, all the sounds they could makepletely disappeared.

    Whether it was the sound of speaking, the footsteps while walking, or the noise made by Annan when he used his staff, they all vanished in an instant¡ªreced by a low, faint white noise.

    A line of prompt appeared again in front of Annan:

    [¡ªWarning, you have entered ck Rock Curse Shaft.]

    Then, Annan felt that the ground beneath his feet disappeared, and he was rapidly falling!

    Annan felt that Zoya, who was falling simultaneously with her, clenched her hand tightly for a moment.

    ¡­It turns out you are scared too.

    Annan threw a faint smirk.

    After another half minute passed, he still did not feel the sensation of touching the ground.

    At this height, if theynded on the ground, they would definitely fall to their death. Annan even felt that Zoya¡¯s palms were sweating and trembling slightly.

    Tofort the elder, Annan did not hesitate to firmly grasp back, gently shaking her hand to signal her to be calm.

    His firmness and calmness seemed to be transmitted to Zoya through the warmth of his palms. She stopped shaking almost immediately, and she didn¡¯t hold Annan¡¯s hand so tightly.

    However, in this lightless, soundless, falling abyss, Annan didn¡¯t have any fear.

    ¡ªThe reason was simple.

    This feeling of falling¡­ how should I put it? It was a bit fake.

    The center of gravity in humans is not usually in the middle, especially when their feet were not touching the ground and they could not exert force to adjust their posture. A momentary fall might have been okay, but they had been falling for such a long time. They should have either fallen forward or backward by then.

    Yet, even without tensing his core, Annan still felt as if he was falling very smoothly and vertically¡ªwithout even the sensation of wind resistance from elerating, just a pure feeling of falling. Zoya at Annan¡¯s side also wasn¡¯t tilting at all¡­ It was only because of her nervousness and slight movements that her body was slightly leaning.

    Zoya seemed to realize this quickly, and gradually rxed and adjusted her posture.

    ¡­That¡¯s probably why Jacob asked us to hold each other¡¯s hands.

    Annan thought so.

    Suddenly, Annan felt a slight change¡­ It seemed like their falling speed was beginning to slow down.

    Then, more than half a minute passed.

    Finally, they felt the sensation of the ground beneath their feet and stood on solid ground once again.

    The low humming sound still lingered in the air.

    After a brief silence, Annan asked, ¡°Everyone¡­ Can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we can hear you.¡±

    ¡°That was terrifying. I thought I was going to fall to death¡­¡±

    ¡°This must be one of those slow descent tforms that blow air upwards, right? How could anyone possibly fall to their death¡­¡±

    In the darkness, the yers were the first to react.

    ¡°Should I light a fire?¡± Zoya¡¯s throat was a little dry, and she asked Jacob in such a low voice.

    She seemed to have warmed up to Jacob, not as dismissive as she was at the beginning¡­ It probably started when Jacob demonstrated his ritual knowledge to prate barriers, and she realized that Jacob truly had genuine skills. Her attitude towards him improved a lot from then on.

    ¡°Yes, that will be fine.¡± Jacob hesitated for a moment before responding, ¡°But I still rmend using a lighting method that doesn¡¯t generate heat¡­ Do you need me to do it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do it.¡± Zoya shook her head.

    She raised her hands high and shouted, ¡°Look at me!¡±

    The next moment, her fingertips sparkled.

    Like a spark igniting on a flint ¡ª Zoya¡¯s right index finger burst into bright light, illuminating the surrounding space.

    That was the Idol Spell called [Guiding Light].

    By igniting light at the fingertip or the tip of a sword¡ªby continuously infusing Order Mana, this light could be maintained indefinitely.

    It allowed anyone who saw the light to have their attention forcibly focused on the hand emitting it¡ªin simple terms, a quick-cast group taunting spell. If one forcibly resisted the taunt, their other actions would suffer a concentration penalty. This methodpelled those who saw the light to prioritize attacking the one emitting it.

    If used in the midst of intensebat, this spell could also be suddenly employed to try to create a momentary opening in a tightly defended enemy¡­ or to awaken teammates who had their souls captured. It could also be used to interrupt an enemy¡¯s ongoing attack or disrupt a concentrated action.

    Now, using it merely to maintain light seemed like an overkill¡­ However, maintaining this spell meant that any sudden attackers would prioritize attacking Zoya. This, in turn, made it easier for the group to respond to threats.

    Under the illumination of this light, they finally saw the interior structure of the curse shaft.

    It was a shocking and magnificent structure.

    They were in a circr hall, resembling an amphitheater with stairs surrounding the center. Around them were numerous stone bs like seats, but not a single person was on them.

    Behind the ¡°lectern,¡± there was an enormous, pure white door, about twenty people tall.

    It had neither a handle nor a door knocker.

    There were no pictures on it, only the inscriptions of Elvish words.

    In the four corners of the hall, there were four white pirs standing like the legs of a turtle. Their width required more than five adults holding hands to encircle them¡­ but upon careful listening, one could discern that these pirs were hollow.

    They were not pirs, but rather, conduits.

    However, rather than being conduits, they were more akin to the blood vessels of some magical creature.

    This was certainly not a marvel that could be constructed by the Northern Brotherhood. It exuded an ancient air, steeped in history.

    In other words¡­

    ¡°Didn¡¯t the elves here dismantle this curse shaft from the very beginning?¡±

    Annan¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

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 Chapter 745: Curse Energy Extraction Device

    <h4>Chapter 745: Curse Energy Extraction Device</h4>

    Annan did think about this possibility.

    The elves dismantled the curse shaft, not because all elves were enlightened and hated the use of curse energy to harm the world. Their civilization was prosperous, but this did not mean they had high morality.

    They would choose to dismantle the curse shaft, solely because the emperor at that time had far-sighted wisdom. He predicted that if the curse energy were to be reused, the Great Barrier might copse¡­ Moreover, the curse energy that was mined wasn¡¯t used to create strong individuals or for technological research, rather, it was mostly used for various luxurious and meaningless purposes.

    For the sake of future generations, he decided to ban the use of curse energy ¡ª anyone found to be using curse energy would be sentenced to the ¡°death penalty¡±.

    Under the emperor¡¯s supervision, it took more than a century for the elves to reluctantly abandon the practice of extracting curse energy. The officials resorted to violence, coaxing, and intimidation before finally giving it up. It was only after three hundred years that they finally adapted to a new life without curse energy.

    ¡ªSince the elves dismantled the curse shaft reluctantly¡­

    It was entirely possible that the elves somewhere would risk the death penalty and secretly leave behind one or two small curse shafts.

    Annan thought of this possibility when he came into contact with the Silverstone Curse Shaft through the Child¡¯s nightmare.

    Now it seemed like his prediction was true.

    ¡°How do you open this door?¡± Wandering Child tried pushing the door.

    The Child asked the others excitedly, ¡°How about I melt it down? This is different from the Silverstone Curse Shaft. I feel that it is an ordinary rock and can be melted.¡±

    When Annan recruited the Child into the party, Annan had already mentioned that he might need to melt a city wall or a gate or something. However, after he arrived, aside from melting the ceiling when jumping out of the sewer, he didn¡¯t really do anything else.

    Along the journey, he watched Citalopram taking two opponents down with suicidal attacks and Suuankou¡¯s explosive contribution, which made him eager to stand out.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the Elf Profession?¡± Zoya, on the other hand, threw her hand up and looked at the Child hesitantly, ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to open this kind of door?¡±

    ¡°The ce where I learned Aero Strike didn¡¯t let me enter the curse shaft.¡± The Child spread his hands helplessly.

    [Aero Strike] was the prerequisite for Wind Dancer. When he was studying the Aero Strike dungeon instance, when he was with Miss Boffis, he also wanted to take a look inside the Silverstone Curse Shaft. However, as soon as he approached the vault and was still in the phase where the scene in front of him was split, he was mercilessly kicked out.

    ¡°¡­We are all greedy people¡­¡± Annan whispered.

    ¡°What?¡± Suuankou asked subconsciously, only to be lightly yet firmly hit on the arm by Citalopram as a sign to keep quiet.

    The two Winter¡¯s Hands focused their attention on Annan.

    Annan looked at the rune on the door and recited word by word.

    That was not Elvishnguage¡­ but Frostwhispernguage. Frostwhisper could be regarded as the dialect of elves thatmunicates with dragons. The writing and grammar were different from ordinary Elvishnguages¡­ probably simr to the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin.

    Even elves might not necessarily understand Frostwhisper.

    As a Frostwhisper, Annan couldprehend the text on the door.

    He read slowly, ¡°We are all people who long for hope¡­¡±

    ¡°We are all arrogant and corrupt people¡­¡±

    ¡°We are all rebels. We are all guilty. We are all unpardonable sinners. We are all beyond redemption, even in death.¡±

    ¡°We are nameless watchers¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªAnyone who is guilty shall not pass through this door.¡±

    The moment Annan finished reciting, a strange hallucination appeared before his eyes.

    He seemed to notice that the stairs surrounding him were filled with people. They were looking down at Annan¡¯s party in silence. However, when Annan came back to his senses, he realized that there was nothing here.

    There was no way he couldn¡¯t see the spirit body. However, there was nobody here.

    However, that feeling didn¡¯t seem like a mere hallucination.

    Annan nced at Zoya and added, ¡°That¡¯s all. I think there might be something behind the door.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t melt it yet. Maybe it is some kind of ancient seal? It¡¯s better to be on the safe side.¡±

    As for this door¡­

    Annan pondered for a moment and then reached out to push the door.

    Strangely, the moment Annan touched the door, it was pushed open lightly as if it carried no weight. Annan even stumbled a little.

    Zoya was also a little curious. She came over and pushed the door¡­ However, she realized that it was tough to push it, but it felt like an ordinary heavy object. It wasn¡¯t like how it couldn¡¯t budge when the Child pushed it.

    ¡°You stay here for now. Even though you can melt open this door, we still want to be on the safe side.¡±

    Annan thought for a moment and said to Wandering Child, ¡°I believe this door can detect curse energy. Those who have used it won¡¯t be able to pass through.¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± The Child nodded.

    Zorgen looked at the Child and tried to push the door. It seemed more difficult for him to push itpared to Zoya like he could barely push it.

    ¡°It seems that I have been judged to be a sinner.¡± Zorgen thought for a moment and whispered, ¡°Then, I will stay here with him? It¡¯s too dark here.¡±

    ¡°Remember to let us know if anything happens.¡±

    Annan directed these words to the child ¡ª This ce is somewhat bizarre but much better than thest nightmare. At least here, yers can still contact each other, send private messages, and use voice chat.

    They quickly passed through the door.

    After passing through a narrow corridor that was just wide enough to amodate two people side by side, the space suddenly opened up. Annan finally saw the true structure of the ¡°curse shaft¡±.

    It was a massive instrument on a square tform.

    It was at least 30 meters tall, resembling a globe. However, the pure white crescent shape was not entirely perpendicr to the ground but tilted at about 15 degrees. This revealed the faintly golden sphere cradled in its center, with its axis exposed both above and below¡­ And this crescent, like the Earth¡¯s rotation, was revolving slowly around the light sphere.

    The light sphere in the middle was not a pure sphere ¡ª there was a beam of light near the top and bottom.

    Near the bottom, there was a dark gray, extremely viscous liquid. It appeared to be only as thick as three fingers held together and was flowing upwards, against gravity, into the very center of the light sphere.

    Gradually, it was being dposed and assimted by the light sphere, transforming into a golden stream of light.

    Above the light sphere emanated a thin stream of golden light, about half as thick as a pinky finger.

    It looked incredibly dreamlike, slightly dispersed, resembling a gathering of many fireflies¡­ But Annan had no doubts ¡ª this was the ¡°curse energy¡± stored in jars.

    Around this square-shaped giant tform, there was a circr tform with intricate inscriptions carved all over it. It was the same size as the outer ¡°lecture room¡± and the two rooms together looked like an ¡°8.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Annan couldn¡¯t help but mutter.

    His ¡°brilliance¡± element was awakened to its limit. Light was no longer an obstacle to him, but his ally, a part of him.

    Therefore, Annan was able to see through the light and discern what was hidden in the middle of the light sphere instrument.

    The coreponent of the device that continuously transformed the filthy, putrid, ck-gray, and primal mana into a pale gold and inert mana was not some intricate,plex machine, nor was it an extremely grand magic circle.

    Instead, it was a curled-up, transparent, and iplete fetus.

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 Chapter 746: Child Of The World

    <h4>Chapter 746: Child Of The World</h4>

    ¡­Why is there a fetus floating here?

    Annan was stunned for a moment.

    It looked like it hadn¡¯t even been born yet.

    Wrapped in the light chrysalisposed of curse energy, the World¡¯s Child gave the impression of a fetus growing safely in the amniotic fluid.

    After realizing that there was an undeveloped fetus hidden in the light chrysalis, Annan saw the primal curse energy continuously drawn out and flown into the fetus¡¯s abdomen below. This sight subconsciously made him associate it with the term ¡°umbilical cord¡±.

    However, if this is the ¡°umbilical cord¡±, then the ¡°mother¡± connected to the other end is undoubtedly the world itself.

    Annan felt an unprovoked irritability and mncholy just by ncing at it¡­ It was an information-transmitting curse that could intrude his mind through mere visual contact. The reactions of others seemed much more severe than Annan¡¯s.

    Initially, the yers were chattering in high spirits. However, after entering this room, they gradually became silent. Staring at the light sphere, each of them seemed to be in a trance¡­ their gazes even unable to shift away.

    The most affected person was Zoya. Her eyes became bloodshot, and her breathing became heavy. It wasn¡¯t that she wanted to cry. Instead, she was filled with agitation and a murderous intent. She had already activated her curse vessel, using the cold will attached to the curse to suppress the increasingly approaching madness and despair.

    She didn¡¯t loseplete control now solely due to the curse she epted when she joined the Winter¡¯s Hand, which had frozen most of her emotions.

    It was originally intended to counteract the interference of the Soul Snatch Magic, serving as a contingency n to capture wizards better. Moreover, it was also a ¡°special treatment¡± to eliminate her unnecessarypassion, making her more cruel.

    However, it had be a life-saving ¡°safety line¡±.

    ¡°That fetus¡­ What on earth is that?¡± This was what puzzled Annan the most.

    The fetus obviously couldn¡¯t be an elf or a centaur.

    It was even less likely to be a Yaseran ¡ª they didn¡¯t have this level of power.

    At first nce, it was apparent that the fetus was the core of the curse energy extraction device. It extracted curse energy from the depths of the world through the invisible ¡°umbilical cord¡± and processed it. What radiated from its skin was inert curse energy that had been refined into light.

    ¡°Is it¡­ the [Child of the World]?¡± Jacob murmured.

    Hearing this, Annan immediately came to a realization ¡ª this ce seems to be a ritual in itself.

    Through the concept of ¡°the fetus extracts the most nutritious essence and blood from the mother¡¯s body¡±, the World¡¯s Child was used to extract the blood of the world during its gestation period.

    So initially, the elves, who were still in the deste desert andcked resources, were able to extract curse energy. They didn¡¯t make a connection to the entire world, let alone use adjacent worlds as des to cut through the world¡¯s surface, burying the curse shafts as needles into the world¡¯s body to extract the blood of the world.

    They were still extracting curse energy through ritual means.

    That was the truth about the so-called ¡°curse shaft¡±.

    Annan suddenly understood many things.

    He had been wondering all along why the people extracting curse energy would not be cursed. Instead, the person who used curse energy would be cursed.

    Because the one who truly extracted the curse energy from the world was not the doctor with the syringes, but the ¡°World¡¯s Child¡± in the gestation period. What they seized was the curse energy that originally belonged to the ¡°World¡¯s Child¡± for growth.

    Why does it feel so wrong all of a sudden?

    It¡¯s like using a syringe to extract egg whites.

    Or it¡¯s like nibbling on the flesh of a fruit and then tossing the seed into the ground¡­ But thinking of it this way, it seems to be more normal, doesn¡¯t it?

    Annan finally understood the reason why the ck Rock Curse Shaft was buried deep underground. It was not because it was closer to the core of the world. Like the Silverstone Curse Shaft built in a building with a tall chimney, all they needed was ¡°istion¡±.

    Because the refined curse energy that had not been purified by the ¡°World¡¯s Child¡± might contaminate the minds of others just by being observed.

    ¡°The reason why this curse shaft feels like a blood vessel is not because it draws the World¡¯s Blood from the depths of the world¡­ but because it continuously extracts the ¡®nutrients¡¯ that have been transformed from this fetus through the curse shaft.¡± Annan said slowly.

    Upon hearing Annan¡¯s exnation, the yers quickly realized the situation as well.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Citalopram murmured.

    She also remembered that the Silverstone Curse Shaft wasrger than the ck Rock Curse Shaft.

    Those buildings contained multiple ¡°veins¡±. This meant that there was more than one ¡°fetus¡± underground at that location. As a curse vault that powered the entire city, there might be multiple ¡°Children of the World¡± there, drawing more power.

    The workers at the curse vault were likely responsible for temporarily draining a baby and then switching the suction tube to target another. There was no technical difficulty involved, akin to monitoring a semi-automated machine.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then in terms of design, they should have drained these light energies to suppress its development. Just like how the eggs we eat don¡¯t need to be able to hatch into chickens¡­¡± Citalopram immediately realized something, ¡°But if we proceed with this logic¡ª¡±

    ¡°Then, its development to this extent is somewhat unusual.¡± Annan continued, ¡°Ifpared to a human fetus, it would have developed to about eight months. If this were a chicken egg¡­ it would already be at the stage where the farmers can harvest the meat.¡±

    ¡°This might be because the light energy umted around it provided abundant nutrition, allowing it to develop to a stage close to [birth].¡± Citalopram analyzed.

    ¡°This is called inert curse energy.¡± Suuankou on the side came over and couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Light energy is not bad¡­ Are you a Gaiden?¡±

    ¡°I always have, but myputer broke some time ago. Whenever I run arge game, the screen goes ck. I thought the graphics card might be broken.¡±

    ¡°Then, how did you fix it?¡±

    Suuankou was a little surprised, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your help.¡±

    ¡°I took apart the case and looked at the graphics card in silence for five minutes. I didn¡¯t know what to do¡­ Then I made up my mind to turn on theputer and go shopping to buy a new graphics card. Suddenly theputer was fine.¡±

    Citalopram said solemnly, ¡°I think the machine may have sensed my murderous intention. This is probably also a kind of divine art.¡±

    ¡°¡­You better call me next time. Otherwise, you can just call me sister.¡± Suuankou showed hesitation, ¡°Otherwise, I think next time, your machine wants to die with you¡­¡±

    But, that¡¯s not necessarily the case.

    Annan thought silently in his mind.

    These yers came from a world beyond the dream realm, and the systems of curse energy, the Gray Mists, curses, and divine arts were all unique products of the Mist World. When they returned to their original world, of course, they wouldn¡¯t possess any transcended abilities.

    However¡­ their world was also adjacent to the dream realm. This meant that if the yers spent too much time in nightmares and acquired some dream realm abilities, or even obtained the essence of dreams, things might be different¡­

    However, Citalopram¡¯s words gave Annan a wake-up call.

    ¡­The ¡°World¡¯s Child¡± whose race was unknown, identity was unknown, and gender was unknown¡­

    It was almost born, and maybe it already had intelligence.

    If it were killed, the curse shaft would shut down. But as for these inert curse energies, it was uncertain how they should be dealt with¡­ Would they explode, contaminate the area, turn into Gray Mist, or perhaps recircte back to its source?

    The fetus might even resist.

    That being the case.

    ¡ªCan I scare this child a bit?

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 Chapter 747: Endymion

    <h4>Chapter 747: Endymion</h4>

    If it possesses intelligence, then it should be possible tomunicate with it.

    Things would be more manageable ifmunication was possible. Annan might even make an ally through this ordeal. Naturally, Annan could also approach the situation with coercion, carrot-and-stick tactics, and brainwashing if necessary.

    Sure enough, making a new ally would be the best oue possible.

    I, Annan, like making friends the most (????).

    As long as there was no situation that made Annan say the lines like ¡°I don¡¯t know what I did to make you disrespect me so much¡±, the young white-haired Grand Duke would be approachable and amiable.

    However, the problem at hand was that since the World¡¯s Child had not yet been born, it naturally couldn¡¯t masternguage. Therefore,munication became a problem.

    However, this was notpletely without solutions.

    Annan stared at ¡°the World¡¯s Child¡± and sparked an idea.

    Suppose¡­ the other people would be cursed by the world when they use curse energy because they were thieves.

    Then, ¡°the World¡¯s Child¡± using his power wouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?

    Annan wasn¡¯t clear about how the elves created the World¡¯s Child.

    It did not materialize right now but existed in the form of light in the light chrysalis. Only Annan could see its posture. As for the others, even if they pierced the light chrysalis with swords, des, or arrows, the attack would only pass through the body, leaving them unable to see what was within.

    Those behaviors might irritate it, but it would never hurt it.

    On the other hand, the situation was much easier for Annan to handle.

    That was because his [brilliance] element was awakened to 100%.

    For objects rted to ¡°light¡±, Annan had absolute authority.

    Annan had not reached the Gold Rank yet.

    However, he didn¡¯tck the ability to control his elements in advance.

    ¡°You guys step back further.¡± Annan said, taking a deep breath.

    He held up the ¡°Three Sirens¡± in his hand and chanted word by word.

    ¡°¡ªYou shall respect me!

    ¡°For I have torn apart the light within the mirror, walking above destiny¡ª¡±

    It resembled Euphemia¡¯s chant but slightly different.

    The moment Annan cast [Ritual Spell: Trace of Divine Transporter], a ring brilliance burst out from him. It was even more intense than the brilliance that enveloped ¡°the World¡¯s Child¡±.

    Annan¡¯s incantation was also different from Euphemia¡¯s, but it was much more concise overall, ¡°I am the master of the Divine Transporter, leading six hundred stars to descend from below to the Merka Baha Hall! I am the Divine Transporter, and I will open all gates to the Light Realm!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to open the three gates: the gate of virtue and permanence, the gate of virtue and permanence, and the gate of worms and cicadas¡ª¡±

    Annan currently had no understanding of the meaning of the other two gates except for the worm and cicada gate. However, this did not stop Annan from copying Euphemia¡¯s work.

    The next moment¡­

    Something surprising happened to Annan and the yers.

    Intense light burst out from Annan¡¯s body.

    His clothes were instantly torn apart by the ¡°sharp¡± light.

    However, when Citalopram nced over, she was a little disappointed to find out that¡­ when Annan transformed this time, his skinpletely turned into light.

    Behind him, a pair of light wings sprouted from each of his shoulder des and waist, one pair reaching up towards the sky and the other drooping down to cover his body. His ¡°hair¡± began to grow rapidly, extending to over two meters in length ¡ª like tentacles of light, floating in the air.

    This time, Annan¡¯s body did not have many cracked eyes.

    After all, Annan had unintentionally shredded his clothes again¡­ Considering he couldn¡¯t exactly fly over to Russell while holding him with his hair, he decided to first put Russell down.

    Annan¡¯s hair was as flexible as tentacles.

    He put the trembling and startled Russell, who was in his arms, on the ground. After Russellnded on the ground, she didn¡¯t dare to move at all. The fox-dogy on the ground and turned into a white steamed bun.

    The only thing about Annan¡¯s body that had not been transformed into light was the three-color scepter in his hand.

    It did not change at all, but the crystal ball that Annan put on the tip of the fake scepter was also touched by the power of light and turned into a pure ball of light.

    Without fanning his wings, Annan floated in the air.

    After he got used to his form for a while and probably found out how long he could maintain it, he floated toward ¡°the World¡¯s Child¡± on the middle tform.

    However¡­ the tform in the middlecked the support like the outer tform.

    It relied on the power of curse energy to float in the air. The gap between the two tforms was the bottomless abyss¡­ If the floating tform in the middle fell, it would likely result inplete annihtion.

    However, Annan was undaunted.

    He slowly floated over. His hair, which hadpletely turned into streams of light, was like steel needles, surrounding the fetus in the middle¡­ and piercing into it one by one.

    Using his hair as a medium, Annan felt the connection between himself and the ¡°Child of the World¡± gradually bing stable. After all, they were both beingsposed of light¡ª

    Annan gently conveyed his goodwill ¡ª from an external perspective, it appeared as streams of light flowing through his hair, transmitting from Annan¡¯s side.

    [Who are you?]

    A child¡¯s voice sounded from Annan¡¯s heart.

    ¡­It is indeed feasible tomunicate in this way!

    Annan was overjoyed and immediately responded like soothing a child.

    ¡°I¡¯m Annan. I¡¯m your friend.¡±

    [No, you are not Annan.]

    The unborn fetus, having received no education, nevertheless unhesitatingly denied this.

    [You are the Divine Transporter.]

    ¡°The World¡¯s Son¡± sounded stubborn.

    [You are not a friend either.]

    [You are a mother.]

    ¡°¡­Huh? You want a boy mother?¡± Annan was stunned for a moment.

    Bruh!

    I treat you like a brother.

    But you want to be my son?

    Fine, it is what it is¡­

    ¡°So? What¡¯s your name? Or? Do you have a name?¡±

    Annan continued to convey goodwill while unterally transmitting light to the other party.

    Primarily, Annan was concerned whether epting the other¡¯s light would be considered as stealing curse energy. After all, Annan¡¯s light originated from the Light Realm, whereas the other¡¯s light was transformed from curse energy.

    Therefore, Annan directly established a one-waywork ¡ª he could infuse light, but would not ept the other party¡¯s power.

    In this regard, the unborn fetus gave a clear and systematic standard answer without hesitation.

    [I am the manager of the Specimen Storage Repository III-2 series, having management authority over the ¡®III-201-299¡¯ type specimen storage. My current authority level is ¡®Seed¡¯. You may call me ¡®Endymion¡¯.]

    ¡­What is this?

    It went beyond Annan¡¯s expectations.

    He originally thought that the World¡¯s Child should have no consciousness or awareness of the world, making it easy to deceive¡­ But now, he found that not only did the other party have a clear understanding of itself, but it even remembered its name.

    Even before he was born, he already had a name and a high status.

    Was it reasonable?

    But soon, Annan thought of another possibility.

    Even though it is so young¡­

    ¡°How do you know your name?¡±

    Annan asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    [The name my father gave me? It¡¯s ¡°Endymion¡±]

    [Since the Third Age, each emperor is required to bury one of their unborn children in the curse vault. The next emperor must destroy the previous generation¡¯s ¡°seed¡± after leaving their own ¡°seed.¡± If the unified Great Barrier copses, the ¡°seed¡± will serve as a sacrifice to restart the Great Barrier.]

    Endymion replied without hesitation.

    [Mom¡­ has the day of my mission arrived?]

    ¡°Why do you keep calling me mom?¡±

    This was what Annan was most confused about.

    There was no way he had anything to do with elves.

    However, Endymion was stunned by Annan¡¯s question for a moment.

    [That¡¯s because the blood of the Divine Transporter¡¯s Driver flows in my body. I am the son of **Muted**.]

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 Chapter 748: The Charioteer

    <h4>Chapter 748: The Charioteer</h4>

    The Charioteer of the Divine Transporter¡­

    This was not the first time Annan had heard this term.

    In the past, he had always been somewhat unclear about the difference between the Divine Transporter and the Charioteer.

    Before he heard the chants of ¡°Ritual Spell: Trace of Divine Transporter¡±, Annan had always been referred to as the ¡°Divine Transporter¡±.

    The so-called [Divine Transporter] was the phenomenon of ascendancy ritual transporting people into the Light Realm. ¡°The light of the Divine Transporter¡± was the light that the soul would see when he ascended into the Light Realm, which was the Seventh Luminary of the sun.

    It was not a specific object, but a type of phenomenon.

    Just like thunder, lightning, or a storm.

    The word ¡°Charioteer¡± was a derivation that humanized the ¡°Divine Transporter.¡± It was probably simr to the rtionship between ¡°thunder¡± and ¡°the God of Thunder¡±¡­ The idea of praying to the ¡°Charioteer¡± for extra forgiveness and to drive the Divine Transporter to pick oneself up was akin to praying to the Lord of Heaven or the Dragon King for rain.

    [TN: Mostly Chinese cultural references to deities.]

    Before the birth of the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡±, there was no deity of Divine Transporter in this world, so such prayers served only as psychologicalfort.

    The Divine Transporter guided all living beings, enabling all things to ascend. It was the most equitable light and the most exalted light, yet it was also an unfeeling light ¡ª those who failed won¡¯t get a second chance.

    It fabricated the image of the ¡°Charioteer is higher in status than the Divine Transporter¡± to dilute the terror brought by the Divine Transporter¡¯s unfeeling and just judgment. Simply put, it was like creating concepts of an underworld orherworld as the afterlife realms to lessen the great fear brought by the unknown of death.

    Although Annan was previously referred to as ¡°Divine Transporter¡± by Mr. Ray and others, after Annan understood the meaning of this term, he perceived himself as the ¡°Charioteer of the Divine Transporter¡±.

    I am a human being. How can I be a Divine Transporter?

    If Storm Deity exists, it won¡¯t be Storm itself, but the Storm¡¯s controller¡­unless he is the Storm¡¯s spirit.

    Therefore, when Annan took control of the Book of Divine Transporter, he would be the so-called ¡°Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡±.

    Although the ¡°Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± did not exist previously, it would exist after Annanpleted his ascension!

    ¡ªDeity of Divine Transporter.

    This meant that he was the deity who decided whether all new deities passed the review and achieved ascension ¡ª in other words, the sole designated HR of the Light Realm.

    Annan hadn¡¯t expected that, as the game nner, he would end up doing the work of a human resources department in the Mist World.

    Yes, Annan thought so until today.

    However, Endymion recognized him as the Divine Transporter at first sight, yet also said that the blood of the Charioteer flowed in him ¡ª and most importantly, Annan couldn¡¯t hear his mother¡¯s name at all.

    That piece of sound was as if it had been carved out by the entire world.

    In this situation, Annan could only think of one possibility.

    ¡°Is the Divine Transporter a real deity?¡±

    Only after a deity died would all traces of him be erased.

    [She is a dead deity, yet also a deity who has not died. She is the deceased who is about to pass away yet has not. The Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer is herst remaining title left in the world. All her other titles, names, and everything she left behind when she was a deity have been sewn into the inner side of the world.]

    Endymion replied.

    [Mr. Ray is the Eighth Luminary of the sun, the light that existed before the first sunrise. He was born before all other lights and had already witnessed the birth of the other seven lights. The light of the first Six Luminaries can only be revealed after the arrival of the Divine Transporter. He has dered that the Divine Transporter will eventually arrive, so the concept of the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer has not been erased¡­ but it no longer belongs to (**Muted**), but belongs to you, to the Divine Transporter.]

    Endymion said so.

    It read out the nk name again and recited a piece of ult knowledge to Annan smoothly.

    That was the original text in ¡°The Eighth Analects On the Sunray¡±, with only minor differences in details. However, considering more than a thousand years had passed, it was quite understandable that there would be a certain proportion of information discrepancies.

    ¡ªLook, before I was born, I was already studying hard.

    Seeing the unborn Endymion memorizing the Historical Level ult knowledge vividly, Annan suddenly had such a monologue in his mind.

    He even wanted to take Russell away to study ¡ª Look at Dove¡¯s Chocte, it can already speak the humannguage!

    Look at other people¡¯s cats!

    Russell, you stupid dog!

    Annan felt relieved at the thought of being able to criticize like this openly.

    But¡­

    Another spection arose in Annan¡¯s mind.

    That was the power of the element of [understanding] ¡ª a perceptive, non-reasoning ability to know that went beyond evidence and reasoning, directly reaching conclusions.

    ¡°When did the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer die? Specifically? Which era was it? If she is your biological mother, are you a deity¡¯s descendant?¡±

    [The First Age. It was her death that led to the end of the First Age, which was also the end of the Age of Deities.]

    Endymion answered without hesitation.

    [I was born in the Third Age, (**Muted**) is certainly not my mother. But I am the ¡®Child of the Cup.¡¯ My body entirelyes from my father, and my sentient from the Light of the Divine Transporter of the First Age. The ¡®Umbilical Cord Ritual¡¯ is among the Gail-holding Lady¡¯s rituals. It¡¯s rted to the birth of the Mysterious Lady, a second optimized version of the simplified creation ritual. In the realm linked with many ¡®umbilical cords¡¯, only the hatched seeds will possess intelligence, born with inherent knowledge.]

    The Umbilical Cord Ritual¡­¡­

    Annan was slightly taken aback, then immediately understood ¡ª this ordinary-sounding term referred to the very ritual that created the ¡°World¡¯ Child¡± by extracting curse energy.

    ording to Endymion, this seemed to be rted to the secret of the Grail. The Mysterious Lady was born from the first sacrifice, and it was that sacrifice that gave desire to the night, life to the mystery, and knowledge to the Grail-holding Lady.

    Using the fetus as a medium, absorb power from one ce and give it to the other¡­

    ¡ªThis ritual, which extracted curse energy using a fetus as a medium, wasn¡¯t it exactly like the ascendancy ritual when the Grail-holding Lady was born?!

    Endymion continued to transfer knowledge to Annan through the ¡°optical fibers¡±.

    Unfortunately, the next knowledge was a secret that Annan didn¡¯t understand.

    [To use the Umbilical Cord Ritual, one must first create a ¡°Child of the Holy Grail¡±. Although curse energy is the World¡¯s Blood, it cannot be used for the ¡°Child in the Grail¡± ritual. So if you want to create ¡°the Child of the Holy Grail¡±, you must have ¡°the Holy Grail¡± ¡ª born in the First Age and before the ascendancy ritual. Before the birth of the ascendancy ritual, it was used to shape the bodies of newly born deities. This is why the ancient deities in the First Age are more powerful than the new deities. It is (**Muted**)¡¯s creation and relic. After (**Muted**) died, the process that continued to operate the Divine Transporter logically on its own is then called the ¡°ascendancy ritual¡±.]

    Endymion revealed the secret about the ¡°ascendancy ritual¡±.

    ¡­I see.

    After hearing this secret, Annan suddenly understood the ritual logic of the ¡°umbilical cord ritual¡±.

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 Chapter 749: The End Of The First Age

    <h4>Chapter 749: The End Of The First Age</h4>

    The Grail-holding Lady was the mother of all ¡°the Child in the Grail¡±.

    The reason why ¡°Child in the Grail¡± all had blood-colored pupils was because the Grail-holding Lady had blood-colored pupils ¨C this was the proof of heredity. It transcended the limitations of bloodline and space and took effect forcefully.

    ¡ªThat¡¯s right.

    In the ¡°Child in the Grail¡± ritual, although only one party¡¯s genes were invested, the Child in the Grail was not the offspring of one person.

    Regardless of whether a male or a female used this ritual, the mother of Child in the Grail was the Grail-holding Lady, and the provider of the genes was the father.

    Although the Child in the Grail did not possess divine blood and was not a divine descendant, the Child in the Grail could still be regarded as a descendant of the Grail-holding Lady. That was because the grail held by the Grail-holding Lady represented her uterus, the process of ¡°breeding from the grail¡± itself could be regarded as ¡°born by the Grail-holding Lady¡± in the ritual.

    Therefore, a living baby could be born from this empty grail with nothing added except blood.

    The deity represented by ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± was dead, and all traces of her in the world were supposedly eliminated.

    However, because the ¡°Light of Divine Transporter¡±, which was what Annan would be born in the future, things rted to Divine Transporter had not been erased.

    The Pir of Truth transcended timelines¡­ although ¡°could¡± did not imply ¡°inevitably¡±.

    Just like the Mysterious Lady, who was the Deity of Rituals, she was born through rituals.

    As for the Deity of Desire, Grail-holding Lady also became a deity due to her desire for knowledge; in ancient times when there was no Deity of Machinery, elves created curse energy machines; and Mr. Ray himself was light, but he was also one of the aspects of light.

    among the elves at that time, there was a genius ritualist ¡ª after obtaining the Holy Grail, they suddenly thought of exploiting a bug here.

    The Holy Grail was the relic of ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± and the symbol of her authority.

    Just like ¡°Child in the Grail¡¯s mother counted as Grail-holding Lady¡±¡­ but if the Holy Grail was used for the ¡°Child of the Grail¡± ritual, the concept of the ¡°Holy Grail¡± as the ce that nurtured ancient would override the Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ¡°Grail¡±. Then, the mother of the ¡°Child of the Holy Grail¡± would be counted as ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡±.

    However, in the Third Age, ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± was dead and Annan was not yet born.

    At that time, the ¡°Divine Transporter¡± became a rule that acted ording to existing logic, which was why it was described as ¡°equitable, exalted, yet unfeeling¡±. This description, in fact, hinted that the ¡°Divine Transporter¡± was a program with high authority!

    And since the Divine Transporter was just a program, it could be understood that ¡°the authority of the Divine Transporter was controlled by the world itself¡±. In other words, the Charioteer was the will of the world itself¡­ Thus, the ¡°Child of the Holy Grail¡± could also be regarded as the ¡°Child of the World¡± in the ritual!

    ¡ªWhat an incredibly convoluted loop.

    However, it seemed very reasonable¡­

    So, that¡¯s why Endymion said that he had the bloodline of the Charioteer and that Annan was his mother¡­

    Because the bloodline of the Charioteer flowed in its body, and now this identity belonged to Annan!

    Annan hadpletely understood where the curse energy technology came from.

    The reason why ¡°the Umbilical Cord Ritual¡± where the elves extract curse energy could be established based on ritual logic was because the ¡°Divine Transporter¡± was not yet born at that time. The unique properties of these ¡°Child of the Holy Grail¡± made them the World¡¯s Children!

    It was like¡­ when the director of the human resources department resigned, the rules she established were still inherited, which was the so-called ¡°Ascension Ritual¡±. The official stamp, which was stolen and continued to be used, was what was known as the ¡°Child of the Holy Grail¡±!

    In other words, Annan didn¡¯t need to worry about how to cut off curse energy at all.

    As long as Annan could sessfullyplete the ascension ritual and officially be the ¡°Divine Transporter¡±, then the ¡°Umbilical Cord Ritual¡±, which exploited a bug to extract the world¡¯s blood, would automatically be dissolved.

    As the bug was fixed, those sinners, who used curse energy, would be gone!

    ¡°¡­So that¡¯s how it is.¡± Annan murmured.

    He also became clear about who ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± was.

    The deity who died in the First Age, rted to the Ascension Path, whose ritual could even overwrite the Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ¡°Child in the Grail¡± ritual.

    Although still unclear about the clergy and name of the original ¡°Charioteer,¡± just from this title, Annan could deduce ¡ª this unknown deity led to the end of the First Age.

    It was because, after her death, the loss of a certain truth led to the birth of demons. Before she died, even with maximum erosion, one would not be a demon, or it was also possible that there was no such thing as an erosion rate at all.

    However¡­ the birth of demons did not directly lead to the end of the First Age.

    How did Annan find out about this? The Paper Princess revealed parts of the secret to him.

    Annan asked Endymion carefully.

    Combining this with the responses from the ever-helpful elf librarian, Annan finally gained an understanding of what had happened in the past.

    In the Age of Deities, there was no concept of ¡°deity¡± at all.

    Just like the elves, centaurs, and Yaserans called themselves ¡°humans¡±. In their view, other races ¡°don¡¯t look like humans.¡±

    At that time, elves called Them ¡°Lords,¡± centaurs referred to Them as ¡°Living Pirs,¡± dragons named Them ¡°Kings,¡± giants called Them ¡°Elders,¡± and the insect race termed Them ¡°Winged Ones¡±¡­ There were also titles like ¡°Keystones,¡± ¡°Guardians,¡± and so on. Each race had its way of naming Them, which was quite confusing.

    And after the end of the First Age, the birth of deities became more difficult. Some people, and even a few ¡°Lords,¡± ¡°Kings,¡± and ¡°Winged Ones,¡± abandoned the truth and fell, bing incredibly powerful demons.

    However, at that time, demons did not initiate conflicts with other races. It was merely a natural mutation. The word ¡°demon¡± did not carry a derogatory connotation but simply meant ¡°a person with horns¡± in the Elvishnguage.

    Although demons became impulsive and their desires intensified, they were not foolish. They also knew not to abuse the world¡¯s blood; excessive use would lead to the copse of the world¡­

    ¡­So, they gathered together, led by a mature dragon who had not yet grasped the truth, and went to other worlds to plunder the world¡¯s blood.

    ¡ªSince I can¡¯t use what¡¯s in my own world, then I can rob someone else¡¯s, right?

    ¡°Sage¡¯s Stone¡± was taken from the immaterial world during the first expedition. The immaterial world copsed because thisrge piece of Sage¡¯s Stone was taken away ¡ª no one knew where this Sage¡¯s Stone went¡­ But after that, the ascended beings of this world gained the ability to use the power of ¡°elements¡±.

    That dragon, due to the sess of that expedition, obtained a Book of Truth named ¡°The Ode Of Flint¡±, thereby achieving deity status and earning the title ¡°Father of Flint.¡±

    A long time after that, it seemed a great catastrophe urred.

    Twelve guardians from different races and differing stances, but holding significant clergies, were gradually united under the pressure of that event.

    They utilized the Book of Truth, ¡°Chronicle Law¡±, as a sacrifice, and the entire world as a ritual tform, delineating 12 months and 360 days, defining the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. With this, they constructed the ¡°upright deities ritual,¡± collectively naming all managers of truth as ¡°deities¡±.

    The initial goal was to protect the upright deities with important clergy through ¡°Holy Months¡±. Later, as more important deities emerged, this ritual underwent a secondary improvement, adding the concept of ¡°subordinate deities¡± and distributing ¡°immortality¡± among other deities.

    At the same time, they established threews: deities could only be worshiped and could not personally guide or kill mortals; conflicts between deities should be handled by substitute walkers as much as possible; while deities had churches, they could not be killed by other deities.

    This served to distinguish between humans and deities, keeping the world¡¯s conflicts within certain limits.

    In the beginning, even the demons believed in deities.

    Then, something happened.

    Demons of various races, who had taken the Fallen Path, gathered under the leadership of one of Father Flint¡¯s brothers, attempting to form a new regime ¡ª they established a very strict racial and hierarchical system among demons. Within the same rank, the elder was respected. Among peers, military achievements were honored.

    Those who were unwilling to embark on the Fallen Path were ostracized as the lowest ss within their sphere of influence. Once they became demons, they were considered inferior among their peers due to theirte entry.

    However, elves could not walk on the Fallen Path.

    Because they naturally possessed pure souls, they were at a disadvantage in the country of demons. Thus, the entire elven race fled, seeking refuge in the legendary desert that could be entered but not exited, under the protection of two upright deities.

    For some reason, the centaurs also followed. There were also a few dragons and giants who refused to surrender.

    Because once the demon entered the desert, it would take seven times the damage. So they were stopped.

    Originally, the elves nned to live in the desert until the end of time¡­ at least until the emperor¡¯s rule was over before going back.

    However, at the end of the Second Age¡­ the desert gained life, turned into a living desert that swallowed everything, and began to spread rapidly in all directions.

    It was then, in their desperate escape westward, that the elves did something even the demons would not do.

    ¡ªStealing the World¡¯s Blood.

    This act rmed the remaining ten upright deities, who rushed to see what had happened. During the hundred or so years of their absence, the demons, left without supervision, split into numerous factions, waging wars against each other in the world east of the desert.

    Later, the demons were only willing to believe in three upright deities ¡ª Red Knight, Grail-holding Lady, and Father Flint. They were worshiped uniformly by the ¡°Bloodcoal Church¡±.

    On the contrary, many false deities who had escaped from Yasseran struggled through the living desert that could even devour deities¡­ Ignoring the Three Sacred Laws, they began to build their forces.

    Compared with the peace on the Yasn Continent, the old continent east of the desert was in the midst of a long, never-ending separatist war.

    This war did not end until the end of the Third Age because of the Epoch Disaster. But the knowledge belonging to demons had already been nailed into the realm of mysterious knowledge by the Mysterious Lady. The Yasseran people, unable to obtain information from their ¡°old home¡± through rituals, remained unaware of what exactly had happened¡­ Thus, the two worlds were severed.

    At that time, the Yaserans west of the desert encountered invasion and colonization by the Osserians. It further deteriorated due to the elves¡¯ abuse of curse energy; the world east of the desert underwent a prolonged thousand-year war, with the entire world submerged in blood and fire.

    ¡ªAll of this was directly or indirectly caused by the death of ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡±.

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 Chapter 750: Deity Arbiter

    <h4>Chapter 750: Deity Arbiter</h4>

    [As time passed, the Traces of Divine Transporter became faint. The thread of fate had be thinner, and the Book of Truth could no longer materialize¡­ If the Divine Transporter did not reappear, a new Epoch Disaster would inevitably usher in.]

    Endymion added.

    [Because **Muted** was not the Deity of Foresight. The principles she set in the past would eventually be obsolete¡­ There woulde a day when the Book of Truth would no longer appear.]

    In simpler terms, it was like the relic seal left behind by the ¡°Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± had almost run out of ink pad, or was almost worn out.

    From the time of the Venerated Skeleton to the time of the Man in the Mirror, there had never been a new Book of Truth¡­perhaps not because no new truth had been born, but because ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± left the ¡°automatic admission mechanism¡± under the system that could no longer be applied to the rules of the modern world.

    Upon careful thought, the Book of Truth about [machine] materialized in the Papal Kingdom was indeed rted to Annan¡¯s invention of the internalbustion engine.

    However, the focus here was on ¡°Annan¡± rather than ¡°internalbustion engine¡±.

    ¡°What exactly is the Book of Truth?¡±

    Annan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Or¡­ what are the specific rules that gave birth to the Book of Truth?¡±

    [The focus is on the Truth Fragment, not the Book of Truth.]

    Endymion replied.

    [The Truth Fragments of Light Realm each correspond to a truth and an authority in Mist World, which are the roots of the clergy. However, the mortal souls and bodies cannot enter the Light Realm, nor do the Truth Fragments have material form.]

    [Divine Transporter can gather Truth Fragments into a Book of Truth. Through the mutual restraint of plural Truth Fragments, truth has ¡°directionality¡±. And this kind of weakened and aligned truth is the Book of Truth that can be essed by mortal understanding]

    [After ascendants enter the Light Realm, they can only hold at most two page fragments. The remaining page fragments will return to the Light Realm again and be handed over to the Divine Transporter to be reorganized into a book and handed over to the new deity.]

    The secret knowledge Endymion passed on to Annan through light flow helped Annan gradually realize what ¡°Divine Transporter¡± meant.

    ¡ªThe chosen heir to the Deity Arbiter.

    The authority of ¡°Divine Transporter¡± included the creation of the Book of Truth, the induction of mortals into the Light Realm, and the eradication of the erosion rate in the soul that was born from the curse and pollution.

    That was why twelve upright deities had such high expectations for Annan.

    ¡ªBecause Annan carried the possibility of returning the world to its peak.

    The reasons why ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± died in the past, what her specific authority and title were, why her death led to the birth of demons, and when demons formed a new race remained as mysteries.

    However, Annan already roughly grasped the meaning of the existence of the ¡°Book of Divine Transporter¡±.

    This is simply the Isekai version of enlisting deities¡­

    Rather, it was remarkable that this world managed to function for several thousands of years since ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± was lost.

    This led to the emergence of unique cases like the ¡®Paper Princess,¡¯ a deity born from a painting ¡ª a result of the overly mechanical nature of the Ascension Ritual and the judgments of the Book of Truth, leading to the rise of various unusual deities.

    No wonder the gap between the new deities and the ancient deities was huge.

    The ancient deities since the Age of Deities¡­ for example, the twelve upright deities didn¡¯t need to go through collecting the Book of Truth as if what they acquired was alreadypleted.

    The first generation of ¡°the Divine Transporter¡¯s Charioteer¡± passed on theplete Book of Truth ¡ª the reason being that ¡°Divine Transporter¡± AI that operated automatically now, was not quite effective, leading to the decision from the Second Age to distribute the remaining pages to all qualified people around the world.

    Because the ¡°Divine Transporter Spirit¡± seemed uncertain about who should receive the Book of Truth, it simply gave one page to everyone.

    Although Annan has now lost her memory.

    Yet, it was evident from bits and pieces of information that the holder of the [machine] book in the Papal Kingdom did not travel around the world to collect the Book of Truth at all. It was likely that they received aplete version of the Book of Truth¡­ or perhaps, a rtivelyplete majority of it.

    ¡­But why do I have to collect it myself?

    Now, Annan stillcked two to three pages ¡ª even though the upright deities had appointed Annan to be the new Divine Transporter, the ¡°Divine Transporter Spirit¡± still stubbornly decided to go through the process.

    Does this count as self-sabotaging?

    When Annan understood the difficulties faced by various countries, the feeling that ¡®an era of great change was about to arrive¡¯ was not an illusion

    The birth of the new ¡°Divine Transporter¡± would change the situation of the entire world. That even meant the copse of the old system.

    Due to the failure of the ¡®Umbilical Cord Ritual,¡¯ curse energy technology wouldpletely copse; the Path of the Fallen might see new developments or might just vanish; demons might either be purified or simply perish; the Book of Truth would begin to reappear, and new deities would start to be born inrge numbers¡­

    At least during this time ¡ª the world really did revolve around Annan.

    ¡°¡­Can I take you with me?¡± Annan asked, somewhat reluctantly.

    As an ¡°ancient being¡± who knew many secrets, Endymion answered every question Annan asked. Of course, this might be because Annan had a rtively high authority as a ¡°Divine Transporter¡±.

    Other deities were always vague with Annan. Probably because they were concerned that once Annan realized his identity and importance, he would be too eager to collect the Book of Truth¡­ which in turn would lead to Annan not being able to find other mirrors.

    That was because fate was the track of the Divine Transporter.

    The deities all knew the Divine Transporter well.

    ¡ªBut They didn¡¯t know Annan very well.

    This level of intelligence did not interfere with Annan¡¯s actions at all¡­

    However, Endymion was different.

    The upright deities prioritized how to foster Annan¡¯s growth. On the other hand, Endymion was simply obedient to him, merely because Annan was his ¡°mother¡±.

    This was probably the difference between the elder and the younger generations.

    [If mother¡¯s wish is to reshape the Great Barrier, then I can leave at any time¡­ In that case, mother still needs to acquire two legendary curse vessels, the ¡°Smoke Mirror¡± and the ¡°Book of the Sixth Aspect of the Afterlife.¡±]

    Endymion answered openly.

    These two legendary curse vessels were names that Annan had never heard of.

    ¡­Maybe this info will be useful in the future.

    Annan noted the info in mind and asked another question, ¡°What if I wish for you to leave with me in good health?¡±

    [You need to wait until I am born. Mom.]

    Endymion replied unceremoniously.

    [First of all, Mom, you need to restore the name of Divine Transporter, so that I can be born as the child of Divine Transporter¡­ Before that, it will take about three years for me to develop to the point where I can be born.]

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Annan pondered.

    He suddenly blurted to Suuankou, ¡°Is that [Elderly Youth¡¯s Hair] still with you?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah?Ah, yes!¡± Suuankou was stunned for a moment and quickly replied, ¡°Boss¡­ I mean¡­ Your Majesty, do you want it now?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Give it to me. I willpensate you threefoldter.¡± Annan said, reaching out his hand.

    These were the ¡®age-old yet young-looking hair strands¡¯ treated with a special potion. It was a somewhat rare but not too difficult-to-obtain curse vessel. It could only be obtained from the heads of ¡®never-aging elderly people¡¯ or ¡®children who had aged like the elderly,¡¯ and then processed with a special potion.

    This was a high-level cursed material that could kill a Silver Rank transcender.

    The most correct way to use it was to bind the life of a dying person ¡ª known as the ¡°Binding of Fate Ritual¡±, by overextending their lifespan several-fold to dy death.

    Its ¡®Binding of Fate¡¯ power had now beenpletely depleted, leaving only side effects.

    Those who held it would suffer from the curse of ¡°elerated aging¡±, doubling the rate of aging.

    However, the side effects were not always bad.

    For Endymion, who had an unusually abundant amount of ¡°nutrients¡± but a rtively slow absorption efficiency, elerating aging also meant elerating growth.

    ¡°With that, you¡¯ll be born in about a year and a half.¡± Annan smiled, ¡°I will help you get rid of the bad guys who extract power from you. You can grow up here peacefully¡­ I wille back to pick you up in a year and a half.¡±

    [Then, Mom, pleasee here by the end of October next year.]

    Endymion replied, [Please take this mark as my gift to Mother¡­]

    As it spoke, a faint golden light burned on Annan¡¯s left shoulder.

    It was a pale gold, horizontal ¡°8¡±, or rather an infinity symbol; just like theyout of the two rooms here.

    ¡°Thank you. Also, if possible, you¡¯d better call me father¡­¡±

    [I¡¯ll try my best, Mom]

    What a naughty kid.

    Annan smacked his lips.

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 Chapter 751: Curse: The Unborn Endymion

    <h4>Chapter 751: Curse: The Unborn Endymion</h4>

    Annan had been maintaining the ¡°Ritual Spell: Trace of Divine Transporter¡± that he had exhausted his mana.

    Even with Annan¡¯s Order Mana value four times higher than the average, he had only about a quarter remaining.

    Annan wouldn¡¯t be able to recover his mana until sunrise tomorrow.

    To be on the safe side, Annan stoppedmunicating with Endymion and flew back to the tform.

    As Annan released his transformation state, his wings turned into light spots and dissipated. The brilliance that automatically tracked and coded Annan¡¯s body also disappeared.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please put on your clothes first.¡± Zoya had taken off her coat before she walked over and put it on Annan as soon as Annan¡¯s ¡°Trace of Divine Transporter¡± state dissipated.

    Then, she began to arrange a simple ritual on the spot and took out some emergency supplies she had stored in advance.

    Annan was unfazed with his clothes gone after using the ultimate move.

    It was simply because he got used to it.

    The first time Annan fought Rotten Man with his clothes exploded did make him feel a little embarrassed. However, after a series of simr events, he didn¡¯t see it as a big problem anymore¡­

    After all, Annan wasn¡¯t a Bishoujo in Sailor Moon. He didn¡¯t have any scars or bruises. He didn¡¯t have the troubled state of a female either. There was nothing on his male body that he couldn¡¯t show. Hence, he would keep his chest and head raised in a domineering posture.

    ¡ªAs you abandon your moral integrity, you will be stronger.

    However, Zoya obviously wouldn¡¯t think so.

    After she put some clothes on Annan, she red at Suuankou who looked over curiously.

    Suuankou:???

    He looked at Citalopram who was staring at Annan with a dazed expression. No way, I am a male!

    Why are you ring at me instead of Citalopram?

    Didn¡¯t you see that she was looking at your Majesty unabashedly?

    Annan¡¯s first reaction after putting on the Zoya coat was to carefully check whether the three-color scepter was damaged.

    In the end, Annan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the crystal ball that had been lit up through the ¡°Ritual Spell: Trace of Divine Transporter¡± had also reverted to its original state, knowing that there were no changes in its function.

    Everything else is fine, but it¡¯s really not easy to find a crystal ball enchantment that is just the right size and can fit perfectly into the three-color scepter¡­

    At this moment, Zoya found Annan¡¯s spare set of clothes ¡ª Annan¡¯s [Lover Bearer].

    That was the [Silver Sire¡¯s Favor] from before. It suffered some damage in the previous battle with Spiritual Monk Bernardino but was repaired and blessed by the Paper Princess. Except for the three silver circles on the cuffs, this dress was quite close to Enkidu¡¯s white robe [1].

    Annan¡¯s expression became a little strange when he noticed that he had to put on these clothes again after being naked.

    ¡­Will I be wearing the same thing next time?

    ¡°By the way, this hair is really troublesome.¡± Annan muttered in a low volume.

    After he used ¡°Trace of Divine Transporter¡± this time, he found that this spell was indeed not bad ¡ª although this state was weaker than the Gold Rank form that he entered when he used the Sage¡¯s Stone previously and could use the Book of Truth¡­ Annan could still use all the elemental power in advance.

    In the ¡°LAN¡±munication just now, Annan used the elemental power of [brilliance] and [understanding].

    Annan¡¯s bloodline element¡­for example, the [Frost] element showed no response at all.

    Correspondingly, the power of other elements in Annan¡¯s soul¡­ such as the power of [wisdom], [beauty], [strictness], and [glory] could be extracted.

    Although there was no battle this time, Annan realized the usefulness of this spell.

    It had only one drawback.

    This spell somewhat promoted hair growth.

    After Annan lifted the spell, his tenacious hair did not dissipate. Instead, Annan only dispelled the light attached.

    This long, silver-white, silky hair, which was two meters long, was spread out on the ground, resembling liquid mercury.

    This left Annan unable to move at all, so he had no choice but to ask Zorgen to cut off his hair first. He would then return and find a hairstylist to do his hair again.

    ¡°Maybe this hair can be used for some ritual.¡± With the mentality of not wasting resources, Annan ordered Zorgen, ¡°Let¡¯s put it away first.¡±

    That was hair with a length of just one and a half meters¡ªunder normal circumstances, hair of this length would have already be dry and frizzy due to dehydration.

    However, these silver-white hairs that appeared out of thin air due to the effect of the spell not only felt smooth as silk but were even slightly translucent¡­ Perhaps it was rted to the fact that Annan had been dyed with [brilliance] and [understanding] elements.

    After putting on the white robe, Annan picked up Russell, who was so frightened that she copsed into a small furball, and put her into his arms.

    He exposed his left shoulder and asked the others, ¡°Can you see this mark?¡±

    ¡°¡­The pale golden symbol?¡± Zoya thought.

    However, Suuankou on the side blurted out, ¡°Boundless serpent?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s infinity. The symbol of Ouroboros.¡± Citalopramined.

    ¡°Ouroboros¡­¡± Annan said, deep in thought.

    Probably that.

    They were not Annan, and they certainly could notmunicate with Endymion. Without the brilliance element, these northern nobles would have no way of knowing that there was someone inside the chrysalis of light.

    It was still the size of a fetus, twenty meters tall.

    If such a huge fetus was born, it would be a giant baby.

    If it grows up, wouldn¡¯t that be Ultraman?

    There was no direct rtionship between Endymion and the Worm Ritual. The northern nobles knew that the Worm Ritual should be somewhere else. However, there must be a connection¡­ Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t know that sacred bone extract could forcibly activate inert curse energy.

    The ce where they learned how to activate the curse energy should be the same ce where they got the Worm Ritual and the ce where they learned that the ck Rock Curse Shaft was still in normal use ¡ª this ce might also have [the Heart of Justice] clues.

    The enlightenment was short-lived, but Annan was certain that the sacred bone extract used by the ¡°counts¡± was the extract of ¡°the Heart of Justice¡±.

    Annan felt he could finally get the ¡°Heart of Justice¡± he had been pursuing for a long time as he followed this clue.

    However, what did my stupid son, or should I say stupid daughter, leave in my body?

    Annan checked on it for a moment, and a system prompt appeared before his eyes.

    It turned out to be a curse¡ª

    [The Unborn Endymion (Persistent Type): If your left shoulder is not exposed to light for 13 hours, you will asionally feel scorching pain.]

    [Effect: When you use ¡°Ritual Spell: Trace of Divine Transporter¡± or use Exalted Avatar to fully activate the [brilliance] element, your or your Exalted Avatar¡¯s size will be eight times the original size]

    [¡°8¡± is the extremity of light¡ª¡ªEndymion]

    ¡­What a weird curse.

    The conditions of this curse made Annan stunned for a while.

    It had no side effects, and it didn¡¯t seem to offer much either. The power of the elements would not be stronger ording to the size of the body. Once Annan was already forced to transform, he wouldn¡¯t continue to fight in melee.

    What¡¯s the use of bing a giant that¡¯s eight times my size?

    Annan¡¯s first reaction was.

    Could it be that you¡¯re really an Ultraman¡­

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 Chapter 752: The Surprises On The Other Side

    <h4>Chapter 752: The Surprises On The Other Side</h4>

    Ah Dian sat in the subway that was gradually slowing down, with a light in her eyes.

    She was very excited.

    Finally¡­

    They could finally leave that dark underground world!

    Of course, there was nothing wrong with the underground world. But, she wanted to take a look at the sun in another world¡­

    This experience of traveling to another world was unique. They spent half a month digging for gold in the Cinder Barren for half a month and leveled up to the peak of an ordinary person.

    Then, they went to Sporeggar Mill. Under Nefertari¡¯s guidance, theypleted the rank advancement, filled in four or five spells in the spell slots, exchanged the dug gold for arge number of silver coins and paper money, and purchased a set of equipment.

    ¡­Now, they finally left Beginner Vige and headed to the ground.

    While learning spells and rituals did have its ritualistic aspect, Ah Dian still felt that letting them go fight monsters,plete tasks, and run errands first, and then returning to such activities when they realized their proficiency wasn¡¯t enough, was probably more enjoyable.

    How can anyone not y the main storyline at the beginning and then go crazy on grinding the skill bookster?

    After finally leaving the beginner vige, Ah Dian looked back and felt that it was pretty good.

    Especially when they had a starting capital and didn¡¯t have to worry about spending money, that felt the best.

    ¡°Mr. Alfonso, we are almost there.¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance put down the book in his hand and made a voice that was quite youthful, but at the same time had a sense of maturity beyond his age.

    The man with red hair and red eyes sitting opposite him nodded and subconsciously looked at Thirteenth Fragrance.

    ¡­He is probably the most normal person in this team.

    Alfonso thought.

    Thirteenth Fragrance¡¯s naturally curly hair was fluffy and disheveled. His slender body was draped in a red and ck wizard robe. In Husky¡¯s words, this outfit made him look more like a master thief.

    This robe was not the ¡°school uniform¡± of any wizard tower.

    Because of Nefertari¡¯s warning, the three of them did not go to Bone Healer Seti to learn spells.

    This was the ¡°newbie gift bag¡± that Thirteenth Fragrance bought with their money. In particr, it was his own money earned from being a gold miner.

    This was a robe sewn by Nefertari himself. It was a powerful curse vessel in itself¡­ and it was also a piece of fashion with a unique style.

    The left sleeve was longer than the right sleeve.

    Because on its left hand, there was a half-fingerless glove¡ªthree rings adorned the middle, ring, and pinky fingers. The rings were attached to the sleeve itself, turning the end of the long sleeve into a half-glove. However, the index and thumb were left exposed.

    This robe contained three Instant Spells from the Shaping School [Scorching Ring]. Every time it was used, one of the rings lost its heat. It could summon a scorching fire ring with an invisible force field somewhere, and tighten it immediately.

    If released skillfully, it could bind multiple enemies together and burn them. It could also cooperate with the terrain created by Husky to control the enemy.

    This could be regarded as a supplement to the ability of Soul Snatch Wizard, whocked the ability to fight enemies at Bronze Rank. The approach to recharge the magic was notplicated¡­ it did not require any influence. It only required a curse vessel, which was not particrly expensive and could be charged through ritual.

    Ah Dian purchased a dreamcatcher-like ne from Nefertari¡­ This purple ne could amplify the [Healing Touch] spell, doubling the effect when she treated a sleeping person, at the cost of having nightmares the next time she fell asleep.

    It was not like falling into a nightmare world but just having a nightmare.

    However, she wouldn¡¯t sleep in this world, so it didn¡¯t matter.

    Paired with the bracelet she bought, there was a silver bell with a slight hypnotic function and a standard white crystal ring that could slightly enhance the healing effect. This was a pretty powerful novice healer outfit.

    On the other hand, Husky seemed to be extravagant in equipment.

    She had no money left.

    When leaving Nefertari, she exchanged all her money for items, leaving nothing behind.

    In Husky¡¯s words, ¡°This looks like a premium store. We may not have ess to these things when we return.¡±

    The silver-haired girl spoke confidently.

    She was dressed in an extravagant white gown that resembled a wedding dress. It wasn¡¯t a creation by Nefertari but a deity-named curse vessel seized from the Pale Princess¡¯ believers.

    This curse vessel was called [the Pale Princess¡¯s Gentle Touch].

    While its effects were quite potent, the curse was exceptionally powerful as well. It rendered the wearer of this garment unable to ept healing from others, causing any healing received to instead inflict harm. However, when the wearer inflicted harm on others, they could heal themselves at a rate of one-fifth, and all self-inflicted healing effects were increased by 50%.

    In other words, it was equivalent to a 30% boost to all lifesteals.

    As a Shaping Wizard, she was the most traditional mage in a sense.

    Three bottles were hanging on her waist ¡ª inside were ck Fire, water, and acid. In the course of this half-month study, she sessfully learned how to use ¡°strong acid arrows¡± with acid¡­ and immediately thought of the special use of ¡°ck fire arrows¡±.

    She could also protrude rock spikes from surrounding structures or use the power of the earth to create a protective barrier around herself. The ¡°Geo Strike¡± used by Wandering Child was the ¡°warrior version¡± of the Shaping Wizard¡¯s ability.

    The control efficiency of the Shaping Wizard wasn¡¯t as fast, and their range wasn¡¯t as extensive. However, they excelled in handling intricate details, such as turning water into sharp des or using the earth to create coffins to encase people.

    In case of a spreading fire, they could also freely grasp mes and condense them into fireballs for attack.

    The spell slot mechanism of Shaping Wizard was rather strange.

    Their Guided Spell parts were fixed.

    For example, ¡®solid-liquid transformation,¡¯ ¡®elemental solidification,¡¯ and so on. The higher the level of the Shaping Wizard, the more types of ¡°Shaping¡± it could perform¡­ and except for ¡°Guided Spell¡±, all other spells were used to store ¡°models¡±.

    For instance, ¡®sphere,¡¯ ¡®de,¡¯ ¡®pir,¡¯ ¡®coffin,¡¯ ¡®shield,¡¯ and so on. They needed to create a model in advance and store it in a spell slot during their free time. This way, when they needed to use it, as long as they met the minimum requirements of that model, they could ¡®generate it with a single click¡¯.

    The lower the precision, the smaller the volume, and the faster the shaping speed.

    The Shaping Spell only used time as the basis for mana consumption¡­ This meant that the more refined and reasonable the model was, the better the effect would be.

    She also bought a set of ¡°anti-cut gloves¡± ¡ª because in principle, the Shaping Wizard could directly liquefy and reshape any metal they touched. This meant that the Shaping Wizard were the natural counters of swordsmen.

    As long as she touched the opponent¡¯s sword, she could make the opponent realize in confusion that all they had left was the handle.

    Moreover, the ¡°metal¡± that had been drawn away could still be controlled for a period. Of course, sustaining control also consumed mana, so it was often more effective to counterattack immediately.

    However, considering that as a modern person, she might not have the exceptional reflexes required to fight smoothly with des. So Husky spent a lot of money to customize a set of ¡°anti-cut gloves¡±, whose main purpose was to catch swords in the air.

    To prevent the tragedy of ¡°Shaping Jude¡± that had been circted among yers for a long time from happening to him¡­ and to resist shes that he could not nullify or defend for the time being, Husky also bought a knight helmet equipped it what lenses that Nefertari made from smoky quartz.

    So, when she was fully armed, her image became¡­

    A silver-haired girl wearing a fully concealed knight¡¯s helmet, a somewhat revealing white wedding dress, and heavy anti-cutting gloves that covered half of her lower arms, enhanced with metal wires and iron tes. She had a bunch of bottles and containers hanging from her waist, and she held a shield in her left hand.

    ¡°¡ªThis is just like a pervert.¡± Thirteenth Fragrancemented, ¡°It feels embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°But it has great attributes!¡± Husky argued, ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to avoid damage altogether?¡±

    Thirteenth Fragrance thought about it and felt Husky was indeed right.

    So he ignored her strange behavior.

    When they first met Alfonso in their fully armed attire, Husky¡¯s appearance left the other side in a daze. However, the effect was quite effective. Alfonso was the first person they had encountered who was so peculiar that one had to hesitate before attempting to attack.

    It was during this moment of hesitation that Thirteen Fragrances, who had captured the opponent¡¯s emotions, immediately prevented this unnecessary battle. Husky had directly recognized the other¡¯s identity ¨C he was the ¡°Thief Saint,¡± Nefertali¡¯s older brother.

    After identifying themselves, they quickly shook hands and made peace.

    Alfonso was heading toward the Frostwhisper Province¡­ He had something to discuss with the new Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. Neither his teacher nor Nefertari knew about this.

    Although the saint had a high status, Alfonso had never seen Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke and had never been to the world above round. At this time, Thirteenth Fragrance and the others volunteered to take over the mission to lead him.

    ¡­Of course, they had never been to the world above ground.

    However, who would care about such detail?

    As long as they checked the information quickly enough, Alfonso wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that it was also their first time¡­

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 Chapter 753: Are You As Foolish As They Are?

    <h4>Chapter 753: Are You As Foolish As They Are?</h4>

    Annan didn¡¯t have the energy to keep staring at the forum.

    However, Longjing Tea, as the mentor of the three new yers, had already learned about the emergency there when Alfonso was about to arrive in Frostwhisper Province.

    Thirteenth Fragrance, as a Soul Snatch Wizard, did not perceive Alfonso as being malicious towards himself or Annan¡­ As Nefertari¡¯s brother, this man had a pretty good temper.

    He had a better temper than Miss Nefertari.

    So Thirteenth Fragrance wasn¡¯t particrly vignt. It was only after taking the subway to Frostwhisper Province with Alfonso that they casually sent a message to the mentor to exin the situation here.

    However, Longjing Tea had just logged off shortly before that¡­ When he logged back in again half a dayter, he quickly replied to the message and inquired about the situation.

    By that time, Alfonso was already approaching the Frostwhisper Province.

    Longjing Tea certainly knew that Alfonso should be considered a semi-ally. He was manipted by his teacher and could not be said to be in the same camp as the Bone Healer. Moreover, Nefertari was considered their ally.

    But, why did Alfonso suddenly visit the Frostwhisper Province?

    Longjing Tea suddenly felt that something was amiss.

    Although Alfonso was only an iplete saint ¡ª a saint who forcibly used sacred bone through surgery, he was still a saint after all and was one of the world¡¯s topbat forces.

    Since the deities didn¡¯t like to interfere too much in mortal affairs, there was no doubt that the saints were the topbat force in the world. Apart from the fact that there was no need for escort and etiquette, the saint¡¯s visit and the king¡¯s visit could be regarded as a major event on the same level.

    Most importantly, his intention was unclear.

    Longjing Tea and the others were escorting Celecia to Frostwhisper Province. She was Annan¡¯s prisoner, and it was rted to the Winter Insurgent.

    Considering that the Winter Insurgent was also part of the underground forces and originated from the same ce as Saint Alfonso, Longjing Tea felt his nerves tense up. It might have been unnecessary, but he decided it was wise to report this matter to Annan.

    However, he couldn¡¯t contact Annan, so he had to make an urgent call to Wandering Child and exin the matter clearly to him.

    At this moment, the Child happened to be waiting outside the door, waiting for Annan and the others toe out.

    When Annan put on new clothes and exited the door, the Child immediately went up to Annan and exined the matter clearly.

    ¡°¡­Alfonso is here too?¡± Annan pondered, frowning.

    Why is he visiting?

    Nefertari¡¯s brother actually had a good rtionship with her. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were dependent on each other for survival.

    However, Nefertari had already learned the true nature of her teacher from ¡°Nightmare: Gemini¡±, so she didn¡¯t dare to visit the Bone Farm again, fearing that Bone Healer Seti would notice the fear in her heart and realize that she knew too much.

    In that case, she might not be able to get out of that ce.

    She indeed wanted to meet with Alfonso. She had mentioned this to Annan a few times, but she couldn¡¯t find a good reason to lure Alfonso out without arousing Seti¡¯s suspicion.

    However, Alfonso visited before Nefertari sent the letter.

    Moreover, he wasn¡¯t here to find his sister¡­ but to approach Annan.

    Estimating the timeline, Alfonso¡¯s decision to head to Austere-Winter likely coincided with the night Annan ascended as the Grand Duke. It was after that night that he received the intelligence and decided toe to Frost Whisper Province.

    He must be here for Annan.

    If Annan hadn¡¯t suddenly decided to gank the northern nobles, he would be in Frostwhisper Province now.

    However, what did Alfonso want to do?

    Was he a friend or foe?

    Also, Celecia was about to arrive in Frostwhisper Province.

    They were both celebrities in the underground world and must know each other.

    One was a public idol, Digger among Diggers, Poppy in the Deep Rock; the other was a sinner who desecrated the sacred bone, the only ¡°Thief Saint¡± who was not respected by others¡­ If they met, what would happen to them?

    Thinking of this possibility, Annan realized that he couldn¡¯t stay in the northern territory for too long ¡ª he had to head back as soon as possible.

    Any emergencies on both sides must be handled by him personally.

    Even if it was left to ¡°Ten Fingers¡± to handle it, it might not be to his liking.

    Annan originally thought that if Celecia was the only one in Frostwhisper Province, there wouldn¡¯t be any big problems.

    He originally nned to take a detailed tour of the northern territory, plowing through everyone¡¯s house one by one to interrogate them to find out where they tinkered with the extract of ¡°the Heart of Justice¡±.

    Annan might get clues to seek out ¡°the Heart of Justice¡±.

    Of course, they were merely clues at most.

    As Annan¡¯s resonance with ¡°the Heart of Justice¡± deepened, he had be vaguely connected to it.

    Therefore, when Count Urie took out the ¡°local curse energy device¡±, he immediately realized that it was the sacred bone extract belonging to ¡°the Heart of Justice¡±.

    After one or two more nightmares, Annan should be officially in sync with ¡°the Heart of Justice¡±.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back first, Your Majesty.¡±

    Keenly aware of Annan¡¯s thoughts, Zoya whispered considerately, ¡°After all, because of the ident just now, Your Majesty¡¯s clothes are¡­ sullied. If you continue to explore, you might catch a cold. And if you buy new ones, the clothes don¡¯t suit your identity.¡±

    ¡­Hmm? You¡¯re right.

    Annan nodded silently.

    ¡°And I also need to have some clothes custom-made,¡± he added. ¡°I need to make sure the rune on my left shoulder is visible.¡±

    ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that¡­ an off-the-shoulder style?¡± Citalopram whispered.

    ¡ªThat¡¯s quite bold.

    She actually wanted to say that.

    However, under the gaze of the two of the ¡°ten fingers¡±, she dared not speak her mind.

    Thus, feeling ufortable, she had no choice but to take a screenshot and post it on the forum.

    [Annan is going to change into an off-the-shoulder style outfit!]

    ¡°¡ªWhat? What?¡±

    ¡°¡ªThe one like Kal¡¯tsit [1]?¡±

    ¡°¡ªHey, I think it would look great. After all, Annan is not afraid of the cold.¡±

    ¡°¡ªTsk¡­ I seem to have an inspiration. I¡¯ll draw a doujinshi about that tomorrow¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªStop a moment. The boss upstairs, can you give me a copy?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI want to see it too. Not because I¡¯m lusty on Annan, I¡¯m just a little curious¡­¡±

    ¡ªI saw you.

    Annan silently noted down everyone¡¯s ID.

    He coughed slightly and said seriously, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave Zorgen here.¡±

    ¡°You willmand the Frost Beast troops, tasked with tracking down the remaining northern nobles¡­ We must find their criminal evidence.¡±

    Annan squinted his eyes and emphasized the word ¡°must¡±.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take Count Urie¡¯s body and the count ball back as evidence first ¡ª private use of curse energy is already a capital crime, and there is no need to charge him separately. Once this crime is announced, no other noble will try to exonerate him.¡±

    ¡°The problem now is how to spread this crime to other northern nobles. We already have enough evidence to investigate them, and they must have other evil research in their hands¡­¡±

    ¡°After we go back, Zoya will be responsible forpiling the charges against Count Urie. He had previously been used of studying forbidden rituals and avoided imprisonment only by offering three of his estates as coteral. This point can also be singled out. Using this charge as a starting point, the crime of using curse powers can be used to seize the remaining Northern Brotherhood.¡±

    ¡°There are no innocents among them; their crimes vary only in severity. Zorgen, you first use the Frost Beast troops to sever their connections, then leak the news¡­ The first one to surrender, the first willing toe forward and denounce others, can be given somewhat more lenient treatment. But don¡¯t let them know who else has surrendered.¡±

    Annan said leisurely, ¡°Just tell them¡­¡±

    ¡°Everyone ¡ª if you consider yourselves truly loyal, now is the time to show it. By the mercy of the Grand Duke, he was reluctant to resort to extensive killing on the first day of seeding to the throne¡­ This will be yourst chance.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, are you really not nning to eliminate them?¡±

    Citalopram couldn¡¯t help but ask in a low voice.

    Annan immediately red back, ¡°Are you as foolish as they are?¡±

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 Chapter 754: Iâ€™ll Pronounce You As Count Frostwind

    <h4>Chapter 754: I¡¯ll Pronounce You As Count Frostwind</h4>

    Luckily, there was Lockpicker Jacob setting up the group teleportation ritual.

    Annan and his party did not return to Viscount Ostoff Dolgoruky to clean up the meaningless mess but teleported back to Frostwhisper Province.

    This actually saved them the time of taking the subway back to the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    Most importantly, before Celecia and Saint Alfonso arrived, Annan had to find a tailor to quickly alter the clothes.

    Annan, now wearing a white robe that was light and soft, could reveal the cursed rune on his shoulder and rx a bit when he was alone with the yers.

    Endymion gifted a curse with a high priority to Annan.

    Among all the curses Annan had mastered, except for ¡°The Last Work: David¡± by the Man in the Mirror, ¡°Endymion¡± had the highest priority.

    Annan originally had a curse that ignored pain. He simply dressed himself properly and had Jacob transport them back, then personally arranged for Jacob¡¯s induction into the Winter¡¯s Hand¡­ Despite so, Annan then began to feel a slight burning sensation in his left shoulder.

    Fortunately, the intensity was not too severe, akin to the sensation of dipping one¡¯s hands into warm water after returning from the cold outside. In fact, this level of warmth was quitefortable, even warming up his entire body¡­

    However, only three hours had passed.

    If Annan covered the rune for 13 hours, it might be a ¡°scorching pain¡±.

    That definitely would not do. It was already simr to the curse ¡°Lost Eye¡± that Annan rejected before, which would disturb Annan to a great extent.

    However, non-Persistent Type curses generally had ways to release them.

    For example, the ¡°Butcher¡¯s Knife¡± curse that Annan obtained at the beginning could no longer hinder him. Only in the beginning, when Annan was still at Freezing Water Port, was he worried about how to resolve this curse.

    Starting from Roseburg, Annan no longercked enemies.

    Although from the beginning, Annan had made a n to use yers to resolve the curse. However, Annan didn¡¯t resort to that in the end.

    After he had seeded to the throne of Grand Duke, it was even easier for him to do things.

    Each month, the Duke personally executed a death row inmate, and this was done publicly. Although it might sound somewhat cruel and bloodthirsty, seemingly having a negative impact on the reputation of the young Duke¡­ Therefore, Zoya did not immediately implement it.

    However, Annan believed that this n should be positive for his current reputation needs¡ª

    Grand Duke Ivan was famous for his benevolent governance.

    Of course, the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡¯s benevolent governance had its limits.

    However, Ivan did suppress many conflicts, but these conflicts were not fundamentally resolved. It was only because of Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s charm and his outstanding governance methods that they were temporarily resolved.

    But now, it was Annan¡¯s turn.

    Annan had only turned 15 a few days ago.

    He did not need to follow Ivan¡¯s path and continue to implement benevolent policies. He did not have the intimidating authority of Ivan, and would only turn into a puppet if he continued on the benevolent path.

    What he needed was deterrence.

    ¡ªAfter all, Annan was a ¡°tyrant¡±.

    Those opinions deeming him ¡°cruel¡± were, in fact, inadvertently promoting Annan¡¯s cause.

    Annan was aware that a country could not be managed by only one person. Even the wisest king would work overtime until he died of exhaustion.

    Since these nobles and ministers had been able to properly manage the Austere-Winter Dukedom in the winter year, it undoubtedly demonstrated their capability. This had already saved Annan a lot of trouble.

    Annan did not need to cultivate a new team. He only needed to gain at least the superficial loyalty of these old people to restore the normal operation of the entire country.

    Charm, deceit, conspiracy, intimidation¡­ Among many methods, intimidation was the most direct and effective.

    In other words, sacrificing a few to build up deterrence.

    Annan couldn¡¯t find a suitable candidate previously. But fortunately, this ¡°candidate¡± delivered itself to his door, and he even brought the knife to kill them. It could be said that the service was quite considerate.

    With the ¡°honorable sacrifice¡± of the Northern Brotherhood, Annan decisively and neatly dealt with them in a ruthless manner. Showcasing his ability to control andmand the Frost Beast troops and Winter¡¯s Hand would certainly intimidate the rest immediately, deterring them from rash actions.

    Subsequently, Annan¡¯s monthly public executions would be a sort of ¡°ritual.¡±

    Under the influence of the winter year, the style of Austere-Winter Dukedom leaned towards that of Northern Europe on Earth, or perhaps Russia. The type of ruler who was slow in action and demanded evidence for reasoning was not favored; instead, a more brutal and autocratic tyrant provided them with a sense of security.

    Annan nned to use this approach to satisfy the curse while demonstrating to others that despite his young age and seemingly frail appearance, he, as the Duke, was not to be trifled with and was, in fact, quite dangerous.

    This approach ofbining severity with leniency, being both strict and moderate, was essential to maintain a long-term deterrence over the nobles of the Austere-Winter Dukedom for a long time. It would ensure they worked diligently for Annan.

    Then, once the yers had grown stronger, Annan nned to gradually ce his people into positions of power, recing the current incumbents.

    For example, recing the Northern Brotherhood who were about to have their homes ransacked by Annan.

    The Frost Beast troops had just started and hadn¡¯t reached their destination yet. However, since the evidence against Count Urie was already secured¡­ the others were inevitably guilty. Because a charge as serious as using cursed energy was something a border count simply couldn¡¯t withstand.

    And it wasn¡¯t about a noble needing to present thorough and credible evidence to the Duke to denounce their actions¡ªit was the Duke himself nning to take action against them.

    The evidence just needed to be convincing enough to satisfy the public.

    Coincidentally, the existence of the Northern Brotherhood was not a secret. Count Urie yed a leading role in it, while Viscount Ostoff was the scapegoat pushed forward to face the consequences.

    Now that Viscount Ostoff Dolgoruky had gotten into trouble, implicating Urie Frostwind who screwed up the entire operation, and the Grand Duke possessed the evidence against them, the ims that this incident was done by Count Urie alone and had nothing to do with other people would be invalid.

    No one with intelligence would believe those ims.

    This was the reason why Annan dared to leave Zorgen in the northern territory and let him confiscate and ransack properties at will.

    Count Urie had conducted forbidden rituals multiple times, employed cursed energy technology, and attempted to assassinate the Duke¡­ The entire northern territory was already doomed.

    Count Urie¡¯s n was originally quite feasible.

    If Annan was just an ordinary Silver Rank Transcender who had just arrived; if he did not bring these yers who could be infinitely resurrected.

    Even if Annan arrived with two of the ¡°Ten Fingers¡±, the four curse energy users were enough to kill him.

    After that, they could employ curse energy to extract the Austere-Winter bloodline.

    On the eve of the Frost Maul Disaster, they acquired part of the technology to replicate the Austere-Winter bloodline.

    Although both Annan and Ivan knew that they were indeed the bloodline of the Old Grandmother, in the eyes of these nobles, this solid truth was a one-way im to consolidate their rule.

    After all, Grand Duke Ivan had been frail and sick since he was a child. Many Austere-Winter family members had died due to assassinations and curses, and there were also Grand Dukes who were killed in the winter years. If they were the blood of the Old Grandmother, would the Old Grandmother just sit back and watch?

    Since no one had cared about it before, why would they care about Annan¡¯s murder now? Worse still, Rotten Man had already visited a few years ago. He had attacked Annan, but he was still alive and well.

    Old Grandmother had been sleeping for nearly a hundred years, how could she suddenly wake up after Annan was killed?

    After decades had passed, the truth would be blurred.

    Moreover, the Austere-Winter family also had Maria and Dmitri. Killing Annan did not count as exterminating the Austere-Winter family ¡ª after all, the news of Dmitri¡¯s loss of fertility had not spread.

    It was a clever misunderstanding.

    It could be said that these nobles were smart.

    However, Annan didn¡¯t have the time to resolve it.

    He would eliminate them all.

    Annan had talented individuals at his disposal ¡ª yers who were fully monitored and had exceptional qualities made for an excellent choice.

    These territories can¡¯t be left ungoverned, after all.

    Well, Suuankou has a pretty sharp mind, and so does Longjing Tea and Delicious Wind Goose.

    How about finding a yerter and appointing him as Count Frostwind?

    Annan thought.

    If everything goes well, I just need to pick a group of yers who don¡¯t like fighting and solving puzzles very much and let them switch careers to engage in city-building and simtion management games in the northern region.

    ¡­I¡¯m going to be so busy.

    I have to install my men in Winter¡¯s Hand, the northern region, the underground world¡­

    Sooner orter, the entire Austere-Winter will be reced by Annan¡¯s men.

    By then, it might be possible to unify the five countries.

    After all, Endymion seemed to really have the ability to rebuild and unify the Great Barrier. Although those were one-sided words, the specifics need to be verified separately.

    However, if Endymion could really do it¡­ Annan could at most unite with the Noah Kingdom and the Papal Kingdom. If the yers were distributed well, the underground world could also join this faction.

    At that time, I cannot let those who have done nothing (specifically the United Kingdom) take advantage for free.

    Annan thought this and walked into the living room.

    Celecia had already left the subway, which meant she was almost here.

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 Chapter 755: Are You Loyal?

    <h4>Chapter 755: Are You Loyal?</h4>

    In the end, I¡¯m still returning to this ce.

    Walking into the familiar yet unfamiliar Grand Duke¡¯s Residence again, Celecia was in a trance for a moment.

    Everything was the same as before.

    The courtyard was bustling with people, as nobles, ministers, and local officials reporting on their work constantly entered the main building. They were somewhat curious about the beautiful Celecia but didn¡¯t inquire much¡­ After all, the cold air of the winter helped people stayposed.

    Celecia, led by a Winter¡¯s Hand, proceeded through a narrow door to the side, along with Longjing Tea, who was wearing a thick wizard¡¯s robe.

    This was a narrow corridor, allowing at most two people to walk side by side. On both sides were metal reliefs depicting scenes of warfare. It was specifically constructed for defensive purposes in case of emergencies, and to defend against external threats.

    Celecia still remembers that in this passage was a famous relief called ¡°Unyielding Fort¡±. It depicted the ssic battle with dwarves and giants besieging the Sentinel Fortress. It was painted by the Paper Princess and was delivered here in person.

    However, Old Grandmother did not ept the painting in person.

    After the Paper Princess left, the Old Grandmother sent someone to make it into a metal relief. It could switch between two modes through mechanisms within the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence ¡ª to continuously reduce the physical strength of enemy soldiers in the corridor, or to continuously heal the wounds of their soldiers in the corridor.

    And it also had a warning function.

    It operated on a whitelist basis ¡ª it would sound the rm immediately unless designated personnel entered.

    This was why only the two of them came to this ce.

    Celecia remembered these.

    The teacher mentioned it to her back then¡­

    If one day, enemies attacked the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke¡¯s mansion, attempting an assassination.

    At that time, the mission of Winter¡¯s Hand was to block this alley with their lives, buying precious time.

    ¡­He had said such things.

    Yet, when the teacher defected, he was so resolute¡­

    It was precisely because Celecia couldn¡¯t figure out what her teacher really wanted to do that she ended up being ¡°captured¡± by the yers in this almost ¡°gifted¡± manner.

    She did have something to ask and say.

    ¡°This is the garden.¡± Longjing Tea introduced the ce to her, ¡°His Majesty will exercise here every day.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ I remember.¡± Celecia replied subconsciously.

    ¡­You remember?

    Longjing Tea looked at her in surprise, thoughtfully.

    Speaking of which, Celecia seems to be from the Winter¡¯s Hand¡­

    In what could hardly be described as a spacious courtyard, tall trees with lush green leaves even in the depths of winter were nted. In the center of the courtyard was a continuously gushing small fountain. In terms of the Grand Duke¡¯s estate¡¯s standards, it could be considered quite small.

    However, that was the Austere-Winter style.

    Due to the presence of the ¡°small barrier,¡± the effective residential and ntation areas had significantly reduced. The Austerians had long grown ustomed to a rather intensive lifestyle. Austere-Winter was perennially impoverished with scarce resources. Even the grandest nobility couldn¡¯t matchmon merchants¡¯ dietary and lifestyle standards in other countries.

    Resources were limited,nd was limited, and poption was limited.

    Even Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke could not waste resources.

    The reason why the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence still appeared to have the scale of a street from the outside was because the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence itself also served as a government office building ¡ª Winter¡¯s Hands members also work in the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    The actual living space of the Austere-Winter family was even smaller than that of Viscount Ostoff, who lived on the mountaintop.

    The fountain extended out in white traces to the east, west, south, and north, dividing the ground into four rectangr sections.

    In the past, Annan and Dmitri would practice the Frost Sword in the northeast corner.

    Celecia remembered it vividly.

    Because only this location allowed for a clear and unobstructed view from the rooms ¡ª Grand Duke Ivan¡¯s health wasn¡¯t great, and he couldn¡¯t be exposed to cold winds.

    He only taught Annan the Frost Sword once or twice, and each time was a life-threatening endeavor. On regr days, he would watch Dmitri teaching his younger brother swordsmanship through the window. Sometimes, Maria would also secretly peek at Annan from her room on the second floor.

    She remembered those scenes vividly.

    ¡ªThose were also her childhood too.

    She took a deep breath and walked into the room.

    Longjing Tea followed her into the room. The Winter¡¯s Hand who led them in immediately closed the door.

    His authority was not enough to enter the house.

    ¡­Just like Celecia back then.

    ¡°Long time no see¡­ Celecia.¡± Annan sat on the sofa, holding a steaming cup of tea. He looked at her with a smile and nodded gently to Longjing Tea.

    He didn¡¯t resemble his father, Ivan, who always wore that same long cloak for years without changing it.

    His attire was somewhat¡­ modern¡­

    Annan wore a fitted, sleeveless gray shirt inside, which wasn¡¯t much different from Grand Duke Ivan. However, he didn¡¯t properly wear a coat over it. Instead, he had a white fur cloak with a hood that had fur lining.

    However, in Celecia¡¯s eyes, this cloak might have been due to the designer¡¯s unique preference, and it appeared somewhat skewed ¡ª it not only had sleeves but also only had sleeves on one side.

    It was draped over his head, with the fur covering his right arm, neck, and chest but leaving his entire left shoulder and arm exposed.

    Annan¡¯s left arm was covered with a deep gray knitted arm sleeve, extending from the upper arm all the way to cover half of the back of the hand. Only his left shoulder was exposed, with the dark golden, interlocking circr rune on it pulsating with an uncertain, breathing light.

    Annan¡¯s silver-white hair flowed freely down his back, with the ends appearing as if they were cut by a de, exceptionally sharp at the tips. Combined with his peculiar and asymmetric attire, His Majesty¡¯s petite frame exuded an irresistible and unforgettable enchanting allure.

    However, Celecia didn¡¯t dare to look at Annan for too long.

    Behind Annan, a gray-eyed beauty with long dark blue wavy hair and a gentle temperament smiled sweetly. Her fingers lightly touched, resting in front of her abdomen, in perfect silence.

    Celecia felt that the beauty didn¡¯t look at her.

    But there was a bone-piercing sense of insight that faintly emanated from the void ¡ª she had already beenpletely locked onto by this ¡°ten-finger¡¯s¡± perception.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days, Your Majesty¡­ Annan.¡± Celecia paused, then lowered her head and spoke softly.

    ¡°Please have a seat.¡± Annan extended his left hand, gesturing toward the sofa before him. ¡°Sit here¡­ Zoya made some milk tea for me, and here are some snacks. I wasn¡¯t sure how much sugar you like, so I didn¡¯t have her add any¡­ Sugar is here, honey is here.¡±

    ¡°You must be colding in from outside, right? Longjing tea? Please, have a seat too¡ªit¡¯s not anything overly serious; we can talk while enjoying our snacks.¡± Annan smiled gently.

    As Annan spoke, he ced his elbows on the armrests of the sofa, lightly tapping the tips of his fingers, and cing them on his chest.

    The deep gray and pure white cuffs intertwined in front of Annan, creating a rather three-dimensional triangr effect.

    ¡°Celecia, you used to be Winter¡¯s Hand. You have also served me and Austere-Winter.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t wish to detain you; our rtionship shouldn¡¯t havee to this point. It¡¯s not dignified for both you and me, and it¡¯s not friendly to you, who came here trusting me¡­ The only ones who might find this a cause for celebration are the nobles waiting for the oue of this negotiation.¡±

    ¡°I hope that we can solve this problem in this room. Best of all, we can give the other party a satisfactory answer before this pot of tea is finished.¡±

    With that, Annan got up and personally poured a steaming cup of milk tea for Celecia and Longjing Tea.

    When Annan sat down again, he extended his right hand and grasped the three-color scepter standing next to the sofa.

    Annan¡¯s presence exuded a different air.

    Not even to the extent of a monarch. From that incredibly captivating charisma¡­ he became as majestic as a deity.

    ¡°So, first question.¡±

    There was no waiting for Celecia to reply.

    Annan asked directly.

    He looked at Celecia seriously.

    ¡°Are you loyal to the Grand Duke?¡±

    At that moment, Celecia¡¯s pupils suddenly shrank!

    In her eyes¡­

    That moment¡­

    ¡ªThe image of Annan and dmir ovepped.

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 Chapter 756: From Now On, You Serve Me

    <h4>Chapter 756: From Now On, You Serve Me</h4>

    Her fingertips trembled.

    The past shed before her eyes like a movie as refined as sand flowing through her fingertips.

    ¡°¡ªAre you loyal to the Grand Duke?¡±

    When dmir picked her up, he also asked him this way when he was still ¡°Thoreau Nick¡±.

    His parents were both murderers. His father was an elite assassin capable of assassinating official wizards, while his mother was a follower of the ck Widow, skilled in concocting potent poisons. Both of them had the blood of innocents on their hands.

    There was no value in regretting their deaths. Objectively speaking, Thoreau Nick also knew this.

    However, he witnessed his mother being killed by enemies, and his father never returning. He was then expelled from the vige by the vigers¡­ In the howling blizzard, alone, clutching his father¡¯s used short sword, he was driven out of the small settlement.

    Young Thoreau Nick was filled with fear and restlessness.

    He walked across the snow and reached the big city.

    He wanted to join the Winter¡¯s Hand, but was not epted due to his parents¡¯ crime; he was attacked by the Frost Beast, raised by Spirit Thief and almost died in the snow; he held his sword and wanted to join a caravan as a guard, only asking for a stable job and a decent meal, but he was rejected because of his young age andck of sword skills.

    He begged and worked odd jobs in different ces, but his money was swindled clean. Furious, he beat up a thief and tried to use the stolen money to learn swordsmanship, but he was rejected by the swordsmanship dojo instructor.

    ¡°I heard about what happened in your hometown, Thoreau Nick. I won¡¯t teach you swordsmanship. You are a natural killer. When you draw your sword, you instinctively attack others¡¯ vital points.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t killed anyone yet, and there¡¯s still a chance to turn things around. You¡¯re in good health; you can work hard, and you won¡¯t starve. There arebor jobs everywhere. Alternatively, you can learn to read and write; it¡¯s also a path to bing someone important.¡±

    ¡°If you learn swordsmanship¡­ No, if you learn anybat technique, it might be used for killing. Once you kill the first person, you won¡¯t be able to stop. What I teach here is Bodyguard Swordsmanship, not the art of an assassin.¡±

    The old teacher¡¯sments about Thoreau Nick quickly spread throughout the city.

    This skinny and rebellious boy who came from elsewhere, always carrying a sword, appeared like a lone wolf in this small town and was quite well-known.

    However, after the word spread, no one even hired him to work.

    ¡ªI will die if I continue to stay here.

    Thoreau Nick was well aware in his mind.

    However, he also knew that the old teacher¡¯sments were not urate.

    That was because he was not an unruly person. Instead, he was making himself inconspicuous. Unfortunately, his presence was so ring that no amount of concealment could nullify its negative effect.

    In the end, he killed someone ¡ª it was on his 9th birthday.

    Thoreau Nick did not learn swordsmanship.

    However, it was not necessary to have a sword to kill someone.

    When his father used to y with him, he would point out the human body¡¯s weak points on him. Thoreau Nick would chuckle, subconsciously engraving them in his memory.

    A fierce duel that didn¡¯t require sword-fighting.

    Just pour a puddle of slippery oil in the dimly lit alley entrance. People walking by would slip and fall.

    He would hide nearby, holding a heavy stone. After that person fell, he would rush forward, smashing their temple, the back of their head, and neck with the stone. Then, using the dagger from the person¡¯s waist, he would pierce their heart and cut their throat.

    ¡ªThoreau Nick nned this.

    However, he soon discovered that the human body was so fragile.

    His n didn¡¯t work at all.

    His mind went nk at the time.

    He just hit the back of the head with all his strength. When he regained his senses, the man was already dead.

    Murder was so easy.

    Thoreau Nick thought.

    He took the victim¡¯s wallet and wanted to escape town. However, he was robbed by a much more veteran criminal.

    Neither the stone nor the sword could prevail against a gun. He obediently handed over the stolen wallet. Only a subconscious act left a silver coin hidden in his mouth. Even his sword was taken away.

    If he hadn¡¯t knelt and begged for mercy in time, saving the other party a lead bullet¡­ maybe there would have been no future for him.

    With a silver coin in his mouth and empty hands, he left the town alone under the watchful gaze of the thugs.

    ¡ªThis time, he was not as lucky as before.

    Or was it his punishment for killing someone? This snowstorm was particrly harsh.

    When he was almost unconscious, he vaguely saw a pair of boots and a cane.

    The man, holding a cane, without a trace of pity, and with no regard for his dignity¡­ used the cold cane to turn over his feeble body, tore open his clothing, and pressed it against his left chest.

    ¡°Homeless puppy? Has he killed anyone?¡±

    A low, emotionless voice sounded, ¡°The desire is very strong¡­¡±

    ¡°So? Let me ask you ¡ª if you have another chance. Who do you want to be?¡±

    ¡­Is this person a fool?

    At that time, the dying Thoreau Nick had this idea in his mind.

    He didn¡¯t have the energy to respond.

    This was how it should be.

    However, a warm current was introduced into his heart through the cane.

    His chest became extremely cold, but his body gained strength.

    He came to life.

    Realizing this miracle btedly, Thoreau Nick stood up, knelt in the snow in disbelief, and looked up at the middle-aged man wearing a thick cloak.

    At that moment, the man was as great as a deity.

    ¡°If you had another chance, who would you like to be?¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s deep voice sounded again, ¡°Or¡­ do you want power?¡±

    ¡°Ah? I want to! Master Wizard!¡± He blurted out, ¡°I want power! Please give me the strength that I can use to kill people!¡±

    In Thoreau Nick¡¯s mind at the time, only wizards had this magical power.

    However, at the moment he said these words, he already regretted it.

    However, at that time, he was blurred and could only tell the truth instinctively.

    ¡°Oh?¡± After hearing Thoreau Nick¡¯s words, the middle-aged man chuckled, ¡°Is it power used to kill people?¡±

    ¡°So¡­ for this power, to what extent can you go?¡±

    ¡°Sir, you saved my life.¡±

    Little Thoreau Nick said without hesitation, ¡°If it¡¯s for the master, I can kill anyone¡­ If you have any enemies, I will kill them for you! I will never reveal any information about you. If I fail, I will suicide with poison¡ª as long as it¡¯s for the master, I would even give up my life!¡±

    He learned these words from his father.

    ¡°[As long as it¡¯s for the master, I would even give up my life.]¡±

    The middle-aged man repeated the sentence andughed out loud for the second time, ¡°Then, remember this sentence, puppy.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°So¡ªare you loyal to the Grand Duke?¡±

    Grand Duke¡­

    To be honest, Thoreau Nick didn¡¯t have a clear idea about this.

    He didn¡¯t even know how many levels there were in the nobility, and he had never even seen the mansions of nobles. He only heard about it asionally and knew that Grand Duke Ivan was a good man¡­ That was all.

    ¡ªBut what did the Grand Duke have to do with him?

    Thoreau Nick was the child of a murderer, and he was also a young murderer. He was not a subject protected by Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke and perhaps should be sent to the gallows.

    ¡°Whether I am loyal or not¡­ you have the final say, sir.¡±

    Thoreau Nick replied without hesitation, ¡°I listen to yourmand.¡±

    ¡°Great answer.¡±

    ¡°Then take my cane and stand up. Homeless puppy¡ª¡±

    The middle-aged man replied calmly with a voice without any emotion, ¡°From now on, you are a human being.¡±

    ¡ªFrom now on, I am a human being.

    This voice sounded in Thoreau Nick¡¯s ears.

    He took a deep breath, held the cane handed over by the middle-aged man, and expressed his submissions.

    ¡­Even since then.

    He also never cared about the political situation in Austere-Winter after he joined Winter¡¯s Hand.

    Thoreau Nick had not been trained in torture techniques and counter-torture techniques, nor had he studied the doctrines of military, political, and interpersonalmunication. Even these courses were taught within Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The border nobles, the divine bloodline nobles, the wizard family, the ritualist family¡­ Thoreau Nick didn¡¯t care about those at all.

    His teacher dmir said that whoever was a traitor and betrayed the Grand Duke, he would kill that person. His most talented and irreceable asset was his assassination.

    Everything within reach could be killed ¨C with talent and a hundred times worth of diligence, his assassination had be more and more sophisticated. Even the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± were not as good as him.

    Just like the old teacher said, he was a born killer.

    From the moment he killed the first person, his talent could no longer be hidden.

    He was able to easily kill people muchrger and stronger than himself. Not just because the other party underestimated him, but because he acted without any scruples.

    The blood of [Murderer] flowed in his veins.

    Other than that, he was useless.

    It wasn¡¯t until¡­

    Until that ¡°Professor Wolf¡± gave him a second life.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Celecia¡¯s voice trembled.

    She was silent for a moment.

    Under Zoya¡¯s invisible gaze, she lowered her head, ¡°I am naturally loyal.¡±

    ¡°¡®Thoreau Nick¡¯ is fine for anything, he is just a stray dog¡­¡±

    Professor Wolf¡¯s maic voice seemed to echo in her ears, ¡°However, the respected and beloved ¡®Miss Celecia¡¯ is not necessarily¡­¡±

    ¡°She is a human being. A free person¡­ A beauty who owns everyone¡¯s liking.¡±

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 Chapter 757: So, You Knew?

    <h4>Chapter 757: So, You Knew?</h4>

    In the image of the Grand Duke Annan ovepped with dmir from the past.

    Celecia smelled the aura of death.

    She sensed it vividly.

    If she answered as she did back then to dmir, that answer seemed like asking ¡°Grand Duke? Who¡¯s that?¡±, she would die here and now.

    It could be a decent death through a ss of poisoned wine, or maybe a public execution.

    Today, she was no longer the innocent youth she was back then.

    Annan was serious.

    She knew it was impossible for the young new Grand Duke to forgive someone who hadmitted the rebellion and was still unwilling to surrender.

    Then, a new idea came to her mind.

    ¡­I don¡¯t want to die yet.

    If she were still ¡°Thoreau Nick¡± from back then, she wouldn¡¯t care.

    At that time, Thoreau Nick really wanted to dedicate everything to the teacher from the bottom of his heart. After bing Celecia, her first reaction was ¡°I can help teachers more.¡±

    But now, she met new buddies.

    She went to many ces she had never been before, witnessed other people¡¯s lives, and had a life of her own.

    She had buddies who could travel with her and someone who loved her. She had alsoughed heartily, and had anecdotes that she could tell with interest over drinks¡­

    Was she still loyal to dmir?

    ¡ªThat was natural.

    However, could she still sacrifice her life for him without hesitation like she did in the past?

    That was not necessarily the case.

    She wanted to live.

    So, she surrendered.

    ¡°A great reply. That¡¯s a great start.¡±

    Annan smiled, slowly tightened his grip on the three-color scepter, and slowly spread his fingers apart one by one.

    Having a weaker body than Celecia, this young Grand Duke was only a wizard¡­ However, he exuded a strong sense of oppression that was difficult to look at directly.

    ¡°One thing must be clear ¨C dmir has abandoned you.¡± Annan said calmly.

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case¡ª¡± Celecia subconsciously wanted to retort, but her words suddenly got stuck.

    She thought that after she became Celecia, she never see the teacher again. There was no exchange ormunication between them. The only certain thing was that the teacher and she confirmed each other¡¯s survival¡­

    Could it be that the teacher already knew that I would betray him now?

    She thought about it sadly.

    Celecia gripped the teacup tightly, oblivious to the heat scorching her hands.

    Rather, this hot teacup could give her a masochistic sense of self-punishment, which in turn made her more determined.

    ¡°What I want to ask is how dmir betrayed me.¡± Annan said slowly, ¡°I¡¯m talking about ¨C everything.¡±

    ¡°¡­Everything?¡±

    Celecia was stunned for a moment and said slowly, ¡°Just as you expected, there is nothing much to say. The teacher used Dmitri¡¯s bodily fluids and the Grail-holding Lady¡¯s ritual to cultivate the bloodline seeds, and used the cultivation results to create a device that could control the Frost Beast¡¯s curse vessel.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Annan asked calmly, ¡°What I¡¯m talking about is ¨C why did he betray me back then? What was his purpose?¡±

    ¡°He wants to leave the Austere-Winter Dukedom.¡± Celecia nced at Zoya, hesitated before gritting her teeth, and replied, ¡°This is a deal. He exposed all the potential enemies of Austere-Winter and defeated them in one fell swoop.¡±

    ¡°For example, local nobility, such as the Northern Brotherhood¡­ for example, the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    ¡°¡®Her Royal Highness Annan¡¯s biggest enemy is Winter¡¯s Hand itself. Grand Duke Ivan doesn¡¯t even have military power or personnel appointment and dismissal rights, and the officials of the United Kingdom are not so outrageous¡­ He is simply working for Winter¡¯s Hand.¡¯ The teacher said those to me.¡±

    Zoya said nothing and closed her eyes.

    That was indeed the truth.

    She also knew it, so she didn¡¯t get angry.

    Winter¡¯s Hand had always been the highest secret service agency under the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke. With the gradual delegation of authority from generation to generation of Grand Dukes, the scope of Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s privileges gradually increased.

    For the Austere-Winter family, which had a high mortality rate, this governance model could minimize the negative impact of the death of the ruler. Moreover, the Austere-Winter family was usually not good at politics¡­ It wasn¡¯t easy for them to merely live a stable life without being assassinated,mitting suicide, or going crazy.

    The more they wanted to be a good Grand Duke, the more bad things they would encounter, and the faster they would die. Finally, every generation of Grand Duke could not be a ¡°good Grand Duke¡±.

    However, Winter¡¯s Hand was not aplete machine ¨C they were not as scary as the outside world said. Their emotion was notpletely severed, just became weak. Naturally, they also had selfish motives and desires¡­ Even eunuchs knew how to enjoy themselves, not to mention the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    The father and son, Ivan and Annan, were a special casepared to the Grand Duke in the past.

    Even across several generations of Grand Dukes¡­ ¡°Ivan¡± was definitely the wisest one. His talents as a ruler were unparalleled in the world. Even though he served as an image, he could convince many courtiers and nobles, eliminate disputes within the principality, and gradually sort out the messy political situation.

    However, the Winter¡¯s Hand was not happy about that.

    As Ivan gradually tried to take back his power, the senior management of Winter¡¯s Hand gradually had ulterior motives.

    Naturally, they must be loyal to the Grand Duke and obey the Grand Duke¡¯s orders.

    However, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t seek their own benefit.

    This was the truth of why dmir was able to rebel with other members of the Winter¡¯s Hand.

    He specifically picked out all the ¡°disloyal¡± Winter¡¯s Hands, and the ones left behind were naturally loyal.

    For the Winter¡¯s Hand, which had lost half of its people, had seen a significant decline in strength and a massive decline in power. They had to start relying on Annan. Then, they would have no choice but to follow the young Grand Duke everywhere¡­ Otherwise, there was a high probability that Annan would be limited in the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence as a puppet by them. They would act on Annan¡¯s behalf for state affairs.

    Zoya was not stupid. She had already figured out the truth about that ¡°betrayal¡±.

    His Highness Annan had been particrly good at this strategy he called ¡°fishing¡± since long ago. His enemies would always take the bait. The border nobles were like this in the past, the Winter¡¯s Hand was like this¡­ and the Northern Brotherhood suffered the same fate like this today.

    ¡°This is notprehensive enough.¡±

    However, faced with such an answer, Annan shook his head.

    His words pierced Celecia¡¯s chest like a sharp sword, ¡°What I want to ask is: Why does dmir want to leave Austere-Winter?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me. I know that you know the answer to this question.¡± Annan stared at Celecia, ¡°I trust you very much, Celecia. I also decided to forgive you for your past sins. But, if you dare to fool me for this question, it would be tantamount to betraying my trust in you.¡±

    ¡­It¡¯s just like that day.

    The young son, who read deeply into people¡¯s hearts, stared at Celecia like a devil.

    However, on that day, Thoreau Nick was still his direct subordinate, but now Celecia had be a prisoner ced on the other side of the table.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Celecia was silent for a moment and replied in a low voice, ¡°I really don¡¯t know. Teacher left too urgently back then, so I could only form Ice-shredders with the defected Winter¡¯s Hands to survive in the wilderness.¡±

    In fact, she did know the answer.

    Using Dmitri¡¯s blood to study the Frost Beast was a deal between dmir and Professor Wolf. Leading the Winter¡¯s Hand to rebel to form the Ice-shredders and taking away the support of local nobles was a deal between dmir and Annan. They would develop power underground andter grasp political power to surrender to Annan to erase their past crime. However, that was the second half of the n.

    However, Celecia knew that dmir had his own ns.

    It was this answer alone that she couldn¡¯t tell¡ª

    Of all the secrets, this was the only one that could not be told to others.

    If she revealed this, she had betrayed the teacher in the truest sense.

    She also thought about making up an answer, but she was worried that with her IQ, most of the lies she made up would not be able to deceive Annan.

    Therefore, she could only answer ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±.

    She was originally a fool, so it was expected of her not to know.

    ¡°You are lying.¡± However, that lie didn¡¯t evenst a moment before Annan recognized it.

    That was within expectations.

    Of course, Annan didn¡¯t know what dmir was doing underground.

    Annan merely went on with his typical approach. Deliberately bringing up information that was difficult to discern and know, and using this to bluff Celecia, forcing her to give out something to prove her sincerity and prove that she didn¡¯t know about this issue.

    This was what Annan originally nned.

    However, the moment Celecia said, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±.

    She emitted a red light.

    That was the light that belonged to the ¡°betrayer¡±.

    So, you knew?

    At that moment, Annan was also stunned for a moment.

    He suddenly understood the new approach to capitalize the curse, [Angel¡¯s Left Eye].

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 Chapter 758: The Winter Insurgent Vladmir

    <h4>Chapter 758: The Winter Insurgent dmir</h4>

    ¡­I see.

    Annan reacted quickly.

    This was probably because Celecia had sworn allegiance to Annan and was subordinate to Annan.

    Then, after Annan said to Celecia, ¡°If you lie to me, you will betray my trust in you¡±, the [Angel¡¯s Left Eye] that tracked and located the betrayer would start to take effect on Celecia¡¯s words.

    Although he learned unexpected information through the curse, Annan did not reveal it.

    Annan simply shook his head slowly, adopting an expression as if he saw through the lies, and calmly said.

    ¡°I believe you haven¡¯t fully grasped the situation¡­ Since your sincerity iscking at the moment, let¡¯s have you cool off in the dungeon for a while, Celecia.¡±

    Annan announced slowly.

    He tapped his staff and signaled Zoya to adopt the second n.

    Zoya stepped forward tacitly, removed Celecia¡¯s vessel, and put heavy handcuffs on her.

    Zoya kept her vignce and was ready to fight at any time.

    However, Celecia didn¡¯t resist or struggle.

    Celecia didn¡¯tunch a sudden attack on Zoya¡­ She didn¡¯t even take a second look at her removed curse vessel.

    Instead, Celecia just slumped over.

    It was just like a beautiful flower withering in an instant, losing its vitality.

    Without saying a word, Zoya simply gestured for two Winter¡¯s Hands to put Celecia into the dungeon.

    Winter¡¯s Hand did not reprimand, insult, beat, or torture this former colleague and traitor. Theyplied with the orders of the ¡°Ten Fingers¡± and the Grand Duke, and they did not carry any emotions towards the mission itself.

    This was the code of conduct of Winter¡¯s Hand ¨C turning yourself into a tool and freezing your soul. Only ten fingers are connected to the heart¡­ Only the ¡°ten fingers¡± and the ¡°heart¡± can have the power to ¡°think¡±.

    Originally, Winter¡¯s Hand had gradually forgotten this mission.

    The rebellion triggered by Celecia made them recall it again.

    Celecia naturally knew this too ¡ª if she didn¡¯t resist, the two Winter¡¯s Hands wouldn¡¯t even nce at her. They didn¡¯t even restrain her, just each pressed down on one of her shoulders.

    Soon, she was imprisoned by the two personnel in the dungeon of the Grand Duke¡¯s Residence.

    Although it was a dungeon, it was rtively clean and not damp.

    The dungeon had no chairs, no beds¡­ but also no torture instruments, just a floor made of refined steel. It was just extremely cold, cold enough to make one¡¯s feet go numb.

    And the cold air was continuously creeping up through the steel tes.

    Without saying a word, Celecia stood skillfully in the corner and leaned against the wall.

    If she squatted down, her knees would tremble after a while, making it difficult to stand up. The right approach was not to sit or squat but to take a few steps after a while to dissipate the cold air from her body.

    ¡­She was very familiar with this ce.

    When she made mistakes back then, she would always be locked up here.

    One level down from here was the ce where ¡°Wolf¡¯s Kiss ritual¡± was performed. The person responsible for guarding the dungeon outside was the Winter¡¯s Hand, who led the Frost Beast.

    This was done to facilitate the use of the Frost Beast in interrogating the prisoners¡­ Simply by walking a frost beast around the dungeon, all the positive emotions of those imprisoned were absorbed.

    It was like having one¡¯s scalp nibbled by a soul-devouring monster.

    Without positive emotions to resist, it was especially easy to break through the prisoner¡¯s mental defenses during interrogation. This, coupled with the Winter¡¯s Hand¡¯s standard spell that could freeze consciousness, and paired with Soul Snatch Magic, made it effortless to extract ample information.

    However, using such methods would cause a certain degree of mental damage.

    The Frost Beast plus the Faleration spell, plus the Soul Snatch spell¡­ would break through the psychological defenses through continuous use. However, it would leave a heavy psychological trauma. Celecia¡¯s identity was subtle. Grand Duke Annan would not use such rough methods on her.

    So, Celecia didn¡¯t give up yet.

    She was just thinking about how to weave an exquisite lie.

    A lie that was enough to fool Annan.

    ¡°Hu¡­¡± Celicia let out a deep sigh. The white mist in front of her condensed into frost.

    It felt like an illusion.

    She felt that the air was gradually getting colder¡­

    ¡°¡ªThoreau Nick.¡± A low, cold voice came from outside.

    Even though it had been a long time since shest heard it, Celecia would never forget that voice.

    ¡°¡ªTeacher! Teacher! Teacher!¡±

    Suddenly, a light burst in her eyes. She immediately left the wall, leaping joyfully to the cell door in three big steps. She was like a little dog that, after its owner had been away for a long time, finally returned home and excitedly yelped and scratched at the door

    She eagerly reached out and tightly grasped the cell door.

    The chain of the handcuffs hit the metal cell door, producing a clear nging sound.

    The moment the cell door felt the pressure, the barrier activated.

    The rm sounded suddenly.

    However, Celecia was already too preupied to care about that.

    At that moment, she did think about¡­

    How could the teacher appear here? Could this be some kind of illusion? Was this some kind of hallucination? Or was she in a dream?

    The sounds she heard could be fake.

    However, the emotions surging in her heart were by no means false.

    Finally, she saw the man.

    He was slightly different from the image in her memory.

    He was a stern-faced old man, his face covered with centipede-like scars. The older scars were reduced to sunken, discolored marks, while the newer ones were still cracking and showing raw flesh.

    He had a face resembling that of a pirate, further marked by terrifying, fierce scars. Yet, these features couldn¡¯t immediately capture one¡¯s attention because of his pupils ¨C a mix of light blue, dark blue, purple, and yellow, resembling moonstone with their strange, gradient colors ¨C which would instantly draw all the focus.

    He was draped in a pure white coat, his strong physique even causing the shoulders of the coat to bulge, giving off an impression reminiscent of a ¡®naval¡¯ officer.

    Despite considerable changes in appearance and the absence of the ¡®Ten Fingers¡¯ ring, he still held that cane in his hand¡­ the one that gave young Thoreau Nick a sense of ¡°home¡±, resembling a cor-like cane.

    The old man calmly gazed at the stunningly beautiful girl locked in the dungeon.

    She looked at him with a longing gaze, seeking affirmation and touch.

    Yet, there was still not a trace of emotion in his pupils.

    Everything was as before.

    He looked at Celecia as if he were looking at the thin youth with freckles and a stooped body.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Thoreau Nick.¡± The old man said slowly and walked forward.

    At this moment, Celecia, who was immersed in the joy of their long-awaited reunion, suddenly realized, ¡°Teacher! His Majesty Annan is above, and the Winter¡¯s Hands are there too¡­ Master Zoya and Master Victor are both here! There are many other helpers¡­ You¡­ you better run away¡­¡±

    She struggled for a moment, still hoping that dmir could escape from here quickly.

    Although she didn¡¯t know what Annan wanted to do, he wanted to see dmir.

    And she also knew that dmir hidden¡¯s deepest secret must never be revealed to anyone.

    ¡ªShe was the keeper of the secret.

    She was the only secret keeper¡­ the secret keeper most trusted by dmir.

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 Chapter 759: Stop It, Vlad

    <h4>Chapter 759: Stop It, d</h4>

    Celecia knew that Annan was the most beloved by Old Grandmother, unlike other members of the Austere-Winter family.

    They could hurt Annan, but they could never kill Annan.

    It was dmir who told her this.

    There was no way he didn¡¯t know.

    Even the Rotten Man would pay the price for His stupid actions¡­ not to mention the transcenders like them who were not even deities. They were merely apprentices of the Transcendence Path.

    Therefore, when they were in conflict with Annan, they would subconsciously hold back their strength.

    Holding back would most likely lead to defeat in the end.

    The best approach was to avoid conflict.

    Whether it was harming Annan, suppressing his sphere of influence, or even sending an assassin of the same level to kill him, these were all considered normal political conflicts. Old Grandmother would not intervene in such matters.

    That was how they had always behaved.

    There was no way the Old Grandmother would help Annan capture his enemies.

    She was the Tradition Deity ¡ª pampering of children and grandchildren was not a tradition to be encouraged. In this cold ce, Her preferred tradition was to encourage Her descendants to hunt independently and live independently.

    ¡°Eh?¡± However, at this moment, Celecia suddenly noticed a detail.

    Her pupils suddenly tightened.

    There was a solidified ice sculpture behind her teacher, dmir.

    That was Winter¡¯s Hand patrolling the dungeon.

    He still maintained the posture of leading the Frost Beast on patrol. He did not even realize that an enemy appeared, and this movement waspletely frozen.

    The Frost Beast beside him had turned into ashes.

    Only a t and smooth, palm-sized ice-blue gemstone was being toyed with by dimir¡¯s other hand.

    That was the ¡°heart¡± of the Frost Beast, their energy core.

    While she waspletely unaware, the patrolling Winter¡¯s Hand and the Frost Beast had been poisoned!

    Even though she lost the power of the ¡®Silver¡¯ ship, her body still retained the curse power of a high-ranking curse. There was no way she waspletely unaware of this¡­

    No, that¡¯s not right!

    That¡¯s not the point¡ª

    ¡°You have killed the Winter¡¯s Hand and the Frost Beast guarding the dungeon¡­¡± Celecia murmured.

    What she actually wanted to say was, ¡°Do you really know what you¡¯re doing?¡± But realizing that the person in front of her was her most respected teacher, the words that came out were instead, ¡°Is it really okay for you to do this?¡±

    This was undoubtedly a provocation to the Austere-Winter¡¯s Grand Duke.

    If one considered the past desertion as part of a benefit exchange, as a result of a transaction, his position, though delicate, was actually more inclined towards the Austere-Winter Dukedom¡­

    But now, having taken such actions and shown such a clear hostile attitude¡­ it was undoubtedly a preparation to be an enemy of the Grand Duke of Austere-Winter!

    She wasn¡¯t worried about Annan.

    She was worried about her teacher, dmir.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that either, Thoreau Nick.¡± dmir said slowly, ¡°This is¡­ your fault.¡±

    His words were like a sharp de, piercing Celecia¡¯s heart.

    Her pupils suddenly tightened. Fear, grievance, and disbelief almost instantly turned into tears, welling up in her eyes.

    ¡°¡­Teacher!¡± Even if her arm were severed by a de or her abdomen pierced by a bay, she would never cry.

    However, when dmir uttered these words, she burst into tears instantly, sobbing and defending, ¡°I definitely didn¡¯t tell the secret¡­ I won¡¯t tell¡­¡±

    ¡°You will.¡± dmir stared at the girl with long pink and purple hair, who was as beautiful and noble as a princess, and his tone did not change at all, ¡°Because you have changed.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t! I won¡¯t! I¡¯m already thinking of ways to deceive him! I can do it.¡±

    Her pupils shook violently.

    Celecia fell to her knees weakly and cried loudly, ¡°I will never¡­never betray you¡­I really won¡¯t¡­¡±

    Just like facing her parents who used her of stealing, or her respected teacher who was disappointed in her because of others¡¯ false usations, she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

    It was precisely because shepletely believed and loved her teacher ¡°dmir¡± that she was so deeply hurt by these words.

    The next moment, her cry was frozen.

    The fear, grievance, and pain that flowed out along with the tears were simultaneously altered into pure fear.

    Behind dmir, a tall, dark gray shadow emerged silently.

    It had only an upper body ¡ª a humanoid figure with blood-soaked bandages over its eyes, its ears and tongue cut off, hair disheveled like a madman. It seemed to be howling at the sky, its entire being raising numerous arms towards the heavens.

    Its bare upper body was also covered in scars, with skin of a pure dark gray color, while the wounds were a striking, vivid red.

    Its heart was a terrifying, sunken wound. It was arge circr cavity inside which was a dark red sphere, pulsating slowly like a heart.

    It had eight arms, raised high up. But each arm had several fingers broken. Some arms were fractured, thin, and bent¡­ deformed to the point that it reminded one of a ¡°dried-up tree.¡±

    The dark gray realm covered Celecia¡¯s vision like the ominous air before a storm. Everything she saw was stained with a dark gray color. Only the wounds were as bright red as before.

    Celecia was the ¡°Captain of the Stone¡±. Of course, she knew what it was.

    It was an Exalted Avatar.

    The ¡°soul essence¡± developed after having obtained the ¡°supreme crown¡± and ¡°the perfect essence of the elements¡±.

    Its shape would express everyone¡¯s innermost essential desires and the true nature of the soul.

    At this moment, dmir summoned the Exalted Avatar¡­ His purpose was obvious.

    He wasn¡¯t here to warn Celecia.

    He wasn¡¯t here to take her away.

    He came to kill Celecia and silence her.

    ¡°Do we really have to do this?¡± Celecia murmured.

    Her face was full of despair, and her whole body was as dry as a puppet. It was as if all hope was lost in an instant.

    ¡°You said so, Thoreau Nick.¡± dmir¡¯s low and cold voice sounded calm, ¡°You promised.¡±

    ¡°For me, you¡¯re willing to discard your life¡­ Now, I¡¯m here to im your life.¡±

    ¡°Or¡­ was that a lie to deceive me?¡±

    ¡°No! No! That¡¯s not a lie!¡±

    Celecia reached out and covered her heart as if it wouldn¡¯t hurt anymore.

    She sobbed and burst into tears, ¡°That is indeed true! I can really die for the teacher, but¡ª¡±

    It¡¯s just¡­it shouldn¡¯t be such a cheap death.

    It shouldn¡¯t have been executed and silenced as a traitor, but rather a noble and passionate sacrifice¡ª

    She suddenly choked up and couldn¡¯t speak anymore.

    ¡°There¡¯s no such distinction.¡± dmir replied expressionlessly, ¡°Death is death, and it is nothing else.¡±

    ¡°You have still changed. Thoreau Nick will not attach so many elements to ¡®death¡¯, and he will not try to find value in ¡®death¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°Because Thoreau Nick is my dog, and you¡­ are not anymore.¡±

    ¡°You are right, dmir.¡± A steady voice sounded.

    A middle-aged man with frosty hair and gray eyes, wearing a housekeeper¡¯s uniform, walked slowly from the other end of the corridor, ¡°Stop it¡­ old friend.¡±

    ¡°Victor.¡± dmir turned his head, looked at the middle-aged man with a mere Silver Rank, and frowned, ¡°It¡¯s you¡­¡±

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