Chapter 1158: Chapter 127: Four Lords Leave (Part 3)
Claire walked towards the remaining two dazed cooks.
“Where’s the farm owner?”
The cooks snapped awake, seemingly ready to roar fiercely at her.
Bang—
Claire waved her hand, a wild wind spread out, turning into a breeze that gently brushed Lu Li’s sticky fur not far behind.
The cook with her torso erased collapsed backward, brown-yellow fat trembling on the torn cross-section.
“Where’s the farm owner?”
Claire turned to the last cook.
“…Grr…”
The cook mumbled timidly in a language no one understood.
This time, Claire controlled her strength a bit, making the cook’s chest cave in without shattering everywhere.
“We can’t understand it.” Claire shook off the bloodstains on her hand in disgust, listening to the sounds outside the kitchen, she said to Lu Li, “No one discovered us, the assassination was successful.”
“Can’t you directly deal with the Viscount?”
Black cat pupils reflected Claire wrapping bandages around her hands, her body surging with powerful energy.
“Remember the gun theory?” Claire said while wrapping from her wrist, “Victory depends on who pulls the trigger first. And our gun’s range is shorter, our leather armor thinner.”
For example, Claire versus the Head Maid. If Claire gets close, she wins, if the floating Head Maid wins.
“Besides, we still don’t understand the Viscount’s power.” Claire wrapped her other hand.
Fear stems from the unknown, this unknown is terror beyond cognition and incomprehensible power. There is no way but to accumulate experience, which often means ‘piling up with human lives.’
This is why spirits are so loathed. The good news found in the bad situation is, due to the population decrease, the ratio of newborn spirits is gradually declining, and even existing spirits are slowly decreasing—monstrosities similarly covet their essence.
“Do you want to return to human form?” Claire asked Lu Li.
“Not for now.”
The advantages of the black cat form are temporarily irreplaceable.
“Need me to clean you up a bit?”
After a brief silence, Lu Li said, “I can wash myself.”
The kitchen indeed has a water source. The pollution level is uncertain, but it’s enough for a bath.
Claire found a metal basin and filled it with clean water, waiting for Lu Li to jump in, the dirty stench of blood diluted the clean water, she heard something, walked to the narrow window and gazed outside.
The filth blending into the water reduced the soul-impacting stench, at the cost of the water quickly turning into sewage dirtier than a sewer as Lu Li’s fur swayed.
The scent Lu Li emitted was still detectable from several meters away, he stepped out of the basin, jumped straight into the clean water tank, holding his breath and gradually submerged into its dark depths.
The tank did not change color, the visible dirt had faded, but the scent would not disappear, after soaking for a while, Lu Li climbed out of the tank, walking wetly towards Claire.
Clang—
Hearing the noise, Claire withdrew her gaze and saw Lu Li dragging wet marks closer, the plates he stepped on shaking before regaining stillness.
“Need a towel?”
“No need.”
The kitchen did not have many things considered clean.
Claire watched Lu Li walk to her feet, bent down to lift him by the neck towards the window.
However, Lu Li did not look outside the window, his dark cat eyes calmly stared at Claire.
“What’s wrong?” Claire felt puzzled.
“You can use a more friendly gesture.”
“Oh sorry, mother always grabs strange baby creatures this way.”
Claire didn’t mind the bandages getting wet, shifted to holding Lu Li under the arms. Despite the equally odd posture, it was much better.
Water droplets slid along the tail, Lu Li’s gaze fell beyond the window into the dim darkness.
Firefly-like lights dotted around the gardens across the moat.
“Other contestants are here, they appeared faster than expected.” Claire recovered seriously, whispering low at the ear.
Lu Li and Claire spent less than an hour from leaving the storeroom to dealing with the Head Cook. And during that hour, the contestants pushed from the manor’s outskirts to the moat’s edge…
Though it seemed normal. Neither the Lizard Maid nor Little Gardener, nor Bat Guards were more than beast-like anomalous entities. They fit Claire’s gun theory: human guns have longer range, leather armor thicker.
The only slightly obstructive Withered Forest and nursery didn’t attack thanks to Lu Li’s warning.
“We need to be faster.”
Claire said, releasing Lu Li to leave the kitchen.
The backs of several cooks disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Lu Li and Claire followed into the porch, the garden empty, howling echoed into the night sky.
At this moment, bat monster statue figures perched on the castle walls suddenly shook off plaster, unfolded massive wings to obscure shadows, and dove toward the garden lights.
Not the expected massacre—the bat monster figures were blocked by the contestants joining the fray. Their teams worked in coordination, dealing with low-intelligence monsters by distracting them while others attacked.
Vena Ice-Free Port did nothing wrong.
The scattering thoughts from regained memories made Lu Li think of warship cannon bombardment on bat monster figures.
They only made extremes, on which Midnight City did better.
Not lingering in the porch, they passed through the garden approaching the castle’s main building.
Still seen were the hurriedly passing Lizard Maids.
Claire broke the ground tiles, turning into a mere shadow and grasping an unsuspecting Lizard Maid: “Where’s the farm owner?”
The Lizard Maid prepared to scream, suddenly noticed the black cat following Claire, rasped with hateful low growls: “You betrayed the master…!”
“Where’s the Head Maid?” Claire asked again.
“She was imprisoned because of you! The master won’t forgive you…”
“Thank you.”
Claire knocked out the Lizard Maid rather than smashing her, said to Lu Li, “I think we have time for you to visit her.”
“Okay.”
Claire led the way, the path to the dungeon defenseless due to the enemy’s extraction, they entered the dim, damp dungeon without any obstruction.
“Lu Li.” Claire signaled in the wall-lit corridor.
“Meow~”
Lu Li meowed.
“Raimy…?”
Excited shouts rang out, a silhouette appeared behind the sealed Head Maid’s cell: “You came to save me… Who are you?”
“Hello, Claire.” Claire’s self-introduction sounded odd.
“Claire…human…you betrayed me?” Bandages covered her face, but the pain was palpable.
“…Raimy didn’t betray you.” After a brief silence, Lu Li calmly said, “But I’m not Raimy.”
“No…”
Head Maid staggered back into the shadows.
“…I…Lord…never…yield!”
The roar from the surface echoed into the cellar.
Claire and Lu Li exchanged glances, waved into the shadows: “Goodbye little maid, we’ll come to release you after we handle the farm owner and the Viscount.”
The dungeon returned to silence as they left…like the calm before the storm.
Whirr—
A weak cyclone swept through the corridor outside the cell.
…
They arrived a bit late.
When Lu Li and Claire returned to the surface, appearing beneath the wall, across the moat, the farm owner’s head had already been severed by a great sword.
Three out of four lords gone.