Chapter 1159: Chapter 128: The Four Lords Depart (Part 4)
The Knight Squad, holding aloft the farmer’s head, vented their victory,
pausing their actions towards the gathering contestants nearby, venting their repressed frustration on the manor’s servants chasing behind.
The broken Lizard Maid enriched the fertile soil, the scarred cook no longer rose, the severed-wing Bat Monster’s shadow crashed to the ground.
Only the flowerbed maintained a non-intrusive distance with them.
Clearing the garden, before the distant contestants caught up, they began to covet the castle beyond the foul-smelling moat.
A contestant from the Fearsome Brutal God Clan attempted to leap over the putrid moat. As his figure appeared above it, filthy sludge formed a monstrous claw to capture him.
He and his companions on the shore attacked the emerging sludge claw, but the moat continuously replenished, dragging him into the river.
The Fearsome Brutal God Clan contestant, whose body now bore crimson patterns, released a lava-like furious aura, causing ripples in the moat. But as all struggles proved futile, sinking to the riverbed, the moat returned to its marsh-like viscous tranquility.
Death, like a shadow, followed closely.
Teams observing turned their attention towards the tightly closed castle drawbridge.
The Knight Squad, having dealt with the farmer, approached Claire, hoping to exchange cooperation for a way across the moat.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Claire merely watched the team across the moat.
“Is this some kind of prophecy, from the students of the Great Tree.”
They did not recognize Claire, nor would they recognize the damp black cat at her feet.
Yet standing in the castle was irrefutable.
“The moat is as high as the city walls.”
Leaving this hint, Claire turned back into the castle with an inscrutable meaning.
“You won’t stop them from entering the castle?”
Lu Li calmly asked as he followed beside.
“They’ll come in eventually, and we can’t deal with the Viscount alone.”
That was the original plan. With three of the four lords gone, they would let contestants break into the castle, only needing to contribute appropriately against the Viscount.
But with others having dealt with the farmer, the plan became ambiguous and uncertain again.
“Then you shouldn’t have given the tip to the team that dealt with the farmer.”
This went against Claire’s initial intention of seizing the championship title.
Because it meant they actually only had the advantage of one more lord over the Knights. Considering they fought their way from the surface without taking secret paths, it was uncertain if there was any advantage.
“I thought the castle’s servants would deplete their strength.”
Walking back to the main building through the porch, Claire asked, “Do you need to recover?”
“Yes.”
Entering a random guest room in the corridor, Merchant Anthony appeared upon summons, bringing antidote, Doomsday Apocalypse, stomach pouch, Spirit-Calling Gun Parchment and Leather Paper.
Claire played with the Doomsday Apocalypse, the mysterious power linked by the chess piece was novel even to her.
“Can you defeat the Viscount with it?”
Lu Li’s voice, rising from behind her, asked.
Amidst the rustle of dressing, Claire set down the piece: “Still can’t, you holding it is more useful than I.”
Claire was about to pick up the parchment when a foul smell emerged.
Lu Li, clad in a black coat, walked to her side, picking up the Doomsday Apocalypse.
The stench emanated from Lu Li’s body, the peculiar scent causing salivation.
Gradually gathering the items, Lu Li followed Claire out of the room.
Approaching the core area along the corridor, they could hear the sounds of battle echoing all around, and as time passed they occasionally encountered squads entering the castle.
Lu Li thought Claire would speed up, even tear down walls to quickly approach the Viscount—she did not, as if no longer anxious about the Viscount being taken by other contestants.
When they turned into a dim corridor outside the window, Lu Li realized Claire was leading him to wander outside the castle.
“Remember everything here…”
Claire’s whisper acknowledged Lu Li’s realization.
“We have unknowingly strayed from the path… then you’ll have to rely on your own wisdom.”
After a brief silence, Lu Li calmly asked, “Do you have something to tell me?”
“Not now…”
Lu Li fell into silence, realizing something was quietly happening, like a dream, like a story’s evolution.
Claire continued to lead Lu Li exploring the castle; had there been a map recording their route, they would have traversed every corner, leaving only the void at the castle’s core.
They gradually encountered corpses, mostly strange servants, but also some contestants’ uncollected bodies.
At some point, a tremor, a wail sounded from deep within the corridor.
Claire’s expression showed a trace of sorrow.
“We should go over…”
Advancing along the corridor marked with traces of blood and fire, passing skewed setups, fallen frames, to his wooden door, scorched carpets, Lu Li recalled Will Ken’s warning, the conversation heard in the shadows, some of Claire’s adages.
Standing in the mist, the truth began to reveal its silhouette.
Lu Li and Claire stepped into the palace-like hall.
Collapse and destruction, bodies and blood told of the fierce battle that took place here.
Above the hall, a shadow clad in a black robe leaned silently on its dark throne.
The battle had declared its conclusion, surviving contestants no longer guarded against the shadow on the throne, exhaustingly searching for their companions among the ruins, gathering severed limbs.
The familiar breeze blew by, a pale and thin figure rushed into the hall, brushing past Lu Li, lunging toward the outline on the steps.
“Mother…”
The Head Maid’s breath was faint, her injuries severe, perhaps from escaping the dungeon, or attacked by humans.
“Another one…”
A Knight gripped his great sword, attempting to force his body up, stopped by his companion, indicating at Lu Li and Claire approaching the throne.
“Lu Li… touch the orb… you’ll see the truth.”
His chest suddenly warmed, Will Ken’s whisper echoed intermittently in his mind: “No matter what you see… don’t be surprised… that’s the truth…”
Lu Li’s hand reached into his pocket, gripping the True Vision Orb.
The world before his eyes didn’t change with Lu Li grasping the truth, only a faint glimmer emerged deep within the Head Maid’s frail body—
There curled another Claire’s phantom.
Lu Li stopped in his tracks.
If she was Claire…
His gaze fell upon the “mother” whispered by the Head Maid, leaning by the throne, like a shadow in deep contemplation beneath the black robe.
“Is that you?”
The unspoken represented the answer, Claire’s murmur reached his ears: “Kill her, Lu Li.”
The Spirit-Calling Gun was drawn from its holster, placed into Lu Li’s hand.
“You must have the heart to be ruthless…”
“…Raimy?”
The Head Maid by the throne slowly lifted her head, emptily gazing this way.
Then the breeze raised Lu Li’s arm, brushing over his knuckles.
Bang!
The echoing bang shook the dust, the lifeless frail girl knelt by the throne, her cheek resting on the armrest’s palm.
The reverberation lingered, smoke ascended, colors mottling faded, forming an exquisitely heavy oil painting.
Four lords… gone, all four.