Forge a path to success.

Chapter 117 Together

If we consider the turmoil so far as a "game," then in the eyes of the three heretics watching the game, the game has only just passed its first round.

Various forces have entered the scene, made contact with each other, experienced the first "incident," summarized their gains and losses, and made inferences based on existing intelligence. Once this process is completed, a "round" is finished. Apart from the pirate captain who ran into trouble yesterday, no force has been eliminated in Golden Leaf City yet. The objectives of all parties have just been revealed, and it is no exaggeration to say that it has just begun.

However, what makes a game a game is the presence of players outside the game itself. For those with ample information and immense power, a single thought from them can accelerate the game's progress, and eliminating someone is as easy as uttering a single sentence. Therefore, these powerful figures don't concern themselves with the movements of the smaller players; their attention is always focused on those outside the game, on the operators who stand alongside them.

"Vansara, what exactly do you want?"

Olek was looking at Vansalal, who had just returned from the mayor's residence. He picked at his ear, looking bored. "I wanted to see that scholar who caused the trouble, but it was as cliché as a spider's web. Bewildered, foolish, obsessed with poison, and in the end, unsurprisingly, he crumbled into dust. Utterly boring and hopeless."

“You know I don’t care about these trivial matters.” Olek frowned. “I’m talking about you, Nightmare King. Why have you condescended to come to this island?”

Vansalar rested his chin on the back of his hand, forcing a smile: "For our beloved little game, my friend~"

“We’ve played countless similar games over the past 1,500 years. I’ve known you since you were a rainbow demon, and I know how impatient you are better than your mentor does,” Oleksandr pointed out. “Basically, you’ll be the first to leave the game in the first event, at least after the characters have appeared and you’ve gone to visit them in a dream. By the second round, we’ve already started fighting off the board, and by the third round, the game often turns into the hellish celebration you love.”

The game never went to a fourth round—because no one could stand your antics; you made it so that every time I wanted to play, I had to entertain myself.

"Admit it, you're really enjoying it."

“For entertainment, that’s true,” Olek said, emphasizing his words. “But this is serious business. She is the last 'living' Discipline Knight, and fate will inevitably lead her back to the battlefield of her past. I will kill her, crush her flesh, obliterate her ghostly form, and send the fact that she once existed into the deep sea, a place unknown even to the eternal ages.”

"Only on this matter will the entire Sea of ​​Illusions cooperate. If I weren't worried about the disturbance caused by my main body's actions, I would have already reported this to the king of the sea!"

Vansalar, while manicuring his nails, said casually, "Do you want to talk to 'Colorless'? That's quite a courageous thing. Even I don't want to deal with that...that...'thing'."

“You’re wrong.” Olek said, his face ashen. “I will go to see the Abyss.”

That one sentence instantly lowered the temperature to freezing. It was a literal description; with just one word, their surroundings became a death trap for the living. Bernfar exuded a historical mist, rendering their conversation an unrecorded noise.

It silently rose and distanced itself from the two important figures. This was not something it could hear; even a priest was not worthy to listen to the ensuing negotiations.

Vansalar stared wide-eyed in amazement.

"You're serious."

“The Sea of ​​Illusions is serious,” Olek corrected. “It doesn’t want to see the Knights’ Sky again.”

“That’s great! A shining realization! Go for it!” Vansalal encouraged him. “That’s exactly why I called you here. In this complex current, you are the most suitable person to take action. No one will act because of you, after all, you are ‘misfortune’! The misfortune of equality for all beings! Even ultimate-level true machines will rust in harsh environments, won’t they? With you around, all deaths are justified!”

Olek shook his head repeatedly: "And what about you?"

"We at the Spiral Tower despise the madmen of Shura Island the most, and we've always been at odds with the Knights."

Oleksandr was fed up with the roundabout way of talking, so he cut to the chase.

"—But you like Discipline Knights the most, Vansalal."

Vansalar sat gracefully with his hands on his knees, like a gentleman. His face twitched slightly, revealing a row of neat teeth between his upturned lips. The teeth appeared one after another, like a white, curved city wall, straightened from the bottom all the way to the center of his forehead.

"Hehe, haha, hahahahahaha!"

The Nightmare King roared with laughter, his voice echoing the shrill screams that had haunted countless dust islands. He braced himself on the table, then leaned forward, his eyes flashing with countless bat-like shadows, like a demonic lair inhabited by evil spirits.

"Why bother testing me like this? I've been dead for over four hundred years. This pathetic shadow of mine can't even stop one of your tiny tentacles. What reason do you have to be afraid of me?" Vansalar sneered. "Don't worry! Go ahead and do it! Even if you kill everyone here, I won't do anything to you!"

Olek leaned back in his chair, expressionless, then suddenly laughed.

"You seem to think I have an eye condition and can't see your little secrets underground."

“Do you have eyes, old jellyfish? I thought you could see with your tentacles.” Vansalar stroked his chin arrogantly. “Anyway, that’s how it is. I just had a whim!”

“Then let’s make a deal. As long as we’re still within Golden Leaf City, I’ll be in charge of this game. Otherwise, I won’t interfere.”

“We don’t think we’ve ever done this before.” Vansalal sat back down on the stool, reverting to his amiable dark-skinned self. “Great! Very innovative, we’ll take your advice!”

“We’ve played this game a thousand times, and every time you’re the one who flips the table first.” Olek stood up. “This time, you have to keep your promise.”

“Should I sign a library contract?” Van Salal shouted.

The little boy paused, his voice even colder than when he spoke of the knight. "I've changed my mind. Please don't step out of the café until the game is over."

Iron chains rose from the ground, crisscrossing the small café and sealing off all the doors and windows. The demon's chains were invisible to the people; this bondage only applied to the two who were both heretics.

The iron chains gleamed, reflecting the boy's merciless gaze. The colors within shifted and changed, revealing a handsome man's face. He was the first target of the unfortunate chain of events, the talisman master Wu He, whose every action yesterday had failed.

The colors within the chains shifted and murky, Wu He's face faded, revealing the anxious, vulnerable face of a middle-aged man. The chain of misfortune had begun anew, and today, the Iceman Sethlen was chosen by fate.

Vansalar chuckled, "I thought misfortune was equal for all beings."

“No way, you know the common sense of this world.” Olek smiled. “The misfortune of the strong is weakness, and the misfortune of the rich is poverty. But another group of people see it as life, and their misfortune can only be aggravated, mixed with separation and suffering.”

Misfortune is always more impartial to the weak.

The Demon of Doom left the small café, while Vansalal leaned back in his chair, still smiling happily. Bernfar returned to the table and sat down. He didn't know what the Nightmare King was thinking, nor what kind of agreement the Great Demon had reached with him, but seeing the chains, he understood that Olek also had his concerns.

The Nightmare King's authority is fear, an emotion unrelated to strength. Many times, you may have achieved great success, you may no longer be weak, yet you will still wake up from your nightmares time and time again. Because even if you return to the past, you still cannot be certain of overcoming its shadows.

A persistent nightmare is fear.

·
The fire turned everything crimson, burning so fiercely and violently that it seemed even the night sky would be burned hollowed out. The assassins' afterimages leaped in the flames, their hands still warm with their blood, their bodies still bearing the pain they had left behind.

He traversed the smoke and flames, past the lingering shadows of the dead, pressing on and onward. Suddenly, his vision opened up, the sky and earth cleared, rain washing over the scorched road. At the edge of his vision lay the overturned car, smoke, sparks, and diluted blood…

"..."

Chu Hengkong opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling.

He hadn't thought about the past for a long time, and had always restrained himself from dwelling on it unnecessarily. But the past seemed unwilling to let him go, seeping into his dreams whenever it had the chance. He dreamed of the past for two consecutive days, as if some unseen force was telling him not to forget his powerlessness, not to run away from his fear.

He didn't delve into it; thinking too much was pointless. The guard flags were dutifully placed in the four corners of the room; the portable shrine that Youyou had personally crafted was still quite reliable. Vande stuffed his entire head into the cloth bag and nestled on the cushions, fast asleep.

This is a mini-species-exclusive sleeping bag he found at the market. It's supposed to block out light and noise, have a soft touch, and provide a baby-like sleep. However, it feels more like a lump of tofu skin sushi with squid tentacles growing out of it. The golden retriever who gave this review was lying on the other side of the bed, with most of the blanket kicked off, the straps of her tank top slipped down to her arms, and her rounded shoulders facing him. Her sleeping posture could be terrible.

She frowned, her lips pressed tightly together, as if she were fighting against some great villain in her dream. Chu Hengkong admired her for a while, then sat down beside her bed and used his tentacles to pull the shoulder strap back up.

"If you don't wake up soon, I'll see you naked."

"Fine, I'll look..." Ji Huaisu mumbled sleepily, "If you dare to look, you have to marry me..."

"Hey, can you please stop with workplace sexual harassment?"

"You still have the nerve to talk about the workplace... You should go be a partner with bullets..."

Miss Ji rolled over and buried her head in the pillow. Chu Hengkong scratched his head, realizing that his good partner was probably throwing a tantrum like a woman.

Although my good partner is a tall, beautiful girl, according to some people in my hometown, it's lucky if a beautiful girl is willing to talk to you, and it's a blessing if a beautiful girl throws a tantrum. But in reality, throwing a tantrum is always a troublesome thing, no matter how beautiful a woman is.

He tried to touch the girl's head, but Miss Ji shoved it away with her paw.

Women are indeed not all the same.

"I really don't think it's necessary." Chu Hengkong felt helpless. "Ascension is a matter of each stage having its own characteristics. No matter how powerful I am, I'm still just a Steel Bone cultivator. You'll definitely be stronger than I am now after you advance to level three."

"It's not a matter of strength," Ji Huaisu said sullenly.

"You've just stepped out of your house and you've already met someone from your hometown, so why are you afraid of not having a way out?"

“You don’t understand.” Ji Huaisu slapped his leg with her paw. “It’s not that I’m afraid of not having a way out, it’s that I feel like I’m not going to be promoted.”

Chu Hengkong almost burst out laughing: "How is that possible?"

This is a genuine case of needless worry. Ji Huaisu's Reverse Shadow technique already allows her to conjure ice and fire, and her Phase 2 particle form has already begun to possess the characteristics of Phase 3. Chu Hengkong felt it was only natural that she would immediately become a Phase 3 Legendary after her ascension; how could she possibly fail to advance?

"So you don't understand... When we ascend to the third level on the Supreme Path, we have to make choices. Pure Fire, Turbid Tears, and Unstable Dust..."

Ji Huaisu flailed and said dejectedly, "I feel like I can't do any part thoroughly."

(End of this chapter)