My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

Thanks to Li Yiguang's royal bloodline, Lin Mo and the others successfully crossed the iron gate and entered the Imperial Iron Prison.

It was pitch black here, with only a suspended stone path stretching out into the distance.

Below the stone-paved road lies an endless abyss.

Even Yin Xue's expression turned serious: "This is true nothingness. There is no direction here. The person who built this space... is no less powerful than me."

Lin Mo frowned. Besides these, he also felt that most of his power had been suppressed.

Every breath and every movement requires more effort than the outside.

His spiritual power was trapped inside his body, rendering him unable to move.

"Is this the Imperial Iron Prison?"

Lin Mo's voice echoed in the darkness, stretched out infinitely, and bounced back, forming an eerie echo.

Hunter Axe stood beside him, his gaze already fixed on both sides of the stone-paved road.

There, about ten black energy spheres floated.

Each one was more than two people tall, completely black, with dim rune light flowing across its surface.

Through that layer of translucent black energy, one could vaguely see a human-shaped silhouette inside.

Dry, hunched, and motionless.

"Those are the prison cells."

The sound of the hunting axe was deep and resonant.

"Each person has an independent space, suspended in the void, with no doors or windows, and can only be opened from the outside."

He didn't finish speaking.

But he had already started walking towards the nearest energy ball.

Lin Mo followed.

The stone-paved path stretches into the void, each step sending shivers down one's spine.

The darkness on both sides seemed alive, writhing in the corner of my eye, trying to pull me in.

But Lin Mo didn't look at them; he just stared at the black energy balls and counted them one by one.

ten.

Zhou Yue might be one of them.

Hunter Axe walked up to the first energy ball and peered inside.

The layer of black energy was semi-transparent; if you got close, you could vaguely see what was inside.

A gaunt figure huddled in a corner, dressed in tattered prison clothes.

His hair and beard were a mess, making it impossible to see his face.

Just as the axe was about to strike, the figure lunged forward!

boom!

His face slammed hard against the inner wall of the energy sphere, causing the entire sphere to tremble slightly.

The face was distorted by the energy, and the eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

Its mouth opened wide, emitting a howl that was almost like that of a wild beast:

"I'm innocent! I'm innocent! I didn't plot to seize power! Let me out! Let me out!"

The hunter was startled and instinctively took a half step back.

But soon, he saw the face clearly.

The skin on his face was as dry as tree bark, his eye sockets were sunken, and his cheekbones were prominent, but the outline of his features was still there.

He squinted, searching his memory for that face.

"This is... Count Higgins?"

His voice sounded somewhat uncertain.

The people inside became excited upon hearing the name.

He gripped the inner wall of the energy sphere with his withered hands, pressed his face against it, and nodded frantically:

"Yes! It's me! Haigao! The head of the Haigao family in the North! You recognize me, don't you? You recognize me! Please, let me out! Let me out!"

His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, but his frantic fervor burned like fire.

"I can give you money! Gold coins! As much as you want! Power! Women! I can give you anything you want! Just let me out!"

Hunter Axe looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

"The Haigao family was raided last year. Because you colluded with the Holy Kingdom of the Tower and plotted a rebellion. The entire family was executed, not a single one was spared."

The sounds from the energy ball suddenly stopped.

The face was pressed against the energy barrier, the eyes wide open, filled with disbelief.

His lips trembled, and it took him a long time to utter a sound:

"I'm innocent..."

This time, the voice was much softer, but the despair was even deeper.

"I'm truly innocent..."

He murmured to himself as his body slid down, kneeling at the bottom of the energy sphere.

"I did not collude with the Holy Kingdom of the Tower, I did not commit treason, it was them...it was them who framed me..."

He suddenly raised his head again, staring intently at the hunting axe:

"Everyone here! Everyone has been framed! Look, every single one of them! Treason, betrayal, collusion with foreign enemies! It's all fake! It's all a frame-up!"

The hunter was stunned.

"You're saying... the prisoners held here are all innocent?"

"right!"

Count Higgins nodded vigorously.

"All of them! I've been here... I don't know how long, there's no day or night, no time. All I know is that one after another, they're brought in, all on charges of treason, all of them betraying their country, all of them colluding with foreign enemies!"

His voice became excited again:

"Do you know how they treated us? No food, no water, and every now and then that stupid gorilla would come in and torture us. The dead were just thrown out. See that emptiness down there? The corpses were thrown in, and not even ashes remained!"

He pointed to the black energy spheres and counted them one by one:

"That one over there is a marquis from the southern border. He was imprisoned for saying that the eldest prince was inferior to the second prince. That one over there is a wealthy merchant from the capital. He was accused of colluding with the demons because he refused to donate his family fortune to the church."

He was breathing heavily, his voice filled with madness:

"Go look! Every single one of them! Every single one of them has been wronged!"

Hunter Axe's heart skipped a beat.

He subconsciously looked at the black energy spheres, one, two, three... each containing a withered human figure curled up inside.

Some are still moving, while others are completely still; it's unclear whether they are dead or alive.

If that's the case...

What about Zhou Yue?

Was Zhou Yue also wronged?

Is Zhou Yue still alive?

With that thought, he disregarded the still-shouting Earl of Highgos, turned abruptly, and rushed toward the next energy ball.

Lin Mo stood still, looking at him.

Count Higgs was still shouting:

"Please! Let me out! I'm truly innocent! I'll give you anything—"

Lin Mo turned her head and looked at him.

Those eyes were cold, as cold as the nothingness outside.

Count Higgins' voice trailed off.

He looked into the eyes of the young man in black robes and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Lin Mo did not say anything.

He simply drew his black sword.

The sword was dim, but the eerie glow remained. He raised the sword, aiming it at the energy sphere.

"No...you can't...I'm innocent..."

Count Higgins' screams came to an abrupt halt.

The black sword pierced the energy sphere and through his throat.

The black energy barrier trembled violently, then burst like a bubble with a pop.

Count Higgins' body fell from the shattered energy sphere into the void below.

His eyes were still open, frozen with the resentment and fear of his impending death.

But it was only for a moment.

His body was swallowed by nothingness and vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

Lin Mo sheathed his sword.

He turned around and walked towards the direction of the hunter's axe.

Hunter Axe has already examined all the energy orbs.

One, two, three... ten.

He stood motionless in front of the last energy sphere.

It was completely empty inside.

There were no huddled figures, no dried-up corpses.

Only a thin, almost transparent layer of energy residue accumulated at the bottom of the sphere, like the ashes left after something burned.

Hunter Axe knelt down.

His knees slammed against the stone slab with a dull thud.

His head was bowed, and his shoulders began to tremble.

"Zhou Yue..."

His voice was hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out from deep in his throat.

"Not here..."

He looked up at the empty energy ball, his eyes red-rimmed.

"He...he's dead."

His voice was trembling.

"Dead..."

He repeated the two words, his voice growing louder and louder until it became a roar:

"Dead!!!"

The roar echoed in the void, stretched infinitely, like countless hunting axes roaring simultaneously.

His fist slammed into the stone slab, shattering it and sending cracks spreading outwards.

Lin Mo stood not far away, squinting at him.

If this madman really goes berserk, the entire capital will be thrown into chaos.

He was thinking.

If the hunting axe gets out of control, how will he profit from it?

Just as he was thinking...

A voice came from afar along the stone-paved road.

It's very light.

Very weak.

It looked like it was produced with all its might.

"Is...is that you? Hunter's Axe?"

Hunter Axe's body suddenly stiffened.

He knelt there, motionless, as if frozen in place by the voice.

Lin Mo was also stunned.

He looked towards the end of the stone-paved road.

There, the darkness seemed to have lessened, and the outline of a cage could be vaguely seen.

The hunter murmured:

"It's...it's Zhou Yue's voice...he's there!"