I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Hesitation leads to defeat.

The falling mud seemed to hesitate slightly, not immediately enveloping the three people.

Sia had already raised her hand.

Mystra's Void Burst!

Corneón's plan was flawless; the Catania family's current power was something a mere detective could not contend with.

Even if Drizzt kills Corneon and Stone on the spot and escapes, someone will always know what he did, and the rest of the Catania family will continue to hunt him down until Drizzt is dealt with.

Therefore, Corneon believed that Trist would not fight to the death no matter what, and his words just now proved this point. This detective wanted to persuade him to stop, and Trist still wanted to live in the ruined city.

Therefore, when Corneon saw that extraordinary power coming toward him, he felt a tremor in his soul.

That was the feeling of humility, fear, and helplessness that a tiny mortal experiences when faced with extraordinary power; it was the despair that had been buried deep within him for many years.

bang——

An invisible ball of air struck the mahogany desk in front of Corneón, unleashing a torrent of force that shattered the desk, the loud bang causing ripples to spread through the mud.

Before Cornelius could even draw his pistol, he was sent flying by a tremendous force. His back slammed into the wooden frame of the window behind him, where the glass had already shattered and shattered.

In an instant, the mud rushed towards Corneón, trying to protect him.

Lu Ban then raised his right hand, and a silver revolver materialized, firing a speech bullet at the mud spreading towards Corneon.

boom--

The silent gunshot was followed by frantic babbling. The mud, struck, quickly lost its bearings, and the entire room, like the throat of someone about to cough, kept contracting and expanding, convulsing.

thump--

A person fell from the ceiling; it was Stone, covered in mud.

His complexion was terrible; it was as if something was growing inside him, and it seemed as if worms were about to burst out from under his skin.

But the silt seemed to retain a last shred of rationality; it struggled to contract, condensing back from the walls, ceiling, and floor. The silt's exterior constantly writhed and expanded, as if in a struggle.

Stone's strange behavior subsided somewhat. He stood up, leaning against the wall, and glanced at Corneón lying on the ground.

Corneón twitched slightly, struggled for a moment, and then seemed to stop moving.

Whether he's dead or not is unknown, but he'll at least be left with a lifelong disability. Just as the Catania family was about to unify the entire underground world of the ruined capital, they suffered a devastating blow.

"You guys are really unreasonable..."

Stone smiled, as if mocking himself.

He was calculating and scheming, plotting and maneuvering, and scheming against old foxes like Corneón. But this girl took care of the biggest mastermind with a single slap. She completely disregarded the intricate network of relationships and the colluding forces in the ruined city. Like a mudslide, she broke through all the shackles.

This makes Stone look like a clown.

And it's always the same.

On the bus heading to the ruined city, Lu Ban also sped along recklessly. The ratmen that still appeared in his nightmares, the lush green grass and trees, and the big fish flying in mid-air made Stone's eardrums ring.

In the eyes of these people, the rules, authority, order, and everything else that inspired submission and fear in the ruined capital seemed to have vanished.

"It's over, everything is over."

He slumped to the ground, his emotions a jumble of thoughts.

If Corneão were his enemy, Stone might feel a great sense of satisfaction at this moment, as if he had finally gotten his revenge.

If Corneán were his own family, he would surely wail and weep uncontrollably.

But this godfather is not just a relative or an enemy.

As a child from a single-parent family, Stone lacked fatherly love, while Corneán, in a sense, gave him the fatherly love he lacked. At least, he was strict with himself like a father and gave Stone enough support. And his siblings, although their relationship was only superficial, did give Stone a moment of warmth from family affection.

From the very beginning, Stone understood that Corneón was only using him, that everything was just an act, and that in the world of the mafia, there was only profit, no emotion.

It's possible that pursuing family within the world of gangsters is indeed wrong.

Stone smiled, but it was a forced smile. He then frowned, remaining in this repetitive state, teetering on the brink of collapse.

He felt something was definitely wrong with him, because even when this emotion should have been the dominant one, his mind was still preoccupied with what to do next.

"Put all the blame on Drizzt?"

"No, I need to survive first. But if I confess, I'll be killed by the Catania family even in prison."

"There's no way to confront them head-on; there's no chance of winning."

"Damn it, what am I going to do..."

Only now did Stone truly realize how weak he was in the face of beings with extraordinary power.

He needs power, he craves power, he must acquire power.

Just then, the constantly writhing silt suddenly swelled up.

Stone heard a voice, a voice that rang in his ears, soft yet firm.

"Come on."

Stone had never heard such a sound before, but incredibly, he knew it was coming from that lump of mud, from that young girl, Liz.

The next moment, the silt expanded to several times its original size, blocking the way for Drizzt and Stone.

Corneán, lying on the ground, was swallowed by the mud, gaining an immortality he did not desire.

bang——

The silt exploded, and a glass flower rose from the ground, bloomed, and burst the entire building apart.

Stone was nowhere to be found beneath the rubble.

Chapter 418 Leave a Way Out for Others

"Is it okay that he ran away?"

Shea asked a question, wondering where Stone had been taken by the mud monster.

"After all, he's the son of an acquaintance. It's wise to leave some room for maneuver so that we can meet again in the future."

Lu Ban considered the ancient capital, which was still fighting against the deity behind the door, and decided not to pursue Stone relentlessly.

"Speaking of which, what should we do with this thing?"

He pointed to the blooming glass flower, which covered the entire Catania family mansion. Amidst the ruins and decay, a dazzling flower bloomed.

Inside the glass-like exterior wall is gray, viscous silt. The surface of the silt is undulating, as if countless twisted, hateful, and sorrowful faces are mixed within it.

This is a breathtaking work of art, no matter the world.

"Should we blow it up?"

Sia felt a little itchy to touch him, and she glanced at Trist beside her.

"Trist, what's wrong?"

The famous detective from the abandoned city stared wide-eyed, speechless, at the scene before him.

"You just turned the head of the city's biggest gang into dust and blew up his house?"

Drizzt seemed to snap out of his daze.

Is something wrong?

Lu Ban countered with a question.

"No, this is not right. You guys are fine; you ran away after completing the Silent Land mission, but I have to stay here! If the whole Catania family comes looking for trouble, will I still be able to eat?!"

Drizzt felt his life was in grave danger.

He just barged into the Catania family mansion, and then Corneon died and Stone ran away. It was definitely his doing!

"It's that simple, just dump all the blame on Stone."

Lu Ban replied without hesitation.

"Is this how you treat the son of someone you know? Didn't you just say you should leave some room for others to maneuver?"

Drizzt was speechless.

“If Stone died here, you would be unable to defend yourself. He has run away now and will definitely not come back to confront you. Whatever you say is the truth.”

Lu Ban patted Trist on the shoulder to reassure him.

"So that's why you let him go?"

Trist suddenly felt that Lu Ban was quite terrifying. He seemed to be thinking of nothing, but in reality, he had thought of everything.

"No, that's not it. I think Stone might do something in the future. After all, I'm not a devil, and I won't do anything like that, like killing someone outright."

Lu Ban felt that after the incident on the island, the life and death of the natives of other lands were sometimes not something he could decide.

After being subjected to the delirious murmurs of the great being, the mud monster should have lost all its sanity and become an infinitely expanding, blindly foolish being like its counterparts in the hospital.

But in the end, it restrained itself and protected Stone.

Considering Stone's description of the mud monster, and the human-like qualities it exhibits, it's hard to say whether it's a mistake caused by being forced into birth before it was fully formed.

In this situation, forcibly hunting down Stone is pointless and might even create problems for your future self.

“You could try to track down Stone. He’s not an ordinary person. If you’d like, you could take him in as an assistant.”

Lu Ban added.

"???"

Trist couldn't understand it.

Now the Catania family is 100% looking for revenge on Stone. He will be relentlessly hunted down, and his dreams and hopes have been shattered. He'll be too busy trying to kill Drizzt to help him.

“You don’t understand. Stone is a smart man. He has witnessed extraordinary power. He understands the stakes very well. Just like Corneone, he doesn’t care whether someone was a friend or an enemy before, as long as it benefits him.”

Lu Ban explained.

"You've cracked the Catania family case. They'll thank you, and those in the upper echelons will offer you protection because you indirectly took down Corneon. The Catania family will soon fall apart and start fighting amongst themselves because they've lost their leader. Old Cui, your future is bright!"

"I hope what you're saying is true."

Drizzt felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.