[End of this world] Two-in-one (Please read the words~)^^…

It seemed that the king was more eager to lift the curse than she thought.

After seeing the crown prince come in, Zhu Yu thought that the king would be more restrained at this banquet.

Unexpectedly, the king has stopped acting in order to prolong his own life, and he doesn't even care about the life of the crown prince.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu glanced at the guests who were still immersed in the luxurious atmosphere, turned around and walked towards the door of the banquet hall without hesitation.

"Guests are not allowed to leave without permission until the banquet is over."

Two knights in silver armor blocked the door, raised their hands to stop her, their expressions grim.

Zhu Yu narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when he heard the voice of 996 in his head:

"Emergency intelligence, the palace gates have suddenly opened to the public, and a large number of civilians are being led here."

"Well, I just received this news from the Crown Prince. The King did not show up in person at the banquet. I suspect he is planning to take action directly at the banquet."

While Zhu Yu was replying to 996, he raised his head and looked around the magnificent hall. The scene in front of him instantly overlapped with the Rose Festival in his memory - the same was true of the mansion in the main city of Beleriand that day.

But this time, the difficulty is obviously greater.

At that time, she was only facing a few dignitaries and a fire; but now, standing at the door of the banquet hall were the fully armed and battle-hardened knights of the royal city.

What's worse, she hasn't found out the specific procedures of this ceremony.

If the king really wanted to reverse the curse and absorb the vitality of thousands of lives, a fire alone would obviously not be enough. There must be some special alchemical tools or contract rituals as a guiding medium.

But it's too late to check them one by one now.

The only thing she could do was to take the initiative before the ceremony began, expose the king's intentions, force the king out, and prevent the disaster from the root.

"996, contact Lin Ji and ask her to take the other players to the west side of the palace and stop the civilians outside the banquet hall to protect their personal safety. Leave everything inside the banquet hall to me."

"Got it. Madam Janet has already started the action with the wizards. The knights of the palace reacted quickly. Be careful over there."

"knew."

Zhu Yu withdrew his spiritual consciousness, and then, amid the puzzled gazes of the crowd, he walked up the steps covered with a long golden carpet, towards the throne high up.

"Everyone."

Zhu Yu stood at the highest point, looking down at the nobles below and said:

"The plague is rampant outside and the city is under lockdown. The palace suddenly made an exception today and opened the palace gates to invite common people to the banquet. Don't you find it strange?"

Her sudden and loud question caused the whole audience to fall silent. Perhaps it was because Zhu Yu's action was too outrageous that many people had not yet reacted to what she was saying.

Zhu Yu continued:

"Because today's banquet may seem like a carnival, but its real purpose is to sacrifice your lives."

This time, some nobles finally reacted, but most people still didn't care.

"Is this also part of the carnival? Why is there a drama performance?"

"I don't know either, but she looks so serious... could she be telling the truth?"

"Ha, you believe this? Don't make me laugh to death..."

“…”

I wish I could see all these reactions.

She noticed that among these nobles, there seemed to be a few who reacted differently - they did not laugh like the others, but instead had tense expressions and frowned slightly.

Her eyes darkened, and she had already made a conclusion in her heart: these people probably knew more or less about the "sacrifice".

"Please be careful with your words, Miss Draka. Do you have any evidence to prove that everything you say is true?"

The one who raised the question was an old man with white hair and beard, wearing a purple-patterned robe. He was the Grand Secretary of the kingdom.

Zhu Yu: "Of course it's the truth behind this. The truth is that the king is cursed and will die soon. And I guess one of the ways to break this curse is to sacrifice a large number of lives."

After Zhu Yu finished speaking, his eyes fell on the Grand Secretary:

"Sir, I'm sure you already know what I said, right?"

After hearing Zhu Yu's explanation, the smiles on the faces of the nobles who were just chatting and laughing suddenly froze.

One of them seemed to have a good relationship with the Grand Secretary. He approached the Grand Secretary and asked in a low voice:

"Is what she said true or false? You follow the king every day, so you must know something, right?"

The Grand Secretary's expression froze, and he muttered, "Your Majesty clearly said that he would only summon the common people to perform the ceremony after the banquet. How could it be..."

Zhu Yu sneered upon hearing this: "It seems that no matter whether you know it or not, you have become abandoned pawns in his eyes now."

"That's impossible!" someone refuted sharply, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still here!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at the crown prince.

The crown prince standing in the center of the banquet hall was pale, his fingers were tense, his throat moved slightly, and he could not utter a word.

Seeing him like this, most people panicked.

A noble who reacted very quickly immediately turned and rushed to the gate, shouting:

"I am the Duke of Helm, and I order you to let me leave immediately!"

He walked forward quickly, and was about to pass the guard, but the next second -

"stop."

The knight commander at the door drew his sword without hesitation to block the attack, and a ray of silver light coldly streaked across the duke's nose.

Helm's face instantly turned pale:

"I am a member of the Kingdom Parliament. Who allowed you to do this?"

"This is an order from His Majesty," the knight said indifferently, "No one is allowed to leave the banquet hall without permission."

After a moment's silence, the nobles around them stood up and talked in low voices, trying to imitate Helm and leave, but they were all stopped where they were.

It was only then that someone realized that an entire group of knights from the royal city had gathered outside the door at some point in time. They were wearing silver armor and their swords were shining coldly. They surrounded the entire banquet hall so tightly that not even a mouse could escape.

And they, these nobles who lived a life of luxury and luxury, had no ability to protect themselves. Moreover, the banquet had already ordered that no attendants were allowed to enter.

A belated panic quickly spread throughout the scene.

Seeing this, I will say no more.

She took out the lucky potion she got from the second copy from the space and drank it all.

The cold liquid slid into her throat, as if an invisible protective force quietly covered her heart.

The next moment, she raised her hand and drew her bow and arrow.

Now all the additional capabilities of her dragon bone wood bow have been completely restored.

Arrows shot out from the air, shining like stars, and accurately hit several knights guarding outside the banquet hall.

"boom!"

The arrows exploded, and the knights in the front had no time to react. Their armor froze and cracked, and they were thrown several meters away.

Then another arrow was shot at the gathering of knights near the gate, and a whole group of people fell down again.

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

“Run—”

Several nobles who were still watching took the opportunity to rush out the door in panic. The precious metal ornaments under their formal dresses jingled, and their staggering steps showed no aristocratic demeanor at all.

But this moment of confusion did not last long.

The knights reacted quickly and formed a team, and groups of fireballs, ice cones and wind blade magic swarmed towards Zhu Yu.

Outside the banquet hall, Lin Ji, along with the players and wizards, had already started a fierce battle with the guards. Those knights who were originally supposed to act only as ceremonial guards were now fighting for real, with swords drawn and every move aimed at killing.

Just when everyone thought it was just a melee, a dull roar suddenly came from deep within the palace.

Then, the murals around the banquet hall began to vibrate slightly.

Zhu Yu turned around abruptly. The relief in front of her suddenly glowed with a faint red halo. The murals in the entire hall seemed to be activated by some force. The gold foil and oil paint peeled off. The shadows in the paintings were like living creatures that broke free from their seals, and gradually acquired real outlines: swirling vines, dark shadows, and motionless monster shapes, slowly crawling on the wall.

"What is that?" someone shouted.

"The things in the mural are coming out!"

The Grand Secretary pointed at the mural, became completely panicked, and stumbled to the ground.

"What the hell, what kind of monster did the king and those alchemists create together?"

Zhu Yu asked as he dragged the Grand Secretary to retreat.

But the other party has not responded yet.

It was not until she brought the man out of the banquet hall and put him on the ground that she discovered that the Grand Secretary had already fainted.

Zhu Yu: “…”

At the same time, deep in the palace garden, the originally fragrant floral scent suddenly became pungent and heavy, like some kind of hypnotic poison gas, seeping into the air bit by bit.

"Cover your mouth and nose!"

Lady Janet shouted in alarm, but it was still too late. The nobles, waiters, commoners, and even some low-level players all had red faces, swayed a few times, and then fell straight to the ground.

Only the wizards and the Royal Knights were still able to stand due to their long-term use of magic and higher physical resistance, but they were obviously holding on.

"Aren't we responsible for carrying out the king's orders?!" A knight looked around in fear, "What...what on earth is going on?"

"As expected... the king is not going to let you go either."

Madam Janet glanced at the knights around her and said coldly, "Well-trained, strong, and powerful knights are the best sacrifices. Your blood and vitality are more valuable than ordinary people."

One word caused a stir.

Before the knights could say anything, the shadows crawling out of the murals had condensed into monsters shrouded in black mist, some dragging long shackles, some covered in blood, and they were rushing towards the crowd!

"Stop them!"

The Knights eventually realized that they had become sacrificial tools, so they immediately abandoned their formation and fought the enemy with all their might.

But the Knights realized it too late. The previous battles with wizards and players had already drained their magic and physical strength. They also accidentally inhaled the toxins from the flowers, and their front line was now shaky.

Seeing that the monster in the mural was about to break through the first line of defense, Zhu Yu took out a silver-white card from the space.

She flicked her fingertips, and the card flew up in the wind, turning into a stream of light and flying into the air.

With a loud bang, a huge barrier with a light blue glow expanded like a sky curtain, covering the panicked crowd tightly.

The wizards and knights who had not yet fallen, as well as a small number of conscious players and completely unconscious civilian nobles were all shrouded in the light shield.

This is a purely defensive barrier that prevents any external energy from invading.

Including poisonous floral scents and surging black fog monsters.

Zhu Yu, who was standing outside the barrier, exhaled slightly and looked at the countdown interface that appeared in front of him:

[Skill Card: Space blockade has been activated, duration: 00:29:59]

This skill card can only last for half an hour.

After a short breath, Zhu Yu immediately turned around to wake up the Grand Secretary who was lying limp on the ground, and asked in a hurried voice:

"Where is the king? Is he still in his chambers?"

The Grand Secretary frowned, still somewhat confused, and replied in a low voice:

"No... before he came to the banquet hall, he told me... that he wanted to go to the Queen's Palace first..."

Zhu Yu suddenly understood after hearing this.

——I see. If the curse is to be completely removed, the final ritual will most likely be performed at the place where the king was first cursed.

"Come on," she pulled up the Grand Maester, "take me to the Queen's palace."

"No need to look for him, I know the way."

Mrs. Janet on the side spoke up.

Zhu Yu made a prompt decision: "Okay, take me to the shortest way to where Aunt Helena lived before she died."

Zhu Yu followed Mrs. Janet and quickly passed through several corridors. After turning into a deserted little garden, a tightly closed palace finally came into view.

The moment he pushed the door open, the dazzling light of the magic circle illuminated the entire hall.

A huge hexagram array appeared in the center of the ground, covered with complicated alchemical runes and bright red bloodstains, and magical fluctuations poured into it like a tide.

Zhu Yu noticed that among the six corners of the array, five had lit up with a faint red light, and only the last one was still flickering weakly, as if waiting for the final trigger.

In the center of the formation, a gloomy-looking man stood quietly. He was the king of Ludevia.

He was wearing a gorgeous black and gold robe and a royal badge on his chest. His face looked much more haggard than the portrait on the mural, and his exposed skin was covered with dense spots.

"When I came here last night, this place was empty." Mrs. Janet whispered, looking at the hexagram in doubt, "They actually set up the entire ceremony in a short time..."

Lady Janet suddenly fell silent. The king noticed the person coming and slowly turned around. The moment he saw Zhu Yu's face clearly, his eyes suddenly became cold.

"It's you."

His voice was hoarse and full of fatigue. "If you hadn't ruined my plan in Ilos City, the plague would have completely devoured the entire city, and the ceremony wouldn't have had to be delayed until today..."

When talking about today's carnival banquet, his eyes flashed with struggle and pity, and then they hardened again: "But since it has come to this... If you sacrifice the flesh and blood of your loved ones, the curse can be completely lifted. My crown prince, my ministers, they will understand."

"You're crazy."

Zhu Yu responded coldly while slowly approaching the magic circle.

Just as Zhu Yu was about to destroy the edge of the magic circle, the king suddenly waved his hand:

"Stop her!"

Several alchemists flashed out from the shadows, and the whispering of spells rose and fell.

Almost at the same time, each of the five activated star points suddenly cracked open a gap, and grotesque, dark and hideous monsters crawled out.

They were exactly the same as the strange shadows that Zhu Yu had seen in the murals of the banquet hall, but their number was several times greater. They flooded out of the hall like a flood, as if hell had opened its doors.

Seeing the monsters crawling out of the hexagram in groups and rushing towards her and Mrs. Janet, a summoning mark suddenly lit up on Zhu Yu's palm.

"Come out."

With a light shout, the space twisted and cracked, and a huge black shadow leaped out from the void.

The dragon's roar shook the sky.

It was a giant red dragon covered in scales and with wings that covered the sky. It was the fire dragon that Zhu Yu had hatched from an eggshell in the second copy. Now it had fully recovered its size and combat power.

As soon as it appeared, it let out a long howl toward the sky, causing the tiles on the palace roof to fall off.

The next second, the hot dragon breath gushed out and swept towards the wriggling black fog monsters.

The monsters let out sharp howls, and once they were touched by the flames, they disintegrated and burned like pieces of paper, turning into ashes in an instant.

"This...she actually has a dragon?!"

"God is above..."

Even the well-trained palace knights held their breath at that moment, looking at the giant dragon circling in the air with horror in their eyes. The dragon's wings fluttered, and the next breath of dragon flew straight towards the alchemists who were setting up the formation.

Wherever the flames passed, several alchemists were burned to ashes in the high temperature. The rest tried to escape, but were attacked and swallowed by the fire dragon one after another. They didn't even have a chance to resist and were all burned in the sea of ​​fire.

And the king standing at the center of the hexagram finally couldn't hold on any longer.

He roared in pain with a hideous look on his face, the curse mark on his chest throbbed violently under the burning flames, blood vessels emerged like a spider web, and a strange black gas surged from under his skin.

The next moment, the cursed power that once resided in him finally backfired and returned to its owner's body.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

He knelt in the center of the hexagram, his whole body shaking violently as if being licked by flames, black blood spurting out of his throat, and his eyes stared at Zhu Yu with incredible regret and resentment until the last moment of his life.

At this moment, Lady Janet took advantage of the situation to destroy the core of the magic circle. The runes were torn apart, the light collapsed, and the entire ceremony collapsed.

The flames finally died down.

The dragon circled in the air, uttered one last low hum, and then disappeared into the summoning mark.

Everything fell silent, leaving only charred ashes and the smell of blood and burnt things still lingering in the air.

Zhu Yu stood at the edge of the broken magic circle, his eyes fixed on the corpse that had long since turned to charred black, and whispered to himself:

"Why...why do you hate wizards so much?"

"If you hadn't killed Helena back then, how could Helena have cursed you before she died? If you hadn't been cursed, so many lives wouldn't have been involved."

Mrs. Janet, who was standing by, heard this and looked back at her in surprise:

"You don't know why the king is afraid of wizards? I thought you heard it from your aunt."

Zhu Yu secretly complained in his heart, perhaps the original owner of this body knew, but she was not the real "her".

So she found an excuse to ask:

"My aunt didn't explain it clearly... Can you tell me again in detail?"

Janet sighed softly.

"Hundreds of years ago, wizards and knights were allies fighting side by side. But it is said that a king of a certain generation heard a prophecy from a prophetic wizard - 'His descendants will be destroyed by wizards.' Since then, the status of wizards has plummeted, from respect to exclusion, and then to being suppressed, besieged, imprisoned... and finally reduced to heresy."

She looked at the pile of charred corpses and shook her head.

"Unexpectedly, a king actually died under the wizard's curse."

After Madam Janet finished speaking, a system prompt suddenly popped up in front of Zhu Yu:

[Main quest progress: 99%]

She frowned and stared at the 1% that had never been filled, as if thinking about something.

"What is missing?"

She pondered for a moment, and suddenly her eyes flashed.

She quickly walked out of the palace, found the Grand Secretary who was still unconscious in the chaos, and woke him up:

"Tell me how this plague came about."

The Grand Secretary hesitated, but finally answered in a low voice: "We and... the alchemist were studying the curse on the king. An experiment went wrong and triggered an uncontrolled supernatural reaction. The energy contaminated the raw materials, and the curse power mutated and spread into a new plague virus, which spread out of the palace."

The moment he finished listening to this, the system prompt appeared in front of Zhu Yu again, and the progress bar jumped to the full level with a "beep":

[Main mission completion: 100%]

Although the completion prompt of the main task had popped up, Zhu Yu did not relax immediately.

She remembered that in addition to the main task of "finding the source of the plague", she had another main task that had not yet been completed: eradicating the plague.

Fortunately, she has now solved the most difficult part.

The source of the plague has been cleared, the king's curse has been lifted, and all that remains is to clean up the mess.

***

In the following days, Zhu Yu did not choose to leave Villanova.

After the battle in the palace, her reputation value skyrocketed from the original 88% to 100%.

After all, in everyone's eyes, she is now a true hero who can summon dragons and prevent a kingdom from being ravaged.

The first thing the new crown prince did after ascending the throne was to have a long talk with Zhu Yu.

Together, the two revealed the truth behind the horrific sacrifice, uncovered the curse, the old grudge between the royal power and the wizards, and, at Zhu Yu's suggestion, completely abolished the ban on wizards in the kingdom's old laws.

"Without the wizard's help, you and I would have turned to dust by now."

The Crown Prince said bluntly in the Royal Court Council, "From now on, the status of wizards will be no different from that of other people."

At the same time, Zhu Yu continued to improve and promote the beer recipe of the Golden Cup Tavern.

This special beer, once known as the "festival brew" in the city of Iros, has now become the only effective anti-epidemic substance in the kingdom.

Thanks to her efforts, the brewery cooperated with the alchemy workshop to quickly establish a larger beer production line.

The aroma of wine drifts into thousands of homes with the wind.

The epidemic finally receded gradually thanks to the cooperation of the whole nation.

[Main Mission 2: Completely Eliminate the Plague]

【Mission Completed】

The last main task in the system panel quietly lit up one night.

That night, Zhu Yu stood on the high platform of the palace and looked at the brightly lit city. The streets and alleys were filled with people raising their glasses and congratulating each other.

A system prompt sounded in her ears:

[Congratulations on successfully completing this instance: Dark Medieval Era]

[Do you choose to leave? ]

Zhu Yu took a deep breath.

She knew it was time to say goodbye.

She took one last look at the land that was once shrouded in shadow but now bathed in sunshine again, and nodded.

"It's time to leave."

【Confirm to leave】

Light emerged, and her figure quietly dissipated in the air.

And at the moment she left, the sign of the Golden Cup Tavern hundreds of kilometers away swayed slightly in the wind, still shining with a warm golden glow.

— The third copy·End—