Chapter 127 Ashes and Dark Clouds

The deer horn did not take the king's head himself, but wanted to give it to another person.

"Let's make a deal... I'll just do the mission this time, and you can kill all those people."

He discussed this with Lily, demonstrating his harmlessness and good intentions.

He spread his hands, palms facing outward, indicating that he held no hostility. "This time, I'll only be your helper, your bait. I'll stand outside to attract attention, and you can take advantage of the opportunity to attack me... If I'm in danger, you don't need to appear to rescue me."

"That way, you won't have to worry about me betraying you, and I can be your loyal teammate—how's that? There's no harm in that, right?"

Lujiao certainly knew that it was easy for traitors to appear on the path of adaptation.

But does he usually encounter fewer two-faced people?

He had long been accustomed to interacting with such people.

People who are accustomed to betrayal are not necessarily going to betray. As long as you can give them enough benefits and a sense of security, and increase the cost of their betrayal, these people can still be used.

Furthermore, Lujiao was certain that Aleister was a young man under twenty years old. The "Knight" was only in his early twenties. He was also certain that the King was one of the rare utilitarian transcendents who, after acquiring the mysterious skills, did not advance any further.

In other words, everyone else is on the dual path, including this "Gray Robe".

Since he is on a dual path, he is not likely to be as extreme as a single path transcendent... just like he is on the twilight path, but he is still very talkative.

And Lujiao always felt that the other person's personality should actually be good.

He felt no hostility towards the man in gray robes, and even felt a vague affinity. This was unfounded, simply his instinct—but his instincts were always quite accurate.

Although Lujiao didn't get an immediate response from the Grey Robe, he could vaguely hear the king's breathing suddenly stop, and a very low "gurgling" sound came out. It was as if someone was strangling his throat, but Lujiao had no idea where the Grey Robe was.

After a while, a low voice sounded.

"Alright. His body is yours."

——It’s been less than half a minute, right?

Such skillful bare-handed strangulation... Is he from the strangulation party?

Lujiao had a vague guess in his mind.

But the strangulation party may not be unable to cooperate.

He smiled cheerfully, "Speaking of which, it's fate... I don't know if you've ever heard of this saying. Of the nine great paths, three favor movement, three seek stillness, and three are adaptable. Wisdom, adaptation, and dusk all favor stillness. You are a very typical adaptor."

"But when it comes to the Dusk Path, I'm considered a talkative person."

As Lujiao spoke, he reached out and groped on the ground, and found the still warm head of the corpse.

He stretched out his hand and pressed it on the other's forehead. The dim yellow light crawled slowly along his five fingers like a worm onto the face of the "king's" corpse.

"My friends, my family, my loved ones. Those I accidentally killed, those I couldn't save."

The antlers sang in a peculiar rhythm, whispering, "I am the messenger of sorrow from the constellation Bootes, the Dog of Icarius. There is no place for you in the underworld. Please return silently."

As he spoke, he used his other hand to pry open the king's mouth and blew a deep breath into it.

At that moment, the king's body was like a lit lamp.

His whole body was lit up with a dim yellow light, which became brighter and brighter.

These lights wandered around in his body, eventually half gathering in the heart and half in the brain.

The "king" suddenly opened his eyes, and a dim yellow light appeared in his pupils.

He swiftly got up from the ground and followed behind Deerhorn. He opened his mouth slightly, but no sound came out.

“…Can’t he speak?”

Watching the "Ceremony of Resurrection" from the side, Lily finally couldn't help but ask.

"Well, no. But this is still Mr. King, not a shell of himself. It's just that he can't think straight."

Deer Horn answered simply, "Speech and singing belong to the realm of beauty, reproduction and affection belong to the realm of love. Thinking is related to wisdom, and exercise is related to transcendence. Those who have died but whose bodies remain are stripped of the four realms, those who have died but whose souls remain are stripped of the six realms, and those who have died but whose souls no longer exist are stripped of the eight realms, leaving only dusk.

"From this perspective, the dead resurrected by necromancy...are still in the world of the dead."

This is the principle of necromancy that normal necromancers will not explain.

But for Lu Jiao, whose main job is a law mage, there is nothing to hide.

Deer Horn looked at the huge door and ordered, "Go open it."

The resurrected king opened his mouth silently, then rushed forward with extraordinary agility and climbed up like a monkey.

"It's a pity there's no bone staff."

Deer Horn sighed, "If I had a bone staff, I could strengthen the King's corpse. I wouldn't have to issue commands like this anymore."

"Aren't you a big shot in Avalon?"

Lily asked calmly, "Isn't it easy to make a bone staff?"

"That's a bit difficult. Weapons that can be brought into the ceremony must be made by ourselves," Lu Jiao said casually. "I'm old now, and it's not easy to learn carving from scratch."

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.

Just the words "old age" made Lily's heart move.

Although it is normal for big shots to be older... but for some reason, when she first met Mr. Shikaku, she felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

At this time, Lu Jiao also asked: "Speaking of which, what should I call you?"

"Ash."

Lily replied.

The Spider Silk Sutra she inherited was passed down from Gray Sky Master. Using this name now is more appropriate than ever.

"I will protect you in secret."

She whispered, "I'll always follow you, but don't try to find me... I'm the spider in the corner."

Of course, this is a lie.

She was quietly observing the antlers, looking for an opportunity to kill them with one strike.

In fact, she didn't understand the mission this time...but Lily was clearly aware of one thing.

——We only need to kill six people in total to win. And Master Aiwass can definitely do it.

However, the first "antler" to appear in the ritual is the most uncontrollable variable.

No one knew how many cards he had left, so Lily had to follow him closely, looking for the perfect opportunity to kill him.

But, besides that...

"You said you were a big shot."

Lily, lurking in the shadows, couldn't help but ask, "Do you know anything about the ministers in the Round Table Hall?"

She was still somewhat curious about her biological father, whom she knew almost nothing about.

Hearing this, Lu Jiao smiled confidently, "Of course. No one knows the people in the Round Table better than me."

And the other side.

Gordon, who used the alias "Thunder", the Knight, and the man who was in a bad mental state and looked like a piece of rotten wood had already escaped from the predicament.

They left the storage room without losing any men.

"Where are you going next?"

Gordon took over the captain's duties very naturally: "Let me see if we are going the same way - if so, we can help each other. If not, we can just go our separate ways."

"I want to find the Holy Lance."

The knight said without hesitation, "Then use the Holy Lance to smash the giant's cauldron! If I have the chance, I would also like to challenge those giants who believe in the evil god!"

"I can accompany you to get the Holy Lance," Gordon nodded cautiously, "and I can also accompany you to smash the Demon Cauldron. But I strongly disapprove of you attacking the Titans—but if you insist on doing so, I won't stop you.

"I will accompany you and try to protect you. If you are killed, I can take your place and take the Holy Lance."

Both of them have a very strong hostility towards giants.

Compared with the Cavaliers, Gordon's desire for promotion is not as strong.

On the other hand, the man who was standing quietly beside him like a dead tree couldn't help but laugh softly: "Evil God? Hehehe..."

His voice was completely inconsistent with his disheveled and decadent image, sounding unusually calm, gorgeous and elegant. He didn't sound like a madman, but more like an aristocrat.

"Of course the Supreme Heaven is the evil god."

Gordon frowned slightly, but patiently explained to the man, "'Supreme Heaven' is the name given to Him by those who believe in the Bear Celestial Priest. He is an authoritarian Celestial Priest who leans towards the path of love. They yearn for a world of violence, lawlessness, disorder, and where the strong can freely bully the weak."

"In the past, the giant kingdom of Alctors was a dynasty that worshipped the Ursa Major. As you can see, they would eat all races, even their own. And the High Heavens would even bless this evil race—"

"Mr. Thunder! Have you seen the mission 'Successful Escape'?"

The knight added: "Snake Father said that we need to find the key and escape from the Pancord Temple... The place we are in is called the Pancord Temple!"

Gordon confirmed, "This 'giant couple' is definitely not an ordinary couple. They were able to kill the apostles, live in the temple dedicated to the Most High, and possess the magic cauldron bestowed by the Most High. And they are so huge... They might be the legendary tall giants."

When you reach Gordon's level, you can access some historical records about the Giant Kingdom.

Generally speaking, pure-blooded giants are only six or seven meters tall.

Giants aren't born tall; rather, they grow taller as they age. While giants can run at birth, three-year-olds are less than a meter tall, and teenage giants are typically only two meters tall, looking like slightly taller human teenagers.

Unlike humans, however, a giant's growth period is very long, lasting hundreds of years, during which time the giant continues to grow larger and larger. However, generally speaking, the maximum height each giant can reach varies, depending on their talents.

Because the Bear Celestial Being is said to be immense, the giants under his protection pride themselves on growing even taller. Generally, the taller the giant, the higher their status. Giants of a certain stature are called "tall giants," often considered a "gift from the High Heavens."

The ministers of the Giant Kingdom were taller than the walls of the royal city. They were tall and thin, nearly twenty meters tall, with white beards that stretched like waterfalls.

Human weapons could not easily harm them, and they could kill humans with ease, like humans crushing insects. These giants' running could cause earthquakes, so they usually sat still and ate. Only during festivals would they stand up and wrestle each other. Then, the earth would shake for days.

Judging from the door in the temple, this giant couple should be at least twenty meters tall, which is three times the height of a regular giant.

"This 'giant couple' is probably actually Xiong Tiansi's apostles."

Gordon looked at the knight and said seriously, "It's perfectly normal for the apostles to guard the temple. That's why they were able to kill the apostles of the Path of Devotion and seize the Holy Lance. Just like in the Temple of Acropolis, Hippocrates and Acropolis occasionally appear... The Giant Dynasty worships the Ursa Major and builds temples everywhere. The apostles can fully manifest in these temples."

"This is why I don't agree with you attacking the giants. Even if Xiong Tiansi's apostles aren't as powerful as the apostles of the Nine Pillars... Xiong Tiansi is still a Tiansi of the Path of Authority. I still think it's foolish for you to challenge two apostles of the Path of Authority with the weapons of an apostle of the Path of Devotion."

Hearing this, the rotten-wood man laughed out loud again: "The path to authority? Hahahaha..."

Gordon finally couldn't bear it anymore.

He turned back seriously and asked, "Sir, just tell me what you find so funny. Please don't use riddles, it only ruins the mood. I think we're still teammates escaping together, so what can't we just say directly?"

"...Are you sure you want to listen?"

A subtle smile appeared on the man's lips: "You said that yourself, don't blame me."

Although Gordon and the Cavaliers had a vague feeling that something was wrong, they didn't want to turn back now that things had come to this.

"You can call me Dark Cloud. I'm a werewolf being hunted by the Son of the Moon. I'm a poor writer... preparing to flee to Avalon. I hope you can give me some convenience when the time comes... Mr. Thunder."

The man, resembling a dead tree, leaned against the huge, rough, green stone wall. He raised a finger, his lips curled up slightly with ill intent. "This is knowledge you will never acquire in Avalon. While the Silver Crown Dragon himself may not care, his apostles do. And while his apostles may not care, the monarchs of the mortal world must care—who made them not kill all the giants back then?"

"This is a secret from the beginning of Avalon's founding, a history from before the path of 'authoritarianism' existed. It is the only event in human history where the Nine Pillars of God have ever been replaced.

"Listen, and then face the truth..."

An update of 7,000 words is complete!

(End of this chapter)