NOVPUBChapter 483: Chapter 423: The Cross Greatsword (For ‘Adverb’ to add more rewards)
The archaeologist took the lead, and as she reached the top of the staircase leading to the Tall Tower, a shadowy figure appeared at the end of the grand castle corridor.
It was Steward Armand Ray, with his amiable smile and both gentlemanly and elegant demeanor.
He was still dressed in that medieval finery, a tailcoat with lace on the collar and cuffs, his face wearing a smile that was just right, standing tall and straight at the end of the corridor.
The archaeologist narrowed her eyes slightly, adopting a defensive stance, and took several marbles out of her pocket.
At that moment, An Lin also came up the stairs.
The three of them locked gazes from afar, the atmosphere suddenly turning extremely eerie.
Without the illumination of the red moonlight, the castle was engulfed in darkness, with only a faint glow in the air barely allowing them to see each other.
...
Armand Ray watched them with a smile brimming with mirth, “Is it just you lot?”
An Lin scoffed, “So you’re the witch’s lackey?”
“No, I am my master’s most loyal servant,” Armand Ray replied, his smile unwavering, seeming not to be angered by the offense at all.
“In other words, still a lackey,” An Lin retorted sharply.
“…”
Armand Ray didn’t speak again, after all, they were not there to exchange verbal jabs.
He raised his right hand, and a pitch-black Double-edged Flying Dart hovered above his palm, emitting a dense, eerie, and decaying aura, with viscous Dark Matter dripping onto the floor.
The archaeologist’s pupils contracted, “Be careful!
It’s the aura of that thing!”
“Hmph, Abyss is Abyss, there’s no need to beat around the bush!”
An Lin said with a sneer, a vicious light in her eyes as she pulled out her whip with an air of hostility and charged rapidly towards Steward Armand Ray!
The archaeologist watched the impetuous girl who charged ahead without waiting for her teammates, bravely probing the enemy for her team, like a teenager who had lost her wits.
She silently took two steps back.
As An Lin attacked, the flying wheel in Armand Ray’s hand also shot out suddenly, turning into a streak of dark light through the corridor.
In the darkness, things that are even darker naturally have a stealthy effect.
An Lin’s rushing figure came to an abrupt halt, swinging her long whip high as if it were an extension of her arm, elegantly swirling it through the air.
“Crack!”
A sliver of dark light burst in the center of the corridor, revealing the hidden flying wheel, which was struck by the tail of An Lin’s whip and sent flying back toward the wall.
Armand Ray’s expression remained unchanged, and he stood still, the flying wheel that was about to hit the wall suddenly split into two, like a phantom slicing through the air and darting towards her again!
The two flying wheels, one from the left and one from the right, attacked her in a pincer move, and as they flew, they split again, quickly forming an encirclement.
An Lin wore a mocking smile as she slammed her whip heavily onto the ground.
Crack!
Dust rose, and the dark mist dispersed.
A dazzling white light burst forth from her whip, instantly dissipating the approaching flying wheel illusions, then she spun around and struck behind her, her whip once again making precise contact with the real flying wheel!
However, the moment the whip touched the flying wheel, it split again, its speed undiminished as it rushed towards An Lin!
Whoosh—
She leaned back sharply, and the two flying wheels almost grazed her head as they passed, the nauseating aura of the Abyss at such close range.
The two flying wheels that had swept past split into several more and suddenly turned back, enclosing on her.
An Lin broke into a cold sweat on her forehead and immediately adjusted her stance for an attack.
“It’s not an illusion!”
A sudden shout came from a distance, and facing the flying wheels, An Lin’s whip, which was initially poised to strike upward, suddenly changed direction, sweeping horizontally instead.
Accompanied by several sounds of air bursting, the flickering whip shattered several flying wheels in mid-air, turning them into clumps of Dark Matter that plopped down onto the ground.
Seeing this, An Lin was relieved.
Her previously excited and uncontrollable emotions cooled down a bit, and she began to feel apprehensive about her impulsive behavior just moments ago.
Armand Ray retracted the Double-edged Flying Wheel spinning in the air and looked up at the archaeologist standing at the top of the stairs.
The archaeologist breathed a sigh of relief, the marbles in her hand ready to be launched.
If the student hadn’t reacted in time to thwart the situation, she would have already thrown the marbles.
Although the child seemed a bit mentally affected, as long as she hadn’t been completely corrupted, being alive was always more useful than being dead.
By this time, the slow-moving Traveling Poet had finally made his way up from the staircase.
He first looked around, then realized that the entire Tall Tower had darkened, but because it was already dark to the eye, the change was not obvious.
Armand Ray shifted his gaze, first sizing up the Traveling Poet, then suddenly fixed his eyes on the cross-guard sword in his hand, his expression turning suddenly gloomy:
“It seems my master has also kept some things from me, actually allowing you to enter that place.”
“Kept secrets?” Picking up on the word, the archaeologist raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
It sounded like Cerys had indeed made a blunder!
In that moment, she didn’t know whether to rejoice at the punishment the Witch had received, or worry about whether she could still achieve her mission objective.
For the time being, she decided to revel in Schadenfreude!
The Traveling Poet, however, looked at him calmly: “Where is Cerys?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Armand Ray’s face twisted ominously, and the darkness in the corridor began to boil over, the castle’s walls rippling like water.
Armand Ray glared at him fiercely: “Do you think you are worthy to utter my master’s name?!”
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed, and dozens of pitch-black knight’s armors emerged from the walls, some wielding spears, some with swords, and others clutching huge axes!
All of them tall and massively built, exuding an evil and twisted aura from the Abyss, these imposing knight’s armors stood silently in the center of the corridor, exuding an overwhelming presence!
An Lin had already drawn back, watching these knight’s armors with a wary eye and a glint of fear in her gaze.
The archaeologist, dumbstruck, turned to the person beside her and muttered, “Did you trigger some kind of hidden level?”
Traveling Poet: “…”
“Let me tell you, I couldn’t even blow these things up with explosives!”
With a psychological aftermath from last night in the underground space, the archaeologist was holding her marble tightly, speaking in a tense and hurried tone.
The Traveling Poet took a look down the corridor and then said, “Buy me one minute.”
“No!
That’s too long!”
“…Fifty seconds.”
“What’s the difference?!”
The archaeologist was somewhat frantic, her gaze landing on the cross-guard sword in his hand as she quickly said, “Wait, that sword must be very important, haven’t you figured out how to use it?”
Hearing this, the Traveling Poet hesitated.
The archaeologist caught onto his emotions and was suddenly surprised—did this guy really know how to use it, had Cerys calculated this too?!
The next moment, the archaeologist’s gaze fiercely shifted to the dozens of knight’s armors in the corridor!
She realized something, a chill creeping over her body.
…
——Remember to give him the sword; he will know how to use it.
——No matter what, ensure he keeps holding it.
…
The archaeologist had spent the previous night studying the sword.
Although it could slice through iron like mud, it had no real effect against evil powers.
She had noticed a recessed slot at the location of the cross guard, wondering if something was missing.
Could Cerys’s firm belief that the Traveling Poet would know how to use the sword be because the missing component was on him?
Moreover, the Witch went to great lengths to ensure that she brought the Traveling Poet to the Tall Tower, had him hold the cross-guard sword, and even specifically mentioned letting him use the sword…
And now their path was blocked by the powerful abyss butler.
Hisss!
Weren’t all these events playing right into their hands?!
While the archaeologist was brainstorming, she lit a candle for the Traveling Poet and silently lit one for herself as well.
…
