Chapter 68-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

Yu Tianming stood in the center of the Knights, looking up at the miraculous scene before him.

The unfurled blood-red petals swayed high in the sky, looking down on everyone. Countless thick red branches broke through the earth. In the surging red tide, they were like ants enveloped in despair.

He could only do his best to release his ability, enhancing the strength of everyone present. However, in the rampaging world of Mutant Plants, their group was powerless, barely managing to dodge the fatal attacks.

"Yu Tianming, focus all your power on me. I'll go kill the Blood Flower."

That kid from the lower district made the audacious claim. Yu Tianming found it somewhat absurd and laughable. In his view, waiting for Bai Muqing or a sober Sykes was their only way out. How dare Percy, an E-rank ability user, command him like that?

He was about to refuse when he suddenly remembered his previous encounters with the Cloud-Soaring Squad. Whether it was Percy or Zhao Mei, there was something inexplicably uncanny about this group. With Percy's E-rank strength, he should have died at Sykes's hands long ago, yet he managed to escape danger every single time.

"I'll only give you one minute!"

Yu Tianming gritted his teeth. He wanted to see what kind of miracle this Percy could create.

He focused all his power on Percy, enough to raise an ability user's strength by two ranks. The next moment, Percy's hands, which had turned into blades, tore open the cage woven from branches, bringing a glimmer of light to the trapped group.

Percy leaped among the Mutant Plants that constantly attacked him, his blades easily slicing through all obstacles until he reached the space beneath the Blood Flower. Percy's hands returned to normal, and he pressed them against the Blood Flower's stalk.

Yu Tianming watched in shock as the color of the Blood Flower's massive stalk gradually turned dark, even reflecting a metallic sheen—

Percy had used [Metal Transmutation] to turn the Blood Flower's stalk into his own sword!

A deafening roar echoed from the heavens. The Blood Flower was impaled on the tip of the giant sword. Its thick petals, which had blotted out the sky, drooped down. Suddenly, a black shadow flashed from the very center of the pistil, followed by a continuous gush of blood, like a pierced heart, sending a crimson waterfall cascading to the ground.

Yu Tianming adjusted his cracked glasses. Inappropriately, he was reminded of the legend of the God of Hope. The god possessed the ability of immortality and fought the Demon Dragon until dusk, finally driving a greatsword into the Demon Dragon's heart.

"Ha, how could that be..."

Percy couldn't possibly be the prophesied reincarnation of the God of Hope, Yu Tianming knew this perfectly well. The so-called reincarnation of the God of Hope could only be Sykes, and the Empire would only ever acknowledge Sykes.

The testing in the lower district must have been flawed. Percy's [Metal Transmutation] ability couldn't possibly be only E-rank; it had to be at least A-rank.

But that was his limit. If he was sensible and willing to be used by them, he could wait until after this competition and have the Crown Prince promote him exceptionally. But if Percy was unwilling...

Yu Tianming thought, how could Percy be unwilling? He believed their goal was also to make the Empire better.

If anyone stood in the way of that goal, they would be an enemy of the entire Empire.

Yu Tianming let out a breath and adjusted his expression to a gentle one. He would win over this talent for the Crown Prince... Of course, he also needed more people loyal to him.

The face of that black-haired, green-eyed youth flashed before his eyes. If he recruited Percy, wouldn't the entire Cloud-Soaring Squad be at his disposal?

"Wait, what's that sound?" someone shouted sharply.

Yu Tianming, lost in his vision of the future, turned his head in confusion, and then his pupils behind his glasses suddenly dilated—Damn it! Where did all this water come from?

The flood rushed down from the high ground. The members of the neighboring Cloud-Soaring Squad expertly turned and ran. Caleb muttered as he ran, "Why does this feel so familiar?"

"We've been having really good luck with water lately!" Lucy shouted optimistically from the front.

"Stop chatting and run!" Roy, at the back, cried out in despair.

As the flood from the broken banks surged everywhere, the Demonic Domain began to disintegrate due to the death of its core. The blood-red curtain of light shattered, and the towering forests around them disappeared. The pursuing flood also vanished at some point.

They had returned to their own world.

The members of the Cloud-Soaring Squad quickly found Percy, who had been fighting alone. They breathed a sigh of relief seeing their captain safe and sound. Everyone grew excited. Not only had they eliminated a high-risk Demonic Domain that had plagued the lower district, but they had also killed its core, earning a massive amount of points!

The only regret was that they hadn't found Zhao Mei yet, otherwise they could all celebrate together.

There was no expression of joy on Percy's face. He was looking up at his surroundings, seemingly searching for something. And standing beside him was a girl.

The girl was tall and slender, dressed in form-fitting black clothes, her purple bob slightly messy in the wind—

"Wu Shu!"

Lucy, who had fought alongside her before, recognized Wu Shu quickly. She ran up, circling Wu Shu in surprise.

Everyone was impressed by this only female captain in the competition, but she had always worn a very distinctive dress before. Her sudden change of attire made it hard for them to react for a moment.

"What are you doing here? We didn't see you inside just now," Lucy said enthusiastically.

Roy realized something. He expressionlessly pulled Lucy back, glanced at the smiling Wu Shu, and then at Percy.

Showing up only after it's all over? How suspicious can you get?

Percy showed a helpless expression and explained, "It was Miss Wu Shu who helped defeat the Blood Flower just now."

Roy said in disbelief, "Don't tell me the one who actually killed the core was..."

"That would be me. Sorry, I wasn't thinking much at the time," Wu Shu raised an eyebrow, her face showing not a hint of guilt for the kill-stealing (the original text uses 'jian lou', a slang for snatching an opportunity that others missed).

The Cloud-Soaring Squad was momentarily speechless, and the atmosphere plunged into an awkward silence.

Although defeating the Blood Flower was important, gaining points was equally important to them. Only by becoming the champion could they get the Dragon Bone reward and protect their hometown.

Even Lucy's enthusiastic smile froze a little, a hint of confusion crossing her face, as if she didn't know how to handle the awkward situation.

Yu Tianming, who had been watching from the side, looked at Wu Shu in surprise. The experiences of the past few days had constantly challenged his perceptions.

So, the shadow he saw flash in the center of the pistil back then was Wu Shu.

If he remembered correctly, this Wu Shu's ability was just a common teleportation. Yet she had abandoned her teammates, entered the Demonic Domain alone, and used this unremarkable B-rank ability to completely conceal herself among a group of high-rank ability users, waiting for the right moment to strike and snatch the final fruit.

Ruthless enough, heartless enough, ambitious enough.

But Yu Tianming didn't understand. A move like this wouldn't do her any good. Relying on such an unseemly tactic would actually harm her reputation. No man would like a woman so skilled at lying in wait, and as a woman, she had little room for career advancement.

—Could it be that she really intended to win this competition's championship? A woman from the Middle District with only a B-rank ability?

Yu Tianming chuckled. It was a good thing that Wu Shu got the points this time, because her team was no threat. It would have been troublesome if the Cloud-Soaring Squad had gotten this handsome score.

Now, as long as they found Sykes, this incident that had given the Empire a massive headache could be considered over. As for the series of troublesome aftermaths, he couldn't be bothered to think about them.

Not far away, a Knight in a red uniform followed respectfully behind a person. That person walked slowly, exuding a heavy aura. His soaking wet clothes clung pathetically to his body, but at least he looked human again.

Yu Tianming let out a long sigh and ran over.

Thank heavens, that guy Sykes had finally regained his sanity!

Under the moonlight, Wu Shu smiled, but her pair of purple eyes were exceptionally deep. She patted Lucy's head, meeting Lucy's sad and confused gaze, but said nothing more to this enthusiastic and kind girl.

There was nothing to explain. She had simply timed it right, killed the core before Percy could, and used any means necessary within the rules to gain benefits for herself.

She had watched coldly from the shadows as Lucy fell into danger multiple times, not lifting a finger to help her. Lucy's friendship shouldn't be wasted on her.

Wu Shu admitted that she was not as strong as these people, so to succeed, she would not hesitate to be despised as despicable.

She removed her hand from Lucy's head and turned to leave into the depths of the night.

However, this covert operation had yielded not only considerable points but also some unexpected discoveries.

So there was another bad woman who was as good at hiding as she was.

*

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Sykes silently glanced at Yu Tianming, his face grim, and did not speak.

Yu Tianming was awkwardly left out in the cold, adjusting his glasses uncomfortably.

After a long while, Sykes suddenly spoke: "Where is Ye Zheng?"

A hint of confusion appeared in Yu Tianming's eyes. He had thought that after regaining his senses, Sykes might blame those around him, or perhaps kill a few people in a rage to vent his anger. He never expected Sykes to ask about the Saintess.

"Ye Zheng? At this time, she should be at home, or working at the church?"

Sykes's golden eyes darkened further, his stare at Yu Tianming clearly saying, "What on earth are you talking about."

Under the Crown Prince's oppressive gaze, Yu Tianming's brain worked furiously, finally guessing a possibility. "You... you saw Ye Zheng?"

"Didn't you? She was with Bai Muqing."

Yu Tianming held his head, feeling his intelligence was a bit insufficient. He remembered Bai Muqing holding off the out-of-control Sykes so that others could find the core. Where did Ye Zheng come into it at all?

Wait, could it be that Ye Zheng, under orders from the Sei Curia, also entered this Demonic Domain to rescue Sykes?

It was indeed highly possible. But he hadn't seen anyone else from the Sei Curia—right, Bai Muqing counted as one. Could it be that the two of them entered together?

Entering this Demonic Domain would randomly teleport people to different areas. Perhaps Ye Zheng was teleported to a particularly remote place, which was why there had been no sign of her. That was also a possibility.

Besides Ye Zheng, there was also Bai Muqing, Zhao Mei from the Cloud-Soaring Squad, and the main culprit of this incident, none of whom had been seen yet.

"Your Highness, I did not see her. The scope of this Demonic Domain was quite large, she might still be..."

"Find her!"

Sykes's white shirt was still dripping water, his skin faintly visible underneath. He ran a hand through his hair. His golden locks were wet and matted together, looking utterly pathetic.

During the time his consciousness was muddled, his memories were fragmented and unclear.

But he vividly remembered two things: Ye Zheng pressing his head into the dirty water, and her presumptuously letting water flow into his body. He gritted his teeth at the memory!

"Ye Zheng... was taken away by Sierra."

A female voice attracted everyone's attention. Sykes's grim, angry face froze, and Percy, who was comforting his teammates, also looked over in disbelief.

On the moonlit street, Bai Muqing and the black-haired, green-eyed youth walked side by side. Receiving everyone's gaze, Bai Muqing seemed to look away in sadness, staring at the ground to her left.

Her voice was unnatural. "It was her ability that freed His Highness the Crown Prince from the blonde girl's control, turning the tide for us. When Sierra saw that all was lost, she took her away."

The youth's slightly hoarse voice added for her, "The situation was too chaotic at the time. The river broke its banks, and we lost track of them in the flood."

Sykes narrowed his golden eyes, looking at the suddenly appeared youth, and asked in an unfriendly tone, "And who are you?"

Percy stepped forward to the youth's side. The youth was soaking wet, still carrying that black bag, looking pale and weak, especially in front of the fierce Sykes.

"This is my teammate, Zhao Mei."

Then, he couldn't help but turn and ask, "Zhao Mei, do you have any clues about them? We can't let Lady... Saintess be taken away by a thug like that!"

Although he still had many questions in his heart, like why Zhao Mei was missing for so long, and whether the heavy rain and flood in the Demonic Domain were related to him. And that strange, giant skull was also on his mind...

But now, an extremely dangerous thug was on the loose, and the Saintess was also missing. There was no time to dwell on those details.

The thought of that brave and kind Saintess made not only Percy's heart clench, but most of the people present as well.

That was an arch-criminal who could deliver the mutilated corpses of noble contestants to the Crown Prince's room! The ever-righteous Saintess had actually fallen into the hands of such a person!

A violent airflow erupted around Sykes, knocking Yu Tianming and the others to the ground. He spoke with suppressed fury, "Find that blonde woman. I want to personally tear her to pieces!"

In the dim moonlight, the black-haired, green-eyed youth stood silently among the agitated crowd. Her short black bangs covered her slightly raised eyebrows. A glimmer of intrigued light flashed through her ethereal green eyes.

Author's Note:

Next chapter will feature an exploding forum, hehe.

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →