Chapter 25 Night of the Ancient Castle (End)
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The rubble was directly swept up and flew into the iron-barred window.
Its speed was quite fast, as if it was dropped from a height of ten thousand meters, with astonishing destructive power. Some of it directly embedded into the wall.
Xie Tangyan could only use her hands once a day, but ever since the giant eye appeared, this limitation has been greatly eased. She stood in front of Wen Shi, weaving a few beautiful sword flowers, indirectly forming a barrier to block all the flying rubble.
This regular physical damage didn’t affect the castle master.
With a splitting headache, he let out a nearly beast-like cry of pain.
The most unfortunate one was Zhao Sanjie.
Players’ items were mostly meant for ghosts and monsters. Items like A’Ling’s explosive【Little Steel Ball】were very rare and fell under the category of attack-type magical tools. Items that could provide physical defense could be described as scarce.
Facing the swiftly rotating stones, Zhao Sanjie couldn’t find any useful items, so he could only desperately move toward the secret passage, attempting to seek refuge there. Some stones that he couldn’t dodge, he used the most basic method, using his hands to block. The stones rained down like hail on his arms, leaving behind bloody holes.
The continuously appearing wounds made his legs tremble in pain. Zhao Sanjie frantically exchanged potions, holding his head as he rushed towards the secret passage.
After the intense burning sensation subsided a bit, Wen Shi weakly spoke, “Big Sister, I feel like that eye is watching me.”
Xie Tangyan felt a bit embarrassed. Earlier, she confidently claimed responsibility for the trouble, but now things seemed unusual.
“Little Brother, he’s watching you.”
The gaze of the giant eye in the sky was hard to ignore.
Wen Shi bravely met the gaze of the unfathomable eye.
Disregarding its imposing presence, the eye was quite beautiful, long and profound, emanating a cold aura, even more beautiful than the excessively beautiful organ of a monster’s transformation.
Wen Shi’s mind was filled with many speculations in an instant.
A legendary all-knowing spirit?
Or perhaps a hidden surveillance device, secretly observing the players’ every move?
The ground trembled violently. Wen Shi set aside all doubts, focusing on the head and angrily said, “What are you curious about? Ignite yourself!”
The head: “……”
“Are you speaking human language?”
The flames grew dimmer; the entire space’s magnetic field became chaotic. The flames retrieved from the Earl’s fireplace couldn’t withstand it at all.
The light bulb shattered, and the iron railing flew up directly. Everything felt like a lone boat, engulfed by roaring waves in the sky’s vortex.
The small flame was completely extinguished.
Wen Shi cursed and picked up the head, which had burned down to just a few pieces of hard bone, and moved towards the edge of the bed.
“Big Sister, cover me for a moment.”
Without him saying it, Xie Tangyan was also holding him, preventing Wen Shi from being blown away by the wind.
“Let’s go!” Wen Shi stood on tiptoes and forcefully threw the fragments of the head towards the sky.
Trying to get the head to be sucked into the vortex in the sky.
The thing outside looked formidable, and even the toughest fragments couldn’t escape the consequence of being shattered into pieces. It could be seen as a unique form of complete destruction.
The craftsman found liberation. His task was not far from completion.
The remaining wisp of the head’s soul found it incredible, unable to imagine that someone would still care about destroying the picture frame in such a situation.
Shortly after the fragments of the head shot up into the sky, the giant eye in the sky seemed to perceive Wen Shi’s intentions and showed a slow tendency to close.
The snapped trees found a moment of respite, and rocks and soil fell from mid-air. The fragments of the head were about to fall straight down as well.
At this critical moment, he couldn’t let his efforts go to waste.
In his anxious state, Wen Shi took a deep breath, tilted his head at a 45-degree angle, and smiled up at the sky.
The giant eye had been staring at him all along. Although he didn’t know why, as the focal point of attention, Wen Shi tried his best to attract its focus.
It worked!
The giant eye squinted but didn’t completely close.
Wen Shi said, “Big Sister, should I dance for him again?”
“……”
Xie Tangyan didn’t answer that question and took a step closer to the castle master.
Her power limitation gradually lifted, and the unique scent in her soul became more profound. The castle master could sense the aura of each person’s soul, and among the recently contacted people, only two had pure souls.
One was employed as his psychologist, and the other was right before him.
…Similar souls.
However, his psychologist’s soul was too pure but lacked warmth. This woman was different–fiery, domineering, and her soul was scorching hot.
The Earl’s perfect bride creation longed for freedom and enjoyed endless slaughter, which was also pure in its own way, but it couldn’t compare to this unrestrained passion.
His headache intensified.
At this moment, the castle master felt the pain of a torn soul, far greater than the craftsman’s.
“Answer me, will you marry?” Xie Tangyan softly sang the cuckoo bird’s song, “Singing cheerfully, oh, what a beautiful night.”
Wen Shi didn’t take pleasure in watching the misfortune. He clung to the window, tightly grasping the iron bars, until he helplessly watched the skull finally being sucked into the abyss-like crack. Only then did he let go of his worries and rushed to the frame, standing on tiptoes to remove it.
He didn’t rush to destroy the frame. Without the craftsman’s soul covering it, the terrifying human-headed visage on the guillotine’s handle vanished. It could now be easily touched.
Wen Shi planned to let the monsters, the cockroaches in the eyes of the ancient castle, move in. As someone who pursued perfection, he couldn’t possibly let the frame that once housed the monsters now contain the real bride. Moreover, without the craftsman’s soul, the frame’s effect was not as strong as before, and it couldn’t imprison the real bride anymore.
Only children make choices. He wanted both optional main quests.
Wen Shi walked to the door and knocked on the wall. “Hey, are you there?”
No one responded.
Wen Shi said, “The castle master is in so much pain that he can’t even stand properly. What are you afraid of?”
This statement had an effect.
A dark figure slowly emerged from the wall, followed by the second, then the third. They struggled in eternal entanglement. Eventually, the first thing that extended from the wall was a leg. The monster took advantage of its long legs and cautiously touched the frame.
After confirming that there was no problem, both legs went in, and finally, with a “thump,” it jumped in completely.
“Comfortable~”
With the first successful case, the remaining monsters rushed in like dumplings in a pot.
Human emotions differ, not to mention those of humans and monsters. However, at this moment, Wen Shi could feel the joy radiating from the monsters in their eagerness.
When he looked up, he was slightly startled. The real bride was sitting on a nearby broken armrest, the armrest shattered like a pancake due to the explosives. She sat on it, as light as a feather.
Putting the two scenes together was truly ironic.
Wen Shi originally thought the real bride would take the opportunity to assassinate the castle master. Strangely, she didn’t do that and instead stroked the paper knife, revealing a strange smile.
“So, even his fate is being controlled by others.”
The tone contained deep relief.
As the world gradually returned to calm, Chu An, who came out from the secret passage, saw the real bride appearing again and couldn’t wait to shout at the castle master, “The bride is right here!”
At this point, he didn’t care whether he would become the target of the real bride’s envy.
Judging from Wen Shi’s relaxed expression and the castle master’s abnormal behavior, it seemed that the instance was reaching its end. As a member of the Earl’s camp, it meant that their main quest would fail.
The real bride touched her knife and looked over.
Chu An tried his best to stay close to the castle master. If he could lead the real bride inside, it would be perfect.
Li, feeling extremely anxious, was in a much worse state compared to Zhao Sanjie, who was covered in blood. Ironically, Zhao Sanjie became the winner.
Thanks to Wen Shi, he, who chose the Monster Alliance, won effortlessly.
Zhao Sanjie was in a great mood and said, “Sometimes, choices matter more than efforts.”
He caught a ride with the newlyweds.
He calmly thought that he was initially intimidated by Xie Tangyan’s strength. But recalling that this woman who suddenly appeared called Pei Wenwei “Little Brother,” she might not be an NPC.
It was well known that increasing NPC’s favorability with players was difficult, and the possibility of being called “Little Brother” was almost zero.
This was indeed a nice gain. He could sell the information privately to people from other organizations once he returned.
There were also a monster disguised as bridesmaid. This was clearly one of Pei Wenwei’s aces, which could also be included in the intelligence trade. Although he didn’t find a chance to use his stealing skill, he didn’t come away empty-handed.
However, Zhao Sanjie couldn’t help but feel intense jealousy. He was certain that this newbie would make a fortune when settling the accounts.
On Wen Shi’s side, the notification sound was constantly playing.
【Congratulations to the player for completing the main quest: “Counterattack of the Monster Alliance”】
【Quest reward: Blessing of the monsters
You’ve given a home to the monsters, and in return, the monsters bless you with a home of your own.
The attribute panel immediately added a new entry: 【My Home Lv. 1】.
“A home that can be upgraded?” Wen Shi’s eyes gleamed with strong interest. Before he could thoroughly study it, the notification continued:
【Congratulations to the player for completing the main quest: “The Spirit in the Damaged Picture Frame”】
【Because you’ve granted freedom to the real bride, she’ll also help you achieve freedom.】
“Congratulations, player, for meeting the conditions to escape the castle. The real bride has decided to escort you out.”
“The instance settlement is about to begin.”
“Faction B’s special dual mainline quests grant an additional 10% reward, totaling 550 points.”
“Faction C’s special dual mainline quests grant an additional 30% reward, totaling 650 points.”
“Congratulations, the player’s role-playing score reached 100%! You’ve earned a 1.5x points reward! In total, it’s 1800 points!”
“Based on the player’s performance in the instance, the codename ‘Doctor’ has been generated for you.”
As the notification sound ended, a river of blood flowed past Wen Shi. The real bride spoke softly, “Step in.”
Without hesitation, Wen Shi followed. Since the instance mentioned the real bride would escort him out, it must be true.
The real bride released two blood rivers, with the other one flowing downstairs to the injured A’Ling.
As for Zhao Sanjie, in the quest completion notification, he had already received the secret passage provided by the monsters to the outside world. The notification specifically stated that the passage was guarded by the monsters, and only those recognized by them, like him and Wen Shi, could pass through. Zhao Sanjie hid this crucial information and planned to sell the location of the passage to Chu An and Li for a high price, and then gain a profit from them.
“Big Sister,” Wen Shi called out to Xie Tangyan as he stepped into the river.
Skill summons were uncertain, and it would be difficult to summon the same person again next time.
People are creatures longing for warmth. Even though Wen Shi hadn’t spent much time with Xie Tangyan, she had always supported him unconditionally. Moreover, he felt a natural sense of kinship with Xie Tangyan.
Xie Tangyan’s eyebrows resembled distant mountains, long and gracefully arched, as if there was nothing in the world worth furrowing them.
“Although I’m leaving, you can still harness my power. It’s part of our agreement.”
Taken aback, Wen Shi instinctively checked his attribute panel.
【Skill: I Am Who I Am
Companion Skill: One Strike Flattens All
This skill can be used in limited instances, possessing the power of Xie Tangyan’s full-strength attack. The skill can be used 3 times per instance.
Single-use cost: 5000 points
With each use, it can activate the (Peerless Sword Dancing Princess) and (Transcendent Mastery) effects.
Peerless Sword Dancing Princess: A sword dance that shakes all directions. As the name suggests, when you perform the sword dance, it will create a sensation all around.
Transcendent Mastery: No need to wield a weapon. Anything from flower petals to leaves can harm others.
Highly recommended for use in the scene: “Dark Wedding!”
Special reminder: After using the (One Strike Flattens All) skill more than four times, Xie Tangyan will obtain a book called “Grand Swordsmanship,” which will help her achieve new accomplishments in swordsmanship.】
5000 points per use! To help Xie Tangyan reach new heights, he needed 20,000 points! The sorrow of parting vanished in an instant.
Wen Shi realized that this dog of a game wanted to wipe him out.
In front of him, Xie Tangyan suddenly flashed to the back with a single step.
Zhao Sanjie, who was negotiating prices with Li and Chu An, only saw a plain white hand flicker before his eyes, then he felt a dull pain in his neck. Before he could react, his head detached from its support and slumped to one side.
Zhao Sanjie saw both Li and Chu An step back in shock, and he opened his mouth, “Dea…”
What happened?
He couldn’t even say a complete sentence as his body fell heavily backward.
It was only at this moment that Zhao Sanjie realized he was dead.
Xie Tangyan’s last words were directed at the castle master.
The castle master lost his composure and almost collapsed, half-kneeling on the ground. Xie Tangyan whispered something to him, and the Earl’s narrow eyes showed even more struggle and killing intent.
Wen Shi wanted to pay more attention, but his vision gradually blurred under the encirclement of the blood river.
The blood river, equivalent to a teleportation array, didn’t take effect immediately. The game’s warning sound kept ringing—
“Please note! Illegitimate gains cannot be taken out of the game by players.”
Wen Shi realized it was the harp.
After all the trouble he went through to steal, he felt reluctant to give it up.
“Please note! Illegitimate gains cannot be taken out of the game by players.”
At the second prompt, Wen Shi’s gaze shifted.
“Wandering Corpse!”
The Wandering Corpse’s wounds had not yet healed, but it came out eagerly staring at Wen Shi… hungry for blood.
Since they were all leaving the game anyway, Wen Shi used the harp strings to cut his palm and didn’t mind sharing some blood with it.
Upon seeing the harp, the Wandering Corpse’s vacant expression changed, as if it liked it. Wen Shi didn’t notice. He didn’t have time to think about that now. The prompt only said not to take it out as a player, but the Wandering Corpse didn’t belong to any player.
“Hold it and come with me.”
Before Wen Shi could give the command, the Wandering Corpse was already firmly clinging to the harp, and the annoying prompt disappeared.
In the moment when the blood river completely surrounded them, Wen Shi felt a strong sense of confusion. What was this “100% role-playing” thing? He hadn’t focused on that aspect at all.
*
Not long ago.
In almost every corner of this world, that eerie eye could be noticed.
But the strongest tremor occurred inside the castle.
“Aaron, I will definitely send you to hell!”
The castle itself belonged to an A-level area, and its unique magnetic field ensured it was not swept into the storm in the sky along with other things.
Poor A’Ao, who was waiting outside, was in a sorry state as he desperately tried to escape back to Frank Hospital.
A’Ao’s massive and sturdy body was like a small blade of grass in the tornado that rose from the flat ground around him, at risk of being broken at any moment. He used an iron hook to cut his arm, and the gushing blood solidified into a red umbrella, shielding his body to prevent it from being crushed by the abyss in his pupils.
Protected by the red umbrella, he finally had a chance to catch his breath.
When he returned to the hospital’s main base, A’Ao felt an unprecedented unease. He immediately called the plump nurse, “Has anything happened on the patient’s side?”
The plump nurse replied, “Everyone is still under treatment.”
A’Ao finally relaxed, sighing in relief, attributing his discomfort to perhaps losing too much blood.
“I need to take a break and recover for a while. During this period, you must strengthen the management of the patients.”
This time, he was truly gravely injured and needed to recover his strength as soon as possible to deter those who were secretly eyeing the position of Frank Hospital’s Director.
***
End Volume 1: Big Sister
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Huh, what about that patient from earlier..? Did the author forget about them(him)?
Anyways,
Thank you for your hard work, Translator-ssi! Congratulations with finishing a arc.