Chapter 109: The Play Begins (33 Sanjiang)

Beneath the blood moon.

A group of shadows merged with the night swiftly flew from the Mist Mountains, advancing silently beneath the shadow of the clouds toward the monastery.

Ssshh—

In a few breaths, those figures crossed hundreds of meters and halted a hundred meters before the monastery.

The lead figure withdrew from his chest a purple crystal badge engraved with intricate patterns, raised it high, and from it radiated a dim glow three meters in diameter.

The man slowly crept forward, step by cautious step, holding the badge, and silently passed through a semi-transparent barrier… without triggering any alarm!

Seeing this, the hidden shadows exhaled in relief, their confidence strengthening.

They quickly followed, creeping slowly beneath the glow, successfully passing through the monastery's alert barrier.

Perhaps feeling the operation had gone too smoothly so far, a scoff of disdain echoed from the shadows.

"Tch! Is that all?"

The tallest figure among them snorted, mocking: "Hah! This is the Mist Monastery that terrified you for so long? Pathetic!"

Those around him frowned and shot him a glare, but said nothing in rebuttal—it was indeed their own thought.

Such lax security is a disgrace to its fearsome reputation in the Dark Realm.

What damn nonsense is this "End of Heresy"?

Yet just as the burly man gloated, a cold, mocking voice spoke:

"Then why don't you walk through the front gate? Shout loud enough to wake everyone. You hold them off alone while we go rescue her. Why don't you? Afraid?"

"What did you say!? Who said that?"

The burly man flew into a rage, ready to attack the speaker on the spot.

"Enough! Quiet, all of you!"

Though a silent barrier had been set, excessive noise might cause vibrations that draw the attention of the monastery's powerful ones.

The leader spoke to mediate—a dark elf who had entered middle age, with a neatly trimmed goatee, his deep eyes brimming with wisdom.

"Don't lower your guard. This is only the first step. Only when we truly rescue Svan Ni will this succeed."

After he spoke, someone else chimed in—a female dark elf with a somewhat gentle face, shifting the topic:

"By the way, though the Northern Witch's items are expensive, their effects are reliable—they actually worked…"

But before her sigh had fully faded, a crack appeared on the purple crystal badge, then shattered instantly before anyone could react.

Crack!

The burly man's expression froze, then he grumbled: "Tch! It's all your fault, you…"

"Shut your mouth."

A hoarse, aged female voice spoke, calmly reprimanding him; the burly man stiffened and turned toward the speaker.

"My lord Zula…"

The elderly dark elf, face grim, tapped her staff lightly but firmly.

"The Northern Witch's badge is useless. When we leave, we will inevitably alert those in the monastery."

"There is no retreat now. We must rescue Svan Ni and flee with her—that is our only chance."

"Stay silent. Say no more. This operation must succeed—failure is not an option!"

"This is our only chance."

All fell silent; the crushing weight of fate settled again on their shoulders.

Success only. No failure.

In the suffocating silence, a weary sigh drifted away on the wind.

"But even if we rescue her, what good will it do? Just a madwoman obsessed with forbidden things…"

No one answered.

No answer was needed.

They had bet wrong. The new patriarch's purge had begun; all of them, having chosen the losing side, were on the list to be eliminated.

No one could escape the Moore Clan's centuries-long, endless pursuit.

Even with five legendary powerhouses among them, it made no difference.

Certain death.

Their only path to survival now was one.

That was to raise a new banner to draw the fire, then seize the chance to rally other purged members and launch a counterattack to reclaim power—only then could they turn the tide and live.

As for the fate of the banner they pushed forward to draw the fire… what did that matter to them?

If obedient, keep her as a puppet and maintain her.

If disobedient… replace her with a new one.

After all, they only needed a bloodline name.

If necessary, imprison and restrain her, force her to bear an heir, then eliminate her.

It wouldn't be hard.

After a bout of arguing, the group regained composure and moved silently, swiftly scaling the high wall into the monastery.

Following the pre-prepared map, they carefully avoided all alarms and swiftly reached the prison holding Svan Ni.

Creak…

More than twenty figures pushed open the door and filed in without alerting anyone, entering the Third Discipline Hall undetected.

Yet they overlooked one thing—focused only on watching for eyes around them, they forgot to look up.

As they entered the Third Discipline Hall undetected, a tall figure clad in a pure white hood stood atop the monastery's highest bell tower.

He stood bathed in crimson moonlight, his deep eyes silently observing every move they made, analyzing their identities.

After they had all entered, he opened the blank notebook he held in his hands and, with a charcoal pencil, slowly began to write.

"The hot-tempered madman, the calm sage, the kind good man, the steady and severe solemn one, and that man who never spoke the whole time… I know which scene this is."

"The actors are all in position."

"The show should begin."

Herbert nodded in satisfaction, turned to a fresh page, and began writing briskly with his charcoal pencil.

【Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rage at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.】

"What is going on!?"

The goatee-wearing "Sage" frowned deeply and looked around the labyrinth, finding only four equally bewildered and tense subordinates beside him—the other Legends were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did the others go?"

"Has our whereabouts been discovered? Or is this just a property of the Endless Labyrinth?"

The "Sage" thought it over, carefully observing his surroundings, and discovered that before him there was only one ordinary door.

Where did it lead?

"……"

He was silent for a moment, then shook his head weakly.

They had believed their concealment flawless, but never expected to be discovered after all.

Only, for some reason the other party had not struck directly, but had deliberately split them apart.

Are they planning to toy with us?

Or…

But no matter what, given the present situation, they had no choice but to play along.

"…Ha!"

The "Sage" let out a deep sigh, his gaze gradually growing firm: "I don't know who you are, but don't think your plan will succeed that easily!"

……

【Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning

They do not go gentle into that good night.】

……

He drew a deep breath, strode to the door, and pushed it open with force, his eyes full of resolve and determination.

Don't underestimate a Legend's will to live!

And then…

The "Sage" saw a massive ball of lava roaring straight at his face.

At the same time, a faint, creepy little laugh rang in his ears.

"Hehe~"

"You've finally arrived…"

Xiao Ba's little success today is all thanks to the big shots' support.

Your kindness will never be forgotten!

Please wait a few more days—probably around Wednesday. Once it goes live, there will definitely be a massive update to repay the favor.

……

Recommendation:

《Newton's Birth in the Great Ming Dynasty》

Dao Saint Duke Niu pressed his hand on the historian's shoulder:

"I merely burned some traitorous ministers' manuscripts and portraits, and forbade their descendants from offering sacrifices… how can you say I killed them?"





(End of this chapter)