Chapter 387: Mysterious Manor in the Mountains (12)

Night.

The outskirts of Blue Stone City.

In this area, the closer one gets to the moat of Blue Stone City, the denser the buildings become; the farther away, the sparser they are, yet the quality of the buildings gradually improves, and exquisite manors and villas begin to appear.

Under the summoning of a mysterious power that Luosen cannot perceive, Jilisi, under the cover of night, heads all the way to the far outskirts of Blue Stone City.

At first, there were still some streetlights providing illumination, but gradually the streetlights disappeared, leaving only a mass of thick, impenetrable darkness.

"Lord Luoge, I can't see anything at all."

Luosen immediately canceled the temporal membrane wrapping Jilisi's body: "How about now?"

"I can see again, and it's very clear."

"In my homeland, only those blessed by the gods possess such ability."

"You say, could I have been cursed by an evil god?"

Luosen shrugged: "I'm not sure either, maybe."

The two walked one after the other along a country dirt road; after walking about ten or so li, they entered a region of low, rolling hills.

The environment became extremely desolate; no houses could be seen in any direction, and the sounds of wild animals gradually increased.

This was a remote wilderness rarely visited by people.

Jilisi felt a little afraid: "Lord Luoge, do you think we might encounter monsters?"

Luosen reminded: "Don't worry, you are the monster now; it should be others who fear you."

That remark made Jilisi feel a bit sad, but speaking of it, it indeed greatly reduced his timidity.

After walking along a mountain path for a while and then circling a dense forest, they saw dim lights in a secluded mountain hollow.

"Someone lives in that mountain hollow!" Jilisi whispered.

Luosen nodded: "I saw it; it should be the summoner's residence."

After getting a bit closer, they could make out the building's outline: a large manor built into the mountain.

Around the manor is a stone wall over four meters high, enclosing a square plot over eighty meters on each side. Behind the wall stands a three-story stone-and-wood mixed building with many rooms; from the front windows, at least fifty rooms can be seen.

The lights previously seen were shining from a window on the third floor.

Jilisi grew afraid again: "Lord Luoge, I can sense that the summoner is inside the manor, and I can also sense that there are many people inside similar to me."

Luosen felt a stir in his heart upon hearing: "Many—how many?"

"I count and feel there are about a hundred."

"I can also feel that many people's strength far exceeds mine; five of them are vastly stronger than I, causing an uncontrollable fear—no, it should be despair—as if I were alone facing a mad barbarian."

Jilisi's voice trembled somewhat.

Even if he turned and ran the next moment, Luosen would not be surprised.

But he certainly did not turn and flee, for he was now compelled.

Luosen felt some sympathy for this unfortunate soul and softly comforted: "Since the summoner went to such trouble to call you, as long as you obey him, he will not easily harm you."

"Of course, he might also force you to do things you don't want to do, but don't worry—I will accompany you into the manor."

These words greatly comforted Jilisi; he took a deep breath: "Thank you very much, Lord Luoge."

Soon, the two arrived at the manor's gate.

A formidable enemy lay before him, and Luosen dared not be the slightest bit careless.

He had withdrawn ninety-five percent of Laifu's computing power and poured it all into the Heart of the War God, using only the remaining ten percent to maintain control over the Natural Empire's emperor puppet.

He also did not worry about losing control of the empire.

First, because time in this half‑plane flows a thousand times faster than in the main plane—here one hour passes, less than four seconds elapse in the main world. The main world basically cannot notice such a slight delay in reaction.

Second, because after advancing to the thirteenth ring, soul strength surged, and Laifu's computing power increased greatly; even using only half its power is enough to keep the Natural Empire running normally.

He also felt no fear at all; instead, he had a faint excitement.

With a sharp sword in hand, spells in mind, and the years‑honed Heart of the War God, not testing its edge would be a waste.

"Ga—zii~~~"

The manor's iron gate opened, and the one who opened it was a handsome black‑clad young man whose looks were in no way inferior to Jilisi's.

After opening the door, he glanced over Jilisi and Luosen, then fixed his gaze on Luosen, a hint of a wicked smile on his face: "Warrior, you've come to the wrong place~"

Although he said that, he made no move to drive them away; his eyes showed a clear sense of looking down, as if a lofty superior were gazing at an insignificant ant.

Luosen was not surprised by this.

Because he is presently playing the role of a mortal warrior, and monsters like Jilisi indeed possess the mighty power to look down on mortal warriors.

He gave a slight smile: "I came along with my friend Jilisi; no matter what, I must stay with him."

"Since you insist, then come in together."

The handsome young man gave a slight bow as an invitation, his face showing an indifferent, carefree air.

Luosen placed his left hand on the divine artifact Radiant Law Orb and his right hand on the hilt of the divine artifact Extinction Law Sword, stepped slightly aside to let Jilisi half a step ahead, and together they entered this mysterious mountain manor.

"Ga—zii~~ ka—niao~"

The great iron gate behind them closed again; shortly thereafter, the black‑clad handsome youth who had opened the door hurried a few steps to stand before them and lead the way.

With the technique Dark Insight, Luosen possessed dark vision equal to Jilisi's.

He could see clearly; although the manor interior had hardly any lights, small groups of people were gathered in the courtyard.

These people were male and female, all very young; the men were extremely handsome, the women very beautiful—if they appeared in public, they would undoubtedly be eye‑catching figures that drew ordinary folk's attention.

The only thing that made Luosen feel somewhat at ease was that these people's dispositions were overly yin‑soft.

The women's yin‑softness was fine, but the men were likewise, giving an eerie, ghostly feeling.

These people had originally been calm, but upon seeing Luosen and Jilisi enter the courtyard together, their faces instantly showed astonishment; their gazes all turned to Luosen, as if they could not understand why he was here.

But after a moment, the surprise turned into expressions like 'curiosity' and 'schadenfreude', etc., the looks of those eager to watch a show.

Many people laughed quietly at Luosen, but no one truly took him to heart.

Soon, the handsome man in black led the two to the gate of the manor lord's building.

The door was huge and extremely sturdy, made of iron‑inlaid hardwood, and it was tightly closed now. The handsome man in black looked at Luosen with a smirk: "Hey, warrior, I need to bring my new companion to see the master—are you still insisting on following?"

Luosen raised his eyebrows: "What, not allowed?"

"Of course you can, but the master has a bad temper, especially disliking rough warriors who like to show off heroism. If you end up dying because of it, don't blame me for not warning you."

Luosen narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Then, thanks for the warning."

The handsome man in black shrugged, and the men and women in the courtyard, hearing Luosen's reply, broke into another round of quiet laughter, as if they had witnessed something rare and amusing.

"Squeak—"

The handsome man in black pushed open the gate, revealing a dimly lit luxurious hall beyond, while a strong smell of blood surged out from behind it; combined with the hall's prevalent dark‑red décor, it created an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Jiliesi's face turned pale, his body trembling uncontrollably, yet a crimson glint flickered in his eyes.

Luosen understood clearly: Jiliesi's reason was gripped by fear, but the strange power within him was excited, like a lost child finally finding home.

A soft, effeminate male voice came from deep within the hall.

"Come in, my servant~"

Jiliesi hesitated, but unable to resist the instinct deep within him, he was forced to step into the hall.

Luosen glanced at the black‑clad handsome man at the doorway; the man still wore a gloating expression and made no move to stop him.

Luosen therefore continued stepping forward into the hall.

The hall's floor was covered with a thick dark‑red carpet; walking along it for over thirty meters, one saw an ornate high‑backed chair, on which a man sat.

This man had crimson hair, a delicate androgynous face, wore a crown of crimson crystal spikes, was clothed in a luxurious crimson‑silver‑threaded robe, and held a black‑wood staff topped with a crimson gem.

Judging by his features, the man was young, but his bearing was full of the vicissitudes of ages, as if he had endured countless ages.

Luosen quickly observed him.

He found no temporal‑spatial illusions on him, indicating that the man's soul also came from another world.

His soul aura was highly condensed, at least eighteen rings strong—much stronger than Luosen—but in this demiplane it counted for little.

The gem‑staff in his hand was quite special.

More precisely, the crimson gem set into the staff was what made it special.

He could clearly sense that the gem emitted a dim but unignorable time‑wave; its waveform resembled Jiliesi's soul structure in many ways, yet its cohesion was absurdly high.

Luosen felt it was far more condensed than the time magic Adele could wield at twenty‑one rings, likely reaching twenty‑three rings or even surpassing them.

A magical item surpassing twenty‑three rings is entirely possible to appear.

For example, the "Time Gem" given by the witch Patenuoluosi, which comes from the Solar Law Ring, exceeds twenty‑three rings in strength.

Adele and Tiralilin had both told Luosen that items surpassing twenty‑three rings, possessing utterly inconceivable power that even mortals cannot comprehend, have been given the same name by the two great empires: "True Divine Artifact."

A thought flashed in his mind: "This gem‑staff is the key; I must focus on it."

True Divine Artifacts are surely absurdly powerful, but those who wield them are far from strong enough.

So Luosen, though wary, did not find it frightening.

At that moment, the soft male voice sounded again from ahead.

"Ah~~ a blood guard who walks right up to the door—how rare."

This was clearly addressed to Luosen.

Luosen raised his brows slightly: "May I know what place this is?"

"This is the Mortal Temple of the great Ciluokawede."

"And I am Akaman, blood mage who serves the great one. You're not bad‑looking, but your aura is too rigid; it doesn't quite suit my tastes."

This self‑styled blood mage, the effeminate man, sized up Luosen from head to toe, just as a slave owner inspects slaves on the market.

Finally, his gaze fell on Luosen's Extinction Law Sword: "Oh, this sword is not bad. It seems you are a demon‑hunting warrior of the Eternal Blazing Sun Church?"

Luosen gave no clear answer: "My identity doesn't matter; what matters is that I hope you can lift the curse on my friend Jiliesi."

"A curse?"

Akaman's face flashed with anger: "You call the eternal blessing a curse?!"

Before Luosen could reply, Akaman quickly retracted his anger and smiled: "But it's fine, for the gods never blame the ignorant."

"Now, kneel and accept Ciluokawede's eternal blessing."

Luosen rested his hand on the Extinction Law Sword and slowly shook his head: "Akaman, I insist, otherwise—"

"Otherwise, will you draw your sword?"

Akaman completely ignored Luosen's threat.

He smiled: "I can see you have decent strength and extraordinary courage; you must be among the church's finest demon‑hunting warriors."

"But you have made a mistake."

As he spoke, Akaman lightly clapped his hands; the men and women in the courtyard streamed into the hall one after another—119 of them—surrounding Luosen and Jiliesi in the center.

Moreover, five men and women stood before Akaman, serving as his guards.

"Even the strongest demon‑hunting warrior cannot fight two blood guards at once, and I have far more than two here."

"You shouldn't have come alone, but since you did, you have only two choices."

"Either accept the blessing, or die."

Akaman's voice remained as soft and composed as ever, as if he were the divine estate that holds fate.

The blood guards present also let out low chuckles; looking at Luosen, it was as if they were watching a tiny mantis waving its sickle blades in front of a chariot.

Luosen looked at such a blood mage and gave a faint smile: "Looks like we'll have to settle this with swords."

He dared to come alone, and even after discovering the enemy numbered over a hundred, he still dared to enter the courtyard by himself.

It was not out of arrogance, but because he was confident he could wipe them all out.

Obviously, Akaman also has the same confidence, and even his confidence is a bit stronger than Luosen's.

He placed the scarlet ruby staff horizontally on his knees, leaned back, with a look of watching the show.

"Warrior, please speak, let me see how loud your words can be."

(End of chapter)