Chapter 718: Fate Does Indeed Guide, Only the Timing Was Long Since Misaligned

Fate does indeed guide, only the timing was long since misaligned.

The trial has ended, but history is far from over.

The answer Cheng Shi submitted was merely a key; this key opened the door to clearing the trial, but unlike a consumable, it would not vanish once used up. So at the very moment the various "my lord"s vanished into thin air, the "answers" of this trial exchanged glances, as if newly born.

They exchanged a look with one another, and quickly made their move.

The first to react was Xi Luolin. Though she had been bound the most thoroughly, the ropes could restrain her body but not her singing voice. Upon realizing she had regained "freedom," she immediately craned her neck and sang at the top of her lungs, treating every man present to a most ear-splitting 【Corruption】 song.

And so the very next second, two sages, one Scream Duke, and one miner became entangled together by the instinct of desire.

After confirming she faced no threat, Xi Luolin wriggled her body toward one side, searching for a way to free herself.

This siren was clever enough; she soon slipped free of her tight bonds, then frowning, knocked out the reeking miner and the disheveled Scream Duke, and bound the two sages—locked in a death grip and unable to separate—in the basement of some room, before quickly heading down the mountain.

She had been away from the shantytown too long; she now needed to check on the Brotherhood's status and make timely, effective arrangements for the current situation.

Though the Abyss Prismatic Crystals had been completely exhausted by those mysterious bigwigs, Xi Luolin was no shortsighted person. She knew that as long as the surface's Reason-Substance Tower stood for a single day, the Proxy Hand's mining operations would not cease for a single day, and more Abyss Prismatic Crystals would be extracted in due course. So as long as she controlled these two sages—no, she only needed to befriend these two powerless sages—the Lust Brotherhood would have a chance to seize more resources from the Proxy Hand to feed itself.

Of course, Adriq was also important; as the miner who had witnessed Allard's death, keeping him alive would allow her to better sink her fingers into the Proxy Hand's interior.

As for that Scream Duke...

Useless. Kill him and be done with it.

Thinking as she went, Xi Luolin soon descended the mountain. She returned to the shantytown district looking utterly weary, but what greeted her was not anxious subordinates or panicking underlings, but rather... an overwhelming wave of decadent sounds.

Everything in the shantytown was normal; it seemed no one needed to leave for anything to change.

Xi Luolin was greatly relieved. She rang the Brotherhood's communication method, and before long several Brotherhood members converged from every direction.

Aromani was among them, though this time she had brought someone with her—a beautiful woman unfamiliar to Xi Luolin.

This never-before-seen lady wore a tattered, tight-fitting warrior's outfit, her golden curly hair loose and flowing. Her face was caked with mud, looking utterly bedraggled, yet even so it could not conceal her bold brows and eyes, nor her cold, austere bearing.

She was like a Princess in distress, utterly out of place in the entire shantytown district.

Xi Luolin raised an eyebrow, taking a slight interest in this unfamiliar lady. She looked toward Aromani, waiting for an explanation. Aromani stepped forward, somewhat nervously took Xi Luolin's arm, leaned close, and whispered:

"I think this one's a bit off in the head. She says she's here to help us overthrow the Proxy Hand."

"?" Xi Luolin was taken aback. She looked at this golden-haired lady and laughed. "You think the Lust Brotherhood wants to take down the Proxy Hand?"

The golden-haired woman was not one for smiles; she replied coldly:

"Perhaps not, but that is not for you to decide.

The Reason-Substance Tower will not allow an organization that constantly disrupts their underground exploration efficiency to linger around the 【Abyss Volcano】 indefinitely.

I admit no one can truly annihilate the Lust Brotherhood, for desire cannot be suppressed, nor can it be severed. But the current problem is that the flow of your desires is too scattered to form an effective concentration of force.

The consequence of this is that your territory will be continually encroached upon by the Proxy Hand, until... you are utterly reduced to vassals, or tools for them to vent their lust upon."

"And I can help you break this imbalance, and tip the scales of victory in your favor."

Xi Luolin laughed. Though her smile was full of mockery, she still gave this beauty before her the greatest respect.

"Nicely said, but what I want to tell you is that the Proxy Hand cannot be taken down.

Just as now, even though I killed Allard, the very next person in power will immediately be sent down from the Reason-Substance Tower. Those cultists of evil gods on the surface will not give up the resources underground. Whose daughter are you? You look a bit rebellious."

"But no matter, the Lust Brotherhood likes rebellion. Join us. I, Xi Luolin, can shelter your rebellion, and let you bloom here into the most beautiful flower of desire."

As she spoke, Xi Luolin's hand slowly traced along the other's collarbone and neck. Yet the golden-haired woman did not refuse; she merely said, even more coldly:

"There is nothing in this world that cannot be taken down. Since the Reason-Substance Tower stands behind the Proxy Hand, then taking down the Reason-Substance Tower will naturally cause the Proxy Hand to collapse, no?"

"???"

Xi Luolin was taken aback. This time she believed Aromani's words—the woman truly was a bit off in the head.

Her hand froze on the golden-haired beauty's neck. Gazing at that temptingly lined throat, Xi Luolin felt she could strangle this cold, mad beauty in an instant, but the other seemed unafraid of death.

Xi Luolin studied her for a moment, and her gaze darkened.

"Who are you? Who do you represent? You don't look like someone from underground."

The golden-haired beauty glanced at Xi Luolin's wrist, and finally showed a faint smile.

"Galiusha.

I do indeed come from the surface, but I am here for myself."

"Galiusha?" Xi Luolin silently repeated the name twice, frowned, withdrew her hand and stepped back, then lowered her head and gave Aromani a series of arrangements, telling her to go up the mountain first and bring down several important people.

Recently, strange incidents at the Fallen Gate had been growing more frequent; she had to be cautious, lest this Galiusha turn out to be another of those bigwigs from before.

Aromani took the order and led her people away. Xi Luolin brought Galiusha to her own shack to continue the interrogation. Before long, Aromani returned, but her face was pale; behind her she had brought back only two sages, with no sign of Adriq.

Xi Luolin's brow tightened and she was about to ask something, when she heard Aromani say, still in a panic:

"Xi Luolin, I think you've been hit by an illusion.

Allard isn't dead. He never died at all. He discovered the anomaly in the mine, and is currently gathering miners to sweep the entire crystal pool.

Adriq was killed by him. Your brother seems to..."

"He is not my brother!"

Xi Luolin shot to her feet, hurling everything at hand onto the floor.

The most revolting situation had arisen: after losing contact with Allard, the Reason-Substance Tower had once again sent down an "Allard" to take over the Fallen Gate.

She had gained another brother—a brother whose split personality was unknown.

"You... can you really overthrow the Reason-Substance Tower?"

Xi Luolin felt she had gone mad. In a momentary daze, she blurted out this inexplicable question to Galiusha.

Galiusha smiled again; it seemed only when discussing how to destroy the Reason-Substance Tower would she show a genuine smile.

"If you trust me, why not...

Let me try."