[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-840":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298809,4496,"Chapter 840: Deception","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-840",840,"\u003Cp>Albus’s right hand, gripping the weapon, dropped to his side, seemingly too weak to bear the weight of the bone-and-flesh sword; he planted it upright on the ground littered with corpses and bones, yet he was clearly far better off than Lumian, who had let the “Sword of Courage” slip from his grasp entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, a voice filled with anticipation and cruel amusement echoed from the mirrors and mirror-like objects scattered across the corpse-mountain and the wasteland:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you feel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you confused about when you contracted the disease?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, it was the “Witch’s” “disease”… Standing in the wasteland, Lumian seized the moment before his muscle strength fully faded—while he could still move but couldn’t lift heavy objects—and quickly removed the “Whisper of the Demon” bone ring from his finger, shoving it back into the “Traveler’s Satchel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Wearing this ring caused Lumian to be perpetually burned by sulfuric flames, from within to without, continuously weakening his resistance to and tolerance of the “disease”; though he was already poisoned by sulfur and had sustained some burns, stopping the damage in time was still vital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After stowing the “Whisper of the Demon” bone ring, Lumian pulled out the brass talisman and matching earplugs given to him by Archbishop Heraberg, holding one in his left palm and reinserting the other into his left ear canal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Listen!” Lumian spoke the ancient Hermes word again, continuing his learning process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Sylvest’s voice continued emerging from one mirror and mirror-like object after another:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We were certain the operation against ‘0—01’ would face interference and competition from a Hunter-path adept, and that we’d inevitably have to confront Vanack, so we prepared a ‘Class 1’ sealed artifact in advance. Its mystical pathogen has one very notable trait: it can survive in high-temperature flames for a period of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And I can use the power of the special mirror-world to let those pathogens quietly spread through different mirrors, silently saturating this wasteland and this corpse-mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been setting fires continuously, but I’ve been releasing frost at the same time, pretending to attack and curse—this actually froze those mystical pathogens inside, allowing them to survive longer in the heat; combined with their inherent properties, they’ve already seeped into you, bit by bit, penetrating your bodies…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sylvest explained in great detail, as if wanting to inflict pain and savor despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it was her hobby, or perhaps it was a negative effect from some artifact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus Medich, leaning on the bone-and-flesh sword, kept rotating his body, gazing in different directions, trying to pinpoint Sylvest’s true body and drag her out of the mirror-world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But from the sound alone, it was impossible to determine which mirror Sylvest was in—she might have been moving nonstop through the mirror-world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, even after reciting the three previous sacred names again, Albus could only affect the special mirror-world atop the corpse-mountain; he couldn’t damage the “mirrors” on the middle and lower parts of the corpse-mountain or across the wasteland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sylvest’s voice grew increasingly shrill, both pained and delighted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This pathogen has flaws—it’s not the kind that explodes with lethal effects in a short time. It only causes you to rapidly lose physical strength, accelerates the leakage of your spirituality, and eventually leaves you lying on the ground, unable to move, helplessly listening as your heart grows weaker and weaker, until it stops beating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Lumian “teleported” to a new location, avoiding the risk of Sylvest striking him opportunistically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his mind, thoughts flashed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could I use the Golden Mask of the Eggers family to counteract the damage from this mystical pathogen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I could stop my own heart in advance—then I wouldn’t have to worry about it losing strength!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, this mystical pathogen seems to affect the spirit-body too; perhaps after the physical body dies, the spirit-body will gradually lose the power to sustain itself…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And Archbishop Heraberg said that becoming a dead person here only leads to eternal slumber… hmm, perhaps in the future I’ll be ‘awakened’ as a ‘0—01’ puppet…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus Medich atop the corpse-mountain suddenly laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s how it is—I really do feel weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even with my ancestor helping to share the burden, I’ll lose all combat capability in three or four minutes, barely able to crawl.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I don’t recall telling you what I came here to do in the underground mausoleum—or did you notice that something abnormal had already occurred?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Albus’s smile grew brighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remained composed, exuding absolute confidence, utterly calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sylvest, who had been using voices from mirrors and mirror-like objects to buy time until the mystical pathogen’s effects deepened, fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed to scan her surroundings, searching for the anomaly Albus mentioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus stretched his neck, a smirk curling his lips:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have only three tasks here:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, kill Vanack, so ‘0—01’ no longer has an agent of this level;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second, recite my ancestor’s sacred name around ‘0—01,’ triggering resonance and gradually awakening it;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third, heh, third: buy time until ‘0—01’ breaks free from this corpse-mountain on its own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haven’t you noticed that the frequency and amplitude of ‘0—01’s trembling and shaking have been increasing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haven’t you noticed that ‘0—01’ is about to break free from the corpse-mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This… Sylvest, hidden near the top of the corpse-mountain, within one of the components of the earlier “Mirror Maze,” closely observing Albus’s movements and ready to intervene at any moment, stiffened mentally and instinctively turned her gaze toward the violently shaking and trembling “0—01.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She immediately saw the charred banner, covered in dangerous blood spots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her head buzzed, and pain shot through her neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was further contaminated!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mirror in which Sylvest hid shattered instantly; her figure appeared, expression blank, her head straining to detach from her neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now! Albus seized the opportunity, discarded the heavy bone-and-flesh sword, transformed into a blazing white-and-blue flame spear, and shot toward Sylvest’s vicinity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, he generated thick “War Mist,” enveloping Sylvest and the area within ten meters around the “Witch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After completing this, Albus gave Sylvest no chance to escape her contaminated state or flee the “War Mist” via the mirror-world; gathering his remaining strength, he condensed a series of blue fireballs and launched them one after another into the “War Mist.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Violent explosions erupted, pale blue flames rising; Sylvest’s “Mirror Double” was involuntarily triggered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But due to the influence and misdirection of the “War Mist,” her reappearance location remained within the blast radius, still engulfed by the shockwave capable of destroying the “Witch’s” body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus controlled the fireballs’ power, ensuring the “War Mist” never dispersed, causing Sylvest’s “Mirror Doubles” to shatter one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, he regulated the frequency of fireballs striking the small patch of mist, denying Sylvest even a sliver of opportunity to slip into the mirror-world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Sylvest’s shadow froze; her beautiful, alluring body blackened and crumbled, falling to the ground as scattered remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plop, the black teardrop-shaped forehead ornament she had worn on her brow dropped onto a corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus ceased maintaining the “War Mist,” looked at the dead Sylvest, and chuckled mockingly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, I forgot to tell you—my calmness just now was an act. I needed five to six minutes to wait until ‘0—01’ resonated to its limit with my ancestor, awakening slightly and breaking free from the corpse-mountain’s restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why the rush? So eager you forgot that staring directly at ‘0—01’ causes contamination—and you were already partially contaminated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Remember: haste and slowness are both great taboos in war.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While mocking the dead, Albus did not pick up the clearly supernatural black teardrop-shaped ornament, fearing it might trigger negative effects and interfere with his subsequent actions—he was already extremely weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, his limbs were powerless, running became difficult; he once again transformed into a blazing white-and-blue flame spear and flew back near “0—01.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at the slowly descending blood of Zhu Li, estimating it now only thirty to forty centimeters from its target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus immediately threw a blue fireball at the bloodstain, burning it and causing it to slowly evaporate and dissipate without triggering any additional changes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After closing his eyes and sensing the frequency and amplitude of “0—01’s” trembling, Albus muttered silently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems to be progressing faster than expected; two or three more minutes should be enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, Sylvest, I lied to you just now—in the end, ‘0—01’ still cannot break free on its own; I need to use Medich family blood to give it a push…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wasn’t mocking your corpse just now because I had too much time—I needed certain words for Lumian Li to hear, so he’d overlook the part I lied about…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus Medich turned toward the wasteland, toward Lumian, who had just completed a “teleport” to change his position and avoid being locked on; he laughed loudly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re quite alert—in such a desperate situation, you didn’t follow that fool Sylvest to observe the anomalies of ‘0—01.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lumian raised his hand and scratched his right ear, uttering a lie so transparent it was laughable:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, I was studying—I didn’t hear your conversation just now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I admit—I thought Sylvest would help me confirm the current state of ‘0—01.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albus stared at the man, thoughtfully saying:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re remarkably calm. Your physical combat strength must be nearly gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I, with my ancestor sharing the burden, will certainly last longer than you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lumian laughed, calmly and confidently, radiating the bearing of a top student:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you notice other anomalies here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1575,"2026-06-20T06:22:37.987Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3b1673ecb158ef3f33748a397bece5b648660a5dba52fa690084486cc4926a52","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-841","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-839",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]