Chapter 2409: To Go and Return

“What?!” When she heard that, the Mermaid Queen could no longer remain calm anymore. She immediately got up to go save the princess.

What ritual was that? It was probably the Incestuous King who had decided the method. The Mermaid Queen really didn’t want to encounter that infamous monster again, but now, she had no choice but to take the risk for the Peacock Princess’ sake.

The guards quickly said, “We want to go with you!”

The Mermaid Queen gave the two of them a cold look. “If I hadn’t treated the two of you just now, you wouldn't even be able to stand right now. How are you going to save anyone else in your condition?”

The guards' faces turned entirely red. They knew she was speaking the truth. There was definitely no way the two of them could fight right now. They would only be a hindrance if they followed her.

When she saw their dispirited expressions, the Mermaid Queen felt a bit absent-minded.

Why do I not have as much patience with these two as that foolish guard?

Normally, she would be a bit closer to these two than that completely unfamiliar stupid guard, right?

“The two of you should quickly use this chance to escape before the guards outside find out what happened. That way, the Fiend races can still retain a bit more of their fighting strength for the future.” After she said that, she no longer paid the two of them any more attention. Her body flickered as she disappeared toward the most extravagant room in the Four Way Palace.

When they saw her disappear, the two guards were a bit absent-minded as well. They exchanged a look.

“Xuanxuan, what do we do now?”

“What meaning would be left in staying alive if something ended up happening to the princess?”

“That’s right. If we can’t fight anymore, let’s try to cause some trouble around the Four Way Palace to direct away some of the monsters’ attention. That way, we’ll at least be of some use to our benefactor. I hope that she can save the princess.”

“We’ll die.”

“So what if I die?”

“What is there to fear about death?!”

Their expressions gradually became resolute. They walked out with their heads held high. They'd already decided to sacrifice their lives to chase after the slightest chance of success.

However, everything in front of their eyes suddenly became dark. They fainted on the spot.

Zu An walked over from off to the side. He raised them by their collars and sighed. “They're quite the loyal soldiers. They can’t die just like this.”

He'd sensed the aura of monsters just now, so he couldn't feel at ease and had secretly followed them inside. He'd watched the events secretly and admired these two soldiers’ loyalty a lot. He didn’t want to see them die just like that. Thus, he hid the two of them outside the Four Way Palace.

This all happened in the distant past. Is there any meaning in me doing all of this?

Their futures were already set. They were still going to die even if he saved them. But if they didn’t die because he saved them, would he be changing history? Would that have any impact on the future world?

Zu An had watched many time travel films. Any changes to history, no matter how slight, seemed to be extremely dangerous. That could even cause the main character to no longer exist in the future and other similar situations.

These two guards were one thing. They probably weren't too important in the context of history. But the Mermaid Queen definitely played a critical role. If her destiny was changed because of him, would that end up affecting the Shang sisters?

When he realized that, he felt a bit of regret. Earlier, he hadn’t asked the Time Scribe about this stuff. He tried to ask Mi Li, but the latter was asleep and didn’t respond at all.

When he recalled the Mermaid Queen’s sincerity, Zu An sighed. He hoped she would be able to escape smoothly. But if she really was in danger, he would definitely save her. However, for the sake of safety, he definitely couldn't use his original face or his true identity.

He didn’t hesitate any longer and infiltrated the Four Way Palace again.

...

Meanwhile, the Mermaid Queen carefully approached the main palace. She closed her eyes to sense her surroundings a bit and couldn't help but become a bit confused. She couldn't sense any intense magic being used. Could it be that the vile ritual had already ended?

She was now facing the renowned Incestuous King, so she didn’t dare to use the Deep Sea Harp. Perhaps it would be able to affect the other monsters, but there was no way it would work on the Incestuous King. It would only trigger his vigilance.

She held her breath and moved over to a distant window. She picked up a small mirror and carefully pressed it up to the window. The situation inside the room quickly appeared on that mirror.

To her surprise, however, there was no Incestuous King inside. There weren’t even any monsters.

“Huh?” the Mermaid Queen exclaimed softly. She gently pushed open the window and went straight inside.

Sure enough, it was completely empty. She searched around inside before ultimately stopping in front of the spot at the very center. There was still a bit of the Peacock Princess’ aura remaining there. The bit of water element magic that the Mermaid Queen had used to treat her before wouldn't be sensed by others, but she was able to keenly sense it.

Her gaze shifted toward a nine-star atlas. Apart from her own water element magic, there was also a sinister energy present. When she recalled the conversation between those two monsters, her heart couldn't help but sink. The evil ceremony seemed to have already been completed. Could it be that the Peacock Princess had already been sacrificed?

She decided to leave and find other monsters to see where Mojard had gone. They could know where the Peacock Princess was.

But she suddenly froze as soon as she arrived in front of the exit, then slowly backed up one step after another.

“Just what is happening today? They just keep coming one after another.” Mojard slowly walked in from outside, staring at her coldly. He had just returned from taking care of something outside. He hadn’t expected someone to have snuck into his room during this time.

The Mermaid Queen immediately became extremely vigilant. With a wave of her hand, several water arrows fired at her enemy. They were beautiful and sparkling with color, but the power of every single arrow was comparable to that of a siege weapon.

“Hm? Amusing.” Mojard was a bit surprised. This assassin seemed to be a bit stronger than he had anticipated.

“This area is unbreakable!” As soon as he spoke, a transparent shield appeared in front of him. When the arrows crashed into the shield, they shattered into fine explosions of water.

The Mermaid Queen hadn’t expected her attack to be able to injure the famous Incestuous King to begin with. That was why as soon as she fired the water arrows, she quickly flew toward the window.

When he saw her twist her waist and immediately reappear by the window, Mojard’s eyes shone. “This place restricts esc...”

But before he could even finish, a harp suddenly appeared in front of the other side. With a gentle ripple of the strings, sound waves emerged and his soulspeak was interrupted.

Mojard was stunned. However, he reacted quickly as well, chasing after her.

The harp resounded again, and visible sound waves wrapped around his body. He immediately sensed that the space around him was practically solidifying. It also felt as if a giant mountain was gradually bearing down on him.

His expression became serious. He quickly said, “Loud sounds are prohibited. This place ought to be silent!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound runes around him instantly shattered. The giant ‘palace’ character that had just formed also came crashing down.

The Mermaid Queen was greatly shaken. She'd never expected her famous ultimate skill to be so easily defeated.

“This place forbids escape!” Mojard said again.

The Mermaid Queen’s nimble body immediately became extremely heavy. She quickly played the harp, however. The silencing skill prevented her sounds from attacking him, but she could still undo any negative conditions applied to herself.

Sure enough, when the sound runes landed on her own body, she immediately recovered the ability to move. But the delay had already robbed her of her chance to escape. All of the monsters in the Four Way Palace had rushed over when they heard the news, surrounding her.

When she saw that, the Mermaid Queen’s hopes turned to dust. It seemed she was going to perish here.